Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/32

 however complicated by terrain may be its details, with a confusion that lacked even the interest of mystery. Hence most readers of journals have, during the last four years, studiously avoided leaders, articles, or intelligence headed "Hostilities in the River Plate," and in so doing they were justified.

This Essay proposes to itself an abstract of the geography and the history of Paraguay, compressed as much as possible without being reduced to a mere string of names and dates.

And first of the word "Paraguay," which must not be pronounced "Paragay" The Guarani languages, like the Turkish and other so-called "Orienta" tongues, have little accent, and that little generally influences the last syllable: a native would articulate the name Pa-ra-gua-ý.

For this term are proposed no less than nine derivations.

"Paraguay," says Muratori (p. 92), " means 'River of feathers,' and was so called from the variety and brilliancy of its birds."

"Paraguay," says P. Charlevoix, " signifies 'fleuve couronné,' from Pará, river, and gua, circle or crown, in the language of the people around the Xarayes lake, which forms as it were its crown."

"Paraguay," says Mr. Davie (1805), "would signify 'variety of colours,' alluding to the flowers and birds. Pará, in fact, may mean ' spotted,' as in the name Petun Pará, the speckled tobacco familiar to all Paraguayan travellers." Mr. Wilcocke (1807), who borrows without acknowledgment from Davie and other authors, echoes " variety of colours."