Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/74

 PARAGUAY the latter), and 50,000 women and children by famine and exposure in the forests. Thus the census returns of Jan. 1, 1873, were probably nearly correct, viz., 221,079. Of this number 28,746 were males and 106,254 females over 15 years of age, and 86,079 of both sexes under that age. The average proportion of male to female births is nearly as 8 to 9. The popu- lation is chiefly Indian (Guaranis and a few other tribes), the Guarani being the dominant language throughout the republic. The few- hundred white natives preserve their blood tol- erably pure by intermarriage or by marriage with Europeans, and are for the most part gathered in or around Asuncion, the capital. Next to the Indians, the most numerous ele- ment is the mulatto or hybrid from the union of the early Spanish settlers and the Indian women, and further modified by Mamalucos from southern Brazil, and by the introduction of African slaves. The number of pure-blood- ed Africans is now inconsiderable. In 1873 there were 2,300 foreigners resident in Para- guay, including 2,000 Italians, 100 Germans, 100 English, and the remainder Austrians, Dutch, and Swiss. The face of the country comprises two great valleys : one, on the west, from the Apa to the Parana southward, forms a part of the basin of the Paraguay river; and the other, on the east, by far the smaller, extends from lat. 24 S. to the extreme S. E. limits of the republic. The Serra de Sao Joze", approaching Paraguay from the north, consti- tutes, under the name of Cordillera de Amam- bay, the N. E. boundary with Brazil as far as lat. 24; whence, taking successively the ap- pellations of Cordillera de Urucuty, Caaguazu, and Villarica, the last (called Cuchilla Grande in its S. half) beginning W. of the town of the same name, it divides the country into two unequal portions. In lat. 24 an extensive branch known as the Cordillera de Maracayu is detached due E., and crossing the Parana forms the magnificent cataract of Guayra, the noise of which is said to be distinctly audible at a distance of 30 m. The greatest elevation, supposed nowhere to exceed 3,500 ft. above the sea, is attained in the lower extremity of the Cordillera de Amambay, and in the Mara- cayu and Caaguazu systems. The upper part of the Paraguay river basin, like the Gran Ohaco territory on the opposite bank, is for the most part flat, save in the extreme north, where the serrated ridge of Quince Puntas traverses the plain, and sends down the waters of the Barriego and La Paz, and the diminu- tive southern tributaries of the Apa. In this region are comprised the celebrated yerbalez, or mat6 fields. Low hills, thrown off rib-like from either side of the central chain, are sepa- rated by well watered and extremely fertile valleys, rich in primeval forests of valuable timber, and abounding in game. The south- ern portion of the republic is a vast expanse of swampy ground, closely resembling the allu- vial detritus from the Andes which prevails in the pampas. The swamps are variously desig- nated, according to their nature and extent, as lagunaa, cafladas, pantanos, or esteros. The lagunas are genuine lakes or lakelets, with solid clay beds and replenished by floods ; the cafia- dos, tracts of deep adhesive mud and stagnant water; the pantanos, mere morasses with less water than the last; and the esteros, sluggish streams flowing through extensive swamps. These marshy regions, sometimes termed car- rizales, are intersected at intervals by wave- like mounds of inconsiderable height, and are covered with compact jungles, interspersed with woody copses, shrubberies, caHaverales or patches of reed grass of giant growth, and palm groves. No traces of volcanic ac- tion have been found in Paraguay. The riv- ers Paraguay and Parana are described in sep- arate articles. The largest river belonging exclusively to the republic is the Tibicuari, which rises by two branches in the Cordillera de Villarica, or more properly the Ouchilla Grande, and after a tortuous course of about 250 m., and collecting the waters of numerous minor streams, discharges into the Paraguay in lat. 26 39' S., Ion. 58 10' W. Page says that this stream, which for 100 m. from its embouchure has a mean width of 300 yards, might with a small outlay be made naviga- ble for many leagues in all seasons for steam- ers of 2 ft. draught, and Lopez II. ordered small steamers in England for that purpose; but in 1868 a light-draught monitor grounded about 15 m. up. Other well known Paraguay feeders are the Jejuy, whose numerous head streams descend from the central mountain chain, and which coursing through the yerbales might afford easy means of transport for mate to San Pedro, below which town it empties into the Paraguay, about lat. 24 15' S., but in the dry season is only navigable by boats or canoes above the town ; the Ypan6, 5 m. S. of Concepcion, only available for boat navigation ; and the Apa, formerly called the Corrientes, the northern limit with Brazil, having a width of 300 yards and a depth of about 9 ft. for several miles. Many streams flow from the mountains to the Parana, but all have precipi- tous courses and are unfit for navigation. Of the lakes, which are numerous, the most im- portant is the laguna Ypua, about 100 sq. m. in extent, and drained by a branch of the Ti- bicuari and another small river. The mineral resources of Paraguay are but imperfectly known. Mr. Twite reports the occurrence of precious metals in several places, and a great abundance of iron. The iron of Caapucti and Quioquio yields from 30 to 36 per cent, of pure metal ; and the iron works of Ibicuy, with up- ward of 100 operatives, were of great service to Lopez during the recent war. Copper has been found in several places. The scarcity of salt has frequently been sensibly felt in Para- guay, especially in 1865-'70, when the lack of it had so enfeebled the constitutions of the soldiers that their simplest wounds could not