94 To the River Plate and Back 



order and cleanliness which appeared to prevail every- 

 where. The third matter of remark was the absence 

 of negroes. Coming from Brazil we at once noted the 

 fact, that, though many of the people about us were 

 swarthy in complexion, showing their Spanish and 

 Italian descent, or even the admixture of Indian blood 

 in their veins, there were no people of the African 

 races visible. There are in fact few Africans in Uruguay 

 and not many of these are domiciled in the capital. 

 Uruguay is the last of the South American countries to 

 have been settled. Its original colonists were poor, 

 and did not indulge in the luxury of slaveholding to 

 any great extent. The policy of excluding the blacks 

 has since been followed, and the main immigration in 

 recent years has been from southern Europe. The 

 Uruguayans pride themselves upon the fact that racial 

 questions are not likely to trouble their republic in 

 the future. "Ours, ' they say, 'is a white man's 

 country. ' 



We began our tour on foot. At the gates of the dock- 

 yard we passed the officers of the customs, who, seeing 

 that we carried nothing more suspicious than umbrellas 

 and cameras, saluted us in friendly manner and allowed 

 us to pass on. Strolling upward into the town we 

 came to the shop of a money-changer and converted 

 a few English sovereigns into the coin of the country. 

 The currency of Uruguay is on a gold basis and an 

 Uruguayan dollar, or peso, is worth $1.035 in American 

 gold. The contrast between values as expressed in the 

 coinage of Brazil, from which we had just come, pro- 

 voked comment. Instead of paying two hundred 

 milreis for an afternoon paper, the newsboy demanded 

 four centesimos. It certainly was a liberal price for that 

 which we received and four times what would be asked 



