HARDWOOD RECORD 



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■\li:\T -in I'.T-KNOS AIHES 



(-•lit their way through it. But their hopes 

 were frustrated completely, for savage In- 

 dians, wild beasts and poisonous reptiles 

 Mieted out a sorry fate to the intrepid ex- 

 plorers, while the rivers proved as treacher- 

 ous as the inhabitants of the plains. Event- 

 ually a long, round-about route had to be 

 adopted, and communication was finally 

 established between the East and West, 

 down on the banks of the Parana river, in 

 the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. 



There is no part of the earth so danger- 

 ous or inhospitable but has the power to 

 attract many an adventurous spirit who 

 dreams of its conquest and the possible dis- 

 covery of hidden treasures as the reward of 

 his prowess. The first Europeans to give up 

 their lives as sacrifices to the mysteries of 

 the Chaco and the shifting Pilcomayo river 

 were Jesuit priests, w-ho have ever been 

 pioneers, and undaunted in the discharge of 

 their mission. After the founding of Asun- 

 cion, they plunged westward into the track- 

 less forests lying toward Peru — but none re- 

 turned to relate the story of their sufferings 

 and end. 



For these reasons it will be readily under- 

 stood why the Argentine Chaco has been 

 practically an abandoned region for so many 

 years. Only of late, since tlie government 

 has commenced to open up certain lines of 



railroad whicli penetrate this territory and 

 extend along the frontier, has the exploita- 

 tion of its resources come into serious con- 

 sideration as a practical proposition. l*\ir- 

 thcr, several lumber companies now operat- 

 ing in this section are laying roads connect- 

 ing their operations with the nearest rivers, 

 by W'hich the timber is transported down to 

 civilization. Only one of the hardwoods can 

 l:e handled by means of timber rafts, viz: 

 the ccdro (cedar), the rest being far too 

 hard and heavy to float down stream. The 

 I'ilcomayo river is still almost an unknown 

 quantity, but the Bermejo is navigable — 

 tliough with difficulty, through its whole 

 course; it empties into the Paraguay river, 

 which with the Parama is also navigable. 



The climate of this section is warm and 

 damp during the rainy season, or summer, 

 and dry during the short winter, when the 

 tliermometer does not fall below 3 degrees 

 I'cntigrade; in summer it does not rise 

 above 40 degrees. The mean annual r.'iin- 

 fall is about 1,590 meters. 



The area of the Argentine Chaco is about 

 195,893 square kilometres, and its popula- 

 tion some 35,000. The native inhaliitauts 

 are Indians descended from the original 

 Guarani race of central South America, and 

 they still retain in large part their old 

 ciistoms and peculiarities. The Toba tribe 



are the most numerous, and constitute the 

 greater part of the workers at the sugar 

 plantations and lumber operations. But 

 they, with the Malacos, also furnish many 

 bauds of marauders which are continually 

 attacking white settlements. These tribes 

 are nomadic to a considerable extent, ap- 

 pearing for 'employment at certain seasons 

 of the year — then returning to the interior, 

 or seeking other work elsewhere. 



Another element of Chaco population to 

 which many so-called depredations of the 

 Indians are attributed, consists of social 

 outcasts from all parts of the world, who 

 from political reasons, or for fear of police 

 pursuit, try to hide themselves completely 

 from all contact with civilization. They 

 live by their wits, intermarry and mingle 

 with the tribes on equal terms, incite them 

 to lawless acts, and are a source of great 

 annoyance and danger to those who brave 

 the difficulties of the Chaco in the attempt 

 to carry out some legitimate business enter- 

 ju-ise. 



Thus it will be readily seen what obstacles 

 in the way of securing not only skilled, but 

 merely steady and dependable labor, lie in 

 the w-ay of lumbermen, cotton and tobacco 

 planters, and others who see fortunes within 

 their grasp if they could but solve this 

 most difficult problem. Some of the accom- 



i.t:Mi!i:i; .i.\rKS at rtniCAKi-AST 



A TYPICAL LU-MEEU CAMP 



