204 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



Gran Chaco ; a wild, uninviting region inhabited by savage 

 Indian tribes, and of the interior of which practically noth- 

 ing is known. We proceeded up the river but a compara- 

 tively short distance to the little settlement of Porto Galli- 

 leo, the headquarters of a concern engaged in extracting 

 tannin from quebracho-logs. A comfortable home had 

 been erected for the management, and their attention and 

 courtesy were most touching. They were a polyglot com- 

 munity, consisting of a Frenchman, a Brazilian, a Swede, 

 an Argentinian, a Paraguayan, and a German. However, 

 they lived on the friendliest possible terms, and all co-op- 

 erated for the general good of the company. We came un- 

 expectedly, so no preparations had been made for our ac- 

 commodation ; but each man had a private store of treasured 

 articles from home hidden away somewhere, and before long 

 one brought sheets, another blankets, a third monogrammed 

 towels, etc., until we were as comfortably provided for as 

 any one could wish. The men were very fond of a pet 

 jaguar which they had taken when a cub, but as the animal 

 grew older its temper became uncertain, so it was necessary 

 to confine it in a barred cage. Its wild brethren came from 

 the forest at night to pay it a short visit occasionally, as 

 attested by the footprints left in the soft ground near the 

 cage. 



The factory at Porto Gallileo for the manufacture of tan- 

 nin was of considerable size. Upon arrival from the forest 

 the trees were stripped of bark, ground, and boiled in huge 

 vats. The extract was boiled down to a concentrate and 

 pressed into small cakes ; it is very valuable in tanning hides, 

 and its use shortens the time usually required for the proc- 

 ess. A number of valuable by-products are also obtained, 

 including dyestuffs. 



A narrow-gauge railway line was being built farther and 

 farther into the interior as the land was cleared; this had 

 been completed a distance of fifteen kilometers, and the 

 road-bed was in course of construction for forty additional 

 kilometres. The morning after our arrival at Porto Galli- 



