ARGENTINA 89 



"The timber in the Chaco is not continuons. It occurs in long, 

 narrow strips, which take a north and south direction, and are 

 interspersed with open ground in the proportion of, perhaps, 40 

 per cent, forest to 60 per cent, of prairie. These glades are, as a 

 rule, covered with a rough parapa grass, but where the clay lies 

 directly on the surface there is only swamp, worthless cactus, 

 and thorny undergrowth. The whole formation irresistibly 

 suggests a previous inundation, in which the parts now occupied 

 by the forest have stood out above the subsiding waters. So 

 strong is the resemblance that the belts of timber are known 

 locally as "isletas, " or islands. 



"The value of these islands lies in the fact that their woods are 

 composed for the greater part of "quebracho," a red hardwood, 

 which also contains a valuable tanning extract. On this account 

 it resists indefinitely the action of water or dry rot, and is much 

 used for fence posts and general construction work. It makes 

 the finest railway sleeper in the world, weighing nearly as much 

 as lignum vitae, with a specific gravity of 1.27, compared to 1.33 

 of the latter. It thus adds greatly to the solidity of a road-bed, 

 especially during the trials of construction. 



"A league of good Chaco ground will yield 10,000 tons of 

 quebracho logs. Thus its value depends almost entirely on the 

 cost of timber transport to the nearest station. The limit of 

 profitable cartage does not extend beyond 20 miles from the rail- 

 way, beyond which the country is practically unknown. 



"It will be seen that there is good business in the Chaco, for 

 the value of the timber covers both the initial cost of the land and 

 the expense of settling and stocking it with cattle. On the other 

 hand, settlers earn their profits under conditions which are the 

 reverse of tempting. The hard, uncompromising nature of the 

 quebracho itself gives the keynote to the whole region. Over 

 more than half the country the Indians, numbered roughly at 

 20,000, are still sufificiently hostile to make it necessary for 

 exploiting parties to omit no precautions. 



"Nevertheless, the Chaco is being steadily invaded. As the 

 hardwoods are cut down the underbrush is fired, and its place is 

 taken by coarse rushes and grass. This in its turn is replaced 

 by softer herbage, which follows on the hoofs of the pioneer 

 cattle herds. Six or eight years suflfice to convert dense forest 

 land into moderate pasture. At no very distant date the Chaco 

 Mall be shorn of its dreaded forests, and the cattle-raising indus- 

 try, which is now but a means of feeding the lumber- workers, 



