Geographic Literature 



47 1 



and we then removed to one of the 

 native houses, which we found dry and, 

 under the circumstances, comfortable. 



All the boats appear to be of one 

 model. They are beautifully rounded, 

 and both stem and stern are shaped 

 alike, being prolonged upward in a 

 graceful curve ending in a point, from 

 which, in time of festivity, is projected 

 a bunch of feathers or some other deco- 

 ration. It is a built-up boat, and, con- 

 sidering the crude tools used in its con- 

 struction, is a remarkably creditable 

 affair. The tribe possess no saws, and 

 consequent!}' each plank is adzed down, 

 thus obtaining but one plank from a 

 tree. These planks, forming the sides 

 of the boat, are so carefully shaped that 

 they fit very closely. Holes are bored 

 near the seams, through which rattan 

 lastings are passed and drawn tightly, 

 literally tying the parts together. The 

 bottom planks are fastened to the strong 

 V-shaped keel in the same manner. 

 As in the Solomon Islands, the principal 

 tool used is an adze. In Botel Tobago 

 this implement is so made that it can be 

 converted into a chisel by inserting the 

 blade end first into the handle. 



There are no dogs or cats on the 

 island, which accounts for the great 

 pest of rats. Immense rodents as large 

 as the American musk-rat literally over- 

 run the villages at night. One could 

 see them after dark, chasing about the 

 place without the least sign of fear, as 

 hungry hogs would overrun a garden, 

 and it is no exaggeration to say we 

 feared the rats more than we feared the 

 natives. 



The South American Republics. By 

 Thomas C. Dawson. In two vol- 

 umes. Illustrated with photographs 

 and maps. Vol. I. Pp. xvi -j- 525. 

 5)4 by 8 inches. New York : G. P. 

 Putnam's Sons. 1903. 

 Mr Dawson has been for many years 

 American consul to various capitals of 

 South America. This work is in two 



parts, of which the first is out; the second 

 will be published in a few months. The 

 present volume describes Argentina, 

 Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. It is 

 well written, interesting, and reliable 

 and is comnlended to all who are seek- 

 ing a good book on South America. 



Two South American Republics, Ar- 

 gentina and Chile, may be called pros- 

 perous ; there are evidences of an 

 awakening in certain sections of a third, 

 Colombia, which may bring equal good 

 fortune to that state. Brazil is also be- 

 coming unified, and, according to Mr 

 Dawson, is developing a solidity as a 

 nation which is not generally realized. 



Several of the author's statements 

 about this republic, whose area is greater 

 than that of the United States exclud- 

 ing Alaska, are worth quoting : 



" Capital is slowly accumulating, and 

 a healthful tendency toward industri- 

 ous habits and the employment of rea- 

 sonable and moderate methods in ex- 

 ploiting the great untouched natural 

 resources of the country is evident. 



" Leaving out immigration, the Bra- 

 zilian people have shown a steady natu- 

 ral increase of nearly 2 per cent per 

 annum during this century. The total 

 population has multiplied from less than 

 three to more than eighteen millions. 

 Not a fiftieth part of the territory is 

 cultivated ; its resources have never 

 been studied, much less developed." 



The Brazilians have the additional 

 advantage of inheriting directly a Eu- 

 ropean civilization. They "are too 

 firmly established, too numerous and 

 prolific, and possess a too highly organ- 

 ized and deeply rooted civilization to be 

 in danger of expulsion or political ab- 

 sorption. Immense immigration into 

 South America is inevitable as soon as 

 the pressure of population is strongly 

 felt in Western Europe and North Amer- 

 ica. This may transform Brazil econom- 

 ically, but the new conditions will have 

 to fit themselves into the political and 

 social framework already in existence." 



