The Falls of Iguazu 



459 



The outline of Iguazu Falls is so 

 broken that one can hardly gain a correct 

 idea of its immense width, and even the 

 great height of the cataract loses some- 

 thing in effectiveness by being divided 

 into two leaps instead of forming one 

 stupendous fall. But, on the other hand, 

 the charm of the South American falls as 

 they plunge out of the hidden recesses of 

 a semi-tropical forest at a hundred dif- 

 ferent points is unequaled elsewhere, and 

 the traveler may look in vain the world 

 over for a rival to their seductive beauty. 

 Here Nature revels in perfect abandon 

 and presents a spectacle seldom seen in 

 these days, when the surging tide of 

 travel rolls in upon her most secluded re- 

 treats with its "modern improvements." 

 Iguazu remains so free from the med- 

 dling of man that one can imagine the 

 picture to be much the same today as 

 when it first came from the Creator's 

 hand in the primeval days "when the 

 morning stars sang together." 



From the falls to the ruins of the 

 Jesuit missions the route is along forest 

 paths overgrown with tropical verdure. 

 In the heart of a thick wood, covering 

 more than a thousand acres, the ruins of 

 San Ignacio, so named for the founder 

 of the order, stand in persistent survival 

 of all the agents of destruction that have 

 attacked it during the past two centuries. 

 A proof of the remarkable fertility of this 

 region in which the Jesuits established 

 their settlement is shown in the marvel- 

 ous growth of the forest which now 

 marks the site, most of the trees towering 

 to a height of more than a hundred feet, 

 although it is only about eighty years 

 since the Jesuit capital was burned down. 

 The only open space in this wilderness 

 of woods is in the center of what was 

 formerly the settlement — a public plaza 

 around which the houses were built — and 

 strangely enough no trees have grown on 

 this spot, though they have pushed their 

 way through crevices in the walls that 

 mark where the houses stood and have, 

 buried under their branches the greater 

 part of the ruins. Occupying all one side 

 of the plaza was the church and the ruins 



An Old Timer 



of this edifice present many interesting 

 features. The coat of arms of the Jesuit 

 order are still in evidence, as well as 

 some of the sculptured figures of the 

 portico. The dimensions of this building 

 were about 250 feet long by 150 feet 

 broad. Behind the church was the col- 

 lege, with eight large class-rooms, and 

 near it the refectory and cellars. 



All the work of the missions was per- 

 formed by the Indians, under the direc- 

 tion of the Jesuit fathers, and not only 

 the churches but the dwellings of the 

 Indians themselves were so well built by 

 them that the ruins of these houses are as 

 well preserved as those of the temples. 

 Each house was 17 feet long by 14 feet 

 wide and had a window and a door in 

 front and a door at the back leading to 

 the garden. In each house was a niche, 

 presumably for the statue of some saint. 



It is impossible not to admire the 



