EL SECRETARIO.-YTAPUA. 223 Mariano. He added to our obligations by the offer of fresh horses to Ytapua. We started in great spirits, and soon came to the river Yun, a tributary of the Parana, which was crossed in a canoe, the horses as usual carrying it over by swimming alongside. This river is the dividing line between the departments Carmen and Encarnacion, being distant from the former fifteen miles. One mile beyond this we passed over the Boicaja, also a tributary of the Parana. The country from Carmen to Ytapua is rolling, with an argillaceous soil, bearing a little wheat of indifferent quality. When within a mile of Ytapua we missed one of our party, "El Secretario" of the Paraguayans, the "Colonel" of the younger officers, and, in truth, the captain's clerk. He was a son of the Emerald Isle; one more "skilled in the tongues" than in horsemanship. Mounted on rather a mettlesome steed, with dragoon saddle and holsters, containing a formidable pair of horse-pistols; with feet barely touching the stirrups, lengthened to the last hole, the colonel was, when mounted, a true knight—a scion of the royal O'Neals. From the first elevation we looked back anxiously for our missing companion. A riderless horse was flying over the plains, lashed at every step by holsters and saddle-skirts; while on foot, and in hot pursuit, was the colonel. Judging from his agile movements that the physical frame was unharmed, and knowing that both rider and steed must "bring up" at some neighboring corral, we quietly pursued our way. While hob-nobbing over a glass of caña with the commandante, in walked our friend, a little worn from his exercise under a temperature of 90°, but declaring earnestly that he had only dismounted to arrange the equipments of his steed, when he gave him the slip. Ytapua was one of the most famous of the Jesuit reductions; but its glory has passed away; that is, the glory of Jesuitic civilization; yet nature is still beautiful. The Parana-already by the accumulated waters of many navigable streams a mighty river, one mile and a quarter wide-rolls on majestically between a bordering of lofty trees. It will probably be found navigable from Ytapua to the ocean for river steamers, for the Jesuits descended to Corrientes from this point in vessels of four and five feet. draught. The falls of Apipé, one thousand miles from the capes of La Plata, obstruct, for the first time, its navigation by large vessels; such, at least, is the generally received opinion; but having reason to doubt this fact, I sent the Water Witch to examine those rapids, while I was engaged in prosecuting another 224 WEALTHY CHURCHES. branch of the work. In passing the Paraguayan fort of Itapiru, she was dastardly fired into, and one man killed. But I am anticipating. CHAPTER XIII. Francia.-Religion and the Churches.-Ytapua.-The Commandante and Soldiers. -Navigability of the Parana.-Carmen.-Equipments of Horses.-Mission of San Cosmi.-Estancia San Rafael.-Maté.-Frescoes.-D. Ignacio's Horse.-Capilla San Martin.-The Supper.-Missions Santa Maria and Santa Rosa.-Estancia of Señora Casara.—The Merchant President.—Señor Cabeñas.—Capilla Caapucu.-Señor Vasconcellos.-The Diezmo.-Public Lands.-Señor Bergarran. -Iron Works.-The Waiter.-The Superintendent.-Ibicui.-Mineral Districts. -Products and Exports of Paraguay.-The Surgeon of the Water Witch.Beauty and Fertility of the Country.-Presidential Election.—No Admittance. -A Motion to make the President Emperor.--The Constitution.—Individual Wealth.-Cotton.-Lists of Exports from Asuncion. THE ruins of a church and a few dilapidated houses are all that remain of one of the most celebrated of the Parana missions. Francia finished what the immediate successors of the Jesuits spared. The Dictator was no hypocrite in religion. On all occasions he manifested an indifference to its outer observance and contempt for the priests, who, he was repeatedly heard to say, "rather tend to make these people believe in the devil than in God." Even within the memory of living Paraguayans, some of these churches were rich in vessels of precious metals, statuettes of the twelve apostles in solid silver, paintings, and carving. The church of Ytapua was one of the most beautiful of these. A massive foundation, three hundred and twenty feet by eighty, and a few feet of the superstructure, are all that remain of this edifice. It was despoiled, but not demolished, by Francia. In 1846 service was still held within its walls. They were taken down in this year by order of President Lopez, who was told that the condition of the building made it unsafe. But the work of demolition showed its strength; and the President, I was informed, greatly regretted his agency in the destruction of one of the finest Jesuitic monuments of the country. The residences of the Fathers, built of stone and brick, were in excellent preservation, and seemed to defy the ravages of time. One of them was occupied by the commandante, who assured me that it had never, within the memory of living man, been repaired, and yet the wood-work, especially those parts that had not been exposed to the elements, NAVIGABILITY OF THE PARANA. 225 was perfect; the bamboo slats, laid transversely across the rafters as a support for the tiling, looked untouched by time. The commandante was hospitable, and celebrated our arrival by making himself gloriously happy with caña. He entertained us with marvelous stories of battles fought and won by Paraguayans; of his own deeds of valor and single-handed combat; all of which impressed us profoundly with the vivacious imagination and talent for military narration of this officer of the republic. Tired, sleepy, and fearing that he might mistake us for the enemy, we retreated at an early hour to our hammocks. When Bucurelli carried out the instructions of the Count of Aranda, the Jesuits were constructing a church at the "Mission Jesus," near the Pueblo Trinidad, about twenty miles above on the Parana―the highest point on that river to which the Paraguay missions extended. But neither the magnificence of its design nor the beauty of the masonry and wood-work-much of which was completed-could save it from the vandalism of Francia, who ordered it to be destroyed. Some few of these churches-San Cosmi, Santiago, Santa Rosa―were spared, and we visited them in the return route to Asuncion. On the 22d of February—a day remembered by all Americans, wherever they may be-we left for Carmen, carrying with us, as a souvenir of Ytapua, a bit of the stone of the old church, which seems to be veined with copper. With the exception of one district, and this extending but a few miles, the country was as thickly populated as that immediately around Asuncion. The dwellings were of a better order, and the cultivation very fair. The Parana, unobstructed to the Atlantic, is an outlet for all Eastern Paraguay. I have several times alluded to the determination of the President to concentrate the whole trade of the country at the capital; and if he tells the people of the East that the Parana is not navigable to Corrientes, no charts based upon the most reliable data could convince them that his Excellency's assertion was incorrect. When I told them of the floating palaces carrying millions of freight over our interior water-courses, with a draught of only two or three feet, they looked as if they thought I was entertaining them with a "yarn." The cataract of La Guayra and the rapids of Apipé are regarded by President Lopez only as magnificent fortifications provided by nature for Paraguay, against all outside enemies; more particularly against her neighbors, "Los Portugases." The resources of this district are as unbounded as 226 MISSION OF SAN COSMI. those of the West; and the wealth of the Jesuits, derived from their agricultural labors in a small part of it, is the best evidence of its fertility. The soil of the hills between Encarnacion and Carmen is a reddish clay, while that of the flat lands is a black argillaceous loam, resembling alluvial deposit. The Paraguayans, like all Spanish Americans, take much pride in the equipments of their horses. The Bolivian officers whom we met in Brazil had presented me with a saddle-covering, made of the skin of the "pareroso" (the sloth), an animal not found in Paraguay. It had apparently excited the admiration of many during this journey. On leaving Carmen, I gave it to Don Mariano, as a souvenir of our party. My offering was received with. unaffected pleasure, and we parted with many expressions on his part of esteem for us all. As I had determined to return to Asuncion by a more southern route, we started for San Cosmi, another of the abandoned missions. It is but twelve miles from Carmen, and in that distance we passed in canoes over two small tributaries of the Parana, the Taquari, and the Aguape. This mode of crossing was troublesome, for it always involved the unloading and loading of the cargaro mules. This mission, according to our observations, is in latitude 27° 19′ 9′′ south, and longitude 56° 24′ 48′′; variation 7° 35′ east. It is within half a mile of the Parana, of which and the neighboring country it commands an extensive view. The church and other buildings were in excellent preservation; but the jefe was absent, and the next dignitary, "el secretario," would not take the mighty responsibility of opening the sacred edifice, so we were obliged to content ourselves with admiring the exterior. It was three hundred feet by seventy; constructed of a red sandstone of fine grain, not unlike that so much used in our country at present, but of a lighter hue. The front entrance was supported by octagonal columns of the same stone, twenty feet in length, two in diameter, each of one piece, and beautifully cut. "El secretario" told us that the columns and flagging of the interior were of this material, which had been taken from a neighboring quarry on the Parana. Leaving San Cosmi the following morning, we stopped, after a ride of five hours, for siesta, at the Estancia San Rafael. Between the two missions, distant from each other thirty miles, we crossed one stream, the Arroyo Atingi, nine miles east of Santiago. The first part of the day's travel was made through a campo, DRINKING MATE. 227 but before reaching the mission we entered a rolling country. On one of its wooded elevations, twenty-seven miles from the Parana, stood the buildings of Santiago. Riding into a large court, formed by the church and adjoining houses, we were most kindly received by the jefe, Señor Don Francisco Ignacio Silvero, who ushered us into a clean, comfortable dining-room, where maté and cigars were soon followed by an excellent supper. I was much impressed by the extreme neatness of the jefe's dwelling, and the simple manners, but perfect ease and good-breeding, of his wife and daughter. After supper we retired to sleeping-rooms, where were snowy beds and hammocks-another evidence of the comfort and refinement of this home, not less refreshing than astonishing, when we reflected that we were in a remote corner of an isolated country. Early rising is a fixed habit with the Paraguayans. The next morning, before we were aware of the hour, there was a tap at the door, followed by the entrance of a little negro holding in each hand a maté. This national beverage is served in a gourd, often richly ornamented, and is imbibed through a bombilla, a metallic tube, which at the bottom expands into a bulb, pierced with holes to act as a strainer. As often as these were emptied they were replenished by the darkey, until we remembered the custom of the country, and said "Gracias." In all well-regulated houses the servant continues to serve the national beverage, regardless of quantity, until this word, which means both "Thanks" and "Enough," is uttered. Refreshed by this tea, and well supplied with fine cigars, the breakfast of the early morning was made. Accompanied by our host, we went to visit the church, a grand old building three hundred feet long and in excellent preservation, so far as time and the elements had worked; but cupidity and vandalism had despoiled it of its ornaments. The ceilings were MATE AND BOMBILLA. elaborately frescoed, and there was a vast deal of gilding, statuary, and carving in wood; but, mutilated and defaced as they were, only |