A YEAR IN SOUTH AMERICA. 43

 

wait for prey from some overhanging
bough, and birds whose rich plumage puts
to shame the colors of the rainbow.

East of the Andes you will find one vast
glain sloping to. the sea. The treeless
plains abounding in the richest pasturage
are the homes of countless herds of wild
There it

was, we remembered the principal exports

horses and still wilder cattle.

of some countries, here are hides, horns
and tallow.

To our surprise we learned the people
there in all except Brazil and Guiana elect
their rulers and are as devoted to the idea
of self government as are our own.

“But what of our relations with this
“What do we buy
“ With

Brazil we exchange manufactured articles

continent,” ssid papa.

and sell there and how much?”

such as cloth, farming tools, iron, etc., for
coffee, leather, hides, tallow and fruits,”
said Tom, who had learned this in school.
“We buy from Brazil, fifty-eight million
dollars worth, and sell her a little over
seven millions. From the Argentine Re-
public we buy seven million dollars worth
of manufactured articles and sell her six
millions. Our trade with Columbia is a
little over five million and that with Chili,
three.” ‘You will find many strange
things there,” said papa as he closed the
book, “but nothing more so than the
people and their customs.”

Do nothing to-day that can be put off

until to-morrow, seems to be their motto.
Ignorant, lazy and inveterate gamblers.
they care but little for progress, as we
know the word, and allow the magnificent
opportunities of that country to be im-
proved by foreigners.”

“In the extreme south of this continent,
the people are almost savage like in man-
ner and as the country is warm, they wear
little or no clothing. Still, steam and
electricity are proving great civilizers
among them. When the first railroad was
built the people could not understand that
trains were to run on schedule time, so at
first they came from a few minutes to a
few hours late to see it off. They soon
learned, however, that trains wait for no
man, and learned thereby the necessity of
punctuality. Buenos Ayres is perhaps
more like an American city than any other
found there. Street cars, electric lights
and modern paved streets are found, but
there is not the bustle and hurry which
mark our northern cities. Business is
done in the early hours of the day, for
when the sun is at its height but few care
to venture out. As evening approaches
the people crowd upon the streets to walk,
visit, gamble or amuse themselves as fancy
suggests. ~ One occupation the natives
enjoy possibly more than all else and that
is to catch and break the wild horses that
roam over the prairies. These horses at

first are unmanageable, but with » lasso