Bolivia

and to 14,000 to 6,000 ft. in Chile. There several other minor mountain systems indicated maps of South America, but with the exception the Sierra da Mantigueira or of those in the of Sido Paulo and Minas Geraes, Brazil, and ) of and dos ranges rounding, from topped sierras table-lands. examples, miles exit and Ayres, bined fluvial systems comparison neverthele and Eastern eastern rivers South America, the but subjected there, nature, streams stock-raisers) refuge South Pacific and a falls; rocks. however, justly of the any it de At. within twenty-one rainy with occurs the size. miles rounded Several Maracaibo and separated narrow Central instance, of (3,600 America. their ramifications into Bahia and Espirito Santo, also of the central detached group of the Sierra Pyroneos in Goyaz, all the other map-indicated are the scarped bluffs of table-lands sur or bordering on, lower plateaux, which, those lower levels, have the appearance of flat mountains. In other cases, the so-called or mountains are isolated vestiges of eroded Brazil, especially, abounds with such HHydrography.—The drainage of 2,800,000 square of the South American continent finds its at the mouth of the Amazons, on the equator, at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata at Buenos consequently these two fluvial systems com represent. 2 system larger than any other two systems of the globe. ‘The remaining riverine of South America, although insignificant in to those of the Amazons and Plata, are amongst the great rivers of the globe, consist of the Rio Sao Franciscu, draining the regions of Brazil; the Paranahyba in north- Brazil, and the Orinoco and Magdalen a in Venezuela and Columbia, in the north of America. The tropical zones of South east of the Andes, are generally some of most abundantly watered regions of the globe; the north-east portions of Brazil are occasionally to long and devastating droughts, and the soil being mainly of a light or sandy many of the large rivers and all the minor dry up, and compel the inhabitants (mostly to abandon their herds and seek a in the cities of the coast. Another region of America---the desert of Atacama on the coast between 27° and 20° south latitude situated between the Andes and the ocean—is perfectly sterile tract, where a drop of rain never it is a region of loose sand and nuked The exceptional dryne of this region has, been the means of preserving intact its celebrated and valuable deposits of nitrate soda. The northern coast regions of Brazil, on contrary, at times show the greatest rainfall of country on the globe. In Par4, in former years, rained almost every day of the year. At S. Louis Maranhiio 276 inches have fallen in a few weeks. Demerara six inches of rain have been collected twelve hours, and at Cayenne as many as inches in a single day. The tropical season is, however, confined to a brief period considerable intervals of bright sunshine, and in some regions in the summer, in others in winter. South America has few lakes of large The most important is Lake Titicaca (3,800 in area), 12,847 feet above the sea, and sur by some of the loftiest peaks of the Andes. salt water lakes occur in Argentina, Lake is near the shores of the Caribbean Sea, Lagoa dos Patos in the south-east of Brazil is from the Atlantic Ocean by a long strip of land. In the much smaller area of America lakes are more frequent, for Lake Chepala on the Mexican highlands is large size, and the still larger Lake of Nicaragua square miles) is farther to the soutbward. 123 and Managua, west particularly in Gro o, found Andes have wines, Copper Brazil. sands Coal most Columbia, Peru, s0 Botanists of are orchids. to it for aromatic alimentary forest miles and excels tree. been representing millions from principal and of South animals, the the ant-eating the beautiful otherwise It rolling birds snakes America varieties other as testaceans, of inhabitants. and conquered mon is C1) America. also on high land, and there is also the Lake of or Leon (430 square miles) to the north of Lake Nicaragua. Mineralogy.—South and Central America are rich in minerals. Diamonds are found Brazil, in the States of Minas Geraes, Matto Bahia, Sio Paulo and Parana. Gold is in every country of the continent. The in Peru, Chile, and the highlands of Mexico long been noted for their wonderful silver and the metal has also been found in Brazil. exists in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, and Tin has been discovered in Peru and in the of the Rio Puraopeba, Minas Geraes, Brazil. is being mined in Chile and in Brazil. Iron is abundant and rich in quality in Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, etc. Lead is found in Mexico, and Bolivia. Vegetation.—In no part of the world is vegetation varied and luxuriant as in tropical America. have already cla ified over 20,000 species its flora, amongst which in the Amazons alone over 100 varieties of palms, and 550 of It would therefore be usele to attempt describe it by mentioning a few cxamples; suffice to say that there is an enormous variety of timber construction of all kinds, textile, oleaginous and plants, gums, resins, dye woods, and roots and medicinal plants. ‘The virgin of the Atmazons, 1,300 miles long by 800 broad, is the largest forest area of the globe, amidst its many wonderful productions no one in commercial importance the india rubber Seventeen you sand tons of rubber have annually exported from this rich floral region, a value of between six and seven sterling, all of which has been obtained the wilds of this vast forest. Coffee is the cultivated product of Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, and other Central American States. Fauna.-—Yor the sportsman, especially the hunter large game, Africa is infinitely preferable to or Central America, where the larger few and far between, are only the tapirs, jaguars, pumas, and the camel of the Andes, llama, the capybaras or watcrhogs, the large bears, and the South American ostrich, rhea. The forests abound with strange and insects, and occasionally monkeys, but little other animal life is there met with. is in the breezy, sunny, flower-decked plains or uplands, or by the river side, that numerous and quadrupeds and glistening insects and are found. The rivers of South and Central are generally well stocked with great of fish, and shrimps, prawns, lobsters, and crustaceans are very abundant on the coasts, well as oysters and many other species of which in some places on the seaboard Brazil are the almost exclusive food of the poor Population.—The aboriginal inhabitants of South Central America, excepting perhaps those of Peru by Pizarro, show strong evidences of a com origin in some Mongolian race or races. There a more strongly marked distinction between the North aboriginals and between South in black age slanting, broad wide the narrow, and of the mainly occupied northern spreading Indies. into speaking somewhat customs. America mixture Indian Portuguese, changes collectively Ladinos, and according Mexico number which Brazil) Argentina Bolivia Venezuela- Colombia- Peru- Chile Eeundor British Paraguay- Uruguay Duteh French Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Honduras- Costa British S. SSS America. American Indians and the copper-coloured of South America in language, habits, customs and physical characteristics, than the Hottentots and Zulus of Africa. The American aboriginal is light copper or olive colour, some are almost white; the hair is coarse, and straight, the stature is below the aver- Circa ian standard, the head is large, the eyes the face is generally devoid of hair and with prominent cheek bones, the nostrils are and the nose often aquiline, the neck is short, shoulders broad and chest deep, the hips are the arms long, the hands and feet smal) delicate, especialy the hands. The aboriginals South America are divided into two pre at families, Guarany and the 'Tupy, but the difference is one of dialect ana location. ‘The Guaranies the southern regions and the Tupies the and central regicns of South America, into Central America and the West These two stocks have been subdivided an infinite number of distinct tribes, each one a different dialect from the others, and differing from each other in habits and The population of South and Central consists of Whites, Indians, Negyves, and a of Indian and Neyro, Indian and Spaniard, and Portuguese, Negro and Spaniard or and the result is the ringing of the of one such mixture with another, known as Mestizoes (half-castes), such as Zambos, Mulattos, Quadroons, Octoroons, various other subdivisions with different names to their various degrees of descent. In alone, the number of known Indian tongues 61 distinct) languages, and 69 dialects, to are added 62 idioms now extinct. | Area in | ‘Pop. per | Population. lag. muile. square miles, elm a gue =- - | 8,258,160 17,000,000 | 5°4 - goa 3 135,850 6,805,000 | 6°97 - - = - 605,450 2,049,070 i 8B - = 893,880 2,604,260 | 6°7 «| 435,100 4,833,000 | 10° - - - | 695,730 4,610,000 | 6-6 - - = | 292,500 8,254,420 |; 11-1 -. | 116,000 1,272,000 10> Guiama- ==! 90, 280 804,100 8°83 - - | 08,000 681,350 0°4 - - - {| 72,220 1,042,670 | 14-4 Guiana - - 46,050 81,040 1: 1°7 Quiana-~— - 80,500 $9,820 | 1°8 fouls Lue uaa 7,260,050 |,44,086,010 | 7-07 _—= Frenne oalcn—natpoo tearm - - - 767,000 18,605,020 {| 17°7 2 49,200 420,000 | 8° - = - 48,300 1,852,090. 89-2 - - 46,260 600,120 | 109 Rica - 18,400 851,170 | 19% Honduras - | 7,640 43,250 | 6°14 Salvador - - | 7,220 1,116,250 | 169°4 Totals America for Central = 5, ): 948,920 of, | 17,019,700 | ae: 17°95 EILEEN OE LET ET IL ENE RENIN? 124 The of Christopher 1468, guela Mexico and St. by Columbus, Cabral. try region colonised retaining periods, with sion Brazil, especially of Rio British hold For the wl, mother independence and Argentina which S17, Bolivia America separate republican Portaguese country, 1889, posed proclaimed Honduras, nations Roman and Cape the the however, coast-line tremely regions india, perature originated meaning the these as (112) Amezican. History, Political Constitution, [eligions, ete.— Spaniards and Portuguese were the discoverers South and Central America. The former under Columbus first sighted tne Guianas in and again under Vasco Nunez, in 1504. Venewas discovered by Columbus in 1498, and by him also in 1519; Peru by Pizarro in 1524, Argentina by Juan Dias de Solis in 1513. Cape Augustine in North Brazil was first sighted Vicente Yunez Pinzon, a former companion of and the Portuguese, Pedro Alvarez compieted further discoveries of that counat the close of the fifteenth century. The whole of South and Central America thus became by the Spanish and Portuguese, the latter Brazil and losing Uruguay. At various the English, Freneh, and Dutch contended the Spaniards and Portuguese for the po es of various regions in Argentina, Uruguay, the Guianas, and Venezuela. The Dutch for inany years occupied a large portion N.E. Brazil, and the French at one time occupied de Janeiro. The English now only po e Guiana and British Honduras; the French French Guiana, and the Dutch, Dutch Guiana. about 300 years the crown of Spain controlled destinies of the Spanish eolonies, until, one and taking advantage of the French invasion of the country, they succeeded in obtaining their; Mexico became independent in 1822, in 183t ‘Texas fell to the United States. was the first to fight for its liberty, it gained in ISl0. Columbia followed in Chile in 1813, Peru in 1821, Venezuela in 1819, in S24 and the sanaller states of Central in about similar epochs. The whole of these nations of Spanish speaking peoples adopted government. On the other hand, the in Brazil, on separating from the mother maintained uw monarchical régime until when the Emperor Dom Pedro II. was deby a military insurrection, and a republic and confirmed by the people in 1890. With the exception of British Guiana and British the national religion of the whole of the of South and Central America is that of the Catholic Church. Climate. —The climate of the vast region of South Central America varices from the Arctic cold of Horn, Patagonia, and the perpetual snows of suinmits Of the Andes to the sweltering heat of suramer of the tropical lowlands. Collectively, the north coast of South America and the of Central America are undoubtedly exhot and unhealthy regions. The equatorial do not show so high a temperature as do New York, or even London at times; the temis equable throughout the year, 75° to 90°. American Indians, [INp1ays.] American isms, words or phrases that have in America or that po e a different from what they do in proper English. Of many you sands of American isms derived from various sources, the following may be taken specimens:— American isms.