Sauron is alive in Argentina!
"On my word," said Franz, "you are wise as Nestor and prudent as Ulysses, and your fair Circe must be very skilful or very powerful if she succeed in changing you into a beast of any kind." Albert was right; the fair unknown had resolved, doubtless, to carry the intrigue no farther; for although the young men made several more turns, they did not again see the calash, which had turned up one of the neighboring streets. Then they returned to the Rospoli Palace; but the count and the blue domino had also disappeared; the two windows, hung with yellow damask, were still occupied by the persons whom the count had invited. At this moment the same bell that had proclaimed the beginning of the mascherata sounded the retreat. The file on the Corso broke the line, and in a second all the carriages had disappeared. Franz and Albert were opposite the Via delle Maratte; the coachman, without saying a word, drove up it, passed along the Piazza di Spagni and the Rospoli Palace and stopped at the door of the hotel. Signor Pastrini came to the door to receive his guests. Franz hastened to inquire after the count, and to express regret that he had not returned in sufficient time; but Pastrini reassured him by saying that the Count of Monte Cristo had ordered a second carriage for himself, and that it had gone at four o'clock to fetch him from the Rospoli Palace. The count had, moreover, charged him to offer the two friends the key of his box at the Argentina. Franz questioned Albert as to his intentions; but Albert had great projects to put into execution before going to the theatre; and instead of making any answer, he inquired if Signor Pastrini could procure him a tailor. "A tailor," said the host; "and for what?"
"Then," continued Chateau-Renaud, "since you have an establishment, a steward, and a hotel in the Champs Elysees, you only want a mistress." Albert smiled. He thought of the fair Greek he had seen in the count's box at the Argentina and Valle theatres. "I have something better than that," said Monte Cristo; "I have a slave. You procure your mistresses from the opera, the Vaudeville, or the Varietes; I purchased mine at Constantinople; it cost me more, but I have nothing to fear."
"Come, two or three more such adventures, and I do not despair of seeing you a member of the Academy." Doubtless Albert was about to discuss seriously his right to the academic chair when they were informed that dinner was ready. Albert's love had not taken away his appetite. He hastened with Franz to seat himself, free to recommence the discussion after dinner. After dinner, the Count of Monte Cristo was announced. They had not seen him for two days. Signor Pastrini informed them that business had called him to Civita Vecchia. He had started the previous evening, and had only returned an hour since. He was charming. Whether he kept a watch over himself, or whether by accident he did not sound the acrimonious chords that in other circumstances had been touched, he was to-night like everybody else. The man was an enigma to Franz. The count must feel sure that Franz recognized him; and yet he had not let fall a single word indicating any previous acquaintance between them. On his side, however great Franz's desire was to allude to their former interview, the fear of being disagreeable to the man who had loaded him and his friend with kindness prevented him from mentioning it. The count had learned that the two friends had sent to secure a box at the Argentina Theatre, and were told they were all let. In consequence, he brought them the key of his own--at least such was the apparent motive of his visit. Franz and Albert made some difficulty, alleging their fear of depriving him of it; but the count replied that, as he was going to the Palli Theatre, the box at the Argentina Theatre would be lost if they did not profit by it. This assurance determined the two friends to accept it.
Thus the oncoming and ceasing both of winter and summer sleep depend to a considerable extent upon conditions of existence other than those of temperature. Darwin saw scarcely a sign of a living thing on his arrival at Bahia Blanca, Argentina, on the 7th of Sept., although by digging several insects, large spiders and lizards were found in a half-torpid state. During the days of his visit when nature was dormant the mean temperature was 51°, the thermometer seldom rising above 55° at mid-day. But during the succeeding days when the mean temperature was 58° and that of the middle of the day between 60° and 70° both insect and reptilian life was in a state of activity. Nevertheless at Montevideo, lying only four degrees further north, between the 26th of July and the 19th of August when the mean temperature was 58.4° and the mean highest temperature of mid-day 65.5° almost every beetle, several genera of spiders, land molluscs, toads and lizards were all lying dormant beneath stones. Thus the animal-life at Montevideo remained dormant at a temperature which roused that at Bahia Blanca from its torpidity. Darwin unfortunately does not record whether the species observed were identical in the two localities. Entry: I
Mexico, from a gold production of £200,000 in 1891, advanced to about £1,881,800 in 1900 and to about £3,221,000 in 1905. Of this increase, a considerable part was derived from gold-quartz mining, though much was also obtained as a by-product in the working of the ores of other metals. The product of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador amounted in 1900 to £2,481,000 and to £2,046,000 in 1905. Entry: TABLE
BAGÉ, a town and municipality of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, about 176 m. by rail W.N.W. of the city of Rio Grande do Sul. Pop. of the municipality (1890) 22,692. It is situated in a hilly region 774 ft. above sea-level, and is the commercial centre of a large district on the Uruguayan border in which pastoral occupations are largely predominant. This region is the watershed for southern Rio Grande do Sul, from which streams flow E. and S.E. to the Atlantic coast, and N.W. and S.W. to the Uruguay river. The town dates from colonial times, and has always been considered a place of military importance because of its nearness to the Uruguay frontier, only 25 m. distant. It was captured by the Argentine general Lavalle in 1827, and figured conspicuously in most of the civil wars of Argentina. It is also much frequented by Uruguayan revolutionists. Entry: BAGÉ
BUENOS AIRES, a city and port of Argentina, and capital of the republic, in 34° 36' 21" S. lat. and 58° 21' 33" W. long., on the west shore of the La Plata estuary, about 155 m. above its mouth, and 127 m. W. by N. from Montevideo. The estuary at this point is 34 m. wide, and so shallow that vessels can enter the docks only through artificial channels kept open by constant dredging. Previously to the construction of the new port, ocean-going vessels of over 15 ft. draught were compelled to anchor in the outer roads some 12 m. from the city, and communication with the shore was effected by means of steam tenders and small boats, connecting with long landing piers, or with carts driven out from the beach. The city is built upon an open grassy plain extending inland from the banks of the estuary, and north from the Riachuelo or Matanzas river where the "Boca" port is located. Its average elevation is about 65 ft. above sea-level. The federal district, which includes the city and its suburbs and covers an area of 72 sq. m., was detached from the province of Buenos Aires by an act of congress in 1880. With the construction of the new port and reclamation of considerable areas of the shallow water frontage, the area of the city has been greatly extended below the line of the original estuary banks. The streets of the old city, which are narrow and laid out to enclose rectangular blocks of uniform size, run nearly parallel with the cardinal points of the compass, but this plan is not closely followed in the new additions and suburbs. This uniformity in plan, combined with the level ground and the style of buildings first erected, gave to the city an extremely monotonous and uninteresting appearance, but with its growth in wealth and population, greater diversity and better taste in architecture have resulted. Entry: BUENOS
_Climate_.--The climate of Chile varies widely, from the tropical heat and extreme arid conditions of the northern coast to the low temperatures and extreme humidity of western Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast. The high altitudes of the Andean region also introduce vertical zones of temperature, modified to some extent by the rainless plateaus of the north, and by the excessive rainfall of the south. In general terms it may be said that the extremes of temperature are not so great as in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere, because of the greater expanse of water in comparison with the land areas, the summers being cooler and the winters warmer. The cold antarctic, or Humboldt, current sweeps northward along the coast and greatly modifies the heat of the arid, tropical plateaus. The climate of northern and central Chile is profoundly affected by the high mountain barrier on the eastern frontier and by the broad treeless pampas of Argentina, which raise the easterly moisture-laden winds from the Atlantic to so high an elevation that they sweep across Chile without leaving a drop of rain. At very rare intervals light rains fall in the desert regions north of Coquimbo, but these are brought by the prevailing coast winds. With this exception these regions are the most arid on the face of the globe, highly heated by a tropical sun during the day and chilled at night by the proximity of snow-covered heights and a cold ocean current. Going south the temperature slowly falls and the rainfall gradually increases, the year being divided into a short rainy season and a long, dry, cloudless season. At Copiapó, in 27° 22' S., 1300 ft. above the sea, the mean annual temperature is 60° and the rainfall about 1 in., but at Coquimbo, in 29° 56' S., the temperature is 59.2° and the rainfall 1½ in. At Santiago, in 33° 27' S., 1755 ft. above the sea, the mean temperature is 54° and the annual rainfall 16½ in., though the latter varies considerably. The number of rainy days in the year averages about 21. At Talca, in 35° 36' S. and 334 ft. above sea-level, the mean annual temperature is nearly one degree above that of Santiago, but the rainfall has increased to 19.7 in. The long dry season of this region makes irrigation necessary, and vegetation has something of a subtropical appearance, palms growing naturally as far south as 37°. The climate is healthy and agreeable, though the death-rate among the common people is abnormally high on account of personal habits and unsanitary surroundings. In southern Chile the climate undergoes a radical change--the prevailing winds becoming westerly, causing a long rainy season with a phenomenal rainfall. The plains as well as the western slopes of the Andes are covered with forest, the rivers become torrents, and the sky is covered with heavy clouds a great part of the year. At Valdivia, in 39° 49' S. and near the sea-level, the mean annual temperature is 52.9° and the annual rainfall 108 to 115 in., with about 150 rainy days in the year. These meteorological conditions are still more accentuated at Ancud, at the north end of the island of Chiloé, in 41° 46' S., where the mean annual temperature is 50.7° and the annual rainfall 134 in. The equable character of the climate at this point is shown by the limited range between its summer and winter temperatures, the mean for January being 56.5° and the mean for July 45.9°. The almost continual cloudiness is undoubtedly a principal cause, not only of the low summer temperatures, but also of the comparatively high winter temperatures. Frosts are infrequent, and snow does not lie long. The climate is considered to be healthful notwithstanding the excessive humidity. The 600 m. of coast from the Chonos Archipelago south to the Fuegian islands have a climate closely approximating that of the latter. It is wet and stormy all the year through, though the rainfall is much less than that of Ancud and Valdivia. The line of perpetual snow, which is 6000 ft. above sea-level between lat. 41° and 43°, descends to 3500 (to 4000) ft. in Tierra del Fuego, affording another indication of the low maximum temperatures ruling during the summer. At the extreme south, where Chilean territory extends across to the Atlantic entrance to the Straits of Magellan, a new climatic influence is encountered in the warm equatorial current flowing down the east coast of South America, which gives to eastern Tierra del Fuego a higher temperature than that of the western shore. The Andes, although much broken in these latitudes, also exert a modifying influence on these eastern districts, sheltering them from the cold westerly storms and giving them a drier climate. This accounts for the surprising meteorological data obtained from Punta Arenas, in 53° 10' S., where the mean annual temperature is 43.2° and the annual rainfall only 22.5 in. Other observations reduce this annual precipitation to less than 16 in. According to observations made by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901-1903), at Orange Bay, Hoste Island, in lat. 55° 31' S., long. 68° 05' W., which is more exposed to the westerly storms, the mean temperature for 11 months was 41.98° and the total precipitation (rain and snow) 53.1 in. The mean maximum temperature was 49.24°, and the mean minimum 35.83°. The observations showed 284 days with rain or snow, of which 70 were with snow. Entry: CHILE
_Physical Geography._--For purposes of surface description, Argentina may be divided primarily into three great divisions--the mountainous zone and tablelands of the west, extending the full length of the republic; the great plains of the east, extending from the Pilcomayo to the Rio Negro; and the desolate, arid steppes of Patagonia. The first covers from one-third to one-fourth of the width of the country between the Bolivian frontier and the Rio Negro, and comprises the elevated Cordilleras and their plateaus, with flanking ranges and spurs toward the east. In the extreme north, extending southward from the great Bolivian highlands, there are several parallel ranges, the most prominent of which are: the Sierra de Santa Catalina, from which the detached Cachi, Gulumpaji and Famatina ranges project southward; and the Sierra de Santa Victoria, south of which are the Zenta, Aconquija, Ambato and Ancaste ranges. These minor ranges, excepting the Zenta, are separated from the Andean masses by comparatively low depressions and are usually described as distinct ranges; topographically, however, they seem to form a continuation of the ranges running southward from the Santa Victoria and forming the eastern rampart of the great central plateau of which the Puna de Atacama covers a large part. The elevated plateaus between these ranges are semi-arid and inhospitable, and are covered with extensive saline basins, which become lagoons in the wet season and morasses or dry salt-pans in the dry season. These saline basins extend down to the lower terraces of Córdoba, Mendoza and La Pampa. Flanking this great widening of the Andes on the south-east are the three short parallel ranges of Córdoba, belonging to another and older formation. North of them is the great saline depression, known as the "salinas grandes," 643 ft. above sea-level, where it is crossed by a railway; north-east is another extensive saline basin enclosing the "Mar Chiquita" (of Córdoba) and the morasses into which the waters of the Rio Saladillo disappear; and on the north are the more elevated plains, partly saline, of western Córdoba, which separate this isolated group of mountains from the Andean spurs of Rioja and San Luis. The eastern ranges parallel to the Andes are here broken into detached extensions and spurs, which soon disappear in the elevated western pampas, and the Andes contract south of Aconcagua to a single range, which descends gradually to the great plains of La Pampa and Neuquen. The lower terrace of this great mountainous region, with elevations ranging from 1000 to 1500 ft., is in reality the western margin of the great Argentine plain, and may be traced from Oran (1017 ft.) near the Bolivian frontier southward through Tucumán (1476 ft.), Frias (1129 ft.), Córdoba (1279 ft.), Rio Cuarto (1358 ft.), Paunero (1250 ft.), and thence westward and southward through still unsettled regions to the Rio Negro at the confluence of the Neuquen and Limay. Entry: ARGENTINA
_Shipping._--Although Argentina has an extensive coast-line, and one of the great fluvial systems of the world, the tonnage of steamers and sailing vessels flying her flag is comparatively small. In 1898 the list comprised only 1416 sailing vessels of all classes, from 10 tons up, with a total tonnage of 118,894 tons, and 222 steamships, of 36,323 tons. There has been but slight improvement since that date. There are excellent fishing grounds on the coast, but they have had no appreciable influence in developing a commerical marine. The steamships under the national flag are almost wholly engaged in the traffic between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the river traffic, and port services. Entry: ARGENTINA
Much satisfaction was shown in Europe at the fall of President Celman, for investors had suffered heavily by the way in which the resources of Argentina had been dissipated by a corrupt government, and hopes were entertained that the uprising of public opinion against his financial methods signified a more honest conduct of the national affairs in the future. Great expectations were entertained of the ability of President Pellegrini to establish a sound administration, and he succeeded in forming a ministry which gave general satisfaction throughout the country. General Roca was induced to undertake the duties of minister of the interior, and his influence in the provinces was sufficient to check any attempts to stir up disturbances at Córdoba or elsewhere. The most onerous post of all, that of minister of finance, was confided to Dr Vicente Lopez, who, though he was not of marked financial ability, was at least a man of untiring industry and of a personal integrity that was above suspicion. But the economic and financial situation was one of almost hopeless embarrassment and confusion, and Pellegrini proved himself incapable of grappling with it. Instead of facing the difficulties, the president preferred to put off the day of reckoning by flooding the country with inconvertible notes, with the result that the financial crisis became more and more aggravated. Through the rapid depreciation of Argentine credit, the great firm of Baring Brothers, the financial agents of the government in London, became so heavily involved that they were forced into liquidation, November 1890. The consequences of this catastrophe were felt far and wide, and in the spring of 1891 both the Banco Nacional and the Banco de la provincia de Buenos Aires were unable to meet their obligations. Amidst this sea of financial troubles the government drifted helplessly on, without showing any inclination or capacity to initiate a strong policy of reform in the methods of administration which had done so much to ruin the country. Entry: A
BUENOS AIRES, a maritime province of Argentina, South America, bounded N. by the province of Santa Fé and Entre Rios, E. by the latter, the La Plata estuary, and the Atlantic, S. by the Atlantic, and W. by the territories (_gobernaciones_) of Rio Negro and Las Pampas, and the provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fé. Its area is 117,812 sq. m., making it the largest province of the republic. It is also the most populous, even excluding the federal district, an official estimate of 1903 giving it a population of 1,251,000. Although it has a frontage of over 900 m. on the La Plata and the Atlantic, the province has but few good natural ports, the best being Bahia Blanca, where the Argentine government has constructed a naval port, and Ensenada (La Plata), where extensive artificial basins have been constructed for the reception of ocean-going steamers. San Nicolas in the extreme north has a fairly good river port, while at Buenos Aires a costly artificial port has been constructed. Entry: BUENOS
The bane of Argentine finance has been the extravagant and unscrupulous use of national credit for the promotion of schemes calculated to benefit individuals rather than the public. The large increase in military expenditures during the disputes with Chile also proved a heavy burden, and in the continued strife with Brazil for naval superiority this burden could not fail to be increased greatly. A very considerable percentage of Argentina's population of five to six millions is hopelessly poor and unprogressive, and cannot be expected to bear its share of the burden. To meet these expenditures there are a high tariff on imported merchandise, and excise and stamp taxes of a far-reaching and often vexatious character. Nothing is permitted to escape taxation, and duplicated taxes on the same thing are frequent. In Argentina these burdens bear heavily upon the labouring classes, and in years of depression they send away by thousands immigrants unable to meet the high costs of living. For the year 1900 the total expenditures of the national government, 14 provincial governments, and 16 principal cities, were estimated to have been $208,811,925 paper, which is equivalent to $91,877,247 gold, or (at $5.04 per pound stg.) to £18,229,612, 10s. The population that year was estimated to be 4,794,149, from which it is seen that the annual costs of government were no less than £3, 16s. for each man, woman, and child in the republic. About 71% of this charge was on account of national expenditures, and 29% provincial and municipal expenditures. Had the expenses of all the small towns and rural communities been included, the total would be in excess of $20 gold, or £4, _per capita_. Entry: 1864
The area of distribution occupied by the southern crayfishes or _Parastacidae_ is separated by a broad equatorial zone from that of the northern group, unless, as has been asserted, the two come into contact or overlap in Central America. None is found in any part of Africa, though a species occurs in Madagascar. They are absent also from the oriental region of zoologists, but reappear in Australia and New Zealand. Some of the Australian species, such as the "Murray River lobster" (_Astacopsis spinifer_), are of large size and are used for food. In South America crayfishes are found in southern Brazil, Argentina and Chile. (W. T. CA.) Entry: CRAYFISH
The remainder of the great Argentine plain is the treeless, grassy _pampa_ (Quichua for "level spaces"), apparently a dead level, but in reality rising gradually from the Atlantic westward toward the Andes. Evidence of this is to be found in the altitudes of the stations on the Buenos Aires and Pacific railway running a little north of west across the pampas to Mendoza. The average elevation of Buenos Aires is about 65 ft.; of Mercedes, 70 m. westward, 132 ft.; of Junín (160 m.), 267 ft.; and of Paunero (400 m.) it is 1250 ft., showing an average rise of about 3 ft. in a mile. The apparently uniform level of the pampas is much broken along its southern margin by the Tandil and Ventana sierras, and by ranges of hills and low mountains in the southern and western parts of the territory of La Pampa. Extensive depressions also are found, some of which are subject to inundations, as along the lower Salado in Buenos Aires and along the lower courses of the Colorado and Negro. In the extreme west, which is as yet but slightly explored and settled, there is an extensive depressed area, largely saline in character, which drains into lakes and morasses, having no outlet to the ocean. The rainfall is under 6 in. annually, but the drainage from the eastern slopes of the Andes is large enough to meet the loss from evaporation and keep these inland lakes from drying up. At an early period this depressed area drained southward to the Colorado, and the bed of the old outlet can still be traced. The rivers belonging to this inland drainage system are the Vermejo, San Juan and Desaguadero, with their affluents, and their southward flow can be traced from about 28° S. lat. to the great lagoons and morasses between 36° and 37° S. lat. in the western part of La Pampa territory. Some of the principal affluents are the Vinchina and Jachal, or Zanjon, which flow into the Vermejo, the Patos, which flows into the San Juan, and the Mendoza, Tunuyan and Diamante which flow into the Desaguadero, all of these being Andean snow-fed rivers. The Desaguadero also receives the outflow of the Laguna Bebedero, an intensely saline lake of western San Luis. The lower course of the Desaguadero is known as the Salado because of the brackish character of its water. Another considerable river flowing into the same great morass is the Atuel, which rises in the Andes not far south of the Diamante. (A description of the Patagonian part of Argentina will be found under PATAGONIA.) Entry: ARGENTINA