Adventure Magazine Cover — page 197: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Ask Adventure must have some competent seamen and navigators on board. As to the matter of purchasing a vessel, it is im- possible to say whether you could get hold of the kind of craft you need to better advantage on the Pacific coast or at a Gulf port. It might pay to communicate with brokers in different ports and find out where you can do the best. Three Countries to Get Rich In pee all of them in Latin America: Question: —“‘Am writing you a letter full of in- quiries about South and Central America. I have written to the Pan-American Union for their book- lets, but they don’t contain all the information I want. If I should go down there I would want at least 100,000 acres. Of course I would not buy that much at first—just a little to experiment with or stay in the country a while and learn about it. I have a little knowledge of Spanish; am studying it now. I will give you the questions now, and want to say I understand that most of these places are selling land cheap because the country is something like our West in old days. : I am interested in the following: 1. BotiviA:—Raising sheep, llamas and alpacas for their wool. Some time ago you told a féllow that if you had his experience in sheep-raising and the amount of money he had to invest ($7,000), that you would go to Bolivia and raise these animals and make a lot of money at it. I suppose it’s dif- ferent now since the war has stopped; but please give one the figures of this venture. Also I am interested in Bolivian land on or near the Paraguay River, or near Tarija, which is six thousand feet high. Besides raising the natural product of the country I want to see if I can’t pro- duce a better grade of cotton than they seem to produce. I know they don’t produce much, how- ever. I would prefer to have this land on or near the Paraguay River so as to have a highway for the place. But it seems that cotton grows better at Tarija. However, since cotton has fallen so (which has affected me a lot here in Georgia) I don’t attach much importance to it. I saw in that piece of yours about raising lamas in Bolivia that you said Bolivia was offering land in 40,000-acre plots at 10 cents per acre, but the book- let on Bolivia says that it is 20,000 hectares at 10 cents per hectare. I see a hectare is 2.47 acres or nearly 21% acres, which would make it about 50,000 acres at 4 cents per acre. Which must I count on? Also, to get 100,000 acres or 40,000 hectares I would have to get their Congress’ consent and pay a Government surveyor’s expenses in laying it off. If you are familiar with this section of Bolivia kindly state what is raised and the market condi- tions and prices as you knew them. I know that there are different prices for land, but in my in- quiries I mean Government land. 2. Honpuras: — What is Government land worth, or how much per hectare does it cost? Would it be better to buy there or Bolivia? State reasons. I intend to visit both places when I get out of col- 187 lege. I will have a geological course and will look nace Honduras for prospecting and looking for this land. If I knew which was the best place I could use the money for visiting the other place to buy more land. I am going down there if it is only to come back if I can’t make anything out of it. Although I want some experiences, such as you call ‘‘adven- ture,” and a little hunting and roughing, I would rather make something out of it. If I go there and fail, I go broke.”—R. G. STEELHAM, Americus, Ga. “P. S.—In tramping through Honduras and ad- joining countries which would be best, to carry a .20-.30 and a good .45 Colt, or a shotgun and some buckshot with the .45? If I carried the .30-.30 I would also take supplementary cartridges for pistol ammunition. Also noted what you said about shoes while tramping there. Answer,.by Mr. Young:—1. I am not so sure that a man couldn’t bring llamas into the highlands of this country and make a success raising them. They range at altitudes around eight thousand feet, but when brought down as lambs they get used to lower altitude. I have seen them at sea-level at Buenos Aires, and they were thrifty-looking in the zoo there. They eat as little as or less than a sheep aud get to be meny times as large. The women in the Andes, native Quechua In- dians, weave their coarse, heavy wool into cloth for skirts. If they can do it with hand looms it seems to me that American manufacturers should be able to make it into good cloth on modern machines, if only for sweaters, blankets, rugs, and overcoats. Parts of the Rockies would Le about what they are used to, and J wouldn’t swear that a man couldn’t raise them in low country if he brought them down young enough. Llama meat is about like mutton, only it lacks fat. Many thousand of the wild llamas or vicufias, from which the llama was domesticated by the In- dians, range the highest parts of the mountains of Bolivia and Peru. Sheep have been tried in the Andes and do fine. There are a number of small herds in Bolivia owned by native Indians and several larger herds owned. by companies. Duncan Fox & Co., of New York, have some herds in the highlands of Peru. The native Indians are good men with both llamas and sheep, working cheap, honest, and un- derstanding the game from dealing with llamas all their lives. During the war a man could have cleaned up some money if he had put a herd into Bolivia and sold at the high prices. Even at the present time markets are good in Bolivia both in the cities and with the camps of the foreign mining companies. Alpaca has a steady market at all times. 2. The country along the Paraguay River is peculiar, being a mixture of swamp and prairie and a fine country for cattle. Tex Rickard has a big ranch down below the border of Bolivia a short ways. ‘This country is reported to‘be healthy in spite of the swamps it contains, and there is no doubt about it being good cattle country as they raise some fine animals in there farther down the river. There is also a good chance for shipping to market on the river. 3. The country you mention near Tarija is more to my liking, all things considered. In this part of the country and at this altitude you have a climate COmiclbook re) S (© iin