



Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.









[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AND HIS GUIDES THREE FAITHFUL MEN]




THROUGH FIVE REPUBLICS ON HORSEBACK

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF MANY WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA


BY


G. WHITFIELD RAY, F. R. G. S. Pioneer Missionary and Government Explorer


With an Introduction by the Rev. J. G. Brown, D. D. Secretary for the
Foreign Missions of the Canadian Baptist Church


TWELFTH EDITION--REVISED

EVANGELICAL PUBLISHING HOUSE C. HAUSER, Agent CLEVELAND, OHIO, U. S. A.
1915




[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICA]




PREFACE

The _Missionary Review of the World_ has described South America as THE
DARKEST LAND. That I have been able to penetrate into part of its
unexplored interior, and visit tribes of people hitherto untouched and
unknown, was urged as sufficient reason for the publishing of this
work. In perils oft, through hunger and thirst and fever, consequent on
the many wanderings in unhealthy climes herein recorded, the writer
wishes publicly to record his deep thankfulness to Almighty God for His
unfailing help. If the accounts are used to stimulate missionary
enterprise, and if they give the reader a clearer conception of and
fuller sympathy with the conditions and needs of those South American
countries, those years of travel will not have been in vain.

"Of the making of books there is no end," so when one is acceptably
received, and commands a ready sale, the author is satisfied that his
labor is well repaid. The 4th edition was scarcely dry when the
Consul-General of the Argentine Republic at Ottawa ordered a large
number of copies to send to the members of his Government. Much of it
has been translated into German, and I know not what other languages.
Even the _Catholic Register_ of Toronto has boosted its sale by
printing much in abuse of it, at the same time telling its readers that
the book "sold like hot cakes." A wiser editor would have been discreet
enough not to refer to "Through Five Republics on Horseback." His
readers bought it, and--had their eyes opened, for the statements made
in this work, and the authorities quoted, are unanswerable.

Seeing that there is such an alarming ignorance regarding Latin
America, I have, for this edition, written an Introductory Chapter on
South America, and also a short Foreword especially relating to each of
the Five Republics here treated. As my portrayal of Romanism there has
caused some discussion, I have, in those pages, sought to incorporate
the words of other authorities on South American life and religion.

That the following narratives, now again revised, and sent forth in new
garb, may be increasingly helpful in promoting knowledge, is the
earnest wish of the author.

G. W. R.

Toronto, Ont.




INTRODUCTION

"Through Five Republics on Horseback" has all the elements of a great
missionary book. It is written by an author who is an eye-witness of
practically all that he records, and one who by his explorations and
travels has won for himself the title of the "Livingstone of South
America." The scenes depicted by the writer and the glimpses into the
social, political and religious conditions prevailing in the Republics
in the great Southern continent are of thrilling interest to all lovers
of mankind. We doubt if there is another book in print that within the
compass of three hundred pages begins to give as much valuable
information as is contained in Mr. Ray's volume. The writer wields a
facile pen, and every page glows with the passion of a man on fire with
zeal for the evangelization of the great "Neglected Continent." We are
sure that no one can read this book and be indifferent to the claims of
South America upon the Christian Church of this generation.

To those who desire to learn just what the fruits of Romanism as a
system are, when left to itself and uninfluenced by Protestantism, this
book will prove a real eye-opener. We doubt if any Christian man, after
reading "Through Five Republics on Horseback," will any longer conclude
that Romanism is good enough for Romanists and that Missions to Roman
Catholic countries are an impertinence. We trust the book will awaken a
great interest in the evangelization of the Latin Republics of South
America.

Of course, this volume will have interest for others besides missionary
enthusiasts. Apart from the religious and missionary purpose of the
book, it contains very much in the way of geographical, historical and
scientific information, and that, too, in regard to a field of which as
yet comparatively little is known. The writer has kept an open mind in
his extensive travels, and his record abounds in facts of great
scientific value.

We have known Mr. Ray for several years and delight to bear testimony
to his ability and faithfulness as a preacher and pastor. As a lecturer
on his experiences in South America he is unexcelled. We commend
"Through Five Republics on Horseback" especially to parents who are
anxious to put into the hands of their children inspiring and
character-forming reading. A copy of the book ought to be in every
Sunday School Library.

J. G. Brown.

626 Confederation Life Building, Toronto.




A PRELIMINARY WORD ON SOUTH AMERICA

The Continent of South America was discovered by Spanish navigators
towards the end of the fifteenth century. When the tidings of a new
world beyond the seas reached Europe, Spanish and Portuguese
expeditions vied with each other in exploring its coasts and sailing up
its mighty rivers.

In 1494 the Pope decided that these new lands, which were nearly twice
the size of Europe, should become the possession of the monarchs of
Spain and Portugal. Thus by right of conquest and gift South America
with its seven and a half million miles of territory and its millions
of Indian inhabitants was divided between Spain and Portugal. The
eastern northern half, now called Brazil, became the possession of the
Portuguese crown and the rest of the continent went to the crown of
Spain. South America is 4,600 miles from north to south, and its
greatest breadth from east to west is 3,500 miles. It is a country of
plains and mountains and rivers. The Andean range of mountains is 4,400
miles long. Twelve peaks tower three miles or more above ocean level,
and some reach into the sky for more than four miles. Many of these are
burning mountains; the volcano of Cotopaxi is three miles higher than
Vesuvius. Its rivers are among the longest in the world. The Amazon,
Orinoco and La Plata systems drain an area of 3,686,400 square miles.
Its plains are almost boundless and its forests limitless. There are
deserts where no rain ever falls, and there are stretches of coast line
where no day ever passes without rain. It is a country where all
climates can be found. As the northern part of the continent is
equatorial the greatest degree of heat is there experienced, while the
south stretches its length toward the Pole Quito, the capital of
Ecuador, is on the equator, and Punta Arenas, in Chile, is the
southernmost town in the world.

For hundreds of years Spain and Portugal exploited and ruled with an
iron hand their new and vast possessions. Their coffers were enriched
by fabulous sums of gold and treasure, for the wildest dream of riches
indulged in by its discoverers fell infinitely short of the actual
reality. Large numbers of colonists left the Iberian peninsula for the
newer and richer lands. Priests, monks and nuns went in every vessel,
and the Roman Catholicism of the Dark Ages was soon firmly established
as the only religion. The aborigines were compelled to bow before the
crucifix and worship Mary until, in a peculiar sense, South America
became the Pope's favorite parish. For the benefit of any, native or
colonist, who thought that a purer religion should be, at any rate,
permitted, the Inquisition was established at Lima, and later on at
Cartagena, where, Colombian history informs us, 400,000 were condemned
to death. Free thought was soon stamped out when death became the
penalty.

Such was the wild state of the country and the power vested in the
priests that abuses were tolerated which, even in Rome, had not been
dreamed of. The priests, as anxious for spiritual conquest as the rest
were for physical, joined hands with the heathenism of the Indians,
accepted their gods of wood and stone as saints, set up the crucifix
side by side with the images of the sun and moon, formerly worshipped;
and while in Europe the sun of the Reformation arose and dispelled the
terrible night of religious error and superstition, South America sank
from bad to worse. Thus the anomaly presented itself of the old, effete
lands throwing off the yoke of religious domination while the younger
ones were for centuries to be content with sinking lower and lower.
[Footnote: History is repeating itself, for here in Canada we see
Quebec more Catholic and intolerant than Italy. The Mayor of Rome dared
to criticize the Pope in 1910, but in the same year at the Eucharistic
Congress at Montreal his emissaries receive reverent "homage" from
those in authority. No wonder, therefore, that, while the Romans are
being more enlightened every year, a Quebec young man, who is now a
theological student in McMaster University, Toronto, declared, while
staying in the writer's home, that,