Montevideo, the capital and chief port of Uruguay, with a population approaching 400,000, is a pleasant city, a more homelike place than Buenos Aires and preferred as a residence by many, though doubtless more persons enjoy life better in the larger gayer capital. Favorably situated near the entrance, but on the Plata River, on a peninsula of high ground which shelters a good harbor on the west, while attractive beaches lie on the side towards the ocean, Montevideo is in some respects a contrast to South America’s metropolis, 100 miles distant, on the other shore. With fine drainage facilities it is a clean healthful city, well lighted, and well served by electric tramways. Pure water is brought a distance of 30 miles. Though with fine buildings, theatres, broad, well-paved avenues (150 miles of them), open squares, and attractive parks, the city seems quite up to date, yet somehow a trifle old fashioned, with an agreeable air of solid respectability. The hotels are comfortable, but only those facing the beaches, at a distance from the business section, are really of the first class. An underground telephone system is proposed.
Canelones is directly north and east of Montevideo, extending along the River Plata. In proximity to the Capital and with good rail connection, fruit growing and agriculture are important, viticulture is common; but even here the pastoral industry leads. Canelones boasts of several towns of 8000-10,000 population, one of which, Pando, a pleasant agricultural centre, is connected with Montevideo by a good macadamized road.
San José, west of Montevideo and Canelones, has industries similar to the latter with timber in addition, supplying wood for fuel and for building.
The capital, San José, with a population of 15,000, has the distinction of being the largest of the country towns as distinguished from the ports. It has a good macadam road to the capital, Montevideo, 60 miles, and an up-to-date flour mill.
Colonia, west of San José, running up to the entrance of the Uruguay, is called the richest Department of the Republic. Agriculture, dairy farming, fruit and viticulture are well developed; its stone quarries are worked; and lying opposite Buenos Aires, with good steamship service to that city as well as rail connection with Montevideo, it is certain of increasing prosperity.
The capital city of Colonia is a quiet old town with historic associations; a new town three miles east has been created as a pleasure resort. Colonia Suiza, with 4000 people and many Swiss chalets, is devoted to the dairy industry; one enterprising proprietor who began as a milk peddler now turns out from his factory in the spring one ton of butter daily.
Soriano on the Uruguay River, nevertheless has its chief town, Mercedes, population 18,000, on a tributary, the Rio Negro, here one-fourth of a mile wide. The main industry is cattle raising; the town has a saladero and is also a centre of charcoal making. Stone quarrying is carried on in the Department and some minerals exist, topaz and amethyst in considerable abundance. A peculiar water stone is of curious and undetermined origin.
Rio Negro follows on the north of the Negro River, the chief centre for the breeding of live stock, as might be expected from the fact that the capital is Fray Bentos, the original home of the Liebig industry, beginning in 1865. The company now owning nearly 5,000,000 acres, and establishments elsewhere, Fray Bentos is of less relative importance than formerly; yet with 180,000 cattle slaughtered here in a single season, the business is considerable. It is quite a model town, with good streets and homes for employes, schools, etc.
Paysandú, the next Department north, has a larger population of which the capital of that name contains nearly half, 22,000, being the second city of the Republic in commercial importance. Electric lights and telephones are in service, also horse cars. Here the stream narrows and this is the last port of call for ocean steamers. The chief employments in the Department are agricultural and pastoral; there are some meat curing factories.
Salto, Department and city, each with larger population than the Department south, is also a pastoral region; but it is rich in minerals, and is an important wine producing district, where a great variety of other fruits, including oranges, flourish well. Here the Uruguay River is bridged to Concordia in Argentina, an important railway centre. This is called the head of navigation, as here are falls and rocks, but smaller boats ply the river above.
Artigas, the most northern Department with a long frontier on Argentina and Brazil both, has some railway service, though not the main line to Brazil. The capital, Artigas, population 10,000, is on the Brazilian border. This Department has more timber, hard and soft, and less agriculture and grazing. Some districts are noted for minerals and precious stones.
Rivera is next along the Brazilian border, one of the largest Departments. The capital, population 15,000, is a clean, well paved town, of growing importance as the terminus of the Central Uruguay Railway, here connecting with the Brazilian Railway to São Paulo. The Department, though thinly peopled, has considerable agriculture and gold mines of importance.
Tacuarembó, directly south, largest of all the Departments, is the most sparsely populated. It is chiefly devoted to agriculture; tobacco flourishes, and rice culture has met with some success. Gold and manganese are found.
Cerro Largo next to Rivera on the Brazilian border is chiefly pastoral with agriculture advancing. Its prosperity is likely to increase with connection with Brazil now planned from the capital, Melo, 14,000 population, the present railway terminus.
Treinta y Tres, its capital with 8000 population, is chiefly pastoral with very little agriculture; it is well wooded with valuable timber. The great Lake Mirím along the eastern border is of much value, and further railway construction will promote development.
Rocha, south of Treinta y Tres, has also a long eastern frontier on the Lake, a bit of Brazil, and much on the Atlantic. Grazing is the chief industry with some viticulture. Seal fishery is important, and there are minerals: copper, gypsum, alabaster, marble, jasper.
Maldonado, south of Rocha and east of Canelones, also borders on the ocean at the southeast. Chiefly pastoral, the Department has some agriculture and wine making. There is seal fishing on the islands off the coast. Timber will soon be important as tree planting is encouraged by the Government. The British Consul received a gold medal for planting over 10,000 maritime pines. The beginning was difficult, the young trees being continually buried in masses of sand. Dunes are characteristic of this coast. But when the trees were once established continuance was easy and now 100,000 or more are flourishing in this section. Others followed the example, making land formerly worthless now rated at $5-$25 an acre. Piriápolis, a new town west of the capital city, is a remarkable place due to the patriotic energy of Señor Piria, who here began planting trees over 20 years ago. These are now a forest, with millions of trees, seven miles of eucalyptus woodland stretching from the Piria castle to the ocean, near which a hotel has been erected and chalets, the beginning of a prosperous town and summer resort. A railway serves this western edge of Maldonado.
Minas is back of Maldonado and west of Rocha. It has pastoral and agricultural industries with a good endowment of minerals.
Florida, west of Minas and north of Canelones, abounds in cattle and is developing agriculture.
Durazno, north, in the centre of the Republic, is also chiefly devoted to cattle raising.
Flores, west of Durazno, is not well populated and is chiefly pastoral.
Ocean Ports. The only ocean port of importance in Uruguay is Montevideo and this indeed is on the Plata River. It ranks, however, among the best in South America in depth, capacity, and ease of access, admitting ships of 32-foot draft at low tide. A free port for goods in transit, where they may remain a year in the Custom House without tax, it has excellent docks and harbor works, including ample warehouses and facilities for handling all classes of merchandise, 1400 tons unloaded in ten hours. A port railway serves to connect sea and land traffic, transferring passengers as well as freight directly from steamers to railway cars. The port works constructed by the French, concluded for the most part before the War, cost in the neighborhood of $40,000,000. In the vicinity a Hotel for Immigrants accommodates 1000.
Ships of many lines call in passing, passenger steamers for Buenos Aires and many which do not go up the river, either because of too heavy draft, or to save time when on the way to the West Coast or to other ports. For some this is the ultimate destination. Nightly trips between the two great cities are made by steamers of the Mihanovich Line, which rival all but the finest plying between New York and Boston. Smaller steamers sail from here or pause on their way up the Uruguay, or the Paraná and the Paraguay, the latter perhaps going through to Corumbá, 1800 miles, those for the Uruguay at most 300 miles to Salto or Concordia.
River Ports. Montevideo would strictly come under this head. Others of importance are Colonia on the Plata and Paysandú on the Uruguay, to which ocean steamers of 14-foot draft may ascend; to Salto beyond, steamers of 8-foot draft. Above the rapids at Salto on the Uruguay and on a few of its branches smaller steamboats and other craft are used. The Rio Negro is navigable 50 miles to the town of Mercedes. The entire fluvial navigation is 700 miles. The Uruguay Navigation Company with a capital of $10,000,000 has recently been organized for traffic on the Plata, Paraná, Uruguay, and Paraguay Rivers.