Project Gutenberg's Chile and Her People of To-day, by Nevin O. Winter This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Chile and Her People of To-day Author: Nevin O. Winter Release Date: October 6, 2019 [EBook #60438] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILE AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY *** Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) CHILE AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY [i] Uniform with This Volume Cuba and Her People of To-day $3.00 BY FORBES LINDSAY Panama and the Canal To-day. New Revised Edition 3.00 BY FORBES LINDSAY Chile and Her People of To-day 3.00 BY NEVIN O. WINTER Argentina and Her People of To-day 3.00 BY NEVIN O. WINTER Brazil and Her People of To-day 3.00 BY NEVIN O. WINTER Guatemala and Her People of To-day 3.00 BY NEVIN O. WINTER Mexico and Her People of To-day. New Revised Edition 3.00 BY NEVIN O. WINTER Bohemia and the Čechs 3.00 [ii] BY WILL S. MONROE In Viking Land. Norway: Its Peoples, Its Fjords and Its Fjelds 3.00 BY WILL S. MONROE Turkey and the Turks 3.00 BY WILL S. MONROE Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean 3.00 BY WILL S. MONROE In Wildest Africa 3.00 BY PETER MACQUEEN L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. A CHILEAN GIRL WITH THE MANTA. (See page 90) [iii] CHILE AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY AN ACCOUNT OF THE CUSTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, AMUSEMENTS, HISTORY AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE CHILEANS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES OF THEIR COUNTRY BY NEVIN O. WINTER Author of “Mexico and Her People of To-day,” “Guatemala and Her People of To-day,” “Brazil and Her People of To-day,” “Argentina and Her People of To-day” ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL AND SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR BOSTON L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY MDCCCCXII Copyright, 1912 By L. C. Page & Company (INCORPORATED) All rights reserved First Impression, January, 1912 Electrotyped and Printed by THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A. PREFACE To the jealousy of Francisco Pizarro was due the discovery and conquest of Chile. Reports having reached Pizarro that there were regions to the south yet virgin, and teeming with wealth richer than that of Peru, he sent Diego de Almagro, one of his lieutenants, with an expedition to conquer these unknown lands. Almagro failed, and later he sent Pedro de Valdivia with another expedition. There was another reason for sending these expeditions, for Pizarro hoped that neither of these men would return to Peru, since he feared their shrewdness and popularity. Valdivia succeeded in establishing a permanent settlement, but himself fell a victim to the hardy tribesmen of the central valley of Chile, who were far different from the soft and mild Incas enslaved by Pizarro. He had found that it was no easy task he had undertaken, and the sturdy race of Araucanians was still unconquered when the Spaniards were driven out of the country by the generations that had grown up from the time of its first settlement. The Chileans have ever been independent in thought and action, and they have proved to be the best soldiers of South America. The temperate climate, the mountainous character of the country and its isolation, and the admixture of blood with the unconquerable Araucanians, who most nearly resemble the North American redmen of any of the aborigines of South America, have all contributed to the development of this characteristic. The government is now as stable and hopeful as that of any of the South American nations, and, because of its natural formation, Chile has developed into the strongest maritime nation of that continent. Its fine bays and harbours, its coal supplies and its long seacoast, undoubtedly destine Chile to be the master of the southern seas in the ages yet to come. Furthermore, its vast and fertile valleys, where every product of the temperate climate grows, and where immense herds of cattle may be fed, its mineral wealth and vast nitrate fields, undoubtedly destine it to a greatness on land as well as on the sea. The history of Chile has always appealed to the writer, in common with thousands of other people, and it has been a pleasure to trace the development of the country from its incipiency to its present condition. The same care has been exercised in the preparation of “Chile and Her People of To-day” as in the other books of the series, which have been so well received. Any repetitions that appear of expressions or ideas are intentional and not the result of hasty or careless preparation. The author wishes to acknowledge his obligation to The Pan-American Bulletin for two or three photographs which appear in this work, and also to the Bureau under which it is issued for many courtesies received at the hands of the Director and his associates. Nevin O. Winter. Toledo, Ohio, January, 1912. [iv] [v] [vi] [vii] [viii] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Preface v I. The Country 1 II. The West Coast 19 III. Vale of Paradise 46 IV. The City of Saint James 69 V. The Granary of the Republic 92 VI. The Land of the Fire 120 VII. The Backbone of the Continent 148 VIII. A Laboratory of Nature 178 IX. The People 191 X. An Unconquerable Race 212 XI. Education and the Arts 230 XII. The Development of Transportation 243 XIII. Religious Influences 261 XIV. The Struggle for Independence 280 XV. The Nitrate War 315 XVI. Civil War and Its Results 336 XVII. Present Conditions and Future Possibilities 360 Appendices 391 Index 405 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE A Chilean Girl with the Manta (See page 90) Frontispiece Map of Chile 2 The Andes from Santa Lucia 6 The West Coast 20 A Milk Boy in Peru 28 Row Boats Crowding around a Steamer 33 The Harbour of Arica 36 A Street Scene, Antofagasta 42 Coquimbo, a Typical West Coast Town 44 An “Ascensor” in Valparaiso 47 A Chicken Peddler, Valparaiso 57 A Vender of Donkey’s Milk, Valparaiso 58 An Attractive Home, Viña del Mar 60 Santa Lucia 71 Alameda de las Delicias, Santiago 72 Dancing La Cueca, the National Dance 75 A Group of Newsboys, Santiago 81 A Market Scene, Santiago 82 The Oldest Building in Santiago 89 A Plantation Owner 97 Drawing an American Thresher 99 View of Puerto Montt 108 In the Straits of Magellan 122 A Wreck on the Coast of Chile 128 General View of Punta Arenas 132 Port Famine, in the Straits of Magellan 135 The Aconcagua River 149 Looking towards Aconcagua 151 [ix] [x] [xi] [xii] The Salto del Soldado 154 Refuge House along the Old Inca Trail 157 The Christ of the Andes 161 The Solitude of the Andes 163 Loading Nitrate 186 A Group of Chilean Girls 206 Ox Carts 223 The Escuela Naval, Valparaiso 233 The Harbour, Valparaiso 248 Juncal Station 258 Transandino Chileno Railway, Showing Abt System Of Cogs 260 A Chilean Priest 268 José de San Martin 289 Congress Palace, Santiago 305 Digging Nitrate 316 The Military Barracks, Santiago 346 Chilean Soldiers 352 A Market Scene, Valparaiso 364 The Battleship, “O’Higgins” 371 A Typical Coast Scene 377 The Custom House, Valparaiso 388 CHILE AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY CHAPTER I THE COUNTRY The republic of Chile has one of the strangest configurations of any country on the globe. It stretches over thirty-eight degrees of latitude, thus giving it a coast line of twenty-six hundred and twenty-five miles from its northern border to the most southerly point on the Fuegian Archipelago. It is a long and narrow ribbon of land, at no place wider than two hundred miles, and in places narrowing to sixty-five miles. It has an average width of only ninety miles, while the length is fully thirty times the average width. Placed on the western coast of North America, in the corresponding latitude, this republic would extend from Sitka, Alaska, to a point on the Pacific coast opposite the City of Mexico. If the state of Texas should be stretched out into a narrow strip of land two thousand and five hundred miles in length, it would give a fair idea of the peculiar shape of Chile. It follows quite closely the seventieth parallel of longitude, which would correspond with that of Boston. This strange development has been due to the Andean mountain range, which, with its lofty peaks and numberless spurs, forms the eastern boundary throughout its entire length. For a long time the boundary lines with its neighbours were in dispute, but these have all been successfully adjusted. [1] [2] Transcriber’s Note: The map is clickable for a larger version, if the device you’re reading this on supports that. Within these boundaries there is naturally a wide divergence of climate. In the north, at sea level, the vegetation is tropical, and it is semi-tropical for several hundred miles south. If one goes inland the mountains are soon encountered, and the line of perpetual snow is reached at about fifteen thousand feet, but this line descends as you proceed south. On the Fuegian Islands snow seldom disappears from sight, although at sea level it may all thaw. The temperature everywhere varies according to altitude and proximity to the sea. In the north it is milder than the same latitude on the eastern coast, because of the Antarctic Current which washes the shores, and at the south it is warmer than the same latitude in North America. Within these extremes, from the regions which are washed by the Antarctic seas to the banks of the Sama River, which separates it from Peru, and between the shores where the Pacific breakers roll and the Cordilleras of the Andes which mark the boundary with Argentina, there are two hundred and ninety-one thousand, five hundred square miles, and supporting a population of three and a quarter millions of people, of many shades of colour. One-fourth or more of the territory of Chile is made up of islands. The largest of these, of course, is Tierra del Fuego, of which a little more than one-half is Chilean territory. The coast from Puerto Montt to the southern limits of the continent is notched and indented with fiords and inlets, and scores of islands have been formed, probably by volcanic action. Few of these have claimed any attention, and, of all those lashed by the waves of the Antarctic seas, Tierra del Fuego is the only one that has received any development. The sheep man has taken possession of portions of that island, and hundreds of thousands of sheep now graze on its succulent grasses. The island of Chiloé, near Puerto Montt, is one of the most important of the islands, and several small foreign colonies have been located on its rich soil. Some of the islands are very remote from the mainland. The most isolated one is Pascua, or Easter, island, which is at a distance of more than two thousand miles from the coast. It is almost in the centre of the Pacific Ocean. The San Felix and San Ambrosio groups, and that of Juan Fernandez, the reputed home of Robinson Crusoe, are also at a distance of several hundred miles from the shores of the republic. From the northern boundary to Concepción, the coast line is generally uniform and indentations are rare. There are only a few bays of any considerable size, and only an occasional cape or promontory. From Chiloé to Tierra del Fuego is a stretch of coast five hundred miles in length, which a glance at the map will show is a perfect network of islands, peninsulas and channels. This is the Chilean Patagonia. It provides scenery as grandly picturesque as the famous fiords along the coast of Norway, and greatly resembles that broken and rugged coast. The bays and gulfs cut into the shores to the foothills of the Andean range. They are of great depth. The Gulf of Las Peñas furnishes an entrance to this labyrinth at the north, and the Straits of Magellan at the south. Some of the passes are so narrow that they seem like gigantic splits in the mountain ranges—grandly gloomy and narrow. Through these openings in the rock the water rushes with terrific force owing to the action of the tides. But, once within, the opening broadens out into little bays, where the waters are as calm and serene as a mountain lake. These channels are a vast Campo Santo, or God’s Acre, of wrecked vessels. Numerous as the disasters have been the sight of a stranded boat is rare, for the grave is usually hundreds of fathoms deep. In every case, however, the wrecked vessel has given her name to the rock that brought disaster, and the official charts are dotted with the names of rocks, which thus form eternal headstones for the unfortunate vessels. One writer has given the following account of these channels:— “If one can imagine the Hudson River bordered continuously by verdure-covered mountains descending precipitously into the water, and jutting out here and there in fantastic buttress-like headlands, one has some idea of Messier Channel. [3] [4] [5] [6] But add to this a network of long, thin cataracts threading their way thousands of feet down through gullies and alleys from mountain crest to water edge. Far up the mountain sides they are so distant as to seem motionless, like threads of silver beaten into the crevices of the rocks; but near the water their motion can be both seen and heard as they fall amid the rocks to reach the sea.” The southern portion of the republic terminates in two peninsulas, known as King William and Brunswick, which are separated by the gulfs of Otway and Skyring. The Straits of Magellan then separate the mainland from the Fuegian Archipelago. This channel, which varies in width from one to twenty-five miles, is three hundred and sixty-two miles in length from Cape Pillar to Cape Virgenes, the latter being the eastern, or Atlantic, terminus. It affords a safe passage for vessels, and is used almost exclusively by steamers bound from one coast to the other. THE ANDES FROM SANTA LUCIA. After forming the plateau of Bolivia, the Andes, the backbone of South America, stretches down to the lower end of the continent. It is formed by a succession of high mountains, with lofty peaks covered with the eternal snows. At intervals passes are found which permit of access from one side of the mountain to another. The highest point of this mighty range is reached just opposite Valparaiso, Mt. Aconcagua, and from there it descends until, at the Straits of Magellan, it reaches sea level. It probably continues still farther, but its highest spurs are engulfed beneath the ocean. The width also varies greatly, from forty-five to one hundred miles. Along the Chilean border there are more than fifty definite peaks exceeding thirty-three hundred feet in height, and twenty-nine of more than ten thousand feet in altitude. Four are above twenty thousand feet. Most of these were originally volcanoes, but they are nearly all now extinct or quiescent. South of Aconcagua is a succession of lofty volcanic peaks, such as San José de Maipu, San Fernando, Tingueririca and others, all apparently extinct. Then follow Nevado del Chillan, Antuco, Villarica and Osorno, all of which occasionally emit vapour, and, lastly, the Tronador (thunderer) near the southern extremity of the country. By reason of its peculiar shape easy access is given to all parts of the republic, and the exploitation of its resources has been comparatively easy. In no place are the mountains far distant, and short spurs of railway connect the mineral deposits with the sea. Along the coast there are no fewer than fifty-nine ports, between which regular communication by steamer is carried on. Fourteen of these are ports of entry, in which customs houses are located, and the others are minor ports, at which only national coasting steamers stop. There are very many rivers in the country, but only a very few of them are any aid to navigation. They are mostly short streams which are formed by the melting snows of the Andes, and then rush onward toward the sea by a more or less direct route. The principal rivers are all in the southern half of the country. In the deserts of the northern section the waters formed by melting snows are evaporated or are absorbed by the parched soil long before they reach the sea. The Yelcho and Palena are the largest rivers of Chile. The latter is the longest, for it cuts through a pass in the Andes and runs back into Argentine territory for seventy-five miles. Others are the Maullin, Calle-Calle, Bio-Bio, Bueno and Maule. Some, such as the Bio-Bio and Maule, are navigable for short distances by vessels of shallow draft. Their importance to commerce is insignificant, however, when compared with the great rivers of the eastern coast. The Bio- Bio, for instance, is only one hundred and sixty miles long. They do furnish water for irrigation purposes, only a small portion of which has as yet been developed. There are several lakes in Chile, of which Llanquihue, Todos Santos, and Ranco are the most important. The two first mentioned have steam navigation. There are many valleys of very fertile land which can be made among the richest agricultural lands of the world. As a rule these valleys are small and irrigated by streams flowing from the east to the west. The great central valley, which runs in a southerly direction for several hundred miles from Santiago, is one of the most remarkable features of the country and the garden of the republic. This valley is almost six hundred miles in length from north to south, but varies [7] [8] [9] considerably in width. Its average width for the entire length is probably thirty miles. This is the granary of the country, and the source of its principal food supply. All of the cereals grow to perfection in this climate and on this soil. Wheat, barley, corn, rye and oats are cultivated in large quantities. All of the vegetables and fruits that flourish in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere also grow to large size. Alfalfa makes a fine pasture. And yet even this fertile valley has only been developed in part. Not more than one-fourth of the landed surface of Chile is fitted for cultivation, but of this portion not more than one-fourth has been touched by the agriculturist or ranchman. Hence there are great possibilities of development yet unexploited in this republic. Cattle and sheep are profitable and are increasing in number. The waterfalls, also, give great possibilities of cheap power for manufacturing purposes, and the future will probably find all of the railroads operated by electric power, because of the cheapness with which current can be produced. This result seems to be only the natural outcome of existing conditions. Such a country, with such a long extent of sea coast, would ordinarily be an almost impossible country to handle. It has, perhaps, been fortunate that the coast is easily reached in all parts, from the inhospitable deserts of the northern regions to the dense forests of the south. No country of equal size in the world has such a marvellously varied configuration. The humming-bird follows the fuchsia clear to the Straits of Magellan, and the penguin has followed the fish almost as far as Valparaiso. The government has done well in managing this ribbon-like country. Coast service has been built up and a longitudinal railway promises an interior development. Cross lines and transcontinental routes will provide much needed facilities for the interchange of commerce. The telegraph and telephone have linked together hitherto remote sections, and a creditable postal service has been created. Chile is a republic, with the customary division into legislative, executive and judicial branches. It is not a confederation of provinces, as in Brazil and Argentina, but is a single state with one central government. It is divided for governmental purposes into twenty-three provinces and one territory. These are again divided into departments, districts and municipalities. Congress is composed of a Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The former is at present composed of thirty-two members and the latter of ninety-four. Deputies are elected for a term of three years by direct vote, in the proportion of one to every thirty thousand inhabitants. Senators are elected for six years in the proportion of one to every three deputies, and the terms of one-third expire every two years. Members of the House of Deputies must have an income of five hundred dollars a year, and a Senator must be thirty-six years of age and is required to have an annual income four times that sum. Congress sits from June 1 to September 1 each year, but an extra session may be called at any time. A peculiar feature is that during the recess of Congress a committee consisting of seven from each house acts for that body, and is consulted by the President on all matters of importance. The President is chosen by electors, who are elected by direct vote, for a term of five years. He serves the state for a salary of about eleven thousand dollars, including the allowance for expenses. He is ineligible to serve two consecutive terms and may not leave the country during his term of office, or for one year after its expiration, without the consent of Congress. He has a cabinet of six secretaries, who are known as Ministers of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Public Instruction, Treasury, War and Marine, Industry and Public Works. The Minister of the Interior is the Vice- President, and succeeds to the office of President in the event of his death or disability. Elections are held on the 25th of June every fifth year, and inauguration of the new President follows on the succeeding 18th of September. The cabinet may be forced to resign at any time by a vote of lack of confidence by Congress, to whom they are directly responsible. In addition to the cabinet there is a Council of State consisting of eleven members, six of whom are appointed by Congress and five by the President, who assist that official in an advisory capacity. Furthermore, when Congress adjourns, it appoints a standing committee of seven from each house, which acts as the representative of that body during vacation. The President must consult with it in certain matters, and the committee may request him to call an extraordinary session if, in their opinion, such a course is advisable. There is a national Supreme Court of seven members that sits at Santiago, which is the final judicial authority. Courts of appeal consisting of from five to twelve members also sit at Santiago, Valparaiso, Tacna, Serena, Talca, Valdivia and Concepción. There are also a number of minor courts which are located in the various provinces and departments. Each province is governed by an intendente, who is appointed by the President of the republic. The departments are governed by governors, who are subordinate to the intendentes, and the districts by inspectors, who are also appointed. The only popular element is the municipal district, or commune, which is governed by a board composed of nine men, who are elected by direct vote in each municipality. When the Spaniards reached Chile they found native races occupying it. In the northern portions the tribes were under at least the nominal sway of the Incas, although separated from them either by the inhospitable Andes or dreary desert wastes. In the great central valley, however, the land appeared a pleasant garden, and so rich that nowhere had the Spaniards seen anything similar either for its fertility or the wealth of its fruits and herds. “It is all an inhabited place and a sown land or a gold-mine, rich in herds as that of Peru, with a fibre drawn from the soil rich in food supplies sown by the Indians for their subsistence”—so wrote the chroniclers. They lived in comfort and had a certain civilization. Each cacique had his own ranch house, the number of doors indicating the number of his wives, of which some had as many as fifteen. These people were the Araucanians, who proved to be a brave and courageous race. The Spaniards immediately began their usual cruelties and efforts to enslave these people, but succeeded only temporarily. The natives soon rose in rebellion. Three hundred years of warfare decimated their ranks, but did not subdue them, and when the Spanish rule ended these people were as unconquered as when it began. Their history has been written in blood, but it is the struggle of a heroic race, and it is not dimmed by the excesses and cruelties that attached to the Spaniards in their efforts to subjugate and enslave these valiant people. After he had conquered Peru, Pizarro sent an expedition south to explore the country and take possession of it in the [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] name of the King of Spain. One of his lieutenants, Diego de Almagro, was placed in charge. He crossed the great nitrate desert and reached as far as Copiapó, where he was driven back by hostile Indians. He had reached a valley called by the natives Tchili, which signified in their language beautiful, and that name was given to the country. A few years later, in 1540, another expedition was fitted out under Captain Pedro de Valdivia, which was more successful. He marched as far as the present city of Santiago, and founded a city, which has ever since remained the capital. Although colonists came from Spain, little progress was made for a long time because of the hostility of the Araucanian Indians. These attacks continued until 1640, when a treaty was concluded with these indomitable natives by which the Bio-Bio River was established as the boundary, and both together were to resist the English and Dutch buccaneers, who had begun to harass the coast. Early in the nineteenth century the spirit of independence reached Chile, and insurrections against the Spanish authorities broke out. On the 18th of September, 1810, the Spanish authorities were deposed and a provisional government was set up. Troops were poured in by Spain, and it was not until 1818, when the Spanish troops were defeated in the battle of Maipu by the Argentine general, San Martin, that freedom from the foreign yoke was secured. General Don Ambrosio O’Higgins, an Irish patriot who had greatly distinguished himself in the war for freedom, was chosen as the first President, and he introduced many reforms and endeavoured to ameliorate the condition of the natives. The Jesuit missionaries followed in the wake of the soldiers and began their work of converting the natives. Since that time there has been considerable internal struggle between rival political factions, and some foreign troubles. There was a brief war with Spain, a frightful conflict with the neighbouring republic of Peru, and disagreements with Bolivia and Argentina. A few years ago war with the latter country seemed inevitable over the international boundary, but wise counsels prevailed and the matter was successfully arbitrated. At the present time peace prevails, although there are continual mutterings in Peru, and that country only needs a hot-headed leader to bring about another war with Chile over the lost revenue from the nitrate fields. The Chileans are a brave and a courageous people. The natural boundaries have no doubt aided in developing a national spirit and love of independence. Truly no people in South America have fought so long and so hard to achieve national independence. The Araucanian mixture has brought virility and industry into the race—a far different element than the Inca blood farther north. These Yankees of the South American continent have accomplished much, and there is still greater promise for the future. CHAPTER II THE WEST COAST Cruising along the west coast of South America is a delightful experience. It is the perfection of ocean travel. One is always sure of fine weather, for it neither rains nor blows, and the swell is seldom strong enough to make even the susceptible person seasick. In defiance of our idea of geography the sailors speak of going “up” the coast, when bound towards the south. The boats along this coast are built for fair weather and tropical seas. They have their cabins opening seaward, and the decks reach down almost to the water’s edge. Some swing hammocks and sleep on deck, and it is very comfortable. Such vessels would not be adapted for the stormy Atlantic, and would not live long in a storm upon the Caribbean Sea. Sailors say that the wind is never strong enough to “ruffle the fur on a cat’s back,” and this immense stretch of sea might be likened unto a great mill pond. It is this part of the ocean, between the Isthmus and Peru, that suggested to the Spaniards the name of Pacific. Near the equator the days and nights are equal. The sun ceases doing duty promptly at six, and reappears at the same hour the following morning. There is no twilight, little gloaming, and darkness succeeds daylight almost as soon as the big red ball disappears in the western sea. At night beautiful phosphorescence may be seen. The water is so impregnated with phosphorus, that each tiny wave is tipped with a light and the vessel leaves a trail of fire. From above the Southern Cross looks down upon the scene in complaisance. And thus the days pass in succession one after the other. The temperature is not uncomfortable, as the Antarctic Current tempers the tropical sun, and there is generally a southerly or southwesterly wind that aids. It is a pleasanter ride, and subject to fewer inconveniences than the ride along the eastern coast of the continent. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] THE WEST COAST. When the Stars and Stripes have faded from view at Balboa, and the jagged backbone of the continent has disappeared into the mists on either horizon, towards Nicaragua and Colombia, one feels that a new world has been reached. The real South America has been entered, and, when the good ship crosses the Line, about the third day out, home and the rest of the world seem very far away. It is a long journey to Valparaiso, Chile, if one takes a steamer that stops at all the intermediate ports, as it lasts more than three weeks. There are swifter vessels, however, that avoid Ecuador and make the journey in twelve days. The slower vessels follow the coast line, and the passenger is given many a view of the Andes, whose peaks are crowned with eternal snows but are frequently wrapped in fleecy clouds. At Guayaquil, the westernmost city of South America, it is even possible on occasions in clear weather to see Chimborazo, eighty miles from the sea. Nowhere in the world is there a greater assembly of lofty peaks than will be seen as the vessel proceeds along the coast. The Spaniards called these “sierras,” because their uneven summits resembled the teeth of a saw. Some of the peaks are regular in outline, but more often they are irregular and even grotesque, so that the imaginative minds of the natives have fancied resemblances to works of nature and have given them corresponding names. Nowhere in the world are there stranger freaks in geological formations, or more startling contrasts. Near the coast run the foothills, which gradually become higher and bolder until they end in the loftiest peaks. Back, and beyond all, an occasional volcanic peak may be seen lifting itself in solitary grandeur. At the mouth of the Guayas River, in Ecuador, there is a dense growth of tropical vegetation. It seems to be a veritable hothouse of nature, where plants and trees wage a desperate war for existence against the vines, mosses and other parasites that attack them. This is the end of such scenes, however, for days and days. It would be difficult to find a more dreary aspect than the coast of South America from the boundary of Ecuador almost to Valparaiso. From the water’s edge to the Andes chain of mountains stretches a yellow and brown desert, unrelieved by a tinge of green, except where irrigation has been employed. At midday all is clear, but in the evening a purple haze covers the whole landscape. It bears a close resemblance to parts of Arizona and New Mexico in general characteristics. Cliffs three hundred to four hundred feet high, and which are scooped out into fantastic shapes, often form the water’s edge. The distant mountains look gloomy and forbidding. It very seldom rains there, perhaps once in six or seven years is a fair average. In other places a generation can almost grow up and pass away without an experience with rain. When it does rain, however, the desertlike plains and slopes immediately spring into life. Where for years there has been nothing but drifting sands appear meadows of nutritious grasses, and flowers and plants spring up in great confusion. Wherever the seeds come from is a mystery, but every nook and corner is soon ablaze with vegetation. The boats stop at many ports from Ecuador to Chile. These little towns will be found nestling in little hollows at the foot of the hills, or tacked on the hillside. Each one is walled away from the other, and each is a gateway to a fertile valley or rich mining section. Sometimes a narrow gauge railway runs back into the interior, but there are no connections coastwise. The steamer furnishes the only communication with the world beyond, and the arrival of the boat is an event of great importance. Each town has its own specialty. At Guayaquil and Paita many merchants will come aboard with Panama hats, and good-natured bargaining will then be carried on with the passengers. Buying a hat is a tedious matter. The seller does not expect more than about one-third of the price he asks. If the passenger looks indifferent the native will hunt him up and reduce his offer. “How much would the señor give?” “Thirty soles! That would be robbery.” But the ship’s gong strikes and the time of departure is at hand. “Here, señor, is your hat. Muchas gracias. Adios!” The deal is concluded, and you have your hat at the price you offered, if you are shrewd enough to see that a cheaper hat was not substituted at the last minute. Deck traders board the vessel and stay with it for days, doing a good business in almost everything from vegetables and fruits to dry goods, and jewelry. Parrots, monkeys and even mild-eyed ant- eaters are offered the passengers for pets. Passengers join the boat at every stop, and, instead of hat boxes, as [21] [22] [23] [24] American women would be burdened with, the women here all bring on board their bird cages with their noisy occupants. Swarthy Spaniards and the darker-hued natives join the boat, many of them dressed in gay attire, and particularly wearing gaudy neckties and waistcoats. The boat always anchors at some distance from the shore, while passengers and freight are brought out either in lighters or row-boats. At some places a dozen lighters may be filled with freight for the steamer. The ship’s crew bring up from the hold scores of bales and boxes with labels familiar and unfamiliar. International commerce becomes real—almost a thing of flesh and blood. Each sling load brought up from the hold has its own tale to tell, and everyone becomes commercialized. The crowing of roosters at night, the bleating of sheep and bawling of the cattle remind you of a country barnyard at times, for the boat carries its own live stock, which are killed as the conditions of the larder demand. Thus it is that these slow galleons float along the coast past Paita, Pacasmayo, Salaverry, Pisco and the rest of the little ports. Five minutes after the ladder would be lowered the deck would become a floating bazaar. Guayaquil is the port for the equatorial republic of Ecuador. Quite a business is done there, for more than one-third of the world’s supply of cacao beans, from which our chocolate is made, comes through this port. It is generally infested with more or less fever, and most people prefer to make their stay as short as possible. One of the curious things to attract the traveller’s attention is to see the mules with their legs encased in trousers. This is not due to any excessive modesty on the part of the inhabitants, for children several years old may be seen without as much clothing on. The purpose is to protect the legs of the animals from the bite of the gadfly, which is very numerous here. It was near Guayaquil that Pizarro landed with one hundred and eighty men to conquer the empire of the Incas. The capital of Ecuador, Quito, lies in a saucer-shaped cup at the foot of Mt. Pichincha, with many other lofty peaks in sight. It perhaps retains more of the original characteristics than any other city of South America. It vies with the City of Mexico the distinction of being the oldest city of the Americas. For centuries prior to the coming of the Spaniards it was the capital of one of the branches of the Incas, and Atahualpa used to eat his meals off plates made of solid gold. Hitherto accessible only over a long and difficult mountain trail, which was impassable during half of the year, Quito can now be reached by a railroad—thanks to American enterprise. No less than twenty volcanoes are visible from the track, of which three are active, five dormant and twelve are classed as extinct. Callao (pronounced Cal-ya-o) is the principal port of Peru. It is always full of steamers and masts and has a general aspect of business. More than a thousand vessels touch here every twelve months. Its history has been exciting and there are many monuments to its heroes. Some warships are generally floating in the harbour. Lima is distant but seven miles from Callao, and it is a ride of only twenty minutes by an excellent electric road of American construction throughout. To the hum of the trolley one is hurried past irrigated fields, beautiful gardens and villas, and Inca ruins many centuries old. As the boats remain at Callao for a day the traveller is able to spend a few hours in the “City of the Kings,” as Pizarro christened it. Lima is a wonderfully interesting city, and its history is full of romance. It preserves in wood and stone the spirit of old Spain as it was transplanted into the New World. Carved balconies, which were patterned after their native Andalusia, still overhang the narrow streets of the Peruvian capital. Up-to-date electric cars whirl past old monastery walls where life has scarcely changed in three centuries. The Limaños are an easy-going, pleasure-loving people, among whom the strenuous life has few disciples. It has been the scene of many revolutions, and the marks of street fighting are numerous. Churches and ecclesiastical institutions abound on every hand, and ecclesiastics are numerous on the streets. The cathedral, in which the sacristan will show the alleged bones of Francisco Pizarro, is a fine specimen of architecture—one of the best in the world. On another corner of the plaza is the passageway from which the conspirators emerged on their way to assassinate the conqueror. The building which was the headquarters of the Inquisition in South America occupies still another site on the plaza. A MILK BOY IN PERU. [25] [26] [27] [28] Pisco is the next port of importance, and it is situated near a rich and fertile irrigated valley where sugar-cane grows abundantly. It is the port also for the interior towns of Ayacucho and Huancavelica, where numerous rich mines are found. Just a few miles out at sea are the Chincha Islands, from which Peru obtained such a large revenue for the guano found there. These deposits, once considered inexhaustible, because in places they were eighty feet or more in depth, have been almost exhausted. The great wealth received from them and nitrate has been dissipated. At Mollendo, the last Peruvian port, there is a railway that runs to La Paz, the capital of the inland republic of Bolivia. It is a surf-lashed port where vessels are sometimes unable to land their passengers and freight. In fact the landing is through a “sort of Niagara Gorge gateway of rock, which gives to the mere landing some of the noise and a good deal of the excitement of a rescue at sea.” It takes three days’ travel to reach La Paz from Mollendo, as the train only runs by day. The first stage of the trip, as far as Arequipa, is over an almost trackless desert, where the wind piles the sand up in movable half-moon heaps. The sand-storms of the centuries have covered everything with these whitish particles, and the dusted peaks and hillocks stand out without relief of any kind. The second day brings the traveller to Lake Titicaca, the sacred lake of the Incas, which is crossed by boat, and a side trip will take the traveller to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca confederacy. Lake Titicaca is the highest and one of the most wonderful lakes in the world. It is larger than all the lakes of Switzerland together, and lies in a hollow two and one-half miles above the waters of the ocean. Lying in a peaceful valley, in a scene of desolate grandeur, where the trees are stunted and only a few of the hardiest plants survive, lies La Paz. The City of Peace, its name indicates, but this city has been the scene of turmoil and strife entirely foreign to its name ever since the Spaniards invaded these solitudes. Bolivia is another Tibet—one of the highest inhabited plateaus in the world, as well as one of the richest mineral sections. In no part of the world, perhaps, is there such an abundance of life in sea and air as along the coast of Peru. Soon after leaving Callao the tedium of the voyage is relieved by the flight of millions upon millions of birds. There are gulls, ducks, cormorants, divers of all kinds and great pelicans with huge pouches under their bills. The sea is as animated as the air, and schools of fish, innumerable in numbers, may be seen darting through the water with their fins showing above its surface. Danger besets them from above and from beneath. The divers poise on wing every few minutes and then drop suddenly into the sea like a flash. For a few seconds they disappear beneath the surface, and then reappear with a fish in their bills. The lumbering and stately pelicans drop with a mighty splash that sends up a dash of spray. These greedy birds continue this foraging process until their pouches are so filled with fish that they are unable to rise out of the water until the load is digested or they disgorge themselves. The seals and sea lions keep themselves as busy as the birds, and constantly display their sinuous and shiny bodies above the surface, as they pursue the fish or come up to breathe. We passed by the famous guano islands just before nightfall. The air was filled with birds, all of which were flying toward a great island that lifted up its rocky surface above the blue of the sea. At some distance above the sea were the smaller birds, which, at a distance, looked like mere specks against the sky. A little lower were the pelicans flying in single file, and in flocks of from twelve to thirty. They seemed to play the game of “follow the leader,” for if the leader poised his wings or lifted himself higher all did the same. Near the surface were divers, called “pirates” in the local parlance, in flocks of a thousand or more. They sailed along just above the surface of the water and continually altered their formation. With the naked eye the number of birds was myriad, but the telescope showed ten times as many. As far as one could see there was the same multitude of birds, all heading for this one island. The island itself was black with the birds already settled for the night, but each new arrival seemed to find a resting place either on the surface of the rock or in the caves underneath. For countless ages these birds have occupied these sterile volcanic rocks as their resting place, and have deposited the guano which has brought millions of dollars of wealth into the Peruvian treasury. A glimpse of this remarkable bird life shows how the guano has accumulated in such enormous quantities. [29] [30] [31] [32] ROW BOATS CROWDING AROUND A STEAMER. The northern part of Chile contains the dreariest section of this forlorn coast. There are no harbours, and a tremendous surf which rolls half way around the world before it strikes a breakwater dashes into foam upon these beaches. Several prosperous towns are located here as a result of the workings of nature’s laboratories. To reach these ports it is necessary to trust yourself to one of the boatmen, who crowd around the ladder as soon as the vessel drops anchor. Judicious bargaining is always advisable, and never pay the boatman until he has returned you safely to your floating hotel. The boat is guided through the surf with amazing skill, and it is very seldom that an accident occurs. They sometimes crowd each other off, however, in their eagerness to get the best position at the bottom of the ladder and secure the first passengers. But all these men are good swimmers, and the only result is a good wetting and much amusement for the steamer’s passengers who welcome any diversion. Arica is the first port of importance in Chile at the north. It is only a day’s journey from Mollendo, the last Peruvian port. The Peruvian heaves a sigh when he enters Arica, but there is some hope in it, for he trusts to add this province to Peru’s possessions at some time in the future again. But at Iquique the hope fades, for sovereignty is lost for ever. Although not a large town, Arica has been the scene of several memorable events. It was here that were built the boats which carried the troops for the conquest of Chile. It was at that time a place of some importance among the natives, and the valleys back of it were densely populated and were cultivated by means of irrigation. Sir Francis Drake touched at this place in 1579, and found a collection of Indian huts on the shore. It is supposed to have been founded in 1250 by the Incas. It is like an oasis in the desert to the traveller who has coasted along the shore for days or weeks without seeing vegetation. At the present time it is famous for its oranges. They are grown in the rich valleys that lie behind the rather unattractive and forbidding hills next to the coast, and through the opening in the flat-topped hills one is permitted to catch glimpses of these valleys. Near the coast is a prehistoric cemetery filled with dead bodies, which were embalmed with almost as great skill as the mummies of Egypt. Arica is a pleasant little place of several thousand inhabitants. There is a handsome little plaza which encloses a plot of shrubbery adorned with morning-glories and purple vine trees. One of the striking features is the brilliant colouring of the houses. There is also a rather imposing parochial church which is painted in the gaudiest colours that I have seen in any country; and it would be hard to duplicate it anywhere, even in Spanish America, a land of rich colouring. It used to be a great market for the skins of the vicuña, which are so beautiful. In late years, however, the skins are becoming less plentiful and the prices have jumped accordingly. The harbour is commodious and well sheltered. Interesting glimpses of native life are afforded by the Indian women coming to town. Some of them ride astride, being almost concealed by the huge panniers containing their market produce. Others trudge along by the side of the animals. From this city a highway runs into the interior of Peru and Bolivia, which was constructed by the Incas a thousand years ago and has been used ever since. To-day caravans of mules, donkeys and llamas may be seen constantly passing up and down this ancient trail. They bring down ore and take back mining supplies and miscellaneous merchandise. It is known as the “camino real,” and is several hundred miles long. Near here is supposed to be the underground outlet of Lakes Titicaca and Poopo. One argument advanced in favour of this theory is that a certain kind of fresh water fish that abounds in that lake is caught in considerable numbers in the ocean near this town. It has been the scene of several disastrous earthquakes. On August 13th, 1868, it was almost washed away, and many of its inhabitants perished in a tidal wave which came without warning and devastated the coast for a hundred miles. Two United States men-of-war, which were in the harbour at that time, were lifted from their anchorage by waves sixty feet high and carried inland a mile over the roofs of the town. One of the vessels, the Fredonia, was dashed against a ledge of rocks and entirely destroyed, while the other, the Wateree, was left lying in the sand. Everyone on the former boat was lost and about half of the latter. For many years the boat lying on the sand was used as a boarding house for the railway employees. [33] [34] [35] [36]