CHILE AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY

Uniform with This Volume

Cuba and Her People of To-day$3.00
By Forbes Lindsay
Panama and the Canal To-day. New Revised Edition3.00
By Forbes Lindsay
Chile and Her People of To-day3.00
By Nevin O. Winter
Argentina and Her People of To-day3.00
By Nevin O. Winter
Brazil and Her People of To-day3.00
By Nevin O. Winter
Guatemala and Her People of To-day3.00
By Nevin O. Winter
Mexico and Her People of To-day. New Revised Edition3.00
By Nevin O. Winter
Bohemia and the Čechs3.00
By Will S. Monroe
In Viking Land. Norway: Its Peoples, Its Fjords and Its Fjelds3.00
By Will S. Monroe
Turkey and the Turks3.00
By Will S. Monroe
Sicily, the Garden of the Mediterranean3.00
By Will S. Monroe
In Wildest Africa3.00
By Peter MacQueen

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

A CHILEAN GIRL WITH THE MANTA.

([See page 90])

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.

CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
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]
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]