It is important to ascend the hills in two or three different places, both for the view going up and for what is to be seen at the top. The ascensors are similar to those of Cincinnati, one being carried up by cable as another is coming down; but the inclines seemed steeper and one appeared rather rickety. There have been fatal accidents. However,—I went as do others. Near the top of one of the inclines which is but a short distance from the Hotel Royal is a cemetery where chapel-like tombs and pretty head stones and monuments are closely packed together among shaded walks on the very edge of the precipitous bluff. One has here a magnificent view of the city below fringing the semi-circular shore, of the blue waters, alive with ships, and of the surrounding hills. Through cañons here and there separating the various hills and bluffs, a few carriage roads wind steeply upward and more footpaths, by which some pedestrians climb; but most persons will prefer to save time and strength by taking their chances in an ascensor. Perched on these steep inclines are houses of the poor, while at the top are many fine villas occupied by native and foreign residents. Close to the Chilian cemetery on the bluff is the English burial ground surrounded by a high wall. In a far corner of this enclosure is a small marble tomb on a concrete foundation with a marble cross above, the whole about five feet high, in which Americans will have a special interest. The inscription reads:
“In memory of the officers and seamen slain on board the United States frigate Essex in this harbor in an engagement with H. R. Majesty’s frigate Phoebe and brig Cherub, February 28, 1814.” A list of 52 names follows and the statement that it was erected by officers of four ships of the United States Navy.
This ship, the Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, after inflicting much damage on British property, capturing 360 seamen and 100 cannon, was surprised in this harbor by two British ships. Though disabled by a squall she made a splendid fight until more than three-fifths of the crew were killed or wounded, and the ship was on fire in several places, when she struck her colors. A more conspicuous monument for the gallant dead might seem appropriate.
By another ascensor, a trip should be made to the Naval School, which crowns a splendid height nearer the outer edge of the harbor. A fine large building, well equipped in the best modern English fashion, stands back of a pretty garden. There are good class rooms, laboratories, machine shops with guns mounted as on board ship, and all essentials for a thorough and practical course of study. In the rear patios are athletic fields with bathing facilities. The cadets are generally from the best families, and the program of study is based on that of English schools; the fleet is organized on the British model, and the ships are constructed in British shipyards. There is, further, a training ship for sailors, where if unable to read and write they receive instruction, as do soldiers in a corresponding institution in Santiago.
On the fine broad Avenue Brazil is a handsome arch with the British Lion above, presented to the city by the British colony here, at the Centennial in 1910.
AVENIDA BRAZIL, WITH BRITISH MONUMENT
RESIDENCE VIÑA DEL MAR
Viña del Mar. An excursion should by all means be made to this suburb; to Miramar if time allows. The former may be reached by tram or train in half an hour or so. It is pleasant to go by one and return by the other. The tracks, nearly parallel, pass several pretty suburbs and give several glimpses of the sea beyond the harbor before reaching the destination. Viña del Mar is not only a suburb of Valparaiso whither many Englishmen and others go in the afternoon for sports, and where many business men of Valparaiso have homes, but it is also a fashionable summer resort for the wealthy residents of Santiago and other parts of Chile. It is a charming place with a pretty railway station near a large and attractive plaza. Many carriages stand near, in one of which for a few pesos a pleasant drive may be taken around the town and out to the hippodrome or race track, a mile or more outside the city. Within the track enclosure, a pretty spot surrounded by green hills, the foreigners have laid out a golf course, grounds for cricket, and for football. The place is thus visited, especially on Sundays, by many, not only for the races, to which the Chilians are as devoted as the Argentines, but for athletics of various kinds. The Chilian horses seem very large after those of Peru, and trotting is their specialty. Some of them do this so well that their gentle trot is as easy as the lope or canter of most other animals.