As is well known, in the south of Chile there are many Germans and it is commonly cited as one of the danger spots of German expansion in South America. Those who argue so fail to take into consideration the remarkably strong hold that Chile has on her children. In no other part of South America do foreigners become so fond of the soil as in Chile. Even those of English ancestry are prouder of the history of Chile than they are of that of England. I have heard them go so far in praise of their adopted land as to deride England and predict her downfall. In Buenos Aires, on the other hand, they continually revisit the homeland and pride themselves on their close connection with it. There one sees little of that devotion to the country of their adoption which is in evidence here.
Among the spectacles provided for the benefit of the delegates, the most interesting was a military tournament that was worth going a long way to see. The Chilean cavalryman is a remarkably daring horseman. His Spanish and Araucanian ancestry have given him qualities that appeal to the eye and to one’s admiration of courage. Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the afternoon was the charge made by a squadron of cavalry over a burning hurdle. A brush fence, well soaked in kerosene, was erected in front of the grandstand and set on fire. Starting to windward, the squadron charged, vaulted over the flames and dashed away in the smoke, only to turn in the face of a strong wind which blew the smoke and flames into the very faces of the horses, dash back again, and in perfect order clear the fiery obstacle with as much ease and grace as though it had been a peaceful country fence. As an exhibition of training it was extremely significant.
President Montt,[1] who was extremely kind and courteous to us, and is one of the most able and honest officials that South America has ever seen, sent us an invitation one morning to attend the official inspection of the Military Academy. All the Chilean officers speak German and most of them have spent from two to three years studying in Germany. Like the army, the school is run on German models and is extremely well kept up. The neatness, discipline, cleanliness, and excellent sanitary arrangements were in marked contrast to most public buildings in South America. The cadets are a fine-looking lot of boys who are largely put on their honor. Few rules are made for their guidance but when any one is guilty of conduct unbecoming in an officer and a gentleman, he is permanently discharged from the academy. The instructors lay great stress on map-making. The exhibition of maps made by the students was remarkably interesting. The students are taught not only to make outline maps, but also to construct models of battlefields and even to draw sectional panoramas on a uniform scale. Three cadets are sent out to survey a position and to return in half an hour, each with a drawing which, fitted to that of his mates, will make a panorama that will enable the commanding officer to understand the situation and direct his forces intelligently. This is only one instance of the thoroughness with which the cadets are instructed. It is not remarkable that several other Latin-American countries have sent for Chilean officers to teach their cadets, and have even sent their own boys to study here.
The Congress closed on the evening of the 5th of January, 1909, with a grand banquet that was a blaze of glory. Eloquent speeches of mutual congratulation were delivered by the representatives of various parts of the two continents. Perhaps the most striking thing of the evening was the contrast between the speeches of that member of the American delegation who had been chosen to respond to the toast, “The United States,” and the one that followed it delivered by a brilliant young orator from Uruguay. As might have been expected, the latter was fiery, flowery, and ecstatic, while the former was dignified and well within the bounds of reason even in his compliments. The unexpected and very striking difference was that the American spoke better Spanish, pure Castilian, melodious and graceful. The Uruguayan speech was in the offensive dialect of Montevideo, harsh to the ear, resembling Portuguese in its guttural quality.
The only other speech of the evening that equalled the North American’s in beauty of diction was that of General Uribe Uribe, the delegate from Colombia. He ably upheld the reputation of his country for speaking the best Castilian in America. So far as one who is not a native may be permitted the privilege of judging by the effect on the ear, the inhabitants of Colombia and Peru speak the best, while the people of the countries of the River Plate speak the worst and most impure Spanish of any on the continent. The impurity is a natural result of their century-long dealings with the Portuguese in Southern Brazil; of the presence in their midst of a very large number of Italians whose speech is so like the Spanish that it easily corrupts it; and also of the fact that during the colonial epoch, Buenos Aires was not a centre of Spanish culture like Bogotá or Lima. On the contrary, as is well known, Buenos Aires was filled with a fairly rough lot of traders who made their fortune by smuggling and other illegitimate transactions. However much we may be inclined to justify such actions on their part by the injustice of the Spanish trade laws governing the commerce of the Indies, we cannot be oblivious to the fact that the kind of individual who would be willing to make his living by smuggling would probably not take pains to speak his native tongue with either elegance or careful attention to grammatical rules. In Lima and Bogotá, on the other hand, society was dominated by the official class, and however critically we may regard these proud Spaniards who were sent by their King to govern America, we must be willing to admit that they were likely to speak the beautiful language of Castile as perfectly as possible.
So much has been said of the inability of Americans to learn Spanish properly and to speak it gracefully (it is a common proverb in South America that English and Americans murder the soft Castilian) that it was a great pleasure to hear the official language of the Congress spoken better by a North American than by a South American. Furthermore, it was characteristic of their courtesy that the Spanish-American delegates at once complimented us on such an achievement.
CHAPTER XV
NORTHERN CHILE
Two days after the closing banquet, we rose early and hurried down to the station to take the morning express for Valparaiso. Notwithstanding the unseasonableness of the hour and the fatigue of recent entertainments, a large number of the hospitable folk of Santiago were on hand to bid us “Godspeed” on our journey. It is an extremely pleasant custom, this taking the trouble to welcome the coming and speed the parting guest by going out of your way to greet him at the railway station, or if in the country, to saddle your horse and ride out of town for a mile or two to accompany him. It takes time, to be sure, and time that, according to American standards, might be more profitably expended on attending to the business of adding up dollars and cents. Yet it does increase the store of friendly feelings in the world. The casual visitor to the United States too often has occasion to feel that we are so wrapped up in money-making that we have no time to be polite. As a recent British visitor said in comparing us with Mexico, “when one crosses the Rio Grande, the brisk and selfish American atmosphere is left behind.”
After an uneventful journey of four hours in a parlor car, we reached the water-front of Valparaiso.
Before going on board the steamer we had a few hours to give to sight-seeing and the purchase of furs brought here from the Straits of Magellan and the Andean highlands. We had time also to feel something of the excitement caused by the rapid fluctuation in the value of the paper dollar on the floor of the Valparaiso Stock Exchange.