When in need, peons buy on credit, and will obligate anything they possess, present or prospective, in payment. They live from hand to mouth, and seldom have more than one day’s supply of food on hand. Their wants are few, they are easily satisfied and generally contented. In the production of articles requiring intelligence and skill, the women excel the men. In different localities they produce different kinds of articles. For example, in Linares they make a great variety of beautiful baskets and curios from colored horse hair and fine straw; in Talcahuano, Concepcion, Chillan and Quillota the country women devote their time to the production of pretty and durable lace called “minaque,” which is made by hand and in a variety of patterns; along the coast country they make excellent hats from the dwarf palm, called “olma”; in other localities they make baskets, large and small, useful and ornamental; they also make beautiful as well as useful articles from the horns of animals, and of wood, stone and paper. They are clever and adaptive in all of their occupations, but lack in those qualities which lead to independence. Their favorite position is sitting on the ground, and while engaged in their various occupations they carry on a chatty gossip about their personal affairs, or those of their neighbors, which is usually more racy than edifying.
There is a rustic beauty about the Chilean women in their youth, but their manner of living causes their beauty to fade at an early age, and at twenty-five the majority of them begin to look old and grow stout and homely. They acquire an erect carriage and grace of movement from the custom of carrying articles of various kinds upon the head. They have broad hips, well-developed busts, medium-sized feet and small, tapering hands. A bright, smiling, and attractive face, with sparkling eyes, small mouth, cherry lips and beautiful teeth, are some of the features of these peasant women. On Sundays and other feast days, when dressed in their quaint and fantastic costumes, in which brilliant colors form a conspicuous feature, they present an attractive appearance. They are polite, seldom bold and never intrusive. They are devotees of the Catholic church, but their religion is of a flexible character. They often go from the church to the “cancha de bola” to dance, drink and gossip, but are rarely drunk or disorderly. They are superstitious and believe in witchcraft. In their homes they are undemonstrative, but show their affection for their families and friends by their services and sacrifices, and their considerate attendance upon the aged rather than in expressions of sentiment and caresses.
Their love for their offspring is a question that is difficult to solve. If a male child is born they are pleased, because it means that the work of another peon will be added to the family resources. If a girl baby arrives, “it is too bad, but will serve.” In this and other ways they indicate that maternal love corresponds to the prospective benefits to be derived. If a child leaves its home, or dies, the parents show little grief or sorrow. Perhaps their sorrow is concealed from view,—at least it is to be hoped that such is the case.
The common drink among the people is “mate,” made from the leaves of the “yerba mate,” a plant that grows in Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Over five million pounds of mate, valued at more than 1,000,000 pesos, is imported into Chile annually. The beverage is made by steeping the leaves in hot water. It is drunk from a mate cup, an article peculiar to the country. They are usually the most expensive part of the household equipment. Many of those used by the better class of people are made of hammered silver, oddly shaped, curiously fashioned and artistically finished. They are frequently ornamented with quaint figures, representing birds, animals or reptiles. Others are made of gourds, artistically carved and ornamented with silver mountings, while common gourd cups serve the poor people. The method of drinking the mate is through a silver tube called “bombilla,” one end of which is enlarged, forming a kind of perforated ball, which serves as a strainer, preventing the dregs of the plant being drawn into the mouth. One of the curious and interesting sights in the country is the women sitting about the little ranchos indulging in their cups of mate.
The men comprising farmers No. 1 are more serious and more honest than the peons. Their food consists of wheat and beans. The wheat, which is roasted and ground into flour with a stone, is called “harina tostado.” It is eaten instead of bread, which they seldom have. When mixed with water or wine it makes a very nourishing drink, called “ulpo.” Sometimes when these poor farmer folk have a desire for bread, they buy a bag of flour, make a quantity of bread and sell it. When they have disposed of enough to pay for the flour, they convert the remainder of the supply into bread for home consumption.
From the families of this class of agriculturists the servants for the cities are obtained. The women act as house servants, in which capacity they have no responsibilities, simply performing such duties as they are given by their masters. They have no initiative, but make good servants, when properly trained. It is the custom to keep everything of value under lock and key, but the house servants, especially the women, are no more dishonest than those of other countries. The boys from the families in this class also go to the cities, where they become carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, harness-makers, or laborers. They seldom rise to ownership, or positions of greater responsibility than performing a certain kind of labor for specific wages. As they become more proficient in their work or trade, enabling them to command better remuneration for their services, they invariably imitate the better classes, spending more money than they earn, and are always “atrasado” (behind in their accounts).
Few of the poor or middle classes know their ages. No certificate is given of baptism. If a priest is asked why this is not done, he will say that it is useless, as they cannot read. If it becomes necessary to establish the right to an inheritance, the church record is examined, provided that the person whose age is to be ascertained knows where he was baptized, and that the church register is in existence.
LAND OWNER NO. 2.
Land Owner No. 2 possesses more land than No. 1, but his holdings are very small. He owns a cart, a few yoke of oxen, some cows, sheep, hogs and poultry. He freights grain, flour, and charcoal for others from haciendas to the mills or railway stations, thereby adding to his income. The surplus from his earnings he prudently invests in property. These farmers are, as a rule, provident, having always food supplies in their houses, yet they seldom lift their families out of the rut of poverty. Most members of the family, including the head of the house, either go barefooted or wear only rawhide sandals upon their feet the year round, except Sundays, feast days and special occasions. It is only the women who are permitted to indulge frequently in the luxury of shoes and clean gowns. The sons work with the father and not as peons for others. These people associate with Farmers No. 1, and even with the peons as equals. Not, however, without prideful reflection, for they consider themselves above their poorer neighbors, although they do not say so. They are not admitted to the society of Land Owner No. 3, or the hacendados, although they have many interests in common and commercial relations with those classes. If you are his guest he will serve you wine or water in a glass tumbler, but he never uses such an article himself, and perhaps you will be given a knife and fork with which to eat your food. These middle class farmers constitute the best element in Chile. They work honestly to gain a livelihood, and ask no favors from others. They are too poor to engage in politics.
A peculiar feature of the life of this class of people is the methods they resort to to save money and increase their possessions. They live solely upon the products of their little farms, and seldom eat what they can sell. They make bread, but eat very little of it, the family consumption being limited to the equivalent of the profits on that which is sold. They keep liquors in the house, but to sell. If an animal is slaughtered, some kind of a function is arranged, to which the neighbors are invited and the meat disposed of in a feast, their guests being served as long as they have money with which to buy. If a woman desires some article of dress or adornment, and has not the money with which to purchase it, she gives a feast. She will go to a neighbor who has a hog and negotiate for the animal on credit: she also purchases an “arroba” (ten gallons) of “chicha,” for which she gives her promise to pay, the credit extending until the respective articles are disposed of. The hog, “chancha,” is slaughtered, and the feast is announced. There is music and a number of women who dance and sing are there as a special attraction. These feasts always attract a crowd and by the time the chancha and the chicha are disposed of, the woman conducting the affair has made sufficient profit to pay her indebtedness and to purchase the desired article.