APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN--PUBLIC BUILDINGS--A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE LOWER CLASSES--THE EATING-HOUSES OF
POLANEA--THE CHERUB (ANGELITO)--THE RAILROAD--GOLD AND SILVER MINES.
The appearance of Valparaiso is dull and monotonous. The town is
laid out in two long streets at the foot of dreary hills, which look
like gigantic masses of sand, but which really consist of large
rocks covered with thin layers of earth and sand. On some of these
hills are houses, and on one of them is the churchyard, which,
combined with the wooden church towers, built in the Spanish style,
relieves, in a slight degree, the wearisome uniformity of the
prospect. Not less astounding than the deserted look of the port,
was the miserably wretched landing-place, which is composed of a
high wooden quay, about 100 feet long, stretching out into the sea,
with narrow steps, like ladders, against the side. It was a most
pitiable sight to see a lady attempting to go up or down: all
persons who were in the least weak or awkward, had to be let down
with ropes.
The two principal streets are tolerably broad, and very much
frequented, especially by horsemen. Every Chilian is born a
horseman; and some of their horses are such fine animals, that you
involuntarily stop to admire their proud action, their noble
bearing, and the nice symmetry of their limbs.
The stirrups are curiously formed, consisting of long, heavy pieces
of wood, hollowed out, and into which the rider places the tips of
his feet. The spurs are remarkably large, and are often about four
inches in diameter.
The houses are constructed completely in the European style, with
flat Italian roofs. The more ancient buildings have only a ground
floor, and are small and ugly, while most of the modern ones have a
spacious and handsome first floor. The interior, too, of the latter
is generally very tasty. Large steps conduct into a lofty well-
ventilated entrance-hall on the first floor, from which the visitor
passes, through large glass doors, into the drawing-room and other
apartments. The drawing-room is the pride, not only of every
European who has settled in the country, but also of the Chilians,
who often spend very large sums in the decorations. Heavy carpets
cover all the floor; rich tapestry hangs against the walls;
furniture and mirrors of the most costly description are procured
from Europe; and on the tables are strewed magnificent albums,
adorned with the most artistic engravings. The elegant fire-places,
however, convinced me that the winters here are not as mild as the
inhabitants would fain have had me believe.
Of all the public buildings, the Theatre and the Exchange are the
finest. The interior of the former is very neat, and contains a
roomy pit and two galleries, portioned off as boxes. The
inhabitants of the town patronise the theatre a great deal, but not
so much on account of the Italian operas played there, as for the
sake of possessing a common place of meeting. The ladies always
come in full dress, and mutual visits are made in the boxes, all of
which are very spacious, and beautifully furnished with mirrors,
carpets, sofas, and chairs.
The second fine building, the Exchange, comprises a good-sized,
cheerful hall, with convenient rooms adjoining. From the hall there
is a pleasant view over the town and sea. The building belonging to
the "German Club" contains some fine apartments, with reading and
card rooms.
The only thing that pleased me about the churches were the towers,
which consist of two or three octagons, placed one above the other,
and each one supported by eight columns. They are composed of wood,
the altars and pillars of the nave being of the same material. The
nave itself presents rather a poor and naked appearance, occasioned
in a great degree by the absence of sittings. The men stand, and
the women bring with them little carpets, which they spread before
them, and on which they either kneel or sit. Ladies in easy
circumstances have their carpets brought by their maids. The
cathedral is called La Matriza.
The public promenades of Valparaiso are not very pleasant, as most
of the side-walks and roads are covered almost a foot deep with sand
and dust, which the slightest breath of wind is sufficient to raise
in thick clouds. After 10 o'clock in the morning, when the sea-
breeze begins blowing, the whole town is very often enveloped by it.
A great many persons are said to die here from diseases of the chest
and lungs. The most frequented places of resort are Polanka and the
lighthouse. Near the latter, especially, the prospect is very
beautiful, extending, as it does, on a clear day, as far as some of
the majestic snow-covered spurs of the Andes.
The streets, as I have already mentioned, are tolerably lively:
peculiar omnibuses and cabriolets traverse them frequently. The
fare from one end of the town to the other is one real (2.5d.)
There are also a great number of asses, mostly employed in carrying
water and provisions.
The lower classes are remarkably ugly. The Chilians have a
yellowish brown complexion, thick black hair, most unpleasant
features, and such a peculiarly repulsive cast of countenance, that
any physiognomist would straightway pronounce them to be robbers or
pickpockets at the least. Captain Bell had told me a great deal of
the extraordinary honesty of these people; and, in his usual
exaggerated manner, assured us that a person might leave a purse of
gold lying in the street, with the certainty of finding it the next
day on the same spot; but, in spite of this, I must frankly confess,
that for my own part, I should be rather fearful of meeting these
honest creatures, even by day, in a lonely spot, with the money in
my pocket.
I had subsequently opportunities of convincing myself of the
fallaciousness of the captain's opinion, for I often met with
convicts, chained together, and employed in the public buildings and
cleaning the roads. The windows and doors, too, are secured with
bolts and bars in a manner almost unknown in any town of Europe. At
night, in all the streets, and on all the hills which are inhabited,
are parties of police, who call out to one another in exactly the
same manner that the advanced posts do during a campaign. Mounted
patrols also traverse the town in every direction, and persons
returning alone from the theatre or from a party, often engage their
services to conduct them home. Burglariously entering a house is
punished with death. All these precautions do not, most decidedly,
argue much for the honesty of the people.
I will take this opportunity of mentioning a scene, of which I was
myself an eye-witness, as it happened before my window. A little
boy was carrying a number of plates and dishes on a board, when the
latter unluckily slipped from his grasp, and all the crockery lay in
fragments at his feet. At first, the poor fellow was so frightened
that he stood like a column, gazing with a fixed look at the pieces,
and then began to cry most bitterly. The passers-by stopped, it is
true, to look at the unfortunate child, but did not evince the least
compassion; they laughed, and went on. In any other place, they
would have raised a little subscription, or at least pitied and
consoled him, but certainly would not have seen anything to laugh
at. The circumstance is of itself a mere trifle, but it is exactly
by such trifles that we are often enabled to form a true estimate of
people's real characters.
Another adventure, also, but of quite a different and most horrible
kind, happened during my stay in Valparaiso.
As I have already remarked, it is the custom here, as well as in
many countries of Europe, to sentence criminals to hard labour on
public works. One of the convicts endeavoured to bribe his gaoler
to let him escape, and so far succeeded that the latter promised on
his paying an ounce (17 Spanish dollars--3 pounds 8s.) to give him
an opportunity for flight. The prisoners are allowed every morning
and afternoon to receive the visits of their friends and relations,
and likewise to accept provisions from them. The wife of the
convict in question profited by this regulation to bring her husband
the necessary money; and on receiving this, the gaoler arranged
matters so that on the next morning the convict was not fastened to
the same chain with a fellow-criminal, as is usually the case, but
could walk alone, and thus easily get clear off, more especially as
the spot in which they worked was a very lonely one.
The whole affair was very cunningly arranged, but either the gaoler
changed his mind, or, perhaps, from the beginning had intended to
act as he did--he fired at the fugitive, and shot him dead.
It is very seldom that any pure descendants of the original
inhabitants are to be seen; we met with only two. They struck me as
very similar to the Puris of Brazil, except that they have not such
small ugly-shaped eyes. In this country there are no slaves.
The dress of the Chilians is quite in the European taste, especially
as regards the women. The only difference with the men is that,
instead of a coat, they frequently wear the Poncho, which is
composed of two pieces of cloth or merino, each about one ell broad
and two ells long. The two pieces are sewn together, with the
exception of an opening in the middle for the head to pass through;
the whole garment reaches down to the hips, and resembles a square
cape. The Poncho is worn of all colours, green, blue, bright red,
etc., and looks very handsome, especially when embroidered all round
with coloured silk, which is the case when the wearer is opulent.
In the streets, the women invariably wear large scarfs, which they
draw over their heads in church.
My intention, on coming to Chili, was to stop for a few weeks in
order to have time for an excursion to the capital, Santiago, and
after that to proceed to China, as I had been told in Rio Janeiro
that there was a ship from Valparaiso to China every month.
Unfortunately this was not the case. I found that vessels bound to
that country were very seldom to be met with, but that there
happened to be one at that moment, which would sail in five or six
days. I was generally advised not to lose the opportunity, but
rather to abandon my design of visiting Santiago. I reflected for a
little, and agreed to do so, although with a heavy heart; and in
order to avoid all disappointment, immediately went to the captain,
who offered to take me for 200 Spanish dollars (40 pounds). I
agreed, and had five days left, which I determined to spend in
carefully examining Valparaiso and its environs. I should have had
plenty of time to pay Santiago a flying visit, since it is only 130
miles from Valparaiso, but the expenses would have been very heavy,
as there is no public conveyance, and consequently I should have
been obliged to hire a carriage for myself. Besides this, I should
have derived but little satisfaction from the mere superficial
impressions which would have been all I could have obtained of
either town.
I contented myself, therefore, with Valparaiso alone. I toiled
industriously up the surrounding hills and mountains, visited the
huts of the lower classes, witnessed their national dances, etc.,
determined that here at least I would become acquainted with
everything.
On some of the hills, especially on the Serra Allegri, there are the
most lovely country-houses, with elegant gardens, and a most
beautiful view over the sea. The prospect inland is not so fine, as
chains of tall, naked, ugly mountains rise up behind the hills, and
completely shut in the scene.
The huts of the poor people are miserably bad, being mostly built of
clay and wood, and threatening to fall down every moment. I hardly
ventured to enter them, thinking that the interior was of a piece
with the exterior, and was consequently astonished at seeing not
only good beds, chairs, and tables, but very often elegant little
altars adorned with flowers. The inmates, too, were far from being
badly dressed, and the linen hung out before many of these hovels
struck me as superior to much that I had seen at the windows of some
of the most elegant houses situated in the principal streets of the
towns of Sicily.
A very good idea of the manners and customs of the people may be
easily obtained by strolling, on Sundays and fete days, near
Polanka, and visiting the eating-houses.
I will introduce my reader to one of these places. In one corner,
on the ground, burns a fierce fire, surrounded by innumerable pots
and pans, between which are wooden spits with beef and pork,
simmering and roasting in the most enticing manner. An ungainly
wooden framework, with a long broad plank on it, occupies the middle
of the room, and is covered with a cloth whose original colour it
would be an impossibility to determine. This is the table at which
the guests sit. During the dinner itself the old patriarchal
customs are observed, with this difference, that not only do all the
guests eat out of one dish, but that all the eatables are served up
in one, and one only. Beans and rice, potatoes and roast beef,
Paradise apples and onions, etc., etc., lie quietly side by side,
and are devoured in the deepest silence. At the end of the repast,
a goblet, filled with wine, or sometimes merely water, is passed
from hand to hand, and after this had gone round, the company begin
to talk. In the evening dancing is vigorously pursued to the music
of a guitar; unfortunately, it was Lent during my visit, when all
public amusements are prohibited. The people themselves, however,
were not so particular, and were only too ready, for a few reaux, to
go through the Sammaquecca and Refolosa--the national dances of the
country. I had soon seen sufficient; the gestures and movements of
the dancers were beyond all description unbecoming, and I could but
pity the children, whose natural modesty cannot fail to be nipped in
the bud by witnessing the performance of these dances.
I was equally displeased with a remarkable custom prevalent here, in
accordance with which the death of a little child is celebrated by
its parents as a grand festival. They name the deceased child an
angelito, (little angel), and adorn it in every possible way. Its
eyes are not closed, but, on the contrary, opened as wide as
possible, and its cheeks are painted red; it is then dressed out in
the finest clothes, crowned with flowers, and placed in a little
chair in a kind of niche, which also is ornamented with flowers.
The relations and neighbours then come and wish the parents joy at
possessing such an angel; and, during the first night, the parents,
relations, and friends execute the wildest dances, and feast in the
most joyous fashion before the angelito. I heard that in the
country it was not unusual for the parents to carry the little
coffin to the churchyard themselves, followed by the relations with
the brandy bottle in their hands, and giving vent to their joy in
the most outrageous manner.
A merchant told me that one of his friends, who holds a judicial
appointment, had, a short time previous, been called to decide a
curious case. A grave-digger was carrying one of these deceased
angels to the churchyard, when he stept into a tavern to take a
dram. The landlord inquired what he had got under his poncho, and
on learning that it was an angelito, offered him two reaux for it.
The gravedigger consented; the landlord quickly arranged a niche
with flowers in the drinking-room, and then hastened to inform the
whole neighbourhood what a treasure he had got. They all came,
admired the little angel, and drank and feasted in its honour. But
the parents also soon heard of it, hurried down to the tavern, took
away their child, and had the landlord brought before the
magistrate. On hearing the case, the latter could scarcely restrain
from laughing, but arranged the matter amicably, as such a crime was
not mentioned in the statute book.
The manner in which patients are conveyed to the hospital here is
very remarkable. They are placed upon a simple wooden armchair,
with one band fastened in front of them to prevent their falling
off, and another beneath for them to place their feet on--a most
horrible sight when the sick person is so weak that he can no longer
hold himself in an upright posture.
I was not a little astonished on hearing that, in this country,
where there is yet no post, or, indeed, any regular means of
conveyance from one place to another, that a railroad was about
being constructed from here to Santiago. The work has been
undertaken by an English company, and the necessary measurements
already begun. As the localities are very mountainous, the railroad
will have to make considerable windings, in order to profit by the
level tracts, and this will occasion an enormous outlay, quite out
of proportion to the present state of trade or the amount of
passenger traffic. At present, there are not more than two or three
vehicles a day from one place to the other, and if by chance ten or
fifteen passengers come from Santiago to Valparaiso, the thing is
talked of over the whole town. This has given rise to the belief
that the construction of a railroad has merely been seized on as an
excuse, in order to enable those concerned to search about the
country undisturbed for gold and silver.
Persons discovering mines are highly favoured, and have full right
of property to their discovery, being obliged merely to notify the
same to the government. This licence is pushed to such an extent,
that if, for instance, a person can advance any plausible grounds
for asserting that he has found a mine in a particular spot, such as
under a church or house, etc., he is at liberty to have either
pulled down, provided he is rich enough to pay for the damage done.
About fifteen years ago, a donkey driver accidentally hit upon a
productive silver mine. He was driving several asses over the
mountain, when one of them ran away. He seized a stone, and was
about to throw it after the animal, but stumbled and fell to the
ground, while the stone escaped from his grasp, and rolled away.
Rising in a great passion, he snatched a second from the earth, and
had drawn his arm to throw the stone, when he was struck by its
uncommon weight. He looked at it more closely, and perceived that
it was streaked with rich veins of pure silver. He preserved the
stone as a treasure, marked the spot, drove his asses home, and then
communicated his important discovery to one of his friends, who was
a miner. Both of them then returned to the place, which the miner
examined, and pronounced the soil full of precious ore. Nothing was
now wanting save capital to carry on their operations. This they
procured by taking the miner's employer into partnership, and in a
few years all three were rich men.
The six days had now elapsed, and the captain sent me a message to
be on board with my bag and baggage the next day, as he intended
putting out to sea in the evening; but on the morning of his
intended departure, my evil genius conducted a French man-of-war
into the harbour. Little imagining that this was destined to
overturn all my plans, I proceeded very tranquilly to the landing-
place, where I met the captain hastening to meet me, with a long
story about his half-cargo, and the necessity he was under of
completing his freight with provisions for the use of the French
garrison at Tahiti, and so forth: in a word, the end of the matter
was, that I was informed we should have to stop another five days.
In the first burst of my disappointment, I paid a visit to the
Sardinian Consul, Herr Bayerbach, and told him of the position in
which I was placed. He consoled me, in a most kind and gentlemanly
manner, as well as he could; and on learning that I had already
taken up my quarters on board, insisted on my occupying a chamber in
his country-house in the Serra Allegri. Besides this, he introduced
me to several families, where I passed many very pleasant hours, and
had the opportunity of inspecting some excellent collections of
mussel-shells and insects.
Our departure was again deferred from day to day; so that, although,
in this manner, I spent fifteen days in Chili, I saw nothing more of
it than Valparaiso and its immediate neighbourhood.
As Valparaiso is situated to the south of the Equator, and, as is
well known, the seasons of the southern hemisphere are exactly the
contrary of those of the northern, it was now autumn. I saw (34
degrees South latitude) almost the same kinds of fruits and
vegetables as those we have in Germany, especially grapes and
melons. The apples and pears were not so good nor so abundant as
with us.
In conclusion, I will here give a list of the prices which
travellers have to pay for certain things:--
A room that is at all decent in a private house costs four or five
reaux (2s.) a day; the table d'hote a piaster (4s.); but washing is
more expensive than anything else, on account of the great scarcity
of water, for every article, large or small, costs a real (6d.). A
passport, too, is excessively dear, being charged eight Spanish
dollars (1 pounds 12s.).