Valparaiso.--Principal South American Port of the
Pacific.--A Good Harbor.--Tallest Mountain on this
Continent.--The Newspaper Press.--Warlike Aspect.--Girls as
Car Conductors.--Chilian Exports.--Foreign
Merchants.--Effects of Civil War.--Gambling in Private
Houses.--Immigration.--Culture of the
Grape.--Agriculture.--Island of Juan Fernandez.
Valparaiso--"Vale of Paradise"--was thus fancifully named because of its
assumed loveliness. True, it is beautifully situated, and is a fine city
of its class, located in an admirable semicircular bay, not upon one,
but upon many hills, backed by a crescent-shaped mountain range. But
when one compares its harbor to that of Naples, or Sydney in Australia,
for picturesqueness of scenery, as is often done, it only provokes
invidious remarks. The matchless harbor of Rio Janeiro, on the eastern
coast of the continent, already fully described in these pages, is far
more charming in general effect and in all of its surroundings, not to
mention that it is more than twenty times as large. Valparaiso is the
principal seaport of Chili, and indeed, for the present, it is the main
port of the entire west coast of South America. By consulting the map it
will be readily seen that Chili must ever be a maritime nation,
depending more upon an effective navy than an army. The possession of
the national ships of war by the Congressional party in the revolution
so lately terminated gave them virtual control of the cities along the
coast, at the outbreak of the emeute, and this means they employed
against the Presidential party with the most ruthless effect. They did
not hesitate to savagely cannonade and shell a city, though two thirds
of the occupants were their own friends and supporters, provided it was
held ostensibly, and for the time being only, by the supporters of
Balmaceda. The outrageous bombardment of Iquique is an instance in
illustration of this charge. The Chilian delights to be cruel; it is his
instinct to destroy and to plunder. He is by nature boastful,
passionate, and headstrong. This disposition seems to be born in the
race, is in fact a matter of heredity, fostered by bull-fights and
kindred entertainments. But the country must now pay for the enormous
destruction of property of which the directors of the civil war have
been guilty. The European powers have already begun to send in their
demands for damages done to their non-combatant merchants. England comes
first with a bill calling for payment of sixty million dollars. Spain,
Italy, and Germany will follow. It is estimated that a hundred million
dollars will be required to settle these foreign demands. Chili must
pay. There is no avoiding it. Reckless destruction will be found to be
rather an expensive amusement in future for these South Americans. Their
outrageous and murderous treatment of citizens of the United States who
land upon their shore is also like to cost them a heavy sum in way of
penalty. The present is a good opportunity to teach them a salutary
lesson. The Chilians will not be in a hurry to repeat crimes which they
find entail sure and swift punishment.
A majority of the population of Chili lives, as a rule, within a few
miles of the sea, and her coast line extends from Cape Horn northward
over two thousand miles to the borders of Bolivia and Peru. With this
extraordinary length, she has an average width of hardly more than a
hundred miles, bordered on the east by the western slope of the Andes,
whose eastern side belongs to the Argentine Republic, and on the west by
the Pacific Ocean. The present estimated area of the republic is about
two hundred and twenty thousand square miles, containing a population of
considerably less than three millions, though its capacious territory
could be so divided as to make twenty-five states as large as
Massachusetts. Sixteen hundred miles of steam railroads render the
principal sections of Chili accessible to one another. The coast line
has from time to time been undergoing decided changes through volcanic
action. In 1822, after a visible commotion, the shore was permanently
raised three feet at Valparaiso, and four feet at Quintere. This change
extended over an area of a hundred thousand miles. Another but lesser
elevation took place in the same region in 1835.
There seems to be no accounting for the vagaries of a land subject to
volcanic influences.
The harbor of Valparaiso is well protected on the east, south, and west,
but it is open to the north, from which direction come very heavy winds
and seas during a couple of months in the winter season, often causing
serious casualties among the shipping which may chance to be anchored in
the harbor. A "norther" is as much dreaded here as it is at Vera Cruz
and along the Gulf of Mexico generally.
The entrance to the harbor is on its north side, and is a mile in width,
more or less. The flags of nearly all nations are seen here, though the
Stars and Stripes are less frequently to be met with than others. The
city lies at the base of the closely surrounding hills, up whose sides
and in the ravines the dwelling-houses have been constructed, tier above
tier. Over all, further inland, looms the frosted head of grand old
Aconcagua, twenty-two thousand feet and more in height, believed to be
the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. This mighty member of
the Andean Cordillera is said to be ninety miles away, but it is so
lofty and dominant, as seen through the clear atmosphere, that it
appears almost within cannon range. At this writing the harbor presents
quite a warlike aspect. English, American, French, German, and Chilian
men-of-war are anchored here, looking after their several national
interests, as affected by the civil war. The bugle calls of the several
ships, the morning and evening guns, the display of naval bunting,
together with the flitting hither and thither of well-manned boats, all
unite to form a gay and suggestive scene. The Chilian cruisers in the
hands of the revolutionists would not hesitate to batter down any
government buildings on the coast, destroying incidentally the domestic
residences and merchandise of non-combatants, were they not restrained
by the presence of foreign flags and guns. When Balmaceda undertook by a
proclamation to shut up the ports of Chili, and declared them blockaded,
he was told by the several naval commanders on the coast that he could
not establish a paper blockade, and that if the merchant ships of their
several countries were in any way interfered with, he would have to
fight somebody else besides the revolutionists. The ports were therefore
kept as open to legitimate commerce as they ever were.
The author was disappointed at not being able to reach Santiago, the
capital of Chili, which is situated at the foot of the western slope of
the Andes, nearly two thousand feet above tide-water. It is connected
with Valparaiso by railway, and under ordinary circumstances can be
reached in eight hours. The difficulties caused by the civil war, and
the suspicion with which all foreigners were regarded, proved impossible
to surmount without a protracted effort, and submitting to any amount of
red tape. Santiago was founded by one of Pizarro's captains, in 1541,
and now contains about two hundred thousand inhabitants. There are some
Americans and many English resident in Santiago, together with Germans
and Frenchmen, the foreigners being mostly merchants. We were told of
two familiar statues which are to be seen in a public square of the
city, in front of the post-office. One represents George Washington, the
other Abraham Lincoln, both of which were stolen from Lima during the
late conflict between Chili and Peru.
But this is a digression. Let us once more return to the commercial port
of Valparaiso.
A considerable portion of this city has been reclaimed from the sea, and
still more land suitable for the erection of business warehouses near
the shore is being added to this part of the town. Local enterprise,
however, is pretty much suspended for the time being, owing to the
disturbed condition of political affairs. The mountains near at hand
supply ample stone and soil for the purpose of extending the area of
this business portion of the town. Sixty or seventy years ago, the city
contained only a single street, on the edge of the harbor; to-day it has
all the appearance and belongings of a great commercial capital, and a
population of a hundred and thirty thousand. Except Rio Janeiro and
Buenos Ayres, we saw nowhere thoroughfares more full of energetic life
and business activity. The main avenue is the Calle Victoria, which runs
round the entire water front, occupied by the banks, hotels, insurance
offices, and the best shops in the town.
There are four large daily newspapers published in Valparaiso, whose
united circulation exceeds thirty thousand copies. "El Mercurio" has the
eminent respectability of age, having been published regularly for a
period of half a century. The facility for news-gathering is very good,
as this city is connected with the world at large by submarine cable,
but no such detailed and complete summary of intelligence is attempted
as our North American journals exhibit daily. While on this subject, we
may add that there are no newspapers in Europe, or elsewhere, which will
compare with those of the United States in the average ability and
journalistic merit which characterizes them. We do not say this in a
boastful spirit, but simply make the statement as an incontrovertible
fact.
Some of the business structures along the harbor front of Valparaiso are
fine edifices architecturally, and many of the retail stores will
compare favorably with the average of ours in Washington Street, Boston.
The elegant class of goods displayed in some of these establishments
shows that the population is an habitually extravagant and free-living
one. We were told, by way of illustration, that millionaires were as
plenty as blackberries before the late civil war, while many wealthy
men, foreseeing the catastrophe which was about to occur, shrewdly
prepared for it, and by careful management saved their property intact.
Many of the private houses on Victoria Street are spacious, elegant, and
costly, the occupants living in regal style, to support which must cost
a very heavy annual outlay. It appears that President Balmaceda
discovered, during the late struggle, where and how to lay his hands
upon the resources of a few of these citizens, and that such he
completely impoverished, under one pretext and another, using their
property to support his armed minions, and to swell the aggregate of
funds which he sent for deposit in his own name to Europe. One or two
cases of this sort were related to us in which the citizens were not
only made to give up the whole of their private property, but were
finally imprisoned and sentenced to death upon a charge of treason,
without even the semblance of a trial!
It is no marvel, to those who know the facts of his career, that a man
who was guilty of such crimes, when at last brought to bay, finding
himself betrayed and deserted by his pretended friends, should have
blown out his own brains. The posthumous papers which he left, and
wherein he tries to pose as a martyr, are simply a ludicrous failure.
Jose Manuel Balmaceda was in the fifty-second year of his age when he
committed suicide, and was at the time hiding for fear of the infuriated
citizens of Santiago, who would certainly have hanged the would-be
dictator without the least hesitation or formality, if they could have
got possession of his person.
The tramway-cars of Valparaiso are of the two-story pattern, like those
of Copenhagen and New Orleans, also found in many of the European
cities. They have as conductors, like Concepcion, very pretty half-breed
girls, who appear to thoroughly understand their business, and to
fulfill its requirements to universal satisfaction. If an intoxicated or
unruly person appears on the cars, the conductress does not attempt
personally to eject him. She has only to hold up her hand, and the
nearest policeman, of whom there are always a goodly number about, jumps
on to the car and settles the matter in short order. Girls were thus
first employed in order that the men who ordinarily fill these places
might be drafted into the army, during the late war between Chili and
Peru, and as the system proved to be a complete success, it has been
continued ever since. The fare charged on these tram-cars is five cents
for each inside passenger, and half that sum for the outside; and, as in
Paris, when the seats are all full, a little sign is shown upon the car,
signifying that no more persons will be admitted, none being allowed to
stand. The same rule is enforced in London, and the thought suggested
itself as to whether our West End Railway Company of Boston might not
take an important hint therefrom.
The ladies and gentlemen of the city are a well dressed class, the
former adopting Parisian costumes, and the gentlemen wearing a full
dress of dark broadcloth, with tall stove-pipe hats. The women of the
more common class wear the national "manta," and the men the "poncha."
The former is a dark, soft shawl which covers in part the head and face
of the wearer. The latter is a long, striped shawl, with a slit cut in
the centre, through which the head of the wearer is thrust. Nothing
could be more simple in construction than both of these garments, and
yet they are somehow very picturesque.
As we have already intimated, it is soon learned, upon landing at any
port of the commercial world, what the staple products of the
neighborhood are, by simply noting the visible merchandise made ready
for shipment. Here we have sugar, wool, and cotton prevailing over all
other articles. Guano and nitrate, which also form specialties here, are
represented, though the supply of the former is pretty much exhausted.
The nitrate trade is controlled by an Englishman of large fortune,
Colonel North, known here as the "Nitrate King." This valuable
fertilizer is the deposit of the nitrate of soda in the beds of lakes
long since dried up, the waters of which originally contained in
solution large quantities of this material. These lakes in olden times
received the flow of a great water-shed, and having no outlet, save by
evaporation, accumulated and precipitated at the bottom the chemical
elements flowing into them from the surrounding country. The article is
now dug up and put through a certain process, then shipped to foreign
countries as a fertilizer, believed to put new heart into exhausted
soil. England consumes an immense quantity of it annually, and many
ships are regularly employed in its transportation.
The custom house, situated near the landing at Valparaiso, is a somewhat
remarkable structure, having a long, low facade surmounted by tall,
handsome towers. This is eminently the business part of the town, and is
called "El Puerto." The larger share of the residences of the merchants
and well-to-do citizens is situated on the hillsides, to reach which it
is necessary to ascend long flights of steps. At certain points
elevators are also supplied by which access is gained to the upper
portions of the town, after the fashion already described at Bahia, on
the east coast.
The majority of people doing business in Valparaiso are English, and
English is the almost universal language. Even the names upon the city
signs are suggestive in this direction. Among the public houses are the
"Queen's Arms," the "Royal Oak," the "Red Lion," and so on. Besides an
English school, there are three churches belonging to that nationality.
There are numerous free schools, both of a primary and advanced
character, an elaborately organized college, two or three theatres, and
the usual charitable establishments, including a public library. The
principal part of the city is lighted by electricity, and the telephone
is in general use. A special effort has lately been made to promote the
education of the rising generation in Chili, and we know of no field
where the endeavor would be more opportune. Such an effort is never out
of place, but here it is imperatively called for. The almost universal
ignorance of the common people of Chili is deplorable, and little
improvement can be hoped for as regards their moral or physical
condition, except through the means of educating the youth of the
country. A commissioner-general of education was appointed some time
ago, who has already visited Europe and North America to study the best
modern methods adopted in the public schools. This is a tangible
evidence of improvement which speaks for itself, and is a great stride
of this people in the right direction. Of course the late political
crisis will greatly retard the hoped-for results, just as it will put
Chili back some years in her national progress, whatever may be the
final outcome in other respects.
Gambling is a prevailing national trait in this country, by no means
confined to any one class of the community. The street gamin plays for
copper centavos, while the pretentious caballero does the same for gold
coins. It is quite common in family circles, held to be very
aristocratic, to see the gaming table laid out every evening, as
regularly as the table upon which the meals are served. Money in large
sums is lost and won with assumed indifference in these private circles,
whole fortunes being sometimes sacrificed at a single sitting. Gambling
seems to be held exempt from the censure of either church or state,
since both officials and priests indulge in all sorts of games of
chance. There are the usual public lotteries always going on to tempt
the poorer classes of the people, and to capture their hard-earned
wages.
One virtue must be freely accorded to the business centre of this city,
namely, that of cleanliness, in which respect it is far in advance of
most of the capitals on the east coast of South America. Being the first
seaport of any importance in the South Pacific, it is naturally a place
of call for European bound steamers coming from New Zealand and
Australia, as well as those sailing from Panama and San Francisco. In
view of the fact that six hundred and fifty thousand people emigrate
from Europe annually, seeking new homes in foreign lands, the Chilian
government, in common with some others of the South American states, has
for several years past held forth the liberal inducement of substantial
aid to all bona fide settlers from foreign countries. Each newcomer who
is the head of a family is given two hundred acres of available land,
together with lumber and other materials for building a comfortable
dwelling-house, also a cart, a plough, and a reasonable amount of seed
for planting. Besides these favors which we have enumerated, some other
important considerations are offered. Only a small number, comparatively
speaking, of emigrants have availed themselves of such liberal terms,
and these have been mostly Germans. If such an offer were properly
promulgated and laid before the poor peasantry of Ireland and Spain and
Italy, it would seem as though many of those people would hasten to
accept it in the hope of bettering their condition in life. Whether such
a result would follow emigration would of course depend upon many other
things besides the liberality of the offer of the Chilian government.
The Germans form a good class of emigrants, perhaps the best, often
bringing with them considerable pecuniary means, together with habits of
industry. The late civil war has put a stop to emigration for a period
at least, and will interfere with its success for some time to come, if
indeed Chili ever assumes quite so favorable a condition as she has
sacrificed.
There are some districts, including Limache and Pauquehue, where grape
culture has been brought to great perfection, and where it is conducted
on a very large scale. Wine-making is thus taking its place as one of
the prosperous industries of the country. The amount of the native
product consumed at home is very large, and a regular system of exports
to other South American ports has been established. All of the most
important modes of culture, such as have been proven most successful in
France and California, have been carefully adopted here. Tramways are
laid to intersect the various parts of these extensive vineyards, to aid
in the gathering and transportation of the ripe fruit, while the
appliances for expressing the juice of the grape are equally well
systematized. One vineyard, belonging to the Consino family, near
Santiago, covers some two hundred acres, closely planted with selected
vines from France, Switzerland, and California, the purpose being to
retain permanently such grades as are found best adapted to the soil and
the climate of Chili. The white wines are the most popular here, but red
Burgundy brands are produced with good success. The vines are trained on
triple lines of wires, stretched between iron posts, presenting an
appearance of great uniformity, the long rows being planted about three
or four feet apart. Every arrangement for artificial irrigation is
provided, it being an absolute necessity in this district of Chili.
Trenches are cut along the rows of vines, through which the water, from
ample reservoirs, is permitted to flow at certain intervals;
particularly when the grape begins to swell and ripen. The fruit is not
trodden here, as it is in Italy, but is thoroughly expressed by means of
proper machinery.
Geographically, Chili is, as we have intimated, a long, narrow country,
lying south of Peru and Bolivia, ribbon-like in form, and divided into
nineteen provinces. It has been considerably enlarged by conquest from
both of the nationalities just named; including the important territory
of Terapaca. The name "Chili" signifies snow, with which the tops of
most of the mountain ranges upon the eastern border are always covered.
Still, extending as she does, from latitude 24 deg. south to Cape Horn, she
embraces every sort of climate, from burning heat to glacial frosts,
while nearly everything that grows can be produced upon her soil. Though
she has less than three million inhabitants, still her territory exceeds
that of any European nationality except Russia. The manifest difference
between the aggregate of her population and that of her square miles
does not speak very favorably for the healthful character of the
climate. There is no use in attempting to disguise the fact that Chili
has rather a hard time of it, with sweeping epidemics, frequent
earthquakes, and devouring tidal waves. The country contains thirty
volcanoes, none of which are permanently active, but all of which have
their periods of eruption, and most of which exhibit their dangerous
nature by emitting sulphurous smoke and ashes. The unhygienic condition
of life among her native races accounts for the large death-rate
prevailing at all times, and especially among the peon children, thus
preventing a natural increase in the population. Unless a liberal
immigration can be induced, Chili must annually decrease in population.
As regards the foreign whites and the educated natives who indulge in no
extravagant excesses, living with a reasonable regard for hygiene,
doubtless Chili is as healthy as most countries, but there is still to
be remembered the erratic exhibitions of nature, a possibility always
hanging like the sword of Damocles over this region. A whole town may,
without the least warning, vanish from the face of the earth in the
space of five minutes, or be left a mass of ruins.
It is in the districts of the north that the rich mines and the nitrate
fields are found, but the central portion of the country, and
particularly towards the south, is the section where the greatest
agricultural results are realized, and which will continue to yield in
abundance after the mineral wealth shall have become quite exhausted.
The southern portion of the country embraces Patagonia, which has lately
been divided between Chili and the Argentine Republic. In short, Chili
is no exception to the rule that agriculture, and not mining products,
is the true and permanent reliance of any country.
A little less than four hundred miles off the shore of Valparaiso, on
the same line of latitude, is the memorable island of Juan Fernandez. It
is politically an unimportant dependence of Chili, though of late years
it has indirectly been made the means of producing some income for the
national treasury. There was a period in which Chili maintained a penal
colony here, but the convicts mutinied, and massacred the officers who
had charge of them. These convicts succeeded in getting away from the
island on passing ships. No attempt has been made since that time to
reestablish a penal colony on this island. To-day the place is occupied
by thriving vegetable gardeners, and raisers of stock. Every intelligent
youth will remember the island as the spot where De Foe laid the scene
of his popular and fascinating story of "Robinson Crusoe." The island is
about twenty miles long by ten broad, and is covered with dense tropical
verdure, gentle hills, sheltered valleys, and thrifty woods. Juan
Fernandez resembles the Azores in the North Atlantic. Though generally
spoken of in the singular, there are actually three islands here,
forming a small, compact group, known as Inward Island, Outward Island,
and Great Island. Many intelligent people think that the story of
Robinson Crusoe is a pure fabrication, but this is not so. De Foe
availed himself of an actual occurrence, and put it into readable form,
adding a few romantic episodes to season the story for the taste of the
million. It was in a measure truth, which he stamped with the image of
his own genius. Occasionally some enthusiastic admirer of De Foe comes
thousands of miles out of the beaten track of travel to visit this group
of islands, by the way of Valparaiso. Grapes, figs, and other tropical
fruits abound at Juan Fernandez. It is said that several thousand people
might be easily supported by the natural resources of these islands, and
the abundance of fish which fill the neighboring waters. An English
naval commander stopped here in 1741, to recruit his ships' crews, and
to repair some damages. While here he caused various seeds to be planted
for the advantage of any mariners who might follow. The benefit of this
Christian act has been realized by many seamen since that date. Fruits,
grain, and vegetables are now produced by spontaneous fertility
annually, which were not before to be found here. The English commander
also left goats and swine to run wild, and to multiply, and these
animals are numerous there to-day.
Juan Fernandez has one tall peak, nearly three thousand feet high, which
the pilots point out long before the rest of the island is seen. It was
from this lofty lookout that Alexander Selkirk was wont to watch daily
in the hope of sighting some passing ship, by which he might be released
from his imprisonment. There are about one hundred residents upon the
group to-day, it having been leased by the Chilian government as a stock
ranch for the breeding of goats and cattle, as well as for the raising
of vegetables for the market of Valparaiso. There are said to be thirty
thousand horned cattle, and many sheep, upon these islands. Occasional
excursion parties are made up at Valparaiso to visit the group by
steamboat, for the purpose of shooting seals and mountain goats. Stories
are told of Juan Fernandez having been formerly made the headquarters of
pirates who came from thence to ravage the towns on the coast of the
continent, and it is believed by the credulous that much of the
ill-gotten wealth of the buccaneers still remains hidden there. In
search of this supposititious treasure, expeditions have been fitted out
in past years at Valparaiso, and many an acre of ground has been vainly
dug over in seeking for piratical gold, supposed to be buried there.
Some of the shrewd stock raisers of Juan Fernandez are ready, for a
consideration, to point out to seekers the most probable places where
such treasures might have been buried.