Chapter LIII: Front Matter (53)

"The greatest event in the history of Chicago was the Great
Fire, as it is termed, which broke out on the evening of Oct.
8, 1871. Chicago was at that time [except in the business
centre] a city of wood. For a long time prior to the evening
referred to there had been blowing a hot wind from the
southwest, which had dried everything to the inflammability of
tinder, and it was upon a mass of sun and wind-dried wooden
structures that the fire began its work. It is supposed to
have originated from the accidental upsetting of a kerosene
lamp in a cow barn [Mrs. O'Leary's] on De Koven Street, near
the corner of Jefferson, on the west side of the river. This
region was composed hugely of shanties, and the fire spread
rapidly, very soon crossing the river to the South Side, and
fastening on that portion of the city which contained nearly
all the leading business houses, and which was built up very
largely with stone and brick. But it seemed to enkindle as if
it were tinder. Some buildings were blown up with gunpowder,
which, in connection with the strong southwest gale, prevented
the extension of the flames to the south. The fire swept on
Monday steadily to the north, including everything from the
lake to the South Branch, and then crossed to the North Side,
and, taking in everything from the lake to the North Branch,
it burned northward for a distance of three miles, where it
died out at the city limits, when there was nothing more to
burn. In the midst of this broad area of devastation, on the
north side of Washington Square, between Clark Street and
Dearborn Avenue, the well-known Ogden house stands amid trees
of the ancient forest and surrounded by extensive grounds, the
solitary relic of that section of the city before the fiery
flood. The total area of the land burned over was 2,100 acres.
Nearly 20,000 buildings were consumed; 100,000 people were
rendered homeless; 200 lives were lost, and the grand total of
values destroyed is estimated at $200,000,000. Of this vast
sum, nearly one-half was covered by insurance, but under the
tremendous losses many of the insurance companies were forced
to the wall, and went into liquidation, and the victims of the
conflagration recovered only about one-fifth of their aggregate
losses. Among the buildings which were burned were the
court-house, custom-house and post office, chamber of
commerce, three railway depots, nine daily newspaper offices,
thirty-two hotels, ten theatres and halls, eight public
schools and some branch school buildings, forty-one churches,
five elevators, and all the national banks. If the Great Fire
was an event without parallel in its dimensions and the
magnitude of its dire results, the charity which followed it
was equally unrivalled in its extent. ... All the civilized
world appeared to instantly appreciate the calamity. Food,
clothing, supplies of every kind, money, messages of
affection, sympathy, etc., began pouring in at once in a
stream that appeared endless and bottomless. In all, the
amount contributed reached over $7,000,000. ... It was
believed by many that the fire had forever blotted out Chicago
from the list of great American cities, but the spirit of her
people was undaunted by calamity, and, encouraged by the
generous sympathy and help from all quarters, they set to work
at once to repair their almost ruined fortunes. ... Rebuilding
was at once commenced, and, within a year after the fire, more
than $40,000,000 were expended in improvements. The city came
up from its ruins far more palatial, splendid, strong and
imperishable than before. In one sense the fire was a benefit.
Its consequence was a class of structures far better, in every
essential respect, than before the conflagration. Fire-proof
buildings became the rule, the limits of wood were carefully
restricted, and the value of the reconstructed portion
immeasurably exceeded that of the city which had been
destroyed."

_Marquis' Handbook of Chicago, page 22._

{410}

"Thousands of people on the North Side fled far out on the
prairie, but other thousands, less fortunate, were
hemmed in before they could reach the country, and were driven
to the Sands, a group of beach-hillocks fronting on Lake
Michigan. These had been covered with rescued merchandise and
furniture. The flames fell fiercely upon the heaps of goods,
and the miserable refugees were driven into the black waves,
where they stood neck-deep in chilling water, scourged by
sheets of sparks and blowing sand. A great number of horses
had been collected here, and they too dashed into the sea,
where scores of them were drowned. Toward evening the Mayor
sent a fleet of tow-boats which took off the fugitives at the
Sands. When the next day [Tuesday, October 10] dawned, the
prairie was covered with the calcined ruins of more than
17,000 buildings. ... This was the greatest and most
disastrous conflagration on record. The burning of Moscow, in
1812, caused a loss amounting to £30,000,000; but the loss at
Chicago was in excess of this amount. The Great Fire of
London, in 1006, devastated a tract of 430 acres, and
destroyed 13,000 buildings; but that of Chicago swept over
1,900 acres, and burned more than 17,000 buildings."

_M. F. Sweetser, Chicago ("Cities of the World," volume 1)._

The following is the statement of area burned over, and of
property destroyed, made by the Chicago Relief and Aid
Society, and which is probably authoritative: "The total area
burned over in the city, including streets, was 2,124 acres,
or nearly three and one-third square miles. This area
contained about 73 miles of streets, 18,000 buildings, and the
homes of 100,000 people."

_A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago, volume 2, page 760._

ALSO IN:
_E. Colbert and E. Chamberlain, Chicago and the Great
Conflagration._

CHICAGO: A. D. 1886-1887.
The Haymarket Conspiracy.
Crime of the Anarchists.
Their trial and execution.

"In February, 1886, Messrs. McCormick, large
agricultural-machine makers of Chicago, refusing to yield to
the dictation of their workmen, who required them to discharge
some non-Union hands they had taken on, announced a
'lock-out,' and prepared to resume business as soon as
possible with a new staff. Spies, Lingg, and other German
Anarchists saw their opportunity. They persuaded the ousted
workmen to prevent the 'scabs,'--anglicé, 'blacklegs,'--from
entering the works on the day of their reopening. Revolvers,
rifles, and bombs were readily found, the latter being
entrusted principally to the hands of professional 'Reds.' The
most violent appeals were made to the members of Unions and
the populace generally; but though a succession of riots were
got up, they were easily quelled by the resolute action of the
police, backed by the approval of the immense majority of the
people of Chicago. Finally, a mass meeting in arms was called
to take place on May 4th, 1886, at 7.30 p.m., in the
Haymarket, a long and recently widened street of the town, for
the express purpose of denouncing the police. But the
intention of the Anarchists was not merely to denounce the
police: this was the pretext only. The prisons were to be
forced, the police-stations blown up, the public buildings
attacked, and the onslaught on property and capital to be
inaugurated by the devastation of one of the fairest cities of
the Union. By 8 p. m. a mob of some three or four thousand
persons had been collected, and were regaled by speeches that
became more violent as the night wore on. At 10 p. m. the
police appeared in force. The crowd were commanded to disperse
peaceably. A voice shouted: 'We are peaceable.' Captain
Schaack says this was a signal. The words were hardly uttered
when a spark flashed through the air. It looked like the
lighted remnant of a cigar, but hissed like a miniature
sky-rocket.' It was a bomb, and fell amid the ranks of the
police. A terrific explosion followed, and immediately
afterwards the mob opened fire upon the police. The latter,
stunned for a moment, soon recovered themselves, returned the
fire, charged the mob, and in a couple of minutes dispersed it
in every direction. But eight of their comrades lay dead upon
the pavement, and scores of others were weltering in their
blood around the spot. Such was the Chicago outrage of May
4th, 1886."

_The Spectator, April 19, 1890 (reviewing Shaack's "Anarchy
and Anarchists")._

The Anarchists who were arrested and brought to trial for this
crime were eight in number,--August Spies, Michael Schwab,
Samuel Fielden, Albert H. Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George
Engel, Louis Lingg, and Oscar W. Neebe. The trial began July
14, 1886. The evidence closed on the 10th of August; the
argument of council consumed more than a week, and on the 20th
of August the jury brought in a verdict which condemned Neebe
to imprisonment for fifteen years, and all the other prisoners
to death. Lingg committed suicide in prison; the sentences of
Schwab and Fielding were commuted by the Governor to
imprisonment for life; the remaining four were hanged on the
11th of November, 1887.

_Judge Gary, The Chicago Anarchists of 1886 (Century Mag.,
April, 1893)._

ALSO IN:
_M. T. Schaack, Anarchy and Anarchists._

CHICAGO: A. D. 1892-1893.
The World's Columbian Exposition.

"As a fitting mode of celebrating the four hundredth
anniversary of the landing of Columbus on Oct. 12, 1492, it
was proposed to have a universal exhibition in the United
States, The idea was first taken up by citizens of New York,
where subscriptions to the amount of $5,000,000 were obtained
from merchants and capitalists before application was made for
the sanction and support of the Federal Government. When the
matter came up in Congress the claims of Chicago were
considered superior, and a bill was passed and approved on
April 25, 1890, entitled 'An Act to provide for celebrating
the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by
Christopher Columbus, by holding an international exhibition
of arts, industries, manufactures, and the products of the
soil, mine, and sea in the city of Chicago, in the State of
Illinois.' The act provided for the appointment of
commissioners who should organize the exposition. ... When the
organization was completed and the stipulated financial
support from the citizens and municipality of Chicago assured,
President Harrison, on Dec. 24, 1890, issued a proclamation
inviting all the nations of the earth to participate in the
World's Columbian Exposition. Since the time was too short to
have the grounds and buildings completed for the summer of
1892, as was originally intended, the opening of the
exposition was announced for May, 1893. When the work was
fairly begun it was accelerated, as many as 10,000 workmen
being employed at one time, in order to have the buildings
ready to be dedicated with imposing ceremonies on Oct. 12.
1892. in commemoration of the exact date of the discovery of
America."

_Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia, 1891, page 837._

SEE ALSO
_C. D. Arnold and H. D. Higinbotham,
Official Views Of The World's Columbian Exposition
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22847_

On May 1, 1893, the Fair was opened with appropriate
ceremonies by President Cleveland.

{411}

CHICASAS, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MUSKHOGEAN FAMILY;
also, LOUISIANA: A. D. 1719-1750.

CHICHIMECS, The.

See MEXICO: A. D. 1325-1502.

CHICKAHOMINY,
Battles on the (Gaines' Mill, 1862; Cold Harbor, 1864).

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (JUNE-JULY: VIRGINIA);
and 1864 (MAY-JUNE: VIRGINIA).

CHICKAMAUGA, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1863 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER: TENNESSEE).

CHICORA.

The name given to the region of South Carolina by its Spanish
discoverers.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1519-1525.

CHILDEBERT I.
King of the Franks, at Paris, A. D. 511-558.

Childebert II., King of the Franks (Austrasia), A. D. 575-596;

(Burgundy), 593-596.

Childebert III., King of the Franks
(Neustria and Burgundy), A. D. 695-711.

CHILDERIC II.,
King of the Franks (Austrasia), A. D. 660-673.
Childeric III., King of the Franks (Neustria), A. D. 742-752.

CHILDREN OF REBECCA.

See REBECCAITES.

CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, The.

See CRUSADES: A. D. 1212.

CHILE:
The Araucanians.

"The land of Chili, from 30° Ssouth latitude, was and is still
in part occupied by several tribes who speak the same
language. They form the fourth and most southern group of the
Andes people, and are called Araucanians. Like almost all
American tribal names, the term Araucanian is indefinite;
sometimes it is restricted to a single band, and sometimes so
extended as to embrace a group of tribes. Some regard them as
a separate family, calling them Chilians, while others, whom
we follow, regard them as the southern members of the Andes
group, and still others class them with the Pampas Indians.
The name Araucanian is an improper one, introduced by the
Spaniards, but it is so firmly fixed that it cannot be
changed. The native names are Moluche (warriors) and Alapuche
(natives). Originally they extended from Coquimbo to the
Chonos Archipelago and from ocean to ocean, and even now they
extend, though not very far, to the east of the Cordilleras.
They are divided into four (or, if we include the Picunche,
five) tribes, the names of which all end in 'tche' or 'che,'
the word for man. Other minor divisions exist. The entire
number of the Araucanians is computed at about 30,000 souls,
but it is decreasing by sickness as well as by vice. They are
owners of their land and have cattle in abundance, pay no
taxes, and even their labor in the construction of highways is
only light. They are warlike, brave, and still enjoy some of
the blessings of the Inca civilization; only the real, western
Araucanians in Chili have attained to a sedentary life. Long
before the arrival of the Spaniards the government of the
Araucanians offered a striking resemblance to the military
aristocracy of the old world. All the rest that has been
written of their high stage of culture has proved to be an
empty picture of fancy. They followed agriculture, built fixed
houses, and made at least an attempt at a form of government,
but they still remain, as a whole, cruel, plundering savages."

_The Standard Natural History (J. S. Kingsley, editor),
volume 6, pages 232-234._

"The Araucanians inhabit the delightful region between the
Andes and the sea, and between the rivers Bio-bio and
Valdivia. They derive the appellation of Araucanians from the
province of Arauco. .... The political division of the
Araucanian state is regulated with much intelligence. It is
divided from north to south into four governments. ... Each
government is divided into five provinces, and each province
into nine counties. The state consists of three orders of
nobility, each being subordinate to the other, and all having
their respective vassals. They are the Toquis, the
Apo-Ulmenes, and the Ulmenes. The Toquis, or governors, are
four in number. They are independent of each other, but
confederated for the public welfare. The Arch-Ulmenes govern
the provinces under their respective Toquis. The Ulmenes
govern the counties. The upper ranks, generally, are likewise
comprehended under the term Ulmenes."

_R. G. Watson, Spanish and Portuguese South America,
volume 1, chapter 12._

ALSO IN:
_J. I. Molina, Geographical, Natural and Civil History
of Chili, volume 2, book 2._

CHILE: A. D. 1450-1724.
The Spanish conquest.
The Araucanian War of Independence.

"In the year 1450 the Peruvian Inca, Yupanqui, desirous of
extending his dominions towards the south, stationed himself
with a powerful army at Atacama. Thence he dispatched a force
of 10,000 men to Chili, under the command of Chinchiruca, who,
overcoming almost incredible obstacles, marched through a
sandy desert as far as Copiapo, a distance of 80 leagues. The
Copiapins flew to arms, and prepared to resist this invasion.
But Chinchiruca, true to the policy which the Incas always
observed, stood upon the defensive, trusting to persuasion
rather than to force for the accomplishment of his designs.
... While he proffered peace, he warned them of the
consequences of resisting the 'Children of the Sun.'" After
wavering for a time, the Copiapins submitted themselves to the
rule of the Incas. "The adjoining province of Coquimbo was
easily subjugated, and steadily advancing, the Peruvians, some
six years after their first entering the country, firmly
established themselves in the valley of Chili, at a distance
of more than 200 leagues from the frontier of Atacama. The
'Children of the Sun' had met thus far with little resistance,
and, encouraged by success, they marched their victorious
armies against the Purumancians, a warlike people living
beyond the river Rapel." Here they were desperately resisted,
in a battle which lasted three days, and from which both
armies withdrew, undefeated and unvictorious. On learning this
result, the Inca Yupanqui ordered his generals to relinquish
all attempts at further conquest, and to "seek, by the
introduction of wise laws, and by instructing the people in
agriculture and the arts, to establish themselves more firmly
in the territory already acquired. To what extent the
Peruvians were successful in the endeavor to ingraft their
civilization, religion, and customs upon the Chilians, it is
at this distant day impossible to determine, since the
earliest historians differ widely on the subject.
{412}
Certain it is, that on the arrival of the Spaniards the Incas,
at least nominally, ruled the country, and received an annual
tribute of gold from the people. In the year 1535, after the
death of the unfortunate Inca Atahuallpa, Diego Almagro, fired
by the love of glory and the thirst for gold, yielded to the
solicitations of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, and
set out for the subjection of Chili, which, as yet, had not
been visited by any European. His army consisted of 570
Spaniards, well equipped, and 15,000 Peruvian auxiliaries.
Regardless of difficulties and dangers this impetuous soldier
selected the near route that lay along the summits of the
Andes, in preference to the more circuitous road passing
through the desert of Atacama. Upon the horrors of this march,
of which so thrilling an account is given by Prescott in the
'Conquest of Peru,' it is unnecessary for us to dwell; suffice
it to state that, on reaching Copiapo no less than one-fourth
of his Spanish troops, and two-thirds of his Indian
auxiliaries, had perished from the effects of cold, fatigue
and starvation. ... Everywhere the Spaniards met with a
friendly reception from the natives, who regarded them as a
superior race of beings, and the after conquest of the country
would probably have been attended with no difficulty had a
conciliatory policy been adopted; but this naturally
inoffensive people, aroused by acts of the most barbarous
cruelty, soon flew to arms. Despite the opposition of the
natives, who were now rising in every direction to oppose his
march, Almagro kept on, overcoming every obstacle, until he
reached the river Cachapoal, the northern boundary of the
Purumancian territory." Here he met with so stubborn and
effective a resistance that he abandoned his expedition and
returned to Peru, where, soon after, he lost his life [see
PERU: A. D. 1533-1548] in a contest with the Pizarros.
"Pizarro, ever desirous of conquering Chili, in 1540
dispatched Pedro Valdivia for that purpose, with some 200
Spanish soldiers and a large body of Peruvians;" The invasion
of Valdivia was opposed from the moment he entered the
country; but he pushed on until he reached the river Mapoclio,
and "encamped upon the site of the present capital of Chili.
Valdivia, finding the location pleasant, and the surrounding
plain fertile, here founded a city on the 24th of February,
1541. To this first European settlement in Chili he gave the
name of Santiago, in honor of the patron saint of Spain. He
laid out the town in Spanish style; and as a place of refuge
in case of attack, erected a fort upon a steep rocky hill,
rising some 200 feet above the plain." The Mapochins soon
attacked the infant town, drove its people to the fort and
burned their settlement; but were finally repulsed with
dreadful slaughter. "On the arrival of a second army from
Peru, Valdivia, whose ambition had always been to conquer the
southern provinces of Chili, advanced into the country of the
Purumancians. Here history is probably defective, as we have
no account of any battles fought with these brave people. ...
We simply learn that the Spanish leader eventually gained
their good-will, and established with them an alliance both
offensive and defensive. ... In the following year (1546) the
Spanish forces crossed the river Maulé, the southern boundary
of the Purumancians, and advanced toward the Itata. While
encamped near the latter river, they were attacked at dead of
night by a body of Araucanians. So unexpected was the approach
of this new enemy, that many of the horses were captured, and
the army with difficulty escaped total destruction. After this
terrible defeat, Valdivia finding himself unable to proceed,
returned to Santiago." Soon afterwards he went to Peru for
reinforcements and was absent two years; but came back, at the
end of that time, with a large band of followers, and marched
to the South. "Reaching the bay of Talcahuano without having
met with any opposition, on the 5th of October, 1550, he
founded the city of Concepcion on a site at present known as
Penco." The Araucanians, advancing boldly upon the Spaniards
at Concepcion, were defeated in a furious battle which cost
the invaders many lives. Three years later, in December, 1553,
the Araucanians had their revenge, routing the Spaniards
utterly and pursuing them so furiously that only two of their
whole army escaped. Valdivia was among the prisoners taken and
was slain. Again and again, under the lead of a youthful hero,
Lautaro, and a vigorous toqui, or chief, named Caupolican, the
Araucanians assailed the invaders of their country with
success; but the latter increased in numbers and gained
ground, at last, for a time, building towns and extending
settlements in the Araucanian territory. The indomitable
people were not broken in spirit, however; and in 1598, by an
universal and simultaneous rising, they expelled the Spaniards
from almost every settlement they had made. "In 1602 ... of
the numerous Spanish forts and settlements south of the
Bio-Bio, Nacimiento and Arauco only had not fallen. Valdivia
and Osorno were afterward rebuilt. About the same time a fort
was erected at Boroa. This fort was soon after abandoned.
Valdivia, Osorno, Nacimiento, and Arauco still remain. But of
all the 'cities of the plain' lying within the boundaries of
the haughty Araucanians, not one ever rose from its ashes;
their names exist only in history; and the sites where they
once flourished are now marked by ill-defined and grass-grown
ruins. From the period of their fall dates the independence of
the Araucanian nation; for though a hundred years more were
wasted in the vain attempt to reconquer the heroic people ...
the Spaniards, weary of constant war, and disheartened by the
loss of so much blood and treasure, were finally compelled to
sue for peace; and in 1724 a treaty was ratified,
acknowledging their freedom, and establishing the limits of
their territory."

_E. H. Smith, The Araucanians, chapter 11-14._

ALSO IN:
_R. G. Watson, Spanish and Portuguese S. Am.,
volume 1, chapter 12-14._

_J. I. Molina; Geographical, Natural and Civil History of Chili,
volume 2, book 1, 3-4._

CHILE: A. D. 1568.
The Audiencia established.

See AUDIENCIAS.

{413}

CHILE: A. D. 1810-1818.
The achievement of independence.
San Martin, the Liberator.

"Chili first threw off the Spanish yoke in September, 1810 [on
the pretext of fidelity to the Bourbon king dethroned by
Napoleon], but the national independence was not fully
established till April 1818. During the intermediate period,
the dissensions of the different parties; their disputes as to
the form of government and the law of election; with other
distracting causes, arising out of the ambition of turbulent
individuals, and the inexperience of the whole nation in
political affairs; so materially retarded the union of the
country, that the Spaniards, by sending expeditions from Peru,
were enabled, in 1814, to regain their lost authority in
Chili. Meanwhile the Government of Buenos Ayres, the
independence of which had been established in 1810 [see
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC: A. D. 1806-1820], naturally dreaded that
the Spaniards would not long be confined to the western side
of the Andes; but would speedily make a descent upon the
provinces of the River Plate, of which Buenos Ayres is the
capital. In order to guard against this formidable danger,
they bravely resolved themselves to become the invaders, and
by great exertions equipped an army of 4,000 men. The command
of this force was given to General Don José de San Martin, a
native of the town of Yapeyu in Paraguay; a man greatly
beloved by all ranks, and held in such high estimation by the
people, that to his personal exertions the formation of this
army is chiefly due. With these troops San Martin entered
Chili by a pass over the Andes heretofore deemed inaccessible,
and on the 12th of February, 1817, attacked and completely
defeated the royal army at Chacabuco. The Chilians, thus freed
from the immediate presence of the enemy, elected General
O'Higgins [see PERU: A. D. 1550-1816] as Director; and he, in
1818, offered the Chilians a constitution, and nominated five
senators to administer the affairs of the country. This
meritorious officer, an Irishman by descent, though born in
Chili, has ever since [1825] remained at the head of the
government. It was originally proposed to elect General San
Martin as Director; but this he steadily refused, proposing
his companion in arms, O'Higgins, in his stead. The remnant of
the Spanish army took refuge in Talcuhuana, a fortified
sea-port near Conception, on the southern frontier of Chili.
Vigorous measures were taken to reduce this place, but, in the
beginning of 1818, the Viceroy of Peru, by draining that
province of its best troops, sent off a body of 5,000 men
under General Osorio, who succeeded in joining the Spaniards
shut up in Talcuhuana. Thus reinforced, the Royal army,
amounting in all to 8,000, drove back the Chilians, marched on
the capital, and gained other considerable advantages;
particularly in a night attack at Talca, on the 19th of March
1818, where the Royalists almost entirely dispersed the
Patriot forces. San Martin, however, who, after the battle of
Chacabuco, had been named Commander-in-chief of the united
armies of Chili and Buenos Ayres," rallied his army and
equipped it anew so quickly that, "on the 5th of April, only
17 days after his defeat, he engaged, and, after an obstinate
and sanguinary conflict, completely routed the Spanish army on
the plains of Maypo. From that day Chili may date her complete
independence; for although a small portion of the Spanish
troops endeavoured to make a stand at Conception, they were
soon driven out and the country left in the free possession of
the Patriots. Having now time to breathe, the Chilian
Government, aided by that of Buenos Ayres, determined to
attack the Royalists in their turn, by sending an armament
against Peru [see PERU; A. D. 1820-1826]--a great and bold
measure, originating with San Martin."

_Capt. B. Hall, Extracts from a Journal, volume 1, chapter 1._

ALSO IN:
_J. Miller, Memoirs of General Miller, chapter 4-7 (volume 1)._

_T. Sutcliffe, Sixteen Years in Chili and Peru chapter 2-4._

_Gen. B. Mitre, The Emancipation of S. America:
History of an Martin._

CHILE: A. D. 1820-1826.
Operations in Peru.

See PERU: A. D. 1820-1826.

CHILE: A. D. 1833-1884.
A successful oligarchy and its constitution.
The war with Peru and Bolivia.

"After the perfection of its national independence, the
Chilean government soon passed into the permanent control of
civilians, 'while the other governments of the west coast
remained prizes for military chieftains.' Its present
constitution was framed in 1833, and though it is only half a
century old 'it is the oldest written national constitution in
force in all the world except our own, unless the Magna Charta
of England be included in the category.' The political history
of Chile during the fifty years of its life has been that of a
well ordered commonwealth, but one of a most unusual and
interesting sort. Its government has never been forcibly
overthrown, and only one serious attempt at revolution has
been made. Chile is in name and in an important sense a
republic, and yet its government is an oligarchy. Suffrage is
restricted to those male citizens who are registered, who are
twenty-five years old if unmarried and twenty-one if married,
and who can read and write; and there is also a stringent
property qualification. The consequence is that the privilege
of voting is confined to an aristocracy: in 1876, the total
number of ballots thrown for president was only 46,114 in a
population of about two and a quarter millions. The president
of Chile has immense powers of nomination and appointment, and
when he is a man of vigorous will he tyrannically sways public
policy, and can almost always dictate the name of his
successor. The government has thus become practically vested
in a comparatively small number of leading Chilean families.
There is no such thing as 'public opinion' in the sense in
which we use the phrase, and the newspapers, though ably
conducted, do not attempt, as they do not desire, to change
the existing order of things. 'History,' says Mr. Browne,
'does not furnish an example of a more powerful political
"machine" under the title of republic; nor, I am bound to say,
one which has been more ably directed so far as concerns the
aggrandizement of the country, or more honestly administered
so far as concerns pecuniary corruption.' The population of
Chile doubled between 1843 and 1875; the quantity of land
brought under tillage was quadrupled; ... more than 1,000
miles of railroad were built; a foreign export trade of
$31,695,039 was reported in 1878; and two powerful iron-clads,
which were destined to playa most important part in Chilean
affairs, were built in England. Meanwhile, the constitution
was officially interpreted so as to guarantee religious
toleration, and the political power of the Roman Catholic
priesthood diminished. Almost everything good, except home
manufactures and popular education, flourished. The
development of the nation in these years was on a wonderful
scale for a South American state, and the contrast between
Chile and Peru was peculiarly striking. ... Early in 1879
began the great series of events which were to make the
fortune of Chile. We use the word 'great,' in its low,
superficial sense, and without the attribution of any moral
significance to the adjective.
{414}
The aggressor in the war between Chile and Peru was inspired
by the most purely selfish motives, and it remains to be seen
whether the just gods will not win in the long run, even
though the game of their antagonists be played with heavily
plated iron-clads. ... At the date last mentioned Chile was
suffering, like many other nations, from a general depression
in business pursuits. Its people were in no serious trouble,
but as a government it was in a bad way. ... The means to keep
up a sinking fund for the foreign debt had failed, and the
Chilean five per cents were quoted in London at sixty-four. 'A
political cloud also was darkening again in the north, in the
renewal of something like a confederation between Peru and
Bolivia.' In this state of things the governing oligarchy of
Chile decided, rather suddenly, Mr. Browne thinks, upon a
scheme which was sure to result either in splendid prosperity
or absolute ruin, and which contemplated nothing less than a
war of conquest against Peru and Bolivia, with a view to
seizing the most valuable territory of the former country.
There is a certain strip of land bordering upon the Pacific
and about 400 miles long, of which the northern three quarters
belonged to Peru and Bolivia, the remaining one quarter to
Chile. Upon this land a heavy rain never falls, and often
years pass in which the soil does not feel a shower. ... Its
money value is immense. 'From this region the world derives
almost its whole supply of nitrates--chiefly saltpetre--and
of iodine;' its mountains, also, are rich in metals, and great
deposits of guano are found in the highlands bordering the
sea. The nitrate-bearing country is a plain, from fifty to
eighty miles wide, the nitrate lying in layers just below a
thin sheet of impacted stones, gravel, and sand. The export of
saltpetre from this region was valued in 1882 at nearly
$30,000,000, and the worth of the Peruvian section, which is
much the largest and most productive, is estimated, for
government purposes, at a capital of $600,000,000. Chile was,
naturally, well aware of the wealth which lay so close to her
own doors, and to possess herself thereof, and thus to
rehabilitate her national fortunes, she addressed herself to
war. The occasion for war was easily found. Bolivia was first
attacked, a difficulty which arose at her port of Antofagasta,
with respect to her enforcement of a tax upon some nitrate
works carried on by a Chilean company, affording a good
pretext; and when Peru attempted intervention her envoy was
confronted with Chile's knowledge of a secret treaty between
Peru and Bolivia, and war was formally declared by Chile upon
Peru, April 5, 1879. This war lasted, with some breathing
spaces, for almost exactly five years. At the outset the two
belligerent powers--Bolivia being soon practically out of the
contest--seemed to be about equal in ships, soldiers, and
resources; but the supremacy which Chile soon gained upon the
seas substantially determined the war in her favor. Each
nation owned two powerful iron-clads, and six months were
employed in settling the question of naval superiority. ... On
the 21st of May, 1879, the Peruvian fleet attacked and almost
destroyed the Chilean wooden frigates which were blockading
Iquique; but in chasing a Chilean corvette the larger Peruvian
iron-clad--the Independencia--ran too near the shore, and was
fatally wrecked. 'So Peru lost one of her knights. The game
she played with the other--the Huascar--was admirable, but a
losing one;' and on the 8th of October of the same year the
Huascar was attacked by the Chilean fleet, which included two
iron-clads, and was finally captured' after a desperate
resistance.'... From this moment the Peruvian coast was at
Chile's mercy: the Chilean arms prevailed in every pitched
battle, at San Francisco [November 16, 1879], at Tacna [May
26, 1880], at Arica [June 7, 1880]; and finally, on the 17th
of January, 1881, after a series of actions which resembled in
some of their details the engagements that preceded our
capture of the city of Mexico [ending in what is known as the
Battle of Miraflores], the victorious army of Chile took
possession of Lima, the capital of Peru. ... The results of
the war have thus far exceeded the wildest hopes of Chile. She
has taken absolute possession of the whole nitrate region, has
cut Bolivia off from the sea, and achieved the permanent
dissolution of the Peru-Bolivian confederation. As a
consequence, her foreign trade has doubled, the revenue of her
government has been trebled, and the public debt greatly
reduced. The Chilean bonds, which were sold at 64 in London in
January, 1879, and fell to 60 in March of that year, at the
announcement of the war, were quoted at 95 in January, 1884."

_The Growing Power of the Republic of Chile (Atlantic
Monthly, July, 1884)._

ALSO IN:
_H. Birkedal, The late War in South America (Overland Monthly,
January, February, and March, 1884)._

_C. R. Markham, The War between Peru and Chile._

_R. N. Boyd, Chile, chapter 16-17._

_Message of the President of the U. S., transmitting Papers
relating to the War in South America, January 26, 1882._

_T. W. Knox, Decisive Battles since Waterloo; chapter 23._

See, also, PERU: A. D. 1826-1876.

CHILE: A. D. 1885-1891.
The presidency and dictatorship of Balmaceda.
His conflict with the Congress.
Civil war.

"Save in the one struggle in which the parties resorted to
arms, the political development of Chili was free from civil
disturbances, and the ruling class was distinguished among the
Spanish-American nations not only for wealth and education,
but for its talent for government and love of constitutional
liberty. The republic was called 'the England of South
America,' and it was a common boast that in Chili a
pronunciamiento or a revolution was impossible. The spirit of
modern Liberalism became more prevalent, ... As the Liberal
party became all-powerful it split into factions, divided by
questions of principle and by struggles for leadership and
office. ... The patronage of the Chilian President is
enormous, embracing not only the general civil service, but
local officials, except in the municipalities, and all
appointments in the army and navy and in the telegraph and
railroad services and the giving out of contracts. The
President has always been able to select his successor, and
has exercised this power, usually in harmony with the wishes
of influential statesmen, sometimes calling a conference of
party chiefs to decide on a candidate. In the course of time
the more advanced wing of the Liberals grew more numerous than
the Moderates. The most radical section had its nucleus in a
Reform Club in Santiago, composed of young university men, of
whom Balmaceda was the finest orator. Entering Congress in
1868, he took a leading part in debates. ...
{415}
In 1885 he was the most popular man in the country; but his
claim to the presidential succession was contested by various
other aspirants--older politicians and leaders of factions
striving for supremacy in Congress. He was elected by an
overwhelming majority, and as President enjoyed an unexampled
degree of popularity. For two or three years the politicians
who had been his party associates worked in harmony with his
ideas. ... At the flood of the democratic tide he was the most
popular man in South America. But when the old territorial
families saw the seats in Congress and the posts in the civil
service that had been their prerogative filled by new men, and
fortunes made by upstarts where all chances had been at their
disposal, then a reaction set in, corruption was scented, and
Moderate Liberals, joining hands with the Nationalists and the
reviving Conservative party, formed an opposition of
respectable strength. In the earlier part of his
administration Balmaceda had the co-operation of the
Nationalists, who were represented in the Cabinet. In the last
two years of his term, when the time drew near for selecting
his successor, defection and revolt and the rivalries of
aspirants for the succession threw the party into disorder and
angered its hitherto unquestioned leader. ... In January,
1890, the Opposition were strong enough to place their
candidate in the chair when the House of Representatives
organized. The ministry resigned, and a conflict between the
Executive and legislative branches of the Government was
openly begun when the President appointed a Cabinet of his own
selection. ... This ministry had to face an overwhelming
majority against the President, which treated him as a
dictator and began to pass hostile laws and resolutions that
were vetoed, and refused to consider the measures that he
recommended. The ministers were cited before the Chambers and
questioned about the manner of their appointment. They either
declined to answer, or answered in a way that increased the
animosity of Congress, which finally passed a vote of censure,
in obedience to which, as was usual, the Cabinet resigned.
Then Balmaceda appointed a ministry in open defiance of
Congress, with Sanfuentes at its head, the man who was already
spoken of as his selected candidate for the presidency. He
prepared for the struggle that he invited by removing the
chiefs of the administration of the departments and replacing
them with men devoted to himself and his policy, and making
changes in the police, the militia, and, to some extent, in
the army and navy commands. The press denounced him as a
dictator, and indignation meetings were held in every town.
Balmaceda and his supporters pretended to be not only the
champions of the people against the aristocracy, but of the
principle of Chili for the Chilians."

_Appleton's Annual Cyclop., 1891, pages 123-124._

"The conflict between President Balmaceda and Congress ripened
into revolution. On January 1, 1891, the Opposition members of
the Senate and House of Deputies met, and signed an Act
declaring that the President was unworthy of his post, and
that he was no longer head of the State nor President of the
Republic, as he had violated the Constitution. On January 7
the navy declared in favour of the Legislature, and against
Balmaceda. The President denounced the navy as traitors,
abolished all the laws of the country, declared himself
Dictator, and proclaimed martial law. It was a reign of
terror. The Opposition recruited an army in the Island of
Santa Maria under General Urrutia and Commander Canto. On
February 14 a severe fight took place with the Government
troops in Iquique, and the Congressional army took possession
of Pisagua. In April, President Balmaceda ... delivered a long
message, denouncing the navy. ... The contest continued, and
April 7, Arica, in the province of Tarapaca, was taken by the
revolutionists. Some naval fights occurred later, and the
iron-clad Blanco Encalada was blown up by the Dictator's
torpedo cruisers. Finally, on August 21, General Canto landed
at Concon, ten miles north of Valparaiso. Balmaceda's forces
attacked immediately and were routed, losing 3,500 killed and
wounded. The Congress army lost 600. On the 28th a decisive
battle was fought at Placilla, near Valparaiso. The Dictator
had 12,000 troops, and the opposing army 10,000. Balmaceda's
forces were completely routed after five hours' hard fighting,
with a loss of 1,500 men. Santiago formally surrendered, and
the triumph of the Congress party was complete. A Junta,
headed by Señor Jorge Montt, took charge of affairs at
Valparaiso August 30. Balmaceda, who had taken refuge at the
Argentine Legation in Santiago, was not able to make his
escape, and to avoid capture, trial, and punishment, committed
suicide, September 20, by shooting himself. On the 19th
November Admiral Jorge Montt was chosen by the Electoral
College, at Santiago, President of Chili, and on December 26
he was installed with great ceremony and general rejoicings."

_Annual Register, 1891, page 420._

CHILIARCHS.

Captains of thousands, in the army of the Vandals.

_T. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, book 3, chapter 2._

CHILLIANWALLAH, Battle of (1849).

See INDIA: A. D. 1845-1849.

CHILPERIC I.,

King of the Franks (Neustria), A. D. 561-584.

Chilperic II., King of the Franks, A. D. 715-720.

CHILTERN HUNDREDS,
Applying for the Stewardship of the.

A seat in the British House of Commons "cannot be resigned,
nor can a man who has once formally taken his seat for one
constituency throw it up and contest another. Either a
disqualification must be incurred, or the House must declare
the seat vacant." The necessary disqualification can be
incurred by accepting an office of profit under the
Crown,--within certain official categories. "Certain old
offices of nominal value in the gift of the Treasury are now
granted, as of course, to members who wish to resign their
seats in order to be quit of Parliamentary duties or to
contest another constituency. These offices are the
Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds [Crown property in
Buckinghamshire], of the manors of East Hendred, Northstead,
or Hempholme, and the escheatorship of Munster. The office is
resigned as soon as it has operated to vacate the seat and
sever the tie between the member and his constituents."

_Sir W. R. Anson, Law and Custom of the Const.,
volume 1, page 84._

CHIMAKUAN FAMILY, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: CHIMAKUAN FAMILY.

CHIMARIKAN FAMILY, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: CHIMARIKAN FAMILY.

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CHINA:
The names of the Country.

"That spacious seat of ancient civilization which we call
China has loomed always so large to western eyes, ... that, at
eras far apart, we find it to have been distinguished by
different appellations according as it was regarded as the
terminus of a southern sea-route coasting the great peninsulas
and islands of Asia, or as that of a northern land route
traversing the longitude of that continent. In the former
aspect the name applied has nearly always been some form of
the name Sin, Chin, Sinæ, China. In the latter point of view
the region in question was known to the ancients as the land
of the Seres; the middle ages as the Empire of Cathay. The
name of China has been supposed, like many another word and
name connected with trade and geography of the far east, to
have come to us through the Malays, and to have been applied
by them to the great eastern monarchy from the style of the
dynasty of Thsin, which a little more than two centuries
before our era enjoyed a brief but very vigorous existence.
... There are reasons however for believing that the name of
China must have been bestowed at a much earlier date, for it
occurs in the laws of Manu, which assert the Chinas to have
been degenerate Kshatryas, and in the Mahabharat, compositions
many centuries older than the imperial dynasty of Thsin. ...
This name may have yet possibly been connected with the Thsin,
or some monarchy of like dynastic title; for that dynasty had
reigned locally in Shensi from the 9th century before our era;
and when, at a still earlier date, the empire was partitioned
into many small kingdoms, we find among them the dynasties of
the Tcin and the Ching. ... Some at least of the circumstances
which have been collected ... render it the less improbable that
the Sinim of the prophet Isaiah ... should be truly
interpreted as indicating the Chinese. The name of China in
this form was late in reaching the Greeks and Romans, and to
them it probably came through people of Arabian speech, as the
Arabs, being without the sound of 'ch,' made the China of the
Hindus and Malays into Sin, and perhaps sometimes into Thin.
Hence the Thin of the author of the Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea, who appears to be the first extant author to employ the
name in this form; hence also the Sinæ and Thinæ of Ptolemy.
.. . . If we now turn to the Seres we find this name mentioned
by classic authors much more frequently and at an earlier date
by at least a century. The name is familiar enough to the
Latin poets of the Augustan age, but always in a vague way.
... The name of Seres is probably from its earliest use in the
west identified with the name of the silkworm and its produce,
and this association continued until the name ceased entirely
to be used as a geographical expression. ... It was in the
days of the Mongols ... that China first became really known
to Europe, and that by a name which, though especially applied
to the northern provinces, also came to bear a more general
application, Cathay. This name, Khitai, is that by which China
is styled to this day by all, or nearly all, the nations which
know it from an inland point of view, including the Russians,
the Persians, and the nations of Turkestan; and yet it
originally belonged to a people who were not Chinese at all.
The Khitans were a people of Manchu race, who inhabited for
centuries a country to the north-east of China." During a
period between the 10th and 12th centuries, the Khitans
acquired supremacy over their neighbours and established an
empire which embraced Northern China and the adjoining regions
of Tartary. "It must have been during this period, ending with
the overthrow of the dynasty [called the Leao or Iron Dynasty]
in 1123, and whilst this northern monarchy was the face which
the Celestial Empire turned to Inner Asia, that the name of
Khitan, Khitat, or Khitaï, became indissolubly associated with
China."

_H. Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither: Preliminary
Essay._

CHINA:
The Origin of the People and their early History.