Chapter X: Part II: South American Dominions (9)

_Colonia del Sacramento_, in 34° 22' south latitude, and 57° 52' west longitude, was formerly a place of some importance, as, the small tract of country surrounding it, which is thirty-three miles north-east of Buenos Ayres on the opposite bank of the La Plata, having been colonized by the Portuguese, in 1678, they built a city on it. It was taken from them in 1684, they however recovered it, but were again driven out in 1704, and it was not restored till the peace. In 1706, it was besieged a third time by the Spaniards, with 800 troops and 1500 Indians by land, and with four vessels by sea, but they could make no impression, so strongly was it fortified. It was however taken in 1762, but restored at the subsequent peace; the Spaniards still viewing it with a jealous eye, took it for the last time in 1777, when they destroyed the city and fortifications. Its only importance, at present, consists in its having a tolerable harbour or bay, formed by the river, and it is said, that the Portuguese have again recently occupied it.

The above are the principal towns of this extended government, which contains many others, most of them are however either missionary or military stations; the former abounding on the banks of the Parana and Uraguay, while the latter are chiefly on the north-west, towards the Llanos de Manso and Tucuman, and on the east towards the Portuguese frontier.

The provinces of this government have not been enumerated, they are little known, and many of them are only divisions of the missions, such as _Guarania_, which extends along the south shores of the Parana, and contains about thirty villages of the Guaranis Indians. On the south-east of Buenos Ayres, the country is named _Tuyu_; it however contains no Spanish settlements of any importance, and seems to be a tract crossed by a chain of mountains, which divide it from the coast of the Atlantic; much has been written concerning the _Abipons_, who occupy the north-west corner of this government; they appear to be a tribe consisting of about 5000 souls, who are of a very warlike disposition, frequently disturbing the settlements. Their language is distinct from that of the neighbouring nations, and they exist by the chase, preferring the flesh of the jaguar or American tiger to any other animal, and retire to the islands and high trees, when the annual inundations commence in their country. The _Patagonians_ on the southern frontier have also excited much curiosity; but it seems to be proved beyond a doubt, that they are merely a race of Indians of a stature rather above the middling size, and that they do not differ in their general habits from their neighbours.

The limits of this work will not permit any farther description of the Indian nations who inhabit and surround Buenos Ayres. Of many of them, the Spanish settlers know nothing more than the names, and of the rest, it is observed, that the more the settlements spread, the less the Aborigines are seen, and the thinner their numbers become; most probably owing to the new diseases they acquire, and the more wandering and uncertain life they are obliged to lead; not so the Indians who settle in the missions, their life becoming one of peace and tranquillity, their wants being supplied by their own labour, and not being constantly exposed to the burning sun or chilling rains of the southern regions, their numbers continually increase; and though the Spaniards formerly used very harsh methods, to convert them either to their faith or their profit, it cannot be denied, that they have within the last century, wiped that blot from the historic page, and with a few exceptions, have conduced very materially to the welfare of a race, remarkable for their general inaptitude and unwillingness to assist in bettering their own condition.

Having therefore detailed every subject concerning the extensive governments of the viceroyalty of La Plata, which has been deemed interesting or novel, with the exception only of particular descriptions of the animals which are peculiar to it, and to the other southern regions of America, it now remains for us, only to treat of the last great political division of the Spanish colonies in that country, and in so doing, we shall give a more extended account of some of the most singular zoological objects; as they are equally common to the territory about to be treated of, as to Buenos Ayres.

The kingdom of Chili will therefore now engage our attention.

CAPTAIN GENERALSHIP OF _CHILI_.

The kingdom of Chili or Chilé is the last and most southerly of the governments which compose the empire of Spanish America.

EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES.

It extends between the 24° and 45° of south latitude, and comprises the continent bounded by the ocean on the west, and the Andes on the east; and the islands on its coasts. Its greatest length being about 1260 miles, and its greatest breadth 300. The extent has been estimated to be equal to 22,574 square leagues.

It is bounded on the north by La Plata, and from Peru it is separated by the desert and province of Atacama; on the east it is bounded by the Buenos Ayrean provinces of Tucuman and Cuyo, and by Terra Magellanica, or Patagonia; on the west, the Southern Pacific washes its shores; and on the south, the unconquered and desert countries of Terra Magellanica complete its limits.

POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT.

Chili is governed by a Spanish officer, appointed by the court of Madrid, and holding the title of Captain General of the kingdom of Chili, having under his orders all the inferior governors of departments and military posts; he is likewise commander in chief of the Chilian forces, and president of the court of royal audience of Santiago.

The country he governs is divided into continental and insular partidos, or departments, over which intendants or lieutenants preside.

The continental part, or Chili Proper, is divided into thirteen partidos, which extend from the twenty-fourth degree to the thirty-seventh degree of south latitude, and are named Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota, Aconcagua, Melipilla, Santiago, Rancagua, Colchagua, Maule, Itata, Chillan, Puchucay, and Huilquilemu; from the thirty-seventh degree to the islands of Chiloe, the country is chiefly under the power of three native tribes, the Araucanians, the Cunches, and the Huilliches.

Insular Chili, comprehends the archipelagoes of Chiloe, and Chonos or Guaytecas, and the Andean part of Chili is inhabited also by independent tribes.

DISCOVERY AND HISTORY.

The origin of the native inhabitants of Chili is involved in impenetrable obscurity. They had traditions respecting their ancestors, which were so vague and uncertain as not to merit notice; so that nothing can be advanced concerning the history of Chili, prior to about the middle of the fifteenth century.

In the year 1450, the country was occupied by fifteen independent tribes, governed by caciques or ulmens; they were named Copiapins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, Mapochians, Promaucians, Cures, Cauques, Pencones, Araucanians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chiquilanians, Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches. The Peruvians were at this period governed by the Inca Yupanqui, who having extended his empire to the borders of their country, was ambitious to possess a territory, of which his subjects gave a highly favourable report. He accordingly moved southward to Atacama, and dispatched Sinchiruca, a Peruvian prince, from thence with a large army, to the northern territories of Chili; this general reduced the Copiapins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, and Mapochians, but was interrupted in his career by the Promaucians, who defeated his forces in a sanguinary battle.

From henceforward the Peruvians were foiled in all their attempts to proceed southward, and a fort being erected on the Rapel river, the four first tribes became tributaries to the Incas. Though the Peruvian form of government was never introduced into their territories, which were still presided over by the Ulmens or caciques.

On the arrival of the Spaniards at Cuzco, the Chilese were mostly an agricultural nation, subsisting on the plants their labour had brought to perfection; they had aqueducts to irrigate their fields, and they turned up the soil with a rude sort of plough, which they pushed forwards by a handle opposed to the breast. The Peruvian camels were used as beasts of burden, and these people made bread, fermented liquors, and boiled or cooked their victuals in earthen pots of their own manufacture.

The Chilese lived in large or small villages, and they knew and practised the laws and rights of hereditary property; they had also advanced so far in the knowledge of some of the useful arts, that they were able to form hatchets and implements of copper, vases of marble, and they worked mines of gold, silver, copper, tin and lead.

Their religion consisted in the acknowledgement of a Supreme Being, whom they named PILLAN, from pilli, the soul; and for whom they had also names equivalent to the Great Being, the Thunderer, the Eternal, the Creator, the Omnipotent, &c.

Pillan was said to be the king of Heaven, the lord of all the inferior spirits, who were both males and females, and whose offices consisted in guiding the destinies of man in battle, in peace, &c.; and in producing harvests; each person had his attendant spirit or genius, who protected them from Guecebu the evil one.

Being extremely independent in their notions, their ulmens or caciques had no power to impose contributions on the people they governed, and were merely sages or warriors who guided the tribes in council or in the field.

No temples were erected in Chili, the Great Being and his subordinate agents were invoked in times of need, and on occasions of great distress sacrifices of animals and offerings of fruits were made. As well as their neighbours, the Peruvians, they had a tradition of a great deluge, in which only a few persons were saved.

They had words to express units, tens, hundreds, and a thousand, with all the intermediate numbers, and preserved the memory of transactions by the Pron, a bunch of threads of several colours, resembling the Peruvian quippus.

In treating of the Araucanians, we shall give some further account of a people, who, though they had not attained the degree of civilization acquired by their northern neighbours, were, nevertheless, very far from being in a state of barbarism, and who are probably the only American nation, surrounded by European colonies, who have hitherto retained the same customs, manners, language and independence which they possessed before the conquest of the New World, as the Spaniards have scarcely made more progress in subduing them than their predecessor, the Inca Yupanqui, did.

From the determination of Almagro to conquer the country possessed by the Peruvians south of Cuzco, in consequence of the reports constantly received by himself and Pizarro, of the riches it contained, may be dated the discovery of Chili by Europeans.

Don Diego de Almagro de Malagon having collected a force of 570 Spaniards, and 15,000 Peruvians, set out from Cuzco, in the year 1535, attended by Paullu Inca, and choosing the road of the mountains, reached the province of Copiapo in Chili, after a march in which they had to contend with the Indians at every step; this, together with the inclemencies of the weather, the rugged nature of the road, and the winter overtaking them on the summit of the Andes, caused the death of 150 of the Spaniards and 10,000 of the Peruvians.

On the arrival of the army in Copiapo, Paullu Inca obliged the natives to deliver up all the gold in their possession, which amounting to the value of 500,000 ducats, he presented to Almagro.

The natives every where received the Spaniards with respect, amounting almost to adoration, as they imagined the new comers were a divine race sent by their gods to govern them, till after the arrival of Rodrigo Orgonez, with a reinforcement from Peru, when two of the soldiers committing acts of violence near the river Huasco, were slain by the people.

This, the first blood shed on either side, so irritated the Spaniards, that Almagro ordered the ulmen, his brother, and twenty of the chief people to be brought before him, when warning the natives to beware of similar transgressions, he committed his unfortunate victims to the flames; but the army disapproving of this cruel step, the affairs of Almagro soon became unprosperous.

At this juncture, Juan de Rada arrived with fresh troops from Peru, and with the letters of the king appointing Almagro governor of the territory south of that claimed by Pizarro. The Inca Paullu having reinforced his army with the Peruvian garrisons in Chili, Almagro penetrated as far south as the Rapel or Cachapoal, the boundary between the Independent Chilians and the Peruvian colonies: at this place the Inca endeavoured to persuade the general not to hazard an attack, as he was convinced, from what the Peruvians had experienced for a hundred years, that it would be unavailing; but Almagro persisted, a battle was fought, the Promaucians were victorious, and the Spaniards, disgusted with the event and with their general, returned to Peru, to which Almagro marched by the coast road through the desert of Atacama, and arrived near Cuzco, in 1538, with little loss; his subsequent history has been already related.

After the defeat and death of Almagro, Pizarro, wishing to extend his conquests, ordered Pedro de Valdivia to undertake an expedition to Chili with 200 Spaniards, a numerous body of Peruvians, women, monks and European quadrupeds, in order to settle such districts as he might deem proper.

Valdivia departed from Cuzco in 1540, and pursued the mountain road, taking the precaution of passing it in summer, on his arrival in Copiapo, so far from receiving the hospitable reception which Almagro met with, his army was attacked by the natives with great resolution, but as they had been too long in subjection to the Peruvians to be able to afford an effectual resistance, Valdivia soon reduced Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota and Melipilla, and with little loss arrived in the country of Mapocho, now called Santiago, where he laid the foundation of the city of Santiago, on the 24th of February, 1541.

The Promaucians assembling some forces to attack the Spaniards, Valdivia set out from Santiago to repel them, and left the new city in the care of Alonzo de Monroy; he was no sooner gone than the Mapochians attacked the place, and burning the settlement, forced the inhabitants to retire into the fort, but the commandant was relieved after a desperate siege by the return of Valdivia, who, hastening to the town, attacked the Mapochians and utterly defeated them.

During this attack a woman named Iñez Suarez killed several chieftains who were prisoners in the fort, with an axe; as she perceived they were about to take advantage of the distressed state of the Spaniards.

The Mapochians continued at intervals to annoy the colony for six years, after which being utterly defeated they destroyed their crops and habitations and retired to the mountains.

Valdivia being harassed by the natives as well as by the mutinous conduct of his men, sent messengers to Peru for succour, and to show the riches of the country he caused the bits, spurs and stirrups of his two messengers to be made of gold; but they were intercepted in their route by the Copiapins, from whom they did not escape till after a length of time, and arriving in Peru where Vaca de Castro was governor, who immediately dispatched succours by sea and land to Valdivia; with this assistance he reduced some of the surrounding tribes and founded Serena or Coquimbo, in 1544.

In 1545 he entered into a treaty with the Promaucians, who thenceforward became allies of the Spaniards, and in 1546 he passed the river Maule and reduced the natives from that river to the Itata; here he was however attacked by the Indians, and forced to retreat to Santiago, from whence, hearing of the civil wars in Peru, he went to that country, leaving Francisco Villagran governor in his absence.

Valdivia acted so meritoriously under De Gasca in Peru, that after Gonzalo Pizarro was subdued the president sent him back to Chili, with the title of Governor, abundance of stores, and two ships filled with soldiers.

The Coquimbans and Copiapins having revolted, the governor sent Francisco Aguirre against them, who succeeding in his expedition, rebuilt the city of Coquimbo, in a more convenient place in 1549.

Nine years from this period were passed in constant exertion by the governor, before he could consider his power as fully settled in the northern provinces of Chili; when having distributed the lands and Indians among his followers, he turned his arms against the southern portion of his government, and after a march of 250 miles, arrived at the bay of Penco or Concepcion, where he founded the city of Concepcion, on the 5th of October, 1550. No sooner had he colonized this settlement, than the toqui or chief of the Araucanians, attacked him with an army of 4000 men; but after a battle of several hours, _Aillavalu_, the toqui, was slain, and the Araucanians forced to retreat. In the following year, 1551, Valdivia was attacked in Concepcion, by _Lincoyan_, the new toqui, or general of the Araucanians, but they retreated, after displaying much valour.

Valdivia now occupied himself in strengthening his post, and having received succours from Peru, he marched into Arauco, where, arriving at the river Cauten, he founded the city of Imperial, after which he traversed the country to the territory of the Cunches, in which he founded the town of Valdivia; and satisfied with his success, returned to St. Jago, having fought several battles with the natives, in which his troops were always victorious.

He now dispatched Aguirre, with 200 men to conquer Cuyo and Tucuman, and returning with fresh troops into Araucania, he built the city of La Frontera; and having effected this object, retired to Concepcion, and dispatched a messenger to Spain, with an account of his conquests, a solicitation of the government, and of the title of Marquess del Arauco, and he sent Francisco de Ulloa by sea, to explore the Straits of Magellan, by which he hoped to carry on a communication with the mother-country, independent of Peru.

Occupied with these affairs, he did not perceive the increasing power of the Araucanians, who having deposed Lincoyan, elected _Caupolican_, a warlike chief, to the supreme command of their army.

Caupolican then attacked the fort of Arauco, which the Spaniards abandoned in the night; he also compelled them to evacuate Tucapel, both of which he destroyed. Valdivia immediately collected what force he could, marched against him, but sending an advanced guard of ten horsemen to reconnoitre, they were cut off, and their heads fixed in the road through which the Spanish army was to pass. This army arrived in sight of the Araucanians, on the 3d of December, 1553, when a fierce contest immediately commenced. The Araucanians were put to flight, but in their confusion, a young chief who had been baptized and employed as page to Valdivia, suddenly deserted the Spanish army, and brandishing a lance, called out to his countrymen to turn and follow his example; this so encouraged the enemy, that they immediately commenced a fresh attack, with such success, that the Spaniards and their Promaucian allies were cut to pieces, only two of the latter escaping.

Valdivia retired with his chaplain to a convenient spot, and having received absolution, prepared himself for death. He was soon taken prisoner, and his late page, begging that he might be spared, was on the point of obtaining his release, when an old Ulmen, indignant at the fate of his countrymen who had fallen in the battle, put an end to the conference, and the existence of Valdivia by a blow with his war-club.

On the news of the defeat and death of the governor arriving at Concepcion, Villagran was appointed to the chief command, and marching with a force against the Araucanians, he was defeated by _Lautaro_, the page before mentioned, and losing 700 men, was forced to retreat to Concepcion, which place he abandoned and proceeded to St. Jago. By his wise measures and resolute conduct, as well as by the dreadful ravages of the small-pox which had been communicated to the Araucanians, the Spanish possessions were once more established, but battles were constantly fought between the natives and the settlers, which though they generally terminated in favour of the Europeans, were the means of their losing many settlements, and Lautaro the toqui, was slain in 1556, in an action with Villagran.

In 1557, the viceroy of Peru sent Don Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza his son to Chili, with a great force of cavalry, infantry and shipping. The new governor landed on an island in the bay of Concepcion in April; here he remained during the winter, making overtures of an amicable nature to the Araucanians, but not receiving a determinate answer, he landed 150 men at Monte Pinto, and erected a strong fort to command the harbour; this place was immediately attacked by the Araucanians, under Caupolican, when a tremendous battle ensued, in which the army of the toqui were defeated.

Don Garcia then proceeded into Arauco, where he fought another desperate action, and defeating the Araucanians, marched to the southward, through the province of the Cunches, a tribe hitherto unsubdued. In this expedition, they discovered the Chiloe Islands, and returning from thence, he marched through the country of the Huilliches, and founded the town of Osorno.

About this time, Caupolican the great toqui or general, was taken prisoner, impaled, and shot to death with arrows, but his son was elected to the chief command, and exasperated by the cruel death of his father, attacked the Spanish forces under the officer who had slain Caupolican; in this attack, the young chief was victorious, and immediately besieged Imperial, in which he was however foiled.

Many battles occurred in 1559, the last of which was peculiarly favourable for the Spanish cause, all the best leaders of the Araucanians being slain in it.

Don Garcia now rebuilt the cities which had been destroyed; sent Castillo to conquer Cuyo, and at last, embarked for Peru, in which country he had been advanced to the viceregal rank.

Villagran who had been to Spain returned to Chili, with the title of governor, but meeting with reverses, his spirits sunk, and dying soon after, he left his son Pedro as governor; at which period, the Araucanians were once more getting the better of the Spaniards, who founded the town of Castro, in Chiloe, in the year 1566.

In 1567, the court of royal audience was established in the city of Concepcion, their first act was to depose Quiroga, who had dispossessed the younger Villagran in his government, and to appoint Ruiz Gamboa, to the command of the army.

The natives had now become exceedingly powerful under the conduct of a Mestizo, named Alonzo Diaz, who had been raised to the rank of toqui by the name of _Paynenauca_, and who had been joined by the Chiquillanians and the Pehuenches. This chief fought many actions with the Spanish troops, but was at last taken prisoner and beheaded.

On his death, _Cayancura_ was elevated to the dignity of toqui. In his time, the Araucanians besieged the fort of Arauco, and being defeated, the toqui resigned his command to _Nangoniel_ his son, who was killed in attacking another fortress.

_Cadaguela_ was then unanimously proclaimed general, and in his time, the English under Sir Thomas Candish landed on the coast of Chili, and endeavoured to enter into negociations with the natives; but being attacked by Molina, the corregidor of Santiago, they were forced to reimbark, after losing several men.

Several chiefs succeeded Cadaguela, each of whom were engaged in desperate actions with the Spaniards. In 1593, Don Martin Loyola, nephew of the celebrated founder of the order of Jesuits, having married the daughter of Sayri Tupac, the last Inca of Peru, was appointed governor of Chili; he was slain five years after his arrival, on the 22d of November 1598, by _Paillamachu_ the toqui, in whose country he had imprudently ventured with too small an escort. On this event which had been previously planned, the whole Araucanian country, with the Cunches and Huilliches, their allies, suddenly rose, and put to death every Spaniard who had the misfortune to be without the forts; the towns of Osorno, Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol, and Arauco, were all attacked, and Conception and Chillan were burnt.

Amid all these misfortunes, the Dutch landed in the Chiloe Islands, plundered Chiloe, and put the Spanish garrison to the sword; but landing in an island where the Araucanians were posted, these people attacked them and killed twenty-three of their men, mistaking them for Spaniards.

All the Spanish cities above-named, were also taken by Paillamachu the toqui, and the Spaniards were completely expelled from the territories of the Araucanian confederacy.

Luis Valdivia, a Jesuit, who had been employed in converting the Chilese, finding it impracticable to prevail on the Araucanians to listen to him, went to Spain, where he instigated the emperor to take measures to procure a peace; and returning to Chili, in 1612, this zealous missionary nearly effected the object he had taken so much trouble about, and in a short time peace was about to be proclaimed between the Spaniards and the Indians, when an unforeseen circumstance occurred, which rendered the war more active than before.

Battle succeeded battle, with no extraordinary result on either side, till the Dutch made a second attempt on the islands, in which they were repulsed as before, the natives again mistaking them for Spaniards.

Some wars took place after this, till the arrival of Don Francisco de Zuniga, Marquess of Baydes, who assumed the government in 1640. By his exertions, the preliminaries of a peace were arranged and finally settled on the 6th of January 1641, between _Lincopichion_, the Chilese general, and the Marquess, by which the two nations mutually agreed to suspend all hostilities, and the Araucanians, on their part, engaged to prevent any foreign power whatever from landing in their territories. In 1643, the Dutch made a third and last attempt to colonize this country, by building two forts, and taking possession of Valdivia; but being deprived of provisions by the Cunches, and hearing that a powerful army of Spaniards and Araucanians were marching against them, they evacuated Chili.

The peace thus happily settled, lasted until 1655, when war again broke out with all its former fury, being carried on by both parties for ten years with equal spirit. At the end of this period, Meneses a Portuguese noble, who held the reins of government, again persuaded the turbulent natives to consent to a peace. This was more lasting than the former, and the history of Chili presents nothing worthy of notice till the commencement of the eighteenth century, when the inhabitants of the islands of Chiloe revolted, but were soon quelled. The famous war of the succession happening in Europe at this epoch created much internal discussion in the Spanish colonies; several governors were removed for favouring the Bourbon party, but when a prince of that house was at last placed on the Spanish throne, the ports of Chili were filled with French ships, and from 1707, to 1717, many persons of that nation settled in the country.

About this time, the Araucanians began to show some symptoms of an inclination to break the treaty, and in 1722, they elected _Vilumilla_ their toqui or war-chief. So actively did this chief employ himself, that he gained to his party, nearly the whole of the Indians from Peru to the river Biobio, causing them to agree to rise against the whites, at a certain moment, which was to take place when they should see the watch-fires on the mountains: accordingly on the 9th of March 1723, these fires blazed from Copiapo to Itata, but from some reason, which has not been related, the natives of the northern provinces did not join, and his scheme was put into execution by the Araucanians only, who took some places, and then made overtures of peace.

The year 1742 was famous for the arrival of Don Josef Manso, the new governor, who collected all the scattered colonists, and placed them in several cities which he founded, and which are now the capitals, and chief towns of the different provinces.

His successors continued this line of conduct, and in 1753, several new towns were built, and Don Domingo Rosa sent a colony to occupy the island of Juan Fernandez, which had remained uninhabited till that time.

In 1770, the governor, Don Antonio Gil Gonzago, created a new war, by endeavouring to force the Araucanians to live in towns, giving them materials to build with, appointing workmen to assist them, and sending a force to compel them to do so, and entering into a treaty with the Pehuenches, he attacked them on all sides. The Pehuenches were defeated, and instead of becoming the eternal enemies of their conquerors, they have since that time been their most faithful allies. The Spanish governor being thwarted by these warlike people in all his schemes, a peace was resorted to after a dreadful battle in 1773, and on this occasion the Araucanians insisted on being allowed to retain a resident agent at Santiago, which was granted.

A native of Ireland, Don Ambrosio Higgins, was appointed captain-general of Chili, in 1787, and being still at peace with the natives, this governor built several new towns, opened the mines, and encouraged commerce and agriculture.

In his government, the regular militia of Chili, amounted to 15,856 men. The veteran troops, or royal guard, was 1976 men; and beside these, each city has an armed force, with a local militia, the former being kept in constant pay.

Since the year 1792, several governors have presided over Chili, and nothing material occurs in its history, until 1810, when a partial revolution took place. Spain being overrun by the French armies, the creoles of this country judged it a favourable moment to throw off their allegiance, and accordingly, being the most numerous, they effected their object with little trouble. Since that period, the royal armies have subjected the kingdom, which has been thrown into fresh convulsions by the appearance of San Martin, with a detachment from the insurgent force of Buenos Ayres; at present the government is decidedly Spanish, though the capital and several strong places are occupied by the revolutionists, but very little is known concerning what particular cities, towns and forts they hold.

CLIMATE, FEATURES, &c.

The climate of Chili is probably superior to that of any other country in Spanish America, as the air is remarkably salubrious, the inhabitants being troubled with few contagious diseases, and the extremes of heat and cold are not felt in continental Chili. The spring commences in September, summer in December, autumn in March, and winter in June. From September till March, south-east or south winds prevail, during which time the sky is clear and serene, but the north and north-west winds regularly occasion rain, and chiefly occur during the remaining months.

A singular circumstance attends the difference of climate between the countries lying on the eastern and western sides of the Chilian Andes; for though the winter is the rainy season of Chili, at that time Tucuman and Cuyo enjoy their finest weather. In the northern districts of Chili rain seldom falls; whilst in the southern parts and in the isles it is frequent. The Chilian Andes being very high, and many of them entering the regions of eternal snow, the lands lying in their neighbourhood are subject to occasional frosts, and the mountains themselves are impassable from April to November, on account of the frequent and overwhelming snow storms.

The want of rain in the northern provinces is supplied by abundant dews, and fogs are common on the coasts, but they are never of long continuance. On the whole it may be stated, that the climate of this country is temperate, and favourable for bringing forward the productions of its fertile soil.

This soil yields by cultivation all the grains common to Europe, and in the most uncultivated parts, is covered with a profuse and luxuriant vegetation. The crops are usually from sixty to eighty for one; but in the rich valleys, this proportion is greatly exceeded; but the sea-coast being the least productive, the harvests there do not give more than forty or fifty to one.

The grains most commonly sown are maize, wheat, barley and rye. Hemp and flax give abundant returns, but are not so much attended to.

European fruit trees find a genial clime in Chili, and in the southern provinces are woods of apple and quince trees, of several miles in extent, from which fruit of excellent quality is gathered. Pears, cherries, peaches, of which there are fourteen sorts, some weighing sixteen ounces; oranges, lemons and citrons, melons, &c., are every where to be seen in the fields growing without culture, and each in their kind yielding delicious fruit. Vines grow wild in the forests, and those which are planted give a red wine not inferior to the produce of any European vintage.

The olive trees thrive exceedingly, some of them reaching to a great height, and being three feet in diameter.

In the northern provinces the tropical fruits and plants grow in the greatest abundance; of these the sugar cane, the cotton plant, the banana, the pine apple, the manioc, jalap, pimento, indigo, contrayerva, tobacco, sarsaparilla, guiacum, cassia, tamarinds, pepper, canello, or white cinnamon, cocoa nut and date are the most common.

Besides the plants common to the other kingdoms of America, and the luxuriancy with which all kinds of European herbs, trees, grains and fruits, grow in Chili, this country has a long catalogue of vegetables peculiar to itself.

The plains, the valleys, and the lower mountains, are covered with beautiful trees, and with an herbage so high that it conceals the sheep which graze in it, and 3000 species of non-descript plants were collected by an able naturalist, who has enumerated the properties of some of them; of these the most singular are, a large strawberry, which is cultivated for the table, and also grows wild; the madi yielding a fine oil; relbun, a species of madder; panke, which gives a good black dye; the cachan-lahuen, a balsam equal to that of Peru; and the viravira, useful in intermittent fevers. Various kinds of creeping plants, whose flowers afford the most beautiful decorations to the gardens and forests; and the puya, whose bark is used for the same purposes as cork.

Ninety-seven kinds of trees are found in the Chilian forests, of which thirteen only shed their leaves; so that an everlasting verdure presents itself; of those resembling the European, the cypress, pine, oak, laurel and cedar, are varieties of the same kinds. The other most curious ones are the theige or Chili willow, which yields a great quantity of manna; the floripondio, whose flowers diffuse so great a fragrance that one is sufficient to perfume a garden; the Chilian orange, whose wood is esteemed by turners, on account of its fine yellow colour; the boighe, or white cinnamon, resembling the cinnamon of Ceylon, and esteemed a sacred tree by the Araucanians, who always present a branch of it to the embassadors, on concluding a peace. The luma, a myrtle which grows to the height of forty feet, and whose trunk affords the best wood for the coachmakers of Peru; the quillia, from whose bark a soap is manufactured; the palma Chilensis, or Chilian cocoa nut, whose fruit, though resembling that of the tropic nut, is not larger than an apple; the gevuin, which is a sort of walnut tree, and the pihuen, a sort of fir or pine, which is the most beautiful tree in Chili. Its trunk is generally eighty feet in height, and eight in girth; the limbs which branch from it begin at half its height, and leave it alternately by fours, decreasing in length as they approach the top. The fruit, like that of the pine, is very large, and has two kernels, which in taste nearly resembles the chestnut; a gum, used as frankincense, exudes from the bark; and its timber is highly useful.

Chili is as singular in its landscape as any, and perhaps more so than most other parts of America, as on the east it is shut out from La Plata by the Andes, which, rising to an enormous height, has its surface covered with pinnacles, which are in general volcanic. This Cordillera scarcely ever depresses itself in its course through the country, till it approaches Peru; and it seems probable that it attains a greater elevation in this kingdom than in Quito; no actual measurement has however been made of its highest summits, though they are well known by name. The Chilian Andes are about 120 miles in breadth, taking a direction from the Archipelago of Chonos to the frontiers of Tucuman, and consisting of an uninterrupted chain of ridges, constantly losing themselves in the snowy regions of the air; their sides are interspersed with fruitful valleys and dreadful precipices, and give birth to rivers, exhibiting the most beautiful and the most terrific features of nature.

The roads leading from Chili to Tucuman and Cuyo are not more than eight or nine in number, of which that leading from Aconcagua to Cuyo is the best. It is bordered on one side by the deep beds of the Chilé and the Mendoza rivers; on the other by lofty and impracticable precipices; and is so narrow that in many places the rider is obliged to descend from his mule and proceed on foot; nor does a year ever pass without some of those animals being precipitated into the thundering streams below.

The precipices which accompany this route occasionally open and display beautiful and fertile plains. In these places are seen the tambos of the Incas, only one of which has been destroyed. This road requires eight days to pass in good weather, but in winter it is totally impracticable. That portion of the Andes between the 24° and 33° south latitude is wholly desert, and the remainder, as far as the 45°, is inhabited by the Chiquillanes, Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches, tribes who are in amity with the Araucanians.

The Chilian Andes form three parallel ridges, the centre being the most elevated, and flanked by the others at 20 or 30 miles distance, and they are connected by transversal branches.

The highest mountains of this chain are the _Manflos_, in 28° 45' south latitude, the _Tupungato_, in 33° 24', the _Descabezado_, in 35°, the _Blanquillo_, in 35° 4', the _Longavi_, in 35° 30', the _Chillan_, in 36°, and the immense _Corcobado_, in 43°; and it is said that all of these are more than 20,000 feet above the level of the sea, the lowest part of the chain being in the province of Copiapo.

This Cordillera has no fewer than fourteen volcanoes, in a constant state of eruption, and a much greater number discharging only smoke. Fortunately for the inhabitants, these are, with the exception of two, all situated on the very ridge of the Andes, and thus cover only a small space in their immediate vicinity with the devastating effects of the heated substances which are thrown from them. The greatest eruption ever known in this country was on the 3d of December 1760, when the volcano _Peteroa_ burst forth by a new crater, and rent asunder a mountain in its vicinity.

It formed a lake by stopping up the passage of a considerable river, and was heard throughout the whole country.

The two volcanoes which are not on the ridge of the Andes, are that at the mouth of the river Rapel, which is inconsiderable, and ejects only vapour; and that of _Villarica_, near a lake of the same name in Arauco.

Villarica is so high, that its summit is covered with snow, and may be seen at 150 miles distance. Its base, which is fourteen miles in circuit, is covered with thick forests, and many rivers flow from it; and though in a constant state of activity, its eruptions are never very violent. Although the Chilese seldom suffer from the obvious effects of these volcanoes, their country is subjected to earthquakes, caused, in all probability, by the struggle in the bosom of the earth amid the combustible materials which are striving to vent themselves.

These earthquakes generally occur three or four times a year, but they are seldom of material consequence, and are not dreaded as in Peru and Caraccas. Since the arrival of the Spaniards only five violent shocks have occurred, in 1520, 1647; 1657, in 1730, when the sea rose over the walls of Concepcion, and in 1751, when that city was destroyed by the ocean; but only seven persons perished who were invalids and unable to move. These shocks are usually preceded by a noise under ground, which gives sufficient warning to the people to leave their houses, and as the earth rarely opens, few buildings are overthrown; and the towns are erected with such broad streets, and with such spacious courts and gardens behind the houses, that even should these fall, the people are safe.

_Rivers._--Chili possesses more than 120 rivers, but as the distance from the Andes to the sea, is in no instance more than 300 miles, none of them are very large: they are however of great importance to the country, by affording the means of irrigating the fields, and of internal navigation.

The finest rivers are the _Maule_, the _Cauten_, the _Tolten_, _Valdivia_, _Chaivin_, _Rio Bueno_, and the _Sinfondo_.

The only lake of importance is that of _Villarica_, or _Laquen_, which is 72 miles in circumference. Sheets of fresh and salt water are common throughout Chili. In the marshes of the maritime ports are the Lakes _Bucalemu_, _Caguil_, and _Bogerecu_, which are salt, and from twelve to twenty miles in length. Salt springs are common in Coquimbo and Copiapo, and in the latter province is the _Rio Salado_, which, rising in the Andes, runs into the Pacific, and leaves a fine crystallized salt on its banks, which is so pure as not to need any preparation for use.

Mineral springs and thermal waters also are common.

_Mines._--The mineral kingdom is not less rich in Chili than the vegetable one is. It produces all the known semi-metals; they are, however, neglected by the Spaniards, with the exception of mercury, so necessary for the refining of gold and silver: but the government having forbidden the two richest mines of quicksilver to be worked, that substance is only procured in a small quantity.

Lead is found in all the silver mines, and in various parts it is worked for its own value, in others on account of the silver it always contains. In the provinces of Copiapo, Coquimbo, Aconcagua and Huilquilemu are rich iron mines, and the sands of the rivers and sea yield this metal abundantly.

Tin is also plentiful in the sandy mountains; and mines of copper are scattered over the whole country, the richest being between the 24° and 36° south latitude; the ore usually containing gold. The copper mines of Coquimbo and Copiapo have been long known; they are said to amount to more than 1000, all of which are in constant work; and the richest mine of this metal was that of _Payen_, which the Spaniards were forced to abandon by the natives; lumps of pure copper were found in it, weighing from fifty to one hundred pounds; and it is said that the mine at _Curico_, recently discovered, is equally rich, its ore consisting of gold and copper in equal proportions, and having an uncommonly brilliant and beautiful appearance.

The silver mines are usually discovered in the highest and coldest parts of the mountain-country, on which account it has been found necessary to abandon several very rich veins. The most celebrated are those of _Coquimbo_, _Copiapo_, _Aconcagua_ and _Santiago_. In these the metal is found pure, as well as in ores mineralized with arsenic and sulphur.

_Uspallata_, in the 33° south latitude, is the most productive. It is situated eight leagues north-west of Mendoza in Cuyo, and yields from forty to sixty marks per quintal. Gold is found, not only in the silver, copper and lead ores, but there is hardly a mountain in the kingdom which does not contain some of this precious metal; and it is found in the plains, and in the beds of the rivers. The most important mines and washings of gold in Chili being at _Copiapo_, _Huasco_, _Coquimbo_, _Petorca_, ten leagues south of Chuapa, _Ligua_, near Quillota, _Tiltil_, _Llaoin_, _Putaendo_, _Yapel_, or _Villa de Cuscus_, _Caen_, _Alhue_, _Chibato_ and _Huillipatagua_, and all but the three last have been wrought ever since the conquest.

The quantity of gold and silver produced annually in Chili amounts, excluding that which is sent clandestinely out of the country, to the value of 357,000_l._ sterling annually; and there were 721,000 piastres of gold, and 146,000 of silver, coined at the mint of Santiago in 1790: but since that period the plain of Uspallata has yielded a greater proportion of silver. The contraband silver exported from Chili is as three to two on that which pays the fifth; the annual average of the fine gold and silver which receives the royal stamp in Chili being 1,737,380 piastres, or 376,432_l._ sterling, of which 10,000 marcs are gold, and 29,700 silver: but the administration consumes the revenue of Chili, which, therefore, never remitted any sum to the royal coffers.

_Population._--The population of this extensive country is composed of Europeans, creoles, Indians, mestizoes and negroes; of these the creoles are by far the most numerous in the Spanish provinces. The country is in general thinly inhabited; the whites living in towns, and the independent Indians roaming in their native woods and mountains, it is not probable that the Spanish part contains more than 800,000 inhabitants including all the classes. The creoles are a well-made, brave and industrious race, and have a frankness and vivacity peculiar to themselves; being in general possessed of good talents, but which are not cultivated, owing to the want of proper places of education.

The other classes are much the same as in other parts of Spanish America; and the peasantry, though of European origin, dress in the Araucanian manner; and, dispersed over an extensive country, are perfectly free from restraint; they therefore lead contented and happy lives.

The general language is Spanish, excepting on the borders of Arauco, where the ancient dialect, the _Chili-dugu_, or Chilese tongue, is cultivated by all classes. The females of Chili are as luxurious in their dress and equipages as those of Lima: but are noted for their kindness and hospitality towards strangers; and this virtue is practised in its greatest extent by all the inhabitants of the Spanish portion. In short the Chilians appear to be the most frank, courteous and generous people of Spanish America.

_Animals._--The animal kingdom is not so various as the vegetable in this country; the indigenous species amounting only to about thirty-six; of these the vicuna, resembling the animal of the same name in Peru, is a sort of camel, which lives in the highest regions of the Andes; its body is the size of a large goat with a long neck, round head, small straight ears and high legs. Its coat is of a fine dirty rose-coloured wool, which will take any dye, and is used for manufacturing a variety of cloths; they live in flocks on the highest heaths of the Andes, and are so timid, that they are taken by stretching a line across their path, to which pieces of cloth are tied, these fluttering in the wind terrify the vicunas, who stand still and suffer themselves to be caught. This animal has never been domesticated in Chili, but is chiefly sought after for its wool and flesh, the latter being esteemed equal to veal.

The Chilihueques, or Araucanian sheep, which resemble the European sheep, were employed as beasts of burden by the natives, who now use them for the sake of their fine wool, and they are a variety of the former.

The guanuco is another species of the American camel, exceeding the last in size; its length from the nose to the tail being about seven feet, and its height in front four feet three inches; many of them are however much taller; the body is covered with long reddish hair on the back and whitish under the belly; its head is round, the nose pointed and black, the tail short and turned up, and the ears straight. They live during the summer in the mountains, but quit them on the approach of winter for the plains in which they appear in herds of two or three hundred. They are hunted by the Chilians, whose horses are unable to keep pace with them, but the young being more feeble are generally taken.

The Indians, who are excellent horsemen, sometimes get near enough to throw the laqui between their legs, and thus take them alive. This laqui is a strip of leather five or six feet long, to each end of which is fastened a stone of two pounds weight, the huntsman holding one of these in his hand, and whirling the other, slings the string at the animal in so dexterous a manner that the stones form a tight knot round his legs. They have also longer strips of leather with a running noose at the end, which they carry coiled on their saddles, one end being made fast to them, and thrown with so sure an aim that the noose falls over the animal's head and neck, the rider then turning round, puts his horse into a full gallop, and such is the irresistible force with which he moves, that the game is compelled to follow. In this manner the Peons of Buenos Ayres, who are the natives of Paraguay that take charge of the immense herds of cattle roaming on the plains, catch them when they have occasion for their hide or carcass. The guanuco is naturally gentle, and is soon domesticated; it is used for the same purposes as the llamas and alpacos of Peru, which are only varieties of this animal. They resemble the camel in several particulars, having reservoirs in their stomachs for water, they can go for a long while without food, are very docile, kneel in order to discharge or receive their burdens, and have hoofs so firm as not to require shoeing, with such thick skins that they are rarely galled. Their step is slow but sure, even in the steepest parts of the mountains, and they pass the greater part of the night in ruminating, when they sleep folding their legs under them.

The females produce one young one at a time, and are five or six months in gestation. Their cry is like that of a horse, and to defend themselves they eject their saliva. The period of existence of these singular animals is about thirty years.

Chilihueques were much used as beasts of burden before the introduction of mules, but these animals have now nearly superseded them, from their greater strength. The llama and alpaco, are not known in the Chilian Andes, and the three species we have described, though evidently of the same genus, never copulate with each other, and are seldom observed in the same place.

The puda is a kind of wild goat of the size of a half grown kid, with brown hair, the male having small horns; these creatures come down in very numerous flocks from the mountains as soon as winter approaches, in order to feed in the plains; they are then killed in great numbers by the inhabitants for food, and caught for domestication, to which state they are very easily brought, and are said to be very fond of playing with children.

The guemul inhabits the most inaccessible parts of the Andes. It resembles the horse in some particulars and the ass in others, but is not the produce of either, and is most probably another variety of the Peruvian camel.

The vizcacha is an animal resembling the rabbit and the fox. It is larger than the latter, and its fur being very fine and soft, is used for the manufacture of hats. The cuy, is another species of rabbit, but much smaller, not exceeding the size of the field mouse, and it is occasionally domesticated.

The armadillo, of which there are three kinds, in Chili, the four banded, the eight banded, and the eleven banded; the eight banded being common in the valleys of the Andes, and are of various sizes, from six to thirteen inches in length, covered with a thick bony defensive armour which is so minutely jointed that they can roll themselves up as the English hedge-hog does. The armadilloes are elegant and inoffensive little animals.

The degu, is a kind of dormouse; and the maulin wood-mouse is exactly like a mouse, but so large that it resists the attacks of the dogs; and there are several other kinds of mice peculiar to the country, all of which differ in their habits, and in other points from the European animals of the same name.