CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library F 3081.H23 A history of Chile, 3 1924 021 202 316 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021202316 A HISTORY OF CHILE dj *).! Bernardo O'Higgins. ^atin-^nxsvicfxn lleijublij;* AHISTORYOF CHILE By ANSON URIEL HANCOCK Author of "Old Abraham Jackson," "Coitlan; A Tale of the Inca World," Etc. CHICAGO CHARLES H. SERGEL AND COMPANY MDCCCXCIIl , - g-fcy/ 1)3 ^ 30-^3 Copyright, 1893. By Charles H. Serqel and Compan? The Sergel Press PREFACE. Two periods of Chilean history have already been well presented to the outside world; the period of the revolution and that of the late war between Chile and the Peruvian-Bolivian alliance. Respecting the period between the years 1829 and 1879 there is no connected account in English. Since the war with Peru, Chile has attracted considerable outside attention, and with- in the past two years there have been several graphic accounts of modern Chile. What is now needed is a volume that will condense the information, which in English is scattered through many books, and give a complete, short history and picture of Chile in a sin- gle volume ; that I undertake to furnish in this work. I have devoted considerable space to the late civil war in Chile and have cut somewhat short previous political wars, which, in point of the numbers killed, were quite as bloody as this last. But all grew out of the same political conditions, and the last war, leading to the downfall of President Balmaceda, was in reality the cul- mination of years of political strife. Were I to go into the details of every skirmish between the forces of con- tending party leaders, the reader would be wearied with the recital. I have given results rather than ramifica- A HISTORY OF CHILE tions. Chile has been more fortunate than her neighbors in having a fairly well established government and a better class of leaders; she has subordinated the military to the civil authority and has usually preferred states- men to generals for her presidents. Still, she has had at different times quite too much of civil strife for the best interests of her exchequer, industries, commercial interests and national well-being. But she has passed her era of constitution making; she has a body of laws and precedents, a historic past, and patriotic, intelligent citizens; the lesson of the civil war of 1891 is, that the dictators will be no longer tolerated; the government must become more and more popular, representative and constitutional. If Chile's intricate foreign relations do not lead her into wars with neighboring republics, an era of progress and peace is before her. A. U. H. Chicago, iSgj. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART T— THE COLONIAL PERIOD CHAPTER I — Almagro's expedition — early history and INHABITANTS Pizarro's Rivals— The Inca Empire— Almagro sets out for Chile — His claims to Cuzco — Sends forward PauUu Topu — Hardships encountered in the mountains — Sends forward party to obtain relief — Appearance of Chile — Different tribes — Their civiliza- tion and manner of living — Explorations — Almagro reinstates an ulmen — Engagement with the Indians — Return to Chile — Subsequent career of Almagro 21 CHAPTER II — The araucanians — valdivia's expedition — the FOUNDING OF SANTIAGO Character of Valdivia — Character of the Araucanians — Their military system and social organization — De Hoz and Carmargo — Pizarro ignores the royal commission and appoints Valdivia to undertake the conquest of Chile — The expedition — Found- ing of Santiago and trouble with the Indians — Battle on the Mapocho river — Disaffection — Discovery of gold . 36 CHAPTER III — Opening and conquering the country — LA SERENA, CONCEPCION AND OTHER CITIES FOUNDED Valdivia determines to send Monroy and Miranda to Peru — Mur- der of a chief's son — Vaca de Castro sends recruits to Chile — Pastene explores the southern coasts — Massacre at Quillota X CONTENTS mines — Founding cities — Conquests — Valdivia goes to Peru, leaving Francisco de Villagran in command — Execution of De Hoz — Destruction of La Serena — Aguirre punishes the natives — Apportioning the lands — Aillavalu gives battle to Valdivia — Lincoyan — Valdivia establishes himself at Concepcion and seeks a title from Spain — Founding of Imperial and Villarica — Expedition toward the south — Recloma — Fortresses built — Aguirre dispatched to conquer provinces Cujo and Tucuman — Founding of Angol, the seventh city — Alderete sent to Spain — Colocolo incites Araucanians to resistance — Caupolican — Strat- agems and attacks upon forts — Battle at Tucapel — Lautaro — Death of Valdivia . . ... 44 CHAPTER IV — Lautaro and caupolicaij — valdivia's succes- sors — DON GARCIA — DEFEATS AND SUCCESSES Spaniards in the south retire to Imperial and Valdivia — Skir- mishes with the Araucanians — Villagran takes charge of the gov- ernment — He crosses the Biobio and attacks the Indians at Mt. Mariguenu — Defeat of the Spaniards — Destruction of Concep- cion — Villagran undertakes to rebuild the city, but again is de- feated — Smallpox — Villagran and Aguirre submit their claims to the Royal Audience — Siege of Imperial and Valdivia — Lau- taro proceeds against Santiago — Defeat and death of Lautaro - Events of the year 1557 — Shipwreck of Alderete — Don Garcia arrives at Concepcion with a large force — Millalauco 55 CHAPTER V — Continued wars with the araucanians — death OF caupolican discovery of THE ARCHIPELAGO OF CHILOE — FRANCISCO DE VILLAGRAN Battle of Mt. Pinto— Battle at the Biobio — Don Garcia's inhuman acts — Galvarino — Founding of Canete — Skirmishes with the Araucanians — Caupolican's stratagem — Rebuilding of Concep- cion — The Cunches resort to an artifice — Exploring the Chiloe Archipelago — The poet Ercilla — Death of Caupolican — Caupol- ican II. — Siege of Imperial — Defeat of the Araucanians — Re- building forts and cities — Quiroga . . . 63 CHAPTER VI — Antiguenu, paillataru and paynenancu — qui- ROGA, establishment OF THE ROYAL AUDIENCE INDIANS OF CHILOE — SOTOMAYOR The Araucanians prepare for a renewal of the war — Defeat of the Spaniards at Mt. Mariguenu — Canete burned — Sieges of Con- cepcion, Arauco and Angol — Defeat and death of Antiguenu^- CONTENTS xi Defeat of Lillemu — Founding of Castro andChacao and Chilo(S — The Indians of Chilo^ — Establishment of an Independent Royal Audience — Renewed hostilities with the Araucanians — Don Melchor de Bravo — Earthquakes — Mestizos — Dissolution of the Royal Audience — Different governors — Continued wars with the Araucanians . . • • • • 73 CHAPTER VII — Cayancaru and other toquis — sir john CAVENDISH — JANEQUEO — LOYOLA Cayancaru elected toqui — Proceeds against the Spanish port of Karampangui — Lonconobal, Antulevu, Tarochina — Sotomayor builds forts of Trinidad and Espiritu Santo — Cayancaru attacks Arauco — Guepotan — Defeats, successes and expeditions — Non- gouiel — Cadeguala elected toqui — Pirates, English and Dutch descents upon the coast — Sir Thomas Cavendish lauds at Quintero Bay and is attaclied by Alonzo Molina — Angol set on fire — ^The fortress of Puren taken by Cadeguala — Combat between Garcia Ramon and Cadiguala — Guanoalca elected to- qui — Juan Tapia — Events of the year 1589 — Janequeo de- termines to avenge the death of her husband — Defeats the governor — She fortifies herself in the mountains — Her force dispersed — Quintuguenu elected toqui — Spaniards take the fort of Mt. Mariguenu — The younger Colocolo joins the Span- iards — Failure to effect a treaty of peace — Paillaeco succeeds Quintuguenu and is defeated — The governor withdraws the troops to Santiago — Leaves command to Pedro Viscarra and goes to Peru — Loyola appointed captain-general — Paillamachu sends Antipillan to Loyola . . . . 82 CHAPTER VIII — General uprising of the araucanians — VISCARRA, QUINONES, RAMON, LUIS DE VALDIVIA, TALAVERANNQ, ULLOA DESCENT OF THE DUTCH Loyola founds Coya — Exploits of the toqui, Paillamachu — Forts erected at Puren and Lumaco — Attacked by Paillamachu and demolished — Governor Loyola killed — All the southern cities besieged by the Araucanians — Concepcion and Chilian burned — Viscarra takes charge of the government — Francisco Qui- nones chosen governor — His cruelties — Valdivia burned and other cities besieged — The Dutch plunder Chiloe — R3.mon ap- pointed governor — Rivera succeeds him — The Biobio fortified — Fall of Vallarica, Imperial and Orsorno — Inez Aguillera — Successes of the Araucanians and close of the war — Huenecura as toqui — Ramon restored to the office of captain-general and xii CONTENTS arrives with troops — Builds a fort at Boroa— Lisperguer — Hu- enecura attacks a fort — Ramon's army destroyed — King Philip III. reestablishes the Royal Audience — Huenecura de- feated — Aillavilu, toqui — Luis de Valdivia undertakes to negotiate a treaty of peace — Recall of Rivera — Ancanamon, toqui — Failure of treaty — Utiflame — Talavaranno, Ulloa Qx CHAPTER IX — The seventeenth century Loncothegua succeeded by Lientur as toqui — Successes of the Araucanians — Cerda succeeds UUoa as captain-general — Pedro Ulloa — Noruena — Cordova — Putapichion attacks Fort of Na- tivity — Cordova ravages the Indian country — Governor La Vega carries on war against the Araucanians for ten years — The Dutch — Sir James Narborough — The Marquis of Baides — Treaty of Quillin and close of the Araucanian war — Renewal of the war — Spanish governors to 1665 — Second treaty of peace — Events from 1665 to close of the century — French block- ade — Condition of the country . ... 10 1 CHAPTER X — The eighteenth century The condition of Spain — The French — Character of settlers — Captains of Friends and renewal of the Araucanian wars — The peace of Negrete — Cano — Founding of cities — Different cap- tains-general — Establishment of the University of San Felipe — Mint — Earthquake of 1751 and the destruction of Concep- cion — Amat — Failure of the attempt to compel the Araucanians to build cities — Jauregui — Conspiracy of Gramuset and Berney — Ambrosio O'Higgins — Condition of Chile at the close of the century — Expelling the Jesuits — Religious orders — Brief ac- counts of the administrations of different captains-general of this century to the time of the revolution . . . 109 PART II THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD CHAPTER I — The revolt of Spain's colonies Spain at the beginning of the eighteenth century — Organization of the Juntas — The causes of the revolution — Tyranny of Span- CONTENTS xiii ish viceroys and captains-general — Spanish monopolies — Tithes — Peculations — Tupac Amaru — Ubalde — Purnacagua — The struggle at Buenos Ayres, La Paz and Quito — The inhuman Goyeneche — The uprising at Caracas — San Martin and Bel- grano — The revolution at Buenos Ayres — Royalist successes in Peru — Buenos Ayres decides to assist Chile — Progress of the war in all the colonies — Bolivar — Aim of the first Juntas 127 CHAPTER II — Juntas, dictators and dissensions — first stages OF THE REVOLUTION Formation of parties in Chile — Formation of the first junta — Ar- rest of citizens in 1810 — Disposition of the captain-general — Conde de la Conquista made president — Second congress called — Doctor Rozas — J onte's mission to Santiago — Riot in the capital quelled by Carrera — Execution of Figueroa — Trouble in the congress over representation — Seizure of Spanish offi- cers — The Carreras compel congress to select a nevi? junta — Jose Miguel Carrara's power — Dissolution of congress — React- ion in favor of the Spanish party — Banishment of Rozas — High-handed measures of the Carreras — The viceroy, Abascal, dispatches Pareja to Chile with an army — Attacks at Yerbas Buenas and San Carlos — Patriot successes — O'Higgins and Mackenna — The royalists besieged in Chilian — Sanchez — O'Higgins given the chief command — Capture of the Carreras — Arrival of Gainza — Attack at Membrillar — Gainza retires to Talca — Lastra named supreme director — Arrival of Captain Hilliar and treaty of Lircay — Founding of the public library, the national institution and other schools — The first news- paper . .... . 141 CHAPTER III — 1814 to 1817 — The struggle for freedom — SAN martin's expedition The Carreras abolish the office of supreme director — Party dis- sensions — Arrival of Osorio to reinforce Gainza — Defeat at Cachapoal and Rancagua — Consternation of the patriots — Flight to Mendoza — Osorio restores the authority of Spain — Banishment of citizens — San Bruno and Marco, their infamous acts — San Martin organizes an army at Mendoza — Rodriguez harasses the Spaniards — The passage of the Andes — Battle of Chacabuco and defeat of the royalists — San Martin enters Santiago — Bernardo O'Higgins named supreme director — Confiscations — Skirmishes in the south . . . '157 xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER IV — The battle of maypo Abascal sends another army to Chile under Osorio — Unsuccessful siege of Talcahuano — Osorio advances toward the capital — Independence of Chile formally declared — Skirmishes at Talca and Cancha Rayada — Rout of the patriot army — Rodri- guez rallies the patriots in the capital — Reorganization of the patriot army — Details of the battle of Maypo — San Martin re- turns to Buenos Ayres — Execution of the Carreras — Murder of Manuel Rodriguez — The war in the south — Benavides . i68 CHAPTER V — Carrying the war into peru — naval OPERATIONS Efforts in forming a navy — Capture of the ' ' Maria Isabel " — Ar- rival of Lord Cochrane — Departure of the Chilean fleet to Peru — Attack and repulse at Callao — Unimportant naval oper- ations — Cochrane chases the " Prueba " — Capture of Val- divia by Lord Cochrane . .... 179 CHAPTER VI— The struggle in peru O'Higgins as supreme director — San Martin's appointees — Efforts to fit out the Peruvian expedition — The purpose of the expedition — Colonel Arenales marches a detachment into the interior — Armistice and diplomatic efforts — Cochrane captures the "Esmeralda" — San Martin establishes his headquarters at Huara — Defection of the Peruvian Numancia regiment — San Martin's conciliatory policy — Lord Cochrane's exploits in the south — The second armistice — San Martin enters Lima — Proclamation of independence — San Martin assumes control of the government — San Martin and Bolivar both seek to pos- sess Guayaquil — Monteagudo — San Martin resigns — Ayacucho and the last battles of the war . 186 CHAPTER VII— Party dissensions Disputes concerning tariffs, and Lord Cochrane's measures to collect duties — Execution of the outlaw, Vicente Benavides — Assembling of congress — Party machinations — Official cor- ruption — Revolt of Concepcion and Coquirabo — O'Higgins is asked to resign — Arrival of General Freire in the capital — He becomes supreme director— Review of O'Higgins' administration 194 CONTENTS PART III THE ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING CHAPTER I — The liberals in power — freire and pinto Freire's rule — Doings of the congress — The new tariff — The first constitution — Freire's unsuccessful expedition to Chilo^ — Dis- satisfaction and demoralization — Dissolution of the senate and setting aside of the constitution — Freire's efforts to build a navy — Cienfuegos, Muzi and Ferreti — First troubles with the church — Financial difficulties — Revival of the estancos — Political excitement and attempted assassinations — Congress dissolved — Troubles in the new congress — Political parties — Freire's second expedition to Chilo^ — Defeat of the royalists and the incorporation of Chilo^ into the republic, — Attempts to form a confederacy — Freire first president, Pinto vice-presi- dent — Freire resigns — Pinto assumes the office of president — The last acts of the congress — Troubles with the Araucanians — Difficulty between a British officer and a Chilean — Assem- bling of congress — Further efforts to draft a constitution — Pin- to resigns — Party agitations , . . . 201 CHAPTER II — The conservatives in power — prieto and PORTALES — freire's REVOLUTION EXPEDITION AGAINST PERU THE BATTLE OF YUNGAY Political changes and disturbances — Revolution started by Prieto — Junta formed and congress called — Vicuna, Tagle, Ovalle, Portales — Deplorable condition of the country — The battle of Lircay — Bulnes dispatched against the Pincheiras — The con- stitution of 1833 — Freire captured and banished — Santa Cruz • — Affairs in Peru and Bolivia — War with the confederation of Peru and Bolivia — Death of Portales — Defeat of Santa Cruz — Distinguished scholars — Educational matters — William Wheel- right, and the first steamers — Church dignitaries — Markets and finances . , . . . 216 CHAPTER III — The administrations of presidents bulnes and MONTT — THE CIVIL WAR OF 1859 Bulnes' cabinet — University at Santiago — Bello— Literature, xvi CONTENTS science and art — State institutions — Mines — Colonists — Debt — Punta Arenas — Repressive measures of the conservatives — Political societies — Manuel Montt — Urriola's insurrection — Revolution headed by General Cruz — Battle of Loncomilla — Defeat of the revolutionists — Material advancement — Various lawfs — Education — The policy of Montt and Varas — Second term — Troubles in the church — Party changes — Renewed insur- rections — Civil war of 1859 — The elections . . 227 CHAPTER IV — The adminisJ'ration of president perez — out- break OF THE ARAUCANIANS CHURCH QUESTIONS THE WAR WITH SPAIN Perez forms a ministry of moderate liberals and conservatives — His policy — Guentecol — M. de Tounans as King Antoine I — Doings of congress — England claims damages — Catastrophe in a Jesuit church — Railway opened between Santiago and Val- paraiso — Measures to aid colonization — Exciting debates upon religious questions — Cause of the war with Spain — Ports blockaded — Naval operations — Bombardment of Valparaiso — Efforts to arrange treaty of peace — Immigration — Skirmishes with the Araucanians — Attempted impeachment of the supreme court — Political reforms — Treaty with the Argentine Republic — Agricultural exhibition . . " . . 237 CHAPTER V — The administration of president errazuriz Elections — Active canvass of church questions — Reformatory measures passed by congress — Circulating libraries — Party dif- ferences — The Patagonian and Bolivian boundary questions — Earthquakes — Coal fields — Loans negotiated — Railroads 255 CHAPTER VI — The administration of president pinto Political agitations — Pinto, Amunategui, Mackenna — Pinto's cab- inet — Boundary disputes — Financial difiSculties — Paper money — Failure of crops — Nitrates and minerals — Statistical items — Schools — Disputes in respect to church questions — Taforo — The Roman delegate — The civil marriage law . . . 263 CONTENTS PART IV THE WAR WITH PERU AND BOLIVIA CHAPTER I — The beginning of the war Causes of the war — The Chileans take possession of Antofagasta — Skirmish at Calama — Peru seeks to arbitrate — The armies — The navies — The Army of the South formed at Iquique — Naval operations — Bombardment of Pisagua . . 272 CHAPTER II — Naval battles — prat and grau President Prado sails south with the Peruvian fleet to take com- mand of the army — President Daza of Bolivia arrives with troops — Captain Grau attacks the " Esmeralda " and " Cova- donga " — Loss of the " Independencia " — The "Huascar" sinks the "Esmeralda" — Heroic death of Captain Prat — Other naval operations and engagements— Changes of Chilean officers — Gallant act of Lieutenant Diez — Battle between the "Huascar" and the "Cochrane" — Death of brave Captain Grau ... ... 280 CHAPTER III — The war in the south — pisagua, san francisco, TARAPACA PERU loses DESERT PROVINCES Description of the desert provinces — Forces in Tarapaca — Cap- ture of Pisagua — Cavalry action at Jeramia — Army manoeuvres — Battle of San Francisco — Defeat of the allies and evacuation of Iquique — Battle of Tarapaca — Ports blockaded — Pierola heads a revolt in Lima, Campero in La Paz — Operations along the coast — Attempts of Peruvians to destroy Chilean vessels — Callao blockaded . . 289 CHAPTER IV — The occupation of moquega, tacna and arica — NAVAL operations — THE ADVANCE UPON LIMA — FIRST ATTEMPT TO ARRANGE A TREATY The battle at Los Angeles — Revolt headed by Colonel Silva against Campero — Cavalry action at Locumba — The battle of Tacna — Assault of Arica — Further attempts made by Peruvians to blow up Chilean men-of-war — Lynch's expedition — Naval xviii CONTENTS engagements at Callao — Failure to arrange treaty of peace — Pierola turns over the government to La Puerta • • 298 CHAPTER V — The battles of choeillos and miraflores— OCCUPATION OF LIMA AND CALLAO ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT Peruvian army at the capital — Active preparations for the defence of Lima — Movements of the Chilean troops — The battles — Acts of vandalism — Burning of Miraflores — Mob rule — Calderon selected as provisional president — Skirmishes in the interior — Caceres — Failure to effect treaty of peace — Pinto's admin- istration . . 309 CHAPTER VI — The administration of president santa maria Active political canvass — The liberals divided — Two conventions — Baquedano a candidate — Pinto favors Santa Maria — Santa Maria's cabinet — The war in Peru — Continued skirmishing in the interior — Caceres defeated at Huamachuco — Engagement at Huancayo — Peruvian officers submit to Lynch — Treaty signed — Iglesias made president of Peru — The terms of the treaty — Expense of the war — Chile's gain of territory — Bitter disputes with the church — Turbulence caused by church ques- tions and legislation relating thereto — New laws and public improvements . . 318 PART V BALMACEDA AND THE CIVIL WAR OF '91 CHAPTER I — President balmaceda — material progress Turbulence in elections — Opposition to the liberals — Reforms — Railroads and public improvements — The gathering storm . 329 CHAPTER II— The revolt The constitution — Congress opposes the president — Party oppo- sition — Changes of ministries and votes of censure — The Con- stitutional Committee calls a congress — Balmaceda issues a manifesto — The Supreme Court declares his acts illegal Naval officers declare for congress, the army adheres to the CONTENTS xix cause of the president— The congressional fleet — Captain Montt takes the ' ' Huascar " out of Valparaiso harbor — The con- gressionalists proceed to Iquique — Skirmish at Zapiga — Pisagua captured and bombarded — Defeat of Colonel Robles — Fight at Huarez — Iquique taken by Colonel Soto, who subsequently surrenders it — Impressments — Defeat of Robles at Pozo al Monte . . , 333 CHAPTER III — Balmaceda's position — naval operations The opposing forces — The Tarapaca nitrate fields — The ap- proaching elections — Claudio Vicuna — The parliamentary presi- dent — General view of the struggle — Various naval engage- ments — Sinking the ' ' Blanco Encalada " — Exploits of the torpedo-catchers, " Condell " and "Lynch" . 345 CHAPTER IV — Triumph of the revolution — the affair of the BALTIMORE SAILORS The government's forces — The new congress — Elections — Dia- bolical plots — The opposition army embarks for Quintero — The landing — Consternation — The battle of Concon, or Colmo — Balmaceda's efforts to bring forward a new army — Movements of the respective armies — The battle of Placilla — Defeat of the Balmacedist army — Flight of government officers — The affair of the "Lynch" — Wild scenes iu Valparaiso — Riotous acts in Santiago — Suicide of Balmaceda — Formation of a new govern- ment — Jorje Montt elected president — Claudio Vicuna in Paris Feeling between the United States and Chile — The real cause of the difficulty — Attack upon the sailors by a Valparaiso mob — The victims — Diplomatic correspondence — Settlement of the affair . . . . .... 336 PART VI CHILE OF TO-DAY CHAPTER I — The people of chile Charactei- of the people — Tastes and habits — Scholars — Liberals and conservatives — Social traits — The ladies — Church-going — XX CONTENTS Santiago and Valparaiso society — The English in Chile — The Germans — Peons, their habits, dress and manner of living — Wakes — The Indian population — Character and habits of the Araucanians — Their huts, marriage, customs, religion, super- stitions, manners — Patagonian tribes — People of the extreme south ........... 372 CHAPTER II — Extent and resources Boundaries and extent — Geography of the country — Climate — Rains — Rivers — Lakes — Crops — Grape culture — Irrigation — The southern districts — Forests — Immigration — Hardships en- countered by immigrants — Coal mines — Manufactures — Nitrate works — Minerals — Mines , , . . 386 CHAPTER III— Natural history Physical divisions of the country — Mountains — Deserts — Valley and coast country — Lakes — Character of streams — Earth- quakes — Destruction of Concepcion — Harbors — Islands — Straits of Magellan — Juan Fernandez — Animals, reptiles, fish and birds — Forests — Plants — Vegetables — Fruits . . 398 CHAPTER IV — Railroads — army and navy — educational MATTERS Government ownership of railroads — Cost of same — Different lines in operation — The Transandine Railway — Other Traus- andine lines projected — Private lines — Military schools — The army — National Guard — The navy — Naval officers — Commer- cial fleet — Pacific Steam Navigation Company — Subsidies — Ed- ucation — Instructions in the capital — Lyceums — National library — Painting, music, science . , 409 CHAPTER V — Cities and government The cities of Chile and their population — Description .of Santi- ago, Valparaiso, Concepcion and other places — Political parties — Character of the government — The president — Intendentes — Governors — Sub-delegates — Courts — Congress — Deputies — Po- litical divisions of the country ... . . 418 APPENDIX Provinces and capitals — Debt, receipts and expenditures — Banks —Money . 423 Constitution of Chile ... . 425 Authorities for the History of Chile ... . 456 Index 455 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Bernardo O'Higgins, . . . Frontispiece Jose de San Martin, . ... 133 Manuel Blanco Encalada, ... . .179 Railroad Bridge between Santiago and Valparaiso, . 241 Houses of Congress, . 263 Jos^ Manuel Balmaceda, . . . 329 The Plaza Victoria, Valparaiso, . 363 A Private Residence in Santiago, . . 377 Plaza del Armas, Santiago, . . 418 MAPS General Map of Chile, . . . .21 Battle of Tacna, . . .299 Closing Battles of the War of i8gi . . -359 A HISTORY OF CHILE PART I.— THE COLONIAL PERIOD CHAPTER I ALMAGRO'S EXPEDITION EARLY HISTORY AND INHABITANTS When Francisco Pizarro achieved the conquest of the ancient empire of Manco his sway was disputed by rivals. Chief among them were Almagro and Alvar- ado. Alvarado, Cortez' dashing captain, he who was called by the Mexicans Tonatiuh, set out from Guate- mala with an expedition to seize upon Atahualpa's northern kingdom of Quito in defiance of Pizarro's rights, but found himself so stubbornly opposed by Benalcazar, an old rebel chief of the north, that he was glad to welcome Almagro, who had been sent against him by Pizarro, and to sell out to him his fleet, army and pretensions. Then after witnessing and participating in a friendly tournament arranged in his honor by Pizarro and his officers at Pachaca- mac, Tonatiuh departed for his own country, taking leave of his successful rival with many expressions of friendship. With his other formidable rival, however, Pizarro 22 A HISTORY OF CHILE was not so fortunate. Almagro was one of the three partners in the famous compact drawn up at Panama for the exploration and conquest of the unknown re- gions south of the equator, whence rumors of fabulous wealth had come to the ears of the Spaniards. Father Luque, the partner who had furnished the funds, and Almagro, had been content at first to allow Pizarro to carry out his hazardous enterprise without interfer- ence or dictation. But no sooner had the indomitable captain, with his adventurous cavaliers, conquered the disunited empire of the Incas and dragged Atahualpa from his golden throne at Caxamarca, than Almagro appeared with reinforcements and sought to share in the benefits of his partner's successes. Then bicker- ings began over the distribution of the immense boot}'. This great empire, which Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Capac had built up and extended from the river Es- meraldas to the river Maule, conquering and subdu- ing both the ancient kingdom of Quito and, in the South, all the ancient northern tribes of Chile — an empire containing, as some say, ten millions of souls, and with as high a civilization as that of Egypt — this beautiful and wealthy empire had poured its immense treasures into the little town of Caxamarca to ransom its beloved Inca from the hands of a corporal's guard of Spaniards. In a few weeks, Pizarro and his cava- liers had become immensely rich ; what more natural than that this sliould excite the envy of Almagro and his men, who arrived too late to share in the distribu- tion of the booty. Strifes and rivalries began, which, with frequent hypocritical reconciliations between the leaders, were kept up between Pizarro and his partisans on one hand and Almagro and his followers on the -other, until the battle of Las Salinas (April 1538), removed Almagro, the father, and the battle of THE COLONIAL PERIOD 23 Chupas (Sept. 1542), led to the downfall of the son, Diego. Francisco Pizarro, too, came to his death because of this feud with the Almagrians ; he was assassinated by young Diego Almagro's followers, June 26, 1541. In the contention between Almagro and Pizarro begins the Spanish history of Chile.* Almagro, the Marshal, as he was usually termed by the early Span- ish writers, was sent by Pizarro to Cuzco to take com- mand of the ancient Inca capital, in the early part of the year 1535. He had so far smothered his animos- ity, as to consent to take this command under his ancient partner, in obedience to a royal mandate. Pizarro also empowered him, either personally or through his officers, to undertake the discovery and conquest of the countries lying to the south of the Atacama desert. Pizarro's seemingly friendly object was soon apparent. Almagro had been suspicious of his rival, and had taken the precaution to send em- issaries to Spain when Hernando Pizarro had under- taken a mission to the mother country in the interests of his brother. Hernando's mission had resulted in the royal confirmation of his brother's grants. Know- ing that Almagro had agents at court to represent his interests, Hernando had not dared to unfairly present the partner's claims, so that Almagro was empowered by King Charles, to discover and occupy all that coun- try lying south of Pizarro's grant for a distance of about six hundred miles. The royal commissions were delayed, but Pizarro at Lima had an intimation of their contents. The boundary of Pizarro's territory on the south was not clearly defined, so that when tidings from his agent reached Almagro at Cuzco he ♦Ferdinand Magellan had passed the straits bearing his name in 1520, in the first circumnavigation of the globe, and touched at the island of Chiloe. 24 A HISTORY OF CHILE felt elated at finding himself at last independent of the Pizarros and forthwith intimated that he acknowledged now no other superior than his king. In this, Almagro was upheld by his partisans and the claim was urged that Cuzco fell within his grant. Pizarijo, not as yet made acquainted with the fact that his own territory had been extended by the royal grant a dis- tance of two hundred miles farther south, sought to anticipate Almagro's claims, which he knew his rival would set up as soon as the royal commission, which had been delayed, had arrived. He, therefore, sent his brothers, Juan and Gonzalo, to Cuzco to reassume there the command which they had yielded to Almagro by their brother's previous orders. But Almagro had received tidings from his secret agent, as we have seen, and the feud was already ripe. Pizarro, how- ever, did not court a resort to arms with his old part- ner, at this time, so the difference was temporarily arranged by a compact, in which the Almighty was called upon to visit death and loss of property upon him who should not strictly adhere to its terms. These compacts were often resorted to by Pizarro, and as often broken as made, which was the case in this in- stance. Almagro now undertook the project of subjugating Chile. He sent forward Paullu Topu, a brother of the Inca Manco, the Incarial successor of Atahualpa, accompanied by Villac Umu, the Cuzco high priest, and three Spaniards, to prepare the wa}' by negotia- tion with the natives. Paullu and the venerated Villac were to use their influence to pave the way for the Spaniards with the Inca's subjects south of the Ata- cama desert, who had been brought under the Cuzco domination by the renowned Inca Yupanqui, grand- father of Atahualpa and Huascar, about a century THE COLONIAL PERIOD 25 before this time. A detachment of about 150 men under a Spanish captain, named Saavedra (he who after- ward discovered and named Valparaiso) next followed. Almagro himself tarried in Cuzco a while, attending to the collecting of recruits, but, suspecting that Pizarro was again trying to circumvent him, he set forth before his levies were completed, leaving orders that the remainder of his forces should follow him as soon as they could be brought together. So at the end of the year 1535, Almagro, with san- guine hopes of attaining immense booty — ^for reports of the immense wealth of Chile had been repeatedly received by the Spaniards in Peru^ — set out over the mountains upon one of the Inca's great military roads with an army of 570 Spaniards and about 15,000 Peru- vians commanded by Paullu. Great stone-flagged mili- tary roads radiated from Cuzco into every part of the Incarial empire. Two of these roads led to Chile ; one followed the trend of the seacoast across the des- ert of Atacama, where for three hundred miles there is neither shrub nor water nor living thing ; the other passed over the snow-capped Andes for a distance of over one hundred miles. The latter road was the one selected by Almagro, perhaps because it was the short- er route, or it may be because his Indian allies warned him against encountering the dangers of the great Atacama desert. The desert, however, could not have caused them worse fatigues and hardships than they encountered in crossing the mountains. On account of the intense cold and the frequent skir- mishes with savages, 150 Spaniards and 10,000 Peru- vians perished amid the gloomy forests of pine, in the gorges of snow, and upon the barren table- lands — the desolate despoblados where shrubs never grew. It was just at the beginning of winter, when snow covers 26 A HISTORY OF CHILE the passes, which in summer are passable. The army was now destitute of provisions and not clad for this wintry climate. The unfortunate natives were com- pelled to do service as beasts of burden, chained to- gether in gangs, and were in other ways treated with the harshest cruelty. This Almagro affected to depre- cate, but his own conduct afterward in causing a large company of Chileans to be burned alive for the massacre of three of his men by some outraged Indians, would seem to indicate that he was not sin- cere in his expressions of displeasure concerning some of the cruelties perpetrated by his men upon this and other occasions. The expedition might have perished in the moun- tain defiles, leaving no survivor to tell the story, had not the veteran commander — now nearly seventy years of age — pushed forward resolutely with a small party of his horsemen and obtained timely relief from the natives at Copiapo. By this assistance those Span- iards with the more robust constitutions and a few of the Peruvians were enabled to extricate themselves from the snows of the mountains. They emerged into the green vales of Chile.* The natives at first were friendly, and received the new- comers with hospitality, because of their respect for Paullu. Almagro dispatched an officer in advance with a strong party to ascertain the character of the country to the south. A party of his recruits soon arrived under the intrepid Orgaiiez. Almagro also received sometime after this, his long delayed royal warrant defining his grant and powers. It appeared quite probable that Cuzco fell within his jurisdiction, and many of his men urged his return to take posses- *A word perhaps derived from the Quichna word Chiri (cold), for many Peru- vian words seem to have crept into the Chilean language. Or, perhaps, it may have been from Tchile (snow). THE COLONIAL PERIOD 27 sion of Cuzco. "You will," they said, "by so doing, confer a great boon and blessing upon your young son, Diego, who will be your heir." Friends at Cuzco also sent him letters, privately urging him to return and take possession of the capital. But the persevering commander — having encouraged his soldiers by a lar- gess of 500,000 ducats worth of gold, which Paullu had compelled the natives to bring in, in order that he might show his own importance to his leader — pressed forward through the beautiful country, dotted everywhere with busy villages and giving evidence of a considerable degree of industrial progress and civil- ization. The primitive inhabitants of Chile had not, indeed, arrived at the degree. of urban civilization possessed by PauUu's followers, by the Inca's subjects at Cuzco and by the numerous Peruvian cities and villages, such as Xauxa, Huamachuco, Huanuco, Caxamarca, and Tumbez, cities scattered throughout the old Incar- ial empire. Nor were their power and prestige equal to that of the old Quitoan kingdom, which Atahu- alpa's father, the renowned Huayna Capac, had wrested from the last Sc3'ri, who died of a broken heart when his scepter fell, while Huayna married his beautiful daughter and ingratiated himself into the hearts of his subjects, the valiant people of the north. During the time that Huayna was extending the Incarial power and prestige toward the north, Yupan- qui, his father, was subjugating Chile, through his famous general, Sinchi Rocca. The northern tribes, the Copiapins (or Copaj^apuans), Cuquimpuans, Quil- lotanes and Mapochinians, were reduced to subjection. Promaucians (Pururnaneaes, or Promaucaes) allied with the Pencones and Cauques resisted Sinchi Rocca so successfully in a four day's battle that it is doubt- 28 A HISTORY OF CHILE ful if the Incarial arms were ever borne bej'ond the river Maule.* Thus the southern tribes of Chile, the Promaucians, Cur^s, Cauques, Pencones, Araucan- ians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chiquilanians, Pehuenches, Puelcbes and Huilh'ches, were free from the power- ful autonomy of Cuzco, and at this time primitive manners, laws and customs prevailed among them. And even with the northern tribes, the Incas had not dared to hazard the attempt to introduce their form of government, language and manners, as they were wont to do when they had conquered a new territory ; so that the Spaniards found everywhere among the fifteen tribes inhabiting Chile, primitive manners, laws and usages. We can imagine with what curiosity the invaders looked upon the natives as they wended their way southward. Here was a people who had risen above savagery and had reached the stage of settled com- munities, cultivating the soil, mining, and carrying on all the industries usual to semi-civilized races. They spoke a language, which for richness of vocabu- lary and harmony of sound, was scarcely inferior to the cultivated Quichua of the Incas. So complete was their language that a grammar could be formed, in fact, one has been formed, and a volume would be necessary to contain its radical and compound words. Chile, like Peru, Mexico and Central America, as the architectural remains would indicate, had once been the home of a race more highly civilized than the warring tribes with which Almagro and his follow- ers now became acquainted. Undoubtedly the people of Chile had once been of one nation, for all the tribes *GarciUasso says they went onward to "the valley of Chile," which has been thouRht to be the valley of Mapocho. By some it is thought that the river Rapel was as far as the Inca fixed his southern boundary, as there were remains there of what appeared to be an ancient Peruvian fortress. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 29 spoke the same language and bore general physical resemblance to each other. They were all men of great strength, those of the mountains exceeding the ordinary height of man, so that .at Cuzco they &poke of "Atacama giants." Their complexion was reddish brown, the typical Indian color, but of a lighter hue than that of other Indians. One tribe, indeed, is spoken of as being nearly white. As in Peru, so also there, Almagro and his conquista- dores beheld substailtial aqueducts for watering the fields, which were fertilized and highly cultivated. Though the Chilean plow was a mere wooden spade, yet so industrious were the people that they grew immense crops of maize, potatoes, magu, guegan, tuca, pulses of all kinds, and various other plants and vegetables. They had domesticated a rabbit and the Araucanian camel, and tradition says they had pigs and fowls, but tradition is not always reliable. They cooked all their food, made bread, using a sieve to sift their meal and leaven to raise their dough. They used nearly a dozen different kinds of spirit- uous liquors, and were as habituated to drunkenness as the Peruvians. They had no large cities, as had the Peruvians and Mexicans, but gathered themselves together in patriarchal hamlets, each of which was ruled by a chief, or ulmen, who in turn was subject to a supreme cacique holding power over the whole tribe. The right of private property was everywhere recog- nized. Each farmer was absolute master of the field he cultivated and he could transmit it to his children ; this was unlike the Peruvian paternal system, where the soil was considered to be the Inca's by divine and paternal right and was by him apportioned in topus to his subjects. Here, in fact, was the radical difference between that wonderful paternal system, which had 30 A HISTORY OF CHILE been gradually built up in Peru through fifteen or more generations of Yupanquis and Amautas, and the Chilean system. The Chileans were somewhat like tlie ancient free German tribes, the Peruvians were subjected to a Persian or Egyptian absolutism. The Peruvians submitted to authority and formed an invin- cible empire; the Chileans, lovers of liberty then as they ever sines have been, were the Highlanders, the Swiss, of the ancient Pacific coast nations. They were even jealous of the inherited prerogatives of their own ulmenes and toquis, and maintained their democratic love of freedom to the uttermost. In conse- quence of this, the Chileans could not be subjugated by the imprisonment of a Montezuma or Atahualpa ; they were bushwackers and had to be fought in about the same manner as the colonists of the United States fought the five nations. Almagro had no easy task before him in essaying to do what Yupanqui had failed to accomplish. For many generations the invincible Araucanians could maintain their indepen- dence against Spanish arms, long after the subjects of Montezuma and of Atahualpa had bowed their heads beneath the Spanish yoke and became merged with their conquerors. It is the mountaineers who preserve the liberties of men, perpetuate courage and individuality, and infuse regenerating life blood into nations and society which highly complex civiliza- tions tend to corrupt. These Chilean Indians, like their Peruvian neigh- bors, manufactured cloth for garments, making use of the spindle, distaff and loom ; the women sewed and embroidered. They made excellent clay pots, cups, plates and jars. Not only did they use clay in their manufactures, they also made utensils from wood and even from marble, as did the Peruvians, polishing. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 31 painting and varnishing them. They mined gold, silver, copper, tin and lead and made therefrom orna- ments, utensils, axes, hatchets and edged tools. They manufactured salt upon the seashore and ex- tracted it from the mountains. They made fixed dyes, used the bark of the quillai for soap, and from seeds they made oil. They made baskets and mats, robes, fishhooks and canoes. Their arms were as well manu- factured as those of the Peruvians or Aztecs. They had invented numbers by which they could express any quantity ; they used a mnemonical device similiar to the Peruvian quipu — a bunch of interwoven colored threads and knots — by means of which they preserved the mem- ory of their transactions. They had, like the Peruvians, only incongruous notions of art, and were even less skilful in drawing and carving ; but they had made considerable progress in physics and astronomy. The Araucanians, at least, and perhaps other tribes as well, worshiped the sun and moon, and, like the Peruvians, called themselves the "children of the sun." Death they considered a long sleep during which time they passed to a happy country on the other side of the great sea. Like the Puritan fathers, they believed in witches, and stabbed bewitched per- sons to death with daggers. They had few laws, but these were executed with Draconian severity, capital punishment with tortures being usual. They were in those days, like the Inca's subjects, a cleanly people, performed ablutions after each meal, took especial care of the teeth and were so fastidious that thej' were careful never to let a hair appear on their faces, or even grow on their bodies. They were as scrupu- lous about such matters as were the ancient Egyptian priests. The women were clad modestly with a woolen dress of greenish color, a girdle and a short 32 A HISTORY OF CHILE cloak ; the men wore woolen ponchos, also of greenish color, shirt, vest, breeches, bandages of wool around their heads and, those of the higher classes, woolen boots or sandals. Such were the people dwelling in the fertile valleys of Chile, when Almagro and his little army descended from the mountains and astonished them with their prancing war horses, glittering armor, flashing weapons and thundering guns. The Spanish chroniclers say they found the valleys filled with inhabitants, and doubtless the population then was not so far below the rural population of Chile at the present day. Here was a country densely populated, with valleys as fertile as any under the skies, with an ocean front of nearly 2500 miles, an average "breadth of 140 miles, covering over 300,000 square miles stretching from the desert of Atacama to the Straits of Magellan, watered by more than 100 rivers of considerable size, enwalled by the towering Andes where fourteen vol- canoes belched smoke constantly and others occasion- ally, and protected against invasion from the north by three hundred miles of treeless, verdureless desert. Here was as favored a land, that the veteran Almagro looked down upon from the Andean passes, as the land flowing with milk and honey which the storied one of old beheld from "Nebo's lonely mountain." Here was a climate quite as salubrious as that of Italy or California, where thunder storms are unknown, rains gentle and winds attuned to an Eolian pitch; where in many districts, the hills are verdant and the valleys and plains covered with crops and fruitage and carpeted with flowers ; where the bowels of the earth are full of metals, both precious and useful. Coming down from the moimtains into these valleys, feasting their eyes upon this verdant landscape, upon THE COLONIAL PERIOD 33 all this incomparable natural beauty, mingling with these strange pastoral and agricultural Indians, Alma- gro and his men had but one thought in mind, gold, gold! They would not have taken the stretch of mountains, valleys, rivers and cultivated farms as a gift, had this been Elysium itself. How different was the colony which Valdivia afterward led into the country to establish cities and colonize the valleys. Gold was the object of the toil and search of these Almagrians, and when the expedition sent forward to make explorations returned after about two months, bringing unpromising accounts of the southern re- gions of Chile, there arose at once a clamor to return to Peru. Almagro listened to those who maintained that Cuzco lay within his grant, yielded to the impor- tunities of his men, and, with little reluctance, decided to take up his return march to Peru by way of the desert of Atacama. During his stay in Chile, which with his going and returning was from the latter part of the year 1535 to the first part of the year 1538, Almagro accom- plished but little toward the making of his grant a Spanish province. He founded no important settle- ments, left no good impressions upon the minds of the natives. While at Copiapo he adopted Pizarro's tactics and undertook to ingratiate himself with one faction of the natives by ousting a usurping ulmen and reinstating a lawful heir. He gained the desired object : the natives applauded this seeming act of justice. But the contrary result followed his efforts at disciplining the aborigines. Two marauding sol- diers were put to death by Indians at Huasco. For this Almagro, having proceeded to Coquimbo, put to death by burning, the ulmen, the ulmen's brpthef — > 34 A HISTORY OF CHILE the same who was the usurper at Copiapo — and twenty other natives. From this time the aspect of affairs with the natives grew ominous. As they advanced further into the country of the Promaucians, the Spaniards were opposed with much intrepidity. On the banks of a foaming mountain river an engagement took place. Almagro put forward his Peruvrans under Paullu, but they were soon routed. The Spanish cavalry advanced and a furious battle raged until nightfall. The Promaucians were not defeated, though they had been severely punished ; the following morning they were ready to renew the fight. But the Spaniards, though not defeated, thought it not worth their while to fight with no booty in sight. They retreated, and Alma- gro, still urged by some of his followers and more and more impressed by the letters he had received from his friends in Cuzco, determined to return to Peru, as we have already stated. The subsequent career of this intrepid Spaniard does not concern us in a history of Chile, so that we will give it in a few words. Upon his return he took possession of Cuzco, and, after several futile efforts to negotiate a settlement with Pizarro, fought the battle of Las Salinas in 1538 with Pizarro's brother, though too infirm to sit upon his horse at the time. His forces were defeated, but he himself made his escape to Cuzco. He was captured, thrown into irons, tried, condemned on a pretended charge of levying war against the crown and conspiring with the Inca, and executed as a public disturber by the Pizarros. By the terms of the royal grant he was authorized to name his successor; this he did, naming his minor son, Diego. Diego, as we have seen, did nothing to further the Spanish interests in Chile. Almagro's old THE COLONIAL PERIOD 35 veterans, called "the men of Chile," to the number of several hundred, remained scattered throughout Peru, feeling the most bitter hatred of the Pizarros for the deprivations and insults to which they were constant- ly subjected. They became young Diego's active par- tisans and compassed the death of Francisco Pizarro, but were at last defeated at the battle of Chupas, which decisive engagement ended the factional wars and bickerings so long continued between the adherents of Almagro and those of the Pizarros. Another leader, Pedro de Valdivia, is more intimately connected with the opening of Chile to Spanish interests than Alma- gro. CHAPTER II THE ARAUCANIANS VALDIVIA'S EXPEDITION THE FOUND- ING OF SANTIAGO A marble statue of Valdivia on the hill of Santa Lucia, at Santiago, tells us that the "valeroso capitati" was 'primer gobernador de Chile," and founded Santi- ago on the i2th of February, 1541. History further tells us that the valiant conquistador was Pizarro's quartermaster, a prudent officer, (a statement which his'career in Chile does not altogether justify), an active officer, (as he certainlj' was), who had gained experience in the Italian wars. He unquestionably possessed a superior mind, great political ability and a high order of militarj' talents, and there is not imputed to him many of those acts of cruelty which stain the escutcheons of so many of the early Spanish conquerors. True, some of the old records hint at cruelties which he exercised toward the natives ; but considering the character of the Araucanians and their allies with whom he had to deal, this is not sur- prising, as that was not an age for delicate sensibili- ties and the Spanish conquistadores were not wont to resort often to mere mild words of persuasion in their conquests. But we read of no needless shedding of blood by Pedro de Valdivia, as we do in the case of 36 THE COLONIAL PERIOD 37 Almagro, and there are few revolting pages in the his- tory of his early Chilean conquests, not more in fact, than in the pages of English conquests. Valdivia's great fault was his overweening confi- dence in his own prowess and military strength. Per- haps he had been led to think, from his former acquaintance with Indian warfare in Peru, that twelve Spanish knights, chivalrous and bold, were able any- where to cope with the whole Araucanian army. This confidence in Spanish valor, led to his death and the almost total destruction of his seven cities, which he had supposed himself able to defend with a handful of Spanish cavaliers and a small army of uncertain allies. He knew not the enemies with whom he had to cope. The river Biobio is the Rhine of South Amer- ica. From the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century, hardy and warlike tribes of Indians have maintained this as their front- ier, and have doggedly resisted every encroachment upon their territories and combated every effort at their subjugation. Only since 1882 have the Araucan- ians become true subjects of the Chilean government ; only since 1889 have the Indians of Southern Chile so far submitted to the civil authorities as to permit the withdrawal of military supervision. Fifty thousand of them still remain in a state of half dependence, living under the protectorate of the Chilean government, but still maintaining pertinaciously their primitive habits, and loath to permit their pure blood to mix with that of the Spaniards. They are still proud, independent, well-built, well-dressed, and industrious, though con- firmed drunkards. They have been the most heroic, the most persistent, of the American Indians ; but, like the cognate races of the western hemisphere, 38 A HISTORY OF CHILE they at last have succumbed to superior arms and numbers and will soon be known only in history. Still this almost unconquerable race leaves behind a hardy progeny and infuses its valor into the very air of Chile, until to-day the little republic stands at the head of Spanish-America, the most war-like, the most pugnacious and uncompromising of all the minor nations of the earth. These Southern Chilean tribes apparently withstood the conquering arms of the ancient Incarial dynasties, which for ages rose and fell in Peru like the Pharoahs of Egypt ; for three centuries and a half they have fought for their liber- ties against the dominant race, raising up hero after hero like the Highlands of Scotland, until Chile, like Scotland, has heroism quickening the flow of her blood by all the memories of her historic past. Therefore, Chile is aggressive, heroic and progressive. We have already given a brief epitome of the appearance, habits and customs of the natives Alma- gro found occupying Chile when he first descended into its verdant valleys. Some insight into the mili- tary system, social organization and disposition of the Araucanians and their allies, should be here given, that we may better know the character of the enemies with whom Valdivia had to cope. These Indians have from time immemorial inhab- ited the country lying south of the river Biobio, their territory extending to the vicinity of the city of Val- divia, and covering all the region between the Andes and the Pacific. The province of Arauco gives the leading tribe its appellation, or rather, perhaps, the province is named after the tribe. Thev divided their country into four political divisions running from north to south, calling each divison a uthul-mapu. The first was named in their language the Maritime country THE COLONIAL PERIOD 39 and comprised the provinces of Arauco, Tucapel, Illi- cura, Boroa and Nagtollen; the next, the plain coun- 'try, comprised Encol, Puren, Repocura, Maquegua and Mariquina; the country at the foot of the moun- tains, included Marven, Colhue, Chacajco, Queche- regua and Guanagua ; the country of the Andes — Pire- mapu — included all the valleys "of the mountains inhab- ited by the allied tribe, the Puelches. They had three orders of nobility, the toquis, who stood at the head of each uthul-mapu, the apo-ulmenes who gov- erned provinces under the toquis, the ulmenes who were the chiefs and under the apo-ulmenes. The military system was efficiently organized. A grand council determined upon war, and elected a general-in-chief, to whom all the toquis and ulmenes were subjected, and whom they implicitly obeyed dur- ing the continuance of hostilities. Envoys were then dispatched to the confederate tribes; each toqui directed what number of men his uthul-mapu should furnish, and in this way an army of five or six thou- sand men could be soon raised. Before proceeding to hostilities, a three days con- ference, at which everyone was permitted to speak, was held, when the situation of enemies, condition of affairs, and necessity for war, were thoroughly can- vassed. If war was decided upon, the vice-toqui, who had been previously selected, assumed command of the right wing of the army, assigned the left wing to an experienced officer and then each soldier put on his leathern cuirass, took up his heavy war club or long spear, and prepared to die with his face to the foe, rather than flee the battlefield. Impressed, like the Saracens, with the idea that to die in battle is the highest earthly honor and a sure passport to the happy country beyond, they advanced singly to combat, and. 40 A HISTORY OF CHILE shouting like fiends, sought to penetrate to the center of their enemy's forces in a hand to hand encounter. Their foes discomfited, they divided the spoils of war and enslaved their prisoners, sometimes offering up one or more of them to propitiate their gods of war, after they had humiliated the captives with all the marks of ignomin}' they could devise and had heaped innumerable execrations upon the principal leaders of their enemy. Usually there was but one prisoner sacrificed ; when dead, the leaders sucked a little blood from the victim's warm heart, and then his skull was formed into a bowl from which wine, in true Hunnic fashion, was drunk at a banquet. At the ter- mination of their wars with the Spaniards, a congress was always called on a plain situated between the Bio- bio and Duqueco rivers, where the Spanish president and the vice-toqui met in the presence of the armies and agreed upon the articles of peace. The Araucanians made war a principal business, and their youths were early instructed in the use of arms, seldom punished, and were even applauded for lying and insolence. It was a saying with them, that chastisement makes men cowardly. We do not read of their having such grand military contests and chiv- alrous initiations as the Incas provided for the young men in their annual huaracus, but there were man)' military games in which the boys engaged ; the games called pejico and palican were those most participated in, the first of these being a mimic siege of a fortress, the second having every appearance of a drawn battle. Having given some general insight into the political and military organization, the disposition and appear- ance of the Araucanians, we will now turn our atten- tion again to Pedro de Yaldivia. By the death of the elder Almagro, Pizarro fancied THE COLONIAL PERIOD 41 himself in a position to attempt the conquest of Chile, which he supposed might prove an important acquisi- tion to his possessions. Two cavaliers, Pedro San- chez de Hoz and Carmargo had been sent out by Spain after the death of Almagro to subjugate and take possession of Chile. Pizarro ignored the royal commission held by these men, and, with characteris- tic assurance, appointed for the undertaking Pedro de Valdivia, his own quartermaster, whom he directed to command the forces destined for Chile and to take De Hoz with him. Valdivia thereupon determined to form a permanent settlement in the new country, and for that purpose arranged that his little army, con- sisting of two hundred Spaniards and a considerable body of Peruvian auxiliaries, should be accompanied by a number of priests and women ; also, that every- thing requisite for a new settlement should be taken with them. Crossing the Andes in summer, the cortege arrived without losses upon the northern confines of Chile, where they were met by the natives, who opposed there progress at every turn as they wended their way through Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota and Melipilla. These provinces had formerly been under the Inca's domination, but with the fall of Atahualpa had found themselves free. They were not, however, united, and were, therefore, unable to make common cause against the Spaniards, who pushed on, despite con- stant skirmishes, to the vicinity of the present Santi- ago. Here the leader determined to make a settle- ment. It was far enough from Peru, being six hun- dred miles distant, to render it a difficult matter for his soldiers to desert him and return; the fertility of the surrounding country and the great natural advan- tages appeared to him to make it a suitable place to 42 A HISTORY OF CHILE plant his colony. Here then on February 14, 1541, he established a town which he called St. Jago, in honor of the apostle; and this is Santiago, a city which, two centuries later, contained less than a hun- dred thousand people, and which in 1892 had a popu- lation of more than two hundred thousand. A cathe- dral, bishop's palace and government buildings were immediately erected, magistrates appointed and a fort constructed upon the hill of Santa Lucia. The Mapochinians were not disposed to look upon this settlement in their territory in a friendly spirit, and soon organized an active opposition. Valdivia, suspecting their designs, confined some of the chiefs in the fortress, then went with sixty cavaliers to the river Cachapoal to watch the movements of the neigh- boring Promaucians, whom he suspected of being about to unite with their neighbors in an uprising. The Mapochinians availed themselves of the oppor- tunity afforded them by the absence of the commander to fall furiously upon the colony. One half of the new town was reduced to ashes; the inhabitants fled to the citadel where they defended themselves against repeated onslaughts. A woman among them seized a hatchet, and, single handed, beat out the brains of the captive chiefs. Inez Suarez can hardh' be eulogized as a Joan of Arc for this zealous act, as the death of the chieftains in no way aided Val- divia's cause, or dismayed the Mapochinians. From daybreak to nightfall the battle raged around the cita- del, fresh hordes of assailants constantly taking the places of those that fell. Alonzo Monroy, who had been left in command of the fortress, communicated with Valdivia during the day, and the latter, upon receiving the dispatch, returned hurriedly to the scene of the conflict. The Indians posted themselves on THE COLONIAL PER JOB 43 the banks of the river Mapocho where they fought desperately, but were slaughtered by the incessant musketry until they were obliged to fly the field. Though so roughly handled, they again and again renewed the contest, until the fruitful valley of the Mapocho was laid waste and the ancient tribe, giving it its name, utterly ruined. For six years this deso- lating war lasted, until the colony of St. Jago was reduced to starvation, and in desperation, organized a conspiracy to take Valdivia's life and then return to Peru. Discovering this disaffection in time, the com- mander caused the ringleaders to be executed, and then sought to regain the confidence of the colonists by instilling into their minds flattering hopes for the future. Fortunately gold was discovered in the ancient mines of the valley of Quillota in such paying quan- tities that soon no one thought of quitting Chile. A frigate was built and dispatched to Peru for aid and recruits. CHAPTER III OPENING AND CONQUERING THE COUNTRY — LA SERENA, CON- CEPCION AND OTHER CITIES FOUNDED The history of these early days in Chile has its Pocahontas story. It runs in this wise : As the state of affairs at Santiago was in a critical condition, Val- divia determined to send Monroy and Miranda, with six companions in arms and thirty men on horseback, to Peru for assistance. With spurs and caparisons of gold, that they might make an enviable impression upon their countrymen in Peru, tliey set forth over- land. At Copiapo they were attacked by a certain Coteo, whose band destroyed the whole compan}', sparing only the two leaders. These they brought before the ulmen, who decided to put them to death forthwith, by some sort of refined torture. The ul- men's wife thereupon interceded for their lives, and, having softened the cacique's savage heart, unbound the captives, dressed their wounds, and then made a certain request of them, which was in substance that they should teach her son to ride a horse. This they promised to do. But while they were giving his young highness his first lesson, Monroy stabbed him ; at the same time Miranda seized a lance and put the guards to flight. Not stopping to say adieu to their THE COLONIAL PERLOD 45 benefactress, they made their escape across the Ata- cama desert to Cuzco. This treachery the Copiapaua avenged three years afterward by massacring a party of forty Spaniards. Vaco de Castro was at that time at the head of the Peruvian governmerit, and having been informed by tlie emissaries of the condition of affairs in Chile, dis- patched thither a company under Monroy, and furtlier sent recruits, under Juan Bapista Pastene, hy sea. Pastene upon his arrival was immediately dispatched by Valdivia to explore the southern coast of Chile as far as the Straits of Magellan. Having accomplished this task, he thereupon sent back to Peru for more recruits, for the Indians were vvarlike and seemed likely to cause further trouble. They had succeeded by a bold stratagem in massacring ail the soldiers in the Quillota mines. As the Inca Manco had at one time led the credulous Spaniards out of Cuzco into an ambush to look in a thicket for a golden statue of Huayna Capac, so the Quillotanes had deluded Gon- zalo Rios and his companions at the mines and led them a will-o'-the wisp chase after a fanciful pot of gold. They found not the pot of gold, more than Soto did El Dorado, but they did fall tumultuously into an ambuscade, which had been cunningly pre- pared for them, from which only Rios and a negro escaped. The arsenal and the new frigate which had shortly before been built, were thereupon destroyed by the Indians. The indomitable Valdivia immediately punished the natives, built a fort to protect the miners thenceforth, and continued the mining operations. Sometime afterward (1544), the commander founded the city of La Serena at the mouth of the Coquimbo, naming it in honor of the place of his birth. The 46 A HISTORY OF CHILE name Coquimbo, however, was too old to be replaced, and soon prevailed over that of La Serena which Val- divia gave it. This settlement was made primarily as a strategical point in the north, but it was situated in a fertile plain and soon became the center of a thriv- ing province. The next year (1545) was occupied in extending the Spanish authority over the territory of the warlike Promaucians. No battles are recorded, and it appears probable that the Promaucians were induced to join the Spaniards against their foes the Araucanians, whence sprang up the antipathy which has ever since existed between the former and the latter tribes. The following year Valdivia extended his conquests south to the river Itata, but there met with such reverses in a skirmish with the natives at a place called Quilacura, that he decided to halt there and make that for a while the limit of his conquered possessions ; retrac- ing his steps, he returned to Santiago. He had been long expecting supplies and recruits from Peru. These not arriving, the commander decided to go thither himself and raise a company of troops sufficient in size for his purpose of conquering the Araucanians. Leaving Francisco de Villagran as acting governor in his absence, and taking with him a large quantity of gold, Valdivia set sail with Pastene for Peru, where, at this time, a civil war was in pro- gress between Gasco and Gonzalo Pizarro. Valdivia was in time to fight under Gasco's standard, in polite forgetfulness of his old-time obligations to the Piz- arros, for which service he was rewarded by a con- firmation of his title as governor of Chile — a confirm- ation he had been long seeking — and given a vast amount pf rnilitary stores, with two boat loads of Peru- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 47 vian adventurers, who afterward proved a menace to his colonies. Villagran had taken it upon himself during Val- divia's absence to rid his superior of the unwelcome presence of De Hoz, who, as will be remembered, had been deprived of his royally -commissioned rights by Pizarro at the time of Valdivia's appointment for the Chilean campaign. Whether or not De Hoz was now plotting to usurp the government as charged, may be questionable, but he had, at least, acted foolishly in keeping himself in the way of his rival. Villagran had him publicly beheaded, thus pleasing his master no doubt, even if he had not been secretly instructed to essay this dastardly piece of diplomacy. The Copiapins, having been successful in killing a party of Spaniards in revenge for Munro3''s and Mir- anda's cruelty practised while ostensibly teaching their young prince horsemanship, were emulated by the Coquimbanes, who at this time rose up and razed La Serena to the ground, massacring all the inhabi- tants there. Francisco Aguirre,was ordered thither, punished the revolting natives, and became the founder of the new town, which he built in a more advanta- geous location. Valdivia had now been nine years in Chile. Hav- ing effectually conquered and settled the country', he now apportioned the land among his followers, in a manner somewhat like the feudal tenures of Europe. Each a^ssignment carried with it the Indians who might be living upon it at the time. Thus each soldier became a sort of baron, and the rights of the natives were but little taken into account. Having received a large body of recruits, Valdivia again undertook his southern campaign. He journeyed 240 miles southward from Santiago and halted on the 48 A HISTORY OF CHILE shore of the bay of Penco, which Pastene had ex- plored some time before. There on the 5th da)' of October, 1550, the city of Concepcion was founded, being the third of Chile in historical sequence. The place was destroyed by earthquakes in 1757, and in 1764 New Concepcion was established further south. Concepcion was founded within a territory whose inhabitants did not intend to become chattels upon Spanish repartos, for their forefathers had long re- sisted the Incarial mitimaes. The surrounding tribes made common cause with their neighbors and allies, the Araucanians, to whom they usually looked for assistance, and the latter resolved to free the country from the unwelcome invaders. Toqui Aillavilu crossed the Biobio with 4,000 warriors and gave battle to Valdivia, who had advanced to meet him. A hotly contested combat ensued which lasted several hours, when the toqui v.'as killed and his army compelled to retreat. Valdivia thereupon built a fort near his new town, to protect the place against those fierce enemies. But the Araucanians, nothing daunted, elevated a new chief, a person of gigantic stature, .to the command, and sent forth another army. This Goliath should have been given a war club and not the axe of author- ity, for he was irresolute and unfitted to lead. How- ever, in the year 1551, he decided upon war and marched against the Spaniards with his army con- ducted in three divisions. The Spaniards celebrated mass and hurried within their fortifications. Linco- yan, not understanding such defensive tactics, which were not in accordance with Araucanian notions of valor and methods of warfare, and fearing some strata- gem, ordered a retreat. Valdivia was quite as sorely puzzled as his antagonist, and so did not dare follow THE COLONIAL PERIOD 49 the fugitives. As at the slaughter of Caxamarca when Atahualpa was seized, and as in one of Cortez' battles when De Morla came riding up on a dapple- gray horse, St. James was again, in this instance, alleged b)' the Spaniards to have aided their cause ia putting to flight the natives; he rode up on a white charger and with his flaming sword struck terror into their ranks. Valdivia was so well pleased with Concepcion that he determined to establish himself there, to subjugate the Araucanians, and then to ask of Spain the prov- inces of Arauco and Tucapel, with the title of mar- quis. A marquisate of a wilderness and tribes of unconquerable savages was something in those days. He published statutes for the government of the city, established police and regulated the affairs of the place. These things occupied his attention during the remainder of the year 1551. The following year, having received reinforcements, he determined to attack again the Araucanians and hoped this time to subdue them. He marched into their territory without encountering serious opposition and, at the confluence of the rivers Cauten and Damas, founded the city of Imperial, naming it in honor of Charles V. This city flourished for a time, as we shall see, but was laid waste and abandoned because of the incessant wars of the frontiers. Valdivia now believed himself master of the country and therefore determined to apportion the territory and natives among his followers. But this time the grants were more fanciful than real, for the Araucan- ians were not to be made vassals so easily. Alderete was dispatched with sixty men to found a settlement on the shore of Lake Lauquen. Gold was found there and the place given the name of Villarica. 50 A HISTORY OF CHILE Leaving the settlement of Imperial, Valdivia pushed toward the south, seeing a favorable opportunity for attacking Lincoyan, who timidly kept out of his way. Passing through Arauco, the Spanish leader came to the river Callacalla, beyond which was the territory of the Cunches, allies of the Araucanians. Here again a native woman, more humane than the Spanish Inez Suarez, interceded for the Spaniards. Recloma per- suaded the Cunches, who were in battle array on the opposite side of the river, to permit the Spaniards to pass. Upon the southern shore of the river, Valdivia per- petuated his name by founding his sixth city and call- ing it Valdivia. The city attained some early impor- tance, on account of the discovery of gold mines in the vicinity, and the harbor, which was one of the best on the southern coast. On his return north in 1553, Valdivia built for- tresses in the provinces of Puren, Tucapel and Arauco, to protect his settlements and form bases for future military operations. These forts were, indeed, bases for many future military enterprises. At Santiago, he received a body of troops and 350 horses. With this increase of his forces, he determined to dispatch Aguirre with two hundred men to conquer the prov- inces of Cujo and Tucumen, east of the Andes. Val- divia himself soon returned to the province of Encol and there founded his seventh and last city, Angol. Returning to Concepcion, after having regulated the affairs of his new city, Valdivia instituted the military offices of quartermaster-general, serjeant-major and commissary, then sent Alderete to Spain with an account of his conquests and a large amount of gold for the purpose of obtaining for him the long wished- for title of Marquis of Arauco and the perpetual gov- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 51 ernment of the provinces he had conquered. He also sought to open up more direct communication with Spain by sea, and with that end in view dispatched Ulloa to examine the Straits of Magellan. Valdivia now supposed that he had practically finished the conquest of Chile. Alas, his seven cities were as cut off from the world and from each other as the seven golden cities of the mediaeval legend situated on a mythical island in the mid- Atlantic! The would- be Marquis of Arauco had overreached himself, Arauco was not yet his. The Araucanians had, in the meantime, become dissatisfied with their toqui, Lincoyan. An old chief- tain, by name Colocolo, with a passionate love for his country animating his heart, determined to arouse his countrj'men to heroic exertion. With this end in view, he traversed the Araucanian provinces and sought to arouse the natives, and to induce them to select a new leader and make a desperate resistance against the encroachments of the invaders. His appeals were successful ; the various ulmenes immediately assembled at the accustomed national trysting place, a feast was ordered and plans for a campaign discussed. There were many competitors for the military toquiship — Andalican, Elicura, On- golmo, Renco, and Tucapel, being the most distin- guished. Tucapel was foremost, but the contention was so heated, that Colocolo suggested the name of Caupolican, ulmen of Pilmayquen (a district of Tuca- pel), a modest and valiant man. This choice pleased the assembled ulmenes, and forthwith Caupolican, a true Patagonian in stature, with a wise looking face despite the fact that he had but one eye, assumed the authority as vice-toqui, curbed the excited ones, 52 A HISTORY OF CHILE and formed his military plans with much caution and wisdom. A party of eighty Indians had been conducted by Caupolican to the Arauco fort ; they were employed in taking forage to the Spaniards. In place of these auxiliaries, the wily toqui substituted eighty of his • own warriors. These were to conceal arms in the bundles of hay which they carried and to set upon the guards and hold the gates until the Araucanians could rush in. The guards were attacked, according to the prearranged plan, but the garrison, commanded by Francisco Reynoso, came to their assistance and drove back the Indians before Caupolican could bring up his troops. Nothing daunted the Indians attacked the walls on every side, but the fire from eighty can- nons within soon compelled the attacking party to withdraw. They then threw a line about the for- tress and prepared to besiege the place. Failing in repeated sallies to dislodge their assail- ants, the Spaniards resolved to cut their way out and retire to the fort at Puren, for if they remained much longer they would starve. Waiting until the night was far spent, they rushed out in a body and made their way safely through the lines of their confused enemies. The fortress in Tucapel was next assailed. Here there was a garrison of forty men, commanded by Martin Erizar. After man}' sallies, continuing through several days, the Spaniards escaped through some well planned artifice and made their way to Puren, where they joined the garrison, already augmented by the soldiers from Arauco. Valdivia was at Concepcion. Hearing of the assaults upon his forts, he started immediately for Arauco with all his forces, probably amounting, al] THE COLONIAL PERIOD 53 told, to 200 Spaniards and four or five thousand Indian auxiliaries. When well on the march Diego del Oro was sent forward to reconnoitre the enemy's position. This entire company of men, consisting of ten cavalrymen, were slain by Caupolican's troops, their heads cut off and suspended from trees by the roadside. The spec- tacle served the purpose for which it was intended : it filled the minds of the Spanish soldiers with horror, and many of them desired to return to Concepcion. But Valdivia was rash, as well as valiant, and pushed forward, though probably ten thousand Araucanian Indians were under arms ready to oppose him. On December 3rd, 1553, the Spaniards came in sight of the Indians at Tucapel. There the two armies ma- ncEuvred for some time for position within full view of each other. Mariantu commanded the right wing of the Araucanian army, the fiery Tucapel, the Marat of the Araucanians, after whom the province of Tucapel had been named, led the left wing. Mariantu began the battle, moving against Bova- dilla, who commanded the Spanish left. These Span- iards were immediately surrounded and cut in pieces. A detachment sent to reinforce the left was in a like manner annihilated. Tucapel now began an impetuous attack upon the Spanish right, and the fight thereupon became general along the whole line. The Spaniards mowed down the ranks of the Indians, but they quickly filled the gaps with fresh men from their reserves. Valdivia fought as a common soldier, animating his troops by his heroic example. Three times the Indians retired in order and reorganized out of range of the artillery, and then returned to the combat ; but the slaughter was too great and at last they gave way and were about to fly the field. But 54 A HISTORY OF CHILE there was a youth of sixteen years among them with courage and patriotism animating his young heart. Lautaro had been captured by Valdivia sometime before, baptized and made his page. Quitting the Spanish ranks at the critical moment when his coun- trymen began to waver, the lad began to call to his Indian friends, reproaching them for their cowardice and exhorting them to return to the combat. Grasp- ing a lance, he turned upon the Spaniards and shouted to his countrymen to follow him. They returned with new zeal to the fray, and charging furiously, routed the Spaniards and their Promaucian allies, only two escap- ing the carnage. Seeing that the day was lost, Valdivia retired with his chaplain to pray, but his devotions were soon rudely interrupted by a partj' of the victors who took him prisoner and forthwith conducted him before Cau- polican. Of the chief he asked that his life might be spared, and promised in return for the boon that he would quit Chile with all the Spaniards. He begged Lau- taro, his recent page, to intercede for him, and this the youth did, for he was magnanimous, as well as brave. But an old ulmen standing near, sneering at Valdivia's promises, made short work of the matter by dispatching him with his war club. The day following, the ghostly heads of the Span- iards and Promaucians were suspended from the trees by the great meadows where the Araucanians were wont to hold their festivals and celebrate their victo- ries ; and there for sometime the Indians held high carnival. CHAPTER IV LAUTARO AND CAUPOLICAN VALDIVIA's SUCCESSORS DON GARCIA DEFEAT AND SUCCESS Lautaro, the young hero of the battle of Tucapel, was accorded high honors in the great festival which followed the victory. Caupolican appointed him his special lieutenant, and invested him with authority in the army nearly equal to his own. By birth, the young man was of the Indian gentry, and, beside this advantage, was endowed by nature with noble- ness of character, beauty and affability. Another campaign was projected. The veteran Colocolo, the Ulysses of the Araucanians, was of the opinion that all the Spanish posts ought at once to be destroyed. Tucapel, on the other hand, argued that they should first go to Santiago and strike an effective blow while the Spaniards were in their present state of dismay. Caupolican, as usual, adopted Colocolo's advice. The Spaniards in Ancol and Puren, as well as those of Villarica, hearing of the disaster which had be- fallen their hitherto invincible arms, retired to the towns of Imperial and Valdivia. In those cities Cau- polican determined to besiege them. Lautaro was thereupon given in charge the defence of the country 56 A HISTORY OF CHILE about the Biobio, and, immediately assuming the hazardous task, fortified himself on the precipitous mountain of Mariguenu, one of the strongest natural defences in the south. About this time, Lincoyan fell upon a party of four- teen Spanish horsemen on their way from Imperial to Tucapel and so destructive was the slaughter that but seven of the cavaliers made their escape. Tidings of these reverses, reached Concepcion, as well as the two Promaucians who had escaped from the battle of Tucapel, and, as we may suppose, filled the hearts of the inhabitants with terror, stout hearted Spaniards though they were. Valdivia having been slain, the secret instructions which he had left were opened by the magistrates. He had signified that, in the event of his death, the successors in the government of Chile should be Alderete, Aguirre and Villagran. Alderete, as we have seen, was at this time in Europe; Aguirre was conquering the province of Cujo on the other side of the mountains ; Villagran alone, there- fore, was prepared to assume the reins of government. Making careful preparations, Villagran crossed the Biobio with a small Spanish army and a body of Indian auxiliaries and began a march against the Araucanians. In a narrow pass at the Mariguenu mountain, a strong force of Lautaro's men fell upon him and gave him three hours of hard fighting, at the end of which time the Indians withdrew to the moun- tain, where Lautaro commanded in person behind a strong palisade. A body of Spanish horsemen under- took to force a passage up the side of the steep moun- tain, but were met near the summit with such a shower of missiles that Villagran ordered the musket- eers and artillerymen to advance to their support. Lautaro had dispatched a body of his warriors to THE COLONIAL PERIOD 57 surround the Spaniards, but Villagran advancing pre- vented this manoeuvre from being successfully carried out. Perceiving now that his main losses came from the cannonading, Lautaro ordered Leucoton to cap- ture the guns, bidding him not to dare to show his face until the order was executed. Leucoton with his company thereupon fell so furiously upon the artillery- men that they were driven back and the cannon cap- tured. Lautaro followed up this advantage by a vig- orous attack in front, which threw the Spaniards into confusion and soon put them to flight. Of Spanish soldiers and auxiliaries, three thousand lay dead upon the field. Villagran himself was barely saved by the almost superhuman efforts of three of his soldiers, who picked him up wounded and put him upon his horse. It was necessary for the Spaniards in their flight to repass the narrow defile where the battle had begun. This the cunning Lautaro had ordered obstructed by means of felled trees. There was a furious combat before the few remaining Spaniards could make their escape. The Araucanians pursued them to the river Biobio ; but fatigued as the Indians were, having sustained a loss of about seven hundred men, Lautaro halted to give his troops time for rest with the inten- tion of crossing the river the following day. The fugitives made their way to Concepcion, where Villa- gran hurriedly put the old men and women aboard ships and sent them to Imperial and Valparaiso. The remaining inhabitants started by land for Santi- ago, leaving their property behind them, so that when Lautaro entered the deserted city he found there much rich booty. The place was razed ; after which the young hero returned to Arauco to receive the plaudits of his nation. 58 A HISTORY OF CHILE Caupolican was in the meantime slowly besieging Imperial and Valdivia. Villagran sent forward rein- forcements, whereupon the Araucanian general raised the siege and joined his forces with those of Lau- taro. He afterward remained for some time in his encampment, in fact until the time when Villagran, obeying a behest of the court of the Royal Audience of Lima, undertook to rebuild Concepcion, and had proceeded thither with eighty-five families for that purpose. The- surrounding tribes again called upon the Araucanians for assistance and Caupolican sent forward two thousand men under Lautaro, who met the Spaniards drawn up in battle array on an open plain, defeated them, drove them back into Concep- cion and followed them precipitately into the fortress through the open gates. The inhabitants fled to the woods and to the ships in the harbor, and escaping, made their way back to Santiago. The Indians again burned the city and carried off much booty. About this time, perhaps a little while before, small- pox broke out among the Indians and nearly depop- ulated several districts. Since that time the Araucan- ians have used the utmost vigilance in protecting themselves against this dread disease, by rigorous methods of quarantining and by stamping out the plague upon its first appearance. About this time, too, Francisco Aguirre came over the mountains with sixty of his followers, determined to place himself at the head of the government. He and Villagran agreed to submit their claims to the Royal Audience of Lima, with the final result that Villagran was directed to take charge of the govern- ment until further orders, and to rebuild Concepcion; the latter he attempted with such result as we have already described. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 59 Stimulated by Lautaro's success at Concepcion, Caupolican determined to begin again tlie sieges of Imperial and Valdivia; Lautaro, in the meantime, being required to march against Santiago to create a division of the Spanish forces. The young chief thereupon selected six hundred men, traversed the provinces lying between the Biobio and Maule rivers, and then fell upon the country of the Promaucians, the Spanish allies, which he laid waste. Fortifying him- self on the banks of the Rio Claro, he sent out spies and awaited information of the state of affairs at San- tiago. In the latter place, preparations for defense were actively begun. Juan Godinez with a body of horsemen was sent forward into the Promaucian coun- try to gain information of the whereabouts of the much dreaded enemy. He was attacked by a party of the Araucanians, by whom his little force was severely handled. Those escaping iled to Santiago, and the city was soon in consternation over the news. Villagran was ill at the time, and therefore placed his son, Pedro, in command of a body of troops, with which he ordered him to march against Lautaro ; the approaches to the city he directed to be hurriedly fortified. Young Lautaro had not come three hun- dred miles into the enemy's country to be defeated by young Pedro ; being attacked by the latter in his intrenchments on the banks of the Rio Claro, he feigned a retreat and thus drew the Spaniards into the enclosure. No sooner were they inside than the Araucanians fell upon them, furiously slaughtering all of them, with the exception of the cavalrymen, who were able to effect an escape. Pedro received reinforcements and three times attacked Lautaro, but was each time repulsed. There- upon he withdrew his forces to a meadow. Lautaro 6o A HISTORY OF CHILE took up a position on a neighboring mountain, and there formed the plan of turning at night the waters of a branch of the Mataquito upon Pedro's camp. The encampment might have been flooded, had the young commander not been informed by a spy in time to retire to Santiago and thus escape the disaster. Villagran, having recovered from his sickness, marched against Lautaro with a little army consisting of 196 Spaniards and looo Indian auxiliaries. To effect a surprise of the Araucanian intrenchments, a secret route was taken by the seashore. At break of day Lautaro was aroused by his sentinels, and going to the side of the fortification to look at the approach- ing enemy, was pierced by a dart, fired by one of the Indian auxiliaries, and fell dead in the arms of his companions. A fierce combat ensued, in which the Araucanians fought like wild beasts until all of them had been slain. The Spaniards lost heavily, but returned vic- torious to the capital, where for three days the fall of Lautaro was celebrated. And well they might cele- brate his fall, for this young man at the age of nine- teen was a veritable young Hannibal. The "Chilean Hannibal" he has been not unworthily called. Caupolican, learning of the death of Lautaro and the defeat of the troops sent against Santiago, at once abandoned the siege of Imperial, which was opportune for the besieged, as they were reduced to extremities. These are substantially the more important events of the year 1556. In April, 1557, Don Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza arrived in the bay of Concepcion to take charge of the government of Chile, having been appointed captain- general by his father, the viceroy of Peru. As will be remembered, Francisco de Villagran, was one of THE COLONIAL PERIOD 6i the three named by Valdivia to take charge of the government in the event of his death. At the time of his death, Valdivia's agent, Alderete, was at the court of Spain soliciting a marquisate and the inde- pendent governorship of Chile for his superior. Philip II. had succeeded his father, Charles V., on the throne of Spain, and learning of the death of Valdivia forth- with gave the government and conquest of Chile in charge of Alderete, furnishing him for that purpose six hundred soldiers and a ship. Alderete's sister appears to have been a reader of sixteenth century novels, and furthermore was accustomed to read in bed. While at this pleasant occupation one night, she accidentally set the ship on fire. The vessel was burned ; Alderete and three soldiers were all that escaped. The former, overcome with grief, died on the island of Taboga. It was upon hearing of these things, that the viceroy of Peru had appointed his son to the governorship of Chile. Villagran thereupon went to Europe to seek personally from the court his reinstatement in the office to which he had been appointed by Valdivia. Mendoza, or as he is generally called, Don Garcia, anchored his ten ships in Concepcion bay near the island of Quiriquina. He had brought a large number of soldiers from Peru, together with a great quantity of military stores; with these he determined to make such a display as would intimidate the natives. The latter opposed his landing on the island', but a few rounds of artillery firing sent them flying on their balsas for the mainland. Don Garcia captured two of them and these he appointed as emissaries to visit the neighboring Araucanians and to inform them that he desired to negotiate with them a lasting treaty of peace. Caupolican, acting upon a suggestion from old Colo- 62 A HISTORY OF CHILE colo, dispatched to the Spaniards, Millalauco, an Indian of a diplomatic turn of mind, with instructions to congratulate the new governor upon his arrival and to express the wish that an amicable settlement might be reached ; but in reality, the envoy was to ascertain the strength of the Spanish camp, for the ulmenes had no notion of entering into a treaty of peace. They doubted the intention of the Spaniards too seriously to think of permitting them to obtain a firm footing in their territories. The Spaniards sought to impress upon Millalauco their importance and strength, and so conducted him about their camp, saluting him with the artillery and regaling him' magnificently. All which Millalauco accepted like a Stoic, and, returning home, gave Caupolican full information of the strength of this new arrival of invaders. Caupolican immediately placed sen- tinels in such a manner that the movements of the Spaniards could be at all times observed, and then took up his axe of authority and prepared for war. Don Garcia's cavalry forces had not been placed aboard the ten ships, but were making their way over- land from Peru under the command of Garcia Ramon, the quartermaster-general. The governor, therefore, decided to await the arrival of these before beginning an active campaign against the Indians. For this purpose, and also that he might obtain what troops the cities of his jurisdiction could furnish, he re- mained in camp on the island from April until Au- gust. CHAPTER V CONTINUED WARS WITH THE ARAUCANIANS — DEATH OF CAUPOLICAN DISCOVERY OF THE ARCHIPELAGO OF CHILOE On the 6th of August, 1557, Don Garcia de Men- doza, having, as we have seen, spent the winter months on the island of Quiriquina, cautiously landed 130 troops with engineers at Concepcion and fortified Monte Pinto by mounting upon it a number of guns and by the construction of a moat. The mountain commands the harbor, and thus a strong natural de- fense was secured for a future base of operations. All which proceedings on the part of the Spaniards were observed, and information concerning the same imme- diately communicated to Caupolican by his secret sen- tries. The Araucanian general forthwith collected his warriors and on the gth began a vigorous attack on the Spanish forces upon the mountain, from three sides at the same time, having first sent forward an advance party to fill up the moat with logs. The attack was obstinately conducted, the Indians mounting the mole, some even leaping down within the fortification led by the fiery Tucapel, who with his own hands slew four Spaniards with his ponderous war club and then leaped over the precipice followed by a shower of bullets. So terrible was the slaughter that the ditch 63 64 A HISTORY OF CHILE was soon filled with the dead and wounded, over whose prostrate bodies other combatants rushed in their mad attempt to scale the walls. Seeing the imminent danger of those within the fortification, Don Garcia sent forward reinforcements from the island. These Caupolican met with a por- tion of his troops, whereupon a combat ensued which lasted for several hours. The Indians, hemmed in between this fresh force and the mountain, were handled so roughly that they were at length forced to beat a retreat. Nothing daunted, Caupolican raised a larger army and determined to proceed again to Concepcion ; but, learning of the arrival of the Spanish cavalry, which had been sent overland fronj Peru, and being informed that the Spaniards had received reinforcements con- sisting of two thousand auxiliaries and a body of Spaniards from Imperial, the Araucanian leader halted on the banks of the Biobio, unwilling to begin the siege. With his force greatly augmented by the new arri- vals, Mendoza now took the initiative, crossed the Biobio in. boats and prepared to attack Caupolican, who had taken up a position not far from the river, his rear protected by a tract of timbered land into which he could readily retreat in case of defeat. After some skirmishing, in which two parties of Span- iards, one headed by Garcia Ramon, the other by Alonzo Reynoso, were cut to pieces, the battle began. The Indians adopted their usual tactics of rushing upon their foes and seeking by a hand to hand encounter to penetrate to their center; but the firing of the Spanish musketry was so rapid that they failed in their attempt; their ranks were soon so de- pleted that they were unable to fill the gaps, where- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 65 upon they were thrown into confusion, the Spanish cavalry pressed in and a complete rout followed. The Indians fled into the woods and the victorious army, abandoning the pursuit, marched into the prov- ince of Arauco, but on the way were constantly har- assed by bands of Caupolican's troops. Mendoza, more inhuman than any of his predecessors, had put to death some, and mutilated others of the prisoners taken. A brave fellow named Galverino had his hands cut off by the Spaniard's orders, and then was set free, perhaps for the purpose of inspiring the Araucanians with terror. The contrary, however, was the result. The bloody arms of their wounded com- rade aroused in the Indians feelings of revenge, so that even the women took up arms and became veritable Amazons. At a place called Melipuru, the Spaniards were met again by the Indian army, which advanced upon them at daybreak in three lines, having previously sent forward word, in a spirit of bravado, that they would meet them in such manner. Here a closely contested battle was fought, the outcome of which was for a long time doubtful. The Spanish cavalry was met by the Indians with levelled spears and forced back in con- fusion ; the Araucanians penetrated into the center of the infantry, and were on the point of routing the whole Spanish army, when Don Garcia brought up a reserve force and with it charged that part of the enemy's lines commmanded by the giant Lincoyan. This threw them into such confusion that the whole Araucanian line was broken, seeing which Caupolican ordered a retreat. To save the army, Rencu, a val- iant chieftain, posted himself in such a manner with a few brave followers as to attract the attention of the Spaniards. While Don Garcia was attacking his 66 A HISTORY OF CHILE party, Caupolican was effecting a retreat, by which means, perhaps, the Araucanian army escaped total destruction. Having hung twelve of the ulmenes captured — Gal- verino, whose hands had been previously cut off, being among them — as a warning to the other Araucanian chiefs of what they might expect if they continued the war, Don Garcia next proceeded against the province of Tucapel. On the spot where Valdivia had been massacred, a city, called Caiiete, was founded by Mendoza, the name being derived from the titular appellation of his family. A palisade, protected by a ditch and rampart, having been constructed, Alonzo Reynoso was given the command of the post; Don Garcia himself proceeded then to Imperial, from which place he undertook to dispatch provisions to his new city of Cafiete. But a band of Araucanians fell upon his convoy and carriers in a narrow pass, obliging them to drop their burdens and flee to Caiiete for safety. The latter place was now attacked by Caupolican, but after five hours of severe fighting the Araucanians were repulsed. Caupolican now resorted to stratagem, by means of which he hoped to get his troops inside the pali- sade. He sent one of his chiefs, named Pran, to the garrison in the character of a deserter. His plan might have been successful if Pran had not formed a friendship with one of Reynoso's auxiliaries to whom he communicated his plot and requested of him his assistance in carrying it out. The Indian pretended to be in sympathy with Pran's scheme, but immediatelj' disclosed it to Rey- noso. The plan was for the Indian, who was called Andres, to admit some of the Araucanians witliin the palisade while the Spaniards were taking their morn- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 67 ing sleep, as they were accustomed to do after their nightly vigils. Reynoso bade Andres carry out his plan. This was done ; but when a certain number of the Indians had rushed inside the fortification the gates were closed ; the cannons, loaded with grape- shot, were turned upon those without, while those within were slaughtered in a hand to hand combat, with the exception of three ulmenes who were taken prisoners, and who were afterward tied to the mouths of cannons and blown into shreds. The cavalry sallied from the gates and fell upon those of Caupolican's forces without which had chanced to escape the can- nonading. Caupolican, with a few followers, escaped to the mountains. Having brought the Araucanian war to a successful termination, Don Garcia rebuilt Concepcion, and then undertook an expedition against the Cunches (1558). These Indians had not yet been at war with the con- quistadores, although one of the allied tribes of _the Araucanians, as their territory was situated in the south of Chile and at some distance from Concepcion. The story is told that when the Cunches first heard of the arrival of Don Garcia's forces, they met in a great council to canvass the situation. One Tuncono- bal, an Araucanian exile, chanced to be present and advised them to hide all their gold arid other property and to send such presents as would lead the Spaniards to believe the country destitute of all those riches which alone would make it appear valuable in their eyes. This was done. Tunconobal was dispatched to meet the Spaniards, clothed in rags, shaking with fear, and bearing a basket of baked lizards and fruits. This had the desired effect ; looking upon Tuncono- bal and his shaking companions, the Spaniards burst out laughing and inquired of them the best road south. 68 A HISTORY OF CHILE fully believing that they had come to a second Ata- cama desert. Tunconobal assigned one of his compan- ions for a guide at the request of the Spaniards. The army was conducted along a desolate and diffi- cult coast road and left on the fourth day by their treacherous guide in a barren and mountainous region, from which they extricated themselves with much difficulty. This journey was not altogether fruitless. Press- ing forward, the Spaniards observed, from their high position on the mountains, the beautiful island of Chilo6. Not more pleased was Balboa, when from the top of a high mountain he discovered the mighty Pacific spread out before him. The channels were thronged with boats ; one of these was manned b)' fifteen Indians who pulled from the shore upon seeing the Spaniards. The chief inquired who the newcom- ers were and what they wanted. The half-starved Spanish troops asked for food ; this was given them. The natives brought fruit, maize and meat in their balsas, in the same manner as the unsuspecting people of Tumbez loaded canoes with provisions and hospit- ably entertained Pizarro when he landed upon their shores. Provisioned, and accompanied by the natives, Don Garcia and his followers explored the archipelago. Some of the islands they found well cultivated, the women plying distaffs and needles, the people indus- trious and happy. The poet Alonzo de Ercilla went further south than any others of the party and inscribed his name with the date on the bark of a tree. This was on Januar}' 31st, 1559. This young soldier and poet who served through the Araucanian wars, from 1554 to 1562, has celebrated in stirring poetry the scenes of these bat- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 69 ties, written at the time, night after night upon the battlefields. Soon after this Garcia returned to Imperial, without opposition, through the country of the Huilliches, east of the territories of the Cunches. About this time, too, the city of Osqirno was established. For sometime the brutal Alonzo Reynoso had sought to obtain information of the whereabouts of Caupolican ; he had of^red rewards and subjected the natives to torture in his efforts to force them to dis- close their chief's hiding-place, but all to no purpose. At last a .mercenary spy was found who consented to conduct a company of horsemen in search of the chief- tain. Caupolican was surrounded, together with a few of his followers, and made prisoner. His wife exhorted him to die rather than surrender, which exhortation not being heeded, she threw his infant son at him and upbraided him for being a coward. Brought before Reynoso, the veteran chief was ordered to be impaled and shot to death with arrows. Caupolican met his cruel fate like a hero, warning the blood-thirsty Reynoso, who was detested both by Indians and Spaniards, that from his death would arise many and more fortunate Caupolicans. Another Caupolican indeed, like a phoenix, soon arose from the old chief's ashes. Acting under the advice of their wizard, Colocolo, the Araucanians ele- vated young Caupolican, eldest son of their late chief, to the position held by his father; Tucapel was at the same time elected vice toqui. This young chief, whom chroniclers call Caupolican the Second, raised an army, crossed the Biobio and marched toward Con- cepcion, which was now indifferently garrisoned. Reynoso proceeded against him with five hundred troops and overtook him at Talcahuano, where a sharp 70 A HISTORY OF CHILE conflict ensued in which the Spaniards were cut to pieces and utterly defeated. Tucapel chased Reynoso and a few of his followers across the Biobio ; these were all who escaped the slaughter. Reynoso collected another army and returned to the contest, but was again defeated by the young Arau- canian general. Young Caupolican, encouraged by his successes, was about to proceed against Concep- cion, when Millalauco arrived", bringing information that Don Garcia had quitted Imperial with troops and was attacking the Indian provinces. Caupolican there- upon went to the assistance of hiS' friends and allies and, although caught in an ambush prepared for him by the way, yet defeated his assailants and then pushed forward rapidly to Imperial, whither Don Garcia had retired with his troops. Caupolican now besieged the city, but with poor success. Then he sent two emissaries as spies to solicit the aid of the Spanish auxiliaries, but the plot was discovered and the emissaries impaled within the walls, together with one hundred and twenty of the treacherous auxiliaries. Assault after assault was next made and such deeds of heroism performed as have immortalized the plains of Troy ; and yet Imperial held out. Caupolican at length withdrew his army and effected a junction with the troops he had left behind to oppose Reynoso. Numerous battles occurred within the month which followed, in some of which Caupolican was victorious; but in the end he was at a disadvantage, for his warriors were decreased in number by the constant fighting, while the Spanish commander constantly received recruits both from Spain and from Peru. Seeing that his heroic resistance was of little avail, the Araucanian general fortified himself in a place THE COLONIAL PERIOD 71 called Quiapo between Cafiete and Concepcion, and determined there to protract the struggle behind his defences. Don Garcia marched against the young commander at Quiapo. Andres was sent as an ambassador to the Araucanians, but was coolly received by Caupolican, for the latter had not forgotten the Indian's treachery to his father. The following day Andres paid the penalty of his former duplicity ; being taken as a spy, he was hung by the heels and suffocated with smoke. Caup&lican made a desperate resistance, but, in a sally undertaken to dislodge the Spaniards from about his intrenchments, his officers were killed, Tucapel, Colocolo, Rencu, Lincoyan, Mariantu, Ongolmo and others of his bravest heroes fell, while his troops were mercilessly slain, in fact annihilated. Fortifi- cations were rebuilt at Arauco and Angol ; Villarica was reestablished, and its mines re-opened. In the capital a bishopric had been established. D. Fr. Bartoleme Roderigo Gonzales Marmolejo, of Carmana in Andalusia, was the first bishop of Santia- go, appointed by Pius IV. He erected the church in 1563 and governed it until 1565, when he died. In 1567, D. Fr. Fernando Barrionuevo of the order of San Francisco, a native of Guadalajara, Spain, was elected to the bishopric. He held the office eighteen months, when he died. Following Barrionuevo's death the office remained vacant five years.* Troops were sent to the assistance of Aguirre in the conquest of Cujo. The latter conquered the natives, the Huarpes, and established the cities of San Juan and Mendoza east of the Andes. These provinces *In 1564, D. Fr. Diego Medellin, a Franciscan from Estremadura, came from Lima and was made bishop. He governed tlie church until J593. The office was then vacant for two years. In 1595, D. Fr. Pedro de Azuaga was promoted to the office but died before be received the episcopal consecration. 72 A HISTORY OF CHILE east of the mountains, we may add, were subsequently transferred to the Argentine Republic. Hearing of the arrival of Francisco de Villagran at Buenos Ayres, who had been appointed to succeed to the governorship of Chile, Don Garcia de Men- doza turned over the charge of Chilean affairs tem- porarily to Rodrigo de Quiroga and returned to Peru. The appointment of Villagran as captain-general of Chile is usually considered as marking the close of the period of the conquest. CHAPTER VI ANTIGUENU, PAILLATARU AND PAYNENANCU QUIROGA, ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROYAL AUDIENCE— INDIANS OF CHILOE SOTOMAYOR Francisco de Villagran, having succeeded Don Gar- cia de Mendoza in command, fully believed that the stubborn Araucanians were at last subdued, and, there- fore, turned his attention to wresting the province of Tucuman from the vice-royalty of Peru. This prov- ince had formerly belonged to Chile. Gregori Cas- taneda was given this enterprise in charge, .and, hav- ing defeated the Peruvian commander, Juan Zurita, restored the province to the government of Chile. Eventually, however, Tucuman was again attached to Peru by an order from Spain. But the Araucanians were by no means subdued, notwithstanding the slaughter at Quiapo and the loss of their most celebrated chiefs and heroes. The caciques escaping the battle assembled in a wood and elevated one Antiguenu to the rank of commanding toqui. He was a prudent general, and readily per- ceived that, in the present demoralized condition of the Araucanian army, it would be impolitic to hazard another battle. So he retired with his followers to a swamp, and caused scaffolds to be erected upon which 73 74 A HISTORY OF CHILE his troops might encamp above the moist earth, like the ancient lake-dwellers of Switzerland. Here he rapidly accumulated an army, calling together the youth of the country and exercising them daily in military tactics, until he deemed himself sufficiently strong to quit his retreat and send out expeditions into the Spanish settlements. When news of these expeditions reached Villagran at Santiago, he hurriedly collected a small force and dispatched his son Pedro against the Indians. For a while unimportant skirmishes took place between the opposing forces. In the first of these Antiguenu met with slight reverses; at another time he defeated a body of Spaniards under Arias Pardo. At length Antiguenu stationed himself upon the top of the almost impregnable Mariguenu, the stronghold of the Araucanian country. The son of Villagran was sent with a strong force against him, but was himself killed ' in the battle which ensued and his army cut to pieces. Antiguenu, greatly elated with his signal victory, now marched against Canete. The inhabitants learn- ing of his approach, withdrew to Imperial and Con- cepcion, and the Indians burned the deserted town. About this time the indomitable Villagran died, it is said of grief, appointing as his successor his son Pedro. Antiguenu was now more active than ever. Collecting an army of 4,000 warriors, he sent one half of it against Concepcion under the command of his able vice-toqui, Antunecul. With the other division he marched against the fort in Arauco, which was garrisoned by troops under Lorenzo Bernal. Antunecul with his division defeated the governor, Pedro, in two attacks, and then began the siege of Concepcion which he continued for two months. The Spaniards received provisions by way of the sea, THE COLONIAL PERIOD 75 which Antunecul could not intercept ; thus the siege failed and the Araucanian commander withdrew his troops. Antiguenu invaded Arauco, as we have seen, and the siege had been long protracted, when by strata- gem the Araucanian general led Lorenzo Bernal, the Spanish commander, to believe that his Indian auxili- aries were intriguing with the enemy, whereupon the auxiliaries were discharged and sent outside the walls. Antiguenu immediately fell upon them and put them to death b}' tortures in sight of the Spaniards. After this the Araucanian chieftain challenged Bernal to single combat to decide the fate of Arauco. The chal- lenge was accepted and the champions fought for more than two hours without serious results, neither of them receiving any wound or injury. Then they were separated by their respective troops, and the siege continued. Unable to secure provisions, as boats sent to their assistance had been repeatedly cut off by the besiegers, the Spanish commander at last withdrew his garrison ; the Indians, perhaps by agree- ment, allowed the troops to pass and then destroyed the town. The attempt to reduce Angol was not equally suc- cessful. The Araucanian division dispatched at first defeated a body of Spaniards, but was itself in turn defeated. Antiguenu himself proceeded there with 2,000 reinforcements, but was met at the confluence of the Biobio and Vergoso and defeated by the Spanish army under Lorenzo Bernal ; not, however, until after a contest in which the Spanish infantry, which had once been put to flight, had been checked and reformed by the cavalry. Carried along in the rout of his troops, Antiguenu fell over a high bank into the river and was drowned. It is not known whether he met 76 A HISTORY OF CHILE his death by accident, or whether, like a Roman gen- eral, he preferred death to the dishonor of defeat. This battle was fought in 1564, and closed the war for a season, or until the following year. At the same time the Araucanians met with disaster in another quarter. A detachment had been sent under another leader, called Lillemu, to lay waste the provinces of Chilian and Itata. Pedro Balsa went against him with a party of eighty Spanish troops, but was de- feated. The governor then marched from Santi- ago with one hundred and fifty Spaniards and with this force cut off a detachment of Lillemu's troops. The latter chieftain came with reinforcements to their assistance, but found that they had been already dispersed. The Spaniards fell furiously upon their reinforcements, and it was only by taking a stand in a narrow pass that Lillemu was able to effect a retreat of his forces ; but this stratagem cost him his own life together with the lives of a large number of his brav- est warriors. During the year following, Pedro de Villagran who had been appointed to the governorship merely as the tem- porar}' successor of his father, was succeeded bj' Rodri- go de Quiroga, who was appointed to the office by the Royal Audience of Lima. The Araucanians elected as Antiguenu's successor a relative of Lautaro, Pailla- taru by name. He was a cautious commander who contented himself with leading occasional incursions against the Spanish provinces. In 1565 Quiroga rebuilt the fort of Arauco and the town of Caiiete, also a fort on the spot where the battle of Quiapo had been fought. In 1566 formal possession was taken of Chilo6 with its accompanying archipelago, consisting of eighty outlying islands, and the city of Castro with the port THE COLONIAL PERIOD 77 of Cliacao was founded on the island. No opposi- tion was encountered from the peaceable inhabitants, though these islands are said to have had at the time a dense population of more than seventy thou- sand people, industrious, mechanical, quick to learn, good seamen, but rather timid in disposition. In language and appearance they were similar to their fierce Araucanian neighbors, but their island home had protected them from the wars which raged for generations along the Maule and Biobio, until they had become in habits pacific agriculturists. They submitted to a handful of Spaniards, and their seventy- six ulmenes henceforth became subject to the Spanish authority. The Araucanians had apparently been a bulwark protecting their southern neighbors against old Tupac Yupanqui's arms, and those of his succes- sors, for a hundred years. It is creditable to these warlike tribes of southern Chile that they had not turned their arms for pillage against the rich country, the well tilled fields and prosperous communities, of their wild neighbors. In fact, there is much in the Araucanian character which claims our admiration. They were heroic but not usually savage, brave but not often cruel. As the governors of Chile from Valdivia to Quiroga had not succeeded in subjugating the Araucanian nation, and as it seemed highly important that the conquest of this rich country should be effectively accomplished, Philip II. detached Chile, in a measure, from the government of Peru and established an inde- pendant Roval Audience for the political and military government of the country. Quiroga was removed and the command of the army given to Ruiz de Gamboa, who at once hastened to Caiiete where Paillataru was preparing to begin a siege. The two armies met near 78 A HISTORY OF CHILE Canete and Paillataru was defeated. The Araucanians were so demoralized that for the period of a year they offered little resistance to the inroads of the Span- iards, who laid waste portions of their territory and enslaved their women and children. But the liberty loving Indians would accept no proposition looking toward a treaty of peace. Not succeeding as well as had been anticipated in its military administration, the Royal Audience turned over that part of its functions to Don Melchor Bravo de Saravia in 1568, constituting the offices he was to fill under three heads, president of the Royal Audi- ence, civil governor, and commander-in-chief of the forces. It is said that Saravia was a much better governor than general ; at any rate, Paillataru defeated him at the memorable Mt. Mariguenu, and the president at once resigned his militar}' honors to Gamboa and Velasco, marshal and quartermaster respectively, with orders to abandon Arauco. Again was Arauco given up by the Spaniards. While Gamboa and ^'^elasco were conducting its inhabitants to Caiiete, tliey were attacked by Paillataru, but succeeded in driving back their adversary. Paillataru took Quiapo, then again marched against Canete. Gamboa marched out to meet him and a fierce battle ensued, in which the Spaniards were victorious. They then proceeded into the Araucanian territory, but Paillataru had collected another armj^ and with this the Spaniards were driven back. After this inde- cisive war there was a calm for a period of four years, during which time the exhausted belligerents were not disposed to take up arms. Paillataru died in 1574. In 1570 a bishopric was established in the city of Imperial, the first bishop being D. Fr. Antonio de San THE COLONIAL PERIOD 79 Miguel y Solier, a Franciscan.* About this time, too, occurred the first earthquake, which did great damage to the cities. Concepcion was destroyed almost as totally as it was afterward in 1730 and in 1751. The condition of Chile had apparently changed but little since Valdivia's day. Yet sufficient time had passed since the early settlement for children to become men. Descendants of Spaniards and Indians — mestizos — had become numerous, and the Araucanians recognized the advantage of attaching this strong party to their interests. So on the death of Pailla- taru, a half-breed named Alonzo Diaz, who had taken the name of Paynenancu and had fought with the Araucanians for ten years, was made toqui. He was, however, a rash leader and attacked without caution or sufficient preparation. Bernal defeated him in his own intrenchments on the Biobio, and Rodrigo Basti- das routed him at Villarica. The war continued in a desultory manner during the year, and the court of Spain, dissatisfied with the ■condition of affairs, sent out a special examiner, who undertook to cut down expenses. He dissolved the Royal Audience, ordering the members of it back to Peru. Don Rodrigo de Quiroga was again appointed governor and governmental affairs were arranged on the old basis. In the following year, 1576, Quiroga raised an army and marched against Paynenancu, who had long been harassing the settlements by frequent attacks. Failing to engage him in a pitched battle, Quiroga again laid waste the Araucanian territory. * San Miguel governed the church until 1589. He was a native of Vergara and was elected to his ofBce by Pope Pius IV. He erected the Reterida church in Imperial, April i, 1574. The next bishop was D. Fr. Augustin Cisneros, a Span- iard of Nacimiento, and dean of the church at Imperial. He governed the church until his death, which occurred in September, 159,1. D.Fr. Reginaldo Lizarroga was then elevated to the mitre (1596). 8o A HISTORY OF CHILE Quiroga died in 1580, naming Martin Ruiz de Gam- boa, his father-in-law, who had founded the city of Chilian, as his successor. Gamboa conducted the affairs of the government for a period of three years, during all of which time he was engaged in border warfare with the Araucanians, who were still led by the half-breed Paynenancu. At the same time the Pehuenches and Chiquillanians, were induced by the Araucaniaris to attack the Spaniards from their moun- tain fastnesses. These latter tribes inhabited the mountain regions north of the allied tribes of the Araucanians, and east of Santiago and the river Maule. They were wandering tribes more like the North American Indians, yet far different in disposition, as they were industrious and commercial in their habits, though fond of the chase and of moving from place to place. The court of Spain nominated Don Alonzo de Soto- mayor as governor of Chile in place of Quiroga, de- ceased. Sotomayor in 1583, landed at Buenos Ayres with six hundred regular troops and marched across the country to Chile. He elevated his brother, Don Luis, to the office of commanding colonel of the province — an office which he seems to have created for him — and the latter proceeded to the relief of Vil- larica and Valdivia, which Paynenancu was at the time besieging. The Araucanians stubbornly opposed the Spaniards in two contests, but were defeated. They were defeated also while proceeding against two de- tachments of their enemy that had been sent to rav- age their territory. The Pehuenches likewise were repulsed and driven back from Chilian. Then with an army of seven hun- dred Spaniards and a large following of auxiliaries, the governor entered the Araucanian territory, which THE COLONIAL PERIOD 8i he laid waste, arid, taking many prisoners^ ordered them to be mutilated and turned loose, thinking by these abominable measures to intimidate the Indians. The hunted tribes fled from some of the provinces, destroying their houses and crops behind them. Despite all these vigorous measures, the Araucan- ians received reinforcements from their allies and from the mestizos, and were even joined by some Span- iards, so that Paynenancu, with the eight hundred men he was thus enabled to get together, soon gave battle to the whole Spanish army. The contest was stubborn, and not until the Araucanian army was slain almost to a man and Paynenancu taken prisoner, was the battle won. The heroic chief was executed, and the governor rebuilt the oft destroyed fort of Arauco — the battle haviug been fought in that vicinity — which he placed in charge of Garcia Ramon, the quarter- master. CHAPTER VII CAYANCARU AND OTHER TOQUIS — SIR JOHN CAVENDISH — JANEQUEO LOYOLA Paynenancu had not been lacking in valor, but his rashness had cost the Araucanians dearly, and their repeated defeats for some time depressed their military ardor; but their heroic spirit was not broken. In 1585 Cayancaru, ulmen of the district of Mariguenu, was elected toqui, and forthwith messengers were dis- patched with the symbolical arrows calling the differ- ent provinces to arms. A new army was soon in the field, and with this Cayancaru proceeded against the Spanish post of Karampangui, his troops being led in three divisions by Lonconobal, Antulevu and Taro- china. Marching by three different routes, bodies of auxiliaries which the Spaniards had thrown out were first encountered and defeated. The Indians began their attack by moonlight, but the Spaniards, after momentary confusion, formed in line of battle and opened such a vigorous fire of musketry upon their assailants that they were at length compelled to give way. A charge was ordered by the governor, but it was only after hard fighting and great loss that the Indians were repulsed. At daybreak, however, the Araucanians returned to the attack. A battle ensued in the open plain, in 88 THE COLONIAL PERIOD 83 which the Indians were again repulsed, though the combat resulted in heavy loss to the Spaniards. Quitting the Indian country, Sotomayor built two forts upon the frontier, one on each side of the Bio- bio, Trinidad and Espiritu Santo, and then set about raising recruits. Two thousand cavalry and a consid- erable reinforcement of infantry were soon added to the troops already under his standard. Cayancaru, as soon as Sotomayor had removed to the '^iobio, determined to attack the fort of Arauco. To create a diversion, Guepotan, at the head of the Puelches, was ordered to ravage the country in the neighborhood of Villarica, from his strong position at Fort Liben, where he had defied the Spanish arms for a period of more than two years. Cadeguala, who was to be Cayancaru's successor in the tpquiship, was directed against Angol ; Tarochina was instructed to guard the Biobio, Melilanca and Catipillan were sent toward Imperial. These projects met with varying successes.' Guepo- tan lost his fort of Liben, Tarochina captured a num- ber of boats on the Biobio. It was not, however, until the following year that Cayancaru began the siege of Arauco. The place was strongly invested, but the besieged made so desperate an onslaught against their enemies that they forced their ranks and compelled them to fly, whereupon Cayancaru, feeling much cha- grined, resigned the leadership to his son Nongoniel, and retired to his own district. Nongoniel again invaded Arauco, and with such success that the garri- son was obliged to evacuate. Then the successful young commander proceeded against Trinidad, but was attacked on the way by a strong force of Span- iards under Francisco Hernandez. Nongoniel lost an arm in the engagement and was forced to retire to a 84 A HISTORY OF CHILE mountain. Here he was drawn into a combat and slain, together with fifty of his warriors. Cadeguala was then elected toqui. There had been frequent descents of pirates, corsairs, English and Dutch, upon the coasts and at diverse times. La Serena, Valparaiso, Concepcion and Valdivia had been sacked. In the year 15S6, three ships commanded by Sir Thomas Cavendish landed at Quintero Bay north of Valparaiso and sought to subject the Spanish prov- inces to English power. While he was entering •jnto negotiations with the natives he was attacked by Alonzo Molina, corregidor of Santiago, and driven from the place. This incident, serving to divert the Spaniards, led Cadeguala to plan an expedition against Angol. Some of the inhabitants of that place were friendly to his interests and these instigated some Chilean Indians, who were in the service of the Spaniards, to set the houses on fire during the night of his attack. The plan was successful. Fortunately Sotomayor arrived just before the attack, and inspired b}' his presence, the inhabitants at length retired to the citadel. Re- organizing their forces there, a successful sally was made against the enemy at daybreak and the Arauca- nian general compelled to withdraw his troops. Next Cadeguala undertook the reduction of the for- tress of Puren, and invested it with an army of four thousand men. The governor hastened to its relief with reinforcements; but Cadeguala met him on the way and obliged him to retreat. The toqui now offered the besieged the alternative of retiring upon parole, or joining his army. The terms were rejected by all of the garrison with the exception of one, Juan Tapia, who availed himself of the terms and joined the Arau- canians. Cadeguala now offered to settle the siege by single combat with the commander, Garcia Ramon. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 85 The challenge was accepted, the combat being arranged for the third day after. In this tilt Cadeguala fell, pierced by Ramon's lance, and the Araucanian army withdrew. Guanoalca was elected toqui in place of Cadeguala and at once returned to the siege. Juan Tapia, the Spaniard who had accepted the terms of the Araucanians and had gone over to their side in the previous siege, informed Guanoalca that the garrison was short of pro- visions and divided in sentiment. This no doubt was true, as the besieged soon evacuated the place and re- tired to Angol, the Indians permitting them to pass unmolested. Guanoalca next determined to take the new fort which had been erected recently near Mt. Mariguenu. Learning, however, that the post had been strongl}' reinforced, he changed his plan and proceeded against Trinidad and Espiritu Santo. On his approach, the governor abandoned the forts, transferring the garrisons to a new fort he had had constructed near Angol upon the river Puchanqui. These events occurred during the year 15S9. It was not unusual for women to wield spears in the Araucanian wars. A woman now took up arms who proved to be a veritable Joan of Arc. Janequeo was the wife of the heroic Guepotan, who after he had lost Liben, had retired to the mountains, where he was sometime afterward killed by the Spaniards, preferring death, it is said, to being taken prisoner. Janequeo determined to avenge the death of her husband, and for that purpose placed herself, in company with her brother Guechiuntereo, at the head of the Puelches. During the year 1590 she began to harass the Span- ish towns and showed no quarter to any of her enemies who chanced to fall into her hands. The governor pro- 86 A HISTORY OF CHILE ceeded against her with a considerable army, but she occupied the mountainous regions and attacked his troops in van and rear until he was obliged to beat a retreat. An Indian prisoner taken was hung. This act enraged the Puelches and they clamored for ven- geance. The intrepid woman next attacked the fortress of Puchanqui, but was unable to take it, though she de- feated a part of^the garrison and killed the comman- der, Aranda. She now withdrew to the mountain fastnesses of Villarica, where she fortified herself in a canon. From this retreat she carried on a lively war- fare against Villarica, so that the inhabitants were afraid to leave the streets. Complaints were made to the governor, who im- mediately dispatched his brother, Don Luis, against the almost impregnable stronghold of the enemy. The issue of the expedition was for sometime doubtful, as Janequeo repeatedly repelled the assaults of the Span- ish forces led by Don Luis, Castillejo and Penalosa ; but her troops were at last dispersed by the artillery and she herelf was obliged to seek safety in flight. Her brother was captured, and promised to prevail upon his sister to lay down arms on condition that his life should be spared. The Spaniards dismissed him for that purpose and he immediately presented the matter to a council of the nation. An old cacique present, Catipiuque, scorning all proffers of peace, slew the valiant warrior while the debate was in pro- gress. Guanoalca was an old man ; he died toward the close of the year 1590, and the following year Quintuguenu was elected in his place. The new toqui was a j'oung chieftain enterprising and ambitious. But his career was of short duration. He took the fort of Mt. Mari- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 87 guenu, and fortified himself upon its redoubtable sum- mit. This inaccessible mountain, which had been the retreat of the Araucanians for half a century, had always enabled them to hold out against the Spaniards. The governor marched against Quintuguenu at the head of one thousand Spaniards and a large following of aux- iliary troops. To oppose these, Quintuguenu had two thousand men posted upon the mountain. Half way up the height the Spaniards were attacked with such fury that the governor with great difficulty succeeded in preventing a rout ; passing among his men, he urged them forward until they gained the lost ground on the top of the mountain. The Araucanians fought like wolves at bay, but notwithstanding their valor were cut in pieces. Quintuguenu fell, bleeding from three wounds, while those of his troops who were not killed in the engagement betook themselves to headlong flight down the precipitous sides of the mountain. Among the Spanish Indian auxiliaries the slaughter had been so terrible that the greater part of them were left dead upon the field. Of the Spaniards, about twenty were killed. This victory, the first obtained by the Spaniards at the ill-omened Mariguenu, was celebrated by general rejoicings, by discharges of artillery, and by broad- sides from the Peruvian fleet, which, sailing down the cost after the English, chanced at this time to be in the harbor. Taking advantage of the enthusiasm aroused by this victory, the governor sent to Peru by the fleet to obtain reinforcements, intending to prose- cute to a successful issue the war which had now raged so many years with only occasional periods of peace. Sotomayor next abandoned the fort of Arauco, and reestablished it upon the coast, where it could 88 A HISTORY OF CHILE not be so readily besieged. Colocolo, a son of the famous wizard, to whom we have already referred, was ulmen of the territory where the new fort was built. In attempting to drive off the invaders he was taken prisoner, and to save himself promised to per- suade his subjects to submit to the Spanish govern- ment. This, however, his people refused to accede to, so that Colocolo, enraged at their obstinacy, joined the Spaniards and led them against his own people. We have now reached the year 1592, and the Arau- canians are no nearer being subjected than when the Spaniards first crossed the Biobio. They had raised up commander after commander, army after army, and recovered from defeat after defeat, scorning all propo- sitions looking toward a treaty of peace, which they well knew meant to 5'ield their liberties and territories to the Spaniards. At this time a Spanish prisoner among the Indians undertook to effect a treaty of peace between the belligerents, but failed to satisfy either Spaniards or Indians by his proposals. The gov- ernor made a last proposition ; this not being accepted by the Indians, he marched an army into the province of Tucapel, which he laid waste far and near. Pail- laeco, having succeeded Quintuguenu, sought to draw the Spanish army into an ambush, but was himself deceived by his enemy's pretended flight and thus drawn into an open field where he was killed and his troops mercilessly put to the sword. The few escap- ing fled to the swamps. Notwithstanding these repeated victories the loss of the Spaniards had been so great that the governor de- cided to withdraw with his forces to Santiago and there await the expected recruits from Peru. These not arriving, he determined to go there himself for assistance, leaving the command of the army and the THE COLONIAL PERIOD 89 government to Pedro Viscarra, the quartermaster. He never came back. Don Martin Onez de Loyola was soon after this named his successor by the court of Spain. Loyola had won renown in Peru, as the con- queror of the rebellious Inca Tupac Amaru, who made a most stubborn resistance to the Spaniards and re- vived much of the ancient martial spirit of his race before he was finally overthrown. This brilliant con- quest had obtained for Loyola not only the govern- ment of Chile, but the Princess Clara Beatrix, or Clara Beatrix Coya, daughter and heiress of the Inca Syri Tupac. The new governor assumed his office at San- tiago in 1593. But Loyola was soon to find that conquering Tupac Amaru and subduing the Araucanians were different matters. Paillamachu had been elevated to the chief toquiship, and to him was reserved the honor of ac- complishing what his predecessors had attempted in vain, the destruction of the Spanish settlements in Araucania and the recovery of the ancient independ- ence of the race. He was an old man, wise as Colo- colo, and his first act was to appoint two of his best officers vice-toquis, Pelantaru and Millacolquin. Next he withdrew to the marshes of Lumaco to discipline an army with which he might hope to cope with the Spaniards, led by so renowned a leader as Loyola. Loyola, that he might carry on the war from a nearer base than Santiago, had proceeded to Concepcion. Paillamachu sent to him there an officer named Anti- pillan, ostensibly to compliment him, but in reality to obtain information. Acting as his predecessors had often done, Loyola sought to impress the envoy with an idea of the extent of his resources, and intimated that the Araucanians would do well to treat with him. The politic Antipillan replied so truly, that the Span- go A HISTORY OF CHILE iards, by seeking peace, only wished to subdue them, that Loyola was struck by his patriotic sentiments and dismissed the Indian with many expressions of esteem. There was something in the Araucanian character that commanded the admiration of their foes ; an enemy's cause has seldom been treated with so little prejudice as in the case of the Spanish historians who have de- picted the Araucanian campaigns. CHAPTER VIII GENERAL UPRISING OF THE ARAUCANIANS VISCARRA, QUIN- ONES, RAMON, LUIS DE VALDIVIA, TALAVERANNO, ULLOA — DESCENT OF THE DUTCH In 1594 Loyola crossed the Biobio and founded a new town, which, in honor of his wife, he called Coya. This was in the vicinity of Angol and near the gold mines of Kilacoyan, both of which places the for- tresses of Coya were intended to protect. Magistrates were appointed, churches erected, monasteries founded, and two citadels, called respectively Jesus and Chive- cura, were constructed in such favorable positions as to commmand both shores of the Biobio. In the following year Paillamachu ordered Lonco- thegua, one of his officers, to take the fort of Jesus. This task had been nearly accomplished when the brave captain was killed ; whereupon his troops with- drew, after having burned a part of the fort. After this unsuccessful enterprise, Paillamachu re- mained quiet until the next year, 1596, when he began to make expeditions into the Spanish settlements to obtain forage for his army and to give his troops mili- tar}' exercise, but he was careful not to bring on an untimely engagement with the Spaniards sent out against him. 91 92 A HISTORY OF CHILE To prevent these incursions as far as possible, the governor erected two forts, one at Puren and the other on the borders of the marshes of Lumaco, which he strongly garrisoned. Not long after he sent a com- pany to found a young city, San Luis de Loyola, in the province of Cujo. Pailiamachu, having at length in the year 1597 raised a formidable army, descended with fury upon the new fortresses at Puren and Lumaco. The latter place was razed, the former reduced to extremit)', when a reinforcement opportunel)' arriving under Pedro Cortez, the Araucanians withdrew. The governor, however, deeming the forts of little worth ordered their demolition and transferred the garrisons to An- gol. Imperial being threatened, he withdrew his forces to that city, repaired the fortifications of the place, as well as those of Villarica and Valdivia, after which he starte.d with an escort to the river Biobio. While encamping in the valley of Caralava, the Arau- canian general fell upon him with a small party of two hundred warriors and killed him with all his com- panions. Governor Loyola had been killed on the night of November 22, 1598; forty-eight hours after, all the Araucanian provinces, including the tribes of the Cunchese and Huilliches, were in arms. It is said that every Spaniard found outside of the fortifications was put to death. Sieges were at once begun against Osorno, Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol, Coya and Arauco. At the same time, Pailiamachu burned Concepcion and Chilian, then recrossed the Biobio in safetj' with immense booty. These reverses so discouraged the Spaniards that many were in favor of abandoning the country entirely, but better counsels prevailed and Pedro de Viscarra THE COLONIAL PERIOD 93 was chosen to conduct the affairs of government until the due appointment of another governor. He re- mained in office six months, during which time he crossed the Biobio with such troops as he could get together and conducted the inhabitants of Angol and Coya .in safety to Concepcion and Chilian, which he sought to repeople. The viceroy of Peru, learning of the critical con- dition of the provinces in Chile, dispatched thither Francisco Quinones as governor, with an army and an abundance of military supplies. Quinones, after several unsuccessful engagements with the Araucanians north of the Biobio where the Indians were ravaging the country, ordered the evacuation of the forts of Arauco and Caiiete and transferred the inhabitants to Concepcion. Quinones, like so many of his predeces- sors, was a soldier of cold blood; having taken several prisoners in an engagement with Paillamachu on the plains of Yumbel, he ordered them to be quartered and hung upon trees. As we have before observed, these measures of extreme cruelty served only to enrage the enemy. The sieges of the fortified places within the Arau- canian territories went on, except that of Valdivia, which had been razed. Paillamachu continued to ravage the Spanish provinces, which, having effect- ually accomplished, he next proceeded against Valdivia with 4,000 troops, crossed the river at night, attacked the city early in the morning, slaughtered the inhabi- tants, burned the houses, and even attacked the ship- ping in the harbor. In this onslaught he obtained two million dollars worth of booty, cannon, arms, and four hundred prisoners. A force of three hundred troops under Campo arrived from Peru after the destruction of Valdivia, and made an unsuccessful attempt to re- 94 A HISTORY OF CHILE lieve Osorno, Villarica and Imperial, which were still invested by the enemy. The European wars resulted now and then in attacks being made by the contending parties on the American colonies. The English had sent expeditions against Peru and Chile under Drake and Cavendish (1578 — 1585), Holland now dispatched five warships (1598 — 1600) to the coast of Chile. These plundered the island of Chilo6 and massacred the Spanish garrison stationed there. At the island of Talca, however, the invaders were driven back with a loss of twenty-three of their men, in an attack made upon them by the Araucanians dwelling there, who seem to have taken them for a fresh arrival of Spaniards. Quinones requested to be recalled from the undesir- able government of Chile, and Alonzo Garcia Ramon was appointed to succeed him. Ramon was the An- thony Wayne of Chilean Indian battles but succeeded no better than his predecessor, despite his long ex- perience in Araucanian warfare. Alonzo de Rivera was appointed by the court of Spain to succeed Ramon. The new captain-general had won spurs in the wars of the Low Countries, and, having brought with him from Spain a regiment of veterans, much was expected of him. His first act was to fortify the Biobio with a series of strong forts. This infused new courage into the hearts of the de- spondent Chilean settlers but it did not save the Arau- canian cities which Valdivia had established, and which had been defended so many years with so great an outlay of Spanish blood and treasure. After a siege of nearly three years Villarica and Imperial fell into the hands of the Araucanians. The latter place held out long after the garrison had been reduced to the utmost extremities, encouraged thereto by the THE COLONIAL PERIOD 95 heroic spirit displayed by a Spanish lady, Ines Aguill- era, who, having lost husband and brothers in the siege, yet by her heroic example and ardent words, persuaded the garrison to hold out until a favorable opportunity presented itself for an escape by sea. Osorno also fell about this time, the besieged inhabi- tants having undergone terrible hardships, being com- pelled to subsist on the most loathsome food. This for a period closed the Araucanian wars, as the cities and forts were not rebuilt in the Indian territor- ies. Paillamachu, the most successful chieftain of the Araucanians, died in 1603, and was succeeded in the toquiship by Huenecura. Of the Spaniards in the Araucanian territories, many who were taken prisoners, afterward intermarried with the natives. Spanish women, on the other hand, were conducted to the homes of the conquerors; many cap- tives settled in the Indian country and dwelt there, uniting themselves with the tribes. In those days, when the Spanish succession was of paramount interest, it was a courtier's duty to obtain his royal patron's permission when he wished to wed a lady in the favor of court. This, Alonzo de Rivera failed to do when he married Aguillera's daughter, in consequence of which he was transferred from the governorship of Chile to that of Tucuman and Alonzo Garcia Ramon was restored to the office. The latter was, at the time of his restoration to office, given 1250 soldiers, veterans from Europe and Mexico, which swelled the Chilean army to three thousand Spanish troops, beside a large body of auxiliaries. With this army the captain-general marched into the Araucanian territories, and, encountering no opposi- tion, went as far as the province of Boroa, where he built a fort and garrisoned it with three hundred men 96 A HISTORY OF CHILE under the command of an officer named Juan Rodulfo Lisperguer. No sooner had Ramon retreated with his main army than the toqui, Huenecura, proceeded against the new fort. Falling in with a detachment of one hundred and sixty men commanded by Lisperguer in person, he almost destroyed the whole party, Lisperguer him- self being among the killed. Next the Indian commander attacked the fort, but it was so valiantly defended by the garrison under Ne- grete, who had succeeded to the command, that the Araucanians were obliged to suspend their attacks and to begin a siege. Hearing of this, the captain-general withdrew the garrison. Then the old story of fort building and fort destroying, attacks and repulses, was repeated, and in the end, Ramon's army was destroyed. He had sent his troops in two divisions, commanded respectively by Alvaro Pineda and Don Diego Saravia, to lay waste the enemy's country. Huenecura fell upon the divisions and destroyed each in turn so completely that it is said not a single man escaped death or captivity. These disasters caused the new king, Philip HI., to establish an army of two thousand troops on the fron- tiers, for the support of which an appropriation of nearly ^300,000 was annually made; and also, in the following year, September 8th, i6og, to re-establish the Royal Audience court in Chile. This court, form- erly held at Concepcion, now began its sittings at Santiago, Garcia Ramon receiving by this change the titles of president of the Royal Audience, and captain- general of Chile. This court was composed of one regent (rejente), one senior (deca?to), three judges {oidores'), and one fiscal, and was presided over by the governor. Its functions THE COLONIAL PERIOD 97 were not alone to administer justice, but also to aid the governor in the direction of governmental affairs and in the conduct of war.* The veteran, Ramon, enjoyed his gubernatorial honors less than a year. On the loth of August, 1610, he died at Concepcion ; not, however, until after he had obtained a victory over Toqui Huenecura in the marshes of Lumaco. He had marched an army of . two thousand men against the enemy, and the battle- which ensued was characterized by all the old time fury upon both sides. The governor placed himself in the front rank when his lines were about to give way, and so animated his men that what had been near!)' a rout was converted into a victory. Perhaps no captain-general of Chile was more endeared to the people, or more esteemed lay the Indians, than Garcia Ramon. For that age he was a humane man. He was succeeded by Don Luis Merlo de la Fuente, the oldest member of the Royal Audience. Toqui Huene- cura about this same time died of a wound he had re- ceived in battle and was succeeded by Aillavilu the Second, who proved to be one of the best of the Araucanian generals, though his achievements are not to be counted with those of Paillamachu. Luis de Valdivia was a Jesuit missionary. He de- sired to convert the Araucanians to the Christian faith, but found it no such easy task as Father Val- verde had in converting the Incas or Father Olmeda the Aztecs. It was impossible to preach while battles were constantly being fought. Animated by religious zeal, he proceeded to Spain and had an audience with Philip III., who was a zealous catholic. The king *The governor was president of the Royal Audience. For this reason he is of- ten referred to by Chilean historians as/r^J2^^«^^. The three names, governor, captain-general and president, are given indiscriminately by different writers. Id this book the three titles are used. 7 g8 A HISTORY OF CHILE immediately sent orders to Chile to the effect that war should cease, that lasting peace should be con- cluded with the Araucanians and that the river Biobio should henceforth be considered the boundar}' of the Spanish possessions. The priest was placed at the head of the government, which had been for a short time conducted by Juan de .Xara Quemada, but Valdivia refused to exercise any civil authority what- ever, and selected Alonzo de Rivera for the office, which nomination was confirmed and that person recalled to Chile. Upon his arrival in Chile in 1612, the priest at once communicated with the Araucanians relative to the proposed treaty. He brought with him a letter from Philip, but to all of this Aillavilu gave little heed, as he supposed it merely a pi6ce of Spanish deception. He was, however, soon succeeded in the toquiship by Ancanamon, who thought it the part of wisdom and good policy to send the ulmen, Carampangui, to confer with Valdivia. The result of the conference was, that Valdivia met a deputation of fifty of the Araucanian chieftains at Nancu in the province of Catiray, and to these he read the royal letter and made known the terms of the proposed treaty". The assembled caciques listened attentivelj'-, thanked the priest for his efforts, and promised to make a further report to their com- mander. When Valdivia had returned to Concepcion accom- panied by Carampangui, Governor Rivera, pleased with the progress already made toward establishing peace, sent an ensign, Pedro Melendez, to Ancanamon with the king's letter and a request that he should come to Paicavi to confer with him in respect to the treaty. The toqui went with a small guard, and was received with due honors. Then the terms THE COLONIAL PERIOD 99 were discussed. These were that the Biobio should henceforth be the boundary, that neither nation should pass that river with an army, that all deserters should be mutually returned, and that Christian mission- aries should be permitted to preach to the Arauca- nians. The toqui required, as a preliminary step to satisfy himself of the good faith of the Spaniards, that the forts of Arauco and Paicavi, recently established upon the seacoast, should be abandoned. Thereupon the fort of Arauco was abandoned and the governor promised to withdraw the garrison from the other as soon as the treaty of peace should be agreed upon. Satisfied with this, Ancanamon departed to confer with his chiefs. But the negotiations were suddenly interrupted in an unexpected manner. Ancanamon had a Spanish wife in his seraglio. During his absence she fled to the governor ; with her were two children, as well as two other wives and two daughters, of the toqui. These refugees were kindly received by the Spaniards and this so incensed Ancanamon that he gave up all thought of peace. He demanded of the governor the return of his wives and children. This demand was, after considerable parleying, refused on the ground that the refugees had embraced the Christian faith, and that they could not be permitted to run any danger of loosing so great a blessing by a return to their Indian master. Thus the negotiations were about to fail of any sat- isfactory result, when the head ulmen of lUicura, Uti- flame, who had long been a most inveterate foe to the Spaniards, came to visit Valdivia at Arauco out of re- gard for the priest's benefaction to him in returning sons who had previously been taken as prisoners. He TOO A HISTORY OF CHILE was civilly received both by Valdivia and the governor, and grateful for his treatment, offered to receive the missionaries into his territory and to use his influence in persuading Ancanamon to accept the proposed treaty. Valdivia appointed Utiflame to carry on the negotiations, and by the advice of the chief, turned over to him Ancanamon's wives, whom he was to con- duct safely home. Utiflame departed, accompanied hy three Spanish missionaries, Horatio Vecchio, Mar- tin Aranda and Diego Montalban. When Ancanamon learned of Utiflame's arrival at Ilicura accompanied by the missionaries, he repaired there with two hundred horsemen and slew the whole party. This brought an end to all efforts looking to- ward a treaty of peace. The Spanish army cried loudly for vengeance. Ancanamon renewed the strug- gle and laid waste the Spanish settlements. He was succeeded by Loncothegua, who opposed the Spaniards in several engagements with varying results. Rivera died in 1617 and was succeeded by Fernando Talaveranno. Ten months afterward, Talaveranno was succeeded by Lopez de Ulloa as governor. CHAPTER IX THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY The next toqui, succeeding Loncothegua who re- signed, was Lientur, whose military exploits were noted for their dash and daring, so that he was desig- nated the wizard {brujo^ by the Spaniards. Levi- pillan was selected as vice-toqui, and proved himself an able second in his chief's undertakings. They rav- aged the Spanish territories north of the Biobio, captured at one time four hundred cavalry horses, and at another time defeated the corregidor of Chilian, who was killed. He also defeated RoboUedo, com- mander at Yumbel, captured Neculguenu in the fol- lowing year, the garrison of which place was put to the sword, and invested Yumbel, which however was saved by Ximenes, the commandant. These reverses and constant anxieties so weighed upon the mind of Governor Lopez de UUoa that he died, November 20th, 1620. He was succeeded by the eldest member of the court of the Royal Audience, according to the custom. This person was Cristoval de la Cerda, who held the office one year, during which time he built a fort on the Biobio and had several encounters with Lientur. Pedro Sorez de Ulloa succeeded Cerda and held the reins of government until September nth, 1624, when I02 A HISTORY OF CHILE he died. The office was then filled for six months by his brother-in-law, Francisco de Alva y Noruena. During all this time the war was continued with Lientur, but that chief was aged and much broken in strength by his constant exertions, and, therefore, re- signed the command, September nth 1624, and ap- pointed for the position Putapichion, a young warrior of abilit5' and courage whose youth had been spent as a slave among the Spaniards. The Spaniards also received a new commander, Don Luis Fernandez de Cordova y Area, Senor del Carpio, a relative of the viceroy of Peru, who received from the latter an army and a large quantity of military stores, with orders to carry on an offensive warfare against the Araucanians. He introduced reforms in the Chilean army, paid the soldiers the arrears due them, and assigned various offices to Creoles who had been hitherto neglected and slighted. It was during his administration, that the boundaries between Chile and Peru were definitely fixed at El Paposo. Having arranged affairs in a satisfactory manner, the governor directed Alonzo Cordova, his cousin, to make an expedition against the provinces of Tucapel and Arauco, with a force of six hundred men. In this incursion, one hundred and fifty prisoners, both men and women, and a number of cattle, were taken. One of the strongest places held by the Spaniards on the Biobio, was the fort of Nativity. This post, situated on the top of a mountain, was thought to be impregnable. Putapichion determined to win for him- self undying military fame by the capture of this im- portant stronghold. He came unexpectedly upon the garrison, scaled the difficult ascent and set fire to some of the works; he also captured the ditch. The garrison rallied to the defence and poured such a con- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 103 tinuous rain of lead into the enemy's ranks, that the Araucanian leader was compelled to retreat. Crossing the Biobio, Putapichion proceeded against Quinel, a strong port garrisoned by six hundred troops, but the attack proved a failure, whereupon, the toqui turned his attention to sacking the Spanish settle- ments in Chilian. The governor sought to retaliate in the following year (1628), by invading the Arauca- nian territories in three directions. Many prisoners were captured and rich spoils taken, when Putapichion presented himself with an army of three thousand men and offered battle to the division commanded in per- son by the governor. The outcome was about equal on both sides, the slaughter being everywhere great. The quartermaster, who had commanded one of the three divisions, was more fortunate than the governor in that he captured a vast amount of booty, droves of horses, a thousand cattle and two hundred prisoners ; but, transferring them aboard ship, he lost them all at sea during a tempest. The third division, com- manded by the sergeant-major, accomplished noth- ing worthy of note, as the natives along the Andes, against whom he had directed his march, fled to their mountain fastnesses, where he was unable to follow them. Don Francisco Laso de la Vega succeeded Cordova, being appointed captain-general by the Spanish court. He was a gallant and experienced officer, and humane in his policy of treating the natives. His first act with reference to the Araucanians was to send home all the Indian prisoners and undertake to arrange a treaty of peace with them. Failing in this, he began and carried on an effective war against that unconquer- able nation for a period of ten years. There were many evenly contested fields, Piculgue, Robleria, I04 A HISTORY OF CHILE and many less important engagements, which do not materially differ, either in detail or result, from the many battles we have already described. Putapichion was defeated and killed in a battle at the port of Alvar- rado. Quepuantu was next in command and sought to rally the Araucanians to a charge after the fall of the leader, but in vain; the army fled, pursued for a dis- tance of six miles by the victorious Spaniards. Thus the war continued during the whole long period of Laso's government, little quarter being shown on either side. Each nation was so decimated that a treaty of peace became possible under Laso's successor, Don Francisco de Zuniga, Marquis of Baides. Quepuantu, who succeeded Putapichion as toqui, was surprised at his home by a force of four hundred Spaniards, and, his party being slain, he himself was killed in a combat he had accepted with Loncomallu, chief of the Spanish auxiliaries. He was succeeded by Loncomilla, who in the following year shared the fate of his predecessor. Guenucolquin became leader and was slain in an engagement with a Spanish force of six hundred men; Curanteo once routed the enem}', but was killed in a subsequent bat- tle ; Curimilla was also killed — a sure fatality seemed to attend the axe of Araucanian leadership. In 1638 a Dutch squadron, consisting of four ships of war, made a descent upon the Chilean coast, but the vessels were scattered by a storm. The crews sought assistance from the natives of the islands of Mocha and Talca, but were attacked and killed, as the Indians were suspicious of the intentions of all Europeans. In a second attempt five years afterward the Marquis of Mancura sailed into Valdivia harbor with ten warships to give battle to the Dutch, but the invaders had gone; he then fortified the harbor. An THE COLONIAL PERIOD 105 English squadron under Sir James Narborough, made at one time a similar attempt but failed. The Marquis of Baides arrived in Chile in 1640, and acting under instructions, at once sought to bring about a treaty of peace with the invincible Indians. Lincopichion had succeeded Curimilla, and with him the governor sought a personal interview in which terms of a treaty were discussed and agreed upon by the commanders. They fixed upon the 6th of January following for a ratification of the treaty, the place designated being the village of Quillin. At the time agreed upon the governor appeared at Quillin escorted by more than ten thousand persons ; the Araucanian general appeared at the head of the toquis and ulmenes of his nation and was followed by a large body of attendants. A llama was killed, blood sprinkled, speeches made and the treaty ratified, be- ing similar in its terms to the one which had been sanctioned by King Philip some years before, but with, the additional stipulation that the Araucanians should not permit the troops of a foreign nation to land upon their coast, nor furnish supplies to enemies of the Spaniards. Notwithstanding specious arguments and all manner of obstructions interposed against the ar- rangement by interested schemers of both nations, who were desirous of having hostilities kept up, the treaty was ratified and an end put to the desolating war, which had continued with few interruptions for nearly a century. The Araucanians for some time adhered to the treaty. In 1643 they refused to join the Dutch, or to furnish them with provisions, when they made a second un- successful attempt to conquer Chile by building forts in the harbor of Valdivia, where they expected to receive aid from the natives and to proceed against the io6 A HISTORY OF CHILE Spanish provinces. They observed the terms of the treaty faithfully during the six years of the Mar- quis of Baides' government, and during that of his successors in oiBce, Don Martin de Muxica and Alonzo de Cordova y Figueroa. Don Antonio de Acuna y Cabrera succeeded to the government, and during his administration the war between the Spaniards and Araucanians broke out afresh, but of its causes we have little information. In 1655 there was a renewal of the war, caused prin- cipally by the cupidity and stupidity of the maestre de campo and the sergeant-major, relatives of the gover- nor, who commanded the army. The people of Con- cepcion were so incensed that the timid governor fled to Santiago to escape their fury. Clentaru was elected toqui and defeated the Spanish army under the ser- geant-major. He also captured the forts of Arauco, Colcura, San Pedro, Talcamavida and San Rosendo, which the Spaniards had built and repaired ; he crossed the Biobio, defeated the governor at Yumbel, destroyed several forts and burned Chilian. The war lasted dur- ing a period of ten years, Pedro Portale Casanate, Diego Gonzales Montero, Angel de Pereda, Francisco de Menes6s being the governors. Generally speaking, the Araucanian leaders — Clen- taru, and the mestizo, Alejo — seem to have been usually successful in military exploits, so that in 1665 the Spaniards were satisfied to conclude another treaty of peace with the Indians, similar in its terms to the treaty made at the time of Baides in 1640, which treaty was afterward kept by both nations until 1722. Menes6s was as unfortunate as Rivera before him had been, in marrying without the royal decree. He mar- ried the daughter of the Marquis de la Pica, in which affair he was seriously opposed by the Royal Audience, THE COLO. VIAL PERIOD 107 as the alliance was against the king's interests. To settle the matter the king sent out the Marquis of Navamorquende, who sent Meneses to Peru and in- stalled himself in his place. From 1670 to the end of the century the captains-- general were Montero (second time), Juan Henriquez, Don Jos^ de Garro, and Don Tomas Martin de Poveda. Nothing of importance occurred during this period. Nor, for that matter, is there much of importance to record during the governments of Francisco Ibanez de Peralta, Juan Andres de Ustariz and Jos6 de Santiago Concha, to the year 1717. Ibanez was banished to Peru for taking sides in the war of the succession against the House of Bourbon. The islanders of Chilod once revolted, but were subdued by Don Pedro Molina, who was sent against them. From 1707 to 1717, during the wars of the succes- sion, the French blockaded all the Chilean ports and took possession of the commerce of the nation. It is said they took from the country large sums of gold and silver, and that many of them settled there per- manently v.^hen the fleet was withdrawn. Father Feuill6, the French naturalist, made extensive botani- cal and other scientific investigations during a three years' residence in the country, at the time the French were occupying the ports. At the close of the seventeenth century, Chile was behind other South American countries in material ad- vancement. The population was scattered and the only towns of any importance were Santiago, the capi- tal, Concepcion, Chilian, La Serena, Castro and Val- divia. These were little more than villages separated by wide stretches of almost uninhabited country. In Valparaiso there were only a few small warehouses and a row of poor buildings; Santiago had a popu- io8 A HISTORY OF CHILE lation of about 8,000 Spaniards, Indians, mestizos and negroes. The houses were poorly constructed, all of one height, and many of them covered with straw. There were a few temples, convents and monasteries which ministered to the spiritual wants of the sparse population. The first governors had been distinguished generals but inferior statesmen. Preoccupied with the Arau- canian wars, they passed their time in Concepcion and on the frontiers, neglecting the capita) and the best in- terests of the people. They sought military glory and private gain and made Chile a stepping-stone to wealth, titles and viceroyalties. CHAPTER X THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY At the opening of the eighteenth century, political despotism and religious intolerance had prostrated the energies of Spain, whose cavaliers were once so chiv- alrous and daring. The American colonies had come to serve the purposes of the kings principally in en- abling them to sustain destructive religious wars against the English, the Germans and the Hollanders. Con- sidering herself rich in the exhaustless mineral wealth of her American colonies, Spain discarded peaceful and useful labor and in the end encountered poverty, for her gold went to enrich the more industrious stranger.* Charles II. was the last of the kings of the Austrian dynasty: he died in 1700, leaving no lawful successor. An archduke of Austria and a prince of France dis- puting the Spanish throne, the war which followed, devastating and pitiless, resulted at length in placing the grandson of the powerful Louis XIV. of France upon the throne of Spain, with the title of Philip V. The first kings of this new Bourbon dynasty brought to the administration of the affairs of the kingdom, ideas more liberal and tolerant than those held by * "Sus fSbricas fueron desapareciendo, i su oro paso & enriquecer la industria eslraujera que lossurtio de mercaderiSs." — Gasfar Toro. log no A HIS TOR y OF CHILE their predecessors. They undertook important reforms and one of these brought about good results, in fact, went far to better the condition of prostrate Spain and her American colonies. The king permitted his French compatriots to open trade in America — with Chile by way of Cape Horn. French manufactures were intro- duced directly into Chile, whose ports had hitherto been closed against her. This gave a new impetus to com- merce and increased the receipts of the custom-house, which before had been nominal. At the same time a new activity was given to immigration, both of French and Spanish. During the first years of the seventeenth century there was a heavy emigration from Aragon and the Basque provinces of Spain. These people were hardy and industrious classes of settlers and soon became thrifty farmers and merchants. Perhaps to this fact, more than to any other, is due the later energy and progress of Chile. Instead of hunting for chimeri- cal Eldorados these settlers set about developing the resources of the country. In 1722 the Araucanians became enraged over the con- duct of- a class calling themselves Captains of the Friends, {Capitanos del Amigos), whose pretended busi- ness seems to have been the guarding of the mission- aries. This organization sought to exercise certain surveillance and authority over the natives, a course of conduct that was highly distasteful to them. They therefore resented it and chose a war toqui, Yilumilla, and took up arms. The new commander held very ambitious views ; he not only desired to obtain justice for his race, but also to expel the Spaniards from Chile. He actually sent emissaries to all the Indians throughout Chile, and requested them to take up arms at a given signal — the building of fires on the tops of the highest mountains. THE COLONIAL PERIOD in The fires were kindled on March gth, 1723, but the Indians did not all respond, those north of the Biobio being timid and fearful of the issue. Vilumilla requested the missionaries to quit the Araucanian territories; then, as soon as they had crossed the Biobio, he proceeded against the fort of Tucapel, which he captured. The fort of Arauco was also occupied, and that of Puren reduced to extremi- ties. Gabriel Cano de Aponte had succeeded Concha ; the new governor now marched against Vilumilla with an army of five thousand men. The Araucanian gen- eral offered battle, but the governor thought best to withdraw the garrison of Puren and retire. A succes- sion of insignificant battles followed until peace was established at Negrete, where the order of Captains of Friends, so odious to the Araucanians, was abolished and the treaty of Quillin reaffirmed. Cano ruled Chile satisfactorily for a period of fifteen years. Francisco Sanchez de la Barreda, Manuel de Salamanca and Jos6 de Manso followed Cano. Manso founded, in 1742, the cities of Copiapo, Aconcagua, Melipilla, Rancagua, San Fernando, Curico, Talca, Tutuben and Los Angeles; this was done under orders from the king to collect the inhabitants of the country in urban societies. The governor was at one time obliged to forego his labors in city building to attend to the defence of the coast which was threatened by an English squadron sent out by Lord Anson. The usual Cape Horn tempest, however, caused the English to repair to the island of Juan Fernandez. Chile at this time had become a stepping-stone to promotion, so that the office of governor, or captain- general, was much sought after; from captain-general of Chile the splendid office of viceroy of Peru often fol- lowed. This was true of Don Jos^ de Manso; as a re- 112 A HISTORY OF CHILE ward for his services in Chile he was made viceroy of Peru and given the title, Conde de Superunda. Succeeding Manso, were Francisco de Obando and Domingo Ortiz de Rosas, who continued the plan of founding cities and gathering the population of Chile in them. Rosas founded Huasco, Choapo, Petorca, Ligua, Curico, Quirihue and Coelemu. For this ser- vice the king recompensed him with the title of Conde de Poblaciones — Count of Populations. He also under- took to people the island of Juan Fernandez. By authority of his king, Philip V., Rosas estab- lished a university in Santiago, which he called the University of San Felipe, after the king. This was in the year 1747. The first rector of the institution was Tomas de Azua. The college was regular and gave courses with the degrees of Bachelor and Master. A theatre was attached to it in which amateur plays were rendered. The arts, philosophy, and theology were taught, all in bad Latin ; medicine and law were taught in a superficial manner. One result of founding the college, however, was to take some of the educational facilities out of the hands of the monks and Jesuits, who had long been almost the sole instructors of the Chilean youth. Two years after the university of San Felipe had been founded, Rosas established a mint in Santiago, also by authority of the king, and began the work of coining money, both of gold and of silver; from that time the monetary circulation became much more active. It was during Rosas' administration that the third great earthquake occurred, 1751, which destroyed Con- cepcion by a wave of the sea and caused much destruc- tion in Santiago and outlying villages, and in the new cities. Concepcion was reestablished on a new site about two leagues from the sea. An earthquake dur- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 113 ing the rule of Cano had done much damage to Santi- ago and other places. Some years later, during the time that the Marquis of Aviles was governor, an earth- quake caused considerable damage in the cities of Copi- apo, Huasco and Coquimbo. Other less severe shocks were felt frequently but the damage done was compar- atively trifling. The captain-general succeeding Rosas, Don Manuel Amat, continued the policy of founding cities, and established Santa Barbara, Talcamavida and Hualqui. Don Manuel de Amat y Junient was a military ge- nius of considerable repute. The robbers and other criminals of the country had' reasons for fearing and hating him. He persecuted them, as it were, with a rod of iron, and filled the jails with them. He organ- ized patrols of dragoons and vigilance committees, and created a militia to defend the coasts against the ravages of pirates. He also organized civilians into military bodies and these afterward, in the war of the revolution, did much good service. When Amat was promoted to the viceroyalty of Peru, the corregidor in Santiago, Luis de Zanartu, continued to prosecute these rigorous measures against criminals, and, having filled the jails, put them to work constructing a stone bridge over the Mapocho. The next captain-general, Don Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga (Berroeta having acted a short time provision- ally), undertook to gather the Araucanian Indians into cities. The outcome of this chimerical scheme Was a renewal of the war, as the Indians proceeded to elect a toqui and prepare for hostilities in case the Spaniards should persist in their course. Curignancu was elected toqui: two or three cities were begun, but the Indians demanded tools with which to work, offered all manner of excuses for the purpose of delaying the enterprise, 8 114 A HISTORY OF CHILE and finally, these efforts failing to dissuade the Span- iards from the undertaking, the)' slew their superin- tendents and besieged the quartermaster in his camp. The governor now formed an alliance with the Pehu- enches, but Curignancu suddenly fell upon them, routed them in a battle and took prisoner their leader, Coli- guna, whom he put to death. Failing to accomplish his undertaking, Gonzaga died, and the government fell a short time to Juan de Bal- maseda ; he was succeeded by Don Francisco Xavier de Morales. The war with the Araucanians was con- tinued. Curignancu and his vice-toqui, Leviantu, con- stantly ravaged the country and defeated the Spaniards on more than one occasion. In 1773, after the war had cost the Spaniards more than a million and a half of dollars, a treaty was again entered into ; by this the treaties of Quillin and Negrete were reaffirmed, and a further request by Curignancu was granted, which stipulation was, that henceforth the Araucanians should be permitted to keep a minister in Santiago, like other independent nations. Don Agustin de Jauregui succeeded Morales for a time, (1773 to 1780), then accepted the more important office of viceroy of Peru and was followed by Ambrosio de Benavides, a cavalier of the Royal Order of Charles III. Tomas Alvarez de Acevedo governed a short time. During the governorship of Jauregui, 1776, Charles III. promulgated a decree creating the viceroyalty of La Plata at Buenos Ayres. With this he incorporated the territory of Cujo, which had been for two centuries a part of the territory of Chile. Two years after this, in 1778, the same king threw open the ports of Spain to the colonies, permitted freedom of commerce with the French, which had been prohibited, and suppressed the odious privileges of the THE COLONIAL PERIOD 115 Cadiz commercial monopoly, which had long enjoyed almost exclusive trade with South America. In 1780 occurred a conspiracy. An increase in the amount of contributions levied and certain reforms of the religious orders, caused much discontent and pub- lic excitement. There were in the capital two French- men, who attempted to take advantage of the popular agitation to stir up a revolution, hoping to establish in Chile an independent republic. Their names were Antony Gramuset and Antony Berney. But Chile was not yet prepared for a revolution, or for republican principles, and the Frenchmen were apprehended and sent to Peru, where they languished in prison for a time before being sent to Spain. Berney perished in a shipwreck, Gramuset died in a Cadiz prison. The ideas they advanced found sympathizers and they had some adherents of note. Don Jos6 Antonio de Rojas was one of these. He was a wealthy and well educated Chilean of good family. He had introduced revolu- tionary books and revolutionary ideas into the country furtively, and was for that reason held by many to be a wizard. Governor Benavides suffered so much from constant bad health during his term in office, that it was thought almost miraculous that he could accomplish the amount of work he did before his death, which occurred on the 28th of April, 1787. During his administration, from 1781 to 1787, Chile was well governed. Following the death of Benavides, occurred a pro- visional government, or superintendencia by Don To- mis Alvarez de Acevedo, who received his papers from the viceroy of Peru and continued his administration one 5'ear from the 30th day of April, 1787. On the 26th of May, 1788, he delivered his office to Ambrosio ii6 A HISTORY OF CHILE O'Higgins, who had been appointed captain-general by the court of Spain. The Spaniards sought to firmly establish themselves in that part of Chile north of the Biobio. This terri- tory had been divided into thirteen provinces, and was governed by an appointee, usually a lieutenant-general, combining as we have seen, after the second estab- lishment of the Royal Audience, the titles of president, governor and captain-general. The captain-general re- sided at Santiago and was directly responsible to the court of Spain, save in the event of war, when, in cer- tain matters he was subject to the viceroy of Peru. During Jauregui's administration the province of Maule was subdivided, the river serving as the boundary be- tween the two new states. The southern part was named Cauquenes and its capital was the city of that name. Afterward the province was still further divided, and the new province Curico formed in the north of it. Besides the provinces above mentioned, the Span- iards held of Valdivia's early conquest, the fortress of Valdivia, the Archipelago of Chi]o6 and the island of Juan Fernandez. There were four subordinate govern- ors of Chiloe, Valdivia, Valparaiso and Juan Fernandez, under the captain-general. The latter, beside his general office, commanded the army, and had the su- preme administration of justice, presiding over the highest tribunals at the capital, whose jurisdiction ex- tended to all the provinces. They were the Tribunal of Audience, or royal senate, that of finance and that of commerce, all presided over by judges receiving large salaries. The captain-general also had under him the three principal officers of Chile, the quarter- master, the sergeant-major and the commissary. The provinces were governed by prefects, or corregidors, called also subdelegates, who were usually appointed THE COLONIAL PERIOD 117 by the captain-general, owing to the great distance of the country from Spain. The subdelegates had juris- diction over civil and military affairs and their pay depended upon fees; which fact led to many abuses in office. In Peru the hated office had been abolished in 1784, after the uprising headed by Tupac Amaru in 1781, which uprising was not fully suppressed until 1783. This office, together with the old Spanish ^^/ar- timientos and forced labor, were the main causes of that rebellion. There were also in Chile municipal magis- tracies, called cabildos, composed of several regidores. These were appointed for life. A standard-bearer, a pro- curator, a judge, called the Provincial Alcalde, a high- sheriff (^Alguazil),X.^o consuls (^Alcaldes') chosen annually from the cabildos, were also among the officers. At this time the inhabitants were divided into regi- ments consisting of 15,856 militia troops in Santiago and Concepcion, 10,218 in the first, 5,688 in the sec- ond place. These corps were established by Jauregui. Besides this militia there was a force of regular troops, numbering 1,976 men. In this brief review of Chile as it appeared at the close of the eighteenth century, we may mention sla- very. Negroes had been introduced by contraband means and were subjected to a mild form of servitude. They were employed chiefly as domestics, and could ransom themselves by paying their very humane mas- ters. Those who were ill-treated could demand letters of sale and seek a purchaser. Slavery did not thrive in Chile, and almost the first act of the patriots when forming a government for themselves was to liberate the slaves. The peasantry, a healthy, robust race, gay and fond of games, enjoyed considerable liberty, and this class was not subjected to the same harsh indig- nities as the Indians and peons of Peru. They dressed ii8 A HISTORY OF CHILE in the Araucanian style, and on the frontiers, spoke both the Indian and the Spanish languages. In the Chilean cities, Lima prescribed the fashions for the women and France for the men ; but the country peo- ple adhered to primitive customs and manner of dress. At the close of the last century, the Chilean people of wealth were fond of display. San Martin, when he had styled himself the Protector of Peru, imitated all the ways of the European courts, though professing to found a republic ; so also the wealthy families of Chile made a splendid display in dress, servants, coaches and titles. A few of the leading citizens obtained high titles in Spain — Don Fernando Irrazabal was made Marquis of Valparaiso, Don Fermin Caravajal, became Duke of San Carlos, Don Juan Covarrubias was given the title of Marquis of Covarrubias, Don Ambrosio O' Higgins, formerly of Ireland, became Marquis of Osorno and Baron of Ballenar. The South American republics had their Virginia blue-bloods and imitated Spain as the United States imitated England in the pre-revolutionary days. In 1766 smallpox had been introduced into the pro- vince of Maule, and cow's milk was resorted to as a remedy. This disease, as we have seen, had once nearly depopulated the Araucanian territories. If we may credit legendary accounts the plague had several times, in preceding centuries, spread its terrible rav- ages among the Inca nations at Cuzco, so that it may have been known on the Pacific coast before the advent of the Spaniards. It was not until the time of Gov- ernor Guzman, in the first part of the nineteenth cen- tury, that vaccination was introduced into Chile by Doctor Grasales. At this time Chile was divided into two dioceses, Santiago and Concepcion. Valdivia had first intro- THE COLONIAL PERIOD 119 duced monks of the Order of Mercy when he arrived and began his settlements. The Dominicans and Fran- ciscans came in 1553, the Augustins in 1595, the Hos- pitallers of St. John of God in 1615, the Jesuits with Loyola in 1593, Loyola being himself a nephew of the founder of the order. All of these orders flour- ished at the beginning of the present century, but re- sistance was made by the Chileans to the introduction of new orders, as the church tithes'were oppressive in the extreme. In 1767 there had even occurred an order expelling the Jesuits. This order, the Company of Jesus, had acquired great riches in Chile by donations from the devout colonists. They had innumerable houses, haci- endas, mills, vineyards, herds and slaves, and exer- cised great power and influence. In consequence of their secret interference in politics, they had been about that time expelled from Spain, Portugal, France and other European countries. In one night their houses in Chile were occupied and about four hundred of them expelled from the country and sent to Italy. The company had produced several eminent names in Chile, Olivares, Lacunza and Juan Ignacio Molina, the celebrated historian who wrote the "Historia Civil y Natural de Chile", also the historians Ovalle and Resales. At the time of their expulsion, the property of the Jesuits was confiscated for the use of the state. The population of Chile at this time in the Spanish provinces was probably not far from five hundred thousand souls. There were a few French, English, and Italian settlers, but for the most part, the population consisted of Spaniards and Spanish-Indian descend- ants. The internal commerce was of little import- ance, but began to increase about this time by the employment of coast vessels in the transportation of I20 A HISTORY OF CHILE merchandise, where before there had been only the overland traffic upon mules. Ships were built for ex- ternal commerce, the principal part of which was controlled by the monopolies of Spain and Peru; about twelve or thirteen thousand tons capacity in shipping was now employed in the trade. Don Ambrosio Higgins (or O' Higgins, as he after- ward styled himself) was appointed captain-general of Chile on November 21st, 1787, and proved himself to be one of the best of the long line of Spanish governors. O' fiiggins's career had been romantic enough. He' was born near the castle of Dangan, Ireland, and for a time acted as errand boy for Lady Bective. He was sent to Cadiz to be educated by a priest, his uncle, and in time wandered away to South America, not being greatly pleased with scholastic study and the prospect of taking orders. For a time he lived in Peru, then went to Chile where he obtained engineering work in the army. He lived several years in San- tiago and amassed a fortune. He was sent on an ex- pedition against the Araucanians, and, having distin- guished himself, was given the command of the cavalry and made a brigadier general. He soon gained the love and esteem of the Chileans, for he was brave, intelligent and good-natured. He was made quarter- master and given the intendencia of Concepcion. There O'Higgins entertained the celebrated La Perouse in such a highly gratifying manner that the latter warmly commended him to his sovereign, the king of France. The French court, impressed with young O'Higgins's abilities, asked the Spanish court for his promotion. Thereupon he was made captain-general of Chile and on September the 19th, 1789, was further honored by ap- pointment as field-marshal of the royal armies. He dis- charged the duties of his ofiSce with vigilance, dispensed THE COLONIAL PERIOD 121 justice rationally, encouraged agriculture, built cities, opened mines, promoted commerce and the fisheries, ameliorated the condition of the laboring classes, sup- pressed the Spanish fiefs, or encomiendas, in 1791 pro- jected the Tajamar, or dike, at Santiago, which pro- tects the city from the inundations of the Mapocho, and made an excellent road from Valparaiso to Santi- ago, carrying it over the tops of the high mountains. He was made a baron, a marquis, and finally, in 1796, was appointed viceroy of Peru. His natural son, Ber- nardo, was a leading character in the Chilean revolu- tion a few years subsequent to this time. Following the O'Higgins administration, the rejente of the Royal Audience was acting governor of Chile for a period of four months. This person was Don J6s6 de Rezabal, and he employed the time during his short lease of power in the general improvement of the cap- ital, and in constructing a beautiful boulevard, or paseo. Rezabal was succeeded by General Gabriel de Aviles, who, as inspector-general of the troops of Peru passed to the office of captain-general of Chile, September i8th, 1796. During this year, 1796, news was received in Chile of the treaty of peace between Spain and France, which treaty gave rise to much dissatisfaction in the Spanish colonies. By the terms of the treaty Spain gave the most fertile portions of the island of Santo Domingo in exchange for certain plazas of the peninsula, San Sebastian in Guipuzcoa, and Figueras in Catalonia, which places had been occupied by the French troops in the war of the republic and were still held by them. This act on the part of the mother country opened the eyes of the colonies to the fact that her interest in them was of the most sordid and mer- cenary kind. The treaty led to a war with England, October 8th, 1796, and this war on the part of the mother 122 A HISTORY OF CHILE country being prolonged and sanguinary, caused much damage to Chilean commerce, as well as to that of the other Spanish-American provinces. Except for this war, Chile was at peace with all the world and under Aviles made progress, slowly but surely. The captain-general labored assiduously for the ad- vancement of the country. He was a very devout man and spent a considerable part of his time in his devo- tions, so that it was said of him that he received in- spiration from above.* He, however, found his post a most difficult one to fill; there were imceasing bicker- ings and complainings, and these at length caused him to turn over his office to Pino, March 15th, 1799, and to accept without regrets, the more important office of the vice-ro5'alty of Buenos Ayres, where he remained until June 1801, when he passed to the vice-royalty of Peru. The Marquis of Aviles' successor in office, the maris- cal de campo, Don Joaquin del Pino, came to Chile by way of Mendoza and repaired immediately to the always ready country house of the governors {a. la siem- pre preparada casa de campo), from whence, on the 31st of January 1800, he was conducted by a deputation of the magistrates {Ayiintamientd) to the capital and there received, in the imaginary gate of the city, as governor, and in the Royal Audience chamber as president."}" Pino found the most pressing matter demanding his executive attention to be the troublesome Maypo and Mapocho rivers, which now as of old continued to rise above their banks and to flood the city and coun- try. His administration was taken up in discussing ways and means of constructing a canal to divert the * "Parecia recibir ipspiraciones de arriba en sus meditaciones, y sus obras cor- respondian S sus hSbitos cristianos," — Claudio Gay. t Claudio Gay. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 123 waters from the city. A plan was formulated to turn the waters in this manner. Pino's successor in office, however, disregarded his plans and appointed a com- mission to make a new survey for a route higher up than those plans called for. The commission ap- pointed to this work continued to act for the space of five years, accomplishing in that time very little, but bringing Guzman's administration into rather bad odor on that particular account. Beside canvassing the canal project, Pino's admin- istration did little else than discuss the ways and means and propriety of making Spain a present, a present which the king had solicited by way of pecuniary assist- ance. The royal exchequer being depleted, it had been suggested to the colonies that financial aid would be acceptable, nay, necessary. On the i8th of March, 1801, Pino received the ap- pointment as viceroy of Buenos Ayres, and on the 30th set out for that city. Just at that moment the Royal Audience happened to be without a head to assume the governorship provisionally, as was customary, the chief i^decano) being in La Paz. The office was, there- fore, somewhat irregularly given to the subdecano of the Tribunal, Don Jos^ de Santiago Concha, who was recog- nized as captain-general and president of the Royal Audienceprovisionally. On the 31st of December therfif- ca>io\i\ra.'s,&\i arrived, Don Francisco TodeoDiaz de Medi- na y Collado, and on the same day assumed command of the government and the presidency of the Royal Audi- ence. But he only exercised the duties of his office for a period of one month, at the end of which time the new captain-general, Don Luis Munoz de Guzman, arrived from Peru and made his entrance into the cap- ital (January 30th, 1802). Guzman had been president of Quito and from that position was now advanced to 1*4 A HISTORY OF CHILE the more important post of captain-general of Chile and president of the "Royal Audience, into which offi- ces he was inducted with the usual ceremonies. He made a fairly good governor, and, as we have noted above, gave a new impulse to the construction of the ancient Mapocho canal, although there were some scandals connected with it, and erected many public buildings in Santiago under the direction of the cele- bated Roman architect, Joaquin Toesca. We may refer here to the fact that the residents of the cities had for some, time been constructing two- story houses, perceiving that they withstood earthquake shocks as well as the old single-storied buildings. They also used brick and stone instead of sun-dried clay, and thus the Chilean cities began to have a much improved appearance. Guzman restored the ancient palace in the plaza, built a new custom-house and finished the work upon the Moneda, or government building. Bar- racks also were constructed for dragoons and a hospital for orphans, the latter having been first founded by Don Juan Nic-Aguirre, and endowed by the king. A cathe- dral also had been built at the royal expense. Con- cerning this building the story is told that two English architects had been engaged upon the work. Their wages being too small to satisfy them, they quit. Two Indian employees took their places and superintended the successful completion of the work. As to the canal, which occupied so much of Guzman's attention, there was need of something of the kind, for Santiago had long been subjected to inundations from the river, and these sometimes caused immense damage. Dikes had been at different times constructed, O'Higgins having done much in this way to protect the city. But these were not always sufficient to turn the floods. During the colonial period the absence of THE COLONIAL PERIOD 125 rains often produced great distress and caused the ruin- ous destruction of crops and stock. Against these droughts the people employed no other means to pro- tect themselves than public supplications to the saints to send rain.* But on other occasions the skies opened their floodgates and prolonged and heavy rainfalls caused terrible inundations. In 1783 occurred a great flood, called "avenida grande," which swept away the dikes, or tajamares, along the Mapocho for several squares and caused immense damage in the capital. Guzman died, February nth, 1808. In the autumn following, his office was conferred upon Francisco An- tonio Carrasco. But this brings us to the period of the revolution. Recapitulating, a list is herewith added of the captains-general and provisional governors of Chile during the colonial period. Pedro de Valdivia, Francisco de Villagran, Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, Roderigo de Quiroga, Villagran, a second time, Pedro de Villagran, Quiroga, second time, Martin Ruiz de Gamboa, Melchor Bravo de Saravia, Quiroga, third time, Gamboa, second time, Alonzo de Sotomayor, Martin Onez de Loyola, Pedro de Viscarra, Francisco de Quifiones, Alonzo Garcia Bamori, Alonzo de Rivera, Ramon, a second time, Luis Merlo de la Fuente, Juan de Xara Quemada, Rivera, a second time, Fernando Talaveranno, Lopez Uiloa y Lemus, Cristoval de la Cerda. Pedro Sorez de UUoa, Francisco de Alva y Noruena, Luis Fernandez de Cordova y Arce, Francisco Laso de la Vega, Francisco de Zuiiiga, (Marquis de Baides), Martin de Muxica, Alonzo de Cordova y Figueroa, Antonio de Acuna y Cabrera, Pedro Portale Casanate, Diego Gonzales Montero, Angel de Pereda, Francisco de Menes^s, * Caspar Toro. 126 A HISTORY OF CHILE Marquis de Navamorquende, Montero, second time, Juan de Henriquez, Jose de Garro, Tomas Martin de Poveda, Francisco Ibanez de Peralta, Juan Andres de Ustariz, Don Jose de Santiago Concha, Gabriel Cano de Aponte, Francisco Sanchez de la Barreda, Manuel de Salamanca, Jose de Mauso, Francisco de Obando, Domingo Ortiz de Rosas, Manuel Amat y Junient, Felix de Berroeta, Antonio Guill y Gonzaga, Juan de Balmaseda, Javier de Morales, Agustin de Jauregui, Tomas Alvarez de Acevedo, Ambrosio de Benavides, Acevedo, second time, Ambrosio O'Higgins, Jose de Rezabal, Gabriel de Aviles, Joaquin del Pino, Jose de Santiago Concha, Francisco Diez de Medina y Collado, Luis Murioz de Guzman, Francisco Antonio Carrasco. PART II— THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD CHAPTER I THE REVOLT OF SPAIN'S COLONIES The French revolution of 1789 and the success of republicanism in North America were precursors of the revolt of Spain's colonies. The writings of Montes- quieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, and others of that school had taken effect ; France and the two Americas be- came republican. France, having applied the torch, for a time recoiled from the terrible effects of her fierce revolution and Bonaparte became emperor. In triumph he entered the capitals of the old world with his vic- torious armies, but England with her fleets he found invincible to his conquering arms. Portugal was in the alliance with England, so against Portugal Napoleon desired to dispatch an army. His troops he wished to send through Spain, and permission was, therefore, obtained of Manuel Godoi, who stood high in the favor of the queen, Maria Louisa, and in reality governed Spain, rather than the king, Charles IV. At that time Prince Ferdinand, heir to the crown, was conspiring against Godoi, the queen's favorite who had been raised by her from an officer of the guards to the position of prime minister, and was in constant quarrels with his royal parents. It wfis at this time 127 128 A HISTORY OF CHILE that Napoleon concerted with Godoi and gained per- mission to enter Spain with his armies. It was a stratagem ; instead of marching to Portugal, Napoleon advanced to Madrid. It was now that Charles IV. abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinand, the people having pronounced against Godoi and the court. But he was a fickle monarch and soon desired to resume his crown; that, Ferdinand would not permit him to do. Napoleon professed a willingness to assist the royal household of Spain to an amicable settlement of their difficulties and for that purpose arranged a meeting in Bayonne. There Charles IV., Maria Louisa and Godoi appeared against Ferdinand VII. and recriminations followed. Napoleon had father and son renounce their rights and conferred the crown of Spain upon his brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Charles and Ferdinand were retained in France. Indignant at this perfidj', and lo5'al to Ferdinand, the Spaniards organized y?^«/(7j de gobierno in the pro- vinces and a central junta in Seville to carry on the government provisionally. These the French dispersed, whereupon a "council of the regency'' was formed in Cadiz with which was united the cortez and house of representatives. This regency organized an active re- sistance to the French and a war followed. The Span- iards won a victory at Bailen, but the French, notwith- standing that, continued to occupy the peninsula until the downfall of Napoleon, when Ferdinand recovered his crown. This outline of the history of Spain at the time throws light upon the revolt of her American colonies. The junta of Seville and the regency of Cadiz sought to exercise authorit)^ over them. This was resented. The colonies would neither recognize Joseph Bona- THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERI OD 129 parte nor the Spanish juntas as having authority over them, but wished to govern themselves through the medium of juntas of their own creating, during- the captivity of the king. This was obnoxious to the Span- ish officials in the new world and was looked upon as treasonable by the junta of Seville and the Cadiz re- gency. The Creoles, or American born subjects of Spanish descent, established juntas, or governing boards composed of three or more leading citizens, and began the reform of institutions and abuses. The Spanish party resisted and war followed. By the time Ferdinand VII. regained his crown the revolution had taken from him his American colonies. Perhaps the Holy Alliance, which the monarchs of the old world formed upon the fall of Napoleon, to crush out repub- licanism and restore absolutism, would have aided Spain in her contest with her provinces had not the United States announced its famous Monroe doctrine about that time, declaring that "America was for Amer- icans. " It was a significant warning, sufficiently em- phasized by Yorktown in North America and Ayacucho in South America, to be respectfully heeded. The abuses which led to the revolt of Spain's South American colonies, and, in the end, to their declara- tion of independence, were long endured. These abuses can be summed up in the words, oppression, extor- tion and corruption. Such men as Morillo, Morales, Tristan, Marco and Osorio brought on the final crisis. Their names are written in blood and their memories held in execration. But these men are only exagger- ated examples of the Spanish viceroys and governors from Pizarro to Lascerna. The greed and corruption of the civil and military men sent out by Spain to gov- ern the natives, with few exceptions, from the time of the conquest to the revolution, tended to alienate I30 A HISTORY OF CHILE the natives and American born Spanish people from the mother country. They practiced horrible cruelties upon the Indians, enslaving them upon their fiefs, and compelling them to work and perish in the mines. The Spanish system of governing was tyrannical in the ex- treme, and gave the people few of the benefits of gov- ernment, of their labor and of the natural productions of the countries ; the right of cultivation of grapes, olives and tobacco was denied them ; they were com- pelled to buy their wines, oils and tobacco from monop- olies promoted by the mother country; enormous duties were levied upon all imported manufactured goods, and these importations were confined to a monopoly of Cadiz merchants who sent out only a few vessels each year. These goods the natives were compelled to purchase at extortionate prices by the Spanish gov- ernors, who often shared in the profits. The financial system of the colonies was based upon a perfect monop- oly and exclusion in favor of Spain, and the revenues were raised in a corrupt and tyrannical manner. The estanco was a monopoly which the government claimed for itself exclusively ; it was a monopoly of the growth and sale of tobacco, and sale of foreign wines and spirits. Of these, tobacco j'ielded an immense profit. Guayaquil was the principal place for the cultivation of the plant; at Lima, the king had extensive central warehouses. No tobacco \Yas suffered to grow in Chile; every per- son retailing the article must pay a license and even then could only purchase from the government depots, which were established in the different towns. In the year 1808, the royal revenues from tobacco amounted to $183,278, and it is probable that the amount would have reached $300,000, had it not been for official pec- ulations and depreciations in value. Another burden the colonies endured under Spanish THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PER WD 1 3 1 rule was the system of tithes. By a special act of the papal authorities the king of Spain was given the church under his special care, and by him the tithes were claimed and collected. Nominally these were distrib- uted in the following manner : one-fourth to arch- bishops and bishops, one-fourth to deacons and canons, one-fourth to curates, the remainder to the building of churches. In time corruption crept in ; the king appro- priated large sums to other purposes and cut down ecclesiastical salaries ; the tithes were farmed out to individuals in large lots, and these again to smaller bidders, all seeking to niake large profits from the pur- chases. This came at length to be a severe burden and imposition upon the peasantr}', who had the tithes to pay- Again, Spain had given the territories belonging to the natives to military favorites in immense grants. Between two hundred and three hundred held the lands of Chile in this manner, half the number probably, holding all the best estates. Pizarro and Valdivia had assigned estates to their followers, with the Indians upon them. The rich ruled the countries, and, form- ing a combination, regulated markets ; in Peru, there was a system of enforced labor ; everywhere military exactions were cruel and intolerable. A system of checking, one official by another, was thought by the Spanish court to be sufficient to prevent frauds and peculations, but it was as bad as no regula- tion ; officials winked at each other's robberies and con- nived at frauds to make themselves rich. Getting an appointment meant getting rich. All these frauds and extortions going on year after year, from one administration to another, with no pros- pect of amelioration, at length aroused the passive na- tives to a sense of their wrongs. If the wealthy Span- 132 A HISTORY OF CHILE ish-Americans objected to the monopolies and the offi- cial arrogance of the mother country, the peasantry had far more to complain of in the burdens which fell most heavily upon them. A rebellion broke out in Peru, where the native classes were more oppressed than in Chile. An Inca descendent, Jos6 Gabriel Con- dorcanqui, called Tupac Amaru after his ancient pro- genitor, aroused the long suffering people to such zeal that they took up arms. He defeated the Spaniards at Sangarara, November 13th, 1780, and a few days after- ward published the causes which had led to the revolt. He addressed letters to the bishops and other officers, proposing changes of the existing oppressive measures ; his proposals were rejected with disdain. In 1781, Condorcanqui was defeated at Checacupe, where with his family he was taken prisoner. Hideous cruelties were perpetrated upon the captives by the Spanish courts, and terrible was the vengeance wreaked upon the patriots; but their deaths did not end the revolt. It was not until the year 1783, that the rebel- lion was finally put down ; but the death of Tupac Amaru was as a bugle blast resounding through Span- ish-America. He had not died in vain, for an attempt was soon made to ward off the storm in Peru by a few measures of reform; such as abolishing the repartimien- ^^j, which held the natives to a species of serfdom, modi- fying the rules respecting forced labor, and doing away with the obnoxious office-of corregidor. Tupac Amaru had accomplished more than had Don Jose Antequera fifty years before, in his attempts to reform abuses and establish a representative government in Paraguay. Ubalde succeeded no better in Peru in 1805; he re- kindled the fires of patriotism, but paid the penalty in death. In 1809, patriot forces were defeated at Huaqui; General Belgrano led a patriot army from Buenos THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 33 Ayres against a royalist army under Pezuela in Upper Peru (Bolivia). Another rebellion broke out in Cuzco headed by an Inca named Pumacagua, and that city and several other smaller towns were occupied by the revolutionists. But this uprising was put down by General Ramirez in the battle of Umachiri, March 15th, 1815. The Spanish power in Peru was too well organ- ized, and few further attempts to achieve their inde- pendence were made by the Peruvians until after the battle at Maypo in Chile, April 1818; their final inde- pendence was not achieved until Bolivar had won the battle of Pinchincha, near Quito, in 1822. Chile, Peru, the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, and Colombia, are so intimately associated in the revolu- tionary struggle that the history of the period applies scarcely more to one than to all of these provinces. Belgrano, San Martin, and Bolivar are names connected with the struggle from Colombia to La Plata. They are South American heroes, honored alike by all the republics. In this united struggle it was necessary for Buenos Ayres, where the revolutionary movement had been early made in the south, to assist both Chile and Peru to preserve her own declared independence against the royalist stronghold in Lima. This brought the war early to that part of Peru bordering upon the terri- tories of Buenos Ayres — Upper Peru, now Bolivia. The revolution first broke out at La Paz, where the Spanish authorities were deposed, March 25th, iSog, and a junta established. In August of the same year a junta was formed at Quito, the Marquis Selva Alle- gre being chosen its president. Cisniros, the Spanish viceroy of Buenos Ayres, sent an army against the patriots of La Paz under Nieto; the viceroy of Lima sent another force under Goyeneche ; the viceroy of 134 A HISTORY OF CHILE New Granada sought to destroy the junta at Quito, assisted by the viceroy of Peru. The patriots of La Paz were defeated, and the most terrible cruelties per- petrated upon them by the inhuman Goyeneche. The leaders of this early revolution, the Lauzas and Rodri- guez, fell among the victims. The junta of Quito was also compelled to yield to the superior forces brought against it. The revolution next broke out in Buenos Ayres and Caracas ; in the former place the viceroy, Cisneros, was deposed and a junta formed, May 22d, 1810. Cas- telli's eloquence in the congress, which was assembled, confounded the royalists and paved the way for a revo- lution. Spain could do little to assist the royalists in the southern provinces, having as much as she could do in the north. Napoleon had at this time nearly completed her degradation; Ferdinand VII. and the royal family were under surveillance at Bayonne; the crown of Spain had been renounced by Ferdinand in favor of Joseph Bonaparte; the Council of the Indies had transferred the Spanish provinces to Bonaparte ; Napoleon had, as we have seen, dispersed the central junta in Spain, May 1810, and had (1808) sent envoys to the provinces to notify them of the cessions of Bayonne ; all this had brought confusion into the whole Spanish world. The patriots of Spanish-Amer- ica deemed this a fitting time to throw off the intolera- ble yoke of the mother country. The royalists, looking to the loaves and fishes they had so long enjoved, would have submitted to Bonaparte rather than have had no king. After some successes, followed by reverses in Mon- tevidio and the province of Salta, the patriots of Bue- nos Ayres finally made a treaty with the Brazilian Por- _tuguese sent against them to Montevideo, the Spanish THE RE VOL UTIONARY PERIOD 135 colonies of La Plata being then at war with Brazil over boundaries. General Belgrano, after being driven from Salta, obtained a signal victory over Tristan, the royalist general of Peru in Tucuman, September 24th, 1812. Discussions in forming a congress followed, which retarded the independent movement ; but a gen- eral meeting of the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres con- fided the government to a junta composed of three leading citizens, Pena, Passo and Jonte. San Martin, in February, 1813, defeated the royalists at San Lorenzo, and on the 20th, Belgrano defeated the Peruvian forces assembled at Salta after a four hours battle, taking Tristan prisoner with all his army. On the 31st of the following January, a congress {consttiuyente') assembled in Buenos Ayres, which de- clared the independence of the provinces of La Plata. The junta was changed to a supreme executive board, consisting of Pena, Perez and Jonte. Several liberal measures were adopted, including the emancipation of slaves. But the independence of the La Plata provinces had not yet been satisfactorily achieved, owing principally to internal dissensions. A conspiracy was formed at Montevideo, instigated by royalist Spaniards of Buenos Ayres. A battle was fought at Vilcapugio, in which Belgrano was defeated by the royalist forces of Peru under Pezuela, and a little later the patriots were com- pletely routed, so that the royalists of Peru were now masters of Upper Peru, Jujuy and Salta. The situation of Buenos Ayres was now critical, threatened as it was on the side of Peru by a victori- ous royalist army and on the side of Montevideo by an opposing Portuguese-Brazilian army. The congress in December, therefore, decided to do away with the triangular junta and to vest the executive power in, a 136 A HISTORY OF CHILE single individual, to be called the supreme-director, thinking that this might strengthen the central gov- ernment. This office was conferred upon Posadas. Dissensions followed, and San Martin alone, by adopt- ing a guerrilla mode of warfare in Upper Peru, pre- vented the armies of the viceroy of Peru from follow- ing up their victories. Trouble occurred between the supreme-director of Buenos Ayres and Artigas, a gen- eral of Montevideo. Montevideo was a province at- tached originally to the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres. Brazil had tried to overrun and take it, but was driven out by Buenos Ayres and Montevideo acting together. Having won Montevideo for the patriot cause, General Artigas now claimed it as his own especial property, independent of Buenos Ayres, which disputed his dic- tatorial claims. This caused dissensions. Posadas resigned. Alvear, his successor, was compelled to re- sign. The municipality of Buenos Ayres established a new junta de observacion, whose chief duty was to watch the supreme director. Rondeau and Alvarez were subsequently elected directors but were soon removed. Balcarce succeeded, but remained not long in office and the government was placed finally in the hands of a com- mittee. Then a new congress assembled in Tucuman and appointed Pueyredon supreme-director. This se- lection was more fortunate, and the friends of liberty thenceforth became more hopeful. On the gth of July, 1816, congress met, announced the independence of the United Provinces of Buenos Ayres and published a manifesto. But dissension did not cease with this, and it became apparent that Buenos Ayres could not single-handed maintain her independence against in- triguers, royalists, and continued attacks from the Por- tuguese province of Brazil, which was determined to extend the limits of Brazil to the river La Plata. They THE R E VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 37 must assist the patriots of the neighboring provinces of Chile and Peru to obtain their independence ; and for this undertaking, San Martin was the leader most naturally selected. While the struggle was going on in Buenos Ayres and in Chile and Peru, the northern provinces were in like manner fighting for their independence. Here' the war was waged by the royalists with even greater persistence and ferocity than in the south. Venezuela was the first to form an independent junta and throw off the Spanish yoke ; but there the royalists were, after a time, victorious, and terrible was their revenge. The people of Venezuela were proscribed, Caracas was turned into a vast prison. These brutal measures raised up young Marino with an army ; cruelty and extortion had, indeed, previously raised up a patriot army in Venezuela for General Miranda. The libera- tion of Venezuela and Colombia was finally achieved by Marino and Bolivar. The battles of Pantano de Bargas and Boyaca, in July and August, i8ig, and of Carabobo on June 24th, 1821, decided the fate of Spain in Colombia, after twelve years of savage warfare, hardly equalled in history for atrocious barbarity and cruelty. The fate of Quito was decided favorably by Bolivar and Sucre in the battle of Pinchincha, June 22d, 1822. The battle of Ayacucho, December gth, 1824, struck the fatal blow to the royalist power in Peru. Olaneta was defeated by General Sucre at Potosi in April, 1825, and the territories of Upper Peru, the theatre of the first and last acts in the bloody drama, were made free, and declared themselves the Republic of Bolivar. The battle of the Maypo, April 5th, 1818, decided the issue in Chile in favor of the patriots. This rapid glance at the rise and progress of the 138 A HISTORY OF CHILE revolution in the neighboring colonies, is necessary to abetter understanding of the same struggle in Chile, for the war had its origin in almost identical causes from Mexico to Buenos Ayres. And the causes were not different, though perhaps more aggravated, than the Stamp Act and the episodes which preceded the North American revolution. Only the Spanish colonies en- dured more, clung more steadfastly to the mother coun- try, and longer sought redresses of their grievances, before resorting to arms. Their first efforts were not to obtain independence, but a redress of grievances ; to establish juntas which should still acknowledge Fer- dinand VII. as king; for they opposed the claims of the central junta of Spain but not of the king in exile. They first asked to be permitted to plant and cultivate whatever their soil and climate would produce ; to open their ports to all nations; to have free trade among themselves and between the colonies and the mother country ; to have all monopolies in favor of the king and the public treasuries suppressed ; to have free working of quicksilver mines; to make Spanish Amer- icans eligible equally with Spaniards to all appoint- ments of rank and employment ; to have consulting juntas formed in each capital to the intent that they might propose persons to fill vacancies. In Caracas, Buenos Ayres, Santiago, La Paz, and Quito, the first juntas made no declarations of independence; they sought only redress of wrongs. The mere statement of the concessions asked is suffi- cient to show the intolerable burdens by which the colonies were oppressed. That the condition of affairs was not much improved after the revolution, is not to be wondered at. The colonies had been educated in a corrupt school; they were not prepared for republic- an institutions; they were rent by factional strifes; THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 39 they had no well organized political institutions. More than all, the young republics had large popula- tions of half-civilized natives, of ignorant classes un- fitted for exercising the privileges and responsibili- ties of the elective franchise. They might not so soon have been led into a war for independence, if the subjugation of Spain by Bonaparte, and the unsettled condition of the government at home which followed, had not forced them to take steps for their own preservation and security. Their sympathies were with Spain and bitterly against France ; they were still loyal to Ferdinand ; they formed juntas in the name of Ferdinand, but they denied the authority of the regency of Cadiz and of the juntas of Spain ; they offered assistance, and did afford aid in the war against France. Almost without complaint, they permitted Spain to impoverish the colonies to carry on her wars. But these measures undertaken primarily for relief excited the bitterest antagonism of the governing body of Spain, of Spanish rulers, of the Cadiz monopolists, of Spaniards in America, and greatly increased also the jealousy and unfriendly feelings which had long existed between the native Spanish-Americans, 5r Cre- oles, and the European Spaniards in America. War was at first rather with the arrogant and corrupt vice- roys and their Spanish sympathizers, than with Spain herself; the opposition was rather to the oppressive burdens and obnoxious officials than to the principle of dependence. But the measures immediately adopted in Spain to crush all efforts at amelioration, to put down what was called a rebellion, to throttle the first efforts to obtain "home rule" or a fair share in the government and offices, and these too by the most cruel and barbarous measures known in history, soon alien- ated the colonies from the mother country and filled I40 A HISTORY OF CHILE the Creole citizens with most intense feelings of hatred of their oppressors. Henceforth, it was war to the knife ; no concessions from Spain would avail anything after the massacres and imprisonments in Caracas, in Quito and on the plateaux of Bolivia. England might mediate in vain, as she once essayed to do, to save Spain her colonies ; the bridge had been crossed, blood must be avenged, independence achieved. CHAPTER II JUNTAS, DICTATORS AND DISSENSIONS — FIRST STAGES OF THE REVOLUTION It was the leading citizens of Chile, rather than the native population, who were inspired by the news from Caracas, LaPaz, Quito and Buenos Ayres, the rum- bling preceding the storm, to do something toward alleviating their own galling burdens. Their desire was not at first to separate themselves from Spain but rather to modify the laws sufficiently to emancipate themselves somewhat, to better the condition of the native inhabitants, and to form a junta, or governing board of leading citizens, which was to govern in trust for the unfortunate Ferdinand VII. It was in August and September of 1809, that the news reached Chile by way of Buenos Ayres of the in- vasion of Spain by Bonaparte. Sentiment was gener- ally in favor of the captive king and plans were dis- cussed how best to carry on the government during his captivity. The cabildo of Santiago took upon itself the authority to call a national assembly, decreed imposts and undertook warlike preparations. Two political parties soon appeared ; the Spanish party, the mem- bers being nicknamed godos or san-acenos, headed by the president and supported by the Royal Audience, the 142 A Ills TORY OF CHILE clergy and government officers, who desired that the juntas of Spain should be recognized as authority; the patriots formed the other party and advocated the for- mation of ■&. junta nacional de gobierno, or national gov- erning body, to take charge of the government during the captivity of the king. This latter party was sup- ported by the cabildo of Santiago and the leading Chil- ean families. These were called rebels by the royalist party, and feeling became intense. In the month of May, in the year 1810, party feeling ran so high that the captain-general, Carrasco, arrested several leading patriots. There were frequent gather- ings of the principal Chileans of revolutionary senti- ments at the house of Don Jose Antonio de Rojas, the old revolutionist. One night Carrasco sent an armed body of troops to the house and arrested Rojas, also Don Juan Antonio Ovalle, proctor of the cabildo, and Don Bernardo Vera Pintado, an eminent lawyer. (Vera became afterward "the poet of the revolution.") This violence precipitated the revolution. The people of Santiago requested the release of the patriots, but they had been sent to Valparaiso to be taken thence to Peru. The clamor was so great that Carrasco at last yielded and dispatched an order for the patriots to return to the capital. But two of them had already embarked. Vera had remained in Valparaiso on account of sickness. The- agitation increased ; news came that the patri- ots of Buenos Ayres had formed ■A.juiiia de gc?bierno 3.nA this made the patriots of Chile bolder and more per- sistent in their demands. On the 22nd of June, the captain-general convened the inhabitants of the capi- tal in the palace square to announce to them the orders of Ferdinand and enjoin obedience to the French re- gency, when a tumult arose and public indignation was THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 143 loudly expressed. Some of the members of the Audi- ence advised Carrasco to resign, and this he, in effect, did on the i6th of July, 1 810, in a cabildo abierto, or gathering of leading citizens. The junta filled his place by proclaiming as president, Mateo de Toro Zam- brano, Conde de la Conquista (Count of the Conquest), an old military officer eighty years of age, who had acquired a large fortune in commercial pursuits, to- gether with his title. The Conde de la Conquista favored, to a certain ex- tent, revolutionary measures and was elected to the presidency upon the condition that he would refuse to acknowledge the French regency and reserve Chile for Ferdinand VII. This was the more conservative view of the situation at the time, as there were even at this early day many who favored complete indepen- dence; such, for instance, as Rojas, Vera and Ovalle. Toro found himself in a trying position, as he was besieged both by patriots and godos. But eventually he leaned to the side of the patriots and joined with the other members associated with him in the junta in calling a congress, or another cabildo abierto similar to that which had deposed, or received the resignation of, Carrasco. It was a notable gathering composed of the cabildo of Santiago,' civil and military officers, church dignitaries and four hundred leading citizens, the major- ity of whom belonged to the party of the patriots. This assemblage received the resignation of Toro and created a national junta de gobierno to govern the coun- try during the captivity of the king. The junta was to be composed of seven members and^two secretaries. A congress composed of members from the different cities was to be convened. This day, the i8th of Sep- tember, 1810, is regarded as the date of Chilean inde- pendence. 144 ^ HISTORY OF CHILE At the head of the junta was Doctor Juan Martinez de Rozas, a lawyer from Concepcion, and he was sec- onded in all his efforts by the two secretaries, both of them lawyers, whose names were Gasper Martin and Jose Gregorio Argomedo. Rozas had been assessor of the intendencia of Concepcion and afterward Carrasco's secretary. He had great influence in Concepcion, where he had started the revolution and opposed the bishop, Villodres, who was of the Spanish party. His arrival in Santiago was a gain for the patriots, and being sa- gacious and energetic, he was soon the acknowledged leader. Under the leadership of Rozas the junta organized military bodies and opened the Chilean ports to free commerce with all nations. This quadrupled the cus- toms receipts in a single year. This junta, which was formed on September i8th, was composed of influential members, of whom Toro was placed at the head. The other members were Rayna, Resales, Rozas and Carrera. This was estab- ished in the name of the king, in manner similar to the juntas which had been formed in the Argentine Republic and Venezuela, and even in Spain herself. The office of captain-general was abolished. It seems that even before this time four of the members asso- ciated with Carrasco in the Royal Audience were in favor of cooperating with the junta which had been formed at Buenos Ayres. Don Antonio Jonte, one of the most influential citizens of Buenos Ayres, had been dispatched to Chile by the junta of that province im- mediately upon its formation, to urge the taking of a similar radical step in the sister province. His mis- sion, perhaps, hastened the crisis; when the junta was established, Jonte was continued there in the capacity of charge d' affaires from the new government of Buenos THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 145 Ayres, and in this capacity obtained three hundred Chilean troops for the assistance of La Plata. The junta had called an assembly, or congress, fixing the elections for April, 181 1, and prescribing the man- ner of representation. The regulations for the election of deputies prescribed a certain number of members for each municipality, which, not being according to population, gave rise afterward to much dissatisfaction. During the time of the elections, a body of troops was stationed in the square of Santiago to preserve order. This detachment was commanded by Don Tomas de Figueroa, a European Spaniard who had at first de- clared in favor of the revolution, yet had been intri- guing against the junta; he now sought to use his situa- tion to crush the revolution in its incipiency. A skir- mish took place between the squad commanded by Figu- eroa and a party of patriots led by Jos6 Miguel Car- rera, who was afterward head of the army and govern- ment. Fifty or sixty men were killed, but the patriots were successful. The affair inspired the revolutionary leaders ; Figueroa was executed and the leading con- spirators banished. The first congress assembled on July 4th, 181 1. Many reformatory measures were passed, including the aboli- tion of slavery. The Ro3^al Audience had been dissolved, a camera de apolaciones appointed in its stead, and the executive power vested in the junta. Congress decreed that curates should be paid from the public treasury, not by tithes ; that restriction should be removed from commerce ; that the ancient law regulating the appoint- ment of officers in the municipalities (the cabildos') should be annulled, and that henceforth such offices should be filled by annual elections. Certain offices were abolished and salaries reduced. The powers of 146 A HISTORY OF CHILE the junta were prescribed, military schools and manu- factories of firearms were established. Such declarations was little short of revolutionary measures, and Spain could not have been expected to accede to them, even though ihe. congress proceeded thus far in the name of the king. A revolutionary newspaper, we may add, appeared about this time in Santiago, edited by a friar named Camilo Henriquez. Like the congress of Buenos Ayres, dissensions were rife. As we have stated, the representation was un- equal. Santiago had elected twelve deputies, almost as many as all other provinces combined. The southern provinces were the wealthiest, the most enterprising, and possessed the most talent; the landholders of the middle provinces about Santiago outnumbered those of the south. The fact of, Santiago having so large a preponderance in representation caused complaints to be made b}' the southern cities, and their representa- tives withdrew. In the meantime, parties began to form. One faction of the patriots wished to conduct reforms on the basis of ancient institutions, in other words, were conservative. Another faction wished to move with greater dispatch; here was a radical party which recognized Rozas as its leader. The con- servatives controlled the cabildo. Then it was, as ever since, radicalism found its home in the south. The first radical leaders were always from Concepcion. Santiago was conservative, the southern provinces rad- ical. When, therefore, the quarrel arose over repre- sentatives, Rozas, the radical leader, withdrew to Con- cepcion, perhaps to stir up a rebellion. The conserva- tives, or Santiago faction, thereupon dictated a change of the government and named a new junta composed of three of their own favorites. To reduce the power of Spain as much as possible THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 47 steps were taken to replace Spanish officers with patri- ots. The three Carrera brothers, Jos6 Miguel, Juan and Luis, had this in charge, and executed the manoeuvre skillfully. The Spanish officers were seized in their barracks and the troops gained over. Congress passed a decree to the effect that all Spaniards* who were not satisfied with the new movement, should quit the country within six months with all their property and effects. The Carreras now sought to effect a revolution, by which means they hoped to place themselves at the head of the government. The junta of leading citizens which had been formed, one of whom was Jos6 Miguel Carrera, the eldest brother, became impatient of the restraint and control of congress, and considered the advisability of usurping the whole governing power. Don Jos6 Miguel Carrera was most active and ambi- tious, and anticipated the other members. He com- pelled congress, at the head of his troops, (but without the shedding of a drop of blood) to select a new junta, composed of himself, Portales, and La Cerda; this having been done he expelled seven of the Santiago deputies from congress and replaced them with radi- cals, and came into supreme power, September 4th, 1811. At the same time Rozas effected a revolution in Con- cepcion and established there a radical junta ; Valdivia soon after followed the example. This gave the radi- cals control of congress and of the country. Carrera was popular with the army and had effected his revo- lutionary measures by being assured of its support; he maintained his usurped office, relying upon the same power. *By the term Spaniard, one born in Spain, Royalist, is understood; Amer- icans of Spanish descent were called natives, patriots, Creoles. 148 A HISTORY OF CHILE But the radicals soon began to conspire against them- selves as they had previously against the conservatives. Carrera met with opposition and now obtained tempor- ary support from the godos, whom he deceived into believing that he wished to restore the colonial regime. A new military commotion in the capital placed him again in full control and he immediately formed a new junta composed of himself, Gasper Marin and Doctor Rozas, as representative persons from Santiago, Co- quimbo and Concepcion. Rozas declined the position which Carrera had forc- ibly obtained for him, and remained in Concepcion. His followers in congress assumed a hostile attitude and conspired against Carrera. This caused the latter to forcibly dissolve congress, December 2nd, 181 1. Thereafter, Carrera ruled in Santiago and Rozas in Concepcion. Their rivalries increased and soon threatened to ter- minate in a civil war. They advanced against each other with troops and encamped on opposite banks of the river Maule. The Spanish party, taking advantage of these discords, fostered reactionary sentiments against the patriot cause. In Valdivia, the godos over- threw the junta. In view of the danger of a royalist reaction, Don Bernardo O'Higgins acted as mediator between the hostile patriot chiefs and succeeded in warding off civil strife. The rivals celebrated peace on the banks of the river Maule and each went to his own capital. But the country remained divided. Valdivia and Chilo6 acknowledged the government- of the viceroy of Peru ; Santiago was governed by Carrera and Concep- cion by Rozas, each at the head of a junta of patriots. In this situation Carrera soon schemed to overthrow his rival. When it came time to send pay to the THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 149 troops on the Araucanian frontier, he dispatched emis- saries to Concepcion who stirred up a riot, subjected the city to the authority of the junta of Santiago and apprehended Rozas, who was banished to Mendoza, where he soon after died. During the time that the Carreras were in power, there were constant dissensions and disaffections. Four conspiracies against them were suppressed ; all kinds of shocking enormities were committed ; many were the confiscations, great was the corruption. They quar- reled among themselves and Carrera once withdrew from the government; but a reconciliation was effected and he resumed his office. The Penquistos, or Concep- cion party, were greatly enraged at their loss of influ- ence, and made unceasing complaints. To cover his own ambitious designs and stop the complaints, Car- rera proclaimed a constitution (1812). This appar- ently placed the control of the junta in a senate, in a manner similar to the regulation prescribed in the con- stitution adopted at Buenos Ayres, and established a consulting council of seven members. Here was the first attempt in Chile to have the executive power con- trolled in all its executive functions by another body, a chimerical scheme which in subsequent years led to civil war. This constitution proclaimed civil equality, liberty of the press and other political and social re- forms, and for a time allayed the jealousies and fac- tional spirit of the leading families; then, too, they now had no time for quarreling among themselves as a new foe required their attention. Hearing of Don Jos6 Miguel Carrera's usurpation of the government at Santiago, Jos6 Ferdinand de Abas- cal, viceroy of Lima, dispatched south a large force under General Antonio Pareja in the early part of the year 1813, which in March attacked and took posses- 150 A HISTORY OF CHILE sion of Talcahuano, meeting with little resistance. He then advanced to Concepcion, where the garrison joined his force, swelling his army, which originally consisted of 2,100 men obtained principally from Val- divia and Chilod, to 4,000 men. With this augmented force he deemed himself strong enough to put down the rebellion and compel Chile to recognize the autho- rity of Spain and the viceroy of Peru; he began his march toward the capital. At Talcahuano, and after- ward at Chilian, the Peruvian general seems to have won over some Araucanian allies. Extraordinary efforts were made in Santiago to raise and equip a force with which to oppose the Spaniards; donations were received, contributions levied, and arms procured. To oppose Pareja, Josd Miguel Car- rera, leaving his brother, Juan Carrera, in his place at the head of the government, marched south with the Chilean army, consisting of 12,000 badly drilled and poorly equipped men, and advanced to meet the enemy at Talca. There were engagements by the ad- vanced forces at a place called Yerbas Buenas and be- fore San Carlos, April 27th and May 15th. The attacks met with success and Pareja was compelled to fly with his troops in great confusion. After the rout succeed- ing the first attack, however, the royalists had rallied, and the next morning a severe action ensued in which the patriot losses were heavy, but the enemy was driven back and compelled to take refuge in Chilian, where Pareja was obliged to shut himself up and erect forti- fications for his defense in the siege which was begun against him. Here he afterward died, and was suc- ceeded by Colonel Juan Francisco Sanchez in command, who long maintained the siege, until bad weather set- ting in, the patriots retired. The garrisons he had left for the defense of Concepcion and Talcahuano were THE RE VOL UTIONAR V PERIOD 1 5 1 obliged to surrender to the patriots, as well as Los Angeles and other royalist towns in the south. Their commanders escaped to Peril. In several skirmishes which followed the first successes, O'Higgins and Mac- kenna were usually successful. The royalist troops remained in Chilian, completely isolated, within the fortifications they had constructed. With provisions stored for three months they awaited reinforcements from Peru; hoping, too, in the mean- time, that they would be reinforced from the south, as the Franciscans were friendly to their cause and those zealous churchmen were good recruiting officers among the Araucanians. Carrera returned with his army to the attack and for three days besieged the city, but he was in want of provisions and ammunition, and of means for protecting his troops from the rain and the excessive heat. The men died from exposure and deserted, and Carrera was compelled to raise the siege and retire toward Concepcion, August loth. At a place called Roble, on the banks of the Itata riv- er, Juan Francisco Sanchez surprised Carrera, whose army at this time was greatly diminished. O'Hig- gins, however, succeeded in rallying the troops and in turning what was nearly a rout into a victory, Octo- ber 17th. The junta had long been seeking an opportunity to free the capital of the influence and tyranny of Don Jos6 Miguel Carrera; for it was not forgotten that he was an usurper, though he had promoted reforms, opened schools in all the convents, recruited and dis- ciplined troops and done much good service for the patriot cause. Advantage was now taken of his absence to make the desired changes. Juan Carrera, who was in charge, was sent to the army ; the junta was reorgan- ized and Carrera' s place filled, the members being now 152 A HISTORY OF CHILE Jos6 Ignacio Cienfuegos, Augustin Eyzaguirye and Jos6 Miguel Infante. Having carried out the scheme thus far, they now removed to Talca to be near the army. Jos6 Miguel Carrera continued to command the army and refused to submit to the junta ; in the districts commanded by his troops, he governed without re- straint. But his oppressive measures and the devas- tations of his army so enraged the people of the southern provinces that Concepcion sided with the royalists. The junta, seeing the necessity of ridding the army of a leader who exasperated the people, re- moved Carrera and gave the chief command to Bernar- do O'Higgins, naming as second in command Colonel Mackenna, a brave and competent young Irishman. Don Bernardo O'Higgins was a natural son of the illustrious Ambrosio O'Higgins, Marquis of Orsorno, and was at this time about thirty-eight years of age. He was educated in England, then went to Spain and subsequently to Chile, where he passed his time look- ing after the estate left him by his father. When the revolution came and war seemed imminent, he became' a stanch supporter of Doctor Rozas and embraced ar- dently the cause of the patriots. He was a deputy in the first congress, and a member of one of the early juntas. Upon the fall of Doctor Rozas, Don Bernardo retired to his estate, where he remained until the inva- sion of Pareja, when he toolc up his sword in defense of the patriot cause. It was after the battle of Roble, that Carrera expressed admiration for his talents as a soldier by calling him " el primer Soldado de Chile," (the first soldier of Chile). Carrera at first refused to yield up the command, but was finally abandoned by the army and found him- self obliged to submit. With his brother he quitted the army and they set forth together on their journey THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 153 to Santiago, where the}' expected to regain by family influence and their usual intrigues the power and posi- tions they had lost by their arbitrary and exasperating measures. On the way they were captured by a party of royalists and taken to Chilian as prisoners. The Spanish forces under Pareja remained for some time at Chilian within their fortifications, both parties making active preparations during the time, for a re- newal of the contest. Soon after the time of General Pareja's death, General Gavina Gainza arrived from Peru with a large number of reinforcements, which now gave the royalist army a decided advantage, as it was superior to the Chilean army both in cavalry and artillery, and had been recruited by the indefatiga- ble Sanchez with Araucanian Indians and peons from the southern provinces. General Gainza assumed com- mand and opened the campaign with vigor. The guer- rilla commander, Eiorreaga, took Talca for the royal- ists, the junta having previously retired to Santiago with a part of the patriot troops. The first movement was made by General Gainza, who attempted to prevent a union of the patriot army. On the 19th of March, 1814, he was repulsed by O'Hig- gins on the heights of the Quilo, and the day following he attacked Colonel Mackenna with a division of the Chilean army encamped at Membrillar, twelve miles from Chilian, but the attack was gallantly repulsed. O'Higgins came to Mackenna's assistance with his division, and the royal army was roughly handled. A few days after the affair at Membrillar (March 29th) a force of one thousand men was dispatched from San- tiago under the Argentine officer, Manuel Blanco En- calada, to take Talca. This force was defeated at Can- cha-Rayada bj' Eiorreaga, and the capital was thus left almost wholly unprotected. 154 A HISTORY OF CHILE Despite his reverses, General Gainza attempted to carry out his plan of marching directly upon Santiago, which had at this time neither army nor defences. Advancing by rapid marching, he crossed the river Maule on balsas, protected by the royalists from Talca. O'Higgins followed and encamped for the night on the opposite side of the river within sight of the royalist army. Leaving a considerable force at the encamp- ment to deceive the royalists, he crossed the river by a ford, and, securing an advantageous position in Quechereguas, prepared to attack the enemy early in the morning. Surprised at this manoeuvre, and twice repulsed, Gainza retired to Talca which was still held by Elorreaga, and gave up his plan of marching to the capital (April yth and 8th). This left O'Higgins free to open communications with Santiago and to cut off Gainza's line with Chilian. / Carrera had been both liked and disliked. At times ' he had been patriotic and brave; he was courteous and commanded respect. But his temper was passionate and tyrannical, and his brothers, much given to excess- es, exerted an influence over him not altogether of the best. For these reasons, he had fallen in the popular estimation, so that all eyes were now turned toward O'Higgins at this critical period, and well worthy of the trust imposed upon him, did he prove himself. But the fall of Talca, despite O'Higgins' partial suc- cesses, was sufficient to bring about new political changes; the Carrera party still had influence in San- tiago. The loss of Talca was attributed to the lack of cour- age in the members of the junta, who had taken away a large part of the garrison and retired to the capital upon the approach of the enemy from the south. This, it was alleged, had been done for their own personal THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 55 security ; it was sufficient to cause a revolution in San- tiago and their deposition. In the critical condition of affairs, however, it was agreed by both parties that the junta was too large a governing body, and upon its deposition, Colonel Francisco de Lastra, governor of Valparaiso, was invested with the executive author- ity and given the title of supreme-director, in imita- tion of the same office which had been created in Buenos Ayres, March 7th. Colonel Lastra, having the respect of all parties and conscious of the danger which menaced the indepen- dent cause, was disposed to consider favorably propo- sitions for a compromise which were brought from the viceroy of Lima by Captain Hilliar of the British fri- gate "Phoebe," the latter offering to act as mediator. We may state here that England at this stage of the revolution in South America, was disposed to mediate between Spain and her colonies, because of the atti- tude of France toward the former. At first it had been to English interests to have the ports of South Amer- ica opened to her commerce, and, under Spanish rule the ports were nearly closed ; but it was now of greater importance that Spain should not be completely crushed. Lastra called a meeting of the principal cit- izens of the capital, and submitted Captain Hilliar's propositions; the decision arrived at was that the di- rector should propose terms to Gainza. This he did, appointing commissioners to proceed to Talca with Captain Hilliar, and the result was a cap- itulation, and an agreement entered into at Lircay on the 3rd of May, 1814. General Gainza was to embark with his troops for Peru within two months and leave all fortified places as they were ; the government of Chile agreed to exercise its authority in allegiance to Spain ; the viceroy of Peru should acknowledge the 156 A HISTORY OF CHILE government of Chile and all changes which had been made ; Chile should obey the constitution and laws promulgated by the cortes of Spain, and send mem- bers to the cortes — for Chile, be it remembered, had not yet declared herself independent and her junta and supreme-director had exercised authority onl}' in the name of Ferdinand VII. Hostages were exchanged by O'Higgins and Gainza, and the treaty concluded. But it seemed to have been only a subterfuge on the part of the royalists to gain time and save Gainza. During this period, the public library at Santiago was founded, schools were opened in the different towns and the national institute, or university, was established. This last was formed by a union of the old college of San Felipe, the college of San Carlos, the Episcopal seminary and academy of San Luis. The institute was opened with enthusiastic and im pressive ceremonies. Carrera had induced printers to come to the country from the United States and had procured a press and printing materials. A paper was started, called "La Aurora," which advocated the revolutionary cause. This was conducted by Father Camilo Henriquez. Other writers also contributed to the revolutionary cause ; STich as Antonio Jos6 de Irizarri. a Guatemalian, Doc- tor Bernardo Vera, an Argentine and the poet of the revolution, Manuel Salas, and Juan Egana, who drew up the first draft of a constitution. CHAPTER III 1814 TO 1817 THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM SAN MAR- TIN'S EXPEDITION Meanwhile the two Carreras, set at liberty by the treaty, quitted Chilian, August 23rd, 1814, and pro- ceeded to the capital. Their first efforts were directed toward gaining over the troops, for they were still pop- ular with the army at Santiago. This done, they arbi- trarily restored the old junta, of which Jos6 Miguel Carrera himself had been the chief, and abolished the office of supreme-director still filled by Don Francisco de Lastra. This revolution, effected by family influ- ence, force and corrupt measures, aroused the indigna- tion of the citizens of the capital. O'Higgins, still at Talca, was invited to come to Santiago with his troops, to restore order and the legal junta and enforce the fulfilment of the recent terms agreed upon with the viceroy, Abascal, which Carrera and his followers ridi- culed. He set out upon his mission, and met Carrera upon the plains of Maypo. Two armies in Chile en- listed in the same cause of achieving national inde- pendence, faced each other ready to shed patriotic blood, on the banks of the Maypo. There was an inde- cisive combat, and then both sides paused before be- ginning a battle. It can not be said to what extremes 137 158 A HISTORY OF CHILE the civil war might have been carried, as both parties were in battle array, had not the intelligence arrived — a messenger with an official letter — that the viceroy of Peru had refused to ratify the recent compromise, and that an army of five hundred men under Colonel Mariano, the most able officer of Peru, was on the way to reinforce Gainza. ' The imminent danger reunited the patriots, now in arms against each other, O'Higgins waving his com- mand and serving under his rival ; Carrera used every effort to recruit his army, and soon yielding to the solicitations of the anxious citizens, gave over the command of a portion of the patriot troops in the field to O'Higgins, who forthwith marched toward the south to meet the Spaniards advancing from Talca. He first encountered the enemy at the river Cachapoal, but was driven back by superior nnmbers. He then made a stand at Rancagua, where he was besieged for two days, Carrera being outside the town with the main army. On October ist and 2nd, 1814, the place was assailed, a desperate battle fought, and O'Higgins defeated, as Carrera afforded his rival no assistance. The enemy cut the aqueducts, which flooded the streets in which the patriots had barricaded themselves, and then set fire to the houses. The patriot army, in this division, numbered two thousand men and all perished but three hundred and nine. A part of the army formed itself into a phalanx and cut its way through the enemy's lines, then retreated in mad haste over the Andes toward Mendoza. Carrera was compelled to fall back to Santiago with 1,500 of his men, and was loudly de- nounced for the defeat. Great was the consternation throughout Chile ; Car- rera with six hundred of his troops fled across the mountains to Mendoza, followed by more than two THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 159 thousand of the leading patriots. Thence he repaired with his brothers to Buenos Ayres and later, took pas- sage for the United States, where he hoped to obtain assistance for the waning patriot cause ; the refugee revolutionists at Mendoza applied to the government of Buenos Ayres for succor. O'Higgins and Mackenna also fled to Mendoza; there San Martin gathered to- gether the refugee patriots and espoused the cause of O'Higgins. This, perhaps, caused the Carreras to push on to Buenos Ayres. Osorio marched his victorious royalist army to Santi- ago and there restored the authority of Spain and the viceroy. In fact, the inhabitants of the capital, tired of the misrule of the Carreras, sent a deputation invit- ing him to come and restore order. At the end of October, Valparaiso and all the prin- cipal towns were occupied. Then Osorio soon threw off the mask. The leading citizens became the vic- tims of his vengeance; arrests, imprisonments and ban- ishments followed. More than one hundred of the principal patriots were banished to the desolate island of Juan Fernandez, of Robinson Crusoe fame, l}'ing three hundred and eighty miles from the Chilean coast. Among these were Doiia Rosario de Rosalis, who solic- ited and obtained permission to accompany her aged father to the island. For two years and a half, 1814 to 1817, the viceroy maintained the Spanish authority in Chile, which he governed with the greatest rigor. Don Fernando de Abascal, the Peruvian viceroy,' was the ablest, the most resolute, of the Spanish leaders; he crushed the uprising of Pumacagua, the revolution in Upper Peru and the revolution in Chile. At first there was a large body of Chileans to hail this return to the royal power and authority of the viceroy with satisfaction, for the country had grown i6o A HISTORY OF CHILE tired of the factional disputes and the arbitrary rule of the Carreras. But such men as Osorio's infamous lieutenant, San Bruno, Sergeant Villalobos and subse- quentl)', Marco del Ponte, who was sent out by Fer- dinand VII. to succeed Osorio as captain-general, soon prepared the Chileans for renewed efforts to accom- plish their independence. Don Marco del Ponte was the last of the Chilean viceroys, and his deceit, rapa- city and cruelty knew no bounds. Osorio reestablished the Royal Audience,renewed the cabildo and suppressed the public library and the National Institution, or uni- versity. Marco del Ponte established a tribunal which he called the Tribunal of Vigilance and Public Security, and placed over it the ferocious San Bruno. He also suspended the execution of the pardon the king had sent in favor of the exiles in Mendoza. Like Israel's children in bondage, the patriots of Chile looked for a deliverer, and he came from across the mountains. Buenos Ayres saw that to maintain her own indepen- dence in security, Chile and Peru must be free. She had enabled the provinces of Cujo, Cordovo, Santa F6, the Banda Oriental (Uruguay), Entre Rios (Paraguay), Tucuman and Rioja to free themselves from Spanish domination ; Chile had assisted her when Jonte had solicited aid, she would now listen to the supplica- tions of the exiled patriots at Mendoza. She was wag- ing a war against the royalists in Salta, Jujaj', Potosi and Upper Peru ; she would now create a diversion in Chile and by so doing diminish the Spanish strength in Upper Peru. The hero of San Lorenzo was given the matter in hand. Don Jos^ de San Martin was at this time governor of the province of Cujo and at Mendoza. He had ob- tained his military education in the war with France, having fought in the battle of Bailen. This "Hanni- THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD i6 1 bal of the Andes" was tall and well-formed; his whole appearance was soldierly; he had an olive complexion, black hair, wore large side-whiskers without moustache ; his eyes were large and black and full of fire ; his coun- tenance was expressive, his deportment gentlemanly and insinuating. He was a cautious, brave general, with a Napoleonic talent for organization. He was in command at Mendoza in 1814, when the Chilean fugitives fled there after the battle of Ranca- gua. In the dispute which had before sprung up between Carrera and O'Higgins or, primarily, between the Carreras and other factions, San Martin, as we have seen, had espoused the cause of the latter, per- haps because the Carreras had attempted to seize the government of Mendoza, and were unwilling to be second in command. He now collected the wreck of the Chilean army, and incorporated the patriot sol- diers with the troops of his own command, part of whom were drawn from the forces of General Belgrano in the upper provinces, and part raised in Mendoza. He succeeded in the latter part of 1816, in getting to- gether a formidable army of five thousand men, to which the title, "Liberating Army of the Andes," was given. General San Martin displayed his great ability as an organizer by his successful efforts in getting together his army and giving it a thorough course of discipline. His principal force was the cavalry, a branch of the service for which his gauchos, or Pampas men, were peculiarly well-fitted. He was a reticent man and rarely divulged his plans to his associates; wlien he was ready to act he usually proceeded without seeking counsel, relying upon his own judgment. That he had ulterior designs in this expedition, we may suppose; we discover his secret plans afterward when he declares 1 62 A HISTORY OF CHILE himself Protector of Peru. He was not without secret personal ambition, but still he was a patriot and an able general. Before beginning his march, San Martin resorted to a ruse for diverting Marco del Ponte's attention, as the Spanish captain-general was watching him on the other side of the mountains. He went first to San Carlos and held a conference with the Pehuenche Indians, asking of them permission to pass through their territory by way of Planchon. His intention, however, was to cross the Andes by way of the Uspallata pass — the passes of Pu' taendo and Cuevas — ^deemed almost impassable, emerg- ing at Aconcagua, north of Santiago. This ruse caused Marco to concentrate a large body of his troops in Talca, opposite Planchon, and in Rancagua. To assure the success of his strategy, he sent Colonel Rodriguez with a force of cavalry, consisting principally of the Chileans, to the neigborhood of San Fernando. This band had for some time kept the Spaniards engaged in this vicinity, while San Martin was getting ready his expedition. They had several times captured towns, which they declared independent, led off royalists' horses, and defied the whole Spanish force. Rodriguez was a brave young soldier, allied to leading families of Santiago, and a favorite with the Carrera party. As the operations of the patriot forces were all in this quarter, the Spanish general was doubtless the more easily de- ceived as to San Martin's real objective point, so that only corps of defense were posted in the valley of Acon- cagua above Santiago. Then, too, General Freire commandant of Concepcion, and the guerrilla chief Neirie, kept the captain-general busy in the south. General San Martin led forward his cavalry by way of Putaendo, January 17th, 1817, taking command of the force himself. The infantry and artillery advanced THE HE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 163 by the usual route, passing Cuevas. It was such a march as Almagro undertook two hundred and eighty years before ; it was a Hannibal or a Bonaparte cross- ing the Alps. Each cavalryman had a sword, ahorse, a saddle, a poncho; each infantry soldier carried a musket, cartridge-pouch and poncho, besides provisions for the journey. The latter consisted of dried meat and parched corn. Thus the army was not incumbered with baggage, tents, stores or provisions. There were depots of provender established every twelve leagues. There were 7,359 mules for the workmen and cavalry, and 1,922 beef cattle. Fieldpieces were carried, slung between mules, or dragged on sledges made of hides. Derricks were used to hoist or lower them over precipi- tous places. T\i€ gauchos were soon short of provisions and this fact caused them to push forward with incredible exer- tion so that the rapidity with which they traversed the passes, here more than 13,000 feet above sea-level and covered with perpetual snow, is almost beyond belief. Three hundred miles over the giddy verges of yawning quebradas, they passed in thirteen days. The army, consisting cf three thousand infantr5', nine hundred and sixty cavalry, with staff and trains and workmen mounted on mules, reached the valley of Aconcagua on February 8th. The cavalry, which had come by one route, tarried at Putaendo to rest ; the infantry, coming another way, remained at the entrance to the valley. A junction of all the forces was soon after effected at Villa Nueva. On February 7th, a skimish took place at the foot of the cuesta of Chacabuco with the Spanish who were picketed there, and this advance force was com- pelled to fall back on the main body of the royalist army advancing from the south under General Maroto, 1 64 A HISTORY OF CHILE a distinguished Spanish officer who had been sent by the viceroy of Peru to replace Osorio. On the 8th, Colonel Nicochea routed a body of royalist hussars. Great was the enthusiasm in the patriot army. The workmen brought fresh horses for the officers and men, and united themselves into a militia company. Women and children cheered the troops as they passed along, and thrust provisions into their hands. Aconcagua and Santa Rosa were occupied. A force of cavalry was dispatched under Colonel Nicochea by the pass of Ta- von to join the main body of troops when it should arrive on the other side of the cuesta. At night the army encamped upon the summit and on the following morning descended the rnountain toward the enemy which had taken up a well chosen position, with hills on each of the flanks, commanded by artillery. Marco had arrived with about one thousand reinforcements during the night, so that the royalist forces now num- bered two thousand men at this point, with about the same number stationed in other parts of Chile. The Spaniards had carelessly permitted the patriot army to come through the passes without taking the trouble to ascertain its strength. They took it for granted that only cavalry could traverse the mountains within the time spent by the army in crossing. De- ceived by this, they formed for battle, drawn up in a square. As the morning was foggy, it was some time before it was discovered that San Martin was upon them with his whole army. O'Higgins ordered a charge. The Spanish officers, discovering their mistake, sought to deploy their men into lines, but the enthusiastic patriot cavalry led on by Colonel Solar, dashed into their ranks and threw them into confusion. Hardly firing a musket, the roy- alists followed their fleeing commander in a total rout. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 165 It had been necessary to begin the action at once, for Maroto was advancing with reinforcements of 1,200 troops. The victory was important; the cavalry de- tachment under Colonel Nicochea descended into the plain from the pass of Tavon and falling pellmell upon the royalists cut them down in their flight, which so demoralized the whole Spanish army that it refused to act when Marco del Ponte and Maroto had called a coun- cil of war outside the city of Rancagua. The officers fled to Valparaiso. There many of them, including Marco del Porite, were captured by the patriots ; Maroto effect- ed his escape. Marco del Ponte was sent to San Luis in the Pampas, where he remained many years. It is no wonder that San Martin and O'Higgins were surprised at their easy victory, and were led to believe that they should be met by the enemy in another more sanguinary field before arriving at the capital. That night they moved forward cautiously to Colina. There they remained three days preparing for the anticipated struggle. But there was no enemy before them ; the royalists had fled toward the Ma3'po, and Santiago had been abandoned. In time the remaining royalist troops were driven into Talcahuano, where they shut them- \selves up to await reinforcements from Peru, which did not arrive until the following year. On the 15th of February, 1817, San Martin, with two doubloons in his pocket, no military chest, no stores, no medicine or surgeons for his wounded sol- diers, entered the capital with his wild gauchos and refugees at his back. Some there are who say that the general was hailed as the Savior cif the country ; others affirm that he was greeted by few voices, that he was received in sullen silence by the natives, and looked upon as another invader by a people who had grown tired of patriot machinations. Perhaps both accounts i66 A HISTORY OF CHILE are near the truth : the natives of Chile are wont either to shout vivas to the last conqueror, or to look with suspicion upon outside patriots ; more than all else, the common people, though desperate fighters, prefer not to be disturbed. To them one government seems as good as another. The Spaniards had been defeated because of their overweening confidence and imprudence, for Marco and Maroto commanded a far superior army to San Martin's, in point of veteran troops, officers, equipment and discipline. A junta was again formed by the leading citizens of Santiago. The office of supreme-director was offered to San Martin, but he refused it, having his eyes on Peru, where the viceroy, Abascal, still maintained his authority. The office was then conferred upon General Bernardo O'Higgins, the government taking about the form it had under Lastra, save that the revolution this time meant complete independence from Spain. The independence was declared and a provisional constitu- tion announced. Chile, with the exception of Concep- cion, Talcahuano and Valdivia, fell during the year completely under the authority of the patriots. One of the first acts of the new government was to dispatch a vessel to the island of Juan Fernandez to bring away the patriots banished there by Osorio. Then reprisals began upon the royalists. The infamous San Bruno and Villalobos were conducted to the middle of the plaza and shot ; the royalist bishop, Jos6 Santiago Rodriguez, was banished to Mendoza. Tlie property of royalist fugitives was confiscated, and those who re- mained in Chile were compelled to contribute a fund of ^400,000 for the patriot cause. O'Higgins began actively to organize an army to prosecute the war and dislodge the royalists from the THE COLONIAL PERIOD 167 southern provinces, who had maintained a stubborn resistance under the leadership of Colonel Jos6 Ordonez. A division was dispatched against them, under the intrepid Colonel Juan Gregorio de Las Heras, who defeated Ordonez in Curapalihue and compelled him to shut liimself up in Talcahuano. Receiving reinforce- ments, the royalist leader again attacked Las Heras on the small hill of Gavilan near Concepcion, but was again defeated. May 5th, 1817. O'Higgins soon after arrived and Ordonez was besieged on the small peninsulaof Talcahuano, where he fortified his position, and, the royalist fleet commanding the sea, he was able to hold out against the superior force which O'Higgins brought against him for a period of six months, when assistance arrived from Peru. CHAPTER IV THE BATTLE OF MAYPO The energetic Abascal was not long in dispatching reinforcements to Chile upon learning the disastrous rout at Chacabuco ; this he was now the better enabled to do for the reason that he had recently received 3,500 veterans from Spain. This was in the latter part of November, 1817. Marco del Ponte and Maroto had proven themselves inferior generals, therefore. General Osorio was a second time appointed to the command of the royalist army in- tended for operations in Chile, an army which, with the garrison at Talcahuano, would number about six thousand men. Osorio landed in Talcahuano in January, 1818. Pre- vious to his landing, O'Higgins, following the plan of a French officer named Brayer, had made an ineffec- tual attempt to reduce the fortress, now, with the ex- ception of Valdivia, the last stronghold of the royal- ists in Chile, December 6th, 1817. This attempt was frustrated by Abascal, who sent to the assistance of the garrison 1,500 reinforcements; these succeeded in reaching the fortifications by sea, and the place being one of great natural strength, was thus enabled to with- stand the siege. O'Higgins, after sustaining a heavy i58 THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 69 loss, including five or six officers in an assault, led by the gallant Las Heras, had withdrawn his troops before the arrival of Osorio. San Martin had been making active preparations and getting together an army for the purpose of invading Peru, when Osorio landed at Talcahuano with his army pf 3,400 veterans. This was an unexpected move on the part of the viceroy, who doubtless intended by it, not only the stamping out of the revolution in Chile, but the protection of Peru from invasion by thus strik- ing a decisive blow at San Martin before he could get together an army and supplies. Osorio, confident of victory and holding his oppon- ents in some contempt, set out for the capital, march- ing rapidly through the province of Concepcion and advancing toward Talca. The two divisions of the patriot army then effected a junction in the latter end of February, San Martin being at Las Tablas, four leagues from Santiago, with four thousand troops, when Osorio landed. When the patriot forces had been united the army numbered between seven and ten thou- sand men. For two or three weeks nothing of import- ance occurred, save constant, harassing guerrilla war- fare. On the i2th of February, 1818, the first anniversary of the battle of Chacabuco, O'Higgins formally de- clared the absolute independence of Chile, which had not hitherto been clearly manifest. This he did upon his retirement from the unsuccessful campaign in the south, and it was in the nature of a bold defiance of Osorio. In every city, two blank books were opened during a period of fifteen days. In one of these all the citizens signed who favored absolute independence ; in the other those signed who were of the contrary opin- ion. The first books were filled with names; the sec- I70 A HISTORY OF CHILE ond, nobody signed. Having consulted public opinion in this novel manner, O'Higgins solemnly aiBrmed the act as declaratory of the complete independence of Chile. The royalist army advanced slowly toward the capi- tal, crossing the Maule in the direction of Talca. San Martin moved forward from San Fernando on the 13th of March with his whole army, which was superior to that of the Spaniards in point of numbers and in cav- alry, but inferior in discipline. Near the city of Talca, Osorio's van was furioush' attacked and driven back, the action being confined principally to the cavalry. This was on the i8th; on the igth there was a sharp skirmish at Cancha Rayada. Seeing the strength of the enemy, Osorio drew up his forces before the city and determined to attack San Martin in camp that night. About nine o'clock in the evening, while changes of position were being made in the patriot encampment at Cancha Rayada, the Spaniards, salh'ing forth from Talca under the intrepid Ordonez, made a sudden on- slaught, which was so furious and the discharges of cannon and muskets so lively and unexpected, that San Martin's army became panic-stricken, fired at each other as well as the enemy, and before fifteen minutes had elapsed was in total rout. O'Higgins bravely sought to rally the troops, though himself suffering with a wounded arm, but was unable to stop the flight of the demoralized arm}'', and was, therefore, obliged to follow the fugitives toward the capital. Monteagudo, San iMartin's advocate general of the army, was the first to reach the capital, on his way to Mendoza, and tell of the defeat. Great was the con- sternation. Patriots at once began to get together their effects for flight to Mendoza. The contents of the pub- lic treasury was packed ready to load upon mules; the THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 171 streets of the capital were thronged with the equipages of those preparing to depart the country ; groups of women were everywhere wringing their hands in grief and terror. The greatest anxiety prevailed, as it was several days before intelligence came of the whereabouts of San Martin. He was at San Fernando and the right wing of the army, consisting of about three thousand men, was with him. Manuel Rodriguez, the dashing and enterprising young cavalry officer, then took it upon himself to check the flight of the patriots, called Hijos del Pais (Sons of the Land), assumed the direction of affairs for the time being and organized a better state of things. In an incredibly short time he had organized a regiment, called the Husares de la Muerte (Hussars of Death. ) Six days after the rout, O'Higgins entered the city badly wounded, and was entrusted again with the dic- tatorship. On the following day, San Martin arrived, accompanied by some of his officers. Fatigued and covered with dust his cry of "La Patria triunfa'' revived the spirits of the patriots. The wreck of the army which came pouring into the capital for several days was collected by the offi- cers and sent to an encampment outside the city at Molina. Ten days after the battle the brave Colonel Las Heras, who had led off the right wing from the rout and conducted it to San Fernando, arrived with three thousand of the troops. He had been enabled to save this division because of the fact that two divi- sions of Osorio's army approaching from different direc- tions had mistaken each other for the enemy and com- menced firing. This created so much confusion that General Osorio was prevented from following up his advantage. Indeed some of his army even retreated across the Maule. 172 A HISTORY OF CHILE The patriots of Santiago seeing the necessity of ex- traordinary efforts subscribed mone}', plate and jewels for the cause ; 4,800 infantry and eight hundred cavalry, newly clothed and recovered from the recent disaster, were gathered together in a few days outside the cap- ital. The artillery had been lost at Cancha Rayada, but a few fieldpieces were secured, in the main, two big guns and a park of artillery. The army was ably officered; besides San Martin himself and O'Higgins, there were Balcarce, Alverado, Quintana, I^as Heras, Borgono, Martinez, the intrepid Nichochea, Blanco Encalada and others. There were four French officers, and O'Brien, Miller, Lowe and Lebas, Britons. The gallant Mackenna was no longer of the number, and General Brayer, the distinguished French officer who had commanded the cavalry, now resigned because of some dispute between him and San Martin. The patriot arm}^ moved about a league farther away from Santiago to the farm of Espejo, which was about three leagues from the capital, and there awaited the enemy, who was cautiously advancing. On the afternoon of the 3rd of April, 1818, Osorio crossed the Maypoand came to the plains, the flanks and rear of his army constantly harassed by parties of patriot cavalry. Skirmishing was kept up during the afternoon of the 3rd and all day the 4th. On the 5th the royalist army took up a position on the brow of a hill; the famous Spanish Burgos regiment occupied the right wing, the Infantos of Don Carlos the left, the Peruvian and Con- cepcion troops the centre. Four squadrons of dragoons flanked the right, a body of lancers the left, with a battery placed on a hill still farther to the left. The royalist lines were about a mile in length, and con- fronted by the patriot ranks. The left of the patriot columns was commanded by General Alverado, the cen- THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 73 ter by Balcarce, the right by Las Heras, the reserves by Quintana. Each army numbered not far from five thou- sand troops ; each was led by generals of consummate ability; but the royalists had the advantage in this, that they had just won an important victor}', which had reduced the fine patriot army to about one-half its original strength. This filled one army with enthusi- asm, the other with doubt and sombre forebodings. The battle began about eleven o'clock by a lively cannonading from the patriot artillery on the right. In an hour the action became general. Colonel Blanco Encalada commanded the artillery, and with this met the enemy's left as it moved down the hill. A charge was made upon the four fieldpieces at the left of the royalist lines ; these were captured and turned against the foe. The battle raged most fiercely about a farmhouse of the Espejo, which place was captured and retaken many times during the day. Until near the close of the day the advantage seemed to be with Osorio, the center and one wing of his army held the field and the defeat of the patriots seemed certain. On San Martin's left wing the patriots had been able to withstand the Burgos regiment for some time, but the regiment of negroes stationed there at last became confused ; four hundred of them were lying dead upon the field. The Burgos regiment now attempted to form itself into a square for a decisive charge; this broke the Spanish lines and threw them into momentary dis- order. Colonel O'Brien, a gallant Irishman, commanded here a troop of patriot horse-grenadiers. With^them he reinforced the reserves under General Quintana, which had been ordered to support this wing. Form- ing rapidly for a charge, O'Brien threw his men so furiously upon the forming regiment of the Burgos, that 174 ^ HISTORY OF CHILE he dispersed it. This regiment was the flower of Oso- rio's army, and its defeat caused such confusion in the ranks, that the patriots were able to press their foe at all points. The Burgos troops fled to the Espejo farm- house; Las Heras soon overthrew the left, which also rushed to the Espejo. For a while the action was kept up in the center, but with both wings beaten back, this part of the royal army soon gave way and retreated with the rest. The victor}' was decisive ; half of Osorio's troops were killed and wounded and the rest taken prisoners ; the patriots lost upward of one thousand men. A stand was made for a time by some of the troops in the farmhouse, rallied by the brave Ordonez, but they were driven out and about five hundred of them killed in the court and adjoining vineyard. General Osorio effected his escape, and joined a party of officers and men who had fled to Concepcion, from which place they embarked for Peru. There were two hundred and eighty who escaped in this m^anner. / This battle gave San Martin lasting renown. It was a brilliant, decisive victory, and established the inde- pendence of Chile ; not only that, it paved the way for the independence of Peru, for it broke the power Abas- cal had so long been able to maintain there. Five days after Maypo had been won, San Martin set out for Buenos A5'res, for the purpose of- concert- ing measures with that government for the invasion of Peru. Triumphal arches awaited him, and he was hailed with unfeigned appreciation. In the beginning of 1819, San Martin had returned to Mendoza, where he employed himself some time in equipping troops and organizing a formidable force with the view to beginning the long contemplated in- vasion of Peru, which was sought as the surest means THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 75 of securing the emancipation of all Spanish-America. While thus engaged at Mendoza, he once set out to recross the plains to Buenos Ayres, but was obliged to return on account of a band of outlaws, headed by Jose Miguel Carrera, which at that time was scouring the Pampas. Carrera had raised a body of Montoneros > and with them had carried on a guerrilla war for several years in revenge for the death of his brothers, who had been condemned to death at Mendoza by Monteagudo a day or two after the battle of Maypo (April 8th). Once this bold restless leader had even captured Buenos Ayres. He was in time defeated and taken to Mendoza, where he was executed, September 5th, 1821, upon the spot where his younger brothers had met their fate some time before. In 1827, the bodies were disinterred and buried in Santiago with military honors. There were several political intrigues in both Chile and Buenos Ayres about this time, which caused San Martin to put aside his sword for a while and don citi- zen's clothes. But it was not his disposition to retire to private life while there were still worlds to conquer. It was not long after this that the energetic general received the command of the army in Chile and began the invasion of Peru. The execution of the younger Carrera brothers at Mendoza created considerable excitement for a time, as their family was still strong in Chile. Monteagudo was blamed for his severity. But the sensation fol- lowing this circumstance was hardly equal to that caused by the death of the brave Manuel Rodriguez, who had so greatly distinguished himself at San Fer- nando prior to San Martin's march over the mountains, and afterward in the capital after the rout of the pa- triot forces at Talca, A few days after the battle of Maypo he was placed under arrest, charged with enter- 176 A HISTORY OF CHILE taining designs against the government of O'Higgins. He was sentenced to banishment, and while on his way to Valparaiso under guard, was shot by a villain named Navarro, who commanded the escort. The authorities, whether conniving at this plot or not, were suspected, and did not escape censure. The patriots, it would seem, were not slow in adopt- ing Marco del Ponte's methods of raising revenues, both before and after the battle of Maypo. Many of the old Spanish families were robbed and their property de- livered up to the public use. Just before the battle of Maypo, it is said that more than five millions of dollars worth of readily convertible property was seized by the patriot government to keep up the military organization, and that subsequent to the battle three millions of dol- lars worth was taken in the same way and for the same purpose. In these revolutionary times it is not to be wondered at that the chiefs resorted to this manner of supporting the army from the resources of their ene- mies at home. After the defeat of the royalists at Maypo, Colonel Sanchez remained in the south with a force of 1,500 men; other forces which were stationed in Chilian and Concepcion made their way to Peru, embarking at Tal- cahuano. O'Higgins soon dispatched a division against Sanchez (1819) under command of Antonio Gonzalez Balcarce,the Argentine officer who had fought at Maypo. Colonel Ramon Freire occupied Concepcion with the vanguard while Balcarce compelled Sanchez to retreat to Los Angeles, where his force hotly pressed, was dis- persed though the Araucanian country. Sanchez after- ward embarked at Valdivia and made his way to Peru. Freire was made intendente of Concepcion and soon established the authority of the patriots in all thefron- THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 77 tier towns of the south, where he began a policy of conciliation and clemency. General Freire went against Vicente Benavides and surprised him at a place called Cural6, near Santa Juana, May ist, 1819. Benavides, however, made his escape into the Araucanian country with twenty of his followers. The career of this inhuman pirate was as romantic as it was despicable. He was a sergeant of grenadiers in the royal army at the time of the first Chilean revolu- tion, was taken prisoner at Membrillar but made his escape. Afterward he served the royalists until he was taken prisoner at the battle of Maypo. He was recog- nized, tried, and condemned to be shot. But he was only wounded, and, feigning death, madfe his escape. When San Martin arrived in Santiago preparatory to entering upon his Peruvian campaign, Benavides presented himself and offered his services for dissuad- ing the Indians and other designing persons south of the Biobio from joining the royalists. Receiving pass- ports, he soon after joined the Indians, was appointed their chief, and began a series of skirmishes and raids along the Biobio. At first he pretended to act under the sanction of Spanish authority, but upon the fall of the viceroy at Lima, he threw off the mask and declared to General Prieto' that he would continue the war against Chile to the last man, even though Spain her- self acknowledged its independence. He disregarded flags of truce, put his prisoners to death most barbarously, murdered unoffending settlers, burned and sacked cities, intrigued with the Carreras, captured British and American vessels, shot the cap- tains and imprisoned the crews, equipped a pirate ves- sel and sent it along the coast with instructions to spare no flag and to put insurgent crews to death. He was 1 78 A HISTORY OF CHILE a high-handed freebooter, and, having gathered together three thousand men in the summer of 1821, even medi- tated the capture of Santiago and Valparaiso and the conquest of Chile. Colonel Joaquin Prieto was dis- patched against him in the latter part of 1821, and completely defeated him on the plains of Saldias near Chilian, October gth. He was then closely followed into Araucania by a force under Captain Manuel Bul- nes. His capital, Arauco, was finally taken and burned, on the first of February, 1822; the bandit himself was taken at Topocalraa where he had been obliged to put to shore in a boat for water, being at this time on his way to Peru with his wife and a few companions. Sentence was passed upon him February 21st; he was ordered dragged from the prison in a pannier tied to the tail of a mule, hanged and his head and hands cut off and placed upon high poles. Manuel Blanco Encalada. CHAPTER V CARRYING THE WAR INTO PERU — NAVAL OPERATIONS The patriots, having achieved the independence of Chile on the plains of Maypo, now made strenuous efforts to equip a navy. Captain Joseph Andrews sold to the government the "Wyndham," an East Indiaman. This craft was fitted out at Valparaiso as a sixty-four gun frigate, named "Lautaro" after the heroic young Araucanian chieftain, manned by four hundred English, American and Chilean seamen, and given in charge of Captain O'Brien, who had had some experience in naval affairs, having once served as a lieutenant in the English navy. A North American vessel had also been purchased about the time of San Martin's march over the Andes ; this was mounted with eighteen guns and called "Ciiacabuco. " Until the battle of Maypo this warship was employed in assisting vessels to run the blockade at the port of Valparaiso, in defiance of the two Span- ish men-of-war stationed there. Withthe"Lautaro" and "Chacabuco" Captain O'Brien having taken on board a land force under Miller, sought to raise the blockade. At the offing of the port he fell in with the Spanish frigate "Venganza" and brig "Pe- zuela. " O'Brien in the "Lautaro" bore down upon the "Venganza" and boarding her, was followed by thirty i8o A HISTORY OF CHILE of his crew. The Spaniards ran up the rigging, or hid themselves in the hold, abandoning the ship to the bold enemy. But the two vessels not being lashed together, became separated, and the crew of the "Ven- ganza, " seeing how few of O'Brien's men were aboard, commenced a rapid firing. The brave commander fell, shot through the heart. The "Lautaro" returned to the attack and rescued the patriots on board the"Venganza, " but both the Spanish vessels, taking advantage of this incident, crowded sail and made their escape. It was not altogether a victory, but the effect was to rid the Chilean coast of the Spanish warships. The Chilean deputies in London had purchased the "Cumberland," another East Indiaman, for the use of the government. This was mounted with sixty-four guns and named "San Martin, " Captain Wilkinson being assigned as her commander. Mr. Higginson of North America, was first named as commodore of this little fleet, but being over sixt}' years of age he soon resigned and the government appointed General Blanco Enca- lada, who had been a Spanish midshipman, to the ex- alted office of admiral. Hoisting his flag upon the "San Martin," Commo- dore Encalada set sail for Concepcion, followed by the "Chacabuco" and "Lautaro," Captains Wilkinson, Wor- ster, Diaz and Morris all being on board. The Com- modore's plan was to intercept the Spanish frigate "Ma- ria Isabel, " or take her in the harbor of Concepcion, where she had put in with a transport soon after the battle of Maypo. Previous to this, Ferdinand VII. being again on the throne and fearing that Peru might soon follow the other Spanish-American provinces in declaring and obtaining her independence, dispatched an armj' of two thousand men from Spain in transports, convoyed by a battleship and two frigates. The war- THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PER lOD 1 8 1 ship, proving unseaworthy, liad been compelled to put back to Spain. The other vessels were scattered by a gale off Cape Horn ; two of the transports with mutin- ous crews, were taken to Buenos Ayres, one of the frigates, the "Maria Isabel," as we have seen, with one of the transports, put into the harbor of Concepcion. If the Chilean government could capture these vessels it would greatly augment their navy, as the frigate ^carried forty-four guns. On the 28th of October, 1818, the "San Martin" ran alongside the "Maria Isabel" and gave her a broadside. The Spaniards aboard sought safety in flight and aban- doned the ship to its fate. The frigate went aground, but was floated and taken out of the port by the cap- tors. Four Spanish transports were in the bay and three others came in afterward ; these were all captured. The "Maria Isabel" was taken to Valparaiso where she was mounted with forty-eight guns and christened "O'Higgins. " About this time the "Galvarino, " mounting eighteen guns, was brought from England by Captain Guise and purchased ; two North American vessels, the "Araucano" and "Intrepid" were also added to the navy, and later, an American built corvette mounting twenty-six guns, the "Independencia, ' was purchased,so that the Chilean navy had become quite formidable. In November, 1818, Lord Thomas Cochrane, who had been invited by the government sometime before to take charge of the Chilean navy, arrived, and, his ap- pointment being confirmed, he began to equip and man the fleet so actively that by the following January it was ready to sail for Peru. For it was to prepare the way for San Martin's contemplated expedition, that all these active naval preparations had been made. On the 15th of January, iS-ig, Lord Cochrane directed 1 82 A HISTORY OF CHILE his squadron toward Peru. Arriving in Callao bay, it was the admiral's intention to attack the fort and carry the town by a sudden descent upon it. A fog arose and the vessels of the fleet became separated, so that only Lord Cochrane in the "O'Higgins" entered the ba}' as far as the anchorage. The Spanish vessels, "Es- meralda'' and "Venganza, "with two other warships, were at anchor under the guns of the forts. Cochrane opened fire upon them, but the surprise was not successful and three hundred and sixty guns on shore and one hundred in the ships opened a brisk cannonading in reply. Un- able to retreat, because of the calm which prevailed in the bay, the "O'Higgins'' sustained the fire unsupported for two hours, when a favorable wind enabled her to escape. Believing, from this nearly successful attack, that Lord Cochrane would succeed in a second attempt to take the port, the viceroy ordered ships dismantled and a double boom to be formed from their materials bar- ring the way to the anchorage. The admiral, however, contented himself for a while with blockading the har- bors and compelling the Spanish authorities at different places along the coast to furnish his ships with pro- visions. He captured the towns of Payta, Supd and other places, with detached parties landed from his boats, and seized property of the royalists to furnish his vessels with supplies. While conducting these operations along the coast, Commodore Blanco Encalada with the remainder of the fleet was left to maintain the blockade of Callao. Returning, Lord Cochrane found that the Chilean commander had raised the blockade and gone to Valparaiso. Encalada was arrested for this and a court- martial held, but he was honorably acquitted. Though invited by the Chilean government to command the THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 183 fleet, Cochrane found that the authorities were slow to furnish him with necessary men and supplies, and dur- ing his whole brilliant career on the Pacific coast, he seemed to encounter much opposition to his plans and to be the object of much jealousy on the part of some of the Chilean officers, and even of San Martin himself. As many foreign officers had served in the Chilean army, and foreigners had been repeatedly honored, both in civil and rhilitary positions., we may suppose that Lord Cochrane's ideas of the campaign and San Martin's plans were sometimes at variance. 5an Martin wished to educate the Peruvians to the patriot cause, to win his way by mild measures so far as possible ■ Lord Cochrane wished to subdue rather than convert the Peruvian royalists. The year was occupied by the fleet in unimportant measures. Fireships were constructed and rockets prepared ; the latter being soldered with bell metal, burst at the first trial and were found to be of no value whatever. An expedition against Callao, with fire- ships and bell metal rockets, failed wholly of any sat- isfactory results, October 5th, 1819. The Spanish frig- ate "Prueba" arriving on the coast, Cochrane went in search of her to Arica, and not finding fier there, proceeded to Callao, having in the meantime dispatched two warships with a troop of soldiers under the com- mand of Colonels Charles and Miller to Pisco, which place was taken. The action, however, cost the life of Colonel Charles. Miller too was seriously wounded. Not finding the "Prueba" at Caiiao, Lord Cochrane went in search of her to Guayaquil. Proceeding up the Guayaquil river by night he captured two merchant- men, but the "Prueba" threw her guns and stores over- board and thus lightened, sailed up the river out of Cochrane's reach. 1 84 A HISTORY OF CHILE Leaving Guayaquil on the 21st of December, Coch- rane sailed to Valdivia with the "O'Higgins" and re- connoitered the harbor and fortifications, with a view to making a subsequent attack upon the place, and, by capturing it, free Chile from the last stronghold of the royalists. Off the harbor he captured the Spanish brig, "Potrillo, " and then sailed for Concepcion to solicit men and supplies of General Freire, the commander of the place. Receiving there a detachrnent of two hundred and fifty troops he returned in February to Valdivia, with a force all told of three hundred and eighteen men, the "O'fiiggins," a brig, and a schooner as transport. On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of February, 1820, Lord Cochrane accomplished the brilliant exploit of taking the strongly fortified city of Valdivia, an achievement which has seldom been surpassed for gallantry and cool judgment. One after another he possessed himself of the enemy's batteries and then of the town itself. Valdivia was situated upon a navigable river about fifteen miles from the sea. Nine forts defended the place, situated upon both sides of the river and extend- ing from the city to the anchorage. They mounted one hundred and eighteen cannons and were garrisoned by over one thousand men. The commander landed first at Aguada del Ingl6s, a strongly fortified point just outside the harbor, and at sunset disembarked his troops, the enemy in the mean- time collecting a considerable force behind precipices which tower above the beach at this point. These were driven back before they had time to give the alarm ; the Aguada del Inglds was taken and San Carlos, the next fort, stormed and captured, so rapidly that the gar- risons were sent flying in a boat toward the next fort in the line toward the city, called Chorocomago. The other forts on that side were opened to receive the fugi- THE RE VOL UTIONA R V PERIOD 185 tives, and in the confusion which ensued the victors en- tered pellmell close behind the royalists. Before mid- night the strongholds of Aguada del Tngl6s, San Car- los, Amargos, Chorocomago, and, finally, the last resort of the fugitives on that side, Corral Castle, were taken one after another. On the following morning Cochrane sailed into the bay under a heavy fire from the Spanish forts, on the side of the bay opposite those which had been captured during the night, and anchored before the fort of Niebla. Troops were dispatched at the same time from the op- posite side in boats, the intention being to land them in two divisions, one to storm forts Niebla and Riojo, the other to advance against fort Manzanera. The garrisons in all these forts, seeing the boats setting out, the flags of the patriots flying on the fortresses op- posite, and the "O'Higgins" prepared to open fire upon them, became panic-stricken and fled to the city. Cochrane followed the fugitives into the city, and meeting no opposition, planted the patriot flag in the plaza. His loss had been seven killed and nineteen wounded. The royalists lost ten privates and three officers killed, twenty-one wounded, and eighty-two taken prisoners, besides their cannon, ammunitions and stores. In this action, Majors Miller and Beauchef and Cap- tain Erezcous especially distinguished themselves for gallantry. The victory was important, as Valdivia was a veritable Gibraltar in strength. Its forts mounted one hundred and twenty-eight guns and were garrisoned by over eight hundred men under the command of Col- onel Hoyos. There were altogether fifteen forts, whose guns commanded the anchorage from all directions. That these forts could all be taken one after another by a few companies of men seems almost incredible. CHAPTER VI THE STRUGGLE IN PERU It was fortunate for Chile in ttiese turbulent times that a man like Don Bernardo O'Higgins was at the head of affairs, otherwise the state might have been torn asunder by party feuds. Though hampered often in his efforts by the men for whom San Martin had se- cured departmental places, yet O'Higgins labored to introduce essential improvements into the affairs of state, to overcome prejudices, to open up a foreign commerce, to mitigate so far as possible the most fla- grant abuses. The disgraceful peculations carried on by some of San Martin's ministerial appointees, O'Hig- gins was obliged to overlook, for some of these minis- ters were quite as powerful and quite as secure in their positions, as was the director himself; notably, Rod- riguez, an intriguing fellow, Don Ignacio Zentano, minister of war, a pliable tool, Don Anselmo Cruz, of the finance department, imbecile, but crafty, and Don Joaquim Echeverria, who was at the head of the affairs of state and justice, a man of subterfuge and deceit. With such a ministry, we wonder that O'Higgins was able to keep the peace so long as he did, and make Chile, during his administration, the most respected abroad of all the South American states. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 187 Since the battle of Maypo, Chile had been making herculean efforts to aid San Martin in his long contem- plated invasion of Peru. For two years little had been accomplished, save the brilliant exploits of Blanco En- calada and Lord Cochrane at sea. Spanish war vessels had been secured and put in readiness, Valdivia had been taken \ these achievements cleared the way and enabled the exhausted republics of Chile and Buenos Ayres at last conjointly to prepare for the final denoue- ment in the struggle for South American independence. The government of Chile now became active, and tlie resources of the country were industriously called forth ; troops were collected and drilled ; the executive depart- ment was removed to Valparaiso to be able the more effectively to cooperate with San Martin and Lord Coch- rane, the former having repaired there with what troops and equipments he had been able to raise at Mendoza, the latter from Valdivia with the fleet. The difficulty attending this enterprise was stupen- dous, owing to the poverty of the country. But the unremitting efforts of San Martin and Lord Cochrane went far to remove all obstacles. The expedition was in readiness by the 15th of August, 1820. The navy of Chile was put to active use and transports hired for the occasion. On the i8th, the army marched into Valparaiso, and, superintended b5' General Las Heras, embarked from the arsenal. There were 4,400 men and a corps of supernumerary officers intended for the work of recruiting in Peru. At Coquimbo five hundred more troops were taken aboard. Fifteen thousand stands of arms, with ammunition, clothing and stores, were shipped for the purpose of equipping the patriots of Peru, who, it was expected, would revolt and come to San Mar- tin's standard. San Martin was named commander-in- chief of the troops, who were designated as the "United i88 , A HISTORY OF CHILE liberating army of Peru. " The fleet under Lord Coch- rane intended for the transportation of this army con- sisted of the seven or eight warships of the navy and from fifteen to twenty transports. On the 13th of August, the chiefs of the liberating army had issued a bulletin declaring the purposes of the expedition; that it was to redeem the land in which slavery had so long existed, and from whence the lat- est efforts to oppress the whole continent had been made; to decide whether or not the time had arrived when the influence of South America upon the rest of the world should be commensurate with its extent, its riches and its situation. As this expedition was a joint effort on the part of Chile and Buenos Ayres to aid the patriots of the north- ern state to throw off the Spanish yoke, and as the subsequent progress of the war is rather a part of the history of Peru than of Chile, we will give here only a brief account of the brilliant achievements of the lib- erating army after it had landed in Peru's territories; On the 2oth of August, the fleet sailed from Valpa- raiso, arriving at its objective point, Pisco, on the 7th of September. Four days after, the army, or a large portion of it, was landed, the Spanish troops hav- ing previously fallen back upon Lima, where the vice- roy intended to concentrate his forces. Colonel Are- nales was well acquainted with the country and marched a strong detachment of one thousand men into the vicin- ity of Lima, taking up a position east of the city. He was some time on the way, crossing the Andes by a circuitous route, and traversing a country filled with royalists. He encountered on the way a strong divi- sion of 1,800 of the royalist troops under General O'Reilly, which he cut to pieces and made prisoners. On the 2oth, an armistice was agreed upon between THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 89 San Martin and the viceroy, while the liberating army was still in Pisco. Eight days were consumed in diplo- matic efforts made by the viceroy, Pezuela, to compro- mise in favor of retaining some of Spain's authority; but to none of these propositions would San Martin agree, nor would he consent to anything short of the independence of Peru. The army remained at Pisco until October 26th, 1820, when it was again embarked and arrived off Callao on the 29th. Not deeming it advisable to disembark at Callao, which was strongly garrisoned, San Martin proceeded to Ancon, a port a few miles north of Callao, where he remained a few days. In the meantime Cochrane planned an attack upon the Spanish frigate "Esmeralda," lying in the harbor of Callao. The harbor was guarded by extensive bat- teries, and the anchorage by a boom made of spars chained together. The "Esmeralda'' was moored under the guns of the batteries within the boom and sur- rounded by gunboats. With two hundred and forty volunteers from the different ships, commanded in divisions by Captains Guise and Crosbie, the attacking force proceeded toward the warship in fourteen boats. At ten o'clock at night the expedition reached the line of gunboats. To the guard's challenge of "Who's there!" Cochrane presented a pistol and gave him the alternative of "silence or death." Pushing on, the frig- ate was reached and boarded on all sides by the men in the boats. The "Esmeralda's'' crew sprang up and defended the vessel obstinately for several moments, but were finally driven into the forecastle, where, after a short, stubborn resistance, they yielded, but only to jrally again upon the deck where a momentary stand was made. But finally the cables were cut, sailors mounted the rigging, and the ship was sailed out of I go A HISTORY OF CHILE the bay under a heavy fire from the batteries. Of the "Esmeralda's" crew one hundred and twenty were killed and wounded; the boarding force lost eleven killed and thirty wounded. This action gave the patriot fleet the undisputed mastery of the coast. San Martin named the "Esmeralda" "Valdivia," in honor of Cochrane, and thenceforth she became a Chilean vessel. Following this action, the troops at Ancon were again embarked and on the loth of November, landed at Huacho. San Martin's headquarters were then established at Huara, a place a few miles distant from Huacho and seventy-five miles north of Lima. Lord Cochrane's brilliant achievements had given so much popularity to the patriot cause, that, shortly afterward, December 3rd, the Numancia regiment of eight hun- dred men deserted the viceroy and joined San Martin's army. Guayaquil and Truxillo declared for the patriot cause, which practically gave independence to all lower Peru, save only the capital, and even in the latter the cause of the viceroy was daily losing ground. With the exception of an advance made to within three leagues of the capital, San Martin preferred to maintain an inactive and conciliatory policy for the following six months, to the great disgust of Lord Cochrane and some others of the more spirited officers. The port of Callao was blockaded, by which means the patriots hoped to reduce the inhabitants of the capital to submission by keeping supplies cut off; in the end this plan had the desired result. Satisfied that there would be no active military move- ments about the capital, Lord Cochrane toward the end of April, 1821, collected a small force and set sail in the "San Martin" for Arica. Here the authorities had time to remove the public treasures to Tacna, forty-five miles THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 9 1 distant, before Colonel Miller, who commanded, could land with his force. However the colonel followed, cap- tured the town, and then went on to Moquegua, where he routed a body of Spanish troops at Mirab^. This course of operations was pursued by Lord Cochrane until news reached him of an armistice, which had been declared between San Martin and the viceroy, La Serna, on May 24th; he then sailed for Callao, leaving Colonel Miller in command of the places which had been captured. The armistice, which continued two months, had been sought by the viceroy, and for the reason that the capital was reduced to extremities by a scarcity of pro- visions. No agreement was reached, as San Martin would consent to nothing short of complete indepen- dence, and it soon became apparent that the Spaniards were about to abandon the capital to the patriots and retire to the interior. On the 6th of July, 1821, the royalist authorities did quit the city and retired by way of Xauxa to Cuzco ; on the 12th, San Martin entered, his troops having taken possession the night before. On the 28th of July, 1821, the independence of Peru was proclaimed by San Martin, and "Viva La Patria!" "Viva La Libertad!" and "Viva San Martin!" were shouted by the people assembled in the great square to listen to San Martin, who spoke to them from an ele- vated stage. The same people were now shouting "Viva San Martin" who a day or two before had rushed out in a mad rout and fright, fearing that the general, if not "El Diablo," as they styled Lord Cochrane, was at least an invader who would sack the city. On the 3rd of August, San Martin assumed the reins of government, gave himself the title of "Protector of Peru" and issued a proclamation, declaring the supreme political and military authority vested provisionally in himself, while a new government was formed with Juan 192 A HISTORY OF CHILE Garcia del Rio as secretary of state, Don Bernardo Monteagudo, minister of war, Don Hypolito Unanufe, minister of finance. Henceforth, San Martin held himself no longer an officer of Chile, ceased to transmit bulletins to Valpa- raiso, and conducted himself in all respects as though the recognized head of an independent state. From this time his operations in Peru can hardly be deemed a part of Chilean history. On the loth of September, the Spanish armj' under General Cantarac returned from the interior, and, march- ing past Lima, entered Callao. San Martin forebore to interfere with the royalist troops, believing that they would but hasten the fall of Callao by diminishing the provisions. This proved to be the outcome; after a short stay, Cantarac withdrew his troops, carrying off the treasure deposited in Callao castle and the strong- hold was surrendered to the patriots. The protector remained inactive at Lima until May of the following year, when he dispatched two expe- ditions against the royalists at different places and totally destroyed them. Next he directed his attention to obtaining posses- sion of Guayaquil, which, with its fine harbor, arsenal, dockyard and province, he desired to attach to Peru. General Bolivar, in Colombia, was also looking in that direction; he had successful h' invaded Quito and was now marching toward Guaj'aquil with the intention of occupying it. San Martin was hindered by difficulties at home, and was anticipated by General Sucre, who, acting for Bolivar, took possession of Gua5'aquil. San Martin determined to have an interview with Bolivar, but he got little satisfaction as the latter treated him with considerable hauteur. The chiefs were brother THE RE VOL UTIONAR V PERIOD 1 93 patriots and liberators, but even patriots may feel some degree of jealousy and a spirit of rivalry. While San Martin was absent on this diplomatic mis- sion, the people of Lima forcibly deposed Monteagudo. The wily minister, fearing the vengeance of the people, hastened aboard a vessel and was conveyed to Panama. The supreme delegate, Torre Tagle, who conducted the affairs of the government in the absence of San Mar- tin, supplied the place of Monteaguda with a tempo- rary junta ; this body immediately summoned a national congress, taking advantage, perhaps, of San Martin's absence. At any rate, the protector was deeply cha- grined when he returned from the north and found a congress holding secret sessions at the capital. Sur- rounded by difficulties, with a rival at the north, dis- affection among the patriots and intrigues among the royalists, San Martin, on the 20th of September, 1822, resigned his authority in an able and patriotic address. He perceived that his day was a thing of the past in Peru, and was politic enough to lay down his authority in time. He returned to Buenos Ayres, stopping a short time at Valparaiso. In 1823, he sailed for Eng- land. He died at Boulogne on the 17th of August, 1850, aged seventy-two years. Peru's subsequent efforts to maintain her independence were not success- ful until General Bolivar achieved that result in the bat- tle of Xauxa, August 6th, 1824, and finally, in the de- cisive battle of Ayacucho, December gth, 1824. 13 CHAPTER VII -^ PARTY DISSENSIONS While the war was progressing in Peru several mat- ters worthy of notice were agitating the Chileans. There were several altercations between Lord Cochrane and the British naval commanders along the coast relative to the detention of alleged British vessels en- gaged in contraband trade. Chilean and Peruvian duties being enormously high, all manner of schemes were resorted to in order to smuggle in cargoes, chief among which was a system of licensing by which Brit- ish vessels were entered ostensibly as of British bot- toms, to escape the patriot navy, but with Spanish supercargoes to escape the tariff. Some of these vessels attempted to run the block- ades and were seized ; this raised a clamor against Lord Cochrane at Valparaiso by British mercantile agents. But his lordship continued to collect duties, and bid defiance to his detractors and the British naval offi- cers on the coast, who opposed him in favor of British commercial interests. Lord Cochrane also encountered considerable diffi- culty in his attempts to secure funds, first from San Martin and afterward from the Chilean government for the payment of his officers and men; and it was 194 THE RE VOL UTIONAR V PERIOD 1 95 only after summary measures on his own part and threats of revolt on the part of his crews, that he was enabled to procure funds with which to meet the arrears. Another event of importance about this time was the assembling of congress in July, 1822. O'Higgins had been led to call this because of the machinations of the aristocracy and the obstructions of the senate which he had appointed. The supreme-director earnestly de- sired that the country, having achieved its indepen- dence, should have a more free and representative form of government. This the aristocracy opposed, and the ministry sympathized with them. O'Higgins urged the necessity of a legislative body, but met with oppo- sition, first on one pretext and then another. It was the beginning of the struggle between liberals and conservatives, and the director keenly felt the grow- ing difficulties of his position. To supply as far as possible the want of a congress, O'Higgins named five influential citizens to form a senate. He hoped that this body would second his views, but instead it soon began to oppose him at every turn, and sought to establish itself a perpetual power. To rid himself of the oligarchy the director appointed its members to foreign missions and other offices, and then summarily summoned a national con- gress. The congress when assembled, employed the time at first in foolish, unimportant discussions. At length a new tariff schedule and constitution were submitted by the minister, Don Jos6 Antonio Rodriguez Aldea, and they occupied the legislative attention until October. The constitution gave to the supreme-director the powers of a dictator and caused much comment and considerable discontent. As the intention of the ig6 A HISTORY OF CHILE tariff law was to prevent smuggling, foreign agents in- veighed as loudly against it as they had against Coch- rane. From O'Higgins to Balmaceda foreign interests in Chile have ever been antagonistic to liberal, progres- sive measures, beneficial to Chile, and have sympa- thized with the oligarchical rule, with the classes against the masses. In this tariff measure, however, the wily Aldea evidently introduced certain features to further his own schemes and speculations; spec- ulations, which, in the course of two years, gave him a large fortune. He would buy up all. the tobacco and then increase the elastic duties, which were altered to suit occasions ; the same was done with spirits, sugar, and other necessary articles of consumption. These malfeasances aroused public indignation, but O'Higgins, imposed upon no doubt, indiscreetly kept the obnoxious Aldea in office. Disappointed in the measures of congress and provoked by the misdeeds of the minister, the Chileans began to show a spirit of discontent and a feeling of ill-will toward the gov- ernment. The devastating earthquake of November igth, 1822, probably increased the dissatisfaction, just as bad crops often affect political issues. Local dissatisfaction had for some time prevailed at Concep- cion in the south and Coquimbo in the north; in the former. General Freire, the military governor, had been refused pay and supplies for his soldiers, and the troops were destitute and their wages twelve months in ar- rears ; in the latter place, the Coquimbans were in want of means to carry on their local government and all the duty on copper shipped from their port was diverted to the treasury in Santiago; restrictions were also made which were considered to be against the interests of their trade and mining industries. General Freire took the initiative at Concepcion, THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 97 assisted by the influential citizens of his district and the old Carrara partisans. The southern provinces were declared independent of the rest of Chile, the laws and constitution of O'Higgins's congress were denounced as illegal, for the reason that Concepcion had not been fairly represented ; the ministers were denounced as conspirators, plotting the ruin of the country. A local congress was assembled which coun- tenanced the measures of the influential citizens. An English emissary was dispatched to Coquimbo with a full account of the proceedings which had taken place in the south, and bearing an invitation to the Coquim- bans to join the movement; another Englishman was sent to Santiago to intrigue with the numerous mal- contents in that city. The governor of Coquimbo was deposed and an old Carrera partisan put in that ofifice ; the province was declared independent and the national congress de- nounced as an illegal body. It is worth)' of remark, however, that it was expressly declared that these measures were not directed against the supreme-direc- tor, but only against his ministers and congress, O'Hig- gins had been Freire's benefactor and hoped that he would be able to put down the revolt with little trou- ble and without a resort to arms. But he overesti- mated his popularity. Freire advanced with troops from the southern cities beyohd the river Maule, and the Coquimbans took up arms in his favor, proceeding toward the capital with a considerable force raised in the north. In Decem- ber, 1822, the northern force came to Illapel and at the beginning of the following year they occupied Aconcagua and Quillota without opposition, On the 28th of January, 1823, a movement took place in the capital. The supreme-director was waited upon iq8 a history of chile : by a committee from the disaffected party, headed by General Guzman, and asked to resign his authority into its hands. This he refused to do, but signified his willingness to resign to any proper and competent authority. He was then asked to yield his authority to a junta composed of Don Agustin Eyzaguirre, Don Fernando Errazuriz and Don Jos6 Miguel Infante. This he did on condition that the new junta should without delay summon a new national congress, to which they should resign their temporary executive authority; and if after six months the difficulties which had separated the disaffected parties from the main government should not be removed, the functions of the junta should entirel)' cease and their power revert to the people. This treat}' was signed by O'Higgins and by Don Mariano Egana, who represented the peo- ple of Santiago. Three citizens were to determine the power of the junta, according to the usual South Amer- ican method of having one body watch and prescribe rules for another; thereupon the junta appointed Don Marian Egana as minister of state and marine, and Don Agustin Vial, minister of finance and war. The junta summoned a congress. It was at this time that both O'Higgins and San Martin prepared to quit the capital, the former going to Valparaiso to embark for Peru, the latter to ^lendoza. Lord Coch- rane had departed for England on the i6th of January, the government owing him some S6o,ooo on account of prize money, according to his claim. When General O'Higgins reached Valparaiso, Gen- eral Freire arrived there on board the "Independencia"' which came conveying two transports bearing 1,500 men. The force was landed and O'Higgins taken into custody, but he was soon released by the request of leading citizens and went on his way. Freire then THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y PERIOD 1 99 marched his troops toward Santiago and issued a pro- clamation, disavowing all intentions of placing him- self at the head of the government and pointing out what patriotic measures, in his opinion, should be adopted. He was as modest as he was ambitious; he encamped with his army at Maypo and kept himself out of the city; he refused and even fled when congress sent a messenger offering him the office of supreme- director; but a more urgent request had the desired - effect. He was as coy as a maiden wishing to be wooed. He became supreme-director. The prosecution of the war had not prevented O'Hig- gins attending to other interests of the young republic. He restored the public library in Santiago and the national university which had been suppressed by the royalists; he created a military academy, prohibited the unhealthy practice of burying the dead in the churches, founded the first cemeteries, constructed markets and boulevards (J>aseos), particularly the paseos in the ca- nada of Santiago, which until then were filled with rub- bish. He gave freedom of commerce which led to a new impetus in trade, protected foreigners and pro- moted agricultural interests. The ancient Maypo canal was completed, and the water obtained from this for irrigating purposes made green fields of the sterile plains. Don Domingo Eyzaguirre engaged actively in promoting the completion of this work and after- ward founded a town upon the plain which he called Bernardo in honor of O'Higgins. O'Higgins managed fairly well the slender means at his disposal, for the revenues of the state were small and inadequate. In the last year of his administration- it was found necessary to negotiate a loan in London of $5,000,000 and Don Antonio Jos6 de Irizarri was sent there for that purpose. He obtained the money 200 A HISTORY OF CHILE and thus began Chile's foreign debt. In effect, Ber- nardo O'Higgins was absolute king of Chile, governing without a constitution, laws or congress, though he himself desired the formation of a federation with a constitution. Despite his splendid services to the state bis. dictatorial position retarded the organization of a constitutional government. There was opposition to this centralized form of government, but while the war lasted, O'Higgins was able to keep the power, aided by the active influence of San Martin, the army, and intriguers who do not reflect much credit upon their superiors. The Carreras and Manuel Rod- riguez fell victims to these intrigues, but in the end the advocates of constitutional and representative gov- ernment forced O'Higgins to abdicate. General O'Higgins was given an estate by the Peru- vian government ; there he passed the remainder of his days, dying at Lima in 1842, eight years before San Martin died in France. :X \0 PART III— THE ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING CHAPTER I THE LIBERALS IN POWER — FREIRE AND PINTO General Freire was renowned and brave as a soldier, courteous as a gentleman, well-meaning as a patriot, liberal as a statesman, but he succeeded no better than O'Higgins in the trying position of supreme-director. A general overhauling of the ministry and an investiga- tion of Rodriguez' robberies took place ; reforms were the order of the day. But as is usual in these recurring spasms of public reform, nothing practical was accom- plished, and affairs under the new liberal government were soon in as disordered a condition as under the old. The public soon discovered that the new order of patriotism effected only a change of men ; pecula- tions, procrastinations, and bad faith still continued in the public offices as during the old regime. Freire adopted the tactics San Martin used in Peru ; he disclaimed personal responsibility ; he refused to act personally upon troublesome questions and re- ferred everything to congress. Congress was as little responsible, for it held its sittings only during a few weeks of the year, and did little else than discuss ques- 202 A HISTORY OF CHILE tions of etiquette when it was in session. A new tariff schedule was constructed, but was soon found to be quite as obnoxious as the old system. Toward the end of the year 1823, a new constitution was promulgated in which it was sought to formulate a representative government without representation, in other words to keep the power in the hands of the oligarchs, and all public offices and officers were to be under the sur- veillance of an aristocratic committee, or of the aristo- cratic senate. The duties of the director, ministers, senators, representatives and other officers, were mi- nutely defined and due guards placed over the official lives of each, while public morals were carefully looked after in the declaration that, "habits, exercises, duties, public instruction, rituals, and pleasures, were to be transformed into laws, laws into customs and customs into civic virtues, and morals." The constitution passed in 1823, was similiar to this, but somewhat less anomalous. The effect and inten- tion was to perpetuate the power of juntas, of the oli- garchical senate, of the rule of aristocrats. The re- result was general dissatisfaction, which was greatly augmented by the failure of an expedition, which Freire directed in person, against the island of Chilo^ to drive the Spaniards from the archipelago. Great preparations were made for the expedition, both the military and naval forces being brought into active service. General Freire took the command, January, 1824, leaving the government in charge of Don Fernando Errazuriz. He landed without opposition on the island with a force of 2,500 men, but instead of advancing at once upon the two principal towns, he divided his forces and sent for- ward one-half against Castro, while the other half pre- pared to advance upon San Carlos. The first division, commanded by Colonel Beauchef, routed the roj'alists ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 203 at Mocopulli, but afterward fell into an ambush, became panic stricken, and fell back in confusion upon the oth- er division. This defeat, with the constant rains pre- vailing, demoralized the whole arm}', which soon em- barked and returned home, June, 1824, having suffered heavy losses. So great was the di«;satisfaction and demoralization prevailing at this time, that the British consul-general, Mr. Nugent, did not think it advisable to recognize the independence and present government of Chile, though he had been sent out for that very purpose. He foresaw plainly enough that the country was on the eve of another revolution. During this time two Spanish men-of-war had ap- peared at the island of Chilo^, having arrived there soon after Freire's departure. It was not until near the middle of the year 1824, that the government at San- tiago gained information of this, and then the news occasioned considerable commotion. General Freire feared an attack upon Valparaiso, and to provide against it as best he could, dispatched a force to that port. He wished to overhaul the old war ships in the port for defensive purposes, but the senate refused to vote the funds. This occasioned a split between the director and the senate, so that he dissolved that body, and set aside the new constitution. Having made himself, in effect, dictator, Freire now ordered the war vessels to be refitted ; this required several months and the pay of the sailors was in ar- rears, so that they refused to do anything until they were paid. Taxes were levied, licenses granted, and a sufficient revenue raised to pay the men a portion of the amounts due them and complete the equipment, the total expense being about ^100,000. Satisfied with this, the fleet put to sea toward the end of the year 204 A HISTORY OF CHILE 1S24, under the command of General Blanco Encalada, in search of the Spanish vessels, which seemed to have had no other reason for staying several months at Chilo6 than that their crews were sick. As soon as their men were well they went on to Peru. Director O'Higgins had sent to Rome the patri- otic canon, Don Josd Ignacio Cienfuegos, to arrange certain ecclesiastical matters and to undertake the work of reuniting the different elements of the Romish church in Chile. He returned in the first part of the year 1824, at the time General Freire was absent on his expedition to Chilo^, and was accompanied by the apostolic vicar, Don Juan Muzi. This person came with full authority from the Pope to act in the pre- mises, bringing with him a secretary, and was accom- panied by the Roman canon, Mastai Ferreti, who some time after became Pope Pius IX. These eminent prelates were received in Chile with some apprehension, as it was reported and generally believed that they served secretly the interests of the king of Spain and the sovereigns of the Holy Alli- ance, who had great influence with the Pope, and that they desired to see a return of the American colonies to their former allegiance to the mother country. The vicar associated much with the bishop of Santiago, Don Jose Santiago Rodriguez, a pronounced royalist, and with others whose sympathies were with the defeated cause of the king. This caused the patriots to look upon him askance and month after month passed, find- ing the government and the vicar more and more out of sympathy, until at last there came a decree from the government removing Rodriguez from the bishopric and installing the patriotic Cienfuegos in the office. Persisting in his opposition, Rodriguez was some time after banished from the country and went to Spain. ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 205 Other decrees followed with a view to regulating eccle- siastical matters, some convents were suppressed, cer- tain religious functions were prohibited and a consid- erable amount of church property was converted to the use of the state. Failing in his mission, Muzi asked for his passports and embarked for Rome, after a resi- dence of eight months in the country. One of the most pressing difficulties with which Freire had to deal, was the depleted condition of the public treasury. He had come into office chiefly because of the dissatisfaction which prevailed by reason of the condition of financial affairs under O'Higgins' admin- istration. Yet even during O'Higgins' six years of rule the resources of the state had been sufficient to balance the expenditures, while very soon under Freire, 1S24, the expenditures amounted to two and one-half mil- lions of dollars, the revenues to but little over a mil- lion. In this trying situation dangerous expedients were, perforce, resorted to, one of which was the confiscation of monasterial property throughout the state, and the application of it to the service of the government. Again, the old monopolies of staples, once sold to pri- vate corporations by the government, the estancos, were resorted to. The interest on the public debt due in London amounted to about ^400,000 a year. To discharge this, the Freire government sold to a com- pany of merchants, landholders and British agents, Portales heading the company, the sole right to import tobacco, to grow it, and to sell it for a period of twenty years. At the end of that time they were to pay off the whole debt ; the government meanwhile was to fos- ter the monopoly by a grant of a half million dollars. A subsequent congress ratified this agreement with the clause left out by which the company agreed to dis- 2o6 A HISTORY OF CHILE charge the principal of the debt at the end of twenty years. Perhaps the reason why that important clause was omitted, may be found in the fact that influential persons in the capital held stock. The company was intolerable to the people and occasioned so much dis- satisfaction that it soon came to fear the results and refused to discharge the obligation. In the following year excitement ran so high that an attempt was made to assassinate two deputies, Don Joaquim Campino and Don Bernardo Vera, both warm friends of Freire. An investigation revealed the fact that several deputies were deep in the plot; this led the government to a determination to avert, if possi- ble, the gathering storm. A proposition was made to congress that it should dissolve and place the supreme authority in the hands of the director. On the i6th of May, 1825, congress did as it was recommended to do, dissolved. An exposition was made by the majority of the legislative body, number- ing nineteen delegates, of the causes which had led to is dissolution. It cited riotous acts which had occurred on the nights of the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th of the month, when armed citizens had appeared at the bar of the house shouting tumultuously, while others out- side were proclaiming the omnipotence of the people and clamoring for the removal of a member who had offended them in a recent speech. These things they de- clared were the flashes preceding the blow, anarchy was fully exhibited, the sanctuary of the law had been pro- faned, the majesty of the people violated in the persons of their representatives. The house, they maintained, had resolved to meet in secret session, but its deliber- ations were further interrupted by the people ; it had adjourned until 10 o'clock the following day, but the disorder still prevailed. On the last day of the session ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 207 there were such scenes that these delegates declared, "We may be permitted, in honor of the country, to pass silently the occurrences which took place within the house that day. They were such that the under- signed, abandoning all hope of a central assembly, de- clared their absolute separation, and retired to com- municate it to their constituents, and resolved unani- mously to notify the executive, recommending to him the public peace, so greatly disturbed." They closed their exposition by expressing regret that they had passed no important laws during their sitting. On the 6th of July, Freire issued a convocatoria, call- ing a congress for September 5th. This was intended to be a general constituent congress composed of pub- lic deputies freely elected by each district, on the basis of one deputy to each i5,o"'oo of population. Six days afterward the director issued a proclamation to the people setting forth the urgent circumstances which had led him again to convoke a general congress. Europe had recognized the independence of Mexico, Colombia and Buenos Ayres, it was desirable that Chile should be so recognized ; the new governments of South America had extended an invitation to assist and prepare a form looking to a general South Ameri- can assembly, the purpose of which was to form a grand pact, or union, of all the states ; the government was embarrassed by the lack of a code and was without authority to establish principles or a policy adapted to the institutions. The director declared that he had no other interest at heart save that of the greatest good of the country, and from motives of delicacy announced that he would withdraw, during the period of the elec- tion, all the governors dependent on the directorial nomination, in order that the slightest influence on the part of the government should not be exercised. 2o8 A HISTORY OF CHILE However, when congress convened it was a mere as- sembly of the province of Santiago; hardly a week had elapsed before it attempted to assume the whole author- ity of the government. On the 13th of September, a pop- ular movement had taken place at Valparaiso, the pur- pose being to pass resolutions censuring some of the measures of the minister of revenue in respect to that port. The government, as a matter of precaution, and to reestablish order and stop the spread of the demon- stration, stationed a body of one hundred cavalry on the road near Valparaiso to await news and observe the result. The Santiago representatives, who were in sympathy with the movement in Valparaiso and had received secret communications from there, gave orders to the government that no force should be sent out. Some altercations took place, when the Santiago rep- resentatives demanded to know whether or not they were recognized by the executive as the congress. The director replied that they v.ere not, and that he would not obey resolutions which they might pass on general affairs. After protracted discussions the representatives de- cided that on the morning of the 7th of October, the magistrates resident in the capital should take an oath of recognition and obedience to them as the only au- thorized national congress. The director then decided to resign his position and quit the capital until the matter could be settled. This he did, withdrawing a distance of five leagues, accompanied by a body of cav- alry. The representatives then named Don Juan Fran- cisco Sanchez supreme-director of the nation. But a majority of the inhabitants of the city adhered to the cause of Freire and issued an address on the 8th, entreat- ing him to return and dissolve the assembly of repre- sentatives, who unlawfully styled themselves the con- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 209 gress. At the same time, they withdrew the power of the seven Santiago representatives and subjected their conduct to the consideration of a commission appointed for that purpose, consisting of eight distinguished citi- zens. Freire was asked to take necessary steps for the public tranquillity and to secure the persons causing trouble and anarchy. A circular was addressed to the people by the govern- ment, setting forth the disturbances as a reason for dissolving the false congress. A measure of security was promulgated, banishing eleven individuals, distin- guished citizens of Santiago, who had been prominent in fomenting the disturbances, and also giving immi- grants who had lately landed from San Juan, disaf- fected chiefs, twenty-four hours to leave Chile. Other ministers were nominated to all the departments of pub- lic business, Campino, foreign affairs, Novoa, war and marine, Benevente, revenue; and the director gave as- surances that another and constituent congress should be soon assembled. On the i2th, the director named in a public decree a body, called the "Consulting Council," composed of the ministers of the government, the president of the supreme court of justice, the chief of the court of appeals, and others, who should sit twice a week and aid him in expediting the serious affairs of state, and agree upon means for the best management of his office. Disorganization had been general and parties had now become more sharply defined. The liberal party, arising originall}' from the reaction against the dicta- torial policy of General Bernardo O'Higgins, formed now diverse factions, such as the federalists, who advo- cated, with Don Jose Miguel Infante as their spokes- man, a federal form of government with the provinces as states, and the pipiolas, who were followers and 2IO A HISTORY OF CHILE admirers of General Pinto. Opposed to the liberals were various factions of the conservatives, clericals, and the O'Higginistas, who dreamed of some day being able to reinstate the illustrious exile in power. Con- servatives were nick-named Pelucones, because that party was composed chiefly of old and venerable per- sons who wore pelucas, or perukes. It was not long before there was a revolt of royalists in the island of Chilo6. Freire with three thousand men, defeated these royalists in the battles of Pudeto and Bella-Vista. The island of Chilo6, like Callao, had long held out in favor of the roj'alists, but on the fifteenth of January, 1826, it capitulated, upon the stipulation being made that it should be received into the republic of Chile as a province and on equal terms with the other provinces, and that the officers and troops of the Spanish army, commanded by General Antonio Quintanilla, might remain in Chile so long as they should desire to do so ; prisoners on both sides were set free. Callao surrendered to the patriots about the same time. There was a strong sentiment on the island in favor of the ex-director, O'Higgms. It was claimed in Chile that the many disturbances on the island had been instigated by exiled Chileans residing in Lima, and by the advice of Bolivar, for the purpose of establishing in Chile a strong centralized govern- ment such as Bolivar was seeking to establish in the northern provinces. Certain it was, that most of the troops in the revolts were blacks from Peru led by Peruvian officers. No doubt there was a strong party in Chile at this time in sympathy with the movement, while on the other hand, there was a strong feeling of jealousy entertained by another parrty against Bolivar. On July 4th, 1826, congress met and continued in session for the uncommon period of one year. It ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 211 received Freire's message and with it his resignation, then appointed Blanco Encalada as provisional di- rector, but after two months Encalada resigned in dis- gust and Freire was reinstated, not, however, until after the vice president, Don Augustin Eyzaguirre, had made a futile attempt to guide the ship of state for a short time. Congress decided to adopt the federal system, as op- posed to the junta system of the Santiago oligarchs, a system which had been attempted by the congresses of 1823 and 1824, but so far without giving satisfaction. It divided Chile into eight provinces, as the probable members of the future confederacy, Coquimbo, Acon- cagua, Santiago, Colchagua, Maule, Concepcion, Val- paraiso and Chilo6. It established provincial assem- blies in the provinces, whose business it should be to ratify the new constitution. It soon became apparent, however, that these assemblies were determined to pro- ceed upon the principle of self-interest and to usurp authority which did not rightfully belong to them. They interposed objections and gave opinions in ad- vance as to what should and what should not go into the constitution. The assembly of Concepcion met late in 1826, prepared a memorial to the general con- gress, strongly representing the total unfitness of the federal system for Chile, and favored the idea of a centralized form of government ; Chile was a nation, not a confederacy of states, it should, therefore, have one, not many assemblies. Later, on the 15th of March, 1827, they again addressed congress to the effect that their delegates were instructed to oppose every scheme for a federal system, as tending against national unity. Coquimbo followed with similar measures, when con- gress refused to listen to further petitions of the kind, as they were clearly in the line of usurpations of au- 212 A HISTORY OF CHILE thority by the provincial assemblies, as those bodies had been created to act only upon such matters as might be presented to them by congress. Congress was in the anomalous position of having created states for the purpose of forming a confederacy and then hav» ing its children dictate terms to it. Santiago went so far as to vote in its assembly that no law passed by congress should be binding upon that province without its consent ; the Colchagua assembly took possession of the national funds in that province and appropriated them according to its own judgment. It was apparent to congress that it must dissolve the provincial assemblies ; yet this could hardly be done and carry out the federal idea. Following its plan of a federation, congress changed the title of the supreme-director to that of president, and created the office of vice president. Friere became, as a matter of course, president; Francisco Anibal Pinto, vice president. But this was not for long. Surrounded by difficulties and seeing no prospect of better things, Freire on the and of May, resigned the presidenc}'. His resignation was referred by congress to a com- mittee, and on the 4th, the committee reported. As the report was considered to be too general, it was sent back to the committee and the next day was reported more specifically; first, they voted to accept the pres- ident's resignation, second, that the vice president should act as the executive, third that the president of the legislative body should signify to General Freire their sentiments of regret. The result was comm.uni- cated to the president, with the accompanying request that he should continue to act until the authority could be regularly committed to the vice president. Pinto was next communicated with and notified that he should fill the office made vacant by Freire's resig- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 213 nation. On the 7th, Pinto sent a note to congress, resigning as vice president and giving his reasons for so doing, the chief reason being that the country was destitute of any laws. His resignation was not accepted, and the president of the house, Elizande, was sent to him with the request that he should appear in the leg- islative hall and take the oath of office as president. We can not be quite sure whether General Pinto was sincere in his resignation, or whether he was merely coquetting, as General Freire had once done. On the following day. May 8th, General Pinto was introduced at the bar of the house. He acceded to the request ot congress, took the oath and made a short address, in which he pointed out that bad laws were the cause of the disorders and asked congress to pass better ones forthwith; to which address Elizande made a fitting reply. Don Jose Miguel Solar was made minister of the interior and foreign relations, (afterward Don Carlos Rodriguez succeeded him,) Don Ventura Blanco of the treasury, Don Jose Manuel Borgono, of war and marine. General Pinto was an officer of distinction as well as a lawyer. He had served in the war of the revolution in South America, not only in Chile but also in the Argentine Republic and in Peru. He had served as minister under Freire and had traveled extensively in Europe. In short, next to Freire, he was the most illustrious citizen of the young republic. He held very decided views of political and social reforms, and was for that reason supported by the liberals, but was ob- jectionable to the conservatives. The last act of this notable congress was to appoint a national committee consisting of eight persons, who were authorized to approve or reject all propositions which the executive might submit, discharging the 214 ^ HISTORY OF CHILE duties of a council for the government and a provi- sional legislative body ad interim. It was also author- ized to draw up the plan of a new constitution on the basis of such general principles as might be agreed upon by the cabildos and provincial assemblies. There had been trouble meanwhile with the old ene- mies of Chile, the Araucanian Indians. They were incited to war by Mariloan, Pincheira, and other old royalists, who, when the patriots had come into power, had taken refuge with the Indians, maintaining after- ward on the frontiers a desultory war of robbery and pillage. Being now hard-pressed (1828) by the Chilean forces under General Borgono and Colonel Beauchef, many of these Spanish refugees living with the Indians made overtures with the government of Chile for a return. Pincheira and many of his followers escaped; the Chi- leans recaptured many of the stolen cattle and set free about three hundred captives. In 1827, Chile had dispatched two war frigates to assist Buenos Ayres in her war with Brazil. One of these was wrecked off Cape Horn and all on board per- ished ; the other put back to Chile, so that the expe- dition came to naught. Considerable excitement followed an affair in a Val- paraiso theatre in the latter part of 1827. A British officer struck a Chilean, and soldiers were called in. One of them touched the officer with a bayonet, when the latter drew his pistol and shot him dead. All the British officers were arrested. Sir John Sinclair, the British admiral, and Mr. Nugent, consul-general, ap- plied to the government for the release of the offi- cers. The authorities were slow in giving up the pris- oners and the admiral landed his marines. Then the British subjects were all released, save the one who ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 215 shot the soldier; he was retained for trial, but was released subsequently. Feeling for a time ran high. On the 5th of April a decree was promulgated mak- ing Valparaiso the capital of the maritime depart- ment, and the port at which foreign men-of-war should receive and answer salutes. Congress was inaugurated August 15th, 1828. It assembled first in Santiago but soon retired to Valpa- raiso. In time a new constitution was adopted which it was hoped would give satisfaction and bring stabil- ity to the government. It was a liberal constitution and unsatisfactory to the conservative party. In July of the following year, 1829, General Pinto resigned, but two months afterward resumed his office, having been reelected in the general elections, which also returned the congress. The new assembly passed diverse laws bearing upon social and political reforms, but the passions of lead- ers and party spirit became more irritated and aggres- sive and made it almost impossible to carry on the government in the regular way. The pelucones, or con- servatives, accused the president and congress of abuses and irregularities, and, unwilling to submit to the successes of the pipiolas, or liberals, began to conspire against them. Pinto divined the gathering storm and a month and a half after his reelection, resigned his office into the hands of the president of the senate, Don Francisco Ramon Vicuna, in the midst of general dis- order, November 2nd, 1829, CHAPTER II THE CONSERVATIVES IN POWER PRIETO AND PORTALES — FREIRE'S REVOLUTION EXPEDITION AGAINST PERU THE BATTLE OF YUNGAY There were rapid changes in the government before the conservatives came into power in 1830. Six pres- idents were elected one after another and one provi- sional junta, consisting of three members, was formed. General Pinto had been called to the presidency with the congratulations of every peace-loving, well-disposed person in Chile, and it was hoped that there would be an end to party dissensions. Pinto was in favor of making Valparaiso a strongly fortified place, of lessen- ing the duties, storage and port charges, and doing away with transit duty. But turbulent times followed. The province of Concepcion undertook to separate itself from the general government, disorders prevailed, rob- beries were of daily occurrence, blood was shed, and foreigners fled to Valparaiso. In 1829, General Prieto started a revolt on the Arau- canian frontier with the army which was stationed tViere under his command. He marched upon the cap- ital where the conservatives organized a provisional junta to conduct the government, disregarding the au- thority of Francisco Vicuna, who had been acting as president from the time of Pinto's resignation. Vicuiia ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 217 went to Valparaiso and thence to Coquimbo, where he confided to General Lastra the command of the regular army. Lastra and Prieto met at Ochagavia, two leagues from the capital, and some indecisive skirmishing took place. Then the two generals held a conference and agreed to lay down arms and to recognize Freire as the head of the government. With this agreement the conservatives would not comply, and, after a few days, Prieto occupied Santiago with his troops and his party proclaimed another junta composed of three of their own adherents, December 22nd, 1829. This conservative junta invited the provinces to send delegates to the capital to form a congress. Having assembled they named as provisional president Don Francisco Ruiz Tagle. Tagle resigned office after a month and a half and his place was filled by Don Tomas Ovalle, the vice president, March 31st, 1830. Six days after, Ovalle named as his minister, Don Diego Por- tales, who had become the leader in the conservative reaction. The new government soon began to perse- cute the liberals and congress declared the proceedings of the former congress null and void. The changes of government were so rapid that a Chilean paper in January of the year 1830, pictures the situation as follows: "We believe that the day is not far distant when the inquiry of every morning will be 'Who is governor to-day?'" While the fighting and plundering continued, busi- ness was almost at a standstill and merchants susj pended payments. A paper dated in May of 1830, stated that the cities of Chile were being plundered by contending generals. In the disturbances, the house of the French consul was stripped. It was, in fact, a time of general Avolt throughout South America. One 2i8 A HISTORY OF CHILE dictator even went so far as to offer a reward of §2,000 for General Bolivar's head. The conservatives having obtained political ascend- ency in Chile, the liberals called upon General Freire to lead them, for their enemies had broken faith and were persecuting them. Civil war followed ; two thou- sand men were killed or wounded for party sake. The decisive battle of Lircay was fought, April 17th, 1830, in which the liberals were led by- Freire, the conserva- tives by Prieto. Freire embarked at Valparaiso and came to Constitucion, from which place he advanced toward Talca. Prieto marched against him. The lib- erals, after great losses, were compelled to quit the field utterly defeated. In the battle the valiant Col- onel Tupper, an Englishman, fell ; Colonel Viel, a French officer, escaped, but was captured near Illapel. Freire was banished from the country and retired to Peru. From that time the conservatives appeared to be strongly intrenched in power. Ovalle died on the 2ist of March, 1831, and General Prieto was named by congress as provisional president until the new elec- tions. General Prieto was elected to the presidency in the early part of 1831, and took his seat September iBth. At the same time the energetic Diego Portales was elected vice president. The civil war brought to a close, the government dispatched General Bulnes against the Pincheiras, who had been ravaging the districts of Chilian, Maule and Colchagua. These desperadoes had enlisted the Pe- huenche Indians with them and in the fastnesses of the lofty Cordillera felt themselves secure. Bulnes penetrated to their camp by Lake Epulauquen, took them by surprise and utterly destroyed them. Another attempt was soon made to draft a new con- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 219 stitution, that promulgated in 1828, being found unsat- isfactory. This was accomplished May 25th, 1833, after two years of animated discussions ; it was a conserva- tive constitution, a "Pelucone" document, and gave the president extensive powers, the powers of a dictator in fact, but still made him a creature of the oligarchy. This constitution, as amended at different times and particularly in 1874, is the organic law of Chile at the present time. It was drawn by Don Mariano Egana, a distinguished jurist. The liberals viewed with cha- grin the successes of their opponents. Three years after the new constitution had been adopted, there was another attempt to overthrow the conservative government. Ex-president Freire had been banished to Peru ; there he watched the course of political events in Chile until he believed the time ripe for a successful revolution. He then hired two war- ships, the "Monteaguado" and "General Orbegoso, " manned them with deserters and Chilean refugees, about eighty in number, and on the 7th of July, 1836, set sail for the island of Chiio6, which he expected to make a safe base for future operations and from which he could cooperate with the revolutionists on the main- land. He intended to have touched at the island of Juan Fernandez and have taken with him the Chileans banished thither by the Chilean government, but there was a mutiny aboard the "Monteaguado" which frus- trated his plans. The crew of that ship imprisoned the officers and took the vessel into Valparaiso harbor, where they turned it over to the Chilean authorities. The government at Santiago now took active steps to counteract Freire's plans and prevent a revolution. Excitement ran high and business was almost entirely suspended. An embargo was laid on Valparaiso. The harbor to that port was protected by gunboats, troops 220 A HISTORY OF CHILE were dispatched south, and the naval forces put into requisition and sent in search of Freire, who was sup- posed to be making his way to Chilo6. These active measures doubtless prevented the revo- lution, which was fully expected in Chile at this time. Freire was seized after landing at Chilo6 and the re- bellion quickly suppressed. In the meantime, busi- ness had suffered greatly and many vessels had been detained in Chilean ports by the embargo. This futile attempt of Freire was the last the old veteran made to recover and reestablish liberal ascend- ency in Chile. The pelucones were now firmly estab- lished in the government. Freire was again banished, but eventually returned to Chile, where he lived apart from politics and died about the middle of the century. It was not forgotten by Chile that Freire had obtained his warships and complement of men and stores in Peru, when he made this last attempt to overthrow the conservative power. It was generally thought that Peru had given him secret aid. There were other griev- ances as well. Peru and Bolivia had formed a confed- eracy under the leadership of General Andres Santa Cruz, the president of Bolivia. The confederacy was formed of Upper and Lower Peru and Bolivia, each with a separate congress and president, but with Santa Cruz at the head. This naturally may have caused feelings of jealousy on the part of Chile. In Peru affairs had been for some time in a turbulent condition. The ambitious Santa Cruz of Bolivia had long since conceived the idea of uniting Peru and Bolivia in a confederacy, with himself as the head. Generals Gamarra and Salaverry in Peru were heading a revolt against the president, Orbegoso, and were on the eve of being successful, when the latter ratified a treaty with Santa Cruz, in June 1835, by which the ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 221 Bolivian president agreed to enter Peru with an army to restore order, Orbegoso, on his part, promising to convoke an assembly to further . Santa Cruz' scheme for a confederacy. Santa Cruz threw an army of 5,000 men into Peru and defeated Ganiarra at Yanacocha near Cuzco, August 13th, 1835, and Salaverry in the battle of Socabaya near Arequipa, February 6th, 1836. Following the battle of Socabaya, the revolutionary leaders, Salaverry, Fernandini, Solar, Cardena, Rivos, Carrillo, Valdivia, Moya, and Picoaga, were condemned and villainously shot in the public square of Arequipa. This bloody affair, perpetrated despite the fact that General Miller, in receiving the surrender of the revo- lutionary chiefs, had guaranteed safety to their persons, turned the Salaverry-Gamarra faction of the Peruvians still more bitterly against the self-styled protector,Santa Cruz ; and, though repressed, the revolutionists bided their time. Gamarra had escaped the massacre, with such officers as La Fuente, Torrico, San Roman, Eles- puru and others and now watched for an opportunity to strike an effective blow. Santa Cruz entered Lima in October 1836, and proclaimed the confederation of North and South Peru and Bolivia. The government of Chile, being at this time in the hands of the wealthy pelucones, found a pretext for war with Peru in the Freire affair, and in the further fact that the town of Arica had been made a free port by the confederacy, which consideration caused vessels to pass the ports of Chile; further it was argued that ad- vantages were given to vessels by Peru which had not touched at any port in Chile, over those which did call at Chilean ports. Portales was the man to take prompt action, but his action can hardly be justified. Avail- ing himself of the disordered condition of affairs in Peru, he dispatched the two war vessels, the "Aquiles" and 222 A HISTORY OF CHILE "Colocolo, " to Callao harbor. Garrido commanded them, and he was as prompt as Portales: he immedi- ately seized the three Peruvian warships lying un- manned in the harbor. This bloodless victory and capture of a nation's fleet occurred on August 21st, 1836. On the nth of November following, Chile de- clared war, but took no active steps until September of the following year. At that time General Blanco Encalada sailed from Valparaiso with eight warships, twenty transports, and 3,500 troops. He landed at Islay and on the 12th of October marched to Arequipa. In this desert city he was cooped up by Santa Cruz's able commander. General Cerdena, who, with an^army of six thousand men, was able to cut off Blanco Encalada's supplies. This forced the latter to capitulate on the 17th of November. The treaty of Paucarpata was signed, the Chileans agreeing not to renew the war and to return the Peruvian fleet. This treaty was made in good faith and Chile should have abided by it. But she did not; she immediately began preparations for a renewal of the contest. The war, however, was unpopular with the liberals ; a mu- tiny broke out, men and oificers allying themselves with the liberals and denouncing the war with Peru. The mutiny was suppressed, but it resulted in the death of Portales, who was shot by the mutineers, June 6th, 1837. , He was reviewing the army stationed at Quil- lota under the command of Colonel Vidaurre. By order of their leader the troops seized the minister, declar- ing that they rose in rebellion against the conservatives because they were opposed to foreign war and were in favor of reestablishing a liberal government. The revolutionists then marched toward the capital but were met and defeated at a place called the Hill of the Baron by militia troops commanded by General Blanco ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING -zi}, Encalada. During the progress of the combat an offi- cer named Florin, who was guarding Portales, com- pelled him to descend from his carriage when he shot him. Vidaurre and the other principal leaders of the riot were apprehended and shot. A second expedition sailed from Valparaiso in July destined for Ancon, where it landed, August 6th. Gen- erals Bulnes and Santa Cruz commanded the army num- bering about six thousand men. This was reinforced by disaffected Peruvians, under Gamarra, and then the Chileans advanced upon Lima. The Peruvian presi- dent, Orbegoso, was defeated at Portada de la Guia. General Bulnes was declared general-in-chief of the allies and the Peruvian general, Gamarra, director- general of the war. Santa Cruz, who had been some- what embarrassed by the defection of his ally, Orbe- goso, pushed forward toward the capital, while Bulnes retreated to Callejon de Huaylas. That the Peruvians did not instantly overwhelm the invaders is not strange, since there were now three factions of them contend- ing for supremacy, the Santa Cruz, Orbegoso and Ga- marra adherents, all determined to rule or ruin. After considerable manceuvering, the destruction of the fleet of the confederacy at Casma by Robert Sirrtp- son, one of Lord Cochrane's old officers, and one severe skirmish on January 6th, 1838, the armies met at Yun- gay, January 20th. Here a sanguinary battle was fought, resulting in a complete victory for the allied Chilean and Peruvian armies, though they lost seven hundred men in killed and wounded. The confederation was broken up, and Gamarra, through Chilean influence, was made provisional president of Peru. Santa Cruz retired from the country and went abroad. Prieto and Portales had been successful in the war against Peru and Bolivia, they had administered the 224 ^ HISTORY OF CHILE government with marked ability, but their pelucone policy was as retrograde and illiberal as could well be imagined in a nation professing to be a republic. Still, as the conservatives claim for this administration, many substantial institutions were built up. A constitution, such as it was, they succeeded in establishing. Liter- ature was fostered, and Chile at this time became the home of several celebrated scholars. Such men as de Mora the poet, Bello the writer on international juris- prudence, Claudio Gay the naturalist, and Gorbea the mathematician, are a glory to the nation. Don Jose Joaquin de Mora was a distinguished Span- ish poet and litterateur, who visited various American countries, writing and teaching. President Pinto gave decided assistance and protection to the school de Mora established, the Liceo de Mora. In opposition to de Mora the pelucones founded the college of Santiago, giving it in charge of Don Andres Bello, a Venezuelan patriot and an old friend of Bolivar. He came from Europe in 1829, and established himself in Chile, becom- ing the highest literary authority in Spanish America^ For thirty-six years he lived in Chile, occupied with jurisprudence, philosophy and literature. Until his death he was at the head of the university; he wrote several notable works. Though holding public ofifice at different times he held aloof from party strife. Claudio Gay came from France, having been engaged as professor for the college of Santiago. The young naturalist undertook many scientific excursions, ob- served closely the natural history of Chile, collected insects, birds, plants, etc, and inaugurated a movement which resulted in the establishment of the public mu- seum of natural history. He examined the archives of the nation and, returning to Europe, wrote and pub- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 225 lished at the cost of the state, his important history of Chile, " Historia fisica i politica de Chile." Don Andres Gorbea, the Spanish mathematician, was for thirty years professor of the exact sciences in the university of Santiago. He had gone there from London with the Chilean minister, Don Mariano Egana. It was at the close of President Prieto's administra- tion, 1841, that William Wheelwright, an American, began to run steamers between Valparaiso and Callao, the first in the Pacific. An English company was formed which afterward put the two steamers, the "Chile" and the "Peru," on the line between Valpa- raiso and Callao, and later still ran them to Panama. Wheelright also projected the railroad from Caldera to Copiapo, which was the first line constructed in South America, and undertook other important works that have made his name celebrated in both Chile and Argentina. The Chileans have honored his memory with a fine statue in Valparaiso. After the expatriation of the bishop, Rodriguez, the apostolic vicar, Don Manuel Vicufia, governed for a time the diocese of Santiago. He was humane and charitable. The distinguished patriot priest, Jos6 Ig- nacio Cienfuegos, was made bishop of Concepcion. At the close of Prieto's administration an archbishopric was established in Santiago and bishops appointed for La Serena and Ancud; this was done by special decrees of Pope Gregory XVI. Vicuna was made first arch- bishop in 1841, but died after two years. The dean, Don Jos6 Alejo Ej'zaguirre, succeeded Vicuna and held the office one year when he resigned. Don Rafael Val- entine Valdivieso, a lawyer, was, in 1848, consecrated as archbishop and held the office for the long term of thirty years. The bishoprics of La Serena and Ancud were not long maintained. 226 A HISTORY OF CHILE In the last year of Prieto's administration Chile had become an attractive market for European wares. Dur- ing the month of January, 1840, alone, seventy foreign vessels entered Valparaiso with goods. Prices in con- sequence declined. American flour, sugar, domestics, English goods of all kinds, declined in price to nearly home cost. The market was soon overstocked, a ben- efit to the Chilean consumers, though a matter of much complaint among the foreign merchants and tradesmen. The president's message to congress on July 26th, 1840, gave the revenues of Chile for the closing j'ear at ^2,289,108, expenditures Ji, 700,000. This was a good showing for the finances, and ^200,000 was remit- ted to London to pay interest on foreign bonds. New customhouses were erected at Valparaiso during the year at a cost of Jioo,ooo, CHAPTER III THE ADMINISTRATION OF BULNES THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT MONTT THE CIVIL WAR OF 1 859 General Manuel Bulnes was naturally the hero of Chile after having defeated Santa Cruz at Yungay. Chile adores her military heroes and cherishes their memories with national pride. Bulnes had fought at Maypo, at Ochagavia, at Lircay, and also against Bena- vides and the Pincheiras. General Prieto, the hero of Lircay, had been sufficiently honored by two terms in the presidency, he was now succeeded by General Bul- nes, who was a pelucone and a military hero of the old school, like his predecessor. He was a man of good judgment and made up in natural qualifications what he lacked in high birth and education. The new president was inducted into his high office in September, 1841, and immediately honored his asso- ciate in the late war, General Cruz, with the war port- folio. He formed his cabinet by naming leaders of different factions and parties for the different depart- ments; Don Manuel Montt was made minister of pub- lic instruction and justice, Don Manuel Renjifo, of foreign affairs. With such men at the head of the government mil- itarism and peluconism were paramount, although Bul- nes began his administration by declaring a general 228 A HISTORY OF CHILE amnesty toward political offenders and inviting exiles to return. The policy of the administration was pelu- cone so far as liberal and republican sentiments were concerned. Although the government was at first con- ciliatory it soon began persecutions and became as ret- rograde and oppressive as under Prieto. Prieto had encouraged literature of a kind bearing the aristocratic stamp and Bulnes continued the policy. The new universit}' at Santiago was inaugurated by Minister Montt in 1843. Don Andres Bello, the author of a well known work on the law of nations, was in- stalled as first rector. The members of this state institution were authorized to prepare a national his- tory; Bello was intrusted with the task of writing a civil code, a work of which Chile stood much in need. Schools were also established for teaching the differ- ent branches, such as agriculture, navigation, art and music. Literary periodicals appeared at this time and pro- moted a new zeal for literary and educational affairs; religious matters came to be discussed with much warmth, for there were outspoken sceptics who were not backward in expressing their ideas; considerable attention was given to art, particularly after the arrival of the celebrated French painter, Monvoisin ; a new impetus was given to theatrical matters by the intro- duction of lyric operas. Argentine exiles, escaping from the tyrann}' of Rosas, contributed with their pens to the literary awakening. One of these, Don Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, became in time the principal of the normal school, which was established in Santiago for the purpose of preparing competent teachers for educational work. The school of arts, when established, was given in charge of a Frenchman, Jariez. The Neapolitan painter, ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 229 Cicarelli, was also invited to come to Chile at the time the academy of music was founded. Extensive buildings were erected for educational purposes, a naval school was started, a school of agriculture founded, and a department of education created in the govern- ment. A Frenchman, Pissis, was given in charge the work of preparing a topographical chart of Chile and making a geological survey. These commendable efforts were chiefly due to the zeal of Manuel Montt. It was at this time that German colonists were first induced to settle in Valdivia. The discovery of gold in California opened a' market for Chilean wheat and flour and gave a new impetus to commerce and agriculture. Wheat began to be grown extensively for the Californian and Australian markets and brought exorbitantly high prices. The mines of Copiapo began to yield their inexhaustible wealth, the Chaiiarcillo mine having been discovered some years before by Juan Godoi. Prosperity brought a large in- crease in the public revenues and the future of Chile seemed bright. But California and Australia began to grow wheat, and the prices of minerals steadily de- clined. Seven or eight years later a financial panic ensued which brought Chile to the verge of bankruptcy. A colony was established in 1843, on the Straits of Magellan, for the purpose of occupying the bleak and uninhabited countries of the south and promoting the interests of navigation. This colony, Punta Arenas, was some years later, 1851, the scene of Cambiaso's re- bellion — a fierce fellow, an officer of the garrison, who perpetrated most horrible cruelties for which he paid the penalty on the gallows in Ancud. The foreign debt was consolidated and found to be something over eight millions of dollars. Interest had not been promptly met; this was now capitalized, and 230 A HISTORY OF CHILE afterward paid promptly for several years. At this time the internal debt was about four millions of dollars. General Bulnes' administration was firm during his first term, and gave stability to Chilean institutions. It is barren of military incidents for the reason that the country enjoyed peace, and now began, after the first formative dissensions during the time the young republic was learning self-government, to become pros- perous under a constitution and more stable laws. People began to turn their thoughts to other matters than war. In 1846, General Bulnes was elected president for a second term and again sought to carry out his plan of conciliation. His minister. Vial, gave some assurances to the liberals, who had been outspoken in their oppo- sition. These reform tendencies alarmed the pelucones. Josd Joaquin Perez, Antonio Garcia Reyes and Man- uel Antonio Tocornal, were taken into the cabinet. They were moderate conservatives. But they were soon obliged to give up their places to conservatives more conservative. The liberals had a majority in the congress of 1849, and an agitated session was the result. The government influence, however, and the want of discipline and harmony in the ranks of the opposition soon caused the liberal majority to disappear. But the conservatives were well aware of their own waning in- fluence with the people, and to hold power again re- sorted to violent repressions and prepared to elect as Bulnes' successor a president who would make no com- promises. That man was Manuel Montt, and he was ably seconded in his presidential candidacy by Don Antonio Varas of the ministry. To oppose the combi- nation favoring the interests of Montt, the liberals formed a society in Santiago called La Igualdad (The Equality), the leading spirit of which was Don Fran- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 231 Cisco Bilbao. One night while the society was hold- ing a meeting a party of administration sympathizers entered the room and dispersed the members. In 1851, Don Manuel Montt, Bulnes' able minister, of justice and public instruction, was elected president, but not without strong opposition. The liberals, en- raged at the treatment they had received, determined to make a strong fight to regain ascendency and nomi- nated as their candidate General Jos6 Maria de la Cruz, who had fought with General Bulnes at Yungay and had been his late minister of war. The efforts which the contending parties made to win in the forthcoming elections led to a revolt and armed conflicts, nearly amounting, in fact, to a revolution. The first clash came in April, the liberal forces being commanded by Colonel Urriola. There was a severe conflict with the government forces at Santiago during Holy Week, in which Colonel Urriola lost his life and between two and three hundred were killed and as many more wounded before the insurrection was put down, April 20th. In September the revolution broke out afresh, first in Coquimbo. afterward in Concepcion, headed by Gen- eral Jos6 Maria de la Cruz in person, the defeated liberal candidate. There were several unimportant combats, in which the revolutionists were usually vic- torious. But government money was freely used and intrigues were rife. Extraordinary powers were given to the president and General Bulnes was assigned the command of the government forces. The commerce and industries of the country were paralyzed and suf- fered untold injuries in these wars of the factions. For more than two months the struggle continued, then came the decisive battle of Loncomilla on December 8th, 1851. It was a hard fought, bloody struggle. 232 A HISTORY OF CHILE Cruz was defeated, and afterward, in a conference with Bulnes, he and his troops laid down their arms. The revolution was crushed, but in this factional strife more than four thousand men yielded up their lives. This formidable revolt shows well the strength and energy of the liberals at this time, and the government wisely granted a general amnesty to the defeated in- surgents. Under President Montt the country made considera- ble material advancement. In May, 1851, a new tariff had been adopted by which differential duties on goods were abolished. This measure gave great satisfaction to one class of the people, the consumers, if it did not tend to improve the revenues. The new civil code which Bello was to prepare was soon given to Chile; tribunals of commerce were organized; a discount and deposit bank was established at Valparaiso ; later, Jan- uary ist, 1856, a bank was founded to loan money on real estate. A law was passed, with the assent of the church, to convert church tithes into a tax; a law was also passed to reorganize municipal institutions. Money was now for the first time coined on the decimal plan, the Spanish S5'stem being discarded. A bill was introduced in 1854, to readmit the Jesuits, and Capuchines were invited to establish missions among the Araucanians. Treaties of commerce were concluded with France, with Sardinia, and with the United States, Great Britain and the Argentine Republic. Public libraries were established and schools multiplied. The tele- graph was introduced. A railway between Valparaiso and Santiago was projected, the government subscrib- ing $2,000,000 for the purpose; gas was introduced into the cities, the extensive coal mines of Lota and Coronel were opened, Puerto Montt was founded, and other colonies of Germans were induced to settle in ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 233 the southern provinces. A political alliance, for mu- tual protection against attacks from abroad, was formed with Peru and Ecuador in 1856, Costa Rica soon after joining it. President Montt was elected to a second term in 1856; the elections for congress in 1858 were also carried by the government, though opposed by both the con- servative and liberal parties. But Manuel Montt, with his favorite minister Varas, who was to him what Por- tales had been to Prieto, governed Chile with pitiless severity. All attempts to introduce more progressive political institutions than such as tended to improve Chile for aristocrats, were summarily suppressed, while many leading liberals were driven from the country. Montt and Varas were the apostles of government by the classes, and they openly defied congress when con- gress was not in harmony with them. They formed'a new party in Chilean politics, the Montt-Varistas, be- lieving in aristocratic government, though allied at times with both the conservatives and the liberals. Against this iron government insurrections at last broke out in several places. The government's meas- ures of repression, made more odious by a law which placed the cities largely under the political control of the government, gave great dissatisfaction. For a time the clergy and the president had acted in harmon}', but a question arose which in the end ar- rayed the church against him. The expulsion of a sac- ristan from the cathedral gave rise to a dispute which caused two leading prelates, suspended by ecclesias- tical autliority, to have recourse to the supreme court. The court gave a decision which the archbishop dis- credited and with which he would not comply. This was the venerable Valdivieso. The government was enraged and would have banished the archbishop, per- 234 A HISTORY OF CHILE haps, but the latter left for Europe of his own accord. This caused a rupture between the clergy and the gov- ernment and the former was joined by the pelucones, dissatisfied now with the president they had elected. There were many citizens imprisoned or banished for political offenses, which the opposition now sought to have returned to civil rights. Some of the pelucones joined with the liberals and passed a general am- nesty law through congress, in spite of the protests of the government. This still farther separated the pelucones from the government. A new ministry was formed with Salvador, San Fuentes, and other leading liberals, as members, and for a time the agitation subsided. But at the end of three months the new ministers resigned and the opposition became pro- nounced. The subsequent elections which soon followed (1858),- increased the political ferment. For a time liberals and conservatives laid aside their ancient differences and united in opposition to the government. The pres- ident determined upon more stringent and repressive measures ; newspapers were suppressed, meetings dis- persed and leaders apprehended. The liberals insisted upon a revision of the constitution, making it more democratic in some of its provisions. A meeting was called in the capital, having for its object the forma- tion of a club to agitate the question of constitutional revision. The government prohibited the meeting and apprehended those who assembled in pursuance of the call, December 12th. A state of siege was declared and repressive measures were more strenuously enforced. The result was a revolution, fomented by the liberals and abetted by many of the old pelucones. Copiapo, Talca, Talcahuano, San Felipe and Putaendo joined the revolutionists. The government had the army and the ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 235 resources of the nation with which to combat the op- position. Talca was taken, also San Felipe, which was sacked by the government's troops. The revolution in the south was soon suppressed. For four months, during the year 1859, the civil war raged in the north with fury. Five thousand men fell, victims to party strife. Pedro Leon Gallo, a young, rich and popular leader, commanded the liberal forces. He occupied Copiapo, where he raised an army of one thousand men and defeated the government forces under Colonel Silva Chavez in the battle of Los Loros, March 14th, 1859. Then he entered and occupied Coquimbo and La Serena. By these successes he gained consid- erable popularity for the revolutionary cause. Another attempt was soon made by the opposition to organize in the south. One thousand men attacked Chilian, but were repulsed. This crushed the rebellion in the south and enabled the government to dispatch addi- tional troops to the north. In the following month, April 29th, another battle was fought, that of Cerro Grande, at La Serena. Gen- eral Juan Vidaurre commanded the government troops, an army of four thousand men ; Gallo led the liberals, numbering not over two thousand. Gallo was defeated and his troops routed and dispersed. The leader, with seven hundred of his men, crossed the Cordillera to San Juan ; Le Serena and Copiapo were then occupied without resistance. In September there was an outbreak at Valparaiso, but this, after considerable bloodshed, was suppressed ; the intendente, General Vidaurre, the hero of Cerro Grande, was killed in the riot September i8th. Then followed a general banishment of leading liberals, such as Gallo, 'N'icufia Mackenna, Santa Maria and many Others. Some retired to Peru ; others went to Europe 236 A HISTORY OF CHILE and there patiently awaited the time when there should be a change of the government before they could hope to return in safety to their native soil. A law, called the law of civil responsibility, was passed after much opposition, and by its terms citizens taking part in riots and revolutions must answer with their persons and their property for damage caused. So long, therefore, as Montt was at the head of the government, political refugees dared not show their faces in Chile. Congress passed the new civil code drawn by Bello, which had long been under consideration, toward the close of Montt's administration; also commercial and penal laws, and rules for court proceedings. Educa- tional matters still continued to occupy the attention of the government, public works were completed and new undertakings essaj'ed. A companj', in coopera- tion with the government, pushed forward a railroad toward the south as far as Rancagua. To complete the railroad between Valparaiso and Santiago, the gov- ernment obtained a loan in Europe of $7,000,000. The revolution retarded the work so that the line was not completed until 1863. Varas had some time before resigned from the min- istry, but it was well known that his counsels still pre- vailed with the administration. The names of Montt and Varas go down to posterity together, both eulo- gized and condemned. Naturally the party of the ad- ministration wished Montt's successor to be the able ex-minister. But it was forseen that his canvass would meet with stubborn resistance and might result in de- feat, or even in a new revolution. Varas, therefore, re- fused to be the official candidate and Jos6 Joaquin Perez was selected in his place. Having lived some years apart from politics, Perez would arouse few an- tagonisms and for that reason was at this time an avail- able candidate. CHAPTER IV THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT PEREZ OUTBREAK OF THE ARAUCANIANS — CHURCH QUESTIONS THE WAR WITH SPAIN Don ]os6 Joaquin Perez succeeded Montt as presi- dent. He was a diplomatic statesman who had studied politics in Europe and was not committed to strong views. The civil rebellion which had been but recently put down at the cost of so much blood, had quelled, but had by no means annihilated, the liberal party. Perez found it strong enough, clamorous for political and constitutional reforms and opposed to the iron rule of Manuel Montt and his party of nationals, who were only a little less conservative than the pelucones. There were also the advanced liberals — the radicals, or "reds, " as they were called — under the leadership of Gallo and the Matta brothers. Perez entrusted power to a coalition of the moderate liberals and conserva- tives, aiming by this to effect a fusion of those ele- ments. This soon led to an alliance between the Montt- Varistas and the "reds." The new president had been almost unanimously elected, receiving two hundred and fourteen out of two hundred and sixteen of the electoral votes.* Two votes *The electoral college in Spanish-American countries is usually dominated by the president and party in power. The electors are chosen by the people by bal- 237 238 A HISTORY OF CHILE were absent, but would, it is said, have been cast for him had they been present. The electors had been chosen on June 5th ; on July 25th, they met and bal- loted, and on August the 30th, the assembled chambers opened the returns and made formal announcement of the result. On September i8th, 1861, the president- elect took his seat. Senor Perez belonged to one of the first families of Chile, and began his political career in 1829, as secre- tary of legation in France. He had been sent as a special envoy to Buenos Ayres to effect an alliance with Rosas when Chile was at war with Bolivia, and had since that time been in the state council, minister of finance, of the interior, of foreign affairs, president of the chamber of deputies and of the senate. Preceding his election to the presidency, he had been some time out of active politics. His political training had well qualified him for the difficult position in which he was now placed. He formed his cabinet partly of conservatives, partly of moderate liberals. He had barely been installed in office when he proposed to the chambers a general law of amnesty toward the late liberal leaders, which was adopted unanimously on October 8th, 1861. This conciliatory policy, however, met with the usual result of all such attempts; the statesman who tries to conciliate is generally regarded with distrust, if indeed, he does not come to be cordially hated by all factions. lot, but the fact that there are property and educational qualifications reduces the number of voters in comparison with the population, so that elections are more easily controlled. Thus it happens that the governmen t can usually carry any elec- tion, and the opposition, unless strong, makes but a slight showing, or none at all. Unless the party out of power feels confident of being able to develop consider- able strength it refrains from voting and the electors are chosen almost unani- mously by the party in power. It is this which so frequently causes revolutions in Spanish-American states. A party in power can rarely be defeated in any other manner. New laws have been passed from time to time intended to remedy the defect, but so long as the voting population continues to be limited, so long will aspiring leaders precipitate revolutions, for the ballot can at no time be said to represent the will of the people. ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 239 The president's policy was now attacked by all parties, but the most savagely by the nationals, or Montt- Varistas, and this led in June to a change in his cabinet. The new cabinet, appointed on June 20th, 1862, was also composed of liberals and conservatives. Manuel Tocornal was made minister of the interior and of foreign affairs, Victorino Lastarria, of finance, Miguel Guemes, of justice, Marcas Maturano, of the war and navy departments. Two years later Tocornal and Las- tarria were succeeded by Alvaro Covarrubias and Ale- jandro Reyes. One of the first acts of President Perez' adminis- tration was an attempt to open negotiations with the Araucanians, for the purpose of bringing the Indians of the southern provinces into closer relations with the government. The governor of Nacimiento was charged with this undertaking. The Indians, however, stub- bornly refused to negotiate. Their head toqui, Guen- tecol, wrote President Perez a haughty letter, and the chiefs of the nation refused to meet commissioners in a council A singular turn was now given to the affair. Living among the Indians was a Frenchman, M. de Tounens, who induced them to believe him capable of defending them against the Chileans. They elected him head toqui, or king, with the title of Aurelie Antoine I. and framed a constitution. King Aurelie caused considerable amusement in Chile for a time, but his majesty soon gave the government so much uneasiness that it was found expedient to de- vise means to rid the country of him. A plan was ar- ranged in 1862, and the king was seized by disguised Chilean policemen, who mounted him upon a horse and compelled him to go with them, though his loyal sub- 240 A HISTORY OF CHILE jects were in hot pursuit. His majesty was afterward confined in prison. Congress assembled in June, and the president's mes- sage noted reforms, and made numerous promises. Some difficulty was experienced over the ownership of some guano fields lately discovered off the coast of Me- jillones. By the law of 1842, the government claimed the discoveries as public property. Subsequently it granted licenses to load vessels under certain restric- tions, which tended to allay public dissatisfaction. At the beginning of the year 1863, a claim was pre- sented by the British representive for ^50,000 damages on account of the loss of an arm by a young man named Whitehead, who had had some difficulty with a sentry during the late revolution. The attempt to enforce the claim excited the greatest indignation, and the British merchants of Valparaiso met to the number of four hundred, and denounced it as most unjust. Then the English government consented to modify the claim. At the latter end of the year 1863, December 8th, a sad calamity occurred in a Jesuit church at the capital, which for a time caused great excitement. There was an evening service, and the huge cathedral, crowded with over three thousand persons, was brilliantly lighted and covered from floor to ceiling with ornamental de- signs of gauze, canvas and pasteboard. The decora- tions caught fire and the whole interior was instantly in a blaze, the flames enwrapping the people, who were unable to escape, as there was but one door and it was soon blocked up. In a few minutes two thousand people had perished, though on the outside every effort was made to rescue them. This terrible calamity caused the government to issue an order that the church should be razed to the earth, and a legislative act was passed to the effect that no ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 241 illumination should be henceforth permitted. It also led to the formation of an effective fire brigade. In the year 1863, President Perez opened the rail- way between Valparaiso and the capital, a road which had cost ^12,000,000. A railway was also put in oper- ation at Coquimbo, and a telegraph to Panama was projected. Montt had let the contract for the comple- tion of the Santiago- Valparaiso line to Henry Meiggs, an American, and he had finished the work in two years. The Chilean legislature took an active interest in the dispute between Spain and Peru, and there was considerable discussion at this time of the advisability of aiding Peru. Congress went so far as to prohibit Spanish war vessels from coaling in Chilean ports, and in view of the possibility of trouble with Spain, in- creased the estimates for the ensuing year by $2,000,000, the greater part of which was intended for the navy. The government adopted active measures to aid col- onization and appointed a commission, which met on the 25th of December, and formulated plans for induc- ing foreign immigration. A German colony at Puer- to Montt had become so flourishing that they now had a town of over 15,000 population; beside this a num- ber of other settlements of foreigners had sprung up in the south. About this time, March 7th, 1864, the engineer, Du- rois made his famous report in favor of the practica- bility of constructing a railway over the Andes by way of the Uspallata pass. He estimated that it could be built in four years and at a cost of $8,000,000. The Uspallata pass is thirteen thousand feet above the sea, yet this railroad has been built over it. In the month of July, 1865, an exciting debate was begun in the Chilean congress respecting the amend- ment of the fifth article of the constitution, which read 16 242 A HISTORY OF CHILE as follows : "The religion of the republic of Chile is the Roman Catholic, to the exclusion of the public exercise of any other. " The debates terminated in a manner highly gratifying to the liberal party, notwith- standing the full strength of the clerical party was marshalled in opposition. The law as amended, permits worship by other denominations within buildings be- longing to private persons or organizations, and further permits dissenters to establish and sustain private schools for the instruction of their children in the doc- trines of their faith. As a matter of fact, the liberal elements of Chile have made the republic as religiously, socially and politically free as any republican living there could wish ; and this evolution has been accom- plished though at every step opposed by most bitter prejudices. The Peruvian government had become involved in a serious difficulty with Spain in the spring of 1864. The Spanish government had sent an envoy, Seiior Eusebio Mazarredo, to Peru to arrange certain diplomatic ques- tions arising out of the killing of two persons and the wounding of four others at Talambo, in a difficulty be- tween Peruvians and some Basque colonists who had a short time before arrived from Spain. The matter was under adjudication in the Peruvian courts, which are proverbially slow, when this interference was made. Senor Mazarredo insisted upon being recognized as "royal commissary," a peculiar title not very satisfac- torily explained, and the Peruvian government would treat with him only as "confidential agent." This en- raged Mazarredo, and forthwith he seized upon the Chincha guano islands, April- 14th, 1864, claimed S3, 000, 000 indemnification, and took other high-handed measures, in conjunction with Admiral Pinzon of the Spanish fleet, to insult the government and retaliate ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING M3 upon the Peruvians, whose independence he declared had never been recognized, although Spain had tardily signed a treaty of recognition with Peru in 1853. The active sympathy which Chile manifested for Peru in this difficulty with Spain, the Spanish Admiral Pereja afterward declared to be a breach of interna- tional comity. Considerable diplomatic discussion had taken place and in May an arrangement of the matter had been reached with San Salvador de Tavira, Span- ish Charge d' Affaires in Chile, who deemed an explan- atory note which the Chilean government transmitted to him as a sufficient amende honorable. The home gov- ernment, however, recalled its representative on July 25th, 1865, and disapproved of his conduct. In Sep- tember Admiral Pereja, who had succeeded Pinzon in the command of the Spanish fleet, sailed into Valpa- raiso harbor (September 17th, 1865), and notified the government of the non-approval of Tavira's settlement of the affair, and demanded immediate reparation, threatening to begin hostilities in case of a refusal. He formulated his complaints, which were to the effect that Chile had not made reparation, or sufficient apology, for certain insulting cries and threats uttered against Spain in front of the house occupied by the Spanish legation, that the publication of the paper called the "San Martin" had been allowed, and that it had con- stantly filled its columns with abuse of Spain, and further, that the Peruvian war steamer "Lerzundi" was allowed to coal and enlist men in Valparaiso, while coal was refused Spanish vessels. Satisfactory explanations were demanded within four days for each of the grievances above enumerated and a salute of twenty-one guns by the Chilean forts to the Spanish flag. Otherwise, the admiral declared that he would feel himself bound to use force and to obtain 244 ^ HISTORY OF CHILE indemnification. The minister of foreign affairs replied at length to this as he had previously done to Senor Tavira, disclaiming that the riot before the Spanish legation was an insult to the Spanish flag, declar- ing that the paper "San Martin" had been publicly re- buked by the president, and that with respect to the coaling of the Peruvian vessels, the decree had been issued at a time when no state of open hostilities was supposed to exist between Spain and Peru, while, on the other hand, such a state did certainly exist when the Spanish vessels were refused the privilege, so that coal was then contraband. The minister closed by peremptorily refusing the proposal for the humiliating salute of the Spanish flag. Pereja then issued a second ultimatum, September 22nd, declaring that unless his demands were complied with all diplomatic relations would be severed by the 24th, and that he would afterward seek indemnification with the force at his command. To this Chile replied that she would hold Spain responsible for all damage sustained by her if such a course were pursued. Efforts were made by the foreign diplomatic corps in Santiago to dissuade Pereja from the course he was about to take, but without avail, as his intentions evidently were to provoke a quarrel. Then the Chilean congress pre- pared for war. A war loan of $20,000,000 was author- ized, and powers granted the president for raising troops and obtaining war vessels. Agents were dis- patched to the United States and to Europe to pro- cure munitions of war. Admiral Pereja's fleet consisted of seven vessels in the ports of Chile, carrying altogether one hundred and sixty-seven guns, and one, the ironclad frigate "Numancia, " of forty guns at Callao. With these he undertook to blockade some forty ports, but yielding ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 245 subsequently to the remonstrances of the diplomatic corps against the legality of the blockade the admiral soon confined it to six. He failed even to enforce a blockade against six ports and reduced the number to four, viz : Caldera, Coquimbo, Valparaiso and Talca- huano. On November 26th, the Chilean war steamer, "Es- meralda," captured the Spanish gunboat "Covadonga" off Papudo after an engagement of thirty minutes, in which two Spaniards were killed and fourteen wounded. About one hundred and sixteen prisoners were taken, including six or seven officers. Don Juan Williams Ro- bolledo,the commander of the "Esmeralda," was reward- ed for his bravery by promotion. A Spanish launch mounting one gun, was also captured about this time by the "Independencia, " a Chilean tug steamer m'ounting two guns. These two boats, the "Esmeralda" and "Inde- pendencia," constituted at this time Chile's entire fleet. These disasters so discouraged Admiral Pereja that he committed suicide, November 28th, and was suc- ceeded by Commodore Mendez Nunez, of the "Numau- cia. " Nunez immediately raised the blockade of all the ports, except those of Valparaiso, and Caldera; against these he attempted to make it effective. A few days after this on December 5th, Senor Santa Maria, who had been sent to Peru to conclude an offen- sive and defensive treaty with that nation against Spain, accomplished the result and the treaty was formally ratified by the Chilean congress on January 14th, 1866. President Pezet of Peru had been temporizing with the Spaniards; he was now supplanted by Prado in the presidency, and the latter formally declared war be- tween Peru and Spain. Sometime after Ecuador and Bolivia entered the alliance. The Spaniards had thus far accomplished little in 246 A HISTORY OF CHILE their offensive operations along the Chilean coast, ex- cept the capture of eight or ten merchant prizes. So soon as the treaty between Chile and Peru had been signed the fleets of the two republics united near the island of Chilo6, where they sought a place of safety, not being able to cope with their powerful adversaries. Near the north end of the island in the harbor of San Carlos, an engagement took place, February 7th, between six of the small vessels of the allied squadron, assisted by the shore batteries, and two vessels of the Spanish fleet, the "Villa de Madrid" and "Blanca."' After two hours of long-range cannonading, the latter vessels withdrew to Valparaiso. No great damage was sustained by either side. Considerable diplomatic effort was made in March to bring about peace, the American minister, Kilpat- rick,and Commodore Rodgersof the United States navj', usingtheir best efforts toward that end. Chile demanded an unconditional abandonment of the war ; Admiral Nu- nez insisted upon certain requirements, to the effect that Chile should disclaim any intention to insult Spain, that she should give up the "Covadonga" in exchange for the twelve prizes captured by the Spaniards, and that there should be reciprocal salutes. Chile refused, and Nunez proceeded to carry out a threat he had pre- viously made to bombard Valparaiso, in case the Chi- leans did not accede to his terms. Valparaiso was defenseless and the foreign residents and ministers protested earnestly against the barbar- ous measure, but Nunez carried his threat into execu- tion, perhaps by direction of his government. On the 31st of March, 1866, he bombarded the city for three and one-half hours, sparing nothing within range of his guns. Over ten millions of dollars worth of pro- perty was destro5'ed, nine millions of which belonged ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 247 to foreigners. A manifesto was prepared by all the consuls resident in Valparaiso and transmitted to their respective home governments; in this the bombardment was severely denounced. The blockade of Valparaiso was raised on the 14th of April, and the Spanish fleet sailed north to begin the blockade of Callao. On the 2nd of May an action took place between the fleet and the Callao batteries which resulted in the repulse of the attack. The Span- ish fleet retired to the island of San Lorenzo just out- side the harbor. Nufiez was wounded in the engage- ment and afterward died of his wound. Galvez, the Peruvian minister of war, was killed in a magazine explosion, during the attack. Soon after the war was abandoned and the Spanish fleet withdrew, but it was a long time before the matter was settled on a peace basis. The Chilean government now issued a decree order- ing all Spanish residents in the republic to quit the country or take out naturalization papers ; this resulted in a large number of Spaniards becoming citizens. Those who were not willing to submit to the decree retired to Buenos Ayres. The presidential election of this year was not marked by any unusual circumstance, and resulted in the re- election of President Perez by a majority of two-thirds of the electors. The radicals of the liberal party and the nationals, or Montt-Varistas, sought to create an effective opposition by charging that the president and his war minister, Fredrico Errazuriz, had not brought the war with Spain to a satisfactory conclusion, for the matter was in abeyance a long time afterward ; that ships which had been purchased in the United States for the war had been sold to merchants at a great sac- rifice when actual hostilities had ceased'; that the for- 248 A HISTORY OF CHILE tifications constructed in Valparaiso had largely in- creased the war debt, which amounted to over $20,000,- 000. These were the arguments, and they Were vigor- ously combated by the coalition of conservatives and moderate liberals which supported the government, and with so much effect that the candidate of the na- tionals, the old hero Bulnes, was easily defeated. In January, the United States minister, General Kil- patrick, sought to bring about peace by prevailing upon Chile to submit her controversy with Spain to the me- diation of the United States. Chile would consent only under certain conditions and the matter was soon abandoned. Spain, she maintained, had acted in a manner wholly imjustifiable in occupying the Chin- cha islands on the 14th of April, 1864, and in blockad- ing the ports of Chile on the 25th of September, 1865; Chile would not, therefore, renounce the reparation which she claimed Spain should make her. Hostilities were not resumed, and so far as Chile was concerned, the war only existed on paper from that time. Urged at last in i86g, by Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, Chile consented to submit the whole matter according to a plan previously suggested by the United States, namel}', that plenipotentiaries from all the belligerent nations should meet in Washington U. S. A. and compromise their differences, the president of the United States acting as mediator. So the war, which was begun with- out reason, ended with no satisfactory results to any of the nations engaged in it. A treaty of armistice and of indefinite truce was signed in Washington on April nth, 1871, that being as near as they could come to an agreement. The final treaty of peace between Spain and Peru was not signed until 1879. On the 14th of August of that year an agreement was reached at Paris. In the thirteen years in which the matter ERA OF C0NS2UTUT10N MAKING 249 had been kept in abeyance it had died a natural death, and there was in the end merely an abandonment of the whole controversy. During the years 1866, 1867 and 1868, the govern- ment of Chile made strenuous efforts to occupy and colonize the country in the south. Settlements were established, and steadily increased during those years. Lands were granted free to colonists, and foreign im- migrants locating upon them were made citizens of Chile without other or further steps at naturalization. A contract was entered into with Godeffroy and Son in Germany to send out emigrants of good character, such as were approved by the Chilean consul at Ham- burg, who upon their arrival were to be assigned lands in Arauco. The colonists were to be furnished free passage, the government agreeing to pay forty dollars for the transportation of each adult and twenty dollars for each child under twelve. The contract was to con- tinue for a period of four years, the government agree- ing to pay for the passage of one hundred families the first year, one hundred and fifty the second, two hun- dred the third and three hundred the fourth, with the privilege given to Godeffroy and Son to increase the number twenty-five per cent, if they should choose to do so. The Chilean government had at some time prior to this contracted for two corvettes in England, the "Cba- cabuco" and "O'Higgins. " Pending the settlement of the dispute with Spain these vessels were held. Early in the year 1868, arrangements were made by the Chil- ean representative in London for the departure of these warships, consent being given by him for England to turn over to Spain two ironclads, which had been in like manner constructed for the Spanish government 250 A HISTORY OF CHILE and detained by the English pending the termination of the war in the Pacific. During the year 1868, the Araucanian Indians caused considerable trouble in the southern provinces. In an attack, April 25th, upon a small outpost of Chilean troops, the latter were repulsed after several hours of hard fighting and compelled to retreat, leaving twenty- five of their number dead and wounded upon the field, among whom were several officers. It was feared that the frontier settlements would suffer from incursions, and to protect them a body of 1,400 troops, with a park of artillery, was dispatched south under the command of Colonel San Martin. During the following year, the government troops acted upon the defensive. Despite their vigilance, the Indi- ans made several successful inroads ; about two thou- sand of them crossed the river Malleco and robbed, murdered and plundered the surrounding villages. Their object appeared to have been to steal cattle, and in this they were quite successful. But the Chilean troops retaliated ; a party of eight hundred of them penetrated the Indian territories and drove off a great number of their cattle and sheep. The severe southern winter set in and the troops were compelled to remain inactive. The Indians took ad- vantage of this and again began hostilities among the settlements. But in the latter part of the year,some of the chiefs were induced to visit Santiago, where they were received with marked attentions and made to understand the power with which thev were hope- lessly contending. They were urged to preserve peace, and given to understand, by the present of a huge orna- mented warclub, what they might expect if thev con- tinued their depredations. The Indians were impressed with the futility of contending longer against such ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 251 vastly superior numbers and resources, and promised peace. Congress, however, knowing these Indians of old, took the precaution to vote ^25,000 to fortify forts among the stubborn savages. A year had barely passed before the Indians were again on the warpath, and con- gress voted ^5,000,000 and two thousand men to put an end to the guerrilla warfare. In October, 1870, the Indians were defeated and clamored for peace. A line of forts was built on the Malleco river to protect the new cities of the south, which now began to grow into importance. Congress, during the year 1868, was occupied princi- pally with the question of electoral reform, and in an attempt to impeach the supreme court, of which ex- President Montt was the president. The charges were for high crimes and misdemeanors in the administra- tion of justice. San Fuentes presented the matter by motion to the chamber of deputies in August, and it was decided by a vote of forty-two to sixteen to begin impeachment proceedings. The trial created the great- est excitement, the moderate liberals, in the main, sym- pathizing with the court. It was not until the follow- ing year that the long pending question was settled and the court exonerated, the accusations being de- clared unfounded. Among the reformatory measures passed by this congress was the amendment of the constitution pro- hibiting a president from being reelected ; the law of civil responsibility for political treasons was repealed ; imprisonment for debt was abolished. In the matter of electoral reforms the liberals con- tended earnestly for an extension of the franchise to all voters who could read and write. In his message at the opening of the congress in June, President Perez expressed his approval of the measures which had been 252 A HISTORY OF CHILE proposed and recommended them to the consideration of the chambers. The measures were opposed by the clericals and conservatives and the discussions pro- longed into the following year, when the radical-liberal press made strenuous efforts to bring about the reforms ; but it was decided by a majority in congress that only those who possessed a certain amount of property, or practiced some profession, in addition to being able to read and write, should vote. Numerous meetings were held by the progressionists, who had formed many re- form clubs in Santiago and other cities, and a pro- gramme setting forth their views was adopted. In sub- stance this was : "That individual liberty should be se- curely guaranteed, that local governments should be invested with that complete independence necessary for the thorough exercise of their prerogatives, that the different branches of government should be independent of each other, that all persons should be equal before the law and that all special privileges should be abol- ished." Pledges were made to use every effort to ac- complish something toward a realization of these re- sults in the forthcoming elections of 1870. As will be seen, the main object of the struggle was to bring about a liberal reaction and to reduce the enormous public patronage in the hands of the presi- dent. It was a movement away from the oligarchy and toward democracy, and meant, in the event of the adoption of these progressive principles, the extension of the franchise to 200,000 voters, where it was only exercised before by 30,000. These popular movements induced the government, which had been upheld by a coalition of conservatives and moderate liberals, to re- cede from its too conservative policy and to place some of the leading radical liberals in the offices of pre- fects and governors of provinces, hoping thereby to ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 253 avert the gathering storm. Because of this timely con- sideration, the government was in the main successful in the April elections of the following year, 1870. A vastly superior class of men took seats as deputies, thirty of whom were of the opposition. On the 13th of May, 1868, the first steamer sailed from Valparaiso bound for Europe by way of the Straits, on the line which the government had subsidized with $60,000 a year and the promise of an increase subse- quently to ^100,000 a year. This line put Chile in di- rect communication with Europe. In 1856, a treaty had been entered into with the Ar- gentine Republic, doing away with all duties on the overland trade between the republics. This Chile now abolished, in accordance with a notice she had pre- viously given the Argentine government in 1867. The Chilean press generally censured this abolition of the treaty, as prejudicial to the commercial interests of both republics. In May, i86g, an agricultural exhibition was held in Santiago, at which all the South American states had exhibits. This exhibition did much to introduce labor- saving machinery and blooded stock into Chile, and stimulated new ideas in agricultural methods. The fair was in every way a success, and gives as much of an indication of the progressive and enterprising spirit of the Chileans at this time, as the active railroad build- ing which went on through all the latter years of Pres- ident Perez' administration. During the first term of Perez' administration, the southern railroads had been pushed as far as San Fer- nando. Afterward this line was carried farther to Curi- co. A line was begun between Chilian and Talcahuano and another from San Felipe to Llai-Llai. A telegraph line was also completed to the frontier. 254 A HISTORY OF CHILE During this period the new university building in Santiago was completed ; also the new customhouses in Valparaiso. In the latter city the construction of a mole was begun in the harbor and other improvements made. Much was done at this time to promote education of a more primary nature than had been undertaken before. Lyceums were established in all the capitals of the provinces, and in them certain studies were made obligatory, such as the different branches of the sci- ences. There was soon almost a revolution in the methods and studies of both the public and private schools. CHAPTER V THE ADMIMSTRATION OF PRESIDENT ERRAZURIZ The year 1871, was signalized by a very active pres- idential election. The more radical wing of the liberal party, so long out of power and unsuccessful in all its attempts at regaining the ascendency lost with Freire, made a determined effort at the polls. This party had been active in the last year of Perez' administration, so much so that the president had felt compelled to make several important concessions ; legislative reforms, too, had been fostered until the clericals and conser- vatives were now thoroughly aroused. The struggle was of unusual significance, as the liberal party com- prised much of the wealth and intelligence of Chile, and boldly announced in its platform several reforms, notably the determination to curb the power of the clergy, secure freedom of religious worship and ere long a separation of church and state, a struggle which has at different times agitated all the South American na- tions. They named as their candidate Don Jos6 To- mis Urmeneta ; the conservatives put up Don Fred- erico Errazuriz. The enormous patronage in the hands of the govern- ment enabled the conservatives and moderate liberals to elect their candidate, for the government employed all the means at its disposal in Senor Errdzuriz' inter- 256 A HISTORY OF CHILE est, and to this the liberals unhesitatingly attributed his success. The elections passed off quietly in San- tiago and Valparaiso, but the same could not be said of the outside towns. President Errazuriz when elected was in the prime of life, and had had a long and varied experience in public affairs. He had, in fact, served as the head of nearly every cabinet office ; he had been minister of foreign affairs, of the interior, of justice and of war, and member of both branches of the legislative body. He was in every way qualified for the chief executive office. He formed a ministry of conservatives and moderate liberals, but the same aggressiveness on the part of the liberals which had caused Perez to recede somewhat from his first policy, soon began to embarrass Erra- zuriz. The question of the abolition of ecclesiastical tribunals and the trying of the clergy by the civil and the criminal laws of the country, soon came to the front and like Banquo's ghost would not down. Again the government thinking to gain liberal support, decreed that space should be reserved in the Catholic ceme- teries — or rather public cemeteries — for the interment of dissenters, who should be permitted burial accord- ing to the rites of their respective denominations. This measure was loudly denounced in certain quarters, as being unconstitutional in that it deprived the church of a part of her property and gave it to her declared enemies, an argument which it would seem ought to have had considerable force. The new criminal code so bitterly opposed by the clericals, did not finally pass congress before the end of the year 1873. It provided that the clergy should be amenable to the civil authorities, and further, that all sects might worship in churches erected by private ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 257 enterprise. The clerical party sent in a remonstrance signed by the archbishop of Santiago, Don Rafael Val- entine Valdivieso, and two of his bishops, and consider- able discord followed. The clericals had attempted to override the law in Brazil, they now in Chile thundered archiepiscopal excommunications at those voting for the amendments, as well as at the magistrates who should undertake to enforce the new lavvf. The congress of 1872, passed other reformatory meas- ures than those connected with the church question. A bill for legalizing civil marriage was introduced, but conservative opposition prevented it from becoming at this time a law ; a law urging further efforts to in- duce foreign immigration was passed and a bill to abolish flogging for crimes introduced. Bills were also introduced for a new assessment of landed property, for the abolition of the tobacco monopoly, and for a repeal of the duty levied on foreign coal. For the purpose of promoting the education of the people, the government took an active interest in es- tablishing circulating libraries in a number of the towns. It had at first acted with the conservatives in these matters and opposed all the reforms tending to lower the level of educational requirements. But this caused such opposition by the liberals that the president receded from his first position. It was an era of dis- cussions, of zeal for education and for reforms, of the beginning of democracy in its true sense. These ques- tions tended, however, to separate the parties more and more. The president in this even went so far as to declare that the teaching of the Roman Catholic relig- ion in the colleges was not obligatory with the sons of dissenters. The various reformatory and ecclesiastical questions which were discussed at the time separated the moder- 258 A HISTORY OF CHILE ate liberals from the conservatives and the coalition between them, which had existed since the j'ear 1858, came to an end. The president sought to conciliate the conservatives, but, failing in this, soon found him- self acting with the liberals. The clergy, aroused by the ecclesiastical questions now formed a separate party called the ultramontane, or Roman party, as in Europe, because of their staunch adherence to the interests of the Papal See. One important reform of the electoral laws was at- tempted. Up to this time the municipalities were in- struments of the president in the matter of the elec- tions. He had the appointment of the officers and they had the naming of the qualified voters for the lists. One vote was sufficient to carry the election and elect, in effect, all the municipal officers and the deputies and senators of the department or province. The new law sought, contained provisions giving to the minority a fair proportional representation, also declaring that the municipal offices should be filled by the party casting the most votes in the municipality. The meas- ure proposed counted a majority in congress, but the president opposed it. In the end a compromise was proposed by the president which was accepted by the radicals. This was, that majorities should elect the deputies ; majorities should have two-thirds, minorities one-third, of the municipal offices ; the election of sen- ators and presidential electors should be in accordance with the old law. The law was approved in this form and put into operation in the year following. The ac- cepting of this compromise by the radicals brought them again into union with the liberals. This was a time of beginnings of great national im- provements. The projection of the transandine line which should connect Santiago and Buenos Ayres, was ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 259 a notable feature in the year 1872. Important conces- sions were made by congress in other matters than rail- roads. In 1871, the exclusive privilege was granted for introducing a new method of illumination by means of purified naptha. In the following year congress con- ceded to Senor Ramirez, discoverer of guano at Magel- lan's Straits, the right to remove three thousand tons of it within a year, from the islands of Santa Magdalena and Quarto Maiter, he paying §8,000 for the privilege. This discovery of the valuable fertilizer at the Straits revived an old question, that of the true boundary be- tween Chile and the Argentine Republic, first broached in 1843, when Chile had established a colony in the south. The Argentine press took up the discussion and clamored for that government to examine the basis of Chile's claim more thoroughly than had been done and to take prompt and active steps in the matter. This long pending dispute with the Argentine Re- public over the boundary of Patagonia, was continued through the years 1872, 1873, 1874, and 1875. The question had continued to be for a long time a cause of much irritation between the republics. In 1856 a treaty had been entered into by the terms of which it was agreed that the two countries should recognize the limits as they existed at the time of their separation from Spain in 1810. The Chileans claimed to Cape Horn on the south, and to the Andes on the east. In 1873, the Argentine government, urged thereto by the press, commissioned Dr. Quevada, director of the na- tional library, to proceed to Spain and unearth such ancient documents as had any bearing upon the ques- tion. His researches were published in eight volumes, and it appeared that he made out a case in favor of Argentina, so far at least as the boundaries during the colonial period were concerned. During the year 1875, 26o A HISTORY OF CHILE the Argentine legislature established a line of sailing vessels between Buenos Ayres and the coasts of Pata- gonia, which were to touch at the settlements on the Chubet river and those south of the river Santa Cruz, and granted ten square leagues of territory to the com- pany. The Chilean niinister objected, and claimed that his government would not consent that the disputed terri- tory south of the Santa Cruz should be invaded. This called forth an elaborate presentation of the matter in the reply made by the Argentine minister of foreign affairs, and the dispute seemed to be as far as ever from an amicable settlement. As a matter of fact, the Argentines had tacitly acquiesced in Chile's claims for so many 3-ears that some of their own papers now even admitted that they had forfeited whatever original rights they may have had. bj' their silence and previous unconcern. The matter was not finally arranged until October 23rd, 1881. At the same time, the question of the disputed boundary between Chile and Bolivia was revived by the discovery of the rich Caracoles mines, in 1870, and to this the president referred in his opening address to congress in 1872. The question was for a long time pending in a ver}' troublesome way. In February, 1873, Peru and Bolivia entered into a secret treaty, guaran- teeing to- each other mutual protection and the integ- rity of their respective territories. The treaty was, in effect, an alliance against Chile. It was intended to be a secret treaty, but the Chileans soon learned of it, and immediately began to take measures to protect their interests in the north. A treaty with Bolivia had been adopted in 1866, which we shall hereafter notice more particularly. In November, 1872, Senor Frias, an Argentine, was appointed as a sort of umpire in the ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 261 dispute, but no satisfactory arrangement was reached until 1874. In the beginning of that year Don Carlos Walker Martinez began to press the matter upon the Bolivians and by August 6th, had arranged through Senor Frias a new treaty, by the terms of which Chile withdrew her claims to half of the port duties to which she was entitled under the treaty of 1866, and, waiving her claim to the extreme northern boundary — title to whichshehad rather ambiguously maintained — obtained in lieu thereof, for the industries which she had estab- lished upon the disputed territory, freedom from duties for a term of twenty-five years. The questions, how- ever, were by no means satisfactorily settled. On March 25th, 1871, there had occurred an earth- quake which destroyed considerable propertj' in San- tiago and Valparaiso ; another in July of the year 1873, caused some loss of life and property in the same cities. By the year 1874, the coal fields in the south had become quite important; this was fortunate, as Chile had long felt the want of this very necessary article. Importations of foreign coal declined during the year twenty-five per cent, while exportations of the same increased fifty per cent over 1873. In the latter part of this year, November 2nd, 1874, the president was authorized by congress to contract a loan of $9,500,000, of which $4,500,000 should be ap- plied to the liquidation of the seven per cent loan ob- tained in London in 1867, and $5,000,000 should be used to convert high interest bearing bonds, which con- gress had previously authorized, into a foreign debt. Chile's credit ranked high, and the scheme was both to obtain loans at lower rates of interest and to con- vert the home debt into a foreign loan so as to bring gold and silver into circulation, there being at this time an overissue of paper. 262 A H-ISTOKY OF CHILE At the close of President Errazuriz' administration the population of Chile was 2,068,447. In 1865, it was 1,819,223, an increase of 249,228 in ten years. There were at this time, 1875, 26,528 foreigners resident in the country. Railway building had gone on actively and there were now six hundred and nineteen miles in operation, three hundred and ninety-three miles of which belonged to the state, with one hundred and ninety-three miles more in process of construction. Curico, Talca, Chilian, Angol and Talcahuano, were now united with the capital by rail. There were 1,650 miles of telegraph, and on February 3rd, 1875, the first dispatches direct from Liverpool and London were re- ceived at Valparaiso by way of Buenos Ayres. These figures give a general idea of the material advancement of the country and indicate how thoroughly alive were the people to modern enterprises. The continued agitation of matters religious, the passing of the new penal code by which the clergy were made amenable to the civil courts, electoral, educational and other questions, had separated President Errazuriz and the moderate liberals from the clericals and con- servatives. The building of railroads and active push- ing forward of public works had created recurring de- ficits in the annual budgets, and the affairs of state were in a very unsatisfactory condition at the close of the administration. The condition of the revenues, it may be said, was in part due to commercial stagna- tion ; a financial crisis was feared, and in truth was at hand. President Errizuriz was an able and conscientious executive, but he was placed in the trying position of undertaking to deal with the old and the new, of try- ing to reconcile and harmonize interests which could not be harmonized. o U CHAPTER VI THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT PINTO President Errazuriz had brought disaster into the ranks of the conservatives,* in much the same manner as Perez had, with the conservatives, initiated a reac- tion against the oppression of the Montt-Varistas. Don Frederico Errazuriz had mounted the presidential chair upon the backs of the conservatives, yet he soon came to be more liberal in sentiment than conservative, and sought to curry favor with all parties, with both liber- als and Montt-Varistas, who had previously united sufficiently to urge together one or two advanced laws and political reforms. The favorite leader of the lib- erals in the approaching election was Don Benja- min Vicuna Mackenna, who was especially popular in the southern provinces. He was nominated, and his address at the time was a stirring keynote for the cam- paign. He favored religious freedom in the fullest sense; amenability of the ecclesiastical functionaries to the law; reform of the national guard ; civil marriage complete in law ; the rapid development of Arauco by means of railroads and colonization; the opening up of the province of Valdivia; railways over the Andes; the establishment of a college of agriculture; local ad- ministration with greater autonomy ; increase of com- mon schools ; abolition of monopolies held by the gov- * "Acordo romper con ErrSzuriz que se estraviaba." — C. Walker Martinez. 263 264 A HISTORY OF CHILE ernment, such as the tobacco estanco, and other radical measures. The moderate liberals were not in favor of Mackenna and a split in the party seemed imminent. To avoid this, liberals and radicals called a convention of nota- bles and sought to harmonize their diverse interests and opinions and agree upon a candidate. When the convention met it was found that sentiment was pretty equally divided between Don Anibal Pinto and Don Miguel Luis Amunategui, while Mackenna and his friends refused to recognize the convention and sought to turn popular opinion against the convention and its attempt. This caused the first effort in naming a can- didate in convention to be a failure. But another was soon made; about one thousand leading citizens as- sembled at Santiago and a vote being cast, Pinto received the majority and was recognized as the candi- date without further opposition. In politics he was a liberal ; he had been intendente of Concepcion and minister of war and marine under Errazuriz. Pinto was favored by Errazuriz, and his election was, therefore, assured. As this was a foregone conclusion, as soon as the government had indicated its choice, the elections passed off quietly, the opposition simply refraining from voting. The undercurrent of liberalism and reform had set in, and no sooner had the discus- sions of the religious questions relating to the ceme- teries begun than the radical liberals joined Pinto, even those who had been before pledged to the support of Mackenna, finding the new president in full sym- pathy with them. President-elect Pinto was inaugurated September i8th, 1876, and immediately selected the following cabinet : Interior, Don Jos6 V. Lastarria ; foreign af- fairs, Don Jos6 Alfonso ; finance, Don Rafael Sotomayor ; ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 265 justice, public worship and public instruction, Don Miguel Luis Amunitegui j war and navy, Don Belisa- rio Prat. The cabinet officers were several times changed during the next five years; in 1878, Prat was in the interior ; Alfonso, foreign affairs ; Santa Maria, (a most pronounced liberal), justice; Cornelio Saave- dra war and navy ; finance, vacant. Santa Maria was about the only one who remained in the cabinet through- out the administration. The later ministry favored, more than the first cab- inet had, the early settlement of the dispute with the Argentine Republic over the Patagonian boundary, which question had created considerable popular ex- citement about this time. Don Barros Araiia had been sent to Buenos Ayres as envoy and had entered into an agreement with the Argentines to submit the dispute to arbitration upon the question as to whether the-dis- puted territory belonged to Buenos Ayres or to Chile, at the time independence from Spain was declared in 1810. This was not satisfactory to the Chileans, as they based their claim more upon the long acquiescence of the Argentines in their claim, subsequent to that date, than they did upon the question of actual pos- session in the colonial period. The minister of for- eign affairs at Santiago declared the act of Senor Araiia to be unauthorized, and congress passed a vote of cen- sure upon the plenipotentiary. Subsequently it was agreed between the two republics that the question should be submitted to arbitration, and this to be con- ducted in accordance with the treaty of 1856, both gov- ernments in the meantime to prevent armed conflict and refrain from sending war vessels to the coasts or rivers of the disputed territories. The troublesome question was not finally settled until the 23rd day of October, 1881, when a treaty was 266 A HISTORY OF CHILE signed between the republics, by the terms of which the watershed of the Cordillera was fixed as the bound- ary on the east of Chile, and that on the south at a line nearly coincident with the 52nd parallel. More, par- ticularly, the southern boundary was fixed at a line extending from Point Dungenness along the land to Mt. Dinero, thence west to the point of intersection of the seventieth meridian and the fifty-second parallel of south latitude ; thence westward along that parallel to the dividing line of the watershed of the Andes. The regions lying north of said line were to belong to the Argentine Republic, those south to Chile. The island of Tierra del Fuego was divided, as well as the outlying islands. The Straits of Magellan were made neutral forever, navigation of the same being declared free to all nations with no forts ever to be erected there. The revenue questions, which had given President Errazuriz so much trouble during the last year of his administration, were still of paramount interest. In 1876, the receipts had more than met expenditures; in 1877, there was a deficit of over two millions of dollars. For a few years trade had been against Chile, owing to failures of wheat crops and heavy depreciations in copper. At this juncture the government authorized the banks to suspend specie payments until August 31st, 1879, and guaranteed their emission of paper money to the amount of $15,600,000, which was de- clared to be redeemable in coin on August 31, 1879. It was estimated that there were not to exceed $5,000,- 000 of bullion and coin in the countr}', and knowledge of this fact caused a depression and a feeling of inse- curity in commercial and financial circles, notwith- standing the fact that the government was cutting down expenses in every direction. The cutting down of custom duties was a serious ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 267 matter for the government, as the revenues were de- rived almost wholly from that source and from the tobacco monopoly; income and real estate taxation had long been vehemently opposed by the landed pro- prietors. The country scarcely had had time to recover from the effects of the issue of paper money of 1878, before the government found it necessary to resort to a further emission of ^6,000,000. This was in the spring of 1879, and was made necessary on account of the ex- traordinary expenses incurred in the beginning of the war with Bolivia and Peru. Negotiations were again opened with the banks, but they were afraid of this second issue and refused to undertake it, whereupon the government determined upon issuing the full amount itself. This was well received by the patriotic Chile- ans, wlio were prepared to make great sacrifices to carry on the war. The government arranged with -the foreign creditors to suspend payments to the sinking fund, and paid maturing interest upon the loans prompt- ly. This preserved the national credit, and satisfied the bondholders. The failure of crops and decline in the price of cop- per in 1877, had caused a decrease of about $15,000,000 in the value of exports. In this grave emergency, the capitalists in Santiago and Valparaiso petitioned con- gress to levy an income tax. The revenues, despite the war, soon began to improve. In 1880, the receipts (ordinary) were $27,693,087, the expenditures (ordi- nary) $24,777,360, so that there was a surplus of nearly three millions where before there had been a deficit of a million. These items do not include war expenses, which at this time amounted to about two millions a month. In his message in June, 1881, Pres- ident Pinto estimated the total receipts for the year at 268 A HISTORY OF CHILE ;?43,992,584, and approximated the total expenses (ordi- nary and extraordinary) at ^43,123,829. The guano beds and Tarapaca nitrate fields had yielded enormous profits to the government and from these sources the credit of the republic had been maintained at home and abroad. In the preceding August, 1880, the senate had authorized a further paper money emission of (j;i2, 000,000 for the year, and this, like the preceding issues, was well received by the people. The unpopular -tobacco esianco, a relic of Spanish t)'ranny, had been annulled, and thus this profitable but unjust source of revenue was cut off. But the Atacama desert more than counterbalanced this. From 1843 to 1875, $89,131,706 worth of silver had been mined there. Of minerals of all kinds including nitrates, there had been in the thirty-two 3'ears the enormous sum of §240, 000,000 taken from that arid province. Verily it was a desert worth fighting for; it was yielding $10,000,000 a year. At the close of 1875, there were 595 miles of rail- road in operation in Chile and 2,559 miles of telegraph ; in 1876, there were 940 miles of railroad and 2,650 of tel- egraph ; in 1877, 1,265 miles of railroad, and 4,800 of telegraph. In 1876, the national debt was ^10,929,600 home, $40,689,000 foreign, being a total of $51,618,600. Of this the government had put $35,000,000 into rail- roads, which were owned and controlled by the state. At this time from five thousand to six thousand ves- sels entered and cleared Chilean ports annually, and the exports and imports averaged from thirty-seven to forty millions of dollars each, with imports somewhat in excess of exports. With the exception of the Argentine Republic, Chile was at this time making larger appropriations for school purposes than any other of the Spanish-American re- publics. In 1875, expenditures for this purpose amount- ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 269 ed to $2,035,412, and this represents about the sum Chile now began to spend annually upon schools. In the same year there were two hundred and ninety-eight university degrees conferred; there were 1,359 primary schools, eight hundred and eighteen public and five hundred and forty-one private, with an average atten- dance of 65,875 pupils. In 1877, Pinto's active minis- ter of public instruction, Amunategui, addressed a cir- cular letter to the professors of the Normal schools recommending the establishment of evening schools for adults; also, that such classes be established in the provincial lyceums. This was a very popular measure and received hearty support. Within the year there were established forty-seven night schools, supported by the government, with an average attendance of four thousand adults, eager to learn the primary branches. The disputes in respect to church questions contin- ued through President Pinto's administration with una- bated zeal and acrimony. In 1877, a conflict arose over the appointment of a successor to the archbishop of Santiago, Don Rafael Valentine Valdivieso, who died June gth, 1878. A majority of the clergy, the ultramontane sect-ion, opposed Don Francisco de Paulo Taforo as successor in the See, he being the govern- ment's choice. The government was determined that church dignitaries should thereafter be named by the civil authorities, if the state continued to pay the ec- clesiastical officials of Santiago. Hence the conflict. The government supported Seiior Taforo; the ultra- montane clergy did not. The matter was agitated for several years ; an apostolic delegate, Senor Celestino del Frate, Bishop of Himeria, was sent out from Rome to report upon the trouble and was expelled hy Santa Maria. Feeling ran high, but in the end reformatory measures were carried and the government won the 270 A HISTORY OF CHILE battle, January, 1883. In all the South American re- publics, and in Mexico as well, questions similar to this have been brought up by the advanced parties and settled along lines of progress. There were also at this time renewed discussions of the civil marriage law, particularly as to the hardships which protestants under the existing laws encountered in marrying the beautiful Chilean ladies. As the law stood, a protestant wishing to marry a catholic woman in Chile, was obliged to execute a bond under oath, stating that the sons as well as the daughters born in wedlock should be educated in the catholic religion ; also, that he would abstain from any attempt to pre- judice the catholic belief of the sons and daughters; that in selecting masters or schools for his children, if his wife, or (in the event of her death), if the parish priest should decide that the measures he might wish to adopt would endanger the catholic faith of his chil- dren while they were under twenty-five years of age, he would desist from such measures. He was also obliged to bind himself not to name at his death a tutor or guardian for his said sons and daughters who was not a catholic. The lady on her part was required to give two hundred dollars to the hospital for fallen women, as though she were counted as one with them and scarcely less in disgrace. She must also promise under oath to educate the children in the catholic faith, and to convert, if possible, her heretical consort. It seems incredible that there should have been a strong party in Chile opposed to reforms in such mat- ters as these. The trouble with the Araucanian Indians was not set- tled by Pinto. In 1877, an uprising had been feared and troops were again sent to the frontier. Brigands, ERA OF CONSTITUTION MAKING 271 also, infested the interior, and caused considerable trouble before they could be suppressed. Before proceeding to the elections of 1881, which re- sulted in the choice of Santa Maria as President Pinto's successor, and brought about the triumph of the lib- eral party, it will be interesting for us to turn our at- tention to the Tarapaca desert and the Peruvian capi- tal, where Chilean arms were at this time achieving glory and conquering new provinces. PART IV— THE WAR WITH PERU AND BOLIVIA CHAPTER I THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR Man}' of the cases reported in the law books have to do with the boundaries between estates, so likewise most of the wars of history have to do with the terri- torial boundaries between tribes and nations. Maps, as well as politics, have been made on battlefields. To make a map Chile, Peru and Bolivia exhausted their resources in a devastating war, and that, too, the map of a desert. Still, it was an important and rich desert. Sooner or later the question was bound to arise ; sooner or later supremacy must be fought for and established among the Pacific coast republics. Pizarro and Alma- gro had once fought over this boundary; then it was the riches of Cuzco which was the direct cause of the strife ; now it was the riches of what was then a forbid- ding desert which led to war. With the exception of some silver mines near Iquique there was a three hundred miles strip of territory long considered worth- less, hence the boundary in which three states were mutually interested was never very definitely fixed. True, when the South American republics started upon 27a THE PERUVIAN WAR 273 their career of independence, the boundaries were fixed according to the respective limits of provinces as they existed in 1810. But those were by no means definite. A boundary was established between Chile and Peru in 1628, in which the northern limits of Chile were fixed at El Paposo in 25" 2' south latitude. In 1776, when Buenos Ayres was formed into an independent viceroyalty, Bolivia, then Charcos, was included in it, with the boundaries as defined by an old law. This declared the Chilean boundary to be at El Paposo, the first inhabited place to the southward of the desert, and at this point the old maps of Chile fixed her north- ern boundary. But the limit, established in 1628, can hardly be said to have been very definite. Chile early claimed the twenty-third parallel and Bolivia conceded the twenty-fourth, on August loth, i866, the republics then being allied in a war against Spain. In the treaty it was further stipulated that Chile should receive one-half the customs between the twenty- third and twenty-fourth parallels, as Chilean citizens were largely interested in that region; also, that Chi- lean citizens should be allowed to mine and export the products of this district without tax or hindrance from Bolivia. In return, Bolivia was to have the same rights in the territory claimed bj' Chile between the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth parallels. To enable Chile to obtain her share of the customs, she was al- lowed to have a representative in the custom-house at Antofagasta. In 1870, Bolivia made a further concession; in con- sideration of a sura of ^10,000 she granted the right to a company to work the nitrate deposits north of 24° south, construct a mole at Antofagasta and build a road to Caracoles, where rich silver mines had been discov- ered. The company was English and Chilean, employ- iS 274 A HISTORY OF CHILE ing principally Chilean labor. In short, it was Chi- lean and foreign capital and energy combined which developed the wealth of the nitrate regions. The Bo- livian Indians and half-breeds contented themselves with selling water and vegetables about the oficinas. Bolivia may have been cheated in her arrangements with Chile, but it was not until after she had discov- ered that Chileans could produce wealth from her des- erts that she thought of rescinding her treaty contracts. In 1873, February 6th, Bolivia and Peru entered into a secret agreement, the object of which was declared to be the mutual guarantee of the independence, sov- ereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries, and mutual defence against exterior aggression. The exterior aggression was anticipated from Chile. On August 6th, 1874, another treaty was signed with Bolivia, by which Chile agreed to withdraw her claim to half the duties in Bolivian ports on condition that all Chilean industries established on Bolivian territory should be free from duty for twenty-five years. There was also a further waiver on the part of Chile of her claims to the territory between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth parallels. The Bolivian congress on Feb- ruary 14th, 1878, almost four years after the treaty had been made, concluded that it would ratify the treaty on condition that a tax of ten cents per quintal (hun- dred-pound weight) on all nitrates should be paid. Being remonstrated with for a breach of the treat}', Bolivia refused to remit the tax and declared that ni- trates in the hands of exporters would be seized if the levy were not paid. Chile then sent her fleet to protect the property of her citizens. The ports of Antofagasta, Cobija and Tocapilla were blockaded. On the 24th of January, 1879, the Chilean govern- THE PERUVIAN WAR 275 ment ordered the occupation of Antofagasta, and on the 14th of February, Colonel Sotomayor with a body of men, estimated at from two to five hundred, took pos- session of the port. On the i6th of February, Soto- mayor was sent to protect the mining interests at Cara- coles. Then the Bolivian president, General Hilarion Daza, declared war, March ist, expelled some Chilean residents from the country and confiscated their pro- perty. On the 23rd of the month, a skirmish occurred at the village of Calama on the banks of the river Loa, between Sotomayor's force, amounting now to six hun- dred men, and aparty of one hundred and thirty-five Bolivians commanded by Dr. Ladislao Cabrera. The latter had posted his men on the road at a point com- manding, from an advantageous position on the heights, the ford which Sotomayor must pass. For three hours the little party of Bolivians fought their superior foes, but at length gave way and retreated toward Potosi. The Bolivians lost twenty killed and thirty prisoners, the Chileans twelve killed and wounded. Peru now offered her services as a mediator and sent envoys to the Bolivian and Chilean capitals. But in view of the fact that the Chileans knew of the secret treaty of 1873, between Bolivia and Peru, the latter's offer of mediation was not fruitful of results. Besides, Chile had another grievance with Peru, for the latter had, in 1875, passed a law intended to monopolize the Tarapaca nitrate beds. True, TarapacA was Peruvian territory, but this law was inimical to Chilean inter- ests in that region and to Chilean capital invested in the Tarapacd nitrate works. The Peruvian envoy to Santiago, Senor Lavalle, had required, as a basis of arbitration, that the Chilean troops should evacuate Antofagasta; that there should 276 A HISTORY OF CHILE be a neutral administration of affairs in the port under the guarantee of the three republics ; that the customs of the territory should be applied first to the local ad- ministration, then that the rest should be divided be- tween Bolivia and Chile. Chile demanded that preparations for war on the part of Peru should cease, that the secret treaty of 1873 be annulled, that neutrality be declared. These require- ments were declined. Chile, therefore, on the 5th of April, 1879, declared war and Peru became one of the belligerents, expelling many Chilean residents from her territories. Prior to the breaking out of war, the Chilean regular army numbered about 2,500 men, one-fifth being cav- alry, one-fifth artillery, three-fifths infantr}'. These regulars were recruited from the Indians, and were a fine body of men, excellently disciplined, well- officered and equipped with the best modern weapons. The national guards, or militia, numbered twenty-five thou- sand, and this force was raised to fifty-five thousand when war was declared. The standing army of Peru numbered anywhere from nine thousand to thirteen thousand men, the troops being stationed in and around Lima. The soldiers were principall}' of Indian descent, with quite a large number of negroes. After the declaration of war this army was increased to forty thousand men. The Bolivian regular army was about the same in size as the Chilean, but the government possessed only 1,500 stands of Remingtons, the most of the troops being armed with old flintlock muskets. The Bolivian army was composed almost exclusively of Aymara In- dians, brave, sturdy fellows and excellent soldiers. More important, however, than the armies was the command of the sea, and here Chile had the advan- THE PERUVIAN WAR 277 tage. Fully alive to the importance of having a good navy, the Chilean government early sent her officers abroad to examine warships and gain experience in the foreign service. She also purchased the best modern ironclads, two of them of English build, together with a splendid corvette. At the breaking out of war her navy consisted of the "Almirante Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada, " ironclads, well armored and carrying heavy machine guns; the corvettes "Chacabuco" and "O'Hig- gins, " the ''Magallanes, "the "Abtao," the "Covadonga, " the "Esmeralda," and ten steam transports. The "Ma- gallanes" carried one large and two small guns ; the "Abtao, " "Covadonga" and "Esmeralda" were old boats, but each had from two to three heavy artillery pieces, besides as many more small guns. Bolivia was without a navy ; Peru had few good iron- clads of the latest make. The "Huascar" and "Inde- pendencia" were ironclads built in 1865 and 1866, but were barely able to cope with the "Almirante Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada." There were two antiquated monitors, the "Atahualpa" and "Manco Capac, " used principally for the defence of Callao and Arica, and two wooden corvettes, the "Union" and "Pilcomayo. " This comprised the Peruvian navy, unless we may in- clude the "Chalaco" and "Limina, " armed transports. Chile, as will be seen, made up in energy, discipline, effective guns, good ironclads, and in good officers, what she lacked in numerical strength. It was due to her energy and enterprise that the Atacama desert had become a source of enormous wealth; it was due to the same enterprise that she began a war against two strong, but somewhat lazy rivals. Perhaps she was aggressive, perhaps she coveted the nitrate territories, but England, animated by the same spirit, has colo- nized and enriched the world while being herself 278 A HISTORY OF CHILE enriched. The principle, however, stands better in evolution than in ethics. The war having been opened between Chile and Bo- livia in the Atacama desert, Peru dispatched a force of three thousand men under Colonel Valverde to Iquique. Here the army of the south began to form and General Jos6 Buendia was soon sent to take command of it. In April, the Chileans began to collect their army at Antofagasta, placing it under the command of General Erasmo Escala. On the 5th of the month. Admiral Juan Williams Robelledo established a blockade of Iquique and warned all neutral vessels in the harbor to leave before the 15th. Seven days afterward the Chil- ean corvette "Magallanes" fell in with the "Union" and "Pilcomayo"' near the mouth of the river Loa. An engagement took place which lasted about an hour, when the "Magallanes" succeeded in making her escape. The "Union" was injured and returned to the dock at Callao. Following this action the Chilean vessels vis- ited different ports, destroyed coal-boats, the apparatus for loading guano, and demolished piers, having first ordered off the vessels that were loading. At Mollendo, on the i8th of April, the "Cochrane" and "Chacabuco" sent in a boat to communicate with the authorities; this being fired at, the ships opened a cannonade upon the railway station and customhouse, without, how- ever, doing very serious damage. On the same day, April i8th, the "Blanco Encalada" and "O'Higgins" bombarded Pisagua. There was a large quantity of coal stored at this place for the use of the railroad. Boats sent in by the Chileans to de- stroy the launches were fired upon and several of the crews killed. A shell set fire to the town and more than a million dollars worth of property was destroyed. The only persons killed were a woman and a China- THE PERUVIAN WAR 279 man. As a large part ol the property in the town be- longed to neutral foreigners, there does not appear to be much to say by way of justification of this reckless bombardment. After the affair at Pisagua the Chilean squadron re- turned to Iquique. The troops in the town found it difiScult to obtain water, as the blockaders forbade the use of the condensers. The only other recourse was to obtain it from Arica in water-boats and this was a hazardous undertaking. An attempt was made to defy the enemy and to use the condensers, but the smoke Trom a chimney betrayed the disobedience of the order and caused a number of heavy shells to be fired toward the spot. CHAPTER II NAVAL BATTLES PRAT AND GRAU During the latter part of April and the first half of May, the belligerents made active preparations for the impending struggle. "The Arm}' of the South," as the Peruvian-Bolivian troops of the Tarapaca region were called, assembled in Tacna, a short distance from the port of Arica. General Prado, the president of Peru, on the i6th, quitted Callao to take the command of the army, and sailed south with the fleet, consisting of the "Huascar, " commanded by Miguel Grau, and the "Independencia, " Captain Moore ; also the "Oroya," "Limiiia ' and "Chalaco. " The "Manco Capac" and "Atahualpa" remained at Callao. The vessels carried several regiments of soldiers, a large quantity of stores, arms and munitions of war. The president was ac- companied by a large staff and a bodyguard of young Peruvians from the best families of the capital. President Prado was landed at Arica and assumed the command of the allied armies. President Daza, of Bolivia, having previously arrived at Tacna with four thousand reinforcements. Captain Grau received information at Arica that Ad- miral Robelledo had sailed from Iquique in the "Blanco Encalada" to reconnoitre off Callao, leaving only the small vessels, the "Esmeralda" and "Covadonga, " to 280 THE PERUVIAN WAR 281 maintain the blockade. He at once proceeded to Iquique with the "Huascar" and "Independencia, " where on the 21st of May, he began an attack upon the Chilean corvette and ironclad. The action began at 8 a. m., the "Huascar" being pitted against the wooden corvette "Esmeralda" and the "Independencia" against the "Covadonga" gunboat. The Chilean transport "Lamar," at that time in the port, was successful in getting out of the way. For an hour a brisk cannonading was kept up, when the "Covadonga" attempted to escape toward the south, but was closely followed by the "Independencia." A desultory firing was kept up between the racing ships. Captain Condell of the "Covadonga" led close in along shore in his efforts to escape the pursuing "Indepen- dencia, " passing shoals and often close upon the break- ers. The "Independencia" drew more water than the wooden vessel, and in attempting to follow it, in order that the little craft might be rammed out of the water, as the gunners of the ironclad could not hit it, the "Independencia" ran upon a rock at Punta Gruesco and stuck fast, the helmsman being at the time shot by a "Covadonga" rifleman. Getting astern of her un- fortunate antagonist, the "Covadonga" opened a delib- erate fire, and kept it up until the appearance of the "Huascar. " The "Independencia" became a total wreck and the loss to the Peruvian cause was incalculable, for it left them only one effective ironclad with which to cope with the superior Chilean navy. Meanwhile the "Huascar" and "Esmeralda," were en- gaged in a desperate battle. For two hours a cannon- ading was kept up, when the "Huascar' attempted to ram her adversary, but was unable to do so effectively, as the "Esmeralda" had crept into shallow water near the shore and Captain Grau was afraid to approach for 282 A HISTORY OF CHILE fear of striking submerged torpedoes. A battery on the shore opened fire and obliged the "Esmeralda" to come out. At the same time a shell from one of the "Huascar's" three hundred-pounders burst in her engine room, killing the engineers and disabling the engine. As the "Esmeralda" had sustained the fire of her an- tagonist for over four hours, with little damage save the bursting of the shell in the engine room. Captain Grau determined to ram her. The "Huascar's" engines were reversed too soon and the intended blow was with- out effect, but as the two vessels came together Cap- tain Prat leaped upon the "Huascar's" deck, sword in hand and followed by only one man, Sergeant Aldea. At the foot of the turret he was pierced by a musket ball, having first himself killed a signal officer. Aldea also died heroically. Lieutenant Uribe then assumed the command of the "Esmeralda." Grau made a second attempt to ram and struck the "Esmeralda," but inflicted only slight damage. Lieu- tenant Serrano boarded the "Huascar" with a company of men, but they shared the fate of their heroic com- mander. A third time the "Huascar" rammed, and this time with better result; the "Esmeralda" was struck squarely on her starboard side and went down with colors flying. From one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty of her officers and crew were lost, about fifty or sixty saving themselves by clinging to wreckage until they were picked up by the "Huascar's" boats. This naval action, though resulting in the loss of the "Independencia" to the Peruvians, raised the blockade of-Iquique, and enabled General Prado to throw about four thousand troops into the town. Captain Grau proceeded south to Antofagasta where he exchanged shots with the "Covadonga, " which lay THE PERUVIAN WAR 283 inside the reef, protected by batteries. A shot from one of the latter did the "Huascar" considerable dam- age. She then turned north and on the way encount- ered the "Blanco Encalada" and "Magallanes, " both of which gave chase. The "Huascar" made her escape and reached Callao, where Captain Grau was feted and promoted to the rank of rear-admiral. Having taken aboard a better crew oi seamen, among them several experienced gunners, and having thor- oughly overhauled his ship, Grau sailed toward the south and spent the month of July in harassing the Chileans along the coast, being able to keep out of the way of the enemy's ironclads because of the "Huas- car's" superior speed. In July he arrived at Arica and there received orders to go south and harass the enemy, but on no account to risk his valuable charge in a bat- tle. Leaving Arica, Grau ran into the bay of Iquique, July gth, where he had been informed the ships of the blockading squadron were in the habit of standing out to sea at night, being afraid of torpedoes. Discovering the transport "Cousiiia" in the harbor, he enforced his demands for her surrender, and was about to take possession of his prize when the Chilean sloop "Magallanes" (Captain Latorre) hove in sight and steamed toward him. A lively firing began and was kept up for some time, the "Huascar" meanwhile making four unsuccessful attempts to ram. The firing brought the "Cochrane" to the assistance of the "Ma- gallanes," when Grau, following his instructions, or- dered the "Huascar" to withdraw, July loth. '• After this action the Chilean squadron remained in the harbor at night, but kept up a sharp lookout for torpedoes. One night a floating object was discovered near the "Cochrane," which was taken for a torpedo. This caused the Chilean commander to bombard the 284 A HISTORY OF CHILE town ; a few of the inhabitants were killed and some damage done, but most of the shells passed over the place. On the 17th of July, the "Huascar, " in company with the "Union," started southward on a cruise. Several Chilean ports were visited, the launches found there de- stroyed, and two merchantmen captured. Off Antofa- gasta on July 23rd, the Chilean transport "Rimac, " con- veying a battalion of cavalry and stores to the town, was captured. The troops and officers were taken to Arica; the "Rimac" was converted into a Peruvian cruiser. Soon afterward, August i8th, the "Union," command- ed by Captain Garcia y Garcia, went south to inter- cept in the Straits, two vessels from Europe with car- goes of stores for the Chilean government. He reached Punta Arenas, the Chilean settlement on the Straits, just after the first vessel had passed through. The governor of the place assured Captain Garcia that both vessels had passed, when the "Union" set off in hot pursuit. The other vessel was at the time entering the strait, so that both of them escaped, and, arriving at Valparaiso, their cargoes served to equip a new levy of three thousand men. The action of the Chilean fleet being barren of re- sults, while Captain Grau was making himself feared along the whole coast, caused much discontent in Chile, and several changes were now made among the officers. Galvarino Riveros replaced Juan Williams Robelledo in the "Blanco, '' as commander of the navy. Captain Simp- son was superseded by Captain Latorre, of the "Ma- gallanes, " in the command of the "Cochrane;" Don Rafael Sotomayor was appointed minister of war and dispatched to Antofagasta. He ordered the blockade of Iquique to be raised and the two ironclads to pro- THE PERUVIAN WAR 285 ceed to Valparaiso to undergo such repairs as would enable them to match in speed the redoubtable "Huas- car. " Other vessels of the navy were also overhauled, and a number of transports hired and purchased. On the 27th of August^ the "Huascar" appeared off the port of Antofagasta, having stopped at Iquique on her way down, where she took aboard two of the Ley torpedoes. In the bay were the "Magallanes" and "Abtao, " the latter with disabled machinery. Captain Grau, approaching the Chilean vessels, immediately opened fire, but they were moored so near the shore batteries that he was unable to take them. The "Abtao" was severely damaged and about twenty of her crew killed and wounded. A three hundred pound shot struck the "Huascar's" funnel and killed an officer. The torpedo expert had launched one of his missiles during the night at the "Abtao," but it had not pro- ceded far when it turned and came back toward its starting point. The "Huascar" was only saved by the gallant Lieutenant Diez Canseco jumping overboard and deflecting the torpedo from its course. Thoroughly disgusted with torpedoes of this pattern, Captain Grau had them all buried in a cemetery at Iquique. The Chileans, however, resurrected them. Quitting Anto- fagasta, the "Huascar" cruised about for some time, visiting Talca, Tocapilla and Mejillones and destroy- ed many launches and other property, before retiring to Arica. Admiral Juan Williams Robelledo had, as we have seen, resigned, and Admiral Galvarion Riveros had been appointed in his place to the command of the Chilean fleet. On the first of October, the squadron, consisting of the "Blanco," "Cochrane," "O'Higgins," "Covadon- ga" and transports "Loa'' and "Cousina, " fell in with the "Huascar" and "Union" off Antofagasta and gave 286 A HISTORY OF CHILE chase. The Peruvian vessels might have effected their escape had not the"0'Higgins, " "Cochrane," and "Loa" appeared in the opposite direction steaming directly toward them. The Chilean squadron had separated at Mejillones the day before and put to sea in two divi- sions, in search of the two Peruvian vessels. Grau was caught between the two divisions. Captain Grau ordered the "Huascar's" head turned toward the east under a full head of steam, hoping to escape. The "Union"' passed the "Huascar" and the admiral ordered her to bear away toward Arica, which she did, though followed closely by the "O'Higgins" and "Loa. " She arrived there safely about dark. See- ing that the "Cochrane" would cross his bows, Grau prepared his ship for action, keeping close in toward the land. At 9:25 o'clock the action was begun off Point An- gamos by the "Huascar," at a distance of three thou- sand yards. The fourth shot struck the Chilean ves- sel, when she opened fire in return. One of her first shots passed through the "Huascar's" armor and killed and wounded twelve men ; at the same time a three hundred-pound shell from the "Huascar" nearly stove in one of the "Cochrane's" plates. The "Huascar"' now attempted to ram her antago- nist, but the latter steered in a parallel course and pre- vented it. Five minutes afterward a shell struck the pilot tower of the "Huascar," and exploding, killed Admiral Grau and a lieutenant. The brave admiral was blown literally to pieces, only one leg being after- ward found. Another well-directed shot pierced the armor of the "Huascar's" turret and killed several of the gunners. Inexperienced relief crews being sent to the guns the shots now flew wide of the mark and did little execution, while the cabin was soon filled with THE PERUVIAN WAR 287 the dead and wounded. Twice the "Cochrane" attempt- ed to ram, but failed. She, however, sent two more shells through the "Huascar's" plating, which did much damage. The "Blanco" now arrived and at once opened fire upon the Peruvian vessel, in which several commanders had been already killed. During the action Admiral Grau was succeeded in the command by Aguirre, Car- bajal, Rodriguez, Palacios and Garezan, one after an- other shedding his blood upon the "Huascar's" decks. The Chilean riflemen shot down three out of the four men working the gun in the "Huascar's" top; a broad- side from the "Blanco" killed all the men at the reliev- ing-tackles ; the engines were filled with soot from the shattered smokestack, the steam steering-gear had been disabled. Once the "Huascar's" colors were shot away and the Chilean vessels ceased firing, thinking their enemy had surrendered. But another flag was hoisted and the un- equal contest went on. The "Blanco" and "Cochrane" both followed the Peruvian vessel and poured into her an unceasing fire from their heavy guns, machine-guns, and small arms; the "Huascar" replied occasionally with her left turret gun. The "Covadonga" arrived upon the scene and fired one gun, but the "Huascar" was already silenced. At- tempts were made by her crew to sink her, the com- mander ordering the engineer to open her valves. But before this was done some of the men on deck waved handkerchiefs and towels as a sign of surrender, and hauled down the flag ; then the firing ceased. Lieu- tenant Simpson of the "Cochrane" and Lieutenant Castillo of the "Blanco" went aboard with other offi- cers and men and took possession of the hard won prize. Thirty-two officers and men lay dead and forty-eight 288 A HISTORY OF CHILE wounded upon the "Huascar's" decks, out of the crew of one huridred and ninety-three. The action had lasted one hour and thirty minutes. The survivors of the ill-fated ironclad were kept some time at work putting out the fires and getting the vessel in sailing order, then she was taken into Mejillones Bay. This action off Point Angamos left the Peruvians only the two wooden corvettes afloat, the "Union" and "Pilcomayo, " and the latter was captured by the Chilean ironclads in November. Prat and Grau, friends, as well as opponents in this war, were martyrs each to his country's cause, and their names are justly immortalized in both Chile and Peru. Missing Page Missing Page CHAPTER III THE WAR IN THE SOUTH PISAGUA, SAN FRANCISCO, TARA- PACA LOSS OF THE DESERT PROVINCES The allies had made strenuous efforts to concentrate an army in the south before their communications should be cut off by sea, for along the desert coast of southern Peru and Bolivia it is nearly impossible to move an army very long distances except by way of the Pacific. Plere and there along the desert wastes deep gorges have been plowed out by the mountain streams dashing down to the ocean, and in them there are occasional oases and small cultivated tracts of land, where the towns are situated. The allied army at Arica and other southern points now numbered about 20,000 men. General Prado had gone south from Arica on a tour of inspection to Tara- paca, where General Buendia was in command. Gen- eral Daza, having brought four thousand Bolivian rein- forcements into the field, remained at Arica and Tacna. General Prado took south with him two battalions of the Bolivian troops commanded by Colonel Villamil, and left them at Pisagua. Then he proceeded to Iquique where he remained several days, that port as well as Patillos being now efficientl}' garrisoned. The force in Tarapaca amounted to abojit nine thousand men under Buendia, an old soldier, and a rather rash 19 iSg 290 A HISTORY OF CHILE one; but Colonel Suarez, his chief of staff, was a highly efficient officer. Tarapaca is something over one hun- dred miles southwest from Arica, fifty from Pisagua and about the same distance inland from Iquique. The Chileans, now masters of the sea, began to push forward reinforcements until their army in the field soon numbered from 12,000 to i5,ooomen, well drilled, ably officered and splendidly equipped. From seven to ten thousand of these troops were embarked at Antofagasta under General Escala, the objective point being the port of Pisagua. The fleet and ten or twelve trans- ports were emplo\'ed in the expedition, under the com- mand of Commodore Riveros. On the morning of the 2nd of November, this force appeared off Pisagua, which was defended by rifle-pits, two small batteries, a garrison of three hundred troops and about six hundred Indians, Buendia being in the town at the time and taking the chief command. The coast rises here to a height of ten or twelve hundred feet, and at the foot of the bluff lies the town of Pisagua. Two paths and a railroad zigzag over the hills, and along them the rifle-pits had been formed ; here the Bolivian Indians were stationed under Colonel Granier. Other troops took up positions in the town, commanded by Colonels Villamil and Recabarren, Gen- eral Buendia himself commanding in chief. The bat- teries were situated about three miles apart, extending from the mouth of. the Tiviliche ravine on the north, to the point of Huayna Pisagua on the south. A force which had been landed at Junin several miles down the coast, was to make a detour and fall upon Pisagua in the rear. The first act was to bombard the little forts north and south of the town by the "O'Higgins" and "Coch- rane;" the one at Huayna Pisagua was soon silenced, THE PERUVIAN WAR 291 that at Tiviliche was abandoned. About seven hun- dred men were sent ashore in boats under cover of a lively cannonading from the fleet. This force was checked at the beech by the brisk firing of the Boli- vian Indians in the rifle-pits and upon the bluff, but there troops landed and the firing became so hot that the beach was soon covered with the dead, the men- of-war all the time pouring in a tremendous rain of shot and shell. For five hours the defenders held out. General Buendia hourly expecting reinforcements. The Chileans had conducted the landing with much pluck and enterprise, leaving their boats behind them, officers and men vying with each other in deeds of valor. The town was carried, and step by step, fighting for every inch of ground, the Chileans pushed up the bluff and dislodged the defenders, who fled up the railroad. The Chileans lost two hundred and thirty-five in killed and wounded; the losses of the defenders do not seem to be accurately known, but were probabl}' equal to that of their opponents. The allies retreated up the railroad to La Noria and Peiia Grande and in a few days formed a junction with troops from Iquique and other points south. The Chileans soon after gained possession of the railroad for a distance of fifty miles to Agua Santa; the main body of the army occupied the heights of San Francisco, which were intrenched, and Jaspampa, where General Escala established his headquarters. Here they awaited reinforcements. On the 6th, an advanced body of one hundred and seventy-five cavalrymen under Colonel Jos6 Franciso Vergara, in making a reconnoissance at Jeramia near Agua Santa, fell in with a small mounted party of Peruvians, commanded by a young man named Jos6 Ventura Sepulveda. Seventy out of the ninety-four Peruvians were sabered and left. dead upon the field. 292 A HISTORY OF CHILE President Prado, hearing of the disaster at Pisagua, ordered his colleague, President Daza, to form a junc- tion with Buendia. President Daza started to obey President Prado, but had advanced from Arica only to the ravine of the Camarones with three thousand of his Bolivians, when he turned back in a cowardly retreat, his force utterly demoralized. There were too many president-generals commanding the allied armies to insure concerted action in carrying out important move- ments. General Buendia had gone to Iquique ; hearing there of the advance of Daza, and being short of provisions, he assembled his scattered army at Pozo Almonte near the northern terminus of the Iquique railroad. Early in November he began a march across twenty or thirty miles of intervening desert, his army in three divisions commanded respectively by Colonels Davila, Busta- mente and Villegras. Villegras commanded the Boli- vians, Davila, the advanced division. Meanwhile the Chileans had augmented their force at San Francisco ; six thousand men with thirty-two long range guns were now intrenched on the heights. On November igth, their advanced guard fell back from Agua Santa, retiring before the approach of Buen- dia's forces, amounting now to near lo.ooo men. On the same day the allies marched some fifteen or twenty miles from Agua Santa and halted at the oficitia of Por- vinir where there was a supply of water. They had made a long march across the arid plains and were suf- fering terribly from thirst. They were now close to the heights of San Fran- cisco, upon which the Chilean army was posted ; Gen- eral Buendia established his headquarters at Porvinir, Colonel Suarez rode from rank to rank. It was decided to allow the men to rest after their long march, but THE PERUVIAN WAR 293 Colonel Espinar in reconnoitering the enemy's posi- tion brought on the battle. The Chileans opened a heavy fire of musketry and artillery upon the charging Peruvians, who sought to capture their artillery ; they then dashed upon their adversaries with bayonets fixed and drove them back. Colonel Espinar had fallen and the advanced force was without a leader ; falling back they caused demoralization in the main army, while a division under Villegras, ascending the ravine from the east, met with no better success. Villegras fell wounded. The troops retreated in fairly good order to Porvinir. The Chileans took no advantage of the rout. They lost their gallant leader, General Emilio Sotomayor, and two hundred and eight in killed and wounded. The Peruvian-Bolivian loss is not very definitely stated, but their dead was estimated at two hundred and twenty. Colonel Suarez collected the remnants of the army at Tarapaca. The Bolivians retreated toward the highlands of their own country. Iquique was evacuated by the allies and November 22nd a force of Chileans occupied it. The garrison un- der Colonel Rios retreated to Tarapaca. On the 29th, President Prado invested Admiral Lizardo Montero with the command and set out for his capital; on the i8th of the following month he turned over the gov- ernment to the vice president, General La Puerta. After the battle of San Francisco, the Chilean gen- eral dispatched a force of two thousand men with a small body of cavalry and one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery to reconnoitre the enemy at Tarapaci. The force was under the command of Colonels Arteaga and Vergara. Arriving at TarapacA, the troops were sepa- rated into three divisions, one under the command of Ramirez was to come up the ravine, one under Arteaga was to descend from the heights directly upon the town. 294 A HISTORY OF CHILE one under Santa Cruz was to advance down the ravine in which the place is situated. This division of the force caused its destruction. The Peruvian forces under Buendia and Suarez had left the town and were mov- ing northward in the ravine. Informed of the dispo- sition of their foes, they attacked them from the heights and after an hour of severe fighting routed them com- pletely, capturing a battery of Krupp guns. The divisions in the ravine were also obliged to fall back after a sharp encounter and the Peruvians were left masters of the field. The Chileans lost six hun- dred and eighty-seven in killed and wounded; the Peru- vians, nineteen officers killed, sixteen wounded, and four hundred and ninety-eight men killed and wound- ed — heavy losses for the number engaged in the com- bat. On the following day the Peruvians continued their march and arrived at Arica on the i8th of December, with three thousand of their number out of ammuni- tion, with few arms, ragged, hungry and thirsty. Gen- eral Buendia and Colonel Suarez were immediately ar- rested for the loss of the province. The Chileans buried their heroic dead at TarapacA and assumed complete possession of the province, where a small garrison was placed, while the main army was stationed in Pisagua and Iquique. This was soon reinforced, and the available forces in the field numbered seventeen thousand men. Arica, Islay, Ilo and Mollendo were blockaded, thus severing the first named place from its communications with the north, except by the overland way by Arequipa. Of the allied army remaining, Daza had about three thousand men at Tacna and Montero four thousand at Arica, the whole in a very demoralized condition. These reverses were without doubt the reason for THE PERUVIAN WAR 295 President Prado's abandonment of the army of the south and his withdrawal to Lima. He sailed for Panama on December 19th ; two days afterward a revo- lution broke out at the Peruvian capital. Colonel Pierola being the leader. The government party was besieged in the palace by General La Cotero; Colonel Nicolas de Pierola, after a fight with the government forces in Lima, went to Callao during the night and next morn- ing took possession of the place. The government surrendered and Pierola became virtual dictator of Peru. The Bolivians, disgusted with Daza, also planned a successful revolution, which resulted in placing Gen- eral Narciso Campero in power. Daza retired to Peru. On the 27th of December he had gone to Arica to consult with Montero. While there his troops at Tacna, ashamed of their president, deposed him and elected Colonel Camacho to the command. The next day the revolution in La Paz placed Campero temporarily in supreme power; on the 5th of June following, he was elected constitutional president. Campero was an able statesman. The Peruvians made an unsuccessful attempt to de- stroy some of the blockading vessels in the harbor of Arica with torpedoes ; the Chileans, quite as active, planned a decent upon the town of Ilo, which is con- nected with Moquegua by railroad. Five hundred men were landed on December 31st, provisions were seized, and some damage was done to the railroad. After vis- iting Moquegua the party re-em^barked, January 2nd. During the last days of February, Arica was several times bombarded and unimportant actions took place between the shore batteries and the blockading vessels. Several men of the "Huascar's" crew were killed, but no serious damage was done to the town. On the 17th of March, Captain Villavicencio sailed 296 A HISTORY OF CHILE from Callao in the "Union" with stores and munitions of war for the troops in Arica, determined to run the blockade, which he succeeded in doing. Discovering the manoeuvre, the "Cochrane," "Huascar, " and "Ama- zonas, " gave chase and kept up an artillery practice at long range. One shell killed two and wounded twenty of the "Union's" crew, but the vessel escaped and made her way safely back to Callao. On the 6th of the following month, the Chilean war- ships, "Huascar" (which had been repaired and added to the navy), "Blanco," "Angamos," "Pilcomayo'' and "Cousina, " commanded by Admiral Riveros, sailed northward, their objective point being Callao. The port was blockaded and an unsuccessful attempt made to capture the "Union" and "Atahualpa, " but they slipped in close behind the darsena, or mole, and eluded their pursuers. The blockading squadron made the unforti- fied island of San Lorenzo, just out of the harbor, its headquarters and warned neutral vessels to leave the anchorage within eight days. On the 22nd a bombard- ment began at long range, but did comparatively little damage, as the shore defences replied from their one hundred and seventy guns. Attempts were made by the Peruvians to destroy the Chilean vessels with tor- pedo launches, but they were captured and the scheme frustrated. In revenge for these attempts, the Chile- ans again bombarded the town on the loth of May, but the batteries on shore replied so effectively that the "Huascar" was considerably damaged. About this time the Chilean government added to its navy several swift torpedo boats, manufactured in England and the United States. One, the "Janequeo," destroyed the Peruvian steam-launch "Independencia" at the mole in Callao harbor. Lieutenant Galvez, of the "Independencia," threw a one hundred pound case THE PERUVIAN WAR 297 of powder on the "Janequeo's" deck and exploded it. Both vessels sank, with a loss of eight men of the "Inde- pendencia's" crew. The blockade of Callao, together with that of the neighboring ports of Ancon and Chancay, was main- tained for nine months. CHAPTER IV THE OCCUPATION OF MOQUEGUA, TACNA AND ARICA NAVAL OPERATIONS THE ADVANCE UPON LIMA FIRST ATTEMPT TO ARRANGE A TREATY The Chileans now determined to prosecute the war on Peruvian territory and to destroy the allied armies assembled at Tacna and Moquegua. On the 24th of February, 1880, they embarked twelve thousand men at Pisagua in transports and the next day landed about ten thousand of them at Pacocha, the seaport of Mo- quegua, sixty miles north of Arica. A day or two afterward an additional force of three thousand men was landed at Vitar, which joined the main army. After reconnoitering the country and destroying some property at MoUendo during the first week in March, the Chilean array under General Baquedano, who had succeeded General Escala in command, advanced toward Moquegua, which is connected with its ports by rail- roads. After a week's toilsome march Moquegua was reached and occupied without resistance. From the heights above the town the Peruvian forces could be seen oc- cupying the strong position of Los Angeles, an histori- cal spot, where, in 1823, General Valdez repulsed the attacks of the patriot forces led by General Alvarado ; it was also occupied by Pierola in- 1874, in his revolt against the government. At this almost impregnable Battle of Tacna THE PERUVIAN WAR 299 place, which is situated on one of the spurs of Mount Torata, Colonel Gamarra, having abandoned Moquegua, took up his position with about two thousand men. Here were precipitous heights situated in a triangle formed by the river Ilo, a deep ravine on the left, im- passable mountains on the right, a ravine and sandy slope in front to be passed before the steep incline could be reached by an attacking force. It was an important position for the allies, as it covered the line of retreat to the north for the main army at Arica. General Baquedano ordered a thousand men under Colonel Munoz to make a long detour by way of Tu- milca to the rear of the enemy. At daylight on the morning of the 22nd of March, Munoz attacked in the rear, while at the same time a force began to scale the heights in front of the enemy's position, and two bat- teries of artillery under Lieutenant Colonel Novoa opened fire. The Peruvians being enfiladed and at- tacked in front and rear, with a shower of shells, mus- ketry and furious bayonet charges, fell back in some disorder to Ilubaya, leaving twenty-eight killed and a number wounded upon the field. The Chileans imme- diately occupied Yacango and Torata. About the time Baquedano's army had advanced from Ilo, (March 12th,) Colonel Silva, commanding a body of Bolivians at Viacha, had revolted against Cam- pero's government. Though the insurrection was easily put down, it was owing to this fact that the large body of Bolivians, consisting of four battalions, had not supported Colonel Gamarra at Los Angeles. Active preparations were now made by Baquedano to attack the allied armies assembled at Tacna, from 10,000 to 14,000 strong. On the 19th of April, General Campero arrived from Bolivia and assumed the com- mand in chief of the allied armies, the second in com- 300 A HISTORY OF CHILE mand of the Bolivians being Camacho, while Admiral Montero still commanded the Peruvians. Previously, the Chileans had thoroughly reconnoitered the coun- try and advanced several bodies of troops in the direc- tion of Tacna. Colonel Albarracain surprised a body of twenty-five Chilean cavalry at Locumba and cut them all down but four. On the 17th, Colonel Ver- gara engaged Albarracain at Sama and killed one hun- dred and fifty of his men. This cavalry then pushed on close to Tacna, and on the i8th, the fourth division of the Chilean army, which had remained at Pacocha, moved forward. On the 27th, General Baquedano broke camp at Hospicio near Moquegua and accompanied by the war minister, Don Rafael Sotomayor (who died of apoplexy on the way), began his march over the desert toward Tacna, his troops marching in three di- visions. On the 20th of May, the army encamped near Buena Vista on the Sama river, sixteen miles north- west of Tacna, the base of supplies being the port of Ite, twenty-five miles distant. Five days afterward the Chilean army moved forward to within six miles of Tacna, and on the day following advanced to within a short distance of the enemy's intrenched position on a line of sand-hills to the northwest of the city, the flanks defended by deep ravines, the front by a steep glacis strongly fortified and commanding a plain over which the Chileans must pass. Admiral Montero com- manded the right wing. General Camacho the left; the center was led by Colonel Castro Pinto, President Cam- pero himself being chief in command. On the morning of the 26th of May, General Baque- dano took up a position just beyond the range of the enemy's artillery, and there stationed a reserve under Munoz. At 9.50 a. m., his Krupp guns opened upon the Peruvians at a distance of four thousand yards and THE PERUVIAN WAR 301 for an hour did deadly execution. The first and second divisions were moved forward a distance of four miles and deployed in line of battle. Shortly before noon the infantry advanced, led in four divisions by Colonels Amenguel, Amunategui, Barcelo, and Barbosa. The lines came within four or five hundred yards of the enemy before the latter opened fire upon- them. Then in the face of a tremendous hailstorm of bullets, the Chileans advanced on the double and charged, the first attack being upon the Bolivians on the left commanded by Colonel Camacho, which was the weakest point. The left was turned and a heavy enfilading fire opened from the rest of the line. The battle now became gen- eral ; Campero sought to reinforce the left and for a short time opposed nearly his whole force against the four thousand Chileans who had led the onslaught. For an hour they sustained the attack then began to waver ; but the Chilean cavalry made a brilliant charge ; the line reformed and resumed its former position. At 12:30 the Chileans were wavering and falling back, at I o'clock they were making a spirited advance. Their riflemen carried the intrenched position, their artillery constantly mowing down the ranks of the Aymara and Inca Indians upon the crest of the sand-hills. The allies fell back, retreated through Tacna and pursued their way toward Corocoro. Campero retired to La Paz and Montero with the Peruvians toward the north by way of Torata, which place was soon after occupied by Barbosa with a force of Chileans. The Chilean loss amounted to 2,128 in killed and wounded; the Peru- vians lost 2,500 killed and wounded; the Bolivian loss- es could not be accurately estimated ; four hundred prisoners were taken. An advance was soon made upon Arica. The Chilean cavalry pushed forward and unearthed a number of tor- 302 A HISTORY OF CHILE pedoes which the Peruvians had planted at the ap- proaches of the railway bridge over the Chacalluta river. On the 2nd of June, four thousand Chileans advanced to Chacalluta near Arica. Colonel Leyra a few days before had attempted to reinforce Arica with two thous- and Peruvians from Arequipa, but hearing of the defeat at Tacna had fallen back. Arica was a strongly fortified place, situated on a sandy plain rising above the beach, on the south de- fended by a fort on the high Morro hill, around the town a line of forts and trenches, on the north three batteries. In the harbor the "Manco Capac, " com- manded by Captain Lagomarsino, was anchored near the forts. The defenses were garrisoned by two thous- and troops under the command of Colonel Bolognesi ; Captain Moore commanded the batteries on the Morro. Establishing his headquarters at Chacalluta, General Baquedano invested Arica on the land side, posting his artillery so as to cover assaulting parties. In the harbor the squadron, commanded by Captain Latorre, consist- ing of the "Cochrane," "Magallanes, " "Covadonga'' and "Loa, " stood ready to bombard the town. On the 5th of June, Bolognesi was summoned to surrender. He re- fused and the next morning the attack began. The Chil- ean field-batteries opened fire at long range, but were soon silenced by the one hundred-pounders the Peru- vians brought to bear upon them. The squadron then opened fire at distances ranging from one thousand to eight thousand yards. The shore batteries and the "Manco Capac" replied vigorously. The "Covadonga" was struck twice by huge projectiles and was so much damaged that it was found necessary to send her to Pisagua for repairs ; a shell entered near one of the "Cochrane's" guns and, exploding, wounded twenty- THE PERUVIAN WAR 303 seven men. The Chilean ships were now withdrawn to await the assault on the following day. The plan of the assault was for one regiment to at- tack the northern batteries, three regiments to attack the southern forts, and simultaneously others were to attack the sand-bag defenses along the line. For this purpose four thousand men were selected, and the com- mand assigned to Colonel Pedro Lagos. At daylight on the 7th of June, half of the Chilean force under Lagos made a vigorous assault upon the sand-bag defenses before the Morro ; the defenders fled to the latter place, and the action became general. The three batteries on the beach were carried. The Peru- vians fired a mine, or torpedo, and in retaliation the Chileans massacred four hundred and fifty men, when, at 7 a. m., the Peruvian defenses had all been carried, with the exception of the Morro and east forts. The main body of the assaulting force had rushed up the inclined slope to the Morro on the inland side in the face of a lively rifle fire, scaled the low parapet, and after a gallant struggle, defeated the garrison. The other forts had either been captured or abandoned by this time and the town was in the hands of the vic- torious Chileans. The Chileans lost three hundred and seventy-two men; of the Peruvians, seven hundred were lying dead in pools of blood, " Se forman pantanos de sangre!"* many were wounded and six hundred taken prisoners. The "Manco Capac'' was blown up to pre- vent her falling into the hands of Baquedano's vic- torious army. The crew went aboard the transport "Itata, " but subsequently gave themselves up. A tor- pedo-boat was also blown up by her crew. The victors permitted the Peruvians to transport their wounded in the "Limeiia" to Callao, where they were placed in the *Vicuna Mackenna. 304 A HISTORY OF CHILE hospitals. The Chileans were now masters of the sea, the entire Bolivian coast and a rich province of Peru. Soon after the fall of Arica several naval incidents worthy of mention occurred in the neighborhood of Callao, where the blockading squadron still maintained a rigorous blockade. On the afternoon of the 3rd of July, a Huacho packet, or small coasting vessel, was observed to quit the harbor and sail northward. The "Loa, " which had arrived from Arica shortly before, gave chase. Three men were seen to leave the coast- er and take to the shore, as the "Loa'' approached. Captain Pena commanded the warship; he sent Lieu- tenant Martinez to examine the abandoned vessel, which was found to have on board a cargo of vegeta- bles and poultry. The little craft was towed alongside the Chilean vessel, and the transfer of the cargo had been nearly completed, when a terrific explosion tore open the "Loa's" side at the water-line causing her to instantly fill and sink. Some kind of infernal machine, charged with more than two hundred pounds of dyna- mite, had been arranged in the bottom under the chick- ens. Captain Pena, three officers and fifty men, went down in the ill-fated craft ; thirty-eight of the crew were saved. Two months passed, during which both sides were preparing actively for the final struggle. In the last days of August, the "Angamos" engaged the batteries in Callao harbor at a distance of three and four miles. On the last day, September ist, some damage was done to the "Union." Two days afterward the batteries were again engaged by some of the vessels of the fleet, but with no other result than the sinking of a tug. On the 13th of the month, another successful attempt was made by the Peruvians to blow up Chilean men- of-war. This time it was the "Covadonga, " which had THE PERUVIAN WAR 305 been sent to maintain the blockade in the port of Chan- cay, not far from Callao. Observing an empty gig and launch near the mole, the "Covadonga" opened fire and destroyed the launch, and then sent a boat alongside to examine the gig. When this had been satisfactorily done, the little craft was towed to the warship where tackles were hooked on for the purpose of hoisting her up the starboard davits. When the tackles were tight- ened an explosion took place. The "Covadonga" was blown in and sank immediately. The gig had been arranged to explode in this manner. The captain and some of the crew perished, but about fifty of the men were rescued. These diabolical acts enraged the Chileans to such an extent that Admiral Riveros bombarded three de- fenseless towns ; not, however, until the Peruvians had refused to accede to his demands and turn over the "Union" and "Rimac," then lying in the harbor pro- tected by the guns of the batteries. An expedition of three thousand men was landed at Chimbote, Paita and other places about this time, com- manded by Colonel Patrick Lynch, the avowed object being to ravage the coast towns. In Paita, he burned the. custom-house and other public property, and com- mitted depredation in ten or eleven other coast towns, as well as upon adjoining farms. Near Chimbote a contribution was demanded of nearly gioo,ooo from a rich sugar planter at Palo Seco, by way of ransom. The president, Pierola, refused to allow the planter, Don Dionisio Derteano, to pay the amount; then Lynch burned the premises and destroyed the property. After this another attempt was made by the Peruvi- ans to blow up Chilean ironclads, October gth, by means of a sunken boat filled with powder. This time they were not successful. On the 6th of December, three of 3o6 A HISTORY OF CHILE the Chilean torpedo-boats were drawn into an action with a Peruvian armed steamer, the "Arno, " in the har- bor of Callao. The fleet took part and this drew the fire of the shore batteries. One of the torpedo-boats, the "Fresia, " was struck by a shell and sunk, but was soon afterward raised by the Chileans. A few days afterward, four of the blockading vessels engaged the monitor, "Atahualpa, " which had moved out about a mile from the mole. During the engagement the big one hundred and eighty-pounder breech-loading gun of the "Angamos, " which had, on account of its range, done much valuable service for the Chileans, broke from its connections and fell overboard. The loss of this gun was probably felt more than the loss of the unfortunate lieutenant whom it killed as it went over. While the Chileans were moving their troops down from Tacna and massing them at Arica, preparatory to embarking them for the north, the United States min- ister at Santiago, Mr. Osborn, was offering the good services of his government to bring about peace. It was arranged that a conference should take place on board the United States warship "Lackawanna" in the harbor of Arica, representatives from the three govern- ments engaged in the war to be present. Don Aurelio Garcia y Garcia and Don Antonio Arenas represented Peru; Don Mariano Baptista and Don Juan Carrillo, Bolivia ; Colonel Vergara, the new Chilean minister of war, Don Eulogio Altamirano and Don Eusebio Lillo, represented Chile. Mr. Osborn, United States minis- ter to Chile, Mr. Christiancy and Mr. Adams, repre- senting the same government in Peru and Bolivia, were present. The meeting took place October 22nd ; the Chilean representatives required the province of Tara- paca south of the Camarones, the Bolivian seacoast and a war indemnity of ^20,000,000, one-fifth of which THE PERUVIAN WAR 307 was to be in cash, the return of all Chilean private property taken, as well as the transport "Rimac," the abrogation of the secret treaty of 1873, which was known to have been agreed upon by Peru and Bolivia, the retention of Moquegua, Tacna and Arica until all conditions were complied with, and an obligation not to fortify Arica in the future. The conditions were not accepted and Chile replied that she must have compensation for her sacrifices, and the provinces which her capital and energy had made valuable. Peru proposed to leave the question to the United States for arbitration ; Chile, seeing little to arbitrate while she was conqueror, refused. Bolivia suggested a full war indemnity in lieu of territory; this was refused. Chile asked just what she had conquered, and believed in the well-worn adage that to the victors belong the spoils. The conference was broken off and the Chilean army, 25,000 strong, prepared to embark for the neighborhood of Lima, in three divisions. On November i8th, one division of nine thousand men under Colonel Lynch landed at Pisco, drove off the garrison stationed there under Colonel Zamudio, and then occupied ttie town, also the town and valley of Yea; then it marched to Chin- cha, whence it afterward pushed northward to Curayaco Bay, where the other two divisions under Sotomayor and Lagos were to disembark near Chilca, one hundred and seven miles from Pisco. Upon the approach of the Chilean forces Pierola turned over the civil government to La Puerta and as- sumed command of the Peruvian army about the cap- ital. The foreign naval officers obtained permission for representatives from the neutral vessels to join the headquarters of each of the armies. This request being granted, eight representatives were selected from 3o8 A HISTORY OF CHILE the British, American, French and Italian squadrons, to visit the headquarters of General Baquedano and General Pierola and report upon the struggle, now near at hand. CHAPTER V BATTLES OF CHORRILLOS AND MIRAFLORES OCCUPATION OF LIMA AND CALLAO — ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT The Peruvian government issued a decree ordering every male resident in Lima capable of bearing arms to join the troops in the field for the protection of the capital. In this manner an army was hastily summoned, in four divisions, of five thousand to six thousand men each, commanded respectively by Colonels Iglesias, Suarez, Davila and Caceres. President Pierola com- manded in chief. General Silva was chief of staff. The men were poorly clothed, worse fed and armed with rusty Remingtons and Winchesters. The one hundred guns in the artillery parks and forts, were of Lima manufacture principally, and varied as to patterns. The whole of the Peruvian force in and about the capital has been given at 33,500. The Chileans had now in this vicinity 21,000 infan- try, artillery 1,370, cavalry 1,252; a total of 23,621 men, well-equipped and with sixty-three guns of good pat- tern. From this it will be seen that there was no great disparity either in numbers or strength in the respec- tive armies. Being now advised that the Chileans would advance upon the capital from the south, Pierola determined to form lines of defense in that direction. Breastworks 309 3IO A HISTORY OF CHILE were thrown up in two long semicircular lines ; the outer, ten miles from Lima, was about six miles long, extending from the high Morro Solar, near Chorrillos on the coast, to- the mountains on the east; the inner line, about six miles out and four miles in length, passed just outside the village of Miraflores. Mines and torpedoes were prepared, but were not of much worth in checking the advance of the enemy over the sand-hills and through the beautiful orchards and clover fields which surrounded Lima. Redoubts upon Mount San Cristobal to the north of the city and upon Mount San Bartolem^ to the south and east, with batteries on the small hills south of the city, constituted the nearer defenses. On the 23rd of December, two divisions of the Peru- vian army moved into line at Chorrillos ; on the day following the rest of the army went to Miraflores. The divisions atChorrillos under Colonels Iglesias andSuar- ez extended their lines from Villa to Monterico Chico, strongly intrenched as described above ; the other divi- sions under Colonels Davila and Caceres, took up po- sitions in the Miraflores line. General Pierola estab- lished his headquarters at Chorrillos. As already stated, the first division of the Chilean army was landed at Pisco and ordered to march north- ward to form a junction with the main army at Cu- rayaco. General Villagras was at first in command at Pisco, but was subsequently relieved. Lynch being appointed in his place. On the 13th of December, Lynch began his march northward. Along the route he destroyed much property, burning and pillaging several villages, in revenge for being repeatedly annoyed by desultory skirmishes with the enemy. He arrived with his division at Ciirayaco on the 25th, bringing with him considerable booty. THE PERUVIAN WAR 311 The main army disembarked at Curayaco from the 22nd to the 25th, and immediately occupied the towns of Lurin and Pachacamac a few miles to the north- ward. Here headquarters was established and the army went into camp. One brigade was thrown across the river Lurin to guard the bridge and approaches from Chorrillos ; Colonel Barbosa pushed on to Manzano in the upper part of the valley and there encountered the cavalry force which had been harassing Lynch on his way north. The commander, Colonel Arostegui, and upward of two hundred men, were killed or taken pris- oners, the remainder making their escape to Lima. Both armies were now actively engaged in preparing for the final struggle and reconnoitering for positions. January 6th, the Chilean commander-in-chief recon- noitered the Peruvian line at Chorrillos with a con- siderable force. On the 9th, Barbosa was sent with his cavalry to At6 to reconnoitre the enemy's extreme left and report on the feasibility of a flank movement in that direction. A skirmish occurred in which several Chil- eans were killed. Pierola the same day strengthened the position of his left with Davila's division, for which reason Baquedano decided to abandon the idea of a flank movement and attack in front. On the afternoon of the 12th, the Chilean army moved by the mountain road of Atocongo toward the Peruvian right; Lynch, however, with two regiments moved by the coast road to attack the Peruvian right near Morro Solar. On the following morning the Chilean army emerged from the mountain road and formed for battle along the whole line. General Sotomayor in the center, Colonel Lagos on the extreme right, the left under Lynch ; the reserves under Colonel Martinez were placed back between the center and left. The Peruvians had Iglesias with five thousand men 312 A HISTORY OF CHILE to oppose Lynch, Caceres commanded the center, de- fending Santa Teresa and San Juan, Davila was on the extreme left, Suarez' division formed a reserve. At the break of day, Lynch's division moved forward and gained a position within four or five hundred yards of Iglesias' position on the right, before he was dis- covered. This brought on desultory firing which grad- ually became heavier as the other Chilean divisions approached the Peruvian lines. This was about 5 a. m., and from this time the firing grew more and more brisk. Some of the torpedoes which the Peruvians had placed before their intrenchments exploded, and this so exas- perated the Chileans that they subsequently showed little quarter. San Juan was carried in about an hour, the defenders flying for shelter. The Peruvian right was steadily forced back, notwithstanding that the ar- tillery there played constantly upon the advancing Chil- eans, until it rested upon the Morro Solar. The cen- ter was at San Juan, and this having been cut, the Peruvian left wing was driven from its position and compelled to retreat in a rout toward Miraflores. The right, still fighting obstinately at the Morro Solar, was now attacked in front and flank and driven back toward Chorrillos. The Chileans at this juncture let loose their cavalry, which charged the fugitives from the center and left all along the roads to Lima, cutting them down mercilessly. On the right the fighting was still continued desper- ately. Colonel Iglesias sent appeal after appeal for reinforcements, but none came. Lynch was supported from the center and the Peruvians made a stand behind the houses and garden-walls of Chorrillos ; finally they were forced back and took up a position behind the batteries on the hill. The Chileans opened an artil- lery fire upon them which at 2 p. m., forced the gal- THE PERUVIAN WAR 313 lant Iglesias to surrender; this, too, despite the fact that he had at last been tardily supported by Recabdr- ren and Caceres, who brought about three thousand men to the hill. The Chilean loss is given at from two thousand to three thousand ; the Peruvians lost in killed and wound- ed over four thousand men, with as many more taken prisoners. The Chileans occupied Chorrillos and the men soon became utterly demoralized with drink; so much so, that Pierola might have rallied his army and defeated them while engaged in their orgies. For this reason, perhaps, Baquedano may have thought it best not to push forward immediately to the second line of de- fenses at Mirailores. A vast amount of property was detroyed or plundered by the soldiery, and Chorrillos laid waste. During the two days following the battle efforts were made by the foreign diplomats in Lima to arrange an armistice, with a view of averting further bloodshed and destruction of property. Pierola had requested this, and two foreign officers went with a flag of truce to General Baquedano and obtained his consent to a conference. An armistice was arranged to extend until midnight of January 15th. But during the afternoon, while making some changes of position, the Chilean third division was brought near the Peruvian lines, and quite close to the place where the Peruvian men-of-war were anchored. Not understanding the exact terms of the armistice, a few shots were fired by the marines; soon the firing became general, to the great surprise of both commanders. The Chileans and Peruvians both were thus taken by surprise. The former were at the time preparing their 314 A HISTORY OF CHILE dinners, and a panic was only averted by the timely arrival of reserves. At half past two o'clock the battle of Miraflores had thus been inadvertently begun. The Chilean fleet opened fire upon the town of Miraflores and disabled the guns in the fort, which was situated between the town and the sea. The third division advanced and captured the place, the defenders falling back to the Peruvian center. One of the Chilean field-batteries had gained a commanding position at the Peruvian left and opened a destructive enfilading fire ; the ad- vantage was pushed by the first division and a strong force of cavalry and artillery, despite the incessant roar of the guns from the heights of San Bartolom6 and San Cristoval. Four Peruvian redoubts were car- ried one after another at the point of the bayonet. By 5 :30 o'clock the Peruvian army was fleeing in a wild rout toward the city, leaving over two thousand dead upon the field. The Chilean loss was about the same. Miraflores was burned ; the Peruvian army was dis- persed in all directions. Pierola with his chiefs retired to a little town in the mountains ; all the Peruvian ar tillery and munitions of war fell into the hands of the victorious Chileans. On the da}' following, the municipal Alcalde of Lima, Torico, formally surrendered the capital, and on the 17th, the Chilean army took possession. Riots occurred and General La Cotero, Prado's late minister of war, undertook a revolution to put himself in Pierola's place, but he was taken and imprisoned. The mob looted and burned the Chinese quarters ; liquor stores, as well as small shops, were rifled. Lima was for a few days a city without a government, or even a police force. Callao was also for a while given over to mob rule. THE PERUVIAN WAR 315 but the resident foreigners banded themselves together and soon made a successful stand against the rioters. The "Union" and "Altahualpa" in the harbor, together with several school-ships and transports, were destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of the victors. General Saavedra was appointed temporary military governor of Lima to receive its formal surrender, and Captain Lynch was appointed to the same office in Callao, which town he occupied with his division ; he soon afterward became military governor at Lima. Gen- eral Baquedano returned to Chile with ail but ten thou- sand of his troops. Admiral Riveros withdrew with a part of the fleet, leaving Latorre in command of the vessels which remained. In time President Pierola established his headquar- ters at Ayacucho, the interior cities being for a time beyond the reach of the Chileans. Caceres brought together the remnants of the army. The Chileans con- tented themselves with the occupation of the capital and with levying contributions. They refused to treat with Pierola and a provisional government was organized at Lima, Francisco Garcia Calderon, an eminent Peru- vian lawyer, being selected by a meeting of leading citi- zens as provisional president and Admiral Montero as vice president. Chile gave countenance to this ques- tionable government, hence it was unpopular, as it was thought that Calderon would agree to almost any con- ditions in a treaty that the Chileans might see fit to impose. The old congress being called together refused to permit Calderon to grant any cession of Peruvian territory in a treaty of peace ; it was therefore dis- missed, August 23rd, 1881. On the 28th of September Calderon's government was abolished by the Chileans. Pierola, too, had on the 28th of July resigned his office into the hands of a national assembly at Ayacucho, and 3i6 A HISTORY OF CHILE subsequently refused to hold the office of provisional president to which the assembly had then elected him. The latter office he resigned, November 28th. This left Admiral Montero as vice president in charge of the government. In August of the following year, he pro- ceeded to Arequipa and formed a ministry. Colonel Iglesias still held command in the north and Caceres in the central departments ; Suarez was assigned the command of the troops in the south, stationed at Are- quipa. During the year the organizing of new forces went on, the Peruvians obstinately refusing to accede to Chile's demands for the conquered nitrate territory and a war indemnity. In September, 1882, Montero went to La Paz and there held a conference with President Campero ; it was decided that the allies should hold out for better terms. Predatory raids and insignificant skirmishes were kept up, hardly worthy of mention. In January, 1882, the Chileans occupied the vallej's of Tarma and Xauxa and established garrisons in several of the towns. In July following several of these garrisons were at- tacked by Caceres and some of them cut to pieces. Colonel Canto, the Chilean officer in command in the interior, then retreated from the valleys. A similar effort to occupy interior points was made in the north. A skirmish took place near Caxamarca in which the Chileans were at first repulsed,- but re- ceiving reinforcements, they in turn compelled the enemy to fly the field. After inflicting some damage by depredations the Chileans withdrew to the coasts, in September, 1882. A resolute attack upon the Chil- ean garrison at San Bartolem^, a place about fifty miles from Lima, was repulsed on the 22nd of July. The Chileans then withdrew nearer to Lima, destroj'- ing several villages along the line of their retreat. THE PERUVIAN WAR 317 During Pinto's administration the war with Peru had united all parties in patriotic support of the govern- ment. All classes loyall}' supported the cause of the war ; congress was in accord with the president and voted supplies and authorized such emissions of paper money as were from time to time found to be necessary. Several important laws were passed, such as the abo- lition of the tobacco monopoly and a law which de- clared judges separated from administration and party influences and made the judiciary somewhat more inde- pendent of both. The public interior debt had reached the sum of 130,000,000, but the receipts from the guano and nitrate fields enabled the government to meet its obligations, and, though the paper money raised prices and rents, the country recovered from its economical prostration and a period of abundance followed the crisis of 1878. CHAPTER VI THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT SANTA MARIA The war with Peru, having been decided and practi- cally settled in favor of the Chileans by the battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores, it is time to turn our atten- tion to political changes at Santiago, where party feel- ing at this time was running high. On the i8th of September, 1881, Don Domingo Santa Maria succeeded Don Anibal Pinto as president of Chile. Santa Maria was a pronounced liberal and had long been a conspic- uous figure in Chilean politics, having been twice ban- ished for taking an active part in revolutions. In 1852, he had retired to Lima and in 1858, to Europe, a po- litical exile from his own country. He had been min- ister of finance in 1863, under President Perez, who had formed a ministry of moderate liberals and con- servatives, had signed the defensive treaty with Peru against Spain in 1866, and, as minister of foreign affairs during the last year of Pinto's administration, had con- ducted the negotiations with Lavalle pending the out- break of the war. The reaction toward the liberal party had set in dur- ing the administration of President Errazuriz in 1871. He had formed a conservative ministry,but the attempts to bring about reforms, particularly the abolition of ecclesiastical tribunals, had estranged the president 31a THE PERUVIAN WAR 319 with the moderate liberals from the old conservative party. This evolution once begun continued through the administration of Pinto. The conservatives were kept out of oiBce, and in time the power and influence of the administration was exerted in favor of liberals.* The conservatives had become demoralized, out of line, "fuera de Hnea," systematically removed from all pub- lic offices, possessed not a single influential official, and hanging over them was the shadow of political ostracism.! This was the condition of the parties at the close of the year 1880, as described by one of the foremost conservatives. But the men of the old regime were not disposed to submit tamely to the new order, and constant dissensions followed. From the time that the nation had become free from the Freire agita- tions and the liberals had been put down in the battle of Lircay, 1831, until 1871, presidents had been able to succeed themselves and hold two terms of office each. Prieto, Bulnes, Montt and Perez had each held two terms, and during those years Chile had had a stable government, strong enough to put down all liberal in- surrections, although the policy of Prieto, Bulnes and Montt, was, because of this very centralized power, illiberal and retrograde. Under the new order, no president could hope to do more than name his suc- cessor, and an attempt to do this by Balmaceda, as we shall see, was vigorously opposed. It was opposed when Pinto favored Santa Maria. A strong effort was made to prevent the nomination of Santa Maria; the liberal party, which was made up of a radical group, the moderate liberals and other *"Sisteindticamente alejados de todos los puestos publicos, no gozaban de in- fluencia oficial ninguna, i pesaba sobre ellos la sombra de una especie de ostra- cismo politico que, si no era persccucion manifiesta, tenia todos los caracteres de odiosidad profunda," etc. C. Walker Martinez. t"La herencia de Pinto debia necesari£tp?epte servir a las ambiciones liberal- es," etc, Marti[ib2: 320 A HISTORY OF CHILE factions, was again divided in sentiment. Some were with Pinto in his support of Santa Maria, others were for General Baquedano, the liero of the war. Two meetings were held, one at Santiago and the other at Valparaiso, on January 2nd, the one at the capital to form the basis for a liberal convention, the one at Val- paraiso for the same object, but in favor of other men than those who inspired the movement at the capital. The meeting at Santiago wished to hold a convention at Santiago composed of distinguished persons, law- yers, deputies, doctors, senators, municipal officers and university students; in the meeting at Valparaiso much was said of democracy, of the popular elements, local representation and national interests. Secret influ- ences and interests moved different persons toward one or the other of the groups, and ambitious leaders in each faction created discord. In the Santiago meeting the resistance of the radicals was most characteristic and the convention went to pieces, loudly blaming the Valparaiso gathering for the work. Thus stood mat- ters when news arrived of the surrender of Lima. Political agitation, in the face of the glorious news, was momentarily suspended, as if by a spell, and all parties united in manifestations of enthusiastic patri- otism. Still, in the midst of the jubilation, Santa Maria's partisans did not forget to work. Baquedano's name was suddenly presented by the opposition and his candidacy became formidable;* but during the evening and the following morning the rumor was cir- culated that Santa Maria was the official candidate. He was amigo intimo de Pinto, and the government in- fluence was actively exerted in behalf of the minister. But public feeling ran high, and called for a candi- *"La candidatura de Baquedano surjif^- i snriio como Minerva armada de la cabeza a los pi6s, con grande prestijio, con popularidad enorme," — Martinez, THE PERUVIAN WAR 321 date apart from official influence. At this juncture the conservative party espoused the candidacy of Baque- dano, not having a suitable name to present as its offi- cial candidate^ and sought in this way to fall in with the popular movement. The conservative leaders de- nounced official interference in the nominations and elections, and sought to bring about a reunion of their party with the Montt-Varistas, the latter being a branch of the ancient conservative party, opposed to radical reforms and in favor of aristocratic government, but at this time without very well-defined political maxims. They, the Montt-Varistas, knew the government influ- ence to be strong and, therefore, decided in favor of the official candidate. Santa Maria was nominated. But dissensions were rife and on the loth of June General Baquedano withdrew his name; this gave the death blow to the movement which had been started against the government. The latter carried the elec- tions, and the opposition suUenl}' acquiesced, heaping opprobrium upon the president elect.* Santa Maria selected as his cabinet the following names: Minister of the interior, Don Jos6 Francisco Vergara ; foreign relations, JDon Jos6 Manuel Balma- ceda; justice, culture and public instruction, Don Eu- jenio Vergara ; finance, Don Luis Aldiinate ; war and navy, Don Carlos Castellon. The ministry was not en tirely satisfactory to the opposition, but still did not incite resistance, and tlie new government began its administration with fair prospects of success, and with hopeful expectations of bringing about several contem- plated reforms. Meanwhile the war in the north had been practically decided by the battles of Chorrillos and Miraflores, *"?Era me orador ilustre? No. ?Un intcrjdrrimo magistrado? No. ?Un escri tor notable? No. ?Un Sabio? No. ?Un caracter, un h^roe, un solado, siquiera? No." C. Walker Martinez. 21 322 A HISTORY OF CHILE but, as we have alreadj' noted, skirmishes were still kept up in the interior, and both Peru and Bolivia held out nearly three years, for better terms than Chile was willing to grant. During the last year, 1883, there were several sharp engagements between the Chi- leans and a force which General Caceres had long been able to maintain in the interior. In May, there were several skirmishes, in two of which Caceres was de- feated, (Balconcillo and Pampas de Sicaya), General Canto commanding the Chileans. On May the 22d, the Peruvian leader was again defeated at Garma by General Garcia. The indefatigable Caceres again rallied a force and met the Chileans on July loth, at Huamachuco. Col- onel Alejandro Gorostiaga commanded about one thous- and six hundred Chilean troops, and with them de- feated Caceres at the head of over four thousand. The Peruvians lost nine hundred killed and as many more wounded ; the Chileans lost fifty-six killed, one hundred and four wounded, also four officers. The Peruvian general, Silva, was killed ; eleven pieces of artillery and eight hundred stands of rifles were captured. The battle lasted from 6 a. m. to 2 p. m. When Lynch, the Chilean military governor, re- ceived news of the battle, he invited President Iglesias to come to Lima and take charge of the government there, which had been opposed by Caceres. At the same time he published a decree calling on all officers formerly serving under Caceres to come in and give themselves up, or be treated as spies. The Indians of the interior, incited by men more unscrupulous than patriotic, still maintained an obsti- nate resistance. On August 15th, the Chilean com- mander chastised three thousand of them for pillaging, killing and wounding eight hundred of their number. THE PERUVIAN WAR 323 About the same time a mutiny broke out among the Peruvian troops at Chancay which had to be quelled. During the months of August and September active efforts were made to hasten peace measures, and the troops in several districts of Peru recognized Igiesias as lawful president. On September i8th, three thou- sand opposition troops (Monteneros) were defeated at Huancayo, two hundred of them being killed. On the 2nd of October, 1883, eight hundred and seven- ty Peruvian officers availed themselves of Lynch's invi- tation to come in, and submitted to the Chilean authori- ties. Puno was occupied, and on the gth Casnia de- clared for peace. On the 20th, the treaty of peace was signed between Chile and Peru. On the 24th General Igiesias was recognized in Peru as president regenerador. On the 29th, Arequipa, which had so long held out, surrendered, and Montero fled to Bolivia, where, how- ever, he was not very enthusiastically received, and soon after went on to Buenos Ayres and afterward to Europe. He resigned whatever supposititious author- ity he possessed to Caceres. On November gth, the Chilean army of occupation had been concentrated at Arequipa, and the Bolivian army, or what remained of it, at Oruro. But on this day the Bolivian envoy, Guijarro, quitted Tacna and went to confer with the Chilean envoy, Lillo, with reference to peace. On December nth, the treaty between Bolivia and Chile was signed. The Indians of the interior, however, led by Caceres, who spoke their language, kept up skir- mishes and devastation until the close of the year. By the treaty Chile obtained from Bolivia the lat- ter's seacoast, including the port of Cobija, twenty per cent of Bolivian port customs, privileges for construct- ing railroads into the interior, and other concessions. By the terms of the treaty between Peru and Chile 324 A HISTORY OF CHILE signed, at Ancon, October 20th, 1883, Peru ceded to her antagonist the territory of Tarapacd to the Camer- ones, forever and unconditionally ; the territories of Tacna and Arica were to remain subject to Chilean authority for a period of ten years, at the close of which term the vote of the people of those provinces should decide whether they should return to Peru or remain Chilean. In either case the country to which they should afterward be definitely annexed, engaged to pay to the other an idemnity of ^10,000,000. Chile solemnly engaged to carry out certain agreements re- lating to the guano and nitrate of soda deposits, such as to pay over to creditors of Peru fifty per cent of the net proceeds derived from the deposits, until the fer- tilizer was exhausted or the debt paid. New depos- its discovered in the territory permanently annexed were to belong to the Chileans, and the island of Lo- bos was to continue under the administration of Chile until a contract for one thousand tons of guano previ- ously made by them had been completed, Chile mean- while agreeing to pay Peru five per cent of the pro- ceeds derived from the sales of the guano. The treaty was to be ratified at Lima within one hundred and eighty days of its date, Chile maintaining an arm}' of occupation in Peru until the ratification was completed, at an expense of $300,000 a month to the Peruvians. This monthly idemnity, however, was subsequently modified. The final treaty was signed April 4th, 1884. The expense of the war to Chile had been enormous, a heavy burden for so small a nation. It was estimated at ^60,000,000 by the middle of the year 1881, which was within $15,000,000 (nearly) of the whole national debt on January ist, 1880. But the national credit had THE PERUVIAN WAR 325 been maintained, and guano bondholders had no cause to complain of Chile's engagements. On July 23d, 1881, Chile obtained two hundred and fifteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-five square kilometres of land in the south by treaty with the Ar- gentine Republic. This matter had been long pending and had several times nearly caused a rupture of the friendly relations existing between those republics. Chile claimed to Cape Horn ; the Argentines disputed this and claimed the whole of Patagonia. Perhaps the Argentines were right, but they had acquiesced in Chile's possession of the territory and claim to it for many years, and were not, therefore, now in a position consistently to oppose it. The dissensions which had preceded Santa Maria's nomination and election to the presidency did not greatly abate after his inauguration. One of the re- forms the liberals brought forward was that of sepa- rating the church from the state. We have seen how bitterly the clerical party opposed the passing of a law in President Errazuriz's time, imposing penalties on priests who incited to disobedience of the laws. It is not, therefore, surprising that they should bring every influence to bear against separation. In 1884, the ques- tion was mooted in congress and gave rise to fiery de- bates. The government and a large majority of the house Avere in favor of a gradual separation ; the radi- cal group urged the expediency of bringing about the separation by a single stroke. The discussions in ec- clesiastical and political circles grew warm, and con- tinued unabated through Santa Maria's administration. As we have seen, the death of Archbishop Valdivieso in 1878, had left a vacancy which the government de- sired to fill and, therefore, designated for the place the prebendary. Don Francisco de Paula Taforo. This 3^6 A HISTORY OF CHILE nomination was fiercely assailed by the church party and the Pope refused to ratify it until the matter had been investigated. The Bishop of Himeria was sent out as an apostolic delegate and after hearing his re- port, the Pope again refused to confirm Taforo. The government then handed the delegate his passports, and he indignantly declared that civil authorities should not administer ecclesiastical patronage. This disavowel of the prerogatives of the state in matters ecclesiastical gave increased force to the discussions of church mat- ters and resulted finally in the passage and approval of the cemetery and matrimonial laws and a law which organized a civil registry. In 1883, the civil marriage law had been passed, and this was from the start as stubbornly resisted by the clericals as the question of separation. The elections of March, 1885, of senators and representatives was a crushing defeat of the opposition, and gave the liber- als increased majorities ; but the manner in which the elections had been carried by government influence caused great dissatisfaction, although there were whole» sale frauds and insolent intimidations practiced by both parties. The organized opposition of the clericals to the civil marriage law produced turbulence throughout the coun- try. The government refused to allow a clerical mar- riage any force in law, and the church refused to allow anj' force in religion to a civil marriage. Women took sides with the church, the men with the government, so that there were few marriages. There was need of reform in this matter, for twenty-three per cent of all children born were illegitimate. The church affixed conditions to marriage sacraments to which men would not submit. The law was intended to curtail the church fees in this respect and to remedy the discord by pro- THE PERUVIAN WA.l 327 bibiting the clergy from performing marriage ceremo- nies unless certificates of civil marriage were first ob- tained. The clergy refused to marry any one previously mar- ried by the civil law, and the main political issue now became the repeal of the law of 1883. The ultramon- tane archbishop excommunicated the president and his cabinet ; also all members of congress who had voted for the obnoxious law. He further threatened that a similar penalty should be visited upon every commun- icant who obeyed the statute and had a civil marriage performed. This ridiculous opp'jsition to a most salu- tary law was carried even furth(ir, and in the March elections the clergy bought votes with absolution and religious privileges. We begin to see the first lightning flashes preceding the storm. It is related that, on the 24th of January, 1886, President Santa Maria received through the mail at his residence in Santiago, a package containing an infernal machine. He was suspicious of it, and upon carefully untying the strings, found that it contained ->. clock-work machine attached to a hammer in such a manner as to explode a charge of dynamite. To this pass had politics come. Increase in the public revenues enabled the admin- istration to initiate and carry forward many important public works. Large sums were voted to construct railways and other public works, and for purposes of education and colonization. The'Araucanian territories were occupied as far as the site of the ancient Villa- J-ica and active colonization was begun. A law was passed pensioning the infirm and crippled soldiers oi the war and their orphans. Public offices were reorgan- ized, and a better system of promotions and payment of civil employes and military officers was arranged. 328 A HISTORY OF CHILE Certain articles of the constitution were amended, re- moving many of the barriers which had hitherto stood in the way of a true federal, republican and constitu- tional form of government. A new election law was passed, which it was hoped would give more freedom and purity to the ballot. Jose Manuel Balmaceda. PART V —THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 CHAPTER I PRESIDENT BALMACEDA MATERIAL PROGRESS The conservative opposition had grown more and more pronounced during Santa Maria's administration, and the elections had come to be marked by turbu- lence, fraud, oppression and bloodshed. In the elec- tions of 1882, two men had been killed and seven wounded; in those of 1885, seventeen were killed and one hundred and sixty-five wounded; in the elections of the year 1886, forty-six were killed, and one hun- dred and sixty wounded, making a total of sixty killed and three hundred and thirty-two wounded. When we consider the small voting population, only one in fifty, suffrage being limited to those who can read and are registered and qualified high tax-payers, it will be seen that the elections had somewhat the appearance of civil revolts, so high did party feeling run. The Santa Maria government threw all its influence toward the election of Don Jos^ Manuel Balmaceda. The opposition sought at first to unite upon Don Jos6 Francisco Vergara, but failed in this. The three or four sections of the liberal party were vastly in the ascendency, outnumbering the Montt-Varistas, clericals and conservatives; and the official candidate met with 330 A HISTORY OF CHILE no organized resistance. Balmaceda was elected and duly installed on September i8th, 1886. His cabinet contained as minister of the interior, Don Jos6 F. Ver- gara; foreign affairs, Don Francisco Freire ; Varas, Ed- wards and Aturez filled the other departments. In the following year a new cabinet was formed, the old min- isters resigning on account of the president's lavish expenditures in pushing public works. On this ques- tion four ministries resigned during the next four years. Under Balmaceda numerous reforms were proposed ; one project was to prohibit senators and deputies from having interests in public contracts, another, that neither the president nor any minister should give an office to a near relation unless he was qualified in ever}' respect to hold it, and still another, that the president should be elected by congress, not by popular vote. All these questions caused exciting debates. This was a time when there was much talk of pro- gress, of advancement in public interests. In the year following Balmaceda's election the senate voted a sub- sidy to complete the gap of one hundred and forty miles of railroad connecting the Chilean system with that of the Argentine Republic by way of the Uspallata pass. The Arauco company in London was granted the right of completing a grant made by Chile in 1884, for the building of a railroad from Concepcion to Rios de Curanclahue and for the undertaking of certain pub- lic works in the province of Arauco and other parts of Chile. In the summer of 1887, a telephone line was constructed between Valparaiso and Santiago, and Co- quimbo was lighted with electric lights. The state devoted ^3,000,000 a year to free public instruction; 1,500 primary schools were established with over one hundred thousand pupils. During the year 1887, the government paid out 3650,000 to hospitals, lazarettos, THE CIVTL WAR OF i8pi 331 vaccination offices, fire departments, etc. The police received a subsidy of §471,900. In the year 1888, -there was set aside for all these purposes the sum of $1,196,- 1.40. In December, 1887, there were 1,096 kilometers of government railroad in operation, and 1,369 kilometers projected for the following year at a cost of nearly seventeen millions of dollars (^3,517,000). Private companies operated 1,558 kilometers. Yet despite these lavish expenditures for public im- provements of all kinds, the government made an ex- cellent showing in its annual budgets and firmly main- tained the credit of the state. In 1889, the revenue collected by the government amounted to §50, 183,938; expenses, $46,135,501 ; foreign debt, $39,748,000; home debt, $23,834,484. On the first of January of the year 1889, the government had an available fund of savings of about $25,000,000. This, following upon a costly war with Peru, was indeed a flattering showing. In the years 1889 and 1890, there were abolitions of certain duties, such as the import duties on machines and tools for agriculturists, for mining, for different trades and industries. New railroads were contracted for at an estimated cost of $4,000,000; new buildings for elementary and normal schools were erected in all parts of the country ; a new line of steamers to run between Valparaiso and Panama was subsidized, the monopoly so long held by the Pacific Steam Naviga- tion Company being thus subjected to competition. These vast material and intellectual improvements, which not even the ravages of the cholera scourge of 1887 and 1888, could retard, were not brought about without unceasing debates with the conservatives, who saw the money go into railroads and schoolhouses, which, they argued, should be used to pay national 332 A HISTORY OF CHILE debts and redeem the paper currency. This sort of liberalism was even too advanced for many liberals ; the party, made up of three or four factions, had now enjoyed power long enough to create dissensions within its ranks. Violent political demonstrations became the order of the day, a very notable one occurring on the 20th of May, i8go; and in July, there were labor dis- turbances. When it became known that the president's choice for a successor was Senor San Fuentes, all par- ties, save the out and out Balmacedists, the Liberales del Gobiertio, opposed the candidate ; for Seiior San Fuentes was as cordially detested by some sections of the liberal party as he was beloved by others. The constant thunder of the clericals, conservatives and Montt-Varistas began to tell: dissensions had at last been created in the liberal ranks. They had been wont to compare Santa Maria and Balmaceda with the worst of the Roman tyrants, until factions of the lib- erals took up the cry.* The government interference in elections, so bitterly opposed by the conservatives in Santa Maria's canvass, was now taken up by liber- als themselves. It was not democratic, it was impe- rial, and in the matter of San Fuentes, it was found that the country would no longer tolerate it.| The leaven was working now, and it needed but little usur- pation of power on the part of the president to make the opposition cry of "Caesar" take hold upon disaf- fected liberals, who joined the conservatives and cleri- cals in significant warnings to the government to be- ware, lest there rise another Brutus. *"Como Caligula, Neron, Domiciano, Comodo, Caracalla, Eliogabalo, que todos fueron malos," etc. — C. Walker Martinez. f'Pasa en Chile con los sucesores de nuestros presidentes lo que pasaba en Roma con los herederos del Imperio. No los elejia el pueblo, salvo los cases es- cepcionalcs de las revoluciones, sino unicamente el emperador asociandolos a su gobierno con elnombre el Casares,"— Martinez, CHAPTER II THE REVOLT From 1817, when the Spanish yoke was thrown off, until 1833, Chile was governed by dictators, sometimes well, sometimes ill, but alwaj's b}' autocratic power. In the latter year a constitution was promulgated, under which the ship of state sailed in comparatively tranquil seas for more than half a century ; this parchment, as amended in 1874, and other times, is the organic law of Chile to-day. Constitutions are supposed to be the most rigid expressions of law and will, but like creeds they are still somewhat elastic. If they are not amended to keep pace with the popular will and national advancement, certain parts must perforce be- come practically dead letter, or severely strained in the intrepretation. Such had long been the case with the Chilean constitution. Framed in a time of dicta- tors, it had given almost dictatorial powers to the president, which time had greatly modified in practice if not by positive amendments. The Chilean constitution is somewhat like that of the United States, yet different in important particu- lars. The president is chosen by electors nominated by the provinces, three electors being allowed to each representative. His term of ofBce is for five years, and he can not now be twice elected consecutively ; formerly he could be. He is bound to convoke congress in regu- 333 334 A HISTORY OF CHILE lar session from June ist to September the ist, but he can at any time prorogue it for a term of fifty days; he can summon it in special session whenever he may please \ he appoints and removes the six ministers, the intendentes of provinces, governors of towns, diplo- matic agents and five out of the eleven members of the council of state; he is commander-in-chief of the army and navy, or practically so ; he appoints the judges of both the higher and lower courts upon recommenda- tion of the council of state ; he approves, promulgates and takes part in the making of laws, issues decrees, regulations and instructions which he may deem advan- tageous for the due execution of laws. It will thus be seen that the powers so delegated to the president amount in fact to making him almost an autocrat, should he choose to be dictatorial. In the few instances where he must act in conjunction with the council of state, he can wield an influence almost dictatorial for he has the appointment of five out of eleven members of that body, the other six being ap- pointed in the proportion of three from each branch of congress. His cabinet is entirely of his own appoint- ment. The seven members from each branch appointed by congress as an advisory committee, called Comision Conservadora, whose functions are to see that there is due observance of the constitution while congress is not in session, tender advice to the president, and sug- gest the expediency of extra sessions, is in fact merely an advisory committee, with no power which a president not in sympathy with congress is legally bound to obey. It will be seen, therefore, that the chances were that at some time a president might be chosen who would fall out with congress, or, rather, with the Chilean oligarchy, which in fact governed Chile and held the THE CIVIL WAR OF iSgi 335 dictatorial powers of the president under control, and then the only check congress would have upon his almost unlimited power, would be the money check. They could refuse to vote him supplies. This is what happened in the case of Balmaceda in the first part of the year 1890. As before noted, he had been returned in 1886, by the liberal party, composed of at least four elements but loosely united. These may be designated as Liberals del Gobierno, who were out and out Balma- cedists; Nacionales, those who were opposed to making a wide distribution of the offices as unfair to them, who had been the old liberal party ; Sueltos, who were of all shades of political belief; Radicales, who were the extreme liberals and came at last to view Balma- ceda's administration as tending toward a conservative reaction. The conservatives were split into three di- visions : The Montt-Varistas, aristocrats believing in aristocratic government ; Clericales, who believed in a priestly influence in government ; Conservadores, who were the least extreme conservatives. Balmaceda, as we have seen, had been elected by the liberals, and for two years ruled not unsatisfactor- ily; but his pertinacious adherence to the strict letter of the constitution as against the parliamentary toler- ance practiced by his predecessors, his manner of dis- tributing the spoils, his zeal in erecting public build- ings, pushing public works and building schoolhouses, necessitating lavish expenditures, eventuall}' caused a split of his former supporters and all but the Liberals del Gobierno, interested in office, were finally arrayed against him, together with the three factions of the conservatives. Thus stood matters in January, 1890. Four cabinets had gone to pieces over the question of the erection of costly public works instead of providing for the re- 336 A HISTORY OF CHILE demption of the paper currency; nine foreign minis- ters had succeeded each other in rapid succession ; Balmaceda adhered to his policy and continued to choose new parliamentary selected cabinets, for, not- withstanding the power granted him by the constitu- tion, the unwritten parliamentary law which had grown up was, that the ministers should be in harmony with congress. It now became the general impression in congress that the president was scheming to have Senor San Fuentes succeed him, as his presidential term was far spent. It was alleged bj' his opponents that he wished to enrich himself by promoting a scheme to form a syndicate to purchase the Tarapaca nitrate beds; hence the first step was to elect a successor. It had been the custom for presidents to name their succes- sors, and to use all the party machinery to accomplish that result. It would have been strange if Balmaceda had not done as his predecessors, whatever truth there may or may not have been in the nitrate story. However, he disclaimed any intention of supporting San Fuentes, as also did the latter of having any designs on the presidential chair. Congress doubted the intentions of both, perhaps with good reason, and when San Fuentes was made prime minister by the president, a vote of censure was passed. The president insisted that his ministers should remain. This was against the precedents, but not, apparently, against the con- stitution. Congress, therefore, refused to pass the ap- propriation bill until a ministry should be appointed in harmony with its views. With funds cut off, the government could not long carry on its expensive works, or even exist, so that Balmaceda yielded and formed a new ministry with Judge Belisario Prato of the supreme court as prime minister. Congress was satisfied, and THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 337 voted temporary supplies. Argentina had just deposed a dictator ; perhaps that fact weighed somewhat with Baimaceda when he made this concession to congress. Congress and the new ministry now began to seek the removal of objectionable intendentes and other government officers, for the purpose of handicapping the president in the forthcoming elections, particularly if he were scheming for the return of San Fuentes. The president refused to remove anybody, save for an in- dictable and proven offence. It was an extraordinary session called by the presi- dent for the express purpose of passing an appropria- tion bill — the annual supply bill. He maintained that it had no constitutional authority to go outside and take up the matter of the removal of officers, and the consideration of Australian electoral ballot bills, and municipal bills, which were intended to carry the elec- tion against him. Congress would not vote the supply bill until the objectionable officers were removed. The president refused, the ministry again resigned. Bai- maceda appointed a new ministry in sympathy with his views and closed the session, October 17th, i8go. The constitutional committee now sought to exer- cise some of its senile advisory powers, and advised that another extraordinary session be called. The pres- ident and his ministers hesitated about taking the course suggested by the congressional constitutional committee. According to precedent they should have obeyed the behest; according to the constitution, they were not obliged to do so. While they were deliberating, the committee arro- gated to itself the responsibility of calling a session of its own. This congress when assembled could do no more than consider and denounce, and this it did in a lively manner. It became apparent that no supplies 338 A HISTORY OF CHILE would be voted by another extraordinary session, but rather that some sort of a law would more than likely be passed for the deposition of the alleged dictator ; therefore, the president called no session, and disre- garded protests and representations from citizens, cor- porations and the press. But the government could not keep the state machin- ery oiled very long without funds. The temporary sup- plies would be of no avail after September 31st. Con- gress was daily receiving the support of popular sym- pathy, particularly in Valparaiso and Santiago, and had a strong following in the army and navy, despite the alleged active efforts of Balmaceda to win over the support of the officers, and to replace the obdurate ones with his own partisans. Summary action, and that very soon, was necessary if the president maintained his power and persisted in his dictatorial policy. The president issued a manifesto January ist, 1891, declaring it his intention to adhere to his constitu- tional powers and functions, to stand by the strict let- ter of the constitution whether or not some of its pro- visions were to be considered as constituting it, in many respects, dead letter. With its unfairness and effete provisions he had nothing to do ; nor had he anything to do with the new theories of parliamentary government until such theories were embodied in posi- tive law. He might be bound ordinarily to heed the advice of the constitutional committee, but why call another extra session which would only pass votes of censure upon him and would not vote supplies? There would soon be elections, then the people might decide ; in the meantime, he would perform his duty according to his oath and his constitutional rights. Such was the argument. The acts of the president had been declared illegal THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 339 by the supreme court. He ignored the court, which was no doubt in sympathy with the opposition. Pro- bably from the time he had dissolved congress on Oc- tober 5th, the president had been preparing his final coup d'etat. It is reasonable to suppose that he was not idle, and there is no doubt much truth in the charge that he increased the police force everywhere, obliged the officers of the army to pledge support to him and, in case of their refusal, dismissed or impris- oned them, broke up public assemblies, and it is likely may have been indirectly responsible for some citizens being shot down by the police. Some of the officers of the army who had been im- prisoned for refusing to pledge their support, appealed to the supreme court, and the court decided that they should be set at liberty. The court also decided that the army and navy had no legal existence after De- cember 31st, inasmuch as no congress had then passed the annual law granting supplies and enumerating the strength of the land and naval forces for the ensuing year. Probably the court was right, but Senor Bal- maceda was now dictator and refused to obey the su- preme court, which was in sympathy with the party opposed to him. Congress, which had a very ques- tionable legal existence, deposed the president, or de- clared him deposed, and empowered Jorge Montt of the navy to assume command provisionally; when a junta was formed aboard ship, consisting of Senor Montt, Waldo Silva, vice president of the senate, and Barros Luco, president of the chamber of deputies. On January 7th, following the publication of the president's letter, civil war began. The commanders of the "Blanco Encalada, " "Cochrane" and "Huascar, " the only ironclads in the navy, declared at once for congress ; the wooden vessels followed their lead. The 340 A HISTORY OF CHILE army adhered to the cause of Balmaceda, whose role was now practically that of a dictator. The congress made haste to get aboard warships, and a state of siege was proclaimed. Congress had doubtless expected a revolt of the army ; but in that respect it had had overweening confidence. The army, through loyalty, through jealousy of the fleet, through increased pay and promotion, stood by the cause of the president; and as there were some six thousand troops and strong fortifications in Valparaiso there was nothing better for the revolutionary leaders and the fleet to do than to proceed north to Iquique, and undertake there to cut off and convert to the use of the congressional party the main sinews of war ; to wit, the $20,000,000 or $30,000,000 annual revenues from the nitrate fields. The congressional fleet was composed of two iron- clads, the "Blanco Encalada" and "Almirante Coch- rane;" of one monitor, "Huascar;' of the cruiser, "Es- meralda;" the corvette, "O'Higgins;" the gunboat, "Magallanes," and the corvette, "Abtao, " the latter being at this time on a voyage of instruction for mid- shipman. On January 6th, at night, the "Blanco," "Esmeralda" and "O'Higgins" quit Valparaiso harbor and went to Quintero, twenty miles north, to join the "Cochrane" and "Magallanes." The "Huascar" was left in Val- paraiso to undergo repairs. On the 7th, Balmaceda undertook to restore the armament, but Captain Montt manned boats and succeeded in towing her out of the harbor. She was repaired and did good service after- ward under Captain Jos6 Santa Cruz, taking, for one thing, the town of Taltal. The "O'Higgins," with the transport "Amazonas, " took the whole province of Co- quimbo, having landed sixty men; the "Cachapoal" THE CIVIL WAR OF i8^ 341 went north and took possession of most of the ports, without opposition. It was thought advisable by the congressional lead- ers not to proceed too rashly against Iquique, as the place might offer decided resistance to the fleet, which would have at the outset a demoralizing effect upon the revolutionary cause. Therefore, the first serious move was made against Pisagua, forty miles north of Iquique, and an important nitrate port. After a short bombardment, the town yielded. Though a primitive place where goods are carried from the shore to light- ers on old Indian balsas paddled by boatmen with double-ended paddles, it was still of great importance to the congressionalists, because of its nitrate trade. Some twenty-five or thirty miles inland from Pisa- gua, on the railroad running east and then south to Iquique through the nitrate regions, is the town of Zapiga. Here a detachment of congressional troops, badly disciplined and poorly armed, was opposed to a body of government troops, by whom they were routed. The latter then advanced and retook Pisagua after a hotly contested fight. The congressional fleet subjected the port to a terrific bombardment, inflicting great damage and suffering upon the town and inhabi- tants. They recaptured the place. At San Francisco, a village below Zapiga on the rail- road, a body of government troops pushing forward to Pisagua under Colonel Robles, was met by the revo- lutionists, and after a desperate encounter defeated. Two-thirds of the Balmacedist troops were left dead upon the field, both sides fighting with fierce despera- tion. With the shattered remnant of his little army Colonel Robles joined the garrison from Iquique, which had been sent forward to his support at San Francisco, and 342 A HISTORY OF CHILE again attacked the enemy at Huaraz, the revolution- ists, in the meantime, taking advantage of the absence of the garrison to establish themselves in Iquique. At Huaraz the government forces were successful ; the enemy was sent flying toward Iquique, with such of the troops as escaped the slaughter. Colonel Soto pursued and carried Iquique by assault, with a detachment of government troops. Colonel Robles should have fol» lowed with reinforcements, making sure of this impor- tant point, but that he failed to do, with subsequent disastrous results. There were over five thousand gov- ernment troops at different points within from one to four days' march of Iquique, with not more than two thousand revolutionists to oppose them, yet Soto was left with a handful of men to defend the town against a furious bombardment by the enemy's fleet. Colonel Soto pounded his field-pieces against the ironclads during the day, February 17th, until his force was reduced to fort}' men. Rear Admiral Hotham was in the harbor with the British man-of-war, "Warspite." Seeing the havoc made of English property in the town, he proposed an armistice to arrange the matter. Colonel Soto, despairing of receiving reinforcements, agreed to this, and on the next da}' a conference took place on board the "Warspite;" there the arrangement agreed upon was, that Iquique should be surrendered. A detachment sent by Colonel Robles arrived late enough to be taken in at the surrender. Two million rounds of ammunition fell into the hands of the revo- lutionists. The revolutionists determined now to hold Iquique at all hazards. Hold it they must or the congressional stake would soon be lost, for Robles, Gana, Arrate and Camus had five thousand government troops in the vi- cinity. Therefore, all the men in Iquique able to bear THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 343 arms, as well as those from the surrounding nitrate works, were brought into the service. And from the coast towns the congressional fleet brought in as many recruits as could be obtained. In this way an army of about three thousand men was raised. The revolutionists doubtless expected that the gov- ernment detachments, commanded at different points by Robles, Gana, Arrate and Camus, would unite and fall upon Iquique. This, however, was not done. There was bad management. Colonel Robles was brave enough, and commanded in chief, but he was seventy years old and a poor strategist. He halted at Sebas- topol, about twenty-five miles southeast of Iquique, and from there sent word to the junior officers to rejoin him. But the Atacama desert, which for so many cen- turies destro3'ed the Inca armies and many times turned back invaders, could not well be traversed by the other detachments, without water. Besides, Colo- nels Gana, Arrate and Camus, acting each upon his own judgment, had sent off portions of their troops to protect coast towns. Colonel Robles moved forward to Pozo al Monte. Here he received reinforcements from Colonel Arrate's detachment, and without waiting for the other detach- ments to send what men they could, rashly determined to move forward and attack the enemy, who was now advancing. Robles underrated both the valor and the strength of the enemy, who numbered 2,600 men, with some cavalry, three field-batteries, and several gatling guns. The government troops for a time seemed likel)' to prevail. Robles, though wounded himself, ordered a general advance. But a flank movement, performed b}' a body of cavalry accompanied by some infantry, was ordered by Colonel Canto, who commanded the congressional troops, probably in anticipation of the 344 A HISTORY OF CHILE charge made by Robles, and this was successful. Colo- nel Robles was mortally wounded while leading the charge; the government troops were cut to pieces. The gallant old colonel, while dying of his wounds, was riddled by bullets and pierced by bayonets. Balmaceda now' found himself in the trying position of sustaining a demoralized cause. After Robles' de- feat, the other government colonels retreated across the Andes out of Chile and did not return until winter; 2,500 of the government troops at Antofagasta ran away to Argentina ; the troops at Tacna fled to Peru. There was now no government force of any consequence left in the north, and the impassable desert prevented troops from crossing overland to Iquique from the south. Transports and a navy were necessary, and Balmaceda had neither to speak of. The "Imperial," which had been doing good service in reinforcing and provision- ing the northern garrisons, and which afterward fitted out as a cruiser, acted a conspicuous part in the war, would not hold a thousand troops. The torpedo-boats, "Lynch" and "Condell," had been ordered around from Buenos Ayres ; this was the extent of the government's navy. Opposed to it, the revolutionists had several formidable ironclads. CHAPTER III BALMACEDa'S position — NAVAL OPERATIONS The president's manifesto on January ist, had started a revolution but poorly prepared to cope with him. Seldom has an insurrection in its inception seemed so unpromising. The insurgents had no army, no mus- kets, no cannon, no munitions of war. The army had not revolted as was expected. A few muskets were captured at Quintero, but even counting those, the congressionalists could only number four hundred, all told. But what was at the outset a drawback to the oppo- sitionists, proved in the end a benefit. Repeating rifles and smokeless powder were soon procured, and before the close of the contest 12,000 men had been equipped with the most modern weapons of warfare. With a repeating rifle, one congressional soldier became a fair match for three government soldiers armed only with the old-fashioned breechloaders. Again the contest was not so unequal at the outset as might at first be supposed. Chile is a maritime country, her towns nearly all being on the seaboard ; thus the possession of a well equipped fleet by the con- gressionalists, gave them a decided initial advantage. It is probably true, too, that the army was not alto- gether whole hearted in its loyalty to Balmaceda. Cer- 346 A HISTORY OF CHILE tain it is, that a large number of officers joined the fleet and went north to Iquique with the junta, where they fought on the opposition side. The congressionalists were from the start better officered. Colonel Canto was a strategist, with whom Robles was unfit and unable to cope. Then before the southern campaign began, the congressionalists had secured the services of Colo- nel Korner, a Prussian tactician, and there was no BaJ- macedist officer his equal in the science of war. Men may fight like demons, as was the case with Balmace- da's troops, but their blood may be shed to little pur- pose if they are led by inferior officers. The Chilean soldier is a fighter with the spirit of the Araucanian Indian, but somebody needs to plan for him ; valor will not take the place of strategy. Their successes in the north soon gave the opposi- tion the almost undisputed possession of four provinces ; and the provinces, too, having the wealth, containing the resources of the nation. Though a barren coun- try where rain falls but seldom, the nitrate desert of Tarapaca and the surrounding country, taken from Peru in the Chilean-Peruvian war, is a region of enormous wealth ; and the revenue derived from it by the state is greater than all the import duties. The royalty of Ji.6o( Chilean) levied on each hundred pounds, produced a revenue in 1890, of $20,900,000. The desert region of Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama, extending nearly four hundred miles from north to south, is a vast chem- ical laboratory whose nitrate of soda deposits (caliches) furnish the best known fertilizer in the world. Here enormous fortunes have been made, and are still being made, largely by English capitalists. Here an army of men is employed, the TarapacA caliches alone in 1890 employing 13,000 workmen. The northern ports of Iquique, Pisagua, Coleta, Buena, Junin, Tocopilla, THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 347 Antofagasta, Taltal and Puerto Olivia, have been built up by the immense industry, Iquique being now the seventh city in Chile. Thus it will be seen, that though the wealth of Old Chile was in the south, including the cities of Santi- ago, Valparaiso, Concepcion and the large towns, and though Balmaceda had the government machinery and army at his disposal, yet the possession of the four northern provinces by the revolutionists gave them no inconsiderable advantage. There they organized a fairly well-ordered government, and, with abundant revenues procured Manlicher rifles, drilled troops and assumed all the outward appearance of seceding states. Bolivia even went so far as to recognize them as bel- ligerents. The "Itata" being detained, did not reach them with her smuggled cargo from California, but the "Maypo" got through on the 3rd of July, to Iquique, carrying several thousand rifles, a large amount of ammunition, four Krupp field-batteries and twenty-two cannons. The northern army was thus far better equipped than that of the south, and in far better morale, though it seemed likely, at the lively rate at which recruiting was going on, that President Balmaceda would be able to crush them by sheer weight of numbers, his army at different points soon numbering altogether some forty thousand men. If the government succeeded in getting away from France the new cruisers "Errazu- riz" and "Pinto," built there for Chile but held until the French supreme court could decide whether they should be consigned to the Chilean government, with the small fleet Balmaceda would then have, the revolu- tionists might, it was thought, be cooped up in Iqui- que and their revolt be summarily crushed. The cruis- ers, however, were always reported on the way but never came. They were in time released by the French 348 A HISTORY OF CHILE court but were unable to obtain crews in European ports, so that they were detained first at one place and then at another. The fact that they might come, however, may have spurred on the revolutionists to their final determina- tion to attack Balmaceda on his own ground, and not wait for him to attack them in the north. By March, public feeling in the south had changed somewhat, and in Santiago and Valparaiso there was not the same general outspoken sympathy for the revo- lutionary cause as at first. In the rural districts of the south, the sympathy was generally with Balmaceda. Interest began at this time to be taken in the approach- ing elections. The old congress would have no exist- ence after May 31st. Senators and deputies must be elected. Soon, too, a new president must be elected, June 25th. President Balmaceda, it was thought, would probably carry the elections for his choice as a succes- sor, he being Don Claudio Vicuna, a country gentle- man of vast wealth, and popular enough. This caused some trimming to the wind by many oppositionists in the south, but in the north enthusiasm increased for them and recruiting went on actively. The impartial historian can not uphold all the admin- istrative and political acts of Balmaceda, but when all is said, he was rather an Andrew Johnson than a Robes- pierre. He said : "Congress by the express terms of that constitution, has no more right to dictate to me what ministers I shall choose than it has to advise what food I shall eat, or what clothes I shall wear." Technically correct ; but if a parliamentary precedent had grown up beside the constitution by which the ministry was formed after the English plan, and not upon the American plan, courtesy should have led the president to bow to that precedent. The Chilean con- PLAN Showing movemmts of opposing armies in closing MttUs of the war. Compiled, from vojrious sources. Mctytca/fiut A THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 349 stitution had not hitherto been followed to the letter, because the government of Chile had ever been, in its workings, rather oligarchical than democratic. It had been king and barons, rather than president and people. Balmaceda was the most aggressively liberal of all the presidents, elected because of the fact that President Santa Maria had thrown his influence for him. For many years after the fall of Freire, the conservative aristocracy, had controlled the government. Presi- dents had usually, but not always, yielded to the sen- timent of congress, because congresses were generally with them, and were also aristocratic. Kence the alleged lex non scripta; but the government had been parliamentary by sufferance, not constitutionally so. When President Balmaceda found himself opposed, not only by the conservatives, but by three factions of his own party, he should have bowed to the conclusive fact of majorities. True, we can well see that this opposition was more material than patriotic. It was at bottom a revolt of interests. Many of the old aris- tocratic families were in financial straits; the nation was heavily in debt. That Balmaceda should be build- ing expensive schoolhouses, enraged them. When it appeared that another liberal might be elected, it was but natural that they should begin the most strenuous opposition. The clergy hated Balmaceda; he was ac- cused of free thought and had trimmed down ecclesi- astical revenues, particularly in the establishment of civil marriages. Tradesmen in Santiago and Valpa- raiso went with their wealthy patrons. Many people espoused the cause of congress through the resentment men naturally feel against a one-man power. The for- eign elements in Chile were against the president. He liad hinted at curtailments of grants to foreign corpor- ations; he lamented the fact, that thoughChilean blood 350 A HIS TORY OF CHILE had purchased the Tarapaci fields, their wealth was fast passing away into foreign hands. And so on all sides the opposition of interests began and grew. It was each faction for its own interest, and a unity of political purpose among them in favor of their interests. Looking at the situation dispassion- ately, one is constrained to think that President Bal- maceda was not without patriotism. But if he was not a Lopez, he was at least dictatorial in spirit, and the age of dictators has passed, even in South America. If all the inhuman acts attributed to Balmaceda were not sanctioned or committed by him, yet some are a lasting stain on his name ; as, for instance, the causing of the opposition youths to be shot at Las Caiias just after the disembarkation of the revolutionary army at Quintero in the final denouement of the struggle. These youths may have been dynamiters, prepared to blow up bridges and cut railway and telegraph lines between Santiago and the south to prevent the southern troops from coming north, but the shooting of them while asleep, particularly the sending of ten of them back to the hacienda to be shot, was barbarous beyond all the necessities of modern warfare. But then we should not forget that this treatment of the young revolutionists, if historically correct, was no worse than the outrage committed by oppositionists after the last battle ; no worse than the shooting down of a boatload of refugees trying to escape the fury of the mob.* *No doubt it was somewhat as a writer in Blackwood's magazine for January, iSgi, says, "The country was overrun with spies, private correspondence was not respected, freedom of speech was forbidden, the press was ahnost suppressed, and no one suspected of being unfavorable to the government was in safety. Im- prisonment, floggings, tortures, and in=;pections of houses at all hours of the day or night, were of frequent occurrence." There was a sort of reign of terror in Chile, and some allowance must be made for the prevailing turbulence. Santia- go and Valparaiso were filled with spies and plotters. There appear to have been inhuman acts perpetrated on both sides. ^ The oppositionists disc'aimed the barbarities practiced in the bomb-throwin?s; perhaps President Balmaceda might have disclaimed personal knowledge of many atrocities on his side. THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 351 The vessels from France did not arrive, and it became necessary for President Balmaceda to make some dem- onstration against the enemy to hold popular sentiment and sympathy in his favor. There was danger in delay. As he could not send troops north for want of transports, a naval demonstration was decided upon. The govern- ment navy, as we have seen, consisting as it did of the cruiser "Imperial" and two torpedo-catchers, was no match for the enemy's ironclads. But the "Imperial" was a swift boat, able to keep out of the way of all antagonists save the "Esmeralda;" the torpedo-boats might blow the ironclads out of the water if they caught them at night in some of the northern harbors. It was determined to try what could be accomplished. On April i8th, the three vessels left Valparaiso. The "Imperial" was commanded by Captain Garin, the "Condell" by Captain Moraga, the "Lynch," by Cap- tain Fuentes. The first objective point was Quintero Bay, twenty miles from Valparaiso, where two days were spent in putting the crews through the torpedo practice. Orders were then received by the little fleet to go north and sink the oppositionist ship, "Aconca- gua," and two ironclads, which were supposed to be making their way to Caldera Bay. Further orders were to capture or sink any vessels found in Chilean waters with arms or nitrate aboard. Proceeding north, two or three merchant vessels were hailed and overhauled by the "Imperial," but no contraband nitrate or war supplies were found. The "Imperial" carried coal for the torpedo boats and was to stand off at a safe dis- tance from Caldera until after the attack by the "Con- dell" and "Lynch." Failing to receive intelligence of them in forty-eight hours, the "Imperial" was to pro- ceed to a northern rendezvous previously agreed upon. The forty-eight hours elapsed, and nothing being 352 A HISTORY OF CHILE heard from the other vessels, the "Imperial" went on her way north. The "Condell" and "Lynch" had found the enemy's flagship, "Blanco Encalada, " accompanied by a smaller boat, in the harbor. Stealing upon her from opposite sides, they torpedoed her and sank her in less than three minutes. Coming out of the harbor, the "Lynch" and "Con- dell" met the transport "Aconcagua," upon which they immediately opened fire. The latter fought desper- ately for an hour and a half when she ceased firings which was accepted as a signal of surrender. At the moment of surrender a warship, supposed by the "Lynch" and "Condell" to be the "Esmeralda," was sighted. She was apparently steering to cut off their retreat from the harbor. She was discovered to be the British man-of-war, "Warspite;" but by the time this discovery had been made the "Aconcagua" had escaped and crept under the guns of the forts in the harbor, where she could not be taken by the plucky torpedo- boats. Throughout the engagement the forts had fired constantly, but their shots had fallen wide of the mark. The loss on the "Blanco Encalada" was two hundred and forty-five. One man was killed and ten wounded on the torpedo-boats. The losses on the "Aconcagua" were considerable, as she was crowded with troops. The "Condell" and "Lynch" were crippled, princi- pally by the damage caused by the discharge of their own heavy guns, and were obliged to put back to Val- paraiso for repairs. Learning of this, Captain Garin returned to Valparaiso with the "Imperial," May 7th. The return of the government fleet to Valparaiso seems to have been hailed with applause. Crowds gathered upon the wharves and the adjacent hills, bands played, voices rent the air and flags waved everywhere. Doubtless the oppositionists in Valparaiso at this time THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 353 kept under cover. The impression produced for the government cause was favorable ; the demoralizing effect upon the revolutionary fleet amounted almost to a panic. Henceforth, the Iquique warships were kept well out of the harbors at night, being afraid of another descent of the torpedo-catchers, and the harbor of that place was protected by chains and sunken torpedoes. This expedition, having in the main proven success- ful. President Balmaceda determined to send his little fleet north again, hoping that a few more warships might be sunk. It appeared that the revolutionists were being supplied by foreign vessels, weighing anchor at the southern ports and clearing nominally for Callao, or other points, but calling at Iquique and northern places with coal, provisions and supplies. This must be checked if possible; before that could be done effec- tually, the enemy's fleet must be destroyed. With the few vessels at his disposal the president could not hope to maintain an effective blockade of the northern ports, but he must make some show of doing so to rationallj' insist upon his right to search vessels for contraband goods and re-exact duties on nitrate cargoes. There- fore, on the loth of May, the "Imperial" and "Condell" were sent north again, the "Lynch," not having under- gone sufficient repairs, being left behind at Valparaiso. The first pface touched at was Coquimbo, where about thirteen hundred troops were landed. At this time Coquimbo and La Serena were held by a force of 11,000 government troops commanded by Colonels Carvalho and Errazuriz. On May 14th, the "Condell" ran into Iquique harbor in the night, but finding only a few sailing vessels there withdrew. On the night of the i6th, another reconnoitre was made, but resulted in nothing further than firing a torpedo at a disabled supply ship. The 354 A HISTORY OF CHILE next day there was some important manoeuvering with the "Cochrane," then a run to the vicinity of Pisagua, where the "Huascar" and "Magallanes" were stationed. The three vessels fired a few random shots at the tor- pedo-boat, which went on to Pacocho, where lay the "O'Higgins. " The story is told that Captain Moraga did not torpedo the "O'Higgins" that night as he had contemplated, for the reason that his engineer's brother was aboard it. Be that as it may, the "O'Higgins" was not attacked. On the 2ist, the "Condell" joined the "Imperial" and the two vessels anchored at Taltal. Two field-pieces ashore opened fire upon them, but a shell or two scat- tered the gunners. The Intendencia, or intendent's quarters, was demolished by the firing which followed from the boats; then a lively landing by about sixty men from the "Imperial" and "Condell" caused the troops on shore to flee, not, however, before they had wounded several men in the boats. This was all that came of the second cruise, as the two vessels returned to Valparaiso on the 24th. The government was disappointed that the two little torpedo-catchers had not destroyed some of the enemy's fleet, and in a few days ordered another cruise to the north to make demonstrations against ports held by the insurgents. Pisagua was bombarded and consider- able damage done. The forts, as well as the "Huas- car" lying the harbor, replied as best they could, but with little effect. The "Imperial" sustained some dam- age, but none aboard were seriously injured. Iquique was also bombarded, and a few shots were exchanged with the forts at Antofagasta. Sometime before this, three of the crew of the goy- ernment torpedo-launch, "Aldea, " had been bribed by the oppositionists to take the launch out to sea and THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 355 turn it over to a warship, which was to meet it there. The warship was late, the "Lynch" overhauled the launch and the three bribe-takers were court-martialed and shot. CHAPTER IV TRIUMPH OF THE REVOLUTION AFFAIR OF THE BALTIMORE SAILORS By the middle of June, 1891, the government army numbered 41,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and two hun- dred field-pieces. The army of the opposition num- bered anywhere from eight thousand to twelve thousand men. The disparity of numbers caused the president to be over-sanguine ; that the northern army would come south and attack him was an unlikely event which he scouted, hence his troops were scattered ; 14,000 of them were being kept in the north at Coquimbo, away from direct communication with Santiago, other large bodies were stationed in the south. This was bad general- ship, and in the end proved disastrous. Still, the pres- ident knew not at what point his enemies might strike, he knew not what emissaries might be set to work, so he sought to guard his whole territory. The legal existence of the old congress expired on the 31st of May. Elections resulted as had been ex- pected, in the return of members for the new congress in sympathy with Balmaceda. Conservatives and lib- erals not in sympathy with the president refrained from voting, so that the elections were a foregone con- clusion. On June the ist, the newly elected congress met. 356 THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 357 President Balmaceda delivered an address, defending his action in taking into his hands the reins of govern- ment, and giving a hopeful outlook for the future. Con- gress immediately passed a bill legalizing the presi- dent's acts, and then began the discussion of a reform- ation of the constitution, a discussion which was kept up until Montt and Canto had sent the members flying. On the 25th of June, electors from the provinces were chosen favorable to the candidacy of Don Claudio Vi- cuna, Balmaceda's choice for his successor, and on July 25th he was duly elected, but not fully installed before Balmaceda's downfall. Senor Vicuna was a wealthy gentleman of an old and distinguished family, as old in fact as the conquest, and does not appear to have been in any respect an objectionable man, not- withstanding the fact that he has been charged with cruelties almost equalling Balmaceda's.* The close of the struggle drew on. The province of Aconcagua raised two regiments for the oppositionists, and clamored for rifles. To supply them, the northern army having determined to go south before the gov- ernment vessels could be got away from foreign ports and before Balmaceda could farther strengthen himself and install his successor, Vicuna, in office, landed at *As for instance, that he wanted to fire a Hotchkiss gan into a crowd assembled at the door of the Intendencia within which he was established in Valparaiso at the time of the August fight, and that he was only detained from so doing by the German consul. One can hardly credit some of these stories, particularly as to the coloring given them, when they end with such words as "political criminals," "abominable cruelties," and capped with an unrighteous wish that such political refugees as Vicuria, Godoi and Banados Espinosa, might be caught and shot. Senor Vicuna explains the incident by saying that he made his way through the mob, revolver in hand, when he fled for refuge after the battle of Placilla, The story of Serior Vacuiia's alleged atrocity is offset by one from the other side, wherein a Balmaceda sympathizer remarks: "You see to what cowardly extremes Ricardo Gumming, and offered, or sent him $300,000 in order that by means of treachery and dynamite he might bring about the destruction of the 'Imperial,' the 'Lynch' and the 'Condell.' This miserable fanatic Gumming got hold of some Austrians and Italians, gave them some money, and finally offered them $30,000 for each vessel blown up with dynamite. These persons acting in concert with one Sepulveda, who was engaged as a steward in the 'Imperial,' managed to get aboard and to stow away behind the bolster on Sepulveda's bunk an infernal 358 A HISTORY OF CHILE Caldera. There a thorough organization of their forces was made ; their presence there also obliged the pres- ident to send reinforcements to his contingent in Co- quimbo, thus reducing his forces around the capital. When preparations had been completed, the oppo- sition army embarked on transports and the war vessels for Quintero, about twenty or thirty miles north of Valparaiso, where disembarkation began on the 20th of August. The government felt secure in its position until the insurgent army was disembarked. For several days opposition agents had been at work in Valparaiso ; many oppositionists there were armed and awaiting the approach of the northern troops to join themselves with them. To let these partisans know that the final hour for the struggle had arrived, the "Esmeralda" on the i8th, fired eight shots at Valparaiso. On the 30th, the senate would formally ratify Claudio Vicuna's elec- tion ; henceforward he would be legal president ; it was therefore politic to have the decisive battle before that time, to overthrow the dictator before he was succeeded by Senor Vicuna, though against him not much could be urged, save that he was a partisan of Balmaceda. Telegraph and telephone lines to Santiago were cut, and so well planned was the oppositionist movements that the fact of their landing at Quintero, which was machine, containing several pounds weight of dynamite, with time-fuse and every thing ready to set it off in the ship's hold. With equal success they con- trived to get similar machines on board the 'CondelP and the "Lynch," sup- plemented by quantities of dynamite neatly stowed away in large loaves of fresh bread from which they had removed the crumb. Bread thus prepared is, as it seems, known as Greek bread. Fortunately, however, for the republic and the vessels, one of the Italians bribed into this plot betrayed his accomplices to the authorities, who discovered the infernal machine, the dynamite loaves, and other appliances half an hour before the time agreed upon for the explosions." For this offense Gumming, an Austrian named Politico and Sepulveda, were tried, convicted and shot. The guilty quartermaster of the "Imperial" hanged himself in his cabin. The British minister and several members of the diplo- matic body interceded for Gumming, but Balmaceda insisted on having him shot with Politico and Sepulveda, wherefore the thing became a political scandal. The story becomes interesting as a portentious warning of what may be ex- pected in modern warfare THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 359 at four o'clock in the morning, was not known in San- tiago until eight. Necessarily, so sudden and unex- pected a descent, created consternation among govern- ment officials. There had been rumors of such a move, but these were treated at Santiago, as a nephew of Senor Vicuna at the time expressed it, as "Portuguese 3'arns. " Repeated attempts had been made to blow up bridges on the railways leading to the south, but, as we have seen, the manceuvers were frustrated by the vigil- ance of the government. The opposition army landed at Quintero, consisted of eight thousand six hundred infantry, six hundred cav- alry, eight hundred naval brigade men, three batteries of field-artillery and a battery of Gatling guns. To oppose them, Balmaceda's general in Valparaiso, Alzerreca, with a force about equal to that of the insurgents, was ordered forward to Colmo, or Concon, to check the ene- m}''s advance until General Barbosa could join him with the troops from the south. Alzerreca took up a posi- tion on the hills, placing the river Aconcagua between him and the enem)'. Colonel Canto made a feint to cross the river above Alzerreca's position, and allowed the latter to capture a few field-pi.eces. His troops fell back, seeing which the government's advanced regi- ments were moved forward to cross the river. While this was going on. Canto transferred artillery on launches under cover of the hills to the rear of the government army. Then the opposition troops opened fire on their opponents in front, while the artillery poured in a mur- derous fire from behind. They were near the mouth of the river, where the "Esmeralda" and "Magallanes'' had crept in, and they now opened a terrible cross fire upon them. The battle began at eleven o'clock in the morning, the armies having come within artillery range of each 36o A HISTORY OF CHILE other at nine o'clock. The cannonading on both sides was heav}^ An advanced line of the government forces sustained the furious fire from the enemy's vessels for fully two hours, and were left by the blundering Bal- macedist officers unsupported. Finding .them unable to keep up an effective fire, Colonel Canto ordered an ad- vance against them. Under cover of the fire from the ships and their own artillery, the oppositionists dashed through the river and began a charge. Reinforcements were hurried forward on the government side, and for an hour the conflict raged, until Alzerreca's advanced guard was literally cut to pieces, forced to abandon their guns which were then turned against them, and to fall back. Colonel Canto profited by their discom- fiture and pressed forward with his men, the ships and his own artillery in the rear still keeping up their rapid firing. For two hours longer the battle raged, then Balmaceda's army broke and fled. The struggle had been terrible for the numbers en- gaged. Of the eight thousand infantry and nine hun- dred and fifty cavalry constituting the government forces, between two thousand and three thousand were killed and wounded. Of the 7th regiment eight hun- dred and thirty-four were killed, nine hundred of the Traiguen regiment, five hundred and twenty of the Te- muco regiment, five hundred and fifty of the San Fer- nando regiment, and others in similar proportions. The revolutionists lost about a thousand men, less than half of whom were killed. In this battle of Concon it will be seen that the op- positionists outnumbered the government troops, be- sides possessing the advantage of being armed with Manlicher rifles.'" The regiments at the river were ♦The reports o£ the battle are somewhat conflicting. One trustworthy account has thef;overnment troops led by both generals, Alzerreca and Barbosa, between whom, at the time, there existed .ill-feelings. Another equally credible account THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 361 mowed down like grass before the scythe. The shells from the warships did terrible execution, one shell from the "Esmeralda" being reported as having killed two hundred men. One regiment was wholly destroyed by volleys from the Manlicher rifles at not twenty yards distance. President Balmaceda made strenuous efforts to re- cover from the disaster. The southern troops could not be hurried forward, as railway communications had been destroyed by the successful dynamiters. About six thousand troops at Santiago were sent forward toward Valparaiso ; the president himself remained in Santiago to await the arrival of the southern reserves. Canto continued to advance toward Valparaiso; two days later he attacked Vina del Mar, five miles east of the former city. This was a watering place, having a race track and almost surrounded by hills. A strongly fortified place, called Fort Callao,v>'as attacked, the "Es- meralda" and "Cochrane" assisting with their guns. The place was well-nigh impregnable and could not be readily taken, so that the attacking forces were obliged to retire. This repulse prevented a direct march upon Valpa- raiso, which port General Barbosa's army was protect- ing, being strongly posted on the surrounding hills all the way from Vina del Mar. Canto and Korner fell back to Salto, fifteen miles from Vina del Mar, where there was a railway bridge over a wide chasm on the direct line from Santiago to Valparaiso. This was de- stroyed, thus cutting off the president's chances to hurry forward the southern reserves as soon as they has Barbosa join Alzerreca after the battle, with reinforcements from the south which swelled the government army to 14.000 men. It seems likely that Al- zerreca commanded the advanced guard, consisting of two regiments of infantry and some artillery and that Barbosa's men were behind, as the lines extended over a distance of four miles. Certain it was, that reinforcements were very slow in reaching the front. 362 A HISTORY OF CHILE should arrive. The government made an attempt to prevent the destruction of the bridge by dispatching an armed ironclad train, but this novel defense proved a failure. It vsras necessary for the oppositionists, in order to reach Valparaiso, to make a detour of some sixty miles, approaching it from the south. This they attempted to do, but found the government troops occupying a strong position on the heights reaching to and over- looking Paciila, seven miles from Valparaiso. Here they halted on the 27th. Their army was now increased to 12,000 by reinforcements, mostly impressments, and desertions from Balmaceda's army; it was also greatly strengthened by eighteen field-pieces, captured at Con- con. The government force seems to have numbered at this point about nine thousand men, President Bal- maceda not being able to get through seven thousand men he had raised at Santiago, with three field-batteries, owing to the destruction of the railway bridge at Salto. The oppositionists knew, however, that it would only be a matter of a day or two before the president would get reinforcements through, and so determined to at- tack at once. General Barbosa and Alzerreca appear to have disagreed as to the advisability of fighting with their inferior force and poor equipments, but the dis- pute seems to have been settled in favor of giving bat- tle. It was certainly bad generalship to attack twelve thousand well-equipped men with nine thousand, when there were strong detachments,"north and south that, by a little delay, could have been got within support- ing distance. Canto had really outflanked Barbosa, who was trying to defend Valparaiso, and was about three miles dis- tant from him when he drew up his forces on the Las Cadenas farm near Placilla. The northern troops were THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 363 filled with hopeful enthusiasm, had taken all their pro- visions with them from their ships, and felt that the}' must win, for they could not return. Barbosa held a strong position on the heights overlooking Placilla, his artillery in the center, his infantry posted on the slopes below the artillery and also back on the high ground. Other artillery protected his right, and cav-' airy were in reserve. The latter part of his force, however, appears to have had opposition leanings. They neglected their duty, and- just before the battle, four hundred of them went over to the northern army. Owing to the hilly nature of the country the opposi- tion troops, without being seen, had been able to get into position, having started from the Las Cadenas farm before daylight, the whole army excepting one bri- gade. Early in the morning, as the latter was ad- vancing across the plain, Balmaceda's troops opened an artillery fire upon it. The brigade advanced rapidly and got into position. The oppositionist's right and left wings then advanced and opened fire, which brought on the battle. Step by step Canto's troops advanced up the hill toward Barbosa's artillery, his right wing all the time engaging Barbosa's left, which, after an hour and a half's severe fighting, was in such danger that the artillery in the center was turned about to force back the enemy's right. Korner, however, made a detour and turned the government's left, the opposi- tion centre and left pressed forward, shaking the whole line in front of them ; their cavalry clambered up the hills, assailing the wavering infantry on all sides, until an utter rout of the Balmaceda army began. The battle had lasted three hours; upward of one thousand men had been killed on the government side and fifteen hundred wounded; and four hundred killed 364 A HISTORY OF CHILE and one thousand wounded on the congressional side. By five o'clock the northern army was in undisputed possession of Valparaiso, and their ships were floating in Valparaiso harbor. The squadron of government cavalry which had gone over to the opposition before the battle, had made a charge upon the artiller}' behind which were Generals Barbosa and Alzerreca. Barbosa fell fighting ; Alzer- reca is said to have been shot while kneeling and beg- ging for mere}'. Other accounts state that he died as a soldier should. Balmacedist leaders in Valparaiso hastened aboard foreign ships in the harbor. The Americans had been about the onl}' foreigners evincing much sympathy for the Balmaceda side. The United States government had prohibited the dispatch of mimitions of war from American ports to Iquique, and had chased the "Itata. " Naturally, then, a rush was made for the "Baltimore." Captain Fuentes and crew from the"L3'nch" were among those who sought an asylum on the vessel. One ac- count from an opposition source states that the"Lynch" opened fire on the town after the battle, and that hun- dreds of civilians and soldiers returned the fire, and rained such a shower of bullets upon the ship that she was obliged to pull down her flag and surrender, the officers jumping overboard and taking refuge on foreign ships. Another account, which appears to be better authenticated, says : "The congressional troops no sooner saw the execrated 'devil's ship' than they opened a murderous rifle fire upon those on deck. The unfortunate crew realized that they were doomed men, and in desperation replied with the gatling guns. So hot was the fire from shore, however, that nothing on deck could live. Five tried to escape in a boat, but were riddled almost immediately. Two poor wretch- THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 365 es swam for their lives, but foolishly climbing upon a mooring buoy, were shot. Finally all were killed ex- cept two, who hid in a stokehole, and contrived to swim ashore at night."* Don Claudio Vicuna, Godoi, Julio Espinosa, Alfredo Ova He, and Admiral Viel, escaped from Valparaiso and found refuge on board the German cruiser "Sophie." The editor of the Valparaiso Balmacedist paper was not able to make his escape in time to avoid being shot without a trial. Then followed a scene in the streets of Valparaiso that would make Bacchus blush and put Nero to shame. The rabble turned itself loose and sacked the town with- out restraint. Incendiarism and ruthless murders fol- lowed. Drunken, debauched men and women danced in the streets and were shot at by other drunken men, in wanton sport. By daylight half a thousand corpses were weltering in blood about the streets. Shops and houses were plundered and firemen shot at while try- ing to extinguish flames. The wild scenes which followed at Santiago also beggar description, though there the mob confined its energies chiefly to acts of vandalism. The houses of President Balmaceda and Don Claudio Vicuna were sacked, as were houses of other Balmacedists through- out the city. From house to house the mob went, fol- lowing a leader mounted on a horse, wearing a poncho and broad-brimmed hat, and ringing a bell. Houses of oppositionists were not generally molested, but those of Balmacedists were looted, furniture and household utensils being carried through the streets, while oppo- *These two accounts very well illustrate how the "atrocities" vary much ac- cording to the government or opposition leaning of the reporter. Certainly the iatter of the above reports is more reasonable to believe, since it is hardly probable that the crew of the "Lynch" would have invited destruction after their cause had lieen lost in the battle. More than that, Captain Fuentes and his offl- eers, it would seem, had at this time made their escape to the "Baltimore." 366 A HISTORY OF CHILE sition ladies in balconies shouted, "Tell me whose house that is from!" A broken statue of Balmaceda was kicked through the streets, opprobrium heaped upon it at every bound. Beggars possessed themselves of works of art, dirty women wheeled away chairs and sofas, wagonloads of stolen goods were driven to hiding- places, shouts rent the air, and red ribbons, the badge of the oppositionists, fluttered everywhere. On the 1 8th of Sept., while the nation was cele- brating an Independence day, Balmaceda's legal term as president expired ; that night he shot himself while in bed, leaving a letter to the Argentine minister, Uri- buru, in whose house he had taken refuge, explaining that he deemed his presence there a danger to all the inmates, and hoping that his death might, secure bet- ter terms for his late followers.* He was secretly buried to prevent outrages by the mob upon his re- mains. Thus passed from earth this man whom his enemies called a "tyrant" and his friends "a good-na- tured gentleman." He is described as being about fifty years of age, six feet- in height, of spare build, a broad, sloping forehqad, a good-humored eye, and wear- ing usually in his face a half-playful, half -cynical smile. The oppositionists met with no farther opposition from the outlying government garrisons. The "Con- dell" and "Imperial" surrendered at Callao and were taken back to Valparaiso by the transport "Gurmao. " A week had not elapsed before affairs in Chile were as quiet as in ante helium days. The junta which had carried on the revolutionary cause so long, at once *Though knowing of his defeat, Balmaceda on the 28tli of Aug. gave a dinner- party in honor of his wife's Saint's day. It shows well the man's courage. At about ten o'clock he sought and obtained an asylum at the Argentine legation, handing over Santiago to the care of General Baquedano. Here he remained, protected by Seiior Uriburu, the Argentine minister, until the i8th of September, He was supposed to have made his escape, and one story was circulated and given general credence that he had been shot by his muleteer while crossing the Andes. THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 367 took charge of the government and fixed October i8th, as election day, and November the i8th, for the time of meeting of electors to select a new president. The notes issued by President Balmaceda to the amount of J27, 000,000, were legalized. A tribunal of justice be- gan a searching investigation of Balmacedist officials, and whenever they were shown to have used public moneys for their own use, confiscations were ordered. The junta del gobierno ruled the country not unsatis- factorily until November, when Captain Jorge Montt, son of Manuel Montt, president of Chile from 1851 to 1861, was chosen president, and from head of the junta became the head of the republic. Senor Claudio Vicuna, the constitutional president of Chile, who came within one day of taking his seat, escaped to the United States, and then went to Paris. In an interview at the latter place in November, he said: "After every one of these popular revolutions, a scapegoat must succumb to allay the passions aroused, and Balmaceda's blood must have sufficed for the ven- geance of those who opposed him, if, indeed, they had vengeance at heart." This is a philosophical view of the situation from the man who was execrated next to Balmaceda, and who lost a million piastres in the riots. At the close of the civil struggle in Chile, feeling against the United States government in certain quar- ters was quite pronounced. Under Balmaceda's gov- ernment, prompt and energetic steps were always taken to see that the persons and property of citizens of the United States were protected. Cordial feelings existed between the governments, and it is reasonable to sup- pose that the United States minister in Chile, and United States citizens generally, felt no prejudice against Balmaceda. People of the United States were 368 A HISTORY OF CHILE disinterested spectators of the civil strife, and had no quarrel with Balmaceda. It appeared to them a fight between the ins and the outs in Chilean politics, in which the ins, as a dulj' and lawfully established con- stitutional government, were entitled to be considered as such until they were known to be out. They had little national concern and still less direct individual interest in the internal dissensions of the people of a sister republic in the south. Primarily, the new government in Chile felt this to be the real cause of estrangement. The fact that the United States government gave no recognition to the congressional party in Chile until it had established itself, that it seized the swift "Itata" for a violation of neutrality laws, a certain cable incident, a story that Admiral Brown of the United States navy conveyed in- formation to Valparaiso of the landing of the congres- sional forces at Quintero (which is denied, but which maj' have been at the time pretty generally believed in Chile), Minister Egan's and the "Baltimore's" protec- tion of refugees, all these things naturally increased the feeling against the United States government. And it is quite natural that the antipathy should have been openly exhibited. With such riotous proceedings as are heretofore recorded as taking place in Santiago and Valparaiso subsequent to Balmaceda's downfall, proceedings which no authority could restrain, it is not surprising that American sailors should have been attacked by a mob in the streets of Valparaiso. That is precisely what happened on the evening of October i6th, when Captain Schley of the "Baltimore" gave shore leave to one hundred and seventeen petty officers and sailors of his ship. They spent the afternoon sauntering through the streets of Valparaiso. A Chil- ean sailor spat in the face of an American sailor and THE CIVIL WAR OF 1891 369 the latter knocked him down. This was John W. Tal- bot, who was accompanied only by a fellow sailor named Charles W. Riggin. They were beset by a crowd of Chilean citizens and sailors. These were principally sailors who had recently been discharged from the transports, and longshoremen and not sailors from the Chilean fleet. The Americans were chased into a street car, then driven out of it and Riggin was beaten until he lay half dead in the street. This was within three minutes walk of the police station and the Intendencia; but the police were half an hour reaching the spot. Arriving, one of them appears to have shot the already expiring Riggin, at least, such is the testimony of two men who claim to have been eyewitnesses of the bru- tal act. The uprising was quite general in several places at about the same time ; there had been significant, omin- ous threatenings before ; no doubt the thing had been planned by the mob, as the "Baltimore" crew had been on the streets from i 130 p. m., to 6 :30 p. m., and there had been time enough for conferences in the grogshops. Eighteen of the "Baltimore" sailors were stabbed and beaten, one receiving as many as eighteen knife wounds. Only one Chilean was hurt. Six of the sailors were severely wounded ; the others received only slight bruis- es and cuts. Thirty-six of the United States sailors were arrested, for "the deplorable condition of affairs,"* and dis- charged. Some leaders of the Chileans were arrested, a trial was protracted through nearly three months, and some convictions obtained. In the long diplomatic correspondence which fol- lowed between the two governments, Senor Matta, Chil- ean minister of foreign affairs, complicated the rela- * Judge of Crimes Foster. 24 370 A HISTORY OF CHILE tions still more by sending out communications to the effect that there was untruth and insincerity in the re- ports of the United States naval officers and in the official communications. On the 2Tst of January, 1892, President Harrison communicated to the government of Chile the conclu- sions of the United States government in the form of an ultimatum, substantially as follows ; The assault was an attack upon the United States nav)', having its ori- gin and motive in a feeling of hostility tp the govern- ment of the United States ; the public authorities at Valparaiso failed in their duty, and the evidence led to the conclusion that Riggin was killed by the police and soldiers ; the United States government asked suit- able apologies and some adequate reparation for the injury done it. Receiving no reply to this before the 25th, President Harrison that day transmitted the correspondence and all the information connected with the affair to the United States congress, in a special message. While it was being read, Chile's reply came, and was gladly welcomed by the peace loving republic of the north ; for the affair was deplored first and last. The reply recited that the government of Chile had no data au- thorizing it to think that the affair in Valparaiso on October the i6th, was due to any dislike of the uniform of the United States, but regretting, and condemning the occurrence, and offering that the matter should be presented to the United States supreme court, for adju- dication as to whether there were any ground for re- paration, and if so, in what manner it should be made ; or if not to the United States supreme court, then to a tribunal of arbitration. The Matta letter was de- plored, a desire for cordial relations between the gov- ernments expressed, and the suggestion previously THE CIVIL WAR OF i8gi 371 made that Mr. Egan's recall would be acceptable to the Chilean government, was withdrawn. This reply was satisfactory to the United States gov- ernment, and the only question remaining for settle- ment not covered by Chile's reply was the amount of indemnity to be paid to the injured Baltimore sailors. This was settled by Chile placing at the disposal of Mr. Egan $75,000 in gold and asking him to cause it to be distributed among the families of the two United States seamen who lost their lives, and to the Baltimore sailors who were wounded. On the 7th of August, 1892, a treaty was agreed upon between the United States and Chile, by the terms of which a commission appointed conjointly by the two republics, shall pass upon all claims made on the part of corporations, companies or private individuals of either government upon the government of the other. PART VI— CHILE OF TO-DAY CHAPTER I THE PEOPLE OF CHILE The Chileans have been called the "English" and the "Yankees" of the South, and they themselves take some pride in the saying, "Somas los IngUses del Sur. " For many years Chile has been understood by the outside world to have a stable government, good credit and progressive enterprise. Compared with other Spanish- American republics Chile has been remarkably free from internal wars, and has settled her party differences usu- ally with much prudence and wisdom. We have only to look into the internal affairs of neighboring repub- lics to be convinced of this. The Spanish ancestors of the present Chilean inhab- itants were hardy pioneers, Basques and Biscayans, the most rugged and indomitable of Spanish races. The Indians of Chile were the most warlike and per- severing of all the American races. From these two sources came, by intermarriage, the present virile, pro- gressive race. And it is one race, for save in the ex- treme south, an Indian is seldom seen in Chile. The mountainous country and the temperate, invigorating climate, give physical and mental vigor, and the peo- 372 CHILE OF TO-DAY 373 pie are not characterized by that lassitude which we observe in the Spanish inhabitants of warmer climates. Physical energy leads to sturdy independence of char- acter and self-confidence, as well as frugality and in- dustry. It gives better morals, better laws, better pa- triotism ; it leads to daring and to deeds of valor. An energetic people, brave and cheerful, they are also hos- pitable and kind; but they fight for their rights and give not a hair's breadth in compromises. They are aggressive, too, and use force, as men of the moun- tains do everywhere ; for from time immemorial, hill- dwellers have been in a manner freebooters, taking all they might be able to carry off, but generous even to foes. That Chile has an eye on Peru and Bolivia and desires a larger slice of the Argentine Republic, is quite probable. She has assisted all of them in time past to obtain and keep their independence; a ward of Peru in the beginning, she became the strong child in the end. The Chileans hold themselves in high esteem, and take great pride in being Chileans. They admire true greatness and worth in foreigners. They put O'Hig- gins, Mackenna, Miller, Cochrane and Lynch with their own heroes. But the Chilean is sufficiently national in feeling to look upon himself as somewhat better than foreigners. Whatever is French, however, com- mends itself to him ; the educated Chilean will certainly speak French, and copies French models closely. The bookstalls, and there are many of them in the capital, are filled with French books, and the leading dailies publish nearly always a feuilleton translated from Oh- net, Maupassant, or other popular Parisian writers. Still, while the Chileans admire most the French, they have great respect for the English as a commer- cial people, though they criticise them as lacking in amiability. Steamships, railways, mines and commer- 374 A HISTORY OF CHILE cial houses are in the hands of the English, the latter sharing mercantile interests with the Germans. The Chileans have high respect for these attainments, for their own character is averse to commercial pursuits. English has been gradually coming into favor with the liberals during the past ten years, until now it holds a place nearly on a level with French in the popular estimation, and the j'oung men and maidens consider it essential to understand both languages, if they would be considered educated. To be educated in South Amer- ica and Mexico, is certainly to speak more than one language. There are advanced thinkers and scholars in Chile; intellect is held in high esteem. There are "dyed in the wool" conservatives, who look askance at popu- lar education as inconsistent with the rule of clericals and aristocrats ; but steadily year by 5'ear liberal sen- timents have grown. When we speak of liberal senti- ments, however, let it be understood that Chile is Cath- olic and wishes to remain Catholic ; she has no desire to become Protestant. The higher classes are very well ed- ucated and delight in politics and arguments; they de- nounce opponents and eulogize progress; they will submit only within certain limits to being fettered in thought or action. The Chilean liberals believe in popular education and in the advancement of the mass- es; they believe in everything modern. They make history for the country; they make big debts, big im- provements and (for Chile) big wars. Political con- tentions make a nation safe, enlightened, strong. In the numerous social clubs of Santiago politics form the never ending theme of conversation. The season in the capital is gay, though the older families there form an aristocratic coterie which is rather exclusive. Every Chilean of wealth feels in duty bound CHILE OF TO-DAY 375 to live in the capital during the season and to own a house there. His house, however, is not often open to entertainment and his family circle is close, extend- ing not much beyond relatives and near friends. But in the tertulia and public receptions social intercourse, dancing and ordinary social functions'are maintained. In the afternoon, society drives in the Cousino park, in the evening it promenades in the Alameda, or goes to the pleasant little theatre on the Santa Lucia hill, if it be summer, or to the large commodious theatre of the city if it be winter ; a theatre of which Santiago may well be proud, for it is the third in the world in respect to its size, and cost $400,000. On the great plaza of summer evenings a military band plays while the gay promenaders walk round and round, or stand and sit about under the trees, the young men in silk hats and black coats staring at the pretty girls dressed becomingly in the latest French fashions. Though educated in the belles-lettres sense, the Chil- ean young lady can not be said to possess liberty of action such as English and American young ladies enjoy. Woman certainly occupies an inferior position, due mainly to national customs from which she has not yet been able to emancipate herself. The young ladj' is chaperoned and hampered by an etiquette which deprives her of the opportunity of becoming acquainted with young men, of studying their character, of form- ing friendships with them. To be courted by one save under the eye of parents or guardians, would be considered an impropriety. But these severe restraints are beginning to relax somewhat. Woman's right to labor is certainly encouraged and respected, since no where else in the world than Chile is she found as a street car conductor. The Chilean woman is a churchgoer and is very 376 A HISTORY OF CHILE punctual in her devotions. She keeps up the church and saves it from utter decay, for the men seldom go. With her figure closely enveloped in her black shawl or mania, which she wears hood-fashion over her head and allows to fall loosely over her dress, she goes trip- ping to church in the early morning. She carries in her hand her prayer-book and a yard of carpet, or fancy woolwork, upon which she kneels on the stone floor of the pewless cathedral. No matter what her station in life or wealth, the Chilean lady puts off her bonnet, dons the mania and kneels in the centre of the church with her worshipping sisters, however poor or despised they may be. The mania puts them upon a level, and does away with all rivalries in dress during church hours. Though the men do not often go to church, and are disposed to oppose the clergy in a political way, still the church has a firm hold upon the people of Chile. The educated Chilean has no war with the Catholic church, to him it is the divinely appointed institution ; but he is in favor of progressive Catholi- cism. If he does not go to mass himself, his wife and daughters must go, and on special occasions, such, for instance, as the procession of Corpus Christi, he will condescend to take part. If he opposes the priest in legislative halls, he yet reverences his time-honored religion, and for a Chilean to be other than Catholic would mean for him to be out of caste. Santiago is somewhat cosmopolitan, although the urban foreign population is chiefly domiciled in Val- paraiso. There is a large foreign population, some ninety or one hundred thousand altogether in the coun- try, of whom five or six thousand are English and about the same number each of Germans and French. Valparaiso is essentially an English city, so far as com- mercial interests are concerned. English is spoken CHILE OF TO-DAY 377 everywhere equally with other languages, shops have English names, the solid commercial houses are Eng- lish or German, and there are English churches, Eng- lish hotels, English professional men, and an English newspaper. In the management of the great business enterprises, the Chilean yields to foreigners. English capital and enterprise have developed the coal mines in the south, the Tarapaca nitrate works in the north, the mines throughout Chile; English capital has built the railroads, or many of them, English engineers have projected the lines, and English employes run them. The government railroads were built from English loans ; England is the civilizer, the taskmaster, the great merchant, the miser, the banker, the usurer of the world. Tarapaca is essentially an English district, Antofagasta and Taltal English towns, while in the south, English and German energy are predominant in Talcahuano, Concepcion and other towns. In the south there are large German settlements; Valdivia and Puerto Montt are essentially German cities. Spanish is spoken with German, at least by the second generation, but it is a verj' corrupt Spanish. The Germans in Chile, as elsewhere, retain their na- tional characteristics longer than other foreigners, and though the children learn Spanish, they continue, gen- erally, to speak the language of their fathers even to the third generation, so that in such towns as Caiiete, Ger- man is spoken as much as Spanish. But they are thrifty settlers and the solid business men and agriculturists of southern Chile, although, be it understood, many of the Chileans are shrewd business men. The great haciendas, vineyards and mines, are usually owned by Chileans, who, however, generally employ foreign over- seers. The peon or roto is the laborer of Chile and his class 378 A HISTORY OF CHILE constitutes a large part of the population. He is the real son of the soil, the true Chilean. He is a great miner, but rather roving in his disposition. He is in- dustrious, ignorant, and has few wants. He is by in- stinct intelligent, but he is superstitious. He is the filthiest of mortals in his house; he lives upon his gar- lic dish of cazuela, watermelons and liquor. He has a large family invariably, despite the fact that his chil- dren die like summer insects, because of filth. He is a strong man, because only a healthy child is able to survive. If he has a simple mud-plastered hovel and a few fagots upon which to cook his cazuela, he is con- tented and happy. He is faithful to his home, although he is seldom married to his wife. He chooses a help- mate in early life by simply agreeing to live with her, and he usually keeps his promise. His pleasure is drink and his amusement is riding. He lives niggardly and works constantly for several weeks, hoarding his pittance for a grand carousal. He dresses in the simplest fashion, a shirt, a pair of trow- sers, a slouch hat and a poncho constituting his garb. His wife wears a calico gown with a long train, which is usuall}' bedraggled as to skirt. It is seldom that he can read, but he has natural genius for imitating and learns to do any kind of work with little instruction. He has wonderful strength and endurance. No Euro- pean is capable of such physical endurance. He is a specially good miner and can scramble up a notched pole with a hundred pounds of ore upon his back. As a stevedore in the harbor, he disdains the use of mod- ern appliances and with sheer physical strength lifts and carries upon his back enormous weights. Four of them will think it no task to shoulder p. pianoforte and go trotting through the street with it. The peons are docile enough in disposition and CHILE OF TO-DAY 379. when treated fairly are easily controlled or influenced. They are imitative and what one does they all do, even in the matter of getting drunk. They take care of their old and are kind to each other, save while intoxicated, when they are apt to fight to the death. They have much Indian blood in their veins and exhibit many ancestral traits; they hold wakes over dead children and attempt to cure disease with bits of paper, leaves, or such trifles, pasted upon different parts of the face. The holding of wakes over children is, however, a bar- barous custom that is gradually dying out among them. It consists in decking out the little one in its finery, encircling its head with a wreath of flowers, painting its face and putting strings of beads around its neck, in which condition it is placed upon a table and kept for weeks while drunken festivities are participated in by the parents and friends. As infant mortality is great, the number of wakes in a year must make the custom a troublesome one. Only the strongest children live, so that the peons have become a hardy race by the survival of. the fittest. But education is beginning to take hold upon this people and their condition in time will be greatly ame- liorated. Large numbers of them are yearly emigrat- ing to other South American states, particularly to Argentina, in search of better remunerated work. His lot is a hard one, but he loves his adobe hut, and, drunken as he is, the peon has some fine qualities of head and heart, which may yet make a good citizen of him. He is the surviving progeny of a once proud race of Indians and the valiant Spanish conquistadores, and he has a historical past behind his degraded pres- ent condition. His ancestors were heroes, if he him- self is little better than a serf. The Indian population of Chile is inconsiderable as 38o A HISTORY OF CHILE compared with that of other South American states. It is usually estimated at about 50,000. The Arauca- nians still live in the country south of the Biobio, ad- hering to many of their primitive habits, and dwelling together in villages. The laws of Chile have respect for their rights as proprietors and their lands can only be purchased through the chiefs, who hold a sort of paramount patriarchal title, and then by subsequent settlements with the individual proprietors. The In- dian claims being extinguished, a good title to the land may be obtained through the proper officers. This pro- prietary right to their lands, held through the centuries by their invincible valor, has been a potent means of keeping this nation of Indians together and preventing admixture with Spanish blood. The Araucanian Indians are intelligent looking, well made fellows of about medium height. They have the usual straight hair and eyes peculiar to the Indian races. They are of light copper color, walk upright and look you full in the eye. They dress in the poncho for an outer garment, fasten a blanket around the waist which hangs down below the knees like a short skirt, and tie a red handkerchief around their heads. They have no beards and wear the hair cut just below the ears. The women wear the poncho folded like a shawl, and a dress of blue cloth. They coil their jet black tresses around their heads, ornamenting the braids with strings of beads. They wear large silver earrings, often two or three pairs at the same time, and neck- laces of beads or of leather studded with silver orna- ments. They go barefoot and pin their ponchos with silver ornaments. The women do the weaving and make the clothes, both for themselves and the men. Their huts are usually orderly and clean, a thing which can hardly be said of the homes of the peons. CHILE OF TO-DAY 381 The master of the house may have several wives, and these with their children dwell together in apparent peace. The manner of taking a wife is similar to a custom which prevails in many barbarous countries ; the youth goes to the home of the prospective bride, and having settled with the father for her, forcibly car- ries her off. At least he and his friends appear to use force, but they are in reality suffered to take the maiden away with only a slight show of resistance. The pair then retire to the forest, and, after dwelling there to- gether for a few days, go to the husband's hut, where they live afterward as husband and wife. The women have the same custom which prevailed among the an- cient Incas, of going alone to the forest streams at the time of childbirth. When born, the child is washed in the river, wrapped carefully in its clothes and bound to a board, to which it remains fastened until it is time for it to learn to walk. The religion of the Araucanian is simple, like that of all Indians; it is, in fact, little more than a belief in immortality and in the spirits of good and evil. He believes in a Great Spirit and an Evil Spirit. The Evil Spirit must be often appeased ; in every calamity, reverses, bad weather, or bad crops, a meeting must be called under some mystical tree and an offended Deity be appeased with bowlings and liquor drinking. Wakes are held over the dead, the body being often kept some time suspended over a fire in the hut. The deceased at burial is supplied with food, clothing, weapons, a favorite horse or canoe, and other necessary accoutre- ments for the long journey to the happy regions beyond the seas. The Evil Spirit is kept out of the grave by the friends surrounding it with crossed lances, while the body is being interred. This simple religion has no creed; the wise old 382 A HISTORY OF CHILE woman, the Machi, prophetess, seer of the tribe, alone pretends to have supernatural gifts and is the village doctor. Sickness is caused by a visitation of the Evil Spirit and he must be exorcised, when the patient will recover. This task the old woman performs with di- vers dismal wails and incantations and the burning of branches of the sacred canelo tree, whose leaves have great medicinal virtue in cases of fever. The prophetess of the tribe, when her remedies fail and her patient dies, must point out the person whose evil eye caused the death. That person is then slain by the relatives of the deceased if he can be found. This is the most barbarous custom connected with the Indian religion, but it is hardly worse than burning witches. As a rule the Araucanians are courteous in their man- ners and honorable in all their engagements. They are brave in battle, but not cruel. They cultivate the soil, and are permanently attached to their lands. They are obedient to their own toquis, laws and customs, and kind to each other and to their animals. An Arauca- nian's horse loves him and follows him like a pet. They are a hospitable people and not treacherous. The}' received the Spaniards hospitably when they first visited their countr}' and only rose against them when they found that they had come as invaders. It is said that whoever receives the toqui's hand in friendship may travel with impunity throughout the Indian terri- tories. So long as tWe traveler comports himself as he should, he will be in no more danger than if he were traveling among his own countrymen. Though he is a superstitious individual, the Arau- canian is yet an imaginative and not altogether uncon- genial person. He is a natural diplomatist and talks a Jong time before he comes to the point. On more than one occasion in his great palavers with the Span- CHILE OF TO-DAY 383 iards he proved himself a shfewd politician. But he is as much a believer in omens as Romulus. Let the little bird of ill-omen chirp on his left side while he is on a journey and he will turn back. Considerable efforts have been made by the Romish church to convert these Indians, and with some suc- cess. A few churches and monasteries have been at different times established within their territories, with church schools for the instruction of the young Indi- ans. Every year quite a number of boys are turned from their barbarous ways of life, and, after a short training, are induced to hire themselves out as labor- ers and to live among the Chileans, with whom they in time identify themselves. Others of the boys run away and return to their former free life. The Chilean government, like the United States, has had its troublesome Indian question. Led by rene- gades, self-styled French kings, horse thieves and ban- ditti, the Indians have constantly harassed the frontier settlements. So sure as Chile became involved in war, the Araucanians stood ready to attack in the rear, as was the case during the late war with Peru when they attacked villages, burned houses, stole cattle and pil- laged haciendas. But constant wars and constant drunk- enness is at last solving the question, the Indians will become extinct or absorbed into the general population of Chile. They have been able to withstand Spanish arms, but they are not able to withstand the kind of firewater the Germans of southern Chile manufacture for them. Men, women and children drink and roll in beastly drunkenness. Smallpox and other diseases of civilized nations, have at different times well-nigh swept them from the face of the earth, and year by year lessd'n their numbers. Railroads are being pushed into their territorv and the shriek of the iron horse is 384 A HISTORY OF CHILE ever a sound of doom to the red man. There was a time when the Chilean government forbade the purchase of their lands, thinking that they might in time become a province of civilized Indians. But this prohibi- tion is now removed and the Indians are left free moral agents to do as they please with their property. The result is that firewater, accompanied by a few dollars, buys their lands and this will in time destroy their autonomy as a nation. Sooner or later, despite all humanitarian laws and sentiment, the weak is sub- verted by the strong, either directly or indirectly. Such is the history of civilization, and civilization is fast pushing its wheat fields into the Araucanian territories, and the old towns which Valdivia founded, but which lay in ruins ever after, are springing into new and en- ergetic life on the Chilean frontiers. Angol is now a busy place of considerable population, Canete is a growing town, Valdivia has over 23,000 inhabitants, Arauco 27,000, while other cities, such as Traiguen, Temuco, and Puerto Montt, have been making rapid advancement and bringing the improvements and pro- gressive ways of the modern world into these ancient territories and among this ancient people. The Indi- ans live now in a state of semi-independence, recog- nizing in the Chilean government a sort of protector- ate. They are congregated principally in the provinces of Malleco, Imperial and Cautin, and in scattered bands throughout the country south of the Biobio river. In the extreme south of Chile are various small no- mad tribes of Patagonian Indians. The Yaghan and Fuegian Indians are savage and miserable beings, wan- dering about the islands at the Straits of Magellan, a few families of them usually together, armed with bows and arrows, clothed in old rags and blankets and sub- sisting on mussels and such food as they are enabled CHILE OF TO-DAY 385 to pick up. On the mainland, the Indians sell skins and furs, puma, huanaco, and silver fox skins and os- trich feathers, to traders at Punta Arenas. Dwelling as they do in these cold, inhospitable, barren and rainy regions, they are the most miserable of earth's inhabi- tants, not even excepting the Esquimaux. They are related to the Indians of the Chilo^ Archipelago, but are far below them in intelligence and in their habits and manner of living. Including the Indians, southern Chile has but a scanty population. Punta Arenas on the Straits of Magellan is a town of one thousand inhabitants, where the Euro- pean steamers touch. The business of the place is carried on principally by English and Germans. The town is the centre of a considerable extent of sheep- raising country and a market for various settlements on the islands of Tierra del Fuego, Southern Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. Slieep farming is the prin- cipal industry of this southern country and there are several large ranches. Gold dust is found in consid- erable quantities in the streams and the shepherds fre- quently bring in enough of it to buy what they want in town. There are also silver and coal mines, but they have not, as yet, been worked with success. For the most part, this country is given up to seals, otters, seafowl and savages. The whole vast extent of the Territory of Magellan contains about two thousand people, of whom one half are foreigners. V, CHAPTER II EXTENT AND RESOURCES Chile is a long narrow strip "of country stretching a distance of 2,600 miles along the Pacific coast of South America ; its breadth varies from forty to one hundred miles, its area is estimated approximately at about 294,000 square miles. This great country, extending from latitude 17" 47' S. southward to Cape Horn, has for its eastern boundary the center of the almost insur- mountable Andes, and for its western boundary the Pacific, along the shores of which runs the range of the Cordillera de la Costa. Before the recent acquisitions of territory from Peru and Bolivia, Chile was protected on its northern boundary by the almost impassable Ata- cama desert, three hundred miles in length, so that the natural position of the republic was one of great se- curity and strength. Beside the mainland and exten- sive islands along the coast south of Puerto Montt, Chile owns the island of Juan Fernandez and claims Easter Island. Between the Andes and Cordillera ranges runs a long valley, extending from the Quillota river south to Chilo^ Island, a fertile valley in which are situated the prin- cipal cities and where are found the best cultivated districts. To the northward of this valley there are fertile districts, such as those of Coquimbo and Acon- 386 CHILE OF TO-DAY 387 cagua, but the chief wealth of northern Chile is to be found in the rich mines of the mountains and nitrate deposits of the Tarapaca and Atacama regions. The mineral district proper consists of the provinces of Tacna, Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama ; between the parallels of 27" and 32°, the countr}' is both a min- ing and an agricultural region. The central provinces, Santiago, O'Higgins, Colchagua, Curico, Talca, Lina- res, Maule, Nuble, Concepcion, Biobio, Arauco, Mal- leco, Cautin, Valdivia and Llanquihue, constitute a rich agricultural zone. From Puerto Montt to Cape Horn, there is a vast stretch of forest, mountain and island territory, valuable for fisheries and timber. It will thus be seen that Chile enjoj's every variety of climate, from the desert heat of Atacama to the snow and ice of Cape Horn, and is thus enabled to grow the fruits and grains of all zones and enjoy the products of all climates. The term which some Chileans use in speaking of their country, "pobre Chile," (poor Chile,) is scarcely applicable, as nature has lavished many bounties upon this tract of the inhabitable earth. Once there extended a chain of lakes up the great central valley, like those which are now seen in the islands from Chilo6 south, and these old beds have a very fer- tile alluvial soil, while the climate, tempered by the winds from the Pacific, is as mild and salubrious as that of California or Italy. The Chilean winter begins in June. The rainy sea- son further inland commences earlier than this, usually in April, and continues until the last of August. Sum- mer begins in December, spring the last of September, and from spring until autumn there is throughout Chile constant fine weather. In the southern portions, how- ever, and the timbered islands, the rainfall is heavy in summer. In the northern provinces, from Coquimbo 388 A HISTORY OF CHILE north, rain seldom falls ; in the central provinces it sometimes rains three or four days in succession and then follows two or three weeks of pleasant weather. In the south it will often rain for nine or ten days in succession, but the storms are not accompanied with high winds or hail, and thunder is seldom heard. Snow falls only in the Andes, which are rendered nearly impassable by it from April to November. Oc- casionally there is a light fall in the country bordering upon the mountains, and in the interior provinces there are August frosts with chilly nights. Heavy dews fall during the spring, summer and autumn, and to a certain extent, supply the want of rain. Fogs are not infrequent on the coast; the north winds bring rain, the south winds clear sky; there are seldom tornadoes. There are one hundred and twenty-five rivers in Chile, nearly half of which flow directly into the sea. They form a vast natural system of irrigation, bringing the melting snows of the mountains down into the valleys. Eight or ten of them are navigable for some distance, as the Maule and the Biobio, the latter being over two miles in breadth. As Chile is merely the western slope of the Andes these rivers are all short and rapid, the waters shallow and broad, the banks low, the beds rocky. This fact, with the general topography of the country, renders irrigation a simple matter. Not only is Chile abundantly supplied with rivers, there are also many lakes, such as Bucalemu, Caguil, Borjeruca which are brackish; Ridaguel, Aculeu, Ta- guatagua, Laquen or Villarica, Nahuelguapi, and many others, beautiful fresh-water lakes, some of which, as Villarica and Nahuelguapi, are from seventy to eighty miles in circumference. In the southern provinces there are many small fresh-water lakes. In the southern part of Chile immense crops of wheat CHILE OF TO-DAY 389 are grown ; this region has long been the Sicily of the southern Pacific coast. On the great farms, many of which in the vicinity of Angol have an extent of from 5,000 to 20,000 acres, the crop is grown year after year with almost unvarying success, together with smaller crops of barley, maize, beans, grass, alfalfa and pota- toes. The alfalfa is baled and shipped principally to the nitrate districts of the north. Immense quantities of it are grown in the Aconcagua valley, where the fields are irrigated from the Aconcagua river. The farms are surrounded with hedges and rows of poplars and weeping willows, while the orchards and vineyards are instarred with roses, jasmine, and innumerable wild flowers. Between the Aconcagua and Maule rivers lie the fertile lands in Chile. Throughout Chile, more particularly near the capi- tal, the grape thrives, and wine-making is an impor- tant industry. Chicha in Chile is made from grapes and is as much the popular beverage as pulque is in Mexico. Grapes were early introduced by the Span- iards and in recent years French vines have been planted in nearly all of the great vineyards from Huasco to Val- divia. Among the largest of the successful vineyards may be mentioned the Urmeneta near Valparaiso, the Ochagavia, the Totoral near Concepcion, Subercaseaux Bordeaux, Panguehue, La Trinidad and Macul. The vineyards are irrigated and cultivated in a somewhat primitive manner, oxen being used for the plowing, but there is invariably a French expert as manager and the wines made are of a very superior quality. The industry is not restricted in any manner, either in the production or the sale. From Santiago south to Concepcion the country is a succession of rich farms and occasional sandy wastes, the latter being barren simply because of a lack of means 390 A HISTORY OF CHILE of irrigation, for there are here no dews and no rivers except during the winter. The soil is usually deep and fertile, and wherever water can be conducted upon it, fine crops are grown. Some of the rivers, notably the Maypo, are veritable Niles and bring down vast quantities of alluvial deposits every season. The farms are usually separated by broad ditches and are carefully tilled, although the methods are primitive. The irri- gating canals are constructed at considerable expense and each hacendado is usually a shareholder of the cor- poration stock. The canals are divided into so many outlets {regadores) and each farmer subscribes for as many as he may need of the sluices ; from them water is drawn off into the network of ditches covering his fields. It is an expensive process, but highly efficient. Farther south, around the old Araucanian cities, are the vast wheatfields which we have already noted. Here rains are abundant, and over the low undulating hills the yellow grain waves in billowy oceans. Here also range large herds of cattle. Angol is a great wheat centre ; so also is Traiguen. A railroad has been pushed down through this country to Traiguen, and is headed for Osorno, where there are extensive tracts of valuable timber. Tanning bark {lingue) is here quite an import- ant article of commerce. In Valdivia, tanneries have long been established. It has been frequentl}' recorded by travelers in these southern forests that all the trees lean toward the north. This is caused hy the prevailing south winds. From the same cause, the timber on the hills is scanty and scrubby, that in sheltered spots most luxuriant. It is a wet, windy country, but the climate is temperate, the mean temperature being about 56° Fahr. This part of Chile is being peopled almost wholl)' bj' Euro- pean immigrants, chiefly Germans, who avail them- CHILE OF TO-DAY 391 selves of the inducements held out by the government in the shape of a free forty-acre farm for the head of the family and twenty-five acres additional for each ten-year-old boy, with free transportation and a pension of S15 a month the first year in addition. But the immigrant's life is a hard one at best; trying to reclaim these primeval forests he finds himself beset with many difficulties he never dreamed of when he left his father- land. There is certainly room for him, for Chile is larger than any European country save Russia, and is inhabited by a population only a little greater than that of Paris. The government holds out glowing induce- ments, but as is usually the case with immigration pamphlets, the bright side only is depicted. The poor colonist soon finds that there is a column of losses to set over against the column of prospective gains ; but this the home seeker finds wherever he may go. It would seem that there is room in Chile for the business man, the merchant, the miner, the capitalist, the banker. English and German capital and enter- prise receive splendid returns. Particularly in the mat- ter of railroads and public works of all kinds is this true, and in banking. The monetary system and credit of the country are satisfactorj', Chile's credit being not far behind that of France, and political agitations are not now more violent than in other republics. The absence of coal mines was, until recently, a great drawback to the material development of the country ; but now this want is in part supplied by the opening up of the mines at Lota and other places in the south. The Lota mines have an annual output of 200,000 tons, other mines aggregate about the same, so that the annual output is not far from 400,000 tons. There is still imported from England and Australia, from 250,000 to 300,000 tons annually. The Chilean 392 A HISTORY OF CHILE coal is not of first quality and when discovered, less than forty years ago, was considered unsuitable for steamers and locomotives, as it is quite as much lignite as coal. For years the railways of the country used imported coal. A shrewd engineer discovered a simple contriv- ance for the grates which made it possible for the Lota coal to be used and now it is in use altogether. The coal formations are found along the coast from the river Biobio to Canete, and belong to the tertiary deposits, which lie upon the granite rocks of the Cor- dillera de la Costa. The formation dips toward the Pacific, but in many places has been upheaved and tilted in an opposite direction. The seams which out- crop in the rocks and are reached by means of shafts, are three in number and have an average thickness of from three to six feet. The depths at which they are worked vary from three hundred to eight hundred feet. It was known as early as 1825, that coal existed in southern Chile, and in 1835, Mr. Wheelright, the pro- jector of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, under- took to mine it, but with no success. No further at- tempts were made before 1855, when Don Matias Cou- sino began to work the Lota deposits near Coronel on the Arauco Bay. These mines now produce from eight hundred to one thousand tons dail}', which is taken out principally from under the sea, and gives employment to some two thousand miners. The men are well treated, work twelve hours a day, and receive from eighty cents to two dollars. The mines are well ven- tilated, good machinery is used, a hospital is attached to them and several schools are in successful operation. The company owns four steamers and several ships which ply along the coast, carrying coal north to Pacific ports and bringing back copper ore for the Lota smelt- ing works. The profits of the company exceed one CHILE OF TO-DAY 393 million dollars a year. There are seven smelting furnaces, employing from six hundred to one thousand men and turning out one thousand tons of copper a month. There are glass and brick works established at Lota, also machine shops. The two towns. Upper and Lower Lota, have together a population of 14,000. Other ex- tensive coal mines in Chile are the Schwager at Coro- nel, Rojas at the same place, the Errazuriz at Lebu, and the Arauco Company's mines. But the true source of Chile's wealth and excellent credit is to be found in the nitrate works of the north. The vast deserts between Copiapo and the Camerones, once considered only a worthless waste, have been called a great natural chemical laboratory, for here various kinds of salts have been precipitated in im- mense quantities. Not only is this region rich in salts, but here are also some of the best paying mines on the coast. The value of the fertilizing product from the nitrate of soda deposits, called in the natural state calicheras, is too well known to need mention here. The calicheras are situated in the desert just below the surface, in the old dried up lake beds. It is on the sides, or rings, of these that the richest deposits are found. The deposits are detected by small natural holes, caused probably by the action of water at some period of the formation, and by fissures in the surface. The salitreras are situated at intervals on the east slope of the coast Cordillera along the edge of the pampa which lies between the Cordillera and the Andes, and at an elevation of from three thousand to four thousand feet above the sea level. They vary in richness; the calicheras near Antofagasta contain from fifteen to twenty per cent of nitrates, these of Tarapacd as much as seventy per cent. 39+ A HISTORY OF CHILE The calicheras lie near the surface, from one to ten feet below, and to reach them small excavations are made. Blasting powder is put under the raw nitrate and the ground thus broken up for a considerable dis- tance, then the caliche is separated from rock and rub- bish as much as possible and loaded into sheet iron mule carts, in which it is transported to the crushing mills. It is then bruised between rollers, dissolved and deposited in tanks and crystallized in vats, from which it is drawn off much as salt would be, and sacked for transportation. Beside the nitrate of soda there are the accessory salts found in it, potassium, magnesium, gypsum, and iodine. Caliche itself is crystalline in structure, solu- ble in water, and has a slightly saline taste. The ori- gin of the deposits is somewhat in doubt, but appears to have been the result of decomposition of seaweeds at a time when this part of the continent was under the ocean. With the upheaval of the land salt water lakes were formed, and, with the evaporation of the water, nitric acid was generated by the decomposition of the seaweeds and this, acting upon shells and limestone, formed nitrate of calcium, and nitrate of calcium unit- ing further with sulphate of soda, left also by the evap- orating sea water, gives the result, nitrate of soda and sulphate of calcium. The beds have been preserved in their present condition for ages, because of the fact that rain seldom falls on this part of the coast. Moist- ure would dissolve and destroy the product. The export of nitrate of soda amounts annually to more than twenty million Spanish quintals, of one hundred pounds each, and this is valued at thirty mil- lions of dollars. The state receives from this export over twenty millions of dollars annually, an amount exceeding all the general import duties, and in the CHILE OF TO-DAY 395 Tarapaca fields alone over thirteen thousand men find employment. Beside the nitrate works, there are in the north valuable silver mines, and south of the silver mines the copper regions, in the vicinity of Coquimbo. We have then, coal in the south, copper in the north, silver still farther north and then nitrate of soda and guano. The rich copper mines at Coquimbo, yielding from thirty to sixty per cent of pure metal from the ore, were not discovered until after the revolution, though Coqtiimbo (or rather La Serena) is one of the oldest cities in Chile. There for many years a most wasteful process was adopted, and it was not until 1840, that reverberatory furnaces were introduced and prim- itive methods of extracting the metal abandoned. The mountains about Coquimbo are filled with the ore ; at Ovalle the surface stones are green with copper. Though the importance of the copper industry is not now what it was in former years, still the product amounted in 1888, to 31,241 tons. There is scarcely a limit to the number of tons the output might be made to reach, as the deposits of copper throughout these regions are practically inexhaustible. The production of silver has been great, the mines being exceedingly rich. There has been a slight fall- ing off in the output recently, but still the industry is an important one. The first railway built in the coun- try was in 1852 from Copiapo to the rich silver district of Chaiiaral. Before the road gave better facilities for transportation, the poorer ores, just as with copper, were thrown aside. With an outlet by rail the inhab- itants set about working up the discarded ores, even pulling down houses and walls which had been con- structed of the refuse from the mines in order to sell it for export. With the building of railroads from the 396 A HISTORY OF CHILE port towns to the mines, a new impetus was given the industr}', and the ports of Antofagasta, Chanaral, Cal- dera, Taltal, and other northern places, exported an- nually minerals and metals to the value of several mil- lions of dollars. The rich mines of Caracoles, discovered in 1870, are ten thousand feet above the sea, situated on the slope of the Andes. There are over four thousand of the mines registered. The most valuable product is a chlo- ride of silver and mercury, which contains over sixty per cent of silver, and two of mercurj^ These mines together with the nitrate of soda deposits in this dis- trict, have made the port of Antofagasta an important place. To the north of Antofagasta are the great nitrate and guano fields, the principal ports for shipment being Iquique, Pisagua, Taltal, Caleta Buena, Junin, Toco- pilla, and Puerto Olivia. Thus it will be seen that this long, rocky, rainless coast line, extending along the Pacific for a distance of seven hundred miles, is one of the richest districts in the world. The whole country is a vast mine of minerals. Perhaps the Ta- marugal Pampa, which contains the nitrate deposits, will not always be the source of wealth that it is at present, but at least for some years to come the vil- lages and oficinas will thrive, the ports will present a lively appearance and nitrate kings and the Chilean government will grow rich. Each ofici7ia, or mining camp, in these boundless deserts must be furnished with distilled or transported water. Nothing is grown, save in the oasis of Pica and in a few places where pits are dug down to mois- ture, or in some of the great gorges. The workmen live in corrugated iron huts around each oficina, and with their women and children constitute a little village CHILE OF 1^0- DAY 397 of from one thousand to three thousand population. There is a general store at each oficina, belonging to the company, and this, it is safe to say, realizes enor- mous profits on everything sold. It has been estimated that the workmen spend sixty per cent of their earn- ings in the store and drink and gamble with the forty per cent. The moral and material condition of the laborers is degraded rather than benefited by the very wealth which they dig from the earth, for little of it remains in the country to improve and beautify it. CHAPTER III NATURAL HISTORY Chile may be divided, physically, and for conven- ience of reference, into the maritime country, or that portion of the country bordering upon the Pacific, and the midland country, or that portion in the interior. Transversely, it may be divided into four great re- gions, viz: the rainless, desert zone of the north, the mineral region, extending from Peru to Copiapc and comprising the provinces of Tacna, Tarapaca, Antofa- gasta and northern Atacama ; the semi-desert zone, comprising the southern part of Atacama and the pro- vinces of Coquimbo and Aconcagua; the agricultural zone, with a considerable amount of rainfall, compris- ing the provinces from Valparaiso to Puerto Montt at the southern end of old Chile ; and the timber and fisheries zone, extending from Puerto Montt southward to Cape Horn. The maritime country is traversed south of the thirty- first parallel by three principal chains of low moun- tains, all running parallel with the Andes. These con- stitute the Cordillera ranges, and between them are numerous fertile valleys watered by mountain streams. The central ranges terminate abruptly in the vicinity of Puerto Montt ; the western range follows the coast line. The midland country is, generally speaking, a 398 CHILE OF TO-DAY 399 plain, from which arise here and there considerable hills. Beyond the plain country the lofty Andes pierce tl}e clouds with great volcanic peaks rising to a height of over twenty thousand feet, the. highest being oppo- site the center of Chile on each side of the Uspallata Pass between Mendoza and San Rosa. Here the great volcanic peaks of Tupangato and Aconcagua rise to a height of over twenty two thousand feet above the sea level. Numerous other peaks tower to a height of from fifteen thousand to eighteen thousand feet. In the mountains on the Chilean side are the sources of the many rivers which cut their way through the fertile plains and the Cordilleras to the Pacific; between the lofty snow-capped peaks are numerous valley pastures where herds are kept. North of 31° the Cordillera ranges become less regu- lar; they scatter into spurs as they approach the des- ert regions and are covered with sandy wastes. The Atacama desert is a plateau with a height varying from four thousand to ten thousand feet. The country along the coast bears evidence of recent upheavals, similar, though on a larger scale, to the elevation of several leagues of coast region at Valparaiso in 1882, when an uplift of about six feet occurred. Going inland there are found five terraces, indicating as many uplifts of the land at different periods, the terraces ranging in height from one hundred and eighty to two hundred and eighty feet. In the vicinity of Coquimbo the terraces extend back some distance into the coun- try, forming little plains upon which the cities of Coquimbo and La Serena are built. Seashells are found in different places at elevations of from five hundred to one thousand three hundred feet, so that present changes of surface are mild compared with those of other ages. Chile is, in fact, a new creation, geologically speaking, 400 A HISTORY OF CHILE as these terraces, the numerous volcanoes, the earth- quakes and the prevalence of mineral springs through- out the country, would go to show. About seventj'-fiye miles southeast of Chilian hot springs are found almost at the snow line of the Chilian volcano. There are numerous other mineral springs celebrated for their medicinal qualities. Though so lofty, the Chilean Andes are traversed by several passes. Eleven have been examined, but only two or three of them are ever used. The principal pass connecting Chile with Argentina is that of the Uspallata between San Rosa and Mendoza. It is over it that the transandine railroad runs. In the southern Andes numerous lakes abound, some of them being of considerable extent, as that of Llan- quihue at the foot of the mountains near Puerto Montt. It is thirty miles long and twenty-two wide. North of Llanquiliue are several other large lakes, Ranco and Villarica being the largest. This chain of lakes, extend- ing from Puerto Montt to the head waters of the river Tolten, constitutes, in fact, a continuation of the Gulf of Ancud, as the Chilo4 Archipelago is in reality a con- tinuation of the mainland. There are two quite large lakes still farther north in the province of Concepcion, which lie high up in the Andes. Guilletue covers about fifty square miles ; La Laja, a short distance below Guilletue, has a beautiful waterfall at its outlet. The only lakes north of these are small bodies of water formed in the craters of extinct volcanoes high up in the Andes. Some of them, however, have an extent of two or three miles. Nearly all the rivers of Chile have sand bars at their mouths, which effectually impede navigation. The Bio- bio has a length of two hundred and twenty miles and receives three large affluents, the Laja, Duqueco and CHILE OF TO-DAY 401 Bergara. Above the bar it is navigable for a distance of one hundred miles ; a steamer plies upon it between Concepcion and Nacimiento. The Maule is one hun- dred and fifty miles long and is navigable a distance of seventy miles. The Valdivia has a length of one hundred miles, of vyhich fifty are navigable. The Im- perial is navigable only thirty out of its one hundred and fifty miles. The Tolten has a length of sixty miles and is navigable. The Bueno is navigable twenty miles out of one hundred and ten. Going farther north the streams have considerable size, but are not navigable, as they are shallow and the water they bring down from the mountains is used for purposes of irrigation. Such are are the rivers Maypo, Rapel, Coquimbo, Hu- asco, Copiapo, Itata, Aconcagua, Mataquito, Limari and others — quite large streams at certain seasons of the year, but shallow in summer. The Copiapo often becomes a sandy bed during the dry season. Further north the river beds are deep gorges, for the most part destitute of water. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence, but are usu- ally so light that but little damage is done by them. Scarcely a year passes that there are not rumblings or shocks somewhere, but the destructive earthquakes hap- pen rarely. They appear to be most severe in the south and are, indeed, seldom destructive in the north- ern provinces. In the period of two centuries and a half following the settlement of Chile by the Spaniards, there occurred five great earthquakes. This would be an average of two for each century. The first was early in the sixteenth century and destroyed some vil- lages in the south; the second was in 1647, and par- tially destroyed Santiago; the third in 1657, nearly de- molished the capital ; the fourth was on June i8th, 1730, when Concepcion was considerably shaken up, 402 A HISTORY OF CHILE its walls and many of its buildings thrown down; and the fifth, on May the 26th, 1751, completely destroyed the latter city with a great tidal wave and threw down all the villages between the thirty-fourth and fortieth parallels of latitude. But, as is usual with Chilean earthquakes, there were sufficient warnings of it by preceding slight shocks to enable the inhabitants to find places of shelter and safety. There was also an earthquake in 1737, on the Island of Chilo6. Concepcion was rebuilt on a new site in the valley of Mocha after the earthquake of 1730. In 1835, the city was again destroyed by a great earthquake and tidal wave. The wave swept up Talcahuano Bay, de- stroying shipping in the harbor, and then, leaping over the land, inundated the country for miles, destroying everything in its path. Concepcion was left in ruins, each row of houses being a line of debris. Talcahuano was also a heap of ruins, hardly, one brick or stone being left above another. Besides these two cities, seventy villages of southern Chile were to a greater or less extent destroyed. Other earthquakes have oc- curred, but with the exception of this terrible visita- tion of 1835, comparatively little damage has been done during this century. One occurred on August 13th, 1868, another on March 25th, 1871. The latter destroyed considerable property in Santiago and Valparaiso. An- other on July ist, 1873, caused some damage. There are few good harbors connected with the Chil- ean ports, but there are a number of an inferior sort, some fifty-five in all, but only a few which could be utilized for anchorage purposes. Valparaiso is the most important port, but not the best. Its harbor is pro- tected, save when northerly winds are blowing, for on that side it is exposed and damage to shipping some- times happens. The best harbor is that of Talcahuano ; CHILE OF TO-DAY 403 it is well-protected, with a good depth of water and room for any number of vessels which may anchor there. Coquimbo has a good safe harbor, well-shel- tered on the west, south and east. Valdivia has an ex- cellent, though rather small harbor. Other ports are Caldera, Huasco, Constitucion, Tom^, Coronel, Ancud and San Carlos. The nitrate and mining districts have made a number of important ports in the north, such as Iquique, Antofagasta, Pisagua and other small places. Many new ports along the whole coast line have at- tained some degree of importance since the middle of the century, which were not opened before. In the north the harbors are open to the sea and blocked with dangerous reefs, so that ships must an- chor some distance out. At Iquique there are several small moles, but these being insufficient, vessels are loaded and unloaded by carriers who wade through the surf with great burdens upon their backs, or with light- ers which ply back and forth from the moles. Along this whole northern coast line towering cliffs rise with almost perpendicular escarpments from the seashore. They are dark, barren, forbidding and frown with beetling brows over the ocean. At the places where the gorges, or old river beds, run down to the water's edge, little valleys spread out and upon them the towns are built. The cliffs rise from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the water and increase toward the interior to 3,000 and 4,000 feet, and then to 8,000 and 10,000 feet as the Andes are approached. Chile lays claim to numerous islands, the most im- portant of which are Chiloe and the islands south of it forming the archipelago of that name. There are more than a hundred of them, about half of which are well settled and possess excellent harbors. There are numerous islands south of this archipelago which Chile 404 A HISTORY OF CHILE now claims, also Mocha, Santa Maria and Quiriquina, lying close to the coast between Chilo6 and Concepcion Bay. Chiloe is a veritable garden, possessing a humid atmosphere, a soil exceedingly fertile, a temperature at all times like spring, where snow or frost is seldom known. Fine crops of wheat, "barley, potatoes and other grains and vegetables are raised. There are fine herds of domestic animals, and the waters are filled with fish, shellfish and fur-bearing animals. Farther south the islands are for the most part moun- tainous and the climate wet, cold and disagreeable. Guaitecas, Guaianeco, Magellanes and Tierra del Fuego are given up to seals, whales, wild fowl and Fuegian Indians. The Indians roam at will over the west coast and the islands of Chonos and Guaianeco, a most mis- erable lot of human beings. Smyth's Channel is as picturesque as the Hudson. It is a narrow passage between the islands and the mainland, extending three hundred and thirty-eight miles from the Gulf of Penos to the Straits of Magellan, and averaging about two miles in width. Peaks, rocks and glaciers constitute a rugged picture upon each side, while further in the background the mountains rise from three to six thou- sand feet in height. In some portions of the channel a vessel can scarcely pass through between the cliffs and around the tortuous curves, so that navigation by night is unsafe. For this reason onl}' one line of steamers follows this route, other lines preferring to encounter the storm-swept ocean without, rather than to pass up this sheltered channel. The Straits of Ma- gellan are wide and through them all the steamers pass ; sailing vessels must still round the terrible Cape Horn, where the mighty Andes rise up in Mt. Sarmiento 7,000 feet into the clouds and then fall prostrate be- CHILE OF TO-DAY 405 neath the towering on-rushing waves, before which even mountains may not stand. The Island of Juan Fernandez, rendered famous by the imagination of De Foe, belongs to Chile, together with its outlying companions, several in number. These islands were first discovered by Juan Fernandez in 1563, and colonized, but the colonists soon aban- doned them. They became a favorite resort for the South Sea pirates, a headquarters for buccaneers. Ulloa visited them in 1741, Lord Anson remained there three months with a scurv5'-afflicted crew ; about the middle of the last century Don Domingo Rozas, of Chile, sent colonists to settle there. Political exiles were fre- quently banished there during the early part of this century ; later, several well organized efforts have been made by the Chilean government to colonize these islands with a better class of citizens. Chile also claims Easter Island. Chile is singularly free from ferocious animals and poisonous reptiles. There are eleven species of rep- tiles, five saurians, four ophidians, one frog and one toad. The serpents are perfectly harmless. In the timbered districts of the south there is plenty of game for the sportsman, but not of the savage kind. Pumas (Chile lions) are occasionally met with in the Andes and on the heights the huanaco is found. A small sil- ver fox abounds in the south. But there are no tigers (or jaguars), no wolves, such as infest other neighbor- ing states. The plateaux and plains stretching from the Andes to the Cordillera are almost destitute of game. Perhaps the towering Andes on one side and the Atacama desert on the other, have prevented the passage of animals into this favored land, or, it may be that the Indians, whom the Spaniards found settled 4o6 A HISTORY OF CHILE in the country as agriculturists, long ago destroyed the wild beasts. There are seven species of cheiroptera, mostly bats, twelve species of carnivora, embracing four felines, three foxes, one weasel, two polecats, the nutria and otter, six species of phocidce, one marsupial {didelphys elegans), twelve genera and twenty-five species of ro- dents (twelve being mice), the chinchilla and its co- geners and a species of rabbit, two species of edentata {^dasypus and pichiciego, the latter rare and peculiar to Chile), three ruminants, the huanaco, and two deer, (the pudu and huemut). Four species of the ceiacea abound, two dolphins, the sperm whale and right whale. Per- haps the most interesting of the mammals are the phocidm. The phoca lupina, closely resembles the com- mon seal, the difference being principally in its size and color. The phoca elephantica (Jame or sea-elephant), is frequently twenty feet in length. It has short tusks and a sort of trunk on its nose, which, with its size, gives it some resemblance to the elephant. The sea- hog and sealion are so called because of faint resem- blance to those animals. The forests are usually quiet, though there are many kinds of birds. The chuca is an interesting spe- cies, being the Indian bird of ill-omen. If his merry note rings out to the right of the traveler, he is cheered on his way; if, however, the shrill cry is on the left, he turns back and avoids danger. There are many species of the raptores— condors, vultures, hawks and owls — and of the incessores. Parrots with beautiful plumage and pigeons flit through the forests. The families of grallatores and natatores are represented by numerous species. The choros is a peculiar kind of oyster, and is used by the inhabitants for food. Those in Talcahuano Bay CHILE OF TO-DAY 407 have a good flavor. There are innumerable crustaceans and mollusks in the south ; there are three species of perch, one kingfish, three siluridse, shads and lampreys. The forests of southern Chile have a certain sombre beauty peculiar to themselves, the foliage being of great variety and exquisite coloring. The trees grow to a considerable height and are intertwined with par- asitic vines and creepers. One of these parasites is called "angel's hair" and hangs from the trees like threads of lace. There is an undergrowth of ferns, bamboos, shrubs and canes, the latter attaining a height sufficient to interlace treetops and form roofs of green over the forest avenues. On the mountains grows the stately pine. One species of this is indigenous to southern Chile, the Pehuen, or Araucania imbricata. It grows to a height of one hundred feet or more and bears a fruit greatly appreciated by the Pehuenche In- dians, who derive their name from it. There are many kinds of sweet-scented and beautiful flowering plants and rosebushes, particularly along the rivers. Mint, nettles, plaintains, trefoils and mallows, grow as well in Chile as anywhere else; so also lupins, loveapples, celery, cresses, mustard, and fennel. Trop- ical plants, such as sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, sweet potatoes, jalaps and mechoacan,grow well enough in the northern states. There are also many wild plants peculiar to Chile. Maize and the cereals all grow in this climate. The Indians cultivated Indian corn be- fore the arrival of the Spaniards, also species of rye and barley. The potato seems to have found in Chile its native soil ; two species of it grow wild, with over thirty varieties. There are several varieties of the qui- nua, and two principal species of the gourd. The In- dians cultivated a dozen different kinds of beans before the country was discovered by Europeans, and it is 4o8 A HISTORY OF CHILE still a staple product with them. Strawberries grow wild ; there are two kinds of the madi and many spe- cies of the pimento. There are species of leeks, and one specie of wild basil which exudes a saline substance often used as salt. There are a number of plants, excellent for dyeing purposes. A species of madder called relbun is exten- sively used ; also a species of agrimony (giving a yel- low), the cuUi (furnishing a violet), and other varieties. Probably no country has a greater number of medi- cinal plants; over two hundred have been discovered having properties more or less valuable. Grasses and sedges are abundant and there are a great number of reeds and rushes. Hay is not needed in the country, as cattle graze throughout the j'ear ; but in the south- ern provinces fodder of different kinds is baled for shipment to the nitrate regions. Willows, wild cherries, wild oranges, white or win- ter cinnamon, carob, maqui, mulberries and tamarinds grow in different parts of the country. The cactus Co- quimbanus has thorns eight inches long and these are used by the women for knitting needles. The white cinnamon, ca«^/«', called by the natives "boighe, " grows to a height of fifty feet and is considered by the abor- igines as a sacred tree. Thej' ascribe to it great heal- ing properties, carry branches of it in their religious ceremonies, and wave it when they conclude treaties of peace. The palma Chilensis is a species of cocoanut which grows in some of the northern provinces and is highly esteemed ; the date grows in the province of Copiapo. Melons thrive everywhere, and millions of them are consumed by the peons and Indians. All kinds of fruits grow, apples, peaches, quinces, pears, cherries, oranges, lemons, citrons, olives, and others. CHAPTER IV RAILROADS, ARMY AND NAVY EDUCATIONAL MATTERS The government of Chile, like the government of a few other countries, considers the building and operat- ing of railroads as a legitimate function of legislative and executive concern. An important item of the na- tional expenditure has been for the extension of the railway system. To this purpose have the nitrate royalties been largely applied. Chile was the first country in South America to build railroads ; the work was begun in 1850. The state at present owns and operates the line be- tween Santiago and Valparaiso, with the important branch of Los Andes, which is on the great South American trans-continental line from Buenos Ayres to Santiago and Valparaiso. The state also owns and operates the line from Santiago to Talcahuano, and its branches to Palmilla, Los Angeles, Traiguen and Col- lipulli. These lines have a combined length of 1,068 kilometers, or less than seven hundred miles, and were worth in 1888, something near fifty millions of dollars and gave a clear profit of over a million and a half, exactly 3. 11 per cent upon the capital. They carried over three millions of passengers, a remarkable show- ing, when we take into consideration the fact that 410 A HISTORY OF CHILE Chile's population does not greatly exceed three mil- lions ; but they are a restless, moving, traveling, as well as aggressive people. The state also owns the line from Chanaral to Ani- mas and Salados, being about forty miles in length, or, more correctly, sixt}'-five and one-fourth kilometers. There is a large amount of private capital invested in railways; in all, private corporations own about sixteen hundred kilometers, besides the Arauco com- pany's line from Concepcion to Curanilahue, sixty- six kilometers in length, and several short lines in the coal districts of the south. There are something like twelve or thirteen lines projected, or being now con- structed by private capital, in the nitrate and mineral provinces, and the state is interested in contracts for the building of other lines, all originally to have been completed in from two to five years from November, 1888. When the lines are fully completed and in oper- ation, about one thousand kilometers more will be add- ed to the railwa3' system. The transandine railway from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso, about eight hundred and fifty miles in length, is owned by several companies. The Buenos Ayres and Pacific railway owns to Villa Mercedes, four hundred and thirty miles from Buenos Ayres; the Argentine Great Western owns from Villa Mercedes to Mendoza, two hundred and twenty miles ; Clark's Eng- lish Transandine Company controls the line from Men- doza to Los Andes on the Chilean side, a distance of one hundred and ten miles (about) to the frontier, and a further distance of forty miles to Los Andes, which is owned by a different company; thence it is fifty-four miles b}' the government line to Valparaiso. In all, five companies own the line from ocean to ocean, and there CHILE OF TO-DAY 411 are three different gauges of the track, causing two transfers of passengers and freight en route.* This project of spanning the Andes with a railroad is one of the gigantic feats of modern engineering. The Uspallata Pass is, in round numbers, 1,300 feet high, and the road overcomes an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet in crossing it. On the Chilean side the grade is exceedingly steep, and to ascend it the Abt system of cogged locomotive wheels and racks, bolted to the sleepers of the track, are used to overcome the gradients for a distance of ten or twelve miles. There are several immense bridges and four or five tunnels on the route, the longest tunnel being 5,540 yards in length. Other transandine lines have been projected. The Ferrocarril Interoceanico will run from Buenos Ayres to Talcahuano and will have a length of fourteen hundred and twelve kilometers, or about eight hundred and fifty miles. It will cross the Andes over the Antuco Pass at a height of nearly seven thousand feet above sea ■ level, and join the Chilean state lines at Yumbel. So far, work upon this line has just been begun on the Chilean side. Another route, called the Transandine Railway of the '^ox'Cs\{Ferrocarril Transandino del Norte'), exists on paper and has had a concession granted it by the Chilean government for a line to run from Copiapo into Argentina; this important road may be built in time. All the roads are equipped with the best mod- ern rolling stock, of American manufacture. Thus in time we may expect that the vast regions traversed by these new and projected lines will be opened to agriculture and commerce, though years must first elapse, since every rail, tie, timber and brick must *At the time of this writing there is a small_ gapin the mountains between Men- doza and Los Andes not completed, Financial difficulties may cause a delay in the work. 412 A HISTORY OF CHILE be conveyed into the mountains on muleback, and the waterfalls must be made to generate electric power, and electricity to turn machinery to drive the great drills through the long tunnels. The private lines of railways in operation in Chile just before the late civil war were as follows; Iquique to Pisagua and branches, three hundred kilometers ; Mejillones to Cerro Gordo, twenty-nine kilometers; Ari- ca to Tacna, sixty-three kilometers; Antofagasta to Huan Chaca and branch, four hundred and forty kil- ometers; Taltal and Cochiyugal, eighty-two kilometers; Caldera and Copiapo and branches to Chanarcillo, San Antonio and Puquios, two hundred and forty-two kil- ometers; between the two Carrizals and Cerro Blanco mine, eighty-one kilometers ; Coquimbo to La Serena and to Ovalle and Panulcillo, one hundred and thirty- eight kilometers ; La Serena to Vicuna, seventy-eight kilometers ; Tongoi to Tamaya, iifty-five kilometers ; Laraquete to Moquegua, forty kilometers. Other lines are nearing completion. In the year 1890, there were thirteen thousand seven hundred and thirty miles of telegraph lines, of which eight thousand miles were owned by the state. There were four hundred and eleven telegraph offices, of which three hundred and four belonged to the state. Over these government lines six hundred and three thousand six hundred and twenty-eight messages were sent, be- side those sent over the private wires. There were at that same time five hundred and six postoffices, the mails carrying from seventeen to twenty millions of letters annually. Next to the railways, an important item in the an- nual budget is the support of the army and navy. Large and costly buildings have been erected in the capital for purposes of military schools and government bar- CHILE OF TO-DAY 413 racks. There are the Escuela Militar, Academia de Guerra, an institute of military engineers, which sends out oificers to travel in Europe to gain knowledge of military matters, a military club, and a military journal subsidized by the state. The army on a peace footing consists of five thousand eight hundred and eighty-five men, distributed as follows: two regiments of artillery, one battalion of sappers and miners, eight battalions of infantry, three regiments of cavalry and one battalion of coast artillery of five hundred men. There are in active service nine hundred and forty-three officers, twelve generals, twenty-nine colonels, seventy-six lieu- tenant-colonels and eight hundred and twenty-six infe- rior officers. The National Guard {Guardia Nacional Sedentaria), consists of 8,970 artillerymen, and 42,120 infantry. This force can be called upon in the event of war. The Chilean navy is the pride of the government and people. It consists now of a monitor, four ironclads, three corvettes, two gunboats and several transports, dispatch and sailing vessels. The ironclads, "Almiraiite Cochrane" and "Blanco Encalada, " which figured prom- inently in the late war with Peru, were built at Hull in 1875. They each had 3,500 tons displacement, 2, goo horsepower and nine inch armor. The "Cochrane" had four eighteen-ton and two, seven and one-half- ton guns; the "Blanco Encalada, " which was sunk by a torpedo-catcher in the late war, had six twelve and one-half-ton guns carried in a central battery.* The ironclad "Huascar, " captured from the Peruvians, was built in 1865; displacement 2,000 tons, horsepower 1,050, armor four and one-half inches, armed with two turret and two forty-pounder guns. The protected '■■The contract has been let for raising this vessel and putting it again into ser- vice. 414 A HISTORY OF CHILE cruiser, "Esmeralda," was launched in June, 1883, at the Armstrong works; displacement 2,810 tons, armor one inch, horsepower 6,500, eight heavy guns, beside machine guns. The "Arturo Prat," recently built in France, is the finest ironclad in the Chilean fleet; it is of 6,902 tons and steams seventeen knots an hour; two cruisers of 2,080 tons each have recently been added to the navy, as well as two torpedo-boats. In 1890, there were two hundred and fifty-one offi- cers connected with the navy, five rear admirals, fifty- nine captains, twenty-seven lieutenants, and one hun- dred and sixty inferior officers. There were one thou- sand six hundred and nine sailors, and ninety cadets in the naval college at Valparaiso. Beside this very efficient college at Valparaiso, there is a naval club and periodical in Santiago, and a hydrographic office. There is no navy yard ; in the event of a ship needing docking and repairs, the want of a dry dock is a great inconvenience, as the ship must be sent to Europe. Chile's commercial fleet on the first of January, 1890, consisted of one hundred and fifty-two vessels of one hundred tons and more each ; beside there were other vessels with a total tonnage of 152,391 tons, of which twenty-nine were steamers. English, French and Ger- man lines of steamers ply between Valparaiso and Europe by way of the Straits of Magellan. The . Pacific Steam Navigation Company runs a line of fine steamers between Chilean ports and Peru and Panama. Mr. Wheelwright, an American citizen, was the first to introduce steam navigation into Chilean waters. In 1835, he entered into an arrangement with the govern- ment to put on two small steamers, but it was not until 1840, that he started the "Chile" and "Peru" on regular trips between Panama and South American Pacific ports. That was the nucleus of the Pacific Steam Nav- CHILE OF TO-DAY 415 igation Company, which has sirce been maintained by English capital. In 1847, two additional vessels were added to the line, and in i860, weekly trips were made 'between Valparaiso and Callao. In 1853 and 1858, the southern Chilean ports, Valdivia and Puerto Montt, were brought into communication with Valparaiso, the government agreeing to pay the company an annual subsidy of $40,000 for that service. ^ The company has enjoyed large subsidies from both the English and the Chilean governments, and was long enabled to buy off all attempted rivals and maintain its profitable monop- oly. Happily for Chile there are now two lines. The annual arrivals and clearances of vessels from Chilean ports is nearly ten millions of tons each. Pro- bably three-tenths of the number and tonnage are Brit- ish bottoms, four-tenths Chilean and three-tenths of other nationalities. Education has been for some years a matter of gov- ernment concern, as well as of political strife in Chile. It is free and at the cost of the state. The common people are still slow in availing themselves of the ad- vantages of Senor Balmaceda's schoolhouses, but every year marks advances. In the cities many adults are attending the night schools, and on the whole, new int-erest is being awakened in the practical benefits of education. Education has long been the political watch- word of the liberal party. The capital is the great educational center. The National University at Santiago has a yearly attendance of from ten to fifteen hundred students. This and the National Institute provide collegiate and professional courses. The latter numbers as many students as the university. There is the School of Medicine, which gives a very thorough and practical course. Law, mathematics, medicine and the fine arts are all taught. 4i6 A HISTORY OF CHILE There are twenty-five provincial lyceums, with a yearly attendance of from three thousand to four thousand stu- dents. A normal school for the preparation of teach- ers, an institute for the deaf and dumb, an agricultural' department and other special schools, have been long established. There are one thousand and twenty-nine primary schools, four hundred and seventy-seven of which are mixed and the rest about evenly divided be- tween the sexes, being either for males or females ex- clusively. These have a total yearly attendance of from eighty to eighty-five thousand. Beside there are over five hundred private schools, with an annual at- tendance of about twenty-five thousand. In 1890, con- gress appropriated over ^7, 000, 000 for educational pur- poses. In Santiago are a museum of natural sciences, an academy of fine arts, a conservatory of music and a botanical garden. There is a Methodist college where a good English course is given, and this stands in high estimation; the Presbyterians maintain an efficient seminary ; there are also other semi-missionary schools. * The national library contains some 70,000 volumes. Seven daily papers are published in Santiago, with a circulation of 30,000 copies, also several scientific and literary reviews. There are four daily papers in Val- paraiso, having a circulation above 20,000. Other cities also have dailies. Valparaiso has a museum of natural history, with sections devoted to the different branches. The museum at Santiago has branches devoted to min- eralogy, zoology, botany, geology, palaeontology, and ethnology, and has had in the past several eminent *There are probably nearly three-quarters of a million children in Chile be- tween the ages of six and fifteen who should be in school, so that only a small proportion — perhaps one-sixth of them — are availing themselves of the advan- tages of free schools. Of the three millions of people in Chile, it is a liberal es- timate to say that one million can read. But it requires time to bring about changes, in matters like these. As to the upper classes, they are well-educated, well-informed and in the highest degree cultured. They are a quick, imitative people and acquire foreign languages with great facility. CHILE OF TO-DAY 417 scientific gentlemen interested in its success. The museum of fine arts publishes a review and has a very creditable collection of foreign and native works. An annual salon is also held in the capital, where several hundred works of art compete for the prizes offered. Schools of painting and sculpture have been started, but the attendance is only nominal. To encourage the fine arts, the government offers to send the most pro- ficient pupils to Europe with pensions. The conser- vatory of music at the capital has a fair average at- tendance, considerable interest being taken in this branch. Indeed, the pianoforte is a common article of furniture in Chile. On the whole, Chile is taking a step in the right di- rection for the formation of a true republic, she is edu- cating her people. CHAPTER V CITIES AND GOVERNMENT Chile has no single city with the population of Buen- os Ayres or Rio de Janeiro, but she has her urban population scattered through many important centers. Santiago, the capital had, on January ist, 1890, a popu- lation not far from two hundred thousand. Valparaiso had half as many. Talca, Concepcion, Chilian, La Serena and Iquique came next in order in size and population. Then came Ovalle, Melipilla, Tacna, San Felipe, Copiapo, Curico, Los Angeles, Quillota, Lina- res, Cauquenes, Angol and Valdivia. There were seventy-seven cities and towns in Chile with popula- tions above that of villages, all important trade centres. Santiago is the metropolis of Chile, and to it the wealthy and influential persons of the provinces find their way. It is a beautiful city, with its grand plaza, its alameda, its hill of Santa Lucia, its shade trees, its gay political and social life. Valparaiso, perched upon rugged hills overlooking a blue bay of the Pacific, is an important commercial city. The streets are lined with fine shops, offices, banks and warehouses. There is a fine long mole, supplied with cranes, hydraulic machinery and all nec- essary appliances for taking care of the traffic of the port. Back of the mole are rows of customhouses, 418 CHILE OF TO-DAY 419 bonded warehouses, government buildings, and, a lit- tle farther in the background, the city itself, built on terraces of the hills. Concepcion is a city of over 25,000 people; it pro- mises to be one of the chief cities of Chile. It has a pushing and energetic class of inhabitants. There are three main streets running parallel with each other, well paved and lined with business houses. It has a fine large railway depot, tramways, telegraphs, tele- phones and electric lights. The city is situated at the head of Concepcion Bay on a charming spot, twenty minutes by rail from Talcahuano, its port. The latter is one of the best ports in Chile and bids fair some time to become a formidable rival of Valparaiso. Tom6 and Penco are also ports of Concepcion. From these southern ports are exported vast quantities of wheat, wool, wines, barley, oats, linseed and honey. Trans- portation facilities are excellent. Beside the railways to the capital and the towns to the south, the steam- ers of five European lines stop there on their regular trips north. Between the capital and Concepcion, the provincial cities, situated in the midst of rich agricultural dis- tricts, are all thriving. Such are Chilian, Talca, San Fernando, Rengo and Rancagua. So are also the cities farther south in the old Araucanian territories, Los Angeles, Angol, Traiguen, Valdivia. The first three of these towns are of about the same size, each num- bering some six or seven thousand inhabitants. Val- divia, a German city, numbers about 23,000 population. These places are situated in a country but recently opened to settlement, and, surrounded as they are by a rich agricultural zone, are destined to become fore- most among the cities of Chile. Cauquenes is a place of from seven to ten thousand 420 A HISTORY OF CHILE inhabitants, and is noted for its baths and as a summer resort. Puerto Montt is one of the most active cities in southern Chile and numbers about fifteen thousand people. It is a German town. La Serena in the north is one of the oldest cities in Chile. It has a population of some seventeen or twenty thousand ; Copiapo has a population not quite as large as that of La Serena. Iquique comes next with a population about the same as that of La Serena, then Pisagua and Antofagasta, each about half the size.* Of the political parties of Chile, perhaps enough has been already said. As we have seen, there are two groups, conservatives and liberals, each with several factions. The conservatives are split into three fac- tions : Conservadores proper, Clericales and Montt- Varis- tas. The liberals have been at different times split into four sections : Liberales del Gobierno, Nacionales, Sueltos and Radicahs. There are then, the Montt-Va- ristas, aristocrats; Clericales, or church party; Conser- vadores, or Conservatives, but not extremists ; Liberales, •consisting of those holding more moderate views; and lastly, radical extremists and factions with varying shades of political belief. The government is representative, and, to a certain extent, popular. The president is elected for a term of five years and is not, under the amended constitu- tion, eligible to' a second term, except after an interval of five years. He is elected b}'^ electors appointed directly by the voters of the provinces, in the propor- tion of three electors for each deputy to which the province is entitled. His salary is Ji8,ooo per annum. *In giving the population of Chilean cities, it is difficult to arrive at a mathe- matical degree of accuracy, as the estimates vary fully one-half. The population of Santiago is placed as low as 186,000 and as high as 237,000; that of Valparaiso from 105,000 to 109,000; Concepcion 24,000 to 40,000; Chilian 21,000 to 60,000, etc. The larger estimates, however, appear to be wide of the mark, such, for instance, as accrediting TarapacS with ft population of 33,000. _ Still, it must be remembered that all of these cities have recently made large gains. CHILE OF TO-DAY 421 He is assisted by a council of state, composed of eleven members, five chosen by himself and six elected by the congress ; his cabinet consists of six ministers: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Worship and Colonization, Justice and Public Instruction, Finance, Departments of War and Navy, Industry and Public Works. The president appoints and removes the intendentes of provinces and the gobernadores of departments. Were Chile a true federation this power would not be lodged in the hands of the chief, and intendentes and gobernadores would be elected by the people. The governors of departments appoint the subdelegates who preside over the sublegations, and these in time ap- point the inspectors of districts. Municipal authority is lodged in city councils and they are elected every third year. The judicial author- ity is vested in a supreme court, which has jurisdic- tion over the whole republic. Below the supreme court are five courts of appeal, and other subordinate tribunals in the provinces, courts of first instance in the departmental capitals, and subordinate courts in the districts. The judges are appointed by the presi- dent under certain rules, and the commissions can only be revoked after a legal trial for cause. The national congress is composed of an upper and lower house ; the senate is elected by the provinces for six years, one senatdr being allowed to three depu- ties and every fraction of two deputies ; the chamber of deputies is elected by the departments in the pro- portion of one deputy for every 30,000 inhabitants, or a fraction greater than 15,000. Deputies are elected every three years and the senate renews one-half the number of senators every three years. Both deputies and senators must have property qualifications. There are twenty-three provinces and one territory, 422 A HISTORY OF CHILE seventy five departments, eight hundred and fifty-five sublegations and three thousand and sixty-eight dis- tricts. APPENDIX PROVINCES, CAPITALS AND POPULATION The following table will give the area and capitals of the different provinces, the population according to the census of November 26th, 1885, and the estimated population for January ist, 1890. Also the population per square mile. PROVINCES AND TERRI- AREA POP. POP. a35 TORIES CAPITALS sq. miles Nov. 26 Jan. I, 1890 d^s 1885 ' (Es'mat'd) £^" Magellanes, Ter., Tierra del Fuego, Straits, and coast Punta Arenas 75,292 2,085 2,757 — . north to 47°S.Lat. Chiloe Ancud 3,995 73.420 77,502 19.0 Llanquihne Puerto Montt 7.823 62,809 70.503 8.7 Valdivia Valdivia 8,315 50,938 65,807 7-5 Arauco Lebu 4,248 73-658 76, 067 17.8 Cautin Temuco 3,126 33.291 35.637 II. Malleco Angol 2,856 59.492 62,308 20.9 Biobio Angeles 4.158 101,768 "8,537 28.0 Concepcion Concepcion 3.535 182,459 211,730 59.0 Nuble Chilian 3.556 149,871 155.858 43-7 Maule Cauquenes 2.930 124.145 126,683 43.0 Linares Linares 3.488 110,652 114,658 32.6 Talca Talca 3.678 133.472 139.105 37-2 Curico Curico 2,913 100,002 103,346 35-5 Colchagua San Fernando 3.795 155,687 159,216 41,7 O'Higgins Rancagua 2.524 87,641 91,581 35-8 Santiago Santiago 5.223 329.753 368,615 70.0 Valparaiso Valparaiso 1.637 203,320 215,940 15.0 Acancagua San Felipe 5.840 144,125 153.459 25.9 Coquimbo La Serena 12,905 176,344 186,895 143 Atacama Copiapo 43,180 76,566 66,636 15 Antofagasta Antofagasta 60,968 21,213 34.981 0.6 TarapacS Iquique 19,300 45,086 46.876 ^•4 Tacna Tacna Total 8,685 29,523 30.703 3-5 293.970 2,527,320 2,715,400 9.2 The province of Cautin was created by law March 12th, 1887, also the province of Malleco. Antofagasta and TarapacS were received from Peru and Bolivia by the terms of the treaty of peace, October 423 424 A HISTORY OF CHILE 20th, 1883. Antofagasta was made a province July 12th, 1888. Tac- na is to continue in the possession of Chile for ten years dating from the time of the treaty, at the end of which time a plebiscite is to de- cide to which country it shall belong and an award of $10,000,000 is to be paid by the country gaining it. The population as given in the foregoing table is probably below the actual population, as the census returns are admittedly incorrect. It is usually given at above 3, 000, - 000, with 50,000 Indians. At the last census the foreign population is given at 87,077. Of this number, 34,901 were Peruvian, 13,146 Bolivian, 9,835 Argentinian, 6,808 German, 5,303 English, 4,198 French, 4,114 Italian, 2,508 Spanish, 1,275 Swiss, 1,164 Chinese, 924 Anglo-American, 674 Austrian, 434 Scandinavian, and the rest scat- tering. This population has largely increased since the last census in 1885, particularly as to the German and English residents. The cen- sus gave an equal male and female population, and the number of births and deaths about the same. DEBT, RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES The debt of Chile stood on January ist, 1890, as follows: Pesos. External debt 47, 116, 460 Internal debt 24,013,579 Paper money 22,487,916 Total 93.617.955 The estimated income for 1890 was 58,000,000 pesos, and in addi- tion to this there was a balance from i88g of 31,257,526 pesos. Esti- mated expenditures for 1890 67,069,809 pesos. Imports and exports yearly are not far from 65 million pesos each. The peso has a nominal value of one dollar, but its actual value is gi.2 cents (1891). BANKS There were at this time 19 banks of issue with a joint capital of 23, 111,887 pesos, and a registered issue of 16,679,790 pesos. Beside the regular banks there are a number of land banks which issue scrip bearing interest and lend money upon real estate security. The annual circulation of these varies from sixty to seventy-five million pesos. MONEY Beside the silver peso, Chilean money is put out in the following denominations: Ten dollar (condor), five dollar (medio condor, or doblon), two dollar (escudo), and one dollar (peso), gold pieces. There are half, fifth, tenth and twentieth of a dollar silver pieces, two and a half, two, one, and one-half cent pieces on copper and nickel. CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE CHAPTER I— The territory Article i The territory of Chile extends from the Desert of Atacama to Cape Horn, and from the Cordilleras of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean, comprising the archipelago of Chilod, all the adjacent islands and those of Juan Fernandez. CHAPTER II — The form of government Art. 2 The government of Chile is a popular representative one. Art. The Republic of Chile is one and indivisible. Art. 4" The sovereignty inheres essentially in the Nation, which delegates its exercise to the authorities established by this constitution. CHAPTER III— Religion The religion of the Republic of Chile is the Apostolic Roman Cath- olic, and the public exercise of any other is excluded.* * Other religious denominations are not now prohibited from worshiping in churches owned by private individuals or associations, 426 A HISTORY OF CHILE CHAPTER IV— Citizens of Chile The following are Chileans: ist. Those born within the territory of Chi'e. 2d. Children of Chilean parents, born in a foreign country, by the sole fact of becoming domiciled in Chile. The children of Chil- eans born in a foreign country, when the father is at the time in the service of the Jfepublic, are Chileans, even for the ends for which the fundamental laws, or any others, require birth on Chilean territory. 3d. Foreigners who, having resided one year in the Republic, shall declare before the municipal authorities of the territory in which they reside their desire to fix their domicile in Chile, and shall ask naturalization papers. 4th. Those who may obtain naturalization by special favor of the Congress. Art. 7 The municipal authorities of the department of the residence of such persons as have not been born in Chile, 'are competent to de- clare whether or not they are entitled to naturalization under the provisions of paragraph 3d of the preceding article. If the decision of the respective municipality be favorable, the President of the Re- public will issue the proper naturalization papers. Art. 8 The following are citizens with the right of suffrage: All Chileans who, having reached tie age of twenty-five years, if unmarried, or twenty-one years, if married, and knowing how to read and Write, and shall possess either of the following requisites: ist. Any real estate, or capital invested in any kind of business or industry. The amount of the real estate or capital will be fixed by special law every ten years, for each province. 2d. The exercise of an industry or trade, or the possession of an employment, rental or usufruct, 'whose emoluments or products shall be proportional to the real estate or capital mentioned in the preced- ing paragraph. Art 9 No person shall enjoy the right of suffrage who shall not be enrolled in the registry of electors of the municipality to which he belongs, and who shall not have in his possession a certificate of qualification three months prior to the election. Art. 10 The function of active citizenship with right of suffrage is suspend- ed for the following causes: CONSTITUTION i^i^ ist. Physical or moral incapacity that prevents the free and rea- sonable exercise of the faculties. 2d. The condition of domestic service. 3d. Arrest under an accusation of an offence punishable by a se- vere or infamous penalty. Art. II Citizenship is lost for the following causes: ist. Condemnation to a severe or infamous penalty. 2d. Fraudulent failure in business. 3d. Naturalization in a foreign country. 4th, Acceptance of employment, offices, distinctions or pensions from a foreign government, without special permission of Congress. Those who from any of the above mentioned causes shall have lost their citizenship, may regain it by action of the Senate. CHAPTER V — Public rights of Chileans Art. 12 The constitution secures to all the inhabitants of the Republic; ist. Equality before the law. In Chile there is no privileged class. 2d. The right to fill all public employments and offices without other conditions than those prescribed by law. 3d. The equal distribution of imposts and taxes in proportion to their possessions, and the equal distributions of other public burdens. A special law will determine the manner of recruitment and enroll- ment of substitutes for the land and naval forces. 4th. The liberty of residence in any part of the Republic, of re- moval from one place to another, or departure from its territory, un- der the police regulations, and always without injury to other par- ties; and no person can be arrested, held or exiled, except in the man- ner prescribed in the laws. 5th. The inviolability of all property, whether belonging to indi- viduals or communities, and no one can be deprived of his ownership of the same, nor of any part of it, however small, or of any right he may have in it, except by judicial decision; save when the interests of the state, specified by law, shall demand the use or expropriation of the same; and in such cases previous indemnification shall be given to the owner by agreement with him or by valuation made by compe- tent men. 6th. The right of assemblage without previous permission and without arms, Meetings held in the squares, streets and other places of public use shall be always governed by police regulations. 428 A HISTORY OF CHILE The right of forming associations without previous permission. The jnght of presenting petitions to the constituted authority, on any sub- ' ject of iprivate interest has no other limitation than that of using in its exercise respectful and proper terms. THE LIBERTY OF INSTRUCTION 7th. The liberty of publishing their opinions through the press, without previous sensorship, and no one shall be condemned for abuse of this right, except in virtue of a judgment after statement of said abuse by sworn witnesses, and after trial and sentence, according to law. CHAPTER VI — The national congress Art. 13 The legislative power is lodged in the National Congress composed of two chambers, one of Deputies, the other of Senators. Art. 14 The Deputies and Senators are held inviolable for the opinions they express and for the votes they cast in the exercise of their offices. Art. 15 No Deputy or Senator, after the day of his election, can be accused, prosecuted or arrested, except in flagrante delicto, unless the chamber to which he belongs shall previously authorize such accusation by declaring that there is ground for proceeding to trial. Art. 16 No Deputy or Senator from the day of his election shall be accused unless before the chamber to which he belongs, or before the Permanent Committee, if the chamber be not in session. If it be declared that there are grounds for proceeding to trial, the accused is suspended from his legislative office and answerable to the proper court. Art. 17 In case of the arrest of any Deputy or Senator in flagrante delicto, he shall at once be brought to the bar of the respective chamber, or before the Permanent Committee, upon the summary charges. The chamber or the committee shall thereupon proceed in accordance with the provisions of the second part of the preceding article. CONSTITUTION 429 the chamber of deputies Art. 18 The Chamber of Deputies is composed of members elected for the departments by direct suffrage, and in the form laid down by the law of elections. Act. 19 One Deputy shall be elected for every twenty thousand inhabitants, and for every fraction not less than twelve thousand. There shall also be elected substitute deputies, whose number shall be fixed by law. Art. 20 The Chamber of Deputies shall be entirely renewed every three years. Art. 21 The following are the qualifications for election as Deputy : ist. To be in the enjoyment of the rights of a citizen elector. 2d. An income of five hundred pesos at least. Art 22. The Deputies are eligible for re-election indefinitely. Art. 23 The following persons are ineligible as Deputies : Priests in regular standing; Rectors or vice rectors; Justices of the courts of first instance; Governors of provinces and departments; Chileans mentioned in paragraph three of Art. 6, unless they have been in possession of their naturalization papers at least five years prior to their election. The following are eligible, but must choose between the office of Deputy and their respective employments: Employes residing out of the place of meeting of the Congress; Every Deputy who, after his election, shall accept any salaried employment in the exclusive gift of the President of the Republic, shall cease from his representative functions, except in the cases provided for in Art. go of this Constitution. the senate Art. 24 The Senate is composed of members elected by direct vote of the 430 A HISTORY OF CHILE Provinces, each one of which may choose one Senator for every three Deputies or fraction thereof, as of two Deputies. In the same man- ner one substitute Senator shall be elected for each province to replace the regular Senators chosen for that province. Art. 25 Both the Senators and their substitutes shall continue in office for six years, and may be re-elected indefinitely. Art. 26 The regular Senators sh all be renewed every three years in the following manner: The provinces which choose an even number of Senators shall renew one-half of their number at the election which takes place every three years; and those which elect an odd number, shall make the renewal in the first three years, leaving for the next triennial election the odd Senator not renewed in the preceding one. Those provinces which have only one Senator, shall make the renewal every six years, and the same rules shall be observed for the substitute Senators. Art. 27 In case o£ the death of a Senator, or of the inability of one for any reason to discharge the duties of his office, the province which he represents shall, at the first renewal, choose another to complete the terra for which he had been elected. Similar measures shall be taken whenever a Senator is answerable to any of the cases of disabil- ity mentioned in Art. 23, Art. 32 qualifications for election as senator 1st. The exercise of citizenship at the time. 2d. The age of thirty-six years completed. 3d. Never to have suffered condemnation for crime. The exclusive condition applied in Art. 23 to Deputies applies like- wise to senators. Art. 36 powers of congress and special function of each chamber The following powers are delegated exclusively to Congress: ist. To approve or disapprove of the annual budget of the funds intended for the expenditures of the public administration, which must be presented by the government. CONS TITUTION 43 1 2d. To approve or disapprove of a declaration of war, at the proposal of the President of the Republic. 3d. To declare, in case of the resignation of his office by the President of the Republic, whethei' the reasons assigned by him for the act incapacitate him or not from the exercise of the duties of said office, and, in consequence, to accept or refuse his resignation. 4th. To declare, in case of doubt concerning the cases specified in Articles 74 and 78, whether the impediment to the exercise of his office by the President is of such a nature as to necessitate the hold- ing of a new election. 5th. To count the votes and verify the election of the President of the Republic in conformity with Articles 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73- 6th. To make exceptional and transitory laws, whose duration shall not be more than one year, in restraint of the liberty of the per- son and the press, and to restrict or suspend the liberty of meeting, when demanded by imperious necessity for the defense of the state, for the preservation of the constitutional system or for internal peace. If such laws designate penalties, the application of these shall always be made by the established tribunals. Beyond the cases prescribed in this paragraph, no law shall be passed to suspend or restrict the liberties or rights secured by Art. 12. Art. 37 The following are possible only by virtue of law : 1st. To impose taxes of any kind or nature, to suppress existing ones and determine in case of necessity their apportionment among the provinces or departments. 2d. To fix annually the expenditures of the public administration. 3d. To determine also every year the land and naval forces to be maintained in time of peace or war. The taxes are fixed for the period of eighteen months only, and the land and naval forces for a like period. 4th. To contract indebtedness, to recognize debts already created, and set apart funds to meet them. 5th. To create new provinces or departments; to fix their bound- aries; to open better ports, and establish customhouses. 6th. To fix the weight, fineness, value, style and denomination of the coins, and to regulate the system of weights and measures. 7th. To permit the introduction of foreign troops into the territory of the Republic, and determine the length of their stay in the same. 8th. To permit the quartering of bodies of troops in the place of the sessions of the Congress, or within ten leagues of the same. 432 A HISTORY OF CHILE gth. To authorize the departure of the national troops from the territory of the Republic, and fix the time for their return. loth. To create or abolish public employments; determine or change their nature, increase or diminish their salaries; to grant pensions and decree public honors for great services. nth. To grant general pardons or amnesties. I2th. To designate the place of residence of the nation's represent- atives, and of holding the sessions of the Congress. Art. 38 The following are the exclusive functions of the Chamber of Deputies: ist. To judge of the election of its members, pronounce upon charges of nullity made concerning the same, and accept their resig- nations, when the reasons for the same are of such a nature as to incapacitate them from the exercise of their duties. For a judgment upon these reasons there must be a concurrence of three-fourths of the Deputies present. 2d. To bring charges before the Senate, whenever it shall think proper to enforce the responsibility of the following oflScials: Cabinet Ministers and Councillors of State, in the manner and for the crimes set forth in Articles 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 and 107. Generals of the army or navy, for having gravely compromised the national safety and honor, and in the form provided for Cabinet Ministers and councillors of state. The members of the Permanent Committee, for grave omission in the discharge of the duty imposed by part second, Art. 58. Governors of provinces for the crimes of treason, sedition, viola- tion of the constitution, malversation of the public funds, and official corruption. Judges of the higher courts of justice for notable dereliction in their duties. In the last three cases the Chamber of Deputies will first declare whether or not there are grounds for considering the charge, and afterward, at an interval of six days, whether the charge shall be presented, after hearing the report of a committee of five persons chosen by lot from its own members. In case of an afiSrmative decision, two Deputies shall be appointed to present and prosecute the charge before the Senate. Art. 39 The following are the functions of the Senators: 1st. To judge of the election of their own members; pronounce CONSTITUTION 433 upon charges o£ nullity made regarding them, and accept their resig- nations, when the reasons assigned are such as to incapacitate them morally or physically from the discharge of their official duties. No judgment can be made upon said reasons without the concurrence of three-fourths of the Senators present. 2d. To judge officials accused by the Chamber of Deputies in accordance with the provisions of Articles 38 and g8. 3d. To approve nominations made by the President of the Republic for archbishoprics and bishoprics. 4th. To give or refuse their consent to acts of the government in cases where such action is required by the constitution. LEGISLATION Laws may originate in the Senate or in the Chamber of Deputies, and be proposed by any member, or in a message addressed by the President of the Republic to those bodies. Laws in relation to taxa- tion of any nature whatsoever, and in regard to recruiting, can originate in the Chamber of Deputies alone. Laws relating to amend- ments to ths constitution and to amnesty can originate only in the Senate. Art. 41 When a bill has been passed in the body where, it originated, it shall be sent immediately to the other chamber for discussion and approval during that session. Art. 42 A bill rejected in the chamber where it originated, can not be again brought up in the same until the session of the following year. Art. 43 A bill approved by both chambers shall be sent to the President of the Republic, who, if he approves it, shall promulgate it as a law. Art. 44 If the President disapproves the bill he shall return it to the chamber where it originated, with such remarks thereon as he may judge proper, within the space of fifteen days. Art. 45 If the President returns the bill, rejecting it completely, the same shall be considered as not proposed, and can not be again presented in the session of that year. Art. 46 If the President returns the bill with corrections or modifications, a8 434 A HISTORY OF CHILE it shall be reconsidered in both chambers, and it approved by both in the form suggested by the President, it shall become a law and be returned to him for promulgation. If such modifications and corrections be not approved by both chambers, the bill shall be considered as not proposed, and can not be presented again during the session of that year. Art. 47 If the said bill be again proposed in any of the sessions of the follow- ing years and be approved by both chambers and sent to the President of the Republic, and he shall reject it in toto, the chambers shall again take it into consideration and it shall become a lav?, if approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present in both chambers. The same shall also take place, in case the President returns it with corrections and modifications, and each chamber approve it without such corrections and modifications by the same two-thirds majority of the members present. Art. 48 If the bill, once returned by the President, be not proposed and approved by the chambers during the two years next following, it shall, if afterward brought up, be considered as a new bill, as far as affected by the provisions of the preceding Article. Art. 49 If the President of the Republic does not return the bill within fifteen days after its presentation to him, it shall be considered as approved and be promulgated as law. If the chambers close their session before the expiration of the fifteen days within which the bill should be returned, the President shall return it within the first six days of the ordinary session of the following year. Art. 50 A bill approved by one of the chambers and rejected hi toto by the other shall return to the chamber where it originated and be again considered, and if it be approved by a two-thirds majority of the mem- bers present, it shall be sent a second time to the chamber which rejected it, and it shall not be considered as again rejected by this chamber, unless by the concurrence of the votes of two-thirds of its members present. Art. 51 Any bill which shall be amended or corrected by the revising cham- ber, shall be returned to that where it originated, and if such addi- CONSTITUTION 435 tions or corrections be approved by an absolute majority of its members present, it shall be sent to the President of the Republic; but if the additions or corrections be rejected, the bill shall be sent a second time to the chamber, and if the said additions or corrections be insisted on by a majority of two-thirds of the members present, the bill shall be sent back to the other chamber and said additions or corrections shall not be regarded as again rejected, unless by the concurrent vote of two-thirds of its members present. sessions of congress Art. 52 The ordinary sessions of Congress shall begin on the first day of June of each year, and shall close on the first of September. Art. 53 When convoked in extraordinary session it shall consider the business for which it has been called together, to the exclusion of any other. Art. 54 The Senate shall not enter into or continue in session without the concurrence of one-third of its members, nor the Chamber of Deputies without that of one-fourth of its members. Art. 55 If on the day indicated in the constitution for the opening of the ordinary sessions, Congress shall be sitting in extraordinary session, this latter shall be closed and the matter for which it had been con- voked shall continue to be considered in the ordinary session. Art. 56 The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies shall open and close their ordinary, as well as extraordinary sessions, at the same time. The Senate, however, may assemble without the presence of the Chamber of Deputies for the exercise of the judicial functions indicated in part second of Art. 39. The Chamber of Deputies shall continue its sessions without the presence of the Senate, if at the conclusion of the regular term there shall be pending any charges against the officials designated in part second of Art. 38, but only for the purpose of declaring whether such charges are weM founded. the standing committee Art. 57 Before the close of its ordinary sessions. Congress shall each year .^ 436 A HISTORY OF CHILE select seven members from each chamber, who shall compose the Standing Committee, which shall form a single body, and whose functions cease de facto on the 31st of the following May. Art. 58 The Standing Committee, as the representative of the Congress, shall exercise supervision over matters pertaining to that body, in so far as concerns all branches of public administration, and it is there- fore its duty: ist. To watch over the observance of the constitution and the laws, and afford protection to individual rights. 2d. To make to the President of the Republic such representations as shall conduce to said ends, and to repeat the same if the former shall not have been sufiBcient. When such representations relate to abuses or illegal acts committed by the authorities responsible to the President of the Republic, and he adopts none of the measures within his authority to put an end to such abuses and to punish the officials guilty of the same, it shall be under- stood that the President and the Minister of the respective department accept the responsibility for the acts of their subordinates, as if they had been done by their order or consent. 3d. To grant or refuse its consent to such acts of the President of the Republic as, according to the provisions of this constitution, must be done with the knowledge and consent of the Standing Committee. 4th. To request the President of the Republic to convoke the Congress in extraordinary session, whenever, in its judgment, such action is demanded by extraordinary and exceptional circumstances. 5th. To render an account to Congress, at its first meetmg, of the measures taken by it in the discharge of its office. The committee is responsible to Congress for an omission to fulfill the duties imposed upon it by the preceding paragraphs. CHAPTER VIII — The president of the republic. Art. 59 A citizen with the title of "President of the Republic of Chile" is the head of the administration of the state and supreme chief of the Nation. Art. 60 To become President of the Republic it is necessary? ist. To have been born in the territory of Chile; 2d. To be eligible as a member of the Chamber of Deputies; 3d. To be at least thirty years of age. CONSTITUTION 437 Art. 61 The President of the Repubhc shall continue in the exercise of the duties of his ofiSce during the term of five years, and shall not be eligible for the succeeding term. Art. 62 To be eligible a second or more times, there must in each case have intervened the space of one term. Art. 63 The President of the Republic shall be elected by electors chosen by the people by direct suffrage. The number of these electors shall be three times the total number of Deputies belonging to the several departments. Art. 64 The electors shall be chosen by departments on the 25th day of June in the year when the Presidential term expires. Electors shall have the same qualifications as Deputies. Art. 65 The electors shall meet on the 2Sth of July of the year when the Presidential term expires, and proceed to the election of the President in conformity with the general law of elections. Art. 66 The electoral boards shall form two lists of all those persons who shall have been elected, and, after the same have been signed by all the electors, they shall send them enclosed and sealed, one to the Municipal Government of the capital of each province, in whose archives it shall remain deposited and closed, and the other to the Senate, where it shall be kept in the same manner until the 30th of August, Art. 67 On that day the aforesaid lists shall be opened and read in a public session of both chambers assembled in the hall of the Senate, the President of this latter body presiding, and the balloting, if such be necessary, shall at once begin. Art. 68 The person who shall have received an absolute majority of the votes shall be proclaimed President of the Republic, 438 A HISTORY OF CHILE Art. 69 In case no person shall have received an absolute majority, Congress shall choose between the two persons who shall have received the greater number of votes. Art. 70 If the first majority shall have been divided between more than two persons, the Congress shall choose among them all. Art. 71 If the first majority of- votes shall have been given to one person, and the second to two or more, the Congress shall choose among all the persons who shall have obtained such first and second majorities. Art. 72 This choice shall be made by an absolute plurality of votes, and by secret ballot. If the first ballot shall not give an absolute majority, a second shall be taken in which the voting shall be confined to the two. persons who in the first ballot shall have received the greater number of votes. In case the number of votes obtained by each is equal, the balloting shall be repeated, and if again equal, the Presi- dent of the Senate shall give the deciding vote. Art. 73 Neither the balloting nor counting of the votes in these elections shall take place, unless three-fourths of the total number of the members of each chamber be present. Art. 74 When the President of the Republic shall have command in person of the armed forces of the Nation, or when, by reason of sickness, absence from the country or other grave cause, he shall not be able to discharge the duties of his office, the Minister of the Interior shall re- place him under the title of "Vice-President of the Republic." If the disability of the President shall be temporary, the said Minister shall continue to replace him until the President shall be able to resume the duties of his office. In case of the death of the President, accepted resignation, or other cause of absolute disability, which can not be removed before the expiration of the five years of his terra of office, the Minister acting as Vice-President, within a few days after assum- ing the office, shall issue the necessary orders for holding a new election for President, in the form prescribed by the constitution. CONSTITUTION 439 Art. 75 In case the Interior office be vacant, the oldbst Cabinet Minister shall take the place of the President, and if all the Ministerial offices be vacant, said place shall be filled by the oldest member of the Council of State, who is not an ecclesiastic. Art. 76 The President of the Republic can not leave the territory of the Republic during the term of his office, or within one year after the conclusion of the same, without the permission of Congress. Art. 77 The President shall cease to hold office on the same day that his five year term expires, and shall be succeeded by the President newly elected. Art. 78 If this latter be temporarily prevented from taking possession of the Presidency, he shall be replaced by the oldest Councillor of State, but if the impediment be absolute or likely to continue indefinitely, or for a period longer than the Presidential term, then a new election shall beheld in the manner prescribed by the constitution, and in the mean- time the oldest Councillor of State, not an ecclesiastic, shall fill the office in his stead. Art. 79 When, in the cases contemplated in Articles 74 and 78, an election for President is to take place, at a time other than that prescribed by the constitution, the order for the election of Presidential electors, for the election of President, for the ballotings and verifications made by Congress, shall be given for the same days, and the same forms shall be observed, as prescribed by Articles 65 to 73 inclusive. Art. 80 The President-elect, upon taking possession of his office, shall take the following oath, which shall be administered to him by the President of the Senate, in presence of the two chambers assembled in the hall of the Senate: I swear by our Lord and these holy gospels to discharge faithfully the duties of the office of President of the Republic; to observe and protect the Apostolic Roman Catholic Religion; to pre- serve the integrity and independence of the Republic, and to guard and have guarded the constitution and the laws. So help me God, according as I shall keep my oath. Jj/ 440 A HISTORY OF CHILE Art. 81 The President of the Republic is entrusted with the administration and government of the State, and his authority extends to everything that has for its object the preservation of public order in the interior, and the exterior safety of the Republic; and with guarding and having guarded the constitution and the laws. Art. 82 The following are special prerogatives of the President; ist. To assist in the making of the laws in accordance with the constitution, and to sanction and promulgate the same. 2d. To issue such decrees, regulations and directions as he may judge necessary for the execution of the laws. 3d. To watch over the oflScial conduct of judges and other judicial ofBcers; and, to this end, he may have recourse to the public author- ities, for the enforcement of disciplinary measures in the proper court, or, if there be sufficient grounds, for formulating the necessary charges. 4th. To prorogue the ordinary sessions of Congress for a period of fifty days. 5th. To convoke the same with the consent of the Council of State in extraordinary session. gth. To appoint and remove at will the Cabinet Ministers and officials of the departments, the Councillors of State of his own choos- ing. Ministers to foreign countries, consuls and other foreign agents, civil and military governors. 7th. To appoint the judges of the superior courts of justice, and those of first instance, at the proposal of the Council of State, in con- formity with part second of Article 104. 8th. To present in threes for appointment as archbishops, bishops and other dignitaries of cathedrals, such persons as may be proposed by the Council of State. The person selected by the President for archbishop or bishop must also receive the approval of the Senate. gth. To fill the other civil and military offices in accord with the Senate, and, when this body is not in session, by agreement with the Standing Committee, conferring the grades of colonel, naval captains and other superior officers of the army and navy. On the field of battle he may appoint such superior officers at will. loth. To dismiss public employes for incompetency or other reas- on affecting injuriously the public service; but with the consent of the Senate, or during the recess of the same with that of the Standing Committee, in the case of chiefs of bureaus or higher employes, and CONSTITUTION 441 upon information of the respective chief, in the case of subordinates. nth. Tograntleaves of absence, retirements from service, licenses and privileges of pension, all in accordance with the laws. 12th. To watch over the collection of the public revenues and to decree their disposition, in accordance with the laws. 13th. To exercise the dispensation of patronage to the churches, benefices and priests, in accordance with the laws. 14th. To approve or prevent, with the approbation of the Council of State, the execution of decrees of ecclesiastical councils, papal bulls, briefs and rescripts, but if such contain general provisions, their enforcement can be approved or prevented only by means of a law. 15th. To grant pardons to individuals, with the approval of the Council of State. Cabinet ministers, Councillors of State, members of the Standing Committee, commanders in chief and governors of provinces, accused by the Chamber of Deputies and condemned by the Senate, can be pardoned by Congress alone. i6th. To dispose of the land and naval forces, organize and dis- tribute them, as he shall judge proper. 17th. To command in person the land and naval forces, in accord with the Senate, and, during its recess, with the Standing Committee. jj_,_ 18th. To declare war with the previous approval of the Congress, and grant letters of marque and reprisal, 19th. To maintain political relations with foreign powers, receive their ministers, admit their counsels, conduct negotiations, make pre- liminary stipulations, conclude and sign all treaties of peace, alliance, truce, neutrality, commerce, concordats and other conventions. Treaties must, before ratification, be submitted to Congress for ap- proval. Discussions and deliberations on these subjects shall be se- cret, if the President so desire. 20th, To declare a state of siege at one or various points in the Republic, in case of attack from abroad, with the consent of the Coun- cil of State, and for a determinate time. In case of internal disturb- ances, it belongs to the Congress to declare one or more points in a ' state of siege; but if that body be not in session, the President may do so, with the consent of the Council of State and for a determinate time. If at the reassembling of the Congress, the time specified shall not have expired, the declaration made by the President of the Repub- lic shall be considered as an ah^ of law. lt^y,^,A,r^^dtXi--*^ 2ist. All matters pertaining to police add alj public establishments are under the supreme superintendence of the President of the Repub- lic, in conformity with the particular regulations by which they are governed. 442 A HISTORY OF CHILE Art. 83 Charges can be made against the President of the Republic only in the year next after the conclusion of his term of ofi&ce, for any of the acts of his administration by which the honor and safety of the State shall have been greatly compromised, or the constitution openly vio- lated. The forms under which charges against the President must be made shall be those of Articles 93 to 100, inclusive. cabinet ministers Art, 84 The number of Ministers and their respective departments shall be determined by law. Art. 85 The requisite qualifications of a Minister are: 1st. Birth within the territory of the Republic; 2d. The qualifications necessary for a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Art. 86 All the orders of the President of the Republic must be signed by the respective Minister; and without this essential requisite they are without force. Art. 87 Each Minister is personally responsible for the acts signed by hiin, and in soliduni for whatever he shall subscribe or agree to with the other Ministers. Art. 88 At the opening of the sessions of Congress Cabinet Ministers shall give to it an account of the state of the Nation, each in regard to the matters concerning his own department. Art. 8g They shall also present to that body the annual estimate of the ex- penses required by their respective departments, and give an account of the disposition of the sums voted for the expenses of the previous year. Art. go The duties of a Cabinet Minister are not incompatible with those of a Senator or Deputy. Art. 91 Cabinet Ministers, even when not members of the Senate or Cham- CONSTITUTION 443 ber of Deputies, may attend the sessions of those bodies, and~ take part in the debates, but can not vote. Art. 92 The Cabinet Ministers may be charged by the Chamber of Depu- ties with the crimes of treason, corruption in office, misappropriation of public funds, subornation, violation of the constitution, impeding the execution of the laws or failure to execute the same, and of grave- ly compromising the safety and honor of the Nation. Art. 93 After the presentation of the charge, one of the eight succeeding days shall be indicated, in which the Minister against whom such charge is brought may make answer in respect to the acts imputed to him, and for deliberation in regard to proceeding with the considera- tion of the accusation. Art. 94 If it be decided to proceed with the examination of the charge, a committee of nine persons shall be chosen by lot to present within the five days following a report as to whether there exist sufficient grounds for a formal accusation. Art. 95 On the presentation of the report of said committee the Chamber shall proceed to discuss the same, giving a hearing to the members of the committee, the author or authors of the proposal to bring charges, and to the Minister and such Deputies as may wish to take part in the discussion. Art. 96 As soon as the discussion shall end, if the Chamber decides to pre- sent the accusation, it shall appoint three of its members to represent it in formulating and prosecuting said accusation before the Senate. Art. 97 As soon as the Chamber shall decide to bring the 'charges before the Senate, or declare that there are grounds for prosecution, the Minister accused shall be suspended in his official functions. Such suspension, however, shall cease, unless the Senate shall have ren- dered its judgment within the'six months following the date on which the Chamber of Deputies shall have decided to prosecute the charge. Art. 98 The Senate, acting as a jury, shall try the Minister, and shall con- 444 A HISTORY OF CHILE fine itself to declaring whether or not he is guilty of the crime or abuse of power charged. The declaration of guilt must be made by two-thirds of the number of Senators present at the session, and by virtue of such declaration the Minister is removed from his office. The Minister pronounced guilty by the Senate shall be sentenced in accordance with the laws, by the ordinary court of jurisdiction, both as to the application of the penalty provided for the crime committed and to the enforcement of his civil responsibility for the damages and losses caused to the State or to individuals. The provisions of Articles 95, 96, 97 and the present one, shall also be observed in any other accusations or charges that may be made by the Chamber of Deputies in conformity with the terms of paragraph second. Article 38, of this constitution. Art. 99 Cabinet Ministers may be accused by any private individual, on ac- count of any losses suffered unjustly through any act of the Minister accused. Such charge must be addressed to the Senate for its deci- sion as to whether or not it be well founded. Art. 100 If the Senate declare that the charge is well founded, the complain- ant shall cite the Minister to appear before the proper court of jus- tice. Art. 1 01 The Chamber of Deputies may bring charges against a Minister dur- ing his term of office, or within six months subsequent to its termina- tion. During these six months, he must not absent himself from the Republic without the permission of Congress, or in its recess, of the Standing Committee. the '-.ouncil of state Art. 102. There shall be a Council of State composed as follows: Of three Councillors chosen by the Senate and three by the Cham- ber of Deputies, at the first ordinary session after each congressional election, and the retiring Councillors may be re-elected. In case of the death or disability of any of these, the respective Chamber shall appoint a substitute who shall fill his place until the congressional election following: Of a member of the Superior Court of Justice, residing in Santiago; CONSTITUTION 445 Of an ecclesiastic occupying a position of dignity; Of a general in the army or navy; Of a chief of some office of the Treasury; Of an individual who has filled the position of Minister of State, Diplomatic Agent, Intendente, Governor or Chief of Municipality. These last five Councillors shall be appointed by the President of the Republic. The Council shall be presided over by the President of the Repub- lic, or in his absence by one of its members appointed by itself as Vice- President, virho shall be chosen annually, and may be reelected. The Vice-President of the Council shall be considered the oldest member for the ends contemplated in Articles 75 and 78 of this con- stitution. Cabinet Ministers shall only have a voice in this Council, and if any Councillor be chosen Minister, he shall vacate his former office. Art. 103 The qualifications for Councillor of State shall be the same as for Senator. Art. 104 the powers of the council of state ist. To give its opinion to the President of the Republic in all cases in which he shall ask it. 2d. To suggest to the President for appointment, in cases of va- cancies in courts of first instance and the higher tribunal of justice, such persons as it shall deem suitable, in conformity with the propo- sitions of the Superior Tribunal, as by law provided, and in the form prescribed in the same. 3d. To present nominations by threes for Archbishoprics and Bishoprics, dignitaries and prebends of cathedrals of the Republic. 4th. To take cognizance of all matters pertaining to patronage and protection, which may come into dispute, in obedience to the decision of the Superior Tribunal of Justice, as by law required. 5th. To take cognizance likewise in disputes of jurisdiction be- tween the administrative authorities, and in such as may arise be- tween these and the courts of justice. 6 th. To declare whether or not there be grounds for prosecution upon criminal charges against Intendentes, Military Governors, and Governors of Departments; except in the cases in which charges against Intendentes are instituted by the Chamber of Deputies. 7th. To give its assent to the declaration of a general call to arms 446 A HISTORY OF CHILE in one or more provinces invaded or threatened, in case of foreign war. 8th. The Council of State has the right to move for the dismissal of the cabinet ministers, intendeutes, governors, and other delinquent, incapable, or negligent public employes. Art. 105 The President of the Republic shall propose for the consideration of the Council of State; ist. All projects of law (bills) which he shall judge proper to sub- mit to Congress. 2d. All projects of law which the Senate and Chamber of Deputies shall pass, and send to him for his approval. 3d. All matters which are required by the constitution to be heard by the Council of State. 4th. The annual estimates of expenditures to be sent to Congress. 5th. All matters in which he shall judge it necessary to hear the opinion of the Council. Art. 106 The decisions of the Council of State are simply advisory, except in the particular cases in which the constitution requires that the Presi- dent shall act with its approval. Art. 107 The Councillors of State are responsible for the decisions they render to the President, which may be contrary to the laws and with manifestly evil intention, and they may be accused and tried in the manner provided in Articles 93 to 98 inclusive. CHAPTER VIII — The administration of justice Art. 108 The power of judging civil and criminal causes belongs exclusively to the tribunals established by law. Neither Congress nor the Presi- dent of the Republic can in any case exercise judicial powers, or advocate pending causes, or revive causes already decided. Art. 109 By virtue of law alone can any change be made in the powers of the courts, or in the number of their officials. Art. no The judges of the superior tribunals and those of the courts of first instance shall hold office during good behavior. Commercial judges. CONSTITUTION 447 common magistrates and other inferior judges shall hold their oflSces for the time specified by law. The judges, whether perpetual or for a term, can not be deposed from ofiSce except for cause legally decided. Art. Ill The judges are personally responsible criminally for corruption in o£Bce, failure to observe the laws which govern trials, and, in general, for any evasion or extortion in the administration of justice. The law shall determine the cases and the manner in which this responsibility shall be enforced. Art. 112 The law shall determine the qualifications which judges shall res- pectively possess, and the necessary number of years of practice as advocate before appointment to the superior tribunals or lower courts. Art. 113 There shall be in the Republic one magistracy (tribunal) whose duty it shall be to have the superintendence direct, correctional and economical, of all the tribunals and courts of the Nation, in accord- ance with the law determining its organization and attributes. Art. 114 A special law shall determine the organization and powers of all tribunals and courts that may be necessary for the prompt and full administration of justice throughout the territory of the Republic. CHAPTER IX — Government and internal administration Art. 115 The territory of the Republic is divided into provinces, the provin- ces into departments, the departments into sub-delegacies, and these last into districts. the intendentes Art. 116 The government in chief of each province in all the branches of its administration is vested in an Jntendente, who shall exercise his powers in accordance with the laws, and under the order and direc- tions of the President of the Republic, whose natural and immediate agent he is. His terra of office shall be four years; but he may be reappointed for an indefinite time. THE governors Art. 117 The government of each department is vested in a governor, sub- 448 A HISTORY OF CHILE ordinate to the Intendente of the province, and whose terra of ofiSce shall be three years. Art. ii8 The governors are appointed by the President of the Republic, on recommendation of the respective Intendente, and can be removed by this latter pe I'son with the assent of the President of the Republic. Art. 119 The Intendente of the province is also governor of the department in the capital of which he resides. the sub-delegates Art. 120 The sub-delegacies are each governed by a sub-delegate, who is appointed by the governor of the department to whom he is subordi- nate. The sub-delegates shall hold their office for two years; they may be removed by the governor, who shall give his reasons to the Intendente. They also may be re-appointed for an indefinite time. the inspectors Art. 121 The districts are governed by an inspector, under the orders of the sub-delegate, who may appoint or remove him, giving his reasons to the governor. the municipalities Art. 122 In each capital of a department there shall be a municipality, and in such other centers of population as the President of the Republic, with the approval of the Council of State, shall think proper to establish such. Art. 123 The muncipalities shall be made up of such number of magistrates and aldermen as the law shall fix, having regard to the population of the territory in which they are established. Art. 124 The aldermen shall be elected by the direct vote of the people and in the manner provided by the law of elections. They shall hold office during three years. CONSTITUTION ^^g Art. 125 The law shall decide the manner of the election of the magistrates and the length of their term of office. Art. 126 The following are the qualifications for election as magistrate or alderman : ist. The active exercise of citizenship; 2d. At least five years residence in the territory of the municipality. Art. 127 The governor is the chief of all the municipalities in his depart- ment, and president of that one in which his capital is established. The sub-delegate is president of the municipality in his sub-delegacy. Art. 128 The following are the powers of the municipal officers within their territories: ist. To care for the public health, comfort, display and amuse- ment. 2d. To promote agriculture, education, industry and commerce. 3d. To care for the primary schools and other educational institu- tions that are supported by the municipal funds. 4th. To have superintendence of hospitals, asylums, houses for abandoned children, jails, houses of correction, and charitable institu- tions, in accordance with the regulations prescribed for the same. 5th. To have charge of the construction and repair of roads, pave- ments, bridges, and all necessary or ornamental public works, which are maintained from the municipal funds. 6th. To administer and pay out the fund of ways and means, in accordance with the rules prescribed by law. 7th. To make the allotments of taxes, number of recruits and sub- stitutes apportioned to the Municipality, in case the law shall not have designated other persons or authority for that purpose. 8th. To address to Congress every year, through the Intendente and the President of the Republic, such petitions as it shall judge proper, whether in relation to the general welfare of the State or the particular welfare of the department, and particularly in regard to the raising of means and meeting the extraordinary expenses demand- ed for the construction of new works of public utility in the depart- ment, or for the repair of those in existence. gth. To propose to the general Government, or to that of the 450 A HISTORY OF CHILE province or department, such measures o£ administration as may conduce to the general welfare of the department. loth. To make municipal ordinances in regard to these subjects, and present them, through the Intendente, to the President of the Republic, for his approval with the advice of the Council of State. Art. 129 No agreement or regulation of the Municipality which shall not be in conformity with the established regulations, can be carried into ef- fect without being brought to the attention of the Governor, or of the Sub-delegate, when of his jurisdiction, and he can suspend its execu- tion if he finds it prejudicial to public order. Art. 130 All of the municipal offices belong to the corporation, and no one shall be excused from service in the same unless for cause specified by law. Art. 131 A special law shall regulate the internal government of municipal bodies and shall designate the duties and powers of all those charged with provincial administration and the manner in which such duties and powers shall be exercised. CHAPTER X — The guarantees of safety and property Art. 132 In Chile there are no slawe, and he who treads its soil becomes and remains free. No Chilean can'fefigage in the slave trade; and no for- eigner engaged in the same can reside in Chile or be naturalized in the Republic. Art. 133 No one can be condemned without legal trial, and by -s^tue of a law made before the act for which he is tried. A. Art. 134 No one can be tried by special commissions, by other than the courts provided by law and previously established. Art 135 In order that an order of arrest may be executed, it is necessary that it be issued by the authority having the right to make arrests, and be made known to the arrested person at the time of its execution. CONSTITUTION 451 Art. 136 Any delinquent in flagrante delicto may be arrested without an or- der, and by any person, but for the sole purpose of conducting him before a compStent judge. Art. 137 No one can be kept imprisoned or detained, except in his own house, or public places designed for that purpose. Art. 138 OfiScials having charge of prisons can not receive into them prison- ers without copying into their register the order for the arrest issued by the authority having the right of making arrests. They may, how- ever, receive into the precincts of the prison, as under detention, such persons as may be brought there for the purpose of being presented to the competent judge; but they must report to such judge within twenty-four hours. Art. 139 If under any circumstances the public authority shall cause the ar- rest of any inhabitant of the Republic, the officer ordering such arrest shall, within twenty-four hours, give notice to the proper judge, and arraign the person arrested for his disposal. Art. 140 No magistrate having jurisdiction over a house of detention can be prevented or hindered from visiting a prisoner confined in it. Art. 141 This magistrate shall, if the prisoner so request, transmit to the proper judge a copy of the order of arrest given to the accused; or de- maud that such copy be given him; or himself give a certificate of the imprisonment of the person, if at the time of his arrest no copy of said order was given him. Art. 142 When a sufficient bond has been given for the person or for indem- nification for the act, in the form prescribed by law for the particular case, no one not amenable to a severe or infamous penalty can be kept in prison, or under restraint. Art. 143 Any individual imprisoned or detained illegally through infraction of the provisions of Articles 135, 137, 138 and 139, may, either by himself or by any one acting in his name, have recourse to the magis- 452 A HISTORY OF CHILE trate designated by the law, to demand the enforcement of the legal forms. Such magistrate shall order the accused to be brought before him, and such order shall be implicitly obeyed by all those in charge of prisoners or places of detention. As soon as he shall have informed himself of the facts in the case he shall cause all legal defects to be remedied and place the accused at the disposal of the proper judge; proceeding summarily and with dispatch, correcting defects or report- ing them to the proper authority. Art. 144 In criminal cases the accused shall not be obliged to take oath as to his or her own acts, nor shall his or her children or grandchildren, husband or wife, or relatives to the third degree of consanguinity and second of affinity, inclusive, be so obliged. Art. 145 Tortures shall not be applied, nor in any case shall confiscation of property be imposed. No infamous penalty shall extend beyond the person of the condemned. Art. 146 The house of every inhabitant of Chilean territory is an inviolable asylum, and can not be torn down except for special cause determined by law, and in virtue of the order of the proper authority. Art, 147 Epistolary correspondence is inviolable. No papers or documents can be opened, intercepted or searched, except in the cases specially designated by law. Art. 148 The Congress alone can impose taxes, direct or indirect, and with- out its special authorization, every authority of the State, and every individual is forbidden to impose them, under any pretext whatever. Art. 149 No kind of personal service or tax can be exacted, except in virtue of a decree by the proper authority based on the law authorizing such exaction, and showing such decree to the party taxed in the act of imposing such service or tax. Art. 150 No armed body shall make requisitions, or exact any kind of assis- tance, except through the civil authorities, and by request of the same. CONSTITUTION 453 Art. 151 No kind of labor or industry shall be prohibited, unless opposed to good morals, or to the public health or safety,,or unless the interest of the Nation so demand and the law so require. Art. 152 Every author or inventor shall have the exclusive property of his discovery or production for the time specified in the law; and in case the law require said discovery or production to be open to the public, suitable indemnification shall be made to the inventor. CHAPTER XI— General provisions Art. 153 Public instruction is one of the first things to claim the attention of the government. The Congress shall formulate a general plan of na- tional education, and the respective Cabinet Ministers shall annually make a report of the condition of the same throughout the Republic. Art. 154 There shall be an office of Superintendence of public instruction, whose duty it shall be to inspect public teaching under the direction of the government. Art. 155 No payment shall be taken account of in the Treasury of the State, unless made in virtue of a decree, in which the law is cited or the part of the estimate approved by both Chambers which authorizes such expenditure. Art. 156 All Chileans able to bear arms shall be enrolled on the militia lists, unless specially exempted by law. Art. 157 Obedience is the essential necessity of the public forces. No armed body can be a deliberative one. Art. 158 Every resolution made by the President of the Republic, the Sen- ate, or the Chamber of Deputies, in the presence or at the request of an army, or of a general at the head of an armed force, or of any as- semblage of people, who, whether armed or unarmed, shall be diso- bedient to the authorities, is null in law, and of no effect. 454 A HISTORY OF CHILE Art. 159 No person or collection of persons shall assume to act for or to rep- resent the people, arrogate to themselves its rights, or petition in its name. The violation of this Article is sedition. Art. 160 No magistrate, no person or collection of persons can assume, even under pretext of extraordinary circumstances, any authority or rights not expressly conferred on them by the laws. Any act in violation of this prohibition is null. Art. 161 When one or more places in the Republic shall be declared in a state of siege, in conformity with the provisions in part twentieth of Article 82, only the following powers, by virtue of such declaration, are granted to the President of the Republic: 1st. To imprison persons in their own houses, or in places not jails or others destined for the confinement of common criminals. 2d. To remove persons from one department to another on the mainland, and within the space comprised between the ports of Cal- dera, on the north, and the province of Llanguihue, on the south. The measures taken by the President by virtue of the state of siege, shall last no longer than this, as otherwise they may be in violation of the constitutional guarantees given to the Senators and Deputies. Art. 162 No entails of any kind yet established, or which may be established in the future, shall impede the free alienation of the properties effect- ed by them, assuring to the beneficiaries of such entail the value of the property alieniated. A special law shall regulate the manner of carrying this law into effect. CHAPTER XII— The observance and amendments of the constitution Art. 163 Every public functionary on taking possession of his ofiice shall make oath to support the Constitution. Art. 164 The Congress alone, in conformity with Articles 40 and following, can settle any doubts that may arise in regard to the meaning of any of its Articles. CONSTITUTION 455 Art. 165 . No motion for the amendment of one or more Articles of this Con- stitution shall be admitted, unless it be supported by at least one- fourth of the members present in the Chamber where it is proposed. Art. 166 If the motion be entertained, the Chamber shall decide whether or not such Article or Articles need to be amended. Art. 167 If both Chambers by a two-thirds vote in each, shall decide that said Article or Articles should be amended, a resolution to this effect shall be sent to the President, for the purposes expressed in Articles 43. 44. 45. 46 and 47. Art. 168 When the necessity for said amendments shall be expressed by law, the next Congressional election shall be awaited, and in its first ses- sion after said election, the proposed amendments shall be discussed, the bill having its origin in the Senate, according to Article 40, and the same forms shall be observed as for other bills, in accordance with the Constitution. NOTE — Articles 28, 29, 30 and 31 were stricken out by amendments adopted in 1874. AUTHORITIES ON CHILEAN HISTORY The following books and articles will be found of interest concern- ing Chile: "Historia General de Chile," by Diego Barros Arana. In 12 vols. (Santiago, 1884). Also his histories of the war of Chilean indepen- dence. These are the best authorities. Claudio Gay's monumental tomes are a reliable history — "Historia General de Chile." ' 'Obras Historicas sobre Chile, " by Don Vicuna Mackenna. His his- tory of the war with Peru is the best work on that subject. "Historia General del Reyno de Chile," by R. P. Diego Resales. Molina's History of Chile (translated). (Longmans, 1809). 2 vols. Ovalle's works and Ercilla's poems. Historiadores de Chile, coleccion de documentos relatives a la histo- ria nacional. (Santiago, 1861, and each year following) . Geografia fisica de la Republica de Chile. (A. Pissis). "Descubrimiento y Conquista de Chile," by Miguel Luis Amunate- gui. (Santiago, 1885). This is a valuable work now in its second edi- tion. "Comentarios sobre la Constitucion politicade 1833." Manuel Cor- rasco Albano. (Santiago, 1874, 2d edition). "Cronica de la Araucania. " Horacio Lara. 2 vols. (Santiago, 1889). "Corapendio de la Historia de Chile, 1492-1884." Gasper Toro. (Santiago). "Historia de la Administracion Errazuriz." This is a valuable work never finished and now out of print. It is preceded by ap in- troduction which contains a review of the movements and struggles of political parties in Chile from the year 1823 to 1871. The author is Isidoro Errazuriz. Historia de Chile, durante los cuarenta anos trascurridos desde 1831 hasta 1871. Dr. Raman Sotomayor Valdez. 2 vols. (Santiago, 1875). El Libro del Carbon de piedna en Chile. Benjamin Vicuna Macken- na. (Santiago, 1883). El Libro de la Plata. By the same author. 456 AUTHORITIES 457 Historia de la Guerra del Pacifico. 1879-1881. Diego Barros Ara- fna. (Santiago). Geografia Descriptiva de la Republica de Chile. Emigue Espinoza. (Santiago, i8go). Estudio sobre la Organizacion Economica y la Hacienda Publica de Chile. 2 vols. (Santiago, 1880). Historia de la Guerra de America, entre Chile, Peru y Bolivia. TomSs Caivano. (Florence, 1883). Los Finances de Chile. Edward Ovalle Correo. (Paris, 1889). Narracion Historica de la Guerra de Chile con el Peru y Bolivia. Mariano Felipe Paz Soldan. (Buenos Ayres, 1884). Guerra del Pacifico. Pascual A. Mareno. (Valparaiso, 1885). This is a recapitulation of all the official documents, correspondence and other publications referring to the war with Peru. El Parvenir en Chile de los Emigrantes Europeos. Louis Dorte. (Santiago, 1884). Conflicto entre el Presidente de la Republica y el Congreso. (San- tiago, 1890). Imprenta de los Debates. Historia de la Dictadura y la Revolucion en Chile de 1891. Egafia. (Valparaiso, i8gi). Los Capitales Salitreras de Tarapaci. Guillermo E. Billinghurst. '(Santiago, 1889). El Abastecimiento de agua potable del Puerto de Iquique: Estudio escrito por Guillermo E. Billinghurst. (Iquique, 1887). Condicion legal de los Pemanos nacidos en Tarapaca. Informe es- pudido. Guillermo E. Billinghurst. (Santiago, 1887). Condicion legal de los Estacamentos Salitreros de Tarapaca. (Iqui- que, 1884). Estudio sobre la Geografia de TarapacS. Billinghurst. (Santia- go, 1886). Diccionaria Geografia de la Republica de Chile, por Francisco D. Asta Burnoga. "Historia de la Administracion Santa Maria," por C. Waker Mar- tinez. This work is published in Santiago in two volumes, and is one of the very best later political histories of Chile, though written by a stanch conservative from a partisan standpoint. It is argumentative in style, but a very comprehensive work. Synopsis Estadistica y Geografica de Chile, 1888. Estadistica Comercial de la Republica de Chile, 1889. Memorias presentandos al Congreso nacional por los Ministros de Estado en los departmentos de Relaciones Exteriores, Hacienda, etc. ■(Santiago, i8go). 458 A HISTORY OF CHILE Die Republiken von Sud-Amerika, Geographisch und Statistisch, by J. C. Wappaus. The following works in English will also be found of interest: "Memoirs of General Miller." This is perhaps the best English account of the War of Independence. Captain Basil Hall's "Journal in Chile, Peru and Mexico," is also a graphic account of the same struggle. So also are "Lord Cochrane's Services in Chile, Peru and Brazil." (Dundonald). Maria Graham's "Journal of a voyage to Brazil and Chile," etc., and Haigh's "Trav- els in Buenos Ayres and Chile." Other valuable works and articles are, Meir's "Travels in Chile and La Plata;" Stevenson's "Twenty Years in South America;" Bon- nycastle's "Spanish America;" Watson's "Spanish and Portuguese South America;" Nile's "South America and Mexico, " covering the period of the revolution; American Register, Vol. II, page 273; Ec- lectic Review, Vol. XLII, page 406; Nile's Register, Vol. XIV, page 384. Later works are, Markham's article in Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America, " also in the Encyclopaedia Brittanica; Appletou's Annual Cyclopaedia; "Statesman's Year-Book;" Dahl- gren's "South Sea Sketches;" Hunter's "A Sketch of Chile;" "Hand- book of the American Republics;" "The Progress and Actual Condi- tion of Chile, " by G. Rose-Innes; "South America" (Bates); "Notes. of a Naturalist in South America" (Ball). Theo. Child's "Spanish- American Republics, " and Maurice H.Hervey's "Dark Days in Chile," are late works. On the war between Chile and Peru, Mr. Clements R. Markham's- ' 'The War between Chile and Peru,'' is the best account in English. His late work, "A History of Peru," covers the period succinctly. Lieutenant Mason's "War on the Pacific Coast of South America," — War series No. 11, Washington, 1885 — is also a reliable account, and from a military standpoint, the best. Boyd's "Chile in 1879-80," is pleasant reading. On the Civil war of 1891. Mr. Maurice H. Her- vey's "Dark Days in Chile," is the most complete account we have in English. The student of Chilean history will want to look into the Almagro afiair in Prescott's "Conquest of Peru," and will read with interest Garcilasso de la Vega's Royal Commentaries, which work is now ia very handy form in Markham's translation. He will also read for entertainment, "Wanderings in Patagonia," by Beerholm, "Across Patagonia, " by Dixie; "Adventures in Patagonia," by Coan: "Cruise of Tierra del Fuego " by Snow; "South America," by Gallenga, and "The English in South America," by Mullhall. INDEX A Page Abascal, Jos6 Fernando... 149, 157, 159 Acevedo, TomSs Alvarez de...ii4, 115, 126. Aconcagua 11 1, 164, 21 r Acuna, Antonio de, y Cabrera. . 106, 125 Adams 306 Agriculture 253 Aguada des Ingles 184 Aguillera, Inez 95 Aguirre, Francisco 47, 56, 58 Aillavilu 48 Aillavilu II 97 Albarracain, Colonel 300 Aldea, Sergeant 282 Aldea, Don Jos6 Antonio Rodriguez, 195 Alderete 49, 56, 61 Aldunate, Luis 321 Alejo 106 Alfalfa 389 Alfonso, Jos6 264 Allegre, Marquis Selva 133 Alliance 233 Almagrians 23 Almagro 21, 30, 33 Almagro, Diego 23, 34 Altamirano, Eulogio 306 Alva, Francisco de, y Noruena. .101-125 Alvarado, General 172, 298 Alvarez 136 Alvear 136 Alzerreca, General 329, 362 Amat, Manuel 113, 126 Amenguel, Colonel 301 America no 459 Page Amunfitegui, Miguel Luis 264, 301 Ancon 190, 223, 324 Ancanamon 98 Andes 25, 405 Andres 71 Andrews, Captain Joseph 179 Angol 83, 84, 91, 92, 384. 389. 418 Animals 405 Anson, Lord 11 1 Antepillan 89 Antequera 132 Antiguena 73 Antof agasta 346, 347, 420 Antulevu 82 Antunecul 74 Aponte, Gabriel Cano de in, 126 Apo-ulmenes 39 Appendix 423 Aqueducts 29 "Aquilles" (warship) 222 Aragon 110 Arana, Barros 265 Aranda, Martin 86, 100 Araucanians 28, 30, 31, 37. 4°. 48, 181 386. Arauco 38, 102, 178, 384 Arauco Company 33° Arauco, Fort of 52, 74. 76.87,99, 106, III. Arauco, Siege of 75 Architecture 28 Arenales, Colonel 188 Arenas, Antonio 306 Argentine Republic 232, 253 460 INDEX Page Argomedo, Jos6 Gragorio 144 Armangos 135 Arms 31 Army 412 Arrate 342 Art 31 Artigas. 136 Astronomy 31 Atacama desert 23, 25, 32, 346 Atacama grants 29 Atahualpa 21, 24 Aturez 330 Augustine iig Aurelie Antoine I .239 Authorities on Chilean History 456 Aveles, General Gabriel de 121, 126 Ayacucho 193 Ayacucho, Battle of 137 Azua, TomSs de 112 Azuaga, D. Fr. Pedro 71 B Baides, Marquis of 105, 106,125 Balcarce 136, 172 Ballenar, Baron of n8 Balmaceda, Jos^ Manuel. .329, 332, 336, 337. 345. 355. Balmaseda, Juan de 114, 126 Baltimore affair 367 Banking 391 Banks 266, 424 Baptista, Mariano 306 Baquedano, General 298, 302, 311, 313. 320. Barbosa 301, 311, 359, 362 Barcelo, Colonel 301 Bargas, Pantano de, Battle of 137 Barley 389 Barreda, Francisco Sanchez de la, iii, 126. Barrionuevo, D, Fr. Fernando 71 Basque no Bastidas, Roderigo, 79 Beans 389 Beauchef, Major 185, 202 Bella-Vista, Battle of 210 Bello, Andres 224, 228 Belgrano, General 132, 135 Benalcazar 21 Benavides, Ambrosio de 114,115 Benavides, Vincent 177 Pagb Benevente 209 Bernal, Lorenzo 74, 79 Bemey, Antony 115 Berroeta, Felix de 113. 126 Bilbao, Francisco 231 Biobio River 37, S3 Birds 406 ' 'Blanco" (vessel) 246 Blanco, Don Ventura 213 Bolivar, General.. 133, 139, 192, 210, 218 Bolivia 133 Boloquesi 302 Bonaparte, Joseph 128 Borgono, Don Jos6 Manuel 172, 213 Boroa 39, 95 Bovadilla 53 Boyaca, Battle of 136 Brayer, General 168, iy% Brazil 135, 136, 214 Bread 29 Bricks 393 Buena 346 Buendia, General Jos6 27S Buenos Ayres 114, 132, 134, 214 Bulnes, General Manuel. .218, 223, 227, 319. C Cabinet 334, 421 Cabinet Ministers 442 Cabrera, Dr. Ladislao 275 Cachapoal River 42, 158 Caceres 309, 313, 315, 322 Cacique 29 Cadeguala 83,8+ Cadiz 128 Cadiz monopoly 115 Calderon, Francisco Garcia 315 Callacalla 50 Callao 190, 210, 314 Camacho, Colonel 295, 300 Cambiaso 229 Camel 29 Camera de Apolaciones 145 Camerones 324 Campero, Narcisco, 295, 299, 316 Campino, Don Joaquim 206 Campo 93 Camus 342 Canals 123 Cancha- Rayada 153, 170 INDEX 461 Page Canete 66, 74, 76, 384 Caiiete, Massacre of 66 Canseco, Lieut. Diez 283 Canterac, General 192 Canto 316, 322, 343, 346, 359 Cape Horn 325, 404 Capitals 423 Captains of the Friends no Capuchins 232 Caracas 134, 137 Caracoles mines 256 Caralava 92 Carampangui 98 Caravajal, Don Fermin 118 Carbajal 287 Cardena 221 Carmargo 41 Carrasco, Francisco Antonio.. .125, 126, 142. Carrera, Jos6 Miguel 144, 147, 175 Carrera, Juan 147, rsg Carrera, Luis 147 Carrillo Z2i, 306 Cavalho, Colonel 353 Carving 31 Casanate, Pedro Portale 106, 125 Casma 223 Castaneda, Gregori 73 Casteili 134 Castellon, Carlos 321 Castillero 86 Castro 76, 107, 202 Castro, Vasca de 45 Catalonia 121 Catipillan 83 Catipiuque 86 Catiray 98 Caupolican 51, 54, 58, 61, 69 Cauquenes 116, 418, 419 Cauques 27 Cauton River 49 Cavendish, Sir Thomas 84 Caxamarca 22, 27 Cayancara 82 Cerda, Cristoval de la loi, 125 Cerdena 222 Cereals 407 Cerro Grande, Battle of 235 Chacabuco 163 "Chacabuco" '79 Chacajco 39 Page Chacao 77 Chanarcillo 229 Charez, Colonel Silva 235 Charles 11 109 Charles III 114 Charles IV 127 Checacupe 132 Chief 29 Children of Sun 31 Chilian 103, 106, 107, 150, 218 , 418 Chilo^. .68, 76, 94, 107, 116, 148, 202, 210, 211, 404. Chilotes 28 Chiquilanians 28, 80 Chivecura 91 Choapo 112 Chonos Islands 404 Chorillos 311 Chorocomago 184 Christiancy 306 Chupas, Battle of 23, 35 Cicarelli 229 Cienfuegos, Jos6 Ignacio..,i52, 204,225 Cisneros, D, Fr. Augustin 79 Cisniros 133 Cities 416 Citizens 426 Civilization 28 Civil Service 327 Clay 30 Clericales 335 Clentaru 106 Climate 32. 387 Cloth 30 Clothing 31 Coal 261, 391 Coal Mines 232 Cobija 323 Cochrane, Lord Thomas. ..181, 190, 373 Coelemu "2 Colchagua 211, 218 Colcura 106 Coleta 346 Colhue 39 Coliguna ii4 Colocolo 51, 62, 71. 88 "Colocolo" (warship) 322 Colombia ^37 Commerce 4^4 Company of Jesus "9 Complexion 29 462 INDEX Page Coiicepcioii,.48, 58, 79, 84, 107, 112, 211, 216, 418, 419. CoQcepcion, Diocese of 1 18 Concha, Jos6 de Santiago 107, iii, 123, 126. Concon, Battle of 360 Conde de la Conquista 143 Condell, Captain 281 Condorcanqui 132 Congress 421, 428 Congressionalists 346 Conquistadores 29 Conservadores 335 Conservatives 335 Constitution 149, 215, 218, 241, 328, 333. 425. Consulting Council 209 Copiapins 27, 47 Coptapo 33, 41, 44, m. 329, 235, 418, 420. Copper 31, 267, 395 Coquimbo 33, 41, 46, 196, 311, 235 Cordova, Alonzo de, y Figueroa. . . 102, 106, 125. Cordova, Luis Fernandez, y Area, 102, 125. Coronal 232 Corral Castle 185 Corsairs 84 Cortez, Pedro 92 Corteo 44 Council of the Indes 1 34 Council of State 421, 444, 445 Count of Populations 112 "Covadonga" (gunboat) 245 Covarrubias, Alvaro 239 Covarrubias, Marquis of 118 Coya 91 Coya, Clara Beatrice 89 Creoles 129 Crops 267 Crosbie, Captain 189 Cruz, Don Anselmo r86 Cruz, Jos6 Marie de la 231 Cuevas 162 Cujo 92, 114 Cultivation 28 Cumberland 180 Cunches 28, 50, 67 Cuquimpuans 27 Cural6 177 Page CuraDteo 104 Cur^s 28 Curico Ill, 112, 116, 4,18 Curignancu 113 Curimilla 104 Customs 374 Customhouses 226 Cuzco 23 Damas River 49 Davila, Colonel 309 Daza, General Hilarion..., 275 Debt 205, 268, 317.331. 424 De Hoz 47 Deputies 429 Derteano, Dionisio 305 Diaz, Alonzo 79 Dike at Santiago 121 Dioceses ii8 Distaff 30 Dominicans 119 Drawing 31 Drunkenness 29 Durois 241 Dutch 84 Duties 331 Dyes 31 Earthquake 79, 1 12, 401 Easter Island 405 Echeverria, Don Joaquim i86 Education 330, 415 Edwards 330 Egan, Patrick 371 Egafia, Juan 156 Egana, Don Mariano, 198 Electoral College 237 Electricity 330 Elaspuru 221 Elizanda 213 Elorreaga 153 El Paposo 102 Emaraldas River 22 Encalada, Manuel Blanco 153, 172. 180, 182, 204, 211, 222. Encol 39 England 133 English 84, 105, III, ng, 377 Ercilla, Alonzo de 68 INDEX 463 Page Errazuriz, Fernando 198, 202 Errazuriz, Fredrico. ...247, 255, 262, 318 Escala, General Erasmo 27S, 290 "Esmeralda" 182, i8g, 243 Espejo 173 Espinosa, Julio 365 Espiritu Santo 83, 85 Estanco 130 Exports 267, 268, 419 Eyzaguirre, Augustin 152, 198,211 Eyzaguirre, Jos^ Alejo 225 Farmer, The 29 Fauna 405 Feudal tenure 47 Ferdinand VII 127, 128, 180 Feniandini 231 Ferreti, Mastai 204 Feuill6 107 Figueras 121 Figueroa, Don Tomas de 145 Finances 226 Fine Arts 417 Fire Department 331 Flora 407 Florin 225 Food 29 Forests 407 Fort Liben 83 Fowls 29 France 232 Franciscans 119, 151 Frate, Celestino del 269 Freire, Ramon. . . 162, 176, 177, 196, 201, 212. Freire, Francisco 330 French 114, 119, 121 Frias 260 * Fruits 407 Fuegians 384 Fuente, Luis Merlo de la 97, 125 Fuentes, Captain 351 Gainza, General Gavina 153 Gallo, Pedro Leon 235, 237 Galvarino 181 Galvez 247 Gaiuarra 220, 299 Gamboa, Martin Ruiz de T], 80, 125 I Page Games. 40 Garcia de Garcia, Aurelio..284, 306,322 Garcilasso 28 Garezan 287 Garin, Captain 351 Garments 30 Garido 222 Garro, Don Josfi de 107, 126 Gas 232 Gasco 46 Gavilan 167 Gay, Claudio 224 "General Orbegoso" (warship) 219 Germans 232, 377 Glass 393 Godeffroy & Son 249 Godinez, Juan 39 Godoi 365 Godoi, Manuel 127 Gordas 141 Gold 31. 43^ 49 Gorbea 224 Gorostiago, Col. Alejandro 322 Government 409, 420, 425 Governors ; 421, 447 Goyeneche 133 Gramuset, Antony 114 Grapes 389 Grasales, Doctor 118 Grass 389 Grau, Miguel 280. 285, 286, 288 Great Britain 232 Guaianeco 404 Guaitecas 404 Guano 240, 259, 268, 324, 396 Guanoalca 84,86 Guayaquil 130 Guechiuntereo 85 Gueagan 29 Guemes, Miguel 239 Guenucolquin 104 Guentecol 239 Guepotan 83, 85 Guill, Antonio de, y Gonzaga. . .113, 126 Guipuzcoa 121 Guise, Captain 181, 189 Guzman, Luis Munoz de 118,123, 126, 198. H Habits 31 464 INDEX Page Haciendas 377 Hamlets 29 ' 'Hanibal of the Andes' ' 161 Harbo.s 402 Harrison, Benjamin F 37° Henriquez, Father Camilo 156 Henriquez, Juan de 107, 126 HlUiar, Captain i43 Hill of the Baron 223 Himeria, Bishop of 326 Holland 94 Holy Alliance 204 Hospitals 330 Hospitallers "9 Hotham, Rear-Admiral 342 Hoyos, Colonel 185 Hoz, Sanchez de 4^ Huacho 190 Hualqui ii3 Huamachuco 27, 322 Huancayo 325 Huanuco 27 Huaque 132 Huiro jgo Huascar 24 Huasco 33. "2, 113 Huayana Capac 22, 27 Huenecura, 95 Huilliches, 28 "Hussars of Death" 171 I Iglesias 309, 323 Illegitimacy 326 Illicura 39, 99 Immigration 390 Imperial 49, 83, 94 Imperial, Siege of 70 Imports 268 Incas 22, 28 "Independencia" (steamer) 181, 245 Indians 30, 404 Industries 28 Infante, Jos^ Miguel 152, ig8 Inspectors 448 Intendentes 421, 447 Intrepid 181 Iquique 346, 418 Irizarri, Antonio Jos6 de 156, igg Irrazabal, Don Fernando 118 Islands 403, 404 Page Italians "9 "Itata" 347i 368 Itata River 46. 151 J Janequeo 85 Jariez 228 Jauregui, Augustin de 114, 126 Jesuits 112, iig, 232 Jesus 91 Jonte, Antonio I35i ^44 Juan Fernandez Islands.. .111, 116, 159, 405. Jujay 160 Junin 346 Junta de Gobierno 143 Justice, Administration of 421, 446 K Karampanque 82 Kilacoyan mines 91 Kilpatrick 246 King Charles 23 Korner, Colonel 34S La Cerda 147 La Cotero 295, 314 Laounza 119 La Fuente 221 Lagomarsino, Captain 302 Lagos, Colonel Pedro 303, 311 Lalgualdad 230 Lake Lauquen 49 Lakes 388, 400 Language 28 La Paz 133 La Perouse 120 La Plata 135 La Plata, Viceroyalty of 114 La Puerta 307 La Serena 45. 47i 84, 107, 418, 420 La Serna 191 Las Heras, Juan Gregorio. .i57, 172, 187 Las Salinas, Battle of 22, 34 Lastarria, Jos^ Victorino 239, 264 Lastra, Francisco de 155, 217 Latorre, Captain 283, 302 Lautaro 54, 60 "Lautaro" (frigate) 179 INDEX 465 Page Lauzas. 134 Law of Civil Responsibilities 236 Laws 31 Lazarettos 330 Lead 31 Leaven 29 Lebas 172 Legislation 433 "Lerzundi" (warship) 243 Leucoton 57 Leviantu 114 Levipillan loi Leyra, Colonel 303 Liberates del Gobierno 332, 335 "Liberating Army of the Andes' ' ... 161 Library, National 156, 416 Liceo de Mora 224 Lientur ._ loi Ligua 112 Lillemu 76 Lillo, Eusebio 306 Lima 23, 130, 133, 188, 324 Linares 418 Lincopichion 105 Lincoyan 48, 56, 65, 71 Liquors 29 Lircay, Battle of 218 Lisperguer, Juan Rodulfo 96 Literature 224 Lizarroga, D. Fr. Reginaldo ^^ Loans 261 Lobos 324 Loncomallu 104 Loncomilla, Battle of. 231 Lonconobal 83 Loncothegua 91, loi Loom 30 Los Angeles m, 151. 418 Los Loros, Battle of 235 Lota 232 Lowe 172 Loyola, Don Martin Onez de 89, gi, 92, 125. Luco, Barros 339 Lumaco 89, 97 Luque, Father 22 Lynch, Patrick, 305, 307, 310, 315, 322, 373 M Mackenna, Benjamin Vicuna.. 1521, 72, 235. 263, 373. Page Magellan, Ferdinand 23 Magellan, Straits of, 32, 51, 229, 266, 404 Magistracies u^ Magu 29 Maize 29, 389 Manco 24 Mancura, Marquis of 104 Manso, Jos6 de iii, 126 Manufactures 31 Manzanera 185 Mapochinians 27, 42 Mapocho River 43, 113, 121, 122 Mapocho (valley) 28 Maquegua 39 Marco 129 Maria Louisa 127 "Maria Isabel" 180 Mariantu 33. 7i Mariloan 214 Marino 137, 158 Mariquina 39 Markets 226 Marmolejo, D. Fr. Bartolem^ Roder- igo Gonzales, -. 71 Maroto, General 163 Marriage 270, 326 Martin, Gasper.^ I44)i48 Martinez 304, 311 Martinez, Carlos Walker 261 Marven 39 Matta 237, 369. Maturano, Marcas 239 Maule, Province of. . . . 116, 118, 211, 218 Maule River 22, 28, 148 Maypo 122, 157 "Maypo" 347 Mazarredo, Eusebio 242 Meal 29 Medellin, D. Fr 71 Medina, Don Francisco Todeo Diaz de, y Collado 123, 126 Meiggs, Henry 241 Melendez, Pedro 98 Melilanca 83 Melipilla 41, m, 418 Melipuru 65 Membrillar i53 Mendoza, Don Garcia Hurtado de..6o, 63, 122, 123. Menes^s, Francisco de 106, 125 Mestizos 81 46'J INDEX Page Metals 32 Military System 39 Militia 113 Millacolquin 8g Millalauco 62 Miller, Major 172, 179, 185, 373 Minerals 268 Mines 260, 377 Mining 28, 31 Mirab^ 191 Miraflores 314 Miranda 44, 137 Missionaries 97, 99, no Mocha 104 Mocopulli 203 Molina, Alonzo 84 Molina, Juan Ignacio iig Molina, Pedro 107 Monteagudo 170, 193 "Monteaguado" (warship) 219 Money 267, 424 Monopolies 120 Monroy, Alonzo 42, 44 Montalban, Diego 100 Monte Pinto 63 Montero, Diego Gonzales 106, 125 Montero, Lizardo 293, 316, 323 Montevideo 134 Montt, Jorge 339, 367 Montt, Manuel 229, 233, 237, 251, 319 Montt-Varistas 233, 247, 321, 332, 335 Monvoisin 228 Moon 31 Moore, Captain 280 Moquequa igi Mora 224 Moraga, Captain 351 Morales, Don Francisco Xavierde, 114, 126, J 29. Morillo i2g Morro Solar 312 Moya 221 Mt. Mariguenu 56, 74, 86 Mt. Sarmiento 404 Municipal Officers 421, 449 Muuoz, C olonel 2gg Muxica, Don Martin 106, 125 Muzi, Don Juan 204 N Nacionales 335 Page Nagtolten 39 Nancu 98 Napoleon 127 Narborough, Sir James 103 Nativity, Fort of 102 Navamorquende, Marquis of. . .1C7, i25 Navarro 176 Navy C77, i\zz Neculguena :ci Negrete iii, 114 Neirie 16: Nepotism 330 Newspapers 416 Nic-Aguirre, Don Juan 124 Nicochea 164, 172 Niebla 1S5 Nieto 133 Nitrate 268,-273, 324. 336, 346, 393 Nobility 39 Nongoniel, 83 Novoa 2og Nugent 203, 214 "Numancia" (frigate) 244 Numbers 31 Nunez, Admiral Mendez 245, 246 Obando, Francisco de 112, 126 O'Brien, Captain 172, 179 Ochagavia 217 "O'Higgins" 181 O'Higgins, Ambrosio. .116, 118, 120, 126 O'Higgins, Bernardo.. 148, 151, 152, 157, 168, 186, 195, 200, 373. O'Higginistas. 210 Oil., ■ 31 Olaneta 137 Olivares iig Ongolmo 71 Orbegoso 223 Order of Mercy 118 Ordonez 170 O'Reilly, General 18S Organez 26 Ornaments 31 Oro, Diego del 53 Osbom 306 Osorio 129, 159, 168 Osorno 69i 95 Osorno, Marquis of 118 Ovalle 418 INDEX 467 Page Ovalle, Alfredo 365 Ovalle, Juan Antonio 119, 112 Ovalle, TomSs 217 Pachacamac 21 Pacific Steam Navigation Co 414 Paicavi gS Paillaeco 88 Paillamachu S9, gi, 93, 95 Paillataru 76, 77 Painting 31 Palacios 287 Palican 40 Panama 193 Paraguay 132 Pardo, Arias 74 Pareja, General Antonio 149 Passes 400 Passo 135 Pastene, Jean Baptista 45 Patagonia 325 Patagonians 384 Paucarpata 223 Paullu Topu 24, 25, 26 Paynenancu 79, 82 Pehuenches 28, 80, 114, 162, 218 Pelantaru 8g Pelucones 210 Pena 135 Peiia, Captain 304 Penalosa 86 Penco 40, 4Ei Peneones 27 Penquistos 149 Pensions 327 Peralta, Francisco Ibanez de. . .107, 12G Pereda, Angel de ro6, 125 Pereja, Admiral 243 Perez, Jos^ Joaquin. . . 135, 230, 236, 237, 247. 319- Peru 102, 272 Peruvians 25, 29, 289 Petorca i j 2 Pezet, President 245 Pezuela 133, 179, 189 Philip II 61 Philip V 109 Physics 31 Pica, Marquis de la loG Picoaga 221 Page Piculgue 103 Pierola, Nicolas de 295, 309, 315 Pigs 29 Pincheira 214, 218 Pinchincha, Battle of 137 Pineda, Alvaro g6 Pino, Joaquin del 122, 126 Pintado, Bernardo Vera 142 Pinto, Colonel Castro 300 Pinto, Francisco Anibal.. .210, 212, 216, 264, 318, Pinzon, Admiral 242 Pipiolas 2og Pirates, 84 Pisagua 346, 420 Pisco 189 Pissis 229 Pius IX 204 Pizarro, Francisco 21, 35 Pizarro, Gonzalo 24, 46 Pizarro, Hernando 23 Pizarro, Juan 24 Plains 32 Planchon 162 Plants 29 Police 331 Political Parties 420 Ponchos 32 Ponte, Marco del 160, 162, 165 Population 32, 262, 420, 423 Portada de la Guia 223 Portales, Don Diego.. 147, 217, 221, 222, 223. Portales, Cea & Co 205 Portugal 127 Posadas 136 Post oiEces 412 Potatoes 29 Potosi 137, 160 Potrillo 184 Pottery 30 Poveda, TomSs Martin de 107, 126 Prado, President 215, 280, 282, 289 Pran 66 Prat, Belisario 265, 282 Prato, Belisario 336 President 333, 420, 436 Prieto, J~aquin 178, 216, 223, 227, 3ig Promancions 27, 34 Property rights 29 Protector of Peru ir8, igr 468 INDEX Page Provinces ii6, 423 Prueba 183 Public works 391 Puchanqui 86 Pudeto, Battle of zio Puelches 28, 39, 83, 85 Puerta Olivia 347 Puerto Montt 232, 420 Pueyredon 136 Pulse 29 Pumacagua 159 Punta Arenas 229, 385 Puren 39i 84 Puren, Fort of 11 1 Putaendo 162 Putapichion loi Q Quanagua 39 Quecheregua 39, 154 Quemada, Juan de Xara 98, 125 Quepuanta 104 Quevada, Dr 259 Quiapo 71 Quichua 28 Quilacura 46 Quillai 31 Quillin 105, III, 114 Quillota 41, 222, 418 Quillotanes 27, 45 Quilo 155 Quinel 102 Quinones, Francisco de 93, 125 Quintano 172 Quintanilla, Gen. Antonio 210 Quintero 345 Quintero Bay 84 Quintuguenu 86 Quirihue 112 Quiroga, Roderigo de 72, 76, 79, 125 Quito 21, 133, 137 Quitoan Kingdom 27 R Rabbit 29 Radicales 335 Railroads 232, 236, 241,2531 259, 268, 330, 331. 391. 409- Ramirez, General 133, 259 Ramon, Alonzo Garcia 62, 81, 84, 94, 125. Page Rancagua 158, 236 Rapel River 28 Rayna 144 RecabSrren 290, 313 Recloma 50 Religion 31, 242, 425 Rencu 65, 71 Repocura 39 Revenues 226, 266, 331 Reyes, Alejandro 239 Reyes, Antonio Garcia 230 Reynoso, Alonzo. 64, 6g Reynoso, Francisco 52 Rezabal, Jos6 de 121, 126 Riggin, Charles W 369 Rights of Citizens 450 Rio, Juan Garcia del 192 Riojo, Fort 185 Rios, Colonel 293 Rios, Gonzalo 45 Rivera, Alonzo de 94, 95, 98, 123 Riveros, Galvarino.. .284, 290, 296, 305 Rivers 388, 400 Rivos 221 Roads 25, 121 Robelledo roi Roble 151 Robles, Colonel 342 Robleria 103 RofaoUedo, Juan Williams 245, 278 Rodgers, Commodore 246 Rodriguez 287 Rodriguez, Manuel 162, 171, 175 Rodriguez, Carlos 213 Rodriguez, Jos6 Santiago 204 Rodriguez 134 Rojas, Jos6 Antonio de 115, 142 Roman Catholics 242 Rondeau 136 Rosales 119, 144 Rosalis, Don Rosario de 139 Rosas, Domingo Ortiz de 112, 126 Royal Audience, 96 Rozas, Domingo 405 Rozas, Doctor Juan Martinez de, . . .144 s Saavedra 25 Saavedra, ComeUo 265, 315 Salamanca, Manuel de iii, 126 Salas, Manuel 156 INDEX 469 Page Salaverry-Gamarra 220, 221 Saldias 178 Salt 31 Salta 134, 160 Salvador 234 San Bruno 160 San Carlos 150, 184, 202 San Carlos, Duke of 118 Sanchez, Juan Francisco.. 150, 153, 208 San Felipe 235, 418 San Fernando 1 1 1 San Francisco 341 SanFuentes 234. 251, 332, 336 Sangarara 132 San Juan 3x2 San Lorenzo, 135 San Luis de Loyola, 92 San Martin. . .118, 133, 136, 160, 164, 200 San Miguel, D. Fr. Antonio de, y Sol- ier 79 San Pedro 106 San Roman 221 San Rosendo 106 San Sebastian 121 Santa Barbara 113 Santa Cruz, Andres 220, 223, 294 Santa Juana 177 Santa Maria, Domingo 235, 245, 265, 318, 325, 327» 329, 332. Santa Rosa 164 Santa Teresa 312 Santiago 4,2, 107, 211, 376, 415, 418 Santiago, Diocese of 118 Santo Domingo 121 Saravia, Diego 96 Saravia, Melchor, Bravo de 78, 125 Sardinia 232 Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino 228 Schley, Captain 368 Schools 269, 4t3, 415, 416 Senate 421 Senators 429 Serrano, Lieut 282 Seville 128 Siereo 29 Silva, General- 309, 322 Silva, Waldo 338 Silver 31 Simpson, Robert 223 Sinchi Rocca 27 Sinclair, Sir John, . , , , , 214 Page Slavery 117 Smallpox 118 Smuggling 194 Smyth's Channel 404 Soap 31 Socabaya, Battle of 221 Solar, Miguel X64, 213, 221 "Sons of the Land" 171 Soto, Colonel 342 Sotoma} or, Alonzo de 80, 84, 125 Sotomayor, Emilio 275, 293, 311 Sotomayor, Luis de 86 Sotomayer, Rafael 264, 284, 300 Spaniards 25 Spindle, 30 Steamship Lines 225, 331, 414 Suarez, Colonel 309, 316 Suarez, Inez 42 Sub-delegates 448 Sucre 137 Sueltos , .335 Suffrage 426 Sun 31 Syri Tupac 89 Tacna, . . , 418 Taforo, Francisco de PauUo 269, 325 Tagle, Francisco Ruiz 217 Tagle, Torre 193 Tajamar 121 Talambo 242 Talaverrano, Fernando 100, 125 Talbot, John W 369 Talca 94, 104, III, 150, 153, 235, 418 Talcahuana 6g, 150, 167,169 Talcamavida, Fort of 106, 113 Taltal 347 Tapia, Juan 84 Tarapaca 324, 336, 346 Tariff 196, 202, 232, 267 Tarochina .82 Tavira, San Salvador de 243 Telegraph 241, 262. 268, 412 Telephone 330 Tierra del Fuego 404 Timber 390 Tin. .31 Tithes 130 Tobacco 130. 196, 317 Tocapilla W..346 470 INDEX Page Tocornal, Manuel ADtonio 230, 239 Toesca, Joaquin 124 Tonatiuh 2i Tools 31 Toquis 30, 39 Torrico 221, 314 Tounens, M. de 239 Trade 266 Treaties 121, 232, 253, 323, 325, 371 Tri bes 27 Tribunal of Audience 116 Tribunal of Vigilance 160 Trinidad 83, 84 Tristan 129, 135 Tucapel 39i 53i 63, 71, 88, 102 Tucapel, Fortress of 52, in Tucuman 73, 135 Tumbez. - 27 Tunconobal 67 Tupac Amaru 89, 132 Tupac Yupanqui 22 Tupper, Colonel 218 Tutuben in u Ubalde 132 Ulloa, Lopez de, y Lemus 100, 125 UUoa, Pedro Sorez de loi, 125 Ulmen 29, 39 Umachiri 133 University, National 112, 156, 415 Urban Population 418 UrJbe, Lieut 28a Urmeneta, Jos6 TomSs 255 Urriola, Colonel 231 Uspallata Pass 162 Ustariz, Juan Andres de 107, 126 Utensils 30 Uthal-mapu 38 Utiflame , gg Vaccination iig, 331 Valdez, General 298 Valdiveiso, Raphael Valentine 225, 233, 257, 269. Valdivia (city) 84, 93. 107, 148, 184, 384, 418, 419. Valdivia, Fortress of 116 Valdivia harbor 104 "Valdivia" (vessel) 190 Page Valdivia, Lais de 97 Valdivia, Pedro de.. .35, 36, 40, 118, 125, 221, Valparaiso 84, 107, 208, 211, 376, 418 Valparaiso, Marquis of 118 Val verde, Colonel 278 Varas, Antonio 230, 233, 236, 330 Vecchio 100 Vega, Francisco Laso de la 103, 125 Vegetables 29, 407 Velasco 78 Venezuela 137 Venganza 179 Vera, Doctor Bernardo 156, 206 Vergara, Eujenio 321 Vergara, Jos6 Francisco,.. 300, 306, 321, 330. Vial, Don Agustin 198,230 Vicuna, Claudio 348, 357. S^S Vicuna, Francisco Ramon 215, 235 Vicuna, Manuel 225 Vidaurre, Juan 222, 235 Viel, Admiral 365 Vilcapugio 135 Villac Umu 24 "Villa de Madrid" (vessel) 246 ViUagran, Francisco de. ..46, 47, 56, 73, 125. Villagran, Pedro 59. 125 Villalobo? 160 Villa Nueva 163 Villarica 49, 79. 86, 94 Vilumilla no Vineyards 377. 389 Viscarra, Pedro de 89, 92, 125 Volcanoes 32 W Wheat 389 Wheelright, William 225 Whitehead 240 Wine 130, 389 Wine-making 389 Women 30 Wyndham 179 X Xauxa 27. 193 Ximenes loi INDEX 471 Y Page Yaghans 384 Yanacocha 221 Yerbas Buenas 150 Yumbel 93, 106 Yungay 223 Yupanqui 27 Z Page 2ambrano, Mateo de Toro , 143 Zanartu, Luis de 113 Zapiga 341 Zentano, Don Ignacio 186 Zuniga, Francisco de 104, 125 Zurita, Juan, 73 LATIN-AMERICAN REPUBLICS Under this general title we are pub- lishing a series of histories of South HKF^[ff^ American and Central American Re- publics, countries which are known to English and American readers only through the medium of books of travel and histories of limited periods. 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