(A. G.)
CHILDREN’S GAMES. The study of traditional games has in recent years become an important branch of folklore research in England, and has contributed not a little towards elucidating many unrecorded facts in early history. These games may be broadly divided into two kinds—dramatic games, and games of skill and chance. These differ materially in their object. Games of skill and chance are played for the purpose of winning property from a less fortunate player. The dramatic games consist of non-singing and singing games; they are divided between boys’ games and girls’ games. Boys’ games are mostly of a contest character, girls’ of a more domestic type. The boys’ dramatic games have preserved some interesting beliefs and customs, but the tendency in these games, such as “prisoner’s base,” has been to drop the words and tune and to preserve only that part (action) which tends best for exercise and use in school playgrounds. The girls’ singing-games have not developed on these lines, and have therefore not lost so much of their early characteristics. The singing games consist of words, tune and action. The words, in verse, express ideas contained in customs not now in vogue, and they may be traced back to events taking place between men and women and between people of different villages. The tunes are simple, and the same tune is frequently used for different games. The actions are illustrative of the ideas to be expressed. The players represent various objects—animals, villages and people. The singing game is therefore not a game in the usual sense of the word. There is no element of “gambling” or playing “to win” in it—no one is richer or poorer for it; it also requires a number of children to play together. It is really a “play,” and has survived because it has handed down some instances of custom and belief which were deeply rooted and which made a strong appeal to the imagination of our ancestors. The singing games represent in dramatic form the survival of those ceremonial dances common to people in early stages of development. These dances celebrated events which served to bind the people together and to give them a common interest in matters affecting their welfare. They were dramatic in character, singing and action forming a part of them, and their performers were connected by ties of place or kindred. They are probably survivals of what we might call folk drama. In these times it was held imperative to perform religious ceremonies periodically; at sowing and harvesting to ensure good crops; in the care of cattle and on occasions of marriage, birth and death. These were matters affecting the welfare of the whole community. Events were celebrated with dance, song and feasting, and no event was too trivial to be unconnected with some belief which rendered ceremony necessary.
At first these ceremonial dances had deep religious feeling for their basis, but in process of time they became purely secular and were performed at certain seasons only, because it was the custom to do so. They then became recognized as beautiful or pleasing things in the life of the people, and so continued, altering somewhat in ideas but retaining their old dramatic forms. They were danced by old and young at festivals and holidays, these being held about the same time of year as that at which the previous religious ceremonies had been held.
Singing games are danced principally in one of two methods, “line” and “circle.” These represent two of the early forms of dramatic action. The “line” form (two lines of players standing opposite each other having a space of ground between them, advancing and retiring in turn) represents two different and opposing parties engaged in a struggle or contest. This method is used in all cases where contest is involved. The “circle” form, on the other hand, where all players join hands, represents those occasions when all the people of one place were engaged in celebrating events in which all were interested. Thus games celebrating sowing and harvest, and those associated with love and marriage, are played in this form. Both these methods allow of development. The circle varies from examples where all perform the same actions and say the same words to that where two or more players have principal parts, the others only singing or acting in dumb show, to examples where the singing has disappeared. The form or method of play and the actions constitute the oldest remaining parts of the game (the words being subject to alterations and loss through ignorance of their meaning), and it is to this form or method, the actions and the accompaniment of song, that they owe their survival, appealing as they do to the strong dramatic instinct of children and of uncultured folk.
It will be convenient to give a few instances of the best-known singing games. In “line” form, a fighting game is “We are the Rovers.” The words tell us of two opposing parties fighting for their land; both sides alternately deride one another and end by fighting until one side is victorious. Two other “line” games, “Nuts in May” and “Here come three dukes a-riding,” are also games of contest, but not for territory. These show an early custom of obtaining wives. They represent marriage by capture, and are played in “line” form because of the element of contest contained in the custom. Another form, the “arch,” is also used to indicate contest.
Circle games, on the contrary, show such customs as harvest and marriage, with love and courting, and a ceremony and sanction by assembled friends. “Oats and beans and barley” and “Sally Water” are typical of this form. The large majority of circle games deal with love or marriage and domestic life. The customs surviving in these games deal with tribal life and take us back to “foundation sacrifice,” “well worship,” “sacredness of fire,” besides marriage and funeral customs.
Details may be found in the periodical publications of the Folk-lore Society, and particularly in the following works:—A.B. Gomme’sTraditional Games of Great Britain(2 vols., Nutt, 1894-1898); Gomme’sChildren’s Singing Games(Nutt, 1904.); Eckenstein’sComparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes(Duckworth, 1906); Maclagan,Games of Argyllshire, Folk-lore Society (1900); Newell’sGames of American Children(Harper Bros., New York, 1884). In Mrs Gomme’sTraditional Games, several versions of each game, together with a short account of the suggested origin and of the custom or belief indicated, are given for each game. In vol. ii. (pp. 458-531) a memoir of the history of games is given, and the customs and beliefs which originated them, reviewing the whole subject from the anthropological point of view, and showing the place which games occupy among the evidences of early man. In Miss Eckenstein’s comparative study of nursery rhymes suggested origins are given for many of these, and an attempt made to localize certain of the customs and events. In several of the publications of the Folk-lore Society local collections of games are given, all of which may be studied with advantage. Stubbes and other early writers give many instances of boys’ games in their days, many of which still exist. Tylor and other writers on anthropology, in dealing with savage custom, confirm the views here expressed. For nursery rhymes see Halliwell,Nursery Rhymes(1845), and Chambers’sPopular Rhymes(first printed 1841, reprinted in 1870). The recently collectedMorris Dancesby Mr Cecil Sharp should also be consulted. One of the morris dances, bean-setting, evidently dealing with planting or harvest, is danced in circle form, while others indicating fighting or rivalry are danced in line form, each line dancing in circle before crossing over to the opposite, side, and thus conforming to the laws already shown to exist in the more ordinary game.
Details may be found in the periodical publications of the Folk-lore Society, and particularly in the following works:—A.B. Gomme’sTraditional Games of Great Britain(2 vols., Nutt, 1894-1898); Gomme’sChildren’s Singing Games(Nutt, 1904.); Eckenstein’sComparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes(Duckworth, 1906); Maclagan,Games of Argyllshire, Folk-lore Society (1900); Newell’sGames of American Children(Harper Bros., New York, 1884). In Mrs Gomme’sTraditional Games, several versions of each game, together with a short account of the suggested origin and of the custom or belief indicated, are given for each game. In vol. ii. (pp. 458-531) a memoir of the history of games is given, and the customs and beliefs which originated them, reviewing the whole subject from the anthropological point of view, and showing the place which games occupy among the evidences of early man. In Miss Eckenstein’s comparative study of nursery rhymes suggested origins are given for many of these, and an attempt made to localize certain of the customs and events. In several of the publications of the Folk-lore Society local collections of games are given, all of which may be studied with advantage. Stubbes and other early writers give many instances of boys’ games in their days, many of which still exist. Tylor and other writers on anthropology, in dealing with savage custom, confirm the views here expressed. For nursery rhymes see Halliwell,Nursery Rhymes(1845), and Chambers’sPopular Rhymes(first printed 1841, reprinted in 1870). The recently collectedMorris Dancesby Mr Cecil Sharp should also be consulted. One of the morris dances, bean-setting, evidently dealing with planting or harvest, is danced in circle form, while others indicating fighting or rivalry are danced in line form, each line dancing in circle before crossing over to the opposite, side, and thus conforming to the laws already shown to exist in the more ordinary game.
(A. B. G.*)
CHILDS, GEORGE WILLIAM(1829-1894), American publisher, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 12th of May 1829. He was educated in the public schools, and after a brief term of service in the navy, he became in 1843 a clerk in a book-shop at Philadelphia. There, in 1847, he established an independentbook-shop, and two years later organized the publishing house of Childs & Peterson. In 1864, with Anthony J. Drexel, he purchased thePublic Ledger, at that time a little known newspaper; he completely changed its policy and methods, and made it one of the most influential journals in the country. He died at Philadelphia on the 3rd of February 1894. Childs was widely known for his public spirit and philanthropy. In addition to numerous private benefactions in educational and charitable fields, he erected memorial windows to William Cowper and George Herbert in Westminster Abbey (1877), and to Milton in St Margaret’s, Westminster (1888), a monument to Leigh Hunt at Kensal Green, a Shakespeare memorial fountain at Stratford-on-Avon (1887), and monuments to Edgar Allan Poe and to Richard A. Proctor. He gave Woodland Cemetery to the Typographical Society of Philadelphia for a printers’ burial-ground, and with Anthony J. Drexel founded in 1892 a home for Union printers at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
HisRecollectionswere published at Philadelphia in 1890.
HisRecollectionswere published at Philadelphia in 1890.
CHILE, orChili(derived, it is said, from the Quichuachiri, cold, ortchili, snow), a republic of South America, occupying the narrow western slope of the continent between Peru and its southern extremity. (For map seeArgentina.) It extends from the northern boundary of the province of Tacna, about 17° 25′ S., to Cape Horn at the extreme southern point of the Fuegian archipelago in 55° 58′ 40″ S., with an extreme meridian length of 2661 m., and with a coast line considerably exceeding that figure owing to a westward curve of about 3½° and an eastward trend south of 50° S. of nearly 8°. Its mainland width ranges from about 46 to 228 m., and its area, including the islands of the southern coast, is officially computed to be 307,774 sq. m., though the Gotha computation (1904) places it at 293,062 sq. m. Chile is thus a ribbon-like strip of territory between the Andes and the Pacific, comparatively regular north of the 42nd parallel, but with an extremely ragged outline south of that line. It is bounded N. by Peru, E. by Bolivia and Argentina, S. and W. by the Pacific. Its eastern boundary lines are described underArgentinaandBolivia. The war of 1879-81 with Peru and Bolivia gave to Chile 73,993 sq. m. of territory, or one-fourth her total area. By subsequent agreements the Bolivian department of the Literal, or Atacama, and the Peruvian department of Tarapacá, were formally ceded to Chile, and the northern frontier was removed to the river Camarones, which enters the Pacific at 19° 12′ S. Under the treaty of Ancon (20th October 1883) Chile was to retain possession of the provinces of Tacna and Arica belonging to the Peruvian department of Moquegua for a period of ten years, and then submit “to popular vote whether those territories are to belong to Chile or Peru.” At the expiration of the period (1893) Chile evaded compliance with the agreement, and under various pretexts retained forcible possession of the territory. This arbitrary retention of Tacna and Arica, which became the province of Tacna under Chilean administration, removed the frontier still farther north, to the river Sama, which separates that province from the remaining part of the Peruvian department of Moquegua. Starting from the mouth of that river, in 17° 57′ S., the disputed boundary follows its course in an irregular N.E. direction to its source in the Alto do Toledo range, thence S. and E. along the water parting to the Bolivian boundary line in the Cordillera Silillica.
Physiography.—For purposes of general topographical description Chile may be divided into three regions: the desert region of the north, the central agricultural region between the provinces of Coquimbo and Llanquihue, and the heavily-forested rainy region south of lat. 41° S. The desert region is an elevated arid plateau descending gradually from the Andes towards the coast, where it breaks down abruptly from elevations of 800 to 1500 ft. From the sea this plateau escarpment has the appearance of a range of flat topped hills closely following the coast line. The surface is made up of extensive plains covered with sand and deposits of alkaline salts, broken by ranges of barren hills having the appearance of spurs from the Andes, and by irregular lateral ranges in the vicinity of the main cordillera enclosing elevated saline plateaus. This region is rainless, barren and inhospitable, absolutely destitute of vegetation except in some small river valleys where irrigation is possible, and on the slopes of some of the snow-covered peaks where the water from the melting snows nourishes a scanty and coarse vegetation before it disappears in the thirsty sands. It is very rich in mineral and saline deposits, however. The eastern parts of this region lie within the higher ranges of the Andes and include a large district awarded to Chile in 1899 (seeArgentinaandAtacama). This arid, bleak area is apparently a continuation southward of the great Bolivianaltaplanicie, and is known as the Puna de Atacama. Its average elevation is estimated at 11,000 to 12,000 ft. A line of volcanoes crosses it from north to south, and extensive lava beds cover a considerable part of its surface. Large shallow saline lakes are also characteristic features of this region. From 28° S. the spurs from the cordillera toward the coast are more sharply defined and enclose deeper valleys, where the cultivation of the soil becomes possible, at first through irrigation and then with the aid of light periodical rains. The slopes of the Andes are precipitous, the general surface is rough, and in the north the higher ground and coast are still barren. Beginning with the province of Aconcagua the coast elevations crystallize into a range of mountains, the Cordillera Maritima, which follows the shore line south to the province of Llanquihue, and is continued still farther south by the mountain range of Chiloé and the islands of the western coast, which are the peaks of a submerged mountain chain. Lying between this coast range and the Andes is a broad valley, or plain, extending from the Aconcagua river south to the Gulf of Ancud, a distance slightly over 620 m. with an average width of about 60 m. It is sometimes called the “Vale of Chile,” and is the richest and most thickly-populated part of the republic. It is a highly fertile region, is well watered by numerous streams from the Andes, has a moderate rainfall, and forms an agricultural and grazing region of great productiveness. It slopes toward the south, and its lower levels are filled with lakes and with depressions where lakes formerly existed. It is an alluvial plain for the greater part, but contains some sandy tracts, as in Ñuble and Arauco; in the north very little natural forest is found except in the valleys and on the slopes of the enclosing mountain ranges, but in the south, where the rainfall is heavier, the plain is well covered with forest. South of 41° S. the country is mountainous, heavily-forested and inhospitable. There are only a few scattered settlements within its borders, and a few nomadic tribes of savages eke out a miserable existence on the coast. The deeply-indented coast line is filled with islands which preserve the general outline of the continent southward to the Fuegian archipelago, the outside groups forming a continuation of the Cordillera Maritima. The heavy and continuous rainfall throughout this region, especially in the latitude of Chiloé, gives rise to a large number of rivers and lakes. Farther south this excessive precipitation is in the form of snow in the Cordilleras, forming glaciers at a comparatively low level which in places discharge into the inlets and bays of the sea. The extreme southern part of this region extends eastward to the Atlantic entrance to the Straits of Magellan, and includes the greater part of the large island of Tierra del Fuego with all the islands lying south and west of it. There are some comparatively level stretches of country immediately north of the Straits, partly forested and partly grassy plains, where sheep farming has been established with some degree of success, but the greater part of this extreme southern territory is mountainous, cold, wet and inhospitable. The perpetual snow-line here descends to 3500 to 4000 ft. above sea-level, and the forest growth does not rise above an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft.It has been officially estimated that the arable lands of Chile comprise about twenty-five millions of acres (slightly over 39,000 sq. m.), or very nearly one-eighth of its total area.Mountains.The desert regions of the north include comparatively large areas of plains and gently sloping surfaces, traversed by ranges of barren hills. The remainder of the republic, probably more than three-fifths of its surface, is extremely mountainous. The western slopes of the Andes, with its spurs and lateral ranges, cover a broad zone on the eastern side of the republic, and the Cordillera Maritima covers another broad zone on its western side from about lat. 33° to the southern extremity of Chiloé, or below lat. 43°. This maritime range is traversed by several river valleys, some of which, like the Bio-Bio, are broad and have so gentle a slope as to be navigable. The Andes, however, present an unbroken barrier on the east, except at a few points in the south where the general elevation is not over 5000 to 6000 ft., and where some of the Chilean rivers, as the Palena and Las Heras, have their sources on its eastern side. From the 52nd to about the 31st parallel this great mountain system, known locally as the Cordillera de los Andes, apparently consists of a single chain, though in reality it includes short lateral ranges at several points; continuing northward several parallel ranges appear on the Argentine side and one on the Chilean side which are ultimately merged in the great Bolivian plateau. The Chilean lateral range, which extends from the 29th to the 19th parallels, traverses an elevated desert region and possesses several noteworthy peaks, among which are Cerro Bolson, 16,017 ft., and Cerro Dona Ines, 16,706 ft. It is broken to some extent in crossing the province of Antofagasta, the southern division being known as the Sierra de Huatacondo. At the southern frontier of Bolivia the main chain, which has served as the boundary line between Argentina and Chile, divides into two great ranges, the principal one continuing almost due north along the eastern side of the great Bolivianalta-planicie, and the other forming its western rim, whereit is known as the Cordillera Silillica, and then following the trend of the coast north-westward into Peru becomes the Cordillera Occidental. The western slopes of the Andes are precipitous, with short spurs enclosing deep valleys. The whole system is volcanic, and a considerable number of volcanoes are still intermittently active, noticeably in central and southern Chile. The culminating point of the Chilean Andes is Aconcagua, which rises to a height of 23,097 ft.In southern Chile the coast is highly mountainous, but the relation of these elevations to the Andes has not been clearly determined. The highest of these apparently detached groups are Mt. Macá (lat. 45° S.), 9711 ft., and Mt. Arenales (about 47° S. lat.), 11,286 ft. Cathedral Peak on Wellington Island rises to a height of 3838 ft. and the highest point on Taytao peninsula to 3937 ft. The coast range of central Chile has no noteworthy elevations, the culminating point in the province of Santiago being 7316 ft. Between central Chile and the northern desert region there is a highly mountainous district where distinct ranges or elongated spurs cross the republic from the Andes to the coast, forming transverse valleys of great beauty and fertility. The most famous of these is the “Vale of Quillota” between Valparaiso and Santiago. The Chilean Andes between Tacna and Valdivia are crossed by 24 passes, the majority of them at elevations exceeding 10,000 ft. The best-known of these is the Uspallata pass between Santiago and the Argentine city of Mendoza, 12,870 ft. above sea-level. The passes of central and southern Chile are used only in the summer season, but those of northern Chile are open throughout the whole year.The volcanic origin of the Andes and their comparatively recent elevation still subject Chile, in common with other parts of the western coast region, to frequent volcanic and seismic disturbances. In some instances since European occupation, violent earthquake shocks have resulted in considerable elevations of certain parts of the coast. After the great earthquake of 1835 Captain Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865) of H.M.S. “Beagle” found putrid mussel-shells still adhering to the rocks 10 ft. above high water on the island of Santa Maria, 30 m. from Concepción, and Charles Darwin declares, in describing that disaster, that “there can be no doubt that the land round the bay of Concepción was upraised two or three feet.” These upheavals, however, are not always permanent, the upraised land sometimes settling back to its former position. This happened on the island of Santa Maria after 1835. The existence of sea-shells at elevations of 350 to 1300 ft. in other parts of the republic shows that these forces, supplemented by a gradual uplifting of the coast, have been in operation through long periods of time and that the greater part of central and southern Chile has been raised from the sea in this way. These earthquake shocks have two distinct characteristics, a slight vibration, sometimes almost imperceptible, called atemblor, generally occurring at frequent intervals, and a violent horizontal or rotary vibration, or motion, also repeated at frequent intervals, called aterremoto, which is caused by a fracture or displacement of the earth’s strata at some particular point, and often results in considerable damage. When the earthquake occurs on the coast, or beneath the sea in its vicinity, tidal waves are sometimes formed, which cause even greater damage than the earthquake itself. Arica has been three times destroyed by tidal waves, and other small towns of the north Chilean coast have suffered similar disasters. Coquimbo was swept by a tidal wave in 1849, and Concepción and Talcahuano were similarly destroyed in 1835. The great earthquake which partially destroyed Valparaiso in 1906, however, was not followed by a tidal wave. These violent shocks are usually limited to comparatively small districts, though the vibrations may be felt at long distances from the centre of disturbance. In this respect Chile may be divided into at least four great earthquake areas, two in the desert region, the third enclosing Valparaiso, and the fourth extending from Concepción to Chiloé. A study of Chilean earthquake phenomena, however, would probably lead to a division of southern Chile into two or more distinct earthquake areas.The coast of Chile is fringed with an extraordinary number of islands extending from Chiloé S. to Cape Horn, the grouping of which shows that they are in part the summits of a submergedCoast.mountain chain, a continuation southward of the Cordillera Maritima. Three groups of these islands, called the Chiloé, Guaytecas and Chonos archipelagoes, lie N. of the Taytao peninsula (lat. 45° 50′ to 46° 55′ S.), and with the mainland to the E. form the province of Chiloé. The largest of these is the island of Chiloé, which is inhabited. Some of the smaller islands of these groups are also inhabited, though the excessive rainfall of these latitudes and the violent westerly storms render them highly unfavourable for human occupation. Some of the smallest islands are barren rocks, but the majority of them are covered with forests. These archipelagoes are separated from the mainland in the north by the gulfs of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado, 30 to 35 m. wide, which appear to be a submerged part of the great central valley of Chile, and farther south by the narrower Moraleda channel, which terminates southward in a confusing network of passages between the mainland and the islands of the Chonos group. One of the narrow parts of the Chilean mainland is to be found opposite the upper islands of this group, where the accidental juxtaposition of Magdalena island, which indents the continent over half a degree at this point, and the basin of Lake Fontana, which gives the Argentine boundary a sharp wedge-shaped projection westward, narrows the distance between the two to about 26 m. The Taytao peninsula, incorrectly called the Tres Montes on some maps, is a westward projection of the mainland, with which it is connected by the narrow isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Peñas. A short ship canal here would give an uninterrupted and protected inside passage from Chacao Channel all the way to the Straits of Magellan, a distance of over 760 m. A southern incurving projection of the outer shore-line of this peninsula is known as Tres Montes peninsula, the most southern point of which is a cape of the same name. Below the Taytao peninsula is the broad open Gulf of Peñas, which carries the coast-line eastward fully 100 m. and is noticeably free from islands. The northern entrance to Messier Channel is through this gulf. Messier, Pitt, Sarmiento and Smyth’s Channels, which form a comparatively safe and remarkably picturesque inside route for small steamers, about 338 m. in length, separate another series of archipelagoes from the mainland. These channels are in places narrow and tortuous. Among the islands which thickly fringe this part of the coast, the largest are Azopardo (lying within Baker Inlet), Prince Henry, Campaña, Little Wellington, Great Wellington and Mornington (of the Wellington archipelago), Madre de Dios, Duke of York, Chatham, Hanover, Cambridge, Contreras, Rennell and the Queen Adelaide group of small barren rocks and islands lying immediately north of the Pacific entrance to the Straits of Magellan. The large number of English names on this coast is due to the fact that the earliest detailed survey of this region was made by English naval officers; the charts prepared from their surveys are still in use and form the basis of all subsequent maps. None of these islands is inhabited, although some of them are of large size, the largest (Great Wellington) being about 100 m. long. It has likewise been determined, since the boundary dispute with Argentina called attention to these territories and led to their careful exploration at the points in dispute, that Skyring Water, in lat. 53° S., opens westward into the Gulf of Xaultegua, which transforms Ponsonby Land and Cordoba (or Croker) peninsula into an island, to which the name of Riesco has been given. The existence of such a channel was considered probable when these inland waters were first explored in 1829 by Captain FitzRoy, but it was not discovered and surveyed until three-quarters of a century had elapsed. Belonging to the Fuegian group south of the Straits of Magellan are Desolation, Santa Ines, Clarence, Dawson, Londonderry, Hoste, Navarin and Wollaston islands, with innumerable smaller islands and rocks fringing their shores and filling the channels between them. Admirable descriptions of this inhospitable region, the farthest south of the inhabited parts of the globe, may be found in theNarrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships “Adventure” and “Beagle” between the years 1826 and 1836(3 vols., 1839).The western and larger part of Tierra del Fuego (q.v.) belongs to Chile. About 63 m. S.W. of Cape Horn, in lat. 56° 25′ S., is the Diego Ramirez group of small, rocky islands, the most southern possession of the republic. Its westernmost possessions are Sala-y-Gomez and Easter islands, the former in about 27° S., 105° W., and the latter, the easternmost inhabited Polynesian island, in 27° 6′ S., 109° 17′ W. Much nearer the Chilean coast (396 m.), lying between the 33rd and 34th parallels, are the three islands of the Juan Fernandez group, and rising apparently from the same submerged plateau about 500 m. farther north of the latter are the rocky islets of San Ambrosio and San Felix, all belonging to Chile. North of Chiloé there are few islands in close proximity to the coast. The more important of these are La Mocha, off the southern coast of Arauco, in lat. 38° 20′ S., which is 8 m. long and rises to an elevation of 1240 ft. above the sea; Santa Maria, 30 m. south-west of Concepcion, which partially encloses the Bay of Arauco and is well cultivated; and Quiriquina, lying off the port of Talcahuano in the entrance to Concepción bay. There are a few barren islands on the desert coast, the largest of which are between Coquimbo and Caldera. Since the removal of their guano deposits they have become practically worthless, except where they serve to shelter anchorages.The coast of northern and central Chile is singularly deficient in good harbours. Those of the desert region are only slight indentations in a remarkably uniform coast-line, sheltered on one side by a point of land, or small island. The landingsHarbours.are generally dangerous because of the surf, and the anchorages are unsafe from storms on the unprotected side. Among the most frequented of these are Valparaiso, Coquimbo, Caldera, Iquique and Arica. There are some small harbours for coasting vessels of light draught along the coast of central Chile, usually at the partially obstructed mouths of the larger rivers, as San Antonio near the mouth of the Maipó, Constitución at the mouth of the Maule, and Llico on the outlet of Lake Vichuquen, but there is no harbour of importance until Conceptión (or Talcahuano) Bay is reached. There are three harbours on this bay, El Tomé, Penco and Talcahuano (q.v.), the last being the largest and best-protected port on the inhabited part of the Chilean coast. Immediately south of this bay is the large Bay of Arauco, into which the Bio-Bio river discharges, and on which, sheltered by the island of Santa Maria, are the ports of Coronel and Lota. The next important harbour is that of El Corral, at the mouth of the Valdivia river and 15 m. belowthe city of Valdivia. The Bay of San Carlos on the northern coast of Chiloé, which opens upon the narrow Chacao channel, has the port of Ancud, or San Carlos, and is rated an excellent harbour for vessels of light and medium draught. Inside the island of Chiloé the large gulfs of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado are well protected from the severe westerly storms of these latitudes, but they are little used because the approach through the Chacao channel is tortuous and only 2 to 3 m. wide, and the two gulfs, though over 30 m. wide and 150 m. long, are beset with small rocky islands. At the north end of the first is the Reloncavi, a large and nearly landlocked bay, on which stands Puerto Montt, the southern terminus of the Chilean central railway. The large Gulf of Peñas, south of Taytao peninsula, is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the Gulfs of Tres Montes and San Estevan, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier Channel. The next 300 m. of the Chilean coast contain numerous bays and inlets affording safe harbours, but the mainland and islands are uninhabited and the climate inhospitable. Behind Rennell Island in lat. 52° S., however, is a succession of navigable estuaries which penetrate inland nearly to the Argentine frontier. The central part of this group of estuaries is called Worsley Sound, and the last and farthest inland of its arms is Last Hope Inlet (Ultima Esperanza), on which is situated the Chilean agricultural colony of Puerto Consuelo. The Straits of Magellan, about 360 m. in length, lie wholly within Chilean territory. Midway of them is situated Punta Arenas, the most southern town and port of the republic.Except in the extreme south the hydrography of Chile is of the simplest description, all the larger rivers having their sources in the Andes and flowing westward to the Pacific. Their coursesRivers.are necessarily short, and only a few have navigable channels, the aggregate length of which is only 705 m. Nearly all rivers in the desert region are lost in the sands long before reaching the coast. Their waterless channels are interesting, however, as evidence of a time when climatological conditions on this coast were different. The principal rivers of this region are Sama (which forms the provisional boundary line with Peru), Tacna, Camarones, Loa, Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limari and Choapa. The Loa is the largest, having its sources on the slopes of the Cordillera south of the Minho volcano, between 21° and 21° 30′ S. lat., and flowing south on an elevated plateau to Chiuchiu, and thence west and north in a great curve to Quillaga, whence its dry channel turns westward again and reaches the Pacific in lat. 21° 28′ S., a few miles south of the small port of Huanillos. Its total length is estimated at 250 m. The upper courses of the river are at a considerable elevation above the sea and receive a large volume of water from the Cordilleras. The water of its upper course and tributaries is sweet, and is conducted across the desert in pipes to some of the coast towns, but in its lower course, as in all the rivers of this region, it becomes brackish. The Copiapó, which once discharged into the sea, is now practically exhausted in irrigating a small fertile valley in which stands the city of that name. The Copiapó and Huasco have comparatively short courses, but they receive a considerable volume of water from the higher sierras. The latter is also used to irrigate a small, cultivated valley. The rivers of the province of Coquimbo—the Elqui or Coquimbo, Limari and Choapa—exist under less arid conditions, and like those of the province of Aconcagua—the Ligua and Aconcagua—are used to irrigate a much larger area of cultivated territory. The central agricultural provinces are traversed by several important rivers, all of them rising on the western slopes of the snow-clad Andes and breaking through the lower coast range to the Pacific after being extensively used to irrigate the great central valley of Chile. These are the Maipó (Maypó or Maipú), Rapel, Mataquito, Maule, Itata, Bio-Bio, Imperial, Tolten, Valdivia or Calle-Calle, Bueno and Maullin. With the exception of the first three, these rivers have short navigable channels, but they are open only to vessels of light draught because of sand-bars at their mouths. The largest is the Bio-Bio, which has a total length of 220 m., 100 of which are navigable. These rivers have been of great service in the agricultural development of this part of Chile, affording means of transportation where railways and highways were entirely lacking. Some of the larger tributaries of these rivers, whose economic value has been equally great, are the Mapocho, which flows through Santiago and enters the Maipó from the north; the turbulent Cachapoal, which joins the Rapel from the north; the Claro, which waters an extensive part of the province of Talca and enters the Maule from the north; the Ñuble, which rises in the higher Andes north of the peaks of Chillan and flows entirely across the province of Ñuble to join the Itata on its western frontier; the Laja, which rises in a lake of the same name near the Argentine frontier in about lat. 35° 30′ S. and flows almost due west to the Bio-Bio; and the Cautin, which rises in the north-east corner of Cautin and after a tortuous course westward nearly across that province forms the principal confluent of the Imperial. The unsettled southern regions of Chiloé (mainland) and Magallanes are traversed by a number of important rivers which have been only partially explored. They have their sources in the Andes, some of them on the eastern side of the line of highest summits. The Puelo has its origin in a lake of the same name in Argentine territory, and flows north-west through the Cordilleras into an estuary (Reloncavi Inlet) of the Gulf of Reloncavi at the northern end of the Gulf of Chacao. Its lower course is impeded in such a manner as to form three small lakes, called Superior, Inferior and Taguatagua. A large northern tributary of the Puelo, the Manso, has its sources in Lake Mascardi and other lakes and streams south-east of the Cerro Tronador, also in Argentina, and flows south-west through the Cordilleras to unite with the Puelo a few miles west of the 72nd meridian. The Reloncavi Inlet also receives the outflow of Lake Todos los Santos through a short tortuous stream called the Petrohue. The Comau Inlet and river form the boundary line between the provinces of Llanquihue and Chiloé, and traverse a densely wooded country in a north-westerly direction from the Andes to the north-eastern shore of the Gulf of Chacao. Continuing southward, the Yelcho is the next important river to traverse this region. It drains a large area of Argentine territory, where it is called the Rio Fetaleufu or Fetalauquen, its principal source being a large lake of the same name. It flows south-west through the Andes, and then north-west through Lake Yelcho to the Gulf of Corcovado. The Argentine colony of the 16th of October, settled principally by Welshmen from Chubut, is located on some of the upper tributaries of this river, in about lat. 43° S. The Palena is another river of the same character, having its source in a large frontier lake called General Paz and flowing for some distance through Argentine territory before crossing into Chile. It receives one large tributary from the south, the Roo Pico, and enters an estuary of the Gulf of Corcovado a little north of the 44th parallel. The Frias is wholly a Chilean river, draining an extensive Andean region between the 44th and 45th parallels and discharging into the Puyuguapi channel, which separates Magdalena island from the mainland. The Aisen also has its source in Argentine territory near the 46th parallel, and drains a mountainous region as far north as the 45th parallel, receiving numerous tributaries, and discharging a large volume of water into the Moraleda channel in about lat. 45° 20′ S. The lower course of this river is essentially an inlet, and is navigable for a short distance. The next large river is the Las Heras, or Baker, through which the waters of Lakes Buenos Aires and Pueyrredon, or Cochrane, find their way to the Pacific. Both of these large lakes are crossed by the boundary line. The Las Heras discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of a large estuary called Baker or Calen Inlet which penetrates the mainland about 75 m. and opens into Tarn Bay at the south-east corner of the Gulf of Peñas. Azopardo (or Merino Jarpa) island lies wholly within this great estuary, while at its mouth lies a group of smaller islands, called Baker Islands, which separate it from Messier Channel. The course of the Las Heras from Lake Buenos Aires is south and south-west, the short range of mountains in which are found the Cerros San Valentin and Arenales forcing it southward for an outlet. Baker Inlet also receives the waters of still another large Argentine-Chilean lake, San Martin, whose far-reaching fjord-like arms extend from lat. 49° 10′ to 48° 20′ S.; its north-west arm drains into the Tero, or La Pascua, river. Lake San Martin lies in a crooked deeply cut passage through the Andes, and the divide between its southern extremity (Laguna Tar) and Lake Viedma, which discharges through the Santa Cruz river into the Atlantic, is so slight as to warrant the hypothesis that this was once a strait between the two oceans. After a short north-westerly course the Toro discharges into Baker Inlet in lat. 48° 15′ S., long. 73° 24′ W. South of the Toro there are no large rivers on this coast, but the narrow fjords penetrate deeply into the mountains and bring away the drainage of their snow-capped, storm-swept elevations. A peculiar network of fjords and connecting channels terminating inland in a peculiarly shaped body of water with long, widely branching arms, called Worsley Sound, Obstruction Sound and Last Hope Inlet, covers an extensive area between the 51st and 53rd parallels, and extends nearly to the Argentine frontier. It has the characteristics of a tidewater river and drains an extensive region. The sources of the Argentine river Coile are to be found among the lakes and streams of this same region, within Chilean territory. A noteworthy peculiarity of southern Chile, from the Taytao peninsula (about 46° 50′ S. lat.) to Tierra del Fuego, is the large number of glaciers formed on the western and southern slopes of the Cordilleras and other high elevations, which discharge direct into these deeply cut estuaries. Some of the larger lakes of the Andes have glaciers discharging into them. The formation of these icy streams at comparatively low levels, with their discharge direct into tidewater estuaries, is a phenomenon not to be found elsewhere in the same latitudes.The lakes of Chile are numerous and important, but they are found chiefly in the southern half of the republic. In the north the only lakes are large lagoons, or morasses, on the upperLakes.saline plateaus between the 23rd and 28th parallels. They are fed from the melting snows and periodical storms of the higher Andes, and most of them are completely dry part of the year. Their waters are saturated with saline compounds, which in some cases have considerable commercial value. In central Chile above the Bio-Bio river the lakes are small and have no special geographical interest, with the exception perhaps of the Laguna del Maule, in 36° 7′ S., and Laguna de la Laja, in 37° 20′, which lie in the Andes near the Argentine frontier and are sources of the two rivers of the same names. Below the Bio-Bio river there is a line of large picturesque lakes extending from the province of Cautin, south through that of Llanquihue, corresponding in character and position to the dry lacustrine depressions extending northward in the same valley.They lie on the eastern side near the Cordilleras, and serve the purpose of great reservoirs for the excessive precipitation of rain and snow on their western slopes. With one exception they all drain westward into the Pacific through short and partly navigable rivers, and some of the lakes are also utilized for steamship navigation. These lakes are Villarica on the southern frontier of Cautin, Rinihue and Ranco in Valdivia, and Puyehue, Rupanco, Llanquihue and Todos los Santos in Llanquihue. The largest of the number are Lakes Ranco and Llanquihue, the former with an estimated area of 200 sq. m. and the latter of 300 sq. m. Lake Todos los Santos is situated well within the Andean foothills north-east of Puerto Montt and at an elevation of 509 ft., considerably above that of the other lakes, Lake Ranco being 230 ft. above sea-level. The great Andean lakes of General Paz (near the 44th parallel), Buenos Aires (in lat. 46° 30′ S.), Pueyrredon, or Cpchrane (47° 15′ S.) and San Martin (49° S.), lie partly within Chilean territory. In the extreme south are Lagoa Blanca, a large fresh-water lake in lat. 52° 30′ S., and two large inland salt-water sounds, or lagoons, called Otway Water and Skyring Water, connected by FitzRoy Passage.Geology.—Chile may be divided longitudinally into two regions which differ from each other in their geological structure. Along the coast lies a belt of granite and schist overlaid unconformably by Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits; inland the mountains are formed chiefly of folded Mesozoic beds, together with volcanic rocks of later date. The great longitudinal valley of Chile runs approximately, but only approximately, along the boundary between the two zones. Towards the north the coastal zone disappears beneath the sea and the Andean zone reaches to the shore. The ancient rocks which form the most characteristic feature of the former do indeed occur upon the coast of Peru, but in the north of Chile they are found only in isolated masses standing close to the shore or, as at Mejillones, projecting into the sea. South of Antofagasta the old rocks form a nearly continuous band along the coast, extending as far as Cape Horn and Staten Island, and occupying the greater part of the islands of southern Chile. Lithologically they are crystalline schists, together with granite, diorite, gabbro and other igneous rocks. They are known to be pre-Jurassic, but whether they are Palaeozoic or Archaean is uncertain. They are strongly folded and are overlaid unconformably by Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits. In the north both the Cretaceous and Tertiary beds of this zone are limited in extent, but towards the south Mesozoic beds, which are at least in part Cretaceous, form a band of considerable width. The Tertiary beds include both marine and terrestrial deposits, and appear to be chiefly of Miocene and Pliocene age. The whole of the north part of Tierra del Fuego is occupied by plateaus of horizontal Tertiary strata.The Chilean Andes correspond with the Western Cordillera of Bolivia and Peru, and consist almost entirely of Jurassic and Cretaceous beds, together with the products of the Tertiary eruptions. The Mesozoic beds are thrown into a series of parallel folds which run in the direction of the chain and which are generally free from any complications such as overthrusting or overfolding. The Cretaceous beds form a synclinal upon the eastern side of the chain (and, in general, beyond the Chilean boundary), while the Jurassic beds are thrown into a number of folds which form the axis and the western flank. Through the Mesozoic beds are intruded granitic and other igneous rocks of Tertiary age, and upon the folded Mesozoic foundation rise the volcanic cones of Tertiary and later date. The Trias is known only at La Ternera near Copiapó, where coal-seams with Rhaetic plants have been found; but the rest of the Mesozoic series, from the Lias to the Upper Cretaceous, appears to be represented without a break of more than local importance. The deposits are marine, consisting mainly of sandstone and limestone, together with tuffs and conglomerates of porphyry and porphyrite. These porphyritic rocks form a characteristic feature of the southern Andes, and were at one time supposed to be metamorphic; but they are certainly volcanic, and as they contain marine fossils they must have been laid down beneath the sea. They are not confined to any one horizon, but occur irregularly throughout the Jurassic and occasionally also amongst the Cretaceous strata. They form, in fact, a special facies which may frequently be traced laterally into the more normal marine deposit of the same age. The fauna of the Mesozoic beds is very rich, and includes forms which are found in northern Europe, others which occur in central Europe, and others again which are characteristic of the Mediterranean region. It lends no support to Neumayr’s theory of climatic zones. A large part of the chain is covered by the products of the great volcanoes which still form the highest summits of the Chilean and Argentine Andes. The rocks are liparites, dacites, hornblende and pyroxene andesites. The recent lavas of the still active volcanoes of the south are olivine-bearing hypersthene-andesite and basalt.1Climate.—The climate of Chile varies widely, from the tropical heat and extreme arid conditions of the northern coast to the low temperatures and extreme humidity of western Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast. The high altitudes of the Andean region also introduce vertical zones of temperature, modified to some extent by the rainless plateaus of the north, and by the excessive rainfall of the south. In general terms it may be said that the extremes of temperature are not so great as in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere, because of the greater expanse of water in comparison with the land areas, the summers being cooler and the winters warmer. The cold antarctic, or Humboldt, current sweeps northward along the coast and greatly modifies the heat of the arid, tropical plateaus. The climate of northern and central Chile is profoundly affected by the high mountain barrier on the eastern frontier and by the broad treeless pampas of Argentina, which raise the easterly moisture-laden winds from the Atlantic to so high an elevation that they sweep across Chile without leaving a drop of rain. At very rare intervals light rains fall in the desert regions north of Coquimbo, but these are brought by the prevailing coast winds. With this exception these regions are the most arid on the face of the globe, highly heated by a tropical sun during the day and chilled at night by the proximity of snow-covered heights and a cold ocean current. Going south the temperature slowly falls and the rainfall gradually increases, the year being divided into a short rainy season and a long, dry, cloudless season. At Copiapó, in 27° 22′ S., 1300 ft. above the sea, the mean annual temperature is 60° and the rainfall about 1 in., but at Coquimbo, in 29° 56′ S., the temperature is 59.2° and the rainfall 1½ in. At Santiago, in 33° 27′ S., 1755 ft. above the sea, the mean temperature is 54° and the annual rainfall 16½ in., though the latter varies considerably. The number of rainy days in the year averages about 21. At Talca, in 35° 36′ S. and 334 ft. above sea-level, the mean annual temperature is nearly one degree above that of Santiago, but the rainfall has increased to 19.7 in. The long dry season of this region makes irrigation necessary, and vegetation has something of a subtropical appearance, palms growing naturally as far south as 37°. The climate is healthy and agreeable, though the death-rate among the common people is abnormally high on account of personal habits and unsanitary surroundings. In southern Chile the climate undergoes a radical change—the prevailing winds becoming westerly, causing a long rainy season with a phenomenal rainfall. The plains as well as the western slopes of the Andes are covered with forest, the rivers become torrents, and the sky is covered with heavy clouds a great part of the year. At Valdivia, in 39° 49′ S. and near the sea-level, the mean annual temperature is 52.9° and the annual rainfall 108 to 115 in., with about 150 rainy days in the year. These meteorological conditions are still more accentuated at Ancud, at the north end of the island of Chiloé, in 41° 46′ S., where the mean annual temperature is 50.7° and the annual rainfall 134 in. The equable character of the climate at this point is shown by the limited range between its summer and winter temperatures, the mean for January being 56.5° and the mean for July 45.9°. The almost continual cloudiness is undoubtedly a principal cause, not only of the low summer temperatures, but also of the comparatively high winter temperatures. Frosts are infrequent, and snow does not lie long. The climate is considered to be healthful notwithstanding the excessive humidity. The 600 m. of coast from the Chonos Archipelago south to the Fuegian islands have a climate closely approximating that of the latter. It is wet and stormy all the year through, though the rainfall is much less than that of Ancud and Valdivia. The line of perpetual snow, which is 6000 ft. above sea-level between lat. 41° and 43°, descends to 3500 (to 4000) ft. in Tierra del Fuego, affording another indication of the low maximum temperatures ruling during the summer. At the extreme south, where Chilean territory extends across to the Atlantic entrance to the Straits of Magellan, a new climatic influence is encountered in the warm equatorial current flowing down the east coast of South America, which gives to eastern Tierra del Fuego a higher temperature than that of the western shore. The Andes, although much broken in these latitudes, also exert a modifying influence on these eastern districts, sheltering them from the cold westerly storms and giving them a drier climate. This accounts for the surprising meteorological data obtained from Punta Arenas, in 53° 10′ S., where the mean annual temperature is 43.2° and the annual rainfall only 22.5 in. Other observations reduce this annual precipitation to less than 16 in. According to observations made by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901-1903), at Orange Bay, Hoste Island, in lat. 55° 31′ S., long. 68° 05′ W., which is more exposed to the westerly storms, the mean temperature for 11 months was 41.98° and the total precipitation (rain and snow) 53.1 in. The mean maximum temperature was 49.24°, and the mean minimum 35.83°. The observations showed 284 days with rain or snow, of which 70 were with snow.Flora.—The indigenous flora of Chile is less extensive and less interesting than those of Argentina and Brazil, but contains many peculiar genera and species. A classification of this flora necessitatesits division into at least three general zones—the desert provinces of the north, central Chile, and the humid regions of the south. The first is an arid desert absolutely barren along part of the coast, between Tacna and Copiapó, but with a coarse scanty vegetation near the Cordilleras along watercourses and on the slopes where moisture from the melting snows above percolates through the sand. In the valleys of the Copiapó and Huasco rivers a meagre vegetation is to be found near their channels, apart from what is produced by irrigation, but the surface of the plateau and the dry river channels below the sierras are completely barren. Continuing southward into the province of Coquimbo a gradual change in the arid conditions may be observed. The higher summits of the Cordilleras afford a larger and more continuous supply of water, and so dependent are the people in the cultivated river valleys on this source of water supply that they watch for snowstorms in the Cordilleras as an indication of what the coming season is to be. The arborescent growth near the mountains is larger and more vigorous, in which are to be found the “algarrobo” (Prosopis siliquastrum) and “chañar” (Gourliea chilensis), but the only shrub to be found on the coast is a species ofSkytanthus. Near the sierras where irrigation is possible, fruit-growing is so successful, especially the grape and fig, that the product is considered the best in Chile. In regard to the indigenous flora of this region John Ball2says: “The species which grow here are the more or less modified representatives of plants which at some former period existed under very different conditions of life.” Proceeding southward cacti become common, first a dwarfed species, and then a larger columnar form (Cereus quisco). The streams are fringed with willows; fruit trees and alfalfa fields fill the irrigated valleys, and the lower mountain slopes are better covered with a thorny arborescent growth. The divides between the streams, however, continue barren as far south as the transverse ranges of mountains across the province of Aconcagua.To some degree the flora of central Chile is of a transition character between the northern and southern zones. It is much more than this, however, for it has a large number of genera and species peculiarly its own. A large majority of the 198 genera peculiar to the South American temperate regions belong exclusively to central Chile. This zone extends from about the 30th to the 36th parallel, perhaps a little farther south to include some characteristic types. The evergreens largely predominate here as well as in the extreme south, and on the open, sunburnt plains the vegetation takes on a subtropical aspect. One of the most characteristic trees of this zone is thepeumo(Cryptocarya peumus), whose dense evergreen foliage is everywhere conspicuous. Thequillay(Quillaja saponaria) is another characteristic evergreen tree of this region, whose bark possesses saponaceous properties. In earlier times the coquito palm (Jubaea spectabilis) was to be found throughout this part of Chile, but it has been almost completely destroyed for its saccharine sap, from which a treacle was made. One of the most striking forest trees is thepehuenor Chilean pine (Araucaria imbricata), which often grows to a height of 100 ft. and is prized by the natives for its fruit. Three indigenous species of the beech—theroble(Fagus obliqua),coyhue(F. Dombeyi), andrauli(F. procera)—are widely diffused and highly prized for their wood, especially the first, which is misleadingly calledroble(oak). Most of the woods used in construction and manufactures are found between the Bio-Bio river and the Taytao peninsula, among which are thealerce(Fitzroya patagonica),ciprésor Chiloé cypress (Libocedrus tetragona), the Chilean cypress (L. Chilensis),lingue(Persea lingue), laurel (Laurus aromatica),avellano(Guevina avellana),luma(Myrtus luma),espino(Acacia cavenia) and many others. Several exotic species have been introduced into this part of Chile, some of which have thriven even better than in their native habitats. Among these are the oak, elm, beech (F. sylvatica), walnut, chestnut, poplar, willow and eucalyptus. Through the central zone the plains are open and there are forests on the mountain slopes, but in the southern zone there are no plains, with the exception of small areas near the Straits of Magellan, and the forests are universal. In the variety, size and density of their growth these forests remind one of the tropics. They are made up, in great part, of the evergreen beech (Fagus betuloides), the deciduous antarctic beech (F. antarctica),3and Winter’s bark (Drimys Winteri), intermingled with a dense undergrowth composed of a great variety of shrubs and plants, among which areMaytenus magellanica, Arbutus rigida, Myrtus memmolaria, two or three species ofBerberis, wild currant (Ribes antarctica), a trailing blackberry, tree ferns, reed-like grasses and innumerable parasites. On the eastern side of the Cordillera, in the extreme south, the climate is drier and open, and grassy plains are found, but on the western side the dripping forests extend from an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft. down to the level of the sea. A peculiar vegetable product of this inclement region is a small globular fungus growing on the bark of the beech, which is a staple article of food among the Fuegians—probably the only instance where a fungus is the bread of a people.It is generally conceded that the potato originated in southern Chile, as it is found growing wild in Chiloé and neighbouring islands and on the adjacent mainland. The strawberry is also indigenous to these latitudes on both sides of the Andes, and Chile is credited with a species from which the cultivated strawberry derives some of its best qualities. Maize and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) were known in Chile before the arrival of Europeans, but it is not certain that they are indigenous. Species of the bean and pepper plant are also indigenous, and the former is said to have been cultivated by the natives. Among the many economic plants which have been introduced into Chile and have become important additions to her resources, the more prominent are wheat, barley, hemp and alfalfa (Medicago sativa), together with the staple European fruits, such as the apple, pear, peach, nectarine, grape, fig, olive and orange. The date-palm has also been introduced into the southern provinces of the desert region. Among the marine productions on the southern coast, a species of kelp,Macrocystis pyrifera, merits special mention because of its extraordinary length, its habit of clinging to the rocks in strong currents and turbulent seas, and its being a shelter for innumerable species of marine animals. Captain FitzRoy found it growing from a depth of 270 ft.Fauna.—The fauna of Chile is comparatively poor, both in species and individuals. A great part of the northern deserts is as barren of animal life as of vegetation, and the dense humid forests of the south shelter surprisingly few species. There are no large mammals in all this extensive region except the Cetacea and a species of thePhocidaeof southern waters. Neither are there any dangerous species of Carnivora, which are represented by the timid puma (Felis concolor), three species of wildcats, three of the fox, two ofConepatus, a weasel, sea-otter and six species of seal. The rodents are the most numerously represented order, which includes thecoypuor nutria (Myopotamus coypus), the chinchilla (Chinchilla laniger), the tuco-tuco (Ctenomys brasiliensis), a rabbit, and 12 species of mice—in all some 12 genera and 25 species. The coypu, sometimes called the South American beaver, inhabits the river-banks, and is highly prized for its fur. It is also found along the river-courses of Argentina. The ruminants are represented by a few species only—the guanaco (Auchenia huanaco),vicuna(A. vicugna),huemul(Cervus chilensis), which appears on the Chilean escutcheon, and thepududeer, a small and not very numerous species. There are two species of the Edentata,DasypusandPichiciego, the latter very rare, and one of the opossums. European animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, swine and goats, have been introduced into the country and do well. Sheep-raising has also been inaugurated with some degree of success in the vicinity of the Straits of Magellan. The avifauna, with the exception of waterfowl, is also limited to comparatively few species. Birds of prey are represented by the condor, vulture, two species of the carrion-hawk (Polyborus), and owl. The Chilean slopes of the Andes appear to be a favourite haunt of the condor, where neighbouring stock-raisers suffer severe losses at times from its attacks. TheInsessoresare represented by a number of species. Parrots are found as far south as Tierra del Fuego, where Darwin saw them feeding on seeds of the Winter’s bark. Humming-birds have a similar range on this coast, one species (Mellisuga Kingii) being quite numerous as far south as Tierra del Fuego. A characteristic genus is that ofPteroptochus, of which there are three or four species each characterized by some conspicuous peculiarity. These areP. megapodius, calledEl Turcoby the natives, which is noticeable for its ungainly appearance and awkward gait; theP. albicollis, which inhabits barren hillsides and is calledtapacollofrom the manner of carrying its tail turned far forward over its back; theP. rubecula, of Chiloé, a small timid denizen of the gloomy forest, called thecheucauorchuca, whose two or three notes are believed by the superstitious natives to be auguries of impending success or disaster; and an allied species (Hylactes Tarnii, King) called theguid-guidor barking bird, whose cry is a close imitation of the yelp of a small dog. The southern coast and its inland waters are frequented by several species of petrel, among which are theProcellaria gigantea, whose strength and rapacity led the Spaniards to call itquebranta huesos(breakbones), thePuffinus cinereus, which inhabits the inland channels in large flocks, and an allied species (Puffinuria Berardii) which inhabits the inland sounds and resembles the auk in some particulars of habit and appearance. There are numerous species in these sheltered channels, inlets and sounds of geese, ducks, swans, cormorants, ibises, bitterns, red-beaks, curlew, snipe, plover and moorhens. Conspicuous among these are the great white swan (Cygnus anatoides), the black-necked swan (Anser nigricollis), the antarctic goose (Anas antarctica) and the “race-horse” or “steamer duck” (Micropterus brachypterus).The marine fauna is less known than the others, but it is rich in species and highly interesting in its varied forms and characteristics. The northern coast has no sheltered waters of any considerable extent, and the shore slopes abruptly to a great depth, which gives it a marine life of no special importance. In the shoal waters about Juan Fernandez are found a species of codfish (possiblyGadus macrocephalus), differing in some particulars from the Newfoundland cod, and a large crayfish, both of which are caught for the Valparaiso market. The sheltered waters of the broken southern coast, however, are rich in fish and molluscs, especially in mussels, limpets and barnacles, which are the principal food resource of the nomadic Indian tribes of those regions. A large species of barnacle,Balanus psittacus, is found in great abundance from Concepción to Puerto Montt, and is not only eaten by the natives, by whom it is calledpico, but is also esteemed a great delicacy in the markets of Valparaisoand Santiago. Oysters of excellent flavour are found in the sheltered waters of Chiloé. The Cetacea, which frequent these southern waters, are represented by four species—two dolphins and the sperm and right whale—and thePhocidaeby six species, one of which (Phoca lupina) differs but little from the common seal. Another species (Macrorhinus leoninus), popularly known as the sea-elephant, is provided with short tusks and a short trunk and sometimes grows to a length of 20 ft. Still another species, the sea-lion (Otaria jubata), furnishes the natives of Tierra del Fuego with an acceptable article of food, but like thePhoca lupinait is becoming scarce.Of Reptilia Chile is singularly free, there being recorded only eleven species—five saurians, four ophidians, one frog and one toad—but a more thorough survey of the uninhabited territories of the south may increase this list. There are no alligators in the streams, and the tropical north has very few lizards. There are no poisonous snakes in the country, and, in a region so filled with lakes and rivers as the rainy south, only two species of batrachians. The insect life of these strangely associated regions is likewise greatly restricted by adverse climatic conditions, a considerable part of the northern desert being absolutely barren of animal and vegetable life, while the climate of Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast is highly unfavourable to terrestrial animal life, for which reason comparatively few species are to be found. Writing of a journey inland from Iquique, Charles Darwin says (Journal of Researches, &c., p. 444): “Excepting theVultur aura, ... I saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect.” Of his entomological collection in Tierra del Fuego, which was not large, the majority were of Alpine species. Moreover, he did not find a single species common to that island and Patagonia. These conditions subsist with but few modifications, if any, from the Straits northward to the 42nd parallel, the extreme humidity, abnormal rainfall and dark skies being unfavourable to the development of insect life, while the Andes interpose an impassable barrier to migration from the countries of the eastern coast. The only venomous species to be found in central Chile is that of a spider which frequents the wheat fields in harvest time.
Physiography.—For purposes of general topographical description Chile may be divided into three regions: the desert region of the north, the central agricultural region between the provinces of Coquimbo and Llanquihue, and the heavily-forested rainy region south of lat. 41° S. The desert region is an elevated arid plateau descending gradually from the Andes towards the coast, where it breaks down abruptly from elevations of 800 to 1500 ft. From the sea this plateau escarpment has the appearance of a range of flat topped hills closely following the coast line. The surface is made up of extensive plains covered with sand and deposits of alkaline salts, broken by ranges of barren hills having the appearance of spurs from the Andes, and by irregular lateral ranges in the vicinity of the main cordillera enclosing elevated saline plateaus. This region is rainless, barren and inhospitable, absolutely destitute of vegetation except in some small river valleys where irrigation is possible, and on the slopes of some of the snow-covered peaks where the water from the melting snows nourishes a scanty and coarse vegetation before it disappears in the thirsty sands. It is very rich in mineral and saline deposits, however. The eastern parts of this region lie within the higher ranges of the Andes and include a large district awarded to Chile in 1899 (seeArgentinaandAtacama). This arid, bleak area is apparently a continuation southward of the great Bolivianaltaplanicie, and is known as the Puna de Atacama. Its average elevation is estimated at 11,000 to 12,000 ft. A line of volcanoes crosses it from north to south, and extensive lava beds cover a considerable part of its surface. Large shallow saline lakes are also characteristic features of this region. From 28° S. the spurs from the cordillera toward the coast are more sharply defined and enclose deeper valleys, where the cultivation of the soil becomes possible, at first through irrigation and then with the aid of light periodical rains. The slopes of the Andes are precipitous, the general surface is rough, and in the north the higher ground and coast are still barren. Beginning with the province of Aconcagua the coast elevations crystallize into a range of mountains, the Cordillera Maritima, which follows the shore line south to the province of Llanquihue, and is continued still farther south by the mountain range of Chiloé and the islands of the western coast, which are the peaks of a submerged mountain chain. Lying between this coast range and the Andes is a broad valley, or plain, extending from the Aconcagua river south to the Gulf of Ancud, a distance slightly over 620 m. with an average width of about 60 m. It is sometimes called the “Vale of Chile,” and is the richest and most thickly-populated part of the republic. It is a highly fertile region, is well watered by numerous streams from the Andes, has a moderate rainfall, and forms an agricultural and grazing region of great productiveness. It slopes toward the south, and its lower levels are filled with lakes and with depressions where lakes formerly existed. It is an alluvial plain for the greater part, but contains some sandy tracts, as in Ñuble and Arauco; in the north very little natural forest is found except in the valleys and on the slopes of the enclosing mountain ranges, but in the south, where the rainfall is heavier, the plain is well covered with forest. South of 41° S. the country is mountainous, heavily-forested and inhospitable. There are only a few scattered settlements within its borders, and a few nomadic tribes of savages eke out a miserable existence on the coast. The deeply-indented coast line is filled with islands which preserve the general outline of the continent southward to the Fuegian archipelago, the outside groups forming a continuation of the Cordillera Maritima. The heavy and continuous rainfall throughout this region, especially in the latitude of Chiloé, gives rise to a large number of rivers and lakes. Farther south this excessive precipitation is in the form of snow in the Cordilleras, forming glaciers at a comparatively low level which in places discharge into the inlets and bays of the sea. The extreme southern part of this region extends eastward to the Atlantic entrance to the Straits of Magellan, and includes the greater part of the large island of Tierra del Fuego with all the islands lying south and west of it. There are some comparatively level stretches of country immediately north of the Straits, partly forested and partly grassy plains, where sheep farming has been established with some degree of success, but the greater part of this extreme southern territory is mountainous, cold, wet and inhospitable. The perpetual snow-line here descends to 3500 to 4000 ft. above sea-level, and the forest growth does not rise above an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft.
It has been officially estimated that the arable lands of Chile comprise about twenty-five millions of acres (slightly over 39,000 sq. m.), or very nearly one-eighth of its total area.Mountains.The desert regions of the north include comparatively large areas of plains and gently sloping surfaces, traversed by ranges of barren hills. The remainder of the republic, probably more than three-fifths of its surface, is extremely mountainous. The western slopes of the Andes, with its spurs and lateral ranges, cover a broad zone on the eastern side of the republic, and the Cordillera Maritima covers another broad zone on its western side from about lat. 33° to the southern extremity of Chiloé, or below lat. 43°. This maritime range is traversed by several river valleys, some of which, like the Bio-Bio, are broad and have so gentle a slope as to be navigable. The Andes, however, present an unbroken barrier on the east, except at a few points in the south where the general elevation is not over 5000 to 6000 ft., and where some of the Chilean rivers, as the Palena and Las Heras, have their sources on its eastern side. From the 52nd to about the 31st parallel this great mountain system, known locally as the Cordillera de los Andes, apparently consists of a single chain, though in reality it includes short lateral ranges at several points; continuing northward several parallel ranges appear on the Argentine side and one on the Chilean side which are ultimately merged in the great Bolivian plateau. The Chilean lateral range, which extends from the 29th to the 19th parallels, traverses an elevated desert region and possesses several noteworthy peaks, among which are Cerro Bolson, 16,017 ft., and Cerro Dona Ines, 16,706 ft. It is broken to some extent in crossing the province of Antofagasta, the southern division being known as the Sierra de Huatacondo. At the southern frontier of Bolivia the main chain, which has served as the boundary line between Argentina and Chile, divides into two great ranges, the principal one continuing almost due north along the eastern side of the great Bolivianalta-planicie, and the other forming its western rim, whereit is known as the Cordillera Silillica, and then following the trend of the coast north-westward into Peru becomes the Cordillera Occidental. The western slopes of the Andes are precipitous, with short spurs enclosing deep valleys. The whole system is volcanic, and a considerable number of volcanoes are still intermittently active, noticeably in central and southern Chile. The culminating point of the Chilean Andes is Aconcagua, which rises to a height of 23,097 ft.
In southern Chile the coast is highly mountainous, but the relation of these elevations to the Andes has not been clearly determined. The highest of these apparently detached groups are Mt. Macá (lat. 45° S.), 9711 ft., and Mt. Arenales (about 47° S. lat.), 11,286 ft. Cathedral Peak on Wellington Island rises to a height of 3838 ft. and the highest point on Taytao peninsula to 3937 ft. The coast range of central Chile has no noteworthy elevations, the culminating point in the province of Santiago being 7316 ft. Between central Chile and the northern desert region there is a highly mountainous district where distinct ranges or elongated spurs cross the republic from the Andes to the coast, forming transverse valleys of great beauty and fertility. The most famous of these is the “Vale of Quillota” between Valparaiso and Santiago. The Chilean Andes between Tacna and Valdivia are crossed by 24 passes, the majority of them at elevations exceeding 10,000 ft. The best-known of these is the Uspallata pass between Santiago and the Argentine city of Mendoza, 12,870 ft. above sea-level. The passes of central and southern Chile are used only in the summer season, but those of northern Chile are open throughout the whole year.
The volcanic origin of the Andes and their comparatively recent elevation still subject Chile, in common with other parts of the western coast region, to frequent volcanic and seismic disturbances. In some instances since European occupation, violent earthquake shocks have resulted in considerable elevations of certain parts of the coast. After the great earthquake of 1835 Captain Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865) of H.M.S. “Beagle” found putrid mussel-shells still adhering to the rocks 10 ft. above high water on the island of Santa Maria, 30 m. from Concepción, and Charles Darwin declares, in describing that disaster, that “there can be no doubt that the land round the bay of Concepción was upraised two or three feet.” These upheavals, however, are not always permanent, the upraised land sometimes settling back to its former position. This happened on the island of Santa Maria after 1835. The existence of sea-shells at elevations of 350 to 1300 ft. in other parts of the republic shows that these forces, supplemented by a gradual uplifting of the coast, have been in operation through long periods of time and that the greater part of central and southern Chile has been raised from the sea in this way. These earthquake shocks have two distinct characteristics, a slight vibration, sometimes almost imperceptible, called atemblor, generally occurring at frequent intervals, and a violent horizontal or rotary vibration, or motion, also repeated at frequent intervals, called aterremoto, which is caused by a fracture or displacement of the earth’s strata at some particular point, and often results in considerable damage. When the earthquake occurs on the coast, or beneath the sea in its vicinity, tidal waves are sometimes formed, which cause even greater damage than the earthquake itself. Arica has been three times destroyed by tidal waves, and other small towns of the north Chilean coast have suffered similar disasters. Coquimbo was swept by a tidal wave in 1849, and Concepción and Talcahuano were similarly destroyed in 1835. The great earthquake which partially destroyed Valparaiso in 1906, however, was not followed by a tidal wave. These violent shocks are usually limited to comparatively small districts, though the vibrations may be felt at long distances from the centre of disturbance. In this respect Chile may be divided into at least four great earthquake areas, two in the desert region, the third enclosing Valparaiso, and the fourth extending from Concepción to Chiloé. A study of Chilean earthquake phenomena, however, would probably lead to a division of southern Chile into two or more distinct earthquake areas.
The coast of Chile is fringed with an extraordinary number of islands extending from Chiloé S. to Cape Horn, the grouping of which shows that they are in part the summits of a submergedCoast.mountain chain, a continuation southward of the Cordillera Maritima. Three groups of these islands, called the Chiloé, Guaytecas and Chonos archipelagoes, lie N. of the Taytao peninsula (lat. 45° 50′ to 46° 55′ S.), and with the mainland to the E. form the province of Chiloé. The largest of these is the island of Chiloé, which is inhabited. Some of the smaller islands of these groups are also inhabited, though the excessive rainfall of these latitudes and the violent westerly storms render them highly unfavourable for human occupation. Some of the smallest islands are barren rocks, but the majority of them are covered with forests. These archipelagoes are separated from the mainland in the north by the gulfs of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado, 30 to 35 m. wide, which appear to be a submerged part of the great central valley of Chile, and farther south by the narrower Moraleda channel, which terminates southward in a confusing network of passages between the mainland and the islands of the Chonos group. One of the narrow parts of the Chilean mainland is to be found opposite the upper islands of this group, where the accidental juxtaposition of Magdalena island, which indents the continent over half a degree at this point, and the basin of Lake Fontana, which gives the Argentine boundary a sharp wedge-shaped projection westward, narrows the distance between the two to about 26 m. The Taytao peninsula, incorrectly called the Tres Montes on some maps, is a westward projection of the mainland, with which it is connected by the narrow isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Peñas. A short ship canal here would give an uninterrupted and protected inside passage from Chacao Channel all the way to the Straits of Magellan, a distance of over 760 m. A southern incurving projection of the outer shore-line of this peninsula is known as Tres Montes peninsula, the most southern point of which is a cape of the same name. Below the Taytao peninsula is the broad open Gulf of Peñas, which carries the coast-line eastward fully 100 m. and is noticeably free from islands. The northern entrance to Messier Channel is through this gulf. Messier, Pitt, Sarmiento and Smyth’s Channels, which form a comparatively safe and remarkably picturesque inside route for small steamers, about 338 m. in length, separate another series of archipelagoes from the mainland. These channels are in places narrow and tortuous. Among the islands which thickly fringe this part of the coast, the largest are Azopardo (lying within Baker Inlet), Prince Henry, Campaña, Little Wellington, Great Wellington and Mornington (of the Wellington archipelago), Madre de Dios, Duke of York, Chatham, Hanover, Cambridge, Contreras, Rennell and the Queen Adelaide group of small barren rocks and islands lying immediately north of the Pacific entrance to the Straits of Magellan. The large number of English names on this coast is due to the fact that the earliest detailed survey of this region was made by English naval officers; the charts prepared from their surveys are still in use and form the basis of all subsequent maps. None of these islands is inhabited, although some of them are of large size, the largest (Great Wellington) being about 100 m. long. It has likewise been determined, since the boundary dispute with Argentina called attention to these territories and led to their careful exploration at the points in dispute, that Skyring Water, in lat. 53° S., opens westward into the Gulf of Xaultegua, which transforms Ponsonby Land and Cordoba (or Croker) peninsula into an island, to which the name of Riesco has been given. The existence of such a channel was considered probable when these inland waters were first explored in 1829 by Captain FitzRoy, but it was not discovered and surveyed until three-quarters of a century had elapsed. Belonging to the Fuegian group south of the Straits of Magellan are Desolation, Santa Ines, Clarence, Dawson, Londonderry, Hoste, Navarin and Wollaston islands, with innumerable smaller islands and rocks fringing their shores and filling the channels between them. Admirable descriptions of this inhospitable region, the farthest south of the inhabited parts of the globe, may be found in theNarrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships “Adventure” and “Beagle” between the years 1826 and 1836(3 vols., 1839).
The western and larger part of Tierra del Fuego (q.v.) belongs to Chile. About 63 m. S.W. of Cape Horn, in lat. 56° 25′ S., is the Diego Ramirez group of small, rocky islands, the most southern possession of the republic. Its westernmost possessions are Sala-y-Gomez and Easter islands, the former in about 27° S., 105° W., and the latter, the easternmost inhabited Polynesian island, in 27° 6′ S., 109° 17′ W. Much nearer the Chilean coast (396 m.), lying between the 33rd and 34th parallels, are the three islands of the Juan Fernandez group, and rising apparently from the same submerged plateau about 500 m. farther north of the latter are the rocky islets of San Ambrosio and San Felix, all belonging to Chile. North of Chiloé there are few islands in close proximity to the coast. The more important of these are La Mocha, off the southern coast of Arauco, in lat. 38° 20′ S., which is 8 m. long and rises to an elevation of 1240 ft. above the sea; Santa Maria, 30 m. south-west of Concepcion, which partially encloses the Bay of Arauco and is well cultivated; and Quiriquina, lying off the port of Talcahuano in the entrance to Concepción bay. There are a few barren islands on the desert coast, the largest of which are between Coquimbo and Caldera. Since the removal of their guano deposits they have become practically worthless, except where they serve to shelter anchorages.
The coast of northern and central Chile is singularly deficient in good harbours. Those of the desert region are only slight indentations in a remarkably uniform coast-line, sheltered on one side by a point of land, or small island. The landingsHarbours.are generally dangerous because of the surf, and the anchorages are unsafe from storms on the unprotected side. Among the most frequented of these are Valparaiso, Coquimbo, Caldera, Iquique and Arica. There are some small harbours for coasting vessels of light draught along the coast of central Chile, usually at the partially obstructed mouths of the larger rivers, as San Antonio near the mouth of the Maipó, Constitución at the mouth of the Maule, and Llico on the outlet of Lake Vichuquen, but there is no harbour of importance until Conceptión (or Talcahuano) Bay is reached. There are three harbours on this bay, El Tomé, Penco and Talcahuano (q.v.), the last being the largest and best-protected port on the inhabited part of the Chilean coast. Immediately south of this bay is the large Bay of Arauco, into which the Bio-Bio river discharges, and on which, sheltered by the island of Santa Maria, are the ports of Coronel and Lota. The next important harbour is that of El Corral, at the mouth of the Valdivia river and 15 m. belowthe city of Valdivia. The Bay of San Carlos on the northern coast of Chiloé, which opens upon the narrow Chacao channel, has the port of Ancud, or San Carlos, and is rated an excellent harbour for vessels of light and medium draught. Inside the island of Chiloé the large gulfs of Chacao (or Ancud) and Corcovado are well protected from the severe westerly storms of these latitudes, but they are little used because the approach through the Chacao channel is tortuous and only 2 to 3 m. wide, and the two gulfs, though over 30 m. wide and 150 m. long, are beset with small rocky islands. At the north end of the first is the Reloncavi, a large and nearly landlocked bay, on which stands Puerto Montt, the southern terminus of the Chilean central railway. The large Gulf of Peñas, south of Taytao peninsula, is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the Gulfs of Tres Montes and San Estevan, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier Channel. The next 300 m. of the Chilean coast contain numerous bays and inlets affording safe harbours, but the mainland and islands are uninhabited and the climate inhospitable. Behind Rennell Island in lat. 52° S., however, is a succession of navigable estuaries which penetrate inland nearly to the Argentine frontier. The central part of this group of estuaries is called Worsley Sound, and the last and farthest inland of its arms is Last Hope Inlet (Ultima Esperanza), on which is situated the Chilean agricultural colony of Puerto Consuelo. The Straits of Magellan, about 360 m. in length, lie wholly within Chilean territory. Midway of them is situated Punta Arenas, the most southern town and port of the republic.
Except in the extreme south the hydrography of Chile is of the simplest description, all the larger rivers having their sources in the Andes and flowing westward to the Pacific. Their coursesRivers.are necessarily short, and only a few have navigable channels, the aggregate length of which is only 705 m. Nearly all rivers in the desert region are lost in the sands long before reaching the coast. Their waterless channels are interesting, however, as evidence of a time when climatological conditions on this coast were different. The principal rivers of this region are Sama (which forms the provisional boundary line with Peru), Tacna, Camarones, Loa, Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limari and Choapa. The Loa is the largest, having its sources on the slopes of the Cordillera south of the Minho volcano, between 21° and 21° 30′ S. lat., and flowing south on an elevated plateau to Chiuchiu, and thence west and north in a great curve to Quillaga, whence its dry channel turns westward again and reaches the Pacific in lat. 21° 28′ S., a few miles south of the small port of Huanillos. Its total length is estimated at 250 m. The upper courses of the river are at a considerable elevation above the sea and receive a large volume of water from the Cordilleras. The water of its upper course and tributaries is sweet, and is conducted across the desert in pipes to some of the coast towns, but in its lower course, as in all the rivers of this region, it becomes brackish. The Copiapó, which once discharged into the sea, is now practically exhausted in irrigating a small fertile valley in which stands the city of that name. The Copiapó and Huasco have comparatively short courses, but they receive a considerable volume of water from the higher sierras. The latter is also used to irrigate a small, cultivated valley. The rivers of the province of Coquimbo—the Elqui or Coquimbo, Limari and Choapa—exist under less arid conditions, and like those of the province of Aconcagua—the Ligua and Aconcagua—are used to irrigate a much larger area of cultivated territory. The central agricultural provinces are traversed by several important rivers, all of them rising on the western slopes of the snow-clad Andes and breaking through the lower coast range to the Pacific after being extensively used to irrigate the great central valley of Chile. These are the Maipó (Maypó or Maipú), Rapel, Mataquito, Maule, Itata, Bio-Bio, Imperial, Tolten, Valdivia or Calle-Calle, Bueno and Maullin. With the exception of the first three, these rivers have short navigable channels, but they are open only to vessels of light draught because of sand-bars at their mouths. The largest is the Bio-Bio, which has a total length of 220 m., 100 of which are navigable. These rivers have been of great service in the agricultural development of this part of Chile, affording means of transportation where railways and highways were entirely lacking. Some of the larger tributaries of these rivers, whose economic value has been equally great, are the Mapocho, which flows through Santiago and enters the Maipó from the north; the turbulent Cachapoal, which joins the Rapel from the north; the Claro, which waters an extensive part of the province of Talca and enters the Maule from the north; the Ñuble, which rises in the higher Andes north of the peaks of Chillan and flows entirely across the province of Ñuble to join the Itata on its western frontier; the Laja, which rises in a lake of the same name near the Argentine frontier in about lat. 35° 30′ S. and flows almost due west to the Bio-Bio; and the Cautin, which rises in the north-east corner of Cautin and after a tortuous course westward nearly across that province forms the principal confluent of the Imperial. The unsettled southern regions of Chiloé (mainland) and Magallanes are traversed by a number of important rivers which have been only partially explored. They have their sources in the Andes, some of them on the eastern side of the line of highest summits. The Puelo has its origin in a lake of the same name in Argentine territory, and flows north-west through the Cordilleras into an estuary (Reloncavi Inlet) of the Gulf of Reloncavi at the northern end of the Gulf of Chacao. Its lower course is impeded in such a manner as to form three small lakes, called Superior, Inferior and Taguatagua. A large northern tributary of the Puelo, the Manso, has its sources in Lake Mascardi and other lakes and streams south-east of the Cerro Tronador, also in Argentina, and flows south-west through the Cordilleras to unite with the Puelo a few miles west of the 72nd meridian. The Reloncavi Inlet also receives the outflow of Lake Todos los Santos through a short tortuous stream called the Petrohue. The Comau Inlet and river form the boundary line between the provinces of Llanquihue and Chiloé, and traverse a densely wooded country in a north-westerly direction from the Andes to the north-eastern shore of the Gulf of Chacao. Continuing southward, the Yelcho is the next important river to traverse this region. It drains a large area of Argentine territory, where it is called the Rio Fetaleufu or Fetalauquen, its principal source being a large lake of the same name. It flows south-west through the Andes, and then north-west through Lake Yelcho to the Gulf of Corcovado. The Argentine colony of the 16th of October, settled principally by Welshmen from Chubut, is located on some of the upper tributaries of this river, in about lat. 43° S. The Palena is another river of the same character, having its source in a large frontier lake called General Paz and flowing for some distance through Argentine territory before crossing into Chile. It receives one large tributary from the south, the Roo Pico, and enters an estuary of the Gulf of Corcovado a little north of the 44th parallel. The Frias is wholly a Chilean river, draining an extensive Andean region between the 44th and 45th parallels and discharging into the Puyuguapi channel, which separates Magdalena island from the mainland. The Aisen also has its source in Argentine territory near the 46th parallel, and drains a mountainous region as far north as the 45th parallel, receiving numerous tributaries, and discharging a large volume of water into the Moraleda channel in about lat. 45° 20′ S. The lower course of this river is essentially an inlet, and is navigable for a short distance. The next large river is the Las Heras, or Baker, through which the waters of Lakes Buenos Aires and Pueyrredon, or Cochrane, find their way to the Pacific. Both of these large lakes are crossed by the boundary line. The Las Heras discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of a large estuary called Baker or Calen Inlet which penetrates the mainland about 75 m. and opens into Tarn Bay at the south-east corner of the Gulf of Peñas. Azopardo (or Merino Jarpa) island lies wholly within this great estuary, while at its mouth lies a group of smaller islands, called Baker Islands, which separate it from Messier Channel. The course of the Las Heras from Lake Buenos Aires is south and south-west, the short range of mountains in which are found the Cerros San Valentin and Arenales forcing it southward for an outlet. Baker Inlet also receives the waters of still another large Argentine-Chilean lake, San Martin, whose far-reaching fjord-like arms extend from lat. 49° 10′ to 48° 20′ S.; its north-west arm drains into the Tero, or La Pascua, river. Lake San Martin lies in a crooked deeply cut passage through the Andes, and the divide between its southern extremity (Laguna Tar) and Lake Viedma, which discharges through the Santa Cruz river into the Atlantic, is so slight as to warrant the hypothesis that this was once a strait between the two oceans. After a short north-westerly course the Toro discharges into Baker Inlet in lat. 48° 15′ S., long. 73° 24′ W. South of the Toro there are no large rivers on this coast, but the narrow fjords penetrate deeply into the mountains and bring away the drainage of their snow-capped, storm-swept elevations. A peculiar network of fjords and connecting channels terminating inland in a peculiarly shaped body of water with long, widely branching arms, called Worsley Sound, Obstruction Sound and Last Hope Inlet, covers an extensive area between the 51st and 53rd parallels, and extends nearly to the Argentine frontier. It has the characteristics of a tidewater river and drains an extensive region. The sources of the Argentine river Coile are to be found among the lakes and streams of this same region, within Chilean territory. A noteworthy peculiarity of southern Chile, from the Taytao peninsula (about 46° 50′ S. lat.) to Tierra del Fuego, is the large number of glaciers formed on the western and southern slopes of the Cordilleras and other high elevations, which discharge direct into these deeply cut estuaries. Some of the larger lakes of the Andes have glaciers discharging into them. The formation of these icy streams at comparatively low levels, with their discharge direct into tidewater estuaries, is a phenomenon not to be found elsewhere in the same latitudes.
The lakes of Chile are numerous and important, but they are found chiefly in the southern half of the republic. In the north the only lakes are large lagoons, or morasses, on the upperLakes.saline plateaus between the 23rd and 28th parallels. They are fed from the melting snows and periodical storms of the higher Andes, and most of them are completely dry part of the year. Their waters are saturated with saline compounds, which in some cases have considerable commercial value. In central Chile above the Bio-Bio river the lakes are small and have no special geographical interest, with the exception perhaps of the Laguna del Maule, in 36° 7′ S., and Laguna de la Laja, in 37° 20′, which lie in the Andes near the Argentine frontier and are sources of the two rivers of the same names. Below the Bio-Bio river there is a line of large picturesque lakes extending from the province of Cautin, south through that of Llanquihue, corresponding in character and position to the dry lacustrine depressions extending northward in the same valley.They lie on the eastern side near the Cordilleras, and serve the purpose of great reservoirs for the excessive precipitation of rain and snow on their western slopes. With one exception they all drain westward into the Pacific through short and partly navigable rivers, and some of the lakes are also utilized for steamship navigation. These lakes are Villarica on the southern frontier of Cautin, Rinihue and Ranco in Valdivia, and Puyehue, Rupanco, Llanquihue and Todos los Santos in Llanquihue. The largest of the number are Lakes Ranco and Llanquihue, the former with an estimated area of 200 sq. m. and the latter of 300 sq. m. Lake Todos los Santos is situated well within the Andean foothills north-east of Puerto Montt and at an elevation of 509 ft., considerably above that of the other lakes, Lake Ranco being 230 ft. above sea-level. The great Andean lakes of General Paz (near the 44th parallel), Buenos Aires (in lat. 46° 30′ S.), Pueyrredon, or Cpchrane (47° 15′ S.) and San Martin (49° S.), lie partly within Chilean territory. In the extreme south are Lagoa Blanca, a large fresh-water lake in lat. 52° 30′ S., and two large inland salt-water sounds, or lagoons, called Otway Water and Skyring Water, connected by FitzRoy Passage.
Geology.—Chile may be divided longitudinally into two regions which differ from each other in their geological structure. Along the coast lies a belt of granite and schist overlaid unconformably by Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits; inland the mountains are formed chiefly of folded Mesozoic beds, together with volcanic rocks of later date. The great longitudinal valley of Chile runs approximately, but only approximately, along the boundary between the two zones. Towards the north the coastal zone disappears beneath the sea and the Andean zone reaches to the shore. The ancient rocks which form the most characteristic feature of the former do indeed occur upon the coast of Peru, but in the north of Chile they are found only in isolated masses standing close to the shore or, as at Mejillones, projecting into the sea. South of Antofagasta the old rocks form a nearly continuous band along the coast, extending as far as Cape Horn and Staten Island, and occupying the greater part of the islands of southern Chile. Lithologically they are crystalline schists, together with granite, diorite, gabbro and other igneous rocks. They are known to be pre-Jurassic, but whether they are Palaeozoic or Archaean is uncertain. They are strongly folded and are overlaid unconformably by Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits. In the north both the Cretaceous and Tertiary beds of this zone are limited in extent, but towards the south Mesozoic beds, which are at least in part Cretaceous, form a band of considerable width. The Tertiary beds include both marine and terrestrial deposits, and appear to be chiefly of Miocene and Pliocene age. The whole of the north part of Tierra del Fuego is occupied by plateaus of horizontal Tertiary strata.
The Chilean Andes correspond with the Western Cordillera of Bolivia and Peru, and consist almost entirely of Jurassic and Cretaceous beds, together with the products of the Tertiary eruptions. The Mesozoic beds are thrown into a series of parallel folds which run in the direction of the chain and which are generally free from any complications such as overthrusting or overfolding. The Cretaceous beds form a synclinal upon the eastern side of the chain (and, in general, beyond the Chilean boundary), while the Jurassic beds are thrown into a number of folds which form the axis and the western flank. Through the Mesozoic beds are intruded granitic and other igneous rocks of Tertiary age, and upon the folded Mesozoic foundation rise the volcanic cones of Tertiary and later date. The Trias is known only at La Ternera near Copiapó, where coal-seams with Rhaetic plants have been found; but the rest of the Mesozoic series, from the Lias to the Upper Cretaceous, appears to be represented without a break of more than local importance. The deposits are marine, consisting mainly of sandstone and limestone, together with tuffs and conglomerates of porphyry and porphyrite. These porphyritic rocks form a characteristic feature of the southern Andes, and were at one time supposed to be metamorphic; but they are certainly volcanic, and as they contain marine fossils they must have been laid down beneath the sea. They are not confined to any one horizon, but occur irregularly throughout the Jurassic and occasionally also amongst the Cretaceous strata. They form, in fact, a special facies which may frequently be traced laterally into the more normal marine deposit of the same age. The fauna of the Mesozoic beds is very rich, and includes forms which are found in northern Europe, others which occur in central Europe, and others again which are characteristic of the Mediterranean region. It lends no support to Neumayr’s theory of climatic zones. A large part of the chain is covered by the products of the great volcanoes which still form the highest summits of the Chilean and Argentine Andes. The rocks are liparites, dacites, hornblende and pyroxene andesites. The recent lavas of the still active volcanoes of the south are olivine-bearing hypersthene-andesite and basalt.1
Climate.—The climate of Chile varies widely, from the tropical heat and extreme arid conditions of the northern coast to the low temperatures and extreme humidity of western Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast. The high altitudes of the Andean region also introduce vertical zones of temperature, modified to some extent by the rainless plateaus of the north, and by the excessive rainfall of the south. In general terms it may be said that the extremes of temperature are not so great as in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere, because of the greater expanse of water in comparison with the land areas, the summers being cooler and the winters warmer. The cold antarctic, or Humboldt, current sweeps northward along the coast and greatly modifies the heat of the arid, tropical plateaus. The climate of northern and central Chile is profoundly affected by the high mountain barrier on the eastern frontier and by the broad treeless pampas of Argentina, which raise the easterly moisture-laden winds from the Atlantic to so high an elevation that they sweep across Chile without leaving a drop of rain. At very rare intervals light rains fall in the desert regions north of Coquimbo, but these are brought by the prevailing coast winds. With this exception these regions are the most arid on the face of the globe, highly heated by a tropical sun during the day and chilled at night by the proximity of snow-covered heights and a cold ocean current. Going south the temperature slowly falls and the rainfall gradually increases, the year being divided into a short rainy season and a long, dry, cloudless season. At Copiapó, in 27° 22′ S., 1300 ft. above the sea, the mean annual temperature is 60° and the rainfall about 1 in., but at Coquimbo, in 29° 56′ S., the temperature is 59.2° and the rainfall 1½ in. At Santiago, in 33° 27′ S., 1755 ft. above the sea, the mean temperature is 54° and the annual rainfall 16½ in., though the latter varies considerably. The number of rainy days in the year averages about 21. At Talca, in 35° 36′ S. and 334 ft. above sea-level, the mean annual temperature is nearly one degree above that of Santiago, but the rainfall has increased to 19.7 in. The long dry season of this region makes irrigation necessary, and vegetation has something of a subtropical appearance, palms growing naturally as far south as 37°. The climate is healthy and agreeable, though the death-rate among the common people is abnormally high on account of personal habits and unsanitary surroundings. In southern Chile the climate undergoes a radical change—the prevailing winds becoming westerly, causing a long rainy season with a phenomenal rainfall. The plains as well as the western slopes of the Andes are covered with forest, the rivers become torrents, and the sky is covered with heavy clouds a great part of the year. At Valdivia, in 39° 49′ S. and near the sea-level, the mean annual temperature is 52.9° and the annual rainfall 108 to 115 in., with about 150 rainy days in the year. These meteorological conditions are still more accentuated at Ancud, at the north end of the island of Chiloé, in 41° 46′ S., where the mean annual temperature is 50.7° and the annual rainfall 134 in. The equable character of the climate at this point is shown by the limited range between its summer and winter temperatures, the mean for January being 56.5° and the mean for July 45.9°. The almost continual cloudiness is undoubtedly a principal cause, not only of the low summer temperatures, but also of the comparatively high winter temperatures. Frosts are infrequent, and snow does not lie long. The climate is considered to be healthful notwithstanding the excessive humidity. The 600 m. of coast from the Chonos Archipelago south to the Fuegian islands have a climate closely approximating that of the latter. It is wet and stormy all the year through, though the rainfall is much less than that of Ancud and Valdivia. The line of perpetual snow, which is 6000 ft. above sea-level between lat. 41° and 43°, descends to 3500 (to 4000) ft. in Tierra del Fuego, affording another indication of the low maximum temperatures ruling during the summer. At the extreme south, where Chilean territory extends across to the Atlantic entrance to the Straits of Magellan, a new climatic influence is encountered in the warm equatorial current flowing down the east coast of South America, which gives to eastern Tierra del Fuego a higher temperature than that of the western shore. The Andes, although much broken in these latitudes, also exert a modifying influence on these eastern districts, sheltering them from the cold westerly storms and giving them a drier climate. This accounts for the surprising meteorological data obtained from Punta Arenas, in 53° 10′ S., where the mean annual temperature is 43.2° and the annual rainfall only 22.5 in. Other observations reduce this annual precipitation to less than 16 in. According to observations made by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901-1903), at Orange Bay, Hoste Island, in lat. 55° 31′ S., long. 68° 05′ W., which is more exposed to the westerly storms, the mean temperature for 11 months was 41.98° and the total precipitation (rain and snow) 53.1 in. The mean maximum temperature was 49.24°, and the mean minimum 35.83°. The observations showed 284 days with rain or snow, of which 70 were with snow.
Flora.—The indigenous flora of Chile is less extensive and less interesting than those of Argentina and Brazil, but contains many peculiar genera and species. A classification of this flora necessitatesits division into at least three general zones—the desert provinces of the north, central Chile, and the humid regions of the south. The first is an arid desert absolutely barren along part of the coast, between Tacna and Copiapó, but with a coarse scanty vegetation near the Cordilleras along watercourses and on the slopes where moisture from the melting snows above percolates through the sand. In the valleys of the Copiapó and Huasco rivers a meagre vegetation is to be found near their channels, apart from what is produced by irrigation, but the surface of the plateau and the dry river channels below the sierras are completely barren. Continuing southward into the province of Coquimbo a gradual change in the arid conditions may be observed. The higher summits of the Cordilleras afford a larger and more continuous supply of water, and so dependent are the people in the cultivated river valleys on this source of water supply that they watch for snowstorms in the Cordilleras as an indication of what the coming season is to be. The arborescent growth near the mountains is larger and more vigorous, in which are to be found the “algarrobo” (Prosopis siliquastrum) and “chañar” (Gourliea chilensis), but the only shrub to be found on the coast is a species ofSkytanthus. Near the sierras where irrigation is possible, fruit-growing is so successful, especially the grape and fig, that the product is considered the best in Chile. In regard to the indigenous flora of this region John Ball2says: “The species which grow here are the more or less modified representatives of plants which at some former period existed under very different conditions of life.” Proceeding southward cacti become common, first a dwarfed species, and then a larger columnar form (Cereus quisco). The streams are fringed with willows; fruit trees and alfalfa fields fill the irrigated valleys, and the lower mountain slopes are better covered with a thorny arborescent growth. The divides between the streams, however, continue barren as far south as the transverse ranges of mountains across the province of Aconcagua.
To some degree the flora of central Chile is of a transition character between the northern and southern zones. It is much more than this, however, for it has a large number of genera and species peculiarly its own. A large majority of the 198 genera peculiar to the South American temperate regions belong exclusively to central Chile. This zone extends from about the 30th to the 36th parallel, perhaps a little farther south to include some characteristic types. The evergreens largely predominate here as well as in the extreme south, and on the open, sunburnt plains the vegetation takes on a subtropical aspect. One of the most characteristic trees of this zone is thepeumo(Cryptocarya peumus), whose dense evergreen foliage is everywhere conspicuous. Thequillay(Quillaja saponaria) is another characteristic evergreen tree of this region, whose bark possesses saponaceous properties. In earlier times the coquito palm (Jubaea spectabilis) was to be found throughout this part of Chile, but it has been almost completely destroyed for its saccharine sap, from which a treacle was made. One of the most striking forest trees is thepehuenor Chilean pine (Araucaria imbricata), which often grows to a height of 100 ft. and is prized by the natives for its fruit. Three indigenous species of the beech—theroble(Fagus obliqua),coyhue(F. Dombeyi), andrauli(F. procera)—are widely diffused and highly prized for their wood, especially the first, which is misleadingly calledroble(oak). Most of the woods used in construction and manufactures are found between the Bio-Bio river and the Taytao peninsula, among which are thealerce(Fitzroya patagonica),ciprésor Chiloé cypress (Libocedrus tetragona), the Chilean cypress (L. Chilensis),lingue(Persea lingue), laurel (Laurus aromatica),avellano(Guevina avellana),luma(Myrtus luma),espino(Acacia cavenia) and many others. Several exotic species have been introduced into this part of Chile, some of which have thriven even better than in their native habitats. Among these are the oak, elm, beech (F. sylvatica), walnut, chestnut, poplar, willow and eucalyptus. Through the central zone the plains are open and there are forests on the mountain slopes, but in the southern zone there are no plains, with the exception of small areas near the Straits of Magellan, and the forests are universal. In the variety, size and density of their growth these forests remind one of the tropics. They are made up, in great part, of the evergreen beech (Fagus betuloides), the deciduous antarctic beech (F. antarctica),3and Winter’s bark (Drimys Winteri), intermingled with a dense undergrowth composed of a great variety of shrubs and plants, among which areMaytenus magellanica, Arbutus rigida, Myrtus memmolaria, two or three species ofBerberis, wild currant (Ribes antarctica), a trailing blackberry, tree ferns, reed-like grasses and innumerable parasites. On the eastern side of the Cordillera, in the extreme south, the climate is drier and open, and grassy plains are found, but on the western side the dripping forests extend from an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft. down to the level of the sea. A peculiar vegetable product of this inclement region is a small globular fungus growing on the bark of the beech, which is a staple article of food among the Fuegians—probably the only instance where a fungus is the bread of a people.
It is generally conceded that the potato originated in southern Chile, as it is found growing wild in Chiloé and neighbouring islands and on the adjacent mainland. The strawberry is also indigenous to these latitudes on both sides of the Andes, and Chile is credited with a species from which the cultivated strawberry derives some of its best qualities. Maize and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) were known in Chile before the arrival of Europeans, but it is not certain that they are indigenous. Species of the bean and pepper plant are also indigenous, and the former is said to have been cultivated by the natives. Among the many economic plants which have been introduced into Chile and have become important additions to her resources, the more prominent are wheat, barley, hemp and alfalfa (Medicago sativa), together with the staple European fruits, such as the apple, pear, peach, nectarine, grape, fig, olive and orange. The date-palm has also been introduced into the southern provinces of the desert region. Among the marine productions on the southern coast, a species of kelp,Macrocystis pyrifera, merits special mention because of its extraordinary length, its habit of clinging to the rocks in strong currents and turbulent seas, and its being a shelter for innumerable species of marine animals. Captain FitzRoy found it growing from a depth of 270 ft.
Fauna.—The fauna of Chile is comparatively poor, both in species and individuals. A great part of the northern deserts is as barren of animal life as of vegetation, and the dense humid forests of the south shelter surprisingly few species. There are no large mammals in all this extensive region except the Cetacea and a species of thePhocidaeof southern waters. Neither are there any dangerous species of Carnivora, which are represented by the timid puma (Felis concolor), three species of wildcats, three of the fox, two ofConepatus, a weasel, sea-otter and six species of seal. The rodents are the most numerously represented order, which includes thecoypuor nutria (Myopotamus coypus), the chinchilla (Chinchilla laniger), the tuco-tuco (Ctenomys brasiliensis), a rabbit, and 12 species of mice—in all some 12 genera and 25 species. The coypu, sometimes called the South American beaver, inhabits the river-banks, and is highly prized for its fur. It is also found along the river-courses of Argentina. The ruminants are represented by a few species only—the guanaco (Auchenia huanaco),vicuna(A. vicugna),huemul(Cervus chilensis), which appears on the Chilean escutcheon, and thepududeer, a small and not very numerous species. There are two species of the Edentata,DasypusandPichiciego, the latter very rare, and one of the opossums. European animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, swine and goats, have been introduced into the country and do well. Sheep-raising has also been inaugurated with some degree of success in the vicinity of the Straits of Magellan. The avifauna, with the exception of waterfowl, is also limited to comparatively few species. Birds of prey are represented by the condor, vulture, two species of the carrion-hawk (Polyborus), and owl. The Chilean slopes of the Andes appear to be a favourite haunt of the condor, where neighbouring stock-raisers suffer severe losses at times from its attacks. TheInsessoresare represented by a number of species. Parrots are found as far south as Tierra del Fuego, where Darwin saw them feeding on seeds of the Winter’s bark. Humming-birds have a similar range on this coast, one species (Mellisuga Kingii) being quite numerous as far south as Tierra del Fuego. A characteristic genus is that ofPteroptochus, of which there are three or four species each characterized by some conspicuous peculiarity. These areP. megapodius, calledEl Turcoby the natives, which is noticeable for its ungainly appearance and awkward gait; theP. albicollis, which inhabits barren hillsides and is calledtapacollofrom the manner of carrying its tail turned far forward over its back; theP. rubecula, of Chiloé, a small timid denizen of the gloomy forest, called thecheucauorchuca, whose two or three notes are believed by the superstitious natives to be auguries of impending success or disaster; and an allied species (Hylactes Tarnii, King) called theguid-guidor barking bird, whose cry is a close imitation of the yelp of a small dog. The southern coast and its inland waters are frequented by several species of petrel, among which are theProcellaria gigantea, whose strength and rapacity led the Spaniards to call itquebranta huesos(breakbones), thePuffinus cinereus, which inhabits the inland channels in large flocks, and an allied species (Puffinuria Berardii) which inhabits the inland sounds and resembles the auk in some particulars of habit and appearance. There are numerous species in these sheltered channels, inlets and sounds of geese, ducks, swans, cormorants, ibises, bitterns, red-beaks, curlew, snipe, plover and moorhens. Conspicuous among these are the great white swan (Cygnus anatoides), the black-necked swan (Anser nigricollis), the antarctic goose (Anas antarctica) and the “race-horse” or “steamer duck” (Micropterus brachypterus).
The marine fauna is less known than the others, but it is rich in species and highly interesting in its varied forms and characteristics. The northern coast has no sheltered waters of any considerable extent, and the shore slopes abruptly to a great depth, which gives it a marine life of no special importance. In the shoal waters about Juan Fernandez are found a species of codfish (possiblyGadus macrocephalus), differing in some particulars from the Newfoundland cod, and a large crayfish, both of which are caught for the Valparaiso market. The sheltered waters of the broken southern coast, however, are rich in fish and molluscs, especially in mussels, limpets and barnacles, which are the principal food resource of the nomadic Indian tribes of those regions. A large species of barnacle,Balanus psittacus, is found in great abundance from Concepción to Puerto Montt, and is not only eaten by the natives, by whom it is calledpico, but is also esteemed a great delicacy in the markets of Valparaisoand Santiago. Oysters of excellent flavour are found in the sheltered waters of Chiloé. The Cetacea, which frequent these southern waters, are represented by four species—two dolphins and the sperm and right whale—and thePhocidaeby six species, one of which (Phoca lupina) differs but little from the common seal. Another species (Macrorhinus leoninus), popularly known as the sea-elephant, is provided with short tusks and a short trunk and sometimes grows to a length of 20 ft. Still another species, the sea-lion (Otaria jubata), furnishes the natives of Tierra del Fuego with an acceptable article of food, but like thePhoca lupinait is becoming scarce.
Of Reptilia Chile is singularly free, there being recorded only eleven species—five saurians, four ophidians, one frog and one toad—but a more thorough survey of the uninhabited territories of the south may increase this list. There are no alligators in the streams, and the tropical north has very few lizards. There are no poisonous snakes in the country, and, in a region so filled with lakes and rivers as the rainy south, only two species of batrachians. The insect life of these strangely associated regions is likewise greatly restricted by adverse climatic conditions, a considerable part of the northern desert being absolutely barren of animal and vegetable life, while the climate of Tierra del Fuego and the southern coast is highly unfavourable to terrestrial animal life, for which reason comparatively few species are to be found. Writing of a journey inland from Iquique, Charles Darwin says (Journal of Researches, &c., p. 444): “Excepting theVultur aura, ... I saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect.” Of his entomological collection in Tierra del Fuego, which was not large, the majority were of Alpine species. Moreover, he did not find a single species common to that island and Patagonia. These conditions subsist with but few modifications, if any, from the Straits northward to the 42nd parallel, the extreme humidity, abnormal rainfall and dark skies being unfavourable to the development of insect life, while the Andes interpose an impassable barrier to migration from the countries of the eastern coast. The only venomous species to be found in central Chile is that of a spider which frequents the wheat fields in harvest time.
Population.—The population of Chile is largely concentrated in the twelve agricultural provinces between and including Coquimbo and Concepción, though the next six provinces to the south, of more recent general settlement, have received some foreign immigrants, and are rapidly growing. In the desert provinces the population is limited to the mining communities, and to the ports and supply stations maintained for their support and for the transport, smelting and export of their produce. The province of Atacama has, in addition to its mining population, a considerable number of agriculturists located in a few irrigated river valleys, which class is largely increased in the adjoining province of Coquimbo. The more northern provinces, however, maintain their populations without the support of such small cultivated areas. In the southern territories unfavourable conditions of a widely different character prevail, and the population is restricted to a few small settlements and some nomadic tribes of Indians. Here, however, there are localities where settlements could be maintained by ordinary means and the population could be greatly increased. Since the census of 1895 the population of Punta Arenas has been largely increased by the discovery of gold in the vicinity. The twelve provinces first mentioned, which include the celebrated “Vale of Chile,” comprise only 17% of the area of the republic, but the census of 1895 showed that 72% of the total population was concentrated within their borders. The four desert provinces north of Coquimbo had only 8% of the total, and the seven provinces and one territory south of Concepción had 20%. According to the census of 1895 the total population was 2,712,145, to which the census officials added 10% to cover omissions. This shows an increase slightly over 7% for the preceding decennial period, the population having been returned as 2,527,320 in 1885. The census returns of 1875 and 1866 gave respectively 2,068,447 and 2,084,943, showing an actual decrease in population. During these years Chile held the anomalous position of a country spending large sums annually to secure immigrants while at the same time her own labouring classes were emigrating by thousands to the neighbouring republics to improve their condition. Writing in 1879, a correspondent ofThe Times4stated that this emigration then averaged 8000 a year, and in bad times had reached as many as 30,000 in one year. The condition of the Chilean labourer has been much improved since then, however, and Chile no longer suffers so serious a loss of population. In 1895, the foreigners included in the Chilean population numbered 72,812, of which 42,105 were European, 29,687 American, and 1020 Asiatic, &c. According to nationality there were 8269 Spanish, 7809 French, 7587 Italian, 7049 German, 6241 British, 1570 Swiss, 1490 Austro-Hungarian, 13,695 Peruvian, 7531 Argentine, 6654 Bolivian, 701 American (U.S.), 797 Chinese. According to residence, 1,471,792 were inhabitants of rural districts, and 1,240,353 of towns. The registration of births, marriages and deaths is compulsory since the 1st of January 1885, but the provisions of the law are frequently eluded. Notwithstanding the healthiness of the climate, the death-rate is high, especially in the large cities. In Santiago and Valparaiso the death-rate sometimes rises to 42 and 60 per 1000, and infant mortality is very high, being 73% of the births in some of the provincial towns. This unfavourable state of affairs is due to the poverty, ignorance and insanitary habits of the lower classes. The government has made repeated efforts to secure immigrants from Europe, but the lands set apart for immigrant settlers are in the forested provinces south of the Bio-Bio, where the labour and hardships involved in establishing a home are great, and the protection of the law against bandits and criminal assaults is weak. The Germans have indeed settled in many parts of these southern provinces since 1845, and by keeping together have succeeded in building up several important towns and a large number of prosperous agricultural communities. One German authority (Hüber) estimates the number of Germans in two of these provinces at 5000. The arrivals, however, have been on the whole discouragingly small, the total for the years 1901-1905 being only 14,000.
Although Chileans claim a comparatively small admixture with the native races, it is estimated that the whites and creoles of white extraction do not exceed 30 to 40% of the population, while themestizosform fully 60%. This estimate is unquestionably conservative, for there has been no large influx of European blood to counterbalance the race mixtures of earlier times. The estimated number of Indians living within the boundaries of Chile is about 50,000, which presumably includes the nomadic tribes of the Fuegian archipelago, whose number probably does not reach 5000. The semi-independent Araucanians, whose territory is slowly being occupied by the whites, are concentrated in the eastern forests of Bio-Bio, Malleco and Cautin, all that remains to them of the Araucania which they so bravely and successfully defended for more than three centuries. Their number does not much exceed 40,000, which is being steadily reduced by drunkenness and epidemic diseases. A small part of these Indians live in settled communities and include some very successful stock-raisers, but the greater part live apart from civilization. There are also some remnants of tribes in the province of Chiloé, which inhabit the island of that name, the Chonos and Guaytecas archipelagoes and the adjacent mainland, who have the reputation of being good boatmen and fishermen; and there are remnants of a people called Changos, on the desert coast, and traces of Calchaqui blood in the neighbouring Andean foothills.
There is a wide difference in every respect between the upper or ruling class and the common people. The former includes the landed proprietors, professional men and a part of those engaged in commercial and industrial pursuits. These educated classes form only a small minority of the population. Many of them, especially the landed proprietors, are descendants of the original Spanish settlers and are celebrated for their politeness and hospitality. The political control of the republic was secured to them by the constitution of 1833. The common people were kept in ignorance and practically in a state of hopeless servitude. They were allowed to occupy small leaseholds on the large estates on condition of performing a certain amount of work for the landlord. Every avenue toward the betterment of their condition was practically closed. The condition of the itinerant labourers (peons) was still worse, the wages paid them being hardly sufficient to keep them from starvation. The Chileanpeon, however, comes from a hardy stock, and has borne allthese hardships with a fortitude and patience which go far to counterbalance his faults. Recent reforms in education, &c., together with the growth of manufacturing industries, are slowly leading to improvements in the material condition of the common people.
The political organization of the country has not been favourable to the development of artistic or scientific tastes, though Chile has produced political leaders, statesmen and polemical writers in abundance. Historical literature has been enriched by the works of Diego Barros Arana, Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna, Miguel Luis Amunátegui, Carlos Walker Martinez, and others. One of the earliest native histories of Chile was that of Abbé J. Ignacio Molina, an English translation of which has long been a recognized authority; it is full of errors, however, and should be studied only in connexion with modern standard works. Among these must be included Claude Gay’s monumental work,Historia General de Chile, and Sir C.R. Markham’s admirable studies on special parts of the subject. In science, nearly all the important work has been done by foreigners, among whom are Charles Darwin, Claude Gay, Eduard Pöppig, Rudolph A. Philippi and Hans Steffen, who deserves special mention for his excellent geographical work in the southern Andes.