Robert E. Mansfield

“ Nature has been prodigal in the bestowal of her varied gifts upon Chile. Its geographical formation represents a huge serpent with its sinewy form stretched along the west coast of the continent, its head resting in the arid desert of Atacama, and its tail coiled about the wood-crowned hills and ice-bound islands of Tierra del Fuego. Upon one side loom the Andes Mountains, their snow-capped heads in the clouds and their feet in the ocean; upon the other stretches the vast expanse of the Pacific. ”

“ There is no class of people so tyrannical, so unreasonable and dictatorial, as the ignorant, the poor and oppressed, when once they hold the balance of power. The Roto Chilenos, as an organized force, would be a desperate, dangerous class, a menace to society and good government. Let us hope that the distance between these extremes will be narrowed, that capital will be given the protection and encouragement to which it is entitled, and upon which its existence depends, and at the same time labor will be given the best remuneration, the broadest field and the amplest opportunity possible. ”

“ All around loom giant peaks of the Andes, their white crests among the clouds. In the smiling valley, clothed in the green of perennial summer, is Santiago. Long, quiet streets, badly paved, are lined with handsome houses, French and Spanish in architectural design; many of them palatial in proportions. The lack of industrial life and commercial activity, and the peaceful repose of this daughter of Latin America, give to the capital of Chile more the appearance of [Pg 239] an indolent Oriental city than the metropolis of an ambitious young Republic. ”

“ There are few more interesting and picturesque sights than those far southern farm lands in the Magellanes territory, the Scotland of South America. Long, sweeping, undulating downs climb upward to the forest-clad hills, or down to the edges of the blue glacial lakes; and through the mazes of black thorn, the bloom of which fills the air with fragrance in the flowering time, wander vast herds of sheep, often accompanied by large flocks of ostriches, which find safety in associating with the wool coated animals. ”

“ The sons in the families of the better class are often educated in the belief that labor is degrading, and encouraged to lead lives of indolence. Instead of being taught that labor is honorable, that the gods sell everything to those who work; that the most useless and uninteresting members of society in this busy world are the drones; that intelligent industry is the chief factor in modern civilization; that honest effort is the advance guard of commercial and industrial progress, the youth of Chile is encouraged in the belief that it is honorable and manly to rely upon paternal dependence. ”

“ Years go by, cruel and compassionless plagues and calamities afflict us, the government money is squandered upon frivolous matters which are far from curing the evils, and Valparaiso lies in her muddy bed, inhaling the breath of death evaporated from the infested and unhealthy drains and streets. ”

“ This central valley of Chile, lying between the Andes and the coast range, is a continuous garden of luxuriant beauty. The cultivated loveliness of the private estates, which surround the capital, offer a pleasing contrast to the sterner grandeur of mountain forms and color with which it is enclosed. There are to be found the ideal South American haciendas, where thousands of acres are included in one domain, where the primitive system of cultivating the land, introduced by the Spaniards when they came to the western world, with few exceptions, still prevails. ”

“ They frequently indulge in personal encounters, but always without weapons. These fights are questions of force and endurance, science being left out of the contest, and the belligerent methods employed are not sufficiently violent to result in death. The combatants clutch each other by the hair of the head and indulge in a game of pull-and-haul, the performance being accompanied usually with a volley of wrathful words uttered in a high shrill voice. Unlike the North American Indians they seldom resort to the use of a knife as a weapon of offense or defense. ”

“ The blood of the Incas is in his veins, the old-fashioned way is best for him, and he is content. He wants no changes or innovations, and will admit of none. All he wants is to be left alone. Although he has never known the pleasure of prosperity, he is apparently contented and never unhappy. Born in poverty and humility, so he lives and dies.
The Roto Chilenos not only constitute the laboring class in Chile, but the army, navy and police force are largely recruited from their ranks. As soldiers they possess a reckless bravery that will stop at nothing. ”

“ When a crowd of huasos congregate in the country or village, they invariably indulge in some exciting games or contests requiring rare skill on the part of the participants, and strength and endurance of the stocky, intelligent ponies on which they are mounted. One of the most common of their sports is “topeadura,” on which large sums of money are frequently wagered—a game which the people for miles around will assemble to see. On feast days it is the common attraction at all the despachos and road houses, and every hacienda of any consequence has its own contest at such times. ”

“ Public opinion and sentiment in Chile have undergone wonderful changes since the day a shot from a revolver in his own hand crashed into and stilled forever the fertile, creative brain of Jose Manuel Balmaceda, and an ungrateful Republic is now beginning to set its seal of approbation upon his official life and private character. ”

“ The truth is not always pleasant reading, and it may seem unkind to withhold the cup that patriotic pride demands. But let those who know the real life of Chile pass judgment, and if from long association they have not become so accustomed and inured to national, social and political deficiencies as to regard them as established and correct principles, they will agree with one who regards the situation from an unprejudiced viewpoint. ”

“ The men who constitute the wealthy class in Chile contrast sharply in characteristics with the women [Pg 136] in the same social cast. They have an agreeable, dignified manner and polite address. Intellectually keen, they are quick to grasp a theory and clever in presenting it. Super-sensitive, they are quick to take offense, but will keep a smiling countenance, a polite, unruffled exterior, and even manifest a liking for people whom they inwardly detest. They are drawn together by business and political interests and whenever their interests conflict, enmity and even hatred are the result. ”

“ There is another class of bandits or brigands who are more clever, daring and desperate than those already described. They follow the more well-defined roads of travel, are well dressed, mounted on good horses, intelligent and generally present a very genteel appearance. They usually hunt in bands, covering a wide range of territory, know all the people living within the country covered by their depredations, and are familiar with every road and by-way. They always have knowledge through their accomplices of strangers traveling through the country, or of servants sent upon important missions. ”

“ Valparaiso is again unfortunately under the weight and opprobrium of the great calamity of every winter. Mud covers all the streets, traffic is interrupted, social life is suspended, and one touches on every side mud and filth. ”

“ The social life of the rich and seclusive classes in Santiago is composed of a pleasure loving people, with an inherent love of display. They are musical by nature, with a keen appreciation of, and an aptness for acquiring quickly a little knowledge of music, and other accomplishments, conveying the impression that they are clever, if not brilliant. They lack, however, the industry and application that lead to thoroughness, and few of them develop great talent for any art or profession. ”

“ But with all its isolation, its long struggle to gain a place among civilized nations, its history of cruel and uncivilized warfare, Chile possesses natural resources and attractions which intervening years have made known, and which in the short period of her national life have won for this long neglected daughter of the Spanish colonial family, a reputation for wealth and beauty that has given to it a fame as wide as the world. ”

“ In the many sharp contrasts presented in the lives of the different classes in Chile, none are more striking than that shown in the disposition of the dead, and in the ceremonies attendant upon funerals. In the cities, where the rich and cultured bury their dead, the cemeteries are beautifully kept, and adorned with flowers and shrubbery, and magnificent tombs and monuments mark the last resting places of wealth and respectability. ”

“ He is of the “roto” type, only richer, and better dressed, on parade occasions. He owns lands sufficient to support himself and family without manual labor. This independence is usually acquired by years of selfish economy and penuriousness, or by inheritance or marriage. His one aim in life seems to be the acquisition of money, no matter by what means.
Fifth and last in the grading of the agriculturists comes the hacendado, or landlord, the owner of large, valuable and productive haciendas. He usually regards himself as the prince of earth, all-powerful and influential. ”

“ The supreme court declared the acts of the president unconstitutional. He ignored the court. This assumption of authority on the part of the executive was contrary to precedent and to republican ideas, even if constitutional, and the cry of “dictator” was raised. Thus the machinery of government was disabled, and while the Ship of State lay stranded upon the rock of party politics, Congress declared the country in revolution, and the tempest of war struck the Republic on January 7, 1891, when the navy, under command of Señor Don Jorge Montt went over to the revolutionists. ”

“ Revolutions, conspiracies and intrigue were organized and practiced by political combinations and individuals. Independent government was a theory only, and many sincere patriots doubted the wisdom of further effort to establish and maintain a Republic, believing that existing conditions were even worse than Spanish rule.
The theory that if the seed of independence is once planted in the soil of public opinion, it will ultimately bring forth a harvest of good national results, holds true in the case of Chile. ”

“ The Araucanian ideas of a serious life are not deep-rooted; there is more stubbornness than intellect in their composition. The Incas who were the first foreign nation to invade Chile, taught them to worship the sun, but in their present degenerate condition they seem to worship only the God Bacchus. Strong drink and its attendant abuses, the curse of all barbarous races, when once introduced by civilized nations, is causing degeneration and a decrease in numbers. ”

“ Valparaiso is as cosmopolitan in architecture as it is in population. It possesses no architectural features that can be considered national in character; it has few public buildings worthy of the name, no system of parks or boulevards,—nothing to distinguish it, except a consistent mismanagement of municipal affairs. Being a great seaport, into which sail annually thousands of ships, representing nearly all the nations of earth, it has caught in the net of travel a cosmopolitan conglomeration, and includes in its population all kinds and conditions of people. ”

“ The sons and daughters of farmers go to the cities and take service with foreigners. When they return to their country homes they take with them manners and ideas acquired from a different people—transplanted [Pg 141] customs from another world. And so, slowly, backward and forward among the people passes the shuttle of changing methods, weaving into the fabric of life new and strange conditions. These influences are making themselves felt in many ways. In the typical Chilean village one sometimes sees among the thatched roof adobe huts, a house with some pretensions to ornamentation. ”

“ An undeclared war is waged, unexpressed antagonism, and unspoken enmity [Pg 140] have been inducted into being. The policy of weak submission, in which they so long acquiesced, is gradually but surely changing to one of open defiance. Generations of smoldering hatred burst forth in the flame of strife and revolution, and the growth and menacing hostile attitude of labor and capital to-day is the outgrowth of that movement. ”

“ Inquilinos almost invariably sell their labor in advance to the owners of the property on which they live. They never leave the hacienda, for conditions are everywhere the same. The rich landowners are powerful enough to force into subjugation all within their domains, and they assert their authority with the arrogance of autocrats. The inquilinos have nothing beyond a meager living; they always remain poor. They are not permitted to sow, reap or do any work for themselves until all the work of a similar character on the hacienda is finished. ”

“ Spanish is the language of Chile, as it is of all South American countries, except Brazil, but in Chile it has taken on idioms until it differs in many particulars from the pure Castilian. Like all Latin languages it lends itself to elaborate speech, pleasing compliment, plentiful platitude, vague and uncertain meaning and is a charming means for the exchange of polite pleasantries. ”