Santiago, Chile

“ In several other parts of the city this similarity is present for the long fronts of divers beneficial societies and the towers of churches and convents present a scene very much like that of the Austrian capital.
The population of Santiago is slightly over four hundred thousand. The growth of the city as well as of the other towns of the central valley is imperceptible. It has been this way for ages. There is little immigration to Chile, and that which does come in, goes either to the northern or southern provinces of the republic where labor conditions are better. ”

“ Fifty miles inland, as the crow flies, but much farther by railway, is Santiago, the capital of Chile, and in population the fourth city in South America.51 Except Rio de Janeiro, no capital in the world has a more striking position. Standing in the great central valley of Chile, it looks out on one side over a fertile plain to the wooded slopes of the Coast Range, and on the other looks up to the gigantic chain of the Cordillera, rising nineteen thousand feet above it, furrowed by deep glens into which glaciers pour down, with snowy wastes behind. ”

“ The leading landowners spend the summers in their country houses and the winter and spring in Santiago, which has thus a pleasant society, with plenty of talent and talk among the men, of gaiety and talk among the women, a society more enlightened and abreast of the modern world than are those of the more northern republics, and with a more stimulating atmosphere. Santiago has always been the centre and heart of Chile both politically and socially and has in this way contributed to give unity to the nation and to create a221 Chilean type of character. ”

“ The province of Santiago, bounded N. by Aconcagua, W. by Mendoza, S. by O'Higgins and Colchagua and W. by Valparaiso and the Pacific, has an area of 5665 sq. m. and a population (1895) of 415,636. It forms part of the “Vale of Chile,” celebrated for its fertility and fine climate. ”

“ In detail Santiago is not unlike other cities, resembling in many features some European municipalities. Being the capital it has attracted to and includes in its population the rich landowners, the aristocratic classes, political elements, literary and cultured people and the exclusive society of the country. The homes of these well-to-do, traveled and cultured people are equal in appearance, appointment, furnishing, decoration and equipment to those occupied by similar classes in older countries. ”

“ The city spreads itself out on all sides although the principal plaza and the business district lie more to the west. The snow-capped Andes, the most characteristic feature of Santiago scenery, rise majestically to the east. Low foot-hills bound the western horizon. The fertile plain, which is none other than the great central valley of Chile, lies to the north and south. ”

“ Santiago owes its situation to the fact that this precipitous hill of solid rock was left by nature in the centre of a rich, fertile plain. The rock formed a natural fortress and was fortified by the Spaniards when they first came to Chile. After having been the scene of numerous bloody battles during Chile’s colonial days, Santa Lucia is now a wonderfully attractive park with fine driveways, well-made paths that command splendid panoramas of city, plain, and mountains, and a theatre and restaurant on its summit. ”

“ The city is very compactly built and centered so that its streets teem with more life than an ordinary city of the same number of inhabitants. Although its population is but half that of Santiago, this centralization makes it appear to be a larger place. The buildings, two, three, and four stories in height, are massive, although many are built of adobe, plastered and painted over, and give the city a metropolitan [443] appearance. In Santiago many of the merchants and well-to-do inhabitants live in the suburbs; in Lima they reside near the center of the city. ”

“ It is in the market-places that one can best study the common people. There are two markets in Santiago, both of them on the bank of the Mapocho. At the newer one one will be sure to find some newsboys plying their trade. “La Union” and “El Mercurio” are the cries of these busy little newsboys, as they flit in and out among the marketers of Santiago. They are barefooted ragamuffins, most of them, but they industriously ply their trade. Their complexions are of different shades, for some of the boys have Indian blood in their veins, which gives them a deeper colouring. ”

“ In the east the white summit of Aconcagua with some lesser heights of the Andes may be seen. The city itself is undulating and its central part is the red porphyry hillock of Santa Lucia, the stronghold of the first settlers besieged by the Arauconion Indians. It has magnificent streets and buildings, with highly developed street railways. The great apartment houses and private dwellings are extremely artistic and luxurious and its boulevards, among them the Alameda, are among the finest in America. ”

“ The change from the Argentine, however, or, more specifically, from Buenos Aires, was like that from the best section of New York to the lower East Side.
This contrast, I was soon to discover, is to a large extent true of all Chile. The roto who makes up the bulk of the population, in or out of the capital, always looks like a very low-paid brakeman on a coal-train, who has just come in from an all-night run through a waterless country. With this class as a basis, Santiago was dirty, unkempt, down at heel. ”

“ There is a large foyer in which the people promenade between acts and there [80] are refreshment rooms where all kinds of refreshments are served. A special box is reserved for the President of the republic and the intendente of the city. There is also a mourning box protected by screens, where those in mourning may watch the performance without being themselves seen.
The city of Santiago is a municipality within the province of the same name. A little more democracy has been infused into the government than used to prevail. ”

“ Another leading personage amongst the business men of Chile, whose acquaintance I was fortunate enough to make out there, was Señor Merry del Val, a brother of the well-known Cardinal of that name, another brother of the same family being Don Alfonso Merry del Val, the Spanish Ambassador at present in London.
Santiago is quite an attractive town, beautifully situated at the base of the Andes, and with every sort of comfort in the shape of a good hotel and an excellent club. ”

“ They attend every service, and on Sundays and feast days the scene about the village church suggests a convent, as the women all wear mantillas draped over their heads, giving them the general appearance of nuns.
SANTIAGO.
There are few municipalities of sufficient size and commercial importance to entitle them to be classified as cities. Santiago, the capital, is a beautiful city of over 300,000 inhabitants, charmingly situated in the verdant valley of the Mapocho, and surrounded by rugged, snow-crowned mountains. Few cities possess so many natural advantages in situation and environments. ”

“ Even at these few miles south of Santiago the climate is much damper; in consequence there are fine tracts of pasturage, which are not irrigated. (20th.) We followed this valley till it expanded into a great plain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of Rancagua. We shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the Pampas. Never having heard of these plains, I was much surprised at meeting with such scenery in Chile. ”

“ In such matters as magnificent hotels, expensive restaurants, luxurious clubs, and showy automobiles, Santiago readily yields the palm to Buenos Aires. There has been no great boom in Chile at all comparable to that which Argentina has seen. Furthermore, earthquakes and fires have done their worst to impoverish a nation not too bountifully supplied with natural resources. To be sure, the enormous nitrate deposits of northern Chile have made the government able to distribute millions of dollars among its followers without overtaxing the population. ”

“ Santiago is a city of over four hundred thousand inhabitants yet only has two breweries, that of Ebner which belongs to the trust and that of Horstmann which does not. Horstmann before the war got a supply of hops large enough to last him six years if his brewery ran at its full capacity. He is an old man who has amassed all the money he wants, and his heirs have no inclination to continue the business. In 1917 he could have been bought out at a very reasonable price and I believe the same holds true to-day. His business has been a family trade and his beer is said to be the best in Chile. ”

“ The main streets are well paved with cobblestones, but the side ones are poorly paved with small smooth stones, very distressing to walk upon with thin-soled shoes. The buildings are well built and red brick is more common than [316] in the cities farther north. However, there are in Chillán frame houses, which in the neighborhood of Santiago are conspicuous by their absence. There are several plazas, but the principal one, O'Higgins, is the best, and in my estimation is the loveliest in Chile. ”

“ The drive through the valley of Santiago is exceedingly interesting, as the line keeps close beneath the Cordillera through nearly its entire length, thus revealing to the gaze of the astonished traveller a succession of Alpine landscapes, such as one might behold in crossing the Semmering Alp. The ordinary rate of travelling in Chile is 25 miles an hour, but the expresses occasionally run at the rate of 60 miles per hour. ”

“ Santiago, although it is a pleasant and agreeable place with a most benign climate, I am sorry to say is none too clean nor are its streets well kept up. In the Alameda there are big holes in the asphalt, and the cobblestones on the side streets are uneven and out of place. Many of the streets are not paved. There are holes in some of the sidewalks where a pedestrian is apt to sprain his ankle, and there is much refuse dirt and filth accumulated along the curbs. There are no alleys in the city so the inhabitants deposit the swill in iron pails. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There was not even a school for girls in Santiago. The majority of the people still lived in the country in homes that were without conveniences. They had little furniture, but all were provided with an oratorio in which each wandering missionary was expected to celebrate mass. ”

“ Chile, however, except in the Balmacedist civil war, is happily distinguished by its freedom from revolution and serious political unrest. Its history in this respect is in marked contrast to that of the neighbouring South American states. The completion of the Trans-Andean railway between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires was bound to be of immense commercial and industrial value; and eventually the making of a longitudinal railway route uniting the nitrate province of the north with Santiago, and Santiago with Puerto Montt in the distant south, opened up further important prospects. ”

“ Chile is, always excepting Santiago and Valparaiso, a quiet tranquil country, developing itself in a leisurely way. But in Mendoza, though it is one of the smaller Argentine towns, there is a stir and bustle like that of England or Germany or North America. Land values are going up. Branch lines of railway are being run through the outskirts of the city among the vineyards. The main streets are crowded, and there is a general air of "expansion" and money making. ”

“ It was not long before O’Higgins, then but thirty-five years old, was regarded as the leader of the “Penquistos” (southerners of Penco or Concepción, who wanted to see that pleasant city restored to her ancient pride as capital of Chile) , in opposition to the rich central group, with Santiago as their stronghold and the Carreras as one of the most ambitious families. ”

“ Chillán is the capital of the Province of Ñuble, and has a population of 39,113, being the seventh city of Chile. Next to Santiago and Talca it is the largest city in the central valley. It would be larger than Talca if it took in its suburb, Chillán Viejo. But although a paucity of manufacturing is done, it owes its existence as a market town to its being the center of an agricultural district to which it is the distributing point. ”

“ No stranger to Santiago should fail to walk to its summit, especially at evening when the sun casts its rays on the high Andes in the background. There is a small admission fee to be paid on entering the park at the Cerro de Santa Lucia, but it is well worth it. On the hill is a restaurant café which is popular with the public on summer nights, for on its terrace one can take meals out-of-doors. ”

“ There are a number of very fine public buildings in Santiago. Perhaps the finest is the Palace of Congress, which is a large building of modern classical construction covering an entire square—not differing much from many public buildings that one will find in the United States. ”