Tacna

“ Nitrate has not been found in workable quantities in Tacna province, nor any precious mineral deposits of consequence, although silver and copper are known. The value of the territory, politically unified by Chile as one province, Tacna, 23,000 square kilometres in area, with three departments, Tacna, Arica and Tarata, and the city of Arica as the chief centre of the province, is thus not great, until irrigation permits agricultural development upon a big scale. ”

“ After days and weeks of rocky coast without vegetation and of the long chain of the naked Andes farther inland, the clumps of green trees and the bushy fringe of verdure along the sandy beach are a seeming paradise and a close one too. The huge cliffs which beetle over Arica do not appear so barren as those farther north, and the flat-topped hills do not limit the vision so entirely as to shut out the thread of valley which marks the line of the railway back to Tacna and the desert. On the highest hill is a great cross, but down on the level are ancient and modern windmills. ”

“ There are no Peruvian towns in communication with Tacna. The long lines of donkeys and mules seen continually entering or leaving the town, are all either destined for, or coming from, the neighbouring republic of Bolivia, and the few merchants with whom I conversed seemed to have the idea that the realization of the [386] Madeira and Mamoré Railway would materially affect their trade. ”

“ As I expected, the revolution had entirely broken up the posta service between Oruro and Tacna, as well as that upon the La Paz road, so I had to suffer a week’s detention at Oruro, whilst looking out to purchase baggage mules. Animals of every kind were very scarce, but I was fortunate enough to secure a couple, though at very high prices; and our host, finding that we could not purchase any others, lent my companion Alfredo a baggage mule, and so we were at length provided for our journey on to Tacna. ”

“ The bottom of the ravine, from Palca down to the plains of Tacna, is generally well cultivated, producing alfa and maize (“mais”) in good quantity, [384] by dint of much irrigation from the small stream which flows down the ravine, aided by the water brought over the summit from the river Maury. About three leagues distant from Palca, we got on to the finished part of the new road, which was then in course of construction from Tacna towards Bolivia. Some hundreds of men were at work, and their rough encampments on either side of the ravine gave it quite a busy look. ”

“ Tacna (14) , capital of a province (32) in North Chile, 38 m. N. of Arica, with which it is connected by rail; trades in wool and minerals; taken from Peru in 1883.
Tacoma (38) , a flourishing manufacturing town and port of Washington State, on Puget Sound; has practically sprung into existence within the last 15 years, and is the outlet for the produce of a rich agricultural and mining district. ”

“ The most important feature is that Arica is the seaport of La Paz, Bolivia, and it is well for Chile to retain possession of it. Tacna was a poor town when it was Peruvian; the majority of its inhabitants lived in poverty. Since it has become Chilean, it has prospered and is to-day very wealthy. This is largely due to live regiments which are stationed there and which bring money into the town. For the past thirty years Peru has passed through many changes of governments, and revolutions have been frequent ”

“ The province of Tarapaca was thus wrested from Peru in a single short campaign, and Chili was in possession of the much-coveted nitrate districts. In February, 1880, a second campaign was undertaken, and a fleet sailed from Pisagua for the conquest of the Tacna region. The plan was for the Chilians to make a landing north of Arica, the port of Tacna, where the allied army was concentrated, and thus cut off the line of retreat. When this was accomplished the allies would be attacked in their isolated position, where escape would be next to impossible. ”

“ There may be some hundreds, but from Huancabamba—the northern frontier of the western Cordilleras, where the Maranon crosses the eastern range—down to Lake Titicaca on the one side, and Tacna on the other, is nigh a thousand miles, and the two ranges cover more square leagues than can be reckoned, and even a thousand men scattered over these would be but so many grains of sand on a stretch of the sea-shore."
"It certainly sounds like it, Dias; but perhaps those worthy people congregate chiefly in the neighbourhood of the passes." ”

“ But the indeterminate position of Tacna permits national feeling, irritation and sentiment full sway.
It is common to hear of the old unity of Peru and Chile, of the mutual sacrifices during Independence struggles, their like origin and present intertwined interests. Undoubtedly, the two states are commercially necessary one to the other; the traders of the communities are little disturbed by political aspects and own a brotherly kinship so far as the Spanish language, religion, and culture are concerned. ”

“ The principal wealth of the inhabitants consists in their large droves of mules, for the purpose of conveying the merchandize from Arica into the interior, and from some parts of Upper Peru to Lima. Tacna is to Arica what Piura is to Paita.
On the twenty-seventh of May we came to an anchor in the bay of Ilo, and immediately supplied Colonel Miller with everything that he wanted; he had removed his head-quarters from the town of Moquegua to a farm called Rinconada, judging that the climate of this place was better for his troops, as it was cooler here than in the town. ”

“ There is no doubt that the best and only way to avoid loss in realizing the cost of the animals necessary for crossing the Andes, is to buy the best class of mules, and, if the journey ends at Tacna, send them back to Bolivia, where they are always worth their cost; and one can generally manage to draw the value of the mules returning, from one of the mercantile houses of Tacna, less a small commission for selling the mules in Bolivia. ”

“ The valleys of Ica, Palpa, San Xavier and Nasca are rich and fertile, though they do not extend to the sea; but between Nasca and Acarr there is a desert 60 m. in width. (5) The Arequipa and Tacna section extends over 350 m. and comprises the valleys of Acari, Atequipa, Atico, Ocoña, Majes or Camana, Qurlca, with the interior valley of Arequipa, Tambo, Ilo or Moquegua, Ité or Locumba, Sanra, Tacna, and Azapa or Arica. Here the Western Cordillera recedes, and the important valley of Arequipa, though on its western slope, is 7000 ft. above the sea and 90 m. from the coast. ”

“ Del Canto was himself no mere figurehead, but a thoroughly capable leader who had distinguished himself at Tacna (1880) and Miraflores (1881) , as well as in the present war. The men were enthusiastic, and the officers unusually numerous. The artillery was fair, the cavalry good, and the train and auxiliary services well organized. ”

“ It is the key to the provinces of Upper Peru, Arequipa, La Pas, Potosi, Chuquisaca, &c., being a better landing place than Ilo, Mollendo, or Quilca; it possesses also the advantage of fresh water for shipping, which is extremely [Pg 329] scarce at the other ports. Arica is situate in 18° 28 ́ 40 ́ ́ south latitude, and 70° 13 ́ 30 ́ ́ west longitude.
The town of Tacna stands in a very pleasant and fruitful valley, it is considerably larger than Arica, and has a much better appearance; some of the houses are large, commodious, and well furnished ”

“ Mira-Mar Beach, Viña del Mar.
19Not only Chile and Peru are involved in the Tacna dispute: the question of renewed access to the sea by Bolivia lends that country a lively interest in settlement, and, in addition, every South American country is concerned in the amicable resolution of a domestic problem affecting the present credit and future peace of the continent. Nor can the nationals of overseas countries investing in or trading with the West Coast remain indifferent ”

“ It is believed by some pessimists that the dominion of military force is as strong to-day as ever, and that only the necessity for preserving “the balance of power” prevents wars of conquest in the twentieth century as relentless as those of the fifteenth—but who, that has seen the “Christ of the Andes,” or read the Constitution of the United States, can believe this to be true?
BRIDGE ACROSS THE SAMA RIVER, PROVISIONAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN PERU AND CHILE.
As regards Tacna, the situation being temporary, or presumably so, one’s sensibilities are not so afflicted by the condition. ”

“ After this the war was continued in a desultory and discouraged fashion by the allies until at the end of 1883 peace was signed, and, as has been explained in a previous chapter, Bolivia lost her coast-line, while the Chilians took over the definite ownership of the provinces of Antofagásta and Tarapacá. This latter country gained, moreover, the right of dominion over the neighbouring [Pg 271] provinces of Tacna and Arica for ten years, after which period the inhabitants of these two provinces were to decide by vote whether they should remain Chilian subjects or become Peruvians. ”

“ Peruvian provinces which produce, 133 Supe, the landing-place, 82 Superunda, Count, memoirs of, 93 Taboga Isle, 45 Tacna, Pampas of, 224; tin mines in district, 315 Tacora, Mt., in Bolivia, 183 Taft, Secretary, 47 Tagua, or ivory nut, Ecuador’s production of, 64 Talcahuano, naval port, 195 Taltal, nitrate shipping-port, 188 Tambilla, 292 Tambo de Mora, 86 Tambos, or inns, 31; one at Majo, Bolivia, 279 Tarapacá, Province of, lost to Chile, 152, 217 ”

“ Much more striking, and to me strangely so, are the songs of the Taensa, a small tribe who dwelt on the banks of the lower Mississippi. They are now extinct, but a very curious account of their language, by a Spanish missionary, has been preserved and recently published. The early travelers speak of them as an unusually cultivated people, but one cannot but be surprised to find them capable of composing an epithalamium like the following:—
"Tikaens, thou buildest a house, thou bringest thy wife to live in it.
"Thou art married, Tikaens, thou art married.
"Thou wilt become famous ”

“ With instinctive adroitness they can crawl through the jungle without a sound and be in the midst of a camp before it is awakened; 326 but in the open spaces they are timid. They will line up fifty yards away and open with an ineffective volley of screeches and arrows.
OFTEN WE PASSED THE LITTLE SHELTER OF PALM LEAVES.
Secure in this custom, the Tacanas set no watch, and we all slept peacefully depending on any savages that might come to furnish the alarm for their own attack. ”

“ The line of railroad from Pátzcuaro via Uruapan to Colima has been surveyed, but it will doubtless be many years before it is completed.
The tourist can visit Tancitaro, 40 miles from Uruapan, and, if he wishes, travel all the way to the Pacific coast. It will be advisable to purchase a horse if the traveler intends going beyond Uruapan. A good animal can be bought for about $40, and one able to accomplish the trip to Colima could be had for $25. The climate of Tancitaro is cool, the town being situated at the base of a peak of the same name, having an altitude of 11,037 feet. ”

“ Tacunga is the capital of the province of the same name, and the residence of the Corregidor; the plain on which it stands is evidently of volcanic origin, or has been covered with volcanic productions thrown from the neighbouring mountains. The town contains about three thousand inhabitants; it has a parish church, and the remains of the convents of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Augustin, and la Merced; of a college of Jesuits, and a nunnery of barefooted Carmelite nuns; these after the earthquake were removed to Quito. ”

“ Tacita’s mind, floating between present contentment, a half-forgotten pain, and a mystical anticipation, confused the scene about her with others far away. Clustered windows, crowded sculptures and balconies, seemed to emboss the cliffs at either hand, or float in misty lines along their surfaces. The sound of the haunting cascade became the dip of oars, or the swash of the lagoon ploughed by a steamboat. She saw their time-stained old Venetian house; and the last scenes she had witnessed there rose before her. ”

“ Just below the point it was half a mile wide and Tatanka could easily distinguish the deep dark channel from the light brown sandbars near shore.
Like a wonderful picture the valley spread out below the hunters. Dark groves of elms stood out clearly from long stretches of cottonwood in light gray. The swelling and bursting buds of the bottom maples showed great dashes of a dark ruddy red, while vast stretches of gray and brown marshes were dotted with brighter patches of orange willow and of bright red killikinnick.
“My people once lived here,” said Tatanka, at last. “They loved this land. ”

“ Black velvet short-clothes were held at the waist by a fringed scarf of black silk. His short jacket of black cloth was like a torero’s in shape. He wore a full white shirt, black stockings and sandals, and a scarlet fez on his dark hair in which the sunshine found an auburn tint.
Tacita gazed at him with eyes as intent as his own. The smileless lips, the brow with its second sight, the pointed beard and faintly bronzed skin—they were the same that she had but an hour or two before engraven on her mind in lines as clear and sharp as those of any antique intaglio. ”