STESTESTESTESTEST TESTESTESTEST ESTEST CHILE AND HER AN ACCOUNT OF THE CUSTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, AMUSE- AND ADVANCE- MENT OF THE CHILEANS, AND THE BY NEVIN O. WINTER 〃 Author of "Mexico and Her People of To-day," 66 Argentina and Her People of TESTESTESTESTESTENTES L. C. PAGE MDCCCCXII ORIGINAL TO BE MAY 2 4 1993 Copyright, 1912 BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY All rights reserved First Impression, January, 1912 NO VINU Electrotyped and Printed by PREFACE To the jealousy of Francisco Pizarro was due the discovery and conquest of Chile. Reports having reached Pizarro that there were regions to the south yet virgin, and teeming with wealth richer than that of Peru, he sent Diego de Almagro, one of his lieutenants, with an expedition to conquer these unknown lands. Almagro failed, and later he sent Pedro de Valdivia with another expedition. There was another reason for sending these expeditions, for Pizarro hoped that neither of these men would return to Peru, since he feared their shrewdness and popularity. Valdivia succeeded in establishing a permanent settlement, but himself fell a victim to the hardy tribesmen of the central valley of Chile, who were far different from the soft and mild Incas enslaved by Pizarro. He had found that it was no easy task he had undertaken, and the sturdy race of Araucanians was still 280172 unconquered when the Spaniards were driven out of the country by the generations that had grown up from the time of its first settlement. The Chileans have ever been independent in thought and action, and they have proved to be the best soldiers of South America. The temperate climate, the mountainous character of the country and its isolation, and the admixture of blood with the unconquerable Araucanians, who most nearly resemble the North American redmen of any of the aborigines of South America, have all contributed to the development of this characteristic. The government is now as stable and hopeful as that of any of the South American nations, and, because of its natural formation, Chile has developed into the strongest maritime nation of that continent. Its fine bays and harbours, its coal supplies and its long seacoast, undoubtedly destine Chile to be the master of the southern seas in the ages yet to come. Furthermore, its vast and fertile valleys, where every product of the temperate climate grows, and where immense herds of cattle may be fed, its mineral wealth and vast nitrate fields, undoubtedly destine it to a greatness on land as well as on the sea. |
