CLASSIFIED HUSBANDMEN

To describe the life of the country people of Chile it is necessary to classify the disintegrate parts which enter into combination with all those who till the soil, and in which each has a personal and common interest. The first grade in the classification is the peon, the lowest class, who owns no land, and is illiterate, hard working, destitute, and docile.

The second, Land Owner No. 1, lives upon a small plot of non-productive ground. The possession is small, but nevertheless his own, acquired by industry, economy, or inheritance. If he works for others as a peon, it is a matter of choice. If he has sons they work where they choose. His land being insufficient to maintain himself and family, is used as a residence only.

The third husbandman in the classification is different only in distinction as to the amount of his worldly effects; his habits, customs and life are the same as Land Owner No. 1, except upon a little more extensive scale. He is perhaps more selfish and self-contained. His ambition is not to improve himself or his family, but to add to his money and possessions. He is facilitated somewhat in his avaricious aims by his small means.

The fourth grade in the agricultural classification is the outgrowth, the evolution of the classes below him. He calls himself a gentleman, but lacks the breeding, manners and education to justify the title. 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. His hacienda is his dukedom, his fortress. No one can enter or leave without his permission and all within its limits do his bidding unquestioned. He is lord and monarch of all he surveys, and takes little heed of those below his social station. The hacendados run politics and make presidents, name congressmen, senators, judges and governors.

PEONS.

It is difficult to describe the peon, or Roto Chileno. He is contradictory by nature, compound and complex in character. He is industrious and lazy, simple and cunning, honest and dishonest, brave and cowardly, true and false. He is homeless, roving, restless, dirty, slovenly, cares nothing for his past life and is without hope or ambition for the future. With limitless improvidence he lives in the present and is a happy-go-lucky, generous, careless, good-natured individual who never wastes time gazing upon the sorry side of life. He roams from place to place in search of a job, earning barely enough to keep soul and body together, and not always sufficient to clothe himself. Russian serfdom is not worse than the life some live in Chile, especially the “inquilinos” (farm laborers), living upon their master’s property. Do not pity the peon; he does not ask for, need nor want it. He possesses the faithful humility of a dog and the cunning qualities of the fox. Do not try to reform, civilize, reconstruct, or otherwise change or reclaim him; he will successfully defy all efforts. 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. With a cry of “viva Chile” they will charge an enemy, never to return, unless victory makes it possible. They are fearless to foolhardiness. They will rush fortifications under fire, scale walls or steep bluffs, swim rivers, and if all are killed the loss is not considered. One single handed will not fight against odds, but in numbers and in hand to hand conflicts the bravery of the Chileno is not excelled by any nationality. They do not fight intelligently, but desperately. Their favorite weapon is a knife, and every Roto Chileno goes armed with a “corvo,” a knife with a long, curved blade, tapering to a sharp point, and usually ornamented with a heavy metal handle. It is encased in a leather sheath, and is carried in the belt or boot of the possessor. It is an article of common utility, as well as a weapon of offense and defense. When angered, or threatened with danger, the Chilean produces a corvo as naturally as the American negro does a razor, and he is exceedingly skillful in its use. It is not an uncommon thing for one peon to disembowel another with one sweep of the corvo, usually leaving a triangular shaped wound, a mark of this weapon that is peculiar to the people. As an evidence of their partiality for the knife as a fighting weapon, it is related that in many instances during the war between Peru and Chile, in time of battle, the Chilean soldiers threw away their rifles and rushed upon the enemy with corvos, fighting in hand-to-hand conflict.

These same men are afraid of a small dog, and will exhibit fear in many ways under most ordinary circumstances. Contradictory elements enter into their composite characters. They are patient, long suffering, and have wonderful endurance. They think nothing of a serious flesh wound, but if one of them has a toothache or headache he will wrap up his head like an old woman with the mumps. Often they wear such a woe-begone, lost look that one would almost believe in their manifest troubles if their cunning ways of shirking a duty were not so well known.

With five centavos in his pocket the roto is a capitalist, and will not work until prompted by necessity. He speaks Spanish badly, and in a mumbling, drawling manner, often using the most vile and profane language in the presence of both men and women of his own class. In stature the Roto Chileno is, as a rule, short, massive and muscular; his skin is an amber brown. He has small, black, beady eyes, slight beard, stiff black hair that grows low upon his forehead. The shape of his head is generally that of a pumpkin, the back of the head being quite flat. He has a short, thick neck, large flat feet, and small tapering hands. The ears, mouth and nose are not out of proportion to his size. He walks with a rapid, ambling gait, body bent forward, legs wide apart and his long arms swinging at his sides. His few, scanty, ragged garments are usually covered with a homemade wool “poncho.” The bottoms of his feet are covered with rawhide sandals, “ojotas,” and he invariably wears a straw hat, “chupalla.” The general appearance of the roto, as one sees him on the road, with dirty face, dingy straw hat drawn well down over his eyes, trousers rolled up at the ankle, shirt open at the chest, a corvo in his belt and a poncho thrown over his shoulders, is that of approaching ruin. His face is more repulsive than ugly, and he is more nearly naked than ragged. Some of the more provident among them, however, wear clean clothes on Sundays and other feast days. They occasionally wash their hands and faces, but never their bodies. They are by nature a pacific people. The fighting spirit is generally aroused in them by the consumption of bad liquor. They help each other in their personal work or difficulties, and are great jokers, one with another.

The “patron” (employer) always furnishes food to his laborers. The universal food of the country for the poor people is “porotos” (beans), and the ration for each man or boy, per day, is all the beans he can hold in his two hands placed together. The rations are cooked together, as many being placed in the pot as there are persons to be provisioned. At meal-time the pot is delivered to the peons who sit on the ground in a circle around the vessel. Each is supposed to have his own spoon, but if not, a flat stick or piece of bark serves the purpose. After all are seated each dips into the pot and eats until the allowance is finished. One meal is all they eat in a day after eight o’clock in the morning, at which hour they eat a loaf of black bread, in exchange for which they may receive a double handful of toasted wheat, “harina tostado.” This diet is never changed, never varied, after they leave the mother’s breast. When the supply of beans is short, “mote” (wheat boiled in lye until the hull is loosened, after which it is removed by rubbing the grains between two stones), is sometimes mixed with the beans.

In the extreme southern part of Chile, the ration is somewhat different. There, “chuchoca” (green corn boiled and dried on the cob) is mixed with the beans. The peons never depart from the established ration. When not working they eat a little parched wheat flour in the morning, or such other food as they may be lucky enough to obtain. If one has no food he goes to some rancho where there is a supply, and where he is invariably served, as they are always generous with each other.

Peons will sleep anywhere, in places wet or dry, clean or unclean. With a stick of wood or a stone for a pillow, and with a poncho spread over him he will sleep the sleep of innocence, without care for the present or thought of the future. An old “mozo” (man servant), known to be honest, through many years of faithful service, went one day to the home of his former employer, where he was given food, and a bed was provided for him in the house. During the night the gentleman was disturbed by sounds of apparent distress in the corridor. Thinking the mozo was ill, he went to inquire the cause of the trouble. The peon informed him that he could not sleep upon that “soft thing,” meaning the mattress, and asked permission to make his bed out-of-doors. He was informed that he could sleep where he pleased. Taking his saddle for a pillow, and a sheepskin for his bed, and spreading a poncho over him he lay down upon the pavement of the patio. In the morning he was found sleeping soundly, his face turned toward heaven, his unkempt beard covered with frost.

Peons in the cities do not receive a daily ration of beans, as is the custom in the country, but are given money, “diario,” with which to buy food. The Chilean peon cannot stand prosperity. As a general rule the worse he is treated and fed, the better service he will render. This applies more directly to the “inquilinos,” than to independent peons.

The rotos are polite to each other and salute when they meet by touching their hats, saying “Buenos dias, Caballeros” (good day, gentlemen). When asking for and receiving a light for a cigarette, they say, “Mil gracias, Dios guarde Ud.,” (a thousand thanks, God guard you). When a peon meets a superior who says, “como le va” (how do you do), the peon answers, “muy bien, para servirle a Ud.,” (very good, I offer you my services). They are rarely insolent to their superiors and when sober, never. They are illiterate to the extreme, having no desire to learn, but they are naturally clever and are capable of rendering good service, where mechanical skill is not required. You cannot out-figure one of them, and he will quickly remind you of any mistake in a transaction, if it counts against him.

Among the roto class, grandfather, father and son all work together, and have always been, as they are now, upon an equality in destitution. Their only apparent ambition seems to be to work enough during the week to secure a few pesos on Saturday night, with which to buy “aguardiente” (raw brandy), “vino” or “chicha” (wine or cider) at the “Cancha de Bola.” When a crowd of peons congregate at any one of the many places where drinks are sold, in the country, first one buys a litro (quart), and after taking a drink, he passes the cup, called “potrillo,” to the friend next to him, and so it is passed until empty. Then another buys a litro and passes it, and they continue to treat each other until all are fighting drunk. This is continued from Saturday night until Monday morning, and not infrequently until Monday night or Tuesday. Employers of labor have learned by experience not to expect anything from or depend upon their workmen for regular service on Monday, as the majority of them are incapacitated from the effects of drink—on Sunday. In the drinking places where the roto spends his Sundays and feast days, in drinking and gambling, there are always a number of women, “cantoras,” who join in the drinking, and between drinks entertain the crowd with dancing and singing, playing accompaniments on guitars.

The Saturday night and Sunday debauch of the peons generally commences after a hard week’s work, and frequently lasts thirty-six hours without sleep, and sixty hours without food. After having slept off the effects of drink, they are ready for business Tuesday or Wednesday morning. When they return to work they give a legal day’s labor, without persuasion to stimulate their activity. All differences are forgotten and no questions asked, knowing that it is only a few days until they will have another spree, and the weekly experience be repeated. They are inveterate gamblers. Men may be seen naked in the road, having lost all their clothing on a game of chance. The game may be cards, dice, topeadura, a cock fight or any contest in which the result is in doubt. The peon is a born gambler, and a cheerful loser. If beaten in a game he accepts the results with the indifference of a stoic or the sang-froid of a professional. He never complains, but bides his time for another chance to recover his losses.

The “Cancha de Bola,” the peon’s clubhouse, is a cemented or smooth floor space, covered with a thatched roof, but not enclosed. The game at the cancha is a sort of Indian billiards, played by rolling large wooden balls over the floor. There men and women meet on Sundays and feast days, to play games, drink and discuss the events of the week. And every cent is coaxed from every pocket to fill the coffers of the owner of the cancha.

Drunkenness is one of the chief curses of Chile, especially among the common people. The moral standard is not of a character that sets a ban upon drunkenness, and the custom of excessive drinking is indulged in by men, women, and not infrequently children. All classes are engaged more or less in the manufacture, sale and consumption of wine, chicha, aguardiente and pisco, the latter being alcohol made from the white grape. Every village store or shop dispenses liquors, and many of the huts along the country roads retail drinks. On Sundays and feast days these road houses are common resorts for peons, huasos and inquilinos. And there viciousness and crime are encouraged by excessive indulgence in cheap, and often adulterated and poisonous wines and liquors.

A new liquor law went into effect in 1902, which had for its purpose a sweeping reform in the manufacture and sale of intoxicants. It takes control of the production, limits the number and location of saloons; prohibits the sale within a reasonable distance of a church or schoolhouse, imposes a fine upon drunkenness and provides a severe penalty for the adulteration, falsifying or placing upon the market a product of the country not up to the standard fixed by law. But reforms and radical changes in customs in Chile are much easier in theory than in practice, and the promoters of the liquor law find it difficult to enforce its provisions. It is, however, a move in the right direction, and much good has resulted from the effort to carry it into effect.

The scene at a country despacho on Sunday or feast days is as picturesque as it is characteristic. There one will see a great number of men and women on horseback, frequently indulging in their cups, while seated on their horses in front of the despacho. The men are dressed in the peculiar costume of the country, wide-brimmed straw hats, ornamented with silk cord or braid, ponchos of brilliant colors, leggings reaching to the thighs, huge spurs and high heeled, pointed toed boots. Their saddles and bridles are richly ornamented, curiously fashioned, and form an interesting feature of the peculiar outfit. To the side of the saddle is usually attached a lasso, made of braided rawhide, strong, supple and ready for instant use. With this article the huaso is an artist. He practices the trick of casting the lasso in his infancy, keeps it up in youth, and becomes a master in the use of it as a man. One end is attached to his saddle, and the pony on which he is mounted is schooled in all the tricks of pursuing the animal or object to be captured, and to stop suddenly and brace itself for the shock when the lasso has been thrown. So accurate is the aim that it is difficult for man or beast to escape the noose of the huaso’s lasso when he sends it circling through the air. He is even more clever than the cowboy of the western plains, for the reason that his education begins earlier in life. His use of the lasso is not always limited to the business of capturing animals. He frequently resorts to it as a means of sport.

Two or more will take sides, and, riding at each other full speed, attempt to drag their opponents from their horses. There is little regard for consequences, and when the noose encircles the arm, neck, or body of one, and he receives the shock that comes from being suddenly dragged from his horse at the end of a rawhide rope, the sensation is not pleasant to say the least.

Unless fired by bad liquor there prevails among the Chilean huasos a general good fellowship and friendly familiarity. They are clannish, with a strong prejudice against all “gringos” (foreigners). 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. The game is played at a long pole called “vara,” generally cut from the blue gum, and fixed in Y-shaped supports, the object of the opposing teams being to push each other back to the end of the pole. The captains, or leaders, toss for position, which is important, as the winner places his horse’s head under that of his opponent’s, giving him the advantage of driving his mount like a wedge between the other and the pole. Other members of the two teams range themselves behind the captains, and a perfect pandemonium of clamor arises from the players and spectators as soon as the struggle begins. The horses enter into the spirit of the game, and strive with every nerve and sinew to force themselves forward, and it is a rare thing to see the players use their spurs. The game is far more interesting when it is reduced to a match or wager between two players of note, because they are then splendidly mounted, large sums often being paid for well-trained horses. The terrific straining of two animals to force each other back provides a marvelous study of anatomy with muscle at its highest tension. The horse which has the disadvantage in position will, before the signal to begin has been given, press down upon its adversary’s neck so as to nullify the advantage. A feature of the game is the excitement of spectators, one or more of whom are frequently impelled by zeal or drink, to drive their horses into the struggle and spoil it. Such interruptions usually result in the indiscreet meddler getting roughly handled by the indignant players, whence the Chilean saying that “topeadura is a good game to watch from a distance.”

All the horses of Chile cannot, however, be judged by the standard of these high priced sporting animals. The typical horse of the country is one peculiar to the Republic and when mounted by a huaso in his picturesque costume, the pony presents the appearance of supporting a pair of spurs with rider attached. He is a product of the old Spanish stock, docile, intelligent, and hardy, and though he has not the fine quarters of the improved breeds, he is strong, has wonderful endurance and can climb like a goat. They furnish all the mounts for the Chilean cavalry, and in recent years Great Britain and some of the European nations are adopting Chilean horses for cavalry purposes. They are gentle, obedient, seldom ever vicious, and are easily trained for any kind of service. From this description it would seem that the remarkable spurs invariably worn by the huaso and “vaqueros” might be dispensed with, but they are as much a part of their riding kit as their ponchos and lassos.

The Chilean saddle, “silla,” is peculiar to the country, and is the most expensive part of the huaso’s outfit. Many of them are works of art, covered with patent leather, beautifully and elaborately stitched with silk thread and ornamented with silver. In shape they are not unlike the Mexican saddle, except that they are shorter in the seat, and the front, instead of forming a high pommel with a neck-like projection, to which the lasso is fastened, is oval-shaped like the high back, forming a deep cushioned seat into which the rider fits closely. On either side in front is a leather roll, which prevents the rider from slipping forward. The stirrups, “estribos,” huge affairs made from solid blocks of wood, artistically designed, hand-carved and beautifully ornamented, are supported by single straps, attached to the saddle so far back that they cause the rider to lean well forward. These stirrups, which are perhaps the most unique article of their kind in the world, are usually adorned with silver or inlaid steel mountings. The wooden stirrups prevent the feet of the rider from getting wet and protect them from the “espino,” a bush with harsh, stiff branches and fierce thorns; they also serve as a means of warming the feet on cold days, as the person in the saddle can by striking his feet against the stirrups dispel the numbness resulting from cold. The saddle is always fastened with a rawhide cinch and never with a buckle girth. Many of the saddles have two cinches and are bound so securely that there is little possibility of accident from slipping or turning.

The “montura,” a peculiar kind of saddle much used in Chile in pioneer days, is now seldom seen. It is composed of six sheepskins, a rather excessive foundation, upon which is placed an “enjalma,” a skeleton saddle made of wood and bound together with rawhide. Over this are spread six more skins with the wool on, the whole being covered with a beautifully dressed kid skin. The montura is fastened with a cinch, into the fabric of which is woven the national colors of the Republic. It constitutes a rather elevated seat, which gives to the rider a peculiarly awkward position. But the montura was designed for and serves more purposes than one. In the early days when roads were few and long trips were made across country on horseback the numerous skins composing the odd saddle were used by the rider for a bed and covering at night.

The “espuelas” (spurs), worn by the Chilenos are the largest in the world, the rowels on some of them being six or eight inches in diameter. In order to prevent the rowels from dragging on the ground, they are worn with high heeled boots on which there is a leather projection back of and above the heel, upon which the spurs rest, and which keeps them at an elevation that prevents their coming in contact with the ground. The rowels are not sharp, however, and are less severe than the smaller spurs with sharp cutting points. They are also used by the wearer as a means of maintaining his equilibrium when a horse attempts to unseat him. This is accomplished by catching the spurs in the saddle cinch.

The bridle, “freno,” made of plaited rawhide, is strong, durable, and artistic. It is frequently ornamented with silver or inlaid steel attachments. Buckles are seldom used in the Chilean bridle. The reins are joined at the ends with a heavy ring to which is attached a single strand of braided rawhide, ending with a flat piece of the same material, called “chicote,” or as is often the case, loaded with lead, when it is called “penca.” The Chilean bit is unlike anything else of its kind. It is an instrument of torture, unique in design and terrible in its effect. It is very heavy, and is so formed that the rider can almost break the jaw of a horse with a hard, quick pull on the reins. They are used unsparingly upon the poor ponies, who serve their masters so faithfully. It is a custom of the huaso to practice bringing his horse from a run to an instant stop. He teaches the animal to rush full speed at any object. In order to accomplish these maneuvers they apply the full force of the terrible bit. It is one of the many cruelties practiced upon the horses. Originally the best of the beautiful and artistic bits used in Chile were designed by a Chilean mechanic whose shop or factory was at Pana Flor, a small village near Santiago. The Pana Flor bits are known throughout the Republic, and the huaso who possesses one is a proud man, especially if it is silver mounted, as many of them are. The owner of one of these much prized articles might be induced to part with his wife, but not with his bridle. This is particularly true now because in recent years the market has been flooded with cheap imitations of the genuine article, and the Pana Flor genius who created the unique bit, so characteristic of the country, has passed from the stage of action, and the product is now regarded as a “recuerdo” of rare value.

With all the ill-treatment imposed upon them, the Chilean horses seem fond of their masters. If left alone unfastened they will wait for hours for the return of their owners. They will gallop long distances over sand roads, up-hill and down, over stones, without shoes, and after a night’s foraging upon scant grass they are fit for another day’s work that may mean many leagues over bad roads.

It is interesting to witness the performance of a drunken huaso trying to reach home on his pony. The animal, perhaps from much experience with drunken riders, seems to understand the condition of his master, and his intelligence and patience in trying to help the man who is helplessly drunk, is both amusing and pathetic. He will stand firmly and patiently until the man is in the saddle, then start gently along, swaying from side to side as the rider loses his equilibrium, and when the man can sit erect no longer, will stop and wait for him to straighten up. Sometimes hours are spent in going a short distance. Cruel spurs rake him, and the terrible bit lacerates his mouth, but he seldom becomes excited, and if the man falls off, the patient beast invariably stops and waits for him to remount.

For general thieving the Roto Chileno has an international reputation, and it is conceded that he is capable of more clever lying and stealing than any known individual. They are not bold thieves, but rather of the sneak-thief order. If useful articles are left unguarded they seem to take wings and fly away. Yet no one has been seen or heard, and the rotos are the meekest of the innocent.

With all his faults the roto has, however, in many things a sense of responsibility. You may place one of them to guard any property (liquors excepted), and he will not steal nor permit others to do so. You may dispatch him with ladened carts, troops of cargo mules, money or other valuables, and under most circumstances your orders will be executed with the utmost fidelity. The responsibility attached to the service, when upon special missions, seems to convey the idea that he is under your eye. His faults may be attributed to ignorance and the custom of bad example rather than an evil heart. If treated kindly and fairly he will show some gratitude and appreciation by rendering faithful service. All work done by the peons is under the supervision of mayordomos. They are not supposed to think, but simply to do as they are ordered. They work with their hands and not with their heads, yet no one can give a better day’s work than the roto when he exerts himself. Their hours are from sunrise to sunset, stopping an hour for the midday meal. The peons formerly received from twenty to thirty cents per day, Chilean currency, the latter sum being paid to those in the country adjacent to the cities, but in more recent years they are a little better paid. They must be paid on Saturday night or they will not work willingly. If not working, they are left without food, but this makes little difference as those who are employed divide with their friends.

The peons are nearly all born out of wedlock; illegitimacy is nothing to them. Many are married, but even then they admit no obligations to support their families. In every district they are nearly all related. Fathers, mothers, if they can be identified, aunts, uncles, nephews, cousins, address each other as “comdares” or “compadres” (comrades). If increased pay tempts the peon away from his district, he will save his money until a few dollars have accumulated, then he will return and spend it with his old friends. In the winter months, when the rain prevents outdoor work, they have many ways to get money. They sell their labor in advance at greatly reduced rates. This is called “en verde,” signifying in green, or while growing. They sell a number of “tareas” of wheat, a certain term used in measuring the cutting of wheat. Animals are often sold before they are born, fowls before they are hatched, and wheat before it is sown.

LAND OWNER NO. 1.

The possessions of Land Owner No. 1 being too small to maintain himself and family, he rents land to till on the shares. The custom is for the landlord to provide the land, the seed and the animals with which to do the cultivating and threshing. The tenant performs the labor and prepares for market the grain, which is divided equally. When not engaged in the necessary work of cultivating and harvesting the crops upon his own or rented land, he works in a “chacra” (vegetable garden), or finds employment in making adobes, bricks, tiles, or wooden stirrups, cutting lumber, curing skins, etc. Sometimes he is sent by neighboring hacendados on errands to the city for cargoes of goods, to mill with wheat, or to the railway with mule trains carrying charcoal. His possessions consist of a horse, a yoke of oxen, and possibly a mule. All the tools that he has or requires are an ax, a shovel, a hoe and a crowbar. His animals are usually pastured in the hacienda, and the “talaje” (pasturage), paid for in work during plowing, sowing, or harvest time. His “rancho” (house), which he refers to as “mi vivienda,” is a creation not defined in the annals of architecture. It is constructed by placing a number of poles in the ground; to the tops of these upright posts other timbers of a similar character are fastened by tying them with rope or pieces of bark. Between the posts, sticks and branches of trees are woven, forming a sort of basket work. Over this a coating of mud mixed with straw forms the walls. The frame for the roof is also made of the trunks of small trees fastened together with bark; over the crude skeleton is woven a straw thatch, which is seldom rain proof. The door is made by tying together sticks or planks, for which pieces of bark or rawhide serve as hinges. The floors are dirt, and there are no windows or chimneys, and when necessary to build a fire in the house the smoke filters out through crevices in the walls and the thatch roof. These miserable huts, which form the places of habitation of the poor, are never perpendicular nor stand at proper angles, for the reason that they are shaped by the crooked timbers forming their framework. The interior presents an appearance quite as barren and devoid of comfort as the exterior. The furniture consists of a crude bedstead, a rickety table, and a few benches or stools. There are no articles of comfort or luxury in the homes of the poor. The men sleep upon the ground, inside or out of the house, as they choose, or as the weather permits. The crude furniture and the burnt clay dishes upon which their food is served are made by the women. The food is usually cooked in an iron kettle over an open fire, or in an oven of brick and mud built outside of the house. A peculiar feature of these squalid ranchos, especially in the interior of the country, is the barrenness of their surroundings. Usually there is not a tree, shrub, plant or flower, or any living, growing, green thing to relieve the dreariness of the desolate surroundings. This is all the more surprising when it is remembered that Chile possesses a prodigious soil, and that all kinds of vegetation grows quickly and prolifically when water is applied to the ground. Along the railways and near the cities a majority of the ranchos are distinguished by the cultivation of a variety of fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. The site selected for a country house is usually with reference to a supply of water.

Viewed from the roadside these rickety ranchos present a picturesque appearance. It is the frayed edge of home life that is always to be found behind the sub-tropical finery of semi-tropical countries. It is not well, however, to examine too closely or inquire carefully into the details of this home life. It is better to be gracious, for squalid as is the peon’s cottage, and unkempt as the family may appear, the extraordinary variety of dirt and the fantastic untidiness of the huts baffle description and escape reproduction. Similar spots may be seen in any land, for every population has its wastrels, but in the far east there is not to be found a lower level of life and greater lack of comfort generally, than that which suffices for the lowest classes in Chile. In a country blessed with a paucity of noxious reptiles and insects, where no beast more formidable than the cowardly puma dwells, and where birds and flowers of rare beauty abound, it seems inappropriate that man should dwell in such domestic squalor.

The male occupants of these houses do not, as a rule, contribute anything to the maintenance of the family. That feature of domestic life is left exclusively to the women, who are a hard working, self-sacrificing, humble and long suffering class. While they are neither honest nor virtuous, their vices are due more to ignorance and circumstances than natural tendencies, and their rewards do not match their merits. They do not feel the necessity of acting with scrupulous honesty at all times, as they are possessed of the belief that the priests will remit all their sins upon the payment of a given sum of money. Their education is narrow and limited, and they have never been well instructed in the virtues of the ten commandments. They spin, weave and dye ponchos for their men folk, and for sale; make blankets, fabrics for clothing, and clay dishes for their own use and for the market. They raise poultry, not for home consumption, but that they may sell the fowls and eggs, which are usually sold in advance.

These people are always in debt to the well-to-do landowners in the community where they live, and from whom they buy cloth, wool, dyes, food, etc. When eggs are laid or fowls are grown they are given in payment for these articles. One not familiar with the customs and conditions would be surprised in traveling through the country to find that it is difficult to buy an egg or a chicken at any of the ranchos, notwithstanding the fact that there seems to be a plentiful supply at every house.

When in need, peons buy on credit, and will obligate anything they possess, present or prospective, in payment. They live from hand to mouth, and seldom have more than one day’s supply of food on hand. Their wants are few, they are easily satisfied and generally contented. In the production of articles requiring intelligence and skill, the women excel the men. In different localities they produce different kinds of articles. For example, in Linares they make a great variety of beautiful baskets and curios from colored horse hair and fine straw; in Talcahuano, Concepcion, Chillan and Quillota the country women devote their time to the production of pretty and durable lace called “minaque,” which is made by hand and in a variety of patterns; along the coast country they make excellent hats from the dwarf palm, called “olma”; in other localities they make baskets, large and small, useful and ornamental; they also make beautiful as well as useful articles from the horns of animals, and of wood, stone and paper. They are clever and adaptive in all of their occupations, but lack in those qualities which lead to independence. Their favorite position is sitting on the ground, and while engaged in their various occupations they carry on a chatty gossip about their personal affairs, or those of their neighbors, which is usually more racy than edifying.

There is a rustic beauty about the Chilean women in their youth, but their manner of living causes their beauty to fade at an early age, and at twenty-five the majority of them begin to look old and grow stout and homely. They acquire an erect carriage and grace of movement from the custom of carrying articles of various kinds upon the head. They have broad hips, well-developed busts, medium-sized feet and small, tapering hands. A bright, smiling, and attractive face, with sparkling eyes, small mouth, cherry lips and beautiful teeth, are some of the features of these peasant women. On Sundays and other feast days, when dressed in their quaint and fantastic costumes, in which brilliant colors form a conspicuous feature, they present an attractive appearance. They are polite, seldom bold and never intrusive. They are devotees of the Catholic church, but their religion is of a flexible character. They often go from the church to the “cancha de bola” to dance, drink and gossip, but are rarely drunk or disorderly. They are superstitious and believe in witchcraft. In their homes they are undemonstrative, but show their affection for their families and friends by their services and sacrifices, and their considerate attendance upon the aged rather than in expressions of sentiment and caresses.

Their love for their offspring is a question that is difficult to solve. If a male child is born they are pleased, because it means that the work of another peon will be added to the family resources. If a girl baby arrives, “it is too bad, but will serve.” In this and other ways they indicate that maternal love corresponds to the prospective benefits to be derived. If a child leaves its home, or dies, the parents show little grief or sorrow. Perhaps their sorrow is concealed from view,—at least it is to be hoped that such is the case.

The common drink among the people is “mate,” made from the leaves of the “yerba mate,” a plant that grows in Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Over five million pounds of mate, valued at more than 1,000,000 pesos, is imported into Chile annually. The beverage is made by steeping the leaves in hot water. It is drunk from a mate cup, an article peculiar to the country. They are usually the most expensive part of the household equipment. Many of those used by the better class of people are made of hammered silver, oddly shaped, curiously fashioned and artistically finished. They are frequently ornamented with quaint figures, representing birds, animals or reptiles. Others are made of gourds, artistically carved and ornamented with silver mountings, while common gourd cups serve the poor people. The method of drinking the mate is through a silver tube called “bombilla,” one end of which is enlarged, forming a kind of perforated ball, which serves as a strainer, preventing the dregs of the plant being drawn into the mouth. One of the curious and interesting sights in the country is the women sitting about the little ranchos indulging in their cups of mate.

The men comprising farmers No. 1 are more serious and more honest than the peons. Their food consists of wheat and beans. The wheat, which is roasted and ground into flour with a stone, is called “harina tostado.” It is eaten instead of bread, which they seldom have. When mixed with water or wine it makes a very nourishing drink, called “ulpo.” Sometimes when these poor farmer folk have a desire for bread, they buy a bag of flour, make a quantity of bread and sell it. When they have disposed of enough to pay for the flour, they convert the remainder of the supply into bread for home consumption.

From the families of this class of agriculturists the servants for the cities are obtained. The women act as house servants, in which capacity they have no responsibilities, simply performing such duties as they are given by their masters. They have no initiative, but make good servants, when properly trained. It is the custom to keep everything of value under lock and key, but the house servants, especially the women, are no more dishonest than those of other countries. The boys from the families in this class also go to the cities, where they become carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, harness-makers, or laborers. They seldom rise to ownership, or positions of greater responsibility than performing a certain kind of labor for specific wages. As they become more proficient in their work or trade, enabling them to command better remuneration for their services, they invariably imitate the better classes, spending more money than they earn, and are always “atrasado” (behind in their accounts).

Few of the poor or middle classes know their ages. No certificate is given of baptism. If a priest is asked why this is not done, he will say that it is useless, as they cannot read. If it becomes necessary to establish the right to an inheritance, the church record is examined, provided that the person whose age is to be ascertained knows where he was baptized, and that the church register is in existence.

LAND OWNER NO. 2.

Land Owner No. 2 possesses more land than No. 1, but his holdings are very small. He owns a cart, a few yoke of oxen, some cows, sheep, hogs and poultry. He freights grain, flour, and charcoal for others from haciendas to the mills or railway stations, thereby adding to his income. The surplus from his earnings he prudently invests in property. These farmers are, as a rule, provident, having always food supplies in their houses, yet they seldom lift their families out of the rut of poverty. Most members of the family, including the head of the house, either go barefooted or wear only rawhide sandals upon their feet the year round, except Sundays, feast days and special occasions. It is only the women who are permitted to indulge frequently in the luxury of shoes and clean gowns. The sons work with the father and not as peons for others. These people associate with Farmers No. 1, and even with the peons as equals. Not, however, without prideful reflection, for they consider themselves above their poorer neighbors, although they do not say so. They are not admitted to the society of Land Owner No. 3, or the hacendados, although they have many interests in common and commercial relations with those classes. If you are his guest he will serve you wine or water in a glass tumbler, but he never uses such an article himself, and perhaps you will be given a knife and fork with which to eat your food. These middle class farmers constitute the best element in Chile. They work honestly to gain a livelihood, and ask no favors from others. They are too poor to engage in politics.

A peculiar feature of the life of this class of people is the methods they resort to to save money and increase their possessions. They live solely upon the products of their little farms, and seldom eat what they can sell. They make bread, but eat very little of it, the family consumption being limited to the equivalent of the profits on that which is sold. They keep liquors in the house, but to sell. If an animal is slaughtered, some kind of a function is arranged, to which the neighbors are invited and the meat disposed of in a feast, their guests being served as long as they have money with which to buy. If a woman desires some article of dress or adornment, and has not the money with which to purchase it, she gives a feast. She will go to a neighbor who has a hog and negotiate for the animal on credit: she also purchases an “arroba” (ten gallons) of “chicha,” for which she gives her promise to pay, the credit extending until the respective articles are disposed of. The hog, “chancha,” is slaughtered, and the feast is announced. There is music and a number of women who dance and sing are there as a special attraction. These feasts always attract a crowd and by the time the chancha and the chicha are disposed of, the woman conducting the affair has made sufficient profit to pay her indebtedness and to purchase the desired article.

LAND OWNER NO. 3.

The transition of Land Owners No. 3, from what is recognized as the inferior classes, to respectable citizens is generally due to the accumulation of property. Wealth constitutes recognized citizenship, and when obtained, they think that the right of sovereignty is theirs in the fullest degree. This transition often carries with it the idea that all law and government should be administered by them. Fortunately their inexperience and lack of education seldom permits them to rule higher than municipal legislation, or perhaps sub-delegate of a district. The phlegmatic temperament of this class of Chilenos is universal. If emotions ever stir the depths of their souls they manage to conceal the fact by an apparent calm composure.

Most of them are illiterate, but to their credit they have in recent years been endeavoring to secure for their children better education than that afforded them. The educational facilities of the country are not good, but the majority of the children of this class of farmers secure sufficient technical training in the schools to suffice for their simple lives. They are orderly, hard working people, and generally honest, as they interpret the meaning of the term. The Chilean characteristic of sticking tenaciously to custom and tradition is exemplified in the home life of these people. Their condition is little better or above that of Land Owners No. 1 and 2. From choice, rather than necessity, they follow the custom of their Indian ancestors by sitting upon the ground, a stone or a billet of wood; the food for the family is served from one dish, there being as many spoons as persons to be served. The materials which enter into the composition of the food of these farmer folk consisting of wheat, corn, beans, fruit, pepper, etc., are ground between stones. In fact the grinding stones are the most useful utensils in the equipment of the kitchen. They consist of one large flat stone with a smooth surface, and a smaller one, oval shaped. The material is placed upon the large stone, and the other in the hand of the operator is used to crush and grind the grain or dried vegetables to the proper consistency. This work is always done by the women. In the kitchen may be found a few pots, clay dishes, tin cups, wooden spoons and quantities of dirt. Occupying the kitchen, and apparently upon the most intimate terms with members of the family are pigs, goats, dogs, and chickens. If there are guests in the house, food is served in the dining room with some show of formality, but when the family is alone, the food is served in one dish from which the members help themselves with spoons until the supply is exhausted. It is then refilled with some other kind of food and the meal continues until all are satisfied. With a change of food the same dish and spoons are used without being washed. Tea and coffee are sometimes served when strangers are present, but when the family is alone, mate only is served as a drink, with their meals. The mate cup is filled and passed to the head of the house who drinks the contents through a “bombilla.” The cup is filled again and again, each member of the family drinking out of the same vessel and through the same bombilla. When there are no guests in the house the servants sometimes form part of the family group, eating out of the same pot, and having their turn at the mate through the family bombilla.

The tile-roofed adobe houses inhabited by this class of farmers are very plain. They are devoid of ornamentation within or without, and there is seldom a tree or shrub to relieve the dreary monotony of the surroundings. There are no windows in these places of abode, and the floor is either dirt or common brick. The furniture consists of beds, one or two home-made tables, and a few chairs of the commonest kind.

If a person of the better class visits the home of one of these Chilean farmers, he must do most of the talking, and it will be necessary to limit the conversation to subjects pertaining to the church, crops, animals, gossip, or questions relating to their districts. They know little of the great world lying beyond the narrow horizon of their local environments. The methods employed by this class of farmers in cultivating the soil are crude and primitive. The wooden plow used by the Spaniards and Greeks a thousand years ago, furnishes the model for the implement used by these people in this twentieth century. It is made by mortising one piece of a small tree trunk into another, at an angle of about forty-five degrees. A piece of iron is usually fastened over the point of the portion that is intended to stir the ground. Oxen, attached by a wooden yoke fastened to their horns with rawhide thongs, are employed in drawing the plows. A stick serves as a handle, and holding on to the crude implement with one hand, the other used in directing the oxen, the plowman manages to scratch the ground, but is never able to stir the soil to any depth. When the plowing is done and the grain planted or sown, some branches of trees serve as a drag for covering it. Forks for handling grain and hay are made from branches of trees.

The grain is harvested with reap hooks, and the threshing is done with animals. The wheat or barley is placed upon the ground within a circular enclosure. A number of animals, usually young mares from the farm, are turned into the enclosure, and one or more men mounted upon strong horses, follow them around, shouting, whipping and pursuing them over the grain until the tramping of hoofs has crushed the grain from the straw. Then comes the process of separating the chaff from the grain. This, as are all other methods employed in cultivating and preparing products of the farm for market, is curious and primitive. The wheat and chaff are placed in baskets, which men hold in their hands above their heads allowing the contents to empty slowly. As it falls the chaff and refuse are carried to one side by the wind, leaving the grain, which is heavier and which falls directly to the ground, clean and ready for the market.

Nearly all the land occupied and cultivated by this class of farmers is what is known as “campo de rulo” (dry hill land), which constitutes the greater part of agricultural Chile. The only moisture it has is from the three or four months’ rainfall from June to October. For about half the year these hill lands are brown, sear and desolate looking, but in the autumn, winter and spring, they are covered with a mantle of rich verdure, presenting a landscape scene that is attractive and prepossessing. During the rainy season the mud is deep, roads are often impassable, bridges are carried away by the swift current of the streams and there is little communication between different communities or between country and city.

The theory of these hill farmers is to get as much out of the soil as possible, without expense. The land is never fertilized, and crops are grown alternate years. The plowing is done after the rains set in in the autumn, and the soil being clay, remains very hard and lumpy. This plowed land, called “barbecho,” is left over the winter, the rains having the effect of pulverizing and putting it in condition for the sowing or planting for the next season. Oxen are used for plowing, and it is a novel sight to see a large number of those slow, plodding beasts winding about the hills dragging the crude plows. Fifty yoke of oxen are often engaged in plowing on one hacienda. This method of cultivating is employed until the soil becomes so worn that it will not produce a satisfactory crop. It is then let stand for several years until nature rejuvenates it, and it is again put into service. The grain is harvested by hand, and brought from the hills in primitive wooden carts, or upon the heads of peons. The general appearance of the soil would indicate that this hill land is valueless for agricultural purposes, but it produces annually a large per cent. of the agricultural products of the country, besides maintaining many horses, cattle and sheep.

The farmers of this class live in a narrow world. The majority of them have never been out of the province in which they were born and many of them never saw a railway train; they know the villages in their vicinity, and perhaps the provincial capital, but one who has seen Santiago, the national capital, is the rare exception. The customs prevailing in other countries, or what is going on in the great world, are of little consequence to them; they are interested only in what they are doing. Even if one can read, he seldom subscribes for a newspaper, as that is considered a useless expenditure.

The men engage only in the larger affairs of the business of the family, such as marketing the animals and the grain raised on the farm. The small trade in chicha, liquors, poultry, etc., is attended to by the women. In nearly every house is kept a supply of such articles as may be required by the peons. In the sale of these, the money that is paid out by the farmer, in wages, comes back in small amounts, and with interest. The profit made on this small mercantile business, in the sale of sugar, mate, chicha, etc., pays for the articles of the same class consumed by the farmer’s family. In these transactions they never refuse credit to anyone, but politely say they have not the article called for, notwithstanding the fact that it may be in plain view of the would-be purchaser, or sold to another before his eyes. They understand each other and their method of dealing with delinquent customers furnishes an example that might be emulated with profit by more progressive and up-to-date tradesmen.

These farmers are received at the haciendas, not exactly as equals, but because of a money consideration. They have land, stock, and usually money in the bank. Notwithstanding the fact that many of them have a competency, they resort to a method of economy that is absolute penuriousness,—stinginess personified. They never visit their friends, or entertain their neighbors. They never keep a coach, for two reasons, one being that where they reside, and places to where they journey, there are no coach roads, and for the more general reason that they never spend money for such an unnecessary luxury. The men always ride horseback, and when the women go away from home, which is seldom, they also travel on horseback. Few of them possess sidesaddles, and the common custom is for them to go “en anca,” sitting upon a cloth spread upon the back of the horse, behind the saddle occupied by the man. There is still another class of dry land, hill farmers, who own large tracts of land, and farm upon a large scale. In sandy or loam soil they employ modern machinery and implements. This class often becomes rich, in which case they invariably move to the provincial cities and work their estates through an “administrador.” These hill farmers are autocrats in their respective communities; not in the same despotic manner as the owners of the large irrigated estates, for the inquilinos and peons of the hills are more independent, are treated with greater consideration, and are more nearly on an equality than is the case on the great hacienda.

HACIENDAS AND HACENDADOS.

In the fertile valleys, through which flow the rivers of Chile, are many magnificent estates, some of them including thousands of acres of productive land. Upon an eminence in the midst of broad acres, of golden grain, waving corn and verdant pastures, all framed with avenues of stately alamos, stands the splendid residence of the owner, overlooking the picturesque and pastoral scene. The majority of these country mansions are built upon the same general plan, varying only in size and ornamental elaboration. They represent a letter H in form, with a front entrance in the middle of the bar connecting the main lines of the letter, the drawing-room upon one side and the dining-room on the other. A wide, roomy corridor leads from the main entrance in front to the beautiful patio, upon either side of which is arranged the sleeping apartments. These residences are almost invariably well furnished and finished with artistic interior decorations. Some of them include rare old paintings and splendid specimens of wood carving. The drawing-room and dining-room usually contain the best of the furniture and decorations, as those are the portions of the house most occupied by guests. There is an absence of fireplaces and stoves, due to the mild climate. The house is surrounded by well-kept parks and gardens containing rare trees, shrubs and flowers. There is a peaceful harmony in the beauty of the surroundings and everything in the environment is suggestive of comfort and luxury.

The hacienda constitutes a small empire, with various executive and administrative branches. The territorial limits are usually defined by walls made of loose piled stones or adobes. The irrigated portions are divided into potreros (fields), of from one hundred to two hundred acres each, the dividing lines being indicated by rows of growing trees, usually poplar, or alamos, that grow straight and tall, and which not only add to the beauty of the landscape, but also furnish shade for the animals in the pastures. The hill lands are divided into larger sections, frequently as much as one thousand acres constituting one pasture field or range. These potreros are enclosed with thorned hedges, from the espino which grows abundantly in the low lands. Irrigating canals carry water from the hill streams to the cultivated fields and the pasture land, where clover, alfalfa, and other grasses grow prodigiously in the rich loam soil.

Roads flanked with graceful trees lead out from the residence and from the corrals to various parts of the property. A photographic view of one of these country homes needs only a few touches of the artist’s brush to make it an idyl. A home glimpse in Chile, even on an hacienda, is no exception. Sunlight through a camera glorifies vistas and ennobles foliage; it promotes stucco and plaster to marble and gives grace and beauty to commonplace things. The lumbering teams of oxen and the huge two-wheeled carts add to the picturesque placidity of the scene which presents an appearance of perpetual summer and glorious afternoon. But the photograph says nothing, and it is well for the chronicler to omit any mention of the dust through which the carts creak and groan at harvest time, in a country where rain falls only between May and September.

The servants on a large hacienda consist of an administrador, a capataz (sub-manager), various mayordomos, vaqueros (cowboys), shepherds and a troop of peons. The administrador, or manager, is the responsible executive head, and has entire charge of the farm. He receives orders only from the proprietor. He suggests to the owner the work and improvements necessary, and when his suggestions are approved he gives orders to his subordinates to execute the plan; he receives from the mayordomos accounts of the work done and wages earned, pays employés, etc. It is also the business of the manager to dispose of the animals raised on the farm, when ready for market. These sales are usually made at auction at the most convenient railway station or shipping point. Sometimes the sales amount to as much as fifty thousand pesos in one day. The owner or his representatives are always present, and animals are never sold for less than they are actually worth.

The service of an hacienda manager consists in whatever the owner may order; he passes most of his days on horseback, as do the other servants, except the peons. The pay of this important personage is three hundred pesos, equal to one hundred dollars United States currency, a year. In addition to this meager money compensation he has the use of ten acres of dry land, suitable for growing wheat, six or eight acres of chacra, or vegetable producing land, and pasture for fifteen to twenty animals. Ten horses of the hacienda are usually set apart for his exclusive use.

The capataz occupies a position next in importance to the manager; his business is to ride over the farm daily, and make reports and suggestions to the manager. It is also the duty of this functionary to impound all animals not belonging to the estate found in the potreros. A fine of so much per head is assessed against all such animals, and the owner is required to pay the amount before they are released.

Vaqueros, who are under the direction of a manager, have certain fields and animals under their charge. Each is held responsible for the animals under his care. A daily count is made, and if any are missing the vaquero is sent in search of them. The vaquero is the cowboy of South America, and represents a type peculiar to the country.

His leggins usually consist of untanned goat skin, worn in the natural form and without attempt to make them conform to the shape of the legs. They not infrequently differ in color and marking, causing the wearer to present a grotesque appearance. He also wears immense spurs and other articles correspondingly fantastic, not the least conspicuous of which is his hat, an enormous cone-shaped sombrero made of felt and embroidered in fancy colors. His lasso of plaited rawhide, loosely coiled in two-foot circles, rests upon the back of his horse. These servants on the hacienda receive as compensation fifty pesos in cash annually, the use of two acres of chacra, four acres of wheat-growing land, and pasture for six or eight animals.

For each department of labor on these properties, including canals, corrals, repairs, storehouse, direction of peons, etc., there is a mayordomo, or foreman. Their pay is the same as that of the vaqueros. The proprietor furnishes horses but not saddles for all of his employés, except the peons.

“Ovejeros” (shepherds), connected with these estates live in the hills and work on contract. They receive twenty-five centavos for each lamb born, or one-third of the lambs. In case one receives a per cent. of the lambs as compensation for his labor, he is compelled to sell them to his master for one peso each. Each shepherd has in his care from five hundred to one thousand sheep.

“Inquilinos,” or farm tenants, comprise the servants living on the farm. They must work when ordered or furnish someone to labor in their stead. The head of each of the families is given an allowance of four acres of wheat-growing land, and pasture for six animals; they receive no cash compensation. The peons on the hacienda are not given land and pasturage for animals, but are furnished with a daily ration of food. The owners of estates furnish houses for their servants, free of rent.

The owners of the large, irrigated and well-equipped haciendas constitute the wealthiest, most cultured and aristocratic class in Chile. Presidents, senators and congressmen are elected from this class, and ministers, judges, admirals and generals are selected from the landed gentry. Prominent and influential professional and business men rely upon their estates for both pleasure and profit. The owners live upon their haciendas a portion of the year, but their homes are in the cities, most of them in Santiago, where they live in mansions and spend with lavish hand the income from their estates. The majority of them spend more than their income and as a result the heavily capitalized mortgage bank of Santiago has its octopus-like hand upon ninety per cent. of the beautiful and valuable country estates in Chile. The extravagance of the wealthy class in the Republic is cause for comment, and a surprise to most foreigners. Their prodigality furnishes a ruinous example to the middle classes, who try to emulate them, producing thereby a cheap, imitative kind of aristocracy. Most of them belong to old and influential families who inherited their fortunes and names from pioneer colonists. Some, however, are parvenu aristocrats who have gained access to the exclusive social circles by means of money, a position which from lack of education and breeding they are not qualified to maintain.

Large landowners give little time to the cultivation of their estates, and as a result the haciendas never produce to their full capacity. The chief occupation of the owners is a calculation of the probable income, with the application of as little capital and labor as possible on the property.

Notwithstanding the fact that Chile owns the richest and most extensive nitrate fields and guano deposits in the world, and that thousands of tons of fertilizing material are exported annually to other countries, to enrich depleted soil, little or none of this valuable re-creative agency is utilized to rejuvenate the sterile soil of the worn hill farms of the Republic. They refuse to return to the soil by artificial means that which is annually drawn from it in the production of crops, and as a result much valuable land has lapsed into disuse, being considered sterile and valueless because its producing quality has been exhausted. Under existing circumstances the farmer’s expenses are heavy and certain and his income decreasing and uncertain. The result is that the handsome estates are fast falling under the bane of mortgages, the payment of the interest on which is sapping the life of the soil. Economy is not one of the ruling characteristics of the Chileno; social and political prestige must be maintained, even if the inevitable result is financial ruin.

Mortgages will not permit of a disunion of the estates they cover, or selling of a portion of the land with which to pay interest, and when the owner is unable to longer meet his obligations the hacienda is sold at auction. The family then retires to a life of seclusion, and thereafter live upon a very meager income. There is no moral; remembering their former achievements and the splendor of past life, they indulge in no regret over present conditions. These families do not as a rule, however, belong to the best blood of Chile. They generally consist of those who go from country to the city and whose vanity leads them into unwonted extravagance.

The artificial and realistic phases of social life among the above mentioned classes furnish some sharp and well-defined contrasts. The phase most commonly known, and the one invariably presented to the world, is the artificial, with stage effects and deceptive lights; the other is the real,—the everyday home life, where the natural characteristics of the actors are presented. In the home, all show, pomp and exhibition can be safely discarded; no stage effects are necessary. A “peep” into the home life of some of these families will reveal the female members sitting in groups upon low stools, or on the floor, around a “bracero,” charcoal fire, the servants squatting in close proximity, discussing in a familiar way the latest social triumphs or the day’s hidden economies.

Another striking contrast in the home life is the different characteristics possessed by the men and women. The women are domestic by nature, patient to a degree, long suffering, good mothers and loyal wives. They are content with little, and either by inheritance or through generations of experience and training they do not expect much from their lords and masters. Their education, which is generally secured in the parochial schools, is influenced by religious prejudice. They manifest little interest in politics or world affairs, and a professional career is not to be thought of by a Chilena. ’Tis considered more respectable for a woman to live proudly in abject poverty than to earn a livelihood in a profession or commercial occupation. Many of the Chilean señoritas possess great beauty, are graceful and vivacious. They know the force and effect of flattery, and are artists in the use of that dangerous weapon of society. They have natural talent for languages, usually speak French and have some knowledge of English, and their own language they use with consummate skill.

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. Their education and youthful training too often lead them into the erroneous idea that business is drudgery, and that discipline of mind and will are hardships to be endured only by the servants and poor classes.

The men who constitute the wealthy class in Chile contrast sharply in characteristics with the women 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. This is carried to such extent that in the cities the families of the managers or heads of competing commercial houses or business firms will not associate with each other, and friendship between two Chilean gentlemen engaged in opposition business is the rare exception. Political opponents are enemies so long as their interests clash.

It is generally among the hacendados that political schemes, resulting in combinations of far-reaching consequence, have their origin. When a candidate aspires to an elective office, he makes his wants known to the managers of the party to which he belongs, and assures them of his willingness to pay the required sum to carry the election. After securing the nomination the candidate puts himself in communication with the influential men of his party in the province in which he stands for election. Among these men he distributes the amount he is willing to pay for the office. These confidants distribute the fund among their friends, who in turn re-distribute it, each retaining as it passes through his hands what he believes is the value of his services. There is never any accounting, and no questions are asked. On election day, which is a general feast and field day for the peons, each candidate has friends and money representing him at the various voting places. The peons have no political faith or party, probably do not know, much less care, for what the election is being held. Their votes are for sale, either publicly or privately, to the highest bidder. Those from the same farm, district or village, usually band together, one of the number acting as spokesman. When the polls are declared open the inspectors of registration take their places behind the ballot box, and the bidding for the purchase of votes begins. The agent of one candidate approaches a group of peons and asks for their votes, the spokesman for the crowd asking in turn what is bid for their suffrages. After some bargaining an offer is made. Taking that as a basis, negotiations are then opened by a representative of the peons with the agent for another candidate. When convinced that they cannot secure more the peons close with the highest bidder, and march in single file to the voting place. One by one their names are called, and as their right to vote is admitted, the agent of the candidate making the purchase deposits the vote. After the voting is completed according to agreement, the peons receive the money in the presence of the inspectors, politicians and other voters. There is no attempt at secrecy. There is a law upon the statute books making the purchase or the sale of a vote a crime, with severe penalties attached, but it is disregarded and has become almost a dead letter. The laws of Chile also provide for a secret ballot, but it is neither secret nor sacred. The election of a president in Chile is by the electoral system, the electors being selected by popular vote, and apportioned on a basis of population.

The constitution gives to the poor of Chile the birthright of freedom, and all men are supposed to be equal under the laws of the Republic. Many of those living upon the large haciendas, however, have little freedom of action or individuality and some of them are little more than a part of the general farm equipment. They are dependent and apparently defenseless. 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.

The majority of these poor people are honest with their patrons. When crimes are committed it is against others and not their master. As a rule the only offense of which they are guilty is that of harboring friendly thieves in their houses on the haciendas, thereby indirectly aiding in theft committed. If an hacienda changes hands, it makes not the slightest difference with the servants, who remain, many of them spending their entire lives upon the estate where they are born. The average wage of these farm laborers is about forty centavos per day. This low compensation is not due to a surplus of farm labor, for in fact there is a scarcity.

The condition of the poor people in the farming communities has resulted in recent years in an exodus of labor to the nitrate fields and mineral districts of Atacama, Tarapaca, Copiapo and Coquimbo, where they receive good wages and are paid regularly. This inviting field for labor, within the territorial limits of the Republic, is encouraging a more independent spirit among the working classes. That, together with the resentment against oppression so long imposed upon them by the hacendados, has already produced a marked effect and is rapidly growing into a condition of open hostility between employer and employés. The laborers are already organizing themselves into unions which opens a fruitful field for the agitator and the political demagogue. This has been evidenced by organized demands for shorter hours and higher wages among the employés in many of the seaport towns within the past few years. It had its most striking and tragic illustration in the riots in Valparaiso in May, 1903, when the city was sacked and property burned by a mob of striking stevedores.

This independent movement, this breaking away from former conditions had its origin in the revolution of 1891, which inaugurated new and worse relations between capital and labor. The uprising gave the Roto Chileno an opportunity to unmask and to manifest his natural characteristics. Not at first upon a strike plan, but in secret combination against those who employ labor; to shield each other in infractions of the law; to organize a class into a union of criminals that includes in its depredations every act in the category of crime. An undeclared war is waged, unexpressed antagonism, and unspoken enmity 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.

These labor troubles, felt first in the populous centers, are gradually finding their way to the farms and haciendas, and it is easy to predict the changed condition that will result within a few years; conditions that will reach the other extreme. 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. This is a problem that should concern the politicians and statesmen of Chile. The time has passed when the working class will submit to intolerance and oppression, and the fact that conditions are changing, even in a country where the common people cling tenaciously to tradition and usage, must be recognized. 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 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. Instead of an earthen floor, and the patio occupied by fowls and animals, there is a brick or tile floor, and the walls are ornamented with pictures. The poncho, which was formerly universally worn by the men, has been almost entirely discarded in the cities, and generally so in the villages. The mantilla, that most unsanitary of articles, with which all the women of Chile formerly draped their heads and faces, and which had also the objectionable feature of giving them a common and unattractive appearance, is fast growing into disuse, and is being supplanted by more modern feminine headdress. The country people are beginning to discard sandals for shoes, and in many ways manifest a more progressive spirit.

A Chileno may appear upon the streets of a city in personal attire the same as that prescribed for gentlemen in any country, but custom in the country prescribes a different standard. A gentleman huaso, well mounted and properly equipped, will have several hundred dollars represented in his personal adornment and caparison, for he must appear “a la moda del campo” (in the costume of the country). The cost of the outfit of the average well-mounted Chilean gentleman farmer may be calculated as follows: Horse, three hundred pesos; silver mounted bridle and reins, seventy-five; silver mounted saddle, two hundred; inlaid silver belt and knife, fifty; silver spurs, seventy-five; poncho, fifty; hat, twenty; special riding suit, one hundred; embroidered leggins, seventy-five; boots, twenty-five; watch and other extras, two hundred; total, one thousand one hundred and seventy pesos, equal to four hundred dollars United States currency.

RODEO.

One of the most exciting of the many peculiar practices indulged in by the country people, and one which requires great skill and courage, is the “rodeo” (method of managing wild bullocks in a corral, by men on horseback). It is the Chilean Corrida, taking the place of the Spanish bull fight, and is an inoffensive sport. A rodeo is an event of much general interest, and is usually attended by large crowds of people, friends and invited guests of the owner of the hacienda where it takes place. Special and elaborate preparations are made, and the rodeo is looked forward to with much interest, not only by those who take part in the dangerous proceedings, but also by everyone favored with an invitation or an opportunity to attend. The company first assembles at the residence of the gentleman giving the function, where all the specially invited guests and personal friends are entertained.

The vaqueros have been instructed to collect in a large corral, representing a half circle, all the cattle from the hill potreros. The animals are usually unaccustomed to the sight of anyone except the vaquero who attends them, and are wild and easily excited. When the time arrives for opening the rodeo, the horses of the men who are to participate, are brought out, each attended by a mozo (personal servant), who carefully adjusts the huge spurs always used on such occasions, to the boots of their respective masters. The men then mount and ride to the corrals, each followed by his mozo with several reserve horses to be used in case of necessity. About the corrals, which are decorated with flags and bunting, is a large crowd, including the mounted servants of the hacienda, as well as the inquilinos and servants from other farms, on horseback and in carts. Later the ladies of the household and their friends and guests arrive and occupy seats especially prepared for them, which command a good view of the corral. An order is given for the function to begin and employés of the hacienda enter the corral and drive the animals close together, encircling them to prevent their escape. The men who are to participate in this sport take their positions and a bullock is permitted to pass through the line encircling the herd. It is immediately charged by two of the waiting party, one following and urging it on, the other riding by its side, forcing the beast as closely as possible to the corral fence. When they have traversed the distance of the corral enclosure the person riding by the animal’s side rushes to its head, and by a clever move turns it suddenly around. The positions of pursuing parties are reversed, first one riding at the side of and turning the infuriated beast, and then the other, until it is completely subdued. Until it is conquered the riders must at no time leave the animal. If it bolt through the herd, or amongst the bunch of mounted servants on guard, they must follow, each keeping his respective position. Their horses are well trained and enter into the sport with as keen a zest as the riders. When one animal has been conquered it is driven from the corral and another turned loose, different persons taking part in each separate contest. If a horse is gored, as is often the case, or the rider dismounted and trampled upon, others quickly take their places and the sport continues. During the rodeo the spectators applaud or groan at the acts of the participants, according to their merit or demerit. Rodeos sometimes last for several days. An intermission is given in the middle of the day during which lunch is served, and at night there is always entertainment and much merrymaking at the hacienda residence. This sport is full of surprises, both comic and tragic, as there is always an element of uncertainty in the actions of a wild and infuriated young bull, when pursued and harassed until he becomes desperate. The day’s entertainment often closes with some daring vaquero lassoing, saddling and mounting a big, untamed bull.

One of the purposes of a rodeo is that the owners of cattle in neighboring haciendas may have all of the cattle brought in from the hills, identified and separated. The cattle belonging to each estate bear the registered mark of the owner by which they are identified. Frequently animals stray from their ranges and potreros and join the herds in neighboring haciendas. In these annual rodeos, or round-ups, they are divided and each lot according to mark or brand is returned to the owner. All the vaqueros of the different estates in the locality attend and participate. In this way the hacendados get all the wild young animals from the hills brought in, separated and branded at practically no expense. What is considered sport, and a festival by the vaqueros and employés on the big farms, is in reality the annual collection of cattle, as a matter of business to the owner.

The crowd constituting the spectators at a rodeo is made up of peons, inquilinos and vaqueros from neighboring haciendas. They dance the cuaca, and there is music of primitive harps and guitars. There is much drinking of chicha and exchange of badinage, all mixed with talk of, and comment on the rodeo, and the personal skill and bravery, or the lack of those qualities, displayed by those engaged in the sport. In the evening, after the conclusion of the rodeo, along the dusty country roads leading to the homes of these people one may witness strenuous and exciting contests in topeadura, in which sturdy Chilean ponies and tipsy riders form the component part.

CHACRA.

Chacra (vegetable farm), is usually land rented in small sections by the poor people from the rich landowners. After the servants have been allotted their portion of land in the poorest soil of the hacienda, other portions are rented, usually for a stipulated rental of two thousand kilos of beans for each quadra (four acres). At the harvest time the landowner must be paid his rent, either in the proportion of the products stipulated, or the cash market value of same. This settlement must be made before the “chacrero” is permitted to remove any of the crops. The lessee’s family live in the chacra in huts made of the branches of trees. The hacendado knows the productive capacity of his land, and gauges the rental value accordingly. If the renter manages to save a few sacks of beans, after living and paying his rent, he is fortunate. As a rule this class of tillers of the soil receive nothing more than a meager living for their labor.