Part 5

The scenes enacted in Santiago were equally as wild and tragic as those witnessed in Valparaiso. The houses of Balmaceda, Claudio Vicuña and other Balmacedistas were attacked, looted and everything they contained destroyed or carried away. A statue of the deposed president was dismembered and kicked through the streets. From balconies ladies cheered the performance, while opprobrium was heaped upon the inanimate form by the drunken mob. Beggars and thieves appropriated with impunity works of art and beautiful articles of furniture found in the residences of those who had remained loyal to the administration.

That night President Balmaceda left the Moneda (Government Palace), and sought asylum in the Argentine Legation, where he remained until his legal term as president expired, September 18. On September 19 he took his own life by firing a revolver-shot into his brain, thus avoiding the chronicle in history that he committed suicide while president of the Republic.

Thus the tragic and untimely death of this strong, brave man, who was called a tyrant and dictator by his enemies, but was loved and revered by his friends. Through the vista of years that intervene between the present and the close of the revolution, the official acts of Balmaceda and the monuments he left to his memory in the form of government works and public enterprises, loom large and conspicuous when compared with the works of those who have succeeded him. Public opinion and sentiment in Chile have undergone wonderful changes since the day a shot from a revolver in his own hand crashed into and stilled forever the fertile, creative brain of Jose Manuel Balmaceda, and an ungrateful Republic is now beginning to set its seal of approbation upon his official life and private character. History will yet write the name of Balmaceda large upon the roll of honor reserved for Chile’s patriots, statesmen, diplomats and scholars.

At the close of the revolution the “Junta de Gobierno,” with Captain Jorge Montt at its head, took charge of the government. On October 18, a general election was held, and on November 18 the electors met and named Don Jorge Montt president. President Montt, while a man of mediocre ability, possessed a high sense of honor, and was conscientious in the strict performance of his official duties. While he did nothing to distinguish himself as a man of great intellectual attainments, his administration marked a period of national tranquillity and general prosperity, securing for him the good will and political support of a majority of the citizens of the Republic. After serving one term as president he was placed at the head of the navy, where he served as a most efficient and popular officer. He held the position as ranking admiral of the navy until 1905, when he was sent on a special government mission to the United States, Japan, Europe and England.

President Montt was succeeded by Don Federico Errazuriz in 1896. There was little in President Errazuriz’ administration worthy of special mention. He was a man of brilliant intellect, cultivated tastes, charming manner and attractive personality, but lacked in the moral qualities that characterized the private and official life of his predecessor.

President Errazuriz died in July, 1901, and was succeeded by Don German Riesco, who had been formally elected a month previous. President Riesco had not been conspicuous in national politics previous to his nomination, and had few political enemies when inaugurated in September, 1901. He was known as a good lawyer, had occupied the position of judge of one of the courts of appeal, and was universally respected for his honesty, industry and high moral character. Being a man of mediocre ability, lacking in precision and firmness, his administration was early embarrassed by politicians who employed obstructive measures to prevent the passage of laws recommended by the executive branch of the government.

The president found it difficult to maintain a ministry for a sufficient length of time to accomplish anything in the way of needed legislation, or to carry out important government policies. He was constantly forced into compromising with various political factions and coalitions. In an effort to secure political influence he lost the support of a majority of the members of the legislative bodies, and also the confidence of the people. The result was a condition of political chaos in the Republic. Ministries were overthrown with frequency, Congress was hopelessly divided into contending factions and there was a general lack of united and concerted effort in the various branches of government.

Chile made substantial commercial progress during the Riesco administration, however, and there prevailed throughout the country a condition of general prosperity. New and important industries were established, many new companies with large capital were organized, and money was plentiful during most of the period. The only disturbing feature of the commercial and financial situation was the constantly fluctuating value of the paper currency.

Another feature of President Riesco’s administration is the fact that it closed with a national calamity, caused by the great earthquake that occurred in August, 1906, causing serious loss of life and great destruction of property in the cities and towns throughout the country.

In the general election of 1906, Don Pedro Montt, son of Manuel Montt, President of Chile from 1851 to 1861, was elected president by a larger majority than that received by any candidate in the history of the Republic.

Señor Montt was for many years previous to his election regarded as the most able and conservative statesman in the country. He was born in Santiago in 1846, and was graduated from the University in his native city in 1870. In 1874 he was elected a member of the House of Deputies, where he remained for several years. He also served as Speaker of the House, Minister in different cabinets and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. With a long and successful political career to his credit he was inaugurated under more favorable and auspicious circumstances than any president since his father, to whom history gives the credit of being one of the ablest executives ever elected to the office.

It was President Montt’s ambition to improve the industrial and financial conditions of the country by establishing the gold standard, and thereby do away with the ruinous fluctuations in the currency values. But in this commendable undertaking he was doomed to disappointment, being defeated in his plans for accomplishing that most desirable reform by the factions that dominated the politics of the Republic, and in 1908-9, the exchange rate reached its lowest level, the Chilean peso being worth at one time only 20 cents U. S. currency, whereas upon a gold standard basis it represents a value of 34 cents.

In May 1910 President Montt attended the inauguration of the centennial exposition of the Argentine Republic in Buenos Aires, making the trip by rail over the Transandine Railway, which was opened to traffic about that time. In July he started on a trip to Europe, going by way of the United States, arriving in New York, August 3. On August 9 he sailed for Europe, arriving in Hamburg on the 16th, where he died soon after his arrival.

After the death of President Montt, Vice-President Elias Fernandez Albano became president. On September 6, of the same year President Albano died and Senator MacIver Como, vice-president of the Council of State became the acting president.

At the regular election in 1910, Don Raymon Barros Luco was elected to the presidency.

INDIANS

The indigenous races of Chile consist of the following tribes: Araucanians, Chilotes, Chonos, Onas, Fueginos, Yahgans, Alacalupes and Patagonians.

The Araucanians, the most powerful, brave, and warlike tribe of South American Indians, formerly occupied all the territory now constituting the northern half of Chile. In the Araucanians the Spaniards met a strong resistance to their invasion of the territory. The tribe then numbered one million, and for three hundred and fifty years they maintained a warfare against the occupation of their country by white men. The Spaniards were unable to subdue them, and even after the war of independence and the establishment of the Republic, they maintained a hostile attitude. Although being gradually and peacefully subjugated they still maintain a sort of independence, living under a form of government agreeable to their common tribal laws and customs. They are now generally engaged in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture.

The Araucanian government consists of a confederation constituted by the union of three independent tribes, each of which is governed by a hereditary chief, called Toqui, or Cacique. A few years ago the territory was divided into sub-districts, for each of which there is a subordinate chief. The Caciques are elected by their respective tribes. They hold armed diets, like the ancient Poles and Germans. In the formation of laws governing their actions, and determining upon military operations, every member of the confederation has a vote.

In more recent years these erstwhile savages have manifested a friendly disposition towards foreigners, some of whom have been admitted to membership in their tribes. These “white Indians,” who usually possess superior intelligence, education and knowledge of the world, sometimes rise to eminence among the tribes. A French lawyer named De Tonneins, once humbugged the Indians into believing in his alleged magical and spiritual attainments to such an extent that the Araucanian tribes proclaimed him king, which distinction he assumed under the title of King Orelie Antonio I, and reigned for several years. The small court by which he was surrounded paid him great deference. His Fraudulent Highness made war against the Chilean government, was captured and deported to his native country, where after several uneventful years, he died in an asylum in Bordeaux.

The Araucanians are a sturdy race, with fine physiques. They are tall, muscular, agile and possess wonderful power of endurance. They are brave to foolhardiness, but lack intelligence, ambition and creative genius. Their stupidity combined with their passions, cruel natures and natural characteristics have prevented them from rising little above the low level of animals in their domestic life. A study of their past history and present conditions has a tendency to disillusionize one who has formed ideas of the Araucanians from descriptions written by historians and tales related by travelers who have never visited the habitations of that peculiar people. In general appearance the Araucanians resemble the other indigenous tribes of North and South America. They are copper colored, have black, straight, coarse hair and deep set, piercing black eyes. There is a trace of foreign blood apparent in many of them, due to their association with the Spaniards who first invaded the country, and shipwrecked sailors, many of whom cast their lots with the Indians, and lived peacefully among them, frequently marrying Indian women.

When America was discovered, the indigenous tribes wore little clothing, but contact with white men has wrought some changes in their customs and habits, and taught them the propriety of wearing at least a semi-civilized garb. The costume of the Araucanian consists of a shirt, a loin cloth, a manta or poncho of dark blue or black fabric, and a scarlet turban, all woven by hand and from natural wool, and colored from dyes extracted from the roots of plants and bark of trees. The women wear long, scarlet petticoats, and over the head a blue manta, which drapes over the body down to and below the waist. Their costumes are also made of hand-woven wool cloth, which is soft and warm, and very durable. A unique feature of the cloth made by the Indians is the variety and peculiarity of colors woven into the fabric. The designs are odd and quaint, and not infrequently weird figures representing animals, serpents and imaginary gods and devils are worked into the patterns. A peculiar feature of the fabric is that the designs are never duplicated, no two pieces of cloth being made of the same pattern. Hence, if one buys an Indian poncho, he has the satisfaction of knowing that no one else will have one like it in design. The mantas worn by the men and women are in plain colors, as a rule, but they are unique garments, the feature of which is a long nap on the outer side of the fabric, which makes it almost impervious to water. These mantas are usually fastened with a huge silver pin, ornamented with a round, flat disk. Both men and women wear silver earrings of huge proportions, very heavy and of varied and odd design. The women wear various other silver ornaments in the form of necklaces, bangles, crosses and pendants. These articles are all made of hammered silver and have an intrinsic as well as a decorative value. The usual aversion of Indians in general to familiarity, or to become communicative, the traditional stolidity of the race, holds good with the Araucanians. They are averse to selling any of their personal apparel or adornments, and all efforts to purchase such articles are resented.

These people, constituting the remnant of a once powerful and proud race, live in miserable huts, the roofs of which provide little protection against rain, and the walls of which are sometimes conspicuous by their absence. In a climate where it rains one half the year, and where the temperature frequently drops to zero, these places of habitation afford little comfort. In these miserable “rucas” live the family, not infrequently consisting of a large number of children, together with donkeys, pigs, dogs and fowls, in sanitary conditions that are shockingly disgusting.

In the Araucanian country, which extends from the River Bio Bio on the north to Valdivia on the south, and from the Cordillera to the sea, some strange sights may be witnessed. Almost the entire country is covered with forests, and there are hundreds of miles of solitude and unbroken wilderness, save the little cultivated patches, where the Indians engage in farming. Their farms and ranchos are usually back from, rather than along the trails where travelers pass. There is little bird or animal life in the forests, and one may ride for days through those solitudes, with little or nothing to attract attention or relieve the oppressive silence and monotony, save the sight of an occasional Indian. The strange, mysterious manner of the Indians only adds to the uncanny aspect of the wilderness. They are mysterious, and undesirable as companions, ignorant, superstitious, and by nature vicious, but like animals, they are dangerous only when disturbed in the pursuit of life.

The deeds of heroism, acts of valor and bravery, which caused the Araucanians to be immortalized in verse and recorded in the more sober lines of prose and history, were enacted during the days of the Spanish conquest.

In 1535, Don Diego de Almagro, the ally and rival of Pizarro, the despoiler of Peru, set out on a mission of conquest of the territory which now constitutes the Republic of Chile. He came not as a peaceful conqueror, as did the Incas long before, but as a tyrant and butcher, endeavoring to strike terror to the hearts of the Indians by acts of cruelty and inhuman treatment. They were treated as so many beasts to be enslaved or slaughtered at the pleasure of those who invaded the country in quest of gold, only. The attitude of Almagro and his followers aroused all the latent fierce combative spirit and resentful feelings that had been smoldering in the hearts of the aborigines during centuries of peaceful occupation of the country, and they resisted the invasion with a heroism and determination that finds few parallels in primitive warfare in the history of the world.

There were then no horses in the country, save those brought by the Spaniards, and the Indians had to fight on foot. The only weapons they possessed were bows and arrows, and lances made of long, flexible bamboo poles, the latter being the weapons of war. They had no military training or leaders and were ignorant of the arts of war, not even appreciating or understanding the advantages of combined or orderly attack. They depended entirely upon impetuous charges, ambush and secret night attacks. They had no fear of death, and not infrequently in battle they continued the conflict until every man engaged was killed. After years of warfare against the Spaniards, they learned the advantages to be gained by the use of horses in battle, which they adopted to some extent, but they did not follow the example of their enemies in the use of saddles, always riding bareback. After many generations of resistance to the invaders, they became more clever and systematic in attack and defense, having learned the importance of better preparation, councils of war and leadership. The Araucanian war extended intermittently over three centuries, and as the case in all wars, whether among barbarians or civilized nations, brought conspicuously to the front individuals who by superior intelligence and bravery were recognized as natural leaders. Chief among those who achieved fame as warriors, and whose deeds of daring form thrilling chapters in Chilean history, were Lautaro, a young brave who at the age of twenty was recognized as the leader of the Indian forces. It was Lautaro who first attempted to organize the various tribes and bands into something like a military force. After many successful battles he was surprised in a night attack by the Spaniards, near Talca, where almost the entire army under his command was annihilated, he being among the killed. He was decapitated, and his head taken to Santiago, where it was placed upon a pole and paraded through the streets as a victorious trophy.

Later Caupolican, one of the bravest of his race, assumed the leadership of the Araucanians. He was finally captured, and his enemies wishing to make an example of the chief cut off both his arms at the elbows, after which he was released. Caupolican pointing the stumps of his amputated arms at his persecutors said: “Be careful, be careful, murderers and persecutors, I will return to avenge these wrongs.” And notwithstanding his maimed condition he later returned to the attack with renewed courage and fierceness, and in many battles, Caupolican was first in the fray, and when beaten, was the last to retire from the field.

Since the days of the conquest of Chile, the Araucanian Indians have been hedged about and encroached upon with modern civilizing influences. Under these conditions they have degenerated until their greatness is only a memory. They now have fixed places of residence, and live upon the proceeds of their labor or lands.

Some of these Indians own large tracts of land, portions of which they cultivate, and upon which they raise large numbers of cattle and horses. The methods employed in farming are crude and primitive. The rich landowners are personages of note in the section of country where they live. And when one of them starts on a trip from his ranch, always on horseback, he is adorned with much silver in the way of ornaments. He is usually accompanied by five or six “mocetones” (servants), and travels in grand style.

Having few wants these Indians work only when it is necessary to supply their needs. Missionaries have tried in recent years to improve their moral condition, but have made little progress. The Araucanian ideas of a serious life are not deep-rooted; there is more stubbornness than intellect in their composition. The Incas who were the first foreign nation to invade Chile, taught them to worship the sun, but in their present degenerate condition they seem to worship only the God Bacchus. Strong drink and its attendant abuses, the curse of all barbarous races, when once introduced by civilized nations, is causing degeneration and a decrease in numbers. It will no doubt continue to aid materially in the consummation of their final extinction.

In 1890, during the administration of President Balmaceda, rail and wagon roads were built through the Araucanian country, and many towns, populated by Chilenos and foreigners sprung up along these routes of communication. Special European immigration was solicited and encouraged by government aid, for the settlement of portions of the territory. Foreign association and influence, changed conditions and environments affected radical changes in the character, customs, habits and beliefs of the Indians. They were brought face to face with the on-marching hosts of civilization, and confronted with the problem of accepting and adapting themselves to the new order of things, or extinction. The ultimate result will be the latter.

With the indigenous races of Chile, and the same is true of other countries, vices tread fast upon the heels of civilization. With the influx of peaceful neighbors, the martial valor of these warlike Indians seems to have disappeared. They have acquired a passion for the cheap brands of liquor introduced by foreigners, and in the indulgence of their appetites for strong drink they have become indolent, and are neglecting their farms and ranches. Many of them have turned their lands over to the colonists, to work on shares, and are thus enabled to lead lives of indolence and excessive indulgence. The raw liquor which they drink is called “Blanco Toro” (white bull); the vile tobacco they smoke is “peclen,” and their pipes are called “guitas.” They still consume large quantities of the ancient Indian drink, “chicha mascada,” which is made from corn that is first chewed by old women, and then put through a process of fermentation. A drink is made from flaxseed by the same process. They are determined and inveterate gamblers, their favorite game being cards, “cayo.” The game they play is peculiar to the tribe, and is called “achaco.” Among the traditional customs to which they cling tenaciously are their Indian dances, “loncomeos,” which are indulged in to the music of an instrument called “cuntum.” This instrument is odd in design and peculiar in tone, being a sort of combination banjo and tambourine.

The Araucanians are as improvident as they are dishonest, and as proud as they are lazy. Yet there is little extreme poverty and there are no beggars among them. Until recent years they were strict vegetarians, and still abstain from eating the flesh of cattle, but they have become so far civilized as to develop a fondness for horse meat. An Indian will willingly exchange a cow or bullock, regardless of value, for a horse, if the equine is sufficiently fat to make it desirable for food. Although many of them are skilled in the use of firearms, which have been generally introduced in recent years, they still manifest a fondness and preference for their bamboo lances, the weapon of war used by their ancestors. They frequently indulge in personal encounters, but always without weapons. These fights are questions of force and endurance, science being left out of the contest, and the belligerent methods employed are not sufficiently violent to result in death. The combatants clutch each other by the hair of the head and indulge in a game of pull-and-haul, the performance being accompanied usually with a volley of wrathful words uttered in a high shrill voice. Unlike the North American Indians they seldom resort to the use of a knife as a weapon of offense or defense.

The system of counting is strictly decimal--from one to ten. Twenty is two tens, fifty, five tens, and one hundred is ten tens; two hundred is two tens of ten, etc.