The languorousness of equatorial regions is left behind, and on every hand a virile activity is apparent. This note of virility, which is quite unusual in Latin-American communities, at first excites surprise, and many theories have been advanced to account for the phenomenon. If climate and environment have a great influence on the moulding of racial character, it is not unnatural to suppose that the exceptional characteristics of Chili have had their due effect upon the inhabitants. The Chilians have been called the “English of South America,” and it has been put forward that they derive their origin from the natives of Northern Spain, whereas other South American States were colonised by adventurers from the southern part of the Peninsula. But the precise localities from which the early conquistadors came are lost in the mists of antiquity, and it is therefore much safer to attribute the extraordinary energy and enterprise of the Chilian to his environment, to the harsh experiences he has undergone, and to the strain of Araucanian blood which runs through the whole people. The Spanish colonists from Peru who effected the conquest of the country, had a much tougher proposition to deal with than their compatriots in other parts of the continent, for the natives they found in possession of the soil were not the usual docile type of Indian, but a race of hardy fighters, who were prepared to contest the advance of the invader to the last ditch, as it were. The Araucanian Indians were the most valorous of all the South American aborigines, and it cannot be said with truth that they were ever entirely subjugated, a portion of independent territory being granted them, on honourable terms, after a long struggle. Intermarriage with the Araucanians undoubtedly did much to stiffen the Spanish fibre, and many of the best families in the country to-day are proud to claim descent from this dominant and manly race. [Illustration: A CHILIAN FARMER.] In Valparaiso, and in Santiago the capital, which lies about fifty miles inland as the crow flies, but over double that distance by rail, the Englishman finds himself very much at home. In nearly all the shops he can hear his native tongue spoken, and at the social functions many of the fashions and customs of his country [Illustration: AN ARAUCANIAN FAMILY.]