Iron ore has been found in only small quantities. Chile has the best coal mines in South America, which, in 1909, produced a little less than a million tons, not quite half of the consumption. Coal was first discovered at Lota more than a century ago, but the deposits were not worked until a half-century later. The only mines now being worked are in the provinces of Concepción and Arauco. As small veins have been found at Punta Arenas, it may be that the seams of coal run all the way between those points. It is rather an inferior quality of bituminous coal. More than a million tons are imported yearly, of which a little more than one-half comes from England and the balance from Australia. The shipping rate is very low as the boats come after cargoes of nitrate and will carry coal at a very cheap rate rather than be obliged to make the long outward journey in ballast. CHAPTER IX THE PEOPLE The people of Chile are descendants of Spaniards and native races. About one-third of the entire population are pure white. The Spaniards who came here were Basques and Aragonese—a hardy and industrious people who made thrifty farmers and merchants. They are among the best class of Spaniards, for they are much more energetic and have less of the Moorish admixture than those from Southern Spain. These people were not a mere army of occupation, but they set about developing the real resources of the country. The native element too were probably the hardiest of any of the native races of South America. Notwithstanding the difference in numbers, the Creoles, the name given to the descendants of Spanish immigrants, rule the country absolutely and own the most of the property. In few countries have the landed aristocracy exercised such absolute power as in this narrow and elongated republic. The half-breeds form the labouring class of Chile, and one will find those two classes all over the republic, with the lines between the two strongly marked. There is no clearly defined, well-developed middle class.