PROGRESSIVE CHILE [Illustration] [Illustration: A PAIR OF SPURS _Frontispiece_] PROGRESSIVE CHILE BY ROBERT E. MANSFIELD [Illustration] NEW YORK THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1913 Copyright, 1913, by THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY TO MY WIFE PREFACE In the following presentation of Progressive Chile, no effort has been made to elaborate, to give undue coloring to the picture, or to magnify its defects. It is a record of impressions gained from personal observations, of the life and customs of the people in one of the most enlightened, progressive and interesting countries in South America. To attempt to conceal from view, to obscure the unsightly spots and blemishes that mar the social structure and disfigure the body politic, or to unnecessarily expose the moral and social defects and infirmities of a people who possess so many admirable qualities, commendable characteristics and desirable accomplishments, would be unjust, unfair. The truth is not always pleasant reading, and it may seem unkind to withhold the cup that patriotic pride demands. But let those who know the real life of Chile pass judgment, and if from long association they have not become so accustomed and inured to national, social and political deficiencies as to regard them as established and correct principles, they will agree with one who regards the situation from an unprejudiced viewpoint. R. E. M. CONTENTS PAGE GEOGRAPHICAL 11 BRIEF HISTORY 25 INDIANS 73 CLASSIFIED HUSBANDMEN 93 HABITS AND CUSTOMS 147 RELIGION 154 SUPERSTITIONS 167 MARRIAGES 172 BIRTHS AND DEATHS 179 SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES 184 LANGUAGE 189 COURTS AND LEGAL PROCEDURE 191 CRIME 201 RAILWAYS 211 INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS 221 POPULATION AND COLONIZATION 231 VILLAGES AND CITIES 235 THE NATIONAL HYMN 250 PROGRESSIVE CHILE GEOGRAPHICAL The Republic of Chile, beginning at latitude seventeen degrees, and extending to the farthest southern limits of South America, forms a narrow longitudinal strip of territory twenty-four hundred miles long, and not exceeding two hundred miles in width in the extreme. It has an area of 462,000 square miles, and a population of 3,500,000.