Land Owners Nos. 2 and 3 are usually the victims of these robbers. They seldom attack the residences on the large haciendas, confining their depredations in such places to the stealing of animals, or robbing their victims from big estates, on the roads. Another reason is that the houses on the haciendas are more strongly built and better arranged for resisting attacks. Then there are numerous servants about the house, some of whom are always on guard, and savage dogs roam about the gardens and grounds at night. The hacendado and his employés are usually well armed and know how to use their weapons. The windows of the fine country residences are protected with heavy iron bars. The doors of these houses are never opened after the family retires at night until the following morning, and the buildings are so well constructed that it is not an easy matter to gain admittance by force. Another reason why thieves seldom molest the hacendados in their homes is the fact that it would take too large a party to surround the house and guard it. These freebooters are a part of every rural district in Chile. They generally own houses and small tracts of land which serve as a blind to their real occupation. Those who do not own property are protected and sheltered by those who do. As cattle thieves they have no rivals. They will go into the “potreros” of a farm at night, drive the animals into a “quebrada” (wooded ravine), where they kill and skin them and pack the meat into sacks prepared for the purpose. With a sack of meat behind each saddle and the skin of an animal in front, the robbers mount their horses and ride away. When day dawns they are leagues away from the scene of their depredations, and have disposed of their spoils for cash. They then seek some secluded spot where they spend the day sleeping, and resting their horses. There is no lack of “fences” and “underground systems,” where the bandits can readily dispose of their plunder. When seen at their humble homes these night marauders present the appearance of hard working, law abiding citizens, and any one of them can promptly prove that he has not been absent from home for many weeks. There is no means of procuring evidence against them, as they can secure as many witnesses as they desire in their defense. And it is impossible to get any damaging information from their families, even from the smallest children. No one can confess them; they are trained from infancy to observe discreet silence or give misleading information. Threats or punishment are of no avail.