It is difficult to describe the peon, or Roto Chileno. He is contradictory by nature, compound and complex in character. He is industrious and lazy, simple and cunning, honest and dishonest, brave and cowardly, true and false. He is homeless, roving, restless, dirty, slovenly, cares nothing for his past life and is without hope or ambition for the future. With limitless improvidence he lives in the present and is a happy-go-lucky, generous, careless, good-natured individual who never wastes time gazing upon the sorry side of life. He roams from place to place in search of a job, earning barely enough to keep soul and body together, and not always sufficient to clothe himself. Russian serfdom is not worse than the life some live in Chile, especially the “inquilinos” (farm laborers), living upon their master’s property. Do not pity the peon; he does not ask for, need nor want it. He possesses the faithful humility of a dog and the cunning qualities of the fox. Do not try to reform, civilize, reconstruct, or otherwise change or reclaim him; he will successfully defy all efforts. The blood of the Incas is in his veins, the old-fashioned way is best for him, and he is content. He wants no changes or innovations, and will admit of none. All he wants is to be left alone. Although he has never known the pleasure of prosperity, he is apparently contented and never unhappy. Born in poverty and humility, so he lives and dies. The Roto Chilenos not only constitute the laboring class in Chile, but the army, navy and police force are largely recruited from their ranks. As soldiers they possess a reckless bravery that will stop at nothing. With a cry of “viva Chile” they will charge an enemy, never to return, unless victory makes it possible. They are fearless to foolhardiness. They will rush fortifications under fire, scale walls or steep bluffs, swim rivers, and if all are killed the loss is not considered. One single handed will not fight against odds, but in numbers and in hand to hand conflicts the bravery of the Chileno is not excelled by any nationality. They do not fight intelligently, but desperately. Their favorite weapon is a knife, and every Roto Chileno goes armed with a “corvo,” a knife with a long, curved blade, tapering to a sharp point, and usually ornamented with a heavy metal handle. It is encased in a leather sheath, and is carried in the belt or boot of the possessor. It is an article of common utility, as well as a weapon of offense and defense. When angered, or threatened with danger, the Chilean produces a corvo as naturally as the American negro does a razor, and he is exceedingly skillful in its use. It is not an uncommon thing for one peon to disembowel another with one sweep of the corvo, usually leaving a triangular shaped wound, a mark of this weapon that is peculiar to the people. As an evidence of their partiality for the knife as a fighting weapon, it is related that in many instances during the war