428 CHILI lasts only about five months, from May to Oc- tober ; at other times the country has a barren appearance, and furnishes an inadequate sup- ply of food for cattle, so that beef and mutton are of inferior quality. In the southern prov- inces large quantities of timber, valuable for building and ornamental purposes, are pro- duced. Evergreens attain a gigantic size. The araucaria, a species of pine, the alerce, a cypress with a dark rich heart-wood, the roble, tiqui, mafiu, muermo, and mayten are all valuable and durable woods. The coligue, a species of bamboo, is in very considerable demand for thatching roofs. The animals of Chili are not as numerous as those of the countries east of the Andes. The mammals are comparatively few. Claude Gay, the eminent naturalist, enu- merates seven species of cheiroptera, mostly of the bat tribe; 12 of camivora, embracing four of the cat tribe, three foxes, one weasel, two polecats, the nutria, and the otter ; six spe- cies of the phocidw, embracing the seal and his congeners ; one marsupial, the didelphys elegans, peculiar to Chili; 12 genera and 25 species of rodents, of which 12 belong to the mouse family ; the chinchilla and its congeners, and the cavy or mountain rabbit. There are only two species of the edentata, the dasypus and pichiciego, the latter a very rare animal, found only in Cliili. There are three rumi- nants, the guanaco, the largest of the llama tribe, and two of the deer tribe, the pudu and the guainul. There are four species ofcetacea, two dolphins, the sperm whale, and the right whale. There are 11 species of reptilia, live of which are saurians, four ophidians, one frog, and one toad. The birds are more numerous. The raptores, embracing the condor, the vul- tures, hawks, and owls, are largely represented. The great order of incewores has numerous representatives of its every tribe and family, many of them of superb plumage, and some of wonderful powers of song. The dove and pigeon tribes are also found in considerable numbers, and the waders (grallatores) and swimmers (nalatore*) are almost numberless, several of the species being peculiar to the western coast of South America. Among the fishes, there are three species of the perch tribe, all new ; one of the atherinidce, the kingfish ; three of the silurida, one a new ge- nus ; two clupeidce, both new, one a new spe- cies of the shad ; one cheirodon, a new genus of the characini family; and a new myxi- noid, having an affinity with the lamprey eel of our northern waters. Crustaceans and mollusks are abundant, especially in Chiloe and the other southern provinces, but have not been very fully examined. The chonos, n peculiar species of oyster, exists in great quantities along the coast, and forms a favor- ite dish. Among the domestic animals, cat- tle are raised in large numbers. The horses are hardy and capable of great endurance. Mules and asses are excellent Sheep, goats, and hogs abound, but are of poor quality. PROVINCES. Ana. Population. Aconcagua , 6000 184178 Arauco 18SOO 87677 Atacatna .... 38 ( 100 83 S48 Chiloe 9050 ('," 'I-S Colchagua 8900 1W046 Concepclon 8 GOO ] v, :iv> Coqulmbo 18800 IV* 60S Curic6 8000 1011200 Llanquihue 8850 48,842 Maule 6400 211 567 Nuble 8 700 125 819 Santiago 7800 874 078 Talca. ". 8 600 1(17412 Valdlvla 10700 27980 Valparaiso 1670 144954 Colony of Magellan 1 729 Total 182 870 1972488 Chili is divided into 15 provinces and one col- ony. The following table shows the estimated area and population of the provinces, exclusive of Patagonia, in 1870: The foreign population numbers about 25,000, of whom over one half belong to the Argen- tine Republic and other neighboring states. The remainder are chiefly English, Germans, French, Americans, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italians, with a few Chinese. Santiago, the capital, had in 1865 a population of 115,377 ; Valparaiso, 70,438; Talca, 17,900; Concep- cion, 13,958; La Serena, 18,550; Copiap6, 13,381 ; Chilian Nuevo, 9,781 ; and San Felipe, 8,696. In the above estimate of the total popu- lation, the warlike aborigines, nominally under the jurisdiction of Chili, are not included. They are supposed to number about 75,000. These alone, of all the American tribes who came in contact with the Spanish or Portuguese in- vaders, have maintained their independence, notwithstanding a war of extermination was waged against them for a century and a half. (See ARAUCANIANS.) Of the other inhabitants of Chili, the Chilenos, as they call themselves, not more than a third, and perhaps not more than a quarter, are of pure Spanish descent ; the greater part are of mixed blood, as their forms, features, and hair testify. South of the Biobio there are considerable numbers of In- dians who have been reduced to subjection, and are employed as peons or farm laborers, and sometimes, though rarely, as inquilinos or ten- ants on the haciendadas or large farms of that region, rendering a kind of feudal service, and making their payments of rent in labor or in kind. The Chilians are more enterprising than the inhabitants of most of the South American states, and the Jiacendados (planters) and mer- chants often accumulate large amounts of prop- erty. With the exception of those destined for the learned professions, they have generally but little education. The men are usually slender, and to the casual observer appear wanting in muscular development; bat Lieut. Gilliss af- firms that they possess much more strength than the men of other nations. The women, who are generally pretty, have fuller and round- er figures, and seem to have more intelligence
