Wichita eagle., 1888-05-03
THRIFTY CHIILANOS.
THE MOST ENTERPRIslNG OF THE
SPANlSH-AMERICAN RACE.
Active and Aggressive Chili-Something
Refreshing in the Way OF Patriotism.
The ChiIIano Brave to Recklessness.

| Active and Aggressive NHAi-SOmetninS
Refreshing in the Way of Patriotism.
The ChiIIano Brave to Reckiessness.
The Conquest of Peru.
| The Chillano is the Yankee Of South Amer
| lea; the most active. enterprising, ingenious
! and thrifty of the Spanish-American race,
| aggressive. audacious and arrogant, quick to
perceive. quick to resent, fierce in disposition,
| cold blooded. and cruel as cannibal He
! dreams of conquest He has only strip Of
| country along the Pacific coast, so narrow
! that there is scarcely room enough to write
| its name upon the map, henlmed In on one side
by the eternal SHOWS that crown the Cordil-
! Ieras and on the other by 6,00o miles of sea-
He has been stretching himself northward
until he has stolen all the sea coast of Bolivia,
with her valuable nitrate deposits, all the gu
ano that belonged to Peru, and contemplates
taking actual possession of both those repub-
lies soon. He has been reaching southwark
by diplomacy, as he did northward by war,
and under a recent treaty with the Argentine
Republic divided Patagonia with that nation,
taking to himself the control of that valuable
international highway. the Strait Of Magel-
Ian, the UNEMPLOYED country between the
Andes and the ocean, and thousands of
islands along the Pacific coast, whose re-
sources are unknown BY securing the strait
Chill acquired control of steam navigation in
the south Pacific, and has established fort
ress at Punta Arenas, by which all vessels
must pass.
Reposing TRANQUILITY now in the enjoyment
of the newly acquired territory along the Bo-
livian and Peruvian border, and deriving an
enormous revenue from the export tax upon
! nitrate, the Chillano contemplates the inter-
nal dissensions of Peru and waits anxiously
for the time when he can step in as arbitrator
and, like the lawyer, take the estate that the
heirs are silly enough to quarrel over. 1t is
but q question of years when not only Peru,
but Bolivia, viii become part of Chilli, and
the aggressive nation will want to push her
eastern boundary back of the Andes and Sc
cure control of the sources Of the Amazon, as
she has of the navigation of the strait.
The Chillanos lead the southern continent
and are the most powerful of all the repub-
lies in America except our own. Their states
men are wise and able, their people are in
dustrious and progressive, and have that
strength of mind and muscle which is given
only to the men of temperate zones. There
is strong similarity between the Chillanos
and the Irish. Both have the same wit and
reckless courage the same love of country
and patriotic pride. Wherever a Chillano
goes he carries bis opinion that there never
was and never can be better land than that
in which he was born; and although he may
be a refugee or an exile, he will fight in de-
tense of Chill at the drop of the hat. There
is something refreshing in his patriotism,
even if it be the most arrogant vanity.
The Chillano will cut the throat of q man
who will not celebrate with him the 18th Of
September, his independence day, and there
is law in the country requiring every house
to have a flagstaff, and every flagstaff to
bear the national colors on banner by day
and lantern by night, on the anniversaries
of the republic. All the schools must use
text books by native authors all the bands
play the compositions of native composers,
and visiting opera and concert singers are
compelled to vary their performances by in
Producing the songs of the country. 1t is
said that Frenchman can never be donation
allied The same is true Of the Chillano.
As soldier tho Chillano is brave to reck-
lessness, and a sense of fear is unknown to
him. He will not endure siege, nor can he
be made to fight at long range; but as soon
as he sees the enemy he fires one volley, drops
his gun and rushes in with his "curvo." His
endurance is as great as his courage, end no
North American Indian can travel so far with
out rest or go so long without food or water
as the Chillano peon, or "Roto," as the mixed
race is called As the "Cholo" in Peru is the
descendant of the Spaniards and the Incas,
SO is the "Roto" in Chill the child of the
Spaniard and the Arucanian Indians. the race
of giants with which the early explorers re-
ported that Patagonia was peopled-"menne
of that brightness" as Sir Francis Drake re-
ported, shat it seemed the trees of the for
ests were uprooted and were moving away"
They have the Spanish tenacity of purpose,
the Indian endurance and the cruelty of both.
Each soldier, in the mountains Of the
desert, carries OF his breast two buckskIn
bags. In one are the leaves of the coca
plant, in the other powdered lime made Of
the ashes Of potato skins The coca is the
strongest sort of tonic, and by chewing it
the Chillano soldier can abstain from food or
drink for a week or ten days at stretch.
The Chilano soldier is not easily subjected to
discipline, and outvandals the vandals in the
destruction of property, as the present condi- |
ton of Peru will prove. He burns and de-
stroys everything within his reach that has |
sheltered an enemy. No authority can re-
strain bis hand. The awful scenes of devas- |
tation that took place III Peru have nothing
TO parallel them in the annals Of modern /
warfare. William ElerOy Curtis in Harper's
Magazine.
The Inundation of the Nile.
When the time approaches for the inunda- !
ton the Arab farmer is all expectancy. His /
canals ara cleared and ne protects his bona I