News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-05-21
LABOR IN SOUTH AMERICA.
Machinery Cannot Do Away with the
Primitive Methods in Chilli.

| Machinery Cannot Do Away with the
Primitive Methods in Chilli.
The day we were anchored in the
bay of Coronel the Osiris was sur
rounded by lighters laden with coal,
which was being rapidly shoveled into
the hunks by dark skinned natives.
The white mist that hung over us made
the water look like dull silver; in the
foreground were ships at anchor, and
small lighters provided with winches
and nets for dredging up the bits of
coal that fall into the water while the
steamers are loading; in the back
ground were the winding wheels of the
coalpits; the moles sur1nounted by
trains of coal trucks; the sickly sui
phurous smoke streams of the inevita-
BILE smelling works. the small town of
Coronel clustered along the sandy black
beach, and, behind, the green hills
diapered with mule paths and patches
of red or yellow earth.
The meals of the coal beavers on the
fore deck interested us. Great bowls
of beans, Jumps of salt beef and fat,
piles of biscuit and gallons of coffee
were served out to them. Each man
took what he needed of the solids,
chose his corner on the rail, over the
matches, or simply on the bare deck,
and ate with no more comfort than a
dog. Then each man produced large
violet mussel shell, which he used in
lieu of spoon to scoop up the beans
and drink the coffee. Let it be re-
marked that these coal beavers earn
high wages, as much as five Chilian
dollars, or say ten shillings gold, day,
and their food gratis; and yet they re-
main little better than good natured
brutes taking no strong drink while
they are at work, but ready for any
quantity of dissipation after sunset, i'm
provident in the extreme, and willing
to work, and to work well, only when
they have no money left to spend.
While watching those strong muscu-
lar fellows | had some conversation
with the Russian timber merchant
about his experience of men and things
in Chill, the subject having been led up
to by my remarking the frequent evil
dences of primitiveness in CHILEAN
methods of working. Speaking of the
great strength and hardness of the
Gillian native laborer, Herr c. said
that this was still more noticeable in
the more southern forest districts AT
Puerto Montt, for instance, which is
one of the most important timber ports
the work is done entirely by hand. The
trees are felled with axes, sawn into
planks on the spot by hand, and the
planks carried to the port from dis
lance of ten or twelve miles, balanced
on the shoulder of a man, who goes
along under bis burden at run. None
but native Chilians could do such
work, and, given the absence of roads,
and above all the nature of the work |
men, all attempts to modernize the !
methods of getting out the timber have |
failed.
Experiments have been made in in |
North American machinery,
but without success. The innovators
have invariably lost their money, and |
the natives, accustomed to do every
thing with their hands, have in the
end willfuily broken the machinery in
order to have done with it, l mention
ed the fact that the Gillian govern
ment, as 1 had been informed, med |
itated the essay of Norwegian and
Swedish colonies in these southern for
est regions. Herr c. was of opinion
that this scheme is utterly impractic;t-
ole, for the simple reason that Scandi-
lavian colonists would refuse to live
ike pigs, as the Chilians live. The
present primitive methods are the cheap
.st and the most practical. Theodore
Child in Harper's.