The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-02
RICHEST WOMAN on EARTH.
she Lives In Chile and Hetty Green
Is Hard Up by Comparison.

~ ~
From the San Francisco Examiner.
Great interest has been aroused among
the Chileans and other South Americans
in this city by the report that the Sonora
de CousinO intends to come to New York.
take a house in Fifth avenue. and enter
tain in lavish style. The Widow Cousino.
and she is popularity known in Chile. is
probably the richest woman in the world.
her wealth being estimated a. 500. 900. 600
Her estates in Chile are the show places
of the country, and her entertainments
are given on a scale that would take
New Workers. breath away.
Her wealth. which was inherited from
her father and brother, is invested chiefly
in the copper industry and in potteries at
Lota, town on the coast in the south
ern part of Chile. Her father, Senior
Goyeneches, laid the foundation OF his
great fortune by developing the silver
mines at Copiapo. Chile, and then went
into copper mining. and that industry
was carried on to such good purpose by
him, his son, and later his daughter,
Sonora de Cousino, that to-day the latter
controls the entire output of Chile and
Peru. thus furnishing three-fourths of
the copper imported by Europe When
Senior Goyenechea died some forty years
ago he left his entire fortune to his widow
in trust for his two children, Emeterio
and Isadora. A few years afterward his
widow married Senior Cousino, wealthy
merchant of Valparaiso, and ii was his
son who became the husband of Isidora
in of of har
mother and brother, which occurred in
the Cos, she became sole possessor of the
Goyenechea estate, and. her husband
having been his fathers sole heir. the
two great fortunes were linked together
The industries controlled by the widow
are most varied. Besides owning all the
copper mines in Peru and Chile she owns
a large fleet of ships to transport the ore
to the smelling works at Lota. There are
also rich silver mines a Copiapo. the
great stock farm and vineyards at Macul,
eight mile from Santiago, and the whole
town of Lota. This place is a busting city
of some 1900 people, situated on a beauti-
/ full bay 200 miles south of Valparaiso. Ev-
cry house, every mill and every bit of land
is owned by the widow, and every one in
the place is dependent on her industries
for a living.
The chief industry is the enormous
smelling works, where all the copper ore
from the many mines is reduced. There
are also potteries there that nearly supply
the demand of the whole west coast Of
South America and two miles back of the
town are very rich coal mines, owned and
worked by the widow.
This town was practically begun by the
Senora's father. and from a sleepy little
Spanish village 1t became one of the chief
manufacturing centers of Chile, and the
various industries in 1876, when Lady
Brassey visited the town in the yacht Sun
beam, employed over 5000 men.
The great stock farm and vineyards at
Macul are the result of Senior Cousino's
tastes. He delighted in sports of all kinds
Being especially fond of horses he decid-
ed to start a stud farm and raise English
horses. This scheme was carried out on
the same magnitude as all the Others.
Land was bought at Macul by the square
mile. The best stations and brood mares
that money could buy were brought from
England, accompanied by trainers and
grooms by the score. None but the most
approved methods were used, and the
whole trade in fine horses is in the hands
of the widow.
But while the industries controlled by
this woman are startling in their magni-
tude, the woman herself and her houses
palaces rather-are even more interesting
Senior Cousino died about 1875, leaving six
children, three sons and three daughters.
These are all grown and married and
have establishments of their own The
widow has three principal establishments,
one at Lotto, one in Santiago, and the other
at Macul. The one at Lotto is most mag
nificent The town is on a land-locked
bay, surrounded by high hills. On one
side are the park and residence of Sonora
CousinO. The park is of enormous extent,
perfectly fitted by nature for the purpose
to which it is devoted. The house is on
the summit of the hill, surrounded on all
sides by gardens, which are under the
constant care Of eighty gardeners, who
are under the direction of an experienced
Scotchman.
These gardens are bewildering in their
beauty Plants brought from all parts of
the world grow there in luxurience There
are fantastic grottoes, terraces, statues
fountains, ferneries, flights of marble
stairs leading down toward the beach and
up to the sylvan hooks. Every little
promontory is crowned with a summer
house of quaint fashion. and there are
arcades, arched over with bamhoos, con-
tanning trellis work from Derbyshire and
Minton tiles from Staffordschire.
Sonora Cousino, the owner of all this
splendor, is a woman between 50 and 60
years old She is tall and dark and is
still a very handsome woman. She exer-
cises a direct supervision over all her
premises, and by system of reports re-
ceived by her every day knows what is
going on.
She is most active in the social world
and her entertainments are magnificent.
When she travels it is always with
score of secretaries and a horde of SER
wants of all kinds.
1t will be seen from this that IL Sonora
Cousino should decide to come to New
York to live, even IL only for a short
time, it would be great event for society,
for she would undoubtedly entertain in
the same style that she does at home.
The Chilean consul was asked If he knew
anything of her coming, and said that he
did not although ii might be possible. IF
she comes" he added. II don't know what
she'll do, for there's no house in New
York as large and fine as any of hers.
Maybe she will build a new one"
Darwin, the great naturalist is author
ity for the statement that earthworms
possess the remarkable faculty of repro
ducing a head or a tail in case an ac-
cident occurs to either end. If one be
cut in two at the middle the tail will i'm
mediately set about repairing damages
and growing a new head. The head is
also equal to the emergency, and, within
a surprisingly brief period Of time, grows
a tail Of its own.