The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-09-16

excellence, ana the CnlllanS Will BUY no
other than that which bears Sonora
Consino's label. Chilians, with all their
faults, are stanch patriots, firm believ-
ers in patronizing home industries, and
they all have an admiration for the
widow which is akin to idolatry.
On the hacienda she has very fine i'm
ported stock, both cattle and horses.
Her racing stable is the most numer-
Gus and successful in South America.
She is an ardent devotee of the turf, and
never misses a CHILEAN racing meet, in
variably betting heavily on her own
horses. Last season her winnings were
over 100000, which she, as is her Gus
tom, divided among the stable employees
and the poor.
Besides Macul, the widow has another
extensive estate about 40 miles north
of Santiago, and several others in vari
| GUS parts of the republic. In Chilli farm
ing is carried on much as it was in Eu-
rope in feudal times. The rural dis
tricts are composed of extensive farms
thousands of acres in area-owned by
people who usually live in the cities and
leave the property in the care of agents.
Here are found but two classes of peo-
ple-the landlords and the tenants; the
| former very rich and the latter exceed
ingly poor. These estates are dotted
| with small houses, standing amid bits
Of garden patches, wherein the tenants,
or poems, reside, paying their rent by so
many days labor each year, For labor
/ e l,+ no
ment of rent the tenant is paid, not in
money, but in orders upon the supply
store of the estate. Tenants are kept
in debt, for the reason that the Gillian
law forbids a laborer to leave an en-
ployer to whom he owes money. This
is what is called "peonage," or, in other
words, slavery.
For the Gillian peon the future holds
no hope of better things. However, he
! does not care, so long as he has plenty
to eat and drink and a bit of money
with which to gamble. He was reared
| in this way and knows no other. His
| fathers before him We're peons-'dumb,
| driven cattle"-and his sons will follow
| in his footsteps. The peon is attached
| TO his master and is ever ready to fight
| for him. Feudal wars are kept mp be-
! tween the estates, like the old family
/ feuds which were common in Europe
during the middle ages, and bloody en-
counters are of frequent occurrence.
| Sonora Consino, if she so desired, could
muster 3 800 able-bodied poems from her
| farms.
In the capital, Santiago, she has four
| large and handsome hOuses-one OF
| which was the CORNER home Of Henry
| Meiggs, the California abscOnder. This
| is an elegant residence, superbY lin
| ished within ard without, and built Of
red cedar, resembling in style New
port villa. The others are of stone
| fashioned after the Spanish plan. the
| interiors being elaoorately decorated
| and furnished. Her rentals from her
| real estate in the cities of Santiago and
| Valparaiso alone amount to 100000 a
year.
Chilians think there is a strain of He
brew blood in the widow, as she is
wonderful manager and famous for
| driving close bargains. Her numerous
| agents and superintendent are re
| uuired to render her weekly reports,
and they say there is no use trying to
| fool her. Every cent must he account
ed for. She has a genius for details
| which is a constant source of worry to
| her employees. She watches the small
things and is quick to reprimand. How
ever, in direct opposition to all this
she is generous to a fault.
Her extravaganza is princely, limit
| less. Whatever she fancies she will
| buy, regardless of cost. Her collection
| of diamonds is one of the finest in the
world. Her toilets are made in Paris
| but are seldom worn. Her gifts are as
muniticent as they are numerous. Last
| year she presented to the city of San
| tiago a beautiful park of 100 acres, with
race course attached. Now that the
sonora proposes making her residence
| in New York, the American daily pa
pers have much to say anent this mod
ern Countess of Monte Cristo" and d..
| light in depicting her as youthful and
| beautiful in appearance, when, as II
matter of fact, she is a shabby-loOling
| little woman, apd a brunette. Fifty
six years have penciled deep wrinkles
upon her face 3 face plain almost to
ugliness-and placed crows feet about
those wonderfully keen black eyes. Her
hair is strcaked with gray Though it
| once was black as a ravens wing), over
which plain black mantilla is usually
! worn. She is very energetic and re-
markedly active, though she limps
| slightly, owing to sciatica.
Naturally, the widow is a pleasant
tempered woman, but in the last few
years neuralgia has made her irritable
which often seriously interferes with
the comfort of those who have business
with her At present there is young
: Englishman, with rosy cheeks and {
| large moustache, to whom she took q
sudden fancy, who is attached to her
establishment in the role of private sec
rotary, The widow, however, is very
tickle, and this agreeable young man
will doubtless soon be cast aside, like
, many others before him.
She has three children-two daugh-
ters and n son. The girls are quite
pretty, bright and very popular in So
| f.intv Il1t ,ni+I,a,, hoe +b,c {,