The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-16
PUNTA ARENAS.
THE SOUTHERNlIOSF TOWN ON
 THE GLOBE.
POiygIOt Community Sprung From
 a Convict Colony.

Special Correspondence of the Journal
 and Courier.)
 Punta Arenas, Chili, Feb. s, 1904.
 Looking on a map of the world you will see that Punta Arenas is consider ably nearer to the south pole than any other town on the globe,-nearer even than the Cape of Good Hope or any in- habited island; altogether too near for any sort of comfort, for when it is not showing in the Strait it is always rain ing. high winds never cease their howl ing, and a raging surf in the shallow bay prevents boats from landing on about five days out of every seven. The captains log-book says that squalls off the land are so very strong here as almost to lay ships on their beam ends" and are known to seamen by the Patagonian name of williwauas. Soon as the locality is approached sails are closely reefed and all light gear made secure, because the "williwauas" usu- ally come on without the slightest warning and for moment blow with the fury of a hurricane. How did it happen that a town ever grew in so dis tant and desolate a spot? More than hals century ago Gin 1S4s, I believe.) the Chilian government, looking around for the most forsaken and cheerless place where human beings could possi- ply exist, to which they might banish certain political offenders, chose this re- mote corner of Patagonia, because from it there seemed no way of escape but in speedy death; and immediately af- forwards the penal colony of Port Fam inc, which had long. occupied the site of San Felipe, the old Spanish town which Sarminito founded, was removed to this point When the prisoners, most of whom were men of intelligence and ed- ucatlon. were driven from their north ern homes, a thousand miles away, they left behind all traces of civilization as well as all hopes of return Here they had no neighbors but the wild and war like tribes of Patagonia and the more degraded savages of Tierra del Fuego on the south. while on the west the dreary wastes of the Pacific stretched away half the width of the world; on the north a vast, untrodden wilderness,
 
 snow-clad mountains. The history of their early hardships and struggles for existence will never be known. No body dreamed that they would survive generation after generation much less that they could elbow their way through such sea of discourag cement and by and by compel the mother country to acknowledge her castaways as valued citizens. Naturally their first care was to construct homes of some sort. for many Of them had been accompanied lnto exile by their tenderly reared wives and families. Except from the lack of proper tools, they had no great difficulty in building houses from the trees of the surrounding forests. Shell-fsh are abundant hereabouts. and they found the finest celery and mushrooms growing spontaneously. By experimenting they soon ascertained certain getables-notably potatoes, cabbage, caulifiower and lettuce-can be profitably grown during the short time. if given careful attention. Their earliest care was also to establish friendly relations with the Patagonian Indians, with whom they commenced the purchase of hides and furs to sell to passing vessels. In this way the desolate sand-sDit began to be known as a trading-post and certain ships an- chored regularly in the little harbor the English and French being particularly anxious to secure supplies of celery and mushrooms. for which they paid good prices. From time to time other prisoners were added, and though the new arrivals were not always agreea- ble companions there is in numbers not only strength but increased opportuni- ties. Gold was discovered in paying quantities, and in due time the con- victs organized themselves into a town. which they named Punta Arenas Spanish for Point of Sand, ''-and governed it by strict rules and regula- tions. Later on large quality of coal was found, and that discovery marked a new era in the life of the lonesome colony. They lost no time in commu- nicating the important fact to passing vessels-their only way of advertising. Some Peruvian war-ships were first to purchase the commodity, and before long Punta Arenas became known to all European and American vessels in these waters as convenient place to obtain supplies. As the condition of the colony grew better and better, the land east of the town, for distance of several miles was divided into farms for the raising of cattle horses, poultry | and such vegetables as will grow in | this latitude. Wheat will not mature. | but hardy grasses were introduced | from Germany, and the cattle of the | section became noted as among the l finest in the world, fat, round and sleek | with peculiarly soft, velvety hair. A | church was built costing three thou sand hard-earned dollars, followed by a school-house large enough to hold all | the children. By this time Chili began to feel proud of her distant colony and | to pay it so much unwelcome attention that the liberty of the exiles was more and more restricted. A rather hand l some government building was erected | by order Of the president also a new Jail. and the settlement was put under control, with forty additional soldiers in uniform, ostensibly to do po- lice duty and be ready for attacks from