El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-14

, OF the DullQlng before about One-udlL
of it fell to the ground.
On account of earthquakes nearly all
the buildings of Conception are OF one
story. The town covers a great deal
Of ground. It lies on a flat-plain at the
edge of a hill known as the Caracol,
1000 feet high. 1t is the public park OF
the city and rises up almost like Tort
over the houses I climbed it To-Day
for the view. Walking through wide
streets lined with one and two story
buildings, 1 crossed the Alameda and
went up the winding slopes. The road
was lined with mighty pines and II
made me think Of the great Carypto-
meria avenue that leads to Nikko'
Japan.
Mixed with the pines were mimosa
trees now in full bloom. There were
many green shrubs, the vegetation ris-
ing like wall on, one side Of the road
By and by we came to the top. We
were now high over the city of Concep-
cion and the valley Of the BiO-biO. We
could see the houses of Talcahuano, the
naval station, and the ocean beyond.
We could pick out the Bio-bio river, as
it wound its way down to the sea, and
the bridge across it, the longest and
largest in Chile.
Cathedral Ii Large One.
Conception itself lay just below US, a
great expanse Of terra Gotta rooted
houses with a plaza of green in the
center. We could see the cathedral
on one side of the plaza It is a
large building with an audience room
covering half an acre. The streets
go out from the plaza They are wide
and cross each other at right angles
They are paved with asphalt and clean
and well kept. The houses Of the city
are low. Looking over them we see
here and there a cluster of trees sur
rounded by walls. The trees seem to
be sprouting from the roofs Of the
houses. They are in the courts or
patios around which the houses are
built.
Now turn around and look towards
the north. There is nothing but wood
ed hills on that side. You might mag
inc yourself in the midst of q wilder
ness, did you not know that the city
of Conception lay at your back. The
town shows signs of its sport-loving
character here from the mountain. You
can see the golf links, the polo grounds
and a race course, with a track more
than a mile long.
The bands play in the plazas every
evening and the people come out in
their best clothes and walk about and
look at each other. The city is a com
mercial center 1t has large business
houses and a great deal of agricultural
machinery from the United States is
here distributed throughout southern
Chile and through the farms of the
great central valley.
During my stay at Conception I have
investigated the opportunities for
American coal by way of the canal.
The best coal mines of Chile are sit
uated not far from here On Coronel
bay. The coal lies about the bay and
extends far out under the ocean. The ]
seam is about five feet thick and the
rock above is so compact that the
water does not seep through. Indeed.
the submarine tunnels are so clean that |
one could walk through them in eve
ming clothes without danger.
The mines are equipped with mod
ern machinery. They are lighted with !
electricity and the coal is carried out |
on electric cars. The amount now
being mined is about 1000 tons per day.
and the total output runs into the hun
dreds of thousands of tons per year.
Cannot Supply Demands.
The supply Of coal furnished by the /
Lota mines does not begin to fill !
Chile's demands. The country is now
using more than twice as much coal as 4
IL produces and it has been exporting /
one-half of its supply from Australia /
and England. The state railways now /
use 100000 tons per annum and prac- |
tlcaliy all OF the smelling coal comes |
from Australia. I understand there are /
other extensive deposits in the prov
ince of AraucO, south of Conception, |
ana they have recently discovered coal !
near Punta Arenas, at the strait of Ma
gellan.
Petroleum and natural gas are
known to exist 500 miles south of VAL
paraiso. and that in a region not far
from the steel works at Corral BY
means of the canal our coal from the
gulf and south Atlantic states ought
to have great market here and coal 1
might form the return freight for the
1itrates and other minerals that from
now on will be shipped north through
the canal to our country.
It was these Lota coal mines that |
formed the foundation of the great |
Jousino fortune, still one of the largest I
IF Chile. For several generations it |
had been known that coal existed not |
TAR from Conception, and it was at the !
lime that Madison was president that |
IN American named Wheelwrieht. who |
put the first steamers on the southern |
Pacific, tried to utilize these deposits 1
FOR his ships. It was not until 1855. |
however, that they proved to be of
any value when they were bought by
Don Matias Cousino.
Is Good Smelling Coal.
The coal is not very good steam
ng coal, but it does well for smelling.
,ouSino established smelling works
lear the mines and began to develop
ne coal properties He did so well !
hat in one year his net receipts were
more than S1,2O0,OOO. and in time he
ullt up big business. He established
ne town of LOta, which has 10 600