Mountains. — The Andes commence in the district called the Colony óf Magellan, where their general elevation is lowest, the perpetual snow-line only 3000 feet, the highest peak, Mount Stokes, 6400 feet, and the coast excessively rough and broken and full of fiords of immense depth, fed by glaciers descending from the high lands. N orthwards, towards lat. 41°, the coast becomes less indented, the range more continuous and elevated, and the peaks higher,—such as Minchinmadiva, 8000 feet, Corcobado Volcano 9158 feet, and Yanteles, 8030 feet. From lat. 41°, or from the southern extremity of the province of Llanquihue, commence the table-land and the parallel granitic belt that skirts the Chilian coast, which together nowhere exceed 120 geographical miles in breadth from the sea to the Andes. At this lat. the snow-line rises to 8000 feet, at Valparaiso (33° S. lat.) to 12,780 feet, and at Coquimbo (29° S. lat:) to 15,200 feet. The centre table-land is in lat. 41° under 200 feet above the sea; at Talca it rises to 350, at Rancagua to 1560, at Santiago to 1800; and it continues to increase in elevation as it extends northward. The mean elevation of the Andes in Chili is 11,830 feet. The culminating peak is the volcano of Aconcagua, in the province of Aconcagua, which reaches the height of 22,427 feet. The principal summits to the north of this are Cima del Mercedario, 22,302 feet, in lat. 32°, and Cima del Cobre, 18,320 feet, in lat. 28° 30'. South of Aconcagua, in the province of Santiago, are Juncal (19,495 feet), and the volcanoes of Tupungato (20,269), San José (20,000 feet), and Maipu (17,664 feet). In Arauco is the volcano of Villarica, 15,996 feet; in Talca, the great truncate mountain called the Descabezado, 12,757 feet; in the province of Nubie, the volcano of Chilian, 9446 feet; and in Llanquihue, the volcano of Osorno, 7396 feet. In the Chilian range there are 23 volcanoes, of which only a few, such as the volcanoes of Osorno, Villarica, Antuco, and San José, are occasionally active. There are many passes over the Andes from Chili to the Argentine Republic; but the western slope of the mountains being steeper than the eastern, the ascent from Chili is more laborious than from the Argentine Republic, into which the mountains descend by a series of terraces, consisting of Secondary strata terminating in the vast expanse of flat country or “Pampas,” occupied by the Tertiary formations. The passes may be said to be open during eight months of the year, but even at their best they can never be traversed by vehicles,—mules being the only means of conveyance. The highest of the passes, as well as the most frequented, are those of Doña Ana, 14,770 feet, and Colguën, 14,700 feet, in the province of Coquimbo; the Dehesa, 14,500 feet, east from Santiago and neaι the volcano of Tupungato; the Patos, 13,965 feet, and Uspallata, 13,125 feet, both in the province of Aconcagua; and the Planchon, 11,455 feet, in the province of Curicó. The part of the Andes bordering the province of Atacama may be crossed at numerous places at any period of the year, as the range there is generally free from snow. Earthquakes. — Chili is subject to frequent earthquake shocks (temblores), which, without causing damage, occasion much alarm lest they should be followed by the earthquake itself (terremotd). The occurrence of this terrible phenomenon is not indicated by any particular state of the weather, but it rarely happens during the night. It is the common belief that when shocks are frequent there is not much fear of their being followed by an earthquake, and certainly experience justifies that opinion. Though shocks are very common, earthquakes are rare,—the same province being the focus of one only about once in fifty years, though it is calculated one in every tenth year makes itself felt in some part of Chili.

Earthquakes manifest themselves by a quick horizontal and sometimes rotatory vibration, and when the focus is near the sea it also is agitated. The ground undulates, but very rarely bursts open; and even the most violent are over in a few seconds, though for some time afterwards (at gradually lengthening intervals from twelve hours) there is a succession of gradually lessening shocks. By the earthquake of February 1835 the Isle of Santa Maria was uplifted, the southern end 8, the central part 9, and the northern end 10 feet; but both it and Concepcion subsided a few weeks afterwards, and even lost part of their previous elevation. During this earth- 3uake two great waves rolled over the town of Talcahuano; the eep sea, close in shore, was dry for a few moments, and smoke burst from the surface of the water. During a very smart earthquake at Coquimbo, in November 1849, the sea retired about 150 yards, and then rolled back about 12 feet high. An English ship, anchored in 7 fathoms water, in the neighbouring bay of Herradura, nearly touched the bottom from the receding of the sea, which afterwards rolled in like a bore, and the water continued to ebb and flow for an hour and a half after the shock.

Lakes. — In the southern part of Chili there are several inland lakes abounding with fish, and frequented by numerous varieties of aquatic birds. The largest of these lakes is that of Llanquihue, situated in 41° 10' S. lat., 197 feet above the sea, at the base of the volcano of Osorno, which rises 7199 feet above its surface. Its shape is triangular, its greatest length from north to south being 30 miles and greatest breadth 22 miles. The little river Maullin is its sole outlet, and conveys its surplus water to the Pacific, in lat. 4l o 35'. In the neighbourhood are the lakes Todos los Santos or Esmeralda, 18 miles long by 6 broad, and Rupanco, 24.miles long by 4 broad. Twelve miles northward is Lake Ranco, 32 miles long by 18 broad. In lat. 39° is Lake Villarica or Llauquen, measuring 100 square miles. In the province of Concepcion is Lake Guilletué, measuring 50 square miles. Near Santiago, is Lake Aculeo, occupying about 8500 acres. In all these the water is fresh and pleasant to the taste; but in the small lakes situated near the coast, such as Bacalemu, Cahuil, Vichuquen, and Bolleruca the water is brackish.

Rivers. — The rivers, like the lakes, are much larger aud more numerous in the south than in the north of Chili.

They are almost entirely fed by the melting of the snow on the Andes, but are also liable to swelling from the winter rains. A few are navigable for a short distance; but nearly all yield immense service to agriculture by irrigation, carrying, like the Nile, both substance and moisture to the otherwise barren plains. The largest river is the Biobio, which, rising near the volcano of Antuco, in lat. 38° 15', enters the Pacific after a course of 220 miles, where it is 2 miles broad. It is navigable for barges and small steamers as far as Nacimiento, 100 miles from the mouth.

The following is a list of the principal rivers, with the provinces through which they flow, and the lengths of their courses :— [table]

Mineral Waters are numerous in Chili; they are principally saline and sulphureous, containing carbonate of lime, bicarbonate of soda, and chloride of sodium. In temperature the waters range from 50° to that of boiling water. They are situated at various heights, from 1150 feet above the sea, as the baths of Panimavida, 18 miles from Talca, to 10,690 feet, as the baths of Toro, near Elqui in Coquimbo. The most remarkable as well as the most important of the bathing establishments is that of Chilian in the province of Chilian, on the western flank of the Cerro Nevado, 2050 feet above the sea, containing in close proximity icy cold and boiling springs,—sulphureous, ferruginous, alkaline, and saline. The season is from the first of December to the first of April, when they are visited by multitudes for the cure of gout, rheumatism, dyspepsia, and cutaneous diseases. Among the others most frequented are the baths of Apoquindo and Colina, near Santiago; Cauquenes, near Rancagua; Tinguiririca, near Colchagua; Mondaca, near Talca; Trapa-Trapa, near Los Anjeles; and Nahuelhuapi in Llanquihue.

Islands. — The most important Chilian islands are those of the province of Chiloé, coveredwith great forests of the magnificent cedar Fitzroya patagonixa, and the tall and elegant cypress Libocedrus tetragona. The interesting island of Juan Fernandez may be included with those of Chili, although it is 360 miles from the coast, in lat. 33° 42' S. It is a mountainous and well-wooded island, 52 miles in circumference, and exhibits generally those features familiar to the readers of RobinsonCrusoe as the abode of Alexander Selkirk. It is stocked with herds of goats, while the beach is a haunt of seals. Forty-two miles further out to sea is the smaller island of Mas Afuera.

Climate. — As Chili extends from hot parched deserts in the Tropic of Capricorn to a boisterous cold and wet country within 12° of the Antarctic Circle, and as while one-fourth of the territory is not much above the level of the sea, another fourth lies slightly below the snow-line, the only general· qualification that can be assigned to this union of extremes is that both in the high aud the low, the wet and the dry, the hot and the cold regions the climate is healthy throughout. Omitting the inhospitable regions of Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and commencing with the most southern, portion colonized by Chili, the Territory of Magellan, between lat. 54° and 51° 50', we find that although the· moisture and rainfall are too great for the ripening of wheat, yet potatoes, cabbage, celery, and carrots are readily grown. The principal town, Punta Arenas, is situated in the peninsula of New Brunswick, on the Straits of Magellan, in 53° 10' 30' S. lat and 70° 50' W. long. The next zone, between lat. 51° 50' and 37°, comprehends the provinces of Chiloé, Llanquihue, Valdivia, and Arauco, of which the climate is very like that of Great Britain,—the most southern parts having more rain but less cold than the Highlands of Scotland, while the more northern have a more genial climate than the most favoured parts of the south of England. In Valdivia the mean temperature throughout the year is 52° Fahr. Timber is the great article of export; but potatoes, wheat, barley, rye, and flax are grown in quantities sufficient for exportation. The next zone extends from 37° to 28° lat., embracing the provinces from Concepcion to Aconcagua, where irrigation is more or less necessary, and where flax, corn, grapes, figs, olives, peaches, and melons grow freely, but oranges and lemons only in the northern portion. Bain falls in June, July, and August with more or less frequency, according to the latitude. During these months a mild northerly wind prevails, interrupted occasionally by a dry wind from the east. During all the rest of the year a wind blows from the south, which falls towards the evening. In Santiago the mean annual temperature is 55° Fahr., and in Valparaiso 58° Fahr. From lat. 28° to 24°, including the provinces of Coquimbo and Atacama, there is a gradually decreasing amount of moisture,—from four or five showers of from five to ten hours, as in Coquimbo, to nothing but an occasional mist, as in Atacama. Spring commences in September, summer in December, autumn in March, and winter in June.

Population. — The following table gives the population of Chili according to a census taken in 1875, with the average number of births, deaths, marriages, and other kindred statistics :— [table]

It will be seen that the net amount of the population obtained by the census was 2,068,424; but 10 per cent, may be allowed for omissions, and 44,000 for wandering Araucanian and Patagonian tribes, which brings up the total number to about 2,320,000. One-third of The population is urban, and two-thirds rural. Of the deaths no less than 59 per cent, are under seven years, 4’8 from seven to fifteen, 7 , 3 from fifteen to twenty-five, 15 ’ 3 from twenty-five to fifty, and 11*4 from fifty to eighty. Out of every million children born only 543,900 live to the age of five years. One female child is born for every 105 male children; but the death rate is in precisely the opposite proportion. The annual increase of the population is one in every fifty-seven.

Sanitary Condition. — The deaths, amounting to 55,897, are distributed among the different months of the year as follows :—January, 5333; February, 4398; March, 4228; April, 3937; May, 4423; June, 4213; July, 4613; August, 4773; September, 4767; October, 4940; November, 4749; December, 5523. The rate is greatest (9 ’ 9 per cent.) in December, and least (7T per cent.) in April.

It will be seen that the three provinces, Chiloé, Llanquihue, and Valdivia, which are the wettest are also the most salubrious. The healthiest period is just before the rains set in, the least healthy during the heats of December and January, when dysentery prevails, owing perhaps to a too free consumption of the water-melon. The mortality of children under 7 years ranges from 47 per cent, in some years to 60 per cent, in others of the whole number of deaths; and four-fifths of the children who die under 7 years of age belong to the poorest classes. The most fatal diseases are gastric, typhoid, and typhus fevers; and the next, pulmonary complaints, dysentery, and syphilis. The system of sewerage in Chili is generally bad, consisting of partially open channels passing through the houses, sometimes with running water and at other times nearly dry. Even Valparaiso is not well provided with drainage. Intermittent fevers are unknown, and Asiatic cholera has not yet passed the Andes.

History. — The name Chili (or, in its Spanish form, Chile) is supposed to be derived from Tchile, a word belonging to the ancient language of Peru, signifying “snow.” The country first became known to Europeans in the 16th century. It was then to a considerable extent under the dominion of the Incas, but had been previously inhabited by certain tribes of Indians, of whom the most important and only warlike race were the Araucanians.

In the time of the Inca Yupanqui (1433), grandfather of the monarch who occupied the throne of Peru on the arrival of the Spaniards, and the tenth in succession from Manco Capac, the reputed founder of the Peruvian empire, the first attempt was made by the Incas to extend their dominion over the territory of Chili. Yupanqui, leading his army across the desert of Atacama, and penetrating into the southern regions of the country, made himself master of a considerable portion of it. The permanent boundary of the dominions of this prince is said by some writers to have been determined by the River Maule, 35° 30' S. lat., although it is more probable the River Rapel, 34° 10' S. lat., constituted the extreme limits of the Peruvian empire towards the south. The latter opinion is to some extent supported by the fact, that the remains of an ancient Peruvian fortress, apparently marking the frontier, are still found upon the banks of the Rapel, while no such remains are known to exist in any part of the country farther south.

The Peruvian dominion in Chili ceased with the Inca Atahualpa in 1533. The first Spanish invasion was led by Diego de Almagro (1535 or 1536), who however met with such determined resistance from the Araucanians that he was compelled to retrace his steps. Undaunted by this failure, Pizarro despatched another expedition, composed of Spanish troops and Peruvian auxiliaries, under Don Pedro de Valdivia, and was preparing to follow it in person with a larger force, when he was assassinated in 1541. Meanwhile Valdivia entered Chili, and fighting his way onwards, encamped on the banks of the Mapocho, where he founded the city of Santiago, the present capital of the republic, and about eleven years afterwards the town of Valdivia. At last, after twelve years’ stay in Chili his life and conquests were brought to an end in a desperate engagement with the Araucanians, who for 180 years afterwards continued to wage a sanguinary war with the Spaniards, till 1722, when they consented to a treaty which fixed the River Biobio as the boundary between them. Spanish Chili, extending from the Biobio northward to Atacama, was divided into thirteen provinces, under the rule of a governor appointed by the viceroy of Peru. The last of these governors was Mateo de Toro, 1810.

During the entire period of this connection between Spain and Chili, the viceroys, governors, and all the other Spanish officials of every grade regarded the inhabitants only as a means of furthering their own aggrandizement, which at length so exasperated the better educated classes that they determined to throw off the hateful yoke on the first favourable occasion. In 1810 this desired opportunity at last presented itself, when Spain, overrun by the armies of France, was no longer able to vindicate her own claims to a national existence. In July of that year the Chilians took the first step towards asserting their independence by deposing the Spanish president, and putting in his place (September 18, 1810) a committee of seven men, nominated by themselves, to whom were entrusted all the executive powers. In April 1811 the first blood was spilt in the cause of Chilian independence. A battalion of royal troops, which had been drawn up in the great square of Santiago, was attacked by a detachment of patriot grenadiers, and routed with considerable loss on both sides. In the same year (December 20) the government was vested in a triumvirate, and Juan Jose Carrera was appointed general-in-chief of the army about to be formed.

In 1813 a powerful army, under the command of General Paroja, invaded Chili, but was twice defeated by the republican troops under Carrera. The royalists, however, speedily received larger enforcements; and after a severe contest, Chili was once more obliged to own the sovereignty of Spain. For three years more the people submitted (under the Spanish governors Osorio and Pont) to the old system of tyranny and misgovernment, till at length the patriot refugees, having levied an army in La Plata, and received the support of the Buenos Ayreans, marched against the Spaniards, and completely defeated them at Chacabuco in 1817.

The patriots next proceeded to organize an elective government, of which San Martin, the general of the army, was nominated the supreme director. Their arrangements, however, were not completed when they were attacked once more by the royalists, and routed at the battle of Cancharayada with great loss. Betrayed into a fatal security by this success, the royalist troops neglected the most ordinary military precautions, and being suddenly attacked by the patriots in the plains of Maipu, were defeated with great slaughter This victory secured the independence of Chili.

The new Republic had no sooner vindicated for itself a place among the nations of South America, than it resolved to assist the neighbouring state of Peru in achieving a similar independence, which object was at last effected after a bloody war of six years’ duration. No small share of this success was due to the daring courage and consummate ability with which Lord Cochrane, under the most trying circumstances, conducted the naval affairs. In acknowledgment of these important services a well-executed statue of him has been erected in Valparaiso. With 1817 commenced...