THE ARAUCANIANS. le 
snow-covered summits are diversified by the 
columns of fire continually emitted from nu- 
merous volcanoes; on the South it extends as 
far as the Straits of Magellan, and indeed also 
claims the wholly useless island of Terra del 
Fuego, which is rarely, if ever, visited by a 
Chilian. 
The Spaniard Valdivia may be considered as 
the real discoverer of Chili. He established here 
the first Spanish settlement, the present capital, 
St. Jago, and subsequently, the town of Concep- 
tion. For a long time the Spaniards were engag- 
ed in bloody and uninterrupted war with the ori- 
ginal inhabitants of the country, called Arauca- 
nians. This strong and enterprising people with- 
drew into the mountains, where they were invin- 
cible, and from whence they have continued, to 
the present day, to annoy the descendants of the 
intruders, who acknowledge and have hitherto 
respected their independence. They still pre- 
serve in their mountains and fastnesses their an- 
cient mode of living, and remain faithful to the 
religion and manners of their ancestors. Un- 
luckily for the Spaniards, they have become very 
dangerous neighbours by providing themselves 
VOL. I. E 
