60 POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND 



Puchacai, Here, and Laja, divided into 43 sub-delegations, and 212 districts. Its capital, the 

 city of Concepcion, is situated in the valley of "la Mocha," on the northern bank of the Biobio, 

 and three leagues distant from the sea. The city of this name founded in 1550, by Valdivia, 

 was at the port of Penco ; but that rebuilt after its destruction by the Araucanos having been 

 overwhelmed by the sea during extraordinary earthquakes on two subsequent occasions, its 

 people removed to the present site in February, 1764. Misfortune still pursued them. The 

 great earthquake which occurred in 1835 again totally destroyed their city, and to this day 

 they have not wholly made good their losses. After the last calamity, many desired to 

 remove the site to a new position on a rising ground about two miles on the Talcahuano side 

 of Concepcion, which has several and great advantages ; but many had been impoverished, others 

 were reluctant to change, and thus all who could obtain means eventually rebuilt on their old 

 homesteads. Instead of contributing liberally to relieve its municipal board from expenses 

 for improvements, government has actually deprived them of the taxes collected within their 

 own limits ; and though one may see many handsome dwellings, there are but few of the streets 

 paved, and all its leading thoroughfares are in bad condition. It is the residence of a bishop, 

 and the seat of one of the collegiate institutions of the republic ; has several schools, both 

 municipal and private, three or four charitable institutions, and one little newspaper. The 

 cathedral and other public buildings on the plaza are commodious, if not very elegant speci- 

 mens of architecture. 



It is thought by all of Saxon blood who have visited Concepcion, that there is not in the 

 world a situation more advantageous for the prosperity of a commercial city than the one 

 to which the unsuccessful party wished to remove after the earthquake of 1835. It is centrally 

 placed between the great and navigable river Biobio, the port of San Vicente, and the shel- 

 tered and commodious bay of Talcahuano, and in the midst of one of the finest countries 

 of the globe. With a large extent of level and fertile land on every side, good potable water 

 at a very small depth, and the blessing of an unexceptionable climate, the new city has failed 

 to overshadow the opulence of Santiago only from the jealousy of some of the wealthy miners 

 of the north, and the want of that fostering care which it had a right to expect from the 

 government. It has now a population of 10,500 souls. 



Talcahuano, the port of Concepcion and chief town of the department of the same name, is 

 on the S.W. side of the bay. What the earthquake of 1835 left standing, the huge following 

 waves of the sea utterly demolished, bearing away on its troubled surface alike the contents of 

 warehouses and dwellings. Since then, the town has again been rebuilt, and in a somewhat 

 more secure and better manner, though the proximity of Concepcion will always prevent its 

 becoming much more than a place of business. Its population is about 5,000, who are well 

 provided with the means of mental and religious instruction. Penco the pride of its founders 

 and first cradle of Christianity in southern Chile still lies in ruins, a few fishermen only 

 inhabiting huts amid the fallen walls of temples and fortifications. The other towns are Tome, 

 Rafael, Coelemu, and Kanquil, in the department of Coelemu ; Florida, Coyarco, Quellon, and 

 Gualqui, in Puchacai ; Yumbel, Kere, (famous in times past for its golden bell,) Tucapel, and 

 Talcamavida, in Rere; and Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Mesamavida, San Carlos, Santa Barbara, 

 and Antuco, in La Laja. Many of these last were, and are, mere military posts, located near 

 Indian districts for the purpose of keeping them in check ; the others, rather straggling vil- 

 lages, oftener built of wood or canes, than of more permanent and substantial materials. Most 

 of them are famous for the combats on their sites, rather than from present prosperity or local 

 attractions. Penco, Lirquen, and Tome, on the eastern side of its bay, and Colcura, on the 

 coast between Concepcion and Arauco, are ports frequented by coasting vessels. From its 

 exposure to westerly winds and sea, Colcura is a very unsafe anchorage. They all belong to 

 the customs district of Talcahuano. 



The intermediate plain separating the Andes and Central Cordilleras, which at Santiago is 

 1,850 feet above the level of the sea, is here only about 250 feet; anxl although there still are 



