DISTRIIHT10N OP INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES. 60 



latitude 11 or,' S.* <n tin- south, the A ndcB and Pacific, respectively, on the cant and we*t. 

 : Bailments Valdivia. < K..rn,., and I 'ni.,n - -embrace i area of 12,000 



M|iiaie mile*. These iii'e divided into 11 Mih-dele;,'a' : *, a large DUUil>- 



which are in i"ii of Mibdiied hut not conquered aborigine*. 



The city "I \'aldivi;i, founded by the invader .,)' the south, in 1551, Htundw c.u a jioint of land 

 of tlie smitliei ii hank, and about ei^ht mile.-, from the mouth ol' the river of the harm- name, 

 called h\ the uhoi iu r ines Calle-Cttlle. Several times dcntroyed by them and a powe irre- 



Kistible the earthquakes once in possession of the Dutch, and at another time regarded by 

 envernmentasa sort of penal colony, its prosperity lias heen retarded, in hpite of many natural 

 advantages, and it is yet scarcely more than a village, amid apple-,, ichards, mont of whoae 

 houses are of hoards. Many of its hest houses, and a lai church, were overthrown by 



the earthquake of Novcniher, 183*7; hut a large and more elegant edifice, to replace the l.r 

 was in course of erection, on the plaza, in 1851. Its Liceo literario the provincial college 

 numbers among its professors a very aide German naturalist, who preferred remaining near the 

 hotly of his own countrymen to a more lucrative post in the "Instituto Naeional," at Santiago. 

 As yet, the population is small, and little thought is given by the mass to the education of their 

 children. 



On the island of Manzera, and about the mouth of the river, there are one or two settle- 

 ments, principally of half-breeds, and villages at Arique, ten miles above Valdivia, on the 

 same river, and at Cruces an4 San Jose, on the Cruces river. Each village, with its suburban 

 agriculturists, numbers from 1,000 to 1,300 souls. Though thirty miles from the sea, boats 

 ascend to San Jose", and canoes descend from a like distance above it, at all seasons. The cur- 

 rent is not stronger than that of the Maule ; but forests prevent the use of drag-ropes to ascend, 

 as on that stream. Cruces was formerly defended by a fort; but the latter is now in ruins, and 

 only one of its old iron guns remains. In the departments of Union and Osorno there are 

 settlements of the same name, which are dignified with the title of cities. That at the latter 

 place has only been permitted by the Indians within the last five and twenty years ; and, in 

 fact, neither of them is more than a straggling village. La Union is on the great plain, five 

 miles to the northward of Rio Bueno, and Osorno is at the junction of the Damas and Ilahue, 

 an affluent of the first-named water-course. The native tribes of the province having been 

 found more tractable than their countrymen on the north, the missionaries have many stations 

 among them, and numbers receive annual presents from government for their good behavior. 

 Besides the custom-house at Valdivia, coasting trade is permitted with the Rio Bueno, which is 

 navigable for about twelve leagues ; but a bar across its mouth excludes all except small ci 



Excepting the more elevated portion of the Andes and an occasional swampy tract, all the 

 remainder of the land in this province may be rendered useful to the economy of man. But 

 the long resistance of the aboriginal possessors to the white race, many of whom would have 

 become agriculturists, has greatly prevented the increase of population beyond the range of a 

 musket-ball from the forts ; and their own aversion to more labor than will produce supplies 

 ior themselves, has almost confined cultivation to the borders of streams within the intermedi- 

 ate plain. Beyond it there is very little cleared land, and for thirty miles from Valdivia th< 

 one almost continuous forest. In many parts the undergrowth of creepers, vines, and reeds is 

 so dense, that they can only be passed by circuitous routes. Yet, nearly all the trees are useful, 

 and would readily command purchasers if conveyed to market, whilst the land would be left 

 ready for farming purposes. In consequence of the abundance of rain that falls, and the virgin 

 fertility of the soil, the extensive tract that lies between the Calle-calle and Cruces rivers is 



* The Repertorio National (official) says: "On the south by Rio Negro." But this cannot form a southern boundary. Hoth 

 Major Pliilippi and M. Guy, who visited that region, and have published maps under the auspices of government, found only ;i 

 Bhort river of that name, which emptied into the Kiihue, after a nearly north course. As this boundary would throw half of the 

 department of Osorno into the province of Chiloe, I have preferred to adopt the boundary indicated on the maps of those gen- 

 tlemen. 



