SANTIAGO. 203 



For want of a lunatic a^vliim, the insane also arc brought to the alms-house, unletw th-ir 

 vii.|i-nee compels close confinement; in \\hich < alone ure the guardians. Fortu- 



nately for Chile, tin- number ..I' th-se is HUH!!, and their malady of a harmless nature; yet it 

 is discreditable to the nation that it has not at least one institution whose especial object in the 

 care of those from whom tin- light of reason has departed. Walking along the Canada one 

 day, a room was pointed out to me in which an insane gentleman had been confined fi 

 \cars. His malady was of so violent a character that none dared approach him, and death only 

 relieve. 1 him from his den of filth and misery. Latterly, patients have been sent to the hospi- 

 tal at Lima, where some provision has been made for them, though its arrangements are far, very 

 far, behind the age. So great an objection is felt to having persons thus afflicted among them, 

 that when a deranged Italian came from Copiapo to Valparaiso in 1850, although his malady 

 was of a perfectly harmless nature, the Intendente attempted to force the British mail steamer 

 to take him away again. Being without means to pay his passage, it was refused him. Then 

 the other passengers protested against his coming on board with them, and the agent positively 

 denied him passage-, causing him to be sent on shore in the ship's boat after the Intendente had 

 sent him on board with money to pay all charges. For these acts the agent was arrested and 

 tried by the criminal court for disrespect towards the constituted civil authority of the province.* 



An institution of a somewhat similar character to that last named, is the "Christian Society 

 for the lielief of Deserving Poor," under the patronage of the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos. 

 They have a house of refuge and grounds of considerable extent in Yungai, which they call the 

 " Asilia del Salvador." Only widows and their families are admitted. Any one desiring this 

 privilege must produce certificates of poverty and moral deportment from at least two well 

 known persons in their parish. There is a chapel belonging to the establishment. 



The hospital of "San Juan de Dios " for males was founded by Valdivia, who not only pro- 

 vided the funds then necessary, but amongst his earliest acts also wrote out rules for its govern- 

 ment. When monks of the order bearing this name came to the country in the early part of 

 the seventeenth century, the hospital was confided to their care; the sick of both sexes, as well 

 as the monks, dwelling under the same roof. The building at present occupied was erected 

 nearly two centuries later, and principally from funds arising from lotteries authorized to this 

 end. It is a large and extremely good looking edifice on the south side of the Canada, with a 

 garden and fountain of water in its principal patio, adding to the attractiveness without. Wide 

 and cleanly corridors, furnished with benches, surround three sides of the patio, affording com- 

 fortable places of resort for invalids, and the location of the establishment in the widest and 

 most airy portion of the city cannot fail to be wholesome. In one respect, however, the build- 

 ing is not properly constructed. There are windows only on one side of some of its long wards, 

 and the sills of these are high above the floor, (ten feet). Opposite there are two or three doors, 

 by which patients near them must either be subjected to cross-draughts or stagnated air. The 

 ward for surgical cases is in the second story, fronting the Canada, and is somewhat better 

 ventilated ; but the fact that so large a proportion die of those who undergo operations at all 

 serious in their character, is worthy of the most serious consideration. Is such a result attrib- 

 utable to diseased blood existing widely in the race, to imperfect ventilation, or to improper 

 treatment ? One of the largest wards is in the form of a cross, with a little altar at the inter- 

 section of the arms, where the sick may have an opportunity to witness mass ; their beds being 

 in alcoves along the walls. Its plan is admirable for the convenience of the attending nurses, 

 though by no means so to the medical officers ; nor is it promotive of cleanliness. Unfortu- 

 nately, it is even worse ventilated than raost of the others, the air being extremely offensive at 

 all times. The hospital is capable of accommodating six hundred patients, with ample room 

 and far greater comforts than most artisans possess in their own houses, ventilation not excepted. 

 Its upholstery for beds and bedding, and its washing and culinary departments, are on an equally 



An asylum for the insane has since been established at Santiago. 



