VALPARAISO. J 1 1 



their righto. Did they comprise m,l\ tin- native population, they mi^ht IK- willing to follow the 

 custom of their Ion-fathers fin- another quarter of a century or so ; but it in impossible that the 

 (<>lii v of lierman- ' ! livia should not rapidly increase in numbers and prosperity. 



Emigration swells their ranks 6*erj fHif. They have hroiight indiihtry and energy to a virgin 

 soil ..f unlimited I'eriiliiy, in a climate unsurpassed for salubrity and amenity; and they would 

 lie unfaithful i ,-pn < iitai ives of Kaxonism did they not become sufficiently powerful, in a few 

 . to hreak down this anomaly in the course of trade. 



To its superficial increase there are interposed enormous physical obstacles. Every foot of 

 ground is already covered by buildings from the face of the cliffs to the sea; and, to obtain 

 space for other warehouses, either the sea itself must be encroached on, and its billows braved, 

 or families must submit to dwell on the hills, so as to devote all the lower part of the town to 

 business pursuits. Within the last two years each of these measures has been partially resorted 

 to, and even the name "Cape Horn" will soon be forgotten in the shadow of the lines of maga- 

 /im-s erected between it and the waves that once laved its Cimmerian cave, whilst elegant villas 

 above Cerro Alegre have added uo little to the beauty of the landscape. The completion of the 

 projected railroad to Santiago would probably obviate this difficulty somewhat, as well as preserve 

 the prosperity of the port: for a part of the merchants would prefer a residence at the capital, if 

 the journey could be made in four or five hours ; and we have the experience of the world in 

 proof that increased facilities of transportation multiply rapidly the amounts of traffic and travel. 

 A consummation of the object is, therefore, of vital importance ; one which commercial men of 

 both cities should leave no effort untried to perfect, but unite as a body to break down individual 

 aspirations opposing themselves to the general good. It is conclusively shown by the accom- 

 plished ^engineer who made the survey, that there is not only a practicable route over which a 

 road may be built, under the direction of a competent engineer, in five years, and for less tha n 

 $8,000,000, but, from the statistics of traffic and travel, it is quite certain the investment will 

 prove a safe one. Encouraged by his report, a company was formed of which government 

 became a shareholder to the amount of $2,000,000, and a commencement of the work was made 

 with great formality on the 1st of October, 1852 : but the obstacles to be overcome at the very 

 outset were such as only a practical man could grapple with ; and the task being too great for 

 the person whom the company had charged with it, this part of the work was abandoned for 

 ground better suited to his capacities. It is much to be apprehended, that the successful 

 operation of the road from Caldera to Copiapo, by exciting the envy of commercial capitalists, 

 may cause the failure of this great work ; as its two or three controlling stockholders seem 

 determined to monopolize all possible immediate profits without regard to ultimate costs. Of 

 course the engineer who surveyed, located, and exhibited the feasibility of the road, had too 

 much experience in details to countenance the contracts they wanted on their own terms, and 

 his services have not been needed subsequently. 



Open as it is to the north, the sea rolls in from an illimitable distance; and during the 

 storms of winter it often breaks across the street at Cape Horn, its roar along the beach at such 

 times drowning even the stirring noises of commercial life. I was present during one of them 

 the third temporal of the winter of 1851, having just returned from Caldera. These 

 northers are generally accompanied with much rain, far more falling in the course of a very 

 few hours than is ever known in the same parallel of North America. At such times there are 

 parts of Valparaiso wholly impassable by pedestrians, as volumes of water and mud pour 

 down the ravines, deluging the contiguous streets, and discoloring the sea for miles. Though 

 its fall is quite slight in comparison, the barometer is a very sure indicator; and as soon as it 

 descends to 29.80 inches, a signal is thrown out from the Exchange, " Prepare for bad weather." 

 In the most severe of the three storms within as many weeks, it fell only to 29.63 inches the 

 loAvest that had been known in many years. The steamer Peru and four other vessels were 

 driven on the beach during its violence. Even by daylight it is distressing to watch the ships 

 tossed and plunging over their anchors amid seething seas which the tempest has driven across an 

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