GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN 18G8. 



299 



result of his explorations in 1866, in the prov- 

 ince of Tarapuca, Southern Peru. This prov- 

 ince is in the Department of Moquegiia, and 

 forms the extreme southwestern portion of 

 the republic. It is a rainless, mostly desert 

 region, but has of late years risen into promi- 

 nence from the immense quantities of nitrate 

 of soda found there, and which, when refined, 

 yield iodine, and bromine also, in considerable 

 quantities. The refining of the nitrate of soda 

 has caused the establishment of numerous ni- 

 trate works, and in 186V about 150,000 tons 

 were exported. The population of the prov- 

 ince was about 20,000, the greater part of 

 whom were dependent directly or indirectly 

 upon the traffic in nitrate of soda. The capi- 

 tal of the province, Iquique, from being a 

 small fishing-village, had become, in 1866, a 

 town of 5,000 inhabitants. Mr. Bollaert has 

 given a very full and exhaustive account of 

 the geology, physical geography, botany, and 

 productions of the province, and the elevation 

 of the principal points, and especially those of 

 the route from Iquique to Noria, on which a 

 railroad was being constructed for the trans- 

 portation of the nitrate, and fuel and provisions 

 for its refining. Iquique, as well as most of 

 the towns of Southern Peru and Bolivia, was 

 greatly injured, and indeed nearly ruined, by 

 the terrible earthquakes of August 13-16, 1868, 

 which destroyed so many towns, and probably 

 over 50,000 lives, in Ecuador. It was also 

 shaken by the earthquake of October 13, 1868, 

 which, however, spent its greatest force on 

 Atacama, and several of the cities of Chili, on 

 the coast. 



The earthquakes which wrought such desola- 

 tion over a vast district of western South Amer- 

 ica are elsewhere described in this volume. It 

 is only necessary to say here, as pertaining spe- 

 cially to geographical science, that there were 

 three entirely distinct earthquakes proceeding 

 from different centres, and each doing great 

 injury in its sphere of action, and each lapping 

 over on a portion of the territory visited by its 

 predecessor. The earthquake of August 13th 

 produced an upheaval of the whole coast from 

 Callao, Peru, or perhaps a little north of that 

 port, to Talcahuano in Chili, a distance of 

 more than 1,900 miles. Callao, Arequipa, 

 Moquegiia, Arica, Chala, Tambo, Pisagua, 

 Islay, Tilo, Mollendo, Iquique, Tacna, Pisco, 

 Chincha Buja, and Mejillones, in Peru and 

 Bolivia, and Constitution, Tom6, and Talca- 

 huano in Chili, were laid in ruins either by 

 the shock of the earthquake or the tidal wave 

 which followed. The Chincha Islands were 

 swept over by the waves, and had previ- 

 ously been desolated by a hurricane and 

 earthquake. The earthquake of August 16th 



rnt its greatest fury on the republic of Ecua- 

 ', completely destroying the towns of Ibarra, 

 San Pablo, Atrintaqui, Imantad, Otovalo, and 

 Cotpcachi, with the greatest part of their in- 

 habitants. "Where Cotocachi stood, is now a 

 lake. Quito and the cities and towns near it 



were either partially or entirely in ruins, but 

 the loss of life was less than in the cities of 

 the province of Imbabura. This earthquake 

 reached the northern borders of the preced- 

 ing, but its great force was spent. The earth- 

 quake of October 13th, which it is to be re- 

 marked was the same which visited San Fran- 

 cisco and the northern Pacific coast, was ac- 

 companied with an eruption from the volcano 

 Llullanaco, 80 leagues from Copiapo. It ex- 

 tended along the whole coast from Oregon to 

 southern Chili, but its action was most severe 

 in northern Chili, on the coast of Bolivia, and 

 on the Pacific coast of North America. Iqui- 

 que was visited by this and subsequent slighter 

 shocks, but it suffered less than in the first. 

 The destruction of life in this last earthquake 

 was very small, although it extended over so 

 vast a territory. 



Mr. Thomas J. Hutchinson, a Fellow of the 

 Royal Geographical Society of London, has, 

 during the war which has existed for four years 

 past in Paraguay, been a resident of that coun- 

 try, and has communicated to the Illustrated 

 Travels a very interesting narrative of his so- 

 journ there, with very full descriptions of the 

 country, and the character and manners of its 

 inhabitants. He regards the Paraguayans as 

 possessing many fine traits of character, being 

 brave, patriotic, and not bloodthirsty. They 

 make excellent soldiers, and in this protracted 

 struggle have won the sympathy and respect 

 even of their foes. 



Turning to the Continent of ETJEOPE, we must 

 dispatch very briefly what geographical infor- 

 mation has been collected concerning its gen- 

 erally well-known states, that we may devote 

 more space to those countries which are less 

 familiar to us. 



The kingdom of Italy published, in the sum- 

 mer of 1868, its census, taken December 31, 

 1866. From this it appears that the kingdom 

 is divided into 59 provinces and prefectures 

 (aside from the Lombardo-V enetian provinces), 

 and 193 districts. The population was 22,793,- 

 135, an increase of 1,090,000 since the census 

 of 1864. The population of the Lombardo- Ve- 

 netian provinces was at the same time 2,576,- 

 185, making a total for the kingdom of Italy of 

 25,369,320. 



We have also very full census statistics of the 

 Scandinavian /States of Europe to the close of 

 1866 or the beginning of 1867. Those of Swe- 

 den are as follows : 



The area of the twenty-five governments was 

 168,042 English square miles; the population 

 4,160,677, of whom 2,023,737 were males and 

 2,136,940 females. There were in the king- 

 dom 428,169 horses, 321,635 oxen and steers, 

 1,185,556 cows, 417,163 young cattle, 1,589,000 

 sheep, 133,132 goats, 404,000 swine, and 139,- 

 400 reindeer. 



The population of the principal towns was : 

 Stockholm, 138,189 ; Gothenburg, 46,557 (a cen- 

 sus of the city and suburbs in 1868 gives 58,164) ; 

 Norkopping, 23,271; Malinoe, 22,538; Carls- 



