

CHESNEY, FRANCIS R. 



CHILI. 



99 



gallant officer, the pioneer of the overland 

 route to India, born in Ballyrea, in the north 

 of Ireland, in 1789 ; died at his country-seat in 

 Ireland, January 30, 1872. He was named 

 Francis Rawdon after his sponsor, the late 

 Marquis of Hastings. He was educated at the 

 Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and ob- 

 tained a commission in the Royal Artillery in 

 1805. Having seen some active service in 

 1815, he became captain, and in 1821 was sent 

 to Gibraltar, where, after the death of his 

 wife and daughter, he offered his services to 

 the Government to cross the African Desert to 

 solve the problem of the origin of the Niger, 

 but they were not accepted. In 1827 and 1828 

 he went over the great battle-fields of Napo- 

 leon in France, Italy, and Germany, and after- 

 ward carefully examined the battle-fields of 

 the East. In 1829 Captain Chesney sailed for 

 Constantinople, intending to assist Turkey in 

 her struggle with Russia, and on his arrival 

 found that the preliminaries of a hollow peace 

 had been signed at Adrianople. After exam- 

 ining the fortresses and positions occupied by 

 the contending armies, Captain Chesney ob- 

 tained an extension of his leave of absence for 

 the purpose of visiting Asia Minor, Greece, 

 and Egypt, with a view to the solution of the 

 problem of a regular steam communication 

 with India. He sailed down the Red Sea to 

 Cossier, and reported the practicability of a 

 steam voyage in twenty-one days between 

 Bombay and Suez, and of five more between 

 Suez and Alexandria. After having made 

 these explorations, he went on a journey 

 through Palestine, Arabia Petraaa, and across 

 the Arabian Desert to El Kaim, whence the 

 great river was followed to Ana. The result 

 of this expedition was a large map and a me- 

 moir forwarded to Sir R. Gordon from Shuster, 

 in June, 1831, describing about eight hundred 

 miles of the river Euphrates. In 1835-' 3 6 

 Captain Chesney accomplished, though only af- 

 ter encountering great difficulties and dangers, 

 from shipwreck and the perils of the desert, 

 his descent of the Euphrates, from its source 

 to its outlet, and afterward led an expedition 

 across the heart of Arabia from the Mediter- 

 ranean to the Indian Ocean, returning to Eng- 

 land in 1837. He commanded the artillery in 

 China, as brigadier-general, in 1843-'47, held 

 the command of the artillery in the south of 

 Ireland from 1848 till 1852, and was created 

 an honorary D. C. L. of Oxford in 1851. The 

 question of the practicability of the overland 

 route to India for the transport of mails and 

 merchandise has long been decided, and Gen- 

 eral Chesney has had the honor not only of 

 opening another route to India, but of intro- 

 ducing commerce and civilization into regions 

 which they have never before penetrated. In 

 1850 he published his " Survey of the Eu- 

 phrates and Tigris," containing full details of 

 his expedition, of which he had contributed 

 an abridged account to the Journal of the 

 Geographical Society. In 1852 he published 



his " Observations .on the Past and Present 

 State of Fire-arms, and on the probable effects 

 in War of the New Musket; " in 1854, " Nar- 

 rative of the Russo-Turkish Campaigns of 

 1828-'29 ; " and in 1865, a " Critical Review 

 of the Battle of Gettysburg." He attained the 

 rank of major-general in 1855 a tardy ac- 

 knowledgment of his great services; in 1860 

 he was promoted to be lieutenant-general, 

 and in 1866 was raised to the rank of general, 

 though without its usual accompaniments of 

 knighthood and investiture with the order of 

 the Bath. 



CHILI (REPUBLICA DE CHILE), an indepen- 

 dent state of .South America, extending from 

 latitude 24 to 56 south, and between longi- 

 tude 70 and 74 west ; and bounded north by 

 Bolivia, east by the Argentine Republic and 

 Patagonia, south by Cape Horn, and west by 

 the Pacific Ocean. Area, 132,223 square miles ; 

 to which may be added 115,590 square miles, 

 the area of that part of Patagonia claimed by 

 the Government. The territory of the repub- 

 lic is divided into fifteen provinces and one 

 colony, which, with their population, in 1870, 

 are as follows : 



Provinces. Population. 



Aconcagua 134.178 



Arauco 87,77 



Atacama 83,343 



Chiloe 62,983 



Colchagua 153,096 



Concepcion 155,382 



Coquimbo 159,698 



Curic6 100,200 



Llanquihue 43,342 



Provinces. Population. 



Maiile 211,567 



Nuble 125,819 



Santiago 374.078 



Talca 107,412 



Valdivia 27,980 



Valparaiso 144,954 



Magellan Colony.. 729 



Total 1,972,438 



President, F. Errazuriz, September 18, 1871 ; 

 Minister of the Interior, E. Altamirano, Sep- 

 tember 18, 1871 ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 A. Ibafiez, December 9, 1871 ; Minister of Re- 

 ligion and Instruction, A. Cifuentes, Septem- 

 ber 18, 1871 ; Minister of Finances, R. Barros 

 Luco, April 12, 1872 ; Minister of War and 

 Navy, A. Pinto, September 18, 1871. 



Archbishop (Santiago), R. V. Yaldivieso; 

 Bishops : La Serena, M. Orrego ; Concepcion, 

 J. H. Salas; San Carlos de Chiloe, Fr. de Paula 

 Solar. 



The army consists of 1,400 foot, 712 horse, 

 804 artillery, 6 generals, 38 lieutenant-colonels, 

 54 majors, 141 captains, 256 lieutenants: total, 

 3,916 men and 540 officers; 165 of the latter 

 belonging to the National Guard. The latter 

 comprises 30,542 foot, 21,300 horse, 245 artil- 

 lery, and 2,149 officers. 



The navy is made up of 10 vessels, with 39 

 cannon and 121 marines. In January, 1872, 

 an appropriation of $2,200,000 was made for 

 increasing the naval force of the republic ; and 

 it was decided that one small ship-of-war and 

 two iron-clads should be purchased. There 

 are in the navy 1 counter-admiral, 19 cap- 

 tains, 40 lieutenants, 38 midshipmen, 1 battal- 

 ion of artillery, 400 strong, commanded by 1 

 colonel, 1 major, 4 captains, and 19 lieuten- 

 ants ; besides which there is at Valparaiso a 

 battalion of marine artillery, with 6 captains, 

 24 lieutenants, and 910 men. 



