NOTICES OP CHILE. 



143 



pieces of silver soon cut out those made of cloth. Instances of 

 generosity towards medical men are not rare — I have heard of 

 a pair of horses being presented in one case, and two hundred 

 dollars in another. 



The Chilians possess generous feelings in many respects. 

 The moneys raised by subscription for charitable purposes, 

 such as the relief of a widow or an orphan, amount to con- 

 siderable sums. I have before me a list of persons, who have 

 subscribed, in a few days, more than two thousand dollars, for 

 the relief of widows whose husbands fell in one of those petty 

 revolutions which have so frequently disturbed the quiet of 

 the country. 



CHAPTER VI. 



visit Colina — Law of primog-eniture — A senator— A family dinner — Face of 

 the country — Ploughing — Sowing — Baths — Friar of San Felipe — Don Jose 

 — Return to "Valparaiso — Storm on the road. 



On the 10th of July, 1832, I left Santiago for Colina, situ- 

 ated close under the Andes, about seven leagues to the north- 

 ward of the Chilian capital. It is a scattering village or town- 

 ship, having a small chapel and a few ranchos (huts) around it, 

 encircled by the great chain of the Cordilleras, and their moun- 

 tain spurs. The curate is one of the most important personages 

 in the place; he is conversable, fond of an hoja/' a glass of 

 wine, or brandy and water, and a half hour's chat of a morning. 

 The neighborhood is made up of several chacras,'' or small 

 farms, and one or two " haciendas," or estates of great extent; 

 that on which I sojourned, contained fifty square miles, and 

 yielded twenty-five thousand dollars worth of wheat annually. 

 These haciendas'' have been very much in the way of the 

 advancement of this countryj for the Spanish law, preserving 



