Hotels. Royal, A. P., 12 to 25 pesos; Grand, A. P., 10-15 pesos; Palace, about the same or a trifle less; Colon, 6 to 12 pesos. All higher in summer.

Money. The Chilian peso, paper, varies in value from 20 to 30 cents or more; recently it was 22 cents.

Chief Points of Interest. The Monument and the Government Palace near the landing; the business streets; Plaza Victoria and the church facing it; the Av. Brazil with the British Monument; the Naval School; the English and the Spanish American Cemeteries on the heights, these with the Naval School reached by ascensors; and the suburb ViÑa del Mar.

Valparaiso, Vale of Paradise, the largest and busiest port on the Pacific south of San Francisco, like many others along this coast, has no real harbor. The spacious semi-circular roadstead lies open to the wintry northers which occasionally bring terrific storms. On such occasions, ships at anchor in the bay to escape the fury of the waves often steam for the open sea, lest they be driven ashore or be overwhelmed in the deep, as has several times happened to ocean steamers. In the summer there is no danger, and after the completion of the breakwater designed to protect the bay from the savage force of the tempestuous sea, it will be safe at any time. The great depth of the water a short distance from shore renders the construction difficult, but satisfactory plans at length were devised and in October, 1912, work was begun on the port improvements which besides the breakwater 945 feet long will include additional docks. Those in existence are sadly inadequate for the vast commercial movement at this port.

While from a business point of view the harbor at present is poor, from the deck of a steamer or from the hills above the town, there is a busy and beautiful scene. Scattered over the waters are hundreds of vessels of various shapes and of every size, some from the farthest corners of the globe, showing flags of many nations (probably none of the United States), others mere lighters or rowboats to transport freight or passengers from ship to shore. Around the bay, a few rods back from the water, rise in a semi-circle steep hills or cliffs to a height of 1000 feet or more. Farther back, more lofty ridges are seen, and it is said that on a clear day in the far distance may be descried, in the sharp toothed ridge which forms the backbone of the continent, the snow-flecked peak of Aconcagua.

On the narrow strip of shore between the sea and the hills, varying in width from two blocks to half a mile, is the substantial business section of the city; while climbing up the slopes and crowning the hilltops is most of the residence portion, both the fine dwellings of the prosperous and the humble homes of the poor.

The arriving steamers are as usual beset by a throng of boatmen, and wary must be the tourist who is not exorbitantly fleeced, unless he has a friend on board to guide, or one from the city to greet him. As the Chilian peso, of somewhat variable value, is generally worth less than a quarter of a dollar, the tariff price is not so high as it sounds; one peso for each person or considerable piece of baggage is a suitable fee, though much more is likely to be demanded.

At the landing, arrangements may be made for the transport of the heavy baggage by cart, while you go with hand baggage to the hotel in a carriage; or a tram car may serve you. The hotels, the Royal, Palace, and Grand, are all within half a mile of the landing. The Royal Hotel, 65 Esmeralda street, which is sometimes full to overflowing, will be found amply satisfactory. The American proprietors, Mr. and Miss Kehle, have made it more like a hotel in the United States than are any others that I have seen on the West Coast. Located on one of the principal business streets, it affords excellent meals in several large dining-rooms; and handsomely furnished chambers, with modern equipment including red satin puffs for the beds in addition to fine blankets. The price is from 12 to 15 pesos and up according to the room. The Grand Hotel is said to afford similar accommodations at about the same prices. The Palace, a little cheaper, is well situated on the Plaza de los Bomberos, and others less pretentious, as the Colon, 87 Esmeralda, are called clean and good.

In Valparaiso, a city of nearly 200,000, it seems to be the fashion for the residents to reply, when asked what there is to see, “O, nothing at all.” This is by no means true, though at least twice as much time should be devoted to Santiago. First there is the large square near the landing on which is the handsome Casa del Gobierno. In the center of the plaza is a fine monument, The Country to the Heroes of the 21st of May, and at one corner near the docks is the railway station to Santiago. The air seems crisp and the city more European than any previously seen.

The business streets have many handsome buildings two or three stories high, a few even more, looking fresh and clean, since the greater part of this district was laid low by the terrible earthquake of 1906. A twelve-month of unusual shrinkage, of adjustment of the earth’s surface, and of consequent calamity was practically coincident with this year. In April 1906 occurred the catastrophe at San Francisco, August 16, the practical destruction of Valparaiso, and in January, 1907, the disaster at Kingston. Some buildings in Valparaiso withstood the shocks, but with the ’quakes and the resulting fires little of the lower part of the city remained undamaged. The upper town was to a great extent uninjured and the shipping in the bay received no harm. Few traces of the calamity are now left, as like San Francisco the town was soon rebuilt in a superior manner. While slight earthquakes are frequent they are not fearsome, as heavy shocks are usually half a century apart. Besides earthquakes, Valparaiso has experienced other calamities. Founded in 1536, in its earlier days it was three times captured and sacked by pirates; in 1858, it was destroyed by fire; in 1866, bombarded by a Spanish fleet; and in 1890 it suffered considerable injury from the Balmaceda revolution. It is to be hoped that after all these vicissitudes it may enjoy a peaceful existence. A stroll along the principal streets to the office of the American consul, Mr. Alfred Winslow, to the banking house of W. R. Grace, and to gaze at the handsome shop windows is the pastime of an hour or two. Between the hills and the water it is impossible to lose one’s way. The double-decked tram cars are an imposing sight, and rather curious objects are the women conductors. Having heard of these before arriving, I was expecting to see some trim young women, with possibly a coquettish eye turning at times upon some of the gentlemen patrons, as occasionally happens in some of our cheap restaurants; but no! Staid indeed are the women conductors in Valparaiso and Santiago, and far from handsome. Plainly dressed in a sort of blue uniform with white aprons, they are obviously of the so-called laboring class, of rather stolid appearance, perhaps the mothers of families, and closely intent upon their duties. It appears that during the war of ’79–’81, so many young men joined the army that women were drafted into this service. Performing it in a satisfactory manner they continued to be so employed though not to the total exclusion of men. They mount to the upper story to collect fares and in Santiago swing along the sides of the open cars quite in man fashion, though necessarily hampered by their voluminous skirts. Manifestly competent for the labor, less difficult than other duties like scrubbing floors, supposed to lie more within their sphere, it would seem that bifurcated garments, even knickerbockers, would enable them to perform either service more easily. If men and women were to exchange garments for a hundred years it is conceivable that the idea as to which is the weaker sex might be changed also.

A few car rides may be taken to advantage, the greater if sitting above; but among the natives of the upper class this is taboo, as the price is only half of that below; the fares being five and ten centavos respectively. A gentleman in Santiago remarked to me that although he preferred riding outside it would never do except in the evening, when he could not be recognized from the street or from the upper windows of houses in passing.

Not far from the Royal Hotel is the Plaza Victoria on one side of which is the Espiritu Santo Church, the most fashionable in the city, though with an ordinary exterior. A flower market is passed on the way, where beautiful roses and other flowers may be purchased in quantities for a single peso. The general market as a matter of course is worth seeing, especially in the season of fruits, as Chile rivals California in the excellence and variety of these, and surpasses it in cheapness. The fruits of the Temperate Zone, cherries, peaches, apples, pears, and grapes, luscious in quality and, they say, unrivaled in any part of the world, in their summer and fall, tempt the tourist on every hand.

It is important to ascend the hills in two or three different places, both for the view going up and for what is to be seen at the top. The ascensors are similar to those of Cincinnati, one being carried up by cable as another is coming down; but the inclines seemed steeper and one appeared rather rickety. There have been fatal accidents. However,—I went as do others. Near the top of one of the inclines which is but a short distance from the Hotel Royal is a cemetery where chapel-like tombs and pretty head stones and monuments are closely packed together among shaded walks on the very edge of the precipitous bluff. One has here a magnificent view of the city below fringing the semi-circular shore, of the blue waters, alive with ships, and of the surrounding hills. Through caÑons here and there separating the various hills and bluffs, a few carriage roads wind steeply upward and more footpaths, by which some pedestrians climb; but most persons will prefer to save time and strength by taking their chances in an ascensor. Perched on these steep inclines are houses of the poor, while at the top are many fine villas occupied by native and foreign residents. Close to the Chilian cemetery on the bluff is the English burial ground surrounded by a high wall. In a far corner of this enclosure is a small marble tomb on a concrete foundation with a marble cross above, the whole about five feet high, in which Americans will have a special interest. The inscription reads:

“In memory of the officers and seamen slain on board the United States frigate Essex in this harbor in an engagement with H. R. Majesty’s frigate Phoebe and brig Cherub, February 28, 1814.” A list of 52 names follows and the statement that it was erected by officers of four ships of the United States Navy.

This ship, the Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, after inflicting much damage on British property, capturing 360 seamen and 100 cannon, was surprised in this harbor by two British ships. Though disabled by a squall she made a splendid fight until more than three-fifths of the crew were killed or wounded, and the ship was on fire in several places, when she struck her colors. A more conspicuous monument for the gallant dead might seem appropriate.

By another ascensor, a trip should be made to the Naval School, which crowns a splendid height nearer the outer edge of the harbor. A fine large building, well equipped in the best modern English fashion, stands back of a pretty garden. There are good class rooms, laboratories, machine shops with guns mounted as on board ship, and all essentials for a thorough and practical course of study. In the rear patios are athletic fields with bathing facilities. The cadets are generally from the best families, and the program of study is based on that of English schools; the fleet is organized on the British model, and the ships are constructed in British shipyards. There is, further, a training ship for sailors, where if unable to read and write they receive instruction, as do soldiers in a corresponding institution in Santiago.

On the fine broad Avenue Brazil is a handsome arch with the British Lion above, presented to the city by the British colony here, at the Centennial in 1910.

ViÑa del Mar. An excursion should by all means be made to this suburb; to Miramar if time allows. The former may be reached by tram or train in half an hour or so. It is pleasant to go by one and return by the other. The tracks, nearly parallel, pass several pretty suburbs and give several glimpses of the sea beyond the harbor before reaching the destination. ViÑa del Mar is not only a suburb of Valparaiso whither many Englishmen and others go in the afternoon for sports, and where many business men of Valparaiso have homes, but it is also a fashionable summer resort for the wealthy residents of Santiago and other parts of Chile. It is a charming place with a pretty railway station near a large and attractive plaza. Many carriages stand near, in one of which for a few pesos a pleasant drive may be taken around the town and out to the hippodrome or race track, a mile or more outside the city. Within the track enclosure, a pretty spot surrounded by green hills, the foreigners have laid out a golf course, grounds for cricket, and for football. The place is thus visited, especially on Sundays, by many, not only for the races, to which the Chilians are as devoted as the Argentines, but for athletics of various kinds. The Chilian horses seem very large after those of Peru, and trotting is their specialty. Some of them do this so well that their gentle trot is as easy as the lope or canter of most other animals.

A pretty and commodious clubhouse faces the Plaza, and near by are many charming villas of attractive architecture surrounded by luxuriant vegetation of tropical and temperate climes, beautiful flower beds, trees, and shrubbery. Half a mile from the center of the town is a fine beach bordered by jutting rock promontories. Large bathing establishments, cafÉs for ices and tea, and splendid villas with well laid out grounds recall our own shore resorts. A good pedestrian may be tempted to climb over the steep enclosing hill and descend on the other side to the electric car track for his return to the city. The Grand Hotel with beautiful grounds is the leading hostelry of the place.

Miramar is a small but popular bathing resort in the opposite direction from Valparaiso, reached by electric cars; but the bathing is here more dangerous, as not far from shore the bottom drops suddenly to a great depth.

From Valparaiso to Santiago by rail is a ride of 3½ or 4 hours by express trains and about two more by accommodation. The price of tickets for the express is 12.80 pesos, 4 extra for seat in Pullman; 8.50 pesos by slower train. It is a pleasant ride, for a few miles near the shore, passing ViÑa del Mar, then east through the Coast Range to the Central Plain, at Llai-Llai leaving the Andine Railway to turn southward to Santiago.