if not to Thee, O Giver of all joy. To Thee, therefore, O Fountain of all felicity we give thanks! But likewise to thy name, O great Urquiza! to thee, whose name will be immortal: to thee our gratitude will be eternal, and the echo of our acknowledgments will be heard, even to the ends of the earth. The heart of every Argentine will be a temple from which thou wilt receive the sweet incense of our affection; and tradition will forever transmit to our descendants the name of him who has restored us to our liberties. Most excellent sir, we salute thee as the morning star of the happy day of freedom that has dawned upon our country. We acclaim thee as our Washington! The Washington of the Argentine Republic! What a glory for you, sir! Argentines! I call your attention to your deliverer: fix your gaze on that bold champion. Let your modesty, sir, suffer me in the transports of my gratitude to express the sentiments of my heart. Yes, Argentines, fix again, I say, your gaze on that brave warrior. See you those scintillating eyes beaming with humanity? They have suffered prolonged vigils for your liberty. Behold that capacious brow

even yet bronzed by the suns of the camp! It has been absorbed in the profoundest meditations for your liberty! Do you perceive those features full of expressions of goodness? they have suffered the rigors of heat and the inclemencies of the seasons for your liberty. Witness ye that elevated and finely modelled breast, the temple of a magnanimous heart? It has been exposed to the bullet and the lance of the tyrant for your liberty. Do you observe the nervous arm and powerful hand, so well known in battle? they have wielded the sword valiantly for your liberty, yes, for our liberty, he voluntarily renounced his sleep, to give his mind, day and night, to deep thought; for our liberty, he sacrificed his own comfort and well-being; for our liberty he hazarded his life! For our liberty he has suffered hunger, thirst, and conflicts; and to achieve it, impetuous rivers have appeared to him but smooth rivulets, enormous deserts like populous plains, the longest marches but short excursions, and the greatest obstacles the merest trifles. What courage! what heroism! what patriotism!

What fortune is ours, Argentines, to have a man of so much excellence, him whom Providence has sent to liberate us, and give to us the guarantee of a constitutional government. Eternal Father, God of all goodness, what thanksgiving shall we render to Thee for this evidence of Thy mercy?

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE

80. PROCLAMATION BY BERNARDO O'HIGGINS

[August 13, 1820. Thomas Sutcliffe, Sixteen Years in Chile and Peru, from 1822 to 1839 (1842), 42. By the retired governor of Juan Fernandez. Published by Fisher, Son, and Company, London and Paris.]

Don Bernardo O'Higgins played a distinguished role in Chile. He was the son of Don Ambrosio O'Higgins, the celebrated Irishman who served Spain in various capacities, notably as governor-general of Chile and viceroy of Peru; his mother was an Indian woman. He was born in Chillán, Chile, in 1776. He visited Europe from 1794 to 1802, spending the greater part of the time in England, where he met Francisco de Miranda and became interested in that leader's schemes for the emancipation of South America. He returned to Chile and took part in the Revolution of 1810. He met defeat at the battle of Rancagua in 1814 and fled into Argentina; joining José de San Martín at Mendoza, he served as an officer in the Army of the Andes under command of that general. He played a brilliant part as a commander of a division in the battle of Chacabuco on February 12, 1817. He became dictator of Chile shortly after, serving in that capacity until 1823. It was while holding this position that he issued this brief proclamation. He retired to Lima after his rule in Chile and died there in 1842.

In the tenth year of the South American revolution, and the three hundredth of the conquest of Peru, a people whose rank in the social scale has hitherto rated below its destiny, has undertaken to break the chains which Pizarro began to forge, with his blood-stained hands in 1520. The government established in Chile since the restoration, having conceived this great design, deems it right that it should be carried into execution by the same person who, having twice promised to save

his country, has twice succeeded. An expedition, equipped at the expense of great sacrifices, is at length ready to proceed, and the Army of Chile, united to that of the Andes, is now called upon to redeem the land, in which slavery has longest existed, and from whence the latest efforts have been made to oppress the whole continent. Happy be this day in which the record of the movements, and the action of the expedition is commenced! The object of this enterprise is to decide whether or not the time has arrived, when the influence of South America upon the rest of the world shall be commensurate with its extent, its riches, and its situation.

81. IMPRESSION OF LIFE IN VALPARAISO

O'HIGGINS

[October, 1831. William S. W. Ruschenberger, Three Years in the Pacific; including Notices of Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru; by an Officer of the United States Navy (1834), 88–91. Published by Carey, Lea & Blanchard, Philadelphia.]

The variegated life in the famous Chilean seaport town of Valparaiso in the thirties of the last century was described by a naval officer of the United States as follows:

Next to the busy appearance of the street and the landing, the individuals of the picture attract attention. The "aguadores" and their donkeys, that supply every family with water from springs in the different quebrádas, stand forth conspicuous in the eyes of the newly arrived North American. The donkey carries two small barrels or kegs, suspended one on either side, in a wooden frame adapted to the purpose; and the "aguador" sits en croupe, swinging his bare legs, first one and then the other, as if spurring. He wears a coarse coneshaped hat drawn well over his face, a shirt with sleeves rolled up above the elbow, a leather apron, something like that of a blacksmith, and loose trowsers reaching just below the knee. He carries a pole about six feet long, armed with an iron curve or hook before him, lying crosswise. A small tinkling bell, attached to the saddle, gives notice of his approach. These men, apparently the happiest and steadiest fellows in the world, manifest a sort of indifference or nonchalance for every thing around them; having learned a lesson of patience from the animal they drive, they are never in haste, nor can they be induced to move out of their accustomed pace. When the water-carrier stops,

and removes one of the barrels, to prevent the other from dragging the saddle round, he props it with the pole which he carries for that purpose. Water is worth a real (twelve and a half cents) the "cargo" or load. The muleteers also wear cone-shaped straw hats, "ponchos," breeches that extend below the knee, "botas" or leggings, and hide sandals, with great spurs, the rowels of which are frequently three and even four inches in diameter. The "poncho" is an oblong piece of cloth, from six to ten feet long, and from three to five broad, fringed at the edges, with a slit in the centre, (bound with ribbon), through which the head is passed, leaving the ends to fall down in careless drapery before and behind, so as to conceal the upper part of the figure. When the poncho becomes too warm, or otherwise inconvenient, it is knotted round the waist, discovering that the body and shoulders are clothed in a coarse, dark colored, woollen shirt or frock, with short sleeves. The poncho is of every variety of color; sometimes plain, and sometimes ornamented with stripes of flowers and fancy patterns in lively colors. This garment is universally worn by all classes when riding on horseback; its cost varies, according to the material of which it is made, from four to a hundred dollars. The legs are defended by a pair of woollen leggings, of a dark color, striped or plain, extending from the foot half way up the thigh, and secured below the knee by a tasselled garter, giving to the whole figure a striking and unique appearance. The "botas," like the poncho, are worn by all classes when on horseback.

Such is the general costume of the "arriéros" and "peones" muleteers and laborers — varying only in the fineness of the texture, according to the wearer's purse. The spurs of the poorest class are of iron; but the ambition of every man in Chile is to obtain, next to a fine horse, a pair of huge silver spurs. The mules are covered on either side with thick pads of unsheared sheep skins, upon which the load is lashed by thongs or ropes of hide. That he may stand quiet, when laden or unladen, the muleteer blindfolds the animal by throwing the poncho over his eyes. It is curious to see laden mules coming in from the country. They are strung together, one behind the other, by a hide rope or halter, leading from the tail of the one to the neck of the other, in succession, with a space of about ten feet between them.

The costume of gentlemen, when attending to business, generally consists of a short jacket of white or blue cloth, according to the season, and a felt, or straw hat, of Manila or Guayaquil manufacture, not differ

ing, in other respects, from that of the United States. The young men of fortune follow the fashions given to them by French or English tailors.

The dress of the ladies, when walking, is the same as that termed in the United States an evening dress. They wear neither hats nor bonnets, but instead, ornament the hair, which they know how to arrange in excellent taste, with two or three natural flowers. The parasol affords protection to their complexion, when it requires any, for they seldom walk till the sun has in a degree lost his power. When they go to church which they do every morning at sunrise they dress in black, with a veil or mantilla over the head.

Reader, be kind enough to picture to yourself a busy crowd, composed of the various figures I have attempted to sketch; moving through a narrow street in different directions. The "aguadór❞ threading along among troops of mules and carts; merchants discussing the quality and price of goods; their clerks hurrying to and from the custom-house; the "guaso" or countryman, with hat, poncho, botas, and spurs, seated in his comfortable saddle, with toes thrust into the sides of huge blocks of wood, that answer the place of stirrups, guiding his docile animal; ladies in their walking dress, with parasol, and followed by little Indian servants, from Arauco; the "dulcéro," or vender of sweetmeats, crying "dulces"; "mercachifles," or pedlars, with loads of ribbons and trifles, praising in stentorian voices the cheapness of their goods; sailors, riding horses that might be taken for the descendants of the famed "Rocinante,"1 pushing and spurring on in spite of all obstacles. Fancy all these, and you may have an idea of Valparaiso, near the landing, on a week day morning.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the streets are almost deserted. At that hour business ceases; the natives take the "siésta," or afternoon nap, and foreigners go home to dine. At sunset the world wakes up, and the street becomes again animated. The chandler makes his appearance, bearing a load of dirty tallow candles, strung on a pole over his shoulder, crying "velas de sebo" - tallow candles; and the tinker makes himself heard, shouting, "el hojalatéro-vasinicas de hojalata mui barátas" the tinker, chamber utensils of tin very cheap. No hour could be more appropriate for vending these articles,

1 This word is in perfect keeping with the whole of that inimitable work of Cervantes, Don Quixote; it is derived from rocin, which signifies a hack horse, and ante, before or formerly.