CHILE

69

lower,  and  rains  increase.  To  the  extreme
south  there  is  much  snow  and  cold  with  but
little  vegetation.
There  are  practically  no  negroes  in  the
3,500,000  of  Chile’s  population.  Some  writers ­
  estimate  that  25  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants
are  Germans,  or  of  German  descent,  this  nation ­
  having  many  business  men  and  large  colonies ­
  in  the  Republic,  especially  toward  the
south  and  around  Valdivia.  Perhaps  50  per
cent,  are  descendants  of  the  Araucanian  Indians ­
  by  the  early  Spanish  explorers.  There
is  a  large  percentage  of  English;  it  is  estimated ­
  that  in  Valparaiso,  a  city  of  250,000,
there  are  at  least  20,000  Anglo-Saxons.  The
French  and  Italian  colonies  are  also  quite
numerous.
Chile  ranks  third  in  South  America  in
her  railways,  possessing  a  total  of  3800  miles,
nearly  2000  of  which  are  owned  by  the  Government. ­
  A  longitudinal  railway,  designed
to  run  practically  the  length  of  the  country
—2132  miles—from  north  to  south,  is  in  process ­
  of  construction.  It  will  be  connected  with