peaceable difpofition, and who were even fo tame as to fuffer Valdivia to parcel out their lands among his followers, while they themfelves remained in a state of inactivity. About fixteen leagues to the eastward of Imperial, the Spanish general laid the foundations of the city of Villa Rica, fo called on account of the rich gold mines he found there. But his ambition and avarice had now involved him in difficulties from which he could never be extricated: he had extended his conquests beyond what his ftrength was capable of maintaining, The Chilefians were still as defirous as ever of recovering their liber ties. The horses, fire arms, and armour of the Spaniards, indeed, appeared dreadful to them; but thoughts of endless flavery were still more fo. In the course of the war they had discovered that the Spaniards were vulnerable and mortal men like themselves; they hoped, therefore, by dint of fuperiority in numbers, to be able to expel the tyrannical ufurpers. Had all the nations joined in this refolution, the Spaniards had certainly been exterminated; but fome of them were of a pacific difpofition, while others confidered fervitude as the greatest of all poffible calamities. Of this last opinion were the Aracceans, the most intrepid people of Chili, and who had given Valdivia the greatest trouble. They all rofe to a man, and chofe Capaulican, a renowned hero among them, for their leader. Valdivia, however, received notice of their revolt fooner than they intended he should, and returned with all expedition to the vale of Araccea; but before he arrived, fourteen thousand of the Chilefians were there affembled under the conduct of Capaulican; he attacked them with his cavalry, and forced them to retreat into the woods, but could not obtain a complete victory, as they kept conti nually fallying out and haraffing his men. At laft Capaulican having obferved, that fighting with fuch a number of undifciplined troops, only served to contribute to the defeat and confufion of the whole, di vided his forces into bodies of one thousand each. Thefe he directed to attack the enemy by turns, and though he did not expect that a fingle thousand would put them to flight, he directed them to make as long a stand as they could, when they were to be relieved and fupported by another body, and thus the Spaniards would be at laft wearied out and overcome. The event fully anfwered his expectations. The Chilefians maintained a fight for seven or eight hours, till the Spaniards, growing faint for want of refrefliment, retired precipitately, Valdivia ordered them to poffefs a pafs at fome dif tance tance from the field, to ftop the purfuit; but this defign being was a discovered to the Chilefians of his page, who native of that country, the Spaniards were furrounded on all fides, and cut in pieces by the Indians. The general was taken and put to death; fome fay with the tortures ufually inflicted by thofe favages on their prifoners; others, that he had melted gold poured down his throat; but all agree, that the Indians made flutes and other instru ments of his bones, and preserved his skull as a monument of their victory, which they celebrated by an annual feftival. After this victory, the Chilefians had another engagement with their enemies, in which also they proved victorious, defeating the Spaniards with the lofs of near three thousand men; and upon this they bent their whole force against the colonies. The city of Conception being abandoned by the Spaniards, was taken and deftroyed; but the Indians were forced to raise the fiege of Imperial, and their progrefs was at last ftopped by Garcia de Mendoza, who defeated Capaulican, took him prifoner, and put him to death. No defeats, however, could dif pirit the Chilefians; they continued the war for fifty years, and to this day they remain unconquered, and give the Spaniards more trouble than any other American nation. Their most irreconcileable enemies are the inhabitants of Araccea and Tucapel, those to the fouth of the river Bobio, or whose country extends towards the Cordilleras. The manners of these people greatly refemble those of North-America, but feem to have a more warlike difpofition. It is a conftant rule with the Chilefians never to fue for peace. The Spapiards are obliged not only to make the first overtures, but to purchafe it by prefents. They have at last been obliged to abandon all thoughts of extending their conquefts, and reduced to cover their frontiers by erecting forts at proper diftances. The Spanish colonies in Chili are difperfed on the borders of the South fea. They are parted from Peru by a defert eighty leagues in breadth, and bounded by the island of Chiloe, at the extremity next the straits of Magellan. There are no fettlements on the coaft except thofe of Baldivia, Conception ifland, Valparaiso, and Coquimbo, or La Serena, which are all fea ports. In the inland country is St. Jago, the capital of the colony. There is no culture nor habitation at any distance from thefe towns. The buildings in the whole province are low, made of unburnt brick, and mostly thatched. This practice is obferved on account of the frequent earthquakes, and is properly adapted to the nature of the climate, as to well as the indo. lence of the inhabitants. The climate of Chili is one of the most wholesome in the whole world. The vicinity of the Cordilleras gives it fuch a delightful temperature as could not otherwise be expected in that latitude. Though gold mines are found in it, their richness has been too much extolled; their produce never exceeds two hundred and eighteen thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds per ann. The foil is prodigioufly fertile. All the European fruits have improved in that happy climate. The wine would be excellent if nature were properly affifted by art; and the corn harvest is reckoned a bad one when it does not yield a hundred fold. With all these advantages, Chili has no direct intercourfe with Spain; their trade is confined to Peru, Paraguay, and the favages on their frontiers. With thefe laft they exchange their lefs valuable commodities for oxen, horfes, and their own children, whom they are ready to part with for the most trifling things. This province fupplies Peru with great plenty of hides, dried fruit, copper, falt meat, horfes, hemp, lard, wheat, and gold; in exchange, it receives tobacco, fugar, cocoa, earthen ware, woollen cloth, linen, hats, made at Quito, and every article of luxury brought from Europe. The ships fent from Callao on this traffic were formerly bound to Conception bay, but now come to Valparaifo. The commerce between this province and Paraguay is carried on by land, though it is a journey of three hundred leagues, forty of which lie tarough the fnows and precipices of the Cordilleras; but if it was carned on by fea, they muft either pass the straits of Magellan, or double cape Horn, which the Spaniards always avoid as much as poffible. To Paraguay are fent fome woollen ftuffs called ponchos, which are used for cloaks: alfo wines, brandy, oil, and chictly gold; in return they receive wax, a kind of tallow fit to make foap, European goods, and negroes. Chili is governed by a chief, who is abfolute in all civil, political, and military affairs, and is alfo independent of the viceroy. The latter has no authority except when a governor dies, in which cafe he may appoint one in his room for a time, till Spain names a fucceffor. If on fome occafion the viceroy has interfered in the government of Chili, it was when he has been either authorised by a particular truft repofed in him by the court, or by the deference paid to the eminence of his office; or when he has been actuated by * his own ambition to extend his authority. In the whole province of Chi'i there are not twenty thoufand white men, and not more than fixty thousand negroes, or Indians, able to bear arms. The military establishment amounted formerly to two thousand men; but the maintaining of them being found too expenfive, they were reduced to five hundred at the beginning of this century. *With refpect to the power o the governor of Chili, it is doubtful whether the above is correct, as fome writers affert that he is fubordinate to the viceroy of Peru, in all matters relating to the government, to the finances, and to war, but independent of him as chief administrator of justice, and prefident of the royal Audience. Eleven inferior officers, diftributed in the province, are charged, under his orders, with the details of adminis tration. HISTORY HISTORY OF PARAGUAY, OR LA PLATA. PARAGUA ARAGUAY is fituated between 120 and 37° fouth latitude, and 50° and 75° weft longitude; its length is one thousand five hundred miles, and its breadth one thousand. It is bounded on the north, by Amazonia; on the east, by Brafil; on the fouth, by Patagonia; and on the weft, by Chili and Peru. It is divided into fix provinces, viz. PARAGUAY, PARANA, GUAIRA, URAGUA, TUCUMAN, and RIO DE LA PLATA. This country, besides an infinite number of small rivers, is wa tered by three principal ones, the Paragua, Uragua, and Parana, which, united near the fea, form the famous Rio de la Plata, or Plate river, and which annually overflow their banks; and on their recefs, leave them enriched with a flime, that produces the greatest plenty of whatever is committed to it.* This vaft tract is far from being wholly fubdued or planted by the Spaniards. There are many parts in a great degree unknown to them, or The grand river La Plata deserves a particular description. A Modenese Jefuit, by the name of P. Cattanco, who failed up this river, speaks in the following language concerning it: "While I refided in Europe, and read in books of history or geography that the river de la Plata was one hundred and fifty miles in breadth, I confidered it as an exaggeration, because in this hemifphere we have no example of such vast rivers. When I approached its mouth, I had the most vehement defire to ascertain the breadth with my own eyes, and I have found the matter to be exactly as it was reprefented. This I de duce particularly from one circumstance: when we took our departure from Monte Viedo, a fort fituated more than one hundred miles from the mouth of the river, and where its breadth is confiderably diminished, we failed a complete day before we discovered the land on the opposite fide of the river; and when we were in the middle of the channel, we could not difcover land on either fide, and saw nothing but the sky and water, as if we had been in fome great ocean. Indeed, we should have taken it to be fea, if the fresh water of the river, which was turbid like the Po, had not fatisfied us that it was a river." to |