[Illustration: A VENDER OF DONKEY’S MILK, VALPARAISO.]
One other peculiar feature of life in Valparaiso is that the conductors on all the street cars are women. This innovation was introduced in the time of war with Peru, when men were hard to secure for that work. They did the work so well that they have been employed continuously ever since. It can not be said of them that they are especially attractive, or even look very jaunty in their uniforms of blue surmounted by a sailor hat. The fares are the cheapest I have ever found. The cars are all double-decked. For two cents one can ride inside, and it costs only half that rate to ride on the upper deck, which is a far better way to see the city. The service is good, and there are more than twenty-five miles of trolley in and about the city. The electric current for this as well as lighting is generated by water power a few miles north of the city, where a huge dam has been built across a stream.
A night view of Valparaiso from the bay is delightful. The many electric lamps in all parts of the city illuminate the otherwise dark shadows, and are reflected in the waters near the shore. Here and there move streaks of light in the lower town, as the electric cars dash along from one end of the city to the other; similar lines of light move up and down in a dozen places, as the “ascensors” carry their loads between the upper and lower town. At such times Valparaiso looks like a city of enchantment, a chosen bit from fairyland.
A trolley line leads out to the aristocratic suburb of Viña del Mar, where the rich people of Chile also have their summer residences. There are some beautiful homes in this city, of splendid architecture and surrounded by luxuriant foliage. In these villas the wearied and worried man of business finds rest after business hours. For a few months in the summer this resort is the centre of the social life of the republic, and the hotel is so crowded that it is difficult to secure accommodation, unless arranged for beforehand. There are delightful drives, when not too dusty, and then there are tennis courts, golf links, polo grounds and other places of recreation. A fine club building has been erected, where the devotees of games of chance can find the alluring games that their natures seem to crave. At Miramar is a small bathing resort, but it is extremely dangerous, for just a short distance from shore the bottom seems to drop to a great depth. It is used principally as a place for promenades and dress show for the society folks, and every day a long line of carriages wend their way out to that pleasant little bit of beach.