Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/443

CIIILOE CHIM^EKA 435 nominal, the area of the province is estimated at about 9,050 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 62,983. The chief towns are San Carlos or Ancud, the capital, Castro, and Chacas, all on the island of Chiloe. II. An island in the above prov- ince, lying off the S. W. extremity of Chili, between lat. 41 45' and 43 30' S., and Ion. 73 30' and 74 30' W. It is separated from the mainland on the N". by the strait of Chacas, about a mile wide, and on the E. by the gulf of Ancud, about 35 m. wide. It is 120 m. long from N. to S., and about 50 in breadth at the widest part ; but a deep indentation re- duces its breadth in the centre to about 15 m. The western coast is rocky, rising abruptly from the sea to a height of from 1,500 to 3,000 ft. ; on the east the coast is of moderate eleva- tion. There are numerous inlets which afford good anchorage, but no large harbors ; the best are San Carlos, Castro, Chacas, and Dal- cahue. The interior is little known, being filled with rugged mountains, some of which are sterile and some covered with dense forests. The climate is temperate and healthy, but is unpleasant on account of the incessant rains which prevail for ten months in the year. The air is almost continually loaded with moisture, so that it is frequently necessary to dry the wheat and barley crops by artificial means. Ice does not form, and frost and snow are rare. The soil is a rich sandy loam of ex- traordinary fertility, but, on account of the dampness of the atmosphere, the cereals do not thrive. The potato is indigenous, and has reached by cultivation a fair degree of excel- lence. Flax, tobacco, vegetables, and fruits are also raised. Agriculture is in a very prim- itive condition, the implements used being of the rudest description. Cattle, sheep, and swine are bred in great numbers. The horses are small, but hardy and strong. Poultry of all kinds abounds. Fish and shell fish are found in abundance along the coast, and con- stitute an important part of the food of the inhabitants. Traces of coal exist, and some of the streams are strongly impregnated with copper, iron, and other minerals, but no mines have been developed. The principal manufac- tures are casso, a coarse woollen cloth, dyed blue, used for men's garments, ponchos, blan- kets, and other fabrics of wool; cables, haw- sers, and ropes are also made, and salt and dried fish are prepared to some extent. The chief exports are timber, fire wood, hides, wool, hams, dried fish, brooms, and a little wheat. The imports are sugar, wine, brandy, tea, salt, indigo, hardware, wearing apparel, and household furniture. The inhabitants are whites, Indians, and mixed. The whites are either Chilenos or Spaniards, the latter being almost the only Europeans. The Indians, who are Araucanians, are few in number. The people of all classes are temperate and honest, drunkenness and crime being nearly unknown. Chiloe was discovered by the Spaniards in 1558. Castro on the E. coast, founded in 1566, was formerly the capital. The Chiloe archipelago is composed of the island of the name and of over 60 smaller islands, lying between it and the mainland, about half of which are inhabited. Several of them are well cultivated, but most are mountainous and sterile. The principal ones are Quinchas, Lemuy, Chalbuco, and Llaicha. CHILTERN HUNDREDS, a small hilly district extending through part of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England, to which a nominal office is attached in the gift of the crown, the person chosen to fill it being called the steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. This office is asso- ciated with a parliamentary usage of England. A member of the house of commons cannot directly resign his seat ; to accomplish that object indirectly, it is customary for a member wishing to resign to accept a nominal office under the crown, such as the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds, whereby his seat in par- liament is vacated, and a new writ is issued. ( IIIMMU, in Grecian mythology, a three- headed, fire-breathing monster, sprung from Typhon and Echidna, and killed by Bellero- Bellerophon on Pegasus attacking the Chimsera. phon. The fore part of its body was that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle part that of a goat ; while it had three heads, each of which resembled that of one of the three animals. It was described by the poets as committing great ravages in Caria and Lycia, and some critics suppose that the myth was suggested by the volcano called Chi- msera near Phaselis in Lycia. Works of art have recently been discovered in Lycia on which the Chimaera is represented, not as a monster of triune conformation, but in the simple form of a species of lion still found in that region. The term chimsera, applied figuratively to a vain, idle fancy, is derived from th : s fabled monster. ( HIM UKA, a name given to the holocepha- lous suborder of the selachians or sharks, from their strange appearance. (See SEA CAT.)