All such ports are bound to have a more transient population than the valleys which they serve, for both the mines and the farms of such a valley have a variable output even when their population changes but little, and the port is dependent alto- gether upon the trade of the hinterland. Caldera once had 5000 inhabitants, but many of them have moved away, and the population of the town is now only 2500.
Copiapó: History of the City
At first sight a desert town of ten or twelve thousand in- habitants appears to be a place of great importance. Such a town is Copiapó. A few houses two stories in height, a church or two with massive bell towers, well-kept parks, ample gov- ernment houses, and long streets give a strangely cosmopolitan air in contrast to the usual desert town with one or two thou- sand inhabitants, for the “spread” of a one-story city is amaz- ingly large. Were the population of New York City to be spread out in this way, it would cover about 2500 square miles of territory, or half that of the state of Connecticut; and were its food and forage supply organized on the same local basis it would require an area probably as great as that of New Jersey, 8000 square miles, and possibly as great as Maryland, 12,000 square miles. A business organization such as New York ex- hibits today would be unknown in an extended city like Copiapó. Instead of a compact section like lower Manhattan there would be many nuclei of business. Consider the mileage of wire needed to supply a telephone system for such an ex- tended town, the mileage of street-car tracks, the distances to cover, and the heavy cost of all these. A one-story town can- not assume such a burden. Copiapó takes its time. If you wish to see a man living across the river or consult a ranchman two miles up valley you do not telephone but walk or ride a horse or mule instead, and your business is done not in two minutes but in two hours or in a half day. If your affairs move slowly so do those of everyone else.
Copiapó is one of the most attractive cities in the desert country of South America. In historical interest it surpasses
