Alexander always carried a rifle to ensure his son John wasn't kidnapped by the Mapuches

Front row from left to right: Annie Cameron, Agnes Cameron (wife of John), Tanty Lydia, and two unknown individuals. Behind Annie is John Cameron. The elderly man to the right is Alexander Cameron. The kids on the "muelle" are the grandchildren. I estimate this picture was taken around 1933 -1934

I heard this anecdote from Pastor Bacigalupi many years ago. At the time I didn't have the historical context and the story seemed unreal to me. After reading the Verniory book (fully quoted elsewhere in this blog) I realized that the bucolic Chile I grew up in, was the frontier in the 1890's, and it carried all the dangers associated with expanding settlements.

The following four examples were taken from Verniorys book:

--“...during the night a group of bandits attacked the homestead of a Swiss settler who lived about 10 kilometers from Lautaro. The house had been ransacked and burnt. The settler, named Grundli, his wife and two children were killed; a boy of about 12 years old escaped and ran to the house of a neighboring settler...” (page 213).

--Mac Kinnon ... “heard suspicious noises circulating his house. He had just picked up his shotgun when the door was violently charged, but the door held. Mac Kinnon shot his gun and a yell was heard in the night. He turned off the light and shot at the shadows that were running away. ... Suddenly there was noise of firearms around the house. Bullets were flying in the house and hitting the table. Mac Kinnon dropped to the floor and recharged his Winchester. Then he noticed someone had climbed on the roof and was trying to breakthrough into the house. He shot towards the ceiling and a body fell to the ground.... in the morning two bodies were found.... the motive was thought to be theft since Mac Kinnon had just returned from Victoria with a suitcase full of money” (page 265 – 266. This was heavily edited).

--“A few month ago a German settler, his wife and their son were assassinated in their house, between Lautaro and Temuco” (page 310).

--“The years end [1897] was notable due to a great alarm. The rumor that the Indians were preparing for an uprising spread rapidly. The panic hit ... and the settlers abandoned their farms taking with them their most precious objects” (page 466).

--“The region in that period [1890's] was not safe and the authorities did not provide the foreigners with the safety and protection they deserved. The frequent theft of animals and the murder of many settlers testify to this. When a litigation occurred between a settler and Chilean, invariably the latter was preferred by the local judges. In reality, the settlers suffered very much due to the ill will and bad faith of the Chileans” (page 372).

Guns were not the only "safety" options settlers had. Tanty Margie recounted that in San Bartolo (the family farm) there was a cane that contained a hidden compartment with a large knife. We speculate that it belonged to Alexander. Perhaps the cane looked something like the adjacent image.

In summary, I would conclude that the settlers faced many dangers. More often that not the danger was from Chilean bandits than the Mapuches, and it is logical they always carried a weapon for personal protection.

Janny wrote the follwing in the Comments and I have translated and redacted them:

Indeed in those years our ancestors lived in imminent danger. My mother (Tanty Nuny) recalls that that in those years many vagrants, dirty and evil looking travelers stopped by demanding aid, and grandpa (John Cameron) always gave them aid.

When grandpa (John Cameron) was a child they had to be careful and even sometimes hide him because the Mapuches wanted to kidnap him. Tanty Nuny also recalls that once a suspicious looking man stopped by asking for food, but before grandpa gave him any assistance he gave the man soap and the necessary toiletries so that he could attend to his personal cleanliness and then gave him work, since many of these itinerants were only interested in stealing from the household and did not really want to work. Well, this man worked for some time but then he stole a sac of lentils and a few other things and grandpa caught him on the way to Perquenco with the sac on his shoulder. Grandpa reported him and the police placed him in prison, since he had robbed other places also.

Grandpa always was good with people, and he helped the poor and humble. As you know Garddy, thanks to him the Mapuches that lived close by were educated in a school that he built so that they were educated and grasped another culture

[This picture shows what Janny is writing about. This is the school at San Bartolo that was provided by my grandfather. The tall man is John Cameron, and the tall woman is Annie Cameron. Tanty Nuny is standing in front of Annie, and my mother Rhoda is at the far right in the front row. Tanty Loyda is two places to her right. The beautiful German lady in the middle is my grandma Agnes. The goofy kid to her right with the raised shoulders in Uncle Douglas. And just about everybody else are Mapuche kids from "La Reducion Huenchulao"]

These are nice memories from San Bartolo.

I even remember when I was small that once near San Bartolo, I saw “cuatreros” which was the term given to thief's, that stopped by the farm. Once we were told who they were we were so frightened and everyone feared them because of their reputation. Just imagine what it must have been in those years when the settlers arrived, being worried about everything and apprehensive that they did not get robbed. Indeed there were bad people. There is so much to tell that this story is very interesting.