CHILLON, she-yoie or shil'on, Switzer land, a castle on the Lake of Geneva, six and one-half miles southeast of Vevey, once an im portant stronghold of the counts and dukes of Savoy, and the prison-house of Francis Bonni yard, prior of Saint Victor, Geneva, from 1530 to 1536. It stands on a rock rising 22 yards from the shore of the lake, and is reached by a bridge. It probably dates from the 9th century. Bonnivard was confined in it by the Duke of Savoy because he had assisted the republic of Geneva, with which the Duke was at enmity. Byron's poem: 'The Prisoner of Chinon,' founded on this incident, has made it well known.
CHILOt', che-18-a', Chile, province of, con sists of the island of that name on the west coast, which is separated from the mainland by the narrow Strait of Chacao on the north and by the Gulf of Corcovado 30 miles wide on the east, and has a length of 115 miles, and an extreme breadth of 43 miles, and of a number of neighboring islets, mostly uninhabited; total area, 6,979 square miles; almost all Indians living on the principal island. Chiloe proper is hilly in the interior, and everywhere covered, except immediately along the shores, with nearly impassable forest. The climate is mild
and not unhealthy, although inordinately wet. The Indians belong to a subdivision of the Araucanian family; they are a gentle and hon est race, mostly engaged in fishing and in lum bering, timber at present the chief export from the island, though immense deposits of coal have been reported. In the eastern part the soil is fertile and well cultivated. Corn, wheat, barley and hemp are produced extensive ly and domestic animals are plentiful. Oysters, which are very scarce elsewhere in South America, are found in large quantities in the Chiloe Archipelago. The potato here, as in other parts of South America, grows wild. The Spaniards discovered the archipelago as early as 1558. Chilbe was the last part of Spanish America under Spanish rule which it was not rid of until 1826. The capital and chief sea port, Ancud, on tin. north coast, has a good harbor, is the seat of a bishop and has a popu lation of about 3,979. Pop. of province 95,756.