Chapter XXIV: Section III

_State of Chili, and Conquests made in that Country by the Peruvians, before the arrival of the Spaniards._

The History of Chili and its inhabitants does not precede the middle of the fifteenth century, and what little is known respecting it is contained in the traditionary accounts of the Peruvians, who first invaded the northern province of Chili about the middle of that century, not an hundred years before the overthrow of the Peruvian empire by Pizarro, and the first Spanish invasion of Chili under Almagro.

About the year 1450, while the Inca Yupanqui reigned over the Peruvian empire which had then extended its limits from Cuzco northwards to the equator and southwards to the tropic of Capricorn, the ambition of the Peruvian government was attracted to the acquisition of the important country of Chili, a rich and delightful region of great extent, immediately adjacent to the southern extremity of Peru. Favoured by the fertility of the country and the salubrity of the climate, the population of Chili may be readily supposed to have then been considerable, as we know that the whole extent of its territory was occupied by fifteen independent tribes or communities, each of which was governed by its respective chiefs, or _Ulmens_. These, tribes, beginning at the north on the confines of the desert of Atacama, were called Copaipins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, Mapochians, Promaucians, Cures, Cauques, Pencones, Araucanians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chiquilanian, Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches; which last tribe inhabited the south of Chili, adjoining the archipelago of Chiloe.

Informed of the natural advantages possessed by the inhabitants of this delightful region, the Inca Yupanqui resolved to attempt the annexation of Chili to his extensive empire. He accordingly marched with a powerful army to the frontiers of the country: But, either from apprehensions of his personal safety, or to be in a favourable situation for reinforcing the invading army and directing its operations, he established himself with a splendid court in the province of Atacama, the most southerly district of Peru, and confided the command of the invading army to Sinchiruca, a prince of the blood royal of Peru. Preceded, according to the specious custom of the Peruvians, by several ambassadors, and attended by a considerable military force, this general reduced under the Peruvian government, more by persuasion than force, the four most northerly tribes of the Chilese, named Copaipins, Coquimbans, Quillotans, and Mapochians. After this, not being able by his ambassadors to persuade the Promaucians into submission, who inhabit the delightful country between the river Rapel on the north and Maule on the south, he passed the river Rapel with his army to reduce them by force of arms. The name of the Promaucians, which signifies _free-dancers_[56], had been given them on account of their fondness for every kind of amusement, and their peculiar attachment to dancing; yet the love of pleasure had not rendered them effeminate. With the assistance of their allies, they drew together a formidable army and fought the Peruvians with such heroic valour as to defeat them in a battle, which, according to Garcilasso, was continued during three successive days.

[Footnote 56: On a former occasion their name is explained as signifying _the people of delight_, owing to the beauty, fertility, and charming climate of their country.--E.]

On learning the defeat of his army and the invincible valour of the Promaucians, the Inca gave orders that the river Rapel should remain the southern boundary of his dominions, and all attempts to reduce the rest of Chili were laid aside. According to Garcilasso, the river Maule was established as the frontier of the Peruvian conquests: But this is by no means probable; as in this case the country of the conquerors would have been included within the territories of the vanquished. In fact, not far from the river Cachapoal, which with the Tinguiririca forms the Rapel, the remains of a Peruvian fortress are still to be seen on the top of a steep hill, which was undoubtedly built to protect that part of the frontier against the unconquered Promaucians. By this conquest of its four northern provinces, Chili became divided into two distinct portions; all to the south of the Rapel remaining free, while the districts to the north of that river were subjected to the dominion of the Incas. These four tribes, who had so readily submitted to the Inca Yupanqui, were subjected to an annual tribute in gold; but the conquerors never introduced their peculiar form of government into these provinces, the inhabitants of which remained subject to their own native _ulmens_, and preserved their original manners until the arrival of the Spaniards.

When first known to the Spaniards, the Chilese were an agricultural people, dependent for their subsistence on the cultivation of such nutritious plants as accident or necessity had made them acquainted with. The plants chiefly cultivated by them for subsistence were maize, _magu, guegen, tuca, quinoa, pulse_ of various kinds, the potatoe, _oxalis tuberosa_, common and yellow pumpkin or gourd, guinea pepper, _madi_, and the great strawberry; of each of which it may be proper to give a short account[57].

[Footnote 57: The following account of the plants cultivated by the Chilese for food, is extracted from the natural history of Chili by Molina; but the enumeration from the text of his civil history will be found to differ materially from that given from the natural history of the same author.--E.]

Maize or Turkey wheat, the _Zea mais_ of botanists, is called _gua_ by the Chilese. It grows extremely well in Chili, where the inhabitants cultivate eight or nine distinct varieties. The kind in highest repute is called _uminta_, from which the natives prepare a dish by bruising the corn, while in a green unripe state, between two stones into a kind of paste, which they season with salt, sugar, and butter. This paste is then divided into small portions, which are separately inclosed in the skin or husk of the corn, and boiled for use. When ripe, the maize is prepared for winter use, either by slightly roasting, or by drying in the sun. From the former, named _chuchoca_, a kind of soup is prepared by boiling with water: From the latter they make a very pleasant beer or fermented liquor. The maize is sometimes reduced to meal by grinding between two stones, being previously parched or roasted by means of heated sand. For this purpose they prefer a variety of maize named _curagua_, which is smaller than the other, and produces a lighter and whiter meal, and in larger quantity. With this meal, mixed with sugar and water, they make two different beverages, named _ulpo_ and _cherchan_.

_Magu_ a species of rye, and _tuca_, a species of barley, were cultivated by the Chilese before the coming of the Spaniards to that country; but have been entirely neglected since the introduction of European wheat. They are still used however by the Araucanians, who make from them a kind of bread called _couvue_, which name they likewise give to bread made from maize or wheat.

_Quinua_ is a species of _Chenopodium/_, having a black twisted grain of a lenticular form, from which they prepare a stomachic beverage of a pleasant taste. A variety of this plant, named _dahue_, produces white seeds, which lengthen out when boiled like worms, and are excellent in soup. The leaves of the _quinoa_ have an agreeable taste, and are eaten by the natives.

_Degul_ is a species of bean, of which the Chilese cultivated thirteen or fourteen kinds before the arrival of the Spaniards, differing but little from the common European bean or _Phaseolus vulgaris_, one of them having a straight stalk, and all the rest climbers[58].

[Footnote 58: These beans are obviously what are called kidney-beans in this country.--E.]

Chili is considered by naturalists as the native country of that valuable esculent the potato, or _Solanun tuberosum_, which is known there by the names of _papa_ and _pogny_. It is found indeed wild all over the country; but those wild plants, named _maglia_, produce only small roots of a bitterish taste. It is distinguished into two species, and more than thirty varieties are cultivated with much care. Besides the common species, the second is the _cari, Solanum cari_, which bears white flowers having a large central nectary like the narcissus. The roots of this species are cylindrical and very sweet, and are usually roasted under the ashes.

The _Oca_, or _Oxalis tuberosa_, produces five or six tuberosities on each root, three or four inches in length covered by a thin smooth skin. It is eaten boiled or roasted, and has a pleasant subacid taste. Like the potato, it is multiplied by means of its bulbs cut in pieces. There are several species of this plant; one of which called _red culle_, is much used in dyeing, and Is considered as a specific remedy for inflammatory fevers.

Two species of gourds are known in Chili. The first species, with a white flower, called _quada_, has twenty-six varieties, several of which produce sweet and edible fruit, while that of the others is bitter. With one of these last, after extracting the seeds, the Chilese give a pleasant perfume or flavour to their cyder. The yellow-flowering gourd, called _penca_, has two kinds or varieties, the common and mamillary, owing to the fruit of the latter having a large nipple-shaped process at the end. Its pulp is sweet, and resembles in taste a kind of potato named _camote._

The _quelghen,_ or Chili strawberry has rough and succulent leaves, and its fruit is sometimes as large as a hens egg. This fruit is generally red and white; but in the provinces of Puchacay and Huilquilemeu, where they attain the greatest perfection, the fruit is yellow. "The Chili strawberry is _dioecial_, and has degenerated much in Europe by the want of male plants, and the females producing hybrid fruit by impregnation from the ordinary strawberries growing in the neighbourhood; in consequence of which circumstance the cultivation of this kind has been abandoned in Europe."

The _madi,_ a new genus of plants peculiar to Chili, has two species, one wild and the other cultivated. From the seeds of the latter an excellent oil is procured, either by expression, or by boiling in water, of an agreeable mild taste, and as clear as the best olive oil. This plant, hitherto unknown in Europe, would be a most valuable acquisition to those countries in which the olive cannot be raised.

Many species of the capsicum, or guinea pepper, are cultivated in Chili, under the name of _thapi_, and are used as seasonings in the food of the natives.

The _illmu,_ or Bermudiana bulbosa, produces bulbous roots, which are excellent food either boiled or roasted, and are very pleasant in soups. The _liuto_ produces a bulbous root, which yields a very white, light, and nutritious flour, which is much used as food for the sick.

To these enumerated provisions from the vegetable kingdom, may be added the _cuy_ or little rabbit, _Lepus minimus,_ and the Chilihueque, or Araucanian camel; the flesh of which last affords an excellent food, and its wool furnishes clothing for the natives. If tradition may be credited, they had also the hog and the domestic fowl before the Spanish invasion. Besides these, the country produced the _guanaco,_ and the _pudu,_ a species of wild goat, and a great variety of birds. With these productions, which required only a moderate degree of industry, they subsisted with a sufficient abundance considering their situation and numbers; insomuch that, when Almagro invaded Chili, his army found abundance of provisions to recruit after the famine they had endured in their imprudent march through the deserts intervening between Peru and that country. With these advantages of abundant provisions in a fertile soil and mild climate, it appears that the first writers who treated of Chili cannot have greatly exaggerated in saying that it was filled with inhabitants at the first arrival of the Spaniards. Even the circumstance of one language being spoken through the whole country, is a proof that all the tribes were in the habit of continual intercourse, and that they were not isolated by vast unpeopled deserts, as is the case in many other parts of America.

Agriculture appears to have made no inconsiderable progress among the Chilese, who cultivated a great variety of alimentary plants, all distinguished by peculiar and appropriate names, which could not have been the case except in consequence of an extensive and varied cultivation. They even had aqueducts in many parts of the country for watering or irrigating their fields; and, among these, the canal which runs for many miles along the rough skirts of the mountains near the capital, and waters the lands to the north of that city, remains a remarkably solid and extensive monument of their ingenious industry. They were likewise acquainted with the use of manure, called _vunalti_ in their language; but, from the great fertility of the soil, little attention was paid to that subject. They used a kind of spade or breast-plough of hard wood for turning the soil, which was pushed forwards by their breasts. At present the native Chilese use a very simple plough, called _chetague_, made of the branch of a tree crooked at one end, having a wooden share and a single handle by which it is guided. Whether this simple implement has been taught them by the Spaniards, or is of their own invention I know not; but should believe it original, as Admiral Spilsberg observed a plough of this kind, drawn by two Chilihueques, used by the natives of the Isle of Mocha in the Araucanian Sea, where the Spaniards never had a settlement. The Fathers Bry add, that the Chilese tilled their lands by means of these animals before the arrival of any European cattle. However this may have been, it is certain that this Araucanian camel was employed by the natives as a beast of burden before the arrival of the Spaniards, and the transition from burden to draught is not difficult.

The Chilese cooked their grain for food in various ways, by boiling in earthen pots, or roasting it in hot sand, and by grinding it into meal, which they prepared in the form of gruel, of cakes, and of bread. Meal made of parched grain was called _murque_, and when made from grain merely dried in the sun _rugo_. Of the first they made gruels, and a kind of beverage still used for breakfast. Of the second they made cakes, and a kind of bread called _covque_, which was baked in holes dug in the sides of hills or the banks of rivers, in the form of ovens, many of which are still to be seen. They had even invented a kind of sieve, called _chignigue_, to separate the bran from the flour, and employed leaven in baking their bread. From the grains already mentioned, and the fruits or berries of different trees, they made nine or ten different kinds of fermented liquors, which they made and kept in jars of earthen-ware.

Having adopted the settled mode of life indispensable to an agricultural people, the Chilese were collected into families or septs more or less numerous, in those situations which were best suited for procuring subsistence, where they established themselves in large villages, called _cara_, or in small ones called _lov_. These villages consisted only of a number of huts irregularly dispersed within sight of each other, and some of them still subsist in several parts of Spanish Chili. The most considerable of these are _Lampa_ in the province of St Jago, and _Lora_ in the province of Maule. In each village or hamlet they had a chief named _Ulmen_, who was subject in certain points, to the supreme ruler of the tribe, or _apo-ulmen_. The succession of these chiefs was by hereditary descent; and from their title of office, which signifies a rich man, it would appear that wealth had been the original means of raising these families to the rank they now occupy, contrary to the usages of other savage nations in which strength, skill in hunting, or martial prowess appear to have been the steps by which individuals have risen to rank and power. The authority of these chiefs or _ulmens_ appears to have been extremely limited, being merely of a directive nature and not absolute. The right of private property was fully established among the Chilese, as every individual was the absolute master of the land he cultivated, and of the produce of his industry, both of which descended to his posterity by hereditary succession.

The houses or huts of the Chilese were built in a quadrangular form, of wood covered with clay, and the roof covered with rushes; though in some instances the walls were of brick, the use of which they seem to have learned from the Peruvians, as they used the Peruvian term _tica_ for that material. From the wool of the Chilihueques they manufactured cloth for their apparel, using the spindle and distaff for spinning this wool into yarn, and two different kinds of looms for weaving the yarn into cloth. One of these, called _guregue_, is not very unlike the ordinary loom of Europe; but the other is vertical or upright, and called _uthalgue_, from the verb _uthalen_, signifying to stand upright. From a verb in their language, _nudaven_, which signifies to sew, they must have used some kind of needle to sew their garments; but I know not of what substance it was composed. They seem even to have been acquainted with the art of embroidery, called _dumican_ in their language. From excellent clay which is found abundantly in Chili, they made pots, plates, cups, and large jars to hold their fermented liquors, baking these vessels in holes or ovens made in the declivities of hills; and they even used a kind of mineral earth called _colo_, for varnishing these vessels. Besides these vessels of clay, they made others of hard wood, and even of marble; some vases of which excellently polished have been dug out from under a large heap of stones in the mountains of Arauco. From the earth they extracted gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead, and employed these metals in a variety of useful and curious works. Particularly from their native copper, which is a kind of bell-metal and very hard, they made axes, hatchets, and other edged tools, but in small quantities, as these are very rarely met with in their ancient sepulchres; where, on the contrary, hatchets made of a species of basalt or very hard stone are very often found. They seem even to have known the use of iron, as it is called _panilgue_ in their language, and weapons made of it are termed _chiuquel_, while those made of other materials are called _nulin_. A smith likewise is called _ruthave_, from _ruthan_, signifying to work in iron.

The ancient Chilese had discovered the art of making salt, both from sea water and from inland salt springs; calling the former _chiadi_, and the latter _lilco-chiadi_, or salt from the water of rocks. They procured dyes of various colours for their clothes, both from the juice of plants and from mineral earths, and had discovered the art of fixing them by means of the _polcura_, an aluminous or astringent mineral. Instead of soap, they used the back of the _quillai_, which is an excellent substitute. In their language there are many words discriminative of various kinds of baskets and mats, which they manufactured from various vegetables. From a plant called _gnocchia_, they procured a strong fibrous substance resembling hemp, of which they made ropes and fishing nets of different kinds; and the inhabitants on the coast used canoes of different kinds and sizes, and floats or rafts of wood, or of inflated seal skins. Though not peculiarly addicted to hunting, they were accustomed to kill the wild animals and birds of the country, both for amusement and subsistence; for which purpose they used bows and arrows, and the _laque_ or running noose which is employed with so much ingenuity by many of the South American natives. It is a singular fact that they had the same device as the Chinese, for catching wild ducks in their lakes and rivers, covering their heads with perforated gourds, and wading among the flocks.

They had advanced so far in the knowledge of numbers, as to have distinctive names for the ten units, and for an hundred and a thousand, with all the intermediate numbers compounded of decimal terms. To preserve the memory of their transactions, they used a bunch of threads of several colours called _pron_, similar to the _quippo_ of the Peruvians, oh which they cast a number of knots according to circumstances. The subject was indicated by the colour of the threads, and the knots designated the number or quantity, but I have not been able to discover any other purpose to which this species of register could be applied. The _quippo_ is still used by the shepherds in Peru, to keep an account of the number in their flocks, to mark the day and hour when the different ewes yeaned, or when any of their lambs are lost.

The religious system of the Araucanians, formerly that of all the native tribes of Chili, resembles in a great measure the freedom of their modes of life and government. They acknowledge a Supreme Being, the creator of all things, whom they name _Pillan_, a word derived from _pulli_ or _pilli_, the soul. He is likewise named _Guenu-pillan_, the soul or spirit of heaven; _Buta-gen_, the great being; _Thalcove_[59], the thunderer; _Vilvemvoe_, the creator of all things; _Vilpepilvoe_, the omnipotent; _Mollgelu_, the eternal; _Avnolu_, the omnipotent; and is designed by many other similar epithets. Their ideas of the government of heaven form in a great measure a prototype of the Araucanian system of civil polity; Pillan is considered as the great _Toqui_ of the invisible world of Spirits[60], and is supposed to have his _Apo-ulmens_ and _Ulmens_, or subordinate deities of two different ranks, to whom he entrusts the administration of lesser affairs. In the first class of these inferior deities, are _Epunamun_, or the god of war; _Meulen_, a benevolent being, the friend of the human race; and _Guecubu_, a malignant being, the author of all evil, who is likewise called _Algue_. Hence they appear to entertain the doctrine of two adverse principles, improperly called Manicheism. _Guecubu_, or _Huecuvu_, is named _Mavari_ by the natives on the Orinoco, and is the same with the _Aherman_ of the ancient Persians. To him every evil is attributed. If a horse tire, he has been ridden by _Guecubu_. In an earthquake, _Guecubu_ has given the world a shock; and the like in all things. The _Ulmens_, or subaltern deities of their celestial hierarchy, resemble the genii, and are supposed to have the charge of earthly things, and to form, in concert with the benevolent Meulen, a counterpoise to the prodigious power of the malignant Guecuba. These _ulmens_ of the spiritual world are conceived to be of both sexes, who always continue pure and chaste without propagation. The males are called _Gen_, or lords; the females _Amei-malghen_, or spiritual nymphs, and are supposed to perform the same friendly offices to men which were anciently attributed to the _lares_, and every Araucanian imagines he has one of these attendant spirits in his service. _Nien cai gni Amchi-malghen_, I keep my nymph still, is a common expression when any one succeeds in an undertaking. Pursuant to the analogy of their own earthly government, as their _Ulmens_ have no right to impose any service or contribution on the people whom they govern, so they conceive the celestial race require no services from man, having occasion for none. Hence they have neither idols nor temples, and offer no sacrifices, except in case of some severe calamity, or on the conclusion of a peace, when they sacrifice animals, and burn tobacco as a grateful incense to their deities. Yet they invoke them and implore their aid on urgent occasions, chiefly addressing _Pillan_ and _Meulen_.

[Footnote 59: _Pillan_, according to Dobrizhoffer, is likewise the word for thunder. In a similar manner, _Tupa_ or _Tupi_, among all the Tupi tribes of Brazil, and the Guaranies of Paraguay, signifies both God and thunder.--E.]

[Footnote 60: Among the Moluches, the general name of the Supreme Being, according to Falkner, is _Toqui-chen_, or the supreme ruler of the people.--E.]

Notwithstanding the small regard which they pay to their deities, they are extremely superstitious in matters of less importance, and are firm believers in divination, paying the utmost attention to favourable and unfavourable omens, to dreams, the singing and flight of birds, and the like, which they believe to denote the pleasure of the gods. They have accordingly jugglers or diviners, who pretend to a knowledge of futurity, who are called _Gligua_ and _Dugol_, some of them call themselves _Guenguenu_ or masters of heaven, _Guenpugnu_ or masters of disease, _Guen-piru_, or masters of worms, and the like. These diviners pretend to the power of producing rain, of curing diseases, of preventing the ravages of the worms which destroy the grain, and so on. They are in perpetual dread of imaginary beings, called _Calcus_ or sorcerers, who in their opinion remain concealed in caverns by day, along with their disciples or servants, called _lvunches_ or man-animals, who transform themselves at night into owls and shoot invisible arrows at their enemies.

They all believe in the immortality of the soul, which they call _am_ or _pulli_, and which they say is _aneanolu_ or incorporeal, and _mugealu_, or existing for ever; but they are not agreed as to the state of the soul after this life. All say that it goes after death to the west beyond the sea, to a place called _Gulcheman_, or the dwelling of the men beyond the mountains. Some believe this country is divided into two provinces; one that is pleasant and filled with every thing delightful, the abode of the good; the other desolate and devoid of every comfort, the dwelling of the wicked. Others again conceive that all enjoy eternal pleasure after this life, and that the deeds done in the body have no influence on the future lot. They believe the soul retains its original attachments and dislikes, and that the spirits of their departed countrymen frequently return and fight furiously with those of their former enemies, when they meet in the air; and to these combats they attribute the origin of tempests and of thunder and lightning. When a storm happens on the Andes or the ocean, they ascribe it to a battle between the spirits of their departed countrymen and those of the Spaniards. If the storm take its course towards the Spanish territory, they exclaim triumphantly, _Inavimen, inavimen, puen, laguvimen!_ Pursue them friends, pursue them, kill them! If the storm tends towards their own country, they cry out in consternation, _Yavulumen, puen, namuntumen_! Courage friends, be firm!

They have a tradition of a great deluge, in which only a few persons were saved by taking refuge on a high mountain, named _Thegtheg_, the thundering or sparkling, which had three points, and had the property of floating on the waters. On the occurrence of violent earthquakes, they fly for refuge to the mountains, fearful that the sea may again deluge the world; and on these occasions, every one takes a good supply of provisions, and a large wooden platter to protect the head, in case the _Thegtheg_ when raised by the waters should approach the sun.

The year of the Araucanians is solar, and begins on the 22d of December, or immediately after the southern solstice, which they call _Thaumathipantu_, or the head and tail of the year, and are able to ascertain this period with tolerable precision by means of watching the shadows. The 22d of June is called _Udanthipantu_, the divider of the year, as dividing it into two equal parts. The whole year is called _Tipantu_, or the course of the sun, and is divided into twelve months of thirty days each, to which they add five intercallary days to complete the tropical year, but in what way I have not been able to determine. The months are called _cujen_, or moons, and have the following names:

Avun-cujen, the month of fruit, -------------January
Coji-cujen the month of harvest, ------------February
Glor-cujen, the month of maize, ---------------March
Rimu-cujen, the 1st month of rimu, ---------------April
Inarimu-cujen, the 2d month of rimu, -----------------May
Thor-cujen, the 1st month of foam, ----------------June
Inanthor-cujen, the 2d month of foam, ----------------July
Huin-cujen, the unpleasant month, --------------August
Pillal-cujen, the treacherous month, ---------- September
Hueul-cujen, 1st month of new winds, -------------October
Inan-hueul-cujen, 2d month of new winds, ------------November
Hueviru-cujen, the month of new fruits, ----------- December

The year is divided into four seasons; the spring being called _Peughen_, the summer _Ucan_, the autumn _Gualug_, and the winter _Pucham_. The natural day is divided into twelve parts or hours, called _gliaganiu_, six of which belong to the day and six to the night, all of which have particular names. Commencing at midnight, there are Puliuen, Ueun, Thipanantu, Maleu, Vutamaleu, Ragiantu, Culunantu, Gullantu, Conantu, Guvquenantu, Puni, Ragipun. The stars in general are named _huaglen_, which they distribute into constellations called _pal_ or _ritha_. The pleiades are named _Cajupal_, or the constellation of six; the antarctic cross _Meleritho_, the Constellation of four, and so on. The milky-way is named _Rupuepen_, the fabulous road. The planets are called _gau_, a word derived from _gaun_ to wash, as they suppose them to dip into the sea when they set; and some conceive them to be other earths inhabited like our own. The sky is called _Guenu-mapu_, or the heavenly country; the moon _Cuyenmapu_, or the country of the moon. Comets are called _Cheruvoc_, as believed to be terrestrial exhalations inflamed in the upper region of the air. The eclipses of the sun and moon are called _Lay-antu_ and _Lay-cujen_, or the deaths of the sun and moon.

Their measures of length are the _nela_ or palm, the _duche_ or foot, _namun_ the pace, _the can_ the ell, and _tupu_ the league, which answers to the marine league or the pharasang of the Persians: But they estimate long distances by mornings, corresponding to our days journeys. The liquid measures are the _guampar_, about a quart; _can_ about a pint; and the _mencu_, which is still smaller. The dry measures are the _chiaique, about six pints; and the _gliepu_, which is double that quantity.

Oratory is held in high estimation, and is the road to honour and the management of public affairs; insomuch that the eldest son of an _Ulmen_, if deficient in that talent, is excluded from the right of succession, which devolves upon a younger son, or the nearest male relative who happens to be an able speaker. On this account, parents accustom their sons to speak in public from their early youth, and carry them to the national assemblies, where the best orators of the nation display their eloquence. Hence the universal attention to speak the language correctly and to preserve its purity. They are so careful to avoid the introduction of any foreign words into their language, that when any stranger settles among them he is obliged to adopt a new name in the _Chili-dugu_ or language of the country, and even the missionaries must conform to this singular regulation, if they would obtain favour; and so fastidious are they in attention to the purity of their language, that the audience will interrupt a missionary while preaching, to correct the mistakes in language or pronunciation. Many of them are well acquainted with the Spanish language; and, from being accustomed to a soft regular and varied language, they are able easily to learn the pronunciation of the different European dialects, as was observed by Captain Wallis of the Patagonians, who are real Chilese. They are so unwilling however to use the Spanish, that they never use it in any of the assemblies or congresses between the two nations, and rather choose to listen to a tiresome interpretation than to degrade the dignity of their native tongue by using another on such occasions. Their style of oratory is highly figurative, elevated, allegorical, and replete with peculiar phrases and expressions that are only used on such occasions; whence it is called _coyag-tucan_ or the style of public harangues. They commonly divide their subject into regular heads, called _thoy_, and usually specify the number they mean to enlarge upon; saying _Epu thoygei tamen piavin_, "what I am going to say is divided into two heads." Their speeches are not deficient in a suitable exordium, a clear narrative, a well-founded argument, and a pathetic peroration; and usually abound in parables and apologues; which sometimes furnish the main substance of the discourse.

Their poets are called _gempin_, or lords of speech; and their poetry generally contains strong and lively images, bold figures, frequent allusions and similitudes, new and forcible expressions, and possesses the power of exciting sensibility. It is every where animated and metaphorical, and allegory is its very soul and essence. Their verses are mostly composed in stanzas of eight or eleven syllables, and are for the most part blank, yet rhyme is occasionally introduced, according to the taste or caprice of the poet.

They have three kinds of physicians. Of these the _ampives_, who are skilful herbalists, are the best, and have even some skill in the pulse and other diagnostics of disease. The _vileus_ pretend that all contagious diseases are produced by insects or worms, and are therefore often called _cutampiru_, which signifies vermiculous diseases, or diseases proceeding from worms. The _machis_ are a superstitious class, or pretenders to sorcery, and allege that all diseases proceed from witchcraft, and pretend therefore to cure them by supernatural means, for which reason they are employed in desperate cases, when the exertions of the _ampives_ and _vileus_ have proved ineffectual; They have likewise a kind of surgeons, called _gutarve_; who are skilful in replacing luxations, setting fractured bones, and curing wounds and ulcers. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Chilese doctors used bleeding, blistering, emetics, cathartics, sudorifics, and even glysters. They let blood by means of a sharp flint fixed in a small stick; and for giving glysters they employ a bladder and pipe. Their emetics, cathartics, and sudorifics are all obtained from the vegetable kingdom.

Their commerce, both internal and external, is all carried on by barter, as they have not adopted the use of money; and this is regulated by a conventional tariff according to which the values of all articles in commerce are appraised under the name of _cullen_, or payment. Their external trade is with the Spaniards, with whom they exchange _ponchos_, or Chilese cloaks, and animals, for wine or European articles. The Spaniards of the province of Maule supply the Araucanians with iron ware, bits for bridles, cutlery, grain, and wine; and are paid in _ponchos_ of which they receive above 40,000 yearly, in horned cattle, horses, ostrich feathers, curious baskets, and other trifles; for it has never been possible to induce them to open their gold mines. The Spanish merchant has in the first place to obtain permission from the ulmens or heads of families of a district, after which he proceeds to all the houses, distributing his merchandize indiscriminately to all, who present themselves. When he has completed his sale, he gives notice of his departure, and all the purchasers hasten to an appointed village, where they deliver the articles agreed for with the utmost punctuality.