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1

THE

HISTORY OF CHILI.

VOL. II.

THE

GEOGRAPHICAL,

NATURAL, AND CIVIL

HISTORY OF CHILI.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN OF

THE ABBE DON J. IGNATIUS MOLINA.

to rrnica ars added,

NOTES

FROM THE SPANISH AND FRENCH VERSIONS,

AND

TWO APPENDIXES,

BY THE ENGLISH EDITOR}

THE FIRST, AN ACCOUNT OF THE ARCHIPELAGO OF CHILOE, FROM THE
DESCRIPCION HISTORIAL OF P. F. PEDRO GONZALEZ DE AGUERO^

MES™AVCCOraT °PTHE NATIVE TRIBES ™° WHABIT THE

SOUTHERN EXTREMITY OF SOUTH AMERICA, EXTRACTED CHIEFLY

FROM FALKNERS DESCRIPTION OF PATAGONIA.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME,

PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1809.

Printed by J. D. J;e-.vick,

46, BarDican.

THE

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

TO THE

CIVIL HISTORY OF CHILI.

F ouu years have elapsed since I promised io
publish the present Essay on the Civil History
of Chili, as a continuation of the one formerly
written on the Natural History of that country.
Engagements of this kind are, however, from
their nature, conditional. When I undertook
this work, it was in full confidence of being
in a short time in possession of the necessary
materials to complete it. The first volume of
the Abbe Olivares' manuscript I had then in my
possession ; this, with what works had appeared
in print, supplied me with sufficient documents
until the year 1665 ; and I was in constant ex-
pectation of receiving from Peru the second
volume of the same author, in which he has
brought the Subject down to a late period,

a 3

▼1

In this hope I was disappointed. This vo-
lume, on which I had so confidently relied, I
have never received, and have been in conse-
quence compelled to seek from various other
sources the information which it would have
given me. The wars of the natives with the
Spaniards being, however, the only proper sub-
ject of Chilian History, and but two having
occurred since the above period, the first in
1722, and the second in 1767, I have been
enabled, by the aid of some of my countrymen
now in Italy, who recollect the principal events,
to supply in some measure the want of a regular
detail, and to give a sufficiently accurate ac-
count of them. Having stated these circum-
stances, I shall merely observe that, without
being influenced by national distinctions or
prejudices, the chief merit to which I aspire
in this narration is that of impartiality. I have
related nothing but what I have either found in
those writers upon Chili who have preceded me,
or have received from persons of unquestionable
veracity, and have thought proper to confine
myself to a plain narrative of facts, and omit all
reflections that might occur, in order not to
appear to be too much influenced in favour of
either of the contending parties.

The attention of several philologists has of late
years been directed to the examination of the
barbarous languages. For this reason 1 have

VII

been induced to annex to this work some re-
marks upon the Chilian tongue, which, from its
structure and harmony, well merits to be known.
Several printed and manuscript grammars of this
language are to be met with, but the one which
I have principally used is that of Febres, printed
at Lima, in the year 1765, and deserving of
particular recommendation for its method and
its clearness.

CONTENTS.

BOOK I,

PACE

CHAPTER I. — Of the Origin, Appearance, and Lan-
guage, of the Chilians, ----- i

CHAP. II. — Conquest of the Peruvians, 8

CHAP. III.— State of Chili before the arrival of the Spa-
niards; Its Agriculture and Aliment, - - -12

CHAP. IV. — Political Establishments; Government and
Arts, - - - -18

CHAP. V.— First Expedition of the Spaniards to Chili, 28

CHAP. VI.— The Spaniards return to Chili, under the
Command of Pedro de Valdivia ; St. Jago the Capital
founded; Various Encounters with the Natives; Con-
spiracy of the Soldiers against the General, - 36"

CHAP. VII.— The Copiapins defeat a Body of Spa-
niards ; Successful Stratagem employed by the Quillo-
tanes ; Valdivia receives Reinforcements from Peru ;
He founds the City of Coquimbo, which is destroyed
by the Natives ; The Promauciaus form an Alliance
with the Spaniards $ Foundation of the City of Con-
ception, r 4-1

BOOK II.

CHAP. I.— Local Situation, Character, Dress, and Dwel-
lings, of the Araucanians, - 53

CHAP. II. — Division of the Araucauian State; Its poli-
tical Form and civil Institutions, 6o

xfi CONTENTS.

PACiK

Death of that General ; Enterprises of the Toqui Cay-
ancura, and his Son Nangoniel ; Landing of the Eng-
lish in Chili ; Operations of the Toqui Cadeguala, 229

CHAP. V.— -The Toqui Gu&noalca takes the Forts of
Puren, Trinidad, and Spirito Santo ; Exploits of the
Heroine Janequeo ; Battles of Mariguenu and Tucapel 239

CHAP. VI.— The Toqui Paillamachu kills Loyola the
Governor, and destroys all the Spanish Settlements in
Araucania, - ~ - • 249

CHAP. VII. — Second unfortunate Government of Garcia
Ramon ; Restoration of the Court of Royal Audience ;
Ineffectual Negotiation for Peace, - - 26*2

CHAP. VIII. — Daring Enterprises of the Toquis Lientur
and Putapichion, - 2/2

CHAP. IX.— Continuation of the War ; Third Expedi-
tion of the Dutch against Chili ; Peace concluded with
the Araucanians ; Its short Duration ; Exploits of the
Toqui Cientaru ; Series of Spanish Governors, to the
Year 1720, - 285

CHAP. X.— A brief Account of the Wars of the Toquis
Vilumilla and Curignancu ; Spanish Governors, to the
Year 1787, ----- 297

CHAP. XL— Present State of Chili, - •. 307

i

An Essay on the Chilian Language, - - - 331

APPENDIX. No. I. — Account of the Archipelago of
Chiloe, extracted chiefly from the Descripciou Historial
of that Province, by P. F. Pedro Gonzalez de Agueros.
—Madrid, 1701, ------- 307

APPENDIX. No. II.— Account of the Native Tribes who
inhabit the Southern Extremity of South America, ex-
tracted chiefly from Falkner's Description of Patagonia, 375

THE

CIVIL HISTORY

OF

CHILI.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

Of the Origin, Appearance, and Language of
the Chilia?is.

THE origin of the primitive inhabitants of
Chili, like that of the other American nations, is
involved in impenetrable obscurity; nor have
they any records, or monuments of antiquity,
that can serve to elucidate so interesting an
inquiry. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards
they were entirely unacquainted with the art of
writing, and their traditionary accounts are so
crude and imperfect, that they afford not the least
degree of rational information to the inquisitive
mind. Many of the inhabitants suppose that
they are indigenous to the country, while others
derive their origin from a foreign stock, aud at
vol. u, B

one time say that their ancestors came from the
north, and at another time, from the west.

It is a general opinion that America was
settled from the north-eastern part of Asia, from
the supposed easy communication between them,
in consequence of the vicinity of these countries.
But the opinion entertained by the Chilians, that
their country was peopled from the west, is not
so extravagant as at first sight it may appear.
The discoveries of the English navigators in the
South Sea have ascertained that between America
and the southern point of Asia there is a chain of
innumerable islands, the probable remains of
some vast tract of land which, in that quarter,
once united the two continents, and rendered
the communication between Asia and the opposite
shore of America easy. From whence it is very-
possible that, while North America has been
peopled from the north-west, the south has re-
ceived its inhabitants from the southern parts of
Asia, the natives of this part of the new world
being of a mild character, much resembling that
of the southern Asiatics, and little tinctured
with the ferocity of the Tartars. Like the lan-
guages of the Oriental Indians, theirs is also
harmonious, and abounds in vowels. The in-
fluence of climate may undoubtedly affect lan-
guage so far as to modify it, but can never
produce a complete change in its primitive struc-
ture.

3

The Chilians call their first progenitors Pcgni
Epatun, which signifies the brothers Epatun,
but of these patriarchs nothing but the name is
known. They also call them glyce, primitive
men, or men from the beginning, and in their
assemblies invoke them, together with their
deities, crying out with a loud voice, Pom, pum,
pum, mari, mari, Epunamun, Amimalguen, Pent
Epaium. The signification of the three first
words is uncertain, and they might be considered
as interjections, did not the word pum, by wbich
the Chinese call the first created man, or the one
saved from the waters, induce a suspicion, from
its similarity, that these have a similar signifi-
cation. The lamas, or priests of Thibet, from
the accounts of the natives of Indostan, are ac-
customed to repeat on their rosaries, the syllables
7/o???, ha, hum, or om, am, um, which in some
measure corresponds with what we have men-
tioned of the Chilians.

That Chili was originally peopled by one
nation appears probable, as all the aborigines in-
habiting it, however independent of each other,
speak the same language, and have a similar ap \
pearance. Those that dwell in the plains are of
good stature, but those that live ingfie valleys of
the Andes, generally surpass the usual height of
man. The purer air which they respire, and the
continual exercise to which they are accus
tomed among their mountains, may perhaps be

b2

the cause of this difference, by imparting gTeater
vigour to their frames. The features of both
are regular, and neither of them have ever dis-
covered that capricious whim, so common to
savages of both the old and new world, of at-
tempting to improve nature by disfiguring their
faces, with a view of rendering themselves more
beautiful or more formidable. Of course, M.
Buffon has been led into an error in asserting, in
his treatise on man, that the Chilians are accus-
tomed to enlarge their ears.

Their complexion, like that of the other Ame-
rican nations, is of a reddish brown, but it is of
a clearer hue, and readily changes to white. A
tribe who dwell in the province of Baroa are of
a clear white and red, without any intermixture
of the copper colour. As they differ in no other
respect from the other Chilians, this variety may
be owing to some peculiar influence of their
climate, or to the greater degree of civilization
which they possess; it is, however, attributecLby
the Spanish writers to the prisoners of that
nation, who were confined in this province
during the unfortunate war in the sixteenth cen-
tury. But as the Spanish prisoners were equally
distributed •mong the other provinces of their
conquerors, none of whose inhabitants are white,
this opinion would seem to be unfounded. Be-
sides, as the first Spaniards who came to Chili
were all from the southern provinces of Spain,

where the ruddy complexion is rare, their pos-
terity would not haye exhibited so great a dif-
ference.

On examining the harmony and richness of
their language, we are naturally led to conclude
that the Chilians must have, in former times,
possessed a much greater degree of civilization
than at present ; or, at least, that they are the
remains of a great and illustrious nation, ruined
by some of those physical or moral revolutions
so common to our globe. The improvement
and perfection of language constantly follow the
steps of civilization ; nor can it be easily con-
ceived how a nation that has never emerged
from a savage state, that has neither been po-
lished by laws, by commerce, nor by arts, can
possess an elegant, expressive, and copious dia-
lect. The number of words in a language pre-
supposes a correspondent number of ideas in the
persons who speak it, and these among a rude
people are, and, necessarily must be, very limited.

So copious is the Chilian language, that, in
the opinion of those well acquainted with it, a
complete dictionary thereof would require more
ihan one large volume ; for, besides the radical
words, which are very numerous, so great is the
use of compounds, that, it may almost be said,
in this consists the very genius of the language.
Each verb, either derivatively or conjunctively,
becomes the root of numerous other verbs and

b3

nouns, as well adjectives as substantives, winch
in their turn re-produce others that are second-
ary, modifying themselves in a hundred different
ways.

Nor is there any part of speech, from which
an appropriate verb cannot be formed by the ad-
dition of a final n. Even from the most simple
particles various verbs are derived, that give
great precision and strength to conversation.
But what is truly surprising in this language
is that it contains no irregular verb or noun.
Every thing in it may be said to be regulated
with a geometrical precision, and displa}7s much
art with great simplicity, and a connection so
well ordered and unvarying in its grammatical
rules, which always make the subsequent depend
upon its antecedent, that the theory of the lan-
guage is easy, and may be readily learned in a
few days.

This close analogy and regularity, may at a
slight view induce an opinion little favourable
to the capacity of those who formed or polished
this dialect, as the original languages, it is well
known, were regular in their rude and primitive
state. But a very different conclusion will be
drawn by those who examine its structure, and
attend to the extent and complexity of ideas ne-
cessary to have formed it, and to have modified
the words in so many different ways, without
embarrassing the particular rules.

The same language also abounds with harmo-
nious and sonorous syllables, which give it much
sweetness and variety ; this is, however, injured
by the frequent recurrence of the u, a defect
from which the Latin is by no means exempt. In
this respect the latter has, however, been fortu-
nately corrected in its derivatives, particularly
the Italian, which has studied to avoid, especially
in the finals, the unpleasant sound resulting from
the use of that vowel.

The Chilian differs from every other American
language, not less in its words than its con-
struction, with the exception of from eighteen
to twenty of Peruvian origin, which, con-
sidering the contiguity of the two countries, is
not to be wondered at.

But what may appear much more singular is,
that it contains words apparently of Greek and
Latin derivation, and of a similar signification
in both languages ;* I am inclined, however, to
think this merely an accidental resemblance.

* If this is not, as our author supposes, merely a casual re-
semllance of a few words, which frequently occurs in lan-
guages radically different, it certainly affords much ground
for curious speculation ; and we may, perhaps, le led to con-
sider the tradition of a Phenician or Carthaginian colony in
America, as not altogether so destitute of probability, especially
as the language of the Chilians, so different from that of any
other of the American tribes, appears to indicate a different
origin. — Amer. Trans.

B 4

3

CHAP. II.

Conquest of the Peruvians in Chili.

The history of the Chilians does not precede the
middle of the fifteenth century of our era ; be-
fore that period, for want of records, it is lost
in the obscurity of time. The first accounts of
them are contained in the Peruvian annals; that
nation, as they were more civilized, being more
careful to preserve the memory of remarkable
events.

About that time the Peruvians had extended
their dominion from the equator to the tropic of
Capricorn. Chili, bordering upon that tropic,
was too important an acquisition not to attract
the ambitious views of those conquerors. This
country, which extends for 1260 miles upon the
Pacific Ocean, enjoys a delightful and salutary
climate. The vast chain of the Cordilleras bor-
dering it upon the east, supplies it with an
abundance of rivers, which increase its natural
fertility. The face of the country, which is
mountainous towards the sea, and level near the
Andes, is well suited to every kind of vegetable
production, and abounds with mines of gold,
silver, and other useful metals.

9

Favoured by the pleasantness of the country
and salubrity of the climate, the population at
this period may be readily imagined to have been
very numerous. The inhabitants were divided
into fifteen tribes, or communities, independent
of each other, but subject to certain chiefs,
called Ulmenes. These tribes, beginning at the
north and proceeding to the south, were called
Copiapins, Coquimbanes, Quillotanes, Mapochi-
nians, Proraaucians, Cures, Cauques, Pencones,
Araucanians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chiquilanians,
Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches.

The Inca Yupanqui, who reigned in Peru
about the year 1450, being informed of the na-
tural advantages possessed by Chili, resolved to
attempt the conquest of it. With this intent he
marched with a powerful army to the frontiers
of that kingdom ; but, either through appre-
hension of his personal safety, or with the view
of bein2* in a more favourable situation to furnish

O

the means of effecting his designs, he established
himself with his court in the neighbouring pro-
vince of Atracama, and entrusted the command
pf the expedition to Sinchiruca, a prince of the
blood royal.

Preceded, according to the specious custom of
the Peruvians, by several ambassadors, and fol-
lowed by a large body of troops, this general
subjected to the Peruvian government, more by
persuasion than by force, the Copiapins, Coquirn?

10

banes, Quillotanes, and Mapochinians. After
this., having passed the river Rapel, he proceeded,
to attack the Promaucians, who couid not be in-
duced by the persuasions of the ambassadors to
submit themselves. This nation, whose name
signifies the free dancers, from their being much
attached to that diversion, inhabited the delight-
ful country lying between the rivers Rapel and
Maule, and were distinguished from all the
other tribes by their fondness for every species of
amusement. The love of pleasure had not,
however, rendered them effeminate * they op-
posed the Peruvian army with the most heroic
valour, and entirely defeated it in a battle, which,
according to Garcilasso the historian, was con-
tinued for three days in succession, in conse-
quence of the continued reinforcements of both
parties.

The Inca, on learning the ill success of his
arms., and the invincible valour of the Promau-
cians, gave orders, that in future the river
Rapel should serve as the boundary of his do-
minion on that side. Garcilasso says, that it
was the river Maule, but it is by no means pro-
bable, that the conquerors should be compre-
hended within the territories of the vanquished.
In fact, not far from the river Cachapoal, which,
together with the Tinguiririca, forms the Rapel,
are still to be seen upon a steep hill, the remains
of a fort of Peruvian construction, which was

il

undoubtedly built to protect that part of the
frontier against the attacks of the unconquered
Promaucians.

Thus Chili became divided into two parts, the
one free, and the other subject to foreign domi-
nation. The tribes, who had so readily sub-
mitted to the Peruvians, were subjected to an
annual tribute in gold, an imposition which they
had never before experienced. But the conquer r-
ors, whether they dared not hazard the attempt,
©r were not able to effect it, never introduced
their form of government into these provinces.
Of course, the subjected Chilians as well as the
free, preserved until the arrival of the Spaniards,
their original manners, which were by no means
so rude as many are led to imagine.

12

CHAP. III.

State of Chili before the arrival of the Spaniards.
Its agriculture and aliment,

Man, in his progress to the perfection of civil
life, passes in succession through four important
states or periods. From a hunter he becomes a
shepherd, next a husbandman, and at length a
merchant, the period which forms the highest
degree of social civilization. The Chilians,
when they were first known to the Spaniards, had
attained the third state ; they were no longer
hunters but agriculturists. Reasoning from ge-
neral principles, Dr. Robertson has therefore
been led into an error* in placing them in the
class of hunters, an occupation which they pro-
bably never pursued, except on their first esta-
blishment. Becoming soon weary of the fa-
tiguing exercise of the chace, in a country
where game is not very abundant, and having
but few domestic animals, they began at an early
period to attend to the cultivation of such nu-
tritious plants, as necessity or accident had made
known to them. Thus were they induced from
the circumstances of their situation, and not

IS

from choice, to pass rapidly to the third period
of social life.

These plants, which have heen described in
the first part of this work, were the maize, the
magu, the guegen, the tuca, the quinoa, pulse of
various kinds, the potatoe, the oxalis tuberosa,
the common and the yellow pumkin or gourd,
the Guinea pepper, the madi, and the great
strawberry. To these provisions of the vege-
table kind, which are far from despicable, may
be added the little rabbit, the Chililfeuque, or
Araucanian camel, whose flesh furnished excel-
lent food, and whose wool, clothing for these
people. If tradition may be credited, they had
also the hog and the domestic fowl. Their do-
minion over the tribe of animals was not ex-
tended beyond these, although they might as
readily have domesticated the guanaco, a very
useful animal, the pudu, a species of wild goat,
and various birds with which the country
abounds.

However, with these productions, which re-
quired but a very moderate degree of industry,
they subsisted comfortably, and even with a
degree of abundance, considering the few things
which their situation rendered necessary.

To this circumstance is owing, that the Spa-
niards, who under the command of Aimagro in-
vaded Chili, found upon their entering its valley
an abundance of provisions to recruit themselves
4

after the hunger which they had endured in
their imprudent march through the desarts bor-
dering upon Peru.

Subsistence, the source of population, being
thus secured, the country, as before remarked,
became rapidly peopled under the influence of
so mild a climate ; whence it appears, that the
first writers who treated of Chili cannot have
greatly exaggerated in saying that the Spaniards
found it filled with inhabitants. It is a fact
that there was but one language spoken through-
out the country ; a proof that these tribes were
in the habit of intercourse with each other, and
were not isolated, or separated by vast desarts,
or by immense lakes or forests, which is the case
in many other parts of America, but which werk
at that time in Chili,, as they are now, of incon-
siderable extent.

It would seem that agriculture must have
made no inconsiderable progress among a people
who possessed, as did the Chilians, a great variety
of the above-mentioned alimentary plants, all
distinguished by their peculiar names, a circum-
stance that could not have occurred except in a
state of extensive and varied cultivation. They
had also in many parts of the country aqueducts
for watering their fields, which were constructed
with much skill. Among these, the canal, which
for the space of many miles borders the rough
skirts of the mountains in the vicinity of the ca-

15

pital and waters the lands to the northward of
that city, is particularly remarkable for its
extent and solidity. They were likewise ac-
quainted with the use of the manures, called by
them vunalti, though from the great fertility of
the soil but little attention was paid to them.

Being in want of animals of strength to till
the ground, they were accustomed to turn it up
with a spade made of hard wood, forcing it into
the earth with their breasts ; but as this process
was very slow and fatiguing, it is surprising that
they had not discovered some other mode more
expeditious and less laborious. They at present
make use of a simple kind of plough, called
chetague, made of the limb of a tree curved at
one end, in which is inserted a share formed of
the same material, with a handle to guide it.
Whether this rude instrument of agriculture,
which appears to be a model of the first plough
ever used, is one of their own invention, or was
taught them by the Spaniards, is uncertain ;
from its extreme simplicity I should, however,
be strongly induced to doubt the latter. Ad-
miral Spilsberg observes, that the inhabitants of
Mocha, an island in the Araucanian Sea, where
the Spaniards have never had a settlement, make
use of this plough, drawn by two chilihueques,
to cultivate their lands ; and Fathers Bry, who
refer to this fact, add, that the Chilians, with
the assistance of these animals, filled their

U

i
grounds before they received cattle from Europe.

However this may be, it is certain that this

species of camel was employed antecedent to

that period as beasts of burden, and the transition

from carriage to the draught is not difficult.

Man merely requires to become acquainted
with the utility of any object, to induce him to
apply it by degrees to other advantageous pur-
poses.

It is a generally received opinion that grain
was eaten raw by the first men who employed, it
as an article of food. But this aliment being of
an insipid taste, and difficult of mastication, they
began to parch or roast it; the grain thus cooked
easily pulverizing in the hands, gave them the
first idea cf meal, which they gradually learned
to prepare in the form of gruel, cakes, and finally
of bread. At the period of which we treat, the
Chilians ate their grain cooked ; this was done
either by boiling it in earthen pots adapted to
the purpose, or roasting it in hot sand, an ope-
ration which rendered it lighter and less viscous.
But not satisfied with preparing it in this mode,
which has always been the most usual among
nations emerging from the savage state, they
proceeded to make of it two distinct kinds of
meal, the parched, to which they gave the name
of murque, and the raw, which they called rugo.
With the first they made gruels, and a kind of
beverage which they at present use for breakfast

17

instead of chocolate ; from the second they pre-
pared cakes, and a bread called by them couque,
which they baked in holes formed like ovens,
excavated in the sides of the mountains and in
the banks of the rivers, a great number of which
are still to be seen. Their invention of a kind
of sieve, called chignigue, for separating the
bran from the flour, affords matter of surprise ;
that they employed leaven is, however, still more
surprising, as such a discovery can only be made
^gradually, and is the fruit of reasoning or obser-
vation, unless they were led to it by some for-
tunate accident, which most probably was the
case when they first began to make usevof bread.
From the above-mentioned grains, and the
berries of several trees, they obtained nine or
ten kinds of spiritous liquor, which they fer-
mented and kept in earthen jars, as was the
custom with the Greeks and Romans. This re-
finement of domestic economy, though not origi-
nating from actual necessity, appears to be
natural to man, in whatever situation he is
found ; more especially when he is brought to
live in society with his fellow men. The dis-
covery of fermented liquors soon follows that of
aliment ; and it is reasonable to believe that the
use of such beverages is of high antiquity among
the Chilians, more especially as their country
abounds in materials for making them.

VOL. II. c

18

CHAP. IV.

Political Establishments, Government, and Arts.

Agriculture is the vital principle of society
and of tire arts. Scarcely does a wandering fa-
mily, either from inclination or necessity, begin
to cultivate a piece of ground, when it establishes
itself upon it from a natural attachment, and, no
longer relishing a wandering and solitary life,
seeks the society of its fellows, whose succours
it then begins to find necessary for its welfare.
The Chilians, having adopted that settled mode
of life indispensable to an agricultural people,
collected themselves into families, more or less
numerous, in those districts that were best suited
to their occupation, where they established them-
selves in* large villages, called cara} a name
which they at present give to the Spanish cities,
or in small ones, which they denominated lov.
But these accidental collections had not the
form of the present European settlements ; they
consisted only of a number of huts, irregularly
dispersed within sight of each other, precisely in

19

the manner of the German settlements in the
time of Charlemagne. Some of these villages
exist even at present in several parts of Spanish
Chili, of which the most considerable are Lampa,
in the province of Saint Jago, and Lora, in that
of Maule.

But as no civil establishment can exist without
some form of government, they had in each vil-
lage or hamlet a chief called Ulmen, who in cer-
tain points was subject to the supreme ruler of
the tribe, who was known by the same name.
The succession of all these chiefs was established y
by hereditary right, a custom that proves the
antiquity of these political assemblages. Among
other savage nations, strength, skill in hunting,
or martial prowess, were the first steps to au-
thority, and afterwards procured the regal sway
for those who were invested with command-
But with the Chilians, on the contrary, it would
seem as if wealth had been the means of exalting
the ruling families to the rank which they oc-
cupy, since the word ulmen, unless taken in a
metaphorical sense, signifies a rich man. The
authority of these chiefs was probably very
limited, that is, merely directive, and not coer-
cive, as that of the rulers of all barbarous nations
has been, when despotism, favoured by propitious
circumstances, has not effaced the ideas of ab-
solute independence, which are in a manner innate
among savages, as has been the case with the

c2

20

greater part of the nations of Asia and of Africa,
From hence it will not be necessary to investigate
the laws of these small societies, which were
probably governed only by usages and customs
that had been introduced through motives of
necessity or convenience.

The right of private property was fully esta-
blished among the Chilians. Each was absolute
master of the field that he cultivated, and of the
product of his industry, which he could transmit
to his children by hereditary succession. This
fundamental principle gave rise to the first arts,
which the wants of nature and their political
constitution required. They built their' houses
of a quadrangular form, and covered the roof
with rushes, the walls were made of wood plais-
tered with clay, and sometimes of brick, called
by them tica ; the use of which they doubtless
learned from the Peruvians, among whom it was
known by the same name.

From the wool of the Chilihueque, they ma-
nufactured cloths for their garments : for this
they made use of the spindle and distaff, and two
kinds of looms ; the first, called guregue, is not
very unlike that used in Europe ; the other is
vertical, from whence it derives its name uthal-
gue, from the verb utlialen, which signifies to
stand upright. Their language contains words
appropriate to every part of these looms, and

21

v/hatever relates to the manufacture of wool.
They had likewise a kind of needle to sew their
garments, as is obvious from the verb nuduven,
to sew ; but of what substance it was made I am
unable to determine, Embroidery, to which
they gave the name of dumican, was also known
to them.

From these arts of the first necessity, they
proceeded to those of a secondary kind, or such
as were required by convenience. With the ex-
cellent clay of their country, they made pots,
plates, cups, and even large jars to hold their
fermented liquors. These vessels they baked in
certain ovens or holes, made in the declivity of
hills. They also made use of a mineral earth
called colo, for varnishing their vessels. It is
very certain that the art of pottery is of great
antiquity in Chili, as on opening a large heap of
stones in the mountains of Arauco, an urn of ex-
traordinary size was discovered at the bottom.
For their vessels they not only made use of earth,
but of hard wood, and even of marble, and
vases of the latter have been sometimes dis-
covered that were polished with the greatest
perfection.

From the earth they extracted gold, silver,
copper, tin, and lead ; and, after purifying, em-
ployed these metals in a variety of useful and
curious works, particularly the bell-metal copper,
which is very hard; of this they made axes,

c3

m

hatchets, and other edged tools, but in small
quantities, as they are rarely to he met with
in their sepulchres ; where, on the contrary,
hatchets made of a species of basalt are very
frequently found. It is remarkable, that iron,
universally supposed to have been unknown to
the American nations, has a particular name in
the Chilian language. It is called panilgue, and
the weapons made of it chiuquel, in distinction
from those made of other materials, which
are comprehended under the general name of
nulin. The smith was called ruthave, from the
verb ruthan, which signifies to work in iron.
These circumstances give rise to a suspicion that
they not only were acquainted with this valuable
metal, but that they also made use of it. But,
considering the silence of the first writers upon
America on this subject, notwithstanding the
inferences that may be drawn from hence, this
point must always remain undecided, unless
pieces of iron should be found of incontestible
antiquity.

They had also discovered the method of
making salt upon the sea shore, and extracted
fossil salt from several ^mountains that abounded
in that production. These they distinguished
by different names, calling the first chiadi, and
the other Mlcochiadi, that is, salt of the water of
rocks. They procured ^dyes of all colours for
their clothes, not only from the juice of plants,

23

but also from mineral earths, and had discovered
the art of fixing them by means of the polcura,
a. luminous stone of an astringent quality. In-
stead of soap, the composition of which they
had not discovered, although acquainted with
lie, they employed the bark of the quillai, which
is an excellent substitute. From the seeds of
the madi, they obtained an oil which is very
good to eat and to burn, though I am ignorant
whether they ever applied it to the latter purpose.

Their language contains words discriminative
of several kinds of baskets and mats, which they
manufactured from various vegetables. The
plant called gnocclua furnishes them with thread
for their ropes and fishing nets, of which they
have three or four kinds. They also make use
of baskets and hooks for taking fish, but of what
substance the latter are made I am not able to
determine. The inhabitants of the sea-coast
make use of pirogues of different sizes, and
floats made of wood, or of seal skins sewed to-
gether and inflated with air.

Although hunting was not a principal occu-
pation with these people, yetf for amusement, or
with the view of increasing their stock of pro-
vision, they were accustomed to take such wild
animals as are found in their country, particu-
larly birds, of which there are great quantities.
For this purpose they made use of the arrow, of
the sling, and of the laque or noose, already

c4

24

described in the preceding part of this work,
and of several kinds of snares constructed with
much ingenuity, known by the general appella-
tion of guaches. It is a singular fact, that they
employed the same method of taking wild ducks,
in their lakes and rivers, as that made use of by
the Chinese, covering their heads with perfo-
rated gourds, and letting themselves glide gently
dowtx among them. These minutise would per-
haps be scarcely worth attending to, in an ac-
count of the manners and discoveries of a people
well known for their advancement in the arts of
civilization, but in the history of a remote and
unknown nation, considered as savage, they be-
come important and even necessary to form a
correct opinion of the degree of their progress
in society.

With means of subsistence, sufficient to have
procured them still greater conveniences of living,
it would seem that the Chilians ought to have
progressed with rapid steps towards the per-
fection of civil society. But from a species of
inertia, natural to man, nations often remain for
a long time stationary, even when circumstances
appear favourable to their improvement. The
transition from a savage to a social life is not so
easy as at first view may be imagined, and the
history of all civilized nations may be adduced
in proof of this proposition.

The Chilians were also isolated, and had none

25

of those commercial connections with foreigners
which are the only means of polishing a people.
The neighbouring nations were in a state of still
greater rudeness than themselves, except the
Peruvians, a connection with whom, from their
ambition of dominion they would more studiously
avoid than cherish. They learned, however,
some things from them during the time that they
were in possession of the northern provinces, at
which period they had attained that middle
point between the savage and civilized state,
known by the name of barbarism. Notwith-
standing these unfavourable circumstances, the
variety of their occupations, which multiplied
the objects of their attention, gradually enlarged
the sphere of their ideas.

They had progressed so far in this respect, as
to invent the numbers requisite to ^express any
quantity, mart signifying with them ten, pataca
a hundred, and guaranca a thousand. Even the
Romans possessed no simple numerical terms of
greater value, and indeed calculation may be
carried to any extent by a combination of these
principal decimals.

To preserve the memory of their transactions,
they made use, as other nations have done, of the
pron3 called by the Peruvians quippo, which was
a skein of thread of several colours with a
number of knots. The subject treated of was
indicated by the colours, and the knots designated

26

the number or quantity. This is all the use that
I have been able to discover in such a *register,
in which some authors have pretended to find a
substitute for the art of writing. This admirable
art was unknown to the Chilians ; for although
the word Chilean, to write,, is met with in their
language., it was originally nothing more than
a synonym of guiriu, which signifies to sketch
or paint. Of their skill in this latter art, I am
ignorant ; but if we may form an opinion from
representations of men that are cut upon certain
rocks, we must conclude that they were entirely
unacquainted with it, as nothing coarser or more
disproportioned can be imagined.

Far different was the progress which they
made in the sciences of physic and astronomy, it
was indeed wonderful ; but an account of these,
of their religion, their music and military skill,
I shall reserve till I treat of the Araucanians,
who still continue the faithful depositories of all

* The quipos is still used by shepherds in Peru, who
keep account by it of the number of their flocks, and of the
day and hour when the ewe yeaned, or the lamb was lost.

An Italian author, after the publication of M. Grafiguy s
novel, wrote a large quarto volume concerning the quipos.
He describes every thing relating to quipography, says the
Limas-Essarist, as confidently as if he had been Quipo-Camayn
to the Incas ; but the misfortune is, that all his conjectures are
erroneous. — E. E,

Mercurio Peruano, Marxo 17, 1791* 2T« !»/• 2°6*

27

the science and ancient customs of the Chilians.
Their language contains also words indicating
a knowledge of several other arts, which I de-
cline mentioning, as there are no guides of suf-
ficient accuracy to conduct our researches into a
subject so important, and at the same time so
doubtful. The first Europeans who visited these
countries, attracted by other objects of far less
interest, thought little or nothing of those that
merit the attention of every observing mind, on
visiting an unknown people. From thence it
has happened that their accounts, for the most
part, furnish us only with vague and confused
ideas, from whence we can draw nothing but
conjectures. The Chilians, however, remained
in much the same state of society as I have de-
scribed, until an unexpected revolution com-
pelled them, in a great measure, to adopt other
customs and other laws.

CHAP. V.

First Expedition of the Spaniards to Chili.

Francis Pizarro and Diego Almagro having
put to death the Inca Atabualpa, had subjected
the empire of Peru to the dominion of Spain.
Pizarro., desirous of enjoying without a rival
this important conquest, made at their mutual
expense,, persuaded his companion to undertake
the reduction of Chili, celebrated for its riches
throughout all those countries. Almagro, filled
with sanguine expectations of booty, began his
march for that territory in the end of the year
1535, with an army composed of 570 Spaniards
and 15,000 Peruvians, under the command of
Taullu, the brother of the Inca Manco, the
nominal Emperor of Peru, who had succeeded
the unfortunate Atahualpa.

Two roads lead from Peru to Chili ; one is by
the sea-coast, and is destitute of water and pro-
vision; the other, for a distance of 120 miles,
passes over the immense mountains of the Andes.
This last Almagro took, for no other reason but
because it was the shortest. His army, after

39

having been exposed to infinite fatigue, and
many conflicts with the adjoining savages,
reached the Cordilleras just at the commence-
ment of winter, destitute of provisions, and but
ill supplied with clothing. In this season the
snow falls almost continually, and completely
covers the few paths that are passable in summer.
Notwithstanding, the soldiers, encouraged by
their general, who had no idea of the danger of
the passage, advanced with much toil to the top
of those rugged heights. But victims to the
severity of the weather, 150 Spaniards there
perished, with 10,000 Peruvians, who, being
accustomed to the warmth of the torrid zone,
were less able to endure the rigours of the frost.

The historians who have given an account of
this unfortunate expedition concur in saying,
that of all this army not one would have escaped
with life, had not Almagro, resolutely pushing
forward with a few horse, sent them timely suc-
cours and provisions, which were found in
abundance in Copiapo. Those of the most
robust constitutions, who were able to resist the
inclemency of the season, by this unexpected
aid were enabled to extricate themselves from
the snow, and at length reached the plains of
that province, which is the first in Chili, where
through respect for the Peruvians they were
well received and entertained by the inhabitants.

The Inca Paullu, who was well acquainted

30

with the object of the expedition,, thought that
nothing would contribute more to raise the
spirits of his dejected friends, than by letting
them know the importance of their conquest.
With this intent, he obliged the peasants to de-
liver up to him all the gold in their possession,
and having by this means collected 500,000
ducats, he presented them to Almagro. The
Spaniard was so highly pleased, that he distri-
buted the whole among his soldiers, to whom he
also remitted the debts they owed him for the
immense sums of money that be had advanced
for the preparation of the enterprize. Being
persuaded that in a short time he should have all
the gold of the country at his disposal, he sought
by this display of liberality to maintain the
reputation of being generous, which he had ac-
quired in Peru by his profuse lavishment of the
treasures of its sovereigns.

While Almagro remained in Copiapo, he dis-
covered that the reigning Ulmen had usurped
the government in prejudice of his nephew and
ward, who, through fear of his uncle, had fled
to the woods. Pretending to be irritated at this
act of injustice, he caused the guilty chief to be
arrested, and calling before him the lawful heir,
reinstated him in the government with the uni-
versal applause of his subjects, who attributed
this conduct entirely to motives of justice, and a
wish to redress the injured.
%

31

The Spaniards, having recovered from their
fatigues through the hospitable assistance of the
Copiapins, and reinforced by a number of re-
cruits whom Rodrigo Organez had brought
from Peru, commenced their march for the
southern provinces, filled with the most flattering
hopes, increased by the beautiful appearance of
the country, and the numerous villages that
appeared upon all sides. The natives crowded
round them on their march, as well to examine
them nearer, as to present them with such things
as they thought would prove agreeable to a
people, who appeared to them of a character far
superior to that of other men.

In the meantime, two soldiers having sepa-
rated from the army, proceeded to Guasco,
where they were at first well received, but were
afterwards put to death by the inhabitants, in
consequence, no doubt, of some acts of violence,
which soldiers, freed from the control of their
officers, are very apt to commit. This was the
first European blood spilt in Chili, a country
afterwards so copiously watered with it.

On being1 informed of this unfortunate acci-
dent, calculated to destroy the exalted opinion
which he wished to inspire of his soldiers,
Almagro, having proceeded to Coquimbo, or-
dered the Ulmen of the district, called Marcando,
his brother, and twenty of the principal inhabit-
ants to be brought thither, all of whom, together

32

with the usurper of Copiapo, he delivered to
the flames, without, according to Herrera, pre-
tending to assign any reason for his conduct.
This act of cruelty appeared to every one very
extraordinary and unjust, since among those
adventurers there were not wanting men of sen-
sibility, and advocates for the rights of humanity.
The greater part of the army openly disapproved
of the severity of their general, the aspect of
whose affairs from this time forward became
gradually worse and worse.

About this period, 1537, Almagro received a
considerable reinforcement of recruits under
Juan de Rada, accompanied with royal letters
patent, appointing him governor of two hundred
leagues of territory, situated to the southward
of the government granted to Francis Pizarro.
The friends whom he had left in Peru, taking
advantage of this opportunity, urged him by
private letters to return, in order to take pos-
session of Cuzco, which they assured him was
within the limits of his jurisdiction. Notwith-
standing this, inflated with his new conquest,
he pursued his march, passed the fatal Cacha-
poal; and, regardless of the remonstrances of the
Peruvians, advanced into the country of the
Promaucians. t

At the first sight of the Spaniards, their horses,
and the thundering arms of Europe, these valiant
people were almost petrified with astonishment,
V

33

but soon recovering from the effects of surprise,
they opposed with intrepidity their new enemies
upon the shore of the Rio-claro. Almagro,
despising their force, placed in the first line his
Peruvian auxiliaries, increased by a number
whom Pciallu had drawn from the garrisons ;
but these, being soon routed, fell back in con-
fusion upon the rear. The Spaniards, who ex-
pected to have been merely spectators of the
battle, saw themselves compelled to sustain the
vigorous attack of the enemy, and advancing
with their horse, began a furious battle, which
continued with great loss upon either side, till
night separated the combatants.

Although the Promaucians had been very
roughly handled, they lost not their courage,
but encamped in sight of the enemy, determined
to renew the attack the next morning. The
Spaniards, however, though by the custom of
Europe they considered themselves as victors,
having kept possession of the field, were very
differently inclined. Having been accustomed
to subdue immense provinces with little or no
resistance, they became disgusted with an enter-
prise, which could not be effected without
great fatigue and the loss of much blood, since,
in its prosecution they must contend with a bold
and independent nation, by whom they were
not believed to be immortal, Thus all, by

vol. ir. D

34

common consent,, resolved to abandon this ex-
pedition ; but they were of various opinions
respecting their retreat, some being desirous of
returning to Peru, while others wished to form
a settlement in the northern provinces, where
they had been received with such hospitality.

The first opinion was supported by Almagro,
whose mind began to be impressed by the sug-
gestions contained in the letters of his friends.
He represented to his soldiers the dangers to
which a settlement would be exposed in so war-
like a country, and persuaded them to follow
him to Cuzco, where he hoped to establish
himself either by favour or force. His fatal
experience of the mountain road, determined
him to take that of the sea-coast, by which he
reconducted his troops with very little loss.
On his return to Peru in 1538, he took posses-
sion by surprise of the ancient capital of that
empire; and, after several ineffectual negocia-
tions, fought a battle with the brother of
Pizarro, by whom he was taken, tried anc1 be-
headed, as a disturber of the public peace.
His army, having dispersed at their defeat,
afterwards reassembled under the appellation of
the soldiers of Chili, and excited new disturb-
ances in Peru, already sufficiently agitated.
Such was the fate of the first expedition
against Chili, undertaken by the best body of

35

European troops that had as yet been collected
in those parts. The thirst of riches was the
moving spring of the expedition, and the disap-
pointment of their hopes of obtaining them, the
cause of its failure.

D*

36

CHAP. VI.

The Spaniards return to Chili, under the com-
mand of Pedro de Valdivia; St. J ago the
capital founded ; Various encounters with the
natives; Conspiracy of the soldiers against
the general.

Francis Pizarro haying, by the death of his
rival, obtained the absolute command of the
Spanish possessions in South America, lost not
sight of the conquest of Chili, which he con-
ceived might, in any event, prove an important
acquisition to him. Among the adventurers
who had come to Peru were two officers, com-
missioned by the court of Spain, under the titles
of governor, to attempt this expedition. To the
first, called Pedro Sanchez de Hoz, was com-
mitted the conquest of the country as far as the
river Maule ; and to the other, Carmargo, the
remainder to the Archipelago of Chiloe. Pi-
zarro, jealous of these men, under frivolous
pretexts refused to confirm the royal nomination,
and appointed to this expedition his quarter-
master, Pedro de Valdivia, a prudent and active

37

officer,, who had gained experience in the Italian
•war, and, what was a still greater recommenda-
tion, was attached to his party, directing him to
take de Hoz with him, who was probably more
to be feared than his colleague, and to allow
him every advantage in the partition of the lands.

This officer having determined to establish a
permanent settlement in the country, set out on
his march in the year 1540, with 200 Spaniards,
and a numerous body of Peruvian auxiliaries,
accompanied by some monks, several women,
and a great number of European quadrupeds,
with every thing (requisite for a new colony.
He pursued the same route as Almagro, but in-
structed by the misfortunes of his predecessor,
he did not attempt to pass the Andes until mid-
summer. He entered Chili without incurring
any loss, but very different was the reception he
experienced from the inhabitants of the northern
provinces from that which Almagro had me
with. Those people, informed of the fate of
Peru, and freed from the submission they pro-
fessed to owe the Inca, did uot consider them-
selves obliged to respect their invaders,

They, of course, began to attack them upon'
all sides, with more valour than conduct. Like
barbarians in general, incapable of making a
common cause with each other, and for a long
time accustomed to the yoke of servitude, they
attacked them by hordes, or tribes, as they ad-

d3

38

vanced, without that steady firmness that cha-
racterizes the valour of a free people. The
Spaniards, however, notwithstanding the ill-
combined opposition of the natives, traversed
the provinces of Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quil-
lota, and Melipilla, and arrived much ha-
rassed, -but with little loss, at that of Mapocho,
now called St. Jago. Thii province, which is
more than six hundred miles distant from the
confines of Peru, is one of the most fertile and
pleasant in the kingdom. Its name signifies
ee the land of many people, " and from the ac-
counts of the first writers upon Chili, its popula-
tion corresponded therewith, being extremely
numerous. It lies upon the confines of the
principal mountain of the Andes, and is 140
miles in circumference. It is watered by the
rivers JVIaypo, Colina, Lampa, and Mapocho,
which last divides it into two nearly equal parts,
and after pursuing a subterraneous course for
the space of five miles, again shows itself with
increased copiousness, and discharges its waters
into the Maypo. The mountains of Caren,
which terminate it on the north, abound with
veins of gold, and in that part of the Andes,
which bounds it at the east, are found several
rich mines of silver.

Valdivia, who had endeavoured to penetrate
as far as possible into the country, in order to
render it difficult for his soldiers to return to

39

Peru, determined to make a settlement in this
province ; which., from its natural advantages,
and its remoteness, appeared to him more suitable
than any other for the centre of his conquests.
With this view, having selected a convenient
situation on the left shore of the Mapocho, on
the 24th of February 1541, he laid the founda-
tions of the capital of the kingdom, to which, ill
honour of that apostle, he gave the name of St.
Jago. In laying out the city he divided the
ground into plats or squares, each containing
4096 toises, a fourth of which he allowed to every
citizen, a plan that has been pursued in the
foundation of all the other cities. One of these
plats, lying upon the great square, he destined
for the cathedral and the bishop's palace, which
he intended to build there, and the one opposite
for that of the government. He likewise ap-
pointed a magistracy, according to the forms of
Spain, from such of his army as were the best
qualified ; and to protect the settlement in case
of an attack, he constructed a fort upon a hill in
the centre of the city, which has since received
the name of St. Lucia.

Many have applauded the discernment of Val-
divia, in having made choice of this situation
for the seat of the capital of the colony. But
considering the wants of a great city, it would
have been better placed fifteen miles farther to
the south, upon the Maypo, a large river which

d 4

40

has a direct communication with the sea, and
might easily be rendered navigable for ships of
the largest size.

This city, however, contains at present ( 1T87)
more than forty thousand inhabitants, and is
rapidly increasing in population, from its being
the seat of government, and from its great com-
merce supported by the luxury of the wealthy
inhabitants.

Meanwhile, the natives saw with a jealous eye
this new establishment, and concerted measures,
although late, for freeing themselves of these
unwelcome intruders. Valdivia, having dis-
covered their intentions in season, confined the
chiefs of the conspiracy in the fortress, and sus-
pecting some secret intelligence between them and
the neighbouring Promaucians, repaired with
sixty horse to the river Cachapoal to watch their
movements. But this measure was unnecessary ;
that fearless people had not the policy to think
of uniting with their neighbours in order to
secure themselves from the impending danger.

The Mapochinians, taking advantage of the
departure of the general, fell upon the colony
with inconceivable fury, burned the half-built
houses, and assailed the citadel, wherein the in-
habitants had taken refuge, upon all sides.
TV hile they defended themselves valiantly, a
woman, named Inez Suarez, animated with a
spirit more cruel than courageous, seized an axe,,

41

and beat out the brains of the captive chiefs
who had attempted to break their fetters and
regain their liberty.

The battle began at day break, and was con-
tinued till night, while fresh assailants, with a
firmness worthy of a better fate, constantly oc-
cupied the places of those that were slain. In
the meantime, the commander of the fort, Alonzo
Monroy, found means during the confusion to
dispatch a messenger to Valdivia, who returned
immediately, and found the ditch filled with
dead bodies, and the enemy, notwithstanding the
loss they had sustained, preparing to recommence
the combat ; but, joining the besieged, he ad-
vanced in order of battle against their forces,,
which were posted on the shore of the Mapocho.
There the battle was again renewed, and con-
tested with equal valour, but with great disad-
vantage on the part of the natives, who were far
inferior to their enemies in arms and discipline.
The musketry and the horse made a dreadful
slaughter among men, who were armed only
with bows and slings ; but, obstinately con-
tending with even their own impotence, they
furiously rushed on to destruction until, wholly
enfeebled, and having lost the flower of their
youth, they fled dispersed over ihe plains.

Yet, notwithstanding this defeat, and others
of not le<3 importance that they afterwards ex-
perienced, they never ceased, for the space of six

42

years, until their utter ruin, to keep the Spaniards
closely besieged, attacking them upon every oc-
casion that offered, and cutting off their pro-
visions in such a manner, that they were com-?
pelled to subsist upon unwholesome and loath-
some viands, and on the little grain which they
could raise beneath the cannon of the place,
The fertile plains in the neighbourhood had
become desert and uncultivated, as the inhabit-
ants had destroyed their crops, and retired to
the mountains.

A mode of life so different from what they ex-
pected, wearied and disgusted the soldiers, and
they finally resolved to kill their general, whom
they believed obstinately attached to his plans,
and to return to Peru, where they hoped to enjoy
wore ease and tranquillity. This conspiracy
having fortunately been discovered by Valdivia,
he began by conciliating the least seditious,
which he readily effected, for he possessed great
prudence and address. As he had yet only the
title of general, he assembled the magistracy of
the city, and persuaded them to appoint him
governor. Invested with this imposing, though
less legitimate character, he punished with death
the authors of the conspiracy ; but perceiving
that this exertion of a precarious authority could
not be productive of a durable effect, he pru-
dently applied himself to soothe these turbulent
spirits, and to divert their minds from such dan-

' 43

gerous schemes, by painting to them in seducing
colours the happy prospect that awaited them.

Valdivia had often heard in Peru that the
valley of Quillota abounded in mines of gold,
and imagined that he might obtain from thence
a sufficient quantity to satisfy his soldiers. In
consequence, notwithstanding the difficulties
with which he was surrounded, he sent thither
a detachment of troops, with orders to super-
intend the digging of this precious metal. The
mine that was opened was so rich that its product
surpassed their most sanguine hopes. Their
present and past sufferings were all buried in
oblivion, nor was there one among them who
had the remotest wish of quitting the country.
The governor, who was naturally enterprising,
encouraged by this success, had a frigate built
in the mouth of the river Chile, which traverses
the valley, in order more readily to obtain suc-
cours from Peru, without which, he was fully
sensible, he could not succeed in accomplishing
his vast undertakings.

44

CHAP. VII.

The Copiapins defeat a body of Spaniards; Sue-
cessful stratagem employed by the Quillotanes ;
Valdivia receives reinforcements from Peru;
He founds the city of Coquimbo, -which is
destroyed by the natives; The Promaucians
form an alliance xvith the Spaniards ; Founda-
tion of the city of Conception.

In the meantime, as the state of affairs was
urgent,, Valdivia resolved to send to Peru hy
land two of his captains, Alonzo Monroy and
Pedro Miranda, with six companions, whose
spurs, bits, and stirrups he directed to be made
of gold, hoping to entice, by this proof of the
opulence of the country, his fellow-citizens to
come to his assistance. These messengers, al-
though escorted by thirty men on horseback,
whp were ordered to accompany them to the
borders of Chili, were attacked and defeated by
a hundred archers of Copiapo, commanded by
Coteo, an officer of the ulmen of that province.
Of the whole band none escaped with life but
the two officers^ Monroy and Miranda, who

45

were brought covered with wounds before the
ulmen.

Whilst that prince who had resolved to put
them to death as enemies of the country, was
deliberating on the mode, the ulmena, or princess,
his wife, moved with compassion for their situa-
tion, interceded with her husband for their lives,
and having obtained her request, unbound them
with her own hands, tenderly dressed their
wounds, and treated them like brothers. When
they were fully recovered, she desired them to
teach her son the art of riding, as several of the
horses had been taken alive in the defeat. The
two Spaniards readily consented to her request*
hoping to avail themselves of this opportunity to
recover their liberty. But the means they took
to effect this were marked with an act of ingra-
titude to their benefactress, of so much the
deeper dye, as, from iheir not being strictly
guarded, such an expedient was unnecessary.

As the young prince was one day riding be-
tween them, escorted by his archers, and pre-
ceded by an officer armed with a lance, Monroy
suddenly attacked him with a poniard, which he
carried about him, and brought him to xthe
ground, with two or three mortal wounds ; Mi-
randa at the same time wresting the lance from
the officer, they forced their way through the
guards who were thrown into confusion by such
an unexpected event. As they were well mounted

46

they easily escaped pursuit,, and taking their way
through the desarts of Pefu, arrived at Cuzco>
the residence at that time of Vasca de Castro,
who had succeeded to the government upon the
death of Pizarro, cruelly assassinated by the
partizans of Almagro.

On being informed of the critical situation of
Chill, Castro immediately dispatched a consider-
able number of recruits by land under the com-
mand of Monroy, who had the good fortune to
conceal his march from the Copiapins ; and at
the same time gave directions to Juan Batista
Pastene, a noble Genoese, to proceed thither by
sea with a still greater number. Valdivia, on
receiving these two reinforcements., which ar-
rived nearly at the same time, began to carry
his great designs into execution. As he had
been solicitous from the first to have a complete,
knowledge of the sea-coast, he ordered Pastene
to explore it, and note the situation of the most
important parts and places, as far as the straits
of Magellan. On his return from this expe-
dition, he sent him back to Peru for new recruits,
as, since the affair of Copiapo, the natives became
daily more bold and enterprising.

Among others, the Quillotanes had, a little
time before, massacred all the soldiers employed
in the mines. For this purpose they employed
the following stratagem : one of the neighbour-
ing Indians brought to the commander, Gonzalo
4 '

47

Rios, a pot full of gold, telling him that he had
found a great quantity of it in a certain district
of the country. Upon this information, all were
impatient to proceed thither to participate in the
imagined treasure. As they arrived tumultuously
at the place described, they fell into an ambus-
cade, from whence none escaped except the im-
prudent commander and a negro, whe saved
themselves by the superior excellence of their
horses. The frigate that was then finished was
also destroyed, being burned together with the
arsenal.

Valdivia, on receiving advice of this disaster,
hastened thither with his troops, and having re-
venged, as far as in his power, the death of his
soldiers, built a fort to protect the miners. Being
afterwards reinforced with three hundred men
from Peru, under the command of Francis Villa-
gran and Christopher Escobar, he became sen-
sible of the necessity of establishing' a settlement
in the northern part of the kingdom, that might
serve as a place of arms, and a protection for the
convoys that should come that way. For this
purpose1 he made choice of a beautiful plain at
the mouth of the river Coquimbo, which forms
a good harbour, where, in 1544, he founded a
city called by him Serena, in honour of the place
of his birth ; it is not, however, known at present
by this appellation, except in geographical trea-
tises, the country name having prevailed, as is

48

the case with all the other European settlements
in Chili.

In the ensuing year he began to think of ex-
tending his conquests, and for that purpose pro-
ceeded into the country of the Promaucians.
Contemporary writers have not made mention of
any battle that was fought upon this occasion ;
but it is not to be supposed that this valiant
people who had with so much glory repulsed the
armies of the Inca and of Almagro, would have
allowed him, without opposition, to violate their
territory. It is, however, highly probable, that
Valdivia, in the frequent incursions which he
made upon their frontiers, had the art to persuade
them to unite with him against the other Chilians
by seducing promises ; a mean that has been
employed by all political conquerors, who have
ever availed themselves of the aid of barbarians
to conquer barbarians, in order, finally, to sub-
jugate the whole. In fact, the Spanish armies
have ever since that period been strengthened by
Promaucian auxiliaries, from whence has sprung
that rooted antipathy, which the Araucanians
preserve against the residue of that nation.

♦In the course of the year 1546, Valdivia,
having passed the Maule, proceeded in his career
of victory to the river Jtata. While encamped
there in a place called Quilacura, he was at-
tacked at night by a bod}r of the na.ives,, who
destroyed many of his horses, and put him m

49

imminent hazard of experiencing a total rout.
His loss upon this occasion must have been very
considerable, since he afterwards relinquished
his plan of proceeding farther, and returned to
St. Jago. Perceiving that his expected suc-
cours from Peru did not arrive, he resolved to
go thither in person, hoping, by means of his
activity and address, to recruit a body of troops
lufficient for the subjugation of the southern
provinces, which had shown themselves the most
warlike.

As he was on the eve of his departure, in the
year 1547, Pastenes arrived, but without any
men, and brought news of the civil war that had
broken out between the conquerors of the empire
of the Incas. Nevertheless, persuaded that he
might reap an advantage from these revolutions,
he set sail with Pastene for Peru, taking witli
him a great quantity of gold. On his arrival,
he served in quality of quarter-master general
in the famous battle that decided the fate of
Gonzalo Pizarro. Gasca, the president, who
undeK the royal standard, had gained the vic-
tory, pleased with the service rendered him
upon this occasion by Valdivia, confirmed him
in his office of governor, and furnishing him with
an abundance of military stores, sent him back
to Chili, with two ships filled with those seditious
adventurers, of whom he was glad of an oppor-
tunity to be disembarrassed,

VOL. II. E

50

In the meantime, Pedro de Hoz, who, as iws
have already observed, had been deprived of
that share in the conquest that had been granted
him by the court, and who had imprudently
placed himself in the power of his rival, wa$
accused of wishing to usurp the government.
Whether this accusation was well founded, or
whether it was merely a pretext to get rid of
him, he was, in 1548, publicly beheaded by
order of Francis Villagran, who acted as go-
vernor in the absence of Valdivia, whom he pro-
bably thought to please by thus freeing him
from a dangerous competitor, if he had not even
received private instructions relative to the
business.

The Copiapins, eager to revenge the murder
of their prince, killed about the same time forty
Spaniards, who had been detached from several
squadrons, and were proceeding from Peru
to Chili ; and the Coquimbanes, instigated by
their persuasions, massacred all the inhabitants
of the colony lately founded in their territory,
razing the city to its foundation. Francis
Aguirre was immediately ordered there, and had
several encounters with them with various suc-
cess. In 1549 he rebuilt the city in a more ad-
vantageous situation ; its inhabitants claim him
as their founder, and the most distinguished of
them boast themselves as his descendants.
After a contest of nine years, and almost in-

51

credible fatigues, Valdivia, believing himself
well established in that part of Chili which was
under the dominion of the Peruvians, distributed
the land among his soldiers, assigning to each,
under the title of commandery, a considerable
portion, with the inhabitants living thereon, ac-
cording to the baneful feudal system of Europe.
By this means, having quieted the restless am-
bition of his companions, he set out anew on his
march for the southern provinces, with a respect-
able army of Spanish and Prornaucian troops.

After a journey of 240 miles, he arrived,
without encountering many obstacles, at the bay
of Penco, which had been already explored by
Pastene, where, on the 5th of October, 1550, he
founded a third city, called Conception.*

The situation of this place was very advan-
tageous for commerce from the excellence of its
harbour, but, from the lowness of the ground, was
exposed in earthquakes to inundations of the sea.
The bay, which is in extent from east to west six

* This city was destroyed by the earthquakes and inunda-
tions of the sea, that occurred on the Sth of July, 1 730, end
the 24th of May, 1751. For this reason the inhabitants esta-
blished themselves, on the 24th of November, 1764, in the
valley of Mocha, three leagues south of Penco, between the
rivers Andalien and Bio-bio, where they founded New Con-
ception. The harbour is situated in the middle of the bay
called Talgacuano, a little more than two leagues west of
Mocha ; a fort is all the building that is now left at Penco,

E 2

52

miles, and nine from north to south, is defended
from the sea by a pleasant island called Quin-
quina ; the entrance upon the north side, which
is half a league broad, is the only one of suf-
ficient depth to admit ships of the line, the other
being narrow, and only navigable for small
vessels. The soil, under the influence of a fa-
vourable climate, produces an abundance of tim-
ber, minerals, excellent wine, and all the other
necessaries of life, and the sea and rivers great
quantities of delicate fish.

The adjacent tribes, perceiving the intention
of the Spaniards to occupy this important post,
gave information of it to their neighbours and
friends, the Araucanians, who, forseeing that it
would not be long before the storm would burst
upon their own country, resolved to succour their
distressed allies, in order to secure themselves.
But before I proceed to relate the events of this
war, I have thought proper to give some account
of the character and manners of that warlike
people, who have hitherto, with incredible
valour, opposed the overwhelming torrent of
Spanish conquest, and from henceforward will
furnish all the materials of our history.

THE

CIVIL HISTORY

OF

CHILI.

BOOK II.

CHAPTER T.

Local Situation, Character, Dress, and Dwellings
of the Araiicanians.

THE Araucanians inhabit that delightful
country situated between the rivers Bio-bio and
Valdivia, and between the Andes and the sea,
extending from 36 44. to 39. 50. degrees of
south latitude. They derive their appellation
of Araucanians from the province of Afauco,
which, though the smallest in their territory,
has, like Holland, given its name to the whole
nation, either from its having been the first to
unite with the neighbouring provinces, or from
having at some remote period reduced them
under its dominion. This people, ever enthusi-
astically attached to their independence,, pride

54

themselves in being called Auca* which sig-
nifies frank or free, and those Spaniards, who
had left the artnj in the Netherlands to serve
in Chili, gave to this country the name of Arau-
canian Flanders, or the Invincible State, and
some of them- have even had the magnanimity to
celebrate in epic poetry the exploits of a people
who, to preserve their independence, have shed
auch torrents of Spanish blood.

The Araucanians, although they do not ex-
ceed the ordinary height of the human species,
are in general muscular, robust, well propor-
tioned, and of a martial appearance. It is very
unusual to find among them any person who is
crooked or deformed, not from their pursuing,
as some have supposed, the cruel custom of the
ancient Spartans, in suffocating such unfortunate
children, but because they leave to nature the care
of forming them, without obstructing her ope-
rations by the improper application of bandages,
and stays. Their complexion, with the ex-
ception of the Boroanes, who, as I have already
observed, are fair and ruddy, is of a reddish
brown, but clearer than that of the other Ame-
ricans. They have round faces, small animated
eyes fujl of expression, a nose rather flat, a hand-

* According to Falkuer the missionary, Aucaes is a name of
reproach, given them by the Spaniards, and signifying rebels
or wild-men — aucani is to rebel, to make a riot— auca-cahual
(cevallo) is a wild horse.— E. E.

55

some mouth., even and white teeth, muscular and
well shaped legs, and small flat feet. Like the
Tartars, they have scarce any beard, and the
smallest hair is never to be discerned on their
faces, from the care they take to pluck out the
little that appears ; they esteem it very impolite
to have a beard, calling the Europeans, by way
of reproach, the long beards. The same atten-
tion is paid to removing it from their bodies,
where its growth is more abundant ; that of
their heads is thick and black, but rather coarse ;
they permit it to grow to a great length, and
wind it in tresses around their heads; of this
they are as proud and careful as they are averse
to beards, nor could a greater affront be offered
them than to cut it off". Their women are deli-
cately formed, and many of them, especially
among the Boroanes, are very handsome.

Possessed of great strength of constitution,
and unincumbered with the cares that disturb
civilized society, they are not subject, except at
a very advanced period of life, to the infirmities
attendant upon old age. They rarely begin to
be grey before they are sixty or seventy, and are
not bald or wrinkled until eighty. They are
generally longer lived than the Spaniards, and
many are to be met with who e age exceeds a
hundred ; and, to the latent period of their lives,
they retain their sight, teeth, and memory, unim-
paired.

E '&

Their moral qualities are proportionate to
their physical endowments ; thej are intrepid,
animated, ardent, patient in enduring fatigue,
ever readj to sacrifice their lives in the service
of their country, enthusiastic lovers of liberty,
which they consider as an essential constituent
of their existence, jealous, of their honour,
courteous, hospitable, faithful to their engage-
ments, grateful for services rendered them, and
generous and humane towards the vanquished.
But these noble qualities are obscured by the
vices inseparable from the half-savage state of
life which they lead, unrefined by literature or
cultivation ; these are drunkenness, debauchery,
presumption, and a haughty contempt for all
other nations. Were the civil manners and in-
nocent improvements of Europe introduced
among them, they would soon become a people
deserving of universal esteem ; but, under the
present system, this happy change appears im-
possible to be effected.

All those nations whom either the nature of
the climate or a sense of decency has induced to
clothe themselves, have made use at first of loose
garments, as being the most easily made. But
the Araucanians, from their great attachment to
war, which they consider as the only true source
of glory, have adopted the short garment, as the
best suited to martial conflicts. This dress is
made of wool, as was that of the Greeks and

57

Romans, and consists of a shirt, a vest, a pair of
short close breeches, and a cloak in form of a
scapulary, with an opening in the middle for the
head, made full and long so as to cover the
hands and descend to the knees. This cloak is
called poncho, and is much more commodious
than our mantles, as it leaves the arms at liberty,
and may be thrown over the shoulder at pleasure;
it is also a better protection from the wind and
the rain, and more convenient for riding on
horseback, for which reason it is commonly worn
not only by the Spaniards in Chili, but by those
of Peru and Paraguay.

The shirt, vest, and breeches, are always of a
greenish blue or turquois, which is the favourite
colour of the nation, as red is that of the Tartars.
The 'poncho is also, among persons of inferior
condition, of a greenish blue, but those of the
higher classes wear it of different colours, either
white, red, or blue, with stripes a span broad, on
which are wrought, with much skill, figures of
flowers and animals in various colours, and the
border is ornamented with a handsome fringe.
Some of these ponchos are of so fine and elegant
a texture as to be sold for a hundred and even a
hundred and fifty dollars.

The Araucanians make use of neither turbans
nor hats, but wear upon their heads a bandage
of embroidered wool, in the form of the ancient

58

diadem. This, whenever they salute, they raise
a little, as a mark of courtesy, and on going- to
war ornament it with a number of beautifui
plumes. Thej also wear around the body a long*
woollen girdle, or sash, handsomely wrought.
Persons of rank wear woollen boots of various
colours, and leather sandals, called chelle3 but
the common people always go bare-footed.

The women are clad with much modesty and
simplicity. Their dress is entirely of wool, and,
agreeable to the national taste, of a greenish blue
colour. It consists of a tunic, a girdle, and a
short cloak, called ichella, which is fastened be-
fore with a silver buckle. The tunic, called
cfiiamal, is long, and descends to the feet, it is
without sleeves, and is fastened upon the shoulder
by silver brooches or buckles. This dress, sanc-
tioned by custom, is never varied ; but, to gratify
their love of finery, they adorn themselves with
all those trinkets which caprice or vanity sug-
gests. They divide their hair into several
tresses, which float in graceful negligence over
their shoulders, and decorate their heads with a
species of false emerald, called glianca, held by
them in high estimation. Their necklaces and
bracelets are of glass, and their ear-rings, which
are square, of silver; they have rings upon each
finger, the greater part of which are of silver.
It is calculated that more than a hundred thou-

59

sand marks of this metal are employed in these
female ornaments, since they are worn even by
the poorest class.

I have already given some account of the
dwellings of the ancient Chilians; the Arauca-
nians, tenacious, as are all nations not corrupted
by luxury, of the customs of their country, have
made no change in their mode of building.
But, as they are almost all polvgamists, the size
of their houses is proportioned to the number of
women they can maintain. The interior of these
houses is very simple, the luxury of convenience,
splendour, and show, is altogether unknown in
them, and necessity alone is consulted in the se-
lection of their furniture.

They never form towns, but live in scattered
villages or hamlets, on the banks of rivers, or in
plains that are easily irrigated. Their local at-
tachments are strong, each family preferring to
live upon the land inherited from its ancestors,
which they cultivate sufficiently for their sub-
sistence. The genius of this haughty people,
in which the savage still predominates, will not
permit them to live in walled cities, which they
consider as a mark of servitude.

60

CHAP. II. /

Division of the Araucanian State ; Its political
Form and civil Institutions.

AtTHOUGH in their settlements the Araucanians
are wanting in regularity,, that is by no means
the case in the political division of their state,
which is regulated with much intelligence. They
have divided it from north to south into four
vthal-mapus, or parallel tetrarchates, that are
nearly equal, to which they give the names of
lauquen-mapu, the maritime country; lelbun-
mapu3 the plain country ; inapire-mapu, the
country at the foot of the Andes ; and pire-
mapu, or that of the Andes. Each Uthalmapu
is divided into five aillaregues, or provinces;
and each aillaregue into nine regues, or counties.
The maritime country comprehends the pro-
vinces of Arauco, Tucapel, Illicura, Boroa, and
Nagtolten ; the country of the plain includes
those of Encolj Puren, Repocura, Maquegua,
and Mariquina : that at the foot of the Andes
contains Marven, Colhue, Chacaico,, Quechere-
gua., and Guanagua ; and in that of the Andes
is included all the valleys of the Cordilleras,
situated within the limits already mentioned*

61

which are inhabited by the Puelches.* These
mountaineers, who were formerly a distinct na-
tion in alliance with the Araucanians, are now
united under their government, and have the
same magistrates.

This division, which discovers a certain degree
of refinement in their political administration, is
of a date anterior to the arrival of the Spaniards,
and serves as a basis for the civil government of
the Araucanians, which is aristocratic as that
of all other barbarous nations has been. This
species of republic consists of three orders of
nobility, each subordinate to the other, the
Toquis, the Apo-Ulmenes, and the Ulmenes, all
of whom have their respective vassals. The
Toquis, who may be styled tetrarchs, are four in
number, and preside over the uthal-mapus. The
appellation of Toqui is derived from the verb
toquin, which signifies to judge or command ;
they are independent of each other, but confede-

* In the second and third articles of the treaty of Lonquil-
mo, made in the year 1784, the limits of each Uthalmapu are
expressly defined, and its districts marked out. It declares
to be appertaining to that of the Cordilleras, the Huilliches
of Chaugolo, those of Gayolto and Rucachoroy to the south,
the Puelches and Indian Pampas to the north, from Malalque
and the frontiers of Mendoza to the Mamilmapu in the Pampas
of Buenos Ayres, the whole forming a corporate bodv with the
Pue'.ches and Pehuenches of Maule, Chilian, and Antuco. So
that at present, in case of an infraction of the treaty, it may
easily be known what Uthalmapu is to make satisfaction.

m

rated for the public welfare. The Apo-Ulmenes.,
or Arch-Ulmenes, govern the provinces under
their respective Toquis. The Ulmenes, who are
the prefects of the regues, or counties, are de-
pendant upon the Apo-Ulmenes. This depend-
ance, however, is confined almost entirely to
military affairs. Although the Ulmenes are the
lowest in the scale of the Araucanian aristo-
cracy, the superior ranks, generally speaking,
are comprehended under the same title, which is
equivalent to that of Cacique.

The discriminative badge of the To qui is
a species of battle-axe, made of porphyry or
marble. The Apo-Ulmenes, and the Ulmenes,
carry staves with silver heads, but the first by
way of distinction have a ring of the same
metal around the middle of their staves. All
these dignities are hereditary in the male line,
and proceed in the order of primogeniture.
Thus have the dukes, the counts, and marquisses
of the military aristocracy of the north been esta-
blished, from time immemorial, under different
names, in a corner of South America.

With its resemblance to the feudal system,
this government contains also almost all its de-
fects. The Toqui possesses but the shadow of
sovereign authority. The triple power that
constitutes it, is vested in the great body of the
nobility, who decide every important question,
in the manner of the ancient Germans, in a ge-

63

neral diet, which is called Butacoyog or Auca~
coyog, the great council, or council of the Arau-
canians. This assembly is usually held in some
large plain, where they combine the pleasures of
the table with their public deliberations.

Their code of laws, which is traditionary, is
denominated Admapu, that is to say, the customs
of the country. In reality these laws are nothing
more than primordial usages, or tacit conven-
tions that have been established among them, as
was originally the case with almost all the laws
of other nations ; they have, consequently, all
the defects peculiar to such systems, since, as
they are not written, they can neither be very
compendious, nor made sufficiently public.

The clearest and most explicit of their poli-
tical and fundamental laws are those that regu-
late the limits of each authority; the order of
succession in the Toquiates and in the Ulminates,
the confederation of the four Tetrarchates, the
choice and the power of the commanders ia
chief in time of war, and the right of convoking
the general diets, which is the privilege of the
Toquis ; all these laws have for their object the
preservation of liberty and the established form
of government. According to them, two or more
states cannot be held under the rule of the same
chief. Whenever the male branch of the reign-
ing family becomes extinct, the vassals recover
their natural right of electing their own chief

64

from that family which is most pleasing to them.
But before he is installed, he must be presented
to the Toqui of their Uthalmapu, who gives
notice of his election, in order that the new chief
may be acknowledged and respected by all in
that quality.

The subjects are not, as under the feudal go-
vernment, liable to a levy, or to any kind of per-
gonal service, except in time of war. Neither
are they obliged to pay any contributions to
their chiefs, who must subsist themselves by
means of their own property. They respect
them, however, as their superiors, or rather as
the first among their equals ; they also attend to
their decisions, and escort them whenever they
go out of the state. These chiefs, elated with
their authority, would gladly extend its limits,
and govern as absolute masters ; but the people,
who cannot endure despotism, oppose their pre-
tensions, and compel them to keep within the
bounds prescribed by their customs.

The civil laws of a society whose manners are
simple, and interests but little complicated,
cannot be very numerous. The Araucanians
have but a few ; these, however, would be suf-
ficient for their state of life, if they were more
respected and less arbitrary. Their system of
criminal jurisprudence, in a particular manner,
is very imperfect. The offences that are deemed
deserving of capital punishment are, treachery,,

65

intentional homicide, adultery, the robbery of
any valuable article, and witchcraft. Never-
theless, those found guilty of homicide can
screen themselves from punishment by a compo-
sition with the relations of the murdered. Hus-
bands and fathers are not subject to any punish-
ment for killing their wives or children, as they
are declared, by their laws, to be the natural
masters of their lives. Those accused of sor-
cery, a crime only known in countries involved
in ignorance, are first tortured by fire, in order
to make them discover their accomplices, and
then stabbed with daggers.

Other crimes of less importance are punished
by retaliation, which is much in use among
them, under the name of thaulonco. Justice is
administered in a tumultuous and irregular
manner, and without any of those preliminary
formalities, for the most part useless, that are
observed among civilized nations. The criminal
who is convicted of a capital offence, is imme-
diately put to death, according to the military
custom, without first being suffered to rot in
prison, a mode of confinement unknown to the
Araucanians. It was, however, a little before
my leaving Chili, introduced into Tucapel, the
seat of the government of Lauquen-mapu, by
Cathicura. the Toqui of that district; but, I
know not the success of this experiment, which
was at first very ill received by his subjects,,

VOL, II. f

66

The Ulmenes are the lawful judges of their
vassals, and for this reason their authority is less
precarious. The unconquerable pride of this
people prevents them from adopting the wise
measures of public justice; they alone possess
some general and vague ideas upon the principles
of political union, whence the executive power
being without force, distributive justice is ill
administered, or entirely abandoned to the caprice
of individuals. The injured family often as-
sumes the right of pursuing the aggressor or his
relations, and of punishing them. From this
abuse are derived the denominations and dis-
tinctions, so much used in their jurisprudence,
of genguerin, genguman, genla, &c. denoting
the principal connections of the aggressor, of
the injured, or the deceased, who are supposed
to be authorized, by the laws of nature, to sup-
port by force the rights of their relatives.

A system of judicial proceeding so irregular,
and apparently so incompatible with the existence
of any kind of civil society, becomes the constant
source of disorders entirely hostile to the pri-
mary object of all good government, public and
private security. When those who are at enmity
have a considerable number of adherents, thej
mutually make incursions upon each others pos-
sessions, where they destroy or burn all that they
cannot carry off. These private quarrels, called
malocasj resemble much the feuds of the ancient

67

Germans, and are very dreadful when the Ul-
menes are concerned, in which case they become
real civil wars. But it must be acknowledged
that they are generally unaccompanied with the
effusion of blood, and are confined to pillage
alone. This people, notwithstanding their pro-
pensity to violence, rarely employ arms in their
private quarrels, but decide them with the fist
or with the club.

f2

6S

CHAP. III.

Military System of the Araucanians ; their
Arms and Mode of making War,

The military government of the Araucanians is
not only more rational and better systematized
than the civil, but in some respects appears to be
superior to the genius of an uncultivated nation.
Whenever the grand council determines to go to
war, they proceed immediately to the election of
a commander in chief, to which the Toquis have
the first claim., as being the hereditary generals
or stadtholders of the republic. If neither of
them is deemed, qualified for the command., dis-
missing all regard for rank, they entrust it to
the most deserving of tl^e Ulmenes, or even the
officers of the common class, as the talents ne-
cessary for this important station are what alone
are required. In consequence, Vilumilla, a man
of low origin, commanded the Araucanian army
with much honour in the war of 1722 ; and
Curignanca, the younger son of an Ulmen of
the province of Encol, in that which terminated
in 1773.

On accepting his appointment, the new ge-
neral assumes the title of To qui, and the stone

69

hatchet in token of supreme command, at which
time the native Toquis lay aside theirs, it not
being lawful for them to carry them during the
government of this dictator. They likewise,
sacrificing private ambition to the public good,
take the oaths of obedience and fealty to him,
together with the other Ulmenes. Even the
people, who in peace shew themselves repugnant
to all subordination, are then prompt to obey,
and submissive to the will of their military so-
vereign. He cannot, however, put any one to
death without the consent of the principal officers
of his army, but as these are of his own appoint-
ment, his orders may be considered as absolute.

From the arrival of the Spaniards in the
country to the present time, it is observable that
all the Toquis who have been appointed in time
of war were natives of the provinces of Arauco,
of Tucapel, of Encol, or of Puren. Whether
this partiality is owing to some superstitious
jiotiou, or rather to some ancient law or agree~
ment, I am unable to determine ; it appears,
however, to be repugnant to the principles of
sound policy, as it is very rare for the component
parts of a state to maintain themselves long in a
state of union, when they do not all participate
equally in the advantages of the government.
But it is a peculiarity worthy of admiration,
that this discrimination has hitherto produced no
division among them.

f3

70

One of the first measures of the national
council^ after having decided upon war, is to
dispatch certain messengers or expresses, called
guerquenis, to the confederate tribes, and even to
those Indians who live among the Spaniards, to
inform the first of the steps that have been taken,
and to request the others to make a common
cause with their countrymen. The credentials
of these envoys are some small arrows tied to-
gether with a red string, the symbol of blood.
But if hostilities are actually commenced, the
finger of a slain enemy is joined to the arrows.
This embassy, called pulcliitum, to run the arrow,
is performed with such secrecy and expedition in
the Spanish settlements, that the messengers are
rarely discovered.

The To qui directs what number of soldiers
are to be furnished by each Uthalmapu ; the
Tetrarchs in their turn regulate the contingencies
of the Apo-Ulmenes, and these last apportion
them among their respective Ulmenes. Every
Araucanian is born a soldier. All are ready to
proffer their services for war, so that there is no
difficulty in raising an army, which usually con-
sists of five or six thousand men, besides the
corps cle reserve, which are kept in readiness for
particular occasions, or to replace those killed
in battle.

The commander in chief appoints his Vice
To qui, or lieutenant-general, and the other offi-

71

cers of his staff, who in their turn nominate their
subaltern officers. By this method, harmony
and subordination are maintained between the
respective commanders. The Vice Toqui is al-
most always selected from among the Puelches,
in order to satisfy that valiant tribe, who, as I
have already observed, amount to the fourth
part of the population of the state. Nor have
the Araucanians ever had cause to repent of this
selection. During the last war, one of these
mountaineers, Leviantu, lieutenant-general of
Curignancu, harassed the Spaniards greatly,
and gave their troops constant employment.

The army is at present composed of infantry
and of horse. It originally consisted entirely
of the former, but in their first battles with the
Spaniards, perceiving the great advantage which
their enemies derived from their cavalry, they
soon began to discipline themselves in trie same
manner. Their first care was to procure a good
breed of horses, which in a short time became so
numerous, that in the year 1568, seventeen years
after their first opposing the Spanish arms, they
were able to furnish several squadrons, and in
the year 1585, the cavalry was first regularly
organized by the Toqui CaJeguala.

The infantry, which they call namuntulinco,
is divided into regiments and companies ; each
regiment consists of one thousand men, and con-
tains ten companies of one hundred. The ca-

f4

72

valry is divided in the like manner, but the
number of horse is not always the same. They
have all their particular standards, but each
bears a star, which is the national device. The
soldiers are not clothed in uniform, according
to the European custom, but all wear beneath
their usual dress cuirasses of leather, hardened
by a peculiar mode of dressing ; their shields
and helmets are also made of the same material.
The cavalry is armed with swords and lances ;
the infantry with pikes or clubs pointed with
iron. They formerly employed bows and slings,
in the use of which they were very dexterous,
but since the arrival of the Spaniards, they have
almost entirely relinquished them, experience
having taught them to avoid the destructive
effect of their musketry, by immediately closing
in and fighting hand to hand with the enemy.

The art of making gun-powder is as yet un-
known to these warlike people. Either they
regard it but little, or, what is more probable,
those Spaniards with whom they have sometimes
traded, would not, if they were themselves ac-
quainted with it, communicate to them the com-
position. It is, however, believed that they made
use' at first of the greatest exertions to obtain
the knowledge of this secret so important in the
present system of warfare. The discovery of
powder is well ascertained to have been owing
more to accident than to the erForts of human in-

73

genuity, although some pretend that it was
known in China long before the period that it
was discovered in Europe. The inhabitants of
the country relate the following anecdote re-
specting gun-powder, which, however fabulous
and absurd it may appear, is generally credited.
The Araucanians on first seei ;g negroes with the
Spaniards, imagined that they prepared from
them the powder which they used. Soon after,
having taken one of those unfortunate men, they
first covered him with stripes from head to foot,
and afterwards burned him to a coal, in order,
by reducing it to powder, to obtain the so much
wished-for secret, but were soon convinced of
the fallacy of their chymical principles. In their
various encounters with the Spaniards, they oc-
casionally took from them powder and muskets,
which in the subsequent battles they employed
with as much skill as if they had been for along
time accustomed to them, but as soon as the
powder was expended, they resumed their former
arms.

The Dutch, when they took the city of Val-
divia, attempted to form an alliance with them,
and promised to supply them with powder and
cannon, but, as they distrusted all the Europeans,
they would not listen to their proposal.

Before setting out on his expedition, the ge-
neral assigns three days for consultation, in order
to consider anew the plans of the campaign, and to

vt

adopt the best expedients. TJpon this occasion,
every one has the liberty of offering his opinion,
if he deems it cond jcive to the public welfare.
In the meantime the general consults in secret
with the officers of his staJ*, upon the plans that
he has formed, and the means of remedying si-
nister events.

After this, ihe armv commences its march to
the sound of drums, being always preceded by
several advanced parties, in order to avoid a sur-
prise. The infantry, as well as cavalry, proceed
on horseback, but on coming to action they im-
mediately dismount, and form themselves into
their respective companies: Each soldier is
obliged to bring from home not only his arms but
his supply of provisions, according to the custom
of the Romans. As all are liable, to military
service, so no one in particular is obliged to con-
tribute to the support of the army. The pro-
vision consists in a small sack of parched meal
for each, which, diluted with water, furnishes
sufficient food for them until they are enabled to
live at free quarters upon the enemy. By adopt-
ing this mode, the troops, being free and unin-
cumbered with baggage, move with greater ce-
lerity, and never lose an opportunity of attacking
the enemy with advantage, or of making, when
necessary, a rapid retreat. Frederick the Great,
of Prussia, and the celebrated Marshal Saxe,
attempted to restore this ancient method of pro-

75

visioning armies ; but the European soldiery, ac-
customed to a different mode of living, were not
willing to return to that state of primitive sim-
plicity.

The Araucanian troops are extremely vigilant;
they adopt at night the most prudent measures,
by encamping in secure and advantageous po-
sitions. On these occasions sentinels are placed
upon all sides, and in presence of the enemy they
redouble their precautions, and strengthen the
posts they occupy with strong entrenchments.
Every soldier during night is obliged, in order
to prove his vigilance, to keep up a fire before
his tent : the great number of these fires serve to
deceive the enemy, and have at a distance a very
singular appearance.

They are besides well acquainted with the art
of constructing military works, and of protecting
themselves with deep ditches, which they guard
with branches of thorn, and strew caltrops in the
environs to repress the incursions of the enemy's
horse. In short, there are few military strata-
gems that they do not employ at a proper time
and place. The celebrated Spanish poet, who
fought against them under Don Garcia, ex-
presses his admiration at meeting with troops so
well disciplined, and possessing such perfection
in tactics, which, to use his expressions, the most
celebrated nations in the world have not been

7<5

able to attain without great trouble, and after a
long course of years.

When an action becomes necessary, they sepa-
rate the cavalry into two wings, and place the
infantry in the centre, divided into several bat-
talions, the files being composed alternately of
pikemen and soldiers armed with clubs, in such
a manner that between every pike a club is al-
ways to be found. The Vice Toqui has the
command of the right wing, and that of the left
is committed to an experienced officer. The
Toqui is present every where as occasion may
require, and exhorts his men withr much elo-
quence to fight valiantly for their liberties. - But
of this there appears little need, as the soldiers
manifest such ardour, that their officers have
much more difficulty in restraining their im-
petuosity than in exciting them to action. Fully
impressed with the opinion, that to die in battle
is the greatest honour that a man can acquire in
this life, on the signal for cOmhat being given,
they advance desperately, shouting in a terrific
manner, and notwithstanding the slaughter made
among them by the cannon, endeavour to pene-
trate the centre of the enemy. Though they
know full well that the first ranks will be ex-
posed to almost certain destruction, they eagerly
contend with each other for these posts of ho-
nour, or to serve as leaders of the files. As soon

3

77

as the first line is cut down, the second occupies
its place, and then the third, until they finally
succeed in breaking the front ranks of the enemy.
In the midst of their fury they nevertheless pre-
serve the strictest order, and perform all the
evolutions directed by their officers. The most
terrible of them are the club-bearers, who, like
so many Herculeses, destroy with their iron-
pointed maces all they meet in their way.*

* The people of Chili, the bravest and most active among
the Americans, ought to be excepted from this observation ;
they attack their enemies in the open field ; their troops are
disposed in regular order, and their battalions advance to
action not only -with courage but with discipline. The North
Americans, although many of theih have substituted the fire-
arms of Europe in place of their bows and arrows, are not-
withstanding still attached to their ancient manner of making
war, and carry it on according to their own system ; but die
Chilians resemble the warlike nations of Europe and Asia in
their military operations.— Rolertsori's History of America*
vol. ii.

78

CHAP. IV.

Division of the Spoil ; Sacrifice after the War ;
Congress of Peace,

The spoils of war are divided among* those who
have had the good fortune to take .them. But
when the capture has been general, they are dis-
tributed among the whole in equal parts, called
reg, so that no preference is shown to any of the
officers, nor even to the Toqui. The prisoners,
according to the custom of all barbarous nations,
are made slaves until they are exchanged or ran-
somed.

According to the admapu, one of these unfor-
tunate men must be sacrificed to the manes of
the soldiers killed in the war. This cruel law,
traces of which are to be found in the annals of
almost all nations, is nevertheless very rarely put
in practice, but one or two instances having oc-
curred in the space of nearly two hundred years.
The Araucanians are sensible to the dictates of
compassion, although the contrary is alleged by
certain writers, who having assumed as an incon-
trovertible principle that they never give quarter
to their enemies, afterwards contradict them-
selves in mentioning the great number of Spanish
2

79

prisoners who have either been exchanged or
ransomed after the war. The sacrifice above-
mentioned, called pruloncon, or the dance of the
dead, is performed in the following manner :

The officers, surrounded by the soldiers, form
a circle, in the centre of which, in the midst of
four poniards, representing the four Uthalmapus,
is placed the official axe of the Toqui. The
unfortunate prisoner, as a mark of ignominy, is
then led in upon a horse deprived of his ears and
tail, and placed near the axe, with his face turned
towards his country. They afterwards give him
a handful of small sticks and a sharp stake, with
which they oblige him to dig a hole in the
ground, in which they order him to cast the
sticks one by one, repeating the names of the
principal warriors of his country, while at the
same time the surrounding soldiers load these
abhorred names with the bitterest execrations.
He is then ordered to cover the hole, as if to
bury therein the reputation and valour of their
enemies whom he has named. After this cere-
mony, the Toqui, or one of his bravest com-
panions, to whom he relinquishes the honour of
the execution, dashes out the brains of the pri-
soner with a club. The heart is immediately
taken out by two attendants and presented palpi-
tating to the general, who sucks a little of the
blood, and passes it to his officers, who repeat
in succession the same ceremony ; in the mean-

80

time he fumigates with tobacco-smoke from his
pipe the four cardinal points of the circle. The
soldiers strip the flesh from the bones, and make
of them flutes ; then cutting off the head, carry
it around upon a pike amidst the acclamations
of the multitude, while, stamping in measured
pace, they thunder out their dreadful war-song,
accompanied by the mournful sound of these
horrid instruments. This barbarous festival is
terminated by applying to the mangled body the
head of a sheep, which is succeeded by a scene
of riot and intoxication. If the skull should
not be broken by the blows of the club, they
make of it a cup called ralilonco, which they
use in their banquets in the manner of the ancient
Scythians and Goths.

On the termination of a war, a congress is as-
sembled, called by the Spaniards parlamento,
and the Araucanians huincacoyag. This is usually
held in a delightful plain between the rivers Bio-
bio and Duqueco, on the confines of both terri-
tories, whither the Spanish President and the
Araucanian To qui repair with the attendants
agreed upon in the preliminary articles. The
four Uthalmapus send at the same time four de-
puties, who are usually the Tetrarchs themselves,
and whose unanimous consent is requisite for
tjie establishment and ratification of peace. In
the congress that was held after the war of 1723,
were present one hundred and thirty Ulmene*

81

with their attendants,, who amounted to the
number of two thousand men, and the camps of
the negociating parties were separated by an in-
terval of two miles.

The conference is commenced with many com-
pliments upon either side, and in token of future
friendship, they bind the staves of the Ulmenes
with that of the Spanish president together, and
place them in the midst of the assembly; an
Araucanian orator then presents a branch of
cinnamon, which is with them the token of peace,
and placing his left hand upon the bundle of
staves, makes in the Chilian language a pertinent
harangue upon the causes that produced the
war, and the most eligible means of preserving
harmony between the two nations. He then
proceeds with much eloquence and energy to
point out the losses and miseries occasioned by
war, and the advantages that are derived from
peace, to which he exhorts the chiefs of either
party in a pathetic peroration. An interpreter
then explains the precise meaning of all that the
Araucanian has said. The Spanish president re-
plies in another speech adapted to the subject,
which is interpreted in the same manner. The
articles of the treaty are then agreed upon, and
are ratified by a sacrifice of several Chilihueques,
or Chilian camels, which the Araucanians immo-
late for the happy continuance of the peace.
After this the president dines at the same table
vol. lu g-

82

with the Toqui and the principal Ulmenes, to
whom he makes the customary presents in the
name of his sovereign.*

This parliament is renewed as often as a new
president is sent from Spain to Chili, and cannot
possibly be dispensed with, as in that case the
Araucaniaris, imagining themselves despised,
would, without any other cause, commence war.
For this reason, there is always a considerable
sum ready in the royal treasury for the expenses
necessary upon these occasions. On the arrival
of a new president, an envoy, called the national
commissary, is dispatched in his name to the four

* In those countries the Araucanians are the most usual,
most intrepid, and most hreconcileable enemies of Spain. They
are the only people of the New World who have ventured to
fight with the Europeans in the open field, and who employ
the sling in order to hurl death at a distance upon their ene-
mies. They have even the intrepidity to attack the best for-
tified posts. As these Americans are not embarrassed in
.making war, they are not apprehensive of its duration, and
bold it as a principle never to sue for peace, the first overtures
for which are always made by the Spaniards. When these are
favourably received, a conference is held. The governor of
Chili and the Indian general, accompanied by the most distin-
guished officers of either party, regulate amidst the festivity
of the table the terms of the agreement. The frontier was
formerly the theatre of these assemblies; but the two last
were held in the capital of the colony. The savages have
eveu consented to al'.ow the residence of deputies among
them, entrusted with the charge of maintaining harmony be-
tween the two nations.— Raynal's History of the Indies.
4

S3

TJthalmapus, to invite the Toquis and the other
Ulmenes to meet him at the place appointed., for
the purpose of becoming acquainted with each
other, and to confirm the friendship contracted
with his predecessors. In this convention, nearly
the same ceremonies are practised as are made
use of on ratifying a treaty of peace. The Ul-
menes collect, upon this occasion in great num-
bers, not only for the purpose of becoming per-
sonally acquainted with the new governor, but
to form an opinion, from his manners and coun-
tenance, of his pacific or warlike disposition.
This meeting attracts to the place where it is
held a great number of merchants, who form
there a kind of fair, mutually advantageous to
both nations.

c?

CHAP. V.

System of Religion and Funeral Ceremonies*

The religious system of the Araucanians is sim-
ple, and well adapted to their free manner of
thinking and of living. They acknowledge a
Supreme Being, the author of all things, whom
they call * Pillan, a word derived from pulli or
pilli, the soul, and signifies the supreme essence ;
they also call him Guenu-pillan, the spirit of
heaven ; Buta-gen, the great being ; Thalcove,
the thunderer ; Vilvemvoe, the creator of all ;
Vilpepilvoe, the omnipotent ; Mollgelu, the
eternal ; Avnolu, the infinite, &c.

The universal government of Pillan is a pro-
totype of the Araucanian polity. He is the
great f Toqui of the invisible world, and as
such has his Apo-Ulmenes, and his Ulmenes, *to
whom he entrusts the administration of affairs

* Pillan is also, according to Dobrizhoffer, (T. 2. p. 101)
their word for thunder. Tupa, or Tupi, in like maimer among
all the Tupi tribes of Brazil, and also the Guaranies of Para-
guay, equally means thunder and God. — E. E.

f According to Falkner, his general name among the Mo-
luche tribes is Toquichen, Governor of the People. — E, E.

85

of less importance. These ideas are certainly
very rude, but it must be acknowledged that the
Araucanians are not the only people who have
regulated the things of heaven by those of the
earth.

In the first' class of these subaltern divinities,
is the Epunamun, or god of war ; the Meulen,
a benevolent deity, the friend of the human race;
and the Guecubu, a malignant being, the author
of all evil, who appears to be the same as the Al-
gue. From hence it appears, that the doctrine of
two adverse principles, improperly called Mani-
cheism, is very extensive, or in other words, is
found to be established among almost all the
barbarous nations of both continents. These
being, from the uncultivated state of their minds,
incapable of investigating the origin of good and
evil, and deducing inferences from effects, have
had recourse to the invention of two opposite
agents, in order to reconcile the apparent con-
tradiction in the natural and moral government
of the world.

The Guecubu* is the Mavari of the Oro-
noques, and the Aherman of the Persians. He
is, according to the general opinion of the Arau-
canians, the efficient cause of all the misfortunes
that occur. If a horse tires, it is because the

* Huecuvu, or Huecuvoe, the word is written by Falkner,
and explained to mean the Wanderer without.— E. E.

g3

86

Guecubu has rode him. If the earth trembles^
the Guecubu has given it a shock ; nor does any
one die that is not suffocated by the Guecubu. In
short, this evil being' has as great influence over
calamity as the occult qualities of the Cabalists
have upon physical effects ; and if his power
was real, be would be the most active of any
agent in this nether world.

The Ulmenes of their celestial hierarchy are
the Genii., who have the charge of created things,
and who, in concert with the benevolent Meulen,
form a counterpoise to the enormous power of
Guecubu. They are of both sexes, male and
female, who always continue pure and chaste,
propagation being unknown in their system of
the spiritual world. The males are called Gen,
that is, lords, unless this word should be the
same as the Ginnof the Arabians. The females
are called Amei-malghen, which signifies spi-
ritual nymphs,* and perform for men the offices
of Lares or familiar spirits. There is not an
Araucanian but imagines he has one of these in
^iis service. Nien cai gni Amchi-malglien, I
keep my nymph still, is a common expression
when they succeed in any undertaking.

The Araucanians carry still farther their ideas
of the analogy between the celestial government

* More properly peris or fairies, from their obvious resem-
blance to that aerial class of beings of oriental origin.

87

and their own, for as their Ulmenes have not the
right of imposing any species of service or con-
tributions upon their subjects, still less in their
opinion should those of celestial race require it
of man, since they have no occasion for it. Go-
verned by these singular opinions, they pay to
them no exterior worship. They have neither
temples nor idols, nor are they accustomed to
offer any sacrifices, except in case of some severe
calamity, or on concluding a peace ; at such times
they sacrifice animals and burn tobacco, which
they think is the incense most agreeable to their
deities. Nevertheless they invoke them and im-
plore their aid upon urgent occasions, addressing
themselves principally to Pillan and to Meulen.
To this little regard for religion is owing the in-
difference which they have manifested at the
introduction of Christianity among them, which
is tolerated in all the provinces of their domi-
nion. The missionaries are there much respect-
ed, well treated, and have full liberty of pub-
licly preaching their tenets, but, notwithstanding,
there are but few of the natives who are converted.
If the Araucanians discover little regard for
their deities,- they are, however, very superstitious
in many points of less importance. They firmly
believe in divination, and pay the greatest atten-
tion to such favourable or unfavourable omens
as the capriciousness of their imagination may
suggest to them. These idle observations ar$

g4

88

particularly directed to dreams, to the singing
and flight of birds, which are esteemed by the
whole of them the truest interpreters cf the will
of the gods. The fearless Araucanian, who
with incredible valour confronts death in battle,
trembles at the sight of an owl. Their puerile
weakness in this respect would appear incom-
patible with the strength of their intellect, if
the history of the human mind did not furnish us
with continual examples of similar contradictions.
They consult upon all occasions their diviners,
or pretenders to a knowledge of futurity, who
are sometimes called Gligua, and at others Dugol,
among whom are some that pass for Guenguena,
Genpugnu, Genpiru, &c. which signify masters of
the heavens, of epidemic diseases, and of worms
or insects, and like the Llamas of Tibet, boast
of being able to produce rain, of having the
power to cure all disorders, and to prevent the
ravages of the worms that destroy the corn.
They are in great dread of the Calcus, or pre-
tended sorcerers, who they imagine keep con-
cealed by day in caverns with their disciples,
called Ivunches, man-animals, and who at night
transform themselves into nocturnal .birds, make
incursions in the air, and shoot invisible arrows
at their enemies. Their superstitious credulity
is particularly obvious, in the serious stories
that they relate of apparitions, phantoms, and
hobgoblins, respecting which they have inntt-

89

merable tales. But in truth, is there any nation
on earth, so far removed from credulity in that
particular, as to claim a right of laughing at
the Araucaniaus ? They have, nevertheless, some
among them, who arc philosophers enough to
despise such absurdities, and laugh at the folly
of their countrymen.

They are all, however, agreed in the belief of
the immortality of the soul. This consolatory
truth is deeply rooted, and in a manner innate
with them. They hold that man is composed
of two substances essentially different : the
corruptible body, which they call anca, and
the soul, am or pulli, which they say is an-
canolu, incorporeal, and mugealu, eternal, or
existing for ever. This distinction is so fully
established among them, that they frequently
make use of the word anca metaphorically, to
denote a part, the half, or the subject of any
thing.

As respects the state of the soul after its sepa-
ration from the body, they are not, however,
agreed. All concur in saying, with the other
American tribes, that after death they go to-
wards the west beyond the sea, to a certain place
called Gulclicman, that is, the dwelling of the
men beyond the mountains. But some believe
that this country is divided into two parts, one
pleasant, and filled with every thing that is de-
lightful, the abode of the good ; and the other

3

90

desolate, and in want of every tiling, the habi-
tation of the wicked. Others are of opinion
that all indiscriminately enjoy there eternal
pleasure, pretending that the deeds of this life
have no influence upon a future state.

Notwithstanding they know the difference be-
tween the body and the soul, their ideas of the
spirituality of the latter do not seem to be very
distinct, as appears from the ceremonies prac-
tised at their funerals. As soon as one of their
nation dies, his friends and relations seat them-
selves upon the ground around the body, and
weep for a long time ; they afterwards expose it,
clothed in the best dress of the deceased, upon
a high bier, called pilhtay, where it remains
during the night, which they pass near it in
weeping, or in eating and drinking with those of
who come to console them. This meeting is
called curiccihuin, the black entertainment, as
that colour is among them, as well as the Euro-
peans, the symbol of mourning. The following
day, sometimes not until the second or the third
after the decease of the person, they carry the
corpse in procession to the eltum, or burying-
place of the famity, which is usually situated in
a wood, or on a hill. Two young men on horse-
back, riding full speed, precede the procession.
The bier is carried by the principal relations,
and is surrounded by women, who bewail the
deceased in the manner of the hired mourners

91

among the Romans : while another woman, who
walks behind, strews ashes in the road, to pre-
vent the soul from returning to its late abode.
On arriving at the place of burial, the corpse is
laid upon the surface of the ground, and sur-
rounded, if a man, with his arms, if a woman,
with female implements, and with a great quan-
tity of provisions, and with vessels filled with
cliica and with wine, which, according to their
opinions, are necessary to subsist them during
their passage to another world. They some-
times even kill a horse and inter it in the same
ground. After these ceremonies they take leave
with many tears of the deceased, wishing him a
prosperous journey, and cover the corpse with
earth and stones placed in a pyramidal form,
upon which they pour a great quantity of ckica.
The similarity between these funeral rites and
those practised by the ancients must be obvious
to those acquainted with the customs of the
latter.

Immediate^ after the relations have quitted
the deceased, an old woman, called Tempuleaguc,
comes, as the Araucanians believe, in the shape
of a whale, to transport him to the Elysian fields ;
but before his arrival there, he is obliged to pay
a toll for passing a very narrow strait to another
malicious old woman who guards it, and who,
on failure, deprives the passenger of an eye.
This fable resembles much that of the ferryman

92

Charon, not that there is any probability that
the one was copied from the other, as the human
mind, when placed in similar situations, will
give birth to the same ideas. The soul, when
separated from the l?ody, exercises in another
life the same functions that it performed in this,
with no other difference except that they are un-
accompanied with fatigue or satiety. Husbands
have there the same wives as they had on earth,
but the latter have no children, as that happy
country cannot be inhabited by any except the
spirits of the dead, and every thing there is
spiritual or analogous to it.

According to their theory, the soul, notwith-
standing its new condition of life, never loses its
original attachments, and when the spirits of
their countrymen return, as they frequently do,
they fight furiously with those of tbeir enemies,
whenever they meet with them in the air, and
these combats are the origin of tempests, thunder,
and lightning. Not a storm happens upon the
Andes or the ocean, which they do not ascribe
to a battle between the souls of their fellow-
countrymen and those of the Spaniards ; they
say that the roaring of the wind is the trampling
of their horses, the noise of the thunder that of
their drums, and the flashes of lightning the fire
of the artillery. If the storm takes its course
towards the Spanish territory, they affirm that
tbeir spirits have put to flight those of the Spa-

93

*

niards, and exclaim, triumphantly, Inavimcn,
inav1mc7i,'piten, laguvimen ! Pursue them, friends,
pursue them, kill them ! If the contrary hap-
pens, they are greatly afflicted, and call out in
consternation, Yavulumen, puen, namuntumen!
Courage friends, he firm !

Their ideas respecting the origin of creation
are so crude and ridiculous, that to relate them
could serve for little else than to show the weak-
ness of human reason when left to itself. They
have among them a tradition of a great deluge,
in which only a few persons were saved, who
took refuge upon a high mountain called Tlieg-
iheg, the thundering, or the sparkling, which
had three points, and possessed the property of
moving upon the water. From hence it is in-
ferible that this deluge was in consequence of
some volcanic eruption, accompanied by terrible
earthquakes, and is probably very different from
that of Noah. Whenever a violent earthquake
occurs, these people fly for safety to those moun-
tains which they fancy to be of a similar ap-
pearance, and which of course, as they suppose,
must possess the same property of floating on the
water, assigning as a reason, that they are fearful
after an earthquake that the sea will again re-
turn and deluge the world. On these occasions,
each one takes a good supply of provisions, and
wooden plates to protect their heads from being
scorched, provided the Thegtheg, when raised

94

raised by the waters, should be elevated to the
sun. Whenever they are told that plates made
of earth would be much more suitable for this
purpose than those of wood, which are liable
to be burned, their usual reply is, that their
ancestors did so before them.

95

CHAP. VI.

Division of Time ; Astronomical Ideas ;
Measures.

Time is divided by the Araucanians, as with us,
into years, seasons, months, days, and hours, but
in a very different method. Their year is solar,
and begins on the 22d of December, or imme-
diately after the southern solstice. For this
reason they call this solstice Thanmattiipantu,
the head and tail of the year, and denominate
June Udanthipantu, the divider of the year, from
its dividing it into two equal parts. These two
essential points they are able to ascertain with
sufficient exactness by means of the solstitial
shadows. The year is called Tipantu, the de-
parture, or course of the sun, as that planet de-
parts, or appears to depart from the tropic in
order to make its annual revolution; it is divided
into twelve months, of thirty days each, as was
that of the Egyptians and Persians. In order to
complete the tropical year they add five inter-
calary days, but in what manner they are intro-
duced I am not able to determine ; it is, how-
ever, probable they are placed in the last month,
which in that case will have thirty-five days.

96

These months are called generally cxijcn, or
moons., and must originally have been regulated
wholly by the phases of the moon. The proper
names of them, as near as they can be rendered
by ours, are the following, which are derived
from the qualities, or the most remarkable
things that are produced in each month :

Avun-cujen, January — The month of fruit.

Cogi-cujen, February— -The month of harvest.

Glor-cujen, March — The month of maize.

Rimu-cujen, April— The 1st mouth of the rimii.

Inarimu-cujen, May — The 2d month of the rim'u.

Thor-cujen, June — The 1st month of foam.

Inanthor-cujen, July — The 2d month of foam.

Huin-cujen, August — The unpleasant month.

Pillal-cujen, September — The treacherous month.

Hueul-cujen, October — The 1st month of new winds.
Jnan-hueul-cujen, November — The 2d month of new winds

Hueviru-cajen, December — The month of new fruit.

The seasons, as in Europe, consist of three
months; the spring is called Peughen,the summer
Ucan, the autumn Gualug, and the winter Pit-
cliam. To render the distribution of the year
uniform, they also divide the natural day into
twelve parts, which they call gliagantu, assign-
ing six to the day and six to the night, in the
manner of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Ota-
heitans, and several other nations. Thus each
gliagantu or Araucanian hour is equal to two of
ours. Those of the day they determine by the

97

height of the sun., and those of the night by the
position of the stars : but,, as they make use of
no instrument for this purpose, it follows that
this division, which must necessarily be unequal
according to the different seasons of the year,
will be much more so from the imperfect manner
of regulating it. They begin to number their
hours as is general in Europe, from midnight,
and give to each a particular name.* In civil
transactions, they calculate indifferently, either
by days, nights, or mornings, so that three days,
three nights, or three mornings, signify the same
thing.

To the stars in general they give the name of
hitaglen, and divide them into several constella-
tions, which they ca\l pal, or ritha. These con-
stellations usually receive their particular appel-
lations from the number of remarkable stars that
compose them. Thus the Pleiades are called
Cajupal, the constellation of six, and the An-
tarctic Cross, Meleritlio, the constellation of
four, as the first has six stars that are very ap-
parent, and the last four. The Milky Way is
called Rupuepeu, the fabulous road, from a story
which, like other nations, they relate of it, and
which is considered as fabulous by the astrono-
mers of the country.

* These names, commencing at midnight, are, Puliuen,
Ueun, Thipanantu, Maleu, Vutamaleu, Ragiantu, Culunantu,
Gullantu, Conantu, Guvquena?itu, Puni, Ragipun.
VOL. II. H

98

They arc well acquainted with the planets,
which they call Gau, a word derived from the
verb gamiy to wash, from whence it may be in
ferred, that they have respecting these bodies the
same opinion as the Romans, that at their setting
they submerge themselves in the sea. Nor are
there wanting Fontenelles among them, who
believe that many of those globes are so many
other earths, inhabited in the same manner as
ours ; for this reason they call the sky Guenu-
mapUj the country of heaven ; and the moon
Cuyen-mapu, the country of the moon. They
agree likewise with the Aristotelians, in main-
taining that the comets, called by them Cheruvoe,
proceed from terrestrial exhalations, inflamed in
the upper regions of the air ; but they are not
considered as the precursors of evil and disaster,
as they have been esteemed by almost all the
nations of the earth. An eclipse of the sun is
called by them Lay ant u, and that of the moon
Laycujen, that is, the death of the sun or of the
moon. But these expressions are merely meta-
phorical, as are the correspondent ones in Latin,
of defectus soils, aut lunce. I know not their
opinions of the cause of these phenomena ; but
I have been informed that they evince no greater
alarm upon these occasions than at the most
common operations of nature. Their language
contains several words wholly applicable to astro-
nomical subjects, such as Thoren, the late rising

%

99

i of the stars, and others similar, which prove
that their knowledge in this respect, is much
greater than what is generally supposed. But
my researches into their customs, owing to the
reasons which I have already assigned, were by
no means so complete as I could have wished
before I left the country.

Their long measures are the palm, nela, the
span, duclie, the foot, namun, the pace, thecan,
the ell, nevcu, and the league, tupu, which an-
swers to the marine league, or the parasang of
the Persians. Their greater distances are com-
puted by mornings, corresponding to the day's
journey of Europe. Their liquid and dry mea-
sures are less numerous : the guampar, a quart,
the can, a pint, and the mencu, a measure of a
less quantity, serve for the first. The dry mea-
sures are the cliiaigiie, which contains about
six pints, and the gliepu, which is double that
quantity.

With regard to the speculative sciences they
have very little information. Their geometrical
notions are, as might be expected from an uncul-
tivated people, very rude and confined. They
have not even proper words to denote the prin-
cipal figures, as the point, the line, the angle,
the triangle, the square, the circle, the sphere,
the cube, the cone, &c. Their language, how-
ever, as we shall show hereafter, is flexible and

h

9

100

adapted to every species of composition, whence
it would be easy to form a vocabulary of tech-
nical words to facilitate the acquisition of the
sciences to the Araucanians.

101

CHAP. VII.

Rhetoric; Poetry; Medical Skill; Commerce
of the Araucanians*

Notwithstanding their general ignorance,
they cultivate successfully the sciences of rheto-
ric, poetry, and medicine, as far as these are at-
tainable by practice or observation; for they
have no books among them, nor any who know
how to write or read. Nor can they be induced
to learn these arts ; either from their aversion to
every thing that is practised by the Europeans,
or from their being urged by a savage spirit to
despise whatever does not belong to their country
Oratory is particularly held in high estimation
by them, and, as among the ancient Romans, is
the high road to honour, and the management of
public affairs. The eldest son of an Ulmen
who is deficient in this talent, is for that sole
reason excluded from the right of succession,
and one of his younger brothers, or the nearest
relation that he has, who is an able speaker, sub-
stituted in his place. Their parents, therefore,
accustom them from their childhood to speak in
public, and carry them to their national assem-

h3

102 . .

blies, where the best orators of the country dis-
play, their eloquence.

From- hence is derived the attention which they
generally pay to speak their language correctly,
and to preserve it in its purity, taking great care
to avoid the introduction of any foreign word,
in which they are so particular, that whenever a
foreigner settles among them, they oblige him to
relinquish his name and take another in the
Chilian language. The missionaries themselves
are obliged to conform to this singular regula-
tion, if they would obtain the public favour.
They have much to endure from this excessive
fastidiousness, as even while they are preaching
the audience will interrupt them, and with im-
portunate rudeness correct the mistakes in lan-
guage or pronunciation that escape them. Many
of them are well acquainted with the Spanish
language, both from their frequent communica-
tion with the neighbouring Spaniards, and from
having been accustomed to speak a soft, regular,
and varied language, which readily adapts itself
to the pronunciation of the European dialects, as
has been observed by Captain Wallis respecting
the Patagonians, who are real Chilians.* They,
however, make but little use of it, none of them
ever attempting to speak in Spanish in any of

* Hawkeswortb's Voyage of Captain Wallis.

103

the assemblies or congresses that have been held
between the two nations, on which occasion they
had much rather submit to the inconvenience
of listening to a tiresome interpreter, than, by
speaking another language, to degrade their
native tongue.

The speeches of their orators resemble those
of the Asiatics, or more properly those of all
barbarous nations. The style is highly figura-
tive, allegorical, elevated, and replete with pe-
culiar phrases and expressions that are employed
only in similar compositions, from whence it is
called coyagtucan, the style of parliamentary
harangues. They abound with parables and
apologues, which sometimes furnish the whole
substance of the discourse. Their orations, not-
withstanding, contain all the essential parts re-
quired by the rules of rhetoric, which need not
excite our surprise, since the same principle of
nature that led the Greekg to reduce eloquence
to an art, has taught the use of it to these people.
They are deficient neither in a suitable exordium,
a clear narrative, a well-founded argument, or
a pathetic peroration. They commonly divide
their subject into two or three points, which they
call ihoy, and specify the number by saying epu
tlioy-gei tamen piavin, what I am going to say is
divided into two points. They employ in their
oratory several kinds of style, but the most

h 4

104

esteemed is the rachidugun, a word equivalent to
academic.

Their poets are caMel gempin, lords of speech.
This expressive name is well applied to them,
since possessing that strong enthusiasm excited by
passions undebilitated by the restraints and refine-
ments of civil life, they follow no other rules in
their compositions than the impulse of their
imaginations. Of course, their poetry generally
contains strong and lively images, bold figures,
frequent allusions and similitudes, novel and
forcible expressions, and possesses the art of
moving and interesting the heart by exciting its
sensibility. Every thing in it is metaphorical
and animated, and allegory is, if I may use the
expression, its very soul or essence. Unre-
strained enthusiasm is the prime characteristic of
all the poetry of savages ; such was that of the
Bards of the Celts, and the Scalds of the Danes ;
and the pretended editor of the poems of Ossian
has discovered an intimate acquaintance with
the poetic genius of barbarous nations.

The principal subject of the songs of the
Araucanians is the exploits of their heroes. I
would gladly have presented to my readers some
of these compositions, but the difficulty of pro-
curing them, from the distance of the country,
has not permitted me to do it. Their verses are
composed mostly in stanzas of eight or eleven

105

syllables, a measure that appears the most agree-
able to the human ear. They are blank, but
occasionally a rhyme is introduced, according to
the taste or caprice of the poet.

The Araucanians have three kinds of phy-
sicians, the Ampives, the Vileus, and the JYlachis.
The Ampives, a word equivalent to empirics, are
the best. They employ in their cures only sim-
ples, are skillful herbalists, and have some very
good ideas of the pulse and the other diagnostics.
The Vileus correspond to the methodists, or re-
gular physicians. Their principal theory is,
that all contagious disorders proceed from in-
sects, an opinion held by many physicians in
Europe. For this reason they generally give to
epidemics the name of cutampiru, that is to say,
vermiculous disorders, or diseases of worms.

The Macliis are a superstitious class, that are
to be met with among all the savage nations of
both continents. They maintain that all serious
disorders proceed from witchcraft, and pretend
to cure them by supernatural means, for which
reason they are employed in desperate cases,
when the exertions of the Ampives or of the
Vileus are ineffectual. Their mode of cure is
denominated machitun, and consists in the fol-
lowing idle ceremonies, which are always per-
formed in the night :

The room of the sick person is lighted with a
great number of torches, and in a corner of it,

106

among several branches of laurel, is placed a
large bough of cinnamon, to which is suspended
the magical drum ; near it is a sheep ready for
sacrifice. The Machi directs the women who
are present to sing with a loud voice a doleful
song, accompanied with the sound of some little
drums which they beat at the same time. In
the meantime, he fumigates three times with
tobacco-smoke, the branch of cinnamon, the
sheep, the singers, and the sick person. After
this ceremony, he kills the sheep, takes out the
heart, and after sucking the blood fixes it upon
the branch of cinnamon. He next approaches
the patient, and by certain charms pretends to
open his belly to discover the poison thatv has
been given him by the pretended sorcerer. He
then takes the magical drum, which he beats,
and sings, walking round with the women ; all
at once he falls to the ground like a maniac.,
making frightful gesticulations and horrible con-
tortions of his body, sometimes wildly opening
his eyes, then shutting them, appearing like one
possessed of an evil spirit. During this farcical
scene, the relations of the sick interrogate the
Machi upon the cause and seat of the malady.
To these questions the fanatical impostor replies
in such a manner as he believes best calculated
to promote the deception, either by naming, as
the cause of the malady, some person whom he
wishes to revenge himself of, or by expressing

107

himself doubtfully as to the success of his in-
cantations. In this manner these diabolical
mountebanks become very frequently the cause
of horrible murders, as the relations of the sick,
supposing the accusation true, put to death
without pity those accused of these practices,
and sometimes involve in their revenge the whole
family, if they are not strong enough to resist
their violence. But these malicious fornenters
of discord are careful never to accuse the prin-
cipal families. The Machis, though not in-
vested with the sacerdotal character, like the
physicians of most other savage nations, greatly
resemble in their impostures the Shamanis of
Kamschatka, the Mokises of Africa, and the
Piachis of the Oronoque, whose tricks are ac-
curately described by the Abbe Gili, in his
history of the Oronokians.

These physicians, notwithstanding the different
systems that they pursue, sometimes meet to sa-
tisfy the solicitude or the vanity of the relations
of the sick. But their consultations, which are
called Thauman, have generally the same issue
as those of the physicians of Europe. They
have, besides these two, other kinds of pro-
; fessors of medicine. The first, who may be
i styled surgeons, are skillful in replacing dislo-
cations, in repairing fractures, and in curing
wounds and ulcers. They are called Gutarve,
possess real merit, and often perform wonderful

10S

cures. But this is by no means the case with
the others,, called Cupove, from the verb cupo?i,
to anatomize ; these, infatuated with MacMism,
dissect bodies, in order to show the entrails,
which they say are infected with magic poison.
Nevertheless, by means of this practice, they
acquire ideas by no means contemptible respect-
ing the conformation of the human body, for
the different parts of which they have appro-
priate names.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Arau-
canians made use of bleeding, blistering, clysters,
emetics, cathartics, and sudorifics, all which re-
medies have their peculiar names in their lan-
guage. They let blood with the sharp point of
a flint fixed in a small stick. This instrument
they prefer to a lancet, as they think it less liable
to fail. Instead of a syringe they make use,
like the inhabitants of Kamschatka, of a blad-
der, to which they apply a pipe. Their emetics,
cathartics, and sudorifics, are almost all ob-
tained from the vegetable kingdom.

Their internal and external commerce is very
limited ; not having yet introduced among them
the use of money, every thing is conducted by
means of barter. This is regulated by a kind of
conventional tariff, according to which all com-
mercial articles are appraised under the name of
Cullen, or payment, as was the custom in the
time of Homer. Thus a horse or a bridle forms

109

one payment ; an ox two, &c. Their external
commerce is carried on with the Spaniards, with
whom they exchange ponchos and animals for
wine, or the merchandize of Europe, and their
good faith in contracts of this kind has always
been highly applauded.*

* The Spaniard who engages in this trade, applies directly
to the heads of families. When he has obtained the necessary
permission, he proceeds to all the houses, and distributes in-
discriminately his merchandize to all those who present them-
selves. When he has completed his sale, he gives notice of
his departure, and all the purchasers hasten to deliver to him,
in the first village that he arrives at, the articles agreed upon ;
and never has there been an instance of the least failure of
punctuality. — RaynaVs History.

The following is extracted from the Compendium of the
Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili, printed in
Bologna, 17?o\ " The Spaniards who live in the province of
Maule, and near the frontiers of Araucania, carry on a com-
merce with those people, which consists in supplying them
with iron ware, bits for bridles, cutlery, grain, and wine. This
trade is conducted altogether by the way of barter, as ft is not
possible to persuade the Araucanians to open the gold mines,
nor to produce any of that metal. The returns therefore are
in ponchi, or Indian cloaks, of which they receive more than
forty thousand annually, in horned cattle, horses, ostrich fea-
thers, curiously wrought baskets, and other trifles of a similar
kind. This commerce, although generally prohibited, is
carried on in the Indian country, whither the traders go with
their merchandize by bye-roads, and deposit it in the* cabins
of the natives, to whom they readily trust whatever they wish
to sell, certain of being punctually paid at the time agreed
upon, which is always the case, these Indians observing the
greatest faith in their contracts.

110

CHAP. VIII.

Pride of the Araucanians ; Kindness and Chariiy
towards each other; Mode of Salutation;
Proper Names.

Although the Araucanians have long since
emerged from a savage state, they nevertheless
preserve, in many respects, the prejudices and the
peculiar character of that early 'period. Proud
of their valour and unbounded liberty, they
believe themselves the only people in the world
that deserve the name of men. From hence it
is that, besides the appellation of auca, or free,
which they value so highly, they give them-
selves metonymically the names of che, or the
nation ; of reche, pure or undegenerated nation ;
and of huentu, men ; a word of similar signifi-
cation with the vir of the Latins, and as the
latter is the root of the word virtus, so from the
former is derived huentugen, which signifies the
same thing.

From this ridiculous pride proceeds the con-
tempt with which they regard all other nations.
To the Spaniards they gave, on their first know-
ledge of them, the nickname of cliiapi, vile
soldiers, from whence proceeded the denomination

Ill

of chiapeton, by which they are known in South
America. They afterwards called them huinca ;
this injurious appellation, which from time and
custom has lost its odiousness, comes from the
ver-h liuincun, which signifies to assassinate. It is
true that in their first battles the Spaniards gave
them too much reason for applying to them these
opprobrious epithets, which serve to the present
time to denote one of that nation. Esteeming
themselves fortunate in their barbarity, they call
tjjose Indians who live in the Spanish settlements
culme-liuinca, or wretched Spaniards. To the
other Europeans, the English, French, and
Italians, whom they readily distinguish from
each other, they give the name of maruche,
which is equivalent to the term moro, used by
the common people of Spain to denote all
strangers indiscriminately. They call each other
pcgni, that is brothers, and even apply the same
name to those born in their country of foreign
parents.

The benevolence and kindness with which
these people generally treat each other is really
surprising. For the word friend they have six
or seven very expressive terms in their language,
among others that of canay, which corresponds
to the alter ego of the Latins. The relations
that result from corresponding situations or
common concerns in life are so many ties of re-
gard, and are expressed by appropriate words

112

denoting particular friendship or good will.
Those who have the same name call each other
laca, and those who bear but a part of the name,
apellaca. These denominations incur an obliga-
tion of mutual esteem and aid. Relations by
consanguinity 3 re called in general monmague, l
and those of affinity, guillan. Their table of |
genealogy is more intricate than that of the |
Europeans, all the conceivable degrees of re- I
lationship being indicated therein by particular
names.

From the mutual affection that subsists be-
tween them, proceeds their solicitude reciprocally !
to assist each other in their necessities. Not a
beggar or an indigent person is to be found
throughout the whole Araucanian territory ;
even the most infirm and incapable of subsisting
themselves are decently clothed.

This benevolence is not, however, confined
only to their countrymen: they conduct with
the greatest hospitality towards all strangers of
whatever nation, and a traveller may live in any
part of their country without the least expense.

Their usual expression whenever they meet is
marimari, and when they quit each other ven-
tempi, or venteni. They are rather tiresome in
their compliments, which are generally too long,
as they take a pride upon such occasions, as well
as every other, in making a display of their elo-
quence. The right hand is, ameng them, as with

113

the Europeans, the most honourable station, con-
trary to the practice of the Asiatics, with whom
the left enjoys that privilege. They are na-
turally fond of honourable distinction, and there
is nothing' they can endure with less patience
than contempt or inattention. From hence, if
a Spaniard speaks to one of them with his hat
on, he immediately says to him in an indignant
tone, entugo tami curtesici, take off" your hat.
By attention and courtesy, any thing may be
obtained from them, and the favours which they
receive make an indelible impression upon their
minds, while on the contrary, ill treatment ex-
asperates them to such a degree, that they pro-
ceed to the greatest excesses to revenge them-
selves.

The names of the Araucanians are composed
of the proper name, which is generally either an
adjective or a numeral, and the family appella-
tion or surname, which is always placed after
the proper name, according to the European
custom, as cari-lemu, green bush : meli-antu,
four suns. The first denotes one of the family
of the kmus, or bushes, and the second one of
that of the antus, or suns. Nor is there scarcely
a material object which does not furnish them
with a discriminative name. From hence, we
meet among them with the families of Rivers,
Mountains, Stones, Lions, &c. These families,

VOL. II. I

114

which are called cuga, or elpa, are more or less
respected according to their rank,, or the heroes
they have given to their country. The origin
of these surnames is unknown, but is certainly
of a period much earlier than that of the Spanish
conquests.

115

CHAP. IX.

Matrimony and Domestic Employments.

Sy the admapu polygamy is allowed among the
^raucanians, whence they marry as many wives
ts they can furnish with a dower, or more pro-
>erly purchase, as to obtain them they must give
o their fathers a certain amount of property, as
las been and still is the practice in most countries
»f both continents. But in their marriages they
crupulously avoid the more immediate degrees
>f relationship. Celibacy is considered as igno-
minious. Old batchelors are called, by way of
ontempt, vucliiapra, and old maids cudepra, that
3, old, idle, good for nothing.

Their marriage ceremonies have little for-
lality, or, to speak more accurately, consist in
othing more than in carrying off the bride by
retended violence, which is considered by them,
> by the negroes of Africa, an essential pre-

quisite to the nuptials. The husbaud, in con-
ivt with the father, conceals himself with some

iends near the place where they know the bride

to pass. As soon as she arrives she is seized
id put on horseback behind the bridegroom,

twithstanding her pretended resistance and her
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116

shrieks, which are far from being serious. In
this manner she is conducted with much noise to
the house of her husband, where her relations
are assembled, and receive the presents agreed
upon, afteriiaving partaken of the nuptial enter-
tainment. Of course, the expenses of an Arau-
canian wedding are by no means inconsiderable,
from whence it happens that the rich alone can
maintain any considerable number of wives.
The poor content themselves with one or two at
most. Nor does there arise any inconvenience
from the scarcity of women, as the number of
female? is much greater than the males, which
is always the case in those countries where po-
lygamy is permitted.

The first wife, who is called unendomo, is
always respected as the real and legitimate one
by all the others, who are called inandomo, or
secondary wives. She has the management of
the domestic concerns, and regulates the interior
of the house. The husband has much to do to
maintain harmony among so many women, who
are not a little inclined to jealousy, and each
night at supper makes known his choice of her
who is to have the honour of sharing his bed,
by directing her to prepare it. The others sleep
in the same room, and no one is permitted to
approach them. Strangers, on their arrival, are
lodged in a cabin entirely separate from this
seraglio.

117

The wives have the greatest respect for their
husbands, and generally give him the title of
buta, or great. Besides female occupations,
they are obliged to employ themselves in many
that, in civilized countries, are considered as the
peculiar province of the men, according to
the established maxim of all barbarous nations,
that the weaker sex are born to labour, and the
stronger to make war and to command. Each
of them is obliged to present to her husband
daily a dish prepared by herself in her separate
kitchen or fire-place ; for this reason the houses
of the Araucauians have as many fires as there
are women inhabiting them ; whence, in inquir-
ing of any one how many wives he has, they
make use of the following phrase of being the
most polite, muri oiitlialgeimi, how many fires
do you keep. Each wife is also obliged to
furnish her husband yearly, besides his necessary
clothing, with one of those cloaks already de-
scribed, called ponchos, which form one of the
principal branches of the Araucanian commerce.

The greatest attention is paid by the women
to the cleanliness of their houses, which they
sweep, as well as their courts, several times in
the course of a day ; and whenever they make
use of any utensil they immediately wash it, for
which purpose their houses are supplied with an
abundance of running water. The same at-
tention to cleanliness is paid to their . persons ;

i3

118

they comb their heads twice a day, and once a
week wash them with a soap made from the bark
of the quillaiy* which keeps the hair very clean.
There is never to be seen on their clothes the
least spot or dirt. The men are likewise equally
as fond of cleanliness ; they never fail to comb
their heads every day, and are also accustomed
frequently to wash them.

Bathing, as among the ancients, is in common
use with these people, who think it necessary to
preserve their health and strengthen their bodies,,
and in order to have it convenient they are careful
to place their houses on the banks of rivers. In
warm weather they bathe themselves several
times a day, and it is rare even in winter that
they do not bathe themselves at least once a day ;
by means of this continued exercise they become
excellent swimmers, and give wonderful proofs
of dexterity in this art. They will swim for a
great distance under water, and in this manner
cross their largest rivers, which renders them
some of the best divers in the world.

The women are also fond of frequent bathing,
and for this purpose, select the most. obscure
solitary places, at a great distance from the men.
Even on the very day of the birth of a child,
they take the infant to the river and wash it, and

* Quillaia Saponctria ; it is also much used by the Spaniards,,
especially those who live iu the country.

119

also themselves, and within a short time return
to their customary occupations., without expe-
riencing any inconvenience ; so true it is, that
the human constitution is not naturally delicate,
but is rendered so by our customs and modes of
living. Child-birth is with them attended with
little pain, which must be attributed to the
strength of their constitutions ; for a similar
reason the women of the lower classes in Europe,
according to the statement of Doctor Bland, in
the Philosophical Transactions, experience a
more easy delivery than the ladies, and are less
subject to sickness in consequence.

Whether directed merely by the impulse of
simple nature, or actuated by their solicitude to
furnish strong men to the state, they rear their
children in a very different manner from what is
practised in civilized countries* When they
have wasned them in running water, as I have
already observed, they neither swathe nor bandage
them, but place them in a hanging cradle, called
chigua, lined with soft skins, where they merely
cover them with a cloth, and swing them from
time to time by meaus of a cord attached to the
cradle, which leaves them more at liberty to
attend to their domestic concerns.

When their children begin to walk, which is
very soon, they neither put them into stays nor
any other confined dress, but keep them loosely
clad, and let them go any where and eat what

i4

120

they please. Formed thus, as it were,, by them-
selves, they become well shaped and robust, and
less subject to those infirmities that are the con-
sequence of a tender and a delicate education.
Indeed, the maladies that prevail among the
Araucanians are but few, and are for the most
part reducible to inflammatory fevers, originating
either from intemperance in drinking, or to the
. excessive exercise which they sometimes use.

If the physical education of the Araucanian
children is in a certain degree laudable, the
moral education which they receive will not cer-
tainly meet with our entire approbation. It is,
nevertheless, conformable to the ideas of that
high-minded people, respecting the innate liberty
of man, and such as may be expected from an
uncivilized nation. Their fathers are satisfied
with instructing them in the use of arms, and
the management of horses, and in learning them
to speak their native language with elegance.
In other respects they leave them at liberty to do
whatever they please, and praise them whenever
they see them insolent, saying tliat in this manner
they learn to become men. It is very unusual
for them to chastise or correct them, as they hold
it as an established truth, that chastisement ren-
ders men base and cowardly.

121

CHAP. X.

Food ; Music and other Diversions.

The usual diet of the Araucanians is very sim-
ple ; their principal subsistence is several kinds
of grain and pulse, which they prepare in a
variety of different modes. They are particu-
larly fond of maize or Indian corn, and potatoes;
of the last they have cultivated more than thirty
different kinds from time immemorial, esteeming
them a very healthy nutriment, which the ex-
perience of ages has sufficiently demonstrated.
Although they have large and small animals and
birds in plenty, yet they eat but little flesh, and
that is simply boiled or roasted. They have the
same abstemiousness in the use of pork, from
which they know very well how to prepare
black puddings and sausages. Their seas and
rivers abound with excellent fish, but they do
not much esteem this kind of aliment. Instead
of bread, which they are not accustomed to eat
except at their entertainments, they make use of
small cakes or roasted potatoes with a little salt.
Their usual drinks consist of various kinds of
beer and of cider, made from Indian corn, from
apples and other fruits of the country. They

are nevertheless extremely fond of wine, which
they purchase from the Spaniards, but hitherto,
either for political reasons, or more probably
from carelessness, they have paid no attention
to the raising of vines, which, as has been
proved by experiment, produce very well in all
their provinces.

The master of the house eats at the same table
with the rest of his family. The plates are
earthen, and the spoons and cups are made of
horn or wood. The Ulmenes have in general
wrought plate for the service of their tables,
but they only make use of it when they entertain
some stranger of rank ; upon such occasions
they ostentatiously display it, being naturally
fond of show, and of being considered rich.
Their seasonings are made of Guinea pepper, of
modi, and salt. In summer they are fond' of
dining in the shade of trees, which for this pur-
pose are always planted around their houses.
They do not use the flint for the purpose of ob-
taining fire, but employ, like the Kamtschat-
dales, two pieces of dry wood, one of which
they place upon another, and turn it in their
hands until it takes fire, which is very soon.
Besides dinner, supper, and breakfast, they have
every day without fail their luncheon, which
consists of a little flour of parched corn, steeped
in hot water in the morning, and in cold in the
evening.

123

But they often deviate from this simple mode
of living at the public entertainments, which
they give each other on occasion of funerals,
marriages, or any other important event. At
such times no expense is spared, and they are
profuse of every thing that can promote festivity.
In one of these banquets, at which it is common
for three hundred persons to be present, more
meat, grain, and liquor, is consumed, than would
be sufficient to support a whole family for two
years. It is usual for one of these feasts to con-
tinue two or three days ; they are called cahuin,
or circles, from the company seating themselves
in a circle around a large branch of cinnamon.

Such entertainments are made gratuitously,
and any person whatever is permitted to partici-
pate in them without the least expense or requi-
sition. But this is not the case with the mm
gacos, or those dinners which they are accus-
tomed to make on occasion of cultivating their
land, threshing their grain, building a house, or
any other work which requires the combined aid
of several. At such times all those who wish
to partake in the feast must labour until the
work is completed. But as these people have
abundant leisure, the labourers convene in such
numbers, that in a very few hours the work is
finished, and the rest of the day is devoted to
feasting and drinking. The Spaniards who live
in the country have also adopted a similar plan,

3

124

availing themselves of the same kind of industry
to complete their rural labours.

Fermented liquors, in the opinion of the Arau-
canians, form the principal requisites of an en-
tertainment; for whenever they are not in plenty,
•whatever may be the quantity of provisions,
they manifest great dissatisfaction, exclaiming
golingdai, it. is a wretched feast, there is no
drink. These bacchanalian revels succeed each
other almost svithout interruption throughout
the jear, as every man of property is ambitious
of the honour of giving them, so that it may be
said that the Araucanians, when not engaged in
war, pass the greater part of their lives in re-
velry and amusement. Music, dancing, and
play, form their customary diversions. As to
the first, it scarcely deserves the name, not so
much from the imperfection of the instruments,
which are the same they make use of in war, but
from their manner of singing, which has some-
thing in it harsh and disagreeable to the ear,
until one has been accustomed to it for a long
time. They have several kinds of dances,
which are lively and pleasing, and possess con-
siderable variety. The women are rarely per-
mitted to dance with the men, but form their
companies apart, and dance to the sound of the
same instruments.

If what the celebrated Leibnitz asserts is true,
that men have never discovered greater talents

125

than iu the invention of the different kinds of
games, the Araucanians may justly claim the
merit of not being in this respect inferior to
other nations. Their games are very numerous,
and for the most part very ingenious ; they are
divided into the sedentary and gymnastic. It is
a curious fact, and worthy of notice, that among
the first is the game of chess, which they call
comican, and which has been known to them
from time immemorial. The game of quechu,
which they esteem highly, has a great affinity to
that of backgammon, but instead of dice they
make use of triangular pieces of bone marked
with points, which they throw with a little hoop
or circle supported by two pegs, as was, pro-
bably, thefritillus of the ancient Romans.

The youth exercise themselves frequently in
wrestling and running. They are also much
attached to playing with the ball ; it is called
by them pilma, and is made from a species of
rush. But of all their gymnastic games that
require strength, the peuco and the palican are
the best suited to their genius, as they serve as
an image of war. The first, which represents
the siege of a fortress, is conducted in the fol-
lowing manner : Twelve or more persons join
hands and form a circle, in the centre of which
stands a little boy ; their adversaries, who are
equal in number, and sometimes superior, en-
deavour by force or stratagem to break the

circle, and make themselves masters of the child,
in which the victory consists. But this attempt
is by no means so easy as it may seem. The
defenders make almost incredible efforts to keep
themselves closely united, whence the besiegers
are often compelled, by this obstinate defence, to
relinquish the attempt through weariness.

The palican, which the Spaniards call clmeca,
resembles the orpasto or spheromachia of the
Greeks, and the calcio of the Florentines. This
game has every appearance of a regular battle,
and is played with a wooden ball, called pali, on
a plain of about half a mile in length, the boun-
daries of which are marked with branches of
trees. The players, to the number of thirty,
furnished with sticks curved at the end, arrange
themselves in two files, disposed in such a manner
that each of them stands opposite to his adver-
sary ; when the judges appointed to preside at
the game give the signal, the two adversaries
who occupy the eighth station advance, and
with their sticks remove the ball from a hole in
the earth, when each endeavours to strike it to-
wards his party ; the others impel it forward or
backward, according to the favourable or un-
favourable course it is pursuing, that party ob-
taining the victory to whose limits it is driven,
From hence proceeds a severe contest between
them, so that it sometimes happens that a single
match requires more than half a day to finish

127

it. This game has its established laws, which
the judges oblige them very strictly to observe ;
notwithstanding which,, many disputes occur.
The successful players acquire great reputation,
and are invited to all the principal parties that
are made in the country. When two provinces
challenge each other, as frequently happens,
this amusement becomes a public spectacle. An
immense crowd of people collect, and bet very
largely. The peasants of the Spanish provinces
have introduced among this game, and their
families, in reference to it, are divided into two
parties called plazas aud lampas. It has become
one of their most favourite amusements, notwith-
standing the proclamations issued from time to
time by the government against all those who en-
courage or promote it.

What we have said of the Araucanians does
not altogether apply to the Puelches, or inhabit-
ants of the fourth Utlialmapu, situated in the
Andes. These, although they conform to the
general customs of the nation, always discover
a greater degree of rudeness and savageness of
manners. Their name signifies eastern-men.
They are of lofty stature, and are fond of hunt-
ing, which induces them frequently to change
their habitations, and extend their settlements
not only to the eastern skirts of the Andes, but
even to the borders of the lake Naguelguapi,

128

and to the extensive plains of Patagonia on the
shores of the North Sea. The Araucanians hold
these mountaineers in high estimation for the im-
portant services which they occasionally render
them, and for the fidelity which they have ever
observed in their alliance with them.

THE

CIVIL HISTORY

OF

CHILI.

BOOK III.

CHAPTER I.

The Araucanians attack the Spaniards under the
conduct of Aillavaln, and afterwards that of
Lincoyan; Valdivia makes incur sions into their
territory, and founds therein the cities of Im-
perial, Villarica, Valdivia, and Angol, with
several other places.

jlHE Araucanians having resolved, as was
mentioned in the first book, to send succours to
the inhabitants of Penco, who were invaded by
the Spaniards, gave orders to the Toqui Aillavalu
to march immediately to their assistance at the
head of 4000 men. In the year 1550, that
general passed the great mer Bio-bio, which
separates the Araucanian territory from that of
the Pencones, and boldly offered battle to these
vol, II. . K

130

new enemies,, who had advanced to meet him to
the shores of the Andalien.

After the first discharge of musketry., which
the Araucanians sustained without being terrified
or disconcerted, thus early manifesting how little
they would regard it when rendered familiar by
habit, Aillavalu, with a rapid movement, fell at
once upon the front and flanks of the Spanish
army. They on their part forming themselves
into a square, supported by their cavalry, re-
ceived the furious attacks of the enemy with
their accustomed valour, killing a great number
of them, but losing at the same time many of
their own men. The battle remained undecided
for several hours. The Spaniards were thrown
into some disorder, and their general was ex-
posed to imminent danger, having had his horse
killed under him, when Aillavalu, hurried for-
wards by a rash courage, received a mortal
wound. The Araucanians, having lost their
general, with many of their most valiant officers,
then retired, but in good order, leaving the field
to the Spaniards, who had no disposition to
pursue them.

Valdivia, who had been in many battles in
Europe as well as America, declared that he had
never been exposed to such imminent hazard of
his life, as in this engagement ; and, much as-
tonished at the valour and military skill of these
people, he immediately set about constructing a

N 181

strong fortification near the city, expecting
shortly to be attacked again. In tact,, no sooner
were the Araucanians informed of the death of
their general, than they sent agai'-.st him ano-
ther army still more numerous, under the com-
mand of Lincoyan. This officer, from his gi-
gantic stature, and a certain show of courage,
had acquired high reputation among his com-
panions in arms, but he was naturally timid and
irresolute, and was much better suited for a su-
baltern station than for that of commander in
chief.

The new Toqui, in the year 1551, formed his
troops into three divisions, and marched to attack
the Spaniards. Such was the terror inspired by
the approach of the Araucanians, that the Spa-
niards, after confessing themselves, and partaking
of the sacrament, took shelter under the cannon
of their fortifications. But Lincoyan finding
the first attack unsuccessful, apprehensive of
losing the army committed to his charge, ordered
a precipitate retreat, to the great surprise of
Valdivia, who, apprehensive of some stratagem,
forbad his soldiers to pursue the fugitives.
When it was discovered that the enemy had re-
treated in good earnest, they began to consider
their flight as a special mark of the favour of
heaven, and, in the fervour of their enthusiasm,
there were not wanting some who declared that
they had seen the Apostle St. James upon a white

k2

132

horse, with a flaming sword, striking terror into
their enemies.* These declarations were readily
believed, and the whole army, in consequence,
unanimously agreed to build a chapel upon the
field of battle, which a few years after was dedi-
cated to that apostle. But this miracle, which
is not entitled to greater credit from its having
been so frequently repeated, proceeded alone from
the circumspection and timidity of Lincoyan.

The Spanish general, who was now in some
measure freed from the restraint imposed upon

* This Apostle appears to have been a very convenient per-
sonage, and very ready with his aid1 upon all such occasions to
the Spaniards of that period. Bernal Diaz, in his true history
of the conquest of Mexico, in giving an account of a similar
story, thus expresses himself with his peculiar naivete. " In
his account of this action Gomara says, that previous to the
arrival of the main body of the cavalry under Cortes, Fran-
cisco de Morla appeared in the field upon a grey dappled
horse, and that it was one of the holy apostles,. St. Peter or
St. Jago, disguised under his person. I say, that all Our
works and victories are guided by the hand of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and that in this battle there were so many enemies to
every one of us, that they could have buried us under the dust
they could have held in their hands, but that the great mercy
of God aided us throughout. What Gomara asserts might be
the case, and 1, sinner as I am, was not worthy to be permitted
to see it. What I did see was Francisco de Morla riding in
company with Cortes and the rest upon a chesnut horse, and
that circumstance, and all the others of that lay, appear to me,
at this-tiioment that I am writing, as if actually passing in the
view of these sinful eve? "

133

him by the Araucanians, applied himself with
great diligence to building the new city. Al-
though he had fixed upon St. Jago for the capital
of the colony, he nevertheless discovered a strong
predilection for this maritime settlement, con-
sidering it as the future centre of the communi-
cation with Peru and Spain. Here he likewise
intended to establish his family, selecting for his
habitation a pleasant situation, and in the division
of lands reserving for himself the fertile penin-
sula lying between the mouths of the rivers Bio-
bio and Andalien, and, as he fully expected in a
short time to be able to subjugate the Arauca-
nians, he had also resolved to ask of the court
of Spain, in reward for his services, the two ad-
jacent provinces of Arauco and Tucapel, with
the title of Marquis.

The building of the city having progressed
rapidly under his inspection in a short time, he
employed the remainder of the year in regulating
its internal police. For this purpose he pub-
lished forty-two articles or statutes, among which
are some that discover much prudence and hu-
manity respecting the treatment of the natives,
whom he left, however, as elsewhere, subject to
the private control of the citizens. Believing
that the courage of the Araucanians was now
completely subdued, as, since their second un-
successful expedition, they had made no attempt
to molest him, he resolved to attack them in their

k3

134

own territory, with a reinforcement that he had
just received from Peru.

With this intention, in the year 1552, he passed
the Bio-bio, and proceeding- rapidly through the
provinces of Encol and Puren, unobstructed by
the tardy operations of Lincoyan, came to the
shores of the Cauten, which divides the Arau-
canian territory ^into two nearly equal parts. At
the confluence of this river a.d that of Damas,
he founded another city, to which he gave the
name of Imperial, in honour of the Emperor
Charles the Fifth ; or, as is said by some, in
consequence of finding there eagles with two
heads cut in wood, placed upon the tops of the
houses. This city was situated in a beautiful
spot, abounding with every convenience of life,
and during the short period of its existence be-
came the most flourishing of any in Chili. Its
position on the shore of a large river of sufficient
depth for vessels to lie close to the walls, ren-
dered it a highly advantageous situation "for
commerce, and would enable it to obtain imme-
diate succour in case of siege. Modern geo-
graphers speak of it as a city not only existing
at the present time, but as very strongly for-
tified, and the seat of a bishopric, when it has
been buried in ruins for more than two hundred
years.

Valdivia, intoxicated with this unexpected
prosperity, displayed all that liberality which

135

frequently marks the conduct of those who find
themselves in a situation to give away what costs
them nothing. Exulting with his officers in the
supposed reduction of the most valiant nation of
Chili, he assigned to them, conditionally, the ex-
tensive districts of the surrounding country.
To Francis Villagran, ,his Lieutenant-General,
he gave the warlike province of Maquegua,
called by the Araucanians the key of their coun-
try, with thirty thousand inhabitants.* The
other officers obtained from eight to twelve
thousand natives, f with lands in proportion, ac-
cording to the degree of favour in which they
stood with the general. He also dispatched Al-
derete, with sixty men, to form a settlement on

* After the death of Villagran, the province of Maquegua was
partitioned anew among the conquerors, the principal part of it
being assigned to Juan de Ocampo, and the other to Andreas
Matencio ; but, in consequence of its recapture by the Indians,
they reaped very little if any advantage from these coimnand-
eries. Ocampo afterwards obtained, as a reward for his dis-
tinguished services, the Corregidorate of the city of Serena,
and that of Mendoza and St. Juan, in the province of Cujo ;
in this last province was likewise granted him a commandery
of Indians, which he afterwards ceded to the crown. He was
from Salamanca, of a very illustrious family, a relation to the
first bishop of Imperial, and one of the bravest officers that
went from Peru to Chili.

f Among those most in favour with Valdivia, was Pedro
Aguilera, who received the gift of a commandery, containing
from ten to twelve thousand Indians.

k4

136

the shore of the great lake Lauquen, to which he
gave the name of Villarica, from the great
quantity of gold that he found in its environs.

In the meantime, having received fresh rein-
forcements, he commenced his march towards the
south, still kept in view by Lincoyan, who sought
a favourable opportunity of attacking hira, which
his timid caution constantly prevented him from
finding. In this manner the Spanish commander
traversed with little loss the whole of Araucania
from north to south, but on his arrival at the
river Caliacatta, which separates the Araucanians
from the Cunclus, he found the latter in arms,
determined to oppose his passage. While he
was deliberating what measures to pursue, a
woman of the country, called Recloma, either
from interested motives or a real desire to pre-
vent the.effusion of blood, came to him and pro-
mised to persuade her countrymen to withdraw.
In consequence, having passed the river, she ad-
dressed the Cunchese general with such elo-
quence in favour of the strangers, that, without
foreseeing the consequences, he permitted them
to pass unmolested. The Cunches are one of the
most valiant nations of Chili. They inhabit that
tract of country which lies upon the sea, be-
tween the river Calacalla, at present called Val-
divia, and the Archipelago of Chiloe. They are
the allies of the Araucanians, and mortal enemies
to the Spaniards, and are divided into several

137

tribes, which, like those in the other parts of
Chili, are governed by their respective Ulmeres.

The Spanish commander, having passed the
river with his troops, founded upon the southern
shore the sixth- city, which he called Yal-
divia, being the first of the American con-
querors who sought in this manner to perpetuate
his family name. This settlement, of which at
present only the fortress remains, in a few years
attained a considerable degree of prosperity, not
only from the superior fineness of the gold dug
in its mines, which has obtained it the privilege
of a mint, but from the excellence of its harbour,
one of the most secure and pleasant in the South
Sea. The river is very broad, and so deep that
ships of the line may anchor within a few feet of
the shore ; it also forms several other harbours
in the vicinity.

Valdivia, satisfied with the conquests or rather
incursions lhat he had made, turned back, and in
repassing the provinces of Puren, Tucapel, and
Arauco, built in each of them, in J 553, a fortress,
to secure the possession of the others, as he well
knew that from these provinces alone he had to
apprehend any attempt that might prove fatal to
his settlements. Ercilla says that, in this expe-
dition, the Spaniards had to sustain many battles
with the natives, which is highly probable, as
the continuance of Lincoyan in the command
can upon no other principle be, accounted for.

138

But these actions, ill-conducted through the
cowardly caution of the general, were very far
frcm checking the torrent that inundated the
provinces.

Without reflecting upon the imprudence of
occupying so large an extent of country with so
small a force, Valdivia had the farther rashness
on his return to Santiago to dispatch Francis de
Aguirre, with two hundred men, to conquer the
provinces of Cujo and Tucuman, situated to the
east of the Andes. It is true that about this
time he received by sea from Peru a considerable
body of recruits, and 350 unmounted horses,
but this reinforcement was little, compared to
the vast number of people necessary to retain in
subjection.

Nevertheless, indefatigable in the execution of
his extensive plans, which bore a flattering ap-
pearance of success, the Spanish general returned
to Araucania, and in the province of Encol
founded the seventh and last city, in a country
fertile in vines, and gave it the name of the City
of the Frontiers. This name, from events which
could not possibly have been in the calculation
of Valdivia, has become strictly applicable to its
present state, as its ruins are in reality situated
upon the confines of the Spanish settlement in
that part of Chili. It was a rich and com-
mercial city, and its wines were transported to
Buenos Ayres by a road over the Cordilleras.

139

The Encyclopedia contains a description of this
place under the name of Angola which it was
afterwards called by the Spaniards, and speaks
of it as at present existing.

After having made suitable provisions for this
colony, Valdivia returned to his favourite city of
Conception, where he instituted the three prin-
cipal military offices, that of quarter-master-
general, of serjeant-major, and of commissary, a
regulation that has ever since prevailed in the
royal army of Chili.* He then sent Alderete to
Spain with a particular account of his conquests,
and a large sum of money, and commissioned
him to use his utmost exertions to obtain for him
the perpetual government of the conquered coun-
try, with the title of Marquis of Arauco. At
the same time he dispatched Francis Ulloa with
a ship to examine the Straits of Magellan, by
which he hoped to open a direct communication
with Europe, without depending upon Peru.

* But two of these offices at present exist ; that of the
quarter-master-general, who is also called the Intendant, and
resides in the city of Conception; and that of the serjeant-
major — the latter has been since divided into two, one for the
cavalry, the other for the infantry. That of commissary is
only known in the city militia.

140

CHAP. II.

Caupolican appointed To qui ; He attack? the
Forts of Arauco and of 'Tucapel; The Spanish
Army entirely defeated, and Valdivia slain.

Whilst Valdivia was engrossed in the contem-
plation of his extensive plans, without suspecting;
the cruel reverse that fortune was preparing for
him, an old Ulmen of the province of Arauco,
called Colocolo, animated with the love of his
country, quitted the retirement to which he had
long before betaken himself, and with indefati-
gable zeal traversed the Araucanian provinces,
exciting anew the courage of his countrymen,
rendered torpid by their disasters, and soliciting
them to make choice of a general capable of dis-
lodging the Spaniards from the posts they had
occupied in consequence of the improper con-
duct of Lincoyan. This chief had acquired
throughout the country the reputation of wis-
dom, and was well versed in the knowledge of
government ; his great age and experience had
procured him the esteem of the whole nation,
and they had always recourse to him on occa-
sions of the greatest importance.

The Ulmenes, who were alreadv of the same

141

opinion, immediately assembled, according to
their custom, in a meadow, and, after the usual
feast, began to consult upon the election. Many
aspired to the glory of being the avengers of
their oppressed country, among whom Andali-
can, Elicura, Ongolmo, Renco, and Tucapel,
were particularly distinguished. The latter, who
by his martial prowess had given his name to
the province of which he was Apo-Ulmen, pos-
sessed a powerful party, but the more prudent
electors were opposed to his appointment, as he
was of an impetuous character, and they dreaded
his hastening; the ruin of the state. Dissentions
ran so high, that the opposite parties were
on the point of having recourse to arms, when
the venerable Colocolo arose, and, by a well-
timed and energetic address, so far pacified their
irritated minds, that all, with one accord, sub-
mitted to his choice the appointment of a com-
mander. The wise old man, on whom every
eye was fixed, named, without hesitation, Cau-
polican, the Ulmen of Pilmayquen, a district of
Tucapel, who, with that modesty that marks a
great character, had not ottered himself as one of
the candidates.

All the nation applauded the choice of Colo-
colo, as the person appointed was a serious,
patient, sagacious, and valiant man, possessing,
in short, all the qualities of a great general.
His lofty stature, uncommon bodily strength, and

142

the majesty of his countenance, although de-
ficient in an eye, gave an additional lustre to the
inestimable endowments of his mind. Having
assumed the axe, the badge of his authority, he
immediately appointed the officers who were to
command under him, among whom were all his
competitors, and even Lincoyan himself; but the
office of Vice Toqui he reserved for Mariantu,
in whom he had the utmost confidence. The
violent Tucapel, who aspired to the chief com-
mand, did not disdain to serve under his vassal,
manifesting by this, that the sole motive of his
ambition was his wish to serve his country.

The Araucanians, who considered themselves
invincible under their new Toqui, were desirous
of going immediately from the place of meeting
to attack the Spaniards ; but Caupolican, who
was no less politic than valiant, repressed this
ardour with prudent arguments, advising them
to provide themselves with good arms, in order
to be in readiness at the first orders. He then
reviewed his army, and resolved to commence
his operations by a stratagem, which on the day
of his expedition was suggested to him by acci-
dent: Having that morning taken a party of
eighty Indians, auxiliaries of the Spaniards, who
were conducting forage to the neighbouring post
of Arauco, he substituted in their place an equal
number of his bravest soldiers, under the com-
mand of Cajuguenu and Alcatipay, whom he di-

3

143

rected to keep their arms concealed among the
bundles of grass, and to maintain possession of
the gate of the fortress until he could come to
their assistance with his army.

The pretended foragers performed their parts
so well, that without the least suspicion they
were admitted into the fortress. Immediately
they seized their arms, attacked the guard, and
began to kill all that came in their way. The
remainder of the garrison, under the command of
Francis Reynoso, hastened, well armed, to the
scene of tumult, opposed them vigorously, and
after an obstinate contest, drove them from the
gate at the very moment of the arrival of the
Araucanian army ; so that they had but just
time to raise the draw-bridge and hasten to the
defence of the walls. Although Caupolican was
disappointed in, his expectations, he hoped, how-
ever, to derive some advantage from the con-
fusion of the enemy, and, encouraging his soldiers,
assailed the fortress upon every side, notwith-
standing the continual fire of the besieged from
two cannon and six field pieces. But perceiving
that he lost a great number of men, he resolved
to turn the assault into a blockade, expecting to
reduce the place by famine.

After various unsuccessful sallies, in which they
lost many of their companions, the Spaniards re-
solved to abandon the fort, and retire to that of
Puren. This measure had indeed become neces-

144

sary, as their provisions began to fail, and the/
had no hope of being relieved. In pursuance of
this plan, at midnight they mounted their horses,
and suddenly opening the gate, rushed out at full
speed, and escaped through the midst of their
enemies ; the Araucauians, who supposed it to
be one of their customary sallies, taking no mea-
sures to obstruct their flight.

Caupolican having destroyed this fortress, led
his troops to attack that of Tucapel. This post
was garrisoned by forty men, under the command
of Martin Erizar. That distinguished officer
defended himself valiantly for several days, but
much weakened by the continual assaults of the
enemies, and provisions failing him, he deter-
mined to withdraw to the same fort of Puren,
whither the garrison of Arauco had retreated,
which he executed, either in consequence of a
capitulation with Caupolican, or by an artifice
similar to that which had succeeded so fortu-
nately with the commander of Arauco.

The Araucanian general having destroyed
these fortresses, which caused him the greatest
anxiety, encamped with his army on the ruins of
that of Tucapel, to wait the approach of the
Spaniards, who, as he supposed, would not be
long in coming against him. No sooner had
Valdivia, who was then in Conception, learned
the siege of Arauco, when he began his march
for that place, with all the forces that he could

145

collect in so short a time, in opposition to the
advice of his most experienced officers, who ap-
pear to have had a presentiment of what was to
happen.

The Spanish historians of that period, as they
felt a greater or less desire of diminishing the
loss of their countrymen, vary greatly in their
accounts of the number of Spanish and Indian
auxiliaries, who accompanied him in this unfor-
tunate expedition. According to some, he had
only two hundred of the first, and five thousand
of the latter. Others reduce even this to only
half the number. The same uncertainty is to be
found in their accounts of the number of the ene-
my, some making it amount to nine, and others to
more than ten thousand. If both the hostile parties
possessed historical documents, we might, from
comparing their different accounts, probably ob-
tain a tolerable accurate calculation, but the
means of information we are obliged to -have re-
course to, are all derived from the same source.
Nevertheless, on considering the important con-
sequences of this battle, we are induced to be-
lieve that the loss was much greater than is pre-
tended.

On approaching within a short distance of the
enemy's encampment, Valdivia sent Diego del
Oro forward to reconnoitre them with ten horse.
This detachment falling in with an advanced
party of the Araucanians, were all slain by them,

VOL. II. L

146

and their heads cut off and suspended to trees
upon the road. The Spanish soldiers, on ar-
riving at this spot, were filled with horror at the
sight of such an unexpected spectacle, and not-
withstanding their accustomed intrepidity, were
solicitous to return. Valdivia himself began to
regret his having disregarded the advice of his
older officers, but piqued by the haughty boasts
of the young, who, notwithstanding the mournful
evidence before them, declared that ten of them
were sufficient to put to flight the Araucanian
army, he continued his march, and on the 3d of
December, 1553, came in sight of the enemy's
camp. The ruins of Tucapel, the well-regulated
array of the hostile army, the insulting scoffs of
their enemies, who in a loud voice called them
robbers and impostors, filled the minds of the
soldiers, accustomed to command and to be
treated with respect, with mingled sentiments of
indignation and terror.

The two armies continued a long time ob-
serving each other; at length Mariantu, who
commanded the right wing of the Araucanians,
commenced the combat by moving against the
left of the Spaniards under the command of Bo-
vadilla, who marched to attack him with a de-
tachment, which was immediately surrounded,
and all of them cut in pieces. The serjeant-
major, who was dispatched by Valdivia to his
assistance with another detachment, experienced

147

a similar fate. Meanwhile Tucapel, who com-
manded the left wing of the Araucanians, began
the attack upon his side with his usual impetu-
osity. The action now became general ; the
Spaniards, furnished with superior arras, and
animated by the example of their valiant leader,
who performed the duty of a soldier as well as
that of a general, overthrew and destroyed whole
ranks of their enemies. But the Araucanians,
notwithstanding the slaughter made among them
by the cannon and musketry, continued con-
stantly to supply with fresh troops the places of
those that were slain. Three times they retired
in good order beyond the reach of the musketry,
and as often, resuming new vigour, returned to
the attack. At length, after the loss of a great
number of their men, they were thrown into dis-
order and began to give way. Caupolican, Tu-
capel, and the intrepid. Colocolo, who was pre-
sent in the action, in vain attempted to prevent
their flight and reanimate their courage. The
Spaniards shouted victory, and furiously pressed
upon the fugitives.

At this momentous crisis, a young Araucanian
of but sixteen years of age, called Lautaro,
whom Valdivia in one of his incursions had
taken prisoner, baptized, and made his page,
quitted the victorious party, began loudly to
reproach his countrymen with their cowardice,
and exhorted them to continue the contest, as the

J-2

148

Spaniards, wounded and spent with fatigue, were
no longer able to resist them. At the same tinie
grasping a lance, he turned against his late
master, crying out, " Follow me, my country-
men, victory courts us with open arms." The
Araucanians ashamed at heing surpassed by a
boy, turned with such fury upon their enemies,
that at the first shock they put them to rout,
cutting in pieces the Spaniards and their allies,
so that of the whole of this army, only two Pro-
maucians had the fortune to escape, by fleeing to
a neighbouring wood.

The Spanish general having lost all hope,
had retired in the beginning of the massacre with
his chaplain, to prepare himself for death ; but
being pursued and taken by the victors, he was
broughtbeforeCaupolican, of whom, in an humble
manner, he implored his life, soliciting the good
offices of Lautaro, and most solemnly promising,
to quit Chili with all his people.

The Araucanian general, naturally compassion-
ate, and desirous of obliging Lautaro, who joined
in soliciting him, was disposed to grant the re-
quest. But while he was deliberating, an old
Ulmen of great authority in the country, enraged
to hear them talk of sparing his life, dispatched
the unfortunate prisoner with a blow of his club ;
saying, that they must be mad to trust to the
promises of an ambitious enemy, who, as soon as
he had escaped from this danger, would make a

149

mock of them, and laugh at his oaths. Caupo-
lican was highly exasperated at this conduct*
and would have punished it with severity had not
the greater part of his officers opposed themselves
to his just resentment.

Such was the tragic fate of the conqueror,
Pedro de Valdivia, a man unquestionably pos-
sessed of a superior mind, and great political and
military talents, but who, seduced by the ro-
mantic spirit of his age, knew not how to employ
them to the best advantage. His undertakings
would have proved fortunate, had he properly es-
timated his own strength, and, without being de-
ceived by the example of the Peruvians, despised
the Chilians less. History does not impute to
him any of those cruelties with which his con-
temporaries, the other conquerors, are accused.
It is true, that in the records of the Franciscans,
.two of those monks are mentioned with applause
for having, by their humane remonstrances, dis-
suaded him from the commission of those cruelties
that were at first exercised towards the natives
of the country ; but this severity does not appear
to have been so great as to have obtained the
notice of any historian. He has been by some
accused of avarice, and they pretend that, in
punishment of this vice, the Araucanians put him
to death by pouring melted gold into his throat ;
but this is a fiction copied from a similar story
of antiquity.

150

This victory, which was gained in the evening,
was celebrated the day following with all kind
of games and diversions, in a meadow surrounded
with large trees, to which were suspended as
trophies the heads of their enemies. An immense
crowd of people from the neighbouring country
flocked thither to witness with their own eyes the
destruction of an army which they had till then
considered as invincible, and to join in the diver-
sions of the festival. The officers, in token of
victory, wore the clothes of their slain enemies,
and Caupolican himself put on the armour and
surcoat of Valdivia, which was embroidered
with gold.

151

CHAP III.

The Spaniards abandon Puren, Angol, and Yil-
larica ; Caupolican lays siege to Imperial and
Valdivia ; Lautaro defeats the Spanish army
in Mariguenu, and destroys Conception,

When the rejoicings were over, Caupolican,
taking the young Lautaro by the hand, presented
him to the national assembly, which had met to
concert measures for the further prosecution of
the war, and after having spoken highly in his
praise, attributing to him the whole success of
the preceding day, he appointed him his lieu-
tenant-general extraordinary, with the privilege of
commanding in chief another army, which he
intended to raise to protect the frontiers from the
invasion of the Spaniards. This appointment
was approved and applauded by all present, as
Lautaro, besides the inappreciable service he had
rendered his country, and the nobleness of his
origin, being one of the order of Ulmenes, was
endowed with singular beauty and affability, and
possessed talents far surpassing his years. Their
sentiments upon the operations of the next cam-
paign were various. Colocolo, with a great part
of the Ulmenes, was of opinion that in the first

l4

152

place they ought to free their country from the
foreign establishments that were still remaining.
But Tucapel, followed by the most daring of the
officers, maintained, that in the present circum-
stances they ought to attack the Spaniards im-
mediately while in a state of consternation, in
the very centre of their colonies, in the city of
Santiago itself, and pursue them if it were pos-
sible to Spain. Caupolican applauded the senti-
ments of Tucapel, but adhered to the counsel of
the elder chiefs, recommending it as the most
secure and most beneficial for the country.

Whilst they were deliberating upon these im-
portant objects, Lincoyan, who was traversing
the country with a detachment of troops, fell in
with and attacked a party of fourteen Spaniards
coming from Imperial to the assistance of Val-
divia, of whose fate they were uninformed.
These, in making head against the enemy, whom
they soon expected to put to flight, regretted
that their number was not reduced to twelve, in
order to be able to style themselves, according to
the chivalrous id^a of the age, " the twelve of
fame." But their wishes were soon more than
fulfilled, for at the first encounter but seven of
their company were left, who, taking advantage
of the swiftness of their horses, escaped, severely
wounded, to the fortress of Puren.

Having brought with them the news of the
total rout of Valdivia's army, the Spanish in-

153

habitants of the city of the Frontiers and of
Puren, thinking themselves insecure within their
walls, retired to Imperial. The same was the
case with those of Villarica, who abandoned
their houses,, and took refuge in Valdivia. Thus
had the Araucanians only these two places to at-
tack. Caupolican having determined to besiege
them, committed to Lautaro the care of defending
the northern frontier. The young Vice Toqui
fortified himself upon the lofty mountain of
Mariguenu, situated on the road which leads
to the province of Arauco, supposing, as it hap-
pened, that the Spaniards, desirous of revenging
the death of their general, would take that road
in search of Caupolican. This mountain, which
on several occasions has proved fatal to the Spa-
niards, has on its summit a large plain inter-
spersed with shady trees. Its sides are full of
clefts and precipices ; on the part towards the
west the sea beats with great violence, and at the
east it is secured by impenetrable thickets. A
winding bye-path on the north was the only road
that led to the summit of the mountain.

In the meantime,, the two Promaucians who
had alone escaped the destruction of the Spanish
army, having reached Conception, filled that
city with the utmost consternation. As soon as
the general terror had a little subsided, the ma-
gistrates proceeded to open the instructions of

154

Valdivia, which he had left with them at his de-
parture. In these he had named as his successors
in the government, in the event of his death, Al-
derete, Aguirre, and Francis Villagran. But
the first being absent in Europe, and the second
in Cujo, the supreme command devolved upon
Villagran. This general, who possessed more
prudence than Valdivia, after making the neces-
sary preparations, began his march for Arauco,
with a considerable number of Spanish and auxi-
liary forces.

He crossed the Bio-bio without opposition,
but at a little distance from thence, in a narrow
pass, he encountered a body of Araucanians, by
whom he was vigorously opposed. But after a
severe action of three hours they were defeated
and withdrew, constantly fighting towards the
summits where Lautaro, defended by a strong
palisade, awaited their approach with the residue
of his army. Three companies of the Spanish
horse were ordered to force the difficult passage
of the mountain, and having, after great labour
and fatigue, arrived within a short distance of
the summit, they were received with a shower of
stones, arrows, and .other missive weapons, which
were incessantly poured upon their heads. Vil-
lagran, in the meantime, perceiving that several
parties were detached from the camp of the
enemy, with an intention of surrounding him.

155

ordered the musketry to advance, and the fire to
commence from six field pieces, which lie had
placed in a favourable situation to annoy them.

The mountain was covered with smoke, and
resounded with the thunder of the cannon and
the whistling of bullets that fell upon every side.
But Lautaro, in the midst of this confusion,
firmly maintained his post ; and perceiving that
liis principal loss proceeded from the cannon, he
directed Leucoton, one of his bravest captains,
to go with his company and take possession of
them, commanding him at the same time, with an
authority derived more from his high reputation
than his office, not to venture to see him again
until he had executed the order. That valiant
officer, in defiance of death, rushed with such
violence upon the corps of artillery, that after a
furious and bloody contest, he carried off all the
cannon in triumph.

In the meantime Lautaro, to prevent the Spa-
niards from sending succours to their artillery,
attacked them so vigorously with all his troops,
that, driving horse and foot in confusion before
him, the Spaniards were thrown into disorder,
and unable to recover their ranks, precipitately
betook themselves to flight. Of the Europeans
and their Indian allies, three thousand were left
dead upon the field. Villagran, having fallen,
was on the point of being taken prisoner himself,
when three of his soldiers, by almost incredible

156

feats of valour, rescued him from the hands of
his enemies, and remounted him on his horse.
The remaining Spaniards, pursued by the victors,
spurred on their exhausted horses, in order to
pass the narrow defile where the battle had com-
mencecL but on their arrival they found it ob-
structed, by the order of Lautaro, with the
trunks of fallen trees. Here the engagement
was again renewed with such violence, that not
one of the miserable remains of this broken army
would have escaped, had not Villagran, by a
desperate effort, opened the pass at the most im-
minent hazard of his life. The Araucanians,
although they had lost about seven hundred
men, continued the pursuit for a long time ; but
at length becoming extremely fatigued, and not
able to keep up with the horses, they stopped
with a determination of passing the Bio-bio the
following day.

The few Spaniards who escaped the slaughter
produced, on their arrival at Conception, inde-
scribable sorrow and consternation. There was
not a family but had the loss of some relation to
deplore. The alarm was greatly heightened by
the news of the near approach of Lautaro. Vil-
lagran, who thought it impossible to defend the
city, embarked precipitately the old men, the
women and the children, on board of two ships
that were then fortunately in the harbour, with
orders to the captains to conduct part of them tt?

157

Imperial, and part to Valparaiso ; while with
the rest of the inhabitants he proceeded by land
to Santiago.

Lautaro, on entering the deserted city, found
in it a very great booty, as its commerce and
mines had rendered it very opulent, and the
citizens more attentive to save their lives than
their riches, had on their departure taken scarcely
any thing with them except a few provisions.
After having burned the houses aud razed the
citadel to its foundation, the victor returned with
his army to celebrate his triumph in Arauco.

158

CHAP. IV.

Yillagran raises the siege of Imperial and of
Valdivia ; The small-pox break out among the
Araucanians ; Conception having heen rebuilt,
Lautaro returns and destroys it ; He marches

against Santiago, and is killed.

Meanwhile the commanders of the cities o£
Imperial and Valdivia, closely besieged by Cau-
polican, demanded succours of the governor,
"who, notwithstanding his late losses, failed not
to send them, with all possible speed, a sufficient
number of troops for their defence. The Arau-
canian general, believing it difficult under such
circumstances to possess himself of those places,
raised the siege, and went to join Lautaro, to at-
tempt with their combined forces some other en-
terprise of greater importance.

Villagran, availing himself of the absence of
the enemy, ravaged all the country in the vicinity
of Imperial, burned the houses and the crops,
and transported to the city all the provisions that
were not destroyed, Such rigorous measures he
vindicated by the pretended rights of war, but
they usually produce no other effect than that of
distressing the weak and the helpless. In other

4

159

respects he was humane, and averse to violence,
and his generosity was acknowledged even by his
enemies. During his government, no one was
ill treated or put to death except in the field of
battle.

To the terrible calamities that usually follow
in the train of war, was added that of the pesti-
lence. Some of the Spanish soldiers, who were
either infected at the time, or had but recently
recovered from the small-pox, in the above in-
cursions made by Villagran, communicated for
the first time that fatal disease to the Anucanian
provinces, which made there the greater ravag-es,
as they were entirely unacquainted with it. Of
the several districts of the country there was one
whose population amounted to twelve thousand
persons, of which number not more than one
hundred escaped with life.* This pestilential

* The following anecdote will show the horror with which
the small-pox inspired the Indians : " Some time since, the
viceroy of Peru sent as a present to the governor, Juan Xara-
quemada, from Limi to Chili, several jars of powder, honey,
wine, ©lives, and different kinds of seed ; one of these being
accidentally broken in unlading, the Indians who were in the
service of the Spaniards having noticed it, imagined that it was
the purulent matter of the small-pox, which the governor had
imported in order to disseminate among their provinces, and
exterminate them by this means. They immediately gave
notice to their countrymen, who stopped all communication
and took up arms, killing forty Spaniards who were among
them in full security of peace. The governor, to revenge this

160

disorder, which from its long continuation
has been more fatal than any other to the
human race, had been a few years before intro-
duced into the northern parts of Chili, where it
has since from time to time re-appeared, attended
with great mortality to the natives. The southern
provinces have for more than a century been
exempted from its ravages, by the precautions
employed by the inhabitants, to prevent all com-
munication with the infected countries, as is the
case with the plague in Europe.

Whilst Villagran was employing all his at-
tention, in maintaining as far as possible the
Spanish power in those parts, and in opposing
those victorious enemies who were endeavouring
to annihilate it, he saw himself on the point of
being compelled to turn his arms against his own
countrymen. Francis Aguirre, who in Val-
divia's instructions had been named the second
as governor, on learning the death of that ge-
neral, quitted Cujo, where it appears he effected
nothing of importance, and with sixty men who
were left of his detachment, returned to Chili,
determined to possess himself of the government
either by favour or force. His pretensions must

outrage, entered the Araucanian territory, and thus, owing to
the suspicion of these barbarians, was a war excited, which
was continued until Don Alonzo de Rivera returned a second
time to assume the government of the kingdom."— Jeronimo
Quiroga's Memoirs of the War of Chili , chap. 74.

1<>1

infallibly have produced a civil war between
\illagran and himself, with great detriment
to the success of the Spaniards, had they not
both consented to submit their claims to the de-
cision of the Royal Audience of Lima. This
court, whose jurisdiction at that time ( 1555)
extended over the whole of South-America, did
not think proper to commit the government to
either, but in their place directed that the Cor-
regidors of the cities should have the command
each in his respective district, until farther orders.

The inhabitants, perceiving the inconveniences
that must result from this poliarchy. especially in
time of war, sent a remonstrance to the Court of
Audience, who hearkened to their reasons, and
appointed Villagran to the command, as more
experienced in the business of the kingdom than
Aguirre, but conferred on him only the title of
Corregidor, ordering him at the same time to re-
build the city of Conception. Although he was
convinced of the inutility of this measure, yet, to
evince his obedience, he proceeded thither im-
mediately with eighty-five families, whom he
established there, and defended with a strong
fortification.

The natives of the country, indignant to be
rendered again subject to a foreign yoke, had re-
course to their protectors, the Araucanians.
Caupolican, who, during this interval either
through ignorance of the proceedings of the

VOL. II. M

162

Spaniards or for some other reason of which Vf&
are not informed, had not left his encampment,
sent to their assistance two thousand men under
the command of Lautaro, who was well expe-
rienced in such expeditions. The young general,
exasperated against what he had termed obstinacy.,
passed the Bio-bio without delay, and attacked
the Spaniards, who, imprudently confiding in
their valour, awaited him in the open plain.
The first encounter decided the fate of the battle.
The citizens, struck with terror, returned to the
fort with such precipitation as not even to have
an opportunity of closing the gate. The Arau-
canians entered with them, and killed a great
number. The remainder were dispersed, part of
them embarking in a ship which was in the port,
and part taking refuge in the woods, whence by
bye-paths they returned to Santiago. Lautaro,
having plundered and burned the city as before,
returned laden with spoils to his wonted station.
The success of this enterprise excited Caupo-
lican to undertake once more the sieges of Im-
perial and Valdivia. The glorious exploits of
his Lieutenant stimulated him to attempts of
greater importance, and such as were worthy of
the supreme command. Lautaro undertook to
make a diversion of the Spanish forces, by march-
ing against Santiago, as the capture of this citjr
appeared to him an enterprise of not much diffi-
culty, notwithstanding its great distance. His

163

Continued victories had so heightened his con-
fidence, that nothing appeared to him impossible
to be overcome.

In order to carry into^effect this hazardous en-
terprise., he required but five hundred men, to be
selected bj himself; but those who pressed to
march under his standard were so numerous,
that he was compelled to receive another hun-
dred. The two generals then separated amidst
the joyful acclamations of the nation, who,
thoughtless of the reverses of fortune, flattered
themselves with the most fortunate issue to their
expeditions.

Lautaro, at the head of his six hundred com-
panions, traversed all the provinces lying between
the Bio-bio and the Maule, without doing the
least injury to the natives, who called him their
deliverer. But when he had passed this last
river, he began cruelly to lay waste the lands of
the hated Promaucians, whom, had he then
treated with kindness, he would have detached
from the Spanish interest, and united to his party.
But the intemperate desire of revenge did not
allow him to foresee the good effects that this
opportune reconciliation might produce to the
common cause.

After having taken revenge, in some measure,
upon these betrayers of the country as he called
them, he fortified himself in their territory, in an,
advantageous post, situated on the shore of the

51 2

164

Rio-claro, with the view, most probably, of
gaining- more correct information of the state of
the city he intended to attack, or to await there
the coming of his enemies, and to cut them off
from time to time. This ill-timed delay was
very important to the inhabitants of Santiago,
who, when they were first informed of his ap-
proach, could not believe it possible that he
should have the boldness to make a journey of
three hundred miles in order to attack them.
But undeceived by the refugees of Conception,
whom fatal experience had too well taught the
enterprising character of this mortal enemy of
JSpain, they thought proper to make some pre-
parations for defence. With this view they first
dispatched Juan Godinez, with twenty-five horse-
men, to the country of the Promaucians, in order
to learn if the information they had received
was true, to watch the motions and discover the
designs of the enemy, and to send back im-
mediate intelligence. He was, however, able to
execute but a part of his commission ; for, being
unexpectedly attacked by a detachment of the
Araucanians, he returned precipitately, with his
men diminished in number and filled with con-
sternation, to bring the news. The victors
took upon this occasion ten horses and some
arms, which they made use of in the succeeding
actions. The Corregidor, who was at that time
sick, gave orders to his eldest son, Pedro, to

165 x

t

march with such troops as he could raise against
lLautaro, and proceeded to fortify the city in the
best manner possible, guarding all its approaches
with strong works. Pedro in the meantime at-
tacked the Araucanians in their entrenchments,
who, instructed by their commander, after a
short resistance pretended to take flight ; but no
sooner had their enemies entered the abandoned
enclosure, than they turned and fell upon them
with such impetuosity, that they entirely routed
them, and the cavalry alone were able to save
themselves from slaughter.

Young Villagran, receiving new reinforce-
ments, returned three times to the attack of Lau-
iaro's camp, but being constantly repulsed with
loss, be encamped his army in a low meadow,
on the shore of the Mataquito. The Araucanian
general, who occupied a neighbouring mountain,
formed the plan of inundating at night the Spanish
encampment, by turning upon them a branch of
the river. But this bold design, which would
have ensured the destruction of the Spaniards,
failed of success, as Villagran, being informed
of it by a spy, retired, a short time before it
was carried into execution, with his army to
Santiago.

The elder Villagran having recovered his
health, and being strongly solicited by the citi-
zeus,who every moment expected to see the Arau-
canians at their gates, at length, in 1556, began

m 3

166

his march with 196 Spaniards and 1000 auxiU-
anes m search of Lautaro. But too well re-
membering- the defeat of Mariguenu, he re-
solved to attack him by surprise. With this
intent he quitted the great road, secretly directed
his march by the sea shore, and, under the
guidance of a spy, by a private path came at day
break upon the Araucanian encampment.

Lautaro, who at that moment had retired te
rest, after having been upon guard, as was his
custom during the night, leaped from his bed at
the first alarm of the sentinels, and ran to the
intrenchments to observe the enemy. At the
same time a dart, hurled by one of the Indian
auxiliaries, pierced his heart, and he fell lifeless
in the arms of his companions. It would seem
that fortune, hitherto propitious, was desirous
by so sudden a death to save him from the mor-
tification of finding himself for the first time in
his life defeated. It is, however, not impro-
bable that his genius, so fertile in expedients,
would have suggested to him some plan to have
baffled the attempts of the assailants, if this
fatal accident had not occurred.

Encouraged by this unexpected success, Vil-
lagran attacked the fortification on all sides, and
forced an entrance, notwithstanding the obstinate
resistance of the Araucanians, who, retiring to
an angle of the works, determined rather to be
cut to pieces ^han to surrender themselves to,

167

those who had slain their beloved general. la
vain the Spanish commander repeatedly offered
them quarter. None of them would accept it
^excepting a few of the neighbouring Indians,
who happened accidentally to be in their camp.
The Araucanians perished to the last man., and
fought with such obstinacy that they sought for
death by throwing themselves on the lances of
their enemies.

This victory, which was not obtained without
great loss by the victors, was celebrated for
three days in succession in Santiago, and in the
other Spanish settlements, with all those demon-
strations of joy customary upon occasions of
the greatest success. The Spaniards felicitated
themselves on being at last freed from an enemy,
who at the early age of nineteen had already ob-
tained so many victories over their nation, and
who possessed talents capable of entirely de-
stroying their establishments in Chili, and even
harassing them in Peru, as he had resolved upon
when he had restored the liberty of his native
country.

As soon as the terror inspired by this young
hero had ceased with his life, the sentiments of
hostility, as almost always happens, were suc-
ceeded by those of generosity. His enemies
themselves highly applauded his valour and
military talents, and compared him to the most

m 4

168

celebrated generals that have appeared in the
world. They even called him the Chilian Han-
nibal, from a fancied resemblance between his
character, and that of the famous Carthaginian
general, although, in some respects, it had a
much greater similarity to that of Scipio. To
use the words of the Abbe Olivarez — (C It is
not just to depreciate his merit whom, had he
been ours, we should have elevated to the rank
of a hero. If we celebrate with propriety the
martial prowess of the Spanish Viriatus, we
ought not to obscure that of the American Lau-
taro, when both contended with the same valour
in the cause of their country."

The Araucanians for a long time lamented
the loss of their valiant countryman, to whom
they owed all the success of their arms, and on
whose conduct and valour they entirely relied
for the recovery of their liberties. His name is
still celebrated in their heroic songs, and his
actions proposed as the most glorious model for
the imitation of their youth. But above all,
Caupolican felt this fatal loss : As he was a
sincere lover of his country, far from thinking
he was freed from a rival, he believed he had
lost his chief co-operator in the glorious work
of restoring it to freedom. As soon as he re-
ceived the mournful news, he quitted the siege
/ of Imperial, which was reduced to the last ex-

169

tremity., and returned with his army to the fron-
tiers to protect them from the incursions of the
enemy, who, he had learned from his spies, ex-
pected a large supply of men and warlike stores
from Peru, with anew commander.

1TQ

CHAP. V.

J)on Garcia de Mendoza arrives at Chili with
a reinforcement of troops; His expedition
against Caupolican.
\
Philip the Second, who had succeeded his fa-
ther, Charles the Fifth, on the throne of Spain,
having learned the death of Valdivia, gave in
charge to his agent Alderete, the government
and the conquest of Chili, furnishing him for
this purpose with six hundred regular troops.
During the passage his sister, who was accus-
tomed to read in bed, set fire by accident to the
ship in the vicinity of Porto-Bello. Of the
whole number, Alderete and three soldiers were
all that escaped, and he himself soon after, over-
come with grief and disappointment, died in
the little island of Taboga, in the gulph of
Panama.

The Marquis of Canete, viceroy of Peru,
being informed of this disaster, appointed to the
vacant office his son Don Garcia Hurtado de
Mendoza. But as this charge had now become
very dangerous, he resolved that at his departure
he should be accompanied by a body of troops
capable of supporting him, and acquiring him,

171

if possible, the glory of terminating with suc-
cess the obstinate war with the Araucanians.
With this view he caused a great number of
recruits to be raised throughout his extensive
viceroyalty. The civil dissentions being at an
end, Peru at that time abounded with military
adventurers who were desirous of employment.
Of course he was in a short time joined by a
large number of soldiers, part of whom, from a
warlike spirit, and others from a desire to obtain
favour with the viceroy, offered to fight under
the banners of his son.

The infantry, well equipped and appointed
with a great quantity of military stores, em-
barked on board of ten ships under the command
of Don Garcia in person, and the cavalry pur-
sued their way by land under the orders of the
quarter-master-general, Garcia Ramon. The
fleet arrived in April, 1557, in the bay of Con-
ception, and came to anchor near the island of
Quinquina, which, being the most secure situa-
tion, had been chosen for the head quarters.
The few inhabitants who were found there
bravely attempted to prevent the disembarkation;
but being soon dispersed by the artillery, they
retired in their piragues to the continent. The
governor having taken some of the hindmost,
sent two or three to the Araucanians, with di-
rections to inform them of his arrival, and the

172

desire lie had of settling a lasting peace with
them.

The Ulmenes, being convened to consider of
this embassy, were generally of opinion that no
propositions ought to be listened to from an.
enemy who had returned in greater force, it
being impossible that they should be other than
treacherous or unfair. But old Colocolo, who
was the soul of the union, observed that no in-
jury could arise from their hearing the proposals
of the Spanish general ; that this was a favour-
able opportunity for discovering his designs, and
of obtaining a knowledge of his forces ; that
for this purpose he thought it advisable to send
a discerning and intelligent man, who, under the
pretence of congratulating the new governor upon
his arrival, and of thanking him for the wish
that he expressed of coming to an amicable ac-
commodation, would gain information of what-
ever he should think of importance to regulate
their future conduct.

Caupolican, with the greater part of the old
officers, adopted this wise counsel, and confided
this important commission to Millalauco, who
possessed all the qualities requisite for such an
envoy. This ambassador passed the narrow strait
that separates the island of Quinquina from the
continent, and, with all the pride peculiar to his
nation, presented himself to the Spaniards. They

173

in return, to give him a great idea of their power,
received him arranged in order of battle, and
conducted him amidst the discharge of their ar-
tillery to the tent of the general. Millalauco,
not in the least disconcerted by all this millitary
parade, complimented the governor in the name
of Caupolican, and in a few words declared to
him the pleasure that he and all his people would
feel in the establishment of an honourable and
advantageous peace to both nations, adding, that
he was induced to this, not from any dread of
his power, but from motives of humanity.

Don Garcia was by no means satisfied with
these vague offers, so little correspondent to his
views ; he replied, however, with the same ge-
neral professions respecting peace, and after
having regaled the ambassador in a magnificent
manner, he ordered his officers to conduct him
over the whole encampment, in order to intimi-
date him by the appearance of the immense
military preparations that he had brought with
him. Nothing could better suit the wishes of
Millalauco ; he observed every thing with at-
tention, though with apparent indifference, and
taking leave of the Spaniards, returned home.
The Araucanians, on receiving such particular
information, placed sentinels along the coast to
observe the movements of their enemies, and
began to prepare for war, which they believed
to be near and inevitable.

t)on Garcia, however, continued almost the*
whole winter in the island, waiting for the ci-
talry from Peru, and the reinforcements -he had
required from the cities of his jurisdiction. At
length, on the night of the 6th of August, he
privately landed one hundred and thirty men
with several engineers upon the plain of Con-
ception, and immediately took possession of
Mount Pinto, which commands the harbour,
where he constructed a fort, furnished with a
large number of cannon and a deep ditch.

The Araucanian spies failed not to give im-
mediate information to Caupolican of what had
taken place. That general, hastily collecting
his troops, passed the Bio-bio on the 9th of the
same month, and on the next morning at day-
break, a period remarkable in Europe for the
defeat of the French at St. Quintin, he attacked
the fortress upon three sides, having sent for-
ward a body of pioneers to fill up the ditch with
fascines and trunks of trees. The attack was
continued with all the fury and obstinacy so
natural to that people. Numbers mounted on
the parapet, and some even leapt within the
walls, destroying all that they met with. But the
cannon and the musketry, directed by skillful
hands, made so dreadful a slaughter, that the
ditch was filled with dead bodies, which served
for bridges to the new combatants who fear-
lessly replaced their slain companions. Tucapel/

175

hurried on by his unparalleled rashness, threw*
himself into the fort, and, killing four of his
enemies with his formidable mace, escaped by
leaping over a precipice amidst a shower of balls.

Whilst the combat raged with such fury
around the fortress, the Spaniards who were in
the island, perceiving the danger of the be-
sieged, came over to their aid, and formed them-
selves in order of battle. Caupolican observing
the disembarkation, sent immediately a part of
his troops against them. These, after a severe
conflict of several hours, were driven back to-
the mountain, so that the assailants were placed
between two fires. They nevertheless lost not
their courage, and continued fighting till mid<*
day. At length, extremely fatigued with the
length of the combat, they withdrew to the Bio-
bio with a determination to raise new forces and
return to the attack.

Caupolican having m a short time reinforced
his array, began his march towards Conception,
but learning on the road that the Spaniards had
received a numerous reinforcement, he halted on
the shore of the Bio- bio, deeply chagrined at
not being able to effect what Lautaro had twice
performed with the universal applause of the
nation. In fact, the day preceding, two thousand
auxiliaries had arrived at Conception, with the
cavalry, from Peru, consisting of a thousand

1

176

men well armed, and likewise another squadron
of Spanish horse from Imperial.

After his army had sufficiently recovered from
their fatigues, Don Garcia resolved to go in
quest of the Araucanians in their own territory.
For this purpose he crossed the Bio-bio in boats
well equipped, at six miles from its mouth, where
that river is fifteen hundred paces broad. Cau-
polican made no attempt to obstruct his passage,
as the cannon, placed upon the boats, com-
manded the whole of the opposite shore ; but he
had occupied a position not far distant, flanked
with thick woods, which, if he were defeated,
would facilitate his retreat.

The battle began with a skirmish that was
favourable to the Araucanians. The Spanish
advanced parties falling in with those of Caupo-
lican were repulsed with loss, notwithstanding
the assistance sent them by Ramon the quarter-
master-general. Alonzo Reynoso, who was like-
wise dispatched to their aid with fifty horse, ex-
perienced a similar fate, leaving several of his
men dead upon the field. The two armies at
length met. The Araucanians, encouraged by
the advantage they had gained, endeavoured to
come to close combat with their enemies, not-
withstanding the heavy fire they had to sustain
from eight pieces of artillery in front of the
Spanish army. But when they came within

177

reach of the musketry, they were not able to
advance further, or resist the fire which was
well kept up by the veteran troops of Peru.
After many ineffectual attempts, they began to
give way and fall into confusion from the va-
cancies caused in their ranks, by the loss of their
most determined soldiers. The cavalry at length
completely routed them, making a great slaughter
of them in their flight to the woods.

Don Garcia, either from disposition or policy,
^vas strongly inclined to pursue rigorous mea-
sures. He was the first in this war -who in-
troduced, contrary to the opinion of a majority
of his oncers, the barbarous practice of muti-
lating,* or of putting to death the prisoners ; a
system that may serve to awe and restrain a base

* Den Garcia permitted his allies to be as cruel as himself.
" They did cut off from certain Indians, being prisoners, the
calves of their legs to eat them, and they roasted them for
that purpose ; aud that which is of more admiration, they ap-
plied unto the place where they were cut, leaves of certain
herbs, and there came not out a drop of blood — and many did
see it. And thi6 was done in the city of Santiago, in the pre-
sence of D. Garcia de Mendoza, which was a thing that made
all men marvel at it."

Pedro de Osma y Xara y Zeio inenlions this in a letter to
Monardes the physician, written from Lima in 1 568. I know
not whether it is possible that so powerful a styptic can exist.
They who would not believe that the Abyssinians eat food
with the blood therein, which is the life, must have been
ignorant of the live cannibalism of some of the American
savages. — E. E.

TOL. II. N

178

people, or one accustomed to servitude, but a
generous nation detests cruelty, and it only serves
to exasperate and render them irreconcileable.
Among the prisoners taken upon this occasion
was one more daring than any of the others, called
Galverino, whose hands Don Garcia ordered
to be cut off. He returned to his countrymen,
and showing his bloody mutilated stumps, in-
flamed them with such fury against the Spa-
niards, that they all swore never to make peace
with them, and to put to death any one who
should have the baseness to propose such a mea-
sure. Even the very women, excited by a desire
of revenge, offered to take arms and to light by
the side of their husbands, as they did in the
subsequent battles. From hence originated the
fable of the Chilian Amazons, placed by some

/ authors in the southern districts of that country.

* The victorious army penetrated into the pro-
vince of Arauco, constantly harassed by the
flyingucamps of the Araucanians, who left them
not a moment's rest. Don Garcia, when he ar-
rived at Melipuru, put to the torture several of
the natives whom his soldiers had taken, in order
to obtain information of Caupolican, but not-
withstanding the severity of their torments, none
of them would ever discover t)e place of his re-
treat. The Araucanian general, on being in-
formed of this barbarous conduct, sent word to
him by a messenger, that he was but a short

179

distance, and would come to meet him the fol-
lowing day. The Spaniards, who could not con-
ceive the motive of the message, were alarmed,
and passed the whole night under arms.

At day-break Caupolican appeared with his
army arranged in three lines. The Spanish ca-
valry charged with fury the first line, com-
manded by Caupolican in person, who gave or-
ders to his pikemento sustain with levelled spears
the attack of the horse, and the mace bearers
with their heavy clubs to strike at their heads.
The cavalry by this unexpected reception being
thrown into confusion, the Araucanian general,
followed by his men, broke into the centre of
the Spanish infantry with great slaughter, killing
five enemies with his own hand. Tucapel, ad-
vancing in another quarter with his division, at
the first attack broke his lance in the body of a
Spaniard, and instantly drawing his sword, slew
seven others. In these various encounters he re-
ceived several severe wounds, but perceiving the
valiant Rencu surrounded by a crowd of enemies,
he fell with such fury upon them, that after
killing a considerable number, he rescued his
former rival, and conducted him safely out of
danger.

Victory, for a long time undecided, was at
length on the point of declaring for the Arauca-
nians, when Don Garcia perceiving his men
ready to give way, gave orders to a body of re-

w 2

180

serve to attack the division of the enemy, com-
manded by Lincoyan and Ongolmo. This order,
which was promptly executed, preserved the
Spanish army from total ruin. This line of the
Araucanians being broken, fell back upon their
victorious countrymen, who were thrown into
such confusion, that Caupolican, after several
ineffectual efforts, despairing of being able to
restore order, sounded a retreat, and yielded to
his enemies a victory that he deemed secure.
The Araucanian army would have been cut in
pieces, had not Rencu, by posting himself in a
neighbouring wood with a squadron of valiant
youth, called thither the attention of the victors,
who pursued the fugitives with that deadly fury,
that characterized the soldiers of that age. That
chief, after having sustained the violence of
their attack, for a time sufficient in his opinion
to ensure the safety of his countrymen, retired
with his companions by a secret path, scoffing at
his enemies.

1S1

CHAP. VI.

Don Garcia orders twelve Ulmenes to be hanged ;
He founds the city of Canete ; Caupolican, at-
tempting to surprise it, is defeated, and his
army entirely dispersed.

The Spanish general, before he quitted Meli-
rupu, caused twelve Ulmenes whom he found
among the prisoners, to be hung to the trees that
surrounded the field of battle. Galvarino was
also condemned to the same punishment. This
unfortunate youth, notwithstanding the loss of
his hands, had accompanied the Araucanian
army, had never ceased during the battle to
incite his countrymen to fight vigorously, show-
ing his mutilated arms, while he attempted with
his teeth and feet to do all the injury he could
to his enemies. One of the Ulmenes, overcome
with terror, petitioned for his life, but Galvarino
reproached him so severely for his cowardice,
and inspired him with such contempt for death,
that be refused the pardon which was granted
him, and demanded to die the first, as an atone-
ment for his weakness, and the scandal he had
brought upon the Araucanian name.

After this fruitless execution, Don Garcia pro-
n3

182

cceded to the province of Tucapel, and coming
to the place where Valdivia had been defeated,
he built there., in contempt of his conquerors, a
city, which he called Canete, from the titular ap-
pellation of his family. As this settlement was
in the centre of the enemy's country, he thought
proper to strengthen it with a good palisade, a
ditch, a rampart, and a great number of cannon,
and gave the command to Alonzo Reynoso, with
a select garrison. After which, imagining that
the Araucanians, who had been defeated in three
successive battles, were no longer in a condition
to oppose his conquering arms, he departed for
Imperial, where he was received in triumph.

Soon after his arrival at Imperial, he sent from
thence to the inhabitants of his new city a plen-
tiful supply of provisions, under a strong convoy,
who were attacked and routed in the narrow
pass of Cayucupil by a body of Araucanians.
But these having ill-timedly began to seize the
baggage, gave the Spaniards an opportunity of
escaping with little loss, and reaching the place
of their destination. The citizens received them
with the greatest demonstrations of joy, their
assistance being much wanted in case Caupoli-
can, as was reported, should attack and en-
deavour to force them from that post. Nor
were these merely idle rumours. That indefati-
gable general, whom misfortune seemed to in-
spire with greater courage, a few days after-

183

wards made a furious assault upon the place, in
which his valiant troops, with arms so far inferior
to their enemies, supported a continual fire for
live hours, now scaling the rampart, now pulling
up or burning the palisades. But perceiving
that valour alone could not avail him in this
difficult enterprise, he resolved to suspend the
attack, and seek some more certain means of at-
taining his end.

With this view he persuaded one of his offi-
cers, named Pran, who had the reputation of
being very cunning and artful, to introduce him-
self into the garrison as a deserter, in order to
find means to deliver it up. Pran accordingly
obtained admission under that character, and
conducted himself with the profoundest dissimu-
lation. He soon formed a friendship with one of
the Chilians who served under the Spaniards,
called Andrew, and who appeared to him a proper
instrument of his designs. One day, either art-
fully to sound him, or to flatter him, Andrew
pretended to sympathize with his friend on the
misfortunes of his country. Pran, who had as
yet given no intimation of his design, seized
with much readiness this occasion, and dis-
covered to him the motive of his pretended de-
sertion, earnestly entreating him to aid in the
execution of his scheme ; this was to introduce
some Araucanian soldiers into the place, at the
time when the Spaniards, wearied with their

n 4

]84

nightly watch, had retired to take their siesta*
The crafty Chilian highly praised his project,
and offered himself to keep a gate open on the
day assigned for the enterprise. The Arauca-
nian, elated with joy, hastened to give informa-
tion to Caupolican, who was at a short distance,
and Andrew proceeded immediately to disclose
the plot to the commander of the fort, who di-
rected him to keep up the deception by appearing
to carry it on, in order to take the enemy in their
own snare.

Caupolican, occupied with an ardent desire of
accomplishing this enterprise, lost sight on this
occasion of his wonted prudence, and too easily
reposed faith in this ill-concerted scheme.- In
order the better to devise his measures, he ex-
pressed a wish to converse with the Chilian;
Pran immediately gave notice to his supposed
friend, who appeared before Caupolican with all
that air of respect and flattering show of attach-
ment which villains of this stamp know so well
to assume. He broke out into invectives against
the Spaniards, whom he said he had always de-
tested, and renewed his promise, declaring that
nothing could be easier than the execution of
the plot. The Araucanian general applauded
his patriotism, loaded him with caresses, arfd
promised to give him, if the enterprise should

* Afternoon sleep.

185

succeed^ an Ulmenate, with the office of first
captain of his army. He then showed him his
troops, appointed the next day for the execution
of their scheme, and dismissed him with the
the strongest demonstrations of esteem and fa-
vour. The Spaniards., informed of all, em-
ployed that night in making every preparation
to obtain the greatest possible advantage from
the treachery of their ally.

When the principal officers of the Araucanians
were informed of the intention of their general,
they openly disapproved of it, as dishonourable
and disgraceful to the national spirit, and refused
to accompany him in the expedition. Adhering,
nevertheless, with obstinacy to his design, he
began his march at day-break, with three thou-
sand men for Canete, in the vicinity of which he
lay concealed until the time appointed, when
Pran came to inform him from Andrew that all
was ready. The Araucanians then proceeded in
silence to the city, and finding the passage free,
began to enter it. But the Spaniards having
allowed entrance to a certain number, suddenly
closed the gate, and at the same moment com-
menced a fire with grape shot from all their
cannon upon those without.

Dreadful was the slaughter made among them,
and the more so as it was wholly unexpected.
The horse then made a sally from another gate,
and completed the destruction of those who had

%

186

escaped the fire of the cannon. Caupolican
had the fortune, or rather misfortune, to escape
the general slaughter of his men. He retired
with a few attendants to the mountains, whence
he hoped soon to descend with a new army ca-
pable of maintaining the field. While the ca-
valry were giving a loose to their fury on those
without, the infantry were employed in butcher-
ing those within the walls, who, having lost all
hope of escape, rather chose to be cut in pieces
than to surrender themselves. The too cre-
dulous Pran, perceiving his error, rushed amongst
the foremost against his enemies, and by an
honourable death escaped the well-merited re-
proaches of his imprudence. Among the few
who were taken prisoners were three Ulmenes,
who were fastened to the mouths of cannon and
blown into the air.

187

CHAP. VII.

Expedition of Don Garcia to the Archipelago of
Chiloe ; Foundation of Osorno ; Caupolican
taken and impaled.

Don Garcia, considering the Araucanian war
as terminated after this destructive battle, ordered
the city of Conception to be rebuilt ; and, de-
sirous of adding to the laurels of a soldier those
of a conqueror, so highly valued in that age, in
1558 marched with a numerous body of troops
against the Cunches, who had not yet been op-
posed to the Spanish arms. This nation, when
they first heard of the arrival of the strangers,
met to deliberate whether they should submit, or
resist their victorious forces. An Araucanian
exile, called Tunconobal, who was present at
the assembly, being desired to give his opinion
upon the measures proposed, replied in the fol
lowing terms :

" Be cautious how you adopt either of these
measures; as vassals you will be despised and
compelled to labour, as enemies you will be ex-
terminated. If you wish to free yourselves of
these dangerous visitors, make them believe you
are miserably poor. Hide your property, par-

188

ticularly your gold ; they will not remain where
they have no expectation of finding that sole ob-
ject of their wishes. Send them such a present
as will impress them with an idea of your poverty,
and in the meantime retire to the woods."

The Cunches approved the wise counsel of the
Araucanian, and commissioned him., with nine
natives of the country, to carry the present which
he had recommended to the Spanish general.
Accordingly, clothing himself and companions
in wretched rags, he appeared with every mark
of fear before that officer, and after compliment-
ing him in rude terms, presented him a basket
containing some roasted lizards and wild fruits.
The Spaniards, who could not refrain from
laughter at the appearance of the ambassadors
and their presents, began to dissuade the governor
from pursuing an expedition which, from all ap-
pearances, would prove unproductive. But al-
though he was persuaded that these people were
poor and wretched, yet, lest he should discover
too great facility in relinquishing his plan, he ex-
horted his troops to prosecute the expedition that
had been undertaken, assuring them that, further
on, according to the information he had received,
they would find a country that abounded in all
the metals. This was a circumstance bv no
means improbable, it being very usual in America
after passing frightful desarts to meet with the
richest countries. He then inquired of the Cun-

189

dies the best road to the south. Tunconobal
directed him towards the west, which was the
most rough and mountainous., and on being ap j
plied to for a guide, gave him one of his com-
panions, whom he charged to conduct the army
by the most desolate and difficult roads of the
coast. The guide pursued so strictly the in-
struction of the Araucanian, that the Spaniards,
who in their pursuit of conquest were accus-
tomed to surmount with ease the severest fa-
tigues, acknowledged that they had never before,
in any of their marches, encountered difficulties
comparable with these. Their impatience was
greatly augmented on the fourth day, when their
pretended guide quitted them, and they found
themselves in a desart surrounded by precipices,
from whence they perceived no way to extricate
themselves. All their constancy and perseverance
would have been insufficient to support them, if
Don Garcia had not incessantly encouraged them
with the flattering hope of soon reaching the
happy country which he had promised them.

Having at length overcome all obstacles, they
came to the top of a high mountain, from whence
they discovered the great Archipelago of Ancud,
more commonly called Chiloe, whose channels
were covered with a great number of boats navi-
gated with sails and oars. This unexpected
prospect filled them with joy. As they had for
many days suffered from hunger, they hastened

/ 190

to the shore, and were highly delighted on seeing
a boat make towards them, on board of which
were fifteen persons handsomely clothed. With-
out the least apprehension they immediately
leaped on shore, and saluting the Spaniards with
much cordiality, inquired who they were, whither
they were going, and if they were in want of any
thing. The Spaniards asked them for provi-
sions : the chief of this friendly people imme-
diately ordered all the provisions that were in the
boat to be brought, and in the most hospitable
manner distributed them among them, refusing
to accept any thing in return, and promised to
send them a large supply from the circumjacent
islands.

Indeed, scarcely had these famished adven-
turers encamped, when there arrived from all
quarters piragues loaded with maize, fruit, and
fish, which were in like manner distributed to
them gratuitously. The Spaniards, constantly
regaled by these islanders, coasted the Archipe-
lago to the bay of Reloncavi, and some went
over to the neighbouring islands, where they
found land well cultivated, and women employed
in spinning wool, mixed with the feathers of sea
birds, from which they made their clothes. The
celebrated poet Ercilla was one of the party, and
solicitous of the reputation of having proceeded
further south than any other European, he crossed
the gulph, and upon the opposite shore inscribed

191

on the bark of a tree some verses containing his
name and the time of the discovery, the 31st of
January, 1559.

Don Garcia, satisfied with having been the
first to discover by land the Archipelago of Chi-
loe, returned, taking for his guide one of those
islanders, who conducted him safely to Imperial
through the country of the Huilliches, which is
for the most part level, aud abounds in provi-
sions. The inhabitants, who are similar in every
respect to their western neighbours, the Cun-
chese, made no opposition to his passage. He
there founded, or according to some writers, re-
built the city of Osorno, which increased rapidly,
not less from its manufactories of woollen and
linen stuffs, than from the fine gold procured
from its mines, which were afterwards destroyed
by the Toqui Paillamacu.

During this expedition, Alonzo Reynoso, com-
mander of Canete, after having for a long time
attempted, by offers of reward and by means of
torture, to obtain from the natives information of
the retreat of Caupolican, at length found one
less inflexible, who promised to discover the
place where he had concealed himself since his
last defeat. A detachment of cavalry was im-
mediately sent under the guidance of this spy,
and at day-break made prisoner of that great
man, but not till after a gallant resistance from
ten of his most faithful soldiers, who would not

192

abandon him. His wife, who never ceased ex-
horting" him to die rather than surrender, on
seeing him taken, indignantly threw towards him
his infant son, saying, she would retain nothing*
that belonged to a coward.

The detachment returned to the city amidst
the rejoicings of ihe populace, and conducted
their prisoner to Reynoso, who immediately or-
dered him to be impaled and dispatched with
arrows. On hearing his sentence, Caupolican,
without the least change of countenance, or
abatement of his wonted dignity, coolly addressed
Reynoso in these words : " My death, general,
can answer no possible end, except that of in-
flaming the inveterate hatred which my country-
men already entertain against yours. They will
be far from being discouraged by the loss of
an unfortunate chief. From my ashes will
arise many other Caupolicans, who will prove
more fortunate than I have been. Rut if you
spare* my life, from the great influence I possess
in the country, I may be serviceable to the in-
terests of your sovereign, and the propagation
of your religion, which, as you say, is the only
object of this destructive war. But if you are
determined that I shall die, send me to Spain,
where, if your king thinks proper to condemn
me, I may end my days without causing new
disturbances in my country.' *

Vain were the attempts of the unfortunate

193

general to prevail upon Reynoso, whose name is
held in detestation not only by the Araucanians,
but by the Spaniards themselves, who have ever
reprobated his conduct, as contrary to those
principles of generosity on which they pride
themselves as a nation. He ordered the sentence
to be immediately executed ; and a priest, who
had been sent for to converse with the prisoner,
pretending that he had converted him* hastily
administered the sacrament of baptism.

After this mock ceremony, he was conducted,
amidst a crowd of people, to a scaffold that had
been erected for his execution : But when he saw
the instrument of punishment, which until then
he did not clearly comprehend, and a negro pre-
pared to execute him, he was so exasperated,
that, with a furious kick, he hurled the execu-
tioner from the scaffold, exclaiming, (e Is there
no sword, and some less unworthy hand to be
found to put to death a man like myself? This
has nothing in it of justice — it is base revenge."
He was, however, seized by numbers, and com-
elled to undergo the cruel and ignominious
death to which he had been condemned.

VOL. II. O

194

CHAP. VIII.

Successes ofCaupolicanthe Second; Siege of Im-
perial ; Battle of Quipeo fatal to the Arauca-
nians ; Death of Caupolican ; Termination of
the Government of Don Garcia.

Soon were the predictions of the great Caupo-
lican verified. Instigated by the most unbounded
rage, the Araucanians immediatelj proceeded to
elect a To qui, capable of revenging the ignomi-
nious death of their unfortunate general. The
majority of the electors were of opinion, that in
the present circumstances the fierce Tucapel was
better qualified than any other to sustain the im-
portant office. But this choice was by no means
agreeable to the sentiments of Colocolo : he de-
clared himself in favour of young Caupolican,
the eldest son of the late general, who possessed
the talents of his celebrated father. This opinion
was adopted and confirmed by the Ulmenes.
Tucapel, perceiving that the affections of the
nation were placed upon his competitor, had a
second time the magnanimity to yield his claim
to the supreme command (Without murmuring ;
he only required to be elected ViceToqui, which
was granted him.

195

The new general immediately collected an
army, and crossed the Bio-bio, resolving to at-
tack the city of Conception, which he had been
informed was defended only by a few soldiers.
Reynoso, having learned his intention, followed
him with five hundred men, and coming up with
him at Talcaguano, a place but a short distance
from that city, offered him battle. The young
commander, encouraging his soldiers by his
words and his example, fell with such fury upon
the Spaniards, that he entirely defeated them ;
Reynoso, pursued and wounded by Tucapel, had
the good fortune to be able to repass the Bio-bio
with a few horse that had escaped the slaughter.
He immediately collected more troops, and re-
turned to attack the Araucanian camp ; but
meeting with no better success than before, he
was compelled to abandon the enterprise.

At the close of this second action, Millalauco,
who had been sent to compliment the Spaniards
in Quinquina, returned with the news that Don
Garcia had quitted Imperial, with a large body
of troops, and was laying waste the neighbouring
provinces. On this information Caupolican, by
the advice of Colocolo, deferred the siege of
Conception, and hastened to give them assistance,
leaving a number of men under the command of
Millalauco, to oppose the attempts of Reynoso.
Don Garcia, however, being informed of his
march, withdrew to Imperial, after having placed

o2

196

two hundred horse in ambush on the road by
which he was to pass. The Araucanian general,
although unexpectedly attacked by them, de-
fended himself with such presence of mind, that
he not only escaped without loss, but cut in pieces
a' great part of his assailants, and pursued the
rest to the gates of Imperial, which he girt with
a close siege.

In the meantime Reynoso and Millalauco, who
had several times encountered each other in skir-
mishes, agreed to terminate the question of su-
periority between them by single combat. Such
duels had become very common during that war.
The two champions fought a long time without
either obtaining the advantage, till, wearied and
fatigued, they separated by mutual consent, and
returned to their former mode of warfare.

The siege of Imperial was prosecuted with
much vigour. Caupolican had made several
assaults upon that city, flattering himself with
the aid of the Spanish auxiliaries, which, un-
cautioned by the misfortunes of his father, he
had solicited by means of two of his officers,
Tulcomaru and Torquin. These emissaries were,
however, discovered and impaled in sight of the
Araucanian army, to whom they recommended
with their last breath to die in defence of the
liberties of their country.

One hundred and twenty of the auxiliaries
were also hung on the ramparts, exhorting the

197

others to favour the enterprise of their country-
men.

The Araucanian general, desirous of signal-
izing himself by the capture of a place which
his father had twice vainly attempted, made ano-
ther assault still more violent than the preceding,
in which his life was exposed to the most immi-
nent danger. Several times in person did he
scale the wall, and even effected at night an en-
trance into the city, followed by Tucapel and a
number of brave companions ; but repulsed by
Don Garcia, whose vigilance was present every
where, he withdrew, constantly fighting, and
covered with the blood of his enemies, to a bas-
tion, from whence, by a vigorous leap, he re-
joined his troops, who were very apprehensive
for the safety of their beloved commander.
Wearied at length with the prosecution of a
siege whose operations were too slow for his im-
patience, he resolved to abandon it, and employ
his arms against Reynoso, in hopes to revenge
the death of his father, but Don Garcia, having
joined that officer, rendered all his attempts
fruitless.

The campaign of the following year, 1559,
was rendered still more memorable by the nu-
merous battles that were fought between the
two armies ; but as these produced no material
change in the state of affairs, it will not be ne-
cessary to give a particular account of them.

q3

198

Notwithstanding several of these encounters were
favourable to the Araucanians, Caupolican re-
solved to protract the war, seeing that the number
of his troops was daily diminished from their
being continually exposed to the fire-arms of their
enemies, while, on the contrary, the Spaniards
were constantly receiving recruits from Peru
and from Europe. With this intention he for-
tified himself between the cities of Canete and
Conception, in a place called Quipeo or Cuyapu,
which was capable of being defended by a few
men against any number of enemies unprovided
with artillery.

Don Garcia, on being informed of this mea-
sure, marched thither immediately with all his
troops in order to dislodge him, but observing
the nature of the place, he delayed several days
making a general attack, in hopes of being able
to draw him from his position, that his cavalry
might be enabled to act with more advantage.
In the meantime frequent skirmishes took place
between the parties. In one of these, the cele-
brated Millalauco was made prisoner, who, re-
gardless of his situation, reproached the Spanish
general so severely with his cruel manner of
making war, that, inflamed with the most vio-
lent passion, he ordered him instantly to be im-
paled!

During the siege the traitor Andrew had the
temerity to go, by order of Don Garcia, to Call-

199

polican, and threaten him with the most dreadful
punishment if he did not immediately submit to
the royal authority. The Araucanian, who was
extremely enraged at the sight of the betrayer of
his father, ordered him to retire immediately,
telling him that were it not for the character of
an ambassador with which he was invested, he
would put him to death with the most cruel tor-
tures. The following day, however, that traitor
being taken as a spy, was suspended by his feet
from a tree and suffocated with smoke.

Don Garcia at length commenced his attack
upon the Araucanian encampment, by a violent
cannonade from all his artillery. Caupolican,
instigated by his soldiers, who were eager to
make a vigorous sally, fell with such fury upon
the Spaniards, that, at the first charge, the
Araucanians killed about forty, and continued
slaughtering them until, by a skillful evolution,
the Spanish general cut off their retreat, and sur-
rounded them upon all sides. Caupolican, never-
theless, valiantly seconded by his intrepid band,
for the space of six hours rendered the issue of
the battle doubtful, till, seeing Tucapel, Colo-
col o, Renco, Lincoyan, Mariantu, Ongolmo, and
several others of his most valiant officers slain,
he attempted to retreat with the small remnant of
his army, but being overtaken by a detachment
of horse, slew himself to avoid the melancholy
fate of his father.

o 4

200

Although the events that afterwards occurred
had convinced Don Garcia that he had deceived
himself in supposing, that the spirit of the Arau-
canians was entirely broken after the dreadful
massacre at Canete, he however on this occasion
thought he had good reason to believe the war
wholly at an end. The battle of Quipeo ap-
peared to him decisive in every point of view ;
the principal officers who supported the courage
of the enemy had all perished on that fatal day ;
their nation was without chiefs and without
troops, arid appeared to be submissive to the will
of the conquerors. Under the influence of these
flattering ideas, he devoted his whole attention
to repair the losses occasioned by the war ; he
rebuilt the fortifications that had been destroyed,
particularly those of Arauco and of Angol ; he
restored Villarica, and re-established its inha-
bitants : the mines that had been abandoned he
caused to be opened anew, and others to be ex-
plored; and obtained the establishment of a
bishopric in the capital, whither he went himself
to receive the first bishop, Fernando Barrio-
puevo, a monk of the Franciscan order.

Finding himself provided with a good number
of veteran troops, he sent a part of them, under
the command of Pedro Castillo, to complete the
conquest of Cujo, which had been commenced
by Francis De Aguirre. That prudent officer
subjected the Guarpes, the ancient inhabitants of

201

that province, to the Spanish government, and
founded on the eastern limits of the Andes two
cities, one of which he called St. Juan, and the
other Mendoza, from the family name of the
governor. This extensive and fertile country
remained for a considerable time under the 2:0-
vernment of Chili, but has since been transferred
to the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, to which,
from its natural situation, it appertains.

Whilst ia this manner Don Garcia took ad-
vantage of the apparent calm that prevailed in
the country, he heard of the arrival at Buenos
Ayres of the person appointed his successor by
the court of Spain. In consequence of this in-
formation, he immediately quitted the kingdom,
confiding the government for the present to Ro-
drigo de Quiroga, and returned to Peru, where,
as a reward for his services, he was promoted to
the exalted station which his father had filled.

V

THE

CIVIL HISTORY

OF

CHILI.

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER T.

The Toqui Antiguenu recommences the War;
His Successes against Francis Villagran, the
Governor; Destruction of Canete ; Sieges of
Arauco and of Conception; Battle of the
Bio-bio.

THE governor appointed in place of Don
Garcia was his predecessor, Francis Villagran,
who having gone to Europe after he had been
deprived of the government, procured his rein-
statement therein from the court of Spain. On
his arrival at Chili, supposing from the infor-
mation of Don Garcia and Quiroga that nothing
* more was necessary to be done with the Arauca-
nians, and that they were in no condition to give
him trouble, Villagran turned his attention to

304

the re-acquisition of the province of Tucuman,
which, after having been by him, in 1549, sub-
jected to the government of Chili, had been since
attached to the viceroyalty of Peru. Gregori
Castaneda, who had the charge of this enter-
prise, defeated the Peruvian commander, Juan
Zurita, the author of the dismemberment, and
restored the country to the obedience of the cap-
tains general of Chili; it was, however, retained
under their government but a short time, as they
were obliged by the court of Spain, before the
close of the century, to cede it again to the go-
vernment of Peru.

But neither Don Garcia nor Quiroga, not-
withstanding the long time they had fought in
Chili, had formed a correct opinion of the temper
of the people whom they pretended they had con-
quered. The invincible Araucanian cannot be
made to submit to the bitterest reverses of for-
tune. His losses themselves, so far from deject-
ing or dismaying him, appear to inspire him with
more strength and valour. This constancy, or
obstinacy as some may term it, is certainly won-
derful, if not heroic. The few Ulmenes who
had escaped from the late defeats, more than ever
determined to continue the war, assembled im-
mediately after the rout of Quiepo in a wood,
where they unanimously elected as Toqui an
officer of inferior rank, called Antiguenu, who
had signalized himself in the last battle. He

205

readily accepted the command, but represented
to the electors, that as almost all the youth of
the country bad perished, he thought it expe-
dient for them to retire to some secure situation,
until an army could be collected of sufficient
strength to keep the field. This prudent advice
was approved by all. Antiguenu retired with
the few soldiers that he had with him to the in-
accessible marshes of Lumaco, called by the-
Spaniards the Rochela, where he caused high
scaffolds to be erected to secure his men from the
extreme moisture of this gloomy retreat. The
youth who were from time to time enlisted went
thither to be instructed in the science of arms,
and the Araucanians still considered themselves
free since they had a Toqui.

As soon as Antiguenu saw himself in a situ-
ation to make himself feared, he quitted his re-
treat, and began to make incursions into the Spa-
nish territory, in order to practice his troops, and
subsist them at the expense of the enemy. When
this unexpected information reached St. Jago, it
caused great inquietude to Villagran, who, from
his long experience of the daring spirit of the
Araucanians, foresaw all the fatal consequences
that might result from this war. But in order,
if possible, to stifle the bursting flame at its com-
mencement, he sent forward immediately his
son Pedro, with as many troops as could be
raised in so short a time, and soon after set out

206

upon the march himself with a much greater
force.

The first skirmishes between the armies were by
no means favourable to Antiguenu, and his siege
of Canete was attended with no better success.
As he., however, attributed his failure to the in-
experience of his men, he sought on every oc-
casion to accustom them to the use of arms. At
length, upon the hills of Millapoa, he had the
satisfaction of showing them that they could
conquer, by defeating a body of Spaniards com-
manded by Arias Par do.

To keep up and increase the ardour which this
success had excited in the minds of his soldiers,
Antiguenu stationed himself upon the top of
Mount Mariguenu, a place of fortunate omen for
his country. Villagran, who was either too much
indisposed with the gout to assume the command
himself, or was averse to hazard the attack of a
place that had proved so unfortunate to him, gave
in charge to one of his sons to dislodge the enemy
from that dangerous post. This rash and en-
terprising young man attacked the Araucanian
entrenchments with so little precaution, that al-
most all his army, consisting of the flower of the
Spanish troops, and a great number of auxiliaries,
were cut in pieces, and he himself was killed at
the entrance of the enemy's encampment.

After this signal victory, Antiguenu marched
against Canete, rightly judging that in the pre-

207

sen? circumstances it would be unable to resist
him ; but Villagran, who was likewise convinced
of the impossibility of defending it, anticipated
him by withdrawing all the inhabitants, part of
whom retired to Imperial, and part to Concep-
tion. On their arrival, the Araucanians, who
had experienced so many disasters in the vicinity
of this place, had no other trouble than that of
destroying the fortifications and setting it on fire,
and in a short time it was entirely consumed.

In the meantime Villagran, more the victim of
grief and mental anxiety than of 'his disorder
died, universally regretted by the colonists, who
lost in him a wise, humane, and valiant com-
mander, to whose prudent conduct they were in-
debted for the preservation of their conquests.
Before his death he appointed as his successor,
by a special commission from the court, his eldest
son Pedro, whose mental endowments were no
way inferior to his father's.

The death of the governor appeared to Anti-
guenu to present a favourable opportunity to
undertake some important enterprise. Having
formed his army, which consisted of 4,000 men,
into two divisions, he ordered one, under the
command of his Vice Toqui Antunecul, to lay
siege to Conception, in order to attract thither
the attention of the Spaniards, while with the
other he marched against the fort of Arauco,
which was defended by a strong garrison, under

3

203

the command of Lorenzo Bernal. Antimecul
passed the Bio-bio, and encamped in a place
called Leokethal, where he was twice attacked
by the governor, but he not only made a vigorous
defence, but repulsed him with loss, and fol-
lowed him to the city, which he closely invested
by disposing his troops in six divisions around it.
The siege was continued for two months, every
day of which was distinguished by some gallant
assault. But finding all his attempts fruitless,
as he could not prevent the frequent succours
that were sent by sea to the besieged, he finally
withdrew, resolving to return and prosecute the
en er prise at a more favourable time.

In the meantime the defence of Arauco was
maintained with the greatest vigour. As Anti-
guenu had observed that whenever he attacked
the place, his bravest officers were pointed out to
the Spaniards by their Indian auxiliaries, and
made the mark of the artillery, he resolved to
take a severe vengeance upon them. For this
purpose he contrived by his emissaries to in-
form the Spanish commander that the auxiliaries
were intriguing to deliver up the fort to the
Araucanians. Bernal gave such credit to thig
false report, that in a transport of fury he im-
mediately ordered those unfortunate men to quit
the place, notwithstanding ^heir entreaties and
remonstrances. This was the sole object of the
Araucanian chieftain, who immediately had them

4

209

seized and put to a cruel death in sight of the
Spaniards, who were extremely exasperated in
finding themselves so grossly imposed on by a
barbarian.

As the siege was protracted to a considerable
length, Antiguenu became impatient, and wished
to bring it to a conclusion, if possible, by the
death of the governor; with this view he chal-
lenged him to single combat. Notwithstanding
the remonstrances of his soldiers, Bernal, who
deemed himself secure of the victory, accepted
the challenge. The battle between the?e two
champions was continued for two hours without
either obtaining any advantage or injuring the
other, till they were at length separated by their
men. But what force had not been able to
effect, was performed by famine. Several boats
loaded with provisions had repeatedly attempted
in vain to relieve the besieged ; the vigilance of
the besiegers opposed so insuperable an obstacle,
that Bernal saw himself at length compelled to
abandon the place. The Araucanians permitted
the garrison to retire without molestation, and
contented themselves with burning the houses
and demolishing; the walls.

The capture of Angol, after that of Canete
and Arauco, appeared so easy to Antiguenu, that
he gave it in charge to one of his subalterns.
That officer meeting on the road with a bocty of
Spaniards commanded by Zurita^ defeated them,

VOL. II. p

210

but was afterwards routed in his turn near Mul*
chen by Diego Carranza, whom the magistracy
of that city had sent against him. Antiguenu^
solicitous of maintaining the reputation of his
arms, repaired thither in person with about two
thousand men, in order to finish the enterprise ;
but before assaulting the place he encamped at
the confluence of the Bio-bio and Vergosa,
'where he was attacked by the whole Spanish
army, under the command of Bernal. The
Araucanians made use with much skill of the
muskets which they had taken at the defeat of
Mariguenu, and sustained the assault for three
hours in succession. Four hundred of the auxi-
liaries and a number of Spaniards had fallen^
when their infantry began to give way and be-
take themselves to flight. Bernal, perceiving no
other means of restraining them, commanded the
horse to slay the fugitives. This severe order
was carried into execution, and checked the con-
fusion. The infantry being thus compelled t&
fight, attacked the enemy's entrenchments with
such vigour, that they finally forced them and
penetrated into the camp. Antiguenu valiantly
opposed the assailants in person, but, forced along
with a crowd of his soldiers who fled, he felt
from a high bank into the river, and was drowned.
His death decided the battle. Great was the
slaughter of the Araucanians. Many also pe-
rished in the river, into which they had thrown?

211

themselves to escape. In this battle, which was
fought in 1564, the conquerors themselves were
almost all wounded, and lost many of their men,
but recovered forty-one muskets, twenty-one
cuirasses, and fifteen helmets, with a great
number of lances and other weapons.

While these events passed on the shore of the
Bio-bio, Lillemu, who had been sent by Anti-
guenu to lay waste the provinces of Chilian and
Itata, defeated a detachment of eighty Spaniards,
commanded by Pedro Balsa. In the meantime
the governor, leaving Conception with one hun-
dred and fifty soldiers, cut off a party of the
Araucanians that were ravaging Chilian. Lil-
lemu hastened to their relief, but on his arrival,
finding them dispersed, he only saved the re-
mainder of his troops by making a gallant stand
in a narrow pass with several determined youth.
This noble effort of patriotic courage gave time
to his army to effect their escape, but it cost the
lives of Lillemu and bis valiant companions.

p2

?A%

CHAP. II.

Paillataru elected To qui ; Government of Mo-
drigo de Quiroga ; Conquest of the Archipelago
of Chiloe ; Description of its Inhabitants,

AntiguenU had for successor in the Toquiate,
Paillataru, the brother or cousin of the celebrated
Lautaro, but his character was of a very different
stamp. Slow and extremely circumspect in his
operations, he contented himself during the first
years of his command in maintaining undimi-
nished the love of liberty in the bosoms of his
countrymen, and in leading them from time to
time to ravage the enemy's country. During
the same time a change was made of the Spanish
governor : Rodrigo de Quiroga, who had been
appointed to that office by the Royal Audience
of Lima, began his administration by arresting
his predecessor, and sending him prisoner to
Peru.

Having received a reinforcement of three hun-
dred soldiers in 1665, he entered the Araucanian
territory, rebuilt the fort of Arauco and the city
of Canete, constructed anew fortress at the cele-
brated post of Quipeo, and ravaged the neigh-
bouring provinces. Towards the end of the fol-

213

lowing year he sent the Marshal Ruiz Gamhoa
with sixty men to subject the inhabitants of the
Archipelago of Chiloe ; that officer encountered
no resistance,, and founded in the principal island
the city of Castro and the port of Chacao.

The islands of this Archipelago amount to
eighty, and, like most other islands, have been
produced by earthquakes, owing to the great
number of volcanoes with which that country
formerly abounded. Every part of them ex-
hibits the most unquestionable marks of tire.
Several mountains in the great island of Chiloe,
which has given its name to the Archipelago, are
composed of basaltic columns, which, whatever
may be said to the contrary, could have been
produced only by the operation of fire.

The native inhabitants, though descended from
the continental Chilians, as their appearance,
their manners, and their language all evince, are
nevertheless of a very different character, being
of a pacific or rather a timid disposition. They
made no opposition, as we have already observed,
to the handful of Spaniards who came there to
subjugate them, although their population is
said to have exceeded seventy thousand ; nor
have they ever attempted to shake off the yoke
until the beginning of the present century, when
an insurrection of no great importance was ex-
cited, which was soon quelled. The number of
Inhabitants at present amounts to upwards of

p3

214

eleven thousand ; they are divided into seventy-
six districts or Ulmenates, the greater part of
which are subject to the Spanish commanders,
and are obliged to render personal service for
fifty days in the year, according to the feudal
laws, which are rigidly observed in this province,
notwithstanding they have been for a long time
abolished throughout the rest of the kingdom.

These islanders generally possess a quickness
of capacity and very readily learn whatever is
taught them. They have a genius for the me-
chanical arts, and excel in carpentery, cabinet-
making, and turnery, from the frequent occa-
sions which they have to exercise them, all their
churches and houses being built of wood. They
are very good manufacturers of linen and wool-
len, with which they mix the feathers of sea-
birds, and form beautiful coverings for their
beds. They make also ponchos, or cloaks of
various kinds, striped or embroidered with silk
or thread. From their swine, which are very
numerous, they make excellent hams, the most
esteemed of any in South America,

Notwithstanding the great quantity of timber
annually taken from them, these islands are co-
vered with thick woods ; and as it rains there
almost incessantly, the cultivated grounds con-
tinue wet the whole year. From hence it fol-
lows that the inhabitants, although they have
cattle, make no use of them for ploughing, but

215

till the earth in a very singular manner. About
three months before sowing-time they turn their
sheep upon their lands, changing their situation
every three or four nights. When the field is
sufficiently manured in this manner they strew
the grain over it. One of their strongest men
then attempts to harrow it by means of a machine
formed of two large sticks of hard wood made
sharp and fastened together, which he forces into
the ground with his breast, and thus covers the
seed. Notwithstanding this imperfect tillage, a
crop of wheat will yield them ten or twelve for
one. They also raise great quantities of barley,
beans, peas, quinoa, and potatoes, which are the
largest and best of any in Chili. From the ex-
cessive moisture of the atmosphere, the grape
never acquires sufficient maturity to be made
into wine, but its want is supplied by various
kinds of cider, obtained from apples and other
wild fruits of the country.

The necessity that they are under of often
going from one island to another, where the sea
is far from deserving the name of the Pacific,
renders the Chilotes excellent sailors. Their
pirogues are composed of three or five large
planks sewed together, and caulked with a
species of moss that grows on a shrub. These
are in great numbers throuLhout the whole of
the Archipelago, and are managed with sails

P 4

216

and oars, and in these frail skiffs the natives will
frequently venture as far as Conception.*

These people are fond of fishing,, an occu-
pation to which they are led from the great va-
riety of fish with which their coasts abound.
Large quantities of these are dried and sent to
foreign countries. They likewise dry the testa-
ceous kinds, particularly the conchs, the clamps,
and the piures. For this purpose they arrange
them in a long trench, covering them with the
large leaves of thepanke tinctoria. Over these
they place stones, on which they make a hot fire
for several hours. They then take the roasted
animals from their shells, and string them upon
threads, which they hang for some time in the
smoke. In this mode they keep very well, and
are carried to Cujo and other places at a distance
from the sea.

As soon as the Christian religion was preached
in Chiloe, it was readily embraced by the natives,
who have ever since continued faithful and obe-
dient to its precepts. Their spiritual concerns
are under the direction of the bishop of Concep-
tion, and their temporal are administered by a
governor appointed by the captain-general of

* It will not be improper to oBserve here, that the Indians,
\ybo form the principal part of the sailors of the South Seas,
are very active, docile, and industrious!, and excellent seamen
for these mild and temperate climates*— Spanish Trans,

217

Chili.* The Spaniards at present established in
this Archipelago amount to about fifteen thou-
sand, and its commerce is conducted by means of
three or four ships which trade there annually
from Peru and Chili. To these they sell large
quantities of red cedar boards, timber of different
kinds suitable for carriages, upwards of two
thousand ponchos of various qualities, hams, pil-
chards, dried shell-fish, white cedar boxes, cloaks.,
enbroidered girdles, and a small quantity of am-
bergris which is found upon the shores; and
receive in exchange, wine, brandy, tobacco, sugar,
herb of Paraguay, salt, and several kinds of
European f goods.

* The temporal government of these islands at the present
time (1792) is vested in the viceroyalty of Lima. — Spanish,
Trans.

i For a farther account of the Archipelago of Chiloe, see
the Appendix. — E, E.

218

CHAP. III.

Establishment of the Court of Royal Audience :
Government of Don Melchor Brave de Sara*
via ; Military operation of Paillataru, and of
his successor Paynenancu ; Suppression of the
Court of Audience ; Second Government of
Quiroga; Foundation of Chilian; Some Ac-
count of the Pehuenches.

The continuation of the war, and the great
importance of the conquest, finally induced
Philip II. to erect a court of Royal Audience in
Chili, independent of that of Peru. To this he
confided not only the political, but even the mili-
tary administration of that kingdom. This su-
preme tribunal, which was composed of four
judges of law, and a fiscal, on the 13th of August,
1557, made its solemn entry into Conception,
where it fixed its residence. Immediately on
assuming its functions, it removed Quiroga from
the government, and gave the command of the
army with the title of general to Ruiz Gamboa.
This commander, having learned that Pailla-
taru was preparing to besiege the city of Canete,
hastened thither immediately, and finding him in.
possession of a post not far from that place, at*

219

tacked and defeated him after a long and obstinate
contest. This defeat enabled the victors to over-
run and lay waste the country, without opposition,
for the space of a year, from whence they took
a great number of women and children, whom
they made slaves. In the meantime the Spanish
general attempted repeatedly, to no purpose, to
persuade the Araucanians to commence negocia-
tions for peace. Preferring all possible evils to
the loss of liberty, they constantly refused to
lend an ear to his proposals.

As peace, so necessary to the welfare of the
colony, appeared to be daily more remote, not-
withstanding no means were spared to obtain it,
the military government of the Royal Audience
was thought inadequate to the purpose of its
establishment; and it was deemed more expedient
to place it, as before, in the hands of a single
chief, distinguished by the new titles of president,
governor, and captain-general of Chili, from his
jbeing president of the Royal Audience, the head
of the civil department, and commander of the
armies. Don Melchor de Bravo was, in 1568^
invested with this triple character ; a man well
qualified to fill the two first offices, but utterly
incompetent to sustain the latter.

He was nevertheless very desirous of engaging
ihe enemy, and signalizing the commencement of
bis government by a splendid victory. Having
learned that Paillataru; who had collected a new

220

array, had occupied the fatal height of Mart-
guenu, which the Spaniards, for what reason I
know not, had never thought of fortifying, he
immediately marched against him at the head of
three hundred European soldiers, and a large
number of auxiliaries. Paillataru, like several
of his predecessors, had the glory of rendering
this mountain famous by the total defeat of the
Spanish army. The president, who very fortu-
nately escaped being made prisoner, withdrew
precipitately with the small remnant of his troops
to the city of Angol. Greatly intimidated by his
defeat, he there resigned the command of the
army to Gamboa, the marshal, and to the quarter-
master Velasco, whom he ordered immediately
to evacuate the so often destroyed and rebuilt
fortress of Arauco. These officers, while con-
ducting the inhabitants of that place to Canete,
fell in with a division of the enemy, which they
attacked and defeated. Nevertheless, Paillataru,
having taken the post of 'Quipeo, marched two
days after against that city w ith a determination
to blockade it, when the marshal came out to
meet him with all the droops that he could raise.
The battle was continued for more than two
hours, and was one of the bloodiest ever fought
in Chili. The Spaniards, though severely han-
dled, remained masters of the field ; but Pailla-
taru, having in a short time repaired his losses,
returned to oppose the marshal, who had entered
4

221

the Araucanian territory to ravage it, and com*
pelled him to retreat with loss.

After this success, the two belligerent nations
observed, till the death of Paillataru, a period of
about four years, a truce or suspension of arms,
This was probably in a great measure owing to
the general consternation caused by a dreadful
earthquake, which was felt throughout the
country, and did great injury to the Spanish
settlements, particularly the city of Conception,
which was entirely destroyed. The Spaniards,
ever attentive to consolidate and give importance
to their conquests, erected, in 1570, another
bishopric in the city of Imperial, to which they
assigned as a diocese the vast extent of country
lying between the river Maule and the southern
confines of Chili.

About this time the Mustees, or descendants
of the Spaniards and Indians, having multiplied
greatly, the Araucanians, perceiving the advan-
tages which they might derive from their assist-
ance, resolved to attach them to their cause, by
letting them see that they considered them as
their countrj'men. With this view, on the death
of Paillataru in 1574, they conferred the office
of Toqui on one of these men, called Alonzo
Diaz, who had taken the Chilian name of Pay
nenancu, and had for ten years fought in their
armies, where he had distinguished himself by

his valour and abilities. If his predecessor had
the fault of being too cautious, the new Toqui,
on the contrary, to avoid that imputation, was
so^rash and daring that he almost always attacked
the Spaniards with troops inferior in number,
whence all his enterprises had that result which
might naturally have been expected.

As soon as he was invested with the command
he crossed the Bio-bio, probably with an in-
tention of attacking Conception ; but before he
reached it he was attacked and defeated in his
entrenchments by the quarter-master Bernal, not-
withstanding the great valour with which he de-
fended himself for a long time. Among the pri-
soners taken upon this occasion were several
women who were found in arms, the greater
part of whom killed themselves the same night,
Paynenancu, having escaped from the carnage,
marched against Villariea, but was again de-
feated by Rodrigo Bastidas, the commandant of
that city.

Whilst the war was thus enkindled anew, the
licentiate Calderon arrived at Chili, in 1575,
with a commission from the court of Spain as
examiner. His first step was to suppress the
tribunal of audience, on the sole principle of
economy. The auditors themselves were ordered
back to Peru, and instead of the president Sara-
bia, Rodrigo Quiroga, who but a few years be-

fore had been appointed governor by the Audi-
ence of Lima, was again reinstated in that office
by order of Philip II.

That experienced officer, having assembled all
the troops that he could raise in the present cir-
cumstances, proceeded in 1576 to the frontiers to
oppose the progress of Paynenancu, who, not-
withstanding he had been twice defeated., con-
tinued constantly to harass the Spanish settle-
ments ; but not being able to meet him., he con-
tented himself with ravaging the country.

In the meantime, having received a reinforce-
ment of two thousand men from Spain, he gave
directions to his father-in-law, Ruiz Gamboa, to
found a new colony at the foot of the Cordilleras,
between the cities of Santiago and Conception,
which has since received the appellation of Chil-
ian, from the river on whose shore it stands, and
has become the capital of the fertile province of
that name. Shortly after the establishment of
this settlement, in 1580, the governor died at a
very advanced age, having nominated Gamboa
as his successor. The three years of Gamboa's
government were occupied on one side in opposing
the attempts of Paynenancu, and on the other in
repelling the Pehuenches and Chiquillanians,
who, instigated by the Araucanians, had begun
to molest the Spanish settlements.

The Pehuenches form a numerous tribe, and
inhabit that part of the Chilian Andes lying be-
1

224

tween the 34tb and 37th degrees of south lati-
tude, to the east of the Spanish provinces of
Calchagua, Maule, Chilian, and Huilquilemu.
Their dress is no way different from that of the
Araucanians, except that instead of drawers or
breeches, they wear around the waist a piece of
cloth like the Japanese, which falls down to the
knees. Their boots, or shoes, are all of one
piece, and made from the skin of the hind leg of
an ox taken off at the knee ; this they fit to the
foot while green, turning the hair within, and
sewing up one of the ends, the skin of the knee
serving for the heel. These shoes, by being
worn and often rubbed with tallow, become as
soft and pliable as the best dressed leather.

Although these mountaineers have occasion-
ally shown themselves to be valiant and hardy
soldiers, they are nevertheless fond of adorning
and decorating themselves like women. They
wear ear-rings and bracelets of glass beads upon
their arms ; they also ornament their hair with
the same, and suspend little bells around their
heads. Notwithstanding they have numerous
herds of cattle and sheep, their usual food is
horse-flesh, which, like the Tartars, they prefer
to any other, but more delicate than that people,
they eat it only when boiled or roasted.

They dwell in the manner of the Bedouin
Arabs, in tents made of skins, disposed in a cir-
cular form, leaving in the centre a spacious field..

where their cattle feed during the continuance of
the herbage. When that begins to fail they
transport their habitations to another situation,
and in this manner, continually changing place,
they traverse the valleys of the Cordilleras. This
wandering life is not, however, without its plea-
sures : by this means they acquire new acquaint-
ances, new accommodations, and new prospects.

Each village or encampment is governed by an
Ulmen, or hereditary prince. In their language
and religion they differ not from the Araucanians.
They are fond of hunting, and often, in pursuit
of game, traverse the immense plains that lie
between the great river of Plata and the straits
of Magellan. These excursions they sometimes
extend as far as Buenos Ay res, and plunder the
country in the vicinity. They frequently attack
the caravans of merchandize going from thence
to Chili, and so successful have they been in
their enterprises, that at present, owing to that
cause, the commerce in that quarter is said to be
almost entirely stopped.*

* It may be here proper to relate what I myself noticed on
my passage through these districts. Ou the 2?th of April,
17S3, I left Meudoza with post-horses for Buenos Ayres. We
soon learned from some people whom we met, that the Pe-
huenches were out on their excursions; and we soon after re-
ceived the melancholy information of the massacres they had
committed in the Portion of Magdakna. Fn consequence of
this there was not a post-house where we stopped but was in a
YOL. II. Q

§§6

They have, nevertheless, for many years, ab-
stained from committing hostilities within the
Chilian boundaries in time of peace, induced
either by the advantages which they derive from
the trade with the inhabitants, or from the fear
of being roughly handled by them. Their fa-
vourite weapon is the laque, already described,
which they always carry with them fastened to
their girdles. It is very probale that the ten
Americans conducted by the valiant Orellana, of
whose amazing courage mention is made in Lord
Anson's Voyage, were of this tribe.

Notwithstanding their wandering anc| restless

state of alarm, and we came to some that were absolutely de«
serted through fear. The year before about three hundred
Indians, lying back upon their horses, trailing their lances be-
hind them, in order to have it supposed that it was one of those
droves of mares so common in those Pampas, appeared all at
once before the post of Gutierrez ; but, supposing it strongly
guarded, were deterred from attacking it, although they saw
but one man, who patroled the wall with his musket, and was
indeed the only person in it. This man knew well that the
horses were guided, by the order and course they pursued, al-
though he could see nothing of their riders till they had come
very near. He had the prudence, however, not to fire at
them, which probably led them to believe there was a greater
force within the place, and induced them to abandon the en-
terprise and vent their fury upon the unfortunate inhabitants of
those plains. The commander of the post of Amatrain was
?jot so fortunate ; he was killed the same year with a negro
who attended him. These posts are fortified with palisades,,
v>r with a mud wall, and have a ditch and a draw-bridge,

227

/

disposition, these people are the most industrious
and commercial of any of the savages. When
in their tents they are never idle. The women
•weave cloths of various colours ; the men occupy
themselves in making baskets arid a variety of
beautiful articles of wood, feathers, or skins,
which are highly prized by their neighbours.
They assemble every year on the Spanish frontier,
where they hold a kind of fair that ususally
continues for fifteen or twenty days. Hither
they bring fossil salt, gypsum, pitch, bed-cover-
ings, ponchos, skins, wool, bridle-reins beau-
tifully wrought of plaited leather, baskets,
wooden vessels, feathers, ostrich eggs, horses,
cattle, and a variety of other articles ; and re-
ceive in exchange, wheat, wine, and the manu-
factures of Europe. They are very skillful in
traffic, and can with difficulty be overreached.
For fear of being plundered by those who be-
lieve that any thing is lawful against infidels,
they never all drink at the same time, but sepa-
rate themselves into several companies, and while
some keep guard the others indulge themselves
in the pleasures of wine. They are generally
humane, complacent, lovers of justice, and
possess all those good qualities that are produced
or perfected by commerce.

The Chiquillanians, whom some have erro-
neously supposed to be apart of the Pehuenches,
live to the north-east of them, on the eastern

228

borders of the Andes. These are the most sa-
vage, and, of course, the least numerous of any
of the Chilians, for it is an established fact that
the ruder the state of savage life, the more un-
favourable is it to population. They go almost
naked, merely wrapping around them the skin of
the guanco.* It is observable that all the Chi-
lians who inhabit the eastern valleys of the
Andes, both the Pehuenches, the Puelehes, and
the Huilliches, as well as the Chiquillanians, are
much redder than those of their countrymen who
dwell to the westward of that mountain. All
these mountaineers dress themselves in skins,
paint their faces, live in general by hunting, and
Jead a wandering and unsettled life. They are
no other, as I have hitherto observed, than the
$o much celebrated Patagonians, who have oc-
casionally been seen near the straits of Magellan,
and have been at one time described as giants,
and at another as men a litilp above the common
stature. It is true, however, that they are, ge-
nerally speaking, of a lofty stature and great
strength.

* The anonymous account of Chili published at Bologna
in speaking of this nation, observes, that their language is gut-
tural, and a very corrupt jargon of the Chilian.

229

CKAP. IV.

Government of the Marquis de Villar-hcrmosa;
His Successes against Paynenancu ; Capture
and Death of that General ; Enterprises of the
Toqui Cayav.cura and his Son Nangoniel ;
Landing of the English in Chili ; Operations
of the Toqui Cadeguala.

As soon as information was received in Spain of
the death of Quiroga, the king sent out as go-
vernor to Chili, Don Alonzo Sotomayor, with six
hundred regular troops., who, in 1583, landed at
Buenos Ayres., and from thence proceeded to
Santiago. He immediately sent his brother Don
Louis, whom he appointed to the new office of
colonel of the kingdom, to succour the cities of
Villarica and Vaklivia, which were besieged by
the Araucanians. That officer raised the sieges
of those places after having twice defeated Pay-
nenancu, who attempted to oppose his march.
Notwithstanding these reverses the enterprising
Toqui turned his arms against Tiburcio Heredia,
and afterwards against Antonio Galleguillos,
who were ravaging the country with a large
body of cavalry; by these he was likewise de~

Q 3

220

feated, but the victors paid dearly for their
victor v.

In the meantime the governor, having driven
off the Pehuenches who infested the new settle-
ment of Chilian, entered the Araucanian territory
with seven hundred Spaniards, aitd a great number
of auxiliaries, resolved to pursue the rigorous
system of making war which had been adopted
by Don Garcia, in preference to the mild and
humane policy of his immediate predecessors.
The province of Encol was the first that expe-
rienced the effects of his severity. He laid it en-
tirely waste with fire and sword. Those who were
taken prisoners were either hung or sent away
with their hands cut off, in order to intimidate
their countrymen. The provinces of Purem
Ilicura, and Tucapel, would have shared the
same fate, if the inhabitants had not secured
themselves by flight before the arrival of the
enemy, after setting on fire their houses and
their crops. In the last province they took only
three of the inhabitants prisoners, who were im-
paled. Notwithstanding these severities, a num-
ber of mustees and mulattoes joined the Arauca-
nians, and even some Spaniards, among whom
was Juan Sanchez, who acquired great repu-
tation.

The Araucanian general, impelled either by
his natural audacity, or by despair, on finding
himself fallen in the estimation of the native far

4-

231

habitants, opposed on the confines of the pro-
vince of Arauco the whole S{ *h
only eight hundred men. They nevertheless
fought with such resolution that the Spaniards
were not able to break them till after an ob-
stinate contest of several hours, in which they
lost a considerable number of men. Almost all
the Araucanians were slain, Paynenancu himself
was taken prisoner, and immediately executed.
The victorious governor then rebuilt the fortress
of Arauco, appointing the quarter-master Garcia
Kamon to command it, and encamped on the
shore of the river Carampangui.

The Araucanian valour, which had been de-
pressed by the imprudent conduct of the mustee
general, was excited anew by the elevation to
that dignity, in 1585, of Cayancaru, one of their
own countrymen, an Ulmen of the district of
Mariguenu. One hundred and fifty messengers,
furnished with symbolical arrows, were imme-
diately dispatched to various quarters in search
of aid. Every thing was put in motion, and in
a short time a respectable army was assembled.
The new Toqui determined to attack at mid-
night the Spanish camp, which still occupied the
post of Karampangui, of whose evict situation
he was informed by means of a spy. For this
purpose he formed his army into three divsions,
and gave the command ot theEQ * \ valiant

officers, Lonconobal, Antulevu, and Tarochina.

q 4

These divisions proceeded by three roads that
led to the camp, and cut in pieces the auxili-
aries,, »vho were the first to oppose their pro-
gress. Fortunately for the Spaniards., the moon,
rising at the moment of the assault,, enabled
them, after a short period of confusion, in
which they lost several of their men, to form
themselves and make head against their assail-
ants, who, galled upon all sides by the musketry,
began at length to give way. The governor at
the same time, charging them with his band of
veterans, succeeded in repulsing them, though
not without great loss on both sides.

Cayancura, who had halted at the entrance of
the Spanish camp, in order to support the attack,
finding his troops retiring exhausted and fa-
tigued, permitted them to rest the remainder of
the night, and at day-break returned to the at-
tack. The Spaniards came out to meet them in
the open field, and most obstinate and bloody
was the battle that ensued. But, overpowered
by the horse and artillery, the Araucanians were
finally compelled to quit the field. The authors
whom I have consulted satisfy themselves with
observing that the victory cost the Spaniards
dear, without specifying the number of the slain.
The governor himself calls it a bloody one in his
patent to Nugno Hernandez. The greatest proof
of his loss is, that immediately after the action
he raised his camp, and retired to the frontiers.

233

where he built two forts., that of Trinidad upon
the southern, and Spirito Santo upon the northern
shore of the Bio-bio. He also sent orders to the
serjear.t-major to raise as many recruits as pos-
sible throughout the kingdom, who, in conse-
quence, brought, him two thousand horse, and a
considerable number of infantry.

Notwithstanding his losses, the Araucanian
general resolved to take advantage of the retreat
of the governor to attack the fort of Arauco.
In order to render more secure the success of the
enterprise, he endeavoured to divert the Spanish
forces in every quarter. For this purpose he
ordered Guepotan to make incursions in the
territory of Villarica from the fort of Liben,,
where he had supported himself for several
years. To Cadiguala, who was afterwards in-
vested with the supreme command, he gave
charge to harass the inhabitants of Angol ; and
appointed Tarochina to guard the shores of the
Bio-bio ; while Meiilanca and Catipillan were
sent against Imperial. These officers had several
encounters with the Spaniards, attended with
various success. Guepotan lost the fort of Li-
Den, which was taken by the brother of the go-
vernor, while Tarochina made himself master of
a great number of boats on the Bio -bio, that
were conducting supplies of men and warlike
stores to the forts newly erected upon that river.

In 1586 Cayancura began his intended siege,

234

by surrounding the place with strong lines, so as
not only to intercept all succours, but also to
prevent the retreat of the garrison. From these
preparations the besieged perceiving that they
must finally be compelled to surrender or perish
with hunger, thought it better to die with arms
in their hands than to be reduced to this ex-
tremity ; they therefore attacked the enemy's
works with such vigour, that after a dreadful
combat of about four hours, they forced them,
and put the Araucanians to flight. Cayancura,
extremely mortified at the ill-success of his en-
terprise, retired to his Ulmenate, leaving the
command of the army to his son Nangoniel, a
youth of great hopes, ajad much beloved by the
nation.

The youag commander immediately collected
some companies of infantry, and a hundred and
fifty horse, which from henceforward began to
form a part of the Araucanian force, and re-
turned to invest the same fortress, whose en-
virons he so closely guarded, that the Spaniards,
unable to procure a supply of provisions, were
at length compelled to evacuate it. Encouraged
by this good fortune, he proceeded against the
fort of Trinidad which protected the passage of
the enemy's supplies by the Bio-bio ; but having
fallen in on the road with a division of Spanish
troops, under the command of Francisco Her-
nandez, he lost an arm in the contest, after having

335

received several other dangerous wounds. Thi
misfortune obliged him to retire to a neighbour-
ing mountain, where he was drawn into an am-
bush by the serjeant- major, and slain with fifty
of his soldiers, notwithstanding the great valour
with which they defended themselves for a long
time. The same day Cadeguala, who had ob-
tained great reputation in the army for his
courage and military skill, was proclaimed Toqui
by his officers.

Whilst the Araucanians endeavoured to oppose
the progress of the Spaniards in their country,
the English also planned an expedition against
them in that remote quarter. On the 21st of
July, 1586, Sir Thomas Cavendish sailed with
three ships from Plymouth, and in the following
year arrived on the coast of Chili. He landed
in the desert port of Quintero, and endeavoured
to enter into anegociation with the natives of the
country. But his stay there was but of short
continuance ; he was attacked by Alonzo Mo-
lina, the Corregidor of Santiago, and compelled
to quit the coast with the loss of several of his
soldiers and seamen.

In the meantime Cadeguala, who had signal-
ized the beginning of his command by several
bold incursions, resolved to avail himself of this
timely diversion to surprise the city of Angol,
with some of whose inhabitants he maintained a
a secret intelligence. By mean* of these agents

236

he prevailed upon those Chilians who were m the
service of the Spaniards to set fire to the houses
of their masters at a- certain hour of the night,
when he would be ready with his army at the
gates. The plan being accordingly executed, he
entered the city amidst the confusion, occupied
the several quarters of it with a thousand foot
and a hundred horse, and began to make a dread-
ful slaughter of the citizens, who, in flying from
the flames, fell into his hands. The garrison in
vain attempted to oppose his progress; nor would
any have escaped the sword on that fatal night,
had not by good fortune the governor accidentally
arrived there two hours before the attack. He
immediately hastened at the head of his guard
to the different places that were attacked, and
with wonderful presence of mind collected the
dispersed inhabitants, and conducted them to the
citadel. From thence he sallied out with the
most determined of them, and attacked the enemy,
whom he obliged to retire at day-break. The
Araucanians had become much less scrupulous
than formerly in their mode of making war, for
Cadeguala was not abandoned by any of his
officers on this occasion, as Caupolican had been
at Canete in his fraudful surprise of that city.

Although this daring enterprise had not been
accompanied with the success which the Arau-
canian general expected, yet, far from being dis-
couraged by it, he undertook the siege of the

237

fortress of Puren, which from its interior situation
appeared more easy to be taken. He invested it
regularly with four thousand men in four divi-
sions, under the command of Guanalcoa, Canio-
taru, Relmuantu, and Curilemu, the most valiant
officers of his army. The governor, on receiving
information of the danger of the place, hastened
to relieve it with a strong reinforcement, hut
Cadeguala advanced to meet him with a hundred
and fifty lances, and opposed him with such
vigour, that after a long combat, in which several
were killed, he compelled him to retreat.

Elated with this success, he proposed to the
besieged, either to allow them to retire upon pa-
role, or enter his service. These terras, which
he pretended to consider as advantageous, were
rejected with disdain. One person alone3 called
Juan Tapia, availed himself of the proffer, and
went over to the Araucanians, by whom he was
well received, and advanced in their army. This
plan proving abortive, Cadeguala determined to
shorten the siege by a decisive blow. He pre-
sented himself before the walls on a superb horse
which he had taken from the governor, and defied
the commander of the place, Garcia Ramon, to
single combat at the end of three days. The
challenge being accepted, the intrepid Toqui ap-
peared at the time appointed in the field, with a
small number of attendants, whom he placed
apart. The Spanish commander came out to

238

meet him with forty men, whom he likewise or-
dered to remain at a distance. The two cham-
pions then putting spurs to their horses, encoun,-
tered with such fury, that the first stroke decided
the battle, Cadeguala falling to the ground,
pierced through and through by the lance of his
adversary ; notwithstanding which, refusing to
acknowledge himself \anquished, he endea-
voured to remount his horse, but life failed him
in the attempt. His soldiers ran to raise him,
and carried off the body, after a sharp contest
with the Spaniards. The army then retired from
the place, determined to return when they had
elected a new chief.

239

CHAP. V.

The To qui Guano alca takes the Forts of Pur en,
Trinidad, and Spirito Santo ; Exploits of the
Heroine Janequeo ; Battles of Mariguenu and
Tucapel.

The Araucanians soon returned to besiege the
fort of Puren under their new Toqui Guanoalca,
who, being informed by Tapia that the garrison
was but ill supplied with provisions, and divided
into two parties, had formed the most sanguine
expectations of taking it. The result proved
that he calculated correctly ; as the besieged,
cut off from all external succour, and dissatisfied
with the conduct of their officers, were not long
in retiring to the city of Angol ; the Arauca-
nians, with their usual policy, leaving the passage
free, nor endeavouring to molest them in their
retreat.

Guanoalca immediately after marched against
another fort which the Spaniards had a little be-
fore constructed in the vicinity of Mount Mari-
guenu ; but a considerable reinforcement having
entered it shortly before, he resolved to employ
his forces in another quarter where the prospect
of success appeared more flattering. With this

210

view be proceeded against the forts of Trinidad
and Spi'rito Santo, upon the shores of the Bio-bio.
The governor, apprehensive that he should not
be able to defend them, or not considering them
as of sufficient importance,, evacuated them in
1589, and transferred the garrisons to another
fortress, which he had directed to be built upon
the river Puchanqui, in order to protect the city
of Angol : So that the war now became in a
great measure reduced to the construction and
demolition of fortifications.

The dictatorship of Guanoalca was rendered
more remarkable by the military exploits of the
heroine Janequeo than by his own. This woman
was the wife of that valiant officer Guepotan,
who for so long a time defended the post of Li-
ben. After the loss of that important place he
retired to the Andes, where he constantly endea-
voured to stimulate those mountaineers to the
defence of the country. Desirous of having his
wife with him, he at length descended into the
plains in search of her, but was surprised by the
Spaniards, who were very solicitous to get him
into their hands, and preferred being cut in
pieces to surrendering himself prisoner. Jane-
queo, inflamed with an ardent desire of avenging
the death of her husband, in company with her
brother Guechiuntereo, placed herself at the
head of an array of Puelches, with which, in
1590, she began to make inroads upon the Spanish

3

241

settlements, killing all of that nation that fell
into her hands. The governor, reinforced by a
regiment of soldiers, which he had received from
Peru, set out upon his march against her ; but
she, constantly occupying the highest ground,
and attacking unexpectedly sometimes the van,
and at others the rear of his army, obliged him
to retire, after having lost, to no purpose, much
time and a considerable number of men. As he
was of opinion that rigorous measures were the
best suited to quell the pride of the Arauca-
nians, he gave orders, before his retreat, that all
the prisoners taken in this incursion should be
hung : Among these was one who requested to
be hung upon the highest t. ee, in order that the
sacrifice which he made of himself to his coun-
try should be more conspicuous to his country-
men, and inspire them with a stronger determi-
nation to defend their liberties.

Janequeo having defended herself thus success-
fully against a general, who was unquestionably
a good soldier, and had gained a high reputation
in the wars of Italy, Germany, and Flanders,
proceeded against the fortress of Puchanqui,
not far from which she defeated and killed
Aranda, the commander, who had advanced to
meet her with a part of the garrison. But not
having been able to take the fort, she retired at
the commencement of the rainy season to the
mountains of Villarica, where she fortified her-

VOL. II. K

242

self in a place surrounded by precipices, which
she deemed perfectly secure ; from whence she
daily infested the environs of that city in such a
manner, that no one ventured to leave it.

The governor, moved by .the complaints of
the citizens, sent his brother Don Louis to their
aid, with the greater part of two reinforce-
ments that he had lately received from Peru,
under the command of Castillejo and Penalosa.
The intrepid Janequeo awaited him valiantly in
her retreat, repelling with great presence of mind
the various assaults of the Spaniards ; until her
soldiers being dispersed by the artillery, she saw
herself obliged to provide for her safety by
flight. Her brother was'taken in attempting to
escape, and obtained his life from the victors on
condition of promising on oath to keep his sister
quiet, and securing to them the friendship of his
vassals and adherents ; but while this proposal
was debated in a national council, he was killed
by the Ulmen Catipiuoue, who abhorred any
kind of reconciliation.

The old Toqui Guanoalca died at the close of
this year, and in 1591, Quintuguenu, an enter-
prising young man, and ambitious of glory, was
appointed his successor. Having taken by assault
the fort of Mariguenu, he encamped with two
thousand men upon the top of that mountain,
hoping, by some important victory, to render
himself as celebrated there as Lautaro. The

243

governor, undaunted by the recollection of the
misfortunes which had befallen his countrymen in
that ill-omened place, put himself at the head of
one thousand Spaniards and a large number of
auxiliaries, and immediately marched thither,
resolving to dislodge the enemy, or at least io
keep them besieged.

After having given the necessary orders, he
began at day-break to defile the difficult ascent
of the mountain, leading the advanced guard
in person, in front of which he had placed twenty
half-pay officers, well experienced in this kind of
war. Scarcely had he ascended half way, when
he was attacked with such fury by Quintuguenu,
that a general of less talents would have been
driven headlong down with all his troops; but,
animating his men by his voice and example, he
sustained for more than an hour the terrible en-
counter of the enemy, till having gained step by
step the level ground, he succeeded in forcing
them into their entrenchments, without however
being able to break their order.

The Araucanians, mutually exhorting each
other to die with glory, defended their camp
with incredible valour until mid-day, when Don
Carlos Irrazabal, after an obstinate resistance,
finally forced the lines on the left with his com-
pany. At the same time the quarter-master and
Don Rodolphus Lisperger, a valiant German
officer, penetrated with their brigades in front

r 2

214

and on the right. Quintuguenu, although sur-
rounded on every side, rendered for a long time
the event of the battle doubtful. He main-
tained his troops in good order, and conjured
them not to dishonour by an ignominious defeat
a place that had so often witnessed the victories
of their ancestors. Whilst he flew from rank to
rank animating his men, and constantly con-
fronting the enemy, he fell, pierced with three
mortal wounds by the governor, who had singled
him out and taken aim at him. The last word
he uttered was an enthusiastic exclamation of
liberty.

On seeing him dead, a part of his soldiers in
despair suffered themselves to be cut in pieces,
and the rest betook themselves to flight. Almost
all the auxiliaries were slain, but of the Spa-
niards it is said that only twenty fell in the
battle ; of which number was a Portuguese
knight of the order of Christ, who was slain in
the beginning of the conflict.

The governor, highly gratified with being the
first conqueror of the Araucanians on the formi-
dable Mariguenu, conducted his army to the
sea shore, where he was saluted with repeated
discharges of cannon from the Peruvian fleet,
which, in scouring the coast in search of the
English, had witnessed the victory. These de-
monstrations of general joy were answered on
the part of the army by frequent volleys of

245

musketry, and the customary military rejoicings.
Availing himself of this opportunity, the go-
vernor sent the quarter-master to Peru, on there-
turn of the fleet, in order to obtain the greatest
possible reinforcement of troops to prosecute the
war the ensuing campaign.

In the meantime he abandoned the ancient situ-
ation of the fortress of Arauco, and rebuilt it in
another more convenient upon the sea shore,
where, in case of need, it could be more readily
succoured. Colocolo was lord of this district;
he was son to the celebrated Ulmen of that
name, but of a disposition very different from
that of his father. Indignant on seeing his
lands occupied by the enemy, he endeavoured to
drive them off, but being defeated and made pri-
soner, he solicited and obtained his life, on con-
dition of persuading his subjects, who had re-
tired to the mountains, to submit to the Spanish
government. These, on being urged by his wife
Millayene to fulfil the promise of their chief,
replied, that as his present misfortunes had been
caused by love of his country, so ought he to
endure them with a firmness worthy of his birth;
that, stimulated by his example, they would
confront all dangers to defend him, and to re-
venge the outrages which he might suffer. The
prince, irritated by this reply, devoted himself to
the service of the Spaniards, and served them as
a guide in the pursuit of his people.

r3

246

At this period , 1592, there was among the
Araucanians a Spaniard who had been made
prisoner in one of the former battles, and who
by his ingratiating manners had obtained the
esteem and confidence of the principal men of
the nation. This man, either from gratitude for
the treatment he had received, or at the insti-
gation of the governor, applied himself to effect
a treaty of peace with great hopes of success ;
but the preliminary conditions proposed by him
not proving agreeable to either of the parties, all
his endeavours were ineffectual. The governor,
irritated at the ill success of his proposals, set
out on his march with all his army for the pro-
vince of Tucapel, laying waste with fire and
sword all that fell in his way.

Paillaeco, who had been elected To qui in
place of Quintuguenu, thinking himself not suf-
ficiently strong to oppose the enemy openly, re-
solved to draw them into an ambuscade. For
this purpose he placed a hundred men on horse-
back at the entrance of a wood, within which he
had concealed the remainder of his forces, with
orders for them to counterfeit flight on the ap-
pearance of the enemy. This scheme at first
promised success; the Spaniards pursued them,
but discovering in time that it was only a stra-
tagem, they turned back and pretended to fly
themselves, in order to induce their enemies to
quit the wood and attack them in the open field.

4

247

The Araucanians, not aware of the trick, ran
into the snare, and being surrounded on every
side, were almost all cut in pieces, together with
their commander, after having sold their lives
very dearly. The remainder took refuge in the
marshes, where they secured themselves from the
fury of the victors.

These repeated victories, the cause of such
exultation to the Spaniards, were but the pre-
ludes of the severest disasters that they had
ever experienced in Chili. It will, nevertheless,
scarcely admit of a doubt that they must have
cost much blood, since the governor, contrary to
his custom, withdrew to Santiago after the last
action, with the intention of awaiting there the
reinforcements which he expected from Peru,
and to raise as many recruits as possible in the
northern provinces of the country. The rein-
forcements were not long in arriving, but as they
appeared to him insufficient to continue the war
with advantage, he determined to go to Peru in
person to solicit more considerable succours,
committing in the meantime the command of the
army to the quarter-master, and the civil go-
vernment to the licentiate Pedro Viscarra. On
his arrival at Lima he met with his successor in
the government, who had been appointed by the
court of Spain. This was Don Martin Loyola,
nephew of St. Ignatius,* an officer of merit, who

* The celebrated founder of the order of the Jesuits.
K 4

248

had acquired the favour of the viceroy Toledo^
by taking Tupac Amaru, the last Inca of Peru,
in the mountains of the Andes. This service not
only obtained forhimthegovernmentof Chili., but
also the princess Clara Beatrix Coyain marriage,
the only daughter and heiress of the Inca Sayri
Tupac. He arrived at Valparaiso in 1593, with
a respectable body of troops, and immediately
proceeded to Santiago, where he was received
with every testimony of joy by the citizens .

249

CHAP. VL

The Toqui Paillamachu kills Loyola the Go-
vernor, and destroys all the Spanish Settlements
in Araucania.

After the death of Paillaeco, the Araucanian§
appointed to the chief command the hereditarj
Toqui of the second Uthalmapu, called Pailla-
machu, a man of a very advanced age, but of
wonderful activity. Fortune/commonly supposed
not to be propitious to the old, so far favoured
his enterprises, that he surpassed all his pre-
decessors in military glory, and had the singular
felicity of restoring his country to its ancient
state of independence. No sooner was he in-
vested with the supreme power, than he appointed
Pelantaru and Millacalquin, two officers not
inferior to himself in merit, to the important
charge of Vice Toqui, deviating in this instance
from the established custom, which allowed only
one lieutenant to the general. As the Arauca-
nian force was, however, greatly diminished, he
imitated the example of Antiguenu, and with-
drew to the marshes of Lumaco, where he ap-
plied himself to form an army capable of exe-
cuting his extensive plans.

250

Loyola, after having regulated the police of
the capital, proceeded to Conception in order to
attend to the business of the war. Paillamachu
took advantage of this opportunity to send an
officer, under pretence or complimenting him,
to obtain information of his character and de-
signs. Antipillan, who was charged with this
commission, showed himself worthy of the trust
reposed in him by the general. In the frequent
conferences which the governor held with him,
he endeavoured to impress him with an idea of
the great power and immense resources of his
sovereign, insinuating the necessity of the Arau->
canians coming to an accommodation. The am-
bassador, pretending to be convinced by his rea-
sonings, replied : ts We are not ignorant of the
power of your prince, which extends from the
east to the west. But we are not to be despised,
for although we are but a small people, we have
nevertheless hitherto resisted his immense power.
Your ideas respecting peace are very different
from ours. By peace we understand an entire
cessation of hostilities, which is to be followed
by a complete renunciation on your part of any
pretended right of controul over us, and the
restoration of all those lands which you have oc-
cupied in our territories. You, on the contrary,
under that name, seek to subject us, to which we
will never consent while we have a drop of blood
left in our veins."

251

As the governor was of a generous disposition,
he could not but admire the noble sentiments of
Antipillan, and dismissed him with the strongest
demonstrations of esteem. But far from aban-
doning the posts established in the Araucanian
territory, he passed the Bio-bio in 1594, and
founded a new city at a little distance from that
river, to which he gave the name of Coya, in
honour of the princess his wife. This he in-
tended not only as a place of retreat for the in-
habitants of Angol, which was in the vicinity,
but also to protect the rich gold mines of Kila-
coyan. He established therein a municipal ma-
gistracy, and adorned it with several churches
and monasteries ; and in order to render it more
secure, constructed two castles in front of it,
called Jesus and Chivecura, which protected
both shores of the river.

Paillamachu, solicitous of destroying this
rising establishment, which reflected dishonour
upon his command, in i595 gave orders to Lon-
cothequa, one of his captains, to take the fort of
Jesus. This officer, after having burned one
part of it, and twice penetrated into the other,
was killed before he completed the enterprise.
The Araucanian general began at length, in
1596, to harass with frequent incursions the
Spanish districts, both to subsist his troops and
habituate them to a military life. The Spanish
array in vain went in pursuit of him ; he always

252

took care to avoid it, resolving to reserve his
force for a more favourable occasion.

Finding no other means to restrain him, Loyola
erected in the neighbourhood of his encampment
two forts, one upon the ancient site of that of
Puren, and the other on the very border of the
marshes of Lumaco. These he garrisoned with
the greater part of a reinforcement of troops
which at that time he received from Peru, and
sent the remainder, in 1597, to found an esta-
blishment in the province of Cujo, under the
name of St. Louis de Loyola, which still exists,
although in a miserable condition, notwithstand-
ing the advantages of its situation.

Paillamachu soon took by storm the fortress
of Lumaco, and gave the charge of reducing
that of Puren to Pelantaru and Millacalquin.
Having in ten days reduced the garrison to ex-
tremity, these officers, agreeably to the instruc-
tions of their general, retired on the arrival of a
reinforcement of Spaniards under the command
of Pedro Cortez, who had obtained great repu-
tation in that war. The governor, nevertheless,
shortly after arriving there with the rest of the
army, ordered the fortifications to be demolished,
and the garrison to be transferred to Angol,
fearing to expose it to the fate of that of Lumaco.
He then proceeded to Imperial, to secure that
city in the best possible manner against the in-
creasing strength of the enemy.

253

After having repaired the fortifications of Im-
perial, and also those of Villarica and Valdivia,
he returned to the Bio-bio under an escort of
three hundred men, whom he ordered back as
soon as he thought himself in a place of security,
retaining with him, besides his own family, only
sixty half-pay officers and three Franciscan friars.
Paillamachu, who had secretly watched his mo-
tions, and followed him with two hundred sol-
diers, conceived this a favourable opportunity to
put his designs in execution. Accordingly, find-
ing him encamped in the pleasant valley of Ca-
ralava, befell upon him, while he was asleep, on
the night of the 22d of November, 1598, and
killed him with all his retinue. It would seem
that the Araucanian general had formed confi-
dent hopes of the success of this bold enter-
prise, since, in consequence of his previous in-
structions, in less than forty-eight hours after
this event, not only the Araucanian provinces but
those of the Cunchese and Huilliches were in
arms, and the whole of the country to the Archi-
pelago of Chiloe. Every Spaniard who had the
misfortune of being found without the garrisons
was put to death ; and the cities of Osorno,
Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol,
Coy a, and the fortress of Arauco, were all at
once invested with a close siege. Not content
with this, Paillamachu, without loss of time,
crossed the Bic-bio, burned the cities of Con-

254

ception and Chilian, laid waste the provinces in
their dependence, and returned loaded with spoil
to his country.

On the first receipt of this melancholy news at
the capital, the inhabitants, filled with conster-
nation, abandoned themselves to despair, and
agreed with one voice to quit the country and
retire to Peru. As they had, however, some
confidence in Pedro de Viscara, they assembled
in council, and obliged him to take upon him-
self the government, till the court, on being
made acquainted with the death of Loyola,
should appoint some other. This officer, who
was more than seventy years old, began his march
for the frontiers in 1599, with all the troops that
he could raise, and had the courage to cross the
Bio-bio, and in the face of the besieging enemy,
withdraw the inhabitants from Angol and Coya,
with whom he repeopled the cities of Conception
and Chilian. But his government continued
only six months ; for the viceroy of Peru, on
being informed of the perilous situation of Chili,
sent Don Francisco Quinones thither as go-
vernor, with a numerous reinforcement of sol-
diers, and a large supply of military stores.
This commander had several actions with Pail-
lamachu on the northern shore of the Bio-bio,
whither the Araucanians had gone with an in-
tention of laying under contribution, or of ra-
vaging the Spanish provinces ; but none of them

m

were decisive. The most celebrated was that of
the plains of Yumbel. The enterprising Toqui
being on his return, at the head of two thousand
men, with a great number of animals which he
had taken from the district of Chilian, Quinones
attempted to cut off his retreat with an equal
number, the most of whom were Europeans.
The two armies advanced with equal resolution.
The Spaniards in vain attempted to keep the
enemy at a distance by a constant fire from eight
field pieces and all their musketry. They very
soon came to close quarters, and the battle was
continued with incredible fury for more than two
hours, till night parted the combatants, and
Paillamachu, availing himself of the obscurity,
repassed the Bio-bio. The accounts from whence
our information is derived merely state in general
terms, that a great number of the Araucanians
were slain, and not a few of the Spaniards. The
governor upon this occasion made a useless dis-
play of severity, by ordering the prisoners to be
quartered and hung upon the trees ; a proceeding
highly disapproved by the most prudent of his
officers, who, from motives of humanity or self-
interest, advised him not to furnish the enemy
with a pretext for retaliation. But his adhe-
rence to the old maxim, of conquering by means
of terror, rendered him deaf to their remon-
strances. The consequence of this engagement
was the evacuation of the fort of Arauco and

256

the city of Canete, the inhabitants of which re-
tired to Conception.

In the meantime Paillamachu was in constant
motion ; sometimes encouraging- by his presence
the forces that besieged the cities, at others ra-
vaging the Spanish provinces beyond the Bio-
bio, to the great injury of the inhabitants.
Having learned that the siege of Valdivia had
been raised, he secretly hastened thither with a
body of four thousand men, consisting of in-
fantry and horse, among whom were seventy
armed with arquebuses, taken in the last engage-
ments from the Spaniards. On the night of the
14th of November he passed the broad river
Calacala or Valdivia by swimming, stormed the
city at day-break, burned the houses, killed a
great number of the inhabitants, and attacked
the vessels at anchor in the harbour, on board of
which many had taken refuge, who only effected
their escape by immediately setting sail. After
this he returned in triumph to join Millacalquin,
to whom he had entrusted the guard of the
Bio-bio, with a booty of two million of dollars,
all the cannon, and upwards of four hundred
prisoners.

Ten days after the destruction of Valdivia,
Col. Francisco Campo arrived there from Peru
with a reinforcement of three hundred men, but
finding it in ashes, he endeavoured, though in-
effectL!aIly, to introduce those succours into

3

257

the cities of Osorno, Villarica, and Imperial.
Amidst so many misfortunes, an expedition of
five ships of war from Holland arrived in 1600
upon the coast of Chili, which plundered the
island of Chiloe, and put the Spanish garrison to
the sword. Nevertheless, the crew of the com-
modore having landed in the little island of
Talca, or Santa Maria, was repulsed with the
loss of twenty-three of their men by the Arau-
canians who dwelt there, and who probably sup-
posed them to be Spaniards.

Quinones, disgusted with a war which was far
from promising a fortunate issue, solicited and
obtained his dismission from the government.
He was succeeded by the old quarter-master,
Garcia Ramon, of whom much was expected,
from his experience and long acquaintance with
the enemy. But that very knowledge induced
him to act on the defensive, rather than hazard
that part of the kingdom which was still subject
to Spain, although he had received a regiment
of select troops from Lisbon, under the command
of Don Francisco Ovalle, father to the historian
of that name. His government was, however,
but of short duration. Alonzo Rivera, an officer
who had rendered himself famous in the wars of
the Low Countries, was sent out by the king a.^
governor in his place, with a regiment of vete-
rans. On assuming his office, he fortified with
strong forts the shores of the Rio-bio, and greatly

• vol . II. i

258

encouraged the inhabitants, who had not yet re-
linquished the idea of quitting Chili.

After a siege of two years and eleven months
Villarica, a very populous and opulent city, fell
at length, in 1692, into the hands of the Arau-
canians. A similar fate, after a short interval,
was experienced by Imperial, the metropolis of
the southern colonies, which would have fallen
some months before, had not its fate been pro-
tracted by the courage of a Spanish heroine,
called Ines Aguilera. This lady, perceiving the
garrison to be discouraged and on the point of
capitulating, dissuaded them from surrendering,
and directed all the operations in person, until, a
favourable opportunity presenting, she escaped
by sea with the bishop and a great part of the
inhabitants. She had lost during the siege her
husband and brothers, and her valour was re-
warded by the king with an annual pension of
two thousand dollars. ;

Osorno, a city not less rich and populous than
the preceding, was not able much longer to resist
the fate that awaited it. It fell * under the vio-

* Modern as American history is, it has had its full share of
fable, and this city of Osorno furnished a subject for the last
which has been invented. It is found in the twentieth volume
of the Semanario Erudilo.

In this great effort of the natives of Chili to recover their
country, Osorno resisted them vigorously, and held out for six
months : at the end of that time the Spaniards repulsed the

259

lent efforts of the besiegers, who, freed from
their attention to the others, were able to bring
their whole force against it. Thus, in a period
of little more than three years, were destroyed

besiegers in a general assault, and compelled them to break up
the blockade ; being however afraid of another attack, they
retired about three or four leagues, to a peninsula at the south
foot of the Cordillera, formed by the lake from which the
river Bueno issues. Here they built a city and secured it on
the isthmus with walls, bulwarks, moats, and draw-bridges :
and here they remained and multiplied so as to form another
city on the opposite side of' the lake. They have plenty of
boats. Their weapons a^e the lance, sword, and dagger ; but
whether of iron or not, 1 1 person who discoveredthe existence
of these cities, had not bs& aK.de to learn. They use also the
thong and ball, and are greatly dreaded for their skill in
throwing it • and they have artillery, but no muskets. The
Indians call them Alcahuncas. Formerly they used to buy
salt from the Pehuences, and even from the Indians who are
under the Spanish government, which they paid for in silver ;
and this occasioned a great demand for salt at the Spanish
settlements, where an ox was then the price of a loaf : but
lately this demand has ceased, for they have found salt in
abundance. They have retained their dress, their complexion,
and their beards. A year only before this account was written,
a man from Chiloe got to the city gates before the bridge was
drawn up, and knocked for admittance. T;:e soldier who was
upon guard told him to hasten back :.- iasf as possible, for
their king, he said, was a cruel tyrant, and woul i infallibly put
him to death if he was taken ; he marvelled indeed that the
Indians had let hiin pass thus far. This man was kil!> d on
his way back; but the news of his adventure reached Valdivia,
and was fully beiieved there. It seems the people of these
cities were under a grievous tyranny, and were therefore de~

« 9,

260

all the settlements which Valdivia and his suc-
cessors had established and preserved, at the ex-
pense of so much blood, in the extensive country
between the Bio-bio and the Archipelago of
Chiloe, none of which have been since rebuilt,
as what is at present called Valdivia is no more
than a fort or garrison.

The sufferings of the besieged were great, nor
can they scarcely be exceeded by those endured
in the most celebrated sieges recorded in history.
They were compelled to subsist on the most
loathsome food, and a piece of boiled leather
was considered as a sumptf*ous repast by the
voluptuous inhabitants of Villarica and Osorno.
The cities that were taken were destroyed in
such a manner that at present few vestiges of
them remain, and those ruins are regarded by
the natives as objects of detestation. Although

sirous of making their situation known to the Spaniards ; but
the chiefs took every possible precaution to prevent this, and
the Tndians, who possessed the intervening country, were
equally solicitous to prevent any intelligence of this state from
reaching the Spanish settlements, because it would bring them
farther into the land.

This account is said to have been written in 1774, by Don
Ignaoio Pinuer, captain of infantry, and interpreter-general at
Valdivia, and by him addressed to the president of Chili.' The
writer states that his thorough knowledge of the language of
the natives, and his great intimacy with them, had enabled
him, by th2 artful and pet severing inquires of eight and
twenty years, to collect this information. — E. E.

mi

great numbers of the citizens perished in the
defence of their wall's, the prisoners of all ranks
and sexes were so numerous, that there was
scarcely an Araucanian family who had not one
to its share. The women were taken into the
seraglios of their conquerors. Husbands were,
however, permitted for the most part to retain
their wives, and the unmarried to espouse the
women of the country ; and it is not a little
remarkable that the mustees, or offspring of
these singular marriages, became in the subse-
quent wars the most terrible enemies of the
Spanish name.

The ransom and exchange of prisoners was
also permitted. By this means many escaped
from captivity. Some, however, induced by
love of their children, preferred to remain with
their captors during their lives ; others, who ac-
quired their affection by their pleasing manners,
or their skill in the arts, established themselves ad-
vantageous^ in the country. Among the latter
were Don Basilio Roxas and Don Antonio Bas-
cugnan, both of noble birth, who acquired high
reputation among the natives, and have left in-
teresting memoirs of the transactions of their own
times. But those who fell into brutal hands had
much to suffer. Paillamachu did not long enjoy
the applause of his countrymen ; he died at the
end of the year 1603, and was succeeded by Hu-
necura, his pupil in the school of Lumaco.

£ 3

262

CHAP. VII.

COMPRISING A PERIOD OP THIRTEEN YEARS',
FROM 1604: TO 1617.

Second unfortunate Government of Garcia Ra-
mon ; Restoration of the Court of Royal Audi-
ence; Ineffectual Negotiation for Peace.

Whilst Alonzo Rivera was wholly intent upon
checking the progress of the victorious Arauca-
nians, he was removed from the government of
Chili to that of Tucuman, in censequence of
having married the daughter of the celebrated
Aguilera without obtaining the royal permission.
Garcia Ramon,, his predecessor, was appointed to
succeed him, and received at the same time with
his commission, a thousand soldiers from Europe,
and two hundred and fifty from Mexico. As
he was now at the head of an army of three
thousand regular troops, besides auxiliaries, he
returned to invade the Araucanian territories,
and penetrated without much opposition as far as
the province of Boroa, where he erected a fort,
which he furnished with a good number of

263

cannon, and a garrison of three hundred men,
under the command of Lisperger.

Huenecura waited till the retreat of the army
to attack this new establishment. Oi» his march
thither he fell in with the commander Lisperger^
who had left the fort with one hundred and sixty
of his soldiers in order to protect a convoy, and
cut in pieces the whole detachment. He then
proceeded to the attack of the fort, which he
assailed three times with great fury. The battle
was continued with the utmost obstinacy for the
space of two hours, but Egidius Negrete, who
succeeded to the command in place of Lisperger,
manifested in the defence so much valour and
military skill, that the Araucanian general found
himself under the necessity of converting the
storm into a blockade, which was continued
until the governor gave orders for the garrison
to evacuate the place.

After this the Spanish army proceeded to lay
waste the enemy's country. For this purpose it
was separated into two divisions, one under the
command of the quarter-master, Alvaro Pineda,
and the other under thai of Don Diego Sara.via,
Huenecura, however, watching his opportunity,
attacked and defeated them one after the other,,
and so complete was the rout, that tliere was not
a single person who escaped death or captivity.
Thus in a short time was that army, on which
such flattering hopes had been founded, wfecJjv

s4

264

dispersed. In consequence of these disasters, ia
1608, the court of Spain issued orders, that
hereafter there should constantly be maintained
on the Araucanian frontier a body of two thou-
sand regular troops, for whose support an appro-
priation of 292,279 dollars annually was made
in the treasury of Peru.

After having been suppressed for thirty-four
years, the Court of Royal Audience was re-
established on the 8th of September, 1609, in
the city of St. Jago, to the great satisfaction of
the inhabitants, since which period it has con-
tinued to exist with a high reputation for justice
and integrity. Ramon, who, by this new regu-
lation, to the titles of governor and captain-
general; had added that of president, returned
and crossed the Bio-bio at the head of an army
of about two thousand men. Huenecura ad-
vanced to meet him in the defiles of the marshes
of Lumaco. The battle was obstinate and
bloody, and the Spaniards were in great danger
of being entirely defeated ; but the governor,
placing himself in the front line, animated his
troops so far that they at length succeeded in
breaking the enemy. Shortly after this battle,
on the 10th of August, 1610, he died in Con-
ception, greatly regretted by the inhabitants, to
,whom he was much endeared by his excellent
qualities, and his long residence among them.
He was also highly esteemed by the Araucar

365

mans., whom he always treated, when prisoners,
with particular attention, and a humanity that
did him honour in that age.

According to (he royal decree establishing the
Court of Audience, the government now de-
volved upon the eldest of the auditors, Don
Xouis Merlo de la Fuente.

About the same time, either from disease or in
consequence of a wound that he received in the
last battle, died the Toqui Huenecura. His suc-
cessor was Aillavilu the Second, whom Don Ba-
sil io de Roxas, a contemporary writer, represents
as oneof the greatest of the Araucanian generals,
and as having fough. many battles with Merlo,
and his successor Don Juan Xaraquemada;
but he neither mentions the places where thej
were fought, nor any particulars respecting
them.

Among the missionaries at that time charged
with the conversion of the Chilians, there was a
Jesuit called Louis Valdivia, who, perceiving
that it was impossible to preach to the Arauca_
nians during the tumult of arms, went to Spain,
and represented in the strongest terms to Philip
the Third, who was then on the throne, the great
injury done to the cause of religion by the con-
tinuance of the war. That devout prince, who
had more at heart the advancement of religion
than the augmentation of his territories, sent
orders immediately to the government of Chili
to discontinue the war, and settle a permanent

266

peace with the Araucanians, by establishing the
river Bio-bio as the line of division between the
two nations. With a view to insure the more
punctual execution of his order s, he also deter-
mined to exalt the zealous missionary to the
episcopal dignity, and commit to him the charge
of the government of Chili ; but Valdivia re-
fused to accept of any thing except the privilege
of nominating in his place a governor whose
views were in conformity to his own. This was
no other than Alonzo Rivera, who, as we have
already observed, had been exiled to Tucuman.

Satisfied with the prosperous issue of his
voyage, Valdivia returned to Chili in 1612, with
a letter from the king himself to the Araucanian
congress, relative to the establishment of peace
and the promotion of religion. Immediately on
hi& arrival he hastened to the frontiers, and com-
municated to the Araucanians by means of some
prisoners whom he brought with him from Peru,
the commission with which he was intrusted by
the court. Aillavilu, who at that time held the
chief command, paid little attention to this in-
formation, considering it as merely a story in-
vented for the purpose of deceiving and sur-
prising him; but he soon after dying or resign-
ing his office, his successor Ancanamon thought
proper to inquire into the truth of the report.
With this view he directed the Ulmen Caram-
pangui to converse with Valdivia, and learn his
proposals in an assembly of the Ulmenes.

267

The missionary, on being invited by that
officer, repaired under the protection of the Ul
men Lancamilla to Mancu, the principal place in
the province of Catiray, where, in the presence
of fifty of those chiefs, he made known his
business and the substance of his negotiation,
read the royal dispatches, and entered into a long
explanation of the motives of his voyage, which
concerned the general good of their souls. The
assembly thanked him for his exertions, and
promised to make a favourable report to the

general,

Carampangui insisted on accompanying Val-
divia to Conception, where he met with the go-
vernor, who dispatched the letter of the king to
Ancanamon by Pedro Melendez, one of his en-
signs, with a request that he would come to Pai-
cavi, in order to confer with him upon the preli-
minaries of the peace. The Toqui was not long
in repairing to the place appointed, with a small
guard of forty soldiers and several Ulmenes.
In his train were also a number of Spanish pri-
soners of the first families, to whom he had given
their liberty. The governor, Valdivia, and the
principal officers of the government, came out
to receive him, and conducted him to his lodg-
ings under the discharge of artillery. They then
proceeded to discuss the articles of peace, which
were, that the river Bio-bio should serve as a
barrier to both nations, so that neither should be

4

26$

permitted to pass it with an army ; that all de-
serters in future should be mutually returned.,
and that the missionaries should be permitted to
preach the doctrines of Christianity in the Arau-
canian territories.

The Araucanian general required as a preli-
minary the evacuation of the forts of Paicavi
and Arauco, which had been lately erected upon
the sea-coast. The governor abandoned the first,,
and agreed immediately on the conclusion of
peace to quit the other. As the consent of the
chiefs of the four Uthalmapus was however re-
quisite to ratify the treaty,, Ancanamon proposed
to go and seek them in person, and bring them to
the Spanish camp.

The negotiation was in this state of forward-
ness, when an unexpected event rendered abortive
all the measures that had been taken. Among
the wives of Ancanamon was a Spanish lady,
who, taking advantage of his absence, fled for
refuge to the governor, with two small children,
and four women, whom she had persuaded to
become christians, two of whom were the wives,
and the others the daughters of her husband.
The indignation of the Toqui on this occasion
was extreme, though he was much less exas-
perated at the flight of his wives, than the kind
reception which they had experienced from the
Spaniards. As soon as he obtained information
of it he relinquished every thought of peace,, and

269

returned back to demand them of the governor.
His claim was taken into consideration ; but a
majority of the officers, many of whom were
opposed to a peace from the advantage which,
they derived from the prisoners, refused to sur-
render the women to the Toqui, assigning as a
reason their unwillingness to expose them to the
danger of abandoning the faith which they had
embraced. After many ineffectual propositions,
Ancanamon, notwithstanding his resentment, was
reduced to solicit merely the restoration of his
daughters, whom he tenderly loved. He was
answered, that as the eldest had not yet been
converted to the christian faith, his request, as
respected her, would be complied with, but that
they could not so readily grant it in the case of
the second, who had already been baptized.

While affairs were in this critical state, ano-
ther character appeared upon the stage, who re-
vived the almost extinguished hopes of the de-
sired accommodation. Utarlame, Arch-Ulmen
of Ilicura, had ever been the most inveterate
enemy of the Spanish name ; and in order to
avoid all kind of commerce with the enemy, had
constantly refused to ransom his sons or relations
who were prisoners. He prided himself on having
opposed with success all the governors of Chili,
from the elder Villagran to Rivera; nor had the
Spaniards ever been able to obtain a footing in his
province, though it was situated in the neigh-

270

bourhood of Imperial. Valdivia having at this
time sent back one of his sons, who had been
taken in the late war, he was so highly gratified
that he came in person to visit him at the fort of
Arauco ; and in return for the civilities that he
experienced from him and the governor, offered
to receive the missionaries in his province, and to
persuade Ancanamon to make peace with the
Spaniards. He observed, however, that it would
be necessary in the first place to return him his
women, which could be done without exposing
them to any danger, by first obtaining from him
a pass of safe conduct in their favour : this was
also the opinion of Valdivia. Utiflame took
upon himself the* management of the business,
and departed, taking with him three missionaries,
Horatio Vecchio, of Sienna, cousin to Pope
Alexander VII. Martin Aranda, a native of
Chili, and Diego Montalban, a Mexican, the
friends and companions of his benefactor Valdivia.
No sooner had the exasperated Toqui learned
the arrival of the missionaries, at Ilicura, than he
hastened thither with two hundred horse, and
without deigning to listen to their arguments,
slew them all, with their conductor Utiflame,
who endeavoured to defend them. Thus were
all the plans of pacification rendered abortive.
Valdivia in vain attempted several times to re-
vive the negotiation. The officers and soldiers
who were interested in the continuance of the*

271

war, disconcerted all his schemes, and loudly de-
manded vengeance for the blood of the priests
who were slain. The governor, notwithstanding
his pacific wishes, found himself compelled to
yield to their demands, and the war, contrary to
the pious intentions of the king, was recom-
menced with greater fury than before. Anca-
namon, on his part, eagerly desirous of revenging
the affront he had received, incessantly harassed
the Spanish provinces. His successor, Lonco-
thegua, continued hostilities with equal obsti-
nacy. Ovalle, a contemporary writer, observes,
that he fought several bloody battles with the
governor and his subaltern officers, but has given
only an imperfect account of them. In 1617
Rivera died in Conception, having appointed the
eldest Auditor, Fernando Talaverano, as his suc-
cessor, who after a government of ten months
was succeeded by Lope de Ulloa.

272

CHAP. VIII.

COMPRISES A PERIOD OF FOURTEEN YSARS,
FROM 1618 TO 1632.

Daring Enterprises of the Toquis Lientur and
Putapichion.

Loncothegua having resigned, the chief com-
mand of the Araucanian armies was conferred
upon Lientur. The military expeditions of this
Toqui were always so rapid and unexpected,
that the Spaniards gave him the appellation of
the wizard. He appointed Levipillan his lieu-
tenant-general, by whom he was perfectly se-
conded in the execution of all his designs. Not-
withstanding the Bio-bio was lined with sentinels
and fortresses, he always contrived some means
of passing and repassing it without experiencing
any loss. His first enterprise was the capture of
four hundred horses intended to remount the
Spanish cavalry. He next ravaged the province
of Chilian, and the Corregidor having marched
to meet him, he entirely defeated and slew him,

273

together with two of his sons, and several of the
magistrates of the city.

Five days after this action he proceeded to-
wards St. Philip of Austria, or Yumbel, with
six hundred infantry and four hundred horse,
whom he sent out in several divisions to ravage
the country in the vicinity, leaving only two
hundred to guard the narrow pass of the Con-
grejeras. Rebolledo, the commander of the
place, provoked at his temerity, dispatched se-
venty horse to take possession of the above-
mentioned defile and cut off his retreat, but they
were received with such bravery by the troops
of Lientur, that they were compelled to retire
for security to a hill, after having lost eighteen
of their number, with their captain. Rebolledo
sent to their assistance three companies of in-
fantry, and the remainder of the cavalry. Lien-
tur, who by this time had arrived with all his
army, immediately formed his troops in battle
array, fell upon the Spaniards, notwithstanding
the continual fire of their musketry, and at the
first encounter put the cavalry to flight. The
infantry, being thus left exposed, were almost all
cut in pieces ; but thirty-six prisoners were taken
by the victors, who were distributed in the se-
veral provinces>of the country.

Had Lientur at that time invested -the place, it
must inevitably have fallen into his hands : but,
for some reason which does not appear, he de-

VOL. II. t

274

ferred the siege until the following* year, when
his attempts to take it were rendered ineffectual
by the valiant defence of Ximenes, the com-
mander. This failure was, however, recom-
pensed by the capture of Neculguenu, the gar-
rison of which he put to the sword, and made
prisoners of all the auxiliaries who dwelt in the
neighbourhood. These successes were followed
by many others equally favourable, whence, ac-
cording to contemporary writers, who are satisfied
with mentioning them in general terms, he was
considered as the darling child of fortune.

Ulloa, more a victim to the mortification and
anxiety caused by the successes of Lientur than
to sickness, died on the 20th of November,*

* About this time the governor of Peru, D. Geronimo
Luiz de Cabrera, made an expedition in search of the city of
the Cesares — the El Dorado of Chili.

In Charles 5th's reign the bishop of Plaeencia is said to have
sent out four ships to the Moluccas ; when they had advanced
about twenty leagues within the straits of Magalhaens, three
of them were driven on shore and lost, but the crew escaped.
The fourth got back into the North Atlantick* and when the
weather abated again attempted the passage, and reached the
place where her comrades had been lost. The men were still
on the shore, and entreated to be taken on board ; this wa3
impossible — there was neither room nor provisions, and there
they were left. An opinion prevailed that they got into the
interior of Chili, settled there, and became a nation who
ire called the Cesares. It was believed that their very
ploughshares are of gold. Adventurers reported that they
had been near enough to hear the sound of their bells ; and it

275

1620, and was, according to the established cus-
tom, succeeded by the eldest of the auditors,
Christopher de la Cerda, a native of Mexico.
For the better defence of the shores of the Bio-
bio, he built there the fort which still goes by
his name ; he had also a number of encounters
with Lientur, and during the short period of his
government, which continued but a year, was
constantly occupied in protecting the Spanish
settlements. His successor, Pedro Sores Ulloa,

was said that men of a fair complexion Lad been taken who
were supposed to be of this nation.— Ooalle, L. 1. c. 5.
do. L. 1 . c. 10.

The existence of this city was- long believed. Even after
Feyjor had attempted to disprove, the Jesuit Mascardi went
in search of it with a large party of Puelches, and was killed
by the Poy-yas on his return from the fruitless quest — Dohrey'
hojer, T. 3, 40?.

The groundwork of this belief is satisfactorily explained by
Falkner, c. 4. p. 112. " The report," he says, " that there is
a nation in these parts, descended from Europeans, or the re-
mains of shipwrecks, is, I verily believe, entirely false and
groundless, and occasioned by misunderstanding the accounts
of the Indians. For if they are asked in Chili concerning any
inland settlement of Spaniards, they give an account of towns
and white people, meaning Buenos Ayres, &c. &c. and so vice
versa, not having the least idea that the inhabitants of these
two distant countries are known to each other. Upon my
questioning ihe Indians on this subject, I found my conjecture
to be right; and they acknowledged, upon my naming Chiioe,
Valdivia, &c. (at which they seemed amazed) that those were
the places they had mentioned onder the description of Euro-
pean settlements." — E. E.

t2

276

continued the war with similar fortune, until his
death, which happened on the 1 1th of September,

1624. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law,
Francisco Alava, who retained the office only six
months.

Lientur at length, advanced in years, and fa-
tigued with his continual exertions, resigned, in

1625, the chief command to Putapichion, a young
man, of a character for courage and conduct very
similar to his own, who had passed the early part
of his youth among the Spaniards, as a slave to one
Diego Truxillo. The Spaniards also possessed at
the same time a commander of uncommon valour
and military skill : this was Don Louis de Cor-
dova, lord of Carpio, and nephew to the viceroy
of Peru, by whom he was abundantly supplied
with warlike stores and soldiers, and ordered, in
the name of the court, not to confine himself to
defensive war, but to attack directly the Arau-
canian territory in various quarters.

His first care on his arrival at Conception was
to introduce a reform of the military, and to pay
the soldiers the arrears that were due to them.
Those offices that were vacant he conferred on
the Creoles, or descendants of the conquerors,
who had been for the most part neglected ; and
by this measure, not only obtained their esteem,
but that of all the inhabitants. After having
established order in the government, he directed
his cousin Alonzo Cordova, whom he had ap-

277

pointed quarter-master, to make an incursion
with six hundred men in the provinces of Arauco
and Tucapel. But he was not able to take more
than a hundred and fifteen prisoners of both
sexes, and a small number of cattle, the inhabi-
tants having* taken refuge with their families and
effects in the mountains. Eight only attempted
to oppose his march, who paid with their lives
for their temerity.

In the meantime, Putapichion endeavoured to>
signalize the commencement of his command, by
the capture of one of the strongest places be-
longing to the Spaniards on the Bio-bio. This
was the fort of Nativity, situated on the top of
a high and steep mountain, well furnished with
soldiers and artillery, and both from its natural
and artificial strength considered as impregnable.
These considerations did not at all discourage
the ardent temper of the young general. He
came upon the fort unexpectedly ; in a moment
scaled the difficult ascent, possessed himself of
-the ditch, and set on fire with burning arrows
the palisades and houses of its defenders. But
the latter collected themselves in the only bastion
that the flames had spared, kept up from thence
so severe a fire upon the enemy, that Putapichion,
despairing after some time of being able to main-
tain himself in the fort, retreated, taking with,
him twelve prisoners and several horses.

From thence he crossed the Bjio-bio,. and jtt-
i3

278

tacked the post of Quinel, which was defended
by a garrison of six hundred men ; but failing
also in this attempt, he turned against the de-
voted province of Chilian, from whence he
brought off a great number of peasants and of
cattle, notwithstanding the exertions of the ser-
geant-major to stop his rapid march. In the
following year, 1628, the governor, eager for re-
taliation, determined to invade the Araucanian
provinces in three directions ; to the quarter -
aiiaster he assigned the maritime country, and to
the sergeant-major that of the Andes, reserving
the intermediate for himself. In pursuance of
this plan, at the head of twelve hundred regular
troops, and a correspondent number of auxili-
aries, he traversed the provinces of Encol and
Puren, captured a great number of men and
cattle, and having passed the river Cauten, ra-
vaged in a similar manner the rich district of
Maquegua.

Whilst he was returning, well pleased with the
success of his expedition, Putapichion presented
himself with three thousand men in order of
battle. The first encounter was so violent that
many of the Spaniards having fallen, the rest
were compleatly broken ; but being at length
rallied by the exertions of their valiant officers,
they maintained their ground, so that the battle
became more regular, and the slaughter was
equal on both sides. Putapichion, however,

279

who had recovered the spoil and taken seme
prisoners, during the confusion that the Spa-
niards were thrown into,, thinking it not pru-
dent to risk them on the event of a battle, ordered
a retreat.

On his return to Conception, the governor
met with the sergeant-major and the quarter-
master. The first had not been able to effect
any thing of importance, as the enemy had taken
refuge in the mountains. The latter reported
that having taken two hundred prisoners, and a
booty of seven thousand horses and a thousand
cattle, he had the misfortune to lose almost all of
them, in consequence of a dreadful tempest that
he met with on his return.

In the meantime, there arrived in Chili a new
governor, appointed by the court in place of
Cordova. This was Don Francisco Laso, a
native of St. Andero, an officer who had gained
much reputation in the wars of Flanders, where
he had passed the principal part of Ills life. He
at first sought to come to an accommodation with
the Araucanians, and for that purpose sent home
all the prisoners that were in the garrisons, with
particular instructions to that effect. But their
minds were not yet disposed to peace, the g
of establishing it being reserved for his £ur-
cessor ; he, however, prepared the way for i( i .
his victories, and by the ten years of un

t 4

280

mitted war that he made upon the enemy, in con-
sequence of the rejection of his proposals.

Laso was not, however, in the commencement
of his military operations highly favoured by
fortune. The quarter-master, Cordova, who
was preparing by his orders to invade the mari-
time provinces at the head of thirteen hundred
men, was completely routed in Piculgue, a
small district not far from the fort of Arauco.
Putapichion, having placed a part of his army
in ambuscade, contrived, with much skill, to
induce him to come to battle in an unfavourable
position. The Spanish horse which formed the
advanced guard, not able to sustain the shock of
the Auracanian cavalry, which had at this time
become very expert, gave way. The infantry*
being in consequence left exposed and surrounded
upon all sides, were wholly destroyed after a
combat of more than five hours, during which
they performed prodigies of valour in resisting
the furious assaults of the enemy. In this action
the commander himself was slain, with five cap-
tains, and several other officers of merit.

As soon as the governor was informed of this
defeat, he set out in person with a considerable
body of troops in search of Putapichion. In
the meantime, the latter, mocking the vigilance
of Reboliedo the sergeant-major, who had pro-
mised to prevent his crossing the Bio-bio, passed
that river with two hundred men, and taking ad-

281

Vantage of the absence of the Spanish army, laid
waste the neighbouring provinces. On receiving
this information Laso returned, and immediately
occupied with his troops all the known passages
of the river ; then taking with him a number of
men equal to that of the enemy, he went in pur-
suit of them with all possible expedition. Having
arrived at a place called Robleria, upon the shore
©f the river Itata, he was attacked with such
courage by the Araucanian general, that at the
first encounter the Spaniards gave way, forty of
them being slain, with several of their officers.
The rest owed their safety wholly to the valour
of their commander, who, with that cool in-
trepidity which marks a great character, not only
rallied and restored them to order, but also en-
abled them to repulse the enemy with loss.

Putapichion, satisfied with his success, and
still more with having taken the scarlet cloak of
the governor, returned and passed the Bio-bio
without being pursued. He was received by his
army with the liveliest demonstrations of joy,
and in order to gratify them, he resolved to revive
the almost forgotten festival of the pruloncon.
A Spanish soldier taken in one of the preceding
battles was the victim selected for this barbarous
spectacle, and after the usual ceremonies the Ul-
men Maulican, by order of the general, dis-
patched him with a blow of his club. This
cruel action, which some have sought to excuse

282 /

on the principle of retaliation, has dishonoured
all the laurels of Putapichion. The torture of
an innocent prisoner, upon whatever motive, or
under whatever pretext it is inflicted, is a crime
of the deepest dye against humanity. This cruel
amusement was not however pleasing to all the
nation. Many of the spectators, as Don Fran-
cisco Bascugnan, an eye witness, asserts, com-
passionated the fate of the unfortunate soldier,
and Maulican, to whom the office of dispatching
him was assigned as a mark of honour, declared
that he had consented to it with the utmost re-
luctance, and only to avoid quarrelling with his
commander.

Tbe governor having left to the quarter-
master, Fernando Sea, the charge of guarding
the Bio-bio/ with thirteen hundred Spaniards
and six hundred auxiliaries, withdrew to San-
tiago, where he raised two companies of infantry
and one of cavalry. At the same time he re-
ceived from Peru five hundred veteran soldiers.
With these^troops, and those whom he found
upon the frontier, having formed a sufficient
army, he proceeded immediately to the fort of
Arauco, which he knew was menaced by Puta-
pichion. That indefatigable general had indeed
commenced his march for that place with seven
thousand chosen troops whose valour he thought
nothing was able to resist. But intimidated by
some superstitious auguries of the Ex-Toqui

4

283

Lientur, who had resolved to share with him the
glory of the enterprise, the greater part of thr;a
forsook him on the road. Not discouraged by
this desertion, and observing that in war there
could be no better omen than an eager desire to
conquer, he continued his march with thirty-two
hundred of the most determined who were re-
solved to follow him, and encamped at a short
distance from the fort. Some of his officers ad-
vised him to attack it that same night, but he
declined it, as well for the purpose of resting
his troops, as not to give the enemy occasion (o
reproach him with always taking advanta-e, like
a robber, of darkness to favour his operations.

Having resolved to offer him battle the next
day, the governor made his men prepare them-
selves for it in the best manner possible, and that
night had a skirmish with an advanced party of
the enemy, who had approached very near the
wall, and burned the houses of the auxiliaries.
At day-break he took possession with his army of
the important post of Alvarrada, which was
flanked by two deep torrents, placing the cavalry,
commanded by the quarter-master Sea, on the
right, and the infantry, under the orders of ser-
geant-major Rcbolledo, on the left.

Putapichion having observed the movements
of the Spaniards, presented himself with his
army in such excellent order, that the governor
could not avoid openly expressing his admiration.

284

The soldiers, whose heads were adorned with
beautiful feathers, appeared as much elated as if
going to a banquet. The two armies remained
some time observing each other, till at length
Quepuantu, the Vice Toqui, by order of the
general, gave the signal of attack. The governor
then ordered the cavalry to charge, but it was so
severely handled by the enemy's horse, that it
took to flight, and sheltered itself in the rear of
the army. At the same time the Araucanian in-
fantry broke the Spanish lines in such a manner,
that the governor gave up all for lost. Fortu-
nately for him, at this critical moment Putapi-
chion was slain. Availing himself of the con-
fusion produced among the Araucanians by this
circumstance, he rallied his troops, and charged
the enemy anew, who were wholly intent on
carrying off the body of their general. This
they succeeded in effecting, but were completely
routed; Quepuantu in vain endeavouring to stop,
and bring them back to the charge, killing several
of them with his own hand. Great was the
slaughter of the fugitives who were pursued to
the distance of six miles ; of the Spaniards many
also were killed ; but from different accounts
given by writers, the number cannot be ascer-
tained.

385

CHAP. IX.

comprising a period of eighty-seven years,
from 1633 to 1720.

Continuation of the War ; New Expedition of
the Dutch against Chili ; Peace concluded with
the Araucanians ; Its short Duration; Ex-
ploits of the Toqui Clcntaru; Series of Spanish
Govornors to the Year 1720.

From the death of Putapichion to the termi-
nation of the government of Don Francisco Laso,
the Toquis elected by the Araucanians continued
the war with more rashness than good conduct.
None of them, like Antiguenu or Paillamachu,
possessed that coolness requisite to repair their
losses, and counterbalance the power of the
Spaniards. Quepuantu, who from the rank of
a subaltern had been raised to the chief com-
mand, after the battle of Alvarrada, retired to
a valley covered with thick woods, where he
erected a house with four opposite doors, in order
to escape in case of being attacked. The go-
vernor, having discovered the place of his re-

286

treat, sent the quarter-master Sea to surprise him
with four hundred light armed troops. These
arriving unexpectedly, Quepuantu took refuge,
as he had planned, in the wood, but ashamed of
his flight, he returned with about fifty men, who
had come to his assistance, and furiously attacked
the assailants. He continued fighting desperately
for half an hour, but having lost almost all his
men, accepted a challenge from Loncomaliu,
chief of the auxiliaries, by whom, after a long
combat, he was slain.

A similar fate, in 1634, befelhis successor and
relation Loncomilla, in fighting with a small
number of troops against a strong division of the
Spanish army. Guenucalquin, who succeeded
him, after having made some fortunate incursions
into the Spanish provinces, lost his life in an en-
gagement with six hundred Spaniards, in the pro-
vince of Ilicura. Curanteo, who was created
Toqui in the heat of the action, had the glory of
terminating it by the rout of the enemy, but was
shortly after killed in another conflict. Curi-
milla, more daring than his predecessors, re-
peatedly ravaged the provinces to the north of
the Bio-bio, and undertook the siege of Arauco,
and of the other fortifications on the frontier,
but was finally killed by Sea in Calcoimo.

During the government of this Toqui, the
Dutch attempted a second time to form an alli-
ance with the Araucanians, in order to obtain

287

possession of Chili ; but this expedition was not
more fortunate than the first.

The squadron, which consisted of four ships,
was dispersed by a storm on its arrival on the
coast in 1638. A boat, well manned and armed,
being afterwards dispatched to the island of
Mocha, belonging to the Araucanians, the in-
habitants, supposing that they came to attack
them, fell upon the crew, put the whole to
death, and took possession of the boat. Another
experienced a similar misfortune in the little
island of Talca, or Santa Maria. The Arauca-
nians, as has been already observed, were equally
jealous, and not, as may be readily imagined,
without reason, of all the European nations.
Notwithstanding the ill-success of the Dutch,
Sir John Narborough, an English naval com-
mander, undertook some years after a similar
enterprise, by order of his sovereign Charles the
Second ; but in passing the straits of Magel-
lan, he lost his whole fleet, which was much
better equipped than that of the Dutch.

In the meantime the governor, taking advan-
tage of the imprudence of the Araucanian com-
manders, continued constantly to lay waste their
provinces. By a proclamation he had at first
directed that every prisoner taken in these in-
cursions, capable of bearing arms, should be put
to death ; but afterwards, actuated by more hu-
mane sentiments, he ordered that they should be

288

sent to Peru. This sentence was, however, more
bitter to them than death. Whenever they came
in sight of land, which is very common during
that navigation, they hesitated not to throw
themselves overboard, in the hope of escaping
by swimming and returning to their country.
Many had the good fortune to save themselves
in this manner ; but those who were not able to
elude the vigilance of the sailors, as soon as they
were landed on the island, or at the port of Cal-
lao, exposed themselves to every peril to effect
their escape and return to their much loved
country, coasting with incredible fatigue the
immense space of ocean between the port and the
river Bio-bio. Even their relations, more soli-
citous to deliver them from the miseries of exile
than from death itself, when they were con-
demned to that punishment, frequently sent em-
bassies to the governor to negotiate their ransom,
but he always refused to consent to it, until they
had laid down their arms, and submitted to his
orders.

Laso had greatly at heart the performance of
the promise, which, like several of his prede-
cessors, he had made the king, of putting an end
to the war. He of course put in operation every
means possible of attaining that end. Indeed,
no one was more capable of succeeding ; but he
had to contend with an invincible people. Never-
theless, he employed every measure that military

289

science suggested to him, to effect their subju-
gation ; now endeavouring by his victories to
humble their pride, now ravaging their country
with fire and sword, and now restraining them
by the construction of fortresses in different
places in their territory. He also founded a city
not far from the ruins of Angol, to which he
gave the name of St. Francis de la Vega. This
settlement, which was protected by a garrison of
four companies of horse and two of foot, was
taken and destroyed by the Toqui Curimilla the
very year of its foundation.

A war so obstinate must necessarily have caused
the destruction of a great number of men. The
Spanish army had become more than one half
diminished, notwithstanding the numerous re-
cruits with which it was annually supplied from
Peru. On this account the governor sent Don
Francisco Avendano to Spain to solicit new re-
inforcements, promising to bring the war to a
termination in the course of two years. But the
court, judging from the past that there was little
reason to expect so successful an issue, appointed
him a successor in the person of Don Francisco
Zuniga Marquis de Baydes, who had given un-
questionable proofs of his political and military
talents, both in Italy and Flanders, where he had
sustained the office of quarter-master-general.

On his arrival in Chili in l?i J, this nobleman,
either in consequence of private instructions fr jm

VOL. II. u

290

the minister, or of his own accord, had a per-
sonal conference with Lincopichion, to whom the
Araucanians, upon the death of Curimilla, had
confided the command of their armies. Fortu-
nately, both the commanders were of the same
disposition, and being equally averse to so de-
structive a war, readily agreed upon the most
difficult articles of peace. The 6th of January
of the following year was the day fixed for its
ratification, and the place of meeting, the village
of Quillin, in the province of Puren.

At the time fixed the Marquis appeared at
the appointed place, with a retinue of about ten
thousand persons, from all parts of the kingdom,
who insisted on accompanying him. Lincopi-
chion, who also came there at the head of the
four hereditary Toquis, and a great number of
Ulmenes and other natives, opened the conference
with a very eloquent speech. He then, accord-
ing to the Chilian custom, killed a camel, and
sprinkling some of the blood on a branch of cin-
namon, presented it in token of peace to the go-
vernor. The articles of the treaty were next
proposed and ratified ; they were similar to those
which had been accepted by Ancanamon, except
that the Marquis required that the Araucanians
should not permit the landing of any strangers
upon their coast, or furnish supplies to any
foreign nation whatever ; this being conformable
te the political maxims of the nation, was readily

291

granted. Thus was a period put to a war of
ninety years,, and this grand negotiation was ter-
minated by the sacrifice of twenty-eight camels,
and an eloquent harangue from Antiguenu,
chief of the district, upon the mutual advan-
tages which both nations would derive from the
peace. After this the two chiefs cordially em-
braced, and congratulated each other on the
happy termination of their exertions ; they then
dined together, and made each other mutual pre-
sents, and the three days succeeding were past by
both nations in feasting and rejoicing.

In consequence of this treaty all the prisoners
were released, and the Spaniards had the satis-
faction of receiving, among others, forty-two
of those who had been in captivity since the time
of Paillamachu. Commerce, which is insepa-
rable from the good understanding of nations,
was established between the two people ; the
lands that had been deserted in consequence of
hostile incursions were repopulated, and by their
regular produce animated the industry of their
undisturbed possessors ; the hopes of religion
became also again revived, and the missionaries
began freely to exercise their ministry.

Notwithstanding these and other advantages
which were to be expected from the peace, there
were, among both the Araucanians and the
Spaniards, some unquiet tempers, who endea-
voured by specious reasons to prevent its ratifi-

u2

292

cation. The first said that it was only a scheme
to deceive the Araucanians, in order at a future
time to conquer them with more facility, by ren-
dering them unaccustomed to the use of arms.
Those of the Spaniards, on the contrary, pre-
tended to be afraid that, if peace were established,
the population of the enemy would be so muGb.
increased, that they would become sufficiently
powerful to destroy all the Spanish settlements
in Chili. Of the latter some had even the bold-
ness to cry " to arms," and endeavour to insti-
gate the auxiliaries to commence hostilities at
the very time of the conference. But the Mar-
quis, by justifying his intentions to the one, and
reprimanding the other party, prevented the re-
newal of the war, and put the last hand to his
glorious undertaking, which was approved and
ratified by the court.

In 1643, two years after the peace, the im-
portance of the article inserted by the governor
in the treaty was rendered very apparent to the
Spaniards, by a last attempt made by the Dutch
to possess themselves of Chili. Their measures
were so well taken, that had they been in the
least seconded by the Araucanians, they must
have infallibly succeeded. Having left Brasil,
which they had conquered, with a numerous
fleet, well provided with men and cannon, they
took possession of the harbour of Valdivia, which
had beea deserted for more than forty years,

293

where they intended to form an establishment in
order to conquer the rest of the kingdom. With
this view they immediately began building three
strong forts at the entrance of the river, in order
to secure its possession.

The Araucanians were invited, with the most
flattering promises, to join them ; this they not
only declined, but strictly adhering to the stipu-
lations of the treaty, refused to furnish them
with provisions, of which they were greatly in
want. The Cunchese, to whom the territory
which they had occupied belonged, following
the counsel of their allies, refused also to treat
with them, or supply them. In consequence of
this refusal, the Dutch, pressed with hunger, and
hearing that a combined army of Spaniards and
Araucanians were on their march against thenr,
were compelled to abandon the place in three
months after their landing. The Marquis de
Mancura, son to the viceroy of Peru, having
soon after arrived there in search of them with
ten ships of war, fortified the harbour, and par-
ticularly the island, which has since borne ths
titular name of his family.

On the termination of the sixth year of hig
pacific government, Baydes, was recalled by the
court, and Don Martin Muxica appointed in his
place. He succeeded in preserving the kingdom
in that state of tranquillity in which he found it,
no other commotion occurring, during his go-

v3

294

vemment, but that produced by a violent earth-
quake., which., on the 8th of May., 1647, de-
stroyed part of the city of Santiago. The for-
tune of his successor, Don Antonio Acugna, was
very different. During his government the war
was excited anew between the Spaniards and
Araucanians, but contemporary writers have left
us no account of the causes that produced it.

Clentaru, the hereditary Toqui of Lauque*-
mapu, being in 1655 unanimously elected ge-
neral, signalized his first campaign by the total
defeat of the Spanish army, commanded by the
sergeant-major, who fell in the action, together
with all his men. This victory was followed by
the capture of the fortresses of Arauco, Colcura,
St. Pedro, Talcamavida, and St. Rosendo. The
next year the Araucanian general crossed the
Bio-bio, completely defeated Acugna, the go-
vernor, in the plains of Yumbel, destroyed the
forts of St. Christopher, and of the Estancia del
Rey, and burned the city of Chilian.

I regret much the want of materials for this
part of my work, as all the memoirs of which I
have hitherto availed myself terminate at this
period ; even the successes of Clentaru being
only mentioned incidentally. All that we know
is, generally, that this war was continued with
great violence for a period of ten years, under
the government of Don Pedro Portel Casanate„
and Don Francisco Mencses. The last, who

295

was a Portuguese by birth, had the glory of ter-
minating it in 1665, by a peace more permanent
than that made by Baydes. But, after freeing
himself of the Araucanians, he had the misfor-
tune to enirajre in a contest of a different kind
with the members of the Royal Audience, who
opposed his marrying the daughter of the Mar-
quis de la Pica, as being contrary to the royal
decrees. The quarrel was carried to such length,
that the court of Spain was obliged to send out
to Chili the Marquis de Navamorquende, with
full powers to determine their difference. That
minister, after due inquiry, sent Meneses to Peru,
and took possession of his office. After him, to
the end of the century, the government was ad-
ministered in succession by Dou Miguel Silva,
Don Joseph Carrera, and Don Thomas Marin
de Proveda, all of whom appear to have main-
tained a good understanding with the Arauca-
nians, though Garro had nearly broken with
them, on occasion of removing the inhabitants
of the island of Mocho in 1686, to the north
shore of the Bio-bio, in order to cut off ail com-
munication with foreign enemies.

The commencement of the present era was
marked in Chili by the deposition of the governor
Don Francisco Ibanez, the rebellion of the in-
habitarts of Chiloe, and the trade with the
French. Ibanez, like Meneses, was banished to
Peru, for having;, as is said, espoused the party

u 4

296

in opposition to the house of Bourbon in the war
of succession. His office, until the year 1720,
was filled by Don Juan Henriquez, Don An-
drew Uztariz, and Don Martin Concha. The
islanders of Chiloe were soon restored to obedi-
ence,, through the prudent conduct of the quarter-
master-general of the kingdom, Don Pedro Mo-
lina, who was sent against them with a consider-
able body of troops, but who succeeded in re-
ducing them rather by mild measures than by-
useless victories.

The French, in consequence of the above-
mentioned war of succession, possessed them-
selves for a time of all the external commerce of
Chili. From 1707 to 1717 its ports were filled
with their ships, and they carried from thence
incredible sums in gold and silver. Many of
them who became attached to the country settled
themselves in it, and have left numerous descend-
ants. It was at this period, that the learned
father Feuille, who remained there three years,
made his botanical researches and meteorological
observations .upon the coast. His amiable qua-
lities obtained him the esteem of the inhabitants,
who still cherish his memory with much affection^

297

CHAP. X.

A Brief Account of the War of the Toquis Vilu-
■milla and Curignancu; Spanish Governors to
the Year 1787.

The Araucanians had for some time been very
much dissatisfied with the peace. They perceived
that ii gave the Spaniards an opportunity of
forming new establishments in their country.
They also endured very impatiently the insolence
of those who were designated by the title of
Captains of the Friends, and who having been
introduced under pretence of guarding the mis-
sionaries, arrogated to themselves a species of
authority over the natives, who, stimulated by
resentment for these grievances, determined, in
1722, to create a Toqui, and have recourse to
arms.

The choice fell upon Vilumilla, a man of low
jrank, but one who had acquired a high reputation
for his judgment, courage, and extensive views.
His object was no less than the expulsion of the
Spaniards from the whole of Chili. To succeed
in this arduous enterprise, it was necessary to
obtain the support of all the Chilians, from the
confines of Peru to the Bio-bio. Vast as was

29S

the plan, it appeared to him not to be difficult of
execution. Having killed in a skirmish three or
four Spaniards, and among them one of the pre-
tended Captains of Friends, he dispatched, ac-
cording to custom, a messenger with one of their
fingers, to the Chilians in the Spanish provinces,
inviting them to take arms at a signal to be given
by kindling fires upon the tops of the highest
mountains. On the 9th of March, 1723, the
day appointed for the open declaration of hosti-
lities, fires were accordingly kindled upon the
mountains of Copiapo, Coquimbo, Quillota.,
Kancagua, Maule, and Itata. Owing to the
smallness of their numbers, or their apprehension
of the issue of the war, the natives, however,
made no movement.

Vilumilia was^ however, by no means discou-
raged on seeing his projects evaporate in smoke.
As soon as he had declared war, he set out imme-
diately at the head of his troops to attack the
Spanish settlements. But before commencing
his march, he was careful to give information to
the missionaries, and request them to quit the
country, in order to avoid being ill-treated by
his detached parties. The capture of the fort
of Tucapel was the first fruit oi this expedition.
The garrison of Arauco, fearing the same fate^
abandoned the place. Having destroyed these
fortresses, he directed his march against that of
Puren, which he expected to possess himself of

299

without resistance. But Urrea, the command-
ing officer, opposed him so vigorously that he
was compelled to besiege it. In a short time the
garrison was reduced to great extremities from
hunger and thirst, as the aqueduct which sup-
plied them with water had been destroyed by the
enemy, and the commander, having made a sortie
in order to procure supplies, was slain, together
with the soldiers accompanying him.

In this critical state of affairs, the governor,
Don Gabriel Cano, who had succeeded Concha,
arrived with an army of five thousand men.
Vilumilla, expecting immediately to come to
action, posted himself behind a torrent, and
drew up his troops in order of battle : but
Cano, though repeatedly provoked by the enemy,
thought it more advisable to abandon the place,
and retire with the garrison. The war after-
wards became reduced to skirmishes of but little
importance, which were finally terminated by
the celebrated peace of Negrete, a place situated
at the confluence of the rivers Bio-bio and Lara,
where the treaty of Quillan was reconfirmed, and
the odious title of Captain of Friends wholly
abolished.

Cano, after a mild and harmonious govern-
ment of fifteen years, died in the city of St. Jago.
He was succeeded by his nephew, Don Manuel
Salamanca, who was appointed by the viceroy of
Peru, and whose whole conduct was conformable

300

to the humane maxims of his uncle. Don Joseph
Manso, who was sent from Spain as his successor,
brought orders from the king to ;collect the nu-
merous Spanish inhabitants dispersed over the
country in compact societies. For this purpose,
in 1742, he founded the cities of Copiapo, Aeon-*
cagua, Melipilla, Rancagua, St. Fernando, Cu-
rico, Talca, Tutuben, and Angeles. In reward
for this service he was promoted to the splendid
dignity of viceroy of Peru. His successors con-
tinued to form new establishments, but these
have never flourished like the first. In 1753,
Santa Rosa, Guasco-alto, Casablanca, Bella-
Isla, Florida, Coulemu, and Quirigua, were
built by Don Domingo Rosas. He also sent in-
habitants to settle the large island of Juan Fer-
nandez, which till that time had remained desert
to the great injury of commerce, as the pirates
found therein a secure retreat, from whence they
could with facility attack the trading ships.
Don Manuel Amat, who was afterwards viceroy
of Peru, in 1729, founded upon the Araucanian
frontier the cities of St. Barbara, Talcamavida,
and Gual qui.

Don Antonio Guill Gonzaga attempted under
his government to effect more than his prede-
cessors. He undertook to compel the Arauca-
nians to live in cities. This chimerical scheme
was ridiculed by those who were best acquainted
with the country, while others supposed it prac-

§61

ticible. Many counsels were held to devise the
most suitable means of carrying this scheme into
execution, which the wishes of the governor
made him consider as very easy. The Arauca-
nians were informed of all these proceedings by
their spies, and apprehensive of the danger to
which such an innovation might expose their
liberties, they met secretly to deliberate upon
the measures they should take to elude the de-
signs of their neighbours without having re-
course to arms, when the following resolutions
were adopted by the national council : In the
first place, to delay as long as possible the
business, by equivocal replies and delusive pro-
mises. Secondly, When pressed to commence
building, to require from the Spaniards tools and
other necessary aid. Thirdly, To have recourse
to arms whenever they found themselves obliged
to begin the work, but to conduct it in such a
manner, that only the provinces that were com-
pelled to build should declare war, the others re-
maining neutral in order to be able to mediate a
peace. Fourthly, To come to a general rupture
whenever they found that the mediation of the
latter would not be accepted. Fifthly, To allow
the missionaries to depart without injury, as they
had nothing to accuse them with but of beimr
Spaniards. Sixthly, To make choice imme-
diately of a Toqui, who should have in charge
to attend to the execution of the above-mentioned

302

regulations, and to have every thing in readiness
to take the field as soon as circumstances should
require it.

In compliance with this last article they pro-
ceeded to the election that very day. The suf-
frages were unanimous in favor of Antivilu,
Arch-Ulmen of the province of Maquegua, who
possessed great influence in the assembly ; but
he having declined, on account of the neutrality
which it had been agreed his province should
maintain, the choice fell upon Curignancu,
brother to the Ulmen of Encol, who combined
all the qualities necessary at such a crisfs.

At the first conference the governor proposed
his plan under every aspect that could render it
agreeable. The Araucanians, agreeably to their
previous agreement, objected, appeared to con-
sent, equivocated, and ended by requesting the
necessary assistance for beginning the work.
Having pointed out the situations which appeared
the most eligible for the erection of the new
cities, a great quantity of wrought iron was sent
them by the governor, together with provisions
and cattle for the transportation of the timber.
The work, nevertheless, made no progress. In
consequence of this, the quarter-master Cabrito
repaired thither with several companies of sol-
diers, in order to stimulate the operations, and
placed superintendants in every quarter. The
sergeant-major Rivera was charged with the

4

303

building of Nininco, and captain Burgoa with
that of the other city, which was to be erected
on the shore of the Bio-bio ; while the quarter-
master directed the operations from his head-
quarters at Angol.

The Araucanians, however, instead of pick-
axes seized their lances, slew the superintendants,
and having united to the number of five hundred
under the standard of their Toqui, proceeded to
besiege Cabrito in his camp. Burgoa, after
having been very roughly treated, was set at
liberty, in consequence of his being said to be
an enemy of the quarter-master. The sergeant-
major, escorted by a missionary, crossed the Bio-
bio in sight of the enemy, who were in search of
him to kill him, and afterwards returned at the
head of four hundred men to relieve Cabrito,
Another missionary, Don Pedro Sanchez, re-
quested the Araucanian officer sent to escort him
to forgive a Spaniard by whom he had been
grievously offended a short time before ; the
Araucanian replied, that he had nothing to fear
while in his company; besides, that the present
was no time to think of revenging private in-
juries. Such was the attention paid to the se-
curity of these characters, that not a Spaniard
was slain who was able to avail himself of their
protection.

In the meantime the governor entered into an
alliance with the Pehuenches, in order to attack

304

the Araucanians in several places at the sarad
time. Curignancu, being informed of their ap-
proach, fell upon them unexpectedly on their
leaving the Andes, took prisoners their general,
Coligura, with his son, whom he put to death,
and completely routed them. This disgrace,
which appeared calculated to embitter that
nation for ever towards the Araucanians, on the
contrary reconciled them so completely, that they
have ever since aided them in their expeditions^
and have become the most implacable enemies of
the Spaniards. Curignancu availed himself of
the assistance of these mountaineers during the
war to harass the provinces in the vicinity of the
capital. Since that time they have made a prac-
tice of frequently attacking the Spanish caravans
from Buenos Ayres to Chili, and every- year fur-
nishes some melancholy information of that kind.
Gonzaga, whose sanguine expectations had led
hira to be too hasty in giving information to the
court of the success of his grand project, could
not endure the mortification of seeing it wholly
destroyed. A chronic complaint, to which he
was subject, was so much increased by this dis-
appointment, that it deprived him of life in the
second year of the war, to the great regret of
the inhabitaots, to whom he was much endeared
by his estimable qualities. Don Francisco Xavier
de Morales succeeded him by the appointment of
the viceroy oif Peru. The neutral provinces, as

bad been concerted,, had now declared in favour
of the others, and the war was prosecuted with
vigour. Curignancu on the one side, and his
brave Vice Toqui Leviantu on the other, kept
the Spanish troops, which had been reinforced
by several divisions from Spain, constantly in mo-
tion. It is not in our power to notice particu-
larly the different actions ; among others a bloody
battle was fought in the beginning of the year
1773, mention of which was made in the Euro-
pean gazettes of that period, at which time the
war had cost the royal treasury and individuals
one million seven hundred thousand dollars.

The same year an accommodation was agreed
on. Curignancu, who was invested by his nation
with full powers to settle the articles, required
as a preliminary, that the conferences should be
held in the city of St. Jago. Although this re-
quisition was contrary to the established custom,
it was nevertheless granted by the Spaniards
without much difficulty. When they afterwards
came to treat of the terms of peace, the Arauca-
nian plenipotentiary made another proposition,
which appeared more extraordinary than the
first. He required that his nation should be
allowed to keep a minister resident in the city of
St. Jago. The Spanish officers who were pre-
sent strongly opposed this demand, but the go-
vernor thought it advisable to grant it, as by
this means he would have it in his power more

VOL. II. X

306

readily to adjust any disputes that might arise.
These two proposals, however, considering the
disposition and mode of living of the Arauca-
nians, may furnish a copious field for conjecture.
The other articles of the peace were not attended
with the least difficulty ; the treaties of Quillin
and Negrete being by mutual consent revived.

On the death of Gonzaga, the court of Spain
sent Don Augustin Jauregui to govern Chili,
who has since filled with universal approbation
the important office of viceroy of Peru. His
successor, Don Ambrosio Benavides, at present,
renders the country happy by his wise and be-
neficent administration.

307

CHAP. XI.

Present State of Chili.

From the brief relation that we have given of
the occurrences in Chili since its discovery, it
will be seen that its possession has cost Spain
more blood and treasure than all the rest of her
settlements in America, The Araucanians, oc-
cupying but a small extent of territory,, have
with far inferior arms not only been able to
counterbalance her power till then reputed irre-
sistible, but to endanger the loss of her best esta-
blished possessions. Though the greater part of
her officers had been bred in that school of war,
the low countries, and her soldiers, armed with
those destructive weapons before which the most
extensive empires of that continent had fallen,
were considered as the best in the world, yet
have this people succeeded in resisting them.

This will appear more wonderful when we call
to mind the decided superiority that the disci-
pline of Europe has ever given its troops in all
parts of the world. The rapidity of the Spanish
conquests excited universal astonishment. A few

x2

SOS

Portuguese gained possession of an extensive
territory in the East, with a facility almost
incredible, notwithstanding the number and
strength of the natives, who were accustomed to
the use of fire-arms. Their general, Pacheco,
with a hundred and sixty of his countrymen,
several times defeated the powerful Zamorin,
who commanded an army of fifty thousand sol-
diers, well supplied with artillery, without the
loss of a single man. Brito, who was besieged
in Cananor, was equally successful in defeating
a similar army. Even in our days, Mons. de la
Tcuche, with three hundred French, put to
flight an army of eighty thousand Indians, who
had invested him in Pondicherry, and killed
twelve hundred with the loss of only two of his
men. Notwithstanding; the combined efforts of
force and skill, the Araucanians have constantly
kept possession of their country. A free people,
however inconsiderable in point of numbers, can
perform wonders : The page of history teems
with examples of this kind.

The Spaniards, since losing their settlements
in Araucania, have prudently confined their views
to establishing themselves firmly in that part of

Chili, which lies between the southern confines

i

of Peru and the river Bio-bio, and extends from
the 24th to the 36th and a half degree of south
latitude; this, as has been already mentioned,

809

they have divided into thirteen provinces.* They
also possess the fortress of Valdivia, in the
country of the Cunchese, the Archipelago of
Chiloe, and the island of Juan Fernandez. These
provinces are governed by an officer, who has
usually the rank of lieutenant -general, and com-
bines the title of president, governor, and cap-
tain-general of the kingdom of Chili. He re-
sides in the city of St. Jago, and is solely de-
pendant upon the king, except in Case of war,
when, in certain points, he receives his directions
from the viceroy of Peru.

In quality of captain-general he commands
the army, and has under him, not only the three
principal officers of the kingdom, the quarter-
master, the sergeant-major, and the commissary,
but also the four governors of Chiloe, Valdivia,
Valparaiso, and Juan Fernandez. As president
and governor he has the supreme administration
of justice, and presides over the superior tri-
bunals of that capital, whose jurisdiction extends
overall the Spanish provinces in those par's.

* During the government of Jauregui, the province of
Maule was divided into two, the river of that name, serving as
the boundary for each: the part situated to the north of it
retaining its former name, and that lying to the southward
assuming that of Cauquenes its capital. Of late years a far-
ther reduction of that province has taken place, by the sepa-
ration from it on the north of three curacies, in order to form,
with some of the lands of Calchagua, the new province of
Ourico;

x3

310

The principal of these is the Tribunal of
Audience,, or Royal Senate, whose decision is
final in all causes of importance both civil and
criminal, and is divided into two courts, the one
for the trial of civil, and the other for that of
criminal causes. Both are composed of several
respectable judges called auditors, of a regent,
a fiscal or royal procurator, and a protector of
the Indians. All these officers receive large sa-
laries from the court. Their judgment is final,
except in causes where the sum in litigation ex-
ceeds ten thousand dollars, when an appeal may
be had to the supreme council of the Indies.
Justice, as has been already observed, is uni-
versally agreed to be administered by them with
the utmost impartiality. The other supreme
courts are that of Finance, of the Cruzada, of
Vacant Lands, and the Consulate or Tribunal of
Commerce, which is wholly independent of any
other of that kind.

The provinces are governed by Prefects, for-
merly called Corregidors, but at present known
by the name of sub-delegates ; these, according
to the forms of their institution, should be of
royal nomination, but, owing to the distance of
the court, they are usually appointed by the
captain-general, of whom they style themselves
the lieutenants. They have jurisdiction both of
civil and military affairs, and their emoluments
of office depend entirely upon their fees, which

311

are by no means regular. In each capital of a
province there is, or at least should be,, a muni-
cipal magistracy called the Cabildo, which is
composed, as in other parts of the Spanish do-
minions, of several members, called Regidores,
who are appointed for life, of a standard-bearer,
a procurator, a forensic judge, denominated the
Provincial Alcalde, an Alguazil, or high sheriff,
and of two consuls, or burgo-masters, called Al-
caldes. The latter are chosen annually from
among the principal nobility by the Cabildo
itself, and have jurisdiction both in civil and
criminal causes in the first instance.

The inhabitants are divided into regiments,
which are obliged to march to the frontiers or
the sea-coast in case of war.* Besides this

* In the royal service, there are at present (1792) fifteen
thousaud eight hundred and fifty-six militia troops, enrolled in
the two bishoprics of Santiago and Conception, ten thousand
two hundred and eighteen iu the first, and five thousand six
hundred and thirty-eight in the latter. These military corps
were first formed in 1777, during the government of Don
Augustin de Jaregui, and consist of the choicest men in the
kingdom. They are called out only upon public occasions*
and seldom perforin the duty of sentinels or patroles, enjoying
this privilege in consequence of always holding themselves
ready for war, and continually exercising themselves in arms.

Besides this regular militia, there are a great many city
militias that are commanded by commissaries, who act as
colonels. They have under them several companies, the
number of which is various and depends upon the extent of the

x 4

312

militia, the king maintains there a sufficient force
of regular troops for the defence of the country,*
but as this establishment has been augmented of
late, I cannot determine the number. In Con-
ception, which is upon the Araucanian frontier,
there are t\vo regiments, one of cavalry and one
of infantry. The cavalry is commanded by the
brigadier-general, Don Ambrosio Higgins, a
native of Ireland, who, by his enlightened mind
and excellent disposition, has gained the love and
esteem of all the inhabitants. He is likewise
quarter-master and intendant of the department
of Conception. f The infantry, as well as the

district ; these in like manner have no fixed number, some-
times exceeding one hundred men, and frequently falling
short. From these companies, the recruits to supply the va-
cancies in the regular corps are drawn or selected. They serve
as guards for the prisons, and for the escort ,of criminals, and
perform such other duties as the police demands, without
being exempted from military service when occasion requires,
whence all persons capable of bearing arms are enrolled in
these companies, except such as are immediately necessary for
cultivating the land, and taking care of the cattle — Span. Trans.

* All the veteran troops throughout Chili amount to one
thousand nine hundred and seventy-six men, and consist of
two companies of artillery, niue of horse, including the Queen's
dragoons at Santiago, and the remainder infantry. — Span\
Trans*, '

+ On the 21st of November, 178?» this gentleman was ap-
pointed by the king, president, governor, and captaiu-geneial

313

artillery, is under the command of two lieu-
tenant-colonels. The city of St. Jago also keeps
in pay some companies of dragoons for its pro-
tection. The revenues and expenses of the go-
vernment I am unable to ascertain, as they have
been considerably increased within a few years.

As respects the ecclesiastical government, Chili
is divided into the two large dioceses of St. Jago
and Conception, which cities are the residence of
the bishops, who are suffragans to the archbishop
of Lima. The first diocese extends from the
confines of Peru to the river Maule, compre-
hending the province of Cujo upon the other
side of the Andes. The second comprises all
the rest of Chili with the islands, although the
greater part of this extent is inhabited by pagans.
The cathedrals are supplied with a proper
number of canons, whose revenues depend upon
the tythes, as do those of the bishops. The
court of inquisition at Lima has at St. Jago a
commissioner, with se\eral subaltern officers.

of Chili, and on the 19th of September, 1789, field-marshal of
the royal armies. At the present time, 1792, he discharges
the duties of those offices with all that vigilance and attention
which characterize him, and which so important a trust re-
quires. On his first accession to the government, he visited in
person the northern proviuces, for the purpose of dispensing
justice and encouraging agriculture, opening of the miues,
commerce, aud fishery. He also established public schools,
repaired the roads, and built several cities. — Hid.

314

Pedro Valdivia, on his first entering Chili,
brought with him the monks of the order of
Mercy, and about the year 1553 introduced the
Dominicans and strict Franciscans. The Au-
gusfins established themselves there in 1595,
and Hospitallers of St. John of God about the
year 1615. These religious orders have all a
number of convents, and the three first form
distinct jurisdictions. The brothers of St. John
of God have the charge of the hospitals, under
a commissary, who is dependant upon the pro-
vincial of Peru. These are the only religious
fraternities now in Chili. The Jesuits, who
came into Chili in 1593 with the nephew of
their founder, Don Martin de Loyola, formed
likewise a separate province. Others have se-
veral times attempted, but without success, to
form establishments, the Chilians having always
opposed the admission of new orders among
them. In St. Jago and Conception are several
convents of nuns, but they are the only cities
that contain them.

The cities are built in the best situations in
the country. Many of them, however, would
have been better placed for the purposes of com-
merce upon the shores of the large rivers. This
is particularly the case with those of more recent
construction. The streets are straight, intersect-
ing each other at right angles, and are thirty-six
French feet in breadth. On account of earth-

315

quakes, the houses are generally of one story ;
they are, however, very commodious, white-
washed without, and generally painted within.
Each is accommodated with a pleasant garden,
irrigated by an aqueduct that furnishes water
for the use of the family. Those belonging to
the wealthier classes, particularly the nobility,
are furnished with much splendour and taste.
The inhabitants, perceiving that old buildings of
two stories have resisted the most violent shocks,
have of late years ventured to reside in the upper
rooms, and now begin to construct their houses
in the European manner. In consequence of
this the cities have a better appearance than for-
merly, and the more so, as instead of forming
their houses of clay hardened in the sun, which
was supposed less liable to injury, they now em-
ploy brick and stone. Cellars, sewers, and wells,
were formerly much more common than at pre-
sent, a circumstance which may have contri-
buted to render the buildings more secure from
earthquakes.

The churches are generally more remarkable
for their wealth than their style of architecture.
The cathedral and the church of the Dominicans
in the capital, which are built of stone, are,
however, exceptions. The first was constructed
at the royal expense, under the direction of the
present bishop, Don Manuel Alday, an excellent
and learned prelate ; it is built in a masterly

SIG

style, and is 384 French feet in front. The plats
was drawn by two English architects, who su-
perintended the work ; but when it was half
finished they refused to go on, unless their wages
were increased. In consequence of this the
building was suspended, when two of the In-
dians, who had worked under the Englishmen,
and had secrectly found means of instructing
themselves in every branch of the art, offered to
complete it, which they did with as much skill
and perfection as their masters themselves could
have displayed. In the capital the following
edifices are also worthy of remark : the barracks
for the dragoons, the mint, which has been lately
built by a Roman architect, and the hospital for
orphans, founded by Don Juan Nic-Aguirre,,
Marquis of Monte pio, and endowed by his
present majesty, who patronizes with much libe-
rality all establishments of public utility.

Spanish Chili, in consequence of the freedom
granted to its maritime trade by the present go-
vernment, is peopling with a rapidity propor-
tioned to the salubrity of its climate and the
fertility of its soil. Its population in general is
composed of Europeans, Creoles, Indians, Ne-
groes, and Mustees. The Europeans, except a
few French, English, and Italians, are Spaniards,
who for the most part are from the southern pro-
vinces of Spain. The Creoles, who form the
greater number, are the descendants of Euro-

317

peans. Their character, with some slight dif-
ference, proceeding from climate or government,
is precisely similar to that of the other American
Creoles of European origin. The same modes
of thinking, and the same moral qualities, are
discernible in them all. This uniformity, which
furnishes much subject for reflection, has never
yet been considered by any philosopher in its
full extent. Whatever intelligent and unpre-
judiced travellers have observed respecting the
characters of the French and English Creoles,
will perfectly apply to that of the Chilian.

*

* The Creoles are generally well made. Those deformities
so common in other countries are very rarely to be found
among them. Their courage has frequently signalized itself
in war by a series of brilliant actions ; nor would there be
any better soldiers in the world if they were less averse to
discipline. Their history furnishes no traits of that cowardice,
treachery, aud base conduct, which dishonour the annals of all
nations,' and scarcely can an instance be adduced of a Creole
having committed a disgraceful act.

Their minds are untainted with dissimulation, artifice, or
suspicion. Possessing great frankness and vivacity, and a high
opinion of themselves, their intercourse is wholly free from
that mystery and reserve which obscure amiableness of cha-
racter, depress the social spirit, and chill sensibility.

An ardent imagination, which admits of no restraiut, ren-
ders them independent and inconstant in their inclinations. It
impels them to the pursuit of pleasure with an eagerness to
which they sacrifice their fortunes and their very existence. A
keen penetration, a remarkable quickness in conceiving and iu
expressing their ideas with force, the talent of combining

318

They are generally possessed of good talents,
and succeed in any of the arts to which they
apply themselves. They wpuld make as great
progress in the useful sciences as they have done
in metaphysics, if they had the same motives to
stimulate them as are found in Europe. They
do not readily imbibe prejudices, and are not
tenacious in retaining them. As scientific books
and instruments, however, are very scarce, or
sold at an exorbitant price, their talents are
either never developed, or are wholly employed
upon trifles. The expenses of printing are also
so great, as to discourage literary exertion, so
that few aspire to the reputation of authors.
The knowledge of the civil and canonical laws
is held in great esteem by them, so that many of
the Chilian youth, after having completed their
course of academical education in Chili, pro--
ceed to Lima, which is highly celebrated for its
schools of law, in order to be instructed in that
science.

The fine arts are in a very low state in Chili,
and even the mechanical are as yet very far from
perfection. We may except, however, those of
carpentry, and the working of iron and the pre-

added to that of observation, and a happy mixture of all the
qualities of mind and of character that render man capable of
the greatest performances, prompt them to the boldest under-
takings, when stimulated by oppression. — Raynal's History of
the Indies, vol. v. lib. ii.

4

319

cious metals, which have made considerable pro-
gress, in consequence cf the information ob-
tained from some German artists, who were in-
troduced into the country by that worthy eccle-
siastic, Father Carlos, of Hainhausen in Bavaria.

The important change which the exertions of
the present monarch have so materially contri-
buted to produce throughout his dominions, in
directing the attention of his subjects to useful
improvements, has extended itself to these parts.
The arts and sciences, which before were either
not known, or very imperfectly, at present engage
the attention of the inhabitants, so that there is
reason to hope that in a short time the state of
the country will assume a very different ap~
pearance.

The peasantry, though for much the greater
part of Spanish origin, dress in the Araucanian
manner. Dispersed over that extensive country,
and unencumbered by restraint, they possess
perfect liberty, and lead a tranquil and happy
life, amidst the enjoyments of that delightful
climate.* They are naturally gay, and fond of

* The principal part of these healthy and robust men live
dispersed upon their possessions, and cultivate with their own
hands a greater or less extent of ground. They are incited to
this laudable labour by a sky always clear and serene, and
a climate the most agreeably temperate of any in the two
hemispheres, but more especially by a soil whose fertility has
excited the admiration of all travellers.— Rayn al, lib. viii. ;
Chili.

320

all kinds of diversion. They have likewise a
taste for music,, and compose verses after their
manner, which, although rude and inelegant,
possess a certain natural simplicity more interest-
ing than the laboured compositions of cultivated
poets. Extemporaneous rhymers, or improvi-
sator!, are common among them, and are called
in their language Palladores. Those known to
possess this talent are held in great estimation,
and applv themselves to no other occupation.
In the countries dependant on the Spanish colo-
nies, there is generally no other language than
the Spanish spoken ; but on the frontiers the
peasants speak the Araucanian or Chilian as well
as the former.

The men dress in the French, and the women
m the Peruvian fashion, except that the women
of Chili wear their garments longer than those
of Peru. In point of luxury, there is no differ-
ence between the inhabitants of the two coun-
tries ; Lima prescribes the fashions for Chili, as
Paris does for the rest of Europe. Those who
are wealthy make a splendid display in their
dress, their servants, coaches, or titles. Chili
alone, of all the American provinces, has en-
joyed the superior privilege of having two of
its citizens exalted to the dignity of grandees of
Spain ; these are, Don Fernando Irrazabal, Mar-
quis of Valparaiso, born in St. Jago, who was
viceroy of Navarre, and generalissimo of the

321

Spanish army in the time of Philip the Fourth ;
and Don Fermin Caravajal, Duke of St. Carlos,
a native of Conception, who resides at present at
the court of Madrid. Don Juan Covarrubias,
who was a native of St. Jago, in the beginning
of the present century entered into the service of
the king of France, and was rewarded with the
title of Marquis of Covarrubias, the order of
the Holy Ghost, and the rank of Marshal in the
French army.

The salubrity of the air, and the constant
exercise on horseback to which they accustom
themselves from childhood, render them strong
and active, and preserve them from many diseases.
The small pox is not so common as in Europe, but
it makes terrible ravages when it appears. This
disease was, in the year 1766, for the first time
introduced into the province of Mauie, where it
became very fatal. A countryman who had re-
covered from it, conceived the idea of attempting
to cure a number of unhappy wretches, who had
been abandoned, by cow's milk, which he gave
them to drink, or administered to them in clysters.
With this simple remedy he cured all those whom
he attended ; while the physicians with their com-
plicated prescriptions saved but a very few. I
have mentioned this anecdote, as it serves strongly
to confirm the successful experiments of M. Las-
sone, physician to the queen of France, in the
cure of the small pox with cow's milk, published

VOL. II. Y

by himself in the medical transactions of Paris
for the year 1779. The countryman, howcvf, rr
employed milk alone, whereas M. de Lassone:
thought it advisable to mix it with a decoction
of parsley roots. These instances would seem
to prove that milk has the singular property of
lessening the virulence of this disorder, and re-
pressing its noxious or deadly qualities.

The inhabitants of the country are generally
very benevolent. Contented with a comfortable
subsistence, they may be said scarcely to know
what parsimony or avarice is, and are Very rarely
infected with that vice. Their houses are open
to all travellers that come, whom they freeljr en-
tertain without an idea of pay, and often on these
occasions regret that they are not more wealthy,
in order to exercise their hospitality to a greater
extent. This virtue is also common in the cities.*
To this cause it is owing that they have not
hitherto been attentive to the erection of inns
and public lodging-houses, which will, however,
become necessary when the commerce of the in-
terior is more increased.

* Throughout Chili they are extremely kind to strangers;
the inhabitants are unequalled in point of hospitality, and I
have myself experienced such great and important favours,
that I cannot find words to express my gratitude. The ill re-
turn that they have frequently met with from individuals of
our nation, has never been able to produce a diminution of
their native hospitality.— Fusille, vol. ii.

3

Lord Anson, in his voyage, gives a particular
description of the dexterity of the South Ame-
rican peasants in managing the laqui, with which
they take animals, either wild or domestic. In
Chili, the inhabitants of the country constantly
carry this laqui with them, fastened to the sad-
dles, in order to have it ready upon occasion,
and are very skillful in the use of it. It con-
sists merely of ft strip of leather several fathoms
in 'length, well twisted in the manner of a cord,
and terminated by a strong noose of the same
material. They make use of it both on foot and
horseback, and in the latter case with equal cer-
tainty whether amidst woods, mountains, or steep
declivities. On these occasions, one end of it is
fastened under the horse's belly, and the other
held by the rider, who throws it over the flying
animal with a dexterity that scarcely ever misses
its aim. Herodotus makes mention of a similar
noose which was used in battle by the Sagartians.*
The Chilians have also employed the laqui with

* The Sagartii were originally of Persian descent, and use
the Persian language; they have no offensive weapons either
of iron or brass, except their daggers ; their principal depend-
ance in action is upon cords made of twisted leather, which
they use in this manner : when they engage an enemy, they
throw out these cords, having a noose at the extremity ; if
they entangle in them either horse or man, they without dif-
ficulty put them to death.— Beloes' Herodotus, vol. iii. Polym •
nia, page 205*

y2

324

success against the English pirates., who have
landed upon their coast. They are also skillful
in the management of horses,, and in. the opinion
of travellers,, who have had an opportunity of
witnessing their dexterity and courage in this
exercise, they might soon be formed into the
best body of cavalry in the world. Their at-
tachment to horses renders them particularly
fond of horse-racing, which they conduct in the
English manner.

The negroes, who have been introduced into
Chili wholly by contraband means, are subjected
to a state of servitude which may be considered
as tolerable in comparison to that which they
endure in many parts of America, where the
interest of the planter stifles every sentiment of
humanity. As the planting of sugar and other
articles of West-Indian commerce has not been
established in Chili, the slaves are employed in
domestic services, where by attention and dili-
gence they more readily acquire the favour of
their masters. Those in most esteem are either
such as are born in the country of African pa-
rents, or the mulattoes, as they become more at-
tached to the family to which they belong.

The humanity of the government or the in-
habitants has introduced in favour of this unfor-
tunate race a very proper regulation. Such of
them as by their industry have obtained a sum
©f money sufficient for the purchase of a slave,

325

can ransom themselves by paying it to their
masters, who are obliged to receive it and set
them at liberty, and numbers who have in this
manner obtained their freedom, are to be met
with throughout the country. Those who are
ill-treated by their owners can demand a letter of
sale, which is a written permission to them to
seek a purchaser. In case of the master's re-
fusal, they have the privilege of applying to the
judge of the place, who examines their com-
plaints, and if well founded, grants them the
permission required. Such instances are, how-
ever, very unusual, either because the master,
on account of his reputation, avoids reducing his
slaves to this extremity, or that the slaves them-
selves contract such an attachment to their mas-
ters, that the greatest punishment inflicted on
them would be to sell them to others. From
hence it often happens that those who, for their
good conduct, have their liberties given them,
do not wish to avail themselves of it, in order
not to lose the protection of the house they be-
long to, where they are certain of always having
a subsistence furnished them. Masters exercise
the rights of fathers of families over their slaves,
in correcting them for their faults ; the kind and
degree of punishment is left with them when
they have been guilty of any crime that is not
capital. Although such a state of servitude
appears repugnant to natural right, yet society

y'J

S26

derives great advantages from it. Families are
not exposed to the instability of servants,, who,
considering themselves as strangers, never be*
come attached lo the house, and without hesita-
tion communicate all its secrets,

The internal commerce of Chili has been
hitherto of very little importance, notwithstand-
ing the advantages that the country offers for its
encouragement. Its principal source, industry,
or more properly speaking, necessity, is wanting.
An extensive commerce is correlative with a
great population, and in proportion as the latter
increases, the former will also be augmented.*

* Hitherto it may be said, that of the two branches that in
general give birth to commerce, agriculture, and industry, the
first is that alone which animates the internal commerce of
Chili, and even that part of the external which is carried on
with Peru. The working of mines also occupies the attention
of many in the provinces of Copiapo, Coquimbo, and Quil-
lota. But the industry is so trifling that it does not deserve
the name. Notwithstanding the abundance of its fruits and
materials of the first class, as flax, wool, hemp, skins, and
metals, which might produce a flourishing commerce, it is, con-
ducted but languidly. The inhabitants employ themselves
only in making ponchos, stockings, socks, carpets, blankets,
skin coats, riding saddles, hats, and other small articles,
chiefly made use of by the common or poorer class of people,
since those of the middle rank employ European manufac-
tures. These, but more particularly the sale of hides and
tanned leather, which they have in great plenty, with that of
grain and wine, form the whole of the internal commerce of
the kingdom*

327

A communication by water, which greatly faci-
litates its progress, has been already commenced.
In several of the ports barks are employed in the
transportation of merchandise, which was before

The external, which is carried on with all the ports of Peru,
particularly Callao, arises from the exportation of fruits; this
amounts to seven hundred thousand dollars, serving not only
to counterbalance the importations from that country, but
leaving a balance in favour of Chili of two hundred thousand
dollars annually, according to the statements given in the
periodical publications of Lima.

The commerce between Chili and Buenos Ayres is quite
otherwise, since for the herb of Paraguay alone it is obliged
to advance three hundred dollars annually, in cash. The
other articles received from thence are probably paid' for by
those sent thither.

In the trade with Spain, the fruits received from Chili go
but a little way inpayment of more than a million of dollars,
which are received from tlieuce annually in European goods,
either directly or by the way of Buenos Ayres, and some-
times from Lima. Gold, silver, and copper, are the articles
which form the whole of this commerce, since the hides and
vicugna wool are in such small quantities as to render them of
little importance.

The gold, which is coined in the capital, is regulated at five
thousand two hundred marks annually, whence, by comparing
the amount shipped with that coined, as no overplus appears,
it is concluded that there is no clandestine extraction, not-
withstanding in bullion and in works of use or ornament a
very considerable quantity is expended.

The silver obtained from the mines is calculated at thirty
thousand marks. Of this amount twenty-five thousand is
coined yearly, and the residue employed in the manufacture
of table plate, and for various other purposes. The difference

y 4

328

carried by land upon mules, with great trouble
and expense to the merchant. This beneficial
innovation will probably be followed by others
of still greater importance. Several large ships
have also been built in the harbour of Conception
and the mouth of the river Maule. The external
commerce is carried on with Peru and Spain.
In the first twenty-three or twenty-four ships of
five or six hundred tons each are employed,
which are partly Chilian and partly Peruvian.
These usually make three voyages in a year ;
they carry from Chili wheat, wine, pulse, al-
monds, nut?, cocoa-nuts, conserves, dried meat,
tallow, lard, cheese, sole leather, timber for
building, copper, and a variety of other articles,
and bring back in return, silver, sugar, rice, and
cotton. The Spanish ships receive in exchange
for European merchandise, gold, silver, copper,
vicugna wool, and hides. A trade with the East

in the quantity shipped from that coined arises from the re-
ceipts from Lima. The remittances of gold and silver to
Spain are usually made from Buenos Ayres ; the first, being
less bulky, is carried by the monthly packets in sums of two
or three thousand ounces ; as to the second, it is sent in two
convoy ships in the summer, by which conveyances gold is also
remitted. In calculating the gold from the remittances, it
amounts to six hundred and fifty-six thousand dollars, and the
silver to two hundred and forty-four thousand. The copper,
VJueh is extracted from the mines, is estimated from eight to
ten thousand quintals. From these data it will not be difficult
to form a general estimate of ail that Chili produces annually.

329

Indies would be more profitable to the Chilians
than any other, as their most valuable articles
have either become scarce, or are not produced
in that wealthy part of Asia, and the passage, in
consequence of the prevalence of the south
winds in the Pacific, would be easy and expe-
ditious. No money is coined or has currency in
Chili except gold and silver, a circumstance
very embarrassing' to the internal traffic. Their
smallest silver coin is one-sixteenth of a dollar,
and their weights and measures are the same as
^re used in Madrid.

£ND OF THE HISTORY

AN ESSAY

ON THE

CHILIAN LANGUAGE,

I he original language of Chili, generally
called the Araucanian, is denominated by the
natives Chili dugu, the Chilian tongue. The
alphabet contains the same letters as the Latin,
except the x, which is in truth nothing more
than a compound letter. The s, which has
been by some grammarians very properly called
a hissing: rather than a letter, is onlv to be found
in about twenty of their words, and never occurs
at the termination, which gives to their pronun-
ciation a great degree of fulness. The % is still
more seldom to be met with. Besides these
common letters, the Chilian has a mute e and a
peculiar u, like the Greeks and the French : the
former is designated by the acute, and the latter
by the grave accent, to distinguish them from
the common e and u. This u is also frequently
changed into it in the manner of the modern
Greeks. It has besides a nasal g and a th3 which

332

is pronounced by pressing the tongue against the
roof of the mouth ; the latter is frequently
changed into cJi, as chegua for thegua (the dog).
In the whole of the Chilian alphabet there is not
a single guttural letter or vocal aspirate., a very
singular circumstance with uncivilized people.
It is proper to note, that in giving the Chilian
words the Italian orthography has been adopted.
All the words of the language terminate in the
six vowels heretofore noticed, and in the con-
sonants b, d3f, g} I, m, n, r, and v,' There are, of
course, fifteen distinct terminations, which, with
their variety, render the language sweet and so-
norous. The accent is usually placed upon the
penultimate vowel, sometimes on the last, but
never on the antepenult. The radicals, as far as
can be collected from the vocabularies, which
have been hitherto very imperfect, amount to one
thousand nine hundred and seventy-three, and
are for the greater part either monosyllables or
dissyllables. I have made use of the above term
in a much more limited sense than many, who
improperly call all those words radicals that in
any mode produce others. Proceeding upon so
false a principle, they make some languages con-
tain thirty or forty thousand roots, which must
be considered a grammatical paradox. The
roots of a 'anguage are those simple primitive
expressions, which, neither directly nor indirectly
derived from any other, produce various words.

333

that afterwards extend themselves into a variety
of different forms. Even in the most copious
languages., as the Greek arid Latin, the number
of these roots is very limited. As far as we have
been able to discover, the radical Chilian words
have no analogy with those of any other known
idiom, though the language contains a number
of Greek and Latin words very little varied, as
may be seen in the following Table :

Chilian.

Greek.

Aldan

Aldein

to increase

Ale

Lie

splendour

Amun

Amouon

to go

Cai

Kai

and

Ga

Ga

in truth

Lampaicon

Lam pern

to shine

Mu Ian

Mullen

to pulverise

Pde

Pelos

mud

Renma

Re uma

a stream

Tupun

Tupein

to whip, &c &c.

Chilian.

Latin.

Aren

Ardere

to burn

Cup a

Cupere

to desire

Dapin

Dapinare

to feast

Ejun

Ejulare

to weep

Lev

Levis

active or swift

Lumulmen

Lumen

tight

Lvv

Lux

brightness

Man

Manus

the right

Putun

Potare

to drink

Valin

Valere

to be worth

Valen

Valere

to be able

line

Unus

one, &c. &c.

334

'this, however, is probably only the result of
an accidental combination, for the opinion that
they have been derived from the Spanish-is utterly
destitute of foundation, the nation being for the
most part unacquainted with it, whereas thesei
words are to be found in the earliest vocabularies
of the Chilian language.

The Chilian nouns are declined with a single
declension^ or, to speak with mere precision,
they are all undeclinable, except by the addition
of various articles or particles, which mark the
number and case. They resemble the Greek
nouns in having three numbers, the singular, the
dual, and the plural, as will appear in the fol-
lowing example :

Singular.

Nom. Cava, the city.
Gen. Cara-ni.
Dat. Cara-meu.

Accus. Cava.
Voc. a Cara.
Abl. Caramo.

Dual.

Nom. Cara-egu, the two cities. Accus. Cara-egu.

Gen. Cara-egu-ni. Voc. a Cara-egia

Dat. Cara-egu-meu. Abl. Cara-egu-mo .

Plural.

Nom. pu-Cara, the cities
Gen. pu- Cara-ni.
Dat. pu- Cara-meu.

Accus. pu-Cara.
Voc. a pu-Cara.
Abl. pu-Cara-mo.

335

Instead of pu, the discriminative mark of die
plural, the particles ica or egen may be used
affixed to the noun, or que placed between the
adjective and substantive when they come to-
gether. Thus Cara will make in the plural
either Caraica, or Caraegen, or Cumeque Cara,
the good cities.

From hence it will be seen that, contrary to
the practice in the modern languages of Europe,
the article in the Chilian is affixed to the noun.
This mode of declension sometimes occurs in the
Greek and Latin languages, in which we meet
with a few nouns declined in this manner, though
more variously, as musa in Latin, and soma in
Greek. The Chilian abounds with adjectives
both primitive and derivative. The latter are
formed from every part of speech by certain in-
variable rules, as from tue, earth, comes tuetu,
terrestrial ; from quimen, to know, qaimclii, wise ;
and these, by the interposition of the particle no,
beco.ne negative, as tuenotu, not terrestrial;
quimnochi, ignorant. Although these adjectives
have all different terminations, they are, never-
theless, like the English adjectives, unsusceptible
of number, or of gender. The same is the case
with the participles and the derivative pronouns,
from whence it may be said that the Chilian
possesses but one gender. Whether this defect
is real or only apparent, it is well compensated
by the advantage which the language possesses

336

of rendering any one secure against the com-
mission of a grammatical error, either in writing
or in speaking, as whenever it becomes necessary
to distinguish the sexes, the word alca is used to
denote the masculine, and clomo the feminine
gender.

The comparative is formed, as in most of the
living languages, by prefixing to the positive the
particle jod or dot, signifying more, and to the
superlatives the adverbs cad or ?nu, as doichu,
more limpid; muliu, most limpid. The Chilian
wants the diminutives and augmentatives, but
these, as in the French, are supplied by the ad-
jectives piclii, little, and hut a, .great. Diminu-
tives are also formed by changing a letter of a
harsh sound for one more harmonious, as votun,
son ; vochiun, little son. The primitive pro-
nouns are, inche, I ; eimi, you ; teye, which, &c.
The relatives are, iney, who ; clicm, what ; ta or
ga, that, &c. The verbs terminate in the in-
finitive, as in the Greek and German, in n, with
this difference, that all the German verbs end in
en, and the Greek in in, except in those cases
where they are contracted ; whereas the Chilian
terminate in the syllables an, en, in, on, un, and
un. They ara all, nevertheless, without excep-
tion, regulated by a single conjugation, and are
of three kinds, active, passive, and impersonal,
with three numbers, the singular, the dual, and
the plural. They have all the Latin moods and
4

337

tenses, with three or four others, which may be
denominated mixed.

All the tenses of the indicative produce parti-
ciples and gerunds both in active and passive
verbs. The terminations of the present tense of
each mood serve for the other tenses of the same
mood, which are distinguished from one another
by certain characteristic particles, as que in the
second present tense, bit in the perfect, uye in
tW. perfect, and a in the first future. The com-
pound and mixed tenses are formed by the union
of the same particles. These characteristic par-
ticles are applicable to all the moods, as well of
active as of passive and impersonal verbs.

Verbs passive are formed by placing" the auxi-
liary gen, to be, between the radical and the final
n of the verb, and is conjugated with the same
terminations as the active. The impersonal are
formed by annexing the particle am to the radical
word, or to the denotement of time. This simple
method will appear more clearly in the conju-
gation of the verb elun, to give, which will
serve as a model for all the others, without ex-
ception.

VERB ACTIVE.

INDI C ATI V E MOO D.

Present Tense.
Sing. Elun, I give. Dual. Eluyu, we two give.

Elulmi, thou givest. Eluimu, you two give.

Elui, he gives. Eluigu, they two give.

VOL. II. Z

338

Plural. Eluign, we give.
Eluimen, ye give.
Eluigen, they give.

Second Present.
Sing. Eluchen, I give* Eluchemi, thou givest, &c*

Imperfect.
Sing. Elulun, I did give. Eluluimi, thou didst give, &c»

Perfect.

Sing. Eluuyen, I gave. Eluuyeimi, thou gavest, &c.

Sing. Eluuyelun, I had given. Eluuyeluimi, thou hadst given,

&c.

.F/rsJ Future.
Sing. Eluan, I will give. Eluami, thou wilt give, &c.

Second Future.

Sing. Eluuyean, I shall have Eluuyeaimi, Ihou shalt have
given. given, &c.

JFVrsf Mixed.
Sing. Elualun, I had to give. Elualuimi, thou hadst to give.

Second Mixed.

Sing. Eluuyealun, I ought to Eluuy eahuimi, thou oughtest
have had to give. to have had to give, &c.

* The first present of all the verbs is regularly used as the
compound preterite; thus dun signifies I give and I have
given. The second present is that which denotes simply the
present moment.

339

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Sing. Eluchi, let me give. Dual. Eluyu, let us two give.
Eluge, give thou. Elumu, do you two give.

Elupe, let him give. Elugu, let those two give

Plural. Eluign, let us give.
Elumeuy give ye.
Elugen, let them give.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD,

Present Tense.

Sing. Eluli, if I may give. Dual. Elulin,\i we two may give.
Elulma, if thou maycst Elulmu, if you two may

give give.

£/«/*, if he may give. Elulgu, if we two may

give.
Plural. Elulign, if we may give.
Elulmen, if ye may give.
Elulgen, if we may give.

Imperfect.

Sing. Ehibuli, if I might give. Elululmi, if thou mightesj;

give, &c.

Perfect. First Future.

Sing. Eluuyeli, if I may have Sing. Eluali, if I shall give,
given.

Pluperfect. Second Future.

Sing. Eluuy eluli, if I might Siug. Eluuyeali, if I shall have
have given. given.

JYrsf Mized. Second Mixed.

Sing. Eluabuli, if I had to give. Sing. Eluyealuli, if I should

have to give.

z2

340

OPTATIVE MOOD.
The optative is formed of the subjunctive,, or
of the two mixed tenses of the indicative, with
the desiderative particles velem, vel, or chi an-
nexed, as eluli velem ! God grant that I may
give ; eluabun chi ! Would to God that I had
to give !

INFINITIVE MOOD.
The affirmative infinitive is not distinguishable
from the first persons singular of the tenses of
the indicative, as is the case in most of the pri-
mitive languages, and likewise in the English.
Thus all the nine tenses of the indicative have
their peculiar infinitives, and whenever it be-
comes necessary to make a distinction between
them, it is done by prefixing some determinative
particle.

ACTIVE PARTICIPLES.

First Present. Perfect.

Elulu, he or that who gives. Eluuyelu, he who gave.

Second Present. Pluperfect.

Eluquelu, he who gives. Eluuy elulu, he who had given.

Imperfect. First Future.

Elululu, he who did give. * Elualu, he who shall give.

Second Future. First Mixed.

Eluuyealu, he who shall have Elualulu, he who shall have
given. to give.

341

Second Mixed.
Eluuyealulu, lie who should have given.

GERUNDS.

First Present. Second Present.

Eluyum, giving. Elual, for to give, &c.

Imperfect.
Eluyubum, when giving, &c.

VERB PASSIVE.
INDICATIVE MOOD.

Present Tense.

Sing. Elugen, I am given. Dual. Elugeyu, we two are

Eluge'nni, thou art given. given, &c.

Elugei, lie is given.

Imperfect.
Elugcbum, I was given, &c. &c.

PARTICIPLES PASSIVE.

First Present. Imperfect.

Elugelu, given. Elugelulu, that was giveu, &c.

Second Present. Perfect.

Eluel, given. Eluluel, that was giveu.

z3

342
IMPERSONAL VERB.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

First Present, First Future.

Eluam, that is giving. Eluayam, that shall be given.

Second Present. Second Future.

JLlucheam, that is giving. Eluuyeayam, that should be

given.

Imperfect. First Mixed.

Eluluam, that was giving. Elualuam, that had to give.

Perfect. Second Mixed.

Etuuy earn, that was given. EluuycalutLm, that should have

to give.

Pluperfect.
Eluuyeluam, that had given.

IMPERATIVE MOOD.

Elupeam, let us give.

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

Present. Imperfect.

Eluleamy that we may give. Eluhvlcam, that we should give.

Instead of the impersonal verb., the third person
singular of the passive may be used impersonall y,
in the manner of the Latin.

The above conjugation becomes negative by
the admission of the particle la in the indicative,

4 '

343

qui in the imperative, which then takes the ter-
mination of the conjunctive, and no in the sub-
junctive and infinitive moods, as in the following
example :

Indicative.
Rlulan, I do not give. Elulaimi, thou dost not give, &c.

Imperative.
Eluijuili, let me not give, &c.

Subjunctive.
Elunoli, if I do not give. Elunohii, if thou dost not give, &c.

Infinitive.
Elunon, not to give, &c'.

This negative conjugation is much used in all
the verbs, but it should be observed that in using
it whenever two a's, or any other monotonous
vowels are brought together, a y is placed be-
tween them to avoid harshness, as in the future
negative elulayun, not to give. This method
gives rise to a number of very singular verbs ;
as, pilau, I deny ; gelan, I am not ; pelan, I do
not see, &c. From hence also comes Ian, to die,
that is, to be nothing ; lalan, I shall not die.

From the above remarks, it will be seen that
almost the whole structure of the Chilian con-
jugation consists in the use of the participles^
which may be called regulators of time., as either

344

singly or combined they vary and modify the
tenses. They also perfectly supply the place of
the modern auxiliary verbs. Thus the plu-
perfect, participating of the imperfect and per-
fect, is composed of the particles of both. The
future perfect is likewise formed from the cha-
racteristic particles of the perfect and the future,
and combines the signification of both. The
same may be observed with regard to the mixed,
which adopt the particles or augmentative syl-
lables of those tenses that approach nearest them
in signification, the first using those of the future
and imperfect, and the second those of the per-
fect, the future, and the imperfect. The same
system, though less obvious, occurs with little
variation in the Latin conjugations, the pluper-
fect amaveram being apparently composed of
the perfect amavi and the imperfect eram, and
amavero of the same perfect and the future ero.

Having given a succinct view of the first in-
flexions of the verb, I shall proceed to notice
the second in which it is equally abundant.
Nouns ending in or,* are formed by changing
the final n of the infinitive into voe or ve, as
eluvoe or &uve} the giver. Those implying action
terminate in ue, al, ow, un, and wm. The in-
finitive itself becomes a noun, as tliccan, signifies
both to pass and a passage. Those called in the

* The Spanish or Latin termination is here meant.

345

Latin nouns in eilis, are formed by the inter-
position of the particle ial with a participle, as
chiy.\Llu, donable, (or that which maybe given),
ayuvALlii, amiable, and become negatives by the
farther interposition of the particle no. Ab-
stract nouns are very frequent, and generally
terminate in gen, as ayuvalgcn, amiableness, uu-
tagen, greatness. The compounds, which in Latin
end in etum, and Italian in eto, as castagneto,*
terminate in the Chilian in ntu ; rumentn, a bed
of flowers ; cur ant u, a place full of stones ;
millaniii, a mine of gold.

The simple structure only of the verb has hi-
therto been noticed. To point out the several
combinations it admits, would require a laboured
treatise, admitting that each simple verb be-
comes, by its union with various particles, the
fertile root of numerous other verbs. Of these
particles, there are some which, by being pre-
fixed, perform the office of the Latin preposi-
tions; others are interwoven with the verb itself,
and give force to, or gracefully vary its signifi-
cation. The following examples of the latter,
taken from the numerous derivatives of the verb
dun, will suffice to explain this peculiar forma-
tion. Ehiclcn, to be giving ; elugucn, to give
more; elud.unnen, to wish to give ; riujecumeu,
to come giving ; ilullen, to give in earnest ;

* A grove of chesnut trees.

346

duyaun, to go giving ; elumen, to go to give •
elumon, to have occasion to give; elupan, to
come to give ; elupen, to doubt to give ; elupran,
to give to no purpose ; elupun, to pass in giving ;
elurauen, to appear to give ; eluremun, to give
unexpectedly ; elulun, to turn to give ; eluvalen,
to be able to give; elumepran, to go to give in
Tain, &c.

Two, three, or more of these particles, when
combined, form verbs of such a length as to
comprehend an entire sentence, as iduanclolavin,
I do not wish to eat with him ; pemepravin, I
went to see him in vain. The first is composed
of five distinct words, in, to eat ; cluan, wish ;
do, with; la, not; vi, him or it, and is conju-
gated through all its parts like elun, as iduan-
clolavimi, iduamdolavi, kc. This kind of ele-
gant compound is very common in the Chilian.

Verbs are also formed by a happy combination
of others, as from ay en, to laugh, and tliipan, to
go out, is derived ayetMpan, to go out laughing;
quindugim, to know how to talk ; pepimedan, to
be able to present, &c. Verbs neuter become
active, and active relative by the use of the par-
ticles ca, ica> U, lei, ma, and u3 as in the follow-
ing instance ; allium, to fatigue one's self; athu-
can, to fatigue ; gen, to be ; gein, to give being
to ; jeguenman, to venerate him. From hence it
will readily be inferred, that the poetical and rhe-
torical expressions of this language are forcible

347

and pathetic ; but, in order to be able to form a
proper idea of its copiousness and elegance, it is
necessary to hear an Araucanian deliver a public
speech.

The barbarous languages are generally very
deficient in connective particles, but the Chilian,
on the contrary, abounds with prepositions, ad-
verbs, interjections, and conjunctions. The same
prepositions, which in the Latin are placed after
the noun, occupy a similar position in the Chilian,
as pie, towards; cutu, until; via, therefore. The
compound adverbs are formed by adding to the
adjectives, and also to the verbs geclii or quechi,
as thepengechi, cheerfully; cumequeclu, sponta-
neously, &c. These are rendered negative by
the introduction of the particle no, as thcpcnge-
noclii. The numerals end in chi, mel, omita ; as
marichi, ten times ; this latter adverb is also
used, as it was by the Pythagoreans, in an un-
limited! sense, as marichi ilayan, to eat. no more.

The Chilian contains a variety of interjections:
the principal of which are hue, ah ! lue, an ex-
pression of joy ; ema, of affection ; veicu, of ad-
miration ; eu, of affliction ; ahithi, of pain ; iiya,
of indignation; tutui, of contempt; chioqui, of
ridicule ; sum, of affirmation, &c. Among the
conjunctions are cai, notwithstanding; chei,
cambe, or ; tuto, tume, if; cam, am, perhaps ;
fume, although ; ca, so that ; uelu, but ; petu,

348

also ; chemmOj because ; mat, yes ; no, mu, no ;
ina-cai, moreover; deuma, after that; via, to
the end that. It contains also many expletory
particles,, as chi, ga, wiaga, pichita, cachia, &c.

The syntax differs not materially from the con-
struction of the European languages. The sub-
ject, whether active or passive, may be placed
either before or after the verb. Mi pent aculei,
your brother has not come, or aculei mi peni, are
used indifferently, as are pevin apo, I have seen
the governor, or apo pevin. The genetive, or at
least its article, is commonly placed before the
noun that governs it. The adjective is always
placed before its substantive. The articles are
sometimes omitted for the sake pf brevity or ele-
gance, as millalonco, head of gold ; at other
times they are used instead of the substantive, as
Columilla agen, the vassals of Columilla.

The verb is frequently placed in the singular,
although its proper number is the dual, or plural,
as is also common in the Greek in cases of neutral
nouns, as pu cona cupai, the soldiers have come.
The auxiliary added to the infinitive of other
verbs forms the gerund, as gumangei, he is
weeping. The same infinitive, by being placed
before the noun that governs it, makes a gerund
of the genetive ; as pin-antu, it is the time of
speaking : but whenever it indicates motion it
admits the articles ?ii, meu, or mo, as ni pagitum

349

cupan, I come to hunting lions. The participle
passive is also employed for this purpose with the
same articles.

Participles and gerunds are very frequent in
this lan£cua«;e, or rather, thev occur in almost
every sentence ; whence all the offices of the in-
finitive and the relative are usually performed by
the participle or the gerund.

Laconism is the principal characteristic of the
Chilian. From hence arises the almost constant
practice of including the passive case in its verb,
which, when thus combined, is conjugated in
every respect as it is when by itself. A Chilian
rarely says elan ruca, 1 give the house, but in
order to express himself with precision he will
immediately form both words into the verb elu-
rucan, which signifies the same thing. They
pursue a similar method with the pronouns,
eluun, I give myself ; eluen, I give you; eluvin,
I give him or thefm. This manner of arranging
the pronouns, which has some resemblance to the
Hebrew, is called by the Chilian grammarians,
transition. Of this they distinguish seven kinds,
which render the attainment of the language
very difficult at first, from the particularity that
is requisite to be observed in the use of them.

From the same principle proceeds the no less
singular practice^ already noticed, of converting
all the parts of speech into verbs, in such a
manner that the whole knowledge of the Chilian

350

language may be said to consist in the manage-
ment of the verbs. The relatives, the pronouns,
the prepositions, the adverbs, the numerals, and
in fine all the other particles as well as the nouns
are subject to this metamorphosis, aschiu, what ?
cliiumen, what's to be done ? mivu, how many ?
mivui, how many are they ? eimimolan, I have
no occasion for you ; minche, under, minchen, to
be under ; meli, four, melin, to be four ; cloy,
more, doin, to be more ; vem, like, vemen, to be
like another.

Proper names are also susceptible of this ele-
gance. Thus from Pedro, is formed the verb
<petron, to be Pedro ; Petrobui, was Pedro. In
consequence of this singular variation, the sub-
stantives and adjectives produce some very
curious verbs; as dom pit IH or piillu, the soul,
is derived <pu Uiin, to apply the whole soul, to pay
the greatest attention ; in like manner from then,
time comes, tlienen, to arrive in time ; from re,
pure, relen, to do only one thing, &c. Owing to
this property the translation of European works
into the Chilian is very easy, in which, instead of
losing s.ny of their spirit and elegance, they
acquire a degree of precision even superior to
the originals. This, among other instances that
might be mentioned, is strongly evinced in the
Christian Thoughts of the celebrated Bouhours,
which was translated in the year seventeen hun-
dred and thirteen. There can be no better test

351

of a language than its translations, as its com-
parative richness or poverty is rendered more
apparent in this mode than in any other.

Another remarkable property of the Chilian
is the frequent use of abstract words in a pe-
culiar manner. Thus., instead of saying pu
Huinca, the Spaniards, they commonly say Huin+
cagen, the Spaniolity; tamcn cuiagen, your trio,
that is, you other three ; cpu tamen cajugen layai,
two of you other six will die, literally, two of
your sixths. The verb pin, which signifies to
say, is repeated in almost every sentence in
familiar conversation, as is usual with the lower
class of the Bolognese ; " pu mica cumegei, pi;
dachdai, pi • dageclielai cai, pivin : the Arauca-
nians are good, says he ; they do no harm, says
he ; then they ought not to be ill-treated, says
he." An ambassador or messenger always ex-
presses himself in the very words of those who
send him, as was customary among the Hebrews
and the ancient Greeks.

Many more reflections might be made upon
the simple structure of this language ; but as
these will readily occur to those who have at-
tended to the remarks already made, it will be
unnecessary to dwell longer upon the subject.
From what knowledge wc possess of it, the
Chilian appears to combine the genius of the
primitive language of the East, with that 'of the

352

ancient and modern European. It is obvious
from its very structure that it is an original lan-
guage, and it is a circumstance not a little re-
markable, that it should have produced no par-
ticular dialect, notwithstanding it has extended
itself over a space of one thousand two hundred
miles, among so many insubordinate tribes,
wholly destitute of all kind of literary inter-
course. The Chilians who live in the 24th de-
gree of latitude, speak the same language as
the natives of the 45th ; nor is there any essential
difference between that spoken by the islanders,
the mountaineers, or the inhabitants of the
plains : the Boroans and Ilicurans alone some-
times change the r into s. The Chilotes have
adopted seyeral Spanish words, but it has been
more owing t6 a wish to flatter ther masters,
than to any preference of them to their own.
Were the Chilian a meagre language, its immu-
tability might be attributed to its paucity of'
words, which in such cases, being intended to
express only the most simple and common ideas,
do not readily admit of change ; but as, on the
contrary, it abounds with words, it is wonderful
that it has not been divided into a number of
subordinate dialects, as has been the case with
other primitive languages that have been in any
considerable degree extended.

353
CHILIAN WORDS

EXPRESSIVE OF NUMBER.

Numerals.
Quigne, one Mari-quigne, eleven.

Epu, two Marie-pu, twelve, &c.

Cula, three Epumari, twenty.

Melt, four Culamari, thirty.

Quecku, five Melimari, forty, &c.

Cayu, six Pataca, one hundred.

Relghe, seven Epupataca, two hundred.

Pcm, eight Culapataca, three hundred, &c.

Aylla, nine Huaranca, one thousand,

ilfari, ten Epuhuaranca, two thousand,

&c. &c.

Quignechi, Quignemel, Quignemita, once.
Epuchi, Epumal, Epumeta, twice, &c.

Ordinals,

Unen, Unelelu, Quignelelu, Quignegetu, Quignegentu, Quig-
mentu, once.
Epulelu; Epugeht Epugentun, Epunlu, &c. twice.

Distributives.
Calique, Mollquigne, one by one.
Epuque, Mollepu, two by two.

Quignen, to be one ; Quignelian, to join ; Epun, to be two,
&c. &c.

Abstracts.
Qltignegen, unity ; Epugen, duality ; Culagen, trinity, &c»

Indefinites.
Quignelque, several ; Epulgen, about two j Culalque, about
three.

VOE. II. A a

354

To the preceding Account of the Language of the
Araucanos, which is common to the Moluches, that
of Falkner, the Missionary, in his Description of
Patagonia , may properly be added.
" The nouns have only one declination, and are
all of the common gender. The dative, accusa-
tive, and ablative cases, have all the same termi-
nation, with their suffix or postposition. There
are but two numbers, singular and plural ; the
dual being expressed by placing the word epu
( which signifies two ) before the word : but the
pronouns have all the three numbers. The ad-
jectives are put before the substantives, and do
not vary their terminations, either in case or num-
ber : as,

Cume good,

Cume huentu a good man,

Cume huentu eng'n good men.

THE DECLINATION OF THE NOUNS.
Singular. Plural.

N. Huentu, the man, N. Pu huentu, or >•

' , , vthe men.

G. Huentuni, of the man, &c. huentu eng n J

D. Huentumo, G. Pu huentu, of the men*

A. Huentumo, and so on, as in the singular.

V. Huentu,

A. Huentumo,

or Huentu engu,

THE PRONOUNS.

Inche, I, _. . e he alone, or

_. . Quisu, 1 '

Jbimi, thou, *- himself,

Jei, he, Inche quisu, I myself,

T'va or T'vachi, this Inchiu, we two,

Velli, that, lnchin, we many.

*nei$ whom,

355

And, in the same manner>

Eimi, thou, Eim'n you many.

EimUf you two,

For pronouns possessive is used the genitive,
or sign of the genitive, of the pronouns ; ni,
mine; mi, thine. Likewise m'ten, only; used
sometimes as an adjective or pronoun, and, at
other times, as an adverb.

The verbs have only one conj ugation, and are
never irregular or defective. They are formed
from any part of speech, either by giving it the
termination of a verb, or adding to it the verb
substantive gen, or, as it is pronounced, 'ngen,
which answers to the Latin verb sum, es,fui, &c.

EXAMPLES.

1. P'lle, near,
P'llen, or P'llengen, I am near,
Plley, or P'llengey, he is near.

2. Cume, good,
Cumen, J
Cumengen, > to be good«
Cumelen, J

S.Ata, Evil or bad.

At an, "I

Atangen, £ to be bad,
Atal'n, or Atalcan, to corrupt or make bad.

The verbs have three numbers, singular, dual,
and plural; and as many tenses as in the Greek
tongue; all of which they form by interposing
Aa2

35G

certain particles before the last letter of the indi-
cative, and before the last syllable of the sub-
junctive: as,

to sire.

Present tense,

Elun,

Imperfect,

Elubun,

Perfect,

Eluyeen,

Preterperfect,

Eluyeebun,

First Aorist,

Elualun,

Second Aorist,

Eluyeabun,

First Future,

Eluan,

Second Future,

Eluycan.

In the subjunctive mood they terminate with
the particle li, striking off the letter n in the in-
dicative, and varying all the tenses as before : as,

Present tense.

Eluli,

Imperfect,

Elulully

Perfect,

Eluyeeli,

Preterperfect,

Eluyeeluliy

First Aorist,

Elualuli,

Second Aorist,

Eluyeabulif

First Future,

Eluali,

Second Future,

Eluyeali.

N. B. The Huilliches frequently use, instead
of eluyeen, in the perfect tense of the indicative,
or eluyeeli, in that of the subjunctive, eluvin and
elwvili.

I remarked that, for the imperative, they fre-
quently used the future of the indicative, and
sometimes in the third person ; as, Elupe, Let
him gire.

357

A Moluche Indian, eating an ostrich's egg,
and wanting salt, I heard him say, " Chasimota
iloavwqiun," Let me eat it with salt. Now ilo-
avin is the first future, with the particle vi
interposed, to signify it. I do not know whether
quin is any thing more than a particle of orna-
ment; as in the word chasimota; where the con-
cluding syllable ta is useless, but for the sake of
the sound ; as chasimo, without any addition, is
the ablative case of cliasi, salt.

The tenses are conjugated, through all their
numbers, with these terminations in the indica-
tive present ;

Sing. n imi y

Dual iu imu ingu

Plural in im'n ingn

EXAMPLE.

Sing. Elun Eluimi Eluy

Dual Eluiu Eluimu Eluingu

Plural Eluin Eluim'n Eluing'n.

Sing.
Dual
Plural

IN THE SUBJUNCTIVE.

li limi liy

liu

liin

limic
lirrin

Hngu
ling'n.

EXAMPLE.

Sing. Eluli Elulimi Eluliy

Dual Eluliu Elulimu Elulingu

Plural Eluliin Etulim'n Eluling'n.

A a 3

358

In this manner all the other tenses are conju-
gated.

N. B The Second Aorist and the Second
Future are only used by the Picunches, and not
by the Huilliches.

The infinitive mood is formed of the first per-
son of the indicative, with the genitive of the
primitive pronoun put before, or a possessive
pronoun, to signify the person that acts or suffers,
and may be taken from any of the tenses : as,

Ni dun, I to give,

Ni elulun, thou to give,

Ni eluvin, &c. he to give.

The other possessives are mi, thine ; and n',
his ; for these are only used in the singular.

There are two participles, formed in the
same manner as the infinitive, to be conjugated
through all the tenses ; the one active, the other
passive :

Active, Elulu, the person giving.

Passive, Eluel, the thing given.

FROM THESE ARE DERIVED,

Eiubulu, he that did give,

Eluyelu, he that has given,

Elualu, he that will give,

Eluabulu, he that was to give,

Elubuel, the thing that was given,

Eluyeel, the thing that has been given,

Elual, &c. the thing that will be given.

359

Of all these, and of the active verbs, passives
are formed, by adding the verb substantive, gen ;
in which case, in all the tenses, the variation or
declension changes the verb substantive, the ad-
jective verb remaining invariable.

EXAMPLE.

Elugen, I have given,

Elugebun, I was given,

Elugeli, I can be given,

Elungeuyeeli, 1 may have been given,

Mlungeali, &c« I shall have been given.

Another accident, which the verbs in this lan-
guage suffer, is that of transition : whereby they
signify as well the person that acts, as him on
whom the action passes, by the interposition or
addition of certain determinate particles to ex-
press it. This is common to them with those of
Peru ; but the latter use those which are more
difficult, and in a greater number. I do not
think that the languages of the nations of the
Puelches, of the Chaco, or the Guaranies, have
this particular property. I do not believe I can
recollect them all ; but I shall endeavour to give
the best account I can of these transitions.

The transitions are six in number ;
From me to thee or you,
From you to me,
From him to me,
From him to you,
from me or you to him,
A»4

360

And the mutual, when it is reciprocal on both
sides.

The first transition is expressed by eymi, eymu,
and eim'n, in the indicative ; and elmi, elmu, and
elm'n, in the subjunctive; and this runs through

all the tenses : as,

Elun, I give,

Elueymi, I give to you,

Elueymu, I give to you two,

Elueim'n, I or we give to you many

And in the subjunctive,

Eluelmi,
Eluelmu,
Elueim'n,

With their derivatives, the other tenses.

The second transition is from you to me, and is
expressed by the particle en ; as eluen, you give
to me ; which has elueiu and eluein, dual and
plural.

The third transition from him to one is,

Sing. Elumon,

Dual Elumoiu,

Plural Elumoin (when we are many.)

In the subjunctive it is,

Sing. Elumoli,

Dual Elumoliyu,

Plural Elumoliin.

The fourth transition, from him to thee, is
formed by adding eneu to the first person sin-
gular ; as,

Elueneu, he gives to thee j

361
And eymu mo, cim'n mo, to the dual and plural ;

And in the subjunctive,

Elmi mo,
Elmii mo,
Elni'n mo.

The fifth transition, from me to thee, to this,
or that, or him, is formed by the interposition of
the particle vi; as,

Eluvin, I give it, or give him,

Eluvimi, thou givest him,

Eluvi, he giveth him,

Eluviyu, \ we or you two give to him,

Eluvimu, 5 or give it.

iLLuviu, £ we many give to him,or give it.

Eluvimn, y

The subjunctive is Eluvili.

This I perceive to be something equivocal
with the perfect tense of the Huilliches : yet
they like to use it, though they themselves know
the impropriety of it. Nor is this the only ground
of equivocation in their tongue, which is found
especially in the prepositions ; where one having
many significations, the meaning is oftentimes
very much confused ; as may be seen in the de-
clination of their nouns.

The sixth and last transition is conjugated
through all the numbers, moods, and tenses, in
the same manner as the simple verbs, and is

362

formed by the interposition of the particle huu,
or, as it is pronounced, wu ; as,

Eluhwn, or ) , . ,#

_, > I give to myself,

Euwun, § *» J

Ayuwimi, thou lovest thyself,

Ayuhui, he loveth himself,

Ayuhuim'n, &c. you love one another.

They have another particular mode of com-
pounding verbs, altering their significations,
making affirmatives negatives, neuters actives,
and of signifying and expressing how and in
what manner the thing is done, by the interpo-
sition of prepositions, adverbs, adjectives, &c. as,

Cupan, to come,

Naucupan, to come downwards,

Nag'n, to fall,

Nagcumen, to make to fall,

Payllac'non, to putone's mouth upwards ;

from pailla, mouth upwards, c'?ion} to put.

Aucan, to rebel,

Aucatun, to rebel over again,

AucatuHn, to make to rebel,

Lan, death or to die,

Langm'n, to kill,

Langm'chen, to kill Indians ;

from langm'n, to kill, and che, Indian or man.

Ayun, to love,

Ayulan, not to love.

Pen signifies to see ; pevin is, I saw him ; vemge,
on this mal ler ; and la is the negative. These

363

Words are compounded into onej thus, pcvemge-
lavin, I saw him not on this manner.

The numeral words in this language are com-
plete, and may he used to describe any number
whatsoever.

Quine, one, Meli, four, Cayu, six,

Epu, two, Kechu, five, Selge, seven,

Quila, three,

Mari (or Massi, as the Hiulliches have it) ten,

The intermediate numbers are composed as follows :
Pataca, a hundred, Huaranca, a thousand.

Massi quine, eleven, Epu massi epu, twenty-two,

Epu massi quila, twenty -three,
Quila pataca, three hundred,
Selge pataca, seven hundred.

Massi epu, twelve,
Massi quila, thirteen,
Epu massi, twenty,

THE ADVERBS, &c.

Mu,

May,

Chay, or Chayula,

Vule,

T'vou,

Vellu,

File,

Allu mapu

Nau,

Huenu,

Pule,

jillu pule,

Chumgechi,

no,
yes,

to-day, or presently,
to-morrow,
here,
there,
near,
afar off,

under, or downwards,
above,
against,
distant,

on what manner,
Vemgechi or vemge, on this manner,

C the Latin prepositions, in, con-
Mo, or meu, 1 tra, cum, per, oh, propter,
' intra,
Cay, and Chay, placed after a noun, or, alone, and, perhaps,
Huecu, without.

364

To give some further idea of this language, I
add the following specimens of it :

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.

Santa crux ni gnelmeu, inchin in pu
By the sign of the holy cross, from our
caynemo montulmoin, Dios, inchin in
enemies deliver us, O God, our
ylpo ; Chao, Votcfim cay, Spiritu Santo cay,
Lord ; the Father, and Son, aad the Hoy Ghosi,
ni wimeu. Amen.
in the name of. Amai.

THE BEGINNING OF THE LORD'S PRAYER,

Inchin in Chao, huenumeuta m'hymi,

Our Father, in Heaven thou that art,
tifchingepe mi wi\ eymi mi toquin.
hallowed be thy name ; thy kingdom
inchinmo cupape ; eymi mi piel,
to us may it come ; thy will,
chumgechi vemgey huenu-mapumo,
as it is done in Heaven,

vemgechi cay vemengepe tue-mapumo ; &c.
so likewise may it be done on earth ; &c.

THE BEGINNING OF THE CREED.

Mupiltun Dios, Chaomo vilpepilvoe, huenu
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, of Heaven
vemvoe, tue vemvoe cay ; inchin in Apt

the maker, and of earth the maker also ; in our Lord

Jesu Christomo cay, veyni m'ten Votch'm, &c.

Jesus Christ also, his only son, &c.

THE BEGINNING OF THB CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.

Q. Chumten Dios tiCley ? How many Gods are there 1
A. Quine m'ten. One only.

Q, Cheu m'ley ta Dios? Where is GOP ?

365

A. HusnU'mapumo, tue-mapumo, In Heaven, in earth,
vill-mapumo sume cay, and in all the world wheresoever.

Q. Iney cam Dios ? Who is God 1

A. Dios Chao, God the Father, Dios Votch'm, God the Son,
Dios Spiritu Santo; cay quila Persona geyum,
God the Holy Ghost ; and being three Persons,

quiney Dios m'ten, are one God only.
Q. Chumgechi, quila Persona geyum, quine m'ten ta Dios?
How, being three persons, God is one alone 1

A. T'vachi quila- Persona quine
These three Persons have one only
gen-n'gen, veyula quine m'ten ta Dios.
Being, for this God is one alone.

These specimens are accommodated to the
Indian expression, and intermixed with a few
Spanish words, where the Indian idiom is insuf-
ficient, or might give a false idea. And this,
with the short vocabulary annexed, may suffice
to give a small but imperfect notion of this lan-
guage.

I omit several common words, because they
have been already explained.

VOCABULARY.

P'LLU, the soul, a spirit. Cuugh, the hand.

Lonco, the head, the hair. Naruon, the foot.

Az, the face. Pinque, the heart.

N'ge, the eyes. P'nen, a child.

Wun or Huu n, the mouth. Nahue, a daughter.

Gehuun, the tongue. Peni, a brother.

Yu, the nose. Penihuen, own brothers.

Voso, the teeth, the bones. Huinca, a Spaniard.

Anca, the body. Seche, a neat Indian.

Pue, the belly. Huenuy, a friend.

366

Caynie, an enemy.

Huincha, a head-fillet.

Makun, a mantle.

Lancattu, glass beads.

Cofque, bread.

Ipe, food.

In, or ipen, to eat.

Ilo, flesh.

Hon, to eat flesh.

Putun, drink, to drink.

Putumum, a cup.

Chilca, writing.

Chilean, to write.

Sengu, a word, language ; also
a thing.

Huayqui, a lance.

Huayquitun, to lance.

Chinu, a knife, a sword.

Chingoscun, to wound.

Chingosquen, to be wounded.

Conan, a soldier.

Conaugean, he that is to be a
sol dier.

Amon, to walk or go.

Anun, to sit.

Anupeum, a seat or stool.

Anunmahuun,to feel inwardly.

Poyqnelhuun, to feel, or per-
ceive.

Cou'n, lo enter.

Tipan, to go out.

Cupaln, to bring.

Entun, to take away.

Aseln, to be averse.

Aselgen, to hate.

M'len, to be, to possess.

Mongen, life, to live.

Mongetun, to revive.

Suam, the will.

Suamtun, to will.

Pepi, power.

Pepilan, to be able.

Quimn, knowledge, to know,

Quimeln, to learn.

Quimelcan, to teach.

Pangi, a lion.

Choique, an ostrich.

Achahual, a cock or hen.

Malu, a large lizard or iguana.

Cusa, a stone, an egg.

Saiguen, a flower.

Milya, gold.

Lien, silver.

Cullyin, money, payment.

Cullingen, to be rich.

Cunnubal, poor, miserable, an
orphan.

Gum panilhue (red metal) cop-
per.

Chos panilhue (yellow metal)
brass.

Gepun, colour, or painting.

Saman, a trade, an artificer.

Mamel, a tree, wood.

Mamel-saman, a carpenter.

Suca-samau, a house-builder.

Autuigh, the sun, a day.

Cuyein or Kiyem, the moon,
a month.

Tipantu, a year.

K'tal, fire.

Asee, hot.

Chosee, cold.

Atutuy, it is shivering cold."

APPENDIX.

No. I.

Account of the Archipelago of Chiloe, extracted chiefly from
the Descripcion Histotual of that Province, by P. F,
Pedro Gonzalez de Agueros. — Madrid, 1791.

x HE Province aud Archipelago of CI11I06 extends from
point Capitanes to Quilan, from latitude 41. 30. south to 44.
Longitude from the meridian of Teneriffe 302. to 303. 25.
On the north it is bounded by the continent, where the Juncos
and Rancos, two unconverted nations, possess the country to-
wards Valdivia, to the north-east by the district of Osorno, a
city no longer in existence, south by the Archipelago of Guai-
tecas, east by the Cordillera, which separates it from Pata-
gonia, and west by the Pacific Ocean. The inhabited part
of the province extends from Maullin to Huilad, comprising
forty leagues of latitude, and from 1 8. to 20. of longitude,
and consisting of twenty-five islands. Isla Grande, Achao,
Lemui, Quegui, Chelin, Tanqui, Linlin, Llignua, Quenac,
Meulin, Caguach, Alau, Apeau, Chaulinec, Vuta*Chauquis,
Arugue, Chegnidu, Caucague, Calluco, Llaicha, Quenu,Tabon,
Alnaii, Chiduapi, and Kuar.

Isla Grande, being as its name imports the largest of these
islands, is the most populous, and the seat of government.
Castro, its capital, and tho only city in the province, was

368

founded in 1566, by the marshal D. Marten Ruiz de Gamboa,
during the administration of the viceroy Lope Garcia de
Castro, in Peru.

The navigation of this Archipelago is very dangerous, from
the strength and number of the currents, and nothing can be
worse adapted for so perilous a sea than the boats which are
used. These piraguas, as they are called, are without keel or
deck. The planks of which they are made are laced together
with strong withes, and calked with pounded cane leaves, over
which the withes are passed : the cross timbers are fasteued
with tree-nails. In these vessels, so easily overset, the Chilotes,
as the inhabitants of these islands are called, venture with a
fearlessness which they derive from their being accustomed to
danger, not from their skill in avoiding it. Their main suste-
nance is from the sea, which is generally most bountiful when
the earth is least so. The mode of fishing is, I believe, peculiar
to themselves. At low water they stake in a large sweep of
shore, knitting the stakes together with basket-work ; the flood
covers these corrales, or pens, and at the ebb the fish are left
there. A sea weed, which they call luche, is also used for
food. They dry it, and then, by some unexplained process,
form it into loaves or cakes, which are greatly esteemed not
only in Chiloe, but even by the wealthy inhabitants of Lima.
Seals are more numerous in the adjoining Archipelagos of
Guaitecas and Guayneco : none but the Indians eat them, and
their constant use of this rank food is said to impart to them
jo rank an odour, that it is almost necessary to keep to wind-
ward when you talk with them. Whales sometimes run them-
selves aground here, though they are more frequent farther to
the south: they have probably retired from a coast where they
are persecuted, for ambergris was formerly found in great
abundance upon these shores, but is now rarely cast up.

All the islands are mountainous or craggy, a few valleys
among the hills, and the flat ground near the shore, are all
that are cultivated. On this belt of cultivated ground all the

369

settlements in Isla Grande are built, forty-one in number ;
there is a road across the mountains, but the whole of the in-
terior is waste. The Isle of Quinchau has six settlements,
Lemui and Llaicha each four, Calbuco three, the other in"
habited islands only one each> and on the continent there are
three. These pueblos may better be called parishes than any
thing else ; tor the houses are as scattered as the property :
every one lives upon his land, and the church stands near the
beach, with a few huts round it, erected merely for the pur-
pose of lodging the parishioners when they come to mass, or
any festival. In the whole Archipelago there are but four
places where the houses are near enough together to assume
the appearance of a village, Chacao, Calbuco, the city of
Castro, and the Puerto de San Carlos. This last is the largest
and most flourishing. In 1/7 4* it contained sixty houses, and
^bur hundred and sixty-two inhabitants: in 1791 there were
above two hundred houses, and the population exceeded
eleven hundred. But its prosperity is founded upon the ruin
of Chacao; for, till as late as 17'6'S, Chacao was the only port
in the Archipelago. This harbour is very dangerous in con-
sequence of rocks aud shoals, and is also exposed to the north
and north-east. On this account, Don Carlos de Beranger,
when governor of the province, recommended that a town
should be built at Gacui del Ingles; and accordingly, in 1767,
orders were issued by the court of Madrid to that effect. The
bay was then newly named Bahia del Rey, and the harbour*
Puerto de San Carlos. It is situate! in latitude 41. 57. south.
Ships are frequently wrecked at the entrance, but this is en-
tirely occasioned by the tremendous hurricanes which come on
suddenly, and completely hide the land. The port itself is
good. San Carlos is now the seat of government.

It is difficult to understand what motives could have in-
duced tiie Spaniards to settle in this miserable country, when
there was the whole of this side of South America open to
them. Where there is gold or silver to be fouud, men will
VOL. II. B b

37a

settle, however barren and unfavourable the country— where
wealth is to be acquired by trade they will herd together, na
matter how pestilential the situation. But Chiloe offers
nothing to avarice, and only a bare and comfortless subsistence
to industry. Perhaps the main part of the first settlers were
from Chili, families who had escaped from the Araucanos,
Who wanted means to remove themselves to Peru, or to subsist
if they had got there, and were glad therefore of any place
of rest and security. There is, I believe, no other colony in
the world to which Europeans have carried so few of their
arts and comforts ; nor indeed have they ever attempted to
colonize against so many natural disadvantages, except in two
instances, the project of Philip II. to fortify the straits of Ma-
galhaens, and the unaccountable settlements of the Norwe-
gians in Greenland. It frequently rains during a whole moon
without intermission, and this rain is accompanied by such
tremendous hurricanes, that the largest trees are torn up by
the roots, and the inhabitants do not feel safe in their houses.
Even in January, which is their midsummer, they have often-
times long and heavy rains. During the height of the storm,
if the clouds open to the south, however small may be this
opening, fine weather succeeds; but first the wind comes sud-
denly from the south, with even greater violence than it had
blown before from the opposite quarter, and with a sound as
sudden and as loud as the discharge of cannon. Vessels are
never in more danger than during these tremendous changes;
the storm passes with rapidity proportioned to its violence,
and then the weather clears. Thunder and lightning are
seldom perceived here. The islands suffered severely by an
earthquake in 1737, and a few days afterwards, it is said,
that an exhalation or cloud of fire, coming from the north,
passed over the whole Archipelago, and set fire to the woods in
many of the islands of Guaitecas. It is said also, that those
islands were covered with ashes, and that vegetation did not
begin to appear upon them again till the year 1750.

371

Notwithstanding the quantity of rain which falls, the climate
is not unhealthy ; but never had people more cause to believe
literally that the ground was cursed to bring forth thorns and
thistles, and that it is the punishment of man to eat bread
with the sweat of his brow than these poor Chilotes. They
are proofs of the authenticity of this anathema, says their
historian ; for perhaps there are no other people in the world
who labour so hard, and procure so little. Such is their
poverty, that there is no iron among them, or at least so little,
that the family which happens to possess an axe, lays it by as
a treasure^ Their substitute for the plough consists in two
separate stakes, about seven or eight feet long : one end is
sharp, the other inserted in a round ball. These they take
one in each hand, fix the point against the ground, and force
the ends on with the body, which is protected with a sheep-
skin during this rude exertion. Laborious as this mode must
needs be, even in the lightest soil, it is rendered still more so
by the myrtle-roots which overspread the open country. The
little corn which is raised can never be left to ripen, because
of the raius j they cut it before it is ripe, and hang its sheaves
in the sunshine, if the sun happens to shine, otherwise they
let it dry within doors. Bread is of course a delicacy re-
served for great occasions ; and so little is the ordinary stock
of corn, that ma ly families let it remain in the ear till it is
wanted for use. Good potatoes supply the want of bread, and
Chiloe produces better than any part of Peru.

Apples and strawberries are their only fruit ; these are good,
and plentiful. The woods produce a plant called quiliveja,
much resembling the esparte of Spain, from which they manu-
facture their cables, and with various leafless parasitic plants,
which supply the want of smaller cordage. A species of wild
cane serves to roof their houses, and its leaves are the fodder
of the fr w horses which are kept. A tree, w hich the Spaniards
call alerse, and the Indians lahual, grows abundantly upon that
part of the continent which is included in this province, and

Bb2

372

burnishes the main branch of their external commerce. Froiffl
50 to 60,000 planks are annually sent to Lima. The wood
grows to a great size, and its grain is so even that it is cleft
with wedges into boards of any thickness, even better and
smoother than could be done by the saw. Neither Aguero*
nor Falkner had ever seen the tree ; the latter supposed it,
from the description which he had heard, to be of the fir tribe.
If plants or seeds of this tree, he says, were brought over into
England, it is very probable they would thrive here, the climate
being as cold as in the country where it grows : and it is there
reckoned to be the most valuable timber they have, both for
its beauty and duration. The bark of the alerse makes ex-
cellent oakum for that part of a ship which is under water,
but must not be used when it would be exposed to the sun
and air.

They export also the wood of the luma for axle-trees and
poles of coaches, of the hazle for ship-building, and especially
for oars, and chests and boxes of cypress and of ciruelillo.
Hams form a main article of export, pigs being the only ani-
mals which abound in this Archipelago, because they keep
themselves. Few sheep are kept, enough however to furnish
employment for the women with their wool. They make the
poncho, two of which are a full year's work for a woman,
working as they do without a loom ; the warp is stretched
and fastened with pegs, and they then weave with their
fingers, and with this painful industry what they make is re-
markably fine, strong, and beautiful. They make also a
smaller kind of poncho called lordillos, which are the ordinary
dress of the negroes at Lima ; blankets and rugs, which are
curiously wrought in colours. Linen they weave in a loom.

During their summer, when the vessels from Callao arrive,
San Carlos is like a fair. This is the only opportunity the Chi-
lotes have of supplying themselves with any thing except
what they produce themselves, and their only opportunity
also of disposing of their surplus produce. There is 00 cir-

373

existing medium, and trade is therefore carried on by barter.
This would leave the islanders at the mercy of the Lima mer-
chants, if it were not for the interference of government.
When the first ship arrives, the cabildo, or municipality of
San Carlos, fixes the price in money at which every thing shall
be rated. It is obvious that such an interference is absolutely
necessary, the Chilotes being obliged, when they bought, to
pay what the seller chose to demand, and when they sold, to
take what the purchaser chose to give. Still it would ma-
terially benefit them if they could export their goods them-
selves ; but the whole Archipelago does not contain one vessel
large enough for a voyage to the ports of Peru, or even Chili.
The soldiers who were formerly paid hi clothes and other
eifects, are, by a late regulation, that is about eighteen or
twenty years ago, to be paid in specie. If this be continued,
|t must have produced an important change in Chiloe. The
militia of the Archipelago consists of 1,569 men, including
officers : they do garrison duty, but receive no pay, nor even
ratios. San Carlos has a garrison of regular troops, consisting
of 33 artillerymen, 53 dragoons, and 53 infantry.

There are but two classes of people in Chiloe, Spaniards
and Indians, no negroes, aud no mixed breed. Why there
are no negroes is explained by the poverty of the islanders ;
how it has happened that the other races have not intermingled
is not explained. This is the more remarkable, because no-
where, perhaps, has so extraordinary a change in language
taken place as among these islands; during the last half
century that of the Indian inhabitants has changed : they now
speak a language of which the words are Spanish, but all
the inflections, syntax, and idioms, Chilese, that is to say,*
Moluche.

The Spaniards, both men and women, go barefoot, except

* This very remarkable fact is noticed by Hervas in his great w»rk
vpoa languages. Agueros has overlooked it.

B b 3

374t

a few of the principal families, who sacrifice convenience to
pride ; for in a country so continually wet, it is safer to expose
the fegt than to cover them. The men usually wear the
poncho instead of the cloak. Their houses, or rather hovels,
are built of wood, and the crevices stopped with pieces of
sheep-skin, and with rags ; the roofs are of thatch, which rots so
soon in that rainy climate, that it must frequently be renewed.
They consist of a single room, in which the family, the
poultry, and whatever cattle they happen to possess, are
equally accomodated. The few who can afford it build belter
houses, but still of wood, divide them into several apartments,
wainscot them within, and roof them with planks. Fires are
very frequent, but as the houses are scattered, the mischief
does not extend.

Such is the inclemency of the weather, and such the state
of the roads, that a family in one of these solitary habitations
is often weeks, and sometimes months, without any communi-
cation with their neighbours. There is neither hospital, phy-
sician, nor physic, in the Archipelago. A sick person is laid
upon a bed, or upon a heap of skins, close to a large fire, and
there they let him lie. The missionaries could find no books
to teach the children to read ; and when they would have
taught them to write, there was no paper. Necessity produced
a substitute : they made wooden tablets, which, like slates,
could be washed clean when they were filled. Such is the miser-
able situation of the Spaniards in Chiloe, they dare not leave
their wretched birth-place in the hope of bettering their for-
tunes ; for those who have attempted it have been cut off by
the small-pox, a disease unknown in the Archipelago. The
whole population, in 1783, amounted to 23,477, of whom
1 1,985 were Spaniards.— U, E.

APPENDIX.

No. II.

Account of the Native Tribes who inhabit the Southern Extre-
mity of South, jimerica, extracted chiefly from Falkners
Description of Patagonia.

SjRCILLA has made the name of Araucauo so celebrated,
that it must not be changed. But it properly belongs only to
those hordes of the Picunches who possessed the country of
Arauco.

The nations who inhabit this extremity of South America
are known among themselves by the general names of Mo-
lucbes and Puelches. The Moluches, or warlike people, as
the word impl;es, are divided into the Picunches, or people of
the north, Pehuenches, people of the fine country, and Huil-
liches, people of the south.- The first of these inhabit the
mountains from Coquimbo to somewhat below Santiago, in
Chili. The second border upon them to the north, and extend
from the parallel of Valdivia to 35 degrees south latitude.
Both these are included in history under the name of Arau-
canos. The long and obstinate wars with the Spaniards, with
the Puelches, and with one another, have greatly diminished
their numbers ; but they have been still more diminished by
the havoc which brandy has made among them. For this
accursed liquor, as it way well be called by the American

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376

Indians, they have been known to sell their wives and children;
the madness which it produces occasions bloodshed ; and the
deaths which then happen bring on deadly feuds. The
sinail-pox has nearly completed the work of drunkenness and
of w ar ; and when Falkuer left the country they were not able
to muster four thousand men among them all.

The Huilliches possess the country from Valdivia to the
straits of Magalhaens. They are subdivided into four nations,
who are improperly classed uuder one general appellation,
inasmuch as three of them are evidently a different race from
the fourth. That branch which reaches to the sea of Chilo£,
aud beyond the lake of Nahuelhuaupi, speaks the general
language of Chili, differing only from, the Pehueaches and ?i-
cunches in pronunciation. The others speak a mixed lan-
guage of the Moluche and Tehuel (or Patagonian) tongue, and
are, by their greater stature, manifestly of Patagonian origin.
Collectively they are called the Vuta, or Great Huilliches ;
separately, Chonos, who inhabit the Archipelago of Chiloe,
aud its adjoining shores. Poy-yus, or Peyes, who possess the
coast from latitude. 48. to something more than 5 1 . and Key-
yus, or Keyes, who extend from thence to the Si raits. The
Moluches maintain some flocks of sheep for their wool, and
sow a small quanlity of corn.

The Puelches, or eastern people, so called by those of Chili,
are bounded on the west b\ the Moluches, south by the Straits,
east by the sea, and north by the Spaniards. They are sub-
divided into four tribes: 1. The Taiuhets, a wandering race,
who prowl over the country from the eastern side of the firs'
Desaguadero, as far as the lakes of Guanacache, in the juris-
diction of St. Juan and St. Luiz de ia Punta. There are some
slso in the jurisdiction of Cordova, on the rivers Quarto, Tei-
cero, and Se^undo. When the Jesuits were expelled they
could scarcely raise two hundred fighting men of their own
nation, and not above five hundred with all their allies.
^.TLe Biui'uets, also a wandering race, who border west#

377

wardly upon the Pehuenches, from 35 to 3 S degrees south,
and extend along the rivers Sanquel, Colorado, and Hueyque,
nearly to tne Casuliati on the east. This nation, and that of
the Taluhets, are collectively called Pampas by the Spaniards,
whose settlements in Tucunian and on the southern shore of
the Plata they have always infested, and sometimes eudaugered.
3. The Chechehets, or people of the east: the country which
they chiefly frequent is between the rivers Hueyque and the
first Desaguadero, or river Colorado, and from thence to the
secowd Desaguadero, or river Negro. They are a wandering
race, tall and stout like the Patagons, but they speak a dif-
ferent language : their dispositions are friendly and inoffensive,
but when provoked they are a bold and active enemy. The
srnall-po\ lias reduced them to a very small number. 4. The
Tehuelhets, or in their own language Tehuel-Kunnees, southern
men ; these are the Patagons. They are divided into many
tribes, all of whom, and the Chechehets also, are called by
the Spaniards Serranos, or Mountaineers. The Leuvuches,
who seem to be the head of all the Serranos, live on the river
Negro. They speak the language of the Chechehets, with a
small mixture of the Tehuel tongue. It w*» their policy to
be at peace with the Spaniards, that they might hunt securely
in the immense plains, or pampas, as they are called, of
Buenos Ayres, but about the year 1740 they were provoked
by a most wanton and treacherous attack to take arms; and
Buenos Ayres would probably have been destroyed, had not
the Jesuit missionaries appeased these injured people. The
Tehuelhets are more numerous than all the other Indians of
these parts ; they are the enemies of the Moluches, and had
they been as well supplied with horses, these latter, who are so
terrible to the Spaniards, would long since have been destroyed.
To the south of these live the Chulilau-Kunuees, and Se-
buau-Kunnees, who are the most southern of the equestrian
tribes. The country beyond them to the straits is possessed
by the last of the Tehuel nations, who are called Yacana-

378

Kunnees, or foot people : an inoffensive race, fleet of foot, and
subsisting chiefly upon fish. The other Tehuelhets and the
Huilliches sometimes attack them for the purpose of making
slaves. The ordinary stature of ail the Tehuel tribes is from
six to * seven feet. None of the Pueiches either keep sheep
or sow, but depend entirely upon hunting, for which purpose
they keep great numbers of dogs.

Of the religion of the Moluches, Molina has given a full ac-
count. The belief in an infinite number of spirits, good and
evil, is common to all the tribes south of the Plata, north of
which a different language and different form of superstition
prevails to the Orinoco. It does not appear that the Pueiches
acknowledge any of these spirits as supreme over the others.
The Taluhets and Diuihets call a good spirit Soychu, or he
who presides in the laud of strong drink. The Tehuelhets call
him Guayava-Kunnee, lord of the dead. The Tehuelhets and
Checbehets call an evil spirit Atskannakanatz, the other
Pueiches, Valichu. Neither of these names are explained by
Falkner, nor does his Vocabulary include any thing which can
explain them. Huecuvu must be another name for the same
evil beings ; for a great sandy desert, which the Chechehets
never enter lest they should be overwhelmed there, is called
Huecuvu Mapu, the devil's country.

Each family, as among the northern Indians, is of a cast
or tribe which they distinguish by the name of an animal :
some are of the cast ©f the tiger, some of the lion, some of
the guanaco, of the ostrich, &c. and they believe that each
cast had its particular creator, who resided in some huge cavern
under lake or hill, whither all of that cast will go after death,
to enjoy the happiness of being eternally drunk. These good
spirits, they believe, made the world, and then made men in
their caves. To the Indians they gave the spear, the bow

* It is curious that Falkner, though this is his own statement, which is
repeatedly confirmed in his book, should yet say he never heard of that
•Igantic race which others have mentioned.

9

379

and arrow, and the ball and thong ; to the Spaniards, fire-
arms and swords, and then sent them ahove ground. Animals
were created in like manner in these subterraneous caves;
- those who were the nimblest came out first ; but when the bulls'
and cows were corning out last of all, the ludians were
frightened at the sight of their horns, and stopped up the
mouth of their caves. The Spauiards were wiser, and thus
they explain why they had no kine till the Spaniards intro-
duced them. It is their opinion that all the animals who have
been created below are not yet come out.

All the evil which happens either to man or beast they at-
tribute to evil spirits, who are continnally wandering about
the world ; even fatigue is attributed to their agency. Each
of their priests, or rather jugglers, is supposed to have two of
these spirits as his familiars, and their souls after death are
associated to them, and perform the same works of mis-
chief. The jugglers are of both sexes, but it seems as if it
w ere thought an occupation unbefitting a man, for the wizards
are compelled to dress like women, and restricted from mar-
riage. Witches are under no such restriction. They are
generally chosen while children : those who are most effemi-
nate are selected, but all who are afflicted with epilepsy, or
St. Vitus's dance, are considered as essentially marked out by
the evil spirit themselves for their service. It is a dangerous
service, for if any calamity befal either chiefs or people, the
priests are frequently put to death.

No ceremonies are performed towards the good spirits;
and that which is addressed to the evil ones is improperly de-
nominated worship by Falkuer. To perform it, he says, they
assemble together in the tent of the wizard, who is shut up
from the sight of the rest in a corner of the tent. He has a
small drum, one or two round calabashes, with small sea-
shells in them, (the maraca probably of the Brazilian tribes)
and some square bags of painted hide, in which he keeps his
spells; He begius the ceremony by making a strange noise

380

with his drum and rattle-box, after which he feigns a fit «r
struggle with the evil spirit, who, it is then supposed, has en-
tered into him ; keeps his eyes lifted up, distorts the features
of his face, foams at the mouth, screws up his joints, and
afier many violent and distorting motions, remains stiff and
motionless, resembling a man seized with an epilepsy. After
some time he comes to hims< If, as having got the better of the
demon : next feigns within his tabernacle a faint, shrill,
mournful voice, as of the evil spirit, who by this dismal cry
is supposed to acknowledge himself subdued, and then, from
a kind of tripod, answers all questions that are put to him.
Whether his answers be true or false is of no great conse-
quence, because if his intelligence should prove false, it is the
fault of the spirit. On all these occasions the wizard is well
paid.

They make skeletons of their dead. This practice, which
prevails on the Orinoco also, is not used by any of the tribes
between the Orellana and the Plata. One of the most dis-
tinguished women performs the dissection : the entrails are
burnt, and the bones, after the flesh has been cut off as clean
as possible, are buried till the remaining fibres decay. Within
a year they must be removed to the burial place of the family.
This is the custom of the Moluches and Pampas, but the Ser-
ranos place the bones on high upon a frame-work of canes or
twigs, to bleach in the sun and rain. While the dissector is
at work upon the skeleton, the Indians walk round the tent,
covered with long mantles of skins, and having their faces
blackened with soot, singing in a mournful voice, and striking
the ground with their long spears, to drive away the evil
spirits. Some go and condole with the widow and relations
of the dead, if these persons be wealthy enough to pay them
for their mourning with bells, beads, and other such trinketry :
it is not a sort of condolence to be gratuitously offered, for
they prick their arms and thighs with thorns, and feel pain at
least, if not sorrow. The horses of the dead are immediately

381

killed, that he may ride upou them in Alhue Mapu, the country
of the dead ; only a few are reserved to carry his bones to the
sepulchre, and for the last ceremony.

When the bones are to be removed they pack them up in a
hide, and lay them on the favourite horse of the deceased,
which they adorn in their best manner with mantles, feathers,
&c. and in this manner they travel to the family burial-place,
which is sometimes three hundred leagues off, so wide are
their wanderings. The Moluches and the Pampas bury them
in large square pits, about a fathom deep: the boues are put
together and tied iu their places, then clothed with their best
robes, and ornamented with beads and feathers, all of which
are cleansed or changed once a year. They are placed in a
row, sitting, with all the weapons and other things which be-
longed to the dead. The vault is then covered over with
beams and twigs, over which the earth is thrown. An old
matron from each tribe is appointed to take care of these
graves. She opens them every year, and clothes and cleans
the skeletons ; for which she is held in great veneration. The
bodies of the horses are placed round the grave, raised upon
their feet, and supported by stakes. These graves are in
general not far from their ordinary habitations. Every year
they pour upon them some bowls of their first made chica,
and drink to the good health of the dead. The Tehuelhets-
and southern tribes carry their dead to a great distance from
their dwellings, into the desert by the sea-coast, where they
set them in order above ground, with their horses round them.
It is probable that they reduce them to skeletons only when
they have to carry them a considerable distance, for in the
Voyage of Discovery, made in 1746 by the St.'Antouio,
from Buenos Ayres to the Straits, the Jesuits who accom-
panied that expedition found one of these tents or houses
of the dead. On one side there were six banners, as they may
be called, of cloth of various colours, each about half-ell
square, set upon high poles, which were fixed in the ground,

383

on the other five dead horses stuffed with straw, and supported
each upon three stakes. Within the house they found two
ponchos, or Indian garments, extended, and the bodies of two
men and one woman, upon which the hair and the flesh4' were
still remaining. On the top of the house was another poncho,
rolled up and tied with a coloured woollen band, and in this
a pole was fixed, like the pole of a vane, from which eight
tassels of wool were suspended.

Widows are compelled to observe a rigorous mourning ;
for a whole year after the husband's death they must keep
themselves close shut up in their tents, having no communi-
cation with any one, nor ever stirring out except for the
common necessaries of life. They must abstain from the flesh
of horses, ostriches and guanacoes, and from beef: they must
never wash face or hands, but blacken themselves with soot ;
and any breach of chastity would be punished with death, by
the relations of the husband, in both parties.

The office of ya, or chief, is hereditary, and all his sons
may be chiefs if they can get Indians to follow them ; but the
dignity is of so little advantage, that it is not coveted. The
chief has the power of protecting those who apply to him,
of composing or silencing disputes, or of delivering up an
offender to be put to death. In these cases his will is the law.
Wherever ihere is no other law it is better to be entirely law-
less. These petty despots are prone to bribery, and will sa-
crifice their vassals, and even their kindred, when well paid
for it. They are esteemed in proportion to their eloquence ;
and the chief who is not eloquent has an orator to harangue
the people for him. When two or more tribes form an alli-
ance against a common enemy, they chuse an apo, or com-
mander in chief, from the ablest or most celebrated of the
Caziques. But this honour, though still nominally elective, has

* Falkner therefore is mistaken in saying they were skeletons. An
abstract from the original journals is printed by Charlevoix, in his Hist,
du Paraguay,

383

for many years been hereditary among the southern nations in
the family of Cangapol.

The hereditary Chiefs or Elmens, as Falkner calls them, (the
Ulmenes of Molina) have no power to take any thing from their
vassals, nor can they oblige them to perform any kind of work
without paying them : on the contrary, they must treat them
kindly, and relieve their wants, or they will put themselves
under the protection of another. Many of the Elmens
therefore waive the privilege of their birth, and refuse to have
any vassals, because they cost them much, and yield little
profit. But if any body of people were to attempt to live
together without a chief at their head, they would undoubtedly
be killed or carried away as slaves ; so hostile are even such
despots as these to republicanism. '

The husband buys his wife of her nearest relations, with or
without her consent ; he then takes her as his property. But
if the woman has fixed her affections on another, she some-
times wears out the patience of her purchaser, and he turns her
away, or sells her to the man of her choice, but seldom treats
her ill. Widows and orphans are at their own disposal. The
Yas or Elmens have two or three wives at a time ; the
common people may have as many as they please also, but
wives are dear, and they have rarely more than one. The
lives of the women are one continued scene of labour : they
fetch wood and water ; they dress the food ; they make, mend,
and clean the tents ; they cure the skins, and make them into
mantles; they spin, and make the ponchos', they pack up
every thing for a journey, even the tent-poles ; they load, un-
load, and settle the baggage ; straiten the girths of the saddles,
and carry the lance before their husbands, and at the journey's
end set up the tent. Sickness or pregnancy, however far ad-
vanced, never exempt them from these labours ; and it would
be in the highest degree ignominious for their husbands to
assist them. The women of the noble families may have

384

Slaves to relieve them ; but should they be without them, the f
must undergo the same labours as the rest.

Yet the tribes at this extremity of America are not brutal
fo their women, like those by the Northern Ocean. The
marriages are only to endure during pleasure. They who
have children seldom forsake each other. The husband pro-
tects his wife even if she is in the wrong ; and if he detects
her in any criminal intercourse, all his anger falls upon the
paramour, who is cruelly beaten, unless, after the modern
fashion of England, he atones by paying for the injury which
he has committed. Their jugglers will sometimes bid them
send their wives into the woods, to prostitute themselves to the
first person they meet. This is plainly a device of these
wretches to make amends for the celibacy to which they are
restricted. The husbands readily obey, but there are women
in whom natural modesty overpowers superstition, who refuse
obedience to their husbands on such an occasion, and set the
wizard at defiance.

Skins are worn by all these tribes. All, except the Ser-
ranos, weave mantles of yarn, beautifully dyed with many
colours, which, when wrapped round the body, reach from
the shoulders to the calf of the leg : they have another of
the same kind round the waist ; and besides these, a small
three-cornered leathern apron, two corners are tied round the
waist, the other is past between the legs, and fastened behind.
They tie up their hair behind, with the points upward, binding
it many times above the head with a woollen band ; but they
are fond of wearing hats when they can procure them from
the Spaniards. They paint their face red or black, and wear
necklaces and bracelets of sky-blue beads. On horseback
they use a peculiar sort of frock, which has a slit in the
middle, through which they put their heads, and hang down
to the knees, or sometimes to the feet. The stockings or
boots which both sexes use are of the rudest kind : they con-

385

sist merely of the skin of a horse's thigh and leg, flayed off
whole, dried, then softened with grease, and suppled by
wringing. The women wear straw hats, in shape like that of
of the Chinese.

Their defensive armour consists of a helmet made of
double bull's-hide, and shaped like a broad-brimmed hat ; a
tunic or shirt, with short sleeves, of anta's skin, three or four
fold ; this is very heavy, but effectually resists the arrow and
spear, and is said to be musket proof. They use alio on foot
a large square unwieldy shield of bull's-hide. The Tehuel-
hets and Huilliches sometimes poison their arrows: their
spears are of cane, four or five yards long, and pointed with
iron. When they can get them from the Spaniards they use
swords. The bowl and double bowl, and thong, they use
both in battle and in hunting. The single one is about a
pound weight : they aim it at the enemy's head, to knock out
his brains ; with the double one they can fasten a man to his
horse, and effectually entangle man or beast, or both.— E. E

TME END.

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