Even at the present day, as was the case in the time of the Incas, the
people of one of the tribes were distinguished for their medical
knowledge, and sent out travelling apothecaries, who collected herbs,--
traversing the whole of the continent. Markham describes meeting with a
party of them emerging from the forest,--cadaverous, miserable-looking
men, almost worn to death by fatigue and hardship. They wore their long
hair plaited and secured behind in the form of a queue. They came from
the district of Yungas, and are called Yunguenos, or Cherrihuanos.
Formerly they went on foot, but they now ride asses, on which they carry
the herbs and nuts, reputed efficacious for the cure of sickness; as
well as bundles of chinchona, coca leaf, incense, and other articles.
The Bolivian Indians were subdued only in 1843. Each village or toldera
of these tribes is governed by a cacique, generally possessing
hereditary rank; though, as in other cases, much depends upon his
physical powers and wealth. A number of wild tribes still roam over the
country between the western Argentine states and the Andes. There they
live free and independent, though barbarous. When they venture into the
neighbourhood of large towns, they soon degenerate into thieves and
drunkards. Here they come to carry on a trade in furs and panther
skins, or to collect meat at the saladeros, which they dry and carry off
with them. They make money by selling Indian ornaments, and foraging
for the settlers' cattle; or by thieving, which they look upon as an
orthodox mode of gaining a livelihood.