INDIANS

The indigenous races of Chile consist of the following tribes:

Araucanians, Chilotes, Chonos, Onas, Fueginos, Yahgans, Alacalupes and

Patagonians.

The Araucanians, the most powerful, brave, and warlike tribe of South

American Indians, formerly occupied all the territory now constituting

the northern half of Chile. In the Araucanians the Spaniards met a

strong resistance to their invasion of the territory. The tribe then

numbered one million, and for three hundred and fifty years they

maintained a warfare against the occupation of their country by white

men. The Spaniards were unable to subdue them, and even after the war

of independence and the establishment of the Republic, they maintained

a hostile attitude. Although being gradually and peacefully subjugated

they still maintain a sort of independence, living under a form of

government agreeable to their common tribal laws and customs. They are

now generally engaged in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture.

The Araucanian government consists of a confederation constituted by

the union of three independent tribes, each of which is governed by

a hereditary chief, called Toqui, or Cacique. A few years ago the

territory was divided into sub-districts, for each of which there is

a subordinate chief. The Caciques are elected by their respective

tribes. They hold armed diets, like the ancient Poles and Germans. In

the formation of laws governing their actions, and determining upon

military operations, every member of the confederation has a vote.

In more recent years these erstwhile savages have manifested a friendly

disposition towards foreigners, some of whom have been admitted to

membership in their tribes. These “white Indians,” who usually possess

superior intelligence, education and knowledge of the world, sometimes

rise to eminence among the tribes. A French lawyer named De Tonneins,

once humbugged the Indians into believing in his alleged magical and

spiritual attainments to such an extent that the Araucanian tribes

proclaimed him king, which distinction he assumed under the title of

King Orelie Antonio I, and reigned for several years. The small court

by which he was surrounded paid him great deference. His Fraudulent

Highness made war against the Chilean government, was captured and

deported to his native country, where after several uneventful years,

he died in an asylum in Bordeaux.

The Araucanians are a sturdy race, with fine physiques. They are tall,

muscular, agile and possess wonderful power of endurance. They are

brave to foolhardiness, but lack intelligence, ambition and creative

genius. Their stupidity combined with their passions, cruel natures and

natural characteristics have prevented them from rising little above

the low level of animals in their domestic life. A study of their past

history and present conditions has a tendency to disillusionize one

who has formed ideas of the Araucanians from descriptions written

by historians and tales related by travelers who have never visited

the habitations of that peculiar people. In general appearance the

Araucanians resemble the other indigenous tribes of North and South

America. They are copper colored, have black, straight, coarse hair

and deep set, piercing black eyes. There is a trace of foreign blood

apparent in many of them, due to their association with the Spaniards

who first invaded the country, and shipwrecked sailors, many of whom

cast their lots with the Indians, and lived peacefully among them,

frequently marrying Indian women.

When America was discovered, the indigenous tribes wore little

clothing, but contact with white men has wrought some changes in their

customs and habits, and taught them the propriety of wearing at least a

semi-civilized garb. The costume of the Araucanian consists of a shirt,

a loin cloth, a manta or poncho of dark blue or black fabric, and a

scarlet turban, all woven by hand and from natural wool, and colored

from dyes extracted from the roots of plants and bark of trees. The

women wear long, scarlet petticoats, and over the head a blue manta,

which drapes over the body down to and below the waist. Their costumes

are also made of hand-woven wool cloth, which is soft and warm, and

very durable. A unique feature of the cloth made by the Indians is the

variety and peculiarity of colors woven into the fabric. The designs

are odd and quaint, and not infrequently weird figures representing

animals, serpents and imaginary gods and devils are worked into the

patterns. A peculiar feature of the fabric is that the designs are

never duplicated, no two pieces of cloth being made of the same

pattern. Hence, if one buys an Indian poncho, he has the satisfaction

of knowing that no one else will have one like it in design. The mantas

worn by the men and women are in plain colors, as a rule, but they are

unique garments, the feature of which is a long nap on the outer side

of the fabric, which makes it almost impervious to water. These mantas

are usually fastened with a huge silver pin, ornamented with a round,

flat disk. Both men and women wear silver earrings of huge proportions,

very heavy and of varied and odd design. The women wear various other

silver ornaments in the form of necklaces, bangles, crosses and

pendants. These articles are all made of hammered silver and have an

intrinsic as well as a decorative value. The usual aversion of Indians

in general to familiarity, or to become communicative, the traditional

stolidity of the race, holds good with the Araucanians. They are averse

to selling any of their personal apparel or adornments, and all efforts

to purchase such articles are resented.

These people, constituting the remnant of a once powerful and proud

race, live in miserable huts, the roofs of which provide little

protection against rain, and the walls of which are sometimes

conspicuous by their absence. In a climate where it rains one half the

year, and where the temperature frequently drops to zero, these places

of habitation afford little comfort. In these miserable “rucas” live

the family, not infrequently consisting of a large number of children,

together with donkeys, pigs, dogs and fowls, in sanitary conditions

that are shockingly disgusting.

In the Araucanian country, which extends from the River Bio Bio on

the north to Valdivia on the south, and from the Cordillera to the

sea, some strange sights may be witnessed. Almost the entire country

is covered with forests, and there are hundreds of miles of solitude

and unbroken wilderness, save the little cultivated patches, where

the Indians engage in farming. Their farms and ranchos are usually

back from, rather than along the trails where travelers pass. There is

little bird or animal life in the forests, and one may ride for days

through those solitudes, with little or nothing to attract attention

or relieve the oppressive silence and monotony, save the sight of an

occasional Indian. The strange, mysterious manner of the Indians only

adds to the uncanny aspect of the wilderness. They are mysterious,

and undesirable as companions, ignorant, superstitious, and by nature

vicious, but like animals, they are dangerous only when disturbed in

the pursuit of life.

The deeds of heroism, acts of valor and bravery, which caused the

Araucanians to be immortalized in verse and recorded in the more sober

lines of prose and history, were enacted during the days of the Spanish

conquest.

In 1535, Don Diego de Almagro, the ally and rival of Pizarro, the

despoiler of Peru, set out on a mission of conquest of the territory

which now constitutes the Republic of Chile. He came not as a peaceful

conqueror, as did the Incas long before, but as a tyrant and butcher,

endeavoring to strike terror to the hearts of the Indians by acts of

cruelty and inhuman treatment. They were treated as so many beasts

to be enslaved or slaughtered at the pleasure of those who invaded

the country in quest of gold, only. The attitude of Almagro and his

followers aroused all the latent fierce combative spirit and resentful

feelings that had been smoldering in the hearts of the aborigines

during centuries of peaceful occupation of the country, and they

resisted the invasion with a heroism and determination that finds few

parallels in primitive warfare in the history of the world.

There were then no horses in the country, save those brought by the

Spaniards, and the Indians had to fight on foot. The only weapons they

possessed were bows and arrows, and lances made of long, flexible

bamboo poles, the latter being the weapons of war. They had no military

training or leaders and were ignorant of the arts of war, not even

appreciating or understanding the advantages of combined or orderly

attack. They depended entirely upon impetuous charges, ambush and

secret night attacks. They had no fear of death, and not infrequently

in battle they continued the conflict until every man engaged was

killed. After years of warfare against the Spaniards, they learned the

advantages to be gained by the use of horses in battle, which they

adopted to some extent, but they did not follow the example of their

enemies in the use of saddles, always riding bareback. After many

generations of resistance to the invaders, they became more clever

and systematic in attack and defense, having learned the importance

of better preparation, councils of war and leadership. The Araucanian

war extended intermittently over three centuries, and as the case

in all wars, whether among barbarians or civilized nations, brought

conspicuously to the front individuals who by superior intelligence

and bravery were recognized as natural leaders. Chief among those who

achieved fame as warriors, and whose deeds of daring form thrilling

chapters in Chilean history, were Lautaro, a young brave who at the age

of twenty was recognized as the leader of the Indian forces. It was

Lautaro who first attempted to organize the various tribes and bands

into something like a military force. After many successful battles he

was surprised in a night attack by the Spaniards, near Talca, where

almost the entire army under his command was annihilated, he being

among the killed. He was decapitated, and his head taken to Santiago,

where it was placed upon a pole and paraded through the streets as a

victorious trophy.

Later Caupolican, one of the bravest of his race, assumed the

leadership of the Araucanians. He was finally captured, and his enemies

wishing to make an example of the chief cut off both his arms at the

elbows, after which he was released. Caupolican pointing the stumps of

his amputated arms at his persecutors said: “Be careful, be careful,

murderers and persecutors, I will return to avenge these wrongs.” And

notwithstanding his maimed condition he later returned to the attack

with renewed courage and fierceness, and in many battles, Caupolican

was first in the fray, and when beaten, was the last to retire from the

field.

Since the days of the conquest of Chile, the Araucanian Indians

have been hedged about and encroached upon with modern civilizing

influences. Under these conditions they have degenerated until their

greatness is only a memory. They now have fixed places of residence,

and live upon the proceeds of their labor or lands.

Some of these Indians own large tracts of land, portions of which

they cultivate, and upon which they raise large numbers of cattle and

horses. The methods employed in farming are crude and primitive. The

rich landowners are personages of note in the section of country where

they live. And when one of them starts on a trip from his ranch, always

on horseback, he is adorned with much silver in the way of ornaments.

He is usually accompanied by five or six “mocetones” (servants), and

travels in grand style.

Having few wants these Indians work only when it is necessary to supply

their needs. Missionaries have tried in recent years to improve their

moral condition, but have made little progress. The Araucanian ideas

of a serious life are not deep-rooted; there is more stubbornness

than intellect in their composition. The Incas who were the first

foreign nation to invade Chile, taught them to worship the sun, but

in their present degenerate condition they seem to worship only the

God Bacchus. Strong drink and its attendant abuses, the curse of all

barbarous races, when once introduced by civilized nations, is causing

degeneration and a decrease in numbers. It will no doubt continue to

aid materially in the consummation of their final extinction.

In 1890, during the administration of President Balmaceda, rail and

wagon roads were built through the Araucanian country, and many towns,

populated by Chilenos and foreigners sprung up along these routes

of communication. Special European immigration was solicited and

encouraged by government aid, for the settlement of portions of the

territory. Foreign association and influence, changed conditions and

environments affected radical changes in the character, customs, habits

and beliefs of the Indians. They were brought face to face with the

on-marching hosts of civilization, and confronted with the problem

of accepting and adapting themselves to the new order of things, or

extinction. The ultimate result will be the latter.

With the indigenous races of Chile, and the same is true of other

countries, vices tread fast upon the heels of civilization. With the

influx of peaceful neighbors, the martial valor of these warlike

Indians seems to have disappeared. They have acquired a passion for the

cheap brands of liquor introduced by foreigners, and in the indulgence

of their appetites for strong drink they have become indolent, and are

neglecting their farms and ranches. Many of them have turned their

lands over to the colonists, to work on shares, and are thus enabled

to lead lives of indolence and excessive indulgence. The raw liquor

which they drink is called “Blanco Toro” (white bull); the vile tobacco

they smoke is “peclen,” and their pipes are called “guitas.” They still

consume large quantities of the ancient Indian drink, “chicha mascada,”

which is made from corn that is first chewed by old women, and then put

through a process of fermentation. A drink is made from flaxseed by

the same process. They are determined and inveterate gamblers, their

favorite game being cards, “cayo.” The game they play is peculiar to

the tribe, and is called “achaco.” Among the traditional customs to

which they cling tenaciously are their Indian dances, “loncomeos,”

which are indulged in to the music of an instrument called “cuntum.”

This instrument is odd in design and peculiar in tone, being a sort of

combination banjo and tambourine.

The Araucanians are as improvident as they are dishonest, and as proud

as they are lazy. Yet there is little extreme poverty and there are no

beggars among them. Until recent years they were strict vegetarians,

and still abstain from eating the flesh of cattle, but they have become

so far civilized as to develop a fondness for horse meat. An Indian

will willingly exchange a cow or bullock, regardless of value, for

a horse, if the equine is sufficiently fat to make it desirable for

food. Although many of them are skilled in the use of firearms, which

have been generally introduced in recent years, they still manifest a

fondness and preference for their bamboo lances, the weapon of war used

by their ancestors. They frequently indulge in personal encounters,

but always without weapons. These fights are questions of force and

endurance, science being left out of the contest, and the belligerent

methods employed are not sufficiently violent to result in death. The

combatants clutch each other by the hair of the head and indulge in a

game of pull-and-haul, the performance being accompanied usually with

a volley of wrathful words uttered in a high shrill voice. Unlike the

North American Indians they seldom resort to the use of a knife as a

weapon of offense or defense.

The system of counting is strictly decimal--from one to ten. Twenty is

two tens, fifty, five tens, and one hundred is ten tens; two hundred

is two tens of ten, etc.

In case of sickness the “machi” (doctor) is called. That functionary

passes his mouth over the entire body of the patient, pinching the

flesh with his lips to ascertain the location of the affliction. When

that portion is reached where the disease is supposed to be located,

an incision is made, from which the “machi” sucks the blood with his

mouth. Very few medicines are employed, the chief medicinal remedy used

being the leaf of the canelo (wild cinnamon) tree, which is considered

a cure for almost every ill.

The treatment of the body after death, previous to burial, is one of

the queer and barbarous customs prevalent among the Araucanians. The

body is hung up in a building, usually the house in which the person

dies, and a slow wood fire built under the corpse. This process of

smoking is kept up for several weeks. When the antiseptic principle of

the creosote has completely cured the flesh, the body is taken down,

and is considered ready for burial. A rope is then attached to the

corpse, and a yoke of oxen employed to drag the body to the place of

burial. This grewsome procession is preceded by a number of men armed

with lances, who march in advance in order to drive away any enemies

or evil spirits, that they may not be buried with the dead to disturb

their future.