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[Illustration: VIEW OF CALLAO, AND DISTANT VIEW OF LIMA.
_Engraved for Stevenson's Narrative of South America._]
A
HISTORICAL
AND
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE
OF
TWENTY YEARS' RESIDENCE
IN
SOUTH AMERICA,
_IN THREE VOLUMES_;
CONTAINING TRAVELS IN ARAUCO, CHILE, PERU, AND COLOMBIA;
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF
THE REVOLUTION, ITS RISE, PROGRESS, AND RESULTS.
BY W. B. STEVENSON,
FORMERLY PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CAPTAIN GENERAL OF QUITO,
COLONEL, AND GOVERNOR OF ESMERALDAS, CAPTAIN DE FRAGATA, AND LATE
SECRETARY TO THE VICE ADMIRAL OF CHILE,--HIS EXCELLENCY
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD COCHRANE, &c.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HURST, ROBINSON, AND CO.
CONSTABLE & Co. AND OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH.
MDCCCXXV.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE
RIGHT HON. THOMAS LORD COCHRANE,
Marquis of Maranham,
AS A TESTIMONY OF RESPECT FOR THE IMPORTANT SERVICES
RENDERED TO
SOUTH AMERICAN EMANCIPATION,
AND TO THE COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN,
THIS WORK
IS (BY PERMISSION) HUMBLY DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
The interest which the late successful revolution in Spanish America has
awakened in Europe renders any genuine account of the new world so
highly acceptable to the British nation, that it has become an almost
imperative duty in those who may possess original matter to communicate
it to the public; for it may be said, without the least exaggeration,
that although the countries thus emancipated were discovered in the
sixteenth century, they have remained almost unknown till the beginning
of the nineteenth.
Fully convinced of these facts, and being urged by my friends, when I
was on the eve of again crossing the Atlantic, to publish my collection
of notes and memoranda--the gleanings of a twenty years' residence--in
order to contribute my quota to the small stock of authentic matter
already laid before an anxious public, I have been induced to postpone
my voyage, and to embody my observations in the manner in which they now
appear.
It is undoubtedly of great importance to become acquainted with the
features of a country which has undergone any remarkable change in its
political, religious, or literary career, before that change took place;
and it is equally important to know the cause of and the means by which
the change was effected. I have therefore given a succinct history of
the state of the colonies before their fortunate struggle began to
germinate, by describing their political and ecclesiastical
institutions; the character, genius, and education of the different
classes of inhabitants; their peculiar customs and habits; their
historical remains and antiquities; and lastly, the produce and
manufactures of the country.
My opportunities for obtaining materials for the formation of this work
were such as few individuals even among the natives or Spaniards could
possess, and such as no _foreigner_ could possibly enjoy at the period
of my residence.
Dr. Robertson's celebrated history renders any account of the discovery
and conquest of America unnecessary; but as the Spanish authors from
whom his work was collected always kept in view the necessity of lulling
the anxiety of general curiosity with respect to the subsequent state of
the countries under the Spanish crown, that work cannot be supposed to
be better than the materials from which it is formed would allow; to
which I may add, that the different books published by the philosophic
Humboldt are too scientific, and enter into too few details, to become
fit for general perusal.
I am induced to believe, that my descriptions of tribunals, corporate
bodies, the laws, and administration, the taxes and duties, will not be
considered unimportant, because the newly-formed governments will follow
in great measure the establishments of Spain, modified by a few
alterations, perhaps more nominal than real. Indeed, the present
authorities have already determined, that so far as the Spanish codes do
not interfere with the independence of the country, they are to be
considered as the fundamental laws of the different tribunals.
The Plates are from original Drawings taken by Don Jose Carrillo, a
native of Quito, now in England.
Should the following pages merit the approbation of the British public,
the author will feel highly gratified by having fulfilled his duty in
both hemispheres; nor will this reward in the old world be accounted
less honourable than that which he has already obtained in the new.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
PAGE
CHAP. I.--Arrival at Mocha....Some Account of Mayo, one
of the Cape de Verd Islands touched at on our Passage....
Description of Mocha, its Productions, &c....Leave Mocha
and land at Tucapel Viejo....Description of the Indians,
their Dress, &c....Indians take me to their Home....
Description of the House, Family, Food, Diversions....
Appearance of the Country....What Trade might be introduced 1
CHAP. II.--Leave Tucapel Viejo, and arrive at Tubul....Description
of our Breakfast on the road....Stay at the House of the Cacique
of Tubul....Some Appearances of Civilization....Game of Peuca,
Wrestling, &c....Anchorage, Trade, &c....Face of the
Country....Arrival at Arauco....Taken to the Commandant
Interview described....Town of Arauco....Indians who come to
barter....Weaving of fine _ponchos_....Excursion to the
Water-mills on the Carampangue River....Entertainments,
_Mate_, &c....Visit Nacimiento, Santa Juana, and return
to Arauco....Ordered to Conception 20
CHAP. III.--Account of Cultivation of Farms, &c. in Araucania....
Thrashing, &c....Produce....Cattle....Locality....
Topographical Divisions....Government (Indian)....
Laws and Penalties....Military System....Arms, Standards,
&c....Division of Spoil....Treaty of Peace....
Religion....Marriages....Funerals....Spanish Cities
founded in Araucania....Ideas on New Colonies....Commerce 40
CHAP. IV.--Valdivia....Port....Fortifications....River....
City-foundation....Revolutions....Inhabitants....Garrison....
Government....Rents and Resources....Churches....
Exiles....Missions in the Province of Valdivia....War
with the Indians, and Possession of Osorno....Extract
from a Letter in the Araucanian Tongue, and Translation 67
CHAP. V.--City of Conception de Mocha....Foundation....
Situation....Government....Tribunals....Bishop....
Military....Churches....Houses....Inhabitants and
Dress....Provincial Jurisdiction....Produce....Throwing
the _Laso_....Fruit....Timber Trees....Shrubs....Mines....
Birds....Wild Animals....Lion Hunt....Shepherd Dogs
....Breeding Capons....Return to Conception 82
CHAP. VI.--Sent to Talcahuano....Description of the Bay
and Anchorage....Plain between Conception and Talcahuano....
Prospectus of a Soap Manufactory here....
Coal Mine....Town, Custom-house, Inhabitants, &c....
Fish, &c. caught in the Bay....Colonial Commerce....
Prospectus of a Sawing Mill 118
CHAP. VII.--Leave Talcahuano in the Dolores....Passage
to Callao....Arrival....Taken to the Castle....Leave
Callao....Road to Lima....Conveyed to Prison 130
CHAP. VIII.--Lima, Origin of its Name....Pachacamac....
Foundation of Lima....Pizarro's Palace....Situation of the
City....Form of the Valley Rimac....River....Climate....
Temperature....Mists and Rain....Soil....Earthquakes....Produce 143
CHAP. IX.--Viceroys and Archbishop of Lima....Viceroyalty,
Extent....Viceroy's Titles and Privileges....Royal Audience....
Cabildo....Forms of Law....Military....Religion....
Inquisition....Sessions and Processes....Archbishop....
Royal Patronage....Ecclesiastical Tribunals....Chapter,
_Cabildo Ecclesiastical_....Curates....Asylum of Immunity
....Minor Tribunals...._Consulado_....Crusade....Treasury
....Accompts...._Temporalidades_, _Protomedicato_ 172
CHAP. X.--Taxes, Alcavala....Indian Tribute....Fifths of
the Mines....Lances....Stamped Paper....Tobacco....
_Media Anata_...._Aprovechamientos_...._Composicion_ and
_Confirmacion_ of Lands....Royal Ninths....Venal Offices....
Estrays....Confiscations....Fines....Vacant Successions....
_Almoxarifasgo_...._Corso_...._Armada_....Consulate....
_Cirquito_....Vacant Benefices...._Mesada Ecclesiastica_
...._Media Anata Ecclesiastica_....Restitutions....Bulls 195
CHAP. XI.--City of Lima....Figure and Division....Walls....
Bridge....Houses....Churches....Manner of Building
Parishes....Convents....Nunneries....Hospitals....
Colleges...._Plasa Mayor_....Market....Interior of the
Viceroy's Palace....Ditto Archbishop's Ditto....Ditto
Sagrario....Ditto Cathedral....Ditto Cavildo 210
CHAP. XII.--Particular Description of Parish Churches....
Of Santo Domingo....Altar of the Rosary....St. Rosa
and other Altars....Cloisters....Sanctuary of Saint
Rosa....Church of San Francisco....Chapels _Del Milagro_,
_De Dolores_, _De los Terceros_....Pantheon....Cloisters,
San Diego....San Agustin...._La Merced_....Profession
of a Nun, or taking the Veil....Hospitals of San Andres,
of San Bartolome and others....Colleges of Santo Toribio,
San Carlos, _Del Principe_....University....Inquisition
....Taken to it in 1806....Visit to it in 1812, after the
Abolition....Inquisitorial Punishments....Foundling
Hospital....Lottery....Mint....Pantheon 237
CHAP. XIII.--The Population of Lima....Remarks....Table
of Castes....The Qualifications of Creoles....Population
and Division....Spaniards....Creoles, White....
Costume....Indians....African Negroes....Their _Cofradias_,
and Royal Personages....Queen Rosa....Creole
Negroes....Mestisos....Mulattos....Zambos....Chinos
...._Quarterones and Quinterones_....Theatre....Bull
Circus....Royal Cockpit....Alamedas....Bathing Places
....Piazzas...._Amancaes_....Elevation and Oration Bells....
Processions of Corpus Christi, Santa Rosa, San Francisco and
Santo Domingo....Publication of Bulls....Ceremonies on the
Arrival of a Viceroy 283
CHAP. XIV.--Fruits in the Gardens of Lima....Flowers....
Particular Dishes, or Cookery...._Chuno_, dried Potatoes
...._Chochoca_, dried Maize....Sweetmeats....Meals....
Diseases....Medical Observations....On the Commerce
of Lima....Profitable Speculations 330
CHAP. XV.--Visit to Pisco....Town of Pisco....Bay of Pisco
....Curious Production of Salt...._Huano_...._Huanaes_
....Vineyards, Brandy....Vineyard _de las Hoyas_....
Fruits....Chilca, Village of Indians....Leave Lima,
Road to Chancay....Pasamayo House...._Niña de la
Huaca_....Maize, Cultivation....Use of _Huano_....Hogs
....On the Produce of Maize....Different kinds of....
Time of Harvesting....Uses of....Chicha of....Sugar of....
Town of Chancay...._Colcas_....Town of Huacho....
_Chacras_ of the Indians....On the Character of the Native
Indians....Refutation of what some Authors have said of
....Manners and Customs of....Tradition of Manco
Capac....Ditto Camaruru....Ditto Bochica....Ditto
Quitzalcoatl....These Traditions favourable to the Spaniards....
Government of Manco Capac....Representation
of the Death of the Inca....Feast of Corpus Christi at
Huacho....Indian Dances....Salinas 355
CHAP. XVI.--Villa of Huara....Description....Village of
Supe....Ruins of an Indian Town...._Huacas_, Burying
Places....Bodies preserved entire....Village of Barranca
....Earthquake in 1806....Barranca River....Bridge of
Ropes....Village of Pativilca....Sugar Plantation....
Produce and Profit....Cane cultivated....Mills....Sugar-house
....Management of Slaves....Regulations &c. of Slaves 410
CHAPTER I.
Arrival at Mocha....Some account of Mayo, one of the Cape de Verd
Islands touched at on our passage....Description of Mocha, its
Productions, &c....Leave Mocha, and land at Tucapel
Viejo....Description of the Indians, their Dress, &c....Indians
take me to their Home....Description of the House, Family, Food,
Diversions....Appearance of the Country....What Trade might be
introduced.
On the 14th of February, 1804, I landed on the Island of Mocha, after a
passage of upwards of five months from England, during which we passed
between the Cape de Verd Islands, and touched at one of them called
Mayo, for the purpose of procuring salt, which appears to be the only
article of commerce. It is produced by admitting the sea water on flats,
embanked next to the sea, during the spring tides, and allowing it to
evaporate: the salt is then collected and carried off before the return
of the high tides, when the water is again admitted, and the same
process takes place. The sea water is here strongly impregnated with
salt, owing probably to the great evaporation caused by the intense
power of the heat, which also aids and hastens the process on shore. The
inhabitants whom I saw were all blacks, with the solitary exception of
a priest, and many of them in a state of nudity, even to an age at which
decency if not modesty requires a covering. A small quantity of bananas,
the only fruit we could procure, and some poultry, were brought from St.
Jago's, another of the islands, visible from Mayo.
The Island of Mocha, situate in 38° 21´ S. and that called Santa Maria,
lying about 80 miles to the northward of it, were the patrimony of a
family, now residing at Conception, of the name of Santa Maria, who
lived on the latter, and sent some people to reside at Mocha, but after
the commencement of the war between England and Spain, in 1780, the
family, as well as the whole of the inhabitants, were ordered by the
government of Chile to quit the islands, under the pretence that these
were a resort for smugglers: a pretence derived from the common error,
that privacy is preventive of contraband.
During the time that Mocha was in the possession of the Santa Marias a
number of the original indian inhabitants, belonging to the tribe found
on it when first visited by the Spaniards in 1549, resided there, but
they were also removed to Conception.
These two islands having been once inhabited, there are yet to be found
some few remains of cattle, which have continued to procreate: on Mocha
are horses and pigs, and some barn door fowls. Mocha is about fifteen
miles in circumference, hilly in the centre, and sloping towards the
coast, more so on the western side, where a tolerably good anchorage and
a safe landing place, on a sandy beach, may be found. Fresh water flows
from several springs; wild turnips, mint and other herbs grow in
abundance; the trees on the hilly part are principally the white
cinnamon, named by the Spaniards _canelo_, the magui, the luma, a tree
called _espino_, and others. Here are also apple, peach and cherry
trees, with a variety of wild strawberries, and myrtle-berries. Some
solitary seals yet remain on the rocks on the south side of the island.
I left Mocha after remaining there alone thirty-two days, and landed
from the brig Polly at Tucapel Viejo, the residence of one of the
Caciques, or Ulmenes, of the Araucanian indians, by whom I was most
hospitably treated.
The male indians who appeared on the beach were of a reddish brown or
copper colour, few of them reaching to the height of six feet. They were
finely shaped and very muscular, having a round face, well formed
forehead, small black eyes, flattish nose, moderately thick lips and
good teeth, but no beard. The whole of the countenance is expressive of
a certain portion of vivacity, and not uninteresting; the hair is black
and strong, all of it being drawn behind the head and platted. The women
are lower in stature than the men, their features similar, and some of
the girls, if I be not allowed to call them handsome, I cannot abstain
from saying are very pretty. The females wear their hair long, and
platted behind their heads: it is afterwards wrapped round with a tape
about an inch and a half broad, to one edge of which are attached a
number of small hawks' bells: the plait is allowed to hang down the
back, and not unfrequently reaches below their knees.
The dress or costume of the indians at first appeared very singular to
me. In the men it consisted of a flannel shirt, and a pair of loose
drawers of the same material, generally white, reaching below the calves
of the legs; a coarse species of rug about two yards wide and two and a
half long, with a slit in the middle through which the head was passed:
this garment, if so I may style it, hanging over the shoulders and
reaching below the knees, is called a _poncho_. The common ones seemed
to be made from a brownish sort of wool, but some were very fancifully
woven in stripes of different colours and devices, such as animals,
birds, flowers, &c. Of the poncho I shall have occasion to speak again,
as it is universally worn in all the provinces of South America which I
visited; but I must say here, that I considered it as an excellent
riding dress; for hanging loosely and covering the whole body, it leaves
the arms quite at liberty to manage the whip and reins. The hat commonly
worn is in the form of a cone, without any skirts; for shoes they
substitute a piece of raw bull's hide cut to the shape of the sole of
the foot, and tied on with slender thongs of leather. The females wear a
long white flannel tunic, without sleeves, and an upper garment of black
flannel, extending below their knees, the sides closed up to the waist,
and the corners from the back brought over the shoulders and fastened to
the corners of the piece in front with two large thorns, procured from a
species of cactus, or with large silver brooches: it is afterwards
closed round the waist with a girdle about three inches broad, generally
woven in devices of different colours; very often, however, nothing but
the white tunic is worn, with the girdle, and a small mantle or cloak
called _ichella_. The favourite colour among the indians appeared to be
a bluish green, though I saw few of their garments of this colour at
Tucapel, but remarked afterwards, at the town of Arauco, that all those
who came to sell or barter their fruit, &c. wore it. The females
generally have nothing on their heads or feet, but have a profusion of
silver rings on their fingers, and on their arms and necks an abundance
of glass bead bracelets and necklaces.
The occupation of the men, as in most unenlightened countries, appeared
to be confined to riding out to see their cattle, their small portions
of land, cultivated by the women, and to hunting. The females were
employed spinning wool with a spindle about ten inches long, having a
circular piece of burnt clay at the bottom, to assist and regulate the
rotary motion given by twirling it with the finger and thumb at the
upper end. They generally sit on the ground to spin, and draw a thread
about a yard long, which they wind on the spindle, tie a knot on the
upper end, and draw another thread: though this work is very tedious,
compared to what may be done by our common spinning-wheels, yet their
dexterity and constancy enable them to manufacture all their wearing
apparel. Weaving is conducted on a plan fully as simple as spinning. The
frame-work for the loom is composed of eight slender poles, cut in the
woods when wanted, and afterwards burnt; four of these are stuck in the
ground at right angles, the other four are lashed with thongs at the
top, forming a square, and the frame is complete. The treadles are then
placed about a foot from the front, having a roller at the back of the
frame for the yarn and another in front for the cloth, both tied fast
with thongs; the sleys, made of worsted, doubled, have two knots tied in
the middle of each pair of threads, leaving a small space between the
knots through which to pass the warp. After all the yarns are passed
through the sleys the ends are tied in small bunches to the roller,
which is turned round by two females, one at each end, whilst another
attends to the balls in front; the other ends of the yarn are then tied
to the roller in front. The thongs connected with the treadle are
fastened one to each of the sleys, and a thong being made fast to the
upper part of one of them is thrown over a loose slender pole, placed on
the top of the frame and then made fast to the other sley, so that when
one treadle is pressed by the foot it draws down one of the sleys,
holding every alternate thread, and the other rises, carrying with it
the other half of the warp. Instead of a shuttle the yarn is wound round
a slender stick, of the necessary length, and passed through the opening
formed by the rising of one of the sleys and the falling of the other;
the contrary treadle is then pressed down, and a slender piece of hard
heavy wood, longer than the breadth of the cloth, is passed across, and
the weaver taking hold of both ends drags it towards her and compresses
the thread. This piece of wood, shaped somewhat like a long sword, is
called the _macana_, and has often been resorted to as a weapon in time
of war. The same rude mode of weaving is common, though not universal,
in South America. The manner of weaving ponchos I shall describe when
treating of the town of Arauco, for what I saw here did not deserve
attention.
Besides the laborious occupation of spinning and weaving, and the usual
household labour, each wife (for polygamy is allowed, every man marrying
as many wives as he choose, or rather, as many as he can maintain) has
to present to her husband daily a dish of her own cooking, and annually
a _poncho_ of her own spinning and weaving, besides flannel for shirts
and drawers. Thus an indian's house generally contains as many fire
places and looms as he has wives, and Abbé Molina says, that instead of
asking a man how many wives he has, it is more polite to ask him how
many fires he keeps.
The females are cleanly in their houses and persons; dirt is never seen
on their clothes, and they frequently bathe, or wash themselves three or
four times a day. The men also pay great attention to the cleanliness of
their persons. The females attend to the cultivation of their gardens,
in which the men work but little, considering themselves absolute
masters--the lords of the creation, born only to command, and the
women, being the weaker, to obey: sentiments which polygamy supports;
plurality of wives tending to destroy those tender feelings of
attachment which we find in countries where the law allows only one
wife. The principal part of the labour of their farms is performed by
the women, who often plough, sow, reap and carry to the thrashing floor
the wheat or barley, which, when trodden out by horses, is thrown into
the air, that the wind may blow away the chaff. I saw no other grain at
Tucapel or its vicinity but wheat and barley, in small patches; but I
was told that they produced a hundred fold.
The care of the offspring is entirely committed to the women. A mother
immediately on her delivery takes her child, and going down to the
nearest stream of water, washes herself and it, and returns to the usual
labours of her station. The children are never swaddled, nor their
bodies confined by any tight clothing; they are wrapped in a piece of
flannel, laid on a sheep skin, and put into a basket suspended from the
roof, which occasionally receives a push from any one passing, and
continues swinging for some minutes. They are allowed to crawl about
nearly naked until they can walk; and afterwards, to the age of ten or
twelve years, the boys wear a small poncho, and the girls a piece of
flannel, wrapped round their waist, reaching down to the knees. The
mother, after that age, abandons the boys to the care of the father, on
whom they attend and wait as servants; and the daughters are instructed
in the several works which it will ere long become their duty to fulfil.
To the loose clothing which the children wear from their infancy may
doubtless be attributed the total absence of deformity among the
indians. Perhaps some travellers might suggest, that confinement in any
shape would be considered disgraceful to the haughty Araucanians, who
are pleased to call themselves, "the never vanquished, always victors."
The house to which I was conveyed by the indians was about five leagues
from the coast, situated in a ravine, towards the farther extremity of
which the range of hills on each side appeared to unite. A stream of
excellent water ran at the bottom of the small valley, winding its way
to the sea, and fordable at this time of the year, but visibly much
deeper at other times, from the marks of the surface water on the banks
and on several large pieces of rock lying in the stream.
The low part of the ravine (at first more than three miles wide, and
gradually closing as we rode up towards the house) was cultivated in
small patches; and among the brushwood were to be seen clusters of
apple, pear and peach trees, some of them so laden with fruit that their
branches were bent to the ground. The sides of the mountains displayed
in gorgeous profusion the gifts of nature; the same kind of fruit trees,
laden with their ripe produce, enlivened the view, and relieved the eye
from the deep green of the woods which covered the landscape, save here
and there the naked spire of a rock washed by the rains and whitened by
the sunbeams. The situation of the house appeared to have been chosen
not so much for its picturesque beauty, as for the facility of defending
it: the only approach was the road which we took, it being impossible to
descend the mountains on either side--an impossibility which appeared to
increase as we drew nearer to the house.
Four or five of the young indians, or _mosotones_, rode forward to the
house, and when it first opened to our view a crowd of women and
children had ranged themselves in front, gaping in wild astonishment at
my very unexpected appearance. We rode up to the house, which stood on a
small plain, about thirty yards above the level of the stream, and
alighted amid the din of questions and answers equally unintelligible to
me. The wild stare of curiosity, sweetened with a compassionate
expression of countenance, precluded all fear, and I could not avoid
saying to myself, Great Author of Nature, I now for the first time
behold thy animated works, unadorned with the luxuries, and free, may I
hope, from the concomitant vices, of civilization!
The house was a thatched building, about sixty feet long, and twenty
broad, with mud walls seven feet high, two doors in the front, opposite
to two others at the back, and without windows. The back part on the
inside was divided into births, the divisions being formed of canes
thinly covered with clay, projecting about six feet from the wall, with
a bed place three feet wide, raised two from the floor; the whole
appearing somewhat like a range of stalls in a stable. Opposite to these
births, and running from one end to the other, excepting the spaces at
the two doors, the floor was elevated about ten inches, and was six feet
wide: this elevation was partly covered with small carpets and rugs,
which with five or six low tables composed the whole of the household
furniture. The two doors on the back side led to the kitchen, a range of
building as long as the house, but entirely detached from it: here were
several hearths, or fire-places, surrounded with small earthen pots,
pans and some baskets made of split cane; and over each fire-place was
suspended a flat kind of basket holding meat and fish, and answering the
purpose of a safe: it is called by the indians a _chigua_. The horses
were unsaddled, and the saddles placed on the floor at one end of the
house.
The family, or what I conceived to be the family, was composed of
upwards of forty individuals. The father was between forty and fifty
years old, and apparently enjoyed all the privileges of a patriarch.
There were eight women, whom I considered to be his wives, though during
my stay he appeared to associate with only one of them, if allowing her
to wait upon him whilst eating and receiving from the others their
respective dishes (which she placed successively on the small low table)
can be called association. The young men eat the food brought to them at
different tables, or in different parts of the house. The women and
children adjourned to the kitchen, and there partook of what was left by
the male part of the family. From the first day of my arrival to the
last of my stay I always ate out of the same dish with the Cacique, or
Ulmen, for his rank I did not exactly know. Our fingers supplied the
place of forks, and large muscle shells that of spoons: knives I never
saw used at table.
Our food chiefly consisted of fresh mutton, jirked beef, fish, or
poultry, cut into small pieces and stewed with potatoes or pompions,
seasoned with onions, garlic and cayenne pepper, or capsicum. Our
breakfast, at about sunrise, was composed of some flour or toasted
wheat, coarsely ground, or crushed, and mixed with water, either hot or
cold, as it suited the palate of the eater. This flour is produced or
manufactured by first roasting the wheat or barley in an earthen pan
placed over a slow fire, until the grain takes a pale brown hue. When
cold it is ground on a flat stone, about eight inches or a foot wide,
and two feet or more in length, as they can best procure it. This is put
on the ground, with the end next the female raised about four inches.
She then takes another stone, which reaches nearly across the first, and
weighs from six to ten pounds; this she presses with her hands, and
bruises the grain, which is crushed to a state somewhat like coarsely
ground coffee. At the lower end of the stone is generally placed a clean
lamb skin, with the wool downwards, which receives the flour, called by
the indians _machica_. Our dinner (made up of the stews or messes which
I have mentioned) was generally served at noon in calabashes, or gourds
cut in two, being three inches deep, and some of them from twelve to
twenty inches in diameter. Our supper, which we took at eight o'clock,
was milk, with _machica_, or potatoes.
I cannot refrain from describing a favourite preparation of milk, called
by the natives _milcow_. Potatoes and a species of pompion, _zapallo_,
were roasted, the insides of both taken out, and kneaded together with a
small quantity of salt, and sometimes with eggs. This paste was made
into little cakes, each about the size of a dollar, and a large quantity
was put into a pot of milk, and allowed to boil for a quarter of an
hour. I joined the Indians in considering it an excellent dish. Their
poultry, fed on barley and potatoes, was fat and good; their fish, both
from the sea and the river, capital; and their beef and mutton in
fatness and flavour were far above mediocrity.
The beverage at this time of the year, there being abundance of apples,
was principally new cider, but it was sufficiently fermented to produce
intoxication, which I had several opportunities of observing among the
men: to the credit of the women, however, I must say, that I never saw
one of them in a state of ebriety. I was informed that at other times of
the year they fermented liquors from the maize, the process of which I
shall afterwards describe. Their cider is made in the following rude
manner:--a quantity of apples is procured from the woods by the women;
they are put into a species of trough, from eight to ten feet long,
being the trunk of a large tree scooped into a shape somewhat similar to
a canoe. A woman then takes a stick, or cane, nearly the length of the
trough, and standing at one extremity, beats the apples to pieces. They
are afterwards collected at one end, pressed with the hands, and the
juice is received either in large calabashes (dried gourds) or in
prepared goats' hides. It is now carried to the house, poured into an
earthen jar, and left to ferment. The jars are made by the Indians of
baked clay:--some will hold upwards of a hundred gallons, which shews
that these people have some skill in pottery.
The only in-door diversion which I witnessed among the Indians at
Tucapel was what they certainly considered a dance. About sixteen men
and women intermixed stood up in a row, and following each other,
trotted about the room to the sound of a small drum, which was made by
drawing a piece of the fresh skin of a kid or lamb over an earthen pot
used for cooking. This diversion I saw but twice, and in both instances
after supper. Indeed the indians are not calculated for this kind of
amusement. They associate with each other but little. The females are
considered inferior to the men, and consequently no harmony or
conviviality appears to result from their company. The principal
out-door diversion among the young men is the _palican_: this game is
called by the Spaniards _chueca_, and is similar to one I have seen in
England called bandy. Molina says it is like the _calcio_ of the
Florentines and the _orpasto_ of the Greeks.
The company divides into two sets. Each person has a stick about four
feet long, curved at the lower end. A small hard ball, sometimes of
wood, is thrown on the ground: the parties separate; some advance
towards the ball, and others stand aloof to prevent it when struck from
going beyond the limits assigned, which would occasion the loss of the
game. I was told that the most important matters have been adjusted in
the different provinces of Araucania by crooked sticks and a ball: the
decision of the dispute is that of the game--the winner of the game
being the winner of the dispute.
At Arauco I heard that the present bishop of Conception, Roa, having
passed the territory belonging to the indians with their permission, (a
formality never to be dispensed with) on his visitation to Valdivia, was
apprehended in returning for not having solicited and obtained a pass,
or safe-conduct from the _Uthalmapu_, or principal political chief of
the country which he had to traverse, called by the indians, the
_Lauguen Mapu_, or marine district. His lordship was not only made
prisoner but despoiled of all his equipage; and it became a matter of
dispute, which nothing but the _palican_ could decide, whether he should
be put to death or allowed to proceed to Conception. The game was played
in the presence of the bishop: he had the satisfaction of seeing his
party win, and his life was saved. The propriety, however, of keeping
the booty taken from him was not questioned by any one.
That part of the country which I had an opportunity of visiting with
some of these kind indians was not extensive, but extremely beautiful.
The soil was rich, every kind of vegetation luxuriant, and some of the
trees were very large: the principal ones were the _espino_, the _luma_,
the _maque_, and the _pehuen_.
I was informed that the indians have both gold and silver mines, and
that they are acquainted with the art of extracting the metal from the
ores. One might presume that there was some foundation for this report
from the ornaments made of the precious metals seen in their possession:
they are of Spanish manufacture, and perhaps either the spoils of war or
the result of barter.
A trade of no great importance might be established here. The wool,
which is good, and timber, with some gold and silver, would be given in
return for knives, axes, hatchets, white and greenish coarse flannel,
ponchos, bridle bits, spurs, &c.