himself doubtfully as to the success of his incantations. 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 fomenters of discord are careful never to accuse the principal families. The Machis, though not invested 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 accurately described by the Abbé Gili, in his history of the Oronokians.

These physicians, notwithstanding the different systems that they pursue, sometimes meet to satisfy 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 professors of medicine. The first, who may be styled surgeons, are skillful in replacing dislocations, in repairing fractures, and in curing wounds and ulcers. They are called Gutarve, possess real merit, and often perform wonderful

cures.

But this is by no means the case with the others, called Cupove, from the verb cupon, to anatomize; these, infatuated with Machiism, 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 respecting the conformation of the human body, for the different parts of which they have appropriate names.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Araucanians made use of bleeding, blistering, clysters, emetics, cathartics, and sudorifics, all wpich remedies have their peculiar names in pret language. 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 bladder, to which they apply a pipe. Their emetics, cathartics, and sudorifics, are almost all obtained 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 commercial 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

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 indiscriminately his merchandize to all those who present themselves. 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.-Raynal's History.

The following is extracted from the Compendium of the Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili, printed in Bologna, 1776. "The Spaniards who live in the province of Maúle, and near the frontiers of Araucania, carry on a commerce 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 It 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 feathers, 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.

CHAP. VIII.

Pride of the Araucanians; Kindness and Charity 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 themselves metonymically the names of che, or the nation; of reche, pure or undegenerated nation; and of huentu, men; a word of similar signification 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 contempt with which they regard all other nations. To the Spaniards they gave, on their first knowledge of them, the nickname of chiapi, vile soldiers, from whence proceeded the denomination

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 verb huincun, 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 those Indians who live in the Spanish settlements culme-huinca, 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 pegni, 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 regard, and are expressed by appropriate words