Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-23

simple turn OF the wrist, SWISH goes stone
from his sling, hitting squarely between
the eyes, on the temple, or at the base of
the brain, and down goes the man promptly
as If shot through the heart. 1t seems
that slings have been used by these people
away back in earliest times; for in the
graves of the Incas every boy mummy is
found with one bound around his arm or
across his forehead However valiant the
ancients may have been, their descendants
of to day are so cowardly that stern word
or threatening gesture from white man
will generally brighten them into AFFECT
submission When a male Indian reaches
the age of IL or Is he marries, or rather
he takes woman to live with him, as a
rule selecting one much older than himself
In the rural district
THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
Is rarely performed, except as cure comes
along once in a year or two and marries In
batch all those living in the conjugal re-
lation, or desiring to do so, who can afford
to pay the fee either in money, potatoes,
or other products; but the vast majority,
being so wretchedly poor, do not avail
themselves of the opportunity. Like all
other Indians, they are virtuous according
to their lights, man living with one
woman only, in tolerable faithfulness
through life. Whether legally married or
not, the women are fearfully jealous of
their consorts, and are ready to tear limb
from limb any dusky belle who evinces a
desire to encroach upon their preserves.
Whatever may have been the habits of an
unmarried female, she is uniformly faith
full in the matrimonial relation, and not
one of them, married or single, will toler-
ate the slightest advance from white
man. In some sections when an Indian
girl is about to take a companero for life,
custom obliges her to go and live for eight
or ten days beforehand with the priest,
the ulcaldi, or the man who is looked
upon as the highest local authority, as his
servant, it is said Legitimate children
receive more love and attention than the
fruits of wedlock, and woman is not
"looked down upon" # she happens to have
had two or three before settling with life
companion. As rule
THE WOMEN ARE SUPERIOR
To their lords in intelligence, and earn
the larger share of their mutual support.
Being the older of the two, she is natur-
ally the head of the house, and is more
likely to thrash her dutiful spouse than he
is to misuse her. In the markets where
farm products are disposed of she can drive
better bargain than he; she can carry as
heavy burdens, endure as much manual
labor, chew as much coca and drink as
much alcohol. The Indians have little or
no money, their medium of exchange
being whatever they may raise, or the
labor of their hands. They will eat when
not hungry, drink when not thirsty, sleep
when not sleepy, anywhere and at any
time when opportunity offers, against
the time of need" as they say. The ma
jority are in state Of standardization
from babyhood to the grave, alcohol being
used on every pretext, freely as their
means will allow, on occasions of births,
deaths and feast days, the latter occurring
nearly every day in the year. They are
social creatures and not at all inclined to
living alone hence their houses are always
in groups, and community of them,
though numbering not more than half
dozen, is called an eStdncid In the interior
of Bolivia, if an Indian desires to change
his place of residence, he is not allowed to
settle in another village until the authori-
ties thereof have looked into his private
history when, if the record is not salts
factory, he is
ORDERED TO MOVE ON.
But that seldom happens, for they are like
cats in their attachment to places, and
will cultivate the same bit of poor land
from generation to generation, though
barely able to keep body and soul to-
gether. Just off the great Sierra between
Bolivia and Peru and bordering on the
section known as the Montana, is tribe
of Indians known as the Charisonis, whose
principal business is that of medicos, or
travelling doctors. Apparently their
knowledge of the healing art is inherent,
or transmitted from father to son, as of
course they have no schools or instructors.
These
MEDICINE MEN,"
Who are greatly venerated by all the
other tribes and implicitly believed in
even by many white people, go off into
the deep forests of the montana for all
their medicines. They are well ac-
quainted with the medical virtues of GER
tain roots, herbs, barks, leaves and blcs-
sons and know how to apply them in the
cure of various diseases. They also col
lect resinous gums and berries which they
sell to the churches, to re burned for in
cense. A favorite remedy among them
for all manner of ills is the dried root and
leaves of the huaco, a low plant whose
velvet green foliage is slightly purple on
the under side. 1t is, in truth, marvel
GUS cure for snake bites and the stings of
the most venomous reptiles and insects,
the wound being first cut open and alcohol
poured in, and then some chewed huaco
applied. They work charms for the sick,
too, by rubbing their feet with pebbles
from the nearest river, assisted by incanta-
tions. One may always know Charisoni
by his many-colored wooden
sack, called tuepi. His poncho, also, is
of the brightest hues that dyes can pro-
duce, and his own skin is of reddish
tint, much more rudy than that of other
Indians of this section
AT CoRABAY
There is another tribe with brown, blonde,
and even red hair among its members
whether from some freak of nature or on
account of the sociability of lighter colored
neighbors, nobody seems to know. They,
too, have medicos, who practice with equal
success as the Charisonis. When one of
them comes to visit a patient, he first
looks all around to see what article strikes
his fancy, that he may levy on for pay
ment. Having settled that question and
secured his fee in advance, he shakes the
sick man by each foot, repeats solemn in
while having his hands in the
air, and then departs with such knowing
air that the faith cure Immediately takes
effect. / know woman who declares that
her husbands life was saved by one of
these doctors, his heart having somehow
slipped over to the wrong side, and been
changed back into place by the incanta-
ton.
THERE Is TRADITION
OF some white Indians, with flowing
boards and fair hair who are caid IN en-