Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-04-05
QUEER WILD FoLKs IN saAzIL.

Their Interesting Ways.
 "The Botocudos of Brazil are among the most interesting savages in the | world P said an ethnologist Although | other wild peoples in various parts of | the world distend their lips and ears l with wooden plugs for ornamental pur- poses, Indians of thls race carry such | practices to an unparalleled extreme. | The piercing of the flesh for this object l is performed when the child is about | seven years of age, . sharp spine from a | kind of palm being used as 8 surgical l instrument Openings having thus been made in the lower lip and lobe of each ear bits of wood are inserted to keep them from healing, bigger and bigger pieces being substituted until the plugs attain diameter sometimes of as much as four inoheA These plugs are cut from tree which furnishes 8 wood quite as light as cork and of a white color. They are three-quarters of an inch thick.
 The wooden disk in the lip is worn most of the time, but 1t is from time to time removed, when the lip hangs in a hideous loop of flesh against the chin, looking like great worm, and display ing the teeth in horrible grin. Ordi- .narily the pressure of the plug against the lower front teeth pushes them out of place and causes them to fall out, thus adding to the unpleasant effect When the plug is in position, the feat ures being in repose, it is carried hori- zontally. 8 smile causing it to touch the tip of the nose. In quarrels the per- forated ears and lips are apt to suffer, | and it is no uncommon thing to see them broken. When such an accident occurs the several parts are tied to- gether and the plug is replaced. More often than not the ear disks are not worn, and the loops of flesh are left dangling, sometimes reaching to the shoulders. In travelling through the for est such loops would be likely to catch upon boughs of trees, so they are often turned up and hung over the ears for convenience.
 ''The color of the Botocudos is a light yellowish brown. It has been said that they are capable of blushing occasion ally, which would seem to be an ac- complishment worth having, inasmuch as both sexes commonly go stark naked | When brought into contact with Euro | peans they manifest not the slightest embarrassment on account of their lack of clothing, however. From certain seeds and fruits they obtain brilliant dyes, with which they adorn their bodies. There is no set style, the method of painting the person varying with the taste of the individual. fa- vorite fashion is to paint the face above the mouth a bright red. the upper half of the body being stained black and a red stripe encircling the waist A new warrior thus decorated, with lip and ear ! 0$c TN1ocnnta dnrorionol expression. The co1ors employed are mixed in the upper shell of turtle, and are carried in joints of the bamboo.
 When at work on plantations belonging to the whites the men often tie shirt
 by the arms around the waist, letting the body hang down in front They are never seen to wear such a garment otherwise. The women adopt tattered
 skirt But these articles of apparel are immediately discarded as soon as they return to the forest, where they roam
 about without even 8 fig leaf apiece to
 cover themselves with.
 'sThe arms of the Botocudo consist of the bow and arrow. His bow is made
 from the wood of the airi palm, from
 five to seven feet in length, and so
 heavy and strong that no other man can
 bend it. The arrows are six feet long,
 with shafts of strong and light reeds,
 tipped for use in war with javelin-
 like head made from the side of joint
 of bamboo This bead, which is convex
 on one side and concave on the other,
 is sharpened to a long point, the edge
 being rendered as keen as knife. Such
 arrows are employed also in the chase
 of the tapir. They are plumed with the feathers of large bird The wounds
 they make are terrible and particularly
 dangerous, because of the concave :. shape of the arrow head, which facili. }, tates bleeding.
 | 'tFor birds and small game the say ,, ages utilize arrows with blunt points : which stun the prey, but do not tear it. :, They capture small lizards with these
 weapons. For calling one another in the forest they have speaking trumpets ., made from the skin of the tail ot the great armadi1lo. While travelling :! through the woods they build for them :, selves temporary shelters of palm
 leaves, sticking the stems into the ,i ground in half circle, so that the tips 1, of the fronds arch together and form [ ; sort of roof. When encampiug for { a considerable time in one place they
 construct houses often big enough te hold several families. The furnishing ! of Botocudo cabin is extremely simple beds being made from bark fiber anc the fire being in the middle of the : dwelling. Gourds are used for drink
 ing purposes and in the preparation ot
 food
 "The Botucodos are particularly font
 of the flesh of monkeys, but they also r subsist upon ant eaters, alligators anG ! | boa constructors Fish they usually l shoot with small bows, which they use with great dexterity, but sometimes they employ poisonous root, which D put into the water. soon brings the fs1 y to the surface. They regard as deli
 cacy certain kinds of huge caterpillar! & l h,,rrnrxr in danauinnr rurnod rrhars