davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

TOO were astonished at what they saw, though
they did not show 1t as the Spanish sailors did,
They thought 1t very strange. for instance, that
the chief OF the whites was such q small
man, measured by their standard Of greatness,
His stature was but a tribe more than half that
OF 1.-THE two native chiefs who had come on board.
Then. too, the natives were greatly astonished
70 see sailors throw away what was to the In
dams a delightful article OF food-the rats cap
tured with traps In the ships hold every day.
One chief could not view such waste without re-
monstrating. and was greatly delighted when
the rats were presented tn him. Then, too, some
mirrors and beAds-wondrously beautiful ornA-
ments To wear around the neck-were given 70
them, some OF which, 1t Is said. are still heir
looms among the Patagonians. On the whole,
the Indians were led TO think they might have
been mistaken about the white men being
evil spirits, and so went back inland TO
the tribe and made q report Of what
had been seen and obtained. The main
body OF the tribe. however, remained
suspicious and so only men went In the next
party. as in the first. There were nine in this
party and II included the two great chiefs Of
the FIRST.
This party proved that the suspicious that all
had entertained were well founded. The white
men were malicious spirits. They loaded the
great chiefs with all the presents they could
poosiDiy carFi on their arms and shoulders.
Then they brought two beautiful iron chains
with shining bracelets at each end and offered
them TO the chiefs, who were at once ready 10
weep because they could not carry them. Thereat
the treacnerous whites offered 70 fAsten the
bracelets on the ankles OF the chiefs. and the
chiefs were delighted until after the bracelets
were secure. Then the deVilish nature Of the
whites appeared. The Indians had been man
Aeled, and were never more 70 tread their native
soil or look upon the faces OF their wives and
children. With magnificent rage they hurled
the gewgaws from them and stroVe 70 break
the chains that held them fast, while the white
sailors looked on In mean fear and uem bling
lest they succeed.
IL was In May, 1878. that the PAtAEonIAns
nsxt saw white men. These whites were the
English crews Of Sir Francis Drake. and it was
IT Port Desire, then unnamed. that Drake called.
More than nifty years had passed since Magellan
had carried on the two giant chiefs Of the PatA-
sOniAns but the natives would not venture even
70 the camp Of the whites on shore until several
days had elapsed and a trade had been estAb-
lishsd BY one party leaving articles on shore and
after which the other cam and left
their goods instead. This led 10 somewhat
greater intimacy, during which the Indians
danced 20 the music OF the bugls, and one got
on wine, but when Drake afterward
landed a. ST. Julian there was q fight The
Indians were holding = festival. The English
Wsat ASh0Es carrying guns aud bows AID AZ ]
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

Gus minds in their faces. Their foreheads were
high, their noses Of the Roman type. the nos
trils not unduly expanded. fhsir teeth were
simply perfect; % were their eyes. Those I
saw In the settlements showed q heavy. stolid
expression. but the EAuchos said that look was
not a good indication OF their character, and,
moreover, that when in their desert Silds the
men as well As the women were = merry-faced,
laughing lot. The young folks are everywhere
bright-faeed and Of cheerful dispositions. The
tive, having very light skins for Indians. beau
tiul limbs, firm and well-rounded breasts.
heads poised like young queens. and faces that
show a mingling Of mOdesty and eOqustFy quite
impossible 10 describe or catch with 8 camera
but nevertheless within the appreciation Of even
= blAss beholdeF.
Like many OF their white cousins. the Tshuel-
che kEls continually che E1m-tks sx0ded ana
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

dignation Of the spectator more than the excuse
for II which the soldiers gave-"he Il no Chris
tan" And yet, before the readers feelings lead
him 70 = bitter condemnation Of the soldiers, let
II be remembered that according 10 the ortho-
dox RELIGIOUS teachings in these United States
Of North America there were in the afr. about
each group Of those Argentine soldiers. num-
bers Of evil spirits watching the torture Of
each unfortunate Indian-watchinR with eager
malice the moment when the Indians soul
should be released. that they might bear II
away 10 the realm where the worm dieth not
and the FIRE is not auenched. The soldiers tor
tured for i've minutes, but these devils VIII tor
ment each Tehuelche soul for all eternity. And.
what is more. could the reader enter the pre-
cincts Of the unfortunates and ask Why the soul
was tortured. he would get word for word. the
very excuse the Argentine soldiers gave:
He IL no Christian
The NUNBER OF
II IL impossible 20 give anything like an &C
curate estimate Of the number Of inhabitants Of
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

Having watched the pumAs disappear, El-lal
gathered some stones from the edge of the
brook. took them 10 the top OF the hill, and,
after making a heap OF dry wood there. knocked
the stones together, 30 that Ere iiew from them
and ignited the wood. This was a great gift
from El-lal to the Tehuelches. for they had
suffered much from cold Heretofore. and they
thus were able TO cook the game they had taken
with the bows and arrows El-lal had taught
them to make.
On another day El-lAl saw a condor on the top
OF a hill.
Give me some feathers for my arrows" said
he 10 the bird.
impossible" replied the bird. "They are
my shelter, and with them | fly through the air"
Begging having failed, El-lal then threatened.
whereat the condor flew away. 1t was Just dis
appearing from view at All immense height IN
the air when El-lal carefully adjusted an arrow
and nred II. The condor. in great alarm. came
down In swift spirals, saying, Which feather
dOst thou wish 2"
So El-lal took it by the neck and stripped the
feathers from its head, since which time the
condor's head has been naked. ard although il
had formerly prosecuted the Tehuelches, IL be-
came, as the panther had become, their friend.
ORIGIN OF THE FOREST.
When El-lal had thus tanned the enemies of
the indians his father NOsjthej returned and
introduced himself. The son took the father
home, exhibited his arms and the trophies of
the chase, and, breaking open a bone. offered
the father the marrow as a choice tidbit. This
father accepted this, and became an inmate Of
El-lal's home, over which he ruled imperiousIy.
El-lAl remained quiet under this for a time, but
eventually rebelled, whereat the wicked old god
got angry aud chased El-lal about the noun
tains- The son sought for a hiding place In
vain, because all the earth was then barren OF
tree gTowths larger than shrubs. But. being al
last hard pressed, El-lal kicked a hole in the
ground, and from this there sprahg up a mighty
forest that spread over the earth 10 rapidly that
Nostthsj was unable 10 find El-laL and the
Tehuelehes have ever since had around the
forests for shade and fuel a~-plenty.
Last OF all El-lal encountered a terrible
monster that every day carried on and deyoured
. Iehuelehs ehild 70 that all the nation "a
aAsd with ; constant terror and drssa. ia
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

ner labored among the Patagonian Indians. To
undaunted bravery he added great physical en-
durance and q most winning address. He was
frank, upright, manly. He Of ali men most de-
served the confidence OF the Patagonia Indians,
and no man has ever had II to the extent that he
did. He was the friend OF Chief CaugapoI-
"Cacique Bravo" OF the Spanish. He traversed
the desert from the Rio Negro 10 the Strait Of
Magellan and from the sea to the Andes. To
this day no white man has ever learned about
Patagonia and the Patagonians as he did. In
his twenty-seven years OF life there he baptized
thousands. That he did not bring the tribes for
the Patagonians are not all OF one tribeI under
subsection as the Guarantees OF the Misiones
were brought was due TO a variety Of causes.
all OF which were OF about equal in
huence. The Indians resented the treach-
cry or the white officials OF the so-called
civilized PROVINCES, and they were. moreover,
nomads living on a desert where life could not
be maintained for any length OF time in one
limited locality. Although the Indians were for
the most OF the time well disposed toward the
whites during Falkners life among them, a
Spanish o%ricer, sent TO punish a ~strolling band
or one tribe, having been fOiled. wreAked his
vengeance on another tribe that had done no
harm.tO any one, utterly destroying their village.
Thereupon all Patagonia was reused, and
Cacique Bravo led 1000 warriors TO what Is
no" the suburb OF buenOs Ayres. called
Outlines, within four leagues OF the plaza 25th
OF May, carrying on many women and children
and tens OF thousands OF cattle.
That Was in the middle OF the eighteenth CEN
tury, and from that time until the year 1889
the nomAds held almost undisputed sway over
all Patagonia.
In 1897 Falkner was expelled with all the
Jesuits of the Argentine region. and going back
70 England he published a book on PataRoniA. In
which he gave such an interesting account OF
Its features and people that the King OF Spain
At once sent out colonies 70 possess the land Al
hlo Negro Port ST. Julian. aud Port Desire.
THE sPASIsH PAID Tribute.
OF the influence these colonies had on the
Indians . line will sufice. They did some little
trading. but the Indians very properly mistrust-
ID the good faith OF the whites. and In 1907 Pata-
gonna WA once more abandoned 70 the natives.
save for the one post on the Rio Negro known
- Carmen do PatAgones. This was maintained
because Of the great salt fields found on the
desert near the town. But the terms on which
Il remained unmOlested by the lordly Pata-
were exceedingly humiliating 70 the
spanish rulers Of BuenOs Ayres and OF tbs settle
The whites had 70 pay an annual tribute
Of cattle. knife blades. indigo. eOchineal. aud
other goods As rental for the lndian-ownsd Land
they occupied.
We read in the history Of the state OF New
York hat N the days before the Revolutionary
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

hardened juice Of the incense bush So too, do
all Tehuelches, for that matter. and they say II
preserves the teeth. Certainly no people have
finer teeth than the Tehuelcbes.
MYTHS AND LITERATURE
For a Judgment a. to the mental calibre Of
the Tehuelches we have n ready resort in their
mythology. traditions fables and proverbs.
Doubtless old Cacique Bravo and other chiefs
made speeches that might have given them the
fame 81 Logan or Of Red Jacket. but there was
none 10 record their words.
The chief figure in Tehuelche mythology Is
El-lal. El-lsl was the Tehuelche Hiawatha.
though with n totally different biography.
El-lal lived in the forgotten time. Nosithej, a
god somewhat like Saturn. took one Of the
Tebuelche women for a wife. The Tehuelches
were very poorly on in those days, but their un-
known Eod. who gives them all the good things
they have and Is never angry with them. had
them In mind. and 50 instigated Noejthej to this
act for their benefit. When as a result OF the
union a child was about To be born Nosjthej
became possessed Of a cannibal mania and slew
the woman that he might obtain the child 10
dovour IL. But az he was slashing the body Of
the woman he heard a strange noise in earth
beneath, so strange. in fact, that he stopped his
bloody work to investigate it
Now this noise had been made By a b~urrowing
49,
god from his work. and as soon as he turned
from the woman's body the mole captured the
child and carried II away TO the deepest recesses
of its underground haunts. and hid Il in a nest
made of guanaco hair. After = little the wicked
god observed that the child was gone. and discov-
cred that the mole had carried ! IL away. Thereat
with a mighty rage that shook the Andes in an
earthquake and with thunderous roars. he tore
open the earth in pursuit OF his prey. Long he
labored. 20 that his hands dripped with
blood from the ferceness Of his attacks.
but all in vain. The child was safe.
So the god returned to look once
more at his victim. that he might
gloat over her mangled remains. when.
strange TO relate. he found that the good god
had turned the corpse into a beautiful spring of
that. flowing away across the desert with
an ever-increasing volume, became at last a
stream, where all the generations of
to come might battle in peace and
Ind on its banks countless herds and focks OF
yuanacos and ostriches, the stream now known
" Rio Cherbut.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

Nehuei-HuspL In the season great festivals Ar.
held ~ the n Then the apples are m,ds
into cider IN skln-lined pits. and the fermen,cd
stun e consumed in vast quantities. The Tohuel.
che, when drunk. becomes quarrclsome. and
murders are then common. although the squaw.
hide all weapons before = festival begins.
II IL a curious fact that while the sqnaws do
not drink and are not given 10 any practices det-
rimental 10 the constitution. they are the ones
who suffer most in an epidemic OF mease -
pneumonia. &C. There are many more men than
squaws among the Tehuelches.
The weapons Of the Tehuclche are like thoss
Of the gsucho. Iassoes. bolas. ard knives. Tbev
also make. but rarely In these days carry. spears
and bows and arrows.
why don't you trade a horse for a good riaey -
said I 10 one in Punta Arenas.
Rim much bad-broke easy-much dear the
c~artouchos."
In the hands Of the Tehuelche the bola. havs
q range Of fifty yards and upward. That il AT
least as much OF a range as North American
Indians cover effectively with a low. and the
bolns are more accurate and certain t. brias
down the game. Besides arrows are frequen,,I
lost or broken, but the bolas are always reads
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

will appeal TO them no less-possibly rather
more because Of its peculiarities. This IL the
story Of the nonads of the Patagonian desert,
the rare that gave the name to the region the
Patagones. or Big Feet. a. they were called by
the first white man who saw them.
1t was on the LIST Of April. 1920. that Fernando
Magellan. bound on q voyage 10 the Spice
Islands. where he intended To trade worthless
triies for valuable merchandise. happened into
st. Julian harbor. on the coast Of Patagonia.
The winter season was at hand, and the region
there and to the south had never been explored.
Magellan could not know that the winter was
the mildest part OF the year at the south end OF
the Americas, and reason told him IL would be
the hardest. SO he determined To stay In st.
Julian all winter. During his first week in
port he had n whole lot of trouble quelline a
mutiny. but he succeeded. And then came
ssquad Of six men of the native tribe 70 tho
shores OF the bay TO view the wondrous
things that had come from over the seattle
i've curious little bumped up ships that COM
posed the fleet Of the Spanish notion peddler.
The story OF that first view of men. with
faces OF the color Of snow" and OF the sub,e-
quent doings of MagellAn's men In that port. IA
still told about the campnres in the desert. The
Indians were Allied with awe and dread At the
sight. but their curiosity led them TO reveal
themselves TO the whites. There was some sig
mailing waving OF hands and cloths on the
ships. after which ono unarmed white man
came on shore. where he Initiated every sign
the Indians made. The Indians had been max
ing signs. intended TO propltiate what they sup
posed TO be the evil spirits on the ships, and 40
on seeing these signs initiated they readily an
preached the strangers and were kindly
received. Enough bread for twenty of
the sailors was given 70 them, but
all was devoured by the six, TO the
great astonishment of the whites. The Indian.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
NOMADS OF PATAGONIA.
The Story of a Splendid
Aboriginal Race.
~UNcoNQUERED FOR CENTURIES
From the Visit Of Magellan to the
War Of determination.

The Teh.eiehss, A-o-s vvhe- ths eis-ts
We've Fsuas-Ths Desert Reeie- thss
They Bo-i.ste1-Their Nysssis<y. Tr--
siu.--. F.sie-. Csie,s-r. sd Proverbs
-n--ie.i I~--t---e-ts. we.ps-s. Do-l
Giles. sd Her..heia Ute-sii..
II the readers Of the Sunday SIS have found
themselves Interested In what has been told in
former numbers about the Yahgans and the
other Indian tribes Of the Cape Horn region.
they will md here the story Of still another
race Of aborigines that. while II IL in few re-
spects like either Of those already referred 70,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

TEHUELCHE

was a deal more OF a ruler than now. The chief
Is TO the clan what the ablest and most expert
enced OF a party OF hunters in the Adirondacks
Is To his associates. He knows the woods and
wooderaft better than the rest. and the rest
therefore listen TO his advice. In the quArrels
over trivial matters In camp the head man viii
oiten serve as peAcemaker, because where .
quarrel spreads q division OF the clan follows,
and the chances Of success in bunting arr
greatly diminished. 1t takes a good many Dso-
pie 10 draw a circle around a bunch OF EuAnAcos
In an open desert.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
ovERcoMEs TEHrELcHE ENEMIES.

This warning only made El-lal smile. There
were, indeed. fierce beasts abroad. but El-lal
had no reason to fear them. One day. as he
followed the borders Of q winding stream. he
was very unexpectedly confronted by the puma.
Putting an arrow In his bow. El-lal shot the
puma in the flank, wounding II. but not fatally.
The beast roared with pain. and its mate came
TO help it, but when they saw the smiling face
OF El-lal and looked at his bow. which he did
not deign TO arm with another arrow. they sub
mitted TO his authority and took themselves
away 10 other haunts. So the panther has
since been Q harmless beast TO this day.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
New. or.A Important Maine psr.o..x..
'~ tAs Ls'etsioA Eusain0 Journal.

LF"NtoH kueatR9 J1urRdl.
MoonsTocK, Me, Nov. 24.-Ezra stephens
SStOsars. ana manipulator OF translated croCo-
uIies, ana sacred cattle" and we'll known
SnrouHn thls section as the i. T. Barnum of
Maine has gone out OF the show business and
taken 70 fox hunting Just for fun.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

Tn marriage ceremony consists OF an ex-
change OF presents The divorce ceremony con-
sists In leading the woman back TO the tent OF
her relatives. a ceremony rarely known, how
ever AS the head Of a family the Tehuelche Is
KIND and conslderate 10 the woman and very af-
ieetlonate 70 the children. They pet and fondle
and kiss each other and use words OF sndsar-
menL II Is agreed by all who know the Tehuel-
ches that in their homes they are the happiest
people imaginable.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02

During the childhood OF El-lal the mole sus-
tanned him. teaching him to eat herbs and to
follow the mountain paths. When old enough
TO begin to think for himself he invented the
bow. and the arrow with a stone tip. with which
he became venturesome and was often late
reaching his home at night. Thereat the mole
warned him that many wild. fierce beasts
roamed about at night, and that he would be
destroyed by them.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
A DESERT RIVER GENE

Patagonia, either now or At any period since the
days Of Magellan. However. in Fslkner's day
there were five different tribes reached by the
mission at Cape San Antonio-the Tehuelches.
the Puelches. the Pehuenches, the Guilliches.
and the Manzanos. OF these the Tehuelches
lived in the region beginning at the Strait Of
Magellan and extending north at least to the
Chubut River. The Puelches came next, occu-
pying the region north OF the Chubut and along
the Andes. The other tribes were rather pampa
than desert Indians, but, all being nomads, they
were confined to no single locality. The fact
that old Cacique Bravo was able to raise
an army of 1000 braves shows that in Falk
time he must have ruled q population OF more
than 10000. But although food was abundant.
they did not Increase any in later years. Small
pox and other infectious diseases contracted
from the white settlements kept their number
down. The Rev. Titus Coan thought the Tehu-
elche tribe numbered 1000 in 1888. The other
tribes were then certainly more numerous still.
But Don Ramon Lista, an Argentine writer and
explorer Of good repute, says that when he was
among them just before the war Of e1termina-
tion they numbered 500 warriors, or nearly
5000 souls all told. This tribe suffered rather
less than others when Roca came. There are
now a few at Coy Inlet. a few hanging about
each settlement. and a few along the Andes
perhaps 500 all told. according to the gauchos.
THE TEHUELcHEs.
OF all these tribes none was 30 interesting.
and none Is now so well known. as the Tehuel-
ches. The explorers. from Magellan TO Fitzroy,
me. TINS TRUE IL was among them that the
81. -, 81, -. $500 ienuei-
ros,s,.d uht,o .c..a.sa. tn. g. 49,.
~ - -, . 49, 10 W
in und,s,,rh.d nnss...ta, =, 80 "e
w,,Io ,ha caurano. :, ~. .ounr,'
ali Tho, ,iua oomn,.,atm -. -
.,orrh =, ,,ao,,,an -, .
corn,rv 80 .r.a,.-,S. sSS |n
"NA N'uoe
THE TEHUELcHE COUNTRY
The home region OF the Tebuelcbe can be 10
scribed in n sentence. II ia n section n, the hot
tom of the south Atlantic Ocean uf,ed mn wbcr.
man can see IL There ara sal, latas and ~.
OF salts- left there when the sea water w.. ,or
the most mart drained .xav Tbera ,raco.
of ocean sal,s evervwhere 7, o. an a,lrxi.I .
gion: a well driIler would And manv Iav.rs =,
sand. gravel. claws. &c I'm, no ,oct beJs .ay.
I'm a few places where volcanoes bubbL.d NJ, NJ
body knows when. excep, tina, mos, N, ,bom
were opened since the folding Of the ear,b,s
crust lifted IN the bo,tom NJ the old tim. $40
IL Is a treeless desert region as n whole because
the time that has elapsed since the pnheay.l
has not been prea, enouvb IN .nahl. IN. .,a
ments to fit the soil for any other y.g.,a,to,
than IL now found there Trees M, IacLt,u
in the Andes region that was no, suhmargad
Around Lake Sebuel- Huani m. ,o,.s,s a.
and includ. valnahl. ca5as
"N'~
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
THEY sINo AND nee

In music the Tehuelche is not much of an
artist. The skin OF a guanaco stretched over q
hoop or bowl makes a drum. The bone OF an
ostrich leg, with holes cut into II. makes a sort
OF flute. which In turn is used to make the
sinew cord of a bow TO vibrate with a tum-tum
noise. In short in such matters as singing and
dancing they are practically like North Ameri-
can Indians. The music is always for an ac-
compartment to dancing.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
A CIDER FESTIVAL

The one Vtee-rather the root OF all evil
among the Iehuelches Is the love Of liquor.
h0oes, weapons, horses, daughters and wives
will all be exchanged for rum, and thers A.
traders crossing the desert every DAY OF ths 80
seeklng out their camps 10 sell the stun % them.
Ahsh to- there are ARDls 0EchAEds On Lsks