The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-09

being dragged out by her future hus-
band. He swings her onto his horse
and goes off on the gallop, making for
the nearest wood. The women pursue,
but the groom, Of course, soon distances
them. Having reached the forest, he
takes his lady love with him into it's
recesses and there spends the honey
moon. This lasts but a rev days, when
the two return to the house of the
groom and are considered married
Then the husband takes the presents,
as he had agreed, to the father Of his
wife and the ceremony is over. If lat
er on the husband wishes a divorce,
he may, under certain conditions send
back his wife to the father, and if she
proves unfaithful to him he has the
right to kill her. If she deserts him
and goes back home on her own &C
cord, nothing is said, but if she should
marry again the second husband must
reimburse the first one for the price he
originally paid to her father for her.
QUEER CUSTOMS.
The Araucanians tie their papooses
on boards and carry them upon their
backs, much as our squaws do. The
babies are tied to the carrying board
as soon as they are born and are kept
fastened there until they are old enough
to be taught to walk. They are bright
eyed, healthy docking children and thew
stand treatment that would kill an
american baby. Take the birth, for in
stance. When an Araucanian baby Is
expected it's mother goes alone into the
woods and camps there on the bank
of stream until her child is born.
After the birth has taken place She
battles the baby in the brook. then
dries 1t, wraps it up in a skin or cloth
and ties 1t 70 the board. She sings it
on hef back by strap or rope tied
about her forehead and thus carries
1t home For a year or so thereafter
she carries the little one about with
ner Wherever she goes, taking 1t to the
neIds when she goes there to work.
They have queer ideas Of death. They
90 not believe in the Christian re-
1Slon, as do to a certain extent the
descendants Of the Incas and the other
Indians farther south. The Catholic
MISSIONARIES have worked among them
with but little success. They are like
our Indians in their belief in a great
rather or a great good spirit and an
eVll spirit. These two they think are
always fighting one another. and the
EVIL spirit is supposed to follow a man
even into the grave For this reason
tney STAND about the grave at the time
noises to brighten the evil spirits awav,
When a person dies he is seldom bu
r1ed at once. His family, so am told
rear he Will be lonesome on his wav
to the happy hunting round, and thew
try to accustom him to solitude. They
hang the corpse from the rafters or
poles inside the hut, and for the first
day or so speak to him frequently. They
TAX to him at their meals and treat
MIN as though he were alive. From
day to day, however, they pay less and
less attention to him, until they think
ne mas grown accustomed to being
alone, when they bury him. Some
times, instead Of being hung IN the
corpse is laid in the little attic on the
poles which form the ceiling of the
living room. How decomposition Is pre-
vented, II 1t is prevented, I do not
know, but l should think the dense
smoke which is kept UP in these huts
the greater part Of the day would serve
to cure anything, dead or alive.
In nearly all Of these Araucanian
communities there is a prophecies or
woman medicine man." who is sup
posed to be able to ward off the evil
spirit or tell why 1t will not down. The
evlI spirit Is at the root of all the
Araucanian's woes. It brings had
crops and Is the cause of ali diseases
AT the time Of sickness the prophetesa
is called In She goes through a LOT
of tncantations and other antics over
the patient. If he RECEIVERS. 1t is cole
ly due to her skill, but If not 1t must
De the evil spirit who has been led to
aff1ict the sick by some one of his
enemies. The prophecies at once pro
claims that the patient has been be-
W1tched and points out the man or Worn-
an who bewitched him In such cases
where death ensues the relatives Of the
deceased are liable to kill the person
SO charged with being a witch.
ON THE INDIAN FARMS.
1 spent some time on the Indian
farms They are good farmers, not a
few using American machinery, such
as plows. They are as rule rather
stockmen than grain raisers. I found
very few Of the men laboring In the
fields, and am told that the women
do the most Of the farm work. excent
on the farms Of the larger land own
ers, where the rotos or Chilean peasants
act as hired hands. The roto ia the
product OF crossing the Spanish and the
Indian blood. Like most hybrids. he
lS IN many respects worse than either
or the people from whom he Is de-
scended, often having the vices of both
and the virtues Of neither. The In
dian, 1 am told, is cleaner than the
peon. He Is more honest. and more
self-respecting. Until very recently no
Indian could be gotten to work for a
white man, and today the Araucanian
feels himself the equal Of any person
on earth. He has always been a man
of some civilization, and he had his
farms and his stock when the Span
lards came to this continent. The
clothes he wears are woven by his
wives, and his ponchos have ali the
bright colora and much Of tina beauty