Evening star., 1898-10-08

ed, [ do not know, but I 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 commu-
mites there is a prophecies or woman
medicine man. who is supposed to be
able to ward off the evil spirit or tell why
1t viii not down. The evil spirit is at the
root of all the Araucanians woes. 1t brings
bad crops and is the cause of all diseases
At the time of sickness the prophecies is
called in. She goes through a lot of incan-
tations and other antics over the patient
If he recovers it is solely due to her skill
but If not it must be the evil spirit who has
been led to afflict the sick by some one of
his enemies The prophecies at once pro-
claims that the patient has been bewitched
and points out the man or woman who be-
Witched him. In such cases where death
ersues the relatives of the deceased are
liable to kill the person 50 charged with be-
ing a witch.
On the Indian Farms.
spent some time on the Indian farms. The
Indians are good farmers, not a few using
American machinery such as plows They
are as a rule rather stock men than grain
raisers. 1 found very few of the men
labcring in the fields, and, / am told. that
the women do the most of the farm work
except on the farms of the larger land
owners where the rotos or Chilean peas
product of crossing the Spanish and the
Indian blood. Like most hybrids he is in
Tany respects worse than either of the
people from whom he Is descended, often
having the vices of both and the virtues
of neither. The Indian, l am told, is clean
er than the peon. He is more honest and
more self-respecting Until very recently
no Indian could be got to work for white
man. and today the Araucanian feels
himself the equal of any person on earth.
He has always been a man of some civili-
cation, and he had his farms and his stock
when the Spaniards came to this CONT
nent. The clothes he wears are woven by
his wives. and his popchos have all the
bright coiors and much of the beauty OF
the blankets made by our Navajo Indians.
The Araucanian Is a shrewd trader, but
as a rule he seems not to care for money
l have tried number of times TO buy the
blankets of Indians whom l met by Offering
what they should have considered good
prices, but have invariably failed. 1t was
the same with the iewelry, which ] tried to
purchase of the girls. The only place to
get such things is in the pawn shops of the
frontier towns. The Indians are fond of
liquor. They drink the vIlest Of alcohol
and when out of money will sell pawn
almost anything they have for the means
of getting 1t. This brings them to the
pawnbrokers. and the result is that you
cen often pick up their curious jeWelry or
beautiful blankets quite cheap. / Waa Of
fered today pair of solid silver stirrups
each of which weighed pound, for ;,5 Chill
can dollars, almost s12 of our money, and
I bought almost new hand-wovcn- pom
chO, as big as bed quilt, for 10 dollars in
silver, for $50 in American gold.
1t is account of his desire for alcohol
that the government has forbidden the In
dian to sell his lands. Inscriptions specu-
latOrs have until now been robbing him of
them in many parts of the country, SO that
only a comparatively small amount of what
he has had remains. This part Of Chile
is settling up so fast that the demand for
Ia nd CaU nIyf f}lIr aud II is
only a question of time when the property
now reserved to the Araucanians will be
thrown on the market. The railroad is
bringing the white man further and fur
ther south and the days of the Araucan
ians are numbered
FRANK G. CARPENTER