El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-28

V of Spain that so grains of corn were
a good day ration, and that the corn
was eaten both meal and bran VaIdl-
via carried his fighting far south Of
1t was right there that ne
was once attacked by 10000 warriors
and saved himself only by charging the
indians with a company of cavalry.
The indians were frightened by the
horses, and in the battle a thousand
of them were killed and 400 were taken
prisoners. In former campaigns the
indians had tortured the whites, and
Naldlvia, in order to terrify them, or
dered that the right hands and noses
of the prisoners should be cut off. At
ter that they were allowed to go back
to their tribes
Fighting of this kind went on for
years and during it Valdivia was cap
tured and tortured to death. He was
carried, naked and bound, through the
woods to an indian camp, and certain
authorities say that the Araucanians
poured molten gold down his throat
But the story of these indian wars
would take many pages The braves
had their great chiefs in the persons OF
Lautero and CaupOlican, now honored
by statues in the Chilean capitol. IL IS
enough to say that they were gradual
ly subdued by the Spaniards and their
lands were taken from them just as we
have taken the lands of our indians.
Much Like Our Indians
They are much like our indians now,
being settled upon reservations or upon
individual farms, which they are not
permitted to sell. The race of the past
has been decimated by drunkenness
and disease, and it grows fewer every
year 1t comprises now less than TO-
000 and of these about 10000 are scat
tered over this province of Temuco and
the country adjoining.
Most of the holdings are in reserYa-
tons set aside by the government Inc
lands are not held in common, but are
divided among the families so many
acres being given to each person. A
baby gets the same amount of land as
an old man Of 60. If one OF the family
dies there is a new subdivision Of the
land allotted to that family, and II the
whole family disappears the lands re
vert to the government Most or the
holdings are patriarchal. The Oldest
male member of the <amily controls
the property, and when he dies another
is selected to take his place. the peo-
pie have a loose tribal relation and are
practically ruled by their chiefs under
the Chilean government
Indian Farmers Are Successful
During my stay L have visited some
Of these Araucanian reservations The
land about is rolling, and that OF the
indians is comparatively free from
trees. It looks not unlike parts Of
Ohio and Indiana, and there is nothing
to indicate that it is on another con-
tinent, and more than a thousand miles
south of the equator.
The soil is a rich black loan, much
of which is now covered with wheat
ready for harvest. / am surprised at
the extent of the indian farms and the
crops. The farms are mostly worked
by the whites or half breeds, who are
hired by the indians for a share of the
crop. on one Araucanian farm L saw
white man blowing and upon another an
intelligent Chileno was threshlng
wheat, using an American thresher.
That indian farmer had about 200 acres
in wheat and his sons were harvesting
this with the aid of the white men.
They used Mccormick headers, pushed
along through the fields by oxen, yoked
to the machine by their horns. The
wagon, in which they went to the
thresher.
In this work white Chileno did the
driving. and the indians urged the
oxen onward with goads' tipped WIN
iron. The oxen were so cruelty treated
that the blood ran down their backs.
The white driver told me that he got
a percentage of the crop for his work.
object to Being Photographed.
On the edge of the wheat field were
a number of indian huts. Every
family had a half dozen dogs, which
rushed at me when I came near. At
the same time the women scolded and
the men scowled as took photographs
of the girls.
The Araucanian houses are seldom
are of boards and their ridge roofs OF
thatch There are no windows and the
light comes in through the rude door
at the front There are no yards or
gardens about the houses, and no con-
venienceS Of any description. The only
furniture is a bed Of poles, or two or
three beds in case the man has more
than one wife, which is by no means
uncommon. In one of the huts found
two fires going, and over each fire
was a wife who cooked for her own
brood of children.
The floor of the hut was Of Mother
Earth, and it was Uttered with farm
ing utensils and clothing, and saddles
and harness. From the rafters hung
ears of corn, stNngs Of onions and long
strirs of dried meat. The place looked
like a junk shop.
The sleeping ARRANGEMENTS OF TINS
home consisted of two closetlike rooms,
partitioned off from the body of the
hut by poles and skins. In each was
low platform covered with sheepsklns-
Each platform was the sleeping place
of one Of the wives and her share OF
the children.
Holes in Ground for Stoves.
was interested in the cooking. Their
fires were in holes in the ground inside
the huts, and the smoke was so thick
that it could be felt. 1t had blackened
the walls and roof, and when 1 took
hold of a rafter my hand was covered
with SCOT The cooking utensils were
Goals. Each pot had a stew, consisting
of mutton cut up in small pieces and
seasoned to taste. They were roasting
uotatoes and green corn in the ashes
and the smell was delicious.
A great deal of red pepper Is used,
and it is said that they have a way Of
killing a sheep and peppering and
sailing its lungs while it is dying.
They hang the sheep up by its four
legs and stuff the windpipe with this
salt and pepper. While the animal
gasps under the treatment, they cut the
iugular vein and a stream of blood is
turned into the wndpipe in such way
that it washes the salt and pepper into
the lungs. After the death of the sheep
its lungs are taken out and eaten raw,
having thus been seasoned to taste. At
all meals the men are served first The
women act as the walters. and eat what
1 is left.
| Indians Are Old at 40.
The Araucanians look much like the
North American indians. They are
| about the best type Of the Redmen OF
/ this continent, and their features are
! much stronger than those of the Ay-
-rnaras or Quichuas, who live high w
/ in the Andes. The younger men are
! straight and well formed. The girls
| are good looking, and when young they
| are plump. They age rapidly, however
] n hov nc q NV wi Il Inc