El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-24

old q small hole Is made in her lower hp
with a hard pointed stick, and a plug
Is nut in 10 keep the hole OPEN From
time to time the plug used Is larger
and larger until at last It Is often as
bic around as a lumber, the lip finally
becoming a mere ring OF skin around
tbe wood The Botocudos also use ear
plugs. and these are sometimes OF the
size of a napkin ring or larger. There
are many of these plugs among the eX-
bibits of the National museum. Some
that I measured are disks of a light
wood three inches in diameter. There
are almost as big around as a pint TIN
cup.
The third and fourth Families to
which the Brazilian indians belong are
the Caribs and the Arawaks me
Caribs inhabited the islands Of the
Caribbean sea. They are supposed 70
have originated in the plains OF GoNsl1
and Natto Crosse and from there 70
have travelled nOrthward. The Ara
walks were originally. most numerous
along the lower Amazon, but they
We're also spread over central braIlI-
The Caribs were ferocious and war
like. They were cannibals and Column
bus described them as such me
color Of the Caribs is that OF copper,
but it varies in the different trlbes-
They have long. black hair and Tea
lures somewhat like the Chinese. Inc
people pull out all the hair on their
bodies except that on the head In
some cases this is so even 10 the eye
brows.
The Arawaks were physically un-
equal TO the Caribs, but they were
more civilized, weaving cloth of Vari-
Gus kinds and workinS In stone and
gold. Their tribes were scattered
throughout Brazil and they reached
TO the Caribbean and most OF the West
Indies islands. Their chief descend
ants OF TODAY are found in the Guianas.
although some OF the tribes here come
from them.
Many Relics of BrsziIians.
During my visit TO the museum I
have seen relics of most Of the Bra
lillian tribes and models typical Of the
most famous OF them They have
plaster figures here Of the BOtocudos
with the blocks OF wood in their lips
and also the civilized Tacunas. who
make most beautiful hammOcks Of
grass cloth embroidered with feathers.
The Tacunas live along the Amazon
and they use poisoned arrows as
means of defense.
The museum has r-any blOwpipes,
such as are used TO shoot these arrows.
The pipes are about an ich In diameter
and from 10 to u feet in length. They
are made of hard wood. which in split
and then followed out After that the
parts are glued tOgs-ner and wrapped
with rattan so that they are perfectly
alright The arrows are about foot
long and as thick as a darning needle.
They are as sharp as a needle on the
blunt end Of the arrow is a wrapping
OF cotton so made that il fits into a
hole in the blOwpipe- I am told that
the indians can blow these arrows to
a distance of 50 feet or more The
poison is put on the point and some
times it covers the Upper part Of the
arrow. 1t is deadly
Use Poisoned Arrows.
Many Of the indian tribes use these
arrows not only for fighting. but for
the killing Of birds and other game.
They have one kind OF poison which
causes almost instant death If il gets
into the blOOd- II attacks the nerves
of motion and produces a paralysis Of
n breathing organs At the same time
IL has no bad effect upon the use Of
the flesh of the animal as food The
BOtocudos have very fine arrows which
they carry in quivers- a single CULVER
will hold a dozen arrows, each Of the
size Of knitting needle The indians
use spears Of bamboo tipped with heads
of bone or stone and for hand 10 hand
fights they have clubs Of wood. In the
ends of the clubs they put the teeth Of
animals. The spears are some times
tipped with teeth dipped in poison.
Head Hunters of TnpajOs-
Another indian tribe Of which the
museum has many relics IS the Nun
durucu. found on the Amazon and its
tributaries. There are large tribes of
them along the river Tapajos- These
indians are much like our Igorrotes of
the Philippines or the head hunters
Of Formosa.
They capture and cure the heads
Of their enemies There are a number
Of specimens of cured heads in the
museums One such head is shaved
except az the crown, the space over
each ear being decorated with bright
feathers The head has not been re-
duced in size. as is common among
some of the indians Of Peru. Its fea-
lures have been perfectly preserved.
the eyes having been filled with rubber
Of gum and pieces Of white bone in
serted therein to represent the whites
The mouth is closed with black gum or
rubber
SaVaEes Dying Out Rapidly.
The director Of the museum tells me
that these savages are fast dying out
and that many Of the tribes now in ex-
istence are becoming civilized During