El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-26

TTIT--TI my
, plantations and factories where they made
yerbe mate. the dried leaves Of which are
used FOR Paraguay tea In these establish
ments the indians we're largely employed
as Iaborers They were made to work on
the farms. but at the same time they were
educated and Christianized- The indians
rose and went TO bed at the stroke Of a
bell Their lands were divided into sec
tons. and a part was allotted to the sup
port Of their families Other sections be
longed 20 the church and one-haI OF eacn
week had 70 be devoted 70 work upon the
church lands They also worked in the
yerbe forests Everything was systematic
and the indians worked. played and slept
10 the beating OF the drum
Revolt Against the Jesuirs.
Then there came great outcry againct
the Jesuits and they were expelled The
people got their lands in severaity and be
gan TO hold them as they do now still the
Jesuits did great good. They gave the IN
dians a CONTEMPLATION They translated
the scriptures into the Guaraui and left
the indians written language which Is now
IN use here and throughout the country
The Guaranis OF early south America had
great chief The nation was made up
Of tribes and its people lived on the skirts
OF the forests or in little openings in the
hills. Their cnief food was maize beans
peanuts. maudloca and sweet potatoes They
had also honey wild fruits and monkeys 10
eat They caught fish with arrows or fish
hooks made OF wood. and they had granaries
in which they stored their corn The PEG
pie were then. as now. shorter than the
average whites They were a dark red color
Everywhere there were more women than
men The women married young. usually ~
the age OF L, and the men a little later.
As time went on and the marriage with
the whites continued the Guarani nation
the whites and that with some OF the cava-
uers Of Spain This is the character Of q
great part Of the Paraguay OF today. a popu-
lation noted for its politeness and courtesy
Chaoo Tribes stm Are Savage.
It Is different with many OF the tribes
Of the Chaco, the most OF whom are saw
age and OF a low civilization There seem
70 be many tribes and each has its own
independent existence and its own language.
Some are mere hunters and fishers. others
have cattle and others little farms OF corn
and mandioca and ether vegetables
Among the best known tribes are the
Lenguas. the Chumacocas and the TOBIAS
The Lenguas are a chocolate colored people.
who live In the northern part Of the Chaco.
and some OF whom are now and then TO be
seen in Asuncion- They are known by the
large wooden disks, which they wear IN
their ears. In the past they wore wooden
plugs in their lower lips but this custom
has now disappeared out in the forests
the men wear blankets only and the women
have skirts Of ceerskin- Nearly all paint
their faces and use glass beads and feath-
ers 70 decorate their heads and necks I am
told there are from ten TO twenty thousand
OF these Lenguas, divided into tribes each
OF which has its own hunting grounds.
The ordinary tribe or clan has seldom
more than 40 persons, and sometimes much
less The people have no permanent VII
lagos and they move about from place to
place 10 get water and food Some Of the
larger clans have sheep and goats. and some
have a few cattle and two or three horses
Their cattle business Is hunting ostriches.
deer and small game They also fish in
the swamps- Some have gardens, in which
they grow sweet potatoes and pumpkins
Believe in Witch Craft
The Lenguas believe in wctihcraft and
they have their witch doctors They live in
constant dread OF devils and are afraid 10
90 abroad at night in the swamps because
they say the sUamps are the homes OF the
devils They are much afraid OF the witch
doctors, who as they believe. can send
cats. rats or snakes inside ones body They
believe nj dreams They think that the
spirit leaves the body during a dream and
wanders away, and that at this time any
other wandering soul may enter in and Z
take possession In this case the mans own
soul cannot get back. II they have a
dream OF being killed BY a certain man.
they think they are justified in killing
that man In return u is said that they bury
people alive from a religious motive and that b
they practice lufautfcide-
one Of the advancing tribes Of the Chaco
Is the Toba- These people live in the /
southern part OF the country Some OF /
them have been driven out BY the white ]
settlers, and not few are beginning 70 /
hire themselves 10 the sugar planters and !
the timber proprietors They work during i
the cane cutting season. receiving wages I
OF about dollar a DAP After the harvest ]
ing season they 90 back 70 their hunting Q
and fishing. They are good hunters and 3
trappers and can take anything from an o
antbear 10 an alligator. They are si1ilful
snake hunters and have certain herbs which
they chew TO cure themselves when bitten
by poisonous snakes.
They are great gamblers and viii gamble i
on anything from the bark OF tree 70 ]
the bark Of a dog Very few OF them i
speak Spanish and they are fond OF their \
own language These indians wear anklets \
OF horse hair. which they strap around 1
their legs 50 that the hair stands out like I
the bristIes upon the back OF a wild hog
Have Different Theory Of the Creation.
One OF the most interesting OF the Para
guayan tribes IS the AIbayan- This was
strong at the time the Spaniards came. The 7
nation had its own traditions and its own I
faith one tenct OF Its belief was that God \
created the Mbayas to prey upon other na-
lions and that IL was its duty 70 fight and
conquer all others
According TO the Mbayan theory OF the
creation. God did not start the world with
one man and one woman He created a
great population all at once and divided
the lands up among them He then mar
-ied. and from his offspring came the
Albayas- They were his chosen people. but
all the land had alreary been given away