BOOKS.

SMITE'S ARAUCANIA NS..

THESE " Notes of a Tour among the Southern Tribes of Chili" have a closer resemblance to genuine travels than most books that have lately appeared. The country itself has been but little traversed; the Chilenos or Spanish Creoles are primitive and pleasing in their manners ; the Indians, among whom our author wandered, singular in their customs, institutions, and modes of life. A good deal of the interest of the book, however, -must be as- cribed to the writer, who was attached to the American Astrono- mical Expedition to Chili. He has none of the rhodomontade or rhetoric which generally distinguishes his travelling countrymen. Experience and travel have taught him toleration for the ideas and customs of other people. His own style is equable, easy, and not wanting in a spice of pleasantry. What is more than all,, he is a good observer. Wherever he comes he opens his eyes to the real ; and in the reality of the narrative, combined with the novelty of the subjects, the attraction of the volume consists.

On the recall of the expedition after three years' labour, Mr. Smith tendered his resignation, in order to make a tour through Chili. Part of his journey was over ground frequently described by others, and he gives no account of it. His narrative begins at Concepcion; whence he travelled in a South-easterly direction to the Southern frontier of the State. Thence he was enabled, by letters from authority, to make his way among the Araucanians, or rather, as those Indians are independent and might be troublesome to ob- tain the assistance of a man in the employ of Government, who was well acquainted with them and their habits. Mr. Smith was for avowing a liberal curiosity as the motive of his travels. Sao chez at once objected to this as very fine, no doubt, but feratiree the comprehension of the Indians, and sure to Used- to the travel- ling party's being very quickly tumid -out of the country. Sun- chez's plan was a trading expedition, in which he was to be pa- tron and our traveller a pilgrim of friendship. "During the war of the Chilian Independence, among other Royalists who sought protection in the midst of the Indians, and with them fought against the Republicans, was a subordinate named Vega. While thus engaged, he had lived in the family of Marlin, who is now the most influential of the Aran. eanian chiefs; - but the war coming to an end, he returned to Concepcion, where he married and settled down.

"More than thirty years had elapsed since then; but the mind of the In- dian still reverted with pleasure to his friendship with the Spaniard, and he frequently questioned Sanchez about Vega, expressing a. great desire to see him or some of his children.

"The old chief's wishes were at last to be gratified ; for Sanchez had de- termined to present me as one of the sons, under the sounding title of Don Eduardo de is Vega ; assuring him that I had come expressly to make him a visit in my father's name."

The Araucanians are celebrated in American history for the ob- stinate if not heroic resistance they offered to the Spaniards: they are perhaps more remarkable as being the only instance we can call to mind of savage tribes successfully retaining their independ- ence for ages against a neighbouring, superior, and civilized people, who made great efforts for their subjugation. Minium the companion of Pizarro failed disastrously in his attempt upon the Araucanian, Indians. Greater ability for organization than that adventurer possessed, backed by better preparation, have-oc- casionally succeeded in cowing the Indians for a time, and found. ing towns within their territories ; but with-no final success. The garrison and citizens possessed nothing more than the ground they occupied. When the ability which had temporarily suc- ceeded was withdrawn or became negligent, the towns were sur- prised, the inhabitants slaughtered or carried off into slavery ; and not the least impressive scenes in the country are the ruins of Spanish settlements, traceable only by the foundations and lines of street among the growth of the surrounding forest. Courage and physical vigour, with a power of combining for a common object, rare among savages, were the primary means by which the Arau- canian independence was maintained. Suspicion, or rather fore- thought, had something to do with it. They expelled the priests with the citizens and soldiers after successful war, and they refuse to permit the establishment of missions even now. For the mission would be followed by houses, and houses by a fort and garrison; as they themselves traoed the process to a solitary priest on the frontiers.

"A league further on, we came to another brook called Malven, near

which live a number of scattered Christianos' Chilenos). Here, also there resided at the time an aged Dominican friar, who for several years had been attempting to convert the Indians. Though much reverenced, as priests always are, for his sacred character, and respected as a benefactor,— for- by some knowledge of medicine he had made himself extremely useful,— he probably could not boast a single convert, and was even regarded with suspicion.

"in vain he had endeavoured to gain permission for the introduction of a mission and the establishment of a convent of his brethren. The answer he received from the Indians was characteristic, and proved that former expe- rience had not been entirely forgotten. Father,' they said, whenever you wish to come among us, you shall be weleometo food and shelter: but if your brothers come they will need land upon which to build a house; they must eat, and we shall be obliged to give them cattle ; they will then need more land for their cattle; other Christians will come to live with your brethren ; they too will need houses, cattle, and lands ; thus you will, be- come rich, and we shall become poor, and be driven out.'"

The resisting power of the Araucanians, however, must be taken with some qualification. Their territory has evidently been cur- tailed on the North, and on the West, that is the sea-shore. Their form of government, or rather their constitution, may be • The Arancaniane; or Notes of a Tour among the Indian Tribes of Southern Chili. By Edmund Reuel Smith, of the U.S.N. Astronomical Expedition in ChM Publistied by Low and Co. London; and Harper, New York.

described as a federation of clans. Each tribe has its own chief; from these chiefs one is selected as head of a district. The district or county chiefs are milled Toquis, and they form a council presided over by a Grand Toqui, who may be said to represent the King of a limited monarchy. In common cases he would appear to act of his own accord. In cases of emergency, he summons a national assembly, [possibly of chieftains,] where a jollification follows de- bate, and the legislators get very drunk. In war the Council of Peace is superseded by a council of war, whose president is really a dictator, except over life. To this vigorous institution, with the promptness and unity of action it tends to produce, the independ- ence of the people must mainly be ascribed. How much of Mr. Smith's exposition is theoretical, how much ía actually praotised—how much he derived from observation or living information, how much from Molina and other writers, who may have thrown some of their own imagination into their ac- counts—we do not know. If the description is to be implicitly received, the constitution is one of the most remarkable that the world has seen. It is probable that contact with Spanish civiliza- tion, whether warlike or commercial, has not improved the "noble savage" of Araucania he seems to have somewhat degenerated from his ancestors, who defeated the conquerors of Peru. At all events, the present Toquis and their Grand Toqui are rude and primitive enough. Chieftainship appears to be essential to mem- bership of the county or general council; wealth is not regarded. "The right man in the right place" would seem to be the motto of the Araucanians. Any chief, and even a Grand Toqui, may be poor ; which was the ease with Don Edurirdo's friend Marlin. As the Araucanians have not advanced to the civilization of taxes, their chiefs enforce a voluntary assessment similar to that of the begging friars in Popish countries. This is the appearance and family practice of the head of the state.

"We found Mailin-Hueno pretty much as we had left him the day before., except that he had laid aside his shirt, and wore instead an old tattered uni- form coat of antiquated pattern, profusely embroidered with gold, and bear. big on the button the Spanish arms; a relic of the times when, under the auspices of the Crown, he waged war against the Republic. It boasted a stiff standing collar, and was made to button to the throat ; but he wore it hang- ing open and loose for comfort, or for the display of his tawny breast and

paunch, the were without covering. "Most of women were absent, probably on begging expeditions - for we saw one of them returning, her horse loaded down with corn, potatoes, and a little of everything else. As before mentioned, the chiefs levy no di- rect tribute ; but when poor and with large families, they frequently go the rounds of their subjects, complaining of bad crops, hard times, &c.; and con- tributions, though not compulsory, are seldom refused to such powerful beg- LanlThey also have a fashion of sending off the different members of the se family on visits to friends; thus quartering them on people who are glad in the end to send them home with some present, in preference to enjoying their company."

Polygamy is the custom of the country, and a man's greatness is measured by the number of his wives. The Araucanians are not a refined but they are a very punctilious people ; and each wife has a separate fire, when the ladies are not so numerous as to render such separation of hearths impossible. Though women are not immured, nor any concealment as to the number of ladies is attempted, it is not etiquette to inquire after the number of a man's wives : the mode is "How many fires do you burn l'" As with many other peoples, it is a custom of the Arancanians to carry off the bride by force, mostly with some understanding j occasionally the abduction may be real, but puoynsent is invariably made. This custom seems intended as a delicate tribute to female modesty, and it prevails among peoples with some touch of chivalry ; the lower savages simply sell. The Araucanians seem to have no religion, but they are very super- stitious. Disease is attributed to a malignant presence, which it is the business of the medicine-man to drive out. This he always does ; but if the patient dies it is charged upon destiny, or the art- ful magic of some enemy. Who this enemy may be, it is the function of the medicine-man to discoverS, and a fruitful means of gratifying vengeance is opened to him. In both these practices the Araucanians resemble other tribes, mostly more barbarous than themselves. Their religious notions and their ideas of a future Arita are dim and indistinct. They place their Hades somewhere in. the West ; a dream of almost all peoples which may perhaps ha- accounted for by the fact, that population and civilization proceeding from the East, and that region being known by obaer- 'ration or tradition, heaven was placed in the direction of the un- known, and receded as population advanced. To the Greeks the Islands of the Blessed were fixed at last in the mid Atlantic ; the Araucanians have theirs in the Pacific. The following passages exhibit some of their notions in reference to death and, a future state.

"Not far from Sanches's house we saw an Indian burial-place; but we did not visit it ; for the Mapuches, unlike the North American tribes, avoid the resting-places of their dead, always passing them in silence, and with averted faces, and dislike to see strangers, especially Whites, approach them. As there were many Indians scattered about in the neighbourhood, we did not wish to excite their suspicions.' "There were said to be many buried here; but no monuments or other in- dications of graves were to be seen, except in one instance over the resting- Place of a celebrated chief named Cari-Coyam (The Green Oak). At both the head and the foot of this grave was an upright forked stick, supporting a transverse pole, over which was hung the skin of the chieftain's favourite horse, while a long bamboo lance, planted in the ground, with a little white Pennant fluttering in the wind, denoted the rank of the deceased. "The steel head of the lance, we noticed, had been replaced by a nicely whittled wooden barb quite as useful, no doubt, as any other in the spirit- land. On the same principle, though the ordinary arms and horse-trappings are buried with the dead, in case of articles of value, such as silver spurs, bits, and head-stalls, wooden proxies are substituted. He would probably get even a wooden horse to ride, were it not for the predilection for horse-flail

of his bereaved relatives, who, though they kill the horse, always eat the flesh, and allow the spirit to content himself with the skin and soul.

"It is' however, only on the demise of important chiefs, or men of wealth, that the friends are treated to a feast, for the ghosts of the commoner sort are not supposed to ride ; on ordinary occasions, therefore, the funeral rites are few and simple.

"The corpse is exposed on an open bier for several days, during which time the friends and neighbours assemble to condole with the bereaved family. It is then borne to the grave by the principal relatives, preceded by a com- pany of young men, who ride forward at full speed, as though to prepare the way for the deceased. In the rear follow the women wailing, rending the air with their cries, and making every demonstration of the profoundest grief, while another walks behind the procession scattering ashes along the way, to prevent the departed from returning to his former abode. "The body is placed in the grave in a sitting posture, with the face turned toward the West, the direction of the spirit-land. The saddle and arms of the dead are placed by his Bide; some provisions are added for the journey, together with a few beads, or a small sum of money, necessary to pay the Mapuche Charon. The friends then wish the deceased a pleasant voyage, bid him good-by, cover up the grave, and retire.

"In the case of a woman the ceremonies are the same, with the exception that instead of a saddle and arms, a distal; or some culinary utensils, are placed in the grave. "It has been asserted, that when a distinguished chief dies, one of his wives is killed and interred with him ; but Sanchez assured me that no such custom exists, though possibly some few eases of the kind may have hap- pened.

"The Indians cannot tell the exact whereabouts of their Styx, though they generally suppose it is the ocean. Nor can they give the location of their Elysium, which they call Alhue-Mapu ' (The Land of Spirits). How can we tell,' they say, when we have never been there ?' Much less do they know of the occupations of the soul after death. In fact, it is a sub- ject about which they seldom bother their brains; for though they have some ill-defined notions that there is another life after this—a change of place, per- haps, rather than of state—when questioned, they seldom fail to answer, 'Chum pechy nai ? ' (Who knows ?) with the same air of perfect blankness which accompanies the Chileno's 'Quien Babe!' "I could not learn that they believe in any reward or punishment after death for the actions of this world ; though they attribute much of the good or evil fortune of life to the pleasure or wrath of the Great Spirit. Some few there are that have a confused notion of heaven and of hell, but such ideas have undoubtedly been acquired by occasional intercourse with Christian missionaries."

The following remarks on trees and climate relate to a subject which, though often mentioned incidentally, has not been so sys- tematically studied as it deserves. It is possible that by skilfully availing himself of vegetation, man has a greater power over soil and climate than might priori be supposed. Harsh climates might be modified by draining and defensive woods, and rain gra- dually drawn down upon parched districts where trees could once be induced to grow.

"We came upon a beautiful undulating plain, covered with luxuriant grass, and scattered with large oaks, at such short intervals that, as we rode along, we were one-half of the time in the shade. These oaks were noble wide-spreading trees, and gave to the whole country, unencumbered by brush or undergrowth the appearance of a well-tended English park ; but an occa- sional huge trunk, charred by fire and ready to fall, or already prostrate, told the melancholy tale that these sylvan monarchs are passing away. "The custom of annually, burning the grass—which is practised here as by the North American Indiana—is rapidly destroying the forests of South- ern Chili ; gradually giving to the plain the same appearance that it wears farther to the North; and though it has been denied by those whose opin- ions are entitled to great weight, I could not escape the conviction forced upon my mind, that the plains of central Chili were probably once covered with groves which have disappeared in the same manner—leaving the fields deprived of protection, parched and desolate, causing the rivers to dry up, and the springs to sink back into the earth. "In such a climate, it has been urged, for want of rain and moisture in the atmosphere, trees could never have extensively prevailed; but the effect has perhaps been mistaken for the cause, and this very scarcity of rain may be owing in great measure te the destruction of woods which once existed. The influence upon climate of the clearing of extensive tracts is well under- stood in the United States ; and, what is more to the point, the opinion pre- vails among many of the most intelligent people of Santiago, that rains are becoming perceptibly of greater frequency in that region as the neighbouring plains are brought more and more under cultivation."