WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 189 



close together ! He knows he is taking a chance of f alHng between 

 the fences and getting caught." 



It is one of the chores of boys and girls of school age to fetch the 

 family's sheep late in the afternoon and put them into the enclosure, 

 and then in the morning to lead them to pasture before leaving home 

 for school. 



Children own animals, often from birth. Offspring of such animals 

 also belong to the child. The following table gives samples of answers 

 written by Alepue children to the question, "What animals do you 

 own?" 



Table 5. — Child ownership of domestic animals 



Age and sex 



of child Animals owned (child's statement) 



15-year-old girl One hen and her three chicks ; one turkey hen and her 



eight little poults. 



14-year-old boy One horse called Remolino, one old ewe, two rams. 



14-year-old boy One horse called Curan, one young milch cow, one old 



ewe and her little ram lamb. 



14-year-old girl Three hens, four cows, one little calf. 



14-year-old girl One cat, two kittens, one dog. "I call the dog Panduro." 



12-year-old boy One sheep, one boar, one hen, one goose. 



12-year-old girl One old cow with a little unborn calf, two young milch 



cows, one calf, one mare and her colt, two chickens 



and three chicks. 



12-year-old boy Only a dog; "I call him Olmirante." 



1 1 -year-old boy One ewe, one hen, and an old ox called Sambo. 



5-year-old boy Two turkey hens, ten turkey poults, one young ox, one 



dog and one ewe. 

 5-year-old girl A cow, a calf, two hens. 



When the 5-year-old girl handed in her paper she commented with 

 disappointment, "My sister wrote this because I cannot write those 

 words. But she would not write down that the two hens each had 

 chicks." Her little friend Hstening in said, "I had a chicken, too ; but 

 the fox came and ate it." 



HUNTING, TRAPPING, FISHING, COLLECTING SEAFOODS 



Hunting and trapping, according to Cooper's sources (1946, pp. 

 702-703), played a minor role in Araucanian economy in the past, and 

 are practically never engaged in today. In the early days, Cooper 

 reports, the principal large animals hunted for food were the guanaco, 

 the huemel or guemal, and the pudu. Birds taken were the tinamou, 

 the bandurria, parrots, doves, wild ducks, geese, and swans. The 



