322 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 33 



but who was like a human, had extraordinary powers. He hved south 

 of here, and persons often went to confer with him regarding sickness. 

 He was talked to from a distance, and answered from there in a 

 strong voice, always. I remember one instance well. The cacique was 

 Chokeri. Either his wife or his sister — I have forgotten which — be- 

 came very ill. No one knew the cause. So Chokeri sent a messenger to 

 Olul to ascertain the cause. Olul answered that the woman had poison 

 in her blood ; they should take her saddle, cut it open, and there find 

 the cause. They did this, and out jumped a big toad. And that was 

 the witchcraft that caused the sickness. They took the toad, threw it 

 into the fire, and roasted it to death. This done, the woman got well. 

 Olul no longer lives. Whoever finds his bones can restore his own 

 health by means of them. I should like very much to find a piece of 

 one, now that I have suffered from a cold for seven weeks ; I might 

 get relief." 



A 69-year-old woman complained that a jealous man, a neighbor 

 who had powers of witchcraft, had inflicted sickness upon her and 

 her 25-year-old daughter. They were considered rich, whereas the 

 man had only a few possessions. A black vulture had hopped around 

 their yard recently, one they had not seen before. It occurred to them 

 that harm was being done to them. "We were filled with fear," she 

 said. "That night, while we were in bed, there was much loud knock- 

 ing in all corners of our house. The next day both my daughter and 

 I were sick. We knew then that the black vulture had been sent to 

 make us sick. We were sick for days. One day while we were feeling 

 very sick, we heard the tramping of many, many horses. It sounded 

 as though horses were going into the shack in which we had stored 

 winter feed for our animals. We went out to see. We could neither 

 see nor hear the horses. We knew that old man, our neighbor, had 

 caused many to die in our area, among them my husband, and we 

 thought we were doomed to die, also. No one in all this area knows 

 what antidote to give for the sickness he inflicts." 



Mental ill health was exceedingly rare. Non-Araucanians who had 

 lived in close association with Araucanians for several generations 

 knew of only one case of a functional type. Another, a woman who 

 had thyroid surgery in very recent years, was said to have sat for 

 hours drawing Araucanian weaving designs in sand while speaking 

 continuously in Araucanian (non-Araucanians in close association 

 with her for years did not know she spoke Araucanian) . When mental 

 ill health did occur, it was believed witches had inflicted it. An 80- 

 year-old woman told of a machi whom everyone feared. "I knew him. 

 One day, when I was already a young woman, he took some apples 



