WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 365 



lagoon in the River Negro," said another old man, "I went there one 

 time with others, when I was young, and we brought home sackfuls 

 on horseback. Sacks were of hide then. That was long before there 

 were any trucks in this area." 



In the early days grease was used less frequently than it is today. 

 Any animal fat may be used, but horse grease is a favorite. 



Eggs of chicken and waterfowl were eaten raw or cooked. If raw, 

 they were either sucked through an opening at one end of the shell 

 or the shell was completely emptied into the mouth at one time. Today, 

 chicken eggs are eaten raw, scrambled, fried in grease, or cooked in 

 an empty rhea eggshell — as many as a dozen chicken eggs can be 

 cooked in such a shell. 



Rhea eggs were, and are today, scrambled in their shells and then 

 cooked in them. One end of the shell is peeled off, the yolk and white 

 stirred into a mixture with a stick, and salt added to one's taste. The 

 shell is then set close to the edge of the fire, and either the contents 

 stirred with a little sick at intervals or the shell repeatedly turned to 

 insure thorough cooking. "A well-cooked rhea egg is delicious, but 

 it takes a long time to cook one," said an old woman. "When our men 

 return from sheep shearing — they are now shearing them on the 

 estancias — they will bring with them some rhea eggs." She then told 

 the following: "People look for rhea nests today in fenced-in areas 

 on estancias ; it is not difficult to find a nest, but it is difficult to get the 

 eggs. There may be as many as 30 eggs in a nest. A nest is about so 

 big [2^ feet in diameter] . Let us say a man is riding around on horse- 

 back looking for a nest. If he is not alert, he may come upon one 

 before he knows it. Now, let us say the rhea is off the nest feeding — 

 you know it is the male that hatches the eggs ; but the female is always 

 close by. The rhea sees the man on horseback come close to his nest. 

 He will become so angry that he will run at full speed against the 

 man's horse, either throwing the horse down or frightening it into a 

 dangerous runaway. Should it happen that the male bird be on the 

 nest when the rider gets near it, he will kick the eggs in all directions 

 to break them. The male rhea has a bad temper. The only time a 

 person can pick up an egg is when he is on foot and only while the 

 male is a little distance away finding feed for himself." She added 

 that in every nest there is a small unfertilized egg which was laid last. 

 As soon as the eggs are hatched the female takes over. She picks 

 open the unfertilized egg, which by now has rotted, and lets it ooze. 

 Flies soon come to feed on it, and they form the first food of the 

 young rhea. 



Wild grains used as food in the early days were quinoa and wild 



