THE TEHUELCHE INDIANS. 263 



As already remarked, in cases where both parents were of pure Tehuelche 

 stock, I do not remember to have seen more than three children in any 

 one family, while one or two were much more generally the number, and 

 frequently there were families with no children. On the other hand, in 

 those families where a Tehuelche woman w^as married to a husband of 

 Spanish, French or Portuguese descent, such unions were ordinarily pro- 

 ductive of offspring, there being frequently six or seven children to the 

 family. 



Firearms are quite unknown among the southern Tehuelches. They 

 rely entirely upon their skill with the bolas, aided by their horses and 

 dogs, for the capture of the guanaco and rhea, from which they derive not 

 only their chief sustenance, but also the skins employed in the construc- 

 tion of their clothing, bedding, and tents or toldos. Formerly they used 

 the bow and arrow, but with the introduction of the horse, at the advent 

 of the Spaniard, the bolas entirely supplanted the bow and arrow, and at 

 present the latter weapon is no longer seen among them. 



The changes wrought upon the Tehuelches by the advent of the horse 

 is a subject well worthy of the attention of the anthropologist. To this 

 professional capacity I lay no claim, but I wish to mention some observa- 

 tions made by myself bearing directly upon this subject. Not only was 

 the advent of the horse the determining factor in supplanting the bow and 

 arrow by the bolas among these Indians, but the introduction of that use- 

 ful animal produced other most decided changes in the life and habits of 

 the Tehuelches. Prior to the introduction of the horse they were depen- 

 dent upon the bow and arrow, not only for securing their food and cloth- 

 ing, but also for protecting themselves from the more numerous and war- 

 like Indians, who inhabited the country to the north and with whom they 

 were constantly at war. Greatly outnumbered by a deadly enemy and de- 

 prived of any rapid means of escape, if attacked by a superior force, their 

 favorite camping places were then chosen with reference to concealment 

 and defense, quite as much as, or even more than, for their convenience 

 to natural food supplies. In those preequine days, if I may use the term, 

 the Tehuelche was wont to select for his encampment a secluded place in 

 the bottom of some deep basalt canon, adjacent to a stream or small 

 spring, or if living on one of the larger rivers, the encampment would be 

 situated not in a conspicuous place in the bottom of the valley, conven- 

 ient to an abundance of grass and water, as at present, but would be 



