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CHAPTER 111. 



State of Chili before the arrival of the Spaniards. 

 Its agriculture and aliment. 



MAN, in his progress to the perfection of civil 

 life, passes in succession tliroiigh four important 

 states or periods. From a hunter he becomes a 

 shepherd, next a husbandman, and at length a mer- 

 chant, the period which forms the highest degree 

 of social civilization. The Chilians, when they 

 were first known to the Spaniards, had attained the 

 third state ; they were no longer hunters but agri- 

 culturists. Reasoning from general principles, Dr. 

 Robertson has therefore been led into an error in 

 placing them in the class of hunters, an occupation 

 which they probably never pursued, except on their 

 first establishment. Becoming soon weary of the 

 fatigueing exercise of the chace, in a country where 

 game is not very abundant, and having but few do- 

 mestic animals, they began at an early period to 

 attend to the cultivation of such nutritious plants, 

 ns necessity or accident had made known to them. 

 Thus were they induced from the circumstances of 

 their situation, and not from choice, to pass rapidly 

 to tlie third period of social life. 



These plants, which have been described in the 

 first part of this work, were the 7naize^ the magu^ 

 tlic guegeUy the tuca, the (juinoa, pulse of various 



