ss 



terrible earthquakes, and is probably very difi'ercnt 

 from that of Noah. Whenever a violent eartlKjiiakc 

 occurs, these people fiy for safety to those mountains 

 which they fancy to be of a similar appearance, and 

 which of course, as they suppose, must possess the 

 same property of floating on the water, assigning as a 

 reason, that they are fearful after an earthquake that 

 the sea will again return and deluge the world. On 

 these occasions, each one takes a good supply of 

 provisions, and wooden plates to protect their heads 

 from being scorched, provided the T/iegthrg, when 

 raised by the waters, should be elevated to the sun. 

 Whenever they are told, that plates made of earth 

 would be much more suitable for this purpose than 

 those of wood, which are liable to be burned, their 

 usual reply is, that their ancestors did so before 

 them. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Division of Time ; Astronomical Ideas ; Mea- 

 sures, 



TIME is divided by the Araucanians, as with us, 

 into years, seasons, months, days and hours, but in 

 a very different method. Their year is solar, and 

 begins on the 22d of December, or immediately 

 after the southern solstice. For this reason they 



