59 



land marks of this metal are employed in these 

 female ornaments, since they are worn even by 

 the poorest class. 



I have already given some account of the 

 dwellings of the ancient Chilians ; the Arauca- 

 niansj tenacious, as arc all nations not corrupted 

 by luxury, of the customs of their country, hay 

 made no change in their mode of building. 

 But, as they are almost all poljgamists, the si'zo 

 of their houses is proportioned to the number of 

 women they carkmaintain. The interior of these 

 houses is very simple, the luxury of convenience, 

 splendour, and shov^, is altogether unknown in 

 them, and necessity alone is consulted in the se- 

 lection of their furniture. 



They never form towns, but live in scattered 

 villages or hamlets, on the banks of rivers, or id 

 plains that are easily irrigated. Their local at- 

 tachments are strong, each family preferring to 

 live upon the land inherited from its ancestors, 

 which they cultivate sufficiently for their sub- 

 sistence. The genius of this haughty people, 

 in which the savage still predominates, will not 

 permit them to live in walled cities, which thef 

 consider as a mark of servitude. 



