70 



One of the first measures of the national 

 council, after having decided upon war, is to 

 dispatch certain messengers or expresses, called 

 guerqueniS:, to the confederate trifees, and even to 

 those Indians who live among the Spaniards, to 

 inform the first of the steps that have been taken, 

 and to request the Others to make a ccwnmon 

 cause with their countrymen. The credentials 

 of these envoys are some small arrows tied to- 

 gether with a red string, the symbol of blood. 

 But if hostilities are actually commenced, the 

 finger of a slain enemy is joined to the arrows. 

 This embassy, called pulcliitum, to run the arrow, 

 is performed with such secrecy and expedition in 

 the Spanish settlements, that the messengers are 

 rarely discovered. 



The Toqui directs what number of soldiers 

 are to be furnished by each Uthalmapu ; the 

 Tetrarchs in their turn regulate the contingencies 

 of the Apo-Ulmenes, and these last apportion 

 them among their respective Ulmenes. Every 

 Araucanian is born a soldier. All are ready to 

 proffer their services for war, so that there is no 

 difficulty in raising an army, which usually con- 

 sists of five or six thousand men, besides the 

 corps de reserve, which are kept in readiness for 

 particular occasions, or to replace those killed 

 in battle. 



The commander in chief appoints his Vice 

 Toqui, or lieutenant-general, and the other offi- 



