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prisoners who have either been exchanged or 

 ransomed after the war. The sacrifice above- 

 mentionedj called pridoncon, or the dance of the 

 dead, is performed in the following manner : 



The officers, surrounded bj the soldiers^ form 

 a circle, in the centre of which, in the midst of 

 four poniards, representing the four Uthalmapus, 

 is placed the official axe of the Toqui. The 

 unfortunate prisoner, as a mark of ignominy, is 

 then led in upon a horse deprived of his ears and 

 tail, and placed near the axe, with his face turned 

 towards his country. They afterwards give him 

 a handful of small sticks and a sharp stake, with 

 which they oblige him to dig a hole in the 

 ground, in which they order him to cast the 

 sticks one by one, repeating the names of the 

 principal warriors of his country, while at the 

 same time the surrounding soldiers load these 

 abhorred names with the bitterest execrations. 

 He is then ordered to cover th^ hole, as if to 

 bury therein the reputation and valouf of their 

 enemies whom he has named. After this cere- 

 mony, the Toqui, or one of his bravest com- 

 panions, to whom he rciinquishes the honour of 

 the execution, dashes out the brains of the pri- 

 soner with a club. The heart is immediately 

 taken out by two attendants and presented palpi* 

 tating to the general, who sucks a little of the 

 blood, and passes it to his officers, who. repeat 

 in succession the same ceremony ; in the mean- 



