105 



syllablesj a measure that appears the most agree- 

 able to the human ear. They are blank, but 

 occasionally a rhyme is introduced, according to 

 the taste or caprice of the poet. '' 



The Araucanians ha^'e three kinds ^of phy- 

 sicians, the Ampives, the Vileiis, and the J\lachis. 

 The Ampives, aMoid equivalent to empirics, are 

 the best. They employ in their cures only sim- 

 ples, are skillful herbalists, and have some very 

 good ideas of the pulse and the other diagnostics. 

 The Vileus correspond to the methodists, or re- 

 gular physicians. Their principal theory is, 

 that all contagious disorders proceed from in- 

 sects, an opinion held by many physicians in 

 Europe. For this reason they generally give to 

 epidemics the name of cutampiru, that is to say, 

 vermiculous disorders, or diseases of worms. 



The jyiachis are a superstitious class, that are 

 to be met with among all the savage nations of 

 both continents. They maintain that all serious 

 disorders proceed from witchcraft, and prefehd 

 to cure them by supernatural means, for which 

 reason they are employed in desperate cases, 

 when the exertions of the Ampives or of the 

 Vileus are ineftectual. Their mode of cure is 

 denominated macliituii:, and consists in the fol- 

 lowing idle ceremonies, which are always per- 

 formed in the night : 



The room of the sick person is lighted with a 

 great number of torches, and in a corner of it. 



