SACRED TREE 71 



brown withered grass, and low scattered bushes, armed with 

 thorns. 



Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a 

 famous tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Wal- 

 leechu. It is situated on a high part of the plain, and hence 

 is a landmark visible at a great distance. As soon as a tribe 

 of Indians come in sight of it, they offer their adorations by 

 loud shouts. The tree itself is low, much branched, and thorny: 

 just above the root it has a diameter of about three feet. It 

 stands b\- itself without any neighbour, and was indeed the first 

 tree we saw ; afterwards we met with a few others of the same 

 kind, but they were far from common. Being winter the tree 

 had no leaves, but in their place numberless threads, by 

 which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces 

 of cloth, etc., had been suspended. Poor Indians, not having 

 anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and 

 fasten it to the tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour 

 spirits and mate into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke 

 upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to 

 Walleechu. To complete the scene, the tree was surrounded 

 by the bleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered 

 as sacrifices. All Indians of every age and sex make their 

 offerings ; they then think that their horses will not tire, and 

 that they themselves shall be prosperous. The Gaucho who 

 told me this, said that in the time of peace he had witnessed 

 this scene, and that he and others used to wait till the Indians 

 had passed by, for the sake of stealing from Walleechu the 

 offerings. 



The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as 

 the god itself ; but it seems far more probable that they regard 

 it as the altar. The onl}- cause which I can imagine for this 

 choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage. The 

 Sierra de la Ventana is visible at an immense distance ; and a 

 Gaucho told me that he was once riding with an Indian a few 

 miles to the north of the Rio Colorado, when the Indian com- 

 menced making the same loud noise, which is usual at the first 

 sight of the distant tree ; putting his hand to his head, and 

 then pointing in the direction of the Sierra. Upon being 

 asked the reason of this, the Indian said in broken Spanish, 

 *' First see the Sierra." 



