BOTOCUDO INDIANS AITACKING A JAGUAU. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE WILD INDIANS OF TROPICAL AMERICA 



The wild Forest Tribes — Their Physical Conformation and Moral Characteristics 

 — Their Powers of Endurance not inferior to those of other Eaces — Their stoical 

 indifference — Their Means of Subsistence — Fishing — Hunting — The Wourali 

 Poison — Ornaments — Painting — Tattooing — Religion — The Moon, a Land of 

 Abundance — The Botuto — The Piaches — The Savage Hordes of Brazil and 

 Gruiana — Tho Ottomacas — Dirt-eaters — Their Vindictive Ferocity and War 

 Stratagems— The extinct Tribe of the Atures— A Parrot the last Speaker of 

 their Language — Their Burial-cavern — The Uaupes Indians — Their large Huts — 

 Horrid Custom of Disinterment — The Macus — ThePurupurus — The ' Palheta' — 

 The Mandrucus — Singular resemblance of some of the Customs of the American 

 Indians to those of Remote Nations — The Caribs — The Botocudos — Monstrous 

 distension of the Ears and Under-lip — Their Bow and Arrow — Their Migrations 

 — Bush-rope Bridge — Botocudo Funeral — ' Tanchon,' the Evil Spirit. 



THOUGH nominally under the dominion of the European 

 race, yet a considerable part of tropical America still 

 remains in the undisturbed possession of its native tribes. 

 While the stranger has established his chief settlements along 

 the coast or in those parts of the interior which before his 

 arrival were already the seats of a certain degree of culture, 

 where before him the Incas had founded cities and a large 



