DON FELIX d'AZARA. 39 



" The men have neither hat nor cap, and go en- 

 tirely naked, except when the weather is cold, when 

 they throw a fragment of skin, or a piece of coarse 

 woollen stuff, called a poncho, over them. This 

 poncho is of very coarse material, between four and 

 five feet broad, and about seven long, with a slit in 

 the middle for the head to pass. It forms the whole 

 dress of the women, who never wash it, nor their 

 persons, nor their dwellings. They have neither 

 wool nor cotton ; and neither spin nor weave. 



" They have no kind of husbandry ; and their sole 

 food is the flesh of the wild cow, which is simply 

 roasted, and eaten without salt. When any of 

 them is hungry he helps himself to a slice of meat, 

 stirs the fire, squats down before it, and eats to his 

 heart's content, without regarding any body, or 

 speaking a word. They have no games, songs, 

 dances, or instruments of music. They adore no 

 divinity, and have no religion. It is impossible to 

 discover among them a single word or action which 

 manifests respect or good breeding. Nor have they 

 any laws, or obligatory customs, or rewards, or 

 punishments, or any chief who commands them. 

 Formerly they had Caciques, but they possessed no 

 authority, as is now the case with some of the other 

 nations. All are on an equality, and no one serves 

 another. The heads of the families assemble, in the 

 evening to agree who are to be the sentinels, and 

 which posts are to be watched ; and they are so sly 

 and suspicious that this precaution is never omitted. 

 If any one thinks of some project of attack or 



