540 PATAGOXIAX CHARACTERISTICS. 



attained a certain degree of civilization. Their type varies according 

 to the climate of the country which they inhabit, and according to 

 their mode of life. In general they have a large head, flat on the 

 top, with small eyes, a big nose, large mouth, and thick lips. They 

 are tall in stature, and robust-limbed. To this group belong the 

 Patagonians, who wander, almost constantly on horseback, over the 

 grassy Pampas of the southern extremity of the continent, where 

 they depasture immense herds of cattle. Former travellers repre- 

 sented the Patagonians as giants upwards of six and seven feet high, 

 and wonderful accounts of them figure in the pages of Drake, Caven- 

 dish, and the early navigators. But these are violent exaggerations. 

 The Patagonians are certainly tall and athletic, but their stature 

 does not exceed that of most Europeans, and assuredly not that of the 

 corps d'tflite of the armies of England, France, Prussia, and Austria. 

 Their arms and legs are veiy long. Their forehead is exceedingly 

 low ; the eyes are sunken ; the nose, very thin at the root, widens 

 greatly at the base ; the lips are very thick ; the complexion is of a 

 reddish-brown tint. They suffer their long black rough hair to grow 

 unchecked, and to fall over the face in " admired disorder." Their 

 manners are fierce, brutal, and intractable. The Chiquitos, who 

 inhabit a wooded and well-watered country, lead a more sedentary 

 and social life ; they have embraced Christianity, and dwell on 

 friendly terms with the Whites. The Tohas, nomades like the Pata- 

 gonians, form a still numerous nation. Their skin is copper-hued, 

 but they have straight eyes, an aquiline nose, a free and haughty 

 physiognomy. 



The Ando-Peruvian race inhabits the forests which clothe the 

 plateau on the eastern slope of the Andes. It is characterized by an 

 olive tint, a medium height, a receding forehead, and horizontal eyes. 

 The Aymaras and the Quichuas are its principal representatives. 

 The latter, according to Orbigny, do not the least resemble the Caribs 

 or the Pampas Indians, and approximate much nearer to the Mexicans. 

 Their head is large, oblong from front to back ; the forehead low and 

 receding, the face broad, the nose prominent and aquiline, the mouth 



