430 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



some more of these tumuli, which my guide stated were not the 

 work of the present Araucanian Indians, who appeared to be 

 entirely ignorant of their origin, and termed them quels. He 

 also mentioned that some examples which he had seen were 

 between thirty and forty feet in height. He had had several 

 interviews with the Araucanians, who, on one occasion, had 

 despoiled him of some of his possessions, and mentioned that, 

 like many other Indian nations, they bury garments and pro- 

 visions along with their deceased friends, in order that they 

 may be suitably provided in their journey to the " land of the 

 hereafter." On our return to the first tumulus we found that 

 the diggers had met with no results, and as our time was but 

 limited, I did not deem it expedient to prosecute the search 

 farther. In the course of a stroll along the rocks later in the 

 day, I found a curious social Tunicate, the " piure " of the 

 Chilotes, occurring in great abundance, along with extensive 

 colonies of a Sabelloid Annelid. The '' piure," which is also 

 common in Chiloe, is regarded as a considerable delicacy. It 

 appears to have been first described by Molina, who remarks 

 that it scarcely deserves the name of a living animal, and that 

 it is as remarkable for its figure as for the manner in which 

 it is lodged, observing that the animals are enclosed in a firm 

 envelope of various forms, and that one of these cases often 

 contains eight or ten distinct individuals, separated from each 

 other by partitions formed of a strong membranous substance. 

 My other zoological captures on this occasion consisted 

 of a fine swimming-crab (Platyonychus purpureus), many indi- 

 viduals of which were taken by a seining-party, a small 

 slender snake, the Dromicus Temminckii, and a few Coleoptera, 

 including two female specimens of a large Longicorn species 

 (the Acanthinodera Cumingii), which emitted a very un- 

 pleasant odour on being handled. 



