98 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



to his haunts in the Cordillera — the wild and unpenetrated moun- 

 tains, where he and his subordinate demons groan in chosen spots 

 the long nights through. 



The expedition under my command happened to encamp near 

 one such place upon the southern shore of Lake Rica. It was a 

 moonlight night, and loud rushing noises broke the peace of every 

 hour of it. There happened to be a huge glacier on the opposite 

 side of the lake, from which great pieces became detached at 

 frequent intervals (for the mass of the glacier overhung the cliff), 

 and these plunged with strange, loud explosions, I might almost 

 call them, into the water. Such are the noises that terrify the 

 Indian ; he cannot explain them, and it is small wonder they excite 

 his fears in the highest degree. For it must be remembered that 

 in all practical ways the Tehuelche is a very brave man. Yet no 

 pay can tempt him within the region of the Cordilleras, where to 

 his superstitious mind the near presence of the Gualicho is mani- 

 fested by those awful groanings and sounds which no human 

 agency known to him could by any possibility produce. 



In common with other savage peoples, the Tehuelches believe 

 the Good Spirit to be of a far more quiescent habit than the spirits 

 of evil. Long ago, at the epoch of Creation perhaps, the Good 

 Spirit made one effort for the benefit of mankind,* but since then he 

 has been otherwise occupied, and shown himself little interested 

 with earthly matters. Like Baal, he is perchance upon a journey, 

 or perchance he is sleeping. The result is the same ; his 

 worshippers must take care of themselves as well as they can, and 

 the best method which offers is to ward off by all means in their 

 power the attacks of the maleficent influence. For the Gualicho 

 is of a very active disposition, and shows no scorn of small 

 things. On the contrary, he is quite capable of descending upon 

 a single Indian to punish him for an offence and to work him 

 harm. 



It is a humiliating reflection that the great mass of peoples have 

 always been, and will always be, far more ready and fervent in 

 propitiating an evil spirit, or endeavouring to avert the action of 



* According to Tehuelche beliefs, the Good Spirit created the animals in the caves 

 of a certain mountain called " God's Hill," and gave them to his people for food. 



