1835.] ARAUCARIAN INDIANS, 299 
were then on a brow ofa hill, which commanded a fine view of 
the Llanos. The view of these open plains was very refreshing, 
after being hemmed in and buried in the wilderness of trees. 
The uniformity of a forest soon becomes very wearisome. This 
west coast makes me remember with pleasure the free, unbounded 
plains of Patagonia; yet, with the true spirit of contradiction, I 
cannot forget how sublime is the silence of the forest. ‘The 
Llanos are the most fertile and thickly peopled parts of the 
country ; as they possess the immense advantage of being nearly 
free from trees. Before leaving the forest we crossed some flat 
little lawns, around which single trees stood, as in an English 
park: I have often noticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory 
districts, that the quite level parts have been destitute of trees. 
On account of the tired horse, I determined to stop at the Mission 
of Cudico, to the friar of which I had a letter of introduction. 
Cudico is an intermediate district between the forest and the 
Llanos. There are a good many cottages, with patches of corn 
and potatoes, nearly all belonging to Indians. The tribes de- 
pendent on Valdivia are “ reducidos y cristianos.” The Indians 
farther northward, about Arauco and Imperial, are still very 
wild, and not converted; but they have all much intercourse 
with the Spaniards. The padre said that the Christian Indians 
did not much like coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed 
respect for religion. The greatest difficulty is in making them 
observe the ceremonies of marriage. The wild Indians take as 
many wives as they can support, and a cacique will sometimes 
have more than ten: on entering his house, the number may be 
told by that of the separate fires. Each wife lives a week in turn 
with the cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos, &c. 
for his profit. To be the wife of a cacique, is an honour much 
sought after by the Indian women. 
The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woollen poncho: 
those south of Valdivia wear short trowsers, and those north of 
it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. AJl have their 
long hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on 
their heads. These Indians are good-sized men; their cheek- 
bones are prominent, and in general appearance they resemble 
the great American family to which they belong; but their 
physiognomy seemed to me to be slightly different from that of 
