83 



terrible earthquakes, and is probably very difíerentv 

 from that of Noah. Whenever a violent earthquake 

 occurs, th'bsc people fly for safety to those mountains 

 which they fancy to be of a similar appearance, and 

 which of. course, as they suppose, must possess the 

 same property of floating on the water, assigning as a 

 reason, that they are fearful after an earthquake that 

 the sea will again return and deluge thé world. On 

 these occasions, each one takes a good supply of 

 provisions, and wooden plates to protect their heads 

 from being scorched, provided the Thegtheg^ when 

 raised by the waters, should be elevated to the sun. 

 Whenever they are told, that plates made of earth 

 would be much more suitable for this purpose than 

 those of wood, which are liable to be burned, their 

 usual reply is, that their ancestors did so before 

 them. 



CHAPTER VL 



Division of Time ; Astronomical Ideas ; Mea- 

 sures. 



TIME is divided by the Araucanians, as with us, 

 into years, seasons, months, days and hours, but in 

 a very different method. Their year is solar, and 

 begins on the 22d of December, or immediately 

 after the southern solstice. For this reason they 



