91 



the expression, its very soul or essence. Unrestrain- 

 ed enthusiasm is the prime characteristic of all the 

 poetry of savages ; such was that of the bards of the 

 Celts, of the Scalds, and of the Danes ; and the pre- 

 tended editor of the poems of Ossian has discovered 

 an intimate acquaintance with the poetic genius of 

 barbarous nations. 



The principal subject of the songs of the Arauca- 

 nians is the exploits of their heroes. I would gladly 

 have presented to my readers some of these compo - 

 sitions, but the difficulty of procuring them, from 

 the distance of the country, has not permitted me 

 to do it. Their verses are composed mostly in 

 stanzas of eight or eleven syllables, a measure that 

 appears the most agreeable to the human ear. They 

 are blank, but occasionally a rhyme is introduced, 

 according to the taste or caprice of the poet. 



The Araucanians have three kinds of physicians, 

 the AmpiveSy the Vileus, and the Machis, The Am- 

 pives, a word equivalent to empirics, are the best. 

 They employ in their cures only simples, are skilful 

 herbalists, and have some very good ideas of the 

 pulse and the other diagnostics. The Vileus corres- 

 pond to the methodists, or regular physicians. Their 

 principal theory is, that all contagious disorders pro- 

 ceed from insects, an opinion held by many physi- 

 cians in Europe. For this reason they generally 

 give to epidemics the name of cutampiru^ that is to 

 say, vermiculous disorders, or diseases of worms. 



The Machis are a superstitious class, that are to 

 be met with among all the savage nations of both 

 continents. They maintain that all serious disorders 



