95 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Pride of the Araucanians ; Kmdness and Charity to- 

 wards each other ; Mode of Salutation ; Proper 

 Names. 



ALTHOUGH the Araucanians have long since 

 emerged from a savage state, they nevertheless pre- 

 serve, in many respects, the prejudices and the pecu- 

 liar character of that early period. Proud of their 

 valour and unbounded liberty, they believe them- 

 selves the only people in the world that deserve the 

 name of men. From hence it is that, besides the ap- 

 pellation of auca, or free, which they value so high- 

 ly, they give themselves metonymically the names 

 of che, or the nation ; of reche, pure or undegenerat- 

 ed nation ; and of hiientu, men ; a word of similar 

 signification with the vir of the Latins, and as the lat- 

 ter is the root of the word virtus, so from the former 

 is derived huentugen, which signifiés the same thing. 



From this ridiculous pride proceeds the contempt 

 with which they regard all other nations. To the 

 Spaniards they gave, on their first knowledge of 

 them, the nickname of chiapi, vile soldiers, from 

 whence proceeded the denomination of chiapeton, 

 by which they are known in South America. They 

 afterwards called them huinca ; this injurious appel- 

 lation, which from time and custom has lost its odi- 

 ousness, comes from the verb hiiincun, which signi- 



