XIV 
ARA UCARIAN INDIANS 
3 21 
but all are employed in weaving ponchos, etc., 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 trousers, and those north of 
it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All 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 any other tribe which I had before seen. Their 
expression is generally grave, and even austere, and possesses 
much character: this may pass either for honest bluntness or fierce 
determination. The long black hair, the grave and much-lined 
features, and the dark complexion, called to my mind old 
portraits of James I. On the road we met with none of that 
humble politeness so universal in Chiloe. Some gave their 
“ mari-mari ” (good-morning) with promptness, but the greater 
number did not seem inclined to offer any salute. This inde¬ 
pendence of manners is probably a consequence of their long 
wars, and the repeated victories which they alone, of all the 
tribes in America, have gained over the Spaniards. 
I spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. 
He was exceedingly kind and hospitable ; and coming from 
Santiago, had contrived to surround himself with some few 
comforts. Being a man of some little education, he bitterly 
complained of the total want of society. With no particular 
zeal for religion, no business or pursuit, how completely must 
this man’s life be wasted ! The next day, on our return, we 
met seven very wild-looking Indians, of whom some w r ere 
caciques that had just received from the Chilian government 
their yearly small stipend for having long remained faithful. 
They were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the other, 
with most gloomy faces. An old cacique, who headed them, 
had been, I suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for 
he seemed both extremely grave and very crabbed. Shortly 
before this, two Indians joined us, who were travelling from a 
distant mission to Valdivia concerning some lawsuit. One was 
a good-humoured old man, but from his wrinkled beardless 
Y 
