III.
Account of Cultivation of Farms, &c. in Araucania. … Thrashing, &c. … Produce. … Cattle. … Locality. … Topographical Divisions. … Government (Indian). … Laws and Penalties. … Military System. … Arms, Standards, &c. … Division of Spoil. … Treaty of Peace. … Religion. … Marriages. … Funerals. … Spanish Cities founded in Araucania. … Ideas on New Colonies. … Commerce.
The plough used by the Creoles and Spaniards and adopted by the indians is a piece of crooked wood, generally part of the trunk and one of the principal branches of a tree. The portion which is intended to move the soil, for it cannot properly be called ploughing, is about five feet long and six inches broad. One end is pointed and sometimes charred; at the other a handle rises about three feet high, forming with the bottom piece an obtuse angle, greater or less according to the will of the maker, or the chance of finding a piece of wood suitable for the purpose. One end of the beam is inserted at the angle and is supported about the middle of the lower part of the plough by a piece of wood passing through it into a mortise made in the lower part, where it is secured, as well as in the beam, by small wedges. The removal of those in the beam serves to raise or depress it for the purpose of making the furrow deeper or shallower. The beam is from ten to twelve feet long, the one end fastened as already mentioned, and the other lashed to the yoke, which is tied with thongs just behind the horns of the bullock. Instead of harrows they use a bunch of thorns, generally of the espino. One would imagine that this rude implement had been found in the hands of the indians at the time the country was discovered; but according to Townsend's description of the plough used in some parts of Spain, it was one of the improvements carried to America by the earliest settlers. Indeed, rude as it is, it is seen in every part of South America which I visited, having in some places the addition of a piece of flat iron, about a foot long and pointed at one end, attached by thongs to that of the lower part of the plough, and called reja: probably from the verb rajar, to split or divide.
When a farmer selects a piece of ground for cultivation he cuts down the trees, with which he makes a fence by laying them around the field. He then ploughs or breaks the ground, sows his wheat or barley, and harrows it in with a bunch of thorns: here the cares of husbandry cease until harvest. The corn is now cut, tied into sheaves, and carried to the thrashing floor, where it is trodden out by a drove of mares, which are driven round at a full gallop, till the straw becomes hard, when it is turned over, and the trampling repeated two or three times, so as to break the straw into pieces of two inches long. At this stage it is supposed that the grain is freed from the ears. The whole is shaken with large forks, made of wood or forked branches of trees; the chaff and grain fall to the ground, and are formed into a heap, which is thrown up into the air with shovels. The wind blows away the chaff, and the grain remains on the floor. It is now put into sacks made of bullocks' hides, placed on the backs of mules, and carried to the owner's house; but not before the tythe or diesmo has been paid, and one bushel, primicia, to the parson. The straw is occasionally preserved for the horses in the rainy season; at other times it is burnt or left to rot.
For a thrashing floor a piece of ground is selected, and having been swept and cleared, is enclosed with a few poles and canes. It is seldom used twice, and the size is proportioned to the quantity of corn to be trodden out.
Maize, sometimes called indian corn, is cultivated in great quantities in this as well as in every other part of South America. Four varieties are to be found here, all of which are very productive and much appreciated. It is sown in lines or rows, two, three, or four plants standing together, at the distance of half a yard from the other clusters. Each stem produces from two to four cobs, and some of them are twelve inches long. The indians prepare the maize for winter, whilst in the green state, by boiling the cobs, from the cores of which are taken the grain, which is dried in the sun and kept for use. It is called chuchoca, and when mixed with some of their hashes or stews is very palatable. Another preparation is made by cutting the corn from the core of the green cobs, and bruising it between two stones until it assumes the consistency of paste, to which sugar, butter and spices, or only salt is added. It is then divided into small portions, which are enclosed separately within the inner leaf of the cob or ear and boiled. These cakes are called umitas. The dry boiled maize, mote, and the toasted, cancha, are used by the indians instead of bread. One kind of maize, curugua, is much softer when roasted, and furnishes a flour lighter, whiter, and in greater quantity than any other kind. This meal mixed with water and a little sugar is esteemed by all classes of people. If the water be hot the beverage is called cherchan, if cold ulpo.
M. Bomare considers the maize as indigenous to Asia alone, and C. Durante to Turkey; but Solis, Zandoval, Herrera and others prove that it was found at the discovery of the New World in the West Indies, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Indeed I have opened many of the graves, huacas, of the indians, and observed maize in them, which was beyond all doubt buried before the conquest or discovery of this country.
There are two kinds of quinua, a species of chenopodium. The seed of the one is reddish, bitter, and used only as a medicine. The other is white, and is frequently brought to table. When boiled it uncurls and has the appearance of fine vermicelli. It is sometimes boiled in soup, and is also made into a kind of pudding, seasoned with onions, garlic, pepper, &c.
Of the bean, phaseolus, they have several kinds, which are grown in abundance, constituting both in a green and dried state a great part of the support of the lower classes of Creoles and indians. The bean is indigenous, and was cultivated before the arrival of the Spaniards.
Seven or eight varieties of potatoe of an excellent quality are raised, and in some shape or other introduced to every table and almost at every meal. Indeed Chile is considered by many naturalists to be the native soil of this vegetable. The small potatoes are often preserved by boiling them and drying them in the sun, or among the Cordilleras covering them with ice, until they assume a horny appearance. When used they are broken into small pieces, soaked in water, and added to many of their stews. A species called pogny is very bitter, and is considered, with probability, to be poisonous. For use it is soaked in water till the bitterness is removed, then dried, and sometimes reduced to powder, called chuno. For food it is prepared like arrow root, which it resembles.
They have the white and the yellow flowered gourd. Of the former, generally called calabashes, there are about twenty varieties, but only two of them are sweet and eatable. However, the bitter kinds are remarkably serviceable, for when dried and cleaned their shells are substitutes for dishes, bowls, platters, bottles, tubs, or trays. The largest serve the purposes of barrels for water, cider, and other liquids, as well as baskets for fruit, butter and eggs. They are sometimes very curiously cut and stained, and for certain uses bound or tipped with silver. The yellow flowered, known to us by the name of pumpkin or pompion, and here called zapallo, are excellent food, whether cooked with meat as a vegetable, or made into custard with sugar and other ingredients. That the gourd is a native of South America seems to be supported by several striking circumstances. The seeds and shells are found in the graves, or huacas; the plant was universally met with among the different tribes of indians at the time of their discovery; Almagro states that on his passage down the Maranon some of the indians had calabashes to drink with; and lastly, those who bring their produce from the woods of Maynas to Cusco, Quito and other places, always use gourd shells.
The pimento, guinea, or cayenne pepper, capsicum, is much cultivated and valued by the natives, who season their food with it. Although at first very pungent and disagreeable, strangers gradually habituate themselves to, and become fond of it. There are several varieties.
I have been thus particular in mentioning these indigenous plants, because from the slender or exaggerated accounts given to the public no perfect idea can be formed of the native productions of this country.
European vegetables prosper extremely well in Araucania, and abundance of them are to be seen in every garden.
In some parts of the Araucanian territory there is a great stock