Thus fell Lautaro, a youth worthy to be named with the greatest heroes of antiquity. Chosen commander at the age of seventeen, he opposed for two years the best soldiers of Europe, armed with infinitely superior weapons, and accustomed to military discipline. Though a mere boy, he displayed a military skill and a fertility of resource worthy of the most accomplished generals, and by sheer force of intellect and courage won every battle except that in which he fell.
A nation which could produce men such as Lautaro, or the troops who fought and conquered under his command, is evidently capable of great things, and, at all events, worthy of the liberty which it won from the Spaniards, and which has never again been threatened.
Marriage among the Araucanians is an odd mixture of ceremonies. Theoretically, the bridegroom is supposed to steal his wife against her own will and in opposition to the wishes of her parents; practically, he buys her from her parents, who have long looked upon their daughter as a valuable article, to be sold to the first purchaser who will give a sufficient price.
Sometimes the match is one of affection, the two young people understanding each other perfectly well. Music is the usual mode by which an Araucanian expresses his feelings, and the usual instrument is the jews-harp. The Mapuché lover is never seen without his jews-harp hanging from his neck, tied upon a little block of wood to prevent it from being injured, and decorated with strings of many-colored beads. Furnished with this indispensable instrument, the lover seats himself at a little distance from the object of his choice, and produces a series of most dolorous sounds, his glances and gestures denoting the individual for whom they are meant.
After a little while, the lover thinks that he had better proceed to the marriage. Should he be a wealthy man, he has no trouble in the matter; but if not, he goes among his friends and asks contributions from them. One gives an ox, another a horse, another a pair of silver spurs, and so on. It is a point of honor to make these contributions, and equally so to return them at some time or other, even if the intending bridegroom has to wait until in his turn he can sell his eldest girl.
The next process is, that the friends of the young man assemble, all mounted on their best horses, and proceed in a body to the house of the girl’s father. Five or six of the best speakers dismount and ask permission for the marriage, extolling to the utmost the merits of the bridegroom, and expatiating on the happiness of his daughter in being married to such a man. The father, treating the matter as gravely as if he had not done exactly the same thing himself, makes a speech in his turn.
All this ceremony is intended to give time to the young man to hunt for his intended bride, and, until he has found her, they will go on with their speeches. As soon as the young man discovers the girl, he seizes her and drags her to the door, while on her part she screams and shrieks for protection. At the sound of her voice all the women turn out, armed with sticks, stones, and any other weapons which come to hand, and rush to her help. The friends of the bridegroom in their turn run to help their friend, and for some time there is a furious combat, none of the men escaping without some sharp bruises, and the girl screaming at the top of her voice.
At last the bridegroom dashes at the girl, seizes her as he can, by the hand, the hair, or the heels, as the case may be, drags her to his horse, leaps on its back, pulls her up after him, and dashes off at full speed, followed by his friends. The relatives of the girl go off in pursuit, but are constantly checked by the friends of the bridegroom, who keep them back until he has dashed into the forest with his bride. They halt at the skirts of the forest, wait until the sounds of the girl’s screams and the galloping of the horse have died away, and then disperse. This Araucanian [ceremony of marriage] is represented on the following page.
The young couple are now left alone until they emerge from the wood on the second day after the abduction, when they are supposed to be man and wife. That all the fighting and screaming are a mere farce is evident from the fact that, if a man should offer himself who is not acceptable to the parents of the girl, and should proceed to carry her off, one of her relatives blows the horn of alarm, as has already been mentioned, and all the male relations turn out and drive off the intruder. Sometimes, however, he succeeds in gaining the bush before he is caught, and in that case the marriage holds good.
Some few days after the marriage, the friends call on the newly-married couple, and bring the contributions which they had promised. The whole party then proceed to the house of the girl’s father, and offer him these goods, which are taken as if they were merely offerings, and not the price for which the girl was sold. Being satisfied with the presents, he expresses himself pleased with the marriage, and congratulates the young couple and their friends.