Progressive Chile

by Robert E. Mansfield

When America was discovered, the indigenous tribes wore little clothing, but contact with white men has wrought some changes in their customs and habits, and taught them the propriety of wearing at least a semi-civilized garb. The costume of the Araucanian consists of a shirt, a loin cloth, a manta or poncho of dark blue or black fabric, and a scarlet turban, all woven by hand and from natural wool, and colored from dyes extracted from the roots of plants and bark of trees. The women wear long, scarlet petticoats, and over the head a blue manta, which drapes over the body down to and below the waist. Their costumes are also made of hand-woven wool cloth, which is soft and warm, and very durable. A unique feature of the cloth made by the Indians is the variety and peculiarity of colors woven into the fabric. The designs are odd and quaint, and not infrequently weird figures representing animals, serpents and imaginary gods and devils are worked into the patterns. A peculiar feature of the fabric is that the designs are never duplicated, no two pieces of cloth being made of the same pattern. Hence, if one buys an Indian poncho, he has the satisfaction of knowing that no one else will have one like it in design. The mantas worn by the men and women are in plain colors, as a rule, but they are unique garments, the feature of which is a long nap on the outer side of the fabric, which makes it almost impervious to water. These mantas are usually fastened with a huge silver pin, ornamented with a round, flat disk. Both men and women wear silver earrings of huge proportions, very heavy and of varied and odd design. The women wear various other silver ornaments in the form of necklaces, bangles, crosses and pendants. These articles are all made of hammered silver and have an intrinsic as well as a decorative value. The usual aversion of Indians in general to familiarity, or to become communicative, the traditional stolidity of the race, holds good with the Araucanians. They are averse to selling any of their personal apparel or adornments, and all efforts to purchase such articles are resented.

These people, constituting the remnant of a once powerful and proud race, live in miserable huts, the roofs of which provide little protection against rain, and the walls of which are sometimes conspicuous by their absence. In a climate where it rains one half the year, and where the temperature frequently drops to zero, these places of habitation afford little comfort. In these miserable “rucas” live the family, not infrequently consisting of a large number of children, together with donkeys, pigs, dogs and fowls, in sanitary conditions that are shockingly disgusting.

In the Araucanian country, which extends from the River Bio Bio on the north to Valdivia on the south, and from the Cordillera to the sea, some strange sights may be witnessed. Almost the entire country is covered with forests, and there are hundreds of miles of solitude and unbroken wilderness, save the little cultivated patches, where the Indians engage in farming. Their farms and ranchos are usually back from, rather than along the trails where travelers pass. There is little bird or animal life in the forests, and one may ride for days through those solitudes, with little or nothing to attract attention or relieve the oppressive silence and monotony, save the sight of an occasional Indian. The strange, mysterious manner of the Indians only adds to the uncanny aspect of the wilderness. They are mysterious, and undesirable as companions, ignorant, superstitious, and by nature vicious, but like animals, they are dangerous only when disturbed in the pursuit of life.

The deeds of heroism, acts of valor and bravery, which caused the Araucanians to be immortalized in verse and recorded in the more sober lines of prose and history, were enacted during the days of the Spanish conquest.

In 1535, Don Diego de Almagro, the ally and rival of Pizarro, the despoiler of Peru, set out on a mission of conquest of the territory which now constitutes the Republic of Chile. He came not as a peaceful conqueror, as did the Incas long before, but as a tyrant and butcher, endeavoring to strike terror to the hearts of the Indians by acts of cruelty and inhuman treatment. They were treated as so many beasts to be enslaved or slaughtered at the pleasure of those who invaded the country in quest of gold, only. The attitude of Almagro and his followers aroused all the latent fierce combative spirit and resentful feelings that had been smoldering in the hearts of the aborigines during centuries of peaceful occupation of the country, and they resisted the invasion with a heroism and determination that finds few parallels in primitive warfare in the history of the world.

There were then no horses in the country, save those brought by the Spaniards, and the Indians had to fight on foot. The only weapons they possessed were bows and arrows, and lances made of long, flexible bamboo poles, the latter being the weapons of war. They had no military training or leaders and were ignorant of the arts of war, not even appreciating or understanding the advantages of combined or orderly attack. They depended entirely upon impetuous charges, ambush and secret night attacks. They had no fear of death, and not infrequently in battle they continued the conflict until every man engaged was killed. After years of warfare against the Spaniards, they learned the advantages to be gained by the use of horses in battle, which they adopted to some extent, but they did not follow the example of their enemies in the use of saddles, always riding bareback. After many generations of resistance to the invaders, they became more clever and systematic in attack and defense, having learned the importance of better preparation, councils of war and leadership. The Araucanian war extended intermittently over three centuries, and as the case in all wars, whether among barbarians or civilized nations, brought conspicuously to the front individuals who by superior intelligence and bravery were recognized as natural leaders. Chief among those who achieved fame as warriors, and whose deeds of daring form thrilling chapters in Chilean history, were Lautaro, a young brave who at the age of twenty was recognized as the leader of the Indian forces. It was Lautaro who first attempted to organize the various tribes and bands into something like a military force. After many successful battles he was surprised in a night attack by the Spaniards, near Talca, where almost the entire army under his command was annihilated, he being among the killed. He was decapitated, and his head taken to Santiago, where it was placed upon a pole and paraded through the streets as a victorious trophy.

Later Caupolican, one of the bravest of his race, assumed the leadership of the Araucanians. He was finally captured, and his enemies wishing to make an example of the chief cut off both his arms at the elbows, after which he was released. Caupolican pointing the stumps of his amputated arms at his persecutors said: “Be careful, be careful, murderers and persecutors, I will return to avenge these wrongs.” And notwithstanding his maimed condition he later returned to the attack with renewed courage and fierceness, and in many battles, Caupolican was first in the fray, and when beaten, was the last to retire from the field.

Since the days of the conquest of Chile, the Araucanian Indians have been hedged about and encroached upon with modern civilizing influences. Under these conditions they have degenerated until their greatness is only a memory. They now have fixed places of residence, and live upon the proceeds of their labor or lands.

Some of these Indians own large tracts of land, portions of which they cultivate, and upon which they raise large numbers of cattle and horses. The methods employed in farming are crude and primitive. The rich landowners are personages of note in the section of country where they live. And when one of them starts on a trip from his ranch, always on horseback, he is adorned with much silver in the way of ornaments. He is usually accompanied by five or six “mocetones” (servants), and travels in grand style.

Having few wants these Indians work only when it is necessary to supply their needs. Missionaries have tried in recent years to improve their moral condition, but have made little progress. The Araucanian ideas of a serious life are not deep-rooted; there is more stubbornness than intellect in their composition. The Incas who were the first foreign nation to invade Chile, taught them to worship the sun, but in their present degenerate condition they seem to worship only the God Bacchus. Strong drink and its attendant abuses, the curse of all barbarous races, when once introduced by civilized nations, is causing degeneration and a decrease in numbers. It will no doubt continue to aid materially in the consummation of their final extinction.