call this solstice Thaumathipantu, the head and tail of the year, and denominate June Udanthipantu, the divider of the year, from its dividing it into two equal parts. These two essential points they are able to ascertain with sufficient exactness by means of the solstitial shadows. The year is called Tipantu, the departure, or course of the sun, as that planet departs, or appears to depart from the tropic in order to make its annual revolution; it is divided into twelve months, of thirty days each, as was that of the Egyptians and Persians. In order to complete the tropical year they add five intercalary days, but in what manner they are introduced I am not able to determine; it is, however, probable they are placed in the last month, which in that case will have thirty-five days. These months are called generally cujen, or moons, and must originally have been regulated wholly by the phases of the moon. The proper names of them, as near as they can be rendered by ours, are the following, which are de. rived from the qualities, or the most remarkable things that are produced in each month:

Inarimu-cujen, May-The 2d month of the rimu.

Thor-cujen,

June-The 1st month of foam.

Inanthor-cujen, July-The 2d month of foam.

Huin-cujen,

Pillal-cujen,

August-The unpleasant month.

September-The treacherous month.

Hueul-cujen, Obtober-The 1st month of new winds. Iran-hueul-cujen, November-The 2d month of new winds. Kueviru-cujen, December-The month of new fruit.

The seasons, as in Europe, consist of three months; the spring is called Peughen, the summer Ucan, the autumn Gualug, and the winter Pucham.. To render the distribution of the year uniform, they also divide the natural day into twelve parts, which they call gliagantu, assigning six to the day and six to the night, in the manner of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Otaheitans and several other nations, Thus each gliagantu or Araucanian hour is equal to two of ours. Those of the day they determine by the height of the sun, and those of the night by the position of the stars: but, as they make use of no instrument for this purpose, it follows that this division which must necessarily be unequal according to the different seasons of the year, will be much more so from the imperfect manner of regulating it. They begin to number their hours as is general in Europe, from midnight, and give to each a particular name. * In civil transactions, they calculate indifferently, either by days, nights or mornings, so that three days, three nights, or three mornings signify the same thing.

To the stars in general they give the name of huaglen, and divide them into several constellations, which they call pal, or ritha. These constellations usually receive their particular appellations from the number of remarkable stars that compose them. Thus the Pleiades are called Cajupal, the constellation of six, and the Antarctic Cross, Meleritho, the

* These names, commencing at midnight, are, Puliuen, Ueun, Thipanantu, Maleu, Vutamaleu, Ragiantu, Culunantu, Gullantu, Conantu, Guvquenantu, Puni, Ragipun.

constellation of four, as the first has six stars that are very apparent, and the last four. The Milky Way is called Rupuepeu, the fabulous road, from a story which, like other nations, they relate of it, and which is considered as fabulous by the astronomers of the. country.

They are well acquainted with the planets, which they call Gau, a word derived from the verb gaun, to wash, from whence it may be inferred, that they have respecting these bodies, the same opinion as the Romans, that at their setting they submerge themselves in the sea. Nor are there wanting Fontinelles among them, who believe that many of those globes. are so many other earths, inhabited in the same manner as ours; for this reason they call the sky Guenu-mapu, the country of heaven; and the moon Cuyen-mapu, the country of the moon. They agree likewise with the Aristotelians, in maintaining that the comets, called by them Cheruvoe, proceed from terrestrial exhalations, inflamed in the upper regions of the air; but they are not considered as the precursors of evil and disaster, as they have been esteemed by almost all the nations of the earth. An eclipse of the sun is called by them Layantu, and that of the moon Laycujen, that is, the death of the sun or of the moon. But these expressions are merely metaphorical, as are the correspondent ones in Latin, of defectus solis, aut luna. I know not their opinions of the cause of these phenomena; but I have been informed that they evince no greater alarm upon these occasions than at the most common operations of nature. Their language con

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tains several words wholly applicable to astronomical subjects, such as Thoren, the late rising of the stars, and others similar, which prove that their knowledge in this respect, is much greater than what is generally supposed. But my researches into their customs, owing to the reasons which I have already assigned, were by no means so complete as I could have wished before I left the country.

Their long measures are the palm, nela, the span, duche, the foot, namun, the pace, thecan, the ell, nevcu, and the league, tupu, which answers to the marine league, or the parasang of the Persians. Their greater distances are computed by mornings, corresponding to the day's journeys of Europe. Their liquid and dry measures are less numerous : the guampar, a quart, the can, a pint, and the mencu, a measure of a less quantity, serve for the first. The dry measures are the chiaigue, which contains about six pints, and the gliepu, which is double that quantity.

With regard to the speculative sciences they have very little information. Their geometrical notions are, as might be expected from an uncultivated people, very rude and confined. They have not even proper words to denote the principal figures, as the point, the line, the angle, the triangle, the square, the circle, the sphere, the cube, the cone, &c. Their language, however, as we shall show hereafter, is flexible and adapted to every species of composition, whence it would be easy to form a vocabulary of technical words to facilitate the acquisition of the sciences to the Araucanians.

CHAPTER VII.

Rhetoric; Poetry; Medical Skill; Commerce of the Araucanians.

NOTWITHSTANDING their general ignorance, they cultivate successfully the sciences of rhetoric, poetry and medicine, as far as these are attainable by practice or observation; for they have no books among them, or any who know how to write or read. Nor can they be induced to learn these arts, either from their aversion to every thing that is practised by the Europeans, or from their being urged by a savage spirit to despise whatever does not belong to their country.

Oratory is particularly held in high estimation by them, and, as among the ancient Romans, is the high road to honour and the management of public affairs. The eldest son of an Ulmen who is deficient in this talent, is for that sole reason excluded from the right of succession, and one of his younger brothers, or the nearest relation that he has, who is an able speaker, substituted in his place. Their parents, therefore, accustom them from their childhood to speak in public, and carry them to their national assemblies, where the best orators of the country display their eloquence.

From hence is derived the attention which they generally pay to speak their language correctly, and to