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Show Aug. 1833. RIO NEGRO. 74 · R' he reat valley, in whiCh the 10 the northern boundary of t g d the ruins of some fine Negro flows. On the way we pa~see were destroyed by the h. h f w years smc " estancias," w IC a e 1 tt cks A. man present · h t d severa a a · · Indians. They Wit s o.o 1 description of what took place. at one gave me a very hve ! t' to drive all the cattle . h d fficient no ICe · The inhabi~ants a" su ral'' * which surrounded the house, and horses mto the cor 11 on The Indians were . unt some sma cann . . and likeWise to mo h f Chile . several hundreds m · fr the sout o ' · Araucamans om . . li d They first appeared m two d b' hly discip ne · . d number, an I~ • hill . having there dismounte , bodies on a nei~hbourmg ntles 'they advanced naked to the and taken off their fur rna f an Indian is a very long charge. The only weapon t od with ostrich feathers, and h 0 ornamen e bamboo or c uz ' h d My informer seemed to . d b harp spear ea . pomte y .a h s th greatest h orror the quivering of th. ese remember Wit e d When close the cacique h roache near· ' chuzos as t ~y app . ed to ive up their arms, or he Pincheira hailed ~he besieg A tgh' would probably have ld t 11 theu throats. s IS wou hcu a ult of their entrance under any circumsta~ces, been t e res . a voile of musketry. The lndmns, the answer was given by yh fence of the corral : with great steadiness, came to t e very £ t ed together b t to their surpn.s e t h ey I~O Un d the posts as en . . buy iron nails instead of leather th~ngs, ~nd, of Tcoh~rse, mdv:~: h · th their kmves. IS save attempted to cut t em W1 d d Indians were lives of the Christians: many ~f the woun el of the . d away by their compamons; and at ast one ucanrdneer caciques being wounde d ' t h e bug l e sounded a retr'e1 at.f They retired to their horses, and seemed to ~o~ a co~~~~e: This was an awful pause for the Spamar s, as a war. 't' with the exception of a f ew car t n' dOo' e s ' was ex- ammum wn, h · h ses d d In au instant the Indians mounted t eu or ' ~=~ ;~oped out of sight. Another attack was still ~o~: quickly repulsed. A cool Frenchman managed the gun' "* The corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or farming estate, has one attached to it. Aug. 1833. SALINAS. 75 stopped till the Indians approached close, and then raked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground ; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the whole party. The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river is about two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. The many islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green valley, forms, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. The number of inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. These Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones, carry within themselves the elements of growth. Many Indians of pure blood reside here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly have their Toldos * on the outskirts of the town. The local government partly supplies them with provisions, by giving them all the old, worn out horses, and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of riding gear. These Indians are considered civilized; but what their character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost counterbalanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger men are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short time since a party went on a sealing voyage, and behaved very well. They were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The taste they showed in their dress was admirable ; if you could have turned one of these young Indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would have been perfectly graceful. One day I rode to a large salt lake, or Salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt. 1.,he layer near the "* The hovels of the Indians are thus called. |