This race bears a very strong resemblance to the North American Indians. They are somewhat lighter in colour, but they have the same high cheek-bones and straight black hair, with little or no beard. Polygamy is common among them, and it is no rare thing to find two or even three women in the home of an Araucanian. They seem to get along fairly well together, and each woman looks after her own brood of children. Between them they look after the master of the house and assist him with his crops. The houses are generally very simple structures, with low thatched roofs, and one big door which can be closed up with skins. The floor is usually the earth beaten down hard and covered with sheep skins. The cooking and other household utensils are of the very crudest and simplest design. Some of the Araucanians are very good farmers, and have even progressed to the point where they have adopted American ploughs and reapers. Many work on the _haciendas_ of the rich Chileans, and they are said to make very good hands. The government allotted lands to these people with a condition that it can not be sold, which was a very wise provision. When an Araucanian acquires a liking for alcohol he would trade his land, silver jewelry, his wife or anything else of value in order to indulge his appetite for drink. When sober they are very clever traders, and usually manage to secure full value for their goods.
The Araucanians have never adopted the religion of the Spaniards as did the Aztecs and Incas. It is true that there are some churches among them, but the impress has not been very great. They still believe in their old superstitions. The men purchase their wives and then go through the farce of stealing them. The “medicine man,” who is oftentimes a woman, is supposed to be able to ward off evil spirits and troubles of all kinds. With these people the evil spirits are believed to be at the bottom of sickness, bad crops and all other woes. They believe in a great father who watches over them, and in a happy hunting ground somewhere in the beyond to which all those departed go.
One of the interesting characters met with along the Pacific coast of South America is the calaguayas, or the Indian doctor. One will find him everywhere, from Panama to the Araucanian country, carrying with him a pack filled with dried herbs, cheap jewelry, handkerchiefs, ribbons, mirrors and other notions, which he sells to the people. He may be met with on the trains, the coast steamers or any other place, and generally carries with him nothing but the suit he wears and a bright-coloured _poncho_, which is thrown over his shoulders for additional warmth. He may be seen sunning himself in the plaza of a town or tramping over mountain trails. This man is both a trader and tinker, and his sources of livelihood are many indeed. He can mend a clock, a tin pan, or a broken piece of crockery. He can tell fortunes, interpret signs and omens, or prepare love philters. He is a magician, and can do all sorts of sleight-of-hand tricks. He is a conjurer; he helps people who have been bewitched, and altogether has a reputation for superior wisdom, which he applies on all possible occasions.