a territory on the western coast of South America, extending 186 miles in length, between the rivers Biobio and Valdivia, and penetrating 420 miles inland to the foot of the Andes. The lower parts of these mountains are included within its limits, and the whole superficies which is bounded by 36° 44' of south latitude on the north, and 39° 50' on the south, occupies about 78,120 square miles. Originally, Araucania was of smaller dimensions, not reaching above 300 miles from the sea-shore; but it received a great accession by the union of another territory belonging to the tribe Puelches, in the course of the seventeenth century.

This is a pleasant and fertile country, partly consisting of wide and extensive plains, partly mountainous, with spacious valleys interposed. It contains two considerable lakes, Laquen, called Villarica by the Spaniards, 72 miles in circuit, with a conical islet in the centre; and Nahuelguapi, 80 miles in circuit, which also has an islet towards one side covered with trees. The latter is the source of a river of the same name, which, after a long course, falls into the ocean, near the Straits of Magellan; and the Talton, which discharges itself farther north into the sea, rises from the latter. A great volcanic mountain, fourteen miles in circumference at the base, and visible at the distance of 150, stands near the lake Villarica. Its eruptions are not violent, though it is always in an active state. The summit is covered with snow, but lower down, perpetual verdure is intermixed with woods, and besides mineral springs, several streams flow from it. Sulphur and Salt are plentiful on Araucania, the eastern confines; and quantities of Amber-grease are thrown up on the coast. Mines of Gold, formerly yielding immense revenues, are said to exist in the southern parts, but ever since the natives expelled their Spanish invaders, they have prohibited resorting to them under pain of death. Possibly all remembrance of their site is lost, and the Araucanians are sufficiently prudent to avoid awakening the cupidity of neighbouring nations by discovering it. This precious metal is not rare beyond their confines. We are acquainted with the vegetable productions of this territory, only in common with those of the surrounding country; they are numerous, useful, and afford a copious supply for the sustenance of mankind. The beauty and utility of a tree called the Pehuen, probably a kind of bread-fruit, or of some analogous species, is particularly celebrated, as uniting the properties of the Pine, Chestnut and Frankincense. It is of spontaneous growth, requiring no culture, and rises 80 feet in height, by about 8 in circumference; the whole tree at full size being of a pyramidal figure. The flowers are conical, and its fruit, which is as large as the human head, is divided into cells, containing kernels resembling chestnuts. These are ate in the same way, or sometimes reduced to flour, and preserved by boiling. A yellowish odoriferous gum exudes through the bark. The sea abounds in fishes, and various phœne frequent the shores. Of these the sea Elephant is the largest, often being 22 feet in length, and 15 around the breast; it produces more oil than the rest; and is so fat, that undulations under the skin are perceptible during its motion. Furious combats ensue among the males for possession of the females, which latter always retire until their issue; and that for the most part is in the death of one or other of them. Their skins are generally covered with scars; yet notwithstanding the great size of the animal, and its warfare among its own species, a smart blow near the nose is invariably fatal. A species of Hippopotamus is said to inhabit some of the lakes and rivers of Araucania, different from that of Africa, but its existence is not sufficiently authenticated. However, it is only of late years that Naturalists have become acquainted with the real Hippopotamus, whose figure and habits were long considered to be fabulous. One of the most useful animals in this country is the Chililhueque, a species of diminutive camel, greatly resembling the sheep, about 4 feet high, of various colours, grey, brown or black, and bearing very soft wool, which is employed solely in manufacturing the finest cloths. Formerly, it was used as a beast of burden; now it is highly prized by the inhabitants, by whom it is never killed except at festivals, or on occasion of solemn sacrifices.

The natives of the country now described, are called Inhabitants Araucans or Araucanians from the province of Arauco, which forms a small portion of it. They denominate themselves Ara, which signifies free, or unsubdued, though some European authors have affirmed, that both Auca and Araucanian originated with the Spaniards, as a name of reproach, signifying rebel or savage banditti; and others, such as Falkner, says, that they denominate themselves generally moluches or warriors. Whatever may be the truth, they are a The Araucanians do not differ from the ordinary stature of mankind; their persons are handsome; they are of a strong muscular form and martial appearance; their complexion is of a reddish brown, clearer than that of the other Americans; they have round faces, small expressive eyes, and small flat feet. Deformity among them is very rare. The women are of a fine delicate figure, and many, especially of one of their tribes called Boromees, are beautiful. The Araucanians possess uncommon vigour of constitution, which is probably augmented by their free and uncontrolled mode of life. Inhabiting a delightful country, and unaccustomed to that variability of climate which generates lasting distempers, they rarely become grey before attaining sixty or seventy years of age; many are to be seen who have reached an hundred; and to the latest period, their personal and mental faculties remain equally entire.

These people are said to rank high in moral character; they are intrepid and patient of labour, enthusiastic admirers of liberty, which has gained them the name of invincible from their enemies; courteous, and hospitable. But these good qualities are sullied, if not altogether obscured, by numerous vices. They are prone to all kinds of drunkenness and debauchery: they are haughty and presumptuous, entertaining a profound contempt for other nations, and considering war the only genuine source of glory; sentiments which powerfully conspire to keep barbarians barbarous. Not content with exercising their prowess against their neighbours, they practise invasions of each others property, and carry off quantities of spoil. But notwithstanding their natural violence, these private dissensions are generally confined to pilage, without bloodshed, for deadly weapons are seldom resorted to. Their animosity towards the Spaniards being originally roused by just provocation, has remained for centuries unabated; and, in their incursions into their settlements, they have sometimes put all the men to the sword, while the women were spared, and carried into captivity. They have been called faithless and treacherous by that nation; but most probably more from resisting oppression, than from truly meriting such reproaches.

The Araucanians being a military people, have adopted a suitable costume, consisting in clothes fitted close to the body, and a mantle or cloth, called poncho, with an opening in the middle, to admit the head. Some of these are of so fine and elegant a texture, as to sell for an hundred, or an hundred and fifty dollars. The head is begirt by a wreath of embroidered wool, and ornamented with beautiful plumes, during warfare. Modesty and simplicity equally distinguish the dress of the women, which is entirely of woollen stuff, and consists of a piece descending to the feet, a girdle, and a cloak, called ichella; the hair floats gracefully in tresses over their shoulders, and their heads are decorated with a kind of false emerald, that is held in great estimation. Necklaces and bracelets are also wore for ornament, and rings on every finger. The national colour for all the apparel of both sexes, especially among the lower classes, is greenish blue.

The Araucanians never inhabit towns: their love of independence has deterred them from living in places surrounded by walls, which they consider a mark of servitude: hence they dwell in cottages or hamlets scattered on the banks of rivers, or on plains: and, as their local attachments are strong, each family prefers occupying the same bounds which have served for the subsistence of its forefathers. The houses are simple, kept remarkably clean and neat, and proportioned to the size of the family. They are surrounded by trees, under which they partake of their meals, in the open air during summer; and the wealthy are then fond of displaying their plate. These people are much less carnivorous than most uncivilized tribes, neither do they esteem fish grateful food, and they live chiefly on what is prepared from different kinds of grain. At their feasts, however, or marriages, funerals, and such public occasions, remarkable profusion prevails: three hundred individuals are then sometimes present; the feast lasts two or three days, and as much provision is consumed as would maintain an ordinary family during two years. Fermented liquors form a principal ingredient of the entertainment, and the guests testify great dissatisfaction, should they be at all sparingly supplied with it, whatever may be the quantity of provisions. Every man of property being anxious to entertain his friends, Bacchanalian revels succeed each other, almost without interruption; and they are the chief occupation of the Araucanians, when free of warfare.

Celibacy is thought reproachful here. Both sexes Marriage, in that state are exposed to contemptuous expressions, and polygamy is practised to an unbounded extent. A man marries as many wives as he can afford to purchase, for the father of each female receives a price on her being transferred to a husband. Marriage is attended with apparent violence. The husband, in concert with the father of his bride, accompanied by some friends, lies in wait near a certain place, where she knows she is to pass. Notwithstanding her shrieks, and affected resistance, she is placed behind him on horseback, and is conducted with much clamour to his house, where her relations receive the covenanted presents, after having partaken of a feast. The expense on such occasions is so considerable, that none except the rich can afford to marry many wives; and the poor are generally content with one or two. The first, however, is alone respected as the real or legitimate spouse; all the others are held in a secondary view; and she has the whole arrangement and regulation of the internal domestic concerns. But it is no easy matter for the husband to repress the jealousy and rivalry excited by the jarring inclinations of his different wives. Each must daily present him with a dish of some food prepared by herself, in her own kitchen or fireplace; for which reason, the Araucanians have a number of fires in their houses equal to that of the women inhabiting them, and the most polite way of inquiring of any one how many wives he has, is asking "how many fires he keeps?" Each wife must, besides, supply her husband with a poncho or cloak yearly. They entertain great respect for their husbands; and in addition to their domestic duties, Araucanians, they have to perform all the most laborious operations. Both sexes practise several daily ablutions, in the course of which they become expert swimmers and divers, and they are able to cross the largest rivers with great facility.

Reading and writing are no part of the accomplishments of the Araucanians, nor can they be induced to acquire either; but they hold oratory in high estimation. Children are accustomed from an early period to speak in public, and are carried by their parents to the national assemblies, where the best Orators of the country display their eloquence; therefore much attention is paid to speaking correctly, and preserving their language pure. So great is their precaution to avoid the introduction of any foreign expressions, that if a stranger settle in their territory, he is compelled to abandon his own name, and assume one in the Araucanian language. The Missionaries who preach in the national language with the design of making converts, are frequently interrupted by the audience when an error escapes them. The speeches of the Araucanian Orators are said to be highly figurative, allegorical, and elevated; they contain all the essential parts of rhetoric, and are constructed by its rules. Their style is impressive, and seems capable of being directed to the passions. They are fond of poetry, which is expressed in blank verse, not in rhyme, and, like that of all barbarous nations, is employed on warlike exploits. Its images are bold, lively, and animated; for it has been truly observed, that unrestrained enthusiasm is the chief characteristic of the poetry of the uncivilized. Their learning, however, is very limited, and certainly the cultivation of poetry will not readily lead to its improvement. In physic, the Araucanians deal in simples, or the practice of ceremonies; and their leading theory ascribes the origin of all diseases to insects or witchcraft. Ordinary remedies are resorted to for destroying the former; but for the latter, a different course is followed. The physician having lighted up the patient's room, desires the women to sing a doleful tune, to the accompaniment of drums, while he fumigates the patient; and a sheep, about to be sacrificed, with tobacco smoke. Having killed the animal, and sucked some blood from its heart, he approaches the patient, pretending to inspect his belly for poison which has been administered by some sorcerer, and then falls into a pretended swoon, accompanied by frightful contortions. While the sick person's relations question him concerning the cause of the evil, he answers in a manner the most suitable to the occasion, or fixes an accusation on some individual, which frequently leads to the murder of the innocent in revenge of the supposed injury. Their physicians, however, are capable of reducing dislocated joints, and setting fractured bones; they can even perform wonderful cures of wounds, and have a slight skill in dissection.

The Araucanians divide the year into twelve months, the names of which are characterized by their properties, as Avuin-cuyen, the month of fruits; Cogi-cuyen, the month of harvest; Huin-cuyen, the unpleasant month; Hacul-cuyen, the first month of winds; thus somewhat resembling the Prairial, Floreal, Nivose, in the revolutionary language of the French. They divide the day into twelve parts, each Araucanian equal to two hours with us in duration. The stars are classed in constellations; they are acquainted with the planets; and some among them even entertain speculations of their being other inhabited worlds. Comets are supposed to originate in terrestrial exhalations united in the higher regions; and they call eclipses the death of the sun or moon. Few generations can avail themselves of the knowledge of their ancestors, or preserve their own to posterity, where writing is not practised.

They have little acquaintance with the arts, and are ignorant of the principles of commerce; chiefly employed in warfare, they are accustomed to constant privations, and thence abstain from those luxuries which are the offspring of a state of peace and the arts. Their principal manufacture consists of ponchos or Indian cloaks, which some years ago they were wont to dispose of to the extent of 4000 annually, either to the neighbouring tribes or to the Spaniards: their other articles of traffic are cattle, horses, feathers, and baskets of curious workmanship. They have the character of strict integrity in commercial transactions, which are conducted entirely by barter. They have no money, and for their own commodities receive wine, iron, and hardware.

The government of the Araucanians bears some analogy to the feudal system, but it does not appear, that, as in Europe, their lands are held by military tenure. The whole territory is divided into four parallel districts called Uthal-mapus, being the maritime country, the plains, the country at the foot of the Andes, and that which is occupied by part of these mountains. Each district is subdivided into five provinces, and each province contains nine counties; therefore their total possessions are partitioned into an hundred and eighty parts. Each Uthal-mapu is governed by a chief, styled Toqui or commander, subordinate to whom are the Apo-Ulmenes, and on these, in so far as respects military affairs, are dependent, the Ulmenes, under whose immediate jurisdiction the counties are placed. All these orders have badges of distinction; the Toqui a stone hatchet, the Apo-Ulmen a silver-headed baton, encircled by a ring on the middle, the Ulmen a baton simply with a silver head, and their dignities are hereditary. The whole combine in a great national council usually held in a plain, where the pleasures of the table usually divide their attention with state affairs. This grand council is vested with the power of declaring war; and the election of a military commander in chief, immediately follows a resolution to that effect. Should none of the Toguis be themselves qualified for so important a station, any other person whatever may be chosen, even one of low rank: and on his appointment he assumes the title of Toqui, bears the stone hatchet, which is laid aside by the rest, who now take an oath of fealty to him. He regulates the number of soldiers to be furnished by each portion of the state, and nominates the higher officers, who have the choice of their own subalterns. Meantime ex-warfare presses are secretly dispatched to all the allies of the nation, announcing the approach of hostilities: which are intimated by investing the envoy with a bundle of Araucanía. Arrows tied together with a red string; but if they have actually commenced, the finger of a slain enemy is added to the arrows. The armies consist of five or six thousand men, cavalry and infantry, though some authors who have written on this subject, deny that the whole country can produce such a force: the infantry is divided into regiments, of 1000 each, containing ten companies of 100 men: the cavalry is divided in the same manner, but the numbers are not always alike: their arms are swords and lances; those of the infantry, pikes or clubs pointed with iron. The onset of these troops is terrible; they bear every thing before them, and always try to cope hand to hand with their foes. Each soldier, as was the custom of Europe in feudal times, carries his own provisions, which consist only of a small bag of parched meal; and this diluted with a little water, generally proves sufficient subsistence until reaching an enemy's country, where he can live at free quarters. Their conflicts are conducted with great desperation, though, at the same time, wonderful regularity and subordination are preserved; but as all pant after military glory, and as valour is the only path to fame, the post of honour is eagerly courted, where rank after rank is successively destroyed before defeat or victory can be declared. The battle over, and the spoils of war divided by equal portions, according to numbers, not in proportion to rank, the next ceremony is a horrible sacrifice of one of the unfortunate captives to the manes of those who have fallen, called Prolancon, or the dance of the dead. Many barbarous nations, nay some emerging from the darkness of their savage state, have been accustomed to offer up human sacrifices; and all mankind have believed, at one period or other in their progress to civilization, that blood was grateful to their Deities, or that it was necessary for the repose of their deceased relatives. Some, less cruel and sanguinary, have been content with the destruction of the lower animals; but others, more atrocious, have shed the blood of their own species. This deliberate murder has been of three distinct descriptions: first, to propitiate Divinities, or to avert their wrath; secondly, that the victims might be useful to deceased persons passing to a future state; and thirdly, that the manes of those who had fallen in war might be appeased. The Prolancon, nevertheless, is seldom resorted to; but, when determined on, it is conducted with great formality. The miserable prisoner is seated on a horse, deprived of its ears and tail, with his face turned towards his own country, and ignominiously conducted amidst a circle of the Araucanians and their chiefs. There he is obliged to dig a hole in the ground, wherein a number of rods are cast in succession; and while he repeats the names of the warriors of his nation, the surrounding soldiers accompany his words with contempt and execrations. He is next ordered to cover the hole, as if to bury the reputation and value of his fellow warriors, whom he has just named. Then the Togui, or one of his bravest companions, ambitious of the honour, dashes out the brains of the unfortunate victim with a club. But the solemnity is not yet completed; for, with cannibal-like ferocity, his heart is instantly torn out, and presented to the Chief, who, sucking a little of the blood, transmits it to his officers, to follow his Araucanía example. Should the skull of the prisoner not have been fractured by the violence of the blow, a cup is made of it, which, as is told of the ancient Scythians, is used at the succeeding banquets. Meanwhile the soldiers strip the flesh from off the bones, in order to procure them for flutes; and, having cut off the head, carry it on a pike around their circle, stamping a measured march, and vociferating the war song of Savages. In the next place, the head of a sheep is applied to the mangled corpse, and the whole ceremony closes with a scene of riot and intoxication. Should a truce follow victory or defeat, and both, or either side be weary of the contest, the parties meet in congress, and an Araucanian Orator makes a speech on the evils of war, the advantages of peace, and the most eligible means of mutually preserving it. A branch of the cinnamon-tree is here a pacific emblem, as that of the olive is elsewhere. If the enemies are Spaniards, their President or leader makes an answer adapted to the circumstances of the case; and articles of treaty having been agreed upon, several chiliqueques are sacrificed for its permanence. The Chiefs of each party then participate of a meal together, and presents are distributed to those of the Araucanians. It is affirmed, that, as the latter suffer least from warfare, and conduct it without much difficulty, they never sue for peace, and thence that the first overtures always proceed from the Spaniards, with whom they have incessantly been engaged in bloody and destructive contests. But it is rather to be inferred, from the best authorities, that they have not invariably felt equal confidence; and that their numbers, at the end of a war, have been so greatly diminished, as to make them as desirous as their foes of pacification. A congress must frequently be repeated, as without it, the Araucanians, a haughty race, would consider themselves neglected and despised, and go to war for no other reason.

The civil code of these people is very limited, and, as well as their criminal laws, rest entirely on consuetudinary principles, none being written. The latter chiefly respect the punishment of murder, robbery, witchcraft, adultery, and treachery, which are all capital offences. The murderer, however, can escape by a pecuniary composition with the relatives of the deceased; and husbands and fathers are not subject to any punishment for putting their wives or children to death, because they are judged to be the natural masters of their lives. Persons accused of sorcery are first tortured by fire, on purpose to obtain a discovery of their accomplices, and then stabbed with daggers. Execution immediately follows the sentence, and justice is sometimes administered in a very irregular and tumultuous manner. Impatient of delay, the Araucanians often resort to the law of retaliation in lesser offences, which leads to the subversion of all public order, and is the source of many enormities in their turn becoming the objects of this kind of retributive justice.

The religion of the Araucanians is a compound of absurdity invented by the designing or superstitious, and imposed on the blind and credulous whom they found ready to receive it; but, amidst that absurdity, containing some principles which have generally Araucania, been admitted by the more reflecting part of mankind. They are said to believe in a Supreme Being, who has subordinate Deities, like their own subaltern officers. One of these is the god of war, another a benevolent, and a third a malevolent divinity, who is called Guecubu. This last is the most active agent of all others, and the source of every misfortune. If a horse dies, it is because the Guecubu has rode him; if the earth trembles, it is because the Guecubu has given it a shock; nor does a person ever die, who is not suffocated by the Guecubu. Such is the language of the Missionaries, from whom alone our principal knowledge of the Araucanians is derived. However, these Divinities receive no adoration; they have no temples, and only on occasion of some severe calamity, or the conclusion of a peace, are sacrifices offered to them. Then the Araucanians immolate animals, and burn tobacco, which is esteemed the most grateful incense. The Supreme Being, and the benevolent Deity, are invoked on urgent occasions,—those which most naturally induce mankind to seek the protection of superior powers. Christianity has never made any progress among this nation; and although the Missionaries are well treated, respected, and allowed ample liberty to preach their doctrines, they are utterly unsuccessful in making converts. The Araucanians are extremely superstitious; they have implicit confidence in omens and divination, particularly such as may be gathered from dreams, or the flight of birds; and he who has confronted death with intrepidness in battle, will tremble at the sight of an owl. They entertain uncommon apprehensions of pretended sorcerers, who they imagine keep under control a kind of beings partaking of the nature of men and animals, concealed in caverns by day, but let loose to transform themselves into nocturnal birds, that shoot invisible arrows at their enemies as they traverse the air. On all occasions they consult Soothsayers, who boast of their own powers, and give firm credit to their predictions. The immortality of the soul is a principle admitted by the Araucanians; they maintain that the human frame is compounded of two substances essentially different, one destructible on death, the other incorruptible and incorporeal, which exists for ever. They have also wavering ideas about a place of future reward and punishment, situated to the west beyond the sea; but regarding the actual state of the virtuous or the vicious, they are not agreed. Their funerals are ceremoniously conducted. The body of the deceased, clothed in his best attire, is laid on a high bier or scaffold, where it remains during the night, and the interval is passed by the relatives in weeping, or in eating with those who come to offer consolation. This meeting is called caricahuin, or the black entertainment. On approaching the place of interment, a woman walks behind strewing ashes on the way, to prevent the soul, it is supposed, from returning to its late abode; and the body being laid on the ground, is surrounded with arms and other instruments, and covered with a pyramid of earth or stones. Sometimes a horse is killed and inclosed among them. But no sooner do the relatives retire, than, according to their ideas, an old woman comes in the shape of a whale, to transport the deceased to the Elysian fields, though before his arrival, a toll is exacted by another Araucanian old woman guarding a very narrow passage, who malevolently deprives the passenger of an eye, in event of refusal. In this Elysium the same functions are exercised by the souls of the deceased as on earth; husbands have the same wives, but the latter have no children, because that region cannot be inhabited by any but the spirits of the departed. They may revisit their own country, still possessing the same properties as when united to the body; and the Araucanians conceive that the tempests of wind, or thunder and lightning which they witness, originate from their furious combats in the air. A storm never happens among the Andes, or on the ocean, which they do not ascribe to a battle between the souls of their deceased countrymen, and those of the Spaniards; the roaring of the wind is the trampling of their horses; thunder the rolling of drums; and lightning the flashes of their artillery. If the course of the storm travels towards the Spanish frontier, they believe that the spirits of their countrymen are victorious; if it approaches their own territory, they are overwhelmed with consternation, and encourage them to be firm and resist their enemies.

Though the Araucanians wander about their own country, they are rarely seen out of it, unless while waging war; sometimes they cross to the eastern parts of South America, and, meeting with another tribe called Pampas, repair to Buenos-Ayres, there passing for the people of that nation.

Our knowledge of their history is limited nearly to the period when the American Continent was visited by Europeans in the fifteenth century; and as they are themselves destitute of written records, it must be sought among the Spanish Chronologers. About the year 1450, an Inca of Peru attempted the conquest of the extensive region of Chili, and consequently, of Araucania along with it; but his army retired on being defeated in a sanguinary engagement. A century later the Spaniards having gained a firm establishment in America, resolved to extend their conquests, but were obstinately opposed by the Araucanians with a body of 4000 men, led beyond their own confines; and their conduct on this occasion, though they did not prove victorious, impressed their enemies with apprehensions which have never abated. The Spaniards were at length enabled to form settlements within their boundaries; and sometime after, Pedro de Valdivia, a celebrated officer, was defeated in a pitched battle, taken prisoner, and dispatched with the blow of a club, about the close of the year 1553. A period of bloody warfare followed, which cost the Araucanians the life of their favourite commander Lautaro, whose talents were held in the highest esteem. Though sufficiently exasperated before, their resentment was inflamed still farther against the Spaniards for their barbarous mutilation of those unfortunate prisoners who fell into their hands. One of their bravest commanders Caupolicán, being treacherously betrayed after a gallant resistance, was condemned to be impaled alive, and shot with arrows; but when brought to the place of punishment, and beholding the ignominy that awaited him, he hurled the executioner from the scaffold, exclaiming, "Is there no sword," Araucanians, and some less cowardly hand to be found to put to death a man like myself? This has nothing of justice in it,—it is base revenge." But the merciless Spaniards were deaf to his appeal. Various successes and discomfits ensued, when, about the termination of the sixteenth century, the Araucanians besieged the enemy in the fortress of Puren. Unable to reduce the place so speedily as he desired, their chief presented himself before it, mounted on a fine horse recently taken from the governor, and challenged the Commander, Don Garcia Ramon, to single combat at the end of three days. The defiance being accepted, the Chieftains met, each accompanied by a small body of men who stood at a distance. Putting spurs to their horses, they advanced impetuously, but at the first encounter the Araucanian Toqui was pierced through the body by his adversary's lance. Refusing to acknowledge himself vanquished, he endeavoured to remount his horse, but in doing so expired. These events were followed by the siege of Villarica, an rich and populous city belonging to the Spaniards, which, after a resistance of two years and eleven months, fell into the hands of the Araucanians. A similar fate awaited Imperial' and Osorno, other cities of equal importance, and their inhabitants were led into captivity. Incessant wars, with very short intervals of repose, occupied almost the whole of the seventeenth century, and thousands after thousands fell in their prosecution. But the Araucanians received an important accession to their strength, in the union of a warlike tribe called Puelches, which was thenceforth incorporated under the same government. The eighteenth century did not open more auspiciously; for although a cessation of hostilities had prevailed some time, the Araucanians became sensible that it afforded opportunities for the Spaniards to form new and permanent establishments within their territories: the arrogance of those who resided among them, under pretence of protecting the missionaries, had also excited their indignation. Villumilla, a man of low origin but distinguished abilities, was appointed military Toqui, or commander in chief, and formed a plan for expelling the Spaniards from the whole coast. But his attempt to raise his own and the neighbouring countries, in the year 1723, proved abortive, and the war was marked by nothing except some inconsiderable skirmishes. Peace having been restored, the Spanish governor conceived a scheme for the civilization of the Araucanians (regarded as chimerical by those best acquainted with their disposition), which was persuading them to live in cities. They agreed, however, to build a city, and were supplied with materials by the Spaniards, who also had assistants and superintendents on the spot, but suddenly seizing their arms, they killed their overseers, about the year 1753. Peace was once more interrupted by repeated encounters, and at length a bloody battle ensued in the year 1773. The Spaniards found themselves unable to retain any settlements within the Araucanians' territories, and the natives, in opposition to all the skill and force employed against them, have ever since been able to keep possession of their country. See the excellent work of Molina, on the Natural and Civil History of Chili, and Alcedo's Geographical and Historical Dictionary, Art. Chili.