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ticular, and a grand chase commenced, every one who was mounted on an unloaded beast setting off full tilt, pricking it with their spears, and cutting at it with their swords, whilst the hog trotted sulkily on, seeking to join his companion, but churning with his tusks, and now and then attempting to rip with them, such as ventured to approach him too near. But neither spears nor swords made much impression upon his well-defended hide, and he seemed in a fair way to escape; as he passed near me, I could not refrain from joining in the cry, and drawing a double-barrelled pistol, I rode up alongside of, and fired both at him; one of the balls missed him, the other took place; but although enfeebled by loss of blood, he still kept moving towards his morass, when an old man upon a powerful grey Toorkoman horse rode up, and wheeling rapidly round, gave his steed an opportunity which it seemed fully to understand, of launching out its heels at the hog: they struck it on one side of the head, and tumbled it over, dead upon the spot. It is a common thing for these people, and still more so for the Toorkomans, to teach their horses thus to kick at, and bite their adversaries, by these means rendering them powerful auxiliaries in the day of battle.

"When the hog was dead, one of the men dismounting drew his sword, and made two or three cuts at his side, but he could not divide the hair, far less penetrate the skin; some idea may be formed of the toughness of this animal's hide, from its resisting completely a sword so sharp as those used by the Persians, wielded by

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a very powerful man. I asked the people, why they took so much pains, and blew their horses on a long journey, for the sake of putting to death an animal, which, after all, they could not eat. he not an enemy?' replied they, and must we not always endeavour to put our enemies to death, when we meet them?' I had, however, strong suspicions, that they had their views upon its flesh, and that on their return, when no stranger should be present, the tempting though unlawful morsel would not remain untasted."

The scenery among the Gocklan mountains is amazingly fine.

"As we descended from the more elevated tracts, the foliage became greener, the trees, which hitherto had been brown and bare were now bursting into bud and blossom; and the scene from being one of savage desertness, became beautiful and lovely. It was a striking change in a single night; it seemed as if we had reached another world, blessed with a happier climate. Spring here claimed and enjoyed her full sway; the wood in many places lofty and magnificent, consisted of oak, beech, elm, alder; with thickets of wild cherry, and thorns, which were covered with a sheet of white and maiden-blush blossoms; large luxuriant vines climbed up almost every tree, hanging in wild festoons from one to another; flowers of various kinds, primroses, violets, lilies, hyacinths, and others no less lovely though unknown, covered the ground in the richest profusion, and mingled with the soft undergrowth of green herbage. The wind, which, though the sun shone bright, still roared above, could not penetrate

the

the thicket below, so that the air was calm and delightful. Every step we advanced increased the charms of the landscape; all that was savage became confined to the summits of the mountains, which might still occasionally be seen overhanging us, rocky, bare, or thinly sprinkled with leafless trees; lower down their sides, wood increased in abundance, but was plentifully interspersed with stripes of green, where the old grass had been burnt to hasten the young growth; so that the tints were beautifully varied. But it was only at their feet and on the swelling ground, and sloping banks, which now occupied the bottom of the glen, that the foliage shot forth in all the luxuriance of spring; tender and bright in general, it was here and there varied by the darker shade of a tree more advanced, or the soft but pure white of the wild cherry blossom; and the forests, groves, clumps, copses, and belts of lovely trees, intermingled with glades and natural meadows of the richest emerald, clothed and diversified the landscape in a manner which art would vainly seek to rival.

"At four o'clock we reached the first Muhuleh or encampment of the Gocklah Tookomans, and saw their numerous flocks and herds, grazing on all the hills and meadows around. Their houses at first sight appeared to be formed of reeds covered with black

numuds, and they were ranged so as to form a street, through which our road led us, so that we had full opportunity to gratify our curiosity: but I should in vain attempt to describe these places, or their inhabitants; the perfect novelty of feature and costume, the wild uncouthness of the figures both of male and female, that rushed forth to salute us, mingled with a variety of animals hardly more wild than they; the multitudes of children that ran screaming from every tent.

"The khan received us with little ceremony; it is the thing of all others of which the Toorkomans have least, and after a short conversation in the open air, he showed us to the tent, or house in which guests were received and lodged, where we seated ourselves, along with a plentiful company who had flocked together to gratify their curiosity, by staring at the strangers.

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"Soon after we arrived, dinner was brought, and the khan's eldest son came to eat it with us; it was a coarse and simple meal enough, both in manner and in substance; the cloth spread before us was of coarse woollen, which bore the marks of having seen mighty service*: on this a cake of coarse bread, an inch and a half thick, was placed before each person, and a mess of boiled rice, with a small quantity of meat in the fashion of a pillau, but far, far from approaching that respectable

"Many of the eastern nations, particularly the Arabs, the wandering tribes of Persia, and even the stationary population of that country, have a strong superstitious aversion to washing the cloth which is spread before them (like a table-cloth) at meals; it is reckoned unlucky, and, as many fragments of every meal are wrapt up in it, when the dishes are removed, not to speak of the stains occasioned by accidents, some idea may be formed of the greasy, filthy condition, to which such a cloth in a hospitable house in time attains."

dish either in quality or flavour, was set in the middle; we all fell upon this most greedily; we, ravenous from long fasting, and little caring with what our cravings might be satisfied, the others, little accustomed to better fare, esteeming it a sort of feast. Our drink was butter-milk and water, seasoned with a little salt."

After dinner the khan paid the travellers an unceremonious visit; and the narrative proceeds,

"A while passed in conversation, chiefly in the Toorkee language, or that of Koordistan (which is a mixture of Koordish, Toorkee, and Persian,) of which I could understand but very little, and then the khan asking me if I should like to hear some music, two men were introduced, each carrying a musical instrument; one of them resembled what I have seen in India called a bean, and consisted of two hemispheres of gourd, or hollow wood covered with skin, and united by a bar of wood, along which a string passed from one end to the other, the gourds acting as sounding boards; the performer upon this, who also sung, used it like a tambourine to beat time. The other was a stringed instrument of the kind called tarr, upon which the performed thrummed not disagreeably.

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They sung several airs, which consisted of but a few words set to simple notes, and the measure was always closed by a single line or chorus that died away in a very sweet and singular cadence, infinitely more agreeable than any music I ever heard in Persia, for the singer did not strain his voice in the way usual in that country, but taught it most curiously to

follow the inflections of the tarr, imitating the sound and undulations of the wire, in a manner resembling the low warblings of an Æolian harp; and he continued this for an almost incredible time, without drawing breath. If, however, he did not roar like the Persians, he compensated for it in some sort, by making the most violent contortions of body, throwing himself into attitudes the most extravagant, shaking his head most violently, and rolling about upon his seat, until his sides nearly touched the ground. These movements appeared to proceed from a degree of ecstacy inspired by the music, and which affected every one in the assembly more or less, for at every close some or other of them expressed their delight in a very audible and even boisterous manner; but I could obtain no satisfactory explanation of the songs which excited this emotion.

"This concert continued until past twelve at night, when observing no symptoms of any intention to move, I hinted, through the medium of a Persian who was near me, that travellers who had journeyed so far, might be supposed to desire repose; upon this the music was dismissed, but no one else appeared inclined to leave us, curiosity was insatiable, and the company continued still to gaze, make their remarks, and discuss their opinions, in the most audible manner before our faces. When after a tedious while, the greater part of the assembly had withdrawn, I found that so far from being the only guests, and having the tent to ourselves, it was intended that we should share it with five or six others, and among them a Yamoot, who having been

taken

taken prisoner in an attempt at stealing from the horde, was detained, ironed and bound, until his tribe should decide his fate, by either sending an adequate ransom for his release, or by refusing it, assent to his death. This was no agreeable addition to our party for the night; but as there was no avoiding it, we spread our bed-clothes and retired to rest."

4. An Historical and Descriptive Narrative of Twenty years' Residence in South America. By

W. B. Stevenson.

Indian Costume.-" The dress or costume of the men consisted of a flannel shirt, and a pair of loose drawers of the same material, generally white, reaching below the calves of the legs; a coarse species of rug about two yards wide and two and a half long, with a slit in the middle through which the head was passed this garment, if so I may style it, hanging over the shoulders and reaching below the knees, is called a poncho. The common ones seemed to be made from a brownish sort of wool, but some were very fancifully woven in stripes of different colours and devices, such as animals, birds, flowers, &c. The poncho is universally worn in all the provinces of South America which I visited; but I must say here, that I considered it as an excellent riding dress; for, hanging loosely and covering the whole body, it leaves the arms quite at liberty to manage the whip and reins. The hat commonly worn is in the form of a cone, without any skirts; for shoes they substitute a piece of

raw bull's hide, cut to the shape of the sole of the foot, and tied on with slender thongs of leather. The females wear a long white flannel tunic, without sleeves, and an upper garment of black flannel, extending below their knees, the sides closed up to the waist, and the corners from the back brought over the shoulders and fastened to the corners of the piece in front with two large thorns, procured from a species of cactus, or with wards closed round the waist with large silver brooches: it is aftera girdle about three inches broad, generally woven in devices of different colours; very often, however, nothing but the white tunic is worn, with the girdle, and a small mantle or cloak called ichella. The favourite colour appeared to be a bluish green. The females generally have nothing on their heads or feet, but have a profusions of silver rings on their fingers, and on their arms and necks an abundance of glass bead bracelets and necklaces.'

Polygamy." Besides the laborious occupation of spinning and weaving, and the usual household labour, each wife (for polygamy is allowed, every man marrying as many wives as he choose, or rather, as many as he can maintain) has to present to her husband daily a dish of her own cooking, and annually a poncho of her own spinning and weaving, besides flannel for shirts and drawers. Thus an Indian's house generally contains as many fireplaces and looms as he has wives; and instead of asking a man how many wives he has, it is more polite to ask him how many fires he keeps."

The Palican-a Game." The principal out-door diversion among

the

the young men is the palican: this game is called by the Spaniards chueca, and is similar to one I have seen in England called bandy. Molina says it is like the calcio of the Florentines and the orpasto of the Greeks. The company divides into two sets. Each person has a stick about four feet long, curved at the lower end. A small hard ball, sometimes of wood, is thrown on the ground: the parties separate; some advance towards the ball, and others stand aloof to prevent it when struck from going beyond the limits assigned, which would occasion the loss of the game. I was told that the most important matters have been adjusted in the different provinces of Araucama by crooked sticks and a ball; the decision of the dispute is that of the game-the winner of the game being the winner of the dispute.

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"At Arauco I heard that the present Bishop of Conception, Roa, having passed the territory belonging to the Indians with their permission (a formality never to be dispensed with) on his visitation to Valdivia, was apprehended in returning for not having solicited and obtained a pass, or safe conduct from the Uthalmapu, or principal political chief of the country which he had to traverse, called by the Indians, the Lauguen Mapu, or marine district. His lordship was not only made prisoner, but despoiled of all his equipage; and it became a matter of dispute, which nothing but the palican could decide, whether he should be put to death or allowed to proceed to Conception. The game was played in the presence of the bishop he had the satisfaction of

seeing his party win, and his life was saved. The propriety, however, of keeping the booty taken from him was not questioned by any one."

A convent of St. Dominick."The rents of this convent amount to about 80,000 dollars annually, and the number of friars belonging to the order is one hundred and forty. The provincial prelates are elected by the chapter every year, being a Spaniard and a Creole alternately, and the contests run so high, that a military force has sometimes been found necessary to prevent bloodshed.

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Belonging to this order is the sanctuary of Saint Rose, she having been a beata, a devotee of the order, wearing the Dominican habit. In the small chapel are several relics or remains of the saint, as bones, hair, &c. but more particularly a pair of dice, with which, it is pretended, when Rose was exhausted by prayers and penance, Christ often entertained her with a game."

Female Dress, &c. at Lima.The walking dress of the females of all descriptions is the saya y manto, which is a petticoat of velvet, satin, or stuff, generally black or of a cinnamon colour, plaited in very small folds, and rather elastic; it sits close to the body, and shows its shape to the utmost possible advantage. At the bottom it is too narrow to allow the wearer to step forward freely, but the short step rather adds to than deprives her of a graceful turn. This part of the dress is often tastefully ornamented round the bottom with lace, fringe, spangles, pearls, artificial flowers, or whatever may be considered fashionable. Among ladies of the higher

order

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