missionaries have effected some change in those brought under their influence. In a burning tropical clime, the propriety or policy of such fancied improvement is very questionable. If no immodesty is connected with nakedness in the eyes of the unsophisticated natives, it would seem hardly worth while to enlighten them upon such a subject, for the purpose of establishing a conformity to European customs. Our author continues: "Their color is a copper tint, pleasing to the eye, and the skin, where constantly covered from the sun, is little darker than that of the natives of Southern Europe. Their hair is straight and coarse, and continues perfectly black till an advanced period of life. The general expression of the face is pleasing, though it varies with the tribe and the disposition of each person. Their eyes are black and piercing, and generally slant upwards a little towards the temple, which would give an unpleasant expression to the face, were it not relieved by the sweet expression of the mouth. The forehead generally recedes, though in a less degree than in the African; there is, however, much difference in this respect, and in some individuals it is well formed and prominent.' The usual division of labor among savage nations is observed in Guiana. The daily drudgery of the household belongs to the women, who also cultivate the small fields in which the yuca, (the root from which they make their bread,) and the other cultivated crops are raised. The men pursue their hunting and fishing, and undertake the more severe labors attendant upon the building their huts, the clearing of new ground, &c. The native dwelling is generally little more than a roof of palm-leaf thatch supported upon posts, between which hang the cotton hammocks in which the occupants sleep. Some few implements of iron-ware, and articles of pottery of a more substantial and practical form than that manu factured by themselves, are generally procured by trade with the coast, but these are all of the simplest description. Maize, with cassava, yams, potatoes, and other roots, constitutes their principal vegetable food. The cassava is prepared by grating, or scraping, and subsequent pressure in a receptacle of basket-work. This strainer is constructed in the form of a "long tube, open at the top and closed at the bottom, to which a strong loop is attached. The pulpy mass of cassava is placed in this, and it is suspended from a beam. One end of a large staff is then placed through the loop at the bottom, the woman sits upon the centre of the staff, or attaches a heavy stone to the end, and the weight stretches the elastic tube, which presses the cassava inside, causing the juice to flow through the interstices of the plaited material of which it is made. This liquor is carefully collected in a vessel placed beneath. It is a most deadly poison; but after being boiled, it becomes perfectly wholesome, and is the nutritious sauce, called casareep, which forms the principal ingredient in the pepper-pot, a favorite dish of the country." THE ABORIGINES OF PERU. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES OF THE QUICHUAS, AYMARAS, ATACAMAS, AND CHANGOS.-NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. - PERUVIAN WORKS OF ART, ETC.-FIRST RUMORS OF THE WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY.EXPEDITION OF PASCUAL DE ANDAGOYA. - FRANCISCO PIZARRO: HIS FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. ALMAGRO'S VOYAGE-CONTRACT OF PIZARRO, ALMAGRO, AND LUQUE. -THE SECOND EXPEDITION. PIZARRO AND HIS COMPANIONS UPON THE ISLE OF GORGONA. CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE. -TUMBEZ.- -RETURN TO PANAMA. 1 THE Peruvian and Araucanian races alone, among the South American aborigines, present subjects of interest to the historian. The other tribes of that great portion of the western continent are at an infinite remove from these in the scale of civilization, and can scarce be said to have any separate national history. We shall describe their habits and physical appearance, much as we should enter upon the duties of the writer upon natural history: an attempt to arrange a serial narrative of events, as connected with them would be useless. Widely contrasted with the wild and savage tribes of the interior, and of the eastern coast, the Peruvians offer, in their character and history, a fruitful theme for the attention and research of the historian and the philosopher. As a nation, they were, when discovered by Europeans, perfectly unique. Such refinements in government, |