Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

380 NATIVES HUILLI-CHK — CHONOS. Feb. are under the nominal jurisdiction of their own caciques: whether they are Chonos or Huilli-che, I did not ascertain clearly. Being a race who are naturally little inclined to cul- tivate the soil, and preferring a comparatively idle life among muscles, seal, and fish, to voluntary labour on their own account, with a considerable degree of compulsory toil for the Spanish Government and priests, they quitted Chiloe in suc- cessive families. From them, probably, are derived the glim- merings of religion, and the crosses among the Indians of Madre de Dios, and other parts of the west coast of Patagonia. That their canoes or rather piraguas, should be similar to those of Chiloe seems natural enough ; but the fact is that the Chonos people taught the Huilli-che how to make them.* Coming from an inland district near Valdivia, the Huilli-che had never required boats, though they knew how to cultivate potatoes, maize, and beans ; how to make ' ponchos,' and take care of sheep and cattle. These, though more industrious, and in some respects better members of society, are a tame and docile race compared witli the Chonos, whose spirit of inde- pendence has shown itself in their migration, and impatience of mis-government. The principal population of Chiloe is now Huilli-che, no- minally Christian but painfully ignorant of pure Christianity- Abandoned to the crooked direction of ungodly pastors, intent upon their own worldly interest instead of the welfare of their flock, extorting ' primicias'-f- and tithes from poor Indians, whom they scarcely see once in a year (I speak advisedly) — and taught only the Romish doctrine in its worst form ; can any one expect the poor Chilotes to be really religious and conse- quently moral ? That they should be extremely superstitious is much more probable, and such is the fact. Their's is a confused demi-religion, in which a medley of ideas concerning the Virgin Mary, saints, images, and mtches,| is found far * These piraguas are extremely like the Madras surf-boats. (See vol. i. p. 285, for a description of the piragua. t First fi-uits of everything, animal as well as vegetable. X They are implicit believers in witchcraft.