CHAPTER XI

ABORIGINAL TRIBES 138

The population of Uruguay prior to the Spanish conquest--Principal tribes--Paucity of information concerning the early aboriginal life--The Charrúas-- Warlike characteristics of the race--Territory of the tribe--Stature and physique--Features--The occupations of war and hunting--Temperament and mannerisms--A people on the nethermost rung of the social ladder-- Absence of laws and penalties--Medicine-men--A crude remedy--The simplicity of the marriage ceremony--Morality at a low ebb--The prevalence of social equality--Method of settling private disputes--The Charrúas as warriors-- Tactics employed in warfare--Some grim signals of victory--Treatment of the prisoners of war--Absence of a settled plan of campaign--Arms of the Charrúas--Primitive Indian weapons--Household implements--Burial rites--The mutilation of the living out of respect for the dead--Some savage ceremonies--Absence of religion--A lowly existence-- Desolate dwellings--Change of customs effected by the introduction of horses--Indian appreciation of cattle-- Improvement in the weapons of the tribe--Formidable cavalry--The end of the Charrúas--Other Uruguayan tribes--The Yaros--Bohanes--Chanas--Guenoas--Minuanes-- Arachanes.