e present time among many
of the tribes, is that of giving to each wife a separate fireplace, at
which she did her own cooking. Of course this was not practicable where
the house was small and the wives were many; but so well was the custom
established, in theory at least, that the polite manner in which to
inquire the number of wives a man had was to ask him, "How many fires do
you burn?" The houses, by the way, were often shaped much like an
inverted boat, and the interior was furnished with a row of cane
partitions which roughly carried out the maritime idea, as they had
somewhat the appearance of staterooms. These were arranged on each side,
and in the middle ran the row of fires around which squatted the ladies
of the household. It must not, however, be imagined that only one
family, as we understand the word, inhabited one house; on the contrary,
each of the married sons had his portion of the paternal rooftree, and
often there were as many as a dozen households under one roof. These
matters varied with the geographical position of the tribe, the Indians
of the north differing from their southern brothers much as the Indians
of the eastern part of North America differed from those of the west;
and the household which has just been described was typical rather of
those of the south than those of the north, though some of the features
were identical in both sections.

One of the most remarkable facts concerning the status of women among
the Araucanians was that there were medicine women as well as medicine
men, and that the former were generally held in higher repute than their
male rivals. While this belief in women as peculiarly adapted to the
pursuit of sorcery has been prevalent among many peoples, those of white
blood as well as those of black, it is rare among Indian races.

The civilization of the Araucanians, both past and present, is among the
most interesting of the social developments of American origin, and is,
perhaps, the one which has survived in truest individuality. Little
record is found of individuals; but two historical facts may be cited
concerning the women of the great Indian race of the south facts
illustrative of the spirit which was inculcated into females as well as
males and born of the indomitable love of liberty which was the
fundamental characteristic of the Araucanians.

When Caupolican, one of the greatest of the Araucanian leaders in their
long struggle against the Spaniards, was