The Araucanians clothe themselves in short garments, as being best suited for war. Their dress is made of wool, and consists of a shirt, a vest, short trousers, and a cloak or _poncho_ similar to that worn throughout South America. The prevailing colour of their garments is turquoise blue. Their _ponchos_ are of fine texture, and ornamented with coloured figures of flowers and animals wrought with much skill. They wear on their heads bands of embroidered wool, and round their bodies a girdle of the same material. The women are clad with much modesty and simplicity, their dress being entirely of wool, and consisting of a tunic, a girdle, and a short cloak. They live in scattered villages by the banks of rivers or in easily-irrigated plains. They have strong local attachments, each family preferring to live on the land inherited from its ancestors, and of which they cultivate a portion sufficient for their subsistence. The political division of the Araucanian state is regulated with much intelligence. It is divided from north to south into four governments, called respectively the maritime country, the plain country, the foot of the _Andes_, and the _Andes_. Each government is divided into five provinces, and each province into nine counties. The state consists of three orders of nobility, each being subordinate to the other, and all having their respective vassals. They are the _Toquis_, the _Apo-Ulmenes_, and the _Ulmenes_. The _Toquis_, or governors, are four in number. They are independent of each other, but confederated for the public welfare. The _Arch-Ulmenes_ govern the provinces under their respective _Toquis_. The _Ulmenes_ govern the counties. The upper ranks, generally, are likewise comprehended under the term _Ulmenes_. The badge of the _Toqui_ is a battle-axe. The _Apo-Ulmenes_ and the _Ulmenes_ carry staves with silver heads, the former having a ring of the same metal round the middle of the staff. These various dignities are hereditary in the male line, and proceed by primogeniture.