The Sun.
London, England, 1834-07-17 00:00:00

INTERVIEW WITH THE PATAGONIANS.

( From 4he Lircrpnol Allilon.)
(iAavAcTED FRom A PRIVATE JOURNAL.)

Au account of my iatervien•s with the Patagonians, and
some remarks about people so little known, cannot fail of
being interesting to you. I shall accordingly select from
my journal a few remarks made about them while the im-
pressions were fresh.

I commence with the 12th of January, when, being at
anchor in the Straits out of the strength of the current, at
about three o'clock in the afternoon, an alarm was given on
deck, " A man on horseback on the shore making signals,"
at twelve miles distance from the vessel. I immediately got
two hands in the jolly-boat, determined to ascertain what
kind of a being a Patagonian Indian was, and in about half
an hour arrived at the beach, where he had come to meet
me, but without dismounting. His appearance was any-
thing but prepossessing, which made me rather cautious in
my approaches. He appeared very tall, of a dark, muddy
complexion, his lank, stiff, black hair falling over his neck
and shoulders. At first he appeared to have spectacles
on, but a nearer view undeceived me. His eyelids above
and below were dyed a black colour, the same mark extend-
ing across the bridge of his nose. His dress consisted of
nothing but a large 'guanaco skin, which enveloped his
whole person except from the knee downwards, includ
ing the feet, which were strapped round with something
resembling parchment, to defend that part from the friction
of the saddle, which was a rude imitation of the Spanish,
made of wood, with bone stirrups. From a girdle which
fastened the skin round his waist, there hung an English
common butcher's steel, and I also discovered, just peeping
out, the handle of a large knife. He, however, extended
his hand, and appeared friendly. He did not evince any
symptoms of alarm on my firing a pistol, which convinced
me that he had seen fire-arms before, and even after I had
shown him how to pull the trigger, he ventured to fire it
himself, " grinning a ghastly smile" at his own prowess. In
his person he was extremely filthy. I venture to say, he
had never been washed since he was born. The only words
of Spanish he possessed were rum and tobacco, which he
was very eager for. I presented him with a handful of
cigars, which he received quite as a matter of course, with-
out appearing the least gratified. • He made signs that, in
Gregory Bay, there were plenty more Indians, so, by this
time, my curiosity being gratified, I returned on board. I
forgot that the horse appeared to have four ears, but on a
near inspection I found they were only slit down the middle
and kept separate. This I found afterwards to be a uni-
versal practice amongst them.

13th. Approaching Gregory Bay, I saw about six In-
dians on shore, also on horseback, showing pacific colours,
and I again ventured amongst them, leaving the vessel un-
der weigh, in order to ascertain, if possible, the best anchor-
ing ground. There were three chiefs amongst them, who
' were also very clamorous for rum and tobacco. I distri-
buted amongst them a box of raisins (which they did not
know the use of at first) and a couple of boxes of cigars,
with which they appeared gratified. Their dress was
exactly similar to the one already described, the mantles or
skins of the chiefs being rather more showy. They do not
appear to follow any particular rule in painting their faces,
some being red, and others black, and many only partially
painted, which gave them a very savage look. As regards
their cleanliness they all appear pretty much upon a par,
being so well covered with filth as to render it difficult to
say what their legitimate colour was. They were, however,
very friendly ; and, having ascertained from one, who spoke
a little Spanish, the best place for anchoring, I returned on
board, and proceeded onwards for five miles, where we
dropped our anchor. There were at least two hundred of
the natives collected there to meet us. I took a boat
load of raisins and cigars, instructing the mate to bar-
ter with them for their skins and guanaco meat, and having
ascertained from one, who spoke Spanish very fluently,
that their huts were at a distance of twelve miles in the
interior, and that I might safely trust myself among them,
I determined not to lose the opportunity of seeing a little
more of them. I accordingly provided myself with a horse,
and, escorted by about a dozen of these savages, we soon
gallopped over the distance. There might be about one
hundred huts together, sprinkled here and there, without
regard to order. Their construction is as simple as can be
imagined, being nothing more than skins supported by
sticks. I endeavoured to take a sketch of the one I en-
tered, which will be sufficient to give you an idea of the
whole of them. I perceived they were very uneasy when
they saw me drawing, and even forcibly took away my pen-
cil and paper, and they have the same unaccountable anti-
pathy to seeing a person write. I was soon surrounded by a
tribe of men, women, and dogs. My dress and person un-
derwent a severe scrutiny ; but whenever the men saw that
the children became intrusive or troublesome, they ordered
them away. They are the greatest beggars in the uni-
verse, coveting everything they set their eyes upon, without
apparently having any idea of parting with anything them-
selves. Everything I had about me I was obliged to
give away, cigars, beads, buttons, penknives, &c., and
was glad to escape with an entire jacket, minus the
buttons. It was almost impossible to distinguish the wo-
men from the men ; neither had any other covering than
the skills, and paint, ad libitum ; the men also being with-
out the usual distinguishing marks of beards or whiskers.
Many of.them appeared to suffer from sore eyes. The
women ride precisely as the men, and I would back them
to leap a five-barred gate against any fox hunter in Eng-
land. Their spurs are merely two pieces of bone or
wood strapped round the ankle, terminating in a sharp
iron spike. Their only food is the guanaco and lion ; they
have. no vegetables of any kind, nor fish. Towards evening
I became anxious to be on board again, as the weather
looked threatening. I had no difficulty in procuring
the loan of another horse, and set out accompa-
nied by the same escort as before, with the addition of the
Queen, who, by the bye, was in nothing distinguished from
the rest, except by a common glass necklace, from which
were suspended a dozen brass thimbles of a Birmingham
appearance. On my arrival at the shore I found them
very
some. The Captain and boat and inclined to be quarrel-
at were on shore waiting for
noisy in their bartering,
me, but the surf was so high, and the boat so fragile,
that I was afraid to venture. The Captain, however,
at length ventured, but I preferred to wait until night for
the chance of the sea moderating. It, however, became
worse at nine, and seeing there was no chance of getting on
board that night, I made up my mind to return to the
huts, rather than remain on the beach all night. There
being no spare horse, I mounted behind one of the Pata-
genial:ls, and, as you may imagine, had a very uncomfortable
ride. When we were about three-fourths of the way, he
separated from his companions, and dismounted at a bush.
He then attempted to-feel in all my pockets, which I re-
sisted, and having left the beaten track a considerable dis-
tance, I, began to be rather alarmed at his proceedings, and
fired one of my pistols in the air, which made him fall down
on his face with fright, and after losing at least half an hour,
he was at length induced to proceed, talking angrily all the
time something I could not understand. I supposed him
to take my pocket-handkerchief and gloves, although he
had not'the least idea of the use of the latter. On reaching
the huts, I crept into the first I came to, in spite of the
resistance made to my entry by the dogs, and covering my-
self as well as I could with some skins I found near me, I
slept tolerably well, but knew nothing of the inmates until
next morning, when I found them to consist of an old
couple, five or six grown up children, and fifteen dogs. In
eyery hut there is about the same number of these animals :
they are used hunting the guanacos. These people were
exceedingly kind and respectful to me, giving me a
good breakfast of boiled guanacos. The liver, breast, and
brains are entirely raw, the rest they broil. They consider
the blood of the young ones a great luxury, sucking it from
a vein they open for the purpose. During the greater part
of the night it had rained, and it blew so violently the
next day, that I saw it would be of no use my going to the
coast, as the surf would not permit a boat to approach the
shore ; consequently, I remained in the hut, keeping myself
as much out of the way as possible, until the evening, when
it cleared up. After great delay and difficulty, I procured
another horse, and started with the escort of two of the
men. We had proceded about a mile when we met a chief,
who, it appeared, had been on board all night, and had only
just been able to effect a landing. He suffered from sea-
sickness, and was out of humour with the vessel, with me,
and everything. He opposed my progress by seizing hold of
my bridle, saying, " Manana," which was all the Spanish he
muster. The two that were with me remained pas-
sive, I saw plainly that they did not approve of
thecue l'dconduct of their chief. I showed them I was deter-
minedneither
party
r ssyl-
lable, alter-
cation, to go on board that night, even if I went on foot, and
lable,l and
d forw
words
dths aotf which purpose.
n ehfound out that he was discontented because the cap-
tain had refused to redeliver to him his skin, which he had
exchanged with me the previous day for an equivalent in
dismounteda Aftere r a r
ty great
understood
dealot o ofd a y
cigars and treacle, and, I suppose, wanted to detain me as
a kind of hostage. I managed to make him understand
that it should be returned to him on condition that he would
allow me to proceed, to which they consented, after some
hesitation. It.was nearly dark when I reached the vessel.
There were about thirty poor wretches on the beach, who
had passed the whole of that tempestuous night there, for
the mere pleasure of looking at the vessel,
or in the hope
of getting some rum. They had neither shelter nor any-
thing to eat.
On the 14th we set sail, and anchored for the night near
Elizabeth Island. I landed in hopes of shooting some
ducks, but was unsuccessful ; we got, however, some
muscles and limpets, which were very acceptable. We saw
the land distinctly on both sides : the distant mountains
were covered with snow. There were two or three fires on
the Patagonian side, made,-no doubt by Indians, but they
were too distant to go there. As regards the stature of
these people, of which so much has been said, I found there
was much exaggeration. They are, upon the whole, per-

baps, rather taller than EiJropeons 7ener?.lly, -1- I c?,n-
- their height, at first appearance, is very
This is, in a great measure, owing to their dress, which
t-uls to lend them an additional height. I measured one
of them, a remarkable well-made man, round his naked
chest, and found him exactly 3 feet 8 inches. They wear
no covering to their heads. They use a lasso, with heavy
leaden balls at one end, which, when whirled at the animal
they are pursuing, are entangled with its legs, and it be-
comes an easy prey.
The only religious observance (if it may be called so)
which I observed, was on the rising of the moon, when the
man who was before me on horseback began a chant, or
rather a howl, frequently pointing at it and making extrava-
gant gestures. The captain told me he had observed the
same demeanour in the chief, when on board, in a still more
marked degree. He sang, accompanying himself with the
most violent gesticulations of the body. When a death
occurs amongst them, they sacrifice a horse, and howl in a
particular tone for months afterwards. Of this I had a
specimen during the night I spent with them. They have
no marriage ceremony, and polygamy is allowed. One
chief was pointed out to me, who had seven wives ; others
have one, two, three, or more, according to their means of
supporting them. Guanacos, lions, foxes, and dogs appear
to be the only animals amongst them on which they depend
for subsistance. They are continually changing their place
of residence ; regulating their stay by the abundance or
scarcity of guanacos. There are several tribes roving in
this manner, but, being generally on hostile terms, they
seldom mix together. By some means or other they have
possessed themselves of an empty nail barrel. This they
carry about with them wherever they go, although being
closed at both ends and empty, it can be of no possible use
to them. This will give you an idea of their simplicity
and barbarous state. The soil appears to be sufficiently
fertile for the production of potatoes and other vegetables,
but, as I said before, they have nothing of the kind. The
climate at this season (the summer) is delightful—fresh,
evigorating, English April weather. They have a strong
cast of th Chinese features, particularly their eyes and
nose, which convinces me of the truth of the hypothesis
that America was originally peopled from Asia, overland or
across the channel to the northward by canoes ; that they
gradually peopled North America thence spreading
though Mexico, Guatamala, Peru, Chili, and finally reach-
ing the extreme south of the continent, viz., Patagonia and
Tierra del Fuego.
20th. We have made little progress since last date. The
appearance of the country has now become extremely
beautiful and picturesque—well wooded and covered with
verdure. The only traces of Indians we have lately seen
was two days ago, about siz .miles to the eastward of Port
Famine. We saw a hut by itself, very much resembling a
beehive, at a distance, and, as I had nothing else to do
while the vessel supplied herself with wood and water, I
determined to pay it a visit, taking my gun with me. The
road was very difficult of access, being along a precipitous
and cliff), coast, and before I had reached half way, I was
inclined to give it up ; but, as it was becoming dusk, and as
I should have been in danger of breaking my neck if
caught by the darkness, I found myself compelled to the al-
ternative of pushing forward in hopes of procuring shelter
for the night at the hut. It took me four hours to arrive
there. On my approach, I made amicable signs, which
were answered in a corresponding manner by the Indians.
Their appearance differed from those of Gregory Bay only
in their being more scantily clad, without paint, and alto-
gether of a more miserable appearance. They had no
horses, but a canoe made of twigs covered with the wild
bark of trees. They had likewise bows and arrows, with
which they intimated that they killed the guanacos. The
barb end of the arrow was made exactly in the same man-
ner, and of the same material (obsidian) as those of the
ancient Mexicans, only rather smaller. No signs of meat
met my anxious eye. The only thing I saw them eating
was a root resembling our horseradish, to which they helped
themselves freely out of a large leather tub, using the only
knives and forks which nature has provided ; but I could
not touch it, hungry as I was. We kept up a blazing fire
of wood in the middle ofthe hut all night, which left, of course
very little space for us to lie in, the hut being only about nine
feet in diameter, and about six feet high in the centre.
Besides the two Indians, there were two dogs. We all
managed to stow ourselves somehow or other, but being
roasted on one side and frozen on the other, I could ob-
tain no sleep. I waited till nine o'clock, hoping to see
some signs of breakfast, but none appearing,,l set out as
empty as I came, Before I had advanced three-fourths of
the way, I was quite exhausted, and unable to move a step
further. After a short -rest, I fortunately bethought my-
self of a sea bird that I had shot the day before, and, on
finding it, contrived to make a fire. I wrenched off one
of the legs with difficulty, and placing it in the blazing
embers, it was soon black enough for eating. I did not
notice if it was fishy, but no doubt it was. This, with a
draught of fresh water at a rivulet, and an hour's sleep,
enabled me to proceed,. I reached the vessel at three
o'clock, in a miserable plight, but a good dinner of fresh
fish soon put me to rights. The only ornaments I observed
about the Indians of the beehive, was a string round the
waist of one of them, to which were suspended half-a-
dozen brass buttons of different sizes. The only thing
about them which I envied were their beautifully white
and regular teeth ; but I turned away in disgust, when I
saw them eat with apparent gusto the very vermin they
picked from their persons or skins. Wild celery grows in
abundance in particular spots ; also a kind of berry like the
hawthorn, but without taste. Fish of a small kind are to
be caught throughout the Straits with a net, or hook and
line.

26th. We have had six canoes alongside since we left
Port Famine, generally containing from three to five per-
sons, three dogs, and a fire in the middle. Their huts are
generally on the side of Tierra del Fuego. I thought some
scenes amongst the Mexican Leperos bad enough, but
they are Romans compared with these. Such poor misera-
ble objects I thought nowhere existed. Only picture to
yourself, less than half-clad beings, as ugly as monkeys,
with a coat of dirt upon them of their own age, eating
pieces of raw porpoise, and keeping up such a clamour and
noise of different kinds, as to resemble a congregation of
the brute creation rather than human beings. They are
nothing like so well proportioned as those of Gregory Bay,
and are rather diminutive of stature than otherwise. I
don't think any of them arrive at old age, for I do not re-
collect having seen among any of the tribes we have met,
with a single grey-headed individual. I could not ascer-
tain the age of any of them, as they have no idea of years
ncr the divisions of time. Their addiction to spirits is very
much to be deplored, for it leads them into every kind of
excess, and reduces them to a state of madness while under
its operation. Their manner of smoking is extremely dis-
gusting. They like the strongest black tobacco, which
they pulverize and put into a pipe ; it is ten times stronger
than our cigars. They then take a long draw, and then
another, without allowing a particle of the first draught to
escape ; they inhale these into the stomach : the same with
a third, and even a fourth. By this time they are almost
senseless ; they stretch themselves on the ground with their
faces downwards, drawing their skin or mantle over their
heads and shoulders, and put every muscle of the body in
motion, as if to work the smoke into every vacuum which
it can penetrate. Two American missionaries had been
residing two months with a tribe, but went away as
wise as they came, neither of them knowing a word of
Spanish, which is the only means of communicating with
them ; so that the Indians, to this day, do not know what
their object was in staying with them. I regret I had not
another opportunity of speaking with the only intelligent
one who spoke Spanish. They have no skins of sufficient
consequence to make them an object of barter. They are
of the guanacos and the lion, the latter are very small and
worthless. Towards Cape Pillar a few seal skins may be
picked up amongst them. H. F. P.

ON BEING STUNG BY A WASP.—How small
things may annoy the greatest ? Even a mouse troubles an
elephant, a gnat a lion, and a flea may disquiet a giant. What
weapon can be nearer to nothing than the sting of this wasp ?
Yet what a visible point it envenoms, rankles, and swells up the
flesh. The tenderness of the part adds much to the grief. If
I be thus vexed with the touch of an angry fly, how shall I be
able to endure the sting of a tormenting conscience.—Bishop
Hall.

BLANCHING SEA-KALE.—Without blanching,
sea-kale would not be at all palatable ; and for this purpose
the crown of the roots is covered with six or eight inches of
pure sand, through which the stems may come forth. But it
is now found that it may be blanched by other means, such as
merely excluding the young shoots from light by any kind of
covering. Large flower-pots whelmed over the crowns an-
swer well ; and if these be covered with hot dung it forces
and blanches the roots at the same time. This plant is also
easily forced by being planted in pots placed in a hot-house,
or even in a warm kitchen, having a pot of the same size
whelmed over.—Catechism of Gardening.
ANECDOTE OF GEORGE THE TIIIRD.—The
autumn of the year was memorable for the commencement of
the first illness of his Majesty George 111., by which the Re-
gency question was brought into agitation. The reader will
perhaps ask with surprise, what connexion Mrs. Siddons's name
could have with the afflicting event of the royal malady ? It
had only this connexion, that she was the first person who ob-
served in the royal personage grounds to suspect his mental
aberration. The king, like all his subjects, thought her talents
an ornament to his reign, and he had a profound and cordial
regard for her personal character. She was often at Bucking_
ham House and at Windsor. But, when she was on a visit to
the latter palace, his Majesty one day handed her a sheet of
paper, that was blank all but the signature of his name. She
judged too highly both of her sovereign and herself to believe
that, in his right mind, he could show such extraordinary con-
duct ; and the event proved the justice of her conclusion. She
immediately took the paper to the queen, who was duly grate-
ful for this dignified proof of her discretion.— Thomas Camp-
bell: Life of Mrs. Siddons.