Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1855-07-18
From the Buffalo DemOcracy.l
DISCOVERY OF A NEW PEOPLE ON
THE WESTERN CONTINENT.

eH"1 VhC DCOdtul SttIlcu lIOlu IelO III COm-
pany with the Massachusetts (propeller)
that they parted company. and that
for some weeks the loss of the Decatur
was looked upon as certain. She was
afterwards discovered by her consort,
part way through the Straits of Magellan,
and was towed into the Pacific by the
Massachusetts. The New Orleans Pic
ayune of the lst inst. publishes a letter re-
ceived from o. H. Green, dated on board
the Decatur, 'off the Straits of Magel-
Ian, Feb. 18th" and which contains some
statements so startling that we make the
following extracts. From the apparent
respectability of the source, we see no
reason fol doubling the narrative, re-
markable as it is. The writer says:
"There being no appearance of
change of weather, l obtained leave of
absence for few days, and, accompan-
led by my class mate and chum, DR..
cambridge, Assistant Surgeon, was land
ed on Terra del Fuego. With great Ia
Dor and difficulty, we scrambled up the
mountain sides which line the south east
shore of these Straits, and, after ascend
ing $500 feet, we came upon plain of
surprising richness and beauty fertile
fields, the greatest variety of fruit trees in
full bearing, and signs of civilization and
refinement meeting us on every side.
We had never read any account of these
people, and, thinking this island was
wholly deserted, except by few miser-
able cannibals and wild beasts, we had
come well armed, and you can Judge of
our surprise. The inhabitants were ut
terly astonished at our appearance, but
exhibited no signs of fear, nor any un-
friendliness. Our dress amused them,
and, being the first white men ever seen
by them, they imagined that we had
come from their God, the Sun, on some
peculiar errand of good. They are the
noblest race / ever saw, the men all
range from feet to 6A,- well proper
toned, very athletic, and straight as an
arrow. The women were among the
most perfect models ofbeauty ever form
ed, averaging 5 feet high, very plump,
with small feet and hands, and with a
jet-black eye which takes you by storm.
We surrendered at discretion and re.
mained two weeks with this strange peo-
pie
"The teachers of religion speak the
Latin language, and have traditions from
successive priests, through half a hun
dred centuries.
They said this island was once at
tached to the main land /; that, about
1900 years ago, by their records, their
country was visited by violent earth
quake, which occasioned the rent now
known as the Straits of Magellan that,
on the top of the mountain which lifted
its head to the sun, whose base rested
where the waters now flow, stood their
great temple-which, according to their
description, as compared to the one now
existing we saw, must have been II, ,208
feet square, and over II 900 feet high,
built OF the purest pantile marble.
"The ship is in sight that will carry
this to you, and must now close; only
saying that the official report of DR..
cambridge to the Department will be fill
ed with the most interesting and valua-
BILE matter, and astonish the American
people. The vessel proves to be the clip
per ship Creeper, from the Chincha Is
lands, with guano, for your port, and l
will avail myself of this opportunity to
send you specimen of printing on por-
celain, said to be over 800 years old,
and an image, made OF gold and iron, ta-
ken in one of their wars many years be.
fore the Straits of Magellan existed.
"They number about three thousand
men, women and children, and was as.
sured the population has not varied two
hundred, as they prove by their tradi-
tions, for immemorial ages. As the
aged grew feeble they are left to die. and
if the children multiply too rapidly they
are sacrificed by the priests. This or
der comprises about one tenth of the
population, and are what the ancient
Greeks called Gymnosophists. -
They are all of one peculiar race, Meth.
er will they admit stranger into their
order They live, for the most part,
near the beautiful stream called Tanu-
hau, which takes its rise in the noun
tains, passes through the magnificent
valley of Leuvu, and empties into the
Atlantic at the extreme southwestern
point of the island.
q" This residence is chosen for the sake
of their frequent publications. Their
diet consists of milk, curdled with sour
herbs. They eat apples, rice, and all
fruit and vegetables, esteeming it the
height of impiety to taste anything that