The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-02-03
descriptive Artitles.
Men of Terra Del Fuego.

Among the interesting observations
made by Lieutenant Bove, in Terra del
Fuego. are those on the Jagan tribe, which
counts 5000 individuals, who inhabit
norton of the southwest of the country.
With slight abridgement we give the ac-
count in Lieutenant Bove's own words:
"The Jagans impress one as poor race.
In general the men are scarcely OF more
than medium stature, while the women
rarely reach it. The faces of this race are
round, large and fiat, with high cheek
bones, low foreheads, large fiat noses, very
black and restless eyes, wide apart, large
tumid lips, and strong jaws furnished with
beautiful teeth. The head and chest are
disproportionately large compared to the
extreme slenderness of the arms and legs,
and it is a marvel how the latter can sup
port the well-developed trunk and heavy
head. In spite of this strange formation,
both men and women have uncommon
strength, and [ have seen them carry
weights that would have taxed the robust
est of our sailors. No less surprising is
the smallness of their hands and feet,
which, if beauty, is very disadvantageous
to the men, VINO can carry only one or two
objects in their hands at the same time.
They have rough, lustreless black hair,
which they wear long and falling over face
and shoulders. Some bind it with leath-
er strap, but most let it grow to such an
extent that they look more like furies than
human beings The men have very little
beard, and that little they pluck out,
while neither men nor women have any
hair on their bodies. They do not tattoo,
but use all kinds of paint. Two or three
hues of color on the face and few neck
laces of shells or birds bones is the usual
dress of Fuegian. For protection against
the terrible hurricanes, the SHOWS that fall
ten months in the year, and the torrential
rains that daily visit this miserable archi-
pelago, the Fuegian only wears small
mantle of seal or guanaco skin over his
shoulders. The wigwams are only made
of intertwined branches fixed in some
sheltered spot, but they are too weak to
keep out snow and rain. These wigwams
are used by the Fueg ans who dwell near
the few residents of Usciumaia or around
the mission; the other natives scarcely
ever remain more than one or two days In
the same place; they lead vagrant life
in their small canoes among the complicat-
ed canals of this broken-up country, fish
ing and hunting for their subsistence, OF
which the sea furnishes the larger part
The women are looked upon as slaves, and
the greater part of the work falls to their
share. [ have often seen the men sitting
quietly around good fire while the poor
women were exposed in fragile skiffs to the
snow, wind and waves, fishing for their
idle and hungry husbands. The greater
the number of wives or slaves man has
the easier for him it is to find living;
hence the practice of polygamy, which is
so rooted among the Fuegians that, in
spite of the efforts of the missionaries, it is
no rare thing to see convert break
through restraint and add two or more
wives to the one allowed him by his new
religion. But though Fuegian may mar
ry as many wives as he pleases, he seldom
takes more than four; and even with that
small number it is difficult to preserve do
mestic peace.
''The wigwam is the scene of daily bat
ties, and sometimes the prettiest OF wives
paws with her life the preference of her
husband. Sometimes, however, the wives
all unite against their common husband.
The girls begin to hunt for husbands at
ten or twelve years of age, but they only
become mothers at the age of seventeen or
eighteen. The men marry at fourteen and
sixteen years of age. The marriages are
dictated by convenience, and are a matter
of sale and purchase rather than of love or
reciprocal sympathy. The father chooses
from among the suitors for his daughter
the one who is strongest, most dexterous
and docile to his wishes, and fixes the
number of skins to be given and days his
son-in-law has to work for him. A canoe,
spears, and harpoons form the dowry Of
the bride. When all is settled the bride
is informed, and, whatever may be her SEN
timents, she takes good care to show no re-
sistance to her father, and is taken away
to her husbands wigwam. But generally
the fathers choice is also the daughter s,
for nowhere do strength and dexterity
make greater impression than upon the
Fuegian girls, who fly from crooked or
deformed man as from an impure being
pariah. There is no feast or wedding
ceremony. The bride simply goes to her
husbands wigwam, or he establishes HIM
self in that of her father But some rules
have to be observed. If the husband
wishes to continue to eat the flesh of the
guanaco or seal he must take a purifying
bath in the sea the morning after his we'd
ding. Such bath, especially in the depth
of winter, is no doubt often the cause OF
many of the maladies to which the young
Fuegians are subject The Fuegian wo-
men are very prolific. Seven or eight is
the average number of children, but often
still young woman will have ten or
twelve.
"The children, however, seldom all sur