Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-12-05
PATAGONIAN PICTURES.
Uhclothed Indians Found Enjoying
Themselves In a Freezing Climate.

uhciothed Indians Found Enjoying
Themselves In a Freezing Climate,
The wild scenery is something Won
derful, and when the sun shines on the
snow-covered mountains 1t is indeed
pretty sight, says correspondent, de
scribing Patagonia. In some of the
ravnes you see large drifts Of snow
that have been carried there by the
wind and into which l should imagine
II would not be at all pleasant to fall.
The air here, Of course, is very cold,
but it is a dry, healthy breeze and very
Draclng. AT l o'clock, midday, we
reached our anchoring place for the
night, as we could not make the next
harbor by daylight, and in the darkness
it would be impossible to enter. At2
o'clock we received a visit from some
of the Patagonian Indians. They came
Off from the shore in a queer-loolSing
canoe made out Of three pieces of
board. one at the bottom and one on
each side. These were sewn together
with ilbres and admitted considerable
water With the exception of some
skins they had tied loosely around their
bodies, they were devoid of clothing,
and before they had been alongside
many minutes they had not even the
skins to cover themselves with. They
had sold them all for biscuits, tobacco
and boxes Of matches. After remain
ing on board about an hour they re.
turned to the shore, all but one being
entirely naked. The exceptional one
who did not return to the shore in a
nude state owed it to the fact that the
second steward had found on board an
old bottle-green dress that had been
left by some female passenger on the
way ont from Europe. With this the
Indian was duly attired, it being tied
on and around him by the sailors with
settings. Later on we had a visit
from some more of them, this time ac-
companied hy female. The skins
they brought off were those Of the otter.
One Indian had over his shoulder what
at one time had been a very valuable
sealsliin, but then too old and dirty for
use.
1t is strange how these creatures
manage to exist in this severely in
clement climate, where it freezes near
Iy all the year round. They use no
more clothing than that afforded them
by nature, and their huts are nothing
but a few sticks tied together, with a
few skins and some leaves thrown
over the top of them, and their canoes
are always half full of water. The
weapons used are bows, arrows and
spears. They eat the flesh of the ami
mails they kill in the chase and some
lines they catch fish, but their principal
food is mussels. of which there are
millions around there. They have
nothing in the shape Of corn, wheat or
cereals of any kind, as none grow any
where nearer than 1900 miles away.
The climate is too cold for any but
hardy shrubs. They will not touch
liquor of any kind, They are in ap-
2earance something like the Indians
one meets in the altos in Guatemala,
out are smaller and shorter race
md very much more degenerated.
| should imagine them to be the
very lowest specimen of humanity
existing, and only one link short in
he chain to connect them with the
monkey tribe. One of them, ap.
oarently a Detter-humored fellow than
his companions, sat upon the rail and
sang song. They sit, or rather squat,
As a monkey does, and this fellow at
short enteryals would yell out: "Ama,
ma, oma,' crying out quickly and
much after the monkey style. A night
lrew on they all went off to the shore
md we saw them no more.