Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-10-22
\ DEGRADED PEOPLE.
Strange characteristics of the Terra del
Fuego Indians.

Fuego Indians.
The,Terra del Fuego Indians. the ugli-
est mortals that ever breathed, are always
on the lookout for passing vessels and
come out in canoes to beg and to trade
skins for tobacco. The Fuegians. or
"Canoe Indians" as they are commonly
called, to distinguish them from the
Patagonians, who dislike the water and
prefer to navigate On horseback, have
no settled habitation. They are SIM
pie people, with dirty and bloated ap-
pearance and faces that would scare a
mule. They have broad features, low
foreheads over which the hair hangs in
tangled Jumps, high cheek bones, fiat
noses, enormous chins and Jaws, and
mouths like crocodile, with teeth that
add to their responsiveness. Their skin
is said to be of a copper color. They
are short in stature, round shoulderedi
squatty, and bloated. a physical defor-
nifty said to be due to the fact that most
of their lives are spent in canoes. The
women are even more repulsive in their
appearance than the lien, and the chill
Gren, which are uncommonly numerous.
look like young balloons. Their intelli
gence seems TO be confined to a knowl-
edge of boating and fishing, and they
exercise great skill in both pursuits.
Scientists who have investigated them
say that they are of the very lowest Or
der of the human kind, many degrees
below the Digger Indians.
Although these people live in per-
petual winter, where it freezes every
night and always SHOWS when the
clouds shed moisture, they 60 almost
stark naked The skin of the otter and
guanaco are used for blankets, which
are worn about the shoulders and af-
ford some protection but under these
neither women nor men wear anything
whatever, except shoes and leggings
made of the same material, which pro-
tect the feet from the rocks. There is
some little attempt at adornment by
both sexes in the way of necklaces,
bracelets and earrings made of fish
bones and sea shells, which are often
ingeniously joined together.
Their food consists of mussels, fish,
sea animals and flesh of similar sorts,
which they catch with the rudest sort
OF implements. Their fishing lines are
made OF grass and their hooks of fish
bones For weapons they have bows
and spears, the former having strings
made of the entrails of animals. and
the latter being long, slender poles,
with tips of sharpened bone. They
also use sings with great dexterity.
which are made of woven grass, and
are said to bring down animals at long
range.
During the day they are always on
the water, in canoes or dugouts made
OF the trunks of trees, the whole family
gong together, and usually consisting
of man, two or three wives, and as
many urchins as can be crowded into
the boat. When the night falls they 90
ashore and build fire upon the rocks
to temper the frigid atmosphere.
Around this they cuddle in a most
atfectionate way. The name of the
islands upon which they live came
from these fires. The early navigators,
when passing through the straits, were
amazed to see these fires spring up as if
by magic all over the islands every
night at shutdown, and so they called
them Terra del Fuego. or the land of
fire. The English shorten the appella-
ton. and thus the place is known as
Eireland.
No one has ever been able to ascer-
tain whether they possess any sort OF
religious belief o. have religious cere-
monies. Across the straits the Pata-
gonians, or horse Indians, are Of q high