The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-07-31


him suspiciously.
The tribe appeared to consist of between
100 and 200, and there were several rude
huts formed of trees cut down and stuck
close together in the ground, while their
branches and foliage were tied together
and formed an efficient roof
Fuegans appear to be inseusible to cold,
for though the climate is as cold or even
colder than the extreme north of Scotland,
they do not attempt to make comfortable
huts for themselves, and they wear nothing
but the light clothing which l have de-
scribed. At night, however, most of them
slept by fires, like dogs on winters night.
All that night long Thomas Thorold lay
bound upon the beach, trembling with cold
and terror, and praying, "Lord, now let me
diel'
In the early morning he felt that his
hour had come, for two or three of the Flu
egans came towards him, and one of them
had a knife in his hand But when they
cut the fibre ropes that bound him they
left him alone again, standing on the beach,
free to do what he liked.
1t was useless to think of flight, for
their eyes were always upon him, and be-
sides, one man could have done nothing
with boat in the sea outside the bay. So
after awhile he obeyed the cravings of ma
ture, and collected mussels and CLAIMS on
the shore, as he had seen the natives do !;
and on this cold food he made a wretched
breakfast.
Thus he spent all that day and all the
next thirty-seven days, for he kept care
full count of the time He ate only the
miserable shell-fsh that he found on the
beach, drank water from torrent that
flowed down the mountain side, and slept
by one of the fires, which he boldly ap-
preached the first night after they had un-
bound him, for be had experienced the
cold of one wintry night and that was
enough.
They were neither kind nor unkind to
him, but took no notice of him whatever
they never attempted to speak to him, even
by signs, except on one occasion when he
wandered too far from them, and one Of
them ran after him and made signs to him
to go back.
During the leaden-footed days he neces-
sarily observed how the natives passed
their time, and he did SO without the
slightest interest, and was unable to relate
many details about them. Most of the
work, such as hewing wood and drawing
water, was done by the women; the men
did very little, but spent their time mostly
in lying about their huts. Sometimes a
few of them went hunting, and always re-
turned with one or two seals $; sometimes
they went hunting inland, and always re-
turned with guanaco-a species of llama
then they all Immediately fell upon it, tore
it to pieces, and ate it raw. If a dead seal
was washed ashore, they ate it in the same
way, gorging themselves on the putrid
blubber and flesh.
After these disgusting feeds they lay on
the ground in torpor, and Thorold could
easily have stabbed them as they lay asleep
but that some of the weaker ones, having
been unable to secure much of the food,
were awake and ready to cast their spears
at him. Moreover, if he had killed them
all he would have been no better off.
All these weeks he was in horrible
state of suspense as to why he was being
kept alive and what torture was preparing
for him, so much so that he was unable to
sleep for terror, until forced into uncon-
sciousness by fatigue.
But on the thirty-eighth day an event
occurred which, although in itself grue-
some and terrifying, put into his heart a
hope that he might some day return to the
outer world again, and gave him clue as
to what was his captors' only conceivable
object in preserving him alive.
1t was about noon, on fine cold day.
when Thorold, standing on the beach and
looking out to sea, saw TWO whalers' boats
pull round the headland to distant part
of the shore, where they proceeded to land
and get fresh water. The huts of the
Fuegans were between Thorold and the
newcomers, who apparently did not per
ceive the natives, and were quietly filling
their water casks at a stream.
As Thorold was following his natural
impulse to run to them, get into one Of
their boats, and make them row away, he
was pinioned by three or four strong ma
tives Then few canoes put out to cut
off the boats, should they attempt to es-
cape, and all the rest of the fighting men,
and many of the women, caught up their
long spears and ran towards their victims
To Thorold's surprise, he was made to
run along with them. The whalers' men
were intercepted before they got off, and
then it was the old ghastly tale repeated :
they were shot down to man with the
poisoned spears. All the while the Fue-
gans who were holding Thorold made
him understand that they wished him to
watch what was going on, by gesticulating
and pointing toward the slaughter. After
it was over they pillaged the dead bodies
and the boats of everything they had, and
then threw the corpses into the sea.
While Thorold was lying awake that
night, and brooding over the horrible
event, a sudden inspiration came to him
that the object of the Fuegans in keeping
him alive was to send him back to his peo-
pie that he might tell them how they