Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-12-14

co,nleting Reports Concerning This Com
psrativeiy Unknown Country.


co,nlssing Reports Conserving This Com
psrstivsly Unknown Country.
The group Of islands which form the arcbi.
shout 900 square miles, nearly the same
.cribes the country as Ga mountainous
land, partly submerged in the sea, so deep
that inlots and bays occupy the place where
the valleys should exist. To find an acre
Of level land in any part Of the country is
most rare" Don Ramon Lista, however,
who has had greater and more recent op.
portunities Of investigation, thinks this de-
scription D. mistaken one. As reported in
Chombsys' JouvnaA he describes Argentine
Terra del Fuego as presenting two aspects.
In the north there ore valleys more or less
extensive, covered with splendid groves,
and irrigated by large rivers, some Of which
are navigable; this region enjoying an
agreeable temperature, with very little
snow during the winter. South of this he
REPORTS that the appearance Of the country
changes and extended forests appear, where
the grass Ii not rs abundant or the rivers
90 large. The face Of the land is in this
psrt something like Switzerland, with small
lakes, elevated mountains and valuable
timber forests. He seems to think the
country capable Of great development, for
he adds: ION the plains there will yet be
planted . great pastoral industry, while I
believe the mountains will be found to con.
tain valuable mineral deposits"
Travellers reports rs to the inhabitants of
TERRA del Fuego have been conflicting.
Some visitors have reported the natives to
be stalwsrt. fine-looking men, and others
have described them as small and abject be-
ings. Darwin, whose scientific investiga.
tons were confined to the south Of the coun.
try, says that lone can hardly believe
them to be fellow creatures and inhabitants
Of the Aame world,n .f. r-.,
On the other hand, other explorers in the
North and Northwest describe the Fuegians
- spowerful men Of large stature and warlike
instincts. This apparent discrepancy seems
10 be due to the fact that the land is inhab-
tied BY two very distinct races of Indians.
Mr.. Brydges, whose long residence in the
country enables him TO speak with author
ity on this point, assures US that there are
two separate and distinct tribes dwelling in
TERRA del Fuego. He calls them, as they
call themselves, Onas and Yahgans; the
former living in the North and the latter in
the South. The Onas seem to be almost
IDENTICAL IN character, manner and language
with the Tuehelche Indians Of Patagonia
Like them, they use bows and arrows
In the chase and are muscular, active and
well formed. Their number is now much
reduced, an epidemic Of measles having
been very fatal among them few years
ago, and the whole tribe probably does not
now number more than five hundred per.
sons. They are nomadlc and live principally
In portable tents, covered with guanaco
skins. Mr.. Pepper did not form high
opinion Of their intellectual faculties, judg.
ing from the, primitive nature Of their i'm
plements He describes their tools as con-
sistng for the most part Of pieces Of iron
taken from some vessel cast on shore, and
tied to pieces Of wood by leather thongs.
They have no canoes and do not fish, though
they pick up ON the shore such fish as are
left behind sitter heavy tides. Their only
watsr vessels arc large shells, but they dis.
play some ingenuity In making arrows and
baskots