The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-05-14
PuNTA ARENAS.
The Most Southern Town of the American
Continent.

The Most Southern Town of the American
Continent.
We reached Punta Arenas in the
night, anchored, and slept happily until
daybreak, when we blew the steam
whistle to warn the inha bitants of our
presence, At length the captain of the
port came on board, and we were at
liberty to go ashore: but the landing
was difficult and dangerous; owing to the
roughness of the water and the primi-
tiveness of the moles, we had to be
hoisted out of the ships boat with ropes
The town does not offer much to in
terest the visitor. In the bay are two
coal hulks, an American schooner at
anchor, several small coasting schooners,
used for seal-fshing and local service,
and a Chilian survey steamer. To the
north of the town is government
depot with half dozen buoys lying on
the sandy shore, and looking from
distance like gigantic spinning tops.
Still further to the north rs an old
lighthouse tower, painted red and
white. which was used by the German
astronomical mission at the time of the
last passage of Venus. Beyond the
lighthouse the land becomes fat, and
stretches out into the water, forming a
long sandy spit, with conical beacon
ON the extreme point Hence the name
of the settlement Sandy Point
The town is of very recent ORR
gin, but it has grown rapidly
and now has population of 922 souls,
the whole Territorio de Magellanes
having population OF 2,0S6, of whom
about 500 are foreigners of various
nationalities, the chief capitalists and
business people being German or En-
glish. The houses are solidly built of
wood, the best of them having CORFU
gated iron roofs. Most of the buildings
are painted white; some have walls and
roofs of the same deep red color; the
roofs are, of couse, sharply pointed to
throw off the rain. The general aspect
of things there is new and prosperous.
The principal business houses are Ger
| man Punta Arenas is free port, and
the great center for supplying the sheep
farms and various settlements on the
opposite islands of the Terra del Fuego
| group southern Patagonia, and the
! Falkland Islands. In these rainy and
apparently inhospitable regions the
great industry is sheep-farming. There
| is also much gold-dust in the rivers and
| torrents, and silver and coal mines in
the neighborhood, but hitherto they
! have not been worked with success,
| 1t is curious to note that the
shepherds who come to Punta Are
mas to buy goods and provisions often
pay in gold-dust, which they gather
| in the streams near which their hocks
are feeding. Skins and furs form a
second important industry; seal and
sea-otters abound in the various chan
nels between the islands of Terra del
Fuego and of the Straits of Magellan,
and three times year the Patagonian
Indians ride into Punta Arenas to sell
the produce Of their hunting excursions
namely, puma, ostrich, guanaco and
silver-fox skins. The expectation of
furs is an important business here, and
the port, standing as it does in the regu-
lar steamer track, is destined to greater
and greater prosperity. When we re
turned ON board we found two Danish
fur dealers displaying their stock OF
merchandise and endeavoring to dc
business with the passengers. The
skins were spread out over the matches
on the aft deck-ostrich, guanaco, seal
otter, puma, fox-looking soft and
warm, and interspersed with few In
dian curiosities, such as bows, arrows
spears, lassos, shell-worlS, spurs, models
of bark canoes, and the terrible bolas
which the Patagonians and their pupils
the Argentine gauchos use to hunt th'
ostrich. The Osiris landed our mailbag
and dozen sacks of potatoes, and tool
on board a quantity of ostrich feather
to be delivered in Havre, and then pro
ceeded on her way.-Theodore Child, il
Harpers' Magazine.