The Republican journal., 1892-01-07

approaches. one moment we were dl-
most becalmed in the hollow of the seas
the next, we were on their summit,
caught by unseen hands that seemed tc
lift the tiny ship in malicious sport and
dash it to destruction. And so, as
discretion seemed to be by all odds the
better part of valor. we turned our backs
on the capricious cape and sought the shell
ter of Christmas Sound till calmer wealth
er. Nobody thought of retiring on that
terrible night, though probably it was nc
worse than hundreds upon hundreds OF
other voyagers have experienced III these
waters and when the mysterious sea,
with its dark masses and snowy crests,
yields up its dead, greater company will
arise from this locality than from any
other on the face of the earth. Daylight
found us in Eyric Sound. with icebergs
iostlin@ one another on either hand all
floating toward the sea-
Some days afterward we actually did
reach Hoorne Island, and went ashore,
though only for moment, Drawing a
drenching in the raging surf for the salts
faction of having it to say that our feet
had touched the snuthern-mo land $ end.
the very iumpin9-oif place of all creation
| am vet too much oppressed by the hor-
Tor of it-by Il feeling akin to that one eX-
periences after night mare-to give
You lucid description of the scene. My
mind retains only Il confused impression
of bare heights desoate beyond the pow
Ell II imagination to conceive, terminating
IN awful }Drevpire>; around whose SUBMITS
st a-birds shliekel for prey and at W hose
1ctt restless pillows dashed with deaten-
ing tumult: the whole q detached link of
the mighty Andes.-the last link. dropped
of into an unknown ocean, sllrging toward
an undiscovered pole.
Ne are now at shllwaia. pronounced
oo-hoo-ee-ah). q Protestant, mission sta
ton on the north bank of Beagle channel.
which separates King Charles South Land
from t he SUutheln-must islands This Gel
ebrated channel which is. pei maps. better
known historically than ANY other portion OF
the archipelago. not only from the accounts
of FitzroN and Darwin. but because ON all
pilot charts it is marked as the one place
of safety Which selmen should endeayor
to reach whose Ships have been wrecked
in rounding the Horn. is only about one
hundred miles north of the cape. but with
many small islands intervening. 1t is a
passage. hardly more than a mile across
in the widest part. but very deep. running
in nearly straight line east and west 120
capped mountains Its course is s1rewn
with outlying rocks and tiny islands. max
inc navigation impossible except for the
smallest steam craft and useless for sailing
vessels. Besides What doubtful good
the missionaries may have accomplished
for the souls of the Indians. they have
certainly saved the lives of many mariners
who would otherwise have persisted ON
these stormy coasts. and it has come to be
matter of course that whenever a diS;l-
bed ship must be abandoned in the neigh
bollood of iuorne Island. as numbers are
every year. the great effort oi survivors is
TO tinG tiieil way through the labyrinth
sounds and inlets to Ushuwaia.
EARLY in 1sS:} the Rev. Thomas Bridges,
then in charge of the Protestant Mission,
reported 4 marked change in the inhabi
tant,. that the Nahgails. ar indians, OF this
part ut Terra del fJego. instead OF nlur-
dering ulifoltunat Wayfarers as formerly,
mighT safely he trusted by strangers. either
sin4ly oi in companies. 10 pilot them to the
lni.siun station: and noW it isasselted with
equal confidence than all the natives. from
Horn islam! away up Breafnock PENN
Sula. are friendly t. the whites when faii
~ treated. The statement may DE true,
but if looks are au indication of character.
one would prefer 10 trust to Providence
for plotting and steer clear OF these Savag-
es rs far rs possible.
The archipelago is peopled by three dis
tinct tribes uI Indians Who speak three
entirely different languages. Near the cen
tire OF the main island there is a Catholic
mission. which also includes the Pata%on-
ian district Of Pllnta Arenas. under charge
Uf the Jesuit iiermdnos de Carload. (Bro-
Tiers of Chality) from the order i'll Santi-
ago de Chile. We shall visit the station
in few days and can tell You more about
it, Before the coming Of missionaries to
these islands, the natives had no religion
at all. nor any idea OF a Supreme Being.
only dark and gloomy faith in evil spirits
which came To do them harm and must be
placated and appeased. Hence the wind
that nearly froze their naked bodies was
believed 10 be an evil spirit: smallpox,
which sometimes makes frightful havoc
upon the islands. was the work OF another:
and white skinned strangers, so different
from themselves. were supposed to be ma
licous powers in tangible forms which
must be eNtcrminated at once.
All the missionaries agree on one point.
that these Indians never We're cannibals
and that they had considerable excuse for
the cruelties they used to perpetrate upon
all foreigners who fell into their hands.
The conduct of many reckless sailors has
been such as to carry out the idea that
they We're bad spirits disguised in human
form: for they thought no more of shoot
ing an Indian child or woman in wanton
sport than of killing snake.
FANNIE B. WARD.
Another Canning Factory Movement
| Last Week Mr.. James }. Laughtun. OF
| South West Harbor, Mt. Desert, came tc
4 Belfast with a view to establishing here a
can ming factory Mr.. Laughtun has had
many Years experience as foreman of a can
ming establ shment and thoroughly under
| stands the usnesS. He is desr. us of start
| ing in ftr himself. and thinks Belfast is g
/ good i"c;t ON. If he locates here he will
conduct u general canning lusut s., not con-
| lining h niseit to one ii,;u.th sijcii as corr,
but Will include fish and all articles that ar,
usually nut mp. He was much inprt SSeC