The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-11

| above that mark.
What IS more. these people, who arr
| called the Onas, live on the verge of the
Antarctic circle and go nude much Of the
| time. The only coverings they ever veal
| are skins of animals loosely thrown
around their shoulders. Even the womer
have no other garb. Possibly this the
best evidence that they are the most
primitive people in the world.
That is what DR.. Cook thought when
| he saw them. The monstrous forms OF
these men, armed with the simplest wea-
pons, wooden clubs and bows and arrows
! their brutal faces and scanty covering
of skins made them appear like the imag-
/ mary pictures of man in the earliest ages
when he first appeared on the earth.
Polygamy prevails among them. One
man is entitled to as many wives as he
can support. But he rarely has more than
two or three. So hard Is the battl of life
in their barren island that it requires all
| the prowess of a mighty man to keep even
a small family.
The climate Of Terra del Fuego is so
cold that only grass and small trees and
shrubs grow upon 1t. The Vegetation, in
fact, is more scanty than in the klondike
and most parts of Alaska.
There is none Of the warmth and glow
OF an Alaskan Summer, though. on the
other hand, the winters are not quite so
cod. Being entirely surrounded by water
the temperature is more uniform.
These people used to number several
thousands, but they have now dwindled
to few hundred. One of the causes Is
that they have fallen prey to- the dis
eases of civilization communicated to
them by tribes of other savages on neigh
boring islands and by white settlers.
OF late years a few Of these settlers
have come to the northern shores of the
island of Terra del Fuego. These pioneers,
who live almost as isolated lives as the
natives, have established sheep ranches,
and have usurped the grassy hunting
grounds of the natives for their own use
as sheep pastures.
The settlers have even brutally shot the
natives and taken their wives from them,
or, in some cases, enslaved the men. What
was the most terrible of all in the eyes of
the natives. a few have been made to
wear clothes.
1t was found that under these changed
conditions the wild people soon died. Con-
sumption and measles carried them off
like plague
DR.. Cook tried to find out how such
a hardy race should so easily fall victims
to disease. The popular idea among the
settlers was that the mere wearing of
clothes made the natives sensitive and
caused their death. DR.. Cook became con-
WINGED that the cause was different.
de found that the settlers had ships
which took their sheep to Clillian and Ar
gentine markets and brought back pro-
visions once a year. He believed that the
men on these ships brought disease
germs. These germs might not be present
in large enough quantities or virulent
enough to effect any white person, for the
reason that civilized people have become
inoculated through centuries of contact
with the diseases. But the wild natives
fell as easy victims to the infection as If
to pestilence. Their strength and rug
gedness afforded no resistance against
new diseases.
The natives came to have a superstitious
fear that the white settlers poisoned them
as we'll as tried to enslave them.
This resulted in relentless war between
them. The natives steal the settlers sheep
and kill tho white men whenever they can.
That is on the northern shore. They kill
shipwrecked sailors, and they used to eat
the poor sailors as well.
The English missionaries among the
neighboring tribes of the weak and puny
Alacoolurs and Yahgans caused those
tribes of indians to give up cannibalism
Their example influenced even the fierce
Onas to gradually give up the cannibal
habit. This is the only effect the mis-
sionaries have been able to produce on the
Onas
These natives have refused absolutely to
let the missionaries come among them.
Not only do they not want to be civilized,
but they have no religious sense. They
can't be made to understand what it
means. There is nothing in their langua ge
TO signify God, as far as is known. The
nearest they approach 10 religion is to
having a superstitious regard fer their
medicine men, who perform certain crude
rites.
The savage and bitterly hostile nature
OF the Onas toward white men has thus
far prevented scientists from ascertaining
anything about them.
DR.. Cook took advantage of a singular
tradition TO get among them. lie heard
the rumor that these people, who were SO
savage on the northern shore of FueEo
Island. were peaceable and kindly disposed
on the south shore. This was said to be
due 10 the fact that a sort of Robinson
CruSoa white man had settled on the south |
shore many years ago. He had been good !
TO the Onas, had given them sheep to eat,
and they had returned his kindness by be- |
ing friendly to him and all other white
men who landed on that shore of the |
island
Incredible as this sounded DR.. Cook de- |
cided 10 test the tradition. He left Punta |
Arenas on the Straits Of Magellan and |
cruised along the southern shore Of Terra |
del Fuego. lie finally found the good whita 1
mans home. HIS name was Thomas |
Bridges. He had at one time been a mis- |
sionary, but went 10 Fuego Island as a /
settler forty years ago.
Like William Penn. he had treated tina
cannibal Onas 50 well tina; they had come |
TO Ike him. DR.. Cook found that il was |
actually true that the onos would not kin |
white man on that southern shore. In 1
irodlced TO the natives by Bridges. Dr..
Cook was soon on gOod terms with the 1
whole tribe. When they learned he was a /
big medicine" man they brought their /
sick>to hinl. and even allowed him TO use /