The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-29
THE MAGELLAN STRAITS.
life ~ THE sou ERNMOST SET
ELEMENTS OF THE WORLD.

surface II tho catlh may be Judged by the Tact
that Patagonia ana lefrn del fuego' those myth
ical countries al our chiIdhood, Whcre race oil
giants were supposed In our iniante minds to
wander about carrying thcir heads under Their
arms for tho sake oil convenience are practl-
callY becoming populated by Europeans that
Patagonia and Terra del Fuego Of reality have
felt the touch oiclviilAation during the last decade
Of the ntnctccnth century snow beyond question,
and what were only lew scattered settlements
som" twelve or fifteen years ago have now
developed INTO ilourishlhg ana comparatively
fast growing communities oi sturdy found
alton. Tho radia'ing centres Tor the pop
ulaton Of Patagonia IN The future are the settle
mcnts at 'hubut, santa cruz "aIIegoa, and Punta
Arenas, inc 'hree FORMER III A'Eennhe territory,
thclattrrin emit FROM i'nhta Arenas population
asdrtlcd southwark 10 letfa dei fuego' drawn
thlhcr by the lhduccmeh' OIL cheap iahdS Tor sheep
farming purposes ana occasionally IN The search
for gold, valuable hnds "i that metal having
occurred from time to time in that region during
the past quarter OF /" century
The Indians Of Patagonia still exist In consid
cradle numNrS, hu' thcy DO not take kindly TO
the advance OF clNllIEnuon and are disappearing
before the new order OF affairs Nomndic in their
habits these creatures "t nature exist in small
encampments, their shci'er from inc intense cold
Of winter being only Inc sk'hs oil the guanaco,
puma OF other wild animals spread over rough
framework OF sticks In 'heSe pfimillVe wigwams
they remain during me pef'"" "' 'he hea'y SHOWS,
only v"nturing abroad IN search oil game or 10
carry to the nearest settlement Tor sale The skins
and ostrich feathers they may nave collected
during Their huhHlS eNufN'"hS beyond Inc
very few necrssari"S 'h'N' pr''t'e people require,
the proceeds Of the barter Z" inc ien'hcrS and skins
scNpendcd III Su'lS H''A' anu ''' VafouAo is only
finished when no money II lei' 10 purchase further
supplies In Inc sphhEuthe "heh Inc SHOWS
nrc melted sulh'I'huv 10 aI"" easy travelling,
the encainpmcht Is moved on 10 some new ground
where the supply oil game promises 10 be easy TO
reach and sufficient IN Qn'h'Ity Tor The support
Of the tribe.
The Patagonan Indians use breed OF dogs
with something oil The AcoNh deethound in APP
pcarance TO run down the guanaco and ostrich.
Then when close upon their quarry the bolas
are thrown with almost unerring aim, Gripping
the animal and allowing the hunter TO dismount
from his horse and use his knife. With both
the bolas and asso the Patagonians are extremely
expert, not matter for wonder when one con-
sldcrs that they depend almost entirely upon
those two weapons for food supplies Some of
these Indians. especially the Tehueche tribe,
exceeding six feet in height, and this. probably,
gave origin to the legends Of tho existence of
giant races in this region of the South American
continent This abnormal development is how
ever confined to two or three tribes only, and is
by no means universal among the aboriginal
inhabitants of Patagonia.
The settlers who are now pushing the native
Indians out oil existence are the Welshmcn who
lmmigrated to Chubut in the year 1862 and who
hitter nearly forty years Of toll and terrible pri-
Hauons nave turned the valley OF the Chubut
River into fertile farming district. where wheat
and Cattle and sheep have become the principal
sources oil industrial enterprise. This year the
welsh colony was unfortunately the scene Of u
very great calamity from tho sudden flooding
"i 'he valley ana much damage was done to the
property OF the settlers ltomcsteads were washed
away, the bulk OF last years crop OF grain stored
IN STACKS was destroyer, irrigation canals were
broken do"h ana whole villages were laid in ruins.
Inc WORK o' repairing these disasters is now,
ho"e'ef p'"eo"'ne dpace and tho misfortune
WIZ nave on'y ptss'hg erect upon the fortunes
" 'he uiSic' ihe h"'hper Of inhabitants in
VIC N"uou' 'ahes no" eAceens QUO and of
H""''S ',''ii ms paien' 'o'ohy are already es-
"','H"'" az p'a'o' III VIC iii'efiof Oh Patagonia
oar" III Wv ''io o'''iiehtS promise 10 spread
"",'" 'ou'A anu west lhese people still
'''A "','' Wv" "e'sn language, aIthouEh they
"'' u'u'i Ais'n'ho laws, auu 'he children born
III inc Seluemehs are Argentine citizens and
hao'e 10 hiii''afy service In the National Guard.
Az inc p"Ilegos RiVcr and on the Santa Cruz
inc nucleus Oh inc settlement Is formed Of hardy
o'"Vmeh' many oil whom have come hther from
me BRUSH colony OF the Falkland Islands, In
twenty years these pioneers have transformed
ms part oil Patagonia from n desert into an i'm
pot'ah' sheep farming district For the Argen-
tine native from Buenos 4 yres and the ADJOINING
districts thor. 10 s,,oI o,,r.,,i,, a. 800, rs
-. " w "o'' III lhls
pai' vi ho lePuolic' par'y on account OF the cold
winters and partly because of the distance f,or,
the Injury NJ ciyiIi,,,ior to,,l J.; -. '''t'
'h iouhu III buehos ayres
anu oher cues OF inc north. The Scot imm-
grating TO this country cares nothing for such
considerations. he finds , climate T.; -.
- - -, N A'' N'''ia'o III many ways
no WORSE man IN MS own native land and with
conditions in many ways much easier for hin, 10
gain A living and mot unfr.ouo,,,,, =, -, W
,o,,n, !, -. W make
'o''uh' III fuhIa Arenas and neighborhood
the population is a mixture Of Scotsmen Enc
lishmen immigrants ,,or, do u.II,,,, 's
Co,,,.,, -, N-' WV ".N'ahu iSiahds
ucthafS' lew Italians some Argentincs and
ChIIlans. The latter have no fear of cold ve.tbe,
as is the case with ,bo ,roro,,i, ,i.
,,, ~'' WIN VIC Ai6ehlthe natives, anu are
VIKING 10 work hard under almost any conditions
where there is money 10 M, r,de ,This s.,,o