Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-15
MOST SOuTHfRNTOWN
characteristics Of Punta
Arenas, Chile.
FORTUNES IN WOOL
EXPERIENCE PASSING THROUGH
THE MAGELLAN STRAITS.
The Hardy Natives of TERRA del Fuego
-Unclothed Despite the Bitter Cold
Talk of a Line to Santiago.
F FORTUNES IN WOOL
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
PUNTA ARENAS, Straits of magellan


July Is, 1903.
Geographically, Punta Arens Is the south
ernmost town of the American continent,
south latitude SO degrees 10 minutes. 1t is
the small toe Of Chile the heel being at
Cape Froard. fifty miles further south. and
the head 2,7OO miles up the coast, beyond
Pisagua A long. slim body of coast
country Is Chile, but ending Its mainland
with thriving little city. which North
American real estate agents would call the
midway maritime metropolis.
Figuratively and sentmentally, Punta
Arenas is next door to heaven. Coming in
from the Pacific after days and nights in
the midst of wild winter seas, the senti-
ment asserts itself. Its sheltering arms
offer peace and rest to the weary and sea-
sick voyagers.
1t should not be understood that the seas
were much worse than usual at this season,
for the ships officers say otherwise, and
they ought to know. But after waiting
three days at Valparaiso for the norther
which came from the south to subside be-
fore putting out to sea, 1t seemed that the
Oropesa might count on fair weather. She
did have a pasSable time Of 1t until after
coaling at Lota. Then an Englishman, who
did not look superstitious, told the rest OF
us that we were Sin for it, He had seen
from Valparaiso, and another one perched
on the mainmast that morning at Lota. He
was already seasck in his imagination and
he wanted company. Within twenty-four
hours he had no reason to feel lonesome in
the actually.
One morning the purser generally re-
marked to the few passengers who made
show of crawling out to pretend to break
fast, I'VE did get knocked about a bit last
night, now didn't we?"
We had been hammered slammed pound
ed, banged and tossed about; had listened
for hours to the straining and creaking of
the beams and tmbers; had known from
the motion that sometimes the steamer was
in the trough and sometimes was on the
crest of the mountain seas; had felt the
immense masses of water come straight
down like bolt; had experienced the SEN
SatiOn of the waves striking the vessel
first broadside, next obliquely and then
huge seas chasing us astern-all this with
out misgivings, for we knew that with
limitless sea room and stanch ship
neither officers nor crew were fretted by a
bad-tempered ocean. Our only concern was
over the amount of kindling wood which
might be strewn around the decks. So the
purser's cheerful Suggestion with reference
to being knocked about a bit met with
ready acquiescence.
The seas were still smiling like conical,
spiral mountains bowling one another
along, but 1t was not quite so bad as dur
ing the night when the engines had had to
straits. This raised laugh. IF we
don't lose more than another 100 miles to-
day may be there tomorrow morning."
was the reply.
The Evangelists Sighted.
Tomorrow morning was long in coming,
yet it did come, and we were there. Dur
ing the night the crashing seas had ceased
to break against the ships ribs, and while
the rocking continued 1t was gentler and
more regular. Almost at dawn the light
house was sighted. The fog and mist
melted slowly and to the left what looked
like gray rocks were visible. There they
are" said Captain Hayes, with satisfao-
ton, the Evangelists.' Then he added
grimly, If you don't find them or they
don't find you you're lost, and 1t takes a
lot of crawling around in these waters to
get your bearings
l could distinguish only two rocky heaps.
but the Evangelists are four In number
Matthew. Mark. Luke and John. They are
given in the charts with this name as well
with the designation of islands of direc-
ton which aptly describes them for they fix
the direction of the Pacific entrance to the
Straits of Magellan. If they were lacking
to the eye the appearance of the surface of
the waters, like rolling prairie heaving
and undulating across it's whole expanse,
would indicate some channel or bay where
the riotous waters of the ocean exhaust
themselves.
l
sunshine. of broken snow covered ground
on the left and a knob of brown earth on
the right. Cape Pillar" said my inform
ant. pointing to the knob. When We pass
that we're in the straits"
We passed the cape in daylight dark
ness. The gray clouds which were hiding
the sun changed to violet. almost to purple,
and suddenly shut down on the horizon like
q drop curtain. Snow" was the terse ex-
PLANTATION given me. Wen have 1t in half
an hour.
We had 1t in less time and were snow
balling like schoolboys. For three hours it
continued. binding. driving snow storm
1t lifted at midday when we were in one
of the narrOwest channels Of the straits
land on either side few hundred feet dis
tant. with little beach. the mountain sides
with snow. even the scrubby brushes
which might pass for dwarfed trees The
great snowfields are perpetually covered,
but it was the testimony of the seamen
that so much snow on the slopes clear down
to the water was unusual.
Desolat1on Island too had more than its
usual coating Of white powder. for the wrin-
kles in the mountain sides were smooth and
the drifts were piled high on the peaks.
TITS rightly named" said young fellow
who had been there. II tell you It's des-
olate place. Can't grow anything or raise
anything there. We tried sheep. but it's
too wet for them.'
The Natives.
had read about the natives of Desola-
ton Island and Terra del Fuego who get
along without clothes in freezing weather.
1t was freezing weather. With a tourists
curiosity asked II we should see any OF
them and was told they seldom appeared
now. Years back. before steamers in the
straits became so. common, the natives
would put out in their canoes whenever one
anchored. The canoe usually contained
whole family. naked children lying at the
bottom with the dogs. the lord and chief
resting at his ease while the women pro-
PEELED and kept q rude fire going. Contact
with civilization taught them that tobacco
was good, and the women, robed in native
modesty and dirt. would Chamber on board
to beg tobacco for their lords and biscuits
for themselves. A French naval officer.
who was in these parts some years ago.
confirmed the stories Of the endurance of
the naked natives in the coolest weather.
and added that they were the stupidest
aborigines he had met in any part of the
world. and he believed they were the low
est in the scale LIBERALIZATION. This is dis
puted
Apparently we were not to see the famed
blue glaciers. That they were glaciers we
could easily distinguish from their out
lines in spite of the deep snow which COW
cred the Ice But the blue. we were told.
Is an effect of the summer atmosphere
when they are bare on the slopes. So we
were rot to expect anything more than the