The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-05-09


 Especial Correspondence of the Journal
 and Courier.)
 Central Tierra del F'uego, March 5.
 One morning not many months ago, while we were living in Santiago de Chili. card was brought to me. in- seribed:
 ....-. .....-..............., ..,.......s.-. Mons Jose Faguano l.. Superior de la Mission Patagonia, .. l.. Meridinal Tierra del Fuego .. ...... ...................... ..............
 I recognized it as that of a we'll known Italian Jesuit, belonging to the ] Order of Hernanos de Caridad, whose missionary work in this far south land has been more successful than any of their predecessors, Protestant or Cath ollie. Descending to the drawing-room, < found portly, dark-eyed, middle aged gentleman, in black woolen gown, black broadcloth cloak of circu- l lar cut like our old-tirae water proof, '' and shining shovel hat tied up on both sides with cords and tassels. The good father could not speak a word of Eng fish, and his Knowledge of the Spanish language was almost as circumscribed as mine of the Italian; yet in true jour nalistic fashion we managed the inter Iview somehow, with the result that l became so interested in the unknown people of this remote archipelago as to Ipromise an early visit to the Jesuit mission. And therefore here we are, in the very center of King Charles South Land, where the feet of white women probably never came before.
 The area of this main island of the Tierra del Fuego group is about twen- Ity-two metres and like the rest of the archipelago it's western coast is rocky land mountainous. much broken by bays land inlets, while the eastern side is as Ilevel as an Illinois prairie and as dense- lily wooded as northern Maine. Not withstanding its prevailing aspect of wild desolation and total unoecupancy lsince the world began. there are a few favored sections where the scenery Iequals the best parts of England lmoorlands covered with grass so green Ithat it is almost blue, fertile valleys, Isnow-topped mountains from three to lseven thousand feet high, fresh water flakes perpetually blackened with wild Howl, rivers wherein nuggets of gold lhave been found, and climate resem- bling that of Canada up in the Hudson tBay region The heights are all volcan- lie, and everywhere scoriai and lava ap- Ipear. The flora of the island includes lmany strange plants. but only two of Ithe indigenous ones are edible, viz: lspoonwort and wild cherry Yet the 1.-two thousand or more native inhabi- ltants never lack for food, though they ldo not cultivate the soil and the only domestic animal seen among them are ttheir fox-like dogs, which appear to re- iceive much more consideration than is bestowed upon the women and children. lThe Fuegoans resemble Solomon's lil- lilies in just one particular" toll lnot, neither do they spin" They sub- lsist almost exclusively upon the she'll fish that abound along the coasts, (eat- :en raw), supplemented by a globular fungus that breaks out like warts upor 1.-the trunks of Antarctic beeches, and by 1.-the hard-tack and sea-biscuit they are forever begging from vessels passing through the Straits. Mons. Faguano ltels us that before he came here the people had never heard of houses, but iconstructed the rudest kind of weather lbreak. of poles and h-wood-always live huts In a group, if huts they could lbe called, with one fire built in the cen Iter Cold as the weather is sleeting and snowing nearly every day in the year lthey wore no clothes whatever, except occasionally an uneured otter skin lwhose stench would be unindurable to anybody but Fuegoan. To this day says the Padre, despite the efforts of all the missionaries, every one of them will Isell his or her last rag for plug of to- baceo or a few glass beads, and stalk back to the mission happy though en- tirely naked. There are now about sev. len hundred Indians in the Jesuit Mis- lsion, who are being taught to read and write Gin Spanish) and to do various kinds of manual labor. The Brothers lof Charity have built comfortable lhouses for all who come into the sta ltion and abide by it's rules, and they furnish the Indians food, clothes ant blankets until they are able to provide for themselves. But, says Father Fla. lguano, it is impossible to prevail upor Ithe most civilized of them, however cold the winds may blow and snows may drift, to stay in a house which ha. any sort of door in it. The door mus
 be taken off it's hinges and put away lout of sight before any Indian will en.
 ter the much needed shelter. It is alsC
 extremely difficult to persuade the wo men to take any care of their children land the nearest approach to sewing
 which they can be induced to do-al ways with their own fshbone needles Istrung up with fiddle strings of guana
 co gut-is to hitch together a few ottel
 skins to partially cover their naked ness.
 As may be imagined, life is not par ticularly pleasant here for these city
 bred Heimanos de Caridab, who art gentlemen of culture and refinement--st
 isolated from their kind in these wil(
 South Seas. But whoever heard of {
 good Catholic shirking his duty foi lmere personal comfort? All their fooe lis sent to them from afar, mostly iron
 the Brotherhood in Santiago; and thert 1 ;e-, +1o ,I,ol |,