The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-12
The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous. 7

mics and on shipwrecked sailors and
into their hands. At other times they
subsist on raw fish.
But when the streams are frozen. as
they are during a greater part of the
year. and no fish are to be had. they
eat all the women of the tribe; next
they devour their horses. II need be,
and lastly but only to save themselves
from starvation, sacrifice their beloved
dogs to the cooking pot. The people
of Terra del Fuego, are even more
ugly. being 6warfs, not more than three
or four feet tall. with enormous swol-
len DO les, large heads, short and crook
ed limbs. They file their front teeth
sharp like those OF dog and devour
their food raw; and though they live
in climate so cold that water freezes
every night In the year, they build no
houses and wear no clothes whatever"
May heaven forgive the reverend gem
tleman his ignorance for / don't be-
lieve he siandered the heather. He
merely gave US the commonly accep-
ted opinion of Europe ana America,
CLEANED undoubtedly from some stand
erd encyclopedia of universal knowi-
edge but at any rate our youthful I'M
aginations were so excited and gener-
Gus pity aroused that every tin bank
belonging to every child In the sun
day-school was ruthlessly broken and
all our boarded pennies dispatched to
the poor Patagonians through the
pockets of the missionary.
AS you may imagine, that which in
terests US most Just now in Punta
Arenas are the Patagonian Indians, par
ties of whom straggle in almost every
day at this season OF the year to ex-
change their guanaco furs and ostrich
feathers for provisions and the WORTH
less trinklets that delight their souls.
The giants seem to be all dead and
the race far gone In its decadence. II
Is the old story. pitifully true where
| ever the red man has adopted the
white on peaceable terms as his near
neighbor, that whisky and disease soon
make sad havoc among the former.
The once sturdy Patagonian, like his
cousin in North America, seems to have
acquired all the vices OF civilization
while emitting it's virtues. his highest
ambition being to get enough to eat,
drink and smoke with the least possi-
BILE labor. He hangs around the ranch
es to pick up what is thrown to him.
self and the dogs in the line of food
and depends upon the stealing and beg
| ging for whisky and tobacco.
1t should be remembered, however,
| that there are several distinct nations
of PatagonIans, not including the Ara
ucanians on the north, nor the Fuea-
gronas on the south, and that each ma
ton has distinguishing characteristics.
The Indians that we see siouching
about Punta Arenas and the country
between here and Santa Cruz are the
southern Tehueleches. The giants" II
there ever were any Patagonians de-
serving the name. were found among
| this tribe. who are much taller and
more slender than any of their neigh
bors. and have different complexion,
being red like the North-American
Indians, rather than muddy brown. like
the South Americans. They are excess
sively dirty. lazy and treacherous. fond
of personal adornment made out OF
bones, shells, and silver (gold, strange
ly enough. they do not like). and they
are ready at any time to barter all
their earthly possessions-wives, hors-
! es, even the few garments that cover
their nekedness-for a little Sire.
water"
The "Pampas Patagones." so called
because they inhabit the vast pampas
or plains to the north, are subdivided
into four tribes, known respectively,
as Puelches, or Eastern Peopie"-the
word Puel meaning east and che peo-
pie: the Picunches. picum meaning
north; the ''Pechtenches. or people of
the pines" peehten meaning pine tree.
and the Randueles, or those who dwell
among the thistle beds. from ranquel,
a thistle. Though not quite so degrad-
ed as their southern brothers, perhaps
because farther removed from eiviliza-
ton, they are treacherous. cowardly
and quarrelsome to a degree, But they
are not beggars; they live by the chase
and by the plumber, batterinE all TO un-
scrupulous white traders for rum and
trinkets.
Then there are the Cinema Pata-
cones. who inhabit the higher alti-
tudes, and who differ both In language
and physical aspect from the other
tribes, are less lazy and cratic They
are sometimes called Manzeneros, be-
cause their headquarters are at place
called Las Manzanas 1.-THE apples),
where tine Jesults formerly had a mis-
sion and planted a great many apple
trees. The Indians own sheep. cattle
and horses in the sheltered valleys OF
the cordilleras and make very good
cider from the fruit OF the trees that
the old friers planted. They also brew
an intoxicating drink from the beans
of the alBaroba, which Is in demand all
over the country
OF course the term "Patagonian' is
entirely unknown among the Indians.
Their true name. collectively and indi-
vidually. Is Tsonecas. and by II all the
tribes call themselves. The word
Pata-gones. meaning "duck-footed-
men" refers to their peculiar footgear.