The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-12-22

TTa-I - |"-I-|T- 9TI -.
mi1l.ais u Indians Som - -
successful business me-, -
,r,1at1olHifh' and the Scotch hav. +. -.
~ the sheep Industry
lar ~ n'lanS OF the Strait Of Aaeel-
a. last dHing out | doubt xh.th-
oo,n ar are now. ali told. more ,han
fir,. aiploISh they numbered three
~ Is many Il decade ago A.. i
- oHaS and lashans. the l.rrau.
~ nave almost disappeared. and
ehe canoe Indians. or AlacaIpree -
fewer than ever atF
nave seen all of these xarjous
1nNlah tribes. The Alacalufes I me
C~tnFn travelled through Sm>thes
diaa iH some years ago. These In
aaahs are sci dom seen by tn. r araIar
They live in the islands abo't Gn,,,
Channe and III the western nar.s -
ne Terra del Fuegan archiDeraro
- 70 ABOUT IN canoes and suhslSt on
"ha' tIleH can get from the sea and
OF inc roots that they did m IN
IN lheH sleep sometimes In their
aH0TS ana sometimes on land. In
~ ia'ter case they build wigwams
, Don . 5aro nigh. made by bending
over the branches OF low trees and ~
Ihs them together. The m,
are USED only for sleeping. They are
80 10" mat the Indians have To crawl
IN on their hands and knees. and the
cooking must be done on a fire huiIt
IN me canoe or on the ground outside
OF WigWam.
The Alacalufe canoes that saw
were We'll constructed. and some of
them were fifteen feet long a vard
Wide n about two feet in depth
Iney were made of Strips of bark
sewn together with sinews and fasten-
"a 20 rios winch ran across the canoe.
Each boat had its fire. which was
quit on some earth in the center.
me Indians Who We're not padding or
steering the bOat sat around these
treS, and some cooked the while over
the Goals.
CARPENTERS 4
The Alacalufes are perhaps the
lowest Of all the human race. They
are more like beasts than men. Those
| saw We're almost naked. although
there was snow on the ground and
the winds were bitter cold. A few OF
them had on guanaco skins which
halt covered their bodies. and Others
had shreds of rags tina only ac-
c~entuated their n~akednesS. re
member one man who wore a rag
apron as big as a lady's handker-
chief tied to a string about his
waist, and excepting this. only a short
vest open at the front and a hat. This
man padded the boat. and his wife
sat at the stern and Steered. The
Ona was AXE to the waist, and
she was sucking a baby clad in lit
tie more than a string of beads and a
breech cloth. She held the naked
baby to her breast with one hand
and steered the boat with the other.
Another wife near the PROV aided in
padding. She had a uanaco skin
tied around her waist, but the upper
part of her body was bare. She ben
back and forth as the oar rose and
fell in the water.
During our stay in the straits We
had to tie up every night. as the
navigation was too dangerOua tC
risk after dark. At every anchorage
a number of these canoe Indians
came to our steamer. All were un
dersized, but the most of them were
plump and fat, and not a few hac
paint on their faces and bodies. Their
faces were something like those O
the North American Indians. They
had black hair and brown skins, anC
their teeth were white and apparent
ly good. They had skins and furs t.
sell. or rather trade, for they knew
nothing Of money. They swappet
them for knives, food and beads
They were evidently afraid of US, an(
would not come on board. We dick
cred with them over the side of tn
vessel; they staying in their canoe
the while. They were shrewd, am
they often got the better of the bar
gain. The things they most wantet
5 were tobacco, candy and cake, The,
were ready to trade for biscuits o
cigars or tobacco in any shape. ant
, they seemed quite as anxious to ge
tobacco as food.
T The Onas and Yaghans are the In
!, dian tribes of the Island of TERRA de
| Fuego. They are of a higher civil
cation thar the Alacalufes, and o
+ late they have been so changed b
the missionaries that their sayag
: traits are fast passing away. In tn
! past the Ona houses were merel
: holes in the ground with wind break
Of branches ben over them. TIL
!, holes were about big enough to con
,, tain one Indian family. and wer
: used only for sleeping. The Indian
: crawled in at night, cuddling u
{ there with their dogs lying abou
l and over them for warmth. Tn
cooking of the las was done outsid
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