HORSE INDIANS OF PATAGONIA.
Horse Indians of Patagonia:--Head--Physiognomy--Stature--Wanderings
--Clothing--Armour--Arms--Food--Chase--Property--Huts--Wizards
--Marriage--Children--Health--Illness--Death--Burial--War
--Horsemanship--Gambling--Caciques--Superstitions--Warfare
--Morality--Disposition--Chups--Zapallos.
The head of a Patagonian is rather broad, but not high; and, except
in a few instances, the forehead is small and low. His hair hangs
loosely: it is black, coarse, and very dirty. A fillet which is worn
around the top of the head may be intended as an ornament, for it
is certainly of no use. The brow is prominent: the eyes are rather
small, black, and ever restless. Deficiency of eyebrow adds to the
peculiar expression of their eyes; and a mixture of simplicity
and shrewdness, daring and timidity, with that singular wild look
which is never seen in civilized man, is very conspicuous in the
Patagonians. Its immediate effect is to remind one of the necessity
of being always on guard while within reach: yet of all savage
nations, perhaps the Patagonians are least inclined to attack or
deceive strangers.
In general, the women’s stature, physiognomy, and dress, so much
resemble those of the men, that, except by their hair, it is
difficult for a stranger to distinguish them.
By nature they have but little hair on either face or body, and that
little they try to eradicate. Their faces are roundish, and the
width or projection of the cheek-bones makes them look unusually
wide. The nose is a little depressed, narrow between the eyes, but
broad and fleshy about the nostrils, which are rather large. The
mouth is large and coarsely formed, with thick lips. Their teeth are
often very good, though rather large; and those in front have the
peculiarity, which will be discussed when speaking of the Fuegians,
of being flattened, solid, and shewing an inner substance. The chin
is usually broad and prominent: all the features, indeed, are large,
excepting the eyes. The expression of their countenances is open and
honest (compared with other savages), and their intrepid, contented
look is rather prepossessing. The unhesitating manner in which,
unarmed, they trust themselves among strangers whom they never before
saw, or venture on board ship, even under sail in the offing (if they
can obtain a passage in the boat), and go voluntarily from place to
place with their white acquaintances, is very remarkable.
Of the stature and bulk of these Indians I have already spoken.
It appears to me that those who now live on the northern side of
Magalhaens’ Strait are descendants of the Patagonians whose size
excited so much surprise and discussion; and that, occasionally,
individuals have exceeded the common height. Speaking of Cangapol,
whose chief resort was the vicinity of the river Negro, though he and
his tribe were restless wanderers, Falkner says--“This chief, who was
called by the Spaniards the ‘Cacique bravo,’ was very tall and well
proportioned. He must have been seven feet and some inches in height,
because, on tiptoe, I could not reach to the top of his head. I was
very well acquainted with him, and went some journeys in his company.
I do not recollect ever to have seen an Indian that was above an inch
or two taller than Cangapol. His brother, Sausimian, was but about
six feet high. The Patagonians are a large-bodied people; but I never
heard of that gigantic race which others have mentioned, though I
have seen persons of all the different tribes of southern Indians.”
In another place he says, “there is not a part of all this extremity
of the continent that some of these wandering nations do not travel
over frequently.” Of their wanderings, many persons besides myself
and those with me can bear witness. Patagonians, who were personally
known by officers of the Beagle, were seen by them at the Spanish
(now the Buenos Ayrean) settlement, Del Carmen, near the mouth of the
river Negro, in September 1832; and by Mr. Low, at their usual abode,
near the Strait of Magalhaens, in February 1833. The individual who
was then most noticed, a half-breed Indian woman, named Maria,[1]
once persuaded some of her companions to go with her to the Falkland
islands, in a vessel commanded by Mr. Matthew Brisbane. They went,
staid there some weeks, and returned in the same vessel, highly
delighted by all the novelties, excepting sea-sickness. The chief
wizard of the tribe was one of the party. Maria was then a person of
much consequence, being almost their only interpreter, and the wife
of a principal person. Her own history must be curious: she was born
at Asuncion, in Paraguay; and has a son who is a cacique.
The mantles are curiously painted, usually on one side only, but some
have had the hair rubbed off and are painted on both sides. They are
very neatly sewed together with thread made out of the split sinews
of ostriches, which is the strongest and most durable material they
can procure. Making mantles is one of the occupations of the women.
The paint used is found on the hills: it is an earthy substance, of
various colours. Moistened with water, and made into the shape of
crayons, pieces of this substance are dried in the sun; and when
used, one end of the crayon is dipped in water and rubbed on the part
to be coloured. These mantles are tied about the neck, and usually
round the middle, by sinew cords. Often the upper part is dropped,
and the body left quite exposed above the waist, and while in active
exercise on horseback, this is usually the case, if the mantle is not
then entirely discarded. This substantial substitute for clothing
is made with skins of the animals of their country: and among those
of guanaco, puma, fox, skunk (a kind of weasel or polecat), cavy,
dog, otter, seal, and colt, the most esteemed are the small grey
fox skins. A kind of ‘maro’ is sometimes worn by the men; and their
boots, I have already said, are made out of the hock part of the
skins of mares’ and colts’ legs. After being cleaned from fat, or
membranous substances, dried, and then made pliable with grease,
these ready-shaped boots require neither sewing nor soles. Wooden
substitutes for spurs are worn, if iron cannot be procured.
For warlike purposes the men clothe themselves in three of their
thickest mantles: the two outer ones have no hair, but are gaily
painted: all three are worn like ponchos. On their heads they then
wear conical caps, made of hide; and surmounted by a tuft of ostrich
feathers. Another kind of armour, worn by those who can get it, is
a broad-brimmed hat, or helmet, made of a doubled bull’s hide: and
a tunic, or frock, with a high collar, and short sleeves, made of
several hides sewed together; sometimes of anta skins, but always
of the thickest and most solid they can procure. It is very heavy,
strong enough to resist arrows or lances, and to deaden the blow of
a stone ball (bola perdida); but it will not turn the bullet fired
from a musket. Some say that it will do so, but that which I saw had
been pierced through, in the thickest part, by the musket-ball which
killed the wearer. When obliged to fight on foot, they use a shield
made of hides sewed together (clypeus septemplex).
Their arms are balls (bolas), lances, bows and arrows, clubs, and
swords when they can get them. But in hasty, unforeseen skirmishes,
they engage in as light order as the more northern Indians, without
head-cover or mantle, stripped to their spurs, and armed only with
lances and balls; which latter they are never without.
The balls, bowls, or bolas, called by themselves ‘sōmai,’ are two or
three round stones, lumps of earth hardened, iron or copper ore, or
lead. If made of earth or clay, the material is enclosed in small
bags of green (fresh) hide, which, placed in the sun, contract so
much, that they become like stones in hardness; but these clay balls
are not used by the Patagonians so much as by the Pampa Indians, in
whose country stones or metals are so scarce that there probably the
last-mentioned balls were invented. Two balls, connected by a thong
of hide, two, three, or four yards in length, are called ‘sōmai.’
Three such balls, connected by thongs, equal to one another in
length, with their inner ends united, are called ‘achico.’ Taking
one ball in the right hand, the other two are whirled around several
times, and the whole then thrown at the object to be entangled.
There are also balls of less weight and size, made of marble, lead,
or metallic ore, with shorter cords or thongs, which are for small
animals.
Sometimes two small balls, each of which has a cord about a yard
in length, are fastened to the thong of the larger set. This is to
entangle the victim more effectually. They do not try to strike
objects with these balls, but endeavour to throw them so that the
thong shall hit a prominent part; and then, of course, the balls
swing around in different directions, and the thongs become so ‘laid
up’ (or twisted), that struggling only makes the captive more secure.
They can throw them so dexterously, as to fasten a man to his horse,
or catch a horse without bruising him. If an animal is to be caught
without being thrown down suddenly--an inevitable consequence of
these balls swinging round his legs while at full speed--a sōmai is
thrown at his neck. The two balls hang down, and perplex him so much
by dangling about his fore-legs, that his speed is much checked; and
another set of balls, or a lasso, may be used, to secure, without
throwing him down. The lasso is not much used, so adroit are they
with the balls. A formidable missile weapon is the single ball,
called by the Spaniards ‘bola perdida.’ This is similar to the other
in size and substance, but attached to a slighter rope, about a yard
long. Whirling this ball, about a pound in weight, with the utmost
swiftness around their heads, they dash it at their adversary with
almost the force of a shot. At close quarters, it is used, with a
shorter scope of cord, as an efficient head-breaker.
Several of these original, and not trifling offensive weapons, are
kept in readiness by each individual; and many a Spaniard, armed with
steel and gunpowder, has acknowledged their effect.
The lance (chuza) is a long bamboo cane, from twelve to twenty-four
feet long, headed with iron or steel. The great length and tapering
slightness of these spears makes them formidable to any adversaries,
but often fatal to those who are unskilful or timorous, because
their vibration, artfully increased to the utmost by the holders,
makes it extremely difficult to parry the advance of their point;
but, once parried they are useless--perhaps become encumbrances to
their owners, who, if they do not turn and dash off at full speed,
have recourse to their balls or to swords. Some have swords obtained
from white men; others fasten long blades (knife-blades, perhaps, or
pieces of iron hoop, straightened and sharpened) to handles three or
four feet in length. Their bows are three or four feet long; and the
arrows, about two feet in length, are headed with small triangular
pieces of agate, jasper, obsidian, or even bone. But bows, arrows,
shields, clubs, and heavy armour are daily less used; and may we
not infer, that arms and armour, suited to foot encounters--such as
arrows, heavy clubs or maces, shields, and many-fold tunics--have
been laid aside by degrees, as horses have multiplied in the country?
Fighting on foot is now seldom practised, except in personal
quarrels. Falkner says, they used to envenom the points of their
arrows with a species of poison, which destroyed so slowly, that the
wounded person lingered for two or three months, till, reduced to a
skeleton, he at last expired; but I have not heard of such a practice
among the southern aborigines in these days.
Those Indians who have felt the effects of fire-arms, and own
abundance of horses, the men of Araucania, who are the terror of
the Pampa tribes, have long abolished armour and the arms of former
wars--wars so well sung by Ercilla, in which they gained unfading
honour in maintaining the freedom of their country. Naked on their
horses, armed with lances, swords, and balls, those men now rush like
the whirlwind--destroy--and are gone!
The women of Patagonia wear nothing on their heads; their hair,
parted before and behind, is gathered into two large tresses, one on
each side. Ear-ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets, made of
beads, pieces of brass, silver, or gold, are much esteemed. Their
mantles are similar to those of the men; but they are pinned across
the breast by a wooden skewer, or a metal pin, and are gathered about
the waist, hanging loosely almost to their ankles. A short apron, or
half-petticoat, made with skins of small animals, or coarse cloth,
is tied about their waist, under the mantle. It only covers them in
front, and reaches to the knee. Boots, similar to those of the men,
and additional clothes, are worn when they ride distances; sitting
astride, upon a heap of skins, which serve at night for bedding.
The principal subsistence of these Indians is the flesh of mares,
ostriches, cavies, or guanacoes; but though they are not particular,
and eat almost anything that they catch, the flesh of young mares
is preferred to any other. They broil their meat, and eat it with a
lump of fat, and salt. The fat of mares and that of ostriches are
boiled together and put into bladders; but the fat of guanacoes is
eaten raw, being preferred in that state. There are two roots which
they eat, one called tus, the other chālăs. The tus is a bulbous
root, growing wild, which when cleaned and baked, or rather roasted,
becomes mealy, like a yam. They use it sometimes with their meat,
but not often. The chālăs is a long, white root, about the size of a
goose-quill. It is either roasted in the embers or put into broth,
which they make for women and sick people. When on the sea-coast,
limpets and muscles are gathered by the women and children; but fish
or seals are seldom obtained. Dogs are not eaten, neither are horses,
unless disabled by an accident.
Cattle are yet scarce in the southern regions, because pasture-land
is rather deficient; but about the lately-discovered river, Chupat,
(lat. 43.21. S.) which, though small, is supposed to cross the
continent, they are rather numerous, but their flesh is not thought
equal to that of mares.
The only prepared drink which they use, besides the decoction of
chālăs, is the juice of barberries, mixed with water, and drank in
its natural state. They have no fermented liquor.
Hunting is both amusing and necessary to the men. They go out to the
chase in parties, more or less numerous, according to the strength of
the tribe, the scarcity of food, and the supply of horses. An extent
of country is enclosed by the horsemen; then drawing together, they
drive before them all the animals; till, when tolerably collected
together, the cacique, or leading man of the party rides at an animal
and throws it down with his balls. All then set to work, and ball
away in every direction. They do not stop because one animal falls,
since not one in a hundred escapes by his own exertions when once
entangled; but another and another become the victims of a good
hunter, before the collection escapes out of his reach. All their
sets of balls being employed, and the game dispersed, they begin to
kill and divide. Each animal is knocked on the head with a ball,
skinned, and cut into pieces, where it fell, and the pieces are then
carried on horseback to their huts.
After reaching their settlement, the produce of the chase is brought
together, and divided among the different families, in proportion to
their respective numbers. If one family has eaten its share sooner
than others, some one of that hungry house goes to any party which
has meat left, and cuts off what is wanted, without a question.
A number of large dogs assist in the hunt: whether they scent the
game I know not, but probably they run by eye, as so many animals
are a-foot at once. Each regular hunter has a spare horse at hand;
the best horses being carefully reserved for war and the chase. Upon
others they travel, place the women and children, and their property.
The method of hunting above-mentioned is that employed on set
occasions; but if only a few men are together, they surprise and
chase, as they can. Sometimes they ride together, and chase whatever
they see, whether ostrich, skunk, guanaco, fox, or puma.
The wealth of these Indians consists chiefly in horses and dogs, the
richer individuals having forty or fifty horses, and a large number
of dogs; the poorer, only one or two horses, and but one dog.
The tents or huts called by themselves ‘cow,’ and by the Spaniards
and their descendants, toldos (tolderia is the place of toldos, or
Indian village, in Spanish), have already been partly described.
Made of skins, sewed together and supported by poles, a tilt-like
construction, open towards the east, is their hastily-formed
dwelling. The top slopes towards the west side, which is not above
two feet in height. The front is about six or seven feet high; and
the inside space about twelve feet by nine. Both poles and skins are
carried with them when they migrate from place to place. Water does
not lodge on the hide covering, neither does wind penetrate; and as
east winds are very rare in Patagonia, a temporary screen, such as a
few skins, suffices for protection against them.
Two or three families sleep in one hut, unless it is the dwelling of
a cacique, or person who has many wives. Poor people have but one
wife. Those who are rich, and able to maintain them, have several
wives--three, four, five, or even more.
In places where some of the tribe stay constantly, and which are
considered the head-quarters, or central rendezvous of a tribe, there
are larger huts, almost deserving the name of houses. Some of these
are for the cacique and his wives; others are for the wizards, who,
in their three-fold capacity of priests, magicians and doctors, have
great influence over the superstitious minds of their countrymen.
These larger dwellings are made with poles and skins, put together so
as to form an oblong shed, with a sloping roof, shaped like a small
cottage. The substitutes for walls are about five feet in height,
and the roof is in the middle about eight feet from the ground. Some
of these houses are four or five yards in width, and eight, ten, or
twelve in length. I have never seen one myself; but those who gave
me other information, which I found true, said that there were such
houses in the interior, and described them minutely to me.
At night, skins are spread upon the ground to sleep on; two or three
rolled up, along the length of the back part of the tent or hut, form
a pillow for the whole party, on which each family has its place, and
the dogs lie at their feet.
The children have a little square place to themselves, in one corner.
Infants in the cradle (a piece of hide with a thong fast to its four
corners, by which it is suspended from the roof of the dwelling), are
placed near their mother.
Marriages are made by sale more frequently than by mutual agreement.
Instead of receiving a dowry with his wife, a man pays a large price
to her nearest relations. Sometimes girls are betrothed while very
young, and a part of the stipulated price paid to the relations.
Mutual inclination may sometimes determine the choice; but payment
must in every case be made, in proportion to the supposed value of
the damsel, and the property of her purchaser. If a girl dislikes a
match made for her, she resists, and although dragged forcibly to the
hut of her lawful owner, plagues him so much by her contumacy, that
he at last turns her away, or sells her to the person on whom she has
fixed her affections; but he seldom beats her, or treats her ill.
Perhaps she does not wait to be so disposed of, but elopes and takes
her choice of a protector; who, if more powerful than the husband,
obliges him to submit to the double loss, unless a cacique, or a
powerful friend of the losing party, forces the gallant to restore
her, or compromise the matter, and these affairs are in general easy
to settle. It has been already mentioned that each man who possesses
any property has usually more than one wife; and that some few men,
who have forty or fifty horses, and other riches in proportion,
maintain four or five wives.
“Women who have accepted their husbands with good-will are in general
very faithful and laborious,” says Falkner; “their lives are but
one continued scene of labour; for, besides nursing and bringing up
children, they are obliged to do much drudgery.” Except hunting,
providing food, and fighting, all work is done by the women. Indeed
they sometimes aid in battle. Some families have slaves who do
household work; but if they should have no slaves, not even the wives
of a cacique are exempt from every-day labour.
Men do not marry before they are about twenty years of age. Girls
are married earlier: from fourteen or fifteen they are considered to
be marketable commodities. Falkner says, “When once the parties are
agreed, and have children, they seldom forsake each other, even in
extreme old age. The husband protects his wife from all injuries, and
always takes her part, even if she is in the wrong, which occasions
frequent quarrels and bloodshed; but this partiality does not prevent
him from reprimanding her, in private, for engaging him in these
disputes.
“He very seldom beats her; if she is found unfaithful he lays blame
on the gallant, and, if able, punishes him severely; unless the
delinquent atones by some valuable gift. Sometimes, at the command of
a wizard, a man orders his wife to go to an appointed place, usually
a wood, and abandon herself to the first person she meets. Yet there
are women who refuse to comply with such orders.”
When it does happen that a man and his wife quarrel, the woman is
sometimes punished by having her two tails rather savagely pulled. I
have been told that the husband scarcely ever beats her, except in
the height of passion.
Children are left to take care of themselves soon after they can
walk. With sets of little balls (bolas) they annoy the dogs not a
little, practising their future occupation. While very young they
climb upon old, or quiet, horses’ backs. If a young guanaco is caught
and tamed, or a bird with its wings clipped hops about the tolderia,
the little ones have fine sport. While infants are suckling, the
mothers use frames or cradles in which their charges are carried
about: they are made of flat pieces of wood, with a few semi-circular
guards of lath, or thin branches, whose ends are fixed into holes
in the wood. In such frames, between pieces of guanaco skin, the
babies are placed; and while travelling, these cradles are hung at
the mothers’ saddle-bows. The children are much indulged. Falkner
says, “The old people frequently change their habitations to humour
the caprices of their children. If an Indian, even a cacique, wish to
change his abode, and the tribe with whom he is living do not choose
to part with him, it is customary to take one of his children, and
pretend such a fondness for it, that they cannot part with the little
favourite. The father, fond of his child, and pleased that it is so
much liked, is induced to remain.”
Yet with all this apparent goodness of disposition, in moments of
passion, these Indians have been seen to be like other savages,
disgraced by the worst barbarity. Neither man, woman, wife, nor even
a smiling innocent child, is safe from that tiger in human shape--a
savage in a rage. “Nunca, nunca fiarse de los Indios,” is a Spanish
maxim, as well founded as it is common.
Education, and the beneficial effects of the opinions of others, an
influence fully felt only in civilized society, have so tamed and
diminished the naturally strong passion of anger, with its sequel,
immediate violence, or hatred and revenge, that imagination must be
called to the assistance of those who, happily, have never seen a
furious savage.
Who can read that instance of child murder, related so well by Byron,
in his narrative of the Wager’s wreck, without a shudder? yet the
man who, in a moment of passion, dashed his own child against the
rocks, would, at any other time, have been the most daring, the most
enduring, and the most self-devoted in its support and defence!
(Appendix No. 14.)
Generally speaking, the Patagonians are extremely healthy. Their
constitutions are so good that wounds heal rapidly: but they are
not ignorant of the healing properties of some herbs; nor of the
purgative qualities of others. They know the effect of bleeding, and
can adroitly open a vein with a sharp piece of shell or flinty stone.
When sick, the chālăs root, pounded and mixed with water, is a
favourite specific. Should this, or the few other remedies which
they think they know, fail, the wizard (who is also doctor) performs
some absurd ceremonies, and then rattles together two pieces of
dry bladder, in which are some loose stones, in order to frighten
away the ‘Valichu,’ or evil spirits, who are opposing their art,
and tormenting the unlucky patient. The diabolical noise caused by
rattling these dried bladders, is continued until the disease takes
a favourable turn, or the sufferer dies. If death ends the scene,
the body is wrapped in the best mantle of the deceased, placed on
his favourite horse, and carried to the burying-place of the tribe.
The wizard rattles, and the other people howl over the corpse as it
is carried to the sepulchre. In a square pit, about six feet deep,
and two or three feet wide, where many others have been deposited,
the corpse is placed in a sitting posture, adorned with mantles,
plumes of feathers, and beads. The spurs, sword, balls, and other
such property belonging to the deceased, are laid beside him; and the
pit is then covered over with branches of trees, upon which earth
is laid. His favourite horse is afterwards killed. It is held at the
grave while a man knocks it on the head with one of the balls of the
deceased. When dead, it is skinned and stuffed, then, supported by
sticks (or set up) upon its legs, with the head propped up, as if
looking at the grave. Sometimes more horses than one are killed. At
the funeral of a cacique four horses are sacrificed, and one is set
up at each corner of the burial place. The clothes and other effects
belonging to the deceased are burned: and to finish all, a feast is
made of the horses’ flesh.
But there are also other modes of disposing of dead bodies: and as I
am certain that at least two of them are practised by the Patagonians
of the present day, and we are assured by Falkner that other methods,
one of which was carrying them into the desert by the sea-coast,
were customary in his time, I shall here repeat what he says on the
subject (p. 118).
“The burial of the dead and the superstitious reverence paid to their
memory, are attended with great ceremony. When an Indian dies, one
of the most distinguished women among them is immediately chosen
to make a skeleton of his body; which is done by cutting out the
entrails, which they burn to ashes, dissecting the flesh from the
bones as clean as possible, and then burying them under ground till
the remaining flesh is entirely rotted off, or till they are removed
(which must be within a year after the interment, but is sometimes
within two months) to the proper burial-place of their ancestors.
“This custom is strictly observed by the Molu-che, Taluhet, and
Diuihet,[2] but the Chechehet and Tehuelhet, or Patagonians, place
the bones on high, upon canes or twigs woven together, to dry and
whiten with the sun and rain.
“During the time that the ceremony of making the skeleton lasts,
the Indians, covered with long mantles of skins, and their faces
blackened with soot, walk round the tent, with long poles or lances
in their hands, singing in a mournful tone of voice, and striking the
ground, to frighten away the Valichus, or evil spirits. Some go to
visit and console the widow, or widows, and other relations of the
dead, that is, if there is any thing to be got; for nothing is done
but with a view of interest. During this visit of condolence they
cry, howl, and sing in the most dismal manner; straining out tears,
and pricking their arms and thighs with sharp thorns, to make them
bleed. For this shew of grief they are paid with glass beads, brass
cascabels and such like baubles, which are in high estimation among
them. The horses of the dead are also immediately killed, that he may
have wherewithal to ride upon in the ‘alhue mapu,’ or country of the
dead, reserving only a few to grace the last funeral pomp, and to
carry the relics to their proper sepulchres.
“When they remove the bones of their dead, they pack them up together
in a hide, and place them upon one of the deceased’s favourite
horses, kept alive for that purpose, which they adorn after their
best fashion, with mantles, feathers, &c., and travel in this
manner, though it be to the distance of three hundred leagues, till
they arrive at the proper burial-place, where they perform the last
ceremony.
“The Molu-che, Taluhet, and Diuihet, bury their dead in large square
pits, about a fathom deep. The bones are put together, and secured by
tying each in its proper place, then clothed with all the best robes
they can get, adorned with beads, plumes, &c., all of which they
cleanse or change once a year. They are placed in a row, sitting,
with the sword, lance, bow and arrows, bowls, and whatever else the
deceased had while alive. These pits are covered over with trees,
canes, or branches woven together, upon which they put earth. An old
matron is chosen out of each tribe, to take care of these graves, and
on account of her employment is held in great veneration. Her office
is to open every year these dreary habitations, and to clothe and
clean the skeletons. Besides all this they every year pour upon these
graves some bowls of their first made chicha, and drink some of it
themselves to the good health of the dead. (N. B. Not the Tehuelhet.)
“These burying places are, in general, not far distant from their
ordinary habitations; and they place, all around, the bodies of their
dead horses, raised upon their feet and supported with sticks.
“The Tehuelhet, or more southern Patagonians, differ in some respects
from the other Indians. After having dried the bones of their dead,
they carry them to a great distance from their habitations, into the
desert by the sea-coast; and after placing them in their proper form,
and adorning them in the manner before described, they set them in
order above ground, under a hut or tent erected for that purpose,
with the skeletons of their dead horses placed around them.
“In the expedition of the year 1746, some Spanish soldiers, with one
of the missionaries, travelling about thirty leagues within land, to
the west of Port San Julian, found one of these Indian sepulchres,
containing three skeletons, and having as many dead horses propped up
around it.”
In the expeditions of the Adventure and Beagle, between 1826 and
1834, a few burial places of another kind were examined. These were
piles of stones, upon the summits of the highest hills, on the
eastern sea-coast. Some had been thrown down and ransacked; probably
by the crews of sealing vessels: others there was no opportunity
of visiting: only one untouched pile was found: and that one was
examined by Lieutenant Wickham. It was on a height, near Cape Dos
Bahias, in latitude forty-five south. Only bones were found, in a
much decayed state, under a pile of stones about four feet high;
and from the remains of the bones Mr. Bynoe ascertained that they
had belonged to a woman of the ordinary stature. A pile of stones
on a neighbouring height had been pulled down by the crew of a
sealing vessel: under it were fragments of decayed bones, which were
thought too much injured by time and weather to be worth removing;
indeed they crumbled to the touch. Under similar heaps of stones the
‘gigantic skeletons’ which some voyagers have described, were said to
have been found.
Doubtless these several methods of disposing of the dead are not
those of one horde only, but of various tribes. But I prefer
mentioning all that is yet known of the subject, as far as I am
aware,[3] and leaving it for better-informed persons to decide upon
the particular habits of each subdivision. Would any one tribe bury
each of the five following persons in a similar manner, and in the
same place? A powerful cacique--a wizard--a woman--an ordinary man--a
child?
“The widow or widows of the dead are obliged to mourn and fast for a
whole year after the death of their husband. This consists in keeping
themselves close shut up in their huts, without having communication
with any one, or stirring out, except for the common necessaries
of life; in not washing their faces or hands, but being blackened
with soot, and having their garments of a mournful appearance; in
abstaining from horse’s and cow’s flesh, and, within land where they
are plenty, from the flesh of ostriches and guanacoes; but they may
eat any thing else. During the year of mourning, they are forbidden
to marry, and if, within this time, a widow is discovered to have
had any communication with a man, the relations of her dead husband
will kill them both, unless it appears that there has been violence.
But I did not discover that the men were obliged to any such kind of
mourning on the death of their wives.” (Falkner, p. 119.)
Manslaughter is not infrequent. When quarrels arise, the parties draw
their knives, or take such weapons as are at hand, and fight, if not
parted, till one is killed. War often occurs between the smaller
tribes, but does not last long. When the small tribes unite against
another nation, such as the Molu-che, or the Puel-che of the north,
their preparations are more serious, and their hostilities of far
longer duration.
When at war, or expecting an attack, the Patagonians exercise on
horseback, in their armour, every other evening. Frequently the
occasion of hostility is an encroachment upon the territories of a
neighbouring tribe, either for hunting or plunder. War is, in such
case, instantly declared by the insulted party. In armour, and
upon their best horses, they sally forth to meet the intruders.
Having met, they ask why their land has been invaded, and desire the
strangers to return to the place whence they came. The non-compliance
of the intruders is a signal for action; they close--fight--and
one party, being vanquished, loses all its property. The manner of
fighting has already been mentioned.
The horsemanship of the Patagonians is not equal to that of the
northern Indians: yet it is not indifferent. From their weight, and
the openness of their country, they do not habitually ride so hard,
or practise so many manœuvres as the Araucanian,[4] who can hang at
the side of his horse while at speed, directing him by voice and
rein; or even while going through a wood can cling quite beneath
his belly for a short time, still urging on and directing him; but
such feats, performed by naked men, who are almost centaurs, surpass
the powers, or rather the dexterity, of the bulky, well-fed, and
heavily-clothed Patagonian.
The Patagonians are very fond of racing. At almost every leisure
hour either horses or play engage their attention, for they are
also great gamblers. Race-courses are regularly marked out, but
they are very short, not a quarter of a mile in length. These short
bursts at the utmost speed seem absurd, till one considers that in
hunting wild animals, attacking or escaping from the sudden attack
of an adversary, such short starts are of the utmost importance.
They bet upon the horses, and sometimes stake even their wives and
their children. Payment is faithfully made, even to the uttermost.
The cards with which they play are pieces of skin, with figures
painted upon them: perhaps rough imitations of the cards used by the
Spaniards; but this may be doubted.
According to Falkner, the native of Patagonia is a superstitious
polytheist. I cannot add to, nor have I reason to doubt his account;
and shall therefore repeat what he says on this subject, abridging it
slightly.
“The Indians imagine that there is a multiplicity of deities, some
good, others evil. At the head of the good deities is Guayara-kunny,
or the lord of the dead. The chief evil agent is called
Atskannakanatz, or Valichu. This latter name is applied to every evil
demon.[5]
“They think that the good deities have habitations in vast caverns
under the earth, and that when an Indian dies his soul goes to live
with the deity who presides over his particular family.
“They believe that their good deities made the world, and that
they first created the Indians in the subterranean caverns above
mentioned; gave them the lance, the bow and arrows, and the balls,
to fight and hunt with, and then turned them out to shift for
themselves. They imagine that the deities of the Spaniards created
them in a similar manner, but that, instead of lances, bows, &c.,
they gave them guns and swords. They say that when the beasts, birds,
and lesser animals were created, those of the more nimble kind came
immediately out of the caverns; but that the bulls and cows being the
last, the Indians were so frightened at the sight of their horns,
that they stopped the entrances of their caves with great stones.
This is the grave reason they give why they had no black cattle
in their country, till the Spaniards brought them over; who, more
wisely, had let them out of their caves.
“Some say that the stars are old Indians; that the milky way is the
field where the old Indians hunt ostriches, and that the Magellan
clouds are the feathers of the ostriches which they kill. They
have an opinion that the creation is not yet exhausted; nor all of
it yet come out to the daylight of this upper world. The wizards,
beating their drums, and rattling their hide-bags full of shells,
or stones, pretend to see into other regions under the earth. Each
wizard is supposed to have familiar spirits in attendance, who
give supernatural information, and execute the conjuror’s will.
They believe that the souls of their wizards, after death, are of
the number of these demons, called Valichu, to whom every evil, or
unpleasant event is attributed.
“Their religious worship is entirely directed to the powers of evil;
except in some particular ceremonies made use of in reverence to the
dead.
“To perform their worship they assemble together in the tent of the
wizard, who is shut up from the sight of the rest in a corner. In
this seclusion he has a small drum, one or two round calabashes or
bags of dry hide, with small sea shells in them, and some square bags
of painted hide in which he keeps his spells. He begins the ceremony
by making a strange noise with his drum and rattle-bags; after which
he feigns a fit, or struggle with the evil spirit, who it is then
supposed has entered into him; keeps his eyes turned up, distorts
his face, foams at the mouth, screws up his joints, and, after
many violent and distorting motions, remains stiff and motionless,
resembling a man seized with an epilepsy. After some time he comes to
himself, as having overcome the demon’s influence; next he feigns,
behind his screen, a faint, shrill, mournful voice, as of the evil
spirit, who, by this dismal cry, is supposed to acknowledge himself
subdued; and then the wizard, from a kind of tripod, answers all
questions that are put to him.
“Whether his answers are true or false, is of very little
consequence; because, if his intelligence should prove false, it is
the fault of the demon, or Valichu. On all these occasions the wizard
is well paid.
“The profession of the wizards is very dangerous, notwithstanding the
respect that is sometimes paid to them; for it often happens, when an
Indian chief dies, that some of the wizards are killed; especially
if they had any dispute with the deceased just before his death; the
Indians, in this case, attributing the loss of their cacique to the
wizards and their demons. In cases also of pestilence and epidemic
disorders, when great numbers are carried off, the wizards often
suffer.
“On account of the small-pox, which almost destroyed the Chechehet
tribe, Cangapol ordered all the wizards to be killed, to see, if by
such means, the distemper would cease.
“There are wizards and witches. The former are obliged to dress
in female apparel, and are not allowed to marry. The latter are
not restricted. Wizards are generally chosen when children; and
a preference is always shewn to those who, at that time of life,
discover an effeminate disposition. They are clothed very early in
female attire, and presented with the drum and rattles belonging
to the profession which they are to follow. Those who are seized
with fits of the falling sickness, or the ‘Chorea Sancti Viti’
(St. Vitus’s dance), are immediately chosen for this employment,
as selected by the demons themselves; whom they suppose to possess
them, and to cause all those convulsions and distortions common in
epileptic paroxysms.”
The Patagonians, and indeed all the South-American aborigines, have
faith in witchcraft. They all believe that the wizards or witches can
injure whom they choose, even to deprivation of life, if they can
possess themselves of some part of their intended victim’s body, or
that which has proceeded thence--such as hair, pieces of nails, &c.;
and this superstition is the more curious from its exact accordance
with that so prevalent in Polynesia.
The tribe, or subdivision of the Tehuelhet who generally live near
Magalhaens’ Strait, have learned to pay a sort of homage (perhaps
it may be termed worship) to an image of wood, cut into the figure
of a man’s head and body, and called Cristo; this image they rarely
produce to strangers, or even amongst themselves, except at
deaths, or on very particular occasions. This attempt at an outward
demonstration of faith in customs of the Romish church, appears to
have been caused by a Captain Pelippa, who visited the Strait of
Magalhaens some time before the Adventure and Beagle. Who or what he
was, I could not discover.
There is a particular kind of tree, which is esteemed sacred, and
never burned. It is like a thorn; a resinous gum issues from the
knotty, close-grained stem, which has a pleasant aromatic smell, if
put into the fire.
Regular government, or any forms and rules approaching to what may
be called a civil constitution, no one would expect to find among
tribes of wandering savages; but amongst the Araucanian tribes of
Molu-che, who do not wander, and have advanced towards civilization,
there are regular laws, supporting a settled form of government; and
their ideas have been communicated to the southern tribes, and have
slightly influenced them. Thus, in many cases, offenders are tried
by an assembly of the older people, and their sentence pronounced,
after mature deliberation, instead of being at once dealt with as the
cacique may, at first thought, deem expedient.
The caciques or chiefs are hereditary. Those who possess much
property and have many followers are highly respected; but their
authority, though absolute in some instances, is little exerted
in the common occurrences of life. When meetings are held for the
purpose of deciding upon any question, the cacique presides--that is,
he is considered the principal person present; certainly he looks
the most solemn, and is the least active. He gives orders to hunting
parties, or to those who exercise for war: and if men quarrel, he
sometimes causes them to be parted. In time of war he leads his
tribe, and in proportion to his enterprise and success is his actual
authority while the war lasts. Each person has a particular name,
implying a quality or some peculiarity; sometimes a particular place.
“All the sons of a cacique,” says Falkner, “have a right to assume
the dignity, if they can get any persons to follow them; but, on
account of the small utility of the rank of cacique, it is often
resigned.”
Falkner’s account of the caciques ought to be, and is, no doubt, one
of the best; it is as follows:--
“The cacique has the power of protecting as many as apply to him;
of composing or silencing any difference; or delivering over the
offending party to be punished with death, without being accountable
for it. In these respects, his will is the law. He is generally
too apt to take bribes, delivering up his vassals, and even his
relations, when well paid for it. According to his orders, the
Indians encamp, march, or travel from one place to another, to hunt
or make war. He frequently summons them to his tent, and harangues
them upon their behaviour; the exigencies of the time; the injuries
they have received; the measures to be taken, &c. In these harangues,
he always extols his own prowess and personal merit. When eloquent,
he is greatly esteemed; and when a cacique is not endowed with that
accomplishment, he generally has an orator, who supplies his place”
(as in Polynesia).
“In cases of importance he calls a council of the principal Indians
and wizards, with whom he consults about the measures to be taken,
to defend himself or attack his enemies. In a general war, when many
nations unite against a common enemy, as in the great alliances
against the Spaniards, they choose a commander-in-chief, called
Apo (or Toqui), from among the oldest or most celebrated caciques;
but this honour though properly elective, has for many years been
hereditary in the family of Cangapol. (Written in 1780.)
“The caciques have not the power to raise taxes, or to take away
any thing from their vassals; nor can they oblige them to serve
in the least employment, without paying them. They are obliged to
treat their vassals with great humanity and mildness, and oftentimes
to relieve their wants, or they will seek the protection of some
other chief. For this reason, many of those who are born caciques
refuse to have any vassals, as they cost them dear, and yield but
little profit. No Indian, or body of Indians, can live without the
protection of some cacique, according to their law of nations; and
if any of them attempted to do so, they would undoubtedly be killed,
or carried away as slaves, as soon as they were discovered.
“In case of any injury, notwithstanding the authority of the cacique,
the party aggrieved often endeavours to do himself justice to the
best of his power. They know of no punishment or satisfaction, but
that of paying or redeeming the injury or damage done with something
of value. If the offence is not very great, and the offender is poor,
the injured party perhaps beats him with his balls on the back and
ribs; but, in general, they do not chastise, except by death. When
the offender is too powerful, they let him alone; unless the cacique
interferes, and obliges him to make satisfaction.”
A curious plant is found in Patagonia (and at the Falkland Islands),
somewhat like a very large and very solid cauliflower. It is
greenish, or yellowish-green, tough, and very abundant. It grows
upon and close to the ground, forming a lump like a large ant-hill
overgrown with moss and grass. From the succulent stalks of this
plant a balsamic juice or sap exudes, which is particularly good for
healing wounds.
Battles between tribes are carried on similarly to their wars against
a nation; but, of course, on a smaller scale. The attacking party
halts at a great distance from the enemy, and sends out scouts to
reconnoitre. These emissaries hide during the day, but at night
examine every detail most minutely, and return to the camp with a
full account of their opponent’s strength and position. When the moon
is near, or a little past the full, showing good light for their
work, they advance to the attack. A few hours after midnight they
make the assault, kill all the men who resist, and carry away the
women and children for slaves.
Sometimes the Indian women follow their husbands, and share in the
booty. Laden with plunder, they all retreat as hastily as possible,
resting neither night nor day, till they are at a great distance,
and out of the reach of their enemies. Sometimes they ride more than
a hundred leagues from the place of attack before stopping to rest,
and divide the booty. On such occasions, if fearful of pursuit, or
hard pressed by pursuers, they stop very little by the way--light no
fire--eat but little food, and that raw--and some are even able to
change horses without checking their speed, or touching the ground.
A troop of loose horses is always driven along before the party: and
when an Indian, at such a time, wants to change, he rides alongside
of a loose horse, jumps on his back, bridle in hand, and in an
instant, the bit is transferred from one to the other. Saddle they
care not for, when thus pressed.
In guiding and managing their horses, the Indians use the voice with
very good effect. The best of those animals are exceedingly well
trained: and the owners are as reluctant to part with them as Arabs
are to sell their steeds.
The natives of Patagonia breed their own horses as well as dogs: but
their constant practice of killing the horses of men who die tends to
prevent their being numerous. Upon such occasions, all, excepting the
few which had been assigned to his children (generally one or two to
each child at its birth), are killed. Dogs have a similar fate. With
such laws, a man need not fear being put out of the way for the sake
of his property; nor, while the women are enjoined to go through such
a mourning ordeal, is it likely they would enter into or favour any
combination made against their husbands, however harshly they might
be treated by them.
Excepting that of the caciques, I believe there is no superiority of
one person over another among the Patagonians. Those who have more
property than others, or who are related to the chief, have influence
over the rest, but are not considered by them to be their superiors.
The moral restraints of these people seem to be very slight. Each man
is at liberty to do very much as he feels inclined; and, if he does
not injure or offend his neighbour, is not interfered with by others.
Their social habits are those handed down by their ancestors, and
adapted to the life they are compelled to lead. Ideas of improvement
do not trouble them. Contented with their fine climate--plenty of
wholesome food, and an extensive range of country--they rather pity
white people, who seem to them always in want of provisions, and
tossed about at sea. These natives have a great dislike to the motion
of a ship; yet, for novelty, they will go afloat when opportunity
offers.
In landing at Gregory Bay, Mr. Low has had much trouble in preventing
the natives from crowding into his boat, all being anxious to see
the vessel. Once, when many strange Indians (of another tribe)
were present, he was obliged to affect to quarrel with them;
and afterwards they behaved better and were quite civil, but he
never allowed his boat to be grounded. Having left a Dutchman as
boat-keeper, the natives teased him into a quarrel, and then dragged
him out of the water, boat and all, with their lassoes, leaving him
among the bushes, frightened and spluttering, while they galloped
off, laughing heartily. The Dutchman hastened to Mr. Low; but while
he was gone, the boat was put into the water by the authors of the
trick, who then dashed off at full speed, highly amused at their
feat. Mr. Low gave one of the women a gay gown: it was the first she
had seen; and wishing to suckle her infant, she put it under the
skirt of the gown, and, with some difficulty, forced the little thing
upwards to her breast.
When the Patagonians meet white men, their inclinations are almost
always friendly; but if they find themselves able to dictate to the
strangers, a tribute of tobacco, bread, muskets, powder, ball, or
such articles as they see and fancy, is often imposed.
A trading schooner called at Gregory Bay (in the Strait of
Magalhaens) in 1834. Her mate landed, and was asked for various
things which he could not or did not wish to give. The natives
detained him as a prisoner; sent his boat away; and kept him till his
ransom (tobacco and bread) was sent ashore.
Considerable traffic for knives, swords, muskets, ammunition,
tobacco, bread, and, latterly, spirits, has been kept up between the
southern Patagonians and the vessels which have touched on their
shores (especially at Gregory Bay) in going through the Strait. Their
returns have been mantles, skins, and fresh guanaco meat.
During late years, several persons, run-away seamen and others,
have passed many months--some, indeed, have passed years--in their
company,--living as they live.
In 1833-34, one of the most influential individuals among them was
a Chilian, named San Leon, who had been carried to Patagonia by Mr.
Brisbane, for the purpose of trading with the Indians for horses.
He ran away from the vessel (1830-32), and has since lived with the
tribe who are generally found near Gregory Bay. His wife is the
daughter of an old native who possesses much property (according
to their ideas); she speaks a little Spanish, and interprets for
strangers better than her husband, whose knowledge of the Indian
language is very slight. Bred in Chile, San Leon is a good horseman,
and considered by the Indians to be an excellent hunter.
Mr. Low thinks that the natives would encourage and be friendly to a
settlement of white people, made in Patagonia. They profess to like
white men, and to wish some to live with them: when old Maria (the
woman previously mentioned) was at the Falkland Islands, Mr. Low told
her that he intended to build a house at Gregory Bay, and carry white
people with him to live there, at which she and her party (including
the wizard) seemed to be much pleased.
Mr. Low considers that those natives who live eastward and northward
of the First Narrow are not of the same tribe as those who are
generally about Gregory Bay, with whom, he says, they are frequently
at war. He also thinks that those who live farther westward, near
Otway and Skyring Waters, form another subdivision. The following
notices, written from his dictation, will show that what I have
already stated respecting these minor tribes, considered as
subdivisions of one large body or nation, cannot be very far wrong:--
During the stay of the Unicorn (Mr. Low’s vessel) in the channel
between Otway and Skyring Waters, a fire was made, as a signal to the
Indians. They soon began to arrive in small detached parties, some
of whom were known to Mr. Low, whose acquaintance with them had been
formed at Gregory Bay. They travelled in small parties, therefore
were not, in all probability, on bad terms with their neighbours at
that time.
Those who first arrived were invited on board; but declined going,
because their chief was expected: and with the last party came a boy,
about nine years’ old, fantastically decked with ornaments of copper
and brass, with beads, and with a new mantle. A tall, fine-looking
man, of the Gregory Bay tribe, accompanied this young cacique, and
made him known to Mr. Low, by the name of ‘Capitan Chups.’
These natives have adopted the word ‘capitan,’ and now always use
it when addressing white men who they suppose have authority. When
some Patagonians of the Gregory Bay party came on board the Beagle,
in 1834, seeing a larger number of officers than is usual in small
vessels, one of the first questions asked, in broken Spanish, was,
“Quanto capitanes abordo?”
Little Capitan Chups seemed to have no small idea of his own
consequence, and tried to affect much dignity. He willingly went
on board the Unicorn; but not a native would enter the boat until
the young chief was seated, when there was a most inconsistent
scramble, which nearly swamped it. However, after pushing out a
few of the intruders, the party reached the vessel in safety. On
board her was a Patagonian boy, who had been four months with Mr.
Low, and had been clothed at Monte Video. He had recognized Capitan
Chups at a distance, said who he was, and showed by his manner that
he considered him a person of high distinction. The little cacique
called this boy, asked him many questions, and examined every part of
his dress. Afterwards the boy joined some of his own family, who were
present. He had before refused to go to the party at Gregory Bay,
while there in the vessel, alleging that they were not his people.
Mr. Low said, that the tribe on the banks of this channel were mixed,
being partly horse and partly canoe Indians. They were entirely under
the dominion of the Gregory Bay party, who appointed their chiefs.
Maria’s son, called ‘Capitan Chico,’ was their ruler, until the
arrival of Capitan Chups.
[Illustration:
R. Fitz-Roy. T. Landseer.
FUEGIANS GOING TO TRADE IN ZAPALLOS WITH THE PATAGONIANS.
Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838.]
Yet Mr. Low did not think that the little capitan belonged to any
of the families residing near Gregory Bay, but to some part of the
same tribe who live far inland. Maria’s son, Chico, was subsequently
cacique, or acting as cacique of the Gregory Bay party. Had this
western tribe been under the dominion of the Gregory Bay party, would
the successor to Chico have been taken from a tribe who live far
inland?
The apparent mixture of horse and canoe Indians appears to me to
have been an accidental consequence of the fire made as a signal,
which called to the spot horsemen from the north and canoes from
the south. The novelty of a vessel anchoring in a place never
before disturbed by such a visitor, might well suspend hostilities
between neighbouring tribes, even had they been at war; but there
is every reason to conclude that the canoe men of the south side of
those waters have frequent and even amicable intercourse with the
horsemen of Patagonia. A part though of that amicable intercourse
consists in selling their children to the Patagonians for slaves.
The following incident led to the discovery of this slave trade:
Mr. Low heard Maria talking of ‘zapallos,’[6] and asked her if she
could get some for him--and how many? He thought she meant pumpkins
(for which zapallos is Spanish): Maria replied, “two boat loads,”
and to show of what, pointed to a young slave, lately purchased
from the Fuegians. When there are more zapallos among them than are
wanted for slaves, or than suits their convenience, what becomes
of them? While young, they may be more useful than when they grow
old: and a wandering people, subsisting by hunting, would not in all
probability take the trouble of providing for useless slaves, who
might maintain themselves. The Patagonians are not so barbarous as
to kill them; then what becomes of those zapallos? If they are not
sent to the borders of the Skyring and Otway Waters, there to shift
for themselves, with perhaps a few old horses, and even some young
men who help them to hunt, the employment of their later years is
unexplained.
The canoe Indians are in reality despised by the Patagonians; but,
for the sake of trade, are generally kept upon half-friendly terms.
For dogs, old horses, guanaco meat, and old mantles, the former give
pieces of iron pyrites (used for striking fire), their captives, or
their children.
Patagonians have a great antipathy to negroes. As soon as they see a
black man, they shout, hoot, hiss, and make faces at him.
No signs of hieroglyphics or writing have been noticed among the
Patagonians. They can reckon as far as thousands. Time is counted by
years and moons, days and nights. There are particular words denoting
the various phases of the moon, the seasons of the year, and the
times of day and night. In counting, the fingers and toes are used,
as well as words expressing numbers, especially when trying to make
their meaning clear to strangers. Once, when Mr. Low was leaving
Gregory Bay, he gave Maria to understand that he would return again
in four moons, and asked her to have some guanaco meat ready for
him when he should arrive. He returned a fortnight before his time.
No meat was ready. Maria said he was too soon, explaining herself
by holding three fingers up, and the fourth bent half down. The few
words of their language which have been collected by me are mentioned
in the Appendix.
The Patagonians pay respect to old people, taking great care of them;
they seldom move about on ordinary occasions, but remain near the
tolderia (village or encampment) with the herds of mares.
It has been mentioned that the Patagonians have lately taken a
liking to spirits. When intoxicated, they are very noisy, but not
quarrelsome. They are very fond of tobacco; and use some sort of
pipe, frequently ornamented with brass and tassels: it is passed
round from one to the other. They neither work, nor use any metal
but what is obtained from white men. There is no kind of pottery
made by them: wooden vessels, or bladders, being used for containing
water. Many of them now have iron kettles, in which meat is sometimes
boiled, but their usual mode of cookery is roasting; a piece of meat
being put upon a wooden skewer, which is stuck into the ground near
their fire.
The conduct of the women does not correspond to their character drawn
by Falkner; but their ideas of propriety may have been altered by the
visits of licentious strangers. Both at Gregory Bay (on the north
shore of Magalhaens Strait), and at the River Negro, the Patagonian
women are now thought to be unfaithful to their husbands, and to care
little about chastity. The men appear to give themselves no anxiety
on the subject. Spirits, provisions, and (to them) valuable articles
of hardware, or clothing which they receive, occupy much more of
their attention.
These Indians do not appear very sensible of heat or cold, if one
may judge from their habits of life, and from their clothing; in the
latter, the only difference made during the coldest part of winter
is wearing horse-hide boots more constantly. In summer, their feet
and legs are generally naked. Both men and women wash themselves
occasionally, neither regularly nor often; but the women are rather
less uncleanly than the men. I have elsewhere mentioned that they
comb their hair with the jawbone of a porpoise (obtained from the
zapallos). They have also a small brush, made of coarse grass, twigs,
or rushes, with which their toilet is assisted.
When Mr. Low was returning from Monte Video, with the boy on board
who has been spoken of as recognizing Capitan Chups, some natives
were seen on Elizabeth Island (Strait of Magalhaens). A boat was
sent, with the boy in her, to trade with them for skins. When near
enough to distinguish persons, he seemed extremely frightened--clung
to the thwarts of the boat--and begged not to be landed. These were
canoe Indians, but of what tribe was not ascertained: he said they
would certainly kill him. Some time after this boy had rejoined his
family, Mr. Low was informed, by the Gregory Bay people, that he had
collected seal-skins for ‘Capitan Low,’ which he would not part with
to any other person, as he knew they were the object of his friend’s
trading voyages. This instance of gratitude for kind treatment speaks
well for both parties: but, indeed, every white man who has passed
any time among the Patagonian Indians agrees in giving a favourable
account of the treatment experienced. The ‘Basket-maker,’ however,
would fare better than the ‘Scholar,’ I fancy, with these, as well as
with most other tribes of savages, until ideas could be communicated
clearly.[7]
* * * * *
The dogs now found in the southern part of Patagonia have a wolfish
appearance--their size, colour, hair, ears, nose, tail, and form
being in general much like those of a wolf; though some black
or spotted dogs are also seen. The roof of the mouth is black:
the ears are always erect, and the nose sharp-pointed. I should
say that their usual height is about that of a large fox-hound.
Generally the coat is harsh or wiry, and rather short; but there are
some dogs among them which have thick woolly coats, like those of
Newfoundland or large shepherd’s dogs, which some resemble; others
being more like lurchers; but all have a wild wolf-like look, not
at all prepossessing. I had a fine dog of this kind, rather like a
Newfoundland, except in physiognomy, but his habits were so savage
that he came to an untimely end. These dogs hunt by sight, without
giving tongue; but they growl or bark loudly at the approach of
strangers. As to attachment to their masters, the dogs we had could
hardly give fair testimony, having been taken (bought) from them; but
to strangers they were always snappish.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Frequently mentioned by Captain King in vol. i.
[2] The Taluhet, Chechehet, and Diuihet, were tribes of Puel-che.
[3] Except about the tomb which is described by Captain King in the
first volume.
[4] The Araucanian hangs at one side of his horse to shelter himself
from the lances, balls, or shot of his adversaries, or to avoid
trees. At a distance, a troop of these Indians advancing irregularly,
might seem to an inexperienced eye merely loose horses, of which so
many are seen in the Pampas; but to another Indian, or to a trained
gaucho, the attempt to conceal themselves would avail them nothing,
because the horses’ action, and manner of going, would, at a glance,
show him that they were guided by riders.
[5] The Patagonians call the good deity the Creator of all things,
but consider him as one who afterwards has no concern about them. He
is styled by some Soucha, or chief in the land of strong drink; by
others, Guayara-kunny, or lord of the dead. The evil principle is
called Huecovoe, or the wanderer without. Other spirits are supposed
to take care of particular people--protect their own and injure
others: they are called Valichu.--Pennant, p. 61.
[6] ‘Zapallos,’ or some word of similar sound.
[7] With reference to what has been already mentioned about their
migratory inclinations, I will here annex an omitted date:--Maria and
her companions were at Gregory Bay in November 1831: at the River
Negro in September 1832: and again at Gregory Bay, in the Strait of
Magalhaens, in March 1833.