The Alacalupes occupy the coast of the Patagonian Cordilleras to the
northwest of the Straits of Magellan. They are also nomads, practically
living in their canoes. Like the Yahgans they are small and are very
dark, their color being that of mahogany. Notwithstanding the severity
of the climate they wear no clothing, and their appearance is one of
misery and total depravity. Their only food is fish, which they are
most dexterous in catching, and which is eaten raw. This tribe has no
chiefs, nor has it any laws governing or restricting individual action.
They have no religion and observe no religious rites. All property,
such as they have, is individual. Agriculture is unknown among them.
When not in their canoes they remain along the shore, never going far
inland. They sometimes cut branches from trees and arrange them as a
protection against the fierce winds that sweep the coast in winter, but
they never use fire, either as a protection against cold or for cooking.
Notwithstanding the fact that these poor, depraved human beings wear
no clothing, they are not dead to a sense of modesty, as is sometimes
evidenced when in the presence of foreigners. Marriage is a question
of reciprocal sentiment, without ceremony or demonstration. Each
of these tribes speaks a different language, which like all Indian
languages is euphonious, and attractive in its simplicity.