Trees--Leave Port Famine--Patagonians--Gregory Bay--Bysante--Maria--
Falkner's account of the Natives--Indians seen on the borders of the
Otway Water, in 1829--Maria visits the Adventure--Religious Ceremony--
Patagonian Encampment--Tomb of a Child--Women's employment--Children--
Gratitude of a Native--Size of Patagonians--Former accounts of their
gigantic height--Character--Articles for barter--Fuegians living with
Patagonians--Ships sail--Arrive at Monte Video and Rio de Janeiro.
While detained by northerly winds, the carpenter and a party of people were
employed in the woods selecting and cutting down trees to be ready for our
next visit. After felling thirteen trees, from twenty-four to thirty-six
inches in diameter, eight were found to be rotten at the heart; but by
afterwards taking the precaution of boring the trees with an augur, while
standing, much trouble was saved, and fifteen sound sticks of considerable
diameter were cut down. We found one tree, an evergreen beech, too large
for any of our saws: it measured twenty-one feet in girth at the base, and
from the height of six feet to twenty it was seventeen feet in
circumference; above this height, three large arms (each from thirty to
forty inches in diameter), branched off from the trunk. It is, perhaps, the
very tree described by Byron in his account of this place. We only once saw
it equalled in size, and that was by a prostrate trunk, very much decayed.
In this interval of fine weather and northerly wind, we had the thermometer
as high as 58deg, and the barometer ranging between 29.80 and 30.00; but
for two days before the wind shifted, the alteration was predicted by a
gradual descent of the mercurial column, and a considerable increase of
cold. On the 7th May, as there was some appearance of a change, we got
under weigh; but were hardly outside the port, when a northerly wind again
set in, and prevented our going farther than {85} Freshwater Bay, where we
passed the night. At last, on the 8th, accompanied by the Beagle, we
proceeded on our course with a strong south-westerly breeze, which carried
us quickly up to Cape Negro, when it blew so hard that I anchored off
Laredo Bay. At this anchorage we certainly felt the air much colder and
sharper than at Port Famine, arising from our being in a more exposed
situation, and from the approach of winter, as well as from the severe
south-west gale which was blowing.
After the gale had abated, we proceeded with fair weather and a light
breeze to the Second Narrow, when the wind fell; but the tide being in our
favour, we passed rapidly through. On a hill near us we observed three or
four Patagonian Indians standing together, and their horses feeding close
to them. A fire was soon kindled, to attract our notice, to which signal we
replied by showing our colours; and had we not already communicated with
these people, we should certainly have thought them giants, for they
"loomed very large" as they stood on the summit of the hill. This optical
deception must doubtless have been caused by mirage: the haze has always
been observed to be very great during fine weather and a hot day arising
from rapid evaporation of the moisture so abundantly deposited, on the
surface of the ground, in all parts of the Strait.
As soon as the Patagonians found they were noticed, they mounted and rode
along the shore abreast of us, being joined by other parties, until the
whole number could not have been less than forty. Several foals and dogs
were with them. Having anchored in Gregory Bay, where I intended remaining
for two days to communicate with them, I sent up a rocket, burnt a
blue-light, and despatched Lieutenant Cooke on shore to ask for a large
supply of guanaco meat, for which we would pay in knives and beads. The
boat returned on board immediately, bringing off four natives, three men
and 'Maria.' This rather remarkable woman must have been, judging by her
appearance, about forty years old: she is said to have been born at
Assuncion, in Paraguay, but I think the place of her birth was nearer
Buenos Ayres. She spoke broken, but {86} intelligible, Spanish, and stated
herself to be sister of Bysante, the cacique of a tribe near the Santa Cruz
River, who is an important personage, on account of his size (which Maria
described to be immense), and his riches. In speaking of him, she said he
was _very_ rich; he had many mantles, and also many hides ("_muy_ rico,
tiene muchas mantas y tambien muchos cueros"). One of Maria's companions, a
brother of Bysante, was the tallest and largest man of this tribe; and
though he only measured six feet in height, his body was large enough for a
much taller man. He was in great affliction: his daughter had died only two
days before our arrival; but, notwithstanding his sad story, which soon
found him friends, it was not long before he became quite intoxicated, and
began to sing and roar on the subject of his misfortunes, with a sound more
like the bellowing of a bull than the voice of a human being. Upon applying
to Maria, who was not quite so tipsy as her brother, to prevent him from
making such hideous noises, she laughed and said, "Oh, never mind, he's
drunk; poor fellow, his daughter is dead" (Es boracho, povrecito, murio su
hija); and then, assuming a serious tone, she looked towards the sky, and
muttered in her own language a sort of prayer or invocation to their chief
demon, or ruling spirit, whom Pigafetta, the companion and historian of
Magalhaens, called _Setebos_, which Admiral Burney supposes to have been
the original of one of Shakspeare's names in the "Tempest"--
"------------ his art is of such power
He would controul my dam's god Setebos.[66]"
Maria's dress was similar to that of other females of the tribe; but she
wore ear-rings, made of medals stamped with a figure of the Virgin Mary,
which, with the brass-pin that secured her mantle across her breast, were
given to her by one Lewis, who had passed by in an American sealing-vessel,
and who, we understood from her, had made them "Christians." The Jesuit
Falkner, who lived among them for many years, has written a long and,
apparently, a very authentic account {87} of the inhabitants of the
countries south of the River Plata, and he describes those who inhabit the
borders of the Strait and sea-coast to be, "Yacana-cunnees, which signifies
foot-people, for they have no horses in their country; to the north they
border on the Sehuau-cunnees, to the west on the Key-yus, or Key-yuhues,
from whom they are divided by a ridge of mountains; to the east they are
bounded by the ocean; and to the south by the islands of Tierra del Fuego,
or the South Sea. These Indians live near the sea on both sides of the
Strait, and often make war with one another. They make use of light floats,
like those of Chiloe, in order to pass the Straits, and are sometimes
attacked by the Huilliches and other Tehuelhets, who carry them away for
slaves, as they have nothing to lose but their liberty and their lives.
They subsist chiefly on fish, which they catch either by diving, or
striking them with their darts. They are very nimble afoot, and catch
guanacoes and ostriches with their bowls. Their stature is much the same as
that of the other Tehuelhets, rarely exceeding seven feet, and oftentimes
not six feet. They are an innocent, harmless people."[67]
To the north of this race, Falkner describes "the Sehuau-cunnees, the most
southern Indians who travel on horseback; Sehuau signifies in the Tehuel
dialect a species of black rabbit, about the size of a field rat; and as
their country abounds in these animals, their name may be derived from
thence: cunnee signifying 'people.'"
With the exception of their mode of killing the guanaco by bowls, or balls,
the description of the Key-yus would apply better to the Fuegian Indians;
and if so, they have been driven across the Strait, and confined to the
Fuegian shores by the Sehuau-cunnees, who must be no other than Maria's
tribe. The Key-yus, who are described to inhabit the northern shore of the
Strait, between Peckett's Harbour and Madre de Dios, are probably the tribe
found about the south-western islands, and now called Alikhoolip; whilst
the eastern Fuegians, or Yacana-cunnees, who have also been turned off the
{88} continent by their powerful neighbours, are now called Tekeenikas. Our
knowledge of the names of these two tribes, Alikhoolip and Tekeenika,
results from Captain Fitz-Roy's subsequent examination of the outer coast
of Tierra del Fuego in the Beagle (1830). A Cacique, belonging to the
nation of the Key-yus, told Falkner that he had been in a house made of
wood, that travelled on the water. A party of the Indians, in four canoes,
were met on the borders of the Otway Water by Captain Fitz-Roy in 1829,
whose arms, implements, and every thing they had, were precisely like the
Fuegian Indians, excepting that they had a quiver made from the skin of a
deer, and were in form a superior race, being both stronger and stouter.
For want of better information upon the subject, we must be content to
separate the natives into Patagonians and Fuegians. The sealing vessels'
crews distinguish them as Horse Indians, and Canoe Indians.
These people have had considerable communication with the sealers who
frequent this neighbourhood, bartering their guanaco skins and meat, their
mantles, and furs, for beads, knives, brass ornaments, and other articles;
but they are equally anxious to get sugar, flour, and, more than all, "aqua
ardiente," or spirits. Upon the arrival of a boat from any vessel, Maria,
with as many as she can persuade the boat's crew to take, goes on board,
and, if permitted, passes the night. As soon as our boat landed, Maria and
her friends took their seats as if it had been sent purposely for them. Not
expecting such a visit, I had given no order to the contrary, and the
novelty of such companions overcame the scruples of the officer, who was
sent on shore to communicate with them. Their noisy behaviour becoming
disagreeable, they were soon conducted from below to the deck, where they
passed the night. Maria slept with her head on the windlass; and was so
intoxicated, that the noise and concussion produced by veering eighty
fathoms of cable round it did not awake her. The following morning, whilst
I was at breakfast, she very unceremoniously introduced herself, with one
of her companions, and {89} seating herself at table, asked for tea and
bread, and made a hearty meal. I took the precaution of having all the
knives, and articles that I thought likely to be stolen, removed from the
table; but neither then, nor at any time, did I detect Maria in trying to
steal, although her companions never lost an opportunity of pilfering.
After breakfast the Indians were landed, and as many of the officers as
could be spared went on shore, and passed the whole day with the tribe,
during which a very active trade was carried on. There were about one
hundred and twenty Indians collected together, with horses and dogs. It is
probable that, with the exception of five or six individuals left to take
care of the encampment, and such as were absent on hunting excursions, the
whole of the tribe was mustered on the beach, each family in a separate
knot, with all their riches displayed to the best advantage for sale.
I accompanied Maria to the shore. On landing, she conducted me to the place
where her family were seated round their property. They consisted of
Manuel, her husband, and three children, the eldest being known by the
appellation of Capitan Chico, or "little chief." A skin being spread out
for me to sit on, the family and the greater part of the tribe collected
around. Maria then presented me with several mantles and skins, for which I
gave in return a sword, remnants of red baize, knives, scissors,
looking-glasses, and beads: of the latter I afterwards distributed bunches
to all the children, a present which caused evident satisfaction to the
mothers, many of whom also obtained a share. The receivers were selected by
Maria, who directed me to the youngest children first, then to the elder
ones, and lastly to the girls and women. It was curious and amusing, to
witness the order with which this scene was conducted, and the remarkable
patience of the children, who, with the greatest anxiety to possess their
trinkets, neither opened their lips, nor held out a hand, until she pointed
to them in succession.
Having told Maria that I had more things to dispose of for guanaco meat she
dismissed the tribe from around me, and, {90} saying she was going for meat
(carne), mounted her horse, and rode off at a brisk pace. Upon her
departure a most active trade commenced: at first, a mantle was purchased
for a string of beads; but as the demand increased, so the Indians
increased their price, till it rose to a knife, then to tobacco, then to a
sword, at last nothing would satisfy them but 'aqua ardiente,' for which
they asked repeatedly, saying "bueno es boracho--bueno es--bueno es
boracho;"[68]--but I would not permit spirits to be brought on shore.
At Marians return with a very small quantity of guanaco meat, her husband
told her that I had been very inquisitive about a red baize bundle, which
he told me contained "Cristo," upon which she said to me "Quiere mirar mi
Cristo" (do you wish to see my Christ), and then, upon my nodding assent,
called around her a number of the tribe, who immediately obeyed her
summons. Many of the women, however, remained to take care of their
valuables. A ceremony then took place. Maria, who, by the lead she took in
the proceedings, appeared to be high priestess[69] as well as cacique of
the tribe, began by pulverising some whitish earth in the hollow of her
hand, and then taking a mouthful of water, spit from time to time upon it,
until she had formed a sort of pigment, which she distributed to the rest,
reserving only sufficient to mark her face, eyelids, arms, and hair with
the figure of the cross. The manner in which this was done was peculiar.
After rubbing the paint in her left hand smooth with the palm of the right,
she scored marks across the paint, and again others at right angles,
leaving the impression of as many crosses, which she {91} stamped upon
different parts of her body, rubbing the paint, and marking the crosses
afresh, after every stamp was made.
The men, after having marked themselves in a similar manner (to do which
some stripped to the waist and covered all their body with impressions),
proceeded to do the same to the boys, who were not permitted to perform
this part of the ceremony themselves. Manuel, Maria's husband, who seemed
to be her chief assistant on the occasion, then took from the folds of the
sacred wrapper an awl, and with it pierced either the arms or ears of all
the party; each of whom presented in turn, pinched up between the finger
and thumb, that portion of flesh which was to be perforated. The object
evidently was to lose blood, and those from whom the blood flowed freely
showed marks of satisfaction, while some whose wounds bled but little
underwent the operation a second time.
When Manuel had finished, he gave the awl to Maria, who pierced his arm,
and then, with great solemnity and care, muttering and talking to herself
in Spanish (not two words of which could I catch, although I knelt down
close to her and listened with the greatest attention), she removed two or
three wrappers, and exposed to our view a small figure, carved in wood,
representing a dead person, stretched out. After exposing the image, to
which all paid the greatest attention, and contemplating it for some
moments in silence, Maria began to descant upon the virtues of her Christ,
telling us it had a good heart ('buen corazon'), and that it was very fond
of tobacco. Mucho quiere mi Cristo tabaco, da me mas, (my Christ loves
tobacco very much, give me some). Such an appeal, on such an occasion, I
could not refuse; and after agreeing with her in praise of the figure, I
said I would send on board for some. Having gained her point, she began to
talk to herself for some minutes, during which she looked up, after
repeating the words "muy bueno es mi Cristo, muy bueno corazon tiene," and
slowly and solemnly packed up the figure, depositing it in the place whence
it had been taken. This ceremony ended, the traffic, which had been
suspended, recommenced with redoubled activity.
{92}
According to my promise, I sent on board for some tobacco, and my servant
brought a larger quantity than I thought necessary for the occasion, which
he injudiciously exposed to view. Maria, having seen the treasure, made up
her mind to have the whole, and upon my selecting three or four pounds of
it, and presenting them to her, looked very much disappointed, and grumbled
forth her discontent: I taxed her with greediness, and spoke rather
sharply, which had a good effect, for she went away and returned with a
guanaco mantle, which she presented to me.
During this day's barter we procured guanaco meat, sufficient for two days'
supply of all hands, for a few pounds of tobacco. It had been killed in the
morning, and was brought on horseback cut up into large pieces, for each of
which we had to bargain. Directly an animal is killed, it is skinned and
cut up, or torn asunder, for the convenience of carrying. The operation is
done in haste, and therefore the meat looks bad; but it is well tasted,
excellent food, and although never fat, yields abundance of gravy, which
compensates for its leanness. It improves very much by keeping, and proved
to be valuable and wholesome meat.
Captain Stokes, and several of the officers, upon our first reaching the
beach, had obtained horses, and rode to their 'toldos,' or principal
encampment. On their return, I learned that, at a short distance from the
dwellings, they had seen the tomb of the child who had lately died. As
soon, therefore, as Maria returned, I procured a horse from her, and,
accompanied by her husband and brother, the father of the deceased, and
herself, visited these toldos, situated in a valley extending north and
south between two ridges of hills, through which ran a stream, falling into
the Strait within the Second Narrow, about a mile to the westward of Cape
Gregory.
We found eight or ten huts arranged in a row; the sides and backs were
covered with skins, but the fronts, which faced the east, were open; even
these, however, were very much screened from wind by the ridge of hills
eastward of the plain. Near them the ground was rather bare, but a little
{93} farther back there was a luxuriant growth of grass, affording rich and
plentiful pasture for the horses, among which we observed several mares in
foal, and colts feeding and frisking by the side of their dams: the scene
was lively and pleasing, and, for the moment, reminded me of distant
climes, and days gone by.
The 'toldos' are all alike. In form they are rectangular, about ten or
twelve feet long, ten deep, seven feet high in front, and six feet in the
rear. The frame of the building is formed by poles stuck in the ground,
having forked tops to hold cross pieces, on which are laid poles for
rafters, to support the covering, which is made of skins of animals sewn
together so as to be almost impervious to rain or wind. The posts and
rafters, which are not easily procured, are carried from place to place in
all their travelling excursions. Having reached their bivouac, and marked
out a place with due regard to shelter from the wind, they dig holes with
an iron bar or piece of pointed hard wood, to receive the posts; and all
the frame and cover being ready, it takes but a short time to erect a
dwelling. Their goods and furniture are placed on horseback under the
charge of the females, who are mounted aloft upon them. The men carry
nothing but the lasso and bolas, to be ready for the capture of animals, or
for defence.
Maria's toldo was nearly in the middle, and next to it was her brother's.
All the huts seemed well stored with skins and provisions, the former being
rolled up and placed at the back, and the latter suspended from the
supporters of the roof; the greater part was in that state well known in
South America by the name of charque (jerked beef); but this was
principally horse-flesh, which these people esteem superior to other food.
The fresh meat was almost all guanaco. The only vessels they use for
carrying water are bladders, and sufficiently disagreeable substitutes for
drinking utensils they make: the Fuegian basket, although sometimes dirty,
is less offensive.
About two hundred yards from the village the tomb was erected, to which,
while Maria was arranging her skins and {94} mantles for sale, the father
of the deceased conducted me and a few other officers.
It was a conical pile of dried twigs and branches of bushes, about ten feet
high and twenty-five in circumference at the base, the whole bound round
with thongs of hide, and the top covered with a piece of red cloth,
ornamented with brass studs, and surmounted by two poles, bearing red flags
and a string of bells, which, moved by the wind, kept up a continual
tinkling.
A ditch, about two feet wide and one foot deep, was dug round the tomb,
except at the entrance, which had been filled up with bushes. In front of
this entrance stood the stuffed skins of two horses, recently killed, each
placed upon four poles for legs. The horses' heads were ornamented with
brass studs, similar to those on the top of the tomb; and on the outer
margin of the ditch were six poles, each carrying two flags, one over the
other.
The father, who wept much when he visited the tomb, with the party of
officers who first went with him, although now evidently distressed,
entered into, what we supposed to be, a long account of the illness of his
child, and explained to us that her death was caused by a bad cough. No
watch was kept over the tomb; but it was in sight of, and not very far from
their toldos, so that the approach of any one could immediately be known.
They evidently placed extreme confidence in us, and therefore it would have
been as unjust as impolitic to attempt an examination of its contents, or
to ascertain what had been done with the body.
[Illustration: P. P. King T. Landseer
PATAGONIAN 'TOLDO' AND TOMB.
Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838]
{95} The Patagonian women are treated far more kindly by their husbands
than the Fuegian; who are little better than slaves, subject to be beaten,
and obliged to perform all the laborious offices of the family. The
Patagonian females sit at home, grinding paint, drying and stretching
skins, making and painting mantles. In travelling, however, they have the
baggage and provisions in their charge, and, of course, their children.
These women probably have employments of a more laborious nature than what
we saw; but they cannot be compared with those of the Fuegians, who,
excepting in the fight and chace, do every thing. They paddle the canoes,
dive for shells and sea-eggs, build their wigwams, and keep up the fire;
and if they neglect any of these duties, or incur the displeasure of their
husbands in any way, they are struck or kicked most severely. Byron, in his
narrative of the loss of the Wager, describes the brutal conduct of one of
these Indians, who actually killed his child for a most trifling offence.
The Patagonians are devotedly attached to their offspring. In infancy they
are carried behind the saddle of the mother, within a sort of cradle, in
which they are securely fixed. The cradle is made of wicker-work, about
four feet long and one foot wide, roofed over with twigs like the frame of
a tilted waggon. The child is swaddled up in skins, with the fur inwards or
outwards according to the weather. At night, or when it rains, the cradle
is covered with a skin that effectually keeps out the cold or rain. Seeing
one of these cradles near a woman, I began to make a sketch of it, upon
which the mother called the father, who watched me most attentively, and
held the cradle in the position which I considered most advantageous for my
sketch. The completion of the drawing gave them both great pleasure, and
during the afternoon the father reminded me repeatedly of having painted
his child ("pintado su hijo.")
One circumstance deserves to be noticed, as a proof of their good feeling
towards us. It will be recollected that three Indians, of the party with
whom we first communicated, accompanied us as far as Cape Negro, where they
landed. Upon our arrival on this occasion, I was met, on landing, by one of
them, who asked for my son, to whom they had taken a great fancy; upon my
saying he was on board, the native presented me with a bunch of nine
ostrich feathers, and then gave a similar present to every one in the boat.
He still carried a large quantity under his arm, tied up in bunches,
containing nine feathers in each; and soon afterwards, when a boat from the
Beagle landed with Captain Stokes and others, he went to meet them; but
finding strangers, he withdrew without making them any present.
{96}
In the evening my son landed, when the same Indian came down to meet him,
appeared delighted to see him, and presented him with a bunch of feathers,
of the same size as those which he had distributed in the morning. At this,
our second visit, there were about fifty Patagonian men assembled, not one
of whom looked more than fifty-five years of age. They were generally
between five feet ten and six feet in height: one man only exceeded six
feet--whose dimensions, measured by Captain Stokes, were as follows:--
ft. in.
Height 6 1-3/4
Round the chest 4 1-1/8
Do. loins 3 4-3/4
I had before remarked the disproportionate largeness of head, and length of
body of these people, as compared with the diminutive size of their
extremities; and, on this visit, my opinion was further confirmed, for such
appeared to be the general character of the whole tribe; and to this,
perhaps, may be attributed the mistakes of some former navigators.
Magalhaens, or rather Pigafetta, was the first who described the
inhabitants of the southern extremity of America as giants. He met some at
Port San Julian, of whom one is described to be "so tall, that our heads
scarcely came up to his waist, and his voice was like that of a bull."
Herrera,[70] however, gives a less extravagant account of them: he says,
"the least of the men was larger and taller than the stoutest man of
Castile;" and Maxim. Transylvanus says they were "in height ten palms or
spans; or seven feet six inches."
In Loyasa's voyage (1526), Herrera mentions an interview with the natives,
who came in two canoes, "the sides of which were formed of the ribs of
whales." The people in them were of large size "some called them giants;
but there is so little conformity between the accounts given concerning
them, that I shall be silent on the subject."[71]
As Loyasa's voyage was undertaken immediately after the return of
Magalhaens' expedition, it is probable that, from the {97} impressions
received from Pigafetta's narrative, many thought the Indians whom they met
must be giants, whilst others, not finding them so large as they expected,
spoke more cautiously on the subject; but the people seen by them must have
been Fuegians, and not those whom we now recognise by the name of
Patagonians.
Sir Francis Drake's fleet put into Port San Julian, where they found
natives 'of large stature;' and the author of the 'World Encompassed,' in
which the above voyage is detailed, speaking of their size and height,
supposes the name given them to have been _Pentagones_, to denote a stature
of "five cubits, viz. seven feet and a half," and remarks that it described
the full height, if not somewhat more, of the tallest of them.[72] They
spoke of the Indians whom they met within the Strait as small in
stature.[73]
The next navigator who passed through the Strait was Sarmiento; whose
narrative says little in proof of the very superior size of the
Patagonians. He merely calls them "Gente Grande,"[74] and "los Gigantes;"
but this might have originated from the account of Magalhaens' voyage. He
particularises but one Indian, whom they made prisoner, and only says "his
limbs are of large size:" ("Es crecido de miembros.") This man was a native
of the land near Cape Monmouth, and, therefore, a Fuegian. Sarmiento was
afterwards in the neighbourhood of Gregory Bay, and had an encounter with
the Indians, in which he and others were wounded; but he does not speak of
them as being unusually tall.
After the establishment, called 'Jesus,' was formed by Sarmiento, in the
very spot where 'giants' had been seen, no people of large stature are
mentioned, in the account of the colony; but Tome Hernandez, when examined
before the Vice-Roy of Peru, stated, "that the Indians of the plains, who
are giants, communicate with the natives of Tierra del Fuego, who are like
them."[75]
Anthony Knyvet's account[76] of Cavendish's second voyage {98} (which is
contained in Purchas), is not considered credible. He describes the
Patagonians to be fifteen or sixteen spans in height; and that of these
cannibals, there came to them at one time above a thousand! The Indians at
Port Famine, in the same narrative, are mentioned as a kind of strange
cannibals, short of body, not above five or six spans high, very strong,
and thick made.[77]
The natives, who were so inhumanly murdered by Oliver Van Noort, on the
Island of Santa Maria (near Elizabeth Island), were described to be nearly
of the same stature as the common people in Holland, and were remarked to
be broad and high-chested. Some captives were taken on board, and one, a
boy, informed the crew that there was a tribe living farther in-land, named
'Tiremenen,' and their territory 'Coin;' that they were "great people, like
giants, being from ten to twelve feet high, and that they came to make war
against the other tribes,[78] whom they reproached for being eaters of
ostriches!"[79]
Spilbergen (1615) says he "saw a man of extraordinary stature, who kept on
the higher grounds to observe the ships;" and on an island, near the
entrance of the Strait, were found the dead bodies of two natives, wrapped
in the skins of penguins, and very lightly covered with earth; one of them
was of the common human stature, the other, the journal says, was two feet
and a half longer.[80] The gigantic appearance of the man on the hills may
perhaps be explained by the optical deception we ourselves experienced.
Le Maire and Schouten, whose accounts of the graves of the Patagonians
agree precisely with what we noticed at Sea Bear Bay, of the body being
laid on the ground covered with {99} a heap of stones, describe the
skeletons as measuring ten or eleven feet in length, "the skulls of which
we could put on our heads in the manner of helmets!"
The Nodales did not see any people on the northern side of the Strait;
those with whom they communicated were natives of Tierra del Fuego, of
whose form no particular notice is taken.
Sir John Narborough saw Indians at Port San Julian, and describes them as
"people of a middling stature: well-shaped. ... Mr. Wood was taller than
any of them." He also had an interview with nineteen natives upon Elizabeth
Island, but they were Fuegians.
In the year 1741, Patagonian Indians were seen by Bulkley and his
companions. They were mounted on horses, or mules, which is the first
notice we have of their possessing those animals.
Duclos de Guyot, in the year 1766, had an interview with seven Patagonian
Indians, who were mounted on horses equipped with saddles, bridles, and
stirrups. The shortest of the men measured five feet eleven inches and a
quarter English. The others were considerably taller. Their chief or leader
they called 'Capitan.'
Bougainville, in 1767, landed amongst the Patagonians. Of their size he
remarks: "They have a fine shape; among those whom we saw, not one was
below five feet ten inches and a quarter (English), nor above six feet two
inches and a half in height. Their gigantic appearance arises from their
prodigiously broad shoulders, the size of their heads, and the thickness of
all their limbs. They are robust and well fed: their nerves are braced and
their muscles strong, and sufficiently hard, &c." This is an excellent
account; but how different is that of Commodore Byron, who says, "One of
them, who afterwards appeared to be chief, came towards me; he was of
gigantic stature, and seemed to realise the tales of monsters in a human
shape: he had the skin of some wild beast thrown over his shoulders, as a
Scotch Highlander wears his plaid, and was painted so as to make the most
hideous appearance I {100} ever beheld: round one eye was a large circle of
white, a circle of black surrounded the other, and the rest of his body was
streaked with paint of different colours. I did not measure him; but if I
may judge of his height by the proportion of his stature to my own, it
could not be less than seven feet. When this frightful colossus came up, we
muttered somewhat to each other as a salutation, &c."[81] After this he
mentions a woman "of most enormous size;" and again, when Mr. Cumming, the
lieutenant, joined him, the commodore says, "Before the song was finished,
Mr. Cumming came up with the tobacco, and I could not but smile at the
astonishment which I saw expressed in his countenance upon perceiving
himself, though six feet two inches high, become at once a pigmy among
giants, for these people may, indeed, more properly be called giants than
tall men: of the few among us who are full six feet high, scarcely any are
broad and muscular, in proportion to their stature, but look rather like
men of the common bulk grown up accidentally to an unusual height; and a
man who should measure only six feet two inches, and equally exceed a stout
well-set man of the common stature in breadth and muscle, would strike us
rather as being of a gigantic race, than as an individual accidentally
anomalous; our sensations, therefore, upon seeing five hundred people, the
shortest of whom were at least four inches taller, and bulky in proportion,
may be easily imagined."[82]
This account was published only seven years after the voyage, and the
exaggeration, if any, might have been exposed by numbers. There can be no
doubt, that among five hundred persons several were of a large size; but
that all were four inches taller than six feet must have been a mistake.
The commodore says, that he "caused them all to be seated," and in that
position, from the length of their bodies, they would certainly appear to
be of very large stature.[83]
{101}
Shortly afterwards, Wallis, in the neighbourhood of Cape Virgins,
communicated with the same people, and as the story of the Patagonian
giants had been spread abroad, and was very much discredited, he carried
two measuring rods with him; and says, in his narrative, "We went round and
measured those that appeared to be the tallest. One was six feet seven
inches high, several more were six feet five, and six feet six inches; but
the stature of the greatest part of them was from five feet ten to six
feet."
In the voyage of the Santa Maria de la Cabeza,[84] 1786, it is related that
the height of one or two Patagonians, with whom the officers had an
interview, was six feet eleven inches and a half (of Burgos), which is
equal to six feet four inches and a half (English). This man wore a sword,
on which was engraved "Por el Rey Carlos III.," and spoke a few words in
Spanish, proofs of his having had communication with some of the Spanish
settlements. It does not, however, appear from the account that there were
many others, if any, of that height.
Of all the above accounts, I think those by Bougainville and Wallis the
most accurate. It is true, that of the number we saw, none measured more
than six feet two inches; but it is possible that the preceding generation
may have been a larger race of people, for none that we saw could have been
alive at the time of Wallis's or Byron's voyage. The oldest certainly were
the tallest; but, without discrediting the accounts of Byron, or any other
of the modern voyagers, I think it probable that, by a different mode of
life, or a mixture by marriage with the southern or Fuegian tribes, which
we know has taken place, they have degenerated into a smaller race, and
have lost all right to the title of giants; yet their bulky, {102} muscular
forms, and length of body, in some measure bear out the above accounts; for
had the present generation proportionate limbs, they might, without any
exaggeration, justify the account of Commodore Byron. The Jesuit Missionary
Falkner,[85] who, from an intercourse of forty years with the Indians of
South America, must be considered as one of the best authorities, says,
speaking of a Patagonian named Cangapol, "This chief, who was called by the
Spaniards the Cacique Bravo,[86] was tall and well-proportioned; he must
have been seven feet and some inches in height, because on tiptoe I could
not reach 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 or Puelches 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
the Southern Indians."
This is an account in 1746, only twenty years before that of Bougainville.
Taking all the evidence together, it may be considered, that the medium
height of the males of these southern tribes is about five feet eleven
inches. The women are not so tall, but are in proportion broader and
stouter: they are generally plain-featured. The head is long, broad and
flat, and the forehead low, with the hair growing within an inch of the
eyebrows, which are bare. The eyes are often placed obliquely, and have but
little expression, the nose is generally rather flat, and turned up; but we
noticed several with that feature {103} straight, and sometimes aquiline:
the mouth is wide, with prominent lips, and the chin is rather large; the
jaws are broad, and give the face a square appearance; the neck is short
and thick; the shoulders are broad; the chest is broad, and very full; but
the arm, particularly the fore-arm, is small, as are also the foot and leg;
the body long, large and fat, but not corpulent. Such was the appearance of
those who came under my observation.
As to their character, the Patagonians are friendly, without that
disposition to quarrel, after the novelty of first acquaintance has worn
off, which is so common among savages in general. This probably arises from
interested motives, certainly not from fear, unless it be the fear of being
avoided instead of visited by the ships which pass by, and from which they
procure many useful articles, and many temporary gratifications.
Swords, long knives, tobacco, Paraguay tea, bits, saddles, guns, lead for
balls, red cloth, beads (particularly of a sky-blue colour), flour, sugar,
and spirits, are much desired in exchange for their peltry and guanaco
meat; but they have no idea beyond that of satisfying the wants of the
moment.
After a few pounds of tobacco had been distributed amongst them, although
they are very fond of smoking, it became quite a drug, and it was necessary
to produce something new to excite their attention. From Maria's influence,
and the reference so constantly made to her, it would seem that she was
considered as cacique of the tribe; but her apparent superiority may arise
from her connexion with Bysante, of whom they all spoke as 'El Cacique
Grande,' or from the attention paid to her by ships with whom they
communicate.
The people of this tribe seemed to live together harmoniously; no
bickerings or jealous feelings were observed, and certainly none were
expressed by any one of our bulky friends on witnessing another receiving a
valuable present, or a good exchange for his property.
At sunset our people were ordered to embark, upon which the price of
Patagonian goods immediately fell, at least, a thousand per cent., though
many held back in expectation of {104} the next day. Maria put into the
boat, after my refusal to let her go on board to pass the night, two bags,
and asked me to send her flour and sugar. She was most importunate for aqua
ardiente, which, however, I refused. Her constant cry was "It is very good
to be drunk; I like drinking very much; rum is very good.--Give me some?"
('Muy bueno es boracho, mucho mi gusta, mucho mi gusta de beber, muy bueno
es aqua ardiente.--Da me no mas?')
Among them was a Fuegian Indian; but it did not appear clearly whether he
was living with them permanently, or only on a visit. Some of us thought we
understood the account of one of the Patagonians, who seemed to be the most
interested about him, to be, that a master of a sealer had left him amongst
them. We knew him instantly by his squalid and comparatively diminutive
appearance, and were confirmed in our ideas by his recognition of the words
'Hosay' and 'Sherroo.' The Patagonian name for a ship is 'Carro grande,'
and for a boat 'Carro chico,' a mixture of their own and the Spanish
language. All that I could understand of his history was, that he was
Cacique of some Indian tribes at a distance: he was evidently a great
favourite, and although Maria spoke generally with much contempt of the
Fuegian Indians, she had patronised this stranger, for he lived in her
toldo, and shared all the presents that were made to her.
The following morning it rained hard, and blew so fresh a gale, from the
westward, that it would have been dangerous to send a boat on shore: and I
was obliged to weigh without landing the things which I had promised. After
we were under weigh, the weather cleared partially, when we observed Maria
on the beach, mounted on her white horse, with others watching our
departure, and when it was evident that we were really gone, she rode
slowly back to her toldo, no doubt considerably vexed. I was very sorry to
treat them in this way, for their conduct towards us had been open and
friendly. All I could hope to do, to make amends, was to give something of
value at my return.
[Illustration: A. Earle T. A. Prior
MONTE VIDEO, MOLE.
Published by Henry Colburn, Great Marlborough Street, 1838]
{105} We steered across the Bay of St. Philip, accompanied by the
Beagle,[87] left the Strait of Magalhaens with a fair wind, and, after a
favourable passage, reached Monte Video on the 24th April 1827.
From Monte Video we went to Rio de Janeiro, to procure stores, and prepare
for another voyage to the Strait. On our arrival I received the
Commander-in-chief's leave to apply to the Lord High Admiral for permission
to employ a tender, to facilitate the surveys of the sounds and deep
channels, in the neighbourhood of the Strait, and the inner sounds on the
west coast; for which, neither the Adventure, nor the Beagle, were adapted;
and I thought it best to delay our departure until an answer to my
application was received.
* * * * *
{106}