THE JOURNEY ALONG-SHORE.
It was in the month of April--and that is to say in the fall of the
year--that I started on my voyage in the wake of the old-time explorers
Magellan, Wallis, Cook, Bougainville, and the others whose names are
associated with the Cape Horn region. I had passed the previous summer
in the fever-laden atmosphere of Rio Janeiro--had sweltered and fumed
under torrid heats and breathed the odors from the streets that are too
vile for description until the thoughts of ice floes and of the sweet
breath of a gale from off the snow-capped ranges of the far south were
like dreams of heaven. But just where I was to go--what points in the
Patagonia coast and southward I was to visit--and how I was to make the
journey, I did not know. Indeed, when I reached Buenos Ayres, I was half
ashamed to make the inquiries which the lack of a guide book made
necessary.
However, I made bold to confess my ignorance, and eventually learned
that the Argentine Government kept three naval transports regularly
employed in voyages along the coast to the south, and that one was
loading for the voyage.
Four days later I piled my baggage into a carriage and drove to the
ship. I found the deck thronged with people and littered with baggage.
The officers were about in gold-laced uniforms. The people were in
holiday attire. A gang of 'longshoremen gathered about the carriage to
get at my baggage, but the ship's steward came to my rescue before I had
ceased wondering how I could escape, and in a trice everything was on
deck and under the eyes of policemen in sailor uniform who guard the
docks there. Then I had leisure to look the steamer over in a cursory
fashion. Here is what I learned:
The name of the ship was that of the capital of Argentine Tierra del
Fuego--_Ushuaia_. She had been built in Stockholm as a River Platte
lighter, but after some years of service in this humble capacity had
been purchased by the Argentine Government and made over for use in
carrying troops, supplies, passengers, and freight to and from the
various settlements established on the southern coasts in 1884.
When the transformation was complete there was a saloon 14x7 feet large
and 6 feet high between beams. On each side of the saloon were two
state-rooms, of which the forward ones were fitted with four bunks and
the others with two bunks. The larger state-rooms had the bunks lying
athwartships and the floor space between the bunks was 20 inches wide.
In the state-rooms aft the bunks lay fore and aft, and because of the
curve in the side of the ship, were narrower at the after end than the
forward. There was a little more spare space in these rooms than in the
rooms designed for four passengers, however, and so they were to be
preferred.
As said, the saloon was 7x14 feet large. In its centre was a table
3-1/2x8 feet large, while the companionway came down just forward of the
table. On the whole, the space left seemed scant, especially when I
learned that we numbered ten passengers, of whom two were ladies, the
wife and daughter of a Frenchman, bound to Santa Cruz to open a
wholesale general store.
Pretty soon there was a call to breakfast, and then we began to realize
just how scant the room was. Besides the ten passengers we had the
purser, the ship's agent, and another man at the table, and the table
was never intended to seat more than eight. There were six of us on each
side of the table that was but eight feet long. The steward could not
pass around the table to serve the food; he could only bring the
platters and tureens down the ladder and place them at the head of the
table, and then the purser had to do the rest without aid. However, the
food was abundant, and, by the Italian standard, well cooked. People who
don't like garlic might have objected to some of the dishes, but a
traveller should learn to like garlic. We had cold beef tongue with
onion salad, soup, a beef-stew called puchero that includes squashes
among its vegetables, stewed tripe, beefsteak fried with onions and
tomatoes, and we finished with fruit and black coffee. It was rather
awkward sitting with one's shoulders edgewise to the table, but we got
acquainted the easier for the discomfort and enjoyed the meal.
After breakfast we went on deck to smoke. We found the steward washing
the dishes of the whole six courses in a single soup tureen full of
water. The amount of water seemed rather small to me, but perhaps I was
mistaken, because when I called the attention of my fellow-passengers
to it they did not think it remarkable. They said he used a fresh tureen
of water for each course. Perhaps he did, but I'm bound to say the dish
water as I saw it was thicker than the soup we had eaten from the tureen
an hour before.
At 12 o'clock sharp, the hour of sailing, the Captain mounted the
bridge. He was a slender, swarthy little fellow with straight black hair
and a thin moustache. His name was H. V. Chwaites, and I learned that he
had reached a rank corresponding to the Yankee grade of commander in
sixteen years. Lighting a cigarette he shoved his hands into his pockets
and ordered the lines cast off. Nobody seemed to think it an unusual
circumstance that a naval Captain on the bridge should smoke cigarettes
or put his hands in his pockets.
As we rounded the turn in the bend of the channel below the docks the
pilot (a member of the ship's staff) ordered the quartermaster to right
the wheel immediately after the captain had ordered it hard over, and
the result was that we had to anchor to avoid grounding. Later still in
the long channel leading to the roadstead the pilot did the same thing
again. We were steaming along with a stiff breeze over the starboard
bow, while the steamer's nose was high out of water. In two minutes more
we were skating along over Rio Plate mud outside the channel, and the
upshot was that we had to call two tugs, which eventually towed us stern
first into the channel once more. Having had some experience with ship
captains, I was simply astounded when I found that this one did not
swear at the pilot for running the ship out of the channel; why, he did
not even remonstrate. He simply lighted a fresh cigarette and bowed his
thanks to the tug captains.
That afternoon the stiff breeze became a gale, and some of the
passengers looked with nervous apprehension at the spars of three
different wrecked ships that we passed, but it appeared from the
behavior of our steamer that she was a remarkable sea boat. Although but
one hundred and sixty feet long and about thirty-five broad, she rolled
so little in the sea that no racks were needed on the table when dinner
was served. In fact, the few of us not seasick had a very pleasant time
at the meal, for we had plenty of room.
Night brought new matters of interest. In spite of the storm it was a
warm, oppressive night, and the air of the cabin would have been
stilling even with the companionway wide open. The seasick ones wanted
the doors closed, and so they were closed. Worse yet, I had chosen one
of the after state-rooms because it had only two bunks. It had neither
port-hole nor skylight nor window of any kind. The door was small, and
it fitted the doorway, I thought, closer than any other two parts of the
cabin fitted each other. When shut my room was hermetically sealed. My
room-mate was very seasick and in a chill. Would I be so kind as to keep
the door closed? There was but one answer. I had to say it would afford
me great pleasure to do so. Reeking with perspiration I stripped, got
into night clothes, and turned down the bedding, and found both sheets
and blanket moister from the humidity of the air than the shirt I had
discarded.
Although not wishing to anticipate my story, I may say I never saw the
bedding a whit drier during the nine long weeks I was on board.
Morning came with surprises also. I was out early, but I had scarcely
completed my toilet when one of the four gentlemen in the room forward
of mine appeared and said:
"Will you make to me the favor of to permit me myself to wash in your
room? The wash-bowl there in ours is broken."
I said, "With pleasure." He washed. Another and another one followed
him. None of us thought about the slop pail under the bowl, and when it
had been filled the slops ran over and flooded the floor, whereat my
seasick room-mate groaned in anguish and swore feebly in French.
In the after state-room opposite mine was quartered an Argentine
lieutenant bound to Ushuaia to take command of a small Government
steamer. While the rest of us considered the slops we heard him calling
for the steward, who had not yet appeared, and we asked him if we could
be of assistance. He said we could. His door was shut and he could not
open it. Would one of us open it for him? A glance at it showed us we
could not. There was no knob to the lock.
My next door neighbor turned to look at his door, which had been open
all night. It had no knob to the lock. Neither had the door to the
state-room occupied by the French family. My door only of the four had a
knob, but that was found to be removable. Thereafter, when a door was
shut purposely or by the roll of the ship, the one imprisoned within
would bang the panel with his knuckles and say:
"Senor, that you may wish to make me the favor to bring the door knob."
Whereat every man present would skurry about to find the precious
article, because each was sure to want such a favor done for him, sooner
or later. We had a carpenter on board, too.
After washing ourselves a few of us gathered on deck near the head of
the companionway to get a breath of fresh air before coffee was served.
Among the rest was the French merchant, who was the best groomed man of
the lot. We were inclined to be cheerful as we watched the tumble of
waters, and hailed with delight the advent of the steward when he first
appeared. When he got closer to us we were not so much delighted. He was
carrying an open sugar-bowl and a platter of tiny sweet biscuit--the
certain signs of coming coffee. But before reaching the companionway he
had to pass a big chicken coop that occupied the centre of the
quarter-deck, and, as he explained afterward, he never did like
chickens. He had been seasick all night, and the sight and smell of that
coop were too much for his stomach. Rushing to the rail he leaned far
over, and, regardless of sugar-bowl and biscuit, paid a flowing tribute
to Neptune.
At that the dapper Frenchman grew white, exclaimed "Oh, my God!" and,
clasping his hands to his stomach, fled to the opposite rail.
However, the sea grew calm next day, and the warm sun came down on a sea
rippled by a gentle breeze. Everybody came on deck then, perfectly
willing and even anxious to be contented. But not all could succeed.
There were some who did not think any better of chickens than the
steward did.
The chicken coop, which stood on the quarter-deck, contained over thirty
chickens, and it was provided with a slat bottom. People who object to
having chickens roaming about over the lawn of a farm-house will
sympathize with the passengers on the _Ushuaia_ who did not like to have
a chicken coop in the centre of the quarter-deck. The roll of the ship
was slight, but it swashed the refuse of that coop clear across the
deck. Some of the passengers said such a condition was never before seen
on the quarter-deck of a naval ship. However, we all knew that it would
not do to brood over sorrows, and the livelier ones began to seek to
amuse the rest. The Frenchman knew a dice game different from any the
rest had ever heard of, but unfortunately had lost his dice. A German
doctor bound to a Tierra del Fuego gold camp supplied the lack by
whittling a set from a piece of Yankee pine.
Count Richard of Roedorn, Germany, a young man travelling for pleasure,
and bound for the same camp, had several decks of cards, and had learned
the Yankee game of poker. Several others knew enough of the game to make
it interesting for a couple who knew it better yet. The rank of the
Count, by the way, did not in any way interfere with his being a right
good travelling companion. He was well educated, a traveller of
experience, and he had a most cheerful disposition. So far as I
observed, not even a finical critic could have found more than one habit
about him to censure, though that, to be sure, would have excited the
severest remarks among the knowing people of New York. Count though he
was, he wore made-up ties.
However, to continue the story, Herr Ansorge, a miner, let us know that
he was a member of a German singing club in Buenos Ayres, and two
minutes later "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" was sung in four languages at
once--Spanish, French, German, and English. A half dozen other songs
followed in a way that demonstrated that if we were not trained
musicians we formed a cosmopolitan crowd that could enjoy life under
adverse circumstances off Patagonia.
Speaking of card playing reminds me that we saw much of it on that
steamer, especially on the way home, but poker was not the game. They
used the Spanish cards in which swords and cups take the place of spades
and diamonds, and the game was like that known in the States as Banker
in which the king was high. The lowest bet on this game was a dollar
currency, and, of course, money changed hands rapidly, but the greatest
win of any night's play was $150.
The prevailing winds of that region in April are found between west and
south. The _Ushuaia_ bunted and bobbed her way through a head sea for
five days before the high alluvial cliffs that mark the entrance to New
Gulf loomed through the chilled mist of a storming morning. Then the
wind shifted and came on in scurrying squalls. We had theretofore
travelled on with the utmost care for the safety of everything about the
ship, but now the captain made sail to help the steam, until the masts
groaned under the strain. She was a slow tub--good for eight or eight
and a half knots in smooth water, but under the press of canvas she
drove across New Gulf at more than ten. The passengers looked on in
delight and wonder. Soon after noon we rounded to before a landscape
that was made up of low, white alluvial cliffs, alternating with sloping
brown stretches of sage brush and sand, behind which rose a range of
hills to complete a picture for all the world like those to be seen in
the deserts of southeastern California. Then, even before the sails were
furled, the captain ordered a boat lowered into the water, and he was
hastily rowed to the shore.
Later I got ashore myself. The captain met me at the landing. Would I
like to meet the agent of the little railroad running down to Chubut? I
would. He was a Welshman, who, of course, talked English, and had lived
in the country twelve years. We walked over the desert sand to a long
shanty of vertical boards roofed with galvanized iron. The captain
walked in through an open door as one who felt at home might do. The
room was a marvel of neatness, considering the surroundings, and there
was a piano in the corner. While the captain enjoyed my admiring glance,
a door to an adjoining room opened, and a most attractive girl of
perhaps seventeen came in.
"Is this the agent of the railroad?" I asked, when we had been
introduced.
"No, she is the telegraph operator," replied the captain; "but she will
tell you anything about the country you may wish to learn for the
benefit of the North Americans."
"Will you do that?" said I to her.
"I shall be glad to, unless you would rather talk with father," she
replied, turning her big blue eyes on me in a way that showed she knew
very well no man would want to see, or hear, or think of anybody else
while she was around.
Three or four days later the _Ushuaia_ was steaming slowly down the
coast, bound for the ancient resort of pirates called Port Desire. It
was a dreamy, Indian summer day, and the passengers were idling about
when a servant asked me to go to the captain's quarters. I found him
picking a guitar, but he put it away as I entered, and took a slip cut
from a newspaper out of his pocket and handed it to me. Would I be so
kind as to translate the little poem printed on the slip from English
into Spanish? I would try. It was the story of a girl who stood on a
pier weeping for a sailor whom the sharks had eaten in a far-away port,
and it had a refrain:
"And the waves sigh low
As they ebb and flow,
For they know that the sea is fraught with woe."
"She gave it to me," said the captain. "It must be very beautiful," and
he nodded his head to the point of the compass that was in a line to the
anchorage we had left in New Gulf. "We will be back in thirty days,"
continued the captain, "and then I will ask her father."
It took us more than six weeks to get back. Then the captain once more
hastened ashore. I watched him through a glass as he entered the door,
but no one met him there. I do not know why this was so, but I guessed
that this handsome little telegraph operator had some of the
characteristics that make pretty girl operators in the States so
tantalizingly charming. I guess she was a coquette who thought a naval
ship captain legitimate prey.
[Illustration: AMONG THE RUINS AT PORT DESIRE, PATAGONIA.]
At Port Desire the view of the settlement is disappointing. One hears in
advance that sixty people live there. As the ship enters port one sees a
long gray corrugated iron house that is two stories high in the middle,
one story high at each end, and apparently one room deep. It stands on a
little plateau on the left (south) just at the entrance of the harbor.
Tower Rock, a Y-shaped natural column, rises a few hundred steps away
behind it, and a tall-flagstaff, braced almost as well as a ship's mast,
stands in front. Both tower and staff serve the mariner as landmarks in
entering port. Then three leagues away to the south of this building is
seen another. It is of the sort found in American mine camps--a wood and
iron structure. Next, the old ruins under the precipice at the north
shore come into view, and among them are seen two more iron roofs, the
bodies of the houses being very well concealed by the old stone walls.
Last of all, one sees close down to the water on the south side, and not
far from the first house noticed, another iron structure that is low,
but wide and long, and has a pile of very crooked firewood on the beach
before it. And that is all one sees of the settlement of Port Desire.
This settlement cannot be said to be growing. Desire River furnishes
excellent pasturage. Vegetables in abundance can be grown, and even
grain, to a fair extent, with a little irrigation, while the range for
sheep is said to be much better than in many parts of the territory down
near the strait; but people will not come here because it is so far from
any base of supplies which they can visit on horseback. The calls the
Argentine naval transports make are irregular. There was one stretch of
nine months in the last two years when no steamer visited the port. Of
course, nobody went hungry or suffered for lack of absolute necessaries
during that time, because the cattle, the guanacos, the panthers, and
the ostriches supplied all things needful. With plenty of meat, a little
salt, and the guanaco fur robes, the frontier ranchman of the Argentina
does very well--so well that he will not take the trouble to raise even
his favorite vegetable, the squash. But what worries him, when the
steamer fails to come, is the inevitable famine of _mate_, the wild tea
of Paraguay. The consumption of this herb is a remarkable feature of
Argentine life, north and south, but in Patagonia there is no citizen
but would take _mate_ rather than a good dinner if he had to choose
between the two. Then, too, wine and the native rum become exhausted,
and so does tobacco. The traveller who looks at the settlement
dispassionately will say that so long as famines of drinks and tobacco
impend, there is no great hope for its future.
For the last three or four years the post of sub-prefect at Port Desire
has been filled by Don Juan Wilson. Don Juan when a boy was known as
Johnnie Wilson at Alexandria, Va., but his people emigrated to the
Argentine, and the lad entered the naval school, where he was graduated
with honor. Something of his subsequent career is worth telling to
illustrate the Argentine way of doing things. Lieutenant Wilson has been
in all the wars but one of the Argentine for a quarter of a century. He
has a dozen medals which were given to him for services rendered, and he
can show more scars obtained in battle than he has medals, but he is a
Lieutenant still, although men who entered the navy after and below him,
rank as Commodores and Admirals. That looks as if he had been treated
very unfairly, but the truth is he can thank his lucky stars, as he
says, that he is no worse off. He has been in every revolution against
the Government but one, and every time but once has been of the losing
party. He might have been shot lawfully several times, but because he
was a conspicuously good fighter, and therefore sure to be very useful
in case of a war with a foreign nation, his life has not only been
spared, but he has been retained in the service. But because he was
always ripe for a revolt they sent him down to Patagonia. He could not
revolt there or help anybody revolting in Buenos Ayres, and in case he
were needed to fight Chili or Brazil he could be had very quickly. The
reason he failed to take part in one revolution--the last--was that he
was in Patagonia while the revolt was in the capital. When talking to me
about it he seemed to be very sorry that he had not been able to join
his comrades, and that, too, though every one of them was in prison
under sentences of from twenty years up.
Of the life naval officers in Patagonia lead I had a glimpse at Port
Desire, where I had dinner and remained over night with Lieutenant
Wilson. The barracks were found to be comfortable and even cheerful
within, though as bleak as the desert without. At the table the
Lieutenant sat at the head, with a junior officer and his wife on the
right, and the Lieutenant's son, a bright lad of seventeen, on the left.
Two boys waited on the table with a military precision of motion that
was very funny to a non-military spectator. We had excellent
fare--Italian soup, fish from the river, roast beef, and two vegetables,
with bread and coffee and cigarettes after.
One of the waiters had a history. He was a full-blooded Tehuelche
Indian. The Lieutenant, while leading a squad of sailors up the Rio
Negro in General Roca's war of extermination, heard a curious cry in the
thick boughs of a tree. A sailor climbed up, expecting to find some
strange beast or bird, but brought back a boy baby not over two years of
age. He had been hidden there in a three-prong fork by his mother as the
Indians fled because she was too much exhausted to carry him further. No
doubt many Indians did the same, but all the babies starved save this
one because the sailors held the territory. When old enough to serve as
an apprentice, the lad was shipped in the navy with his adopted father,
Mr. Wilson.
Certainly no other sergeant in the world has had such a history as this
one.
When we reached Port Desire we all went ashore to inspect the old ruins
of a Spanish fort, and then a desert cattle man invited us all to dine
with him.
We found the home of our host standing among the old ruins. The contrast
between the ancient Spanish and the modern Argentine architecture was
very great. The old walls were of thick masonry carried up as high as a
man could reach, and above these there had been wooden roofs thatched
with grass. The modern structure, built by the Argentine Government to
induce settlers to come, consisted of a light wooden frame entirely
covered in with corrugated iron. One sees just such houses in the mine
camps of the United States, where they are popular because cheaply and
quickly built. But not till one has been in such a house built where the
wind blows as it does on the Patagonia desert, can he fully appreciate
its capabilities as a musical instrument. When we came to sit down to
the long, bench-like table for dinner, after a walk over the hills that
had sharpened our appetites, we paused to listen as if to the notes of a
great organ played by the hands of a mad musician. Probably the
corrugations of the iron, the sharp edges of the plates, the lengths of
plates projecting unsupported beyond slender beams, and the differing
degrees of rigidness with which the plates were secured to the beams,
combined to vary the vibrations of the plates under the impulse of the
whirling wind squalls.
There were soft and smooth murmurs, hoarse boomings, fair altos, and
singing sopranos, alternately and combined in a way to interest and
distract every unaccustomed listener.
The dinner was, in itself, a most interesting novelty. We had beef
roasted in a fashion which the natives call "meat with skin." The ribs
of a steer had been wrapped in the skin of the animal, and then impaled
on a long iron rod, which was thrust into the ground so that the
wrapped-up meat leaned directly above a small open fire. Here it had
remained for about three hours, while a patient native fed the flames
with brush, and occasionally turned the bundle of meat. It was then
removed, the skin was stripped off, and it was brought, dripping with
hot juice, in a big pan to the table, where the hungry passengers
awaited it, knives in hand.
The knives were of a class novel to an American, and, in fact, so was
everything about the table. Each knife blade was a triangle, an inch
broad at the handle, and tapered to an acute point, four and a half
inches away. This was a good shape for the usual purpose for which it
was designed--the skinning of animals, but it was not a good table
knife. Even at that the ranchman had not enough to go round, and three
of us had to use the knives we had carried, in anticipation of such a
lack. Shallow tins served as plates. And yet, in spite of so great
poverty in table furniture, we had an abundance of very good claret,
served in glasses of a proper shape.
The food, too, was as surprisingly good as the wine. No better roast was
ever carved than that, and it was flanked with baked armadillos, the
most toothsome morsel I had ever seen. Both kinds of meat were seasoned
with salt and pepper only. With these we had hard biscuit of the Buenos
Ayres sort--an oblong, globular little loaf, say two by three inches
large in its longest and shortest diameters. The absence of garlic and
Italian sauces completed our pleasure, and black coffee, served in tin
cups, ended the meal.
The next port at which we called was Santa Cruz. The great profits made
by the sheep owners who brought their stock from the Falklands to the
Strait of Magellan, induced many of the young men of the Falklands to
come over and try their luck in Patagonia. The Argentine Government
encouraged them by giving ten-year leases on pasture land at the rate of
$60 national money per year per league, and at the average one league
would hold 1200 sheep. The traveller will hear all about the increase in
the flocks on the Santa Cruz River before he gets there, and the stories
of the wool shipments will prepare him to see a small but bustling
community when he arrives. I really expected to see a large as well as a
bustling place.
When the steamer had anchored in the stream about ten miles above the
mouth there were seen in the distance at the south bank, under what is
known as Weddell's Bluff, several new frame shanties which the ship's
officers called the presidio. I went up there in a boat, and found
enough of the little shanties to house at least 3000 soldiers, while an
old hulk moored at the beach would have accommodated 200 sailors easily
enough. There were a dozen sailors with two officers on board the hulk
as shipkeepers, while the barracks were in charge of two officers and a
score of soldiers, some of whom were keeping house with their families.
The building of these barracks in that locality could have but one
signification: The Argentine Government expects trouble, sooner or
later, with Chili, and this is to be a base for operations against the
Strait of Magellan possessions of the Western republic.
[Illustration: SANTA CRUZ, PATAGONIA.]
The buildings were not all completed, and some of the soldiers were at
work as carpenters and painters. This show of business activity only
added to my mental picture of the town itself, and it was with
considerable pleasure that I returned down stream to land near the ship,
and make my first visit there.
Climbing to the low table land that borders the stream, I looked back
into a wedge-shaped valley between the hills, the Valley of the
Missionaries, and saw Santa Cruz--in all nine buildings, of which two
were unoccupied, and not a human being in sight anywhere, nor any other
evidences of life than a small flock of sheep and a thin red mare
grazing idly. The buildings stood on three sides of a surveyed
plaza--that is, there was one house on each of two sides, one stood back
up the valley a few hundred yards, and the rest were on a third side of
the plaza. Among them was the inevitable long low iron structure built
for the home and office of the Sub-Prefect. There was also a one-story
adobe-walled house that was a combined hotel and general store, having
four rooms, while another was a pink wooden building, one story and a
quarter high, having five rooms that served the same useful purpose.
Among the buildings was an old adobe-walled structure, about ten by
twenty feet large, with two places for doors, and the remains of a
couple of glazed windows. The earth served as a floor, and the usual
iron for a roof. In one corner was a depression that looked like a dry
hog wallow, and a porker grunted about outside the building. They said
this had been the church that missionaries preached in long ago.
In the pink hotel I found a well-dressed young man who was glad to see
all strangers, and particularly one who wrote for a newspaper. He
accepted an invitation to take a cup of coffee, and when I asked him if
he was acquainted with the region he said he had been just at the point
of asking me if I would be interested in hearing something about it.
Then the coffee came, and with it a Dutchess County, N. Y., brand of
condensed milk, and a blue-print map. We combined the milk and coffee,
and then spread out the map and weighted the corners with our cups, the
coffee pot, and the milk can.
Being thus ready for business, the young man pointed at the map. It was
the plan of a great city--a city with plazas connected by wide avenues
and boulevards, with streets running at right angles between. Figures
and letters scattered here and there on it showed sites for Government
and other important buildings, while long broken lines showed the
location of many street railways. The young man explained the
peculiarities and advantages of the disposition of plazas and boulevards
and street car lines, and eventually, from the lay of the land, I
grasped the situation. This was the plan of the city of Santa Cruz, the
great Patagonian metropolis that was to grow up right there in the
valley, where now one could see nine houses all told, of which two were
unoccupied. It would grow just as surely as the sun would set behind
Weddell Bluff, to quote the words of the young man; and then he went on,
in a way to make even a Kansas town-site boomer rub his eyes, to tell of
the shipments of wool "aggregating 2,000,000 pounds last year," of the
good pasture to be had "at L3 per square league annual rental," of the
"traces of gold found on Lake Argentine, where good mineral developments
will be made," of the "experiments in wheat culture to be made, which
will doubtless succeed." All of this was said to show that I had
arrived at just the right time to get in on the ground floor of a great
real estate deal. I did not need to buy the lots. I could have all I
would build on free of cost, save for the usual charges of making out
and recording the papers.
I have frequently heard men who had done business with Spanish-American
nations talk despairingly of the lack of enterprise to be found there.
They speak of the depreciated currency there as "adobe money," and call
the nations "the land of _poco tiempo_" and "the manana country." As to
many of these nations the terms are well applied, but the Argentine must
be excepted. Neither in the suburbs of Brooklyn, nor on the plains of
Oklahoma, nor among the orange groves of California have I seen a boomer
who could tell his story in better form than the young man with a
blue-print map of the future metropolis of Patagonia.
It is perhaps worth noting here that while the young man was talking I
could see an ordinance on the wall above his head that prohibited the
killing of either ostriches or guanacos "within the city limits," even
with bolas, while the shooting of such game was prohibited in all the
districts south of the river.
And yet I am not sure but a large town will grow there eventually,
although Gallegos was made the capital town some time ago. The place
certainly has some natural advantages. The Santa Cruz River is a wonder.
Being absolutely unobstructed throughout its course, large, deep-draught
river steamers could run easily to the source, Lake Argentine, and
beyond. It is really likely that gold mines will be developed in the
Andes there, and it is certain that a large lumber business will be done
there sooner or later, for the forests produce cedars and other
valuable saw timber of the best quality and great size. There are no
trees immediately on Lake Argentine, but it is connected with other
lakes by navigable channels where the timber is found. When I was in
Santa Cruz a party of capitalists familiar with lumber had gone up to
the lakes to look into the business. Driving the logs in rafts to the
port of Santa Cruz would be so inexpensive that once a proper mill were
established there the great markets of Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro, not
to mention the smaller ports, would be supplied at prices to make
serious inroads on the business of those who now supply them from the
United States.
Of the value of the sheep and cattle ranches as a support for a town
nothing need be said to readers in the United States, who have object
lessons in the matter scattered over the prairie States, but the
Patagonia ranches will scarcely make as good a support for a town as the
Yankee ranches do, for the reason that the land system of the Argentine
promotes great estates and discourages small owners. The capitalist in
Argentine territory can buy all the land he wants. Gov. Mayer of Santa
Cruz territory, for instance, owns thirty square leagues of land along
the Santa Cruz and Chico rivers. In owning the water front, he controls
all the range back of it, for no one will take up land that has no
water. For all practical purposes, he controls say one hundred square
leagues. The firm of Hamilton & Saunders of Gallegos, Scotchmen, own
fifty-eight leagues, and so control three times as much. Of course, it
would be much better for the country if fifty-eight families owned and
lived on the land these two men have, nevertheless the country is
filling up with shepherds, and a month after the two French merchants
mentioned had landed in Santa Cruz with the wholesale stock of goods,
they were doing a profitable business with their original packages.
There is but one drawback to the value of the valley in which Santa Cruz
city is located that would operate against it seriously, and that is the
lack of drinking water. The young boomer did not say a word about water.
There is a scant supply from wells even for the seven occupied houses
with their stock, and that is brackish. Of course, should the place
become a great city, the supply would be drawn from the swift Santa
Cruz, but while the settlement is growing to a village of a few thousand
people the cost of twenty odd miles of pipe line would prohibit tapping
the river. The tide rises over forty feet every day in the river mouth,
so there is salt water a long way up stream.
It is worth noting that the Santa Cruz people draw water from their
wells as the people in the cowboy parts of the United States often do. A
pulley is suspended over the well. When water is wanted a horse is
saddled, and one end of a lasso fastened to the saddle. The other end of
the lasso is passed through the pulley and made fast to a pail, which is
then lowered and filled. Then the water drawer mounts the horse, and
rides away till the pail is up to the pulley. Next the rider dismounts,
walks back to the well, takes the pail from the lasso and carries it to
the house. Last of all he unsaddles the horse. I saw this done myself. I
must admit that this description of the Patagonian way of drawing a pail
of water reads like a traveller's untrue tale, but it is literally true.
Gallegos, the capital of Santa Cruz territory, the next port visited,
stands on the south bank of the Gallegos River, several miles above the
mouth. The Gallegos is a very interesting stream. Its head is in the
Cordilleras, of course, and the head is made up of a number of small
streams which unite in the foot hills to make a river never less than
180 feet wide and three feet deep in the dryest of seasons. The current
is fair, and although there are three fording places along its route,
large steamers drawing 2-1/2 feet of water could navigate it to the
forks the year round. But that steamers will ever be found there is a
matter of doubt, although the country is rapidly filling up with
settlers. There are several reasons for this. All branches of the stream
rise within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean, the south heads being
almost within sight of Skyring Water, just northwest from Punta Arenas,
while between the north and the south forks there is a complete and a
wide break in the Andes through which one may drive a wagon as easily as
one can drive over the mesa of Patagonia anywhere. By cutting a road
five miles long through a belt of timber a highway to the bays of Chili
will be formed, and so the traffic of at least half the length of the
Gallegos River will go to the west instead of down stream to the
Argentine town of Gallegos. I say at least half, but it is not unlikely
that more than half will go west, for the reason that the entire
population of the territory south of the Gallegos, and about all between
Rio Gallegos and Rio Santa Cruz have a strong feeling of friendship for
Chili.
"In Chili, if you have right, you can get justice every time," said a
Frenchman owning 100,000 sheep on the border line between Argentine and
Chili. "In the Argentine you must have the judge for your friend or you
will be beaten, right or wrong."
[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR'S HOME AND A BUSINESS BLOCK IN GALLEGOS, THE
CAPITAL OF PATAGONIA.]
As to the Rio Gallegos lands, the traveller finds lava beds and pasture
lands alternating, but the pasture has the greater area, and it is
simply perfect pasture. The low bottom lands are flooded in September
and October when the Andes snow melts, but there is plenty of good
upland pasture. Nearly all the land south of it is now taken up by
shepherds, while the north side is being rapidly absorbed, the chief
obstacle to rapid settlement being the lack of fuel. It is almost a
bushless region.
On the whole, the town of Gallegos has a very good cattle country back
of it. Along the sea-coast to the south it has some placer gold mines.
The layer of black sand carrying gold crops out richer in some places
than others, and there are places where the lack of drinking water makes
mining impossible, but quite a number of men--perhaps fifty--can be
found working the beach for gold between Gallegos and Cape Virgins.
What the traveller sees in the territorial capital now is a score or
less of corrugated iron buildings, with half a dozen houses of wood and
three of adobe. One of the adobe-walled houses is the territorial
prison. Any smart rascal could burrow out in an hour. About one-third of
the houses are hotels and stores, the outer appearance of these
buildings being like that of a Yankee mining camp. Every store carries a
considerable stock of liquors and tobacco, a moderate stock of hardware
and cutlery likely to attract ranchmen, a small stock of wool and cotton
fabrics, and a few samples of groceries. The stocks were not arranged to
make anything like an attractive display, and, because sand storms were
likely to come at any time to dust over the interior of every building,
nobody thought it worth while to sweep or in any way clean house.
As hotels (every store was a hotel) the places were most unattractive;
worse, for instance, than any I saw when _The Sun_ sent me through the
wilds of southern Mexico. In Mexico all of a party of travellers, men,
women, children, and servants, would be lodged in a single room, with
nothing but the tile floor or a bench to sleep on, but it was always a
clean floor, while one could have a hammock under a veranda if he chose,
and that was about the best kind of bed. Moreover, food was always
abundant and good. At some Gallegos hotels one could not be certain of
either quantity or quality of the food, while the blankets were neither
washed nor aired nor changed.
However, there were exceptions to the rule, at least one exception. Dona
Philomena, a rotund and jolly woman of middle age, with her son, a lad
of about sixteen, kept a boarding-house in an adobe hut of one room,
twelve by eighteen feet. She had a stove that smoked at every crevice on
one side of the door, a rude table with benches at the other, a spare
bed just beyond, and beyond this bed heaps and piles of boxes and bags
and bundles, containing vegetables, groceries, clothing, Indian curios,
saddles, and horse gear generally. There were three kinds of meat
hanging from the rafters. There was but one tiny window, and that
yielded light enough only for the table. In the extreme rear of the room
all was concealed by impenetrable gloom. A Yankee wife would have said
she never did see such a cluttered up place. Nevertheless, the mud walls
had been whitewashed until they looked like the dried up bottom of a
pool in an alkali desert. The mud floor was neatly swept. The spare bed
had clean white sheets, and the blankets smelled sweet. The rude table
was covered with a snowy cloth, and there was a stainless napkin at
each plate. Dona Philomena wore a clean dress, with a bright-colored
shawl over her shoulders. The picture of her as she worked over the
stove in a thin halo of blue smoke, giving a stir to the potatoes frying
in the pan or a peek at the mutton roasting in the oven, or cutting
fresh bread, or opening Yankee condensed milk, while she smiled and
joked and gossiped in a continuous flow of words, was something that the
traveller would carry with him for a long time after. And when the meal
was over and we all smoked and lingered over the coffee the boy got out
an old guitar and played the tunes the Spanish lover plays to win a
sweetheart--tunes that alternately swelled with importunate passion and
faded into murmurs of hopeless longing, so that everybody stopped
talking to stare into space and think of somebody else a long way off.
The Captain of the steamer introduced me to Gov. Edelmiro Mayer. The
Governor lived in a large frame one-story building that had a
glass-enclosed veranda overlooking the river. On the whole, this was a
most remarkable home, considering the locality. Though like a
mining-camp house, as the rest were in outward appearance, there were
within Oriental rugs of great value on the floor; a grand piano of
American make that cost $1500 in gold in New York stood in one corner of
the parlor; a great organ such as professional musicians prefer was in
another; a library of 5000 volumes, made up of standard works of science
and literature, was in the glass-enclosed veranda, while the furniture
and hangings and bric-a-brac were everything that a cultivated taste
could ask for. So was the sideboard, with its old Kentucky whiskey.
Having very little governing to do, the Governor devoted himself to
literature and music, occupations in which he was ably assisted by his
wife, a charming Argentina.
Gov. Mayer's name is not unknown to American history. Just for the love
of adventure and free republican institutions he came to the United
States to help during the war of the rebellion. He commanded a negro
regiment with conspicuous success. Afterward, while down on the Rio
Grande, he crossed over to help patriotic Mexicans overthrow Maximilian.
Although small in the number of its houses and its people, Gallegos is
in full plumage as a territorial capital. A two-story frame building was
in course of construction that will eventually be the White House of
Santa Cruz territory. Besides the Governor, there was the usual list of
other officials necessary for the dignity of such a place. As at
Ushuaia, already described, no official had anything to do worth
mention. Indeed, the Captain of Police, who in a United States
territorial capital would need to be a man of nerve and muscle, was here
a cripple who could neither sit on a horse nor walk unaided the length
of the town's one street. Still, courts were held sometimes to decide
conflicting claims of shepherds, and a gaucho who had slashed a comrade
in a drunken brawl was arrested just before I arrived. Gallegos will be
a favored stopping place for criminals when the country gets filled up,
I guess, for it is very handy to the Chili line, and extradition
treaties between two such countries as Chili and Argentine are of little
value.
A peculiarity of the climate is the southwest wind of summer. It begins
at 8 in the morning and increases in violence until after noon, when it
occasionally blows hard enough to lift a man from the saddle. At 3 in
the afternoon it moderates, and at 6 o'clock and thence on through the
night there is usually a calm. This wind blows every day in spring and
summer, and on many days it brings hail and sleet that no man can face.
The winter season, though colder, is by far the most pleasant of the
year. But in spite of wind and cold, Patagonia is pre-eminently a
healthful region now. Every human being that I saw there carried the
glow of health in his face and the spring of youth in his muscles. But
there are zymotic diseases just as there are in Yankee villages, because
of the juxtaposition of wells and cesspools, and these diseases will
prevail wherever settlements are made, because of the utter indifference
of Spanish-Americans to the rules of hygiene as applied in such matters.
To sum it all up, the settlements on the coast of Patagonia are small,
the buildings are of the temporary or mine-camp class, and life in them
is decidedly tranquil. The towns are new, and the bad name the country
has borne in the matter of climate and sterility has kept foreigners
away. "There has been no boom--just a slow, healthy growth," as the
Kansas boomers' paper would put it, and in this case the statement is
true. Santa Cruz territory now has 800,000 sheep. Its Governor expects
to see 10,000,000 there in ten years more, besides some millions of
horses and cattle. Settlements will very likely spring up in the
interior, and the vast region over which the Tehuelche Indians held
undisputed sway during the 350 years after the land was discovered by
white men will become a peaceful, thinly populated pastoral land, whose
people will grow comfortably rich supplying Europe and the United States
with wool, hides, and tallow. But there are no indications worth
mentioning that, as a whole, it will ever be anything else than this,
and at present it is of interest to the Yankee nation chiefly as a
region out of the way for tourists to visit.
After leaving Port Desire we had a variation in our meals on board ship.
The sailors had gone fishing with a net, and with success. There were
two kinds,--one rather like a Yankee smelt, only more slender, and the
other somewhat like a Lake Erie pickerel. Both were excellent, but the
little fellow boiled and made into a salad was particularly fine.
Then, too, a species of ducks had become very abundant. They were so
dark above as to appear black, while the under parts were pure white.
Their curiosity led them to hover about the ship in twos and threes,
sometimes flying along, say fifty feet above the weather rail. On such
occasions Captain Chwaites brought out a light shotgun. On the day we
entered Santa Cruz he knocked so many down on deck that the passengers
had roast duck for one course at dinner. In fact, for a citizen of South
America, the captain was a remarkably fine sportsman. He never used a
shotgun on a sitting bird. He could kill gulls at long range with a
rifle when they were bobbing about on the waves. While we lay in Rio
Gallegos he rode out on the table-land one day with a man living there
and killed three guanacos, using the bolas Indian fashion to bring them
down. The tourist who sails with Captain Chwaites can expect to have
game at the table frequently during the voyage.
But it should not be inferred from what has been said so far that the
table was beyond criticism during my voyage. For instance, the napkins
were not changed at any time oftener than once a week, and at the last
the interval increased to ten days. The table-cloth remained unchanged
an equal period; this, too, during the home voyage, when the number of
first-class passengers had increased to twenty-five and the table had to
be set twice.
The captain was not unaware of the condition of affairs. He stood beside
me one day while the steward shook the table-cloth over the rail. It
looked as one could expect a cloth to look after ten days' use at sea.
"Look at that cloth," said the bold skipper. "Did you ever see such a
dirty lot of passengers?"
I was eating in those days in the Captain's sitting-room, and his remark
had no personal application. I replied:
"Looks vile, don't it? But why don't you order the steward to wash it?"
"I cannot. There is so little soap. Look at my hands. I have no soap to
wash them with. The passengers know we have no soap. They ought to be
careful, like gentlemen."
His hands certainly showed the lack of soap. So did those of the
steward. We got a cup of coffee with a handful of sweet crackers in lieu
of the meal called breakfast in the United States. One did not want even
that many if he happened to see the steward serving them with his
unwashed hands.
Then the vegetables, which were abundant on leaving Buenos Ayres,
dwindled away before we entered the Straits of Magellan. At Punta Arenas
cabbages, turnips, potatoes, and some other roots are grown and sold at
low prices, but we got such a scant supply that for the last three weeks
of the voyage our food consisted chiefly of meat, dried peas and beans,
and hard bread.
Worse yet, the bed linen was not changed during the entire voyage of
nine and a half weeks. Complaints were of no avail, so I was at last
glad to leave my bunk and roll up in a fur robe of Indian manufacture
that I bought when in the Rio Gallegos. With a lounge in place of a
bunk, I was as dry and comfortable as I had been damp and miserable in
the bunk. Should any reader of this try the voyage he will need to take
a large supply of woollen under- and night-wear, including socks. The
proper changes of these will serve in place of changes of bedding.
Nor is the list of discomforts complete. When leaving the River Plate
the air in the saloon and state-rooms was insufferably close. There was
no ventilation for the state-rooms save through the doors into the
saloon. The saloon was ventilated through the doors at the head of the
companionway and through the skylight, but there was no sort of wind
sail or device to force the air down. In the summer time in the River
Plate, where the thermometer sometimes marks 110 deg. in the shade, that
saloon is to be compared only with a Turkish bath. In winter, while
coasting along Tierra del Fuego, that same saloon becomes like the vault
of a cold storage company. The air is saturated with moisture, and the
temperature barely above the freezing point. The moisture gathered like
dew on the walls of the saloon as well as of the state-rooms, and
sometimes trickled down to form little pools in the bunks and on the
floor. There was no device for heating or drying the cabin, neither
stove nor steam-coil. We were dressed continually in the heaviest
flannels, and wore heavy overcoats, but the chill air penetrated
everything, even to the marrow of the bones.
I once passed two weeks in Greenland in the month of October, and
exactly two years later was digging away the snow in the Rocky Mountains
nine thousand feet above the sea, that I might have bare ground for my
blankets at night. My home is in the Adirondacks, where the snow lies
four feet deep all winter long, but I have never suffered from the cold
as I did during four weeks of this voyage.
And yet at times, when the conditions were such as to make us all most
uncomfortable, we often enjoyed life rather better than at any others.
Our greatest trouble when the weather first became cold was to pass the
evenings. It was stupid turning into wet bunks at 7 P.M., and wretched
work trying to play cards or spin stories in a raw, cold, reeking
saloon.
But a happy inspiration struck one of us while standing by the hatch
leading to the little store-room abaft the cabin. This store-room was in
charge of the shortest and thickest man aboard ship--a person who looked
as if he had once been a typical quartermaster on a Yankee man-o'-war--a
great tall, broad-shouldered, impassive, full-whiskered man, but through
some accident had been telescoped down to a stature of four feet nine.
The first cold evening after leaving the River Plate a passenger, while
walking the deck for exercise, stopped by the store-room hatch just as
the captain's valet came there carrying a plate with a tumbler on it.
"Storekeeper?" said the lackey.
"Yes," replied the thick, short man.
"Cocktail."
"Yes, sir. Quickly."
A few minutes later the storekeeper came up the ladder carrying a glass
tube about ten inches long and two wide. It was closed at the bottom and
had a long-handled silver plunger in it. The tube had about two inches
of a light brownish liquor in the bottom over a layer of sugar.
Standing the tube on the deck the storekeeper pumped the plunger up and
down vigorously. The aroma of gin, bitters, lemon, and something else
greeted the nostrils of the passenger. The storekeeper poured the
mixture into the glass until the glass was full. Then he looked at the
tube. There was a quarter of an inch of the mixture left there. Backing
carefully down into the store-room the storekeeper looked up at the
passenger. He saw that the passenger was looking at the remnant in the
tube. The storekeeper's face was absolutely impassive, as a whole, but
when he caught the passenger's eye he looked down at the remnant,
moistened his lips with his tongue, looked up slowly at the passenger
again, and then his right eyelid trembled expressively as he said:
"It is a cold night, is it not, sir?"
The passenger went down into the saloon and gathered about the table the
French merchant, the German count, the miner, the doctor, the Argentine
lieutenant, and several others. Then the steward was called. Could he
bring some things from the store-room? He would be pleased. What would
the gentlemen have?
The order ran something like this: Brandy, sugar, lemons, claret, and a
plenty of hot tea to be brought after the other articles were delivered.
A hot soup tureen was also included in the order. Some sugar was placed
in the tureen and a bottle of brandy poured over it. Then the brandy was
fired, and the blazing mixture was stirred with a big spoon till the
sugar was dissolved. After that a bottle of claret was stirred in, and
then a pot of hot tea, equal in measure to the two bottles previously
used, was stirred in also. Last of all a lemon was sliced in, peeling
and all, while the stirring was continued.
Possibly this mixture would not be countenanced by the art drink mixers
of New York. There may be something wrong with the process or something
lacking in the alcoholic values, but for travellers on an Argentine
naval transport, who are wearied through idleness and chilled by the
mists and the blasts of the Patagonia coast, the drink is a blessing
from Bacchus.
It was a temperate crowd, on the whole. The exceptional man was my best
friend. I left him early one night on deck and turned in. We were then
off Gu St. George. At 2 o'clock next morning came this man and dragged
me from my fur robe and said hoarsely:
"On deck quickly. The ship sinks."
Then he fled on deck. Though but half awake, I could hear the ship's
pump throbbing at lightning speed. I fled on deck as he had done. He had
disappeared. The Captain tranquilly smoked a cigarette under the bridge.
"My friend So-and-so just told me the ship was sinking," said I. The
Captain shrugged his shoulders.
"He has had six bottles to-night," said he. "It is he, not the ship,
that is full." The engineer had been testing the pump, and the noise of
it had made the fancies of my friend run on disaster at sea.
The curios which a traveller may gather on a voyage like this are not
many in variety, but they are very interesting as far as they go. Most
people would call the Patagonia guanaco skin robe or blanket the most
valuable product of native industry. The pelage of the young guanaco is
a soft and beautiful fur--red on the back, like that of a Virginia deer,
and shading into pure white underneath. The skins of the young that are
just about to be born or have just been born are preferred, because the
fur is then exquisitely fine and the skin never gets hard and stiff.
The Patagonia squaws cut the young skins into pieces, which they set
together in the form of a great blanket in which the colors of the fur
are shown to the greatest advantage. The sewing is done with sinews.
These robes are everywhere used for beds in that region, while no desert
man or sheep herder would think of living without one in lieu of any
other kind of a blanket for his protection when sleeping in the open
air. In Punta Arenas the price was $35 paper each, or not far from $9.50
gold. In Patagonia ports at the north they can be had for a little less.
There is no difficulty in finding them on sale. They would probably
bring from $60 to $75 gold each in the States.
The Patagonia squaw weaves as well as sews furs. The long hair is
sheared from the guanaco skin and twisted into threads, which are woven
much as the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico weave their threads of wool.
The Patagonian makes small woven blankets called ponchos, which are used
as neck and shoulder wraps and as saddle blankets, but would look very
well as rugs on a Northern carpet. By the use of dyes, bought of the
whites, a variety of bright colors are obtained, but these are
intermingled only in plain stripes. When compared with the blankets
produced by the Indians of Guatemala--blankets whose figures of fighting
beasts and birds have a savage beauty that is marvellous to behold--the
art of the Patagonia squaw makes but a sorry showing. Nevertheless, a
special saddle blanket, woven with a long nap of twisted threads that is
designed to fill in the hollow spaces on each side of the too-prominent
backbone of the desert horses, is at once novel and pleasing to the eye.
Other things likely to please the tourist are ostrich feathers and
eggs; the bolas and lassos used by the plainsmen of all kinds when
hunting; bows and arrows and spears of the Indians, and boots made of
the skin of a colt's hind legs. The ostrich feathers are gray, with a
little white mixed in, and are but little handsomer in their native
state than a turkey's feathers. Of course, they may be dyed and dressed
up by a competent worker.
Then there are shells of beautiful color and forms which the tourist can
gather for himself, together with feathery white seaweed, and, if he
have good luck, he may find in one of the perpendicular alluvial banks
which the people there call barrancas, something more interesting
still--the petrified remains of the kangaroo, the opossum, the monkey,
and possibly other and stranger forms of life that once roamed under a
tropical sky, where now the weather varies between that of a New York
day early in March and another very late in November. I saw an Italian
naturalist who had found the remains of two birds, which, he said, were
different from any birds ever yet discovered, and belonged to that
period of history when birds had teeth, and were just beginning to grow
feathers on their bat-like wings.
In making a collection of shells, the tourist would probably wonder how
it happened that a very pretty mussel shell found in New Gulf, Port
Desire, and the Straits of Magellan should be almost entirely absent at
Santa Cruz. And if he did not include an antediluvian oyster shell, say
fifteen inches long, in this collection, it would be for lack of room
and not because the bivalve was not interesting.
At Punta Arenas and at Ushuaia a new class of curios appears. Most
prominent are rugs of mingled otter skins, of seal fur, and swan's
down. The snow-white down beside the dark fur is so beautiful that few,
indeed, can resist the desire to buy in spite of the high prices asked.
A lovelier present for a dainty sweetheart could scarcely be imagined.
Though less beautiful, the basket woven from rushes by the Yahgan
Indians--a pearl-shaped affair to hold from two to four gallons--would
be more interesting to the tourist who is a naturalist. The arrow-heads
made by the Ona Indians of Tierra del Fuego from pieces of glass bottles
that have been cast over from Cape Horn ships are equally interesting.
The bows and arrows are not of a form to attract special attention,
except that the arrows are very light. One wonders how such a weapon
could pierce a guanaco or a lone prospector, as they are said to do.
That the arrow points are usually a genuine Indian product I presume
there is no doubt, though not necessarily Ona made, for the Tehuelches
of Patagonia can make a glass arrow-head. But one finds so many new bows
on sale at Punta Arenas, bows that show the mark of a jack-knife, too,
that a doubt is thrown over the whole collection.
The Onas, too, are continually at war with the whites. The two races go
hunting each other with considerable success on both sides. The whites,
of course, capture some bows and arrows, but they do not usually bring
them in as trophies. The whites of Tierra del Fuego are sheep herders or
gold diggers, who do not want to be bothered with such stuff. Besides,
bows from the battlefields are never new and clean, nor do they show
marks of a jack-knife.
Like the Eskimos of the west coast of Greenland, the Yahgans of the Cape
Horn region have learned that the whites will buy curios, and they
supply the market by making models of their canoes and weapons. At first
thought a model of either is an abomination to one who has a proper love
of specimens of aboriginal handicraft, but these models, if genuine, are
really good exhibits of what the Indians can do, and they are usually of
such perfect form as to portray, in a convenient form for handling, the
articles used by the natives in their daily lives. The weapons of full
size may readily be had--I saw offered for sale one spear reeking with
the blood of a bird the Indian had just slain, but in place of a canoe
the tourist may very well be content with a model.
Gold dust can be had at both Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, where Storekeeper
Figue of Ushuaia commonly has nuggets as well as dust. The Tierra del
Fuego gold is very pure, and the usual way of buying is to exchange a
British sovereign for its weight in dust--a very good trade for the
buyer.
The scenery along the Patagonia coast, and until one has passed the
first narrows in Magellan Strait, is not likely to please the ordinary
tourist. At every point one finds steep alluvial bluffs or rounded hills
and ridges, with wide arid mesas above and beyond that are of dull
colors and without variety. Nevertheless, there is something about the
desert that fascinates the lover of nature unmarred by human hands. What
it may be I cannot tell, but that it is always powerful and sometimes
irresistible I do not doubt. I saw men there who had travelled the world
over, had had the best of education, had enjoyed the luxuries of life in
civilized countries, and had the means of returning to them at any time,
but, nevertheless, could not shake off the spell. They were content to
live in a floorless mud hut, even in no shelter at all save that of a
clump of the thorny brush in some wild gulch, where their only
companions were the horses and dogs, with an occasional visit from one
like themselves or a family of ill-smelling Indians.
South from Punta Arenas, through Cockburn Channel and east through the
channels below Tierra del Fuego, the scenery is wholly different.
Snow-capped mountains rise out of the sea, barren and gray just below
the snow, and green with perpetual verdure for a thousand feet above the
water. There are black gulfs and inlets, and narrow channels that seem
to end abruptly, crags where the sea birds build their nests, gulches
and canyons where torrents come roaring and sprawling down. Elsewhere, as
told in the story of the Yahgans, there are rolling foot-hills with
green meadows among groves of trees that wave and flash in the sunlight
on a pleasant day.
There are glaciers that lie in hollows on the mountain side, and here
and there push little moraines before them in their heavy course down
the valleys to the water. A couple reach to the water's edge and throw
off tiny icebergs that go drifting about with the tide and wind. Better
yet, if one really loves nature, are the storms. Seen from a
sailing-vessel in danger of drifting on the rocks that are a hundred
leagues from help, the storms are fearsome; but when seen from the deck
of a well-found steamer, when wrapped in water-proofs and furs, they are
magnificent. The gale goes roaring up the mountain, carrying the snow in
fluffy masses to the very crest and hurls it thence in smoky, quivering
tongues, 1200 feet into the air. The same phenomenon may be seen on the
coast of Greenland, but in the Beagle Channel the mountains are nearer
at hand, their sides more precipitous, and the winds fiercer. And then
there are the "williwaws" the whalers tell about, the whirling squalls
that pick up the water, as the sand is picked up on the plains of New
Mexico to form writhing columns a thousand feet high. There is something
in the whizz and swish of wind and water, as one of these passes the
ship, that stirs the blood as nothing else in nature, short of a tornado
or live volcano, can do.
American art students go to Europe to complete their education by
copying old-time paintings of apostles--apostles standing erect in a
boat not large enough to accommodate their feet without pinching--and
then come home to gabble about the beauties of nature. The picture of a
saint, regardless of surroundings, may inspire the soul with religious
fervor and teach the struggling youth to put that fervor on the canvas,
but if one would paint a landscape that will at once thrill the soul
with terror and awake it to an appreciation of the wildest scene in
nature, let him make studies of the williwaws in the Cape Horn region,
with frozen volcanoes vomiting flames of snow for a background.
The _Ushuaia_ sailed out of Buenos Ayres on Wednesday, April 18th. She
arrived back on Saturday, June 23d. I should say there is probably no
other voyage in the world that a tourist could make in which he would
suffer more physical discomforts. The most of these as I saw them were
due to the wretched design of the remodelled lighter, but some were
inseparable from such a voyage because due to the climate and the
distance one goes from civilized communities.
Nevertheless, the liking for North Americans which the Argentines
everywhere professed, their hearty efforts to make me comfortable
because I was a North American, the delights of visiting the old-time
ports and waters of which one reads in the thrilling tales of early
exploration, these, with many other things that come to mind, combine to
crowd from the memory everything disagreeable, and I can think of the
voyage, as a whole, only with the greatest pleasure.
INDEX.
A
Aborigines of Cape Horn, story of, 47 _et seq._
"Adobe Money" depreciated, currency of Spanish-American nations, 279
_Adventures in Patagonia_, by Titus Coan, 154
Aguirre Bay (_see_ Spaniard Harbour).
Akers, Mr. C. E., author of _Argentine, Patagonian, and Chilian
Sketches_, 249
Alaculoof Indians, called Fuegians, 100;
seen by early navigators, 128;
home of, 134;
described by early navigators, 134;
story of aggressiveness of, 134 _et seq._;
R. C. Mission to, 136
Alaska, reference to colony of outlaws in, 67
Albatross, white, seen off Staten Island, 141;
enormous specimens of, in Patagonia, 209;
eaten by early navigators, 209;
superstition of sailors concerning, 209
_Allen Gardiner_ (_see_ Mission schooner).
Alluvial banks of Cape Horn region, 7-21, 295;
beds of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, 64, 125;
cliffs of New Gulf, 171, 268
American lion (_see_ Panther).
Andes, break in the, in Patagonia, at Gallegos River, 125, 282;
in Tierra del Fuego, from San Sebastian to Useless Bay, 125
Animals, found in Patagonia, 184 _et seq._, 194-200;
of the desert, able to live without water, 200
Anson, Admiral, description of land of the Yahgans by, 49
Ansorge, Herr Bruno, gold miner at Paramo, 14;
found bit of gold ore, 22;
member of singing club, 267
Antarctic Highlanders (_see_ Yahgans).
Archipelago of Cape Horn, 47
_Arctic_, S. S., wrecked on Cape Virgin, 6
Arenas, Punta (_see_ under Punta).
Argentine, Capital (_see_ Ushuaia).
Argentine, Government sends engineer to gold region of Patagonia, 7;
establishes settlement at Ushuaia, fearing Chilian encroachment,
101 _et seq._, 108;
grants land to Mr. Bridges, 121;
transport _Ushuaia_ sails for Staten Island, 138 (_see Ushuaia_);
generous to Welsh colonists, 174 _et seq._;
depressed condition of currency of, 221;
hospitality shown on pampas of, 256;
naval transports of, 260;
great consumption of _mate_ in, 271;
prepares Santa Cruz as base of operations, 276;
Lake, traces of gold at, 278;
land system discourages small owners, 280;
connected with other lakes by navigable channels, 280;
population on border line of, friendly to Chili, 282;
difficulty of obtaining justice in, 282
_Argentine, Patagonian, and Chilian Sketches_, by Mr. C. E. Akers, 249
Armadillo, prey of panther, 195;
two varieties of, 198;
interesting habits of, 198 _et seq._;
methods of killing snakes, 199;
delicious article of food, 199;
not found south of Santa Cruz River, 199;
grubs for worms, 199;
methods of catching mice, 199;
robs nests, 199;
suggestion as to importation of, into United States, 200
Arms, Mr., sent to Patagonia with Rev. Mr. Coan, 154
Asado, or beef roasting, by gauchos, 229
Asses' Ears, point of New Island, 16, 17
Axes, of Yahgans, shell, 57-59 (_see_ Yahgans).
B
Baccarat, favorite game in Punta Arenas, 44
Backhausen, Herr Carlos, gold miner at Paramo, 14
Bala College, 169
Banner Cove (_see_ Picton Island).
Baptists at Frondrey, 177
Barrancas, vertical earth banks, 21;
perpendicular alluvial banks, 295
Bars, number of licensed, in Punta Arenas, 40
Beagle Channel, _Ushuaia_ in, 15;
ranch of Mr. Bridges on, 62;
milder climate of, 117;
charming scenery, 117;
profits of ranching on, 119, 122;
market for products, 120, 138
Beech, Antarctic, trees of Fuegian Islands, 50
Beer made at Quilmes, 244
Bell snake, gaucho term for rattlesnake, 246
Benfield, Mr. Theo., story of wonderful find by, 21 _et seq._
Berberis, berry of thorn bush, 76;
medicinal decoction of, 134
Big Feet, name given to Tehuelches, 173
Birds, of Patagonia, 201-214;
interesting to sportsmen, 206;
interesting to naturalists, 208;
in North Patagonia migrate farther south, 210;
thirteen Arctic varieties of, migrate to Patagonia, 210;
and insects, 173
Bolas, weapons used by Ona Indians, 59;
"the lost," used by Tehuelche Indians, 164;
used in hunting panthers, 194;
how to make them, 235;
how to use them, 235;
effective weapons, 235
Bongos, canoes of Bay of Panama, 55
Bougainville, M., 150;
French explorer, 260
Bows and arrows, weapons of Onas, 129, 296;
weapons of Tehuelches, 164, 296
Brecknock Pass, 15
Bridges, Rev. Thomas, describes Yahgan canoes, 55;
compiles grammar of Yahgan language, 62;
descriptions of Yahgan character, 66;
descriptions of Yahgan cooking, 76;
first arrival at Keppel Island, 85;
learns Yahgan language, 87;
becomes a missionary, 90;
labors among Yahgans, 91;
reports condition of Ushuaia, 93 _et seq._;
method of solving Hidugalahgoon's matrimonial troubles, 94;
picture of life at the station, 97;
turns ranchman, 118;
home of, on Beagle Channel, 118;
family of, 119;
profits of ranching, 119;
how ranch was obtained, 120;
extract of lecture in Buenos Ayres, 121;
charges against, 122;
land of, belonged to Yahgans, 124;
safe journey of, through Ona country, 133
Buenos Ayres, excitement in, over gold discoveries, 8;
Mr. Bridges lectures in, 120;
Mentions of, "the Athens of South America," 248, 252;
_Ushuaia_ starts from, 261;
hard biscuit of, 275;
_Ushuaia_ returns to, 299
Bunch Grass, 178;
seed, 157;
eaten by Indians and gauchos, 238
Burleigh, Rev. Mr., at mission station, Tekenika Bay, 104
Button, Jemmy, a Yahgan, taken to England by Darwin, 62;
goes to Keppel Island, 85;
conduct towards his fellows, 99
C
Cabbages, size of, at Ushuaia, 115;
grown at Punta Arenas, 289
Cape Horn (_see_ Horn).
Cape Virgin (_see_ Virgin).
Canoes of Yahgans, 54-57
Caramba, use of the word, 231
Caranchos, species of vulture, 162;
abundant, 212;
aid panther hunters, 213
Carmen de Patagones, Spanish colony on Rio Negro, 152;
paid tribute to natives, 152
Cattle and sheep raising conducive to over-hospitality, 254 _et seq._
Celery, wild, found in Fuego, a delicate vegetable, 49
Centenera, Del Barco, Spanish writer, 192
Channels, labyrinthian, of Cape Horn, 25
Cheenah, Indian squaw, 147 _et seq._
Chico River, 280
Chili, takes possession of Port Famine and the Straits of Magallanes, 27;
renames Port Famine, 28;
depressed condition of currency of, 221;
justice to be had in, 282
Chiloe, island of, 4
Chisels, wooden, 59 (_see_ Yahgans).
Chubut, Welsh colony settled at, 168;
hardships of colony at, 171 _et seq._;
foes of the desert, 173;
area and population of, 177;
railroad constructed from, to New Gulf, 179, 269;
Welsh colony of, 252;
tramp element in Welsh colony of, 256
Chubut River, 33, 168, 173
Chwaites, II. V., Captain of the _Ushuaia_, 263, 285;
a fine sportsman, 288;
hunting guanacos with bolas, 288
Clark, Mr. William, ranchman at Gallegos, 225, 256 _et seq._
Climate of Cape Horn region, 23;
of Punta Arenas, 46, 91;
of land of Yahgans, 49, 53;
12 deg. below zero the coldest, 52;
of Gallegos, peculiarity of, 286
Coan, Rev. Mr. Titus, theological student, 154;
sent to Patagonia, 154;
experiences in, 154;
author of _Adventures in Patagonia_, 154;
found runaway sailors among Tehuelches, 258
Cockburn Channel, 15, 47;
scenery of, 298
Colonia de Magallanes, La, or Port Famine, 27;
nicknamed Sandy Point, 28 _et seq._;
penal colony established at, 28;
prison burned, 33
Colony, Welsh (_see_ under Welsh).
Condors, size of, 212;
aids to panther hunters, 213
Cook, Captain, describes land of the Yahgans, 49;
wild celery, 49;
sailors of, find albatross good eating, 209;
early navigator, 260
Coots found on Chubut River, 173
Cordilleras, wild cattle hunting in, 31;
snow-capped peaks of, 34, 224;
Gallegos River rises in, 282
Cormorants found in Patagonia, 208
Coypu, hunted for fur, good eating, 197;
aquatic 'possum, or species of beaver, 197;
peculiar formation of, 197
Cripple Creek, 140
Cruz, Santa, River (_see_ under Santa).
Cuerpo de Bomberos, gambling club in Punta Arenas, 44
Curios to be found in Patagonia, 43, 293-297
Currency of Argentina and Chili, depressed condition of, 221;
value of gold and paper, 222
D
Darwin, Sound, 15;
Mt., peak of coast range on Tierra del Fuego, 47
Darwin, Charles, the naturalist, describes Yahgans, 62;
takes Jemmy Button to England, 62;
explores Santa Cruz River, 169;
opinion of Patagonia, 183;
misstatements concerning guanacos, 185;
mentions black-faced Ibises, 211
Dandelions thrive in the desert, 157
Deer, found in forests of Andes, 198;
destroy desert snakes, 198
Denominational churches in Welsh colony, 177
Deserts of Patagonia, 157;
inhospitable region, 157;
springs far apart, 157;
well adapted to guanacos and ostriches, 157;
foes of the, 173;
bushes of the, 183, 232;
snakes of, destroyed by deer, 198;
similar to desert regions of United States, 199;
armadilloes thrive in, 199;
animals of, able to live without water, 200;
ostrich hunting in, 204 _et seq._;
silence of the, 212, 232;
fascination of, 227, 232;
sparrow of the, 232
Desire, Port (_see_ under Port).
Desolation Bay, 15
Diaz, Don Rui, Spanish Captain, 192
_Dido_, S. S., sent to Spaniard Harbour, 84
Dragon fly, called "the son of the southwest gale," 246
Ducks, uncounted hosts at Cape Horn, 75;
enormous quantities at Staten Island, 140;
near Chubut, 173;
prey of panther, 195;
curiosity of wild, 206;
shooting too easy, 206;
quantities of, in interior, 207;
favorite breeding places, 208;
curious air dance of, 212;
color and curiosity of, off Santa Cruz, 288
Dugouts, canoes used in Caribbean Sea, 55
E
Eggs, methods of gathering, 68;
methods of cooking, 76, 238;
panthers eat, 195; ostrich, 202;
size of ostrich, 238
Elephants formerly existed in Patagonia, 157
Elizabeth Island, sheep thrive on, 31
El Paramo (_see_ Paramo).
_Endeavor_, Captain Cook's ship, 209
Eskimos, Yahgans compared with, 49
Extradition treaty between Chili and Argentine of little value, 286
F
Fables of Tehuelches, 159 (_see_ Tehuelches).
Falkland Islands, 27, 150, 222
Famine, Port (_see_ under Port Famine).
Farina, a ground root, 222
Fauna of Patagonia, 68, 75, 76, 83, 140, 157, 173, 183, 184 _et seq._,
194 _et seq._, 198-200, 206 _et seq._, 212, 288
_Felis Concolor_ (_see_ Panther).
Ferns, 45
Figue, Adolph and Louis, merchants at Ushuaia, 22, 115, 297
Fish, native methods of catching, 59, 60;
sea filled with, 75, 83
Fitzroy, Captain, 67, 73, 81
Flints and agates abound in the Ona country, 132
Flora of Patagonia, 11, 43, 45, 49, 50, 68, 75, 76, 83, 115, 157, 178, 183,
200, 222, 238, 289
Flores Island, quarantine station of Uruguay, 228
Flowers in great profusion in Punta Arenas, 45
Fossil, mastodon's jaw, 21;
of opossum, kangaroo, and monkey, 64;
in Tierra del Fuego, 125;
of glyptodon, 201, 295
Fox, gray, flourishes in Patagonia, 198
"Friend of Man," gaucho term for panther, 246
Frondrey, village of, 177
Fruits, small, 76
Fuegians (_see_ Alaculoof).
Fuegian Islands, mountains of, 50
Fuego, Tierra del, 7;
placer gold found on, 1, 7, 22;
explored by Popper, 9;
Bay of Port Pantaloons in, 17;
peaks of coast range on, 47;
magnificent vegetation of, 49;
prairies of, 124;
climate and fertility of, 124;
size and shape of island, 125;
contrast to Patagonia, 125;
bones of animals found in, 125;
rainfall and frosts of, 125;
sheep raising introduced into, 126;
the industry spreads, 127;
three Argentine stations in, 127;
origin of name, 128;
ships wrecked on, 254;
Ona Indians of, 296;
scenery through channels of, 298
Fungus, yellow, vegetable food, 75, 157;
eaten by Indians and gauchos, 238
Fuschias, 45
Future Bay, near Punta Arenas, 10
G
Gable Island, in Beagle Channel, 62;
sheep ranch of Mr. Bridges on, 118
Gallegos, successful sheep raising in, 216;
ranchmen at, 224 _et seq._;
description of ranchmen, 225;
game of cards, corn kernels for chips, 225;
ordinance against tramps in, 255;
the capital of Santa Cruz territory, 281;
location of, 281;
buildings of, like a Yankee mining camp 283;
good cattle country back of, 283;
placer gold mines along coast south of, 283;
size of the capital city, 283;
unattractive appearance of, 283;
every store a hotel, 284;
hotels compared with those of Mexico, 284;
queer boarding-house in, 284 _et seq._;
Dona Philomela, the hostess, 284;
occasional arrests and trials in, 286;
government officials of, 286;
Captain of Police in, a cripple, 286;
peculiar climate of, 286;
high winds in, 286;
winter the pleasantest season, 287
Gallegos River, 14, 16;
probably a strait in former ages, 125;
volcanic mountain peak south of, 157;
parrots found at the heads of, 213;
population between Santa Cruz River and, friendly to Chili, 282;
rises in Cordilleras near Pacific Ocean, 282;
size of, 282;
navigable, 282;
lava beds, 282 _et seq._;
perfect pasture land along, 283;
lands south, filled with shepherds, 283;
lack of fuel on north side of, 283;
Captain Chwaites hunts the guanaco with bolas, 288
Galletas, bullet-like loaves of bread, 241
Gardiner, Captain Allen Francis, R. N., first missionary to
Fuegian Indians, 80;
attempt to live among Yahgans fails, 81;
fits out launches in England and returns to Tierra del Fuego, 82
Gauchos, or cowboys, 33;
methods of fox hunting, 198;
methods of ostrich hunting, 205;
methods of hunting prairie chickens, 208;
definition of the word, 228;
resemble Nantucket whalers, 229;
peculiar dress of, 230;
in the wilderness, 231;
reasons for becoming 233;
wild life fascinating to all men, 233 _et seq._;
blankets and fur robes used by, 233, 235;
the ways and manners of, 234;
dress of, 234;
outfit of, inexpensive, 234;
weapons of, 235;
methods of fighting, 236;
wild life of, 236 _et seq._;
usual breakfast of, 236 _et seq._;
superb riders, 237;
method of cooking ostrich eggs, 238;
fat of panther most satisfying food, 238;
appetite of, 238 _et seq._;
meat diet alone not satisfying, 238;
as seen by travellers, 239;
ways of spending money, 239;
enjoyment of "jags," 239;
pride of, 240;
dangerous to insult, 240;
etiquette of smoking, 240;
branding cattle, 241;
powers of endurance, 241;
description of house of, 242;
manner of eating, 242 _et seq._;
home life of, 243;
amusements of, 243;
cheating at cards counted a mark of superior skill by, 243;
description of saloons, 244;
native drinks, 244 _et seq._;
liquor glasses, 244;
etiquette of drinking, 245;
_mate_ tea making, 245;
character of, 246 _et seq._;
terms and sayings of, 246 _et seq._;
religion of, 247;
compared with North American cowboys, 247 _et seq._;
enjoyment of life, 248
Geese, myriads of, 75;
prey of panther, 195;
beautiful colors of wild, 207;
two varieties of wild, 207;
good sport, 207;
favorite breeding places of, 208
Gente Grande Bay, rich pastures of, 126;
introduction and spread of sheep raising in, 126 _et seq._
Glyptodons, fossil remains of, 201
Gold, first discoveries of, on Patagonian coast, 1-5;
sailors wrecked at Cape Virgin, 4;
story of, 5;
bearing banks of Cape Horn region, 7;
rich finds of, at New Island, 16 _et seq._;
at Port Pantaloons, 17;
marvellous quality of, at Sloggett Bay, 20;
peculiar difficulties of mining in Sloggett Bay, 21;
on New Year's Island, 150;
found in Welsh colony, 178;
traces of, at Lake Argentine, 278
Gold diggings, story of, 2-4, 7;
at Cape Virgin worked out, 10;
further explorations, 10;
at Paramo, richness of, 12 _et seq._;
supply renewed after storms and spring tides, 13;
ore found in a bit of drift rock, 22;
no quartz veins in Cape Horn region, 22;
miners at work between Gallegos and Cape Virgin, 283;
dust obtained at Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, 297
Gnats (_see_ Punkies).
Grand Chaco forests of the Argentine, 228
Greenwood, Mr. W. H., 193
Grey, Mr. H., Yankee merchant, 30
Grubb, Mr. W. Balbrooke, school teacher at Keppel Island, 88
Guanaco, hunted, 31;
red-haired, 51;
modified camel, 64, 75;
how hunted by Onas, 129;
first view of, 184;
habits of, 184;
description of, 184 _et seq._;
Darwin's observations of, 185, 186;
curious habits of, 185, 186, 189;
wallowing places of, 187;
methods of self-defence, 187;
vast herds of, 188;
sense of smell and curiosity of, 188, 195;
sure footed, 189;
pleasing pets when young, 189;
flesh good eating, 190;
mainstay of Indian, 190;
hides valuable, 190;
price of skins of, 190;
medicinal quality of ball in stomach of, 190;
the staple food of panther, 195;
beautiful fur of, 293;
skins used for beds, 294;
price of skins of, 294
Gulf of St. George, 293
Gulls of Cape Horn, 75;
tiny species off Staten Island, 141;
called Cape Horn pigeon, 208
_Guy Mannering_ wrecked off Staten Island, 144
H
Hamilton, James, D.D., _Memoir of Richard Williams_, by, 84;
John, 215;
sheep raiser in Patagonia, 280
Hansen, Harry, gold prospector, 15
Hermit Island, gold-bearing banks on, 7;
a few Yahgans left on, 72, 78
Hidugalahgoon, matrimonial difficulties of, 94
Hope, Point, in Alaska, 77
Horn, Cape, gold-bearing banks on, 7;
first view of mine camp at, 9;
miners of, 24;
labyrinthian channels of region of, 25;
metropolis of, 27;
archipelago, 47;
story of aborigines of, 47 _et seq._;
mission, 79;
region, snow storms every month in the year, 91, 125;
pigeons, species of gull, 208;
beauty of pigeons, 209;
Indians of, eat penguins, 209
Horse meat, great delicacy to Onas and Tehuelches, 129
Hospitality, unbounded, in the Argentine pampas and Patagonia ranches, 256
Hudson, Mr. W. H., author of _Naturalist in La Plata_,186
Hummingbirds, 214
I
Ibanez (Gregorio), Don, Argentine sailor, wrecked on Cape Virgin, 4;
finds gold, 5
Ibises, black-faced, song and dance of, 211 _et seq._
Indians, attack explorers at San Sebastian Bay, 11;
trade with, 43;
squaw in tailor-made gown, 44;
three tribes of, in Cape Horn Archipelago, 74 _et seq._;
nomads of Patagonia (_see_ Tehuelche), 151 _et seq._;
make use of all parts of guanacos, 190;
of Patagonia eat skunks, 198;
make pets of skunks, 198;
of Cape Horn region eat penguins, 209;
vegetable food of, 238
Insects, varieties of, 173, 183
Iron ore found on one island only, 76
J
Jones, Mr. Lewis, 169
Jones, Dr. Michael, founder of Welsh colony at Chubut, 169;
wishes to perpetuate Welsh language, 181;
Spanish the language of the Argentine, 182
Journey, alongshore in Cape Horn region, 15;
begun, 260 _et seq._;
departure from Buenos Ayres, 261;
life on board _Ushuaia_, 261-268;
prevailing winds, 268;
arrival at New Gulf, 268;
attractive telegraph operator, 269;
_en route_ for Port Desire, 269;
captain's confidence, 270;
view of Port Desire disappointing, 270;
description of Port Desire, 271;
visit to the Sub-Prefect, 273;
dinner with a ranchman, 275;
arrival at Santa Cruz, 276;
town consists of nine buildings, 277;
plan of city, 278;
arrival at Gallegos, 281;
unattractiveness of Gallegos, 283 _et seq._;
one clean hotel, 284;
introduced to Gov. Mayer, 285;
discomforts on the _Ushuaia_, 288-291;
interesting curios to be collected, 293-297;
return to Buenos Ayres, 299;
pleasant memories of, 300;
(_see_ also under Staten Island).
K
Kangaroo, petrified remains of, 64, 157
Kayaks, canoes of Eskimos, 55
Keppel Island, mission station established on, 85;
preparatory school of the mission, 87
Kevalinyes, the, of Point Hope, 67
King, Mr., describes magnificent vegetation in land of Yahgans, 49
Knives, weapons of Tehuelches, 164;
price of, used by gauchos, 235;
useful at meal times, 242;
murderous weapons, 248;
size of, 275
L
Lagoons of Rio Gallegos, 211
Lake Nehuel-Huapi, 164
Land of Yahgans, 49-52
Lapwings, spurwinged, dance quadrilles, 210;
description of the dancing, 210 _et seq._
Lassoes, used by Tehuelches and gauchos, 164;
description of, horsehair rope, 235
Lava beds at Santa Cruz, 217
Lawrence, Rev. John, Yahgan canoes described by, 55, 78;
children of, continue mission work, 104 _et seq._
Le Maire, Straits of, 15;
_Ushuaia_ in, 138;
strong currents, and tide rips in, 139
Lennox Island, gold-bearing banks on, 7;
same formation of bank and beach as at Cape Virgin, 16;
harbour, 85
Lezama, Don Gregorio, organizes expedition to gold diggings, 8
Lichens, 45
Lignite, found in Punta Arenas, 42;
found in Welsh colony, 178
Lista, Don Ramon, Argentine explorer and writer, 4, 120;
collects Tehuelche tales, 159
Literati of Yahgan tribe, 65
Locusts, pests of the desert, 173
Lucia, Stephen, 94
M
Madryn, Welsh town in Patagonia, 180;
on New Gulf, 251;
captain of the port of, 251
Magellan's search for shorter route to Spice Islands, 2;
visited St. Julian Harbor in Patagonia, 151, 260
Magellan, Straits of, placer gold in streams flowing into, 22;
bleak pictures of, given by early navigators, 34;
Cape Horn Archipelago south of, 47;
Chilian possessions in, 276;
narrows in, 297
Magnolia trees, size of, in Fuegian Islands, 50
Maidment, Mr., catechist, 82
Maldonada, Senorita, story of, and panther, 192
Mammals, 83
"Manana country," Spanish American nations so called, 279
Manufacturing industries of Punta Arenas, 42
Maria, Santa (_see_ under Santa).
Marriages of Yahgans (_see_ Yahgans).
Marshall, storekeeper at Chubut, 178
_Mate_, wild tea of Paraguay, 237;
drinking, 245 _et seq._ (_see_ Gaucho);
great consumption of, in Argentine, 271;
meat and drink to Patagonians, 272
Mayer, Edelmiro, Governor of Patagonian territory of Santa Cruz, 215;
large land owners along Santa Cruz and Chico rivers, 280;
Governor of Gallegos, 285;
description of home of, 285;
devoted to music and literature, 285;
wife of, 286;
commanded a negro regiment in War of the Rebellion, 286;
helped Mexicans overthrow Maximilian, 286
Mesa, plains of Patagonia, 183, 187
Meteorological condition of islands, 51
Methodists at Rawson, 177
Minas, Las, creek near Punta Arenas, 4;
gold found in large quantity, 5;
enormous nuggets, 6
Mine camps at Paramo and Ushuaia small affairs, 23, 24
Miners of Cape Horn, headquarters of, at Punta Arenas, 24;
cost of outfit of, 24.
Misery, Mount, on Navarin Island, 51
Mission school at Keppel Island, 89;
first station of Cape Horn, 79;
on Beagle Channel, 89, 100;
growth of, 100 _et seq._
Mission, schooner, _Allen Gardiner_, 89;
built in England, 85;
commanded by Capt. W. P. Snow, 85;
steamship to replace schooner, 100;
Roman Catholic, established near San Sebastian Bay, 133;
in country of the Alaculoofs, 136
Missionaries, to Yahgans, spiritual teachings of, 66, 71, 99;
land at Picton Island, 82;
miserable death of, 85;
second party of, arrive at Keppel Island, 85;
some murdered by Yahgans, 86;
are reinforced, 87 _et seq._;
station at Ushuaia founded, 89;
Mr. Bridges in charge, 90 _et seq._;
material teachings of, 90-98;
extracts from records of, 93-100, 102, 103;
natives receive scant pay from, 95 _et seq._;
unhappy transformation of tribe into laborers, 101 _et seq._;
tribe dies out, 105;
Mr. Bridges turns ranchman, 118 _et seq._;
sell clothing sent to be given to Indians, 122;
opportunities for trade, 123;
reasons for so doing, 123;
salaries of, 123
Missiones, 229
Mojave, desert of, 23
Monkeys, fossil remains of, 64.
Morrell, Captain Benjamin, tales of aborigines by, 153 _et seq._
Mosquitoes numerous in Patagonia, 173, 183
Mount Misery (_see_ Misery).
Mount Sarmiento (_see_ Sarmiento).
Mountains, snow-capped, 23;
possible gold veins in, 23;
difficulties of ascent of, 23;
precipitous, of Fuegian Islands, 50;
covered with forests of beech and magnolias, 50;
sea mosses above tree line, 51;
eternal snows, 51
Mouse, prey of panther, 195
Mouse-bird (_see_ desert sparrow).
Musters, George Chaworth, Commander, 4
N
_Naturalist in La Plata_, by Mr. W. H. Hudson, 186
Navarin Island, gold-bearing banks on, 7;
rolling hills, meadows and groves on, 51;
murder of some of the missionaries on, 86;
climate near, 117
Negro, Rio, Spanish colony, 152 (_see_ Carmen de Patagones);
parrots found in region of, 213;
valley and ranches of, 250, 254, 256
Nehuel-Huapi, Lake, apple orchards on, 164
New Gulf, in Patagonia, Welsh land at, 170;
plenty of gypsum at, 172;
first view of Patagonian tramp at Madryn on, 251;
_Ushuaia_ arrives at, 268;
first view of, 268;
attractive telegraph operator in, 269
New Island, gold-bearing banks on, 7;
extraordinary finds at, 16 _et seq._
New Year's Island, north of Staten Island, 18, 140;
gold on, 148, 150
Nomads of Patagonia, the Tehuelches, 151 _et seq._
Nugget weighing 300 grammes found at Las Minas, 6
O
_Ocean Queen_, S. S., 82
Ona Indians, of Tierra del Fuego, 59;
weapons and implements of, 59, 60;
efforts to civilize and teach them sheep raising, 126;
flock to ranch, but steal sheep at night, 126;
a distinct race, 127;
children used as servants in Argentine Government families, 127;
cause of name Tierra del Fuego, 128;
land tribe, 128;
slight mention of, by early explorers, 128;
same origin as Tehuelches, 129;
fine runners, 129;
have no boats, but are found in Patagonia, 129;
have no horses, 129;
weapons of, 129;
language of, harsh, 129, 132;
food of, 129;
methods of hunting, 129;
homes of, 130;
no lack of intelligence, 130;
migratory habits, 130;
beard plucking, 131;
personal appearance of, 131;
habits of, 131;
capacity for food, 131 _et seq._;
methods of lighting fires, 132;
making of weapons, 132;
religious beliefs of, unknown, 132;
cruelty of, towards whites, 132;
cannibals, 133;
medicinal remedy discovered by, 134;
glass arrow-heads of, 296;
frequent fights with shepherds and gold diggers of Tierra del Fuego, 296
Oomiaks, canoes of Eskimos, 55
Opossum, fossil remains of, 64;
thrives in treeless Patagonia, 196;
does not lose climbing instinct, 196;
family of, transported to a plantation with trees, 196;
different species of, 197
Ostriches, fossil remains of, 64, 201;
desert peculiarly adapted to, 157;
prey of panther, 195;
foes of, 201;
two kinds of, in Patagonia, 201;
angular gait of, 201;
not such fools as reported, 202;
hiding their heads in the sand a real safeguard, 202;
color of sand and desert bushes, 203;
reasons for survival of, 202;
flies and grasshoppers the food of, 202;
nest built by male, 202;
brood cared for by male, 202;
danger signal of male, 202;
learn habits of their hunters, 203;
easily domesticated, 204;
will flock to a place of safety from great distances, 204;
hunting, glorious sport, 204;
appearance of different varieties when pursued, 204 _et seq._;
will run from a gun two miles away, 204;
savage traits of the cocks, 204;
Indian method of capturing, 205;
appearance of white one at Carmen de Patagones, 206;
taken with the bolas, 205;
eggs and flesh of, good eating, 206;
value of feathers of, 239
Otten, Fred, 6
Otters found at Cape Horn, 75
Outlaws, colony of, on Siberian coast, 67
P
Panther, also called American lion, 173;
description of, 190 _et seq._;
characteristics of, 191 _et seq._;
story of a, 191 _et seq._;
hunting, 193;
war of extermination against, 193;
habits of, when pursued, 193; _et seq._;
how eaten in Patagonia, 194;
hunting habits of the, 194;
food of, 195;
wiliness of, 195;
wanton destructiveness of, 195;
instinctive dislike to dogs, 196;
charming household pet, 196;
fat most satisfying food of the desert, 238
Paramo, El, meaning of name, 9;
founded by Popper, 9;
first mine camp established at, 9;
arrival of supplies for camp at, 11;
description of camp, 12;
grassy plains and treeless hills, 12;
richness of gold bed on beach at, 12 _et seq._;
gold bed renewed by storms, 13;
methods of washing gold, 14;
land in, controlled by German-Argentine corporation, 14;
Argentine military station, 127
Parrots, fossil remains of, 157;
found in forests of Andes, 213
Partridge, prey of panther, 190
Patagonia, 2;
description of, 5;
engineer sent to, by Argentine Government, 7;
thousand miles of gold vein on coast of, 15;
nomads of, 151 _et seq._;
desert east of Andes, 152;
Jesuits plant apples in, 152;
Spanish colonies attempted, 152;
Mr. Coan and Mr. Arms in, 154;
condition of, in 1865, 169;
grant of land in, to Welsh, 169;
Welsh pilgrims land at New Gulf, 169 _et seq._;
winter season in, 170;
dreary surroundings of Welsh colonists in, 170 _et seq._;
gypsum and alkali, 171;
Welsh colonists make homes, 172;
"Big Feet," 173 (_see_ Tehuelches);
transportation difficult, 179;
railway constructed, 179;
new towns, 179;
railway prospered, 180;
railway building not expensive, 181;
zoology of, 183;
natives of, consume fat like Eskimos, 194;
panther an esteemed article of diet in, 194;
home of panthers and 'possums, 196;
interesting characteristics of zoology of, 200;
resembles desert regions of United States, 200;
varieties of animals found in, 194-200;
desert animals of, able to live without water, 200;
birds of, 201 _et seq._;
birds interesting to sportsmen, 206 _et seq._;
birds interesting to naturalists, 208 _et seq._;
thirteen Arctic varieties of birds migrate to, 210;
birds of north, migrate farther south, 210;
silence of desert, 212;
sheep raising successful in, 216;
stories of successful ranchmen in, 216;
well watered, 219;
description of a ranch in, 222;
ranchmen of, 226;
extent of prairie and desert region in, 228;
description of prairies and deserts, 232;
wild horses of the plains of, 236;
tramps in, 250;
trackless deserts of, 250;
hospitality in ranches of, 256;
astonishing number of tramps in, 259;
natives of, prefer _mate_ to all else, 272;
Santa Cruz the planned metropolis of, 278;
Gallegos the capital of, 279;
settlements small, but slow healthy growth, in, 287;
healthful region, 287;
most valuable product of native industry, 293;
squaws make guanaco skin robes, 294;
weave guanaco hair into blankets, 294;
scenery along coast of, 297;
fascination of the desert, 297
Penguins, numerous, 75;
rapid movements of, 141;
fly through water, 209;
not eaten by Patagonians, 209;
eagerly pursued by Cape Horn Indians, 209
Phillips, Mr. Garland, catechist, 85, 86
Philomena, Dona, boarding-house keeper in Gallegos, 284
Picton Island, missionaries landed at Banner Cove in, 82;
story of failure to establish mission on, 82 _et seq._;
death of missionaries, 84;
relief ship arrives at, 84
Pigeons, Cape Horn, species of gull, 141;
description of, 208 _et seq._
Placer gold diggings on Patagonian coast, 3;
gold found in all the streams of Tierra del Fuego, 22;
gold mines along coast south of Gallegos, 283
Plate River, 228, 261, 290
_Poco Tiempo_, land of Spanish-American nations, 279
Point Hope, in Alaska, 67
Poncho, Indian blanket worn by gauchos, 234;
woven by Indian squaws, 294;
not equal in beauty to work of Indians of Guatemala, 294;
used for wraps and saddle blankets, 294
Popper, Herr Julius, founder of El Paramo, 9;
murder of, 10;
describes Punta Arenas, 46;
finds gold in San Sebastian Bay, 120
Port Desire, on Patagonian coast, 27;
Spanish colony, 152;
volcanic bluffs at, 157;
discovered by Cavendish, 169;
ibises of, 211;
condors of, 212;
ancient resort of pirates, 269;
view of, disappointing, 270;
Tower Rock, 270;
description of, 271;
life in, 271 _et seq._;
no lack of food in, 271;
luxuries depend upon visits of transports, 271 _et seq._;
story of sub-prefect of, 272;
story of Lieut. Wilson's servant, 273;
life of naval officers in, 273;
ruins of Spanish fort in, 274;
visit to home of a ranchman, 274;
interesting dinner, 275
Port Famine, ancient port, 27;
Chili took possession of, 27;
penal colony of Chili, 28;
buildings of, destroyed by convicts, 28;
colony re-established farther north, 28
Port Pantaloons, Bay of, on Tierra del Fuego, 17;
description of scenery at, 17;
gold found at, 17
Port St. Julian, Spanish colony, 152
Potatoes, at Ushuaia, 115;
at Punta Arenas, 289
Potro boots, worn by gauchos, 234
Prairie chickens, easily unnerved by noise, 208;
simulate death, 208;
often frightened to death, 208;
two varieties of, 208;
good shooting and eating, 208;
home of, 208
Prairie dog, prey of panther, 196
Prospectors, gold, difficulties of, 15, 23;
model of sloop of, 24;
food supply of, 25;
long absences of, 25
Puchero, beef stew, on the _Ushuaia_, 262
Puerta San Juan del Salvamiento (_see_ St. John Bay), 143
Puma, foe of the ostrich, 201
Punkies, gnats, 183
Punta Arenas, or Sandy Point, 2;
Commander Musters stops at, 4;
Don Ramon Lista visits, 4;
inhabitants excited by gold discoveries, 6;
supply station for sealing schooners, 7;
headquarters of gold miners, 24;
story of foundation of, 27 _et seq._;
development of colony of, 29 _et seq._;
elements of growth, 30;
industry of sheep raising begun, 31;
mutiny in, 32 _et seq._;
miserable end of mutineers, 33;
latitude of, 33;
arrival of _Ushuaia_ at, 33;
appearance of, in May, 33, 34;
description of town, 34 _et seq._;
gambling and dance houses, 36 _et seq._;
government of Chili nominally republican, but ruled by army, 39, 40;
bars in, 40;
description of women in, 40;
sidewalks in, 40;
Governor's residence, 41;
scenery about, 41;
coal discovered in, 42;
brick making in, 42;
possibilities of, 43;
region rich in tan bark, 43;
trade with Indians, 43;
goods delivered by sailboats, 43;
Indian squaws make rugs, baskets, etc., in, 44;
Cuerpo de Bomberos gambling club in, 44;
profusion of flowers in, 45;
population of, 45;
future prosperity of, 46;
profits of sheep raising in, 219;
fate of escaped convicts from, 213;
tramps from, 254;
vegetables grown in, 282, 289;
price of guanaco-skin robes in, 293;
curios to be found at, 295 _et seq._;
gold dust obtained at, 297;
scenery south of, 298
Q
Quillango, fur robe, 233;
worn by gauchos, 235
Quilmes, near Buenos Ayres, 244
R
Railroad from New Gulf to Chubut, 179, 180, 269
Rails, song and dance of the long-legged, 211
Ranch, on Beagle Channel, 117;
dinner at, at Santa Cruz, 223
Ranchman, marriage of, to Tehuelche girl, 224;
divorce, 224;
income of, 226;
restraints of civilization unbearable to, after wild life of
the deserts, 226
Rawson, capital, 172, 177
Records of missionary life and training at Keppel, 87 _et seq._
Religion of Yahgans, 70 _et seq._
Reynard, Mr. H. L., introduces sheep raising into Punta Arenas, 31
Rio Gallegos (_see_ Gallegos).
Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, 228
Rio Negro, Spanish colony (_see_ Carmen de Patagones).
Rio Santa Cruz (_see_ Santa Cruz).
Roca's expeditions against Tehuelches, 156, 276
Roedorn, Count Richard of, passenger on _Ushuaia_, 267
Rufous (_see_ Prairie chicken).
Rugs of otter, seal, and swan's down, 296
Rum cheap in the Argentine, 244
S
Sagebrush and swamps found at San Sebastian Bay, 11
St. George, Gulf of, 293
St. John Bay, 15;
Harbor, 138;
Cape of, 139;
description of tide rip at entrance of, 142;
Government post established in 1884, 143;
Government post of Staten Island to support lighthouse, 143;
governor's residence, 144 _et seq._;
description of lighthouse, 146;
story of runaway sailor boy, 146-148
St. Julian harbor, 151
St. Lawrence Bay, 67
Salt fields on Rio Negro, 152, 157
Sandy Point (_see_ Punta Arenas)
San Sebastian Bay, placer gold found at, 10;
gold seekers attacked by Indians, 11;
no running water near gold layers, 11;
gold found by Popper, 120;
break in Andes at, 125
Santa Cruz, guanaco cemetery at, 186;
Gallegos, capital of territory of, 215;
amount of profitable land in, 217;
amount of worthless land in, 217;
price of sheep in, 218;
800,000 sheep in, 287;
future prosperity of, 287;
fine sheep ranch near city of, 222;
description of house on sheep ranch near, 223;
passengers to, 262;
_Ushuaia_ arrives at, 276;
Weddell's Bluff, 276;
presidio, or barracks, 276;
to be used as base of operations in case of trouble with Chili, 276;
profitable sheep raising in, 276;
town consisted of nine buildings, 277;
deserted missionary church in, 277;
plan of prospective city, 278;
price of land at, 278;
enormous shipments of wool from, 278;
good pasture land in, 278;
traces of gold at Lake Argentine, 278;
enterprising land "boomer" of, 279;
natural advantages of, 279;
probable gold mines in Andes, 279;
fine timber land near, 279 _et seq._;
lack of good drinking water, 281;
method of drawing water from wells with horse and lasso, 281
Santa Cruz River, 32;
explored by Darwin, 169;
impassable barrier to armadilloes, 199;
tramp at, 253;
navigable throughout its course, 279;
owners of water front control all the range back, 280;
Gov. Mayer large land owner on, 280;
tide rises over forty feet at mouth of, 281
Santa Maria River, gold found at, 10
Sarmiento, reference to, 3;
starving colony, 34, 80;
Pedro, 169
Sarmiento Mount, 25;
snow capped peaks of, 41;
peak of coast range on Tierra del Fuego, 47
Saunders, James, 215;
sheep raiser in Patagonia, 280
Scenery, of Punta Arenas like Adirondacks, 34, 41;
along Patagonia coast, 297, 299
Sea fowl, methods of gathering eggs of, 68
Sea mosses above tree line on mountains of Fuegian islands, 51
Seals, fur and hair, in Cape Horn region, 75
Seaweed, uses of, 68;
varieties of, 295
Serpents easily destroyed by panther, 196
Sheep, long-wooled variety in favor, 219;
diseases of, 220;
800,000 in Santa Cruz territory, 287.
Sheep raising, a productive industry in Patagonia, 215;
profits for one year, 216;
success in, at Gallegos, 216;
profitable to the individual, 217;
amount of capital needed for, 218,
expenses of, 218, 220;
care of lambs, 219;
profits of, in Punta Arenas, 219;
average pounds of wool per sheep, 220;
as compared with Argentine and United States, 220;
havoc made by foxes and wild-cats, 220;
conservative estimate of profits of, 221;
compared with cattle business in the United States, 221;
wool sold for gold, 222;
ranchmen paid in paper, 222
Sheep ranch, established on Keppel Island, 85;
description of, at Santa Cruz, 222
Shells, curious, 295;
antediluvian oyster, 295;
mussel, 295
Shellfish, 59, 76, 83, 295
Skees, Norwegian, 149
Skunks, made pets by Indians, 198;
eaten by Indians, 198
Skyring Water near Punta Arenas, 282
Slings, Yahgans expert in use of, 59, 60
Sloggett Bay, rich in nugget gold, 18;
story of one expedition to, 19;
peculiar difficulties of mining in, 20 _et seq._
Sloop of prospectors, 24
Snakes of desert destroyed by deer, 198
Snow, Captain W. Parker, commander of mission ship, 85;
establishes mission on Keppel Island, 85
Snow storms every month in Cape Horn region, 91
"Son of the southwest gale," gaucho term for dragon fly, 246
Spaniard Harbour, or Aguirre Bay, 84
Spanish-American nations, lack of enterprise among, 279;
Argentine an exception, 279;
"adobe money" of, 279
Sparrow, desert, 232;
description of, 232
Spears used by Yahgans, 58;
by Tehuelches, 164
Spider of the hot pampas attacks man, 246
Springs one hundred miles apart in Patagonian desert, 157
Squash the favorite vegetable of Argentine ranchmen, 271
Squirrel, prairie, food of Onas, 129
Staten Island of Cape Horn, 15, 137;
similarity of ridges of, to Rocky Mountains, 139;
end of backbone of Western Hemisphere, 139;
_Ushuaia_ bound for Antarctic, 138;
view of, 139, 140;
mountain ridge 2,000 to 3,000 feet high, 140;
vegetation of mountains, 140;
varied and interesting forms of bird-life off, 141;
terrific seas and tide rips in, 142;
Government post at St. John Harbor, 142;
St. John Bay, 143;
lighthouse of St. John's Cape, 143-146;
story of runaway sailor boy, 146 _et seq._;
peculiar formation of the island, 148;
bays of, filling with sand, 148;
interior of, almost impassable, 149;
supply of wood, 150;
climate, 150;
gold on New Year's Island, 150
Steubenrach, Mr., British Consular agent, 126;
introduces sheep raising on Fuegian prairies, 126;
places missionary in charge of ranch, 126
Stirling, Rev. W. H., missionary to Keppel, 87;
Bishop of South America, takes up residence on mainland, 89;
ordained Bishop of Falkland Islands, 90;
safe journey through Ona country, 133
Story-tellers, skilful, among Yahgan tribe, 65
Straits of Magellan (_see_ Magellan).
Straits of Le Maire (_see_ Le Maire).
Swans, myriads of in Cape Horn region, 75;
black and white, 207;
good eating, 208;
favorite breeding places, 208
T
Tan bark in Punta Arenas, 43
Tea, Paraguay (_see Mate_).
Tehuelches, half-breed squaw in tailor-made gown, 44;
Indian tribe of Patagonia, 128;
same origin as Onas, 129;
have no boats, 129;
consider horse meat a delicacy, 129;
liquid language of, 132;
make tents of skins, 130, 165;
are nomads, 151;
a noble race, 151;
visited by Magellan, 151;
exact tribute from Spanish colony, 152 _et seq._;
obtain horses, 152;
character of, 152;
chief demanding tribute in Carmen de Patagones, 153;
story of efforts to convert, 153 _et seq._;
receive missionaries kindly, 154;
maintain independence for 360 years, 155;
war of extermination against, 155;
prisoners tortured by whites, 156;
home region of, 156;
alluvial soil, 157;
salt lakes and beds, 157;
volcanic rocks, 157;
physical proportions of, 157 _et seq._;
prodigious strength, 158;
personal appearance, 158;
attractive women, 158;
habit of gum chewing, 159;
population before and after war of extermination, 159;
mental qualities of, 159;
literature of, 159;
fables of, 159 _et seq._;
religious beliefs of, 160 _et seq._;
religious rites of, 161;
medicine men and women, 161;
superstitions of, 161 _et seq._;
musical instruments of, 162;
division of time, 162;
astronomy of, 162;
government, 162;
ceremonies of marriage and divorce, 163;
happy home life of, 163;
cider festivals 164;
love of liquor chief vice, 164;
apple orchards of, 164;
weapons of, 164;
use of guns and pistols, 164;
methods of hunting game, 164 _et seq._;
modesty of, 165;
morality of, 165;
corrupted by whites, 165 _et seq._;
methods of cooking, 166;
habits of cleanliness among, 166;
food of, 166, 167;
characteristics of, 167;
meaning of name, 173;
help Welsh colonists, 173;
chief's dying remark, 175;
blankets made by squaws, 234 _et seq._;
beguiled sailors to desert, 257 _et seq._;
made slaves of them, 258;
story of baby found by Lieut. Wilson, 273;
glass arrow-heads made by, 296
Tekenika Bay, 104
_Teresina B._, story of dismantled sloop named, 134 _et seq._
Thetis Bay, Argentine military station, 127
Tierra del Fuego (_see_ under Fuego).
Tinamon, spotted (_see_ Prairie chicken).
Tower Rock (_see_ Port Desire).
Tramps, of Patagonia, 250;
first view of, at Madryn, 251;
story of mysterious, at Madryn, 251 _et seq._;
from Sandy Point, 253 _et seq._;
causes of development of, 254, 256;
ordinance against, at Gallegos, 255;
in Chubut, 256;
sailors beguiled by Indians to desert, 257;
hardships of, among Indians, 258;
number of, compared with those in the United States, 259
Transport, trip on Argentine (_see Ushuaia_).
Tropical luxuriance of growth in Tierra del Fuego, 23
Turner, L. M., on Eskimo language, 63
Turnips, size of, at Tierra del Fuego, 115;
grown at Punta Arenas, 289
U
Uruguay, quarantine station of, 228 (_see_ Flores Island).
Useless Bay, on Tierra del Fuego, 10, 125
Ushuaia, capital of Argentine Tierra del Fuego, 15, 79, 261;
mining camp, 24;
coldest spot of the region, 52;
location of, on Tierra del Fuego, 79;
first missionary station at, 89;
near Chili line, 101;
military post established at, 102;
a remarkable capital, 107;
sub-prefectura, 108;
good harbor, 109;
first view of, 109;
description of the capital, 110;
latitude of, 111;
lack of sunshine in, 111;
inhabitants of, 112;
life in, 113 _et seq._;
size of vegetables in, 115;
good pasturage in, 115;
Figue, storekeeper at, 115, 297;
work done by Yahgans, 116;
severe climate, 116;
life dull in, 117;
curios to be found at, 295 _et seq._;
gold dust obtained at, 297
_Ushuaia_, Argentine naval transport, voyage on, 9;
in dangerous waters, 15;
arrives at Punta Arenas, 33;
voyage continued, 117;
bound for Antarctic Staten Island, able sea boat, 139, 264;
view of Staten Island from, 140;
anchors in St. John Bay, 143;
sails from Buenos Ayres, 261;
description of, 261 _et seq._;
life on board, 261-268;
first meal on board, 262;
dish-washing on board, 262;
captain of, 263;
amusing discomforts on board, 265 _et seq._;
"Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" in four languages, 267;
encounters head winds and seas, 268;
arrives at New Gulf, 268;
a slow tub, 268;
card playing on board of, 268;
betting, 268;
arrives at Port Desire, 270;
arrives at Santa Cruz, 276;
arrives at Gallegos, 281;
captain a fine sportsman, 288;
ducks thick off Santa Cruz, 288;
table not beyond criticism, 288;
variety of fish and game courses, 288;
lack of fresh vegetables, 289;
serious discomforts on board of, 288-291;
a novel mixed drink, 292;
returns to Buenos Ayres, 299
Ushuaia Bay, description of, 90
V
Valley of the Missionaries, near Santa Cruz, 277
Vegetable food native to Cape Horn region, 49, 75, 115, 157, 178, 238, 289
Vendettas among Yahgan tribe, 67 _et seq._
Vincent, Mr. Frank, remarks upon Punta Arenas, 46
Virgin, Cape, wreck of Argentine sailors on, 4;
wreck of S. S. _Arctic_ on, 6, 10;
gold supply renewed after storms at, 13, 283
_Viscacha Lagostomus Trichodactylus_ (_see_ Prairie dog).
Vocabulary of Yahgans, 63
Volcanic bluffs at Port Desire, 157;
volcanic peaks, range of, south of Rio Gallegos, 157
W
Wallis, Capt. Samuel, early navigator, 43, 260
Weasels, malignant faces of, 197;
larger than United States variety, 197;
travel in packs, 197
Weddell's Bluff (_see_ Santa Cruz).
Wells, Ensign Roger, U. S. N., 62;
prepared Eskimo-English vocabulary, 63
Welsh settlement at Chubut, 33, 168;
cause of founding colony, 168 _et seq._;
pilgrims, landing of, 169;
obtains grant of land in Patagonia, 169;
great sufferings of, 171;
alkali water, 171;
gypsum, 171;
lay out capital city, named Rawson, 172;
make friends with Tehuelches, 173;
foes of the desert, 173;
provisions supplied by Argentine Government, 173;
hardships of, 173 _et seq._;
succeeds at last, 175 _et seq._;
wheat and barley crops, 176;
denominational churches of, 177;
no physicians in, 178;
prospectors for gold, 178;
lignite and quartz workings, 178;
import sheep, 178;
profit in sheep raising, 179;
colony sixty miles long, 252
Whaits, Mr. R., mission carpenter, 88
Whale Sound, 15
Whales abounded in Cape Horn waters, 75
Wheelright, Mr. William, founder of Pacific Steam Navigation Co., 29
"Wild mirth of the desert," gaucho term for ostrich hunting, 246
Williams, Mr. Richard, catechist and surgeon, 82
Willis, Captain, of mission schooner, 123
"Williwaws," whirling squalls, 299
Wilson, Don Juan, sub-prefect of Port Desire, 272;
story of, 272 _et seq._;
story of his servant, 273
Winds, high, in Tierra del Fuego, 15, 23, 51, 138, 235, 298
Wollaston Island, gold-bearing banks on, 7, 48, 87
Y
Yahgans, or Antarctic Highlanders, Indian tribe described by
Darwin, 48 _et seq._;
compared with Eskimos, 49;
without clothing or shelter, 49;
description of, 50;
homes of, 52;
dress of, 53;
habits of, 54;
canoes of, 54;
dimensions of canoes, 55;
method of building canoes, 56;
weapons of, 57;
implements of, 57 _et seq._;
methods of fishing and extracting oil, 59-61;
utensils of, 61;
language of, 62;
vocabulary, 63;
remarkable mental development, 63;
origin of, 64;
country of, explored, 64;
language of, melodious, 64, 132;
government of, 66;
treatment of squaws, 64;
native politeness of, 65;
skilful story-tellers, 65;
poets, novelists, and historians, 65;
clever talkers, 66;
abundance of food, 66, 75;
songs and dances of, 66;
abundant leisure, 66;
lax notions about property, 67;
vendettas of, 67 _et seq._;
crimes of, 69;
favorite modes of revenge, 68;
marriages of, 69;
religion of, 70;
ideas of death, 71;
treatment of the sick, 71;
customs of mourning, 71;
folk lore, 71;
personal appearance of, 73 _et seq._;
women of tribe, 74;
ferocity towards whites, 75;
methods of cooking, 76;
traditions of, 76;
not cannibals, 77;
characteristics of, 77 _et seq._;
civilization the ruin of, 77, 78;
first missionary to, 81;
missionaries' plan for civilizing, 91;
become farm laborers, 92;
report of Mr. Bridges, 93 _et seq._;
work required by missionaries of, 95;
scanty pay, 95, 98;
change of dress and habits of, 101;
epidemics among, 102 _et seq._;
civilization an evil to, 104-106;
physical deterioration and diminution of, 103-105;
work done by, in Argentine capital, 116;
work on Mr. Bridge's ranch, 119;
described by early navigators, 52, 128;
rush baskets of, 296;
make models of their canoes and weapons for sale, 297
Z
Zanibelli, Luis, dealer in Indian relics, 44
End of Project Gutenberg's The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn, by John R. Spears