Chapter IV.
The Brazils—Rio Negro—Terra Del Fuego.

During my stay at Rio, I had an opportunity of seeing several intelligent gentlemen who had long been residents of the country; I am indebted to them for much information relative to the political state of this empire. Brazil, though quiet at the time of our visit, will long be destined to outbreaks and alarms, either from local oppression or some slight political movements. The people, for the most part, take very little interest in politics, or in the general welfare of the state. As yet, their habits make them averse to mental exertions, and they generally prefer their own ease, which precludes them from engaging in political excitement. They are not yet sufficiently advanced in civilisation and education, so far as regards the mass of the population, to rise from the mental degradation which the policy of the mother country entailed upon them.

The Brazilians, from the character I have received of them, are very ceremonious and punctilious, susceptible of flattery, suspicious yet courteous, selfish, cunning; assuming frankness and generosity, timid, unsteady in purpose, and without any large and comprehensive views. What is claimed from them as a right, in a bold and confident manner, is readily yielded, while often through their ignorance they become presumptuous.

The people are further advanced in morals and intelligence than their government, but as yet they are not sufficiently enlightened to know their power. They are slow to act, and appear very patient under oppression. Long endurance of despotism has made them so.

The new constitution was adopted in 1825. This secured the legislative power from further interruption, and achieved a complete victory over the bayonets and tyranny of Don Pedro, by forcing him, through the threats of the people and his fears, to grant a more liberal constitution. Political freedom seems to have made rapid advancement through the freedom of the press; but the advantages of a free and frequent interchange of sentiments are almost entirely page 31unknown. A long time will probably elapse before there will be any political struggle among them. They are prospering in their private concerns and contented, without any ambition to advance themselves in political knowledge.

Every exertion is making to give the young Emperor a good education, and his talents are well spoken of.

The administration of justice is confided to two high tribunals, which are open to the public, and where causes are decided on appeal by a majority of the judges.

These tribunals are, first, the relaçào, of which there are two branches, one at Rio and the other at Bahia, each composed of eight judges. Second, the supreme tribunal of justice of twelve judges. The inferior courts are those for the trial of civil and criminal cases, an orphans' court, and a court and judge of findings and losings, the last of which is not yet abolished, however obsolete it may have become. Great corruption exists in them all, and no class of people are so unpopular as the judges. It is generally believed, and the belief is acted upon, that to obtain justice, all classes, including priests and laymen, lawyer and client, legislators and people, regents and ministers, must submit to great imposition; that it is next to impossible to recover a debt by law, except through bribery. If a debtor has money or patronage, and refuses to pay, it is difficult to obtain the payment even of an acknowledged note of hand through the process of the law, and it generally takes years to accomplish.

It is, however, greatly to the praise of the Brazilians, that it is not often necessary to have recourse to law for this purpose. The greatest injustice occurs in the orphans' court; but the court of findings and losings is one of the most singular in this respect. It takes charge of all things lost and found, making it the duty of a person finding anything to deposit it with the judge. The loser, to prove property, must have three witnesses to swear that they saw him lose it, and three others that they saw the finder pick it up, otherwise it remains in deposit. To show the working of this system, a gentleman of Rio found a bank-note of four hundred milrees (about 250 dollars). The owner went to him and claimed it, proving satisfactorily to the finder that the identical bank-note was his, upon which the finder gave it up. The judge of findings and losings heard of the circumstance, sent for him, and asked a statement of the case, which the finder unsuspectingly related. The judge praised his honourable conduct, and was punctiliously polite. The next day, however, he issued an order for the deposit of the money found; and because it was disregarded, the finder, a respectable foreign merchant, was arrested in the street and sent to prison, to be confined with common criminals. The jailer, however, having private apartments for those who could pay for them, he became his guest, and was preserved from the disgust of being a close prisoner, and the companion of degraded and depraved wretches. Before he could regain his liberty, he had to pay the amount found, the decision being the forfeiture of a like sum, together with the jailer's fees.

The justices of the peace for each district are elected by the people, four at a time, to serve as many years by turns, substituting one for the other, when sickness or other circumstances prevent either from serving. They have final judgments in amounts not exceeding sixteen milrees. In cases of civil process, they act as mediators to effect a compromise and reconcile difficulties. Their political attributes are to preserve the peace in case of riot or disorder among the people; and they have a right to call on the national guard or military police to aid them, who must act under their direction. There is no civil police, and no imprisonment for debt. Trial by jury was at first limited to political offences and violations of the liberty of the press, but it is now extended to criminal cases, and in some instances to civil suits. Sixty persons compose the jury, and forty are necessary to try causes. The juiz de decrito (judge of law) sits with them in court, acts as president, and applies the law to the cases the jury may decide. Jurymen serve for one year, and are chosen in the following manner:—In each district the vigairo (vicar), a justice of the peace, and a member of the municipality, select from a list of male parishioners those qualified in their judgment for jurymen, and submit the names to the municipality, who, assisted by the vigairo and justice of the peace, purge the list of such as may be considered improper persons. It is then officially communicated by the municipality to the justice of the peace, and posted up for public inspection in the office, and on the doors of the parish churches throughout the district.

To entitle any one to vote at an election, he must have an income of two hundred milrees per annum, from property, trade, labour, or employment of any kind. The vigairo sits with the judges at elections, to decide on the qualifications of voters. Friars or members of religious fraternities are not entitled to a vote. Free blacks have all the civil rights, and vote at elections the same as white men.

The attorney-general of the nation is the accuser in all criminal cases. Criminals have the right of counsel.

It may be said that there is no standing army in Brazil, for the few troops do not merit that name. A military staff on a large scale is supported, with a large corps of military police, and a national guard. The national guard is organised by law, and in it all males, from eighteen to forty-five years of age, are enrolled. They are equipped at their own cost, the nation furnishing arms and ammunition only. Detachments of this guard are on duty daily at the palace and public offices.

The navy is not effective; they want seamen, and are not likely to have any. A naval academy is established for the education of cadets, or midshipmen. Here they enter at twelve years of age, receiving some of the first rudiments of education, and remain four years. After passing an examination, they are sent to sea, serve there four years, and, if found qualified, are then promoted to second lieutenants.

The military academy they enter later, remain seven years, page 33passing through various courses of study, and, if found competent, they are made lieutenants. From what I understood, the system of education is very imperfect.

Schools for educating the people have been established, and the female sex are now allowed to be educated.

Agriculture is extending; and the slave-trade, since the treaty with England, has been prohibited; but large numbers of slaves are still easily smuggled by the connivance of the authorities; and although many are captured by British cruizers, yet it is said that more than one-half of the vessels escape, and smuggle the slaves into the small rivers and harbours, bribing the collectors, who permit them to be landed. After landing, the slaves are driven into the woods, where they are secreted until they are sold to the planters in the interior.

About one-third of these were lost by death, leaving two-thirds as an accession to the labour of the country.

The number annually imported since 1830, contrary to law, is estimated at seven to ten thousand.

In speaking of the apprehension of a rise of the blacks in the provinces, the well-informed seemed to entertain no kind of fear of such an event. I was told that Bahia was the only point at which insurrections were ever likely to occur, and this was from the prevalence of the Minas slaves, who are very intelligent, and capable of forming organised bodies, which they occasionally have done. The slaves of the other provinces are of a mixed character, incapable of any organisation, and from having been taken from different tribes on the coast, they are more or less hostile to each other, and would be opposed to any such union.

The Brazilians have great respect for foreigners who are not Portuguese. The latter are detested. They have a strong bias in favour of the United States and the American government generally. They think the time is approaching which will unite the people of this continent in a distinct national policy, in contradistinction to that of Europe, and in rivalry to it. They are vain of their own country and its institutions, and firmly believe that a high destiny awaits Brazil. The government, in its political relations with other countries, is seemingly confiding and liberal.

The population of the empire, taking the last returns of the members of the Chamber of Deputies as a guide, is estimated at five page 34millions. No census has yet been taken, but it is thought to exceed this number. The scrutiny formerly exercised by the government into their domestic affairs, it is said, caused them to conceal the actual number of persons in their families. Of the above number about two millions are slaves. The population of Rio in 1810 was estimated at forty thousand; in 1838 it was two hundred and fifty thousand.

The national debt of Brazil amounts to one hundred million milrees, or sixty million dollars. The revenue was about sixteen million of dollars for 1838. It is derived principally from exports and imports.

The imports amounted to over twenty millions of dollars, but the amount of exports is variously stated. Coffee is the great staple, and more than one hundred and twenty million of pounds were exported in 1838. It is derived from the central provinces, and the exports of it have more than doubled within the last ten years. The exports of the southern provinces are mostly confined to hides and tallow; those of the northern, to sugar, cotton, and tobacco.

The trade with the United States has greatly increased. Within the last few years, from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and seventy American vessels take and bring cargoes to and from the United States, and some foreign vessels are engaged in the same trade. The consumption of American flour in Rio and the neighbouring country has been, during the same year, about one hundred and twenty thousand barrels.

On the 6th of January, everything being ready, we weighed anchor, and dropped down the harbour.

The winds proved light and variable during our passage to Rio Negro, and we occasionally experienced a south-westerly current, of little strength. On the 18th of January, when seventy-eight miles distant from the mouth of the Rio la Plata, we passed through the discoloured water of that river.

On the 25th we discovered the coast, which is a line of low sandhills, without trees, and it exhibits little appearance of vegetation. In the evening we anchored off the bar. Having been led to believe we should be boarded by pilots on our anchoring off the bar, I was a good deal surprised to find none, and no endeavour making to board us, although the sea was quite smooth. The only appearance of inhabitants which we could see with our telescopes, were a few horsemen suspiciously reconnoitering us from the flag-staff, on the top of the hill. I then concluded to despatch the Sea-Gull, under Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold into the river, for the purpose of having communication with the town, directing him to take the channel leading to the northward and westward, as shown by the only chart we had, whilst I followed in the Flying-Fish, with the scientific gentlemen; it proved to be the wrong one, and on the tide falling the schooners both grounded. Our situation was not the most agreeable; for, in the event of the sea rising, we should have been exposed to all the fury of the surf, without any escape from the numerous sand-bars. The Sea-Gull, having got off, finally succeeded page 35in getting into the river, after thumping heavily over a sand-bar, with some fears on the part of the passengers, but without injury to the vessel, and anchored, after dark, about half a mile up the river.

Shortly after the schooner anchored, a voice was heard from the shore, ordering a boat to be sent immediately, when a party landed, but no one was found to receive them. Seeing a light at a distance, they proceeded towards it; it proved to be the pilot's house, a long, low, barn-like building; but no inhabitants were visible, and none made their appearance until our party had taken a survey of the premises. The furniture was of a rude and scanty description; a table, bench, two or three bunks in one corner, and in another a number of arms, consisting of cutlasses, carbines, and pikes, in good order; in the others, various accoutrements. The two pilots, one an Englishman and the other a Frenchman, with a negro, then made their appearance, and unravelled the mystery, by informing them that the vessels had been mistaken for the French squadron, and much alarm had been created by our visit; they also said that the guard of about thirty Guachos were in ambush near where they landed, with the intention of cutting our party off; but hearing them speaking English, they found, to their satisfaction, that they were not French. They also stated that all the inhabitants living near the mouth of the river had fled to the town, and that most of the women and children in the town were hurrying off to the interior. They were likewise employed driving off the cattle, and preparing to fire the country, the usual mode of warfare, and were rejoiced to identify us as Americans.

All this accounted for the reconnoitering that we had observed, and our not being able to obtain a pilot. What still more alarmed them was the different vessels firing while surveying, and our making the attempt to force the passage in the small vessels.

The captain of the coast-guard now afforded all facilities, and a pilot for the schooner was sent on board to take her up the river, and horses and guides were furnished for a party to visit the town.

The next morning a detachment of lancers arrived from the governor, with orders not to allow our vessels to proceed up, and that the pilot should come on shore, which effectually put a stop to our plans; when Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold determined to go by land.

It caused much alarm to the pilot, who entreated the officers to intercede with the governor in his behalf, and for that of the captain of the coast-guard, stating that their lives would be forfeited for having attempted to pilot a vessel without the governor's orders. After some delay, a party proceeded to Carmen, under the escort of Guachos, to wait on the governor or commandant. On their way they met with a cordial welcome from all they passed, as the minds of all were now entirely relieved from fear, and great delight was expressed at seeing the North Americans.

These Guachos are generally well made, tall, and muscular, with swarthy complexions, black eyes, and long hair, very large page 36mustachios, and remarkably small feet. Their costume is a red striped shirt, and white drawers, large, loose, and fringed at the bottom of the leg, called calzoncillas. Their trowsers (chilipa) consist of two yards of scarlet cloth, which is sometimes ornamented at the corners; to form this into anything like a garment appeared strange enough; yet, when it is on the wearer, it has the appearance of a pair of Turkish trowsers. The mode in which it is put on is to confine the ends round the waist by a girdle (triando), the middle of the cloth passing down between the legs, while the ends fall over the girdle. On the head was worn a red, conical cap, surmounted by a tassel.

Their riding-boots or leggings are made of the hide from the leg of a horse. This is stripped off and put on the leg while yet green, where it is suffered to dry, and remain until worn out. They fit very closely to the foot, like a stocking. The two largest toes of each foot were uncovered, for the convenience of putting them into the stirrup, which is only large enough to admit them. A long knife in the girdle completes the dress.

The Rio Negro is navigable for boats to the village of Chichula, two hundred miles from its mouth.

The distance across the country to Buenos Ayres is but five hundred miles, yet it requires fifteen days to communicate with it; the governor had received no advices or information for the last two months from that place. The route is very uncertain, owing to the hordes of hostile Indians.

Grain, fruit, and vegetables thrive well, and with proper industry might be produced in abundance.

The climate is delightful, and cold weather is seldom felt, although ice has occasionally been seen a quarter of an inch in thickness.

Bullocks and horses are the principal articles of trade; indeed they constitute the legal tender of the country. The former are worth from five to ten dollars, according to age; wild horses, two or three dollars, and if broken to the saddle, ten or fifteen.

The tariff of duties is the same as at Buenos Ayres, but the late reduction of thirty-three per cent. during the blockade did not extend to this place.

The Indians that are accustomed to visit this place (Carmen) for the purpose of war or trade, are of four different tribes, viz., Pampas, Ancases, Tehuiliches, or Teheulehes, and Chilenos. The two former occupy the territory to the north of the Rio Negro as far as the Rio Colorado. The Tehuiliches are from the mountains to the south, and the Chilenos from the southwest.

During the infancy of the settlement, and until of late years, these Indians were extremely troublesome, making descents upon the place, and ravaging the outposts, waylaying all who were not on their guard, killing them, and retreating rapidly on their wild steeds, with their booty, to the pampas and mountains. The Spaniards frequently retaliated, and, by the superiority of their arms and discipline, inflicted summary punishment on them. The last attack of the Indians was made in 1832, when they met with such an overwhelming defeat, that they have not ventured to page 37make another; yet the garrison is always kept in anxiety for fear of attacks.

The weapons usual in their warfare are a long lance and the ballos, such as is used in taking the ostrich and throwing cattle, which they use with great dexterity. This consists of a thong of hide, four feet in length, with a leaden ball at each end, which the horseman grasps in the middle, and gives the balls a rotary motion by whirling them above his head, then dashing on to the attack, he throws it when within range with unerring aim, and seldom fails to disable his enemy. The Indians who are most feared are the Chilenos. The Tehuiliches, notwithstanding their immense size, are considered little better than cowards.

All the information gained here tended to confirm the general impression that the Tehuiliches or Patagonians are above the ordinary height of men, generally above six feet; and the minister asserted that he had often seen them above seven English feet. We had not any personal opportunity to verify this statement, the Indians being only in the habit of visiting this post once a year, to obtain supplies, viz.: in the month of March, at which time a vessel usually visits the place.

The few Indians who inhabit the huts or toldos on the opposite side of the river are converted, and are termed Indios Mansos; they are a mixture of all the tribes, and so much changed in habits and dress from their former condition and mode of life, that an accurate idea could not be formed of their natural character. They were none of them above the middle height; their limbs were usually full and well formed; their complexion a brownish copper, with coarse straight black hair, growing very low on the forehead; this is suffered to grow long, and hangs down on both sides of the face, adding much to the wildness of their appearance. Their foreheads are low and narrow towards the top, their eyes small, black, and deep set. Some were observed with their eyes set Chinese-like. The resemblance was somewhat increased by the width of the face, which was a particular characteristic. The nose is usually a little flattened at the root, and wide at the nostrils, the lips full and the chin not prominent. The expressions of their countenance betoken neither intellect nor vivacity. The men were generally decked out in tawdry finery, partly after the Spanish fashion; the women had only the chilipa to cover their nakedness.

Of the Ancases very little appears to be known; they live towards the north, speak a peculiar language, and are inferior to the rest in stature.

The Chilenos are derived from the western side of the continent, and are predatory bands of the great Araucanian nation.

The Peulches, including the Pampas and Tehuiliches, Falkner, in his account of this country, describes as inhabiting the portion south of the Rio de la Plata, and to the east of the Cordilleras; they are scattered over the vast plains of the interior. Those to the north of the Rio Colorado are generally known under the name of the Pampas Indians; they call themselves Chechehets. Those to the south of that river are termed Tehuiliches; they page 38inhabit the table land between the Cordilleras and the desert plains of the coast.

These people are represented as of gigantic stature, and it is said by the residents that those from the south are generally taller than those from any other part; and Indians are said to have been met with who are distinguished for their gigantic height and well-formed limbs; but this rests on vague authority.

The Guachos and Indians are of course good horsemen, being trained to it from their infancy. Indeed they may be said to live on horseback, and it is very seldom that they are seen to walk any distance, however short.

Their dress, although uncouth and ill-arranged, is comfortable, and picturesque when they are on horseback, particularly when at full speed in search of a bullock to lasso. The ease and nonchalance with which a Guacho mounts his steed, arranges himself in the saddle, quietly trotting off, lasso in hand, to select his victim, and detach it from the herd; then the eager chase, the furious speed of the horse, the flying dress of the Guacho, with upraised arm whirling his lasso, the terror of the animal, the throw of the lasso, and instantaneous overthrow of the bullock, all the work of an instant, excited both our admiration and astonishment. Nothing can exceed the animation of both horse and. rider on these occasions.

Mr. Waldron, our purser, made an endeavour to purchase some vegetables for the crews from an estancia on the river-side, of which an old Spaniard was the owner, thus affording him an opportunity of disposing of many of them; but the conditions were, that the articles must be on the beach in a few hours, which was ample time to have dug up an acre. As soon, however, as he learned these terms, he shrugged his shoulders, and declared the thing impossible, took down his guitar, seated himself in front of his house, and began to play a lively air, which his two sons accompanied with their voices.

The coast and the banks of the Rio Negro are composed of sandhills, of from thirty to fifty feet in height, covered with a scattered growth of grass, which prevents the sand from blowing away. These gradually rise to the height of one hundred feet, except to the southward of the river, where the bank is perpendicular; at this height the ground stretches away in a level prairie, without a single tree to break the monotony of the scene, and affords a view as uninterrupted as the ocean.

The only verdure on the prairie is a small shrub, which, when the lower branches are trimmed off, serves a useful purpose. From an optical illusion (the effect of refraction) they appear, when thus trimmed, as large as an ordinary sized apple tree, and one is not a little surprised to find them, on a near approach, no higher than the surrounding shrubs, four or five feet. Shrubs are trimmed in this manner at distances of about half a mile from each other, and are used as guide-posts on the prairie. A similar optical effect is spoken of by travellers on the steppes of Russia.

Game is most plentiful, consisting of deer, guanacoes, and cavias, cassowaries, partridges, bustards, ducks, &c. Armadillos were page 39common, and the ostrich was frequently seen; porcupines are also said to be found. The cavias were seen running about in single file, with a sort of halting gait.

The width of the river is less than a third of a mile; it has a rapid current, and a large body of water is carried by it to the ocean.

No springs were observed in the vicinity, or any trace of running water, except in the river. The water from the rains collects in the depressions, and forms large ponds, covering acres of ground, but only a few inches in depth.

The winters are represented as very mild; snow does fall, but it disappears in a few hours. Ice is seldom seen, though frosts appear to be frequent in the winter.

The vegetation of the uplands bears the marks of long-continued droughts, in an absence of trees, and the roots of plants penetrating vertically. The stunted appearance of the shrubs, branching from their base, their branches dense, rigid, and impenetrable, usually growing into spines; the smallness of their leaves, and their texture, which is dry, coriaceous, and hardly deciduous; together with the general brown aspect of the landscape, all denote a vegetation adapted to endure or escape drought.

El Carmen may be termed a convict settlement; for culprits and exiles are sent here from Buenos Ayres. The garrison is composed of about two hundred soldiers, principally African and Brazilian slaves, brought here during the Banda Oriental war. Among them we found a person who called himself an American, from Rhode Island, by name Benjamin Harden, junior, who was desirous of claiming our protection. He was of small stature, slender make, and a light complexion, with a mild expression of countenance, and about thirty years of age. His story was, that he had been by chance in Buenos Ayres at the time when the government was in want of troops, and that he was seized and compelled to enlist. On inquiring, however, of the governor, it proved that he had been engaged in a riot at Buenos Ayres, in which he had killed two or three men, and committed other outrages, for which he had been condemned to death, but on the intercession of a friend, the sentence was commuted to that of exile as a soldier at this place. His further history is, that not long since he formed the plan of deserting with another convict, by seizing an English trading vessel, in the absence of the captain and part of the crew, and making off with her, which he was fully able to accomplish, being an excellent sailor. The night, however, before the day fixed on for the execution of this plan, he got intoxicated, discovered the whole design, and received the severe punishment of twelve hundred lashes, at three different times.

On the morning of the departure of the schooner, he effected his escape from the town, and swam off to the schooner. He was recognised by an officer, who knew his history in part, namely, that he had become a robber and a murderer, and had been an outcast from his father's house for fifteen years. He was told that he could not be received on board, and a boat landed him again.

On the 3rd of February we got tinder way, and were glad to leave an exposed and unpleasant anchorage.

On the 13th we made Staten Land, and soon afterwards Cape St. Diego, Terra del Fuego. The land was broken, high, and desolate. The Straits of Le Maire were before us: we were just in time to take the tide, and with a fair wind we sailed rapidly through the strait, passing its whirls and eddies, now quite smooth, but in a short time to become vexed and fretted by the returning tide. The squadron glided along with all its canvass spread to the breeze, scarcely making a ripple under the bows. The day was a remarkably fine one for this climate, and the sight beautiful, notwithstanding the desolate appearance of the shores.

The coast of Terra del Fuego presents the same general character throughout, of high, broken, and rugged land, which appears of a uniform elevation of about one thousand or fifteen hundred feet, with here and there a peak or mountain covered with snow, rising to some four or five thousand feet. The whole wears a sombre and desolate aspect. It may be said to be iron-bound, with many high and isolated rocks, that have become detached from the land apparently by the wear of ages. Numerous unexpected indentations occur all along the coast, many of them forming harbours for small vessels, and some of them very safe ones.

In passing Cape Horn the weather was delightful. We sailed within two miles of this dreaded promontory, and could not but admire its worn and weather-beaten sides, that have so long been invested with all the terrors that can beset sailors. Here we first encountered the long swell of the Pacific, but there was scarcely a ripple on its surface. Although the landscape was covered with snow, the lowest temperature we had yet experienced was 40° Fahrenheit.

On the 17th of February, 1839, at half-past six a.m., anchored in Orange Harbour. Here we found the Relief and tenders, all well.

The Relief, while at Good Success Bay, had an opportunity of communicating with the natives. As the boats approached the shore, the natives began shouting, and advanced towards them on their landing without fear, exhibiting a pleasant air, and apparently with every feeling of confidence; they were all unarmed. An old man, who was the chief, came forward to salute them, first by patting his own breast several times, and then that of each individual of the party, making use of the word cu-char-lie, dwelling on the first syllable, and accenting the last, in a whining tone of voice. The meaning of cu-char-lie it was impossible to divine, for it was used for everything. After this ceremony they returned to the thicket, and brought forth their bows and arrows. These people were admirable mimics, and would repeat all kinds of sounds, including words, with great accuracy; the imitation was often quite ridiculous. They were naked, with the exception of a guanacoe skin, which covered them from the shoulders to the knees. The party of natives were seventeen in number, and with a few exceptions they were above the European height. The chief, who was the oldest man among them, was under fifty years of age, and page break

Patagonian

Native of Terra Del Fuego

page 41of comparatively low stature; his son was one of the tallest, and above six feet in height. They had good figures and pleasant-looking countenances, low foreheads, and high cheek-bones, with broad faces, the lower part projecting; their hair was coarse, and cut short on the crown, leaving a narrow border of hair hanging down; over this they wore a kind of cap or band of skin or woollen yarn. The front teeth of all of them were very much worn, more apparent, however, in the old than in the young. On one foot they wore a rude skin sandal.

Many of them had their faces painted in red and black stripes, with clay, soot, and ashes. Their whole appearance, together with their inflamed and sore eyes, was filthy and disgusting. They were thought by the officers more nearly to approach to the Patagonians than any other natives, and were supposed to be a small tribe who visit this part of Terra del Fuego in the summer months: they are entirely different from the Petcherais, whom we saw at Orange Harbour.

They had little apparent curiosity, and nothing seemed to attract or cause them surprise. Though they are a simple race, they are not wanting in cunning; and it was with great difficulty that they could be prevailed upon to part with their bows and arrows in trade, which they however did, after asking permission from their chief: this was always necessary for them to obtain before closing a bargain. They have had communication frequently before with Europeans; pieces of many articles of European manufacture were seen in their possession, such as glass beads, &c. They refused tobacco, whiskey, bread, or meat, and were only desirous of getting old iron, nails, and pieces of hoop-iron.

Their food consists principally of fish and shell-fish. Their fishing apparatus is made of the dorsal fin of a fish, tied to a thin slip of whalebone, in the form of a barb; this serves as a good hook, and with it they obtain a supply of this food. Their arms consisted altogether of bows and arrows. The natives had the common dog, which they seemed to prize much.

The prominent plants were Berberes, Winteria, Vaccinium, Andromeda, Compositæ (some woody), Cruciferæ, Umbelliferæ, &c. A number of these were just putting forth their flowering buds. Scurvy-grasses and wild celery abounded.