532 STATUKE. HUTS. 



horses, and feed principally on guauacoes, ostriches, birds, and 

 seals, which they kill with dogs, hows and arrows, bolas, slings, 

 lances, and clubs.* The habits of the Patagonians must have 

 been much altered by the introduction of the horse, but we 

 can only deal with them as they now are. 



The Horse and Canoe Indians offer a great contrast in point 

 of size ; while the latter are short, ill-looking, and badly-pro- 

 portioned, the former are considerably above the average 

 height, and are described by early travellers as being truly 

 gigantic. They were first visited in 1519 by Magellan, who 

 assures us that many of them were above seven feet (French) 

 in height. In 1525 they were seen by Garcia de Loaisa, who 

 mentions their great stature, but does not seem to have mea- 

 sured them. Similar statements were made by Cavendish, 

 Knevett, Sibald de Veert, Van Noort, Spilbergen, and Lemaire; 

 in fact, out of the fifteen first voyagers who passed through 

 the Magellanic Straits, not fewer than nine attest the fact of 

 the gigantic size of the Patagoniaus ; in which they are con- 

 firmed by the testimony of several subsequent travellers, and 

 especially of Falkner, who assures us that he saw many men 

 who were over seven feet in height. 



It is difficult altogether to reject these statements, and as 

 they are certainly not applicable to the present race, it is 

 possible that there may have been a change of size owing to 

 the introduction and general use of the horse. 



The huts, or " toldos," of the Patagonians, are "rectangular 

 in form, about ten or twelve feet long, ten deep, seven feet 

 high in front, and six feet in the rear. The frame of the 

 building is formed by poles stuck in the ground, having forked 

 tops to hold cross pieces, on which are laid poles for rafters, 

 to support the covering, which is made of skins of animals 

 sewn together, so as to be almost impervious to rain or wind. 

 The posts and rafters, which are not easily procured, are 



* Fitzroy, 1. c. vol. ii. p. 137. 



