cn\p.x.j RELIGION OF THE FU EG I ANS. 215 



we could never clearly ascertain. Jemmy believed in dreams, 

 tlioagh not, as I have said, in the devil : I 60. not think that 

 our Fueuians were much more superstitions than some of the 

 sailors; for an old quarter-master firmly believed that the suc- 

 cessive iieavy gales, which we encountered off" Cape Horn, were 

 cause<! by our liaving- the Fuegians on board. The nearest ap- 

 proaclj to a religious feeling which 1 heard of, was shown by- 

 York jMinster, who, when Mr. Bynoe shot some very young 

 ducklings as specimetis, declared in the most solemn maimer, 

 *' Oh jMr. Bynoe, much rain, snow, blow much." This was 

 evidently a retiibutive jiuiiishment for wasting human food. In 

 a wilvi and excited maimer he also related, that his brother, one 

 day whilst returning to pick up some dead birds which he had 

 left on the coa^t, observed some feathers blown by the wind. 

 His brother said (York imitating his manner), "What that?'* 

 and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff", and saw " wild 

 man" picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and the>n 

 hurled down a great stone and killed him. York declared for a 

 long time afterwards storms raged, and much rain and snow fell, 

 As far as we could make out, he seemed to consider the elements 

 themselves as the avenging agents : it is evident in this case, how 

 naturally, in a race a little more advanced in culture, the ele- 

 ments would become personified. What the "bad wild men" 

 weie, has always appeared tome most mysterious: from what 

 York said, when we found the place like the form of a hare, 

 where a single man had slept the night before, I should have 

 thought tliat tliey were thieves Avho had been driven from their 

 tribes ; but other obscure speeches made me doubt this ; I have 

 sometimes iinagined that the most probable explanation Avas 

 that tiiey were insane. 



The different tribes have no government or chief; yet each 

 is surrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking diflferent dialects, 

 and separated from each other only by a deserted border or 

 neutral territory : the cause of their warfare appears to be the 

 means of subsistence. Their country is a broken mass of wild 

 rocks, lofty hills, and useless forests : and these are viewed 

 througli mists and eixlless storms. The habitable land is re- 

 duced to the stones on the beach ; in search of food they are 

 eompel'ed unceasingly to wander from spot to spot, and so steep 



