1839.] ITS INHABITANTS. 69 



that the Patagonian Indians were absolute giants. The ex- 

 aminations made by recent navigators have shown this im- 

 pression to be entirely erroneous* ; yet they are undoubtedly 

 the tallest people of whom we have any account, since the 

 average height of the men is full six feet. Their heads and 

 features are large, but their hands and feet are small, and 

 they have less muscular strength than their size would indi- 

 cate. Their dress adds much to the bulkiness of their ap- 

 pearance ; — it consists of a large mantle of guanaco skins 

 loosely gathered about the person, which it completely en- 

 velopes, hanging from the shoulders to the ankles ; and a kind 

 of drawers, or loose buskins, usually made of the same ma- 

 terial. Their complexions are a dark copper color ; their 

 hair is long, black, and coarse, and tied above the temples by 

 a fillet of braided or twisted sinews. Their foreheads are 

 low, and their cheek-bones prominent. They are fond of dis- 

 figuring their faces, and other parts of their bodies, with 

 paint ; and those who live remote from the white settlements 

 in Chili and on the Rio Negro, besmear themselves with clay, 

 coal, and soot. 



The Patagonians live in tents formed of poles and skins. 

 They lead a nomadic life and subsist mainly on the flesh of 

 wild animals and birds. In the northern part of East Pata- 

 gonia, the inhabitants procure wild horses on the pampas, 

 which, when tamed, are ridden by both men and women. 

 Saddles, bridles, and similar accoutrements, as well as Span- 

 ish goods of various kinds, are obtained from Valdivia and 

 other places in South Chili. The arms of the Patagonian. 

 are a long tapering lance, a knife, and the bo/as, which con- 

 sist among them of two round stones, weighing about a pound 

 each, covered with leather, and attached to the thong or cord. 

 So expert are the natives in the use of this double-headed 

 shot, which, in its use and effects, resembles the ancient 

 sling, that they will hit a mark of the size of an English 



* This idea originated with the Spaniards and Portuguese who first visited the 

 country, and was probably based on a comparison of their diminutive proportions 

 with the tall and bulky forms of the natives. 



