Iñciíeits ii tle Ufe of M. TI. Briijes 



COMMUNICATED BY HIMSELF TO HIS FRIEND 



K. VrORENO Esq. 



Diiector of the Museum La Plata. 



Some 12 years ago when re.sident Missionary at Ushuaia, 

 in the midst of .some 500 natives, a party of natives arrived 

 from the south in their canoes to tell us that a shipwrecked 

 party was on an exposed headland of their country Atduaia 

 «New Year's Sound» where they liad been living a considera- 

 ble time, but at length had all died of starvation, and were 

 lying unburied. One of these unfortunates was a woman. 

 The natives had spent considerable time in their passage to us, 

 in which it had been necessary to haul their canoes over a 

 neck of land. Furthermore we learned that Iwo men with their 

 families had visitad the scene of the sad fate of the brave 

 English seamen, but too late to save life. For though Iwo of 

 them still lived, and the natives tried to induce the stronger 

 of the survivors to trust liimself witii them, they could not 

 prevalí, but they left lieside the poor men a bucket of water, & 

 a roast stag, and then took their departure, as they could not 

 haul up their canoe on such an exposed & rugged shore. For 

 several days after, they were unable to return because of a 

 gale, & when they did, both of the survivors were dead. 



The natives had many days before seen the spread of 

 white canvas, under which the dying men were slielíered from 

 the weather, but they were ah-aid to go eariier, fearing trea- 

 chery from the western Indians, ^^•ho some years before had 

 beguiled a number of them & killed them. At the earliest 

 possible day we went in the Yawl Mission Vessel to ascertain 

 the truth, & to do what we could for the dead. But though our 

 vessel was specially adapted for her work in those tempestuous 



