DATOS SOBRE TIERRA DEL FUEGO 



COMUNICADOS POR EL REVERENDO THOMAS BRIDGES 



February 18l,h 1891. 



Al Señor Director. 



Museum La Plata. 



Willi iiuicli i)le;isLiro in rcply to your request I write the 

 following- liriíM' & Irulhfiil accnimt n{ Tierm del Fuego lioping 

 tluis to interest tiie general reailor. & to he\p any who may 

 be Ihinking- of seeking a living there. 



P^irst with re.spect to the nativas of the cuuntry. Tliese form 

 three tribes, each having it.s own language, and these are .quite 

 distinct, the one, from the other. The Alaculut' tribe occupies 

 the West ¿c Norlh West of the country, the Ona the East & 

 Norlh l'lnst. & the Yalignn (he Southern district. The Alaculuf 

 are quile iintouched by any Cdn-istian inñuences, iiut are so 

 lew in nuudjer, & so scattered as virtually to be non existent, 

 with respect to any difMculties they could raise to the inten- 

 ding SGttler. They certainly do not numher 200. They are a 

 canoe people like the Yaligans, from whom lliey differ only in 

 language. Sealers from Sandy l*oinl, the Falklands, & North 

 America have for many years decimated them with their tire 

 arms. I have lieard of instances even when the sealers finding 

 the natives sealing on islets whei'e they expected good success, 

 have shot uff the Indians for sjjoiling their success. If their is 

 iiny difference between the Alaculuf & Yaligan tribes physically 

 the Alaculuf are superior somewhat, in size & vigour. They also 

 have more beard & eyebrows than the Yaligans, and are darker 

 in complexión. The tiu'ec tribes tind their chief subsistence on 

 the shores, in the large and varied supplies of excellent mussels, 

 linipets, whelks, sea eggs &c, they find there. They also catch 

 iish abundantly with lines, spears, & temporary weirs. These 

 Hsh are of many kinds & of very good quality including Rock 

 cod, rock fish, mulJets, smelt, sprats, and some 5 kinds of 

 larger fish that prey on the sprats. They materially add to their 

 food supplies liy the geese, ducks & other birds of the country 

 & their eggs, which are obtained in considerable quantities. 

 Of animáis, the Alaculuf hunt the deer found on the Patago- 

 nian coast, and also the guanaco, & other animáis ofthatland. 

 The Yaligans hunt the guanaco found on Navarin Island & Oni- 

 sin, as do also the Ona, the principal inhabitanls of the latter 

 country. The Ona find the Cururas, or Tucutucus a good food 

 supply. From the sea, all three tribes tind seáis of three or 



