THE CHANNEL INDIANS. 273 



language quite distinct from that of the Tehuelches, while many of their 

 customs and arts differ materially from those of the latter. Not being a 

 maritime people, they have been unable to import the horse from the main- 

 land, so that the Onas of to-day are in much the same condition as were 

 the Tehuelches of the mainland, prior to the introduction of the horse. 

 With the Onas the bow is still the one indispensable weapon for offense 

 and defense, while bolas and horses are little used. 



Owing to the extremely advantageous nature of their lands for sheep- 

 farming purposes, and the aggressiveness of the Fuegian sheep-grower of 

 the present day, the tribe is being rapidly decimated, and their extinction, 

 in the not distant future, seems inevitable. Already their natural habitat 

 is entirely occupied by Europeans and they have been driven back into 

 less favorable districts, where food is scarce and obtained with difficulty. 

 Naturally, constant warfare exists between them and the wool-growers, 

 which will inevitably lead to the extermination of the Onas. 



The Channel Indians. — Between the eastern and western coasts of 

 Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, there are extreme climatic and physio- 

 graphic differences. The treeless, semi-arid and level plains of the east 

 coast, with but few indentations, are replaced on the west by an intricate 

 series of islands, peninsulas, capes and promontories, separated by a laby- 

 rinth of inlets, bays, sounds and channels, surrounded by one of the most 

 picturesque and rugged mountain systems to be seen anywhere on the 

 earth's surface. These mountains serve as a barrier to the southwesterly 

 winds that prevail here, and effectually deprive them, during their passage 

 over the summits, of most of the moisture with which they have become 

 charged on their long journey across the southern Pacific. Thus precipi- 

 tation is constantly taking place, and the surface is perpetually drenched 

 with moisture, thereby producing a vegetable growth, which at low alti- 

 tudes, even in the latitude of the south and west coasts of Tierra del 

 Fuego, rivals in profusion and luxuriance that of the Tropics. It con- 

 trasts strikingly with the eastern plains and river valleys, which are desti- 

 tute of trees or forests, where the annual precipitation is just sufficient to 

 support a few species of short but succulent grasses, with occasional clumps 

 of low, scrubby, and usually thorny bushes, characteristic features of semi- 

 arid regions. 



The natives of the Pacific Coast differ from those of the Atlantic quite 

 as much as do the climate, vegetation and physiographic features. The 



