1 834.] JEMMY BUTTON. 2$ I 



obliged to you for putting my name down to poor Ramsay's 

 monument ; I never think of him without the warmest admi- 

 ration. Farewell, my dear Henslow. 



Believe me your most obliged and affectionate friend, 



CHARLES DARWIN. 



C. Darwin to Miss C. Darwin. 



East Falkland Island, April 6, 1834, 



MY DEAR CATHERINE, 



When this letter will reach you I know not, but 

 probably some man-of-war will call here before, in the 

 common course of events, I should have another opportunity 



of writing. 



* * * * * 



After visiting some of the southern islands, we beat up ; 

 through the magnificent scenery of the Beagle Channel to 

 Jemmy Button's * country. We could hardly recognise poor 

 Jemmy. Instead of the clean, well-dressed stout lad we left 

 him, we found him a naked, thin, squalid savage. York 

 and Fuegia had moved to their own country some months 

 ago, the former having stolen all Jemmy's clothes. Now 

 he had nothing except a bit of blanket round his waist. 

 Poor Jemmy was very glad to see us, and, with his usual 

 good feeling, brought several presents (otter-skins, which are 

 most valuable to themselves) for his old friends. The Captain 

 offered to take him to England, but this, to our surprise, he 

 at once refused. In the evening his young wife came along- 

 side and showed us the reason. He was quite contented. 

 Last year, in the height of his indignation, he said "his 

 country people no sabe nothing damned fools" now they 

 were very good people, with too much to eat, and all the 



* Jemmy Button, York Minster, England by Captain Fitz-Roy in 

 and Fuegia Basket, were natives his former voyage, and restored to- 

 of Tierra del Fuego, brought to their country by him in 1832. 



