CHAP. X.] ASTONISHMENT OF NATIVES AT FIRE-ARMS. 219 



was difficult to satisfy these savages. Young and old, men and 

 children, never ceased repeating the word " yammerschooner," 

 which means " give me." After pointing to almost every object, 

 one after the other, even to the buttons on our coats, and saying 

 their favourite word in as many intonations as possible, they 

 would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly repeat " yam- 

 merschooner." After yammerschoonering for any article very 

 eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young 

 women or little children, as much as to say, " If you will not 

 give it me, surely you will to such as these." 



At night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove ; 



and at last were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of 



natives. They were very inoffiensive as long as they were few in 



numbers, but in the morning (21st) being joined by others they 



showed symptoms of hostility, and we thought that we should 



have come to a skirmish. An European labours under great 



disadvantages when treating with savages like these, who have 



not the least idea of the power of fire-arms. In the very act of 



levelling his musket he appears to the savage far inferior to a 



man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear, or even a sling. 



Nor is it easy to teach them our superiority except by striking a 



fatal blow. Like wild beasts, they do not appear to compare 



numbers; for each individual, if attacked, instead of retiring, 



will endeavour to dash your brains out with a stone, as certainly 



as a tiger under similar circumstances would tear you. Captain 



Fitz Roy on one occasion being very anxious, from good reasons, 



to frighten away a small party, first flourished a cutlass near 



them, at which they only laughed ; he then twice fired his pistol 



close to a native. The man both times looked astounded, and 



carefully but quickly rubbed his head ; he then stared awhile, 



and gabbled to his companions, but he never seemed to think of 



running away. We can hardly put ourselves in the position of 



these savages, and understand their actions. In the case of this 



Fuegian, the possibility of such a sound as the report of a gun 



close to his ear could never have entered his mind. He perhaps 



literally did not for a second know whether it was a sound or a 



blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed his head. In a similar 



manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by a bullet, it may be 



some time before he is able at all to understand how it is effected ; 



