198 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. [CHAP. x. 



languages, ^his she showed in picking tip some Portuguese and 

 Spanish, Avhen left on shore for only a short time at Rio de Janeiro 

 and Monte Video, and in her knowledge of English. York Minster 

 was very jealous of any attention paid to her ; for it was clear he 

 determined to marry her as soon as they were settled on shore. 



Although all three could both speak and understand a good 

 deal of English, it was singularly difficult to obtain much in- 

 formation from them, concerning the habits of their countrymen : 

 this was partly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding 

 the simplest alternative. Every one accustomed to very younjj 

 children, knows how seldom one can get an answer even to so 

 simple a question as whether a thing is black or white ; the idea 

 of black or white seems alternately to fill their minds. So it was 

 with these Fuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find 

 out, by cross-questioning, whether one had rightly understood 

 anything which they had asserted. Their sight was remarkably 

 acute : it is well known that sailors, from long practice, can make 

 out a distant object much better than a landsman ; but both York 

 and Jemmy were much superior to any sailor on board : several 

 times they have declared what some distant object has been, and 

 though doubted by every one, they have proved right, when it has 

 been examined through a telescope. They were quite conscious of 

 this power; and Jemmy, whe'n he had any little quarrel with the 

 officer on watch, would say, " Me see ship, me no tell." 



It was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when 

 we landed, towards Jemmy Button : they immediately perceived 

 the difference between him and ourselves, and held much con- 

 versation one with another on the subject. The old man addressed 

 a long harangue to Jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to 

 stay with them. But Jemmy understood very little of their lan- 

 guage, and was, moreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. 

 When York Minster afterwards cance on shore, they noticed him 

 in the same way, and told him he ought to shave; yet he had not 

 twenty dwarf hairs on his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed 

 beards. They examined the colour of his skin, and compared it 

 with ours. One of our arms being bared, they expressed the live- 

 liest surprise and admiration at its whiteness, just in the same way 

 in which I have seen the ourang-outang do at the Zoological Gar- 

 dens. We thought that they mistook two or three of the officers, 

 who were rather shorter and fairer, though adorned with large 



