22 



Patagoiiians. 

 Orange Harbour. 



TERRA. DEL FUEGO. 



Patagonians. 

 Orange Harbour. 



Lieutenant-Commandant Long delayed his depar- 

 ture for a few hours, and landed with a number of 

 the officers. As the boats approached the shore, 

 the natives renewed their shouting, and advanced 

 towards them on their landing without fear, exhi- 

 biting a pleasant air, and apparently with every 

 feeling of confidence: they were all unarmed. An 

 old man, who was the chief, came forward to salute 

 them, first by patting his own breast several times, 

 and then that of each individual of the party, 

 making use of the word cu char-lie, dwelling on the 

 first syllable, and accenting the last, in a whining 

 tone of voice. The meaning of cu-char-lie it was 

 impossible to divine, for it was used for every 

 thing. After this ceremony they returned to the 

 thicket, and brought forth their bows and arrows. 

 These people were admirable mimics, and would 

 repeat all kinds of sounds, including words, with 

 great accuracy: the imitation was often quite ridi- 

 culous. They were naked, with the exception of 

 a guanacoe-skin, which covered them from the 

 shoulders to the knees. 



The party of natives were seventeen in number, 

 and with a few exceptions they were above the 

 European height. The chief, who was the oldest 

 man among them, was under fifty years of age, 

 and of comparatively low stature; his son was one 

 of the tallest, and above six feet in height. They 

 had good figures and pleasant-looking counte- 

 nances, low foreheads, and high cheek-bones, with 

 broad faces, the lower part projecting; their hair 

 was coarse, and cut short on the crown, leaving a 

 narrow border of hair hanging down ; over this 

 they wore a kind of cap or band of skin or woollen 

 yarn. The front teeth of all of them were very 

 much worn, more apparent, however, in the old 

 than in the young. On one foot they wore a rude 

 skin sandal. 



Many of them had their faces painted in red 

 and black stripes, with clay, soot, and ashes. 

 Their whole appearance, together with their in- 

 flamed and sore eyes, was filthy and disgusting. 

 They were thought, by the officers more nearly to 

 approach to the Patagonians than .any other na- 

 tives, and were supposed to be a small tribe who 



visit this part of Terra del Fuego in the summer 

 months ; they were entirely different from the 

 Petcherais, whom we afterwards saw at Orange 

 Harbour. 



None of their women or children were seen, but 

 they were thought to be not far distant in the 

 wood, as they objected to any of our people going 

 towards it, and showed much alarm when guns 

 were pointed in that direction. They seemed to 

 have a knowledge of fire-arms, which they called 

 eu, or spirit ; and kai-eu, which they frequently 

 uttered with gestures, was thought to indicate 

 their Great Spirit, or God. 



They had little apparent curiosity, and nothing 

 seemed to attract or cause them surprise; their 

 principal characteristic seemed to be jealousy. 

 Though they are a simple race, they are not want- 

 ing in cunning ; and it was with great difficulty 

 that they could be prevailed upon to part with 

 their bows and arrows in trade, which they how- 

 ever did, after asking permission from their chief: 

 this was always necessary for them to obtain before 

 closing a bargain. They have had communication 

 frequently before with Europeans; pieces of many 

 articles of European manufacture were seen in 

 their possession, such as glass-beads, &c. They 

 refused tobacco, whiskey, bread, or meat, and were 

 only desirous of getting old iron, nails, and pieces 

 of hoop-iron. 



Their food consists principally of fish and shell- 

 fish. Their fishing apparatus is made of the dorsal 

 fin of a fish, tied to a thin slip of whalebone, in the 

 form of a barb ; this serves as a good hook, and j 

 with it they obtain a supply of this food. Their 

 arms consisted altogether of bows and arrows. 

 The natives had the common dog, which they 

 seemed to prize much. 



Mr. Rich employed his time in botanical re- 

 searches : the prominent plants were berberes, 

 winteria, vaccinium, andromeda, compositse, (some 

 woody,) cruciferse, umbelliferce, &c. A number of 

 these were just putting forth their flowering buds. 

 Scurvy-grasses and wild celery abounded. 



On the 17th of February, as before stated, the 

 Relief was joined by the rest of the squadron. 



CHAPTER V. 

 TERRA DEL FUEGO. SOUTHERN CRUISE. 



ORANGE HARBOUR PLAN OF THE SQUADRON'S OPERATIONS NATIVES THEIR APPEARANCE THEIR HUTS THEIR 

 TALENT FOR MIMICRY VISIT TO THEIR HUTS THEIR FOOD DEPARTURE OF PORPOISE WHALE-SHIPHEIGHT 

 OF WAVES KING GEORGE'S ISLAND O'BRIEN'S AND ASPLAND's ISLANDS PALMER'S LAND ADVENTURE ISLETS 

 SEA-GULL ORDERED TO RETURN RETURN OF THE PORPOISE ELEPHANT ISLAND GOOD SUCCESS BAY BOAT 

 DETAINED ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE ACCIDENT FURTHER ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE THE PARTY PORPOISE COM- 

 PELLED TO PUT TO SEA CAPE ST. DIEGO RETURN TO GOOD SUCCESS BAY PARTY JOIN THEIR TRANSACTIONS 

 LEAVE GOOD SUCCESS BAY NASSAU BAY NATIVES ORANGE HARBOUR SEA-GULL DECEPTION ISLAND TEM- 

 PERATURE VISIT TO CRATER FORCE OF WIND ARRIVAL AT ORANGE HARBOUR SENT IN SEARCH OF LAUNCH 

 LOSS OF THAT BOAT RETURN OF SEA-GULL AGAIN SAILS FOR WOLLASTON's ISLAND BAILY ISLAND 

 ARRIVAL OF FLYING-FISH. 



ORANGE HARBOUR is on the western side of Nassau 

 Bay, separated and protected from it by Burnt 

 Island. It is nearly land-locked, and is the safest 

 harbour on the coast. The hills on each side, after 

 several undulations, rise into conical peaks, and 



the naked rock is every where broken into a 

 jagged outline, with no creeping plants to soften or 

 take off its harshness. Every thing has a bleak 

 and wintry appearance, and is in excellent keeping 

 with the climate; yet the scenery about it is pleas- 



