280 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: GEOGRAPHY. 



numbers, with the English and Germans as close seconds, while there are 

 a considerable number also of Spanish, French and native South Ameri- 

 cans and a few North Americans. The mercantile business is about 

 equally divided between the English, German and Latin races. The 

 miners and mechanics are very largely Austrians, the laborers Italians, and 

 the shepherds, for the most part, Scotch and native Chilians and Argen- 

 tinians. The seafaring men are A motley crowd from every conceivable 

 country. It is difficult to say that any particular nationality predominates, 

 though I should say that the Scandinavians were in the supremacy. 

 Almost without exception the people are hospitable. There are few and 

 very inferior schools, even in the towns, but almost all the farmers where 

 there are children import school teachers or governesses from England or 

 Europe to superintend the education of their children. It thus happens 

 that illiteracy is perhaps less in Patagonia than in any other part of 

 South America'. 



While, as we have seen in the preceding paragraphs, the development 

 of Patagonia's resources has been limited almost entirely to the four lead- 

 ing industries above enumerated, it must not be concluded that these 

 are the only industries that could be profitably pursued, or that even 

 these are at present worked to their full capacity. While the fisheries 

 thus far have been limited to whaling, sealing, hunting the nutria, and a 

 small establishment at Ushuaia for canning the large crabs abundant in 

 these waters (Lithodes antarctica and Paralomis granulosa] the fisheries 

 of this region are certain some day to become of considerable importance. 

 The edible fish of the waters of this coast are varied and of great 

 abundance. One species, Atherinopsis regia, of particularly fine flavor, is 

 especially common at certain seasons along the east coast. So abundant 

 were these fish in the inlet of the Gallegos River for several days during 

 the spring of 1898, that on one occasion they were brought in in great 

 schools by the incoming tide and left stranded in such quantities on the 

 shingle bed of the north coast, that for a distance of twelve miles, or over 

 the beach extending from North Gallegos to two or three miles above 

 Killik Aike, the shingle was covered over to an average width of ten 

 yards and to the depth often of several inches with dead fish. Con- 

 sidering the abundance of these and other varieties of edible fishes of 

 only a little less value, it is difficutlt to overestimate the importance of 

 the fisheries of this coast, when once they have been developed. 



