192 BUREAU OF AMERTCAN ETTTNOLOGY Tbull. r.s 



tain the conclusion that the custom is a native one. The iron pyrites 

 is apparently found only in the north of Tierra del Fuego Island and 

 in large quantities near Mercury Sound, Clarence Island (C. Gallarck), 

 255; Dabbene, &, 194; Th. Bridges, h, June 1, 1883, 139; i, in Hyades, 

 q, 10). 



As tinder the Fuegians use bird down, dried fungus, and perhaps 

 very fine moss. 



Besides its use for cooking, heating, and lighting, fire is employed 

 for signaling by Jill the Fuegians, including the Onas (C. Gallardo, 258; 

 Furlong, A), for straightening arrow and spear shafts by the Yahgans 

 and Onas at least (C. GaUardo, 256, 281; Cojazzi, 44; Hyades, q, 356), 

 and for bending canoe ribs by the Yahgans and Alacaluf (Spegazzini, 

 a, 6; Vargas Ponce, a, 344). It is also used in many other ways, as 

 in felling trees, in preparing bark for canoes and material for baskets, 

 etc. The Fuegians have no lamps, but torches of bark are conmion 

 to both the Fuegians and Chonoans. 



The Yahgans and Alacaluf carry fire in the center of their canoes 



on a hearUi of earth, clay, sand, shells, or stones (UUoa and numerous 



later voyagers) . 



Shelter 



Beehive wigwam. — Among tlie Chonos and Canoe Indians the most 

 common form of shelter is the beehive hut, circular or elliptical in 

 ground plan and with a framework of bent sticks covered with grass, 

 ferns, branches, bark, skins, or anything at hand. The Chonos often 

 carried around in their canoes the poles or bark thatching (Byron, 

 a, 123-124; Lozano, ii, 560; Beranger, 13). Excellent detailed de- 

 scriptions are given of the Yahgan hut by Dr. Hyades {q, 342) and of 

 the Alacaluf an by Dr. Skottsberg (6, 261-263; d, 597-598). 



STcin windshield. — This is the more common Ona shelter. It con- 

 sists of a few poles stuck in the ground in a semicircle and inclined 

 toward the center, with guanaco skins stretched on them; it thus 

 forms a fencing without roof, but in bad weather the shelter can be 

 nearly closed over. Sometimes the skins are merely tied to branches 

 of trees (Lovisato, h, 134; Furlong, d, 218). 



It is not unlikely that this skin windshield is related genetically to 

 the Tehuelclie toldo. It is not used by tlie Canoe Indians. In con- 

 struction it is similar to the Tehuelchean tent, although much s.im- 

 pler. In earlier times the Patagonians of the eastern end of the Strait 

 used a shelter rather like the modern Ona windshield, if we may- 

 judge from Ladrillero's description, which, however, is not quite as 

 clear as we should hke: "Sus casas son que hincan unas varas en el 

 suelo, i ponen pellejos deguanacos, i de ovejas, i de venados; i hacen 

 reparo para el viento, i por de dentro ponen paya" (Ladrilloro, 499). 

 The Tehuelchean tent and the Ona windshield have the same name 

 (cf. Introduction under Ona and Tehuelclie Relations: Cultural 

 Kvidcncc). 



