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The National Geographic Magazine 



Tehuelches. Upon examination of many 

 of the more perfect of these earthen ves- 

 sels, it was found that they were punct- 

 ured with a series of small holes in the 

 bottom, and that the surface of the in- 

 terior, over the bottom and a considerable 

 portion of the sides also, was blackened 

 and charred, thus bearing unmistakable 

 evidence of having been subjected to the 

 continued action of fire. It occurred to 

 me that such earthen vessels were used 

 for conveying fire from one encampment 

 to another when on the march. Upon in- 

 quiry I was pleased to hear this theory 

 confirmed by an aged Tehuelche woman 

 who remembered distinctly that in her 

 childhood fire was frequently transported 

 with them when on the march. 



The Tehuelches find their chief em- 

 ployment in hunting the guanaco and rhea 

 or South American ostrich. The region 

 inhabited by them extends northward 

 from the Strait of Magellan along the 

 western border of that part of the country 

 occupied by the prosperous Patagonian 

 sheep farmers, and which lies adjacent to 

 the Atlantic coast. This sheep-farming 

 district extends westward from the coast 

 for an average distance of about thirty 

 miles. Between this thirty-mile strip and 

 the Andes is the home of the Tehuelche. 

 Of the habitable portions of the earth's 

 surface, it is perhaps the most sparsely set- 

 tled of all. Notwithstanding its natural re- 

 sources, over thousands of square miles are 

 entirely uninhabited. For the most part, 

 it is indeed comparatively barren, as in 

 the lava beds of the central interior region, 

 but to the westward over the lower slopes 

 of the Andes and in the valleys entering 

 the mountains, there are exceedingly fer- 

 tile regions, capable of supporting con- 

 siderable populations, but at present quite 

 unoccupied by either Indians or Euro- 

 peans. The writer, together with Mr. O. 

 A. Peterson, spent five months of travel 

 during the summer of 1896-97 in the 

 country lying between the sources of the 

 Santa Cruz and Desire Rivers without 

 encountering either whites or natives. 



The Tehuelche is and always has been 

 a plainsman. His methods and the im- 

 plements employed by him in the chase 

 are designed for a level open country, 

 and are not adapted to rough, mountain- 

 ous, or wooded districts. Greatly reduced 

 in numbers he finds the area still left to 

 him in his natural habitat more than am- 

 ple to supply his simple wants and satisfy 

 his inherent, nomadic disposition. Left 

 to himself, his necessities are few and 

 easily supplied, for nature in Patagonia is 

 exceedingly lavish in furnishing those 

 animals that provide him with every do- 

 mestic necessity. Give to the Tehuelche 

 his horse, dogs, and bolas, and destroy all 

 other animal life indigenous to the region 

 save only the guanaco, and he would con- 

 tinue to exist, experiencing little incon- 

 venience. 



The guanaco . is to his existence the 

 one important and indispensable animal. 

 From its flesh he derives his chief and for 

 long periods only sustenance, while from 

 its skin his industrious wife constructs the 

 family toldo and makes with admirable 

 skill and patience their ample clothing and 

 bedding, fitting and sewing the parts with 

 the nicety and proficiency of a skilled 

 seamstress. A wooden or bone awl used 

 as a delicate punch is her needle, and the 

 sinew taken from the loin of the same ani- 

 mal her thread. From this same beast he 

 likewise obtains the sinew for the light but 

 exceedingly strong thongs of his bolas. 



But the guanacos are in no danger of 

 extinction. They roam in thousands over 

 the Patagonian plains. So abundant are 

 they that in travelling across the country 

 it is scarcely possible to pass out of sight 

 of them. Contrary to the general rule 

 with undomesticated animals, the guana-' 

 cos inhabiting settled regions are far less 

 timid than those of unsettled districts. In 

 that region along the coast occupied by 

 the sheep farmers, they exist in great 

 numbers, are exceedingly tame, and are 

 a source of considerable annoyance to the 

 herdsmen, who nevertheless suffer them 

 to go unmolested. : 



