308 PATAGONIA 



well formed, and while the features are without doubt far less 

 striking than are those of certain of our tribes of Indians, .yet 

 their countenances are usually such as to inspire confidence in 

 their peaceful intentions and to allay feelings of uneasiness in 

 the mind of the traveler who may be unwillingly thrown among 

 them. In the construction of their " toldos " or tents they have 

 advanced one step at least over that shown by many nomadic 

 tribes living in North America or elsewhere, in that while having 

 no permanent residences, they are nevertheless not entirel}^ de- 

 pendent upon the resources of the immediate vicinity in which 

 they happen to locate for materials with which to construct their 

 shelters, for they always carry with them a covering usuall}^ made 

 of sMns stitched firmly together in such a manner as to fit more 

 or less precisely a framework of poles also carried for the pur- 

 pose. With some tribes of North American Indians these easily 

 transportable habitations are known as " tipis," the frame of 

 which consists of a series of long poles arranged in a large circle 

 at the base and meeting above, where they interlock in such 

 manner as to afford mutual support, and on the outside of which 

 the covering, formerly made of skins but now usually made of 

 canvas, is stretched, thus forming a perfect cone when closed. 

 In all such habitations among our North American Indians, so 

 far as I am aware, this entire inclosure is unobstructed by par- 

 titions, and no attempt is made to divide the interior into separate 

 compartments so as to afford a certain degree of privacy to indi- 

 vidual members of the family. 



The toldos or tents of the Tehuelches are each usually com- 

 posed of the skills of about fifty adult guanacos sewed together 

 in sections, which, when fitted together, are so designed as to 

 form the top, one side, and both ends of a huge box, one side of 

 which is much higher than the other and is left open. The 

 framework of this box consists of three parallel rows of poles, 

 forked above, planted in the ground at a distance of about four 

 feet from each other in the direction of the length of the box and 

 six feet in the opposite direction. The poles forming the first 

 row or that on the open side of the toldo are usually about seven 

 feet in height, in the next row, running through the middle of 

 the interior, they are about five feet high, while three feet suffices 

 for the series at the rear. In the forks of these uprights poles 

 are laid, and over the whole the skin covering is stretched. These 

 toldos are usually about twenty feet long b}^ twelve feet in width. 

 That portion of the interior between the two higher series of up- 



