196 



EEMAEKABLE CONDUCT. 



and part of it cooked, the natives refused even to taste the 

 meat. One day several of these people had gone on board the 

 Adeona with some old axes and pieces of iron, which they 

 wished to have ground at her grindstone (a favour which had 

 often been granted) ; but in consequence of something having 

 gone wrong in the vessel, which had ruffled Low's temper, he 

 rather roughly refused to let them stay on board. They went 

 away quietly, but left their axes, &c. behind; and while 

 returning were met by the mate of the vessel, who asked if 

 they had ground them ; they replied negatively, and gave the 

 mate to understand that the captain''s face was too long, but 

 that they would come again when it was shorter. This occurred 

 before either Niqueaccas or the boy had been taken on board 

 the Adeona. 



Mr. Low remarked to me that the conduct of these Indians 

 on this occasion of his harshly refusing to comply with a 

 slight request, was quite different from that which the Fuegians 

 would have shown under similar circumstances : they would 

 have been angry, and in all probability have returned his 

 ill-temper with a display of their own, evinced by a shower of 

 stones. Once, when Low was in the Magdalen Channel, he 

 desired some Fuegians who were on board to leave the vessel 

 wliile his men were below at dinner. They refused to comply, 

 and offered resistance ; but being obliged to go, went in their 

 canoes to a short distance a-head, and there remained slinging 

 large stones on board, which broke several windows. To drive 

 them away muskets were used, though without injuring any 

 of their party. Next day the hardy fellows came alongside 

 again, as unconcernedly as ever. 



When the Fuegians are inclined to attack an enemy with 

 stones, they generally try to raise a breastwork of boughs or 

 logs ; but no such preparation was ever noticed among the 

 natives of the western coast of Patagonia. 



While the Adelaide tender was examining the inner pas- 

 sages and sounds of the western shores of Patagonia, under 

 Lieutenant Skyring, some interesting remarks were made by 



