170 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



plishment having been acquired in a state of captivity. 

 While we were strolling along the northern bank of the river, 

 we had our first sight of the western Fuegian Indians, a party 

 of whom appeared on the opposite side attired in short seal- 

 skin cloaks, which hardly covered their bodies, and left their 

 lanky legs bare. They attempted to hold conamunication 

 with us by howling in their language, and repeated with 

 astonishing accuracy various slang phrases that were shouted 

 to them in reply by some of the members of our party. 

 Eeturning to the landing-place along the sandy beach, I 

 found many specimens of a sand-inhabiting bivalve, the 

 Mactra edulis of Captain King, who thus named it on account 

 of its having furnished an article of food much appreciated by 

 his ship's company, and a portion of a Crustacean of the genus 

 Galathea, the G. suhrugosa, a species which I often met with 

 subsequently in the Strait, and which also has been taken at 

 the Auckland Islands. Steady rain set in soon after we got 

 on board, and continued during most of the evening. A 

 seining party, which had been despatched soon after we 

 anchored, returned shortly after dark, tolerably successful, 

 having caught many specimens of a species of Atherinich- 

 thys (the A. laticlavia), as well as of a larger fish presenting a 

 general resemblance to a mullet. 



We weighed the following morning, and continued our 

 southerly and westerly course. While the anchor was being 

 got up, two canoes of Fuegians came alongside. They brought 

 bows and arrows for barter, and apparently knew no English 

 but " tabac," which they repeatedly demanded. They had 

 fires in the bottom of their boats, and pulled with quick, short 

 strokes, using paddles resembling short oars. It rained heavily 

 during the greater part of the day, with occasional brief inter- 

 vals of fair weather, which were occupied by me in contem- 



