THE STEAIT OF MAGELLAN. 315 



especial, that the philanthropic efforts of the South American 

 Mission, under the superintendence of the Eeverend Mr. Stirling, 

 now Bishop of the Falkland Islands, have been hitherto chiefly 

 directed ; and that their labours have been attended with 

 a wonderful amount of success, the interesting reports from 

 time to time published by that mission place beyond a doubt, 

 affording a striking proof that there is no nation, however low 

 in the scale, upon whom the truths of Christianity may not 

 be brought to bear with the most admirable result. Avoid- 

 ing the errors of their predecessors in the same field, the 

 agents of the mission no longer, if I am not mistaken, en- 

 deavour to civilise these people in their native regions, but 

 transport them to a station which they have established in 

 Keppel Island, one of the smaller members of the Falkland 

 group, where the drier and generally more favourable climate 

 permits, to a certain degree, of the cultivation of the soil. 

 The third tribe, or Alikhoolip, according to Fitzroy, occur to 

 the westward of the Tekeenica, between the western part of 

 the Beagle Channel and the Strait of Magellan ; and he 

 observes that they are the stoutest and hardiest of the south- 

 western tribes, resembling the Tekeenica in general appear- 

 ance, but superior to them. To a tribe met with between the 

 Otway and Skying waters, but whose name he could not 

 learn, Fitzroy gave the name of *' Huemul," for the rather un- 

 satisfactory reason that they possessed " many skins of a kind 

 of roebuck," which is said to be the animal described by Molina 

 as the Huemul. The fifth tribe, or Pecheray, are inhabitants 

 of both sides of the western part of the Strait of Magellan. 

 We had frequent opportunities of observing them, in addition 

 to the inhabitants of the Channels ; and I think most of us 

 were agreed that, with the exception of their canoes being 

 constructed of five pieces of bark instead of five planks, as is 



