MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE TEHUELCHES 87 



of the discovery of the country by Magellan in 1520. They were 

 described as men of huge stature, gi^nts in fact, and the very name 

 Patagonia is said to be derived from the epithet '' patagon" or 

 "large feet," which the Spaniards bestowed upon them on account 

 of the enormous tracks their footsteps left upon the sand of the sea- 

 shore. The Tehuelches are not, as it happens, a large-footed 

 though they are a tall race, but, considering the curious per- 

 sistency of habit, which is one of their chief characteristics, the 

 idea taken up by the Spanish is easily explained. The Tehuelches 

 wear boots oi potro (colt-skin) or guanaco-skin, which project in a 

 narrow point some inches beyond the toes. There can be little 

 doubt, judging by all else we know of them, that their ancestors of 

 Magellan's day wore the same shape of foot-gear. The impressions 

 left by such boots would very naturally, on being observed by 

 voyagers, take iheir place as indications of a race of giants. In 

 connection with this idea I may mention that several early writers 

 united in giving a very bad name to the Tehuelches. No reputation 

 could be more totally unmerited. From reading such accounts one 

 would be left with the conviction that the Tehuelches are blood- 

 thirsty and barbarous savages. This is certainly not the case now, 

 and I do not believe, judging from all I saw of them under various 

 circumstances, that such accusations could ever have been deserved. 

 Some travellers appear to have fallen into the error of confounding 

 them with other Indian races of South America, whose charac- 

 teristics and history differ absolutely from the people of whom I 

 am writing. 



We see here how easy it is for travellers to make mistakes. 

 More than one writer has charged them with the habit of eating 

 raw flesh ; whereas they cook the meat for food, but on occasion 

 they will eat raw fat and drink the warm blood of the ostrich, 

 which facts, no doubt, have given rise to the above misstatement. 



Although not gi .nts, the Tehuelches are certainly one of the 

 finest races in the world. Most of them average 6 ft., some attain 

 to 6 ft. 4 in. or even more, and in all cases they are well built and 

 well developed. Physically, the men are splendid fellows, who 

 look yet more nobly formed and proportioned because of the ample 

 folds of the skin capas and ponchos in which they wrap themselves. 



