56 RIO TO TERRA DEL FUEGO CHAP. III 
and a little grass; on the lee side about one-eighth part of 
the circle was left open, and against this opening a fire was 
made. Furniture, I may justly say, they had none; a little, 
a very little, dry grass laid round the edges of the circle 
furnished both beds and chairs, and for dressing the shell- 
fish (the only provision I saw them make use of) they had 
no one contrivance but broiling them upon the coals. For 
drinking, I saw in a corner of one of their huts a bladder of 
some beast full of water; in one side of this near the top 
was a hole through which they drank by elevating a little the 
bottom, which made the water spring up into their mouths. 
In these few huts, and with this small share, or rather 
none at all, of what we call the necessaries and conveniences 
of life, lived about fifty men, women, and children, to all 
appearance contented with what they had, not wishing for 
anything we could give them except beads. Of these they 
were very fond, preferring ornamental things to those which 
might be of real use, and giving more in exchange for a 
string of beads than they would for a knife or a hatchet. 
Notwithstanding that almost all writers who have men- 
tioned this island have imputed to it a want of wood, we 
plainly distinguished, even at the distance of some leagues, 
that the largest part of the country, particularly near the 
sea-coast, was covered with wood, which observation was 
verified in both the bays we put into. In either of these 
firing might be got close by the beach in any quantity, and 
also trees, which to all appearance might be fit for repairing 
a vessel, or even in cases of necessity for making masts. 
The hills are high, though not to be called mountains ; 
the tops of these, however, are quite bare, and on them 
patches of snow were frequently to be seen, yet the time of 
the year when we were there answered to the beginning of 
July in England. In the valleys between these, the soil 
has much the appearance of fruitfulness, and is in some 
places of considerable depth; at the bottom of almost every 
one of these runs a brook, the water of which in general has 
a reddish cast like that which runs through turf bogs in 
England ; it is very well tasted. 
