60 RIO TO TERRA DEL FUEGO CHAP, III 
learn but two of their words: hallécd, which signifies beads, 
at least so they always said when they wanted them, instead 
of the ribbons or other trifles which I offered them; and 
ooudd, which signifies water, for so they said when we took 
them ashore from the ship and by signs asked where water 
was; they at the same time made the sign of drinking 
and pointed to our casks, as well as to the place where we 
put them ashore, where we found plenty of water. 
Of civil government I saw no signs; no one seemed to 
be more respected than another; nor did I ever see the 
least appearance of quarrelling between any two of them. 
Religion also they seemed to be without, unless those people 
who made the strange noises I have mentioned before were 
priests or exorcists; but this is merely conjectural. 
Their food, so far as we saw, was either seals or shell- 
fish. How they took the former we never knew, but the 
latter were collected by the women, whose business it seemed 
to be to attend at low water with a basket in one hand, a 
stick with a point and a barb in the other, and a satchel 
on their backs. They loosened the limpets with the stick, 
and put them into the basket, which, when full, was emptied 
into the satchel. 
Their arms consisted of bows and arrows, the former 
neatly enough made, the latter more neatly than any I 
have seen, polished to the highest degree, and headed either 
with glass or flint; this was the only neat thing they 
had, and the only thing they seemed to take any pains 
about. 
That these people have before had intercourse with 
Europeans was very plain from many instances, first, from 
the European commodities, of which we saw sail-cloth, 
brown woollen cloth, beads, nails, glass, etc., especially the 
last (which they used for pointing their arrows in con- 
siderable quantity), and also from the confidence they 
immediately put in us at our first meeting, though well 
acquainted with our superiority, and from the knowledge 
they had of the use of our guns, which they very soon 
showed by making signs to me to shoot a seal. They 
