46 



NATIVES OF PATAGONIA. 



[1822, 



could soon furnish the crew with an abundance of fresh meat, by 

 shooting beeves, foxes, and hares, all of which are found in great 

 plenty in a valley of the interior, not more than five miles from our 

 anchorage. Such sportsmen, however, must be oij their guard, as the 

 natives frequently visit this extensive valley for the purpose of grazing 

 their horses. 



October \3th. — On the day following that of our arrival at Santa 

 Cruz I penetrated some miles into the country, accompanied by two 

 men only, leaving others to guard the boat. It was Sunday, and I 

 wished for a little relaxation from the duties to which I had, for some 

 weeks, so assiduously applied myself ; we therefore strolled leisurely 

 into the interior, until we arrived in view of the valley before men- 

 tioned. Here we discovered a band of about two hundred native 

 Patagonians, all on horseback, attending to a drove of about three 

 thousand guanacoes. 



With such inadequate support, and being at least eight miles from 

 my vessel, I thought it most prudent to avoid an interview with this 

 formidable band of equestrian herdsmen, of whose amicable disposi- 

 tion I had not the means of gaining assurance. Under different cir- 

 cumstances, however, I think I might have made a lucrative specula- 

 tion, by purchasing of them the skins of wild cattle, foxes, nutria, and 

 guanacoes. As it was, acting on the principle that " discretion is the 

 better part of valour," we concealed ourselves in some underbrush ; 

 where, without being seen ourselves, we could observe the movements 

 and study the appearance and costume of this singular people at our 

 leisure. 



Their stature was of the common measurement, say from five feet 

 ten inches to six feet ; a few might have boasted three or four more 

 inches, but their average height was about six feet. Their complex- 

 ion was of a deep copper-colour, similar to the aborigines of our own 

 country, with long, straight, black hair, which did not appear to have 

 any of the properties of " hog's bristles," as one navigator has repre- 

 sented, but soft and pliable. They were all well-made, robust, and 

 athletic ; but I was not near enough to observe that remarkable diminu- 

 tiveness of hands and feet which has been attributed to the formidable 

 giants of Patagonia. 



They were generally clothed in skins of the guanaco, or some 

 other animal, with the flesh side out. These appeared to be confined 

 to the body by a narrow strip of the same material, but by what kind 

 of fastening I could not ascertain. Some of them, however, were 

 evidently clad in cloth of some kind or other ; whether of their own 

 manufacture or not, it is difficult to conjecture. The shape and fash- 

 ion of their cloth garments, however, must be peculiar to themselves. 

 From the opportunity I had of inspecting them, I should agree with 

 the description of Captain Wallace, — that this apparel was a square 

 piece of cloth made of the downy hair of the guanaco, through which 

 a hole was cut out for the head, with side slips for the arms, and the 

 rest, sustained by the shoulders, hung down in folds to the knees, or 

 was confined to the body with a girdle. Many of them had a kind 

 of legging or buskin, made of skin, extending from the top of the 



