128 



AREANGEMENTS. 



Jan. 1833. 



there establish the Fuegians, with Matthews : — leave them 

 for a time, while I continued my route westward to ex- 

 plore the western arms of the channel, and part of Whale- 

 boat Sound : and at my return thence decide whether Mat- 

 thews should be left among the natives for a longer period, or 

 return with me to the Beagle. 



But before I briefly relate this attempt to form a temporary 

 settlement among the Fuegians, it may be advisable to give a 

 general sketch of the aborigines who thinly people the south- 

 ernmost regions of South America : including not only the 

 various tribes of Fuegians (as far as we know them), but the 

 Patagonians, and those natives of Western Patagonia who 

 are supposed to be a remnant of the tribe called Chonos. 



