SOUTHERN ABORIGINES. 



133 



€ulty of obtaining either language or information from the 

 Fuegians can only be well appreciated by those who have had 

 intercourse with them, or with the New Hollanders; whose 

 mimickry of what one says is as perplexing as the same trick 

 is when speaking to the Fuegians. 



Allowing that the Tehuel-het or Pata- 



gonians amount to 1,600 



Yacana 600 



Tekeenica 500 



Alikhoolip 400 



Pecheray 200 



Huemul 100, and 



Chonos , 400 



the total will be 3,800, which I 



do not think is five hundred in error : and I should say, in 

 round numbers, that there are about four thousand adults 

 south of the latitude of forty degrees, exclusive of Chiloe. 



By Patagonia is meant that part of South America which 

 lies between the River Negro and the Strait of Magalhaens. 



Eastern Patagonia is the portion of this district which lies 

 eastward of the Cordillera ; and Western Patagonia, the part 

 lying between the summits of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. 



Tierra del Fuego takes in all the islands southward of the 

 Strait of Magalhaens (including Staten Land), as far as the 

 Diego Ramirez islets. 



Before entering into a more detailed account of these abori- 

 gines, I will try to give a slight general idea of their personal 

 appearance ; of their horses and canoes ; of their houses and 

 country ; in short, an outline sketch of that which is observed 

 at the first glance of a stranger's eye. The minuter details, 

 which will follow, may be tedious to many readers. 



Magalhaens first gave the name of Patagones to the natives 

 whom he saw at Port San Julian in 1520. They were of very 

 large (gigantic) stature, and their feet, being wrapped in rough 

 guanaco skin, by way of shoes, were remarked particularly 

 Probably their footsteps in the sand were noticed, and excited 



