134 



SOUTHERN ABORIGINES. 



some such exclamation as ' que patagones!"* (what great feet !) 

 patagon meaning a very large foot. — (See note 3.) 



Tierra del Fuego was also named by Magalhaens, because 

 many fires were seen, in the night, upon that land. 



The aboriginal natives of Eastern Patagonia are a tall and 

 extremely stout race of men. Their bodies are bulky, their 

 heads and features large, yet their hands and feet are compa- 

 ratively small. Their limbs are neither so muscular nor so 

 large boned as their height and apparent bulk would induce 

 one to suppose : they are also rounder and smoother than those 

 of white men. Their colour is a rich reddish-brow^n, between 

 that of rusty iron and clean copper, rather darker than copper, 

 yet not so dark as good old mahogany.^ But every shade of 

 colour between that j ust mentioned and the lighter hue of a 

 copper kettle, may be seen among individuals of various ages. 

 Excepting among old or sickly people, I did not notice a 

 tinge of yellow: some of the women are lighter coloured — 

 about the tint of pale copper — but none are fair, according to 

 our ideas. 



Nothing is worn upon the head except their rough, lank, and 

 coarse black hair, which is tied above the temples with a fillet 

 of platted or twisted sinews. A large mantle, made of skins 

 sewed together, loosely gathered about them, hanging from the 

 shoulders to their ankles, adds so much to the bulkiness of their 

 appearance, that one ought not to wonder at their having been 

 called 'gigantic' I am not aware that a Patagonian has 

 appeared, during late years, exceeding in height six feet and 

 some inches ; but I see no reason to disbelieve Falkner's account 

 of the Cacique Cangapol, whose height, he says, was seven feet 

 and some inches. When Falkner stood on tiptoe he could not 

 reach the top of CangapoFs head. It is rather curious, that 

 Byron could only just touch the top of the tallest man's head 



• The colour of these aborigines is extremely like that of the Devon- 

 shire breed of cattle. From the window of a room in which I am sitting-, 

 I sec some oxen of that breed passing through the outskirts of a wood, and 

 the partial glimpses caught of them remind me strongly of the South 

 American led men. 



