140 



SOUTHEllN ABORIGINES. 



state of putridity ; and of other vile habits, may readily be 

 imagined. 



As a Tekeenica is seldom out of sight of his canoe or a wig- 

 wam, a slight idea of these — his only constructions — should 

 be given with this sketch. 



The canoe is made of several large pieces of bark, sewed 

 together ; its shape is nearly that which would be taken by the 

 strong bark of the trunk of a tree (twelve to twenty feet in 

 length, and a foot, or two feet, in diameter), separated from 

 the solid wood, in one piece. If this piece of bark were drawn 

 together at the ends, and kept open by sticks in the middle, 

 it would look rather like a Fuegian canoe. 



A Tekeenica wigwam is of a conical form, made of a 

 number of large poles, or young trees, placed touching one 

 another in a circle, with the small ends meeting. Sometimes, 

 bunches of grass or pieces of bark are thrown upon the side 

 which is exposed to the prevailing winds. No Fuegians, ex- 

 cept the Tekeenica, make their huts in this manner. 



The country of this people may be briefly described by say- 

 ing that deep but narrow arms of the sea intersect high moun- 

 tainous islands, many of whose summits are covered with snow, 

 while the lee or eastern sides of their steep and rocky shores are 

 more than partially covered with evergreen woods. 



Between projecting rocky points are sandy or stony beaches, 

 fronting very small spaces of level land, on which the huts of 

 the natives are generally placed. Almost throughout the year, 

 cloudy weather, rain, and much wind prevail ; indeed, really 

 fine days are very rare. Being so near the level of that great 

 climate agent, the ocean, frost and snow are far less frequent 

 than might be expected in a high latitude, among snow-covered 

 mountains, of which the sight alone inclines one to shiver. 



The men of the Alikhoolip tribe are the stoutest and har- 

 diest, and the women the least ill-looking of the Fuegians. 

 Though not very dissimilar, they are superior to the Tekeenica ; 

 but they are inferior to the Yacana, and far below the natives of 

 Patagonia. Their canoes are rather better than those of the 

 Tekeenica, made, however, in the same manner. 



