TRINIDAD NATIVES. 



197 



Mr. Bynoe, which do not appear in the narrative of that 

 cruise given in the preceding volume. I shall here insert them 

 in his own words : — 



" We entered the Gulf of Trinidad, and while surveying 

 thereabouts met two large canoes, which were thought to be 

 whale-boats when first seen at a distance ; but as we concluded 

 that some sealing vessel was in the neighbourhood, and that these 

 were her boats, little notice was taken of them until they had 

 approached very near, when, to our astonishment they proved 

 to be large plank canoes, pulled with oars, and full of fine 

 stout Indians. Just within hail they stopped, lay on their 

 oars, halloed to us most vociferously, and waved skins above 

 their heads. One man was very conspicuous, having on his 

 head a tall leathern cap, tapering to a point, which was orna- 

 mented with feathers of various gaudy colours ; and around 

 the brim of this high conical hat there was also a fringe of 

 feathers. This singular character was painted black all over 

 from head to foot, except a circle of white round each eye, and 

 a few white dots upon his cheeks. By signs we succeeded in 

 tempting them to come alongside the schooner, and were then 

 still more struck by their appearance : they were far superior 

 to any Fuegians I had seen, being a taller race, more upright, 

 and better proportioned ; their limbs were better formed, more 

 muscular, rounder, and fuller than those of any canoe Indians 

 of the Strait of Magalhaens or Barbara Channel ; and their 

 skins were cleaner as well as clearer, which was probably the 

 reason why we thought them lighter coloured than the others 

 whom we had seen. The length of back, so remarkable in a 

 Fuegian, was not very discernible in these people, neither were 

 they by any means so ugly as the former ; indeed a rather 

 pleasing smile was sometimes noticed on the younger faces. 

 None among them were much smoke-dried, nor did their eyes 

 look red and watery. There did not appear to be one of the 

 party above a middle age, and most of them were young. Three 

 of the men had lost each an upper incisor tooth, and one had 

 a long though not deep scar upon the breast. We all pro- 

 nounced these people to belong to a finer race than we had 



