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FUEGIAN NATIVES. 



Feb. 1827. 



rancid seal, and whale blubber, &c. When on board my ship, 

 they ate or drank greedily whatever was offered to them, salt- 

 beef, salt-pork, preserved meat, pudding, pea-soup, tea, coffee, 

 wine, or brandy — nothing came amiss. One little instance, 

 however, happened, which showed what they preferred. As 

 they were going ashore, a lump of the tallow used for arming 

 the lead was given to them, and received with particular 

 delight. It was scrupulously divided, and placed in the little 

 baskets which they form of rushes, to be reserved for eating 

 last, as the richest treat. 



" To their dwellings have been given, in various books of 

 voyages, the names of huts, wigwams, &c. ; but, with reference 

 to their structure, I think old Sir John Narborough's term for 

 them will convey the best idea to an English reader ; he calls 

 them ' arbours." They are formed of about a couple of dozen 

 branches, pointed at the larger ends, and stuck into the ground 

 round a circular or elliptical space, about ten feet by six ; the 

 upper ends are brought together, and secured by tyers of grass, 

 over which is thrown a thatching of grass and seal-skins, a 

 hole being left at the side as a door, and another at the top as a 

 vent for the smoke. A fire is kept burning within, over which 

 the natives are constantly cowering ; hence, when seen abroad, 

 instead of appearing to be hardy savages, inured to wet and 

 cold, you see wretched creatures shivering at every breeze. I 

 never met people so sensible of cold as these Fuegian Indians. 



" The nature of their domestic ties we had no opportunity 

 of discovering ; their manner towards their children is affec- 

 tionate and caressing. I often witnessed the tenderness with 

 which they tried to quiet the alarms our presence at first 

 occasioned, and the pleasure which they showed when we 

 bestowed upon the little ones any trifling trinkets. It appeared 

 that they allow their children to possess property, and con- 

 sult their little whims and wishes, with respect to its disposal ; 

 for lying in a boat, alongside one of the canoes, bargaining 

 for various articles, spears, arrows, baskets, &c., I took a fancy 

 to a dog lying near one of the women, and offered a price for 

 it ; one of my seamen, supposing the bargain concluded, laid 



