FIND boat's gear — GUIDES ESCAPE. 



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an oar, the loom of which had been made into a seal-club, and 

 the blade into a paddle. The axe, and the boat's tool-bag were 

 also found, which convinced us that this w^as the resort of those 

 who had stolen our boat ; and that the women, six in number, 

 were their wives. The men were probabl}? absent, in our boat, 

 on a sealing expedition; as a fine large canoe, made of fir- 

 plank, perhaps from the wreck of the Saxe Cobourg, was 

 lying on the beach without paddles or spears. She did not 

 come there without paddles : and where were the spears of which 

 every Fuegian family has plenty ? It was evident that the men 

 of the party had taken them in our boat, and had cut up our 

 oars like the one they had accidentally left. The women under- 

 stood what w^e wanted, and made eager signs to explain to us 

 where our boat was gone. I did not like to injure them, and 

 only took away our own gear, and the young man, who came 

 very readily, to show us where our boat was, and, with the 

 man who had brought us to the place, squatted down in the boat 

 apparently much pleased with some clothes and red caps, which 

 were given to them. We had always behaved kindly to the 

 Fuegians wherever we met them, and did not yet know how to 

 treat them as they deserved, although they had robbed us of 

 so great a treasure, upon the recovery or loss of which much 

 of the success of our voyage depended. Following the guidance 

 of these two natives, we pulled against wind and rain until 

 dark, when it became absolutely necessary to secure our boat 

 for the night, deeply laden as she was with thirteen people. 

 As we were then at a great distance from the place, whence 

 we brought the natives, having pulled for four hours along- 

 shore, and as they seemed to be quite at their ease, and con- 

 tented, I would not secure our guides as prisoners, but allowed 

 them to lie by the fire in charge of the man on watch. About 

 an hour before daylight, although the look-out man was only 

 a few yards distant from the fire, they slipped into the bushes, 

 and as it was almost dark were immediately out of sight. Their 

 escape was discovered directly, but to search for them during 

 darkness, in a thick wood, would have been useless ; besides, 

 our men were tired with their day's work, and wanted rest, so 



