January. rude and inartificial ftructure that can be imagined. They They 1769. were nothing more than a few poles fet up fo as to incline towards each other, and meet at the top, forming a kind of a cone, like some of our bee-hives: on the weather fide they were covered with a few boughs, and a little grass; and on the lee fide about one eighth of the circle was left open, both for a door and a fire-place; and of this kind were the huts that had been feen in St. Vincent's bay, in one of which the embers of a fire were ftill remaining. Furniture they had none; a little grafs, which lay round the infide of the hovel, ferved both for chairs and beds; and of all the utenfils which neceffity and ingenuity have concurred to produce among other favage nations, they faw only a bafket to carry in the hand, a fatchel to hang at the back, and the bladder of fome beast to hold water, which the natives drink through a hole that is made near the top for that purpose. The inhabitants of this town were a small tribe, not more than fifty in number, of both fexes and of every age. Their colour refembles that of the ruft of iron mixed with oil, and they have long black hair: the men are large, but clumfily built; their ftature is from five feet eight to five feet ten; the women are much lefs, few of them being more than five feet high. Their whole apparel confifts of the skin of a guanicoe, or feal, which is thrown over their shoulders, exactly in the state in which it came from the animal's back ;. a piece of the fame skin, which is drawn over their feet, and gathered about the ancles like a purfe, and a fmall flap, which is worn by the women as a fuccedaneum for a fig leaf. The men wear their cloak open, the women tie it about their waift with a thong. But although they are content to be naked, they are very ambitious to be fine. Their faces were painted in various forms: the region of the eye 1769, January. was in general white, and the rest of the face adorned with horizontal streaks of red and black; yet fcarcely any two were exactly alike. This decoration feems to be more profuse and elaborate upon particular occafions, for the two Gentlemen who introduced Mr. Banks and the Doctor into the town, were almoft covered with streaks of black in all directions, fo as to make a very striking appearance. Both men and women wore bracelets of fuch beads as they could make themselves of small shells or bones; the women both upon their wrifts and ancles, the men upon their wrifts only; but to compensate for the want of bracelets on their legs, they wore a kind of fillet of brown worsted round their heads. They feemed to fet a particular value upon any thing that was red, and preferred beads even to a knife or a hatchet. Their language in general is guttural, and they exprefs fome of their words by a found exactly like that which we make to clear the throat when any thing happens to obstruct it; yet they have words which would be deemed foft in the better languages of Europe. Mr. Banks learnt what he fuppofes to be their name for beads and water. When they wanted beads, instead of ribbons or other trifles, they said hallěcă; and when they were taken on shore from the ship, and by figns afked where water might be found, they made the fign of drinking, and pointing as well to the casks as the watering-place, cried Oodá. We faw no appearance of their having any food but shellfifh; for though feals were frequently feen near the shore, they seemed to have no implements for taking them. The shell-fish is collected by the women, whose business it seems to be to attend at low water, with a basket in one hand, a flick, pointed and barbed, in the other, and a satchel at their backs; they loofen the limpets, and other fish that adhere to the the rocks, with the stick, and put them into the basket which, when full, they empty into the fatchel. The only things that we found among them in which there was the leaft appearance of neatnefs or ingenuity, were their weapons, which confifted of a bow and arrows. The bow was not inelegantly made, and the arrows were the neatest that we had ever seen: they were of wood, polished to the highest degree; and the point, which was of glass or flint, and barbed, was formed and fitted with wonderful dexterity. We faw also some pieces of glass and flint among them unwrought, befides rings, buttons, cloth, and canvass, with other European commodities; they must therefore fometimes travel to the northward, for it is many years fince any ship has been fo far fouth as this part of Terra del Fuego. We observed alfo, that they fhewed no surprise at our firearms, with the use of which they appeared to be well acquainted; for they made figns to Mr. Banks to shoot a feal which followed the boat as they were going on shore from the ship. M. de Bougainville, who, in January 1768, just one year before us, had been on shore upon this coast in latitude 53° 40′ 41′′, had, among other things, given glass to the people. whom he found here; for he says, that a boy about twelve years old took it into his head to eat some of it: by this unhappy accident he died in great mifery; but the endeavours of the good father, the French Aumonier, were more fuccefsful than those of the Surgeon; for though the Surgeon could not fave his life, the charitable Prieft found means to steal a Christian baptism upon him fo fecretly, that none of his Pagan relations knew any thing of the matter. These people might probably have some of the very glass which Bougainville left behind him, either from other natives, or perhaps 1769. January. |