(2.) FUEGIANS SHIFTING QUARTERS.
(See [page 1168].)

Though so constantly in the water, the Fuegians have not the most distant idea of washing themselves. Such a notion never occurs to them, and when Europeans first came among them, the sight of a man washing his face seemed to them so irresistibly ludicrous that they burst into shouts of laughter. In consequence of this utter neglect of cleanliness, and the habit of bedaubing themselves with grease and clay, they are very offensive to the nostrils, and any one who wishes to cultivate an acquaintance with them must make up his mind to a singular variety of evil odors. Moreover, they swarm with parasites, and, as they will persist in demonstrating friendly feelings by embracing their guest with a succession of violently affectionate hugs, the cautious visitor provides himself either with an oil-skin suit, or with some very old clothes, which he can give away to the natives as soon as he regains his vessel.

Although the Fuegians are often ill-disposed toward strangers, and indeed have murdered many boats’ crews, Captain Parker Snow contrived to be on very friendly terms with them, going on shore and visiting them in their huts, so as to place himself entirely in their power, and allowing them to come on board his ship. He was fortunate in obtaining the services of a native, called Jemmy Button, who had been partially educated in England, with the hope that he might civilize his countrymen. However, as mostly happened in such cases, he was soon stripped of all his goods; and when Captain Snow visited Tierra del Fuego, twenty-three years afterward, he found Jemmy Button as naked and dirty as any of his countrymen, as were his wife and daughter.

The man, however, retained much of his knowledge of English, a few words of which he had engrafted upon his native language. When first he arrived on board, the English words came with difficulty; but he soon recovered his fluency, and had not forgotten his manners, touching his forehead as he stepped on the quarter-deck, and making his bow in sailor fashion when he addressed the captain, to the entire consternation of the sailors, who could not understand an absolutely naked savage speaking English, and being as well-mannered as themselves.

The faculty of acquiring language is singularly developed in the Fuegian. Generally, the inhabitants of one country find great difficulty in mastering the pronunciation, and especially the intonation, of a foreign land; but a Fuegian can repeat almost any sentence after hearing it once, though of course he has not the slightest idea of its meaning.

A very absurd example of this curious facility of tongue occurred to some sailors who went ashore, and taught the natives to drink coffee. One of the Fuegians, after drinking his coffee, contrived to conceal the tin pot, with the intention of stealing it. The sailor demanded the restoration of his property, and was greatly annoyed that every word which he uttered was instantly repeated by the Fuegian. Thinking at last, that the man must be mocking him, and forgetting for the instant that he did not understand one word of English, the sailor assumed a menacing attitude, and bawled out, “You copper-colored rascal, where is my tin pot?” The Fuegian, nowise disconcerted, assumed precisely the same attitude, and exclaimed in exactly the same manner, “You copper-colored rascal, where is my tin pot?” As it turned out, “the copper-colored rascal” had the pot tucked under his arm.

The natives evidently seemed to think that their white visitors were very foolish for failing to comprehend their language, and tried to make them understand by bawling at the top of their voice. On one or two occasions, when a number of them came on board, they much annoyed Captain Snow by the noise which they made, until a bright thought struck him. He snatched up a speaking trumpet, and bellowed at his visitors through it with such a stunning effect that their voices dropped into respectful silence, and they began to laugh at the manner in which they had been out-bawled by a single man.

As far as can be ascertained, the Fuegians have no form of government. They live in small communities, not worthy of the name of tribes, and having no particular leader, except that the oldest man among them, so long as he retains his strength, is looked up to as a sort of authority. Their ideas of religion appear to be as ill-defined as those of government, the only representative of religion being the conjuror, who, however, exercises but very slight influence upon his fellow countrymen.

CHAPTER CXXI.
THE PATAGONIANS.
APPEARANCE—WEAPONS—HORSEMANSHIP.

POSITION OF PATAGONIA — STATURE OF THE INHABITANTS — SIGNIFICATION OF THE NAME — HORSE FURNITURE — THE STIRRUP AND BOOT — AN INGENIOUS SPUR — THE GIRTH AND ITS CONSTRUCTION — PRIMITIVE BUCKLES — THE BRIDLE AND ITS ACCOMPANYING WHIP — THE PATAGONIAN AND SPANISH BITS — SIZE AND STRENGTH OF THEIR HORSES — HORSE-RACING — THE BOLAS, THEIR CONSTRUCTION, AND DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FORM — WAR IN PATAGONIA-THE SPARE HORSES AND THEIR USE — THE RETURN FROM BATTLE — A HUNTING EXPEDITION — CHASING THE GUANACO — A TERRIFIED HERD — THE DISADVANTAGE OF CURIOSITY — DECOY GUANACOS — PARTRIDGE CATCHING — THE POWER OF FASCINATION.