Kidnapping in the Pacific; Or, The Adventures of Boas Ringdon / A long four-part Yarn

by William Henry Giles Kingston

“After trying for a couple of weeks to get round Cape Horn we were driven back, and being short of water, the captain, by the advice of the second mate, who had been there before, determined to run through the Straits of Magellan. We had been two days without a drop of water on board when we managed to get into a harbour in Terra del Fuego. We lost no time in going on shore in search of water to pour down our thirsty throats. Scarcely had we landed than we caught sight of a party of the strangest-looking black fellows I ever set eyes on. Talk of savages, they were indeed savages by their looks and manners—hideous looking little chaps with long black hair and scarcely a stitch of clothing on their bodies. We had muskets in our hands, the use of which they, I suppose, knew, for they behaved in a friendly manner, and when we made them understand that we wanted water, they took us to a pool into which a stream fell coming down from the mountain, where we could fill our casks and roll them back to the boats. As soon as we caught sight of it we rushed forward, and dipping down our heads drank till we were nigh ready to burst. I thought that I had never tasted such water before. Had the savages been inclined they might have taken the opportunity of knocking us on the head, but they didn’t. After we had loaded the boat, some of us walked on with them to their village, which was not far off. I cannot say much for their style of building. Their huts were just a number of sticks run into the ground, and tied at the top in the shape of a sugar-loaf—branches were interwoven between the sticks, and the whole was covered with dry grass. A few bundles of grass scattered about on the ground was their only furniture. These people, as far as you could see the colour of their skin through the dirt, were of a dark, coppery brown. The women were as dark and ill-looking as the men, but they were strong little creatures, and, as well as we could judge, did all the work.

“The men had bows and arrows and spears and slings. They had among them a number of little fox-like looking dogs, savage, surly brutes, which barked and yelped as we came near them. They were almost as ugly as their masters, but ugly as they were, they were clever creatures, for we saw them assist to catch fish in a curious fashion. A number of the little brutes swam out to a distance, and then, forming a circle, turned towards the shore, splashing the water and yelping as they came on. They were driving before them a whole shoal of fish towards the net which the Fuegeans had spread at the mouth of, a creek. As soon as the fish got into shallow water, where they were kept by the dogs, the savages rushed in with their spears, and stuck them through, or shot them with their arrows. In this way, by the help of the dogs, a number were caught. The dogs also are used to catch birds. This they do while the birds are sleeping, and so noiselessly do they spring upon them, that they can carry off one after the other without disturbing the rest, when they bring them to their masters. Useful as they are, the dogs get hardly treated, being constantly cuffed and beaten, and never getting even a mouthful of food thrown to them. They know, however, how to forage for themselves, and will take to the water and catch fish or pounce down upon birds whenever they are hungry.

“Savage as these people are, they can build canoes for themselves, sometimes of birch bark, and sometimes they hollow out the trunks of trees by fire. They make them in different parts, which they sew together with thongs of raw hide, so that when they wish to shift their quarters, they can carry their canoes overland.

“They have got some stones in their country which give out sparks, and they use a dry fungus as tinder, so that they can quickly make a fire.

“As to cooking, their only notion is to make a fire, heat some stones, and put their food in among them.

“They are about the dirtiest people I ever fell in with; and all the time we were among them we never saw any of them washing themselves.

“In summer, when they can get fish and seals, which they catch with their spears, they have plenty of food. In winter, they are often on short commons. We heard it said that when it has been blowing too hard for them to go on the water, and they can catch neither fish nor seals, they are given to eat their old women, who they say can be of no further use, instead of killing their dogs, which they know will be of service to them when the summer again comes round.

“While we were on their coast, a whale was stranded near the mouth of the harbour. The news spread, and canoes were seen coming from all directions. In a short time the canoes gathered round the body of the monster, and the little coppery-coloured chaps were soon hard at work cutting off the blubber with their shell knives. The water was shallow between where the whale lay and the shore, and when one of the little fellows had cut off a large piece of blubber, he made a hole in the middle, through which he put his head, and thus brought his cargo to land, generally munching a piece of the raw fat on his way.