It Would
Have Been A Bad Time Out At Sea, And We, As Well As Others,
May Call This Good Success Bay.
In the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate
with the Fuegians.
When we came within hail, one of the
four natives who were present advanced to receive us, and
began to shout most vehemently, wishing to direct us where
to land. When we were on shore the party looked rather
alarmed, but continued talking and making gestures with
great rapidity. It was without exception the most curious
and interesting spectacle I ever beheld: I could not have
believed how wide was the difference between savage and
civilized man: it is greater than between a wild and
domesticated animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater
power of improvement. The chief spokesman was old, and
appeared to be the head of the family; the three others were
powerful young men, about six feet high. The women and
children had been sent away. These Fuegians are a very
different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther
westward; and they seem closely allied to the famous Patagonians
of the Strait of Magellan. Their only garment consists
of a mantle made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside:
this they wear just thrown over their shoulders, leaving
their persons as often exposed as covered. Their skin is of
a dirty coppery-red colour.
The old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his
head, which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled
hair. His face was crossed by two broad transverse bars;
one, painted bright red, reached from ear to ear and included
the upper lip; the other, white like chalk, extended above
and parallel to the first, so that even his eyelids were thus
coloured. The other two men were ornamented by streaks
of black powder, made of charcoal. The party altogether
closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in plays
like Der Freischutz.
Their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of
their countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After
we had presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they
immediately tied round their necks, they became good friends.
This was shown by the old man patting our breasts,
and making a chuckling kind of noise, as people do when
feeding chickens. I walked with the old man, and this
demonstration of friendship was repeated several times; it was
concluded by three hard slaps, which were given me on the
breast and back at the same time. He then bared his bosom
for me to return the compliment, which being done, he
seemed highly pleased. The language of these people,
according to our notions, scarcely deserves to be called
articulate. Captain Cook has compared it to a man clearing his
throat, but certainly no European ever cleared his throat
with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds.
They are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or
yawned, or made any odd motion, they immediately imitated
us.
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