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the course and all their movements, provides two ponchos, all
which are sewn together to form their sail, which is hoisted by
‘ lazos,’ or thongs of bullock’s hide.
These sails are generally in a wretched state, the name Santísima
is applied to them all by the crews, with the hope of
securing the protection of their patron saint. The anchor is of
wood, formed of four crooked pieces, in the shape of a grapnel
with four flukes, at the bottom, or crown of which a large stone
is fastened, to increase its weight. The crews are exceedingly
timid, and instead of making exertions to extricate their vessel
from any impending danger, they throw themselves on their
knees, beating their breasts and calling loudly upon their saint,
for ‘ misericordia.’
I was given to understand that very few of them can swim,
which seems extraordinary, since they are born and bred in
the immediate vicinity of the sea, and depend chiefly upon its
productions for subsistence. The fact speaks strongly for the
indolence of their character, even although the rigour of the
climate forms a bar to bathing as a mere amusement. Several
piraguas were lost while we were at Childe, and, as may be
inferred, their crews were all drowned.
With regard to the cultivation of land, they are very far
behind, and, comparing the present state with the description
of Byron (1740), and of Agüeros (1791), very little improvement
seems to have been made. The ground is prepared by
make-shift ploughs, of a very rude construction. Two poles of
hard wood (luma), about three yards long and proportionably
large, trimmed to a sharp point at one end and rounded at the
other, are held by the middle, one in each hand, and pointed
very obliquely into the ground; in this direction they are
forced forward, by pressing against the blunt end with the
abdomen, which is defended by a sheepskin, suspended in the
form of an apron. After these have penetrated twelve or fourteen
inches into the soil, a second person, generally a woman or
a boy, places a stout stick under the poles, or ‘ lumas,’ as they
are called, close to the earth, to form a solid support for them.
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