ri
! itt,
miglit be visible, which we had seen in our passage from Concepcion
to the Strait; but the weather was at first too cloudy,
and afterwards the comet itself was too faint to be discernea.*
On the 21 st, nine canoes arrived in the bay, containing a
large party of Fuegians, principally those who frequent the
Magdalen Channel, and probably the sea-coast. They had
generally shown themselves disposed to he mischievous, and I
determined upon preventing their encamping near us; for
their presence would greatly impede our watering and wooding
parties, by distracting the attention of the people. I, therefore,
went to meet them at the watering-place, under Point
St. Anna, where they had landed, near one of our boats which
was on the beach. Among them we only recognised three who
had visited us before, and those three were brought to our
remembrance by their former misconduct. I had always made
it a rule to treat them kindly, with the view of obtaining their
good-will; but I found it was the wrong way to gain their
respect, for it only made them expect more from me, the consequence
of which was, that when we separated, neither party
was pleased with the other. I used on this occasion a more dictatorial
tone than I had hitherto done; for, seeing several with
slings in their hands, and a collection of large, round pebbles
wrapped up in the corner of their mantles, I desired them to
throw the stones away, which they did not hesitate to do. The
Indians were now all landed, and evidently presuming upon
their numerical strength, upwards of eighty being assembled,
began to make themselves very familiar.
I thought it best to check their advances, by desiring them
not to visit the side of the bay where our tents stood, but to
go round Point St. Anna, to an adjoining cove. They seemed
to understand me perfectly, and soon afterwards embarked,
while I returned on hoard. The natives, however, landed again,
in the middle of the bay, at the north side, and there encamped.
Next morning, the men of the tribe visited our tents, hut
found them surrounded by a rope I had caused to be fixed,
• T h e same comet was seen at the Mauritius; and its orbit calculated.
See Ash Soc. Proceedings, and Phil. Journal.
IT i ;
'4 , ll
and which they were not permitted to pass. At noon, after
observing the sun’s transit, I went to the harrier, and while
the people were at dinner, endeavoured to amuse our visitors,
who were from fifteen to twenty in number, by showing them
several trifles; among the rest, a pocket set of coloured glasses,
belonging to the transit. They looked through them at the
sun, but handled them rather roughly, and broke the frame;
upon which I expressed my anger, and turned them away.
Soon afterwards, however, I walked towards them, and selecting
the Indian who had offended me, gave him a bunch of
beads, and thus restored peace ; but desired them, at the same
time, to go to their wigwams, which they did. In their way,
they mischievously broke down a part of my meridian mark ;
seeing which, I sent a carpenter, attended by amarine, to repair
it, and went myself to inspect its being again set up. The
natives were collected round it, evidently in expectation of my
being angry, and awaited my approach. Upon my coming near,
I showed them that I was much displeased, and ordered them
into their canoes; when one of the party, muttering a few
words, picked up a stone from the ground, and was fixing it
in his sling, when I took the marine’s musket, and presented it
at him, upon which the whole took to their heels ; the principal
offender and another ran along the beach, and the rest to their
canoes. I could not resist the opportunity of letting them know
we were prepared for them, by firing over the heads of the two
who were running near the water.
The report of the musket attracted the attention of Lieutenant
Mitchell, who was on board on the look-out, expecting some
fracas would, sooner or later, take place; and seeing four or five
canoes paddling across, and the two Indians running along the
beach, he manned a boat, and pulled towards the canoes, which
tried to evade him, and stones were thrown at him as he approached.
A musket fired over their heads, soon quieted them,
when he pulled round their canoes, to show them they were
in his power, hut did not molest them, and then allowed the
party to proceed.
This affair alarmed the women at the wigwams, and liastily