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niucli persuasion, assented. At first they objected to their
companions embarking with us, unless we left hostages for their
safety ; but as this was refused, they did not press the point,
and the three young men embarked. They went on board
singing; in high glee.
AVhile the ship was getting under way, I went ashore to, a
larger number of Indians who were waiting on the beach.
When my boat landed they were mounted, and collected in one
place. I was surprised to hear the woman accost me in Spanish,
of which, however, she knew but a few words. Having
presented medals to each of the party, they dismounted (excepting
the elders), and in a few minutes became quite familiar.
By this time Captain Stokes had landed, with several of his
officers, who increased our party to nearly double the number
of theirs : notwithstanding which they evinced neither fear nor
uneasiness. The woman, whose name was Maria, wished to be
very communicative; she told me that the man was her husband,
and that she had five children. One of the young men,
whom we afterwards found to be a son of Maria, who was a
principal person of the tribe, was mounted upon a very fine
horse, well groomed, and equipped with a bridle and saddle that
would have done credit to a respectable horseman of Buenos
Ayres or Monte Video. The young man wore heavy brass
spurs, hke those of the Guachos of Buenos Ayres. The juvenile
and feminine appearance of this youth made us think he was
Maria’s daughter, nor was it until a subsequent visit that our
mistake was discovered. The absence of whiskers and beard
gives all the younger men a very effeminate look, and many cannot
be distinguished, in appearance, from the women, hut by
the mode in which they wrap their mantles around them, and by
their hair, which is turned up and confined by a fillet of
worsted yarn. The women cross their mantle over the breast like
a shawl, and fasten it together with two iron pins or skewers,
round which are twisted strings of beads and other ornaments.
They also wear their hair divided, and gathered into long
tresses or tails, which hang one before each ear; and those who
have short hair, wear false tails made of horse-hair. Under
their mantle the women wear a sort of petticoat, and the men a
triangular piece of hide instead of breeches. Both sexes sit
astride, but the women upon a heap of skins and mantles, when
riding. The saddles and stirrups used by the men are similar to
those of Buenos Ayres. The hits, also, are generally of steel;
hut those who cannot procure steel bits have a sort of snaffle,
of wood, which must, of course, be frequently renewed- Both
sexes wear boots, made of the skins of horses’ hind legs, of
which the parts about the hock joints serve for the heels. For
spurs, they use pieces of wood, pointed with iron, projecting
backwards two or three inches on each side of the heel, connected
behind by a broad strap of hide, and fastened under the
foot and over the instep by another strap.
The only weapons which we observed with these people
were the ‘ bolas,’ or balls, precisely similar to those used by
the Pampas Indians ; but they are fitter for hunting than for
offence or defence. Some are furnished with three balls, but
in general there are only two. These balls are made of small
bags or purses of hide, moistened, filled with iron pyrites, or
some other heavy substance, and then dried. They are about
the size of a hen’s egg, and attached to the extremities of a
thong, three or four yards in length. To use them, one hall is
held in the hand, and the other swung several times around
the head until both are thrown at the object, which they rarely
miss. They wind round it violently, and if it be an animal,
throw it down. The bolas, with three balls, similarly connected
together, are thrown in the same manner.
As more time could not be spared we went on board, reminding
the natives, on leaving them, of their promise to bring
us some guanaco meat. Aided by the tide, the ships worked
to windward through the Second Narrow, and reached an
anchorage out of the strength of tide, but in an exposed
situation. The wind having been very strong and against the
tide, the ship had much motion, which made our Patagonian
passengers very sick, and heartily sorry for trusting themselves
afloat. One of them, with tears in his eyes, begged to be
landed, but was soon convinced of the difficulty of compliance,
c 2