326 OENS-MEN IMPROVEMENT.
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built for transporting himself alone; neither was the meeting
with his brother accidental. I am now quite sure that from the
time of his changing his mind, and desiring to be placed at
Woollya, with Matthews and Jemmy, he meditated taking a
good opportunity of possessing himself of every thing; and
that he thought, if he were left in his own country without
Matthews, he would not have many things given to him, neither
would he know where he might afterwards look for and
plunder poor Jemmy.
While Mr. Bynoe was walking about on shore. Jemmy and
his brother pointed out to him the places where our tents were
pitched in 1833, where tbe boundary line was, and where any
particular occurrence happened. He told Mr. Bynoe that he
had watched day after day for the sprouting of the peas, beans,
and other vegetables, but that his countrymen walked over them
without heeding any thing he said. The large wigwams which
we had erected with some labour, proved to be cold in the
winter, because they were too high; therefore they had been
deserted after the first frosts. Since the last depredations of the
Oens-men, he had not ventured to live any longer at Woollya;
his own island, as he called it, affording safer refuge and sufficient
food.
J emmy told us that these Oens-men crossed over the Beagle
Channel, from eastern Tierra del Fuego, in canoes which they
seized from the Yapoo Tekeenica. To avoid being separated
they fastened several canoes together, crossed over in a body,
and when once landed, travelled over-land and came upon his
people by surprise, from the heights behind Woollya. Jemmy
asserted that he had himself killed one of his antagonists. It
was generally remarked that his family were become considerably
more humanized than any savages we had seen in
Tierra del Fuego: that they put confidence in us; were
pleased by our return ; that they were ready to do what we
could explain to be for their interest; and, in short, that the first
step towards civilization—that of obtaining their confidence—
was undoubtedly made: but an individual, with limited means,
could not then go farther. The whole scheme, with respect