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or portion of a tribe. It may consist of about six hundred
men and women, besides children.
Beyond a range of high mountains to the southward of the
Yacana, is the tribe formerly called Key-uhue, now probably
the Tekeenica. These are the smallest, and apparently the most
wretched of the Fuegians. They inhabit the shores and neighbourhood
of the Beagle Channel. The number of adults in this
tribe may be about five hundred. (Note 1.)
To the westward, between the western part of the Beagle
Channel and the Strait of Magalhaens, is a tribe now called
Alikhoolip (which may he the Poy-yus), whose numbers
amount perhaps to four hundred.
About the central parts of Magalhaens Strait is a small and
very miserable horde, whose name I do not know. Their usual
exclamation is ‘ Pecheray !’ ‘ Pecheray !’ whence Bougainville
and others called them the Pecherais. For want of a more
correct term I shall here use the same word. The number of
adults among them is about two hundred.
Near Otway and Skyring waters is a tribe, or fraction of
a tribe, whose name I could not learn ; for the present I
shall call them ‘ HuemuP—because they have many skins of a
kind of roebuck, which is said to be the animal described by
Molina as the ‘ HuemuP *. Their number may be one hundred,
or thereabouts. I am inclined to think that these Huemul
Indians are a branch of the Yacana people, whom Falkner
describes as living on both sides of the Strait.
On the western coast of Patagonia, between the Strait of Magalhaens
and the Chonos Archipelago, there is now but one
tribe, in which there are not above four hundred grown people.
Each of the tribes here specified speaks a language differing
from that of any other, though, as I believe, not radically different
from the aboriginal Chilian. Some words are common to
two or more tribes ; as may be seen by reference to the fragment
of a vocabulary in the Appendix ; and differences must
increase because neighbouring tribes are seldom at peace.
The numbers above stated are mere estimations. The diffi-
* See Note 2, at the end of this chapter.
SOUTHERN ABORIGINES. 4 3 3
culty of obtaining either language or information from tbe
Fuegians can only be well appreciated by those who have had
intercourse with them, or with the New Hollanders; whose
mimickry of what one says is as perplexing as the same trick
is when speaking to the Fuegians.
Allowing that theTehuel-het or Patagonians
amount to ......................... 1,600
Yacana.............................................. 600
Tekeenica .......................................... 600
Alikhoolip .......................................... 400
Pecheray .............................................. 200
Pluemui ........................................ 100, and
Chonos.................................................. 400
the total will be .............................................. 3,800, which I
do not think is five hundred in error: and I should say, in
round numbers, that there are about four thousand adults
south of the latitude of forty degrees, exclusive of Childe.
By Patagonia is meant that paiT of South America which
lies between the River Negro and the Strait of Magalhaens.
Eastern Patagonia is the portion of this district which lies
eastward of the Cordillera; and AVestern Patagonia, the part
lying between the summits of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean.
Tierra del Fuego takes in all the islands southwai'd of the
Strait of Magalhaens (including Staten Land), as far as the
Diego Ramirez islets.
Before entering into a more detailed account of these aborigines,
I will try to give a slight general idea of their personal
appearance ; of their horses and canoes ; of their houses and
country ; in short, an outline sketch of that which is observed
at the first glance of a stranger’s eye. The minuter details,
which will follow, may be tedious to many readers.
Magalhaens first gave the name of Patagones to the natives
whom he saw at Port San Julian in 1520. They were of very
large (gigantic) stature, and their feet, being wrapped in rough
guanaco skin, by way of shoes, were remai'ked particulaidy-
Probably their footsteps in the sand were noticed, and excited