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Show 230 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. Dec. 1832. knives callina them by the Sp am. s h WOI· d " cueh 1'l l a. " They ~xplained also what they wanted, by acting as if t~ey had a piece of blubber in their mouth, and then pretendmg to cut instead of tear it. It was interesting to watch the conduct of these people to-wards J emmy Button (one of the Fuegians * who h~d bee~ taken, during the former voyage, to England) : they Immediately perceived the difference between him and the rest, .and held much conversation between themselves on the subJect. The old man addressed a long harangue to Jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with them. But J emmy understood very little of their language, and was, mor~over, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. When York l\~hnster (another of these men) came on shore, they noticed him in the same way, and told him he ought to shave ; yet he had not twenty dwarf hairs on his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. They examined the colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. One of our arms being bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and admiration at its whiteness. We thought that they mistook two or three of the officers, who were rather shorter and fairer (though adorned with large beards), for the ladies of our party. The tallest amongst the Fuegians was evidently much pleased at his height being noticed. When placed back to back with the tallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher ground, and to stand on tiptoe. He opened his mouth to show his teeth, and turned his face for a side view ; and all this was done with such ala~rity, that I dare say he thought himself the handsomest man in Tierra del Fuego. Mter the first feeling on our part of grave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous or interesting than the odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every moment exhibited. • Captain FitzRoy has given a history of these people. Four were taken to England ; one died there, and the three others (two men and one woman) were now brought back and settled in their own country. Dec. 1832. 1'1ERRA DEL FUEGO, 231 The next day I attempted to penetrate some way into the country. Tierra del Fuego may be described as a mountainous country, partly submerged in the sea, so that deep islets and bays occupy the place where valleys should exist. The mountain sides (except on the exposed western coast) are covered from the water's ·edge upwards by one great forest. The trees reach to an elevation of between 1000 and 1500 feet; and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute alpine plants ; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual snow, which, accor~ing to Captain King, in the Strait of Magellan descends to between 3000 and 4000 feet. To find an acre of levelland in any part of the country is most rare. I recollect only one little flat near Port Famine, and another of rather larger extent near Goeree Road. In both these cases, and in all others, the surface was covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. Even within the forest the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying vegetable matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to the foot. Finding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, I followed the course of a mountain torrent. At first, from the waterfalls and number of dead trees, I could hardly crawl along ; but the bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the floods having swept the sides. I continued slowly to advance for an hour along the broken and rocky banks; and was amply repaid by the grandeur of the scene. The gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded with the universal signs of violence. On every side were lying irregular masses of rock and up-torn trees; other trees, though still erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. The entangled mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the forests within the tropics ;-yet there was a difference ; for in these still solitudes, Death, instead of Life, seemed the predominant spirit. I followed the watercourse till I came to a spot where a great slip had cleared a straight space down the mountain side. By this road I ascended to a considerable elevation, and obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. The trees all belong to one kind, |
