south-east. Herds of horses are reared, dogs abound, and in the more favored regions cattle are bred ; pumas and foxes are met with, as jvell as condors, hawks, par- tridges, and water-fowl in Los Serranos. But by far the most important animals are the guanaco (wild lla- ma), the nandou (Patagonian ostrich), and the gama, a kind of deer. *
Inhabitants. — The Patagonians have hitherto beeu described only in the most general terms, and in many cases very inaccurately. Patagonia was visited at an early period by captains Byron, AVallis, and Cook in suc- cession, and the accounts which they brought to Europe of the appearance, habits, and manners of the natives of Patagonia were of a marvellous character. Later accounts, however, greatly modify these extravagant statements. Captain Wallis, who went out after By- ron's return, has been much more judicious and careful in his inquiries. So also Bougainville, who sailed along the coast in 17G7. The next to enrich our knowledge of Patagonia was captain Falkner, and by this informa- tion we are enabled to definitively class the Patagonian monster of the early voj^agers with Gulliver's giants. The tallest of the tribes are composed of men who, ou an average, are nearly six feet in height ; while in other tribes the average height is an inch or two less. There is reason to believe, however, that instances of unusual height are as rare in Patagonia as in Europe. The pe- culiar costume of the Patagonians, which in most in- stances consists of a long mantle of hide, drooping with unbroken outline from their shoulders almost to the ground, gives them the appearance of extraordinary height. Many of the tribes also are large in body, while they have comparatively short extremities; and these, when seen on horseback, covered with their long mantles, seem almost gigantic in stature. Their color is a reddish brown. Their shoulders are large, and well thrown back ; the chest is well expanded ; the head large, the forehead open and prominent ; the mouth large; the eyes black, and generally large; the nose frequently hooked, long, and thin, though among some tribes it is, as a rule, broad at the nostrils; the ears are large, and elongated by the heavy ornaments of their own manufacture which they wear in them, and which are so large tliat they often rest on the shoulders. The hair, generally black, coarse, and lank, is sometimes rolled together on the top of the head. Their houses, called roukahs, are formed of three rows of stakes driven into the ground. The middle row is higher than the others, and the three rows are tied together with strings of hide, and so kept in their pLice. This frail frame- work is covered with hides which reach the ground on all sides, and are fastened to it by small stakes of bone. At nightfall guanaco hides are spread on the ground within the tents, and the men and women, laying aside their mantle, their only garment, and which sometimes serves as a blanket, go to sleep under the same roof and in the same apartment. Bathing in cold water every morning, throughout the whole year, is a custom to which men, women, and children conform; and al- though the morning bath may not free them from ver- min— a national characteristic — yet it has the effect of preventing disease, and of enabling them the more easily to endure the severities of winter. The men, when out on the hunt, show wonderful courage and adroitness; when not so engaged they live in perfect idleness. They are incredibly greedy and voracious. They deck their heads, and ornament them into the perfection of ugliness, greasing tlieir hair with the fat of the horse. They pull out the hair of the eyebrows and beard, and paint their bodies with black, red, and other colors. The Patagonians are nomads ; some of the t ribes, however, as the I'uelches, are noma<ls from choice, not from necessity, for their district or headquarters is abun- dantly I'ertilc. The more important tribes arc nine in number; and each tribe is led and governed by a ca- ciipio, whose power extends also to numerous sub-tribes. Each family and each man, however, is entirely free,
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and can remain attached to a certain tribe or separate from it at pleasure. The Patagonians form themselves into these communities for the purpose of self-defence. Wars are so frequent that security is found onlj' in union. The chiefs are considered as the fathers, the leaders, and the rulers of the tribe ; and are selected j chiefly on account of their bravery in battle. The j more powerfid tribes frequently make raids upon settle- j ments, and carry off great numbers of horses and cattle. They subsist upon the flesh of horses, nandous, gamas, and guanacos; the flesh they eat is generally raw. Their choice morsels are the liver, the haigs. and the raw kidneys, which they prefer to eat dished in the warm blood of the animal, or in curdled milk seasoned with salt. Roots and fishes are also eaten, but raw flesh is the staple. They are hospitable among themselves, though bitterly hostile to Christians. Their only man- ufactures are mantles of guanaco hide, and saddles, bri- dles, stirrups, and lassos. The lassos and the articles of harness are chiefly plaited, and evince wonderful in- genuity and nicety of execution. The mantles are made for the most part by a tribe called the Cheouelches. They are mainly made by women, who first in a rude and primitive manner tan the leather, then put the hides together, and sew them with the small sinews of the animal itself. Afterwards the men rub them with a stone for the purpose of suppling them and flattening the seams, and then ornament them with capricious de- signs in red and black paint. The Indians obtain a few cattle and horses in exchange for these mantles, which are no less prized bj'' neighboring tribes than they are by Hispano-Americans. Clothed in one of them, the natives expose themselves to the most in- tense cold without receiving any injury. — Chambers.