"My dearest Agnes, "I cannot describe to you the pleasure it has given me to see my dear father's own sister again once more, and that, too, in a manner so much more agreeable than upon any former occasion. Thank Providence! my circumstances are such, that I shall never want to be troublesome to her any more in any way; and this must, of course, be a relief to her mind, dear old lady. Will you, my dearest Agnes, have the kindness to present my most dutiful respects to her, and tell her that I should consider it as the very greatest honour and favour if she would come with you, and the general, and our dear Elizabeth, to pass the evening with us on Wednesday next. I think that if possible, our sea view is still more beautiful than yours. At least Patty says, that at high-water, it beats all the rest of Brighton. Poor dear girl!-she is positively longing to see her great-aunt again! She has been telling her papa, that she never in her whole life saw any old lady that she so much admired, and felt so much inclined to love. Do, my dear Agnes-my own dear sister's only child !-do exert yourself to obtain this great pleasure for us, and believe me, my beloved niece, "Your ever affectionate aunt, "MARTHA O'DONAGOUGH." (To be continued.) A MORNING CONVERSATION IN BERKELEY-SQUARE. MOTHER-DAUGHTER. Mother. Why doesn't he propose, my dear? Why doesn't he propose? And Colonel Smudge, and Captain Stodge, and Lord Augustus I'm sure you'll never catch the Earl, with all your cares and pains. I'm sure I've done my very best-it's really quite provoking! (con espress.) You know I told you from the first that he was only joking; But you don't mind a word I say; you thwart my prudent schemes, To follow all your idle whims-your wild romantic dreams! Daughter. Now do, mamma, some patience have-I'm sure he won't be longA few more strolls beside the lake-another moonlight songAnother fete champêtre-ball-and party on the river; (con fuoco) Indeed, mamma, indeed you must, so pray don't frown and shiver. Another breakfast at the Duke's-a few more quiet mornings; I'm certain it will come at last-I've had some little warnings. He said my gems were far less bright than the glittering curls they braided: He said my blonde was not as white as the snowy neck it shaded; He said my voice was like the breeze that murmurs through the flowers, When spring returns, and wakes the smiles that lurk in nature's He said my step was like the fawn's, that prints the morning dew; And after that, mamma, you know, he cannot help proposing. Mother. Oh! as to that, the men, my dear, are all perfidious creatures; They praise your voice-extol your step-your air, your smile, your features; They call, write verses, copy songs, send bouquets, every day; And then, without the least remorse, they leave their “P. D. A.” Daughter. What! with such a nose-and such a mouth-and such a head of (forte) hair! Mother. Well, Colonel Smudge, why not have him ? Daughter. Oh, heavens such a Tartar! I've no desire at all, mamma, to be a saint or martyr. Mother. And Captain Stodge? Daughter. A horrid fop, and only five feet one! With all his stupid notions on the " duties of a wife," Then recollect my cold the night when you sang your moon- Your father's cross-the mercer's fierce-the jeweller is pressing, Daughter. "The Earl of Doldrum, Coldstream Guards." Oh, mother! (reads) "P. P. C.!!! !” E. E. W. THE FUEGIANS.* THE Yacana-kunwy, natives of the north-eastern part of Tierra del Fuego (100 adults) resemble the Patagonians in colour, statue, and clothing, excepting boots. They seem to be now much in the condition in which the Patagonians must have been before they had horses. With their dogs, with bows and arrows, balls (bolas), slings, lances, and clubs, they kill guanacoes, ostriches, birds, and seals. The north-eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego, is a better country than Patagonia. The woody mountains of the south-western islands are succeeded, towards their north-east district, by hills of moderate height, partially wooded; northward of which are level expanses, almost free from wood, and covered with herbage adapted to the pasturage of cattle. The climate is a mean between wetness and drought, which are so much felt in the neighbouring regions; and when a settlement is made at some future day, says Captain Fitzroy, at that part of the world, San Sebastian bay, in the Yacana country, called by Narborough, King Charles South Land, would be an advantageous position for its site. The Tekeenica, natives of the south-eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego (500 adults), are low in stature, ill-looking, and badly-proportioned; the colour of old mahogany, or between dark copper and bronze; the trunk large for the size of their cramped and rather crooked limbs; and savage features of most villanous expression. From being cramped up in their wigwams and canoes, their legs become injured in shape and size, and they move about in a stooping manner, with the knees much bent; but they are nimble, and rather strong. They have an aversion to the smaller tufts of hair, and even their eyebrows are almost eradicated-two muscle-shells serving for pincers. The hair on their heads, however, is suffered to grow, excepting over the eyes where it is jagged away or burnt. They are in height from four feet ten inches to five feet six inches, with bodies proportionate to men of six feet. Sometimes they wear a guanaco or sealskin upon their backs, with perhaps, the skin of a penguin, or a bit of hide in front; but often they are entirely naked, or have over the back and loins, only a scrap of hide fastened across the breast by strings, which they shift according to the direction of the wind, and which serves them for a pocket for the stones for their slings, which they are never without. The women wear rather more clothing, that is, they have nearly a whole skin, of guanaco or seal, wrapped round them, with a diminutive apron. The upper part of the wrapper, which is tied round the waist, serves to carry an infant. Neither men nor women have any substitute for shoes. No ornaments are worn in the nose, ears, or lips, or on the fingers; but the women are very fond of necklaces, and bracelets, made of shells, or pieces of the bones of birds; or when they can get them, of beads, buttons, pieces of glass, or bits of crockery-ware. They wear the hair longer than the men, but none cut away excepting over the eyes. Their stature is about four feet some inches. Continued from No. ccxxiii., page 377. Both sexes oil themselves, or rub their bodies with grease; and daub their faces and bodies with red, black, or white paint: sometimes the face is crossed by two broad transverse bars; the lower of a bright red, reaching from ear to ear, including the upper lip; the upper, white, extending parallel and above the other, so that even the eyelids are so coloured. The colours are presently reversed and varied. These people, also, sometimes paint the whole body of one colour, black, white, red, &c., or in stripes. A fillet is often worn round the head, and which on extraordinary occasions is ornamented with white down, white feathers, or pieces of such cloth as they can get from the shipping. Small lances, headed with wood or bone; bows, and arrows headed with obsidian, agate, or jasper, clubs, and slings, are the weapons used by the Tekeenica. A Tekeenica wigwam is of a conical form, made of a number of large poles, or young trees planted, touching one another, in a circle. Sometimes bunches of grass, or pieces of bark, are thrown upon the side, which is exposed to the prevailing winds. No other Fuegians make their huts in this manner. Their canoes are made of several large pieces of bark, sewed together, twelve to twenty feet in length, and one or two feet in diameter, and are propelled by paddles. The country of this people is characterized by deep but narrow arms of the sea, intersecting high mountainous islands, many of whose summits are covered with snow, while the lee or eastern sides of their steep and rocky shores, are more than partially covered with evergreen woods. Cloudy weather, rain, and much wind prevail; really fine days being very rare. The Alikhoolip (400 adults) are the tribes between the western port of the Beagle channel, and the Strait of Magellan. The men are the stoutest and hardiest, and the women the least ill-looking of the Fuegians. Though not dissimilar, they are superior to the Tekeenica; but they are inferior to the Yacana, and far below the natives of Patagonia. Their canoes, although made in the same manner, are rather better than those of the Tekeenica. The wigwam of the Alikhoolip, and indeed of all the Fuegians, except the Tekeenica, is shaped like a beehive or haycock. Old Sir John Narborough called them "arbours." Their height is not above four or five feet from the ground; but an excavation is usually made within, which gives another foot, making about five feet and a half of height inside, and it is two, three, or four yards in diameter. It consists of a dozen or two broken branches, pointed at the thick ends, and stuck in the ground in a circular or elliptical space, the ends of which are bent together over the centre, and fastened with ligatures of rush. Tufts of grass, rushes, bark, or skins, are thrown over the part exposed to the wind. The whole is the work of an hour, and it is seldom used for more than a few days. It is always left standing until entirely decayed. Their canoes are rather better than those of the Tekeenica, made, however, in the same manner. The country and climate of the Alikhoolip are similar to the Tekeenica, though wetter, more windy, and more disagreeable. Both men and women are better covered with seal or other skins, than the Tekeenica and Pecheray tribes. The natives of the central parts of the Strait of Magellan (Pecheray, 200 adults) appear to be almost as miserable a race as the Tekeenica, differing from them only in language and the construction of their wigwams. Their climate is nearly the same as that of the Alik hoolip; and the country is similar, though more wooded in many places, because more sheltered. The Nuelwul (100 adults) living near the Otway and Skyring waters, near the western entrance of the Strait of Magellan, seem to be a mixed breed, rather resembling the Yacana, of which tribe they are probably a branch. In habits, as well as in appearance, they partake of some of the peculiarities of the Patagonians as well as Fuegians. Their country is like the Yacana; Tierra del Fuego blending or sinking into Patagonia, and having the qualities of each region, and therefore preferable to either. They have very few canoes, and no horses; but large dogs are used by them in hunting the Nuelwul (a kind of roebuck) and Guanaco. The Chonos (400 adults), who live on the western shores and islands of Patagonia, are rather like the Alikhoolip, but not quite so stout or so daring. In general, they are less savage than the Fuegians; and though their habits and life are similar, traces are visible of former intercourse with the Spaniards, which doubtless has tended to improve their character. Their wigwams are of the beehive form. Their canoes are made of planks sewed together, larger than the preceding, and rowed with oars. The climate of western Patagonia is so disagreeable, that the country is almost uninhabitable. Clouds, winds, and rain, are continual in their annoyance. Perhaps there are not ten days in the year on which rain does not fall, and not thirty on which the wind does not blow strongly; yet the air is mild, and the temperature surprisingly uniform throughout the year. The country is like the worst part of Tierra del Fuego a range of mountains half sunk in ocean; barren to seaward, impenetrably wooded towards the mainland, and always drenched with the waters of frequent rain, which are never dried up by evaporation before fresh showers fall. The most remarkable traits in the countenance of a Fuegian, are his small low forehead, his prominent brow, small eyes (the lids rendered red and watery by the wood-smoke in their wigwams), wide cheek-bones, wide and open nostrils, large mouth, and thick lips; the chin varies much; that of a Tekeenica, for instance, being smaller and less prominent than that of an Alikhoolip, in whom it is large and rather projecting. Their heads are remarkably low, but wide; and fall from the ears backward. The neck is short and strong; the shoulders square, but high; the chest and body very large, the trunk being greatly disproportioned in length to the extremities. They are mostly bowlegged, and turn their feet inwards. Their dress and mode of painting generally, is the same as among the Tekeenicas already described. Their teeth are very peculiar: no canine or eye tooth project beyond the rest, or appear more pointed than those; the front teeth are solid, and often flat-topped like those of a horse eight years old, and enamelled only at the sides; the interior substance of each tooth being seen as plainly as in that of a horse. Patagonians also have similar teeth. There are some few exceptions to the general appearance of these people. |
