THE PEOPLE OF PATAGONIA.
By W. S. Chapman
PATAGONIA proper extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and north to the Rio Negro, a tract of country larger than France or Spain. Patagonia means "the land of the duck feet," a name given to it by Magellan's sailors. The lower limbs of the Indians are encased in a kind of boot, or moccasin, but without soles. It covers the entire limb from the knee down, being worn for protection from the shrubs that cover the land. Not being intended for a shoe, it has no sole, but allows the toes to appear. This, with the fact that the hair of the hide falls over the foot and projects at the sides, the toes apparently being a continuation, impressed the sailors with the belief that the natives had paws, or patas, hence they called them patagones, or duck feet. The only other article of clothing worn is a cloak of skins thrown over the shoulder and hanging to the heels, making the Indian at a distance appear unnaturally tall; hence travelers have exaggerated his height. The average height is from five feet eleven inches to six feet. Patagonia has a population of about eight or nine thousand. The coast line is bleak and barren, and no settlement is seen until the west end of the Straits of Magellan is reached. On Sandy Point there is a mixed population of about a thousand people. The Patagonian enjoys "visiting around;" in fact, he is the greatest visitor known. He will come to a white man's house, and stay until he has eaten up every particle of food to be had; whether the feat takes a day or a year makes no sort of difference to the good-natured visitor. Singularly enough, though the Patagonian is a neighbor of the Fuegian, and though he lives so near the sea, he owns no canoe, never goes upon the water voluntarily, or even seeks for food from it. A few stragglers have crossed the straits to the island of Fuego, but the main body never hold any intercourse with the Fuegians. While the Patagonian is a bold and fearless hunter and warrior, he is gentle, honest, truthful, and generous, with a record among the whites of being entirely free from cruelty and ferocity, treating his prisoners in war with the utmost consideration. He does not entertain malice for injuries received. This gentle savage is often found making a clown of himself, painting his face and body white on one side and black on the other.—Medical Missionary.