Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.1): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

104 FUEGIANS SHIPS SAIL. 1827> the next day. Maria put into the boat, after my refusal to let her go on board to pass the night, two bags, and asked me to send her flovu' and sugar. She was most importvmate for aqua ardiente, which, however, I refused. Her constant cry was " It is very good to be drunk ; I like drinking very much rum is very good. — Give me some ?" ('Muy bueno es boracho, mucho mi gusta, mucho mi gusta de beber, muy bueno es aqua ardiente. — Da me no mas .?') Among them was a Fuegian Indian ; but it did not appear clearly whether he was living with them permanently, or only on a visit. Some of us thought we understood the account of one of the Patagonians, who seemed to be the most interested about him, to be, that a master of a sealer had left him amongst them. We knew him instantly by his squalid and compara- tively diminutive appearance, and were confirmed in our ideas by his recognition of the words ' Hosay ' and Sherroo.' The Patagonian name for a ship is ' Carro grande,' and for a boat ' Carro chico,' a mixture of their own and the Spanish lan- guage. All that I could understand of his history was, that he was Cacique of some Indian tribes at a distance : he was evidently a great favourite, and although Maria spoke generally with much contempt of the Fuegian Indians, she had patronised this stranger, for he lived in her toldo, and shared all the presents that were made to her. The following morning it rained hard, and blew so fresh a gale, from the westward, that it would have been dangerous to send a boat on shore : and I was obliged to weigh without landing the things which I had promised. After we were under weigh, the weather cleared partially, when we observed Maria on the beach, mounted on her white horse, with others watching our departure, and when it was evident that we were really gone, she rode slowly back to her toldo, no doubt considerably vexed. I was very sorry to treat them in this way, for their conduct towards us had been open and friendly. All I could hope to do, to make amends, was to give something of value at my return. We steered across the Bay of St. Philip, accompanied by