Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

130 SOUTHERN ABORIGINES. east people; and those on the other side were known by the term ' Molu-che,' which signifies war people, or warriors : and these terms are still in habitual use. Numerous subdivisions have perplexed all whose attention has been attracted to the aboriginal population of Southern America. Falkner's account is the least confused, in every way the most probable, and agrees the best with what is now found to be the condition of that portion of uncivilized man. For our present purpose, I believe, it will be sufficient to remark, that the Puel-che and Molu-che called the tribes who lived towards the south, ' Tehuel-het'* and ' Huilli-che,' both of which terms signify people of the south. The Huilli- che were again divided into Pichi Huilli-che and Vuta Huilli- che ; ' pichi,' meaning little ; and ' vuta,' great. Both the Tehuel-het and the Vuta Huilli-che lived to the southward of forty degrees of latitude. A branch or tribe of the Tehuel-het who lived farthest towards the south, on the eastern side, had no horses, and that tribe was called ' Yacana-k unny,'-]- (foot people). Westward of those people, separated from them by a ridge of mountains, was a tribe called Key-uhue, Key-yus, or Key-es ; and northward, the Sehuau-kunny:J:. Falkner, in his account, rather confuses the habits of the Yacana-kunny with those of the Key-uhue, which is not to be wondered at, as he described those tribes solely from the accounts of others. The Key-uhue have neither 'bowls,' or balls (bolas), nor ' ostriches,"" (see Falkner, p. Ill), in their rugged tempestuous islands : neither do the Yacana-kunny ' live chiefly on fish.' The former live on fish, while the latter kill guanacoes, birds, and seals. Between the Key-uhue and the Chonos tribe were the Poy- yus, or Pey-es, living on the sea-coast. The Chonos inhabited the Archipelago so called, and part of Chiloe. These three last-mentioned tribes — Key-uhue, Poy-yus, and Chonos — were called ' Vuta Huilli-che.' * Called by themselves ' Tehuel-kunny.' t ' Che,' ' het,' and ' kunny,' signify people, in different dialects, I The Sehuau-kunny are a part of the Tehuel-het.