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

ARMS women's dress. 149 , useless — perhaps become encumbrances to their owners, who, if they do not turn and dash off at full speed, have recourse to their balls or to swords. Some have swords obtained from white men ; others fasten long blades (knife-blades, perhaps, or pieces of iron hoop, straightened and sharpened) to handles three or four feet in length. Their bows are three or four feet long ; and the arrows, about two feet in length, are headed with small triangular pieces of agate, jasper, obsidian, or even bone. But bows, arrows, shields, clubs, and heavy armour are daily less used ; and may we not infer, that arms and armour, suited to foot encounters — such as arrows, heavy clubs or maces, shields, and many-fold tunics — have been laid aside by degrees, as horses have multiplied in the country ? Fighting on foot is now seldom practised, except in personal quarrels. Falkner says, they used to envenom the points of their arrows with a species of poison, which destroyed so slowly, that the wounded person lingered for two or three months, till, reduced to a skeleton, he at last expired ; but I have not heard of such a practice among the southern aborigines in these days. Those Indians who have felt the effects of fire-arms, and own abundance of horses, the men of Araucania, who are the terror of the Pampa tribes, have long abolished armour and the arms of former wars — wars so well sung by Ercilla, in which they gained unfading honour in maintaining the free- dom of their country. Naked on their horses, armed with lances, swords, and balls, those men now rush like the whirl- wind — destroy — and are gone ! The women of Patagonia wear nothing on their heads ; their hair, parted before and behind, is gathered into two large tresses, one on each side. Ear-ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets, made of beads, pieces of brass, silver, or gold, are much esteemed. Their mantles are similar to those of the men ; but they are pinned across the breast by a wooden skewer, or a metal pin, and are gathered about the waist, hanging loosely almost to their ankles. A short apron, or half-petticoat, made with skins of small animals, or coarse cloth, is tied about their waist, under the mantle. It only covers them in front, and reaches to the knee. Boots, similar to those