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

182 MARllIAGE. of York, Jemmy, and Fuegia to England, before any of Mr. Low's account is given ; because, as his intercourse was chiefly with the Chonos tribe, and was quite unconnected with the Beagle's visit, it will be more satisfactory to the reader to be enabled to compare accounts from different sources, which in some points are so strikingly similar, that their agreement giveg great weight to the •whole. The Fuegians marry young. As soon as a youth is able to maintain a wife, by his exertions in fishing or bird-catching, he obtains the consent of her relations, and does some piece of work, such as helping to make a canoe, or prepare seal-skins, &c. for her parents. Having built or stolen a canoe for himself, he watches for an opportunity, and carries off his bride. If she is unwilling, she hides herself in the woods until her ad- mirer is heartily tired of looking for her, and gives up the pur- suit ; but this seldom happens. Although this is undoubt- edly the custom among many of them, we had some reason to think there were parties who lived in a promiscuous manner — few women being with many men. It is, however, hardly fair to judge from what we saw during our short visit, when the ordi- nary habits of their life were certainly much altered. We observed, while at Woollya, a disproportionately small num- ber of females ; but it ought to be remembered, that the people whom we then saw came to look at us from a distance, and that the greater part of their women and children were pro- bably left in security at various places, as were the women and children of those who stole our boat in the former voyage (vol. i. p. 394) whom we found in a retired nook, far out of ordinary observation. Jemmy Button often talked of his father, mother, brothers, and sisters, also of uncles* and aunts, after he knew enough of our language to understand distinctly the relationship. Now this could not have been the case had not his father and mother lived together permanently as man and wife, according to the clear account which he himself always gave of their custom in this respect. * It was an uncle who gave him to me for some buttons.