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

TRINIDAD NATIVKS. 197 Mr. Bynoe, which do not appear in the narrative of that cruise given in the preceding volume. I shall here insert them in his own words : " We entered the Gulf of Trinidad, and while surveying thereabouts met two large canoes, which were thought to be whale-boats when first seen at a distance ; but as we concluded that some sealing vessel was in the neighbourhood, and that these were her boats, little notice was taken of them until they had approached very near, when, to our astonishment they proved to be large plank canoes, pulled with oars, and full of fine stout Indians. Just within hail they stopped, lay on their oars, halloed to us most vociferously, and waved skins above their heads. One man was very conspicuous, having on his head a tall leathern cap, tapering to a point, which was orna- mented with feathers of various gaudy colours ; and around the brim of this high conical hat there was also a fringe of feathers. This singular character was painted black all over from head to foot, except a circle of white round each eye, and a few white dots upon his cheeks. By signs we succeeded in temptino- them to come alongside the schooner, and were then still more struck by their appearance : they were far superior to any Fuegians I had seen, being a taller race, more upright, and better proportioned ; their limbs were better formed, more muscular, rounder, and fuller than those of any canoe Indians of the Strait of Magalhaens or Barbara Channel ; and their skins were cleaner as well as clearer, which was probably the reason why we thought them lighter coloured than the others whom we had seen. The length of back, so remarkable in a Fuegian, was not very discernible in these people, neither were they by any means so ugly as the former ; indeed a rather pleasing smile was sometimes noticed on the younger faces. None among them were much smoke-dried, nor did their eyes look red and watery. There did not appear to be one of the party above a middle age, and most of them were young. Three of the men had lost each an upper incisor tooth, and one had a long though not deep scar upon the breast. We all pro- nounced these people to belong to a finer race than we had