throw it with a prodigious force at a great diftance, and exactnefs, fo as to ftrike a very small object. We faw one of them kill a feal from on horseback in the furf of the fea, on the beach; but in this action, he kept hold of one ball in his hand, while he hit the feal with the other; but I know not if they make use of these balls in fighting with men. Their horfes are of the Spanish breed, and feem to be of a good kind, about 14 to 15 hands high, of different and mixed colours; and from what I faw, I believe they ride them very hard, and do not use them very well. Thefe people have certainly trade and communication with the Spaniards, for one of them had a Spanish broad fword, and he was the only perfon who was armed amongst them; they had bridles, faddles, ftirrups, and whips of fkins, all of their own making; fome had iron, and other metal bits to their bridles, and we faw fome metal fpurs. They had a dead oftrich, the flesh of which I faw fome eat raw, but whether that be their common method of eating flesh, I know not. I did not fee any more of these fine people, although the flow progrefs we made by the contrary winds, for feveral days here about, gave us a fine opportunity of being better acquainted with them, and particularly as they kept on the fea fhore all the time to the number of three or four hundred. I was not a little chagrined, to find captain Wallis was averfe to it, and gave orders nobody should go on thore to them; by this we lost a very fine and favourable opportunity of knowing more of them, and of their coun lt try; the knowledge of which in all probability might be of fervice to Great Britain. It was thought fo formerly, when fir John Norborough was fent out by king Charles the fecond, to endeavour to open a communication with these Indians, for I take them to be the very fame nation, called by the Spaniards, the Bravoes, who have often made them feel their courage and refolution in the kingdom of Chili. They were the people, who defeated the great general Baldivia, and afterwards deftroyed him by pouring melted gold in his mouth. would have been very easy, fince they were fo inclinable to stay with us, to have taken one or two, and to have brought them as far as this place; we might have fent them back by our forefhip, who came back this way, about a month after: during this time, by afing of them well, we might have got their confidence and friendship, and have learnt fome particulars of their country, which could not but have proved beneficial to our country. You may depend on the veracity of the above account, and that I am, with great fincerity, SIR, Your moft obedient and moft humble fervant, N. B. This is the copy of the letter I had fent you from Port Fa mine, by the return of our storefhip, which you told me the other day you never received, and mußt have been loft. April 20, 1759. The The following Extracts are taken from the tranflation lately published, of Dom Pernety's Hiftorical Journal of a Voyage to the Malouine (or Falkland) ands, &c. Thefe obfervations were made in the year 1766, by M. de Giraudis, who commanded a pink in the French King's fervice. Ο N the 5th of May, about four in the afternoon, we faw a fire on the coaft of Patagonia. Upon coming nearer, we saw seven men with their horfes. We could not difcern whether they were naked or clothed. When they perceived that we had got beyond the place where they had made their fires, they followed along the coaft, mounted upon their horfes, and dogs after them. Seeing that we continued our courfe, they fhouted, but we could not comprehend their meaning. The wind and tide being in our favour, we loft fight of the Patagonians, and paffed the firft narrows. It was a league and a half over. Between five and fix we anchored in the bay Boucaut, at three leagues from Cape Gregory, with ten fathoms water, muddy bottom of fand and fmall fhells, at the distance of a full league from the land. One should not caft anchor in leffer depth of water; for the fea fell three or four fathoms in the night-time. The coaft is well laid down in M. de Gennes' plan. From the 6th to the 7th, in the night, we again faw fires on the Patagonian coaft. At eight o'clock this fire was of one fide of us, and we diftinguished fome Patagonians on fhore, by means of our fpyingglaffes. The Eagle and myfelf put out our yawls to fea, and fent them with fifteen men well armed, in cluding the officer, to the spot where we faw feven of the favages. They paid our people fome compliment in their own language. Our feamen could not understand them; but imagined their faces and behaviour expreffed a fatisfaction at feeing us. After the firft compliments, they conducted our people to their fires. Here they examined the Patagonians at their leifure; and found them to be men of the higheft ftature: the leaft of them was five feet feven inches (French measure), and of a bulk beyond the proportion of their height, which made them appear lefs tall than they are. They have large strong limbs, and broad faces; their complexion is extremely tanned, their forehead high, their nofe flat and broad; their cheeks are full, and their mouth large; their teeth are very white, and well ranged, and their hair black. They are ftronger than our Europeans of the fame fize. The words they pronounced were, Echoura, Chaoa, Didon, abi, ahi, ohi, Choven, Quécallé, Machan, Naticon, Pito. These were the only words our people could gather, while they were warming themfelves at their fires. M. de St. Simon, an officer, who by order of the miniftry embarked with us for the Malouine Islands with prefents for the natives, acquitted himfelf extremely well of his commiffion. He gave them fome harpoons, bludgeons, bedding, woolen caps, vermilion, and in fhort every thing he thought would be moft agreeable to them. They appeared very well pleased. They are clothed with the fkins of guanacos, vicunas, and other animals, fewed together in form of fquare fquare clokes which reach below the calf of the leg almoft to the ancle. They have a fort of bufkins or half-boots, made of the fame fkins, with the fhag on the infide, as it is also in their clokes, which are very well fewed together in regular compartments, and painted on the outfide with blue and red figures, bearing a refemblance to Chinese characters. The figures however are almost all alike, and divided by ftraight lines which form forts of fquares and lozenges. They have fomething like hats ornamented with feathers, much in the fame manner as ours. Some of these hats resemble very much the Spanish caps. Several of our people went a fhooting at fome diftance, where they killed a few partridges, and faw fome carcafes of vicunas. The country they went over is uncultivated, barren, and dry. There is nothing but heath upon it, and very little grafs. The horfes of the favages feem to be very bad, but they manage them with great dexterity. The Patagonians made fome presents to our people who were returned from fhooting. These were round ftones, of the fize of a two-pounder ball. They are placed in a ftrap of leather, faftened and fewed to the end of a ftring of catgut twifted like a rope. It is a kind of a fling, which they ufe very dexterously for killing animals a hunting. On the end, oppofite to that which fixes the round ftone, there is another ftone placed, half the fize of the former, and clofely covered all over with a kind of bladder. They hold the fmall ftone in their hand after having paffed the cord between their fingers; 3. and then making a turn with the arm, as in cafting a fling, they throw the weapon at the animal, whom they can reach, and kill at the distance of four hundred feet. The complexion of the women is tolerably clear, for they are much lefs tanned than the men, yet they are proportioned to them in fize. They are alfo dreffed in a cloke, wear bufkins, and a kind of small apron, which only hangs down half the length of their thighs. They certainly pluck out their eyebrows for they have none. Their hair is dreffed in front, and they have no hats. Thefe Patagonians are ignorant of the paffion of jealoufy, at leaft there is reafon to think fo, from their encouraging our people to handle the breafts of their wives and daughters, and making them lie promifcuoufly with them, when I paid them a vifit on my return to the Malouine Islands. We gave them bread which they eat, and fome tobacco for chewing and fmoaking. By their manner of ufing it, we faw plainly it was no novelty to them. They would not drink any wine. When we had been five or fix hours with them, they grew more familiarized. They were very curious, fearched our pockets, were very defirous of feeing every thing, and examined us with attention from head to foot. We mounted their horses, which were equipped with bridle, faddle, and ftirrups. They ufe both whip and fpurs; and feemed fatisfied and well pleafed to fee our people ride their horfes. When I had a gun fired for fignal to bring our people back, they thewed not the leaft leaft emotion or furprife. When we went away they entreated us much to ftay with them, giving us to understand by figns, that they would fupply us with food, and though they had nothing to offer us at prefent, yet they foon expected fome of their people to return from fporting. We anfwered them alfo by figns that we could not poffibly ftay; and that we were going directly to a certain place, which we attempted to point out to them, endeavouring at the fame time to make them comprehend that we wished them to bring us fome oxen and horfes. We know not whether they understood us. From the 30th to the 31st, the night coming upon us unawares, we came to our anchorage by the light of two fires which the favages had made for us, one upon a mountain, the other upon the fea-fide. We anchored in nineteen fathonis, black muddy bottom, with fmall fhells. At day-break the favages fhouted, in order that we fhould come to them. I put my yawl and longboat to fea well armed, and with prefents. I went on fhore, where found three hundred favages, including men, women, and children. Not expecting to meet with fo many, I was obliged to go on board again to fetch fome more prefents. From the 31ft to Sunday the firft of June 1766, the wind having driven our yawl from fhore, which was empty, our people were under fome anxiety for fear of lofing it. The favages perceiving this, one of them who was on horfeback, fpurred his horfe, and plunged with him into the fea, to fwim after the yawl. He got hold of it, and brought it back to our feamen: Perhaps we who pique ourselves fo much upon our politenefs, affability, and humanity, and who call thefe Patagonians favages, would hardly have done fo much for them, in a fimilar circumftance. At feven in the morning the longboat went afhore with the rest of the prefents, which the ftormy weather had prevented us fending fooner. It came back with thirteen of our people who had ftayed with the favages fince yesterday morning. They told us that thefe Patagonian giants had treated them with the utmoft civility according to their manner, and given then marks of the fincereft friendship, even fo far as to invite them to lie with their wives and daughters; that they had given them fome flesh of the guanacos, feveral of their cloaks, and fome of their flings; and the women fome of their neck-laces made of fhells. They alfo made me a prefent of twelve horfes; which I could not keep for want of forage. The piece of civility most troublefome to our folks, was that of being obliged to lie promifcuously among the Patagonians; who often lay three or four together upon one of our people, to keep the cold from them; fo that their muskets and other arms became ufelefs. They would therefore have had no refource left but in their pocketknives, which would not have been of much fervice for defending them, in cafe of neceffity, against five or fix hundred men, including wo men and children, and all of them proportionally of an enormous ftature, both in height and bulk. Each man or woman, had one or two dogs, and as many horfes. They They feemed to be of a mild difpofition, and very humane. It would be eafy to establish a very profitable trade with them, for their horfes, and for fkins of vicunas, which are fo valued, and bear fo high a price in Europe. The fkins of guanacos are also excellent, tho' not fo fine: Some obfervations made on the Eskis maux Indians, as well as on the natives of the country in the neighbourhood of the English Factory on Churchill River, in Hudson's Bay; being extracts from the journal of a voyage made by order of the Royal Society to that river, and of thirteen months refidence in that country, &c. in the years 1768 and 1769; by William Wales. JUL ULY the 25. as I was obferving the fun's meridional altitude, there came along fide of us three Efkimaux in their canoes, or, as they term them, Kiacks, but who had little to trade, except toys. very None of these had along with them any weapon that I faw, except a kind of dart, evidently conftructed for fea purposes, as it had a buoy fixed to it, made of a large bladder blown up. The men have on their legs a pair of boots, made of feal-fkin, and foled with that of a fea horfe; these come barely up to their knees; and above these they have breeches made of feal, or deer-fkin, much in the form of our feamens fhort trowfers. The remaining part of their cloathing is all in one piece, much in the form of an English fhift; only it comes but juft below the waift-band of their breeches, and has a hood to it, like that of VOL. XIV. . a woman's cloak, which ferves inftead of a cap. Over these they have a kind of foul-weather jacket, made of the fame leather with the legs of their boots, which they faften very tightly about their necks and wrifts; and when they are in their Kiacks (which alfo are extremely well defcribed by Mr. Crantz) are likewife faftened in fuch a manner round the circular hole which admits the man's body, that not the least drop of water can get to it, either from rain or the of the fea. The drefs of the women differs not from that of the men, excepting that they have long tails to their waistcoats behind, which reach quite down to their heels and their boots come up quite to their hips, which are there very wide, and made to ftand off from their hips with a strong bow of whalebone, for the convenience of putting their children in. I faw one woman with a child in each boot top. As to their perfons, they seem to be low; but pretty broad built, and inclined to be fat: their hands remarkably fmall; their faces very broad and flat; very little mouths, and their lips not remarkably thick; their noses small, and inclined to what is generally termed bottled; their eyes are black as jet, and their eye-lids fo encumbered with fat, that they seem as if they opened them with difficulty; their hair is black, long, and ftraight; and notwithstanding that they feem encumbered with a fuperfluity of flesh, they are remarkably brifk and active; more efpecially in the management of their Kiacks, which exceeds every thing of the kind that I have feen. All C I can |