JOURNAL OF ROBERT HUNT ESQUIRE 

RELATIVE TO THE PERIOD 

DURING WHICH HE PARTICIPATED

WITH 

CAPTAIN ALLEN GARDINER R. N.

IN AN ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH AN

ANGLICAN MISSION ON THE

PATAGONIAN SHORES OF THE 

STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. 


From information kindly supplied by Canon B. P. W. Stather Hunt D. D.
of Norwich.


The Rev. Robert Hunt was a Master in an Endowed School in Kendal,
Westmoreland, before he went to Patagonia with Captain Allen Gardiner.
At that time he was probably about thirty years of age for he speaks in
his Diary (under the entry of March 20th), of losing M.S.S. "collected
during fifteen years". We know also that his birthday fell on the 10th
of December from the entry of that date. On returning from Patagonia,
Robert Hunt was accepted by the Church Missionary Society for training
at Islington College and in due course was ordained Deacon to St. James,
Islington in St. Paul's Cathedral on the 18th June 1848 and, by Letters
Dimissary, Priest at Chester Cathedral on the 13th May 1849. He was
appointed Chaplain to Bishop David Anderson of Rupert's Land, Canada and
before leaving England, he was married at King Stanley Church in
Gloucestershire, on the 27th April, 1849 to Miss Georgiana Wathen, who
came of an old, and once wealthy Gloucestershire family. Canon Hunt
writes, "There is still extant at Brownshill Court, near Stroud, a
painting of Sir Samuel Wathen, wearing the ribbon and Insignia of the
Garter, which was given him as a reward for a mission to the King of
Spain. I do not know the exact date but it is on the record.

My Grandmother had been brought up in every luxury, yet she married a
man who took her, as she knew beforehand, into the depths of the
farthest North West Canada, then called Rupert's Land. There she bore
him six children, with no other aid than her Husband could give her and
remained for fifteen years without a single white companion and no
Doctor within a thousand miles. It says a great deal for her devotion
and strength of character, that she was never once known to have
complained. My Grandfather also was a wonderful man. He must have been
for a tender girl to have been willing to accompany him on such an
adventure and he was not only a Missionary but a practical man of
affairs. When I say that he BUILT the Church at Stanley, I mean that he
built it, not that he got somebody else to do it for him. The windows
were imported from England but he was his own architect and taught the
Indians to saw the wood and build the Church. He also invented a kind of
syllabic script, by which the Indians were able to learn to read in a
remarkably short time. He grew oats, for at that time wheat could not be
grown so far north."

On arrival in Canada, Canon Hunt tells us his Grandparents were first
stationed for about a year at Port Garry, Winnipeg and then moved to Lac
le Ronge on the Churchill River, in which district they lived for
fifteen years without a break and their memorial remains in the spire of
the Church at Stanley, built by the Rev. Robert Hunt and which is now
known far and wide as a landmark for aeroplanes. They were two hundred
miles from the nearest white man, the Rev. E. A. Watkins, the C. M. S.
[Church Missionary Society, Ed.] Missionary at Cumberland House. All
supplies had to be brought up by canoe or dog train and there was only
one boat a year into Hudson's Bay and this delivered the supplies, which
were later despatched to Lac le Ronge.

Canon Hunt writes "Just before the war, I met a son of the Rev. E. A.
Watkins and he showed me a sketch of my Grandparents and their children
in the canoes in which they started their journey home; he, then a small
boy, was living with his Father at Cumberland House". On his return to
England, and for the latter part of his life, the Rev. Robert Hunt had a
Curacy in North London. He kept a very copious Diary during the whole of
his Missionary life and this is now in the Government Archives at
Ottawa, who were responsible for making complete photostatic copies of it.


(It is from the copy in Canon Hunt's possession that the present
transcript has been made).



Tuesday, December 10th, 1844

/Rosalie/ Brig.

On December 10, 1844, my natal day, I embarked at London Docks on board
the /Rosalie/ Brig, Captain Boyse, under the following circumstances, to
go to Patagonia as a Missionary.

Captain Allen Gardiner R.N. having visited South America at his own
expense, with the view of ascertaining what might be done to promote the
introduction of the Gospel to this benighted part of the world, after
much self denying caution, concluded that, although there is not a
Protestant Mission in the whole continent south of the equator,
Patagonia is the only place open to such a Mission at present. His
efforts were next directed to calling the attention of some of the
Missionary Societies in England to this extensive and long neglected
field: but the reply from each was, in effect, "We acknowledge the
claims of South America and should be very happy to see a successful
Mission established there but we have neither funds nor other necessary
means for an attempt there."

At length an Association for this express purpose was formed at Brighton
and it was determined to send out a Clergyman and Catechist to commence
the work in the neighbourhood of Cape Gregory in the Straits of
Magellan, Captain Gardiner undertaking to go out with the first party
(the Catechist) and remain till he be comfortably settled and joined by
the next party going out. The Rev. W. J. Woodcock, Incumbent of
Witherstack, having had some communication with Captain Gardiner
on this subject and entertaining serious thoughts of accepting the
Committee's offer to send him out, mentioned to the Captain that he
thought I should be a most fit person to be sent out as the Catechist:
accordingly, at the Captain's request, Mr. Woodcock saw me on the
subject which resulted in my offering to go "if, in the absence of other
aid, my services were clearly called for." The Committee, being
exceedingly pleased with what they had learned concerning me, gave me a
pressing invitation to Brighton as they wished to communicate with me
/in propia persona/.

Accordingly I arrived there on Saturday, Captain Gardiner summoned the
Committee and I saw them that afternoon; and as they wished to have a
fuller meeting and see me again, l stayed at Captain Gardiner's and
again saw the Committee on Monday morn. At 1/2 past 3 o'clock of that
afternoon having promised to give the matter my most serious and
prayerful consideration and give them the result at the earliest moment,
I set out on my return to Kendal which I reached on Tuesday evening.
Having called on my way back at Lancaster and enjoyed a long talk with
my dear friend Mr. Evans and been favoured with his advice and prayers,
I came to the resolution that, as I had received a Providential call to
this particular work it was my duty to give myself up to it, which I
determined to do in the strength of the Lord my God.

The next day having received a letter from my Uncle George approving of
the step I was about to take, I wrote the Committee accepting their
offer, rejoicing with trembling. I was immediately attached to the
Mission, received £50 for my outfit and instructions to be in London by
Saturday, 30th November 1844 as the vessel would probably sail the
following Monday. For any particulars not mentioned here see the
correspondence with Captain Gardiner etc. The following are the
Committee of the Association.

Rev. C. D. Maitland 	Rev. Jas. Vaughan
Rev. R. S. Smith 	Rev. E. Eardley Wilmot
Rev. E. G. March 	Lieut. Malden R. N.
Dr. Bodley 	        Dr. Davies R. N.
Curwen Chisholm Esq. 	R. C. Glyn Esq.
Captain Mortlock 	 

Treasurer Sir Thomas Bloomfield, Bart.
Secretary Captain Allen Gardiner R.N.

The Mission to Patagonia being an acknowledged experiment and the
Committee having no other Mission to which they could send me in the
event of a failure at Patagonia, they could not make any absolute
engagement with me for any certain period; but in the event of their
being obliged to abandon the Mission, their influence will be used by
testimonials etc. in order to procure me a position at least as good as
that which I abandoned to engage with them. Meantime the understanding
is that I receive £100 per annum and the Committee will moreover do
whatever is necessary for the comfortable and efficient prosecution of
the Mission. They do not bind me to remain single, but in the event of
my wishing to marry will give me every assistance that their funds allow
of. In these matters I have such confidence in the Committee as to feel
myself safe in their hands without any express and positive engagement.
The Association has moreover furnished, and sent with us, dwellings,
furniture etc. and provisions for six months.

One very important point considered by the Committee was the subject of
my Ordination at some future period. They allowed me to understand that
I shall be at liberty to bring this matter again under their
consideration when I feel that circumstances justify my so doing. Sir
Thos. Bloomfield kindly undertook to see the Lord Bishop of London upon
this subject and it was thought likely that the Bishop would give me
Deacon's orders before my going out and I was instructed to wait upon
his Lordship on Monday, 2nd December. A manifest Providence prevented
the intended interview - his Lordship's Mother having died, his Lordship
was called away from London but subsequently wrote to Sir Thos.
Bloomfield that he approved of a Catechist going out in the first place
but that he would give ordination if necessary to anyone the Committee
recommended after he had made some progress in the work.

This in connection with my understanding with the Committee I felt to be
perfectly satisfactory notwithstanding some circumstances which,
partially involving the success of the Mission, made it, in my opinion
desirable that I should have been ordained previous to my leaving
England. But all things, it is my unspeakable privilege to commit to the
Lord and leave to His infinite wisdom and love. O Almighty God, Blessed
Saviour, Glorious Jehovah, my Father, my Lord and my God, give me I
beseech Thee, Thy Holy Ghost, the mind that was in Christ Jesus, that I
may be strong and finish the work which Thou hast given me to do. Amen.
May the Lord say so too.

The following are my instructions from the Committee.


Instructions from the Committee to Mr. R. Hunt, the Missionary Catechist.

In endeavouring to fulfill the important duty which now devolves upon us
as the Committee of the Association under which you go forth we have
drawn up the following instructions for your guidance and we humbly hope
that it will be found we have pressed nothing on you for your adoption
which will not prove for the benefit of the Mission and of your own soul.

1. Your own personal religion is the first thing to which our and your
attention must be directed. If that thrive there is hope for the
Mission, if that decay all will be a failure. But in order to the
thriving of personal religion, close communion must be maintained with
God. The stream cannot continue to flow without supplies from the
fountain. All grace is an emanation from God through our Mediator Jesus
Christ and is to be sought hourly through this channel: we say hourly
because the soul cannot retain what grace it has already received
without more grace to do so. Hence the absolute need of continual prayer
and the frequent reading and meditation on the Word of God, as the grand
help thereto. Hereby faith is gendered and nourished and together with
it the other graces. Of these great truths we venture to remind you.

2. Next to your own personal religion have respect to the well being of
those associated with you in the Mission. Cultivate brotherly love. In
lowliness of mind let each esteem other as better than himself, so shall
strife and discord find no place among you. For only by pride cometh
contention. Let it be your care to exhibit to the heathen around you the
picture of a family dwelling together in unity. Divide and conquer is
the maxim of the devil but in union with the Lord Christ and each other
will be found strength to overcome the wicked one. Give the people you
dwell among occasion to say "Behold how these Christians love one another."

3. Be very accessible and live much in the presence of the Natives and
do not even debar them should they show a wish to be present at your
family and Sabbath devotions so long as they control themselves
properly. Much good may be effected in this way, though as yet they do
not understand your speech, for by witnessing your habitual
acknowledgement of the Supreme Being and acts of dependence on Him, they
will infer what is due to God and what manner of persons you are who do
so reverence Him.

4. As you will have to acquaint yourself with the native mind, mode of
reasoning and thinking, traditional customs and observations and
whatever tends to influence and form the native character, it will be
necessary you should hold much communication with the more intelligent
natives. But here a wisdom will be required lest your motives be
suspected and a jealousy excited. Care should be taken to convince them
that the knowledge you seek is only for their benefit.

5. In your intercourse with the natives care should be taken not to
excite their disgust or anger by dealing contemptuously with their
prejudices either in small or great matters. Whatever they may have been
accustomed to venerate, it would be unwise in you to manifest a contempt
for, until you had convinced their judgement that it was contemptible
and satisfied them that yours is the better way.

6. It will often be found difficult among the uncivilized tribes with
which you will have to do, to keep in mind the distinction that subsists
between the Chiefs and their people and the respect that is due to the
former. Suffer not their mean and abject appearance to betray you into a
forgetfulness of their rank and standing in their tribe. The disregard
of this caution may give rise to heartburnings and lead to disastrous
consequences. We must render honour where honour is due in whatever
society we are called upon to live. As far as consists with their known
character place confidence in the Chiefs and when kind and persuasive
arguments fail to restrain any annoyance or wrong to which you may be
exposed from their people, state frankly and plainly all your grievances
to them, remembering that the powers that be are ordained of God. Keep
clear of party quarrels, you come on behalf of the Prince of Peace, be
not mixed up with their feuds but cultivate the good will of all. Let
none think you to be not their friend. Neither entangle yourself with
commercial speculations, so long as engaged in missionary work, lest it
prove a snare to you and your love for souls be lost in the love for money.

7. Let it be your first effort to master the language of the tribes you
go to instruct and think no time lost which is devoted to this object.
Let your desire to preach to them the Gospel and tell them of the love
and glory of Christ, daily stimulate you to diligence in the acquiring
of their language, without which you will be to them as a barbarian.

Let the reflection of the treasure which you have in your possession, in
the knowledge of Christ and eternal life in Him, be continually
awakening your desire to preach the Word, that you may communicate to
them the treasure you possess and this desire being kept alive will
quicken prayer to Him Who is the great Teacher, to loose the stammering
tongue, that you may speak plainly and quicken effort also, that you may
catch the word from their lips and make their tongue your own. Then what
a delight it will be to declare to them in their own tongue the
wonderful love of God and by fixing their language afterwards and
rendering God's Word into it, give it to them as a national blessing, a
great birthright to their children in that more durable form. Labour
then with all your power, both with God and man, to gain a knowledge of
and fluency in the native language and let this be your first and
principal pursuit till it be overtaken and mastered.

8. In your first attempts to prepare a vocabulary note those sounds that
are of the most frequent occurrence, though you may not as yet have
ascertained their meaning: and in order to do this with correctness and
facility, bear in your mind one uniform method of spelling, always
employing the fewest number of letters that will represent the required
sounds. In this branch of your work, which is of no light importance to
those who may succeed you, it will be well to disregard altogether our
English orthography, in which many superfluous letters and arbitrary
sounds are used and to adopt as nearly as practicable the Italian vowels.

"Captain G. informed me that this part of the instructions was written
by him and was not to be considered binding as far as the Italian vowels
is concerned: he has submitted two plans to me, the last the better but
neither so complete as that which time and experience will enable us to
form."

9. It is strongly recommended that both Missionary and Catechist should
keep a daily Journal and enter into it the duties and occurrences of the
day. You will then prepare a Quarterly Report, embodying the principal
incidents and occurrences during this period, with any such observations
as you may think necessary, either to explain or further the work on
which you are engaged. One fair copy of the Journal and the Quarterly
Report is to be kept at the Station in charge of the individual by whom
it is drawn up and one copy of the Report under his signature is to be
transmitted to the Secretary of the Association, as soon after it is
due, as an opportunity shall offer.

10. Both the Missionary and the Catechist are invited freely and fully
to correspond with the Committee whenever they may feel disposed and to
bear in mind, that the interests and objects of those at home are
identified with those, who on behalf of the Association, are enduring
the heat and toil of the day abroad - that we do not sin against God in
ceasing to pray for them - that we sympathise in their privations and
trials and are desirous, as far as in us lies, to aid and encourage them
in all their work and labour of love in the Lord.

And since we have no power of ourselves to do anything as of ourselves,
we recommend that the first Thursday in every month be observed as a day
for united prayer for the guidance and blessing of Almighty God upon the
Mission which we are sending forth in His name and without which we
shall but labour in vain.

11. Finally - We would exhort you to fear God and not fear the face of
men, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and to put
on the whole armour of God. Be patient and do the best you can. If it be
much you are permitted to do, be very thankful, if little, still be
thankful. Be content to labour though it be only to break the ground and
prepare the way for others. If the Lord permit you to cast in the seed,
be thankful, though it be not given you to see the springing and
ripening of the grain. Be strong and of a good courage: if your heart be
set to serve the Lord in this work and your aim be single, certainly He
will be with you and He will not suffer either you, or your labours to
perish. Only keep a single eye, walk by faith in His unseen power and
goodness, stay your soul upon Christ. Feed upon Him in the promises and
thereby nourish faith and hope and love, those three great Christian
graces, which being kept in vigour shall cause you to abound in the work
of the Lord and forbid your fainting through discouragements: God has
passed this word to His Son "I will give Thee the heathen for Thy
inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth for Thy possession."
These wandering tribes shall be His one day and who can tell but that
these first labours of yours may be the commencement of the
accomplishment of the promise! Labour and pray in faith and hope. "In
the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thine hand."
Only let it be the incorruptible seed, the very truth and Word of God
that you teach and sow and then you have the promise "My Word shall not
return unto Me void".

And now we earnestly commend you to the great Head of the Church in
whose cause you are now embarking and we beseech Him to take you and
your work under His immediate protection and to be to you a present
help. May it please Him to give you a prosperous voyage and land you
safely on the soil you go to cultivate for Him. May he give you favour
and acceptance with the natives and so prepare the way for the reception
of His Word among them. May it please to make your abode among them as
comfortable as circumstances admit of and grant you that satisfaction in
your undertaking and that inward peace and joy in Himself, as shall make
the trials and privations you may meet with, easy to be borne. Finally
our brother, farewell, be strong and acquit yourself like a man of God
and May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you now and always.


With the spirit of these instructions my judgement and heart entirely
accord and by the help of God I shall give up myself entirely to attempt
to carry them out.



Thursday, January 2nd, 1845

We had a rather rough passage until off the Canary Islands but in
nearing Tenerife we experienced nearly a calm, during many hours we lay
in sight of the land, having approached to within twenty miles by 1 o'clock.

About sunrise I saw from the deck what I thought a magnificent sight.
Half the Island lay veiled in a dense mist through which I could just
discern its rough features, rough and shaggy as a Patagonian beauty. The
whole (island) is evidently volcanic and seen at a distance appears to
be perfectly bare of vegetation. The other half, in the midst of which
the Peak reared its heavy head, 12,800 feet high was, when I first saw
it, lit up in perfect splendour by the rising sun. In the midst of the
Island, close to the shore is the town of Santa Cruz, guarded by, l
think, seven batteries, against which Nelson once made a spirited but
desperate rush, which he paid for by leaving an arm and a pair of
colours; these last now hang up in glass cases one on each side of the
principal altar piece of the Cathedral.

The houses of the town, white and yellow, with roofs of red tiles,
looked exceedingly picturesque from a distance. Perhaps the
circumstances under which I saw them made me fancy so. The dense mists
before alluded to, formed a perfectly black background to the centre of
the picture. Just behind the town exactly at each flank of it there
rested the base of the largest, broadest most brilliant and best defined
rainbow I ever beheld; I think the suite of colours was fully six times
as broad as any I had ever seen before and its reflected image was
proportionally magnificent.

The form of the town, as seen from the sea, is somewhat triangular, the
base running along the shore, the apex partly retreating up the
mountains appeared towards the central part of the bow; nearly at this
point is the house of the British Consul (Mr Bartlett) on the top of it
our national flag was flying in compliment to the like flag waving from
our maingaff. The magical effect of this singularly striking scene
vanished in a moment with the dissolving cloud. We waited almost till 12
o'clock to be visited by the authorities of the Board of Health, Custom
House, etc. as we could not be allowed to go ashore till we had
satisfied these parties.

When at length we reached the mole and the town, everything looked
baked, dingy and dirty, many of the people, especially the children,
were half naked, others rejoicing, for they seemed contented, in
trousers, shirt and a blanket, puckered up at one end, and worn like a
cloak. The women were certainly better covered but not better dressed:
their gowns appeared to be cut in English fashion and might have come
from London rag fair: their stockings to my short sight appeared to be a
very natural but dirty flesh colour: their shoes, when there any, made
their feet appear like those of a camel: over their heads and shoulders
was cast a hood of what might have been whitish flannel at some age of
the world.

I ought to add that I did not see one that in England would be called a
lady, such it seems hardly ever step out of their houses, and riding is
quite out of the question, there being hardly a single vehicle on the
Island and I should think not more than a dozen horses in Santa Cruz.
The beasts of burden are asses, mules, dromedaries and oxen. It is very
evident from the pavement of the streets that they never expect a
carriage to pass over them and I think there is hardly a mile of road
passable for wheels and it would be almost impossible to make them so.

Something like this diagram is the character of the outlines of this
part of the Island, rocks or rather mountains receding from and towering
above one another in continuous winding chasms, very rough and
precipitous and some of their tops of most fantastic shapes seemingly
detached from their shoulders and standing out far from the general
outline in every direction. On ascending one of them we found it
plentifully studded with fig trees, cactuses etc. The Island had just
been visited with a plague of locusts which accounted for the almost
total absence of verdure. We saw a few of these pests lingering about
here and there and the children amused themselves with tormenting them.

A gentleman amused me with an account of these unwelcome visitors; such
as getting two of them, changing their heads and bowels and letting them
fly away again not much worse for the exchange. I affected to believe it
quite possible because his countrymen so often played the same trick
with the head and internal structure of their government, by which they
might seem [to] prove the effects of the experiment upon a grand and
imposing scale. He groaned and told me they had just gone through a
revolution of that kind in their own little island, one of their head
men and every party connected with him having been dragged from place
and power by the spite and selfishness of another set of place hunters.
I advised that they should watch the next locusts they operated upon to
see how long they were the better for such a reformation.

The gentlemen have a disgusting trick of spitting about their best rooms
even as if they were among guanacos. I suppose that this is one reason
that they have no carpets in their houses. These are immense awkward
buildings mostly of wood, having an interior square court, on each side
of which there is an open gallery on each storey. The only good thing
about them is they are roomy and airy. The furniture is very poor: a
table, sofa and chairs serve for a parlour as large as a barn and not
much unlike one, but there is plenty of good eating and drinking and
abundance of fruit and wine, at least we found it tolerably so at the
English Hotel, kept by Mr Richardson, an Englishman.

They say the Island is an excellent abode for sickly people who should
stay at Santa Cruz in winter and go to the interior in summer; but I
believe there is no Protestant place of worship. One inconvenience we
found in their never furnishing their visitors with soap. Our beds were
shake-down, having four posts and a frame to support a muslin cover that
enclosed the bed to the very ground to keep off their old fashioned
barbarous flies, but it did not exclude their equally blood thirsty
fleas. We took dinner, supper and breakfast at the hotel for which we
each paid three dollars - 12/6. Captain Gardiner was acquainted with the
English Consul so he took us to see him and gave me an introduction. The
American Consul is a true Jonathan, we found him examining an invoice in
his store. The natives seem a lazy people, bending under the heavy curse
of Popery.

We visited their Cathedral, a poor piece of architecture with a few
showy ornaments. One of the paintings most conspicuous was a
representation of Heaven and purgatory - Mary in Heaven, crowned as
Queen, was at the right hand of her Son. (I say it with reverence but
with Protestant Christian indignation). He was represented as a plain
Man, His mother catching His blood in a basin and distributing it to the
priests who applied it somehow to the release of the black souls in
purgatory, who were then seen in bright array ascending to Heaven. It
was the Pope who let them out, they did not appear to pay him anything
but of course that was managed in another place.

The business hours of the shop keepers would suit English young men. The
shops are opened about eight or nine in the morning, closed at noon for
dinner and a sleep, then re-opened till about six in the evening. There
are also plenty of holidays. The Thursday evening we were there, being
the first Thursday in the month, was the time for special prayer on
behalf of the Mission. Captain Gardiner and myself did not forget to
join our Brighton friends on this occasion.


Friday, January 31st, 1845

As we quitted the Island the next day, the previous calm gave way to a
very favourable wind which, as Captain Boyse said, was ready for us as
soon as we got on board and drove us into the Trades which carried us,
sometimes at the rate of 8 to 10-1/2 miles per hour, into the neighbourhood
of the Equator. There we experienced short calms and very heavy rains.

We crossed the line into the Southern Hemisphere on Friday morning, 17th
inst. about 3 o'clock a.m. All of Home seemed then to have disappeared
and now (January 31) we have lost /Ursa Minor/ and the Pole Star, the
last land in our native hemisphere and that has been followed by /Ursa
Major/ etc. I seem in a different world with a new Heaven overhead but
instead of the old familiar constellations we admire the elevated /Crux
et Corona Australis/ and others little less brilliant and eloquent in
declaring the glory of Him Who is with His people always, even to the
end of the world. On several evenings past two remarkable nebulae have
been visible called the Magellan clouds, aptly named.

The sun has been darting his hot rays vertically upon us for some days:
my straw hat has covered the whole of my shadow which has grown somewhat
less from another cause, viz. my having lost flesh since losing my home,
but this I attribute chiefly to my having suffered sea nausea so long
and partly, perhaps, to my feeling sometimes as Noah's dove did when
sent out alone. Though when I am in an unselfish mood I am glad for
somebody else's sake that I am alone at present, till at least
experience has satisfied me that safety is to be enjoyed among the
Patagonians. This I cannot know till after the time that the next party
are expected to leave England; after that time, if anyone would come
out, she would have to come alone which I can hardly expect, so my
single state seems unalterable unless I am called to England to be
ordained or to superintend the printing of the Scriptures in the
Patagonian tongue. I know not what I should choose. "Be careful for
nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God".

We have occasionally had plenty of company: whales, grampuses [either a
type of dolphin or an orca whale, Ed.], dolphins, porpoises, bonitos [a
type of tuna, Ed.], flying fish, sharks, Portuguese men of war [a type
of jellyfish, Ed.], whalebirds [?], etc. I was most pleased with some
pilot fishes and their motions over the back of their "friend" a shark.
They swim between his fins immediately behind his head, and their
motions were so regulated that they seemed to be a part of himself; he
took our hook and when we hauled him on deck they necessarily stayed
behind, but they appeared to be sorry for it as they stayed some time
about the ship. They are beautifully marked - something like a mackerel
but not quite so large. I think they communicated in some way or other
with some other sharks in the neighbourhood, for they would not approach
the vessel next day although they were not in sight when the other was
caught. I noticed that no pilot fish accompanied them when they
attempted to approach us; perhaps that was how they warned them of the
danger to be apprehended from us.



Thursday, February 6th, 1845

A STORM

In the latter part of our voyage there has been little to vary the
monotony of our life on ship board. An occasional gale or strong squall
which stirred up our dullness and carried away a few sails and booms was
an occurrence to talk of as a nine days wonder. That which occurred on
Thursday, February 6, P.M. was the most severe. It came on in a hard
squall which carried away the Main Royal and Fore Top Mast Studding sail
before they could be taken in and their fragments hung in rags for the
rest of the day. While all hands were busy shortening sail in the midst
of thunder, lightning and heavy rain, there came a loud clap immediately
overhead. While I was wondering that, although it was close to our ears,
I had not seen the lightning, there came a tremendous and continued
clatter of chains and rigging upon the deck, which made me suppose that
although no lightning was visible, it had struck the vessel and, at the
least, much damaged her. On running to the deck, I found myself almost
carried off my feet by the wind, which was so strong that if I had held
my hand up, it would have threatened to carry it away.

When I regained my feet and a secure hold of something to stand by, I
was able to look about and found that the still continued uproar and
repeated thundering claps were occasioned by the Main Sail (a strong
sheet containing about 240 yards of canvas), one corner of which had
broken away from the ship's side and, holding still by the Main Yard,
was flapping terribly and beating the deck and rigging with its heavy
chains and ropes hanging from its end, like the nine tails of a "cat".
No one could seize it for some minutes, and when all hands got hold of
the lashings it swung them about as if, to speak hyperbolically, the men
were mere knots upon strings; it could not be quieted or fastened at all
and everyone was in danger of receiving a /quietus/ from one of its
terrible claws. At last the furious thing was overpowered by a blast of
wind that completely ripped up its whole bellying body and left it a
chaos of rags and ribbons streaming in the rain and wind. The only
person hurt was the Mate whose hand the hard cold chain laid up in a
safe warm poultice for a few days.

The next day was spent in clearing away the wreck. A few nights after,
there was quite a change of scene and employment - we saw a beautiful
sight: many large porpoises (say, each two yards long) were playing
about the vessel, the phosphorescence of the water giving their bodies
the appearance of fiery meteors of a white heat shooting through the
darkness. The crew managed to harpoon five but owing to the strong head
sea neither (sic) of them could be hauled on deck.



Monday, February 17th, 1845

On Friday, February 14th we neared Cape Blanco, the N. E. part of
Patagonia. We sailed along the coast all Saturday but lost sight of it
again until Monday, 17th when we saw Cape Virgins at the N. E. of the
Straits of Magellan; a strong contrary wind and head sea and then a
calm, kept us tacking about unable to weather the Cape till Tuesday
evening, when we anchored off Point Dungeness. The appearance of the
coast is very desolate; apparently the cliffs are clay. Not a tree in
all this part of the country but it is thinly dotted with bushes.



Thursday, February 20th, 1845

The next morning, Thursday, Feb. 20th we early proceeded to Cape Gregory
casting anchor at something less than one mile N. E. by N. of the point,
which proved an excellent station. We soon perceived a smoke on shore
but could not see any inhabitants. Captain Gardiner, Captain Boyse, Mr.
Brown, our fellow passengers and myself were rowed ashore and soon met
with one man, whom we at first thought a Fuegian and probably he is one
who has settled in this country.

We understood from his signs that the Patagonians were more to the West,
consequently, Captain Gardiner, Mr. Brown and I passed on in that
direction for about eight miles, making a smoke occasionally but we
found no recent traces of them or their horses. Therefore, Captain
Gardiner told me that he would not make a smoke at the extreme point
that we had reached, but had made up his mind to ask Captain Boyse to
take us on to the Chilean Settlement at Port Famine.

We therefore began to return. Not having been accustomed to much
exercise and having had a sick passage, walking through the long grass
mile after mile, soon tired me and I was left alone, out of hearing and
sometimes out of sight and, I began to think, out of mind too. This was
not very pleasant as none of us know who, or how many, might be watching
us. However, we reached the ship in the evening in safety after having
seen nine of the inhabitants, the family of the man who met us in the
morning. Captain Boyse soon satisfied us that it was out of his power to
land us and our provisions anywhere else than at Cape Gregory.



Friday, February 21st, 1845

Accordingly, Captain Gardiner and myself went ashore next day, Friday
21st to look out a locality. Concerning these points I had received no
instructions from the Committee and Captain Gardiner took the whole
matter into his own hands. One suggestion of mine he did accede to viz.
that instead of chiefly consulting what position would give the crew
least trouble, for which trouble they were to be paid and which would
soon be over, he should also consider what place there was near to the
vessel that would most favour the Mission with suitable soil, water,
wood, etc.



Saturday, February 22nd, 1845

This being determined upon, the next day, Saturday, 22nd February, was
spent in landing one of the houses etc. and in setting up the former.
During these operations Captain Gardiner's somewhat disrespectful
behaviour to me manifested itself more clearly. I had not attempted to
interfere with his plans in any way, consequently had not given him the
least cause for jealousy, nevertheless all his conduct seemed to say
'everyone shall see that I have the whole control of this matter'. To
satisfy him I did my best to help under his orders. I carried wood etc.
like one of the crew, and even took opportunities of telling the people
in Captain Gardiner's presence that I had nothing to do with this
department of the Mission, but that I considered that it was entirely
under his control. Nevertheless, when I saw something absolutely wrong l
quietly suggested the right way to Captain Gardiner, but he spurned my
recommendations.

These were the instances. First - they began to put together an
accurately fitted but very unsubstantial wooden house without making the
ground level. I told him that I thought it was impossible they could
bring everything to its proper bearing unless they first levelled the
foundation. They were permitted to go on till the difficulties were so
multiplied that they were obliged to begin at the beginning and level.
Secondly - they attempted to put up one side of the roof before they had
fastened the supporters in any way. I felt it my duty to suggest that
every additional board increased the danger of its falling and
accordingly, when they had done little more than half, down it all came
together but fortunately it was not much strained or broken. Again -
having erected the house and put on all the roofing boards they were
attempting to put on the heavy canvas cover, made to fit the roof,
without having nailed a single board down. Again I felt it my duty to
suggest that in all probability some part of the mass of canvas would
displace a loose board and throw a number or them down, or at least the
first wind that blew would lift up the canvas cover from the angular
roof and so displace the boards. The utmost care was taken to prevent
this accident, except the particular thing that I suggested viz. nailing
the boards; but my suggestion again proved a prophecy, the canvas
displaced one of the boards of the roof and it and all above it came to
the ground. They were pushed up under the canvas however, to their
places and all was left un-nailed, the canvas itself being only slightly
fastened with string at the bottom.

In this house, Captain Gardiner and I slept this Saturday night. The
wind had freshened a little and consequently I had quietly placed some
heavy boards upon the canvas to keep it down, still we were obliged to
get up in the night to make it more secure. Captain Gardiner would not
do much at it but I remained at work till I had done all I could. The
morning came and found the house still under cover.



Sunday, February 23rd, 1845

[morning] We attempted to reach the vessel for the sake of performing
the Services, but the boat was swamped and filled by the surf as we were
attempting to get off. We came to shore wet enough and I, having no
change of clothes on shore, determined to return to the house and go to
bed after sending a note requesting Captain Boyse to send me some dry
clothes, if the wind permitted. Here Captain Gardiner perseveringly
attempted to dictate what I should say and what I should do on this
perfectly personal and private matter. I therefore politely and mildly
requested, that he would allow me to act according to my own judgement
in such matters. Upon which he apologised as he had done once before,
though not in the presence of those before whom the harsh expression was
uttered. However, I find that this propensity to domination is a habit
which I think he knows to be a failing and mourns over. I shall
therefore bear with him to the utmost limit of duty to myself and to my
position; though, as I told him, if his behaviour left me with as little
influence and respect in the eyes of the Patagonians as it had done in
the sight of the crew of the /Rosalie/, one of whom had insulted me, in
consequence of his hasty behaviour to me, I might as well be at home for
any good that I could effect among them.

About noon of this day the weather moderated. Captain Gardiner went
aboard and took my note to Captain Boyse, who came himself with a boat,
bringing my clothes and a message from Captain Gardiner intimating that
he wished to see me aboard. I therefore went, much against my will, as
the Sunday Service was over and I did not care about dinner. We had
scarcely left the shore before the wind freshened very much and our
little boat was in great jeopardy, being obliged to make all sail in the
eye of the wind, to prevent our being driven out to sea. We were nearly
upset several times by sudden gusts of wind; on these occasions the
water rushed over the side of the boat in a fearful manner and we were
more than once half full; there was also a heavy anchor in the boat, as
a necessary ballast to prevent the wind from throwing us over; being
lashed to the bottom, this anchor would have sunk us immediately if we
had taken in much more water.

Although we ran these risks by keeping up all possible sail, in order to
fetch the ship, still we could not beat sufficiently to windward to
effect our object and we were obliged to pass her within about 100 yards
without being able to render us any assistance, although they attempted
to do so by letting the jolly boat drift toward us with a rope, but it
did not come far enough. Of course, in such a rough sea and wind they
did not put any hands into her. Our next effort was to reach them by
tacking, which in this case was a critical operation, not only on
account of the wind and sea, but also because the ballast anchor was
necessarily lashed as much as possible to the windward side of the boat
to counteract the force of the wind; this could not be shifted before
the tack, consequently it remained for some time acting with, instead of
contrary, to the wind. In this manner we remained tacking about for two
or three hours, all hands in the vessel looking anxiously for what
should happen, Captain Boyse saying that he remembered with sorrow that
he could not swim, the second Mate saying we were "likely to go to
Kingdom Come" and every one of ourselves, as well as on board the
/Rosalie/, wishing we could get out of our danger.

During a great part of this time the sea was beating over us on one side
and running into us on the other, keeping some of the men baling with
buckets as fast as possible in order to keep us from quite filling. In
consequence of some of the hands being thus employed, Captain Boyse
entrusted me with the most important rope in the boat saying "Now Mr.
Hunt, you must hold that rope with the grip of death." I understood that
to slacken this rope, which was attached to the Mainsail Boom, would
give the wind less power to blow us over on our broadside and
consequently diminish the danger of being filled with water; but on the
other hand it would have given us less power to beat to windward and
increased the danger of our being driven out to sea in this little open
boat. I therefore determined I would not intentionally either slacken or
make it more taut without Captain Boyse's directions.

While doing my best to keep it at its proper tension by twisting it once
round the seat and holding the end in my hand, for it could not be tied,
as, if it were not slackened at the very moment when necessary, we
should certainly quite fill. While doing this I was often tossed from
side to side by the pitching of the boat and once a sea struck her so
violently as to make her give a sudden lurch which knocked me off my
feet and laid me at full length at the bottom of the boat; but not
exactly so either, for at the same moment there came a puff of wind,
which almost laid her on her broadside and the water rushing in fast, I
might be said to be as much on the water as on the bottom of the boat;
nevertheless, I did not let go the rope or allow it to slip an inch, at
which, when the danger was over, Captain Boyse heartily laughed.

Upon this occasion I thought myself within half an hour of eternity and
could not refrain from speaking to the hands in the boat of the folly
and wickedness of their profane and thoughtless swearing etc.; to which
Captain Boyse replied that it was so much a habit with some of them
that, if they were drowning they could utter some such expression every
time their heads came above the water. I had previously protested twice
against this wicked practice in some sermons that I wrote for the crew;
and in private conversations with Captain Boyse, I so far convinced him
of the impropriety of it, as to induce him to endeavour to leave it off
and there was a manifest improvement in this respect in some of the crew.

After passing the ship in several ineffectual attempts to near her, we
at length succeeded in coming sufficiently near to catch a rope which
was thrown towards us; and so we pulled under the lee of the vessel and
jumped aboard, being warmly congratulated by all. In the evening Captain
Gardiner and I returned ashore and slept in our wooden house. Captain
Gardiner made arrangements with Captain Boyse to have one of the crew
set out with him and the Lagoon Indian early on Monday morning in order
to find the Patagonians.



Monday, February 24th, 1845

The wind being strong, a boat could not come ashore very early
and the Indian and all his family appearing at our door, about 9
o'clock, ready for the journey, Captain Gardiner determined to go with
them without waiting for the arrival of the boat; and away they went,
big and little Indians and big and little dogs, the man leaving his
wives and children to carry everything, and a very good load some of
them had.

In anticipation of this journey of Captain Gardiner's, I asked him on
Saturday to let me be present when he gave the carpenter instructions
concerning the erection of the other two houses, telling him I had not
the least wish to interfere in the matter, but wishing to be able to see
if they were proceeded with according to his mind. To this he replied
"Certainly, and in my absence you must of course overlook everything".
As I had heard no more of this up to the time of his setting off on
Monday morning, I asked if he had any instructions to leave, to which he
replied that the doors of the two houses to be set up were to face the
South, and one house was to stand on each side of that already up, at a
distance of ten feet.

Upon the crew's arrival I found that Captain Gardiner had requested
Captain Boyse to come ashore and overlook the operations. I therefore
quietly gave all the assistance in my power without making any remark,
till I observed that Captain Boyse was giving orders regarding the
distance and aspect of the houses which did not agree with the
instructions which Captain Gardiner had left with me. I therefore merely
mentioned what these were and left Captain Boyse to act as he thought
proper.

I once for all declare that I never gave Captain Gardiner the least
cause for jealousy of me, I always paid him the very utmost respect and
he never had the least reason to complain of my behaviour in anything. I
never gave him the least reason to suppose that I wished to intermeddle
with matters concerning which I had no instructions but on the contrary,
when he attempted to take a matter out of my hands concerning which I
had instructions and he none, so far from showing any jealousy at his
interference, I did all I could to meet his views on the matter, which
was settling the powers to be given to the vowels in the phonography of
the language I had to learn and reduce to writing and grammatical order,
previous to my translating the Scriptures into it.

Captain Gardiner showed me a scheme which he designed to settle the
manner in which the vowels were to be used, but it was so manifestly
crude and incomplete, and this he immediately discovered upon my quietly
dropping a remark or two on some of its defects, that he withdrew it.
Subsequently he produced two others, the latter of which I took some
pains to improve and told him I would adopt it as far as I could. But it
is manifestly premature to attempt to settle this matter finally, before
anyone knows what is the genius of the language or what are the vowel
sounds to be represented; every part of this matter is at present as a
/terra incognita/ and Captain Gardiner knows nothing of the subject he
would wish to settle; and therefore, I must act according to my own
judgement, hoping for the aid of the Allwise. (Captain G. went so far as
to say that a single diphthong would not be necessary, and subsequently
he affirmed that there was not one in the Spanish language - the fact is
there are twenty diphthongs and five triphthongs).



Tuesday, February 25th, 1845

Monday the 24th Feb. and two following days were spent in landing
houses, stores etc. erecting the former and housing the latter. We saw
several smokes about, which induced us to think that there were other
inhabitants in our neighbourhood who would not make their appearance.
Monday and Tuesday nights I spent on shore alone, none of the crew
liking to remain with me. Captain Boyse said he would have stayed with
me on Tuesday night, had it not been "such an out of the way place and
he'd rather not". During Monday night and Tuesday morning all those
parts of the roof of the house that I had not succeeded in nailing down
during the night, were carried away by the wind, which left the things
exposed to the rain. Tuesday night I passed in the store house. I felt
that our stores were a great temptation to the natives.



Wednesday, February 26th, 1845

Captain Gardiner had not returned and Captain Boyse told me of his
determination not to stay beyond early on Thursday morning. I therefore
wrote a protest against his leaving before Captain Gardiner's return,
which I intended to put into Captain Boyse's hand if I had not succeeded
in persuading him to stay longer, but to this he consented and had
hardly made up his mind to do so before Captain Gardiner made his
appearance, about 8 o'clock on Wednesday evening. He had gone within
sight of what he believed to be the fires of the Patagonians, but his
companions refused to go any further in this direction: the journey was
therefore without any immediate result.



Thursday, February 27th, 1845

Employed in getting everything in order, digging trenches round the
houses etc.



Friday, February 28th, 1845

The /Rosalie/ still here. She was paid for demurrage up to the noon of
this day at the rate of £5 a day for every day she had remained here,
beyond the three days agreed to: that is to say, for 4-1/2 days as I
understand. She received one hundred guineas for our passage and our
stores after the rate of £2 per ton. One of the apprentices of the
/Rosalie/ ran away into the country today. It seems that he understood
that we wanted someone to stay with us and being tired of the sea he
thought we should keep him after the /Rosalie/ had sailed. However
Captain Boyse detained the vessel and stayed ashore till he came to our
houses at night when he was taken and conveyed on board.



Saturday, March 1st, 1845

The /Rosalie/ attempted to repass the Narrows, but the wind and tide
were not sufficiently strong in her favour, so she returned and took up
her former anchorage. This day we were employed nailing up canvas
outside the houses to keep out the wind and rain. Captain Boyse visited
us in the evening and Captain Gardiner put into his hand a written
request that he would, under our peculiar circumstances, leave a man
with us to assist us and help to protect the stores, we not knowing what
number of Lagoon Indians there might be about us and no Patagonians
having as yet come. To this request Captain Boyse did not accede as he
had but very few men and a rough passage round the Horn before him, but
remarked if we did not feel ourselves safe, his vessel was at our
service to convey our persons away. Of course, this was not what we wanted.



Sunday, March 2nd, 1845

In the morning I enjoyed a refreshing season in prayer and felt sure
that God would show us what to do and help us in our duty. On going out
of the house, the Lagoon Indians pointed to some smoke beyond the hills
and said the Patagonians were coming. This proved incorrect, however,
but did not shake our confidence in God that He would defend, keep and
direct us in the way that we should go. /Rosalie/ off early.



Monday, March 3rd, 1845

Morning fitting up sleeping room. At noon Captain Gardiner set out to
see the cause of the smoke that the Indian had pointed out. I employed
myself in burning the grass from the immediate neighbourhood of the
houses, as the whole country for many miles to windward of us was in
flames: by this means its approach to the Mission property was
prevented. Captain Gardiner returned about 8 p.m., believing the
Patagonians were not near us, the smoke having originated most probably
in a fire that we? [sic] or the Indian family had made some days before,
but which had been smothering till a high wind favoured its approach to
dry grass. (Vide Mar. 19)




Tuesday, March 4th, 1845

This morning a Chilean soldier found his way to the station from Port
Famine (San Felipe). He had been on the way fifteen or sixteen days,
having seen six tents of the Patagonians on the fourth day of his
journey; with them be stayed a week and then left them and his comrade,
who remained with the Patagonians. Three days from the station he had
fallen in with some of the Lake Indians who had ill-treated and robbed
him. These Indians were coming towards us, he said, and would certainly
use us no better than they had done him.

From this soldier, who told us he was a deserter from Port Famine (as
was also his companion) we received a great deal of information about
the Patagonians, the Lake Indians and the state of Port Famine. This
settlement, it appeared, had effected a very considerable change among
the Patagonians; some of their Chiefs, especially Centurion, being
inclined to favour the Spaniards there, Wesail being less inclined
towards them, if not actually hostile. Maria was dead, Isaac sent in
chains to Chile, perhaps for having leaned to the Patagonians more than
to the Spaniards, he having learnt the language of the former and
intermarried with them. There was a priest, Father Domingo, at Port
Famine who was attempting to make the Patagonians Roman Catholics. There
had been a distribution of clothes etc. to Centurion's tribe, which, in
their opinion made them Christians. The settlement at Port Famine had
been begun with friendly professions towards the natives but when it was
fortified and they had received soldiers, they treated the aborigines
roughly, which had tended to incense some of them.

Our apprehended danger from the Lake Indians who began to gather round
us and the desire to see the Patagonians, induced us to fasten up two of
the houses which contained the valuables and set out on the tramp to
seek them. The Chilean wished to escape to Rio de la Plata but being
told that it was three thousand miles from the station, gave up that
intention in despair. Captain Gardiner informed him of our intention to
set out, this evening telling him also that we were very loath to leave
him alone among the Indians, as we feared they would kill him, as well
as pillage the houses: he therefore had his choice of going with us or
being left in the kitchen with the necessary provisions. He felt quite
afraid for his life as some of these Indians were the parties that had
robbed him, but being fatigued by his journey, he said he could not
commence another immediately and we felt it necessary that we should set
out this evening to get on our way as far as possible before we were missed.

Accordingly we packed up some biscuit and one bottle of brandy, a change
of clothes and a few other necessaries and, after a good supper we set
out at about eleven o'clock p.m., leaving the Chilean in the house used
as the kitchen; instructing him that if he found it necessary to leave
before our return, which return was uncertain, he should bury the key
under the front of the door; and commending him and ourselves to the
merciful care of Almighty God, and then sneaking away one at a time and
taking a circuitous route to avoid falling in with any of these Indians.
Our path was first along the sandy shore and then we struck off towards
the western end of Gregory range of mountains, walking sometimes over
the ground recently burnt, at others through tall rank grass, or
stumbling over clumps of thick dry grass.

For a considerable distance along this path we were followed by a large
bright meteor, which advanced with an undulating motion against the wind
and many feet from the ground, its colour alternating between bright
yellow and pale red. It was much larger than a star and when we first
saw it we took it for a fire at a distance, several of which were
burning in different directions; but, as it advanced, I fancied it must
be some light attached to a dog and buoyed up by some contrivance to
show the Indians the track we had passed over, or to enable then to
pursue and overtake us. We sat down and watched its advance for some
minutes till it got very near and then, after we had walked on a bit it
disappeared, and again rekindled and was finally extinguished. I thought
afterwards that it arose from exhalations we had disengaged from the
grass etc. as we passed along.

At this time day was dawning. A little further on we came suddenly upon
what we believed to be two Indian tents, we therefore walked out of our
way to avoid them and passing on about a mile further, perhaps ten or
twelve miles in all, no little walk in such a country, we lay down at
about 4-1/2 a.m.



Wednesday, March 5th, 1845

[morning] On the side of a hill near a bush on the bare ground we took a
little sleep and rose to breakfast about seven o'clock, coarse hard
biscuit a little cheese and water from [...] ditch furnished our lowly
table. Thence we started over parched and thirsty country, blackened by
the recent fires, glad occasionally to find a patch of unburnt grass on
which to place our burdens and our weary bodies. After a few hours of
this toil I became excessively thirsty from profuse perspiration and
hard walking; for a long time we came to no water and all the relief I
could get was from some insipid cranberries and these were very welcome.
At length we came to a marshy place where Captain Gardiner succeeded in
finding some water in a hole, for which we were both very thankful,
having mentally compared our case to Hagar's.

At night we lay down among thick damp grass, beside a bush near a muddy
duckpond, the best place and the best water we could find. Here I began
to find that I could not eat enough of the dry biscuit to sustain my
strength even when soaked in water, for as it contained the fine bran as
well as the flour, it was not sufficiently nourishing; and when no water
was to be had, my mouth was so parched that I could not moisten the
biscuit sufficiently to enable me to swallow it. (I never enjoyed the hymn

        Come let us join our cheerful songs
        With angels round the throne

so much as I did while at prayer at the side of the bush by which I had
lain down.)



Thursday, March 6th, 1845

Soon after starting this morning we felt that we must unburden ourselves
of some of our load, however necessary it might appear to be to retain
it. We thought it possible we might have to go as far as Port Famine and
escape thence by some vessel to Valparaiso. We therefore determined to
hide our change of linen and flannel and leave everything we could
possibly spare, even some of the memorandum books and take nothing
scarcely but provisions and the gun, to enable us to shoot something if
opportunity offered; we also left most of the shot behind and again set
forward.

We soon saw what we thought was the smoke of the Patagonian encampment
and, ascending a hill, Captain Gardiner first thought he saw a guanaco
or ostrich, and finally determined that he saw three Patagonians. He was
so impatient to be after them that he did not allow me to see the
objects through the glass, so I formed no judgement about the real
nature of them but determined to follow him as a dog would his master
(although he was leading me quite out of our way). After a long walk we
could find no traces of Patagonians or their horses but I observed three
bushes in the locality he had pointed out as the position of the three
people; though I was far from deciding that these had deceived him this
time, yet he certainly made such mistakes after.

At night I shot a hawk, picked it, drew it and cooked it but ate the
least bit possible, though it was not unpalatable. This night we lay
down near a bush at the side of a marsh; it was cold, windy and wet,
though the rain did not last long. The whole of this day having been
spent in vain pursuit of people Captain Gardiner believed he had seen,
we had lost a day, having come about at a right angle from the direction
in which we had before advanced.



Friday, March 7th, 1845

This morning at daybreak, Captain Gardiner told me he had been seriously
considering the propriety of returning to the station, for first,
neither of us would be able to reach Port Famine which was the nearest
inhabited place. Secondly, our provisions would fail before we could get
there; thirdly, it would be the utmost we could do to reach the station
before our strength failed; and, lastly, there was now little hope of
our falling in with the natives and possibly from the appearance of the
recent smokes, they were now between us and Cape Gregory. I suggested
that it was possible that we might find them if we persevered a little
longer, but could not deny that it would be staking our lives on the
possibility of meeting with them, for if we went a day's journey further
from the station, we should not be able to undergo the additional
exposure to fatigue etc. by day and the cold damp air at night.

It was therefore determined that we should set out home by the most
likely route to fall in with the people, calling on our way to get our
memorandum books: we hoped to reach home on Saturday night, if not,
early on Sunday morning; otherwise, not to walk on that day but lie out
another night and reach the station on Monday. This concluded, we set
off early. Captain Gardiner soon thought he saw two natives coming
towards us but it soon appeared that the figures were not human beings,
so after about an hour's stay we took up our burdens and recommenced our
journey towards the station.

Captain Gardiner pointed out a mountain as the one under which we had
left our things as we went. I expressed a doubt as to its being the
same, nevertheless towards it we turned our steps and after a weary
walk, during which we only met with water once, we reached the mountain
and going round three sides of it without finding the two bushes under
which we had hid the things (and these the only two there were) it was
manifest that Captain Gardiner was mistaken. Still he persisted in
examining the only remaining side, although I reminded him that it faced
the very opposite point of the compass to that towards the real hiding
place faced.

Leaving the mountain we soon found ourselves in quite a different kind
of country to that over which we had walked on our way out: we were now
surrounded with muddy lakes whereas the part we expected to find was a
vast plain, covered with the roots of grass blackened by recent fires:
we therefore made for the coast, as by so doing we could not get very
far wrong. An hour or two more brought us to our halting place for
refreshment; there we ascertained our locality beyond a doubt, as we
were in full view of the N. W. bluff of Gregory range of mountains,
which is about ten miles from the station.

We therefore determined to make a desperate push and walk so far that we
could not afterwards mistake our way, then lie down in the early part of
the night, when it was not so very cold, for three or four hours, and
afterwards attempt to reach the station by four or five the next
morning, that we might see how things had been going on during our
absence before the Lagoon Indians were stirring about. As we were cut
off from every other retreat, our hopes were as sincere and earnest as
our prayers, that God would put His fear upon the Indians so that they
might not destroy and rob the station, otherwise our fate would be at
once decided, there being no other food or shelter within our reach and
we, utterly unable to sustain fatigue and exposure much longer.

In these circumstances we set out again and, by our best efforts,
reached a hill whence we could ascertain our direct course for the rest
of the way, so that, with the assistance of the compass we might easily
find our path in the night. But Captain Gardiner neglected to take the
bearings, saying afterwards that it was too much trouble to look at the
compass as we walked. Consequently, when after about three hours rest,
we got again on our feet, at about 11 o'clock p.m., we were of very
different opinions as to which was the direction of the station. The
Gregory range was the chief directing mark but, in the dark, the
intervening hills altered the appearance of their outline, which caused
Captain Gardiner to affirm that some hills to the south of us were the
range, while I was of the opinion that others, to the north, were they;
every step we took confirmed my belief till I, in my turn became positive.

Here I must do myself the justice to say that never, since our leaving
England, did I express a positive opinion differing from Captain
Gardiner's, that did not prove to be correct. In general I gave no
opinion at all and very seldom a positive one and then, only when the
circumstances were critical; in fact Captain Gardiner generally told me
he had made up his mind and I, as often, found that my opinion, even
when it was asked for, for form's sake, put him upon his prerogative
which I had the least possible wish to dispute; although in such
questions as "Which was our nearest way home?" I might reasonably ask to
express an opinion but I preferred following him, as I told him, like a
dog would follow his master, to raising a dispute about any matter.

In our present uncertainty we questioned the compass, which decided that
I was right; and this happened three times within half an hour, which
was much oftener than we should have had to consult it, if the bearings
had been taken by daylight, on the hill to which we had walked for that
very purpose. However, we walked on in the direction indicated by the
compass for about another half hour, when a neighbouring hill coming
between us and the range, its apparent outline was again altered, which
caused Captain Gardiner again to affirm that he was sure we were wrong
and therefore we must lie down again till morning, which we accordingly
did on the side of a hill near a bush.




Saturday, March 8th, 1845

This morning we arose but little refreshed and saw immediately that we
had been quite right the previous evening; we found it necessary to
relieve ourselves of the remainder of our provisions, except three or
four biscuits each and again we commenced lifting up our feet over the
thick and tall clumps of rank grass, which frequently caused us to trip
and stagger, and sometimes to fall. Indeed, as the day advanced and grew
warm, I again felt the want of water as badly as ever and it was but a
little way that I could proceed without lying down; and I was moreover
discouraged by the certainty that we were going too much to the south. I
therefore mildly asked Captain Gardiner to reconsider the course as, on
account of my exhausted state, a few additional miles might cost me my
life. He very properly said that it was equally his interest to go by
the nearest way and that he was doing so to the best of his judgement,
that he was determined not to leave me, and when I could go no further,
we would lie down together and so finish our pilgrimage.

He was evidently little better than myself or else was not aware of my
real state, for as we were about to leave the watering place on the
previous evening, l suggested the propriety of taking a little water in
the bottle, which he had previously carried, to which he replied he
could do without and could not volunteer to carry any more than his
present load. I therefore took some which served for a slight
refreshment during the night.

Having asked Captain Gardiner to reconsider the direction in which we
were going, he added to the above a demand of "Which way would you go if
you had the ordering of it?" to which I replied I would not dictate any
course but wished he would hear my reasons for believing that we ought
to go more to the east. These he would not hear at first, but finally I
gave one which I thought unanswerable viz. we were already on the south
side of some hills which we, in coming out, had passed on the north of.
Moreover, the station was only four miles from Gregory range which ran
thence in a continuous straight line; we were already that distance from
it, and if we walked in a straight and parallel line with these
mountains, we should find the station about eight or nine miles further
on, whereas we were now Increasing our distance from them at every step.

This reason did not change our course at the moment, but I soon had the
satisfaction to see our track gradually take an easterly direction
which, in a few hours, brought the station directly ahead of us, Captain
Gardiner being sure that he saw the houses a few miles off. On looking
through the glass I thought and said that the shape of the object
appeared too irregular for our houses and these turned out to be bushes
but, by the time we discerned this, we were both of us certain that the
houses were standing about a mile or two further on and a little while
afterwards we could perceive the three goats. These signs confirmed our
hopes that we should find all well. By this time I was so faint and sick
that I could not walk a quarter of a mile without resting for a
considerable time; and when, after making an effort to reach some bushes
with the expectation of finding some berries to moisten my mouth and
throat, we found hardly any, I would willingly have been left behind, as
Captain Gardiner proposed, till he could send the Chilean with something
for me to drink; but I considered the uncertainty of his still being
there, the uncertainty of there being anything to send and the
possibility of Captain Gardiner's being detained or even killed by the
Lagoon Indians, especially if he reached the houses alone; and then
there would come my anxious uncertainty as to his fate, if succour did
not soon reach me, for even though the Chilean were still there and were
sent towards me, he might not succeed in finding me. Such considerations
silently influenced me to go on by easy stages and I was kindly indulged
as often as I required to rest.

At length not very long afterwards, we could see the Indians quietly
occupying their own position and soon after the soldier came out of the
kitchen to welcome us back; some of the children of the Indian family we
had first seen and whom we had succeeded in making our friends, also met
us with smiling faces and we soon found, with the utmost thankfulness,
that nothing had been injured but one of the fowls; the head of the
above named Indian family having used his influence and example in
assisting to protect the property, although the others had attempted to
break open the store room with their knives, and with the same
instruments had threatened the life of the Chilean.

It was most marvellous to us that they did not succeed in their attempts
to get at the stores as there were several pieces of timber from the
/Rosalie/ lying about, the least of which would have beat in any part of
the houses at a single blow: these they had not made use of but
seemingly, had contented themselves with trying to cut through the iron
staples with their blunt knives. We attributed this fact of their not
taking any more decided measures to obtain the stores which were so
exceedingly tempting to them, to the arrival of the Chilean soldier the
day on which we set out, and to the bold manner in which he, being in
our vicinity, had claimed and made them restore the things they had
stolen from him. Also, as he was in uniform, they probably believed that
we had some communications with the Military Post at Port Famine and
that he was sent to guard the station during our absence; and that, if
we wanted more aid against them, it would be forthcoming. They had also
seen the effects of the gun in killing birds for the cat. I observed
that the women shuddered at the sight of this instrument and they were
not aware of our determination not to use it to the injury of their persons.

All the circumstances considered, this soldier's finding us after
wandering for sixteen days towards Rio [de] Janeiro, as he thought, was
a most remarkable Providence, which among the causes for thankfulness
made us glad that the /Rosalie/ left us without complying with our
request to leave a boy to assist us. Having thus arrived and found all
things well to the utmost of our desires, we thanked God and took
courage. My stomach rejected the first refreshment I drank, which was
some beer. I therefore went straight to bed till I could have some tea;
there my pulse soon rose to 120, but rest and proper diet restored me in
a couple of days.



Sunday, March 9th, 1845

This morning the Lagoon Indians come to the house and ask us to sharpen
their knives, which we promise to do tomorrow (/mañana/), at which our
old friend retires contented but the others are surly and remain about
the door, asking for biscuits (/galleta/); eventually, on Monday
morning, they all set out to hunt, taking their tents and everything
with them. We never saw them again. Captain Gardiner read the Services,
it being my turn but more than I was equal to. If rest after extreme
toil is ever sweet, this Sabbath was in every way a day of rest to me.

        Thine earthly sabbath Lord we love
        But there's a nobler rest above
        To that our labouring souls aspire
        With ardent pangs of strong desire.

        No more fatigue no more distress etc.

        Oh long expected day begin
        Dawn on this world of woe and sin
        Fain would we leave this weary road
        And sleep in death to rest with God.

The sufferings endured during the journey of the last week were
occasioned, I believe in my case at least, by previous anxiety and the
great excitement and hard work of Tuesday, the long and fatiguing march
of Tuesday night and the exposure to the cold on the damp ground early
on Wednesday morning: these things occasioned a feverish thirst and an
inability to eat a sufficient quantity of biscuit.



Monday, March 10th, 1845

We determined to remain here at all risks till the Patagonians arrive.
Captain Gardiner suggests that we should raise a mound, ten feet broad
at the base and seven feet high all round the most exposed sides of the
station. As the soil immediately below the surface is very compact and
hard clay, I feel sure it is utterly out of our power to accomplish such
an undertaking before the winter sets in, for as we proceeded we should
form a ditch from which every spadeful of a great part of the mound
would have to be raised ten or twelve feet high. I therefore proposed
that two lines of compact sods should be raised five or six feet above
the surface of the ground and six feet distant from each other at the
base and the interval between them be filled up with clay, taken from
the ground outside the line of sods most remote from the houses; thus a
ditch and wall would be formed, the top of the wall being at least eight
feet above the bottom of the ditch, the wall being in such a position
with regard to the houses, and making such an angle with the surface of
the ground as would have the effect of giving the strong winds an upward
tendency and thus shield the houses from their violence.



Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, March 11th, 12th, 13th, 1845

As natives were near the station, the greater part of these days I spent
in working hard at the wall, collecting a great number of sods, building
them up in the two lines as proposed and commencing the filling up of
the interval. It soon became manifest that the wall, when finished,
would be sufficiently strong to answer our purpose, viz. to shield us
from the winds, rain and drifting snow.



Friday, March 14th, 1845

At work at the wall. About 11 o'clock a.m. two good looking Lagoon
Indians came to the station, one of them called himself Lareas, a chief.
They said Wesail had had a fall from his horse and that one of his
children was unwell but that he would be here shortly; that Centurion
(San Leon) was four or five days off, northwards of Possession Bay. The
Chilean soldier recognised these two men as some that he had seen with
the Patagonians four days from Port Famine. They had treated him kindly
and he had slept in the tent of one of them.

They were very much superior in appearance and manners to the Indians we
had previously had about us. Their weapons were a bow and arrows. Soon
after noon we saw another party approaching the station. These were nine
individuals advancing abreast of each other, four of them were very tall
and one of these was the only person on horseback; another of the tall
ones advanced quickly before his companions and, as he approached the
station, elevated his hand above his head and gave us to understand that
Wesail was coming in this party.

We therefore left our working and went to meet this great man who
greeted us with a shake of the hand. He is not very tall but very broad
and muscular and well proportioned; indeed I could perceive none of that
disproportion, which writers mention, between the trunk and limbs of
these people. They had left their wives, children and tents, behind
them; some of them were provided with bows and arrows and others carried
bolas at their waists. All of them were covered from head to feet, each
with a skin mantle which only exposed their head, neck, shoulders and
legs. Wesail had sundry ornaments which sufficiently distinguished him,
such as a curious band round his head - this had been given him at Port
Famine; at the small of his back he carried a handsome dirk in a
silver-plated sheath and on his left hip a large steel, such as English
butchers use to sharpen their knives; at his waist were also his bolas
and smoking apparatus. On his alighting, he sent the two legs and thighs
of an ostrich into our kitchen, as a present Captain Gardiner thought,
but as these were the only provisions they had with them, probably he
did not intend them for a gift, at any rate he soon claimed them again.
We were just ready for dinner so we invited him to join us, which he
readily did, reflecting great credit on the cooking of the fried
potatoes but sparing the salt pork a little. During dinner two of his
party sat within the door, the others wistfully eyeing our operations
while they crowded round the outside; to all of them we gave some
biscuit which they needed no second invitation to take and eat.

Wesail's manners and care of his people at this time made a decidedly
favourable impression on me. He spoke Spanish so that Captain Gardiner
could converse with him but little was interpreted to me. From his looks
and actions I judged him to be a polite man rather than a barbarian, an
intelligent, thoughtful patriotic chief, the father of his people.
Captain Gardiner made our views, wishes and intentions known to him, to
all of which he cordially and readily assented and then turned to his
people and seemed to repeat to them what had been said, when it was
quite evident that they acquiesced as heartily. After dinner he began to
examine the things in the house: a cloth cap was the first thing he
appeared to covet. Captain Gardiner gave it to him but it was too
little, next he asked for a hat. I offered him mine which was hanging in
sight, but although this fitted him it did not please; perhaps, as it
was a light one, he might think it not a good one. I therefore took
another from my leather hat case, making a fuss in unlocking the case
and brushing it up. This process seemed to decide the fate of the hat,
it was accepted and returned to my care to be forthcoming on demand,
whenever he wanted it upon state occasions. He also kept the cap for his
son.

In the evening we again fed him and his people, as their tents had not
yet arrived. The tall man, who, at Wesail's coming had been sent forward
to apprise us of it, was now sent on horseback with a message to those
whom they had left behind. This man seemed to be Wesail's particular
friend and to act as his /Aide-de-camp/ ; when he was about to set out
for the encampment, Wesail asked Captain Gardiner for some biscuit to
send to the children. Captain Gardiner understood him to mean his own
children and accordingly gave the man on horseback two biscuits, which
Wesail did not think enough and expressed his belief that Captain
Gardiner having given them to his, Wesail's friend, intended them for
that friend's own children and wished Captain Gardiner to give him
(Wesail) some to send to his children. This Captain Gardiner thought an
imposition and refused to give any more, saying he intended those he had
given for Wesail's children according to his request. Wesail persisted,
as there were so few and they were given to his friend, that friend
should keep them for his own children and again requested some for
himself to send to his children; and upon being refused, turned away in
a bad humour, saying it was bad to be refused a biscuit to send to his
children; upon this Captain Gardiner saw the necessity of yielding and
consequently he gave the man some more.

This was the beginning of our trouble with Wesail and his people. At
night Captain Gardiner told Wesail he could sleep with us in the house
and his people could sleep in that used as our kitchen. To this he
assented and lay down for a while but soon got up saying he did not like
to stay in the house; upon his going out, his people also left their
dormitory for the open air. They were quiet all night.



Saturday, March 15th, 1845

Wesail and his people ate with us this morning as they had done ever
since arrival. In the course of the morning his wives and family arrived
with his tent; he went to meet them, appearing to pass his wives without
any word or sign of recognition but was lavish of caresses with his
children, especially Onteachy, a boy about five years old.

The tents etc. were carried by horses, the women having the whole charge
of them, not being assisted in any way by the men. Their first care was
to select a spot in some degree sheltered from the prevailing winds, but
in this, those who owned the best tents were not particular; then the
horses were unladed and set at liberty and these never stray far from
the encampment; next four or five pointed sticks, about four or five
feet long, are forced into the ground, the women throwing their whole
weight upon them and swinging their bodies forcibly from side to side.
Those who possess few skins, place these sticks in a semi-circular form
and content themselves with forming a wall of skins behind them only.
Others, more rich in skins, form two parallel straight lines of sticks,
those in front being about seven feet high; over all is drawn a cover
formed of skins sewn together, which excludes the wind and rain from
every part but the front, and even this is sometimes partially closed up
in like manner.

The only covering for their bodies in summer and winter is a skin mantle
which, except in hot weather, is worn with the hair inwards. At night
additional skins are spread upon the ground to sleep upon. Of other
conveniences they may be said to have none, except a skin bag or two in
which they carry berries and water; he is rich, in this respect, who
possesses a knife and a tobacco pipe. Their persons are very dirty and I
believe, are never washed and their mantles harbour numberless /piojos/
[lice, Ed.], as does also the hair of their heads, which they do not
appear to have any means of combing otherwise than with their hands.
Their heads are therefore full of the nits of the before mentioned vermin.

They use little fire and that chiefly for cooking, an operation which is
very quickly and partially performed, the meat being suspended upon a
stick over the fire, till the meat is burned, which does not always
prevent the inside from remaining raw. The shell of a large species of
mussel is sometimes used as a cup and spoon, but generally the hand
performs the office of a cup, fork and spoon, a corner of the mantle
being a substitute for dishes and plates. They are excessively fond of
biscuits, tobacco and oatmeal and other porridges and have, within the
last few years, contracted a craving for ardent spirits; but for these
last we were not much troubled, except once by Wesail himself; for
/galleta/ and /tobac/ there is an incessant demand.

The women are very fond of ornaments and very common ones satisfy them
if they are coloured or bright. The men are fond of scarlet cloth to
wear over their shoulders and bright coloured worsted binding to wear
round their heads upon occasions of show; but in general they prefer
being disencumbered of everything but their mantles.

They chase the guanacos with their horses and dogs; of the latter they
have a great many of various sizes and breeds. The dogs can kill the
ostrich themselves. Wesail has a fine black and white hound which might
be taken for a cross between the greyhound and staghound. This dog, he
says, sometimes kills five ostriches in one sun (day) and "does not
seize them by the legs but gets before them and catches them by the head."

In general the dogs require the aid of the men to kill the full grown
guanaco. This is accomplished by first throwing them down by means of
the bolas which is formed of two balls, about two inches in diameter,
made of skin and filled with some heavy substance and attached one to
each end of a string composed of the sinews of the legs of an ostrich.
One of these balls is held in the hand, while the other is forcibly
swung round the head, till it has acquired considerable momentum, when
the instrument is allowed to fly from the hand with a rotatory motion;
and being hurled with exact aim, some part of the string strikes the
animal's legs which causes the balls to revolve round the limbs and
bring the animal to the ground, or at least so to impede it, as to admit
of its being easily overtaken. Their horses are small and something like
a moderate sized two year old English colt. The guanaco is nearly as
tall, its legs being longer in proportion, its figure being something
between that of a camel and a deer; it has no horns and no hunch upon
its back. Their speed at starting is that of a racehorse and their
actions while running easy and elegant.

At noon this day none of Wesail's party was expected to dine with us, as
his tent and some others had arrived. He had left his dirk in the house
and as we were about to sit down to dinner he came about the place; and
I thought that as his tent had only come this morning it would be as
well to ask him to dinner again, but Captain Gardiner "did not wish to
run after him"; to which I only replied that whatever we might think of
the man's character, his good opinion and protection were, humanly
speaking, everything to the Mission and to us. Captain Gardiner then
consented to ask him but it appeared too late, as he had already taken
offence and instead of coming to dine he came into the house for his
dirk which I gave him. He then said something in Spanish to Captain
Gardiner, but what I could not comprehend, till informed that he had
shaken the dirk over Captain Gardiner's head and said "You want this
don't you?".

Captain Gardiner then followed him to his tent, taking some biscuit for
his children; but this, both he and his wives now refused; and Wesail
threw down the hat and the cap before Captain Gardiner's face, giving
him to understand that their friendship had terminated. He then mounted
his horse to go in search of the rest of his people. Captain Gardiner
followed him and in the most earnest manner entreated him to alter his
mind and accept the biscuits and be friends again. After much ado Wesail
shook hands and rode off. Captain Gardiner then came into the house
saying he was glad he had induced him to shake hands, as his throwing
back the presents was the greatest token of hostility, so that unless he
could have been softened and appeased we could not have been sure of our
lives.

Captain Gardiner then began to prepare the present he had intended to
give him after all his people had arrived, but he now thought good to do
it this afternoon, in order to restore the good understanding that had
before subsisted. Wesail did not ride far and on his return Captain
Gardiner told him he had a present for him and asked him to come and
look at it. He did not hesitate long or much but refused everything till
he had stated his grievances which, so far as I could understand them
were: first, Captain Gardiner's first refusal to send biscuits to the
children, mentioned yesterday, and secondly a like refusal this morning;
and that he had also come to me and asked me to give him a biscuit for
his child, but instead of complying I had taken no notice but had kept
on digging at the wall; and all this he had thought very bad.

He is remarkably fond of his children, which is perhaps the best trait
in his character, and I give him full credit for sincerity in making
these things the ground of offence. Indeed I had quietly and in the
mildest terms possible, remonstrated yesterday against the refusal to
send more than two biscuits to the two families, and expressed my belief
that Wesail had not made himself understood when Captain Gardiner
supposed that he only wanted to send some to his own children. I had
felt myself very awkwardly situated, for Wesail had made me perfectly
understand this morning what he wanted, for his words were "One biscuit
for my child"; but I felt myself obliged to take no notice because
Captain Gardiner had not only refused, but had told me that he would not
give biscuit in this way which, from my understanding that these matters
were entirely under his control, I perfectly knew to mean that he did
not think it right that Wesail's request should be complied with. I
could not tell Wesail this, neither would I if I could, and I was
equally unable to give him a polite refusal; at the same time it would
have been unwise, if not wrong in me, to have done for him what Captain
Gardiner had refused to do. Without time for consideration, I thought at
the moment it would be best to appear not to hear or understand and I am
now by no means sure, that if I had gone to Captain Gardiner and tried
to alter his mind, that I should have succeeded in so doing.

But at any rate these circumstances got me into a difficulty again, for
when I perceived that Wesail was telling Captain Gardiner of his having
asked me also for a biscuit, I could not of course feel myself at
liberty to explain the exact state of the case for two reasons: first,
if I had stated the true reason for my non-compliance, it would have
been at Captain Gardiner's expense; and secondly, the true reason would
have made it appear that if I did not feel at liberty myself to give the
Chief a biscuit when he begged only one for his child, I was just nobody
and consequently my influence and hopes of usefulness among them would
disappear altogether. These considerations drove me to the disingenuous
trick of asking Captain Gardiner to tell Wesail that I did not
understand Spanish; this satisfied Wesail as far as I was concerned, and
he accepted the presents which Captain Gardiner made him for the purpose
of securing liberty for us to reside among them as missionaries, and
protection for our persons and property. These he promised to afford us
and engaged to leave two or three families at the station whenever the
rest of the tribe were moving about elsewhere. Upon this act of grace he
placed a rider "providing always that the aforesaid Wesail and his son
Onteachy should eat at our table whenever we ate".

I also had produced the needlework that my friends had given me for his
wives and children; these and the other presents pleased but did not
satisfy him as he asked for money, upon which Captain Gardiner gave him
some Spanish silver and I gave his a handsome purse to put them into;
the result was the agreement mentioned above. After supper he parted
from us with the strongest expressions of friendship.

Nevertheless I began to see that we were already in a false position,
which would greatly diminish if not destroy our hopes of usefulness
among them. It had been intended to present the present publicly as a
payment for the ground our houses and garden might occupy: and their
acceptance by Wesail upon these terms was to be proclaimed by Wesail to
his tribe as a proof that he took us and the Mission property under his
protection and intended to exert his influence to forward our missionary
views. Other matters of importance were also to be explained and
settled, so as to secure for us such respect from the people and
influence among them, as would promote our views of usefulness, or at
least secure a good understanding upon every important point. But under
the above circumstances, so far were these important ends from being
gained that Wesail and his people, instead of being impressed with any
sense of obligation to us for having left our country and friends to
settle among them, with the single view of doing them spiritual good and
showing them how to increase their worldly comforts, had seen Captain
Gardiner as it were, almost on his knees, begging that we might be
reconciled, that Wesail would accept the biscuits for his children and
that we might be permitted to remain among then as a favour to
ourselves, it would seem, and upon his own terms.

It was not difficult to anticipate that this would encourage both the
Chief and his people to make their own demands upon us at their
pleasure. The Chilean soldier had told us that Wesail's people were
talking of taking our lives at night; we did not regard this much but as
Wesail had spoken of using his dirk, while in his passion, we concluded
all hope of usefulness was at an end unless he could become reconciled;
if this could not be accomplished, we agreed to ask God to send a vessel
to take us off, or else graciously direct us to act in any other way
according to His Will. It was quite manifest that no dependence could be
placed upon Wesail's temper at least, and we began to lose confidence in
him in other respects; he also let out the fact that he was not going to
stay with us but was going with his tribe to Port Famine, though he
added, that he would return when the snow was on the ground.

Many circumstances began to make us doubtful if our present position at
Cape Gregory would be tenable for any great length of time, among which
were the following - There was no fresh water within four miles that we
could confidently depend upon for a constant supply: that which we were
near is not a spring and could hardly be called a stream, and the rise
of the tide had once already made it salt almost to the very top, and so
it remained for several days; there needed therefore only the
concurrence of two circumstances viz. a strong east wind and a high tide
to cut off this supply entirely. Again, if the Patagonians all left us,
we should be exposed to the danger of starving if not of more sudden
death at the hands of the notorious Lagoon Indians, against whom the
Chilean told us, they were obliged to have a number of soldiers at Port
Famine. Of these Lagoon Indians I had heard nothing until I found myself
among them. Captain Gardiner first insisted that they were natives of
Tierra del Fuego but this turned out to be an error, as they are natives
of Patagonia but much inferior in general to the Horse Patagonians. It
seems that the best characters among them take their bows and arrows and
join the Patagonians, while the bad ones are left to wander by
themselves. Another consideration was raised by the apparent great
influence that the presents and the priest, Padre Domingo [Fray Domingo
Passolini, Ed.], at Port Famine, had gained over the natives, an
influence with which we feared ourselves unable to contend. Other minor
considerations were the deficiency of firewood, the instability of our
houses, etc. Neither as yet had we been able to get any fresh meat, and
it began to be doubtful if we could cultivate any vegetables; these
latter considerations did not influence us much though, and after prayer
at night we felt disposed to think the best of Wesail and his people,
and were very thankful that we again appeared to be on good terms with them.



Sunday, March 16th, 1845

This morning the wives and tents of the men that were with Wesail (and
some others) began to make their appearance. Wesail seemed to take some
part in the arrangement of their localities: his own brother, an
interesting young man, had his tent immediately joining that of Wesail.
In the course of the morning all the tents arrived; there were not more
than ten. They have very few horses with them: Wesail has four but there
does not appear to be more than one to each of the other tents, most of
them are small and the backs of some of them are raw and sloughly
[having peeled or dead skin, Ed.] from the friction of their cruel
saddles. Their bridles are made of the sinews of the ostrich etc. and a
mere piece of string tied to the under jaw of the horse. They had one
pair of Spanish spurs which seemed to be the common property of two or
three of them, the rest were instruments made of two pieces of stick
each armed with iron and tied one on each side of the foot; these they
use unmercifully, their heels being sometimes covered with blood.

One of the most remarkable men among them is an old fellow, who appears
to act as orator and probably has some religious office. He is evidently
looked up to by the tribe, and I was soon aware that Wesail used him as
a tool to move his people at his (Wesail's) will. He takes care to keep
him in his interest by paying him little attentions and procuring
presents for him from visitors. Accordingly he gave Captain Gardiner a
hint to this effect and the old man was greatly pleased by the gift of
an old hat, which he tied on the crown of his head with a string of pink
tape. Another attractive character is a very ugly old woman of a very
masculine appearance, which striking peculiarity in a woman procured her
a present of tobacco from Captain Gardiner who fancied she was the old
orator and did not find out his mistake till too late to rectify it.

Wesail and Onteachy breakfasted with us this morning. He brought with
him the thimbles that formed part of the present he had received and
wished to have holes made through the tops of them, by which they might
be suspended; his wives also were very clamourous for the rings upon our
curtains and for the beads, such as the purse I had given to Wesail was
made of. We did our best to make them understand, that the day was our
Sabbath, in which we could do no work or attend to any unnecessary
business of that nature and that we wished to spend all the day in the
worship of God, in prayer and reading His Word etc., but that the
thimbles should be bored tomorrow. Captain Gardiner easily explained all
this to Wesail and consequently they did not annoy us much and when we
began the morning service they all left us to ourselves.

While we were thus engaged we heard them shouting and running about
gladsomely [full of joy, Ed.] and soon came near the house exclaiming,
so that we might hear "Yini, yini (pronounced Yinny) meaning a ship".
When the service was ended we found there was a vessel in the bay, under
all sail and with a fair wind and the tide in her favour, apparently
determined not to anchor but make for and pass through the Narrows. She
appeared to be English or American and about three or four hundred tons
burden.

Captain Gardiner immediately made for the shore with his glass; I soon
followed and Wesail sent with me his friend, and /Aide-de-camp/, bearing
a very light, long pole to assist us in making signals. All was now
noise and bustle on the shore, most of the people, men, women and
children, perhaps sixty, being assembled there raising smokes and
shouting. Soon after I had raised my pocket handkerchief upon the pole,
we had the high gratification of seeing the English Ensign floating in
the wind and upon my waving my flag in the direction of the land, she
shortened sail and approached the spot upon which we were standing.

As there was a bank, now invisible on account of the high tide,
stretching out into the bay at right angles to the course she was now
steering towards our position, I asked Captain Gardiner if we had better
not shift a little, so that if the Commander thought we were making
signals for him to anchor in the neighbourhood our position pointed out,
we might not be the means of making him run upon this bank. This Captain
Gardiner refused to do in the authoritative manner he generally assumed
when any suggestion was made to him, observing, as a reason, that the
man must be a great fool to run his vessel upon a shoal.

However, as she still continued her course, I took courage to say, that
it was becoming evident that she was expecting that we were directing
her to an anchorage and the probability was, that unless her Captain had
been here before, he would be as ignorant of the position of the shoal
as he (Captain Gardiner) and Captain Boyse were, when the /Rosalie/
anchored here. To this the reply was to this effect. "Did I imagine that
they would be so foolish as to neglect to sound as they passed on?" But,
as I remarked to Captain Gardiner, that would be the means of increasing
their dangerous confidence, for there was a great depth of water close
up to the very edge of the bank; and it was soon very evident that we
were leading them into danger and if she did not alter her course
immediately she would be aground.

Captain Gardiner seemed now to be of my opinion, for as I began to run
and wave the flag in the direction I thought she should immediately take
to avoid the danger, he also began to wave his glass in the same
direction in a very earnest manner. Our signals appeared to be
understood for, instantly she turned and went off almost at a right
angle and not a minute too soon. This rejoiced me exceedingly. Captain
Gardiner now said she had done this for the purpose of sending a boat on
shore and that she would not anchor as she had not made the necessary
preparations in her sails to letting her anchor go: however, as soon as
she was well away from the bank, the discoloured water of which it is
probable she had at length observed, the necessary preparations were
made and down went her anchor and the Captain came ashore about an hour
after. This was the first vessel we had seen after the departure of the
one that left us here, and she had arrived within a day after we had
agreed to ask for one to come. She proved to be the /Commodore/ bound
for England direct. Surely this was an answer to our prayers! Her
presence, the respect the Captain purposely showed us and other means he
used to influence Wesail in our favour, were of the utmost importance to
us and we felt under existing circumstances, more particularly the
change in Wesail's mind, that we ought to remain and we were glad to be
able to do so.

Having come to this resolution it was necessary that we should, as soon
as possible, have a fresh supply of provisions, for the Patagonians were
beginning to make some rather unreasonable demands upon our stock, which
it was not likely could be replenished before some nine or ten months
had passed over us. There arose also the question whether or not we
should recommend the Committee to send any other party to our aid.
Captain Gardiner's usual custom had been to make up his mind and tell me
that he had done so before he talked with me on the subject. "I have
made up my mind" was not his expression this time; but instead he very
cordially told me what he had been thinking of, and I was glad to find
that he considered our duty to the Committee and the Association,
required us under existing circumstances, to remain at our post. In this
opinion I quite concurred and confidently trusted that, as while doing
our duty to the Association we were no less doing our duty to God, we
should be at least protected while we remained, and further light would
doubtless be vouchsafed to us when the necessities of the case required it.

Having come to the determination to remain, I felt it to be my duty to
the cause and to myself to speak to Captain Gardiner regarding the
manner in which he frequently treated me. I reminded him that at an
early period after our arrival here, I had taken a fit opportunity of
saying in the presence of the mess that I considered the Committee had
left the entire direction of matters regarding the establishment of the
Mission to him and that therefore be must not expect any impertinent
interference from me; but on the contrary, I should always be ready to
exert myself to the utmost to assist to carrying out any plan that he
might determine upon; and while I should always be ready to express an
opinion, if it was called for, still I would rather not under the
circumstances have any choice in the matter.

(The occasion that gave rise to this conversation was the following - on
the Sunday after our arrival at Cape Gregory, Captain Gardiner spoke of
going to seek the Patagonians and Captain Boyse, I think, offered to
take charge of everything during our absence; this raised the question
whether or not I should accompany Captain Gardiner or some one else
should go with him. Of course I was anxious to come into communication
with the people at the very first opportunity, though I gave no
expression to this feeling; but in accordance with the above sentiments
I made known my determination to accompany Captain Gardiner or to remain
behind at the station, as he might determine. The latter was the plan he
resolved on, and accordingly I did not make any of the party who went in
search of the Patagonians at this time but remained at the station of
course, during the two nights of Captain Gardiner's absence, although no
one would stay with me, partly because of the discomfort of the
unfinished houses but chiefly perhaps, for fear of the Lagoon Indians,
whose various fires not many miles off made Captain Boyse believe were
in our neighbourhood.)

I also reminded Captain Gardiner that my conduct had been constantly in
accordance with the sentiments I had expressed and that, far from
interfering with matters which belonged to his province, I had, so to
speak, followed his footsteps as a dog would his master's, although my
judgement frequently convinced me that he was wrong. My motives were to
secure such a unity of purpose, hand and heart, as was indispensably
necessary to our success and comfort. I added that as regarded spiritual
attainments in general, I should be content to carry his shoes but at
the same time there was a part of his general behaviour towards me that
he must permit me to speak of. If, as I hoped to be, I were permanently
settled among the Patagonians, the measure of my success among them
would depend, humanly speaking, upon the measure of respect and
influence I could gain among them; and what I complained of was that
part of his behaviour which necessarily robbed me of my chance of success.

I then specified some of the things to which I alluded, which had caused
me to be insulted by the carpenter of the /Rosalie/ and laughed at by
some of the Patagonians. I told him that I attributed his harsh and
disrespectful manner to the habit of command he had acquired in a
Man-of-war, where it was absolutely necessary, and that I should not
have mentioned it to him if I had not felt that I might as well return
to England for any good that I could do the objects of the Mission,
unless I could secure that respect and influence which might eventually
secure me their love.

One of the incidents I mentioned to him was the following - Last
Saturday after the arrival of Wesail's tents and wives and after we had
had all the communication we thought advisable at that time, Captain
Gardiner expressed his determination to alter the position of the
kitchen stove. I immediately asked if I should assist him or if the
Chilean's aid would be enough; receiving no reply, I said I would, for
the present, go on with the wall, which I proceeded to do. In the mean
time, Captain Gardiner had shifted the stove and then went to nailing up
some boards at the gable of the house; in this there was no difficulty
and if he wanted anything the Chilean was close to him, whereas I was at
the other end of the station, in my shirt sleeves, sweating with hard
toil at the ditch and wall, a work that Captain Gardiner at first
projected but at which I had received no assistance as yet.

In these circumstances Captain Gardiner shouted for me to come to him,
which I did immediately and found him surrounded with Patagonians, among
whom were Wesail's wives. He then told me in an authoritative tone,
which the people about him noticed, though they could not understand the
words, to fetch him half a dozen nails such as he was using. I felt this
to be void of all reason but I did not hesitate to comply. I brought
them while he stood waiting for them, doing nothing; but instead of
thanking me for leaving my own engagement and going from one house to
another to wait upon him, he asked me in the same tone why I had not put
them in paper. Certainly no such idea had struck me, as he had said
nothing about paper, and those he had already used did not appear to
have been put in paper by himself. I therefore made no [line missing, Ed.]

I then replied simply, because I had done exactly as he had ordered me.
He also said "I can put these in my waistcoat pockets, bring me some of
the long thin ones." Upon this I went and brought the little iron pan
that contained all the nails and after selecting some of the long thin
ones, I gave him some of them and put the pot beside him on the ground.
After staying some time and seeing that he wanted no help, I went back
to the other end of the station and resumed my work at the wall, from
which he again called me in the same tone of voice to give him a nail
from the pot at his feet. This strange conduct was noticed by those who
surrounded him and the circumstances gave me considerable pain. I only
noticed them however, by mildly remarking, "Sir, the nails are all at
your feet".

No sooner did I mention the incidents alluded to than Captain Gardiner
remembered them and expressed himself as being hurt on account of the
natives having noticed them, and as being very sorry that such things
had ever occurred; and added that he was glad that I had attributed them
to the true cause viz. a habit he had contracted aboard a Man-of-war;
and he assured me he mourned over it every day and was sorry I had not
told him of it before, and begged that I would do so at the moment, for
the future. This I declined, being sure that it would be better to leave
such things for the future to his Christian principles and feelings.

After this satisfactory explanation we proceeded to canvass our future
plans. Before we could hear from England in answer to any communication
that might be sent by the /Commodore/, eight or ten months would hare
elapsed; by that time Captain Gardiner would wish to set out for home,
at the same time my being left alone was out of the question, some
assistance must therefore be asked for; and his, Captain Gardiner's,
opinion decidedly was on several accounts, it was not fit that I should
be the chief agent in carrying out the designs of the Association: he
would, therefore recommend to Sir Thomas Bloomfield, or to whomsoever he
wrote, that an unmarried man should be sent out as a catechist and that,
as the business of cook, housemaid etc. had been found to occupy so very
much of our time, he would recommend that a lad should also come out,
whose aid would leave the missionaries more time for their especial
duties; with regard to myself, some fit opportunity might be afforded me
of visiting England when I must take the opportunity of being ordained.
I expressed myself very glad of this mark of his confidence and
suggested that it might be much better if the person sent out could
speak Spanish, as it would increase his influence and usefulness.
Captain Gardiner thought it would be well if either the Missionary or
the lad had some acquaintance with that language and he would mention
the point in his communication. He would also write for provisions.

These arrangements appeared the best we could recommend, for though we
were not certain of our being able to remain, yet, according to present
appearances, it was our duty to remain at our post which, if we were
permitted to do so for any length of time, the aid we sought would be
absolutely necessary by the time it arrived, when every doubt might be
removed as to what the subsequent plans should be. If it should so
happen that we had been driven from our post, or should not be in life
when the aid came, we should have taken care to use the best means in
our power of putting correct information in the way of those whom we
expected to come out, that they might judge to act most conformably with
the instructions and wishes of the Committee. These conclusions we
arrived at after having prostrated ourselves in a hollow place near the
sea shore to ask counsel and direction of Him Whose servants we were and
Whose Will we desired to know and do. We then proceeded to write a few
hasty lines to England, as it was likely the vessel would sail again at
the earliest opportunity, we did not expect to be able to write much.

The Captain, Philipe De St. Croix and a boat's crew, well armed, soon
arrived. They were going to Liverpool and kindly offered us any
assistance in their power. A gentleman passenger, Mr. Kennedy
accompanied Captain De St. Croix to the station.

I took a private opportunity of asking Captain Gardiner if he would
think it advisable to have Wesail and his chief men in the presence of
all these, our countrymen, and come to a perfect understanding on every
important point regarding the Mission and what Wesail was to expect from
us and we from him. To this Captain Gardiner assented and as both
Captain De St. Croix and Mr. Kennedy spoke Spanish as well as Wesail,
this interview was of great service to us, although Captain Gardiner
confined the arrangement to the point of our having liberty to remain
and did not mention the matters I had taken the liberty to suggest, such
as this - that Wesail must understand that as we were missionaries and
with no more provisions than would suffice to feed ourselves, himself
and son according to agreement, he and his people must cease their other
unreasonable demands upon our store, or we ourselves might be left to
starve before we could receive a fresh supply. I thought this an
important omission, but to all that was said Wesail gave an assent that
appeared very cordial and requested Captain De St. Croix to tell the
people in England that his heart was towards Captain Gardiner, to which
Captain Gardiner replied in English, "Yes while I have anything to give
you!"

Wesail then went aboard the /Commodore/, Captain Croix and Mr. Kennedy
saying they would contrive to impress him with the idea that it would be
well for him and his people to treat us well. I fear they did not do the
cause in general much good, as some of the crew told him some untruths
and asked him to send a woman aboard. We thought it prudent to procure
some biscuit from the vessel.

There was also another point which Captain Gardiner wished to arrange
with Captain St. Croix viz. with the Patagonians there had arrived
another deserter from Port Famine, a desperate character, who seeing his
former comrade in possession of our kitchen, gave us to understand that
if he was not fed also, he would contrive to show eight or ten of his
Patagonian friends how to help themselves without any danger of a denial
from us. There was no doubt that he would be able to put his threat into
execution, for we had already seen, in the Patagonians themselves, a
disposition to steal without any other prompter than a fit opportunity.
Captain Gardiner was therefore glad to hear that this desperado would
gladly work his passage to any place whither the /Commodore/ would take
him; the other Chilean also wished to get away.

I hinted that to take any active measures to send an acknowledged
deserter out of the reach of the authorities, who claimed the country in
which we were, might furnish them with a reason they would be glad of to
oblige us to leave; but Captain Gardiner did not agree with me and
concluded that we must get rid of the fellow. Accordingly he requested
Captain De St. Croix to take him aboard. This he at once refused to do
because, although he would gladly rid us of him if he had contrived to
get aboard without his knowledge, yet this he must now prevent, as it
would be a breach of international law to connive at such an escape. He
informed us however, that there would be a Government vessel from Port
Famine here tomorrow and they would secure him. On account of the other
deserter I was sorry to hear this - as he retained his uniform, he could
not escape observation - but as it would not be right to warn him, I
hoped Captain Gardiner would leave things to take their own course.
Indeed any active measure, either to favour or prevent their escape,
might have embroiled us with one or other party. But to prevent the
dangerous one from becoming more desperate from hunger etc., his old
comrade was instructed to let him understand that he might sleep in the
kitchen and eat anything that remained after meals.

Wesail stayed but a short time aboard the /Commodore/ and Captain St
Croix sent an apology for not coming ashore again, the surf being so
high: we therefore had less time for writing than we anticipated. I sent
to Sir Thomas Bloomfield a short statement of our tramp in search of the
Patagonians with an encouraging remark or two; and to some of my friends
a request to forward me such things as my experience taught me would be
useful and acceptable to the natives as presents; to the Rev. W. J.
Woodcock I expressed my decided opinion that his wife and family ought
not to come out, as this is at present no place for ladies or children.

In the evening Wesail again eats with us. I mention to Captain Gardiner
my wish to make Wesail useful to me in acquiring the language, and with
this view I would always have writing materials on the table at meal
times. This he considered a good plan. I may mention here that this
morning Wesail brought two of his wives each having a young child to
Captain Gardiner, that he might doctor them. There did not appear to be
much the matter with either but the youngest exhibited slight signs of
indisposition. He gave each of them a very small quantity of Rhubarb and
Magnesia; the dose, though so small, operated upon the younger in less
than five minutes, shocking the delicacy of the Mother and inducing
Wesail himself to run out of the house to get some grass with which he
cleaned the floor.

All the people who came into the house were very much interested in a
portrait of my brother in water colours. Wesail turned and viewed it in
every direction, apparently unable to believe that the figure was not
raised from the surface. One of his brothers, who had not been present
at the first examination, actually started with fright as soon as his
eye rested upon this diminutive likeness; those who had corrected their
impressions that it was an animate being /in propria persona/ had a
hearty laugh at him.

All were exceedingly delighted with my accordion, which was brought out
today much against my will. Wesail insisted upon my playing it, and as
Captain Gardiner was not present to explain my motives for declining, I
was obliged to comply, after which most of them tried their hands at it.
They are fond of singing, but their music is very monotonous.

This night, a number of them of all ages assembled in a tent and sang
for several hours. A man appeared to begin by giving the measure in a
sort of prelude and then all joined in chorus, each individual retaining
the exact time and accent as given in the prelude, and exactly the same
pitch of voice throughout with which each, respectively, began the song.
The only variety that there was in each song, after the first measure,
was occasioned by the natural difference in the pitch of their voices,
which ranged from the deep bass of the men through every grade, up to
the shrill treble of the children; very few voices were discordant, the
harmony generally being 1.3.5.8. and the octaves to these. In some of
the songs the harmony from some of the voices was 1.4.6.8. etc. but
although they generally evaded discords, the kind of concord appeared to
be the result of chance. The following is a specimen of the words and
time of one song and they were all much alike.

Lal 	lal 	la 	lal 	lal 	la 	lal 	liv 	al 	la
Lal 	lal 	la 	lal 	liv 	al 	la 	  	  	 

repeated till they were hoarse, the vowels having the Italian sounds.
Some consisted of longer stanzas and more complicated time, but this
also seemed to be left to chance or the will of the leader. All was done
in the dark and I had no opportunity of ascertaining whether it was a
convivial or religious performance, or whether or not the old orator was
their leader.



Monday, March 17th, 1845

The remarks under yesterday's date were suggested by occurrences on that
day but were not written on Sunday. Early this morning the /Commodore/
was out of sight and the wind fair for her passage through the first
Narrows.

At breakfast time Wesail brought not only his son Onteachy but also
another son, Lux, two of his wives and two young men, his brothers,
appearing to expect that they were all to sit at our table. I think that
this unreasonable expectation and demand upon our generosity might have
been prevented if the suggestion I made yesterday, regarding the
necessity of perfect understanding with Wesail upon this point, had been
acted upon. It was perfectly out of our power to feed all these people:
we therefore laid plates etc. for ourselves, Wesail and Onteachy only,
and this was what we had engaged to do. Our not doing more occasioned
very dissatisfied looks and finally Wesail distributed messes from his
own plate among them, taking care in the meantime to secure enough for
himself likewise. He never ceased eating while anything remained on the
dishes and before he left he either took possession of any biscuit that
might remain on the table or else gave Onteachy a hint to do so. We were
obliged to eat our meals with all haste or else retain a good sharp
appetite for the next scramble, the dishes being emptied as if by magic.

It soon began to be evident that although our persons were safe from
hostility on the part of the Patagonians, yet Wesail had neither the
inclination, nor the power, to leave our provisions at our own disposal.
In fact our position had become a false one, for instead of being
respected and protected as missionaries, our presence and persons were
merely tolerated, that the provisions might be squeezed out of us at the
pleasure of Wesail etc. He did not hesitate to come into the house at
any time of the day and help himself to biscuit from the barrel, merely
holding it up in his hand as he went out again that it might not have
the appearance of a sly theft but only a little liberty that he judged
we should not question. He had also got into the habit of coming long
before meals were ready and when he brought his children and wives with
him, as he had done before today, there was no moving in the place: so I
asked Captain Gardiner to let him understand that we would send word to
him and Onteachy as soon as all was ready for them; this Captain
Gardiner assented to and did.

But when dinner time came, Captain Gardiner, being justly displeased
with Wesail's unreasonable behaviour, refused at first to send him word,
as he wished to break through his practice of coming to meals with us.
Against this I could not forbear to urge, modestly, that it was an
article in the agreement to which Captain Gardiner had consented, that
Wesail and Onteachy should eat with us and this we ought not to attempt
to get rid of, except in a straightforward manner; and that to attempt
to get our dinner without Wesail, who was waiting for his till he heard
from us that it was ready, would be likely to make him angry and
compromise our own character. Captain Gardiner then went himself and
called Wesail, who appeared to be somewhat displeased and ate but
little, which last circumstance might have been occasioned by our having
a little piece of guanaco, which he had given us; it was the only piece
we had received and the only present made to us. As this meat was common
enough to him, this might account for his disinclination to take much
with us today.

At tea time there was another dispute between him and Captain Gardiner
arising from a misunderstanding about a tin pot. Wesail's wives had
observed how convenient our wooden pails and tin pots were, and
consequently Captain Gardiner had complied with their request to lend
them a water pail and give them a tin coffee cup. This happened I think
on Saturday. In the course of this day Captain Gardiner stopped one of
Wesail's wives as she was going out of our house with a tin coffee pot
in her hand; the pot, he supposed she was attempting to steal, he
therefore took it away from her, much against her will. While at tea
this afternoon Wesail made a rather positive demand for one of these tin
cups and when Captain Gardiner replied that we had none to spare, Wesail
warmly dissented from the statement which Captain Gardiner continued to
affirm.

I felt sure from Wesail's manner that something was wrong, and we
proceeded to count our cups, of which we ought to have five, exclusive
of the one Captain Gardiner had given them. We did not appear to have
more than five so Captain Gardiner seemed to answer Wesail more
positively. I could not understand all that was said but it was very
evident that Wesail was getting out of temper. At last Captain Gardiner
turned to me and said "He demands one of these cups and says [...] will
have it, so I must submit". It was accordingly handed over to them.
Ultimately it appeared that the pot Wesail's wife had been carrying away
was their own, as upon mustering all ours we had the right number,
exclusive of the one Captain Gardiner gave them today.

But the unpleasantnesses were far from ending here. Wesail had
previously asked if we had any spirits with us and had been informed
that we had some for medicinal and other necessary purposes only. This
evening after the tin pot was dismissed, he asked in a somewhat positive
tone for some of these spirits that he and some of his friends might get
drunk. Against this Captain Gardiner protested in the most feeling and
Christian manner, telling him in substance that God had given a most
positive command against drunkenness and that missionaries, above all
others, could not do anything to contribute to such wickedness etc. But
Wesail, who had expressed to the Chilean deserter that was unfriendly to
us his dislike of missionaries who had not pleased him in the
distribution of their biscuits, only grew more impatient and positive
till Captain Gardiner felt himself obliged to produce a bottle, with a
request that he would add some water to it before it was drunk. Wesail
then departed with the bottle in good humour, leaving us with the
conviction that our prospect of usefulness was becoming very limited and
that we had better leave at the first opportunity, than be constrained
to administer to their sins.

We had hardly time to commit our way to God and ask for a clear light to
shine upon our path, before we heard the sounds of drunken revelry from
Wesail's tent; and soon after he came again, singing and staggering into
the house to ask for more, we feared before we had effected our purpose
of throwing it all away, which was the course we had determined on. For
some time however, he did nothing but lay his head and hands upon the
table and then get up and sing - lel, lel, la etc. But at length he
began to talk about Port Famine, saying they all liked Port Famine
because there they made him and all his people drunk and boiled large
iron pots of /harina/ or meal for them.

This was the prelude to the next act of the evening which was to ask
Captain Gardiner to feast his people with meal tomorrow morning, as the
greater part of them were going away to hunt and had nothing to satisfy
their hunger before they went. However unreasonable this demand was, it
was not so bad as that for spirits for the purpose of getting drunk, and
as it was in vain to reason with a drunken man, especially of his
character, Captain Gardiner promised to do as he required. He then
walked out with the friend that had accompanied him.

Soon after Captain Gardiner happening to go out of the house saw him
lying on the ground close to our door and supposing he had been overcome
by the spirits, said "Wesail" (no reply) "Wesail, you had better go to
your tent and not lie on the ground here." To this no significant reply
was given, and Captain Gardiner discovered that Wesail had met with and
detained a female who it seemed was nothing loath; plenty of people were
about still, no privacy had been sought; which confirmed what I heard
from a sailor with whom I had remonst[rated] on account of his behaviour
to the Patagonian woman viz. It is not such an easy matter to make these
husbands jealous

About ten o'clock this night we emptied our spirits that we had intended
for medicine etc. and for the spirit lamp into the water, so that we
could not be again compelled to minister to the sin of drunk[en]ness but
we still very seriously feared that it would become our duty to leave
these people at the first opportunity; for Padre Domingo, and others at
Port Famine, had obtained so much influence over them as to counteract
all our efforts, unless we could supply them with clothes, food and
drink; this latter was now as much out of our power as it was opposed to
our duty, and we quite anticipated that we should be left without food;
but if we could have consented to supply these three things, Wesail gave
us to understand that he would become a Christian - that is, as he had
learnt to understand the term "a Christian" at Port Famine etc. he would
wear the clothes that might be given him. This would indeed have been
something like adorning the outside of a sepulchre.

While we were again considering the duties that our position demanded of
us, I told Captain Gardiner what I had been thinking of for several
days; and the Patagonians had not been with us two days before I was
convinced that plan was the only one that would give the Mission a
chance of success. The important features of the plan were: - That I
should adopt the Patagonian mode of living so far as absolutely
necessary and accompany them in their wandering from place to place,
depending upon them for supplies of food and any assistance that I might
require in moving my tent etc. Secondly, that instead of being
encumbered with such a stock of provisions as would oblige me to remain
at a station and would excite the cupidity of the Patagonians and the
Lagoon Indians, I should be empowered to obtain such supplies from
vessels passing the straits or from other sources, as would enable me to
satisfy the Patagonians for every assistance they had previously
rendered me.

The chief difficulty of this plan, with respect to myself, was the great
probability that my life would be terminated by the hardships and
exposure to the winter nights etc. before any adequate good could be
effected. This probability was much confirmed by my experience during
our four days tramp in search of the Patagonians. There was also the
probability that, if I accompanied the people either to Port Famine or
the North, the Spaniards would put an end to the Mission as soon as its
object became known, or at least my efforts would be counteracted and
embarrassed by the Roman Catholic priest at Port Famine. These amongst
other reasons satisfied me that it was not my duty to make this attempt
and Captain Gardiner concurred with this opinion, although he seemed to
think that some such plan afforded the only hope of benefiting these
poor people.

In the course of this day Captain Gardiner twice urged me to think about
making an attempt among the Araucanians, but each time we considered the
matter, difficulties originating in the present state of Chile and the
character and feeling of the Araucanians presented themselves; and these
difficulties, Captain Gardiner concluded, would be insurmountable
without some previous conversation about these matters. I gave him to
understand that having abandoned my country and lost my home in order to
assist in carrying out the views of the Committee, I held myself at
their disposal and would gladly make any attempt that they would
sanction. He then gave me to understand that the Committee had given him
no positive and particular instructions but a /carte blanche/ so that he
must act as circumstances appeared to demand; to which I replied that I
would most gladly and cordially cooperate with him in any attempt that I
had not reason to think was utterly impracticable, or else was likely to
result in nothing adequate to the expectations of the Committee.

Both of us were decidedly of the opinion that, as Tierra del Fuego was
an object of the Committee's solicitude, our duty to them and the
Association required that we should not return to England without at
least ascertaining that it was impracticable to do any good there, and
we were quite willing to meet any danger that a prudent attempt might
involve. One of the difficulties to be anticipated in Tierra del Fuego,
as well as with the Araucanians, was their unwillingness to receive
missionaries or others; and another difficulty was the receipt and
security of the necessary supplies. With regard to Tierra del Fuego it
was certain, I remarked, that the north eastern part was the most
likely, on account of the great superiority in the number and character
of the tribe inhabiting that part and the great superiority of its
climate and soil; it also possessed a good harbour, accessible to ships,
without encountering the dangers of the Straits and not so much out of
the way of vessels going round the Horn as Cape Gregory is. In fact it
is the part that Captain King recommended as fittest for a British
settlement. It would not indeed enjoy the advantage of a call from any
vessel that was not instructed to touch there; but I understood Captain
Gardiner to agree that it was the most likely part to make an attempt
upon, or inasmuch that he said nothing to the contrary. The matter was
then left to more mature consideration.

I then took the liberty of hinting that, if it should happen that
nothing could be done here, it would be a great loss to the Missionary
cause if the energies of the Committee and Association and their funds
should be exhausted for want of being directed to some one of the many
vacant fields of labour; and I ventured to suggest that possibly they
would gladly exert themselves to support as their own Mission, some
other station, which the Church Missionary Society or the Colonial
Church Missionary Society might recommend and assist them in the
management of. Captain Gardiner thought this not improbable, as there
were already some such Associations in connection with the Church
Missionary Society.



Tuesday, March 18th, 1845

Early this morning, Captain Gardiner said he had spent a great part of
the night in anxiously considering what plan we had better pursue, and
had come to the conclusion that we had better go to Port Famine by the
vessel we expected from that place and there mature our plans for the
future after having obtained all the information we could. His present
intentions were to hire a a vessel at Port Famine or at Valparaiso and
make it the depository of our stores and persons, till we should feel
ourselves safe among the Fuegians, or ascertain that nothing could be
done for them. Meanwhile I might be able to obtain assistance in
learning the language and when at Tierra del Fuego we might get a native
to live with us aboard and accompany us ashore in our daily visit to his
countrymen. This I thought a practicable plan if the expense of the
vessel would not be an obstacle. To this Captain Gardiner replied
whatever expense was incurred more than the Committee would be justified
in paying, he would engage to make up.

Soon after this conversation, we were quite confirmed in the propriety
of our quitting our present station, by learning that Centurion (San
Leon) and his tribe now much more numerous than the others, were
entirely and completely under the influence of the Chileans and that two
of Centurion's sons were at Port Famine under the care of Padre Domingo,
their instructor. Moreover we understood that every effort was being
made by Chile to attach the Patagonians to her interests, as a struggle
was expected to commence immediately between Chile and Rosas, for the
possession of the south eastern parts of Patagonia. Captain Gardiner
said the Chileans had hitherto thwarted all his attempts to benefit
their portion of South America; and as for Rosas' party, they would not
even spare our lives if in coming against Port Famine they should hear
of our station and object.

The circumstances referred to and others not mentioned appeared to
decide two points. First, we could not remain long In the country.
Secondly, if we could have hoped to remain at our posts it nevertheless
appeared certain that little or no good could be expected to result from
our efforts, and therefore it was manifest that the Committee's energies
might be more profitably expended elsewhere. As Captain Gardiner
expressed his view of the case, the Mission had been commenced too late,
for the Chileans had succeeded in bringing them (the Patagonians) under
their influence and Padre Domingo had wound them round his thumb.
Captain Gardiner also believed that Wesail's character had very much
deteriorated during the last three years.



Wednesday, March 19th, 1845

I do not wonder the success which attended the Politico-Religious object
of the settlement at Port Famine, for the principal agents and more
especially Padre Domingo seemed to have been well selected for the
purpose. The latter appears to be a remarkably amiable, beneficent and
self denying man, not only making himself all things to all men, but
also knowing how to relax the rigour of his creed and discipline so as
to retain the licentious people with whom he had to do within the bounds
of a Christian profession, and in apparent subserviency to his spiritual
authority; what he was not obliged to see he winked at, and when one of
his people took some liberties, that he was obliged to witness, with the
wife of a Patagonian, he merely said in a half serious, half comic
manner, O John! O John! All men spoke well of him. When Captain Gardiner
was in Chile, Padre Domingo was Superior of the College of Castro in
Chiloe. Thus he verified the assertion of Macaulay: "Rome has also a
force disposable at a moment's notice for foreign service, however
dangerous or disagreeable. If it is thought at headquarters that a
certain priest has talent and character to qualify him for a distant
Mission, the necessary order is instantly given and instantly obeyed.
Immediately the faithful servant of the Church is preaching,
catechising, and confessing in another and distant part of the world.
The whole Church is still sending forth to the farthest ends of the
earth missionaries as zealous as those who landed in Kent with
Augustine... Her acquisitions in the New World have more than
compensated her for what she has lost in the old. Her spiritual
ascendancy extends over the vast countries which lie between the plains
of the Missouri and Cape Horn". (1840)

While getting up this morning, Captain Gardiner told me that he now
thought the best plan would be to buy a boat and put a deck upon her, so
that she would contain our provisions and serve as a place of refuge in
a case of necessity and enable us to procure provisions from Port
Famine, where we might also get a strong house made, to be erected upon
Dawson Island, which is opposite Port Famine. To this I replied in
substance that I had yesterday given a hearty assent to the plan he had
then mentioned, as the only practicable one but this appeared to be so
different in several of the details, that I could not venture an opinion
without mature consideration; my present impression was that, if it was
not impracticable, it was nearly useless.

His reply was that there was no alteration in the plan except the
substitution of a small vessel for a larger, that would require too
great an outlay. I then reminded him that Port Famine was a Government
Settlement, therefore they could not sell us provisions at least without
an order from the government of Chile, which certainly would not be
given to forward a Protestant Mission on an Island that they claimed. I
was equally certain that they would not give us provisions to enable us
to prosecute an object to which their Government was strongly opposed;
they had only to tell us (what the deserter said was a fact) they were
short of provisions for themselves, and then they would feel themselves
justified in starving us from the place.

But supposing the plan practicable, would it not be nearly useless? For
in Dawson Island there were few, if any, inhabitants and the Port Famine
colony wished to keep them farther off, according to the Chilean's
account; and they had increased the number of their soldiers fourfold,
to secure themselves against the marauding habits of these Indians and
the Patagonian Lagoon Indians. Moreover the inhabitants of the vicinity
of Dawson Island are, according to Captain King and others, few and very
barbarous and their language different to that of the mass of the
Fuegians. The aspect, climate etc. of the little island were also
greatly inferior to that of the north-eastern parts of Tierra del Fuego;
and as soon as the barbarians knew that we possessed a little boat
filled with provisions, we might expect them to assemble in their canoes
and attack us, when our only chance of escape in the narrow Straits that
surround this little island, would be to shoot some of them; which,
supposing the circumstances justified us in so doing, would at once put
an end to the Mission in that quarter; and if we allowed the provisions
to be stolen and escaped with our lives, we should equally be obliged to
quit the station. Such considerations as these led me to think that the
funds could not be well spent in an attempt upon Dawson Island,
especially as the north-eastern part of Tierra del Fuego appeared to be
preferable in every respect.

Captain Gardiner then said that he had not determined upon making the
attempt upon Dawson Island, neither had he intended to try the
north-eastern part of Tierra del Fuego: for there we could not procure
provisions, as the little boat could not safely navigate the Magellan
Straits. The determination to go to Port Famine was retained and
consequently the construction of the wall and every other improvement at
the Station was discontinued.

Towards noon the vessel from Port Famine made its appearance and we
hastened down to the shore, wishing to communicate with them before they
spoke to the natives, who were all in a state of great excitement; even
those who had gone to hunt, after having feasted at the expense of the
Mission, were hastening back from every quarter; the vessel soon sent
off a boat but they seemed very reluctant to touch the shore till they
heard our English voices directing them to the east landing place. In
the boat were Mr Dunn, the Secretary of the Colony at Port Famine or San
Felipe, as they called it. Mr Dunn's parents were both English. The
sailing master was an American, late Mate of the /Express/ wrecked near
the Straits, and among the boat's crew was a man whom Captain Gardiner
had known at Falkland Islands; each of these three spoke English.

We were immediately invited to go aboard the Government Schooner,
/Ancud/; Ruperto Gatica, Lieut. Commander. We accepted the Invitation
and on our way they put as many leading questions as enabled them to
ascertain who we were, what we were about and upon what terms we were
with the natives etc. This led to their being informed of our wish that
they would give us a passage to San Felipe, to which Mr Dunn replied
that he had no doubt that this point could be arranged. Among other
things, they asked how we had contrived to be so well acquainted with
the state of San Felipe, and this led to Captain Gardiner's mentioning
the two deserters, upon which Mr Dunn said, in a rather peculiar manner,
that one object of their coming was to catch them.

On our going aboard the /Ancud/ we were exceedingly well received and
Captain Gatica expressed the utmost readiness to do everything in his
power for us, and assured us that the Governor of San Felipe, Major
Ribera, would be equally obliging. We were then informed that they had
expected that our Station was a settlement of Buenos Ayreans, sent by
Rosas, to take possession of the disputed territory. This accounted for
their being in no haste to come ashore. I became satisfied that the
chief reason for their presence at Cape Gregory was to see what was
going on; and I have little doubt that they had some Indian or other
spy, in our neighbourhood, to inform them if any hostile Indians or no
less inimical Buenos Ayreans happened to appear hereabout. Some of my
reasons for this opinion were the following (which have a place here
because the facts influenced our determination to return home).

The boundary dispute between Chile and Buenos Aires has been attempted
to be settled by the mutual agreement that the Cordilleras shall be the
boundary; which arrangement would hardly give so western a point as Port
Famine even to the Chilean territory. But Chile affects to believe that
the Cordilleras, or a branch of them, runs S.E. towards the mouth of the
Santa Cruz river. In this case the whole of the south of Patagonia
belongs to Chile and thus they would possess all the straits and all
Tierra del Fuego. This claim Chile is determined to support and
accordingly they are fortifying and strengthening Port Famine against an
expected attack from Rosas. Captain Gatica distinctly allowed that they
expected this attack either by land or sea and that they were preparing
to resist it. They knew that Rosas was attempting to secure the
assistance of the Patagonian tribes and therefore they might expect an
attack by land and he affirmed that he knew of the report that Rosas was
about to break up their settlement by sending a Man-of-War.

Here then is a reason why common prudence should make them decide upon
procuring early information of anything particular happening to the East
of them. That they did get this information is probable because when the
English vessel /Ganges/ arrived at Cape Gregory this afternoon, her
Captain, Mr Gibson told us that he had heard at Port Famine that two
Englishmen from the Falkland Islands were here. This report, partly
true, partly false might have originated in this manner. We had latterly
told all the Indians we saw that we were English, Captain Gardiner's
name had become known; these two things being reported at Port Famine
and reaching the ears of the man who had known Captain Gardiner at the
Falkland Islands and had left them (the islands) to go to Port Famine,
while Captain Gardiner was still residing at the Falklands, would
naturally give rise to the report that Captain Gibson of the /Ganges/
had heard at Port Famine.

Captain Gatica's doubts of our character and country are explained by
the fact of his having left Port Famine several days before the /Ganges/
arrived there. The Lagoon Indians left us and went towards Port Famine
ten days ago, and he whom we first saw had made several trips and
signals in that direction. This man might have communicated by signals,
or through the medium of other Indians in the neighbourhood, the fact of
our arrival and setting up houses; and the Lagoon Indians who last left
us might have carried the news that only Captain Gardiner and another
Englishman had been left ashore.

But still more important facts are: - The Chileans think they hare
discovered a good coal mine in the neighbourhood of Sandy Point. From
the character of the strata at Cape Gregory I think this very unlikely;
but if it be true, it is of great importance to them to take possession
of the Straits and employ steam tugs, which would render the navigation
safe and facilitate their communication with the East, by superseding
the necessity of doubling Cape Horn and perhaps supersede the meditated
canal over the Isthmus of Panama. The possession of the Straits is
therefore to be contested by Chile and Rosas and already every effort is
being made by both parties to secure the co-operation of the Patagonian
tribes. It appears that Centurion and Wesail have given in their
adherence to Port Famine and the Northern tribes to Rosas. In the midst
of this strife we were powerless for good, our object being considered
hostile by both parties, each of whom claims, in a moral as well as a
physical point of view, the ground we have attempted to occupy, We also
find that Tierra del Fuego is within the wind of this connection and
this has blasted the hopes we had entertained of doing something in that
quarter. According to Captain G's opinion, Chile would not tolerate us
and Rosas's persecution would be much more decided. (In this place the
remarks which commence this day's entry should have been written.)

Soon after noon the English vessel /Ganges/, Captain Gibson made her
appearance and anchored in the bay. The /Ancud/ immediately sent a boat
to her with a request that Captain Gibson would visit them on his way to
the shore. This Captain Gibson did. Meanwhile the additional information
we had received from Captain Gatica had decided that we should return to
England immediately, in order to prevent the Committee from making
arrangements to send anyone else out. As soon therefore as Captain
Gibson came ashore, Captain Gardiner requested him to take us home. He
replied that he had not room nor provisions for us, to which we answered
we could occupy part of the half deck and put up with anything he could
afford us. The result was he consented to take us for a reasonable sum,
with the understanding that we must put up with things as we found them.
We therefore requested him to see Captain Gatica as he returned to the
/Ganges/ and inform him of our altered plans.

It seems that however willing the Chileans were to take us out of the
country to Port Famine, they were still more glad to hear that we were
about to return to England. Fearful that the Indians would steal our
provisions etc. in the night if they heard immediately of our
determination to leave them, we requested that both crews would be
silent on the subject and our preparations were begun within doors.
Captain Gatica and Mr Dunn were anxious to have as many of our things as
they could procure with their slender funds, so Captain Gardiner busied
himself with showing them everything that could be disposed of, while I
packed up my valuables in my two large boxes, large portmanteau and two
other packages: so that before the next morning all my things were ready
to go aboard, except a change of linen that was hanging up to dry. This
I mention because the necessary haste I made occasioned the loss of
nearly the whole in the following way.



Thursday, March 20th, 1845

Captain Gibson, being anxious to get everything aboard as soon as
possible, came early this morning, Thursday the 20th and took a boat
load of the provisions, and returned a little before noon for another
load. Most of my things being ready, they were taken to the boat with
some more of the provisions and one or two of Captain Gardiner's boxes.

Captain Gardiner and myself being busy in the house did not observe that
a squall had come on, almost as violent as that of the 23rd of last
month, which had on that day upset us on the /Rosalie/'s jolly boat when
about to go aboard the vessel for the Sunday services. These squalls
would not be so dangerous in the open sea but, meeting the tide in this
bay, they raise such short, abrupt cross waves as are highly dangerous
to small boats. It was another of these squalls that was nearly fatal to
Captain Boyse and myself and the crew of the long boat at a later part
of the same day on which I had been bathed by the swamping of the jolly
boat. With these circumstances Captain Gibson was not acquainted and we,
not knowing the state of things in the Bay, did not warn him; he
therefore ventured, being ignorant of his danger, although he did not
like the look of the sea. The consequence was that as soon as they got
into the tide, she began to fill, they did their best to reach the
/Ganges/ but wind and tide not suffering them, they were driving fast
out to sea, without being able to bale her out, the lading not allowing
them to get at the water. There were nine souls in the boat, one of
their oars was broken and they had been obliged to use the bayonets of
the guns for thole pins, these latter having also broken: they were in
fact about to sink. Captain Gibson therefore did, very reluctantly but
very properly, the only thing likely to save them, he ordered the cargo
to be thrown overboard, which enabled them to keep afloat and after
three hours hard pulling, they contrived to reach the shore at a distant
part of the Bay.

We knew nothing of this danger till late in the evening when Captain
Gibson reached the Station, in order to explain and apologise. We
heartily congratulated him on his escape and that of the crew and two
boys, Henry and Robert Stevenson, passengers from Valparaiso to
Edinburgh for their education. The safety of these nine souls was not to
be compromised by any hopeless attempt to save the lading of the boat,
however valuable: we therefore cheerfully and fully justified Captain
Gibson in acting as the extremity demanded. Of the whole cargo nothing
was saved but a chest of tea, a box of Captain Gardiner's and a saddle
and a mattress of mine; while to the unthankful sea were thrown, among
other things, my bedding, clothes, many books, sundry presents I had
received as tokens of respect, my letters, memorandum books,
testimonials, all my manuscripts, accumulated during the last fifteen
years as several articles valued by me chiefly as heirlooms or mementoes
of a large family circle and other friends of whom nothing substantial
remains to me in this life. My private Journal of the Patagonian Mission
I had retained on shore.

Aboard the /Ganges/ this afternoon the greatest anxiety prevailed as we
could see from their signalizing the /Ancud/; this feeling arose we
afterwards heard from their uncertainty of the fate of the boat and
crew, which they could not ascertain, the weather not allowing them to
send a boat ashore till late in the evening; but as the gale relaxed its
force, their glass enabled them to see the boat ashore some miles off
which led them to conclude that she had upset at sea and been driven
thither by the wind and waves. To find all the persons safe was an
agreeable surprise to them and to those aboard the /Ancud/, for from
both vessels the critical state of the boat and the efforts made to save
her had been anxiously watched, till all was hidden from them by the
waves. Immediately after Captain Gibson reached us in the evening, an
officer from the /Ancud/ came and informed me that a boat and crew
belonging to the /Ganges/ had been lost; had he arrived a little
earlier, we should have mourned an unreal calamity: but now it was my
pleasure to tell him the sequel of the tragedy, with this result that
all the spectators in both vessels seemed as satisfied as the audience
on shore.

During the day padre Domingo was busy among the Patagonians, over whom
he seemed to have considerable influence; he had been in their
neighbourhood many months and had acquired a short vocabulary of their
language, which is extremely harsh and guttural especially from the
mouths of the men, who seem to make an effort to speak not only through,
but with their throats. Hearing them, the language seems neither copious
nor fluent, but to consist of little more than a chain of consonants of
which the gutturals seem to stick in their throats as if they were
rooted in their bowels. In pronouncing the dentals, the tongue is
retained upon the teeth by a forcible pressure and the passage of the
breath through the larynx is prevented as in straining: which occasions
a disagreeable pause, followed sometimes by the addition of another
syllable to the end of the word, when the pressure is suddenly
withdrawn. Thus my name was often pronounced Hunt.....er instead of
Hunt; similarly as I think, the name of one of Wesail's sons became
Ontea....chy for when no particular effort was made to pronounce the
word, they would call him Onteach.

Owing to the unfavourable circumstances in which we were placed with
regard to them, their friendly intercourse with us was exceedingly
limited and therefore very little could be learnt from them or of them,
but what we saw and experienced was far from making any favourable
impressions of their character. They are by no means so ill looking as I
had expected to find them; a large proportion of them were well made and
the countenances of a few of the women very expressive of those feelings
which become the sex in civilized society; the eyes of some of these
would thank you very eloquently for giving their young child a bit of
biscuit. Though clothed with nothing but a mantle they were scrupulously
careful not to expose their persons, indeed most of them put on the
appearance of maidenly modesty, though there were some enormous
exceptions, chiefly among the older women.

They were all very anxious to secure some biscuits, as these were
wheeled away towards the shore; the iron carriage was completely
surrounded by the women, who with noisy mirth, pretended to assist the
sailors to push but in reality they hindered them all they could and
continued to cut a hole in one of the bags and help themselves. In this
feat the prettiest of Wesail's wives had her foot hurt, one of the
wheels passed over it but she made light of the wound. Wesail himself
acted a very dishonest part, for he was the ringlead[er] in an attempt
to steal a barrel of pork: in fact the attempt was successful, but we
got it again with Mr Dunn's assistance. Wesail did not appear ashamed
when he was detected, and when Captain Gardiner called him a thief
(/ladron/) he merely walked away, somewhat out of humour; but this did
not prevent his giving us a cold shake of the hand when he left this
afternoon to go to Port Famine. In this movement he had been preceded by
most of his people. I presume the people from the /Ancud/ had persuaded
them to this step for the note of preparation (/largo/) was given, and
some took their departure early in the morning, before we could suppose
that they anticipated our movements.

Wesail was also guilty of an act of treachery. He had harboured the
deserter that was our enemy and whom I think he must have known to be
such, and had given him to understand that he should be safe and fed;
but two or three heads of tobacco induced him to entrap him and deliver
the poor fellow up; he even detained him till the Chileans fetched him
away in his own tent, as a prisoner, where he had previously treated him
as a friend. The opinion that the Chileans entertained of the degree of
confidence to be placed in the Patagonians was most obvious, for while
trafficking with them for mantles and making them presents of scarlet
cloth etc., Captain Gatica would never allow the men to come ashore
without being well armed, and everyone was surprised that we should be
easy in our defenceless state. The boats also of the /Commodore/ and
/Ganges/ were supplied with fire arms.

The great body of the Patagonians left us about midday. To see these
people who, if under the influence of pure and undefiled Christianity
should doubtless become mentally and physically a fine race of men,
abandon themselves to papal influence, could not be [other than]
distressing to any Protestant Christian mind, but more especially to
those who had hoped to show them a better way; my last look at them as
they passed over the inhospitable plain towards Port Famine was
therefore a sad one; following their track a few hundred yards to a
sheltered hollow which had frequently been the House of God to me, I
committed them to Him, Who judgeth the people righteously and governeth
the people upon earth. I had been willing to risk everything to stay
with then, indeed we had been nigh unto death and were willing to risk
all again and again, if there had been hope; therefore this consolation
was remaining. We had, as it were, been forbidden by the Holy Ghost to
preach the Word to them. And shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right? Humanly speaking, that which satisfied the Committee will justify
us. The attempt has been honestly made to the verge of possibility, I
might almost say, and I trust that by everyone it has been done as unto
the Lord and it has failed, at least so far as the Patagonians are
concerned; but good is the Will of the Lord.

Two officers of the /Ancud/ slept with us on the floor this night, our
beds being gone aboard and their boat not being able to fetch them.



Friday, March 21st, 1845

Two or three Patagonians came back to take a look at us and perhaps to
see if anything was left that they could pick up. Various things were
necessarily left, among them one of the houses and the coals. These we
supposed the Chileans would secure after we had sailed.

Aboard the /Ganges/. About noon we took our last foot from the land. All
its attractions had ceased when the hope of benefiting its inhabitants
perished. The country now appears to me in its true character, a naked,
barren, irreclaimable waste. A thin superficial layer of vegetable mould
supports its coarse grass which has a seared appearance on account of
the great lack of moisture. This want of humidity would render any
extensive attempt at agriculture abortive, and if a kitchen garden were
formed it must be constantly watered by hand. In its naturally arid
state it does not even give nourishment to a single earth worm. The
subsoil is reddish, half-indurated clay but which, at some feet distance
from the surface, becomes less hard and of a slate colour, at least in
the neighbourhood of the little creek north east of the Station. These
qualities of the soil, want of rain and the almost incessant and
tremendous winds forbid the growth of trees, and accordingly there is
not a single one in the southeastern part of Patagonia, neither did we
see one on our westward wanderings, though there are plenty at Port
Famine and westward of it. There are a very few sloe bushes and a dwarf
species of shambling /lignum vitae/ is rather less scarce; towards the
hills and Gregory Range a species of insipid cranberry is plentiful and
the berries are also very plentiful. There are a few herbs among which
the celery is most abundant. No clover or any other species of trefoil.

Wild duck and geese are plentiful in the neighbourhood of Oazy Harbour
and ostriches [Darwin's rhea, Ed.] are not scarce. No freshwater fish
near Cape Gregory. The only edible marine ones are the mussel and
another bivalve which may sometimes be got at low water. The only wild
quadrupeds we saw were the field mouse, the fox, the puma, the wild cat
and the guanaco. The only domestic animals hares and dogs. Lizards
appeared abundant. I do not take upon me to describe the animals or
vegetables of the country, I only briefly allude to what I myself
observed on the land and to the above should be added a few birds that
were unknown to me, chiefly falcons, buzzards, hawks etc, also plover
and jack snipe. There is no fresh water that can be depended upon within
several miles of Cape Gregory, and all the fire wood might be consumed
by a couple of families in a month.

Captain Gardiner succeeded in hiring the Mate's cabin for us: otherwise
we must have slept in the half deck among the men and exposed to the
smell of ammonia arising from the cargo of guano.



Sunday, June 15th, 1845

Our voyage home was favourable, but the vessel was deeply laden and very
wet fore and aft, and so leaky that the pumps were going during a very
considerable part of each watch throughout the whole voyage.

On Sunday night June 15th we made the Cove of Cork to which the skill of
the Captain, Mr J. Gibson had conducted us exactly, although we had seen
no land between Cape Virgins, Patagonia and Cape Clear, Ireland. As the
vessel was a slow sailor and we had been overtaken north of the Line by
the /Glenswilly/, Captain Gardiner determined to go on by her, in order
if possible, to prevent the Committee engaging anyone to go to Cape
Gregory in consequence of our application for aid. The two vessels were
in sight of each other for three days and as Captain Gardiner was
obliged to go on to Scotland in the /Glenswilly/, I might have been in
London almost as soon as he but we were detained at Cove day after day
for nearly a week, during which time I had an opportunity of seeing
Cork, Blarney etc. Having heard that Miss Isaac Wilson of Kendal was in
Cork, I waited upon her in the hope of hearing news of Kendal friends,
but did not get much information.



Saturday, June 21st, 1845

This evening sailed for Bristol and arrived in the Avon on Monday
evening. The passage up this river to Bristol was a most delightful one.
Cleared the Custom House and set out for London on Wednesday evening.
Arrived at Berwick House, Oxford Street early in the morning of
Thursday. Saw Mr Ritchie and received a letter from Sir Thos. Bloomfield
saying he had fixed the Committee Meeting for two o'clock next Monday to
give me an opportunity of being in Brighton in time.



Saturday, June 28th, 1845

Went to Greenwich to see my excellent friends the Ritchies.



Sunday, June 29th, 1845

Morning at the Rev. Montgomery's Chapel..... did not hear him. Evening
at the Rev. B..... Conduit Street, Regent Street..... did not hear him.



Monday, June 30th, 1845

To Brighton. Found that the Committee had been most active in taking
measures for our relief and assistance. Sir Thos. Bloomfield and Sir
Edward Parry had prevailed upon the Admiralty to order a Government
steamer to run to Cape Gregory and afford us every assistance in their
power. [They] were preparing to send us out provisions and had engaged a
young gentleman as my assistant, who was coming out forthwith. This Mr
Gonzalvez was a native of Cuba and a Roman Catholic, but he and his
family had become Protestants and connected themselves with the
Methodists; as I understand, he was highly esteemed by the Committee. I
had not the pleasure of seeing him.

The Committee were of course, much disappointed at our being obliged to
leave Patagonia. Captain Gardiner's and my Journal had been read at
previous Meetings and we were cordially congratulated upon our having
been so mercifully preserved in many dangerous and trying circumstances.
Captain Gardiner was called upon to make a statement of his views for
future operations, and I was called upon for my opinion and to say if I
should be willing to attempt to carry them out.

Many parts of Captain Gardiner's plan were quite new to me; he had
talked of many plans while on the first part of our voyage, but they
changed and varied almost daily; but it was manifest to all that many
important probabilities were unprovided for and some things, anticipated
by Captain Gardiner as advantages, were equally likely to prove the
reverse; for instance, we were to cross the Cordilleras from Chile just
before the winter set in, so that when in the country of the Pehuenches,
the people to whom we were to go, no person could follow to molest us
for six months, during which time we might obtain a friendly influence
over the Indians, But as we could take neither tents, baggage nor
provisions with us, it was obvious that if the natives did not receive
us kindly and provide us with everything during all this time, the
circumstance of our not being able to communicate with any outpost would
be certain death to us who would have to go viz. Mr Gonzalvez and
myself. In fact I had lost confidence in Captain Gardiner's judgement,
which was completely at the command of his zeal; but I told the
Committee that I was ready to go anywhere, if only I could be sure that
I was not tempting God but only following the leadings of His Providence
and therefore obeying his Call.

The feeling of the Committee was expressed by a principal member to this
effect - they must as a public body, having their constituents' money in
charge, act with prudence and their measures must be directed to
accomplish the exact designs of the Association but, as Captain Gardiner
had previously told them upon the strength of his own observations, made
three years since, that Gape Gregory was the only point open to
Missionaries and now recommended them to try another part of the same
continent and that, without any information so recent as that he had
previously communicated, it appeared that such an attempt would have too
much the appearance of a speculation and as the Committee could not
spare any part of their reputation for wisdom, he thought this attempt
should not be made till more recent information was found to corroborate
Captain Gardiner's views of the probabilities of success.

Dr Williams, Rector of Woodchester, had proposed that I and Mr Gonzalvez
should make another attempt at Cape Gregory but the Doctor had not seen
our Journals and although it is not very improbable that another attempt
made under somewhat different circumstances, might prove more happy, it
would now be premature. The Committee adjourned till tomorrow, after
passing a resolution not to disorganise the Association but put out the
funds at interest till more decisive measure[s] could be taken.



Tuesday, July 1st, 1845

/Resolutions at adjourned Meeting follow./

Resolutions agreed to at a Meeting of the Committee of the Brighton
Missionary Association for Patagonia held at 68, Regency Square,
Brighton on Tuesday July 1st 1845

Resolved - That the Committee desire to record the sense which they
unanimously entertain of Mr Hunt's singleness of aim and devoted zeal
during the short period of his connection with the Society as a
Catechist and under the very perilous and trying circumstances in which
he had been placed and their trust that he will still prove a valuable
labourer in the Missionary Field.

Resolved - that in consideration of his services and the relinquishment
of his situation as master of an Endowed School on his joining the
Mission and the loss of his baggage and other valuable property in the
Straits of Magellan, the sum of One Hundred Pounds, being his salary for
one year, be granted him and that every exertion be made to forward his
views of being still employed as a Missionary, in connection with the
Church Missionary or some other Society.

Signed Thos. N. Bloomfield Knt.


In consequence of the above resolutions, the Committee communicated with
the Church Missionary Society and it resulted that I entered the C.M.
College on Sept. 19th 1845 after having been to read for six weeks with
Dr Williams, Rector of Woodchester, Gloucestershire; was ordained Deacon
by the Lord Bishop of London at St James' on June 18th 1848; and Priest,
May 13th 1849 at Chester by letters dimissary from the Bishop of London
to the Bishop of Chester. This arrangement was kindly made by the Bishop
of London in order that I might get Priest's Orders before sailing to my
destination; it being expected that I should have to embark before
Trinity Sunday and, had not any other Bishop held an ordination before
that day, his Lordship most kindly expressed his readiness to have a
special ordination on my account.

In the interval of receiving Deacon's and Priest's orders, l remained at
College; but on account of my previous hard reading having brought on a
chronic attack of indigestion, I had not much Sunday duty, only
occasionally taking the evening duty at Highbury and occasionally
assisting the clergy at Islington.

On Friday, April 27th 1849 I was, in answer to many prayers, most
happily united in marriage to Miss A. G. C. Wathen, third daughter of
Josh. Wathen Esq., Stanley Park, Gloucestershire at King Stanley Church,
by the Rev. J. K. Davidson.



Extracts from /Rosalie/'s Log -- omitted