books

Patagonia Bookshelf

A collection of first-hand accounts from earlier times
compiled by Duncan Campbell and Gladys Grace

Catalogue

B=book  M=Manuscript  N=Newspaper  P=Periodical
star = New    §=Spanish text
1553 Hernán Gallego, master pilot M §
1578 Drake in Patagonia M §
1741 Wreck of HMS Wager B  
1742 Dangers and Distresses B  
1823 Four Voyages to the South Sea B  
1833 Missionaries at San Gregorio P  
1851 Insurrection at Magellan B  
1854 Captive Boy in Tierra del Fuego B  
1867 Reports from Magellan Territory  star M §
1888 Diary of a Sheep-Drive M  
1891 Journal of a Sheep-Farmer M  
1892 Expedition to Última Esperanza B §
1895 Gold Diggings of Cape Horn B  
1896 Natives of Tierra del Fuego B §
1896 South Am. Missionary Society B  
1902 Copybook of a Rural Sheriff M §
1908 Punta Arenas English Magazine P  
1914 A Chilean visits Magallanes B §
1916 Shackleton in Punta Arenas N  
1918 Guide to Commerce + Industry B §
1918 Puerto Bories Freezer B  
1924 Última Esperanza Album B  
1924 Argentine Patagonia B §
1927 San Julián: Advertiser N §
1943 Soc. Exp. Tierra del Fuego B §
1948 Memories of Arthur Button M  

Most Popular

Guide to Commerce and Industry (1918)
Soc. Exp. Tierra del Fuego (1943)

Related Web-Pages

Map: Santa Cruz and Magallanes (1903)
British in Southern Patagonia
Bygone Days in Southern Patagonia

Small Print

Copyright Notice: We believe that copyright has expired on all the printed materials published on this site. Original images from private sources (such as manuscripts) are presented by permission of their current owners. All these exhibits are provided online for educational purposes only. You are free to copy text and images for personal use: please cite URL http://patlibros.org. Reproduction for commercial gain is not authorized.

Editorial Policy: All transcripts are faithful to the original text. Occasionally, editorial changes are made to assist the reader: for example, revising spelling and punctuation, correcting errata, or supplying modern forms of place-names.

Extra Links




 Hernán Gallego, master pilot, 1553 

link to transcript
Author: Hernán Gallego (1511-?)
Unpublished manuscript: date and origin undetermined
Size: 4 pages
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt
First west-to-east crossing of the Magellan Strait; brief account of the route and landmarks; contact with various native groups

 Drake in Patagonia, 1578 

link to transcript
Author: John Drake (c1562-?)
Unpublished manuscript: Lima, 1587
Size: 6 pages
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  rtf
Expedition of the author and his cousin Francis Drake; experiences at Bahía de Lobos, San Julián, Strait of Magellan, as far west as the Pacific seaboard; observations of local native groups

 Wreck of HMS Wager, 1741 

link to transcript
Author: Midshipman Alexander Campbell (?-?)
Publisher: W. Owen, London, 1747
Size: 109 pages
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Account of a shipwreck in the Golfo de Penas (southern Pacific coast), and the lengthy journey back to civilization; description of native groups

 Dangers and Distresses, 1742 

link to transcript
Author: Midshipman Isaac Morris (1710-?)
Publisher: S. Birt, London, c1750
Size: 87 pages
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Adventures of a group of survivors from the wreck of HMS Wager, abandoned on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, and their lengthy journey back home; some description of native customs

 Four Voyages to the South Sea, 1823 

link to transcript
Author: Captain Benjamin Morrell Jr. (1795-1839)
Publisher: Harper, New York, USA, 1832
Size: 16 pages [extract]
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Contact of a North American adventurer with the canoe people living in the western part of the Magellan Strait; describes native customs, local flora and fauna

 Missionaries at San Gregorio, 1833-34 

link to transcript
Authors: William Arms (?-?) + Titus Coan (1801-1882)
Publisher: «The Missionary Herald», Boston, USA, 1833-34
Size: 21 printed pages + 13 pages manuscript
Language: English
Download report: zip  txt  ; instructions: zip  txt ;
Download Falklands visit: zip  txt
Extracts from the personal journals of two North American missionaries, living among native tribes near the Strait of Magellan; descriptions of local lifestyle and beliefs

  Insurrection at Magellan, 1851 

link to transcript
Author: Charles H. Brown (?-?)
Editor: Elizabeth H. Appleton (?-?)
Publisher: Rand, Boston, USA, 1854
Size: 228 pages, 2 illustrations
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Account of the mutiny at Punta Arenas, as told by ship captain Charles Brown, who was captured and imprisoned by the rebels under Lieutenant Cambiaso; excesses committed, colony abandoned, ship lost

 Captive Boy in Tierra del Fuego, 1854-55 

link to transcript
Author: Phebe Ann Hanaford (1829-1921)
Publisher: Carlton & Porter, New York, USA, 1867
Size: 17 pages [extract], 4 illustrations
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
News reports and a personal account of a shipwreck near Cape Horn, the survivors' life among the local canoe people, and their eventual rescue

 Official Reports from Magellan Territory, 1867-68 

link to transcript
Author: Damian C. Riobó (?-?)
Unpublished manuscripts: 1867, 1868; Book published 1868
Size: 8 pages [manuscript] + 2 pages [book extract]
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  rtf
Reports by the Governor of Chile's Magallanes Territory, describing his confrontation with the Argentine sailor/trader Luis Piedra Buena, the unauthorized sale of alcohol, and visits by Indians [selected topics]

  Diary of a Sheep-Drive, 1888-89 

link to transcript
Author: Thomas Alexander Saunders (1857-1928)
Unpublished manuscript
Size: 26 pages [originals + transcript]
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt  ; images: zip
Personal diary of one of the pioneer ranchers, recording a 6-month, 700-mile sheep-drive through largely empty lands, from the Río Negro to San Julián; details daily progress, route, landmarks, people and significant events

 Journal of a Sheep-Farmer, 1891-98 

link to transcript
Author: William Blain (1852-1924)
Unpublished manuscript
Size: 30 pages, Ona vocabulary [4 pages]
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Personal journal of a pioneer shepherd, hired to establish a large sheep-ranch in Tierra del Fuego; reports contacts and confrontations with the native inhabitants

  Expedition to Última Esperanza, 1892 

link to transcript
Author: Hermann Eberhard (1852-1908)
Publisher: Imprenta «El Magallanes», Punta Arenas, 1922
Size: 39 pages, 9 illustrations
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt
Winter expedition in an open boat, led by Captain Hermann Eberhard, who was to become the region's first settler and rancher

  Gold Diggings of Cape Horn, 1894 

link to transcript
Author: John Randolph Spears (1850-1936)
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1895
Size: 319 pages, 15 illustrations
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt ; images: zip
Visit to Mainland Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, in the early stages of modern settlement; historical background; descriptions of people, places and wildlife; interviews

  Natives of Tierra del Fuego, 1896 

link to transcript
Author: Manuel Señoret (1852-1900)
Publisher: Imprenta Nacional, Santiago, 1896
Size: 44 pages
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt
Report by the civil governor of Magallanes Territory (Chile) on the native peoples of the island of Tierra del Fuego; proposals for improving their conditions

  South Am. Missionary Society, 1844-94 

link to transcript
Editor: Elizabeth Lydia Marsh Gardiner (?-?)
Publisher: South Am. Missionary Society, London, 1896?
Size: 42 pages, 11 illustrations
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Reports by Anglican missionaries of 50 years of work in Tierra del Fuego: initial setbacks and tragedies; dogged pursuit of spiritual and practical goals

 Copybook of a rural sheriff, 1902-06 

link to transcript
Principal author: John MacLean (1860-1940)
Unpublished manuscripts
Size: 102 documents
Language: Spanish [index + some letters in English]
Download text: zip  txt
Correspondence between comisario MacLean and authorities in Punta Arenas; includes police work, civil administration, and details of ranching operations on the north shore of the Magellan Strait

 Punta Arenas English Magazine, 1908 

link to transcript
Publisher: Anglican Church
Edition: 15 March 1908
Size: 12 pages, 11 sections, 17 advertisements
Language: English
Download images: zip
Parish newsletter for the English-speaking community in Punta Arenas; church information, events; school examination results; passengers; contributed articles; local business advertisements

 A Chilean visits Magallanes, 1914 

link to transcript
Author: Agustín Gómez García (1870-1926)
Publisher: Imprenta Universitaria, Santiago de Chile, 1914
Size: 149 pages
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt
Report of a congressman's visit to Magallanes; assessment of the region's progress and future; analyses of economic and political issues

 Shackleton in Punta Arenas, 1916 

link to transcript
Editor: Charles Arthur Thomas Riesco (c1881-1931)
Publisher: The Magellan Times, Punta Arenas, 1916
Size: 19 editions, 39 articles
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Week-by-week account of Shackleton's visits to Punta Arenas, and the rescue of his expedition members stranded in Antarctica; interviews, reports and public lectures by Shackleton and Wild

 Guide to commerce and industry, 1918 

link to transcript
Editor: Julio Collado (?-?)
Publisher: Soc. Imprenta Chile Austral, Punta Arenas, 1918
Size: 254 pages, 112 illustrations
Language: Spanish
Download: not available
Directory of Magallanes: public administration, armed forces, professional, commercial and industrial businesses; in-depth articles on agricultural topics; many personal names

 Puerto Bories Freezer, c1918 

link to transcript
Author: Carlos Foresti (?-?)
Publisher: unknown, c1918
Size: 40 pages, 76 illustrations
Language: Spanish [English translation added]
Download text: zip  txt ; images: zip
Photographs of the large industrial plant near Puerto Natales (Chile), owned by the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego: shows each of the different processes involved; brief annotations

 Última Esperanza Album, c1924 

link to transcript
Author: Andrés Ribas (?-?)
Publisher: unknown, c1924
Size: 120 pages, 227 illustrations
Language: Spanish [English translation added]
Download text: zip  txt ; images (a): zip ; (b) zip
An illustrated description of the Última Esperanza region (Chile), featuring the main sheep-ranching company (Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego), and its employees; many photographs

 Argentine Patagonia, c1924 

link to transcript
Authors: Edelmiro A. Correa Falcón (?-?),
Luis J. Klappenbach (?-?)
Publisher: private limited edition?, c1924
Size: 271 pages, 125+ illustrations
Language: Spanish [some sections in English]
Download: not available
An illustrated description of Santa Cruz Territory, Argentina, including early sheep ranches and their founders

 San Julián: Advertiser, 1927 

link to transcript
Editor/Publisher: Antonio Dougnac L. (1895-1977)
Edition: 22 October 1927
Size: 6 pages, 9 sections, 27 advertisements
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt ; images: zip
Small-town, family-run newspaper from Santa Cruz Territory, Argentina; local, national and international news; social commentary; local business advertisements

 Soc. Exp. Tierra del Fuego, 1893-1943 

link to transcript
Author: Fernando Durán
Publisher: unknown, 1943
Size: 128 pages [transcript], 82 illustrations
Language: Spanish
Download text: zip  txt ; images: zip
Authorized report of the largest sheep-ranching company of its day; historical background; financial highlights; names of excutives and directors

 Memories of Arthur Button, 1906-51 

link to transcript
Author: Arthur Button (c1880-c1965)
Unpublished manuscript, c1948-51
Size: 2 notebooks, 189 pages; 30 pages transcribed
Language: English
Download text: zip  txt
Selected writings of an early settler in Última Esperanza, Chile: includes memories of early years in the region, local history, climate, observations of wildlife
Related Web-Site

 Map: Santa Cruz + Magallanes, 1903 

link to map
Publisher: Wilkinson y Lefrançois, Buenos Aires, 1903
Size: 56 segments, 171 landholders, 241 toponyms,
101 auction results
Indexes provided to assist in locating names
Download images: zip
Large-scale map of the sub-division of the region (Argentina and Chile); names of places, landowners and renters (individuals and companies); details of Chilean auction
Related Web-Site

 British in Southern Patagonia 

link to web-site
Author: Duncan S. Campbell
Size: 484 pages, 746 illustrations
Statistics: 103 databases, 192 families,
11,690 name citations
Language: English and Spanish versions
History of British settlement in southern Patagonia, from the 1870s onward; individual names collated from a wide range of sources; short biographies of immigrant families
Related Web-Site

 Bygone Days in Southern Patagonia 

link to web-site
Authors: Duncan S. Campbell, Gladys Grace P.
Size: 32 albums, 284 illustrations
Language: English and Spanish versions
Images of early life in southern Patagonia, from 1898 to 1950 — photographs of people in various settings; buildings; transportation; maps; postcards; certificates; letters; coins and tokens etc.