an account of the very tall men, seen near the streights of magellan, in the year 1764, by the...

An Account of the Very Tall Men, Seen Near the Streights of Magellan, in the Year 1764, bythe Equipage of the Dolphin Man of War, under the Command of the Hon. CommodoreByron; in a Letter from Mr. Charles Clarke, Officer on Board the Said Ship, to M. Maty, M.D. Sec. R. S.Author(s): Charles ClarkeSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 57 (1767), pp. 75-79Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/105933 .

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VIII. ASAIccoxtoftserNtallMen,leex revr the Streights of MagellanX ir the Eear I764j by the Eppage of the Dolphin Man of ar, snder the Comnd of the Hon. Commodore Byron; i* a Letter frotn Mr.Charles Clarke,06icer o-nboard thefiaid Ship, to M. Maty, M. D. Sec. R. S.

Weathersfield, November 3> T766.

S I R,

Read Feb. ts,T Had the pleafiure of feeing my friend

767 1 Mr. M-a few days ago, when he

made me acquainted with your defire of a particular

account of the Patagonians, which I mofl: readily

undertake to gisre, as it vrill make me extremely

happy if I can render it in the leaI} amufing or agree-

able to you. X wi{h I could embellifh it with language

tnore worthy your perufal; however, I will give it the

embelliihment of truth, and rely on your goodnefs to

excuSe a tar's dialedr. We had not got above ten or twellre leagues into

the RreigI}ts of Magellan, from the Atlantic ocean,

before we faw Weveral people, fome on horfeback and

itome on foot, upon tile north Jhore (continent), and

witll the help of our glaXes could perceive them

beckonirlg to us to come on ffiore, and at the fame

tin^c oblerved to each- other ttat they feemed of an IJ 2 eXtRd<;)rdinarY



E 76 ] extarordinary f1xe; hovfever we continued to Iland on, and Should have paffied without taklng the leaft farther noiice of thetn, could mte have proceededa but our breese dying away, and the tide making againll us, we were obliged to anchor, when the commodore ordered his boat of twelve oars and anotller of fix to be hoiRed out, lmanned and armed. In the firR went the commodore, in the other Mr CuInmings our lSrll lieutenant and myfelf At our firA leaving the fhip, their number did not exceed forty; but as we ap- pro2ched the fhoreX we perceived them pouring down from all quarters, fome galloping, others running, all making uSe of their utmoR expedition. They col- leEted themfelves in a body, juIt at the place we Ileered for. When- we had got within tweIve or fourteen yards of the beach, we fbund it a difagreeable flat lhore witlS very largetlones) which we appre- hended would injure the -boats-; fo looked at two or three different places, to finel the moll convenient for landing They fuppefed we deferred coming on ffiore, througb apprehen-Gons of danger from them, upon which they all threw open the {kit s which were over their {houlders, which was the only cloathing they had, and confequently the only thing they could fecret any kind of arms with, and many of them laid down cloWe to the water's edge. The comtnodore made a motion for them to: go a little way from the water, that we might have toom to land, which they immediately complied with, and withdrew thirty or forty yardss we then landed, aald formed each man with his mufqu-et, in cafe any violence ffiould be offired. As foon as we were formed, the commodore went from us to the^-m, then at about twenty yards

7 diItance;



[ 77 ] diRance; they feemed va(lly happy at his going among them, immediately gathered round him, and nzade a rude kind of noiSe, which I belie:7e was their method of finging, -as their countenances befpolee it a fpecies of jollity. The commodore then Vmade a moticn to them to fit down, thich they did in a circle with hlm in the middle,, w3zen Mr. Byron took fotne beads and ribbons, which he had brought for tllat purpofe, and tied aDvut the women's necks, &cX with svllich they Seemed infinitely pleaSed. We were fEruck wlth the greatefl: alionithment at t:he iigllt of people -of luch a gigantic Rature, notwlthfianding our previous notice with our glaSes from the {}zip; their nutnber was i¢crealEd by the time wegot on Ihore to alzoutfive hundred. n3en, Sromen, and children. The men and wornen both rid in the fame manner; the women had a kind of belt to cloSe their hin round the wai0, which the men had not, as theirs were only flung over their {houlders, and tied with two little nips (cut from tlle Ikin) round the neck. At the time of the commodores moti-on fir thetn to retire fil-rther up the beach, they all diEmounted} and turned their horSes loofe, which were gentle and Rood very quietly. The conztnodore} hiaving difipoSed of all his preSetsts and fatisfied his cariofity thought propelt to retires but they were valily arixious to have him go up into thecousntry to eat with them; (that they wanted him to go with them to eat we could very well underRand by their motion, but theil language was wholly unintelligible to us ) There was a very great fmoke to which they poanted} about a mile from us, here there muIt have been feveral fires; but Some intervening hills prevented our Seeing any thing but

the



[ 78 ] the fmoke The commodore eturned the compli ment, by inviting them on board the ffiip, but they would not favour him with their company, fo we embarked and returned to the lhip. We were with them near two hours a;t noon day, within a very few yards, though none hadfthe honour of {haking hands but Mr Byron and Mr. Cumtnings; however, we were near enough and long enough with them to convince our fenSes ro far as not to be caviled out of the very exiRence of thofe fenfes at that time which fome of our Countrymen and friends wollld abfolutely attempt to do. They are of a copper colour, with long black hair) and Some of them are certainly nine feet if they don't exceed it. The commodore, who is very near fix foot, could but juR reach the top of one of their heads, which he attempted,, on tip toes, and there were feareral taller than him on vvhom the experiment was triedJ They are prodigious Aout, and as well and proportionally made as ever I faw people in my life. That th@y ohave fome kind of arms anzong them ls, I thinka indirputable, from their taking tnethods to convince us they 11ad none at tllat time ab3vlt thern. The womenX I think} bear much tlael:anle proportion to the men as our Earopeans do; there was hardly A rnan there leIi tharl eight fecta sno(t of them confiderably more; the women, I believe, run from 7 to S. Their horSes were- Rout and bony, bvt not renzarka-bly tall @ they are in nly opinion fiXom 5 to IS; hands. They had a great nllinber of dogs, about the fz@ of a middling p<3inter, -with a fox ncib They contlnued upon tlle beach till we got under way, whicil was two hours after we got o< board; I believe,- they kad {ome expeEtaw

tions



[ 79 ] tions of our returning 2gain; but as foon as they Sw us getting ofE,, they betook themIElves to the country

The cc)untry of Patagonia is rather hilly, though not remalkably lo. You havc here and there a ridge of hills, but no very liigla ones. We lay fotne time at Port Delire, wllich is not a great way to the northward of the ltreights, where we traverfed the country Inany mile.s round; we found firebrands in different places, which convixlced us there had been people and we fuppofe them to have been the Patagonians. The {oil is falldy, produces nothing but a coarfe harfh gra&, and a few iinall ffirubs, of which Sir John Narborough remarked, he could not find one of filse enotlgh to tnake the helve of ahatchetf which obi:ervation we found very ju{}. It vstas fome time in december we made this vifit to our gigantic friends. I am debarred being fo particular as I could wiM, from the IOrs of my journals, which were denlanded by their lordShips of tecb admiralty, imm-e- diately upon our return ; but if any article is omitted which you are defirous of being acquainted witll, 1 beg you will eake lome means of letting me know ite for I will moflc readily communicate every circumi:lance of the matters that te11 llnder my obIervationZ as it is wsth tl¢ greavek pleaiure and reipedc that I fubEcribe myfelf,

S I R, Your very humble Scrvant

Charles Clark¢,

IX. ^d



an account of the very tall men, seen near the streights of magellan, in the year 1764, by the...

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