Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager: With an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia from the year 1740 till their arrival in England 1746Byron, John
History
Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager: With an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia from the year 1740 till their arrival in England 1746
Byron, John
Chiloé (Chile); Patagonia (Argentina and Chile); Wager (Ship)
As it was matter of uncertainty whether we should ever recover the
barge or not, which was stipulated, on our side, to become the property
of the cacique, upon his fulfilling his engagements with us; the
inducements we now made use of to prevail upon him to proceed with us
in our journey were, that he should have my fowling-piece, some little
matters in the possession of Captain Cheap, and that we would use our
interest to procure him some small pecuniary reward.
We were now to set off in the canoe, in which I was to assist him in
rowing. Accordingly, putting from this island, we rowed hard all this
day and the next, without any thing to eat but a scrap of seal, a very
small portion of which fell to my share. About two hours after the
close of the day, we put ashore, where we discovered six or seven
wigwams. For my part, my strength was so exhausted with fatigue and
hunger, that it would have been impossible for me to have held out
another day at this toilsome work. As soon as we landed, the Indian
conducted Captain Cheap with him into a wigwam; but I was left to shift
for myself.
Thus left, I was for some time at a loss what I had best do; for
knowing that in the variety of dispositions observable among the
Indians, the surly and savage temper is the most prevalent, I had good
reason to conclude, that if I obtruded myself upon them, my reception
would be but indifferent. Necessity, however, put me upon the risk;
I accordingly pushed into the next wigwam upon my hands and knees;
for the entrance into these kind of buildings is too low to admit of
any other manner of getting into them. To give a short description of
these temporary houses, called wigwams, may not be improper here, for
the satisfaction of those who never saw any; especially as they differ
somewhat from those of North America, which are more generally known
from the numerous accounts of that country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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