as the crew had disembarked from her, and there was something
melancholy in seeing her slowly drift away to leeward, followed by her
oars and various small articles, as if to rejoin the noble ship she had
so lately quitted. The latter was now hove-to, under full sail, an
occasional puff of smoke alone betraying the presence of the demon of
destruction within. The sky was dark and lowering, the sunset red and
lurid in its grandeur, the clouds numerous and threatening, the sea high
and dark, with occasional streaks of white foam. Not a breath of wind
was stirring. Everything portended a gale. As we lay slowly rolling from
side to side, both ship and boat were sometimes plainly visible, and
then again both would disappear, for what seemed an age, in the deep
trough of the South Atlantic rollers."[30]

* * * * *

Something Lady Brassey has to say about the Patagonians, of whom the
early voyagers brought home such mythical accounts. They owe their name
to the fanciful credulity of Magellan, who thus immortalized his
conviction that they were of gigantic proportions--Patagons, or
Pentagons, that is, five cubits high. Sir Thomas Cavendish speaks of
them as averaging seven to eight feet in stature. In truth, they are a
fine robust race; well-limbed, of great strength, and above six feet in
height; not giants, but men cast in a noble mould, and, physically, not
inferior to the household regiments of the British army. They live the
true nomadic life, being almost constantly on horseback, and dashing at
headlong speed across their wide and open plains. Both men and women
wear a long flowing mantle of skins, which reaches from the waist to the
ankle, with a large loose piece dependent on one side, ready to be
thrown over their heads whenever necessary; this is fastened by a large
flat pin, hammered out either from the rough silver or from a dollar.
They are no believers in cleanliness; but daub their bodies with paint
and grease, especially the women. Their only weapons are knives and
bolas, the latter of which they throw with a surprising accuracy of aim.
That they possess even the rudest form of religious belief, or perform
any religious ceremonies, has never yet been ascertained. Their food
consists chiefly of the flesh of mares, and troops of these animals
accompany them always on their excursions. They also eat ostrich flesh,
as an exceptional _bonne bouche_, and birds' eggs, and fish, which the