State Library of NSW
[Page 221]
Terra del Fuego
Janry 1769
not seem to be address'd either to us or any of their countreymen
Their language is guttural especialy in some particular words which they seem to express much as an Englishman when he hawks to clear his throat but they have many words that sound soft enough during our stay among them I could learn but two of their words Nalleca which signified beads at least so they always said when they wanted them instead of the ribbands or other trifles which I offerd them & oouda which signified water or so they said when we took them ashore from the ship & by signs ask'd where water was oouda was their answer making the sign of drinking & pointing to our casks as well as to the place where we put them ashore & found plenty of water
Of Civil goverment I saw no signs no one seemd to be more respected than another nor did I ever see the least appearance of Quarreling or words between any two of them Religion also they seemd to be without unless those people who made strange noises that I have mentiond before were preists or exorcisers which opinion is merely conjectural
Their food at least what we saw them make use of was either Seals or shell fish how they took the former we never saw but the latter
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