as often as they thought fit to perform it,
and to put the best face we could on the matter. The dance over, they
invited us into a wigwam. It was ten feet in diameter, with a fire on
the ground in the centre. Round it were heaps of dry grass, on which
apparently they slept; while bunches of grass were hung to the roof,
probably to dry. The smoke found its way out of the doorway, and
through a small aperture, where the poles at the apex joined. There we
all sat round the fire, squatting on our heels, and talking away as fast
as our tongues could move, as if we were keeping up a very interesting
conversation. The smoke and heat, not to mention the want of
cleanliness in our hosts, made us very glad to get out again into the
fresh air. Besides the fungi I have spoken of, the Fuegians live
chiefly on fish and the shell-fish they gather on the rocks, though they
eat birds and grubs of all sorts--and, I fancy, nothing comes amiss to
them. We observed that a platform of clay was placed in each canoe, on
which to place a fire. There was also a sort of well at the bottom of
the canoe, and out of it a man was constantly employed in bailing the
water, which leaked in through the seams. The men we met were of good
size, and robust; but their legs were thin and weak, owing to their
sitting so much in their canoes and walking so little. When by degrees
we produced our gifts, and distributed them among the party--men, women,
and children--their pleasure knew no bounds. They danced, and laughed,
and shouted into our ears louder than ever; so that we thought it would
be as well to be off while they remained in such excellent humour. They
were much astonished at seeing the doctor pull out his note-book and
write in it. The doctor, to indulge them, made a few clear strokes; and
a young man, who had attached himself to Jerry and me, imitated them in
a wonderful way, considering his rough and uncouth hand. We had heard
them making a number of strange sounds, and at last we discovered that
they were imitating our words.

"Good-bye," said Jerry, as we got up to go away.

"Good-bye," replied our young friend as clearly as possible, seeming
fully to comprehend the meaning of the words.

"You speak capital English," said Jerry, laughing.

"Capital English," repeated the savage, shouting with a laughter which
was quite catching, as if he had said something very clever.

Then, having gone through another process of hugging, we