The Land of Magellan by W.S. Barclay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was still in my public library's collection when I searched for books to read about this area. It was published more than 80 years ago, and I found it entertaining when it discussed historic tales of Tierra del Fuego, Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn, Patagonia, and the Falklands.

His thought about the extinct natives, the Yaghan, gave me pause to consider too.

Instead of introducing the Yaghan to such (to him) unwholesome luxuries, the event plainly shows it would have been better to have allowed him to remain cold and hungry but healthy. In place of attempting teaching these Indians to plant turnips in the water-logged Fuegan soil, their natural genius as fishermen might have turned to catching and preserving the shoals of sardines, mullet and shellfish which abound in the Beagle Channel. A sufficient food-supply would thus have been secured without altering their diet or withdrawing the stimulus to work. Surplus supplies would always have found a ready sale among the shipping at Sandy Point. But suggestion and criticism alike come too late now.
The conviction, common to all proselytizing sects, that the regeneration of an Indian can only begin when he dons the clothes of his well-wishers is so deeply seated that it usually dies out only with the Indian himself.

I recommend it to all readers interested in this topic.

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