Page:The birds of Tierra del Fuego - Richard Crawshay.djvu/45

Rh of the White Man, but they run in steadier and deeper channels. His pride, his affections, his superstitions, are all directed towards few objects. Free from the restraints and requirements of polished life, and in a great degree a solitary and independent being, he obeys the impulses of his inclinations on the dictates of his judgment; and thus the attributes of his nature, being freely indulged, grow singly great and striking."

To the disgrace of this age, the Onas, the evolution of their land from time unknown, have been deliberately all-but-exterminated within the space of a few years, and that quite recently, by fellow Men from over the seas? Of Man it is said that he is the highest and lowest being in creation. Can it be said of those responsible for this crime, as is pleaded for the Red Man by the Poet of the Northland, that:—

I appeal to all able to do anything, to do what is possible for the preservation of those Onas who remain.

In the fauna of Tierra del Fuego—Mammals especially—it is remarkable that, although forms occurring in the island are met with almost—if not quite—without exception on the mainland, the converse is by no means the case. The Puma (Felis concolor); Pampas Cat {F, pajeros); Skunk (Conepatus); Grey Fox (Canis griseus); Huemul {Xenelaphus bisidcus); Viscacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus); the Caviidæ—in Cavia and Dolichotis; and Armadillo (Dasypus) are absent.

The largest land animal is the Guanaco (Auchema hiianacus), until lately very plentiful, now—like the Onas—nearly extinct.

The Guanaco is of the Camel family, and to the Camel bears a closer resemblance than to any other animal; although of