William Low is mentioned by FitzRoy his account of the voyages of the ships Adventure and Beagle (1826 and 1836). Low was a British sealer and ship captain who shared information with FitzRoy when they met in the Falkland / Malvinas Islands in 1833.
Low provided FitzRoy with plenty of useful tips on the Patagonian natives, Southern Chile, and the geography, weather, culture, etc. Of interest is what FitzRoy wrote in his book about a "sculpture" done by the Chono people (See p. 194).
He says that Low took a young boy, who spoke English, on board his ship, the Adeona. The child acted as pilot and interpreter during the 18 months Low surveyed the area. He was named Bob by the sealers that hunted in the region. FitzRoy says he was "one of the Chonos tribe ... Niqueaccas".
The wooden effigy of an evil spirit is mentioned in the underlined text in the quote below:
"The boy Bob had been taken on board the Adeona, in consequence of some dispute with the natives, who had stolen things from the vessel. Mr. Low intended to keep him as a hostage until the missing property should be restored; but the tribe decamped, and as Low was obliged to sail, he carried the boy away with him. At the return of the vessel, about eight months afterwards, the boy saw something on shore, at the entrance of the harbour, which he looked at for some time very earnestly, and then gave Mr. Low to understand that the natives had declared war against him and his ship, and intended to attack her at her return. No natives being visible, Low went ashore with the boy, to see what it was that had attracted his attention, and found a number of spears, arrows, and clubs, roughly cut out of wood, painted red, and stuck into the ground, across a point of the island, and having in the middle a large block of wood, roughly carved into a strange figure (said by the boy to be that of their evil spirit) curiously painted, with long red teeth, and having a short halter of hide (seal-skin) round the part intended to represent a neck. Notwithstanding this outward demonstration of anger and intent to revenge, not a native was seen in the neighbourhood during the many months which Low passed there, and in consequence he had no opportunity of restoring the boy to his own tribe; but he was afterwards kindly received, and treated as Low's son, among the Patagonians of Gregory Bay"
This is the first reference of a wood sculpture among Southern Patagonian tribes. I wonder, which is this animal depicted by the wood block, the "strange figure... evil spirit... curiously painted, with long red teeth, and... short halter of hide... round the neck"?
This is the first description of the image of a demon or spirit in Southern Patagonia. The artistic expressions of the Patagonian natives were painting on their guanaco hides, or quillangos, and the rock art of the ancient Paleoindians. They seldom carved stone other than for utilitarian purposes, and the use of wood for making whittled effigies is unheard of. In 2014 I posted about some "sculptures" done by Fuegian natives, none resemble the one described above. Below is an example found in a museum.
Was it a mythical beast, or a depiction of some real creature. As you can see in the image above, the Alakaluf boat people made wooden masks, they were coarse, but perhaps colored with white (ash) and red (ochre) like the ones used by the Selk'nam Fuegians in their Hain initiation ceremonies (see a colored postage stamp series below based on real black and white photos taken by Father M. Gusinde in the early 1900s).
I have read many articles and books, and this is a first. This is different from the Rewe or wooden totems of the Mapuche, who lived 1,600 km (1,000 mi.) further north, and were more civilized than the Chono people (living in houses, farmers, with domesticated llamas -chilihueque). The Chono were canoe people, who were hunter-gatherers and lived on the edge of the Ocean in a rainy region, with coarse tents made of seal skin. Not one reference mentions their art or sculpted wood.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall ©
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