The Bottom of the World and the People Who Lived There.
Tierra del Fuego: More than Penguins and Sea Lions.
At the end of the South American continent lies Tierra del Fuego, the Land of Fire. A curious name for a perpetually cold island. Explorer Ferdinand Magellan sighted native bonfires and thought the description appropriate. Tierra del Fuego is the largest of the islands in an archipelago shared by Chile and Argentina. The latter possesses the eastern part of the island and a few smaller ones in the Beagle Channel in the strait of Cape Horn. The western part of the big land mass and the remaining islands belong to Chile.
The native tribes who inhabited the region, over thousands of years, developed a genetic adaptation to the low temperatures, described by scientific investigators as Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT). This thick layer of fat kept core temperatures warm enough to avoid bodily discomfort. Soft skins and thick fiber from guanaco,, a camel-like animal, served as garments. At night, dogs (a breed of domesticated fox) snuggled close to their masters, contributing additional body heat.
In the 1850’s, European-descended Chileans and Argentines, came to the island to expand sheep pastures. Measles and small pox came with them, devastating the native population, who had no natural immunity. A gold rush ensued, further restricting native land use. The tribes didn’t practice private ownership,, while the newcomers had deeds granted by the governments of Chile and Argentina. The nomadic inhabitants further diminished in number as a result of bloody battles and, later, by bounties offered for their elimination.
Today, only a handful of genetically pure members of the original communities remain among sparse numbers of mixed-blood descendants and a scattering of adventuresome European settlers. The stark, cold environment has blunted development. Tourism is impractical but possible at great expense and an absence of conveniences. What remains, down through the centuries, are unspoiled natural flora and fauna, the Darwin Range (the southernmost tip of the Andes)., and abundant guanaco and foxes. Non-native beaver, introduced for harvesting their pelts, have gnawed away large swaths of trees to create dams and pools.
Tierra del Fuego, once a home to people who thrived by adapting to a harsh environment, endured a conflict of social and cultural change as severe as the land itself.
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Howard Feigenbaum is the author of two action/adventure/romance trilogies that take place in Latin America and the Caribbean: Benny Goldfarb, Private “I” and Henry Samson: Finder of Wrongdoing (as H. F. Jefferson)
Two books of poetry: I Wish I Were A Soul Train Dancer and How to Cook a Turkey and Other Poems.
A children’s book: We’re All Nuts! The story of a peanut who learns it’s a legume.
A short memoir: Excerpts From A Life On Planet Earth.
Available on Amazon books.
His forthcoming novel, Bluefin Mine, is an action/adventure/love story set in Ecuador.