The Uttermost Part of the Earth

Rapturous praise met the publication of Lucas Bridges marvelous chronicle of Tierra del Fuego when it first came out in 1947 and that praise has hardly abated these past sixty years nor has a book been written which supplants Uttermost Part of the Earth as the classic work on Tierra del Fuego and the little-known culture of the now-extinct Fuegian Indians. When the author was born in Tierra del Fuego in 1874 it was truly an unknown land. On the southern coast was the small settlement established by his missionary parents; the rest of it over 18 000 square miles of mountain forest marsh and lake was the hunting ground of fierce and hostile tribes. Bridges grew up amongst the coastal Yaghans learning their language and their ways. In young manhood he made contact with the wild inland Ona tribe became their friend and hunting companion and was initiated into the mens lodge. Surely the New York Times criticss prediction for this book on its first publication has come true: "I have no doubt that Uttermost Part of the Earth will achieve a permanent place in the literature of several subjects: adventure anthropology and frontier history." Indeed it is still the essential work and indispensable introduction for anyone yearning to experience the breathtaking remoteness and stunning landscapes of this far-flung wilderness at the "uttermost part of the earth."