Providence: Or, The Early History of Three Barbarians

This little book tells about some savages, unknown and unheard of in the old days, but which have recently become very interesting to many. It is taken from The Voice of Pity with the kind permission of the former Honorary Secretary of the Patagonian Mission; and the main reason for collecting these various sketches of them in one small volume is to show in a coherent manner the wonderful work of Providence, than to trace it, there is nothing more delightful, beautiful and comforting. If anyone reading this book is convinced that he not only believes, but also realizes that the actions of Providence will be more powerful, in some cases, then this will not be published in vain. One of the greatest difficulties in carrying out the Patagonian mission was the unknown language of the natives; but this was largely (and beyond all human calculations) eliminated by the discovery of Jamie Button, who did not forget English and taught his family to speak it. Jamie Button was one of the savages who came to England, whose early history is described in the following pages. The crew gave the Fuegians the names: York Minster, Jamie Button, Fuegia Basket (woman) and Boat Memory. Boat Memory died of smallpox shortly after arriving in England and his name Yaghan is unknown.