Three Men of the Beagle

The story that Charles Darwin tells in his excellent VOYAGE OF THE H.M.S. BEAGLE is only the first act of a three-act drama. In it, Captain Robert Fitzroy of the Beagle picked up a 14-year-old Yahgan Indian boy whom he called Jemmy Button after the mother-of-pearl button from his uniform that he uses to pay for him. He added a girl he called Fuegia Basket and an older Yahgan he called York Minster. After the five-year voyage of the beagle, Fitzroy took the three to England where much was made of them. (They even got an audience with Queen Victoria.) Then they were taken back after their moment in the sun and left back in the wilds of Tierra del Fuego. In the second act, savagery re-asserted itself. York Minster ran off with Fuegia, with whom he had formed a close attachment; and Jemmy was robbed by his tribe of all the presents he received from British well-wishers. Around the same time, British Evangelicals decided to target the Indians of Tierra Del Fuego for conversion. Several attempts were made, resulting in misunderstandings and even a major massacre. Jemmy Button was thought to be responsible for the biggest of these massacres and was arrested and tried in the Falkland Islands, but was finally acquitted for lack of direct evidence. Finally, Christianity took hold when Thomas Bridges, a minister who not only spoke that Yahgan tongue but had created a Yahgan-English dictionary, arrived and settled at what is now Ushuaia. But while the Indians began arriving at the mission, it was noticed that their population has begun to shrink rather drastically. Jemmy and Fuegia had died, and it is learned that York Minster had died earlier. One would bet that a naked aboriginal population would have a difficult time surviving in a sub-arctic climate under the best of circumstances, but now the die-off accelerated until not a single Yahgan -- even a half-breed -- was left after the 1960s. Who were the three men of the Beagle referred to in Marks's title? Jemmy was one of them because of his leadership role in his tribe. The other two were Charles Darwin and Captain (later Admiral) Robert Fitzroy. Back in England, Darwin lived a comfortable life. He held back announcing his claims about evolution until it became evident that a rival, Alfred Russel Wallace, would beat him to publication. So Darwin came out with THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES in 1859, more than 20 years after the Beagle voyage. Fitzroy, still Darwin's friend, opposed Darwin's conclusions, as he was always the more religious of the two -- despite the seeming contradiction that Darwin had originally desired to become a clergyman. As Darwin's star grew in the firmament, Fitzroy's waned, until one day in a fit of despondency he slit his throat with a straight razor. We tend to forget Fitzroy, but he also contributed something that affects all of us on a daily basis: He almost single-handedly invented the weather forecast by his clever use of barometer readings across the British Isles in conjunctio

Interesting depiction of Darwin, Cap. Fitzroy and the indian Jemmy Button. Also you will find the most primitive tribes and the most courageous and resolute missionaries.It is possible to find a lot of things in this history: abnegation and faith, adventure and hope, but also emotions and sadness... over all: reality!