Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 136, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1910 — They Named Patagonia. [ARTICLE]

They Named Patagonia.

When barbarous lands are discover* ed they are named without consulting the wishes of the inhabitants. As an illustration, the land we call Patagonia is not known by that name to the natives. Their true name Is Tsonecas, and hy It all the tribes call themselves, says the Boston Herald. 1 The word “Pata-gones,” meaning “duckfooted men,” refers to their peculiar footgear. The lower limbs are encased in boots without soles, op rather long gaiters, made of guasaco skins, with the beautiful yellowish fur turned outward. The leg 1b covered all around from below the knee, the fur passing over the top of the foot around the heel, leaving the toeß sticking out. This trifling circumstance furnished the name by which a vast territory and all the people who inhabit it are known to the civilized world. The flaps or “uppers” of the gaiters, extending loosely across the top of their feet, exaggerated In breadth by the long hairs on the edges, give the wearer the appearance of having paws. When Magellan’s men first saw these Indians they were unable to account for the peculiar appearance of their feet and the bright yellow fur upon their legs and called them “duckfooted.”