a large country of South America, occupying the southern extremity of that continent from the Rio Negro to the Strait of Magellan. It lies between S. Lat. 38, 50, and 53, 55, W. Long. 63, and 76, and is bounded on the N. by the Argentine Republic, E. by the Atlantic, S. by the Strait of Magellan, W. by the Pacific, and N.W. by Chili. Its length from N. to S. is 970 miles, its breadth varies from 200 to 420, and its area is about 300,000 square miles. The country is divided into two regions differing widely from each other in their general character. The one of these lies along the west coast, and is entirely mountainous; while the other, to the east, is in general low Patagonia, and flat. In the western region, the mountains all belong to the chain of the Andes, which is here much lower than in the more northerly parts of South America, for the average height of the range in Patagonia does not exceed 3000 feet; but even here there are some mountains upwards of 7000 feet above the sea. Southwards from the Gulf of Ancud, where the Chilian and Patagonian territories meet, the country along the shore of the Pacific presents an aspect quite different from that which is met with farther north. Instead of having a narrow strip of low land, with an almost unbroken coast extending between the mountains and the Pacific, as is generally the case on this coast, the Patagonian Andes rise abruptly out of the sea, which, frequently flowing into the deep defiles of the mountains, extends long and winding arms far into the land. Numerous high and rocky islands, rising abruptly out of the sea, line the coast. The chief of these are—Chiloé, the Chonos Archipelago, Wellington Island, the Archipelago of Madre de Dios, Harover Island, and Queen Adelaide’s Archipelago. There is also a large peninsula, called Tres Montes, lying between the Chonos Archipelago and Wellington Island, joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Near the southern extremity of Patagonia two remarkable inlets break the continuity of the Andes chain. The first of these divides itself into two branches.—Last Hope Inlet, extending to the N., and Ancon Sin Salida, or Obstruction Sound, to the S.; while the second, which is much larger, spreads itself out in two sheets of water—Otway Water and Skyring Water—connected by a narrow strait. Farther to the S., not only the mountain chain, but the entire mass of the land is divided by the Strait of Magellan, extending from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and separating Tierra del Fuego and the adjacent islands from Patagonia. All the mountains of Western Patagonia, as well as those on the islands, are thickly wooded on their western declivities, but entirely bare on the side that is exposed to the ocean. The whole of the region is subject to incessant winds and rains, the breezes being generally from the W., and bringing from the Pacific an immense quantity of moisture, which is condensed on the mountains, and deluges the country with almost incessant showers. The ground is thus kept constantly wet; and there are few days in the year when rain does not fall in summer, or snow and sleet in winter. The largest river in Western Patagonia is the San Tadío, a small stream which falls into the Pacific S. of the peninsula of Tres Montes. It is formed by two mountain torrents, and is navigable for about 11 miles. On the mainland opposite the island of Chiloé there are two volcanoes, the farthest S. of any that are known to have been active in modern times. These are Minchinmadiwa, 8010 feet, and Corcovado, 7500 feet above the sea. The eastern part of Patagonia is in its surface and climate the very reverse in many respects of the western. The land is low and flat, rising gradually in terraces from the Atlantic to the Andes. The uniformity of the surface is, however, broken by the high lands of Espinosa, which occupy a large promontory between S. Lat. 47, and 48, and rise to the height of 4000 feet above the sea. In the southern portion of the country the soil consists of tertiary strata, covered over with shingle, and destitute of all vegetation, except here and there scattered tufts of grass and low bushes. Although numerous salt pools occur in this region, there is a great scarcity of fresh water. North of 45° S. Lat., the country is more undulating, and not so entirely destitute of vegetation as the southern portion; for in some places the valleys and low hills are covered with grass and stunted trees, and there are even parts where good pasturage and timber may be obtained. Eastern Patagonia is traversed by several rivers, which are much larger than those that water the western region. The Rio Negro, which forms the northern Patagonia, boundary of Patagonia, rises in the Andes, flows first N.E., then E., and finally S.E., falling into the Atlantic. Its whole length is about 700 miles; and at a long distance from its mouth it has a breadth of 500 yards. Of the other rivers little is known except their mouths; the Chupat, the Camarones, the Desire River, the Santa Cruz, and the Gallegos, are the most important,—all falling into the Atlantic. The Santa Cruz is a river of considerable size, and is believed to flow through several lakes, one of which, Lake Capar, is 30 miles long and 10 or 12 broad. This river flows for a great part of its course in a deep valley, through an elevated plain which rises in some parts 1800, and in others between 2000 and 3000 feet above the sea. Along the banks there are in some places deep and extensive layers of lava. The eastern coast of Patagonia, from the entrance of Magellan's Strait as far northwards as 49° S. Lat., consists of cliffs of marly clay rising 200 or 300 feet perpendicularly from the sea, and somewhat resembling, when seen from a distance, the coast of Kent. North of this, as far as 45° S. Lat., the cliffs are somewhat higher, and their prevailing structure is porphyritic. Beyond this point the coast presents a different aspect, consisting of a shingly beach skirted by a reef of rocks. The largest gulfs of the eastern coast are those of San Matias, S. of the Rio Negro; and St George, N. of Cape Blanco. There are also several harbours along this coast, such as Port San Antonio, in 41° S. Lat.; Nuevo Golfo, in 43°; Port Desire, in 47° 5'; Port San Julian, in 49° 12'; Santa Cruz, in 50° 7'; and Gallegos, in 51° 38'. The climate of Eastern Patagonia is as remarkable for dryness as that of the western region is for its constant showers. Captain Fitzroy, who explored the Patagonian coasts between the years 1826 and 1836, thus speaks of the climate of this country:—"One naturally asks why Eastern Patagonia should be condemned to perpetual sterility, while the western side of the same country, in the same parallel of latitude, is injured by too much rain? The prevailing westerly winds and the Andes are the causes. The winds bring much moisture from the Pacific, but they leave it all, condensed, on the west side of the mountains. After passing the cordillera, those same winds are very dry. Easterly winds are very rare upon the east coast; they are the only ones which carry rain to the almost deserts of Patagonia. Westward of the Andes, an east wind is dry and free from clouds. All this country is exposed to severe cold weather in winter, and to excessive heat in summer. Great and sudden changes of temperature take place, when, after very hot weather, cold winds rush northwards with the fury of a hurricane."

The temperature of the country S. of the 45th parallel of latitude is in general extremely cold, although during the short summer great heat is experienced. The vegetable products of Patagonia are very scanty, the only portion where there is a luxuriant vegetation being the country near the Rio Negro, in which the same plants are found as in the adjacent parts of the Argentine Republic. Among the forests of the west several species of beech and many large and beautiful ferns occur. Animals are found in greater abundance than vegetables in most parts of Patagonia. Herds of guanacos, amounting to several hundreds in number, roam about the country; and the puma, the wolf, the fox, the opossum, the cavia, the armadillo, the otter, and the seal, are also met with. There are an immense number of animals of the class Rodentia,—more, perhaps, than in any other part of the world. The horse is found in all parts of the country, being the invariable companion of the natives of Eastern Patagonia. The condor and the cassowary are the principal terrestrial birds; but the sea-fowl are very numerous, including several species of swans, ducks, and geese. Fish and other sea-animals are plentiful along the coasts.

The aboriginal natives of Patagonia are a tall and extremely robust race of men. Their bodies are bulky, and their head and features large, but their hands and feet are small. Their limbs are neither so muscular nor so large-boned as their height and apparent bulk would lead one to suppose; they are rounder and smoother than those of white men. Their colour is a rich reddish brown, rather darker than the hue of copper. The only attractive feature about their persons is their teeth, which are sound and white. Their cheek-bones are prominent, and so is their brow, which is broad but low. Their heads are furnished with a profusion of rough, lank, and coarse black hair, which is tied above the temples by a fillet of plaited or twisted sinews; and they wear no other covering upon this part of their body. The size of the Patagonians has been represented by some writers as quite gigantic; and, although the earlier voyagers have given somewhat exaggerated accounts of them, which have been improved by some subsequent authors, it seems to be the universal testimony of those who have visited the country in modern times, that they do considerably exceed the average stature of Europeans. Captain Byron, in the middle of last century, saw a number of men above 8 feet, and some as much as 9 feet in height. Captain Fitzroy thus speaks of the natives that he saw:—"Among two hundred or three hundred natives of Patagonia scarcely half a dozen men are seen whose height is under 5 feet 9 or 10 inches; the women are proportionally tall. I have nowhere seen an assemblage of men and women whose average height and apparent bulk equalled that of the Patagonians. Tall and athletic as are many of the South Sea islanders, there are also many among their number who are slight and of lower stature. The Patagonians seem to be high-shouldered, owing perhaps to their habit of folding their arms across the chest, in their mantles, and thus increasing their apparent height and bulk, because the mantles hang loosely, and almost touch the ground. Until actually measured, it is difficult to believe that they are not much taller than is the case."

Mr Bourne, an American seaman, who was for some time a captive in Patagonia in 1849–50, says that their average height is 6½ feet, while some nearly reach 7 feet. These accounts are so precise and satisfactory that the question as to the actual size of the Patagonians may be regarded as completely set at rest. Is it more improbable that there should be races of men above the European standard, than it is that there should be races whose height is below it? Yet we know beyond a doubt that the Esquimaux are so.

With the exception of the head, little hair grows upon their bodies; and from the face it is carefully removed by shells or pincers. They do not disfigure their naturally coarse features by piercing either nose or lip, but they daub their body with white, black, or red paint, forming grotesque figures, such as circles around their eyes or great marks across their faces. This ornamental body-painting is practised by all the different races of Patagonians from Cape Horn to Buenos Ayres. On their feet and legs they wear boots made of the skins of horses' hind legs. Spurs made of wood, but of iron if they can get it, balls (bolas), or stones, attached to a long leather thong, for the purpose of catching the guanaco or the ostrich by throwing the bolas so as to wind round their legs, whilst a long tapering lance, and a knife, if it can be procured, complete their equipment. "Mounted upon horses of a middle size," says Captain Fitzroy, "under fifteen hands high, and rather well bred, the Patagonians seem to be carried no better than dragoons who ride eighteen stone upon horses able to carry ten; yet they go at full speed in chase of ostriches or guanacos." When hunting or making long journeys they often change horses. The women are dressed and booted like the men, with the addition of a half Patagonia: petticoat. They clean their hair, and plait it into two tails. Ornaments of brass, beads, bits of coloured glass, or such trifles, are prized by them. The huts of these wanderers are somewhat like gipsy tents. Poles are stuck in the ground, to which others are fixed. Over them are thrown the skins of animals, an irregular tilt-like hut being thus formed. It is to be observed that the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, and of the islands to the S. and S.W., wear little or no clothing. The Patagonians appear to possess nothing like towns, but lead a wandering and unsettled life, somewhat resembling that of the Tartars. The different parts of the country are inhabited by several distinct nations, the chief of which are the following:—The Moluche, or Warrior Indians, who inhabit the Andes and neighbouring regions immediately S. of the Rio Negro; the Puelche, or Eastern People, who wander about the N.E. of Patagonia; the Chilian Indians, who occupy the mountainous regions S. of 42° S. Lat.; the Te-huel-het, or Southern People, who inhabit the south-eastern extremity of the country; and the Fuegians, who people not only the island of Tierra del Fuego, but the western coast of the mainland, as far N. as the peninsula of Tres Montes. The last of these differs from the others in being of much lower stature. The various tribes into which they are divided are generally under the command of chiefs; and they subsist chiefly on the flesh of mares, guanacos, emus, &c. Very few traces of any religious ceremonies have been observed among them. We are informed by Falconer, the Jesuit missionary, that after the dead have been interred twelve months, the graves are visited by the tribe for the purpose of collecting the bones, and conveying them to their family sepulchres, where they are set up, and adorned with all the beads and ornaments which the friends and family of the deceased are able to collect for the occasion. The ceremony is performed by certain women of the tribe, whose peculiar office it is to attend to these rites. In corroboration of the Jesuit's testimony, Captain King informs us, that near Port Desire he had seen the graves of the Indians upon the summits of hills, but without the bodies, which he supposes to have in all probability been removed by the Indians.

It seems highly probable that Magalhaens was the original discoverer of the southern coast of Patagonia and the northern coast of Tierra del Fuego, as well as of the strait which bears his name. Sir Francis Drake passed the strait in the year 1578; and being driven by storms to the S., discovered the western and south-western coast of Tierra del Fuego, and also Cape Horn; although the honour of the discovery of the latter has generally been ascribed to Jacob Le Maire, a Dutchman in the service of the states of Holland. In the year 1616 this navigator was the first who doubled that terminus of South America, and called it Cape Horn, after a village in Holland. Proceeding in a north-easterly direction, he crossed the strait which bears his name, and discovered Staten Island, which he so designated after the states of Holland. It is supposed that Davies, one of the companions of Cavendish in his voyage to the South Seas, in 1592, was the first person who saw the Falkland Islands; but they were not, properly speaking, discovered till the year 1594, when Sir Richard Hawkins examined them, and called them in honour of his queen and himself, Hawkins' Maiden Land. The name, however, was subsequently changed to Falkland Islands by Strong, another English navigator. During the early part of the eighteenth century they were re-discovered by some French navigators; and hence the origin of the French name, Malouine Islands. To Captain Cook we are indebted for the first accurate account of the south-eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego, which he explored in 1774; and so little was known concerning it before this period that, when actually in sight of Cape Horn, he was unable to decide whether it was a detached island or a part of Tierra del Fuego. Amongst the other distinguished names connected with the discovery or investigation of this part of the South American continent, are those of Sarmiento (whose account of a voyage down the western coast, and through the Strait of Magalhaens, has never been surpassed), Sir John Narborough, Cordova, Byron, Willis, Carteret, Bougainville, Weddel, King, Stokes, and Fitzroy. It only remains to be noticed that, although repeated attempts had been made to form permanent settlements in Patagonia, or upon the neighbouring islands, particularly by the Spaniards, until recently none of these has been successful. In 1843, however, the government of Chili founded a settlement at Port Famine, on the Strait of Magellan, which was in 1850 transferred to Sanly Point, some distance to the N. This colony contained in 1853 about 20 houses, with a chapel and sacristy. The population was 150; and they had 10 horses, 18 goats, and a number of swine. Another settlement on the strait has recently been projected; and in 1854 an exploring expedition was sent thither with a view to that undertaking. The western part of Patagonia is claimed by Chili, and the eastern by the Argentine Republic. With regard to population, it must be quite obvious that no accurate idea can be formed. It has, however, been estimated at 120,000. By far the greater part of the country—that which stretches along the eastern side of the Andes, from their base to the Atlantic Ocean—is almost entirely unknown, with the exception of a very few places upon the coast. It is quite possible, therefore, that the inhabitants may be far more numerous in this region than is supposed; but the general sterility of the country holds out little prospect of any great commercial advantages to be gained by intercourse with them, except in the precious metals, which are doubtless to be found in the Patagonian Andes.

Patak, Saros, a market-town of Hungary, county of Zemplin, on the right bank of the Bodrog, here crossed by a bridge, 14 miles S.W. of Zemplin. It contains a once famous but now ruined castle, a celebrated Protestant college, a Roman Catholic upper school, &c. Cloth is manufactured here; and wine is produced in the vicinity. Pop. 5480.