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Uttermost Part of the Earth
"E. Lucas Bridges provides in his brilliantly written book our most valuable resource on the lost heritage of the Yamana." The Daily Beagle
Famous for being the southernmost city in the world, the wild and windswept port of Ushuaia sits at the inhospitable southern tip of Tierra del Fuego in South America. That rugged, rocky landscape of sharp mountains, beech forests, and barren outcrops was originally home to hunter-gatherer Yaghan Indians, the southernmost indigenous people on the planet. The western world’s colonization of the area (sometimes called “Fireland”) began in the 1800s when explorers and missionaries established settlements. The Bridges family was part of this movement as the founders of Ushuaia, and author E. Lucas Bridges was born there in 1874.
This classic memoir chronicles the captivating Bridges’ early life among the coastal Yaghan people and his later initiation into the more remote and fierce Ona tribe. Confronted with unfamiliar cultures and traditions, Bridges engages fully, committing himself to learning and participating in the ways of his neighbors, people he would proudly come to call his friends. As a respected equal, he learns to hunt, fish, farm, canoe, and live amongst them.
Bridges’ revealing personal account captures the geography and natural history of the isolated region flawlessly, painting the stunning scenery and amazing encounters in vivid detail. It also documents the tragedy of European colonization. The Yaghans were decimated by disease and violent inter-cultural conflicts; Bridges’ unmistakable compassion and admiration for the people and their traditional heritage mark Uttermost Part of the Earth as a seminal work in the literature of historical anthropology. A lucid, informative, funny, and singular first-hand account, this epic autobiography, accompanied by maps and photographs, is a captivating read for anyone interested in exploring the indigenous peoples, culture, and ecology of this exotic homeland at the end of the world.
Famous for being the southernmost city in the world, the wild and windswept port of Ushuaia sits at the inhospitable southern tip of Tierra del Fuego in South America. That rugged, rocky landscape of sharp mountains, beech forests, and barren outcrops was originally home to hunter-gatherer Yaghan Indians, the southernmost indigenous people on the planet. The western world’s colonization of the area (sometimes called “Fireland”) began in the 1800s when explorers and missionaries established settlements. The Bridges family was part of this movement as the founders of Ushuaia, and author E. Lucas Bridges was born there in 1874.
This classic memoir chronicles the captivating Bridges’ early life among the coastal Yaghan people and his later initiation into the more remote and fierce Ona tribe. Confronted with unfamiliar cultures and traditions, Bridges engages fully, committing himself to learning and participating in the ways of his neighbors, people he would proudly come to call his friends. As a respected equal, he learns to hunt, fish, farm, canoe, and live amongst them.
Bridges’ revealing personal account captures the geography and natural history of the isolated region flawlessly, painting the stunning scenery and amazing encounters in vivid detail. It also documents the tragedy of European colonization. The Yaghans were decimated by disease and violent inter-cultural conflicts; Bridges’ unmistakable compassion and admiration for the people and their traditional heritage mark Uttermost Part of the Earth as a seminal work in the literature of historical anthropology. A lucid, informative, funny, and singular first-hand account, this epic autobiography, accompanied by maps and photographs, is a captivating read for anyone interested in exploring the indigenous peoples, culture, and ecology of this exotic homeland at the end of the world.
- GenresHistory
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1947
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October 21, 2025
The author of this account, Lucas Bridges, was born in Ushuaia, in the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego, in 1874. He was the second ever white baby to be born in the archipelago, the first being his older brother. His parents, Thomas and Mary Bridges, were English missionaries who had founded the settlement of Ushuaia. This memoir, written in 1946, tells the story of his life up to about 1910. There is also a short epilogue, by the author, which informs the reader of how his later life turned out.
Obviously the main interest with this memoir lies with the unusual setting. Early settlers in Tierra del Fuego had to be almost completely self-reliant to survive. Ushuaia’s nearest effective link to the outside world was the Falkland Isles, around 400 miles away and itself considered a remote outpost. The Bridges lived by fishing, hunting, and growing their own food; by building their own houses, and generally sorting every aspect of life out for themselves.
The author tells us that there were 4 main groups of indigenous Fuegians, with each group having their own language. Two groups feature prominently in this book. Ushuaia was inhabited by a people Bridges calls the Yahgans (today referred to as the Yamana). These were a coastal people who lived off the marine environment, fish, shellfish, seals, seabirds and the occasional beached whale. Bridges and his siblings (he had two brothers and three sisters) grew up amongst the Yahgans, playing with children of their own age and speaking their language fluently. The Yahgans were the first Fuegians to lead settled lives. The other people that feature were those he calls the Ona (today known as the Selk’nam) who lived in the interior of the main island and whose culture was based largely on the hunting of guanaco. The author was one of the first non-indigenous people to explore the interior of the main island – the very first in many areas. He encountered the Ona when they had still very little contact with the whites, and when their ancient culture was preserved. He came to have a great love for them, to live amongst them, and eventually became accepted into the men’s lodge. Indeed he became so much like the Ona that he found even the tiny settlement of Ushuaia intimidating.
This is a long book and the first 100 pages or so describe a relatively unremarkable life, albeit one lived in a remarkable place. Bridges himself describes his early life as “humdrum”. This definitely changes as he moves to live amongst the Ona/Selk’nam, who were a warlike people living in a marginal environment. Bridges lived through many dramatic events but also experienced close companionship with the Ona, and the book contains many descriptions of their lifestyles, beliefs and customs. It must be a valuable record for anthropologists.
Reading some background on the author, it seems that descendants of the Bridges family still live in Tierra del Fuego, and still operate two ranches founded by Lucas and his brothers.
A long book, but a fascinating one.
Obviously the main interest with this memoir lies with the unusual setting. Early settlers in Tierra del Fuego had to be almost completely self-reliant to survive. Ushuaia’s nearest effective link to the outside world was the Falkland Isles, around 400 miles away and itself considered a remote outpost. The Bridges lived by fishing, hunting, and growing their own food; by building their own houses, and generally sorting every aspect of life out for themselves.
The author tells us that there were 4 main groups of indigenous Fuegians, with each group having their own language. Two groups feature prominently in this book. Ushuaia was inhabited by a people Bridges calls the Yahgans (today referred to as the Yamana). These were a coastal people who lived off the marine environment, fish, shellfish, seals, seabirds and the occasional beached whale. Bridges and his siblings (he had two brothers and three sisters) grew up amongst the Yahgans, playing with children of their own age and speaking their language fluently. The Yahgans were the first Fuegians to lead settled lives. The other people that feature were those he calls the Ona (today known as the Selk’nam) who lived in the interior of the main island and whose culture was based largely on the hunting of guanaco. The author was one of the first non-indigenous people to explore the interior of the main island – the very first in many areas. He encountered the Ona when they had still very little contact with the whites, and when their ancient culture was preserved. He came to have a great love for them, to live amongst them, and eventually became accepted into the men’s lodge. Indeed he became so much like the Ona that he found even the tiny settlement of Ushuaia intimidating.
This is a long book and the first 100 pages or so describe a relatively unremarkable life, albeit one lived in a remarkable place. Bridges himself describes his early life as “humdrum”. This definitely changes as he moves to live amongst the Ona/Selk’nam, who were a warlike people living in a marginal environment. Bridges lived through many dramatic events but also experienced close companionship with the Ona, and the book contains many descriptions of their lifestyles, beliefs and customs. It must be a valuable record for anthropologists.
Reading some background on the author, it seems that descendants of the Bridges family still live in Tierra del Fuego, and still operate two ranches founded by Lucas and his brothers.
A long book, but a fascinating one.
Displaying 1 of 1 review