Lucas Bridges
Encyclopedia
Esteban Lucas Bridges was an Anglo-Argentine author and explorer. He was the third child and second son of Anglican missionary Reverend Thomas Bridges (1842–98) and "the third white native of Ushuaia
" (his elder brother, born in 1872, having been the first) at the southernmost tip of South America. Ushuaia
was known as Ooshooia in the indigenous Yaghan
language.
His acclaimed book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948), published one year before his death, is a chronicle that covers nearly a century of the history of his family, who came as missionary settlers to Tierra del Fuego
in 1871, although his father had visited, and lived on Keppel Island
in the Falkland Islands
and Tierra del Fuego
intermittently since 1856. This literary classic tells a story of the clash of three civilisations: the white men, the Yaghan
(Yahgashaga in Yaghan) and the Ona
(Shilknum in the Ona language). Having grown up among the indigenous tribes of the island, Lucas Bridges learned the language and customs of both tribes. He was a privileged witness of their lifestyle and beliefs as well as a witness of western civilisation's tragic effect on them. They were decimated by Indian hunters, working for sheepfarmers with the complicity of Argentine and Chilean states. Measles
, to which they had no resistance, was also mortal. Outbreaks in 1884 (following a visit by three Argentine Navy ships), 1924 and 1929 became fatal epidemics with devastating results. Both civilisations (the Ona and the Yaghan) have been erased from the face of the earth.
After his father resigned his position as missionary, Lucas helped him build Estancia Harberton
in a sheltered bay on the coast of the Beagle Channel
, chosen by the Yaghan
s as a safe port.
In 1898 Lucas opened a trail north from Harberton to the east end of Lago Fagnano, where the land was better for rearing sheep. The trail now forms the basis of a hiking trail, known as the Lucas Bridges Trail.. In 1902 Lucas and his brothers established Estancia Viamonte in the northern part of Tierra del Fuego, and the new trail was used to transport sheep between the two estancias.
Lucas went to England to enlist in the army to fight in World War I
and in 1917 married Jannette McLeod Jardine (1890-1976). After the war he moved to South Africa where he established a ranch with his brother-in-law. Finally, he moved back Argentina, where he lived out his last years. He died in Buenos Aires and is buried in the British Cemetery
at Chacarita, Buenos Aires,, where his father had been buried.
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
" (his elder brother, born in 1872, having been the first) at the southernmost tip of South America. Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
was known as Ooshooia in the indigenous Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
language.
His acclaimed book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948), published one year before his death, is a chronicle that covers nearly a century of the history of his family, who came as missionary settlers to Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
in 1871, although his father had visited, and lived on Keppel Island
Keppel Island
Keppel Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying between Saunders Island and Pebble Island, and near Golding Island to the north of West Falkland on Keppel Sound. It has an area of and its highest point, Mt Keppel, is high. There is a wide, flat valley in the centre of the island with...
in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
and Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
intermittently since 1856. This literary classic tells a story of the clash of three civilisations: the white men, the Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
(Yahgashaga in Yaghan) and the Ona
Selknam
The Selk'nam, also known as the Onawo, lived in the Patagonian region of southern Chile and Argentina including the Tierra del Fuego islands...
(Shilknum in the Ona language). Having grown up among the indigenous tribes of the island, Lucas Bridges learned the language and customs of both tribes. He was a privileged witness of their lifestyle and beliefs as well as a witness of western civilisation's tragic effect on them. They were decimated by Indian hunters, working for sheepfarmers with the complicity of Argentine and Chilean states. Measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, to which they had no resistance, was also mortal. Outbreaks in 1884 (following a visit by three Argentine Navy ships), 1924 and 1929 became fatal epidemics with devastating results. Both civilisations (the Ona and the Yaghan) have been erased from the face of the earth.
After his father resigned his position as missionary, Lucas helped him build Estancia Harberton
Estancia Harberton
Estancia Harberton was established in 1886, when the missionary pioneer Thomas Bridges resigned from the Anglican mission at Ushuaia. The estancia was named for Harberton, Devon, the home of his wife, Mary Ann Varder...
in a sheltered bay on the coast of the Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
thumb|right|300px|Aereal view of Beagle Channel. The Chilean [[Navarino Island]] is seen in the top-right while the Argentine part of [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]] is seen at the bottom-left....
, chosen by the Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
s as a safe port.
In 1898 Lucas opened a trail north from Harberton to the east end of Lago Fagnano, where the land was better for rearing sheep. The trail now forms the basis of a hiking trail, known as the Lucas Bridges Trail.. In 1902 Lucas and his brothers established Estancia Viamonte in the northern part of Tierra del Fuego, and the new trail was used to transport sheep between the two estancias.
Lucas went to England to enlist in the army to fight in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and in 1917 married Jannette McLeod Jardine (1890-1976). After the war he moved to South Africa where he established a ranch with his brother-in-law. Finally, he moved back Argentina, where he lived out his last years. He died in Buenos Aires and is buried in the British Cemetery
Cementerio Británico
Cementerio Británico, also known as Buenos Aires British cemetery, is a cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is in the district of Chacarita in the northern part of Buenos Aires, adjacent to La Chacarita Cemetery.-History of the British Cemetery:...
at Chacarita, Buenos Aires,, where his father had been buried.
Sources
- Obituary: Lucas Bridges, The Geographical Journal 114 (1949) 240–241.
- Bridges, Lucas, Uttermost Part of the Earth, originally published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1948. Re-issued, with an introduction by Gavin YoungGavin YoungGavin David Young was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales...
, Century, London, 1987, ISBN 0-7126-1493-1. Page numbers cited refer to the later edition. Republished 2008, Overlook Press ISBN 978-1585679560 — Exact date of birth, position in family, etc.: p. 67. Father's dates: p. 538. Father's intermittent visits to, and residence in, Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego: pp. 42–58. Argentine Navy visit and establishing a sub-prefecture at Ushuaia: pp. 122–3. Outbreaks and effects of measles: pp. 125–7, 136, 520, 532. Indigenous population levels: p. 521.