She is the last of her people, the only living native that speaks the language since her sister-in-law died in 2005. They had lived naked in the harsh, cold climate of the Darwin strait. For centuries the women (only the women) dove into the frigid waters to hunt shellfish. They survived by smearing animal grease on their bodies and huddling around fires in natural rock shelters. It is claimed that they had a remarkably high internal body temperature. The early European explorers, and later, even Charles Darwin, looked upon them as savages. Robert Fitzroy, captain of the HMS Beagle, captured and took four Yamana to be “civilized” in England and brought the three survivors back to be missionaries. On the subsequent trip the only one they found, Jemmy Button, had returned to his traditional ways and told them, in perfect English, that he did not wish to return to England. Darwin, upon meetng the Yamana, remarked in astonishment that the difference between “savages” and “civilized man” was greater than that between wild and tame animals. Thomas Bridges whose descendants still live in the 200 sq km ranch on the Argentinian side, tried diligently to preserve the Yaghan language and culture, even forsaking mission work. His son Lucas, continued the work and developed a complete Yaghan dictionary. The savagery of the civilized is more unconscionable.