Tierra del Fuego diaries

The following journal entry was found under a foot of snow on the South American island of Tierra del Fuego. Historians believe it to be written by American expeditionist Mark Abadi sometime in the mid-19th century, before he was famously captured and eaten by sea lions, who were in turn immediately buried alive in an avalanche.

Today is Day Four of our Journey. I find myself in a terrifying and enchanted land. The winds are powerful, stronger than I have ever seen in my homeland. The air is bitter, the water cold.

We ventured to this island unprepared for the brutal conditions that awaited us. Six of my men have succumbed to the cold; another three suffer from frostbite. We keep warm best we can by slaughtering beached whales and lathering ourselves in their blubber. Our food supply is meager, so we have resorted to eating rocks and local children.

I fear tonight may be my last. If someone finds my letters separated from my decomposing but well-preserved cadaver, know that I have know regrets about my Journey, and I am without uncertainty where I belong. To my wife, if you shall feel the wind caress your cheek, know that I am calling for you. This shall give you comfort in my absence.

I must bring this letter to an end, as my men and I must search for camp before the sun disappears below the austral horizon. Tell my mother I love her, and my wife that I think of her highly. Tell my son he shall grow to be a courageous adventurer like his father, and my seven daughters that I bless them with the good fortune to marry either doctors or prominent tobacco magnates.

I would like to wish the world goodbye, as I, in the land of ice and fire, turn to face the wind and walk slowly into the unrelenting night.