I just stumbled across this article about Patagonia in The New York Herald on September 19, 1848….
“Patagonia… is an almost unknown country, at the southern extremity of South America, and is famous for being the fabled land of giants. The aboriginals were reported to be of gigantic stature, but this idle tale has long since been exploded.
“Patagonia, we believe, forms a part of the Argentine Republic, but is unsettled, and destitute of ports, cities, or commerce…”
Here’s a screen grab of the article:
Fun stuff!
Couldn’t they just look it up on Wikipedia to find out exactly where it is?
The 7th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, we believe, would have been a more efficient choice in 1848.