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+Project Gutenberg's A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World, by Charles Darwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World
+       The Voyage Of The Beagle
+
+Author: Charles Darwin
+
+Posting Date: August 6, 2008 [EBook #3704]
+Release Date: February, 2003
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Sue Asscher
+
+
+
+
+
+A NATURALIST'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD
+
+By Charles Darwin
+
+
+
+
+FIRST EDITION...MAY 1860.
+
+SECOND EDITION...MAY 1870.
+
+THIRD EDITION...FEBRUARY 1872.
+
+FOURTH EDITION...JULY 1874.
+
+FIFTH EDITION...MARCH 1876.
+
+SIXTH EDITION...JANUARY 1879.
+
+SEVENTH EDITION...MAY 1882.
+
+EIGHTH EDITION...FEBRUARY 1884.
+
+NINTH EDITION...AUGUST 1886.
+
+TENTH EDITION...JANUARY 1888.
+
+ELEVENTH EDITION...JANUARY 1890.
+
+REPRINTED...JUNE 1913.
+
+
+(FRONTISPIECE. H.M.S. BEAGLE IN STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. MT.
+SARMIENTO IN THE DISTANCE.)
+
+
+JOURNAL OF RESEARCHES
+
+INTO THE
+
+NATURAL HISTORY AND GEOLOGY
+
+OF THE
+
+COUNTRIES VISITED DURING THE VOYAGE
+ROUND THE WORLD OF H.M.S. 'BEAGLE'
+UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN FITZ ROY, R.N.
+
+BY CHARLES DARWIN, M.A., F.R.S.
+
+AUTHOR OF 'ORIGIN OF SPECIES,' ETC.
+
+
+(PLATE 1. H.M.S. BEAGLE UNDER FULL SAIL, VIEW FROM ASTERN.)
+
+
+A NEW EDITION
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY R.T. PRITCHETT OF PLACES VISITED AND
+OBJECTS DESCRIBED.
+
+LONDON
+JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
+1913.
+
+
+
+TO
+CHARLES LYELL, ESQ., F.R.S.,
+
+This second edition is dedicated with grateful pleasure, as an
+acknowledgment that the chief part of whatever scientific merit
+this journal and the other works of the author may possess, has
+been derived from studying the well-known and admirable
+
+PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY.
+
+
+
+PREFATORY NOTICE TO THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION.
+
+This work was described, on its first appearance, by a writer in
+the "Quarterly Review" as "One of the most interesting narratives
+of voyaging that it has fallen to our lot to take up, and one which
+must always occupy a distinguished place in the history of
+scientific navigation."
+
+This prophecy has been amply verified by experience; the
+extraordinary minuteness and accuracy of Mr. Darwin's observations,
+combined with the charm and simplicity of his descriptions, have
+ensured the popularity of this book with all classes of
+readers--and that popularity has even increased in recent years. No
+attempt, however, has hitherto been made to produce an illustrated
+edition of this valuable work: numberless places and objects are
+mentioned and described, but the difficulty of obtaining authentic
+and original representations of them drawn for the purpose has
+never been overcome until now.
+
+Most of the views given in this work are from sketches made on the
+spot by Mr. Pritchett, with Mr. Darwin's book by his side.  Some
+few of the others are taken from engravings which Mr. Darwin had
+himself selected for their interest as illustrating his voyage, and
+which have been kindly lent by his son.
+
+Mr. Pritchett's name is well known in connection with the voyages
+of the "Sunbeam" and "Wanderer," and it is believed that the
+illustrations, which have been chosen and verified with the utmost
+care and pains, will greatly add to the value and interest of the
+"VOYAGE OF A NATURALIST."
+
+JOHN MURRAY.
+December 1889.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
+
+I have stated in the preface to the first Edition of this work, and
+in the "Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle," that it was in
+consequence of a wish expressed by Captain Fitz Roy, of having some
+scientific person on board, accompanied by an offer from him of
+giving up part of his own accommodations, that I volunteered my
+services, which received, through the kindness of the hydrographer,
+Captain Beaufort, the sanction of the Lords of the Admiralty. As I
+feel that the opportunities which I enjoyed of studying the Natural
+History of the different countries we visited have been wholly due
+to Captain Fitz Roy, I hope I may here be permitted to repeat my
+expression of gratitude to him; and to add that, during the five
+years we were together, I received from him the most cordial
+friendship and steady assistance. Both to Captain Fitz Roy and to
+all the Officers of the "Beagle" I shall ever feel most thankful
+for the undeviating kindness with which I was treated during our
+long voyage. (Preface/1. I must take this opportunity of returning
+my sincere thanks to Mr. Bynoe, the surgeon of the "Beagle," for
+his very kind attention to me when I was ill at Valparaiso.)
+
+This volume contains, in the form of a Journal, a history of our
+voyage, and a sketch of those observations in Natural History and
+Geology, which I think will possess some interest for the general
+reader. I have in this edition largely condensed and corrected some
+parts, and have added a little to others, in order to render the
+volume more fitted for popular reading; but I trust that
+naturalists will remember that they must refer for details to the
+larger publications which comprise the scientific results of the
+Expedition. The "Zoology of the Voyage of the 'Beagle'" includes an
+account of the Fossil Mammalia, by Professor Owen; of the Living
+Mammalia, by Mr. Waterhouse; of the Birds, by Mr. Gould; of the
+Fish, by the Reverend L. Jenyns; and of the Reptiles, by Mr. Bell.
+I have appended to the descriptions of each species an account of
+its habits and range. These works, which I owe to the high talents
+and disinterested zeal of the above distinguished authors, could
+not have been undertaken had it not been for the liberality of the
+Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, who, through the
+representation of the Right Honourable the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum of one thousand pounds
+towards defraying part of the expenses of publication.
+
+I have myself published separate volumes on the "Structure and
+Distribution of Coral Reefs"; on the "Volcanic Islands visited
+during the Voyage of the 'Beagle'"; and on the "Geology of South
+America." The sixth volume of the "Geological Transactions"
+contains two papers of mine on the Erratic Boulders and Volcanic
+Phenomena of South America. Messrs. Waterhouse, Walker, Newman, and
+White, have published several able papers on the Insects which were
+collected, and I trust that many others will hereafter follow. The
+plants from the southern parts of America will be given by Dr. J.
+Hooker, in his great work on the Botany of the Southern Hemisphere.
+The Flora of the Galapagos Archipelago is the subject of a separate
+memoir by him, in the "Linnean Transactions." The Reverend
+Professor Henslow has published a list of the plants collected by
+me at the Keeling Islands; and the Reverend J.M. Berkeley has
+described my cryptogamic plants.
+
+I shall have the pleasure of acknowledging the great assistance
+which I have received from several other naturalists in the course
+of this and my other works; but I must be here allowed to return my
+most sincere thanks to the Reverend Professor Henslow, who, when I
+was an undergraduate at Cambridge, was one chief means of giving me
+a taste for Natural History,--who, during my absence, took charge
+of the collections I sent home, and by his correspondence directed
+my endeavours,--and who, since my return, has constantly rendered
+me every assistance which the kindest friend could offer.
+
+DOWN, BROMLEY, KENT,
+June 1845.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+     CHAPTER I.
+
+     Porto Praya--Ribeira Grande--Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria
+     --Habits of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish--St. Paul's Rocks,
+     non-volcanic--Singular Incrustations--Insects the first
+     Colonists of Islands--Fernando Noronha--Bahia--Burnished
+     Rocks--Habits of a Diodon--Pelagic Confervae and Infusoria--
+     Causes of discoloured Sea.
+
+
+     CHAPTER II.
+
+     Rio de Janeiro--Excursion north of Cape Frio--Great
+     Evaporation--Slavery--Botofogo Bay--Terrestrial Planariae
+     --Clouds on the Corcovado--Heavy Rain--Musical Frogs--
+     Phosphorescent insects--Elater, springing powers of--Blue
+     Haze--Noise made by a Butterfly--Entomology--Ants--Wasp
+     killing a Spider--Parasitical Spider--Artifices of an Epeira
+     --Gregarious Spider--Spider with an unsymmetrical web.
+
+
+     CHAPTER III.
+
+     Monte Video--Maldonado--Excursion to R. Polanco--Lazo and
+     Bolas--Partridges--Absence of trees--Deer--Capybara, or
+     River Hog--Tucutuco--Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits--
+     Tyrant-flycatcher--Mocking-bird--Carrion Hawks--Tubes
+     formed by lightning--House struck.
+
+
+     CHAPTER IV.
+
+     Rio Negro--Estancias attacked by the Indians--Salt-Lakes--
+     Flamingoes--R. Negro to R. Colorado--Sacred Tree--
+     Patagonian Hare--Indian Families--General Rosas--Proceed to
+     Bahia Blanca--Sand Dunes--Negro Lieutenant--Bahia Blanca--
+     Saline incrustations--Punta Alta--Zorillo.
+
+     CHAPTER V.
+
+     Bahia Blanca--Geology--Numerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds
+     --Recent Extinction--Longevity of Species--Large Animals do
+     not require a luxuriant vegetation--Southern Africa--Siberian
+     Fossils--Two Species of Ostrich--Habits of Oven-bird--
+     Armadilloes--Venomous Snake, Toad, Lizard--Hybernation of
+     Animals--Habits of Sea-Pen--Indian Wars and Massacres--
+     Arrowhead--Antiquarian Relic.
+
+
+     CHAPTER VI.
+
+     Set out for Buenos Ayres--Rio Sauce--Sierra Ventana--Third
+     Posta--Driving Horses--Bolas--Partridges and Foxes--
+     Features of the country--Long-legged Plover--Teru-tero--
+     Hail-storm--Natural enclosures in the Sierra Tapalguen--Flesh
+     of Puma--Meat Diet--Guardia del Monte--Effects of cattle on
+     the Vegetation--Cardoon--Buenos Ayres--Corral where cattle
+     are slaughtered.
+
+
+     CHAPTER VII.
+
+     Excursion to St. F�--Thistle Beds--Habits of the Bizcacha--
+     Little Owl--Saline streams--Level plains--Mastodon--St.
+     F�--Change in landscape--Geology--Tooth of extinct Horse--
+     Relation of the Fossil and recent Quadrupeds of North and South
+     America--Effects of a great drought--Parana--Habits of the
+     Jaguar--Scissor-beak--Kingfisher, Parrot, and Scissor-tail--
+     Revolution--Buenos Ayres--State of Government.
+
+
+     CHAPTER VIII.
+
+     Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento--Value of an Estancia--
+     Cattle, how counted--Singular breed of Oxen--Perforated
+     pebbles--Shepherd-dogs--Horses broken-in, Gauchos riding--
+     Character of Inhabitants--Rio Plata--Flocks of Butterflies--
+     Aeronaut Spiders--Phosphorescence of the Sea--Port Desire--
+     Guanaco--Port St. Julian--Geology of Patagonia--Fossil
+     gigantic Animal--Types of Organisation constant--Change in
+     the Zoology of America--Causes of Extinction.
+
+
+     CHAPTER IX.
+
+     Santa Cruz--Expedition up the River--Indians--Immense
+     streams of basaltic lava--Fragments not transported by the
+     river--Excavation of the valley--Condor, habits of--
+     Cordillera--Erratic boulders of great size--Indian relics--
+     Return to the ship--Falkland Islands--Wild horses, cattle,
+     rabbits--Wolf-like fox--Fire made of bones--Manner of
+     hunting wild cattle--Geology--Streams of stones--Scenes of
+     violence--Penguin--Geese--Eggs of Doris--Compound
+     animals.
+
+
+     CHAPTER X.
+
+     Tierra del Fuego, first arrival--Good Success Bay--An account
+     of the Fuegians on board--Interview with the savages--Scenery
+     of the forests--Cape Horn--Wigwam Cove--Miserable condition
+     of the savages--Famines--Cannibals--Matricide--Religious
+     feelings--Great Gale--Beagle Channel--Ponsonby Sound--
+     Build wigwams and settle the Fuegians--Bifurcation of the
+     Beagle Channel--Glaciers--Return to the Ship--Second visit
+     in the Ship to the Settlement--Equality of condition amongst
+     the natives.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XI.
+
+     Strait of Magellan--Port Famine--Ascent of Mount Tarn--
+     Forests--Edible fungus--Zoology--Great Seaweed--Leave
+     Tierra del Fuego--Climate--Fruit-trees and productions of the
+     southern coasts--Height of snow-line on the Cordillera--
+     Descent of glaciers to the sea--Icebergs formed--Transportal
+     of boulders--Climate and productions of the Antarctic Islands
+     --Preservation of frozen carcasses--Recapitulation.
+
+     CHAPTER XII.
+
+     Valparaiso--Excursion to the foot of the Andes--Structure of
+     the land--Ascend the Bell of Quillota--Shattered masses of
+     greenstone--Immense valleys--Mines--State of miners--
+     Santiago--Hot-baths of Cauquenes--Gold-mines--
+     Grinding-mills--Perforated stones--Habits of the Puma--El
+     Turco and Tapacolo--Humming-birds.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     Chiloe--General aspect--Boat excursion--Native Indians--
+     Castro--Tame fox--Ascend San Pedro--Chonos Archipelago--
+     Peninsula of Tres Montes--Granitic range--Boat-wrecked
+     sailors--Low's Harbour--Wild potato--Formation of peat--
+     Myopotamus, otter and mice--Cheucau and Barking-bird--
+     Opetiorhynchus--Singular character of ornithology--Petrels.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     San Carlos, Chiloe--Osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with
+     Aconcagua and Coseguina--Ride to Cucao--Impenetrable forests
+     --Valdivia--Indians--Earthquake--Concepcion--Great
+     earthquake--Rocks fissured--Appearance of the former towns--
+     The sea black and boiling--Direction of the vibrations--
+     Stones twisted round--Great Wave--Permanent Elevation of the
+     land--Area of volcanic phenomena--The connection between the
+     elevatory and eruptive forces--Cause of earthquakes--Slow
+     elevation of mountain-chains.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XV.
+
+     Valparaiso--Portillo Pass--Sagacity of mules--
+     Mountain-torrents--Mines, how discovered--Proofs of the
+     gradual elevation of the Cordillera--Effect of snow on rocks--
+     Geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct
+     origin and upheaval--Great subsidence--Red snow--Winds--
+     Pinnacles of snow--Dry and clear atmosphere--Electricity--
+     Pampas--Zoology of the opposite sides of the Andes--Locusts
+     --Great Bugs--Mendoza--Uspallata Pass--Silicified trees
+     buried as they grew--Incas Bridge--Badness of the passes
+     exaggerated--Cumbre--Casuchas--Valparaiso.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     Coast-road to Coquimbo--Great loads carried by the miners--
+     Coquimbo--Earthquake--Step-formed terraces--Absence of
+     recent deposits--Contemporaneousness of the Tertiary formations
+     --Excursion up the valley--Road to Guasco--Deserts--Valley
+     of Copiap�--Rain and Earthquakes--Hydrophobia--The
+     Despoblado--Indian ruins--Probable change of climate--
+     River-bed arched by an earthquake--Cold gales of wind--Noises
+     from a hill--Iquique--Salt alluvium--Nitrate of soda--
+     Lima--Unhealthy country--Ruins of Callao, overthrown by an
+     earthquake--Recent subsidence--Elevated shells on San
+     Lorenzo, their decomposition--Plain with embedded shells and
+     fragments of pottery--Antiquity of the Indian Race.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     Galapagos Archipelago--The whole group volcanic--Number of
+     craters--Leafless bushes--Colony at Charles Island--James
+     Island--Salt-lake in crater--Natural history of the group--
+     Ornithology, curious finches--Reptiles--Great tortoises,
+     habits of--Marine lizard, feeds on seaweed--Terrestrial
+     lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous--Importance of reptiles
+     in the Archipelago--Fish, shells, insects--Botany--American
+     type of organisation--Differences in the species or races on
+     different islands--Tameness of the birds--Fear of man an
+     acquired instinct.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+     Pass through the Low Archipelago--Tahiti--Aspect--
+     Vegetation on the mountains--View of Eimeo--Excursion into
+     the interior--Profound ravines--Succession of waterfalls--
+     Number of wild useful plants--Temperance of the inhabitants--
+     Their moral state--Parliament convened--New Zealand--Bay of
+     Islands--Hippahs--Excursion to Waimate--Missionary
+     establishment--English weeds now run wild--Waiomio--Funeral
+     of a New Zealand woman--Sail for Australia.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XIX.
+
+     Sydney--Excursion to Bathurst--Aspect of the woods--Party
+     of natives--Gradual extinction of the aborigines--Infection
+     generated by associated men in health--Blue Mountains--View
+     of the grand gulf-like valleys--Their origin and formation--
+     Bathurst, general civility of the lower orders--State of
+     Society--Van Diemen's Land--Hobart Town--Aborigines all
+     banished--Mount Wellington--King George's Sound--Cheerless
+     aspect of the country--Bald Head, calcareous casts of branches
+     of trees--Party of natives--Leave Australia.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XX.
+
+     Keeling Island--Singular appearance--Scanty Flora--
+     Transport of seeds--Birds and insects--Ebbing and flowing
+     springs--Fields of dead coral--Stones transported in the
+     roots of trees--Great crab--Stinging corals--Coral-eating
+     fish--Coral formations--Lagoon islands or atolls--Depth at
+     which reef-building corals can live--Vast areas interspersed
+     with low coral islands--Subsidence of their foundations--
+     Barrier-reefs--Fringing-reefs--Conversion of fringing-reefs
+     into barrier-reefs, and into atolls--Evidence of changes in
+     level--Breaches in barrier-reefs--Maldiva atolls, their
+     peculiar structure--Dead and submerged reefs--Areas of
+     subsidence and elevation--Distribution of volcanoes--
+     Subsidence slow and vast in amount.
+
+
+     CHAPTER XXI.
+
+     Mauritius, beautiful appearance of--Great crateriform ring of
+     mountains--Hindoos--St. Helena--History of the changes in
+     the vegetation--Cause of the extinction of land-shells--
+     Ascension--Variation in the imported rats--Volcanic bombs--
+     Beds of infusoria--Bahia, Brazil--Splendour of tropical
+     scenery--Pernambuco--Singular reefs--Slavery--Return to
+     England--Retrospect on our voyage.
+
+
+     INDEX.
+
+
+.....
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+FRONTISPIECE.  H.M.S. "BEAGLE" IN STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. MT.
+SARMIENTO IN THE DISTANCE.
+
+PLATE 1. H.M.S. "BEAGLE" UNDER FULL SAIL, VIEW FROM ASTERN.
+
+PLATE 2. H.M.S. "BEAGLE": MIDDLE SECTION FORE AND AFT, UPPER
+DECK, 1832.
+
+PLATE 3.  FERNANDO NORONHA.
+
+PLATE 4.  INCRUSTATION OF SHELLY SAND.
+
+PLATE 5.  DIODON MACULATUS (Distended and Contracted).
+
+PLATE 6.  PELAGIC CONFERVAE.
+
+PLATE 7.  CATAMARAN (BAHIA).
+
+PLATE 8.  BOTOFOGO BAY, RIO DE JANEIRO.
+
+PLATE 9.  VAMPIRE BAT (Desmodus D'Orbigny).
+
+PLATE 10.  VIRGIN FOREST.
+
+PLATE 11.  CABBAGE PALM.
+
+PLATE 12.  MANDIOCA OR CASSAVA.
+
+PLATE 13.  RIO DE JANEIRO.
+
+PLATE 14.  DARWIN'S PAPILIO FERONIA, 1833, NOW CALLED AGERONIA
+FERONIA, 1889.
+
+PLATE 15.  HYDROCHAERUS CAPYBARA OR WATER-HOG.
+
+PLATE 16.  RECADO OR SURCINGLE OF GAUCHO.
+
+PLATE 17.  HALT AT A PULPERIA ON THE PAMPAS.
+
+PLATE 18.  EL CARMEN, OR PATAGONES, RIO NEGRO.
+
+PLATE 19.  BRAZILIAN WHIPS, HOBBLES, AND SPURS.
+
+PLATE 20.  BRINGING IN A PRISONER.
+
+PLATE 21.  IRREGULAR TROOPS.
+
+PLATE 22.  SKINNING UJI OR WATER SERPENTS.
+
+PLATE 23.  RHEA DARWINII (Avestruz Petise).
+
+PLATE 24.  LANDING AT BUENOS AYRES.
+
+PLATE 25.  MAT� POTS AND BAMBILLIO.
+
+PLATE 26.  GIANT THISTLE OF PAMPAS.
+
+PLATE 27.  CYNARA CARDUNCULUS OR CARDOON.
+
+PLATE 28.  EVENING CAMP, BUENOS AYRES.
+
+PLATE 29.  ROZARIO.
+
+PLATE 30.  PARANA RIVER.
+
+PLATE 31.  TOXODON PLATENSIS. (Found at Saladillo.)
+
+PLATE 32.  FOSSIL TOOTH OF HORSE. (From Bahia Blanca.)
+
+PLATE 33.  MYLODON.
+
+PLATE 34.  HEAD OF SCISSOR-BEAK.
+
+PLATE 35.  RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, OR SCISSOR-BEAK.
+
+PLATE 36.  BUENOS AYRES BULLOCK-WAGGONS.
+
+PLATE 37.  FUEGIANS AND WIGWAMS.
+
+PLATE 38.  OPUNTIA DARWINII.
+
+PLATE 39.  RAISED BEACHES, PATAGONIA.
+
+PLATE 40.  LADIES' COMBS, BANDA ORIENTAL.
+
+PLATE 41.  CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus gryphus).
+
+PLATE 42.  BASALTIC GLEN, SANTA CRUZ.
+
+PLATE 43.  BERKELEY SOUND, FALKLAND ISLANDS.
+
+PLATE 44.  YORK MINSTER (Bearing south 66 degrees east.)
+
+PLATE 45.  CAPE HORN.
+
+PLATE 46.  CAPE HORN (Another view).
+
+PLATE 47.  BAD WEATHER, MAGELLAN STRAITS.
+
+PLATE 48.  FUEGIAN BASKET AND BONE WEAPONS.
+
+PLATE 49.  FALSE HORN, CAPE HORN.
+
+PLATE 50.  WOLLASTON ISLAND, TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
+
+PLATE 51.  PATAGONIANS FROM CAPE GREGORY.
+
+PLATE 52.  PORT FAMINE, MAGELLAN.
+
+PLATE 53.  PATAGONIAN BOLAS.
+
+PLATE 54.  PATAGONIAN SPURS AND PIPE.
+
+PLATE 55.  CYTTARIA DARWINII.
+
+PLATE 56.  EYRE SOUND.
+
+PLATE 57.  GLACIER IN GULF OF PENAS.
+
+PLATE 58.  FLORA OF MAGELLAN.
+
+PLATE 59.  MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA, OR MAGELLAN KELP.
+
+PLATE 60.  TROCHILUS FORFICATUS.
+
+PLATE 61.  HACIENDA, CONDOR, CACTUS, ETC.
+
+PLATE 62.  CHILIAN MINER.
+
+PLATE 63.  CACTUS (Cereus Peruviana).
+
+PLATE 64.  CORDILLERAS FROM SANTIAGO DE CHILE.
+
+PLATE 65.  CHILIAN SPURS, STIRRUP, ETC.
+
+PLATE 66.  OLD CHURCH, CASTRO, CHILOE.
+
+PLATE 67.  INSIDE CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO.
+
+PLATE 68.  GUNNERA SCABRA, CHILOE.
+
+PLATE 69.  ANTUCO VOLCANO, NEAR TALCAHUANO.
+
+PLATE 70.  PANORAMIC VIEW OF COAST, CHILOE.
+
+PLATE 71.  INSIDE ISLAND OF CHILOE. SAN CARLOS.
+
+PLATE 72.  HIDE BRIDGE, SANTIAGO DE CHILE.
+
+PLATE 73.  CHILENOS.
+
+PLATE 74.  SOUTH AMERICAN BIT.
+
+PLATE 75.  BRIDGE OF THE INCAS, USPALLATA PASS.
+
+PLATE 76.  LIMA AND SAN LORENZO.
+
+PLATE 77.  COQUIMBO, CHILE.
+
+PLATE 78.  HUACAS, PERUVIAN POTTERY.
+
+PLATE 79.  TESTUDO ABINGDONII, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.
+
+PLATE 80.  GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.
+
+PLATE 81.  FINCHES FROM GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.
+
+PLATE 82.  AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS.
+
+PLATE 83.  OPUNTIA GALAPAGEIA.
+
+PLATE 84.  AVA OR KAVA (Macropiper methysticum), TAHITI.
+
+PLATE 85.  EIMEO AND BARRIER-REEF.
+
+PLATE 86.  FATAHUA FALL, TAHITI.
+
+PLATE 87.  TAHITIAN.
+
+PLATE 88.  HIPPAH, NEW ZEALAND.
+
+PLATE 89.  SYDNEY, 1835.
+
+PLATE 90.  HOBART TOWN AND MOUNT WELLINGTON.
+
+PLATE 91.  AUSTRALIAN GROUP OF WEAPONS AND THROWING STICKS.
+
+PLATE 92.  INSIDE AN ATOLL, KEELING ISLAND.
+
+PLATE 93.  WHITSUNDAY ISLAND.
+
+PLATE 94.  BARRIER-REEF, BOLABOLA.
+
+PLATE 95.  SECTIONS OF BARRIER-REEFS.
+
+PLATE 96.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF.
+
+PLATE 97.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF.
+
+PLATE 98.  BOLABOLA ISLAND.
+
+PLATE 99.  CORALS.
+
+PLATE 100.  BIRGOS LATRO, KEELING ISLAND.
+
+PLATE 101.  ST. LOUIS, MAURITIUS.
+
+PLATE 102.  ST. HELENA.
+
+PLATE 103.  CELLULAR FORMATION OF VOLCANIC BOMB.
+
+PLATE 104.  CICADA HOMOPTERA.
+
+PLATE 105.  HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+PLATE 106.  ASCENSION. TERNS AND NODDIES.
+
+PLATE 107.  MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA.
+
+PLATE 108.  MAP OF THE WORLD, SHOWING THE TRACK OF H.M.S.
+"BEAGLE."
+
+...
+
+
+(PLATE 2. H.M.S. "BEAGLE": MIDDLE SECTION FORE AND AFT, UPPER
+DECK, 1832.)
+
+(PLATE 3.  FERNANDO NORONHA.)
+
+
+
+
+JOURNAL.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Porto Praya.
+Ribeira Grande.
+Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria.
+Habits of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish.
+St. Paul's Rocks, non-volcanic.
+Singular Incrustations.
+Insects the first Colonists of Islands.
+Fernando Noronha.
+Bahia.
+Burnished Rocks.
+Habits of a Diodon.
+Pelagic Confervae and Infusoria.
+Causes of discoloured Sea.
+
+
+ST. JAGO--CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS.
+
+
+
+After having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales,
+Her Majesty's ship "Beagle," a ten-gun brig, under the command of
+Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of
+December, 1831. The object of the expedition was to complete the
+survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, commenced under Captain
+King in 1826 to 1830--to survey the shores of Chile, Peru, and of
+some islands in the Pacific--and to carry a chain of chronometrical
+measurements round the World. On the 6th of January we reached
+Teneriffe, but were prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the
+cholera: the next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged
+outline of the Grand Canary Island, and suddenly illumine the Peak
+of Teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds.
+This was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten.
+On the 16th of January 1832 we anchored at Porto Praya, in St.
+Jago, the chief island of the Cape de Verd archipelago.
+
+The neighbourhood of Porto Praya, viewed from the sea, wears a
+desolate aspect. The volcanic fires of a past age, and the
+scorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the
+soil unfit for vegetation. The country rises in successive steps of
+table-land, interspersed with some truncate conical hills, and the
+horizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty mountains.
+The scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere of this climate,
+is one of great interest; if, indeed, a person, fresh from sea, and
+who has just walked, for the first time, in a grove of cocoa-nut
+trees, can be a judge of anything but his own happiness. The island
+would generally be considered as very uninteresting, but to any one
+accustomed only to an English landscape, the novel aspect of an
+utterly sterile land possesses a grandeur which more vegetation
+might spoil. A single green leaf can scarcely be discovered over
+wide tracts of the lava plains; yet flocks of goats, together with
+a few cows, contrive to exist. It rains very seldom, but during a
+short portion of the year heavy torrents fall, and immediately
+afterwards a light vegetation springs out of every crevice. This
+soon withers; and upon such naturally formed hay the animals live.
+It had not now rained for an entire year. When the island was
+discovered, the immediate neighbourhood of Porto Praya was clothed
+with trees (1/1. I state this on the authority of Dr. E.
+Dieffenbach, in his German translation of the first edition of this
+Journal.), the reckless destruction of which has caused here, as at
+St. Helena, and at some of the Canary islands, almost entire
+sterility. The broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of which serve
+during a few days only in the season as watercourses, are clothed
+with thickets of leafless bushes. Few living creatures inhabit
+these valleys. The commonest bird is a kingfisher (Dacelo
+Iagoensis), which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil
+plant, and thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly
+coloured, but not so beautiful as the European species: in its
+flight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the
+driest valley, there is also a wide difference.
+
+One day, two of the officers and myself rode to Ribeira Grande, a
+village a few miles eastward of Porto Praya. Until we reached the
+valley of St. Martin, the country presented its usual dull brown
+appearance; but here, a very small rill of water produces a most
+refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. In the course of an hour
+we arrived at Ribeira Grande, and were surprised at the sight of a
+large ruined fort and cathedral. This little town, before its
+harbour was filled up, was the principal place in the island: it
+now presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. Having
+procured a black Padre for a guide, and a Spaniard who had served
+in the Peninsular war as an interpreter, we visited a collection of
+buildings, of which an ancient church formed the principal part. It
+is here the governors and captain-generals of the islands have been
+buried. Some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth
+century. (1/2. The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449.
+There was a tombstone of a bishop with the date of 1571; and a
+crest of a hand and dagger, dated 1497.) The heraldic ornaments
+were the only things in this retired place that reminded us of
+Europe. The church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, in
+the middle of which a large clump of bananas were growing. On
+another side was a hospital, containing about a dozen
+miserable-looking inmates.
+
+We returned to the V�nda to eat our dinners. A considerable number
+of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, collected to
+watch us. Our companions were extremely merry; and everything we
+said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. Before leaving
+the town we visited the cathedral. It does not appear so rich as
+the smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent forth
+singularly inharmonious cries. We presented the black priest with a
+few shillings, and the Spaniard, patting him on the head, said,
+with much candour, he thought his colour made no great difference.
+We then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to Porto Praya.
+
+Another day we rode to the village of St. Domingo, situated near
+the centre of the island. On a small plain which we crossed, a few
+stunted acacias were growing; their tops had been bent by the
+steady trade-wind, in a singular manner--some of them even at right
+angles to their trunks. The direction of the branches was exactly
+north-east by north, and south-west by south, and these natural
+vanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the
+trade-wind. The travelling had made so little impression on the
+barren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that to
+Fuentes. This we did not find out till we arrived there; and we
+were afterwards glad of our mistake. Fuentes is a pretty village,
+with a small stream; and everything appeared to prosper well,
+excepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most--its inhabitants.
+The black children, completely naked, and looking very wretched,
+were carrying bundles of firewood half as big as their own bodies.
+
+Near Fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl--probably fifty or
+sixty in number. They were extremely wary, and could not be
+approached. They avoided us, like partridges on a rainy day in
+September, running with their heads cocked up; and if pursued, they
+readily took to the wing.
+
+The scenery of St. Domingo possesses a beauty totally unexpected,
+from the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the island. The
+village is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded by lofty and
+jagged walls of stratified lava. The black rocks afford a most
+striking contrast with the bright green vegetation, which follows
+the banks of a little stream of clear water. It happened to be a
+grand feast-day, and the village was full of people. On our return
+we overtook a party of about twenty young black girls, dressed in
+excellent taste; their black skins and snow-white linen being set
+off by coloured turbans and large shawls. As soon as we approached
+near, they suddenly all turned round, and covering the path with
+their shawls, sung with great energy a wild song, beating time with
+their hands upon their legs. We threw them some vint�ms, which were
+received with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the
+noise of their song.
+
+One morning the view was singularly clear; the distant mountains
+being projected with the sharpest outline, on a heavy bank of dark
+blue clouds. Judging from the appearance, and from similar cases in
+England, I supposed that the air was saturated with moisture. The
+fact, however, turned out quite the contrary. The hygrometer gave a
+difference of 29.6 degrees, between the temperature of the air, and
+the point at which dew was precipitated. This difference was nearly
+double that which I had observed on the previous mornings. This
+unusual degree of atmospheric dryness was accompanied by continual
+flashes of lightning. Is it not an uncommon case, thus to find a
+remarkable degree of aerial transparency with such a state of
+weather?
+
+Generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling
+of impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly injured
+the astronomical instruments. The morning before we anchored at
+Porto Praya, I collected a little packet of this brown-coloured
+fine dust, which appeared to have been filtered from the wind by
+the gauze of the vane at the masthead. Mr. Lyell has also given me
+four packets of dust which fell on a vessel a few hundred miles
+northward of these islands. Professor Ehrenberg finds that this
+dust consists in great part of infusoria with siliceous shields,
+and of the siliceous tissue of plants. (1/3. I must take this
+opportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with which this
+illustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. I have
+sent (June 1845) a full account of the falling of this dust to the
+Geological Society.) In five little packets which I sent him, he
+has ascertained no less than sixty-seven different organic forms!
+The infusoria, with the exception of two marine species, are all
+inhabitants of fresh-water. I have found no less than fifteen
+different accounts of dust having fallen on vessels when far out in
+the Atlantic. From the direction of the wind whenever it has
+fallen, and from its having always fallen during those months when
+the harmattan is known to raise clouds of dust high into the
+atmosphere, we may feel sure that it all comes from Africa. It is,
+however, a very singular fact, that, although Professor Ehrenberg
+knows many species of infusoria peculiar to Africa, he finds none
+of these in the dust which I sent him. On the other hand, he finds
+in it two species which hitherto he knows as living only in South
+America. The dust falls in such quantities as to dirty everything
+on board, and to hurt people's eyes; vessels even have run on shore
+owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere. It has often fallen on
+ships when several hundred, and even more than a thousand miles
+from the coast of Africa, and at points sixteen hundred miles
+distant in a north and south direction. In some dust which was
+collected on a vessel three hundred miles from the land, I was much
+surprised to find particles of stone above the thousandth of an
+inch square, mixed with finer matter. After this fact one need not
+be surprised at the diffusion of the far lighter and smaller
+sporules of cryptogamic plants.
+
+The geology of this island is the most interesting part of its
+natural history. On entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal
+white band in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for
+some miles along the coast, and at the height of about forty-five
+feet above the water. Upon examination, this white stratum is found
+to consist of calcareous matter, with numerous shells embedded,
+most or all of which now exist on the neighbouring coast. It rests
+on ancient volcanic rocks, and has been covered by a stream of
+basalt, which must have entered the sea when the white shelly bed
+was lying at the bottom. It is interesting to trace the changes,
+produced by the heat of the overlying lava, on the friable mass,
+which in parts has been converted into a crystalline limestone, and
+in other parts into a compact spotted stone. Where the lime has
+been caught up by the scoriaceous fragments of the lower surface of
+the stream, it is converted into groups of beautifully radiated
+fibres resembling arragonite. The beds of lava rise in successive
+gently-sloping plains, towards the interior, whence the deluges of
+melted stone have originally proceeded. Within historical times no
+signs of volcanic activity have, I believe, been manifested in any
+part of St. Jago. Even the form of a crater can but rarely be
+discovered on the summits of the many red cindery hills; yet the
+more recent streams can be distinguished on the coast, forming
+lines of cliffs of less height, but stretching out in advance of
+those belonging to an older series: the height of the cliffs thus
+affording a rude measure of the age of the streams.
+
+During our stay, I observed the habits of some marine animals. A
+large Aplysia is very common. This sea-slug is about five inches
+long; and is of a dirty yellowish colour, veined with purple. On
+each side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a broad membrane,
+which appears sometimes to act as a ventilator, in causing a
+current of water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or lungs. It
+feeds on the delicate seaweeds which grow among the stones in muddy
+and shallow water; and I found in its stomach several small
+pebbles, as in the gizzard of a bird. This slug, when disturbed,
+emits a very fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for
+the space of a foot around. Besides this means of defence, an acrid
+secretion, which is spread over its body, causes a sharp, stinging
+sensation, similar to that produced by the Physalia, or Portuguese
+man-of-war.
+
+I was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits
+of an Octopus, or cuttle-fish. Although common in the pools of
+water left by the retiring tide, these animals were not easily
+caught. By means of their long arms and suckers, they could drag
+their bodies into very narrow crevices; and when thus fixed, it
+required great force to remove them. At other times they darted
+tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the
+pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with
+a dark chestnut-brown ink. These animals also escape detection by a
+very extraordinary, chameleon-like power of changing their colour.
+They appear to vary their tints according to the nature of the
+ground over which they pass: when in deep water, their general
+shade was brownish purple, but when placed on the land, or in
+shallow water, this dark tint changed into one of a yellowish
+green. The colour, examined more carefully, was a French grey, with
+numerous minute spots of bright yellow: the former of these varied
+in intensity; the latter entirely disappeared and appeared again by
+turns. These changes were effected in such a manner that clouds,
+varying in tint between a hyacinth red and a chestnut-brown, were
+continually passing over the body. (1/4. So named according to
+Patrick Symes's nomenclature.) Any part, being subjected to a
+slight shock of galvanism, became almost black: a similar effect,
+but in a less degree, was produced by scratching the skin with a
+needle. These clouds, or blushes as they may be called, are said to
+be produced by the alternate expansion and contraction of minute
+vesicles containing variously coloured fluids. (1/5. See
+"Encyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology" article "Cephalopoda.")
+
+This cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during the
+act of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bottom. I
+was much amused by the various arts to escape detection used by one
+individual, which seemed fully aware that I was watching it.
+Remaining for a time motionless, it would then stealthily advance
+an inch or two, like a cat after a mouse; sometimes changing its
+colour: it thus proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it
+darted away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into
+which it had crawled.
+
+While looking for marine animals, with my head about two feet above
+the rocky shore, I was more than once saluted by a jet of water,
+accompanied by a slight grating noise. At first I could not think
+what it was, but afterwards I found out that it was this
+cuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led me
+to its discovery. That it possesses the power of ejecting water
+there is no doubt, and it appeared to me that it could certainly
+take good aim by directing the tube or siphon on the under side of
+its body. From the difficulty which these animals have in carrying
+their heads, they cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground.
+I observed that one which I kept in the cabin was slightly
+phosphorescent in the dark.
+
+ST. PAUL'S ROCKS.
+
+In crossing the Atlantic we hove-to, during the morning of February
+16th, 1832, close to the island of St. Paul's. This cluster of
+rocks is situated in 0 degrees 58' north latitude, and 29 degrees
+15' west longitude. It is 540 miles distant from the coast of
+America, and 350 from the island of Fernando Noronha. The highest
+point is only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the entire
+circumference is under three-quarters of a mile. This small point
+rises abruptly out of the depths of the ocean. Its mineralogical
+constitution is not simple; in some parts the rock is of a cherty,
+in others of a feldspathic nature, including thin veins of
+serpentine. It is a remarkable fact that all the many small
+islands, lying far from any continent, in the Pacific, Indian, and
+Atlantic Oceans, with the exception of the Seychelles and this
+little point of rock, are, I believe, composed either of coral or
+of erupted matter. The volcanic nature of these oceanic islands is
+evidently an extension of that law, and the effect of those same
+causes, whether chemical or mechanical, from which it results that
+a vast majority of the volcanoes now in action stand either near
+sea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea.
+
+(PLATE 4.  INCRUSTATION OF SHELLY SAND.)
+
+The rocks of St. Paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly white
+colour. This is partly owing to the dung of a vast multitude of
+seafowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy substance with a
+pearly lustre, which is intimately united to the surface of the
+rocks. This, when examined with a lens, is found to consist of
+numerous exceedingly thin layers, its total thickness being about
+the tenth of an inch. It contains much animal matter, and its
+origin, no doubt, is due to the action of the rain or spray on the
+birds' dung. Below some small masses of guano at Ascension, and on
+the Abrolhos Islets, I found certain stalactitic branching bodies,
+formed apparently in the same manner as the thin white coating on
+these rocks. The branching bodies so closely resembled in general
+appearance certain nulliporae (a family of hard calcareous
+sea-plants), that in lately looking hastily over my collection I
+did not perceive the difference. The globular extremities of the
+branches are of a pearly texture, like the enamel of teeth, but so
+hard as just to scratch plate-glass. I may here mention, that on a
+part of the coast of Ascension, where there is a vast accumulation
+of shelly sand, an incrustation is deposited on the tidal rocks, by
+the water of the sea, resembling, as represented in Plate 4,
+certain cryptogamic plants (Marchantiae) often seen on damp walls.
+The surface of the fronds is beautifully glossy; and those parts
+formed where fully exposed to the light, are of a jet black colour,
+but those shaded under ledges are only grey. I have shown specimens
+of this incrustation to several geologists, and they all thought
+that they were of volcanic or igneous origin! In its hardness and
+translucency--in its polish, equal to that of the finest
+oliva-shell--in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under
+the blowpipe--it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells.
+Moreover in sea-shells, it is known that the parts habitually
+covered and shaded by the mantle of the animal, are of a paler
+colour than those fully exposed to the light, just as is the case
+with this incrustation. When we remember that lime, either as a
+phosphate or carbonate, enters into the composition of the hard
+parts, such as bones and shells, of all living animals, it is an
+interesting physiological fact to find substances harder than the
+enamel of teeth, and coloured surfaces as well polished as those of
+a fresh shell, re-formed through inorganic means from dead organic
+matter--mocking, also, in shape, some of the lower vegetable
+productions. (1/6. Mr. Horner and Sir David Brewster have described
+("Philosophical Transactions" 1836 page 65) a singular "artificial
+substance resembling shell." It is deposited in fine, transparent,
+highly polished, brown-coloured laminae, possessing peculiar
+optical properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which cloth,
+first prepared with glue and then with lime, is made to revolve
+rapidly in water. It is much softer, more transparent, and contains
+more animal matter, than the natural incrustation at Ascension; but
+we here again see the strong tendency which carbonate of lime and
+animal matter evince to form a solid substance allied to shell.)
+
+We found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds--the booby and the
+noddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern.
+Both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed
+to visitors, that I could have killed any number of them with my
+geological hammer. The booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but
+the tern makes a very simple nest with seaweed. By the side of many
+of these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which I suppose, had
+been brought by the male bird for its partner. It was amusing to
+watch how quickly a large and active crab (Graspus), which inhabits
+the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest,
+as soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. Sir W. Symonds, one
+of the few persons who have landed here, informs me that he saw the
+crabs dragging even the young birds out of their nests, and
+devouring them. Not a single plant, not even a lichen, grows on
+this islet; yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders. The
+following list completes, I believe, the terrestrial fauna: a fly
+(Olfersia) living on the booby, and a tick which must have come
+here as a parasite on the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a
+genus that feeds on feathers; a beetle (Quedius) and a woodlouse
+from beneath the dung; and lastly, numerous spiders, which I
+suppose prey on these small attendants and scavengers of the
+waterfowl. The often-repeated description of the stately palm and
+other noble tropical plants, then birds, and lastly man, taking
+possession of the coral islets as soon as formed, in the Pacific,
+is probably not quite correct; I fear it destroys the poetry of
+this story, that feather and dirt-feeding and parasitic insects and
+spiders should be the first inhabitants of newly formed oceanic
+land.
+
+The smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation for
+the growth of innumerable kinds of seaweed and compound animals,
+supports likewise a large number of fish. The sharks and the seamen
+in the boats maintained a constant struggle which should secure the
+greater share of the prey caught by the fishing-lines. I have heard
+that a rock near the Bermudas, lying many miles out at sea, and at
+a considerable depth, was first discovered by the circumstance of
+fish having been observed in the neighbourhood.
+
+FERNANDO NORONHA, FEBRUARY 20, 1832.
+
+As far as I was enabled to observe, during the few hours we stayed
+at this place, the constitution of the island is volcanic, but
+probably not of a recent date. The most remarkable feature is a
+conical hill, about one thousand feet high, the upper part of which
+is exceedingly steep, and on one side overhangs its base. The rock
+is phonolite, and is divided into irregular columns. On viewing one
+of these isolated masses, at first one is inclined to believe that
+it has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state. At St.
+Helena, however, I ascertained that some pinnacles, of a nearly
+similar figure and constitution, had been formed by the injection
+of melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed the
+moulds for these gigantic obelisks. The whole island is covered
+with wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no
+appearance of luxuriance. Half-way up the mountain some great
+masses of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and
+ornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers but without a
+single leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the
+scenery.
+
+BAHIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, FEBRUARY 29, 1832.
+
+The day has past delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak
+term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first
+time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegance
+of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty
+of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the
+general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. A
+most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady
+parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud, that it
+may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from
+the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal
+silence appears to reign. To a person fond of natural history, such
+a day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than he can ever
+hope to experience again. After wandering about for some hours, I
+returned to the landing-place; but, before reaching it, I was
+overtaken by a tropical storm. I tried to find shelter under a
+tree, which was so thick that it would never have been penetrated
+by common English rain; but here, in a couple of minutes, a little
+torrent flowed down the trunk. It is to this violence of the rain
+that we must attribute the verdure at the bottom of the thickest
+woods: if the showers were like those of a colder clime, the
+greater part would be absorbed or evaporated before it reached the
+ground. I will not at present attempt to describe the gaudy scenery
+of this noble bay, because, in our homeward voyage, we called here
+a second time, and I shall then have occasion to remark on it.
+
+Along the whole coast of Brazil, for a length of at least 2000
+miles, and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever
+solid rock occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. The
+circumstance of this enormous area being constituted of materials
+which most geologists believe to have been crystallised when heated
+under pressure, gives rise to many curious reflections. Was this
+effect produced beneath the depths of a profound ocean? or did a
+covering of strata formerly extend over it, which has since been
+removed? Can we believe that any power, acting for a time short of
+infinity, could have denuded the granite over so many thousand
+square leagues?
+
+On a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the sea,
+I observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by Humboldt.
+(1/7. "Personal Narrative" volume 5 part 1 page 18.) At the
+cataracts of the great rivers Orinoco, Nile, and Congo, the
+syenitic rocks are coated by a black substance, appearing as if
+they had been polished with plumbago. The layer is of extreme
+thinness; and on analysis by Berzelius it was found to consist of
+the oxides of manganese and iron. In the Orinoco it occurs on the
+rocks periodically washed by the floods, and in those parts alone
+where the stream is rapid; or, as the Indians say, "the rocks are
+black where the waters are white." Here the coating is of a rich
+brown instead of a black colour, and seems to be composed of
+ferruginous matter alone. Hand specimens fail to give a just idea
+of these brown burnished stones which glitter in the sun's rays.
+They occur only within the limits of the tidal waves; and as the
+rivulet slowly trickles down, the surf must supply the polishing
+power of the cataracts in the great rivers. In like manner, the
+rise and fall of the tide probably answer to the periodical
+inundations; and thus the same effects are produced under
+apparently different but really similar circumstances. The origin,
+however, of these coatings of metallic oxides, which seem as if
+cemented to the rocks, is not understood; and no reason, I believe,
+can be assigned for their thickness remaining the same.
+
+(PLATE 5.  DIODON MACULATUS (DISTENDED AND CONTRACTED).)
+
+One day I was amused by watching the habits of the Diodon
+antennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. This fish,
+with its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular power
+of distending itself into a nearly spherical form. After having
+been taken out of water for a short time, and then again immersed
+in it, a considerable quantity both of water and air is absorbed by
+the mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial orifices. This
+process is effected by two methods: the air is swallowed, and is
+then forced into the cavity of the body, its return being prevented
+by a muscular contraction which is externally visible: but the
+water enters in a gentle stream through the mouth, which is kept
+wide open and motionless; this latter action must, therefore,
+depend on suction. The skin about the abdomen is much looser than
+that on the back; hence, during the inflation, the lower surface
+becomes far more distended than the upper; and the fish, in
+consequence, floats with its back downwards. Cuvier doubts whether
+the Diodon in this position is able to swim; but not only can it
+thus move forward in a straight line, but it can turn round to
+either side. This latter movement is effected solely by the aid of
+the pectoral fins; the tail being collapsed and not used. From the
+body being buoyed up with so much air, the branchial openings are
+out of water, but a stream drawn in by the mouth constantly flows
+through them.
+
+The fish, having remained in this distended state for a short time,
+generally expelled the air and water with considerable force from
+the branchial apertures and mouth. It could emit, at will, a
+certain portion of the water, and it appears, therefore probable
+that this fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regulating its
+specific gravity. This Diodon possessed several means of defence.
+It could give a severe bite, and could eject water from its mouth
+to some distance, at the same time making a curious noise by the
+movement of its jaws. By the inflation of its body, the papillae,
+with which the skin is covered, become erect and pointed. But the
+most curious circumstance is, that it secretes from the skin of its
+belly, when handled, a most beautiful carmine-red fibrous matter,
+which stains ivory and paper in so permanent a manner, that the
+tint is retained with all its brightness to the present day: I am
+quite ignorant of the nature and use of this secretion. I have
+heard from Dr. Allan of Forres, that he has frequently found a
+Diodon, floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the shark;
+and that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only
+through the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the
+monster, which has thus been killed. Who would ever have imagined
+that a little soft fish could have destroyed the great and savage
+shark?
+
+MARCH 18, 1832.
+
+(PLATE 6.  PELAGIC CONFERVAE.)
+
+We sailed from Bahia. A few days afterwards, when not far distant
+from the Abrolhos Islets, my attention was called to a
+reddish-brown appearance in the sea. The whole surface of the
+water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered by
+chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. These are minute
+cylindrical confervae, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty
+in each. Mr. Berkeley informs me that they are the same species
+(Trichodesmium erythraeum) with that found over large spaces in the
+Red Sea, and whence its name of Red Sea is derived. (1/8. M.
+Montagne in "Comptes Rendus" etc. Juillet 1844; and "Annales des
+Sciences Naturelles" December 1844.) Their numbers must be
+infinite: the ship passed through several bands of them, one of
+which was about ten yards wide, and, judging from the mud-like
+colour of the water, at least two and a half miles long. In almost
+every long voyage some account is given of these confervae. They
+appear especially common in the sea near Australia; and off Cape
+Leeuwin I found an allied, but smaller and apparently different
+species. Captain Cook, in his third voyage, remarks that the
+sailors gave to this appearance the name of sea-sawdust.
+
+Near Keeling Atoll, in the Indian Ocean, I observed many little
+masses of confervae a few inches square, consisting of long
+cylindrical threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely
+visible to the naked eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies,
+finely conical at both ends. Two of these are shown in Plate 6
+united together. They vary in length from .04 to .06, and even to
+.08 of an inch in length; and in diameter from .006 to .008 of an
+inch. Near one extremity of the cylindrical part, a green septum,
+formed of granular matter, and thickest in the middle, may
+generally be seen. This, I believe, is the bottom of a most
+delicate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy substance, which
+lines the exterior case, but does not extend within the extreme
+conical points. In some specimens, small but perfect spheres of
+brownish granular matter supplied the places of the septa; and I
+observed the curious process by which they were produced. The pulpy
+matter of the internal coating suddenly grouped itself into lines,
+some of which assumed a form radiating from a common centre; it
+then continued, with an irregular and rapid movement, to contract
+itself, so that in the course of a second the whole was united into
+a perfect little sphere, which occupied the position of the septum
+at one end of the now quite hollow case. The formation of the
+granular sphere was hastened by any accidental injury. I may add,
+that frequently a pair of these bodies were attached to each other,
+as represented above, cone beside cone, at that end where the
+septum occurs.
+
+I will here add a few other observations connected with the
+discoloration of the sea from organic causes. On the coast of
+Chile, a few leagues north of Concepcion, the "Beagle" one day
+passed through great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of a
+swollen river; and again, a degree south of Valparaiso, when fifty
+miles from the land, the same appearance was still more extensive.
+Some of the water placed in a glass was of a pale reddish tint;
+and, examined under a microscope, was seen to swarm with minute
+animalcula darting about, and often exploding. Their shape is oval,
+and contracted in the middle by a ring of vibrating curved ciliae.
+It was, however, very difficult to examine them with care, for
+almost the instant motion ceased, even while crossing the field of
+vision, their bodies burst. Sometimes both ends burst at once,
+sometimes only one, and a quantity of coarse, brownish, granular
+matter was ejected. The animal an instant before bursting expanded
+to half again its natural size; and the explosion took place about
+fifteen seconds after the rapid progressive motion had ceased: in a
+few cases it was preceded for a short interval by a rotatory
+movement on the longer axis. About two minutes after any number
+were isolated in a drop of water, they thus perished. The animals
+move with the narrow apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory
+ciliae, and generally by rapid starts. They are exceedingly minute,
+and quite invisible to the naked eye, only covering a space equal
+to the square of the thousandth of an inch. Their numbers were
+infinite; for the smallest drop of water which I could remove
+contained very many. In one day we passed through two spaces of
+water thus stained, one of which alone must have extended over
+several square miles. What incalculable numbers of these
+microscopical animals! The colour of the water, as seen at some
+distance, was like that of a river which has flowed through a red
+clay district; but under the shade of the vessel's side it was
+quite as dark as chocolate. The line where the red and blue water
+joined was distinctly defined. The weather for some days previously
+had been calm, and the ocean abounded, to an unusual degree, with
+living creatures. (1/9. M. Lesson "Voyage de la Coquille" tome 1
+page 255, mentions red water off Lima, apparently produced by the
+same cause. Peron, the distinguished naturalist, in the "Voyage aux
+Terres Australes," gives no less than twelve references to voyagers
+who have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea (volume 2
+page 239). To the references given by Peron may be added,
+Humboldt's "Personal Narrative" volume 6 page 804; Flinder's
+"Voyage" volume 1 page 92; Labillardi�re, volume 1 page 287;
+Ulloa's "Voyage"; "Voyage of the Astrolabe and of the Coquille";
+Captain King's "Survey of Australia" etc.)
+
+In the sea around Tierra del Fuego, and at no great distance from
+the land, I have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red colour,
+from the number of crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form large
+prawns. The sealers call them whale-food. Whether whales feed on
+them I do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense herds of
+great unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast, their
+chief sustenance from these swimming crabs. Seamen invariably
+attribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but I found this
+to be the case only on one occasion. At the distance of several
+leagues from the Archipelago of the Galapagos, the ship sailed
+through three strips of a dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these
+strips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they
+were separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet distinct
+margin. The colour was caused by little gelatinous balls, about the
+fifth of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute spherical
+ovules were embedded: they were of two distinct kinds, one being of
+a reddish colour and of a different shape from the other. I cannot
+form a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals these belonged.
+Captain Colnett remarks that this appearance is very common among
+the Galapagos Islands, and that the direction of the bands
+indicates that of the currents; in the described case, however, the
+line was caused by the wind. The only other appearance which I have
+to notice, is a thin oily coat on the water which displays
+iridescent colours. I saw a considerable tract of the ocean thus
+covered on the coast of Brazil; the seamen attributed it to the
+putrefying carcass of some whale, which probably was floating at no
+great distance. I do not here mention the minute gelatinous
+particles, hereafter to be referred to, which are frequently
+dispersed throughout the water, for they are not sufficiently
+abundant to create any change of colour.
+
+There are two circumstances in the above accounts which appear
+remarkable: first, how do the various bodies which form the bands
+with defined edges keep together? In the case of the prawn-like
+crabs, their movements were as coinstantaneous as in a regiment of
+soldiers; but this cannot happen from anything like voluntary
+action with the ovules, or the confervae, nor is it probable among
+the infusoria. Secondly, what causes the length and narrowness of
+the bands? The appearance so much resembles that which may be seen
+in every torrent, where the stream uncoils into long streaks the
+froth collected in the eddies, that I must attribute the effect to
+a similar action either of the currents of the air or sea. Under
+this supposition we must believe that the various organised bodies
+are produced in certain favourable places, and are thence removed
+by the set of either wind or water. I confess, however, there is a
+very great difficulty in imagining any one spot to be the
+birthplace of the millions of millions of animalcula and confervae:
+for whence come the germs at such points?--the parent bodies having
+been distributed by the winds and waves over the immense ocean. But
+on no other hypothesis can I understand their linear grouping. I
+may add that Scoresby remarks that green water abounding with
+pelagic animals is invariably found in a certain part of the Arctic
+Sea.
+
+(PLATE 7.  CATAMARAN (BAHIA).)
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+(PLATE 8.  BOTOFOGO BAY, RIO DE JANEIRO.)
+
+Rio de Janeiro.
+Excursion north of Cape Frio.
+Great Evaporation.
+Slavery.
+Botofogo Bay.
+Terrestrial Planariae.
+Clouds on the Corcovado.
+Heavy Rain.
+Musical Frogs.
+Phosphorescent Insects.
+Elater, springing powers of.
+Blue Haze.
+Noise made by a Butterfly.
+Entomology.
+Ants.
+Wasp killing a Spider.
+Parasitical Spider.
+Artifices of an Epeira.
+Gregarious Spider.
+Spider with an unsymmetrical Web.
+
+RIO DE JANEIRO.
+
+APRIL 4 TO JULY 5, 1832.
+
+
+
+A few days after our arrival I became acquainted with an Englishman
+who was going to visit his estate, situated rather more than a
+hundred miles from the capital, to the northward of Cape Frio. I
+gladly accepted his kind offer of allowing me to accompany him.
+
+APRIL 8, 1832.
+
+Our party amounted to seven. The first stage was very interesting.
+The day was powerfully hot, and as we passed through the woods,
+everything was motionless, excepting the large and brilliant
+butterflies, which lazily fluttered about. The view seen when
+crossing the hills behind Praia Grande was most beautiful; the
+colours were intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky
+and the calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour.
+After passing through some cultivated country, we entered a forest
+which in the grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. We
+arrived by midday at Ithacaia; this small village is situated on a
+plain, and round the central house are the huts of the negroes.
+These, from their regular form and position, reminded me of the
+drawings of the Hottentot habitations in Southern Africa. As the
+moon rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our
+sleeping-place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we
+passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite
+which are so common in this country. This spot is notorious from
+having been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway slaves,
+who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, contrived to eke
+out a subsistence. At length they were discovered, and a party of
+soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the exception of
+one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed
+herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Roman
+matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a
+poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We continued riding for
+some hours. For the few last miles the road was intricate, and it
+passed through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene by
+the dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies
+flitted by us; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its
+plaintive cry. The distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely
+broke the stillness of the night.
+
+APRIL 9, 1832.
+
+We left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. The road
+passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the sea and the
+interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful fishing birds, such
+as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most
+fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not
+otherwise have possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded with
+parasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fragrance
+of some of the orchideae were most to be admired. As the sun rose,
+the day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and
+heat from the white sand was very distressing. We dined at
+Mandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being 84 degrees. The
+beautiful view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in the
+perfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As
+the v�nda here was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but
+rare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and
+presently describe it, as the type of its class. (2/1. V�nda, the
+Portuguese name for an inn.) These houses are often large, and are
+built of thick upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and
+afterwards plastered. They seldom have floors, and never glazed
+windows; but are generally pretty well roofed. Universally the
+front part is open, forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and
+benches are placed. The bedrooms join on each side, and here the
+passenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform
+covered by a thin straw mat. The v�nda stands in a courtyard, where
+the horses are fed. On first arriving, it was our custom to
+unsaddle the horses and give them their Indian corn; then, with a
+low bow, to ask the senh�r to do us the favour to give us something
+to eat. "Anything you choose, sir," was his usual answer. For the
+few first times, vainly I thanked providence for having guided us
+to so good a man. The conversation proceeding, the case universally
+became deplorable. "Any fish can you do us the favour of giving
+?"--"Oh no, sir."--"Any soup?"--"No, sir."--"Any bread?"--"Oh no,
+sir."--"Any dried meat?"--"Oh no, sir." If we were lucky, by
+waiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It
+not unfrequently happened that we were obliged to kill, with
+stones, the poultry for our own supper. When, thoroughly exhausted
+by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be glad
+of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory
+answer was, "It will be ready when it is ready." If we had dared to
+remonstrate any further, we should have been told to proceed on our
+journey, as being too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious
+and disagreeable in their manners; their houses and their persons
+are often filthily dirty; the want of the accommodation of forks,
+knives, and spoons is common; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in
+England could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every
+comfort. At Campos Novos, however, we fared sumptuously; having
+rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner; coffee in
+the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. All this, with
+good food for the horses, only cost 2 shillings 6 pence per head.
+Yet the host of this v�nda, being asked if he knew anything of a
+whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, "How should
+I know? why did you not take care of it?--I suppose the dogs have
+eaten it."
+
+Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate
+wilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt
+water shells. Of the former kind, I found a Limnaea in great
+numbers in a lake, into which the inhabitants assured me that the
+sea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the water
+quite salt. I have no doubt many interesting facts in relation to
+marine and fresh-water animals might be observed in this chain of
+lagoons which skirt the coast of Brazil. M. Gay has stated that he
+found in the neighbourhood of Rio shells of the marine genera solen
+and mytilus, and fresh-water ampullariae, living together in
+brackish water. (2/2. "Annales des Sciences Naturelles" for 1833.)
+I also frequently observed in the lagoon near the Botanic Garden,
+where the water is only a little less salt than in the sea, a
+species of hydrophilus, very similar to a water-beetle common in
+the ditches of England: in the same lake the only shell belonged to
+a genus generally found in estuaries.
+
+(PLATE 9.  VAMPIRE BAT (Desmodus D'Orbigny). Caught on back of
+Darwin's horse near Coquimbo. Head, full size.)
+
+Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The
+trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of
+Europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my notebook,
+"wonderful and beautiful flowering parasites," invariably struck me
+as the most novel object in these grand scenes. Travelling onwards
+we passed through tracts of pasturage, much injured by the enormous
+conical ants' nests, which were nearly twelve feet high. They gave
+to the plain exactly the appearance of the mud volcanoes at
+Jorullo, as figured by Humboldt. We arrived at Engenhodo after it
+was dark, having been ten hours on horseback. I never ceased,
+during the whole journey, to be surprised at the amount of labour
+which the horses were capable of enduring; they appeared also to
+recover from any injury much sooner than those of our English
+breed. The Vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by
+biting the horses on their withers. The injury is generally not so
+much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the
+pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstance
+has lately been doubted in England; I was therefore fortunate in
+being present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi, Wat.) was actually
+caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening near
+Coquimbo, in Chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the
+horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and
+fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on
+the beast's withers, and secured the vampire. In the morning the
+spot where the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished
+from being slightly swollen and bloody. The third day afterwards we
+rode the horse, without any ill effects.
+
+APRIL 13, 1832.
+
+After three days' travelling we arrived at Soc�go, the estate of
+Senh�r Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our party. The house
+was simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well suited to the
+climate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly
+contrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows
+without glass. The house, together with the granaries, the stables,
+and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades,
+formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which a large
+pile of coffee was drying. These buildings stand on a little hill,
+overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every side by
+a wall of dark green luxuriant forest. The chief produce of this
+part of the country is coffee. Each tree is supposed to yield
+annually, on an average, two pounds; but some give as much as
+eight. Mandioca or cassava is likewise cultivated in great
+quantity. Every part of this plant is useful: the leaves and stalks
+are eaten by the horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp,
+which, when pressed dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principal
+article of sustenance in the Brazils. It is a curious, though
+well-known fact, that the juice of this most nutritious plant is
+highly poisonous. A few years ago a cow died at this Faz�nda, in
+consequence of having drunk some of it. Senh�r Figuireda told me
+that he had planted, the year before, one bag of feija� or beans,
+and three of rice; the former of which produced eighty, and the
+latter three hundred and twenty fold. The pasturage supports a fine
+stock of cattle, and the woods are so full of game that a deer had
+been killed on each of the three previous days. This profusion of
+food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan,
+the guests surely did; for each person is expected to eat of every
+dish. One day, having, as I thought, nicely calculated so that
+nothing should go away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey
+and a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. During the
+meals, it was the employment of a man to drive out of the room
+sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children, which
+crawled in together, at every opportunity. As long as the idea of
+slavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly
+fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was
+such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the
+world. As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is
+set tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. The event
+is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. One
+morning I walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn
+stillness of the scene; at last, the silence was broken by the
+morning hymn, raised on high by the whole body of the blacks; and
+in this manner their daily work is generally begun. On such
+faz�ndas as these, I have no doubt the slaves pass happy and
+contented lives. On Saturday and Sunday they work for themselves,
+and in this fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to
+support a man and his family for the whole week.
+
+APRIL 14, 1832.
+
+(PLATE 10.  VIRGIN FOREST.)
+
+Leaving Soc�go, we rode to another estate on the Rio Mac�e, which
+was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction. The
+estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten
+how many broad. Only a very small piece had been cleared, yet
+almost every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich
+productions of a tropical land. Considering the enormous area of
+Brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be
+considered as anything compared to that which is left in the state
+of nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will
+support! During the second day's journey we found the road so shut
+up that it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to
+cut away the creepers. The forest abounded with beautiful objects;
+among which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their
+bright green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds,
+most worthy of admiration. In the evening it rained very heavily,
+and although the thermometer stood at 65 degrees, I felt very cold.
+As soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the
+extraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of
+the forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried
+in a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the
+most thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I
+observed this phenomenon on several occasions: I suppose it is
+owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the
+sun's rays.
+
+While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an
+eye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take
+place in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the
+owner was on the point of taking all the women and children from
+the male slaves, and selling them separately at the public auction
+at Rio. Interest, and not any feeling of compassion, prevented this
+act. Indeed, I do not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty
+families, who had lived together for many years, even occurred to
+the owner. Yet I will pledge myself, that in humanity and good
+feeling he was superior to the common run of men. It may be said
+there exists no limit to the blindness of interest and selfish
+habit. I may mention one very trifling anecdote, which at the time
+struck me more forcibly than any story of cruelty. I was crossing a
+ferry with a negro who was uncommonly stupid. In endeavouring to
+make him understand, I talked loud, and made signs, in doing which
+I passed my hand near his face. He, I suppose, thought I was in a
+passion, and was going to strike him; for instantly, with a
+frightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. I shall
+never forget my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing
+a great powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as
+he thought, at his face. This man had been trained to a degradation
+lower than the slavery of the most helpless animal.
+
+APRIL 18, 1832.
+
+(PLATE 11.  CABBAGE PALM.)
+
+In returning we spent two days at Soc�go, and I employed them in
+collecting insects in the forest. The greater number of trees,
+although so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in
+circumference. There are, of course, a few of much greater
+dimension. Senh�r Manuel was then making a canoe 70 feet in length
+from a solid trunk, which had originally been 110 feet long, and of
+great thickness. The contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the
+common branching kinds, never fails to give the scene an
+intertropical character. Here the woods were ornamented by the
+Cabbage Palm--one of the most beautiful of its family. With a stem
+so narrow that it might be clasped with the two hands, it waves its
+elegant head at the height of forty or fifty feet above the ground.
+The woody creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of
+great thickness: some which I measured were two feet in
+circumference. Many of the older trees presented a very curious
+appearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs,
+and resembling bundles of hay. If the eye was turned from the world
+of foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the
+extreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. The
+latter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a
+few inches high. In walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a
+broad track was marked by the change of shade, produced by the
+drooping of their sensitive petioles. It is easy to specify the
+individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is
+not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of
+wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the
+mind.
+
+(PLATE 12.  MANDIOCA OR CASSAVA.)
+
+APRIL 19, 1832.
+
+Leaving Soc�go, during the two first days we retraced our steps. It
+was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a glaring
+hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed that each time
+the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle
+chirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different
+line, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de De�s.
+This is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet it was in
+so bad a state that no wheel vehicle, excepting the clumsy
+bullock-wagon, could pass along. In our whole journey we did not
+cross a single bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of
+wood were frequently so much out of repair that it was necessary to
+go on one side to avoid them. All distances are inaccurately known.
+The road is often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to
+signify where human blood has been spilled. On the evening of the
+23rd we arrived at Rio, having finished our pleasant little
+excursion.
+
+During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at
+Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more
+delightful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a
+country. In England any person fond of natural history enjoys in
+his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract
+his attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life,
+the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk
+at all.
+
+The few observations which I was enabled to make were almost
+exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of
+a division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land,
+interested me much. These animals are of so simple a structure,
+that Cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal worms, though
+never found within the bodies of other animals. Numerous species
+inhabit both salt and fresh water; but those to which I allude were
+found, even in the drier parts of the forest, beneath logs of
+rotten wood, on which I believe they feed. In general form they
+resemble little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion,
+and several of the species are beautifully coloured with
+longitudinal stripes. Their structure is very simple: near the
+middle of the under or crawling surface there are two small
+transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped
+and highly irritable mouth can be protruded. For some time after
+the rest of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt
+water or any other cause, this organ still retained its vitality.
+
+I found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial
+Planariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere. (2/3. I
+have described and named these species in the "Annals of Natural
+History" volume 14 page 241.) Some specimens which I obtained at
+Van Dieman's Land, I kept alive for nearly two months, feeding them
+on rotten wood. Having cut one of them transversely into two nearly
+equal parts, in the course of a fortnight both had the shape of
+perfect animals. I had, however, so divided the body, that one of
+the halves contained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in
+consequence, none. In the course of twenty-five days from the
+operation, the more perfect half could not have been distinguished
+from any other specimen. The other had increased much in size; and
+towards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the
+parenchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth could
+clearly be distinguished; on the under surface, however, no
+corresponding slit was yet open. If the increased heat of the
+weather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed all the
+individuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would have
+completed its structure. Although so well known an experiment, it
+was interesting to watch the gradual production of every essential
+organ, out of the simple extremity of another animal. It is
+extremely difficult to preserve these Planariae; as soon as the
+cessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change to act, their
+entire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity which I have
+never seen equalled.
+
+I first visited the forest in which these Planariae were found, in
+company with an old Portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with
+him. The sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs, and
+then patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might appear. We
+were accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer--a good
+specimen of a wild Brazilian youth. He was dressed in a tattered
+old shirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carried an
+old-fashioned gun and a large knife. The habit of carrying the
+knife is universal; and in traversing a thick wood it is almost
+necessary, on account of the creeping plants. The frequent
+occurrence of murder may be partly attributed to this habit. The
+Brazilians are so dexterous with the knife that they can throw it
+to some distance with precision, and with sufficient force to cause
+a fatal wound. I have seen a number of little boys practising this
+art as a game of play, and from their skill in hitting an upright
+stick, they promised well for more earnest attempts. My companion,
+the day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. These animals
+have prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after death,
+can support the whole weight of the body. One of them thus remained
+fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to
+procure it. This was soon effected, and down came tree and monkey
+with an awful crash. Our day's sport, besides the monkey, was
+confined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. I
+profited, however, by my acquaintance with the Portuguese padre,
+for on another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the
+Yagouaroundi cat.
+
+Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near Botofogo. The
+house in which I lived was seated close beneath the well-known
+mountain of the Corcovado. It has been remarked, with much truth,
+that abruptly conical hills are characteristic of the formation
+which Humboldt designates as gneiss-granite. Nothing can be more
+striking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock
+rising out of the most luxuriant vegetation.
+
+I was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in
+from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the
+Corcovado. This mountain, like most others, when thus partly
+veiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its real
+height of 2300 feet. Mr. Daniell has observed, in his
+meteorological essays, that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a
+mountain summit, while the wind continues to blow over it. The same
+phenomenon here presented a slightly different appearance. In this
+case the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly pass by
+the summit, and yet was neither diminished nor increased in size.
+The sun was setting, and a gentle southerly breeze, striking
+against the southern side of the rock, mingled its current with the
+colder air above; and the vapour was thus condensed: but as the
+light wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came within the
+influence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern sloping bank,
+they were immediately redissolved.
+
+The climate, during the months of May and June, or the beginning of
+winter, was delightful. The mean temperature, from observations
+taken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was only 72
+degrees. It often rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds
+soon again rendered the walks pleasant. One morning, in the course
+of six hours, 1.6 inches of rain fell. As this storm passed over
+the forests which surround the Corcovado, the sound produced by the
+drops pattering on the countless multitude of leaves was very
+remarkable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a
+mile, and was like the rushing of a great body of water. After the
+hotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly in the garden and
+watch the evening pass into night. Nature, in these climes, chooses
+her vocalists from more humble performers than in Europe. A small
+frog, of the genus Hyla, sits on a blade of grass about an inch
+above the surface of the water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp:
+when several are together they sing in harmony on different notes.
+I had some difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. The
+genus Hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and I found
+this animal could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely
+perpendicular. Various cicadae and crickets, at the same time, keep
+up a ceaseless shrill cry, but which, softened by the distance, is
+not unpleasant. Every evening after dark this great concert
+commenced; and often have I sat listening to it, until my attention
+has been drawn away by some curious passing insect.
+
+At these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to
+hedge. On a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred
+paces distant. It is remarkable that in all the different kinds of
+glowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the
+crustacea, medusae, nereidae, a coralline of the genus Clytia, and
+Pyrosoma), which I have observed, the light has been of a
+well-marked green colour. All the fireflies, which I caught here,
+belonged to the Lampyridae (in which family the English glowworm is
+included), and the greater number of specimens were of Lampyris
+occidentalis. (2/4. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Waterhouse for his
+kindness in naming for me this and many other insects, and  giving
+me much valuable assistance.) I found that this insect emitted the
+most brilliant flashes when irritated: in the intervals, the
+abdominal rings were obscured. The flash was almost coinstantaneous
+in the two rings, but it was just perceptible first in the anterior
+one. The shining matter was fluid and very adhesive: little spots,
+where the skin had been torn, continued bright with a slight
+scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured. When the
+insect was decapitated the rings remained uninterruptedly bright,
+but not so brilliant as before: local irritation with a needle
+always increased the vividness of the light. The rings in one
+instance retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four hours
+after the death of the insect. From these facts it would appear
+probable, that the animal has only the power of concealing or
+extinguishing the light for short intervals, and that at other
+times the display is involuntary. On the muddy and wet gravel-walks
+I found the larvae of this lampyris in great numbers: they
+resembled in general form the female of the English glowworm. These
+larvae possessed but feeble luminous powers; very differently from
+their parents, on the slightest touch they feigned death, and
+ceased to shine; nor did irritation excite any fresh display. I
+kept several of them alive for some time: their tails are very
+singular organs, for they act, by a well-fitted contrivance, as
+suckers or organs of attachment, and likewise as reservoirs for
+saliva, or some such fluid. I repeatedly fed them on raw meat; and
+I invariably observed, that every now and then the extremity of the
+tail was applied to the mouth, and a drop of fluid exuded on the
+meat, which was then in the act of being consumed. The tail,
+notwithstanding so much practice, does not seem to be able to find
+its way to the mouth; at least the neck was always touched first,
+and apparently as a guide.
+
+When we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorus luminosus,
+Illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. The light in this
+case was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. I amused
+myself one day by observing the springing powers of this insect,
+which have not, as it appears to me, been properly described. (2/5.
+Kirby's "Entomology" volume 2 page 317.) The elater, when placed on
+its back and preparing to spring, moved its head and thorax
+backwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on
+the edge of its sheath. The same backward movement being continued,
+the spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a
+spring; and the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of
+its head and wing-cases. The effort being suddenly relaxed, the
+head and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base of the
+wing-cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that the
+insect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one or
+two inches. The projecting points of the thorax, and the sheath of
+the spine, served to steady the whole body during the spring. In
+the descriptions which I have read, sufficient stress does not
+appear to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden
+a spring could not be the result of simple muscular contraction,
+without the aid of some mechanical contrivance.
+
+On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant
+excursions in the neighbouring country. One day I went to the
+Botanic Garden, where many plants, well known for their great
+utility, might be seen growing. The leaves of the camphor, pepper,
+cinnamon, and clove trees were delightfully aromatic; and the
+bread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango, vied with each other in the
+magnificence of their foliage. The landscape in the neighbourhood
+of Bahia almost takes its character from the two latter trees.
+Before seeing them, I had no idea that any trees could cast so
+black a shade on the ground. Both of them bear to the evergreen
+vegetation of these climates the same kind of relation which
+laurels and hollies in England do to the lighter green of the
+deciduous trees. It may be observed that the houses within the
+tropics are surrounded by the most beautiful forms of vegetation,
+because many of them are at the same time most useful to man. Who
+can doubt that these qualities are united in the banana, the
+cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit
+tree?
+
+During this day I was particularly struck with a remark of
+Humboldt's, who often alludes to "the thin vapour which, without
+changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more
+harmonious, and softens its effects." This is an appearance which I
+have never observed in the temperate zones. The atmosphere, seen
+through a short space of half or three-quarters of a mile, was
+perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all colours were blended
+into a most beautiful haze, of a pale French grey, mingled with a
+little blue. The condition of the atmosphere between the morning
+and about noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergone
+little change, excepting in its dryness. In the interval, the
+difference between the dew point and temperature had increased from
+7.5 to 17 degrees.
+
+On another occasion I started early and walked to the Gavia, or
+topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and
+the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the large
+liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear water.
+Sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to watch the
+various insects and birds as they flew past. The humming-bird seems
+particularly fond of such shady retired spots. Whenever I saw these
+little creatures buzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating
+so rapidly as to be scarcely visible, I was reminded of the sphinx
+moths: their movements and habits are indeed in many respects very
+similar.
+
+(PLATE 13.  RIO DE JANEIRO.)
+
+Following a pathway I entered a noble forest, and from a height of
+five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was
+presented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At this
+elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every
+form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that
+the European has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not
+how to express his feelings. The general effect frequently recalled
+to my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera-house or the great
+theatres. I never returned from these excursions empty-handed. This
+day I found a specimen of a curious fungus, called Hymenophallus.
+Most people know the English Phallus, which in autumn taints the
+air with its odious smell: this, however, as the entomologist is
+aware, is to some of our beetles a delightful fragrance. So was it
+here; for a Strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on the
+fungus as I carried it in my hand. We here see in two distant
+countries a similar relation between plants and insects of the same
+families, though the species of both are different. When man is the
+agent in introducing into a country a new species this relation is
+often broken: as one instance of this I may mention that the leaves
+of the cabbages and lettuces, which in England afford food to such
+a multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near Rio are
+untouched.
+
+During our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects. A
+few general observations on the comparative importance of the
+different orders may be interesting to the English entomologist.
+The large and brilliantly-coloured Lepidoptera bespeak the zone
+they inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of animals. I
+allude only to the butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what
+might have been expected from the rankness of the vegetation,
+certainly appeared in much fewer numbers than in our own temperate
+regions. I was much surprised at the habits of Papilio feronia.
+This butterfly is not uncommon, and generally frequents the
+orange-groves. Although a high flier, yet it very frequently
+alights on the trunks of trees. On these occasions its head is
+invariably placed downwards; and its wings are expanded in a
+horizontal plane, instead of being folded vertically, as is
+commonly the case. This is the only butterfly which I have ever
+seen that uses its legs for running. Not being aware of this fact,
+the insect, more than once, as I cautiously approached with my
+forceps, shuffled on one side just as the instrument was on the
+point of closing, and thus escaped. But a far more singular fact is
+the power which this species possesses of making a noise. (2/6. Mr.
+Doubleday has lately described (before the Entomological Society,
+March 3, 1845) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly,
+which seems to be the means of its making its noise. He says, "It
+is remarkable for having a sort of drum at the base of the fore
+wings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. These two
+nervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel
+in the interior." I find in Langsdorff's travels (in the years
+1803-7 page 74) it is said, that in the island of St. Catherine's
+on the coast of Brazil, a butterfly called Februa Hoffmanseggi,
+makes a noise, when flying away, like a rattle.) Several times when
+a pair, probably male and female, were chasing each other in an
+irregular course, they passed within a few yards of me; and I
+distinctly heard a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a
+toothed wheel passing under a spring catch. The noise was continued
+at short intervals, and could be distinguished at about twenty
+yards' distance: I am certain there is no error in the observation.
+
+I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The
+number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly
+great. (2/7. I may mention, as a common instance of one day's (June
+23rd) collecting, when I was not attending particularly to the
+Coleoptera, that I caught sixty-eight species of that order. Among
+these, there were only two of the Carabidae, four Brachelytra,
+fifteen Rhyncophora, and fourteen of the Chrysomelidae.
+Thirty-seven species of Arachnidae, which I brought home, will be
+sufficient to prove that I was not paying overmuch attention to the
+generally favoured order of Coleoptera.) The cabinets of Europe
+can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical
+climates. It is sufficient to disturb the composure of an
+entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a
+complete catalogue. The carnivorous beetles, or Carabidae, appear
+in extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more
+remarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds,
+which are so abundant in hot countries. I was struck with this
+observation both on entering Brazil, and when I saw the many
+elegant and active forms of the Harpalidae reappearing on the
+temperate plains of La Plata. Do the very numerous spiders and
+rapacious Hymenoptera supply the place of the carnivorous beetles?
+The carrion-feeders and Brachelytra are very uncommon; on the other
+hand, the Rhyncophora and Chrysomelidae, all of which depend on the
+vegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonishing
+numbers. I do not here refer to the number of different species,
+but to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that the
+most striking character in the entomology of different countries
+depends. The orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera are particularly
+numerous; as likewise is the stinging division of the Hymenoptera;
+the bees, perhaps, being excepted. A person, on first entering a
+tropical forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants:
+well-beaten paths branch off in every direction, on which an army
+of never-failing foragers may be seen, some going forth, and others
+returning, burdened with pieces of green leaf, often larger than
+their own bodies.
+
+A small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless numbers.
+One day, at Bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many
+spiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing
+in the greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. A little
+way behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. The
+swarm having crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended
+an old wall. By this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and
+the efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricate
+themselves from such a death were wonderful. When the ants came to
+the road they changed their course, and in narrow files reascended
+the wall. Having placed a small stone so as to intercept one of the
+lines, the whole body attacked it, and then immediately retired.
+Shortly afterwards another body came to the charge, and again
+having failed to make any impression, this line of march was
+entirely given up. By going an inch round, the file might have
+avoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it
+had been originally there: but having been attacked, the
+lion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of yielding.
+
+Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the
+verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the
+neighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead
+spiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how
+to sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until
+their eggs are hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of
+powerless, half-killed victims--a sight which has been described by
+an enthusiastic naturalist as curious and pleasing! (2/8. In a
+Manuscript in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his
+observations in Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the "Annals of
+Natural History" volume 7 page 472. Lieutenant Hutton has described
+a sphex with similar habits in India, in the "Journal of the
+Asiatic Society" volume 1 page 555.) I was much interested one day
+by watching a deadly contest between a Pepsis and a large spider of
+the genus Lycosa. The wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then
+flew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape,
+it rolled down a little slope, but had still strength sufficient to
+crawl into a thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon returned, and
+seemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim. It then
+commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making
+short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its
+wings and antennae. The spider, though well concealed, was soon
+discovered, and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's
+jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under
+side of its thorax. At last, carefully examining with its antennae
+the now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. But
+I stopped both tyrant and prey. (2/9. Don Felix Azara volume 1 page
+175, mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably of the same genus,
+says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a
+straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three
+paces distant. He adds that the wasp, in order to find the road,
+every now and then made "demi-tours d'environ trois palmes.")
+
+The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here
+compared with England very much larger; perhaps more so than with
+any other division of the articulate animals. The variety of
+species among the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. The
+genus, or rather family of Epeira, is here characterized by many
+singular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others
+enlarged and spiny tibiae. Every path in the forest is barricaded
+with the strong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same
+division with the Epeira clavipes of Fabricius, which was formerly
+said by Sloane to make, in the West Indies, webs so strong as to
+catch birds. A small and pretty kind of spider, with very long
+fore-legs, and which appears to belong to an undescribed genus,
+lives as a parasite on almost every one of these webs. I suppose it
+is too insignificant to be noticed by the great Epeira, and is
+therefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, adhering to
+the lines, would otherwise be wasted. When frightened, this little
+spider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or suddenly
+drops from the web. A large Epeira of the same division with Epeira
+tuberculata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry
+situations. Its web, which is generally placed among the great
+leaves of the common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the
+centre by a pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two
+adjoining rays. When any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is
+caught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve very
+rapidly, and at the same time emitting a band of threads from its
+spinners, soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon of a
+silkworm. The spider now examines the powerless victim, and gives
+the fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax; then retreating,
+patiently waits till the poison has taken effect. The virulence of
+this poison may be judged of from the fact that in half a minute I
+opened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite lifeless. This Epeira
+always stands with its head downwards near the centre of the web.
+When disturbed, it acts differently according to circumstances: if
+there is a thicket below, it suddenly falls down; and I have
+distinctly seen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the
+animal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. If the
+ground is clear beneath, the Epeira seldom falls, but moves quickly
+through a central passage from one to the other side. When still
+further disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre: standing
+in the middle, it violently jerks the web, which is attached to
+elastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires such a rapid
+vibratory movement, that even the outline of the spider's body
+becomes indistinct.
+
+It is well known that most of the British spiders, when a large
+insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and
+liberate their prey, to save their nets from being entirely
+spoiled. I once, however, saw in a hot-house in Shropshire a large
+female wasp caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider;
+and this spider, instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly
+continued to entangle the body, and especially the wings, of its
+prey. The wasp at first aimed in vain repeated thrusts with its
+sting at its little antagonist. Pitying the wasp, after allowing it
+to struggle for more than an hour, I killed it and put it back into
+the web. The spider soon returned; and an hour afterwards I was
+much surprised to find it with its jaws buried in the orifice
+through which the sting is protruded by the living wasp. I drove
+the spider away two or three times, but for the next twenty-four
+hours I always found it again sucking at the same place. The spider
+became much distended by the juices of its prey, which was many
+times larger than itself.
+
+I may here just mention, that I found, near St. F� Bajada, many
+large black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs,
+having gregarious habits. The webs were placed vertically, as is
+invariably the case with the genus Epeira: they were separated from
+each other by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to
+certain common lines, which were of great length, and extended to
+all parts of the community. In this manner the tops of some large
+bushes were encompassed by the united nets. Azara has described a
+gregarious spider in Paraguay, which Walckanaer thinks must be a
+Theridion, but probably it is an Epeira, and perhaps even the same
+species with mine. (2/10. Azara's "Voyage" volume 1 page 213.) I
+cannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat,
+in which, during autumn, when the spiders die, Azara says the eggs
+are deposited. As all the spiders which I saw were of the same
+size, they must have been nearly of the same age. This gregarious
+habit, in so typical a genus as Epeira, among insects, which are so
+bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each
+other, is a very singular fact.
+
+In a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I found another
+spider with a singularly-formed web. Strong lines radiated in a
+vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its
+station; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical
+mesh-work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the
+case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. All the webs
+were similarly constructed.
+
+
+
+
+(PLATE 14.  DARWIN'S PAPILIO FERONIA, 1833, NOW CALLED AGERONIA
+FERONIA, 1889.)
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+(PLATE 15.  HYDROCHAERUS CAPYBARA OR WATER-HOG.)
+
+Monte Video.
+Maldonado.
+Excursion to R. Polanco.
+Lazo and Bolas.
+Partridges.
+Absence of Trees.
+Deer.
+Capybara, or River Hog.
+Tucutuco.
+Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits.
+Tyrant-flycatcher.
+Mocking-bird.
+Carrion Hawks.
+Tubes formed by Lightning.
+House struck.
+
+MALDONADO.
+
+JULY 5, 1832.
+
+
+
+In the morning we got under way, and stood out of the splendid
+harbour of Rio de Janeiro. In our passage to the Plata, we saw
+nothing particular, excepting on one day a great shoal of
+porpoises, many hundreds in number. The whole sea was in places
+furrowed by them; and a most extraordinary spectacle was presented,
+as hundreds, proceeding together by jumps, in which their whole
+bodies were exposed, thus cut the water. When the ship was running
+nine knots an hour, these animals could cross and recross the bows
+with the greatest ease, and then dash away right ahead. As soon as
+we entered the estuary of the Plata, the weather was very
+unsettled. One dark night we were surrounded by numerous seals and
+penguins, which made such strange noises, that the officer on watch
+reported he could hear the cattle bellowing on shore. On a second
+night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the
+mast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with St. Elmo's light; and the
+form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed
+with phosphorus. The sea was so highly luminous, that the tracks of
+the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the
+sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning.
+
+When within the mouth of the river, I was interested by observing
+how slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. The latter, muddy
+and discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the
+surface of the salt water. This was curiously exhibited in the wake
+of the vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in
+little eddies with the adjoining fluid.
+
+JULY 26, 1832.
+
+We anchored at Monte Video. The "Beagle" was employed in surveying
+the extreme southern and eastern coasts of America, south of the
+Plata, during the two succeeding years. To prevent useless
+repetitions, I will extract those parts of my journal which refer
+to the same districts, without always attending to the order in
+which we visited them.
+
+MALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not
+very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet,
+forlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these
+countries, with the streets running at right angles to each other,
+and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its
+size, renders the scantiness of the population more evident. It
+possesses scarcely any trade; the exports being confined to a few
+hides and living cattle. The inhabitants are chiefly landowners,
+together with a few shopkeepers and the necessary tradesmen, such
+as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do nearly all the business for a
+circuit of fifty miles round. The town is separated from the river
+by a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile broad: it is surrounded on
+all other sides by an open slightly-undulating country, covered by
+one uniform layer of fine green turf, on which countless herds of
+cattle, sheep, and horses graze. There is very little land
+cultivated even close to the town. A few hedges made of cacti and
+agave mark out where some wheat or Indian corn has been planted.
+The features of the country are very similar along the whole
+northern bank of the Plata. The only difference is, that here the
+granitic hills are a little bolder. The scenery is very
+uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of
+ground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness. Yet,
+after being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in
+the unconfined feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf.
+Moreover, if your view is limited to a small space, many objects
+possess beauty. Some of the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured;
+and the bright green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is
+ornamented by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the
+daisy, claimed the place of an old friend. What would a florist say
+to whole tracts, so thickly covered by the Verbena melindres, as,
+even at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet?
+
+I stayed ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect
+collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured.
+Before making any observations respecting them, I will give an
+account of a little excursion I made as far as the river Polanco,
+which is about seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction. I
+may mention, as a proof how cheap everything is in this country,
+that I paid only two dollars a day or eight shillings, for two men,
+together with a troop of about a dozen riding-horses. My companions
+were well armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which I
+thought rather unnecessary; but the first piece of news we heard
+was, that, the day before, a traveller from Monte Video had been
+found dead on the road, with his throat cut. This happened close to
+a cross, the record of a former murder.
+
+On the first night we slept at a retired little country-house; and
+there I soon found out that I possessed two or three articles,
+especially a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonishment.
+In every house I was asked to show the compass, and by its aid,
+together with a map, to point out the direction of various places.
+It excited the liveliest admiration that I, a perfect stranger,
+should know the road (for direction and road are synonymous in this
+open country) to places where I had never been. At one house a
+young woman who was ill in bed, sent to entreat me to come and show
+her the compass. If their surprise was great, mine was greater, to
+find such ignorance among people who possessed their thousands of
+cattle, and "estancias" of great extent. It can only be accounted
+for by the circumstance that this retired part of the country is
+seldom visited by foreigners. I was asked whether the earth or sun
+moved; whether it was hotter or colder to the north; where Spain
+was, and many other such questions. The greater number of the
+inhabitants had an indistinct idea that England, London, and North
+America, were different names for the same place; but the better
+informed well knew that London and North America were separate
+countries close together, and that England was a large town in
+London! I carried with me some promethean matches, which I ignited
+by biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike
+fire with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family
+to see it: I was once offered a dollar for a single one. Washing my
+face in the morning caused much speculation at the village of Las
+Minas; a superior tradesman closely cross-questioned me about so
+singular a practice; and likewise why on board we wore our beards;
+for he had heard from my guide that we did so. He eyed me with much
+suspicion; perhaps he had heard of ablutions in the Mahomedan
+religion, and knowing me to be a heretic, probably he came to the
+conclusion that all heretics were Turks. It is the general custom
+in this country to ask for a night's lodging at the first
+convenient house. The astonishment at the compass, and my other
+feats of jugglery, was to a certain degree advantageous, as with
+that, and the long stories my guides told of my breaking stones,
+knowing venomous from harmless snakes, collecting insects, etc., I
+repaid them for their hospitality. I am writing as if I had been
+among the inhabitants of Central Africa: Banda Oriental would not
+be flattered by the comparison; but such were my feelings at the
+time.
+
+The next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The country was
+rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an inhabitant
+of the Pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly alpine.
+The country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole day we
+scarcely met a single person. Las Minas is much smaller even than
+Maldonado. It is seated on a little plain, and is surrounded by low
+rocky mountains. It is of the usual symmetrical form, and with its
+whitewashed church standing in the centre, had rather a pretty
+appearance. The outskirting houses rose out of the plain like
+isolated beings, without the accompaniment of gardens or
+courtyards. This is generally the case in the country, and all the
+houses have, in consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. At night we
+stopped at a pulperia, or drinking-shop. During the evening a great
+number of Gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars: their
+appearance is very striking; they are generally tall and handsome,
+but with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. They
+frequently wear their moustaches, and long black hair curling down
+their backs. With their brightly coloured garments, great spurs
+clanking about their heels, and knives stuck as daggers (and often
+so used) at their waists, they look a very different race of men
+from what might be expected from their name of Gauchos, or simple
+countrymen. Their politeness is excessive; they never drink their
+spirits without expecting you to taste it; but whilst making their
+exceedingly graceful bow, they seem quite as ready, if occasion
+offered, to cut your throat.
+
+On the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as I was
+employed in examining some beds of marble. On the fine plains of
+turf we saw many ostriches (Struthio rhea). Some of the flocks
+contained as many as twenty or thirty birds. These, when standing
+on any little eminence, and seen against the clear sky, presented a
+very noble appearance. I never met with such tame ostriches in any
+other part of the country: it was easy to gallop up within a short
+distance of them; but then, expanding their wings, they made all
+sail right before the wind, and soon left the horse astern.
+
+At night we came to the house of Don Juan Fuentes, a rich landed
+proprietor, but not personally known to either of my companions. On
+approaching the house of a stranger, it is usual to follow several
+little points of etiquette: riding up slowly to the door, the
+salutation of Ave Maria is given, and until somebody comes out and
+asks you to alight, it is not customary even to get off your horse:
+the formal answer of the owner is, "sin pecado concebida"--that is,
+conceived without sin. Having entered the house, some general
+conversation is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is asked
+to pass the night there. This is granted as a matter of course. The
+stranger then takes his meals with the family, and a room is
+assigned him, where with the horsecloths belonging to his recado
+(or saddle of the Pampas) he makes his bed. It is curious how
+similar circumstances produce such similar results in manners. At
+the Cape of Good Hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the
+same points of etiquette, are universally observed. The difference,
+however, between the character of the Spaniard and that of the
+Dutch boor is shown, by the former never asking his guest a single
+question beyond the strictest rule of politeness, whilst the honest
+Dutchman demands where he has been, where he is going, what is his
+business, and even how many brothers, sisters, or children he may
+happen to have.
+
+Shortly after our arrival at Don Juan's one of the largest herds of
+cattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were
+picked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment.
+These half-wild cattle are very active; and knowing full well the
+fatal lazo, they led the horses a long and laborious chase. After
+witnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of cattle, men,
+and horses, Don Juan's miserable house was quite curious. The floor
+consisted of hardened mud, and the windows were without glass; the
+sitting-room boasted only of a few of the roughest chairs and
+stools, with a couple of tables. The supper, although several
+strangers were present, consisted of two huge piles, one of roast
+beef, the other of boiled, with some pieces of pumpkin: besides
+this latter there was no other vegetable, and not even a morsel of
+bread. For drinking, a large earthenware jug of water served the
+whole party. Yet this man was the owner of several square miles of
+land, of which nearly every acre would produce corn, and, with a
+little trouble, all the common vegetables. The evening was spent in
+smoking, with a little impromptu singing, accompanied by the
+guitar. The signoritas all sat together in one corner of the room,
+and did not sup with the men.
+
+(PLATE 16.  RECADO OR SURCINGLE OF GAUCHO.)
+
+So many works have been written about these countries, that it is
+almost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas. The
+lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope, made
+of raw hide. One end is attached to the broad surcingle, which
+fastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle used
+in the Pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or
+brass, by which a noose can be formed. The Gaucho, when he is going
+to use the lazo, keeps a small coil in his bridle-hand, and in the
+other holds the running noose, which is made very large, generally
+having a diameter of about eight feet. This he whirls round his
+head, and by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose
+open; then, throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular
+spot he chooses. The lazo, when not used, is tied up in a small
+coil to the after part of the recado. The bolas, or balls, are of
+two kinds: the simplest, which is chiefly used for catching
+ostriches, consists of two round stones, covered with leather, and
+united by a thin plaited thong, about eight feet long. (See Chapter
+11.) The other kind differs only in having three balls united by
+the thongs to a common centre. The Gaucho holds the smallest of the
+three in his hand, and whirls the other two round and round his
+head; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot revolving
+through the air. The balls no sooner strike any object, than,
+winding round it, they cross each other, and become firmly hitched.
+The size and weight of the balls varies, according to the purpose
+for which they are made: when of stone, although not larger than an
+apple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to break the leg
+even of a horse. I have seen the balls made of wood, and as large
+as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without
+injuring them. The balls are sometimes made of iron, and these can
+be hurled to the greatest distance. The main difficulty in using
+either lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full
+speed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily
+round the head, as to take aim: on foot any person would soon learn
+the art. One day, as I was amusing myself by galloping and whirling
+the balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush,
+and its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell
+to the ground, and, like magic caught one hind leg of my horse; the
+other ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly
+secured. Luckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it
+meant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown
+himself down. The Gauchos roared with laughter; they cried out that
+they had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before
+seen a man caught by himself.
+
+During the two succeeding days, I reached the farthest point which
+I was anxious to examine. The country wore the same aspect, till at
+last the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty
+turnpike road. We everywhere saw great numbers of partridges
+(Nothura major). These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they
+conceal themselves like the English kind. It appears a very silly
+bird. A man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or
+rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on
+the head as many as he pleases. The more common method is to catch
+them with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem of an
+ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. A boy on a
+quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a
+day. In Arctic North America the Indians catch the Varying Hare by
+walking spirally round and round it, when on its form: the middle
+of the day is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the
+shadow of the hunter not very long. (3/1. Hearne's "Journey" page
+383.)
+
+On our return to Maldonado, we followed rather a different line of
+road. Near Pan de Azucar, a landmark well known to all those who
+have sailed up the Plata, I stayed a day at the house of a most
+hospitable old Spaniard. Early in the morning we ascended the
+Sierra de las Animas. By the aid of the rising sun the scenery was
+almost picturesque. To the westward the view extended over an
+immense level plain as far as the Mount, at Monte Video, and to the
+eastward, over the mammillated country of Maldonado. On the summit
+of the mountain there were several small heaps of stones, which
+evidently had lain there for many years. My companion assured me
+that they were the work of the Indians in the old time. The heaps
+were similar, but on a much smaller scale, to those so commonly
+found on the mountains of Wales. The desire to signalise any event,
+on the highest point of the neighbouring land, seems a universal
+passion with mankind. At the present day, not a single Indian,
+either civilised or wild, exists in this part of the province; nor
+am I aware that the former inhabitants have left behind them any
+more permanent records than these insignificant piles on the summit
+of the Sierra de las Animas.
+
+The general, and almost entire absence of trees in Banda Oriental
+is remarkable. Some of the rocky hills are partly covered by
+thickets, and on the banks of the larger streams, especially to the
+north of Las Minas, willow-trees are not uncommon. Near the Arroyo
+Tapes I heard of a wood of palms; and one of these trees, of
+considerable size, I saw near the Pan de Azucar, in latitude 35
+degrees. These, and the trees planted by the Spaniards, offer the
+only exceptions to the general scarcity of wood. Among the
+introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and
+other fruit trees: the peaches succeed so well, that they afford
+the main supply of firewood to the city of Buenos Ayres. Extremely
+level countries, such as the Pampas, seldom appear favourable to
+the growth of trees. This may possibly be attributed either to the
+force of the winds, or the kind of drainage. In the nature of the
+land, however, around Maldonado, no such reason is apparent; the
+rocky mountains afford protected situations; enjoying various kinds
+of soil; streamlets of water are common at the bottoms of nearly
+every valley; and the clayey nature of the earth seems adapted to
+retain moisture. It has been inferred, with much probability, that
+the presence of woodland is generally determined by the annual
+amount of moisture (3/2. Maclaren, article "America" "Encyclopedia
+Brittannica."); yet in this province abundant and heavy rain falls
+during the winter; and the summer, though dry, is not so in any
+excessive degree. (3/3. Azara says "Je crois que la quantit�
+annuelle des pluies est, dans toutes ces contr�es, plus
+consid�rable qu'en Espagne."--Volume 1 page 36.) We see nearly the
+whole of Australia covered by lofty trees, yet that country
+possesses a far more arid climate. Hence we must look to some other
+and unknown cause.
+
+Confining our view to South America, we should certainly be tempted
+to believe that trees flourished only under a very humid climate;
+for the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most remarkable
+manner, that of the damp winds. In the southern part of the
+continent, where the western gales, charged with moisture from the
+Pacific, prevail, every island on the broken west coast, from
+latitude 38 degrees to the extreme point of Tierra del Fuego, is
+densely covered by impenetrable forests. On the eastern side of the
+Cordillera, over the same extent of latitude, where a blue sky and
+a fine climate prove that the atmosphere has been deprived of its
+moisture by passing over the mountains, the arid plains of
+Patagonia support a most scanty vegetation. In the more northern
+parts of the continent, within the limits of the constant
+south-eastern trade-wind, the eastern side is ornamented by
+magnificent forests; whilst the western coast, from latitude 4
+degrees South to latitude 32 degrees South, may be described as a
+desert; on this western coast, northward of latitude 4 degrees
+South, where the trade-wind loses its regularity, and heavy
+torrents of rain fall periodically, the shores of the Pacific, so
+utterly desert in Peru, assume near Cape Blanco the character of
+luxuriance so celebrated at Guayaquil and Panama. Hence in the
+southern and northern parts of the continent, the forest and desert
+lands occupy reversed positions with respect to the Cordillera, and
+these positions are apparently determined by the direction of the
+prevalent winds. In the middle of the continent there is a broad
+intermediate band, including central Chile and the provinces of La
+Plata, where the rain-bringing winds have not to pass over lofty
+mountains, and where the land is neither a desert nor covered by
+forests. But even the rule, if confined to South America, of trees
+flourishing only in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds,
+has a strongly marked exception in the case of the Falkland
+Islands. These islands, situated in the same latitude with Tierra
+del Fuego and only between two and three hundred miles distant from
+it, having a nearly similar climate, with a geological formation
+almost identical, with favourable situations and the same kind of
+peaty soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving even the title of
+bushes; whilst in Tierra del Fuego it is impossible to find an acre
+of land not covered by the densest forest. In this case, both the
+direction of the heavy gales of wind and of the currents of the sea
+are favourable to the transport of seeds from Tierra del Fuego, as
+is shown by the canoes and trunks of trees drifted from that
+country, and frequently thrown on the shores of the Western
+Falkland. Hence perhaps it is, that there are many plants in common
+to the two countries: but with respect to the trees of Tierra del
+Fuego, even attempts made to transplant them have failed.
+
+During our stay at Maldonado I collected several quadrupeds, eighty
+kinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine species of
+snakes. Of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any
+size, which is common, is the Cervus campestris. This deer is
+exceedingly abundant, often in small herds, throughout the
+countries bordering the Plata and in Northern Patagonia. If a
+person crawling close along the ground, slowly advances towards a
+herd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity, approach to
+reconnoitre him. I have by this means, killed from one spot, three
+out of the same herd. Although so tame and inquisitive, yet when
+approached on horseback, they are exceedingly wary. In this country
+nobody goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy only when
+he is mounted and armed with the bolas. At Bahia Blanca, a recent
+establishment in Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how
+little the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day I fired ten
+times from within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more
+startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of
+the rifle. My powder being exhausted, I was obliged to get up (to
+my shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to kill
+birds on the wing) and halloo till the deer ran away.
+
+The most curious fact with respect to this animal, is the
+overpoweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the
+buck. It is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the
+specimen which is now mounted at the Zoological Museum, I was
+almost overcome by nausea. I tied up the skin in a silk
+pocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief,
+after being well washed, I continually used, and it was of course
+as repeatedly washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and
+seven months, when first unfolded, I distinctly perceived the
+odour. This appears an astonishing instance of the permanence of
+some matter, which nevertheless in its nature must be most subtile
+and volatile. Frequently, when passing at the distance of half a
+mile to leeward of a herd, I have perceived the whole air tainted
+with the effluvium. I believe the smell from the buck is most
+powerful at the period when its horns are perfect, or free from the
+hairy skin. When in this state the meat is, of course, quite
+uneatable; but the Gauchos assert, that if buried for some time in
+fresh earth, the taint is removed. I have somewhere read that the
+islanders in the north of Scotland treat the rank carcasses of the
+fish-eating birds in the same manner.
+
+The order Rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone
+I obtained no less than eight kinds. (3/4. In South America I
+collected altogether twenty-seven species of mice, and thirteen
+more are known from the works of Azara and other authors. Those
+collected by myself have been named and described by Mr. Waterhouse
+at the meetings of the Zoological Society. I must be allowed to
+take this opportunity of returning my cordial thanks to Mr.
+Waterhouse, and to the other gentleman attached to that Society,
+for their kind and most liberal assistance on all occasions.) The
+largest gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochaerus capybara (the
+water-hog), is here also common. One which I shot at Monte Video
+weighed ninety-eight pounds: its length, from the end of the snout
+to the stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth
+three feet eight. These great Rodents occasionally frequent the
+islands in the mouth of the Plata, where the water is quite salt,
+but are far more abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and
+rivers. Near Maldonado three or four generally live together. In
+the daytime they either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly
+feed on the turf plain. (3/5. In the stomach and duodenum of a
+capybara which I opened, I found a very large quantity of a thin
+yellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could be distinguished.
+Mr. Owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so constructed
+that nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down.
+Certainly the broad teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well
+fitted to grind into pulp the aquatic plants on which it feeds.)
+When viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and colour
+they resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and
+attentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the
+appearance of their congeners, cavies and rabbits. Both the front
+and side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the
+great depth of their jaw. These animals, at Maldonado, were very
+tame; by cautiously walking, I approached within three yards of
+four old ones. This tameness may probably be accounted for, by the
+Jaguar having been banished for some years, and by the Gaucho not
+thinking it worth his while to hunt them. As I approached nearer
+and nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a
+low abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising
+from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise I know at all like
+it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. Having watched the
+four from almost within arm's length (and they me) for several
+minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with the
+greatest impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their bark.
+After diving a short distance they came again to the surface, but
+only just showed the upper part of their heads. When the female is
+swimming in the water, and has young ones, they are said to sit on
+her back. These animals are easily killed in numbers; but their
+skins are of trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. On
+the islands in the Rio Parana they are exceedingly abundant, and
+afford the ordinary prey to the Jaguar.
+
+The Tucutuco (Ctenomys Brasiliensis) is a curious small animal,
+which may be briefly described as a Gnawer, with the habits of a
+mole. It is extremely numerous in some parts of the country, but it
+is difficult to be procured, and never, I believe, comes out of the
+ground. It throws up at the mouth of its burrows hillocks of earth
+like those of the mole, but smaller. Considerable tracts of country
+are so completely undermined by these animals that horses, in
+passing over, sink above their fetlocks. The tucutucos appear, to a
+certain degree, to be gregarious: the man who procured the
+specimens for me had caught six together, and he said this was a
+common occurrence. They are nocturnal in their habits; and their
+principal food is the roots of plants, which are the object of
+their extensive and superficial burrows. This animal is universally
+known by a very peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the
+ground. A person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised;
+for it is not easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to
+guess what kind of creature utters it. The noise consists in a
+short, but not rough, nasal grunt, which is monotonously repeated
+about four times in quick succession (3/6. At the R. Negro, in
+Northern Patagonia, there is an animal of the same habits, and
+probably a closely allied species, but which I never saw. Its noise
+is different from that of the Maldonado kind; it is repeated only
+twice instead of three or four times, and is more distinct and
+sonorous: when heard from a distance it so closely resembles the
+sound made in cutting down a small tree with an axe, that I have
+sometimes remained in doubt concerning it.): the name Tucutuco is
+given in imitation of the sound. Where this animal is abundant, it
+may be heard at all times of the day, and sometimes directly
+beneath one's feet. When kept in a room, the tucutucos move both
+slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action of
+their hind legs; and they are quite incapable, from the socket of
+the thigh-bone not having a certain ligament, of jumping even the
+smallest vertical height. They are very stupid in making any
+attempt to escape; when angry or frightened they utter the
+tucu-tuco. Of those I kept alive, several, even the first day,
+became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others
+were a little wilder.
+
+The man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably
+found blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was in this
+state; Mr. Reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in
+the nictitating membrane. When the animal was alive I placed my
+finger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest
+notice was taken: it made its way, however, about the room nearly
+as well as the others. Considering the strictly subterranean habits
+of the tucu-tuco, the blindness, though so common, cannot be a very
+serious evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess
+an organ frequently subject to be injured. Lamarck would have been
+delighted with this fact, had he known it, when speculating
+(probably with more truth than usual with him) on the
+gradually-ACQUIRED blindness of the Aspalax, a Gnawer living under
+ground, and of the Proteus, a reptile living in dark caverns filled
+with water; in both of which animals the eye is in an almost
+rudimentary state, and is covered by a tendinous membrane and skin.
+(3/7. "Philosoph. Zoolog." tome 1 page 242.) In the common mole the
+eye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists
+doubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its vision
+must certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the animal
+when it leaves its burrow. In the tucu-tuco, which I believe never
+comes to the surface of the ground, the eye is rather larger, but
+often rendered blind and useless, though without apparently causing
+any inconvenience to the animal; no doubt Lamarck would have said
+that the tucu-tuco is now passing into the state of the Aspalax and
+Proteus.
+
+Birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating grassy
+plains around Maldonado. There are several species of a family
+allied in structure and manners to our Starling: one of these
+(Molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. Several may often
+be seen standing together on the back of a cow or horse; and while
+perched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes
+attempt to sing, or rather to hiss; the noise being very peculiar,
+resembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small
+orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. According to
+Azara, this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other
+birds' nests. I was several times told by the country people that
+there certainly is some bird having this habit; and my assistant in
+collecting, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the
+sparrow of this country (Zonotrichia matutina), with one egg in it
+larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. In
+North America there is another species of Molothrus (M. pecoris),
+which has a similar cuckoo-like habit, and which is most closely
+allied in every respect to the species from the Plata, even in such
+trifling peculiarities as standing on the backs of cattle; it
+differs only in being a little smaller, and in its plumage and eggs
+being of a slightly different shade of colour. This close agreement
+in structure and habits, in representative species coming from
+opposite quarters of a great continent, always strikes one as
+interesting, though of common occurrence.
+
+Mr. Swainson has well remarked, that with the exception of the
+Molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the M. niger, the cuckoos
+are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely,
+such as "fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal,
+whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they
+live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of
+infancy." (3/8. "Magazine of Zoology and Botany" volume 1 page
+217.) It is remarkable that some of the species, but not all, both
+of the Cuckoo and Molothrus should agree in this one strange habit
+of their parasitical propagation, whilst opposed to each other in
+almost every other habit: the molothrus, like our starling, is
+eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or
+disguise: the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird;
+it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and
+caterpillars. In structure also these two genera are widely removed
+from each other. Many theories, even phrenological theories, have
+been advanced to explain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs
+in other birds' nests. M. Pr�vost alone, I think, has thrown light
+by his observations on this puzzle: he finds that the female
+cuckoo, which, according to most observers, lays at least from four
+to six eggs, must pair with the male each time after laying only
+one or two eggs. (3/9. Read before the Academy of Sciences in
+Paris. L'Institut 1834 page 418.) Now, if the cuckoo was obliged to
+sit on her own eggs, she would either have to sit on all together,
+and therefore leave those first laid so long, that they probably
+would become addled; or she would have to hatch separately each egg
+or two eggs, as soon as laid: but as the cuckoo stays a shorter
+time in this country than any other migratory bird, she certainly
+would not have time enough for the successive hatchings. Hence we
+can perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several times, and
+laying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing her eggs
+in other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of
+foster-parents. I am strongly inclined to believe that this view is
+correct, from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter
+see) to an analogous conclusion with regard to the South American
+ostrich, the females of which are parasitical, if I may so express
+it, on each other; each female laying several eggs in the nests of
+several other females, and the male ostrich undertaking all the
+cares of incubation, like the strange foster-parents with the
+cuckoo.
+
+I will mention only two other birds, which are very common, and
+render themselves prominent from their habits. The Saurophagus
+sulphuratus is typical of the great American tribe of
+tyrant-flycatchers. In its structure it closely approaches the true
+shrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds. I have
+frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot
+like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. When seen thus
+suspended in the air, it might very readily at a short distance be
+mistaken for one of the Rapacious order; its stoop, however, is
+very inferior in force and rapidity to that of a hawk. At other
+times the Saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there,
+like a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it catches any small fish
+which may come near the margin. These birds are not unfrequently
+kept either in cages or in courtyards, with their wings cut. They
+soon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd
+manners, which were described to me as being similar to those of
+the common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of
+the head and bill appears too great for the body. In the evening
+the Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the roadside,
+and continually repeats without change a shrill and rather
+agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words: the
+Spaniards say it is like the words "Bien te veo" (I see you well),
+and accordingly have given it this name.
+
+A mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants
+Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to
+that of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the
+only bird in South America which I have observed to take its stand
+for the purpose of singing. The song may be compared to that of the
+Sedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some very
+high ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. It is heard only
+during the spring. At other times its cry is harsh and far from
+harmonious. Near Maldonado these birds were tame and bold; they
+constantly attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat
+which was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small bird
+joined the feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the wide
+uninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied species, O.
+Patagonica of d'Orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed with
+spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone
+of voice. It appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the
+fine shades of difference in habits, that judging from this latter
+respect alone, when I first saw this second species, I thought it
+was different from the Maldonado kind. Having afterwards procured a
+specimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they
+appeared so very similar, that I changed my opinion; but now Mr.
+Gould says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in
+conformity with the trifling difference of habit, of which,
+however, he was not aware.
+
+The number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-feeding
+hawks of South America make them pre-eminently striking to any one
+accustomed only to the birds of Northern Europe. In this list may
+be included four species of the Caracara or Polyborus, the Turkey
+buzzard, the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The Caracaras are, from
+their structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon see how ill
+they become so high a rank. In their habits they well supply the
+place of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe of birds
+widely distributed over the rest of the world, but entirely absent
+in South America. To begin with the Polyborus Brasiliensis: this is
+a common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is most
+numerous on the grassy savannahs of La Plata (where it goes by the
+name of Carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout the
+sterile plains of Patagonia. In the desert between the rivers Negro
+and Colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road to devour
+the carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from
+fatigue and thirst. Although thus common in these dry and open
+countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the Pacific, it is
+nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of West
+Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Carranchas, together with the
+Chimango, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and
+slaughtering-houses. If an animal dies on the plain the Gallinazo
+commences the feast, and then the two species of Polyborus pick the
+bones clean. These birds, although thus commonly feeding together,
+are far from being friends. When the Carrancha is quietly seated on
+the branch of a tree or on the ground, the Chimango often continues
+for a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and down, in a
+semicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the curve to strike
+its larger relative. The Carrancha takes little notice, except by
+bobbing its head. Although the Carranchas frequently assemble in
+numbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be
+seen solitary, or more commonly by pairs.
+
+The Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great
+numbers of eggs. They attempt, also, together with the Chimango, to
+pick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. The
+poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back
+arched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing at the
+distance of a yard the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has
+been described by Captain Head with his own peculiar spirit and
+accuracy. These false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or
+animal; and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very
+evident to any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of
+Patagonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding
+hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil
+eye: it is a feature in the landscape of these countries, which
+will be recognised by every one who has wandered over them. If a
+party of men go out hunting with dogs and horses, they will be
+accompanied, during the day, by several of these attendants. After
+feeding, the uncovered craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed
+generally, the Carrancha is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird.
+Its flight is heavy and slow, like that of an English rook. It
+seldom soars; but I have twice seen one at a great height gliding
+through the air with much ease. It runs (in contradistinction to
+hopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its congeners. At
+times the Carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so: its cry is
+loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of
+the Spanish guttural g, followed by a rough double r r; when
+uttering this cry it elevates its head higher and higher, till at
+last, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower
+part of the back. This fact, which has been doubted, is quite true;
+I have seen them several times with their heads backwards in a
+completely inverted position. To these observations I may add, on
+the high authority of Azara, that the Carrancha feeds on worms,
+shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys young
+lambs by tearing the umbilical cord; and that it pursues the
+Gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion it
+may have recently gorged. Lastly, Azara states that several
+Carranchas, five or six together, will unite in chase of large
+birds, even such as herons. All these facts show that it is a bird
+of very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity.
+
+The Polyborus Chimango is considerably smaller than the last
+species. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; and I was
+assured that it materially injures the potato-crops in Chiloe, by
+stocking up the roots when first planted. Of all the
+carrion-feeders it is generally the last which leaves the skeleton
+of a dead animal, and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or
+horse, like a bird in a cage. Another species is the Polyborus
+Novae Zelandiae, which is exceedingly common in the Falkland
+Islands. These birds in many respects resemble in their habits the
+Carranchas. They live on the flesh of dead animals and on marine
+productions; and on the Ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must
+depend on the sea. They are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and
+haunt the neighbourhood of houses for offal. If a hunting party
+kills an animal, a number soon collect and patiently await,
+standing on the ground on all sides. After eating, their uncovered
+craws are largely protruded, giving them a disgusting appearance.
+They readily attack wounded birds: a cormorant in this state having
+taken to the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its
+death hastened by their blows. The "Beagle" was at the Falklands
+only during the summer, but the officers of the "Adventure," who
+were there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of
+the boldness and rapacity of these birds. They actually pounced on
+a dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party; and the
+sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded geese from being
+seized before their eyes. It is said that several together (in this
+respect resembling the Carranchas) wait at the mouth of a
+rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when it comes out.
+They were constantly flying on board the vessel when in the
+harbour; and it was necessary to keep a good look-out to prevent
+the leather being torn from the rigging, and the meat or game from
+the stern. These birds are very mischievous and inquisitive; they
+will pick up almost anything from the ground; a large black glazed
+hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of the heavy balls
+used in catching cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced during the survey
+a more severe loss, in their stealing a small Kater's compass in a
+red morocco leather case, which was never recovered. These birds
+are, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing up the
+grass with their bills from rage. They are not truly gregarious;
+they do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy; on the
+ground they run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. They are
+noisy, uttering several harsh cries, one of which is like that of
+the English rook, hence the sealers always call them rooks. It is a
+curious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their heads
+upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the Carrancha. They
+build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but only on the small
+adjoining islets, and not on the two main islands: this is a
+singular precaution in so tame and fearless a bird. The sealers say
+that the flesh of these birds, when cooked, is quite white, and
+very good eating; but bold must the man be who attempts such a
+meal.
+
+We have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (Vultur aura), and
+the Gallinazo. The former is found wherever the country is
+moderately damp, from Cape Horn to North America. Differently from
+the Polyborus Brasiliensis and Chimango, it has found its way to
+the Falkland Islands. The turkey-buzzard is a solitary bird, or at
+most goes in pairs. It may at once be recognised from a long
+distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. It is
+well known to be a true carrion-feeder. On the west coast of
+Patagonia, among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it
+lives exclusively on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses
+of dead seals. Wherever these animals are congregated on the rocks,
+there the vultures may be seen. The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus)
+has a different range from the last species, as it never occurs
+southward of latitude 41 degrees. Azara states that there exists a
+tradition that these birds, at the time of the conquest, were not
+found near Monte Video, but that they subsequently followed the
+inhabitants from more northern districts. At the present day they
+are numerous in the valley of the Colorado, which is three hundred
+miles due south of Monte Video. It seems probable that this
+additional migration has happened since the time of Azara. The
+Gallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or rather the
+neighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely abundant in
+Brazil and La Plata, while it is never found on the desert and arid
+plains of Northern Patagonia, excepting near some stream. These
+birds frequent the whole Pampas to the foot of the Cordillera, but
+I never saw or heard of one in Chile: in Peru they are preserved as
+scavengers. These vultures certainly may be called gregarious, for
+they seem to have pleasure in society, and are not solely brought
+together by the attraction of a common prey. On a fine day a flock
+may often be observed at a great height, each bird wheeling round
+and round without closing its wings, in the most graceful
+evolutions. This is clearly performed for the mere pleasure of the
+exercise, or perhaps is connected with their matrimonial alliances.
+
+I have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the condor,
+an account of which will be more appropriately introduced when we
+visit a country more congenial to its habits than the plains of La
+Plata.
+
+In a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the Laguna del
+Potrero from the shores of the Plata, at the distance of a few
+miles from Maldonado, I found a group of those vitrified, siliceous
+tubes, which are formed by lightning entering loose sand. These
+tubes resemble in every particular those from Drigg in Cumberland,
+described in the "Geological Transactions." (3/10. "Geological
+Transactions" volume 2 page 528. In the "Philosophical
+Transactions" 1790 page 294, Dr. Priestley has described some
+imperfect siliceous tubes and a melted pebble of quartz, found in
+digging into the ground, under a tree, where a man had been killed
+by lightning.) The sand-hillocks of Maldonado, not being protected
+by vegetation, are constantly changing their position. From this
+cause the tubes projected above the surface; and numerous fragments
+lying near, showed that they had formerly been buried to a greater
+depth. Four sets entered the sand perpendicularly: by working with
+my hands I traced one of them two feet deep; and some fragments
+which evidently had belonged to the same tube, when added to the
+other part, measured five feet three inches. The diameter of the
+whole tube was nearly equal, and therefore we must suppose that
+originally it extended to a much greater depth. These dimensions
+are however small, compared to those of the tubes from Drigg, one
+of which was traced to a depth of not less than thirty feet.
+
+The internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth. A
+small fragment examined under the microscope appeared, from the
+number of minute entangled air or perhaps steam bubbles, like an
+assay fused before the blowpipe. The sand is entirely, or in
+greater part, siliceous; but some points are of a black colour, and
+from their glossy surface possess a metallic lustre. The thickness
+of the wall of the tube varies from a thirtieth to a twentieth of
+an inch, and occasionally even equals a tenth. On the outside the
+grains of sand are rounded, and have a slightly glazed appearance:
+I could not distinguish any signs of crystallisation. In a similar
+manner to that described in the "Geological Transactions," the
+tubes are generally compressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows,
+so as closely to resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark
+of the elm or cork tree. Their circumference is about two inches,
+but in some fragments, which are cylindrical and without any
+furrows, it is as much as four inches. The compression from the
+surrounding loose sand, acting while the tube was still softened
+from the effects of the intense heat, has evidently caused the
+creases or furrows. Judging from the uncompressed fragments, the
+measure or bore of the lightning (if such a term may be used) must
+have been about one inch and a quarter. At Paris, M. Hachette and
+M. Beudant succeeded in making tubes, in most respects similar to
+these fulgurites, by passing very strong shocks of galvanism
+through finely-powdered glass: when salt was added, so as to
+increase its fusibility, the tubes were larger in every dimension.
+(3/11. "Annales de Chimie et de Physique" tome 37 page 319.) They
+failed both with powdered feldspar and quartz. One tube, formed
+with pounded glass, was very nearly an inch long, namely .982, and
+had an internal diameter of .019 of an inch. When we hear that the
+strongest battery in Paris was used, and that its power on a
+substance of such easy fusibility as glass was to form tubes so
+diminutive, we must feel greatly astonished at the force of a shock
+of lightning, which, striking the sand in several places, has
+formed cylinders, in one instance of at least thirty feet long, and
+having an internal bore, where not compressed, of full an inch and
+a half; and this in a material so extraordinarily refractory as
+quartz!
+
+The tubes, as I have already remarked, enter the sand nearly in a
+vertical direction. One, however, which was less regular than the
+others, deviated from a right line, at the most considerable bend,
+to the amount of thirty-three degrees. From this same tube, two
+small branches, about a foot apart, were sent off; one pointed
+downwards, and the other upwards. This latter case is remarkable,
+as the electric fluid must have turned back at the acute angle of
+26 degrees, to the line of its main course. Besides the four tubes
+which I found vertical, and traced beneath the surface, there were
+several other groups of fragments, the original sites of which
+without doubt were near. All occurred in a level area of shifting
+sand, sixty yards by twenty, situated among some high
+sand-hillocks, and at the distance of about half a mile from a
+chain of hills four or five hundred feet in height. The most
+remarkable circumstance, as it appears to me, in this case as well
+as in that of Drigg, and in one described by M. Ribbentrop in
+Germany, is the number of tubes found within such limited spaces.
+At Drigg, within an area of fifteen yards, three were observed, and
+the same number occurred in Germany. In the case which I have
+described, certainly more than four existed within the space of the
+sixty by twenty yards. As it does not appear probable that the
+tubes are produced by successive distinct shocks, we must believe
+that the lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides
+itself into separate branches.
+
+The neighbourhood of the Rio Plata seems peculiarly subject to
+electric phenomena. In the year 1793, one of the most destructive
+thunderstorms perhaps on record happened at Buenos Ayres:
+thirty-seven places within the city were struck by lightning, and
+nineteen people killed. (3/12. Azara's "Voyage" volume 1 page 36.)
+From facts stated in several books of travels, I am inclined to
+suspect that thunderstorms are very common near the mouths of great
+rivers. Is it not possible that the mixture of large bodies of
+fresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium? Even
+during our occasional visits to this part of South America, we
+heard of a ship, two churches, and a house having been struck. Both
+the church and the house I saw shortly afterwards: the house
+belonged to Mr. Hood, the consul-general at Monte Video. Some of
+the effects were curious: the paper, for nearly a foot on each side
+of the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. The metal
+had been fused, and although the room was about fifteen feet high,
+the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in
+them a chain of minute holes. A part of the wall was shattered as
+if by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force
+sufficient to dent the wall on the opposite side of the room. The
+frame of a looking-glass was blackened, and the gilding must have
+been volatilised, for a smelling-bottle, which stood on the
+chimney-piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which
+adhered as firmly as if they had been enamelled.
+
+
+(PLATE 17.  HALT AT A PULPERIA ON THE PAMPAS.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+(PLATE 18.  EL CARMEN, OR PATAGONES, RIO NEGRO.)
+
+Rio Negro.
+Estancias attacked by the Indians.
+Salt Lakes.
+Flamingoes.
+R. Negro to R. Colorado.
+Sacred Tree.
+Patagonian Hare.
+Indian Families.
+General Rosas.
+Proceed to Bahia Blanca.
+Sand Dunes.
+Negro Lieutenant.
+Bahia Blanca.
+Saline Incrustations.
+Punta Alta.
+Zorillo.
+
+RIO NEGRO TO BAHIA BLANCA.
+
+JULY 24, 1833.
+
+
+
+The "Beagle" sailed from Maldonado, and on August the 3rd she
+arrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro. This is the principal river
+on the whole line of coast between the Strait of Magellan and the
+Plata. It enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the
+estuary of the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanish
+government, a small colony was established here; and it is still
+the most southern position (latitude 41 degrees) on this eastern
+coast of America inhabited by civilised man.
+
+The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme:
+on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences,
+which exposes a section of the geological nature of the country.
+The strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable from
+being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles,
+which must have travelled more than four hundred miles, from the
+Andes. The surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed of
+gravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain. Water is
+extremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably brackish.
+The vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes of many
+kinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the
+stranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions.
+
+The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. The road
+follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern
+boundary of the great valley in which the Rio Negro flows. On the
+way we passed the ruins of some fine estancias, which a few years
+since had been destroyed by the Indians. They withstood several
+attacks. A man present at one gave me a very lively description of
+what took place. The inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all
+the cattle and horses into the corral which surrounded the house,
+and likewise to mount some small cannon. (4/1. The corral is an
+enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or
+farming estate, has one attached to it.)
+
+The Indians were Araucanians from the south of Chile; several
+hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. They first appeared in
+two bodies on a neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and
+taken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. The
+only weapon of an Indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented
+with ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spear-head. My
+informer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering
+of these chuzos as they approached near. When close, the cacique
+Pincheira hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would
+cut all their throats. As this would probably have been the result
+of their entrance under any circumstances, the answer was given by
+a volley of musketry. The Indians, with great steadiness, came to
+the very fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the
+posts fastened together by iron nails instead of leather thongs,
+and, of course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives.
+This saved the lives of the Christians: many of the wounded Indians
+were carried away by their companions, and at last, one of the
+under caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. They
+retired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. This
+was an awful pause for the Spaniards, as all their ammunition, with
+the exception of a few cartridges, was expended. In an instant the
+Indians mounted their horses, and galloped out of sight. Another
+attack was still more quickly repulsed. A cool Frenchman managed
+the gun; he stopped till the Indians approached close, and then
+raked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them
+on the ground; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the
+whole party.
+
+The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It is
+built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of
+the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river is about
+two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. The many
+islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one
+behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green
+valley, form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost
+picturesque. The number of inhabitants does not exceed a few
+hundreds. These Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones,
+carry within themselves the elements of growth. Many Indians of
+pure blood reside here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly
+have their Toldos on the outskirts of the town. (4/2. The hovels of
+the Indians are thus called.) The local government partly supplies
+them with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses,
+and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of
+riding-gear. These Indians are considered civilised; but what their
+character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost
+counterbalanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger men
+are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short
+time since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well.
+They were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed
+in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The taste they
+showed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned one
+of these young Indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would
+have been perfectly graceful.
+
+One day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which is distant
+fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a
+shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of
+snow-white salt. The layer near the margin is from four to five
+inches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. This
+lake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. Others occur in
+the neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two
+and three feet in thickness, even when under water during the
+winter. One of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the
+midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary
+spectacle. A large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the
+salina: and great piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying
+ready for exportation.
+
+The season for working the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones;
+for on it the prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the whole
+population encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are
+employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons. This salt is
+crystallised in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: Mr. Trenham
+Reeks has kindly analysed some for me, and he finds in it only 0.26
+of gypsum and 0.22 of earthy matter. It is a singular fact that it
+does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the
+Cape de Verd islands; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me that
+he considered it as fifty per cent less valuable. Hence the Cape de
+Verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these
+salinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt, or absence from it of
+those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only
+assignable cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, I
+think, would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact
+lately ascertained, that those salts answer best for preserving
+cheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides. (4/3.
+Report of the Agricultural Chemistry Association in the
+"Agricultural Gazette" 1845 page 93.)
+
+The border of the lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous large
+crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie
+embedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie
+scattered about. The Gauchos call the former the "Padre del sal,"
+and the latter the "Madre;" they state that these progenitive salts
+always occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins
+to evaporate. The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not
+at first imagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that
+the froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if
+by confervae; I attempted to carry home some of this green matter,
+but from an accident failed. Parts of the lake seen from a short
+distance appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing
+to some infusorial animalcula. The mud in many places was thrown up
+by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. How
+surprising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in
+brine, and that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate
+of soda and lime! And what becomes of these worms when, during the
+long summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt?
+
+Flamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed
+here, throughout Patagonia, in Northern Chile, and at the Galapagos
+Islands, I met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine.
+I saw them here wading about in search of food--probably for the
+worms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on
+infusoria or confervae. Thus we have a little living world within
+itself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute
+crustaceous animal (Cancer salinus) is said to live in countless
+numbers in the brine-pans at Lymington: but only in those in which
+the fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable
+strength--namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of
+water. (4/4. "Linnaean Transactions" volume 11 page 205. It is
+remarkable how all the circumstances connected with the salt-lakes
+in Siberia and Patagonia are similar. Siberia, like Patagonia,
+appears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea.
+In both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the
+plains; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath
+the crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesia occurs,
+imperfectly crystallised; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with
+lentils of gypsum. The Siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small
+crustaceous animals; and flamingoes ("Edinburgh New Philosical
+Journal" January 1830) likewise frequent them. As these
+circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant
+continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of
+common causes.--See "Pallas's Travels" 1793 to 1794 pages 129 to
+134.) Well may we affirm that every part of the world is habitable!
+Whether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones hidden beneath
+volcanic mountains--warm mineral springs--the wide expanse and
+depths of the ocean--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even
+the surface of perpetual snow--all support organic beings.
+
+To the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and the inhabited
+country near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards have only one small
+settlement, recently established at Bahia Blanca. The distance in a
+straight line to Buenos Ayres is very nearly five hundred British
+miles. The wandering tribes of horse Indians, which have always
+occupied the greater part of this country, having of late much
+harassed the outlying estancias, the government at Buenos Ayres
+equipped some time since an army under the command of General Rosas
+for the purpose of exterminating them. The troops were now encamped
+on the banks of the Colorado; a river lying about eighty miles
+northward of the Rio Negro. When General Rosas left Buenos Ayres he
+struck in a direct line across the unexplored plains: and as the
+country was thus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind
+him, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of
+horses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication
+with the capital. As the "Beagle" intended to call at Bahia Blanca,
+I determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately I extended my
+plan to travel the whole way by the postas to Buenos Ayres.
+
+AUGUST 11, 1833.
+
+Mr. Harris, an Englishman residing at Patagones, a guide, and five
+Gauchos who were proceeding to the army on business, were my
+companions on the journey. The Colorado, as I have already said, is
+nearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were
+two days and a half on the road. The whole line of country deserves
+scarcely a better name than that of a desert. Water is found only
+in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at this time of
+the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish. In the
+summer this must be a distressing passage; for now it was
+sufficiently desolate.
+
+The valley of the Rio Negro, broad as it is, has merely been
+excavated out of the sandstone plain; for immediately above the
+bank on which the town stands, a level country commences, which is
+interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depressions.
+Everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a dry
+gravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and low
+scattered bushes, armed with thorns.
+
+Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous
+tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Walleechu. It is
+situated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark
+visible at a great distance. As soon as a tribe of Indians come in
+sight of it, they offer their adorations by loud shouts. The tree
+itself is low, much branched, and thorny: just above the root it
+has a diameter of about three feet. It stands by itself without any
+neighbour, and was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met
+with a few others of the same kind, but they were far from common.
+Being winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless
+threads, by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread,
+meat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended. Poor Indians, not
+having anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos,
+and fasten it to the tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour
+spirits and mate into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke
+upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to
+Walleechu. To complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the
+bleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices.
+All Indians of every age and sex make their offerings; they then
+think that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves
+shall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said that in the
+time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and others
+used to wait till the Indians had passed by, for the sake of
+stealing from Walleechu the offerings.
+
+The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as the god
+itself; but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the
+altar. The only cause which I can imagine for this choice, is its
+being a landmark in a dangerous passage. The Sierra de la Ventana
+is visible at an immense distance; and a Gaucho told me that he was
+once riding with an Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio
+Colorado, when the Indian commenced making the same loud noise,
+which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, putting his
+hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the Sierra.
+Upon being asked the reason of this, the Indian said in broken
+Spanish, "First see the Sierra."
+
+About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night:
+at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed
+Gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged
+her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. We here had the four
+necessaries of life "en el campo,"--pasture for the horses, water
+(only a muddy puddle), meat and firewood. The Gauchos were in high
+spirits at finding all these luxuries; and we soon set to work at
+the poor cow. This was the first night which I passed under the
+open sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. There is high
+enjoyment in the independence of the Gaucho life--to be able at any
+moment to pull up your horse, and say, "Here we will pass the
+night." The deathlike stillness of the plain, the dogs keeping
+watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making their beds round the fire,
+have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night,
+which will never be forgotten.
+
+The next day the country continued similar to that above described.
+It is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. Occasionally a
+deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen; but the Agouti (Cavia
+Patagonica) is the commonest quadruped. This animal here represents
+our hares. It differs, however, from that genus in many essential
+respects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. It is also
+nearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds.
+The Agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common feature
+of the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the
+other in a straight line across these wild plains. They are found
+as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (latitude 37 degrees 30'),
+where the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and
+their southern limit is between Port Desire and St. Julian, where
+there is no change in the nature of the country.
+
+It is a singular fact, that although the Agouti is not now found as
+far south as Port St. Julian, yet that Captain Wood, in his voyage
+in 1670, talks of them as being numerous there. What cause can have
+altered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the
+range of an animal like this? It appears also, from the number shot
+by Captain Wood in one day at Port Desire, that they must have been
+considerably more abundant there formerly than at present. Where
+the Bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the Agouti uses them; but
+where, as at Bahia Blanca, the Bizcacha is not found, the Agouti
+burrows for itself. The same thing occurs with the little owl of
+the Pampas (Athene cunicularia), which has so often been described
+as standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in
+Banda Oriental, owing to the absence of the Bizcacha, it is obliged
+to hollow out its own habitation.
+
+The next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado, the appearance
+of the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with turf,
+which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled
+the Pampas. We passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent,
+which in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts;
+and hence is called a salitral. It was covered by low succulent
+plants, of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. The
+Colorado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty
+yards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width. Its
+course is very tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of
+reeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is
+said to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. We were delayed
+crossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were
+swimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the
+interior. A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the
+hundreds and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed
+ears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the
+water like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. Mare's flesh is
+the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. This
+gives them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which
+horses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: I have
+been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a
+day for many days successively.
+
+The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It
+consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts,
+etc. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I should think such
+a villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected
+together. The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between
+Negro, Indian, and Spaniard. I know not the reason, but men of such
+origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. I called on
+the Secretary to show my passport. He began to cross-question me in
+the most dignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had a
+letter of recommendation from the government of Buenos Ayres to the
+commandant of Patagones. (4/5. I am bound to express, in the
+strongest terms, my obligation to the government of Buenos Ayres
+for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the
+country were given me, as naturalist of the "Beagle.") This was
+taken to General Rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and
+the Secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. We took up our
+residence in the rancho, or hovel, of a curious old Spaniard, who
+had served with Napoleon in the expedition against Russia.
+
+We stayed two days at the Colorado; I had little to do, for the
+surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (December), when
+the snow melts on the Cordillera, is overflowed by the river. My
+chief amusement was watching the Indian families as they came to
+buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. It was supposed
+that General Rosas had about six hundred Indian allies. The men
+were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in the
+Fuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold, want
+of food, and less civilisation.
+
+Some authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have
+separated these Indians into two classes; but this is certainly
+incorrect. Among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be
+called even beautiful. Their hair was coarse, but bright and black;
+and they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the waist. They had
+a high colour, and eyes that glistened with brilliancy; their legs,
+feet, and arms were small and elegantly formed; their ankles, and
+sometimes their waists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of blue
+beads. Nothing could be more interesting than some of the family
+groups. A mother with one or two daughters would often come to our
+rancho, mounted on the same horse. They ride like men, but with
+their knees tucked up much higher. This habit, perhaps, arises from
+their being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded horses.
+The duty of the women is to load and unload the horses; to make the
+tents for the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages,
+useful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of the horses, and
+make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor occupations is to
+knock two stones together till they become round, in order to make
+the bolas. With this important weapon the Indian catches his game,
+and also his horse, which roams free over the plain. In fighting,
+his first attempt is to throw down the horse of his adversary with
+the bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill him with the
+chuzo. If the balls only catch the neck or body of an animal, they
+are often carried away and lost. As the making the stones round is
+the labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is a very
+common employment. Several of the men and women had their faces
+painted red, but I never saw the horizontal bands which are so
+common among the Fuegians. Their chief pride consists in having
+everything made of silver; I have seen a cacique with his spurs,
+stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal: the
+head-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord;
+and to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so
+light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of
+elegance.
+
+(PLATE 19.  BRAZILIAN WHIPS, HOBBLES, AND SPURS.)
+
+General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which I
+was afterwards very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary
+character, and has a most predominant influence in the country,
+which it seems probable he will use to its prosperity and
+advancement. (4/6. This prophecy has turned out entirely and
+miserably wrong. 1845.) He is said to be the owner of seventy-four
+square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand
+head of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more
+productive of corn than those of others. He first gained his
+celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining
+several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of
+the Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner
+in which his laws were enforced. One of these was, that no man, on
+penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a
+Sunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking,
+many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with
+the knife often proved fatal.
+
+One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia a
+visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him
+with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched
+his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the
+Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into
+the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in
+his own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to
+open the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done,
+than he turned to the steward and said, "You now have broken the
+laws, so you must take my place in the stocks." Such actions as
+these delighted the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their
+own equality and dignity.
+
+General Rosas is also a perfect horseman--an accomplishment of no
+small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its
+general by the following trial: A troop of unbroken horses being
+driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which
+was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on
+one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able,
+without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it
+back to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person
+who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit
+general for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been
+performed by Rosas.
+
+By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the
+Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country,
+and in consequence a despotic power. I was assured by an English
+merchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and
+questioned concerning his motive, answered, "He spoke
+disrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him." At the end of a
+week the murderer was at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the
+general's party, and not of the general himself.
+
+In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His
+gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad buffoons
+(for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following
+anecdote. "I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so
+I went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me,
+'Go about your business, for I am engaged.' I went a second time;
+he said, 'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time I
+asked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too
+late--he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by
+all the saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not
+do,--when the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound."
+The poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very
+recollection of the staking. This is a very severe punishment; four
+posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his
+arms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several
+hours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying
+hides. My interview passed away without a smile, and I obtained a
+passport and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave
+me in the most obliging and ready manner.
+
+In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we reached in two
+days. Leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of
+the Indians. These are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by
+the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. The
+toldos were divided into separate groups, which belonged to the
+different caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into
+smaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. For
+several miles we travelled along the valley of the Colorado. The
+alluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed
+that they are well adapted to the growth of corn.
+
+Turning northward from the river, we soon entered on a country,
+differing from the plains south of the river. The land still
+continued dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds of
+plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was more
+abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. These latter in a
+short space entirely disappeared, and the plains were left without
+a thicket to cover their nakedness. This change in the vegetation
+marks the commencement of the grand calcareo-argillaceous deposit,
+which forms the wide extent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic
+rocks of Banda Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the
+Colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the
+country is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly
+of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the
+Cordillera. North of the Colorado this bed thins out, and the
+pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the characteristic
+vegetation of Patagonia ceases.
+
+Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt of
+sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the
+east and west. The sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small
+pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an
+invaluable supply of fresh water. The great advantage arising from
+depressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home
+to the mind. The two miserable springs in the long passage between
+the Rio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling inequalities in
+the plain, without them not a drop of water would have been found.
+The belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some former
+period, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the
+Colorado now flows. In this district, where absolute proofs of the
+recent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be
+neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical
+geography of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we
+arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh
+horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night
+there.
+
+The house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and two
+hundred feet high--a most remarkable feature in this country. This
+posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant, born in Africa: to his
+credit be it said, there was not a ranche between the Colorado and
+Buenos Ayres in nearly such neat order as his. He had a little room
+for strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of
+sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a
+defence in case of being attacked. This would, however, have been
+of little avail, if the Indians had come; but his chief comfort
+seemed to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. A short
+time before, a body of Indians had travelled past in the night; if
+they had been aware of the posta, our black friend and his four
+soldiers would assuredly have been slaughtered. I did not anywhere
+meet a more civil and obliging man than this negro; it was
+therefore the more painful to see that he would not sit down and
+eat with us.
+
+In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for
+another exhilarating gallop. We passed the Cabeza del Buey, an old
+name given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from Bahia
+Blanca. Here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues of
+swamps and saline marshes. Changing horses for the last time, we
+again began wading through the mud. My animal fell, and I was well
+soused in black mire--a very disagreeable accident, when one does
+not possess a change of clothes. Some miles from the fort we met a
+man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a signal
+that Indians are near. We immediately left the road, and followed
+the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of
+escape. We were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all
+the alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to be
+friendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.
+
+Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A few houses
+and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch and
+fortified wall. The settlement is only of recent standing (since
+1828); and its growth has been one of trouble. The government of
+Buenos Ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following
+the wise example of the Spanish Viceroys, who purchased the land
+near the older settlement of the Rio Negro, from the Indians. Hence
+the need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little
+cultivated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle
+are not safe from the attacks of the Indians beyond the boundaries
+of the plain on which the fortress stands.
+
+The part of the harbour where the "Beagle" intended to anchor being
+distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the Commandant a guide
+and horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived. Leaving the
+plain of green turf, which extended along the course of a little
+brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting either of
+sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. Some parts were clothed by low
+thickets, and others with those succulent plants which luxuriate
+only where salt abounds. Bad as the country was, ostriches, deers,
+agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. My guide told me, that two
+months before he had a most narrow escape of his life: he was out
+hunting with two other men, at no great distance from this part of
+the country, when they were suddenly met by a party of Indians, who
+giving chase, soon overtook and killed his two friends. His own
+horse's legs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, and
+with his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obliged to
+dodge round his horse, and received two severe wounds from their
+chuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful
+exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers,
+who followed him to within sight of the fort. From that time there
+was an order that no one should stray far from the settlement. I
+did not know of this when I started, and was surprised to observe
+how earnestly my guide watched a deer, which appeared to have been
+frightened from a distant quarter.
+
+We found the "Beagle" had not arrived, and consequently set out on
+our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac
+on the plain. In the morning we had caught an armadillo, which,
+although a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not
+make a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men.
+The ground at the place where we stopped for the night was
+incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course,
+was without water. Yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist
+even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath
+my head, during half the night. Our horses were very poor ones, and
+in the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had
+anything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. About noon the
+dogs killed a kid, which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made
+me intolerably thirsty. This was the more distressing as the road,
+from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water,
+yet not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely been twenty hours
+without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the
+thirst rendered me very weak. How people survive two or three days
+under such circumstances, I cannot imagine: at the same time, I
+must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was
+astonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to
+me.
+
+I have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being
+incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different from that
+of the salinas, and more extraordinary. In many parts of South
+America, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these
+incrustations occur; but I have nowhere seen them so abundant as
+near Bahia Blanca. The salt here, and in other parts of Patagonia,
+consists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some common salt. As long
+as the ground remains moist in the salitrales (as the Spaniards
+improperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre),
+nothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black,
+muddy soil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. On
+returning through one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather,
+one is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as if from
+a slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by the wind into
+little drifts. This latter appearance is chiefly caused by the
+salts being drawn up, during the slow evaporation of the moisture,
+round blades of dead grass, stumps of wood, and pieces of broken
+earth, instead of being crystallised at the bottoms of the puddles
+of water.
+
+The salitrales occur either on level tracts elevated only a few
+feet above the level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering
+rivers. M. Parchappe found that the saline incrustation on the
+plain, at the distance of some miles from the sea, consisted
+chiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent of common
+salt; whilst nearer to the coast, the common salt increased to 37
+parts in a hundred. (4/7. "Voyage dans l'Amerique Merid." par M. A.
+d'Orbigny. Part. Hist. tome 1 page 664.) This circumstance would
+tempt one to believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the
+soil, from the muriate left on the surface during the slow and
+recent elevation of this dry country. The whole phenomenon is well
+worthy the attention of naturalists. Have the succulent,
+salt-loving plants, which are well known to contain much soda, the
+power of decomposing the muriate? Does the black fetid mud,
+abounding with organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the
+sulphuric acid?
+
+Two days afterwards I again rode to the harbour: when not far from
+our destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied three
+people hunting on horseback. He immediately dismounted, and
+watching them intently, said, "They don't ride like Christians, and
+nobody can leave the fort." The three hunters joined company, and
+likewise dismounted from their horses. At last one mounted again
+and rode over the hill out of sight. My companion said, "We must
+now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and he looked to his own
+sword. I asked, "Are they Indians?"--"Quien sabe? (who knows?) if
+there are no more than three, it does not signify." It then struck
+me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of
+his tribe. I suggested this; but all the answer I could extort was,
+"Quien sabe?" His head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning
+slowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncommon coolness too
+good a joke, and asked him why he did not return home. I was
+startled when he answered, "We are returning, but in a line so as
+to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as
+they can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that there is no
+danger." I did not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to
+increase our pace. He said, "No, not until they do." When any
+little inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight,
+continued walking. At last we reached a valley, and turning to the
+left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse
+to hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and
+knees to reconnoitre. He remained in this position for some time,
+and at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, "Mugeres!"
+(women!) He knew them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the
+major's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs.
+
+I have described this man's conduct, because he acted under the
+full impression that they were Indians. As soon, however, as the
+absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they
+could not have been Indians; but all these were forgotten at the
+time. We then rode on in peace and quietness to a low point called
+Punta Alta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great
+harbour of Bahia Blanca.
+
+The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mudbanks,
+which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies, from the
+number of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is impossible to
+walk over them, even for the shortest distance. Many of the banks
+have their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of which
+alone are visible at high water. On one occasion, when in a boat,
+we were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find
+our way. Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the day was
+not very clear, and there was much refraction, or, as the sailors
+expressed it, "things loomed high." The only object within our view
+which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes
+unsupported in the air, and water like mudbanks, and mudbanks like
+water.
+
+We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in
+searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for
+monsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm and
+clear; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in
+the midst of mudbanks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary
+vultures. In riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh
+track of a Puma, but did not succeed in finding it. We saw also a
+couple of Zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from
+uncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat,
+but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious
+of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears
+neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage
+is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings
+on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once
+polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be
+perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the
+harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived
+the odour on board the "Beagle." Certain it is, that every animal
+most willingly makes room for the Zorillo.
+
+
+(PLATE 20.  BRINGING IN A PRISONER.)
+
+(PLATE 21.  IRREGULAR TROOPS.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Bahia Blanca.
+Geology.
+Numerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds.
+Recent Extinction.
+Longevity of Species.
+Large Animals do not require a luxuriant Vegetation.
+Southern Africa.
+Siberian Fossils.
+Two Species of Ostrich.
+Habits of Oven-bird.
+Armadilloes.
+Venomous Snake, Toad, Lizard.
+Hybernation of Animals.
+Habits of Sea-Pen.
+Indian Wars and Massacres.
+Arrowhead, antiquarian Relic.
+
+BAHIA BLANCA.
+
+
+
+The "Beagle" arrived here on the 24th of August, and a week
+afterwards sailed for the Plata. With Captain Fitz Roy's consent I
+was left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here add
+some observations, which were made during this visit and on a
+previous occasion, when the "Beagle" was employed in surveying the
+harbour.
+
+The plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, belongs
+to the great Pampean formation, which consists in part of a reddish
+clay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock. Nearer the
+coast there are some plains formed from the wreck of the upper
+plain, and from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up by the sea during
+the slow elevation of the land, of which elevation we have evidence
+in upraised beds of recent shells, and in rounded pebbles of pumice
+scattered over the country. At Punta Alta we have a section of one
+of these later-formed little plains, which is highly interesting
+from the number and extraordinary character of the remains of
+gigantic land-animals embedded in it. These have been fully
+described by Professor Owen, in the "Zoology of the Voyage of the
+'Beagle,'" and are deposited in the College of Surgeons. I will
+here give only a brief outline of their nature.
+
+First, parts of three heads and other bones of the Megatherium, the
+huge dimensions of which are expressed by its name. Secondly, the
+Megalonyx, a great allied animal. Thirdly, the Scelidotherium, also
+an allied animal, of which I obtained a nearly perfect skeleton. It
+must have been as large as a rhinoceros: in the structure of its
+head it comes, according to Mr. Owen, nearest to the Cape
+Ant-eater, but in some other respects it approaches to the
+armadilloes. Fourthly, the Mylodon Darwinii, a closely related
+genus of little inferior size. Fifthly, another gigantic edental
+quadruped. Sixthly, a large animal, with an osseous coat in
+compartments, very like that of an armadillo. Seventhly, an extinct
+kind of horse, to which I shall have again to refer. Eighthly, a
+tooth of a Pachydermatous animal, probably the same with the
+Macrauchenia, a huge beast with a long neck like a camel, which I
+shall also refer to again. Lastly, the Toxodon, perhaps one of the
+strangest animals ever discovered: in size it equalled an elephant
+or megatherium, but the structure of its teeth, as Mr. Owen states,
+proves indisputably that it was intimately related to the Gnawers,
+the order which, at the present day, includes most of the smallest
+quadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the Pachydermata:
+judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, it was
+probably aquatic, like the Dugong and Manatee, to which it is also
+allied. How wonderfully are the different Orders, at the present
+time so well separated, blended together in different points of the
+structure of the Toxodon!
+
+The remains of these nine great quadrupeds and many detached bones
+were found embedded on the beach, within the space of about 200
+yards square. It is a remarkable circumstance that so many
+different species should be found together; and it proves how
+numerous in kind the ancient inhabitants of this country must have
+been. At the distance of about thirty miles from Punta Alta, in a
+cliff of red earth, I found several fragments of bones, some of
+large size. Among them were the teeth of a gnawer, equalling in
+size and closely resembling those of the Capybara, whose habits
+have been described; and therefore, probably, an aquatic animal.
+There was also part of the head of a Ctenomys; the species being
+different from the Tucutuco, but with a close general resemblance.
+The red earth, like that of the Pampas, in which these remains were
+embedded, contains, according to Professor Ehrenberg, eight
+fresh-water and one salt-water infusorial animalcule; therefore,
+probably, it was an estuary deposit.
+
+The remains at Punta Alta were embedded in stratified gravel and
+reddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a shallow
+bank. They were associated with twenty-three species of shells, of
+which thirteen are recent and four others very closely related to
+recent forms. (5/1. Since this was written, M. Alcide d'Orbigny has
+examined these shells, and pronounces them all to be recent.) From
+the bones of the Scelidotherium, including even the kneecap, being
+entombed in their proper relative positions, and from the osseous
+armour of the great armadillo-like animal being so well preserved,
+together with the bones of one of its legs, we may feel assured
+that these remains were fresh and united by their ligaments, when
+deposited in the gravel together with the shells. (5/2. M. Aug.
+Bravard has described, in a Spanish work "Observaciones Geologicas"
+1857, this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct
+mammals were washed out of the underlying Pampean deposit, and
+subsequently became embedded with the still existing shells; but I
+am not convinced by his remarks. M. Bravard believes that the whole
+enormous Pampean deposit is a sub-aerial formation, like
+sand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable doctrine.) Hence we
+have good evidence that the above enumerated gigantic quadrupeds,
+more different from those of the present day than the oldest of the
+tertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled
+with most of its present inhabitants; and we have confirmed that
+remarkable law so often insisted on by Mr. Lyell, namely, that the
+"longevity of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole
+inferior to that of the testacea." (5/3. "Principles of Geology"
+volume 4 page 40.)
+
+The great size of the bones of the Megatheroid animals, including
+the Megatherium, Megalonyx, Scelidotherium, and Mylodon, is truly
+wonderful. The habits of life of these animals were a complete
+puzzle to naturalists, until Professor Owen solved the problem with
+remarkable ingenuity. (5/4. This theory was first developed in the
+"Zoology of the Voyage of the 'Beagle,'" and subsequently in
+Professor Owen's "Memoir on Mylodon robustus.") The teeth indicate,
+by their simple structure, that these Megatheroid animals lived on
+vegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small twigs of
+trees; their ponderous forms and great strong curved claws seem so
+little adapted for locomotion, that some eminent naturalists have
+actually believed that, like the sloths, to which they are
+intimately related, they subsisted by climbing back downwards on
+trees, and feeding on the leaves. It was a bold, not to say
+preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees, with
+branches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants.
+Professor Owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead
+of climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches down to them,
+and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the
+leaves. The colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters,
+which can hardly be imagined without having been seen, become, on
+this view, of obvious service, instead of being an encumbrance:
+their apparent clumsiness disappears. With their great tails and
+their huge heels firmly fixed like a tripod on the ground, they
+could freely exert the full force of their most powerful arms and
+great claws. Strongly rooted, indeed, must that tree have been,
+which could have resisted such force! The Mylodon, moreover, was
+furnished with a long extensile tongue like that of the giraffe,
+which, by one of those beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches
+with the aid of its long neck its leafy food. I may remark, that in
+Abyssinia the elephant, according to Bruce, when it cannot reach
+with its proboscis the branches, deeply scores with its tusks the
+trunk of the tree, up and down and all round, till it is
+sufficiently weakened to be broken down.
+
+The beds including the above fossil remains stand only from fifteen
+to twenty feet above the level of high water; and hence the
+elevation of the land has been small (without there has been an
+intercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no evidence)
+since the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains;
+and the external features of the country must then have been very
+nearly the same as now. What, it may naturally be asked, was the
+character of the vegetation at that period; was the country as
+wretchedly sterile as it now is? As so many of the co-embedded
+shells are the same with those now living in the bay, I was at
+first inclined to think that the former vegetation was probably
+similar to the existing one; but this would have been an erroneous
+inference, for some of these same shells live on the luxuriant
+coast of Brazil; and generally, the characters of the inhabitants
+of the sea are useless as guides to judge of those on the land.
+Nevertheless, from the following considerations, I do not believe
+that the simple fact of many gigantic quadrupeds having lived on
+the plains round Bahia Blanca, is any sure guide that they formerly
+were clothed with a luxuriant vegetation: I have no doubt that the
+sterile country a little southward, near the Rio Negro, with its
+scattered thorny trees, would support many and large quadrupeds.
+
+That large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a
+general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but I
+do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has
+vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great
+interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has
+probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where
+troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are
+associated together in every one's mind. If, however, we refer to
+any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall
+find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character
+of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it.
+The same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which
+have been published of various parts of the interior. When the
+"Beagle" was at Cape Town, I made an excursion of some days' length
+into the country, which at least was sufficient to render that
+which I had read more fully intelligible.
+
+Dr. Andrew Smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has
+lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me
+that, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of
+Africa, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. On
+the southern and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests,
+but with these exceptions, the traveller may pass for days together
+through open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. It is
+difficult to convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative
+fertility; but it may be safely said that the amount of vegetation
+supported at any one time  by Great Britain, exceeds, perhaps even
+tenfold, the quantity on an equal area in the interior parts of
+Southern Africa. (5/5. I mean by this to exclude the total amount
+which may have been successively produced and consumed during a
+given period.) The fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any
+direction, excepting near the coast, without more than occasionally
+half an hour's delay in cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more
+definite notion of the scantiness of the vegetation. Now, if we
+look to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find
+their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. We
+must enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and
+probably, according to Dr. Smith, two others, the hippopotamus, the
+giraffe, the bos caffer--as large as a full-grown bull, and the
+elan--but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and
+several antelopes even larger than these latter animals. It may be
+supposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of
+each kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am enabled to
+show that the case is very different. He informs me, that in
+latitude 24 degrees, in one day's march with the bullock-waggons,
+he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side,
+between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses, which
+belonged to three species: the same day he saw several herds of
+giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred; and that,
+although no elephant was observed, yet they are found in this
+district. At the distance of a little more than one hour's march
+from their place of encampment on the previous night, his party
+actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many
+more. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles. Of course
+it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals
+crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in
+great numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed through that
+day, as "being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four
+feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees." The waggons
+were not prevented travelling in a nearly straight line.
+
+Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with
+the natural history of the Cape has read of the herds of antelopes,
+which can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The
+numbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude
+of birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller
+quadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time
+prowling round Dr. Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist
+remarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed
+be terrific! I confess it is truly surprising how such a number of
+animals can find support in a country producing so little food. The
+larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it;
+and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably
+contains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me
+that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part
+consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can be
+no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of
+food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much
+exaggerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an
+animal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of
+the desert.
+
+The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must
+necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the
+converse is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when
+entering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the
+splendour of the South American vegetation contrasted with that of
+South Africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In
+his "Travels," he has suggested that the comparison of the
+respective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal
+number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would
+be extremely curious. (5/6. "Travels in the Interior of South
+Africa" volume 2 page 207.) If we take on the one side, the
+elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly three,
+and probably five species of rhinoceros; and on the American side,
+two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara
+(after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the
+number), and then place these two groups alongside each other, it
+is not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size. (5/7.
+The elephant which was killed at Exeter Change was estimated (being
+partly weighed) at five tons and a half. The elephant actress, as I
+was informed, weighed one ton less; so that we may take five as the
+average of a full-grown elephant. I was told at the Surry Gardens,
+that a hippopotamus which was sent to England cut up into pieces
+was estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it three. From
+these premises we may give three tons and a half to each of the
+five rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to the
+bos caffer as well as to the elan (a large ox weighs from 1200 to
+1500 pounds). This will give an average (from the above estimates)
+of 2.7 of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of Southern
+Africa. In South America, allowing 1200 pounds for the two tapirs
+together, 550 for the guanaco and vicuna, 500 for three deer, 300
+for the capybara, peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average
+of 250 pounds, which I believe is overstating the result. The ratio
+will therefore be as 6048 to 250, or 24 to 1, for the ten largest
+animals from the two continents.) After the above facts, we are
+compelled to conclude, against anterior probability, that among the
+mammalia there exists no close relation between the BULK of the
+species and the QUANTITY of the vegetation in the countries which
+they inhabit. (5/8. If we suppose the case of the discovery of a
+skeleton of a Greenland whale in a fossil state, not a single
+cetaceous animal being known to exist, what naturalist would have
+ventured conjecture on the possibility of a carcass so gigantic
+being supported on the minute crustacea and mollusca living in the
+frozen seas of the extreme North?)
+
+With regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly
+exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with
+Southern Africa. After the different statements which have been
+given, the extremely desert character of that region will not be
+disputed. In the European division of the world, we must look back
+to the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of things among the
+mammalia, resembling that now existing at the Cape of Good Hope.
+Those tertiary epochs, which we are apt to consider as abounding to
+an astonishing degree with large animals, because we find the
+remains of many ages accumulated at certain spots, could hardly
+boast of more large quadrupeds than Southern Africa does at
+present. If we speculate on the condition of the vegetation during
+those epochs, we are at least bound so far to consider existing
+analogies, as not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant
+vegetation, when we see a state of things so totally different at
+the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+We know that the extreme regions of North America many degrees
+beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet
+remains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and
+tall trees. (5/9. See "Zoological Remarks to Captain Back's
+Expedition" by Dr. Richardson. He says, "The subsoil north of
+latitude 56 degrees is perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast
+not penetrating above three feet, and at Bear Lake, in latitude 64
+degrees, not more than twenty inches. The frozen substratum does
+not of itself destroy vegetation, for forests flourish on the
+surface, at a distance from the coast.") In a like manner, in
+Siberia, we have woods of birch, fir, aspen, and larch, growing in
+a latitude (64 degrees) where the mean temperature of the air falls
+below the freezing point, and where the earth is so completely
+frozen, that the carcass of an animal embedded in it is perfectly
+preserved. (5/10. See Humboldt "Fragmens Asiatiques" page 386:
+Barton's "Geography of Plants"; and Malte Brun. In the latter work
+it is said that the limit of the growth of trees in Siberia may be
+drawn under the parallel of 70 degrees.) With these facts we must
+grant, as far as QUANTITY ALONE of vegetation is concerned, that
+the great quadrupeds of the later tertiary epochs might, in most
+parts of Northern Europe and Asia, have lived on the spots where
+their remains are now found. I do not here speak of the KIND of
+vegetation necessary for their support; because, as there is
+evidence of physical changes, and as the animals have become
+extinct, so may we suppose that the species of plants have likewise
+been changed.
+
+These remarks, I may be permitted to add, directly bear on the case
+of the Siberian animals preserved in ice. The firm conviction of
+the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical
+luxuriance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of
+reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was
+one chief cause of the several theories of sudden revolutions of
+climate, and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to
+account for their entombment. I am far from supposing that the
+climate has not changed since the period when those animals lived,
+which now lie buried in the ice. At present I only wish to show,
+that as far as QUANTITY of food ALONE is concerned, the ancient
+rhinoceroses might have roamed over the STEPPES of central Siberia
+(the northern parts probably being under water) even in their
+present condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants
+over the KARROS of Southern Africa.
+
+I will now give an account of the habits of some of the more
+interesting birds which are common on the wild plains of Northern
+Patagonia: and first for the largest, or South American ostrich.
+The ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. They
+live on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at Bahia
+Blanca I have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water
+to the extensive mudbanks which are then dry, for the sake, as the
+Gauchos say, of feeding on small fish. Although the ostrich in its
+habits is so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its
+pace, it is caught without much difficulty by the Indian or Gaucho
+armed with the bolas. When several horsemen appear in a semicircle,
+it becomes confounded, and does not know which way to escape. They
+generally prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start
+they expand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one
+fine hot day I saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes,
+where they squatted concealed, till quite closely approached. It is
+not generally known that ostriches readily take to the water. Mr.
+King informs me that at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes in
+Patagonia, he saw these birds swimming several times from island to
+island. They ran into the water both when driven down to a point,
+and likewise of their own accord when not frightened: the distance
+crossed was about two hundred yards. When swimming, very little of
+their bodies appear above water; their necks are extended a little
+forward, and their progress is slow. On two occasions I saw some
+ostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz river, where its course
+was about four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain
+Sturt, when descending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two emus
+in the act of swimming. (5/11. Sturt's Travels, volume 2 page 74.)
+
+The inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a
+distance, the cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and
+darker-coloured, and has a bigger head. (5/12. A Gucho assured me
+that he had once seen a snow-white or Albino variety, and that it
+was a most beautiful bird.) The ostrich, I believe the cock, emits
+a singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first I heard it,
+standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought it was made
+by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence
+it comes, or from how far distant. When we were at Bahia Blanca in
+the months of September and October, the eggs, in extraordinary
+numbers, were found all over the country. They lie either scattered
+and single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by
+the Spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a
+shallow excavation, which forms the nest. Out of the four nests
+which I saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth
+twenty-seven. In one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs
+were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the
+remaining twenty, scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously
+affirm, and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the
+male bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards
+accompanies the young. The cock when on the nest lies very close; I
+have myself almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such
+times they are occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that
+they have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick
+and leap on him. My informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he
+had seen much terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell's
+"Travels in South Africa" that he remarks, "Having killed a male
+ostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said by the
+Hottentots to be a nest bird." I understand that the male emu in
+the Zoological Gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit,
+therefore, is common to the family.
+
+The Gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one
+nest. I have been positively told that four or five hen birds have
+been watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the other,
+to the same nest. I may add, also, that it is believed in Africa
+that two or more females lay in one nest. (5/13. Burchell's
+"Travels" volume 1 page 280.) Although this habit at first appears
+very strange, I think the cause may be explained in a simple
+manner. The number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty,
+and even to fifty; and according to Azara, sometimes to seventy or
+eighty. Now although it is most probable, from the number of eggs
+found in one district being so extraordinarily great in proportion
+to the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of
+the hen, that she may in the course of the season lay a large
+number, yet the time required must be very long. Azara states that
+a female in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at
+the interval of three days one from another. (5/14. Azara volume 4
+page 173.) If the hen was obliged to hatch her own eggs, before the
+last was laid the first probably would be addled; but if each laid
+a few eggs at successive periods, in different nests, and several
+hens, as is stated to be the case, combined together, then the eggs
+in one collection would be nearly of the same age. If the number of
+eggs in one of these nests is, as I believe, not greater on an
+average than the number laid by one female in the season, then
+there must be as many nests as females, and each cock bird will
+have its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that during a
+period when the females probably could not sit, from not having
+finished laying. (5/15. Lichtenstein, however, asserts "Travels"
+volume 2 page 25, that the hens begin sitting when they have laid
+ten or twelve eggs; and that they continue laying, I presume in
+another nest. This appears to me very improbable. He asserts that
+four or five hens associate for incubation with one cock, who sits
+only at night.) I have before mentioned the great numbers of
+huachos, or deserted eggs; so that in one day's hunting twenty were
+found in this state. It appears odd that so many should be wasted.
+Does it not arise from the difficulty of several females
+associating together, and finding a male ready to undertake the
+office of incubation? It is evident that there must at first be
+some degree of association between at least two females; otherwise
+the eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances
+far too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest:
+some authors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited
+for the young birds to feed on. This can hardly be the case in
+America, because the huachos, although often found addled and
+putrid, are generally whole.
+
+When at the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly heard the
+Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called Avestruz
+Petise. They described it as being less than the common ostrich
+(which is there abundant), but with a very close general
+resemblance. They said its colour was dark and mottled, and that
+its legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the
+common ostrich. It is more easily caught by the bolas than the
+other species. The few inhabitants who had seen both kinds,
+affirmed they could distinguish them apart from a long distance.
+The eggs of the small species appeared, however, more generally
+known; and it was remarked, with surprise, that they were very
+little less than those of the Rhea but of a slightly different
+form, and with a tinge of pale blue. This species occurs most
+rarely on the plains bordering the Rio Negro; but about a degree
+and a half farther south they are tolerably abundant. When at Port
+Desire, in Patagonia (latitude 48 degrees), Mr. Martens shot an
+ostrich; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in the most
+unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the Petises, and thought
+it was a not full-grown bird of the common sort. It was cooked and
+eaten before my memory returned. Fortunately the head, neck, legs,
+wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin,
+had been preserved; and from these a very nearly perfect specimen
+has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the
+Zoological Society. Mr. Gould, in describing this new species, has
+done me the honour of calling it after my name.
+
+Among the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we found a
+half Indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but had been
+born in the northern provinces. I asked him if he had ever heard of
+the Avestruz Petise. He answered by saying, "Why, there are none
+others in these southern countries." He informed me that the number
+of eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably less than in that
+of the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average, but
+he asserted that more than one female deposited them. At Santa Cruz
+we saw several of these birds. They were excessively wary: I think
+they could see a person approaching when too far off to be
+distinguished themselves. In ascending the river few were seen; but
+in our quiet and rapid descent many, in pairs and by fours or
+fives, were observed. It was remarked that this bird did not expand
+its wings, when first starting at full speed, after the manner of
+the northern kind. In conclusion I may observe that the Struthio
+rhea inhabits the country of La Plata as far as a little south of
+the Rio Negro in latitude 41 degrees, and that the Struthio
+Darwinii takes its place in Southern Patagonia; the part about the
+Rio Negro being neutral territory. M. A. d'Orbigny, when at the Rio
+Negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never had the
+good fortune to succeed. (5/16. When at the Rio Negro, we heard
+much of the indefatigable labours of this naturalist. M. Alcide
+d'Orbigny, during the years 1825 to 1833, traversed several large
+portions of South America, and has made a collection, and is now
+publishing the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once
+places himself in the list of American travellers second only to
+Humboldt.) Dobrizhoffer long ago was aware of there being two kinds
+of ostriches, he says, "You must know, moreover, that Emus differ
+in size and habits in different tracts of land; for those that
+inhabit the plains of Buenos Ayres and Tucuman are larger, and have
+black, white and grey feathers; those near to the Strait of
+Magellan are smaller and more beautiful, for their white feathers
+are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones in
+like manner terminate in white." (5/17. "Account of the Abipones"
+A.D. 1749 volume 1 English translation page 314.)
+
+A very singular little bird, Tinochorus rumicivorus, is here
+common: in its habits and general appearance it nearly equally
+partakes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and
+snipe. The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern South
+America, wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture
+land. It frequents in pairs or small flocks the most desolate
+places, where scarcely another living creature can exist. Upon
+being approached they squat close, and then are very difficult to
+be distinguished from the ground. When feeding they walk rather
+slowly, with their legs wide apart. They dust themselves in roads
+and sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where they may be
+found day after day: like partridges, they take wing in a flock. In
+all these respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable
+food, in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form
+of foot, the Tinochorus has a close affinity with quails. But as
+soon as the bird is seen flying, its whole appearance changes; the
+long pointed wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous
+order, the irregular manner of flight, and plaintive cry uttered at
+the moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe. The sportsmen of
+the "Beagle" unanimously called it the short-billed snipe. To this
+genus, or rather to the family of the Waders, its skeleton shows
+that it is really related.
+
+The Tinochorus is closely related to some other South American
+birds. Two species of the genus Attagis are in almost every respect
+ptarmigans in their habits; one lives in Tierra del Fuego, above
+the limits of the forest land; and the other just beneath the
+snow-line on the Cordillera of Central Chile. A bird of another
+closely allied genus, Chionis alba, is an inhabitant of the
+antarctic regions; it feeds on seaweed and shells on the tidal
+rocks. Although not web-footed, from some unaccountable habit it is
+frequently met with far out at sea. This small family of birds is
+one of those which, from its varied relations to other families,
+although at present offering only difficulties to the systematic
+naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the grand scheme,
+common to the present and past ages, on which organised beings have
+been created.
+
+The genus Furnarius contains several species, all small birds,
+living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. In
+structure they cannot be compared to any European form.
+Ornithologists have generally included them among the creepers,
+although opposed to that family in every habit. The best known
+species is the common oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara or
+housemaker of the Spaniards. The nest, whence it takes its name, is
+placed in the most exposed situations, as on the top of a post, a
+bare rock, or on a cactus. It is composed of mud and bits of straw,
+and has strong thick walls: in shape it precisely resembles an
+oven, or depressed beehive. The opening is large and arched, and
+directly in front, within the nest, there is a partition, which
+reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or antechamber
+to the true nest.
+
+Another and smaller species of Furnarius (F. cunicularius),
+resembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage,
+in a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner of
+running by starts. From its affinity, the Spaniards call it
+Casarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification is
+quite different. The Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a
+narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to
+nearly six feet under ground. Several of the country people told
+me, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had
+scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end of the passage. The
+bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road
+or stream. Here (at Bahia Blanca) the walls round the houses are
+built of hardened mud, and I noticed that one, which enclosed a
+courtyard where I lodged, was bored through by round holes in a
+score of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly
+complained of the little casarita, several of which I afterwards
+observed at work. It is rather curious to find how incapable these
+birds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although
+they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued
+vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their
+nests. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to
+daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the
+marvellous fact.
+
+I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this
+country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the Dasypus
+minutus or pichy, the D. villosus or peludo, and the apar. The
+first extends ten degrees farther south than any other kind; a
+fourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far south as Bahia
+Blanca. The four species have nearly similar habits; the peludo,
+however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the open
+plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes.
+The apar, commonly called mataco, is remarkable by having only
+three movable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering being
+nearly inflexible. It has the power of rolling itself into a
+perfect sphere, like one kind of English woodlouse. In this state
+it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog not being able to
+take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball
+slips away. The smooth hard covering of the mataco offers a better
+defence than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. The pichy prefers a
+very dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many
+months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort: it often
+tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. In the
+course of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally
+met with. The instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order
+to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the
+animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would almost
+disappear before one could alight. It seems almost a pity to kill
+such nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while sharpening
+his knife on the back of one, "Son tan mansos" (they are so quiet).
+
+Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus, or
+Cophias, subsequently called by M. Bibron T. crepitans), from the
+size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly.
+Cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes this a
+sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and the
+viper. In confirmation of this opinion, I observed a fact, which
+appears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every
+character, even though it may be in some degree independent of
+structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. The extremity of
+the tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which is very
+slightly enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly
+vibrates the last inch; and this part striking against the dry
+grass and brushwood, produces a rattling noise, which can be
+distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. As often as the
+animal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the
+vibrations were extremely rapid. Even as long as the body retained
+its irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident.
+This Trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure
+of a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake: the noise, however,
+being produced by a simpler device. The expression of this snake's
+face was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit
+in a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and
+the nose terminated in a triangular projection. I do not think I
+ever saw anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps, some of the
+vampire bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the
+features being placed in positions, with respect to each other,
+somewhat proportional to those of the human face; and thus we
+obtain a scale of hideousness.
+
+Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad
+(Phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour. If
+we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink,
+and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted
+with the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet
+and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be
+gained. If it had been an unnamed species, surely it ought to have
+been called Diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear
+of Eve. Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads
+are, and living in damp obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat
+of the day about the dry sand-hillocks and arid plains, where not a
+single drop of water can be found. It must necessarily depend on
+the dew for its moisture; and this probably is absorbed by the
+skin, for it is known that these reptiles possess great powers of
+cutaneous absorption. At Maldonado, I found one in a situation
+nearly as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and thinking to give it a great
+treat, carried it to a pool of water; not only was the little
+animal unable to swim, but I think without help it would soon have
+been drowned.
+
+Of lizards there were many kinds, but only one (Proctotretus
+multimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. It lives on the bare
+sand near the sea-coast, and from its mottled colour, the brownish
+scales being speckled with white, yellowish red, and dirty blue,
+can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding surface. When
+frightened, it attempts to avoid discovery by feigning death, with
+outstretched legs, depressed body, and closed eyes: if further
+molested, it buries itself with great quickness in the loose sand.
+This lizard, from its flattened body and short legs, cannot run
+quickly.
+
+I will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in this
+part of South America. When we first arrived at Bahia Blanca,
+September 7th, 1832, we thought nature had granted scarcely a
+living creature to this sandy and dry country. By digging, however,
+in the ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were
+found in a half-torpid state. On the 15th, a few animals began to
+appear, and by the 18th (three days from the equinox), everything
+announced the commencement of spring. The plains were ornamented by
+the flowers of a pink wood-sorrel, wild peas, oenotherae, and
+geraniums; and the birds began to lay their eggs. Numerous
+Lamellicorn and Heteromerous insects, the latter remarkable for
+their deeply sculptured bodies, were slowly crawling about; while
+the lizard tribe, the constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted
+about in every direction. During the first eleven days, whilst
+nature was dormant, the mean temperature taken from observations
+made every two hours on board the "Beagle," was 51 degrees; and in
+the middle of the day the thermometer seldom ranged above 55
+degrees. On the eleven succeeding days, in which all living things
+became so animated, the mean was 58 degrees, and the range in the
+middle of the day between sixty and seventy. Here then an increase
+of seven degrees in mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme
+heat, was sufficient to awake the functions of life. At Monte
+Video, from which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three
+days included between the 26th of July and the 19th of August, the
+mean temperature from 276 observations was 58.4 degrees; the mean
+hottest day being 65.5 degrees, and the coldest 46 degrees. The
+lowest point to which the thermometer fell was 41.5 degrees, and
+occasionally in the middle of the day it rose to 69 or 70 degrees.
+Yet with this high temperature, almost every beetle, several genera
+of spiders, snails, and land-shells, toads and lizards, were all
+lying torpid beneath stones. But we have seen that at Bahia Blanca,
+which is four degrees southward, and therefore with a climate only
+a very little colder, this same temperature, with a rather less
+extreme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders of animated
+beings. This shows how nicely the stimulus required to arouse
+hybernating animals is governed by the usual climate of the
+district, and not by the absolute heat. It is well known that
+within the tropics the hybernation, or more properly aestivation,
+of animals is determined not by the temperature, but by the times
+of drought. Near Rio de Janeiro, I was at first surprised to
+observe that, a few days after some little depressions had been
+filled with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown shells
+and beetles, which must have been lying dormant. Humboldt has
+related the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a
+spot where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. He
+adds, "The Indians often find enormous boas, which they call Uji,
+or water serpents, in the same lethargic state. To reanimate them,
+they must be irritated or wetted with water."
+
+I will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (I believe
+Virgularia Patagonica), a kind of sea-pen. It consists of a thin,
+straight, fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side,
+and surrounding an elastic stony axis, varying in length from eight
+inches to two feet. The stem at one extremity is truncate, but at
+the other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage. The stony
+axis which gives strength to the stem may be traced at this
+extremity into a mere vessel filled with granular matter. At low
+water hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, projecting like
+stubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches above the
+surface of the muddy sand. When touched or pulled they suddenly
+drew themselves in with force, so as nearly or quite to disappear.
+By this action, the highly elastic axis must be bent at the lower
+extremity, where it is naturally slightly curved; and I imagine it
+is by this elasticity alone that the zoophyte is enabled to rise
+again through the mud. Each polypus, though closely united to its
+brethren, has a distinct mouth, body, and tentacula. Of these
+polypi, in a large specimen, there must be many thousands; yet we
+see that they act by one movement: they have also one central axis
+connected with a system of obscure circulation, and the ova are
+produced in an organ distinct from the separate individuals. (5/18.
+The cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity
+were filled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a
+microscope, presented an extraordinary appearance. The mass
+consisted of rounded, semi-transparent, irregular grains,
+aggregated together into particles of various sizes. All such
+particles, and the separate grains, possessed the power of rapid
+movement; generally revolving around different axes, but sometimes
+progressive. The movement was visible with a very weak power, but
+even with the highest its cause could not be perceived. It was very
+different from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag,
+containing the thin extremity of the axis. On other occasions, when
+dissecting small marine animals beneath the microscope, I have seen
+particles of pulpy matter, some of large size, as soon as they were
+disengaged, commence revolving. I have imagined, I know not with
+how much truth, that this granulo-pulpy matter was in process of
+being converted into ova. Certainly in this zoophyte such appeared
+to be the case.) Well may one be allowed to ask, What is an
+individual? It is always interesting to discover the foundation of
+the strange tales of the old voyagers; and I have no doubt but that
+the habits of this Virgularia explain one such case. Captain
+Lancaster, in his voyage in 1601, narrates that on the sea-sands of
+the Island of Sombrero, in the East Indies, he "found a small twig
+growing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up it
+shrinks down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. On
+being plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the
+tree groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish, and as soon
+as the worm is entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth,
+and so becomes great. This transformation is one of the strangest
+wonders that I saw in all my travels: for if this tree is plucked
+up, while young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a
+hard stone when dry, much like white coral: thus is this worm twice
+transformed into different natures. Of these we gathered and
+brought home many." (5/19. Kerr's "Collection of Voyages" volume 8
+page 119.)
+
+
+Nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus
+Cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum
+Immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta
+Per somnum commixta mero.
+During my stay at Bahia Blanca, while waiting for the "Beagle," the
+place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars
+and victories, between the troops of Rosas and the wild Indians.
+One day an account came that a small party forming one of the
+postas on the line to Buenos Ayres had been found all murdered. The
+next day three hundred men arrived from the Colorado, under the
+command of Commandant Miranda. A large portion of these men were
+Indians (mansos, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the Cacique
+Bernantio. They passed the night here; and it was impossible to
+conceive anything more wild and savage than the scene of their
+bivouac. Some drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed
+the steaming blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and
+then, being sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were
+besmeared with filth and gore.
+
+In the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with
+orders to follow the rastro, or track, even if it led them to
+Chile. We subsequently heard that the wild Indians had escaped into
+the great Pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed.
+One glance at the rastro tells these people a whole history.
+Supposing they examine the track of a thousand horses, they will
+soon guess the number of mounted ones by seeing how many have
+cantered; by the depth of the other impressions, whether any horses
+were loaded with cargoes; by the irregularity of the footsteps, how
+far tired; by the manner in which the food has been cooked, whether
+the pursued travelled in haste; by the general appearance, how long
+it has been since they passed. They consider a rastro of ten days
+or a fortnight quite recent enough to be hunted out. We also heard
+that Miranda struck from the west end of the Sierra Ventana, in a
+direct line to the island of Cholechel, situated seventy leagues up
+the Rio Negro. This is a distance of between two and three hundred
+miles, through a country completely unknown. What other troops in
+the world are so independent? With the sun for their guide, mare's
+flesh for food, their saddle-cloths for beds,--as long as there is
+a little water, these men would penetrate to the end of the world.
+
+A few days afterwards I saw another troop of these banditti-like
+soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of Indians at the
+small Salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. The
+Spaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a very
+intelligent man. He gave me an account of the last engagement at
+which he was present. Some Indians, who had been taken prisoners,
+gave information of a tribe living north of the Colorado. Two
+hundred soldiers were sent; and they first discovered the Indians
+by a cloud of dust from their horses' feet as they chanced to be
+travelling. The country was mountainous and wild, and it must have
+been far in the interior, for the Cordillera were in sight. The
+Indians, men, women, and children, were about one hundred and ten
+in number, and they were nearly all taken or killed, for the
+soldiers sabre every man. The Indians are now so terrified that
+they offer no resistance in a body, but each flies, neglecting even
+his wife and children; but when overtaken, like wild animals, they
+fight against any number to the last moment. One dying Indian
+seized with his teeth the thumb of his adversary, and allowed his
+own eye to be forced out sooner than relinquish his hold. Another,
+who was wounded, feigned death, keeping a knife ready to strike one
+more fatal blow. My informer said, when he was pursuing an Indian,
+the man cried out for mercy, at the same time that he was covertly
+loosing the bolas from his waist, meaning to whirl it round his
+head and so strike his pursuer. "I however struck him with my sabre
+to the ground, and then got off my horse, and cut his throat with
+my knife." This is a dark picture; but how much more shocking is
+the unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear above twenty
+years old are massacred in cold blood? When I exclaimed that this
+appeared rather inhuman, he answered, "Why, what can be done? they
+breed so!"
+
+Every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war,
+because it is against barbarians. Who would believe in this age
+that such atrocities could be committed in a Christian civilised
+country? The children of the Indians are saved, to be sold or given
+away as servants, or rather slaves for as long a time as the owners
+can make them believe themselves slaves; but I believe in their
+treatment there is little to complain of.
+
+In the battle four men ran away together. They were pursued, one
+was killed, and the other three were taken alive. They turned out
+to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of Indians,
+united in the common cause of defence, near the Cordillera. The
+tribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a
+grand council, the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance
+prepared: in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to
+the Cordillera. They were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six
+feet high, and all under thirty years of age. The three survivors
+of course possessed very valuable information and to extort this
+they were placed in a line. The two first being questioned,
+answered, "No s�" (I do not know), and were one after the other
+shot. The third also said "No s�;" adding, "Fire, I am a man, and
+can die!" Not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united
+cause of their country! The conduct of the above-mentioned cacique
+was very different; he saved his life by betraying the intended
+plan of warfare, and the point of union in the Andes. It was
+believed that there were already six or seven hundred Indians
+together, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled.
+Ambassadors were to have been sent to the Indians at the small
+Salinas, near Bahia Blanca, whom I have mentioned that this same
+cacique had betrayed. The communication, therefore, between the
+Indians, extends from the Cordillera to the coast of the Atlantic.
+
+General Rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven
+the remainder to a common point, to attack them in a body, in the
+summer, with the assistance of the Chilenos. This operation is to
+be repeated for three successive years. I imagine the summer is
+chosen as the time for the main attack, because the plains are then
+without water, and the Indians can only travel in particular
+directions. The escape of the Indians to the south of the Rio
+Negro, where in such a vast unknown country they would be safe, is
+prevented by a treaty with the Tehuelches to this effect;--that
+Rosas pays them so much to slaughter every Indian who passes to the
+south of the river, but if they fail in so doing, they themselves
+are to be exterminated. The war is waged chiefly against the
+Indians near the Cordillera; for many of the tribes on this eastern
+side are fighting with Rosas. The general, however, like Lord
+Chesterfield, thinking that his friends may in a future day become
+his enemies, always places them in the front ranks, so that their
+numbers may be thinned. Since leaving South America we have heard
+that this war of extermination completely failed.
+
+Among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there were
+two very pretty Spanish ones, who had been carried away by the
+Indians when young, and could now only speak the Indian tongue.
+From their account they must have come from Salta, a distance in a
+straight line of nearly one thousand miles. This gives one a grand
+idea of the immense territory over which the Indians roam: yet,
+great as it is, I think there will not, in another half-century, be
+a wild Indian northward of the Rio Negro. The warfare is too bloody
+to last; the Christians killing every Indian, and the Indians doing
+the same by the Christians. It is melancholy to trace how the
+Indians have given way before the Spanish invaders. Schirdel says
+that in 1535, when Buenos Ayres was founded, there were villages
+containing two and three thousand inhabitants. (5/20. Purchas's
+"Collection of Voyages." I believe the date was really 1537.) Even
+in Falconer's time (1750) the Indians made inroads as far as Luxan,
+Areco, and Arrecife, but now they are driven beyond the Salado. Not
+only have whole tribes been exterminated, but the remaining Indians
+have become more barbarous: instead of living in large villages,
+and being employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase,
+they now wander about the open plains, without home or fixed
+occupation.
+
+I heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a few
+weeks previously to the one mentioned, at Cholechel. This is a very
+important station on account of being a pass for horses; and it
+was, in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a division
+of the army. When the troops first arrived there they found a tribe
+of Indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. The cacique
+escaped in a manner which astonished every one. The chief Indians
+always have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any
+urgent occasion. On one of these, an old white horse, the cacique
+sprung, taking with him his little son. The horse had neither
+saddle nor bridle. To avoid the shots, the Indian rode in the
+peculiar method of his nation; namely, with an arm round the
+horse's neck, and one leg only on its back. Thus hanging on one
+side, he was seen patting the horse's head, and talking to him. The
+pursuers urged every effort in the chase; the Commandant three
+times changed his horse, but all in vain. The old Indian father and
+his son escaped, and were free. What a fine picture one can form in
+one's mind,--the naked, bronze-like figure of the old man with his
+little boy, riding like a Mazeppa on the white horse, thus leaving
+far behind him the host of his pursuers!
+
+I saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which
+I immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an
+arrow. He told me it was found near the island of Cholechel, and
+that they are frequently picked up there. It was between two and
+three inches long, and therefore twice as large as those now used
+in Tierra del Fuego: it was made of opaque cream-coloured flint,
+but the point and barbs had been intentionally broken off. It is
+well known that no Pampas Indians now use bows and arrows. I
+believe a small tribe in Banda Oriental must be excepted; but they
+are widely separated from the Pampas Indians, and border close on
+those tribes that inhabit the forest, and live on foot. It appears,
+therefore, that these arrow-heads are antiquarian relics of the
+Indians, before the great change in habits consequent on the
+introduction of the horse into South America. (5/21. Azara has even
+doubted whether the Pampas Indians ever used bows. [Several similar
+agate arrow-heads have since been dug up at Chupat, and two were
+given to me, on the occasion of my visit there, by the
+Governor.--R.T. Pritchett, 1880.])
+
+
+(PLATE 23.  RHEA DARWINII (Avestruz Petise).)
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+(PLATE 24.  LANDING AT BUENOS AYRES.)
+
+Set out for Buenos Ayres.
+Rio Sauce.
+Sierra Ventana.
+Third Posta.
+Driving Horses.
+Bolas.
+Partridges and Foxes.
+Features of the Country.
+Long-legged Plover.
+Teru-tero.
+Hail-storm.
+Natural Enclosures in the Sierra Tapalguen.
+Flesh of Puma.
+Meat Diet.
+Guardia del Monte.
+Effects of Cattle on the Vegetation.
+Cardoon.
+Buenos Ayres.
+Corral where Cattle are slaughtered.
+
+BAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES.
+
+SEPTEMBER 8, 1833.
+
+
+
+I hired a Gaucho to accompany me on my ride to Buenos Ayres, though
+with some difficulty, as the father of one man was afraid to let
+him go, and another who seemed willing, was described to me as so
+fearful that I was afraid to take him, for I was told that even if
+he saw an ostrich at a distance, he would mistake it for an Indian,
+and would fly like the wind away. The distance to Buenos Ayres is
+about four hundred miles, and nearly the whole way through an
+uninhabited country. We started early in the morning; ascending a
+few hundred feet from the basin of green turf on which Bahia Blanca
+stands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. It consists of a
+crumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the dry nature of
+the climate, supports only scattered tufts of withered grass,
+without a single bush or tree to break the monotonous uniformity.
+The weather was fine, but the atmosphere remarkably hazy; I thought
+the appearance foreboded a gale, but the Gauchos said it was owing
+to the plain, at some great distance in the interior, being on
+fire. After a long gallop, having changed horses twice, we reached
+the Rio Sauce: it is a deep, rapid, little stream, not above
+twenty-five feet wide. The second posta on the road to Buenos Ayres
+stands on its banks, a little above there is a ford for horses,
+where the water does not reach to the horses' belly; but from that
+point, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable, and hence
+makes a most useful barrier against the Indians.
+
+Insignificant as this stream is, the Jesuit Falconer, whose
+information is generally so very correct, figures it as a
+considerable river, rising at the foot of the Cordillera. With
+respect to its source, I do not doubt that this is the case; for
+the Gauchos assured me, that in the middle of the dry summer this
+stream, at the same time with the Colorado, has periodical floods,
+which can only originate in the snow melting on the Andes. It is
+extremely improbable that a stream so small as the Sauce then was
+should traverse the entire width of the continent; and indeed, if
+it were the residue of a large river, its waters, as in other
+ascertained cases, would be saline. During the winter we must look
+to the springs round the Sierra Ventana as the source of its pure
+and limpid stream. I suspect the plains of Patagonia, like those of
+Australia, are traversed by many watercourses, which only perform
+their proper parts at certain periods. Probably this is the case
+with the water which flows into the head of Port Desire, and
+likewise with the Rio Chupat, on the banks of which masses of
+highly cellular scoriae were found by the officers employed in the
+survey.
+
+As it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took fresh
+horses and a soldier for a guide, and started for the Sierra de la
+Ventana. This mountain is visible from the anchorage at Bahia
+Blanca; and Captain Fitz Roy calculates its height to be 3340
+feet--an altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of the
+continent. I am not aware that any foreigner, previous to my visit,
+had ascended this mountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at
+Bahia Blanca knew anything about it. Hence we heard of beds of
+coal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of forests, all of which
+inflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it. The distance from the
+posta was about six leagues, over a level plain of the same
+character as before. The ride was, however, interesting, as the
+mountain began to show its true form. When we reached the foot of
+the main ridge, we had much difficulty in finding any water, and we
+thought we should have been obliged to have passed the night
+without any. At last we discovered some by looking close to the
+mountain, for at the distance even of a few hundred yards, the
+streamlets were buried and entirely lost in the friable calcareous
+stone and loose detritus. I do not think Nature ever made a more
+solitary, desolate pile of rock;--it well deserves its name of
+Hurtado, or separated. The mountain is steep, extremely rugged, and
+broken, and so entirely destitute of trees, and even bushes, that
+we actually could not make a skewer to stretch out our meat over
+the fire of thistle-stalks. (6/1. I call these thistle-stalks for
+the want of a more correct name. I believe it is a species of
+Eryngium.) The strange aspect of this mountain is contrasted by the
+sea-like plain, which not only abuts against its steep sides, but
+likewise separates the parallel ranges. The uniformity of the
+colouring gives an extreme quietness to the view;--the whitish grey
+of the quartz rock, and the light brown of the withered grass of
+the plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint. From custom one
+expects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and bold mountain a
+broken country strewed over with huge fragments. Here Nature shows
+that the last movement before the bed of the sea is changed into
+dry land may sometimes be one of tranquillity. Under these
+circumstances I was curious to observe how far from the parent rock
+any pebbles could be found. On the shores of Bahia Blanca, and near
+the settlement, there were some of quartz, which certainly must
+have come from this source: the distance is forty-five miles.
+
+The dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the
+saddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen. The
+plain, though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped up to a
+height of between 800 and 900 feet above the sea. In the morning
+(9th of September) the guide told me to ascend the nearest ridge,
+which he thought would lead me to the four peaks that crown the
+summit. The climbing up such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the
+sides were so indented, that what was gained in one five minutes
+was often lost in the next. At last, when I reached the ridge, my
+disappointment was extreme in finding a precipitous valley as deep
+as the plain, which cut the chain traversely in two, and separated
+me from the four points. This valley is very narrow, but
+flat-bottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the Indians, as
+it connects the plains on the northern and southern sides of the
+range. Having descended, and while crossing it, I saw two horses
+grazing: I immediately hid myself in the long grass, and began to
+reconnoitre; but as I could see no signs of Indians I proceeded
+cautiously on my second ascent. It was late in the day, and this
+part of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I was
+on the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with
+extreme difficulty; every twenty yards I had the cramp in the upper
+part of both thighs, so that I was afraid I should not have been
+able to have got down again. It was also necessary to return by
+another road, as it was out of the question to pass over the
+saddle-back. I was therefore obliged to give up the two higher
+peaks. Their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose of
+geology had been answered; so that the attempt was not worth the
+hazard of any further exertion. I presume the cause of the cramp
+was the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that of
+hard riding to that of still harder climbing. It is a lesson worth
+remembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty.
+
+I have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz rock,
+and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. At the height
+of a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglomerate
+adhered in several places to the solid rock. They resembled in
+hardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be
+seen daily forming on some coasts. I do not doubt these pebbles
+were in a similar manner aggregated, at a period when the great
+calcareous formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. We
+may believe that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz
+yet show the effects of the waves of an open ocean.
+
+I was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Even the view
+was insignificant;--a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful
+colour and defined outline. The scene, however, was novel, and a
+little danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish. That the danger
+was very little was certain, for my two companions made a good
+fire--a thing which is never done when it is suspected that Indians
+are near. I reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and
+drinking much mat�, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my
+bed for the night. The wind was very strong and cold, but I never
+slept more comfortably.
+
+SEPTEMBER 10, 1833.
+
+In the morning, having fairly scudded before the gale, we arrived
+by the middle of the day at the Sauce posta. On the road we saw
+great numbers of deer, and near the mountain a guanaco. The plain,
+which abuts against the Sierra, is traversed by some curious
+gulleys, of which one was about twenty feet wide, and at least
+thirty deep; we were obliged in consequence to make a considerable
+circuit before we could find a pass. We stayed the night at the
+posta, the conversation, as was generally the case, being about the
+Indians. The Sierra Ventana was formerly a great place of resort;
+and three or four years ago there was much fighting there. My guide
+had been present when many Indians were killed: the women escaped
+to the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with great
+stones; many thus saving themselves.
+
+SEPTEMBER 11, 1833.
+
+Proceeded to the third posta in company with the lieutenant who
+commanded it. The distance is called fifteen leagues; but it is
+only guess-work, and is generally overstated. The road was
+uninteresting, over a dry grassy plain; and on our left hand at a
+greater or less distance there were some low hills; a continuation
+of which we crossed close to the posta. Before our arrival we met a
+large herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers; but
+we were told many had been lost. It is very difficult to drive
+animals across the plains; for if in the night a puma, or even a
+fox, approaches, nothing can prevent the horses dispersing in every
+direction; and a storm will have the same effect. A short time
+since, an officer left Buenos Ayres with five hundred horses, and
+when he arrived at the army he had under twenty.
+
+Soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a party of
+horsemen were coming towards us; when far distant my companions
+knew them to be Indians, by their long hair streaming behind their
+backs. The Indians generally have a fillet round their heads, but
+never any covering; and their black hair blowing across their
+swarthy faces, heightens to an uncommon degree the wildness of
+their appearance. They turned out to be a party of Bernantio's
+friendly tribe, going to a salina for salt. The Indians eat much
+salt, their children sucking it like sugar. This habit is very
+different from that of the Spanish Gauchos, who, leading the same
+kind of life, eat scarcely any: according to Mungo Park, it is
+people who live on vegetable food who have an unconquerable desire
+for salt. (6/2. "Travels in Africa" page 233.) The Indians gave us
+good-humoured nods as they passed at full gallop, driving before
+them a troop of horses, and followed by a train of lanky dogs.
+
+SEPTEMBER 12 AND 13, 1833.
+
+I stayed at this posta two days, waiting for a troop of soldiers,
+which General Rosas had the kindness to send to inform me would
+shortly travel to Buenos Ayres; and he advised me to take the
+opportunity of the escort. In the morning we rode to some
+neighbouring hills to view the country, and to examine the geology.
+After dinner the soldiers divided themselves into two parties for a
+trial of skill with the bolas. Two spears were stuck in the ground
+twenty-five yards apart, but they were struck and entangled only
+once in four or five times. The balls can be thrown fifty or sixty
+yards, but with little certainty. This, however, does not apply to
+a man on horseback; for when the speed of the horse is added to the
+force of the arm, it is said that they can be whirled with effect
+to the distance of eighty yards. As a proof of their force, I may
+mention, that at the Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards murdered
+some of their own countrymen and all the Englishmen, a young
+friendly Spaniard was running away, when a great tall man, by name
+Luciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting to him to stop,
+and saying that he only wanted to speak to him. Just as the
+Spaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, Luciano threw the
+balls: they struck him on the legs with such a jerk, as to throw
+him down and to render him for some time insensible. The man, after
+Luciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. He told us that
+his legs were marked by great weals, where the thong had wound
+round, as if he had been flogged with a whip. In the middle of the
+day two men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next posta to be
+forwarded to the general: so that besides these two, our party
+consisted this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and
+his four soldiers. The latter were strange beings; the first a fine
+young negro; the second half Indian and negro; and the two others
+nondescripts; namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany,
+and another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels, with such
+detestable expressions, I never saw before. At night, when they
+were sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, I retired to
+view such a Salvator Rosa scene. They were seated under a low
+cliff, so that I could look down upon them; around the party were
+lying dogs, arms, remnants of deer and ostriches; and their long
+spears were stuck in the turf. Farther in the dark background their
+horses were tied up, ready for any sudden danger. If the stillness
+of the desolate plain was broken by one of the dogs barking, a
+soldier, leaving the fire, would place his head close to the
+ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. Even if the noisy
+teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in the
+conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined.
+
+What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! They were at
+least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and since the murder
+committed by the Indians, twenty from another. The Indians are
+supposed to have made their attack in the middle of the night; for
+very early in the morning after the murder, they were luckily seen
+approaching this posta. The whole party here, however, escaped,
+together with the troop of horses; each one taking a line for
+himself, and driving with him as many animals as he was able to
+manage.
+
+The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept,
+neither kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the
+only effect the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops.
+They had nothing to eat excepting what they could catch, such as
+ostriches, deer, armadilloes, etc., and their only fuel was the dry
+stalks of a small plant, somewhat resembling an aloe. The sole
+luxury which these men enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars,
+and sucking mat�. I used to think that the carrion vultures, man's
+constant attendants on these dreary plains, while seated on the
+little neighbouring cliffs, seemed by their very patience to say,
+"Ah! when the Indians come we shall have a feast."
+
+
+
+In the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although we had
+not much success, there were some animated chases. Soon after
+starting the party separated, and so arranged their plans, that at
+a certain time of the day (in guessing which they show much skill)
+they should all meet from different points of the compass on a
+plain piece of ground, and thus drive together the wild animals.
+One day I went out hunting at Bahia Blanca, but the men there
+merely rode in a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile
+apart from the other. A fine male ostrich being turned by the
+headmost riders, tried to escape on one side. The Gauchos pursued
+at a reckless pace, twisting their horses about with the most
+admirable command, and each man whirling the balls round his head.
+At length the foremost threw them, revolving through the air: in an
+instant the ostrich rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed
+together by the thong.
+
+The plains abound with three kinds of partridge, two of which are
+as large as hen pheasants. (6/3. Two species of Tinamus and
+Eudromia elegans of A. d'Orbigny, which can only be called a
+partridge with regard to its habits.) Their destroyer, a small and
+pretty fox, was also singularly numerous; in the course of the day
+we could not have seen less than forty or fifty. They were
+generally near their earths, but the dogs killed one. When we
+returned to the posta, we found two of the party returned who had
+been hunting by themselves. They had killed a puma, and had found
+an ostrich's nest with twenty-seven eggs in it. Each of these is
+said to equal in weight eleven hens' eggs; so that we obtained from
+this one nest as much food as 297 hens' eggs would have given.
+
+SEPTEMBER 14, 1833.
+
+As the soldiers belonging to the next posta meant to return, and we
+should together make a party of five, and all armed, I determined
+not to wait for the expected troops. My host, the lieutenant,
+pressed me much to stop. As he had been very obliging--not only
+providing me with food, but lending me his private horses--I wanted
+to make him some remuneration. I asked my guide whether I might do
+so, but he told me certainly not; that the only answer I should
+receive probably would be, "We have meat for the dogs in our
+country, and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian." It must
+not be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would
+at all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high
+sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge
+as nearly universal throughout these provinces. After galloping
+some leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for
+nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the Sierra Tapalguen. In
+some parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while
+others had a soft, black, and peaty soil. There were also many
+extensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. The country
+on the whole resembled the better parts of the Cambridgeshire fens.
+At night we had some difficulty in finding, amidst the swamps, a
+dry place for our bivouac.
+
+SEPTEMBER 15, 1833.
+
+Rose very early in the morning, and shortly after passed the posta
+where the Indians had murdered the five soldiers. The officer had
+eighteen chuzo wounds in his body. By the middle of the day, after
+a hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some
+difficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the night. As this
+point was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers
+were stationed here; at sunset they returned from hunting, bringing
+with them seven deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and
+partridges. When riding through the country, it is a common
+practice to set fire to the plain; and hence at night, as on this
+occasion, the horizon was illuminated in several places by
+brilliant conflagrations. This is done partly for the sake of
+puzzling any stray Indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture.
+In grassy plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it
+seems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as
+to render the new year's growth serviceable.
+
+The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely
+consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the
+wind. It was situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow
+lake, swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan
+was conspicuous.
+
+The kind of plover which appears as if mounted on stilts
+(Himantopus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable
+size. It has been wrongfully accused of inelegance; when wading
+about in shallow water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is
+far from awkward. These birds in a flock utter a noise, that
+singularly resembles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase:
+waking in the night, I have more than once been for a moment
+startled at the distant sound. The teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is
+another bird which often disturbs the stillness of the night. In
+appearance and habits it resembles in many respects our peewits;
+its wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, like those on the
+legs of the common cock. As our peewit takes its name from the
+sound of its voice, so does the teru-tero. While riding over the
+grassy plains, one is constantly pursued by these birds, which
+appear to hate mankind, and I am sure deserve to be hated for their
+never-ceasing, unvaried, harsh screams. To the sportsman they are
+most annoying, by telling every other bird and animal of his
+approach: to the traveller in the country they may possibly, as
+Molina says, do good, by warning him of the midnight robber. During
+the breeding season, they attempt, like our peewits, by feigning to
+be wounded, to draw away from their nests dogs and other enemies.
+The eggs of this bird are esteemed a great delicacy.
+
+SEPTEMBER 16, 1833.
+
+To the seventh posta at the foot of the Sierra Tapalguen. The
+country was quite level, with a coarse herbage and a soft peaty
+soil. The hovel was here remarkably neat, the posts and rafters
+being made of about a dozen dry thistle-stalks bound together with
+thongs of hide; and by the support of these Ionic-like columns, the
+roof and sides were thatched with reeds. We were here told a fact,
+which I would not have credited, if I had not had partly ocular
+proof of it; namely, that, during the previous night, hail as large
+as small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence
+as to kill the greater number of the wild animals. One of the men
+had already found thirteen deer (Cervus campestris) lying dead, and
+I saw their FRESH hides; another of the party, a few minutes after
+my arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know, that one man
+without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. The men
+believed they had seen about fifteen dead ostriches (part of one of
+which we had for dinner); and they said that several were running
+about evidently blind in one eye. Numbers of smaller birds, as
+ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. I saw one of the latter
+with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a
+paving-stone. A fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly
+broken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was
+the matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. The
+storm was said to have been of limited extent: we certainly saw
+from our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this
+direction. It is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could
+thus have been killed; but I have no doubt, from the evidence I
+have given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. I am
+glad, however, to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit
+Dobrizhoffen, who, speaking of a country much to the northward,
+says, hail fell of an enormous size and killed vast numbers of
+cattle (6/4. "History of the Abipones" volume 2 page 6.): the
+Indians hence called the place Lalegraicavalca, meaning "the little
+white things." Dr. Malcolmson, also, informs me that he witnessed
+in 1831 in India a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds
+and much injured the cattle. These hail-stones were flat, and one
+was ten inches in circumference, and another weighed two ounces.
+They ploughed up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed
+through glass-windows, making round holes, but not cracking them.
+
+Having finished our dinner of hail-stricken meat, we crossed the
+Sierra Tapalguen; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet in
+height, which commences at Cape Corrientes. The rock in this part
+is pure quartz; farther eastward I understand it is granitic. The
+hills are of a remarkable form; they consist of flat patches of
+table-land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs, like the
+outliers of a sedimentary deposit. The hill which I ascended was
+very small, not above a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but I
+saw others larger. One which goes by the name of the "Corral," is
+said to be two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed by
+perpendicular cliffs between thirty and forty feet high, excepting
+at one spot, where the entrance lies. Falconer gives a curious
+account of the Indians driving troops of wild horses into it, and
+then by guarding the entrance keeping them secure. (6/5. Falconer's
+"Patagonia" page 70.) I have never heard of any other instance of
+table-land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill I
+examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. I was told that
+the rock of the "Corral" was white, and would strike fire.
+
+We did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen till after it was
+dark. At supper, from something which was said, I was suddenly
+struck with horror at thinking that I was eating one of the
+favourite dishes of the country, namely, a half formed calf, long
+before its proper time of birth. It turned out to be Puma; the meat
+is very white, and remarkably like veal in taste. Dr. Shaw was
+laughed at for stating that "the flesh of the lion is in great
+esteem, having no small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste,
+and flavour." Such certainly is the case with the Puma. The Gauchos
+differ in their opinion whether the Jaguar is good eating, but are
+unanimous in saying that cat is excellent.
+
+SEPTEMBER 17, 1833.
+
+We followed the course of the Rio Tapalguen, through a very fertile
+country, to the ninth posta. Tapalguen itself, or the town of
+Tapalguen, if it may be so called, consists of a perfectly level
+plain, studded over, as far as the eye can reach, with the toldos,
+or oven-shaped huts of the Indians. The families of the friendly
+Indians, who were fighting on the side of Rosas, resided here. We
+met and passed many young Indian women, riding by two or three
+together on the same horse: they, as well as many of the young men,
+were strikingly handsome,--their fine ruddy complexions being the
+picture of health. Besides the toldos, there were three ranchos;
+one inhabited by the Commandant, and the two others by Spaniards
+with small shops.
+
+We were here able to buy some biscuit. I had now been several days
+without tasting anything besides meat: I did not at all dislike
+this new regimen; but I felt as if it would only have agreed with
+me with hard exercise. I have heard that patients in England, when
+desired to confine themselves exclusively to an animal diet, even
+with the hope of life before their eyes, have hardly been able to
+endure it. Yet the Gaucho in the Pampas, for months together,
+touches nothing but beef. But they eat, I observe, a very large
+proportion of fat, which is of a less animalised nature; and they
+particularly dislike dry meat, such as that of the Agouti. Dr.
+Richardson, also, has remarked, "that when people have fed for a
+long time solely upon lean animal food, the desire for fat becomes
+so insatiable, that they can consume a large quantity of unmixed
+and even oily fat without nausea" (6/6. "Fauna Boreali-Americana"
+volume 1 page 35.): this appears to me a curious physiological
+fact. It is, perhaps, from their meat regimen that the Gauchos,
+like other carnivorous animals, can abstain long from food. I was
+told that at Tandeel some troops voluntarily pursued a party of
+Indians for three days, without eating or drinking.
+
+We saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, belts, and
+garters, woven by the Indian women. The patterns were very pretty,
+and the colours brilliant; the workmanship of the garters was so
+good that an English merchant at Buenos Ayres maintained they must
+have been manufactured in England, till he found the tassels had
+been fastened by split sinew.
+
+SEPTEMBER 18, 1833.
+
+We had a very long ride this day. At the twelfth posta, which is
+seven leagues south of the Rio Salado, we came to the first
+estancia with cattle and white women. Afterwards we had to ride for
+many miles through a country flooded with water above our horses'
+knees. By crossing the stirrups, and riding Arab-like with our legs
+bent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. It was nearly dark
+when we arrived at the Salado; the stream was deep, and about forty
+yards wide; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry, and the
+little remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea. We slept
+at one of the great estancias of General Rosas. It was fortified,
+and of such an extent, that arriving in the dark I thought it was a
+town and fortress. In the morning we saw immense herds of cattle,
+the general here having seventy-four square leagues of land.
+Formerly nearly three hundred men were employed about this estate,
+and they defied all the attacks of the Indians.
+
+SEPTEMBER 19, 1833.
+
+Passed the Guardia del Monte. This is a nice scattered little town,
+with many gardens, full of peach and quince trees. The plain here
+looked like that around Buenos Ayres; the turf being short and
+bright green, with beds of clover and thistles, and with bizcacha
+holes. I was very much struck with the marked change in the aspect
+of the country after having crossed the Salado. From a coarse
+herbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green verdure. I at first
+attributed this to some change in the nature of the soil, but the
+inhabitants assured me that here, as well as in Banda Oriental,
+where there is as great a difference between the country around
+Monte Video and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of Colonia, the
+whole was to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the
+cattle. Exactly the same fact has been observed in the prairies of
+North America, where coarse grass, between five and six feet high,
+when grazed by cattle, changes into common pasture land. (6/7. See
+Mr. Atwater's "Account of the Prairies" in "Silliman's North
+American Journal" volume 1 page 117.) I am not botanist enough to
+say whether the change here is owing to the introduction of new
+species, to the altered growth of the same, or to a difference in
+their proportional numbers. Azara has also observed with
+astonishment this change: he is likewise much perplexed by the
+immediate appearance of plants not occurring in the neighbourhood,
+on the borders of any track that leads to a newly-constructed
+hovel. In another part he says, "Ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la
+manie de pr�f�rer les chemins, et le bord des routes pour d�poser
+leurs excr�mens, dont on trouve des monceaux dans ces endroits."
+(6/8. Azara's "Voyage" volume 1 page 373.) Does this not partly
+explain the circumstance? We thus have lines of richly manured land
+serving as channels of communication across wide districts.
+
+(PLATE 26.  GIANT THISTLE OF PAMPAS.)
+
+(PLATE 27.  CYNARA CARDUNCULUS OR CARDOON.)
+
+Near the Guardia we find the southern limit of two European plants,
+now become extraordinarily common. The fennel in great profusion
+covers the ditch-banks in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres, Monte
+Video, and other towns. But the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) has a
+far wider range: it occurs in these latitudes on both sides of the
+Cordillera, across the continent. (6/9. M. A. d'Orbigny volume 1
+page 474, says that the cardoon and artichoke are both found wild.
+Dr. Hooker "Botanical Magazine" volume 40 page 2862, has described
+a variety of the Cynara from this part of South America under the
+name of inermis. He states that botanists are now generally agreed
+that the cardoon and the artichoke are varieties of one plant. I
+may add, that an intelligent farmer assured me that he had observed
+in a deserted garden some artichokes changing into the common
+cardoon. Dr. Hooker believes that Head's vivid description of the
+thistle of the Pampas applies to the cardoon, but this is a
+mistake. Captain Head referred to the plant which I have mentioned
+a few lines lower down under the title of giant thistle. Whether it
+is a true thistle, I do not know; but it is quite different from
+the cardoon; and more like a thistle properly so called.) I saw it
+in unfrequented spots in Chile, Entre Rios, and Banda Oriental. In
+the latter country alone, very many (probably several hundred)
+square miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants, and
+are impenetrable by man or beast. Over the undulating plains, where
+these great beds occur, nothing else can now live. Before their
+introduction, however, the surface must have supported, as in other
+parts, a rank herbage. I doubt whether any case is on record of an
+invasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the aborigines. As I
+have already said, I nowhere saw the cardoon south of the Salado;
+but it is probable that in proportion as that country becomes
+inhabited, the cardoon will extend its limits. The case is
+different with the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the
+Pampas, for I met with it in the valley of the Sauce. According to
+the principles so well laid down by Mr. Lyell, few countries have
+undergone more remarkable changes, since the year 1535, when the
+first colonist of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses. The
+countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered
+the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished
+the guanaco, deer, and ostrich. Numberless other changes must
+likewise have taken place; the wild pig in some parts probably
+replaces the peccari; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on
+the wooded banks of the less-frequented streams; and the common
+cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky hills.
+As M. d'Orbigny has remarked, the increase in numbers of the
+carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the domestic animals,
+must have been infinitely great; and we have given reasons for
+believing that they have extended their southern range. No doubt
+many plants, besides the cardoon and fennel, are naturalised; thus
+the islands near the mouth of the Parana are thickly clothed with
+peach and orange trees, springing from seeds carried there by the
+waters of the river.
+
+While changing horses at the Guardia several people questioned us
+much about the army,--I never saw anything like the enthusiasm for
+Rosas, and for the success of the "most just of all wars, because
+against barbarians." This expression, it must be confessed, is very
+natural, for till lately, neither man, woman, nor horse was safe
+from the attacks of the Indians. We had a long day's ride over the
+same rich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and with here
+and there a solitary estancia, and its one ombu tree. In the
+evening it rained heavily: on arriving at a post-house we were told
+by the owner that if we had not a regular passport we must pass on,
+for there were so many robbers he would trust no one. When he read,
+however, my passport, which began with "El Naturalista Don Carlos,"
+his respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had
+been before. What a naturalist might be, neither he nor his
+countrymen, I suspect, had any idea; but probably my title lost
+nothing of its value from that cause.
+
+SEPTEMBER 20, 1833.
+
+We arrived by the middle of the day at Buenos Ayres. The outskirts
+of the city looked quite pretty, with the agave hedges, and groves
+of olive, peach and willow trees, all just throwing out their fresh
+green leaves. I rode to the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant,
+to whose kindness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, I
+was greatly indebted.
+
+The city of Buenos Ayres is large; and I should think one of the
+most regular in the world. (6/10. It is said to contain 60,000
+inhabitants. Monte Video, the second town of importance on the
+banks of the Plata, has 15,000.) Every street is at right angles to
+the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the
+houses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which
+are called quadras. On the other hand, the houses themselves are
+hollow squares; all the rooms opening into a neat little courtyard.
+They are generally only one story high, with flat roofs, which are
+fitted with seats, and are much frequented by the inhabitants in
+summer. In the centre of the town is the Plaza, where the public
+offices, fortress, cathedral, etc., stand. Here also, the old
+viceroys, before the revolution, had their palaces. The general
+assemblage of buildings possesses considerable architectural
+beauty, although none individually can boast of any.
+
+The great corral, where the animals are kept for slaughter to
+supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the
+spectacles best worth seeing. The strength of the horse as compared
+to that of the bullock is quite astonishing: a man on horseback
+having thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it
+anywhere he chooses. The animal ploughing up the ground with
+outstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally
+dashes at full speed to one side; but the horse, immediately
+turning to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is
+almost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not
+broken. The struggle is not, however, one of fair strength; the
+horse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended neck. In
+a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with
+the lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock has been dragged
+to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador with great
+caution cuts the hamstrings. Then is given the death bellow; a
+noise more expressive of fierce agony than any I know. I have often
+distinguished it from a long distance, and have always known that
+the struggle was then drawing to a close. The whole sight is
+horrible and revolting: the ground is almost made of bones; and the
+horses and riders are drenched with gore.
+
+
+(PLATE 28.  EVENING CAMP, BUENOS AYRES.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+(PLATE 29.  ROZARIO.)
+
+Excursion to St. F�.
+Thistle Beds.
+Habits of the Bizcacha.
+Little Owl.
+Saline Streams.
+Level Plains.
+Mastodon.
+St. F�.
+Change in Landscape.
+Geology.
+Tooth of extinct Horse.
+Relation of the Fossil and recent Quadrupeds of North and South
+America.
+Effects of a great Drought.
+Parana.
+Habits of the Jaguar.
+Scissor-beak.
+Kingfisher, Parrot, and Scissor-tail.
+Revolution.
+Buenos Ayres.
+State of Government.
+
+BUENOS AYRES TO ST. F�.
+
+SEPTEMBER 27, 1833.
+
+
+
+In the evening I set out on an excursion to St. F�, which is
+situated nearly three hundred English miles from Buenos Ayres, on
+the banks of the Parana. The roads in the neighbourhood of the
+city, after the rainy weather, were extraordinarily bad. I should
+never have thought it possible for a bullock waggon to have crawled
+along: as it was, they scarcely went at the rate of a mile an hour,
+and a man was kept ahead, to survey the best line for making the
+attempt. The bullocks were terribly jaded: it is a great mistake to
+suppose that with improved roads, and an accelerated rate of
+travelling, the sufferings of the animals increase in the same
+proportion. We passed a train of waggons and a troop of beasts on
+their road to Mendoza. The distance is about 580 geographical
+miles, and the journey is generally performed in fifty days. These
+waggons are very long, narrow, and thatched with reeds; they have
+only two wheels, the diameter of which in some cases is as much as
+ten feet. Each is drawn by six bullocks, which are urged on by a
+goad at least twenty feet long: this is suspended from within the
+roof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept; and for the
+intermediate pair, a point projects at right angles from the middle
+of the long one. The whole apparatus looked like some implement of
+war.
+
+SEPTEMBER 28, 1833.
+
+We passed the small town of Luxan, where there is a wooden bridge
+over the river--a most unusual convenience in this country. We
+passed also Areco. The plains appeared level, but were not so in
+fact; for in various places the horizon was distant. The estancias
+are here wide apart; for there is little good pasture, owing to the
+land being covered by beds either of an acrid clover, or of the
+great thistle. The latter, well known from the animated description
+given by Sir F. Head, were at this time of the year two-thirds
+grown; in some parts they were as high as the horse's back, but in
+others they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare and
+dusty as on a turnpike-road. The clumps were of the most brilliant
+green, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of broken forest
+land. When the thistles are full grown, the great beds are
+impenetrable, except by a few tracks, as intricate as those in a
+labyrinth. These are only known to the robbers, who at this season
+inhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut throats with
+impunity. Upon asking at a house whether robbers were numerous, I
+was answered, "The thistles are not up yet;"--the meaning of which
+reply was not at first very obvious. There is little interest in
+passing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or
+birds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl.
+
+The bizcacha is well known to form a prominent feature in the
+zoology of the Pampas. (7/1. The bizcacha (Lagostomus
+trichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large rabbit, but with bigger
+gnawing teeth and a long tail; it has, however, only three toes
+behind, like the agouti. During the last three or four years the
+skins of these animals have been sent to England for the sake of
+the fur.) It is found as far south as the Rio Negro, in latitude 41
+degrees, but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the
+gravelly and desert plains of Patagonia, but prefers a clayey or
+sandy soil, which produces a different and more abundant
+vegetation. Near Mendoza, at the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs
+in close neighbourhood with the allied alpine species. It is a very
+curious circumstance in its geographical distribution, that it has
+never been seen, fortunately for the inhabitants of Banda Oriental,
+to the eastward of the river Uruguay: yet in this province there
+are plains which appear admirably adapted to its habits. The
+Uruguay has formed an insuperable obstacle to its migration:
+although the broader barrier of the Parana has been passed, and the
+bizcacha is common in Entre Rios, the province between these two
+great rivers. Near Buenos Ayres these animals are exceedingly
+common. Their most favourite resort appears to be those parts of
+the plain which during one-half of the year are covered with giant
+thistles, to the exclusion of other plants. The Gauchos affirm that
+it lives on roots; which, from the great strength of its gnawing
+teeth, and the kind of places frequented by it, seems probable. In
+the evening the bizcachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at
+the mouths of their burrows on their haunches. At such times they
+are very tame, and a man on horseback passing by seems only to
+present an object for their grave contemplation. They run very
+awkwardly, and when running out of danger, from their elevated
+tails and short front legs, much resemble great rats. Their flesh,
+when cooked, is very white and good, but it is seldom used.
+
+The bizcacha has one very singular habit; namely, dragging every
+hard object to the mouth of its burrow: around each group of holes
+many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth,
+dry dung, etc., are collected into an irregular heap, which
+frequently amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. I was
+credibly informed that a gentleman, when riding on a dark night,
+dropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching the
+neighbourhood of every bizcacha hole on the line of road, as he
+expected, he soon found it. This habit of picking up whatever may
+be lying on the ground anywhere near its habitation must cost much
+trouble. For what purpose it is done, I am quite unable to form
+even the most remote conjecture: it cannot be for defence, because
+the rubbish is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which
+enters the ground at a very small inclination. No doubt there must
+exist some good reason; but the inhabitants of the country are
+quite ignorant of it. The only fact which I know analogous to it,
+is the habit of that extraordinary Australian bird, the Calodera
+maculata, which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs for
+playing in, and which collects near the spot land and sea-shells,
+bones, and the feathers of birds, especially brightly coloured
+ones. Mr. Gould, who has described these facts, informs me, that
+the natives, when they lose any hard object, search the playing
+passages, and he has known a tobacco-pipe thus recovered.
+
+The little owl (Athene cunicularia), which has been so often
+mentioned, on the plains of Buenos Ayres exclusively inhabits the
+holes of the bizcacha; but in Banda Oriental it is its own workman.
+During the open day, but more especially in the evening, these
+birds may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs
+on the hillock near their burrows. If disturbed they either enter
+the hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably
+undulatory flight to a short distance, and then turning round,
+steadily gaze at their pursuer. Occasionally in the evening they
+may be heard hooting. I found in the stomachs of two which I opened
+the remains of mice, and I one day saw a small snake killed and
+carried away. It is said that snakes are their common prey during
+the daytime. I may here mention, as showing on what various kinds
+of food owls subsist, that a species killed among the islets of the
+Chonos Archipelago had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. In
+India there is a fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches
+crabs. (7/2. "Journal of Asiatic Soc." volume 5 page 363.)
+
+In the evening we crossed the Rio Arrecife on a simple raft made of
+barrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on the other
+side. I this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and
+although the sun was glaring hot I was but little fatigued. When
+Captain Head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, I do not imagine
+the distance is equal to 150 English miles. At all events, the
+thirty-one leagues was only 76 miles in a straight line, and in an
+open country I should think four additional miles for turnings
+would be a sufficient allowance.
+
+SEPTEMBER 29 AND 30, 1833.
+
+(PLATE 30.  PARANA RIVER.)
+
+We continued to ride over plains of the same character. At San
+Nicolas I first saw the noble river of the Parana. At the foot of
+the cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels were at
+anchor. Before arriving at Rozario, we crossed the Saladillo, a
+stream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink.
+Rozario is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a
+cliff about sixty feet high over the Parana. The river here is very
+broad, with many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the
+opposite shore. The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it
+were not for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of
+running water. The cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes
+they are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other
+times in large broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees.
+The real grandeur, however, of an immense river like this is
+derived from reflecting how important a means of communication and
+commerce it forms between one nation and another; to what a
+distance it travels, and from how vast a territory it drains the
+great body of fresh water which flows past your feet.
+
+For many leagues north and south of San Nicolas and Rozario, the
+country is really level. Scarcely anything which travellers have
+written about its extreme flatness can be considered as
+exaggeration. Yet I could never find a spot where, by slowly
+turning round, objects were not seen at greater distances in some
+directions than in others; and this manifestly proves inequality in
+the plain. At sea, a person's eye being six feet above the surface
+of the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths distant. In
+like manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly does the
+horizon approach within these narrow limits; and this, in my
+opinion, entirely destroys that grandeur which one would have
+imagined that a vast level plain would have possessed.
+
+(PLATE 31.  TOXODON PLATENSIS. (FOUND AT SALADILLO.))
+
+OCTOBER 1, 1833.
+
+We started by moonlight and arrived at the Rio Tercero by sunrise.
+This river is also called the Saladillo, and it deserves the name,
+for the water is brackish. I stayed here the greater part of the
+day, searching for fossil bones. Besides a perfect tooth of the
+Toxodon, and many scattered bones, I found two immense skeletons
+near each other, projecting in bold relief from the perpendicular
+cliff of the Parana. They were, however, so completely decayed,
+that I could only bring away small fragments of one of the great
+molar teeth; but these are sufficient to show that the remains
+belonged to a Mastodon, probably to the same species with that
+which formerly must have inhabited the Cordillera in Upper Peru in
+such great numbers. The men who took me in the canoe said they had
+long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered how they had
+got there: the necessity of a theory being felt, they came to the
+conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was formerly a
+burrowing animal! In the evening we rode another stage, and crossed
+the Monge, another brackish stream, bearing the dregs of the
+washings of the Pampas.
+
+OCTOBER 2, 1833.
+
+We passed through Corunda, which, from the luxuriance of its
+gardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw. From this point
+to St. F� the road is not very safe. The western side of the Parana
+northward ceases to be inhabited; and hence the Indians sometimes
+come down thus far, and waylay travellers. The nature of the
+country also favours this, for instead of a grassy plain, there is
+an open woodland, composed of low prickly mimosas. We passed some
+houses that had been ransacked and since deserted; we saw also a
+spectacle, which my guides viewed with high satisfaction; it was
+the skeleton of an Indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones,
+suspended to the branch of a tree.
+
+In the morning we arrived at St. F�. I was surprised to observe how
+great a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of
+latitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had caused. This was
+evident from the dress and complexion of the men--from the
+increased size of the ombu-trees--the number of new cacti and other
+plants--and especially from the birds. In the course of an hour I
+remarked half-a-dozen birds, which I had never seen at Buenos
+Ayres. Considering that there is no natural boundary between the
+two places, and that the character of the country is nearly
+similar, the difference was much greater than I should have
+expected.
+
+OCTOBER 3 AND 4, 1833.
+
+I was confined for these two days to my bed by a headache. A
+good-natured old woman, who attended me, wished me to try many odd
+remedies. A common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of
+black plaster to each temple: and a still more general plan is, to
+split a bean into halves, moisten them, and place one on each
+temple, where they will easily adhere. It is not thought proper
+ever to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off,
+and sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked, what
+is the matter? he will answer, "I had a headache the day before
+yesterday." Many of the remedies used by the people of the country
+are ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. One of
+the least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them
+on each side of a broken limb. Little hairless dogs are in great
+request to sleep at the feet of invalids.
+
+St. F� is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order.
+The governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the
+revolution; but has now been seventeen years in power. This
+stability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for
+tyranny seems as yet better adapted to these countries than
+republicanism. The governor's favourite occupation is hunting
+Indians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold
+the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece.
+
+OCTOBER 5, 1833.
+
+We crossed the Parana to St. F� Bajada, a town on the opposite
+shore. The passage took some hours, as the river here consisted of
+a labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded islands. I
+had a letter of introduction to an old Catalonian Spaniard, who
+treated me with the most uncommon hospitality. The Bajada is the
+capital of Entre Rios. In 1825 the town contained 6000 inhabitants,
+and the province 30,000; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no
+province has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions.
+They boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and
+governors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. At
+some future day this must be one of the richest countries of La
+Plata. The soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular
+form gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers Parana
+and Uruguay.
+
+I was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining the
+geology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting. We
+here see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds containing sharks' teeth
+and sea-shells of extinct species, passing above into an indurated
+marl, and from that into the red clayey earth of the Pampas, with
+its calcareous concretions and the bones of terrestrial quadrupeds.
+This vertical section clearly tells us of a large bay of pure
+salt-water, gradually encroached on, and at last converted into the
+bed of a muddy estuary, into which floating carcasses were swept.
+At Punta Gorda, in Banda Oriental, I found an alternation of the
+Pampaean estuary deposit, with a limestone containing some of the
+same extinct sea-shells; and this shows either a change in the
+former currents, or more probably an oscillation of level in the
+bottom of the ancient estuary. Until lately, my reasons for
+considering the Pampaean formation to be an estuary deposit were,
+its general appearance, its position at the mouth of the existing
+great river the Plata, and the presence of so many bones of
+terrestrial quadrupeds: but now Professor Ehrenberg has had the
+kindness to examine for me a little of the red earth, taken from
+low down in the deposit, close to the skeletons of the mastodon,
+and he finds in it many infusoria, partly salt-water and partly
+fresh-water forms, with the latter rather preponderating; and
+therefore, as he remarks, the water must have been brackish. M. A.
+d'Orbigny found on the banks of the Parana, at the height of a
+hundred feet, great beds of an estuary shell, now living a hundred
+miles lower down nearer the sea; and I found similar shells at a
+less height on the banks of the Uruguay; this shows that just
+before the Pampas was slowly elevated into dry land, the water
+covering it was brackish. Below Buenos Ayres there are upraised
+beds of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves that the
+period of elevation of the Pampas was within the recent period.
+
+In the Pampaean deposit at the Bajada I found the osseous armour of
+a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the
+earth was removed, was like a great cauldron; I found also teeth of
+the Toxodon and Mastodon, and one tooth of a Horse, in the same
+stained and decayed state. This latter tooth greatly interested me,
+and I took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been
+embedded contemporaneously with the other remains; for I was not
+then aware that amongst the fossils from Bahia Blanca there was a
+horse's tooth hidden in the matrix: nor was it then known with
+certainty that the remains of horses are common in North America.
+(7/3. I need hardly state here that there is good evidence against
+any horse living in America at the time of Columbus.) Mr. Lyell has
+lately brought from the United States a tooth of a horse; and it is
+an interesting fact, that Professor Owen could find in no species,
+either fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature
+characterising it, until he thought of comparing it with my
+specimen found here: he has named this American horse Equus
+curvidens. Certainly it is a marvellous fact in the history of the
+Mammalia, that in South America a native horse should have lived
+and disappeared, to be succeeded in after ages by the countless
+herds descended from the few introduced with the Spanish colonists!
+
+(PLATE 32.  FOSSIL TOOTH OF HORSE, FROM BAHIA BLANCA.)
+
+The existence in South America of a fossil horse, of the mastodon,
+possibly of an elephant (7/4. Cuvier "Ossemens Fossils" tome 1 page
+158.), and of a hollow-horned ruminant, discovered by MM. Lund and
+Clausen in the caves of Brazil, are highly interesting facts with
+respect to the geographical distribution of animals. At the present
+time, if we divide America, not by the Isthmus of Panama, but by
+the southern part of Mexico in latitude 20 degrees, where the great
+table-land presents an obstacle to the migration of species, by
+affecting the climate, and by forming, with the exception of some
+valleys and of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad barrier;
+we shall then have the two zoological provinces of North and South
+America strongly contrasted with each other. (7/5. This is the
+geographical division followed by Lichtenstein, Swainson, Erichson,
+and Richardson. The section from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, given by
+Humboldt in the "Polit. Essay on Kingdom of N. Spain" will show how
+immense a barrier the Mexican table-land forms. Dr. Richardson, in
+his admirable "Report on the Zoology of N. America" read before the
+British Association 1836 page 157, talking of the identification of
+a Mexican animal with the Synetheres prehensilis, says, "We do not
+know with what propriety, but if correct, it is, if not a solitary
+instance, at least very nearly so, of a rodent animal being common
+to North and South America.") Some few species alone have passed
+the barrier, and may be considered as wanderers from the south,
+such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and peccari. South America is
+characterised by possessing many peculiar gnawers, a family of
+monkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir, opossums, and, especially,
+several genera of Edentata, the order which includes the sloths,
+ant-eaters, and armadilloes. North America, on the other hand, is
+characterised (putting on one side a few wandering species) by
+numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four genera (the ox, sheep, goat,
+and antelope) of hollow-horned ruminants, of which great division
+South America is not known to possess a single species. Formerly,
+but within the period when most of the now existing shells were
+living, North America possessed, besides hollow-horned ruminants,
+the elephant, mastodon, horse, and three genera of Edentata,
+namely, the Megatherium, Megalonyx, and Mylodon. Within nearly this
+same period (as proved by the shells at Bahia Blanca) South America
+possessed, as we have just seen, a mastodon, horse, hollow-horned
+ruminant, and the same three genera (as well as several others) of
+the Edentata. Hence it is evident that North and South America, in
+having within a late geological period these several genera in
+common, were much more closely related in the character of their
+terrestrial inhabitants than they now are. The more I reflect on
+this case, the more interesting it appears: I know of no other
+instance where we can almost mark the period and manner of the
+splitting up of one great region into two well-characterised
+zoological provinces. The geologist, who is fully impressed with
+the vast oscillations of level which have affected the earth's
+crust within late periods, will not fear to speculate on the recent
+elevation of the Mexican platform, or, more probably, on the recent
+submergence of land in the West Indian Archipelago, as the cause of
+the present zoological separation of North and South America. The
+South American character of the West Indian mammals seems to
+indicate that this archipelago was formerly united to the southern
+continent, and that it has subsequently been an area of subsidence.
+(7/6. See Dr. Richardson's "Report" page 157; also "L'Institut"
+1837 page 253. Cuvier says the kinkajou is found in the larger
+Antilles, but this is doubtful. M. Gervais states that the
+Didelphis crancrivora is found there. It is certain that the West
+Indies possess some mammifers peculiar to themselves. A tooth of a
+mastodon has been brought from Bahama; "Edinburgh New Philosophical
+Journal" 1826 page 395.)
+
+(PLATE 33.  MYLODON. Height, 7 feet 6 inches; girth round chest, 6
+feet 6 inches; maximum breadth of pelvis, 3 feet 7 inches.)
+
+When America, and especially North America, possessed its
+elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was
+much more closely related in its zoological characters to the
+temperate parts of Europe and Asia than it now is. As the remains
+of these genera are found on both sides of Behring's Straits and on
+the plains of Siberia, we are led to look to the north-western side
+of North America as the former point of communication between the
+Old and so-called New World. (7/7. See the admirable Appendix by
+Dr. Buckland to Beechey's "Voyage"; also the writings of Chamisso
+in Kotzebue's "Voyage.") And as so many species, both living and
+extinct, of these same genera inhabit and have inhabited the Old
+World, it seems most probable that the North American elephants,
+mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants migrated, on land
+since submerged near Behring's Straits, from Siberia into North
+America, and thence, on land since submerged in the West Indies,
+into South America, where for a time they mingled with the forms
+characteristic of that southern continent, and have since become
+extinct.
+
+While travelling through the country, I received several vivid
+descriptions of the effects of a late great drought; and the
+account of this may throw some light on the cases where vast
+numbers of animals of all kinds have been embedded together. The
+period included between the years 1827 and 1830 is called the "gran
+seco," or the great drought. During this time so little rain fell,
+that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were
+dried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty
+high-road. This was especially the case in the northern part of the
+province of Buenos Ayres and the southern part of St. F�. Very
+great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished
+from the want of food and water. A man told me that the deer used
+to come into his courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged
+to dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges
+had hardly strength to fly away when pursued. (7/8. In Captain
+Owen's "Surveying Voyage" volume 2 page 274, there is a curious
+account of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at Benguela
+(west coast of Africa). "A number of these animals had some time
+since entered the town, in a body, to possess themselves of the
+wells, not being able to procure any water in the country. The
+inhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which
+terminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not
+until they had killed one man, and wounded several others." The
+town is said to have a population of nearly three thousand! Dr.
+Malcolmson informs me, that during a great drought in India the
+wild animals entered the tents of some troops at Ellore, and that a
+hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.)
+The lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province of
+Buenos Ayres alone, was taken at one million head. A proprietor at
+San Pedro had previously to these years 20,000 cattle; at the end
+not one remained. San Pedro is situated in the middle of the finest
+country; and even now abounds again with animals; yet during the
+latter part of the "gran seco," live cattle were brought in vessels
+for the consumption of the inhabitants. The animals roamed from
+their estancias, and, wandering far southward, were mingled
+together in such multitudes, that a government commission was sent
+from Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. Sir
+Woodbine Parish informed me of another and very curious source of
+dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were
+blown about, that in this open country the landmarks became
+obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates.
+
+I was informed by an eye-witness that the cattle in herds of
+thousands rushed into the Parana, and being exhausted by hunger
+they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were
+drowned. The arm of the river which runs by San Pedro was so full
+of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the
+smell rendered it quite impassable. Without doubt several hundred
+thousand animals thus perished in the river: their bodies when
+putrid were seen floating down the stream; and many in all
+probability were deposited in the estuary of the Plata. All the
+small rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of
+vast numbers in particular spots; for when an animal drinks of such
+water it does not recover. Azara describes the fury of the wild
+horses on a similar occasion, rushing into the marshes, those which
+arrived first being overwhelmed and crushed by those which
+followed. (7/9. "Travels" volume 1 page 374.) He adds that more
+than once he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild
+horses thus destroyed. I noticed that the smaller streams in the
+Pampas were paved with a breccia of bones, but this probably is the
+effect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any
+one period. Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to 1832, a very
+rainy season followed which caused great floods. Hence it is almost
+certain that some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the
+deposits of the very next year. What would be the opinion of a
+geologist, viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all
+kinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy
+mass? Would he not attribute it to a flood having swept over the
+surface of the land, rather than to the common order of things?
+(7/10. These droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost
+periodical; I was told the dates of several others, and the
+intervals were about fifteen years.)
+
+OCTOBER 12, 1833.
+
+I had intended to push my excursion farther, but not being quite
+well, I was compelled to return by a balandra, or one-masted vessel
+of about a hundred tons' burden, which was bound to Buenos Ayres.
+As the weather was not fair, we moored early in the day to a branch
+of a tree on one of the islands. The Parana is full of islands,
+which undergo a constant round of decay and renovation. In the
+memory of the master several large ones had disappeared, and others
+again had been formed and protected by vegetation. They are
+composed of muddy sand, without even the smallest pebble, and were
+then about four feet above the level of the river; but during the
+periodical floods they are inundated. They all present one
+character; numerous willows and a few other trees are bound
+together by a great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a
+thick jungle. These thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and
+jaguars. The fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure
+in scrambling through the woods. This evening I had not proceeded a
+hundred yards, before, finding indubitable signs of the recent
+presence of the tiger, I was obliged to come back. On every island
+there were tracks; and as on the former excursion "el rastro de los
+Indios" had been the subject of conversation, so in this was "el
+rastro del tigre."
+
+The wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite
+haunts of the jaguar; but south of the Plata, I was told that they
+frequented the reeds bordering lakes: wherever they are, they seem
+to require water. Their common prey is the capybara, so that it is
+generally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little danger
+from the jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern side of the
+mouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that they chiefly
+live on fish; this account I have heard repeated. On the Parana
+they have killed many wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels
+at night. There is a man now living in the Bajada, who, coming up
+from below when it was dark, was seized on the deck; he escaped,
+however, with the loss of the use of one arm. When the floods drive
+these animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. I was told
+that a few years since a very large one found its way into a church
+at St. F�: two padres entering one after the other were killed, and
+a third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with
+difficulty. The beast was destroyed by being shot from a corner of
+the building which was unroofed. They commit also at these times
+great ravages among cattle and horses. It is said that they kill
+their prey by breaking their necks. If driven from the carcass,
+they seldom return to it. The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when
+wandering about at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as
+they follow him. This is a curious coincidence with the fact which
+is generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly
+officious manner, the East Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy
+animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad weather.
+
+One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was shown
+certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for the
+purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three
+well-known trees; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by the
+breast of the animal, and on each side there were deep scratches,
+or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in
+length. The scars were of different ages. A common method of
+ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine
+these trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar
+to one which may any day be seen in the common cat, as with
+outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the leg of a chair;
+and I have heard of young fruit-trees in an orchard in England
+having been thus much injured. Some such habit must also be common
+to the puma, for on the bare hard soil of Patagonia I have
+frequently seen scores so deep that no other animal could have made
+them. The object of this practice is, I believe, to tear off the
+ragged points of their claws, and not, as the Gauchos think, to
+sharpen them. The jaguar is killed, without much difficulty, by the
+aid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree, where he is
+despatched with bullets.
+
+Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings. Our only
+amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there were several
+kinds, and all good eating. A fish called the "armado" (a Silurus)
+is remarkable from a harsh grating noise which it makes when caught
+by hook and line, and which can be distinctly heard when the fish
+is beneath the water. This same fish has the power of firmly
+catching hold of any object, such as the blade of an oar or the
+fishing-line, with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal
+fin. In the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer
+standing at 79 degrees. Numbers of fireflies were hovering about,
+and the musquitoes were very troublesome. I exposed my hand for
+five minutes, and it was soon black with them; I do not suppose
+there could have been less than fifty, all busy sucking.
+
+OCTOBER 15, 1833.
+
+(PLATE 34.  HEAD OF SCISSOR-BEAK.)
+
+(PLATE 35.  RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, OR SCISSOR-BEAK.)
+
+We got under way and passed Punta Gorda, where there is a colony of
+tame Indians from the province of Missiones. We sailed rapidly down
+the current, but before sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather,
+we brought-to in a narrow arm of the river. I took the boat and
+rowed some distance up this creek. It was very narrow, winding, and
+deep; on each side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by
+trees intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy
+appearance. I here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the
+Scissor-beak (Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet,
+extremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern.
+The beak is flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right
+angles to that of a spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as
+an ivory paper-cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from
+every other bird, is an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a
+lake near Maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained,
+and which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of
+these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards
+and forwards close to the surface of the lake. They kept their
+bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water.
+Thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course: the
+water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious spectacle to
+behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the
+mirror-like surface. In their flight they frequently twist about
+with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their
+projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are
+secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills.
+This fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to
+fly backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when
+leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular,
+and rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these birds are
+fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings,
+in keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus employed, their
+forms resemble the symbol by which many artists represent marine
+birds. Their tails are much used in steering their irregular
+course.
+
+These birds are common far inland along the course of the Rio
+Parana; it is said that they remain here during the whole year, and
+breed in the marshes. During the day they rest in flocks on the
+grassy plains, at some distance from the water. Being at anchor, as
+I have said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the
+Parana, as the evening drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks
+suddenly appeared. The water was quite still, and many little fish
+were rising. The bird continued for a long time to skim the
+surface, flying in its wild and irregular manner up and down the
+narrow canal, now dark with the growing night and the shadows of
+the overhanging trees. At Monte Video, I observed that some large
+flocks during the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the
+harbour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the
+Parana; and every evening they took flight seaward. From these
+facts I suspect that the Rhynchops generally fishes by night, at
+which time many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the
+surface. M. Lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the
+shells of the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of
+Chile: from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much
+projecting, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable
+that this can be a general habit.
+
+In our course down the Parana, I observed only three other birds,
+whose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small kingfisher
+(Ceryle Americana); it has a longer tail than the European species,
+and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. Its
+flight also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course of
+an arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds.
+It utters a low note, like the clicking together of two small
+stones. A small green parrot (Conurus murinus), with a grey breast,
+appears to prefer the tall trees on the islands to any other
+situation for its building-place. A number of nests are placed so
+close together as to form one great mass of sticks. These parrots
+always live in flocks, and commit great ravages on the corn-fields.
+I was told that near Colonia 2500 were killed in the course of one
+year. A bird with a forked tail, terminated by two long feathers
+(Tyrannus savana), and named by the Spaniards scissor-tail, is very
+common near Buenos Ayres: it commonly sits on a branch of the ombu
+tree, near a house, and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of
+insects, and returns to the same spot. When on the wing it presents
+in its manner of flight and general appearance a
+caricature-likeness of the common swallow. It has the power of
+turning very shortly in the air, and in so doing opens and shuts
+its tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral and sometimes in a
+vertical direction, just like a pair of scissors.
+
+OCTOBER 16, 1833.
+
+Some leagues below Rozario, the western shore of the Parana is
+bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extend in a long line to
+below San Nicolas; hence it more resembles a sea-coast than that of
+a fresh-water river. It is a great drawback to the scenery of the
+Parana, that, from the soft nature of its banks, the water is very
+muddy. The Uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is much
+clearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of the Plata,
+the waters may for a long distance be distinguished by their black
+and red colours. In the evening, the wind being not quite fair, as
+usual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather
+freshly, though with a favouring current, the master was much too
+indolent to think of starting. At Bajada, he was described to me as
+"hombre muy aflicto"--a man always miserable to get on; but
+certainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation. He was an
+old Spaniard, and had been many years in this country. He professed
+a great liking to the English, but stoutly maintained that the
+battle of Trafalgar was merely won by the Spanish captains having
+been all bought over; and that the only really gallant action on
+either side was performed by the Spanish admiral. It struck me as
+rather characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen
+being thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or
+cowardly.
+
+OCTOBER 18 AND 19, 1833.
+
+We continued slowly to sail down the noble stream: the current
+helped us but little. We met, during our descent, very few vessels.
+One of the best gifts of nature, in so grand a channel of
+communication, seems here wilfully thrown away--a river in which
+ships might navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly
+abundant in certain productions as destitute of others, to another
+possessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to the
+best of judges, M. Bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility in
+any part of the world. How different would have been the aspect of
+this river if English colonists had by good fortune first sailed up
+the Plata! What noble towns would now have occupied its shores!
+Till the death of Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, these two
+countries must remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of
+the globe. And when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his
+long account, Paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in
+proportion to the previous unnatural calm. That country will have
+to learn, like every other South American state, that a republic
+cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with
+the principles of justice and honour.
+
+OCTOBER 20, 1833.
+
+Being arrived at the mouth of the Parana, and as I was very anxious
+to reach Buenos Ayres, I went on shore at Las Conchas, with the
+intention of riding there. Upon landing, I found to my great
+surprise that I was to a certain degree a prisoner. A violent
+revolution having broken out, all the ports were laid under an
+embargo. I could not return to my vessel, and as for going by land
+to the city, it was out of the question. After a long conversation
+with the commandant, I obtained permission to go the next day to
+General Rolor, who commanded a division of the rebels on this side
+the capital. In the morning I rode to the encampment. The general,
+officers, and soldiers, all appeared, and I believe really were,
+great villains. The general, the very evening before he left the
+city, voluntarily went to the Governor, and with his hand to his
+heart, pledged his word of honour that he at least would remain
+faithful to the last. The general told me that the city was in a
+state of close blockade, and that all he could do was to give me a
+passport to the commander-in-chief of the rebels at Quilmes. We had
+therefore to take a great sweep round the city, and it was with
+much difficulty that we procured horses. My reception at the
+encampment was quite civil, but I was told it was impossible that I
+could be allowed to enter the city. I was very anxious about this,
+as I anticipated the "Beagle's" departure from the Rio Plata
+earlier than it took place. Having mentioned, however, General
+Rosas's obliging kindness to me when at the Colorado, magic itself
+could not have altered circumstances quicker than did this
+conversation. I was instantly told that though they could not give
+me a passport, if I chose to leave my guide and horses, I might
+pass their sentinels. I was too glad to accept of this, and an
+officer was sent with me to give directions that I should not be
+stopped at the bridge. The road for the space of a league was quite
+deserted. I met one party of soldiers, who were satisfied by
+gravely looking at an old passport: and at length I was not a
+little pleased to find myself within the city.
+
+This revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of
+grievances: but in a state which, in the course of nine months
+(from February to October, 1820), underwent fifteen changes in its
+government--each governor, according to the constitution, being
+elected for three years--it would be very unreasonable to ask for
+pretexts. In this case, a party of men--who, being attached to
+Rosas, were disgusted with the governor Balcarce--to the number of
+seventy left the city, and with the cry of Rosas the whole country
+took arms. The city was then blockaded, no provisions, cattle or
+horses, were allowed to enter; besides this, there was only a
+little skirmishing, and a few men daily killed. The outside party
+well knew that by stopping the supply of meat they would certainly
+be victorious. General Rosas could not have known of this rising;
+but it appears to be quite consonant with the plans of his party. A
+year ago he was elected governor, but he refused it, unless the
+Sala would also confer on him extraordinary powers. This was
+refused, and since then his party have shown that no other governor
+can keep his place. The warfare on both sides was avowedly
+protracted till it was possible to hear from Rosas. A note arrived
+a few days after I left Buenos Ayres, which stated that the General
+disapproved of peace having been broken, but that he thought the
+outside party had justice on their side. On the bare reception of
+this the Governor, ministers, and part of the military, to the
+number of some hundreds, fled from the city. The rebels entered,
+elected a new governor, and were paid for their services to the
+number of 5500 men. From these proceedings, it was clear that Rosas
+ultimately would become the dictator: to the term king, the people
+in this, as in other republics, have a particular dislike. Since
+leaving South America, we have heard that Rosas has been elected,
+with powers and for a time altogether opposed to the constitutional
+principles of the republic.
+
+
+(PLATE 36.  BUENOS AYRES BULLOCK-WAGGONS.)
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+(PLATE 37.  FUEGIANS AND WIGWAMS.)
+
+Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento.
+Value of an Estancia.
+Cattle, how counted.
+Singular Breed of Oxen.
+Perforated Pebbles.
+Shepherd-dogs.
+Horses broken-in, Gauchos Riding.
+Character of Inhabitants.
+Rio Plata.
+Flocks of Butterflies.
+Aeronaut Spiders.
+Phosphorescence of the Sea.
+Port Desire.
+Guanaco.
+Port St. Julian.
+Geology of Patagonia.
+Fossil gigantic Animal.
+Types of Organisation constant.
+Change in the Zoology of America.
+Causes of Extinction.
+
+BANDA ORIENTAL AND PATAGONIA.
+
+
+
+Having been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, I was glad
+to escape on board a packet bound for Monte Video. A town in a
+state of blockade must always be a disagreeable place of residence;
+in this case moreover there were constant apprehensions from
+robbers within. The sentinels were the worst of all; for, from
+their office and from having arms in their hands, they robbed with
+a degree of authority which other men could not imitate.
+
+Our passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata looks like a
+noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. A wide
+expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. At one time
+of the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low, could
+just be distinguished from the deck. On arriving at Monte Video I
+found that the "Beagle" would not sail for some time, so I prepared
+for a short excursion in this part of Banda Oriental. Everything
+which I have said about the country near Maldonado is applicable to
+Monte Video; but the land, with the one exception of the Green
+Mount, 450 feet high, from which it takes its name, is far more
+level. Very little of the undulating grassy plain is enclosed; but
+near the town there are a few hedge-banks, covered with agaves,
+cacti, and fennel.
+
+NOVEMBER 14, 1833.
+
+We left Monte Video in the afternoon. I intended to proceed to
+Colonia del Sacramiento, situated on the northern bank of the Plata
+and opposite to Buenos Ayres, and thence, following up the Uruguay,
+to the village of Mercedes on the Rio Negro (one of the many rivers
+of this name in South America), and from this point to return
+direct to Monte Video. We slept at the house of my guide at
+Canelones. In the morning we rose early, in the hopes of being able
+to ride a good distance; but it was a vain attempt, for all the
+rivers were flooded. We passed in boats the streams of Canelones,
+St. Lucia, and San Jos�, and thus lost much time. On a former
+excursion I crossed the Lucia near its mouth, and I was surprised
+to observe how easily our horses, although not used to swim, passed
+over a width of at least six hundred yards. On mentioning this at
+Monte Video, I was told that a vessel containing some mountebanks
+and their horses, being wrecked in the Plata, one horse swam seven
+miles to the shore. In the course of the day I was amused by the
+dexterity with which a Gaucho forced a restive horse to swim a
+river. He stripped off his clothes, and jumping on its back, rode
+into the water till it was out of its depth; then slipping off over
+the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the horse
+turned round the man frightened it back by splashing water in its
+face. As soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other side,
+the man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in hand,
+before the horse gained the bank. A naked man on a naked horse is a
+fine spectacle; I had no idea how well the two animals suited each
+other. The tail of a horse is a very useful appendage; I have
+passed a river in a boat with four people in it, which was ferried
+across in the same way as the Gaucho. If a man and horse have to
+cross a broad river, the best plan is for the man to catch hold of
+the pommel or mane, and help himself with the other arm.
+
+We slept and stayed the following day at the post of Cufre. In the
+evening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. He was a day after
+his time, owing to the Rio Rozario being flooded. It would not,
+however, be of much consequence; for, although he had passed
+through some of the principal towns in Banda Oriental, his luggage
+consisted of two letters! The view from the house was pleasing; an
+undulating green surface, with distant glimpses of the Plata. I
+find that I look at this province with very different eyes from
+what I did upon my first arrival. I recollect I then thought it
+singularly level; but now, after galloping over the Pampas, my only
+surprise is, what could have induced me ever to have called it
+level. The country is a series of undulations, in themselves
+perhaps not absolutely great, but, as compared to the plains of St.
+F�, real mountains. From these inequalities there is an abundance
+of small rivulets, and the turf is green and luxuriant.
+
+NOVEMBER 17, 1833.
+
+We crossed the Rozario, which was deep and rapid, and passing the
+village of Colla, arrived at mid-day at Colonia del Sacramiento.
+The distance is twenty leagues, through a country covered with fine
+grass, but poorly stocked with cattle or inhabitants. I was invited
+to sleep at Colonia, and to accompany on the following day a
+gentleman to his estancia, where there were some limestone rocks.
+The town is built on a stony promontory something in the same
+manner as at Monte Video. It is strongly fortified, but both
+fortifications and town suffered much in the Brazilian war. It is
+very ancient; and the irregularity of the streets, and the
+surrounding groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a pretty
+appearance. The church is a curious ruin; it was used as a
+powder-magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten
+thousand thunderstorms of the Rio Plata. Two-thirds of the building
+were blown away to the very foundation; and the rest stands a
+shattered and curious monument of the united powers of lightning
+and gunpowder. In the evening I wandered about the half-demolished
+walls of the town. It was the chief seat of the Brazilian war--a
+war most injurious to this country, not so much in its immediate
+effects, as in being the origin of a multitude of generals and all
+other grades of officers. More generals are numbered (but not paid)
+in the United Provinces of La Plata than in the United Kingdom of
+Great Britain. These gentlemen have learned to like power, and do
+not object to a little skirmishing. Hence there are many always on
+the watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government which
+as yet has never rested on any stable foundation. I noticed,
+however, both here and in other places, a very general interest in
+the ensuing election for the President; and this appears a good
+sign for the prosperity of this little country. The inhabitants do
+not require much education in their representatives; I heard some
+men discussing the merits of those for Colonia; and it was said
+that, "although they were not men of business, they could all sign
+their names:" with this they seemed to think every reasonable man
+ought to be satisfied.
+
+NOVEMBER 18, 1833.
+
+Rode with my host to his estancia, at the Arroyo de San Juan. In
+the evening we took a ride round the estate: it contained two
+square leagues and a half, and was situated in what is called a
+rincon; that is, one side was fronted by the Plata, and the two
+others guarded by impassable brooks. There was an excellent port
+for little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is
+valuable as supplying fuel to Buenos Ayres. I was curious to know
+the value of so complete an estancia. Of cattle there were 3000,
+and it would well support three or four times that number; of mares
+800, together with 150 broken-in horses, and 600 sheep. There was
+plenty of water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals,
+and a peach orchard. For all this he had been offered 2000 pounds
+sterling, and he only wanted 500 pounds sterling additional, and
+probably would sell it for less. The chief trouble with an estancia
+is driving the cattle twice a week to a central spot, in order to
+make them tame, and to count them. This latter operation would be
+thought difficult, where there are ten or fifteen thousand head
+together. It is managed on the principle that the cattle invariably
+divide themselves into little troops of from forty to one hundred.
+Each troop is recognised by a few peculiarly marked animals, and
+its number is known: so that, one being lost out of ten thousand,
+it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. During a
+stormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next morning
+the tropillas separate as before; so that each animal must know its
+fellow out of ten thousand others.
+
+On two occasions I met with in this province some oxen of a very
+curious breed, called n�ta or niata. They appear externally to hold
+nearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull or pug dogs do
+to other dogs. Their forehead is very short and broad, with the
+nasal end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their lower
+jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corresponding upward
+curve; hence their teeth are always exposed. Their nostrils are
+seated high up and are very open; their eyes project outwards. When
+walking they carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their
+hinder legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is
+usual. Their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned nostrils
+give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance
+imaginable.
+
+Since my return, I have procured a skeleton head, through the
+kindness of my friend Captain Sulivan, R.N., which is now deposited
+in the College of Surgeons. (8/1. Mr. Waterhouse has drawn up a
+detailed description of this head, which I hope he will publish in
+some Journal.) Don F. Muniz, of Luxan, has kindly collected for me
+all the information which he could respecting this breed. From his
+account it seems that about eighty or ninety years ago, they were
+rare and kept as curiosities at Buenos Ayres. The breed is
+universally believed to have originated amongst the Indians
+southward of the Plata; and that it was with them the commonest
+kind. Even to this day, those reared in the provinces near the
+Plata show their less civilised origin, in being fiercer than
+common cattle, and in the cow easily deserting her first calf, if
+visited too often or molested. It is a singular fact that an almost
+similar structure to the abnormal one of the niata breed,
+characterises, as I am informed by Dr. Falconer, that great extinct
+ruminant of India, the Sivatherium. (8/2. A nearly similar
+abnormal, but I do not know whether hereditary, structure has been
+observed in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the Ganges:
+"Histoire des Anomalies" par M. Isid. Geoffroy St. Hilaire tome 1
+page 244.) The breed is very TRUE; and a niata bull and cow
+invariably produce niata calves. A niata bull with a common cow, or
+the reverse cross, produces offspring having an intermediate
+character, but with the niata characters strongly displayed:
+according to Se�or Muniz, there is the clearest evidence, contrary
+to the common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases, that the
+niata cow when crossed with a common bull transmits her
+peculiarities more strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a
+common cow. When the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle
+feed with the tongue and palate as well as common cattle; but
+during the great droughts, when so many animals perish, the niata
+breed is under a great disadvantage, and would be exterminated if
+not attended to; for the common cattle, like horses, are able just
+to keep alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and
+reeds; this the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not
+join, and hence they are found to perish before the common cattle.
+This strikes me as a good illustration of how little we are able to
+judge from the ordinary habits of life, on what circumstances,
+occurring only at long intervals, the rarity or extinction of a
+species may be determined.
+
+NOVEMBER 19, 1833.
+
+Passing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept at a house of a North
+American, who worked a lime-kiln on the Arroyo de las Vivoras. In
+the morning we rode to a projecting headland on the banks of the
+river, called Punta Gorda. On the way we tried to find a jaguar.
+There were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees on
+which they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed
+in disturbing one. From this point the Rio Uruguay presented to our
+view a noble volume of water. From the clearness and rapidity of
+the stream, its appearance was far superior to that of its
+neighbour the Parana. On the opposite coast, several branches from
+the latter river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the
+two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct.
+
+In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on the Rio
+Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at
+which we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being ten
+leagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in
+the country. His nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a
+captain in the army, who the other day ran away from Buenos Ayres.
+Considering their station, their conversation was rather amusing.
+They expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe
+being round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep
+enough, come out on the other side. They had, however, heard of a
+country where there were six months of light and six of darkness,
+and where the inhabitants were very tall and thin! They were
+curious about the price and condition of horses and cattle in
+England. Upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the
+lazo, they cried out, "Ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas:"
+the idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. The captain
+at last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be
+very much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trembled to
+think how deeply scientific it would be: it was, "Whether the
+ladies of Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the world." I
+replied, like a renegade, "Charmingly so." He added, "I have one
+other question: Do ladies in any other part of the world wear such
+large combs?" I solemnly assured him that they did not. They were
+absolutely delighted. The captain exclaimed, "Look there! a man who
+has seen half the world says it is the case; we always thought so,
+but now we know it." My excellent judgment in combs and beauty
+procured me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced me to
+take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado.
+
+NOVEMBER 21, 1833.
+
+Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole day. The
+geological nature of this part of the province was different from
+the rest, and closely resembled that of the Pampas. In consequence,
+there were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon:
+the whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed of these
+plants. The two sorts grow separate, each plant in company with its
+own kind. The cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the Pampas
+thistle is often higher than the crown of the rider's head. To
+leave the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road
+itself is partly, and in some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, of
+course, there is none; if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they
+are for the time completely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to
+attempt to drive cattle at this season of the year; for when jaded
+enough to face the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no
+more. In these districts there are very few estancias, and these
+few are situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where
+fortunately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. As
+night came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a
+miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. The extreme
+though rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess, considering
+their grade of life, was quite delightful.
+
+NOVEMBER 22, 1833.
+
+Arrived at an estancia on the Berquelo belonging to a very
+hospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter of introduction from
+my friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three days. One morning I rode
+with my host to the Sierra del Pedro Flaco, about twenty miles up
+the Rio Negro. Nearly the whole country was covered with good
+though coarse grass, which was as high as a horse's belly; yet
+there were square leagues without a single head of cattle. The
+province of Banda Oriental, if well stocked, would support an
+astonishing number of animals, at present the annual export of
+hides from Monte Video amounts to three hundred thousand; and the
+home consumption, from waste, is very considerable. An estanciero
+told me that he often had to send large herds of cattle a long
+journey to a salting establishment, and that the tired beasts were
+frequently obliged to be killed and skinned; but that he could
+never persuade the Gauchos to eat of them, and every evening a
+fresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! The view of the Rio
+Negro from the Sierra was more picturesque than any other which I
+saw in this province. The river, broad, deep, and rapid, wound at
+the foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood followed its
+course, and the horizon terminated in the distant undulations of
+the turf-plain.
+
+When in this neighbourhood, I several times heard of the Sierra de
+las Cuentas: a hill distant many miles to the northward. The name
+signifies hill of beads. I was assured that vast numbers of little
+round stones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical
+hole, are found there. Formerly the Indians used to collect them,
+for the purpose of making necklaces and bracelets--a taste, I may
+observe, which is common to all savage nations, as well as to the
+most polished. I did not know what to understand from this story,
+but upon mentioning it at the Cape of Good Hope to Dr. Andrew
+Smith, he told me that he recollected finding on the south-eastern
+coast of Africa, about one hundred miles to the eastward of St.
+John's river, some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from
+attrition, and mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. Each crystal was
+about five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a
+half in length. Many of them had a small canal extending from one
+extremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that
+readily admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. Their
+colour was red or dull white. The natives were acquainted with this
+structure in crystals. I have mentioned these circumstances
+because, although no crystallised body is at present known to
+assume this form, it may lead some future traveller to investigate
+the real nature of such stones.
+
+While staying at this estancia, I was amused with what I saw and
+heard of the shepherd-dogs of the country. (8/3. M. A. d'Orbigny
+has given nearly a similar account of these dogs, tome 1 page 175.)
+When riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep
+guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any
+house or man. I often wondered how so firm a friendship had been
+established. The method of education consists in separating the
+puppy, while very young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to
+its future companions. An ewe is held three or four times a day for
+the little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the
+sheep-pen; at no time is it allowed to associate with other dogs,
+or with the children of the family. The puppy is, moreover,
+generally castrated; so that, when grown up, it can scarcely have
+any feelings in common with the rest of its kind. From this
+education it has no wish to leave the flock, and just as another
+dog will defend its master, man, so will these the sheep. It is
+amusing to observe, when approaching a flock, how the dog
+immediately advances barking, and the sheep all close in his rear,
+as if round the oldest ram. These dogs are also easily taught to
+bring home the flock at a certain hour in the evening. Their most
+troublesome fault, when young, is their desire of playing with the
+sheep; for in their sport they sometimes gallop their poor subjects
+most unmercifully.
+
+The shepherd-dog comes to the house every day for some meat, and as
+soon as it is given him, he skulks away as if ashamed of himself.
+On these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the
+least of them will attack and pursue the stranger. The minute,
+however, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and
+begins to bark, and then all the house-dogs take very quickly to
+their heels. In a similar manner a whole pack of the hungry wild
+dogs will scarcely ever (and I was told by some never) venture to
+attack a flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. The
+whole account appears to me a curious instance of the pliability of
+the affections in the dog; and yet, whether wild or however
+educated, he has a feeling of respect or fear for those that are
+fulfilling their instinct of association. For we can understand on
+no principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with
+its flock, except that they consider, from some confused notion,
+that the one thus associated gains power, as if in company with its
+own kind. F. Cuvier has observed that all animals that readily
+enter into domestication consider man as a member of their own
+society, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. In the
+above case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-brethren,
+and thus gains confidence; and the wild dogs, though knowing that
+the individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly
+consent to this view when seeing them in a flock with a
+shepherd-dog at their head.
+
+One evening a "domidor" (a subduer of horses) came for the purpose
+of breaking-in some colts. I will describe the preparatory steps,
+for I believe they have not been mentioned by other travellers. A
+troop of wild young horses is driven into the corral, or large
+enclosure of stakes, and the door is shut. We will suppose that one
+man alone has to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never
+felt bridle or saddle. I conceive, except by a Gaucho, such a feat
+would be utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks out a full-grown
+colt; and as the beast rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo
+so as to catch both the front legs. Instantly the horse rolls over
+with a heavy shock, and whilst struggling on the ground, the
+Gaucho, holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one
+of the hind legs just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to
+the two front legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are
+bound together. Then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong
+bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw: this he does by passing a
+narrow thong through the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and
+several times round both jaw and tongue. The two front legs are now
+tied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a
+slip-knot. The lazo, which bound the three together, being then
+loosed, the horse rises with difficulty. The Gaucho, now holding
+fast the bridle fixed to the lower jaw, leads the horse outside the
+corral. If a second man is present (otherwise the trouble is much
+greater) he holds the animal's head, whilst the first puts on the
+horsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole together. During this
+operation, the horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being
+bound round the waist, throws himself over and over again on the
+ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. At last, when the
+saddling is finished, the poor animal can hardly breathe from fear,
+and is white with foam and sweat. The man now prepares to mount by
+pressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its
+balance; and at the moment that he throws his leg over the animal's
+back, he pulls the slip-knot binding the front legs, and the beast
+is free. Some "domidors" pull the knot while the animal is lying on
+the ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow him to rise
+beneath them. The horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent
+bounds, and then starts off at full gallop: when quite exhausted,
+the man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where, reeking
+hot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. Those animals
+which will not gallop away, but obstinately throw themselves on the
+ground, are by far the most troublesome. This process is
+tremendously severe, but in two or three trials the horse is tamed.
+It is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with
+the iron bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate the
+will of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most
+powerful bridle can be of any service.
+
+Animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and
+self-interest are not closely united; therefore I fear it is that
+the former is here scarcely known. One day, riding in the Pampas
+with a very respectable "Estanciero," my horse, being tired, lagged
+behind. The man often shouted to me to spur him. When I
+remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted,
+he cried out, "Why not?--never mind--spur him--it is MY horse." I
+had then some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for
+the horse's sake, and not on his account, that I did not choose to
+use my spurs. He exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, "Ah, Don
+Carlos, que cosa!" It was clear that such an idea had never before
+entered his head.
+
+The Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The idea of being
+thrown, let the horse do what it likes; never enters their head.
+Their criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage an untamed
+colt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own feet, or can
+perform other such exploits. I have heard of a man betting that he
+would throw his horse down twenty times, and that nineteen times he
+would not fall himself. I recollect seeing a Gaucho riding a very
+stubborn horse, which three times successively reared so high as to
+fall backwards with great violence. The man judged with uncommon
+coolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an instant before
+or after the right time; and as soon as the horse got up, the man
+jumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. The
+Gaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. I was one day
+watching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace,
+and thought to myself, "Surely if the horse starts, you appear so
+careless on your seat, you must fall." At this moment a male
+ostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the horse's nose: the
+young colt bounded on one side like a stag; but as for the man, all
+that could be said was, that he started and took fright with his
+horse.
+
+In Chile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the horse
+than in La Plata, and this is evidently a consequence of the more
+intricate nature of the country. In Chile a horse is not considered
+perfectly broken till he can be brought up standing, in the midst
+of his full speed, on any particular spot,--for instance, on a
+cloak thrown on the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and
+rearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs. I have seen an animal
+bounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a forefinger and thumb,
+taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel
+round the post of a veranda with great speed, but at so equal a
+distance, that the rider, with outstretched arm, all the while kept
+one finger rubbing the post. Then making a demi-volte in the air,
+with the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round,
+with astonishing force, in an opposite direction.
+
+Such a horse is well broken; and although this at first may appear
+useless, it is far otherwise. It is only carrying that which is
+daily necessary into perfection. When a bullock is checked and
+caught by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a
+circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not
+well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. In
+consequence many men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a
+twist round a man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the
+two opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. On the same principle
+the races are managed; the course is only two or three hundred
+yards long, the wish being to have horses that can make a rapid
+dash. The racehorses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs
+touching a line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the
+first spring to bring into play the full action of the
+hind-quarters. In Chile I was told an anecdote, which I believe was
+true; and it offers a good illustration of the use of a well-broken
+animal. A respectable man riding one day met two others, one of
+whom was mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from
+himself. He challenged them; they answered him by drawing their
+sabres and giving chase. The man, on his good and fleet beast, kept
+just ahead: as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and
+brought up his horse to a dead check. The pursuers were obliged to
+shoot on one side and ahead. Then instantly dashing on, right
+behind them, he buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the
+other, recovered his horse from the dying robber, and rode home.
+For these feats of horsemanship two things are necessary: a most
+severe bit, like the Mameluke, the power of which, though seldom
+used, the horse knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be
+applied either as a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme
+pain. I conceive that with English spurs, the slightest touch of
+which pricks the skin, it would be impossible to break in a horse
+after the South American fashion.
+
+At an estancia near Las Vacas large numbers of mares are weekly
+slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five
+paper dollars, or about half a crown apiece. It seems at first
+strange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle; but as
+it is thought ridiculous in this country ever to break in or ride a
+mare, they are of no value except for breeding. The only thing for
+which I ever saw mares used, was to tread out wheat from the ear,
+for which purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure,
+where the wheat-sheaves were strewed. The man employed for
+slaughtering the mares happened to be celebrated for his dexterity
+with the lazo. Standing at the distance of twelve yards from the
+mouth of the corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the
+legs every animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him.
+There was another man who said he would enter the corral on foot,
+catch a mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw
+her down, kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter
+is a tedious job); and he engaged that he would perform this whole
+operation on twenty-two animals in one day. Or he would kill and
+take the skin off fifty in the same time. This would have been a
+prodigious task, for it is considered a good day's work to skin and
+stake the hides of fifteen or sixteen animals.
+
+NOVEMBER 26, 1833.
+
+I set out on my return in a direct line for Monte Video. Having
+heard of some giant's bones at a neighbouring farmhouse on the
+Sarandis, a small stream entering the Rio Negro, I rode there
+accompanied by my host, and purchased for the value of
+eighteenpence the head of the Toxodon. (8/4. I must express my
+obligation to Mr. Keane, at whose house I was staying on the
+Berquelo, and to Mr. Lumb at Buenos Ayres, for without their
+assistance these valuable remains would never have reached
+England.) When found it was quite perfect; but the boys knocked out
+some of the teeth with stones, and then set up the head as a mark
+to throw at. By a most fortunate chance I found a perfect tooth,
+which exactly fitted one of the sockets in this skull, embedded by
+itself on the banks of the Rio Tercero, at the distance of about
+180 miles from this place. I found remains of this extraordinary
+animal at two other places, so that it must formerly have been
+common. I found here, also, some large portions of the armour of a
+gigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the great head of a
+Mylodon. The bones of this head are so fresh, that they contain,
+according to the analysis by Mr. T. Reeks, seven per cent of animal
+matter; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn with a small
+flame. The number of the remains embedded in the grand estuary
+deposit which forms the Pampas and covers the granitic rocks of
+Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I believe a straight
+line drawn in any direction through the Pampas would cut through
+some skeleton or bones. Besides those which I found during my short
+excursions, I heard of many others, and the origin of such names as
+"the stream of the animal," "the hill of the giant," is obvious. At
+other times I heard of the marvellous property of certain rivers,
+which had the power of changing small bones into large; or, as some
+maintained, the bones themselves grew. As far as I am aware, not
+one of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the
+marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones
+have been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous
+deposit in which they were originally embedded. We may conclude
+that the whole area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these
+extinct gigantic quadrupeds.
+
+By the middle of the day, on the 28th, we arrived at Monte Video,
+having been two days and a half on the road. The country for the
+whole way was of a very uniform character, some parts being rather
+more rocky and hilly than near the Plata. Not far from Monte Video
+we passed through the village of Las Pietras, so named from some
+large rounded masses of syenite. Its appearance was rather pretty.
+In this country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site
+elevated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be
+called picturesque.
+
+During the last six months I have had an opportunity of seeing a
+little of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces. The
+Gauchos, or countrymen, are very superior to those who reside in
+the towns. The Gaucho is invariably most obliging, polite, and
+hospitable: I did not meet with even one instance of rudeness or
+inhospitality. He is modest, both respecting himself and country,
+but at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. On the other hand,
+many robberies are committed, and there is much bloodshed: the
+habit of constantly wearing the knife is the chief cause of the
+latter. It is lamentable to hear how many lives are lost in
+trifling quarrels. In fighting, each party tries to mark the face
+of his adversary by slashing his nose or eyes; as is often attested
+by deep and horrid-looking scars. Robberies are a natural
+consequence of universal gambling, much drinking, and extreme
+indolence. At Mercedes I asked two men why they did not work. One
+gravely said the days were too long; the other that he was too
+poor. The number of horses and the profusion of food are the
+destruction of all industry. Moreover, there are so many
+feast-days; and again, nothing can succeed without it be begun when
+the moon is on the increase; so that half the month is lost from
+these two causes.
+
+Police and justice are quite inefficient. If a man who is poor
+commits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps
+even shot; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no
+very severe consequence will ensue. It is curious that the most
+respectable inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer
+to escape: they seem to think that the individual sins against the
+government, and not against the people. A traveller has no
+protection besides his firearms; and the constant habit of carrying
+them is the main check to more frequent robberies.
+
+The character of the higher and more educated classes who reside in
+the towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the good
+parts of the Gaucho, but is, I fear, stained by many vices of which
+he is free. Sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the grossest
+corruption, are far from uncommon. Nearly every public officer can
+be bribed. The head man in the post-office sold forged government
+franks. The governor and prime minister openly combined to plunder
+the State. Justice, where gold came into play, was hardly expected
+by any one. I knew an Englishman who went to the Chief Justice (he
+told me that, not then understanding the ways of the place, he
+trembled as he entered the room), and said, "Sir, I have come to
+offer you two hundred (paper) dollars (value about five pounds
+sterling) if you will arrest before a certain time a man who has
+cheated me. I know it is against the law, but my lawyer (naming
+him) recommended me to take this step." The Chief Justice smiled
+acquiescence, thanked him, and the man before night was safe in
+prison. With this entire want of principle in many of the leading
+men, with the country full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the
+people yet hope that a democratic form of government can succeed!
+
+On first entering society in these countries, two or three features
+strike one as particularly remarkable. The polite and dignified
+manners pervading every rank of life, the excellent taste displayed
+by the women in their dresses, and the equality amongst all ranks.
+At the Rio Colorado some men who kept the humblest shops used to
+dine with General Rosas. A son of a major at Bahia Blanca gained
+his livelihood by making paper cigars, and he wished to accompany
+me, as guide or servant, to Buenos Ayres, but his father objected
+on the score of the danger alone. Many officers in the army can
+neither read nor write, yet all meet in society as equals. In Entre
+Rios, the Sala consisted of only six representatives. One of them
+kept a common shop, and evidently was not degraded by the office.
+All this is what would be expected in a new country; nevertheless
+the absence of gentlemen by profession appears to an Englishman
+something strange.
+
+When speaking of these countries, the manner in which they have
+been brought up by their unnatural parent, Spain, should always be
+borne in mind. On the whole, perhaps, more credit is due for what
+has been done, than blame for that which may be deficient. It is
+impossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism of these
+countries must ultimately lead to good results. The very general
+toleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the means of
+education, the freedom of the press, the facilities offered to all
+foreigners, and especially, as I am bound to add, to every one
+professing the humblest pretensions to science, should be
+recollected with gratitude by those who have visited Spanish South
+America.
+
+DECEMBER 6, 1833.
+
+The "Beagle" sailed from the Rio Plata, never again to enter its
+muddy stream. Our course was directed to Port Desire, on the coast
+of Patagonia. Before proceeding any farther, I will here put
+together a few observations made at sea.
+
+Several times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth of
+the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern
+Patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. One evening, when we
+were about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas, vast numbers of
+butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as
+far as the eye could range. Even by the aid of a telescope it was
+not possible to see a space free from butterflies. The seamen cried
+out "it was snowing butterflies," and such in fact was the
+appearance. More species than one were present, but the main part
+belonged to a kind very similar to, but not identical with, the
+common English Colias edusa. Some moths and hymenoptera accompanied
+the butterflies; and a fine beetle (Calosoma) flew on board. Other
+instances are known of this beetle having been caught far out at
+sea; and this is the more remarkable, as the greater number of the
+Carabidae seldom or never take wing. The day had been fine and
+calm, and the one previous to it equally so, with light and
+variable airs. Hence we cannot suppose that the insects were blown
+off the land, but we must conclude that they voluntarily took
+flight. The great bands of the Colias seem at first to afford an
+instance like those on record of the migrations of another
+butterfly, Vanessa cardui (8/5. Lyell's "Principles of Geology"
+volume 3 page 63.); but the presence of other insects makes the
+case distinct, and even less intelligible. Before sunset a strong
+breeze sprung up from the north, and this must have caused tens of
+thousands of the butterflies and other insects to have perished.
+
+On another occasion, when seventeen miles off Cape Corrientes, I
+had a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. Upon drawing it up,
+to my surprise I found a considerable number of beetles in it, and
+although in the open sea, they did not appear much injured by the
+salt water. I lost some of the specimens, but those which I
+preserved belonged to the genera Colymbetes, Hydroporus, Hydrobius
+(two species), Notaphus, Cynucus, Adimonia, and Scarabaeus. At
+first I thought that these insects had been blown from the shore;
+but upon reflecting that out of the eight species four were
+aquatic, and two others partly so in their habits, it appeared to
+me most probable that they were floated into the sea by a small
+stream which drains a lake near Cape Corrientes. On any supposition
+it is an interesting circumstance to find live insects swimming in
+the open ocean seventeen miles from the nearest point of land.
+There are several accounts of insects having been blown off the
+Patagonian shore. Captain Cook observed it, as did more lately
+Captain King of the "Adventure." The cause probably is due to the
+want of shelter, both of trees and hills, so that an insect on the
+wing with an offshore breeze, would be very apt to be blown out to
+sea. The most remarkable instance I have known of an insect being
+caught far from the land, was that of a large grasshopper
+(Acrydium), which flew on board, when the "Beagle" was to windward
+of the Cape de Verd Islands, and when the nearest point of land,
+not directly opposed to the trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the
+coast of Africa, 370 miles distant. (8/6. The flies which
+frequently accompany a ship for some days on its passage from
+harbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost, and
+all disappear.)
+
+On several occasions, when the "Beagle" has been within the mouth
+of the Plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of the
+Gossamer Spider. One day (November 1st, 1832) I paid particular
+attention to this subject. The weather had been fine and clear, and
+in the morning the air was full of patches of the flocculent web,
+as on an autumnal day in England. The ship was sixty miles distant
+from the land, in the direction of a steady though light breeze.
+Vast numbers of a small spider, about one-tenth of an inch in
+length, and of a dusky red colour, were attached to the webs. There
+must have been, I should suppose, some thousands on the ship. The
+little spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was
+always seated on a single thread, and not on the flocculent mass.
+This latter seems merely to be produced by the entanglement of the
+single threads. The spiders were all of one species, but of both
+sexes, together with young ones. These latter were distinguished by
+their smaller size and more dusky colour. I will not give the
+description of this spider, but merely state that it does not
+appear to me to be included in any of Latreille's genera. The
+little aeronaut as soon as it arrived on board was very active,
+running about, sometimes letting itself fall, and then reascending
+the same thread; sometimes employing itself in making a small and
+very irregular mesh in the corners between the ropes. It could run
+with facility on the surface of water. When disturbed it lifted up
+its front legs, in the attitude of attention. On its first arrival
+it appeared very thirsty, and with exserted maxillae drank eagerly
+of drops of water; this same circumstance has been observed by
+Strack: may it not be in consequence of the little insect having
+passed through a dry and rarefied atmosphere? Its stock of web
+seemed inexhaustible. While watching some that were suspended by a
+single thread, I several times observed that the slightest breath
+of air bore them away out of sight, in a horizontal line. On
+another occasion (25th) under similar circumstances, I repeatedly
+observed the same kind of small spider, either when placed or
+having crawled on some little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send
+forth a thread, and then sail away horizontally, but with a
+rapidity which was quite unaccountable. I thought I could perceive
+that the spider, before performing the above preparatory steps,
+connected its legs together with the most delicate threads, but I
+am not sure whether this observation was correct.
+
+One day, at St. F�, I had a better opportunity of observing some
+similar facts. A spider which was about three-tenths of an inch in
+length, and which in its general appearance resembled a Citigrade
+(therefore quite different from the gossamer), while standing on
+the summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads from its
+spinners. These, glittering in the sunshine, might be compared to
+diverging rays of light; they were not, however, straight, but in
+undulations like films of silk blown by the wind. They were more
+than a yard in length, and diverged in an ascending direction from
+the orifices. The spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post,
+and was quickly borne out of sight. The day was hot and apparently
+quite calm; yet under such circumstances, the atmosphere can never
+be so tranquil as not to affect a vane so delicate as the thread of
+a spider's web. If during a warm day we look either at the shadow
+of any object cast on a bank, or over a level plain at a distant
+landmark, the effect of an ascending current of heated air is
+almost always evident: such upward currents, it has been remarked,
+are also shown by the ascent of soap-bubbles, which will not rise
+in an indoors room. Hence I think there is not much difficulty in
+understanding the ascent of the fine lines projected from a
+spider's spinners, and afterwards of the spider itself; the
+divergence of the lines has been attempted to be explained, I
+believe by Mr. Murray, by their similar electrical condition. The
+circumstance of spiders of the same species, but of different sexes
+and ages, being found on several occasions at the distance of many
+leagues from the land, attached in vast numbers to the lines,
+renders it probable that the habit of sailing through the air is as
+characteristic of this tribe, as that of diving is of the
+Argyroneta. We may then reject Latreille's supposition, that the
+gossamer owes its origin indifferently to the young of several
+genera of spiders: although, as we have seen, the young of other
+spiders do possess the power of performing aerial voyages. (8/7.
+Mr. Blackwall in his "Researches in Zoology" has many excellent
+observations on the habits of spiders.)
+
+During our different passages south of the Plata, I often towed
+astern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious animals.
+Of Crustacea there were many strange and undescribed genera. One,
+which in some respects is allied to the Notopods (or those crabs
+which have their posterior legs placed almost on their backs, for
+the purpose of adhering to the under side of rocks), is very
+remarkable from the structure of its hind pair of legs. The
+penultimate joint, instead of terminating in a simple claw, ends in
+three bristle-like appendages of dissimilar lengths--the longest
+equalling that of the entire leg. These claws are very thin, and
+are serrated with the finest teeth, directed backwards: their
+curved extremities are flattened, and on this part five most minute
+cups are placed which seem to act in the same manner as the suckers
+on the arms of the cuttle-fish. As the animal lives in the open
+sea, and probably wants a place of rest, I suppose this beautiful
+and most anomalous structure is adapted to take hold of floating
+marine animals.
+
+In deep water, far from the land, the number of living creatures is
+extremely small: south of the latitude 35 degrees, I never
+succeeded in catching anything besides some beroe, and a few
+species of minute entomostracous crustacea. In shoaler water, at
+the distance of a few miles from the coast, very many kinds of
+crustacea and some other animals are numerous, but only during the
+night. Between latitudes 56 and 57 degrees south of Cape Horn, the
+net was put astern several times; it never, however, brought up
+anything besides a few of two extremely minute species of
+Entomostraca. Yet whales and seals, petrels and albatross, are
+exceedingly abundant throughout this part of the ocean. It has
+always been a mystery to me on what the albatross, which lives far
+from the shore, can subsist; I presume that, like the condor, it is
+able to fast long; and that one good feast on the carcass of a
+putrid whale lasts for a long time. The central and intertropical
+parts of the Atlantic swarm with Pteropoda, Crustacea, and Radiata,
+and with their devourers the flying-fish, and again with their
+devourers the bonitos and albicores; I presume that the numerous
+lower pelagic animals feed on the Infusoria, which are now known,
+from the researches of Ehrenberg, to abound in the open ocean: but
+on what, in the clear blue water, do these Infusoria subsist?
+
+While sailing a little south of the Plata on one very dark night,
+the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There
+was a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the
+day is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove
+before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake
+she was followed by a milky train. As far as the eye reached, the
+crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from
+the reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly
+obscure as over the vault of the heavens.
+
+As we proceed farther southward the sea is seldom phosphorescent;
+and off Cape Horn I do not recollect more than once having seen it
+so, and then it was far from being brilliant. This circumstance
+probably has a close connection with the scarcity of organic beings
+in that part of the ocean. After the elaborate paper by Ehrenberg,
+on the phosphorescence of the sea, it is almost superfluous on my
+part to make any observations on the subject. (8/8. An abstract is
+given in No. 4 of the "Magazine of Zoology and Botany.") I may
+however add, that the same torn and irregular particles of
+gelatinous matter, described by Ehrenberg, seem in the southern as
+well as in the northern hemisphere to be the common cause of this
+phenomenon. The particles were so minute as easily to pass through
+fine gauze; yet many were distinctly visible by the naked eye. The
+water when placed in a tumbler and agitated gave out sparks, but a
+small portion in a watch-glass scarcely ever was luminous.
+Ehrenberg states that these particles all retain a certain degree
+of irritability. My observations, some of which were made directly
+after taking up the water, gave a different result. I may also
+mention, that having used the net during one night, I allowed it to
+become partially dry, and having occasion twelve hours afterwards
+to employ it again, I found the whole surface sparkled as brightly
+as when first taken out of the water. It does not appear probable
+in this case that the particles could have remained so long alive.
+On one occasion having kept a jelly-fish of the genus Dianaea till
+it was dead, the water in which it was placed became luminous. When
+the waves scintillate with bright green sparks, I believe it is
+generally owing to minute crustacea. But there can be no doubt that
+very many other pelagic animals, when alive, are phosphorescent.
+
+On two occasions I have observed the sea luminous at considerable
+depths beneath the surface. Near the mouth of the Plata some
+circular and oval patches, from two to four yards in diameter, and
+with defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale light; while
+the surrounding water only gave out a few sparks. The appearance
+resembled the reflection of the moon, or some luminous body; for
+the edges were sinuous from the undulations of the surface. The
+ship, which drew thirteen feet water, passed over, without
+disturbing these patches. Therefore we must suppose that some
+animals were congregated together at a greater depth than the
+bottom of the vessel.
+
+Near Fernando Noronha the sea gave out light in flashes. The
+appearance was very similar to that which might be expected from a
+large fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid. To this cause
+the sailors attributed it; at the time, however, I entertained some
+doubts, on account of the frequency and rapidity of the flashes. I
+have already remarked that the phenomenon is very much more common
+in warm than in cold countries; and I have sometimes imagined that
+a disturbed electrical condition of the atmosphere was most
+favourable to its production. Certainly I think the sea is most
+luminous after a few days of more calm weather than ordinary,
+during which time it has swarmed with various animals. Observing
+that the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure
+state, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is
+produced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the
+atmosphere, I am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is
+the result of the decomposition of the organic particles, by which
+process (one is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration)
+the ocean becomes purified.
+
+DECEMBER 23, 1833.
+
+We arrived at Port Desire, situated in latitude 47 degrees, on the
+coast of Patagonia. The creek runs for about twenty miles inland,
+with an irregular width. The "Beagle" anchored a few miles within
+the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old Spanish settlement.
+
+The same evening I went on shore. The first landing in any new
+country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case,
+the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual
+character. At the height of between two and three hundred feet
+above some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly
+characteristic of Patagonia. The surface is quite level, and is
+composed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. Here
+and there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and
+still more rarely, some low thorny bushes. The weather is dry and
+pleasant, and the fine blue sky is but seldom obscured. When
+standing in the middle of one of these desert plains and looking
+towards the interior, the view is generally bounded by the
+escarpment of another plain, rather higher, but equally level and
+desolate; and in every other direction the horizon is indistinct
+from the trembling mirage which seems to rise from the heated
+surface.
+
+In such a country the fate of the Spanish settlement was soon
+decided; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of the
+year, and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering Indians,
+compelled the colonists to desert their half-finished buildings.
+The style, however, in which they were commenced shows the strong
+and liberal hand of Spain in the old time. The result of all the
+attempts to colonise this side of America south of 41 degrees has
+been miserable. Port Famine expresses by its name the lingering and
+extreme sufferings of several hundred wretched people, of whom one
+alone survived to relate their misfortunes. At St. Joseph's Bay, on
+the coast of Patagonia, a small settlement was made; but during one
+Sunday the Indians made an attack and massacred the whole party,
+excepting two men, who remained captives during many years. At the
+Rio Negro I conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old
+age.
+
+(PLATE 38.  OPUNTIA DARWINII.)
+
+The zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its Flora. (8/9. I found
+here a species of cactus, described by Professor Henslow, under the
+name of Opuntia Darwinii "Magazine of Zoology and Botany" volume 1
+page 466, which was remarkable for the irritability of the stamens,
+when I inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in
+the flower. The segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil,
+but more slowly than the stamens. Plants of this family, generally
+considered as tropical, occur in North America "Lewis and Clarke's
+Travels" page 221, in the same high latitude as here, namely, in
+both cases, in 47 degrees.) On the arid plains a few black beetles
+(Heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling about, and occasionally
+a lizard darted from side to side. Of birds we have three carrion
+hawks, and in the valleys a few finches and insect-feeders. An ibis
+(Theristicus melanops--a species said to be found in central
+Africa) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in their stomachs
+I found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions.
+(8/10. These insects were not uncommon beneath stones. I found one
+cannibal scorpion quietly devouring another.) At one time of the
+year these birds go in flocks, at another in pairs, their cry is
+very loud and singular, like the neighing of the guanaco.
+
+The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the
+plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the
+camel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature,
+with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the
+whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the
+islands near Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from
+half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we
+saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred.
+
+They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes told me that
+he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which
+evidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed,
+although their distance was so great that he could not distinguish
+them with his naked eye. The sportsman frequently receives the
+first notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance
+their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks
+attentively, he will probably see the herd standing in a line on
+the side of some distant hill. On approaching nearer, a few more
+squeals are given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but
+really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a
+neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly meets a
+single animal, or several together, they will generally stand
+motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few
+yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this
+difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the distance
+for their chief enemy the puma? Or does curiosity overcome their
+timidity? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on
+the ground, and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet
+in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to
+reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was repeatedly practised
+by our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the advantage of
+allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts
+of the performance. On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, I have
+more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh
+and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous
+manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. These animals are
+very easily domesticated, and I have seen some thus kept in
+Northern Patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint.
+They are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by
+striking him from behind with both knees. It is asserted that the
+motive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females.
+The wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single
+dog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can
+come up. In many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock.
+Thus when they see men approaching in several directions on
+horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to
+run. This greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for
+they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are
+encompassed.
+
+The guanacos readily take to the water: several times at Port
+Valdes they were seen swimming from island to island. Byron, in his
+voyage, says he saw them drinking salt water. Some of our officers
+likewise saw a herd apparently drinking the briny fluid from a
+salina near Cape Blanco. I imagine in several parts of the country,
+if they do not drink salt water, they drink none at all. In the
+middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust, in
+saucer-shaped hollows. The males fight together; two one day passed
+quite close to me, squealing and trying to bite each other; and
+several were shot with their hides deeply scored. Herds sometimes
+appear to set out on exploring parties: at Bahia Blanca, where,
+within thirty miles of the coast, these animals are extremely
+unfrequent, I one day saw the tracks of thirty or forty, which had
+come in a direct line to a muddy salt-water creek. They then must
+have perceived that they were approaching the sea, for they had
+wheeled with the regularity of cavalry, and had returned back in as
+straight a line as they had advanced. The guanacos have one
+singular habit, which is to me quite inexplicable; namely, that on
+successive days they drop their dung in the same defined heap. I
+saw one of these heaps which was eight feet in diameter, and was
+composed of a large quantity. This habit, according to M. A.
+d'Orbigny, is common to all the species of the genus; it is very
+useful to the Peruvian Indians, who use the dung for fuel, and are
+thus saved the trouble of collecting it.
+
+The guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down to die.
+On the banks of the St. Cruz, in certain circumscribed spaces,
+which were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was
+actually white with bones. On one such spot I counted between ten
+and twenty heads. I particularly examined the bones; they did not
+appear, as some scattered ones which I had seen, gnawed or broken,
+as if dragged together by beasts of prey. The animals in most cases
+must have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes.
+Mr. Bynoe informs me that during a former voyage he observed the
+same circumstance on the banks of the Rio Gallegos. I do not at all
+understand the reason of this, but I may observe, that the wounded
+guanacos at the St. Cruz invariably walked towards the river. At
+St. Jago in the Cape de Verd Islands, I remember having seen in a
+ravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat; we at the
+time exclaimed that it was the burial-ground of all the goats in
+the island. I mention these trifling circumstances, because in
+certain cases they might explain the occurrence of a number of
+uninjured bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial accumulations;
+and likewise the cause why certain animals are more commonly
+embedded than others in sedimentary deposits.
+
+
+"None can reply--all seems eternal now.
+The wilderness has a mysterious tongue,
+Which teaches awful doubt."
+(8/11. Shelley, Lines on Mt. Blanc.)
+One day the yawl was sent under the command of Mr. Chaffers with
+three days' provisions to survey the upper part of the harbour. In
+the morning we searched for some watering-places mentioned in an
+old Spanish chart. We found one creek, at the head of which there
+was a trickling rill (the first we had seen) of brackish water.
+Here the tide compelled us to wait several hours; and in the
+interval I walked some miles into the interior. The plain as usual
+consisted of gravel, mingled with soil resembling chalk in
+appearance, but very different from it in nature. From the softness
+of these materials it was worn into many gulleys. There was not a
+tree, and, excepting the guanaco, which stood on the hilltop a
+watchful sentinel over its herd, scarcely an animal or a bird. All
+was stillness and desolation. Yet in passing over these scenes,
+without one bright object near, an ill-defined but strong sense of
+pleasure is vividly excited. One asked how many ages the plain had
+thus lasted, and how many more it was doomed thus to continue.
+
+In the evening we sailed a few miles farther up, and then pitched
+the tents for the night. By the middle of the next day the yawl was
+aground, and from the shoalness of the water could not proceed any
+higher. The water being found partly fresh, Mr. Chaffers took the
+dingey and went up two or three miles farther, where she also
+grounded, but in a fresh-water river. The water was muddy, and
+though the stream was most insignificant in size, it would be
+difficult to account for its origin, except from the melting snow
+on the Cordillera. At the spot where we bivouacked, we were
+surrounded by bold cliffs and steep pinnacles of porphyry. I do not
+think I ever saw a spot which appeared more secluded from the rest
+of the world than this rocky crevice in the wide plain.
+
+The second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of
+officers and myself went to ransack an old Indian grave, which I
+had found on the summit of a neighbouring hill. Two immense stones,
+each probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had been placed
+in front of a ledge of rock about six feet high. At the bottom of
+the grave on the hard rock there was a layer of earth about a foot
+deep, which must have been brought up from the plain below. Above
+it a pavement of flat stones was placed, on which others were
+piled, so as to fill up the space between the ledge and the two
+great blocks. To complete the grave, the Indians had contrived to
+detach from the ledge a huge fragment, and to throw it over the
+pile so as to rest on the two blocks. We undermined the grave on
+both sides, but could not find any relics, or even bones. The
+latter probably had decayed long since (in which case the grave
+must have been of extreme antiquity), for I found in another place
+some smaller heaps, beneath which a very few crumbling fragments
+could yet be distinguished as having belonged to a man. Falconer
+states, that where an Indian dies he is buried, but that
+subsequently his bones are carefully taken up and carried, let the
+distance be ever so great, to be deposited near the sea-coast. This
+custom, I think, may be accounted for by recollecting that, before
+the introduction of horses, these Indians must have led nearly the
+same life as the Fuegians now do, and therefore generally have
+resided in the neighbourhood of the sea. The common prejudice of
+lying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now roaming
+Indians bring the less perishable part of their dead to their
+ancient burial-ground on the coast.
+
+JANUARY 9, 1834.
+
+Before it was dark the "Beagle" anchored in the fine spacious
+harbour of Port St. Julian, situated about one hundred and ten
+miles to the south of Port Desire. We remained here eight days. The
+country is nearly similar to that of Port Desire, but perhaps
+rather more sterile. One day a party accompanied Captain Fitz Roy
+on a long walk round the head of the harbour. We were eleven hours
+without tasting any water, and some of the party were quite
+exhausted. From the summit of a hill (since well named Thirsty
+Hill) a fine lake was spied, and two of the party proceeded with
+concerted signals to show whether it was fresh water. What was our
+disappointment to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crystallised
+in great cubes! We attributed our extreme thirst to the dryness of
+the atmosphere; but whatever the cause might be, we were
+exceedingly glad late in the evening to get back to the boats.
+Although we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single
+drop of fresh water, yet some must exist; for by an odd chance I
+found on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a
+Colymbetes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far
+distant pool. Three other insects (a Cincindela, like hybrida, a
+Cymindis, and a Harpalus, which all live on muddy flats
+occasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other found dead on
+the plain, complete the list of the beetles. A good-sized fly
+(Tabanus) was extremely numerous, and tormented us by its painful
+bite. The common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady
+lanes of England, belongs to this same genus. We here have the
+puzzle that so frequently occurs in the case of musquitoes--on the
+blood of what animals do these insects commonly feed? The guanaco
+is nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found in quite
+inconsiderable numbers compared with the multitude of flies.
+
+The geology of Patagonia is interesting. Differently from Europe,
+where the tertiary formations appear to have accumulated in bays,
+here along hundreds of miles of coast we have one great deposit,
+including many tertiary shells, all apparently extinct. The most
+common shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even a foot in
+diameter. These beds are covered by others of a peculiar soft white
+stone, including much gypsum, and resembling chalk, but really of a
+pumiceous nature. It is highly remarkable, from being composed, to
+at least one-tenth part of its bulk, of Infusoria: Professor
+Ehrenberg has already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. This
+bed extends for 500 miles along the coast, and probably for a
+considerably greater distance. At Port St. Julian its thickness is
+more than 800 feet! These white beds are everywhere capped by a
+mass of gravel, forming probably one of the largest beds of shingle
+in the world: it certainly extends from near the Rio Colorado to
+between 600 and 700 nautical miles southward, at Santa Cruz (a
+river a little south of St. Julian) it reaches to the foot of the
+Cordillera; half way up the river its thickness is more than 200
+feet; it probably everywhere extends to this great chain, whence
+the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have been derived: we may
+consider its average breadth as 200 miles, and its average
+thickness as about 50 feet. If this great bed of pebbles, without
+including the mud necessarily derived from their attrition, was
+piled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain! When we
+consider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains of sand in
+the desert, have been derived from the slow falling of masses of
+rock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers, and that these
+fragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and that each of
+them has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and far transported,
+the mind is stupefied in thinking over the long, absolutely
+necessary, lapse of years. Yet all this gravel has been
+transported, and probably rounded, subsequently to the deposition
+of the white beds, and long subsequently to the underlying beds
+with the tertiary shells.
+
+Everything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand
+scale: the land, from the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance
+of 1200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia to a
+height of between 300 and 400 feet), within the period of the now
+existing sea-shells. The old and weathered shells left on the
+surface of the upraised plain still partially retain their colours.
+The uprising movement has been interrupted by at least eight long
+periods of rest, during which the sea ate deeply back into the
+land, forming at successive levels the long lines of cliffs or
+escarpments, which separate the different plains as they rise like
+steps one behind the other. The elevatory movement, and the
+eating-back power of the sea during the periods of rest, have been
+equable over long lines of coast; for I was astonished to find that
+the step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding heights at far
+distant points. The lowest plain is 90 feet high; and the highest,
+which I ascended near the coast, is 950 feet; and of this only
+relics are left in the form of flat gravel-capped hills. The upper
+plain of Santa Cruz slopes up to a height of 3000 feet at the foot
+of the Cordillera. I have said that within the period of existing
+sea-shells, Patagonia has been upraised 300 to 400 feet: I may add,
+that within the period when icebergs transported boulders over the
+upper plain of Santa Cruz, the elevation has been at least 1500
+feet. Nor has Patagonia been affected only by upward movements: the
+extinct tertiary shells from Port St. Julian and Santa Cruz cannot
+have lived, according to Professor E. Forbes, in a greater depth of
+water than from 40 to 250 feet; but they are now covered with
+sea-deposited strata from 800 to 1000 feet in thickness: hence the
+bed of the sea, on which these shells once lived, must have sunk
+downwards several hundred feet, to allow of the accumulation of the
+superincumbent strata. What a history of geological changes does
+the simply-constructed coast of Patagonia reveal!
+
+(PLATE 39.  RAISED BEACHES, PATAGONIA.)
+
+At Port St. Julian, in some red mud capping the gravel on the
+90-feet plain, I found half the skeleton of the Macrauchenia
+Patachonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a camel.
+(8/12. I have lately heard that Captain Sulivan, R.N., has found
+numerous fossil bones, embedded in regular strata, on the banks of
+the R. Gallegos, in latitude 51 degrees 4'. Some of the bones are
+large; others are small, and appear to have belonged to an
+armadillo. This is a most interesting and important discovery.) It
+belongs to the same division of the Pachydermata with the
+rhinoceros, tapir, and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the
+bones of its long neck it shows a clear relation to the camel, or
+rather to the guanaco and llama. From recent sea-shells being found
+on two of the higher step-formed plains, which must have been
+modelled and upraised before the mud was deposited in which the
+Macrauchenia was intombed, it is certain that this curious
+quadruped lived long after the sea was inhabited by its present
+shells. I was at first much surprised how a large quadruped could
+so lately have subsisted, in latitude 49 degrees 15', on these
+wretched gravel plains with their stunted vegetation; but the
+relationship of the Macrauchenia to the Guanaco, now an inhabitant
+of the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty.
+
+The relationship, though distant, between the Macrauchenia and the
+Guanaco, between the Toxodon and the Capybara,--the closer
+relationship between the many extinct Edentata and the living
+sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently characteristic
+of South American zoology,--and the still closer relationship
+between the fossil and living species of Ctenomys and Hydrochaerus,
+are most interesting facts. This relationship is shown
+wonderfully--as wonderfully as between the fossil and extinct
+Marsupial animals of Australia--by the great collection lately
+brought to Europe from the caves of Brazil by MM. Lund and Clausen.
+In this collection there are extinct species of all the thirty-two
+genera, excepting four, of the terrestrial quadrupeds now
+inhabiting the provinces in which the caves occur; and the extinct
+species are much more numerous than those now living: there are
+fossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, peccaries, guanacos,
+opossums, and numerous South American gnawers and monkeys, and
+other animals. This wonderful relationship in the same continent
+between the dead and the living, will, I do not doubt, hereafter
+throw more light on the appearance of organic beings on our earth,
+and their disappearance from it, than any other class of facts.
+
+It is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the American
+continent without the deepest astonishment. Formerly it must have
+swarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared
+with the antecedent allied races. If Buffon had known of the
+gigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost
+Pachydermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of truth
+that the creative force in America had lost its power, rather than
+that it had never possessed great vigour. The greater number, if
+not all, of these extinct quadrupeds lived at a late period, and
+were the contemporaries of most of the existing sea-shells. Since
+they lived, no very great change in the form of the land can have
+taken place. What, then, has exterminated so many species and whole
+genera? The mind at first is irresistibly hurried into the belief
+of some great catastrophe; but thus to destroy animals, both large
+and small, in Southern Patagonia, in Brazil, on the Cordillera of
+Peru, in North America up to Behring's Straits, we must shake the
+entire framework of the globe. An examination, moreover, of the
+geology of La Plata and Patagonia, leads to the belief that all the
+features of the land result from slow and gradual changes. It
+appears from the character of the fossils in Europe, Asia,
+Australia, and in North and South America, that those conditions
+which favour the life of the LARGER quadrupeds were lately
+coextensive with the world: what those conditions were, no one has
+yet even conjectured. It could hardly have been a change of
+temperature, which at about the same time destroyed the inhabitants
+of tropical, temperate, and arctic latitudes on both sides of the
+globe. In North America we positively know from Mr. Lyell that the
+large quadrupeds lived subsequently to that period, when boulders
+were brought into latitudes at which icebergs now never arrive:
+from conclusive but indirect reasons we may feel sure, that in the
+southern hemisphere the Macrauchenia, also, lived long subsequently
+to the ice-transporting boulder-period. Did man, after his first
+inroad into South America, destroy, as has been suggested, the
+unwieldy Megatherium and the other Edentata? We must at least look
+to some other cause for the destruction of the little tucutuco at
+Bahia Blanca, and of the many fossil mice and other small
+quadrupeds in Brazil. No one will imagine that a drought, even far
+severer than those which cause such losses in the provinces of La
+Plata, could destroy every individual of every species from
+Southern Patagonia to Behring's Straits. What shall we say of the
+extinction of the horse? Did those plains fail of pasture, which
+have since been overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of
+the descendants of the stock introduced by the Spaniards? Have the
+subsequently introduced species consumed the food of the great
+antecedent races? Can we believe that the Capybara has taken the
+food of the Toxodon, the Guanaco of the Macrauchenia, the existing
+small Edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes? Certainly, no
+fact in the long history of the world is so startling as the wide
+and repeated exterminations of its inhabitants.
+
+Nevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point of
+view, it will appear less perplexing. We do not steadily bear in
+mind how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of existence
+of every animal; nor do we always remember that some check is
+constantly preventing the too rapid increase of every organised
+being left in a state of nature. The supply of food, on an average,
+remains constant, yet the tendency in every animal to increase by
+propagation is geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere
+been more astonishingly shown, than in the case of the European
+animals run wild during the last few centuries in America. Every
+animal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species long
+established, any GREAT increase in numbers is obviously impossible,
+and must be checked by some means. We are, nevertheless, seldom
+able with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period of
+life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long
+intervals, the check falls; or, again, what is the precise nature
+of the check. Hence probably it is that we feel so little surprise
+at one, of two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the
+other abundant in the same district; or, again, that one should be
+abundant in one district, and another, filling the same place in
+the economy of nature, should be abundant in a neighbouring
+district, differing very little in its conditions. If asked how
+this is, one immediately replies that it is determined by some
+slight difference in climate, food, or the number of enemies: yet
+how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and manner
+of action of the check! We are therefore, driven to the conclusion
+that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine whether
+a given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.
+
+In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through
+man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it
+becomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to
+point out any just distinction between a species destroyed by man
+or by the increase of its natural enemies. (8/13. See the excellent
+remarks on this subject by Mr. Lyell in his "Principles of
+Geology.") The evidence of rarity preceding extinction is more
+striking in the successive tertiary strata, as remarked by several
+able observers; it has often been found that a shell very common in
+a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long been thought
+to be extinct. If then, as appears probable, species first become
+rare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every species,
+even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit,
+though how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the
+smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one
+species abundant and another closely-allied species rare in the
+same district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the
+rarity being carried a step farther to extinction? An action going
+on, on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely
+be carried a little farther without exciting our observation. Who
+would feel any great surprise at hearing that the Magalonyx was
+formerly rare compared with the Megatherium, or that one of the
+fossil monkeys was few in number compared with one of the now
+living monkeys? and yet in this comparative rarity, we should have
+the plainest evidence of less favourable conditions for their
+existence. To admit that species generally become rare before they
+become extinct--to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of
+one species with another, and yet to call in some extraordinary
+agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to exist, appears
+to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the individual is
+the prelude to death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but when the
+sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through
+violence.
+
+
+(PLATE 40.  LADIES' COMBS, BANDA ORIENTAL.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+(PLATE 41.  CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus gryphus).)
+
+Santa Cruz.
+Expedition up the River.
+Indians.
+Immense Streams of basaltic lava.
+Fragments not transported by the River.
+Excavation of the valley.
+Condor, habits of.
+Cordillera.
+Erratic boulders of great size.
+Indian relics.
+Return to the ship.
+Falkland Islands.
+Wild horses, cattle, rabbits.
+Wolf-like fox.
+Fire made of bones.
+Manner of hunting wild cattle.
+Geology.
+Streams of stones.
+Scenes of violence.
+Penguin.
+Geese.
+Eggs of Doris.
+Compound animals.
+
+SANTA CRUZ, PATAGONIA, AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.
+
+APRIL 13, 1834.
+
+
+
+The "Beagle" anchored within the mouth of the Santa Cruz. This
+river is situated about sixty miles south of Port St. Julian.
+During the last voyage Captain Stokes proceeded thirty miles up it,
+but then, from the want of provisions, was obliged to return.
+Excepting what was discovered at that time, scarcely anything was
+known about this large river. Captain Fitz Roy now determined to
+follow its course as far as time would allow. On the 18th three
+whale-boats started, carrying three weeks' provisions; and the
+party consisted of twenty-five souls--a force which would have been
+sufficient to have defied a host of Indians. With a strong
+flood-tide and a fine day we made a good run, soon drank some of
+the fresh water, and were at night nearly above the tidal
+influence.
+
+The river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at the
+highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. It
+was generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in the
+middle about seventeen feet deep. The rapidity of the current,
+which in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to six
+knots an hour, is perhaps its most remarkable feature. The water is
+of a fine blue colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and not so
+transparent as at first sight would have been expected. It flows
+over a bed of pebbles, like those which compose the beach and the
+surrounding plains. It runs in a winding course through a valley,
+which extends in a direct line westward. This valley varies from
+five to ten miles in breadth; it is bounded by step-formed
+terraces, which rise in most parts, one above the other, to the
+height of five hundred feet, and have on the opposite sides a
+remarkable correspondence.
+
+APRIL 19, 1834.
+
+Against so strong a current it was, of course, quite impossible to
+row or sail: consequently the three boats were fastened together
+head and stern, two hands left in each, and the rest came on shore
+to track. As the general arrangements made by Captain Fitz Roy were
+very good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a share
+in it, I will describe the system. The party, including every one,
+was divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the tracking
+line alternately for an hour and a half. The officers of each boat
+lived with, ate the same food, and slept in the same tent with
+their crew, so that each boat was quite independent of the others.
+After sunset the first level spot where any bushes were growing was
+chosen for our night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns
+to be cook. Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his
+fire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things
+out of the boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and
+collected firewood. By this order, in half an hour everything was
+ready for the night. A watch of two men and an officer was always
+kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep up the fire,
+and guard against Indians. Each in the party had his one hour every
+night.
+
+During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were
+many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between
+them were shallow.
+
+APRIL 20, 1834.
+
+We passed the islands and set to work. Our regular day's march,
+although it was hard enough, carried us on an average only ten
+miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty altogether.
+Beyond the place where we slept last night, the country is
+completely terra incognita, for it was there that Captain Stokes
+turned back. We saw in the distance a great smoke, and found the
+skeleton of a horse, so we knew that Indians were in the
+neighbourhood. On the next morning (21st) tracks of a party of
+horse, and marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long
+spears, were observed on the ground. It was generally thought that
+the Indians had reconnoitred us during the night. Shortly
+afterwards we came to a spot where, from the fresh footsteps of
+men, children, and horses, it was evident that the party had
+crossed the river.
+
+APRIL 22, 1834.
+
+The country remained the same, and was extremely uninteresting. The
+complete similarity of the productions throughout Patagonia is one
+of its most striking characters. The level plains of arid shingle
+support the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the valleys the
+same thorn-bearing bushes grow. Everywhere we see the same birds
+and insects. Even the very banks of the river and of the clear
+streamlets which entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a brighter
+tint of green. The curse of sterility is on the land, and the water
+flowing over a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse. Hence the
+number of waterfowl is very scanty; for there is nothing to support
+life in the stream of this barren river.
+
+Patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast of a
+greater stock of small rodents than perhaps any other country in
+the world. (9/1. The desserts of Syria are characterised, according
+to Volney tome 1 page 351, by woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles
+and hares. In the landscape of Patagonia the guanaco replaces the
+gazelle, and the agouti the hare.) Several species of mice are
+externally characterised by large thin ears and a very fine fur.
+These little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the valleys,
+where they cannot for months together taste a drop of water
+excepting the dew. They all seem to be cannibals; for no sooner was
+a mouse caught in one of my traps than it was devoured by others. A
+small and delicately-shaped fox, which is likewise very abundant,
+probably derives its entire support from these small animals. The
+guanaco is also in his proper district, herds of fifty or a hundred
+were common; and, as I have stated, we saw one which must have
+contained at least five hundred. The puma, with the condor and
+other carrion-hawks in its train, follows and preys upon these
+animals. The footsteps of the puma were to be seen almost
+everywhere on the banks of the river; and the remains of several
+guanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones broken, showed how
+they had met their death.
+
+APRIL 24, 1834.
+
+Like the navigators of old when approaching an unknown land, we
+examined and watched for the most trivial sign of a change. The
+drifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of primitive rock, was hailed
+with joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the flanks of the
+Cordillera. The top, however, of a heavy bank of clouds, which
+remained almost constantly in one position, was the most promising
+sign, and eventually turned out a true harbinger. At first the
+clouds were mistaken for the mountains themselves, instead of the
+masses of vapour condensed by their icy summits.
+
+APRIL 26, 1834.
+
+We this day met with a marked change in the geological structure of
+the plains. From the first starting I had carefully examined the
+gravel in the river, and for the two last days had noticed the
+presence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular basalt. These
+gradually increased in number and in size, but none were as large
+as a man's head. This morning, however, pebbles of the same rock,
+but more compact, suddenly became abundant, and in the course of
+half an hour we saw, at the distance of five or six miles, the
+angular edge of a great basaltic platform. When we arrived at its
+base we found the stream bubbling among the fallen blocks. For the
+next twenty-eight miles the river-course was encumbered with these
+basaltic masses. Above that limit immense fragments of primitive
+rocks, derived from the surrounding boulder-formation, were equally
+numerous. None of the fragments of any considerable size had been
+washed more than three or four miles down the river below their
+parent-source: considering the singular rapidity of the great body
+of water in the Santa Cruz, and that no still reaches occur in any
+part, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of
+rivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments.
+
+The basalt is only lava which has flowed beneath the sea; but the
+eruptions must have been on the grandest scale. At the point where
+we first met this formation it was 120 feet in thickness; following
+up the river-course, the surface imperceptibly rose and the mass
+became thicker, so that at forty miles above the first station it
+was 320 feet thick. What the thickness may be close to the
+Cordillera, I have no means of knowing, but the platform there
+attains a height of about three thousand feet above the level of
+the sea: we must therefore look to the mountains of that great
+chain for its source; and worthy of such a source are streams that
+have flowed over the gently inclined bed of the sea to a distance
+of one hundred miles. At the first glance of the basaltic cliffs on
+the opposite sides of the valley it was evident that the strata
+once were united. What power, then, has removed along a whole line
+of country a solid mass of very hard rock, which had an average
+thickness of nearly three hundred feet, and a breadth varying from
+rather less than two miles to four miles? The river, though it has
+so little power in transporting even inconsiderable fragments, yet
+in the lapse of ages might produce by its gradual erosion an
+effect, of which it is difficult to judge the amount. But in this
+case, independently of the insignificance of such an agency, good
+reasons can be assigned for believing that this valley was formerly
+occupied by an arm of the sea. It is needless in this work to
+detail the arguments leading to this conclusion, derived from the
+form and the nature of the step-formed terraces on both sides of
+the valley, from the manner in which the bottom of the valley near
+the Andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with
+sand-hillocks on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells
+lying in the bed of the river. If I had space I could prove that
+South America was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the
+Atlantic and Pacific oceans, like that of Magellan. But it may yet
+be asked, how has the solid basalt been removed? Geologists
+formerly would have brought into play the violent action of some
+overwhelming debacle; but in this case such a supposition would
+have been quite inadmissible; because, the same step-like plains
+with existing sea-shells lying on their surface, which front the
+long line of the Patagonian coast, sweep up on each side of the
+valley of Santa Cruz. No possible action of any flood could thus
+have modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open
+coast; and by the formation of such step-like plains or terraces
+the valley itself has been hollowed out. Although we know that
+there are tides which run within the Narrows of the Strait of
+Magellan at the rate of eight knots an hour, yet we must confess
+that it makes the head almost giddy to reflect on the number of
+years, century after century, which the tides, unaided by a heavy
+surf, must have required to have corroded so vast an area and
+thickness of solid basaltic lava. Nevertheless, we must believe
+that the strata undermined by the waters of this ancient strait
+were broken up into huge fragments, and these lying scattered on
+the beach were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles,
+and lastly to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far
+into the Eastern or Western Ocean.
+
+With the change in the geological structure of the plains the
+character of the landscape likewise altered. While rambling up some
+of the narrow and rocky defiles, I could almost have fancied myself
+transported back again to the barren valleys of the island of St.
+Jago. Among the basaltic cliffs I found some plants which I had
+seen nowhere else, but others I recognised as being wanderers from
+Tierra del Fuego. These porous rocks serve as a reservoir for the
+scanty rain-water; and consequently on the line where the igneous
+and sedimentary formations unite, some small springs (most rare
+occurrences in Patagonia) burst forth; and they could be
+distinguished at a distance by the circumscribed patches of bright
+green herbage.
+
+(PLATE 42.  BASALTIC GLEN, SANTA CRUZ (RIO NEGRO).
+
+APRIL 27, 1834.
+
+The bed of the river became rather narrower, and hence the stream
+more rapid. It here ran at the rate of six knots an hour. From this
+cause, and from the many great angular fragments, tracking the
+boats became both dangerous and laborious.
+
+This day I shot a condor. It measured from tip to tip of the wings
+eight and a half feet, and from beak to tail four feet. This bird
+is known to have a wide geographical range, being found on the west
+coast of South America, from the Strait of Magellan along the
+Cordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. The steep
+cliff near the mouth of the Rio Negro is its northern limit on the
+Patagonian coast; and they have there wandered about four hundred
+miles from the great central line of their habitation in the Andes.
+Further south, among the bold precipices at the head of Port
+Desire, the condor is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers
+occasionally visit the sea-coast. A line of cliff near the mouth of
+the Santa Cruz is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles
+up the river, where the sides of the valley are formed by steep
+basaltic precipices, the condor reappears. From these facts, it
+seems that the condors require perpendicular cliffs. In Chile, they
+haunt, during the greater part of the year, the lower country near
+the shores of the Pacific, and at night several roost together in
+one tree; but in the early part of summer they retire to the most
+inaccessible parts of the inner Cordillera, there to breed in
+peace.
+
+With respect to their propagation, I was told by the country people
+in Chile that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months
+of November and December lays two large white eggs on a shelf of
+bare rock. It is said that the young condors cannot fly for an
+entire year; and long after they are able, they continue to roost
+by night, an hunt by day with their parents. The old birds
+generally live in pairs; but among the inland basaltic cliffs of
+the Santa Cruz I found a spot where scores must usually haunt. On
+coming suddenly to the brow of the precipice, it was a grand
+spectacle to see between twenty and thirty of these great birds
+start heavily from their resting-place, and wheel away in majestic
+circles. From the quantity of dung on the rocks, they must long
+have frequented this cliff for roosting and breeding. Having gorged
+themselves with carrion on the plains below, they retire to these
+favourite ledges to digest their food. From these facts, the
+condor, like the gallinazo must to a certain degree be considered
+as a gregarious bird. In this part of the country they live
+altogether on the guanacos which have died a natural death, or as
+more commonly happens, have been killed by the pumas. I believe,
+from what I saw in Patagonia, that they do not on ordinary
+occasions extend their daily excursions to any great distance from
+their regular sleeping-places.
+
+The condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over
+a certain spot in the most graceful circles. On some occasions I am
+sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the
+Chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal,
+or the puma devouring its prey. If the condors glide down, and then
+suddenly all rise together, the Chileno knows that it is the puma
+which, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the
+robbers. Besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack
+young goats and lambs; and the shepherd-dogs are trained, whenever
+they pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently.
+The Chilenos destroy and catch numbers. Two methods are used; one
+is to place a carcass on a level piece of ground within an
+enclosure of sticks with an opening, and when the condors are
+gorged, to gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose
+them: for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its
+body sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. The second method
+is to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or
+six together, they roost, and then at night to climb up and noose
+them. They are such heavy sleepers, as I have myself witnessed,
+that this is not a difficult task. At Valparaiso I have seen a
+living condor sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or
+ten shillings. One which I saw brought in, had been tied with rope,
+and was much injured; yet, the moment the line was cut by which its
+bill was secured, although surrounded by people, it began
+ravenously to tear a piece of carrion. In a garden at the same
+place, between twenty and thirty were kept alive. They were fed
+only once a week, but they appeared in pretty good health. The
+Chileno countrymen assert that the condor will live, and retain its
+vigour, between five and six weeks without eating: I cannot answer
+for the truth of this, but it is a cruel experiment, which very
+likely has been tried. (9/2. I noticed that several hours before
+any one of the condors died, all the lice, with which it was
+infested, crawled to the outside feathers. I was assured that this
+always happens.)
+
+When an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that the
+condors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of it,
+and congregate in an inexplicable manner. In most cases it must not
+be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey, and have
+picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least degree
+tainted. Remembering the experiments of M. Audubon, on the little
+smelling powers of carrion-hawks, I tried in the above-mentioned
+garden the following experiment: the condors were tied, each by a
+rope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall; and having folded up a
+piece of meat in white paper, I walked backwards and forwards,
+carrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from
+them, but no notice whatever was taken. I then threw it on the
+ground, within one yard of an old male bird; he looked at it for a
+moment with attention, but then regarded it no more. With a stick I
+pushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his
+beak; the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the
+same moment, every bird in the long row began struggling and
+flapping its wings. Under the same circumstances it would have been
+quite impossible to have deceived a dog. The evidence in favour of
+and against the acute smelling powers of carrion-vultures is
+singularly balanced. Professor Owen has demonstrated that the
+olfactory nerves of the turkey-buzzard (Cathartes aura) are highly
+developed, and on the evening when Mr. Owen's paper was read at the
+Zoological Society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that he had
+seen the carrion-hawks in the West Indies on two occasions collect
+on the roof of a house, when a corpse had become offensive from not
+having been buried: in this case, the intelligence could hardly
+have been acquired by sight. On the other hand, besides the
+experiments of Audubon and that one by myself, Mr. Bachman has
+tried in the United States many varied plans, showing that neither
+the turkey-buzzard (the species dissected by Professor Owen) nor
+the gallinazo find their food by smell. He covered portions of
+highly-offensive offal with a thin canvas cloth, and strewed pieces
+of meat on it: these the carrion-vultures ate up, and then remained
+quietly standing, with their beaks within the eighth of an inch of
+the putrid mass, without discovering it. A small rent was made in
+the canvas, and the offal was immediately discovered; the canvas
+was replaced by a fresh piece, and meat again put on it, and was
+again devoured by the vultures without their discovering the hidden
+mass on which they were trampling. These facts are attested by the
+signatures of six gentlemen, besides that of Mr. Bachman. (9/3.
+Loudon's "Magazine of Natural History" volume 7.)
+
+Often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking
+upwards, I have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a
+great height. Where the country is level I do not believe a space
+of the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the horizon, is
+commonly viewed with any attention by a person either walking or on
+horseback. If such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing at a
+height of between three and four thousand feet, before it could
+come within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line
+from the beholder's eye would be rather more than two British
+miles. Might it not thus readily be overlooked? When an animal is
+killed by the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the
+while be watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird? And will not
+the manner of its descent proclaim throughout the district to the
+whole family of carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand?
+
+When the condors are wheeling in a flock round an round any spot,
+their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do
+not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.
+Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once
+taking off my eyes: they moved in large curves, sweeping in
+circles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As
+they glided close over my head, I intently watched from an oblique
+position the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers
+of each wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been the
+least vibratory movement, would have appeared as if blended
+together; but they were seen distinct against the blue sky. The
+head and neck were moved frequently, and apparently with force; and
+the extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the
+movements of the neck, body and tail acted. If the bird wished to
+descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again
+expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the
+rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and
+steady movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird SOARING,
+its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the
+inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance
+its gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a body moving in
+a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so little
+friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.
+The movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose is
+sufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly wonderful and
+beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without any
+apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river.
+
+APRIL 29, 1834.
+
+From some high land we hailed with joy the white summits of the
+Cordillera, as they were seen occasionally peeping through their
+dusky envelope of clouds. During the few succeeding days we
+continued to get on slowly, for we found the river-course very
+tortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various ancient
+slaty rocks, and of granite. The plain bordering the valley had
+here attained an elevation of about 1100 feet above the river, and
+its character was much altered. The well-rounded pebbles of
+porphyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of basalt
+and of primary rocks. The first of these erratic boulders which I
+noticed was sixty-seven miles distant from the nearest mountain;
+another which I measured was five yards square, and projected five
+feet above the gravel. Its edges were so angular, and its size so
+great, that I at first mistook it for a rock in situ, and took out
+my compass to observe the direction of its cleavage. The plain here
+was not quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet it
+betrayed no signs of any great violence. Under these circumstances
+it is, I believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of
+these gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their
+parent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs.
+
+During the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with
+several small articles which had belonged to the Indians--such as
+parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers--but they
+appeared to have been lying long on the ground. Between the place
+where the Indians had so lately crossed the river and this
+neighbourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to
+be quite unfrequented. At first, considering the abundance of the
+guanacos, I was surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony
+nature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod horse from
+taking part in the chase. Nevertheless, in two places in this very
+central region, I found small heaps of stones, which I do not think
+could have been accidentally thrown together. They were placed on
+points projecting over the edge of the highest lava cliff, and they
+resembled, but on a small scale, those near Port Desire.
+
+MAY 4, 1834.
+
+Captain Fitz Roy determined to take the boats no higher. The river
+had a winding course, and was very rapid; and the appearance of the
+country offered no temptation to proceed any farther. Everywhere we
+met with the same productions, and the same dreary landscape. We
+were now one hundred and forty miles distant from the Atlantic, and
+about sixty from the nearest arm of the Pacific. The valley in this
+upper part expanded into a wide basin, bounded on the north and
+south by the basaltic platforms, and fronted by the long range of
+the snow-clad Cordillera. But we viewed these grand mountains with
+regret, for we were obliged to imagine their nature and
+productions, instead of standing, as we had hoped, on their
+summits. Besides the useless loss of time which an attempt to
+ascend the river any higher would have cost us, we had already been
+for some days on half allowance of bread. This, although really
+enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march, rather
+scanty food: a light stomach and an easy digestion are good things
+to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice.
+
+MAY 5, 1834.
+
+Before sunrise we commenced our descent. We shot down the stream
+with great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots an hour. In
+this one day we effected what had cost us five and a half hard
+days' labour in ascending. On the 8th we reached the "Beagle" after
+our twenty-one days' expedition. Every one, excepting myself, had
+cause to be dissatisfied; but to me the ascent afforded a most
+interesting section of the great tertiary formation of Patagonia.
+
+On March 1st, 1833, and again on March 16th, 1834, the "Beagle"
+anchored in Berkeley Sound, in East Falkland Island. This
+archipelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth
+of the Strait of Magellan; it covers a space of one hundred and
+twenty by sixty geographical miles, and is a little more than half
+the size of Ireland. After the possession of these miserable
+islands had been contested by France, Spain, and England, they were
+left uninhabited. The government of Buenos Ayres then sold them to
+a private individual, but likewise used them, as old Spain had done
+before, for a penal settlement. England claimed her right an seized
+them. The Englishman who was left in charge of the flag was
+consequently murdered. A British officer was next sent, unsupported
+by any power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a
+population, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and
+murderers.
+
+The theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. An undulating
+land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered by
+a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour. Here
+and there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock breaks through the
+smooth surface. Every one has heard of the climate of these
+regions; it may be compared to that which is experienced at the
+height of between one and two thousand feet, on the mountains of
+North Wales; having however less sunshine and less frost, but more
+wind and rain. (9/4. From accounts published since our voyage, and
+more especially from several interesting letters from Captain
+Sulivan, R.N., employed on the survey, it appears that we took an
+exaggerated view of the badness of the climate on these islands.
+But when I reflect on the almost universal covering of peat, and on
+the fact of wheat seldom ripening here, I can hardly believe that
+the climate in summer is so fine and dry as it has lately been
+represented.)
+
+MAY 16, 1834.
+
+I will now describe a short excursion which I made round a part of
+this island. In the morning I started with six horses and two
+Gauchos: the latter were capital men for the purpose, and well
+accustomed to living on their own resources. The weather was very
+boisterous and cold, with heavy hail-storms. We got on, however,
+pretty well, but, except the geology, nothing could be less
+interesting than our day's ride. The country is uniformly the same
+undulating moorland; the surface being covered by light brown
+withered grass and a few very small shrubs, all springing out of an
+elastic peaty soil. In the valleys here and there might be seen a
+small flock of wild geese, and everywhere the ground was so soft
+that the snipe were able to feed. Besides these two birds there
+were few others. There is one main range of hills, nearly two
+thousand feet in height, and composed of quartz rock, the rugged
+and barren crests of which gave us some trouble to cross. On the
+south side we came to the best country for wild cattle; we met,
+however, no great number, for they had been lately much harassed.
+
+In the evening we came across a small herd. One of my companions,
+St. Jago by name, soon separated a fat cow; he threw the bolas, and
+it struck her legs, but failed in becoming entangled. Then dropping
+his hat to mark the spot where the balls were left, while at full
+gallop he uncoiled his lazo, and after a most severe chase again
+came up to the cow, and caught her round the horns. The other
+Gaucho had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that St. Jago
+had some difficulty in killing the furious beast. He managed to get
+her on a level piece of ground, by taking advantage of her as often
+as she rushed at him; and when she would not move, my horse, from
+having been trained, would canter up, and with his chest give her a
+violent push. But when on level ground it does not appear an easy
+job for one man to kill a beast mad with terror. Nor would it be so
+if the horse, when left to itself without its rider, did not soon
+learn, for its own safety, to keep the lazo tight; so that, if the
+cow or ox moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward;
+otherwise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. This horse,
+however, was a young one, and would not stand still, but gave in to
+the cow as she struggled. It was admirable to see with what
+dexterity St. Jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he
+contrived to give the fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind
+leg; after which, without much difficulty, he drove his knife into
+the head of the spinal marrow, and the cow dropped as if struck by
+lightning. He cut off pieces of flesh with the skin to it, but
+without any bones, sufficient for our expedition. We then rode on
+to our sleeping-place, and had for supper "carne con cuero," or
+meat roasted with the skin on it. This is as superior to common
+beef as venison is to mutton. A large circular piece taken from the
+back is roasted on the embers with the hide downwards and in the
+form of a saucer, so that none of the gravy is lost. If any worthy
+alderman had supped with us that evening, "carne con cuero,"
+without doubt, would soon have been celebrated in London.
+
+During the night it rained, and the next day (17th) was very
+stormy, with much hail and snow. We rode across the island to the
+neck of land which joins the Rincon del Tor (the great peninsula at
+the south-west extremity) to the rest of the island. From the great
+number of cows which have been killed, there is a large proportion
+of bulls. These wander about single, or two and three together, and
+are very savage. I never saw such magnificent beasts; they equalled
+in the size of their huge heads and necks the Grecian marble
+sculptures. Captain Sulivan informs me that the hide of an
+average-sized bull weighs forty-seven pounds, whereas a hide of
+this weight, less thoroughly dried, is considered as a very heavy
+one at Monte Video. The young bulls generally run away for a short
+distance; but the old ones do not stir a step, except to rush at
+man and horse; and many horses have been thus killed. An old bull
+crossed a boggy stream, and took his stand on the opposite side to
+us; we in vain tried to drive him away, and failing, were obliged
+to make a large circuit. The Gauchos in revenge determined to
+emasculate him and render him for the future harmless. It was very
+interesting to see how art completely mastered force. One lazo was
+thrown over his horns as he rushed at the horse, and another round
+his hind legs: in a minute the monster was stretched powerless on
+the ground. After the lazo has once been drawn tightly round the
+horns of a furious animal, it does not at first appear an easy
+thing to disengage it again without killing the beast: nor, I
+apprehend, would it be so if the man was by himself. By the aid,
+however, of a second person throwing his lazo so as to catch both
+hind legs, it is quickly managed: for the animal, as long as its
+hind legs are kept outstretched, is quite helpless, and the first
+man can with his hands loosen his lazo from the horns, and then
+quietly mount his horse; but the moment the second man, by backing
+ever so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs of
+the struggling beast which then rises free, shakes himself, and
+vainly rushes at his antagonist.
+
+During our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses. These
+animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the French in
+1764, since which time both have greatly increased. It is a curious
+fact that the horses have never left the eastern end of the island,
+although there is no natural boundary to prevent them from roaming,
+and that part of the island is not more tempting than the rest. The
+Gauchos whom I asked, though asserting this to be the case, were
+unable to account for it, except from the strong attachment which
+horses have to any locality to which they are accustomed.
+Considering that the island does not appear fully stocked, and that
+there are no beasts of prey, I was particularly curious to know
+what has checked their originally rapid increase. That in a limited
+island some check would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable;
+but why has the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that
+of the cattle? Captain Sulivan has taken much pains for me in this
+inquiry. The Gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to the
+stallions constantly roaming from place to place, and compelling
+the mares to accompany them, whether or not the young foals are
+able to follow. One Gaucho told Captain Sulivan that he had watched
+a stallion for a whole hour, violently kicking and biting a mare
+till he forced her to leave her foal to its fate. Captain Sulivan
+can so far corroborate this curious account, that he has several
+times found young foals dead, whereas he has never found a dead
+calf. Moreover, the dead bodies of full-grown horses are more
+frequently found, as if more subject to disease or accidents than
+those of the cattle. From the softness of the ground their hoofs
+often grow irregularly to a great length, and this causes lameness.
+The predominant colours are roan and iron-grey. All the horses bred
+here, both tame and wild, are rather small-sized, though generally
+in good condition; and they have lost so much strength, that they
+are unfit to be used in taking wild cattle with the lazo: in
+consequence, it is necessary to go to the great expense of
+importing fresh horses from the Plata. At some future period the
+southern hemisphere probably will have its breed of Falkland
+ponies, as the northern has its Shetland breed.
+
+The cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horses, seem, as
+before remarked, to have increased in size; and they are much more
+numerous than the horses. Captain Sulivan informs me that they vary
+much less in the general form of their bodies and in the shape of
+their horns than English cattle. In colour they differ much; and it
+is a remarkable circumstance, that in different parts of this one
+small island, different colours predominate. Round Mount Usborne,
+at a height of from 1000 to 1500 feet above the sea, about half of
+some of the herds are mouse or lead coloured, a tint which is not
+common in other parts of the island. Near Port Pleasant dark brown
+prevails, whereas south of Choiseul Sound (which almost divides the
+island into two parts) white beasts with black heads and feet are
+the most common: in all parts black, and some spotted animals may
+be observed. Captain Sulivan remarks that the difference in the
+prevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds
+near Port Pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black
+spots, whilst south of Choiseul Sound they appeared like white
+spots on the hill-sides. Captain Sulivan thinks that the herds do
+not mingle; and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured
+cattle, though living on the high land, calve about a month earlier
+in the season than the other coloured beasts on the lower land. It
+is interesting thus to find the once domesticated cattle breaking
+into three colours, of which some one colour would in all
+probability ultimately prevail over the others, if the herd were
+left undisturbed for the next several centuries.
+
+The rabbit is another animal which has been introduced, and has
+succeeded very well; so that they abound over large parts of the
+island. Yet, like the horses, they are confined within certain
+limits; for they have not crossed the central chain of hills, nor
+would they have extended even so far as its base, if, as the
+Gauchos informed me, small colonies had not been carried there. I
+should not have supposed that these animals, natives of Northern
+Africa, could have existed in a climate so humid as this, and which
+enjoys so little sunshine that even wheat ripens only occasionally.
+It is asserted that in Sweden, which any one would have thought a
+more favourable climate, the rabbit cannot live out of doors. The
+first few pairs, moreover, had here to contend against pre-existing
+enemies, in the fox and some large hawks. The French naturalists
+have considered the black variety a distinct species, and called it
+Lepus Magellanicus. (9/5. Lesson's "Zoology of the Voyage of the
+Coquille" tome 1 page 168. All the early voyagers, and especially
+Bougainville, distinctly state that the wolf-like fox was the only
+native animal on the island. The distinction of the rabbit as a
+species is taken from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape of
+the head, and from the shortness of the ears. I may here observe
+that the difference between the Irish and English hare rests upon
+nearly similar characters, only more strongly marked.) They
+imagined that Magellan, when talking of an animal under the name of
+"conejos" in the Strait of Magellan, referred to this species; but
+he was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day is thus called
+by the Spaniards. The Gauchos laughed at the idea of the black kind
+being different from the grey, and they said that at all events it
+had not extended its range any farther than the grey kind; that the
+two were never found separate; and that they readily bred together,
+and produced piebald offspring. Of the latter I now possess a
+specimen, and it is marked about the head differently from the
+French specific description. This circumstance shows how cautious
+naturalists should be in making species; for even Cuvier, on
+looking at the skull of one of these rabbits, thought it was
+probably distinct!
+
+The only quadruped native to the island is a large wolf-like fox
+(Canis antarcticus), which is common to both East and West
+Falkland. (9/6. I have reason, however, to suspect that there is a
+field-mouse. The common European rat and mouse have roamed far from
+the habitations of the settlers. The common hog has also run wild
+on one islet; all are of a black colour: the boars are very fierce,
+and have great tusks.) I have no doubt it is a peculiar species,
+and confined to this archipelago; because many sealers, Gauchos,
+and Indians, who have visited these islands, all maintain that no
+such animal is found in any part of South America. Molina, from a
+similarity in habits, thought that this was the same with his
+"culpeu" (9/7. The "culpeu" is the Canis Magellanicus brought home
+by Captain King from the Strait of Magellan. It is common in
+Chile.); but I have seen both, and they are quite distinct. These
+wolves are well known from Byron's account of their tameness and
+curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water to avoid them,
+mistook for fierceness. To this day their manners remain the same.
+They have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some
+meat from beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. The Gauchos also
+have frequently in the evening killed them, by holding out a piece
+of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them.
+As far as I am aware, there is no other instance in any part of the
+world, of so small a mass of broken land, distant from a continent,
+possessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself.
+Their numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already banished
+from that half of the island which lies to the eastward of the neck
+of land between St. Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within a very
+few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled,
+in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an
+animal which has perished from the face of the earth.
+
+At night (17th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of
+Choiseul Sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. The valley
+was pretty well sheltered from the cold wind; but there was very
+little brushwood for fuel. The Gauchos, however, soon found what,
+to my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as coals; this was
+the skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which the flesh had
+been picked by the carrion-hawks. They told me that in winter they
+often killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the bones with their
+knives and then with these same bones roasted the meat for their
+suppers.
+
+MAY 18, 1834.
+
+It rained during nearly the whole day. At night we managed,
+however, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves pretty well dry
+and warm; but the ground on which we slept was on each occasion
+nearly in the state of a bog, and there was not a dry spot to sit
+down on after our day's ride. I have in another part stated how
+singular it is that there should be absolutely no trees on these
+islands, although Tierra del Fuego is covered by one large forest.
+The largest bush in the island (belonging to the family of
+Compositae) is scarcely so tall as our gorse. The best fuel is
+afforded by a green little bush about the size of common heath,
+which has the useful property of burning while fresh and green. It
+was very surprising to see the Gauchos, in the midst of rain and
+everything soaking wet, with nothing more than a tinder-box and a
+piece of rag, immediately make a fire. They sought beneath the
+tufts of grass and bushes for a few dry twigs, and these they
+rubbed into fibres; then surrounding them with coarser twigs,
+something like a bird's nest, they put the rag with its spark of
+fire in the middle and covered it up. The nest being then held up
+to the wind, by degrees it smoked more and more, and at last burst
+out in flames. I do not think any other method would have had a
+chance of succeeding with such damp materials.
+
+MAY 19, 1834.
+
+Each morning, from not having ridden for some time previously, I
+was very stiff. I was surprised to hear the Gauchos, who have from
+infancy almost lived on horseback, say that, under similar
+circumstances, they always suffer. St. Jago told me, that having
+been confined for three months by illness, he went out hunting wild
+cattle, and in consequence, for the next two days, his thighs were
+so stiff that he was obliged to lie in bed. This shows that the
+Gauchos, although they do not appear to do so, yet really must
+exert much muscular effort in riding. The hunting wild cattle, in a
+country so difficult to pass as this is on account of the swampy
+ground, must be very hard work. The Gauchos say they often pass at
+full speed over ground which would be impassable at a slower pace;
+in the same manner as a man is able to skate over thin ice. When
+hunting, the party endeavours to get as close as possible to the
+herd without being discovered. Each man carries four or five pair
+of the bolas; these he throws one after the other at as many
+cattle, which, when once entangled, are left for some days, till
+they become a little exhausted by hunger and struggling. They are
+then let free and driven towards a small herd of tame animals,
+which have been brought to the spot on purpose. From their previous
+treatment, being too much terrified to leave the herd, they are
+easily driven, if their strength last out, to the settlement.
+
+The weather continued so very bad that we determine to make a push,
+and try to reach the vessel before night. From the quantity of rain
+which had fallen, the surface of the whole country was swampy. I
+suppose my horse fell at least a dozen times, and sometimes the
+whole six horses were floundering in the mud together. All the
+little streams are bordered by soft peat, which makes it very
+difficult for the horses to leap them without falling. To complete
+our discomforts we were obliged to cross the head of a creek of the
+sea, in which the water was as high as our horses' backs; and the
+little waves, owing to the violence of the wind, broke over us, and
+made us very wet and cold. Even the iron-framed Gauchos professed
+themselves glad when they reached the settlement, after our little
+excursion.
+
+The geological structure of these islands is in most respects
+simple. The lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone,
+containing fossils, very closely related to, but not identical
+with, those found in the Silurian formations of Europe; the hills
+are formed of white granular quartz rock. The strata of the latter
+are frequently arched with perfect symmetry, and the appearance of
+some of the masses is in consequence most singular. Pernety has
+devoted several pages to the description of a Hill of Ruins, the
+successive strata of which he has justly compared to the seats of
+an amphitheatre. (9/8. Pernety "Voyage aux Isles Malouines" page
+526.) The quartz rock must have been quite pasty when it underwent
+such remarkable flexures without being shattered into fragments. As
+the quartz insensibly passes into the sandstone, it seems probable
+that the former owes its origin to the sandstone having been heated
+to such a degree that it became viscid, and upon cooling
+crystallised. While in the soft state it must have been pushed up
+through the overlying beds.
+
+In many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are covered
+in an extraordinary manner by myriads of great loose angular
+fragments of the quartz rock, forming "streams of stones." These
+have been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since the time
+of Pernety.  The blocks are not waterworn, their angles being only
+a little blunted; they vary in size from one or two feet in
+diameter to ten, or even more than twenty times as much. They are
+not thrown together into irregular piles, but are spread out into
+level sheets or great streams. It is not possible to ascertain
+their thickness, but the water of small streamlets can be heard
+trickling through the stones many feet below the surface. The
+actual depth is probably great, because the crevices between the
+lower fragments must long ago have been filled up with sand. The
+width of these sheets of stones varies from a few hundred feet to a
+mile; but the peaty soil daily encroaches on the borders, and even
+forms islets wherever a few fragments happen to lie close together.
+In a valley south of Berkeley Sound, which some of our party called
+the "great valley of fragments," it was necessary to cross an
+uninterrupted band half a mile wide, by jumping from one pointed
+stone to another. So large were the fragments, that being overtaken
+by a shower of rain, I readily found shelter beneath one of them.
+
+Their little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance in
+these "streams of stones." On the hill-sides I have seen them
+sloping at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon; but in some of
+the level, broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only just
+sufficient to be clearly perceived. On so rugged a surface there
+was no means of measuring the angle; but to give a common
+illustration, I may say that the slope would not have checked the
+speed of an English mail-coach. In some places a continuous stream
+of these fragments followed up the course of a valley, and even
+extended to the very crest of the hill. On these crests huge
+masses, exceeding in dimensions any small building, seemed to stand
+arrested in their headlong course: there, also, the curved strata
+of the archways lay piled on each other, like the ruins of some
+vast and ancient cathedral. In endeavouring to describe these
+scenes of violence one is tempted to pass from one simile to
+another. We may imagine that streams of white lava had flowed from
+many parts of the mountains into the lower country, and that when
+solidified they had been rent by some enormous convulsion into
+myriads of fragments. The expression "streams of stones," which
+immediately occurred to every one, conveys the same idea. These
+scenes are on the spot rendered more striking by the contrast of
+the low, rounded forms of the neighbouring hills.
+
+I was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range (about
+700 feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying on its
+convex side, or back downwards. Must we believe that it was fairly
+pitched up in the air, and thus turned? Or, with more probability,
+that there existed formerly a part of the same range more elevated
+than the point on which this monument of a great convulsion of
+nature now lies. As the fragments in the valleys are neither
+rounded nor the crevices filled up with sand, we must infer that
+the period of violence was subsequent to the land having been
+raised above the waters of the sea. In a transverse section within
+these valleys the bottom is nearly level, or rises but very little
+towards either side. Hence the fragments appear to have travelled
+from the head of the valley; but in reality it seems more probable
+that they have been hurled down from the nearest slopes; and that
+since, by a vibratory movement of overwhelming force, the fragments
+have been levelled into one continuous sheet. (9/9. "Nous n'avons
+pas �t� moins saisis d'�tonnement � la v�e de l'innombrable
+quantit� de pierres de toutes grandeurs, boulevers�es les unes sur
+les autres, et cependant rang�es, comme si elles avoient �t�
+amoncel�es n�gligemment pour remplir des ravins. On ne se lassoit
+pas d'admirer les effets prodigieux de la nature."  "Pernety" page
+526.) If during the earthquake which in 1835 overthrew Concepcion,
+in Chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies should have
+been pitched a few inches from the ground, what must we say to a
+movement which has caused fragments many tons in weight to move
+onwards like so much sand on a vibrating board, and find their
+level? (9/10. An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of
+judging, assured me that, during the several years he had resided
+on these islands, he had never felt the slightest shock of an
+earthquake.) I have seen, in the Cordillera of the Andes, the
+evident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into
+pieces like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on their
+vertical edges; but never did any scene, like these "streams of
+stones," so forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of
+which in historical records we might in vain seek for any
+counterpart: yet the progress of knowledge will probably some day
+give a simple explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of
+the so long thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic
+boulders which are strewed over the plains of Europe.
+
+I have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. I have
+before described the carrion-vulture of Polyborus. There are some
+other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. The waterfowl are
+particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts of
+the old navigators, have been much more so. One day I observed a
+cormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. Eight times
+successively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and
+although in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. In the
+Zoological Gardens I have seen the otter treat a fish in the same
+manner, much as a cat does a mouse: I do not know of any other
+instance where dame Nature appears so wilfully cruel. Another day,
+having placed myself between a penguin (Aptenodytes demersa) and
+the water, I was much amused by watching its habits. It was a brave
+bird; and till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me
+backwards. Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him;
+every inch he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect
+and determined. When thus opposed he continually rolled his head
+from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of
+distinct vision lay only in the anterior and basal part of each
+eye. This bird is commonly called the jackass penguin, from its
+habit, while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and making a
+loud strange noise, very like the braying of an ass; but while at
+sea, and undisturbed, its note is very deep and solemn, and is
+often heard in the night-time. In diving, its little wings are used
+as fins; but on the land, as front legs. When crawling, it may be
+said on four legs, through the tussocks or on the side of a grassy
+cliff, it moves so very quickly that it might easily be mistaken
+for a quadruped. When at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface
+for the purpose of breathing with such a spring, and dives again so
+instantaneously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that
+it was not a fish leaping for sport.
+
+Two kinds of geese frequent the Falklands. The upland species (Anas
+Magellanica) is common, in pairs and in small flocks, throughout
+the island. They do not migrate, but build on the small outlying
+islets. This is supposed to be from fear of the foxes: and it is
+perhaps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by
+day, are shy and wild in the dusk of the evening. They live
+entirely on vegetable matter. The rock-goose, so called from living
+exclusively on the sea-beach (Anas antarctica), is common both here
+and on the west coast of America, as far north as Chile. In the
+deep and retired channels of Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white
+gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing
+close by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common
+feature in the landscape.
+
+In these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (Anas
+brachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very
+abundant. These birds were in former days called, from their
+extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water,
+racehorses; but now they are named, much more appropriately,
+steamers. Their wings are too small and weak to allow of flight,
+but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the surface
+of the water, they move very quickly. The manner is something like
+that by which the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog;
+but I am nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately,
+instead of both together, as in other birds. These clumsy,
+loggerheaded ducks make such a noise and splashing, that the effect
+is exceedingly curious.
+
+Thus we find in South America three birds which use their wings for
+other purposes besides flight; the penguin as fins, the steamer as
+paddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the Apteryx of New Zealand,
+as well as its gigantic extinct prototype the Deinornis, possess
+only rudimentary representatives of wings. The steamer is able to
+dive only to a very short distance. It feeds entirely on shell-fish
+from the kelp and tidal rocks; hence the beak and head, for the
+purpose of breaking them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the
+head is so strong that I have scarcely been able to fracture it
+with my geological hammer; and all our sportsmen soon discovered
+how tenacious these birds were of life. When in the evening pluming
+themselves in a flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds
+which bull-frogs do within the tropics.
+
+In Tierra del Fuego, as well as in the Falkland Islands, I made
+many observations on the lower marine animals, but they are of
+little general interest. (9/11. I was surprised to find, on
+counting the eggs of a large white Doris (this sea-slug was three
+and a half inches long), how extraordinarily numerous they were.
+From two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an inch in
+diameter) were contained in spherical little case. These were
+arranged two deep in transverse rows forming a ribbon. The ribbon
+adhered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire. One which I found
+measured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth. By
+counting how many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the
+row, and how many rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the
+most moderate computation there were six hundred thousand eggs. Yet
+this Doris was certainly not very common: although I was often
+searching under the stones, I saw only seven individuals. NO
+FALLACY IS MORE COMMON WITH NATURALISTS, THAN THAT THE NUMBERS OF
+AN INDIVIDUAL SPECIES DEPEND ON ITS POWERS OF PROPAGATION.) I will
+mention only one class of facts, relating to certain zoophytes in
+the more highly organised division of that class. Several genera
+(Flustra, Eschara, Cellaria, Crisia, and others) agree in having
+singular movable organs (like those of Flustra avicularia, found in
+the European seas) attached to their cells. The organ, in the
+greater number of cases, very closely resembles the head of a
+vulture; but the lower mandible can be opened much wider than in a
+real bird's beak. The head itself possesses considerable powers of
+movement, by means of a short neck. In one zoophyte the head itself
+was fixed, but the lower jaw free: in another it was replaced by a
+triangular hood, with a beautifully-fitted trap-door, which
+evidently answered to the lower mandible. In the greater number of
+species, each cell was provided with one head, but in others each
+cell had two.
+
+The young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines
+contain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-heads attached to
+them, though small, are in every respect perfect. When the polypus
+was removed by a needle from any of the cells, these organs did not
+appear in the least affected. When one of the vulture-like heads
+was cut off from the cell, the lower mandible retained its power of
+opening and closing. Perhaps the most singular part of their
+structure is, that when there were more than two rows of cells on a
+branch, the central cells were furnished with these appendages, of
+only one-fourth the size of the outside ones. Their movements
+varied according to the species; but in some I never saw the least
+motion; while others, with the lower mandible generally wide open,
+oscillated backwards and forwards at the rate of about five seconds
+each turn; others moved rapidly and by starts. When touched with a
+needle, the beak generally seized the point so firmly that the
+whole branch might be shaken.
+
+These bodies have no relation whatever with the production of the
+eggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi appear
+in the cells at the end of the growing branches; as they move
+independently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any way
+connected with them; and as they differ in size on the outer and
+inner rows of cells, I have little doubt that in their functions
+they are related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to
+the polypi in the cells. The fleshy appendage at the lower
+extremity of the sea-pen (described at Bahia Blanca) also forms
+part of the zoophyte, as a whole, in the same manner as the roots
+of a tree form part of the whole tree, and not of the individual
+leaf or flower-buds.
+
+In another elegant little coralline (Crisia?) each cell was
+furnished with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of
+moving quickly. Each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like
+heads generally moved quite independently of the others, but
+sometimes all on both sides of a branch, sometimes only those on
+one side, moved together coinstantaneously; sometimes each moved in
+regular order one after another. In these actions we apparently
+behold as perfect a transmission of will in the zoophyte, though
+composed of thousands of distinct polypi, as in any single animal.
+The case, indeed, is not different from that of the sea-pens,
+which, when touched, drew themselves into the sand on the coast of
+Bahia Blanca. I will state one other instance of uniform action,
+though of a very different nature, in a zoophyte closely allied to
+Clytia, and therefore very simply organised. Having kept a large
+tuft of it in a basin of salt-water, when it was dark I found that
+as often as I rubbed any part of a branch, the whole became
+strongly phosphorescent with a green light: I do not think I ever
+saw any object more beautifully so. But the remarkable circumstance
+was, that the flashes of light always proceeded up the branches,
+from the base towards the extremities.
+
+The examination of these compound animals was always very
+interesting to me. What can be more remarkable than to see a
+plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of
+choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into
+branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often of
+complicated organisations. The branches, moreover, as we have just
+seen, sometimes possess organs capable of movement and independent
+of the polypi. Surprising as this union of separate individuals in
+a common stock must always appear, every tree displays the same
+fact, for buds must be considered as individual plants. It is,
+however, natural to consider a polypus, furnished with a mouth,
+intestines, and other organs, as a distinct individual, whereas the
+individuality of a leaf-bud is not easily realised; so that the
+union of separate individuals in a common body is more striking in
+a coralline than in a tree. Our conception of a compound animal,
+where in some respects the individuality of each is not completed,
+may be aided, by reflecting on the production of two distinct
+creatures by bisecting a single one with a knife, or where Nature
+herself performs the task of bisection. We may consider the polypi
+in a zoophyte, or the buds in a tree, as cases where the division
+of the individual has not been completely effected. Certainly in
+the case of trees, and judging from analogy in that of corallines,
+the individuals propagated by buds seem more intimately related to
+each other, than eggs or seeds are to their parents. It seems now
+pretty well established that plants propagated by buds all partake
+of a common duration of life; and it is familiar to every one, what
+singular and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty,
+by buds, layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or
+only casually reappear.
+
+
+(PLATE 43.  BERKELEY SOUND, FALKLAND ISLANDS.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+(PLATE 44.  YORK MINSTER (BEARING SOUTH 66 DEGREES EAST.)
+
+Tierra del Fuego, first arrival.
+Good Success Bay.
+An account of the Fuegians on board.
+Interview with the savages.
+Scenery of the forests.
+Cape Horn.
+Wigwam Cove.
+Miserable condition of the savages.
+Famines.
+Cannibals.
+Matricide.
+Religious feelings.
+Great gale.
+Beagle Channel.
+Ponsonby Sound.
+Build wigwams and settle the Fuegians.
+Bifurcation of the Beagle Channel.
+Glaciers.
+Return to the ship.
+Second visit in the ship to the settlement.
+Equality of condition amongst the natives.
+
+TIERRA DEL FUEGO.
+
+DECEMBER 17, 1832.
+
+
+
+Having now finished with Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, I will
+describe our first arrival in Tierra del Fuego. A little after noon
+we doubled Cape St. Diego, and entered the famous Strait of Le
+Maire. We kept close to the Fuegian shore, but the outline of the
+rugged, inhospitable Staten-land was visible amidst the clouds. In
+the afternoon we anchored in the Bay of Good Success. While
+entering we were saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of
+this savage land. A group of Fuegians partly concealed by the
+entangled forest, were perched on a wild point overhanging the sea;
+and as we passed by, they sprang up and waving their tattered
+cloaks sent forth a loud and sonorous shout. The savages followed
+the ship, and just before dark we saw their fire, and again heard
+their wild cry. The harbour consists of a fine piece of water half
+surrounded by low rounded mountains of clay-slate, which are
+covered to the water's edge by one dense gloomy forest. A single
+glance at the landscape was sufficient to show me how widely
+different it was from anything I had ever beheld. At night it blew
+a gale of wind, and heavy squalls from the mountains swept past us.
+It would have been a bad time out at sea, and we, as well as
+others, may call this Good Success Bay.
+
+In the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate with the
+Fuegians. When we came within hail, one of the four natives who
+were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most
+vehemently, wishing to direct us where to land. When we were on
+shore the party looked rather alarmed, but continued talking and
+making gestures with great rapidity. It was without exception the
+most curious and interesting spectacle I ever beheld: I could not
+have believed how wide was the difference between savage and
+civilised man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated
+animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement.
+The chief spokesman was old, and appeared to be the head of the
+family; the three others were powerful young men, about six feet
+high. The women and children had been sent away. These Fuegians are
+a very different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther
+westward; and they seem closely allied to the famous Patagonians of
+the Strait of Magellan. Their only garment consists of a mantle
+made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside: this they wear just
+thrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as often exposed
+as covered. Their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour.
+
+The old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head,
+which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair. His
+face was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted bright
+red, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip; the other,
+white like chalk, extended above and parallel to the first, so that
+even his eyelids were thus coloured. The other two men were
+ornamented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. The party
+altogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in
+plays like Der Freischutz.
+
+Their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their
+countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After we had
+presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied
+round their necks, they became good friends. This was shown by the
+old man patting our breasts, and making a chuckling kind of noise,
+as people do when feeding chickens. I walked with the old man, and
+this demonstration of friendship was repeated several times; it was
+concluded by three hard slaps, which were given me on the breast
+and back at the same time. He then bared his bosom for me to return
+the compliment, which being done, he seemed highly pleased. The
+language of these people, according to our notions, scarcely
+deserves to be called articulate. Captain Cook has compared it to a
+man clearing his throat, but certainly no European ever cleared his
+throat with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds.
+
+They are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned, or
+made any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. Some of our
+party began to squint and look awry; but one of the young Fuegians
+(whose whole face was painted black, excepting a white band across
+his eyes) succeeded in making far more hideous grimaces. They could
+repeat with perfect correctness each word in any sentence we
+addressed them, and they remembered such words for some time. Yet
+we Europeans all know how difficult it is to distinguish apart the
+sounds in a foreign language. Which of us, for instance, could
+follow an American Indian through a sentence of more than three
+words? All savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this
+power of mimicry. I was told, almost in the same words, of the same
+ludicrous habit among the Caffres; the Australians, likewise, have
+long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait
+of any man, so that he may be recognised. How can this faculty be
+explained? is it a consequence of the more practised habits of
+perception and keener senses, common to all men in a savage state,
+as compared with those long civilised?
+
+When a song was struck up by our party, I thought the Fuegians
+would have fallen down with astonishment. With equal surprise they
+viewed our dancing; but one of the young men, when asked, had no
+objection to a little waltzing. Little accustomed to Europeans as
+they appeared to be, yet they knew and dreaded our firearms;
+nothing would tempt them to take a gun in their hands. They begged
+for knives, calling them by the Spanish word "cuchilla." They
+explained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a piece
+of blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of
+tear it.
+
+I have not as yet noticed the Fuegians whom we had on board. During
+the former voyage of the "Adventure" and "Beagle" in 1826 to 1830,
+Captain Fitz Roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for the
+loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopardy of a
+party employed on the survey; and some of these natives, as well as
+a child whom he bought for a pearl-button, he took with him to
+England, determining to educate them and instruct them in religion
+at his own expense. To settle these natives in their own country
+was one chief inducement to Captain Fitz Roy to undertake our
+present voyage; and before the Admiralty had resolved to send out
+this expedition, Captain Fitz Roy had generously chartered a
+vessel, and would himself have taken them back. The natives were
+accompanied by a missionary, R. Matthews; of whom and of the
+natives, Captain Fitz Roy has published a full and excellent
+account. Two men, one of whom died in England of the smallpox, a
+boy and a little girl, were originally taken; and we had now on
+board, York Minster, Jemmy Button (whose name expresses his
+purchase-money), and Fuegia Basket. York Minster was a full-grown,
+short, thick, powerful man: his disposition was reserved, taciturn,
+morose, and when excited violently passionate; his affections were
+very strong towards a few friends on board; his intellect good.
+Jemmy Button was a universal favourite, but likewise passionate;
+the expression of his face at once showed his nice disposition. He
+was merry and often laughed, and was remarkably sympathetic with
+any one in pain: when the water was rough, I was often a little
+sea-sick, and he used to come to me and say in a plaintive voice,
+"Poor, poor fellow!" but the notion, after his aquatic life, of a
+man being sea-sick, was too ludicrous, and he was generally obliged
+to turn on one side to hide a smile or laugh, and then he would
+repeat his "Poor, poor fellow!" He was of a patriotic disposition;
+and he liked to praise his own tribe and country, in which he truly
+said there were "plenty of trees," and he abused all the other
+tribes: he stoutly declared that there was no Devil in his land.
+Jemmy was short, thick, and fat, but vain of his personal
+appearance; he used always to wear gloves, his hair was neatly cut,
+and he was distressed if his well-polished shoes were dirtied. He
+was fond of admiring himself in a looking glass; and a merry-faced
+little Indian boy from the Rio Negro, whom we had for some months
+on board, soon perceived this, and used to mock him: Jemmy, who was
+always rather jealous of the attention paid to this little boy, did
+not at all like this, and used to say, with rather a contemptuous
+twist of his head, "Too much skylark." It seems yet wonderful to
+me, when I think over all his many good qualities, that he should
+have been of the same race, and doubtless partaken of the same
+character, with the miserable, degraded savages whom we first met
+here. Lastly, Fuegia Basket was a nice, modest, reserved young
+girl, with a rather pleasing but sometimes sullen expression, and
+very quick in learning anything, especially languages. This she
+showed in picking up some Portuguese and Spanish, when left on
+shore for only a short time at Rio de Janeiro and Monte Video, and
+in her knowledge of English. York Minster was very jealous of any
+attention paid to her; for it was clear he determined to marry her
+as soon as they were settled on shore.
+
+Although all three could both speak and understand a good deal of
+English, it was singularly difficult to obtain much information
+from them concerning the habits of their countrymen; this was
+partly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding the
+simplest alternative. Every one accustomed to very young children
+knows how seldom one can get an answer even to so simple a question
+as whether a thing is black OR white; the idea of black or white
+seems alternately to fill their minds. So it was with these
+Fuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find out, by
+cross-questioning, whether one had rightly understood anything
+which they had asserted. Their sight was remarkably acute; it is
+well known that sailors, from long practice, can make out a distant
+object much better than a landsman; but both York and Jemmy were
+much superior to any sailor on board: several times they have
+declared what some distant object has been, and though doubted by
+every one, they have proved right when it has been examined through
+a telescope. They were quite conscious of this power; and Jemmy,
+when he had any little quarrel with the officer on watch, would
+say, "Me see ship, me no tell."
+
+It was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when we
+landed, towards Jemmy Button: they immediately perceived the
+difference between him and ourselves, and held much conversation
+one with another on the subject. The old man addressed a long
+harangue to Jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with
+them. But Jemmy understood very little of their language, and was,
+moreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. When York Minster
+afterwards came on shore, they noticed him in the same way, and
+told him he ought to shave; yet he had not twenty dwarf hairs on
+his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. They examined
+the colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. One of our arms
+being bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and admiration
+at its whiteness, just in the same way in which I have seen the
+ourang-outang do at the Zoological Gardens. We thought that they
+mistook two or three of the officers, who were rather shorter and
+fairer, though adorned with large beards, for the ladies of our
+party. The tallest amongst the Fuegians was evidently much pleased
+at his height being noticed. When placed back to back with the
+tallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher
+ground, and to stand on tiptoe. He opened his mouth to show his
+teeth, and turned his face for a side view; and all this was done
+with such alacrity, that I daresay he thought himself the
+handsomest man in Tierra del Fuego. After our first feeling of
+grave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than
+the odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every
+moment exhibited.
+
+The next day I attempted to penetrate some way into the country.
+Tierra del Fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly
+submerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place
+where valleys should exist. The mountain sides, except on the
+exposed western coast, are covered from the water's edge upwards by
+one great forest. The trees reach to an elevation of between 1000
+and 1500 feet, and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute
+alpine plants; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual
+snow, which, according to Captain King, in the Strait of Magellan
+descends to between 3000 and 4000 feet. To find an acre of level
+land in any part of the country is most rare. I recollect only one
+little flat piece near Port Famine, and another of rather larger
+extent near Goeree Road. In both places, and everywhere else, the
+surface is covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. Even within the
+forest, the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying
+vegetable matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to
+the foot.
+
+Finding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, I
+followed the course of a mountain torrent. At first, from the
+waterfalls and number of dead trees, I could hardly crawl along;
+but the bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the
+floods having swept the sides. I continued slowly to advance for an
+hour along the broken and rocky banks, and was amply repaid by the
+grandeur of the scene. The gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded
+with the universal signs of violence. On every side were lying
+irregular masses of rock and torn-up trees; other trees, though
+still erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. The
+entangled mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the
+forests within the tropics--yet there was a difference: for in
+these still solitudes, Death, instead of Life, seemed the
+predominant spirit. I followed the watercourse till I came to a
+spot where a great slip had cleared a straight space down the
+mountain side. By this road I ascended to a considerable elevation,
+and obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. The trees all
+belong to one kind, the Fagus betuloides; for the number of the
+other species of Fagus and of the Winter's Bark is quite
+inconsiderable. This beech keeps its leaves throughout the year;
+but its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green colour, with a
+tinge of yellow. As the whole landscape is thus coloured, it has a
+sombre, dull appearance; nor is it often enlivened by the rays of
+the sun.
+
+DECEMBER 20, 1832.
+
+One side of the harbour is formed by a hill about 1500 feet high,
+which Captain Fitz Roy has called after Sir J. Banks, in
+commemoration of his disastrous excursion which proved fatal to two
+men of his party, and nearly so to Dr. Solander. The snow-storm,
+which was the cause of their misfortune, happened in the middle of
+January, corresponding to our July, and in the latitude of Durham!
+I was anxious to reach the summit of this mountain to collect
+alpine plants; for flowers of any kind in the lower parts are few
+in number. We followed the same watercourse as on the previous day,
+till it dwindled away, and we were then compelled to crawl blindly
+among the trees. These, from the effects of the elevation and of
+the impetuous winds, were low, thick and crooked. At length we
+reached that which from a distance appeared like a carpet of fine
+green turf, but which, to our vexation, turned out to be a compact
+mass of little beech-trees about four or five feet high. They were
+as thick together as box in the border of a garden, and we were
+obliged to struggle over the flat but treacherous surface. After a
+little more trouble we gained the peat, and then the bare slate
+rock.
+
+A ridge connected this hill with another, distant some miles, and
+more lofty, so that patches of snow were lying on it. As the day
+was not far advanced, I determined to walk there and collect plants
+along the road. It would have been very hard work, had it not been
+for a well-beaten and straight path made by the guanacos; for these
+animals, like sheep, always follow the same line. When we reached
+the hill we found it the highest in the immediate neighbourhood,
+and the waters flowed to the sea in opposite directions. We
+obtained a wide view over the surrounding country: to the north a
+swampy moorland extended, but to the south we had a scene of savage
+magnificence, well becoming Tierra del Fuego. There was a degree of
+mysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep
+intervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of
+forest. The atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale
+succeeds gale, with rain, hail, and sleet, seems blacker than
+anywhere else. In the Strait of Magellan, looking due southward
+from Port Famine, the distant channels between the mountains
+appeared from their gloominess to lead beyond the confines of this
+world.
+
+DECEMBER 21, 1832.
+
+(PLATE 45.  CAPE HORN.)
+
+(PLATE 46.  CAPE HORN (ANOTHER VIEW).)
+
+The "Beagle" got under way: and on the succeeding day, favoured to
+an uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze, we closed in with the
+Barnevelts, and running past Cape Deceit with its stony peaks,
+about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten Cape Horn. The
+evening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine view of the
+surrounding isles. Cape Horn, however, demanded his tribute, and
+before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. We stood
+out to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw
+on our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper
+form--veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm
+of wind and water. Great black clouds were rolling across the
+heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such
+extreme violence, that the Captain determined to run into Wigwam
+Cove. This is a snug little harbour, not far from Cape Horn; and
+here, at Christmas-eve, we anchored in smooth water. The only thing
+which reminded us of the gale outside was every now and then a puff
+from the mountains, which made the ship surge at her anchors.
+
+DECEMBER 25, 1832.
+
+Close by the cove, a pointed hill, called Kater's Peak, rises to
+the height of 1700 feet. The surrounding islands all consist of
+conical masses of greenstone, associated sometimes with less
+regular hills of baked and altered clay-slate. This part of Tierra
+del Fuego may be considered as the extremity of the submerged chain
+of mountains already alluded to. The cove takes its name of
+"Wigwam" from some of the Fuegian habitations; but every bay in the
+neighbourhood might be so called with equal propriety. The
+inhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are obliged constantly
+to change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to
+the same spots, as is evident from the piles of old shells, which
+must often amount to many tons in weight. These heaps can be
+distinguished at a long distance by the bright green colour of
+certain plants, which invariably grow on them. Among these may be
+enumerated the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable
+plants, the use of which has not been discovered by the natives.
+
+The Fuegian wigwam resembles, in size and dimensions, a haycock. It
+merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, and
+very imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts of grass and
+rushes. The whole cannot be the work of an hour, and it is only
+used for a few days. At Goeree Roads I saw a place where one of
+these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover
+than the form of a hare. The man was evidently living by himself,
+and York Minster said he was "very bad man," and that probably he
+had stolen something. On the west coast, however, the wigwams are
+rather better, for they are covered with seal-skins. We were
+detained here several days by the bad weather. The climate is
+certainly wretched: the summer solstice was now past, yet every day
+snow fell on the hills, and in the valleys there was rain,
+accompanied by sleet. The thermometer generally stood about 45
+degrees, but in the night fell to 38 or 40 degrees. From the damp
+and boisterous state of the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of
+sunshine, one fancied the climate even worse than it really was.
+
+While going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we pulled
+alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject and
+miserable creatures I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the
+natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west they
+possess seal-skins. Amongst these central tribes the men generally
+have an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a
+pocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their
+backs as low down as their loins. It is laced across the breast by
+strings, and according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side
+to side. But these Fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even
+one full-grown woman was absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and
+the fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body.
+In another harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a
+recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and
+remained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet fell and
+thawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of her naked baby! These
+poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces
+bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their
+hair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures
+violent. Viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that
+they are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. It is
+a common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life some of the
+lower animals can enjoy: how much more reasonably the same question
+may be asked with respect to these barbarians! At night five or six
+human beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain
+of this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled up like
+animals. Whenever it is low water, winter or summer, night or day,
+they must rise to pick shellfish from the rocks; and the women
+either dive to collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes,
+and with a baited hair-line without any hook, jerk out little fish.
+If a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale is
+discovered, it is a feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a
+few tasteless berries and fungi.
+
+They often suffer from famine: I heard Mr. Low, a sealing-master
+intimately acquainted with the natives of this country, give a
+curious account of the state of a party of one hundred and fifty
+natives on the west coast, who were very thin and in great
+distress. A succession of gales prevented the women from getting
+shell-fish on the rocks, and they could not go out in their canoes
+to catch seal. A small party of these men one morning set out, and
+the other Indians explained to him that they were going a four
+days' journey for food: on their return, Low went to meet them, and
+he found them excessively tired, each man carrying a great square
+piece of putrid whales-blubber with a hole in the middle, through
+which they put their heads, like the Gauchos do through their
+ponchos or cloaks. As soon as the blubber was brought into a
+wigwam, an old man cut off thin slices, and muttering over them,
+broiled them for a minute, and distributed them to the famished
+party, who during this time preserved a profound silence. Mr. Low
+believes that whenever a whale is cast on shore, the natives bury
+large pieces of it in the sand, as a resource in time of famine;
+and a native boy, whom he had on board, once found a stock thus
+buried. The different tribes when at war are cannibals. From the
+concurrent, but quite independent evidence of the boy taken by Mr.
+Low, and of Jemmy Button, it is certainly true, that when pressed
+in winter by hunger they kill and devour their old women before
+they kill their dogs: the boy, being asked by Mr. Low why they did
+this, answered, "Doggies catch otters, old women no." This boy
+described the manner in which they are killed by being held over
+smoke and thus choked; he imitated their screams as a joke, and
+described the parts of their bodies which are considered best to
+eat. Horrid as such a death by the hands of their friends and
+relatives must be, the fears of the old women, when hunger begins
+to press, are more painful to think of; we were told that they then
+often run away into the mountains, but that they are pursued by the
+men and brought back to the slaughter-house at their own firesides!
+
+Captain Fitz Roy could never ascertain that the Fuegians have any
+distinct belief in a future life. They sometimes bury their dead in
+caves, and sometimes in the mountain forests; we do not know what
+ceremonies they perform. Jemmy Button would not eat land-birds,
+because "eat dead men"; they are unwilling even to mention their
+dead friends. We have no reason to believe that they perform any
+sort of religious worship; though perhaps the muttering of the old
+man before he distributed the putrid blubber to his famished party
+may be of this nature. Each family or tribe has a wizard or
+conjuring doctor, whose office we could never clearly ascertain.
+Jemmy believed in dreams, though not, as I have said, in the devil:
+I do not think that our Fuegians were much more superstitious than
+some of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that
+the successive heavy gales, which we encountered off Cape Horn,
+were caused by our having the Fuegians on board. The nearest
+approach to a religious feeling which I heard of, was shown by York
+Minster, who, when Mr. Bynoe shot some very young ducklings as
+specimens, declared in the most solemn manner, "Oh, Mr. Bynoe, much
+rain, snow, blow much." This was evidently a retributive punishment
+for wasting human food. In a wild and excited manner he also
+related that his brother one day, whilst returning to pick up some
+dead birds which he had left on the coast, observed some feathers
+blown by the wind. His brother said (York imitating his manner),
+"What that?" and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff, and
+saw "wild man" picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and
+then hurled down a great stone and killed him. York declared for a
+long time afterwards storms raged, and much rain and snow fell. As
+far as we could make out, he seemed to consider the elements
+themselves as the avenging agents: it is evident in this case, how
+naturally, in a race a little more advanced in culture, the
+elements would become personified. What the "bad wild men" were,
+has always appeared to me most mysterious: from what York said,
+when we found the place like the form of a hare, where a single man
+had slept the night before, I should have thought that they were
+thieves who had been driven from their tribes; but other obscure
+speeches made me doubt this; I have sometimes imagined that the
+most probable explanation was that they were insane.
+
+The different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is
+surrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects,
+and separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral
+territory: the cause of their warfare appears to be the means of
+subsistence. Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty
+hills, and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists and
+endless storms. The habitable land is reduced to the stones on the
+beach; in search of food they are compelled unceasingly to wander
+from spot to spot, and so steep is the coast, that they can only
+move about in their wretched canoes. They cannot know the feeling
+of having a home, and still less that of domestic affection; for
+the husband is to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave.
+Was a more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on the
+west coast by Byron, who saw a wretched mother pick up her bleeding
+dying infant-boy, whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the
+stones for dropping a basket of sea-eggs! How little can the higher
+powers of the mind be brought into play: what is there for
+imagination to picture, for reason to compare, for judgment to
+decide upon? to knock a limpet from the rock does not require even
+cunning, that lowest power of the mind. Their skill in some
+respects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it is not
+improved by experience: the canoe, their most ingenious work, poor
+as it is, has remained the same, as we know from Drake, for the
+last two hundred and fifty years.
+
+Whilst beholding these savages, one asks, Whence have they come?
+What could have tempted, or what change compelled, a tribe of men,
+to leave the fine regions of the north, to travel down the
+Cordillera or backbone of America, to invent and build canoes,
+which are not used by the tribes of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, and
+then to enter on one of the most inhospitable countries within the
+limits of the globe? Although such reflections must at first seize
+on the mind, yet we may feel sure that they are partly erroneous.
+There is no reason to believe that the Fuegians decrease in number;
+therefore we must suppose that they enjoy a sufficient share of
+happiness, of whatever kind it may be, to render life worth having.
+Nature by making habit omnipotent, and its effects hereditary, has
+fitted the Fuegian to the climate and the productions of his
+miserable country.
+
+(PLATE 47.  BAD WEATHER, MAGELLAN STRAITS.)
+
+After having been detained six days in Wigwam Cove by very bad
+weather, we put to sea on the 30th of December. Captain Fitz Roy
+wished to get westward to land York and Fuegia in their own
+country. When at sea we had a constant succession of gales, and the
+current was against us: we drifted to 57 degrees 23' south. On the
+11th of January, 1833, by carrying a press of sail, we fetched
+within a few miles of the great rugged mountain of York Minster (so
+called by Captain Cook, and the origin of the name of the elder
+Fuegian), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and
+stand out to sea. The surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and
+the spray was carried over a cliff estimated at 200 feet in height.
+On the 12th the gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly
+where we were: it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly
+repeated, "Keep a good lookout to leeward." On the 13th the storm
+raged with its full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the
+sheets of spray borne by the wind. The sea looked ominous, like a
+dreary waving plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship
+laboured heavily, the albatross glided with its expanded wings
+right up the wind. At noon a great sea broke over us, and filled
+one of the whale-boats, which was obliged to be instantly cut away.
+The poor "Beagle" trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes
+would not obey her helm; but soon, like a good ship that she was,
+she righted and came up to the wind again. Had another sea followed
+the first, our fate would have been decided soon, and for ever. We
+had now been twenty-four days trying in vain to get westward; the
+men were worn out with fatigue, and they had not had for many
+nights or days a dry thing to put on. Captain Fitz Roy gave up the
+attempt to get westward by the outside coast. In the evening we ran
+in behind False Cape Horn, and dropped our anchor in forty-seven
+fathoms, fire flashing from the windlass as the chain rushed round
+it. How delightful was that still night, after having been so long
+involved in the din of the warring elements!
+
+(PLATE 48.  FUEGIAN BASKET AND BONE WEAPONS.)
+
+(PLATE 49.  FALSE HORN, CAPE HORN.)
+
+JANUARY 15, 1833.
+
+The "Beagle" anchored in Goeree Roads. Captain Fitz Roy having
+resolved to settle the Fuegians, according to their wishes, in
+Ponsonby Sound, four boats were equipped to carry them there
+through the Beagle Channel. This channel, which was discovered by
+Captain Fitz Roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable
+feature in the geography of this, or indeed of any other country:
+it may be compared to the valley of Loch Ness in Scotland, with its
+chain of lakes and friths. It is about one hundred and twenty miles
+long, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great
+variation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part
+so perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a
+line of mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long
+distance. It crosses the southern part of Tierra del Fuego in an
+east and west line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on
+the south side by an irregular channel, which has been called
+Ponsonby Sound. This is the residence of Jemmy Button's tribe and
+family.
+
+JANUARY 19, 1833.
+
+Three whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of twenty-eight,
+started under the command of Captain Fitz Roy. In the afternoon we
+entered the eastern mouth of the channel, and shortly afterwards
+found a snug little cove concealed by some surrounding islets. Here
+we pitched our tents and lighted our fires. Nothing could look more
+comfortable than this scene. The glassy water of the little
+harbour, with the branches of the trees hanging over the rocky
+beach, the boats at anchor, the tents supported by the crossed
+oars, and the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a picture
+of quiet retirement. The next day (20th) we smoothly glided onwards
+in our little fleet, and came to a more inhabited district. Few if
+any of these natives could ever have seen a white man; certainly
+nothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of the
+four boats. Fires were lighted on every point (hence the name of
+Tierra del Fuego, or the land of fire), both to attract our
+attention and to spread far and wide the news. Some of the men ran
+for miles along the shore. I shall never forget how wild and savage
+one group appeared: suddenly four or five men came to the edge of
+an overhanging cliff; they were absolutely naked, and their long
+hair streamed about their faces; they held rugged staffs in their
+hands, and, springing from the ground, they waved their arms round
+their heads, and sent forth the most hideous yells.
+
+At dinner-time we landed among a party of Fuegians. At first they
+were not inclined to be friendly; for until the Captain pulled in
+ahead of the other boats, they kept their slings in their hands. We
+soon, however, delighted them by trifling presents, such as tying
+red tape round their heads. They liked our biscuit: but one of the
+savages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin
+cases which I was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as
+much disgust at it, as I should have done at putrid blubber. Jemmy
+was thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen, and declared his own
+tribe were quite different, in which he was woefully mistaken. It
+was as easy to please as it was difficult to satisfy these savages.
+Young and old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word
+"yammerschooner," which means "give me." After pointing to almost
+every object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our
+coats, and saying their favourite word in as many intonations as
+possible, they would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly
+repeat "yammerschooner." After yammerschoonering for any article
+very eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young
+women or little children, as much as to say, "If you will not give
+it me, surely you will to such as these."
+
+At night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove; and at
+last were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of natives. They
+were very inoffensive as long as they were few in numbers, but in
+the morning (21st) being joined by others they showed symptoms of
+hostility, and we thought that we should have come to a skirmish.
+An European labours under great disadvantages when treating with
+savages like these who have not the least idea of the power of
+firearms. In the very act of levelling his musket he appears to the
+savage far inferior to a man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear,
+or even a sling. Nor is it easy to teach them our superiority
+except by striking a fatal blow. Like wild beasts, they do not
+appear to compare numbers; for each individual, if attacked,
+instead of retiring, will endeavour to dash your brains out with a
+stone, as certainly as a tiger under similar circumstances would
+tear you. Captain Fitz Roy, on one occasion being very anxious,
+from good reasons, to frighten away a small party, first flourished
+a cutlass near them, at which they only laughed; he then twice
+fired his pistol close to a native. The man both times looked
+astounded, and carefully but quickly rubbed his head; he then
+stared awhile, and gabbled to his companions, but he never seemed
+to think of running away. We can hardly put ourselves in the
+position of these savages, and understand their actions. In the
+case of this Fuegian, the possibility of such a sound as the report
+of a gun close to his ear could never have entered his mind. He
+perhaps literally did not for a second know whether it was a sound
+or a blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed his head. In a
+similar manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by a bullet, it
+may be some time before he is able at all to understand how it is
+effected; for the fact of a body being invisible from its velocity
+would perhaps be to him an idea totally inconceivable. Moreover,
+the extreme force of a bullet that penetrates a hard substance
+without tearing it, may convince the savage that it has no force at
+all. Certainly I believe that many savages of the lowest grade,
+such as these of Tierra del Fuego, have seen objects struck, and
+even small animals killed by the musket, without being in the least
+aware how deadly an instrument it is.
+
+JANUARY 22, 1833.
+
+After having passed an unmolested night, in what would appear to be
+neutral territory between Jemmy's tribe and the people whom we saw
+yesterday, we sailed pleasantly along. I do not know anything which
+shows more clearly the hostile state of the different tribes, than
+these wide border or neutral tracts. Although Jemmy Button well
+knew the force of our party, he was, at first, unwilling to land
+amidst the hostile tribe nearest to his own. He often told us how
+the savage Oens men "when the leaf red," crossed the mountains from
+the eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego, and made inroads on the
+natives of this part of the country. It was most curious to watch
+him when thus talking, and see his eyes gleaming and his whole face
+assume a new and wild expression. As we proceeded along the Beagle
+Channel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very magnificent
+character; but the effect was much lessened from the lowness of the
+point of view in a boat, and from looking along the valley, and
+thus losing all the beauty of a succession of ridges. The mountains
+were here about three thousand feet high, and terminated in sharp
+and jagged points. They rose in one unbroken sweep from the water's
+edge, and were covered to the height of fourteen or fifteen hundred
+feet by the dusky-coloured forest. It was most curious to observe,
+as far as the eye could range, how level and truly horizontal the
+line on the mountain side was, at which trees ceased to grow: it
+precisely resembled the high-water mark of driftweed on a
+sea-beach.
+
+At night we slept close to the junction of Ponsonby Sound with the
+Beagle Channel. A small family of Fuegians, who were living in the
+cove, were quiet and inoffensive, and soon joined our party round a
+blazing fire. We were well clothed, and though sitting close to the
+fire were far from too warm; yet these naked savages, though
+farther off, were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming
+with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting. They seemed,
+however, very well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the
+seamen's songs: but the manner in which they were invariably a
+little behindhand was quite ludicrous.
+
+During the night the news had spread, and early in the morning
+(23rd) a fresh party arrived, belonging to the Tekenika, or Jemmy's
+tribe. Several of them had run so fast that their noses were
+bleeding, and their mouths frothed from the rapidity with which
+they talked; and with their naked bodies all bedaubed with black,
+white, and red, they looked like so many demoniacs who had been
+fighting. (10/1. This substance, when dry, is tolerably compact,
+and of little specific gravity: Professor Ehrenberg has examined
+it: he states "Konig Akad. der Wissen" Berlin February 1845, that
+it is composed of infusoria, including fourteen polygastrica and
+four phytolitharia. He says that they are all inhabitants of fresh
+water; this is a beautiful example of the results obtainable
+through Professor Ehrenberg's microscopic researches; for Jemmy
+Button told me that it is always collected at the bottoms of
+mountain-brooks. It is, moreover, a striking fact in the
+geographical distribution of the infusoria, which are well known to
+have very wide ranges, that all the species in this substance,
+although brought from the extreme southern point of Tierra del
+Fuego, are old, known forms.) We then proceeded (accompanied by
+twelve canoes, each holding four or five people) down Ponsonby
+Sound to the spot where poor Jemmy expected to find his mother and
+relatives. He had already heard that his father was dead; but as he
+had had a "dream in his head" to that effect, he did not seem to
+care much about it, and repeatedly comforted himself with the very
+natural reflection--"Me no help it." He was not able to learn any
+particulars regarding his father's death, as his relations would
+not speak about it.
+
+Jemmy was now in a district well known to him, and guided the boats
+to a quiet pretty cove named Woollya, surrounded by islets, every
+one of which and every point had its proper native name. We found
+here a family of Jemmy's tribe, but not his relations: we made
+friends with them; and in the evening they sent a canoe to inform
+Jemmy's mother and brothers. The cove was bordered by some acres of
+good sloping land, not covered (as elsewhere) either by peat or by
+forest-trees. Captain Fitz Roy originally intended, as before
+stated, to have taken York Minster and Fuegia to their own tribe on
+the west coast; but as they expressed a wish to remain here, and as
+the spot was singularly favourable, Captain Fitz Roy determined to
+settle here the whole party, including Matthews, the missionary.
+Five days were spent in building for them three large wigwams, in
+landing their goods, in digging two gardens, and sowing seeds.
+
+The next morning after our arrival (the 24th) the Fuegians began to
+pour in, and Jemmy's mother and brothers arrived. Jemmy recognised
+the stentorian voice of one of his brothers at a prodigious
+distance. The meeting was less interesting than that between a
+horse, turned out into a field, when he joins an old companion.
+There was no demonstration of affection; they simply stared for a
+short time at each other; and the mother immediately went to look
+after her canoe. We heard, however, through York that the mother
+had been inconsolable for the loss of Jemmy, and had searched
+everywhere for him, thinking that he might have been left after
+having been taken in the boat. The women took much notice of and
+were very kind to Fuegia. We had already perceived that Jemmy had
+almost forgotten his own language. I should think there was
+scarcely another human being with so small a stock of language, for
+his English was very imperfect. It was laughable, but almost
+pitiable, to hear him speak to his wild brother in English, and
+then ask him in Spanish ("no sabe?") whether he did not understand
+him.
+
+Everything went on peaceably during the three next days, whilst the
+gardens were digging and wigwams building. We estimated the number
+of natives at about one hundred and twenty. The women worked hard,
+whilst the men lounged about all day long, watching us. They asked
+for everything they saw, and stole what they could. They were
+delighted at our dancing and singing, and were particularly
+interested at seeing us wash in a neighbouring brook; they did not
+pay much attention to anything else, not even to our boats. Of all
+the things which York saw, during his absence from his country,
+nothing seems more to have astonished him than an ostrich, near
+Maldonado: breathless with astonishment he came running to Mr.
+Bynoe, with whom he was out walking--"Oh, Mr. Bynoe, oh, bird all
+same horse!" Much as our white skins surprised the natives, by Mr.
+Low's account a negro-cook to a sealing vessel did so more
+effectually, and the poor fellow was so mobbed and shouted at that
+he would never go on shore again. Everything went on so quietly,
+that some of the officers and myself took long walks in the
+surrounding hills and woods. Suddenly, however, on the 27th, every
+woman and child disappeared. We were all uneasy at this, as neither
+York nor Jemmy could make out the cause. It was thought by some
+that they had been frightened by our cleaning and firing off our
+muskets on the previous evening: by others, that it was owing to
+offence taken by an old savage, who, when told to keep farther off,
+had coolly spit in the sentry's face, and had then, by gestures
+acted over a sleeping Fuegian, plainly showed, as it was said, that
+he should like to cut up and eat our man. Captain Fitz Roy, to
+avoid the chance of an encounter, which would have been fatal to so
+many of the Fuegians, thought it advisable for us to sleep at a
+cove a few miles distant. Matthews, with his usual quiet fortitude
+(remarkable in a man apparently possessing little energy of
+character), determined to stay with the Fuegians, who evinced no
+alarm for themselves; and so we left them to pass their first awful
+night.
+
+On our return in the morning (28th) we were delighted to find all
+quiet, and the men employed in their canoes spearing fish. Captain
+Fitz Roy determined to send the yawl and one whale-boat back to the
+ship; and to proceed with the two other boats, one under his own
+command (in which he most kindly allowed me to accompany him), and
+one under Mr. Hammond, to survey the western parts of the Beagle
+Channel, and afterwards to return and visit the settlement. The day
+to our astonishment was overpoweringly hot, so that our skins were
+scorched; with this beautiful weather, the view in the middle of
+the Beagle Channel was very remarkable. Looking towards either
+hand, no object intercepted the vanishing points of this long canal
+between the mountains. The circumstance of its being an arm of the
+sea was rendered very evident by several huge whales spouting in
+different directions. (10/2. One day, off the East coast of Tierra
+del Fuego, we saw a grand sight in several spermaceti whales
+jumping upright quite out of the water, with the exception of their
+tail-fins. As they fell down sideways, they splashed the water high
+up, and the sound reverberated like a distant broadside.) On one
+occasion I saw two of these monsters, probably male and female,
+slowly swimming one after the other, within less than a stone's
+throw of the shore, over which the beech-tree extended its
+branches.
+
+We sailed on till it was dark, and then pitched our tents in a
+quiet creek. The greatest luxury was to find for our beds a beach
+of pebbles, for they were dry and yielded to the body. Peaty soil
+is damp; rock is uneven and hard; sand gets into one's meat, when
+cooked and eaten boat-fashion; but when lying in our blanket-bags,
+on a good bed of smooth pebbles, we passed most comfortable nights.
+
+It was my watch till one o'clock. There is something very solemn in
+these scenes. At no time does the consciousness in what a remote
+corner of the world you are then standing come so strongly before
+the mind. Everything tends to this effect; the stillness of the
+night is interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the seamen
+beneath the tents, and sometimes by the cry of a night-bird. The
+occasional barking of a dog, heard in the distance, reminds one
+that it is the land of the savage.
+
+JANUARY 29, 1833.
+
+Early in the morning we arrived at the point where the Beagle
+Channel divides into two arms; and we entered the northern one. The
+scenery here becomes even grander than before. The lofty mountains
+on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the
+country, and boldly rise to a height of between three and four
+thousand feet, with one peak above six thousand feet. They are
+covered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous cascades
+pour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow channel
+below. In many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountain
+side to the water's edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine
+anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers,
+and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper
+expanse of snow. The fragments which had fallen from the glacier
+into the water were floating away, and the channel with its
+icebergs presented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness
+of the Polar Sea. The boats being hauled on shore at our
+dinner-hour, we were admiring from the distance of half a mile a
+perpendicular cliff of ice, and were wishing that some more
+fragments would fall. At last, down came a mass with a roaring
+noise, and immediately we saw the smooth outline of a wave
+travelling towards us. The men ran down as quickly as they could to
+the boats; for the chance of their being dashed to pieces was
+evident. One of the seamen just caught hold of the bows, as the
+curling breaker reached it: he was knocked over and over, but not
+hurt, and the boats, though thrice lifted on high and let fall
+again, received no damage. This was most fortunate for us, for we
+were a hundred miles distant from the ship, and we should have been
+left without provisions or firearms. I had previously observed that
+some large fragments of rock on the beach had been lately
+displaced; but until seeing this wave I did not understand the
+cause. One side of the creek was formed by a spur of mica-slate;
+the head by a cliff of ice about forty feet high; and the other
+side by a promontory fifty feet high, built up of huge rounded
+fragments of granite and mica-slate, out of which old trees were
+growing. This promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a
+period when the glacier had greater dimensions.
+
+When we reached the western mouth of this northern branch of the
+Beagle Channel, we sailed amongst many unknown desolate islands,
+and the weather was wretchedly bad. We met with no natives. The
+coast was almost everywhere so steep that we had several times to
+pull many miles before we could find space enough to pitch our two
+tents: one night we slept on large round boulders, with putrefying
+sea-weed between them; and when the tide rose, we had to get up and
+move our blanket-bags. The farthest point westward which we reached
+was Stewart Island, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles
+from our ship. We returned into the Beagle Channel by the southern
+arm, and thence proceeded, with no adventure, back to Ponsonby
+Sound.
+
+FEBRUARY 6, 1833.
+
+We arrived at Woollya. Matthews gave so bad an account of the
+conduct of the Fuegians, that Captain Fitz Roy determined to take
+him back to the "Beagle"; and ultimately he was left at New
+Zealand, where his brother was a missionary. From the time of our
+leaving, a regular system of plunder commenced; fresh parties of
+the natives kept arriving: York and Jemmy lost many things, and
+Matthews almost everything which had not been concealed
+underground. Every article seemed to have been torn up and divided
+by the natives. Matthews described the watch he was obliged always
+to keep as most harassing; night and day he was surrounded by the
+natives, who tried to tire him out by making an incessant noise
+close to his head. One day an old man, whom Matthews asked to leave
+his wigwam, immediately returned with a large stone in his hand:
+another day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes, and
+some of the younger men and Jemmy's brother were crying: Matthews
+met them with presents. Another party showed by signs that they
+wished to strip him naked and pluck all the hairs out of his face
+and body. I think we arrived just in time to save his life. Jemmy's
+relatives had been so vain and foolish, that they had showed to
+strangers their plunder, and their manner of obtaining it. It was
+quite melancholy leaving the three Fuegians with their savage
+countrymen; but it was a great comfort that they had no personal
+fears. York, being a powerful resolute man, was pretty sure to get
+on well, together with his wife Fuegia. Poor Jemmy looked rather
+disconsolate, and would then, I have little doubt, have been glad
+to have returned with us. His own brother had stolen many things
+from him; and as he remarked, "What fashion call that:" he abused
+his countrymen, "all bad men, no sabe (know) nothing" and, though I
+never heard him swear before, "damned fools." Our three Fuegians,
+though they had been only three years with civilised men, would, I
+am sure, have been glad to have retained their new habits; but this
+was obviously impossible. I fear it is more than doubtful whether
+their visit will have been of any use to them.
+
+In the evening, with Matthews on board, we made sail back to the
+ship, not by the Beagle Channel, but by the southern coast. The
+boats were heavily laden and the sea rough, and we had a dangerous
+passage. By the evening of the 7th we were on board the "Beagle"
+after an absence of twenty days, during which time we had gone
+three hundred miles in the open boats. On the 11th Captain Fitz Roy
+paid a visit by himself to the Fuegians and found them going on
+well; and that they had lost very few more things.
+
+On the last day of February in the succeeding year (1834) the
+"Beagle" anchored in a beautiful little cove at the eastern
+entrance of the Beagle Channel. Captain Fitz Roy determined on the
+bold, and as it proved successful, attempt to beat against the
+westerly winds by the same route which we had followed in the boats
+to the settlement at Woollya. We did not see many natives until we
+were near Ponsonby Sound, where we were followed by ten or twelve
+canoes. The natives did not at all understand the reason of our
+tacking, and, instead of meeting us at each tack, vainly strove to
+follow us in our zigzag course. I was amused at finding what a
+difference the circumstance of being quite superior in force made,
+in the interest of beholding these savages. While in the boats I
+got to hate the very sound of their voices, so much trouble did
+they give us. The first and last word was "yammerschooner." When,
+entering some quiet little cove, we have looked round and thought
+to pass a quiet night, the odious word "yammerschooner" has shrilly
+sounded from some gloomy nook, and then the little signal-smoke has
+curled up to spread the news far and wide. On leaving some place we
+have said to each other, "Thank heaven, we have at last fairly left
+these wretches!" when one more faint halloo from an all-powerful
+voice, heard at a prodigious distance, would reach our ears, and
+clearly could we distinguish--"yammerschooner." But now, the more
+Fuegians the merrier; and very merry work it was. Both parties
+laughing, wondering, gaping at each other; we pitying them, for
+giving us good fish and crabs for rags, etc.; they grasping at the
+chance of finding people so foolish as to exchange such splendid
+ornaments for a good supper. It was most amusing to see the
+undisguised smile of satisfaction with which one young woman with
+her face painted black, tied several bits of scarlet cloth round
+her head with rushes. Her husband, who enjoyed the very universal
+privilege in this country of possessing two wives, evidently became
+jealous of all the attention paid to his young wife; and, after a
+consultation with his naked beauties, was paddled away by them.
+
+Some of the Fuegians plainly showed that they had a fair notion of
+barter. I gave one man a large nail (a most valuable present)
+without making any signs for a return; but he immediately picked
+out two fish, and handed them up on the point of his spear. If any
+present was designed for one canoe, and it fell near another, it
+was invariably given to the right owner. The Fuegian boy, whom Mr.
+Low had on board, showed, by going into the most violent passion,
+that he quite understood the reproach of being called a liar, which
+in truth he was. We were this time, as on all former occasions,
+much surprised at the little notice, or rather none whatever, which
+was taken of many things, the use of which must have been evident
+to the natives. Simple circumstances--such as the beauty of scarlet
+cloth or blue beads, the absence of women, our care in washing
+ourselves,--excited their admiration far more than any grand or
+complicated object, such as our ship. Bougainville has well
+remarked concerning these people, that they treat the "chefs
+d'oeuvre de l'industrie humaine, comme ils traitent les loix de la
+nature et ses ph�nom�nes."
+
+On the 5th of March we anchored in a cove at Woollya, but we saw
+not a soul there. We were alarmed at this, for the natives in
+Ponsonby Sound showed by gestures that there had been fighting; and
+we afterwards heard that the dreaded Oens men had made a descent.
+Soon a canoe, with a little flag flying, was seen approaching, with
+one of the men in it washing the paint off his face. This man was
+poor Jemmy,--now a thin, haggard savage, with long disordered hair,
+and naked, except a bit of blanket round his waist. We did not
+recognize him till he was close to us, for he was ashamed of
+himself, and turned his back to the ship. We had left him plump,
+fat, clean, and well-dressed;--I never saw so complete and grievous
+a change. As soon however as he was clothed, and the first flurry
+was over, things wore a good appearance. He dined with Captain Fitz
+Roy, and ate his dinner as tidily as formerly. He told us that he
+had "too much" (meaning enough) to eat, that he was not cold, that
+his relations were very good people, and that he did not wish to go
+back to England: in the evening we found out the cause of this
+great change in Jemmy's feelings, in the arrival of his young and
+nice-looking wife. With his usual good feeling, he brought two
+beautiful otter-skins for two of his best friends, and some
+spear-heads and arrows made with his own hands for the Captain. He
+said he had built a canoe for himself, and he boasted that he could
+talk a little of his own language! But it is a most singular fact,
+that he appears to have taught all his tribe some English: an old
+man spontaneously announced "Jemmy Button's wife." Jemmy had lost
+all his property. He told us that York Minster had built a large
+canoe, and with his wife Fuegia, had several months since gone to
+his own country, and had taken farewell by an act of consummate
+villainy; he persuaded Jemmy and his mother to come with him, and
+then on the way deserted them by night, stealing every article of
+their property. (10/3. Captain Sulivan, who, since his voyage in
+the "Beagle," has been employed on the survey of the Falkland
+Islands, heard from a sealer in (1842?), that when in the western
+part of the Strait of Magellan, he was astonished by a native woman
+coming on board, who could talk some English. Without doubt this
+was Fuegia Basket. She lived (I fear the term probably bears a
+double interpretation) some days on board.)
+
+Jemmy went to sleep on shore, and in the morning returned, and
+remained on board till the ship got under weigh, which frightened
+his wife, who continued crying violently till he got into his
+canoe. He returned loaded with valuable property. Every soul on
+board was heartily sorry to shake hands with him for the last time.
+I do not now doubt that he will be as happy as, perhaps happier
+than, if he had never left his own country. Every one must
+sincerely hope that Captain Fitz Roy's noble hope may be fulfilled,
+of being rewarded for the many generous sacrifices which he made
+for these Fuegians, by some shipwrecked sailor being protected by
+the descendants of Jemmy Button and his tribe! When Jemmy reached
+the shore, he lighted a signal fire, and the smoke curled up,
+bidding us a last and long farewell, as the ship stood on her
+course into the open sea.
+
+The perfect equality among the individuals composing the Fuegian
+tribes must for a long time retard their civilisation. As we see
+those animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and
+obey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the
+races of mankind. Whether we look at it as a cause or a
+consequence, the more civilised always have the most artificial
+governments. For instance, the inhabitants of Otaheite, who, when
+first discovered, were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at
+a far higher grade than another branch of the same people, the New
+Zealanders,--who, although benefited by being compelled to turn
+their attention to agriculture, were republicans in the most
+absolute sense. In Tierra del Fuego, until some chief shall arise
+with power sufficient to secure any acquired advantage, such as the
+domesticated animals, it seems scarcely possible that the political
+state of the country can be improved. At present, even a piece of
+cloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one
+individual becomes richer than another. On the other hand, it is
+difficult to understand how a chief can arise till there is
+property of some sort by which he might manifest his superiority
+and increase his power.
+
+I believe, in this extreme part of South America, man exists in a
+lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. The
+South Sea Islanders, of the two races inhabiting the Pacific, are
+comparatively civilised. The Esquimaux, in his subterranean hut,
+enjoys some of the comforts of life, and in his canoe, when fully
+equipped, manifests much skill. Some of the tribes of Southern
+Africa, prowling about in search of roots, and living concealed on
+the wild and arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. The
+Australian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes nearest
+the Fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang, his spear and
+throwing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of tracking animals,
+and of hunting. Although the Australian may be superior in
+acquirements, it by no means follows that he is likewise superior
+in mental capacity: indeed, from what I saw of the Fuegians when on
+board and from what I have read of the Australians, I should think
+the case was exactly the reverse.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+(PLATE 50.  WOLLASTON ISLAND, TIERRA DEL FUEGO.)
+
+(PLATE 51.  PATAGONIANS FROM CAPE GREGORY.)
+
+Strait of Magellan.
+Port Famine.
+Ascent of Mount Tarn.
+Forests.
+Edible fungus.
+Zoology.
+Great Seaweed.
+Leave Tierra del Fuego.
+Climate.
+Fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts.
+Height of snow-line on the Cordillera.
+Descent of glaciers to the sea.
+Icebergs formed.
+Transportal of boulders.
+Climate and productions of the Antarctic Islands.
+Preservation of frozen carcasses.
+Recapitulation.
+
+STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.--CLIMATE OF THE SOUTHERN COASTS.
+
+
+
+In the end of May 1834 we entered for a second time the eastern
+mouth of the Strait of Magellan. The country on both sides of this
+part of the Strait consists of nearly level plains, like those of
+Patagonia. Cape Negro, a little within the second Narrows, may be
+considered as the point where the land begins to assume the marked
+features of Tierra del Fuego. On the east coast, south of the
+Strait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these
+two countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every
+feature. It is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles
+such a change in the landscape. If we take a rather greater
+distance, as between Port Famine and Gregory Bay, that is about
+sixty miles, the difference is still more wonderful. At the former
+place we have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests,
+which are drenched with the rain brought by an endless succession
+of gales; while at Cape Gregory there is a clear and bright blue
+sky over the dry and sterile plains. The atmospheric currents,
+although rapid, turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits,
+yet seem to follow, like a river in its bed, a regularly determined
+course. (11/1. The south-westerly breezes are generally very dry.
+January 29th, being at anchor under Cape Gregory: a very hard gale
+from west by south, clear sky with few cumuli; temperature 57
+degrees, dew-point 36 degrees,--difference 21 degrees. On January
+15th, at Port St. Julian: in the morning light winds with much
+rain, followed by a very heavy squall with rain,--settled into
+heavy gale with large cumuli,--cleared up, blowing very strong from
+south-south-west. Temperature 60 degrees, dew-point 42
+degrees,--difference 18 degrees.)
+
+During our previous visit (in January), we had an interview at Cape
+Gregory with the famous so-called gigantic Patagonians, who gave us
+a cordial reception. Their height appears greater than it really
+is, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair, and
+general figure: on an average their height is about six feet, with
+some men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also
+tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we
+anywhere saw. In features they strikingly resemble the more
+northern Indians whom I saw with Rosas, but they have a wilder and
+more formidable appearance: their faces were much painted with red
+and black, and one man was ringed and dotted with white like a
+Fuegian. Captain Fitz Roy offered to take any three of them on
+board, and all seemed determined to be of the three. It was long
+before we could clear the boat; at last we got on board with our
+three giants, who dined with the Captain, and behaved quite like
+gentlemen, helping themselves with knives, forks, and spoons:
+nothing was so much relished as sugar. This tribe has had so much
+communication with sealers and whalers, that most of the men can
+speak a little English and Spanish; and they are half civilised,
+and proportionally demoralised.
+
+The next morning a large party went on shore, to barter for skins
+and ostrich-feathers; fire-arms being refused, tobacco was in
+greatest request, far more so than axes or tools. The whole
+population of the toldos, men, women, and children, were arranged
+on a bank. It was an amusing scene, and it was impossible not to
+like the so-called giants, they were so thoroughly good-humoured
+and unsuspecting: they asked us to come again. They seem to like to
+have Europeans to live with them; and old Maria, an important woman
+in the tribe, once begged Mr. Low to leave any one of his sailors
+with them. They spend the greater part of the year here; but in
+summer they hunt along the foot of the Cordillera: sometimes they
+travel as far as the Rio Negro, 750 miles to the north. They are
+well stocked with horses, each man having, according to Mr. Low,
+six or seven, and all the women, and even children, their one own
+horse. In the time of Sarmiento (1580) these Indians had bows and
+arrows, now long since disused; they then also possessed some
+horses. This is a very curious fact, showing the extraordinarily
+rapid multiplication of horses in South America. The horse was
+first landed at Buenos Ayres in 1537, and the colony being then for
+a time deserted, the horse ran wild (11/2. Rengger "Natur. der
+Saugethiere von Paraguay" S. 334.); in 1580, only forty-three years
+afterwards, we hear of them at the Strait of Magellan! Mr. Low
+informs me, that a neighbouring tribe of foot-Indians is now
+changing into horse-Indians: the tribe at Gregory Bay giving them
+their worn-out horses, and sending in winter a few of their best
+skilled men to hunt for them.
+
+JUNE 1, 1834.
+
+(PLATE 52.  PORT FAMINE, MAGELLAN.)
+
+We anchored in the fine bay of Port Famine. It was now the
+beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheerless prospect; the
+dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly
+through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. We were, however, lucky in
+getting two fine days. On one of these, Mount Sarmiento, a distant
+mountain 6800 feet high, presented a very noble spectacle. I was
+frequently surprised, in the scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the
+little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. I suspect it
+is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely,
+that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is
+generally in full view. I remember having seen a mountain, first
+from the Beagle Channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to
+the base was full in view, and then from Ponsonby Sound across
+several successive ridges; and it was curious to observe in the
+latter case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of
+the distance, how the mountain rose in height.
+
+Before reaching Port Famine, two men were seen running along the
+shore and hailing the ship. A boat was sent for them. They turned
+out to be two sailors who had run away from a sealing-vessel, and
+had joined the Patagonians. These Indians had treated them with
+their usual disinterested hospitality. They had parted company
+through accident, and were then proceeding to Port Famine in hopes
+of finding some ship. I daresay they were worthless vagabonds, but
+I never saw more miserable-looking ones. They had been living for
+some days on mussel-shells and berries, and their tattered clothes
+had been burnt by sleeping so near their fires. They had been
+exposed night and day, without any shelter, to the late incessant
+gales, with rain, sleet, and snow, and yet they were in good
+health.
+
+(PLATE 53.  PATAGONIAN BOLAS.)
+
+(PLATE 54.  PATAGONIAN SPURS AND PIPE.)
+
+During our stay at Port Famine, the Fuegians twice came and plagued
+us. As there were many instruments, clothes, and men on shore, it
+was thought necessary to frighten them away. The first time a few
+great guns were fired, when they were far distant. It was most
+ludicrous to watch through a glass the Indians, as often as the
+shot struck the water, take up stones, and, as a bold defiance,
+throw them towards the ship, though about a mile and a half
+distant! A boat was then sent with orders to fire a few
+musket-shots wide of them. The Fuegians hid themselves behind the
+trees, and for every discharge of the muskets they fired their
+arrows; all, however, fell short of the boat, and the officer as he
+pointed at them laughed. This made the Fuegians frantic with
+passion, and they shook their mantles in vain rage. At last, seeing
+the balls cut and strike the trees, they ran away, and we were left
+in peace and quietness. During the former voyage the Fuegians were
+here very troublesome, and to frighten them a rocket was fired at
+night over their wigwams; it answered effectually, and one of the
+officers told me that the clamour first raised, and the barking of
+the dogs, was quite ludicrous in contrast with the profound silence
+which in a minute or two afterwards prevailed. The next morning not
+a single Fuegian was in the neighbourhood.
+
+When the "Beagle" was here in the month of February, I started one
+morning at four o'clock to ascend Mount Tarn, which is 2600 feet
+high, and is the most elevated point in this immediate district. We
+went in a boat to the foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to
+the best part), and then began our ascent. The forest commences at
+the line of high-water mark, and during the first two hours I gave
+over all hopes of reaching the summit. So thick was the wood, that
+it was necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for
+every landmark, though in a mountainous country, was completely
+shut out. In the deep ravines the death-like scene of desolation
+exceeded all description; outside it was blowing a gale, but in
+these hollows not even a breath of wind stirred the leaves of the
+tallest trees. So gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that not
+even the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish. In the valleys it
+was scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so completely
+barricaded by great mouldering trunks, which had fallen down in
+every direction. When passing over these natural bridges, one's
+course was often arrested by sinking knee deep into the rotten
+wood; at other times, when attempting to lean against a firm tree,
+one was startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall
+at the slightest touch. We at last found ourselves among the
+stunted trees, and then soon reached the bare ridge, which
+conducted us to the summit. Here was a view characteristic of
+Tierra del Fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with patches
+of snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea
+intersecting the land in many directions. The strong wind was
+piercingly cold, and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not
+stay long on the top of the mountain. Our descent was not quite so
+laborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a
+passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction.
+
+I have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the
+evergreen forests, in which two or three species of trees grow, to
+the exclusion of all others. (11/3. Captain Fitz Roy informs me
+that in April (our October) the leaves of those trees which grow
+near the base of the mountains change colour, but not those on the
+more elevated parts. I remember having read some observations,
+showing that in England the leaves fall earlier in a warm and fine
+autumn than in a late and cold one. The change in the colour being
+here retarded in the more elevated, and therefore colder
+situations, must be owing to the same general law of vegetation.
+The trees of Tierra del Fuego during no part of the year entirely
+shed their leaves.) Above the forest land there are many dwarf
+alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to
+compose it: these plants are very remarkable from their close
+alliance with the species growing on the mountains of Europe,
+though so many thousand miles distant. The central part of Tierra
+del Fuego, where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most
+favourable to the growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer
+granitic soil, and a situation more exposed to the violent winds,
+do not allow of their attaining any great size. Near Port Famine I
+have seen more large trees than anywhere else: I measured a
+Winter's Bark which was four feet six inches in girth, and several
+of the beech were as much as thirteen feet. Captain King also
+mentions a beech which was seven feet in diameter seventeen feet
+above the roots.
+
+(PLATE 55.  CYTTARIA DARWINII.)
+
+There is one vegetable production deserving notice from its
+importance as an article of food to the Fuegians. It is a globular,
+bright-yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the
+beech-trees. When young it is elastic and turgid, with a smooth
+surface; but when mature, it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its
+entire surface deeply pitted or honeycombed, as represented in
+Plate 55. This fungus belongs to a new and curious genus (11/4.
+Described from my specimens and notes by the Reverend J.M. Berkeley
+in the "Linnean Transactions" volume 19 page 37, under the name of
+Cyttaria Darwinii: the Chilean species is the C. Berteroii. This
+genus is allied to Bulgaria.); I found a second species on another
+species of beech in Chile: and Dr. Hooker informs me that just
+lately a third species has been discovered on a third species of
+beech in Van Dieman's Land. How singular is this relationship
+between parasitical fungi and the trees on which they grow, in
+distant parts of the world! In Tierra del Fuego the fungus in its
+tough and mature state is collected in large quantities by the
+women and children, and is eaten un-cooked. It has a mucilaginous,
+slightly sweet taste, with a faint smell like that of a mushroom.
+With the exception of a few berries, chiefly of a dwarf arbutus,
+the natives eat no vegetable food besides this fungus. In New
+Zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of the
+fern were largely consumed; at the present time, I believe, Tierra
+del Fuego is the only country in the world where a cryptogamic
+plant affords a staple article of food.
+
+The zoology of Tierra del Fuego, as might have been expected from
+the nature of its climate and vegetation, is very poor. Of
+mammalia, besides whales and seals, there is one bat, a kind of
+mouse (Reithrodon chinchilloides), two true mice, a ctenomys allied
+to or identical with the tucutuco, two foxes (Canis Magellanicus
+and C. Azarae), a sea-otter, the guanaco, and a deer. Most of these
+animals inhabit only the drier eastern parts of the country; and
+the deer has never been seen south of the Strait of Magellan.
+Observing the general correspondence of the cliffs of soft
+sandstone, mud, and shingle, on the opposite sides of the Strait,
+and on some intervening islands, one is strongly tempted to believe
+that the land was once joined, and thus allowed animals so delicate
+and helpless as the tucutuco and Reithrodon to pass over. The
+correspondence of the cliffs is far from proving any junction;
+because such cliffs generally are formed by the intersection of
+sloping deposits, which, before the elevation of the land, had been
+accumulated near the then existing shores. It is, however, a
+remarkable coincidence, that in the two large islands cut off by
+the Beagle Channel from the rest of Tierra del Fuego, one has
+cliffs composed of matter that may be called stratified alluvium,
+which front similar ones on the opposite side of the
+channel,--while the other is exclusively bordered by old
+crystalline rocks; in the former, called Navarin Island, both foxes
+and guanacos occur; but in the latter, Hoste Island, although
+similar in every respect, and only separated by a channel a little
+more than half a mile wide, I have the word of Jemmy Button for
+saying that neither of these animals is found.
+
+The gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds: occasionally the
+plaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius
+albiceps) may be heard, concealed near the summit of the most lofty
+trees; and more rarely the loud strange cry of a black woodpecker,
+with a fine scarlet crest on its head. A little, dusky-coloured
+wren (Scytalopus Magellanicus) hops in a skulking manner among the
+entangled mass of the fallen and decaying trunks. But the creeper
+(Oxyurus tupinieri) is the commonest bird in the country.
+Throughout the beech forests, high up and low down, in the most
+gloomy, wet, and impenetrable ravines, it may be met with. This
+little bird no doubt appears more numerous than it really is, from
+its habit of following with seeming curiosity any person who enters
+these silent woods: continually uttering a harsh twitter, it
+flutters from tree to tree, within a few feet of the intruder's
+face. It is far from wishing for the modest concealment of the true
+creeper (Certhia familiaris); nor does it, like that bird, run up
+the trunks of trees, but industriously, after the manner of a
+willow-wren, hops about, and searches for insects on every twig and
+branch. In the more open parts, three or four species of finches, a
+thrush, a starling (or Icterus), two Opetiorhynchi, and several
+hawks and owls occur.
+
+The absence of any species whatever in the whole class of Reptiles
+is a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in
+that of the Falkland Islands. I do not ground this statement merely
+on my own observation, but I heard it from the Spanish inhabitants
+of the latter place, and from Jemmy Button with regard to Tierra
+del Fuego. On the banks of the Santa Cruz, in 50 degrees south, I
+saw a frog; and it is not improbable that these animals, as well as
+lizards, may be found as far south as the Strait of Magellan, where
+the country retains the character of Patagonia; but within the damp
+and cold limit of Tierra del Fuego not one occurs. That the climate
+would not have suited some of the orders, such as lizards, might
+have been foreseen; but with respect to frogs, this was not so
+obvious.
+
+Beetles occur in very small numbers: it was long before I could
+believe that a country as large as Scotland, covered with vegetable
+productions and with a variety of stations, could be so
+unproductive. The few which I found were alpine species (Harpalidae
+and Heteromidae) living under stones. The vegetable-feeding
+Chrysomelidae, so eminently characteristic of the Tropics, are here
+almost entirely absent (11/5. I believe I must except one alpine
+Haltica, and a single specimen of a Melasoma. Mr. Waterhouse
+informs me, that of the Harpalidae there are eight or nine
+species--the forms of the greater number being very peculiar; of
+Heteromera, four or five species; of Rhyncophora, six or seven; and
+of the following families one species in each: Staphylinidae,
+Elateridae, Cebrionidae, Melolonthidae. The species in the other
+orders are even fewer. In all the orders, the scarcity of the
+individuals is even more remarkable than that of the species. Most
+of the Coleoptera have been carefully described by Mr. Waterhouse
+in the "Annals of Natural History."); I saw very few flies,
+butterflies, or bees, and no crickets or Orthoptera. In the pools
+of water I found but few aquatic beetles, and not any fresh-water
+shells: Succinea at first appears an exception; but here it must be
+called a terrestrial shell, for it lives on the damp herbage far
+from water. Land-shells could be procured only in the same alpine
+situations with the beetles. I have already contrasted the climate
+as well as the general appearance of Tierra del Fuego with that of
+Patagonia; and the difference is strongly exemplified in the
+entomology. I do not believe they have one species in common;
+certainly the general character of the insects is widely different.
+
+If we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter as
+abundantly stocked with living creatures as the former is poorly
+so. In all parts of the world a rocky and partially protected shore
+perhaps supports, in a given space, a greater number of individual
+animals than any other station. There is one marine production
+which, from its importance, is worthy of a particular history. It
+is the kelp, or Macrocystis pyrifera. This plant grows on every
+rock from low-water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast
+and within the channels. (11/6. Its geographical range is
+remarkably wide; it is found from the extreme southern islets near
+Cape Horn, as far north on the eastern coast (according to
+information given me by Mr. Stokes) as latitude 43 degrees,--but on
+the western coast, as Dr. Hooker tells me, it extends to the R. San
+Francisco in California, and perhaps even to Kamtschatka. We thus
+have an immense range in latitude; and as Cook, who must have been
+well acquainted with the species, found it at Kerguelen Land, no
+less than 140 degrees in longitude.) I believe, during the voyages
+of the "Adventure" and "Beagle," not one rock near the surface was
+discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. The good
+service it thus affords to vessels navigating near this stormy land
+is evident; and it certainly has saved many a one from being
+wrecked. I know few things more surprising than to see this plant
+growing and flourishing amidst those great breakers of the western
+ocean, which no mass of rock, let it be ever so hard, can long
+resist. The stem is round, slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a
+diameter of so much as an inch. A few taken together are
+sufficiently strong to support the weight of the large loose
+stones, to which in the inland channels they grow attached; and yet
+some of these stones were so heavy that when drawn to the surface,
+they could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person. Captain
+Cook, in his second voyage, says that this plant at Kerguelen Land
+rises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; "and as it
+does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute
+angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many
+fathoms on the surface of the sea, I am well warranted to say that
+some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards." I do
+not suppose the stem of any other plant attains so great a length
+as three hundred and sixty feet, as stated by Captain Cook. Captain
+Fitz Roy, moreover, found it growing up from the greater depth of
+forty-five fathoms. (11/7. "Voyages of the 'Adventure' and
+'Beagle'" volume 1 page 363. It appears that seaweed grows
+extremely quick. Mr. Stephenson found Wilson's "Voyage round
+Scotland" volume 2 page 228, that a rock uncovered only at
+spring-tides, which had been chiselled smooth in November, on the
+following May, that is, within six months afterwards, was thickly
+covered with Fucus digitatus two feet, and F. esculentus six feet,
+in length.) The beds of this sea-weed, even when of not great
+breadth, make excellent natural floating breakwaters. It is quite
+curious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the waves from the
+open sea, as they travel through the straggling stems, sink in
+height, and pass into smooth water.
+
+The number of living creatures of all Orders, whose existence
+intimately depends on the kelp, is wonderful. A great volume might
+be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of
+seaweed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the
+surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a
+white colour. We find exquisitely delicate structures, some
+inhabited by simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organised
+kinds, and beautiful compound Ascidiae. On the leaves, also,
+various patelliform shells, Trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some
+bivalves are attached. Innumerable crustacea frequent every part of
+the plant. On shaking the great entangled roots, a pile of small
+fish, shells, cuttlefish, crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, starfish,
+beautiful Holothuriae, Planariae, and crawling nereidous animals of
+a multitude of forms, all fall out together. Often as I recurred to
+a branch of the kelp, I never failed to discover animals of new and
+curious structures. In Chiloe, where the kelp does not thrive very
+well, the numerous shells, corallines, and crustacea are absent;
+but there yet remain a few of the Flustraceae, and some compound
+Ascidiae; the latter, however, are of different species from those
+in Tierra del Fuego; we see here the fucus possessing a wider range
+than the animals which use it as an abode. I can only compare these
+great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere with the
+terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. Yet if in any
+country a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly so many
+species of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction
+of the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of
+fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with
+their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the
+otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly,
+the Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land,
+would redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps
+cease to exist.
+
+JUNE 8, 1834.
+
+We weighed anchor early in the morning and left Port Famine.
+Captain Fitz Roy determined to leave the Strait of Magellan by the
+Magdalen Channel, which had not long been discovered. Our course
+lay due south, down that gloomy passage which I have before alluded
+to as appearing to lead to another and worse world. The wind was
+fair, but the atmosphere was very thick; so that we missed much
+curious scenery. The dark ragged clouds were rapidly driven over
+the mountains, from their summits nearly down to their bases. The
+glimpses which we caught through the dusky mass were highly
+interesting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue glaciers, strong
+outlines, marked on a lurid sky, were seen at different distances
+and heights. In the midst of such scenery we anchored at Cape Turn,
+close to Mount Sarmiento, which was then hidden in the clouds. At
+the base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of our little
+cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that
+man sometimes wandered into these desolate regions. But it would be
+difficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have fewer claims
+or less authority. The inanimate works of nature--rock, ice, snow,
+wind, and water, all warring with each other, yet combined against
+man--here reigned in absolute sovereignty.
+
+JUNE 9, 1834.
+
+In the morning we were delighted by seeing the veil of mist
+gradually rise from Sarmiento, and display it to our view. This
+mountain, which is one of the highest in Tierra del Fuego, has an
+altitude of 6800 feet. Its base, for about an eighth of its total
+height, is clothed by dusky woods, and above this a field of snow
+extends to the summit. These vast piles of snow, which never melt,
+and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together,
+present a noble and even sublime spectacle. The outline of the
+mountain was admirably clear and defined. Owing to the abundance of
+light reflected from the white and glittering surface, no shadows
+were cast on any part; and those lines which intersected the sky
+could alone be distinguished: hence the mass stood out in the
+boldest relief. Several glaciers descended in a winding course from
+the upper great expanse of snow to the sea-coast: they may be
+likened to great frozen Niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of
+blue ice are full as beautiful as the moving ones of water. By
+night we reached the western part of the channel; but the water was
+so deep that no anchorage could be found. We were in consequence
+obliged to stand off and on in this narrow arm of the sea, during a
+pitch-dark night of fourteen hours long.
+
+JUNE 10, 1834.
+
+In the morning we made the best of our way into the open Pacific.
+The western coast generally consists of low, rounded, quite barren
+hills of granite and greenstone. Sir J. Narborough called one part
+South Desolation, because it is "so desolate a land to behold:" and
+well indeed might he say so. Outside the main islands there are
+numberless scattered rocks on which the long swell of the open
+ocean incessantly rages. We passed out between the East and West
+Furies; and a little farther northward there are so many breakers
+that the sea is called the Milky Way. One sight of such a coast is
+enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril,
+and death; and with this sight we bade farewell for ever to Tierra
+del Fuego.
+
+The following discussion on the climate of the southern parts of
+the continent with relation to its productions, on the snow-line,
+on the extraordinarily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone
+of perpetual congelation in the antarctic islands, may be passed
+over by any one not interested in these curious subjects, or the
+final recapitulation alone may be read. I shall, however, here give
+only an abstract, and must refer for details to the Thirteenth
+Chapter and the Appendix of the former edition of this work.
+
+
+ON THE CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND OF THE
+SOUTH-WEST COAST.
+
+The following table gives the mean temperature of Tierra del
+Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and, for comparison, that of
+Dublin:--
+
+                       Latitude    Summer   Winter   Mean of Summer
+                       degrees '   Temp.    Temp.      and Winter
+                                   deg. F.  deg. F.      deg. F.
+     ---------------------------------------------------------------
+     Tierra del Fuego  53 38 S.    50       33.08         41.54
+     Falkland Islands  51 38 S.    51         --           --
+     Dublin            53 21 N.    59.54    39.2          49.37
+
+
+
+Hence we see that the central part of Tierra del Fuego is colder in
+winter, and no less than 9 1/2 degrees less hot in summer, than
+Dublin. According to von Buch the mean temperature of July (not the
+hottest month in the year) at Saltenfiord in Norway, is as high as
+57.8 degrees, and this place is actually 13 degrees nearer the pole
+than Port Famine! (11/8. With respect to Tierra del Fuego, the
+results are deduced from the observations of Captain King
+"Geographical Journal" 1830, and those taken on board the "Beagle."
+For the Falkland Islands, I am indebted to Captain Sulivan for the
+mean of the mean temperature (reduced from careful observation at
+midnight, 8 A.M., noon, and 8 P.M.) of the three hottest months,
+namely, December, January, and February. The temperature of Dublin
+is taken from Barton.) Inhospitable as this climate appears to our
+feelings, evergreen trees flourish luxuriantly under it.
+Humming-birds may be seen sucking the flowers, and parrots feeding
+on the seeds of the Winter's Bark, in latitude 55 degrees south. I
+have already remarked to what a degree the sea swarms with living
+creatures; and the shells (such as the Patellae, Fissurellae,
+Chitons, and Barnacles), according to Mr. G.B. Sowerby, are of a
+much larger size, and of a more vigorous growth, than the analogous
+species in the northern hemisphere. A large Voluta is abundant in
+southern Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. At Bahia
+Blanca, in latitude 39 degrees south, the most abundant shells were
+three species of Oliva (one of large size), one or two Volutas, and
+a Terebra. Now these are amongst the best characterised tropical
+forms. It is doubtful whether even one small species of Oliva
+exists on the southern shores of Europe, and there are no species
+of the two other genera. If a geologist were to find in latitude 39
+degrees on the coast of Portugal a bed containing numerous shells
+belonging to three species of Oliva, to a Voluta, and Terebra, he
+would probably assert that the climate at the period of their
+existence must have been tropical; but, judging from South America,
+such an inference might be erroneous.
+
+The equable, humid, and windy climate of Tierra del Fuego extends,
+with only a small increase of heat, for many degrees along the west
+coast of the continent. The forests for 600 miles northward of Cape
+Horn, have a very similar aspect. As a proof of the equable
+climate, even for 300 or 400 miles still farther northward, I may
+mention that in Chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the northern
+parts of Spain) the peach seldom produces fruit, whilst
+strawberries and apples thrive to perfection. Even the crops of
+barley and wheat are often brought into the houses to be dried and
+ripened. (11/9. Ag�eros "Descrip. Hist. de la Prov. de Chilo�" 1791
+page 94.) At Valdivia (in the same latitude of 40 degrees with
+Madrid) grapes and figs ripen, but are not common; olives seldom
+ripen even partially, and oranges not at all. These fruits, in
+corresponding latitudes in Europe, are well known to succeed to
+perfection; and even in this continent, at the Rio Negro, under
+nearly the same parallel with Valdivia, sweet potatoes
+(convolvulus) are cultivated; and grapes, figs, olives, oranges,
+water and musk melons, produce abundant fruit. Although the humid
+and equable climate of Chiloe, and of the coast northward and
+southward of it, is so unfavourable to our fruits, yet the native
+forests, from latitude 45 to 38 degrees, almost rival in luxuriance
+those of the glowing intertropical regions. Stately trees of many
+kinds, with smooth and highly coloured barks, are loaded by
+parasitical monocotyledonous plants; large and elegant ferns are
+numerous, and arborescent grasses entwine the trees into one
+entangled mass to the height of thirty or forty feet above the
+ground. Palm-trees grow in latitude 37 degrees; an arborescent
+grass, very like a bamboo, in 40 degrees; and another closely
+allied kind, of great length, but not erect, flourishes even as far
+south as 45 degrees south.
+
+
+ON THE HEIGHT OF THE SNOW-LINE, AND ON THE DESCENT OF THE GLACIERS,
+IN SOUTH AMERICA.
+
+For the detailed authorities for the following table, I must
+refer to the former edition:--
+
+                              Height in feet
+     Latitude                 of Snow-line          Observer
+     ----------------------------------------------------------------
+     Equatorial region;
+     mean result              15,748                Humboldt.
+
+     Bolivia, latitude
+     16 to 18 degrees south   17,000                Pentland.
+
+     Central Chile, latitude
+     33 degrees south         14,500 to 15,000       Gillies and the
+     Author.
+
+     Chiloe, latitude
+     41 to 43 degrees south   6,000                 Officers of the
+                                                    "Beagle" and the
+     Author.
+
+     Tierra del Fuego
+     54 degrees south         3,500 - 4,000  King.
+
+An equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared
+with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the
+southern hemisphere; and as a consequence, the vegetation partakes
+of a semi-tropical character. Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in Van
+Diemen's Land (latitude 45 degrees), and I measured one trunk no
+less than six feet in circumference. An arborescent fern was found
+by Forster in New Zealand in 46 degrees, where orchideous plants
+are parasitical on the trees. In the Auckland Islands, ferns,
+according to Dr. Dieffenbach have trunks so thick and high that
+they may be almost called tree-ferns; and in these islands, and
+even as far south as latitude 55 degrees in the Macquarie Islands,
+parrots abound. (11/10. See the German Translation of this Journal;
+and for the other facts Mr. Brown's Appendix to Flinders's
+"Voyage.")
+
+As the height of the plane of perpetual snow seems chiefly to be
+determined by the extreme heat of the summer, rather than by the
+mean temperature of the year, we ought not to be surprised at its
+descent in the Strait of Magellan, where the summer is so cool, to
+only 3500 or 4000 feet above the level of the sea; although in
+Norway, we must travel to between latitude 67 and 70 degrees north,
+that is, about 14 degrees nearer the pole, to meet with perpetual
+snow at this low level. The difference in height, namely, about
+9000 feet, between the snow-line on the Cordillera behind Chiloe
+(with its highest points ranging from only 5600 to 7500 feet) and
+in central Chile (a distance of only 9 degrees of latitude), is
+truly wonderful. (11/11. On the Cordillera of central Chile, I
+believe the snow-line varies exceedingly in height in different
+summers. I was assured that during one very dry and long summer,
+all the snow disappeared from Aconcagua, although it attains the
+prodigious height of 23,000 feet. It is probable that much of the
+snow at these great heights is evaporated, rather than thawed.) The
+land from the southward of Chiloe to near Concepcion (latitude 37
+degrees) is hidden by one dense forest dripping with moisture. The
+sky is cloudy, and we have seen how badly the fruits of southern
+Europe succeed. In central Chile, on the other hand, a little
+northward of Concepcion, the sky is generally clear, rain does not
+fall for the seven summer months, and southern European fruits
+succeed admirably; and even the sugar-cane has been cultivated.
+(11/12. Miers's "Chile" volume 1 page 415. It is said that the
+sugar-cane grew at Ingenio, latitude 32 to 33 degrees, but not in
+sufficient quantity to make the manufacture profitable. In the
+valley of Quillota, south of Ingenio, I saw some large date-palm
+trees.) No doubt the plane of perpetual snow undergoes the above
+remarkable flexure of 9000 feet, unparalleled in other parts of the
+world, not far from the latitude of Concepcion, where the land
+ceases to be covered with forest-trees; for trees in South America
+indicate a rainy climate, and rain a clouded sky and little heat in
+summer.
+
+(PLATE 56.  EYRE SOUND.)
+
+The descent of glaciers to the sea must, I conceive, mainly depend
+(subject, of course, to a proper supply of snow in the upper
+region) on the lowness of the line of perpetual snow on steep
+mountains near the coast. As the snow-line is so low in Tierra del
+Fuego, we might have expected that many of the glaciers would have
+reached the sea. Nevertheless I was astonished when I first saw a
+range, only from 3000 to 4000 feet in height, in the latitude of
+Cumberland, with every valley filled with streams of ice descending
+to the sea-coast. Almost every arm of the sea, which penetrates to
+the interior higher chain, not only in Tierra del Fuego, but on the
+coast for 650 miles northwards, is terminated by "tremendous and
+astonishing glaciers," as described by one of the officers on the
+survey. Great masses of ice frequently fall from these icy cliffs,
+and the crash reverberates like the broadside of a man-of-war
+through the lonely channels. These falls, as noticed in the last
+chapter, produce great waves which break on the adjoining coasts.
+It is known that earthquakes frequently cause masses of earth to
+fall from sea-cliffs: how terrific, then, would be the effect of a
+severe shock (and such occur here (11/13. Bulkeley's and Cummin's
+"Faithful Narrative of the Loss of the Wager." The earthquake
+happened August 25, 1741.)) on a body like a glacier, already in
+motion, and traversed by fissures! I can readily believe that the
+water would be fairly beaten back out of the deepest channel, and
+then, returning with an overwhelming force, would whirl about huge
+masses of rock like so much chaff. In Eyre's Sound, in the latitude
+of Paris, there are immense glaciers, and yet the loftiest
+neighbouring mountain is only 6200 feet high. In this Sound, about
+fifty icebergs were seen at one time floating outwards, and one of
+them must have been AT LEAST 168 feet in total height. Some of the
+icebergs were loaded with blocks of no inconsiderable size, of
+granite and other rocks, different from the clay-slate of the
+surrounding mountains.
+
+(PLATE 57.  GLACIER IN GULF OF PENAS.)
+
+The glacier farthest from the Pole, surveyed during the voyages of
+the "Adventure" and "Beagle," is in latitude 46 degrees 50', in the
+Gulf of Penas. It is 15 miles long, and in one part 7 broad, and
+descends to the sea-coast. But even a few miles northward of this
+glacier, in the Laguna de San Rafael, some Spanish missionaries
+encountered "many icebergs, some great, some small, and others
+middle-sized," in a narrow arm of the sea, on the 22 of the month
+corresponding with our June, and in a latitude corresponding with
+that of the Lake of Geneva! (11/14. Ag�eros "Desc. Hist. de Chilo�"
+page 227.)
+
+In Europe, the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is
+met with, according to Von Buch, on the coast of Norway, in
+latitude 67 degrees. Now, this is more than 20 degrees of latitude,
+or 1230 miles, nearer the pole than the Laguna de San Rafael. The
+position of the glaciers at this place and in the Gulf of Penas may
+be put even in a more striking point of view, for they descend to
+the sea-coast within 7 1/2 degrees of latitude, or 450 miles, of a
+harbour, where three species of Oliva, a Voluta, and a Terebra, are
+the commonest shells, within less than 9 degrees from where palms
+grow, within 4 1/2 degrees of a region where the jaguar and puma
+range over the plains, less than 2 1/2 degrees from arborescent
+grasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemisphere) less
+than 2 degrees from orchideous parasites, and within a single
+degree of tree-ferns!
+
+These facts are of high geological interest with respect to the
+climate of the northern hemisphere, at the period when boulders
+were transported. I will not here detail how simply the theory of
+icebergs being charged with fragments of rock explains the origin
+and position of the gigantic boulders of eastern Tierra del Fuego,
+on the high plain of Santa Cruz, and on the island of Chiloe. In
+Tierra del Fuego the greater number of boulders lie on the lines of
+old sea-channels, now converted into dry valleys by the elevation
+of the land. They are associated with a great unstratified
+formation of mud and sand, containing rounded and angular fragments
+of all sizes, which has originated in the repeated ploughing up of
+the sea-bottom by the stranding of icebergs, and by the matter
+transported on them. (11/15. "Geological Transactions" volume 6
+page 415.) Few geologists now doubt that those erratic boulders
+which lie near lofty mountains have been pushed forward by the
+glaciers themselves, and that those distant from mountains, and
+embedded in subaqueous deposits, have been conveyed thither either
+on icebergs, or frozen in coast-ice. The connection between the
+transportal of boulders and the presence of ice in some form, is
+strikingly shown by their geographical distribution over the earth.
+In South America they are not found farther than 48 degrees of
+latitude, measured from the southern pole; in North America it
+appears that the limit of their transportal extends to 53 1/2
+degrees from the northern pole; but in Europe to not more than 40
+degrees of latitude, measured from the same point. On the other
+hand, in the intertropical parts of America, Asia, and Africa, they
+have never been observed; nor at the Cape of Good Hope, nor in
+Australia. (11/16. I have given details (the first, I believe,
+published) on this subject in the first edition, and in the
+Appendix to it. I have there shown that the apparent exceptions to
+the absence of erratic boulders in certain hot countries are due to
+erroneous observations; several statements there given I have since
+found confirmed by various authors.)
+
+ON THE CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE ANTARCTIC ISLANDS.
+
+Considering the rankness of the vegetation in Tierra del Fuego, and
+on the coast northward of it, the condition of the islands south
+and south-west of America is truly surprising. Sandwich Land, in
+the latitude of the north part of Scotland, was found by Cook,
+during the hottest month of the year, "covered many fathoms thick
+with everlasting snow;" and there seems to be scarcely any
+vegetation. Georgia, an island 96 miles long and 10 broad, in the
+latitude of Yorkshire, "in the very height of summer, is in a
+manner wholly covered with frozen snow." It can boast only of moss,
+some tufts of grass, and wild burnet; it has only one land-bird
+(Anthus correndera), yet Iceland, which is 10 degrees nearer the
+pole, has, according to Mackenzie, fifteen land-birds. The South
+Shetland Islands, in the same latitude as the southern half of
+Norway, possess only some lichens, moss, and a little grass; and
+Lieutenant Kendall found the bay in which he was at anchor,
+beginning to freeze at a period corresponding with our 8th of
+September. (11/17. "Geographical Journal" 1830 pages 65, 66.) The
+soil here consists of ice and volcanic ashes interstratified; and
+at a little depth beneath the surface it must remain perpetually
+congealed, for Lieutenant Kendall found the body of a foreign
+sailor which had long been buried, with the flesh and all the
+features perfectly preserved. It is a singular fact that on the two
+great continents in the northern hemisphere (but not in the broken
+land of Europe between them) we have the zone of perpetually frozen
+under-soil in a low latitude--namely, in 56 degrees in North
+America at the depth of three feet (11/18. Richardson's "Append. to
+Back's Exped." and Humboldt's "Fragm. Asiat." tome 2 page 386.),
+and in 62 degrees in Siberia at the depth of twelve to fifteen
+feet--as the result of a directly opposite condition of things to
+those of the southern hemisphere. On the northern continents, the
+winter is rendered excessively cold by the radiation from a large
+area of land into a clear sky, nor is it moderated by the
+warmth-bringing currents of the sea; the short summer, on the other
+hand, is hot. In the Southern Ocean the winter is not so
+excessively cold, but the summer is far less hot, for the clouded
+sky seldom allows the sun to warm the ocean, itself a bad absorbent
+of heat: and hence the mean temperature of the year, which
+regulates the zone of perpetually congealed under-soil, is low. It
+is evident that a rank vegetation, which does not so much require
+heat as it does protection from intense cold, would approach much
+nearer to this zone of perpetual congelation under the equable
+climate of the southern hemisphere, than under the extreme climate
+of the northern continents.
+
+The case of the sailor's body perfectly preserved in the icy soil
+of the South Shetland Islands (latitude 62 to 63 degrees south), in
+a rather lower latitude than that (latitude 64 degrees north) under
+which Pallas found the frozen rhinoceros in Siberia, is very
+interesting. Although it is a fallacy, as I have endeavoured to
+show in a former chapter, to suppose that the larger quadrupeds
+require a luxuriant vegetation for their support, nevertheless it
+is important to find in the South Shetland Islands a frozen
+under-soil within 360 miles of the forest-clad islands near Cape
+Horn, where, as far as the BULK of vegetation is concerned, any
+number of great quadrupeds might be supported. The perfect
+preservation of the carcasses of the Siberian elephants and
+rhinoceroses is certainly one of the most wonderful facts in
+geology; but independently of the imagined difficulty of supplying
+them with food from the adjoining countries, the whole case is not,
+I think, so perplexing as it has generally been considered. The
+plains of Siberia, like those of the Pampas, appear to have been
+formed under the sea, into which rivers brought down the bodies of
+many animals; of the greater number of these only the skeletons
+have been preserved, but of others the perfect carcass. Now it is
+known that in the shallow sea on the Arctic coast of America the
+bottom freezes (11/19. Messrs. Dease and Simpson, in "Geographical
+Journal" volume 8 pages 218 and 220.), and does not thaw in spring
+so soon as the surface of the land, moreover, at greater depths,
+where the bottom of the sea does not freeze, the mud a few feet
+beneath the top layer might remain even in summer below 32 degrees,
+as is the case on the land with the soil at the depth of a few
+feet. At still greater depths the temperature of the mud and water
+would probably not be low enough to preserve the flesh; and hence,
+carcasses drifted beyond the shallow parts near an arctic coast,
+would have only their skeletons preserved: now in the extreme
+northern parts of Siberia bones are infinitely numerous, so that
+even islets are said to be almost composed of them (11/20. Cuvier
+"Ossemens Fossiles" tome 1 page 151, from Billing's "Voyage."); and
+those islets lie no less than ten degrees of latitude north of the
+place where Pallas found the frozen rhinoceros. On the other hand,
+a carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the Arctic Sea,
+would be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon
+afterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat
+of the summer water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom
+was upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to
+prevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting
+it.
+
+(PLATE 58.  FLORA OF MAGELLAN.)
+
+(PLATE 59.  MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA, OR MAGELLAN KELP.)
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+I will recapitulate the principal facts with regard to the climate,
+ice-action, and organic productions of the southern hemisphere,
+transposing the places in imagination to Europe, with which we are
+so much better acquainted. Then, near Lisbon, the commonest
+sea-shells, namely, three species of Oliva, a Voluta, and a
+Terebra, would have a tropical character. In the southern provinces
+of France, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and
+with the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face
+of the land. The puma and the jaguar would haunt the Pyrenees. In
+the latitude of Mont Blanc, but on an island as far westward as
+Central North America, tree-ferns and parasitical Orchideae would
+thrive amidst the thick woods. Even as far north as central Denmark
+humming-birds would be seen fluttering about delicate flowers, and
+parrots feeding amidst the evergreen woods; and in the sea there we
+should have a Voluta, and all the shells of large size and vigorous
+growth. Nevertheless, on some islands only 360 miles northward of
+our new Cape Horn in Denmark, a carcass buried in the soil (or if
+washed into a shallow sea, and covered up with mud) would be
+preserved perpetually frozen. If some bold navigator attempted to
+penetrate northward of these islands, he would run a thousand
+dangers amidst gigantic icebergs, on some of which he would see
+great blocks of rock borne far away from their original site.
+Another island of large size in the latitude of southern Scotland,
+but twice as far to the west, would be "almost wholly covered with
+everlasting snow," and would have each bay terminated by
+ice-cliffs, whence great masses would be yearly detached: this
+island would boast only of a little moss, grass, and burnet, and a
+titlark would be its only land inhabitant. From our new Cape Horn
+in Denmark, a chain of mountains, scarcely half the height of the
+Alps, would run in a straight line due southward; and on its
+western flank every deep creek of the sea, or fiord, would end in
+"bold and astonishing glaciers." These lonely channels would
+frequently reverberate with the falls of ice, and so often would
+great waves rush along their coasts; numerous icebergs, some as
+tall as cathedrals, and occasionally loaded with "no inconsiderable
+blocks of rock," would be stranded on the outlying islets; at
+intervals violent earthquakes would shoot prodigious masses of ice
+into the waters below. Lastly, some missionaries attempting to
+penetrate a long arm of the sea, would behold the not lofty
+surrounding mountains, sending down their many grand icy streams to
+the sea-coast, and their progress in the boats would be checked by
+the innumerable floating icebergs, some small and some great; and
+this would have occurred on our twenty-second of June, and where
+the Lake of Geneva is now spread out! (11/21. In the former edition
+and Appendix, I have given some facts on the transportal of erratic
+boulders and icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean. This subject has
+lately been treated excellently by Mr. Hayes, in the "Boston
+Journal" volume 4 page 426. The author does not appear aware of a
+case published by me "Geographical Journal" volume 9 page 528, of a
+gigantic boulder embedded in an iceberg in the Antarctic Ocean,
+almost certainly one hundred miles distant from any land, and
+perhaps much more distant. In the Appendix I have discussed at
+length the probability (at that time hardly thought of) of
+icebergs, when stranded, grooving and polishing rocks, like
+glaciers. This is now a very commonly received opinion; and I
+cannot still avoid the suspicion that it is applicable even to such
+cases as that of the Jura. Dr. Richardson has assured me that the
+icebergs off North America push before them pebbles and sand, and
+leave the submarine rocky flats quite bare; it is hardly possible
+to doubt that such ledges must be polished and scored in the
+direction of the set of the prevailing currents. Since writing that
+Appendix I have seen in North Wales "London Philosophical Magazine"
+volume 21 page 180) the adjoining action of glaciers and floating
+icebergs.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+(PLATE 60.  TROCHILUS FORFICATUS.)
+
+Valparaiso.
+Excursion to the Foot of the Andes.
+Structure of the land.
+Ascend the Bell of Quillota.
+Shattered masses of greenstone.
+Immense valleys.
+Mines.
+State of miners.
+Santiago.
+Hot-baths of Cauquenes.
+Gold-mines.
+Grinding-mills.
+Perforated stones.
+Habits of the Puma.
+El Turco and Tapacolo.
+Humming-birds.
+
+CENTRAL CHILE.
+
+JULY 23, 1834.
+
+
+
+The "Beagle" anchored late at night in the bay of Valparaiso, the
+chief seaport of Chile. When morning came, everything appeared
+delightful. After Tierra del Fuego, the climate felt quite
+delicious--the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue
+with the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling
+with life. The view from the anchorage is very pretty. The town is
+built at the very foot of a range of hills, about 1600 feet high,
+and rather steep. From its position, it consists of one long,
+straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a
+ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it. The
+rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty
+vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a
+singularly bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low
+whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of St.
+Cruz in Teneriffe. In a north-easterly direction there are some
+fine glimpses of the Andes: but these mountains appear much grander
+when viewed from the neighbouring hills: the great distance at
+which they are situated can then more readily be perceived. The
+volcano of Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge and
+irregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that of
+Chimborazo; for, from measurements made by the officers in the
+"Beagle," its height is no less than 23,000 feet. The Cordillera,
+however, viewed from this point, owe the greater part of their
+beauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. When the sun
+was setting in the Pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly
+their rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied and
+how delicate were the shades of their colour.
+
+I had the good fortune to find living here Mr. Richard Corfield, an
+old schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality and kindness I
+was greatly indebted, in having afforded me a most pleasant
+residence during the "Beagle's" stay in Chile. The immediate
+neighbourhood of Valparaiso is not very productive to the
+naturalist. During the long summer the wind blows steadily from the
+southward, and a little off shore, so that rain never falls; during
+the three winter months, however, it is sufficiently abundant. The
+vegetation in consequence is very scanty: except in some deep
+valleys there are no trees, and only a little grass and a few low
+bushes are scattered over the less steep parts of the hills. When
+we reflect that at the distance of 350 miles to the south, this
+side of the Andes is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest,
+the contrast is very remarkable. I took several long walks while
+collecting objects of natural history. The country is pleasant for
+exercise. There are many very beautiful flowers; and, as in most
+other dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and
+peculiar odours--even one's clothes by brushing through them became
+scented. I did not cease from wonder at finding each succeeding day
+as fine as the foregoing. What a difference does climate make in
+the enjoyment of life! How opposite are the sensations when viewing
+black mountains half-enveloped in clouds, and seeing another range
+through the light blue haze of a fine day! The one for a time may
+be very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy life.
+
+AUGUST 14, 1834.
+
+I set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologising the
+basal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year are
+not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was northward
+along the sea-coast. After dark we reached the Hacienda of
+Quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. My
+object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells which
+stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for
+lime. The proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are
+unequivocal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells
+are numerous, and I found some at 1300 feet. These shells either
+lie loose on the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black
+vegetable mould. I was much surprised to find under the microscope
+that this vegetable mould is really marine mud, full of minute
+particles of organic bodies.
+
+AUGUST 15, 1834.
+
+We returned towards the valley of Quillota. The country was
+exceedingly pleasant; just such as poets would call pastoral: green
+open lawns, separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the
+cottages, we may suppose of the shepherds, scattered on the
+hill-sides. We were obliged to cross the ridge of the Chilicauquen.
+At its base there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but these
+flourished only in the ravines, where there was running water. Any
+person who had seen only the country near Valparaiso would never
+have imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in Chile.
+As soon as we reached the brow of the Sierra, the valley of
+Quillota was immediately under our feet. The prospect was one of
+remarkable artificial luxuriance. The valley is very broad and
+quite flat, and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. The little
+square gardens are crowded with orange and olive trees and every
+sort of vegetable. On each side huge bare mountains rise, and this
+from the contrast renders the patchwork valley the more pleasing.
+Whoever called "Valparaiso" the "Valley of Paradise," must have
+been thinking of Quillota. We crossed over to the Hacienda de San
+Isidro, situated at the very foot of the Bell Mountain.
+
+(PLATE 61.  HACIENDA, CONDOR, CACTUS, ETC.)
+
+Chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land
+between the Cordillera and the Pacific; and this strip is itself
+traversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run
+parallel to the great range. Between these outer lines and the main
+Cordillera, a succession of level basins, generally opening into
+each other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward: in
+these, the principal towns are situated, as San Felipe, Santiago,
+San Fernando. These basins or plains, together with the transverse
+flat valleys (like that of Quillota) which connect them with the
+coast, I have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep
+bays, such as at the present day intersect every part of Tierra del
+Fuego and the western coast. Chile must formerly have resembled the
+latter country in the configuration of its land and water. The
+resemblance was occasionally shown strikingly when a level fog-bank
+covered, as with a mantle, all the lower parts of the country: the
+white vapour curling into the ravines, beautifully represented
+little coves and bays; and here and there a solitary hillock
+peeping up showed that it had formerly stood there as an islet. The
+contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular
+mountains gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very
+interesting.
+
+From the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very
+easily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. Without
+this process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during
+the whole summer the sky is cloudless. The mountains and hills are
+dotted over with bushes and low trees, and excepting these the
+vegetation is very scanty. Each landowner in the valley possesses a
+certain portion of hill-country, where his half-wild cattle, in
+considerable numbers, manage to find sufficient pasture. Once every
+year there is a grand "rodeo," when all the cattle are driven down,
+counted, and marked, and a certain number separated to be fattened
+in the irrigated fields. Wheat is extensively cultivated, and a
+good deal of Indian corn: a kind of bean is, however, the staple
+article of food for the common labourers. The orchards produce an
+overflowing abundance of peaches, figs, and grapes. With all these
+advantages the inhabitants of the country ought to be much more
+prosperous than they are.
+
+AUGUST 16, 1834.
+
+The mayor-domo of the Hacienda was good enough to give me a guide
+and fresh horses; and in the morning we set out to ascend the
+Campana, or Bell Mountain, which is 6400 feet high. The paths were
+very bad, but both the geology and scenery amply repaid the
+trouble. We reached, by the evening, a spring called the Agua del
+Guanaco, which is situated at a great height. This must be an old
+name, for it is very many years since a guanaco drank its waters.
+During the ascent I noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the
+northern slope, whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo
+about fifteen feet high. In a few places there were palms, and I
+was surprised to see one at an elevation of at least 4500 feet.
+These palms are, for their family, ugly trees. Their stem is very
+large, and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at
+the base or top. They are excessively numerous in some parts of
+Chile, and valuable on account of a sort of treacle made from the
+sap. On one estate near Petorca they tried to count them, but
+failed, after having numbered several hundred thousand. Every year
+in the early spring, in August, very many are cut down, and when
+the trunk is lying on the ground, the crown of leaves is lopped
+off. The sap then immediately begins to flow from the upper end,
+and continues so doing for some months: it is, however, necessary
+that a thin slice should be shaved off from that end every morning,
+so as to expose a fresh surface. A good tree will give ninety
+gallons, and all this must have been contained in the vessels of
+the apparently dry trunk. It is said that the sap flows much more
+quickly on those days when the sun is powerful; and likewise, that
+it is absolutely necessary to take care, in cutting down the tree,
+that it should fall with its head upwards on the side of the hill;
+for if it falls down the slope, scarcely any sap will flow;
+although in that case one would have thought that the action would
+have been aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. The
+sap is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which
+it very much resembles in taste.
+
+We unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the
+night. The evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear that the
+masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso, although
+no less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be
+distinguished clearly as little black streaks. A ship doubling the
+point under sail appeared as a bright white speck. Anson expresses
+much surprise, in his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels
+were discovered from the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow
+for the height of the land and the great transparency of the air.
+
+The setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black,
+whilst the snowy peaks of the Andes yet retained a ruby tint. When
+it was dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos,
+fried our charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our mat�, and were
+quite comfortable. There is an inexpressible charm in thus living
+in the open air. The evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise
+of the mountain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were
+occasionally to be heard. Besides these, few birds, or even
+insects, frequent these dry, parched mountains.
+
+AUGUST 17, 1834.
+
+In the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which
+crowns the summit. This rock, as frequently happens, was much
+shattered and broken into huge angular fragments. I observed,
+however, one remarkable circumstance, namely, that many of the
+surfaces presented every degree of freshness--some appearing as if
+broken the day before, whilst on others lichens had either just
+become, or had long grown, attached. I so fully believed that this
+was owing to the frequent earthquakes, that I felt inclined to
+hurry from below each loose pile. As one might very easily be
+deceived in a fact of this kind, I doubted its accuracy, until
+ascending Mount Wellington, in Van Diemen's Land, where earthquakes
+do not occur; and there I saw the summit of the mountain similarly
+composed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if
+they had been hurled into their present position thousands of years
+ago.
+
+We spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one more
+thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen
+as in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful,
+was heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere
+view of the Campana range with its lesser parallel ones, and of the
+broad valley of Quillota directly intersecting them. Who can avoid
+wondering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even
+more so at the countless ages which it must have required to have
+broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? It is
+well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary
+beds of Patagonia, which, if heaped on the Cordillera, would
+increase its height by so many thousand feet. When in that country,
+I wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such masses,
+and not have been utterly obliterated. We must not now reverse the
+wonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind down
+mountains--even the gigantic Cordillera--into gravel and mud.
+
+The appearance of the Andes was different from that which I had
+expected. The lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and
+to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel.
+Only at long intervals a group of points or a single cone showed
+where a volcano had existed, or does now exist. Hence the range
+resembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower,
+and making a most perfect barrier to the country.
+
+Almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open
+gold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely a spot in Chile
+unexamined. I spent the evening as before, talking round the fire
+with my two companions. The Guasos of Chile, who correspond to the
+Gauchos of the Pampas, are, however, a very different set of
+beings. Chile is the more civilised of the two countries, and the
+inhabitants, in consequence, have lost much individual character.
+Gradations in rank are much more strongly marked: the Guaso does
+not by any means consider every man his equal; and I was quite
+surprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at the
+same time with myself. This feeling of inequality is a necessary
+consequence of the existence of an aristocracy of wealth. It is
+said that some few of the greater landowners possess from five to
+ten thousand pounds sterling per annum: an inequality of riches
+which I believe is not met with in any of the cattle-breeding
+countries eastward of the Andes. A traveller does not here meet
+that unbounded hospitality which refuses all payment, but yet is so
+kindly offered that no scruples can be raised in accepting it.
+Almost every house in Chile will receive you for the night, but a
+trifle is expected to be given in the morning; even a rich man will
+accept two or three shillings. The Gaucho, although he may be a
+cutthroat, is a gentleman; the Guaso is in few respects better, but
+at the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. The two men, although
+employed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and
+attire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their
+respective countries. The Gaucho seems part of his horse, and
+scorns to exert himself excepting when on its back; the Guaso may
+be hired to work as a labourer in the fields. The former lives
+entirely on animal food; the latter almost wholly on vegetable. We
+do not here see the white boots, the broad drawers, and scarlet
+chilipa; the picturesque costume of the Pampas. Here, common
+trousers are protected by black and green worsted leggings. The
+poncho, however, is common to both. The chief pride of the Guaso
+lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. I measured one which
+was six inches in the DIAMETER of the rowel, and the rowel itself
+contained upwards of thirty points. The stirrups are on the same
+scale, each consisting of a square, carved block of wood, hollowed
+out, yet weighing three or four pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more
+expert with the lazo than the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the
+country, he does not know the use of the bolas.
+
+AUGUST 18, 1834.
+
+We descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful little spots,
+with rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the same hacienda as
+before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley, and
+passed through Quillota, which is more like a collection of
+nursery-gardens than a town. The orchards were beautiful,
+presenting one mass of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or two
+places the date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and I should think
+a group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must be
+superb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty straggling town
+like Quillota. The valley in this part expands into one of those
+great bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the Cordillera, which
+have been mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of
+Chile. In the evening we reached the mines of Jajuel, situated in a
+ravine at the flank of the great chain. I stayed here five days. My
+host, the superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather
+ignorant Cornish miner. He had married a Spanish woman, and did not
+mean to return home; but his admiration for the mines of Cornwall
+remained unbounded. Amongst many other questions, he asked me, "Now
+that George Rex is dead, how many more of the family of Rexes are
+yet alive?" This Rex certainly must be a relation of the great
+author Finis, who wrote all books!
+
+These mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to Swansea,
+to be smelted. Hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet, as
+compared to those in England: here no smoke, furnaces, or great
+steam-engines, disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains.
+
+The Chilian government, or rather the old Spanish law, encourages
+by every method the searching for mines. The discoverer may work a
+mine on any ground, by paying five shillings; and before paying
+this he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty
+days.
+
+It is now well known that the Chilian method of mining is the
+cheapest. My host says that the two principal improvements
+introduced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by previous
+roasting the copper pyrites--which, being the common ore in
+Cornwall, the English miners were astounded on their arrival to
+find thrown away as useless: secondly, stamping and washing the
+scoriae from the old furnaces--by which process particles of metal
+are recovered in abundance. I have actually seen mules carrying to
+the coast, for transportation to England, a cargo of such cinders.
+But the first case is much the most curious. The Chilian miners
+were so convinced that copper pyrites contained not a particle of
+copper, that they laughed at the Englishmen for their ignorance,
+who laughed in turn, and bought their richest veins for a few
+dollars. It is very odd that, in a country where mining had been
+extensively carried on for many years, so simple a process as
+gently roasting the ore to expel the sulphur previous to smelting
+it, had never been discovered. A few improvements have likewise
+been introduced in some of the simple machinery; but even to the
+present day, water is removed from some mines by men carrying it up
+the shaft in leathern bags!
+
+(PLATE 62.  CHILIAN MINER.)
+
+The labouring men work very hard. They have little time allowed for
+their meals, and during summer and winter they begin when it is
+light, and leave off at dark. They are paid one pound sterling a
+month, and their food is given them: this for breakfast consists of
+sixteen figs and two small loaves of bread; for dinner, boiled
+beans; for supper, broken roasted wheat grain. They scarcely ever
+taste meat; as, with the twelve pounds per annum, they have to
+clothe themselves and support their families. The miners who work
+in the mine itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are
+allowed a little charqui. But these men come down from their bleak
+habitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks.
+
+(PLATE 63.  CACTUS (Cereus Peruviana).)
+
+During my stay here I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these
+huge mountains. The geology, as might have been expected, was very
+interesting. The shattered and baked rocks, traversed by
+innumerable dikes of greenstone, showed what commotions had
+formerly taken place. The scenery was much the same as that near
+the Bell of Quillota--dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by
+bushes with a scanty foliage. The cactuses, or rather opuntias,
+were here very numerous. I measured one of a spherical figure,
+which, including the spines, was six feet and four inches in
+circumference. The height of the common cylindrical, branching
+kind, is from twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth (with spines)
+of the branches between three and four feet.
+
+A heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me, during the last
+two days, from making some interesting excursions. I attempted to
+reach a lake which the inhabitants, from some unaccountable reason,
+believe to be an arm of the sea. During a very dry season, it was
+proposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the
+water, but the padre, after a consultation, declared it was too
+dangerous, as all Chile would be inundated, if, as generally
+supposed, the lake was connected with the Pacific. We ascended to a
+great height, but becoming involved in the snow-drifts failed in
+reaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning.
+I thought we should have lost our horses; for there was no means of
+guessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could
+only move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh snowstorm
+was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad when we
+escaped. By the time we reached the base the storm commenced, and
+it was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours earlier in
+the day.
+
+AUGUST 26, 1834.
+
+We left Jajuel and again crossed the basin of San Felipe. The day
+was truly Chilian: glaringly bright, and the atmosphere quite
+clear. The thick and uniform covering of newly-fallen snow rendered
+the view of the volcano of Aconcagua and the main chain quite
+glorious. We were now on the road to Santiago, the capital of
+Chile. We crossed the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at a little
+rancho. The host, talking about the state of Chile as compared to
+other countries, was very humble: "Some see with two eyes, and some
+with one, but for my part I do not think that Chile sees with any."
+
+AUGUST 27, 1834.
+
+After crossing many low hills we descended into the small
+land-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such as this one,
+which are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet above the
+sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms, and
+stand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. These
+trees are never found near the sea-coast; and this gives another
+characteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a
+low ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which
+Santiago stands. The view was here pre-eminently striking: the dead
+level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, and with the
+city in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the
+Andes, whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. At the
+first glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain
+represented the extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained
+the level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the
+city before it was dark.
+
+I stayed a week in Santiago and enjoyed myself very much. In the
+morning I rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening
+dined with several of the English merchants, whose hospitality at
+this place is well known. A never-failing source of pleasure was to
+ascend the little hillock of rock (St. Lucia) which projects in the
+middle of the city. The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as
+I have said, very peculiar. I am informed that this same character
+is common to the cities on the great Mexican platform. Of the town
+I have nothing to say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as
+Buenos Ayres, but is built after the same model. I arrived here by
+a circuit to the north; so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a
+rather longer excursion to the south of the direct road.
+
+SEPTEMBER 5, 1834.
+
+By the middle of the day we arrived at one of the suspension
+bridges made of hide, which cross the Maypu, a large turbulent
+river a few leagues southward of Santiago. These bridges are very
+poor affairs. The road, following the curvature of the suspending
+ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. It was
+full of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the
+weight of a man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a
+comfortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty
+se�oritas. They were much horrified at my having entered one of
+their churches out of mere curiosity. They asked me, "Why do you
+not become a Christian--for our religion is certain?" I assured
+them I was a sort of Christian; but they would not hear of
+it--appealing to my own words, "Do not your padres, your very
+bishops, marry?" The absurdity of a bishop having a wife
+particularly struck them: they scarcely knew whether to be most
+amused or horror-struck at such an enormity.
+
+SEPTEMBER 6, 1834.
+
+We proceeded due south, and slept at Rancagua. The road passed over
+the level but narrow plain, bounded on one side by lofty hills, and
+on the other by the Cordillera. The next day we turned up the
+valley of the Rio Cachapual, in which the hot-baths of Cauquenes,
+long celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. The
+suspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally
+taken down during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the
+case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross the
+stream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for the foaming
+water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large
+rounded stones, that one's head becomes quite confused, and it is
+difficult even to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or
+standing still. In summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are
+quite impassable; their strength and fury are then extremely great,
+as might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We
+reached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being
+confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist of a
+square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table and
+bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just without the
+central Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, with a good deal
+of wild beauty.
+
+The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of
+dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which
+betrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity of gas is
+continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. Though
+the springs are only a few yards apart, they have very different
+temperatures; and this appears to be the result of an unequal
+mixture of cold water: for those with the lowest temperature have
+scarcely any mineral taste. After the great earthquake of 1822 the
+springs ceased, and the water did not return for nearly a year.
+They were also much affected by the earthquake of 1835; the
+temperature being suddenly changed from 118 to 92 degrees. (12/1.
+Caldcleugh in "Philosophical Transactions"  1836.) It seems
+probable that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the
+earth would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances
+than those nearer the surface. The man who had charge of the baths
+assured me that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful
+than in winter. The former circumstance I should have expected,
+from the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water; but
+the latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. The
+periodical increase during the summer, when rain never falls, can,
+I think, only be accounted for by the melting of the snow: yet the
+mountains which are covered by snow during that season are three or
+four leagues distant from the springs. I have no reason to doubt
+the accuracy of my informer, who, having lived on the spot for
+several years, ought to be well acquainted with the
+circumstance,--which, if true, certainly is very curious: for we
+must suppose that the snow-water, being conducted through porous
+strata to the regions of heat, is again thrown up to the surface by
+the line of dislocated and injected rocks at Cauquenes; and the
+regularity of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this
+district heated rock occurred at a depth not very great.
+
+One day I rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot.
+Shortly above that point, the Cachapual divides into two deep
+tremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into the great range.
+I scrambled up a peaked mountain, probably more than six thousand
+feet high. Here, as indeed everywhere else, scenes of the highest
+interest presented themselves. It was by one of these ravines that
+Pincheira entered Chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. This
+is the same man whose attack on an estancia at the Rio Negro I have
+described. He was a renegade half-caste Spaniard, who collected a
+great body of Indians together and established himself by a stream
+in the Pampas, which place none of the forces sent after him could
+ever discover. From this point he used to sally forth, and crossing
+the Cordillera by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the
+farm-houses and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous.
+Pincheira was a capital horseman, and he made all around him
+equally good, for he invariably shot any one who hesitated to
+follow him. It was against this man, and other wandering Indian
+tribes, that Rosas waged the war of extermination.
+
+SEPTEMBER 13, 1834.
+
+(PLATE 64.  CORDILLERAS FROM SANTIAGO DE CHILE.)
+
+We left the baths of Cauquenes, and, rejoining the main road, slept
+at the Rio Claro. From this place we rode to the town of San
+Fernando. Before arriving there, the last land-locked basin had
+expanded into a great plain, which extended so far to the south
+that the snowy summits of the more distant Andes were seen as if
+above the horizon of the sea. San Fernando is forty leagues from
+Santiago; and it was my farthest point southward; for we here
+turned at right angles towards the coast. We slept at the
+gold-mines of Yaquil, which are worked by Mr. Nixon, an American
+gentleman, to whose kindness I was much indebted during the four
+days I stayed at his house. The next morning we rode to the mines,
+which are situated at the distance of some leagues, near the summit
+of a lofty hill. On the way we had a glimpse of the lake
+Tagua-tagua, celebrated for its floating islands, which have been
+described by M. Gay. (12/2. "Annales des Sciences Naturelles"
+March, 1833. M. Gay, a zealous and able naturalist, was then
+occupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout the
+kingdom of Chile.) They are composed of the stalks of various dead
+plants intertwined together, and on the surface of which other
+living ones take root. Their form is generally circular, and their
+thickness from four to six feet, of which the greater part is
+immersed in the water. As the wind blows, they pass from one side
+of the lake to the other, and often carry cattle and horses as
+passengers.
+
+When we arrived at the mine, I was struck by the pale appearance of
+many of the men, and inquired from Mr. Nixon respecting their
+condition. The mine is 450 feet deep, and each man brings up about
+200 pounds weight of stone. With this load they have to climb up
+the alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a
+zigzag line up the shaft. Even beardless young men, eighteen and
+twenty years old, with little muscular development of their bodies
+(they are quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great
+load from nearly the same depth. A strong man, who is not
+accustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with merely
+carrying up his own body. With this very severe labour, they live
+entirely on boiled beans and bread. They would prefer having bread
+alone; but their masters, finding that they cannot work so hard
+upon this, treat them like horses, and make them eat the beans.
+Their pay is here rather more than at the mines of Jajuel, being
+from 24 to 28 shillings per month. They leave the mine only once in
+three weeks; when they stay with their families for two days. One
+of the rules of this mine sounds very harsh, but answers pretty
+well for the master. The only method of stealing gold is to secrete
+pieces of the ore, and take them out as occasion may offer.
+Whenever the major-domo finds a lump thus hidden, its full value is
+stopped out of the wages of all the men; who thus, without they all
+combine, are obliged to keep watch over each other.
+
+When the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an
+impalpable powder; the process of washing removes all the lighter
+particles, and amalgamation finally secures the gold-dust. The
+washing, when described, sounds a very simple process; but it is
+beautiful to see how the exact adaptation of the current of water
+to the specific gravity of the gold so easily separates the
+powdered matrix from the metal. The mud which passes from the mills
+is collected into pools, where it subsides, and every now and then
+is cleared out, and thrown into a common heap. A great deal of
+chemical action then commences, salts of various kinds effloresce
+on the surface, and the mass becomes hard. After having been left
+for a year or two, and then rewashed, it yields gold; and this
+process may be repeated even six or seven times; but the gold each
+time becomes less in quantity, and the intervals required (as the
+inhabitants say, to generate the metal) are longer. There can be no
+doubt that the chemical action, already mentioned, each time
+liberates fresh gold from some combination. The discovery of a
+method to effect this before the first grinding would without doubt
+raise the value of gold-ores many fold. It is curious to find how
+the minute particles of gold, being scattered about and not
+corroding, at last accumulate in some quantity. A short time since
+a few miners, being out of work, obtained permission to scrape the
+ground round the house and mill; they washed the earth thus got
+together, and so procured thirty dollars worth of gold. This is an
+exact counterpart of what takes place in nature. Mountains suffer
+degradation and wear away, and with them the metallic veins which
+they contain. The hardest rock is worn into impalpable mud, the
+ordinary metals oxidate, and both are removed; but gold, platina,
+and a few others are nearly indestructible, and from their weight,
+sinking to the bottom, are left behind. After whole mountains have
+passed through this grinding mill, and have been washed by the hand
+of nature, the residue becomes metalliferous, and man finds it
+worth his while to complete the task of separation.
+
+Bad as the above treatment of the miners appears, it is gladly
+accepted of by them; for the condition of the labouring
+agriculturists is much worse. Their wages are lower, and they live
+almost exclusively on beans. This poverty must be chiefly owing to
+the feudal-like system on which the land is tilled: the landowner
+gives a small plot of ground to the labourer, for building on and
+cultivating, and in return has his services (or those of a proxy)
+for every day of his life, without any wages. Until a father has a
+grown-up son, who can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one,
+except on occasional days, to take care of his own patch of ground.
+Hence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring classes in
+this country.
+
+There are some old Indian ruins in this neighbourhood, and I was
+shown one of the perforated stones, which Molina mentions as being
+found in many places in considerable numbers. They are of a
+circular flattened form, from five to six inches in diameter, with
+a hole passing quite through the centre. It has generally been
+supposed that they were used as heads to clubs, although their form
+does not appear at all well adapted for that purpose. Burchell
+states that some of the tribes in Southern Africa dig up roots by
+the aid of a stick pointed at one end, the force and weight of
+which are increased by a round stone with a hole in it, into which
+the other end is firmly wedged. (12/3. Burchell's "Travels" volume
+2 page 45.) It appears probable that the Indians of Chile formerly
+used some such rude agricultural instrument.
+
+One day, a German collector in natural history, of the name of
+Renous, called, and nearly at the same time an old Spanish lawyer.
+I was amused at being told the conversation which took place
+between them. Renous speaks Spanish so well that the old lawyer
+mistook him for a Chilian. Renous alluding to me, asked him what he
+thought of the King of England sending out a collector to their
+country, to pick up lizards and beetles, and to break stones? The
+old gentleman thought seriously for some time, and then said, "It
+is not well,--hay un gato encerrado aqui (there is a cat shut up
+here). No man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such
+rubbish. I do not like it: if one of us were to go and do such
+things in England, do not you think the King of England would very
+soon send us out of his country?" And this old gentleman, from his
+profession, belongs to the better informed and more intelligent
+classes! Renous himself, two or three years before, left in a house
+at San Fernando some caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed,
+that they might turn into butterflies. This was rumoured through
+the town, and at last the Padres and Governor consulted together,
+and agreed it must be some heresy. Accordingly, when Renous
+returned, he was arrested.
+
+SEPTEMBER 19, 1834.
+
+We left Yaquil, and followed the flat valley, formed like that of
+Quillota, in which the Rio Tinderidica flows. Even at these few
+miles south of Santiago the climate is much damper; in consequence
+there were fine tracts of pasturage which were not irrigated.
+(20th.) We followed this valley till it expanded into a great
+plain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of
+Rancagua. We shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the
+inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the
+Pampas. Never having heard of these plains, I was much surprised at
+meeting with such scenery in Chile. The plains belong to more than
+one series of different elevations, and they are traversed by broad
+flat-bottomed valleys; both of which circumstances, as in
+Patagonia, bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. In
+the steep cliffs bordering these valleys there are some large
+caves, which no doubt were originally formed by the waves: one of
+these is celebrated under the name of Cueva del Obispo; having
+formerly been consecrated. During the day I felt very unwell, and
+from that time till the end of October did not recover.
+
+SEPTEMBER 22, 1834.
+
+We continued to pass over green plains without a tree. The next day
+we arrived at a house near Navedad, on the sea-coast, where a rich
+Haciendero gave us lodgings. I stayed here the two ensuing days,
+and although very unwell, managed to collect from the tertiary
+formation some marine shells.
+
+SEPTEMBER 24, 1834.
+
+Our course was now directed towards Valparaiso, which with great
+difficulty I reached on the 27th, and was there confined to my bed
+till the end of October. During this time I was an inmate in Mr.
+Corfield's house, whose kindness to me I do not know how to
+express.
+
+I will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds
+of Chile. The Puma, or South American Lion, is not uncommon. This
+animal has a wide geographical range; being found from the
+equatorial forests, throughout the deserts of Patagonia, as far
+south as the damp and cold latitudes (53 to 54 degrees) of Tierra
+del Fuego. I have seen its footsteps in the Cordillera of central
+Chile, at an elevation of at least 10,000 feet. In La Plata the
+puma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small
+quadrupeds; it there seldom attacks cattle or horses, and most
+rarely man. In Chile, however, it destroys many young horses and
+cattle, owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds: I
+heard, likewise, of two men and a woman who had been thus killed.
+It is asserted that the puma always kills its prey by springing on
+the shoulders, and then drawing back the head with one of its paws,
+until the vertebrae break: I have seen in Patagonia the skeletons
+of guanacos, with their necks thus dislocated.
+
+The puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large
+bushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit is often the cause of
+its being discovered; for the condors wheeling in the air, every
+now and then descend to partake of the feast, and being angrily
+driven away, rise all together on the wing. The Chileno Guaso then
+knows there is a lion watching his prey--the word is given--and men
+and dogs hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a Gaucho in the
+Pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried
+"A lion!" I could never myself meet with any one who pretended to
+such powers of discrimination. It is asserted that if a puma has
+once been betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been
+hunted, it never resumes this habit; but that having gorged itself,
+it wanders far away. The puma is easily killed. In an open country
+it is first entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged
+along the ground till rendered insensible. At Tandeel (south of the
+Plata), I was told that within three months one hundred were thus
+destroyed. In Chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees,
+and are then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. The dogs
+employed in this chase belong to a particular breed, called
+Leoneros: they are weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers,
+but are born with a particular instinct for this sport. The puma is
+described as being very crafty: when pursued, it often returns on
+its former track, and then suddenly making a spring on one side,
+waits there till the dogs have passed by. It is a very silent
+animal, uttering no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during
+the breeding season.
+
+Of birds, two species of the genus Pteroptochos (megapodius and
+albicollis of Kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. The
+former, called by the Chilenos "el Turco," is as large as a
+fieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance; but its legs are
+much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger: its colour is a
+reddish brown. The Turco is not uncommon. It lives on the ground,
+sheltered among the thickets which are scattered over the dry and
+sterile hills. With its tail erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be
+seen every now and then popping from one bush to another with
+uncommon quickness. It really requires little imagination to
+believe that the bird is ashamed of itself, and is aware of its
+most ridiculous figure. On first seeing it, one is tempted to
+exclaim, "A vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum,
+and has come to life again!" It cannot be made to take flight
+without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. The
+various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the
+bushes are as strange as its appearance. It is said to build its
+nest in a deep hole beneath the ground. I dissected several
+specimens: the gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles,
+vegetable fibres, and pebbles. From this character, from the length
+of its legs, scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils,
+short and arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to
+connect the thrushes with the gallinaceous order.
+
+The second species (or P. albicollis) is allied to the first in its
+general form. It is called Tapacolo, or "cover your posterior;" and
+well does the shameless little bird deserve its name; for it
+carries its tail more than erect, that is, inclined backwards
+towards its head. It is very common, and frequents the bottoms of
+hedgerows, and the bushes scattered over the barren hills, where
+scarcely another bird can exist. In its general manner of feeding,
+of quickly hopping out of the thickets and back again, in its
+desire of concealment, unwillingness to take flight, and
+nidification, it bears a close resemblance to the Turco; but its
+appearance is not quite so ridiculous. The Tapacolo is very crafty:
+when frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the
+bottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try with
+much address to crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an
+active bird, and continually making a noise: these noises are
+various and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves,
+others like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The
+country people say it changes its cry five times in the
+year--according to some change of season, I suppose. (12/4. It is a
+remarkable fact that Molina, though describing in detail all the
+birds and animals of Chile, never once mentions this genus, the
+species of which are so common, and so remarkable in their habits.
+Was he at a loss how to classify them, and did he consequently
+think that silence was the more prudent course? It is one more
+instance of the frequency of omissions by authors on those very
+subjects where it might have been least expected.)
+
+Two species of humming-birds are common; Trochilus forficatus is
+found over a space of 2500 miles on the west coast, from the hot
+dry country of Lima to the forests of Tierra del Fuego--where it
+may be seen flitting about in snow-storms. In the wooded island of
+Chiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird,
+skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps
+more abundant than almost any other kind. I opened the stomachs of
+several specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in
+all, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a
+creeper. When this species migrates in the summer southward, it is
+replaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north.
+This second kind (Trochilus gigas) is a very large bird for the
+delicate family to which it belongs: when on the wing its
+appearance is singular. Like others of the genus, it moves from
+place to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of
+Syrphus amongst flies, and Sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering
+over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful
+movement, totally different from that vibratory one common to most
+of the species, which produces the humming noise. I never saw any
+other bird where the force of its wings appeared (as in a
+butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body.
+When hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut
+like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. This
+action appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow
+movements of its wings. Although flying from flower to flower in
+search of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of
+insects, which I suspect are much more the object of its search
+than honey. The note of this species, like that of nearly the whole
+family, is extremely shrill.
+
+
+(PLATE 65.  CHILIAN SPURS, STIRRUP, ETC.)
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+(PLATE 66.  OLD CHURCH, CASTRO, CHILOE.)
+
+Chiloe.
+General Aspect.
+Boat excursion.
+Native Indians.
+Castro.
+Tame fox.
+Ascend San Pedro.
+Chonos Archipelago.
+Peninsula of Tres Montes.
+Granitic range.
+Boat-wrecked sailors.
+Low's Harbour.
+Wild potato.
+Formation of peat.
+Myopotamus, otter and mice.
+Cheucau and Barking-bird.
+Opetiorhynchus.
+Singular character of ornithology.
+Petrels.
+
+CHILOE AND CHONOS ISLANDS.
+
+NOVEMBER 10, 1834.
+
+
+
+The "Beagle" sailed from Valparaiso to the south, for the purpose
+of surveying the southern part of Chile, the island of Chiloe, and
+the broken land called the Chonos Archipelago, as far south as the
+Peninsula of Tres Montes. On the 21st we anchored in the bay of S.
+Carlos, the capital of Chiloe.
+
+This island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather
+less than thirty. The land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is
+covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have
+been cleared round the thatched cottages. From a distance the view
+somewhat resembles that of Tierra del Fuego; but the woods, when
+seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. Many kinds of fine
+evergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take
+the place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. In winter the
+climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. I
+should think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate
+regions, where so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous,
+and the sky almost always clouded: to have a week of fine weather
+is something wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single
+glimpse of the Cordillera: during our first visit, once only the
+volcano of Osorno stood out in bold relief, and that was before
+sunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun rose, the outline
+gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky.
+
+The inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, appear to
+have three-fourths of Indian blood in their veins. They are an
+humble, quiet, industrious set of men. Although the fertile soil,
+resulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks, supports a
+rank vegetation, yet the climate is not favourable to any
+production which requires much sunshine to ripen it. There is very
+little pasture for the larger quadrupeds; and in consequence, the
+staple articles of food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. The people
+all dress in strong woollen garments, which each family makes for
+itself, and dyes with indigo of a dark blue colour. The arts,
+however, are in the rudest state;--as may be seen in their strange
+fashion of ploughing, their method of spinning, grinding corn, and
+in the construction of their boats. The forests are so impenetrable
+that the land is nowhere cultivated except near the coast and on
+the adjoining islets. Even where paths exist, they are scarcely
+passable from the soft and swampy state of the soil. The
+inhabitants, like those of Tierra del Fuego, move about chiefly on
+the beach or in boats. Although with plenty to eat, the people are
+very poor: there is no demand for labour, and consequently the
+lower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient to purchase
+even the smallest luxuries. There is also a great deficiency of a
+circulating medium. I have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of
+charcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carrying a
+plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. Hence every tradesman must
+also be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes in
+exchange.
+
+NOVEMBER 24, 1834.
+
+The yawl and whale-boat were sent under the command of Mr. (now
+Captain) Sulivan to survey the eastern or inland coast of Chiloe;
+and with orders to meet the "Beagle" at the southern extremity of
+the island; to which point she would proceed by the outside, so as
+thus to circumnavigate the whole. I accompanied this expedition,
+but instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired horses to
+take me to Chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. The
+road followed the coast; every now and then crossing promontories
+covered by fine forests. In these shaded paths it is absolutely
+necessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood, which
+are squared and placed by the side of each other. From the rays of
+the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so
+damp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse
+would be able to pass along. I arrived at the village of Chacao
+shortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the
+night.
+
+The land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and
+there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest.
+Chacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many
+vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks
+in the straits, the Spanish government burnt the church, and thus
+arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate
+to S. Carlos. We had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son
+of the governor came down to reconnoitre us. Seeing the English
+flag hoisted at the yawl's masthead, he asked with the utmost
+indifference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In several
+places the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of
+men-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of
+a Spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot
+government of Chile. All the men in power, however, had been
+informed of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. While
+we were eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. He had
+been a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish service, but now was
+miserably poor. He gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two
+cotton handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco.
+
+NOVEMBER 25, 1834.
+
+Torrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down the coast as far
+as Huapi-lenou. The whole of this eastern side of Chiloe has one
+aspect; it is a plain, broken by valleys and divided into little
+islands, and the whole thickly covered with one impervious
+blackish-green forest. On the margins there are some cleared
+spaces, surrounding the high-roofed cottages.
+
+NOVEMBER 26, 1834.
+
+The day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of Orsono was spouting
+out volumes of smoke. This most beautiful mountain, formed like a
+perfect cone, and white with snow, stands out in front of the
+Cordillera. Another great volcano, with a saddle-shaped summit,
+also emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam.
+Subsequently we saw the lofty-peaked Corcovado--well deserving the
+name of "el famoso Corcovado." Thus we beheld, from one point of
+view, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thousand feet
+high. In addition to this, far to the south there were other lofty
+cones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active,
+must be in their origin volcanic. The line of the Andes is not, in
+this neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in Chile; neither does it
+appear to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the
+earth. This great range, although running in a straight north and
+south line, owing to an optical deception always appeared more or
+less curved; for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's
+eye necessarily converged like the radii of a semicircle, and as it
+was not possible (owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the
+absence of all intermediate objects) to judge how far distant the
+farthest peaks were off, they appeared to stand in a flattish
+semicircle.
+
+Landing at midday, we saw a family of pure Indian extraction. The
+father was singularly like York Minster; and some of the younger
+boys, with their ruddy complexions, might have been mistaken for
+Pampas Indians. Everything I have seen convinces me of the close
+connexion of the different American tribes, who nevertheless speak
+distinct languages. This party could muster but little Spanish, and
+talked to each other in their own tongue. It is a pleasant thing to
+see the aborigines advanced to the same degree of civilisation,
+however low that may be, which their white conquerors have
+attained. More to the south we saw many pure Indians: indeed, all
+the inhabitants of some of the islets retain their Indian surnames.
+In the census of 1832 there were in Chiloe and its dependencies
+forty-two thousand souls: the greater number of these appear to be
+of mixed blood. Eleven thousand retain their Indian surnames, but
+it is probable that not nearly all of these are of a pure breed.
+Their manner of life is the same with that of the other poor
+inhabitants, and they are all Christians; but it is said that they
+yet retain some strange superstitious ceremonies, and that they
+pretend to hold communication with the devil in certain caves.
+Formerly, every one convicted of this offence was sent to the
+Inquisition at Lima. Many of the inhabitants who are not included
+in the eleven thousand with Indian surnames, cannot be
+distinguished by their appearance from Indians. Gomez, the governor
+of Lemuy, is descended from noblemen of Spain on both sides; but by
+constant intermarriages with the natives the present man is an
+Indian. On the other hand, the governor of Quinchao boasts much of
+his purely kept Spanish blood.
+
+We reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the island of
+Caucahue. The people here complained of want of land. This is
+partly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods, and
+partly to restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary,
+before buying ever so small a piece, to pay two shillings to the
+surveyor for measuring each quadra (150 yards square), together
+with whatever price he fixes for the value of the land. After his
+valuation the land must be put up three times to auction, and if no
+one bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. All these
+exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, where the
+inhabitants are so extremely poor. In most countries, forests are
+removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire; but in Chiloe,
+from the damp nature of the climate, and the sort of trees, it is
+necessary first to cut them down. This is a heavy drawback to the
+prosperity of Chiloe. In the time of the Spaniards the Indians
+could not hold land; and a family, after having cleared a piece of
+ground, might be driven away, and the property seized by the
+government. The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of
+justice by making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each
+man, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. The
+value of uncleared ground is very little. The government gave Mr.
+Douglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of these
+circumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest near S.
+Carlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for 350 dollars, or
+about 70 pounds sterling.
+
+The two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the
+island of Quinchao. This neighbourhood is the most cultivated part
+of the Archipelago; for a broad strip of land on the coast of the
+main island, as well as on many of the smaller adjoining ones, is
+almost completely cleared. Some of the farmhouses seemed very
+comfortable. I was curious to ascertain how rich any of these
+people might be, but Mr. Douglas says that no one can be considered
+as possessing a regular income. One of the richest landowners might
+possibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as 1000
+pounds sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed
+away in some secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every
+family to have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground.
+
+NOVEMBER 30, 1834.
+
+Early on Sunday morning we reached Castro, the ancient capital of
+Chiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted place. The usual
+quadrangular arrangement of Spanish towns could be traced, but the
+streets and plaza were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep
+were browsing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely
+built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. The
+poverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that although
+containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was
+unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary
+knife. No individual possessed either a watch or a clock; and an
+old man who was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed
+to strike the church bell by guess. The arrival of our boats was a
+rare event in this quiet retired corner of the world; and nearly
+all the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our
+tents. They were very civil, and offered us a house; and one man
+even sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon we paid
+our respects to the governor--a quiet old man, who, in his
+appearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an English
+cottager. At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient
+to drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers on. An
+Indian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen,
+bivouacked near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the
+morning I asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had
+passed the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, "Muy
+bien, se�or."
+
+DECEMBER 1, 1834.
+
+We steered for the island of Lemuy. I was anxious to examine a
+reported coal-mine which turned out to be lignite of little value,
+in the sandstone (probably of an ancient tertiary epoch) of which
+these islands are composed. When we reached Lemuy we had much
+difficulty in finding any place to pitch our tents, for it was
+spring-tide, and the land was wooded down to the water's edge. In a
+short time we were surrounded by a large group of the nearly pure
+Indian inhabitants. They were much surprised at our arrival, and
+said one to the other, "This is the reason we have seen so many
+parrots lately; the cheucau (an odd red-breasted little bird, which
+inhabits the thick forest, and utters very peculiar noises) has not
+cried 'beware' for nothing." They were soon anxious for barter.
+Money was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for tobacco
+was something quite extraordinary. After tobacco, indigo came next
+in value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. The latter
+article was required for a very innocent purpose: each parish has a
+public musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on
+their saint or feast days.
+
+The people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. At certain
+seasons they catch also, in "corrales," or hedges under water, many
+fish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. They
+occasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle;
+the order in which they are here mentioned, expressing their
+respective numbers. I never saw anything more obliging and humble
+than the manners of these people. They generally began with stating
+that they were poor natives of the place, and not Spaniards and
+that they were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. At
+Caylen, the most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick
+of tobacco, of the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of
+which, the Indian stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out
+to be a fine duck; and with some cotton handkerchiefs, worth three
+shillings, three sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured.
+The yawl at this place was anchored some way from the shore, and we
+had fears for her safety from robbers during the night. Our pilot,
+Mr. Douglas, accordingly told the constable of the district that we
+always placed sentinels with loaded arms, and not understanding
+Spanish, if we saw any person in the dark, we should assuredly
+shoot him. The constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect
+propriety of this arrangement, and promised us that no one should
+stir out of his house during that night.
+
+During the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward. The
+general features of the country remained the same, but it was much
+less thickly inhabited. On the large island of Tanqui there was
+scarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their
+branches over the sea-beach. I one day noticed, growing on the
+sandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (Gunnera
+scabra), which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale.
+The inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather
+with the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. The leaf is
+nearly circular, but deeply indented on its margin. I measured one
+which was nearly eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than
+twenty-four in circumference! The stalk is rather more than a yard
+high, and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous
+leaves, presenting together a very noble appearance.
+
+DECEMBER 6, 1834.
+
+We reached Caylen, called "el fin del Cristiandad." In the morning
+we stopped for a few minutes at a house on the northern end of
+Laylec, which was the extreme point of South American Christendom,
+and a miserable hovel it was. The latitude is 43 degrees 10', which
+is two degrees farther south than the Rio Negro on the Atlantic
+coast. These extreme Christians were very poor, and, under the plea
+of their situation, begged for some tobacco. As a proof of the
+poverty of these Indians, I may mention that shortly before this we
+had met a man, who had travelled three days and a half on foot, and
+had as many to return, for the sake of recovering the value of a
+small axe and a few fish. How very difficult it must be to buy the
+smallest article, when such trouble is taken to recover so small a
+debt.
+
+In the evening we reached the island of San Pedro, where we found
+the "Beagle" at anchor. In doubling the point, two of the officers
+landed to take a round of angles with the theodolite. A fox (Canis
+fulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very
+rare in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks.
+He was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers,
+that I was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the
+head with my geological hammer. This fox, more curious or more
+scientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is
+now mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society.
+
+We stayed three days in this harbour, on one of which Captain Fitz
+Roy, with a party, attempted to ascend to the summit of San Pedro.
+The woods here had rather a different appearance from those on the
+northern part of the island. The rock, also, being micaceous slate,
+there was no beach, but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the
+water. The general aspect in consequence was more like that of
+Tierra del Fuego than of Chiloe. In vain we tried to gain the
+summit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who has not
+beheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying and dead trunks.
+I am sure that often, for more than ten minutes together, our feet
+never touched the ground, and we were frequently ten or fifteen
+feet above it, so that the seamen as a joke called out the
+soundings. At other times we crept one after another, on our hands
+and knees, under the rotten trunks. In the lower part of the
+mountain, noble trees of the Winter's Bark, and a laurel like the
+sassafras with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which I do
+not know, were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. Here
+we were more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal.
+On the higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees,
+with here and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. I was also
+pleased to see, at an elevation of a little less than 1000 feet,
+our old friend the southern beech. They were, however, poor stunted
+trees, and I should think that this must be nearly their northern
+limit. We ultimately gave up the attempt in despair.
+
+DECEMBER 10, 1834.
+
+(PLATE 67.  INSIDE CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO.)
+
+The yawl and whale-boat, with Mr. Sulivan, proceeded on their
+survey, but I remained on board the "Beagle," which the next day
+left San Pedro for the southward. On the 13th we ran into an
+opening in the southern part of Guayatecas, or the Chonos
+Archipelago; and it was fortunate we did so, for on the following
+day a storm, worthy of Tierra del Fuego, raged with great fury.
+White massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky, and
+across them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven. The
+successive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows, and the
+setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much like that
+produced by the flame of spirits of wine. The water was white with
+the flying spray, and the wind lulled and roared again through the
+rigging: it was an ominous, sublime scene. During a few minutes
+there was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the
+effect of the spray, which, being carried along the surface of the
+water, changed the ordinary semicircle into a circle--a band of
+prismatic colours being continued, from both feet of the common
+arch across the bay, close to the vessel's side: thus forming a
+distorted, but very nearly entire ring.
+
+We stayed here three days. The weather continued bad: but this did
+not much signify, for the surface of the land in all these islands
+is all but impassable. The coast is so very rugged that to attempt
+to walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down
+over the sharp rocks of mica-slate; and as for the woods, our
+faces, hands, and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment
+we received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden
+recesses.
+
+DECEMBER 18, 1834.
+
+We stood out to sea. On the 20th we bade farewell to the south, and
+with a fair wind turned the ship's head northward. From Cape Tres
+Montes we sailed pleasantly along the lofty weather-beaten coast,
+which is remarkable for the bold outline of its hills, and the
+thick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. The
+next day a harbour was discovered, which on this dangerous coast
+might be of great service to a distressed vessel. It can easily be
+recognised by a hill 1600 feet high, which is even more perfectly
+conical than the famous sugar-loaf at Rio de Janeiro. The next day,
+after anchoring, I succeeded in reaching the summit of this hill.
+It was a laborious undertaking, for the sides were so steep that in
+some parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. There were
+also several extensive brakes of the Fuchsia, covered with its
+beautiful drooping flowers, but very difficult to crawl through. In
+these wild countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of
+any mountain. There is an indefinite expectation of seeing
+something very strange, which, however often it may be balked,
+never failed with me to recur on each successive attempt. Every one
+must know the feeling of triumph and pride which a grand view from
+a height communicates to the mind. In these little frequented
+countries there is also joined to it some vanity, that you perhaps
+are the first man who ever stood on this pinnacle or admired this
+view.
+
+A strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being
+has previously visited an unfrequented spot. A bit of wood with a
+nail in it is picked up and studied as if it were covered with
+hieroglyphics. Possessed with this feeling, I was much interested
+by finding, on a wild part of the coast, a bed made of grass
+beneath a ledge of rock. Close by it there had been a fire, and the
+man had used an axe. The fire, bed, and situation showed the
+dexterity of an Indian; but he could scarcely have been an Indian,
+for the race is in this part extinct, owing to the Catholic desire
+of making at one blow Christians and Slaves. I had at the time some
+misgivings that the solitary man who had made his bed on this wild
+spot, must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor, who, in trying
+to travel up the coast, had here laid himself down for his dreary
+night.
+
+DECEMBER 28, 1834.
+
+The weather continued very bad, but it at last permitted us to
+proceed with the survey. The time hung heavy on our hands, as it
+always did when we were delayed from day to day by successive gales
+of wind. In the evening another harbour was discovered, where we
+anchored. Directly afterwards a man was seen waving his shirt, and
+a boat was sent which brought back two seamen. A party of six had
+run away from an American whaling vessel, and had landed a little
+to the southward in a boat, which was shortly afterwards knocked to
+pieces by the surf. They had now been wandering up and down the
+coast for fifteen months, without knowing which way to go, or where
+they were. What a singular piece of good fortune it was that this
+harbour was now discovered! Had it not been for this one chance,
+they might have wandered till they had grown old men, and at last
+have perished on this wild coast. Their sufferings had been very
+great, and one of their party had lost his life by falling from the
+cliffs. They were sometimes obliged to separate in search of food,
+and this explained the bed of the solitary man. Considering what
+they had undergone, I think they had kept a very good reckoning of
+time, for they had lost only four days.
+
+DECEMBER 30, 1834.
+
+We anchored in a snug little cove at the foot of some high hills,
+near the northern extremity of Tres Montes. After breakfast the
+next morning a party ascended one of these mountains, which was
+2400 feet high. The scenery was remarkable. The chief part of the
+range was composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of granite, which
+appeared as if they had been coeval with the beginning of the
+world. The granite was capped with mica-slate, and this in the
+lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger-shaped points.
+These two formations, thus differing in their outlines, agree in
+being almost destitute of vegetation. This barrenness had to our
+eyes a strange appearance, from having been so long accustomed to
+the sight of an almost universal forest of dark-green trees. I took
+much delight in examining the structure of these mountains. The
+complicated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of
+durability--equally profitless, however, to man and to all other
+animals. Granite to the geologist is classic ground: from its
+widespread limits, and its beautiful and compact texture, few rocks
+have been more anciently recognised. Granite has given rise,
+perhaps, to more discussion concerning its origin than any other
+formation. We generally see it constituting the fundamental rock,
+and, however formed, we know it is the deepest layer in the crust
+of this globe to which man has penetrated. The limit of man's
+knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, which is
+perhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the realms of
+imagination.
+
+JANUARY 1, 1835.
+
+The new year is ushered in with the ceremonies proper to it in
+these regions. She lays out no false hopes: a heavy north-western
+gale, with steady rain, bespeaks the rising year. Thank God, we are
+not destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to be in the
+Pacific Ocean, where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven,--a
+something beyond the clouds above our heads.
+
+The north-west winds prevailing for the next four days, we only
+managed to cross a great bay, and then anchored in another secure
+harbour. I accompanied the Captain in a boat to the head of a deep
+creek. On the way the number of seals which we saw was quite
+astonishing: every bit of flat rock and parts of the beach were
+covered with them. They appeared to be of a loving disposition, and
+lay huddled together, fast asleep, like so many pigs; but even pigs
+would have been ashamed of their dirt, and of the foul smell which
+came from them. Each herd was watched by the patient but
+inauspicious eyes of the turkey-buzzard. This disgusting bird, with
+its bald scarlet head, formed to wallow in putridity, is very
+common on the west coast, and their attendance on the seals shows
+on what they rely for their food. We found the water (probably only
+that of the surface) nearly fresh: this was caused by the number of
+torrents which, in the form of cascades, came tumbling over the
+bold granite mountains into the sea. The fresh water attracts the
+fish, and these bring many terns, gulls, and two kinds of
+cormorant. We saw also a pair of the beautiful black-necked swans,
+and several small sea-otters, the fur of which is held in such high
+estimation. In returning, we were again amused by the impetuous
+manner in which the heap of seals, old and young, tumbled into the
+water as the boat passed. They did not remain long under water, but
+rising, followed us with outstretched necks, expressing great
+wonder and curiosity.
+
+JANUARY 7, 1835.
+
+Having run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end of the
+Chonos Archipelago, in Low's Harbour, where we remained a week. The
+islands were here, as in Chiloe, composed of a stratified, soft,
+littoral deposit; and the vegetation in consequence was beautifully
+luxuriant. The woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the manner
+of an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. We also enjoyed from
+the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy cones of the
+Cordillera, including "el famoso Corcovado;" the range itself had
+in this latitude so little height, that few parts of it appeared
+above the tops of the neighbouring islets. We found here a party of
+five men from Caylen, "el fin del Cristiandad," who had most
+adventurously crossed in their miserable boat-canoe, for the
+purpose of fishing, the open space of sea which separates Chonos
+from Chiloe. These islands will, in all probability, in a short
+time become peopled like those adjoining the coast of Chiloe.
+
+The wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, on the
+sandy, shelly soil near the sea-beach. The tallest plant was four
+feet in height. The tubers were generally small, but I found one,
+of an oval shape, two inches in diameter: they resembled in every
+respect, and had the same smell as English potatoes; but when
+boiled they shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any
+bitter taste. They are undoubtedly here indigenous: they grow as
+far south, according to Mr. Low, as latitude 50 degrees, and are
+called Aquinas by the wild Indians of that part: the Chilotan
+Indians have a different name for them. Professor Henslow, who has
+examined the dried specimens which I brought home, says that they
+are the same with those described by Mr. Sabine from Valparaiso,
+but that they form a variety which by some botanists has been
+considered as specifically distinct. (13/1. "Horticultural
+Transactions" volume 5 page 249. Mr. Caldeleugh sent home two
+tubers, which, being well manured, even the first season produced
+numerous potatoes and an abundance of leaves. See Humboldt's
+interesting discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown
+in Mexico,--in "Political Essay on New Spain" book 4 chapter 9.) It
+is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile
+mountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for
+more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern
+islands.
+
+In the central parts of the Chonos Archipelago (latitude 45
+degrees), the forest has very much the same character with that
+along the whole west coast, for 600 miles southward to Cape Horn.
+The arborescent grass of Chiloe is not found here; while the beech
+of Tierra del Fuego grows to a good size, and forms a considerable
+proportion of the wood; not, however, in the same exclusive manner
+as it does farther southward. Cryptogamic plants here find a most
+congenial climate. In the Strait of Magellan, as I have before
+remarked, the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their
+arriving at perfection; but in these islands, within the forest,
+the number of species and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and
+small ferns, is quite extraordinary. (13/2. By sweeping with my
+insect-net, I procured from these situations a considerable number
+of minute insects, of the family of Staphylinidae, and others
+allied to Pselaphus, and minute Hymenoptera. But the most
+characteristic family in number, both of individuals and species,
+throughout the more open parts of Chiloe and Chonos is that of
+Telephoridae.) In Tierra del Fuego trees grow only on the
+hillsides; every level piece of land being invariably covered by a
+thick bed of peat; but in Chiloe flat land supports the most
+luxuriant forests. Here, within the Chonos Archipelago, the nature
+of the climate more closely approaches that of Tierra del Fuego
+than that of northern Chiloe; for every patch of level ground is
+covered by two species of plants (Astelia pumila and Donatia
+magellanica), which by their joint decay compose a thick bed of
+elastic peat.
+
+In Tierra del Fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of
+these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the
+production of peat. Fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the
+other round the central tap-root, the lower ones soon decay, and in
+tracing a root downwards in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their
+place, can be observed passing through every stage of
+decomposition, till the whole becomes blended in one confused mass.
+The Astelia is assisted by a few other plants,--here and there a
+small creeping Myrtus (M. nummularia), with a woody stem like our
+cranberry and with a sweet berry,--an Empetrum (E. rubrum), like
+our heath,--a rush (Juncus grandiflorus), are nearly the only ones
+that grow on the swampy surface. These plants, though possessing a
+very close general resemblance to the English species of the same
+genera, are different. In the more level parts of the country, the
+surface of the peat is broken up into little pools of water, which
+stand at different heights, and appear as if artificially
+excavated. Small streams of water, flowing underground, complete
+the disorganisation of the vegetable matter, and consolidate the
+whole.
+
+The climate of the southern part of America appears particularly
+favourable to the production of peat. In the Falkland Islands
+almost every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the
+whole surface of the land, becomes converted into this substance:
+scarcely any situation checks its growth; some of the beds are as
+much as twelve feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when
+dry, that it will hardly burn. Although every plant lends its aid,
+yet in most parts the Astelia is the most efficient. It is rather a
+singular circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs
+in Europe, that I nowhere saw moss forming by its decay any portion
+of the peat in South America. With respect to the northern limit at
+which the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow
+decomposition which is necessary for its production, I believe that
+in Chiloe (latitude 41 to 42 degrees), although there is much
+swampy ground, no well-characterised peat occurs: but in the Chonos
+Islands, three degrees farther southward, we have seen that it is
+abundant. On the eastern coast in La Plata (latitude 35 degrees) I
+was told by a Spanish resident who had visited Ireland, that he had
+often sought for this substance, but had never been able to find
+any. He showed me, as the nearest approach to it which he had
+discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to
+allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion.
+
+The zoology of these broken islets of the Chonos Archipelago is, as
+might have been expected, very poor. Of quadrupeds two aquatic
+kinds are common. The Myopotamus Coypus (like a beaver, but with a
+round tail) is well known from its fine fur, which is an object of
+trade throughout the tributaries of La Plata. It here, however,
+exclusively frequents salt water; which same circumstance has been
+mentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the
+Capybara. A small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal does not
+feed exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a large supply
+from a small red crab, which swims in shoals near the surface of
+the water. Mr. Bynoe saw one in Tierra del Fuego eating a
+cuttle-fish; and at Low's Harbour, another was killed in the act of
+carrying to its hole a large volute shell. At one place I caught in
+a trap a singular little mouse (M. brachiotis); it appeared common
+on several of the islets, but the Chilotans at Low's Harbour said
+that it was not found in all. What a succession of chances, or what
+changes of level must have been brought into play, thus to spread
+these small animals throughout this broken archipelago! (13/3. It
+is said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their
+nests. If so, in the course of centuries, every now and then, one
+might escape from the young birds. Some such agency is necessary,
+to account for the distribution of the smaller gnawing animals on
+islands not very near each other.)
+
+In all parts of Chiloe and Chonos, two very strange birds occur,
+which are allied to, and replace, the Turco and Tapacolo of central
+Chile. One is called by the inhabitants "Cheucau" (Pteroptochos
+rubecula): it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within
+the damp forests. Sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at
+hand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the
+cheucau; at other times let him stand motionless and the
+red-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the
+most familiar manner. It then busily hops about the entangled mass
+of rotting canes and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards.
+The cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the Chilotans, on
+account of its strange and varied cries. There are three very
+distinct cries: One is called "chiduco," and is an omen of good;
+another, "huitreu," which is extremely unfavourable; and a third,
+which I have forgotten. These words are given in imitation of the
+noises; and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by
+them. The Chilotans assuredly have chosen a most comical little
+creature for their prophet. An allied species, but rather larger,
+is called by the natives "Guid-guid" (Pteroptochos Tarnii), and by
+the English the barking-bird. This latter name is well given; for I
+defy any one at first to feel certain that a small dog is not
+yelping somewhere in the forest. Just as with the cheucau, a person
+will sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain may endeavour by
+watching, and with still less chance by beating the bushes, to see
+the bird; yet at other times the guid-guid fearlessly comes near.
+Its manner of feeding and its general habits are very similar to
+those of the cheucau.
+
+On the coast, a small dusky-coloured bird (Opetiorhynchus
+Patagonicus) is very common. (13/4. I may mention, as a proof of
+how great a difference there is between the seasons of the wooded
+and the open parts of this coast, that on September 20th, in
+latitude 34 degrees, these birds had young ones in the nest, while
+among the Chonos Islands, three months later in the summer, they
+were only laying, the difference in latitude between these two
+places being about 700 miles.) It is remarkable from its quiet
+habits; it lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a sandpiper.
+Besides these birds only few others inhabit this broken land. In my
+rough notes I describe the strange noises, which, although
+frequently heard within these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb
+the general silence. The yelping of the guid-guid, and the sudden
+whew-whew of the cheucau, sometimes come from afar off, and
+sometimes from close at hand; the little black wren of Tierra del
+Fuego occasionally adds its cry; the creeper (Oxyurus) follows the
+intruder screaming and twittering; the humming-bird may be seen
+every now and then darting from side to side, and emitting, like an
+insect, its shrill chirp; lastly, from the top of some lofty tree
+the indistinct but plaintive note of the white-tufted
+tyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius) may be noticed. From the great
+preponderance in most countries of certain common genera of birds,
+such as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with
+the peculiar forms above enumerated, as the commonest birds in any
+district. In central Chile two of them, namely, the Oxyurus and
+Scytalopus, occur, although most rarely. When finding, as in this
+case, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the
+great scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created.
+But it should always be recollected, that in some other country
+perhaps they are essential members of society, or at some former
+period may have been so. If America south of 37 degrees were sunk
+beneath the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to
+exist in central Chile for a long period, but it is very improbable
+that their numbers would increase. We should then see a case which
+must inevitably have happened with very many animals.
+
+These southern seas are frequented by several species of Petrels:
+the largest kind, Procellaria gigantea, or nelly (quebrantahuesos,
+or break-bones, of the Spaniards), is a common bird, both in the
+inland channels and on the open sea. In its habits and manner of
+flight there is a very close resemblance with the albatross; and as
+with the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together
+without seeing on what it feeds. The "break-bones" is, however, a
+rapacious bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at Port
+St. Antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and
+flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a
+blow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great petrels were seen
+killing and devouring young gulls. A second species (Puffinus
+cinereus), which is common to Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast of
+Peru, is of a much smaller size than the P. gigantea, but, like it,
+of a dirty black colour. It generally frequents the inland sounds
+in very large flocks: I do not think I ever saw so many birds of
+any other sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island
+of Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for
+several hours in one direction. When part of the flock settled on
+the water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from
+them as of human beings talking in the distance.
+
+There are several other species of petrels, but I will only mention
+one other kind, the Pelacanoides Berardi, which offers an example
+of those extraordinary cases, of a bird evidently belonging to one
+well-marked family, yet both in its habits and structure allied to
+a very distinct tribe. This bird never leaves the quiet inland
+sounds. When disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the
+surface, with the same movement takes flight. After flying by the
+rapid movement of its short wings for a space in a straight line,
+it drops, as if struck dead, and dives again. The form of its beak
+and nostrils, length of foot, and even the colouring of its
+plumage, show that this bird is a petrel: on the other hand, its
+short wings and consequent little power of flight, its form of body
+and shape of tail, the absence of a hind toe to its foot, its habit
+of living, and its choice of situation, make it at first doubtful
+whether its relationship is not equally close with the auks. It
+would undoubtedly be mistaken for an auk, when seen from a
+distance, either on the wing, or when diving and quietly swimming
+about the retired channels of Tierra del Fuego.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+(PLATE 69.  ANTUCO VOLCANO, NEAR TALCAHUANO.)
+
+San Carlos, Chiloe.
+Osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with Aconcagua and
+Coseguina.
+Ride to Cucao.
+Impenetrable forests.
+Valdivia.
+Indians.
+Earthquake.
+Concepcion.
+Great earthquake.
+Rocks fissured.
+Appearance of the former towns.
+The sea black and boiling.
+Direction of the vibrations.
+Stones twisted round.
+Great wave.
+Permanent elevation of the land.
+Area of volcanic phenomena.
+The connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces.
+Cause of earthquakes.
+Slow elevation of mountain-chains.
+
+CHILOE AND CONCEPCION: GREAT EARTHQUAKE.
+
+(PLATE 70.  PANORAMIC VIEW OF COAST, CHILOE. OSORNO AND
+QUELLAYPO.)
+
+(PLATE 71.  INSIDE ISLAND OF CHILOE. SAN CARLOS.)
+(PLATE 68.  GUNNERA SCABRA, CHILOE.)
+
+
+
+On January the 15th, 1835 we sailed from Low's Harbour, and three
+days afterwards anchored a second time in the bay of S. Carlos in
+Chiloe. On the night of the 19th the volcano of Osorno was in
+action. At midnight the sentry observed something like a large
+star, which gradually increased in size till about three o'clock,
+when it presented a very magnificent spectacle. By the aid of a
+glass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the
+midst of a great glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall
+down. The light was sufficient to cast on the water a long bright
+reflection. Large masses of molten matter seem very commonly to be
+cast out of the craters in this part of the Cordillera. I was
+assured that when the Corcovado is in eruption, great masses are
+projected upwards and are seen to burst in the air, assuming many
+fantastical forms, such as trees: their size must be immense, for
+they can be distinguished from the high land behind S. Carlos,
+which is no less than ninety-three miles from the Corcovado. In the
+morning the volcano became tranquil.
+
+I was surprised at hearing afterwards that Aconcagua in Chile, 480
+miles northwards, was in action on the same night; and still more
+surprised to hear that the great eruption of Coseguina (2700 miles
+north of Aconcagua), accompanied by an earthquake felt over 1000
+miles, also occurred within six hours of this same time. This
+coincidence is the more remarkable, as Coseguina had been dormant
+for twenty-six years: and Aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of
+action. It is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence
+was accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. If Vesuvius,
+Etna, and Hecla in Iceland (all three relatively nearer each other
+than the corresponding points in South America), suddenly burst
+forth in eruption on the same night, the coincidence would be
+thought remarkable; but it is far more remarkable in this case,
+where the three vents fall on the same great mountain-chain, and
+where the vast plains along the entire eastern coast, and the
+upraised recent shells along more than 2000 miles on the western
+coast, show in how equable and connected a manner the elevatory
+forces have acted.
+
+Captain Fitz Roy being anxious that some bearings should be taken
+on the outer coast of Chiloe, it was planned that Mr. King and
+myself should ride to Castro, and thence across the island to the
+Capella de Cucao, situated on the west coast. Having hired horses
+and a guide, we set out on the morning of the 22nd. We had not
+proceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who
+were bent on the same journey. Every one on this road acts on a
+"hail-fellow-well-met" fashion; and one may here enjoy the
+privilege, so rare in South America, of travelling without
+firearms. At first the country consisted of a succession of hills
+and valleys: nearer to Castro it became very level. The road itself
+is a curious affair; it consists in its whole length, with the
+exception of very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are
+either broad and laid longitudinally, or narrow and placed
+transversely. In summer the road is not very bad: but in winter,
+when the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is
+exceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, the ground on each
+side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed: hence it is
+necessary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by
+transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the earth.
+These pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance of
+alighting on one of them is not small. It is remarkable, however,
+how active custom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad
+parts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to
+the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On
+both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with
+their bases matted together by canes. When occasionally a long
+reach of this avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene
+of uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective,
+became hidden by the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which
+ascended some steep hill.
+
+Although the distance from S. Carlos to Castro is only twelve
+leagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have
+been a great labour. I was told that several people had formerly
+lost their lives in attempting to cross the forest. The first who
+succeeded was an Indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight
+days, and reached S. Carlos: he was rewarded by the Spanish
+government with a grant of land. During the summer, many of the
+Indians wander about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts,
+where the woods are not quite so thick), in search of the half-wild
+cattle which live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees. It
+was one of these huntsmen who by chance discovered, a few years
+since, an English vessel, which had been wrecked on the outer
+coast. The crew were beginning to fail in provisions, and it is not
+probable that, without the aid of this man, they would ever have
+extricated themselves from these scarcely penetrable woods. As it
+was, one seaman died on the march, from fatigue. The Indians in
+these excursions steer by the sun; so that if there is a
+continuance of cloudy weather, they cannot travel.
+
+The day was beautiful, and the number of trees which were in full
+flower perfumed the air; yet even this could hardly dissipate the
+effect of the gloomy dampness of the forest. Moreover, the many
+dead trunks that stand like skeletons, never fail to give to these
+primeval woods a character of solemnity, absent in those of
+countries long civilised. Shortly after sunset we bivouacked for
+the night. Our female companion, who was rather good-looking,
+belonged to one of the most respectable families in Castro: she
+rode, however, astride, and without shoes or stockings. I was
+surprised at the total want of pride shown by her and her brother.
+They brought food with them, but at all our meals sat watching Mr.
+King and myself whilst eating, till we were fairly shamed into
+feeding the whole party. The night was cloudless; and while lying
+in our beds, we enjoyed the sight (and it is a high enjoyment) of
+the multitude of stars which illumined the darkness of the forest.
+
+JANUARY 23, 1835.
+
+We rose early in the morning, and reached the pretty quiet town of
+Castro by two o'clock. The old governor had died since our last
+visit, and a Chileno was acting in his place. We had a letter of
+introduction to Don Pedro, whom we found exceedingly hospitable and
+kind, and more disinterested than is usual on this side of the
+continent. The next day Don Pedro procured us fresh horses, and
+offered to accompany us himself. We proceeded to the
+south--generally following the coast, and passing through several
+hamlets, each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood. At
+Vilipilli, Don Pedro asked the commandant to give us a guide to
+Cucao. The old gentleman offered to come himself; but for a long
+time nothing would persuade him that two Englishmen really wished
+to go to such an out-of-the-way place as Cucao. We were thus
+accompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was
+plainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer Indians towards
+them. At Chonchi we struck across the island, following intricate
+winding paths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, and
+sometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with corn and
+potato crops. This undulating woody country, partially cultivated,
+reminded me of the wilder parts of England, and therefore had to my
+eye a most fascinating aspect. At Vilinco, which is situated on the
+borders of the lake of Cucao, only a few fields were cleared; and
+all the inhabitants appeared to be Indians. This lake is twelve
+miles long, and runs in an east and west direction. From local
+circumstances, the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day,
+and during the night it falls calm: this has given rise to strange
+exaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described to us at S. Carlos,
+was quite a prodigy.
+
+The road to Cucao was so very bad that we determined to embark in a
+periagua. The commandant, in the most authoritative manner, ordered
+six Indians to get ready to pull us over, without deigning to tell
+them whether they would be paid. The periagua is a strange rough
+boat, but the crew were still stranger: I doubt if six uglier
+little men ever got into a boat together. They pulled, however,
+very well and cheerfully. The stroke-oarsman gabbled Indian, and
+uttered strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver
+driving his pigs. We started with a light breeze against us, but
+yet reached the Capella de Cucao before it was late. The country on
+each side of the lake was one unbroken forest. In the same periagua
+with us a cow was embarked. To get so large an animal into a small
+boat appears at first a difficulty, but the Indians managed it in a
+minute. They brought the cow alongside the boat, which was heeled
+towards her; then placing two oars under her belly, with their ends
+resting on the gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly
+tumbled the poor beast heels over head into the bottom of the boat,
+and then lashed her down with ropes. At Cucao we found an
+uninhabited hovel (which is the residence of the padre when he pays
+this Capella a visit), where, lighting a fire, we cooked our
+supper, and were very comfortable.
+
+The district of Cucao is the only inhabited part on the whole west
+coast of Chiloe. It contains about thirty or forty Indian families,
+who are scattered along four or five miles of the shore. They are
+very much secluded from the rest of Chiloe, and have scarcely any
+sort of commerce, except sometimes in a little oil, which they get
+from seal-blubber. They are tolerably dressed in clothes of their
+own manufacture, and they have plenty to eat. They seemed, however,
+discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to
+witness. These feelings are, I think, chiefly to be attributed to
+the harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by
+their rulers. Our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved
+to the poor Indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free
+men. They ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without
+ever condescending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners
+should be paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with these
+poor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of cigars
+and mat�. A lump of white sugar was divided between all present,
+and tasted with the greatest curiosity. The Indians ended all their
+complaints by saying, "And it is only because we are poor Indians,
+and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a King."
+
+The next day after breakfast we rode a few miles northward to Punta
+Huantam�. The road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even
+after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. I was
+assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night
+even at Castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles
+across a hilly and wooded country. We had some difficulty in
+reaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for
+everywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire.
+The point itself is a bold rocky hill. It is covered by a plant
+allied, I believe, to Bromelia, and called by the inhabitants
+Chepones. In scrambling through the beds, our hands were very much
+scratched. I was amused by observing the precaution our Indian
+guide took, in turning up his trousers, thinking that they were
+more delicate than his own hard skin. This plant bears a fruit, in
+shape like an artichoke, in which a number of seed-vessels are
+packed: these contain a pleasant sweet pulp, here much esteemed. I
+saw at Low's Harbour the Chilotans making chichi, or cider, with
+this fruit: so true is it, as Humboldt remarks, that almost
+everywhere man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from
+the vegetable kingdom. The savages, however, of Tierra del Fuego,
+and I believe of Australia, have not advanced thus far in the arts.
+
+The coast to the north of Punta Huantam� is exceedingly rugged and
+broken, and is fronted by many breakers, on which the sea is
+eternally roaring. Mr. King and myself were anxious to return, if
+it had been possible, on foot along this coast; but even the
+Indians said it was quite impracticable. We were told that men have
+crossed by striking directly through the woods from Cucao to S.
+Carlos, but never by the coast. On these expeditions, the Indians
+carry with them only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparingly
+twice a day.
+
+JANUARY 26, 1835.
+
+Re-embarking in the periagua, we returned across the lake, and then
+mounted our horses. The whole of Chiloe took advantage of this week
+of unusually fine weather, to clear the ground by burning. In every
+direction volumes of smoke were curling upwards. Although the
+inhabitants were so assiduous in setting fire to every part of the
+wood, yet I did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in
+making extensive. We dined with our friend the commandant, and did
+not reach Castro till after dark. The next morning we started very
+early. After having ridden for some time, we obtained from the brow
+of a steep hill an extensive view (and it is a rare thing on this
+road) of the great forest. Over the horizon of trees, the volcano
+of Corcovado, and the great flat-topped one to the north, stood out
+in proud pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long range
+showed its snowy summit. I hope it will be long before I forget
+this farewell view of the magnificent Cordillera fronting Chiloe.
+At night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky, and the next morning
+reached S. Carlos. We arrived on the right day, for before evening
+heavy rain commenced.
+
+FEBRUARY 4, 1835.
+
+Sailed from Chiloe. During the last week I made several short
+excursions. One was to examine a great bed of now-existing shells,
+elevated 350 feet above the level of the sea: from among these
+shells, large forest-trees were growing. Another ride was to P.
+Huechucucuy. I had with me a guide who knew the country far too
+well; for he would pertinaciously tell me endless Indian names for
+every little point, rivulet, and creek. In the same manner as in
+Tierra del Fuego, the Indian language appears singularly well
+adapted for attaching names to the most trivial features of the
+land. I believe every one was glad to say farewell to Chiloe; yet
+if we could forget the gloom and ceaseless rain of winter, Chiloe
+might pass for a charming island. There is also something very
+attractive in the simplicity and humble politeness of the poor
+inhabitants.
+
+We steered northward along shore, but owing to thick weather did
+not reach Valdivia till the night of the 8th. The next morning the
+boat proceeded to the town, which is distant about ten miles. We
+followed the course of the river, occasionally passing a few
+hovels, and patches of ground cleared out of the otherwise unbroken
+forest; and sometimes meeting a canoe with an Indian family. The
+town is situated on the low banks of the stream, and is so
+completely buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are
+merely paths in an orchard. I have never seen any country where
+apple-trees appeared to thrive so well as in this damp part of
+South America: on the borders of the roads there were many young
+trees evidently self-sown. In Chiloe the inhabitants possess a
+marvellously short method of making an orchard. At the lower part
+of almost every branch, small, conical, brown, wrinkled points
+project: these are always ready to change into roots, as may
+sometimes be seen, where any mud has been accidentally splashed
+against the tree. A branch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in
+the early spring, and is cut off just beneath a group of these
+points, all the smaller branches are lopped off, and it is then
+placed about two feet deep in the ground. During the ensuing summer
+the stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bears fruit: I
+was shown one which had produced as many as twenty-three apples,
+but this was thought very unusual. In the third season the stump is
+changed (as I have myself seen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded
+with fruit. An old man near Valdivia illustrated his motto,
+"Necesidad es la madre del invencion," by giving an account of the
+several useful things he manufactured from his apples. After making
+cider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse a white and
+finely flavoured spirit; by another process he procured a sweet
+treacle, or, as he called it, honey. His children and pigs seemed
+almost to live, during this season of the year, in his orchard.
+
+FEBRUARY 11, 1835.
+
+I set out with a guide on a short ride, in which, however, I
+managed to see singularly little, either of the geology of the
+country or of its inhabitants. There is not much cleared land near
+Valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we
+entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel,
+before reaching our sleeping-place for the night. The short
+difference in latitude, of 150 miles, has given a new aspect to the
+forest compared with that of Chiloe. This is owing to a slightly
+different proportion in the kinds of trees. The evergreens do not
+appear to be quite so numerous, and the forest in consequence has a
+brighter tint. As in Chiloe, the lower parts are matted together by
+canes: here also another kind (resembling the bamboo of Brazil and
+about twenty feet in height) grows in clusters, and ornaments the
+banks of some of the streams in a very pretty manner. It is with
+this plant that the Indians make their chuzos, or long tapering
+spears. Our resting-house was so dirty that I preferred sleeping
+outside: on these journeys the first night is generally very
+uncomfortable, because one is not accustomed to the tickling and
+biting of the fleas. I am sure, in the morning, there was not a
+space on my legs of the size of a shilling which had not its little
+red mark where the flea had feasted.
+
+FEBRUARY 12, 1835.
+
+We continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only
+occasionally meeting an Indian on horseback, or a troop of fine
+mules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains. In
+the afternoon one of the horses knocked up; we were then on a brow
+of a hill, which commanded a fine view of the Llanos. The view of
+these open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed in and
+buried in the wilderness of trees. The uniformity of a forest soon
+becomes very wearisome. This west coast makes me remember with
+pleasure the free, unbounded plains of Patagonia; yet, with the
+true spirit of contradiction, I cannot forget how sublime is the
+silence of the forest. The Llanos are the most fertile and thickly
+peopled parts of the country, as they possess the immense advantage
+of being nearly free from trees. Before leaving the forest we
+crossed some flat little lawns, around which single trees stood, as
+in an English park: I have often noticed with surprise, in wooded
+undulatory districts, that the quite level parts have been
+destitute of trees. On account of the tired horse, I determined to
+stop at the Mission of Cudico, to the friar of which I had a letter
+of introduction. Cudico is an intermediate district between the
+forest and the Llanos. There are a good many cottages, with patches
+of corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to Indians. The tribes
+dependent on Valdivia are "reducidos y cristianos." The Indians
+farther northward, about Arauco and Imperial, are still very wild,
+and not converted; but they have all much intercourse with the
+Spaniards. The padre said that the Christian Indians did not much
+like coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for
+religion. The greatest difficulty is in making them observe the
+ceremonies of marriage. The wild Indians take as many wives as they
+can support, and a cacique will sometimes have more than ten: on
+entering his house, the number may be told by that of the separate
+fires. Each wife lives a week in turn with the cacique; but all are
+employed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit. To be the wife
+of a cacique is an honour much sought after by the Indian women.
+
+The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those
+south of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a
+petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All have their long
+hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on their
+heads. These Indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones are
+prominent, and in general appearance they resemble the great
+American family to which they belong; but their physiognomy seemed
+to me to be slightly different from that of any other tribe which I
+had before seen. Their expression is generally grave, and even
+austere, and possesses much character: this may pass either for
+honest bluntness or fierce determination. The long black hair, the
+grave and much-lined features, and the dark complexion, called to
+my mind old portraits of James I. On the road we met with none of
+that humble politeness so universal in Chiloe. Some gave their
+"mari-mari" (good morning) with promptness, but the greater number
+did not seem inclined to offer any salute. This independence of
+manners is probably a consequence of their long wars, and the
+repeated victories which they alone, of all the tribes in America,
+have gained over the Spaniards.
+
+I spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. He was
+exceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from Santiago, had
+contrived to surround himself with some few comforts. Being a man
+of some little education, he bitterly complained of the total want
+of society. With no particular zeal for religion, no business or
+pursuit, how completely must this man's life be wasted! The next
+day, on our return, we met seven very wild-looking Indians, of whom
+some were caciques that had just received from the Chilian
+government their yearly small stipend for having long remained
+faithful. They were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the
+other, with most gloomy faces. An old cacique, who headed them, had
+been, I suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for he
+seemed both extremely grave and very crabbed. Shortly before this,
+two Indians joined us, who were travelling from a distant mission
+to Valdivia concerning some lawsuit. One was a good-humoured old
+man, but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like an old
+woman than a man. I frequently presented both of them with cigars;
+and though ready to receive them, and I daresay grateful, they
+would hardly condescend to thank me. A Chilotan Indian would have
+taken off his hat, and given his "Dios le page!" The travelling was
+very tedious, both from the badness of the roads and from the
+number of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap
+over or to avoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, and
+next morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded on board.
+
+A few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party of officers,
+and landed near the fort called Niebla. The buildings were in a
+most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. Mr. Wickham
+remarked to the commanding officer, that with one discharge they
+would certainly all fall to pieces. The poor man, trying to put a
+good face upon it, gravely replied, "No, I am sure, sir, they would
+stand two!" The Spaniards must have intended to have made this
+place impregnable. There is now lying in the middle of the
+courtyard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardness the
+rock on which it is placed. It was brought from Chile, and cost
+7000 dollars. The revolution having broken out prevented its being
+applied to any purpose, and now it remains a monument of the fallen
+greatness of Spain.
+
+I wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my
+guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a
+straight line. He offered, however, to lead me, by following
+obscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless,
+took no less than three hours! This man is employed in hunting
+strayed cattle; yet, well as he must know the woods, he was not
+long since lost for two whole days, and had nothing to eat. These
+facts convey a good idea of the impracticability of the forests of
+these countries. A question often occurred to me--how long does any
+vestige of a fallen tree remain? This man showed me one which a
+party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years ago; and
+taking this as a criterion, I should think a bole a foot and a half
+in diameter would in thirty years be changed into a heap of mould.
+
+FEBRUARY 20,, 1835.
+
+This day has been memorable in the annals of Valdivia, for the most
+severe earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. I happened
+to be on shore, and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. It
+came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared
+much longer. The rocking of the ground was very sensible. The
+undulations appeared to my companion and myself to come from due
+east, whilst others thought they proceeded from south-west: this
+shows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive the direction of
+the vibrations. There was no difficulty in standing upright, but
+the motion made me almost giddy: it was something like the movement
+of a vessel in a little cross-ripple, or still more like that felt
+by a person skating over thin ice, which bends under the weight of
+his body.
+
+A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the
+earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like
+a thin crust over a fluid;--one second of time has created in the
+mind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would
+not have produced. In the forest, as a breeze moved the trees, I
+felt only the earth tremble, but saw no other effect. Captain Fitz
+Roy and some officers were at the town during the shock, and there
+the scene was more striking; for although the houses, from being
+built of wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the
+boards creaked and rattled together. The people rushed out of doors
+in the greatest alarm. It is these accompaniments that create that
+perfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus
+seen, as well as felt, their effects. Within the forest it was a
+deeply interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. The
+tides were very curiously affected. The great shock took place at
+the time of low water; and an old woman who was on the beach told
+me that the water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to
+high-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level;
+this was also evident by the line of wet sand. The same kind of
+quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few years since at
+Chiloe, during a slight earthquake, and created much causeless
+alarm. In the course of the evening there were many weaker shocks,
+which seemed to produce in the harbour the most complicated
+currents, and some of great strength.
+
+MARCH 4, 1835.
+
+We entered the harbour of Concepcion. While the ship was beating up
+to the anchorage, I landed on the island of Quiriquina. The
+mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the terrible
+news of the great earthquake of the 20th:--"That not a house in
+Concepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy
+villages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed
+away the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this latter statement I soon saw
+abundant proofs--the whole coast being strewed over with timber and
+furniture as if a thousand ships had been wrecked. Besides chairs,
+tables, book-shelves, etc., in great numbers, there were several
+roofs of cottages, which had been transported almost whole. The
+storehouses at Talcahuano had been burst open, and great bags of
+cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the
+shore. During my walk round the island, I observed that numerous
+fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adhering to
+them, must recently have been lying in deep water, had been cast up
+high on the beach; one of these was six feet long, three broad, and
+two thick.
+
+The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of the
+earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave. The
+ground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines, perhaps
+caused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this
+narrow island. Some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard
+wide. Many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach; and the
+inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips
+would happen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary
+slate, which composes the foundation of the island, was still more
+curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as
+completely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder. This
+effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and
+displaced soil, must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise
+there would not exist a block of solid rock throughout Chile; nor
+is this improbable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating
+body is affected differently from the central part. It is, perhaps,
+owing to this same reason that earthquakes do not cause quite such
+terrific havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe
+this convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of
+the island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the
+sea and weather during the course of a whole century.
+
+The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode to
+Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet interesting
+spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had formerly known them,
+it possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins
+were so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little
+the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to
+imagine its former condition. The earthquake commenced at half-past
+eleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened in the middle of
+the night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one
+province amount to many thousands) must have perished, instead of
+less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of running
+out of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone saved
+them. In Concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood by itself,
+a heap or line of ruins; but in Talcahuano, owing to the great
+wave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with
+here and there part of a wall left standing, could be
+distinguished. From this circumstance Concepcion, although not so
+completely desolated, was a more terrible, and if I may so call it,
+picturesque sight. The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo
+at Quiriquina told me that the first notice he received of it, was
+finding both the horse he rode and himself rolling together on the
+ground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. He also told me that
+some cows which were standing on the steep side of the island were
+rolled into the sea. The great wave caused the destruction of many
+cattle; on one low island near the head of the bay, seventy animals
+were washed off and drowned. It is generally thought that this has
+been the worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as the very
+severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily be
+known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made any great
+difference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerable small
+tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the first
+twelve days no less than three hundred were counted.
+
+After viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how the greater
+number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The houses in many parts fell
+outwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little hillocks
+of brickwork and rubbish. Mr. Rouse, the English consul, told us
+that he was at breakfast when the first movement warned him to run
+out. He had scarcely reached the middle of the courtyard, when one
+side of his house came thundering down. He retained presence of
+mind to remember that, if he once got on the top of that part which
+had already fallen, he would be safe. Not being able from the
+motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up on his hands and
+knees; and no sooner had he ascended this little eminence, than the
+other side of the house fell in, the great beams sweeping close in
+front of his head. With his eyes blinded and his mouth choked with
+the cloud of dust which darkened the sky, at last he gained the
+street. As shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes,
+no one dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knew whether
+his dearest friends and relations were not perishing from the want
+of help. Those who had saved any property were obliged to keep a
+constant watch, for thieves prowled about, and at each little
+trembling of the ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and
+cried "misericordia!" and then with the other filched what they
+could from the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, and
+flames burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselves ruined,
+and few had the means of providing food for the day.
+
+Earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any
+country. If beneath England the now inert subterranean forces
+should exert those powers which most assuredly in former geological
+ages they have exerted, how completely would the entire condition
+of the country be changed! What would become of the lofty houses,
+thickly packed cities, great manufactories, the beautiful public
+and private edifices? If the new period of disturbance were first
+to commence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, how
+terrific would be the carnage! England would at once be bankrupt;
+all papers, records, and accounts would from that moment be lost.
+Government being unable to collect the taxes, and failing to
+maintain its authority, the hand of violence and rapine would
+remain uncontrolled. In every large town famine would go forth,
+pestilence and death following in its train.
+
+Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance of
+three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a
+smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees,
+as it swept onwards with irresistible force. At the head of the bay
+it broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which rushed up to a
+height of 23 vertical feet above the highest spring-tides. Their
+force must have been prodigious; for at the Fort a cannon with its
+carriage, estimated at four tons in weight, was moved 15 feet
+inwards. A schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, 200 yards
+from the beach. The first wave was followed by two others, which in
+their retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating objects. In one
+part of the bay, a ship was pitched high and dry on shore, was
+carried off, again driven on shore, and again carried off. In
+another part two large vessels anchored near together were whirled
+about, and their cables were thrice wound round each other: though
+anchored at a depth of 36 feet, they were for some minutes aground.
+The great wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of
+Talcahuano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some
+sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat
+riding securely over the swell, if they could reach it before it
+broke. One old woman with a little boy, four or five years old, ran
+into a boat, but there was nobody to row it out: the boat was
+consequently dashed against an anchor and cut in twain; the old
+woman was drowned, but the child was picked up some hours
+afterwards clinging to the wreck. Pools of salt-water were still
+standing amidst the ruins of the houses, and children, making boats
+with old tables and chairs, appeared as happy as their parents were
+miserable. It was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, how
+much more active and cheerful all appeared than could have been
+expected. It was remarked with much truth, that from the
+destruction being universal, no one individual was humbled more
+than another, or could suspect his friends of coldness--that most
+grievous result of the loss of wealth. Mr. Rouse, and a large party
+whom he kindly took under his protection, lived for the first week
+in a garden beneath some apple-trees. At first they were as merry
+as if it had been a picnic; but soon afterwards heavy rain caused
+much discomfort, for they were absolutely without shelter.
+
+In Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake it is
+said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another
+like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. The water
+also appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it "became black, and
+exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell." These latter
+circumstances were observed in the Bay of Valparaiso during the
+earthquake of 1822; they may, I think, be accounted for by the
+disturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea containing organic
+matter in decay. In the Bay of Callao, during a calm day, I
+noticed, that as the ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its
+course was marked by a line of bubbles. The lower orders in
+Talcahuano thought that the earthquake was caused by some old
+Indian women, who two years ago, being offended, stopped the
+volcano of Antuco. This silly belief is curious, because it shows
+that experience has taught them to observe that there exists a
+relation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, and the
+trembling of the ground. It was necessary to apply the witchcraft
+to the point where their perception of cause and effect failed; and
+this was the closing of the volcanic vent. This belief is the more
+singular in this particular instance because, according to Captain
+Fitz Roy, there is reason to believe that Antuco was noways
+affected.
+
+The town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanish fashion, with
+all the streets running at right angles to each other; one set
+ranging south-west by west, and the other set north-west by north.
+The walls in the former direction certainly stood better than those
+in the latter; the greater number of the masses of brickwork were
+thrown down towards the north-east. Both these circumstances
+perfectly agree with the general idea of the undulations having
+come from the south-west; in which quarter subterranean noises were
+also heard; for it is evident that the walls running south-west and
+north-east which presented their ends to the point whence the
+undulations came, would be much less likely to fall than those
+walls which, running north-west and south-east, must in their whole
+lengths have been at the same instant thrown out of the
+perpendicular; for the undulations, coming from the south-west,
+must have extended in north-west and south-east waves, as they
+passed under the foundations. This may be illustrated by placing
+books edgeways on a carpet, and then, after the manner suggested by
+Michell, imitating the undulations of an earthquake: it will be
+found that they fall with more or less readiness, according as
+their direction more or less nearly coincides with the line of the
+waves. The fissures in the ground generally, though not uniformly,
+extended in a south-east and north-west direction, and therefore
+corresponded to the lines of undulation or of principal flexure.
+Bearing in mind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to
+the south-west as the chief focus of disturbance, it is a very
+interesting fact that the island of S. Maria, situated in that
+quarter, was, during the general uplifting of the land, raised to
+nearly three times the height of any other part of the coast.
+
+The different resistance offered by the walls, according to their
+direction, was well exemplified in the case of the Cathedral. The
+side which fronted the north-east presented a grand pile of ruins,
+in the midst of which door-cases and masses of timber stood up, as
+if floating in a stream. Some of the angular blocks of brickwork
+were of great dimensions; and they were rolled to a distance on the
+level plaza, like fragments of rock at the base of some high
+mountain. The side walls (running south-west and north-east),
+though exceedingly fractured, yet remained standing; but the vast
+buttresses (at right angles to them, and therefore parallel to the
+walls that fell) were in many cases cut clean off, as if by a
+chisel, and hurled to the ground. Some square ornaments on the
+coping of these same walls were moved by the earthquake into a
+diagonal position. A similar circumstance was observed after an
+earthquake at Valparaiso, Calabria, and other places, including
+some of the ancient Greek temples. (14/1. M. Arago in "L'Institut"
+1839 page 337. See also Miers's "Chile" volume 1 page 392; also
+Lyell's "Principles of Geology" chapter 15 book 2.) This twisting
+displacement at first appears to indicate a vorticose movement
+beneath each point thus affected; but this is highly improbable.
+May it not be caused by a tendency in each stone to arrange itself
+in some particular position with respect to the lines of
+vibration,--in a manner somewhat similar to pins on a sheet of
+paper when shaken? Generally speaking, arched doorways or windows
+stood much better than any other part of the buildings.
+Nevertheless, a poor lame old man, who had been in the habit,
+during trifling shocks, of crawling to a certain doorway, was this
+time crushed to pieces.
+
+I have not attempted to give any detailed description of the
+appearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quite impossible to
+convey the mingled feelings which I experienced. Several of the
+officers visited it before me, but their strongest language failed
+to give a just idea of the scene of desolation. It is a bitter and
+humiliating thing to see works, which have cost man so much time
+and labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the
+inhabitants was almost instantly banished, by the surprise in
+seeing a state of things produced in a moment of time, which one
+was accustomed to attribute to a succession of ages. In my opinion,
+we have scarcely beheld, since leaving England, any sight so deeply
+interesting.
+
+In almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters of the
+sea are said to have been greatly agitated. The disturbance seems
+generally, as in the case of Concepcion, to have been of two kinds:
+first, at the instant of the shock, the water swells high up on the
+beach with a gentle motion, and then as quietly retreats; secondly,
+some time afterwards, the whole body of the sea retires from the
+coast, and then returns in waves of overwhelming force. The first
+movement seems to be an immediate consequence of the earthquake
+affecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that their respective
+levels are slightly deranged: but the second case is a far more
+important phenomenon. During most earthquakes, and especially
+during those on the west coast of America, it is certain that the
+first great movement of the waters has been a retirement. Some
+authors have attempted to explain this, by supposing that the water
+retains its level, whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely
+the water close to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would
+partake of the motion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by Mr.
+Lyell, similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far
+distant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case with
+Juan Fernandez during this earthquake, and with Madeira during the
+famous Lisbon shock. I suspect (but the subject is a very obscure
+one) that a wave, however produced, first draws the water from the
+shore, on which it is advancing to break: I have observed that this
+happens with the little waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. It
+is remarkable that whilst Talcahuano and Callao (near Lima), both
+situated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during
+every severe earthquake from great waves, Valparaiso, seated close
+to the edge of profoundly deep water, has never been overwhelmed,
+though so often shaken by the severest shocks. From the great wave
+not immediately following the earthquake, but sometimes after the
+interval of even half an hour, and from distant islands being
+affected similarly with the coasts near the focus of the
+disturbance, it appears that the wave first rises in the offing;
+and as this is of general occurrence, the cause must be general: I
+suspect we must look to the line where the less disturbed waters of
+the deep ocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partaken
+of the movements of the land, as the place where the great wave is
+first generated; it would also appear that the wave is larger or
+smaller, according to the extent of shoal water which has been
+agitated together with the bottom on which it rested.
+
+The most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanent
+elevation of the land; it would probably be far more correct to
+speak of it as the cause. There can be no doubt that the land round
+the Bay of Concepcion was upraised two or three feet; but it
+deserves notice, that owing to the wave having obliterated the old
+lines of tidal action on the sloping sandy shores, I could discover
+no evidence of this fact, except in the united testimony of the
+inhabitants, that one little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly
+covered with water. At the island of S. Maria (about thirty miles
+distant) the elevation was greater; on one part, Captain Fitz Roy
+found beds of putrid mussel-shells STILL ADHERING TO THE ROCKS, ten
+feet above high-water mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at
+lower-water spring-tides for these shells. The elevation of this
+province is particularly interesting, from its having been the
+theatre of several other violent earthquakes, and from the vast
+numbers of sea-shells scattered over the land, up to a height of
+certainly 600, and I believe, of 1000 feet. At Valparaiso, as I
+have remarked, similar shells are found at the height of 1300 feet:
+it is hardly possible to doubt that this great elevation has been
+effected by successive small uprisings, such as that which
+accompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and likewise by
+an insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress on some
+parts of this coast.
+
+The island of Juan Fernandez, 360 miles to the north-east, was, at
+the time of the great shock of the 20th, violently shaken, so that
+the trees beat against each other, and a volcano burst forth under
+water close to the shore: these facts are remarkable because this
+island, during the earthquake of 1751, was then also affected more
+violently than other places at an equal distance from Concepcion,
+and this seems to show some subterranean connexion between these
+two points. Chiloe, about 340 miles southward of Concepcion,
+appears to have been shaken more strongly than the intermediate
+district of Valdivia, where the volcano of Villarica was noways
+affected, whilst in the Cordillera in front of Chiloe two of the
+volcanos burst forth at the same instant in violent action. These
+two volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for a long time
+in eruption, and ten months afterwards were again influenced by an
+earthquake at Concepcion. Some men cutting wood near the base of
+one of these volcanos, did not perceive the shock of the 20th,
+although the whole surrounding Province was then trembling; here we
+have an eruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake,
+as would have happened at Concepcion, according to the belief of
+the lower orders, if the volcano at Antuco had not been closed by
+witchcraft. Two years and three-quarters afterwards Valdivia and
+Chiloe were again shaken, more violently than on the 20th, and an
+island in the Chonos Archipelago was permanently elevated more than
+eight feet. It will give a better idea of the scale of these
+phenomena, if (as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to
+have taken place at corresponding distances in Europe:--then would
+the land from the North Sea to the Mediterranean have been
+violently shaken, and at the same instant of time a large tract of
+the eastern coast of England would have been permanently elevated,
+together with some outlying islands,--a train of volcanos on the
+coast of Holland would have burst forth in action, and an eruption
+taken place at the bottom of the sea, near the northern extremity
+of Ireland--and lastly, the ancient vents of Auvergne, Cantal, and
+Mont d'Or would each have sent up to the sky a dark column of
+smoke, and have long remained in fierce action. Two years and
+three-quarters afterwards, France, from its centre to the English
+Channel, would have been again desolated by an earthquake, and an
+island permanently upraised in the Mediterranean.
+
+The space, from under which volcanic matter on the 20th was
+actually erupted, is 720 miles in one line, and 400 miles in
+another line at right angles to the first: hence, in all
+probability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of
+nearly double the area of the Black Sea. From the intimate and
+complicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptive forces were
+shown to be connected during this train of phenomena, we may
+confidently come to the conclusion that the forces which slowly and
+by little starts uplift continents, and those which at successive
+periods pour forth volcanic matter from open orifices, are
+identical. From many reasons, I believe that the frequent quakings
+of the earth on this line of coast are caused by the rending of the
+strata, necessarily consequent on the tension of the land when
+upraised, and their injection by fluidified rock. This rending and
+injection would, if repeated often enough (and we know that
+earthquakes repeatedly affect the same areas in the same manner),
+form a chain of hills;--and the linear island of St. Mary, which
+was upraised thrice the height of the neighbouring country, seems
+to be undergoing this process. I believe that the solid axis of a
+mountain differs in its manner of formation from a volcanic hill,
+only in the molten stone having been repeatedly injected, instead
+of having been repeatedly ejected. Moreover, I believe that it is
+impossible to explain the structure of great mountain-chains, such
+as that of the Cordillera, where the strata, capping the injected
+axis of plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along
+several parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on
+this view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected,
+after intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or
+wedges to cool and become solid;--for if the strata had been thrown
+into their present highly-inclined, vertical, and even inverted
+positions, by a single blow, the very bowels of the earth would
+have gushed out; and instead of beholding abrupt mountain-axes of
+rock solidified under great pressure, deluges of lava would have
+flowed out at innumerable points on every line of elevation. (14/2.
+For a full account of the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the
+earthquake of the 20th, and for the conclusions deducible from
+them, I must refer to Volume 5 of the "Geological Transactions.")
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+(PLATE 72.  HIDE BRIDGE, SANTIAGO DE CHILE.)
+
+Valparaiso.
+Portillo Pass.
+Sagacity of mules.
+Mountain-torrents.
+Mines, how discovered.
+Proofs of the gradual elevation of the Cordillera.
+Effect of snow on rocks.
+Geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct
+origin and upheaval.
+Great subsidence.
+Red snow.
+Winds.
+Pinnacles of snow.
+Dry and clear atmosphere.
+Electricity.
+Pampas.
+Zoology of the opposite sides of the Andes.
+Locusts.
+Great Bugs.
+Mendoza.
+Uspallata Pass.
+Silicified trees buried as they grew.
+Incas Bridge.
+Badness of the passes exaggerated.
+Cumbre.
+Casuchas.
+Valparaiso.
+
+PASSAGE OF THE CORDILLERA.
+
+MARCH 7, 1835.
+
+
+
+We stayed three days at Concepcion, and then sailed for Valparaiso.
+The wind being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the harbour
+of Concepcion before it was dark. Being very near the land, and a
+fog coming on, the anchor was dropped. Presently a large American
+whaler appeared close alongside of us; and we heard the Yankee
+swearing at his men to keep quiet, whilst he listened for the
+breakers. Captain Fitz Roy hailed him, in a loud clear voice, to
+anchor where he then was. The poor man must have thought the voice
+came from the shore: such a Babel of cries issued at once from the
+ship--every one hallooing out, "Let go the anchor! veer cable!
+shorten sail!" It was the most laughable thing I ever heard. If the
+ship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could not have
+been a greater uproar of orders. We afterwards found that the mate
+stuttered: I suppose all hands were assisting him in giving his
+orders.
+
+On the 11th we anchored at Valparaiso, and two days afterwards I
+set out to cross the Cordillera. I proceeded to Santiago, where Mr.
+Caldcleugh most kindly assisted me in every possible way in making
+the little preparations which were necessary. In this part of Chile
+there are two passes across the Andes to Mendoza: the one most
+commonly used, namely, that of Aconcagua or Uspallata--is situated
+some way to the north; the other, called the Portillo, is to the
+south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous.
+
+MARCH 18, 1835.
+
+(PLATE 73.  CHILENOS.)
+
+We set out for the Portillo pass. Leaving Santiago we crossed the
+wide burnt-up plain on which that city stands, and in the afternoon
+arrived at the Maypu, one of the principal rivers in Chile. The
+valley, at the point where it enters the first Cordillera, is
+bounded on each side by lofty barren mountains; and although not
+broad, it is very fertile. Numerous cottages were surrounded by
+vines, and by orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees--their
+boughs breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. In the
+evening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was examined.
+The frontier of Chile is better guarded by the Cordillera than by
+the waters of the sea. There are very few valleys which lead to the
+central ranges, and the mountains are quite impassable in other
+parts by beasts of burden. The custom-house officers were very
+civil, which was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the
+President of the Republic had given me; but I must express my
+admiration at the natural politeness of almost every Chileno. In
+this instance, the contrast with the same class of men in most
+other countries was strongly marked. I may mention an anecdote with
+which I was at the time much pleased: we met near Mendoza a little
+and very fat negress, riding astride on a mule. She had a goitre so
+enormous that it was scarcely possible to avoid gazing at her for a
+moment; but my two companions almost instantly, by way of apology,
+made the common salute of the country by taking off their hats.
+Where would one of the lower or higher classes in Europe have shown
+such feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object of a
+degraded race?
+
+At night we slept at a cottage. Our manner of travelling was
+delightfully independent. In the inhabited parts we bought a little
+firewood, hired pasture for the animals, and bivouacked in the
+corner of the same field with them. Carrying an iron pot, we cooked
+and ate our supper under a cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. My
+companions were Mariano Gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me
+in Chile, and an "arriero," with his ten mules and a "madrina." The
+madrina (or godmother) is a most important personage: she is an old
+steady mare, with a little bell round her neck; and wherever she
+goes, the mules, like good children, follow her. The affection of
+these animals for their madrinas saves infinite trouble. If several
+large troops are turned into one field to graze, in the morning the
+muleteers have only to lead the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle
+their bells; and although there may be two or three hundred
+together, each mule immediately knows the bell of its own madrina,
+and comes to her. It is nearly impossible to lose an old mule; for
+if detained for several hours by force, she will, by the power of
+smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the madrina,
+for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object of
+affection. The feeling, however, is not of an individual nature;
+for I believe I am right in saying that any animal with a bell will
+serve as a madrina. In a troop each animal carries on a level road,
+a cargo weighing 416 pounds (more than 29 stone), but in a
+mountainous country 100 pounds less; yet with what delicate slim
+limbs, without any proportional bulk of muscle, these animals
+support so great a burden! The mule always appears to me a most
+surprising animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason,
+memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance,
+and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate
+that art has here outdone nature. Of our ten animals, six were
+intended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes, each taking
+turn about. We carried a good deal of food in case we should be
+snowed up, as the season was rather late for passing the Portillo.
+
+MARCH 19, 1835.
+
+We rode during this day to the last, and therefore most elevated,
+house in the valley. The number of inhabitants became scanty; but
+wherever water could be brought on the land, it was very fertile.
+All the main valleys in the Cordillera are characterised by having,
+on both sides, a fringe or terrace of shingle and sand, rudely
+stratified, and generally of considerable thickness. These fringes
+evidently once extended across the valleys and were united; and the
+bottoms of the valleys in northern Chile, where there are no
+streams, are thus smoothly filled up. On these fringes the roads
+are generally carried, for their surfaces are even, and they rise
+with a very gentle slope up the valleys: hence, also, they are
+easily cultivated by irrigation. They may be traced up to a height
+of between 7000 and 9000 feet, where they become hidden by the
+irregular piles of debris. At the lower end or mouths of the
+valleys they are continuously united to those land-locked plains
+(also formed of shingle) at the foot of the main Cordillera, which
+I have described in a former chapter as characteristic of the
+scenery of Chile, and which were undoubtedly deposited when the sea
+penetrated Chile, as it now does the more southern coasts. No one
+fact in the geology of South America interested me more than these
+terraces of rudely-stratified shingle. They precisely resemble in
+composition the matter which the torrents in each valley would
+deposit if they were checked in their course by any cause, such as
+entering a lake or arm of the sea; but the torrents, instead of
+depositing matter, are now steadily at work wearing away both the
+solid rock and these alluvial deposits, along the whole line of
+every main valley and side valley. It is impossible here to give
+the reasons, but I am convinced that the shingle terraces were
+accumulated, during the gradual elevation of the Cordillera, by the
+torrents delivering, at successive levels, their detritus on the
+beach-heads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high up the
+valleys, then lower and lower down as the land slowly rose. If this
+be so, and I cannot doubt it, the grand and broken chain of the
+Cordillera, instead of having been suddenly thrown up, as was till
+lately the universal, and still is the common opinion of
+geologists, has been slowly upheaved in mass, in the same gradual
+manner as the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific have risen within
+the recent period. A multitude of facts in the structure of the
+Cordillera, on this view receive a simple explanation.
+
+(PLATE 74.  SOUTH AMERICAN BIT.)
+
+The rivers which flow in these valleys ought rather to be called
+mountain-torrents. Their inclination is very great, and their water
+the colour of mud. The roar which the Maypu made, as it rushed over
+the great rounded fragments, was like that of the sea. Amidst the
+din of rushing waters, the noise from the stones, as they rattled
+one over another, was most distinctly audible even from a distance.
+This rattling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole
+course of the torrent. The sound spoke eloquently to the geologist;
+the thousands and thousands of stones which, striking against each
+other, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one
+direction. It was like thinking on time, where the minute that now
+glides past is irrevocable. So was it with these stones; the ocean
+is their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one
+more step towards their destiny.
+
+It is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by a slow
+process, any effect which is produced by a cause repeated so often
+that the multiplier itself conveys an idea not more definite than
+the savage implies when he points to the hairs of his head. As
+often as I have seen beds of mud, sand, and shingle, accumulated to
+the thickness of many thousand feet, I have felt inclined to
+exclaim that causes, such as the present rivers and the present
+beaches, could never have ground down and produced such masses.
+But, on the other hand, when listening to the rattling noise of
+these torrents, and calling to mind that whole races of animals
+have passed away from the face of the earth, and that during this
+whole period, night and day, these stones have gone rattling
+onwards in their course, I have thought to myself, can any
+mountains, any continent, withstand such waste?
+
+In this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were from
+3000 to 6000 or 8000 feet high, with rounded outlines and steep
+bare flanks. The general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and
+the stratification very distinct. If the scenery was not beautiful,
+it was remarkable and grand. We met during the day several herds of
+cattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the
+Cordillera. This sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps,
+more than was convenient for geologising. The house where we slept
+was situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which are
+the mines of S. Pedro de Nolasko. Sir F. Head marvels how mines
+have been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the bleak
+summit of the mountain of S. Pedro de Nolasko. In the first place,
+metallic veins in this country are generally harder than the
+surrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills,
+they project above the surface of the ground. Secondly, almost
+every labourer, especially in the northern parts of Chile,
+understands something about the appearance of ores. In the great
+mining provinces of Coquimbo and Copiap�, firewood is very scarce,
+and men search for it over every hill and dale; and by this means
+nearly all the richest mines have there been discovered.
+Chanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred
+thousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was
+discovered by a man who threw a stone at his loaded donkey, and
+thinking that it was very heavy, he picked it up, and found it full
+of pure silver: the vein occurred at no great distance, standing up
+like a wedge of metal. The miners, also, taking a crowbar with
+them, often wander on Sundays over the mountains. In this south
+part of Chile the men who drive cattle into the Cordillera, and who
+frequent every ravine where there is a little pasture, are the
+usual discoverers.
+
+MARCH 20, 1835.
+
+As we ascended the valley, the vegetation, with the exception of a
+few pretty alpine flowers, became exceedingly scanty; and of
+quadrupeds, birds, or insects, scarcely one could be seen. The
+lofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow,
+stood well separated from each other; the valleys being filled up
+with an immense thickness of stratified alluvium. The features in
+the scenery of the Andes which struck me most, as contrasted with
+the other mountain chains with which I am acquainted, were,--the
+flat fringes sometimes expanding into narrow plains on each side of
+the valleys,--the bright colours, chiefly red and purple, of the
+utterly bare and precipitous hills of porphyry, the grand and
+continuous wall-like dikes,--the plainly-divided strata which,
+where nearly vertical, formed the picturesque and wild central
+pinnacles, but where less inclined, composed the great massive
+mountains on the outskirts of the range,--and lastly, the smooth
+conical piles of fine and brightly coloured detritus, which sloped
+up at a high angle from the base of the mountains, sometimes to a
+height of more than 2000 feet.
+
+I frequently observed, both in Tierra del Fuego and within the
+Andes, that where the rock was covered during the greater part of
+the year with snow, it was shivered in a very extraordinary manner
+into small angular fragments. Scoresby has observed the same fact
+in Spitzbergen. (15/1. Scoresby's "Arctic Regions" volume 1 page
+122.) The case appears to me rather obscure: for that part of the
+mountain which is protected by a mantle of snow must be less
+subject to repeated and great changes of temperature than any other
+part. I have sometimes thought that the earth and fragments of
+stone on the surface were perhaps less effectually removed by
+slowly percolating snow-water than by rain, and therefore that the
+appearance of a quicker disintegration of the solid rock under the
+snow was deceptive. (15/2. I have heard it remarked in Shropshire
+that the water, when the Severn is flooded from long-continued
+rain, is much more turbid than when it proceeds from the snow
+melting on the Welsh mountains. D'Orbigny tome 1 page 184, in
+explaining the cause of the various colours of the rivers in South
+America, remarks that those with blue or clear water have their
+source in the Cordillera, where the snow melts.) Whatever the cause
+may be, the quantity of crumbling stone on the Cordillera is very
+great. Occasionally in the spring great masses of this detritus
+slide down the mountains, and cover the snow-drifts in the valleys,
+thus forming natural ice-houses. We rode over one, the height of
+which was far below the limit of perpetual snow.
+
+As the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular basin-like
+plain, called the Valle del Yeso. It was covered by a little dry
+pasture, and we had the pleasant sight of a herd of cattle amidst
+the surrounding rocky deserts. The valley takes its name of Yeso
+from a great bed, I should think at least 2000 feet thick, of
+white, and in some parts quite pure, gypsum. We slept with a party
+of men, who were employed in loading mules with this substance,
+which is used in the manufacture of wine. We set out early in the
+morning (21st), and continued to follow the course of the river,
+which had become very small, till we arrived at the foot of the
+ridge that separates the waters flowing into the Pacific and
+Atlantic Oceans. The road, which as yet had been good with a steady
+but very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag track up
+the great range dividing the republics of Chile and Mendoza.
+
+I will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several
+parallel lines forming the Cordillera. Of these lines, there are
+two considerably higher than the others; namely, on the Chilian
+side, the Peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it, is
+13,210 feet above the sea; and the Portillo ridge, on the Mendoza
+side, which is 14,305 feet. The lower beds of the Peuquenes ridge,
+and of the several great lines to the westward of it, are composed
+of a vast pile, many thousand feet in thickness, of porphyries
+which have flowed as submarine lavas, alternating with angular and
+rounded fragments of the same rocks, thrown out of the submarine
+craters. These alternating masses are covered in the central parts
+by a great thickness of red sandstone, conglomerate, and calcareous
+clay-slate, associated with, and passing into, prodigious beds of
+gypsum. In these upper beds shells are tolerably frequent; and they
+belong to about the period of the lower chalk of Europe. It is an
+old story, but not the less wonderful, to hear of shells which were
+once crawling on the bottom of the sea, now standing nearly 14,000
+feet above its level. The lower beds in this great pile of strata
+have been dislocated, baked, crystallised and almost blended
+together, through the agency of mountain masses of a peculiar white
+soda-granitic rock.
+
+The other main line, namely, that of the Portillo, is of a totally
+different formation: it consists chiefly of grand bare pinnacles of
+a red potash-granite, which low down on the western flank are
+covered by a sandstone, converted by the former heat into a
+quartz-rock. On the quartz there rest beds of a conglomerate
+several thousand feet in thickness, which have been upheaved by the
+red granite, and dip at an angle of 45 degrees towards the
+Peuquenes line. I was astonished to find that this conglomerate was
+partly composed of pebbles, derived from the rocks, with their
+fossil shells, of the Peuquenes range; and partly of red
+potash-granite, like that of the Portillo. Hence we must conclude
+that both the Peuquenes and Portillo ranges were partially upheaved
+and exposed to wear and tear when the conglomerate was forming; but
+as the beds of the conglomerate have been thrown off at an angle of
+45 degrees by the red Portillo granite (with the underlying
+sandstone baked by it), we may feel sure that the greater part of
+the injection and upheaval of the already partially formed Portillo
+line took place after the accumulation of the conglomerate, and
+long after the elevation of the Peuquenes ridge. So that the
+Portillo, the loftiest line in this part of the Cordillera, is not
+so old as the less lofty line of the Peuquenes. Evidence derived
+from an inclined stream of lava at the eastern base of the Portillo
+might be adduced to show that it owes part of its great height to
+elevations of a still later date. Looking to its earliest origin,
+the red granite seems to have been injected on an ancient
+pre-existing line of white granite and mica-slate. In most parts,
+perhaps in all parts, of the Cordillera, it may be concluded that
+each line has been formed by repeated upheavals and injections; and
+that the several parallel lines are of different ages. Only thus
+can we gain time at all sufficient to explain the truly astonishing
+amount of denudation which these great, though comparatively with
+most other ranges recent, mountains have suffered.
+
+Finally, the shells in the Peuquenes or oldest ridge prove, as
+before remarked, that it has been upraised 14,000 feet since a
+Secondary period, which in Europe we are accustomed to consider as
+far from ancient; but since these shells lived in a moderately deep
+sea, it can be shown that the area now occupied by the Cordillera
+must have subsided several thousand feet--in northern Chile as much
+as 6000 feet--so as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata
+to have been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. The proof
+is the same with that by which it was shown that, at a much later
+period since the tertiary shells of Patagonia lived, there must
+have been there a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an
+ensuing elevation. Daily it is forced home on the mind of the
+geologist that nothing, not even the wind that blows, is so
+unstable as the level of the crust of this earth.
+
+I will make only one other geological remark: although the Portillo
+chain is here higher than the Peuquenes, the waters, draining the
+intermediate valleys, have burst through it. The same fact, on a
+grander scale, has been remarked in the eastern and loftiest line
+of the Bolivian Cordillera, through which the rivers pass:
+analogous facts have also been observed in other quarters of the
+world. On the supposition of the subsequent and gradual elevation
+of the Portillo line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets
+would at first appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides
+would be always wearing deeper and broader channels between them.
+At the present day, even in the most retired Sounds on the coast of
+Tierra del Fuego, the currents in the transverse breaks which
+connect the longitudinal channels are very strong, so that in one
+transverse channel even a small vessel under sail was whirled round
+and round.
+
+About noon we began the tedious ascent of the Peuquenes ridge, and
+then for the first time experienced some little difficulty in our
+respiration. The mules would halt every fifty yards, and after
+resting for a few seconds the poor willing animals started of their
+own accord again. The short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere
+is called by the Chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous
+notions concerning its origin. Some say "All the waters here have
+puna;" others that "where there is snow there is puna;"--and this
+no doubt is true. The only sensation I experienced was a slight
+tightness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving a
+warm room and running quickly in frosty weather. There was some
+imagination even in this; for upon finding fossil shells on the
+highest ridge, I entirely forgot the puna in my delight. Certainly
+the exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration
+became deep and laborious: I am told that in Potosi (about 13,000
+feet above the sea) strangers do not become thoroughly accustomed
+to the atmosphere for an entire year. The inhabitants all recommend
+onions for the puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in
+Europe for pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real
+service:--for my part I found nothing so good as the fossil shells!
+
+When about half-way up we met a large party with seventy loaded
+mules. It was interesting to hear the wild cries of the muleteers,
+and to watch the long descending string of the animals; they
+appeared so diminutive, there being nothing but the black mountains
+with which they could be compared. When near the summit, the wind,
+as generally happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. On each
+side of the ridge we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual
+snow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. When we
+reached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was
+presented. The atmosphere resplendently clear; the sky an intense
+blue; the profound valleys; the wild broken forms: the heaps of
+ruins, piled up during the lapse of ages; the bright-coloured
+rocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow, all these
+together produced a scene no one could have imagined. Neither plant
+nor bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher
+pinnacles, distracted my attention from the inanimate mass. I felt
+glad that I was alone: it was like watching a thunderstorm, or
+hearing in full orchestra a chorus of the Messiah.
+
+On several patches of the snow I found the Protococcus nivalis, or
+red snow, so well known from the accounts of Arctic navigators. My
+attention was called to it by observing the footsteps of the mules
+stained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. I
+at first thought that it was owing to dust blown from the
+surrounding mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying
+power of the crystals of snow, the groups of these microscopical
+plants appeared like coarse particles. The snow was coloured only
+where it had thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed.
+A little rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled with a
+little brick-red. I afterwards scraped some off the paper, and
+found that it consisted of groups of little spheres in colourless
+cases, each the thousandth part of an inch in diameter.
+
+The wind on the crest of the Peuquenes, as just remarked, is
+generally impetuous and very cold: it is said to blow steadily from
+the westward or Pacific side. (15/3. Dr. Gillies in "Journal of
+Natural and Geographical Science" August 1830. This author gives
+the heights of the Passes.) As the observations have been chiefly
+made in summer, this wind must be an upper and return current. The
+Peak of Teneriffe, with a less elevation, and situated in latitude
+28 degrees, in like manner falls within an upper return stream. At
+first it appears rather surprising that the trade-wind along the
+northern parts of Chile and on the coast of Peru should blow in so
+very southerly a direction as it does; but when we reflect that the
+Cordillera, running in a north and south line, intercepts, like a
+great wall, the entire depth of the lower atmospheric current, we
+can easily see that the trade-wind must be drawn northward,
+following the line of mountains, towards the equatorial regions,
+and thus lose part of that easterly movement which it otherwise
+would have gained from the earth's rotation. At Mendoza, on the
+eastern foot of the Andes, the climate is said to be subject to
+long calms, and to frequent though false appearances of gathering
+rain-storms: we may imagine that the wind, which coming from the
+eastward is thus banked up by the line of mountains, would become
+stagnant and irregular in its movements.
+
+Having crossed the Peuquenes, we descended into a mountainous
+country, intermediate between the two main ranges, and then took up
+our quarters for the night. We were now in the republic of Mendoza.
+The elevation was probably not under 11,000 feet, and the
+vegetation in consequence exceedingly scanty. The root of a small
+scrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and the
+wind was piercingly cold. Being quite tired with my days work, I
+made up my bed as quickly as I could, and went to sleep. About
+midnight I observed the sky became suddenly clouded: I awakened the
+arriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he said
+that without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a heavy
+snow-storm. The peril is imminent, and the difficulty of subsequent
+escape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between the two
+ranges. A certain cave offers the only place of refuge: Mr.
+Caldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained
+there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. Casuchas, or houses of
+refuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of Uspallata,
+and therefore, during the autumn, the Portillo is little
+frequented. I may here remark that within the main Cordillera rain
+never falls, for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in
+winter snow-storms alone occur.
+
+At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the
+diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than
+it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of
+that of a Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for
+some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The
+pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled
+again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this by
+overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come
+to the simple conclusion "that the cursed pot (which was a new one)
+did not choose to boil potatoes."
+
+MARCH 22, 1835.
+
+After eating our potato-less breakfast, we travelled across the
+intermediate tract to the foot of the Portillo range. In the middle
+of summer cattle are brought up here to graze; but they had now all
+been removed: even the greater number of the guanacos had decamped,
+knowing well that if overtaken here by a snow-storm, they would be
+caught in a trap. We had a fine view of a mass of mountains called
+Tupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken snow, in the midst of
+which there was a blue patch, no doubt a glacier;--a circumstance
+of rare occurrence in these mountains. Now commenced a heavy and
+long climb, similar to that of the Peuquenes. Bold conical hills of
+red granite rose on each hand; in the valleys there were several
+broad fields of perpetual snow. These frozen masses, during the
+process of thawing, had in some parts been converted into pinnacles
+or columns, which, as they were high and close together, made it
+difficult for the cargo mules to pass. (15/4. This structure in
+frozen snow was long since observed by Scoresby in the icebergs
+near Spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by Colonel Jackson
+"Journal of Geographical Society" volume 5 page 12, on the Neva.
+Mr. Lyell "Principles" volume 4 page 360, has compared the
+fissures, by which the columnar structure seems to be determined,
+to the joints that traverse nearly all rocks, but which are best
+seen in the non-stratified masses. I may observe that in the case
+of the frozen snow the columnar structure must be owing to a
+"metamorphic" action, and not to a process during DEPOSITION.) On
+one of these columns of ice a frozen horse was sticking as on a
+pedestal, but with its hind legs straight up in the air. The
+animal, I suppose, must have fallen with its head downward into a
+hole, when the snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding
+parts must have been removed by the thaw.
+
+When nearly on the crest of the Portillo, we were enveloped in a
+falling cloud of minute frozen spicula. This was very unfortunate,
+as it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. The
+pass takes its name of Portillo from a narrow cleft or doorway on
+the highest ridge, through which the road passes. From this point,
+on a clear day, those vast plains which uninterruptedly extend to
+the Atlantic Ocean can be seen. We descended to the upper limit of
+vegetation, and found good quarters for the night under the shelter
+of some large fragments of rock. We met here some passengers, who
+made anxious inquiries about the state of the road. Shortly after
+it was dark the clouds suddenly cleared away, and the effect was
+quite magical. The great mountains, bright with the full moon,
+seemed impending over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice: one
+morning, very early, I witnessed the same striking effect. As soon
+as the clouds were dispersed it froze severely; but as there was no
+wind, we slept very comfortably.
+
+The increased brilliancy of the moon and stars at this elevation,
+owing to the perfect transparency of the atmosphere, was very
+remarkable. Travellers having observed the difficulty of judging
+heights and distances amidst lofty mountains, have generally
+attributed it to the absence of objects of comparison. It appears
+to me, that it is fully as much owing to the transparency of the
+air confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly
+to the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a
+little exertion,--habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the
+senses. I am sure that this extreme clearness of the air gives a
+peculiar character to the landscape, all objects appearing to be
+brought nearly into one plane, as in a drawing or panorama. The
+transparency is, I presume, owing to the equable and high state of
+atmospheric dryness. This dryness was shown by the manner in which
+woodwork shrank (as I soon found by the trouble my geological
+hammer gave me); by articles of food, such as bread and sugar,
+becoming extremely hard; and by the preservation of the skin and
+parts of the flesh of the beasts which had perished on the road. To
+the same cause we must attribute the singular facility with which
+electricity is excited. My flannel-waistcoat, when rubbed in the
+dark, appeared as if it had been washed with phosphorus,--every
+hair on a dog's back crackled;--even the linen sheets, and leathern
+straps of the saddle, when handled, emitted sparks.
+
+MARCH 23, 1835.
+
+The descent on the eastern side of the Cordillera is much shorter
+or steeper than on the Pacific side; in other words, the mountains
+rise more abruptly from the plains than from the alpine country of
+Chile. A level and brilliantly white sea of clouds was stretched
+out beneath our feet, shutting out the view of the equally level
+Pampas. We soon entered the band of clouds, and did not again
+emerge from it that day. About noon, finding pasture for the
+animals and bushes for firewood at Los Arenales, we stopped for the
+night. This was near the uppermost limit of bushes, and the
+elevation, I suppose, was between seven and eight thousand feet.
+
+I was much struck with the marked difference between the vegetation
+of these eastern valleys and those on the Chilian side: yet the
+climate, as well as the kind of soil, is nearly the same, and the
+difference of longitude very trifling. The same remark holds good
+with the quadrupeds, and in a lesser degree with the birds and
+insects. I may instance the mice, of which I obtained thirteen
+species on the shores of the Atlantic, and five on the Pacific, and
+not one of them is identical. We must except all those species
+which habitually or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and
+certain birds, which range as far south as the Strait of Magellan.
+This fact is in perfect accordance with the geological history of
+the Andes; for these mountains have existed as a great barrier
+since the present races of animals have appeared; and therefore,
+unless we suppose the same species to have been created in two
+different places, we ought not to expect any closer similarity
+between the organic beings on the opposite sides of the Andes than
+on the opposite shores of the ocean. In both cases, we must leave
+out of the question those kinds which have been able to cross the
+barrier, whether of solid rock or salt-water. (15/5. This is merely
+an illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down by Mr.
+Lyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced
+by geological changes. The whole reasoning, of course, is founded
+on the assumption of the immutability of species; otherwise the
+difference in the species in the two regions might be considered as
+superinduced during a length of time.)
+
+A great number of the plants and animals were absolutely the same
+as, or most closely allied to, those of Patagonia. We here have the
+agouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo, the ostrich, certain
+kinds of partridges and other birds, none of which are ever seen in
+Chile, but are the characteristic animals of the desert plains of
+Patagonia. We have likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a
+person who is not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered
+grass, and dwarf plants. Even the black slowly crawling beetles are
+closely similar, and some, I believe, on rigorous examination,
+absolutely identical. It had always been to me a subject of regret
+that we were unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the S.
+Cruz river before reaching the mountains: I always had a latent
+hope of meeting with some great change in the features of the
+country; but I now feel sure that it would only have been following
+the plains of Patagonia up a mountainous ascent.
+
+MARCH 24, 1835.
+
+Early in the morning I climbed up a mountain on one side of the
+valley, and enjoyed a far extended view over the Pampas. This was a
+spectacle to which I had always looked forward with interest, but I
+was disappointed: at the first glance it much resembled a distant
+view of the ocean, but in the northern parts many irregularities
+were soon distinguishable. The most striking feature consisted in
+the rivers, which, facing the rising sun, glittered like silver
+threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. At mid-day we
+descended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and
+three soldiers were posted to examine passports. One of these men
+was a thoroughbred Pampas Indian: he was kept much for the same
+purpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who might pass by
+secretly, either on foot or horseback. Some years ago a passenger
+endeavoured to escape detection by making a long circuit over a
+neighbouring mountain; but this Indian, having by chance crossed
+his track, followed it for the whole day over dry and very stony
+hills, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully. We here
+heard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from the bright
+region above, had poured down torrents of rain. The valley from
+this point gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn
+hillocks compared to the giants behind; it then expanded into a
+gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes.
+This talus, although appearing narrow, must be nearly ten miles
+wide before it blends into the apparently dead level Pampas. We
+passed the only house in this neighbourhood, the Estancia of
+Chaquaio: and at sunset we pulled up in the first snug corner, and
+there bivouacked.
+
+MARCH 25, 1835.
+
+I was reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, by seeing the disk of
+the rising sun intersected by an horizon level as that of the
+ocean. During the night a heavy dew fell, a circumstance which we
+did not experience within the Cordillera. The road proceeded for
+some distance due east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry
+plain, it turned to the north towards Mendoza. The distance is two
+very long days' journey. Our first day's journey was called
+fourteen leagues to Estacado, and the second seventeen to Luxan,
+near Mendoza. The whole distance is over a level desert plain, with
+not more than two or three houses. The sun was exceedingly
+powerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. There is very little
+water in this "traversia," and in our second day's journey we found
+only one little pool. Little water flows from the mountains, and it
+soon becomes absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that, although
+we travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from the
+outer range of the Cordillera, we did not cross a single stream. In
+many parts the ground was incrusted with a saline efflorescence;
+hence we had the same salt-loving plants which are common near
+Bahia Blanca. The landscape has a uniform character from the Strait
+of Magellan, along the whole eastern coast of Patagonia, to the Rio
+Colorado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends
+inland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as San Luis, and
+perhaps even farther north. To the eastward of this curved line
+lies the basin of the comparatively damp and green plains of Buenos
+Ayres. The sterile plains of Mendoza and Patagonia consist of a bed
+of shingle, worn smooth and accumulated by the waves of the sea;
+while the Pampas, covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been
+formed by the ancient estuary mud of the Plata.
+
+After our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to see in
+the distance the rows of poplars and willows growing round the
+village and river of Luxan. Shortly before we arrived at this place
+we observed to the south a ragged cloud of a dark reddish-brown
+colour. At first we thought that it was smoke from some great fire
+on the plains; but we soon found that it was a swarm of locusts.
+They were flying northward; and with the aid of a light breeze,
+they overtook us at a rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. The
+main body filled the air from a height of twenty feet to that, as
+it appeared, of two or three thousand above the ground; "and the
+sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses
+running to battle:" or rather, I should say, like a strong breeze
+passing through the rigging of a ship. The sky, seen through the
+advanced guard, appeared like a mezzotinto engraving, but the main
+body was impervious to sight; they were not, however, so thick
+together, but that they could escape a stick waved backwards and
+forwards. When they alighted, they were more numerous than the
+leaves in the field, and the surface became reddish instead of
+being green: the swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew
+from side to side in all directions. Locusts are not an uncommon
+pest in this country: already during this season several smaller
+swarms had come up from the south, where, as apparently in all
+other parts of the world, they are bred in the deserts. The poor
+cottagers in vain attempted by lighting fires, by shouts, and by
+waving branches, to avert the attack. This species of locust
+closely resembles, and perhaps is identical with, the famous
+Gryllus migratorius of the East.
+
+We crossed the Luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though
+its course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known: it is
+even doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not
+evaporated and lost. We slept in the village of Luxan, which is a
+small place surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern
+cultivated district in the Province of Mendoza; it is five leagues
+south of the capital. At night I experienced an attack (for it
+deserves no less a name) of the Benchuca, a species of Reduvius,
+the great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel
+soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's
+body. Before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they
+become round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily
+crushed. One which I caught at Iquique (for they are found in Chile
+and Peru) was very empty. When placed on a table, and though
+surrounded by people, if a finger was presented, the bold insect
+would immediately protrude its sucker, make a charge, and if
+allowed, draw blood. No pain was caused by the wound. It was
+curious to watch its body during the act of sucking, as in less
+than ten minutes it changed from being as flat as a wafer to a
+globular form. This one feast, for which the benchuca was indebted
+to one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months; but,
+after the first fortnight, it was quite ready to have another suck.
+
+MARCH 27, 1835.
+
+We rode on to Mendoza. The country was beautifully cultivated, and
+resembled Chile. This neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit;
+and certainly nothing could appear more flourishing than the
+vineyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. We bought
+water-melons nearly twice as large as a man's head, most
+deliciously cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and
+for the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. The
+cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small; there
+is little more than that which we passed through between Luxan and
+the Capital. The land, as in Chile, owes its fertility entirely to
+artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how
+extraordinarily productive a barren traversia is thus rendered.
+
+We stayed the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity of the place
+has much declined of late years. The inhabitants say "it is good to
+live in, but very bad to grow rich in." The lower orders have the
+lounging, reckless manners of the Gauchos of the Pampas; and their
+dress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same. To my
+mind the town had a stupid, forlorn aspect. Neither the boasted
+alameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of
+Santiago; but to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just
+crossed the unvaried Pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear
+delightful. Sir F. Head, speaking of the inhabitants, says, "They
+eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep--and
+could they do better?" I quite agree with Sir F. Head: the happy
+doom of the Mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle.
+
+MARCH 29, 1835.
+
+We set out on our return to Chile by the Uspallata pass situated
+north of Mendoza. We had to cross a long and most sterile traversia
+of fifteen leagues. The soil in parts was absolutely bare, in
+others covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable
+spines, and called by the inhabitants "little lions." There were,
+also, a few low bushes. Although the plain is nearly three thousand
+feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat, as
+well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling
+extremely irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel to
+the Cordillera, but gradually approaching them. Before sunset we
+entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on the
+plain: this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up
+the house of Villa Vicencio is situated. As we had ridden all day
+without a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very
+thirsty, and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows
+down this valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water
+made its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by
+degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water appeared;
+these soon became connected; and at Villa Vicencio there was a nice
+little rivulet.
+
+MARCH 30, 1835.
+
+The solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of Villa Vicencio
+has been mentioned by every traveller who has crossed the Andes. I
+stayed here and at some neighbouring mines during the two
+succeeding days. The geology of the surrounding country is very
+curious. The Uspallata range is separated from the main Cordillera
+by a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in
+Chile, but higher, being six thousand feet above the sea. This
+range has nearly the same geographical position with respect to the
+Cordillera, which the gigantic Portillo line has, but it is of a
+totally different origin: it consists of various kinds of submarine
+lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other remarkable
+sedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close resemblance to
+some of the tertiary beds on the shores of the Pacific. From this
+resemblance I expected to find silicified wood, which is generally
+characteristic of those formations. I was gratified in a very
+extraordinary manner. In the central part of the range, at an
+elevation of about seven thousand feet, I observed on a bare slope
+some snow-white projecting columns. These were petrified trees,
+eleven being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into
+coarsely-crystallised white calcareous spar. They were abruptly
+broken off, the upright stumps projecting a few feet above the
+ground. The trunks measured from three to five feet each in
+circumference. They stood a little way apart from each other, but
+the whole formed one group. Mr. Robert Brown has been kind enough
+to examine the wood: he says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking
+of the character of the Araucarian family, but with some curious
+points of affinity with the yew. The volcanic sandstone in which
+the trees were embedded, and from the lower part of which they must
+have sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers around their
+trunks; and the stone yet retained the impression of the bark.
+
+It required little geological practice to interpret the marvellous
+story which this scene at once unfolded; though I confess I was at
+first so much astonished that I could scarcely believe the plainest
+evidence. I saw the spot where a cluster of fine trees once waved
+their branches on the shores of the Atlantic, when that ocean (now
+driven back 700 miles) came to the foot of the Andes. I saw that
+they had sprung from a volcanic soil which had been raised above
+the level of the sea, and that subsequently this dry land, with its
+upright trees, had been let down into the depths of the ocean. In
+these depths, the formerly dry land was covered by sedimentary
+beds, and these again by enormous streams of submarine lava--one
+such mass attaining the thickness of a thousand feet; and these
+deluges of molten stone and aqueous deposits five times alternately
+had been spread out. The ocean which received such thick masses
+must have been profoundly deep; but again the subterranean forces
+exerted themselves, and I now beheld the bed of that ocean, forming
+a chain of mountains more than seven thousand feet in height. Nor
+had those antagonistic forces been dormant, which are always at
+work wearing down the surface of the land; the great piles of
+strata had been intersected by many wide valleys, and the trees,
+now changed into silex, were exposed projecting from the volcanic
+soil, now changed into rock, whence formerly, in a green and
+budding state, they had raised their lofty heads. Now, all is
+utterly irreclaimable and desert; even the lichen cannot adhere to
+the stony casts of former trees. Vast, and scarcely comprehensible
+as such changes must ever appear, yet they have all occurred within
+a period, recent when compared with the history of the Cordillera;
+and the Cordillera itself is absolutely modern as compared with
+many of the fossiliferous strata of Europe and America.
+
+APRIL 1, 1835.
+
+We crossed the Uspallata range, and at night slept at the
+custom-house--the only inhabited spot on the plain. Shortly before
+leaving the mountains, there was a very extraordinary view; red,
+purple, green, and quite white sedimentary rocks, alternating with
+black lavas, were broken up and thrown into all kinds of disorder
+by masses of porphyry of every shade of colour, from dark brown to
+the brightest lilac. It was the first view I ever saw, which really
+resembled those pretty sections which geologists make of the inside
+of the earth.
+
+The next day we crossed the plain, and followed the course of the
+same great mountain stream which flows by Luxan. Here it was a
+furious torrent, quite impassable, and appeared larger than in the
+low country, as was the case with the rivulet of Villa Vicencio. On
+the evening of the succeeding day we reached the Rio de las Vacas,
+which is considered the worst stream in the Cordillera to cross. As
+all these rivers have a rapid and short course, and are formed by
+the melting of the snow, the hour of the day makes a considerable
+difference in their volume. In the evening the stream is muddy and
+full, but about daybreak it becomes clearer and much less
+impetuous. This we found to be the case with the Rio Vacas, and in
+the morning we crossed it with little difficulty.
+
+The scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared with that of
+the Portillo pass. Little can be seen beyond the bare walls of the
+one grand, flat-bottomed valley, which the road follows up to the
+highest crest. The valley and the huge rocky mountains are
+extremely barren: during the two previous nights the poor mules had
+absolutely nothing to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes,
+scarcely a plant can be seen. In the course of this day we crossed
+some of the worst passes in the Cordillera, but their danger has
+been much exaggerated. I was told that if I attempted to pass on
+foot, my head would turn giddy, and that there was no room to
+dismount; but I did not see a place where any one might not have
+walked over backwards, or got off his mule on either side. One of
+the bad passes, called las Animas (the Souls), I had crossed, and
+did not find out till a day afterwards that it was one of the awful
+dangers. No doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should
+stumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; but of
+this there is little chance. I daresay, in the spring, the
+"laderas," or roads, which each year are formed anew across the
+piles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what I saw, I
+suspect the real danger is nothing. With cargo-mules the case is
+rather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals,
+occasionally running against each other, or against a point of
+rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices. In
+crossing the rivers I can well believe that the difficulty may be
+very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the
+summer they must be very hazardous. I can quite imagine, as Sir F.
+Head describes, the different expressions of those who HAVE passed
+the gulf, and those who ARE passing. I never heard of any man being
+drowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. The arriero
+tells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to
+cross as she likes: the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often
+lost.
+
+APRIL 4, 1835.
+
+From the Rio de las Vacas to the Puente del Incas, half a day's
+journey. As there was pasture for the mules, and geology for me, we
+bivouacked here for the night. When one hears of a natural Bridge,
+one pictures to oneself some deep and narrow ravine, across which a
+bold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch hollowed out like the
+vault of a cavern. Instead of this, the Incas Bridge consists of a
+crust of stratified shingle cemented together by the deposits of
+the neighbouring hot springs. It appears as if the stream had
+scooped out a channel on one side, leaving an overhanging ledge,
+which was met by earth and stones falling down from the opposite
+cliff. Certainly an oblique junction, as would happen in such a
+case, was very distinct on one side. The Bridge of the Incas is by
+no means worthy of the great monarchs whose name it bears.
+
+APRIL 5, 1835.
+
+We had a long day's ride across the central ridge, from the Incas
+Bridge to the Ojos del Agua, which are situated near the lowest
+casucha on the Chilian side. These casuchas are round little
+towers, with steps outside to reach the floor, which is raised some
+feet above the ground on account of the snow-drifts. They are eight
+in number, and under the Spanish government were kept during the
+winter well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had a
+master-key. Now they only answer the purpose of caves, or rather
+dungeons. Seated on some little eminence, they are not, however,
+ill suited to the surrounding scene of desolation. The zigzag
+ascent of the Cumbre, or the partition of the waters, was very
+steep and tedious; its height, according to Mr. Pentland, is 12,454
+feet. The road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there
+were patches of it on both hands. The wind on the summit was
+exceedingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few
+minutes to admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and
+the brilliant transparency of the atmosphere. The scenery was
+grand: to the westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided
+by profound ravines. Some snow generally falls before this period
+of the season, and it has even happened that the Cordillera have
+been finally closed by this time. But we were most fortunate. The
+sky, by night and by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round
+little masses of vapour, that floated over the highest pinnacles. I
+have often seen these islets in the sky, marking the position of
+the Cordillera, when the far-distant mountains have been hidden
+beneath the horizon.
+
+APRIL 6, 1835.
+
+In the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules, and
+the bell of the madrina. We therefore rode only two or three miles
+down the valley, and stayed there the ensuing day in hopes of
+recovering the mule, which the arriero thought had been hidden in
+some ravine. The scenery in this part had assumed a Chilian
+character: the lower sides of the mountains, dotted over with the
+pale evergreen Quillay tree, and with the great chandelier-like
+cactus, are certainly more to be admired than the bare eastern
+valleys; but I cannot quite agree with the admiration expressed by
+some travellers. The extreme pleasure, I suspect, is chiefly owing
+to the prospect of a good fire and of a good supper, after escaping
+from the cold regions above: and I am sure I most heartily
+participated in these feelings.
+
+APRIL 8, 1835.
+
+We left the valley of the Aconcagua, by which we had descended, and
+reached in the evening a cottage near the Villa de St. Rosa. The
+fertility of the plain was delightful: the autumn being advanced,
+the leaves of many of the fruit-trees were falling; and of the
+labourers,--some were busy in drying figs and peaches on the roofs
+of their cottages, while others were gathering the grapes from the
+vineyards. It was a pretty scene; but I missed that pensive
+stillness which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening of
+the year. On the 10th we reached Santiago, where I received a very
+kind and hospitable reception from Mr. Caldcleugh. My excursion
+only cost me twenty-four days, and never did I more deeply enjoy an
+equal space of time. A few days afterwards I returned to Mr.
+Corfield's house at Valparaiso.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+(PLATE 76.  LIMA AND SAN LORENZO.)
+
+Coast-road to Coquimbo.
+Great loads carried by the miners.
+Coquimbo.
+Earthquake.
+Step-formed terraces.
+Absence of recent deposits.
+Contemporaneousness of the Tertiary formations.
+Excursion up the valley.
+Road to Guasco.
+Deserts.
+Valley of Copiap�.
+Rain and Earthquakes.
+Hydrophobia.
+The Despoblado.
+Indian ruins.
+Probable change of climate.
+River-bed arched by an earthquake.
+Cold gales of wind.
+Noises from a hill.
+Iquique.
+Salt alluvium.
+Nitrate of soda.
+Lima.
+Unhealthy country.
+Ruins of Callao, overthrown by an earthquake.
+Recent subsidence.
+Elevated shells on San Lorenzo, their decomposition.
+Plain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery.
+Antiquity of the Indian Race.
+
+NORTHERN CHILE AND PERU.
+
+APRIL 27, 1835.
+
+
+
+I set out on a journey to Coquimbo, and thence through Guasco to
+Copiap�, where Captain Fitz Roy kindly offered to pick me up in the
+"Beagle." The distance in a straight line along the shore northward
+is only 420 miles; but my mode of travelling made it a very long
+journey. I bought four horses and two mules, the latter carrying
+the luggage on alternate days. The six animals together only cost
+the value of twenty-five pounds sterling, and at Copiap� I sold
+them again for twenty-three. We travelled in the same independent
+manner as before, cooking our own meals, and sleeping in the open
+air. As we rode towards the Vi�o del Mar, I took a farewell view of
+Valparaiso, and admired its picturesque appearance. For geological
+purposes I made a detour from the high road to the foot of the Bell
+of Quillota. We passed through an alluvial district rich in gold,
+to the neighbourhood of Limache, where we slept. Washing for gold
+supports the inhabitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the
+sides of each little rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are
+uncertain, they are unthrifty in their habits, and consequently
+poor.
+
+APRIL 28, 1835.
+
+In the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the Bell
+mountain. The inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very usual
+in Chile. They supported themselves on the produce of a garden and
+a little field, but were very poor. Capital is here so deficient
+that the people are obliged to sell their green corn while standing
+in the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year.
+Wheat in consequence was dearer in the very district of its
+production than at Valparaiso, where the contractors live. The next
+day we joined the main road to Coquimbo. At night there was a very
+light shower of rain: this was the first drop that had fallen since
+the heavy rain of September 11th and 12th, which detained me a
+prisoner at the Baths of Cauquenes. The interval was seven and a
+half months; but the rain this year in Chile was rather later than
+usual. The distant Andes were now covered by a thick mass of snow,
+and were a glorious sight.
+
+MAY 2, 1835.
+
+The road continued to follow the coast at no great distance from
+the sea. The few trees and bushes which are common in central Chile
+decreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced by a tall plant,
+something like a yucca in appearance. The surface of the country,
+on a small scale, was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt
+little peaks of rock rising out of small plains or basins. The
+indented coast and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with
+breakers, would, if converted into dry land, present similar forms;
+and such a conversion without doubt has taken place in the part
+over which we rode.
+
+MAY 3, 1835.
+
+Quilimari to Conchalee. The country became more and more barren. In
+the valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for any irrigation;
+and the intermediate land was quite bare, not supporting even
+goats. In the spring, after the winter showers, a thin pasture
+rapidly springs up, and cattle are then driven down from the
+Cordillera to graze for a short time. It is curious to observe how
+the seeds of the grass and other plants seem to accommodate
+themselves, as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain
+which falls upon different parts of this coast. One shower far
+northward at Copiap� produces as great an effect on the vegetation,
+as two at Guasco, and three or four in this district. At Valparaiso
+a winter so dry as greatly to injure the pasture, would at Guasco
+produce the most unusual abundance. Proceeding northward, the
+quantity of rain does not appear to decrease in strict proportion
+to the latitude. At Conchalee, which is only 67 miles north of
+Valparaiso, rain is not expected till the end of May; whereas at
+Valparaiso some generally falls early in April: the annual quantity
+is likewise small in proportion to the lateness of the season at
+which it commences.
+
+MAY 4, 1835.
+
+Finding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we turned
+inland towards the mining district and valley of Illapel. This
+valley, like every other in Chile, is level, broad, and very
+fertile: it is bordered on each side, either by cliffs of
+stratified shingle, or by bare rocky mountains. Above the straight
+line of the uppermost irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a
+high-road; while all below is of as bright a green as verdigris,
+from the beds of alfarfa, a kind of clover. We proceeded to Los
+Hornos, another mining district, where the principal hill was
+drilled with holes, like a great ants'-nest. The Chilian miners are
+a peculiar race of men in their habits. Living for weeks together
+in the most desolate spots, when they descend to the villages on
+feast-days there is no excess of extravagance into which they do
+not run. They sometimes gain a considerable sum, and then, like
+sailors with prize-money, they try how soon they can contrive to
+squander it. They drink excessively, buy quantities of clothes, and
+in a few days return penniless to their miserable abodes, there to
+work harder than beasts of burden. This thoughtlessness, as with
+sailors, is evidently the result of a similar manner of life. Their
+daily food is found them, and they acquire no habits of
+carefulness; moreover, temptation and the means of yielding to it
+are placed in their power at the same time. On the other hand, in
+Cornwall, and some other parts of England, where the system of
+selling part of the vein is followed, the miners, from being
+obliged to act and think for themselves, are a singularly
+intelligent and well-conducted set of men.
+
+The dress of the Chilian miner is peculiar and rather picturesque.
+He wears a very long shirt of some dark-coloured baize, with a
+leathern apron; the whole being fastened round his waist by a
+bright-coloured sash. His trousers are very broad, and his small
+cap of scarlet cloth is made to fit the head closely. We met a
+party of these miners in full costume, carrying the body of one of
+their companions to be buried. They marched at a very quick trot,
+four men supporting the corpse. One set having run as hard as they
+could for about two hundred yards, were relieved by four others,
+who had previously dashed on ahead on horseback. Thus they
+proceeded, encouraging each other by wild cries: altogether the
+scene formed a most strange funeral.
+
+We continued travelling northward in a zigzag line; sometimes
+stopping a day to geologise. The country was so thinly inhabited,
+and the track so obscure, that we often had difficulty in finding
+our way. On the 12th I stayed at some mines. The ore in this case
+was not considered particularly good, but from being abundant it
+was supposed the mine would sell for about thirty or forty thousand
+dollars (that is, 6000 or 8000 pounds sterling); yet it had been
+bought by one of the English Associations for an ounce of gold
+(three pounds eight shillings). The ore is yellow pyrites, which,
+as I have already remarked, before the arrival of the English was
+not supposed to contain a particle of copper. On a scale of profits
+nearly as great as in the above instance, piles of cinders,
+abounding with minute globules of metallic copper, were purchased;
+yet with these advantages, the mining associations, as is well
+known, contrived to lose immense sums of money. The folly of the
+greater number of the commissioners and shareholders amounted to
+infatuation;--a thousand pounds per annum given in some cases to
+entertain the Chilian authorities; libraries of well-bound
+geological books; miners brought out for particular metals, as tin,
+which are not found in Chile; contracts to supply the miners with
+milk, in parts where there are no cows; machinery, where it could
+not possibly be used; and a hundred similar arrangements, bore
+witness to our absurdity, and to this day afford amusement to the
+natives. Yet there can be no doubt, that the same capital well
+employed in these mines would have yielded an immense return: a
+confidential man of business, a practical miner and assayer, would
+have been all that was required.
+
+Captain Head has described the wonderful load which the "Apires,"
+truly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest mines. I confess
+I thought the account exaggerated: so that I was glad to take an
+opportunity of weighing one of the loads, which I picked out by
+hazard. It required considerable exertion on my part, when standing
+directly over it, to lift it from the ground. The load was
+considered under weight when found to be 197 pounds. The apire had
+carried this up eighty perpendicular yards,--part of the way by a
+steep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a
+zigzag line up the shaft. According to the general regulation, the
+apire is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six
+hundred feet deep. The average load is considered as rather more
+than 200 pounds, and I have been assured that one of 300 pounds
+(twenty-two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been brought up
+from the deepest mine! At this time the apires were bringing up the
+usual load twelve times in the day; that is 2400 pounds from eighty
+yards deep; and they were employed in the intervals in breaking and
+picking ore.
+
+These men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear
+cheerful. Their bodies are not very muscular. They rarely eat meat
+once a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard dry charqui.
+Although with a knowledge that the labour was voluntary, it was
+nevertheless quite revolting to see the state in which they reached
+the mouth of the mine; their bodies bent forward, leaning with
+their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering,
+the perspiration streaming from their faces over their breasts,
+their nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn
+back, and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. Each time
+they draw their breath they utter an articulate cry of "ay-ay,"
+which ends in a sound rising from deep in the chest, but shrill
+like the note of a fife. After staggering to the pile of ore, they
+emptied the "carpacho;" in two or three seconds recovering their
+breath, they wiped the sweat from their brows, and apparently quite
+fresh descended the mine again at a quick pace. This appears to me
+a wonderful instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it
+can be nothing else, will enable a man to endure.
+
+In the evening, talking with the mayor-domo of these mines about
+the number of foreigners now scattered over the whole country, he
+told me that, though quite a young man, he remembers when he was a
+boy at school at Coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the captain
+of an English ship, who was brought to the city to speak to the
+governor. He believes that nothing would have induced any boy in
+the school, himself included, to have gone close to the Englishman;
+so deeply had they been impressed with an idea of the heresy,
+contamination, and evil to be derived from contact with such a
+person. To this day they relate the atrocious actions of the
+bucaniers; and especially of one man, who took away the figure of
+the Virgin Mary, and returned the year after for that of St.
+Joseph, saying it was a pity the lady should not have a husband. I
+heard also of an old lady who, at a dinner at Coquimbo, remarked
+how wonderfully strange it was that she should have lived to dine
+in the same room with an Englishman; for she remembered as a girl,
+that twice, at the mere cry of "Los Ingleses," every soul, carrying
+what valuables they could, had taken to the mountains.
+
+MAY 14, 1835.
+
+We reached Coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. The town is
+remarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. It is said to
+contain from 6000 to 8000 inhabitants. On the morning of the 17th
+it rained lightly, the first time this year, for about five hours.
+The farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast where the atmosphere
+is more humid, taking advantage of this shower, would break up the
+ground; after a second they would put the seed in; and if a third
+shower should fall, they would reap a good harvest in the spring.
+It was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of
+moisture. Twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as
+ever; yet after an interval of ten days all the hills were faintly
+tinged with green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in
+hair-like fibres a full inch in length. Before this shower every
+part of the surface was bare as on a high-road.
+
+(PLATE 77.  COQUIMBO, CHILE.)
+
+In the evening, Captain Fitz Roy and myself were dining with Mr.
+Edwards, an English resident well known for his hospitality by all
+who have visited Coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake happened. I
+heard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams of the ladies,
+the running of the servants, and the rush of several of the
+gentlemen to the doorway, I could not distinguish the motion. Some
+of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman
+said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it
+would only be to dream of falling houses. The father of this person
+had lately lost all his property at Talcahuano, and he himself had
+only just escaped a falling roof at Valparaiso in 1822. He
+mentioned a curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing
+at cards, when a German, one of the party, got up, and said he
+would never sit in a room in these countries with the door shut,
+as, owing to his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at
+Copiap�. Accordingly he opened the door; and no sooner had he done
+this, than he cried out, "Here it comes again!" and the famous
+shock commenced. The whole party escaped. The danger in an
+earthquake is not from the time lost in opening the door, but from
+the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls.
+
+It is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which natives and
+old residents, though some of them known to be men of great command
+of mind, so generally experience during earthquakes. I think,
+however, this excess of panic may be partly attributed to a want of
+habit in governing their fear, as it is not a feeling they are
+ashamed of. Indeed, the natives do not like to see a person
+indifferent. I heard of two Englishmen who, sleeping in the open
+air during a smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not
+rise. The natives cried out indignantly, "Look at those heretics,
+they do not even get out of their beds!"
+
+I spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces of shingle,
+first noticed by Captain B. Hall, and believed by Mr. Lyell to have
+been formed by the sea during the gradual rising of the land. This
+certainly is the true explanation, for I found numerous shells of
+existing species on these terraces. Five narrow, gently sloping,
+fringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best
+developed are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up
+both sides of the valley. At Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the
+phenomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike
+with surprise even some of the inhabitants. The terraces are there
+much broader, and may be called plains, in some parts there are six
+of them, but generally only five; they run up the valley for
+thirty-seven miles from the coast. These step-formed terraces or
+fringes closely resemble those in the valley of S. Cruz, and,
+except in being on a smaller scale, those great ones along the
+whole coast-line of Patagonia. They have undoubtedly been formed by
+the denuding power of the sea, during long periods of rest in the
+gradual elevation of the continent.
+
+Shells of many existing species not only lie on the surface of the
+terraces at Coquimbo (to a height of 250 feet), but are embedded in
+a friable calcareous rock, which in some places is as much as
+between twenty and thirty feet in thickness, but is of little
+extent. These modern beds rest on an ancient tertiary formation
+containing shells, apparently all extinct. Although I examined so
+many hundred miles of coast on the Pacific, as well as Atlantic
+side of the continent, I found no regular strata containing
+sea-shells of recent species, excepting at this place, and at a few
+points northward on the road to Guasco. This fact appears to me
+highly remarkable; for the explanation generally given by
+geologists, of the absence in any district of stratified
+fossiliferous deposits of a given period, namely, that the surface
+then existed as dry land, is not here applicable; for we know from
+the shells strewed on the surface and embedded in loose sand or
+mould, that the land for thousands of miles along both coasts has
+lately been submerged. The explanation, no doubt, must be sought in
+the fact, that the whole southern part of the continent has been
+for a long time slowly rising; and therefore that all matter
+deposited along shore in shallow water must have been soon brought
+up and slowly exposed to the wearing action of the sea-beach; and
+it is only in comparatively shallow water that the greater number
+of marine organic beings can flourish, and in such water it is
+obviously impossible that strata of any great thickness can
+accumulate. To show the vast power of the wearing action of
+sea-beaches, we need only appeal to the great cliffs along the
+present coast of Patagonia, and to the escarpments or ancient
+sea-cliffs at different levels, one above another, on that same
+line of coast.
+
+The old underlying tertiary formation at Coquimbo appears to be of
+about the same age with several deposits on the coast of Chile (of
+which that of Navedad is the principal one), and with the great
+formation of Patagonia. Both at Navedad and in Patagonia there is
+evidence, that since the shells (a list of which has been seen by
+Professor E. Forbes) there intombed were living, there has been a
+subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing
+elevation. It may naturally be asked how it comes that although no
+extensive fossiliferous deposits of the recent period, nor of any
+period intermediate between it and the ancient tertiary epoch, have
+been preserved on either side of the continent, yet that at this
+ancient tertiary epoch, sedimentary matter containing fossil
+remains should have been deposited and preserved at different
+points in north and south lines, over a space of 1100 miles on the
+shores of the Pacific, and of at least 1350 miles on the shores of
+the Atlantic, and in an east and west line of 700 miles across the
+widest part of the continent? I believe the explanation is not
+difficult, and that it is perhaps applicable to nearly analogous
+facts observed in other quarters of the world. Considering the
+enormous power of denudation which the sea possesses, as shown by
+numberless facts, it is not probable that a sedimentary deposit,
+when being upraised, could pass through the ordeal of the beach, so
+as to be preserved in sufficient masses to last to a distant
+period, without it were originally of wide extent and of
+considerable thickness: now it is impossible on a moderately
+shallow bottom, which alone is favourable to most living creatures,
+that a thick and widely extended covering of sediment could be
+spread out, without the bottom sank down to receive the successive
+layers. This seems to have actually taken place at about the same
+period in southern Patagonia and Chile, though these places are a
+thousand miles apart. Hence, if prolonged movements of
+approximately contemporaneous subsidence are generally widely
+extensive, as I am strongly inclined to believe from my examination
+of the Coral Reefs of the great oceans--or if, confining our view
+to South America, the subsiding movements have been coextensive
+with those of elevation, by which, within the same period of
+existing shells, the shores of Peru, Chile, Tierra del Fuego,
+Patagonia, and La Plata have been upraised--then we can see that at
+the same time, at far distant points, circumstances would have been
+favourable to the formation of fossiliferous deposits, of wide
+extent and of considerable thickness; and such deposits,
+consequently, would have a good chance of resisting the wear and
+tear of successive beach-lines, and of lasting to a future epoch.
+
+MAY 21, 1835.
+
+I set out in company with Don Jos� Edwards to the silver-mine of
+Arqueros, and thence up the valley of Coquimbo. Passing through a
+mountainous country, we reached by nightfall the mines belonging to
+Mr. Edwards. I enjoyed my night's rest here from a reason which
+will not be fully appreciated in England, namely, the absence of
+fleas! The rooms in Coquimbo swarm with them; but they will not
+live here at the height of only three or four thousand feet: it can
+scarcely be the trifling diminution of temperature, but some other
+cause which destroys these troublesome insects at this place. The
+mines are now in a bad state, though they formerly yielded about
+2000 pounds in weight of silver a year. It has been said that "a
+person with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may gain; but
+with gold he is sure to lose." This is not true: all the large
+Chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious
+metals. A short time since an English physician returned to England
+from Copiap�, taking with him the profits of one share in a
+silver-mine, which amounted to about 24,000 pounds sterling. No
+doubt a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is
+gambling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. The owners lose
+great quantities of rich ores; for no precautions can prevent
+robberies. I heard of a gentleman laying a bet with another, that
+one of his men should rob him before his face. The ore when brought
+out of the mine is broken into pieces, and the useless stone thrown
+on one side. A couple of the miners who were thus employed,
+pitched, as if by accident, two fragments away at the same moment,
+and then cried out for a joke "Let us see which rolls furthest."
+The owner, who was standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the
+race. The miner by this means watched the very point amongst the
+rubbish where the stone lay. In the evening he picked it up and
+carried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of silver-ore,
+and saying, "This was the stone on which you won a cigar by its
+rolling so far."
+
+MAY 23, 1835.
+
+We descended into the fertile valley of Coquimbo, and followed it
+till we reached an Hacienda belonging to a relation of Don Jos�,
+where we stayed the next day. I then rode one day's journey
+farther, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells and
+beans, which latter turned out to be small quartz pebbles. We
+passed through several small villages; and the valley was
+beautifully cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. We were
+here near the main Cordillera, and the surrounding hills were
+lofty. In all parts of Northern Chile fruit trees produce much more
+abundantly at a considerable height near the Andes than in the
+lower country. The figs and grapes of this district are famous for
+their excellence, and are cultivated to a great extent. This valley
+is, perhaps, the most productive one north of Quillota. I believe
+it contains, including Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I
+returned to the Hacienda, and thence, together with Don Jos�, to
+Coquimbo.
+
+JUNE 2, 1835.
+
+We set out for the valley of Guasco, following the coast-road,
+which was considered rather less desert than the other. Our first
+day's ride was to a solitary house, called Yerba Buena, where there
+was pasture for our horses. The shower mentioned as having fallen a
+fortnight ago, only reached about half-way to Guasco; we had,
+therefore, in the first part of our journey a most faint tinge of
+green, which soon faded quite away. Even where brightest, it was
+scarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding
+flowers of the spring of other countries. While travelling through
+these deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in a gloomy court,
+who longs to see something green and to smell a moist atmosphere.
+
+JUNE 3, 1835.
+
+Yerba Buena to Carizal. During the first part of the day we crossed
+a mountainous rocky desert, and afterwards a long deep sandy plain,
+strewed with broken sea-shells. There was very little water, and
+that little saline: the whole country, from the coast to the
+Cordillera, is an uninhabited desert. I saw traces only of one
+living animal in abundance, namely, the shells of a Bulimus, which
+were collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest
+spots. In the spring one humble little plant sends out a few
+leaves, and on these the snails feed. As they are seen only very
+early in the morning, when the ground is slightly damp with dew,
+the Guasos believe that they are bred from it. I have observed in
+other places that extremely dry and sterile districts, where the
+soil is calcareous, are extraordinarily favourable to land-shells.
+At Carizal there were a few cottages, some brackish water, and a
+trace of cultivation: but it was with difficulty that we purchased
+a little corn and straw for our horses.
+
+JUNE 4, 1835.
+
+Carizal to Sauce. We continued to ride over desert plains, tenanted
+by large herds of guanaco. We crossed also the valley of Cha�eral;
+which, although the most fertile one between Guasco and Coquimbo,
+is very narrow, and produces so little pasture that we could not
+purchase any for our horses. At Sauce we found a very civil old
+gentleman, superintending a copper-smelting furnace. As an especial
+favour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an armful of
+dirty straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper after
+their long day's journey. Few smelting-furnaces are now at work in
+any part of Chile; it is found more profitable, on account of the
+extreme scarcity of firewood, and from the Chilian method of
+reduction being so unskilful, to ship the ore for Swansea. The next
+day we crossed some mountains to Freyrina, in the valley of Guasco.
+During each day's ride farther northward, the vegetation became
+more and more scanty; even the great chandelier-like cactus was
+here replaced by a different and much smaller species. During the
+winter months, both in Northern Chile and in Peru, a uniform bank
+of clouds hangs, at no great height, over the Pacific. From the
+mountains we had a very striking view of this white and brilliant
+aerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving islands and
+promontories in the same manner as the sea does in the Chonos
+archipelago and in Tierra del Fuego.
+
+We stayed two days at Freyrina. In the valley of Guasco there are
+four small towns. At the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely
+desert, and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood. Five
+leagues higher up stands Freyrina, a long straggling village, with
+decent whitewashed houses. Again, ten leagues further up Ballenar
+is situated, and above this Guasco Alto, a horticultural village,
+famous for its dried fruit. On a clear day the view up the valley
+is very fine; the straight opening terminates in the far-distant
+snowy Cordillera; on each side an infinity of crossing lines are
+blended together in a beautiful haze. The foreground is singular
+from the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and the
+included strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is
+contrasted on both hands with the naked hills. That the surrounding
+country was most barren will be readily believed, when it is known
+that a shower of rain had not fallen during the last thirteen
+months. The inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the rain at
+Coquimbo; from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of equally
+good fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realised. I was
+at Copiap� at the time; and there the people, with equal envy,
+talked of the abundant rain at Guasco. After two or three very dry
+years, perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time,
+a rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even
+the drought. The rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the
+narrow strips of ground which alone are fit for cultivation. The
+floods also injure the irrigating ditches. Great devastation had
+thus been caused three years ago.
+
+JUNE 8, 1835.
+
+We rode on to Ballenar, which takes its name from Ballenagh in
+Ireland, the birthplace of the family of O'Higgins, who, under the
+Spanish government, were presidents and generals in Chile. As the
+rocky mountains on each hand were concealed by clouds, the
+terrace-like plains gave to the valley an appearance like that of
+Santa Cruz in Patagonia. After spending one day at Ballenar I set
+out, on the 10th, for the upper part of the valley of Copiap�. We
+rode all day over an uninteresting country. I am tired of repeating
+the epithets barren and sterile. These words, however, as commonly
+used, are comparative; I have always applied them to the plains of
+Patagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts of grass;
+and this is absolute fertility, as compared with Northern Chile.
+Here again, there are not many spaces of two hundred yards square,
+where some little bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discovered by
+careful examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready to
+spring up during the first rainy winter. In Peru real deserts occur
+over wide tracts of country. In the evening we arrived at a valley
+in which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up, we
+came to tolerably good water. During the night the stream, from not
+being evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down
+than during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it
+was a good place of bivouac for us; but for the poor animals there
+was not a mouthful to eat.
+
+JUNE 11, 1835.
+
+We rode without stopping for twelve hours till we reached an old
+smelting-furnace, where there was water and firewood; but our
+horses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an old courtyard.
+The line of road was hilly, and the distant views interesting from
+the varied colours of the bare mountains. It was almost a pity to
+see the sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such
+splendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty
+gardens. The next day we reached the valley of Copiap�. I was
+heartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a continued source
+of anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, whilst eating our own
+suppers, our horses gnawing the posts to which they were tied, and
+to have no means of relieving their hunger. To all appearance,
+however, the animals were quite fresh; and no one could have told
+that they had eaten nothing for the last fifty-five hours.
+
+I had a letter of introduction to Mr. Bingley, who received me very
+kindly at the Hacienda of Potrero Seco. This estate is between
+twenty and thirty miles long, but very narrow, being generally only
+two fields wide, one on each side the river. In some parts the
+estate is of no width, that is to say, the land cannot be
+irrigated, and therefore is valueless, like the surrounding rocky
+desert. The small quantity of cultivated land in the whole line of
+valley does not so much depend on inequalities of level, and
+consequent unfitness for irrigation, as on the small supply of
+water. The river this year was remarkably full: here, high up the
+valley, it reached to the horse's belly, and was about fifteen
+yards wide, and rapid; lower down it becomes smaller and smaller,
+and is generally quite lost, as happened during one period of
+thirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea. The inhabitants
+watch a storm over the Cordillera with great interest; as one good
+fall of snow provides them with water for the ensuing year. This is
+of infinitely more consequence than rain in the lower country.
+Rain, as often as it falls, which is about once in every two or
+three years, is a great advantage, because the cattle and mules can
+for some time afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains.
+But without snow on the Andes, desolation extends throughout the
+valley. It is on record that three times nearly all the inhabitants
+have been obliged to emigrate to the south. This year there was
+plenty of water, and every man irrigated his ground as much as he
+chose; but it has frequently been necessary to post soldiers at the
+sluices, to see that each estate took only its proper allowance
+during so many hours in the week. The valley is said to contain
+12,000 souls, but its produce is sufficient only for three months
+in the year; the rest of the supply being drawn from Valparaiso and
+the south. Before the discovery of the famous silver-mines of
+Chanuncillo, Copiap� was in a rapid state of decay; but now it is
+in a very thriving condition; and the town, which was completely
+overthrown by an earthquake, has been rebuilt.
+
+The valley of Copiap�, forming a mere ribbon of green in a desert,
+runs in a very southerly direction; so that it is of considerable
+length to its source in the Cordillera. The valleys of Guasco and
+Copiap� may both be considered as long narrow islands, separated
+from the rest of Chile by deserts of rock instead of by salt water.
+Northward of these, there is one other very miserable valley,
+called Paposo, which contains about two hundred souls; and then
+there extends the real desert of Atacama--a barrier far worse than
+the most turbulent ocean. After staying a few days at Potrero Seco,
+I proceeded up the valley to the house of Don Benito Cruz, to whom
+I had a letter of introduction. I found him most hospitable; indeed
+it is impossible to bear too strong testimony to the kindness with
+which travellers are received in almost every part of South
+America. The next day I hired some mules to take me by the ravine
+of Jolquera into the central Cordillera. On the second night the
+weather seemed to foretell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst
+lying in our beds we felt a trifling shock of an earthquake.
+
+The connexion between earthquakes and the weather has been often
+disputed: it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which
+is little understood. Humboldt has remarked in one part of the
+"Personal Narrative," that it would be difficult for any person who
+had long resided in New Andalusia, or in Lower Peru, to deny that
+there exists some connection between these phenomena: in another
+part, however, he seems to think the connexion fanciful. (16/1.
+Volume 4 page 11 and volume 2 page 217. For the remarks on
+Guayaquil see Silliman's "Journal" volume 24 page 384. For those on
+Tacna by Mr. Hamilton see "Transactions of British Association"
+1840. For those on Coseguina see Mr. Caldcleugh in "Philosophical
+Transactions" 1835. In the former edition I collected several
+references on the coincidences between sudden falls in the
+barometer and earthquakes; and between earthquakes and meteors.) At
+Guayaquil it is said that a heavy shower in the dry season is
+invariably followed by an earthquake. In Northern Chile, from the
+extreme infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain,
+the probability of accidental coincidences becomes very small; yet
+the inhabitants are here most firmly convinced of some connexion
+between the state of the atmosphere and of the trembling of the
+ground: I was much struck by this when mentioning to some people at
+Copiap� that there had been a sharp shock at Coquimbo: they
+immediately cried out, "How fortunate! there will be plenty of
+pasture there this year." To their minds an earthquake foretold
+rain as surely as rain foretold abundant pasture. Certainly it did
+so happen that on the very day of the earthquake that shower of
+rain fell which I have described as in ten days' time producing a
+thin sprinkling of grass. At other times rain has followed
+earthquakes at a period of the year when it is a far greater
+prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened after the shock
+of November 1822, and again in 1829 at Valparaiso; also after that
+of September 1833, at Tacna. A person must be somewhat habituated
+to the climate of these countries to perceive the extreme
+improbability of rain falling at such seasons, except as a
+consequence of some law quite unconnected with the ordinary course
+of the weather. In the cases of great volcanic eruptions, as that
+of Coseguina, where torrents of rain fell at a time of the year
+most unusual for it, and "almost unprecedented in Central America,"
+it is not difficult to understand that the volumes of vapour and
+clouds of ashes might have disturbed the atmospheric equilibrium.
+Humboldt extends this view to the case of earthquakes unaccompanied
+by eruptions; but I can hardly conceive it possible that the small
+quantity of aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured
+ground can produce such remarkable effects. There appears much
+probability in the view first proposed by Mr. P. Scrope, that when
+the barometer is low, and when rain might naturally be expected to
+fall, the diminished pressure of the atmosphere over a wide extent
+of country might well determine the precise day on which the earth,
+already stretched to the utmost by the subterranean forces, should
+yield, crack, and consequently tremble. It is, however, doubtful
+how far this idea will explain the circumstance of torrents of rain
+falling in the dry season during several days, after an earthquake
+unaccompanied by an eruption; such cases seem to bespeak some more
+intimate connexion between the atmospheric and subterranean
+regions.
+
+Finding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we retraced
+our steps to the house of Don Benito, where I stayed two days
+collecting fossil shells and wood. Great prostrate silicified
+trunks of trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were extraordinarily
+numerous. I measured one which was fifteen feet in circumference:
+how surprising it is that every atom of the woody matter in this
+great cylinder should have been removed and replaced by silex so
+perfectly that each vessel and pore is preserved! These trees
+flourished at about the period of our lower chalk; they all
+belonged to the fir-tribe. It was amusing to hear the inhabitants
+discussing the nature of the fossil shells which I collected,
+almost in the same terms as were used a century ago in
+Europe,--namely, whether or not they had been thus "born by
+nature." My geological examination of the country generally created
+a good deal of surprise amongst the Chilenos: it was long before
+they could be convinced that I was not hunting for mines. This was
+sometimes troublesome: I found the most ready way of explaining my
+employment was to ask them how it was that they themselves were not
+curious concerning earthquakes and volcanos?--why some springs were
+hot and others cold?--why there were mountains in Chile, and not a
+hill in La Plata? These bare questions at once satisfied and
+silenced the greater number; some, however (like a few in England
+who are a century behindhand), thought that all such inquiries were
+useless and impious; and that it was quite sufficient that God had
+thus made the mountains.
+
+An order had recently been issued that all stray dogs should be
+killed, and we saw many lying dead on the road. A great number had
+lately gone mad, and several men had been bitten and had died in
+consequence. On several occasions hydrophobia has prevailed in this
+valley. It is remarkable thus to find so strange and dreadful a
+disease appearing time after time in the same isolated spot. It has
+been remarked that certain villages in England are in like manner
+much more subject to this visitation than others. Dr. Unan�e states
+that hydrophobia was first known in South America in 1803: this
+statement is corroborated by Azara and Ulloa having never heard of
+it in their time. Dr. Unan�e says that it broke out in Central
+America, and slowly travelled southward. It reached Arequipa in
+1807; and it is said that some men there, who had not been bitten,
+were affected, as were some negroes, who had eaten a bullock which
+had died of hydrophobia. At Ica forty-two people thus miserably
+perished. The disease came on between twelve and ninety days after
+the bite; and in those cases where it did come on, death ensued
+invariably within five days. After 1808 a long interval ensued
+without any cases. On inquiry, I did not hear of hydrophobia in Van
+Diemen's Land, or in Australia; and Burchell says that during the
+five years he was at the Cape of Good Hope, he never heard of an
+instance of it. Webster asserts that at the Azores hydrophobia has
+never occurred; and the same assertion has been made with respect
+to Mauritius and St. Helena. (16/2. "Observa. sobre el clima de
+Lima" page 67.--Azara's "Travels" volume 1 page 381.--Ulloa's
+"Voyage" volume 2 page 28.--Burchell's "Travels" volume 2 page
+524.--Webster's "Description of the Azores" page 124.--"Voyage �
+l'Isle de France par un Officier du Roi" tome 1 page
+248.--"Description of St. Helena" page 123.) In so strange a
+disease some information might possibly be gained by considering
+the circumstances under which it originates in distant climates;
+for it is improbable that a dog already bitten should have been
+brought to these distant countries.
+
+At night a stranger arrived at the house of Don Benito and asked
+permission to sleep there. He said he had been wandering about the
+mountains for seventeen days, having lost his way. He started from
+Guasco, and being accustomed to travelling in the Cordillera, did
+not expect any difficulty in following the track to Copiap�; but he
+soon became involved in a labyrinth of mountains whence he could
+not escape. Some of his mules had fallen over precipices and he had
+been in great distress. His chief difficulty arose from not knowing
+where to find water in the lower country, so that he was obliged to
+keep bordering the central ranges.
+
+We returned down the valley, and on the 22nd reached the town of
+Copiap�. The lower part of the valley is broad, forming a fine
+plain like that of Quillota. The town covers a considerable space
+of ground, each house possessing a garden: but it is an
+uncomfortable place, and the dwellings are poorly furnished. Every
+one seems bent on the one object of making money, and then
+migrating as quickly as possible. All the inhabitants are more or
+less directly concerned with mines; and mines and ores are the sole
+subjects of conversation. Necessaries of all sorts are extremely
+dear; as the distance from the town to the port is eighteen
+leagues, and the land carriage very expensive. A fowl costs five or
+six shillings; meat is nearly as dear as in England; firewood, or
+rather sticks, are brought on donkeys from a distance of two and
+three days' journey within the Cordillera; and pasturage for
+animals is a shilling a day: all this for South America is
+wonderfully exorbitant.
+
+JUNE 26, 1835.
+
+I hired a guide and eight mules to take me into the Cordillera by a
+different line from my last excursion. As the country was utterly
+desert, we took a cargo and a half of barley mixed with chopped
+straw. About two leagues above the town a broad valley called the
+"Despoblado," or uninhabited, branches off from that one by which
+we had arrived. Although a valley of the grandest dimensions, and
+leading to a pass across the Cordillera, yet it is completely dry,
+excepting perhaps for a few days during some very rainy winter. The
+sides of the crumbling mountains were furrowed by scarcely any
+ravines; and the bottom of the main valley, filled with shingle,
+was smooth and nearly level. No considerable torrent could ever
+have flowed down this bed of shingle; for if it had, a great
+cliff-bounded channel, as in all the southern valleys, would
+assuredly have been formed. I feel little doubt that this valley,
+as well as those mentioned by travellers in Peru, were left in the
+state we now see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly
+rose. I observed in one place where the Despoblado was joined by a
+ravine (which in almost any other chain would have been called a
+grand valley), that its bed, though composed merely of sand and
+gravel, was higher than that of its tributary. A mere rivulet of
+water, in the course of an hour, would have cut a channel for
+itself; but it was evident that ages had passed away, and no such
+rivulet had drained this great tributary. It was curious to behold
+the machinery, if such a term may be used, for the drainage, all,
+with the last trifling exception, perfect, yet without any signs of
+action. Every one must have remarked how mud-banks, left by the
+retiring tide, imitate in miniature a country with hill and dale;
+and here we have the original model in rock, formed as the
+continent rose during the secular retirement of the ocean, instead
+of during the ebbing and flowing of the tides. If a shower of rain
+falls on the mud-bank, when left dry, it deepens the already-formed
+shallow lines of excavation; and so it is with the rain of
+successive centuries on the bank of rock and soil, which we call a
+continent.
+
+We rode on after it was dark, till we reached a side ravine with a
+small well, called "Agua amarga." The water deserved its name, for
+besides being saline it was most offensively putrid and bitter; so
+that we could not force ourselves to drink either tea or mat�. I
+suppose the distance from the river of Copiap� to this spot was at
+least twenty-five or thirty English miles; in the whole space there
+was not a single drop of water, the country deserving the name of
+desert in the strictest sense. Yet about half-way we passed some
+old Indian ruins near Punta Gorda: I noticed also in front of some
+of the valleys which branch off from the Despoblado, two piles of
+stones placed a little way apart, and directed so as to point up
+the mouths of these small valleys. My companions knew nothing about
+them, and only answered my queries by their imperturbable "quien
+sabe?"
+
+I observed Indian ruins in several parts of the Cordillera: the
+most perfect which I saw were the Ruinas de Tambillos in the
+Uspallata Pass. Small square rooms were there huddled together in
+separate groups: some of the doorways were yet standing; they were
+formed by a cross slab of stone only about three feet high. Ulloa
+has remarked on the lowness of the doors in the ancient Peruvian
+dwellings. These houses, when perfect, must have been capable of
+containing a considerable number of persons. Tradition says that
+they were used as halting-places for the Incas, when they crossed
+the mountains. Traces of Indian habitations have been discovered in
+many other parts, where it does not appear probable that they were
+used as mere resting-places, but yet where the land is as utterly
+unfit for any kind of cultivation as it is near the Tambillos or at
+the Incas Bridge, or in the Portillo Pass, at all which places I
+saw ruins. In the ravine of Jajuel, near Aconcagua, where there is
+no pass, I heard of remains of houses situated at a great height,
+where it is extremely cold and sterile. At first I imagined that
+these buildings had been places of refuge, built by the Indians on
+the first arrival of the Spaniards; but I have since been inclined
+to speculate on the probability of a small change of climate.
+
+In this northern part of Chile, within the Cordillera, old Indian
+houses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the
+ruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals,
+and heads of Indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an
+arrow-head made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those
+now used in Tierra del Fuego, was given me. I am aware that the
+Peruvian Indians now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak
+situations; but at Copiap� I was assured by men who had spent their
+lives in travelling through the Andes, that there were very many
+(muchisimas) buildings at heights so great as almost to border on
+the perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist no passes, and
+where the land produces absolutely nothing, and what is still more
+extraordinary, where there is no water. Nevertheless it is the
+opinion of the people of the country (although they are much
+puzzled by the circumstance), that, from the appearance of the
+houses, the Indians must have used them as places of residence. In
+this valley, at Punta Gorda, the remains consisted of seven or
+eight square little rooms, which were of a similar form with those
+at Tambillos, but built chiefly of mud, which the present
+inhabitants cannot, either here or, according to Ulloa, in Peru,
+imitate in durability. They were situated in the most conspicuous
+and defenceless position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley.
+There was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and that only
+in very small quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; I
+looked in vain even for a lichen adhering to the rocks. At the
+present day, with the advantage of beasts of burden, a mine, unless
+it were very rich, could scarcely be worked here with profit. Yet
+the Indians formerly chose it as a place of residence! If at the
+present time two or three showers of rain were to fall annually,
+instead of one, as now is the case, during as many years, a small
+rill of water would probably be formed in this great valley; and
+then, by irrigation (which was formerly so well understood by the
+Indians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiently productive
+to support a few families.
+
+I have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of South
+America has been elevated near the coast at least from 400 to 500,
+and in some parts from 1000 to 1300 feet, since the epoch of
+existing shells; and farther inland the rise possibly may have been
+greater. As the peculiarly arid character of the climate is
+evidently a consequence of the height of the Cordillera, we may
+feel almost sure that before the later elevations, the atmosphere
+could not have been so completely drained of its moisture as it now
+is; and as the rise has been gradual, so would have been the change
+in climate. On this notion of a change of climate since the
+buildings were inhabited, the ruins must be of extreme antiquity,
+but I do not think their preservation under the Chilian climate any
+great difficulty. We must also admit on this notion (and this
+perhaps is a greater difficulty) that man has inhabited South
+America for an immensely long period, inasmuch as any change of
+climate effected by the elevation of the land must have been
+extremely gradual. At Valparaiso, within the last 220 years, the
+rise has been somewhat less than 19 feet: at Lima a sea-beach has
+certainly been upheaved from 80 to 90 feet, within the Indio-human
+period: but such small elevations could have had little power in
+deflecting the moisture-bringing atmospheric currents. Dr. Lund,
+however, found human skeletons in the caves of Brazil, the
+appearance of which induced him to believe that the Indian race has
+existed during a vast lapse of time in South America.
+
+When at Lima, I conversed on these subjects with Mr. Gill, a civil
+engineer, who had seen much of the interior country. (16/3. Temple,
+in his travels through Upper Peru, or Bolivia, in going from Potosi
+to Oruro, says "I saw many Indian villages or dwellings in ruins,
+up even to the very tops of the mountains, attesting a former
+population where now all is desolate." He makes similar remarks in
+another place; but I cannot tell whether this desolation has been
+caused by a want of population, or by an altered condition of the
+land.) He told me that a conjecture of a change of climate had
+sometimes crossed his mind; but that he thought that the greater
+portion of land, now incapable of cultivation, but covered with
+Indian ruins, had been reduced to this state by the water-conduits,
+which the Indians formerly constructed on so wonderful a scale,
+having been injured by neglect and by subterranean movements. I may
+here mention that the Peruvians actually carried their irrigating
+streams in tunnels through hills of solid rock. Mr. Gill told me he
+had been employed professionally to examine one: he found the
+passage low, narrow, crooked, and not of uniform breadth, but of
+very considerable length. Is it not most wonderful that men should
+have attempted such operations, without the use of iron or
+gunpowder? Mr. Gill also mentioned to me a most interesting, and,
+as far as I am aware, quite unparalleled case, of a subterranean
+disturbance having changed the drainage of a country. Travelling
+from Casma to Huaraz (not very far distant from Lima), he found a
+plain covered with ruins and marks of ancient cultivation but now
+quite barren. Near it was the dry course of a considerable river,
+whence the water for irrigation had formerly been conducted. There
+was nothing in the appearance of the watercourse to indicate that
+the river had not flowed there a few years previously; in some
+parts, beds of sand and gravel were spread out; in others, the
+solid rock had been worn into a broad channel, which in one spot
+was about 40 yards in breadth and 8 feet deep. It is self-evident
+that a person following up the course of a stream will always
+ascend at a greater or less inclination: Mr. Gill, therefore, was
+much astonished, when walking up the bed of this ancient river, to
+find himself suddenly going down hill. He imagined that the
+downward slope had a fall of about 40 or 50 feet perpendicular. We
+here have unequivocal evidence that a ridge had been uplifted right
+across the old bed of a stream. From the moment the river-course
+was thus arched, the water must necessarily have been thrown back,
+and a new channel formed. From that moment, also, the neighbouring
+plain must have lost its fertilising stream, and become a desert.
+
+JUNE 27, 1835.
+
+We set out early in the morning, and by mid-day reached the ravine
+of Paypote, where there is a tiny rill of water, with a little
+vegetation, and even a few algarroba trees, a kind of mimosa. From
+having firewood, a smelting-furnace had formerly been built here:
+we found a solitary man in charge of it, whose sole employment was
+hunting guanacos. At night it froze sharply; but having plenty of
+wood for our fire, we kept ourselves warm.
+
+JUNE 28, 1835.
+
+We continued gradually ascending, and the valley now changed into a
+ravine. During the day we saw several guanacos, and the track of
+the closely-allied species, the Vicu�a: this latter animal is
+pre-eminently alpine in its habits; it seldom descends much below
+the limit of perpetual snow, and therefore haunts even a more lofty
+and sterile situation than the guanaco. The only other animal which
+we saw in any number was a small fox: I suppose this animal preys
+on the mice and other small rodents which, as long as there is the
+least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert
+places. In Patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas, where a
+drop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these little
+animals swarm. Next to lizards, mice appear to be able to support
+existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth--even on
+islets in the midst of great oceans.
+
+The scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made
+palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. For a time such scenery is
+sublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes
+uninteresting. We bivouacked at the foot of the "primera linea," or
+the first line of the partition of the waters. The streams,
+however, on the east side do not flow to the Atlantic, but into an
+elevated district, in the middle of which there is a large salina,
+or salt lake;--thus forming a little Caspian Sea at the height,
+perhaps, of ten thousand feet. Where we slept, there were some
+considerable patches of snow, but they do not remain throughout the
+year. The winds in these lofty regions obey very regular laws;
+every day a fresh breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour
+or two after sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends
+as through a funnel. This night it blew a gale of wind, and the
+temperature must have been considerably below the freezing-point,
+for water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. No clothes seemed
+to oppose any obstacle to the air; I suffered very much from the
+cold, so that I could not sleep, and in the morning rose with my
+body quite dull and benumbed.
+
+In the Cordillera farther southward people lose their lives from
+snow-storms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. My
+guide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the Cordillera
+with a party in the month of May; and while in the central parts, a
+furious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on
+their mules, and stones were flying along the ground. The day was
+cloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was
+low. It is probable that the thermometer would not have stood very
+many degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their
+bodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to
+the rapidity of the current of cold air. The gale lasted for more
+than a day; the men began to lose their strength, and the mules
+would not move onwards. My guide's brother tried to return, but he
+perished, and his body was found two years afterwards, lying by the
+side of his mule near the road, with the bridle still in his hand.
+Two other men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of
+two hundred mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped
+alive. Many years ago the whole of a large party are supposed to
+have perished from a similar cause, but their bodies to this day
+have never been discovered. The union of a cloudless sky, low
+temperature, and a furious gale of wind, must be, I should think,
+in all parts of the world an unusual occurrence.
+
+JUNE 29, 1835.
+
+We gladly travelled down the valley to our former night's lodging,
+and thence to near the Agua amarga. On July 1st we reached the
+valley of Copiap�. The smell of the fresh clover was quite
+delightful, after the scentless air of the dry sterile Despoblado.
+Whilst staying in the town I heard an account from several of the
+inhabitants, of a hill in the neighbourhood which they called "El
+Bramador,"--the roarer or bellower. I did not at the time pay
+sufficient attention to the account; but, as far as I understood,
+the hill was covered by sand, and the noise was produced only when
+people, by ascending it, put the sand in motion. The same
+circumstances are described in detail on the authority of Seetzen
+and Ehrenberg, as the cause of the sounds which have been heard by
+many travellers on Mount Sinai near the Red Sea. (16/4. "Edinburgh
+Philosophical Journal" January 1830 page 74 and April 1830 page
+258. Also Daubeny on Volcanoes page 438 and "Bengal Journal" volume
+7 page 324.) One person with whom I conversed had himself heard the
+noise: he described it as very surprising; and he distinctly stated
+that, although he could not understand how it was caused, yet it
+was necessary to set the sand rolling down the acclivity. A horse
+walking over dry and coarse sand causes a peculiar chirping noise
+from the friction of the particles; a circumstance which I several
+times noticed on the coast of Brazil.
+
+Three days afterwards I heard of the "Beagle's" arrival at the
+Port, distant eighteen leagues from the town. There is very little
+land cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse supports a
+wretched wiry grass, which even the donkeys can hardly eat. This
+poorness of the vegetation is owing to the quantity of saline
+matter with which the soil is impregnated. The Port consists of an
+assemblage of miserable little hovels, situated at the foot of a
+sterile plain. At present, as the river contains water enough to
+reach the sea, the inhabitants enjoy the advantage of having fresh
+water within a mile and a half. On the beach there were large piles
+of merchandise, and the little place had an air of activity. In the
+evening I gave my adios, with a hearty good-will, to my companion
+Mariano Gonzales, with whom I had ridden so many leagues in Chile.
+The next morning the "Beagle" sailed for Iquique.
+
+JULY 12, 1835.
+
+We anchored in the port of Iquique, in latitude 20 degrees 12', on
+the coast of Peru. The town contains about a thousand inhabitants,
+and stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall of
+rock, 2000 feet in height, here forming the coast. The whole is
+utterly desert. A light shower of rain falls only once in very many
+years; and the ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and
+the mountainsides covered by piles of fine white sand, even to a
+height of a thousand feet. During this season of the year a heavy
+bank of clouds, stretched over the ocean, seldom rises above the
+wall of rocks on the coast. The aspect of the place was most
+gloomy; the little port, with its few vessels, and small group of
+wretched houses, seemed overwhelmed and out of all proportion with
+the rest of the scene.
+
+The inhabitants live like persons on board a ship: every necessary
+comes from a distance: water is brought in boats from Pisagua,
+about forty miles northward, and is sold at the rate of nine reals
+(four shillings and sixpence) an eighteen-gallon cask: I bought a
+wine-bottle full for threepence. In like manner firewood, and of
+course every article of food, is imported. Very few animals can be
+maintained in such a place: on the ensuing morning I hired with
+difficulty, at the price of four pounds sterling, two mules and a
+guide to take me to the nitrate of soda works. These are at present
+the support of Iquique. This salt was first exported in 1830: in
+one year an amount in value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling
+was sent to France and England. It is principally used as a manure
+and in the manufacture of nitric acid: owing to its deliquescent
+property it will not serve for gunpowder. Formerly there were two
+exceedingly rich silver-mines in this neighbourhood, but their
+produce is now very small.
+
+Our arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. Peru was
+in a state of anarchy; and each party having demanded a
+contribution, the poor town of Iquique was in tribulation, thinking
+the evil hour was come. The people had also their domestic
+troubles; a short time before, three French carpenters had broken
+open, during the same night, the two churches, and stolen all the
+plate: one of the robbers, however, subsequently confessed, and the
+plate was recovered. The convicts were sent to Arequipa, which
+though the capital of this province, is two hundred leagues
+distant, the government there thought it a pity to punish such
+useful workmen who could make all sorts of furniture; and
+accordingly liberated them. Things being in this state, the
+churches were again broken open, but this time the plate was not
+recovered. The inhabitants became dreadfully enraged, and declaring
+that none but heretics would thus "eat God Almighty," proceeded to
+torture some Englishmen, with the intention of afterwards shooting
+them. At last the authorities interfered, and peace was
+established.
+
+JULY 13, 1835.
+
+In the morning I started for the saltpetre-works, a distance of
+fourteen leagues. Having ascended the steep coast-mountains by a
+zigzag sandy track, we soon came in view of the mines of Guantajaya
+and St. Rosa. These two small villages are placed at the very
+mouths of the mines; and being perched up on hills, they had a
+still more unnatural and desolate appearance than the town of
+Iquique. We did not reach the saltpetre works till after sunset,
+having ridden all day across an undulating country, a complete and
+utter desert. The road was strewed with the bones and dried skins
+of many beasts of burden which had perished on it from fatigue.
+Excepting the Vultur aura, which preys on the carcasses, I saw
+neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. On the
+coast-mountains, at the height of about 2000 feet, where during
+this season the clouds generally hang, a very few cacti were
+growing in the clefts of rock; and the loose sand was strewed over
+with a lichen, which lies on the surface quite unattached. This
+plant belongs to the genus Cladonia, and somewhat resembles the
+reindeer lichen. In some parts it was in sufficient quantity to
+tinge the sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish
+colour. Farther inland, during the whole ride of fourteen leagues,
+I saw only one other vegetable production, and that was a most
+minute yellow lichen, growing on the bones of the dead mules. This
+was the first true desert which I had seen: the effect on me was
+not impressive; but I believe this was owing to my having become
+gradually accustomed to such scenes, as I rode northward from
+Valparaiso, through Coquimbo, to Copiap�. The appearance of the
+country was remarkable, from being covered by a thick crust of
+common salt, and of a stratified saliferous alluvium, which seems
+to have been deposited as the land slowly rose above the level of
+the sea. The salt is white, very hard, and compact: it occurs in
+water-worn nodules projecting from the agglutinated sand, and is
+associated with much gypsum. The appearance of this superficial
+mass very closely resembled that of a country after snow, before
+the last dirty patches are thawed. The existence of this crust of a
+soluble substance over the whole face of the country shows how
+extraordinarily dry the climate must have been for a long period.
+
+At night I slept at the house of the owner of one of the saltpetre
+mines. The country is here as unproductive as near the coast; but
+water, having rather a bitter and brackish taste, can be procured
+by digging wells. The well at this house was thirty-six yards deep:
+as scarcely any rain falls, it is evident the water is not thus
+derived; indeed if it were, it could not fail to be as salt as
+brine, for the whole surrounding country is incrusted with various
+saline substances. We must therefore conclude that it percolates
+under ground from the Cordillera, though distant many leagues. In
+that direction there are a few small villages, where the
+inhabitants, having more water, are enabled to irrigate a little
+land, and raise hay, on which the mules and asses, employed in
+carrying the saltpetre, are fed. The nitrate of soda was now
+selling at the ship's side at fourteen shillings per hundred
+pounds: the chief expense is its transport to the sea-coast. The
+mine consists of a hard stratum, between two and three feet thick,
+of the nitrate mingled with a little of the sulphate of soda and a
+good deal of common salt. It lies close beneath the surface, and
+follows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of a
+grand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once
+have been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as may
+be inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stratum.
+The surface of the plain is 3300 feet above the Pacific.
+
+JULY 19, 1835.
+
+We anchored in the Bay of Callao, the seaport of Lima, the capital
+of Peru. We stayed here six weeks, but from the troubled state of
+public affairs I saw very little of the country. During our whole
+visit the climate was far from being so delightful as it is
+generally represented. A dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung
+over the land, so that during the first sixteen days I had only one
+view of the Cordillera behind Lima. These mountains, seen in
+stages, one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a
+very grand appearance. It is almost become a proverb, that rain
+never falls in the lower part of Peru. Yet this can hardly be
+considered correct; for during almost every day of our visit there
+was a thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient to make the
+streets muddy and one's clothes damp: this the people are pleased
+to call Peruvian dew. That much rain does not fall is very certain,
+for the houses are covered only with flat roofs made of hardened
+mud; and on the mole ship-loads of wheat were piled up, being thus
+left for weeks together without any shelter.
+
+I cannot say I liked the very little I saw of Peru: in summer,
+however, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. In all
+seasons, both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks
+of ague. This disease is common on the whole coast of Peru, but is
+unknown in the interior. The attacks of illness which arise from
+miasma never fail to appear most mysterious. So difficult is it to
+judge from the aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy,
+that if a person had been told to choose within the tropics a
+situation appearing favourable for health, very probably he would
+have named this coast. The plain round the outskirts of Callao is
+sparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some parts there are
+a few stagnant, though very small, pools of water. The miasma, in
+all probability, arises from these: for the town of Arica was
+similarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was much improved by
+the drainage of some little pools. Miasma is not always produced by
+a luxuriant vegetation with an ardent climate; for many parts of
+Brazil, even where there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are
+much more healthy than this sterile coast of Peru. The densest
+forests in a temperate climate, as in Chiloe, do not seem in the
+slightest degree to affect the healthy condition of the atmosphere.
+
+The island of St. Jago, at the Cape de Verds, offers another
+strongly-marked instance of a country, which any one would have
+expected to find most healthy, being very much the contrary. I have
+described the bare and open plains as supporting, during a few
+weeks after the rainy season, a thin vegetation, which directly
+withers away and dries up: at this period the air appears to become
+quite poisonous; both natives and foreigners often being affected
+with violent fevers. On the other hand, the Galapagos Archipelago,
+in the Pacific, with a similar soil, and periodically subject to
+the same process of vegetation, is perfectly healthy. Humboldt has
+observed that "under the torrid zone, the smallest marshes are the
+most dangerous, being surrounded, as at Vera Cruz and Carthagena,
+with an arid and sandy soil, which raises the temperature of the
+ambient air." (16/5. "Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain"
+volume 4 page 199.) On the coast of Peru, however, the temperature
+is not hot to any excessive degree; and perhaps in consequence the
+intermittent fevers are not of the most malignant order. In all
+unhealthy countries the greatest risk is run by sleeping on shore.
+Is this owing to the state of the body during sleep, or to a
+greater abundance of miasma at such times? It appears certain that
+those who stay on board a vessel, though anchored at only a short
+distance from the coast, generally suffer less than those actually
+on shore. On the other hand, I have heard of one remarkable case
+where a fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some hundred
+miles off the coast of Africa, and at the same time one of those
+fearful periods of death commenced at Sierra Leone. (16/6. A
+similar interesting case is recorded in the "Madras Medical
+Quarterly Journal" 1839 page 340. Dr. Ferguson in his admirable
+Paper see 9th volume of "Edinburgh Royal Transactions" shows
+clearly that the poison is generated in the drying process; and
+hence that dry hot countries are often the most unhealthy.)
+
+No state in South America, since the declaration of independence,
+has suffered more from anarchy than Peru. At the time of our visit
+there were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the
+government: if one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful,
+the others coalesced against him; but no sooner were they
+victorious than they were again hostile to each other. The other
+day, at the Anniversary of the Independence, high mass was
+performed, the President partaking of the sacrament: during the "Te
+Deum laudamus," instead of each regiment displaying the Peruvian
+flag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. Imagine a
+government under which such a scene could be ordered, on such an
+occasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to
+death! This state of affairs happened at a time very unfortunately
+for me, as I was precluded from taking any excursions much beyond
+the limits of the town. The barren island of San Lorenzo, which
+forms the harbour, was nearly the only place where one could walk
+securely. The upper part, which is upwards of 1000 feet in height,
+during this season of the year (winter), comes within the lower
+limit of the clouds; and in consequence an abundant cryptogamic
+vegetation and a few flowers cover the summit. On the hills near
+Lima, at a height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with
+moss, and beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This
+indicates a very much greater degree of humidity than at a
+corresponding height at Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the
+climate becomes damper, till on the banks of the Guayaquil, nearly
+under the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. The change,
+however, from the sterile coast of Peru to that fertile land is
+described as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of Cape
+Blanco, two degrees south of Guayaquil.
+
+Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, both
+here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture,
+between European, Negro, and Indian blood. They appear a depraved,
+drunken set of people. The atmosphere is loaded with foul smells,
+and that peculiar one, which may be perceived in almost every town
+within the tropics, was here very strong. The fortress, which
+withstood Lord Cochrane's long siege, has an imposing appearance.
+But the President, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and
+proceeded to dismantle parts of it. The reason assigned was, that
+he had not an officer to whom he could trust so important a charge.
+He himself had good reason for thinking so, as he had obtained the
+presidentship by rebelling while in charge of this same fortress.
+After we left South America, he paid the penalty in the usual
+manner, by being conquered, taken prisoner, and shot.
+
+Lima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual
+retreat of the sea. It is seven miles from Callao, and is elevated
+500 feet above it; but from the slope being very gradual, the road
+appears absolutely level; so that when at Lima it is difficult to
+believe one has ascended even one hundred feet: Humboldt has
+remarked on this singularly deceptive case. Steep barren hills rise
+like islands from the plain, which is divided, by straight
+mud-walls, into large green fields. In these scarcely a tree grows
+excepting a few willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of
+oranges. The city of Lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the
+streets are nearly unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up in all
+directions, where the black gallinazos, tame as poultry, pick up
+bits of carrion. The houses have generally an upper story, built,
+on account of the earthquakes, of plastered woodwork; but some of
+the old ones, which are now used by several families, are immensely
+large, and would rival in suites of apartments the most magnificent
+in any place. Lima, the City of the Kings, must formerly have been
+a splendid town. The extraordinary number of churches gives it,
+even at the present day, a peculiar and striking character,
+especially when viewed from a short distance.
+
+One day I went out with some merchants to hunt in the immediate
+vicinity of the city. Our sport was very poor; but I had an
+opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the ancient Indian
+villages, with its mound like a natural hill in the centre. The
+remains of houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, and burial
+mounds, scattered over this plain, cannot fail to give one a high
+idea of the condition and number of the ancient population. When
+their earthenware, woollen clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut
+out of the hardest rocks, tools of copper, ornaments of precious
+stones, palaces, and hydraulic works, are considered, it is
+impossible not to respect the considerable advance made by them in
+the arts of civilisation. The burial mounds, called Huacas, are
+really stupendous; although in some places they appear to be
+natural hills encased and modelled.
+
+There is also another and very different class of ruins which
+possesses some interest, namely, those of old Callao, overwhelmed
+by the great earthquake of 1746, and its accompanying wave. The
+destruction must have been more complete even than at Talcahuano.
+Quantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls,
+and vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about like
+pebbles by the retiring waves. It has been stated that the land
+subsided during this memorable shock: I could not discover any
+proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of
+the coast must certainly have undergone some change since the
+foundation of the old town; as no people in their senses would
+willingly have chosen for their building place the narrow spit of
+shingle on which the ruins now stand. Since our voyage, M. Tschudi
+has come to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern
+maps, that the coast both north and south of Lima has certainly
+subsided.
+
+On the island of San Lorenzo there are very satisfactory proofs of
+elevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed
+to the belief of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently
+taken place. The side of this island fronting the Bay of Callao is
+worn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered
+by a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of
+eighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea. The height of
+this bed is eighty-five feet. Many of the shells are deeply
+corroded, and have a much older and more decayed appearance than
+those at the height of 500 or 600 feet on the coast of Chile. These
+shells are associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of
+lime (both probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the
+land slowly rose), together with sulphate of soda and muriate of
+lime. They rest on fragments of the underlying sandstone, and are
+covered by a few inches thick of detritus. The shells higher up on
+this terrace could be traced scaling off in flakes, and falling
+into an impalpable powder; and on an upper terrace, at the height
+of 170 feet, and likewise at some considerably higher points, I
+found a layer of saline powder of exactly similar appearance, and
+lying in the same relative position. I have no doubt that this
+upper layer originally existed as a bed of shells, like that on the
+eighty-five-feet ledge; but it does not now contain even a trace of
+organic structure. The powder has been analysed for me by Mr. T.
+Reeks; it consists of sulphates and muriates both of lime and soda,
+with very little carbonate of lime. It is known that common salt
+and carbonate of lime left in a mass for some time together partly
+decompose each other; though this does not happen with small
+quantities in solution. As the half-decomposed shells in the lower
+parts are associated with much common salt, together with some of
+the saline substances composing the upper saline layer, and as
+these shells are corroded and decayed in a remarkable manner, I
+strongly suspect that this double decomposition has here taken
+place. The resultant salts, however, ought to be carbonate of soda
+and muriate of lime, the latter is present, but not the carbonate
+of soda. Hence I am led to imagine that by some unexplained means
+the carbonate of soda becomes changed into the sulphate. It is
+obvious that the saline layer could not have been preserved in any
+country in which abundant rain occasionally fell: on the other hand
+this very circumstance, which at first sight appears so highly
+favourable to the long preservation of exposed shells, has probably
+been the indirect means, through the common salt not having been
+washed away, of their decomposition and early decay.
+
+I was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the height of
+eighty-five feet, EMBEDDED amidst the shells and much sea-drifted
+rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of
+a stalk of Indian corn: I compared these relics with similar ones
+taken out of the Huacas, or old Peruvian tombs, and found them
+identical in appearance. On the mainland in front of San Lorenzo,
+near Bellavista, there is an extensive and level plain about a
+hundred feet high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating
+layers of sand and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the
+surface, to the depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish loam,
+containing a few scattered sea-shells and numerous small fragments
+of coarse red earthenware, more abundant at certain spots than at
+others. At first I was inclined to believe that this superficial
+bed, from its wide extent and smoothness, must have been deposited
+beneath the sea; but I afterwards found in one spot that it lay on
+an artificial floor of round stones. It seems, therefore, most
+probable that at a period when the land stood at a lower level
+there was a plain very similar to that now surrounding Callao,
+which, being protected by a shingle beach, is raised but very
+little above the level of the sea. On this plain, with its
+underlying red-clay beds, I imagine that the Indians manufactured
+their earthen vessels; and that, during some violent earthquake,
+the sea broke over the beach, and converted the plain into a
+temporary lake, as happened round Callao in 1713 and 1746. The
+water would then have deposited mud containing fragments of pottery
+from the kilns, more abundant at some spots than at others, and
+shells from the sea. This bed with fossil earthenware stands at
+about the same height with the shells on the lower terrace of San
+Lorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were embedded.
+Hence we may safely conclude that within the Indo-human period
+there has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of more than
+eighty-five feet; for some little elevation must have been lost by
+the coast having subsided since the old maps were engraved. At
+Valparaiso, although in the 220 years before our visit the
+elevation cannot have exceeded nineteen feet, yet subsequently to
+1817 there has been a rise, partly insensible and partly by a start
+during the shock of 1822, of ten or eleven feet. The antiquity of
+the Indo-human race here, judging by the eighty-five feet rise of
+the land since the relics were embedded, is the more remarkable, as
+on the coast of Patagonia, when the land stood about the same
+number of feet lower, the Macrauchenia was a living beast; but as
+the Patagonian coast is some way distant from the Cordillera, the
+rising there may have been slower than here. At Bahia Blanca the
+elevation has been only a few feet since the numerous gigantic
+quadrupeds were there entombed; and, according to the generally
+received opinion, when these extinct animals were living man did
+not exist. But the rising of that part of the coast of Patagonia is
+perhaps no way connected with the Cordillera, but rather with a
+line of old volcanic rocks in Banda Oriental, so that it may have
+been infinitely slower than on the shores of Peru. All these
+speculations, however, must be vague; for who will pretend to say
+that there may not have been several periods of subsidence,
+intercalated between the movements of elevation? for we know that
+along the whole coast of Patagonia there have certainly been many
+and long pauses in the upward action of the elevatory forces.
+
+
+(PLATE 78.  HUACAS, PERUVIAN POTTERY.)
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.
+
+(PLATE 79.  TESTUDO ABINGDONII, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.)
+
+The whole group volcanic.
+Number of craters.
+Leafless bushes.
+Colony at Charles Island.
+James Island.
+Salt-lake in crater.
+Natural history of the group.
+Ornithology, curious finches.
+Reptiles.
+Great tortoises, habits of.
+Marine Lizard, feeds on Sea-weed.
+Terrestrial Lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous.
+Importance of reptiles in the Archipelago.
+Fish, shells, insects.
+Botany.
+American type of organisation.
+Differences in the species or races on different islands.
+Tameness of the birds.
+Fear of man an acquired instinct.
+
+SEPTEMBER 15, 1835.
+
+(PLATE 80.  GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.)
+
+
+
+This archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five
+exceed the others in size. They are situated under the Equator, and
+between five and six hundred miles westward of the coast of
+America. They are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of
+granite curiously glazed and altered by the heat can hardly be
+considered as an exception. Some of the craters surmounting the
+larger islands are of immense size, and they rise to a height of
+between three and four thousand feet. Their flanks are studded by
+innumerable smaller orifices. I scarcely hesitate to affirm that
+there must be in the whole archipelago at least two thousand
+craters. These consist either of lava and scoriae, or of
+finely-stratified, sandstone-like tuff. Most of the latter are
+beautifully symmetrical; they owe their origin to eruptions of
+volcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable circumstance that
+every one of the twenty-eight tuff-craters which were examined had
+their southern sides either much lower than the other sides, or
+quite broken down and removed. As all these craters apparently have
+been formed when standing in the sea, and as the waves from the
+trade wind and the swell from the open Pacific here unite their
+forces on the southern coasts of all the islands, this singular
+uniformity in the broken state of the craters, composed of the soft
+and yielding tuff, is easily explained.
+
+Considering that these islands are placed directly under the
+equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems
+chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surrounding
+water, brought here by the great southern Polar current. Excepting
+during one short season very little rain falls, and even then it is
+irregular; but the clouds generally hang low. Hence, whilst the
+lower parts of the islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a
+height of a thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and a
+tolerably luxuriant vegetation. This is especially the case on the
+windward sides of the islands, which first receive and condense the
+moisture from the atmosphere.
+
+In the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, which, like the
+others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and
+there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. Nothing
+could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of
+black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed
+by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sunburnt
+brushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and parched
+surface, being heated by the noonday sun, gave to the air a close
+and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that
+the bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently tried to
+collect as many plants as possible, I succeeded in getting very
+few; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better
+become an arctic than an equatorial Flora. The brushwood appears,
+from a short distance, as leafless as our trees during winter; and
+it was some time before I discovered that not only almost every
+plant was now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in
+flower. The commonest bush is one of the Euphorbiaceae: an acacia
+and a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which afford any
+shade. After the season of heavy rains, the islands are said to
+appear for a short time partially green. The volcanic island of
+Fernando Noronha, placed in many respects under nearly similar
+conditions, is the only other country where I have seen a
+vegetation at all like this of the Galapagos Islands.
+
+The "Beagle" sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several
+bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the island where
+black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small
+eminence I counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters more or
+less perfect. The greater number consisted merely of a ring of red
+scoriae or slags cemented together: and their height above the
+plain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet: none
+had been very lately active. The entire surface of this part of the
+island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the
+subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has
+been blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of
+caverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with
+steep sides. From the regular form of the many craters, they gave
+to the country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me
+of those parts of Staffordshire where the great iron-foundries are
+most numerous. The day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the
+rough surface and through the intricate thickets was very
+fatiguing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean scene. As
+I was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of which must
+have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece of
+cactus, and as I approached, it stared at me and slowly walked
+away; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head. These huge
+reptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and
+large cacti, seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian animals. The
+few dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the
+great tortoises.
+
+SEPTEMBER 23, 1835.
+
+The "Beagle" proceeded to Charles Island. This archipelago has long
+been frequented, first by the Bucaniers, and latterly by whalers,
+but it is only within the last six years that a small colony has
+been established here. The inhabitants are between two and three
+hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have
+been banished for political crimes from the Republic of the
+Equator, of which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed
+about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a
+thousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed through
+leafless thickets, as in Chatham Island. Higher up the woods
+gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of
+the island we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight
+refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In this upper region
+coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: I saw
+nowhere any member of the Palm family, which is the more singular,
+as 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from the number
+of cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scattered over a flat
+space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and
+bananas. It will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of
+black mud was to us, after having been so long accustomed to the
+parched soil of Peru and Northern Chile. The inhabitants, although
+complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of
+subsistence. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but
+the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises.
+Their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island,
+but the people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for
+the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have
+taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of
+a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred
+tortoises to the beach.
+
+SEPTEMBER 29, 1835.
+
+We doubled the south-west extremity of Albemarle Island, and the
+next day were nearly becalmed between it and Narborough Island.
+Both are covered with immense deluges of black naked lava, which
+have flowed either over the rims of the great caldrons, like pitch
+over the rim of a pot in which it has been boiled, or have burst
+forth from smaller orifices on the flanks; in their descent they
+have spread over miles of the sea-coast. On both of these islands
+eruptions are known to have taken place; and in Albemarle we saw a
+small jet of smoke curling from the summit of one of the great
+craters. In the evening we anchored in Bank's Cove, in Albemarle
+Island. The next morning I went out walking. To the south of the
+broken tuff-crater, in which the "Beagle" was anchored, there was
+another beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its longer
+axis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about 500 feet.
+At its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the middle of which a
+tiny crater formed an islet. The day was overpoweringly hot, and
+the lake looked clear and blue: I hurried down the cindery slope,
+and, choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water--but, to my sorrow,
+I found it salt as brine.
+
+The rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between
+three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-brown
+species was equally common. We saw many of this latter kind, some
+clumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling into their
+burrows. I shall presently describe in more detail the habits of
+both these reptiles. The whole of this northern part of Albemarle
+Island is miserably sterile.
+
+OCTOBER 8, 1835.
+
+We arrived at James Island: this island, as well as Charles Island,
+were long since thus named after our kings of the Stuart line. Mr.
+Bynoe, myself, and our servants were left here for a week, with
+provisions and a tent, whilst the "Beagle" went for water. We found
+here a party of Spaniards who had been sent from Charles Island to
+dry fish and to salt tortoise-meat. About six miles inland and at
+the height of nearly 2000 feet, a hovel had been built in which two
+men lived, who were employed in catching tortoises, whilst the
+others were fishing on the coast. I paid this party two visits, and
+slept there one night. As in the other islands, the lower region
+was covered by nearly leafless bushes, but the trees were here of a
+larger growth than elsewhere, several being two feet and some even
+two feet nine inches in diameter. The upper region, being kept damp
+by the clouds, supports a green and flourishing vegetation. So damp
+was the ground, that there were large beds of a coarse cyperus, in
+which great numbers of a very small water-rail lived and bred.
+While staying in this upper region, we lived entirely upon
+tortoise-meat: the breast-plate roasted (as the Gauchos do carne
+con cuero), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the young
+tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste
+is indifferent.
+
+One day we accompanied a party of the Spaniards in their whale-boat
+to a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. After landing we
+had a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava, which has
+almost surrounded a tuff-crater at the bottom of which the
+salt-lake lies. The water is only three or four inches deep and
+rests on a layer of beautifully crystallised, white salt. The lake
+is quite circular, and is fringed with a border of bright green
+succulent plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are
+clothed with wood, so that the scene was altogether both
+picturesque and curious. A few years since the sailors belonging to
+a sealing-vessel murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and we
+saw his skull lying among the bushes.
+
+During the greater part of our stay of a week the sky was
+cloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour the heat became
+very oppressive. On two days the thermometer within the tent stood
+for some hours at 93 degrees; but in the open air, in the wind and
+sun, at only 85 degrees. The sand was extremely hot; the
+thermometer placed in some of a brown colour immediately rose to
+137 degrees, and how much above that it would have risen I do not
+know for it was not graduated any higher. The black sand felt much
+hotter, so that even in thick boots it was quite disagreeable to
+walk over it.
+
+The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well
+deserves attention. Most of the organic productions are aboriginal
+creations found nowhere else; there is even a difference between
+the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked
+relationship with those of America, though separated from that
+continent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in
+width. The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a
+satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray
+colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous
+productions. Considering the small size of these islands, we feel
+the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and
+at their confined range. Seeing every height crowned with its
+crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still
+distinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically
+recent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. Hence, both in space
+and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great
+fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings
+on this earth.
+
+Of terrestrial mammals there is only one which must be considered
+as indigenous, namely a mouse (Mus Galapagoensis) and this is
+confined, as far as I could ascertain, to Chatham Island, the most
+easterly island of the group. It belongs, as I am informed by Mr.
+Waterhouse, to a division of the family of mice characteristic of
+America. At James Island there is a rat sufficiently distinct from
+the common kind to have been named and described by Mr. Waterhouse;
+but as it belongs to the old-world division of the family, and as
+this island has been frequented by ships for the last hundred and
+fifty years, I can hardly doubt that this rat is merely a variety
+produced by the new and peculiar climate, food, and soil, to which
+it has been subjected. Although no one has a right to speculate
+without distinct facts, yet even with respect to the Chatham Island
+mouse, it should be borne in mind that it may possibly be an
+American species imported here; for I have seen, in a most
+unfrequented part of the Pampas, a native mouse living in the roof
+of a newly built hovel, and therefore its transportation in a
+vessel is not improbable: analogous facts have been observed by Dr.
+Richardson in North America.
+
+Of land-birds I obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the
+group and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like
+finch from North America (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) which ranges on
+that continent as far north as 54 degrees, and generally frequents
+marshes. The other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk,
+curiously intermediate in structure between a Buzzard and the
+American group of carrion-feeding Polybori; and with these latter
+birds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice.
+Secondly there are two owls, representing the short-eared and white
+barn-owls of Europe. Thirdly a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers (two
+of them species of Pyrocephalus, one or both of which would be
+ranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove--all
+analogous to, but distinct from, American species. Fourthly a
+swallow, which though differing from the Progne purpurea of both
+Americas, only in being rather duller coloured, smaller, and
+slenderer, is considered by Mr. Gould as specifically distinct.
+Fifthly there are three species of mocking-thrush--a form highly
+characteristic of America. The remaining land-birds form a most
+singular group of finches, related to each other in the structure
+of their beaks, short tails, form of body and plumage: there are
+thirteen species which Mr. Gould has divided into four sub-groups.
+All these species are peculiar to this archipelago; and so is the
+whole group, with the exception of one species of the sub-group
+Cactornis, lately brought from Bow Island, in the Low Archipelago.
+Of Cactornis the two species may be often seen climbing about the
+flowers of the great cactus-trees; but all the other species of
+this group of finches, mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry
+and sterile ground of the lower districts. The males of all, or
+certainly of the greater number, are jet black; and the females
+(with perhaps one or two exceptions) are brown.
+
+(PLATE 81.  FINCHES FROM GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. 1. Geospiza
+magnirostris. 2. Geospiza fortis. 3. Geospiza parvula. 4. Certhidea
+olivasea.)
+
+The most curious fact is the perfect gradation in the size of the
+beaks in the different species of Geospiza, from one as large as
+that of a hawfinch to that of a chaffinch, and (if Mr. Gould is
+right in including his sub-group, Certhidea, in the main group)
+even to that of a warbler. The largest beak in the genus Geospiza
+is shown in (Plate 81) Figure 1, and the smallest in Figure 3; but
+instead of there being only one intermediate species, with a beak
+of the size shown in Figure 2, there are no less than six species
+with insensibly graduated beaks. The beak of the sub-group
+Certhidea, is shown in Figure 4. The beak of Cactornis is somewhat
+like that of a starling, and that of the fourth sub-group,
+Camarhynchus, is slightly parrot-shaped. Seeing this gradation and
+diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of
+birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of
+birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified
+for different ends. In a like manner it might be fancied that a
+bird, originally a buzzard, had been induced here to undertake the
+office of the carrion-feeding Polybori of the American continent.
+
+Of waders and water-birds I was able to get only eleven kinds, and
+of these only three (including a rail confined to the damp summits
+of the islands) are new species. Considering the wandering habits
+of the gulls, I was surprised to find that the species inhabiting
+these islands is peculiar, but allied to one from the southern
+parts of South America. The far greater peculiarity of the
+land-birds, namely, twenty-five out of twenty-six being new
+species, or at least new races, compared with the waders and
+web-footed birds, is in accordance with the greater range which
+these latter orders have in all parts of the world. We shall
+hereafter see this law of aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh
+water, being less peculiar at any given point of the earth's
+surface than the terrestrial forms of the same classes, strikingly
+illustrated in the shells, and in a lesser degree in the insects of
+this archipelago.
+
+Two of the waders are rather smaller than the same species brought
+from other places: the swallow is also smaller, though it is
+doubtful whether or not it is distinct from its analogue. The two
+owls, the two tyrant-flycatchers (Pyrocephalus) and the dove, are
+also smaller than the analogous but distinct species, to which they
+are most nearly related; on the other hand, the gull is rather
+larger. The two owls, the swallow, all three species of
+mocking-thrush, the dove in its separate colours though not in its
+whole plumage, the Totanus, and the gull, are likewise duskier
+coloured than their analogous species; and in the case of the
+mocking-thrush and Totanus, than any other species of the two
+genera. With the exception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, and
+of a tyrant-flycatcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none of the
+birds are brilliantly coloured, as might have been expected in an
+equatorial district. Hence it would appear probable that the same
+causes which here make the immigrants of some species smaller, make
+most of the peculiar Galapageian species also smaller, as well as
+very generally more dusky coloured. All the plants have a wretched,
+weedy appearance, and I did not see one beautiful flower. The
+insects, again, are small-sized and dull coloured, and, as Mr.
+Waterhouse informs me, there is nothing in their general appearance
+which would have led him to imagine that they had come from under
+the equator. (17/1. The progress of research has shown that some of
+these birds, which were then thought to be confined to the islands,
+occur on the American continent. The eminent ornithologist, Mr.
+Sclater, informs me that this is the case with the Strix
+punctatissima and Pyrocephalus nanus; and probably with the Otus
+galapagoensis and Zenaida galapagoensis: so that the number of
+endemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or probably to
+twenty-one. Mr. Sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic
+forms should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which
+always seemed to me probable.) The birds, plants, and insects have
+a desert character, and are not more brilliantly coloured than
+those from southern Patagonia; we may, therefore, conclude that the
+usual gaudy colouring of the intertropical productions is not
+related either to the heat or light of those zones, but to some
+other cause, perhaps to the conditions of existence being generally
+favourable to life.
+
+We will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives the most
+striking character to the zoology of these islands. The species are
+not numerous, but the numbers of individuals of each species are
+extraordinarily great. There is one small lizard belonging to a
+South American genus, and two species (and probably more) of the
+Amblyrhynchus--a genus confined to the Galapagos Islands. There is
+one snake which is numerous; it is identical, as I am informed by
+M. Bibron, with the Psammophis Temminckii from Chile. (17/2. This
+is stated by Dr. Gunther "Zoological Society" January 24, 1859, to
+be a peculiar species, not known to inhabit any other country.) Of
+sea-turtle I believe there are more than one species, and of
+tortoises there are, as we shall presently show, two or three
+species or races. Of toads and frogs there are none: I was
+surprised at this, considering how well suited for them the
+temperate and damp upper woods appeared to be. It recalled to my
+mind the remark made by Bory St. Vincent, namely, that none of this
+family are found on any of the volcanic islands in the great
+oceans. (17/3. "Voyage aux Quatres Iles d'Afrique." With respect to
+the Sandwich Islands see Tyerman and Bennett's "Journal" volume 1
+page 434. For Mauritius see "Voyage par un Officier" etc. Part 1
+page 170. There are no frogs in the Canary Islands, Webb et
+Berthelot "Hist. Nat. des Iles Canaries." I saw none at St. Jago in
+the Cape de Verds. There are none at St. Helena.) As far as I can
+ascertain from various works, this seems to hold good throughout
+the Pacific, and even in the large islands of the Sandwich
+archipelago. Mauritius offers an apparent exception, where I saw
+the Rana Mascariensis in abundance: this frog is said now to
+inhabit the Seychelles, Madagascar, and Bourbon; but on the other
+hand, Du Bois, in his voyage in 1669, states that there were no
+reptiles in Bourbon except tortoises; and the Officier du Roi
+asserts that before 1768 it had been attempted, without success, to
+introduce frogs into Mauritius--I presume for the purpose of
+eating: hence it may be well doubted whether this frog is an
+aboriginal of these islands. The absence of the frog family in the
+oceanic islands is the more remarkable, when contrasted with the
+case of lizards, which swarm on most of the smallest islands. May
+this difference not be caused by the greater facility with which
+the eggs of lizards, protected by calcareous shells, might be
+transported through salt-water, than could the slimy spawn of
+frogs?
+
+I will first describe the habits of the tortoise (Testudo nigra,
+formerly called Indica), which has been so frequently alluded to.
+These animals are found, I believe, on all the islands of the
+Archipelago; certainly on the greater number. They frequent in
+preference the high damp parts, but they likewise live in the lower
+and arid districts. I have already shown, from the numbers which
+have been caught in a single day, how very numerous they must be.
+Some grow to an immense size: Mr. Lawson, an Englishman, and
+vice-governor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so
+large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the
+ground; and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of
+meat. The old males are the largest, the females rarely growing to
+so great a size: the male can readily be distinguished from the
+female by the greater length of its tail. The tortoises which live
+on those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid
+parts of the others, feed chiefly on the succulent cactus. Those
+which frequent the higher and damp regions eat the leaves of
+various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and
+austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (Usnera
+plicata), that hangs from the boughs of the trees.
+
+The tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and
+wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and
+these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a
+considerable height. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the
+lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long
+distance. Hence broad and well-beaten paths branch off in every
+direction from the wells down to the sea-coast; and the Spaniards,
+by following them up, first discovered the watering-places. When I
+landed at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled
+so methodically along well-chosen tracks. Near the springs it was a
+curious spectacle to behold many of these huge creatures, one set
+eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set
+returning, after having drunk their fill. When the tortoise arrives
+at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, he buries his
+head in the water above his eyes, and greedily swallows great
+mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants
+say each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of
+the water, and then returns to the lower country; but they differed
+respecting the frequency of these visits. The animal probably
+regulates them according to the nature of the food on which it has
+lived. It is, however, certain that tortoises can subsist even on
+those islands where there is no other water than what falls during
+a few rainy days in the year.
+
+I believe it is well ascertained that the bladder of the frog acts
+as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence: such
+seems to be the case with the tortoise. For some time after a visit
+to the springs, their urinary bladders are distended with fluid,
+which is said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less
+pure. The inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and
+overcome with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance,
+and drink the contents of the bladder if full: in one I saw killed,
+the fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter
+taste. The inhabitants, however, always first drink the water in
+the pericardium, which is described as being best.
+
+The tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, travel by
+night and day and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than
+would be expected. The inhabitants, from observing marked
+individuals, consider that they travel a distance of about eight
+miles in two or three days. One large tortoise, which I watched,
+walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is 360 yards
+in the hour, or four miles a day,--allowing a little time for it to
+eat on the road. During the breeding season, when the male and
+female are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing,
+which, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a
+hundred yards. The female never uses her voice, and the male only
+at these times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know
+that the two are together. They were at this time (October) laying
+their eggs. The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them
+together, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is
+rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hole: Mr. Bynoe found
+seven placed in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical; one
+which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in
+circumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. The young
+tortoises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great
+numbers to the carrion-feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally
+to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least,
+several of the inhabitants told me that they never found one dead
+without some evident cause.
+
+The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf;
+certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them.
+I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters, as
+it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I
+passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep
+hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I
+frequently got on their backs, and then giving a few raps on the
+hinder part of their shells, they would rise up and walk away;--but
+I found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this
+animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a
+beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is
+caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to
+see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is
+thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and it is said to
+recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the
+tortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they
+are often able to get on their legs again.
+
+There can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal
+inhabitant of the Galapagos; for it is found on all, or nearly all,
+the islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there is no
+water; had it been an imported species this would hardly have been
+the case in a group which has been so little frequented. Moreover,
+the old Bucaniers found this tortoise in greater numbers even than
+at present: Wood and Rogers also, in 1708, say that it is the
+opinion of the Spaniards that it is found nowhere else in this
+quarter of the world. It is now widely distributed; but it may be
+questioned whether it is in any other place an aboriginal. The
+bones of a tortoise at Mauritius, associated with those of the
+extinct Dodo, have generally been considered as belonging to this
+tortoise; if this had been so, undoubtedly it must have been there
+indigenous; but M. Bibron informs me that he believes that it was
+distinct, as the species now living there certainly is.
+
+(PLATE 82.  AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS. a. Tooth of natural size, and
+likewise magnified.)
+
+The Amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined to
+this archipelago; there are two species, resembling each other in
+general form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. This
+latter species (A. cristatus) was first characterised by Mr. Bell,
+who well foresaw, from its short, broad head, and strong claws of
+equal length, that its habits of life would turn out very peculiar,
+and different from those of its nearest ally, the Iguana. It is
+extremely common on all the islands throughout the group, and lives
+exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least I
+never saw one, even ten yards in-shore. It is a hideous-looking
+creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its
+movements. The usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard,
+but there are some even four feet long; a large one weighed twenty
+pounds: on the island of Albemarle they seem to grow to a greater
+size than elsewhere. Their tails are flattened sideways, and all
+four feet partially webbed. They are occasionally seen some hundred
+yards from the shore, swimming about; and Captain Collnett, in his
+Voyage says, "They go to sea in herds a-fishing, and sun themselves
+on the rocks; and may be called alligators in miniature." It must
+not, however, be supposed that they live on fish. When in the water
+this lizard swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine
+movement of its body and flattened tail--the legs being motionless
+and closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sank one,
+with a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it
+directly; but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up the line, it was
+quite active. Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted
+for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava which
+everywhere form the coast. In such situations a group of six or
+seven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black
+rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with
+outstretched legs.
+
+I opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely distended
+with minced sea-weed (Ulvae), which grows in thin foliaceous
+expansions of a bright green or a dull red colour. I do not
+recollect having observed this sea-weed in any quantity on the
+tidal rocks; and I have reason to believe it grows at the bottom of
+the sea, at some little distance from the coast. If such be the
+case, the object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is
+explained. The stomach contained nothing but the sea-weed. Mr.
+Bynoe, however, found a piece of a crab in one; but this might have
+got in accidentally, in the same manner as I have seen a
+caterpillar, in the midst of some lichen, in the paunch of a
+tortoise. The intestines were large, as in other herbivorous
+animals. The nature of this lizard's food, as well as the structure
+of its tail and feet, and the fact of its having been seen
+voluntarily swimming out at sea, absolutely prove its aquatic
+habits; yet there is in this respect one strange anomaly, namely,
+that when frightened it will not enter the water. Hence it is easy
+to drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging the
+sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their
+tails than jump into the water. They do not seem to have any notion
+of biting; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of fluid
+from each nostril. I threw one several times as far as I could,
+into a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably
+returned in a direct line to the spot where I stood. It swam near
+the bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and
+occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet. As
+soon as it arrived near the edge, but still being under water, it
+tried to conceal itself in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered
+some crevice. As soon as it thought the danger was past, it crawled
+out on the dry rocks, and shuffled away as quickly as it could. I
+several times caught this same lizard, by driving it down to a
+point, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and
+swimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water; and as often
+as I threw it in, it returned in the manner above described.
+Perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted
+for by the circumstance that this reptile has no enemy whatever on
+shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous
+sharks. Hence, probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct
+that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may
+be, it there takes refuge.
+
+During our visit (in October) I saw extremely few small individuals
+of this species, and none I should think under a year old. From
+this circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season had
+not then commenced. I asked several of the inhabitants if they knew
+where it laid its eggs: they said that they knew nothing of its
+propagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land
+kind--a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a
+little extraordinary.
+
+We will now turn to the terrestrial species (A. Demarlii), with a
+round tail, and toes without webs. This lizard, instead of being
+found like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central
+part of the archipelago, namely to Albemarle, James, Barrington,
+and Indefatigable islands. To the southward, in Charles, Hood, and
+Chatham Islands, and to the northward, in Towers, Bindloes, and
+Abingdon, I neither saw nor heard of any. It would appear as if it
+had been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had
+been dispersed only to a certain distance. Some of these lizards
+inhabit the high and damp parts of the islands, but they are much
+more numerous in the lower and sterile districts near the coast. I
+cannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers, than by stating
+that when we were left at James Island, we could not for some time
+find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single
+tent. Like their brothers the sea-kind, they are ugly animals, of a
+yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from
+their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance.
+They are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the marine species;
+but several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds. In
+their movements they are lazy and half torpid. When not frightened,
+they slowly crawl along with their tails and bellies dragging on
+the ground. They often stop, and doze for a minute or two, with
+closed eyes and hind legs spread out on the parched soil.
+
+
+
+
+
+They inhabit burrows which they sometimes make between fragments of
+lava, but more generally on level patches of the soft
+sandstone-like tuff. The holes do not appear to be very deep, and
+they enter the ground at a small angle; so that when walking over
+these lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to
+the annoyance of the tired walker. This animal, when making its
+burrow, works alternately the opposite sides of its body. One front
+leg for a short time scratches up the soil, and throws it towards
+the hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the
+mouth of the hole. That side of the body being tired, the other
+takes up the task, and so on alternately. I watched one for a long
+time, till half its body was buried; I then walked up and pulled it
+by the tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled
+up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as
+much as to say, "What made you pull my tail?"
+
+They feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if
+frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except when
+running down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently from the
+lateral position of their legs. They are not at all timorous: when
+attentively watching any one, they curl their tails, and, raising
+themselves on their front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a
+quick movement, and try to look very fierce; but in reality they
+are not at all so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their
+tails, and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. I have
+frequently observed small fly-eating lizards, when watching
+anything, nod their heads in precisely the same manner; but I do
+not at all know for what purpose. If this Amblyrhynchus is held and
+plagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely; but I caught
+many by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. If two are
+placed on the ground and held together, they will fight, and bite
+each other till blood is drawn.
+
+The individuals, and they are the greater number, which inhabit the
+lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout the
+year; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the branches
+of which are occasionally broken off by the wind. I several times
+threw a piece to two or three of them when together; and it was
+amusing enough to see them trying to seize and carry it away in
+their mouths, like so many hungry dogs with a bone. They eat very
+deliberately, but do not chew their food. The little birds are
+aware how harmless these creatures are: I have seen one of the
+thick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which
+is much relished by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a
+lizard was eating at the other end; and afterwards the little bird
+with the utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile.
+
+I opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of vegetable
+fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an acacia. In
+the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent
+berries of the guayavita, under which trees I have seen these
+lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. To obtain the
+acacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees; and it is not
+uncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch
+several feet above the ground. These lizards, when cooked, yield a
+white meat, which is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all
+prejudices. Humboldt has remarked that in intertropical South
+America all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed
+delicacies for the table. The inhabitants state that those which
+inhabit the upper damp parts drink water, but that the others do
+not, like the tortoises, travel up for it from the lower sterile
+country. At the time of our visit, the females had within their
+bodies numerous, large, elongated eggs, which they lay in their
+burrows: the inhabitants seek them for food.
+
+These two species of Amblyrhynchus agree, as I have already stated,
+in their general structure, and in many of their habits. Neither
+have that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera Lacerta
+and Iguana. They are both herbivorous, although the kind of
+vegetation on which they feed is so very different. Mr. Bell has
+given the name to the genus from the shortness of the snout:
+indeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to that of the
+tortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation to their
+herbivorous appetites. It is very interesting thus to find a
+well-characterised genus, having its marine and terrestrial
+species, belonging to so confined a portion of the world. The
+aquatic species is by far the most remarkable, because it is the
+only existing lizard which lives on marine vegetable productions.
+As I at first observed, these islands are not so remarkable for the
+number of the species of reptiles, as for that of the individuals,
+when we remember the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of
+huge tortoises--the many turtles--the great warrens of the
+terrestrial Amblyrhynchus--and the groups of the marine species
+basking on the coast-rocks of every island--we must admit that
+there is no other quarter of the world where this Order replaces
+the herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. The
+geologist on hearing this will probably refer back in his mind to
+the Secondary epochs, when lizards, some herbivorous, some
+carnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only with our existing
+whales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. It is, therefore,
+worthy of his observation that this archipelago, instead of
+possessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, cannot be
+considered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for an equatorial
+region, remarkably temperate.
+
+To finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish which I
+procured here are all new species; they belong to twelve genera,
+all widely distributed, with the exception of Prionotus, of which
+the four previously known species live on the eastern side of
+America. Of land-shells I collected sixteen kinds (and two marked
+varieties) of which, with the exception of one Helix found at
+Tahiti, all are peculiar to this archipelago: a single fresh-water
+shell (Paludina) is common to Tahiti and Van Diemen's Land. Mr.
+Cuming, before our voyage, procured here ninety species of
+sea-shells, and this does not include several species not yet
+specifically examined, of Trochus, Turbo, Monodonta, and Nassa. He
+has been kind enough to give me the following interesting results:
+of the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are unknown
+elsewhere--a wonderful fact, considering how widely distributed
+sea-shells generally are. Of the forty-three shells found in other
+parts of the world, twenty-five inhabit the western coast of
+America, and of these eight are distinguishable as varieties; the
+remaining eighteen (including one variety) were found by Mr. Cuming
+in the Low Archipelago, and some of them also at the Philippines.
+This fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the
+Pacific occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single
+sea-shell is known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to
+the west coast of America. The space of open sea running north and
+south off the west coast separates two quite distinct conchological
+provinces; but at the Galapagos Archipelago we have a
+halting-place, where many new forms have been created, and whither
+these two great conchological provinces have each sent several
+colonists. The American province has also sent here representative
+species; for there is a Galapageian species of Monoceros, a genus
+only found on the west coast of America; and there are Galapageian
+species of Fissurella and Cancellaria, genera common on the west
+coast, but not found (as I am informed by Mr. Cuming) in the
+central islands of the Pacific. On the other hand, there are
+Galapageian species of Oniscia and Stylifer, genera common to the
+West Indies and to the Chinese and Indian seas, but not found
+either on the west coast of America or in the central Pacific. I
+may here add, that after the comparison by Messrs. Cuming and Hinds
+of about 2000 shells from the eastern and western coasts of
+America, only one single shell was found in common, namely, the
+Purpura patula, which inhabits the West Indies, the coast of
+Panama, and the Galapagos. We have, therefore, in this quarter of
+the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct,
+though surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north
+and south spaces either of land or of open sea.
+
+I took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting Tierra
+del Fuego, I never saw in this respect so poor a country. Even in
+the upper and damp region I procured very few, excepting some
+minute Diptera and Hymenoptera, mostly of common mundane forms. As
+before remarked, the insects, for a tropical region, are of very
+small size and dull colours. Of beetles I collected twenty-five
+species (excluding a Dermestes and Corynetes imported wherever a
+ship touches); of these, two belong to the Harpalidae, two to the
+Hydrophilidae, nine to three families of the Heteromera, and the
+remaining twelve to as many different families. This circumstance
+of insects (and I may add plants), where few in number, belonging
+to many different families, is, I believe, very general. Mr.
+Waterhouse, who has published an account of the insects of this
+archipelago, and to whom I am indebted for the above details,
+informs me that there are several new genera; and that of the
+genera not new, one or two are American, and the rest of mundane
+distribution. (17/4. "Annals and Magazine of Natural History"
+volume 16 page 19.) With the exception of a wood-feeding Apate, and
+of one or probably two water-beetles from the American continent,
+all the species appear to be new.
+
+The botany of this group is fully as interesting as the zoology.
+Dr. J. Hooker will soon publish in the "Linnean Transactions" a
+full account of the Flora, and I am much indebted to him for the
+following details. Of flowering plants there are, as far as at
+present is known, 185 species, and 40 cryptogamic species, making
+together 225; of this number I was fortunate enough to bring home
+193. Of the flowering plants, 100 are new species, and are probably
+confined to this archipelago. Dr. Hooker conceives that, of the
+plants not so confined, at least 10 species found near the
+cultivated ground at Charles Island have been imported. It is, I
+think, surprising that more American species have not been
+introduced naturally, considering that the distance is only between
+500 and 600 miles from the continent, and that (according to
+Collnet, page 58) drift-wood, bamboos, canes, and the nuts of a
+palm, are often washed on the south-eastern shores. The proportion
+of 100 flowering plants out of 185 (or 175 excluding the imported
+weeds) being new, is sufficient, I conceive, to make the Galapagos
+Archipelago a distinct botanical province; but this Flora is not
+nearly so peculiar as that of St. Helena, nor, as I am informed by
+Dr. Hooker, of Juan Fernandez. The peculiarity of the Galapageian
+Flora is best shown in certain families;--thus there are 21 species
+of Compositae, of which 20 are peculiar to this archipelago; these
+belong to twelve genera, and of these genera no less than ten are
+confined to the archipelago! Dr. Hooker informs me that the Flora
+has an undoubted Western American character; nor can he detect in
+it any affinity with that of the Pacific. If, therefore, we except
+the eighteen marine, the one fresh-water, and one land-shell, which
+have apparently come here as colonists from the central islands of
+the Pacific, and likewise the one distinct Pacific species of the
+Galapageian group of finches, we see that this archipelago, though
+standing in the Pacific Ocean, is zoologically part of America.
+
+If this character were owing merely to immigrants from America,
+there would be little remarkable in it; but we see that a vast
+majority of all the land animals, and that more than half of the
+flowering plants, are aboriginal productions. It was most striking
+to be surrounded by new birds, new reptiles, new shells, new
+insects, new plants, and yet by innumerable trifling details of
+structure, and even by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds,
+to have the temperate plains of Patagonia, or the hot dry deserts
+of Northern Chile, vividly brought before my eyes. Why, on these
+small points of land, which within a late geological period must
+have been covered by the ocean, which are formed of basaltic lava,
+and therefore differ in geological character from the American
+continent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate,--why were
+their aboriginal inhabitants, associated, I may add, in different
+proportions both in kind and number from those on the continent,
+and therefore acting on each other in a different manner--why were
+they created on American types of organisation? It is probable that
+the islands of the Cape de Verd group resemble, in all their
+physical conditions, far more closely the Galapagos Islands than
+these latter physically resemble the coast of America, yet the
+aboriginal inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike; those
+of the Cape de Verd Islands bearing the impress of Africa, as the
+inhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago are stamped with that of
+America.
+
+I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the
+natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different
+islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set
+of beings. My attention was first called to this fact by the
+Vice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed
+from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell
+from which island any one was brought. I did not for some time pay
+sufficient attention to this statement, and I had already partially
+mingled together the collections from two of the islands. I never
+dreamed that islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of them
+in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed
+under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height,
+would have been differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that
+this is the case. It is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to
+discover what is most interesting in any locality, than they are
+hurried from it; but I ought, perhaps, to be thankful that I
+obtained sufficient materials to establish this most remarkable
+fact in the distribution of organic beings.
+
+The inhabitants, as I have said, state that they can distinguish
+the tortoises from the different islands; and that they differ not
+only in size, but in other characters. Captain Porter has described
+those from Charles and from the nearest island to it, namely, Hood
+Island, as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a
+Spanish saddle, whilst the tortoises from James Island are rounder,
+blacker, and have a better taste when cooked. (17/5. "Voyage in the
+U.S. ship Essex" volume 1 page 215.) M. Bibron, moreover, informs
+me that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of
+tortoise from the Galapagos, but he does not know from which
+islands. The specimens that I brought from three islands were young
+ones: and probably owing to this cause neither Mr. Gray nor myself
+could find in them any specific differences. I have remarked that
+the marine Amblyrhynchus was larger at Albemarle Island than
+elsewhere; and M. Bibron informs me that he has seen two distinct
+aquatic species of this genus; so that the different islands
+probably have their representative species or races of the
+Amblyrhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. My attention was first
+thoroughly aroused by comparing together the numerous specimens,
+shot by myself and several other parties on board, of the
+mocking-thrushes, when, to my astonishment, I discovered that all
+those from Charles Island belonged to one species (Mimus
+trifasciatus) all from Albemarle Island to M. parvulus; and all
+from James and Chatham Islands (between which two other islands are
+situated, as connecting links) belonged to M. melanotis. These two
+latter species are closely allied, and would by some ornithologists
+be considered as only well-marked races or varieties; but the Mimus
+trifasciatus is very distinct. Unfortunately most of the specimens
+of the finch tribe were mingled together; but I have strong reasons
+to suspect that some of the species of the sub-group Geospiza are
+confined to separate islands. If the different islands have their
+representatives of Geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly
+large number of the species of this sub-group in this one small
+archipelago, and as a probable consequence of their numbers, the
+perfectly graduated series in the size of their beaks. Two species
+of the sub-group Cactornis, and two of the Camarhynchus, were
+procured in the archipelago; and of the numerous specimens of these
+two sub-groups shot by four collectors at James Island, all were
+found to belong to one species of each; whereas the numerous
+specimens shot either on Chatham or Charles Island (for the two
+sets were mingled together) all belonged to the two other species:
+hence we may feel almost sure that these islands possess their
+representative species of these two sub-groups. In land-shells this
+law of distribution does not appear to hold good. In my very small
+collection of insects, Mr. Waterhouse remarks that of those which
+were ticketed with their locality, not one was common to any two of
+the islands.
+
+
+TABLE 17/1.
+
+Column 1 : Name of Island.
+
+Column 2 : Total Number of species.
+
+Column 3 : Number of species found in other parts of the world.
+
+Column 4 : Number of Species confined to the Galapagos
+Archipelago.
+
+Column 5 : Number confined to the one island.
+
+Column 6 : Number of Species confined to the Galapagos
+Archipelago, but found           on more than the one island.
+
+James     : 71 : 33  : 38 : 30 :  8.
+Albemarle : 46 : 18  : 26 : 22 :  4.
+Chatham   : 32 : 16  : 16 : 12 :  4.
+Charles   : 68 : 39* : 29 : 21 :  8.
+               *(or 29, if the probably imported plants be
+                 subtracted.)
+If we now turn to the Flora, we shall find the aboriginal plants of
+the different islands wonderfully different. I give all the
+following results (Table 17/1) on the high authority of my friend
+Dr. J. Hooker. I may premise that I indiscriminately collected
+everything in flower on the different islands, and fortunately kept
+my collections separate. Too much confidence, however, must not be
+placed in the proportional results, as the small collections
+brought home by some other naturalists though in some respects
+confirming the results, plainly show that much remains to be done
+in the botany of this group: the Leguminosae, moreover, have as yet
+been only approximately worked out:--
+
+Hence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in James Island, of
+the thirty-eight Galapageian plants, or those found in no other
+part of the world, thirty are exclusively confined to this one
+island; and in Albemarle Island, of the twenty-six aboriginal
+Galapageian plants, twenty-two are confined to this one island,
+that is, only four are at present known to grow in the other
+islands of the archipelago; and so on, as shown in the above table,
+with the plants from Chatham and Charles Islands. This fact will,
+perhaps, be rendered even more striking, by giving a few
+illustrations:--thus, Scalesia, a remarkable arborescent genus of
+the Compositae, is confined to the archipelago: it has six species:
+one from Chatham, one from Albemarle, one from Charles Island, two
+from James Island, and the sixth from one of the three latter
+islands, but it is not known from which: not one of these six
+species grows on any two islands. Again, Euphorbia, a mundane or
+widely distributed genus, has here eight species, of which seven
+are confined to the archipelago, and not one found on any two
+islands: Acalypha and Borreria, both mundane genera, have
+respectively six and seven species, none of which have the same
+species on two islands, with the exception of one Borreria, which
+does occur on two islands. The species of the Compositae are
+particularly local; and Dr. Hooker has furnished me with several
+other most striking illustrations of the difference of the species
+on the different islands. He remarks that this law of distribution
+holds good both with those genera confined to the archipelago, and
+those distributed in other quarters of the world: in like manner we
+have seen that the different islands have their proper species of
+the mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely distributed
+American genus of the mocking-thrush, as well as of two of the
+Galapageian sub-groups of finches, and almost certainly of the
+Galapageian genus Amblyrhynchus.
+
+The distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would not be
+nearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had a
+mocking-thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct
+genus;--if one island had its genus of lizard, and a second island
+another distinct genus, or none whatever;--or if the different
+islands were inhabited, not by representative species of the same
+genera of plants, but by totally different genera, as does to a
+certain extent hold good; for, to give one instance, a large
+berry-bearing tree at James Island has no representative species in
+Charles Island. But it is the circumstance that several of the
+islands possess their own species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush,
+finches, and numerous plants, these species having the same general
+habits, occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the
+same place in the natural economy of this archipelago, that strikes
+me with wonder. It may be suspected that some of these
+representative species, at least in the case of the tortoise and of
+some of the birds, may hereafter prove to be only well-marked
+races; but this would be of equally great interest to the
+philosophical naturalist. I have said that most of the islands are
+in sight of each other: I may specify that Charles Island is fifty
+miles from the nearest part of Chatham Island, and thirty-three
+miles from the nearest part of Albemarle Island. Chatham Island is
+sixty miles from the nearest part of James Island, but there are
+two intermediate islands between them which were not visited by me.
+James Island is only ten miles from the nearest part of Albemarle
+Island, but the two points where the collections were made are
+thirty-two miles apart. I must repeat, that neither the nature of
+the soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, nor the general
+character of the associated beings, and therefore their action one
+on another, can differ much in the different islands. If there be
+any sensible difference in their climates, it must be between the
+windward group (namely, Charles and Chatham Islands), and that to
+leeward; but there seems to be no corresponding difference in the
+productions of these two halves of the archipelago.
+
+The only light which I can throw on this remarkable difference in
+the inhabitants of the different islands is that very strong
+currents of the sea running in a westerly and west-north-westerly
+direction must separate, as far as transportal by the sea is
+concerned, the southern islands from the northern ones; and between
+these northern islands a strong north-west current was observed,
+which must effectually separate James and Albemarle Islands. As the
+archipelago is free to a most remarkable degree from gales of wind,
+neither the birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from
+island to island. And lastly, the profound depth of the ocean
+between the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geological
+sense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they were
+ever united; and this, probably, is a far more important
+consideration than any other with respect to the geographical
+distribution of their inhabitants. Reviewing the facts here given,
+one is astonished at the amount of creative force, if such an
+expression may be used, displayed on these small, barren, and rocky
+islands; and still more so, at its diverse yet analogous action on
+points so near each other. I have said that the Galapagos
+Archipelago might be called a satellite attached to America, but it
+should rather be called a group of satellites, physically similar,
+organically distinct, yet intimately related to each other, and all
+related in a marked though much lesser degree, to the great
+American continent.
+
+I will conclude my description of the natural history of these
+islands by giving an account of the extreme tameness of the birds.
+
+This disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely,
+to the mocking-thrushes, the finches, wrens, tyrant-flycatchers,
+the dove, and carrion-buzzard. All of them often approached
+sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as I
+myself tried, with a cap or hat. A gun is here almost superfluous;
+for with the muzzle I pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. One
+day, whilst lying down, a mocking-thrush alighted on the edge of a
+pitcher, made of the shell of a tortoise, which I held in my hand,
+and began very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it
+from the ground whilst seated on the vessel: I often tried, and
+very nearly succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs.
+Formerly the birds appear to have been even tamer than at present.
+Cowley (in the year 1684) says that the "Turtledoves were so tame,
+that they would often alight on our hats and arms, so as that we
+could take them alive: they not fearing man, until such time as
+some of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered
+more shy." Dampier also, in the same year, says that a man in a
+morning's walk might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. At
+present, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on
+people's arms, nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such
+large numbers. It is surprising that they have not become wilder;
+for these islands during the last hundred and fifty years have been
+frequently visited by bucaniers and whalers; and the sailors,
+wandering through the wood in search of tortoises, always take
+cruel delight in knocking down the little birds.
+
+These birds, although now still more persecuted, do not readily
+become wild: in Charles Island, which had then been colonised about
+six years, I saw a boy sitting by a well with a switch in his hand,
+with which he killed the doves and finches as they came to drink.
+He had already procured a little heap of them for his dinner, and
+he said that he had constantly been in the habit of waiting by this
+well for the same purpose. It would appear that the birds of this
+archipelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more dangerous
+animal than the tortoise or the Amblyrhynchus, disregard him, in
+the same manner as in England shy birds, such as magpies, disregard
+the cows and horses grazing in our fields.
+
+The Falkland Islands offer a second instance of birds with a
+similar disposition. The extraordinary tameness of the little
+Opetiorhynchus has been remarked by Pernety, Lesson, and other
+voyagers. It is not, however, peculiar to that bird: the Polyborus,
+snipe, upland and lowland goose, thrush, bunting, and even some
+true hawks, are all more or less tame. As the birds are so tame
+there, where foxes, hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the
+absence of all rapacious animals at the Galapagos is not the cause
+of their tameness here. The upland geese at the Falklands show, by
+the precaution they take in building on the islets, that they are
+aware of their danger from the foxes; but they are not by this
+rendered wild towards man. This tameness of the birds, especially
+of the waterfowl, is strongly contrasted with the habits of the
+same species in Tierra del Fuego, where for ages past they have
+been persecuted by the wild inhabitants. In the Falklands, the
+sportsman may sometimes kill more of the upland geese in one day
+than he can carry home; whereas in Tierra del Fuego it is nearly as
+difficult to kill one as it is in England to shoot the common wild
+goose.
+
+In the time of Pernety (1763) all the birds there appear to have
+been much tamer than at present; he states that the Opetiorhynchus
+would almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed
+ten in half an hour. At that period the birds must have been about
+as tame as they now are at the Galapagos. They appear to have
+learnt caution more slowly at these latter islands than at the
+Falklands, where they have had proportionate means of experience;
+for besides frequent visits from vessels, those islands have been
+at intervals colonised during the entire period. Even formerly,
+when all the birds were so tame, it was impossible by Pernety's
+account to kill the black-necked swan--a bird of passage, which
+probably brought with it the wisdom learnt in foreign countries.
+
+I may add that, according to Du Bois, all the birds at Bourbon in
+1571-72, with the exception of the flamingoes and geese, were so
+extremely tame, that they could be caught by the hand, or killed in
+any number with a stick. Again, at Tristan d'Acunha in the
+Atlantic, Carmichael states that the only two land-birds, a thrush
+and a bunting, were "so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught
+with a hand-net." (17/6. "Linnean Transactions" volume 12 page 496.
+The most anomalous fact on this subject which I have met with is
+the wildness of the small birds in the Arctic parts of North
+America (as described by Richardson "Fauna Bor." volume 2 page
+332), where they are said never to be persecuted. This case is the
+more strange, because it is asserted that some of the same species
+in their winter-quarters in the United States are tame. There is
+much, as Dr. Richardson well remarks, utterly inexplicable
+connected with the different degrees of shyness and care with which
+birds conceal their nests. How strange it is that the English
+wood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very frequently rear
+its young in shrubberies close to houses!) From these several facts
+we may, I think, conclude, first, that the wildness of birds with
+regard to man is a particular instinct directed against HIM, and
+not dependent upon any general degree of caution arising from other
+sources of danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual
+birds in a short time, even when much persecuted; but that in the
+course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. With
+domesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental habits or
+instincts acquired and rendered hereditary; but with animals in a
+state of nature it must always be most difficult to discover
+instances of acquired hereditary knowledge. In regard to the
+wildness of birds towards man, there is no way of accounting for
+it, except as an inherited habit: comparatively few young birds, in
+any one year, have been injured by man in England, yet almost all,
+even nestlings, are afraid of him; many individuals, on the other
+hand, both at the Galapagos and at the Falklands, have been pursued
+and injured by man, but yet have not learned a salutary dread of
+him. We may infer from these facts, what havoc the introduction of
+any new beast of prey must cause in a country, before the instincts
+of the indigenous inhabitants have become adapted to the stranger's
+craft or power.
+
+
+(PLATE 83.  OPUNTIA GALAPAGEIA, JAMES ISLAND. C. DARWIN'S SKETCH.
+Stem 6 to 10 feet. Diameter 1 foot.)
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+(PLATE 84.  AVA OR KAVA (Macropiper methysticum), TAHITI.)
+
+TAHITI AND NEW ZEALAND.
+
+Pass through the Low Archipelago.
+Tahiti.
+Aspect.
+Vegetation on the mountains.
+View of Eimeo.
+Excursion into the interior.
+Profound ravines.
+Succession of waterfalls.
+Number of wild useful plants.
+Temperance of the inhabitants.
+Their moral state.
+Parliament convened.
+New Zealand.
+Bay of islands.
+Hippahs.
+Excursion to Waimate.
+Missionary establishment.
+English weeds now run wild.
+Waiomio.
+Funeral of a New Zealand woman.
+Sail for Australia.
+
+OCTOBER 20, 1835.
+
+
+
+The survey of the Galapagos Archipelago being concluded, we steered
+towards Tahiti and commenced our long passage of 3200 miles. In the
+course of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded
+ocean-district which extends during the winter far from the coast
+of South America. We then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while
+running pleasantly along at the rate of 150 or 160 miles a day
+before the steady trade-wind. The temperature in this more central
+part of the Pacific is higher than near the American shore. The
+thermometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between 80
+and 83 degrees, which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or
+two higher, the heat becomes oppressive. We passed through the Low
+or Dangerous Archipelago, and saw several of those most curious
+rings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have
+been called Lagoon Islands. A long and brilliantly-white beach is
+capped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking
+either way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath
+the horizon. From the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water can
+be seen within the ring. These low hollow coral islands bear no
+proportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and
+it seems wonderful that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed by
+the all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea,
+miscalled the Pacific.
+
+NOVEMBER 15, 1835.
+
+At daylight, Tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical
+to the voyager in the South Sea, was in view. At a distance the
+appearance was not attractive. The luxuriant vegetation of the
+lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past,
+the wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards
+the centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in Matavai Bay, we
+were surrounded by canoes. This was our Sunday, but the Monday of
+Tahiti: if the case had been reversed, we should not have received
+a single visit; for the injunction not to launch a canoe on the
+Sabbath is rigidly obeyed. After dinner we landed to enjoy all the
+delights produced by the first impressions of a new country, and
+that country the charming Tahiti. A crowd of men, women, and
+children, was collected on the memorable Point Venus, ready to
+receive us with laughing, merry faces. They marshalled us towards
+the house of Mr. Wilson, the missionary of the district, who met us
+on the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. After sitting a
+short time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned
+there in the evening.
+
+The land capable of cultivation is scarcely in any part more than a
+fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the
+mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef,
+which encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef there is
+an expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes
+of the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. The low
+land which comes down to the beach of coral-sand is covered by the
+most beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. In the
+midst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots
+are cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, the sugar-cane, and
+pine-apples are cultivated. Even the brushwood is an imported
+fruit-tree, namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become
+as noxious as a weed. In Brazil I have often admired the varied
+beauty of the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together;
+and here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large,
+glossy, and deeply digitated leaf. It is admirable to behold groves
+of a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour of an English
+oak, loaded with large and most nutritious fruit. However seldom
+the usefulness of an object can account for the pleasure of
+beholding it, in the case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge
+of their high productiveness no doubt enters largely into the
+feeling of admiration. The little winding paths, cool from the
+surrounding shade, led to the scattered houses; the owners of which
+everywhere gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception.
+
+I was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants. There
+is a mildness in the expression of their countenances which at once
+banishes the idea of a savage; and an intelligence which shows that
+they are advancing in civilisation. The common people, when
+working, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked; and it is
+then that the Tahitians are seen to advantage. They are very tall,
+broad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. It has been
+remarked that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more
+pleasing and natural to the eye of a European than his own colour.
+A white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian was like a plant
+bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one
+growing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are
+tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so
+gracefully that they have a very elegant effect. One common
+pattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a
+palm-tree. It springs from the central line of the back, and
+gracefully curls round both sides. The simile may be a fanciful
+one, but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the
+trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper.
+
+Many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures,
+so placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, however, is partly
+gone by, and has been succeeded by others. Here, although fashion
+is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in
+his youth. An old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his
+body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. The women are
+tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their
+fingers. One unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: namely,
+shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a circular
+form, so as to leave only an outer ring. The missionaries have
+tried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the
+fashion, and that is a sufficient answer at Tahiti, as well as at
+Paris. I was much disappointed in the personal appearance of the
+women: they are far inferior in every respect to the men. The
+custom of wearing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the
+head, or through a small hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of
+woven cocoa-nut leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The
+women appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even
+than the men.
+
+Nearly all the natives understand a little English--that is, they
+know the names of common things; and by the aid of this, together
+with signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on. In
+returning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a very
+pretty scene. Numbers of children were playing on the beach, and
+had lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding
+trees; others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. We seated
+ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs were
+impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one little girl
+sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty
+chorus. The whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were
+seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea.
+
+NOVEMBER 17, 1835.
+
+This day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday the 17th, instead
+of Monday the 16th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the
+sun. Before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of
+canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, I
+suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. It was the
+opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have
+picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have
+given so little trouble. Everybody brought something for sale:
+shells were the main article of trade. The Tahitians now fully
+understand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or
+other articles. The various coins, however, of English and Spanish
+denomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small
+silver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs
+have accumulated considerable sums of money. One chief, not long
+since, offered 800 dollars (about 160 pounds sterling) for a small
+vessel; and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the
+rate of from 50 to 100 dollars.
+
+After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to
+a height of between two and three thousand feet. The outer
+mountains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic
+rocks, of which they are formed, have been cut through by many
+profound ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the
+island to the coast. Having crossed the narrow low girt of
+inhabited and fertile land, I followed a smooth steep ridge between
+two of the deep ravines. The vegetation was singular, consisting
+almost exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled, higher up, with
+coarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the
+Welsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants
+on the coast was very surprising. At the highest point which I
+reached trees again appeared. Of the three zones of comparative
+luxuriance, the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore
+fertility, to its flatness; for, being scarcely raised above the
+level of the sea, the water from the higher land drains away
+slowly. The intermediate zone does not, like the upper one, reach
+into a damp and cloudy atmosphere, and therefore remains sterile.
+The woods in the upper zone are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing
+the cocoa-nuts on the coast. It must not, however, be supposed that
+these woods at all equal in splendour the forests of Brazil. The
+vast number of productions, which characterise a continent, cannot
+be expected to occur in an island.
+
+(PLATE 85.  EIMEO AND BARRIER-REEF.)
+
+From the highest point which I attained there was a good view of
+the distant island of Eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign with
+Tahiti. On the lofty and broken pinnacles white massive clouds were
+piled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as Eimeo itself
+did in the blue ocean. The island, with the exception of one small
+gateway, is completely encircled by a reef. At this distance, a
+narrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone visible,
+where the waves first encountered the wall of coral. The mountains
+rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included
+within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of
+the ocean were dark-coloured. The view was striking: it may aptly
+be compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the
+breakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the
+island itself. When in the evening I descended from the mountain, a
+man, whom I had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with
+him hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. After
+walking under a burning sun, I do not know anything more delicious
+than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples are here so
+abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner as we
+might turnips. They are of an excellent flavour--perhaps even
+better than those cultivated in England; and this I believe is the
+highest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. Before going on
+board, Mr. Wilson interpreted for me to the Tahitian who had paid
+me so adroit an attention, that I wanted him and another man to
+accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains.
+
+NOVEMBER 18, 1835.
+
+In the morning I came on shore early, bringing with me some
+provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant. These
+were lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately
+carried by my Tahitian companions on their shoulders. These men are
+accustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds
+at each end of their poles. I told my guides to provide themselves
+with food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty of food
+in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were
+sufficient. Our line of march was the valley of Tia-auru, down
+which a river flows into the sea by Point Venus. This is one of the
+principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of
+the loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about
+7000 feet. The whole island is so mountainous that the only way to
+penetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. Our road,
+at first, lay through woods which bordered each side of the river;
+and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an
+avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side,
+were extremely picturesque. The valley soon began to narrow, and
+the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. After having walked
+between three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine
+scarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. On each hand the
+walls were nearly vertical; yet from the soft nature of the
+volcanic strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every
+projecting ledge. These precipices must have been some thousand
+feet high; and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more
+magnificent than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until the
+mid-day sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and
+damp, but now it became very sultry. Shaded by a ledge of rock,
+beneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. My guides had
+already procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. They
+carried with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the
+water was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with
+their eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus
+caught them.
+
+The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the
+water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how much they feel at
+home in this element. When a horse was landing for Pomarre in 1817,
+the slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the
+natives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at
+assistance almost drowned it. As soon, however, as it reached the
+shore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide
+themselves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse.
+
+A little higher up, the river divided itself into three little
+streams. The two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a
+succession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of
+the highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally
+inaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary
+road. The sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as
+frequently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected,
+which were thickly covered by wild bananas, liliaceous plants, and
+other luxuriant productions of the tropics. The Tahitians, by
+climbing amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered
+a track by which the whole precipice could be scaled. The first
+ascent from the valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to
+pass a steeply inclined face of naked rock by the aid of ropes
+which we brought with us. How any person discovered that this
+formidable spot was the only point where the side of the mountain
+was practicable, I cannot imagine. We then cautiously walked along
+one of the ledges till we came to one of the three streams. This
+ledge formed a flat spot above which a beautiful cascade, some
+hundred feet in height, poured down its waters, and beneath,
+another high cascade fell into the main stream in the valley below.
+From this cool and shady recess we made a circuit to avoid the
+overhanging waterfall. As before, we followed little projecting
+ledges, the danger being partly concealed by the thickness of the
+vegetation. In passing from one of the ledges to another there was
+a vertical wall of rock. One of the Tahitians, a fine active man,
+placed the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by
+the aid of crevices reached the summit. He fixed the ropes to a
+projecting point, and lowered them for our dog and luggage, and
+then we clambered up ourselves. Beneath the ledge on which the dead
+tree was placed, the precipice must have been five or six hundred
+feet deep; and if the abyss had not been partly concealed by the
+overhanging ferns and lilies my head would have turned giddy, and
+nothing should have induced me to have attempted it. We continued
+to ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife-edged
+ridges, having on each hand profound ravines. In the Cordillera I
+have seen mountains on a far grander scale, but for abruptness
+nothing at all comparable with this. In the evening we reached a
+flat little spot on the banks of the same stream which we had
+continued to follow, and which descends in a chain of waterfalls:
+here we bivouacked for the night. On each side of the ravine there
+were great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit.
+Many of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and
+from three to four in circumference. By the aid of strips of bark
+for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, and the large leaf of
+the banana for a thatch, the Tahitians in a few minutes built us an
+excellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed.
+
+(PLATE 86.  FATAHUA FALL, TAHITI.)
+
+(PLATE 87.  TAHITIAN.)
+
+They then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. A
+light was procured by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove
+made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the
+friction the dust became ignited. A peculiarly white and very light
+wood (the Hibiscus tiliaceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is
+the same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the
+floating out-riggers to their canoes. The fire was produced in a
+few seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, it
+requires, as I found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my
+great pride, I succeeded in igniting the dust. The Gaucho in the
+Pampas uses a different method: taking an elastic stick about
+eighteen inches long, he presses one end on his breast, and the
+other pointed end into a hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly
+turns the curved part like a carpenter's centre-bit. The Tahitians
+having made a small fire of sticks, placed a score of stones of
+about the size of cricket-balls, on the burning wood. In about ten
+minutes the sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. They had
+previously folded up in small parcels of leaves, pieces of beef,
+fish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops of the wild arum. These
+green parcels were laid in a layer between two layers of the hot
+stones, and the whole then covered up with earth, so that no smoke
+or steam could escape. In about a quarter of an hour the whole was
+most deliciously cooked. The choice green parcels were now laid on
+a cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-nut shell we drank the
+cool water of the running stream; and thus we enjoyed our rustic
+meal.
+
+I could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration. On
+every side were forests of bananas; the fruit of which, though
+serving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the
+ground. In front of us there was an extensive brake of wild
+sugar-cane; and the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted
+stem of the Ava,--so famous in former days for its powerful
+intoxicating effects. I chewed a piece, and found that it had an
+acrid and unpleasant taste, which would have induced any one at
+once to have pronounced it poisonous. Thanks to the missionaries,
+this plant now thrives only in these deep ravines, innocuous to
+every one. Close by I saw the wild arum, the roots of which, when
+well baked, are good to eat, and the young leaves better than
+spinach. There was the wild yam, and a liliaceous plant called Ti,
+which grows in abundance, and has a soft brown root, in shape and
+size like a huge log of wood: this served us for dessert, for it is
+as sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant taste. There were,
+moreover, several other wild fruits, and useful vegetables. The
+little stream, besides its cool water, produced eels and crayfish.
+I did indeed admire this scene, when I compared it with an
+uncultivated one in the temperate zones. I felt the force of the
+remark that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers
+only partly developed, is the child of the tropics.
+
+As the evening drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy shade
+of the bananas up the course of the stream. My walk was soon
+brought to a close by coming to a waterfall between two and three
+hundred feet high; and again above this there was another. I
+mention all these waterfalls in this one brook to give a general
+idea of the inclination of the land. In the little recess where the
+water fell, it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown.
+The thin edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray,
+were unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split
+into a thousand shreds. From our position, almost suspended on the
+mountain-side, there were glimpses into the depths of the
+neighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of the central
+mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half
+the evening sky. Thus seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch
+the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and highest
+pinnacles.
+
+Before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder Tahitian fell on
+his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his
+native tongue. He prayed as a Christian should do, with fitting
+reverence, and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of
+piety. At our meals neither of the men would taste food, without
+saying beforehand a short grace. Those travellers who think that a
+Tahitian prays only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on
+him, should have slept with us that night on the mountain-side.
+Before morning it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of
+banana-leaves kept us dry.
+
+NOVEMBER 19, 1835.
+
+At daylight my friends, after their morning prayer, prepared an
+excellent breakfast in the same manner as in the evening. They
+themselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed I never saw any
+men eat near so much. I suppose such enormously capacious stomachs
+must be the effect of a large part of their diet consisting of
+fruit and vegetables which contain, in a given bulk, a
+comparatively small portion of nutriment. Unwittingly, I was the
+means of my companions breaking, as I afterwards learned, one of
+their own laws and resolutions: I took with me a flask of spirits,
+which they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they
+drank a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and
+uttered the word "Missionary." About two years ago, although the
+use of the ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of
+spirits became very prevalent. The missionaries prevailed on a few
+good men who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to
+join with them in a Temperance Society. From good sense or shame,
+all the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join.
+Immediately a law was passed that no spirits should be allowed to
+be introduced into the island, and that he who sold and he who
+bought the forbidden article should be punished by a fine. With
+remarkable justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand
+to be sold, before the law came into effect. But when it did, a
+general search was made, in which even the houses of the
+missionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the natives
+call all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. When one
+reflects on the effect of intemperance on the aborigines of the two
+Americas, I think it will be acknowledged that every well-wisher of
+Tahiti owes no common debt of gratitude to the missionaries. As
+long as the little island of St. Helena remained under the
+government of the East India Company, spirits, owing to the great
+injury they had produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine
+was supplied from the Cape of Good Hope. It is rather a striking,
+and not very gratifying fact, that in the same year that spirits
+were allowed to be sold in St. Helena, their use was banished from
+Tahiti by the free will of the people.
+
+After breakfast we proceeded on our journey. As my object was
+merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by
+another track, which descended into the main valley lower down. For
+some distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of
+the mountain which formed the valley. In the less precipitous parts
+we passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. The
+Tahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads
+ornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these
+groves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some
+primeval land. In our descent we followed the line of ridges; these
+were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep as a
+ladder; but all clothed with vegetation. The extreme care necessary
+in poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. I did not cease
+to wonder at these ravines and precipices: when viewing the country
+from one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so
+small that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from a
+balloon. In this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only
+once, at the point where we entered the main valley. We slept under
+the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before: the night
+was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the gorge,
+profoundly dark.
+
+Before actually seeing this country, I found it difficult to
+understand two facts mentioned by Ellis; namely, that after the
+murderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered
+side retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could
+resist a multitude. Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where
+the Tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed
+thousands. Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity,
+there were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats
+were unknown to the more civilised inhabitants.
+
+NOVEMBER 20, 1835.
+
+In the morning we started early, and reached Matavai at noon. On
+the road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild
+bananas. I found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in
+watering, had moved to the harbour of Papawa, to which place I
+immediately walked. This is a very pretty spot. The cove is
+surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. The
+cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed
+with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge.
+
+From the varying accounts which I had read before reaching these
+islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a
+judgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would
+necessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very
+much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. My notions were
+drawn from Ellis's "Polynesian Researches"--an admirable and most
+interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a
+favourable point of view, from Beechey's "Voyage;" and from that of
+Kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system.
+He who compares these three accounts will, I think, form a
+tolerably accurate conception of the present state of Tahiti. One
+of my impressions, which I took from the two last authorities, was
+decidedly incorrect; namely, that the Tahitians had become a gloomy
+race, and lived in fear of the missionaries. Of the latter feeling
+I saw no trace, unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded
+under one name. Instead of discontent being a common feeling, it
+would be difficult in Europe to pick out of a crowd half so many
+merry and happy faces. The prohibition of the flute and dancing is
+inveighed against as wrong and foolish;--the more than presbyterian
+manner of keeping the Sabbath is looked at in a similar light. On
+these points I will not pretend to offer any opinion, in opposition
+to men who have resided as many years as I was days on the island.
+
+On the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of
+the inhabitants are highly creditable. There are many who attack,
+even more acrimoniously than Kotzebue, both the missionaries, their
+system, and the effects produced by it. Such reasoners never
+compare the present state with that of the island only twenty years
+ago; nor even with that of Europe at this day; but they compare it
+with the high standard of Gospel perfection. They expect the
+missionaries to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to
+do. Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this
+high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of
+credit for that which he has effected. They forget, or will not
+remember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous
+priesthood--a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part
+of the world--infanticide a consequence of that system--bloody
+wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children--that
+all these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance,
+and licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of
+Christianity. In a voyager to forget these things is base
+ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck
+on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson
+of the missionary may have extended thus far.
+
+In point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often
+said, is most open to exception. But before they are blamed too
+severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes
+described by Captain Cook and Mr. Banks, in which the grandmothers
+and mothers of the present race played a part. Those who are most
+severe, should consider how much of the morality of the women in
+Europe is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their
+daughters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of
+religion. But it is useless to argue against such reasoners;--I
+believe that, disappointed in not finding the field of
+licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they will not give credit
+to a morality which they do not wish to practise, or to a religion
+which they undervalue, if not despise.
+
+SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1835.
+
+The harbour of Papiete, where the queen resides, may be considered
+as the capital of the island: it is also the seat of government,
+and the chief resort of shipping. Captain Fitz Roy took a party
+there this day to hear divine service, first in the Tahitian
+language, and afterwards in our own. Mr. Pritchard, the leading
+missionary in the island, performed the service. The chapel
+consisted of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to
+excess by tidy, clean people, of all ages and both sexes. I was
+rather disappointed in the apparent degree of attention; but I
+believe my expectations were raised too high. At all events the
+appearance was quite equal to that in a country church in England.
+The singing of the hymns was decidedly very pleasing, but the
+language from the pulpit, although fluently delivered, did not
+sound well: a constant repetition of words, like "tata ta, mata
+mai," rendered it monotonous. After English service, a party
+returned on foot to Matavai. It was a pleasant walk, sometimes
+along the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the many
+beautiful trees.
+
+About two years ago, a small vessel under English colours was
+plundered by some of the inhabitants of the Low Islands, which were
+then under the dominion of the Queen of Tahiti. It was believed
+that the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some
+indiscreet laws issued by her majesty. The British government
+demanded compensation; which was acceded to, and a sum of nearly
+three thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last
+September. The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain Fitz Roy to
+inquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were
+not paid. Captain Fitz Roy accordingly requested an interview with
+the Queen Pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she has
+received from the French; and a parliament was held to consider the
+question, at which all the principal chiefs of the island and the
+queen were assembled. I will not attempt to describe what took
+place, after the interesting account given by Captain Fitz Roy. The
+money, it appeared, had not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons
+were rather equivocal; but otherwise I cannot sufficiently express
+our general surprise at the extreme good sense, the reasoning
+powers, moderation, candour, and prompt resolution, which were
+displayed on all sides. I believe we all left the meeting with a
+very different opinion of the Tahitians from what we entertained
+when we entered. The chiefs and people resolved to subscribe and
+complete the sum which was wanting; Captain Fitz Roy urged that it
+was hard that their private property should be sacrificed for the
+crimes of distant islanders. They replied that they were grateful
+for his consideration, but that Pomarre was their Queen, and that
+they were determined to help her in this her difficulty. This
+resolution and its prompt execution, for a book was opened early
+the next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very remarkable
+scene of loyalty and good feeling.
+
+After the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took the
+opportunity of asking Captain Fitz Roy many intelligent questions
+on international customs and laws, relating to the treatment of
+ships and foreigners. On some points, as soon as the decision was
+made, the law was issued verbally on the spot. This Tahitian
+parliament lasted for several hours; and when it was over Captain
+Fitz Roy invited Queen Pomarre to pay the "Beagle" a visit.
+
+NOVEMBER 25, 1835.
+
+In the evening four boats were sent for her majesty; the ship was
+dressed with flags, and the yards manned on her coming on board.
+She was accompanied by most of the chiefs. The behaviour of all was
+very proper: they begged for nothing, and seemed much pleased with
+Captain Fitz Roy's presents. The Queen is a large awkward woman,
+without any beauty, grace or dignity. She has only one royal
+attribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all
+circumstances, and that rather a sullen one. The rockets were most
+admired, and a deep "Oh!" could be heard from the shore, all round
+the dark bay, after each explosion. The sailors' songs were also
+much admired; and the queen said she thought that one of the most
+boisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! The royal party did
+not return on shore till past midnight.
+
+NOVEMBER 26, 1835.
+
+In the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was steered for
+New Zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view of the
+mountains of Tahiti--the island to which every voyager has offered
+up his tribute of admiration.
+
+DECEMBER 19, 1835.
+
+In the evening we saw in the distance New Zealand. We may now
+consider that we have nearly crossed the Pacific. It is necessary
+to sail over this great ocean to comprehend its immensity. Moving
+quickly onwards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the
+same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. Even within the archipelagoes,
+the islands are mere specks, and far distant one from the other.
+Accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small scale, where dots,
+shading, and names are crowded together, we do not rightly judge
+how infinitely small the proportion of dry land is to the water of
+this vast expanse. The meridian of the Antipodes has likewise been
+passed; and now every league, it made us happy to think, was one
+league nearer to England. These Antipodes call to one's mind old
+recollections of childish doubt and wonder. Only the other day I
+looked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in our
+voyage homewards; but now I find it, and all such resting-places
+for the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards
+cannot catch. A gale of wind lasting for some days has lately given
+us full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward
+voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination.
+
+DECEMBER 21, 1835.
+
+Early in the morning we entered the Bay of Islands, and being
+becalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did not reach the
+anchorage till the middle of the day. The country is hilly, with a
+smooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the
+sea extending from the bay. The surface appears from a distance as
+if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing but
+fern. On the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the
+valleys, there is a good deal of woodland. The general tint of the
+landscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a
+short distance to the south of Concepcion in Chile. In several
+parts of the bay little villages of square tidy-looking houses are
+scattered close down to the water's edge. Three whaling-ships were
+lying at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from shore
+to shore; with these exceptions, an air of extreme quietness
+reigned over the whole district. Only a single canoe came
+alongside. This, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a
+remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and
+boisterous welcome at Tahiti.
+
+In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of
+houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. Its name
+is Pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no
+native residents except servants and labourers. In the vicinity of
+the Bay of Islands the number of Englishmen, including their
+families, amounts to between two and three hundred. All the
+cottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the
+property of the English. The hovels of the natives are so
+diminutive and paltry that they can scarcely be perceived from a
+distance. At Pahia it was quite pleasing to behold the English
+flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were roses of
+several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of
+sweetbriar.
+
+DECEMBER 22, 1835.
+
+In the morning I went out walking; but I soon found that the
+country was very impracticable. All the hills are thickly covered
+with tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a
+cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated. I
+then tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my
+walk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. The
+communication between the inhabitants of the different parts of the
+bay is (as in Chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats. I was
+surprised to find that almost every hill which I ascended had been
+at some former time more or less fortified. The summits were cut
+into steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been
+protected by deep trenches. I afterwards observed that the
+principal hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline.
+These are the Pas, so frequently mentioned by Captain Cook under
+the name of "hippah;" the difference of sound being owing to the
+prefixed article.
+
+That the Pas had formerly been much used was evident from the piles
+of shells, and the pits in which, as I was informed, sweet potatoes
+used to be kept as a reserve. As there was no water on these hills,
+the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a
+hurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces
+would have afforded good protection. The general introduction of
+firearms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed
+situation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. The Pas
+in consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level
+piece of ground. They consist of a double stockade of thick and
+tall posts, placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be
+flanked. Within the stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind
+which the defenders can rest in safety, or use their firearms over
+it. On the level of the ground little archways sometimes pass
+through this breastwork, by which means the defenders can crawl out
+to the stockade and reconnoitre their enemies. The Reverend W.
+Williams, who gave me this account, added that in one Pas he had
+noticed spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected
+side of the mound of earth. On asking the chief the use of them, he
+replied, that if two or three of his men were shot their neighbours
+would not see the bodies, and so be discouraged.
+
+These Pas are considered by the New Zealanders as very perfect
+means of defence: for the attacking force is never so well
+disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and
+effect their entry. When a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot
+order one party to go here and another there; but every man fights
+in the manner which best pleases himself; and to each separate
+individual to approach a stockade defended by firearms must appear
+certain death. I should think a more warlike race of inhabitants
+could not be found in any part of the world than the New
+Zealanders. Their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by
+Captain Cook, strongly illustrates this: the act of throwing
+volleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their
+defiance of "Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows
+uncommon boldness. This warlike spirit is evident in many of their
+customs, and even in their smallest actions. If a New Zealander is
+struck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned; and of
+this I saw an instance with one of our officers.
+
+At the present day, from the progress of civilisation, there is
+much less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. I
+heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in
+the south. A missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation
+for war;--their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition
+ready. He reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little
+provocation which had been given for it. The chief was much shaken
+in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred
+to him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that
+it would not keep much longer. This was brought forward as an
+unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring
+war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not
+to be thought of; and this settled the point. I was told by the
+missionaries that in the life of Shongi, the chief who visited
+England, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every
+action. The tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time
+been much oppressed by another tribe from the Thames River. A
+solemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys should grow
+up, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or
+forgive these injuries. To fulfil this oath appears to have been
+Shongi's chief motive for going to England; and when there it was
+his sole object. Presents were valued only as they could be
+converted into arms; of the arts, those alone interested him which
+were connected with the manufacture of arms. When at Sydney,
+Shongi, by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the
+Thames River at the house of Mr. Marsden: their conduct was civil
+to each other; but Shongi told him that when again in New Zealand
+he would never cease to carry war into his country. The challenge
+was accepted; and Shongi on his return fulfilled the threat to the
+utmost letter. The tribe on the Thames River was utterly
+overthrown, and the chief to whom the challenge had been given was
+himself killed. Shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of
+hatred and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured
+person.
+
+In the evening I went with Captain Fitz Roy and Mr. Baker, one of
+the missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika: we wandered about
+the village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both
+men, women, and children. Looking at the New Zealander, one
+naturally compares him with the Tahitian; both belonging to the
+same family of mankind. The comparison, however, tells heavily
+against the New Zealander. He may, perhaps be superior in energy,
+but in every other respect his character is of a much lower order.
+One glance at their respective expressions brings conviction to the
+mind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. It would be
+vain to seek in the whole of New Zealand a person with the face and
+mien of the old Tahitian chief Utamme. No doubt the extraordinary
+manner in which tattooing is here practised gives a disagreeable
+expression to their countenances. The complicated but symmetrical
+figures covering the whole face puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed
+eye: it is moreover probable that the deep incisions, by destroying
+the play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid
+inflexibility. But, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye
+which cannot indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. Their
+figures are tall and bulky; but not comparable in elegance with
+those of the working-classes in Tahiti.
+
+Both their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the
+idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to
+enter their heads. I saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and
+matted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he
+replied, with surprise, "Do not you see it is an old one?" Some of
+the men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large
+blankets, generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their
+shoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the
+principal chiefs have decent suits of English clothes; but these
+are only worn on great occasions.
+
+DECEMBER 23, 1835.
+
+At a place called Waimate, about fifteen miles from the Bay of
+Islands, and midway between the eastern and western coasts, the
+missionaries have purchased some land for agricultural purposes. I
+had been introduced to the Reverend W. Williams, who, upon my
+expressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. Mr. Bushby,
+the British resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek,
+where I should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk
+would be shortened. He likewise procured for me a guide. Upon
+asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief himself
+offered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was so
+complete, that at first he asked how many pounds I would give him,
+but afterwards was well contented with two dollars. When I showed
+the chief a very small bundle which I wanted carried, it became
+absolutely necessary for him to take a slave. These feelings of
+pride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man would
+sooner have died than undergone the indignity of carrying the
+smallest burden. My companion was a light active man, dressed in a
+dirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. He had
+formerly been a great warrior. He appeared to be on very cordial
+terms with Mr. Bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled
+violently. Mr. Bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would
+frequently silence any one of these natives in their most
+blustering moments. This chief has come and harangued Mr. Bushby in
+a hectoring manner, saying, "A great chief, a great man, a friend
+of mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something
+good to eat, some fine presents, etc." Mr. Bushby has allowed him
+to finish his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some
+answer such as, "What else shall your slave do for you?" The man
+would then instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his
+braggadocio.
+
+Some time ago Mr. Bushby suffered a far more serious attack. A
+chief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the
+middle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a
+brisk firing with their muskets. Mr. Bushby was slightly wounded,
+but the party was at length driven away. Shortly afterwards it was
+discovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the
+chiefs was convened to consider the case. It was considered by the
+New Zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night
+attack, and that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill in the house: this
+latter circumstance, much to their honour, being considered in all
+cases as a protection. The chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of
+the aggressor to the King of England. The whole proceeding,
+however, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely without
+precedent. The aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of
+his equals; and this was considered by the British as of more
+consequence than the confiscation of his land.
+
+As the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who
+only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. I
+never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had.
+It immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness: it will
+be found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin,
+where two men are pushing Robert into the burning iron furnace. It
+is the man who has his arm on Robert's breast. Physiognomy here
+spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was
+an arrant coward to boot. At the point where the boat landed, Mr.
+Bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: I could not
+help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we
+left lying in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby, "Do not you
+stay long, I shall be tired of waiting here."
+
+We now commenced our walk. The road lay along a well-beaten path,
+bordered on each side by the tall fern which covers the whole
+country. After travelling some miles we came to a little country
+village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some
+patches of ground cultivated with potatoes. The introduction of the
+potato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now
+much more used than any native vegetable. New Zealand is favoured
+by one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can
+never perish from famine. The whole country abounds with fern: and
+the roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much
+nutriment. A native can always subsist on these, and on the
+shell-fish which are abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. The
+villages are chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised
+on four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on which the
+produce of the fields is kept secure from all accidents.
+
+On coming near one of the huts I was much amused by seeing in due
+form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called,
+pressing noses. The women, on our first approach, began uttering
+something in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves
+down and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one
+after another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to
+theirs, and commenced pressing. This lasted rather longer than a
+cordial shake of the hand with us, and as we vary the force of the
+grasp of the hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. During the
+process they uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the
+same manner as two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. I
+noticed that the slave would press noses with any one he met,
+indifferently either before or after his master the chief. Although
+among these savages the chief has absolute power of life and death
+over his slave, yet there is an entire absence of ceremony between
+them. Mr. Burchell has remarked the same thing in Southern Africa
+with the rude Bachapins. Where civilisation has arrived at a
+certain point, complex formalities soon arise between the different
+grades of society: thus at Tahiti all were formerly obliged to
+uncover themselves as low as the waist in presence of the king.
+
+The ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with all
+present, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of
+the-hovels, and rested there half an hour. All the hovels have
+nearly the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being
+filthily dirty. They resemble a cow-shed with one end open, but
+having a partition a little way within, with a square hole in it,
+making a small gloomy chamber. In this the inhabitants keep all
+their property, and when the weather is cold they sleep there. They
+eat, however, and pass their time in the open part in front. My
+guides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. The path
+led through the same undulating country, the whole uniformly
+clothed as before with fern. On our right hand we had a serpentine
+river, the banks of which were fringed with trees, and here and
+there on the hill-sides there was a clump of wood. The whole scene,
+in spite of its green colour, had rather a desolate aspect. The
+sight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility:
+this, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick
+and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of
+the residents think that all this extensive open country originally
+was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. It
+is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of
+resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. The
+natives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the
+fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the
+open cleared tracks. The almost entire absence of associated
+grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of
+this island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been
+aboriginally covered with forest-trees.
+
+The soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over slaggy lavas,
+and craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the
+neighbouring hills. Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and
+only occasionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I should have enjoyed
+it more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed
+extraordinary conversational powers. I knew only three words:
+"good," "bad," and "yes:" and with these I answered all his
+remarks, without of course having understood one word he said.
+This, however, was quite sufficient: I was a good listener, an
+agreeable person, and he never ceased talking to me.
+
+At length we reached Waimate. After having passed over so many
+miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of
+an English farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as
+if by an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. Mr. Williams
+not being at home, I received in Mr. Davies's house a cordial
+welcome. After drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll
+about the farm. At Waimate there are three large houses, where the
+missionary gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside;
+and near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an adjoining
+slope fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and
+in another part fields of potatoes and clover. But I cannot attempt
+to describe all I saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit
+and vegetable which England produces; and many belonging to a
+warmer clime. I may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers,
+rhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives,
+gooseberries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks;
+also many kinds of flowers. Around the farmyard there were stables,
+a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge,
+and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was
+that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together,
+as in every English farmyard. At the distance of a few hundred
+yards, where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a
+pool, there was a large and substantial water-mill.
+
+All this is very surprising when it is considered that five years
+ago nothing but the fern flourished here. Moreover, native
+workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this
+change;--the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. The
+house had been built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and
+even the trees grafted, by the New Zealander. At the mill a New
+Zealander was seen powdered white with flower, like his brother
+miller in England. When I looked at this whole scene I thought it
+admirable. It was not merely that England was brought vividly
+before my mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic
+sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its
+trees, might well have been mistaken for our fatherland: nor was it
+the triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen could effect, but
+rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this
+fine island.
+
+Several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery, were
+employed on the farm. They were dressed in a shirt, jacket, and
+trousers, and had a respectable appearance. Judging from one
+trifling anecdote, I should think they must be honest. When walking
+in the fields, a young labourer came up to Mr. Davies and gave him
+a knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and
+did not know to whom they belonged! These young men and boys
+appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening I saw a party
+of them at cricket: when I thought of the austerity of which the
+missionaries have been accused, I was amused by observing one of
+their own sons taking an active part in the game. A more decided
+and pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who acted as
+servants within the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy
+appearance, like that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a
+wonderful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in
+Kororadika. The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them
+not to be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the
+south, they said, "We really must just have a few lines on our
+lips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be
+so very ugly." There is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly;
+but as it is a badge of distinction between the chief and the
+slave, it will probably long be practised. So soon does any train
+of ideas become habitual, that the missionaries told me that even
+in their eyes a plain face looked mean, and not like that of a New
+Zealand gentleman.
+
+Late in the evening I went to Mr. Williams's house, where I passed
+the night. I found there a large party of children, collected
+together for Christmas Day, and all sitting round a table at tea. I
+never saw a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was
+in the centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious
+crimes! The cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the
+faces of the little circle appeared equally felt by the older
+persons of the mission.
+
+DECEMBER 24, 1835.
+
+In the morning prayers were read in the native tongue to the whole
+family. After breakfast I rambled about the gardens and farm. This
+was a market-day, when the natives of the surrounding hamlets bring
+their potatoes, Indian corn, or pigs, to exchange for blankets,
+tobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the
+missionaries, for soap. Mr. Davies's eldest son, who manages a farm
+of his own, is the man of business in the market. The children of
+the missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand
+the language better than their parents, and can get anything more
+readily done by the natives.
+
+A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me to
+part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. I
+measured one of these noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in
+circumference above the roots. There was another close by, which I
+did not see, thirty-three feet; and I heard of one no less than
+forty feet. These trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical
+boles, which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet,
+with a nearly equal diameter, and without a single branch. The
+crown of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to
+the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the
+branches. The forest was here almost composed of the kauri; and the
+largest trees, from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like
+gigantic columns of wood. The timber of the kauri is the most
+valuable production of the island; moreover, a quantity of resin
+oozes from the bark, which is sold at a penny a pound to the
+Americans, but its use was then unknown. Some of the New Zealand
+forests must be impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. Mr.
+Matthews informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in
+width, and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for
+the first time, been crossed. He and another missionary, each with
+a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a road, but it cost
+them more than a fortnight's labour! In the woods I saw very few
+birds. With regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact, that
+so large an island, extending over more than 700 miles in latitude,
+and in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine
+climate, and land of all heights, from 14,000 feet downwards, with
+the exception of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous
+animal. The several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the
+Deinornis, seem here to have replaced mammiferous quadrupeds, in
+the same manner as the reptiles still do at the Galapagos
+Archipelago. It is said that the common Norway rat, in the short
+space of two years, annihilated in this northern end of the island
+the New Zealand species. In many places I noticed several sorts of
+weeds, which, like the rats, I was forced to own as countrymen. A
+leek has overrun whole districts, and will prove very troublesome,
+but it was imported as a favour by a French vessel. The common dock
+is also widely disseminated, and will, I fear, for ever remain a
+proof of the rascality of an Englishman who sold the seeds for
+those of the tobacco plant.
+
+On returning from our pleasant walk to the house, I dined with Mr.
+Williams; and then, a horse being lent me, I returned to the Bay of
+Islands. I took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness for
+their kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect for their
+gentlemanlike, useful, and upright characters. I think it would be
+difficult to find a body of men better adapted for the high office
+which they fulfil.
+
+CHRISTMAS DAY, 1835.
+
+In a few more days the fourth year of our absence from England will
+be completed. Our first Christmas Day was spent at Plymouth, the
+second at St. Martin's Cove near Cape Horn; the third at Port
+Desire in Patagonia; the fourth at anchor in a wild harbour in the
+peninsula of Tres Montes, this fifth here, and the next, I trust in
+Providence, will be in England. We attended divine service in the
+chapel of Pahia; part of the service being read in English, and
+part in the native language. Whilst at New Zealand we did not hear
+of any recent acts of cannibalism; but Mr. Stokes found burnt human
+bones strewed round a fireplace on a small island near the
+anchorage; but these remains of a comfortable banquet might have
+been lying there for several years. It is probable that the moral
+state of the people will rapidly improve. Mr. Bushby mentioned one
+pleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some, at least, of
+those who profess Christianity. One of his young men left him, who
+had been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the servants.
+Some weeks afterwards, happening to pass late in the evening by an
+outhouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading the Bible with
+difficulty by the light of the fire, to the others. After this the
+party knelt and prayed: in their prayers they mentioned Mr. Bushby
+and his family, and the missionaries, each separately in his
+respective district.
+
+DECEMBER 26, 1835.
+
+Mr. Bushby offered to take Mr. Sulivan and myself in his boat some
+miles up the river to Cawa-Cawa, and proposed afterwards to walk on
+to the village of Waiomio, where there are some curious rocks.
+Following one of the arms of the bay we enjoyed a pleasant row, and
+passed through pretty scenery, until we came to a village, beyond
+which the boat could not pass. From this place a chief and a party
+of men volunteered to walk with us to Waiomio, a distance of four
+miles. The chief was at this time rather notorious from having
+lately hung one of his wives and a slave for adultery. When one of
+the missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised, and
+said he thought he was exactly following the English method. Old
+Shongi, who happened to be in England during the Queen's trial,
+expressed great disapprobation at the whole proceeding: he said he
+had five wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads than be
+so much troubled about one. Leaving this village, we crossed over
+to another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. The
+daughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died there five
+days before. The hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to
+the ground: her body, being enclosed between two small canoes, was
+placed upright on the ground, and protected by an enclosure bearing
+wooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red,
+so as to be conspicuous from afar. Her gown was fastened to the
+coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. The
+relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies,
+and faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the
+old women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. On the following
+day some of the officers visited this place, and found the women
+still howling and cutting themselves.
+
+We continued our walk, and soon reached Waiomio. Here there are
+some singular masses of limestone resembling ruined castles. These
+rocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence are
+held too sacred to be approached. One of the young men, however,
+cried out, "Let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when within
+a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped
+short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to
+examine the whole place. At this village we rested some hours,
+during which time there was a long discussion with Mr. Bushby,
+concerning the right of sale of certain lands. One old man, who
+appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive
+possessors by bits of stick driven into the ground. Before leaving
+the houses a little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given
+to each of our party; and we all, according to the custom, carried
+them away to eat on the road. I noticed that among the women
+employed in cooking, there was a man-slave: it must be a
+humiliating thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed
+in doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work.
+Slaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can hardly be
+considered as a hardship. I heard of one poor wretch who, during
+hostilities, ran away to the opposite party; being met by two men,
+he was immediately seized; but as they could not agree to whom he
+should belong, each stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed
+determined that the other at least should not take him away alive.
+The poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the
+address of a chief's wife. We afterwards enjoyed a pleasant walk
+back to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in the
+evening.
+
+DECEMBER 30, 1835.
+
+In the afternoon we stood out of the Bay of Islands, on our course
+to Sydney. I believe we were all glad to leave New Zealand. It is
+not a pleasant place. Amongst the natives there is absent that
+charming simplicity which is found in Tahiti; and the greater part
+of the English are the very refuse of society. Neither is the
+country itself attractive. I look back but to one bright spot, and
+that is Waimate, with its Christian inhabitants.
+
+
+(PLATE 88.  HIPPAH, NEW ZEALAND.)
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+(PLATE 89.  SYDNEY, 1835.)
+
+AUSTRALIA.
+
+Sydney.
+Excursion to Bathurst.
+Aspect of the woods.
+Party of natives.
+Gradual extinction of the aborigines.
+Infection generated by associated men in health.
+Blue Mountains.
+View of the grand gulf-like valleys.
+Their origin and formation.
+Bathurst, general civility of the lower orders.
+State of society.
+Van Diemen's Land.
+Hobart Town.
+Aborigines all banished.
+Mount Wellington.
+King George's Sound.
+Cheerless aspect of the country.
+Bald Head, calcareous casts of branches of trees.
+Party of natives.
+Leave Australia.
+
+JANUARY 12, 1836.
+
+
+
+Early in the morning a light air carried us towards the entrance of
+Port Jackson. Instead of beholding a verdant country, interspersed
+with fine houses, a straight line of yellowish cliff brought to our
+minds the coast of Patagonia. A solitary lighthouse, built of white
+stone, alone told us that we were near a great and populous city.
+Having entered the harbour, it appears fine and spacious, with
+cliff-formed shores of horizontally stratified sandstone. The
+nearly level country is covered with thin scrubby trees, bespeaking
+the curse of sterility. Proceeding farther inland, the country
+improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and there
+scattered along the beach. In the distance stone houses, two and
+three stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank,
+pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of Australia.
+
+At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little basin
+occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. In the
+evening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration
+at the whole scene. It is a most magnificent testimony to the power
+of the British nation. Here, in a less promising country, scores of
+years have done many more times more than an equal number of
+centuries have effected in South America. My first feeling was to
+congratulate myself that I was born an Englishman. Upon seeing more
+of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but
+yet it is a fine town. The streets are regular, broad, clean, and
+kept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the
+shops well furnished. It may be faithfully compared to the large
+suburbs which stretch out from London and a few other great towns
+in England; but not even near London or Birmingham is there an
+appearance of such rapid growth. The number of large houses and
+other buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless,
+every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring
+a house. Coming from South America, where in the towns every man of
+property is known, no one thing surprised me more than not being
+able to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage belonged.
+
+I hired a man and two horses to take me to Bathurst, a village
+about one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre
+of a great pastoral district. By this means I hoped to gain a
+general idea of the appearance of the country. On the morning of
+the 16th (January) I set out on my excursion. The first stage took
+us to Paramatta, a small country town, next to Sydney in
+importance. The roads were excellent, and made upon the MacAdam
+principle, whinstone having been brought for the purpose from the
+distance of several miles. In all respects there was a close
+resemblance to England: perhaps the alehouses here were more
+numerous. The iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed
+here some offence, appeared the least like England: they were
+working in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms.
+The power which the government possesses, by means of forced
+labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has
+been, I believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this
+colony. I slept at night at a very comfortable inn at Emu ferry,
+thirty-five miles from Sydney, and near the ascent of the Blue
+Mountains. This line of road is the most frequented, and has been
+the longest inhabited of any in the colony. The whole land is
+enclosed with high railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in
+rearing hedges. There are many substantial houses and good cottages
+scattered about; but although considerable pieces of land are under
+cultivation, the greater part yet remains as when first discovered.
+
+The extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable
+feature in the landscape of the greater part of New South Wales.
+Everywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially
+covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of
+verdure. The trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have
+their leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in Europe, in a
+nearly horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of a
+peculiar pale green tint, without any gloss. Hence the woods appear
+light and shadowless: this, although a loss of comfort to the
+traveller under the scorching rays of summer, is of importance to
+the farmer, as it allows grass to grow where it otherwise would
+not. The leaves are not shed periodically: this character appears
+common to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, South America,
+Australia, and the Cape of Good Hope. The inhabitants of this
+hemisphere, and of the intertropical regions, thus lose perhaps one
+of the most glorious, though to our eyes common, spectacles in the
+world--the first bursting into full foliage of the leafless tree.
+They may, however, say that we pay dearly for this by having the
+land covered with mere naked skeletons for so many months. This is
+too true; but our senses thus acquire a keen relish for the
+exquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those living
+within the tropics, sated during the long year with the gorgeous
+productions of those glowing climates, can never experience. The
+greater number of the trees, with the exception of some of the
+Blue-gums, do not attain a large size; but they grow tall and
+tolerably straight, and stand well apart. The bark of some of the
+Eucalypti falls annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing
+about with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate and untidy
+appearance. I cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every
+respect, than between the forests of Valdivia or Chiloe, and the
+woods of Australia.
+
+At sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines passed by,
+each carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and
+other weapons. By giving a leading young man a shilling, they were
+easily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement. They were
+all partly clothed, and several could speak a little English: their
+countenances were good-humoured and pleasant, and they appeared far
+from being such utterly degraded beings as they have usually been
+represented. In their own arts they are admirable. A cap being
+fixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a spear,
+delivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow from
+the bow of a practised archer. In tracking animals or men they show
+most wonderful sagacity; and I heard of several of their remarks
+which manifested considerable acuteness. They will not, however,
+cultivate the ground, or build houses and remain stationary, or
+even take the trouble of tending a flock of sheep when given to
+them. On the whole they appear to me to stand some few degrees
+higher in the scale of civilisation than the Fuegians.
+
+It is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilised people,
+a set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where
+they shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting
+in the woods. As the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread
+over the country belonging to several tribes. These, although thus
+enclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions,
+and sometimes go to war with each other. In an engagement which
+took place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre
+of the village of Bathurst for the field of battle. This was of
+service to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge
+in the barracks.
+
+The number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. In my whole ride,
+with the exception of some boys brought up by Englishmen, I saw
+only one other party. This decrease, no doubt, must be partly owing
+to the introduction of spirits, to European diseases (even the
+milder ones of which, such as the measles, prove very destructive),
+and to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. (19/1. It is
+remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates.
+At the little island of St. Helena the introduction of
+scarlet-fever is dreaded as a plague. In some countries foreigners
+and natives are as differently affected by certain contagious
+disorders as if they had been different animals; of which fact some
+instances have occurred in Chile; and according to Humboldt in
+Mexico "Political Essay New Spain" volume 4.) It is said that
+numbers of their children invariably perish in very early infancy
+from the effects of their wandering life; and as the difficulty of
+procuring food increases, so must their wandering habits increase;
+and hence the population, without any apparent deaths from famine,
+is repressed in a manner extremely sudden compared to what happens
+in civilised countries, where the father, though in adding to his
+labour he may injure himself, does not destroy his offspring.
+
+Besides these several evident causes of destruction, there appears
+to be some more mysterious agency generally at work. Wherever the
+European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. We may
+look to the wide extent of the Americas, Polynesia, the Cape of
+Good Hope, and Australia, and we find the same result. Nor is it
+the white man alone that thus acts the destroyer; the Polynesian of
+Malay extraction has in parts of the East Indian archipelago thus
+driven before him the dark-coloured native. The varieties of man
+seem to act on each other in the same way as different species of
+animals--the stronger always extirpating the weaker. It was
+melancholy at New Zealand to hear the fine energetic natives saying
+that they knew the land was doomed to pass from their children.
+Every one has heard of the inexplicable reduction of the population
+in the beautiful and healthy island of Tahiti since the date of
+Captain Cook's voyages: although in that case we might have
+expected that it would have been increased; for infanticide, which
+formerly prevailed to so extraordinary a degree, has ceased,
+profligacy has greatly diminished, and the murderous wars become
+less frequent.
+
+The Reverend J. Williams, in his interesting work, says that the
+first intercourse between natives and Europeans "is invariably
+attended with the introduction of fever, dysentery, or some other
+disease which carries off numbers of the people." (19/2. "Narrative
+of Missionary Enterprise" page 282.) Again he affirms "It is
+certainly a fact, which cannot be controverted, that most of the
+diseases which have raged in the islands during my residence there
+have been introduced by ships; and what renders this fact
+remarkable is that there might be no appearance of disease among
+the crew of the ship which conveyed this destructive importation."
+(19/3. Captain Beechey chapter 4 volume 1, states that the
+inhabitants of Pitcairn Island are firmly convinced that after the
+arrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other disorders.
+Captain Beechey attributes this to the change of diet during the
+time of the visit. Dr. Macculloch "Western Isles" volume 2 page 32,
+says "It is asserted that on the arrival of a stranger (at St.
+Kilda) all the inhabitants, in the common phraseology, catch a
+cold." Dr. Macculloch considers the whole case, although often
+previously affirmed, as ludicrous. He adds, however, that "the
+question was put by us to the inhabitants who unanimously agreed in
+the story." In Vancouver's "Voyage" there is a somewhat similar
+statement with respect to Otaheite. Dr. Dieffenbach, in a note to
+his translation of this Journal, states that the same fact is
+universally believed by the inhabitants of the Chatham Islands and
+in parts of New Zealand. It is impossible that such a belief should
+have become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the Antipodes,
+and in the Pacific, without some good foundation. Humboldt
+"Political Essay on Kingdom of New Spain" volume 4, says that the
+great epidemics at Panama and Callao are "marked" by the arrival of
+ships from Chile, because the people from that temperate region
+first experience the fatal effects of the torrid zones. I may add
+that I have heard it stated in Shropshire that sheep which have
+been imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy
+condition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently
+produce sickness in the flock.) This statement is not quite so
+extraordinary as it at first appears; for several cases are on
+record of the most malignant fevers having broken out, although the
+parties themselves, who were the cause, were not affected. In the
+early part of the reign of George III, a prisoner who had been
+confined in a dungeon was taken in a coach with four constables
+before a magistrate; and although the man himself was not ill, the
+four constables died from a short putrid fever; but the contagion
+extended to no others. From these facts it would almost appear as
+if the effluvium of one set of men shut up for some time together
+was poisonous when inhaled by others; and possibly more so, if the
+men be of different races. Mysterious as this circumstance appears
+to be, it is not more surprising than that the body of one's
+fellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction has
+commenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality that the
+mere puncture from an instrument used in its dissection should
+prove fatal.
+
+JANUARY 17, 1836.
+
+Early in the morning we passed the Nepean in a ferry-boat. The
+river, although at this spot both broad and deep, had a very small
+body of running water. Having crossed a low piece of land on the
+opposite side, we reached the slope of the Blue Mountains. The
+ascent is not steep, the road having been cut with much care on the
+side of a sandstone cliff. On the summit an almost level plain
+extends, which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last
+attains a height of more than 3000 feet. From so grand a title as
+Blue Mountains, and from their absolute altitude, I expected to
+have seen a bold chain of mountains crossing the country; but
+instead of this, a sloping plain presents merely an inconsiderable
+front to the low land near the coast. From this first slope the
+view of the extensive woodland to the east was striking, and the
+surrounding trees grew bold and lofty. But when once on the
+sandstone platform, the scenery becomes exceedingly monotonous;
+each side of the road is bordered by scrubby trees of the
+never-failing Eucalyptus family; and with the exception of two or
+three small inns, there are no houses or cultivated land; the road,
+moreover, is solitary; the most frequent object being a
+bullock-waggon, piled up with bales of wool.
+
+In the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little inn,
+called the Weatherboard. The country here is elevated 2800 feet
+above the sea. About a mile and a half from this place there is a
+view exceedingly well worth visiting. Following down a little
+valley and its tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly
+opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of
+perhaps 1500 feet. Walking on a few yards, one stands on the brink
+of a vast precipice, and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for I
+know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest.
+The point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line
+of cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind
+headland, as on a bold sea-coast. These cliffs are composed of
+horizontal strata of whitish sandstone; and are so absolutely
+vertical, that in many places a person standing on the edge and
+throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss
+below. So unbroken is the line of cliff that in order to reach the
+foot of the waterfall formed by this little stream, it is said to
+be necessary to go sixteen miles round. About five miles distant in
+front another line of cliff extends, which thus appears completely
+to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as
+applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. If we imagine a
+winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like
+shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy
+bottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here
+exhibited. This kind of view was to me quite novel, and extremely
+magnificent.
+
+In the evening we reached the Blackheath. The sandstone plateau has
+here attained the height of 3400 feet; and is covered, as before,
+with the same scrubby woods. From the road there were occasional
+glimpses into a profound valley of the same character as the one
+described; but from the steepness and depth of its sides, the
+bottom was scarcely ever to be seen. The Blackheath is a very
+comfortable inn, kept by an old soldier; and it reminded me of the
+small inns in North Wales.
+
+JANUARY 18, 1836.
+
+Very early in the morning I walked about three miles to see
+Govett's Leap: a view of a similar character with that near the
+Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in the day
+the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although
+destroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent
+depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. These
+valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the
+attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the
+interior, are most remarkable. Great armlike bays, expanding at
+their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate
+the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends
+promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great,
+almost insulated, masses. To descend into some of these valleys, it
+is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others, the
+surveyors have only lately penetrated, and the colonists have not
+yet been able to drive in their cattle. But the most remarkable
+feature in their structure is, that although several miles wide at
+their heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a
+degree as to become impassable. The Surveyor-General, Sir T.
+Mitchell, endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling
+between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through
+the gorge by which the river Grose joins the Nepean (19/4. "Travels
+in Australia" volume 1 page 154. I must express my obligation to
+Sir T. Mitchell for several interesting personal communications on
+the subject of these great valleys of New South Wales.); yet the
+valley of the Grose in its upper part, as I saw, forms a
+magnificent level basin some miles in width, and is on all sides
+surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be
+nowhere less than 3000 feet above the level of the sea. When cattle
+are driven into the valley of the Wolgan by a path (which I
+descended), partly natural and partly made by the owner of the
+land, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part
+surrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down it
+contracts from an average width of half a mile, to a mere chasm,
+impassable to man or beast. Sir T. Mitchell states that the great
+valley of the Cox river with all its branches, contracts, where it
+unites with the Nepean, into a gorge 2200 yards in width, and about
+1000 feet in depth. Other similar cases might have been added.
+
+The first impression on seeing the correspondence of the horizontal
+strata on each side of these valleys and great amphitheatrical
+depressions, is that they have been hollowed out, like other
+valleys, by the action of water; but when one reflects on the
+enormous amount of stone which on this view must have been removed
+through mere gorges or chasms, one is led to ask whether these
+spaces may not have subsided. But considering the form of the
+irregularly branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories
+projecting into them from the platforms, we are compelled to
+abandon this notion. To attribute these hollows to the present
+alluvial action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage from
+the summit-level always fall, as I remarked near the Weatherboard,
+into the head of these valleys, but into one side of their baylike
+recesses. Some of the inhabitants remarked to me that they never
+viewed one of those baylike recesses, with the headlands receding
+on both hands, without being struck with their resemblance to a
+bold sea-coast. This is certainly the case; moreover, on the
+present coast of New South Wales, the numerous fine,
+widely-branching harbours, which are generally connected with the
+sea by a narrow mouth worn through the sandstone coast-cliffs,
+varying from one mile in width to a quarter of a mile, present a
+likeness, though on a miniature scale, to the great valleys of the
+interior. But then immediately occurs the startling difficulty, why
+has the sea worn out these great though circumscribed depressions
+on a wide platform, and left mere gorges at the openings, through
+which the whole vast amount of triturated matter must have been
+carried away? The only light I can throw upon this enigma is by
+remarking that banks of the most irregular forms appear to be now
+forming in some seas, as in parts of the West Indies and in the Red
+Sea, and that their sides are exceedingly steep. Such banks, I have
+been led to suppose, have been formed by sediment heaped by strong
+currents on an irregular bottom. That in some cases the sea,
+instead of spreading out sediment in a uniform sheet, heaps it
+round submarine rocks and islands, it is hardly possible to doubt,
+after examining the charts of the West Indies; and that the waves
+have power to form high and precipitous cliffs, even in land-locked
+harbours, I have noticed in many parts of South America. To apply
+these ideas to the sandstone platforms of New South Wales, I
+imagine that the strata were heaped by the action of strong
+currents, and of the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular
+bottom; and that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had
+their steeply sloping flanks worn into cliffs during a slow
+elevation of the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed,
+either at the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the
+retreating sea, or subsequently by alluvial action.
+
+Soon after leaving the Blackheath we descended from the sandstone
+platform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect this pass an
+enormous quantity of stone has been cut through; the design and its
+manner of execution being worthy of any line of road in England. We
+now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet,
+and consisting of granite. With the change of rock the vegetation
+improved; the trees were both finer and stood farther apart; and
+the pasture between them was a little greener and more plentiful.
+At Hassan's Walls I left the high-road, and made a short detour to
+a farm called Walerawang; to the superintendent of which I had a
+letter of introduction from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the
+kindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had much
+pleasure in doing. This place offers an example of one of the large
+farming, or rather sheep-grazing, establishments of the colony.
+Cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous
+than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and producing
+a coarser pasture. Two or three flat pieces of ground near the
+house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men
+were now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the
+annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. The
+usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty, but
+at the present time there were rather more. Although the farm was
+well stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence of
+comfort; and not one single woman resided here. The sunset of a
+fine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any
+scene; but here, at this retired farmhouse, the brightest tints on
+the surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened,
+profligate men were ceasing from their daily labours, like the
+slaves from Africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion.
+
+Early on the next morning Mr. Archer, the joint superintendent, had
+the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. We continued riding
+the greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing a
+kangaroo, or even a wild dog. The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat
+into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as
+large as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years
+since this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu is
+banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce; to
+both the English greyhound has been highly destructive. It may be
+long before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their
+doom is fixed. The aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs
+from the farmhouses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is
+killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the
+settlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. The
+thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is
+delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined
+to inherit the country of his children.
+
+Although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. The
+woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gallop
+through it. It is traversed by a few flat-bottomed valleys, which
+are green and free from trees: in such spots the scenery was pretty
+like that of a park. In the whole country I scarcely saw a place
+without the marks of a fire; whether these had been more or less
+recent--whether the stumps were more or less black, was the
+greatest change which varied the uniformity so wearisome to the
+traveller's eye. In these woods there are not many birds; I saw,
+however, some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a
+corn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows like our
+jackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something like the
+magpie. In the dusk of the evening I took a stroll along a chain of
+ponds, which in this dry country represented the course of a river,
+and had the good fortune to see several of the famous
+Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. They were diving and playing about the
+surface of the water, but showed so little of their bodies that
+they might easily have been mistaken for water-rats. Mr. Browne
+shot one: certainly it is a most extraordinary animal; a stuffed
+specimen does not at all give a good idea of the appearance of the
+head and beak when fresh; the latter becoming hard and contracted.
+(19/5. I was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall
+of the lion-ant, or some other insect: first a fly fell down the
+treacherous slope and immediately disappeared; then came a large
+but unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those
+curious little jets of sand, described by Kirby and Spence
+"Entomology" volume 1 page 425, as being flirted by the insect's
+tail, were promptly directed against the expected victim. But the
+ant enjoyed a better fate than the fly and escaped the fatal jaws
+which lay concealed at the base of the conical hollow. This
+Australian pitfall was only about half the size of that made by the
+European lion-ant.)
+
+JANUARY 20, 1836.
+
+A long day's ride to Bathurst. Before joining the high road we
+followed a mere path through the forest; and the country, with the
+exception of a few squatters' huts, was very solitary. We
+experienced this day the sirocco-like wind of Australia, which
+comes from the parched deserts of the interior. Clouds of dust were
+travelling in every direction; and the wind felt as if it had
+passed over a fire. I afterwards heard that the thermometer out of
+doors had stood at 119 degrees, and in a closed room at 96 degrees.
+In the afternoon we came in view of the downs of Bathurst. These
+undulating but nearly smooth plains are very remarkable in this
+country, from being absolutely destitute of trees. They support
+only a thin brown pasture. We rode some miles over this country,
+and then reached the township of Bathurst, seated in the middle of
+what may be called either a very broad valley, or narrow plain. I
+was told at Sydney not to form too bad an opinion of Australia by
+judging of the country from the roadside, nor too good a one from
+Bathurst; in this latter respect I did not feel myself in the least
+danger of being prejudiced. The season, it must be owned, had been
+one of great drought, and the country did not wear a favourable
+aspect; although I understand it was incomparably worse two or
+three months before. The secret of the rapidly growing prosperity
+of Bathurst is that the brown pasture which appears to the
+stranger's eye so wretched is excellent for sheep-grazing. The town
+stands at the height of 2200 feet above the sea, on the banks of
+the Macquarie: this is one of the rivers flowing into the vast and
+scarcely known interior. The line of watershed which divides the
+inland streams from those on the coast, has a height of about 3000
+feet, and runs in a north and south direction at the distance of
+from eighty to a hundred miles from the seaside. The Macquarie
+figures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the largest of
+those draining this part of the watershed; yet to my surprise I
+found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other by spaces
+almost dry. Generally a small stream is running; and sometimes
+there are high and impetuous floods. Scanty as the supply of the
+water is throughout this district, it becomes still scantier
+further inland.
+
+JANUARY 22, 1836.
+
+I commenced my return and followed a new road called Lockyer's Line
+along which the country is rather more hilly and picturesque. This
+was a long day's ride; and the house where I wished to sleep was
+some way off the road, and not easily found. I met on this
+occasion, and indeed on all others, a very general and ready
+civility among the lower orders, which, when one considers what
+they are, and what they have been, would scarcely have been
+expected. The farm where I passed the night was owned by two young
+men who had only lately come out, and were beginning a settler's
+life. The total want of almost every comfort was not very
+attractive; but future and certain prosperity was before their
+eyes, and that not far distant.
+
+The next day we passed through large tracts of country in flames,
+volumes of smoke sweeping across the road. Before noon we joined
+our former road and ascended Mount Victoria. I slept at the
+Weatherboard, and before dark took another walk to the
+amphitheatre. On the road to Sydney I spent a very pleasant evening
+with Captain King at Dunheved; and thus ended my little excursion
+in the colony of New South Wales.
+
+Before arriving here the three things which interested me most
+were--the state of society amongst the higher classes, the
+condition of the convicts, and the degree of attraction sufficient
+to induce persons to emigrate. Of course, after so very short a
+visit, one's opinion is worth scarcely anything; but it is as
+difficult not to form some opinion, as it is to form a correct
+judgment. On the whole, from what I heard, more than from what I
+saw, I was disappointed in the state of society. The whole
+community is rancorously divided into parties on almost every
+subject. Among those who, from their station in life, ought to be
+the best, many live in such open profligacy that respectable people
+cannot associate with them. There is much jealousy between the
+children of the rich emancipist and the free settlers, the former
+being pleased to consider honest men as interlopers. The whole
+population, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring wealth: amongst
+the higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing form the constant subject
+of conversation. There are many serious drawbacks to the comforts
+of a family, the chief of which, perhaps, is being surrounded by
+convict servants. How thoroughly odious to every feeling, to be
+waited on by a man who the day before, perhaps, was flogged, from
+your representation, for some trifling misdemeanour. The female
+servants are of course much worse: hence children learn the vilest
+expressions, and it is fortunate if not equally vile ideas.
+
+On the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble on
+his part, produces him treble interest to what it will in England;
+and with care he is sure to grow rich. The luxuries of life are in
+abundance, and very little dearer than in England, and most
+articles of food are cheaper. The climate is splendid, and
+perfectly healthy; but to my mind its charms are lost by the
+uninviting aspect of the country. Settlers possess a great
+advantage in finding their sons of service when very young. At the
+age of from sixteen to twenty they frequently take charge of
+distant farming stations. This, however, must happen at the expense
+of their boys associating entirely with convict servants. I am not
+aware that the tone of society has assumed any peculiar character;
+but with such habits, and without intellectual pursuits, it can
+hardly fail to deteriorate. My opinion is such that nothing but
+rather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate.
+
+The rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me,
+not understanding these subjects, very puzzling. The two main
+exports are wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions
+there is a limit. The country is totally unfit for canals,
+therefore there is a not very distant point beyond which the
+land-carriage of wool will not repay the expense of shearing and
+tending sheep. Pasture everywhere is so thin that settlers have
+already pushed far into the interior; moreover, the country farther
+inland becomes extremely poor. Agriculture, on account of the
+droughts, can never succeed on an extended scale: therefore, so far
+as I can see, Australia must ultimately depend upon being the
+centre of commerce for the southern hemisphere and perhaps on her
+future manufactories. Possessing coal, she always has the moving
+power at hand. From the habitable country extending along the
+coast, and from her English extraction, she is sure to be a
+maritime nation. I formerly imagined that Australia would rise to
+be as grand and powerful a country as North America, but now it
+appears to me that such future grandeur is rather problematical.
+
+With respect to the state of the convicts, I had still fewer
+opportunities of judging than on other points. The first question
+is, whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one
+will maintain that it is a very severe one. This, however, I
+suppose, is of little consequence as long as it continues to be an
+object of dread to criminals at home. The corporeal wants of the
+convicts are tolerably well supplied: their prospect of future
+liberty and comfort is not distant, and, after good conduct,
+certain. A "ticket of leave," which, as long as a man keeps clear
+of suspicion as well as of crime, makes him free within a certain
+district, is given upon good conduct, after years proportional to
+the length of the sentence; yet with all this, and overlooking the
+previous imprisonment and wretched passage out, I believe the years
+of assignment are passed away with discontent and unhappiness. As
+an intelligent man remarked to me, the convicts know no pleasure
+beyond sensuality, and in this they are not gratified. The enormous
+bribe which Government possesses in offering free pardons, together
+with the deep horror of the secluded penal settlements, destroys
+confidence between the convicts, and so prevents crime. As to a
+sense of shame, such a feeling does not appear to be known, and of
+this I witnessed some very singular proofs. Though it is a curious
+fact, I was universally told that the character of the convict
+population is one of arrant cowardice; not unfrequently some become
+desperate, and quite indifferent as to life, yet a plan requiring
+cool or continued courage is seldom put into execution. The worst
+feature in the whole case is that although there exists what may be
+called a legal reform, and comparatively little is committed which
+the law can touch, yet that any moral reform should take place
+appears to be quite out of the question. I was assured by
+well-informed people that a man who should try to improve, could
+not while living with other assigned servants;--his life would be
+one of intolerable misery and persecution. Nor must the
+contamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both here and in
+England, be forgotten. On the whole, as a place of punishment, the
+object is scarcely gained; as a real system of reform it has
+failed, as perhaps would every other plan; but as a means of making
+men outwardly honest,--of converting vagabonds, most useless in one
+hemisphere, into active citizens of another, and thus giving birth
+to a new and splendid country--a grand centre of civilisation--it
+has succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history.
+
+JANUARY 30, 1836.
+
+(PLATE 90.  HOBART TOWN AND MOUNT WELLINGTON.)
+
+The "Beagle" sailed for Hobart Town in Van Diemen's Land. On the
+5th of February, after a six days' passage, of which the first part
+was fine, and the latter very cold and squally, we entered the
+mouth of Storm Bay; the weather justified this awful name. The bay
+should rather be called an estuary, for it receives at its head the
+waters of the Derwent. Near the mouth there are some extensive
+basaltic platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and
+is covered by a light wood. The lower parts of the hills which
+skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn,
+and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant. Late in the
+evening we anchored in the snug cove on the shores of which stands
+the capital of Tasmania. The first aspect of the place was very
+inferior to that of Sydney; the latter might be called a city, this
+is only a town. It stands at the base of Mount Wellington, a
+mountain 3100 feet high, but of little picturesque beauty; from
+this source, however, it receives a good supply of water. Round the
+cove there are some fine warehouses and on one side a small fort.
+Coming from the Spanish settlements, where such magnificent care
+has generally been paid to the fortifications, the means of defence
+in these colonies appeared very contemptible. Comparing the town
+with Sydney, I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of
+the large houses, either built or building. Hobart Town, from the
+census of 1835, contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of
+Tasmania 36,505.
+
+All the aborigines have been removed to an island in Bass's
+Straits, so that Van Diemen's Land enjoys the great advantage of
+being free from a native population. This most cruel step seems to
+have been quite unavoidable, as the only means of stopping a
+fearful succession of robberies, burnings, and murders, committed
+by the blacks; and which sooner or later would have ended in their
+utter destruction. I fear there is no doubt that this train of evil
+and its consequences originated in the infamous conduct of some of
+our countrymen. Thirty years is a short period in which to have
+banished the last aboriginal from his native island,--and that
+island nearly as large as Ireland. The correspondence on this
+subject which took place between the government at home and that of
+Van Diemen's Land, is very interesting. Although numbers of natives
+were shot and taken prisoners in the skirmishing, which was going
+on at intervals for several years, nothing seems fully to have
+impressed them with the idea of our overwhelming power, until the
+whole island, in 1830, was put under martial law, and by
+proclamation the whole population commanded to assist in one great
+attempt to secure the entire race. The plan adopted was nearly
+similar to that of the great hunting-matches in India: a line was
+formed reaching across the island, with the intention of driving
+the natives into a cul-de-sac on Tasman's peninsula. The attempt
+failed; the natives, having tied up their dogs, stole during one
+night through the lines. This is far from surprising, when their
+practised senses and usual manner of crawling after wild animals is
+considered. I have been assured that they can conceal themselves on
+almost bare ground, in a manner which until witnessed is scarcely
+credible; their dusky bodies being easily mistaken for the
+blackened stumps which are scattered all over the country. I was
+told of a trial between a party of Englishmen and a native, who was
+to stand in full view on the side of a bare hill; if the Englishmen
+closed their eyes for less than a minute, he would squat down, and
+then they were never able to distinguish him from the surrounding
+stumps. But to return to the hunting-match; the natives
+understanding this kind of warfare, were terribly alarmed, for they
+at once perceived the power and numbers of the whites. Shortly
+afterwards a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in;
+and, conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered themselves
+up in despair. Subsequently by the intrepid exertions of Mr.
+Robinson, an active and benevolent man, who fearlessly visited by
+himself the most hostile of the natives, the whole were induced to
+act in a similar manner. They were then removed to an island, where
+food and clothes were provided them. Count Strzelecki states that
+"at the epoch of their deportation in 1835, the number of natives
+amounted to 210. In 1842, that is after the interval of seven
+years, they mustered only fifty-four individuals; and, while each
+family of the interior of New South Wales, uncontaminated by
+contact with the whites, swarms with children, those of Flinders'
+Island had during eight years an accession of only fourteen in
+number!" (19/6. "Physical Description of New South Wales and Van
+Diemen's Land" page 354.)
+
+The "Beagle" stayed here ten days, and in this time I made several
+pleasant little excursions, chiefly with the object of examining
+the geological structure of the immediate neighbourhood. The main
+points of interest consist, first in some highly fossiliferous
+strata belonging to the Devonian or Carboniferous period; secondly,
+in proofs of a late small rise of the land; and lastly, in a
+solitary and superficial patch of yellowish limestone or travertin,
+which contains numerous impressions of leaves of trees, together
+with land-shells, not now existing. It is not improbable that this
+one small quarry includes the only remaining record of the
+vegetation of Van Diemen's Land during one former epoch.
+
+The climate here is damper than in New South Wales, and hence the
+land is more fertile. Agriculture flourishes; the cultivated fields
+look well, and the gardens abound with thriving vegetables and
+fruit-trees. Some of the farmhouses, situated in retired spots, had
+a very attractive appearance. The general aspect of the vegetation
+is similar to that of Australia; perhaps it is a little more green
+and cheerful; and the pasture between the trees rather more
+abundant. One day I took a long walk on the side of the bay
+opposite to the town: I crossed in a steamboat, two of which are
+constantly plying backwards and forwards. The machinery of one of
+these vessels was entirely manufactured in this colony, which, from
+its very foundation, then numbered only three and thirty years!
+Another day I ascended Mount Wellington; I took with me a guide,
+for I failed in a first attempt, from the thickness of the wood.
+Our guide, however, was a stupid fellow, and conducted us to the
+southern and damp side of the mountain, where the vegetation was
+very luxuriant; and where the labour of the ascent, from the number
+of rotten trunks, was almost as great as on a mountain in Tierra
+del Fuego or in Chiloe. It cost us five and a half hours of hard
+climbing before we reached the summit. In many parts the Eucalypti
+grew to a great size and composed a noble forest. In some of the
+dampest ravines tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I
+saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base
+of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds,
+forming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like
+that of the first hour of night. The summit of the mountain is
+broad and flat and is composed of huge angular masses of naked
+greenstone. Its elevation is 3100 feet above the level of the sea.
+The day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view;
+to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of
+about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with
+an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water,
+forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us.
+After staying some hours on the summit we found a better way to
+descend, but did not reach the "Beagle" till eight o'clock, after a
+severe day's work.
+
+FEBRUARY 7, 1836.
+
+The "Beagle" sailed from Tasmania, and, on the 6th of the ensuing
+month, reached King George's Sound, situated close to the
+south-west corner of Australia. We stayed there eight days; and we
+did not during our voyage pass a more dull and uninteresting time.
+The country, viewed from an eminence, appears a woody plain, with
+here and there rounded and partly bare hills of granite protruding.
+One day I went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a
+kangaroo-hunt, and walked over a good many miles of country.
+Everywhere we found the soil sandy, and very poor; it supported
+either a coarse vegetation of thin, low brushwood and wiry grass,
+or a forest of stunted trees. The scenery resembled that of the
+high sandstone platform of the Blue Mountains; the Casuarina (a
+tree somewhat resembling a Scotch fir) is, however, here in greater
+number, and the Eucalyptus in rather less. In the open parts there
+were many grass-trees,--a plant which, in appearance, has some
+affinity with the palm; but, instead of being surmounted by a crown
+of noble fronds, it can boast merely of a tuft of very coarse
+grass-like leaves. The general bright green colour of the brushwood
+and other plants, viewed from a distance, seemed to promise
+fertility. A single walk, however, was enough to dispel such an
+illusion; and he who thinks with me will never wish to walk again
+in so uninviting a country.
+
+One day I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to Bald Head, the place
+mentioned by so many navigators, where some imagined that they saw
+corals, and others that they saw petrified trees, standing in the
+position in which they had grown. According to our view, the beds
+have been formed by the wind having heaped up fine sand, composed
+of minute rounded particles of shells and corals, during which
+process branches and roots of trees, together with many
+land-shells, became enclosed. The whole then became consolidated by
+the percolation of calcareous matter; and the cylindrical cavities
+left by the decaying of the wood were thus also filled up with a
+hard pseudo-stalactitical stone. The weather is now wearing away
+the softer parts, and in consequence the hard casts of the roots
+and branches of the trees project above the surface, and, in a
+singularly deceptive manner, resemble the stumps of a dead thicket.
+
+A large tribe of natives, called the White Cockatoo men happened to
+pay the settlement a visit while we were there. These men, as well
+as those of the tribe belonging to King George's Sound, being
+tempted by the offer of some tubs of rice and sugar, were persuaded
+to hold a "corrobery," or great dancing-party. As soon as it grew
+dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet,
+which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. As
+soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which
+the women and children were collected as spectators; the Cockatoo
+and King George's men formed two distinct parties, and generally
+danced in answer to each other. The dancing consisted in their
+running either sideways or in Indian file into an open space, and
+stamping the ground with great force as they marched together.
+Their heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by
+beating their clubs and spears together, and by various other
+gesticulations, such as extending their arms and wriggling their
+bodies. It was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas,
+without any sort of meaning; but we observed that the black women
+and children watched it with the greatest pleasure. Perhaps these
+dances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories;
+there was one called the Emu dance, in which each man extended his
+arm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. In another dance
+one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods,
+whilst a second crawled up and pretended to spear him. When both
+tribes mingled in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness
+of their steps, and the air resounded with their wild cries. Every
+one appeared in high spirits, and the group of nearly naked
+figures, viewed by the light of the blazing fires, all moving in
+hideous harmony, formed a perfect display of a festival amongst the
+lowest barbarians. In Tierra del Fuego we have beheld many curious
+scenes in savage life, but never, I think, one where the natives
+were in such high spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. After
+the dancing was over the whole party formed a great circle on the
+ground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, to the
+delight of all.
+
+After several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the 14th of
+March we gladly stood out of King George's Sound on our course to
+Keeling Island. Farewell, Australia! you are a rising child, and
+doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the South; but
+you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough
+for respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret.
+
+
+(PLATE 91.  AUSTRALIAN GROUP OF WEAPONS AND THROWING STICKS.)
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+(PLATE 92.  INSIDE AN ATOLL, KEELING ISLAND.)
+
+KEELING ISLAND:--CORAL FORMATIONS.
+
+Keeling Island.
+Singular appearance.
+Scanty Flora.
+Transport of seeds.
+Birds and insects.
+Ebbing and flowing springs.
+Fields of dead coral.
+Stones transported in the roots of trees.
+Great crab.
+Stinging corals.
+Coral-eating fish.
+Coral formations.
+Lagoon islands or atolls.
+Depth at which reef-building corals can live.
+Vast areas interspersed with low coral islands.
+Subsidence of their foundations.
+Barrier reefs.
+Fringing reefs.
+Conversion of fringing-reefs into barrier-reefs, and into atolls.
+Evidence of changes in level.
+Breaches in barrier-reefs.
+Maldiva atolls; their peculiar structure.
+Dead and submerged reefs.
+Areas of subsidence and elevation.
+Distribution of volcanoes.
+Subsidence slow and vast in amount.
+
+APRIL 1, 1836.
+
+
+
+We arrived in view of the Keeling or Cocos Islands, situated in the
+Indian Ocean, and about six hundred miles distant from the coast of
+Sumatra. This is one of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of coral
+formation similar to those in the Low Archipelago which we passed
+near. When the ship was in the channel at the entrance, Mr. Liesk,
+an English resident, came off in his boat. The history of the
+inhabitants of this place, in as few words as possible, is as
+follows. About nine years ago, Mr. Hare, a worthless character,
+brought from the East Indian archipelago a number of Malay slaves,
+which now, including children, amount to more than a hundred.
+Shortly afterwards Captain Ross, who had before visited these
+islands in his merchant-ship, arrived from England, bringing with
+him his family and goods for settlement: along with him came Mr.
+Liesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. The Malay slaves soon ran
+away from the islet on which Mr. Hare was settled, and joined
+Captain Ross's party. Mr. Hare upon this was ultimately obliged to
+leave the place.
+
+The Malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and certainly
+are so as far as regards their personal treatment; but in most
+other points they are considered as slaves. From their discontented
+state, from the repeated removals from islet to islet, and perhaps
+also from a little mismanagement, things are not very prosperous.
+The island has no domestic quadruped excepting the pig, and the
+main vegetable production is the cocoa-nut. The whole prosperity of
+the place depends on this tree; the only exports being oil from the
+nut, and the nuts themselves, which are taken to Singapore and
+Mauritius, where they are chiefly used, when grated, in making
+curries. On the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are loaded with
+fat, almost entirely subsist, as do the ducks and poultry. Even a
+huge land-crab is furnished by nature with the means to open and
+feed on this most useful production.
+
+The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the
+greater part of its length by linear islets. On the northern or
+leeward side there is an opening through which vessels can pass to
+the anchorage within. On entering, the scene was very curious and
+rather pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the
+brilliancy of the surrounding colours. The shallow, clear, and
+still water of the lagoon, resting in its greater part on white
+sand, is, when illumined by a vertical sun, of the most vivid
+green. This brilliant expanse, several miles in width, is on all
+sides divided, either by a line of snow-white breakers from the
+dark heaving waters of the ocean, or from the blue vault of heaven
+by the strips of land, crowned by the level tops of the cocoa-nut
+trees. As a white cloud here and there affords a pleasing contrast
+with the azure sky, so in the lagoon bands of living coral darken
+the emerald green water.
+
+The next morning after anchoring I went on shore on Direction
+Island. The strip of dry land is only a few hundred yards in width;
+on the lagoon side there is a white calcareous beach, the radiation
+from which under this sultry climate was very oppressive; and on
+the outer coast a solid broad flat of coral-rock served to break
+the violence of the open sea. Excepting near the lagoon, where
+there is some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded
+fragments of coral. In such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate
+of the intertropical regions alone could produce a vigorous
+vegetation. On some of the smaller islets nothing could be more
+elegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown cocoa-nut
+trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, were mingled into
+one wood. A beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these
+fairy spots.
+
+I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands,
+which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. The
+cocoa-nut tree, at first glance, seems to compose the whole wood;
+there are however, five or six other trees. One of these grows to a
+very large size, but, from the extreme softness of its wood, is
+useless; another sort affords excellent timber for ship-building.
+Besides the trees the number of plants is exceedingly limited and
+consists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, which includes,
+I believe, nearly the perfect Flora, there are twenty species
+without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. To this number two
+trees must be added; one of which was not in flower, and the other
+I only heard of. The latter is a solitary tree of its kind, and
+grows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown
+up by the waves. A Guilandina also grows on only one of the islets.
+I do not include in the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some
+other vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. As the islands
+consist entirely of coral, and at one time must have existed as
+mere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial productions must
+have been transported here by the waves of the sea. In accordance
+with this, the Florula has quite the character of a refuge for the
+destitute: Professor Henslow informs me that of the twenty species
+nineteen belong to different genera, and these again to no less
+than sixteen families! (20/1. These plants are described in the
+"Annals of Natural History" volume 1 1838 page 337.)
+
+In Holman's "Travels" an account is given, on the authority of Mr.
+A.S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the
+various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been
+washed on shore. (20/2. Holman's "Travels" volume 4 page 378.)
+"Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java have been driven up by the
+surf on the windward side of the islands. Among them have been
+found the Kimiri, native of Sumatra and the peninsula of Malacca;
+the cocoa-nut of Balci, known by its shape and size; the Dadass,
+which is planted by the Malays with the pepper-vine, the latter
+entwining round its trunk, and supporting itself by the prickles on
+its stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks of the sago
+palm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the Malays settled on
+the islands. These are all supposed to have been driven by the
+north-west monsoon to the coast of New Holland, and thence to these
+islands by the south-east trade-wind. Large masses of Java teak and
+Yellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and
+white cedar, and the blue gum-wood of New Holland, in a perfectly
+sound condition. All the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain
+their germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the
+mangostin, are destroyed in the passage. Fishing-canoes, apparently
+from Java, have at times been washed on shore." It is interesting
+thus to discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from
+several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. Professor
+Henslow tells me he believes that nearly all the plants which I
+brought from these islands are common littoral species in the East
+Indian archipelago. From the direction, however, of the winds and
+currents, it seems scarcely possible that they could have come here
+in a direct line. If, as suggested with much probability by Mr.
+Keating, they were first carried towards the coast of New Holland,
+and thence drifted back together with the productions of that
+country, the seeds, before germinating, must have travelled between
+1800 and 2400 miles.
+
+Chamisso, when describing the Radack Archipelago, situated in the
+western part of the Pacific, states that "the sea brings to these
+islands the seeds and fruits of many trees, most of which have yet
+not grown here. The greater part of these seeds appear to have not
+yet lost the capability of growing." (20/3. Kotzebue's "First
+Voyage" volume 3 page 155.) It is also said that palms and bamboos
+from somewhere in the torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are
+washed on shore; these firs must have come from an immense
+distance. These facts are highly interesting. It cannot be doubted
+that, if there were land-birds to pick up the seeds when first cast
+on shore, and a soil better adapted for their growth than the loose
+blocks of coral, the most isolated of the lagoon islands would in
+time possess a far more abundant Flora than they now have.
+
+The list of land animals is even poorer than that of the plants.
+Some of the islets are inhabited by rats, which were brought in a
+ship from the Mauritius, wrecked here. These rats are considered by
+Mr. Waterhouse as identical with the English kind, but they are
+smaller, and more brightly coloured. There are no true land-birds,
+for a snipe and a rail (Rallus Phillippensis), though living
+entirely in the dry herbage, belong to the order of Waders. Birds
+of this order are said to occur on several of the small low islands
+in the Pacific. At Ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail
+(Porphyrio simplex) was shot near the summit of the mountain, and
+it was evidently a solitary straggler. At Tristan d'Acunha, where,
+according to Carmichael, there are only two land-birds, there is a
+coot. From these facts I believe that the waders, after the
+innumerable web-footed species, are generally the first colonists
+of small isolated islands. I may add that whenever I noticed birds,
+not of oceanic species, very far out at sea, they always belonged
+to this order; and hence they would naturally become the earliest
+colonists of any remote point of land.
+
+Of reptiles I saw only one small lizard. Of insects I took pains to
+collect every kind. Exclusive of spiders, which were numerous,
+there were thirteen species. (20/4. The thirteen species belong to
+the following orders:--In the Coleoptera, a minute Elater;
+Orthoptera, a Gryllus and a Blatta; Hemiptera, one species;
+Homoptera, two; Neuroptera, a Chrysopa; Hymenoptera, two ants;
+Lepidoptera nocturna, a Diopaea, and a Pterophorus (?); Diptera,
+two species.) Of these one only was a beetle. A small ant swarmed
+by thousands under the loose dry blocks of coral, and was the only
+true insect which was abundant. Although the productions of the
+land are thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surrounding
+sea the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. Chamisso has
+described the natural history of a lagoon-island in the Radack
+Archipelago (20/5. Kotzebue's "First Voyage" volume 3 page 222.);
+and it is remarkable how closely its inhabitants, in number and
+kind, resemble those of Keeling Island. There is one lizard and two
+waders, namely, a snipe and curlew. Of plants there are nineteen
+species, including a fern; and some of these are the same with
+those growing here, though on a spot so immensely remote, and in a
+different ocean.
+
+The long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have been
+raised only to that height to which the surf can throw fragments of
+coral, and the wind heap up calcareous sand. The solid flat of
+coral rock on the outside, by its breadth, breaks the first
+violence of the waves, which otherwise, in a day, would sweep away
+these islets and all their productions. The ocean and the land seem
+here struggling for mastery: although terra firma has obtained a
+footing, the denizens of the water think their claim at least
+equally good. In every part one meets hermit crabs of more than one
+species, carrying on their backs the shells which they have stolen
+from the neighbouring beach. (20/6. The large claws or pincers of
+some of these crabs are most beautifully adapted, when drawn back,
+to form an operculum to the shell, nearly as perfect as the proper
+one originally belonging to the molluscous animal. I was assured,
+and as far as my observations went I found it so, that certain
+species of the hermit-crab always use certain species of shells.)
+Overhead numerous gannets, frigate-birds, and terns, rest on the
+trees; and the wood, from the many nests and from the smell of the
+atmosphere, might be called a sea-rookery. The gannets, sitting on
+their rude nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. The
+noddies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. But
+there is one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which
+smoothly hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's head, its
+large black eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your expression.
+Little imagination is required to fancy that so light and delicate
+a body must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit.
+
+SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1836.
+
+After service I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to the settlement,
+situated at the distance of some miles, on the point of an islet
+thickly covered with tall cocoa-nut trees. Captain Ross and Mr.
+Liesk live in a large barn-like house open at both ends, and lined
+with mats made of woven bark. The houses of the Malays are arranged
+along the shore of the lagoon. The whole place had rather a
+desolate aspect, for there were no gardens to show the signs of
+care and cultivation. The natives belong to different islands in
+the East Indian archipelago, but all speak the same language: we
+saw the inhabitants of Borneo, Celebes, Java, and Sumatra. In
+colour they resemble the Tahitians, from whom they do not widely
+differ in features. Some of the women, however, show a good deal of
+the Chinese character. I liked both their general expressions and
+the sound of their voices. They appeared poor, and their houses
+were destitute of furniture; but it was evident from the plumpness
+of the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad
+sustenance.
+
+On this island the wells are situated from which ships obtain
+water. At first sight it appears not a little remarkable that the
+fresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it
+has even been imagined that sand has the power of filtering the
+salt from the sea-water. These ebbing wells are common on some of
+the low islands in the West Indies. The compressed sand, or porous
+coral rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water, but the
+rain which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the
+surrounding sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal
+bulk of the salt water. As the water in the lower part of the great
+sponge-like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the
+water near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass be
+sufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admixture; but
+where the land consists of great loose blocks of coral with open
+interstices, if a well be dug, the water, as I have seen, is
+brackish.
+
+After dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious scene
+acted by the Malay women. A large wooden spoon dressed in garments,
+and which had been carried to the grave of a dead man, they pretend
+becomes inspired at the full of the moon, and will dance and jump
+about. After the proper preparations, the spoon, held by two women,
+became convulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the
+surrounding children and women. It was a most foolish spectacle;
+but Mr. Liesk maintained that many of the Malays believed in its
+spiritual movements. The dance did not commence till the moon had
+risen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her bright orb so
+quietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nut trees as
+they waved in the evening breeze. These scenes of the tropics are
+in themselves so delicious that they almost equal those dearer ones
+at home, to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind.
+
+The next day I employed myself in examining the very interesting,
+yet simple structure and origin of these islands. The water being
+unusually smooth, I waded over the outer flat of dead rock as far
+as the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea
+breaks. In some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful
+green and other coloured fishes, and the form and tints of many of
+the zoophytes were admirable. It is excusable to grow enthusiastic
+over the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of
+the tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet I must confess I think
+those naturalists who have described, in well-known words, the
+submarine grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged
+in rather exuberant language.
+
+APRIL 6, 1836.
+
+I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to an island at the head of the
+lagoon: the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding through
+fields of delicately branched corals. We saw several turtle and two
+boats were then employed in catching them. The water was so clear
+and shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out of
+sight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail the pursuers after no very
+long chase come up to it. A man standing ready in the bow at this
+moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then
+clinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried
+away till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. It was quite
+an interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and
+the men dashing head foremost into the water trying to seize their
+prey. Captain Moresby informs me that in the Chagos archipelago in
+this same ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell
+from the back of the living turtle. "It is covered with burning
+charcoal, which causes the outer shell to curl upwards, it is then
+forced off with a knife, and before it becomes cold flattened
+between boards. After this barbarous process the animal is suffered
+to regain its native element, where, after a certain time, a new
+shell is formed; it is, however, too thin to be of any service, and
+the animal always appears languishing and sickly."
+
+When we arrived at the head of the lagoon we crossed a narrow islet
+and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. I can hardly
+explain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in the
+view of the outer shores of these lagoon-islands. There is a
+simplicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes
+and tall cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed
+here and there with great loose fragments, and the line of furious
+breakers, all rounding away towards either hand. The ocean throwing
+its waters over the broad reef appears an invincible, all-powerful
+enemy; yet we see it resisted, and even conquered, by means which
+at first seem most weak and inefficient. It is not that the ocean
+spares the rock of coral; the great fragments scattered over the
+reef, and heaped on the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs,
+plainly bespeak the unrelenting power of the waves. Nor are any
+periods of repose granted. The long swell caused by the gentle but
+steady action of the trade-wind, always blowing in one direction
+over a wide area, causes breakers, almost equalling in force those
+during a gale of wind in the temperate regions, and which never
+cease to rage. It is impossible to behold these waves without
+feeling a conviction that an island, though built of the hardest
+rock, let it be porphyry, granite, or quartz, would ultimately
+yield and be demolished by such an irresistible power. Yet these
+low, insignificant coral-islets stand and are victorious: for here
+another power, as an antagonist, takes part in the contest. The
+organic forces separate the atoms of carbonate of lime, one by one,
+from the foaming breakers, and unite them into a symmetrical
+structure. Let the hurricane tear up its thousand huge fragments;
+yet what will that tell against the accumulated labour of myriads
+of architects at work night and day, month after month? Thus do we
+see the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency
+of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the
+waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate
+works of nature could successfully resist.
+
+We did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed
+a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the
+gigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his
+hand, he would not, as long as the animal lived, be able to
+withdraw it. Near the head of the lagoon I was much surprised to
+find a wide area, considerably more than a mile square, covered
+with a forest of delicately branching corals, which, though
+standing upright, were all dead and rotten. At first I was quite at
+a loss to understand the cause; afterwards it occurred to me that
+it was owing to the following rather curious combination of
+circumstances. It should, however, first be stated, that corals are
+not able to survive even a short exposure in the air to the sun's
+rays, so that their upward limit of growth is determined by that of
+lowest water at spring tides. It appears, from some old charts,
+that the long island to windward was formerly separated by wide
+channels into several islets; this fact is likewise indicated by
+the trees being younger on these portions. Under the former
+condition of the reef, a strong breeze, by throwing more water over
+the barrier, would tend to raise the level of the lagoon. Now it
+acts in a directly contrary manner; for the water within the lagoon
+not only is not increased by currents from the outside, but is
+itself blown outwards by the force of the wind. Hence it is
+observed that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not rise so
+high during a strong breeze as it does when it is calm. This
+difference of level, although no doubt very small, has, I believe,
+caused the death of those coral-groves, which under the former and
+more open condition of the outer reef had attained the utmost
+possible limit of upward growth.
+
+A few miles north of Keeling there is another small atoll, the
+lagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. Captain Ross
+found embedded in the conglomerate on the outer coast a
+well-rounded fragment of greenstone, rather larger than a man's
+head: he and the men with him were so much surprised at this, that
+they brought it away and preserved it as a curiosity. The
+occurrence of this one stone, where every other particle of matter
+is calcareous, certainly is very puzzling. The island has scarcely
+ever been visited, nor is it probable that a ship had been wrecked
+there. From the absence of any better explanation, I came to the
+conclusion that it must have come entangled in the roots of some
+large tree: when, however, I considered the great distance from the
+nearest land, the combination of chances against a stone thus being
+entangled, the tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then
+landed safely, and the stone finally so embedded as to allow of its
+discovery, I was almost afraid of imagining a means of transport
+apparently so improbable. It was therefore with great interest that
+I found Chamisso, the justly distinguished naturalist who
+accompanied Kotzebue, stating that the inhabitants of the Radack
+Archipelago, a group of lagoon islands in the midst of the Pacific,
+obtained stones for sharpening their instruments by searching the
+roots of trees which are cast upon the beach. It will be evident
+that this must have happened several times, since laws have been
+established that such stones belong to the chief, and a punishment
+is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them. When the
+isolated position of these small islands in the midst of a vast
+ocean--their great distance from any land excepting that of coral
+formation, attested by the value which the inhabitants, who are
+such bold navigators, attach to a stone of any kind--and the
+slowness of the currents of the open sea, are all considered, the
+occurrence of pebbles thus transported does appear wonderful.
+(20/7. Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected
+stones to take back to their country.) Stones may often be thus
+carried; and if the island on which they are stranded is
+constructed of any other substance besides coral, they would
+scarcely attract attention, and their origin at least would never
+be guessed. Moreover, this agency may long escape discovery from
+the probability of trees, especially those loaded with stones,
+floating beneath the surface. In the channels of Tierra del Fuego
+large quantities of drift timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is
+extremely rare to meet a tree swimming on the water. These facts
+may possibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or
+rounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary masses.
+
+During another day I visited West Islet, on which the vegetation
+was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. The cocoa-nut trees
+generally grow separate, but here the young ones flourished beneath
+their tall parents, and formed with their long and curved fronds
+the most shady arbours. Those alone who have tried it know how
+delicious it is to be seated in such shade, and drink the cool
+pleasant fluid of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large
+bay-like space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite
+level and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this
+large bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods. To see a
+field of glittering white sand representing water, with the
+cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving trunks round the
+margin, formed a singular and very pretty view.
+
+I have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts; it
+is very common on all parts of the dry land, and grows to a
+monstrous size: it is closely allied or identical with the Birgos
+latro. The front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy
+pincers, and the last pair are fitted with others weaker and much
+narrower. It would at first be thought quite impossible for a crab
+to open a strong cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but Mr. Liesk
+assures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected. The crab
+begins by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that
+end under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this is
+completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy claws on one
+of the eye-holes till an opening is made. Then turning round its
+body, by the aid of its posterior and narrow pair of pincers it
+extracts the white albuminous substance. I think this is as curious
+a case of instinct as ever I heard of, and likewise of adaptation
+in structure between two objects apparently so remote from each
+other in the scheme of nature as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. The
+Birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to pay
+a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening its
+branchiae. The young are likewise hatched, and live for some time,
+on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they hollow
+out beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate
+surprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk,
+on which they rest as on a bed. The Malays sometimes take advantage
+of this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs
+are very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones
+there is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as
+much as a quart-bottleful of limpid oil. It has been stated by some
+authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the
+purpose of stealing the nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of
+this; but with the Pandanus the task would be very much easier.
+(20/8. See "Proceedings of the Zoological Society" 1832 page 17.) I
+was told by Mr. Liesk that on these islands the Birgos lives only
+on the nuts which have fallen to the ground.
+
+Captain Moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the Chagos and
+Seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring Maldiva archipelago. It
+formerly abounded at Mauritius, but only a few small ones are now
+found there. In the Pacific this species, or one with closely
+allied habits, is said to inhabit a single coral island north of
+the Society group. (20/9. Tyerman and Bennett "Voyage" etc. volume
+2 page 33.) To show the wonderful strength of the front pair of
+pincers, I may mention that Captain Moresby confined one in a
+strong tin box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with
+wire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. In turning
+down the edges it actually punched many small holes quite through
+the tin!
+
+I was a good deal surprised by finding two species of coral of the
+genus Millepora (M. complanata and alcicornis), possessed of the
+power of stinging. The stony branches or plates, when taken fresh
+from the water, have a harsh feel and are not slimy, although
+possessing a strong and disagreeable smell. The stinging property
+seems to vary in different specimens: when a piece was pressed or
+rubbed on the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation
+was usually caused, which came on after the interval of a second,
+and lasted only for a few minutes. One day, however, by merely
+touching my face with one of the branches, pain was instantaneously
+caused; it increased as usual after a few seconds, and remaining
+sharp for some minutes, was perceptible for half an hour
+afterwards. The sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but
+more like that caused by the Physalia or Portuguese man-of-war.
+Little red spots were produced on the tender skin of the arm, which
+appeared as if they would have formed watery pustules, but did not.
+M. Quoy mentions this case of the Millepora; and I have heard of
+stinging corals in the West Indies. Many marine animals seem to
+have this power of stinging: besides the Portuguese man-of-war,
+many jelly-fish, and the Aplysia or sea-slug of the Cape de Verd
+Islands, it is stated in the "Voyage of the Astrolabe" that an
+Actinia or sea-anemone, as well as a flexible coralline allied to
+Sertularia, both possess this means of offence or defence. In the
+East Indian sea a stinging sea-weed is said to be found.
+
+Two species of fish, of the genus Scarus, which are common here,
+exclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a splendid
+bluish-green, one living invariably in the lagoon, and the other
+amongst the outer breakers. Mr. Liesk assured us that he had
+repeatedly seen whole shoals grazing with their strong bony jaws on
+the tops of the coral branches: I opened the intestines of several
+and found them distended with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. The
+slimy disgusting Holuthuriae (allied to our star-fish), which the
+Chinese gourmands are so fond of, also feed largely, as I am
+informed by Dr. Allan, on corals; and the bony apparatus within
+their bodies seems well adapted for this end. These holuthuriae,
+the fish, the numerous burrowing shells, and nereidous worms, which
+perforate every block of dead coral, must be very efficient agents
+in producing the fine white mud which lies at the bottom and on the
+shores of the lagoon. A portion, however, of this mud, which when
+wet resembled pounded chalk, was found by Professor Ehrenberg to be
+partly composed of siliceous-shielded infusoria.
+
+APRIL 12, 1836.
+
+In the morning we stood out of the lagoon on our passage to the
+Isle of France. I am glad we have visited these islands: such
+formations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of this
+world. Captain Fitz Roy found no bottom with a line 7200 feet in
+length, at the distance of only 2200 yards from the shore; hence
+this island forms a lofty submarine mountain, with sides steeper
+even than those of the most abrupt volcanic cone. The saucer-shaped
+summit is nearly ten miles across; and every single atom, from the
+least particle to the largest fragment of rock, in this great pile,
+which however is small compared with very many other lagoon
+islands, bears the stamp of having been subjected to organic
+arrangement. (20/10. I exclude, of course, some soil which has been
+imported here in vessels from Malacca and Java, and likewise some
+small fragments of pumice, drifted here by the waves. The one block
+of greenstone, moreover, on the northern island must be excepted.)
+We feel surprise when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions of
+the Pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant
+are the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of
+stone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender
+animals! This is a wonder which does not at first strike the eye of
+the body, but, after reflection, the eye of reason.
+
+(PLATE 93.  WHITSUNDAY ISLAND.)
+
+I will now give a very brief account of the three great classes of
+coral-reefs; namely, Atolls, Barrier, and Fringing Reefs, and will
+explain my views on their formation. (20/11. These were first read
+before the Geological Society in May 1837 and have since been
+developed in a separate volume on the "Structure and Distribution
+of Coral Reefs.") Almost every voyager who has crossed the Pacific
+has expressed his unbounded astonishment at the lagoon islands, or
+as I shall for the future call them by their Indian name of atolls,
+and has attempted some explanation. Even as long ago as the year
+1605, Pyrard de Laval well exclaimed, "C'est une merveille de voir
+chacun de ces atollons, environn� d'un grand banc de pierre tout
+autour, n'y ayant point d'artifice humain." The accompanying sketch
+of Whitsunday Island in the Pacific, copied from Captain Beechey's
+admirable "Voyage" (Plate 93), gives but a faint idea of the
+singular aspect of an atoll: it is one of the smallest size, and
+has its narrow islets united together in a ring. The immensity of
+the ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of
+the land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the
+lagoon, can hardly be imagined without having been seen.
+
+The earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals
+instinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves
+protection in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth
+that those massive kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer
+shores the very existence of the reef depends, cannot live within
+the lagoon, where other delicately-branching kinds flourish.
+Moreover, on this view, many species of distinct genera and
+families are supposed to combine for one end; and of such a
+combination, not a single instance can be found in the whole of
+nature. The theory that has been most generally received is that
+atolls are based on submarine craters; but when we consider the
+form and size of some, the number, proximity, and relative
+positions of others, this idea loses its plausible character: thus
+Suadiva atoll is 44 geographical miles in diameter in one line, by
+34 miles in another line; Rimsky is 54 by 20 miles across, and it
+has a strangely sinuous margin; Bow atoll is 30 miles long, and on
+an average only 6 in width; Menchicoff atoll consists of three
+atolls united or tied together. This theory, moreover, is totally
+inapplicable to the northern Maldiva atolls in the Indian Ocean
+(one of which is 88 miles in length, and between 10 and 20 in
+breadth), for they are not bounded like ordinary atolls by narrow
+reefs, but by a vast number of separate little atolls; other little
+atolls rising out of the great central lagoon-like spaces. A third
+and better theory was advanced by Chamisso, who thought that from
+the corals growing more vigorously where exposed to the open sea,
+as undoubtedly is the case, the outer edges would grow up from the
+general foundation before any other part, and that this would
+account for the ring or cup-shaped structure. But we shall
+immediately see, that in this, as well as in the crater-theory, a
+most important consideration has been overlooked, namely, on what
+have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at a great depth,
+based their massive structures?
+
+Numerous soundings were carefully taken by Captain Fitz Roy on the
+steep outside of Keeling atoll, and it was found that within ten
+fathoms the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead invariably
+came up marked with the impressions of living corals, but as
+perfectly clean as if it had been dropped on a carpet of turf; as
+the depth increased, the impressions became less numerous, but the
+adhering particles of sand more and more numerous, until at last it
+was evident that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer; to
+carry on the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner
+and thinner, till at last the soil was so sterile that nothing
+sprang from it. From these observations, confirmed by many others,
+it may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at which corals can
+construct reefs is between 20 and 30 fathoms. Now there are
+enormous areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in which every
+single island is of coral formation, and is raised only to that
+height to which the waves can throw up fragments, and the winds
+pile up sand. Thus the Radack group of atolls is an irregular
+square, 520 miles long and 240 broad; the Low Archipelago is
+elliptic-formed, 840 miles in its longer, and 420 in its shorter
+axis: there are other small groups and single low islands between
+these two archipelagoes, making a linear space of ocean actually
+more than 4000 miles in length, in which not one single island
+rises above the specified height. Again, in the Indian Ocean there
+is a space of ocean 1500 miles in length, including three
+archipelagoes, in which every island is low and of coral formation.
+From the fact of the reef-building corals not living at great
+depths, it is absolutely certain that throughout these vast areas,
+wherever there is now an atoll, a foundation must have originally
+existed within a depth of from 20 to 30 fathoms from the surface.
+It is improbable in the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated,
+steep-sided banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines
+hundreds of leagues in length, could have been deposited in the
+central and profoundest parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, at
+an immense distance from any continent, and where the water is
+perfectly limpid. It is equally improbable that the elevatory
+forces should have uplifted throughout the above vast areas,
+innumerable great rocky banks within 20 to 30 fathoms, or 120 to
+180 feet, of the surface of the sea, and not one single point above
+that level; for where on the whole face of the globe can we find a
+single chain of mountains, even a few hundred miles in length, with
+their many summits rising within a few feet of a given level, and
+not one pinnacle above it? If then the foundations, whence the
+atoll-building corals sprang, were not formed of sediment, and if
+they were not lifted up to the required level, they must of
+necessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the
+difficulty. For as mountain after mountain, and island after
+island, slowly sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be
+successively afforded for the growth of the corals. It is
+impossible here to enter into all the necessary details, but I
+venture to defy any one to explain in any other manner how it is
+possible that numerous islands should be distributed throughout
+vast areas--all the islands being low--all being built of corals,
+absolutely requiring a foundation within a limited depth from the
+surface. (20/12. It is remarkable that Mr. Lyell, even in the first
+edition of his "Principles of Geology," inferred that the amount of
+subsidence in the Pacific must have exceeded that of elevation,
+from the area of land being very small relatively to the agents
+there tending to form it, namely, the growth of coral and volcanic
+action.)
+
+(PLATE 94.  BARRIER-REEF, BOLABOLA.)
+
+Before explaining how atoll-formed reefs acquire their peculiar
+structure, we must turn to the second great class, namely,
+Barrier-reefs. These either extend in straight lines in front of
+the shores of a continent or of a large island, or they encircle
+smaller islands; in both cases, being separated from the land by a
+broad and rather deep channel of water, analogous to the lagoon
+within an atoll. It is remarkable how little attention has been
+paid to encircling barrier-reefs; yet they are truly wonderful
+structures. The sketch (Plate 94) represents part of the barrier
+encircling the island of Bolabola in the Pacific, as seen from one
+of the central peaks. In this instance the whole line of reef has
+been converted into land; but usually a snow-white line of great
+breakers, with only here and there a single low islet crowned with
+cocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters of the ocean from
+the light green expanse of the lagoon-channel. And the quiet waters
+of this channel generally bathe a fringe of low alluvial soil,
+loaded with the most beautiful productions of the tropics, and
+lying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, central mountains.
+
+Encircling barrier-reefs are of all sizes, from three miles to no
+less than forty-four miles in diameter; and that which fronts one
+side, and encircles both ends, of New Caledonia, is 400 miles long.
+Each reef includes one, two, or several rocky islands of various
+heights; and in one instance, even as many as twelve separate
+islands. The reef runs at a greater or less distance from the
+included land; in the Society Archipelago generally from one to
+three or four miles; but at Hogoleu the reef is 20 miles on the
+southern side, and 14 miles on the opposite or northern side, from
+the included islands. The depth within the lagoon-channel also
+varies much; from 10 to 30 fathoms may be taken as an average; but
+at Vanikoro there are spaces no less than 56 fathoms or 336 feet
+deep. Internally the reef either slopes gently into the
+lagoon-channel, or ends in a perpendicular wall sometimes between
+two and three hundred feet under water in height: externally the
+reef rises, like an atoll, with extreme abruptness out of the
+profound depths of the ocean. What can be more singular than these
+structures? We see an island, which may be compared to a castle
+situated on the summit of a lofty submarine mountain, protected by
+a great wall of coral-rock, always steep externally and sometimes
+internally, with a broad level summit, here and there breached by
+narrow gateways, through which the largest ships can enter the wide
+and deep encircling moat.
+
+As far as the actual reef of coral is concerned, there is not the
+smallest difference in general size, outline, grouping, and even in
+quite trifling details of structure, between a barrier and an
+atoll. The geographer Balbi has well remarked that an encircled
+island is an atoll with high land rising out of its lagoon; remove
+the land from within, and a perfect atoll is left.
+
+But what has caused these reefs to spring up at such great
+distances from the shores of the included islands? It cannot be
+that the corals will not grow close to the land; for the shores
+within the lagoon-channel, when not surrounded by alluvial soil,
+are often fringed by living reefs; and we shall presently see that
+there is a whole class, which I have called Fringing-reefs from
+their close attachment to the shores both of continents and of
+islands. Again, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot
+live at great depths, based their encircling structures? This is a
+great apparent difficulty, analogous to that in the case of atolls,
+which has generally been overlooked. It will be perceived more
+clearly by inspecting the following sections which are real ones,
+taken in north and south lines, through the islands with their
+barrier-reefs, of Vanikoro, Gambier, and Maurua; and they are laid
+down, both vertically and horizontally, on the same scale of a
+quarter of an inch to a mile.
+
+(PLATE 95.  SECTIONS OF BARRIER-REEFS. 1. Vanikoro. 2. Gambier
+Islands. 3. Maurua.
+
+The horizontal shading shows the barrier-reefs and lagoon-channels.
+The inclined shading above the level of the sea (AA) shows the
+actual form of the land; the inclined shading below this line shows
+its probable prolongation under water.)
+
+It should be observed that the sections might have been taken in
+any direction through these islands, or through many other
+encircled islands, and the general features would have been the
+same. Now bearing in mind that reef-building coral cannot live at a
+greater depth than from 20 to 30 fathoms, and that the scale is so
+small that the plummets on the right hand show a depth of 200
+fathoms, on what are these barrier-reefs based? Are we to suppose
+that each island is surrounded by a collar-like submarine ledge of
+rock, or by a great bank of sediment, ending abruptly where the
+reef ends? If the sea had formerly eaten deeply into the islands,
+before they were protected by the reefs, thus having left a shallow
+ledge round them under water, the present shores would have been
+invariably bounded by great precipices; but this is most rarely the
+case. Moreover, on this notion, it is not possible to explain why
+the corals should have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme
+outer margin of the ledge, often leaving a broad space of water
+within, too deep for the growth of corals. The accumulation of a
+wide bank of sediment all round these islands, and generally widest
+where the included islands are smallest, is highly improbable,
+considering their exposed positions in the central and deepest
+parts of the ocean. In the case of the barrier-reef of New
+Caledonia, which extends for 150 miles beyond the northern point of
+the island, in the same straight line with which it fronts the west
+coast, it is hardly possible to believe that a bank of sediment
+could thus have been straightly deposited in front of a lofty
+island, and so far beyond its termination in the open sea. Finally,
+if we look to other oceanic islands of about the same height and of
+similar geological constitution, but not encircled by coral-reefs,
+we may in vain search for so trifling a circumambient depth as 30
+fathoms, except quite near to their shores; for usually land that
+rises abruptly out of water, as do most of the encircled and
+non-encircled oceanic islands, plunges abruptly under it. On what
+then, I repeat, are these barrier reefs based? Why, with their wide
+and deep moat-like channels, do they stand so far from the included
+land? We shall soon see how easily these difficulties disappear.
+
+We come now to our third class of Fringing-reefs, which will
+require a very short notice. Where the land slopes abruptly under
+water, these reefs are only a few yards in width, forming a mere
+ribbon or fringe round the shores: where the land slopes gently
+under the water the reef extends farther, sometimes even as much as
+a mile from the land; but in such cases the soundings outside the
+reef always show that the submarine prolongation of the land is
+gently inclined. In fact the reefs extend only to that distance
+from the shore at which a foundation within the requisite depth
+from 20 to 30 fathoms is found. As far as the actual reef is
+concerned, there is no essential difference between it and that
+forming a barrier or an atoll: it is, however, generally of less
+width, and consequently few islets have been formed on it. From the
+corals growing more vigorously on the outside, and from the noxious
+effect of the sediment washed inwards, the outer edge of the reef
+is the highest part, and between it and the land there is generally
+a shallow sandy channel a few feet in depth. Where banks of
+sediment have accumulated near to the surface, as in parts of the
+West Indies, they sometimes become fringed with corals, and hence
+in some degree resemble lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same
+manner as fringing-reefs, surrounding gently sloping islands, in
+some degree resemble barrier-reefs.
+
+(PLATE 96.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF.
+
+AA, Outer edges of the fringing-reef, at the level of the sea. BB,
+The shores of the fringed island. A'A', Outer edges of the reef,
+after its upward growth during a period of subsidence, now
+converted into a barrier, with islets on it. B'B', The shores of
+the now encircled islands. CC, Lagoon-channel. NB.--In this and
+Plate 97, the subsidence of the land could be represented only by
+an apparent rise in the level of the sea.)
+
+No theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be considered
+satisfactory which does not include the three great classes. We
+have seen that we are driven to believe in the subsidence of those
+vast areas, interspersed with low islands, of which not one rises
+above the height to which the wind and waves can throw up matter,
+and yet are constructed by animals requiring a foundation, and that
+foundation to lie at no great depth. Let us then take an island
+surrounded by fringing-reefs, which offer no difficulty in their
+structure; and let this island with its reef, represented by the
+unbroken lines in Plate 96, slowly subside. Now as the island sinks
+down, either a few feet at a time or quite insensibly, we may
+safely infer, from what is known of the conditions favourable to
+the growth of coral, that the living masses, bathed by the surf on
+the margin of the reef, will soon regain the surface. The water,
+however, will encroach little by little on the shore, the island
+becoming lower and smaller, and the space between the inner edge of
+the reef and the beach proportionally broader. A section of the
+reef and island in this state, after a subsidence of several
+hundred feet, is given by the dotted lines. Coral islets are
+supposed to have been formed on the reef; and a ship is anchored in
+the lagoon-channel. This channel will be more or less deep,
+according to the rate of subsidence, to the amount of sediment
+accumulated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched
+corals which can live there. The section in this state resembles in
+every respect one drawn through an encircled island: in fact, it is
+a real section (on the scale of .517 of an inch to a mile) through
+Bolabola in the Pacific. We can now at once see why encircling
+barrier-reefs stand so far from the shores which they front. We can
+also perceive that a line drawn perpendicularly down from the outer
+edge of the new reef, to the foundation of solid rock beneath the
+old fringing-reef, will exceed by as many feet as there have been
+feet of subsidence, that small limit of depth at which the
+effective corals can live:--the little architects having built up
+their great wall-like mass, as the whole sank down, upon a basis
+formed of other corals and their consolidated fragments. Thus the
+difficulty on this head, which appeared so great, disappears.
+
+If, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a continent
+fringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have subsided, a great
+straight barrier, like that of Australia or New Caledonia,
+separated from the land by a wide and deep channel, would evidently
+have been the result.
+
+(PLATE 97.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF. A'A', Outer edges of the
+barrier-reef at the level of the sea, with islets on it. B'B', The
+shores of the included island. CC, The lagoon-channel. A''A'',
+Outer edges of the reef, now converted into an atoll. C', The
+lagoon of the new atoll. NB.--According to the true scale, the
+depths of the lagoon-channel and lagoon are much exaggerated.)
+
+Let us take our new encircling barrier-reef (Plate 97), of which
+the section is now represented by unbroken lines, and which, as I
+have said, is a real section through Bolabola, and let it go on
+subsiding. As the barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the corals will
+go on vigorously growing upwards; but as the island sinks, the
+water will gain inch by inch on the shore--the separate mountains
+first forming separate islands within one great reef--and finally,
+the last and highest pinnacle disappearing. The instant this takes
+place, a perfect atoll is formed: I have said, remove the high land
+from within an encircling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and
+the land has been removed. We can now perceive how it comes that
+atolls, having sprung from encircling barrier-reefs, resemble them
+in general size, form, in the manner in which they are grouped
+together, and in their arrangement in single or double lines; for
+they may be called rude outline charts of the sunken islands over
+which they stand. We can further see how it arises that the atolls
+in the Pacific and Indian Oceans extend in lines parallel to the
+generally prevailing strike of the high islands and great
+coast-lines of those oceans. I venture, therefore, to affirm that
+on the theory of the upward growth of the corals during the sinking
+of the land, all the leading features in those wonderful
+structures, the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long
+excited the attention of voyagers, as well as in the no less
+wonderful barrier-reefs, whether encircling small islands or
+stretching for hundreds of miles along the shores of a continent,
+are simply explained. (20/13. It has been highly satisfactory to me
+to find the following passage in a pamphlet by Mr. Couthouy, one of
+the naturalists in the great Antarctic Expedition of the United
+States:--"Having personally examined a large number of
+coral-islands, and resided eight months among the volcanic class
+having shore and partially encircling reefs, I may be permitted to
+state that my own observations have impressed a conviction of the
+correctness of the theory of Mr. Darwin." The naturalists, however,
+of this expedition differ with me on some points respecting coral
+formations.)
+
+(PLATE 98.  BOLABOLA ISLAND.)
+
+It may be asked whether I can offer any direct evidence of the
+subsidence of barrier-reefs or atolls; but it must be borne in mind
+how difficult it must ever be to detect a movement, the tendency of
+which is to hide under water the part affected. Nevertheless, at
+Keeling atoll I observed on all sides of the lagoon old cocoa-nut
+trees undermined and falling; and in one place the foundation-posts
+of a shed, which the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years
+before just above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by
+every tide; on inquiry I found that three earthquakes, one of them
+severe, had been felt here during the last ten years. At Vanikoro
+the lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely any alluvial soil
+has accumulated at the foot of the lofty included mountains, and
+remarkably few islets have been formed by the heaping of fragments
+and sand on the wall-like barrier reef; these facts, and some
+analogous ones, led me to believe that this island must lately have
+subsided and the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are
+frequent and very severe. In the Society Archipelago, on the other
+hand, where the lagoon-channels are almost choked up, where much
+low alluvial land has accumulated, and where in some cases long
+islets have been formed on the barrier-reefs--facts all showing
+that the islands have not very lately subsided--only feeble shocks
+are most rarely felt. In these coral formations, where the land and
+water seem struggling for mastery, it must be ever difficult to
+decide between the effects of a change in the set of the tides and
+of a slight subsidence: that many of these reefs and atolls are
+subject to changes of some kind is certain; on some atolls the
+islets appear to have increased greatly within a late period; on
+others they have been partially or wholly washed away. The
+inhabitants of parts of the Maldiva Archipelago know the date of
+the first formation of some islets; in other parts the corals are
+now flourishing on water-washed reefs, where holes made for graves
+attest the former existence of inhabited land. It is difficult to
+believe in frequent changes in the tidal currents of an open ocean;
+whereas we have in the earthquakes recorded by the natives on some
+atolls, and in the great fissures observed on other atolls, plain
+evidence of changes and disturbances in progress in the
+subterranean regions.
+
+It is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by reefs
+cannot have subsided to any perceptible amount; and therefore they
+must, since the growth of their corals, either have remained
+stationary or have been upheaved. Now it is remarkable how
+generally it can be shown, by the presence of upraised organic
+remains, that the fringed islands have been elevated: and so far,
+this is indirect evidence in favour of our theory. I was
+particularly struck with this fact, when I found, to my surprise,
+that the descriptions given by MM. Quoy and Gaimard were
+applicable, not to reefs in general as implied by them, but only to
+those of the fringing class; my surprise, however, ceased when I
+afterwards found that, by a strange chance, all the several islands
+visited by these eminent naturalists could be shown by their own
+statements to have been elevated within a recent geological era.
+
+Not only the grand features in the structure of barrier-reefs and
+of atolls, and of their likeness to each other in form, size, and
+other characters, are explained on the theory of subsidence--which
+theory we are independently forced to admit in the very areas in
+question, from the necessity of finding bases for the corals within
+the requisite depth--but many details in structure and exceptional
+cases can thus also be simply explained. I will give only a few
+instances. In barrier-reefs it has long been remarked with surprise
+that the passages through the reef exactly face valleys in the
+included land, even in cases where the reef is separated from the
+land by a lagoon-channel so wide and so much deeper than the actual
+passage itself, that it seems hardly possible that the very small
+quantity of water or sediment brought down could injure the corals
+on the reef. Now, every reef of the fringing class is breached by a
+narrow gateway in front of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during
+the greater part of the year, for the mud, sand, or gravel
+occasionally washed down kills the corals on which it is deposited.
+Consequently, when an island thus fringed subsides, though most of
+the narrow gateways will probably become closed by the outward and
+upward growth of the corals, yet any that are not closed (and some
+must always be kept open by the sediment and impure water flowing
+out of the lagoon-channel) will still continue to front exactly the
+upper parts of those valleys at the mouths of which the original
+basal fringing-reef was breached.
+
+We can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, or on one
+side with one end or both ends encircled by barrier-reefs, might
+after long-continued subsidence be converted either into a single
+wall-like reef, or into an atoll with a great straight spur
+projecting from it, or into two or three atolls tied together by
+straight reefs--all of which exceptional cases actually occur. As
+the reef-building corals require food, are preyed upon by other
+animals, are killed by sediment, cannot adhere to a loose bottom,
+and may be easily carried down to a depth whence they cannot spring
+up again, we need feel no surprise at the reefs both of atolls and
+barriers becoming in parts imperfect. The great barrier of New
+Caledonia is thus imperfect and broken in many parts; hence, after
+long subsidence, this great reef would not produce one great atoll
+400 miles in length, but a chain or archipelago of atolls, of very
+nearly the same dimensions with those in the Maldiva Archipelago.
+Moreover, in an atoll once breached on opposite sides, from the
+likelihood of the oceanic and tidal currents passing straight
+through the breaches, it is extremely improbable that the corals,
+especially during continued subsidence, would ever be able again to
+unite the rim; if they did not, as the whole sank downwards, one
+atoll would be divided into two or more. In the Maldiva Archipelago
+there are distinct atolls so related to each other in position, and
+separated by channels either unfathomable or very deep (the channel
+between Ross and Ari atolls is 150 fathoms, and that between the
+north and south Nillandoo atolls is 200 fathoms in depth), that it
+is impossible to look at a map of them without believing that they
+were once more intimately related. And in this same archipelago,
+Mahlos-Mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating channel from 100 to
+132 fathoms in depth, in such a manner that it is scarcely possible
+to say whether it ought strictly to be called three separate
+atolls, or one great atoll not yet finally divided.
+
+(PLATE 99.  CORALS.)
+
+I will not enter on many more details; but I must remark that the
+curious structure of the northern Maldiva atolls receives (taking
+into consideration the free entrance of the sea through their
+broken margins) a simple explanation in the upward and outward
+growth of the corals, originally based both on small detached reefs
+in their lagoons, such as occur in common atolls, and on broken
+portions of the linear marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of
+the ordinary form. I cannot refrain from once again remarking on
+the singularity of these complex structures--a great sandy and
+generally concave disk rises abruptly from the unfathomable ocean,
+with its central expanse studded and its edge symmetrically
+bordered with oval basins of coral-rock just lipping the surface of
+the sea, sometimes clothed with vegetation, and each containing a
+lake of clear water!
+
+One more point in detail: as in the two neighbouring archipelagoes
+corals flourish in one and not in the other, and as so many
+conditions before enumerated must affect their existence, it would
+be an inexplicable fact if, during the changes to which earth, air,
+and water are subjected, the reef-building corals were to keep
+alive for perpetuity on any one spot or area. And as by our theory
+the areas including atolls and barrier-reefs are subsiding, we
+ought occasionally to find reefs both dead and submerged. In all
+reefs, owing to the sediment being washed out of the lagoon or
+lagoon-channel to leeward, that side is least favourable to the
+long-continued vigorous growth of the corals; hence dead portions
+of reef not unfrequently occur on the leeward side; and these,
+though still retaining their proper wall-like form, are now in
+several instances sunk several fathoms beneath the surface. The
+Chagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the subsidence
+having been too rapid, at present to be much less favourably
+circumstanced for the growth of reefs than formerly: one atoll has
+a portion of its marginal reef, nine miles in length, dead and
+submerged; a second has only a few quite small living points which
+rise to the surface, a third and fourth are entirely dead and
+submerged; a fifth is a mere wreck, with its structure almost
+obliterated. It is remarkable that in all these cases the dead
+reefs and portions of reef lie at nearly the same depth, namely,
+from six to eight fathoms beneath the surface, as if they had been
+carried down by one uniform movement. One of these "half-drowned
+atolls," so called by Captain Moresby (to whom I am indebted for
+much invaluable information), is of vast size, namely, ninety
+nautical miles across in one direction, and seventy miles in
+another line; and is in many respects eminently curious. As by our
+theory it follows that new atolls will generally be formed in each
+new area of subsidence, two weighty objections might have been
+raised, namely, that atolls must be increasing indefinitely in
+number; and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence each separate
+atoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if proofs of
+their occasional destruction could not have been adduced. Thus have
+we traced the history of these great rings of coral-rock, from
+their first origin through their normal changes, and through the
+occasional accidents of their existence, to their death and final
+obliteration.
+
+In my volume on "Coral Formations" I have published a map, in which
+I have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the barrier-reefs
+pale-blue, and the fringing reefs red. These latter reefs have been
+formed whilst the land has been stationary, or, as appears from the
+frequent presence of upraised organic remains, whilst it has been
+slowly rising: atolls and barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have
+grown up during the directly opposite movement of subsidence, which
+movement must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so
+vast in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over wide
+ocean-spaces. Now in this map we see that the reefs tinted pale and
+dark-blue, which have been produced by the same order of movement,
+as a general rule manifestly stand near each other. Again we see
+that the areas with the two blue tints are of wide extent; and that
+they lie separate from extensive lines of coast coloured red, both
+of which circumstances might naturally have been inferred, on the
+theory of the nature of the reefs having been governed by the
+nature of the earth's movement. It deserves notice that in more
+than one instance where single red and blue circles approach near
+each other, I can show that there have been oscillations of level;
+for in such cases the red or fringed circles consist of atolls,
+originally by our theory formed during subsidence, but subsequently
+upheaved; and on the other hand, some of the pale-blue or encircled
+islands are composed of coral-rock, which must have been uplifted
+to its present height before that subsidence took place, during
+which the existing barrier-reefs grew upwards.
+
+Authors have noticed with surprise that although atolls are the
+commonest coral-structures throughout some enormous oceanic tracts,
+they are entirely absent in other seas, as in the West Indies: we
+can now at once perceive the cause, for where there has not been
+subsidence, atolls cannot have been formed; and in the case of the
+West Indies and parts of the East Indies, these tracts are known to
+have been rising within the recent period. The larger areas,
+coloured red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two
+colours there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of
+one had balanced the sinking of the other. Taking into
+consideration the proofs of recent elevation both on the fringed
+coasts and on some others (for instance, in South America) where
+there are no reefs, we are led to conclude that the great
+continents are for the most part rising areas: and from the nature
+of the coral-reefs, that the central parts of the great oceans are
+sinking areas. The East Indian Archipelago, the most broken land in
+the world, is in most parts an area of elevation, but surrounded
+and penetrated, probably in more lines than one, by narrow areas of
+subsidence.
+
+I have marked with vermilion spots all the many known active
+volcanos within the limits of this same map. Their entire absence
+from every one of the great subsiding areas, coloured either pale
+or dark blue, is most striking; and not less so is the coincidence
+of the chief volcanic chains with the parts coloured red, which we
+are led to conclude have either long remained stationary, or more
+generally have been recently upraised. Although a few of the
+vermilion spots occur within no great distance of single circles
+tinted blue, yet not one single active volcano is situated within
+several hundred miles of an archipelago, or even small group of
+atolls. It is, therefore, a striking fact that in the Friendly
+Archipelago, which consists of a group of atolls upheaved and since
+partially worn down, two volcanos, and perhaps more, are
+historically known to have been in action. On the other hand,
+although most of the islands in the Pacific which are encircled by
+barrier-reefs are of volcanic origin, often with the remnants of
+craters still distinguishable, not one of them is known to have
+ever been in eruption. Hence in these cases it would appear that
+volcanos burst forth into action and become extinguished on the
+same spots, accordingly as elevatory or subsiding movements prevail
+there. Numberless facts could be adduced to prove that upraised
+organic remains are common wherever there are active volcanos; but
+until it could be shown that in areas of subsidence volcanos were
+either absent or inactive, the inference, however probable in
+itself, that their distribution depended on the rising or falling
+of the earth's surface, would have been hazardous. But now, I
+think, we may freely admit this important deduction.
+
+Taking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the statements
+made with respect to the upraised organic remains, we must feel
+astonished at the vastness of the areas which have suffered changes
+in level either downwards or upwards, within a period not
+geologically remote. It would appear also that the elevatory and
+subsiding movements follow nearly the same laws. Throughout the
+spaces interspersed with atolls, where not a single peak of high
+land has been left above the level of the sea, the sinking must
+have been immense in amount. The sinking, moreover, whether
+continuous, or recurrent with intervals sufficiently long for the
+corals again to bring up their living edifices to the surface, must
+necessarily have been extremely slow. This conclusion is probably
+the most important one which can be deduced from the study of coral
+formations;--and it is one which it is difficult to imagine how
+otherwise could ever have been arrived at. Nor can I quite pass
+over the probability of the former existence of large archipelagoes
+of lofty islands, where now only rings of coral-rock scarcely break
+the open expanse of the sea, throwing some light on the
+distribution of the inhabitants of the other high islands, now left
+standing so immensely remote from each other in the midst of the
+great oceans. The reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and
+preserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of
+level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there
+subsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost. We
+may thus, like unto a geologist who had lived his ten thousand
+years and kept a record of the passing changes, gain some insight
+into the great system by which the surface of this globe has been
+broken up, and land and water interchanged.
+
+
+(PLATE 100.  BIRGOS LATRO, KEELING ISLAND.)
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+(PLATE 101.  ST. LOUIS, MAURITIUS.)
+
+MAURITIUS TO ENGLAND.
+
+Mauritius, beautiful appearance of.
+Great crateriform ring of mountains.
+Hindoos.
+St. Helena.
+History of the changes in the vegetation.
+Cause of the extinction of land-shells.
+Ascension.
+Variation in the imported rats.
+Volcanic bombs.
+Beds of infusoria.
+Bahia, Brazil.
+Splendour of tropical scenery.
+Pernambuco.
+Singular reef.
+Slavery.
+Return to England.
+Retrospect on our voyage.
+
+APRIL 29, 1836.
+
+
+
+In the morning we passed round the northern end of Mauritius, or
+the Isle of France. From this point of view the aspect of the
+island equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known
+descriptions of its beautiful scenery. The sloping plain of the
+Pamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and coloured by the large
+fields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed the foreground.
+The brilliancy of the green was the more remarkable because it is a
+colour which generally is conspicuous only from a very short
+distance. Towards the centre of the island groups of wooded
+mountains rose out of this highly cultivated plain; their summits,
+as so commonly happens with ancient volcanic rocks, being jagged
+into the sharpest points. Masses of white clouds were collected
+around these pinnacles, as if for the sake of pleasing the
+stranger's eye. The whole island, with its sloping border and
+central mountains, was adorned with an air of perfect elegance: the
+scenery, if I may use such an expression, appeared to the sight
+harmonious.
+
+I spent the greater part of the next day in walking about the town
+and visiting different people. The town is of considerable size,
+and is said to contain 20,000 inhabitants; the streets are very
+clean and regular. Although the island has been so many years under
+the English government, the general character of the place is quite
+French: Englishmen speak to their servants in French, and the shops
+are all French; indeed I should think that Calais or Boulogne was
+much more Anglified. There is a very pretty little theatre in which
+operas are excellently performed. We were also surprised at seeing
+large booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves;--music and
+reading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilisation; for
+in truth both Australia and America are new worlds.
+
+The various races of men walking in the streets afford the most
+interesting spectacle in Port Louis. Convicts from India are
+banished here for life; at present there are about 800, and they
+are employed in various public works. Before seeing these people, I
+had no idea that the inhabitants of India were such noble-looking
+figures. Their skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men
+had large mustaches and beards of a snow-white colour; this,
+together with the fire of their expression, gave them quite an
+imposing aspect. The greater number had been banished for murder
+and the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely be
+considered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from
+superstitious motives, the English laws. These men are generally
+quiet and well-conducted; from their outward conduct, their
+cleanliness and faithful observance of their strange religious
+rites, it was impossible to look at them with the same eyes as on
+our wretched convicts in New South Wales.
+
+SUNDAY, MAY 1, 1836.
+
+I took a quiet walk along the sea-coast to the north of the town.
+The plain in this part is quite uncultivated; it consists of a
+field of black lava, smoothed over with coarse grass and bushes,
+the latter being chiefly Mimosas. The scenery may be described as
+intermediate in character between that of the Galapagos and of
+Tahiti; but this will convey a definite idea to very few persons.
+It is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of Tahiti,
+or the grandeur of Brazil. The next day I ascended La Pouce, a
+mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close
+behind the town to a height of 2,600 feet. The centre of the island
+consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic
+mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. The central
+platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an
+oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across in the line of its
+shorter axis. The exterior bounding mountains come into that class
+of structures called Craters of Elevation, which are supposed to
+have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and
+sudden upheaval. There appear to me to be insuperable objections to
+this view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this and in
+some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are
+merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits
+either have been blown off or swallowed up in subterranean abysses.
+
+From our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the
+island. The country on this side appears pretty well cultivated,
+being divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. I was
+however assured that of the whole land not more than half is yet in
+a productive state; if such be the case, considering the present
+large export of sugar, this island, at some future period when
+thickly peopled, will be of great value. Since England has taken
+possession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of
+sugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. One great cause
+of its prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. In the
+neighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French
+government, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they
+were here only a few years ago. Although the French residents must
+have largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island,
+yet the English government is far from popular.
+
+MAY 3, 1836.
+
+In the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor-general, so well known
+from his examination of the Isthmus of Panama, invited Mr. Stokes
+and myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge of
+Wilheim Plains, and about six miles from the Port. We stayed at
+this delightful place two days; standing nearly 800 feet above the
+sea, the air was cool and fresh, and on every side there were
+delightful walks. Close by a grand ravine has been worn to a depth
+of about 500 feet through the slightly inclined streams of lava,
+which have flowed from the central platform.
+
+MAY 5, 1836.
+
+Captain Lloyd took us to the Rivi�re Noire, which is several miles
+to the southward, that I might examine some rocks of elevated
+coral. We passed through pleasant gardens, and fine fields of
+sugar-cane growing amidst huge blocks of lava. The roads were
+bordered by hedges of Mimosa, and near many of the houses there
+were avenues of the mango. Some of the views where the peaked hills
+and the cultivated farms were seen together, were exceedingly
+picturesque; and we were constantly tempted to exclaim "How
+pleasant it would be to pass one's life in such quiet abodes!"
+Captain Lloyd possessed an elephant, and he sent it half-way with
+us, that we might enjoy a ride in true Indian fashion. The
+circumstance which surprised me most was its quite noiseless step.
+This elephant is the only one at present on the island; but it is
+said others will be sent for.
+
+MAY 9, 1836.
+
+(PLATE 102.  ST. HELENA.)
+
+We sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the Cape of Good Hope,
+on the 8th of July we arrived off St. Helena. This island, the
+forbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises
+abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the town, as
+if to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every
+gap in the rugged rocks. The town runs up a flat and narrow valley;
+the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few
+green trees. When approaching the anchorage there was one striking
+view: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty hill,
+and surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected
+against the sky.
+
+The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of
+Napoleon's tomb; it was a capital central situation, whence I could
+make excursions in every direction. (21/1. After the volumes of
+eloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is dangerous
+even to mention the tomb. A modern traveller, in twelve lines,
+burdens the poor little island with the following titles,--it is a
+grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus,
+minaret, and mausoleum!) During the four days I stayed here I
+wandered over the island from morning to night and examined its
+geological history. My lodgings were situated at a height of about
+2000 feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant
+showers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled
+in thick clouds.
+
+Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and
+higher parts feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced
+a clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained
+in broad bands of many bright colours. At this season the land,
+moistened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green
+pasture, which lower and lower down gradually fades away and at
+last disappears. In latitude 16 degrees, and at the trifling
+elevation of 1500 feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation
+possessing a character decidedly British. The hills are crowned
+with irregular plantations of Scotch firs; and the sloping banks
+are thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its
+bright yellow flowers. Weeping-willows are common on the banks of
+the rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, producing
+its well-known fruit. When we consider that the number of plants
+now found on the island is 746, and that out of these fifty-two
+alone are indigenous species, the rest having been imported, and
+most of them from England, we see the reason of the British
+character of the vegetation. Many of these English plants appear to
+flourish better than in their native country; some also from the
+opposite quarter of Australia succeed remarkably well. The many
+imported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and
+it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous
+Flora is now predominant.
+
+The English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is kept up
+by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the
+bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of
+the lofty hills. Some of the views are striking, for instance that
+from near Sir W. Doveton's house, where the bold peak called Lot is
+seen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red
+water-worn mountains of the southern coast. On viewing the island
+from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one is the
+number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public
+works, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all
+proportion to its extent or value. There is so little level or
+useful land that it seems surprising how so many people, about
+5000, can subsist here. The lower orders, or the emancipated
+slaves, are, I believe, extremely poor: they complain of the want
+of work. From the reduction in the number of public servants, owing
+to the island having been given up by the East India Company, and
+the consequent emigration of many of the richer people, the poverty
+probably will increase. The chief food of the working class is rice
+with a little salt meat; as neither of these articles are the
+products of the island, but must be purchased with money, the low
+wages tell heavily on the poor people. Now that the people are
+blessed with freedom, a right which I believe they value fully, it
+seems probable that their numbers will quickly increase: if so,
+what is to become of the little state of St. Helena?
+
+My guide was an elderly man who had been a goatherd when a boy, and
+knew every step amongst the rocks. He was of a race many times
+crossed, and although with a dusky skin, he had not the
+disagreeable expression of a mulatto. He was a very civil, quiet
+old man, and such appears the character of the greater number of
+the lower classes. It was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly
+white and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of the
+times when he was a slave. With my companion, who carried our
+dinners and a horn of water, which is quite necessary, as all the
+water in the lower valleys is saline, I every day took long walks.
+
+Beneath the upper and central green circle, the wild valleys are
+quite desolate and untenanted. Here, to the geologist, there were
+scenes of high interest, showing successive changes and complicated
+disturbances. According to my views, St. Helena has existed as an
+island from a very remote epoch: some obscure proofs, however, of
+the elevation of the land are still extant. I believe that the
+central and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater,
+the southern half of which has been entirely removed by the waves
+of the sea: there is, moreover, an external wall of black basaltic
+rocks, like the coast-mountains of Mauritius, which are older than
+the central volcanic streams. On the higher parts of the island
+considerable numbers of a shell, long thought to be a marine
+species, occur imbedded in the soil. It proves to be a Cochlogena,
+or land-shell of a very peculiar form; with it I found six other
+kinds; and in another spot an eighth species. (21/2. It deserves
+notice that all the many specimens of this shell found by me in one
+spot differ as a marked variety from another set of specimens
+procured from a different spot.) It is remarkable that none of them
+are now found living. Their extinction has probably been caused by
+the entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of
+food and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last
+century.
+
+The history of the changes which the elevated plains of Longwood
+and Deadwood have undergone, as given in General Beatson's account
+of the island, is extremely curious. Both plains, it is said, in
+former times were covered with wood, and were therefore called the
+Great Wood. So late as the year 1716 there were many trees, but in
+1724 the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had
+been suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed.
+It appears also from the official records that the trees were
+unexpectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire grass
+which spread over the whole surface. (21/3. Beatson's "St. Helena"
+Introductory chapter page 4.) General Beatson adds that now this
+plain "is covered with fine sward, and is become the finest piece
+of pasture on the island." The extent of surface, probably covered
+by wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two
+thousand acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be
+found there. It is also said that in 1709 there were quantities of
+dead trees in Sandy Bay; this place is now so utterly desert that
+nothing but so well attested an account could have made me believe
+that they could ever have grown there. The fact that the goats and
+hogs destroyed all the young trees as they sprang up, and that in
+the course of time the old ones, which were safe from their
+attacks, perished from age, seems clearly made out. Goats were
+introduced in the year 1502; eighty-six years afterwards, in the
+time of Cavendish, it is known that they were exceedingly numerous.
+More than a century afterwards, in 1731, when the evil was complete
+and irretrievable, an order was issued that all stray animals
+should be destroyed. It is very interesting thus to find that the
+arrival of animals at St. Helena in 1501 did not change the whole
+aspect of the island, until a period of two hundred and twenty
+years had elapsed: for the goats were introduced in 1502, and in
+1724 it is said "the old trees had mostly fallen." There can be
+little doubt that this great change in the vegetation affected not
+only the land-shells, causing eight species to become extinct, but
+likewise a multitude of insects.
+
+St. Helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the midst of
+a great ocean, and possessing a unique Flora, excites our
+curiosity. The eight land-shells, though now extinct, and one
+living Succinea, are peculiar species found nowhere else. Mr.
+Cuming, however, informs me that an English Helix is common here,
+its eggs no doubt having been imported in some of the many
+introduced plants. Mr. Cuming collected on the coast sixteen
+species of sea-shells, of which seven, as far as he knows, are
+confined to this island. Birds and insects, as might have been
+expected, are very few in number; indeed I believe all the birds
+have been introduced within late years. (21/4. Among these few
+insects I was surprised to find a small Aphodius (nov. spec.) and
+an Oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. When the island was
+discovered it certainly possessed no quadruped excepting PERHAPS a
+mouse: it becomes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain,
+whether these stercovorous insects have since been imported by
+accident, or if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted.
+On the banks of the Plata, where, from the vast number of cattle
+and horses, the fine plains of turf are richly manured, it is vain
+to seek the many kinds of dung-feeding beetles which occur so
+abundantly in Europe. I observed only an Oryctes (the insects of
+this genus in Europe generally feed on decayed vegetable matter)
+and two species of Phanaeus, common in such situations. On the
+opposite side of the Cordillera in Chiloe another species of
+Phanaeus is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung of the
+cattle in large earthen balls beneath the ground. There is reason
+to believe that the genus Phanaeus, before the introduction of
+cattle, acted as scavengers to man. In Europe beetles which find
+support in the matter which has already contributed towards the
+life of other and larger animals, are so numerous that there must
+be considerably more than one hundred different species.
+Considering this, and observing what a quantity of food of this
+kind is lost on the plains of La Plata, I imagined I saw an
+instance where man had disturbed that chain by which so many
+animals are linked together in their native country. In Van
+Diemen's Land, however, I found four species of Onthophagus, two of
+Aphodius, and one of a third genus, very abundant under the dung of
+cows; yet these latter animals had been then introduced only
+thirty-three years. Previous to that time the kangaroo and some
+other small animals were the only quadrupeds; and their dung is of
+a very different quality from that of their successors introduced
+by man. In England the greater number of stercovorous beetles are
+confined in their appetites; that is, they do not depend
+indifferently on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. The
+change, therefore, in habits which must have taken place in Van
+Diemen's Land is highly remarkable. I am indebted to the Reverend
+F.W. Hope, who, I hope, will permit me to call him my master in
+Entomology, for giving me the names of the foregoing insects.)
+Partridges and pheasants are tolerably abundant; the island is much
+too English not to be subject to strict game-laws. I was told of a
+more unjust sacrifice to such ordinances than I ever heard of even
+in England. The poor people formerly used to burn a plant which
+grows on the coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a
+peremptory order came out prohibiting this practice, and giving as
+a reason that the partridges would have nowhere to build!
+
+In my walks I passed more than once over the grassy plain, bounded
+by deep valleys, on which Longwood stands. Viewed from a short
+distance, it appears like a respectable gentleman's country-seat.
+In front there are a few cultivated fields, and beyond them the
+smooth hill of coloured rocks called the Flagstaff, and the rugged
+square black mass of the Barn. On the whole the view was rather
+bleak and uninteresting. The only inconvenience I suffered during
+my walks was from the impetuous winds. One day I noticed a curious
+circumstance: standing on the edge of a plain, terminated by a
+great cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, I saw at the
+distance of a few yards right to windward, some tern, struggling
+against a very strong breeze, whilst, where I stood, the air was
+quite calm. Approaching close to the brink, where the current
+seemed to be deflected upwards from the face of the cliff, I
+stretched out my arm, and immediately felt the full force of the
+wind: an invisible barrier, two yards in width, separated perfectly
+calm air from a strong blast.
+
+I so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains of St.
+Helena that I felt almost sorry on the morning of the 14th to
+descend to the town. Before noon I was on board, and the "Beagle"
+made sail.
+
+On the 19th of July we reached Ascension. Those who have beheld a
+volcanic island situated under an arid climate will at once be able
+to picture to themselves the appearance of Ascension. They will
+imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their
+summits generally truncated, rising separately out of a level
+surface of black rugged lava. A principal mound in the centre of
+the island seems the father of the lesser cones. It is called Green
+Hill: its name being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour,
+which at this time of the year is barely perceptible from the
+anchorage. To complete the desolate scene, the black rocks on the
+coast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea.
+
+The settlement is near the beach; it consists of several houses and
+barracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. The
+only inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from
+slave-ships, who are paid and victualled by government. There is
+not a private person on the island. Many of the marines appeared
+well contented with their situation; they think it better to serve
+their one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in
+a ship; in this choice, if I were a marine, I should most heartily
+agree.
+
+The next morning I ascended Green Hill, 2840 feet high, and thence
+walked across the island to the windward point. A good cart-road
+leads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and fields,
+placed near the summit of the central mountain. On the roadside
+there are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty
+passer-by can drink some good water. Similar care is displayed in
+each part of the establishment, and especially in the management of
+the springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: indeed
+the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate
+order. I could not help, when admiring the active industry which
+had created such effects out of such means, at the same time
+regretting that it had been wasted on so poor and trifling an end.
+M. Lesson has remarked with justice that the English nation would
+have thought of making the island of Ascension a productive spot,
+any other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the
+ocean.
+
+Near this coast nothing grows; farther inland an occasional green
+castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the
+desert, may be met with. Some grass is scattered over the surface
+of the central elevated region, and the whole much resembles the
+worse parts of the Welsh mountains. But, scanty as the pasture
+appears, about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and
+horses, all thrive well on it. Of native animals, land-crabs and
+rats swarm in numbers. Whether the rat is really indigenous may
+well be doubted; there are two varieties as described by Mr.
+Waterhouse; one is of a black colour, with fine glossy fur, and
+lives on the grassy summit, the other is brown-coloured and less
+glossy, with longer hairs, and lives near the settlement on the
+coast. Both these varieties are one-third smaller than the common
+black rat (M. rattus); and they differ from it both in the colour
+and character of their fur, but in no other essential respect. I
+can hardly doubt that these rats (like the common mouse, which has
+also run wild) have been imported, and, as at the Galapagos, have
+varied from the effect of the new conditions to which they have
+been exposed: hence the variety on the summit of the island differs
+from that on the coast. Of native birds there are none; but the
+guinea-fowl, imported from the Cape de Verd Islands, is abundant,
+and the common fowl has likewise run wild. Some cats which were
+originally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have increased,
+so as to become a great plague. The island is entirely without
+trees, in which, and in every other respect, it is very far
+inferior to St. Helena.
+
+One of my excursions took me towards the south-west extremity of
+the island. The day was clear and hot, and I saw the island, not
+smiling with beauty, but staring with naked hideousness. The lava
+streams are covered with hummocks, and are rugged to a degree
+which, geologically speaking, is not of easy explanation. The
+intervening spaces are concealed with layers of pumice, ashes and
+volcanic tuff. Whilst passing this end of the island at sea, I
+could not imagine what the white patches were with which the whole
+plain was mottled; I now found that they were sea-fowl, sleeping in
+such full confidence, that even in mid-day a man could walk up and
+seize hold of them. These birds were the only living creatures I
+saw during the whole day. On the beach a great surf, although the
+breeze was light, came tumbling over the broken lava rocks.
+
+(PLATE 103.  CELLULAR FORMATION OF VOLCANIC BOMB.)
+
+The geology of this island is in many respects interesting. In
+several places I noticed volcanic bombs, that is, masses of lava
+which have been shot through the air whilst fluid, and have
+consequently assumed a spherical or pear-shape. Not only their
+external form, but, in several cases, their internal structure
+shows in a very curious manner that they have revolved in their
+aerial course. The internal structure of one of these bombs, when
+broken, is represented very accurately in Plate 103. The central
+part is coarsely cellular, the cells decreasing in size towards the
+exterior; where there is a shell-like case about the third of an
+inch in thickness, of compact stone, which again is overlaid by the
+outside crust of finely cellular lava. I think there can be little
+doubt, first, that the external crust cooled rapidly in the state
+in which we now see it; secondly, that the still fluid lava within
+was packed by the centrifugal force generated by the revolving of
+the bomb, against the external cooled crust, and so produced the
+solid shell of stone; and lastly, that the centrifugal force, by
+relieving the pressure in the more central parts of the bomb,
+allowed the heated vapours to expand their cells, thus forming the
+coarse cellular mass of the centre.
+
+A hill formed of the older series of volcanic rocks, and which has
+been incorrectly considered as the crater of a volcano, is
+remarkable from its broad, slightly hollowed, and circular summit
+having been filled up with many successive layers of ashes and fine
+scoriae. These saucer-shaped layers crop out on the margin, forming
+perfect rings of many different colours, giving to the summit a
+most fantastic appearance; one of these rings is white and broad,
+and resembles a course round which horses have been exercised;
+hence the hill has been called the Devil's Riding School. I brought
+away specimens of one of the tufaceous layers of a pinkish colour
+and it is a most extraordinary fact that Professor Ehrenberg finds
+it almost wholly composed of matter which has been organised; he
+detects in it some siliceous-shielded, fresh-water infusoria, and
+no less than twenty-five different kinds of the siliceous tissue of
+plants, chiefly of grasses. (21/5. "Monats. der Konig. Akad. d.
+Wiss. zu Berlin" Vom April 1845.) From the absence of all
+carbonaceous matter, Professor Ehrenberg believes that these
+organic bodies have passed through the volcanic fire, and have been
+erupted in the state in which we now see them. The appearance of
+the layers induced me to believe that they had been deposited under
+water, though from the extreme dryness of the climate I was forced
+to imagine that torrents of rain had probably fallen during some
+great eruption, and that thus a temporary lake had been formed into
+which the ashes fell. But it may now be suspected that the lake was
+not a temporary one. Anyhow we may feel sure that at some former
+epoch the climate and productions of Ascension were very different
+from what they now are. Where on the face of the earth can we find
+a spot on which close investigation will not discover signs of that
+endless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, is, and will
+be subjected?
+
+On leaving Ascension, we sailed for Bahia, on the coast of Brazil,
+in order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world.
+We arrived there on August 1st, and stayed four days, during which
+I took several long walks. I was glad to find my enjoyment in
+tropical scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even
+in the slightest degree. The elements of the scenery are so simple
+that they are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling
+circumstances exquisite natural beauty depends.
+
+The country may be described as a level plain of about three
+hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into
+flat-bottomed valleys. This structure is remarkable in a granitic
+land, but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of
+which plains are usually composed. The whole surface is covered by
+various kinds of stately trees, interspersed with patches of
+cultivated ground, out of which houses, convents, and chapels
+arise. It must be remembered that within the tropics the wild
+luxuriance of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large
+cities: for the natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides
+overpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man.
+Hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red soil affords
+a strong contrast with the universal clothing of green. From the
+edges of the plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or
+of the great Bay with its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous
+boats and canoes show their white sails. Excepting from these
+points, the scene is extremely limited; following the level
+pathways, on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below
+can be obtained. The houses I may add, and especially the sacred
+edifices, are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of
+architecture. They are all whitewashed; so that when illumined by
+the brilliant sun of mid-day, and as seen against the pale blue sky
+of the horizon, they stand out more like shadows than real
+buildings.
+
+Such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt
+to paint the general effect. Learned naturalists describe these
+scenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and
+mentioning some characteristic feature of each. To a learned
+traveller this possibly may communicate some definite ideas: but
+who else from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its
+appearance when growing in its native soil? Who from seeing choice
+plants in a hothouse can magnify some into the dimensions of forest
+trees, and crowd others into an entangled jungle? Who when
+examining in the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic
+butterflies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these
+lifeless objects the ceaseless harsh music of the latter and the
+lazy flight of the former,--the sure accompaniments of the still,
+glowing noonday of the tropics? It is when the sun has attained its
+greatest height that such scenes should be viewed: then the dense
+splendid foliage of the mango hides the ground with its darkest
+shade, whilst the upper branches are rendered from the profusion of
+light of the most brilliant green. In the temperate zones the case
+is different--the vegetation there is not so dark or so rich, and
+hence the rays of the declining sun, tinged of a red, purple, or
+bright yellow colour, add most to the beauties of those climes.
+
+When quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring each
+successive view, I wished to find language to express my ideas.
+Epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who
+have not visited the intertropical regions the sensation of delight
+which the mind experiences. I have said that the plants in a
+hothouse fail to communicate a just idea of the vegetation, yet I
+must recur to it. The land is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant
+hothouse, made by Nature for herself, but taken possession of by
+man, who has studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. How
+great would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if
+such were possible, the scenery of another planet! yet to every
+person in Europe, it may be truly said, that at the distance of
+only a few degrees from his native soil the glories of another
+world are opened to him. In my last walk I stopped again and again
+to gaze on these beauties, and endeavoured to fix in my mind for
+ever an impression which at the time I knew sooner or later must
+fail. The form of the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the
+mango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate;
+but the thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene
+must fade away: yet they will leave, like a tale heard in
+childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful
+figures.
+
+AUGUST 6, 1836.
+
+In the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the intention of making
+a direct course to the Cape de Verd Islands. Unfavourable winds,
+however, delayed us, and on the 12th we ran into Pernambuco,--a
+large city on the coast of Brazil, in latitude 8 degrees south. We
+anchored outside the reef; but in a short time a pilot came on
+board and took us into the inner harbour, where we lay close to the
+town.
+
+Pernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks which are
+separated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. The
+three parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges
+built on wooden piles. The town is in all parts disgusting, the
+streets being narrow, ill-paved, and filthy; the houses tall and
+gloomy. The season of heavy rains had hardly come to an end, and
+hence the surrounding country, which is scarcely raised above the
+level of the sea, was flooded with water; and I failed in all my
+attempts to take long walks.
+
+The flat swampy land on which Pernambuco stands is surrounded, at
+the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or
+rather by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet
+above the sea. The old city of Olinda stands on one extremity of
+this range. One day I took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the
+channels to visit it; I found the old town from its situation both
+sweeter and cleaner than that of Pernambuco. I must here
+commemorate what happened for the first time during our nearly five
+years' wandering, namely, having met with a want of politeness; I
+was refused in a sullen manner at two different houses, and
+obtained with difficulty from a third, permission to pass through
+their gardens to an uncultivated hill, for the purpose of viewing
+the country. I feel glad that this happened in the land of the
+Brazilians, for I bear them no good will--a land also of slavery,
+and therefore of moral debasement. A Spaniard would have felt
+ashamed at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of
+behaving to a stranger with rudeness. The channel by which we went
+to and returned from Olinda was bordered on each side by mangroves,
+which sprang like a miniature forest out of the greasy mud-banks.
+The bright green colour of these bushes always reminded me of the
+rank grass in a churchyard: both are nourished by putrid
+exhalations; the one speaks of death past, and the other too often
+of death to come.
+
+(PLATE 104.  CICADA HOMOPTERA.)
+
+The most curious object which I saw in this neighbourhood was the
+reef that forms the harbour. I doubt whether in the whole world any
+other natural structure has so artificial an appearance. (21/6. I
+have described this Bar in detail in the "London and Edinburgh
+Philosophical Magazine" volume 19 1841 page 257.) It runs for a
+length of several miles in an absolutely straight line, parallel to
+and not far distant from the shore. It varies in width from thirty
+to sixty yards, and its surface is level and smooth; it is composed
+of obscurely-stratified hard sandstone. At high water the waves
+break over it; at low water its summit is left dry, and it might
+then be mistaken for a breakwater erected by Cyclopean workmen. On
+this coast the currents of the sea tend to throw up in front of the
+land long spits and bars of loose sand, and on one of these part of
+the town of Pernambuco stands. In former times a long spit of this
+nature seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of
+calcareous matter, and afterwards to have been gradually upheaved;
+the outer and loose parts during this process having been worn away
+by the action of the sea, and the solid nucleus left as we now see
+it. Although night and day the waves of the open Atlantic, turbid
+with sediment, are driven against the steep outside edges of this
+wall of stone, yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any
+change in its appearance. This durability is much the most curious
+fact in its history: it is due to a tough layer, a few inches
+thick, of calcareous matter, wholly formed by the successive growth
+and death of the small shells of Serpulae, together with some few
+barnacles and nulliporae. These nulliporae, which are hard, very
+simply-organised sea-plants, play an analogous and important part
+in protecting the upper surfaces of coral-reefs, behind and within
+the breakers, where the true corals, during the outward growth of
+the mass, become killed by exposure to the sun and air. These
+insignificant organic beings, especially the Serpulae, have done
+good service to the people of Pernambuco; for without their
+protective aid the bar of sandstone would inevitably have been long
+ago worn away and without the bar, there would have been no
+harbour.
+
+On the 19th of August we finally left the shores of Brazil. I thank
+God, I shall never again visit a slave-country. To this day, if I
+hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my
+feelings, when passing a house near Pernambuco, I heard the most
+pitiable moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was
+being tortured, yet knew that I was as powerless as a child even to
+remonstrate. I suspected that these moans were from a tortured
+slave, for I was told that this was the case in another instance.
+Near Rio de Janeiro I lived opposite to an old lady, who kept
+screws to crush the fingers of her female slaves. I have stayed in
+a house where a young household mulatto, daily and hourly, was
+reviled, beaten, and persecuted enough to break the spirit of the
+lowest animal. I have seen a little boy, six or seven years old,
+struck thrice with a horse-whip (before I could interfere) on his
+naked head, for having handed me a glass of water not quite clean;
+I saw his father tremble at a mere glance from his master's eye.
+These latter cruelties were witnessed by me in a Spanish colony, in
+which it has always been said that slaves are better treated than
+by the Portuguese, English, or other European nations. I have seen
+at Rio de Janeiro a powerful negro afraid to ward off a blow
+directed, as he thought, at his face. I was present when a
+kind-hearted man was on the point of separating forever the men,
+women, and little children of a large number of families who had
+long lived together. I will not even allude to the many
+heart-sickening atrocities which I authentically heard of;--nor
+would I have mentioned the above revolting details, had I not met
+with several people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the
+negro as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. Such people have
+generally visited at the houses of the upper classes, where the
+domestic slaves are usually well treated, and they have not, like
+myself, lived amongst the lower classes. Such inquirers will ask
+slaves about their condition; they forget that the slave must
+indeed be dull who does not calculate on the chance of his answer
+reaching his master's ears.
+
+It is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cruelty; as
+if self-interest protected our domestic animals, which are far less
+likely than degraded slaves to stir up the rage of their savage
+masters. It is an argument long since protested against with noble
+feeling, and strikingly exemplified, by the ever-illustrious
+Humboldt. It is often attempted to palliate slavery by comparing
+the state of slaves with our poorer countrymen: if the misery of
+our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our
+institutions, great is our sin; but how this bears on slavery, I
+cannot see; as well might the use of the thumb-screw be defended in
+one land, by showing that men in another land suffered from some
+dreadful disease. Those who look tenderly at the slave owner, and
+with a cold heart at the slave, never seem to put themselves into
+the position of the latter;--what a cheerless prospect, with not
+even a hope of change! picture to yourself the chance, ever hanging
+over you, of your wife and your little children--those objects
+which nature urges even the slave to call his own--being torn from
+you and sold like beasts to the first bidder! And these deeds are
+done and palliated by men who profess to love their neighbours as
+themselves, who believe in God, and pray that His Will be done on
+earth! It makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that
+we Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry
+of liberty, have been and are so guilty; but it is a consolation to
+reflect, that we at least have made a greater sacrifice than ever
+made by any nation, to expiate our sin.
+
+On the last day of August we anchored for the second time at Porto
+Praya in the Cape de Verd archipelago; thence we proceeded to the
+Azores, where we stayed six days. On the 2nd of October we made the
+shores of England; and at Falmouth I left the "Beagle," having
+lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years.
+
+(PLATE 105.  HOMEWARD BOUND, THE "BEAGLE.")
+
+Our Voyage having come to an end, I will take a short retrospect of
+the advantages and disadvantages, the pains and pleasures, of our
+circumnavigation of the world. If a person asked my advice, before
+undertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his
+possessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which
+could by this means be advanced. No doubt it is a high satisfaction
+to behold various countries and the many races of mankind, but the
+pleasures gained at the time do not counterbalance the evils. It is
+necessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant that may
+be, when some fruit will be reaped, some good effected.
+
+Many of the losses which must be experienced are obvious; such as
+that of the society of every old friend, and of the sight of those
+places with which every dearest remembrance is so intimately
+connected. These losses, however, are at the time partly relieved
+by the exhaustless delight of anticipating the long-wished-for day
+of return. If, as poets say, life is a dream, I am sure in a voyage
+these are the visions which best serve to pass away the long night.
+Other losses, although not at first felt, tell heavily after a
+period: these are the want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the
+jading feeling of constant hurry; the privation of small luxuries,
+the loss of domestic society and even of music and the other
+pleasures of imagination. When such trifles are mentioned, it is
+evident that the real grievances, excepting from accidents, of a
+sea-life are at an end. The short space of sixty years has made an
+astonishing difference in the facility of distant navigation. Even
+in the time of Cook, a man who left his fireside for such
+expeditions underwent severe privations. A yacht now, with every
+luxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. Besides the vast
+improvements in ships and naval resources, the whole western shores
+of America are thrown open, and Australia has become the capital of
+a rising continent. How different are the circumstances to a man
+shipwrecked at the present day in the Pacific, to what they were in
+the time of Cook! Since his voyage a hemisphere has been added to
+the civilised world.
+
+If a person suffer much from sea-sickness, let him weigh it heavily
+in the balance. I speak from experience: it is no trifling evil,
+cured in a week. If, on the other hand, he take pleasure in naval
+tactics, he will assuredly have full scope for his taste. But it
+must be borne in mind how large a proportion of the time, during a
+long voyage, is spent on the water, as compared with the days in
+harbour. And what are the boasted glories of the illimitable ocean?
+A tedious waste, a desert of water, as the Arabian calls it. No
+doubt there are some delightful scenes. A moonlight night, with the
+clear heavens and the dark glittering sea, and the white sails
+filled by the soft air of a gently-blowing trade-wind, a dead calm,
+with the heaving surface polished like a mirror, and all still
+except the occasional flapping of the canvas. It is well once to
+behold a squall with its rising arch and coming fury, or the heavy
+gale of wind and mountainous waves. I confess, however, my
+imagination had painted something more grand, more terrific, in the
+full-grown storm. It is an incomparably finer spectacle when beheld
+on shore, where the waving trees, the wild flight of the birds, the
+dark shadows and bright lights, the rushing of the torrents, all
+proclaim the strife of the unloosed elements. At sea the albatross
+and little petrel fly as if the storm were their proper sphere, the
+water rises and sinks as if fulfilling its usual task, the ship
+alone and its inhabitants seem the objects of wrath. On a forlorn
+and weather-beaten coast the scene is indeed different, but the
+feelings partake more of horror than of wild delight.
+
+Let us now look at the brighter side of the past time. The pleasure
+derived from beholding the scenery and the general aspect of the
+various countries we have visited has decidedly been the most
+constant and highest source of enjoyment. It is probable that the
+picturesque beauty of many parts of Europe exceeds anything which
+we beheld. But there is a growing pleasure in comparing the
+character of the scenery in different countries, which to a certain
+degree is distinct from merely admiring its beauty. It depends
+chiefly on an acquaintance with the individual parts of each view;
+I am strongly induced to believe that as in music, the person who
+understands every note will, if he also possesses a proper taste,
+more thoroughly enjoy the whole, so he who examines each part of a
+fine view may also thoroughly comprehend the full and combined
+effect. Hence, a traveller should be a botanist, for in all views
+plants form the chief embellishment. Group masses of naked rock
+even in the wildest forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime
+spectacle, but they will soon grow monotonous. Paint them with
+bright and varied colours, as in Northern Chile, they will become
+fantastic; clothe them with vegetation, they must form a decent, if
+not a beautiful picture.
+
+When I say that the scenery of parts of Europe is probably superior
+to anything which we beheld, I except, as a class by itself, that
+of the intertropical zones. The two classes cannot be compared
+together; but I have already often enlarged on the grandeur of
+those regions. As the force of impressions generally depends on
+preconceived ideas, I may add that mine were taken from the vivid
+descriptions in the "Personal Narrative" of Humboldt, which far
+exceed in merit anything else which I have read. Yet with these
+high-wrought ideas, my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge
+of disappointment on my first and final landing on the shores of
+Brazil.
+
+Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed
+in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man;
+whether those of Brazil, where the powers of Life are predominant,
+or those of Tierra del Fuego, where Death and Decay prevail. Both
+are temples filled with the varied productions of the God of
+Nature:--no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel
+that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. In
+calling up images of the past, I find that the plains of Patagonia
+frequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pronounced by
+all wretched and useless. They can be described only by negative
+characters; without habitations, without water, without trees,
+without mountains, they support merely a few dwarf plants. Why,
+then, and the case is not peculiar to myself, have these arid
+wastes taken so firm a hold on my memory? Why have not the still
+more level, the greener and more fertile Pampas, which are
+serviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? I can
+scarcely analyse these feelings: but it must be partly owing to the
+free scope given to the imagination. The plains of Patagonia are
+boundless, for they are scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they
+bear the stamp of having lasted, as they are now, for ages, and
+there appears no limit to their duration through future time. If,
+as the ancients supposed, the flat earth was surrounded by an
+impassable breadth of water, or by deserts heated to an intolerable
+excess, who would not look at these last boundaries to man's
+knowledge with deep but ill-defined sensations?
+
+Lastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, though
+certainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memorable. When
+looking down from the highest crest of the Cordillera, the mind,
+undisturbed by minute details, was filled with the stupendous
+dimensions of the surrounding masses.
+
+Of individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to create
+astonishment than the first sight in his native haunt of a
+barbarian,--of man in his lowest and most savage state. One's mind
+hurries back over past centuries, and then asks, Could our
+progenitors have been men like these?--men, whose very signs and
+expressions are less intelligible to us than those of the
+domesticated animals; men, who do not possess the instinct of those
+animals, nor yet appear to boast of human reason, or at least of
+arts consequent on that reason. I do not believe it is possible to
+describe or paint the difference between savage and civilised man.
+It is the difference between a wild and tame animal: and part of
+the interest in beholding a savage is the same which would lead
+every one to desire to see the lion in his desert, the tiger
+tearing his prey in the jungle, or the rhinoceros wandering over
+the wild plains of Africa.
+
+Among the other most remarkable spectacles which we have beheld,
+may be ranked the Southern Cross, the cloud of Magellan, and the
+other constellations of the southern hemisphere--the
+waterspout--the glacier leading its blue stream of ice, overhanging
+the sea in a bold precipice--a lagoon-island raised by the
+reef-building corals--an active volcano--and the overwhelming
+effects of a violent earthquake. These latter phenomena, perhaps,
+possess for me a peculiar interest, from their intimate connexion
+with the geological structure of the world. The earthquake,
+however, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth,
+considered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity, has
+oscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and in seeing the
+laboured works of man in a moment overthrown, we feel the
+insignificance of his boasted power.
+
+It has been said that the love of the chase is an inherent delight
+in man--a relic of an instinctive passion. If so, I am sure the
+pleasure of living in the open air, with the sky for a roof and the
+ground for a table, is part of the same feeling; it is the savage
+returning to his wild and native habits. I always look back to our
+boat cruises, and my land journeys, when through unfrequented
+countries, with an extreme delight, which no scenes of civilisation
+could have created. I do not doubt that every traveller must
+remember the glowing sense of happiness which he experienced when
+he first breathed in a foreign clime where the civilised man had
+seldom or never trod.
+
+There are several other sources of enjoyment in a long voyage which
+are of a more reasonable nature. The map of the world ceases to be
+a blank; it becomes a picture full of the most varied and animated
+figures. Each part assumes its proper dimensions: continents are
+not looked at in the light of islands, or islands considered as
+mere specks, which are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of
+Europe. Africa, or North and South America, are well-sounding
+names, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for
+weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly
+convinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply.
+
+From seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look forward
+with high expectations to the future progress of nearly an entire
+hemisphere. The march of improvement, consequent on the
+introduction of Christianity throughout the South Sea, probably
+stands by itself in the records of history. It is the more striking
+when we remember that only sixty years since, Cook, whose excellent
+judgment none will dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change.
+Yet these changes have now been effected by the philanthropic
+spirit of the British nation.
+
+In the same quarter of the globe Australia is rising, or indeed may
+be said to have risen, into a grand centre of civilisation, which,
+at some not very remote period, will rule as empress over the
+southern hemisphere. It is impossible for an Englishman to behold
+these distant colonies without a high pride and satisfaction. To
+hoist the British flag seems to draw with it as a certain
+consequence, wealth, prosperity, and civilisation.
+
+In conclusion it appears to me that nothing can be more improving
+to a young naturalist than a journey in distant countries. It both
+sharpens and partly allays that want and craving, which, as Sir J.
+Herschel remarks, a man experiences although every corporeal sense
+be fully satisfied. The excitement from the novelty of objects, and
+the chance of success, stimulate him to increased activity.
+Moreover, as a number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting,
+the habit of comparison leads to generalisation. On the other hand,
+as the traveller stays but a short time in each place, his
+descriptions must generally consist of mere sketches, instead of
+detailed observations. Hence arises, as I have found to my cost, a
+constant tendency to fill up the wide gaps of knowledge by
+inaccurate and superficial hypotheses.
+
+But I have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recommend any
+naturalist, although he must not expect to be so fortunate in his
+companions as I have been, to take all chances, and to start, on
+travels by land if possible, if otherwise, on a long voyage. He may
+feel assured he will meet with no difficulties or dangers,
+excepting in rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand
+anticipates. In a moral point of view the effect ought to be to
+teach him good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the
+habit of acting for himself, and of making the best of every
+occurrence. In short, he ought to partake of the characteristic
+qualities of most sailors. Travelling ought also to teach him
+distrust; but at the same time he will discover how many truly
+kind-hearted people there are, with whom he never before had, or
+ever again will have any further communication, who yet are ready
+to offer him the most disinterested assistance.
+
+(PLATE 106.  ASCENSION. TERNS AND NODDIES.)
+
+(PLATE 107.  MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA.)
+
+(PLATE 108.  MAP OF THE WORLD, SHOWING THE TRACK OF H.M.S.
+"BEAGLE.")
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+Abbott, Mr., on spiders.
+
+Aborigines banished from Van Diemen's Land. of Australia.
+
+Abrolhos Islands.
+
+Absence of trees in Pampas.
+
+Aconcagua, volcano of.
+
+Actinia, stinging species.
+
+Africa, Southern part desert, yet supports large animals.
+
+Ageronia feronia.
+
+Agouti, habits of.
+
+Ague common in Peru.
+
+Albemarle Island.
+
+Allan, Dr., on Diodon. on Holuthuriae.
+
+Alluvium, saliferous, in Peru. stratified, in Andes.
+
+Amblyrhynchus.
+
+Anas, species of.
+
+Animalculae. See Infusoria.
+
+Antarctic islands.
+
+Antipodes.
+
+Ants at Keeling Island. in Brazil.
+
+Antuco volcano.
+
+Apires, or miners.
+
+Aplysia.
+
+Apple-trees.
+
+Aptenodytes demersa.
+
+Araucanian Indians.
+
+Areas of alternate movements in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
+
+Armadilloes, habits of. fossil animals allied to.
+
+Arqueros mines.
+
+Arrow-heads, ancient.
+
+Ascension.
+
+Aspalax, blindness of.
+
+Athene cunicularia.
+
+Atolls.
+
+Attagis.
+
+Atwater, Mr., on the prairies.
+
+Audubon, M., on smelling-power of carrion-hawks.
+
+Australia.
+
+Australian barrier. group of weapons.
+
+Ava (Macropiper methysticum).
+
+Azara on spiders. on rain in La Plata. on habits of carrion-hawks.
+on range of carrion-hawks. on a thunder-storm. on ostrich-eggs. on
+bows and arrows. on new plants springing up. on great droughts. on
+hydrophobia.
+
+Bachman, Mr., on carrion-hawks.
+
+Bahia Blanca. fossil tooth of horse from.
+
+Bahia, Brazil. scenery of.
+
+Bajada.
+
+Balbi on coral reefs.
+
+Bald Head, Australia.
+
+Ballenar, Chile.
+
+Banda Oriental.
+
+Banks's Hill.
+
+Barking-bird.
+
+Barrier-reef, Bolabola. reefs, sections of.
+
+Basaltic platform of Santa Cruz.
+
+Bathurst, Australia.
+
+Batrachian reptiles.
+
+Bats, vampire.
+
+Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
+
+Beads, hill of.
+
+Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.
+
+Beech-trees.
+
+Beetles in brackish water. on a fungus. alive in sea. at St.
+Julian. dung-feeders.
+
+Behring's Straits, fossils of.
+
+Bell of Quillota.
+
+Benchuca.
+
+Berkeley Sound.
+
+Berkeley, Reverend J., on confervae. on Cyttaria.
+
+Berquelo river.
+
+Bibron, M.
+
+Bien te veo.
+
+Birds of the Galapagos Archipelago. tameness of.
+
+Birgos latro.
+
+Bizcacha, habits of.
+
+Blackheath, Australia.
+
+Blackwall, Mr., on spiders.
+
+Blindness of tucutuco.
+
+Blue Mountains.
+
+Body, frozen.
+
+Bolabola, barrier-reef.
+
+Bolas, manner of using.
+
+Bombs, volcanic.
+
+Bones of the guanaco collected in certain spots. fire made of.
+recent in Pampas. fossil.
+
+Bory St. Vincent on frogs.
+
+Boulders.
+
+Bramador, El.
+
+Brazil, great area of granite.
+
+Brazilian whips, etc.
+
+Breaches in coral reefs.
+
+Breakwater of seaweed.
+
+Brewster, Sir D., on a calcareous deposit.
+
+Bridge of hide. of Incas.
+
+Buckland, Dr., on fossils.
+
+Buenos Ayres. trading at. evening camp. bullock-waggons.
+
+Buffon on American Animals.
+
+Bug of Pampas.
+
+Buildings, Indian.
+
+Bulimus on desert places.
+
+Burchell, Mr., on food of quadrupeds. on ostrich-eggs. on
+perforated stones.
+
+Butterflies, flocks of.
+
+Butterfly producing clicking sound.
+
+Button, Jemmy.
+
+Byron's account of fox of Falklands. on an Indian killing his
+child.
+
+Cabbage palm.
+
+Cacti.
+
+Cactornis.
+
+Cactus, Cereus Peruviana.
+
+Calasoma on wing out at sea.
+
+Calcareous casts of branches and roots of trees at King George's
+Sound. incrustations on rocks of Ascension.
+
+Callao.
+
+Calodera.
+
+Calomys bizcacha.
+
+Camarhynchus.
+
+Camelidae, fossil animal allied to.
+
+Cancer salinus.
+
+Canis antarcticus. fulvipes.
+
+Cape Horn. False Horn. of Good Hope.
+
+Capybara, or carpincho. fossil allied to.
+
+Caracara, or Carrancha.
+
+Cardoon, beds of.
+
+Carizal.
+
+Carmichael, Captain.
+
+Carrion-hawks.
+
+Casarita.
+
+Cassava.
+
+Castro, Chiloe. old church at.
+
+Casuchas.
+
+Catamaran.
+
+Cathartes.
+
+Cats run wild. good to eat. scratch trees. cruelty to mice.
+
+Cattle, effects of their grazing on the vegetation. killed by great
+droughts. know each other. curious breed of. waste of. wild at the
+Falkland Islands.
+
+Caucahue.
+
+Cauquenes, hot springs of.
+
+Causes of extinction of species among mammalia. of discoloured sea.
+
+Cavia Patagonica.
+
+Cawa-Cawa, New Zealand.
+
+Caylen.
+
+Cervus campestris.
+
+Ceryle Americana.
+
+Chacao, Chiloe.
+
+Chagos atolls.
+
+Chalk-like mud.
+
+Chamisso on drifted seeds and trees. on coral reefs.
+
+Changes in vegetation of Pampas. in vegetation of St. Helena.
+
+Charles Island.
+
+Chatham Island.
+
+Cheese, salt required for.
+
+Cheucau.
+
+Chile. features of country.
+
+Chilenos.
+
+Chilian miner. spurs, stirrup, etc. vegetation.
+
+Chiloe. old church at castro. forests of, and climate. inhabitants
+of. roads of. Gunnera scabra.
+
+Chionis alba.
+
+Cholechel, conflict at.
+
+Chonos Archipelago. climate of. zoology of. ornithology of.
+
+Chupat, Rio.
+
+Chuzo.
+
+Cicada homoptera.
+
+Cladonia.
+
+Clearness of atmosphere within Andes, in Chile.
+
+Climate of Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Islands. Antarctic
+Islands. change of, in Chile. Galapagos.
+
+Clouds of vapour after rain. on Corcovado. hanging low. at sea.
+
+Coloeoptera in Tropics. out at sea. of St. Julian.
+
+Colias edusa, flocks of.
+
+Colnett, Captain, on spawn in sea. on a marine lizard. on transport
+of seeds.
+
+Colonia del Sacramiento.
+
+Colorado, Rio.
+
+Compound animals.
+
+Concepcion, Chile.
+
+Conchalee.
+
+Condor, habits of. (Sarcorhamphus gryphus.)
+
+Confervae, pelagic.
+
+Conglomerate on the Ventana. in Cordillera.
+
+Conurus.
+
+Convicts of Mauritius. condition, in New South Wales.
+
+Cook, Captain, on kelp.
+
+Copiap�, river and valley of. town of.
+
+Coquimbo.
+
+Coral formations. stinging species of. reefs, sections of. dead.
+
+Corallines.
+
+Corals.
+
+Corcovado, clouds on. volcano.
+
+Cordillera, appearance of. different productions on east and west
+side. passage of. structure of valleys. rivers of. geology of.
+valley of Copiap�. mountains.
+
+Cormorant catching fish.
+
+Corral, where animals are slaughtered at Buenos Ayres.
+
+Corrientes, Cape.
+
+Corrobery, or native Australian dance.
+
+Corunda.
+
+Coseguina, eruption of.
+
+Countries, unhealthy.
+
+Couthouy, Mr., on coral-reefs.
+
+Crabberies.
+
+Crabs, hermit species of. at St. Paul's. at Keeling Island.
+
+Craters, number of, at the Galapagos Archipelago. of Elevation.
+
+Crisia.
+
+Cruelty to animals.
+
+Crustacea, pelagic.
+
+Ctenomys Brasiliensis. fossil species of.
+
+Cucao, Chiloe.
+
+Cuckoo-like habits of Molothrus.
+
+Cudico, mission at.
+
+Cuentas, Sierra de.
+
+Cufre.
+
+Cumbre of Cordillera.
+
+Cuming, Mr., on shells.
+
+Cuttlefish, habits of.
+
+Cuvier on Diodon.
+
+Cynara cardunculus.
+
+Cyttaria Darwinii.
+
+Dacelo Iagoensis.
+
+Dasypus, three species of.
+
+Deer.
+
+Degradation of tertiary formations.
+
+Deinornis.
+
+Deserts.
+
+Desmodus.
+
+Despoblado, valley of.
+
+Dieffenbach, Dr. E. on Auckland Island.
+
+Diodon, habits of.
+
+Discoloured sea.
+
+Diseases from miasma.
+
+Distribution of mammalia in America. of animals on opposite sides
+of Cordillera. of frogs. of Fauna of Galapagos.
+
+Dobrizhoffer on ostriches. on a hail-storm.
+
+Docks, imported.
+
+Dogs, shepherd.
+
+Dolichonyx oryzivorus.
+
+D'Orbigny, Travels in South America.
+
+Doris, eggs of.
+
+Dormidor, or horse-tamer.
+
+Doubleday, Mr., on a noise made by a butterfly.
+
+Drigg, lightning tubes at.
+
+Droughts, great, in Pampas.
+
+Dryness of St. Jago. of winds in Tierra del Fuego. of air in
+Cordillera.
+
+Dubois.
+
+Dung-feeding beetles.
+
+Dust, falling from atmosphere.
+
+Earthenware, fossil.
+
+Earthquake, accompanied by an elevation of the coast. accompanied
+by rain. at Callao. at Concepcion. at Coquimbo. at Keeling and
+Vanikoro, and Society Islands. at Valdivia. causes of. effect of,
+on springs. on bottom of sea. effects of, on rocks. effects of, on
+sea. effects of, on a river-bed. line of vibration of. on
+south-west coast. tossing fragments from the ground. twisting
+movement of.
+
+Eggs of Doris.
+
+Ehrenberg, Professor, on Atlantic dust. on infusoria in Pampas. in
+the open sea. in Patagonia. in Fuegian paint. in coral mud. in tuff
+at Ascension. on phosphorescence of the sea. on noises from a hill.
+
+Eimeo, island of. barrier-reef.
+
+Elater, springing powers of.
+
+Electricity of atmosphere within Andes.
+
+Elephant, weight of.
+
+Elevated shells.
+
+Elevation of coasts of Chile. Bahia Blanca. Pampas. Patagonia.
+mountain-chains. Cordillera. Peru. within human period.
+fringing-reefs.
+
+Entomology of the Galapagos Archipelago. Brazil. Patagonia. Tierra
+del Fuego. Keeling Island. St. Helena.
+
+Entre Rios, geology of.
+
+Epeira, habits of.
+
+Erratic blocks, how transported. absent in intertropical countries.
+on plains of Santa Cruz. of Tierra del Fuego.
+
+Estancia, value of.
+
+Extermination of species and races.
+
+Extinction of shells at St. Helena. of species, causes of. of man
+in New South Wales.
+
+Eyes of tucutuco and mole.
+
+Eyre Sound.
+
+Falconer, Dr., on the Sivatherium. on the Indians. on rivers in
+Pampas. on natural enclosures.
+
+Falkland Islands. absence of trees at. carrion-hawks of. wild
+cattle and horses of. fox of. climate of. peat of. tame birds at.
+
+Fat, quantity eaten.
+
+Fatahua fall.
+
+Fear an acquired instinct.
+
+Februa Hoffmanseggi, butterfly.
+
+Fennel run wild.
+
+Ferguson, Dr., on miasma.
+
+Fernando Noronha.
+
+Ferns, tree.
+
+Fields of dead coral.
+
+Fire, art of making.
+
+Fireflies.
+
+Fish emitting harsh sound. of Galapagos. eating coral.
+
+Flamingoes.
+
+Fleas.
+
+Floods after droughts. clear after snow.
+
+Flora of the Galapagos. of Keeling Island. of St. Helena.
+
+Flustraceae.
+
+Forests, absence of, in La Plata. of Tierra del Fuego. of Chiloe.
+of Valdivia. of New Zealand. of Australia.
+
+Fossil Mammalia. earthenware.
+
+Fox of the Falkland Islands. of Chiloe.
+
+Freyrina.
+
+Friendly Archipelago.
+
+Fringing reefs.
+
+Frogs, noises of. bladders of. and toads, not found on oceanic
+islands.
+
+Frozen soil.
+
+Fruit-trees, southern limit of.
+
+Fucus giganteus.
+
+Fuegians. wigwams. basket and bone weapons.
+
+Fulgurites.
+
+Fungus, edible.
+
+Furnarius.
+
+Galapagos Archipelago. natural history of. marked relationship with
+America. zoology of. finches from.
+
+Gale of wind.
+
+Gallegos river, fossil bones at.
+
+Gallinazo.
+
+Gauchos. character of. live on meat. surcingle of.
+
+Gavia mountain.
+
+Gay, M., on floating islands. on shells in brackish water.
+
+Geese at the Falkland Islands.
+
+Geographical distribution of American animals. of frogs. of fauna
+of Galapagos.
+
+Geology of Cordillera. of St. Jago. of St. Paul. of Brazil. of
+Bahia Blanca. of Pampas. of Patagonia.
+
+Georgia, climate of.
+
+Geospiza.
+
+Gill, Mr., on an upheaved river-bed.
+
+Gillies, Dr., on the Cordillera.
+
+Glaciers in Tierra del Fuego. in latitude 46 degrees 40'. in
+Cordillera.
+
+Glow-worms.
+
+Goats destructive to vegetation at St. Helena. bones of.
+
+Goeree Roads.
+
+Goitre.
+
+Gold-washing.
+
+Good Success Bay.
+
+Gossamer spider.
+
+Gould, Mr., on the Calodera. on birds of Galapagos.
+
+Granite mountains, Tres Montes. of Cordillera.
+
+Graspus.
+
+Gravel, how far transported. of Patagonia.
+
+Graves of Indians.
+
+Greenstone, fragments of.
+
+Gregory, Cape.
+
+Gryllus migratorius.
+
+Guanaco, habits of. fossil allied genus.
+
+Guantajaya, mines of.
+
+Guardia del Monte.
+
+Guasco.
+
+Guasos of Chile.
+
+Guava imported into Tahiti.
+
+Guinea-fowl.
+
+Guitron.
+
+Gunnera scabra.
+
+Gypsum, great beds of. in salt-lake. in Patagonian tertiary beds.
+at Iquique with salt. at Lima with shells.
+
+Hachette, M., on lightning-tubes.
+
+Hacienda, condor, and cactus.
+
+Hail-storm.
+
+Hall, Captain Basil, on terraces of Coquimbo.
+
+Hare, Varying.
+
+Head, Captain, on thistle-beds.
+
+Height of snow-line on Cordillera.
+
+Henslow, Professor, on potatoes. on plants of Keeling Island.
+
+Hermit crabs.
+
+Hide bridge.
+
+Hill emitting a noise.
+
+Himantopus.
+
+Hippah, New Zealand.
+
+Hobart Town and Mount Wellington.
+
+Hogoleu barrier-reef.
+
+Holes made by a bird.
+
+Holman on drifted seeds.
+
+Holothuriae feeding on coral.
+
+Homeward bound.
+
+Hooker, Sir J., on the Cardoon. Dr. J.D., on the kelp. on
+Galapageian plants.
+
+Horn, Cape.
+
+Horner, Mr., on a calcareous deposit.
+
+Horse, swimming powers of.
+
+Horse, wild at the Falkland Islands. fossil of extinct species of.
+
+Horse-fly.
+
+Horsemanship of the Gauchos.
+
+Horses difficult to drive. drop excrement on paths. killed by great
+droughts. multiplication of. broken in.
+
+Hot springs of Cauquenes.
+
+Huacas.
+
+Humboldt on burnished rocks. on the atmosphere in tropics. on
+frozen soil. on hybernation. on potatoes. on earthquakes and rain.
+on miasma.
+
+Humming-birds of Rio De Janeiro. of Chiloe.
+
+Hurtado.
+
+Hybernation of animals.
+
+Hydrochaerus capybara.
+
+Hydrophobia.
+
+Hyla.
+
+Hymenophallus.
+
+Ibis melanops.
+
+Ice, prismatic structure of.
+
+Icebergs.
+
+Incas' bridge.
+
+Incrustations on coast rocks.
+
+Indian fossil remains.
+
+Indians, attacks of. antiquarian relics of. Araucanian. of the
+Pampas. decrease in numbers of. grave of. Patagonian. perforated
+stones used by. Valdivian. powers of tracking. ruins of houses of.
+
+Infection.
+
+Infusoria in dust in the Atlantic. in the sea. in the Pampas. in
+Patagonia. in white paint. in coral mud. at Ascension.
+
+Insects first colonists of St. Paul's rocks. blown out to sea. of
+Patagonia. of Tierra del Fuego. of Galapagos. of Keeling Island. of
+St. Helena.
+
+Instincts of birds.
+
+Iodine with salt at Iquique.
+
+Iquique.
+
+Iron, oxide of, on rocks.
+
+Irregular troops.
+
+Islands, oceanic, volcanic. Antarctic. floating. Low.
+
+Jackson, Colonel, on frozen snow.
+
+Jaguar, habits of.
+
+Jajuel, mines of.
+
+James Island.
+
+Jemmy Button.
+
+Juan Fernandez, volcano  of. flora of.
+
+Kangaroo-hunting.
+
+Kater's Peak.
+
+Kauri pine.
+
+Keeling Island. inside an atoll. flora of. birds of. entomology of.
+subsidence of. Birgos latro.
+
+Kelp, or seaweed.
+
+Kendall, Lieutenant, on a frozen body.
+
+Kingfishers.
+
+King George's Sound.
+
+Kororadika.
+
+Labourers, condition of, in Chile.
+
+Lagoon-islands.
+
+Lagostomus.
+
+Lake, brackish, near Rio. with floating islands. formed during
+earthquake.
+
+Lamarck on acquired blindness.
+
+Lampyris.
+
+Lancaster, Captain, on a sea-tree.
+
+Land-shells.
+
+Las Minas.
+
+Lazo.
+
+Leaves. fossil.
+
+Leeks in New Zealand, imported.
+
+Lemuy Island.
+
+Lepus Magellanicus.
+
+Lesson, M., on the scissor-beak. on rabbit of the Falklands.
+
+Lichen on loose sand.
+
+Lichtenstein on ostriches.
+
+Lightning storms. tubes.
+
+Lima. and San Lorenzo. elevation of a river near.
+
+Lime, changed by lava into crystalline rock.
+
+Limnaea in brackish water.
+
+Lion-ant.
+
+Lizard. marine species of.
+
+Lizards, transport of.
+
+Llama or guanaco, habits of.
+
+Locusts.
+
+Longevity of species in Mollusca.
+
+Lorenzo, San, island of.
+
+Low Archipelago.
+
+Luciano, story of.
+
+Lumb, Mr.
+
+Lund, M., on antiquity of man.
+
+Lund and Clausen on fossils of Brazil.
+
+Luxan.
+
+Luxuriant vegetation not necessary to support large animals.
+
+Lycosa.
+
+Lyell, Mr., on terraces of Coquimbo. on longevity of Mollusca. on
+change in vegetation. on fossil horses' teeth. on flocks of
+butterflies. on extinct mammals and ice-period. on stones twisted
+by  earthquakes. on frozen snow. on distribution of animals. on
+subsidence in the Pacific.
+
+MacCulloch on infection.
+
+Macquarie river.
+
+Macrauchenia.
+
+Macrocystis.
+
+Madrina, or godmother of a troop of mules.
+
+Magdalen channel.
+
+Magellan, flora of. H.M.S. "Beagle" in Straits of. Straits of. Port
+Famine. kelp of.
+
+Malays.
+
+Malcolmson, Dr., on hail.
+
+Maldiva atolls.
+
+Maldonado.
+
+Mammalia, fossil.
+
+Man, antiquity of. body frozen. fossil remains of. fear of, an
+acquired instinct. extinction of races.
+
+Mandetiba.
+
+Mandioca or cassava.
+
+Mare's flesh eaten by troops.
+
+Mares killed for their hides.
+
+Mastodon.
+
+Mat� pots and Bambillio.
+
+Matter, granular, movements in.
+
+Mauritius.
+
+Maypu river.
+
+Megalonyx.
+
+Megatherium.
+
+Mendoza. climate of.
+
+Mercedes on the Rio Negro.
+
+Mexico, elevation of.
+
+Miasmata.
+
+Mice inhabit sterile places. number of, in America. how
+transported. different on opposite sides of Andes. of the
+Galapagos. of Ascension.
+
+Millepora.
+
+Mills for grinding ores.
+
+Mimosae.
+
+Mimus.
+
+Miners, condition of.
+
+Mines. how discovered.
+
+Miranda, Commandant.
+
+Missionaries at New Zealand.
+
+Mitchell, Sir T., on valleys of Australia.
+
+Mocking-bird.
+
+Molina omits description of certain birds.
+
+Molothrus, habits of.
+
+Monkeys with prehensile tails.
+
+Monte Video.
+
+Moresby, Captain, on a great crab. on coral-reefs.
+
+Mount Sarmiento. Tarn. Victoria.
+
+Mountains, elevation of.
+
+Movements in granular matter.
+
+Mud, chalk-like. disturbed by earthquake.
+
+Mules.
+
+Muniz, Signor, on niata cattle.
+
+Murray, Mr., on spiders.
+
+Mylodon.
+
+Myopotamus Coypus.
+
+Narborough Island.
+
+Negress with goitre.
+
+Negro, Rio. lieutenant.
+
+Nepean river.
+
+New Caledonia, reef of.
+
+New Zealand.
+
+Niata cattle.
+
+Noises from a hill.
+
+Noses, ceremony of pressing.
+
+Nothura.
+
+Notopod, crustacean.
+
+Nulliporae, incrustations like. protecting reefs.
+
+Octopus, habits of.
+
+Oily coating on sea.
+
+Olfersia.
+
+Opetiorhynchus.
+
+Opuntia. Darwinii. Galapageia.
+
+Orange-trees self-sown.
+
+Ores, gold.
+
+Ornithology of Galapagos.
+
+Ornithorhynchus.
+
+Osorno, volcano of.
+
+Ostrich, habits of.
+
+Ostrich's eggs.
+
+Otaheite.
+
+Otter.
+
+Ova in sea.
+
+Oven-bird.
+
+Owen, Captain, on a drought in Africa. Professor, on the Capybara.
+fossil quadrupeds. nostrils of the Gallinazo.
+
+Owl of Pampas. of Galapagos Islands.
+
+Oxyurus.
+
+Oysters, gigantic.
+
+Paint, white.
+
+Pallas on Siberia.
+
+Palm-trees in La Plata. south limit of. in Chile.
+
+Palms absent at Galapagos.
+
+Pampas, halt at a pulperia on the. number of embedded remains in.
+southern limit of. changes in. giant thistle of. not quite level.
+geology of. view of, from the Andes.
+
+Pan de Azucar.
+
+Papilio feronia.
+
+Parana, Rio. River. islands in.
+
+Parish, sir W., on the great drought.
+
+Park, Mungo, on eating salt.
+
+Parrots.
+
+Partridges.
+
+Pas, fortresss of New Zealand.
+
+Passes in Cordillera.
+
+Pasture altered from grazing of cattle.
+
+Patagones.
+
+Patagonia, geology of. birds of. zoology of. raised beaches.
+
+Patagonian bolas, etc.
+
+Patagonians, Cape Gregory.
+
+Paypote ravine.
+
+Peach-trees self-sown.
+
+Peat, formation of.
+
+Pebbles perforated. transported in roots of trees.
+
+Pelagic animals in southern ocean.
+
+Penas, glacier in Gulf of.
+
+Penguin, habits of.
+
+Pepsis, habits of.
+
+Pernambuco, reef of.
+
+Pernety on hill of ruins. on tame birds.
+
+Peru. dry valleys of.
+
+Peruvian pottery.
+
+Petrels, habits of.
+
+Peuquenes, pass of.
+
+Phonolite at Fernando Noronha.
+
+Phosphorescence of the sea. of land insects and sea animals. of a
+coralline.
+
+Phryniscus.
+
+Pine of New Zealand.
+
+Plains at foot of Andes in Chile. almost horizontal near St. F�.
+
+Planariae, terrestrial species of.
+
+Plants of the Galapagos. of Keeling island. of St. Helena.
+
+Plants, fossil, in Australia.
+
+Plata, River. thunderstorms of.
+
+Plover, long-legged.
+
+Polished rocks, Brazil.
+
+Polyborus chimango. Braziliensis. Novae Zelandiae.
+
+Ponsonby Sound.
+
+Porpoises.
+
+Port Desire. river of. St. Julian. Famine. Jackson.
+
+Portillo Pass.
+
+Porto Praya.
+
+Potato, wild.
+
+Potrero Seco.
+
+Prairies, vegetation of.
+
+Pr�vost, M., on cuckoos.
+
+Priestley, Dr., on lightning-tubes.
+
+Prisoner, bringing in a.
+
+Procellaria gigantea, habits of.
+
+Proctotretus.
+
+Proteus, blindness of.
+
+Protococcus nivalis.
+
+Pteroptochos, two species of. species of.
+
+Puenta del Inca.
+
+Puffinuria Berardii.
+
+Puffinus cinereus.
+
+Puma, habits of. flesh of.
+
+Puna, or short respiration.
+
+Punta Alta, Bahia Blanca. Gorda. Huantam�.
+
+Pyrophorus luminosus.
+
+Quadrupeds, fossil. large, do not require luxuriant vegetation.
+weight of.
+
+Quartz of the Ventana. of Tapalguen. of Falkland Island.
+
+Quedius.
+
+Quellaypo volcano.
+
+Quilimari.
+
+Quillota, valley of.
+
+Quinchao Island.
+
+Quintero.
+
+Quiriquina Island.
+
+Quoy and Gaimard on stinging corals. on coral-reefs.
+
+Rabbit, wild, at the Falkland Islands.
+
+Rain at Coquimbo. at Rio. effects on vegetation. and earthquakes.
+in Chile, formerly more abundant. in Peru.
+
+Rana Mascariensis.
+
+Rat, only aboriginal animal of New Zealand.
+
+Rats at Galapagos. at Keeling Island. at Ascension.
+
+Rattlesnake, species with allied habit.
+
+Red snow.
+
+Reduvius.
+
+Reef at Pernambuco of sandstone.
+
+Reefs of coral. barrier. fringing.
+
+Reeks, Mr., analysis of salt. bones. salt and shells.
+
+Remains, human, elevated.
+
+Remedies of the Gauchos.
+
+Rengger on the horse.
+
+Reptiles absent in Tierra del Fuego. at Galapagos.
+
+Respiration difficult in Andes.
+
+Retrospect.
+
+Revolutions at Buenos Ayres.
+
+Rhea Darwinii (Avestruz Petise).
+
+Rhinoceroses live in desert countries. frozen.
+
+Rhynchops nigra.
+
+Richardson, Dr., on mice of North America. on frozen soil. on
+eating fat. on geographical distribution. on polished rocks.
+
+Rimsky atoll.
+
+Rio de Janeiro. Botofogo Bay. Plata. Negro. Colorado. Sauce.
+Salado. S. Cruz.
+
+River-bed, arched.
+
+River-courses dry in America.
+
+Rivers, power of, in wearing channels.
+
+Rocks burnished with ferruginous matter.
+
+Rodents, number of, in America. fossil species of.
+
+Rolor, General.
+
+Rosas, General.
+
+Rozario.
+
+Ruins of Callao. of Indian buildings in Cordillera.
+
+Salado, Rio.
+
+Saladillo river.
+
+Salinas at the Galapagos Archipelago. in Patagonia.
+
+Saline efflorescences.
+
+Salt with vegetable food. superficial crust of. with elevated
+shells.
+
+Salt-lakes.
+
+San Carlos. Nicolas. Felipe. Pedro. Pedro, forests of. Lorenzo
+Island.
+
+Sand-dunes.
+
+Sand, hot from sun's rays, at Galapagos Archipelago. noise from
+friction of.
+
+Sandstone of New South Wales. reef of.
+
+Sandwich Archipelago, no frogs at. Land.
+
+Santa Cruz, river of.
+
+Santiago, Chile.
+
+Sarmiento, Mount.
+
+Sauce, Rio.
+
+Saurophagus sulphureus.
+
+Scarus eating corals.
+
+Scelidotherium.
+
+Scenery of Andes.
+
+Scissor-beak, habits of.
+
+Scissor-tail.
+
+Scoresby, Mr., on effects of snow on rocks.
+
+Scorpions, cannibals.
+
+Scrope, Mr., on earthquakes.
+
+Scytalopus.
+
+Sea, open, inhabitants of. phosphorescence of. explosions in.
+
+Sea-pen, habits of.
+
+Seals, number of.
+
+Seaweed, growth of.
+
+Seeds transported by sea.
+
+Serpulae.
+
+Sertularia, protecting reef.
+
+Shark killed by Diodon.
+
+Shaw, Dr., on lion's flesh.
+
+Sheep, infected.
+
+Shelley, lines on Mont Blanc.
+
+Shells, land, in great numbers. elevated. tropical forms of, far
+south. fossil, of Cordillera. decomposition of, with salt. of
+Galapagos. at St. Helena.
+
+Shepherd's dogs.
+
+Shingle-bed of Patagonia.
+
+Shongi, New Zealand chief.
+
+Siberia compared with Patagonia. zoology of, related to North
+America.
+
+Siberian animals, how preserved in ice. food necessary during their
+existence.
+
+Sierra de la Ventana. Tapalguen.
+
+Silicified trees.
+
+Silurian formations at Falkland Islands.
+
+Silurus, habits of.
+
+Sivatherium.
+
+Skunks.
+
+Slavery.
+
+Smelling power of carrion-hawks.
+
+Smith, Dr. Andrew, on the support of large quadrupeds. on
+perforated pebbles.
+
+Snake, venomous.
+
+Snow, effects of, on rocks. prismatic structure of. red.
+
+Snow-line on Cordillera.
+
+Soc�go.
+
+Society, state of, in La Plata. state of, in Australia.
+Archipelago. volcanic phenomena at.
+
+Soda, nitrate of. sulphate of.
+
+Soil, frozen.
+
+South American bit.
+
+Spawn on surface of sea.
+
+Species, distribution of. extinction of.
+
+Spiders, habits of. gossamer, killed by and killing wasps. on
+Keeling Island. on St. Paul's.
+
+Spurs of Guaso.
+
+Springs, hot.
+
+Stevenson, Mr., on growth of seaweed.
+
+St. Helena. Jago, C. Verds. unhealthiness of. Paul's rocks. F�.
+Maria, elevated. introduction of spirits into. Louis, Mauritius.
+
+Stinging animals.
+
+Stones perforated. transported in roots.
+
+Storm. in Cordillera.
+
+Streams of stones at Falkland Islands.
+
+Strongylus.
+
+Struthio rhea. Darwinii.
+
+Strzelecki,Count.
+
+Suadiva atoll.
+
+Subsidence of coral-reefs. of Patagonia. of Cordillera. of Coasts
+of Chile. cause of distinctness in Tertiary epochs. of coast of
+Peru. of Keeling Island. of Vanikoro. of coral-reefs great in
+amount.
+
+Sulphate of lime. soda with common salt. soda incrusting the
+ground.
+
+Swainson, Mr., on cuckoos.
+
+Sydney.
+
+Tabanus.
+
+Tahiti (Otaheite). three zones of fertility. Fatahua fall.
+Christianity in.
+
+Tahitian.
+
+Talcahuano.
+
+Tambillos, Ruinas de.
+
+Tameness of birds.
+
+Tandeel, pumas at.
+
+Tapacolo and Turco.
+
+Tapalguen, Sierra, flat hills of quartz.
+
+Tarn, Mount.
+
+Tasmania.
+
+Tattooing.
+
+Temperance of the Tahitians.
+
+Temperature of Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Islands. of Galapagos.
+
+Tercero, Rio, fossils in banks of.
+
+Terraces in valleys of Cordillera. of Patagonia. of Coquimbo.
+
+Tertiary formations of the Pampas. of Patagonia. in Chile, epochs
+of.
+
+Teru-tero. habits of.
+
+Testudo, two species of. Abingdonii. nigra, habits of.
+
+Theory of lagoon-islands.
+
+Theristicus melanops.
+
+Thistle beds.
+
+Thunder-storms.
+
+Ti, liliaceous plant.
+
+Tierra del Fuego. climate and vegetation of. zoology of. entomology
+of.
+
+Tinamus rufescens.
+
+Tinochorus rumicivorus.
+
+Toad, habits of. not found in oceanic islands.
+
+Torrents in Cordillera.
+
+Tortoise, habits of.
+
+Toxodon.
+
+Transparency of air in Andes. in St. Jago.
+
+Transport of boulders. of fragments of rock on banks of the St.
+Cruz river. of seeds. of stones in roots of trees.
+
+Travertin with leaves of trees, Van Diemen's Land.
+
+Tree-ferns. southern limits of.
+
+Trees, absence of, in Pampas. time required to rot. silicified,
+vertical. size of. floating, transport stones.
+
+Tres Montes.
+
+Trichodesmium.
+
+Trigonocephalus.
+
+Tristan d'Acunha.
+
+Trochilus forficatus.
+
+Tropical scenery.
+
+Tschudi, M., on subsidence.
+
+Tubes, siliceous, formed by lightning.
+
+Tucutuco, habits of. fossil species of.
+
+Tuff, craters of. infusoria in.
+
+Tupungato, volcano of.
+
+Turco, El.
+
+Turkey buzzard.
+
+Turtle, manner of catching.
+
+Type of organisation in Galapagos Islands, American.
+
+Types of organisation in different countries, constant.
+
+Tyrannus savana.
+
+Ulloa on hydrophobia. on Indian buildings.
+
+Unan�e, Dr., on hydrophobia.
+
+Uruguay, Rio. not crossed by the Bizcacha.
+
+Uspallata range and pass.
+
+Vacas, Rio.
+
+Valdivia. forests of.
+
+Valley of St. Cruz, how excavated. dry, at Copiap�.
+
+Valleys, excavation of, in Chile. of New South Wales. in
+Cordillera. of Tahiti.
+
+Valparaiso.
+
+Vampire bat.
+
+Van Diemen's Land.
+
+Vanellus cayanus.
+
+Vanessa, flocks of.
+
+Vanikoro.
+
+Vapour from forests.
+
+Vegetation of St. Helena, changes of. luxuriant, not necessary to
+support large animals. on opposite sides of Cordillera.
+
+Ventana, Sierra.
+
+Verbena melindres.
+
+Vilipilli.
+
+Villa Vicencio.
+
+Villarica volcano.
+
+Virgin forest.
+
+Virgularia Patagonica.
+
+Volcanic bombs. cellular formation of. islands. phenomena.
+
+Volcanoes near Chiloe. their presence determined by elevation or
+subsidence.
+
+Vultur aura.
+
+Waders, first colonists of distant islands.
+
+Waimate, New Zealand.
+
+Waiomio.
+
+Walckenaer on spiders.
+
+Walleechu tree.
+
+Wasps preying on spiders and killed by.
+
+Water-hog (Hydrochaerus capybara).
+
+Water-serpents.
+
+Water sold at Iquique.
+
+Water, fresh, floating on salt.
+
+Waterhouse, Mr., on Rodents. on the niata ox. on the insects of
+Tierra del Fuego. of Galapagos. on the terrestrial mammals of
+Galapagos.
+
+Waves caused by fall of ice. from earthquakes.
+
+Weather, connection with earthquakes.
+
+Weatherboard, New South Wales.
+
+Weeds in New Zealand, imported.
+
+Weight of large quadrupeds.
+
+Wellington, Mount.
+
+Wells, ebbing and flowing. at Iquique.
+
+West Indies, banks of sediment. zoology of. coral-reefs of.
+
+Whales, oil from. leaping out of water.
+
+White, Mr., on spiders.
+
+Whitsunday Island.
+
+Wigwam cove.
+
+Wigwams of Fuegians.
+
+Williams, Reverend Mr. on infectious disorders.
+
+Winds, dry, in Tierra del Fuego. at the Cape Verds. on Cordillera.
+cold, on Cordillera.
+
+Winter's Bark.
+
+Wolf at the Falklands.
+
+Wollaston Island.
+
+Wood, Captain, on the Agouti.
+
+Woollya.
+
+Yaquil gold mines.
+
+Yeso, Valle del.
+
+York Minster.
+
+Zonotrichia.
+
+Zoological provinces of North and South America.
+
+Zoology of Galapagos. of Tierra del Fuego. of Chonos Islands. of
+Keeling Island. of St. Helena.
+
+Zoophytes. at Falkland Islands.
+
+Zorillo, or skunk.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World, by
+Charles Darwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE ***
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 05:22:09 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 05:22:09 -0700
commit	34b6e2f3141ea490c052cad82b33dc3f5cfdba36 (patch)
tree	dd84f0b63ea6515bd81e92485628de62aa2170e2 /old/3704-8.txt