"A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World\n\nThe Voyage Of The Beagle\n\nCharles Darwin\n\n\nJOURNAL.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nPorto Praya.\nRibeira Grande.\nAtmospheric Dust with Infusoria.\nHabits of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish.\nSt. Paul's Rocks, non-volcanic.\nSingular Incrustations.\nInsects the first Colonists of Islands.\nFernando Noronha.\nBahia.\nBurnished Rocks.\nHabits of a Diodon.\nPelagic Confervae and Infusoria.\nCauses of discoloured Sea.\n\n\nST. JAGO--CAPE DE VERD ISLANDS.\n\n\n\nAfter having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales,\nHer Majesty's ship \"Beagle,\" a ten-gun brig, under the command of\nCaptain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of\nDecember, 1831. The object of the expedition was to complete the\nsurvey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, commenced under Captain\nKing in 1826 to 1830--to survey the shores of Chile, Peru, and of\nsome islands in the Pacific--and to carry a chain of chronometrical\nmeasurements round the World. On the 6th of January we reached\nTeneriffe, but were prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the\ncholera: the next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged\noutline of the Grand Canary Island, and suddenly illumine the Peak\nof Teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds.\nThis was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten.\nOn the 16th of January 1832 we anchored at Porto Praya, in St.\nJago, the chief island of the Cape de Verd archipelago.\n\nThe neighbourhood of Porto Praya, viewed from the sea, wears a\ndesolate aspect. The volcanic fires of a past age, and the\nscorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the\nsoil unfit for vegetation. The country rises in successive steps of\ntable-land, interspersed with some truncate conical hills, and the\nhorizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty mountains.\nThe scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere of this climate,\nis one of great interest; if, indeed, a person, fresh from sea, and\nwho has just walked, for the first time, in a grove of cocoa-nut\ntrees, can be a judge of anything but his own happiness. The island\nwould generally be considered as very uninteresting, but to any one\naccustomed only to an English landscape, the novel aspect of an\nutterly sterile land possesses a grandeur which more vegetation\nmight spoil. A single green leaf can scarcely be discovered over\nwide tracts of the lava plains; yet flocks of goats, together with\na few cows, contrive to exist. It rains very seldom, but during a\nshort portion of the year heavy torrents fall, and immediately\nafterwards a light vegetation springs out of every crevice. This\nsoon withers; and upon such naturally formed hay the animals live.\nIt had not now rained for an entire year. When the island was\ndiscovered, the immediate neighbourhood of Porto Praya was clothed\nwith trees (1/1. I state this on the authority of Dr. E.\nDieffenbach, in his German translation of the first edition of this\nJournal.), the reckless destruction of which has caused here, as at\nSt. Helena, and at some of the Canary islands, almost entire\nsterility. The broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of which serve\nduring a few days only in the season as watercourses, are clothed\nwith thickets of leafless bushes. Few living creatures inhabit\nthese valleys. The commonest bird is a kingfisher (Dacelo\nIagoensis), which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil\nplant, and thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly\ncoloured, but not so beautiful as the European species: in its\nflight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the\ndriest valley, there is also a wide difference.\n\nOne day, two of the officers and myself rode to Ribeira Grande, a\nvillage a few miles eastward of Porto Praya. Until we reached the\nvalley of St. Martin, the country presented its usual dull brown\nappearance; but here, a very small rill of water produces a most\nrefreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. In the course of an hour\nwe arrived at Ribeira Grande, and were surprised at the sight of a\nlarge ruined fort and cathedral. This little town, before its\nharbour was filled up, was the principal place in the island: it\nnow presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. Having\nprocured a black Padre for a guide, and a Spaniard who had served\nin the Peninsular war as an interpreter, we visited a collection of\nbuildings, of which an ancient church formed the principal part. It\nis here the governors and captain-generals of the islands have been\nburied. Some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth\ncentury. (1/2. The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449.\nThere was a tombstone of a bishop with the date of 1571; and a\ncrest of a hand and dagger, dated 1497.) The heraldic ornaments\nwere the only things in this retired place that reminded us of\nEurope. The church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, in\nthe middle of which a large clump of bananas were growing. On\nanother side was a hospital, containing about a dozen\nmiserable-looking inmates.\n\nWe returned to the Vênda to eat our dinners. A considerable number\nof men, women, and children, all as black as jet, collected to\nwatch us. Our companions were extremely merry; and everything we\nsaid or did was followed by their hearty laughter. Before leaving\nthe town we visited the cathedral. It does not appear so rich as\nthe smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent forth\nsingularly inharmonious cries. We presented the black priest with a\nfew shillings, and the Spaniard, patting him on the head, said,\nwith much candour, he thought his colour made no great difference.\nWe then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to Porto Praya.\n\nAnother day we rode to the village of St. Domingo, situated near\nthe centre of the island. On a small plain which we crossed, a few\nstunted acacias were growing; their tops had been bent by the\nsteady trade-wind, in a singular manner--some of them even at right\nangles to their trunks. The direction of the branches was exactly\nnorth-east by north, and south-west by south, and these natural\nvanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the\ntrade-wind. The travelling had made so little impression on the\nbarren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that to\nFuentes. This we did not find out till we arrived there; and we\nwere afterwards glad of our mistake. Fuentes is a pretty village,\nwith a small stream; and everything appeared to prosper well,\nexcepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most--its inhabitants.\nThe black children, completely naked, and looking very wretched,\nwere carrying bundles of firewood half as big as their own bodies.\n\nNear Fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl--probably fifty or\nsixty in number. They were extremely wary, and could not be\napproached. They avoided us, like partridges on a rainy day in\nSeptember, running with their heads cocked up; and if pursued, they\nreadily took to the wing.\n\nThe scenery of St. Domingo possesses a beauty totally unexpected,\nfrom the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the island. The\nvillage is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded by lofty and\njagged walls of stratified lava. The black rocks afford a most\nstriking contrast with the bright green vegetation, which follows\nthe banks of a little stream of clear water. It happened to be a\ngrand feast-day, and the village was full of people. On our return\nwe overtook a party of about twenty young black girls, dressed in\nexcellent taste; their black skins and snow-white linen being set\noff by coloured turbans and large shawls. As soon as we approached\nnear, they suddenly all turned round, and covering the path with\ntheir shawls, sung with great energy a wild song, beating time with\ntheir hands upon their legs. We threw them some vintéms, which were\nreceived with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the\nnoise of their song.\n\nOne morning the view was singularly clear; the distant mountains\nbeing projected with the sharpest outline, on a heavy bank of dark\nblue clouds. Judging from the appearance, and from similar cases in\nEngland, I supposed that the air was saturated with moisture. The\nfact, however, turned out quite the contrary. The hygrometer gave a\ndifference of 29.6 degrees, between the temperature of the air, and\nthe point at which dew was precipitated. This difference was nearly\ndouble that which I had observed on the previous mornings. This\nunusual degree of atmospheric dryness was accompanied by continual\nflashes of lightning. Is it not an uncommon case, thus to find a\nremarkable degree of aerial transparency with such a state of\nweather?\n\nGenerally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling\nof impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly injured\nthe astronomical instruments. The morning before we anchored at\nPorto Praya, I collected a little packet of this brown-coloured\nfine dust, which appeared to have been filtered from the wind by\nthe gauze of the vane at the masthead. Mr. Lyell has also given me\nfour packets of dust which fell on a vessel a few hundred miles\nnorthward of these islands. Professor Ehrenberg finds that this\ndust consists in great part of infusoria with siliceous shields,\nand of the siliceous tissue of plants. (1/3. I must take this\nopportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with which this\nillustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. I have\nsent (June 1845) a full account of the falling of this dust to the\nGeological Society.) In five little packets which I sent him, he\nhas ascertained no less than sixty-seven different organic forms!\nThe infusoria, with the exception of two marine species, are all\ninhabitants of fresh-water. I have found no less than fifteen\ndifferent accounts of dust having fallen on vessels when far out in\nthe Atlantic. From the direction of the wind whenever it has\nfallen, and from its having always fallen during those months when\nthe harmattan is known to raise clouds of dust high into the\natmosphere, we may feel sure that it all comes from Africa. It is,\nhowever, a very singular fact, that, although Professor Ehrenberg\nknows many species of infusoria peculiar to Africa, he finds none\nof these in the dust which I sent him. On the other hand, he finds\nin it two species which hitherto he knows as living only in South\nAmerica. The dust falls in such quantities as to dirty everything\non board, and to hurt people's eyes; vessels even have run on shore\nowing to the obscurity of the atmosphere. It has often fallen on\nships when several hundred, and even more than a thousand miles\nfrom the coast of Africa, and at points sixteen hundred miles\ndistant in a north and south direction. In some dust which was\ncollected on a vessel three hundred miles from the land, I was much\nsurprised to find particles of stone above the thousandth of an\ninch square, mixed with finer matter. After this fact one need not\nbe surprised at the diffusion of the far lighter and smaller\nsporules of cryptogamic plants.\n\nThe geology of this island is the most interesting part of its\nnatural history. On entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal\nwhite band in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for\nsome miles along the coast, and at the height of about forty-five\nfeet above the water. Upon examination, this white stratum is found\nto consist of calcareous matter, with numerous shells embedded,\nmost or all of which now exist on the neighbouring coast. It rests\non ancient volcanic rocks, and has been covered by a stream of\nbasalt, which must have entered the sea when the white shelly bed\nwas lying at the bottom. It is interesting to trace the changes,\nproduced by the heat of the overlying lava, on the friable mass,\nwhich in parts has been converted into a crystalline limestone, and\nin other parts into a compact spotted stone. Where the lime has\nbeen caught up by the scoriaceous fragments of the lower surface of\nthe stream, it is converted into groups of beautifully radiated\nfibres resembling arragonite. The beds of lava rise in successive\ngently-sloping plains, towards the interior, whence the deluges of\nmelted stone have originally proceeded. Within historical times no\nsigns of volcanic activity have, I believe, been manifested in any\npart of St. Jago. Even the form of a crater can but rarely be\ndiscovered on the summits of the many red cindery hills; yet the\nmore recent streams can be distinguished on the coast, forming\nlines of cliffs of less height, but stretching out in advance of\nthose belonging to an older series: the height of the cliffs thus\naffording a rude measure of the age of the streams.\n\nDuring our stay, I observed the habits of some marine animals. A\nlarge Aplysia is very common. This sea-slug is about five inches\nlong; and is of a dirty yellowish colour, veined with purple. On\neach side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a broad membrane,\nwhich appears sometimes to act as a ventilator, in causing a\ncurrent of water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or lungs. It\nfeeds on the delicate seaweeds which grow among the stones in muddy\nand shallow water; and I found in its stomach several small\npebbles, as in the gizzard of a bird. This slug, when disturbed,\nemits a very fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for\nthe space of a foot around. Besides this means of defence, an acrid\nsecretion, which is spread over its body, causes a sharp, stinging\nsensation, similar to that produced by the Physalia, or Portuguese\nman-of-war.\n\nI was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits\nof an Octopus, or cuttle-fish. Although common in the pools of\nwater left by the retiring tide, these animals were not easily\ncaught. By means of their long arms and suckers, they could drag\ntheir bodies into very narrow crevices; and when thus fixed, it\nrequired great force to remove them. At other times they darted\ntail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the\npool to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with\na dark chestnut-brown ink. These animals also escape detection by a\nvery extraordinary, chameleon-like power of changing their colour.\nThey appear to vary their tints according to the nature of the\nground over which they pass: when in deep water, their general\nshade was brownish purple, but when placed on the land, or in\nshallow water, this dark tint changed into one of a yellowish\ngreen. The colour, examined more carefully, was a French grey, with\nnumerous minute spots of bright yellow: the former of these varied\nin intensity; the latter entirely disappeared and appeared again by\nturns. These changes were effected in such a manner that clouds,\nvarying in tint between a hyacinth red and a chestnut-brown, were\ncontinually passing over the body. (1/4. So named according to\nPatrick Symes's nomenclature.) Any part, being subjected to a\nslight shock of galvanism, became almost black: a similar effect,\nbut in a less degree, was produced by scratching the skin with a\nneedle. These clouds, or blushes as they may be called, are said to\nbe produced by the alternate expansion and contraction of minute\nvesicles containing variously coloured fluids. (1/5. See\n\"Encyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology\" article \"Cephalopoda.\")\n\nThis cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during the\nact of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bottom. I\nwas much amused by the various arts to escape detection used by one\nindividual, which seemed fully aware that I was watching it.\nRemaining for a time motionless, it would then stealthily advance\nan inch or two, like a cat after a mouse; sometimes changing its\ncolour: it thus proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it\ndarted away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into\nwhich it had crawled.\n\nWhile looking for marine animals, with my head about two feet above\nthe rocky shore, I was more than once saluted by a jet of water,\naccompanied by a slight grating noise. At first I could not think\nwhat it was, but afterwards I found out that it was this\ncuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led me\nto its discovery. That it possesses the power of ejecting water\nthere is no doubt, and it appeared to me that it could certainly\ntake good aim by directing the tube or siphon on the under side of\nits body. From the difficulty which these animals have in carrying\ntheir heads, they cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground.\nI observed that one which I kept in the cabin was slightly\nphosphorescent in the dark.\n\nST. PAUL'S ROCKS.\n\nIn crossing the Atlantic we hove-to, during the morning of February\n16th, 1832, close to the island of St. Paul's. This cluster of\nrocks is situated in 0 degrees 58' north latitude, and 29 degrees\n15' west longitude. It is 540 miles distant from the coast of\nAmerica, and 350 from the island of Fernando Noronha. The highest\npoint is only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the entire\ncircumference is under three-quarters of a mile. This small point\nrises abruptly out of the depths of the ocean. Its mineralogical\nconstitution is not simple; in some parts the rock is of a cherty,\nin others of a feldspathic nature, including thin veins of\nserpentine. It is a remarkable fact that all the many small\nislands, lying far from any continent, in the Pacific, Indian, and\nAtlantic Oceans, with the exception of the Seychelles and this\nlittle point of rock, are, I believe, composed either of coral or\nof erupted matter. The volcanic nature of these oceanic islands is\nevidently an extension of that law, and the effect of those same\ncauses, whether chemical or mechanical, from which it results that\na vast majority of the volcanoes now in action stand either near\nsea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea.\n\n(PLATE 4.  INCRUSTATION OF SHELLY SAND.)\n\nThe rocks of St. Paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly white\ncolour. This is partly owing to the dung of a vast multitude of\nseafowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy substance with a\npearly lustre, which is intimately united to the surface of the\nrocks. This, when examined with a lens, is found to consist of\nnumerous exceedingly thin layers, its total thickness being about\nthe tenth of an inch. It contains much animal matter, and its\norigin, no doubt, is due to the action of the rain or spray on the\nbirds' dung. Below some small masses of guano at Ascension, and on\nthe Abrolhos Islets, I found certain stalactitic branching bodies,\nformed apparently in the same manner as the thin white coating on\nthese rocks. The branching bodies so closely resembled in general\nappearance certain nulliporae (a family of hard calcareous\nsea-plants), that in lately looking hastily over my collection I\ndid not perceive the difference. The globular extremities of the\nbranches are of a pearly texture, like the enamel of teeth, but so\nhard as just to scratch plate-glass. I may here mention, that on a\npart of the coast of Ascension, where there is a vast accumulation\nof shelly sand, an incrustation is deposited on the tidal rocks, by\nthe water of the sea, resembling, as represented in Plate 4,\ncertain cryptogamic plants (Marchantiae) often seen on damp walls.\nThe surface of the fronds is beautifully glossy; and those parts\nformed where fully exposed to the light, are of a jet black colour,\nbut those shaded under ledges are only grey. I have shown specimens\nof this incrustation to several geologists, and they all thought\nthat they were of volcanic or igneous origin! In its hardness and\ntranslucency--in its polish, equal to that of the finest\noliva-shell--in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under\nthe blowpipe--it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells.\nMoreover in sea-shells, it is known that the parts habitually\ncovered and shaded by the mantle of the animal, are of a paler\ncolour than those fully exposed to the light, just as is the case\nwith this incrustation. When we remember that lime, either as a\nphosphate or carbonate, enters into the composition of the hard\nparts, such as bones and shells, of all living animals, it is an\ninteresting physiological fact to find substances harder than the\nenamel of teeth, and coloured surfaces as well polished as those of\na fresh shell, re-formed through inorganic means from dead organic\nmatter--mocking, also, in shape, some of the lower vegetable\nproductions. (1/6. Mr. Horner and Sir David Brewster have described\n(\"Philosophical Transactions\" 1836 page 65) a singular \"artificial\nsubstance resembling shell.\" It is deposited in fine, transparent,\nhighly polished, brown-coloured laminae, possessing peculiar\noptical properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which cloth,\nfirst prepared with glue and then with lime, is made to revolve\nrapidly in water. It is much softer, more transparent, and contains\nmore animal matter, than the natural incrustation at Ascension; but\nwe here again see the strong tendency which carbonate of lime and\nanimal matter evince to form a solid substance allied to shell.)\n\nWe found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds--the booby and the\nnoddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern.\nBoth are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed\nto visitors, that I could have killed any number of them with my\ngeological hammer. The booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but\nthe tern makes a very simple nest with seaweed. By the side of many\nof these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which I suppose, had\nbeen brought by the male bird for its partner. It was amusing to\nwatch how quickly a large and active crab (Graspus), which inhabits\nthe crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest,\nas soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. Sir W. Symonds, one\nof the few persons who have landed here, informs me that he saw the\ncrabs dragging even the young birds out of their nests, and\ndevouring them. Not a single plant, not even a lichen, grows on\nthis islet; yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders. The\nfollowing list completes, I believe, the terrestrial fauna: a fly\n(Olfersia) living on the booby, and a tick which must have come\nhere as a parasite on the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a\ngenus that feeds on feathers; a beetle (Quedius) and a woodlouse\nfrom beneath the dung; and lastly, numerous spiders, which I\nsuppose prey on these small attendants and scavengers of the\nwaterfowl. The often-repeated description of the stately palm and\nother noble tropical plants, then birds, and lastly man, taking\npossession of the coral islets as soon as formed, in the Pacific,\nis probably not quite correct; I fear it destroys the poetry of\nthis story, that feather and dirt-feeding and parasitic insects and\nspiders should be the first inhabitants of newly formed oceanic\nland.\n\nThe smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation for\nthe growth of innumerable kinds of seaweed and compound animals,\nsupports likewise a large number of fish. The sharks and the seamen\nin the boats maintained a constant struggle which should secure the\ngreater share of the prey caught by the fishing-lines. I have heard\nthat a rock near the Bermudas, lying many miles out at sea, and at\na considerable depth, was first discovered by the circumstance of\nfish having been observed in the neighbourhood.\n\nFERNANDO NORONHA, FEBRUARY 20, 1832.\n\nAs far as I was enabled to observe, during the few hours we stayed\nat this place, the constitution of the island is volcanic, but\nprobably not of a recent date. The most remarkable feature is a\nconical hill, about one thousand feet high, the upper part of which\nis exceedingly steep, and on one side overhangs its base. The rock\nis phonolite, and is divided into irregular columns. On viewing one\nof these isolated masses, at first one is inclined to believe that\nit has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state. At St.\nHelena, however, I ascertained that some pinnacles, of a nearly\nsimilar figure and constitution, had been formed by the injection\nof melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed the\nmoulds for these gigantic obelisks. The whole island is covered\nwith wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no\nappearance of luxuriance. Half-way up the mountain some great\nmasses of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and\nornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers but without a\nsingle leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the\nscenery.\n\nBAHIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, FEBRUARY 29, 1832.\n\nThe day has past delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak\nterm to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first\ntime, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegance\nof the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty\nof the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the\ngeneral luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. A\nmost paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady\nparts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud, that it\nmay be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from\nthe shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal\nsilence appears to reign. To a person fond of natural history, such\na day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than he can ever\nhope to experience again. After wandering about for some hours, I\nreturned to the landing-place; but, before reaching it, I was\novertaken by a tropical storm. I tried to find shelter under a\ntree, which was so thick that it would never have been penetrated\nby common English rain; but here, in a couple of minutes, a little\ntorrent flowed down the trunk. It is to this violence of the rain\nthat we must attribute the verdure at the bottom of the thickest\nwoods: if the showers were like those of a colder clime, the\ngreater part would be absorbed or evaporated before it reached the\nground. I will not at present attempt to describe the gaudy scenery\nof this noble bay, because, in our homeward voyage, we called here\na second time, and I shall then have occasion to remark on it.\n\nAlong the whole coast of Brazil, for a length of at least 2000\nmiles, and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever\nsolid rock occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. The\ncircumstance of this enormous area being constituted of materials\nwhich most geologists believe to have been crystallised when heated\nunder pressure, gives rise to many curious reflections. Was this\neffect produced beneath the depths of a profound ocean? or did a\ncovering of strata formerly extend over it, which has since been\nremoved? Can we believe that any power, acting for a time short of\ninfinity, could have denuded the granite over so many thousand\nsquare leagues?\n\nOn a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the sea,\nI observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by Humboldt.\n(1/7. \"Personal Narrative\" volume 5 part 1 page 18.) At the\ncataracts of the great rivers Orinoco, Nile, and Congo, the\nsyenitic rocks are coated by a black substance, appearing as if\nthey had been polished with plumbago. The layer is of extreme\nthinness; and on analysis by Berzelius it was found to consist of\nthe oxides of manganese and iron. In the Orinoco it occurs on the\nrocks periodically washed by the floods, and in those parts alone\nwhere the stream is rapid; or, as the Indians say, \"the rocks are\nblack where the waters are white.\" Here the coating is of a rich\nbrown instead of a black colour, and seems to be composed of\nferruginous matter alone. Hand specimens fail to give a just idea\nof these brown burnished stones which glitter in the sun's rays.\nThey occur only within the limits of the tidal waves; and as the\nrivulet slowly trickles down, the surf must supply the polishing\npower of the cataracts in the great rivers. In like manner, the\nrise and fall of the tide probably answer to the periodical\ninundations; and thus the same effects are produced under\napparently different but really similar circumstances. The origin,\nhowever, of these coatings of metallic oxides, which seem as if\ncemented to the rocks, is not understood; and no reason, I believe,\ncan be assigned for their thickness remaining the same.\n\n(PLATE 5.  DIODON MACULATUS (DISTENDED AND CONTRACTED).)\n\nOne day I was amused by watching the habits of the Diodon\nantennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. This fish,\nwith its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular power\nof distending itself into a nearly spherical form. After having\nbeen taken out of water for a short time, and then again immersed\nin it, a considerable quantity both of water and air is absorbed by\nthe mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial orifices. This\nprocess is effected by two methods: the air is swallowed, and is\nthen forced into the cavity of the body, its return being prevented\nby a muscular contraction which is externally visible: but the\nwater enters in a gentle stream through the mouth, which is kept\nwide open and motionless; this latter action must, therefore,\ndepend on suction. The skin about the abdomen is much looser than\nthat on the back; hence, during the inflation, the lower surface\nbecomes far more distended than the upper; and the fish, in\nconsequence, floats with its back downwards. Cuvier doubts whether\nthe Diodon in this position is able to swim; but not only can it\nthus move forward in a straight line, but it can turn round to\neither side. This latter movement is effected solely by the aid of\nthe pectoral fins; the tail being collapsed and not used. From the\nbody being buoyed up with so much air, the branchial openings are\nout of water, but a stream drawn in by the mouth constantly flows\nthrough them.\n\nThe fish, having remained in this distended state for a short time,\ngenerally expelled the air and water with considerable force from\nthe branchial apertures and mouth. It could emit, at will, a\ncertain portion of the water, and it appears, therefore probable\nthat this fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regulating its\nspecific gravity. This Diodon possessed several means of defence.\nIt could give a severe bite, and could eject water from its mouth\nto some distance, at the same time making a curious noise by the\nmovement of its jaws. By the inflation of its body, the papillae,\nwith which the skin is covered, become erect and pointed. But the\nmost curious circumstance is, that it secretes from the skin of its\nbelly, when handled, a most beautiful carmine-red fibrous matter,\nwhich stains ivory and paper in so permanent a manner, that the\ntint is retained with all its brightness to the present day: I am\nquite ignorant of the nature and use of this secretion. I have\nheard from Dr. Allan of Forres, that he has frequently found a\nDiodon, floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the shark;\nand that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only\nthrough the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the\nmonster, which has thus been killed. Who would ever have imagined\nthat a little soft fish could have destroyed the great and savage\nshark?\n\nMARCH 18, 1832.\n\n(PLATE 6.  PELAGIC CONFERVAE.)\n\nWe sailed from Bahia. A few days afterwards, when not far distant\nfrom the Abrolhos Islets, my attention was called to a\nreddish-brown appearance in the sea. The whole surface of the\nwater, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered by\nchopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. These are minute\ncylindrical confervae, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty\nin each. Mr. Berkeley informs me that they are the same species\n(Trichodesmium erythraeum) with that found over large spaces in the\nRed Sea, and whence its name of Red Sea is derived. (1/8. M.\nMontagne in \"Comptes Rendus\" etc. Juillet 1844; and \"Annales des\nSciences Naturelles\" December 1844.) Their numbers must be\ninfinite: the ship passed through several bands of them, one of\nwhich was about ten yards wide, and, judging from the mud-like\ncolour of the water, at least two and a half miles long. In almost\nevery long voyage some account is given of these confervae. They\nappear especially common in the sea near Australia; and off Cape\nLeeuwin I found an allied, but smaller and apparently different\nspecies. Captain Cook, in his third voyage, remarks that the\nsailors gave to this appearance the name of sea-sawdust.\n\nNear Keeling Atoll, in the Indian Ocean, I observed many little\nmasses of confervae a few inches square, consisting of long\ncylindrical threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely\nvisible to the naked eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies,\nfinely conical at both ends. Two of these are shown in Plate 6\nunited together. They vary in length from .04 to .06, and even to\n.08 of an inch in length; and in diameter from .006 to .008 of an\ninch. Near one extremity of the cylindrical part, a green septum,\nformed of granular matter, and thickest in the middle, may\ngenerally be seen. This, I believe, is the bottom of a most\ndelicate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy substance, which\nlines the exterior case, but does not extend within the extreme\nconical points. In some specimens, small but perfect spheres of\nbrownish granular matter supplied the places of the septa; and I\nobserved the curious process by which they were produced. The pulpy\nmatter of the internal coating suddenly grouped itself into lines,\nsome of which assumed a form radiating from a common centre; it\nthen continued, with an irregular and rapid movement, to contract\nitself, so that in the course of a second the whole was united into\na perfect little sphere, which occupied the position of the septum\nat one end of the now quite hollow case. The formation of the\ngranular sphere was hastened by any accidental injury. I may add,\nthat frequently a pair of these bodies were attached to each other,\nas represented above, cone beside cone, at that end where the\nseptum occurs.\n\nI will here add a few other observations connected with the\ndiscoloration of the sea from organic causes. On the coast of\nChile, a few leagues north of Concepcion, the \"Beagle\" one day\npassed through great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of a\nswollen river; and again, a degree south of Valparaiso, when fifty\nmiles from the land, the same appearance was still more extensive.\nSome of the water placed in a glass was of a pale reddish tint;\nand, examined under a microscope, was seen to swarm with minute\nanimalcula darting about, and often exploding. Their shape is oval,\nand contracted in the middle by a ring of vibrating curved ciliae.\nIt was, however, very difficult to examine them with care, for\nalmost the instant motion ceased, even while crossing the field of\nvision, their bodies burst. Sometimes both ends burst at once,\nsometimes only one, and a quantity of coarse, brownish, granular\nmatter was ejected. The animal an instant before bursting expanded\nto half again its natural size; and the explosion took place about\nfifteen seconds after the rapid progressive motion had ceased: in a\nfew cases it was preceded for a short interval by a rotatory\nmovement on the longer axis. About two minutes after any number\nwere isolated in a drop of water, they thus perished. The animals\nmove with the narrow apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory\nciliae, and generally by rapid starts. They are exceedingly minute,\nand quite invisible to the naked eye, only covering a space equal\nto the square of the thousandth of an inch. Their numbers were\ninfinite; for the smallest drop of water which I could remove\ncontained very many. In one day we passed through two spaces of\nwater thus stained, one of which alone must have extended over\nseveral square miles. What incalculable numbers of these\nmicroscopical animals! The colour of the water, as seen at some\ndistance, was like that of a river which has flowed through a red\nclay district; but under the shade of the vessel's side it was\nquite as dark as chocolate. The line where the red and blue water\njoined was distinctly defined. The weather for some days previously\nhad been calm, and the ocean abounded, to an unusual degree, with\nliving creatures. (1/9. M. Lesson \"Voyage de la Coquille\" tome 1\npage 255, mentions red water off Lima, apparently produced by the\nsame cause. Peron, the distinguished naturalist, in the \"Voyage aux\nTerres Australes,\" gives no less than twelve references to voyagers\nwho have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea (volume 2\npage 239). To the references given by Peron may be added,\nHumboldt's \"Personal Narrative\" volume 6 page 804; Flinder's\n\"Voyage\" volume 1 page 92; Labillardière, volume 1 page 287;\nUlloa's \"Voyage\"; \"Voyage of the Astrolabe and of the Coquille\";\nCaptain King's \"Survey of Australia\" etc.)\n\nIn the sea around Tierra del Fuego, and at no great distance from\nthe land, I have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red colour,\nfrom the number of crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form large\nprawns. The sealers call them whale-food. Whether whales feed on\nthem I do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense herds of\ngreat unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast, their\nchief sustenance from these swimming crabs. Seamen invariably\nattribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but I found this\nto be the case only on one occasion. At the distance of several\nleagues from the Archipelago of the Galapagos, the ship sailed\nthrough three strips of a dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these\nstrips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they\nwere separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet distinct\nmargin. The colour was caused by little gelatinous balls, about the\nfifth of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute spherical\novules were embedded: they were of two distinct kinds, one being of\na reddish colour and of a different shape from the other. I cannot\nform a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals these belonged.\nCaptain Colnett remarks that this appearance is very common among\nthe Galapagos Islands, and that the direction of the bands\nindicates that of the currents; in the described case, however, the\nline was caused by the wind. The only other appearance which I have\nto notice, is a thin oily coat on the water which displays\niridescent colours. I saw a considerable tract of the ocean thus\ncovered on the coast of Brazil; the seamen attributed it to the\nputrefying carcass of some whale, which probably was floating at no\ngreat distance. I do not here mention the minute gelatinous\nparticles, hereafter to be referred to, which are frequently\ndispersed throughout the water, for they are not sufficiently\nabundant to create any change of colour.\n\nThere are two circumstances in the above accounts which appear\nremarkable: first, how do the various bodies which form the bands\nwith defined edges keep together? In the case of the prawn-like\ncrabs, their movements were as coinstantaneous as in a regiment of\nsoldiers; but this cannot happen from anything like voluntary\naction with the ovules, or the confervae, nor is it probable among\nthe infusoria. Secondly, what causes the length and narrowness of\nthe bands? The appearance so much resembles that which may be seen\nin every torrent, where the stream uncoils into long streaks the\nfroth collected in the eddies, that I must attribute the effect to\na similar action either of the currents of the air or sea. Under\nthis supposition we must believe that the various organised bodies\nare produced in certain favourable places, and are thence removed\nby the set of either wind or water. I confess, however, there is a\nvery great difficulty in imagining any one spot to be the\nbirthplace of the millions of millions of animalcula and confervae:\nfor whence come the germs at such points?--the parent bodies having\nbeen distributed by the winds and waves over the immense ocean. But\non no other hypothesis can I understand their linear grouping. I\nmay add that Scoresby remarks that green water abounding with\npelagic animals is invariably found in a certain part of the Arctic\nSea.\n\n(PLATE 7.  CATAMARAN (BAHIA).)\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n(PLATE 8.  BOTOFOGO BAY, RIO DE JANEIRO.)\n\nRio de Janeiro.\nExcursion north of Cape Frio.\nGreat Evaporation.\nSlavery.\nBotofogo Bay.\nTerrestrial Planariae.\nClouds on the Corcovado.\nHeavy Rain.\nMusical Frogs.\nPhosphorescent Insects.\nElater, springing powers of.\nBlue Haze.\nNoise made by a Butterfly.\nEntomology.\nAnts.\nWasp killing a Spider.\nParasitical Spider.\nArtifices of an Epeira.\nGregarious Spider.\nSpider with an unsymmetrical Web.\n\nRIO DE JANEIRO.\n\nAPRIL 4 TO JULY 5, 1832.\n\n\n\nA few days after our arrival I became acquainted with an Englishman\nwho was going to visit his estate, situated rather more than a\nhundred miles from the capital, to the northward of Cape Frio. I\ngladly accepted his kind offer of allowing me to accompany him.\n\nAPRIL 8, 1832.\n\nOur party amounted to seven. The first stage was very interesting.\nThe day was powerfully hot, and as we passed through the woods,\neverything was motionless, excepting the large and brilliant\nbutterflies, which lazily fluttered about. The view seen when\ncrossing the hills behind Praia Grande was most beautiful; the\ncolours were intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky\nand the calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour.\nAfter passing through some cultivated country, we entered a forest\nwhich in the grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. We\narrived by midday at Ithacaia; this small village is situated on a\nplain, and round the central house are the huts of the negroes.\nThese, from their regular form and position, reminded me of the\ndrawings of the Hottentot habitations in Southern Africa. As the\nmoon rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our\nsleeping-place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we\npassed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite\nwhich are so common in this country. This spot is notorious from\nhaving been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway slaves,\nwho, by cultivating a little ground near the top, contrived to eke\nout a subsistence. At length they were discovered, and a party of\nsoldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the exception of\none old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed\nherself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Roman\nmatron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a\npoor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We continued riding for\nsome hours. For the few last miles the road was intricate, and it\npassed through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene by\nthe dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies\nflitted by us; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its\nplaintive cry. The distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely\nbroke the stillness of the night.\n\nAPRIL 9, 1832.\n\nWe left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. The road\npassed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the sea and the\ninterior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful fishing birds, such\nas egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most\nfantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not\notherwise have possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded with\nparasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fragrance\nof some of the orchideae were most to be admired. As the sun rose,\nthe day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and\nheat from the white sand was very distressing. We dined at\nMandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being 84 degrees. The\nbeautiful view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in the\nperfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As\nthe vênda here was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but\nrare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and\npresently describe it, as the type of its class. (2/1. Vênda, the\nPortuguese name for an inn.) These houses are often large, and are\nbuilt of thick upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and\nafterwards plastered. They seldom have floors, and never glazed\nwindows; but are generally pretty well roofed. Universally the\nfront part is open, forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and\nbenches are placed. The bedrooms join on each side, and here the\npassenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform\ncovered by a thin straw mat. The vênda stands in a courtyard, where\nthe horses are fed. On first arriving, it was our custom to\nunsaddle the horses and give them their Indian corn; then, with a\nlow bow, to ask the senhôr to do us the favour to give us something\nto eat. \"Anything you choose, sir,\" was his usual answer. For the\nfew first times, vainly I thanked providence for having guided us\nto so good a man. The conversation proceeding, the case universally\nbecame deplorable. \"Any fish can you do us the favour of giving\n?\"--\"Oh no, sir.\"--\"Any soup?\"--\"No, sir.\"--\"Any bread?\"--\"Oh no,\nsir.\"--\"Any dried meat?\"--\"Oh no, sir.\" If we were lucky, by\nwaiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It\nnot unfrequently happened that we were obliged to kill, with\nstones, the poultry for our own supper. When, thoroughly exhausted\nby fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be glad\nof our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory\nanswer was, \"It will be ready when it is ready.\" If we had dared to\nremonstrate any further, we should have been told to proceed on our\njourney, as being too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious\nand disagreeable in their manners; their houses and their persons\nare often filthily dirty; the want of the accommodation of forks,\nknives, and spoons is common; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in\nEngland could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every\ncomfort. At Campos Novos, however, we fared sumptuously; having\nrice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner; coffee in\nthe evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. All this, with\ngood food for the horses, only cost 2 shillings 6 pence per head.\nYet the host of this vênda, being asked if he knew anything of a\nwhip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, \"How should\nI know? why did you not take care of it?--I suppose the dogs have\neaten it.\"\n\nLeaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate\nwilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt\nwater shells. Of the former kind, I found a Limnaea in great\nnumbers in a lake, into which the inhabitants assured me that the\nsea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the water\nquite salt. I have no doubt many interesting facts in relation to\nmarine and fresh-water animals might be observed in this chain of\nlagoons which skirt the coast of Brazil. M. Gay has stated that he\nfound in the neighbourhood of Rio shells of the marine genera solen\nand mytilus, and fresh-water ampullariae, living together in\nbrackish water. (2/2. \"Annales des Sciences Naturelles\" for 1833.)\nI also frequently observed in the lagoon near the Botanic Garden,\nwhere the water is only a little less salt than in the sea, a\nspecies of hydrophilus, very similar to a water-beetle common in\nthe ditches of England: in the same lake the only shell belonged to\na genus generally found in estuaries.\n\n(PLATE 9.  VAMPIRE BAT (Desmodus D'Orbigny). Caught on back of\nDarwin's horse near Coquimbo. Head, full size.)\n\nLeaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The\ntrees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of\nEurope, from the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my notebook,\n\"wonderful and beautiful flowering parasites,\" invariably struck me\nas the most novel object in these grand scenes. Travelling onwards\nwe passed through tracts of pasturage, much injured by the enormous\nconical ants' nests, which were nearly twelve feet high. They gave\nto the plain exactly the appearance of the mud volcanoes at\nJorullo, as figured by Humboldt. We arrived at Engenhodo after it\nwas dark, having been ten hours on horseback. I never ceased,\nduring the whole journey, to be surprised at the amount of labour\nwhich the horses were capable of enduring; they appeared also to\nrecover from any injury much sooner than those of our English\nbreed. The Vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by\nbiting the horses on their withers. The injury is generally not so\nmuch owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the\npressure of the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstance\nhas lately been doubted in England; I was therefore fortunate in\nbeing present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi, Wat.) was actually\ncaught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening near\nCoquimbo, in Chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the\nhorses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and\nfancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on\nthe beast's withers, and secured the vampire. In the morning the\nspot where the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished\nfrom being slightly swollen and bloody. The third day afterwards we\nrode the horse, without any ill effects.\n\nAPRIL 13, 1832.\n\nAfter three days' travelling we arrived at Socêgo, the estate of\nSenhôr Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our party. The house\nwas simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well suited to the\nclimate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly\ncontrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows\nwithout glass. The house, together with the granaries, the stables,\nand workshops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades,\nformed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which a large\npile of coffee was drying. These buildings stand on a little hill,\noverlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every side by\na wall of dark green luxuriant forest. The chief produce of this\npart of the country is coffee. Each tree is supposed to yield\nannually, on an average, two pounds; but some give as much as\neight. Mandioca or cassava is likewise cultivated in great\nquantity. Every part of this plant is useful: the leaves and stalks\nare eaten by the horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp,\nwhich, when pressed dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principal\narticle of sustenance in the Brazils. It is a curious, though\nwell-known fact, that the juice of this most nutritious plant is\nhighly poisonous. A few years ago a cow died at this Fazênda, in\nconsequence of having drunk some of it. Senhôr Figuireda told me\nthat he had planted, the year before, one bag of feijaô or beans,\nand three of rice; the former of which produced eighty, and the\nlatter three hundred and twenty fold. The pasturage supports a fine\nstock of cattle, and the woods are so full of game that a deer had\nbeen killed on each of the three previous days. This profusion of\nfood showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan,\nthe guests surely did; for each person is expected to eat of every\ndish. One day, having, as I thought, nicely calculated so that\nnothing should go away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey\nand a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. During the\nmeals, it was the employment of a man to drive out of the room\nsundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children, which\ncrawled in together, at every opportunity. As long as the idea of\nslavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly\nfascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was\nsuch a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the\nworld. As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is\nset tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. The event\nis thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. One\nmorning I walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn\nstillness of the scene; at last, the silence was broken by the\nmorning hymn, raised on high by the whole body of the blacks; and\nin this manner their daily work is generally begun. On such\nfazêndas as these, I have no doubt the slaves pass happy and\ncontented lives. On Saturday and Sunday they work for themselves,\nand in this fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to\nsupport a man and his family for the whole week.\n\nAPRIL 14, 1832.\n\n(PLATE 10.  VIRGIN FOREST.)\n\nLeaving Socˆgo, we rode to another estate on the Rio Macƒe, which\nwas the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction. The\nestate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten\nhow many broad. Only a very small piece had been cleared, yet\nalmost every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich\nproductions of a tropical land. Considering the enormous area of\nBrazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be\nconsidered as anything compared to that which is left in the state\nof nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will\nsupport! During the second day's journey we found the road so shut\nup that it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to\ncut away the creepers. The forest abounded with beautiful objects;\namong which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their\nbright green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds,\nmost worthy of admiration. In the evening it rained very heavily,\nand although the thermometer stood at 65 degrees, I felt very cold.\nAs soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the\nextraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of\nthe forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried\nin a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the\nmost thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I\nobserved this phenomenon on several occasions: I suppose it is\nowing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the\nsun's rays.\n\nWhile staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an\neye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take\nplace in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the\nowner was on the point of taking all the women and children from\nthe male slaves, and selling them separately at the public auction\nat Rio. Interest, and not any feeling of compassion, prevented this\nact. Indeed, I do not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty\nfamilies, who had lived together for many years, even occurred to\nthe owner. Yet I will pledge myself, that in humanity and good\nfeeling he was superior to the common run of men. It may be said\nthere exists no limit to the blindness of interest and selfish\nhabit. I may mention one very trifling anecdote, which at the time\nstruck me more forcibly than any story of cruelty. I was crossing a\nferry with a negro who was uncommonly stupid. In endeavouring to\nmake him understand, I talked loud, and made signs, in doing which\nI passed my hand near his face. He, I suppose, thought I was in a\npassion, and was going to strike him; for instantly, with a\nfrightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. I shall\nnever forget my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing\na great powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as\nhe thought, at his face. This man had been trained to a degradation\nlower than the slavery of the most helpless animal.\n\nAPRIL 18, 1832.\n\n(PLATE 11.  CABBAGE PALM.)\n\nIn returning we spent two days at Socˆgo, and I employed them in\ncollecting insects in the forest. The greater number of trees,\nalthough so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in\ncircumference. There are, of course, a few of much greater\ndimension. Senhôr Manuel was then making a canoe 70 feet in length\nfrom a solid trunk, which had originally been 110 feet long, and of\ngreat thickness. The contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the\ncommon branching kinds, never fails to give the scene an\nintertropical character. Here the woods were ornamented by the\nCabbage Palm--one of the most beautiful of its family. With a stem\nso narrow that it might be clasped with the two hands, it waves its\nelegant head at the height of forty or fifty feet above the ground.\nThe woody creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of\ngreat thickness: some which I measured were two feet in\ncircumference. Many of the older trees presented a very curious\nappearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs,\nand resembling bundles of hay. If the eye was turned from the world\nof foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the\nextreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. The\nlatter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a\nfew inches high. In walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a\nbroad track was marked by the change of shade, produced by the\ndrooping of their sensitive petioles. It is easy to specify the\nindividual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is\nnot possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of\nwonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the\nmind.\n\n(PLATE 12.  MANDIOCA OR CASSAVA.)\n\nAPRIL 19, 1832.\n\nLeaving Socˆgo, during the two first days we retraced our steps. It\nwas very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a glaring\nhot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed that each time\nthe horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle\nchirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different\nline, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de De“s.\nThis is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet it was in\nso bad a state that no wheel vehicle, excepting the clumsy\nbullock-wagon, could pass along. In our whole journey we did not\ncross a single bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of\nwood were frequently so much out of repair that it was necessary to\ngo on one side to avoid them. All distances are inaccurately known.\nThe road is often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to\nsignify where human blood has been spilled. On the evening of the\n23rd we arrived at Rio, having finished our pleasant little\nexcursion.\n\nDuring the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at\nBotofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more\ndelightful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a\ncountry. In England any person fond of natural history enjoys in\nhis walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract\nhis attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life,\nthe attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk\nat all.\n\nThe few observations which I was enabled to make were almost\nexclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of\na division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land,\ninterested me much. These animals are of so simple a structure,\nthat Cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal worms, though\nnever found within the bodies of other animals. Numerous species\ninhabit both salt and fresh water; but those to which I allude were\nfound, even in the drier parts of the forest, beneath logs of\nrotten wood, on which I believe they feed. In general form they\nresemble little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion,\nand several of the species are beautifully coloured with\nlongitudinal stripes. Their structure is very simple: near the\nmiddle of the under or crawling surface there are two small\ntransverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped\nand highly irritable mouth can be protruded. For some time after\nthe rest of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt\nwater or any other cause, this organ still retained its vitality.\n\nI found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial\nPlanariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere. (2/3. I\nhave described and named these species in the \"Annals of Natural\nHistory\" volume 14 page 241.) Some specimens which I obtained at\nVan Dieman's Land, I kept alive for nearly two months, feeding them\non rotten wood. Having cut one of them transversely into two nearly\nequal parts, in the course of a fortnight both had the shape of\nperfect animals. I had, however, so divided the body, that one of\nthe halves contained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in\nconsequence, none. In the course of twenty-five days from the\noperation, the more perfect half could not have been distinguished\nfrom any other specimen. The other had increased much in size; and\ntowards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the\nparenchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth could\nclearly be distinguished; on the under surface, however, no\ncorresponding slit was yet open. If the increased heat of the\nweather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed all the\nindividuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would have\ncompleted its structure. Although so well known an experiment, it\nwas interesting to watch the gradual production of every essential\norgan, out of the simple extremity of another animal. It is\nextremely difficult to preserve these Planariae; as soon as the\ncessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change to act, their\nentire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity which I have\nnever seen equalled.\n\nI first visited the forest in which these Planariae were found, in\ncompany with an old Portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with\nhim. The sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs, and\nthen patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might appear. We\nwere accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer--a good\nspecimen of a wild Brazilian youth. He was dressed in a tattered\nold shirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carried an\nold-fashioned gun and a large knife. The habit of carrying the\nknife is universal; and in traversing a thick wood it is almost\nnecessary, on account of the creeping plants. The frequent\noccurrence of murder may be partly attributed to this habit. The\nBrazilians are so dexterous with the knife that they can throw it\nto some distance with precision, and with sufficient force to cause\na fatal wound. I have seen a number of little boys practising this\nart as a game of play, and from their skill in hitting an upright\nstick, they promised well for more earnest attempts. My companion,\nthe day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. These animals\nhave prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after death,\ncan support the whole weight of the body. One of them thus remained\nfast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to\nprocure it. This was soon effected, and down came tree and monkey\nwith an awful crash. Our day's sport, besides the monkey, was\nconfined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. I\nprofited, however, by my acquaintance with the Portuguese padre,\nfor on another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the\nYagouaroundi cat.\n\nEvery one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near Botofogo. The\nhouse in which I lived was seated close beneath the well-known\nmountain of the Corcovado. It has been remarked, with much truth,\nthat abruptly conical hills are characteristic of the formation\nwhich Humboldt designates as gneiss-granite. Nothing can be more\nstriking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock\nrising out of the most luxuriant vegetation.\n\nI was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in\nfrom seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the\nCorcovado. This mountain, like most others, when thus partly\nveiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its real\nheight of 2300 feet. Mr. Daniell has observed, in his\nmeteorological essays, that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a\nmountain summit, while the wind continues to blow over it. The same\nphenomenon here presented a slightly different appearance. In this\ncase the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly pass by\nthe summit, and yet was neither diminished nor increased in size.\nThe sun was setting, and a gentle southerly breeze, striking\nagainst the southern side of the rock, mingled its current with the\ncolder air above; and the vapour was thus condensed: but as the\nlight wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came within the\ninfluence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern sloping bank,\nthey were immediately redissolved.\n\nThe climate, during the months of May and June, or the beginning of\nwinter, was delightful. The mean temperature, from observations\ntaken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was only 72\ndegrees. It often rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds\nsoon again rendered the walks pleasant. One morning, in the course\nof six hours, 1.6 inches of rain fell. As this storm passed over\nthe forests which surround the Corcovado, the sound produced by the\ndrops pattering on the countless multitude of leaves was very\nremarkable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a\nmile, and was like the rushing of a great body of water. After the\nhotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly in the garden and\nwatch the evening pass into night. Nature, in these climes, chooses\nher vocalists from more humble performers than in Europe. A small\nfrog, of the genus Hyla, sits on a blade of grass about an inch\nabove the surface of the water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp:\nwhen several are together they sing in harmony on different notes.\nI had some difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. The\ngenus Hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and I found\nthis animal could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely\nperpendicular. Various cicadae and crickets, at the same time, keep\nup a ceaseless shrill cry, but which, softened by the distance, is\nnot unpleasant. Every evening after dark this great concert\ncommenced; and often have I sat listening to it, until my attention\nhas been drawn away by some curious passing insect.\n\nAt these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to\nhedge. On a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred\npaces distant. It is remarkable that in all the different kinds of\nglowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the\ncrustacea, medusae, nereidae, a coralline of the genus Clytia, and\nPyrosoma), which I have observed, the light has been of a\nwell-marked green colour. All the fireflies, which I caught here,\nbelonged to the Lampyridae (in which family the English glowworm is\nincluded), and the greater number of specimens were of Lampyris\noccidentalis. (2/4. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Waterhouse for his\nkindness in naming for me this and many other insects, and  giving\nme much valuable assistance.) I found that this insect emitted the\nmost brilliant flashes when irritated: in the intervals, the\nabdominal rings were obscured. The flash was almost coinstantaneous\nin the two rings, but it was just perceptible first in the anterior\none. The shining matter was fluid and very adhesive: little spots,\nwhere the skin had been torn, continued bright with a slight\nscintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured. When the\ninsect was decapitated the rings remained uninterruptedly bright,\nbut not so brilliant as before: local irritation with a needle\nalways increased the vividness of the light. The rings in one\ninstance retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four hours\nafter the death of the insect. From these facts it would appear\nprobable, that the animal has only the power of concealing or\nextinguishing the light for short intervals, and that at other\ntimes the display is involuntary. On the muddy and wet gravel-walks\nI found the larvae of this lampyris in great numbers: they\nresembled in general form the female of the English glowworm. These\nlarvae possessed but feeble luminous powers; very differently from\ntheir parents, on the slightest touch they feigned death, and\nceased to shine; nor did irritation excite any fresh display. I\nkept several of them alive for some time: their tails are very\nsingular organs, for they act, by a well-fitted contrivance, as\nsuckers or organs of attachment, and likewise as reservoirs for\nsaliva, or some such fluid. I repeatedly fed them on raw meat; and\nI invariably observed, that every now and then the extremity of the\ntail was applied to the mouth, and a drop of fluid exuded on the\nmeat, which was then in the act of being consumed. The tail,\nnotwithstanding so much practice, does not seem to be able to find\nits way to the mouth; at least the neck was always touched first,\nand apparently as a guide.\n\nWhen we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorus luminosus,\nIllig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. The light in this\ncase was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. I amused\nmyself one day by observing the springing powers of this insect,\nwhich have not, as it appears to me, been properly described. (2/5.\nKirby's \"Entomology\" volume 2 page 317.) The elater, when placed on\nits back and preparing to spring, moved its head and thorax\nbackwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on\nthe edge of its sheath. The same backward movement being continued,\nthe spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a\nspring; and the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of\nits head and wing-cases. The effort being suddenly relaxed, the\nhead and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base of the\nwing-cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that the\ninsect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one or\ntwo inches. The projecting points of the thorax, and the sheath of\nthe spine, served to steady the whole body during the spring. In\nthe descriptions which I have read, sufficient stress does not\nappear to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden\na spring could not be the result of simple muscular contraction,\nwithout the aid of some mechanical contrivance.\n\nOn several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant\nexcursions in the neighbouring country. One day I went to the\nBotanic Garden, where many plants, well known for their great\nutility, might be seen growing. The leaves of the camphor, pepper,\ncinnamon, and clove trees were delightfully aromatic; and the\nbread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango, vied with each other in the\nmagnificence of their foliage. The landscape in the neighbourhood\nof Bahia almost takes its character from the two latter trees.\nBefore seeing them, I had no idea that any trees could cast so\nblack a shade on the ground. Both of them bear to the evergreen\nvegetation of these climates the same kind of relation which\nlaurels and hollies in England do to the lighter green of the\ndeciduous trees. It may be observed that the houses within the\ntropics are surrounded by the most beautiful forms of vegetation,\nbecause many of them are at the same time most useful to man. Who\ncan doubt that these qualities are united in the banana, the\ncocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit\ntree?\n\nDuring this day I was particularly struck with a remark of\nHumboldt's, who often alludes to \"the thin vapour which, without\nchanging the transparency of the air, renders its tints more\nharmonious, and softens its effects.\" This is an appearance which I\nhave never observed in the temperate zones. The atmosphere, seen\nthrough a short space of half or three-quarters of a mile, was\nperfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all colours were blended\ninto a most beautiful haze, of a pale French grey, mingled with a\nlittle blue. The condition of the atmosphere between the morning\nand about noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergone\nlittle change, excepting in its dryness. In the interval, the\ndifference between the dew point and temperature had increased from\n7.5 to 17 degrees.\n\nOn another occasion I started early and walked to the Gavia, or\ntopsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and\nthe drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the large\nliliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear water.\nSitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to watch the\nvarious insects and birds as they flew past. The humming-bird seems\nparticularly fond of such shady retired spots. Whenever I saw these\nlittle creatures buzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating\nso rapidly as to be scarcely visible, I was reminded of the sphinx\nmoths: their movements and habits are indeed in many respects very\nsimilar.\n\n(PLATE 13.  RIO DE JANEIRO.)\n\nFollowing a pathway I entered a noble forest, and from a height of\nfive or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was\npresented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At this\nelevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every\nform, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that\nthe European has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not\nhow to express his feelings. The general effect frequently recalled\nto my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera-house or the great\ntheatres. I never returned from these excursions empty-handed. This\nday I found a specimen of a curious fungus, called Hymenophallus.\nMost people know the English Phallus, which in autumn taints the\nair with its odious smell: this, however, as the entomologist is\naware, is to some of our beetles a delightful fragrance. So was it\nhere; for a Strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on the\nfungus as I carried it in my hand. We here see in two distant\ncountries a similar relation between plants and insects of the same\nfamilies, though the species of both are different. When man is the\nagent in introducing into a country a new species this relation is\noften broken: as one instance of this I may mention that the leaves\nof the cabbages and lettuces, which in England afford food to such\na multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near Rio are\nuntouched.\n\nDuring our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects. A\nfew general observations on the comparative importance of the\ndifferent orders may be interesting to the English entomologist.\nThe large and brilliantly-coloured Lepidoptera bespeak the zone\nthey inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of animals. I\nallude only to the butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what\nmight have been expected from the rankness of the vegetation,\ncertainly appeared in much fewer numbers than in our own temperate\nregions. I was much surprised at the habits of Papilio feronia.\nThis butterfly is not uncommon, and generally frequents the\norange-groves. Although a high flier, yet it very frequently\nalights on the trunks of trees. On these occasions its head is\ninvariably placed downwards; and its wings are expanded in a\nhorizontal plane, instead of being folded vertically, as is\ncommonly the case. This is the only butterfly which I have ever\nseen that uses its legs for running. Not being aware of this fact,\nthe insect, more than once, as I cautiously approached with my\nforceps, shuffled on one side just as the instrument was on the\npoint of closing, and thus escaped. But a far more singular fact is\nthe power which this species possesses of making a noise. (2/6. Mr.\nDoubleday has lately described (before the Entomological Society,\nMarch 3, 1845) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly,\nwhich seems to be the means of its making its noise. He says, \"It\nis remarkable for having a sort of drum at the base of the fore\nwings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. These two\nnervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel\nin the interior.\" I find in Langsdorff's travels (in the years\n1803-7 page 74) it is said, that in the island of St. Catherine's\non the coast of Brazil, a butterfly called Februa Hoffmanseggi,\nmakes a noise, when flying away, like a rattle.) Several times when\na pair, probably male and female, were chasing each other in an\nirregular course, they passed within a few yards of me; and I\ndistinctly heard a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a\ntoothed wheel passing under a spring catch. The noise was continued\nat short intervals, and could be distinguished at about twenty\nyards' distance: I am certain there is no error in the observation.\n\nI was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The\nnumber of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly\ngreat. (2/7. I may mention, as a common instance of one day's (June\n23rd) collecting, when I was not attending particularly to the\nColeoptera, that I caught sixty-eight species of that order. Among\nthese, there were only two of the Carabidae, four Brachelytra,\nfifteen Rhyncophora, and fourteen of the Chrysomelidae.\nThirty-seven species of Arachnidae, which I brought home, will be\nsufficient to prove that I was not paying overmuch attention to the\ngenerally favoured order of Coleoptera.) The cabinets of Europe\ncan, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical\nclimates. It is sufficient to disturb the composure of an\nentomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a\ncomplete catalogue. The carnivorous beetles, or Carabidae, appear\nin extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more\nremarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds,\nwhich are so abundant in hot countries. I was struck with this\nobservation both on entering Brazil, and when I saw the many\nelegant and active forms of the Harpalidae reappearing on the\ntemperate plains of La Plata. Do the very numerous spiders and\nrapacious Hymenoptera supply the place of the carnivorous beetles?\nThe carrion-feeders and Brachelytra are very uncommon; on the other\nhand, the Rhyncophora and Chrysomelidae, all of which depend on the\nvegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonishing\nnumbers. I do not here refer to the number of different species,\nbut to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that the\nmost striking character in the entomology of different countries\ndepends. The orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera are particularly\nnumerous; as likewise is the stinging division of the Hymenoptera;\nthe bees, perhaps, being excepted. A person, on first entering a\ntropical forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants:\nwell-beaten paths branch off in every direction, on which an army\nof never-failing foragers may be seen, some going forth, and others\nreturning, burdened with pieces of green leaf, often larger than\ntheir own bodies.\n\nA small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless numbers.\nOne day, at Bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many\nspiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing\nin the greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. A little\nway behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. The\nswarm having crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended\nan old wall. By this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and\nthe efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricate\nthemselves from such a death were wonderful. When the ants came to\nthe road they changed their course, and in narrow files reascended\nthe wall. Having placed a small stone so as to intercept one of the\nlines, the whole body attacked it, and then immediately retired.\nShortly afterwards another body came to the charge, and again\nhaving failed to make any impression, this line of march was\nentirely given up. By going an inch round, the file might have\navoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it\nhad been originally there: but having been attacked, the\nlion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of yielding.\n\nCertain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the\nverandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the\nneighbourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead\nspiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how\nto sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until\ntheir eggs are hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of\npowerless, half-killed victims--a sight which has been described by\nan enthusiastic naturalist as curious and pleasing! (2/8. In a\nManuscript in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his\nobservations in Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the \"Annals of\nNatural History\" volume 7 page 472. Lieutenant Hutton has described\na sphex with similar habits in India, in the \"Journal of the\nAsiatic Society\" volume 1 page 555.) I was much interested one day\nby watching a deadly contest between a Pepsis and a large spider of\nthe genus Lycosa. The wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then\nflew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape,\nit rolled down a little slope, but had still strength sufficient to\ncrawl into a thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon returned, and\nseemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim. It then\ncommenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making\nshort semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its\nwings and antennae. The spider, though well concealed, was soon\ndiscovered, and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's\njaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under\nside of its thorax. At last, carefully examining with its antennae\nthe now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. But\nI stopped both tyrant and prey. (2/9. Don Felix Azara volume 1 page\n175, mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably of the same genus,\nsays he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a\nstraight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three\npaces distant. He adds that the wasp, in order to find the road,\nevery now and then made \"demi-tours d'environ trois palmes.\")\n\nThe number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here\ncompared with England very much larger; perhaps more so than with\nany other division of the articulate animals. The variety of\nspecies among the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. The\ngenus, or rather family of Epeira, is here characterized by many\nsingular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others\nenlarged and spiny tibiae. Every path in the forest is barricaded\nwith the strong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same\ndivision with the Epeira clavipes of Fabricius, which was formerly\nsaid by Sloane to make, in the West Indies, webs so strong as to\ncatch birds. A small and pretty kind of spider, with very long\nfore-legs, and which appears to belong to an undescribed genus,\nlives as a parasite on almost every one of these webs. I suppose it\nis too insignificant to be noticed by the great Epeira, and is\ntherefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, adhering to\nthe lines, would otherwise be wasted. When frightened, this little\nspider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or suddenly\ndrops from the web. A large Epeira of the same division with Epeira\ntuberculata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry\nsituations. Its web, which is generally placed among the great\nleaves of the common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the\ncentre by a pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two\nadjoining rays. When any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is\ncaught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve very\nrapidly, and at the same time emitting a band of threads from its\nspinners, soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon of a\nsilkworm. The spider now examines the powerless victim, and gives\nthe fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax; then retreating,\npatiently waits till the poison has taken effect. The virulence of\nthis poison may be judged of from the fact that in half a minute I\nopened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite lifeless. This Epeira\nalways stands with its head downwards near the centre of the web.\nWhen disturbed, it acts differently according to circumstances: if\nthere is a thicket below, it suddenly falls down; and I have\ndistinctly seen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the\nanimal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. If the\nground is clear beneath, the Epeira seldom falls, but moves quickly\nthrough a central passage from one to the other side. When still\nfurther disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre: standing\nin the middle, it violently jerks the web, which is attached to\nelastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires such a rapid\nvibratory movement, that even the outline of the spider's body\nbecomes indistinct.\n\nIt is well known that most of the British spiders, when a large\ninsect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and\nliberate their prey, to save their nets from being entirely\nspoiled. I once, however, saw in a hot-house in Shropshire a large\nfemale wasp caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider;\nand this spider, instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly\ncontinued to entangle the body, and especially the wings, of its\nprey. The wasp at first aimed in vain repeated thrusts with its\nsting at its little antagonist. Pitying the wasp, after allowing it\nto struggle for more than an hour, I killed it and put it back into\nthe web. The spider soon returned; and an hour afterwards I was\nmuch surprised to find it with its jaws buried in the orifice\nthrough which the sting is protruded by the living wasp. I drove\nthe spider away two or three times, but for the next twenty-four\nhours I always found it again sucking at the same place. The spider\nbecame much distended by the juices of its prey, which was many\ntimes larger than itself.\n\nI may here just mention, that I found, near St. Fé Bajada, many\nlarge black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs,\nhaving gregarious habits. The webs were placed vertically, as is\ninvariably the case with the genus Epeira: they were separated from\neach other by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to\ncertain common lines, which were of great length, and extended to\nall parts of the community. In this manner the tops of some large\nbushes were encompassed by the united nets. Azara has described a\ngregarious spider in Paraguay, which Walckanaer thinks must be a\nTheridion, but probably it is an Epeira, and perhaps even the same\nspecies with mine. (2/10. Azara's \"Voyage\" volume 1 page 213.) I\ncannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat,\nin which, during autumn, when the spiders die, Azara says the eggs\nare deposited. As all the spiders which I saw were of the same\nsize, they must have been nearly of the same age. This gregarious\nhabit, in so typical a genus as Epeira, among insects, which are so\nbloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each\nother, is a very singular fact.\n\nIn a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I found another\nspider with a singularly-formed web. Strong lines radiated in a\nvertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its\nstation; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical\nmesh-work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the\ncase, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. All the webs\nwere similarly constructed.\n\n\n\n\n(PLATE 14.  DARWIN'S PAPILIO FERONIA, 1833, NOW CALLED AGERONIA\nFERONIA, 1889.)\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n(PLATE 15.  HYDROCHAERUS CAPYBARA OR WATER-HOG.)\n\nMonte Video.\nMaldonado.\nExcursion to R. Polanco.\nLazo and Bolas.\nPartridges.\nAbsence of Trees.\nDeer.\nCapybara, or River Hog.\nTucutuco.\nMolothrus, cuckoo-like habits.\nTyrant-flycatcher.\nMocking-bird.\nCarrion Hawks.\nTubes formed by Lightning.\nHouse struck.\n\nMALDONADO.\n\nJULY 5, 1832.\n\n\n\nIn the morning we got under way, and stood out of the splendid\nharbour of Rio de Janeiro. In our passage to the Plata, we saw\nnothing particular, excepting on one day a great shoal of\nporpoises, many hundreds in number. The whole sea was in places\nfurrowed by them; and a most extraordinary spectacle was presented,\nas hundreds, proceeding together by jumps, in which their whole\nbodies were exposed, thus cut the water. When the ship was running\nnine knots an hour, these animals could cross and recross the bows\nwith the greatest ease, and then dash away right ahead. As soon as\nwe entered the estuary of the Plata, the weather was very\nunsettled. One dark night we were surrounded by numerous seals and\npenguins, which made such strange noises, that the officer on watch\nreported he could hear the cattle bellowing on shore. On a second\nnight we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the\nmast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with St. Elmo's light; and the\nform of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed\nwith phosphorus. The sea was so highly luminous, that the tracks of\nthe penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the\nsky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning.\n\nWhen within the mouth of the river, I was interested by observing\nhow slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. The latter, muddy\nand discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the\nsurface of the salt water. This was curiously exhibited in the wake\nof the vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in\nlittle eddies with the adjoining fluid.\n\nJULY 26, 1832.\n\nWe anchored at Monte Video. The \"Beagle\" was employed in surveying\nthe extreme southern and eastern coasts of America, south of the\nPlata, during the two succeeding years. To prevent useless\nrepetitions, I will extract those parts of my journal which refer\nto the same districts, without always attending to the order in\nwhich we visited them.\n\nMALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not\nvery far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet,\nforlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these\ncountries, with the streets running at right angles to each other,\nand having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its\nsize, renders the scantiness of the population more evident. It\npossesses scarcely any trade; the exports being confined to a few\nhides and living cattle. The inhabitants are chiefly landowners,\ntogether with a few shopkeepers and the necessary tradesmen, such\nas blacksmiths and carpenters, who do nearly all the business for a\ncircuit of fifty miles round. The town is separated from the river\nby a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile broad: it is surrounded on\nall other sides by an open slightly-undulating country, covered by\none uniform layer of fine green turf, on which countless herds of\ncattle, sheep, and horses graze. There is very little land\ncultivated even close to the town. A few hedges made of cacti and\nagave mark out where some wheat or Indian corn has been planted.\nThe features of the country are very similar along the whole\nnorthern bank of the Plata. The only difference is, that here the\ngranitic hills are a little bolder. The scenery is very\nuninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of\nground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness. Yet,\nafter being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in\nthe unconfined feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf.\nMoreover, if your view is limited to a small space, many objects\npossess beauty. Some of the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured;\nand the bright green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is\nornamented by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the\ndaisy, claimed the place of an old friend. What would a florist say\nto whole tracts, so thickly covered by the Verbena melindres, as,\neven at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet?\n\nI stayed ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect\ncollection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured.\nBefore making any observations respecting them, I will give an\naccount of a little excursion I made as far as the river Polanco,\nwhich is about seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction. I\nmay mention, as a proof how cheap everything is in this country,\nthat I paid only two dollars a day or eight shillings, for two men,\ntogether with a troop of about a dozen riding-horses. My companions\nwere well armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which I\nthought rather unnecessary; but the first piece of news we heard\nwas, that, the day before, a traveller from Monte Video had been\nfound dead on the road, with his throat cut. This happened close to\na cross, the record of a former murder.\n\nOn the first night we slept at a retired little country-house; and\nthere I soon found out that I possessed two or three articles,\nespecially a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonishment.\nIn every house I was asked to show the compass, and by its aid,\ntogether with a map, to point out the direction of various places.\nIt excited the liveliest admiration that I, a perfect stranger,\nshould know the road (for direction and road are synonymous in this\nopen country) to places where I had never been. At one house a\nyoung woman who was ill in bed, sent to entreat me to come and show\nher the compass. If their surprise was great, mine was greater, to\nfind such ignorance among people who possessed their thousands of\ncattle, and \"estancias\" of great extent. It can only be accounted\nfor by the circumstance that this retired part of the country is\nseldom visited by foreigners. I was asked whether the earth or sun\nmoved; whether it was hotter or colder to the north; where Spain\nwas, and many other such questions. The greater number of the\ninhabitants had an indistinct idea that England, London, and North\nAmerica, were different names for the same place; but the better\ninformed well knew that London and North America were separate\ncountries close together, and that England was a large town in\nLondon! I carried with me some promethean matches, which I ignited\nby biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike\nfire with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family\nto see it: I was once offered a dollar for a single one. Washing my\nface in the morning caused much speculation at the village of Las\nMinas; a superior tradesman closely cross-questioned me about so\nsingular a practice; and likewise why on board we wore our beards;\nfor he had heard from my guide that we did so. He eyed me with much\nsuspicion; perhaps he had heard of ablutions in the Mahomedan\nreligion, and knowing me to be a heretic, probably he came to the\nconclusion that all heretics were Turks. It is the general custom\nin this country to ask for a night's lodging at the first\nconvenient house. The astonishment at the compass, and my other\nfeats of jugglery, was to a certain degree advantageous, as with\nthat, and the long stories my guides told of my breaking stones,\nknowing venomous from harmless snakes, collecting insects, etc., I\nrepaid them for their hospitality. I am writing as if I had been\namong the inhabitants of Central Africa: Banda Oriental would not\nbe flattered by the comparison; but such were my feelings at the\ntime.\n\nThe next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The country was\nrather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an inhabitant\nof the Pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly alpine.\nThe country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole day we\nscarcely met a single person. Las Minas is much smaller even than\nMaldonado. It is seated on a little plain, and is surrounded by low\nrocky mountains. It is of the usual symmetrical form, and with its\nwhitewashed church standing in the centre, had rather a pretty\nappearance. The outskirting houses rose out of the plain like\nisolated beings, without the accompaniment of gardens or\ncourtyards. This is generally the case in the country, and all the\nhouses have, in consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. At night we\nstopped at a pulperia, or drinking-shop. During the evening a great\nnumber of Gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars: their\nappearance is very striking; they are generally tall and handsome,\nbut with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. They\nfrequently wear their moustaches, and long black hair curling down\ntheir backs. With their brightly coloured garments, great spurs\nclanking about their heels, and knives stuck as daggers (and often\nso used) at their waists, they look a very different race of men\nfrom what might be expected from their name of Gauchos, or simple\ncountrymen. Their politeness is excessive; they never drink their\nspirits without expecting you to taste it; but whilst making their\nexceedingly graceful bow, they seem quite as ready, if occasion\noffered, to cut your throat.\n\nOn the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as I was\nemployed in examining some beds of marble. On the fine plains of\nturf we saw many ostriches (Struthio rhea). Some of the flocks\ncontained as many as twenty or thirty birds. These, when standing\non any little eminence, and seen against the clear sky, presented a\nvery noble appearance. I never met with such tame ostriches in any\nother part of the country: it was easy to gallop up within a short\ndistance of them; but then, expanding their wings, they made all\nsail right before the wind, and soon left the horse astern.\n\nAt night we came to the house of Don Juan Fuentes, a rich landed\nproprietor, but not personally known to either of my companions. On\napproaching the house of a stranger, it is usual to follow several\nlittle points of etiquette: riding up slowly to the door, the\nsalutation of Ave Maria is given, and until somebody comes out and\nasks you to alight, it is not customary even to get off your horse:\nthe formal answer of the owner is, \"sin pecado concebida\"--that is,\nconceived without sin. Having entered the house, some general\nconversation is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is asked\nto pass the night there. This is granted as a matter of course. The\nstranger then takes his meals with the family, and a room is\nassigned him, where with the horsecloths belonging to his recado\n(or saddle of the Pampas) he makes his bed. It is curious how\nsimilar circumstances produce such similar results in manners. At\nthe Cape of Good Hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the\nsame points of etiquette, are universally observed. The difference,\nhowever, between the character of the Spaniard and that of the\nDutch boor is shown, by the former never asking his guest a single\nquestion beyond the strictest rule of politeness, whilst the honest\nDutchman demands where he has been, where he is going, what is his\nbusiness, and even how many brothers, sisters, or children he may\nhappen to have.\n\nShortly after our arrival at Don Juan's one of the largest herds of\ncattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were\npicked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment.\nThese half-wild cattle are very active; and knowing full well the\nfatal lazo, they led the horses a long and laborious chase. After\nwitnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of cattle, men,\nand horses, Don Juan's miserable house was quite curious. The floor\nconsisted of hardened mud, and the windows were without glass; the\nsitting-room boasted only of a few of the roughest chairs and\nstools, with a couple of tables. The supper, although several\nstrangers were present, consisted of two huge piles, one of roast\nbeef, the other of boiled, with some pieces of pumpkin: besides\nthis latter there was no other vegetable, and not even a morsel of\nbread. For drinking, a large earthenware jug of water served the\nwhole party. Yet this man was the owner of several square miles of\nland, of which nearly every acre would produce corn, and, with a\nlittle trouble, all the common vegetables. The evening was spent in\nsmoking, with a little impromptu singing, accompanied by the\nguitar. The signoritas all sat together in one corner of the room,\nand did not sup with the men.\n\n(PLATE 16.  RECADO OR SURCINGLE OF GAUCHO.)\n\nSo many works have been written about these countries, that it is\nalmost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas. The\nlazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope, made\nof raw hide. One end is attached to the broad surcingle, which\nfastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle used\nin the Pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or\nbrass, by which a noose can be formed. The Gaucho, when he is going\nto use the lazo, keeps a small coil in his bridle-hand, and in the\nother holds the running noose, which is made very large, generally\nhaving a diameter of about eight feet. This he whirls round his\nhead, and by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose\nopen; then, throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular\nspot he chooses. The lazo, when not used, is tied up in a small\ncoil to the after part of the recado. The bolas, or balls, are of\ntwo kinds: the simplest, which is chiefly used for catching\nostriches, consists of two round stones, covered with leather, and\nunited by a thin plaited thong, about eight feet long. (See Chapter\n11.) The other kind differs only in having three balls united by\nthe thongs to a common centre. The Gaucho holds the smallest of the\nthree in his hand, and whirls the other two round and round his\nhead; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot revolving\nthrough the air. The balls no sooner strike any object, than,\nwinding round it, they cross each other, and become firmly hitched.\nThe size and weight of the balls varies, according to the purpose\nfor which they are made: when of stone, although not larger than an\napple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to break the leg\neven of a horse. I have seen the balls made of wood, and as large\nas a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without\ninjuring them. The balls are sometimes made of iron, and these can\nbe hurled to the greatest distance. The main difficulty in using\neither lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full\nspeed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily\nround the head, as to take aim: on foot any person would soon learn\nthe art. One day, as I was amusing myself by galloping and whirling\nthe balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush,\nand its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell\nto the ground, and, like magic caught one hind leg of my horse; the\nother ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly\nsecured. Luckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it\nmeant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown\nhimself down. The Gauchos roared with laughter; they cried out that\nthey had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before\nseen a man caught by himself.\n\nDuring the two succeeding days, I reached the farthest point which\nI was anxious to examine. The country wore the same aspect, till at\nlast the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty\nturnpike road. We everywhere saw great numbers of partridges\n(Nothura major). These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they\nconceal themselves like the English kind. It appears a very silly\nbird. A man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or\nrather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on\nthe head as many as he pleases. The more common method is to catch\nthem with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem of an\nostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. A boy on a\nquiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a\nday. In Arctic North America the Indians catch the Varying Hare by\nwalking spirally round and round it, when on its form: the middle\nof the day is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the\nshadow of the hunter not very long. (3/1. Hearne's \"Journey\" page\n383.)\n\nOn our return to Maldonado, we followed rather a different line of\nroad. Near Pan de Azucar, a landmark well known to all those who\nhave sailed up the Plata, I stayed a day at the house of a most\nhospitable old Spaniard. Early in the morning we ascended the\nSierra de las Animas. By the aid of the rising sun the scenery was\nalmost picturesque. To the westward the view extended over an\nimmense level plain as far as the Mount, at Monte Video, and to the\neastward, over the mammillated country of Maldonado. On the summit\nof the mountain there were several small heaps of stones, which\nevidently had lain there for many years. My companion assured me\nthat they were the work of the Indians in the old time. The heaps\nwere similar, but on a much smaller scale, to those so commonly\nfound on the mountains of Wales. The desire to signalise any event,\non the highest point of the neighbouring land, seems a universal\npassion with mankind. At the present day, not a single Indian,\neither civilised or wild, exists in this part of the province; nor\nam I aware that the former inhabitants have left behind them any\nmore permanent records than these insignificant piles on the summit\nof the Sierra de las Animas.\n\nThe general, and almost entire absence of trees in Banda Oriental\nis remarkable. Some of the rocky hills are partly covered by\nthickets, and on the banks of the larger streams, especially to the\nnorth of Las Minas, willow-trees are not uncommon. Near the Arroyo\nTapes I heard of a wood of palms; and one of these trees, of\nconsiderable size, I saw near the Pan de Azucar, in latitude 35\ndegrees. These, and the trees planted by the Spaniards, offer the\nonly exceptions to the general scarcity of wood. Among the\nintroduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and\nother fruit trees: the peaches succeed so well, that they afford\nthe main supply of firewood to the city of Buenos Ayres. Extremely\nlevel countries, such as the Pampas, seldom appear favourable to\nthe growth of trees. This may possibly be attributed either to the\nforce of the winds, or the kind of drainage. In the nature of the\nland, however, around Maldonado, no such reason is apparent; the\nrocky mountains afford protected situations; enjoying various kinds\nof soil; streamlets of water are common at the bottoms of nearly\nevery valley; and the clayey nature of the earth seems adapted to\nretain moisture. It has been inferred, with much probability, that\nthe presence of woodland is generally determined by the annual\namount of moisture (3/2. Maclaren, article \"America\" \"Encyclopedia\nBrittannica.\"); yet in this province abundant and heavy rain falls\nduring the winter; and the summer, though dry, is not so in any\nexcessive degree. (3/3. Azara says \"Je crois que la quantité\nannuelle des pluies est, dans toutes ces contrées, plus\nconsidérable qu'en Espagne.\"--Volume 1 page 36.) We see nearly the\nwhole of Australia covered by lofty trees, yet that country\npossesses a far more arid climate. Hence we must look to some other\nand unknown cause.\n\nConfining our view to South America, we should certainly be tempted\nto believe that trees flourished only under a very humid climate;\nfor the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most remarkable\nmanner, that of the damp winds. In the southern part of the\ncontinent, where the western gales, charged with moisture from the\nPacific, prevail, every island on the broken west coast, from\nlatitude 38 degrees to the extreme point of Tierra del Fuego, is\ndensely covered by impenetrable forests. On the eastern side of the\nCordillera, over the same extent of latitude, where a blue sky and\na fine climate prove that the atmosphere has been deprived of its\nmoisture by passing over the mountains, the arid plains of\nPatagonia support a most scanty vegetation. In the more northern\nparts of the continent, within the limits of the constant\nsouth-eastern trade-wind, the eastern side is ornamented by\nmagnificent forests; whilst the western coast, from latitude 4\ndegrees South to latitude 32 degrees South, may be described as a\ndesert; on this western coast, northward of latitude 4 degrees\nSouth, where the trade-wind loses its regularity, and heavy\ntorrents of rain fall periodically, the shores of the Pacific, so\nutterly desert in Peru, assume near Cape Blanco the character of\nluxuriance so celebrated at Guayaquil and Panama. Hence in the\nsouthern and northern parts of the continent, the forest and desert\nlands occupy reversed positions with respect to the Cordillera, and\nthese positions are apparently determined by the direction of the\nprevalent winds. In the middle of the continent there is a broad\nintermediate band, including central Chile and the provinces of La\nPlata, where the rain-bringing winds have not to pass over lofty\nmountains, and where the land is neither a desert nor covered by\nforests. But even the rule, if confined to South America, of trees\nflourishing only in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds,\nhas a strongly marked exception in the case of the Falkland\nIslands. These islands, situated in the same latitude with Tierra\ndel Fuego and only between two and three hundred miles distant from\nit, having a nearly similar climate, with a geological formation\nalmost identical, with favourable situations and the same kind of\npeaty soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving even the title of\nbushes; whilst in Tierra del Fuego it is impossible to find an acre\nof land not covered by the densest forest. In this case, both the\ndirection of the heavy gales of wind and of the currents of the sea\nare favourable to the transport of seeds from Tierra del Fuego, as\nis shown by the canoes and trunks of trees drifted from that\ncountry, and frequently thrown on the shores of the Western\nFalkland. Hence perhaps it is, that there are many plants in common\nto the two countries: but with respect to the trees of Tierra del\nFuego, even attempts made to transplant them have failed.\n\nDuring our stay at Maldonado I collected several quadrupeds, eighty\nkinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine species of\nsnakes. Of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any\nsize, which is common, is the Cervus campestris. This deer is\nexceedingly abundant, often in small herds, throughout the\ncountries bordering the Plata and in Northern Patagonia. If a\nperson crawling close along the ground, slowly advances towards a\nherd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity, approach to\nreconnoitre him. I have by this means, killed from one spot, three\nout of the same herd. Although so tame and inquisitive, yet when\napproached on horseback, they are exceedingly wary. In this country\nnobody goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy only when\nhe is mounted and armed with the bolas. At Bahia Blanca, a recent\nestablishment in Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how\nlittle the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day I fired ten\ntimes from within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more\nstartled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of\nthe rifle. My powder being exhausted, I was obliged to get up (to\nmy shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to kill\nbirds on the wing) and halloo till the deer ran away.\n\nThe most curious fact with respect to this animal, is the\noverpoweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the\nbuck. It is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the\nspecimen which is now mounted at the Zoological Museum, I was\nalmost overcome by nausea. I tied up the skin in a silk\npocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief,\nafter being well washed, I continually used, and it was of course\nas repeatedly washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and\nseven months, when first unfolded, I distinctly perceived the\nodour. This appears an astonishing instance of the permanence of\nsome matter, which nevertheless in its nature must be most subtile\nand volatile. Frequently, when passing at the distance of half a\nmile to leeward of a herd, I have perceived the whole air tainted\nwith the effluvium. I believe the smell from the buck is most\npowerful at the period when its horns are perfect, or free from the\nhairy skin. When in this state the meat is, of course, quite\nuneatable; but the Gauchos assert, that if buried for some time in\nfresh earth, the taint is removed. I have somewhere read that the\nislanders in the north of Scotland treat the rank carcasses of the\nfish-eating birds in the same manner.\n\nThe order Rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone\nI obtained no less than eight kinds. (3/4. In South America I\ncollected altogether twenty-seven species of mice, and thirteen\nmore are known from the works of Azara and other authors. Those\ncollected by myself have been named and described by Mr. Waterhouse\nat the meetings of the Zoological Society. I must be allowed to\ntake this opportunity of returning my cordial thanks to Mr.\nWaterhouse, and to the other gentleman attached to that Society,\nfor their kind and most liberal assistance on all occasions.) The\nlargest gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochaerus capybara (the\nwater-hog), is here also common. One which I shot at Monte Video\nweighed ninety-eight pounds: its length, from the end of the snout\nto the stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth\nthree feet eight. These great Rodents occasionally frequent the\nislands in the mouth of the Plata, where the water is quite salt,\nbut are far more abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and\nrivers. Near Maldonado three or four generally live together. In\nthe daytime they either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly\nfeed on the turf plain. (3/5. In the stomach and duodenum of a\ncapybara which I opened, I found a very large quantity of a thin\nyellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could be distinguished.\nMr. Owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so constructed\nthat nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down.\nCertainly the broad teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well\nfitted to grind into pulp the aquatic plants on which it feeds.)\nWhen viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and colour\nthey resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and\nattentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the\nappearance of their congeners, cavies and rabbits. Both the front\nand side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the\ngreat depth of their jaw. These animals, at Maldonado, were very\ntame; by cautiously walking, I approached within three yards of\nfour old ones. This tameness may probably be accounted for, by the\nJaguar having been banished for some years, and by the Gaucho not\nthinking it worth his while to hunt them. As I approached nearer\nand nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a\nlow abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising\nfrom the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise I know at all like\nit, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. Having watched the\nfour from almost within arm's length (and they me) for several\nminutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with the\ngreatest impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their bark.\nAfter diving a short distance they came again to the surface, but\nonly just showed the upper part of their heads. When the female is\nswimming in the water, and has young ones, they are said to sit on\nher back. These animals are easily killed in numbers; but their\nskins are of trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. On\nthe islands in the Rio Parana they are exceedingly abundant, and\nafford the ordinary prey to the Jaguar.\n\nThe Tucutuco (Ctenomys Brasiliensis) is a curious small animal,\nwhich may be briefly described as a Gnawer, with the habits of a\nmole. It is extremely numerous in some parts of the country, but it\nis difficult to be procured, and never, I believe, comes out of the\nground. It throws up at the mouth of its burrows hillocks of earth\nlike those of the mole, but smaller. Considerable tracts of country\nare so completely undermined by these animals that horses, in\npassing over, sink above their fetlocks. The tucutucos appear, to a\ncertain degree, to be gregarious: the man who procured the\nspecimens for me had caught six together, and he said this was a\ncommon occurrence. They are nocturnal in their habits; and their\nprincipal food is the roots of plants, which are the object of\ntheir extensive and superficial burrows. This animal is universally\nknown by a very peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the\nground. A person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised;\nfor it is not easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to\nguess what kind of creature utters it. The noise consists in a\nshort, but not rough, nasal grunt, which is monotonously repeated\nabout four times in quick succession (3/6. At the R. Negro, in\nNorthern Patagonia, there is an animal of the same habits, and\nprobably a closely allied species, but which I never saw. Its noise\nis different from that of the Maldonado kind; it is repeated only\ntwice instead of three or four times, and is more distinct and\nsonorous: when heard from a distance it so closely resembles the\nsound made in cutting down a small tree with an axe, that I have\nsometimes remained in doubt concerning it.): the name Tucutuco is\ngiven in imitation of the sound. Where this animal is abundant, it\nmay be heard at all times of the day, and sometimes directly\nbeneath one's feet. When kept in a room, the tucutucos move both\nslowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action of\ntheir hind legs; and they are quite incapable, from the socket of\nthe thigh-bone not having a certain ligament, of jumping even the\nsmallest vertical height. They are very stupid in making any\nattempt to escape; when angry or frightened they utter the\ntucu-tuco. Of those I kept alive, several, even the first day,\nbecame quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others\nwere a little wilder.\n\nThe man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably\nfound blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was in this\nstate; Mr. Reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in\nthe nictitating membrane. When the animal was alive I placed my\nfinger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest\nnotice was taken: it made its way, however, about the room nearly\nas well as the others. Considering the strictly subterranean habits\nof the tucu-tuco, the blindness, though so common, cannot be a very\nserious evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess\nan organ frequently subject to be injured. Lamarck would have been\ndelighted with this fact, had he known it, when speculating\n(probably with more truth than usual with him) on the\ngradually-ACQUIRED blindness of the Aspalax, a Gnawer living under\nground, and of the Proteus, a reptile living in dark caverns filled\nwith water; in both of which animals the eye is in an almost\nrudimentary state, and is covered by a tendinous membrane and skin.\n(3/7. \"Philosoph. Zoolog.\" tome 1 page 242.) In the common mole the\neye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists\ndoubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its vision\nmust certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the animal\nwhen it leaves its burrow. In the tucu-tuco, which I believe never\ncomes to the surface of the ground, the eye is rather larger, but\noften rendered blind and useless, though without apparently causing\nany inconvenience to the animal; no doubt Lamarck would have said\nthat the tucu-tuco is now passing into the state of the Aspalax and\nProteus.\n\nBirds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating grassy\nplains around Maldonado. There are several species of a family\nallied in structure and manners to our Starling: one of these\n(Molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. Several may often\nbe seen standing together on the back of a cow or horse; and while\nperched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes\nattempt to sing, or rather to hiss; the noise being very peculiar,\nresembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small\norifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. According to\nAzara, this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other\nbirds' nests. I was several times told by the country people that\nthere certainly is some bird having this habit; and my assistant in\ncollecting, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the\nsparrow of this country (Zonotrichia matutina), with one egg in it\nlarger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. In\nNorth America there is another species of Molothrus (M. pecoris),\nwhich has a similar cuckoo-like habit, and which is most closely\nallied in every respect to the species from the Plata, even in such\ntrifling peculiarities as standing on the backs of cattle; it\ndiffers only in being a little smaller, and in its plumage and eggs\nbeing of a slightly different shade of colour. This close agreement\nin structure and habits, in representative species coming from\nopposite quarters of a great continent, always strikes one as\ninteresting, though of common occurrence.\n\nMr. Swainson has well remarked, that with the exception of the\nMolothrus pecoris, to which must be added the M. niger, the cuckoos\nare the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely,\nsuch as \"fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal,\nwhose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they\nlive upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of\ninfancy.\" (3/8. \"Magazine of Zoology and Botany\" volume 1 page\n217.) It is remarkable that some of the species, but not all, both\nof the Cuckoo and Molothrus should agree in this one strange habit\nof their parasitical propagation, whilst opposed to each other in\nalmost every other habit: the molothrus, like our starling, is\neminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or\ndisguise: the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird;\nit frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and\ncaterpillars. In structure also these two genera are widely removed\nfrom each other. Many theories, even phrenological theories, have\nbeen advanced to explain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs\nin other birds' nests. M. Prévost alone, I think, has thrown light\nby his observations on this puzzle: he finds that the female\ncuckoo, which, according to most observers, lays at least from four\nto six eggs, must pair with the male each time after laying only\none or two eggs. (3/9. Read before the Academy of Sciences in\nParis. L'Institut 1834 page 418.) Now, if the cuckoo was obliged to\nsit on her own eggs, she would either have to sit on all together,\nand therefore leave those first laid so long, that they probably\nwould become addled; or she would have to hatch separately each egg\nor two eggs, as soon as laid: but as the cuckoo stays a shorter\ntime in this country than any other migratory bird, she certainly\nwould not have time enough for the successive hatchings. Hence we\ncan perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several times, and\nlaying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing her eggs\nin other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of\nfoster-parents. I am strongly inclined to believe that this view is\ncorrect, from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter\nsee) to an analogous conclusion with regard to the South American\nostrich, the females of which are parasitical, if I may so express\nit, on each other; each female laying several eggs in the nests of\nseveral other females, and the male ostrich undertaking all the\ncares of incubation, like the strange foster-parents with the\ncuckoo.\n\nI will mention only two other birds, which are very common, and\nrender themselves prominent from their habits. The Saurophagus\nsulphuratus is typical of the great American tribe of\ntyrant-flycatchers. In its structure it closely approaches the true\nshrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds. I have\nfrequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot\nlike a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. When seen thus\nsuspended in the air, it might very readily at a short distance be\nmistaken for one of the Rapacious order; its stoop, however, is\nvery inferior in force and rapidity to that of a hawk. At other\ntimes the Saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there,\nlike a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it catches any small fish\nwhich may come near the margin. These birds are not unfrequently\nkept either in cages or in courtyards, with their wings cut. They\nsoon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd\nmanners, which were described to me as being similar to those of\nthe common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of\nthe head and bill appears too great for the body. In the evening\nthe Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the roadside,\nand continually repeats without change a shrill and rather\nagreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words: the\nSpaniards say it is like the words \"Bien te veo\" (I see you well),\nand accordingly have given it this name.\n\nA mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants\nCalandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to\nthat of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the\nonly bird in South America which I have observed to take its stand\nfor the purpose of singing. The song may be compared to that of the\nSedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some very\nhigh ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. It is heard only\nduring the spring. At other times its cry is harsh and far from\nharmonious. Near Maldonado these birds were tame and bold; they\nconstantly attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat\nwhich was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small bird\njoined the feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the wide\nuninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied species, O.\nPatagonica of d'Orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed with\nspiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone\nof voice. It appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the\nfine shades of difference in habits, that judging from this latter\nrespect alone, when I first saw this second species, I thought it\nwas different from the Maldonado kind. Having afterwards procured a\nspecimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they\nappeared so very similar, that I changed my opinion; but now Mr.\nGould says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in\nconformity with the trifling difference of habit, of which,\nhowever, he was not aware.\n\nThe number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-feeding\nhawks of South America make them pre-eminently striking to any one\naccustomed only to the birds of Northern Europe. In this list may\nbe included four species of the Caracara or Polyborus, the Turkey\nbuzzard, the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The Caracaras are, from\ntheir structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon see how ill\nthey become so high a rank. In their habits they well supply the\nplace of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe of birds\nwidely distributed over the rest of the world, but entirely absent\nin South America. To begin with the Polyborus Brasiliensis: this is\na common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is most\nnumerous on the grassy savannahs of La Plata (where it goes by the\nname of Carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout the\nsterile plains of Patagonia. In the desert between the rivers Negro\nand Colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road to devour\nthe carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from\nfatigue and thirst. Although thus common in these dry and open\ncountries, and likewise on the arid shores of the Pacific, it is\nnevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of West\nPatagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Carranchas, together with the\nChimango, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and\nslaughtering-houses. If an animal dies on the plain the Gallinazo\ncommences the feast, and then the two species of Polyborus pick the\nbones clean. These birds, although thus commonly feeding together,\nare far from being friends. When the Carrancha is quietly seated on\nthe branch of a tree or on the ground, the Chimango often continues\nfor a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and down, in a\nsemicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the curve to strike\nits larger relative. The Carrancha takes little notice, except by\nbobbing its head. Although the Carranchas frequently assemble in\nnumbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be\nseen solitary, or more commonly by pairs.\n\nThe Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great\nnumbers of eggs. They attempt, also, together with the Chimango, to\npick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. The\npoor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back\narched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing at the\ndistance of a yard the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has\nbeen described by Captain Head with his own peculiar spirit and\naccuracy. These false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or\nanimal; and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very\nevident to any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of\nPatagonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding\nhillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil\neye: it is a feature in the landscape of these countries, which\nwill be recognised by every one who has wandered over them. If a\nparty of men go out hunting with dogs and horses, they will be\naccompanied, during the day, by several of these attendants. After\nfeeding, the uncovered craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed\ngenerally, the Carrancha is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird.\nIts flight is heavy and slow, like that of an English rook. It\nseldom soars; but I have twice seen one at a great height gliding\nthrough the air with much ease. It runs (in contradistinction to\nhopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its congeners. At\ntimes the Carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so: its cry is\nloud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of\nthe Spanish guttural g, followed by a rough double r r; when\nuttering this cry it elevates its head higher and higher, till at\nlast, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower\npart of the back. This fact, which has been doubted, is quite true;\nI have seen them several times with their heads backwards in a\ncompletely inverted position. To these observations I may add, on\nthe high authority of Azara, that the Carrancha feeds on worms,\nshells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys young\nlambs by tearing the umbilical cord; and that it pursues the\nGallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion it\nmay have recently gorged. Lastly, Azara states that several\nCarranchas, five or six together, will unite in chase of large\nbirds, even such as herons. All these facts show that it is a bird\nof very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity.\n\nThe Polyborus Chimango is considerably smaller than the last\nspecies. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; and I was\nassured that it materially injures the potato-crops in Chiloe, by\nstocking up the roots when first planted. Of all the\ncarrion-feeders it is generally the last which leaves the skeleton\nof a dead animal, and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or\nhorse, like a bird in a cage. Another species is the Polyborus\nNovae Zelandiae, which is exceedingly common in the Falkland\nIslands. These birds in many respects resemble in their habits the\nCarranchas. They live on the flesh of dead animals and on marine\nproductions; and on the Ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must\ndepend on the sea. They are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and\nhaunt the neighbourhood of houses for offal. If a hunting party\nkills an animal, a number soon collect and patiently await,\nstanding on the ground on all sides. After eating, their uncovered\ncraws are largely protruded, giving them a disgusting appearance.\nThey readily attack wounded birds: a cormorant in this state having\ntaken to the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its\ndeath hastened by their blows. The \"Beagle\" was at the Falklands\nonly during the summer, but the officers of the \"Adventure,\" who\nwere there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of\nthe boldness and rapacity of these birds. They actually pounced on\na dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party; and the\nsportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded geese from being\nseized before their eyes. It is said that several together (in this\nrespect resembling the Carranchas) wait at the mouth of a\nrabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when it comes out.\nThey were constantly flying on board the vessel when in the\nharbour; and it was necessary to keep a good look-out to prevent\nthe leather being torn from the rigging, and the meat or game from\nthe stern. These birds are very mischievous and inquisitive; they\nwill pick up almost anything from the ground; a large black glazed\nhat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of the heavy balls\nused in catching cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced during the survey\na more severe loss, in their stealing a small Kater's compass in a\nred morocco leather case, which was never recovered. These birds\nare, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing up the\ngrass with their bills from rage. They are not truly gregarious;\nthey do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy; on the\nground they run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. They are\nnoisy, uttering several harsh cries, one of which is like that of\nthe English rook, hence the sealers always call them rooks. It is a\ncurious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their heads\nupwards and backwards, after the same manner as the Carrancha. They\nbuild in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but only on the small\nadjoining islets, and not on the two main islands: this is a\nsingular precaution in so tame and fearless a bird. The sealers say\nthat the flesh of these birds, when cooked, is quite white, and\nvery good eating; but bold must the man be who attempts such a\nmeal.\n\nWe have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (Vultur aura), and\nthe Gallinazo. The former is found wherever the country is\nmoderately damp, from Cape Horn to North America. Differently from\nthe Polyborus Brasiliensis and Chimango, it has found its way to\nthe Falkland Islands. The turkey-buzzard is a solitary bird, or at\nmost goes in pairs. It may at once be recognised from a long\ndistance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. It is\nwell known to be a true carrion-feeder. On the west coast of\nPatagonia, among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it\nlives exclusively on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses\nof dead seals. Wherever these animals are congregated on the rocks,\nthere the vultures may be seen. The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus)\nhas a different range from the last species, as it never occurs\nsouthward of latitude 41 degrees. Azara states that there exists a\ntradition that these birds, at the time of the conquest, were not\nfound near Monte Video, but that they subsequently followed the\ninhabitants from more northern districts. At the present day they\nare numerous in the valley of the Colorado, which is three hundred\nmiles due south of Monte Video. It seems probable that this\nadditional migration has happened since the time of Azara. The\nGallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or rather the\nneighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely abundant in\nBrazil and La Plata, while it is never found on the desert and arid\nplains of Northern Patagonia, excepting near some stream. These\nbirds frequent the whole Pampas to the foot of the Cordillera, but\nI never saw or heard of one in Chile: in Peru they are preserved as\nscavengers. These vultures certainly may be called gregarious, for\nthey seem to have pleasure in society, and are not solely brought\ntogether by the attraction of a common prey. On a fine day a flock\nmay often be observed at a great height, each bird wheeling round\nand round without closing its wings, in the most graceful\nevolutions. This is clearly performed for the mere pleasure of the\nexercise, or perhaps is connected with their matrimonial alliances.\n\nI have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the condor,\nan account of which will be more appropriately introduced when we\nvisit a country more congenial to its habits than the plains of La\nPlata.\n\nIn a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the Laguna del\nPotrero from the shores of the Plata, at the distance of a few\nmiles from Maldonado, I found a group of those vitrified, siliceous\ntubes, which are formed by lightning entering loose sand. These\ntubes resemble in every particular those from Drigg in Cumberland,\ndescribed in the \"Geological Transactions.\" (3/10. \"Geological\nTransactions\" volume 2 page 528. In the \"Philosophical\nTransactions\" 1790 page 294, Dr. Priestley has described some\nimperfect siliceous tubes and a melted pebble of quartz, found in\ndigging into the ground, under a tree, where a man had been killed\nby lightning.) The sand-hillocks of Maldonado, not being protected\nby vegetation, are constantly changing their position. From this\ncause the tubes projected above the surface; and numerous fragments\nlying near, showed that they had formerly been buried to a greater\ndepth. Four sets entered the sand perpendicularly: by working with\nmy hands I traced one of them two feet deep; and some fragments\nwhich evidently had belonged to the same tube, when added to the\nother part, measured five feet three inches. The diameter of the\nwhole tube was nearly equal, and therefore we must suppose that\noriginally it extended to a much greater depth. These dimensions\nare however small, compared to those of the tubes from Drigg, one\nof which was traced to a depth of not less than thirty feet.\n\nThe internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth. A\nsmall fragment examined under the microscope appeared, from the\nnumber of minute entangled air or perhaps steam bubbles, like an\nassay fused before the blowpipe. The sand is entirely, or in\ngreater part, siliceous; but some points are of a black colour, and\nfrom their glossy surface possess a metallic lustre. The thickness\nof the wall of the tube varies from a thirtieth to a twentieth of\nan inch, and occasionally even equals a tenth. On the outside the\ngrains of sand are rounded, and have a slightly glazed appearance:\nI could not distinguish any signs of crystallisation. In a similar\nmanner to that described in the \"Geological Transactions,\" the\ntubes are generally compressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows,\nso as closely to resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark\nof the elm or cork tree. Their circumference is about two inches,\nbut in some fragments, which are cylindrical and without any\nfurrows, it is as much as four inches. The compression from the\nsurrounding loose sand, acting while the tube was still softened\nfrom the effects of the intense heat, has evidently caused the\ncreases or furrows. Judging from the uncompressed fragments, the\nmeasure or bore of the lightning (if such a term may be used) must\nhave been about one inch and a quarter. At Paris, M. Hachette and\nM. Beudant succeeded in making tubes, in most respects similar to\nthese fulgurites, by passing very strong shocks of galvanism\nthrough finely-powdered glass: when salt was added, so as to\nincrease its fusibility, the tubes were larger in every dimension.\n(3/11. \"Annales de Chimie et de Physique\" tome 37 page 319.) They\nfailed both with powdered feldspar and quartz. One tube, formed\nwith pounded glass, was very nearly an inch long, namely .982, and\nhad an internal diameter of .019 of an inch. When we hear that the\nstrongest battery in Paris was used, and that its power on a\nsubstance of such easy fusibility as glass was to form tubes so\ndiminutive, we must feel greatly astonished at the force of a shock\nof lightning, which, striking the sand in several places, has\nformed cylinders, in one instance of at least thirty feet long, and\nhaving an internal bore, where not compressed, of full an inch and\na half; and this in a material so extraordinarily refractory as\nquartz!\n\nThe tubes, as I have already remarked, enter the sand nearly in a\nvertical direction. One, however, which was less regular than the\nothers, deviated from a right line, at the most considerable bend,\nto the amount of thirty-three degrees. From this same tube, two\nsmall branches, about a foot apart, were sent off; one pointed\ndownwards, and the other upwards. This latter case is remarkable,\nas the electric fluid must have turned back at the acute angle of\n26 degrees, to the line of its main course. Besides the four tubes\nwhich I found vertical, and traced beneath the surface, there were\nseveral other groups of fragments, the original sites of which\nwithout doubt were near. All occurred in a level area of shifting\nsand, sixty yards by twenty, situated among some high\nsand-hillocks, and at the distance of about half a mile from a\nchain of hills four or five hundred feet in height. The most\nremarkable circumstance, as it appears to me, in this case as well\nas in that of Drigg, and in one described by M. Ribbentrop in\nGermany, is the number of tubes found within such limited spaces.\nAt Drigg, within an area of fifteen yards, three were observed, and\nthe same number occurred in Germany. In the case which I have\ndescribed, certainly more than four existed within the space of the\nsixty by twenty yards. As it does not appear probable that the\ntubes are produced by successive distinct shocks, we must believe\nthat the lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides\nitself into separate branches.\n\nThe neighbourhood of the Rio Plata seems peculiarly subject to\nelectric phenomena. In the year 1793, one of the most destructive\nthunderstorms perhaps on record happened at Buenos Ayres:\nthirty-seven places within the city were struck by lightning, and\nnineteen people killed. (3/12. Azara's \"Voyage\" volume 1 page 36.)\nFrom facts stated in several books of travels, I am inclined to\nsuspect that thunderstorms are very common near the mouths of great\nrivers. Is it not possible that the mixture of large bodies of\nfresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium? Even\nduring our occasional visits to this part of South America, we\nheard of a ship, two churches, and a house having been struck. Both\nthe church and the house I saw shortly afterwards: the house\nbelonged to Mr. Hood, the consul-general at Monte Video. Some of\nthe effects were curious: the paper, for nearly a foot on each side\nof the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. The metal\nhad been fused, and although the room was about fifteen feet high,\nthe globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in\nthem a chain of minute holes. A part of the wall was shattered as\nif by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force\nsufficient to dent the wall on the opposite side of the room. The\nframe of a looking-glass was blackened, and the gilding must have\nbeen volatilised, for a smelling-bottle, which stood on the\nchimney-piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which\nadhered as firmly as if they had been enamelled.\n\n\n(PLATE 17.  HALT AT A PULPERIA ON THE PAMPAS.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n(PLATE 18.  EL CARMEN, OR PATAGONES, RIO NEGRO.)\n\nRio Negro.\nEstancias attacked by the Indians.\nSalt Lakes.\nFlamingoes.\nR. Negro to R. Colorado.\nSacred Tree.\nPatagonian Hare.\nIndian Families.\nGeneral Rosas.\nProceed to Bahia Blanca.\nSand Dunes.\nNegro Lieutenant.\nBahia Blanca.\nSaline Incrustations.\nPunta Alta.\nZorillo.\n\nRIO NEGRO TO BAHIA BLANCA.\n\nJULY 24, 1833.\n\n\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed from Maldonado, and on August the 3rd she\narrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro. This is the principal river\non the whole line of coast between the Strait of Magellan and the\nPlata. It enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the\nestuary of the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanish\ngovernment, a small colony was established here; and it is still\nthe most southern position (latitude 41 degrees) on this eastern\ncoast of America inhabited by civilised man.\n\nThe country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme:\non the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences,\nwhich exposes a section of the geological nature of the country.\nThe strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable from\nbeing composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles,\nwhich must have travelled more than four hundred miles, from the\nAndes. The surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed of\ngravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain. Water is\nextremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably brackish.\nThe vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes of many\nkinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the\nstranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions.\n\nThe settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. The road\nfollows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern\nboundary of the great valley in which the Rio Negro flows. On the\nway we passed the ruins of some fine estancias, which a few years\nsince had been destroyed by the Indians. They withstood several\nattacks. A man present at one gave me a very lively description of\nwhat took place. The inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all\nthe cattle and horses into the corral which surrounded the house,\nand likewise to mount some small cannon. (4/1. The corral is an\nenclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or\nfarming estate, has one attached to it.)\n\nThe Indians were Araucanians from the south of Chile; several\nhundreds in number, and highly disciplined. They first appeared in\ntwo bodies on a neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and\ntaken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. The\nonly weapon of an Indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented\nwith ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spear-head. My\ninformer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering\nof these chuzos as they approached near. When close, the cacique\nPincheira hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would\ncut all their throats. As this would probably have been the result\nof their entrance under any circumstances, the answer was given by\na volley of musketry. The Indians, with great steadiness, came to\nthe very fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the\nposts fastened together by iron nails instead of leather thongs,\nand, of course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives.\nThis saved the lives of the Christians: many of the wounded Indians\nwere carried away by their companions, and at last, one of the\nunder caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. They\nretired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. This\nwas an awful pause for the Spaniards, as all their ammunition, with\nthe exception of a few cartridges, was expended. In an instant the\nIndians mounted their horses, and galloped out of sight. Another\nattack was still more quickly repulsed. A cool Frenchman managed\nthe gun; he stopped till the Indians approached close, and then\nraked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them\non the ground; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the\nwhole party.\n\nThe town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It is\nbuilt on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of\nthe houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river is about\ntwo or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. The many\nislands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one\nbehind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green\nvalley, form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost\npicturesque. The number of inhabitants does not exceed a few\nhundreds. These Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones,\ncarry within themselves the elements of growth. Many Indians of\npure blood reside here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly\nhave their Toldos on the outskirts of the town. (4/2. The hovels of\nthe Indians are thus called.) The local government partly supplies\nthem with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses,\nand they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of\nriding-gear. These Indians are considered civilised; but what their\ncharacter may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost\ncounterbalanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger men\nare, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short\ntime since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well.\nThey were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed\nin very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The taste they\nshowed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned one\nof these young Indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would\nhave been perfectly graceful.\n\nOne day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which is distant\nfifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a\nshallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of\nsnow-white salt. The layer near the margin is from four to five\ninches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. This\nlake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. Others occur in\nthe neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two\nand three feet in thickness, even when under water during the\nwinter. One of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the\nmidst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary\nspectacle. A large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the\nsalina: and great piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying\nready for exportation.\n\nThe season for working the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones;\nfor on it the prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the whole\npopulation encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are\nemployed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons. This salt is\ncrystallised in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: Mr. Trenham\nReeks has kindly analysed some for me, and he finds in it only 0.26\nof gypsum and 0.22 of earthy matter. It is a singular fact that it\ndoes not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the\nCape de Verd islands; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me that\nhe considered it as fifty per cent less valuable. Hence the Cape de\nVerd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these\nsalinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt, or absence from it of\nthose other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only\nassignable cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, I\nthink, would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact\nlately ascertained, that those salts answer best for preserving\ncheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides. (4/3.\nReport of the Agricultural Chemistry Association in the\n\"Agricultural Gazette\" 1845 page 93.)\n\nThe border of the lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous large\ncrystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie\nembedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie\nscattered about. The Gauchos call the former the \"Padre del sal,\"\nand the latter the \"Madre;\" they state that these progenitive salts\nalways occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins\nto evaporate. The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not\nat first imagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that\nthe froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if\nby confervae; I attempted to carry home some of this green matter,\nbut from an accident failed. Parts of the lake seen from a short\ndistance appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing\nto some infusorial animalcula. The mud in many places was thrown up\nby numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. How\nsurprising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in\nbrine, and that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate\nof soda and lime! And what becomes of these worms when, during the\nlong summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt?\n\nFlamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed\nhere, throughout Patagonia, in Northern Chile, and at the Galapagos\nIslands, I met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine.\nI saw them here wading about in search of food--probably for the\nworms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on\ninfusoria or confervae. Thus we have a little living world within\nitself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute\ncrustaceous animal (Cancer salinus) is said to live in countless\nnumbers in the brine-pans at Lymington: but only in those in which\nthe fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable\nstrength--namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of\nwater. (4/4. \"Linnaean Transactions\" volume 11 page 205. It is\nremarkable how all the circumstances connected with the salt-lakes\nin Siberia and Patagonia are similar. Siberia, like Patagonia,\nappears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea.\nIn both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the\nplains; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath\nthe crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesia occurs,\nimperfectly crystallised; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with\nlentils of gypsum. The Siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small\ncrustaceous animals; and flamingoes (\"Edinburgh New Philosical\nJournal\" January 1830) likewise frequent them. As these\ncircumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant\ncontinents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of\ncommon causes.--See \"Pallas's Travels\" 1793 to 1794 pages 129 to\n134.) Well may we affirm that every part of the world is habitable!\nWhether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones hidden beneath\nvolcanic mountains--warm mineral springs--the wide expanse and\ndepths of the ocean--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even\nthe surface of perpetual snow--all support organic beings.\n\nTo the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and the inhabited\ncountry near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards have only one small\nsettlement, recently established at Bahia Blanca. The distance in a\nstraight line to Buenos Ayres is very nearly five hundred British\nmiles. The wandering tribes of horse Indians, which have always\noccupied the greater part of this country, having of late much\nharassed the outlying estancias, the government at Buenos Ayres\nequipped some time since an army under the command of General Rosas\nfor the purpose of exterminating them. The troops were now encamped\non the banks of the Colorado; a river lying about eighty miles\nnorthward of the Rio Negro. When General Rosas left Buenos Ayres he\nstruck in a direct line across the unexplored plains: and as the\ncountry was thus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind\nhim, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of\nhorses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication\nwith the capital. As the \"Beagle\" intended to call at Bahia Blanca,\nI determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately I extended my\nplan to travel the whole way by the postas to Buenos Ayres.\n\nAUGUST 11, 1833.\n\nMr. Harris, an Englishman residing at Patagones, a guide, and five\nGauchos who were proceeding to the army on business, were my\ncompanions on the journey. The Colorado, as I have already said, is\nnearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were\ntwo days and a half on the road. The whole line of country deserves\nscarcely a better name than that of a desert. Water is found only\nin two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at this time of\nthe year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish. In the\nsummer this must be a distressing passage; for now it was\nsufficiently desolate.\n\nThe valley of the Rio Negro, broad as it is, has merely been\nexcavated out of the sandstone plain; for immediately above the\nbank on which the town stands, a level country commences, which is\ninterrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depressions.\nEverywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a dry\ngravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and low\nscattered bushes, armed with thorns.\n\nShortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous\ntree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Walleechu. It is\nsituated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark\nvisible at a great distance. As soon as a tribe of Indians come in\nsight of it, they offer their adorations by loud shouts. The tree\nitself is low, much branched, and thorny: just above the root it\nhas a diameter of about three feet. It stands by itself without any\nneighbour, and was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met\nwith a few others of the same kind, but they were far from common.\nBeing winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless\nthreads, by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread,\nmeat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended. Poor Indians, not\nhaving anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos,\nand fasten it to the tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour\nspirits and mate into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke\nupwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to\nWalleechu. To complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the\nbleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices.\nAll Indians of every age and sex make their offerings; they then\nthink that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves\nshall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told me this, said that in the\ntime of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and others\nused to wait till the Indians had passed by, for the sake of\nstealing from Walleechu the offerings.\n\nThe Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as the god\nitself; but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the\naltar. The only cause which I can imagine for this choice, is its\nbeing a landmark in a dangerous passage. The Sierra de la Ventana\nis visible at an immense distance; and a Gaucho told me that he was\nonce riding with an Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio\nColorado, when the Indian commenced making the same loud noise,\nwhich is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, putting his\nhand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the Sierra.\nUpon being asked the reason of this, the Indian said in broken\nSpanish, \"First see the Sierra.\"\n\nAbout two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night:\nat this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed\nGauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged\nher in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. We here had the four\nnecessaries of life \"en el campo,\"--pasture for the horses, water\n(only a muddy puddle), meat and firewood. The Gauchos were in high\nspirits at finding all these luxuries; and we soon set to work at\nthe poor cow. This was the first night which I passed under the\nopen sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. There is high\nenjoyment in the independence of the Gaucho life--to be able at any\nmoment to pull up your horse, and say, \"Here we will pass the\nnight.\" The deathlike stillness of the plain, the dogs keeping\nwatch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos making their beds round the fire,\nhave left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night,\nwhich will never be forgotten.\n\nThe next day the country continued similar to that above described.\nIt is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. Occasionally a\ndeer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen; but the Agouti (Cavia\nPatagonica) is the commonest quadruped. This animal here represents\nour hares. It differs, however, from that genus in many essential\nrespects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. It is also\nnearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds.\nThe Agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common feature\nof the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the\nother in a straight line across these wild plains. They are found\nas far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (latitude 37 degrees 30'),\nwhere the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and\ntheir southern limit is between Port Desire and St. Julian, where\nthere is no change in the nature of the country.\n\nIt is a singular fact, that although the Agouti is not now found as\nfar south as Port St. Julian, yet that Captain Wood, in his voyage\nin 1670, talks of them as being numerous there. What cause can have\naltered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the\nrange of an animal like this? It appears also, from the number shot\nby Captain Wood in one day at Port Desire, that they must have been\nconsiderably more abundant there formerly than at present. Where\nthe Bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the Agouti uses them; but\nwhere, as at Bahia Blanca, the Bizcacha is not found, the Agouti\nburrows for itself. The same thing occurs with the little owl of\nthe Pampas (Athene cunicularia), which has so often been described\nas standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in\nBanda Oriental, owing to the absence of the Bizcacha, it is obliged\nto hollow out its own habitation.\n\nThe next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado, the appearance\nof the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with turf,\nwhich, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled\nthe Pampas. We passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent,\nwhich in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts;\nand hence is called a salitral. It was covered by low succulent\nplants, of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. The\nColorado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty\nyards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width. Its\ncourse is very tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of\nreeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is\nsaid to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. We were delayed\ncrossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were\nswimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the\ninterior. A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the\nhundreds and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed\nears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the\nwater like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. Mare's flesh is\nthe only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. This\ngives them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which\nhorses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: I have\nbeen assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a\nday for many days successively.\n\nThe encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It\nconsisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts,\netc. The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I should think such\na villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected\ntogether. The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between\nNegro, Indian, and Spaniard. I know not the reason, but men of such\norigin seldom have a good expression of countenance. I called on\nthe Secretary to show my passport. He began to cross-question me in\nthe most dignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had a\nletter of recommendation from the government of Buenos Ayres to the\ncommandant of Patagones. (4/5. I am bound to express, in the\nstrongest terms, my obligation to the government of Buenos Ayres\nfor the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the\ncountry were given me, as naturalist of the \"Beagle.\") This was\ntaken to General Rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and\nthe Secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. We took up our\nresidence in the rancho, or hovel, of a curious old Spaniard, who\nhad served with Napoleon in the expedition against Russia.\n\nWe stayed two days at the Colorado; I had little to do, for the\nsurrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (December), when\nthe snow melts on the Cordillera, is overflowed by the river. My\nchief amusement was watching the Indian families as they came to\nbuy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. It was supposed\nthat General Rosas had about six hundred Indian allies. The men\nwere a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in the\nFuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold, want\nof food, and less civilisation.\n\nSome authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have\nseparated these Indians into two classes; but this is certainly\nincorrect. Among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be\ncalled even beautiful. Their hair was coarse, but bright and black;\nand they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the waist. They had\na high colour, and eyes that glistened with brilliancy; their legs,\nfeet, and arms were small and elegantly formed; their ankles, and\nsometimes their waists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of blue\nbeads. Nothing could be more interesting than some of the family\ngroups. A mother with one or two daughters would often come to our\nrancho, mounted on the same horse. They ride like men, but with\ntheir knees tucked up much higher. This habit, perhaps, arises from\ntheir being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded horses.\nThe duty of the women is to load and unload the horses; to make the\ntents for the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages,\nuseful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of the horses, and\nmake the riding gear. One of their chief indoor occupations is to\nknock two stones together till they become round, in order to make\nthe bolas. With this important weapon the Indian catches his game,\nand also his horse, which roams free over the plain. In fighting,\nhis first attempt is to throw down the horse of his adversary with\nthe bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill him with the\nchuzo. If the balls only catch the neck or body of an animal, they\nare often carried away and lost. As the making the stones round is\nthe labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is a very\ncommon employment. Several of the men and women had their faces\npainted red, but I never saw the horizontal bands which are so\ncommon among the Fuegians. Their chief pride consists in having\neverything made of silver; I have seen a cacique with his spurs,\nstirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal: the\nhead-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord;\nand to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so\nlight a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of\nelegance.\n\n(PLATE 19.  BRAZILIAN WHIPS, HOBBLES, AND SPURS.)\n\nGeneral Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which I\nwas afterwards very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary\ncharacter, and has a most predominant influence in the country,\nwhich it seems probable he will use to its prosperity and\nadvancement. (4/6. This prophecy has turned out entirely and\nmiserably wrong. 1845.) He is said to be the owner of seventy-four\nsquare leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand\nhead of cattle. His estates are admirably managed, and are far more\nproductive of corn than those of others. He first gained his\ncelebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining\nseveral hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of\nthe Indians. There are many stories current about the rigid manner\nin which his laws were enforced. One of these was, that no man, on\npenalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a\nSunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking,\nmany quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with\nthe knife often proved fatal.\n\nOne Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia a\nvisit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him\nwith his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched\nhis arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the\nGovernor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into\nthe stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in\nhis own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to\nopen the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done,\nthan he turned to the steward and said, \"You now have broken the\nlaws, so you must take my place in the stocks.\" Such actions as\nthese delighted the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their\nown equality and dignity.\n\nGeneral Rosas is also a perfect horseman--an accomplishment of no\nsmall consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its\ngeneral by the following trial: A troop of unbroken horses being\ndriven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which\nwas a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on\none of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able,\nwithout saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it\nback to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person\nwho succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit\ngeneral for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been\nperformed by Rosas.\n\nBy these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the\nGauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country,\nand in consequence a despotic power. I was assured by an English\nmerchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and\nquestioned concerning his motive, answered, \"He spoke\ndisrespectfully of General Rosas, so I killed him.\" At the end of a\nweek the murderer was at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the\ngeneral's party, and not of the general himself.\n\nIn conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His\ngravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad buffoons\n(for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following\nanecdote. \"I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so\nI went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me,\n'Go about your business, for I am engaged.' I went a second time;\nhe said, 'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time I\nasked, and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too\nlate--he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by\nall the saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not\ndo,--when the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound.\"\nThe poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very\nrecollection of the staking. This is a very severe punishment; four\nposts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his\narms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several\nhours. The idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying\nhides. My interview passed away without a smile, and I obtained a\npassport and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave\nme in the most obliging and ready manner.\n\nIn the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we reached in two\ndays. Leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of\nthe Indians. These are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by\nthe mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. The\ntoldos were divided into separate groups, which belonged to the\ndifferent caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into\nsmaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. For\nseveral miles we travelled along the valley of the Colorado. The\nalluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed\nthat they are well adapted to the growth of corn.\n\nTurning northward from the river, we soon entered on a country,\ndiffering from the plains south of the river. The land still\ncontinued dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds of\nplants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was more\nabundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. These latter in a\nshort space entirely disappeared, and the plains were left without\na thicket to cover their nakedness. This change in the vegetation\nmarks the commencement of the grand calcareo-argillaceous deposit,\nwhich forms the wide extent of the Pampas, and covers the granitic\nrocks of Banda Oriental. From the Strait of Magellan to the\nColorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the\ncountry is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly\nof porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the\nCordillera. North of the Colorado this bed thins out, and the\npebbles become exceedingly small, and here the characteristic\nvegetation of Patagonia ceases.\n\nHaving ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt of\nsand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the\neast and west. The sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small\npools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an\ninvaluable supply of fresh water. The great advantage arising from\ndepressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home\nto the mind. The two miserable springs in the long passage between\nthe Rio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling inequalities in\nthe plain, without them not a drop of water would have been found.\nThe belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some former\nperiod, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the\nColorado now flows. In this district, where absolute proofs of the\nrecent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be\nneglected by any one, although merely considering the physical\ngeography of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract, we\narrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh\nhorses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night\nthere.\n\nThe house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and two\nhundred feet high--a most remarkable feature in this country. This\nposta was commanded by a negro lieutenant, born in Africa: to his\ncredit be it said, there was not a ranche between the Colorado and\nBuenos Ayres in nearly such neat order as his. He had a little room\nfor strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of\nsticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a\ndefence in case of being attacked. This would, however, have been\nof little avail, if the Indians had come; but his chief comfort\nseemed to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. A short\ntime before, a body of Indians had travelled past in the night; if\nthey had been aware of the posta, our black friend and his four\nsoldiers would assuredly have been slaughtered. I did not anywhere\nmeet a more civil and obliging man than this negro; it was\ntherefore the more painful to see that he would not sit down and\neat with us.\n\nIn the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for\nanother exhilarating gallop. We passed the Cabeza del Buey, an old\nname given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from Bahia\nBlanca. Here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues of\nswamps and saline marshes. Changing horses for the last time, we\nagain began wading through the mud. My animal fell, and I was well\nsoused in black mire--a very disagreeable accident, when one does\nnot possess a change of clothes. Some miles from the fort we met a\nman, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a signal\nthat Indians are near. We immediately left the road, and followed\nthe edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of\nescape. We were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all\nthe alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out to be\nfriendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.\n\nBahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A few houses\nand the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch and\nfortified wall. The settlement is only of recent standing (since\n1828); and its growth has been one of trouble. The government of\nBuenos Ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following\nthe wise example of the Spanish Viceroys, who purchased the land\nnear the older settlement of the Rio Negro, from the Indians. Hence\nthe need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little\ncultivated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle\nare not safe from the attacks of the Indians beyond the boundaries\nof the plain on which the fortress stands.\n\nThe part of the harbour where the \"Beagle\" intended to anchor being\ndistant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the Commandant a guide\nand horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived. Leaving the\nplain of green turf, which extended along the course of a little\nbrook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting either of\nsand, saline marshes, or bare mud. Some parts were clothed by low\nthickets, and others with those succulent plants which luxuriate\nonly where salt abounds. Bad as the country was, ostriches, deers,\nagoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. My guide told me, that two\nmonths before he had a most narrow escape of his life: he was out\nhunting with two other men, at no great distance from this part of\nthe country, when they were suddenly met by a party of Indians, who\ngiving chase, soon overtook and killed his two friends. His own\nhorse's legs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, and\nwith his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obliged to\ndodge round his horse, and received two severe wounds from their\nchuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful\nexertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers,\nwho followed him to within sight of the fort. From that time there\nwas an order that no one should stray far from the settlement. I\ndid not know of this when I started, and was surprised to observe\nhow earnestly my guide watched a deer, which appeared to have been\nfrightened from a distant quarter.\n\nWe found the \"Beagle\" had not arrived, and consequently set out on\nour return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac\non the plain. In the morning we had caught an armadillo, which,\nalthough a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not\nmake a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men.\nThe ground at the place where we stopped for the night was\nincrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course,\nwas without water. Yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist\neven here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath\nmy head, during half the night. Our horses were very poor ones, and\nin the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had\nanything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. About noon the\ndogs killed a kid, which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made\nme intolerably thirsty. This was the more distressing as the road,\nfrom some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water,\nyet not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely been twenty hours\nwithout water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the\nthirst rendered me very weak. How people survive two or three days\nunder such circumstances, I cannot imagine: at the same time, I\nmust confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was\nastonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to\nme.\n\nI have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being\nincrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different from that\nof the salinas, and more extraordinary. In many parts of South\nAmerica, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these\nincrustations occur; but I have nowhere seen them so abundant as\nnear Bahia Blanca. The salt here, and in other parts of Patagonia,\nconsists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some common salt. As long\nas the ground remains moist in the salitrales (as the Spaniards\nimproperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre),\nnothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black,\nmuddy soil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. On\nreturning through one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather,\none is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as if from\na slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by the wind into\nlittle drifts. This latter appearance is chiefly caused by the\nsalts being drawn up, during the slow evaporation of the moisture,\nround blades of dead grass, stumps of wood, and pieces of broken\nearth, instead of being crystallised at the bottoms of the puddles\nof water.\n\nThe salitrales occur either on level tracts elevated only a few\nfeet above the level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering\nrivers. M. Parchappe found that the saline incrustation on the\nplain, at the distance of some miles from the sea, consisted\nchiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent of common\nsalt; whilst nearer to the coast, the common salt increased to 37\nparts in a hundred. (4/7. \"Voyage dans l'Amerique Merid.\" par M. A.\nd'Orbigny. Part. Hist. tome 1 page 664.) This circumstance would\ntempt one to believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the\nsoil, from the muriate left on the surface during the slow and\nrecent elevation of this dry country. The whole phenomenon is well\nworthy the attention of naturalists. Have the succulent,\nsalt-loving plants, which are well known to contain much soda, the\npower of decomposing the muriate? Does the black fetid mud,\nabounding with organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the\nsulphuric acid?\n\nTwo days afterwards I again rode to the harbour: when not far from\nour destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied three\npeople hunting on horseback. He immediately dismounted, and\nwatching them intently, said, \"They don't ride like Christians, and\nnobody can leave the fort.\" The three hunters joined company, and\nlikewise dismounted from their horses. At last one mounted again\nand rode over the hill out of sight. My companion said, \"We must\nnow get on our horses: load your pistol;\" and he looked to his own\nsword. I asked, \"Are they Indians?\"--\"Quien sabe? (who knows?) if\nthere are no more than three, it does not signify.\" It then struck\nme, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of\nhis tribe. I suggested this; but all the answer I could extort was,\n\"Quien sabe?\" His head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning\nslowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncommon coolness too\ngood a joke, and asked him why he did not return home. I was\nstartled when he answered, \"We are returning, but in a line so as\nto pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as\nthey can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that there is no\ndanger.\" I did not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to\nincrease our pace. He said, \"No, not until they do.\" When any\nlittle inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight,\ncontinued walking. At last we reached a valley, and turning to the\nleft, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse\nto hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and\nknees to reconnoitre. He remained in this position for some time,\nand at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, \"Mugeres!\"\n(women!) He knew them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the\nmajor's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs.\n\nI have described this man's conduct, because he acted under the\nfull impression that they were Indians. As soon, however, as the\nabsurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they\ncould not have been Indians; but all these were forgotten at the\ntime. We then rode on in peace and quietness to a low point called\nPunta Alta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great\nharbour of Bahia Blanca.\n\nThe wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mudbanks,\nwhich the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies, from the\nnumber of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is impossible to\nwalk over them, even for the shortest distance. Many of the banks\nhave their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of which\nalone are visible at high water. On one occasion, when in a boat,\nwe were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find\nour way. Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the day was\nnot very clear, and there was much refraction, or, as the sailors\nexpressed it, \"things loomed high.\" The only object within our view\nwhich was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes\nunsupported in the air, and water like mudbanks, and mudbanks like\nwater.\n\nWe passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in\nsearching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for\nmonsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm and\nclear; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in\nthe midst of mudbanks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary\nvultures. In riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh\ntrack of a Puma, but did not succeed in finding it. We saw also a\ncouple of Zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from\nuncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat,\nbut it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious\nof its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears\nneither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage\nis instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings\non violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once\npolluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be\nperceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the\nharbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived\nthe odour on board the \"Beagle.\" Certain it is, that every animal\nmost willingly makes room for the Zorillo.\n\n\n(PLATE 20.  BRINGING IN A PRISONER.)\n\n(PLATE 21.  IRREGULAR TROOPS.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nBahia Blanca.\nGeology.\nNumerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds.\nRecent Extinction.\nLongevity of Species.\nLarge Animals do not require a luxuriant Vegetation.\nSouthern Africa.\nSiberian Fossils.\nTwo Species of Ostrich.\nHabits of Oven-bird.\nArmadilloes.\nVenomous Snake, Toad, Lizard.\nHybernation of Animals.\nHabits of Sea-Pen.\nIndian Wars and Massacres.\nArrowhead, antiquarian Relic.\n\nBAHIA BLANCA.\n\n\n\nThe \"Beagle\" arrived here on the 24th of August, and a week\nafterwards sailed for the Plata. With Captain Fitz Roy's consent I\nwas left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here add\nsome observations, which were made during this visit and on a\nprevious occasion, when the \"Beagle\" was employed in surveying the\nharbour.\n\nThe plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, belongs\nto the great Pampean formation, which consists in part of a reddish\nclay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock. Nearer the\ncoast there are some plains formed from the wreck of the upper\nplain, and from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up by the sea during\nthe slow elevation of the land, of which elevation we have evidence\nin upraised beds of recent shells, and in rounded pebbles of pumice\nscattered over the country. At Punta Alta we have a section of one\nof these later-formed little plains, which is highly interesting\nfrom the number and extraordinary character of the remains of\ngigantic land-animals embedded in it. These have been fully\ndescribed by Professor Owen, in the \"Zoology of the Voyage of the\n'Beagle,'\" and are deposited in the College of Surgeons. I will\nhere give only a brief outline of their nature.\n\nFirst, parts of three heads and other bones of the Megatherium, the\nhuge dimensions of which are expressed by its name. Secondly, the\nMegalonyx, a great allied animal. Thirdly, the Scelidotherium, also\nan allied animal, of which I obtained a nearly perfect skeleton. It\nmust have been as large as a rhinoceros: in the structure of its\nhead it comes, according to Mr. Owen, nearest to the Cape\nAnt-eater, but in some other respects it approaches to the\narmadilloes. Fourthly, the Mylodon Darwinii, a closely related\ngenus of little inferior size. Fifthly, another gigantic edental\nquadruped. Sixthly, a large animal, with an osseous coat in\ncompartments, very like that of an armadillo. Seventhly, an extinct\nkind of horse, to which I shall have again to refer. Eighthly, a\ntooth of a Pachydermatous animal, probably the same with the\nMacrauchenia, a huge beast with a long neck like a camel, which I\nshall also refer to again. Lastly, the Toxodon, perhaps one of the\nstrangest animals ever discovered: in size it equalled an elephant\nor megatherium, but the structure of its teeth, as Mr. Owen states,\nproves indisputably that it was intimately related to the Gnawers,\nthe order which, at the present day, includes most of the smallest\nquadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the Pachydermata:\njudging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, it was\nprobably aquatic, like the Dugong and Manatee, to which it is also\nallied. How wonderfully are the different Orders, at the present\ntime so well separated, blended together in different points of the\nstructure of the Toxodon!\n\nThe remains of these nine great quadrupeds and many detached bones\nwere found embedded on the beach, within the space of about 200\nyards square. It is a remarkable circumstance that so many\ndifferent species should be found together; and it proves how\nnumerous in kind the ancient inhabitants of this country must have\nbeen. At the distance of about thirty miles from Punta Alta, in a\ncliff of red earth, I found several fragments of bones, some of\nlarge size. Among them were the teeth of a gnawer, equalling in\nsize and closely resembling those of the Capybara, whose habits\nhave been described; and therefore, probably, an aquatic animal.\nThere was also part of the head of a Ctenomys; the species being\ndifferent from the Tucutuco, but with a close general resemblance.\nThe red earth, like that of the Pampas, in which these remains were\nembedded, contains, according to Professor Ehrenberg, eight\nfresh-water and one salt-water infusorial animalcule; therefore,\nprobably, it was an estuary deposit.\n\nThe remains at Punta Alta were embedded in stratified gravel and\nreddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a shallow\nbank. They were associated with twenty-three species of shells, of\nwhich thirteen are recent and four others very closely related to\nrecent forms. (5/1. Since this was written, M. Alcide d'Orbigny has\nexamined these shells, and pronounces them all to be recent.) From\nthe bones of the Scelidotherium, including even the kneecap, being\nentombed in their proper relative positions, and from the osseous\narmour of the great armadillo-like animal being so well preserved,\ntogether with the bones of one of its legs, we may feel assured\nthat these remains were fresh and united by their ligaments, when\ndeposited in the gravel together with the shells. (5/2. M. Aug.\nBravard has described, in a Spanish work \"Observaciones Geologicas\"\n1857, this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct\nmammals were washed out of the underlying Pampean deposit, and\nsubsequently became embedded with the still existing shells; but I\nam not convinced by his remarks. M. Bravard believes that the whole\nenormous Pampean deposit is a sub-aerial formation, like\nsand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable doctrine.) Hence we\nhave good evidence that the above enumerated gigantic quadrupeds,\nmore different from those of the present day than the oldest of the\ntertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled\nwith most of its present inhabitants; and we have confirmed that\nremarkable law so often insisted on by Mr. Lyell, namely, that the\n\"longevity of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole\ninferior to that of the testacea.\" (5/3. \"Principles of Geology\"\nvolume 4 page 40.)\n\nThe great size of the bones of the Megatheroid animals, including\nthe Megatherium, Megalonyx, Scelidotherium, and Mylodon, is truly\nwonderful. The habits of life of these animals were a complete\npuzzle to naturalists, until Professor Owen solved the problem with\nremarkable ingenuity. (5/4. This theory was first developed in the\n\"Zoology of the Voyage of the 'Beagle,'\" and subsequently in\nProfessor Owen's \"Memoir on Mylodon robustus.\") The teeth indicate,\nby their simple structure, that these Megatheroid animals lived on\nvegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small twigs of\ntrees; their ponderous forms and great strong curved claws seem so\nlittle adapted for locomotion, that some eminent naturalists have\nactually believed that, like the sloths, to which they are\nintimately related, they subsisted by climbing back downwards on\ntrees, and feeding on the leaves. It was a bold, not to say\npreposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees, with\nbranches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants.\nProfessor Owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead\nof climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches down to them,\nand tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the\nleaves. The colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters,\nwhich can hardly be imagined without having been seen, become, on\nthis view, of obvious service, instead of being an encumbrance:\ntheir apparent clumsiness disappears. With their great tails and\ntheir huge heels firmly fixed like a tripod on the ground, they\ncould freely exert the full force of their most powerful arms and\ngreat claws. Strongly rooted, indeed, must that tree have been,\nwhich could have resisted such force! The Mylodon, moreover, was\nfurnished with a long extensile tongue like that of the giraffe,\nwhich, by one of those beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches\nwith the aid of its long neck its leafy food. I may remark, that in\nAbyssinia the elephant, according to Bruce, when it cannot reach\nwith its proboscis the branches, deeply scores with its tusks the\ntrunk of the tree, up and down and all round, till it is\nsufficiently weakened to be broken down.\n\nThe beds including the above fossil remains stand only from fifteen\nto twenty feet above the level of high water; and hence the\nelevation of the land has been small (without there has been an\nintercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no evidence)\nsince the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains;\nand the external features of the country must then have been very\nnearly the same as now. What, it may naturally be asked, was the\ncharacter of the vegetation at that period; was the country as\nwretchedly sterile as it now is? As so many of the co-embedded\nshells are the same with those now living in the bay, I was at\nfirst inclined to think that the former vegetation was probably\nsimilar to the existing one; but this would have been an erroneous\ninference, for some of these same shells live on the luxuriant\ncoast of Brazil; and generally, the characters of the inhabitants\nof the sea are useless as guides to judge of those on the land.\nNevertheless, from the following considerations, I do not believe\nthat the simple fact of many gigantic quadrupeds having lived on\nthe plains round Bahia Blanca, is any sure guide that they formerly\nwere clothed with a luxuriant vegetation: I have no doubt that the\nsterile country a little southward, near the Rio Negro, with its\nscattered thorny trees, would support many and large quadrupeds.\n\nThat large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a\ngeneral assumption which has passed from one work to another; but I\ndo not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has\nvitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great\ninterest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has\nprobably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where\ntroops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are\nassociated together in every one's mind. If, however, we refer to\nany work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall\nfind allusions in almost every page either to the desert character\nof the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it.\nThe same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which\nhave been published of various parts of the interior. When the\n\"Beagle\" was at Cape Town, I made an excursion of some days' length\ninto the country, which at least was sufficient to render that\nwhich I had read more fully intelligible.\n\nDr. Andrew Smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has\nlately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me\nthat, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of\nAfrica, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. On\nthe southern and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests,\nbut with these exceptions, the traveller may pass for days together\nthrough open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. It is\ndifficult to convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative\nfertility; but it may be safely said that the amount of vegetation\nsupported at any one time  by Great Britain, exceeds, perhaps even\ntenfold, the quantity on an equal area in the interior parts of\nSouthern Africa. (5/5. I mean by this to exclude the total amount\nwhich may have been successively produced and consumed during a\ngiven period.) The fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any\ndirection, excepting near the coast, without more than occasionally\nhalf an hour's delay in cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more\ndefinite notion of the scantiness of the vegetation. Now, if we\nlook to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find\ntheir numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. We\nmust enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and\nprobably, according to Dr. Smith, two others, the hippopotamus, the\ngiraffe, the bos caffer--as large as a full-grown bull, and the\nelan--but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and\nseveral antelopes even larger than these latter animals. It may be\nsupposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of\neach kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am enabled to\nshow that the case is very different. He informs me, that in\nlatitude 24 degrees, in one day's march with the bullock-waggons,\nhe saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side,\nbetween one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses, which\nbelonged to three species: the same day he saw several herds of\ngiraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred; and that,\nalthough no elephant was observed, yet they are found in this\ndistrict. At the distance of a little more than one hour's march\nfrom their place of encampment on the previous night, his party\nactually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many\nmore. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles. Of course\nit was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals\ncrowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in\ngreat numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed through that\nday, as \"being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four\nfeet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees.\" The waggons\nwere not prevented travelling in a nearly straight line.\n\nBesides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with\nthe natural history of the Cape has read of the herds of antelopes,\nwhich can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The\nnumbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude\nof birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller\nquadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time\nprowling round Dr. Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist\nremarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed\nbe terrific! I confess it is truly surprising how such a number of\nanimals can find support in a country producing so little food. The\nlarger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it;\nand their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably\ncontains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me\nthat the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part\nconsumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can be\nno doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of\nfood necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much\nexaggerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an\nanimal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of\nthe desert.\n\nThe belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must\nnecessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the\nconverse is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when\nentering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the\nsplendour of the South American vegetation contrasted with that of\nSouth Africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In\nhis \"Travels,\" he has suggested that the comparison of the\nrespective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal\nnumber of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would\nbe extremely curious. (5/6. \"Travels in the Interior of South\nAfrica\" volume 2 page 207.) If we take on the one side, the\nelephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly three,\nand probably five species of rhinoceros; and on the American side,\ntwo tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara\n(after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the\nnumber), and then place these two groups alongside each other, it\nis not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size. (5/7.\nThe elephant which was killed at Exeter Change was estimated (being\npartly weighed) at five tons and a half. The elephant actress, as I\nwas informed, weighed one ton less; so that we may take five as the\naverage of a full-grown elephant. I was told at the Surry Gardens,\nthat a hippopotamus which was sent to England cut up into pieces\nwas estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it three. From\nthese premises we may give three tons and a half to each of the\nfive rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to the\nbos caffer as well as to the elan (a large ox weighs from 1200 to\n1500 pounds). This will give an average (from the above estimates)\nof 2.7 of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of Southern\nAfrica. In South America, allowing 1200 pounds for the two tapirs\ntogether, 550 for the guanaco and vicuna, 500 for three deer, 300\nfor the capybara, peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average\nof 250 pounds, which I believe is overstating the result. The ratio\nwill therefore be as 6048 to 250, or 24 to 1, for the ten largest\nanimals from the two continents.) After the above facts, we are\ncompelled to conclude, against anterior probability, that among the\nmammalia there exists no close relation between the BULK of the\nspecies and the QUANTITY of the vegetation in the countries which\nthey inhabit. (5/8. If we suppose the case of the discovery of a\nskeleton of a Greenland whale in a fossil state, not a single\ncetaceous animal being known to exist, what naturalist would have\nventured conjecture on the possibility of a carcass so gigantic\nbeing supported on the minute crustacea and mollusca living in the\nfrozen seas of the extreme North?)\n\nWith regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly\nexists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with\nSouthern Africa. After the different statements which have been\ngiven, the extremely desert character of that region will not be\ndisputed. In the European division of the world, we must look back\nto the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of things among the\nmammalia, resembling that now existing at the Cape of Good Hope.\nThose tertiary epochs, which we are apt to consider as abounding to\nan astonishing degree with large animals, because we find the\nremains of many ages accumulated at certain spots, could hardly\nboast of more large quadrupeds than Southern Africa does at\npresent. If we speculate on the condition of the vegetation during\nthose epochs, we are at least bound so far to consider existing\nanalogies, as not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant\nvegetation, when we see a state of things so totally different at\nthe Cape of Good Hope.\n\nWe know that the extreme regions of North America many degrees\nbeyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet\nremains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and\ntall trees. (5/9. See \"Zoological Remarks to Captain Back's\nExpedition\" by Dr. Richardson. He says, \"The subsoil north of\nlatitude 56 degrees is perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast\nnot penetrating above three feet, and at Bear Lake, in latitude 64\ndegrees, not more than twenty inches. The frozen substratum does\nnot of itself destroy vegetation, for forests flourish on the\nsurface, at a distance from the coast.\") In a like manner, in\nSiberia, we have woods of birch, fir, aspen, and larch, growing in\na latitude (64 degrees) where the mean temperature of the air falls\nbelow the freezing point, and where the earth is so completely\nfrozen, that the carcass of an animal embedded in it is perfectly\npreserved. (5/10. See Humboldt \"Fragmens Asiatiques\" page 386:\nBarton's \"Geography of Plants\"; and Malte Brun. In the latter work\nit is said that the limit of the growth of trees in Siberia may be\ndrawn under the parallel of 70 degrees.) With these facts we must\ngrant, as far as QUANTITY ALONE of vegetation is concerned, that\nthe great quadrupeds of the later tertiary epochs might, in most\nparts of Northern Europe and Asia, have lived on the spots where\ntheir remains are now found. I do not here speak of the KIND of\nvegetation necessary for their support; because, as there is\nevidence of physical changes, and as the animals have become\nextinct, so may we suppose that the species of plants have likewise\nbeen changed.\n\nThese remarks, I may be permitted to add, directly bear on the case\nof the Siberian animals preserved in ice. The firm conviction of\nthe necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical\nluxuriance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of\nreconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was\none chief cause of the several theories of sudden revolutions of\nclimate, and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to\naccount for their entombment. I am far from supposing that the\nclimate has not changed since the period when those animals lived,\nwhich now lie buried in the ice. At present I only wish to show,\nthat as far as QUANTITY of food ALONE is concerned, the ancient\nrhinoceroses might have roamed over the STEPPES of central Siberia\n(the northern parts probably being under water) even in their\npresent condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants\nover the KARROS of Southern Africa.\n\nI will now give an account of the habits of some of the more\ninteresting birds which are common on the wild plains of Northern\nPatagonia: and first for the largest, or South American ostrich.\nThe ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. They\nlive on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at Bahia\nBlanca I have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water\nto the extensive mudbanks which are then dry, for the sake, as the\nGauchos say, of feeding on small fish. Although the ostrich in its\nhabits is so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its\npace, it is caught without much difficulty by the Indian or Gaucho\narmed with the bolas. When several horsemen appear in a semicircle,\nit becomes confounded, and does not know which way to escape. They\ngenerally prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start\nthey expand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one\nfine hot day I saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes,\nwhere they squatted concealed, till quite closely approached. It is\nnot generally known that ostriches readily take to the water. Mr.\nKing informs me that at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes in\nPatagonia, he saw these birds swimming several times from island to\nisland. They ran into the water both when driven down to a point,\nand likewise of their own accord when not frightened: the distance\ncrossed was about two hundred yards. When swimming, very little of\ntheir bodies appear above water; their necks are extended a little\nforward, and their progress is slow. On two occasions I saw some\nostriches swimming across the Santa Cruz river, where its course\nwas about four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain\nSturt, when descending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two emus\nin the act of swimming. (5/11. Sturt's Travels, volume 2 page 74.)\n\nThe inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a\ndistance, the cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and\ndarker-coloured, and has a bigger head. (5/12. A Gucho assured me\nthat he had once seen a snow-white or Albino variety, and that it\nwas a most beautiful bird.) The ostrich, I believe the cock, emits\na singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first I heard it,\nstanding in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought it was made\nby some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence\nit comes, or from how far distant. When we were at Bahia Blanca in\nthe months of September and October, the eggs, in extraordinary\nnumbers, were found all over the country. They lie either scattered\nand single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by\nthe Spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a\nshallow excavation, which forms the nest. Out of the four nests\nwhich I saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth\ntwenty-seven. In one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs\nwere found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the\nremaining twenty, scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously\naffirm, and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the\nmale bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards\naccompanies the young. The cock when on the nest lies very close; I\nhave myself almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such\ntimes they are occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that\nthey have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick\nand leap on him. My informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he\nhad seen much terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell's\n\"Travels in South Africa\" that he remarks, \"Having killed a male\nostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said by the\nHottentots to be a nest bird.\" I understand that the male emu in\nthe Zoological Gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit,\ntherefore, is common to the family.\n\nThe Gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one\nnest. I have been positively told that four or five hen birds have\nbeen watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the other,\nto the same nest. I may add, also, that it is believed in Africa\nthat two or more females lay in one nest. (5/13. Burchell's\n\"Travels\" volume 1 page 280.) Although this habit at first appears\nvery strange, I think the cause may be explained in a simple\nmanner. The number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty,\nand even to fifty; and according to Azara, sometimes to seventy or\neighty. Now although it is most probable, from the number of eggs\nfound in one district being so extraordinarily great in proportion\nto the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of\nthe hen, that she may in the course of the season lay a large\nnumber, yet the time required must be very long. Azara states that\na female in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at\nthe interval of three days one from another. (5/14. Azara volume 4\npage 173.) If the hen was obliged to hatch her own eggs, before the\nlast was laid the first probably would be addled; but if each laid\na few eggs at successive periods, in different nests, and several\nhens, as is stated to be the case, combined together, then the eggs\nin one collection would be nearly of the same age. If the number of\neggs in one of these nests is, as I believe, not greater on an\naverage than the number laid by one female in the season, then\nthere must be as many nests as females, and each cock bird will\nhave its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that during a\nperiod when the females probably could not sit, from not having\nfinished laying. (5/15. Lichtenstein, however, asserts \"Travels\"\nvolume 2 page 25, that the hens begin sitting when they have laid\nten or twelve eggs; and that they continue laying, I presume in\nanother nest. This appears to me very improbable. He asserts that\nfour or five hens associate for incubation with one cock, who sits\nonly at night.) I have before mentioned the great numbers of\nhuachos, or deserted eggs; so that in one day's hunting twenty were\nfound in this state. It appears odd that so many should be wasted.\nDoes it not arise from the difficulty of several females\nassociating together, and finding a male ready to undertake the\noffice of incubation? It is evident that there must at first be\nsome degree of association between at least two females; otherwise\nthe eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances\nfar too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest:\nsome authors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited\nfor the young birds to feed on. This can hardly be the case in\nAmerica, because the huachos, although often found addled and\nputrid, are generally whole.\n\nWhen at the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly heard the\nGauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called Avestruz\nPetise. They described it as being less than the common ostrich\n(which is there abundant), but with a very close general\nresemblance. They said its colour was dark and mottled, and that\nits legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the\ncommon ostrich. It is more easily caught by the bolas than the\nother species. The few inhabitants who had seen both kinds,\naffirmed they could distinguish them apart from a long distance.\nThe eggs of the small species appeared, however, more generally\nknown; and it was remarked, with surprise, that they were very\nlittle less than those of the Rhea but of a slightly different\nform, and with a tinge of pale blue. This species occurs most\nrarely on the plains bordering the Rio Negro; but about a degree\nand a half farther south they are tolerably abundant. When at Port\nDesire, in Patagonia (latitude 48 degrees), Mr. Martens shot an\nostrich; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in the most\nunaccountable manner, the whole subject of the Petises, and thought\nit was a not full-grown bird of the common sort. It was cooked and\neaten before my memory returned. Fortunately the head, neck, legs,\nwings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin,\nhad been preserved; and from these a very nearly perfect specimen\nhas been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the\nZoological Society. Mr. Gould, in describing this new species, has\ndone me the honour of calling it after my name.\n\nAmong the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we found a\nhalf Indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but had been\nborn in the northern provinces. I asked him if he had ever heard of\nthe Avestruz Petise. He answered by saying, \"Why, there are none\nothers in these southern countries.\" He informed me that the number\nof eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably less than in that\nof the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average, but\nhe asserted that more than one female deposited them. At Santa Cruz\nwe saw several of these birds. They were excessively wary: I think\nthey could see a person approaching when too far off to be\ndistinguished themselves. In ascending the river few were seen; but\nin our quiet and rapid descent many, in pairs and by fours or\nfives, were observed. It was remarked that this bird did not expand\nits wings, when first starting at full speed, after the manner of\nthe northern kind. In conclusion I may observe that the Struthio\nrhea inhabits the country of La Plata as far as a little south of\nthe Rio Negro in latitude 41 degrees, and that the Struthio\nDarwinii takes its place in Southern Patagonia; the part about the\nRio Negro being neutral territory. M. A. d'Orbigny, when at the Rio\nNegro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never had the\ngood fortune to succeed. (5/16. When at the Rio Negro, we heard\nmuch of the indefatigable labours of this naturalist. M. Alcide\nd'Orbigny, during the years 1825 to 1833, traversed several large\nportions of South America, and has made a collection, and is now\npublishing the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once\nplaces himself in the list of American travellers second only to\nHumboldt.) Dobrizhoffer long ago was aware of there being two kinds\nof ostriches, he says, \"You must know, moreover, that Emus differ\nin size and habits in different tracts of land; for those that\ninhabit the plains of Buenos Ayres and Tucuman are larger, and have\nblack, white and grey feathers; those near to the Strait of\nMagellan are smaller and more beautiful, for their white feathers\nare tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones in\nlike manner terminate in white.\" (5/17. \"Account of the Abipones\"\nA.D. 1749 volume 1 English translation page 314.)\n\nA very singular little bird, Tinochorus rumicivorus, is here\ncommon: in its habits and general appearance it nearly equally\npartakes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and\nsnipe. The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern South\nAmerica, wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture\nland. It frequents in pairs or small flocks the most desolate\nplaces, where scarcely another living creature can exist. Upon\nbeing approached they squat close, and then are very difficult to\nbe distinguished from the ground. When feeding they walk rather\nslowly, with their legs wide apart. They dust themselves in roads\nand sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where they may be\nfound day after day: like partridges, they take wing in a flock. In\nall these respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable\nfood, in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form\nof foot, the Tinochorus has a close affinity with quails. But as\nsoon as the bird is seen flying, its whole appearance changes; the\nlong pointed wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous\norder, the irregular manner of flight, and plaintive cry uttered at\nthe moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe. The sportsmen of\nthe \"Beagle\" unanimously called it the short-billed snipe. To this\ngenus, or rather to the family of the Waders, its skeleton shows\nthat it is really related.\n\nThe Tinochorus is closely related to some other South American\nbirds. Two species of the genus Attagis are in almost every respect\nptarmigans in their habits; one lives in Tierra del Fuego, above\nthe limits of the forest land; and the other just beneath the\nsnow-line on the Cordillera of Central Chile. A bird of another\nclosely allied genus, Chionis alba, is an inhabitant of the\nantarctic regions; it feeds on seaweed and shells on the tidal\nrocks. Although not web-footed, from some unaccountable habit it is\nfrequently met with far out at sea. This small family of birds is\none of those which, from its varied relations to other families,\nalthough at present offering only difficulties to the systematic\nnaturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the grand scheme,\ncommon to the present and past ages, on which organised beings have\nbeen created.\n\nThe genus Furnarius contains several species, all small birds,\nliving on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. In\nstructure they cannot be compared to any European form.\nOrnithologists have generally included them among the creepers,\nalthough opposed to that family in every habit. The best known\nspecies is the common oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara or\nhousemaker of the Spaniards. The nest, whence it takes its name, is\nplaced in the most exposed situations, as on the top of a post, a\nbare rock, or on a cactus. It is composed of mud and bits of straw,\nand has strong thick walls: in shape it precisely resembles an\noven, or depressed beehive. The opening is large and arched, and\ndirectly in front, within the nest, there is a partition, which\nreaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or antechamber\nto the true nest.\n\nAnother and smaller species of Furnarius (F. cunicularius),\nresembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage,\nin a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner of\nrunning by starts. From its affinity, the Spaniards call it\nCasarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification is\nquite different. The Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a\nnarrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to\nnearly six feet under ground. Several of the country people told\nme, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had\nscarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end of the passage. The\nbird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road\nor stream. Here (at Bahia Blanca) the walls round the houses are\nbuilt of hardened mud, and I noticed that one, which enclosed a\ncourtyard where I lodged, was bored through by round holes in a\nscore of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly\ncomplained of the little casarita, several of which I afterwards\nobserved at work. It is rather curious to find how incapable these\nbirds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although\nthey were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued\nvainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their\nnests. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to\ndaylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the\nmarvellous fact.\n\nI have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this\ncountry. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the Dasypus\nminutus or pichy, the D. villosus or peludo, and the apar. The\nfirst extends ten degrees farther south than any other kind; a\nfourth species, the Mulita, does not come as far south as Bahia\nBlanca. The four species have nearly similar habits; the peludo,\nhowever, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the open\nplains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes.\nThe apar, commonly called mataco, is remarkable by having only\nthree movable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering being\nnearly inflexible. It has the power of rolling itself into a\nperfect sphere, like one kind of English woodlouse. In this state\nit is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog not being able to\ntake the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball\nslips away. The smooth hard covering of the mataco offers a better\ndefence than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. The pichy prefers a\nvery dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many\nmonths it can never taste water, is its favourite resort: it often\ntries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. In the\ncourse of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were generally\nmet with. The instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order\nto catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the\nanimal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would almost\ndisappear before one could alight. It seems almost a pity to kill\nsuch nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while sharpening\nhis knife on the back of one, \"Son tan mansos\" (they are so quiet).\n\nOf reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus, or\nCophias, subsequently called by M. Bibron T. crepitans), from the\nsize of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly.\nCuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes this a\nsub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and the\nviper. In confirmation of this opinion, I observed a fact, which\nappears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every\ncharacter, even though it may be in some degree independent of\nstructure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. The extremity of\nthe tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which is very\nslightly enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly\nvibrates the last inch; and this part striking against the dry\ngrass and brushwood, produces a rattling noise, which can be\ndistinctly heard at the distance of six feet. As often as the\nanimal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the\nvibrations were extremely rapid. Even as long as the body retained\nits irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident.\nThis Trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure\nof a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake: the noise, however,\nbeing produced by a simpler device. The expression of this snake's\nface was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit\nin a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and\nthe nose terminated in a triangular projection. I do not think I\never saw anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps, some of the\nvampire bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the\nfeatures being placed in positions, with respect to each other,\nsomewhat proportional to those of the human face; and thus we\nobtain a scale of hideousness.\n\nAmongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad\n(Phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour. If\nwe imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink,\nand then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted\nwith the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet\nand parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be\ngained. If it had been an unnamed species, surely it ought to have\nbeen called Diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear\nof Eve. Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads\nare, and living in damp obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat\nof the day about the dry sand-hillocks and arid plains, where not a\nsingle drop of water can be found. It must necessarily depend on\nthe dew for its moisture; and this probably is absorbed by the\nskin, for it is known that these reptiles possess great powers of\ncutaneous absorption. At Maldonado, I found one in a situation\nnearly as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and thinking to give it a great\ntreat, carried it to a pool of water; not only was the little\nanimal unable to swim, but I think without help it would soon have\nbeen drowned.\n\nOf lizards there were many kinds, but only one (Proctotretus\nmultimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. It lives on the bare\nsand near the sea-coast, and from its mottled colour, the brownish\nscales being speckled with white, yellowish red, and dirty blue,\ncan hardly be distinguished from the surrounding surface. When\nfrightened, it attempts to avoid discovery by feigning death, with\noutstretched legs, depressed body, and closed eyes: if further\nmolested, it buries itself with great quickness in the loose sand.\nThis lizard, from its flattened body and short legs, cannot run\nquickly.\n\nI will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in this\npart of South America. When we first arrived at Bahia Blanca,\nSeptember 7th, 1832, we thought nature had granted scarcely a\nliving creature to this sandy and dry country. By digging, however,\nin the ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were\nfound in a half-torpid state. On the 15th, a few animals began to\nappear, and by the 18th (three days from the equinox), everything\nannounced the commencement of spring. The plains were ornamented by\nthe flowers of a pink wood-sorrel, wild peas, oenotherae, and\ngeraniums; and the birds began to lay their eggs. Numerous\nLamellicorn and Heteromerous insects, the latter remarkable for\ntheir deeply sculptured bodies, were slowly crawling about; while\nthe lizard tribe, the constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted\nabout in every direction. During the first eleven days, whilst\nnature was dormant, the mean temperature taken from observations\nmade every two hours on board the \"Beagle,\" was 51 degrees; and in\nthe middle of the day the thermometer seldom ranged above 55\ndegrees. On the eleven succeeding days, in which all living things\nbecame so animated, the mean was 58 degrees, and the range in the\nmiddle of the day between sixty and seventy. Here then an increase\nof seven degrees in mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme\nheat, was sufficient to awake the functions of life. At Monte\nVideo, from which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three\ndays included between the 26th of July and the 19th of August, the\nmean temperature from 276 observations was 58.4 degrees; the mean\nhottest day being 65.5 degrees, and the coldest 46 degrees. The\nlowest point to which the thermometer fell was 41.5 degrees, and\noccasionally in the middle of the day it rose to 69 or 70 degrees.\nYet with this high temperature, almost every beetle, several genera\nof spiders, snails, and land-shells, toads and lizards, were all\nlying torpid beneath stones. But we have seen that at Bahia Blanca,\nwhich is four degrees southward, and therefore with a climate only\na very little colder, this same temperature, with a rather less\nextreme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders of animated\nbeings. This shows how nicely the stimulus required to arouse\nhybernating animals is governed by the usual climate of the\ndistrict, and not by the absolute heat. It is well known that\nwithin the tropics the hybernation, or more properly aestivation,\nof animals is determined not by the temperature, but by the times\nof drought. Near Rio de Janeiro, I was at first surprised to\nobserve that, a few days after some little depressions had been\nfilled with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown shells\nand beetles, which must have been lying dormant. Humboldt has\nrelated the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a\nspot where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. He\nadds, \"The Indians often find enormous boas, which they call Uji,\nor water serpents, in the same lethargic state. To reanimate them,\nthey must be irritated or wetted with water.\"\n\nI will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (I believe\nVirgularia Patagonica), a kind of sea-pen. It consists of a thin,\nstraight, fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side,\nand surrounding an elastic stony axis, varying in length from eight\ninches to two feet. The stem at one extremity is truncate, but at\nthe other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage. The stony\naxis which gives strength to the stem may be traced at this\nextremity into a mere vessel filled with granular matter. At low\nwater hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, projecting like\nstubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches above the\nsurface of the muddy sand. When touched or pulled they suddenly\ndrew themselves in with force, so as nearly or quite to disappear.\nBy this action, the highly elastic axis must be bent at the lower\nextremity, where it is naturally slightly curved; and I imagine it\nis by this elasticity alone that the zoophyte is enabled to rise\nagain through the mud. Each polypus, though closely united to its\nbrethren, has a distinct mouth, body, and tentacula. Of these\npolypi, in a large specimen, there must be many thousands; yet we\nsee that they act by one movement: they have also one central axis\nconnected with a system of obscure circulation, and the ova are\nproduced in an organ distinct from the separate individuals. (5/18.\nThe cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity\nwere filled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a\nmicroscope, presented an extraordinary appearance. The mass\nconsisted of rounded, semi-transparent, irregular grains,\naggregated together into particles of various sizes. All such\nparticles, and the separate grains, possessed the power of rapid\nmovement; generally revolving around different axes, but sometimes\nprogressive. The movement was visible with a very weak power, but\neven with the highest its cause could not be perceived. It was very\ndifferent from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag,\ncontaining the thin extremity of the axis. On other occasions, when\ndissecting small marine animals beneath the microscope, I have seen\nparticles of pulpy matter, some of large size, as soon as they were\ndisengaged, commence revolving. I have imagined, I know not with\nhow much truth, that this granulo-pulpy matter was in process of\nbeing converted into ova. Certainly in this zoophyte such appeared\nto be the case.) Well may one be allowed to ask, What is an\nindividual? It is always interesting to discover the foundation of\nthe strange tales of the old voyagers; and I have no doubt but that\nthe habits of this Virgularia explain one such case. Captain\nLancaster, in his voyage in 1601, narrates that on the sea-sands of\nthe Island of Sombrero, in the East Indies, he \"found a small twig\ngrowing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up it\nshrinks down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. On\nbeing plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the\ntree groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish, and as soon\nas the worm is entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth,\nand so becomes great. This transformation is one of the strangest\nwonders that I saw in all my travels: for if this tree is plucked\nup, while young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a\nhard stone when dry, much like white coral: thus is this worm twice\ntransformed into different natures. Of these we gathered and\nbrought home many.\" (5/19. Kerr's \"Collection of Voyages\" volume 8\npage 119.)\n\n\nNam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus\nCervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum\nImmensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta\nPer somnum commixta mero.\nDuring my stay at Bahia Blanca, while waiting for the \"Beagle,\" the\nplace was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars\nand victories, between the troops of Rosas and the wild Indians.\nOne day an account came that a small party forming one of the\npostas on the line to Buenos Ayres had been found all murdered. The\nnext day three hundred men arrived from the Colorado, under the\ncommand of Commandant Miranda. A large portion of these men were\nIndians (mansos, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the Cacique\nBernantio. They passed the night here; and it was impossible to\nconceive anything more wild and savage than the scene of their\nbivouac. Some drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed\nthe steaming blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and\nthen, being sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were\nbesmeared with filth and gore.\n\nIn the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with\norders to follow the rastro, or track, even if it led them to\nChile. We subsequently heard that the wild Indians had escaped into\nthe great Pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed.\nOne glance at the rastro tells these people a whole history.\nSupposing they examine the track of a thousand horses, they will\nsoon guess the number of mounted ones by seeing how many have\ncantered; by the depth of the other impressions, whether any horses\nwere loaded with cargoes; by the irregularity of the footsteps, how\nfar tired; by the manner in which the food has been cooked, whether\nthe pursued travelled in haste; by the general appearance, how long\nit has been since they passed. They consider a rastro of ten days\nor a fortnight quite recent enough to be hunted out. We also heard\nthat Miranda struck from the west end of the Sierra Ventana, in a\ndirect line to the island of Cholechel, situated seventy leagues up\nthe Rio Negro. This is a distance of between two and three hundred\nmiles, through a country completely unknown. What other troops in\nthe world are so independent? With the sun for their guide, mare's\nflesh for food, their saddle-cloths for beds,--as long as there is\na little water, these men would penetrate to the end of the world.\n\nA few days afterwards I saw another troop of these banditti-like\nsoldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of Indians at the\nsmall Salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. The\nSpaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a very\nintelligent man. He gave me an account of the last engagement at\nwhich he was present. Some Indians, who had been taken prisoners,\ngave information of a tribe living north of the Colorado. Two\nhundred soldiers were sent; and they first discovered the Indians\nby a cloud of dust from their horses' feet as they chanced to be\ntravelling. The country was mountainous and wild, and it must have\nbeen far in the interior, for the Cordillera were in sight. The\nIndians, men, women, and children, were about one hundred and ten\nin number, and they were nearly all taken or killed, for the\nsoldiers sabre every man. The Indians are now so terrified that\nthey offer no resistance in a body, but each flies, neglecting even\nhis wife and children; but when overtaken, like wild animals, they\nfight against any number to the last moment. One dying Indian\nseized with his teeth the thumb of his adversary, and allowed his\nown eye to be forced out sooner than relinquish his hold. Another,\nwho was wounded, feigned death, keeping a knife ready to strike one\nmore fatal blow. My informer said, when he was pursuing an Indian,\nthe man cried out for mercy, at the same time that he was covertly\nloosing the bolas from his waist, meaning to whirl it round his\nhead and so strike his pursuer. \"I however struck him with my sabre\nto the ground, and then got off my horse, and cut his throat with\nmy knife.\" This is a dark picture; but how much more shocking is\nthe unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear above twenty\nyears old are massacred in cold blood? When I exclaimed that this\nappeared rather inhuman, he answered, \"Why, what can be done? they\nbreed so!\"\n\nEvery one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war,\nbecause it is against barbarians. Who would believe in this age\nthat such atrocities could be committed in a Christian civilised\ncountry? The children of the Indians are saved, to be sold or given\naway as servants, or rather slaves for as long a time as the owners\ncan make them believe themselves slaves; but I believe in their\ntreatment there is little to complain of.\n\nIn the battle four men ran away together. They were pursued, one\nwas killed, and the other three were taken alive. They turned out\nto be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of Indians,\nunited in the common cause of defence, near the Cordillera. The\ntribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a\ngrand council, the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance\nprepared: in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to\nthe Cordillera. They were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six\nfeet high, and all under thirty years of age. The three survivors\nof course possessed very valuable information and to extort this\nthey were placed in a line. The two first being questioned,\nanswered, \"No s‚\" (I do not know), and were one after the other\nshot. The third also said \"No s‚;\" adding, \"Fire, I am a man, and\ncan die!\" Not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united\ncause of their country! The conduct of the above-mentioned cacique\nwas very different; he saved his life by betraying the intended\nplan of warfare, and the point of union in the Andes. It was\nbelieved that there were already six or seven hundred Indians\ntogether, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled.\nAmbassadors were to have been sent to the Indians at the small\nSalinas, near Bahia Blanca, whom I have mentioned that this same\ncacique had betrayed. The communication, therefore, between the\nIndians, extends from the Cordillera to the coast of the Atlantic.\n\nGeneral Rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven\nthe remainder to a common point, to attack them in a body, in the\nsummer, with the assistance of the Chilenos. This operation is to\nbe repeated for three successive years. I imagine the summer is\nchosen as the time for the main attack, because the plains are then\nwithout water, and the Indians can only travel in particular\ndirections. The escape of the Indians to the south of the Rio\nNegro, where in such a vast unknown country they would be safe, is\nprevented by a treaty with the Tehuelches to this effect;--that\nRosas pays them so much to slaughter every Indian who passes to the\nsouth of the river, but if they fail in so doing, they themselves\nare to be exterminated. The war is waged chiefly against the\nIndians near the Cordillera; for many of the tribes on this eastern\nside are fighting with Rosas. The general, however, like Lord\nChesterfield, thinking that his friends may in a future day become\nhis enemies, always places them in the front ranks, so that their\nnumbers may be thinned. Since leaving South America we have heard\nthat this war of extermination completely failed.\n\nAmong the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there were\ntwo very pretty Spanish ones, who had been carried away by the\nIndians when young, and could now only speak the Indian tongue.\nFrom their account they must have come from Salta, a distance in a\nstraight line of nearly one thousand miles. This gives one a grand\nidea of the immense territory over which the Indians roam: yet,\ngreat as it is, I think there will not, in another half-century, be\na wild Indian northward of the Rio Negro. The warfare is too bloody\nto last; the Christians killing every Indian, and the Indians doing\nthe same by the Christians. It is melancholy to trace how the\nIndians have given way before the Spanish invaders. Schirdel says\nthat in 1535, when Buenos Ayres was founded, there were villages\ncontaining two and three thousand inhabitants. (5/20. Purchas's\n\"Collection of Voyages.\" I believe the date was really 1537.) Even\nin Falconer's time (1750) the Indians made inroads as far as Luxan,\nAreco, and Arrecife, but now they are driven beyond the Salado. Not\nonly have whole tribes been exterminated, but the remaining Indians\nhave become more barbarous: instead of living in large villages,\nand being employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase,\nthey now wander about the open plains, without home or fixed\noccupation.\n\nI heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a few\nweeks previously to the one mentioned, at Cholechel. This is a very\nimportant station on account of being a pass for horses; and it\nwas, in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a division\nof the army. When the troops first arrived there they found a tribe\nof Indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. The cacique\nescaped in a manner which astonished every one. The chief Indians\nalways have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any\nurgent occasion. On one of these, an old white horse, the cacique\nsprung, taking with him his little son. The horse had neither\nsaddle nor bridle. To avoid the shots, the Indian rode in the\npeculiar method of his nation; namely, with an arm round the\nhorse's neck, and one leg only on its back. Thus hanging on one\nside, he was seen patting the horse's head, and talking to him. The\npursuers urged every effort in the chase; the Commandant three\ntimes changed his horse, but all in vain. The old Indian father and\nhis son escaped, and were free. What a fine picture one can form in\none's mind,--the naked, bronze-like figure of the old man with his\nlittle boy, riding like a Mazeppa on the white horse, thus leaving\nfar behind him the host of his pursuers!\n\nI saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which\nI immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an\narrow. He told me it was found near the island of Cholechel, and\nthat they are frequently picked up there. It was between two and\nthree inches long, and therefore twice as large as those now used\nin Tierra del Fuego: it was made of opaque cream-coloured flint,\nbut the point and barbs had been intentionally broken off. It is\nwell known that no Pampas Indians now use bows and arrows. I\nbelieve a small tribe in Banda Oriental must be excepted; but they\nare widely separated from the Pampas Indians, and border close on\nthose tribes that inhabit the forest, and live on foot. It appears,\ntherefore, that these arrow-heads are antiquarian relics of the\nIndians, before the great change in habits consequent on the\nintroduction of the horse into South America. (5/21. Azara has even\ndoubted whether the Pampas Indians ever used bows. [Several similar\nagate arrow-heads have since been dug up at Chupat, and two were\ngiven to me, on the occasion of my visit there, by the\nGovernor.--R.T. Pritchett, 1880.])\n\n\n(PLATE 23.  RHEA DARWINII (Avestruz Petise).)\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n(PLATE 24.  LANDING AT BUENOS AYRES.)\n\nSet out for Buenos Ayres.\nRio Sauce.\nSierra Ventana.\nThird Posta.\nDriving Horses.\nBolas.\nPartridges and Foxes.\nFeatures of the Country.\nLong-legged Plover.\nTeru-tero.\nHail-storm.\nNatural Enclosures in the Sierra Tapalguen.\nFlesh of Puma.\nMeat Diet.\nGuardia del Monte.\nEffects of Cattle on the Vegetation.\nCardoon.\nBuenos Ayres.\nCorral where Cattle are slaughtered.\n\nBAHIA BLANCA TO BUENOS AYRES.\n\nSEPTEMBER 8, 1833.\n\n\n\nI hired a Gaucho to accompany me on my ride to Buenos Ayres, though\nwith some difficulty, as the father of one man was afraid to let\nhim go, and another who seemed willing, was described to me as so\nfearful that I was afraid to take him, for I was told that even if\nhe saw an ostrich at a distance, he would mistake it for an Indian,\nand would fly like the wind away. The distance to Buenos Ayres is\nabout four hundred miles, and nearly the whole way through an\nuninhabited country. We started early in the morning; ascending a\nfew hundred feet from the basin of green turf on which Bahia Blanca\nstands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. It consists of a\ncrumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the dry nature of\nthe climate, supports only scattered tufts of withered grass,\nwithout a single bush or tree to break the monotonous uniformity.\nThe weather was fine, but the atmosphere remarkably hazy; I thought\nthe appearance foreboded a gale, but the Gauchos said it was owing\nto the plain, at some great distance in the interior, being on\nfire. After a long gallop, having changed horses twice, we reached\nthe Rio Sauce: it is a deep, rapid, little stream, not above\ntwenty-five feet wide. The second posta on the road to Buenos Ayres\nstands on its banks, a little above there is a ford for horses,\nwhere the water does not reach to the horses' belly; but from that\npoint, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable, and hence\nmakes a most useful barrier against the Indians.\n\nInsignificant as this stream is, the Jesuit Falconer, whose\ninformation is generally so very correct, figures it as a\nconsiderable river, rising at the foot of the Cordillera. With\nrespect to its source, I do not doubt that this is the case; for\nthe Gauchos assured me, that in the middle of the dry summer this\nstream, at the same time with the Colorado, has periodical floods,\nwhich can only originate in the snow melting on the Andes. It is\nextremely improbable that a stream so small as the Sauce then was\nshould traverse the entire width of the continent; and indeed, if\nit were the residue of a large river, its waters, as in other\nascertained cases, would be saline. During the winter we must look\nto the springs round the Sierra Ventana as the source of its pure\nand limpid stream. I suspect the plains of Patagonia, like those of\nAustralia, are traversed by many watercourses, which only perform\ntheir proper parts at certain periods. Probably this is the case\nwith the water which flows into the head of Port Desire, and\nlikewise with the Rio Chupat, on the banks of which masses of\nhighly cellular scoriae were found by the officers employed in the\nsurvey.\n\nAs it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took fresh\nhorses and a soldier for a guide, and started for the Sierra de la\nVentana. This mountain is visible from the anchorage at Bahia\nBlanca; and Captain Fitz Roy calculates its height to be 3340\nfeet--an altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of the\ncontinent. I am not aware that any foreigner, previous to my visit,\nhad ascended this mountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at\nBahia Blanca knew anything about it. Hence we heard of beds of\ncoal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of forests, all of which\ninflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it. The distance from the\nposta was about six leagues, over a level plain of the same\ncharacter as before. The ride was, however, interesting, as the\nmountain began to show its true form. When we reached the foot of\nthe main ridge, we had much difficulty in finding any water, and we\nthought we should have been obliged to have passed the night\nwithout any. At last we discovered some by looking close to the\nmountain, for at the distance even of a few hundred yards, the\nstreamlets were buried and entirely lost in the friable calcareous\nstone and loose detritus. I do not think Nature ever made a more\nsolitary, desolate pile of rock;--it well deserves its name of\nHurtado, or separated. The mountain is steep, extremely rugged, and\nbroken, and so entirely destitute of trees, and even bushes, that\nwe actually could not make a skewer to stretch out our meat over\nthe fire of thistle-stalks. (6/1. I call these thistle-stalks for\nthe want of a more correct name. I believe it is a species of\nEryngium.) The strange aspect of this mountain is contrasted by the\nsea-like plain, which not only abuts against its steep sides, but\nlikewise separates the parallel ranges. The uniformity of the\ncolouring gives an extreme quietness to the view;--the whitish grey\nof the quartz rock, and the light brown of the withered grass of\nthe plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint. From custom one\nexpects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and bold mountain a\nbroken country strewed over with huge fragments. Here Nature shows\nthat the last movement before the bed of the sea is changed into\ndry land may sometimes be one of tranquillity. Under these\ncircumstances I was curious to observe how far from the parent rock\nany pebbles could be found. On the shores of Bahia Blanca, and near\nthe settlement, there were some of quartz, which certainly must\nhave come from this source: the distance is forty-five miles.\n\nThe dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the\nsaddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen. The\nplain, though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped up to a\nheight of between 800 and 900 feet above the sea. In the morning\n(9th of September) the guide told me to ascend the nearest ridge,\nwhich he thought would lead me to the four peaks that crown the\nsummit. The climbing up such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the\nsides were so indented, that what was gained in one five minutes\nwas often lost in the next. At last, when I reached the ridge, my\ndisappointment was extreme in finding a precipitous valley as deep\nas the plain, which cut the chain traversely in two, and separated\nme from the four points. This valley is very narrow, but\nflat-bottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the Indians, as\nit connects the plains on the northern and southern sides of the\nrange. Having descended, and while crossing it, I saw two horses\ngrazing: I immediately hid myself in the long grass, and began to\nreconnoitre; but as I could see no signs of Indians I proceeded\ncautiously on my second ascent. It was late in the day, and this\npart of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. I was\non the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with\nextreme difficulty; every twenty yards I had the cramp in the upper\npart of both thighs, so that I was afraid I should not have been\nable to have got down again. It was also necessary to return by\nanother road, as it was out of the question to pass over the\nsaddle-back. I was therefore obliged to give up the two higher\npeaks. Their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose of\ngeology had been answered; so that the attempt was not worth the\nhazard of any further exertion. I presume the cause of the cramp\nwas the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that of\nhard riding to that of still harder climbing. It is a lesson worth\nremembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty.\n\nI have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz rock,\nand with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. At the height\nof a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglomerate\nadhered in several places to the solid rock. They resembled in\nhardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be\nseen daily forming on some coasts. I do not doubt these pebbles\nwere in a similar manner aggregated, at a period when the great\ncalcareous formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. We\nmay believe that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz\nyet show the effects of the waves of an open ocean.\n\nI was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Even the view\nwas insignificant;--a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful\ncolour and defined outline. The scene, however, was novel, and a\nlittle danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish. That the danger\nwas very little was certain, for my two companions made a good\nfire--a thing which is never done when it is suspected that Indians\nare near. I reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and\ndrinking much mat‚, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my\nbed for the night. The wind was very strong and cold, but I never\nslept more comfortably.\n\nSEPTEMBER 10, 1833.\n\nIn the morning, having fairly scudded before the gale, we arrived\nby the middle of the day at the Sauce posta. On the road we saw\ngreat numbers of deer, and near the mountain a guanaco. The plain,\nwhich abuts against the Sierra, is traversed by some curious\ngulleys, of which one was about twenty feet wide, and at least\nthirty deep; we were obliged in consequence to make a considerable\ncircuit before we could find a pass. We stayed the night at the\nposta, the conversation, as was generally the case, being about the\nIndians. The Sierra Ventana was formerly a great place of resort;\nand three or four years ago there was much fighting there. My guide\nhad been present when many Indians were killed: the women escaped\nto the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with great\nstones; many thus saving themselves.\n\nSEPTEMBER 11, 1833.\n\nProceeded to the third posta in company with the lieutenant who\ncommanded it. The distance is called fifteen leagues; but it is\nonly guess-work, and is generally overstated. The road was\nuninteresting, over a dry grassy plain; and on our left hand at a\ngreater or less distance there were some low hills; a continuation\nof which we crossed close to the posta. Before our arrival we met a\nlarge herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers; but\nwe were told many had been lost. It is very difficult to drive\nanimals across the plains; for if in the night a puma, or even a\nfox, approaches, nothing can prevent the horses dispersing in every\ndirection; and a storm will have the same effect. A short time\nsince, an officer left Buenos Ayres with five hundred horses, and\nwhen he arrived at the army he had under twenty.\n\nSoon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a party of\nhorsemen were coming towards us; when far distant my companions\nknew them to be Indians, by their long hair streaming behind their\nbacks. The Indians generally have a fillet round their heads, but\nnever any covering; and their black hair blowing across their\nswarthy faces, heightens to an uncommon degree the wildness of\ntheir appearance. They turned out to be a party of Bernantio's\nfriendly tribe, going to a salina for salt. The Indians eat much\nsalt, their children sucking it like sugar. This habit is very\ndifferent from that of the Spanish Gauchos, who, leading the same\nkind of life, eat scarcely any: according to Mungo Park, it is\npeople who live on vegetable food who have an unconquerable desire\nfor salt. (6/2. \"Travels in Africa\" page 233.) The Indians gave us\ngood-humoured nods as they passed at full gallop, driving before\nthem a troop of horses, and followed by a train of lanky dogs.\n\nSEPTEMBER 12 AND 13, 1833.\n\nI stayed at this posta two days, waiting for a troop of soldiers,\nwhich General Rosas had the kindness to send to inform me would\nshortly travel to Buenos Ayres; and he advised me to take the\nopportunity of the escort. In the morning we rode to some\nneighbouring hills to view the country, and to examine the geology.\nAfter dinner the soldiers divided themselves into two parties for a\ntrial of skill with the bolas. Two spears were stuck in the ground\ntwenty-five yards apart, but they were struck and entangled only\nonce in four or five times. The balls can be thrown fifty or sixty\nyards, but with little certainty. This, however, does not apply to\na man on horseback; for when the speed of the horse is added to the\nforce of the arm, it is said that they can be whirled with effect\nto the distance of eighty yards. As a proof of their force, I may\nmention, that at the Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards murdered\nsome of their own countrymen and all the Englishmen, a young\nfriendly Spaniard was running away, when a great tall man, by name\nLuciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting to him to stop,\nand saying that he only wanted to speak to him. Just as the\nSpaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, Luciano threw the\nballs: they struck him on the legs with such a jerk, as to throw\nhim down and to render him for some time insensible. The man, after\nLuciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. He told us that\nhis legs were marked by great weals, where the thong had wound\nround, as if he had been flogged with a whip. In the middle of the\nday two men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next posta to be\nforwarded to the general: so that besides these two, our party\nconsisted this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and\nhis four soldiers. The latter were strange beings; the first a fine\nyoung negro; the second half Indian and negro; and the two others\nnondescripts; namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany,\nand another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels, with such\ndetestable expressions, I never saw before. At night, when they\nwere sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, I retired to\nview such a Salvator Rosa scene. They were seated under a low\ncliff, so that I could look down upon them; around the party were\nlying dogs, arms, remnants of deer and ostriches; and their long\nspears were stuck in the turf. Farther in the dark background their\nhorses were tied up, ready for any sudden danger. If the stillness\nof the desolate plain was broken by one of the dogs barking, a\nsoldier, leaving the fire, would place his head close to the\nground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. Even if the noisy\nteru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in the\nconversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined.\n\nWhat a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! They were at\nleast ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and since the murder\ncommitted by the Indians, twenty from another. The Indians are\nsupposed to have made their attack in the middle of the night; for\nvery early in the morning after the murder, they were luckily seen\napproaching this posta. The whole party here, however, escaped,\ntogether with the troop of horses; each one taking a line for\nhimself, and driving with him as many animals as he was able to\nmanage.\n\nThe little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept,\nneither kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the\nonly effect the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops.\nThey had nothing to eat excepting what they could catch, such as\nostriches, deer, armadilloes, etc., and their only fuel was the dry\nstalks of a small plant, somewhat resembling an aloe. The sole\nluxury which these men enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars,\nand sucking mat‚. I used to think that the carrion vultures, man's\nconstant attendants on these dreary plains, while seated on the\nlittle neighbouring cliffs, seemed by their very patience to say,\n\"Ah! when the Indians come we shall have a feast.\"\n\n(PLATE 25.  MAT POTS AND BAMBILLIO.)\n\nIn the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although we had\nnot much success, there were some animated chases. Soon after\nstarting the party separated, and so arranged their plans, that at\na certain time of the day (in guessing which they show much skill)\nthey should all meet from different points of the compass on a\nplain piece of ground, and thus drive together the wild animals.\nOne day I went out hunting at Bahia Blanca, but the men there\nmerely rode in a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile\napart from the other. A fine male ostrich being turned by the\nheadmost riders, tried to escape on one side. The Gauchos pursued\nat a reckless pace, twisting their horses about with the most\nadmirable command, and each man whirling the balls round his head.\nAt length the foremost threw them, revolving through the air: in an\ninstant the ostrich rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed\ntogether by the thong.\n\nThe plains abound with three kinds of partridge, two of which are\nas large as hen pheasants. (6/3. Two species of Tinamus and\nEudromia elegans of A. d'Orbigny, which can only be called a\npartridge with regard to its habits.) Their destroyer, a small and\npretty fox, was also singularly numerous; in the course of the day\nwe could not have seen less than forty or fifty. They were\ngenerally near their earths, but the dogs killed one. When we\nreturned to the posta, we found two of the party returned who had\nbeen hunting by themselves. They had killed a puma, and had found\nan ostrich's nest with twenty-seven eggs in it. Each of these is\nsaid to equal in weight eleven hens' eggs; so that we obtained from\nthis one nest as much food as 297 hens' eggs would have given.\n\nSEPTEMBER 14, 1833.\n\nAs the soldiers belonging to the next posta meant to return, and we\nshould together make a party of five, and all armed, I determined\nnot to wait for the expected troops. My host, the lieutenant,\npressed me much to stop. As he had been very obliging--not only\nproviding me with food, but lending me his private horses--I wanted\nto make him some remuneration. I asked my guide whether I might do\nso, but he told me certainly not; that the only answer I should\nreceive probably would be, \"We have meat for the dogs in our\ncountry, and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian.\" It must\nnot be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would\nat all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high\nsense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge\nas nearly universal throughout these provinces. After galloping\nsome leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for\nnearly eighty miles northward, as far as the Sierra Tapalguen. In\nsome parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while\nothers had a soft, black, and peaty soil. There were also many\nextensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. The country\non the whole resembled the better parts of the Cambridgeshire fens.\nAt night we had some difficulty in finding, amidst the swamps, a\ndry place for our bivouac.\n\nSEPTEMBER 15, 1833.\n\nRose very early in the morning, and shortly after passed the posta\nwhere the Indians had murdered the five soldiers. The officer had\neighteen chuzo wounds in his body. By the middle of the day, after\na hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some\ndifficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the night. As this\npoint was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers\nwere stationed here; at sunset they returned from hunting, bringing\nwith them seven deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and\npartridges. When riding through the country, it is a common\npractice to set fire to the plain; and hence at night, as on this\noccasion, the horizon was illuminated in several places by\nbrilliant conflagrations. This is done partly for the sake of\npuzzling any stray Indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture.\nIn grassy plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it\nseems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as\nto render the new year's growth serviceable.\n\nThe rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely\nconsisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the\nwind. It was situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow\nlake, swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan\nwas conspicuous.\n\nThe kind of plover which appears as if mounted on stilts\n(Himantopus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable\nsize. It has been wrongfully accused of inelegance; when wading\nabout in shallow water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is\nfar from awkward. These birds in a flock utter a noise, that\nsingularly resembles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase:\nwaking in the night, I have more than once been for a moment\nstartled at the distant sound. The teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is\nanother bird which often disturbs the stillness of the night. In\nappearance and habits it resembles in many respects our peewits;\nits wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, like those on the\nlegs of the common cock. As our peewit takes its name from the\nsound of its voice, so does the teru-tero. While riding over the\ngrassy plains, one is constantly pursued by these birds, which\nappear to hate mankind, and I am sure deserve to be hated for their\nnever-ceasing, unvaried, harsh screams. To the sportsman they are\nmost annoying, by telling every other bird and animal of his\napproach: to the traveller in the country they may possibly, as\nMolina says, do good, by warning him of the midnight robber. During\nthe breeding season, they attempt, like our peewits, by feigning to\nbe wounded, to draw away from their nests dogs and other enemies.\nThe eggs of this bird are esteemed a great delicacy.\n\nSEPTEMBER 16, 1833.\n\nTo the seventh posta at the foot of the Sierra Tapalguen. The\ncountry was quite level, with a coarse herbage and a soft peaty\nsoil. The hovel was here remarkably neat, the posts and rafters\nbeing made of about a dozen dry thistle-stalks bound together with\nthongs of hide; and by the support of these Ionic-like columns, the\nroof and sides were thatched with reeds. We were here told a fact,\nwhich I would not have credited, if I had not had partly ocular\nproof of it; namely, that, during the previous night, hail as large\nas small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence\nas to kill the greater number of the wild animals. One of the men\nhad already found thirteen deer (Cervus campestris) lying dead, and\nI saw their FRESH hides; another of the party, a few minutes after\nmy arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know, that one man\nwithout dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. The men\nbelieved they had seen about fifteen dead ostriches (part of one of\nwhich we had for dinner); and they said that several were running\nabout evidently blind in one eye. Numbers of smaller birds, as\nducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. I saw one of the latter\nwith a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a\npaving-stone. A fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly\nbroken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was\nthe matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. The\nstorm was said to have been of limited extent: we certainly saw\nfrom our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this\ndirection. It is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could\nthus have been killed; but I have no doubt, from the evidence I\nhave given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. I am\nglad, however, to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit\nDobrizhoffen, who, speaking of a country much to the northward,\nsays, hail fell of an enormous size and killed vast numbers of\ncattle (6/4. \"History of the Abipones\" volume 2 page 6.): the\nIndians hence called the place Lalegraicavalca, meaning \"the little\nwhite things.\" Dr. Malcolmson, also, informs me that he witnessed\nin 1831 in India a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds\nand much injured the cattle. These hail-stones were flat, and one\nwas ten inches in circumference, and another weighed two ounces.\nThey ploughed up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed\nthrough glass-windows, making round holes, but not cracking them.\n\nHaving finished our dinner of hail-stricken meat, we crossed the\nSierra Tapalguen; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet in\nheight, which commences at Cape Corrientes. The rock in this part\nis pure quartz; farther eastward I understand it is granitic. The\nhills are of a remarkable form; they consist of flat patches of\ntable-land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs, like the\noutliers of a sedimentary deposit. The hill which I ascended was\nvery small, not above a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but I\nsaw others larger. One which goes by the name of the \"Corral,\" is\nsaid to be two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed by\nperpendicular cliffs between thirty and forty feet high, excepting\nat one spot, where the entrance lies. Falconer gives a curious\naccount of the Indians driving troops of wild horses into it, and\nthen by guarding the entrance keeping them secure. (6/5. Falconer's\n\"Patagonia\" page 70.) I have never heard of any other instance of\ntable-land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill I\nexamined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. I was told that\nthe rock of the \"Corral\" was white, and would strike fire.\n\nWe did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen till after it was\ndark. At supper, from something which was said, I was suddenly\nstruck with horror at thinking that I was eating one of the\nfavourite dishes of the country, namely, a half formed calf, long\nbefore its proper time of birth. It turned out to be Puma; the meat\nis very white, and remarkably like veal in taste. Dr. Shaw was\nlaughed at for stating that \"the flesh of the lion is in great\nesteem, having no small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste,\nand flavour.\" Such certainly is the case with the Puma. The Gauchos\ndiffer in their opinion whether the Jaguar is good eating, but are\nunanimous in saying that cat is excellent.\n\nSEPTEMBER 17, 1833.\n\nWe followed the course of the Rio Tapalguen, through a very fertile\ncountry, to the ninth posta. Tapalguen itself, or the town of\nTapalguen, if it may be so called, consists of a perfectly level\nplain, studded over, as far as the eye can reach, with the toldos,\nor oven-shaped huts of the Indians. The families of the friendly\nIndians, who were fighting on the side of Rosas, resided here. We\nmet and passed many young Indian women, riding by two or three\ntogether on the same horse: they, as well as many of the young men,\nwere strikingly handsome,--their fine ruddy complexions being the\npicture of health. Besides the toldos, there were three ranchos;\none inhabited by the Commandant, and the two others by Spaniards\nwith small shops.\n\nWe were here able to buy some biscuit. I had now been several days\nwithout tasting anything besides meat: I did not at all dislike\nthis new regimen; but I felt as if it would only have agreed with\nme with hard exercise. I have heard that patients in England, when\ndesired to confine themselves exclusively to an animal diet, even\nwith the hope of life before their eyes, have hardly been able to\nendure it. Yet the Gaucho in the Pampas, for months together,\ntouches nothing but beef. But they eat, I observe, a very large\nproportion of fat, which is of a less animalised nature; and they\nparticularly dislike dry meat, such as that of the Agouti. Dr.\nRichardson, also, has remarked, \"that when people have fed for a\nlong time solely upon lean animal food, the desire for fat becomes\nso insatiable, that they can consume a large quantity of unmixed\nand even oily fat without nausea\" (6/6. \"Fauna Boreali-Americana\"\nvolume 1 page 35.): this appears to me a curious physiological\nfact. It is, perhaps, from their meat regimen that the Gauchos,\nlike other carnivorous animals, can abstain long from food. I was\ntold that at Tandeel some troops voluntarily pursued a party of\nIndians for three days, without eating or drinking.\n\nWe saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, belts, and\ngarters, woven by the Indian women. The patterns were very pretty,\nand the colours brilliant; the workmanship of the garters was so\ngood that an English merchant at Buenos Ayres maintained they must\nhave been manufactured in England, till he found the tassels had\nbeen fastened by split sinew.\n\nSEPTEMBER 18, 1833.\n\nWe had a very long ride this day. At the twelfth posta, which is\nseven leagues south of the Rio Salado, we came to the first\nestancia with cattle and white women. Afterwards we had to ride for\nmany miles through a country flooded with water above our horses'\nknees. By crossing the stirrups, and riding Arab-like with our legs\nbent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. It was nearly dark\nwhen we arrived at the Salado; the stream was deep, and about forty\nyards wide; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry, and the\nlittle remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea. We slept\nat one of the great estancias of General Rosas. It was fortified,\nand of such an extent, that arriving in the dark I thought it was a\ntown and fortress. In the morning we saw immense herds of cattle,\nthe general here having seventy-four square leagues of land.\nFormerly nearly three hundred men were employed about this estate,\nand they defied all the attacks of the Indians.\n\nSEPTEMBER 19, 1833.\n\nPassed the Guardia del Monte. This is a nice scattered little town,\nwith many gardens, full of peach and quince trees. The plain here\nlooked like that around Buenos Ayres; the turf being short and\nbright green, with beds of clover and thistles, and with bizcacha\nholes. I was very much struck with the marked change in the aspect\nof the country after having crossed the Salado. From a coarse\nherbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green verdure. I at first\nattributed this to some change in the nature of the soil, but the\ninhabitants assured me that here, as well as in Banda Oriental,\nwhere there is as great a difference between the country around\nMonte Video and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of Colonia, the\nwhole was to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the\ncattle. Exactly the same fact has been observed in the prairies of\nNorth America, where coarse grass, between five and six feet high,\nwhen grazed by cattle, changes into common pasture land. (6/7. See\nMr. Atwater's \"Account of the Prairies\" in \"Silliman's North\nAmerican Journal\" volume 1 page 117.) I am not botanist enough to\nsay whether the change here is owing to the introduction of new\nspecies, to the altered growth of the same, or to a difference in\ntheir proportional numbers. Azara has also observed with\nastonishment this change: he is likewise much perplexed by the\nimmediate appearance of plants not occurring in the neighbourhood,\non the borders of any track that leads to a newly-constructed\nhovel. In another part he says, \"Ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la\nmanie de préférer les chemins, et le bord des routes pour déposer\nleurs excrémens, dont on trouve des monceaux dans ces endroits.\"\n(6/8. Azara's \"Voyage\" volume 1 page 373.) Does this not partly\nexplain the circumstance? We thus have lines of richly manured land\nserving as channels of communication across wide districts.\n\n(PLATE 26.  GIANT THISTLE OF PAMPAS.)\n\n(PLATE 27.  CYNARA CARDUNCULUS OR CARDOON.)\n\nNear the Guardia we find the southern limit of two European plants,\nnow become extraordinarily common. The fennel in great profusion\ncovers the ditch-banks in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres, Monte\nVideo, and other towns. But the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) has a\nfar wider range: it occurs in these latitudes on both sides of the\nCordillera, across the continent. (6/9. M. A. d'Orbigny volume 1\npage 474, says that the cardoon and artichoke are both found wild.\nDr. Hooker \"Botanical Magazine\" volume 40 page 2862, has described\na variety of the Cynara from this part of South America under the\nname of inermis. He states that botanists are now generally agreed\nthat the cardoon and the artichoke are varieties of one plant. I\nmay add, that an intelligent farmer assured me that he had observed\nin a deserted garden some artichokes changing into the common\ncardoon. Dr. Hooker believes that Head's vivid description of the\nthistle of the Pampas applies to the cardoon, but this is a\nmistake. Captain Head referred to the plant which I have mentioned\na few lines lower down under the title of giant thistle. Whether it\nis a true thistle, I do not know; but it is quite different from\nthe cardoon; and more like a thistle properly so called.) I saw it\nin unfrequented spots in Chile, Entre Rios, and Banda Oriental. In\nthe latter country alone, very many (probably several hundred)\nsquare miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants, and\nare impenetrable by man or beast. Over the undulating plains, where\nthese great beds occur, nothing else can now live. Before their\nintroduction, however, the surface must have supported, as in other\nparts, a rank herbage. I doubt whether any case is on record of an\ninvasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the aborigines. As I\nhave already said, I nowhere saw the cardoon south of the Salado;\nbut it is probable that in proportion as that country becomes\ninhabited, the cardoon will extend its limits. The case is\ndifferent with the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the\nPampas, for I met with it in the valley of the Sauce. According to\nthe principles so well laid down by Mr. Lyell, few countries have\nundergone more remarkable changes, since the year 1535, when the\nfirst colonist of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses. The\ncountless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered\nthe whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished\nthe guanaco, deer, and ostrich. Numberless other changes must\nlikewise have taken place; the wild pig in some parts probably\nreplaces the peccari; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on\nthe wooded banks of the less-frequented streams; and the common\ncat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky hills.\nAs M. d'Orbigny has remarked, the increase in numbers of the\ncarrion-vulture, since the introduction of the domestic animals,\nmust have been infinitely great; and we have given reasons for\nbelieving that they have extended their southern range. No doubt\nmany plants, besides the cardoon and fennel, are naturalised; thus\nthe islands near the mouth of the Parana are thickly clothed with\npeach and orange trees, springing from seeds carried there by the\nwaters of the river.\n\nWhile changing horses at the Guardia several people questioned us\nmuch about the army,--I never saw anything like the enthusiasm for\nRosas, and for the success of the \"most just of all wars, because\nagainst barbarians.\" This expression, it must be confessed, is very\nnatural, for till lately, neither man, woman, nor horse was safe\nfrom the attacks of the Indians. We had a long day's ride over the\nsame rich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and with here\nand there a solitary estancia, and its one ombu tree. In the\nevening it rained heavily: on arriving at a post-house we were told\nby the owner that if we had not a regular passport we must pass on,\nfor there were so many robbers he would trust no one. When he read,\nhowever, my passport, which began with \"El Naturalista Don Carlos,\"\nhis respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had\nbeen before. What a naturalist might be, neither he nor his\ncountrymen, I suspect, had any idea; but probably my title lost\nnothing of its value from that cause.\n\nSEPTEMBER 20, 1833.\n\nWe arrived by the middle of the day at Buenos Ayres. The outskirts\nof the city looked quite pretty, with the agave hedges, and groves\nof olive, peach and willow trees, all just throwing out their fresh\ngreen leaves. I rode to the house of Mr. Lumb, an English merchant,\nto whose kindness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, I\nwas greatly indebted.\n\nThe city of Buenos Ayres is large; and I should think one of the\nmost regular in the world. (6/10. It is said to contain 60,000\ninhabitants. Monte Video, the second town of importance on the\nbanks of the Plata, has 15,000.) Every street is at right angles to\nthe one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the\nhouses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which\nare called quadras. On the other hand, the houses themselves are\nhollow squares; all the rooms opening into a neat little courtyard.\nThey are generally only one story high, with flat roofs, which are\nfitted with seats, and are much frequented by the inhabitants in\nsummer. In the centre of the town is the Plaza, where the public\noffices, fortress, cathedral, etc., stand. Here also, the old\nviceroys, before the revolution, had their palaces. The general\nassemblage of buildings possesses considerable architectural\nbeauty, although none individually can boast of any.\n\nThe great corral, where the animals are kept for slaughter to\nsupply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the\nspectacles best worth seeing. The strength of the horse as compared\nto that of the bullock is quite astonishing: a man on horseback\nhaving thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it\nanywhere he chooses. The animal ploughing up the ground with\noutstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally\ndashes at full speed to one side; but the horse, immediately\nturning to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is\nalmost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not\nbroken. The struggle is not, however, one of fair strength; the\nhorse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended neck. In\na similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with\nthe lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock has been dragged\nto the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador with great\ncaution cuts the hamstrings. Then is given the death bellow; a\nnoise more expressive of fierce agony than any I know. I have often\ndistinguished it from a long distance, and have always known that\nthe struggle was then drawing to a close. The whole sight is\nhorrible and revolting: the ground is almost made of bones; and the\nhorses and riders are drenched with gore.\n\n\n(PLATE 28.  EVENING CAMP, BUENOS AYRES.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n(PLATE 29.  ROZARIO.)\n\nExcursion to St. Fé.\nThistle Beds.\nHabits of the Bizcacha.\nLittle Owl.\nSaline Streams.\nLevel Plains.\nMastodon.\nSt. Fé.\nChange in Landscape.\nGeology.\nTooth of extinct Horse.\nRelation of the Fossil and recent Quadrupeds of North and South\nAmerica.\nEffects of a great Drought.\nParana.\nHabits of the Jaguar.\nScissor-beak.\nKingfisher, Parrot, and Scissor-tail.\nRevolution.\nBuenos Ayres.\nState of Government.\n\nBUENOS AYRES TO ST. FÉ.\n\nSEPTEMBER 27, 1833.\n\n\n\nIn the evening I set out on an excursion to St. Fé, which is\nsituated nearly three hundred English miles from Buenos Ayres, on\nthe banks of the Parana. The roads in the neighbourhood of the\ncity, after the rainy weather, were extraordinarily bad. I should\nnever have thought it possible for a bullock waggon to have crawled\nalong: as it was, they scarcely went at the rate of a mile an hour,\nand a man was kept ahead, to survey the best line for making the\nattempt. The bullocks were terribly jaded: it is a great mistake to\nsuppose that with improved roads, and an accelerated rate of\ntravelling, the sufferings of the animals increase in the same\nproportion. We passed a train of waggons and a troop of beasts on\ntheir road to Mendoza. The distance is about 580 geographical\nmiles, and the journey is generally performed in fifty days. These\nwaggons are very long, narrow, and thatched with reeds; they have\nonly two wheels, the diameter of which in some cases is as much as\nten feet. Each is drawn by six bullocks, which are urged on by a\ngoad at least twenty feet long: this is suspended from within the\nroof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept; and for the\nintermediate pair, a point projects at right angles from the middle\nof the long one. The whole apparatus looked like some implement of\nwar.\n\nSEPTEMBER 28, 1833.\n\nWe passed the small town of Luxan, where there is a wooden bridge\nover the river--a most unusual convenience in this country. We\npassed also Areco. The plains appeared level, but were not so in\nfact; for in various places the horizon was distant. The estancias\nare here wide apart; for there is little good pasture, owing to the\nland being covered by beds either of an acrid clover, or of the\ngreat thistle. The latter, well known from the animated description\ngiven by Sir F. Head, were at this time of the year two-thirds\ngrown; in some parts they were as high as the horse's back, but in\nothers they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare and\ndusty as on a turnpike-road. The clumps were of the most brilliant\ngreen, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of broken forest\nland. When the thistles are full grown, the great beds are\nimpenetrable, except by a few tracks, as intricate as those in a\nlabyrinth. These are only known to the robbers, who at this season\ninhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut throats with\nimpunity. Upon asking at a house whether robbers were numerous, I\nwas answered, \"The thistles are not up yet;\"--the meaning of which\nreply was not at first very obvious. There is little interest in\npassing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or\nbirds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl.\n\nThe bizcacha is well known to form a prominent feature in the\nzoology of the Pampas. (7/1. The bizcacha (Lagostomus\ntrichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large rabbit, but with bigger\ngnawing teeth and a long tail; it has, however, only three toes\nbehind, like the agouti. During the last three or four years the\nskins of these animals have been sent to England for the sake of\nthe fur.) It is found as far south as the Rio Negro, in latitude 41\ndegrees, but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the\ngravelly and desert plains of Patagonia, but prefers a clayey or\nsandy soil, which produces a different and more abundant\nvegetation. Near Mendoza, at the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs\nin close neighbourhood with the allied alpine species. It is a very\ncurious circumstance in its geographical distribution, that it has\nnever been seen, fortunately for the inhabitants of Banda Oriental,\nto the eastward of the river Uruguay: yet in this province there\nare plains which appear admirably adapted to its habits. The\nUruguay has formed an insuperable obstacle to its migration:\nalthough the broader barrier of the Parana has been passed, and the\nbizcacha is common in Entre Rios, the province between these two\ngreat rivers. Near Buenos Ayres these animals are exceedingly\ncommon. Their most favourite resort appears to be those parts of\nthe plain which during one-half of the year are covered with giant\nthistles, to the exclusion of other plants. The Gauchos affirm that\nit lives on roots; which, from the great strength of its gnawing\nteeth, and the kind of places frequented by it, seems probable. In\nthe evening the bizcachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at\nthe mouths of their burrows on their haunches. At such times they\nare very tame, and a man on horseback passing by seems only to\npresent an object for their grave contemplation. They run very\nawkwardly, and when running out of danger, from their elevated\ntails and short front legs, much resemble great rats. Their flesh,\nwhen cooked, is very white and good, but it is seldom used.\n\nThe bizcacha has one very singular habit; namely, dragging every\nhard object to the mouth of its burrow: around each group of holes\nmany bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth,\ndry dung, etc., are collected into an irregular heap, which\nfrequently amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. I was\ncredibly informed that a gentleman, when riding on a dark night,\ndropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching the\nneighbourhood of every bizcacha hole on the line of road, as he\nexpected, he soon found it. This habit of picking up whatever may\nbe lying on the ground anywhere near its habitation must cost much\ntrouble. For what purpose it is done, I am quite unable to form\neven the most remote conjecture: it cannot be for defence, because\nthe rubbish is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which\nenters the ground at a very small inclination. No doubt there must\nexist some good reason; but the inhabitants of the country are\nquite ignorant of it. The only fact which I know analogous to it,\nis the habit of that extraordinary Australian bird, the Calodera\nmaculata, which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs for\nplaying in, and which collects near the spot land and sea-shells,\nbones, and the feathers of birds, especially brightly coloured\nones. Mr. Gould, who has described these facts, informs me, that\nthe natives, when they lose any hard object, search the playing\npassages, and he has known a tobacco-pipe thus recovered.\n\nThe little owl (Athene cunicularia), which has been so often\nmentioned, on the plains of Buenos Ayres exclusively inhabits the\nholes of the bizcacha; but in Banda Oriental it is its own workman.\nDuring the open day, but more especially in the evening, these\nbirds may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs\non the hillock near their burrows. If disturbed they either enter\nthe hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably\nundulatory flight to a short distance, and then turning round,\nsteadily gaze at their pursuer. Occasionally in the evening they\nmay be heard hooting. I found in the stomachs of two which I opened\nthe remains of mice, and I one day saw a small snake killed and\ncarried away. It is said that snakes are their common prey during\nthe daytime. I may here mention, as showing on what various kinds\nof food owls subsist, that a species killed among the islets of the\nChonos Archipelago had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. In\nIndia there is a fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches\ncrabs. (7/2. \"Journal of Asiatic Soc.\" volume 5 page 363.)\n\nIn the evening we crossed the Rio Arrecife on a simple raft made of\nbarrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on the other\nside. I this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and\nalthough the sun was glaring hot I was but little fatigued. When\nCaptain Head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, I do not imagine\nthe distance is equal to 150 English miles. At all events, the\nthirty-one leagues was only 76 miles in a straight line, and in an\nopen country I should think four additional miles for turnings\nwould be a sufficient allowance.\n\nSEPTEMBER 29 AND 30, 1833.\n\n(PLATE 30.  PARANA RIVER.)\n\nWe continued to ride over plains of the same character. At San\nNicolas I first saw the noble river of the Parana. At the foot of\nthe cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels were at\nanchor. Before arriving at Rozario, we crossed the Saladillo, a\nstream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink.\nRozario is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a\ncliff about sixty feet high over the Parana. The river here is very\nbroad, with many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the\nopposite shore. The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it\nwere not for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of\nrunning water. The cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes\nthey are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other\ntimes in large broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees.\nThe real grandeur, however, of an immense river like this is\nderived from reflecting how important a means of communication and\ncommerce it forms between one nation and another; to what a\ndistance it travels, and from how vast a territory it drains the\ngreat body of fresh water which flows past your feet.\n\nFor many leagues north and south of San Nicolas and Rozario, the\ncountry is really level. Scarcely anything which travellers have\nwritten about its extreme flatness can be considered as\nexaggeration. Yet I could never find a spot where, by slowly\nturning round, objects were not seen at greater distances in some\ndirections than in others; and this manifestly proves inequality in\nthe plain. At sea, a person's eye being six feet above the surface\nof the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths distant. In\nlike manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly does the\nhorizon approach within these narrow limits; and this, in my\nopinion, entirely destroys that grandeur which one would have\nimagined that a vast level plain would have possessed.\n\n(PLATE 31.  TOXODON PLATENSIS. (FOUND AT SALADILLO.))\n\nOCTOBER 1, 1833.\n\nWe started by moonlight and arrived at the Rio Tercero by sunrise.\nThis river is also called the Saladillo, and it deserves the name,\nfor the water is brackish. I stayed here the greater part of the\nday, searching for fossil bones. Besides a perfect tooth of the\nToxodon, and many scattered bones, I found two immense skeletons\nnear each other, projecting in bold relief from the perpendicular\ncliff of the Parana. They were, however, so completely decayed,\nthat I could only bring away small fragments of one of the great\nmolar teeth; but these are sufficient to show that the remains\nbelonged to a Mastodon, probably to the same species with that\nwhich formerly must have inhabited the Cordillera in Upper Peru in\nsuch great numbers. The men who took me in the canoe said they had\nlong known of these skeletons, and had often wondered how they had\ngot there: the necessity of a theory being felt, they came to the\nconclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was formerly a\nburrowing animal! In the evening we rode another stage, and crossed\nthe Monge, another brackish stream, bearing the dregs of the\nwashings of the Pampas.\n\nOCTOBER 2, 1833.\n\nWe passed through Corunda, which, from the luxuriance of its\ngardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw. From this point\nto St. Fé the road is not very safe. The western side of the Parana\nnorthward ceases to be inhabited; and hence the Indians sometimes\ncome down thus far, and waylay travellers. The nature of the\ncountry also favours this, for instead of a grassy plain, there is\nan open woodland, composed of low prickly mimosas. We passed some\nhouses that had been ransacked and since deserted; we saw also a\nspectacle, which my guides viewed with high satisfaction; it was\nthe skeleton of an Indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones,\nsuspended to the branch of a tree.\n\nIn the morning we arrived at St. Fé. I was surprised to observe how\ngreat a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of\nlatitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had caused. This was\nevident from the dress and complexion of the men--from the\nincreased size of the ombu-trees--the number of new cacti and other\nplants--and especially from the birds. In the course of an hour I\nremarked half-a-dozen birds, which I had never seen at Buenos\nAyres. Considering that there is no natural boundary between the\ntwo places, and that the character of the country is nearly\nsimilar, the difference was much greater than I should have\nexpected.\n\nOCTOBER 3 AND 4, 1833.\n\nI was confined for these two days to my bed by a headache. A\ngood-natured old woman, who attended me, wished me to try many odd\nremedies. A common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of\nblack plaster to each temple: and a still more general plan is, to\nsplit a bean into halves, moisten them, and place one on each\ntemple, where they will easily adhere. It is not thought proper\never to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off,\nand sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked, what\nis the matter? he will answer, \"I had a headache the day before\nyesterday.\" Many of the remedies used by the people of the country\nare ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. One of\nthe least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them\non each side of a broken limb. Little hairless dogs are in great\nrequest to sleep at the feet of invalids.\n\nSt. Fé is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order.\nThe governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the\nrevolution; but has now been seventeen years in power. This\nstability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for\ntyranny seems as yet better adapted to these countries than\nrepublicanism. The governor's favourite occupation is hunting\nIndians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold\nthe children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece.\n\nOCTOBER 5, 1833.\n\nWe crossed the Parana to St. Fé Bajada, a town on the opposite\nshore. The passage took some hours, as the river here consisted of\na labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded islands. I\nhad a letter of introduction to an old Catalonian Spaniard, who\ntreated me with the most uncommon hospitality. The Bajada is the\ncapital of Entre Rios. In 1825 the town contained 6000 inhabitants,\nand the province 30,000; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no\nprovince has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions.\nThey boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and\ngovernors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. At\nsome future day this must be one of the richest countries of La\nPlata. The soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular\nform gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers Parana\nand Uruguay.\n\nI was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining the\ngeology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting. We\nhere see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds containing sharks' teeth\nand sea-shells of extinct species, passing above into an indurated\nmarl, and from that into the red clayey earth of the Pampas, with\nits calcareous concretions and the bones of terrestrial quadrupeds.\nThis vertical section clearly tells us of a large bay of pure\nsalt-water, gradually encroached on, and at last converted into the\nbed of a muddy estuary, into which floating carcasses were swept.\nAt Punta Gorda, in Banda Oriental, I found an alternation of the\nPampaean estuary deposit, with a limestone containing some of the\nsame extinct sea-shells; and this shows either a change in the\nformer currents, or more probably an oscillation of level in the\nbottom of the ancient estuary. Until lately, my reasons for\nconsidering the Pampaean formation to be an estuary deposit were,\nits general appearance, its position at the mouth of the existing\ngreat river the Plata, and the presence of so many bones of\nterrestrial quadrupeds: but now Professor Ehrenberg has had the\nkindness to examine for me a little of the red earth, taken from\nlow down in the deposit, close to the skeletons of the mastodon,\nand he finds in it many infusoria, partly salt-water and partly\nfresh-water forms, with the latter rather preponderating; and\ntherefore, as he remarks, the water must have been brackish. M. A.\nd'Orbigny found on the banks of the Parana, at the height of a\nhundred feet, great beds of an estuary shell, now living a hundred\nmiles lower down nearer the sea; and I found similar shells at a\nless height on the banks of the Uruguay; this shows that just\nbefore the Pampas was slowly elevated into dry land, the water\ncovering it was brackish. Below Buenos Ayres there are upraised\nbeds of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves that the\nperiod of elevation of the Pampas was within the recent period.\n\nIn the Pampaean deposit at the Bajada I found the osseous armour of\na gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the\nearth was removed, was like a great cauldron; I found also teeth of\nthe Toxodon and Mastodon, and one tooth of a Horse, in the same\nstained and decayed state. This latter tooth greatly interested me,\nand I took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been\nembedded contemporaneously with the other remains; for I was not\nthen aware that amongst the fossils from Bahia Blanca there was a\nhorse's tooth hidden in the matrix: nor was it then known with\ncertainty that the remains of horses are common in North America.\n(7/3. I need hardly state here that there is good evidence against\nany horse living in America at the time of Columbus.) Mr. Lyell has\nlately brought from the United States a tooth of a horse; and it is\nan interesting fact, that Professor Owen could find in no species,\neither fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature\ncharacterising it, until he thought of comparing it with my\nspecimen found here: he has named this American horse Equus\ncurvidens. Certainly it is a marvellous fact in the history of the\nMammalia, that in South America a native horse should have lived\nand disappeared, to be succeeded in after ages by the countless\nherds descended from the few introduced with the Spanish colonists!\n\n(PLATE 32.  FOSSIL TOOTH OF HORSE, FROM BAHIA BLANCA.)\n\nThe existence in South America of a fossil horse, of the mastodon,\npossibly of an elephant (7/4. Cuvier \"Ossemens Fossils\" tome 1 page\n158.), and of a hollow-horned ruminant, discovered by MM. Lund and\nClausen in the caves of Brazil, are highly interesting facts with\nrespect to the geographical distribution of animals. At the present\ntime, if we divide America, not by the Isthmus of Panama, but by\nthe southern part of Mexico in latitude 20 degrees, where the great\ntable-land presents an obstacle to the migration of species, by\naffecting the climate, and by forming, with the exception of some\nvalleys and of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad barrier;\nwe shall then have the two zoological provinces of North and South\nAmerica strongly contrasted with each other. (7/5. This is the\ngeographical division followed by Lichtenstein, Swainson, Erichson,\nand Richardson. The section from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, given by\nHumboldt in the \"Polit. Essay on Kingdom of N. Spain\" will show how\nimmense a barrier the Mexican table-land forms. Dr. Richardson, in\nhis admirable \"Report on the Zoology of N. America\" read before the\nBritish Association 1836 page 157, talking of the identification of\na Mexican animal with the Synetheres prehensilis, says, \"We do not\nknow with what propriety, but if correct, it is, if not a solitary\ninstance, at least very nearly so, of a rodent animal being common\nto North and South America.\") Some few species alone have passed\nthe barrier, and may be considered as wanderers from the south,\nsuch as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and peccari. South America is\ncharacterised by possessing many peculiar gnawers, a family of\nmonkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir, opossums, and, especially,\nseveral genera of Edentata, the order which includes the sloths,\nant-eaters, and armadilloes. North America, on the other hand, is\ncharacterised (putting on one side a few wandering species) by\nnumerous peculiar gnawers, and by four genera (the ox, sheep, goat,\nand antelope) of hollow-horned ruminants, of which great division\nSouth America is not known to possess a single species. Formerly,\nbut within the period when most of the now existing shells were\nliving, North America possessed, besides hollow-horned ruminants,\nthe elephant, mastodon, horse, and three genera of Edentata,\nnamely, the Megatherium, Megalonyx, and Mylodon. Within nearly this\nsame period (as proved by the shells at Bahia Blanca) South America\npossessed, as we have just seen, a mastodon, horse, hollow-horned\nruminant, and the same three genera (as well as several others) of\nthe Edentata. Hence it is evident that North and South America, in\nhaving within a late geological period these several genera in\ncommon, were much more closely related in the character of their\nterrestrial inhabitants than they now are. The more I reflect on\nthis case, the more interesting it appears: I know of no other\ninstance where we can almost mark the period and manner of the\nsplitting up of one great region into two well-characterised\nzoological provinces. The geologist, who is fully impressed with\nthe vast oscillations of level which have affected the earth's\ncrust within late periods, will not fear to speculate on the recent\nelevation of the Mexican platform, or, more probably, on the recent\nsubmergence of land in the West Indian Archipelago, as the cause of\nthe present zoological separation of North and South America. The\nSouth American character of the West Indian mammals seems to\nindicate that this archipelago was formerly united to the southern\ncontinent, and that it has subsequently been an area of subsidence.\n(7/6. See Dr. Richardson's \"Report\" page 157; also \"L'Institut\"\n1837 page 253. Cuvier says the kinkajou is found in the larger\nAntilles, but this is doubtful. M. Gervais states that the\nDidelphis crancrivora is found there. It is certain that the West\nIndies possess some mammifers peculiar to themselves. A tooth of a\nmastodon has been brought from Bahama; \"Edinburgh New Philosophical\nJournal\" 1826 page 395.)\n\n(PLATE 33.  MYLODON. Height, 7 feet 6 inches; girth round chest, 6\nfeet 6 inches; maximum breadth of pelvis, 3 feet 7 inches.)\n\nWhen America, and especially North America, possessed its\nelephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was\nmuch more closely related in its zoological characters to the\ntemperate parts of Europe and Asia than it now is. As the remains\nof these genera are found on both sides of Behring's Straits and on\nthe plains of Siberia, we are led to look to the north-western side\nof North America as the former point of communication between the\nOld and so-called New World. (7/7. See the admirable Appendix by\nDr. Buckland to Beechey's \"Voyage\"; also the writings of Chamisso\nin Kotzebue's \"Voyage.\") And as so many species, both living and\nextinct, of these same genera inhabit and have inhabited the Old\nWorld, it seems most probable that the North American elephants,\nmastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants migrated, on land\nsince submerged near Behring's Straits, from Siberia into North\nAmerica, and thence, on land since submerged in the West Indies,\ninto South America, where for a time they mingled with the forms\ncharacteristic of that southern continent, and have since become\nextinct.\n\nWhile travelling through the country, I received several vivid\ndescriptions of the effects of a late great drought; and the\naccount of this may throw some light on the cases where vast\nnumbers of animals of all kinds have been embedded together. The\nperiod included between the years 1827 and 1830 is called the \"gran\nseco,\" or the great drought. During this time so little rain fell,\nthat the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were\ndried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty\nhigh-road. This was especially the case in the northern part of the\nprovince of Buenos Ayres and the southern part of St. Fé. Very\ngreat numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished\nfrom the want of food and water. A man told me that the deer used\nto come into his courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged\nto dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges\nhad hardly strength to fly away when pursued. (7/8. In Captain\nOwen's \"Surveying Voyage\" volume 2 page 274, there is a curious\naccount of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at Benguela\n(west coast of Africa). \"A number of these animals had some time\nsince entered the town, in a body, to possess themselves of the\nwells, not being able to procure any water in the country. The\ninhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which\nterminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not\nuntil they had killed one man, and wounded several others.\" The\ntown is said to have a population of nearly three thousand! Dr.\nMalcolmson informs me, that during a great drought in India the\nwild animals entered the tents of some troops at Ellore, and that a\nhare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.)\nThe lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province of\nBuenos Ayres alone, was taken at one million head. A proprietor at\nSan Pedro had previously to these years 20,000 cattle; at the end\nnot one remained. San Pedro is situated in the middle of the finest\ncountry; and even now abounds again with animals; yet during the\nlatter part of the \"gran seco,\" live cattle were brought in vessels\nfor the consumption of the inhabitants. The animals roamed from\ntheir estancias, and, wandering far southward, were mingled\ntogether in such multitudes, that a government commission was sent\nfrom Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. Sir\nWoodbine Parish informed me of another and very curious source of\ndispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were\nblown about, that in this open country the landmarks became\nobliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates.\n\nI was informed by an eye-witness that the cattle in herds of\nthousands rushed into the Parana, and being exhausted by hunger\nthey were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were\ndrowned. The arm of the river which runs by San Pedro was so full\nof putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the\nsmell rendered it quite impassable. Without doubt several hundred\nthousand animals thus perished in the river: their bodies when\nputrid were seen floating down the stream; and many in all\nprobability were deposited in the estuary of the Plata. All the\nsmall rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of\nvast numbers in particular spots; for when an animal drinks of such\nwater it does not recover. Azara describes the fury of the wild\nhorses on a similar occasion, rushing into the marshes, those which\narrived first being overwhelmed and crushed by those which\nfollowed. (7/9. \"Travels\" volume 1 page 374.) He adds that more\nthan once he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild\nhorses thus destroyed. I noticed that the smaller streams in the\nPampas were paved with a breccia of bones, but this probably is the\neffect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any\none period. Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to 1832, a very\nrainy season followed which caused great floods. Hence it is almost\ncertain that some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the\ndeposits of the very next year. What would be the opinion of a\ngeologist, viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all\nkinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy\nmass? Would he not attribute it to a flood having swept over the\nsurface of the land, rather than to the common order of things?\n(7/10. These droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost\nperiodical; I was told the dates of several others, and the\nintervals were about fifteen years.)\n\nOCTOBER 12, 1833.\n\nI had intended to push my excursion farther, but not being quite\nwell, I was compelled to return by a balandra, or one-masted vessel\nof about a hundred tons' burden, which was bound to Buenos Ayres.\nAs the weather was not fair, we moored early in the day to a branch\nof a tree on one of the islands. The Parana is full of islands,\nwhich undergo a constant round of decay and renovation. In the\nmemory of the master several large ones had disappeared, and others\nagain had been formed and protected by vegetation. They are\ncomposed of muddy sand, without even the smallest pebble, and were\nthen about four feet above the level of the river; but during the\nperiodical floods they are inundated. They all present one\ncharacter; numerous willows and a few other trees are bound\ntogether by a great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a\nthick jungle. These thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and\njaguars. The fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure\nin scrambling through the woods. This evening I had not proceeded a\nhundred yards, before, finding indubitable signs of the recent\npresence of the tiger, I was obliged to come back. On every island\nthere were tracks; and as on the former excursion \"el rastro de los\nIndios\" had been the subject of conversation, so in this was \"el\nrastro del tigre.\"\n\nThe wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite\nhaunts of the jaguar; but south of the Plata, I was told that they\nfrequented the reeds bordering lakes: wherever they are, they seem\nto require water. Their common prey is the capybara, so that it is\ngenerally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little danger\nfrom the jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern side of the\nmouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that they chiefly\nlive on fish; this account I have heard repeated. On the Parana\nthey have killed many wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels\nat night. There is a man now living in the Bajada, who, coming up\nfrom below when it was dark, was seized on the deck; he escaped,\nhowever, with the loss of the use of one arm. When the floods drive\nthese animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. I was told\nthat a few years since a very large one found its way into a church\nat St. Fé: two padres entering one after the other were killed, and\na third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with\ndifficulty. The beast was destroyed by being shot from a corner of\nthe building which was unroofed. They commit also at these times\ngreat ravages among cattle and horses. It is said that they kill\ntheir prey by breaking their necks. If driven from the carcass,\nthey seldom return to it. The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when\nwandering about at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as\nthey follow him. This is a curious coincidence with the fact which\nis generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly\nofficious manner, the East Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy\nanimal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad weather.\n\nOne day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was shown\ncertain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for the\npurpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three\nwell-known trees; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by the\nbreast of the animal, and on each side there were deep scratches,\nor rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in\nlength. The scars were of different ages. A common method of\nascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine\nthese trees. I imagine this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar\nto one which may any day be seen in the common cat, as with\noutstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the leg of a chair;\nand I have heard of young fruit-trees in an orchard in England\nhaving been thus much injured. Some such habit must also be common\nto the puma, for on the bare hard soil of Patagonia I have\nfrequently seen scores so deep that no other animal could have made\nthem. The object of this practice is, I believe, to tear off the\nragged points of their claws, and not, as the Gauchos think, to\nsharpen them. The jaguar is killed, without much difficulty, by the\naid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree, where he is\ndespatched with bullets.\n\nOwing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings. Our only\namusement was catching fish for our dinner: there were several\nkinds, and all good eating. A fish called the \"armado\" (a Silurus)\nis remarkable from a harsh grating noise which it makes when caught\nby hook and line, and which can be distinctly heard when the fish\nis beneath the water. This same fish has the power of firmly\ncatching hold of any object, such as the blade of an oar or the\nfishing-line, with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal\nfin. In the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer\nstanding at 79 degrees. Numbers of fireflies were hovering about,\nand the musquitoes were very troublesome. I exposed my hand for\nfive minutes, and it was soon black with them; I do not suppose\nthere could have been less than fifty, all busy sucking.\n\nOCTOBER 15, 1833.\n\n(PLATE 34.  HEAD OF SCISSOR-BEAK.)\n\n(PLATE 35.  RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, OR SCISSOR-BEAK.)\n\nWe got under way and passed Punta Gorda, where there is a colony of\ntame Indians from the province of Missiones. We sailed rapidly down\nthe current, but before sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather,\nwe brought-to in a narrow arm of the river. I took the boat and\nrowed some distance up this creek. It was very narrow, winding, and\ndeep; on each side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by\ntrees intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy\nappearance. I here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the\nScissor-beak (Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet,\nextremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern.\nThe beak is flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right\nangles to that of a spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as\nan ivory paper-cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from\nevery other bird, is an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a\nlake near Maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained,\nand which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of\nthese birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards\nand forwards close to the surface of the lake. They kept their\nbills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water.\nThus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course: the\nwater was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious spectacle to\nbehold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the\nmirror-like surface. In their flight they frequently twist about\nwith extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their\nprojecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are\nsecured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills.\nThis fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to\nfly backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when\nleaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular,\nand rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these birds are\nfishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings,\nin keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus employed, their\nforms resemble the symbol by which many artists represent marine\nbirds. Their tails are much used in steering their irregular\ncourse.\n\nThese birds are common far inland along the course of the Rio\nParana; it is said that they remain here during the whole year, and\nbreed in the marshes. During the day they rest in flocks on the\ngrassy plains, at some distance from the water. Being at anchor, as\nI have said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the\nParana, as the evening drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks\nsuddenly appeared. The water was quite still, and many little fish\nwere rising. The bird continued for a long time to skim the\nsurface, flying in its wild and irregular manner up and down the\nnarrow canal, now dark with the growing night and the shadows of\nthe overhanging trees. At Monte Video, I observed that some large\nflocks during the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the\nharbour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the\nParana; and every evening they took flight seaward. From these\nfacts I suspect that the Rhynchops generally fishes by night, at\nwhich time many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the\nsurface. M. Lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the\nshells of the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of\nChile: from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much\nprojecting, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable\nthat this can be a general habit.\n\nIn our course down the Parana, I observed only three other birds,\nwhose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small kingfisher\n(Ceryle Americana); it has a longer tail than the European species,\nand hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. Its\nflight also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course of\nan arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds.\nIt utters a low note, like the clicking together of two small\nstones. A small green parrot (Conurus murinus), with a grey breast,\nappears to prefer the tall trees on the islands to any other\nsituation for its building-place. A number of nests are placed so\nclose together as to form one great mass of sticks. These parrots\nalways live in flocks, and commit great ravages on the corn-fields.\nI was told that near Colonia 2500 were killed in the course of one\nyear. A bird with a forked tail, terminated by two long feathers\n(Tyrannus savana), and named by the Spaniards scissor-tail, is very\ncommon near Buenos Ayres: it commonly sits on a branch of the ombu\ntree, near a house, and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of\ninsects, and returns to the same spot. When on the wing it presents\nin its manner of flight and general appearance a\ncaricature-likeness of the common swallow. It has the power of\nturning very shortly in the air, and in so doing opens and shuts\nits tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral and sometimes in a\nvertical direction, just like a pair of scissors.\n\nOCTOBER 16, 1833.\n\nSome leagues below Rozario, the western shore of the Parana is\nbounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extend in a long line to\nbelow San Nicolas; hence it more resembles a sea-coast than that of\na fresh-water river. It is a great drawback to the scenery of the\nParana, that, from the soft nature of its banks, the water is very\nmuddy. The Uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is much\nclearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of the Plata,\nthe waters may for a long distance be distinguished by their black\nand red colours. In the evening, the wind being not quite fair, as\nusual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather\nfreshly, though with a favouring current, the master was much too\nindolent to think of starting. At Bajada, he was described to me as\n\"hombre muy aflicto\"--a man always miserable to get on; but\ncertainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation. He was an\nold Spaniard, and had been many years in this country. He professed\na great liking to the English, but stoutly maintained that the\nbattle of Trafalgar was merely won by the Spanish captains having\nbeen all bought over; and that the only really gallant action on\neither side was performed by the Spanish admiral. It struck me as\nrather characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen\nbeing thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or\ncowardly.\n\nOCTOBER 18 AND 19, 1833.\n\nWe continued slowly to sail down the noble stream: the current\nhelped us but little. We met, during our descent, very few vessels.\nOne of the best gifts of nature, in so grand a channel of\ncommunication, seems here wilfully thrown away--a river in which\nships might navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly\nabundant in certain productions as destitute of others, to another\npossessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to the\nbest of judges, M. Bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility in\nany part of the world. How different would have been the aspect of\nthis river if English colonists had by good fortune first sailed up\nthe Plata! What noble towns would now have occupied its shores!\nTill the death of Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, these two\ncountries must remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of\nthe globe. And when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his\nlong account, Paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in\nproportion to the previous unnatural calm. That country will have\nto learn, like every other South American state, that a republic\ncannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with\nthe principles of justice and honour.\n\nOCTOBER 20, 1833.\n\nBeing arrived at the mouth of the Parana, and as I was very anxious\nto reach Buenos Ayres, I went on shore at Las Conchas, with the\nintention of riding there. Upon landing, I found to my great\nsurprise that I was to a certain degree a prisoner. A violent\nrevolution having broken out, all the ports were laid under an\nembargo. I could not return to my vessel, and as for going by land\nto the city, it was out of the question. After a long conversation\nwith the commandant, I obtained permission to go the next day to\nGeneral Rolor, who commanded a division of the rebels on this side\nthe capital. In the morning I rode to the encampment. The general,\nofficers, and soldiers, all appeared, and I believe really were,\ngreat villains. The general, the very evening before he left the\ncity, voluntarily went to the Governor, and with his hand to his\nheart, pledged his word of honour that he at least would remain\nfaithful to the last. The general told me that the city was in a\nstate of close blockade, and that all he could do was to give me a\npassport to the commander-in-chief of the rebels at Quilmes. We had\ntherefore to take a great sweep round the city, and it was with\nmuch difficulty that we procured horses. My reception at the\nencampment was quite civil, but I was told it was impossible that I\ncould be allowed to enter the city. I was very anxious about this,\nas I anticipated the \"Beagle's\" departure from the Rio Plata\nearlier than it took place. Having mentioned, however, General\nRosas's obliging kindness to me when at the Colorado, magic itself\ncould not have altered circumstances quicker than did this\nconversation. I was instantly told that though they could not give\nme a passport, if I chose to leave my guide and horses, I might\npass their sentinels. I was too glad to accept of this, and an\nofficer was sent with me to give directions that I should not be\nstopped at the bridge. The road for the space of a league was quite\ndeserted. I met one party of soldiers, who were satisfied by\ngravely looking at an old passport: and at length I was not a\nlittle pleased to find myself within the city.\n\nThis revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of\ngrievances: but in a state which, in the course of nine months\n(from February to October, 1820), underwent fifteen changes in its\ngovernment--each governor, according to the constitution, being\nelected for three years--it would be very unreasonable to ask for\npretexts. In this case, a party of men--who, being attached to\nRosas, were disgusted with the governor Balcarce--to the number of\nseventy left the city, and with the cry of Rosas the whole country\ntook arms. The city was then blockaded, no provisions, cattle or\nhorses, were allowed to enter; besides this, there was only a\nlittle skirmishing, and a few men daily killed. The outside party\nwell knew that by stopping the supply of meat they would certainly\nbe victorious. General Rosas could not have known of this rising;\nbut it appears to be quite consonant with the plans of his party. A\nyear ago he was elected governor, but he refused it, unless the\nSala would also confer on him extraordinary powers. This was\nrefused, and since then his party have shown that no other governor\ncan keep his place. The warfare on both sides was avowedly\nprotracted till it was possible to hear from Rosas. A note arrived\na few days after I left Buenos Ayres, which stated that the General\ndisapproved of peace having been broken, but that he thought the\noutside party had justice on their side. On the bare reception of\nthis the Governor, ministers, and part of the military, to the\nnumber of some hundreds, fled from the city. The rebels entered,\nelected a new governor, and were paid for their services to the\nnumber of 5500 men. From these proceedings, it was clear that Rosas\nultimately would become the dictator: to the term king, the people\nin this, as in other republics, have a particular dislike. Since\nleaving South America, we have heard that Rosas has been elected,\nwith powers and for a time altogether opposed to the constitutional\nprinciples of the republic.\n\n\n(PLATE 36.  BUENOS AYRES BULLOCK-WAGGONS.)\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n(PLATE 37.  FUEGIANS AND WIGWAMS.)\n\nExcursion to Colonia del Sacramiento.\nValue of an Estancia.\nCattle, how counted.\nSingular Breed of Oxen.\nPerforated Pebbles.\nShepherd-dogs.\nHorses broken-in, Gauchos Riding.\nCharacter of Inhabitants.\nRio Plata.\nFlocks of Butterflies.\nAeronaut Spiders.\nPhosphorescence of the Sea.\nPort Desire.\nGuanaco.\nPort St. Julian.\nGeology of Patagonia.\nFossil gigantic Animal.\nTypes of Organisation constant.\nChange in the Zoology of America.\nCauses of Extinction.\n\nBANDA ORIENTAL AND PATAGONIA.\n\n\n\nHaving been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, I was glad\nto escape on board a packet bound for Monte Video. A town in a\nstate of blockade must always be a disagreeable place of residence;\nin this case moreover there were constant apprehensions from\nrobbers within. The sentinels were the worst of all; for, from\ntheir office and from having arms in their hands, they robbed with\na degree of authority which other men could not imitate.\n\nOur passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata looks like a\nnoble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. A wide\nexpanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. At one time\nof the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low, could\njust be distinguished from the deck. On arriving at Monte Video I\nfound that the \"Beagle\" would not sail for some time, so I prepared\nfor a short excursion in this part of Banda Oriental. Everything\nwhich I have said about the country near Maldonado is applicable to\nMonte Video; but the land, with the one exception of the Green\nMount, 450 feet high, from which it takes its name, is far more\nlevel. Very little of the undulating grassy plain is enclosed; but\nnear the town there are a few hedge-banks, covered with agaves,\ncacti, and fennel.\n\nNOVEMBER 14, 1833.\n\nWe left Monte Video in the afternoon. I intended to proceed to\nColonia del Sacramiento, situated on the northern bank of the Plata\nand opposite to Buenos Ayres, and thence, following up the Uruguay,\nto the village of Mercedes on the Rio Negro (one of the many rivers\nof this name in South America), and from this point to return\ndirect to Monte Video. We slept at the house of my guide at\nCanelones. In the morning we rose early, in the hopes of being able\nto ride a good distance; but it was a vain attempt, for all the\nrivers were flooded. We passed in boats the streams of Canelones,\nSt. Lucia, and San Jos‚, and thus lost much time. On a former\nexcursion I crossed the Lucia near its mouth, and I was surprised\nto observe how easily our horses, although not used to swim, passed\nover a width of at least six hundred yards. On mentioning this at\nMonte Video, I was told that a vessel containing some mountebanks\nand their horses, being wrecked in the Plata, one horse swam seven\nmiles to the shore. In the course of the day I was amused by the\ndexterity with which a Gaucho forced a restive horse to swim a\nriver. He stripped off his clothes, and jumping on its back, rode\ninto the water till it was out of its depth; then slipping off over\nthe crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the horse\nturned round the man frightened it back by splashing water in its\nface. As soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other side,\nthe man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in hand,\nbefore the horse gained the bank. A naked man on a naked horse is a\nfine spectacle; I had no idea how well the two animals suited each\nother. The tail of a horse is a very useful appendage; I have\npassed a river in a boat with four people in it, which was ferried\nacross in the same way as the Gaucho. If a man and horse have to\ncross a broad river, the best plan is for the man to catch hold of\nthe pommel or mane, and help himself with the other arm.\n\nWe slept and stayed the following day at the post of Cufre. In the\nevening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. He was a day after\nhis time, owing to the Rio Rozario being flooded. It would not,\nhowever, be of much consequence; for, although he had passed\nthrough some of the principal towns in Banda Oriental, his luggage\nconsisted of two letters! The view from the house was pleasing; an\nundulating green surface, with distant glimpses of the Plata. I\nfind that I look at this province with very different eyes from\nwhat I did upon my first arrival. I recollect I then thought it\nsingularly level; but now, after galloping over the Pampas, my only\nsurprise is, what could have induced me ever to have called it\nlevel. The country is a series of undulations, in themselves\nperhaps not absolutely great, but, as compared to the plains of St.\nFé, real mountains. From these inequalities there is an abundance\nof small rivulets, and the turf is green and luxuriant.\n\nNOVEMBER 17, 1833.\n\nWe crossed the Rozario, which was deep and rapid, and passing the\nvillage of Colla, arrived at mid-day at Colonia del Sacramiento.\nThe distance is twenty leagues, through a country covered with fine\ngrass, but poorly stocked with cattle or inhabitants. I was invited\nto sleep at Colonia, and to accompany on the following day a\ngentleman to his estancia, where there were some limestone rocks.\nThe town is built on a stony promontory something in the same\nmanner as at Monte Video. It is strongly fortified, but both\nfortifications and town suffered much in the Brazilian war. It is\nvery ancient; and the irregularity of the streets, and the\nsurrounding groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a pretty\nappearance. The church is a curious ruin; it was used as a\npowder-magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten\nthousand thunderstorms of the Rio Plata. Two-thirds of the building\nwere blown away to the very foundation; and the rest stands a\nshattered and curious monument of the united powers of lightning\nand gunpowder. In the evening I wandered about the half-demolished\nwalls of the town. It was the chief seat of the Brazilian war--a\nwar most injurious to this country, not so much in its immediate\neffects, as in being the origin of a multitude of generals and all\nother grades of officers. More generals are numbered (but not paid)\nin the United Provinces of La Plata than in the United Kingdom of\nGreat Britain. These gentlemen have learned to like power, and do\nnot object to a little skirmishing. Hence there are many always on\nthe watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government which\nas yet has never rested on any stable foundation. I noticed,\nhowever, both here and in other places, a very general interest in\nthe ensuing election for the President; and this appears a good\nsign for the prosperity of this little country. The inhabitants do\nnot require much education in their representatives; I heard some\nmen discussing the merits of those for Colonia; and it was said\nthat, \"although they were not men of business, they could all sign\ntheir names:\" with this they seemed to think every reasonable man\nought to be satisfied.\n\nNOVEMBER 18, 1833.\n\nRode with my host to his estancia, at the Arroyo de San Juan. In\nthe evening we took a ride round the estate: it contained two\nsquare leagues and a half, and was situated in what is called a\nrincon; that is, one side was fronted by the Plata, and the two\nothers guarded by impassable brooks. There was an excellent port\nfor little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is\nvaluable as supplying fuel to Buenos Ayres. I was curious to know\nthe value of so complete an estancia. Of cattle there were 3000,\nand it would well support three or four times that number; of mares\n800, together with 150 broken-in horses, and 600 sheep. There was\nplenty of water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals,\nand a peach orchard. For all this he had been offered 2000 pounds\nsterling, and he only wanted 500 pounds sterling additional, and\nprobably would sell it for less. The chief trouble with an estancia\nis driving the cattle twice a week to a central spot, in order to\nmake them tame, and to count them. This latter operation would be\nthought difficult, where there are ten or fifteen thousand head\ntogether. It is managed on the principle that the cattle invariably\ndivide themselves into little troops of from forty to one hundred.\nEach troop is recognised by a few peculiarly marked animals, and\nits number is known: so that, one being lost out of ten thousand,\nit is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. During a\nstormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next morning\nthe tropillas separate as before; so that each animal must know its\nfellow out of ten thousand others.\n\nOn two occasions I met with in this province some oxen of a very\ncurious breed, called nãta or niata. They appear externally to hold\nnearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull or pug dogs do\nto other dogs. Their forehead is very short and broad, with the\nnasal end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their lower\njaws project beyond the upper, and have a corresponding upward\ncurve; hence their teeth are always exposed. Their nostrils are\nseated high up and are very open; their eyes project outwards. When\nwalking they carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their\nhinder legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is\nusual. Their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned nostrils\ngive them the most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance\nimaginable.\n\nSince my return, I have procured a skeleton head, through the\nkindness of my friend Captain Sulivan, R.N., which is now deposited\nin the College of Surgeons. (8/1. Mr. Waterhouse has drawn up a\ndetailed description of this head, which I hope he will publish in\nsome Journal.) Don F. Muniz, of Luxan, has kindly collected for me\nall the information which he could respecting this breed. From his\naccount it seems that about eighty or ninety years ago, they were\nrare and kept as curiosities at Buenos Ayres. The breed is\nuniversally believed to have originated amongst the Indians\nsouthward of the Plata; and that it was with them the commonest\nkind. Even to this day, those reared in the provinces near the\nPlata show their less civilised origin, in being fiercer than\ncommon cattle, and in the cow easily deserting her first calf, if\nvisited too often or molested. It is a singular fact that an almost\nsimilar structure to the abnormal one of the niata breed,\ncharacterises, as I am informed by Dr. Falconer, that great extinct\nruminant of India, the Sivatherium. (8/2. A nearly similar\nabnormal, but I do not know whether hereditary, structure has been\nobserved in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the Ganges:\n\"Histoire des Anomalies\" par M. Isid. Geoffroy St. Hilaire tome 1\npage 244.) The breed is very TRUE; and a niata bull and cow\ninvariably produce niata calves. A niata bull with a common cow, or\nthe reverse cross, produces offspring having an intermediate\ncharacter, but with the niata characters strongly displayed:\naccording to Se¤or Muniz, there is the clearest evidence, contrary\nto the common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases, that the\nniata cow when crossed with a common bull transmits her\npeculiarities more strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a\ncommon cow. When the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle\nfeed with the tongue and palate as well as common cattle; but\nduring the great droughts, when so many animals perish, the niata\nbreed is under a great disadvantage, and would be exterminated if\nnot attended to; for the common cattle, like horses, are able just\nto keep alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and\nreeds; this the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not\njoin, and hence they are found to perish before the common cattle.\nThis strikes me as a good illustration of how little we are able to\njudge from the ordinary habits of life, on what circumstances,\noccurring only at long intervals, the rarity or extinction of a\nspecies may be determined.\n\nNOVEMBER 19, 1833.\n\nPassing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept at a house of a North\nAmerican, who worked a lime-kiln on the Arroyo de las Vivoras. In\nthe morning we rode to a projecting headland on the banks of the\nriver, called Punta Gorda. On the way we tried to find a jaguar.\nThere were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees on\nwhich they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed\nin disturbing one. From this point the Rio Uruguay presented to our\nview a noble volume of water. From the clearness and rapidity of\nthe stream, its appearance was far superior to that of its\nneighbour the Parana. On the opposite coast, several branches from\nthe latter river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the\ntwo colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct.\n\nIn the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on the Rio\nNegro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at\nwhich we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being ten\nleagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in\nthe country. His nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a\ncaptain in the army, who the other day ran away from Buenos Ayres.\nConsidering their station, their conversation was rather amusing.\nThey expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe\nbeing round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep\nenough, come out on the other side. They had, however, heard of a\ncountry where there were six months of light and six of darkness,\nand where the inhabitants were very tall and thin! They were\ncurious about the price and condition of horses and cattle in\nEngland. Upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the\nlazo, they cried out, \"Ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas:\"\nthe idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. The captain\nat last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be\nvery much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trembled to\nthink how deeply scientific it would be: it was, \"Whether the\nladies of Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the world.\" I\nreplied, like a renegade, \"Charmingly so.\" He added, \"I have one\nother question: Do ladies in any other part of the world wear such\nlarge combs?\" I solemnly assured him that they did not. They were\nabsolutely delighted. The captain exclaimed, \"Look there! a man who\nhas seen half the world says it is the case; we always thought so,\nbut now we know it.\" My excellent judgment in combs and beauty\nprocured me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced me to\ntake his bed, and he would sleep on his recado.\n\nNOVEMBER 21, 1833.\n\nStarted at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole day. The\ngeological nature of this part of the province was different from\nthe rest, and closely resembled that of the Pampas. In consequence,\nthere were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon:\nthe whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed of these\nplants. The two sorts grow separate, each plant in company with its\nown kind. The cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the Pampas\nthistle is often higher than the crown of the rider's head. To\nleave the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road\nitself is partly, and in some cases entirely, closed. Pasture, of\ncourse, there is none; if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they\nare for the time completely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to\nattempt to drive cattle at this season of the year; for when jaded\nenough to face the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no\nmore. In these districts there are very few estancias, and these\nfew are situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where\nfortunately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. As\nnight came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a\nmiserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. The extreme\nthough rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess, considering\ntheir grade of life, was quite delightful.\n\nNOVEMBER 22, 1833.\n\nArrived at an estancia on the Berquelo belonging to a very\nhospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter of introduction from\nmy friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three days. One morning I rode\nwith my host to the Sierra del Pedro Flaco, about twenty miles up\nthe Rio Negro. Nearly the whole country was covered with good\nthough coarse grass, which was as high as a horse's belly; yet\nthere were square leagues without a single head of cattle. The\nprovince of Banda Oriental, if well stocked, would support an\nastonishing number of animals, at present the annual export of\nhides from Monte Video amounts to three hundred thousand; and the\nhome consumption, from waste, is very considerable. An estanciero\ntold me that he often had to send large herds of cattle a long\njourney to a salting establishment, and that the tired beasts were\nfrequently obliged to be killed and skinned; but that he could\nnever persuade the Gauchos to eat of them, and every evening a\nfresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! The view of the Rio\nNegro from the Sierra was more picturesque than any other which I\nsaw in this province. The river, broad, deep, and rapid, wound at\nthe foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood followed its\ncourse, and the horizon terminated in the distant undulations of\nthe turf-plain.\n\nWhen in this neighbourhood, I several times heard of the Sierra de\nlas Cuentas: a hill distant many miles to the northward. The name\nsignifies hill of beads. I was assured that vast numbers of little\nround stones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical\nhole, are found there. Formerly the Indians used to collect them,\nfor the purpose of making necklaces and bracelets--a taste, I may\nobserve, which is common to all savage nations, as well as to the\nmost polished. I did not know what to understand from this story,\nbut upon mentioning it at the Cape of Good Hope to Dr. Andrew\nSmith, he told me that he recollected finding on the south-eastern\ncoast of Africa, about one hundred miles to the eastward of St.\nJohn's river, some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from\nattrition, and mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. Each crystal was\nabout five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a\nhalf in length. Many of them had a small canal extending from one\nextremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that\nreadily admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. Their\ncolour was red or dull white. The natives were acquainted with this\nstructure in crystals. I have mentioned these circumstances\nbecause, although no crystallised body is at present known to\nassume this form, it may lead some future traveller to investigate\nthe real nature of such stones.\n\nWhile staying at this estancia, I was amused with what I saw and\nheard of the shepherd-dogs of the country. (8/3. M. A. d'Orbigny\nhas given nearly a similar account of these dogs, tome 1 page 175.)\nWhen riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep\nguarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any\nhouse or man. I often wondered how so firm a friendship had been\nestablished. The method of education consists in separating the\npuppy, while very young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to\nits future companions. An ewe is held three or four times a day for\nthe little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the\nsheep-pen; at no time is it allowed to associate with other dogs,\nor with the children of the family. The puppy is, moreover,\ngenerally castrated; so that, when grown up, it can scarcely have\nany feelings in common with the rest of its kind. From this\neducation it has no wish to leave the flock, and just as another\ndog will defend its master, man, so will these the sheep. It is\namusing to observe, when approaching a flock, how the dog\nimmediately advances barking, and the sheep all close in his rear,\nas if round the oldest ram. These dogs are also easily taught to\nbring home the flock at a certain hour in the evening. Their most\ntroublesome fault, when young, is their desire of playing with the\nsheep; for in their sport they sometimes gallop their poor subjects\nmost unmercifully.\n\nThe shepherd-dog comes to the house every day for some meat, and as\nsoon as it is given him, he skulks away as if ashamed of himself.\nOn these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the\nleast of them will attack and pursue the stranger. The minute,\nhowever, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and\nbegins to bark, and then all the house-dogs take very quickly to\ntheir heels. In a similar manner a whole pack of the hungry wild\ndogs will scarcely ever (and I was told by some never) venture to\nattack a flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. The\nwhole account appears to me a curious instance of the pliability of\nthe affections in the dog; and yet, whether wild or however\neducated, he has a feeling of respect or fear for those that are\nfulfilling their instinct of association. For we can understand on\nno principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with\nits flock, except that they consider, from some confused notion,\nthat the one thus associated gains power, as if in company with its\nown kind. F. Cuvier has observed that all animals that readily\nenter into domestication consider man as a member of their own\nsociety, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. In the\nabove case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-brethren,\nand thus gains confidence; and the wild dogs, though knowing that\nthe individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly\nconsent to this view when seeing them in a flock with a\nshepherd-dog at their head.\n\nOne evening a \"domidor\" (a subduer of horses) came for the purpose\nof breaking-in some colts. I will describe the preparatory steps,\nfor I believe they have not been mentioned by other travellers. A\ntroop of wild young horses is driven into the corral, or large\nenclosure of stakes, and the door is shut. We will suppose that one\nman alone has to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never\nfelt bridle or saddle. I conceive, except by a Gaucho, such a feat\nwould be utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks out a full-grown\ncolt; and as the beast rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo\nso as to catch both the front legs. Instantly the horse rolls over\nwith a heavy shock, and whilst struggling on the ground, the\nGaucho, holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one\nof the hind legs just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to\nthe two front legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are\nbound together. Then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong\nbridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw: this he does by passing a\nnarrow thong through the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and\nseveral times round both jaw and tongue. The two front legs are now\ntied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a\nslip-knot. The lazo, which bound the three together, being then\nloosed, the horse rises with difficulty. The Gaucho, now holding\nfast the bridle fixed to the lower jaw, leads the horse outside the\ncorral. If a second man is present (otherwise the trouble is much\ngreater) he holds the animal's head, whilst the first puts on the\nhorsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole together. During this\noperation, the horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being\nbound round the waist, throws himself over and over again on the\nground, and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. At last, when the\nsaddling is finished, the poor animal can hardly breathe from fear,\nand is white with foam and sweat. The man now prepares to mount by\npressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its\nbalance; and at the moment that he throws his leg over the animal's\nback, he pulls the slip-knot binding the front legs, and the beast\nis free. Some \"domidors\" pull the knot while the animal is lying on\nthe ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow him to rise\nbeneath them. The horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent\nbounds, and then starts off at full gallop: when quite exhausted,\nthe man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where, reeking\nhot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. Those animals\nwhich will not gallop away, but obstinately throw themselves on the\nground, are by far the most troublesome. This process is\ntremendously severe, but in two or three trials the horse is tamed.\nIt is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with\nthe iron bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate the\nwill of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most\npowerful bridle can be of any service.\n\nAnimals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and\nself-interest are not closely united; therefore I fear it is that\nthe former is here scarcely known. One day, riding in the Pampas\nwith a very respectable \"Estanciero,\" my horse, being tired, lagged\nbehind. The man often shouted to me to spur him. When I\nremonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted,\nhe cried out, \"Why not?--never mind--spur him--it is MY horse.\" I\nhad then some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for\nthe horse's sake, and not on his account, that I did not choose to\nuse my spurs. He exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, \"Ah, Don\nCarlos, que cosa!\" It was clear that such an idea had never before\nentered his head.\n\nThe Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The idea of being\nthrown, let the horse do what it likes; never enters their head.\nTheir criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage an untamed\ncolt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own feet, or can\nperform other such exploits. I have heard of a man betting that he\nwould throw his horse down twenty times, and that nineteen times he\nwould not fall himself. I recollect seeing a Gaucho riding a very\nstubborn horse, which three times successively reared so high as to\nfall backwards with great violence. The man judged with uncommon\ncoolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an instant before\nor after the right time; and as soon as the horse got up, the man\njumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. The\nGaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. I was one day\nwatching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace,\nand thought to myself, \"Surely if the horse starts, you appear so\ncareless on your seat, you must fall.\" At this moment a male\nostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the horse's nose: the\nyoung colt bounded on one side like a stag; but as for the man, all\nthat could be said was, that he started and took fright with his\nhorse.\n\nIn Chile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the horse\nthan in La Plata, and this is evidently a consequence of the more\nintricate nature of the country. In Chile a horse is not considered\nperfectly broken till he can be brought up standing, in the midst\nof his full speed, on any particular spot,--for instance, on a\ncloak thrown on the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and\nrearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs. I have seen an animal\nbounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a forefinger and thumb,\ntaken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel\nround the post of a veranda with great speed, but at so equal a\ndistance, that the rider, with outstretched arm, all the while kept\none finger rubbing the post. Then making a demi-volte in the air,\nwith the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round,\nwith astonishing force, in an opposite direction.\n\nSuch a horse is well broken; and although this at first may appear\nuseless, it is far otherwise. It is only carrying that which is\ndaily necessary into perfection. When a bullock is checked and\ncaught by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a\ncircle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not\nwell broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. In\nconsequence many men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a\ntwist round a man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the\ntwo opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. On the same principle\nthe races are managed; the course is only two or three hundred\nyards long, the wish being to have horses that can make a rapid\ndash. The racehorses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs\ntouching a line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the\nfirst spring to bring into play the full action of the\nhind-quarters. In Chile I was told an anecdote, which I believe was\ntrue; and it offers a good illustration of the use of a well-broken\nanimal. A respectable man riding one day met two others, one of\nwhom was mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from\nhimself. He challenged them; they answered him by drawing their\nsabres and giving chase. The man, on his good and fleet beast, kept\njust ahead: as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and\nbrought up his horse to a dead check. The pursuers were obliged to\nshoot on one side and ahead. Then instantly dashing on, right\nbehind them, he buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the\nother, recovered his horse from the dying robber, and rode home.\nFor these feats of horsemanship two things are necessary: a most\nsevere bit, like the Mameluke, the power of which, though seldom\nused, the horse knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be\napplied either as a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme\npain. I conceive that with English spurs, the slightest touch of\nwhich pricks the skin, it would be impossible to break in a horse\nafter the South American fashion.\n\nAt an estancia near Las Vacas large numbers of mares are weekly\nslaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five\npaper dollars, or about half a crown apiece. It seems at first\nstrange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle; but as\nit is thought ridiculous in this country ever to break in or ride a\nmare, they are of no value except for breeding. The only thing for\nwhich I ever saw mares used, was to tread out wheat from the ear,\nfor which purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure,\nwhere the wheat-sheaves were strewed. The man employed for\nslaughtering the mares happened to be celebrated for his dexterity\nwith the lazo. Standing at the distance of twelve yards from the\nmouth of the corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the\nlegs every animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him.\nThere was another man who said he would enter the corral on foot,\ncatch a mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw\nher down, kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter\nis a tedious job); and he engaged that he would perform this whole\noperation on twenty-two animals in one day. Or he would kill and\ntake the skin off fifty in the same time. This would have been a\nprodigious task, for it is considered a good day's work to skin and\nstake the hides of fifteen or sixteen animals.\n\nNOVEMBER 26, 1833.\n\nI set out on my return in a direct line for Monte Video. Having\nheard of some giant's bones at a neighbouring farmhouse on the\nSarandis, a small stream entering the Rio Negro, I rode there\naccompanied by my host, and purchased for the value of\neighteenpence the head of the Toxodon. (8/4. I must express my\nobligation to Mr. Keane, at whose house I was staying on the\nBerquelo, and to Mr. Lumb at Buenos Ayres, for without their\nassistance these valuable remains would never have reached\nEngland.) When found it was quite perfect; but the boys knocked out\nsome of the teeth with stones, and then set up the head as a mark\nto throw at. By a most fortunate chance I found a perfect tooth,\nwhich exactly fitted one of the sockets in this skull, embedded by\nitself on the banks of the Rio Tercero, at the distance of about\n180 miles from this place. I found remains of this extraordinary\nanimal at two other places, so that it must formerly have been\ncommon. I found here, also, some large portions of the armour of a\ngigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the great head of a\nMylodon. The bones of this head are so fresh, that they contain,\naccording to the analysis by Mr. T. Reeks, seven per cent of animal\nmatter; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn with a small\nflame. The number of the remains embedded in the grand estuary\ndeposit which forms the Pampas and covers the granitic rocks of\nBanda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I believe a straight\nline drawn in any direction through the Pampas would cut through\nsome skeleton or bones. Besides those which I found during my short\nexcursions, I heard of many others, and the origin of such names as\n\"the stream of the animal,\" \"the hill of the giant,\" is obvious. At\nother times I heard of the marvellous property of certain rivers,\nwhich had the power of changing small bones into large; or, as some\nmaintained, the bones themselves grew. As far as I am aware, not\none of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the\nmarshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones\nhave been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous\ndeposit in which they were originally embedded. We may conclude\nthat the whole area of the Pampas is one wide sepulchre of these\nextinct gigantic quadrupeds.\n\nBy the middle of the day, on the 28th, we arrived at Monte Video,\nhaving been two days and a half on the road. The country for the\nwhole way was of a very uniform character, some parts being rather\nmore rocky and hilly than near the Plata. Not far from Monte Video\nwe passed through the village of Las Pietras, so named from some\nlarge rounded masses of syenite. Its appearance was rather pretty.\nIn this country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site\nelevated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be\ncalled picturesque.\n\nDuring the last six months I have had an opportunity of seeing a\nlittle of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces. The\nGauchos, or countrymen, are very superior to those who reside in\nthe towns. The Gaucho is invariably most obliging, polite, and\nhospitable: I did not meet with even one instance of rudeness or\ninhospitality. He is modest, both respecting himself and country,\nbut at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. On the other hand,\nmany robberies are committed, and there is much bloodshed: the\nhabit of constantly wearing the knife is the chief cause of the\nlatter. It is lamentable to hear how many lives are lost in\ntrifling quarrels. In fighting, each party tries to mark the face\nof his adversary by slashing his nose or eyes; as is often attested\nby deep and horrid-looking scars. Robberies are a natural\nconsequence of universal gambling, much drinking, and extreme\nindolence. At Mercedes I asked two men why they did not work. One\ngravely said the days were too long; the other that he was too\npoor. The number of horses and the profusion of food are the\ndestruction of all industry. Moreover, there are so many\nfeast-days; and again, nothing can succeed without it be begun when\nthe moon is on the increase; so that half the month is lost from\nthese two causes.\n\nPolice and justice are quite inefficient. If a man who is poor\ncommits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps\neven shot; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no\nvery severe consequence will ensue. It is curious that the most\nrespectable inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer\nto escape: they seem to think that the individual sins against the\ngovernment, and not against the people. A traveller has no\nprotection besides his firearms; and the constant habit of carrying\nthem is the main check to more frequent robberies.\n\nThe character of the higher and more educated classes who reside in\nthe towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the good\nparts of the Gaucho, but is, I fear, stained by many vices of which\nhe is free. Sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the grossest\ncorruption, are far from uncommon. Nearly every public officer can\nbe bribed. The head man in the post-office sold forged government\nfranks. The governor and prime minister openly combined to plunder\nthe State. Justice, where gold came into play, was hardly expected\nby any one. I knew an Englishman who went to the Chief Justice (he\ntold me that, not then understanding the ways of the place, he\ntrembled as he entered the room), and said, \"Sir, I have come to\noffer you two hundred (paper) dollars (value about five pounds\nsterling) if you will arrest before a certain time a man who has\ncheated me. I know it is against the law, but my lawyer (naming\nhim) recommended me to take this step.\" The Chief Justice smiled\nacquiescence, thanked him, and the man before night was safe in\nprison. With this entire want of principle in many of the leading\nmen, with the country full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the\npeople yet hope that a democratic form of government can succeed!\n\nOn first entering society in these countries, two or three features\nstrike one as particularly remarkable. The polite and dignified\nmanners pervading every rank of life, the excellent taste displayed\nby the women in their dresses, and the equality amongst all ranks.\nAt the Rio Colorado some men who kept the humblest shops used to\ndine with General Rosas. A son of a major at Bahia Blanca gained\nhis livelihood by making paper cigars, and he wished to accompany\nme, as guide or servant, to Buenos Ayres, but his father objected\non the score of the danger alone. Many officers in the army can\nneither read nor write, yet all meet in society as equals. In Entre\nRios, the Sala consisted of only six representatives. One of them\nkept a common shop, and evidently was not degraded by the office.\nAll this is what would be expected in a new country; nevertheless\nthe absence of gentlemen by profession appears to an Englishman\nsomething strange.\n\nWhen speaking of these countries, the manner in which they have\nbeen brought up by their unnatural parent, Spain, should always be\nborne in mind. On the whole, perhaps, more credit is due for what\nhas been done, than blame for that which may be deficient. It is\nimpossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism of these\ncountries must ultimately lead to good results. The very general\ntoleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the means of\neducation, the freedom of the press, the facilities offered to all\nforeigners, and especially, as I am bound to add, to every one\nprofessing the humblest pretensions to science, should be\nrecollected with gratitude by those who have visited Spanish South\nAmerica.\n\nDECEMBER 6, 1833.\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed from the Rio Plata, never again to enter its\nmuddy stream. Our course was directed to Port Desire, on the coast\nof Patagonia. Before proceeding any farther, I will here put\ntogether a few observations made at sea.\n\nSeveral times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth of\nthe Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern\nPatagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. One evening, when we\nwere about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas, vast numbers of\nbutterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as\nfar as the eye could range. Even by the aid of a telescope it was\nnot possible to see a space free from butterflies. The seamen cried\nout \"it was snowing butterflies,\" and such in fact was the\nappearance. More species than one were present, but the main part\nbelonged to a kind very similar to, but not identical with, the\ncommon English Colias edusa. Some moths and hymenoptera accompanied\nthe butterflies; and a fine beetle (Calosoma) flew on board. Other\ninstances are known of this beetle having been caught far out at\nsea; and this is the more remarkable, as the greater number of the\nCarabidae seldom or never take wing. The day had been fine and\ncalm, and the one previous to it equally so, with light and\nvariable airs. Hence we cannot suppose that the insects were blown\noff the land, but we must conclude that they voluntarily took\nflight. The great bands of the Colias seem at first to afford an\ninstance like those on record of the migrations of another\nbutterfly, Vanessa cardui (8/5. Lyell's \"Principles of Geology\"\nvolume 3 page 63.); but the presence of other insects makes the\ncase distinct, and even less intelligible. Before sunset a strong\nbreeze sprung up from the north, and this must have caused tens of\nthousands of the butterflies and other insects to have perished.\n\nOn another occasion, when seventeen miles off Cape Corrientes, I\nhad a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. Upon drawing it up,\nto my surprise I found a considerable number of beetles in it, and\nalthough in the open sea, they did not appear much injured by the\nsalt water. I lost some of the specimens, but those which I\npreserved belonged to the genera Colymbetes, Hydroporus, Hydrobius\n(two species), Notaphus, Cynucus, Adimonia, and Scarabaeus. At\nfirst I thought that these insects had been blown from the shore;\nbut upon reflecting that out of the eight species four were\naquatic, and two others partly so in their habits, it appeared to\nme most probable that they were floated into the sea by a small\nstream which drains a lake near Cape Corrientes. On any supposition\nit is an interesting circumstance to find live insects swimming in\nthe open ocean seventeen miles from the nearest point of land.\nThere are several accounts of insects having been blown off the\nPatagonian shore. Captain Cook observed it, as did more lately\nCaptain King of the \"Adventure.\" The cause probably is due to the\nwant of shelter, both of trees and hills, so that an insect on the\nwing with an offshore breeze, would be very apt to be blown out to\nsea. The most remarkable instance I have known of an insect being\ncaught far from the land, was that of a large grasshopper\n(Acrydium), which flew on board, when the \"Beagle\" was to windward\nof the Cape de Verd Islands, and when the nearest point of land,\nnot directly opposed to the trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the\ncoast of Africa, 370 miles distant. (8/6. The flies which\nfrequently accompany a ship for some days on its passage from\nharbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost, and\nall disappear.)\n\nOn several occasions, when the \"Beagle\" has been within the mouth\nof the Plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of the\nGossamer Spider. One day (November 1st, 1832) I paid particular\nattention to this subject. The weather had been fine and clear, and\nin the morning the air was full of patches of the flocculent web,\nas on an autumnal day in England. The ship was sixty miles distant\nfrom the land, in the direction of a steady though light breeze.\nVast numbers of a small spider, about one-tenth of an inch in\nlength, and of a dusky red colour, were attached to the webs. There\nmust have been, I should suppose, some thousands on the ship. The\nlittle spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was\nalways seated on a single thread, and not on the flocculent mass.\nThis latter seems merely to be produced by the entanglement of the\nsingle threads. The spiders were all of one species, but of both\nsexes, together with young ones. These latter were distinguished by\ntheir smaller size and more dusky colour. I will not give the\ndescription of this spider, but merely state that it does not\nappear to me to be included in any of Latreille's genera. The\nlittle aeronaut as soon as it arrived on board was very active,\nrunning about, sometimes letting itself fall, and then reascending\nthe same thread; sometimes employing itself in making a small and\nvery irregular mesh in the corners between the ropes. It could run\nwith facility on the surface of water. When disturbed it lifted up\nits front legs, in the attitude of attention. On its first arrival\nit appeared very thirsty, and with exserted maxillae drank eagerly\nof drops of water; this same circumstance has been observed by\nStrack: may it not be in consequence of the little insect having\npassed through a dry and rarefied atmosphere? Its stock of web\nseemed inexhaustible. While watching some that were suspended by a\nsingle thread, I several times observed that the slightest breath\nof air bore them away out of sight, in a horizontal line. On\nanother occasion (25th) under similar circumstances, I repeatedly\nobserved the same kind of small spider, either when placed or\nhaving crawled on some little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send\nforth a thread, and then sail away horizontally, but with a\nrapidity which was quite unaccountable. I thought I could perceive\nthat the spider, before performing the above preparatory steps,\nconnected its legs together with the most delicate threads, but I\nam not sure whether this observation was correct.\n\nOne day, at St. Fé, I had a better opportunity of observing some\nsimilar facts. A spider which was about three-tenths of an inch in\nlength, and which in its general appearance resembled a Citigrade\n(therefore quite different from the gossamer), while standing on\nthe summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads from its\nspinners. These, glittering in the sunshine, might be compared to\ndiverging rays of light; they were not, however, straight, but in\nundulations like films of silk blown by the wind. They were more\nthan a yard in length, and diverged in an ascending direction from\nthe orifices. The spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post,\nand was quickly borne out of sight. The day was hot and apparently\nquite calm; yet under such circumstances, the atmosphere can never\nbe so tranquil as not to affect a vane so delicate as the thread of\na spider's web. If during a warm day we look either at the shadow\nof any object cast on a bank, or over a level plain at a distant\nlandmark, the effect of an ascending current of heated air is\nalmost always evident: such upward currents, it has been remarked,\nare also shown by the ascent of soap-bubbles, which will not rise\nin an indoors room. Hence I think there is not much difficulty in\nunderstanding the ascent of the fine lines projected from a\nspider's spinners, and afterwards of the spider itself; the\ndivergence of the lines has been attempted to be explained, I\nbelieve by Mr. Murray, by their similar electrical condition. The\ncircumstance of spiders of the same species, but of different sexes\nand ages, being found on several occasions at the distance of many\nleagues from the land, attached in vast numbers to the lines,\nrenders it probable that the habit of sailing through the air is as\ncharacteristic of this tribe, as that of diving is of the\nArgyroneta. We may then reject Latreille's supposition, that the\ngossamer owes its origin indifferently to the young of several\ngenera of spiders: although, as we have seen, the young of other\nspiders do possess the power of performing aerial voyages. (8/7.\nMr. Blackwall in his \"Researches in Zoology\" has many excellent\nobservations on the habits of spiders.)\n\nDuring our different passages south of the Plata, I often towed\nastern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious animals.\nOf Crustacea there were many strange and undescribed genera. One,\nwhich in some respects is allied to the Notopods (or those crabs\nwhich have their posterior legs placed almost on their backs, for\nthe purpose of adhering to the under side of rocks), is very\nremarkable from the structure of its hind pair of legs. The\npenultimate joint, instead of terminating in a simple claw, ends in\nthree bristle-like appendages of dissimilar lengths--the longest\nequalling that of the entire leg. These claws are very thin, and\nare serrated with the finest teeth, directed backwards: their\ncurved extremities are flattened, and on this part five most minute\ncups are placed which seem to act in the same manner as the suckers\non the arms of the cuttle-fish. As the animal lives in the open\nsea, and probably wants a place of rest, I suppose this beautiful\nand most anomalous structure is adapted to take hold of floating\nmarine animals.\n\nIn deep water, far from the land, the number of living creatures is\nextremely small: south of the latitude 35 degrees, I never\nsucceeded in catching anything besides some beroe, and a few\nspecies of minute entomostracous crustacea. In shoaler water, at\nthe distance of a few miles from the coast, very many kinds of\ncrustacea and some other animals are numerous, but only during the\nnight. Between latitudes 56 and 57 degrees south of Cape Horn, the\nnet was put astern several times; it never, however, brought up\nanything besides a few of two extremely minute species of\nEntomostraca. Yet whales and seals, petrels and albatross, are\nexceedingly abundant throughout this part of the ocean. It has\nalways been a mystery to me on what the albatross, which lives far\nfrom the shore, can subsist; I presume that, like the condor, it is\nable to fast long; and that one good feast on the carcass of a\nputrid whale lasts for a long time. The central and intertropical\nparts of the Atlantic swarm with Pteropoda, Crustacea, and Radiata,\nand with their devourers the flying-fish, and again with their\ndevourers the bonitos and albicores; I presume that the numerous\nlower pelagic animals feed on the Infusoria, which are now known,\nfrom the researches of Ehrenberg, to abound in the open ocean: but\non what, in the clear blue water, do these Infusoria subsist?\n\nWhile sailing a little south of the Plata on one very dark night,\nthe sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There\nwas a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the\nday is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove\nbefore her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake\nshe was followed by a milky train. As far as the eye reached, the\ncrest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from\nthe reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly\nobscure as over the vault of the heavens.\n\nAs we proceed farther southward the sea is seldom phosphorescent;\nand off Cape Horn I do not recollect more than once having seen it\nso, and then it was far from being brilliant. This circumstance\nprobably has a close connection with the scarcity of organic beings\nin that part of the ocean. After the elaborate paper by Ehrenberg,\non the phosphorescence of the sea, it is almost superfluous on my\npart to make any observations on the subject. (8/8. An abstract is\ngiven in No. 4 of the \"Magazine of Zoology and Botany.\") I may\nhowever add, that the same torn and irregular particles of\ngelatinous matter, described by Ehrenberg, seem in the southern as\nwell as in the northern hemisphere to be the common cause of this\nphenomenon. The particles were so minute as easily to pass through\nfine gauze; yet many were distinctly visible by the naked eye. The\nwater when placed in a tumbler and agitated gave out sparks, but a\nsmall portion in a watch-glass scarcely ever was luminous.\nEhrenberg states that these particles all retain a certain degree\nof irritability. My observations, some of which were made directly\nafter taking up the water, gave a different result. I may also\nmention, that having used the net during one night, I allowed it to\nbecome partially dry, and having occasion twelve hours afterwards\nto employ it again, I found the whole surface sparkled as brightly\nas when first taken out of the water. It does not appear probable\nin this case that the particles could have remained so long alive.\nOn one occasion having kept a jelly-fish of the genus Dianaea till\nit was dead, the water in which it was placed became luminous. When\nthe waves scintillate with bright green sparks, I believe it is\ngenerally owing to minute crustacea. But there can be no doubt that\nvery many other pelagic animals, when alive, are phosphorescent.\n\nOn two occasions I have observed the sea luminous at considerable\ndepths beneath the surface. Near the mouth of the Plata some\ncircular and oval patches, from two to four yards in diameter, and\nwith defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale light; while\nthe surrounding water only gave out a few sparks. The appearance\nresembled the reflection of the moon, or some luminous body; for\nthe edges were sinuous from the undulations of the surface. The\nship, which drew thirteen feet water, passed over, without\ndisturbing these patches. Therefore we must suppose that some\nanimals were congregated together at a greater depth than the\nbottom of the vessel.\n\nNear Fernando Noronha the sea gave out light in flashes. The\nappearance was very similar to that which might be expected from a\nlarge fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid. To this cause\nthe sailors attributed it; at the time, however, I entertained some\ndoubts, on account of the frequency and rapidity of the flashes. I\nhave already remarked that the phenomenon is very much more common\nin warm than in cold countries; and I have sometimes imagined that\na disturbed electrical condition of the atmosphere was most\nfavourable to its production. Certainly I think the sea is most\nluminous after a few days of more calm weather than ordinary,\nduring which time it has swarmed with various animals. Observing\nthat the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure\nstate, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is\nproduced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the\natmosphere, I am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is\nthe result of the decomposition of the organic particles, by which\nprocess (one is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration)\nthe ocean becomes purified.\n\nDECEMBER 23, 1833.\n\nWe arrived at Port Desire, situated in latitude 47 degrees, on the\ncoast of Patagonia. The creek runs for about twenty miles inland,\nwith an irregular width. The \"Beagle\" anchored a few miles within\nthe entrance, in front of the ruins of an old Spanish settlement.\n\nThe same evening I went on shore. The first landing in any new\ncountry is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case,\nthe whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual\ncharacter. At the height of between two and three hundred feet\nabove some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly\ncharacteristic of Patagonia. The surface is quite level, and is\ncomposed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. Here\nand there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and\nstill more rarely, some low thorny bushes. The weather is dry and\npleasant, and the fine blue sky is but seldom obscured. When\nstanding in the middle of one of these desert plains and looking\ntowards the interior, the view is generally bounded by the\nescarpment of another plain, rather higher, but equally level and\ndesolate; and in every other direction the horizon is indistinct\nfrom the trembling mirage which seems to rise from the heated\nsurface.\n\nIn such a country the fate of the Spanish settlement was soon\ndecided; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of the\nyear, and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering Indians,\ncompelled the colonists to desert their half-finished buildings.\nThe style, however, in which they were commenced shows the strong\nand liberal hand of Spain in the old time. The result of all the\nattempts to colonise this side of America south of 41 degrees has\nbeen miserable. Port Famine expresses by its name the lingering and\nextreme sufferings of several hundred wretched people, of whom one\nalone survived to relate their misfortunes. At St. Joseph's Bay, on\nthe coast of Patagonia, a small settlement was made; but during one\nSunday the Indians made an attack and massacred the whole party,\nexcepting two men, who remained captives during many years. At the\nRio Negro I conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old\nage.\n\n(PLATE 38.  OPUNTIA DARWINII.)\n\nThe zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its Flora. (8/9. I found\nhere a species of cactus, described by Professor Henslow, under the\nname of Opuntia Darwinii \"Magazine of Zoology and Botany\" volume 1\npage 466, which was remarkable for the irritability of the stamens,\nwhen I inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in\nthe flower. The segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil,\nbut more slowly than the stamens. Plants of this family, generally\nconsidered as tropical, occur in North America \"Lewis and Clarke's\nTravels\" page 221, in the same high latitude as here, namely, in\nboth cases, in 47 degrees.) On the arid plains a few black beetles\n(Heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling about, and occasionally\na lizard darted from side to side. Of birds we have three carrion\nhawks, and in the valleys a few finches and insect-feeders. An ibis\n(Theristicus melanops--a species said to be found in central\nAfrica) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in their stomachs\nI found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions.\n(8/10. These insects were not uncommon beneath stones. I found one\ncannibal scorpion quietly devouring another.) At one time of the\nyear these birds go in flocks, at another in pairs, their cry is\nvery loud and singular, like the neighing of the guanaco.\n\nThe guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the\nplains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the\ncamel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature,\nwith a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the\nwhole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the\nislands near Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from\nhalf a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we\nsaw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred.\n\nThey are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes told me that\nhe one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which\nevidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed,\nalthough their distance was so great that he could not distinguish\nthem with his naked eye. The sportsman frequently receives the\nfirst notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance\ntheir peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks\nattentively, he will probably see the herd standing in a line on\nthe side of some distant hill. On approaching nearer, a few more\nsqueals are given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but\nreally quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a\nneighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly meets a\nsingle animal, or several together, they will generally stand\nmotionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few\nyards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this\ndifference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the distance\nfor their chief enemy the puma? Or does curiosity overcome their\ntimidity? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on\nthe ground, and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet\nin the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to\nreconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was repeatedly practised\nby our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the advantage of\nallowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts\nof the performance. On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, I have\nmore than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh\nand squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous\nmanner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. These animals are\nvery easily domesticated, and I have seen some thus kept in\nNorthern Patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint.\nThey are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by\nstriking him from behind with both knees. It is asserted that the\nmotive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females.\nThe wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single\ndog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can\ncome up. In many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock.\nThus when they see men approaching in several directions on\nhorseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to\nrun. This greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for\nthey are thus easily driven to a central point, and are\nencompassed.\n\nThe guanacos readily take to the water: several times at Port\nValdes they were seen swimming from island to island. Byron, in his\nvoyage, says he saw them drinking salt water. Some of our officers\nlikewise saw a herd apparently drinking the briny fluid from a\nsalina near Cape Blanco. I imagine in several parts of the country,\nif they do not drink salt water, they drink none at all. In the\nmiddle of the day they frequently roll in the dust, in\nsaucer-shaped hollows. The males fight together; two one day passed\nquite close to me, squealing and trying to bite each other; and\nseveral were shot with their hides deeply scored. Herds sometimes\nappear to set out on exploring parties: at Bahia Blanca, where,\nwithin thirty miles of the coast, these animals are extremely\nunfrequent, I one day saw the tracks of thirty or forty, which had\ncome in a direct line to a muddy salt-water creek. They then must\nhave perceived that they were approaching the sea, for they had\nwheeled with the regularity of cavalry, and had returned back in as\nstraight a line as they had advanced. The guanacos have one\nsingular habit, which is to me quite inexplicable; namely, that on\nsuccessive days they drop their dung in the same defined heap. I\nsaw one of these heaps which was eight feet in diameter, and was\ncomposed of a large quantity. This habit, according to M. A.\nd'Orbigny, is common to all the species of the genus; it is very\nuseful to the Peruvian Indians, who use the dung for fuel, and are\nthus saved the trouble of collecting it.\n\nThe guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down to die.\nOn the banks of the St. Cruz, in certain circumscribed spaces,\nwhich were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was\nactually white with bones. On one such spot I counted between ten\nand twenty heads. I particularly examined the bones; they did not\nappear, as some scattered ones which I had seen, gnawed or broken,\nas if dragged together by beasts of prey. The animals in most cases\nmust have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes.\nMr. Bynoe informs me that during a former voyage he observed the\nsame circumstance on the banks of the Rio Gallegos. I do not at all\nunderstand the reason of this, but I may observe, that the wounded\nguanacos at the St. Cruz invariably walked towards the river. At\nSt. Jago in the Cape de Verd Islands, I remember having seen in a\nravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat; we at the\ntime exclaimed that it was the burial-ground of all the goats in\nthe island. I mention these trifling circumstances, because in\ncertain cases they might explain the occurrence of a number of\nuninjured bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial accumulations;\nand likewise the cause why certain animals are more commonly\nembedded than others in sedimentary deposits.\n\n\n\"None can reply--all seems eternal now.\nThe wilderness has a mysterious tongue,\nWhich teaches awful doubt.\"\n(8/11. Shelley, Lines on Mt. Blanc.)\nOne day the yawl was sent under the command of Mr. Chaffers with\nthree days' provisions to survey the upper part of the harbour. In\nthe morning we searched for some watering-places mentioned in an\nold Spanish chart. We found one creek, at the head of which there\nwas a trickling rill (the first we had seen) of brackish water.\nHere the tide compelled us to wait several hours; and in the\ninterval I walked some miles into the interior. The plain as usual\nconsisted of gravel, mingled with soil resembling chalk in\nappearance, but very different from it in nature. From the softness\nof these materials it was worn into many gulleys. There was not a\ntree, and, excepting the guanaco, which stood on the hilltop a\nwatchful sentinel over its herd, scarcely an animal or a bird. All\nwas stillness and desolation. Yet in passing over these scenes,\nwithout one bright object near, an ill-defined but strong sense of\npleasure is vividly excited. One asked how many ages the plain had\nthus lasted, and how many more it was doomed thus to continue.\n\nIn the evening we sailed a few miles farther up, and then pitched\nthe tents for the night. By the middle of the next day the yawl was\naground, and from the shoalness of the water could not proceed any\nhigher. The water being found partly fresh, Mr. Chaffers took the\ndingey and went up two or three miles farther, where she also\ngrounded, but in a fresh-water river. The water was muddy, and\nthough the stream was most insignificant in size, it would be\ndifficult to account for its origin, except from the melting snow\non the Cordillera. At the spot where we bivouacked, we were\nsurrounded by bold cliffs and steep pinnacles of porphyry. I do not\nthink I ever saw a spot which appeared more secluded from the rest\nof the world than this rocky crevice in the wide plain.\n\nThe second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of\nofficers and myself went to ransack an old Indian grave, which I\nhad found on the summit of a neighbouring hill. Two immense stones,\neach probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had been placed\nin front of a ledge of rock about six feet high. At the bottom of\nthe grave on the hard rock there was a layer of earth about a foot\ndeep, which must have been brought up from the plain below. Above\nit a pavement of flat stones was placed, on which others were\npiled, so as to fill up the space between the ledge and the two\ngreat blocks. To complete the grave, the Indians had contrived to\ndetach from the ledge a huge fragment, and to throw it over the\npile so as to rest on the two blocks. We undermined the grave on\nboth sides, but could not find any relics, or even bones. The\nlatter probably had decayed long since (in which case the grave\nmust have been of extreme antiquity), for I found in another place\nsome smaller heaps, beneath which a very few crumbling fragments\ncould yet be distinguished as having belonged to a man. Falconer\nstates, that where an Indian dies he is buried, but that\nsubsequently his bones are carefully taken up and carried, let the\ndistance be ever so great, to be deposited near the sea-coast. This\ncustom, I think, may be accounted for by recollecting that, before\nthe introduction of horses, these Indians must have led nearly the\nsame life as the Fuegians now do, and therefore generally have\nresided in the neighbourhood of the sea. The common prejudice of\nlying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now roaming\nIndians bring the less perishable part of their dead to their\nancient burial-ground on the coast.\n\nJANUARY 9, 1834.\n\nBefore it was dark the \"Beagle\" anchored in the fine spacious\nharbour of Port St. Julian, situated about one hundred and ten\nmiles to the south of Port Desire. We remained here eight days. The\ncountry is nearly similar to that of Port Desire, but perhaps\nrather more sterile. One day a party accompanied Captain Fitz Roy\non a long walk round the head of the harbour. We were eleven hours\nwithout tasting any water, and some of the party were quite\nexhausted. From the summit of a hill (since well named Thirsty\nHill) a fine lake was spied, and two of the party proceeded with\nconcerted signals to show whether it was fresh water. What was our\ndisappointment to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crystallised\nin great cubes! We attributed our extreme thirst to the dryness of\nthe atmosphere; but whatever the cause might be, we were\nexceedingly glad late in the evening to get back to the boats.\nAlthough we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single\ndrop of fresh water, yet some must exist; for by an odd chance I\nfound on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a\nColymbetes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far\ndistant pool. Three other insects (a Cincindela, like hybrida, a\nCymindis, and a Harpalus, which all live on muddy flats\noccasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other found dead on\nthe plain, complete the list of the beetles. A good-sized fly\n(Tabanus) was extremely numerous, and tormented us by its painful\nbite. The common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady\nlanes of England, belongs to this same genus. We here have the\npuzzle that so frequently occurs in the case of musquitoes--on the\nblood of what animals do these insects commonly feed? The guanaco\nis nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found in quite\ninconsiderable numbers compared with the multitude of flies.\n\nThe geology of Patagonia is interesting. Differently from Europe,\nwhere the tertiary formations appear to have accumulated in bays,\nhere along hundreds of miles of coast we have one great deposit,\nincluding many tertiary shells, all apparently extinct. The most\ncommon shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even a foot in\ndiameter. These beds are covered by others of a peculiar soft white\nstone, including much gypsum, and resembling chalk, but really of a\npumiceous nature. It is highly remarkable, from being composed, to\nat least one-tenth part of its bulk, of Infusoria: Professor\nEhrenberg has already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. This\nbed extends for 500 miles along the coast, and probably for a\nconsiderably greater distance. At Port St. Julian its thickness is\nmore than 800 feet! These white beds are everywhere capped by a\nmass of gravel, forming probably one of the largest beds of shingle\nin the world: it certainly extends from near the Rio Colorado to\nbetween 600 and 700 nautical miles southward, at Santa Cruz (a\nriver a little south of St. Julian) it reaches to the foot of the\nCordillera; half way up the river its thickness is more than 200\nfeet; it probably everywhere extends to this great chain, whence\nthe well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have been derived: we may\nconsider its average breadth as 200 miles, and its average\nthickness as about 50 feet. If this great bed of pebbles, without\nincluding the mud necessarily derived from their attrition, was\npiled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain! When we\nconsider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains of sand in\nthe desert, have been derived from the slow falling of masses of\nrock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers, and that these\nfragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and that each of\nthem has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and far transported,\nthe mind is stupefied in thinking over the long, absolutely\nnecessary, lapse of years. Yet all this gravel has been\ntransported, and probably rounded, subsequently to the deposition\nof the white beds, and long subsequently to the underlying beds\nwith the tertiary shells.\n\nEverything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand\nscale: the land, from the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance\nof 1200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia to a\nheight of between 300 and 400 feet), within the period of the now\nexisting sea-shells. The old and weathered shells left on the\nsurface of the upraised plain still partially retain their colours.\nThe uprising movement has been interrupted by at least eight long\nperiods of rest, during which the sea ate deeply back into the\nland, forming at successive levels the long lines of cliffs or\nescarpments, which separate the different plains as they rise like\nsteps one behind the other. The elevatory movement, and the\neating-back power of the sea during the periods of rest, have been\nequable over long lines of coast; for I was astonished to find that\nthe step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding heights at far\ndistant points. The lowest plain is 90 feet high; and the highest,\nwhich I ascended near the coast, is 950 feet; and of this only\nrelics are left in the form of flat gravel-capped hills. The upper\nplain of Santa Cruz slopes up to a height of 3000 feet at the foot\nof the Cordillera. I have said that within the period of existing\nsea-shells, Patagonia has been upraised 300 to 400 feet: I may add,\nthat within the period when icebergs transported boulders over the\nupper plain of Santa Cruz, the elevation has been at least 1500\nfeet. Nor has Patagonia been affected only by upward movements: the\nextinct tertiary shells from Port St. Julian and Santa Cruz cannot\nhave lived, according to Professor E. Forbes, in a greater depth of\nwater than from 40 to 250 feet; but they are now covered with\nsea-deposited strata from 800 to 1000 feet in thickness: hence the\nbed of the sea, on which these shells once lived, must have sunk\ndownwards several hundred feet, to allow of the accumulation of the\nsuperincumbent strata. What a history of geological changes does\nthe simply-constructed coast of Patagonia reveal!\n\n(PLATE 39.  RAISED BEACHES, PATAGONIA.)\n\nAt Port St. Julian, in some red mud capping the gravel on the\n90-feet plain, I found half the skeleton of the Macrauchenia\nPatachonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a camel.\n(8/12. I have lately heard that Captain Sulivan, R.N., has found\nnumerous fossil bones, embedded in regular strata, on the banks of\nthe R. Gallegos, in latitude 51 degrees 4'. Some of the bones are\nlarge; others are small, and appear to have belonged to an\narmadillo. This is a most interesting and important discovery.) It\nbelongs to the same division of the Pachydermata with the\nrhinoceros, tapir, and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the\nbones of its long neck it shows a clear relation to the camel, or\nrather to the guanaco and llama. From recent sea-shells being found\non two of the higher step-formed plains, which must have been\nmodelled and upraised before the mud was deposited in which the\nMacrauchenia was intombed, it is certain that this curious\nquadruped lived long after the sea was inhabited by its present\nshells. I was at first much surprised how a large quadruped could\nso lately have subsisted, in latitude 49 degrees 15', on these\nwretched gravel plains with their stunted vegetation; but the\nrelationship of the Macrauchenia to the Guanaco, now an inhabitant\nof the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty.\n\nThe relationship, though distant, between the Macrauchenia and the\nGuanaco, between the Toxodon and the Capybara,--the closer\nrelationship between the many extinct Edentata and the living\nsloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently characteristic\nof South American zoology,--and the still closer relationship\nbetween the fossil and living species of Ctenomys and Hydrochaerus,\nare most interesting facts. This relationship is shown\nwonderfully--as wonderfully as between the fossil and extinct\nMarsupial animals of Australia--by the great collection lately\nbrought to Europe from the caves of Brazil by MM. Lund and Clausen.\nIn this collection there are extinct species of all the thirty-two\ngenera, excepting four, of the terrestrial quadrupeds now\ninhabiting the provinces in which the caves occur; and the extinct\nspecies are much more numerous than those now living: there are\nfossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, peccaries, guanacos,\nopossums, and numerous South American gnawers and monkeys, and\nother animals. This wonderful relationship in the same continent\nbetween the dead and the living, will, I do not doubt, hereafter\nthrow more light on the appearance of organic beings on our earth,\nand their disappearance from it, than any other class of facts.\n\nIt is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the American\ncontinent without the deepest astonishment. Formerly it must have\nswarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared\nwith the antecedent allied races. If Buffon had known of the\ngigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost\nPachydermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of truth\nthat the creative force in America had lost its power, rather than\nthat it had never possessed great vigour. The greater number, if\nnot all, of these extinct quadrupeds lived at a late period, and\nwere the contemporaries of most of the existing sea-shells. Since\nthey lived, no very great change in the form of the land can have\ntaken place. What, then, has exterminated so many species and whole\ngenera? The mind at first is irresistibly hurried into the belief\nof some great catastrophe; but thus to destroy animals, both large\nand small, in Southern Patagonia, in Brazil, on the Cordillera of\nPeru, in North America up to Behring's Straits, we must shake the\nentire framework of the globe. An examination, moreover, of the\ngeology of La Plata and Patagonia, leads to the belief that all the\nfeatures of the land result from slow and gradual changes. It\nappears from the character of the fossils in Europe, Asia,\nAustralia, and in North and South America, that those conditions\nwhich favour the life of the LARGER quadrupeds were lately\ncoextensive with the world: what those conditions were, no one has\nyet even conjectured. It could hardly have been a change of\ntemperature, which at about the same time destroyed the inhabitants\nof tropical, temperate, and arctic latitudes on both sides of the\nglobe. In North America we positively know from Mr. Lyell that the\nlarge quadrupeds lived subsequently to that period, when boulders\nwere brought into latitudes at which icebergs now never arrive:\nfrom conclusive but indirect reasons we may feel sure, that in the\nsouthern hemisphere the Macrauchenia, also, lived long subsequently\nto the ice-transporting boulder-period. Did man, after his first\ninroad into South America, destroy, as has been suggested, the\nunwieldy Megatherium and the other Edentata? We must at least look\nto some other cause for the destruction of the little tucutuco at\nBahia Blanca, and of the many fossil mice and other small\nquadrupeds in Brazil. No one will imagine that a drought, even far\nseverer than those which cause such losses in the provinces of La\nPlata, could destroy every individual of every species from\nSouthern Patagonia to Behring's Straits. What shall we say of the\nextinction of the horse? Did those plains fail of pasture, which\nhave since been overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of\nthe descendants of the stock introduced by the Spaniards? Have the\nsubsequently introduced species consumed the food of the great\nantecedent races? Can we believe that the Capybara has taken the\nfood of the Toxodon, the Guanaco of the Macrauchenia, the existing\nsmall Edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes? Certainly, no\nfact in the long history of the world is so startling as the wide\nand repeated exterminations of its inhabitants.\n\nNevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point of\nview, it will appear less perplexing. We do not steadily bear in\nmind how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of existence\nof every animal; nor do we always remember that some check is\nconstantly preventing the too rapid increase of every organised\nbeing left in a state of nature. The supply of food, on an average,\nremains constant, yet the tendency in every animal to increase by\npropagation is geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere\nbeen more astonishingly shown, than in the case of the European\nanimals run wild during the last few centuries in America. Every\nanimal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species long\nestablished, any GREAT increase in numbers is obviously impossible,\nand must be checked by some means. We are, nevertheless, seldom\nable with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period of\nlife, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long\nintervals, the check falls; or, again, what is the precise nature\nof the check. Hence probably it is that we feel so little surprise\nat one, of two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the\nother abundant in the same district; or, again, that one should be\nabundant in one district, and another, filling the same place in\nthe economy of nature, should be abundant in a neighbouring\ndistrict, differing very little in its conditions. If asked how\nthis is, one immediately replies that it is determined by some\nslight difference in climate, food, or the number of enemies: yet\nhow rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and manner\nof action of the check! We are therefore, driven to the conclusion\nthat causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine whether\na given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.\n\nIn the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through\nman, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it\nbecomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to\npoint out any just distinction between a species destroyed by man\nor by the increase of its natural enemies. (8/13. See the excellent\nremarks on this subject by Mr. Lyell in his \"Principles of\nGeology.\") The evidence of rarity preceding extinction is more\nstriking in the successive tertiary strata, as remarked by several\nable observers; it has often been found that a shell very common in\na tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long been thought\nto be extinct. If then, as appears probable, species first become\nrare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every species,\neven the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit,\nthough how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the\nsmallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one\nspecies abundant and another closely-allied species rare in the\nsame district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the\nrarity being carried a step farther to extinction? An action going\non, on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely\nbe carried a little farther without exciting our observation. Who\nwould feel any great surprise at hearing that the Magalonyx was\nformerly rare compared with the Megatherium, or that one of the\nfossil monkeys was few in number compared with one of the now\nliving monkeys? and yet in this comparative rarity, we should have\nthe plainest evidence of less favourable conditions for their\nexistence. To admit that species generally become rare before they\nbecome extinct--to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of\none species with another, and yet to call in some extraordinary\nagent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to exist, appears\nto me much the same as to admit that sickness in the individual is\nthe prelude to death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but when the\nsick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through\nviolence.\n\n\n(PLATE 40.  LADIES' COMBS, BANDA ORIENTAL.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n(PLATE 41.  CONDOR (Sarcorhamphus gryphus).)\n\nSanta Cruz.\nExpedition up the River.\nIndians.\nImmense Streams of basaltic lava.\nFragments not transported by the River.\nExcavation of the valley.\nCondor, habits of.\nCordillera.\nErratic boulders of great size.\nIndian relics.\nReturn to the ship.\nFalkland Islands.\nWild horses, cattle, rabbits.\nWolf-like fox.\nFire made of bones.\nManner of hunting wild cattle.\nGeology.\nStreams of stones.\nScenes of violence.\nPenguin.\nGeese.\nEggs of Doris.\nCompound animals.\n\nSANTA CRUZ, PATAGONIA, AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.\n\nAPRIL 13, 1834.\n\n\n\nThe \"Beagle\" anchored within the mouth of the Santa Cruz. This\nriver is situated about sixty miles south of Port St. Julian.\nDuring the last voyage Captain Stokes proceeded thirty miles up it,\nbut then, from the want of provisions, was obliged to return.\nExcepting what was discovered at that time, scarcely anything was\nknown about this large river. Captain Fitz Roy now determined to\nfollow its course as far as time would allow. On the 18th three\nwhale-boats started, carrying three weeks' provisions; and the\nparty consisted of twenty-five souls--a force which would have been\nsufficient to have defied a host of Indians. With a strong\nflood-tide and a fine day we made a good run, soon drank some of\nthe fresh water, and were at night nearly above the tidal\ninfluence.\n\nThe river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at the\nhighest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. It\nwas generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in the\nmiddle about seventeen feet deep. The rapidity of the current,\nwhich in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to six\nknots an hour, is perhaps its most remarkable feature. The water is\nof a fine blue colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and not so\ntransparent as at first sight would have been expected. It flows\nover a bed of pebbles, like those which compose the beach and the\nsurrounding plains. It runs in a winding course through a valley,\nwhich extends in a direct line westward. This valley varies from\nfive to ten miles in breadth; it is bounded by step-formed\nterraces, which rise in most parts, one above the other, to the\nheight of five hundred feet, and have on the opposite sides a\nremarkable correspondence.\n\nAPRIL 19, 1834.\n\nAgainst so strong a current it was, of course, quite impossible to\nrow or sail: consequently the three boats were fastened together\nhead and stern, two hands left in each, and the rest came on shore\nto track. As the general arrangements made by Captain Fitz Roy were\nvery good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a share\nin it, I will describe the system. The party, including every one,\nwas divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the tracking\nline alternately for an hour and a half. The officers of each boat\nlived with, ate the same food, and slept in the same tent with\ntheir crew, so that each boat was quite independent of the others.\nAfter sunset the first level spot where any bushes were growing was\nchosen for our night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns\nto be cook. Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his\nfire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things\nout of the boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and\ncollected firewood. By this order, in half an hour everything was\nready for the night. A watch of two men and an officer was always\nkept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep up the fire,\nand guard against Indians. Each in the party had his one hour every\nnight.\n\nDuring this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were\nmany islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between\nthem were shallow.\n\nAPRIL 20, 1834.\n\nWe passed the islands and set to work. Our regular day's march,\nalthough it was hard enough, carried us on an average only ten\nmiles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty altogether.\nBeyond the place where we slept last night, the country is\ncompletely terra incognita, for it was there that Captain Stokes\nturned back. We saw in the distance a great smoke, and found the\nskeleton of a horse, so we knew that Indians were in the\nneighbourhood. On the next morning (21st) tracks of a party of\nhorse, and marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long\nspears, were observed on the ground. It was generally thought that\nthe Indians had reconnoitred us during the night. Shortly\nafterwards we came to a spot where, from the fresh footsteps of\nmen, children, and horses, it was evident that the party had\ncrossed the river.\n\nAPRIL 22, 1834.\n\nThe country remained the same, and was extremely uninteresting. The\ncomplete similarity of the productions throughout Patagonia is one\nof its most striking characters. The level plains of arid shingle\nsupport the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the valleys the\nsame thorn-bearing bushes grow. Everywhere we see the same birds\nand insects. Even the very banks of the river and of the clear\nstreamlets which entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a brighter\ntint of green. The curse of sterility is on the land, and the water\nflowing over a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse. Hence the\nnumber of waterfowl is very scanty; for there is nothing to support\nlife in the stream of this barren river.\n\nPatagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast of a\ngreater stock of small rodents than perhaps any other country in\nthe world. (9/1. The desserts of Syria are characterised, according\nto Volney tome 1 page 351, by woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles\nand hares. In the landscape of Patagonia the guanaco replaces the\ngazelle, and the agouti the hare.) Several species of mice are\nexternally characterised by large thin ears and a very fine fur.\nThese little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the valleys,\nwhere they cannot for months together taste a drop of water\nexcepting the dew. They all seem to be cannibals; for no sooner was\na mouse caught in one of my traps than it was devoured by others. A\nsmall and delicately-shaped fox, which is likewise very abundant,\nprobably derives its entire support from these small animals. The\nguanaco is also in his proper district, herds of fifty or a hundred\nwere common; and, as I have stated, we saw one which must have\ncontained at least five hundred. The puma, with the condor and\nother carrion-hawks in its train, follows and preys upon these\nanimals. The footsteps of the puma were to be seen almost\neverywhere on the banks of the river; and the remains of several\nguanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones broken, showed how\nthey had met their death.\n\nAPRIL 24, 1834.\n\nLike the navigators of old when approaching an unknown land, we\nexamined and watched for the most trivial sign of a change. The\ndrifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of primitive rock, was hailed\nwith joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the flanks of the\nCordillera. The top, however, of a heavy bank of clouds, which\nremained almost constantly in one position, was the most promising\nsign, and eventually turned out a true harbinger. At first the\nclouds were mistaken for the mountains themselves, instead of the\nmasses of vapour condensed by their icy summits.\n\nAPRIL 26, 1834.\n\nWe this day met with a marked change in the geological structure of\nthe plains. From the first starting I had carefully examined the\ngravel in the river, and for the two last days had noticed the\npresence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular basalt. These\ngradually increased in number and in size, but none were as large\nas a man's head. This morning, however, pebbles of the same rock,\nbut more compact, suddenly became abundant, and in the course of\nhalf an hour we saw, at the distance of five or six miles, the\nangular edge of a great basaltic platform. When we arrived at its\nbase we found the stream bubbling among the fallen blocks. For the\nnext twenty-eight miles the river-course was encumbered with these\nbasaltic masses. Above that limit immense fragments of primitive\nrocks, derived from the surrounding boulder-formation, were equally\nnumerous. None of the fragments of any considerable size had been\nwashed more than three or four miles down the river below their\nparent-source: considering the singular rapidity of the great body\nof water in the Santa Cruz, and that no still reaches occur in any\npart, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of\nrivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments.\n\nThe basalt is only lava which has flowed beneath the sea; but the\neruptions must have been on the grandest scale. At the point where\nwe first met this formation it was 120 feet in thickness; following\nup the river-course, the surface imperceptibly rose and the mass\nbecame thicker, so that at forty miles above the first station it\nwas 320 feet thick. What the thickness may be close to the\nCordillera, I have no means of knowing, but the platform there\nattains a height of about three thousand feet above the level of\nthe sea: we must therefore look to the mountains of that great\nchain for its source; and worthy of such a source are streams that\nhave flowed over the gently inclined bed of the sea to a distance\nof one hundred miles. At the first glance of the basaltic cliffs on\nthe opposite sides of the valley it was evident that the strata\nonce were united. What power, then, has removed along a whole line\nof country a solid mass of very hard rock, which had an average\nthickness of nearly three hundred feet, and a breadth varying from\nrather less than two miles to four miles? The river, though it has\nso little power in transporting even inconsiderable fragments, yet\nin the lapse of ages might produce by its gradual erosion an\neffect, of which it is difficult to judge the amount. But in this\ncase, independently of the insignificance of such an agency, good\nreasons can be assigned for believing that this valley was formerly\noccupied by an arm of the sea. It is needless in this work to\ndetail the arguments leading to this conclusion, derived from the\nform and the nature of the step-formed terraces on both sides of\nthe valley, from the manner in which the bottom of the valley near\nthe Andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with\nsand-hillocks on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells\nlying in the bed of the river. If I had space I could prove that\nSouth America was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the\nAtlantic and Pacific oceans, like that of Magellan. But it may yet\nbe asked, how has the solid basalt been removed? Geologists\nformerly would have brought into play the violent action of some\noverwhelming debacle; but in this case such a supposition would\nhave been quite inadmissible; because, the same step-like plains\nwith existing sea-shells lying on their surface, which front the\nlong line of the Patagonian coast, sweep up on each side of the\nvalley of Santa Cruz. No possible action of any flood could thus\nhave modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open\ncoast; and by the formation of such step-like plains or terraces\nthe valley itself has been hollowed out. Although we know that\nthere are tides which run within the Narrows of the Strait of\nMagellan at the rate of eight knots an hour, yet we must confess\nthat it makes the head almost giddy to reflect on the number of\nyears, century after century, which the tides, unaided by a heavy\nsurf, must have required to have corroded so vast an area and\nthickness of solid basaltic lava. Nevertheless, we must believe\nthat the strata undermined by the waters of this ancient strait\nwere broken up into huge fragments, and these lying scattered on\nthe beach were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles,\nand lastly to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far\ninto the Eastern or Western Ocean.\n\nWith the change in the geological structure of the plains the\ncharacter of the landscape likewise altered. While rambling up some\nof the narrow and rocky defiles, I could almost have fancied myself\ntransported back again to the barren valleys of the island of St.\nJago. Among the basaltic cliffs I found some plants which I had\nseen nowhere else, but others I recognised as being wanderers from\nTierra del Fuego. These porous rocks serve as a reservoir for the\nscanty rain-water; and consequently on the line where the igneous\nand sedimentary formations unite, some small springs (most rare\noccurrences in Patagonia) burst forth; and they could be\ndistinguished at a distance by the circumscribed patches of bright\ngreen herbage.\n\n(PLATE 42.  BASALTIC GLEN, SANTA CRUZ (RIO NEGRO).\n\nAPRIL 27, 1834.\n\nThe bed of the river became rather narrower, and hence the stream\nmore rapid. It here ran at the rate of six knots an hour. From this\ncause, and from the many great angular fragments, tracking the\nboats became both dangerous and laborious.\n\nThis day I shot a condor. It measured from tip to tip of the wings\neight and a half feet, and from beak to tail four feet. This bird\nis known to have a wide geographical range, being found on the west\ncoast of South America, from the Strait of Magellan along the\nCordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. The steep\ncliff near the mouth of the Rio Negro is its northern limit on the\nPatagonian coast; and they have there wandered about four hundred\nmiles from the great central line of their habitation in the Andes.\nFurther south, among the bold precipices at the head of Port\nDesire, the condor is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers\noccasionally visit the sea-coast. A line of cliff near the mouth of\nthe Santa Cruz is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles\nup the river, where the sides of the valley are formed by steep\nbasaltic precipices, the condor reappears. From these facts, it\nseems that the condors require perpendicular cliffs. In Chile, they\nhaunt, during the greater part of the year, the lower country near\nthe shores of the Pacific, and at night several roost together in\none tree; but in the early part of summer they retire to the most\ninaccessible parts of the inner Cordillera, there to breed in\npeace.\n\nWith respect to their propagation, I was told by the country people\nin Chile that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months\nof November and December lays two large white eggs on a shelf of\nbare rock. It is said that the young condors cannot fly for an\nentire year; and long after they are able, they continue to roost\nby night, an hunt by day with their parents. The old birds\ngenerally live in pairs; but among the inland basaltic cliffs of\nthe Santa Cruz I found a spot where scores must usually haunt. On\ncoming suddenly to the brow of the precipice, it was a grand\nspectacle to see between twenty and thirty of these great birds\nstart heavily from their resting-place, and wheel away in majestic\ncircles. From the quantity of dung on the rocks, they must long\nhave frequented this cliff for roosting and breeding. Having gorged\nthemselves with carrion on the plains below, they retire to these\nfavourite ledges to digest their food. From these facts, the\ncondor, like the gallinazo must to a certain degree be considered\nas a gregarious bird. In this part of the country they live\naltogether on the guanacos which have died a natural death, or as\nmore commonly happens, have been killed by the pumas. I believe,\nfrom what I saw in Patagonia, that they do not on ordinary\noccasions extend their daily excursions to any great distance from\ntheir regular sleeping-places.\n\nThe condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over\na certain spot in the most graceful circles. On some occasions I am\nsure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the\nChileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal,\nor the puma devouring its prey. If the condors glide down, and then\nsuddenly all rise together, the Chileno knows that it is the puma\nwhich, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the\nrobbers. Besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack\nyoung goats and lambs; and the shepherd-dogs are trained, whenever\nthey pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently.\nThe Chilenos destroy and catch numbers. Two methods are used; one\nis to place a carcass on a level piece of ground within an\nenclosure of sticks with an opening, and when the condors are\ngorged, to gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose\nthem: for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its\nbody sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. The second method\nis to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or\nsix together, they roost, and then at night to climb up and noose\nthem. They are such heavy sleepers, as I have myself witnessed,\nthat this is not a difficult task. At Valparaiso I have seen a\nliving condor sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or\nten shillings. One which I saw brought in, had been tied with rope,\nand was much injured; yet, the moment the line was cut by which its\nbill was secured, although surrounded by people, it began\nravenously to tear a piece of carrion. In a garden at the same\nplace, between twenty and thirty were kept alive. They were fed\nonly once a week, but they appeared in pretty good health. The\nChileno countrymen assert that the condor will live, and retain its\nvigour, between five and six weeks without eating: I cannot answer\nfor the truth of this, but it is a cruel experiment, which very\nlikely has been tried. (9/2. I noticed that several hours before\nany one of the condors died, all the lice, with which it was\ninfested, crawled to the outside feathers. I was assured that this\nalways happens.)\n\nWhen an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that the\ncondors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of it,\nand congregate in an inexplicable manner. In most cases it must not\nbe overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey, and have\npicked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least degree\ntainted. Remembering the experiments of M. Audubon, on the little\nsmelling powers of carrion-hawks, I tried in the above-mentioned\ngarden the following experiment: the condors were tied, each by a\nrope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall; and having folded up a\npiece of meat in white paper, I walked backwards and forwards,\ncarrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from\nthem, but no notice whatever was taken. I then threw it on the\nground, within one yard of an old male bird; he looked at it for a\nmoment with attention, but then regarded it no more. With a stick I\npushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his\nbeak; the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the\nsame moment, every bird in the long row began struggling and\nflapping its wings. Under the same circumstances it would have been\nquite impossible to have deceived a dog. The evidence in favour of\nand against the acute smelling powers of carrion-vultures is\nsingularly balanced. Professor Owen has demonstrated that the\nolfactory nerves of the turkey-buzzard (Cathartes aura) are highly\ndeveloped, and on the evening when Mr. Owen's paper was read at the\nZoological Society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that he had\nseen the carrion-hawks in the West Indies on two occasions collect\non the roof of a house, when a corpse had become offensive from not\nhaving been buried: in this case, the intelligence could hardly\nhave been acquired by sight. On the other hand, besides the\nexperiments of Audubon and that one by myself, Mr. Bachman has\ntried in the United States many varied plans, showing that neither\nthe turkey-buzzard (the species dissected by Professor Owen) nor\nthe gallinazo find their food by smell. He covered portions of\nhighly-offensive offal with a thin canvas cloth, and strewed pieces\nof meat on it: these the carrion-vultures ate up, and then remained\nquietly standing, with their beaks within the eighth of an inch of\nthe putrid mass, without discovering it. A small rent was made in\nthe canvas, and the offal was immediately discovered; the canvas\nwas replaced by a fresh piece, and meat again put on it, and was\nagain devoured by the vultures without their discovering the hidden\nmass on which they were trampling. These facts are attested by the\nsignatures of six gentlemen, besides that of Mr. Bachman. (9/3.\nLoudon's \"Magazine of Natural History\" volume 7.)\n\nOften when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking\nupwards, I have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a\ngreat height. Where the country is level I do not believe a space\nof the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the horizon, is\ncommonly viewed with any attention by a person either walking or on\nhorseback. If such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing at a\nheight of between three and four thousand feet, before it could\ncome within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line\nfrom the beholder's eye would be rather more than two British\nmiles. Might it not thus readily be overlooked? When an animal is\nkilled by the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the\nwhile be watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird? And will not\nthe manner of its descent proclaim throughout the district to the\nwhole family of carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand?\n\nWhen the condors are wheeling in a flock round an round any spot,\ntheir flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground, I do\nnot recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.\nNear Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once\ntaking off my eyes: they moved in large curves, sweeping in\ncircles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As\nthey glided close over my head, I intently watched from an oblique\nposition the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers\nof each wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been the\nleast vibratory movement, would have appeared as if blended\ntogether; but they were seen distinct against the blue sky. The\nhead and neck were moved frequently, and apparently with force; and\nthe extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the\nmovements of the neck, body and tail acted. If the bird wished to\ndescend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again\nexpanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the\nrapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and\nsteady movement of a paper kite. In the case of any bird SOARING,\nits motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the\ninclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance\nits gravity. The force to keep up the momentum of a body moving in\na horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so little\nfriction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted.\nThe movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose is\nsufficient for this. However this may be, it is truly wonderful and\nbeautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without any\napparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river.\n\nAPRIL 29, 1834.\n\nFrom some high land we hailed with joy the white summits of the\nCordillera, as they were seen occasionally peeping through their\ndusky envelope of clouds. During the few succeeding days we\ncontinued to get on slowly, for we found the river-course very\ntortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various ancient\nslaty rocks, and of granite. The plain bordering the valley had\nhere attained an elevation of about 1100 feet above the river, and\nits character was much altered. The well-rounded pebbles of\nporphyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of basalt\nand of primary rocks. The first of these erratic boulders which I\nnoticed was sixty-seven miles distant from the nearest mountain;\nanother which I measured was five yards square, and projected five\nfeet above the gravel. Its edges were so angular, and its size so\ngreat, that I at first mistook it for a rock in situ, and took out\nmy compass to observe the direction of its cleavage. The plain here\nwas not quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet it\nbetrayed no signs of any great violence. Under these circumstances\nit is, I believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of\nthese gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their\nparent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs.\n\nDuring the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with\nseveral small articles which had belonged to the Indians--such as\nparts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers--but they\nappeared to have been lying long on the ground. Between the place\nwhere the Indians had so lately crossed the river and this\nneighbourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to\nbe quite unfrequented. At first, considering the abundance of the\nguanacos, I was surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony\nnature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod horse from\ntaking part in the chase. Nevertheless, in two places in this very\ncentral region, I found small heaps of stones, which I do not think\ncould have been accidentally thrown together. They were placed on\npoints projecting over the edge of the highest lava cliff, and they\nresembled, but on a small scale, those near Port Desire.\n\nMAY 4, 1834.\n\nCaptain Fitz Roy determined to take the boats no higher. The river\nhad a winding course, and was very rapid; and the appearance of the\ncountry offered no temptation to proceed any farther. Everywhere we\nmet with the same productions, and the same dreary landscape. We\nwere now one hundred and forty miles distant from the Atlantic, and\nabout sixty from the nearest arm of the Pacific. The valley in this\nupper part expanded into a wide basin, bounded on the north and\nsouth by the basaltic platforms, and fronted by the long range of\nthe snow-clad Cordillera. But we viewed these grand mountains with\nregret, for we were obliged to imagine their nature and\nproductions, instead of standing, as we had hoped, on their\nsummits. Besides the useless loss of time which an attempt to\nascend the river any higher would have cost us, we had already been\nfor some days on half allowance of bread. This, although really\nenough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march, rather\nscanty food: a light stomach and an easy digestion are good things\nto talk about, but very unpleasant in practice.\n\nMAY 5, 1834.\n\nBefore sunrise we commenced our descent. We shot down the stream\nwith great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots an hour. In\nthis one day we effected what had cost us five and a half hard\ndays' labour in ascending. On the 8th we reached the \"Beagle\" after\nour twenty-one days' expedition. Every one, excepting myself, had\ncause to be dissatisfied; but to me the ascent afforded a most\ninteresting section of the great tertiary formation of Patagonia.\n\nOn March 1st, 1833, and again on March 16th, 1834, the \"Beagle\"\nanchored in Berkeley Sound, in East Falkland Island. This\narchipelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth\nof the Strait of Magellan; it covers a space of one hundred and\ntwenty by sixty geographical miles, and is a little more than half\nthe size of Ireland. After the possession of these miserable\nislands had been contested by France, Spain, and England, they were\nleft uninhabited. The government of Buenos Ayres then sold them to\na private individual, but likewise used them, as old Spain had done\nbefore, for a penal settlement. England claimed her right an seized\nthem. The Englishman who was left in charge of the flag was\nconsequently murdered. A British officer was next sent, unsupported\nby any power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a\npopulation, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and\nmurderers.\n\nThe theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. An undulating\nland, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered by\na peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour. Here\nand there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock breaks through the\nsmooth surface. Every one has heard of the climate of these\nregions; it may be compared to that which is experienced at the\nheight of between one and two thousand feet, on the mountains of\nNorth Wales; having however less sunshine and less frost, but more\nwind and rain. (9/4. From accounts published since our voyage, and\nmore especially from several interesting letters from Captain\nSulivan, R.N., employed on the survey, it appears that we took an\nexaggerated view of the badness of the climate on these islands.\nBut when I reflect on the almost universal covering of peat, and on\nthe fact of wheat seldom ripening here, I can hardly believe that\nthe climate in summer is so fine and dry as it has lately been\nrepresented.)\n\nMAY 16, 1834.\n\nI will now describe a short excursion which I made round a part of\nthis island. In the morning I started with six horses and two\nGauchos: the latter were capital men for the purpose, and well\naccustomed to living on their own resources. The weather was very\nboisterous and cold, with heavy hail-storms. We got on, however,\npretty well, but, except the geology, nothing could be less\ninteresting than our day's ride. The country is uniformly the same\nundulating moorland; the surface being covered by light brown\nwithered grass and a few very small shrubs, all springing out of an\nelastic peaty soil. In the valleys here and there might be seen a\nsmall flock of wild geese, and everywhere the ground was so soft\nthat the snipe were able to feed. Besides these two birds there\nwere few others. There is one main range of hills, nearly two\nthousand feet in height, and composed of quartz rock, the rugged\nand barren crests of which gave us some trouble to cross. On the\nsouth side we came to the best country for wild cattle; we met,\nhowever, no great number, for they had been lately much harassed.\n\nIn the evening we came across a small herd. One of my companions,\nSt. Jago by name, soon separated a fat cow; he threw the bolas, and\nit struck her legs, but failed in becoming entangled. Then dropping\nhis hat to mark the spot where the balls were left, while at full\ngallop he uncoiled his lazo, and after a most severe chase again\ncame up to the cow, and caught her round the horns. The other\nGaucho had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that St. Jago\nhad some difficulty in killing the furious beast. He managed to get\nher on a level piece of ground, by taking advantage of her as often\nas she rushed at him; and when she would not move, my horse, from\nhaving been trained, would canter up, and with his chest give her a\nviolent push. But when on level ground it does not appear an easy\njob for one man to kill a beast mad with terror. Nor would it be so\nif the horse, when left to itself without its rider, did not soon\nlearn, for its own safety, to keep the lazo tight; so that, if the\ncow or ox moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward;\notherwise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. This horse,\nhowever, was a young one, and would not stand still, but gave in to\nthe cow as she struggled. It was admirable to see with what\ndexterity St. Jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he\ncontrived to give the fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind\nleg; after which, without much difficulty, he drove his knife into\nthe head of the spinal marrow, and the cow dropped as if struck by\nlightning. He cut off pieces of flesh with the skin to it, but\nwithout any bones, sufficient for our expedition. We then rode on\nto our sleeping-place, and had for supper \"carne con cuero,\" or\nmeat roasted with the skin on it. This is as superior to common\nbeef as venison is to mutton. A large circular piece taken from the\nback is roasted on the embers with the hide downwards and in the\nform of a saucer, so that none of the gravy is lost. If any worthy\nalderman had supped with us that evening, \"carne con cuero,\"\nwithout doubt, would soon have been celebrated in London.\n\nDuring the night it rained, and the next day (17th) was very\nstormy, with much hail and snow. We rode across the island to the\nneck of land which joins the Rincon del Tor (the great peninsula at\nthe south-west extremity) to the rest of the island. From the great\nnumber of cows which have been killed, there is a large proportion\nof bulls. These wander about single, or two and three together, and\nare very savage. I never saw such magnificent beasts; they equalled\nin the size of their huge heads and necks the Grecian marble\nsculptures. Captain Sulivan informs me that the hide of an\naverage-sized bull weighs forty-seven pounds, whereas a hide of\nthis weight, less thoroughly dried, is considered as a very heavy\none at Monte Video. The young bulls generally run away for a short\ndistance; but the old ones do not stir a step, except to rush at\nman and horse; and many horses have been thus killed. An old bull\ncrossed a boggy stream, and took his stand on the opposite side to\nus; we in vain tried to drive him away, and failing, were obliged\nto make a large circuit. The Gauchos in revenge determined to\nemasculate him and render him for the future harmless. It was very\ninteresting to see how art completely mastered force. One lazo was\nthrown over his horns as he rushed at the horse, and another round\nhis hind legs: in a minute the monster was stretched powerless on\nthe ground. After the lazo has once been drawn tightly round the\nhorns of a furious animal, it does not at first appear an easy\nthing to disengage it again without killing the beast: nor, I\napprehend, would it be so if the man was by himself. By the aid,\nhowever, of a second person throwing his lazo so as to catch both\nhind legs, it is quickly managed: for the animal, as long as its\nhind legs are kept outstretched, is quite helpless, and the first\nman can with his hands loosen his lazo from the horns, and then\nquietly mount his horse; but the moment the second man, by backing\never so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs of\nthe struggling beast which then rises free, shakes himself, and\nvainly rushes at his antagonist.\n\nDuring our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses. These\nanimals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the French in\n1764, since which time both have greatly increased. It is a curious\nfact that the horses have never left the eastern end of the island,\nalthough there is no natural boundary to prevent them from roaming,\nand that part of the island is not more tempting than the rest. The\nGauchos whom I asked, though asserting this to be the case, were\nunable to account for it, except from the strong attachment which\nhorses have to any locality to which they are accustomed.\nConsidering that the island does not appear fully stocked, and that\nthere are no beasts of prey, I was particularly curious to know\nwhat has checked their originally rapid increase. That in a limited\nisland some check would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable;\nbut why has the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that\nof the cattle? Captain Sulivan has taken much pains for me in this\ninquiry. The Gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to the\nstallions constantly roaming from place to place, and compelling\nthe mares to accompany them, whether or not the young foals are\nable to follow. One Gaucho told Captain Sulivan that he had watched\na stallion for a whole hour, violently kicking and biting a mare\ntill he forced her to leave her foal to its fate. Captain Sulivan\ncan so far corroborate this curious account, that he has several\ntimes found young foals dead, whereas he has never found a dead\ncalf. Moreover, the dead bodies of full-grown horses are more\nfrequently found, as if more subject to disease or accidents than\nthose of the cattle. From the softness of the ground their hoofs\noften grow irregularly to a great length, and this causes lameness.\nThe predominant colours are roan and iron-grey. All the horses bred\nhere, both tame and wild, are rather small-sized, though generally\nin good condition; and they have lost so much strength, that they\nare unfit to be used in taking wild cattle with the lazo: in\nconsequence, it is necessary to go to the great expense of\nimporting fresh horses from the Plata. At some future period the\nsouthern hemisphere probably will have its breed of Falkland\nponies, as the northern has its Shetland breed.\n\nThe cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horses, seem, as\nbefore remarked, to have increased in size; and they are much more\nnumerous than the horses. Captain Sulivan informs me that they vary\nmuch less in the general form of their bodies and in the shape of\ntheir horns than English cattle. In colour they differ much; and it\nis a remarkable circumstance, that in different parts of this one\nsmall island, different colours predominate. Round Mount Usborne,\nat a height of from 1000 to 1500 feet above the sea, about half of\nsome of the herds are mouse or lead coloured, a tint which is not\ncommon in other parts of the island. Near Port Pleasant dark brown\nprevails, whereas south of Choiseul Sound (which almost divides the\nisland into two parts) white beasts with black heads and feet are\nthe most common: in all parts black, and some spotted animals may\nbe observed. Captain Sulivan remarks that the difference in the\nprevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds\nnear Port Pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black\nspots, whilst south of Choiseul Sound they appeared like white\nspots on the hill-sides. Captain Sulivan thinks that the herds do\nnot mingle; and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured\ncattle, though living on the high land, calve about a month earlier\nin the season than the other coloured beasts on the lower land. It\nis interesting thus to find the once domesticated cattle breaking\ninto three colours, of which some one colour would in all\nprobability ultimately prevail over the others, if the herd were\nleft undisturbed for the next several centuries.\n\nThe rabbit is another animal which has been introduced, and has\nsucceeded very well; so that they abound over large parts of the\nisland. Yet, like the horses, they are confined within certain\nlimits; for they have not crossed the central chain of hills, nor\nwould they have extended even so far as its base, if, as the\nGauchos informed me, small colonies had not been carried there. I\nshould not have supposed that these animals, natives of Northern\nAfrica, could have existed in a climate so humid as this, and which\nenjoys so little sunshine that even wheat ripens only occasionally.\nIt is asserted that in Sweden, which any one would have thought a\nmore favourable climate, the rabbit cannot live out of doors. The\nfirst few pairs, moreover, had here to contend against pre-existing\nenemies, in the fox and some large hawks. The French naturalists\nhave considered the black variety a distinct species, and called it\nLepus Magellanicus. (9/5. Lesson's \"Zoology of the Voyage of the\nCoquille\" tome 1 page 168. All the early voyagers, and especially\nBougainville, distinctly state that the wolf-like fox was the only\nnative animal on the island. The distinction of the rabbit as a\nspecies is taken from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape of\nthe head, and from the shortness of the ears. I may here observe\nthat the difference between the Irish and English hare rests upon\nnearly similar characters, only more strongly marked.) They\nimagined that Magellan, when talking of an animal under the name of\n\"conejos\" in the Strait of Magellan, referred to this species; but\nhe was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day is thus called\nby the Spaniards. The Gauchos laughed at the idea of the black kind\nbeing different from the grey, and they said that at all events it\nhad not extended its range any farther than the grey kind; that the\ntwo were never found separate; and that they readily bred together,\nand produced piebald offspring. Of the latter I now possess a\nspecimen, and it is marked about the head differently from the\nFrench specific description. This circumstance shows how cautious\nnaturalists should be in making species; for even Cuvier, on\nlooking at the skull of one of these rabbits, thought it was\nprobably distinct!\n\nThe only quadruped native to the island is a large wolf-like fox\n(Canis antarcticus), which is common to both East and West\nFalkland. (9/6. I have reason, however, to suspect that there is a\nfield-mouse. The common European rat and mouse have roamed far from\nthe habitations of the settlers. The common hog has also run wild\non one islet; all are of a black colour: the boars are very fierce,\nand have great tusks.) I have no doubt it is a peculiar species,\nand confined to this archipelago; because many sealers, Gauchos,\nand Indians, who have visited these islands, all maintain that no\nsuch animal is found in any part of South America. Molina, from a\nsimilarity in habits, thought that this was the same with his\n\"culpeu\" (9/7. The \"culpeu\" is the Canis Magellanicus brought home\nby Captain King from the Strait of Magellan. It is common in\nChile.); but I have seen both, and they are quite distinct. These\nwolves are well known from Byron's account of their tameness and\ncuriosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water to avoid them,\nmistook for fierceness. To this day their manners remain the same.\nThey have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some\nmeat from beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. The Gauchos also\nhave frequently in the evening killed them, by holding out a piece\nof meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them.\nAs far as I am aware, there is no other instance in any part of the\nworld, of so small a mass of broken land, distant from a continent,\npossessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself.\nTheir numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already banished\nfrom that half of the island which lies to the eastward of the neck\nof land between St. Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within a very\nfew years after these islands shall have become regularly settled,\nin all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an\nanimal which has perished from the face of the earth.\n\nAt night (17th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of\nChoiseul Sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. The valley\nwas pretty well sheltered from the cold wind; but there was very\nlittle brushwood for fuel. The Gauchos, however, soon found what,\nto my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as coals; this was\nthe skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which the flesh had\nbeen picked by the carrion-hawks. They told me that in winter they\noften killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the bones with their\nknives and then with these same bones roasted the meat for their\nsuppers.\n\nMAY 18, 1834.\n\nIt rained during nearly the whole day. At night we managed,\nhowever, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves pretty well dry\nand warm; but the ground on which we slept was on each occasion\nnearly in the state of a bog, and there was not a dry spot to sit\ndown on after our day's ride. I have in another part stated how\nsingular it is that there should be absolutely no trees on these\nislands, although Tierra del Fuego is covered by one large forest.\nThe largest bush in the island (belonging to the family of\nCompositae) is scarcely so tall as our gorse. The best fuel is\nafforded by a green little bush about the size of common heath,\nwhich has the useful property of burning while fresh and green. It\nwas very surprising to see the Gauchos, in the midst of rain and\neverything soaking wet, with nothing more than a tinder-box and a\npiece of rag, immediately make a fire. They sought beneath the\ntufts of grass and bushes for a few dry twigs, and these they\nrubbed into fibres; then surrounding them with coarser twigs,\nsomething like a bird's nest, they put the rag with its spark of\nfire in the middle and covered it up. The nest being then held up\nto the wind, by degrees it smoked more and more, and at last burst\nout in flames. I do not think any other method would have had a\nchance of succeeding with such damp materials.\n\nMAY 19, 1834.\n\nEach morning, from not having ridden for some time previously, I\nwas very stiff. I was surprised to hear the Gauchos, who have from\ninfancy almost lived on horseback, say that, under similar\ncircumstances, they always suffer. St. Jago told me, that having\nbeen confined for three months by illness, he went out hunting wild\ncattle, and in consequence, for the next two days, his thighs were\nso stiff that he was obliged to lie in bed. This shows that the\nGauchos, although they do not appear to do so, yet really must\nexert much muscular effort in riding. The hunting wild cattle, in a\ncountry so difficult to pass as this is on account of the swampy\nground, must be very hard work. The Gauchos say they often pass at\nfull speed over ground which would be impassable at a slower pace;\nin the same manner as a man is able to skate over thin ice. When\nhunting, the party endeavours to get as close as possible to the\nherd without being discovered. Each man carries four or five pair\nof the bolas; these he throws one after the other at as many\ncattle, which, when once entangled, are left for some days, till\nthey become a little exhausted by hunger and struggling. They are\nthen let free and driven towards a small herd of tame animals,\nwhich have been brought to the spot on purpose. From their previous\ntreatment, being too much terrified to leave the herd, they are\neasily driven, if their strength last out, to the settlement.\n\nThe weather continued so very bad that we determine to make a push,\nand try to reach the vessel before night. From the quantity of rain\nwhich had fallen, the surface of the whole country was swampy. I\nsuppose my horse fell at least a dozen times, and sometimes the\nwhole six horses were floundering in the mud together. All the\nlittle streams are bordered by soft peat, which makes it very\ndifficult for the horses to leap them without falling. To complete\nour discomforts we were obliged to cross the head of a creek of the\nsea, in which the water was as high as our horses' backs; and the\nlittle waves, owing to the violence of the wind, broke over us, and\nmade us very wet and cold. Even the iron-framed Gauchos professed\nthemselves glad when they reached the settlement, after our little\nexcursion.\n\nThe geological structure of these islands is in most respects\nsimple. The lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone,\ncontaining fossils, very closely related to, but not identical\nwith, those found in the Silurian formations of Europe; the hills\nare formed of white granular quartz rock. The strata of the latter\nare frequently arched with perfect symmetry, and the appearance of\nsome of the masses is in consequence most singular. Pernety has\ndevoted several pages to the description of a Hill of Ruins, the\nsuccessive strata of which he has justly compared to the seats of\nan amphitheatre. (9/8. Pernety \"Voyage aux Isles Malouines\" page\n526.) The quartz rock must have been quite pasty when it underwent\nsuch remarkable flexures without being shattered into fragments. As\nthe quartz insensibly passes into the sandstone, it seems probable\nthat the former owes its origin to the sandstone having been heated\nto such a degree that it became viscid, and upon cooling\ncrystallised. While in the soft state it must have been pushed up\nthrough the overlying beds.\n\nIn many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are covered\nin an extraordinary manner by myriads of great loose angular\nfragments of the quartz rock, forming \"streams of stones.\" These\nhave been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since the time\nof Pernety.  The blocks are not waterworn, their angles being only\na little blunted; they vary in size from one or two feet in\ndiameter to ten, or even more than twenty times as much. They are\nnot thrown together into irregular piles, but are spread out into\nlevel sheets or great streams. It is not possible to ascertain\ntheir thickness, but the water of small streamlets can be heard\ntrickling through the stones many feet below the surface. The\nactual depth is probably great, because the crevices between the\nlower fragments must long ago have been filled up with sand. The\nwidth of these sheets of stones varies from a few hundred feet to a\nmile; but the peaty soil daily encroaches on the borders, and even\nforms islets wherever a few fragments happen to lie close together.\nIn a valley south of Berkeley Sound, which some of our party called\nthe \"great valley of fragments,\" it was necessary to cross an\nuninterrupted band half a mile wide, by jumping from one pointed\nstone to another. So large were the fragments, that being overtaken\nby a shower of rain, I readily found shelter beneath one of them.\n\nTheir little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance in\nthese \"streams of stones.\" On the hill-sides I have seen them\nsloping at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon; but in some of\nthe level, broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only just\nsufficient to be clearly perceived. On so rugged a surface there\nwas no means of measuring the angle; but to give a common\nillustration, I may say that the slope would not have checked the\nspeed of an English mail-coach. In some places a continuous stream\nof these fragments followed up the course of a valley, and even\nextended to the very crest of the hill. On these crests huge\nmasses, exceeding in dimensions any small building, seemed to stand\narrested in their headlong course: there, also, the curved strata\nof the archways lay piled on each other, like the ruins of some\nvast and ancient cathedral. In endeavouring to describe these\nscenes of violence one is tempted to pass from one simile to\nanother. We may imagine that streams of white lava had flowed from\nmany parts of the mountains into the lower country, and that when\nsolidified they had been rent by some enormous convulsion into\nmyriads of fragments. The expression \"streams of stones,\" which\nimmediately occurred to every one, conveys the same idea. These\nscenes are on the spot rendered more striking by the contrast of\nthe low, rounded forms of the neighbouring hills.\n\nI was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range (about\n700 feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying on its\nconvex side, or back downwards. Must we believe that it was fairly\npitched up in the air, and thus turned? Or, with more probability,\nthat there existed formerly a part of the same range more elevated\nthan the point on which this monument of a great convulsion of\nnature now lies. As the fragments in the valleys are neither\nrounded nor the crevices filled up with sand, we must infer that\nthe period of violence was subsequent to the land having been\nraised above the waters of the sea. In a transverse section within\nthese valleys the bottom is nearly level, or rises but very little\ntowards either side. Hence the fragments appear to have travelled\nfrom the head of the valley; but in reality it seems more probable\nthat they have been hurled down from the nearest slopes; and that\nsince, by a vibratory movement of overwhelming force, the fragments\nhave been levelled into one continuous sheet. (9/9. \"Nous n'avons\npas été moins saisis d'étonnement à la vûe de l'innombrable\nquantité de pierres de toutes grandeurs, bouleversées les unes sur\nles autres, et cependant rangées, comme si elles avoient été\namoncelées négligemment pour remplir des ravins. On ne se lassoit\npas d'admirer les effets prodigieux de la nature.\"  \"Pernety\" page\n526.) If during the earthquake which in 1835 overthrew Concepcion,\nin Chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies should have\nbeen pitched a few inches from the ground, what must we say to a\nmovement which has caused fragments many tons in weight to move\nonwards like so much sand on a vibrating board, and find their\nlevel? (9/10. An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of\njudging, assured me that, during the several years he had resided\non these islands, he had never felt the slightest shock of an\nearthquake.) I have seen, in the Cordillera of the Andes, the\nevident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into\npieces like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on their\nvertical edges; but never did any scene, like these \"streams of\nstones,\" so forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of\nwhich in historical records we might in vain seek for any\ncounterpart: yet the progress of knowledge will probably some day\ngive a simple explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of\nthe so long thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic\nboulders which are strewed over the plains of Europe.\n\nI have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. I have\nbefore described the carrion-vulture of Polyborus. There are some\nother hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. The waterfowl are\nparticularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts of\nthe old navigators, have been much more so. One day I observed a\ncormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. Eight times\nsuccessively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and\nalthough in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. In the\nZoological Gardens I have seen the otter treat a fish in the same\nmanner, much as a cat does a mouse: I do not know of any other\ninstance where dame Nature appears so wilfully cruel. Another day,\nhaving placed myself between a penguin (Aptenodytes demersa) and\nthe water, I was much amused by watching its habits. It was a brave\nbird; and till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me\nbackwards. Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him;\nevery inch he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect\nand determined. When thus opposed he continually rolled his head\nfrom side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of\ndistinct vision lay only in the anterior and basal part of each\neye. This bird is commonly called the jackass penguin, from its\nhabit, while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and making a\nloud strange noise, very like the braying of an ass; but while at\nsea, and undisturbed, its note is very deep and solemn, and is\noften heard in the night-time. In diving, its little wings are used\nas fins; but on the land, as front legs. When crawling, it may be\nsaid on four legs, through the tussocks or on the side of a grassy\ncliff, it moves so very quickly that it might easily be mistaken\nfor a quadruped. When at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface\nfor the purpose of breathing with such a spring, and dives again so\ninstantaneously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that\nit was not a fish leaping for sport.\n\nTwo kinds of geese frequent the Falklands. The upland species (Anas\nMagellanica) is common, in pairs and in small flocks, throughout\nthe island. They do not migrate, but build on the small outlying\nislets. This is supposed to be from fear of the foxes: and it is\nperhaps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by\nday, are shy and wild in the dusk of the evening. They live\nentirely on vegetable matter. The rock-goose, so called from living\nexclusively on the sea-beach (Anas antarctica), is common both here\nand on the west coast of America, as far north as Chile. In the\ndeep and retired channels of Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white\ngander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing\nclose by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common\nfeature in the landscape.\n\nIn these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (Anas\nbrachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very\nabundant. These birds were in former days called, from their\nextraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water,\nracehorses; but now they are named, much more appropriately,\nsteamers. Their wings are too small and weak to allow of flight,\nbut by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the surface\nof the water, they move very quickly. The manner is something like\nthat by which the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog;\nbut I am nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately,\ninstead of both together, as in other birds. These clumsy,\nloggerheaded ducks make such a noise and splashing, that the effect\nis exceedingly curious.\n\nThus we find in South America three birds which use their wings for\nother purposes besides flight; the penguin as fins, the steamer as\npaddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the Apteryx of New Zealand,\nas well as its gigantic extinct prototype the Deinornis, possess\nonly rudimentary representatives of wings. The steamer is able to\ndive only to a very short distance. It feeds entirely on shell-fish\nfrom the kelp and tidal rocks; hence the beak and head, for the\npurpose of breaking them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the\nhead is so strong that I have scarcely been able to fracture it\nwith my geological hammer; and all our sportsmen soon discovered\nhow tenacious these birds were of life. When in the evening pluming\nthemselves in a flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds\nwhich bull-frogs do within the tropics.\n\nIn Tierra del Fuego, as well as in the Falkland Islands, I made\nmany observations on the lower marine animals, but they are of\nlittle general interest. (9/11. I was surprised to find, on\ncounting the eggs of a large white Doris (this sea-slug was three\nand a half inches long), how extraordinarily numerous they were.\nFrom two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an inch in\ndiameter) were contained in spherical little case. These were\narranged two deep in transverse rows forming a ribbon. The ribbon\nadhered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire. One which I found\nmeasured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth. By\ncounting how many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the\nrow, and how many rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the\nmost moderate computation there were six hundred thousand eggs. Yet\nthis Doris was certainly not very common: although I was often\nsearching under the stones, I saw only seven individuals. NO\nFALLACY IS MORE COMMON WITH NATURALISTS, THAN THAT THE NUMBERS OF\nAN INDIVIDUAL SPECIES DEPEND ON ITS POWERS OF PROPAGATION.) I will\nmention only one class of facts, relating to certain zoophytes in\nthe more highly organised division of that class. Several genera\n(Flustra, Eschara, Cellaria, Crisia, and others) agree in having\nsingular movable organs (like those of Flustra avicularia, found in\nthe European seas) attached to their cells. The organ, in the\ngreater number of cases, very closely resembles the head of a\nvulture; but the lower mandible can be opened much wider than in a\nreal bird's beak. The head itself possesses considerable powers of\nmovement, by means of a short neck. In one zoophyte the head itself\nwas fixed, but the lower jaw free: in another it was replaced by a\ntriangular hood, with a beautifully-fitted trap-door, which\nevidently answered to the lower mandible. In the greater number of\nspecies, each cell was provided with one head, but in others each\ncell had two.\n\nThe young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines\ncontain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-heads attached to\nthem, though small, are in every respect perfect. When the polypus\nwas removed by a needle from any of the cells, these organs did not\nappear in the least affected. When one of the vulture-like heads\nwas cut off from the cell, the lower mandible retained its power of\nopening and closing. Perhaps the most singular part of their\nstructure is, that when there were more than two rows of cells on a\nbranch, the central cells were furnished with these appendages, of\nonly one-fourth the size of the outside ones. Their movements\nvaried according to the species; but in some I never saw the least\nmotion; while others, with the lower mandible generally wide open,\noscillated backwards and forwards at the rate of about five seconds\neach turn; others moved rapidly and by starts. When touched with a\nneedle, the beak generally seized the point so firmly that the\nwhole branch might be shaken.\n\nThese bodies have no relation whatever with the production of the\neggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi appear\nin the cells at the end of the growing branches; as they move\nindependently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any way\nconnected with them; and as they differ in size on the outer and\ninner rows of cells, I have little doubt that in their functions\nthey are related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to\nthe polypi in the cells. The fleshy appendage at the lower\nextremity of the sea-pen (described at Bahia Blanca) also forms\npart of the zoophyte, as a whole, in the same manner as the roots\nof a tree form part of the whole tree, and not of the individual\nleaf or flower-buds.\n\nIn another elegant little coralline (Crisia?) each cell was\nfurnished with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of\nmoving quickly. Each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like\nheads generally moved quite independently of the others, but\nsometimes all on both sides of a branch, sometimes only those on\none side, moved together coinstantaneously; sometimes each moved in\nregular order one after another. In these actions we apparently\nbehold as perfect a transmission of will in the zoophyte, though\ncomposed of thousands of distinct polypi, as in any single animal.\nThe case, indeed, is not different from that of the sea-pens,\nwhich, when touched, drew themselves into the sand on the coast of\nBahia Blanca. I will state one other instance of uniform action,\nthough of a very different nature, in a zoophyte closely allied to\nClytia, and therefore very simply organised. Having kept a large\ntuft of it in a basin of salt-water, when it was dark I found that\nas often as I rubbed any part of a branch, the whole became\nstrongly phosphorescent with a green light: I do not think I ever\nsaw any object more beautifully so. But the remarkable circumstance\nwas, that the flashes of light always proceeded up the branches,\nfrom the base towards the extremities.\n\nThe examination of these compound animals was always very\ninteresting to me. What can be more remarkable than to see a\nplant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of\nchoosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into\nbranches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often of\ncomplicated organisations. The branches, moreover, as we have just\nseen, sometimes possess organs capable of movement and independent\nof the polypi. Surprising as this union of separate individuals in\na common stock must always appear, every tree displays the same\nfact, for buds must be considered as individual plants. It is,\nhowever, natural to consider a polypus, furnished with a mouth,\nintestines, and other organs, as a distinct individual, whereas the\nindividuality of a leaf-bud is not easily realised; so that the\nunion of separate individuals in a common body is more striking in\na coralline than in a tree. Our conception of a compound animal,\nwhere in some respects the individuality of each is not completed,\nmay be aided, by reflecting on the production of two distinct\ncreatures by bisecting a single one with a knife, or where Nature\nherself performs the task of bisection. We may consider the polypi\nin a zoophyte, or the buds in a tree, as cases where the division\nof the individual has not been completely effected. Certainly in\nthe case of trees, and judging from analogy in that of corallines,\nthe individuals propagated by buds seem more intimately related to\neach other, than eggs or seeds are to their parents. It seems now\npretty well established that plants propagated by buds all partake\nof a common duration of life; and it is familiar to every one, what\nsingular and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty,\nby buds, layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or\nonly casually reappear.\n\n\n(PLATE 43.  BERKELEY SOUND, FALKLAND ISLANDS.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n(PLATE 44.  YORK MINSTER (BEARING SOUTH 66 DEGREES EAST.)\n\nTierra del Fuego, first arrival.\nGood Success Bay.\nAn account of the Fuegians on board.\nInterview with the savages.\nScenery of the forests.\nCape Horn.\nWigwam Cove.\nMiserable condition of the savages.\nFamines.\nCannibals.\nMatricide.\nReligious feelings.\nGreat gale.\nBeagle Channel.\nPonsonby Sound.\nBuild wigwams and settle the Fuegians.\nBifurcation of the Beagle Channel.\nGlaciers.\nReturn to the ship.\nSecond visit in the ship to the settlement.\nEquality of condition amongst the natives.\n\nTIERRA DEL FUEGO.\n\nDECEMBER 17, 1832.\n\n\n\nHaving now finished with Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, I will\ndescribe our first arrival in Tierra del Fuego. A little after noon\nwe doubled Cape St. Diego, and entered the famous Strait of Le\nMaire. We kept close to the Fuegian shore, but the outline of the\nrugged, inhospitable Staten-land was visible amidst the clouds. In\nthe afternoon we anchored in the Bay of Good Success. While\nentering we were saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of\nthis savage land. A group of Fuegians partly concealed by the\nentangled forest, were perched on a wild point overhanging the sea;\nand as we passed by, they sprang up and waving their tattered\ncloaks sent forth a loud and sonorous shout. The savages followed\nthe ship, and just before dark we saw their fire, and again heard\ntheir wild cry. The harbour consists of a fine piece of water half\nsurrounded by low rounded mountains of clay-slate, which are\ncovered to the water's edge by one dense gloomy forest. A single\nglance at the landscape was sufficient to show me how widely\ndifferent it was from anything I had ever beheld. At night it blew\na gale of wind, and heavy squalls from the mountains swept past us.\nIt would have been a bad time out at sea, and we, as well as\nothers, may call this Good Success Bay.\n\nIn the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate with the\nFuegians. When we came within hail, one of the four natives who\nwere present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most\nvehemently, wishing to direct us where to land. When we were on\nshore the party looked rather alarmed, but continued talking and\nmaking gestures with great rapidity. It was without exception the\nmost curious and interesting spectacle I ever beheld: I could not\nhave believed how wide was the difference between savage and\ncivilised man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated\nanimal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement.\nThe chief spokesman was old, and appeared to be the head of the\nfamily; the three others were powerful young men, about six feet\nhigh. The women and children had been sent away. These Fuegians are\na very different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther\nwestward; and they seem closely allied to the famous Patagonians of\nthe Strait of Magellan. Their only garment consists of a mantle\nmade of guanaco skin, with the wool outside: this they wear just\nthrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as often exposed\nas covered. Their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour.\n\nThe old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head,\nwhich partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair. His\nface was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted bright\nred, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip; the other,\nwhite like chalk, extended above and parallel to the first, so that\neven his eyelids were thus coloured. The other two men were\nornamented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. The party\naltogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in\nplays like Der Freischutz.\n\nTheir very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their\ncountenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After we had\npresented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied\nround their necks, they became good friends. This was shown by the\nold man patting our breasts, and making a chuckling kind of noise,\nas people do when feeding chickens. I walked with the old man, and\nthis demonstration of friendship was repeated several times; it was\nconcluded by three hard slaps, which were given me on the breast\nand back at the same time. He then bared his bosom for me to return\nthe compliment, which being done, he seemed highly pleased. The\nlanguage of these people, according to our notions, scarcely\ndeserves to be called articulate. Captain Cook has compared it to a\nman clearing his throat, but certainly no European ever cleared his\nthroat with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds.\n\nThey are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned, or\nmade any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. Some of our\nparty began to squint and look awry; but one of the young Fuegians\n(whose whole face was painted black, excepting a white band across\nhis eyes) succeeded in making far more hideous grimaces. They could\nrepeat with perfect correctness each word in any sentence we\naddressed them, and they remembered such words for some time. Yet\nwe Europeans all know how difficult it is to distinguish apart the\nsounds in a foreign language. Which of us, for instance, could\nfollow an American Indian through a sentence of more than three\nwords? All savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this\npower of mimicry. I was told, almost in the same words, of the same\nludicrous habit among the Caffres; the Australians, likewise, have\nlong been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait\nof any man, so that he may be recognised. How can this faculty be\nexplained? is it a consequence of the more practised habits of\nperception and keener senses, common to all men in a savage state,\nas compared with those long civilised?\n\nWhen a song was struck up by our party, I thought the Fuegians\nwould have fallen down with astonishment. With equal surprise they\nviewed our dancing; but one of the young men, when asked, had no\nobjection to a little waltzing. Little accustomed to Europeans as\nthey appeared to be, yet they knew and dreaded our firearms;\nnothing would tempt them to take a gun in their hands. They begged\nfor knives, calling them by the Spanish word \"cuchilla.\" They\nexplained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a piece\nof blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of\ntear it.\n\nI have not as yet noticed the Fuegians whom we had on board. During\nthe former voyage of the \"Adventure\" and \"Beagle\" in 1826 to 1830,\nCaptain Fitz Roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for the\nloss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopardy of a\nparty employed on the survey; and some of these natives, as well as\na child whom he bought for a pearl-button, he took with him to\nEngland, determining to educate them and instruct them in religion\nat his own expense. To settle these natives in their own country\nwas one chief inducement to Captain Fitz Roy to undertake our\npresent voyage; and before the Admiralty had resolved to send out\nthis expedition, Captain Fitz Roy had generously chartered a\nvessel, and would himself have taken them back. The natives were\naccompanied by a missionary, R. Matthews; of whom and of the\nnatives, Captain Fitz Roy has published a full and excellent\naccount. Two men, one of whom died in England of the smallpox, a\nboy and a little girl, were originally taken; and we had now on\nboard, York Minster, Jemmy Button (whose name expresses his\npurchase-money), and Fuegia Basket. York Minster was a full-grown,\nshort, thick, powerful man: his disposition was reserved, taciturn,\nmorose, and when excited violently passionate; his affections were\nvery strong towards a few friends on board; his intellect good.\nJemmy Button was a universal favourite, but likewise passionate;\nthe expression of his face at once showed his nice disposition. He\nwas merry and often laughed, and was remarkably sympathetic with\nany one in pain: when the water was rough, I was often a little\nsea-sick, and he used to come to me and say in a plaintive voice,\n\"Poor, poor fellow!\" but the notion, after his aquatic life, of a\nman being sea-sick, was too ludicrous, and he was generally obliged\nto turn on one side to hide a smile or laugh, and then he would\nrepeat his \"Poor, poor fellow!\" He was of a patriotic disposition;\nand he liked to praise his own tribe and country, in which he truly\nsaid there were \"plenty of trees,\" and he abused all the other\ntribes: he stoutly declared that there was no Devil in his land.\nJemmy was short, thick, and fat, but vain of his personal\nappearance; he used always to wear gloves, his hair was neatly cut,\nand he was distressed if his well-polished shoes were dirtied. He\nwas fond of admiring himself in a looking glass; and a merry-faced\nlittle Indian boy from the Rio Negro, whom we had for some months\non board, soon perceived this, and used to mock him: Jemmy, who was\nalways rather jealous of the attention paid to this little boy, did\nnot at all like this, and used to say, with rather a contemptuous\ntwist of his head, \"Too much skylark.\" It seems yet wonderful to\nme, when I think over all his many good qualities, that he should\nhave been of the same race, and doubtless partaken of the same\ncharacter, with the miserable, degraded savages whom we first met\nhere. Lastly, Fuegia Basket was a nice, modest, reserved young\ngirl, with a rather pleasing but sometimes sullen expression, and\nvery quick in learning anything, especially languages. This she\nshowed in picking up some Portuguese and Spanish, when left on\nshore for only a short time at Rio de Janeiro and Monte Video, and\nin her knowledge of English. York Minster was very jealous of any\nattention paid to her; for it was clear he determined to marry her\nas soon as they were settled on shore.\n\nAlthough all three could both speak and understand a good deal of\nEnglish, it was singularly difficult to obtain much information\nfrom them concerning the habits of their countrymen; this was\npartly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding the\nsimplest alternative. Every one accustomed to very young children\nknows how seldom one can get an answer even to so simple a question\nas whether a thing is black OR white; the idea of black or white\nseems alternately to fill their minds. So it was with these\nFuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find out, by\ncross-questioning, whether one had rightly understood anything\nwhich they had asserted. Their sight was remarkably acute; it is\nwell known that sailors, from long practice, can make out a distant\nobject much better than a landsman; but both York and Jemmy were\nmuch superior to any sailor on board: several times they have\ndeclared what some distant object has been, and though doubted by\nevery one, they have proved right when it has been examined through\na telescope. They were quite conscious of this power; and Jemmy,\nwhen he had any little quarrel with the officer on watch, would\nsay, \"Me see ship, me no tell.\"\n\nIt was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when we\nlanded, towards Jemmy Button: they immediately perceived the\ndifference between him and ourselves, and held much conversation\none with another on the subject. The old man addressed a long\nharangue to Jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with\nthem. But Jemmy understood very little of their language, and was,\nmoreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. When York Minster\nafterwards came on shore, they noticed him in the same way, and\ntold him he ought to shave; yet he had not twenty dwarf hairs on\nhis face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. They examined\nthe colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. One of our arms\nbeing bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and admiration\nat its whiteness, just in the same way in which I have seen the\nourang-outang do at the Zoological Gardens. We thought that they\nmistook two or three of the officers, who were rather shorter and\nfairer, though adorned with large beards, for the ladies of our\nparty. The tallest amongst the Fuegians was evidently much pleased\nat his height being noticed. When placed back to back with the\ntallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher\nground, and to stand on tiptoe. He opened his mouth to show his\nteeth, and turned his face for a side view; and all this was done\nwith such alacrity, that I daresay he thought himself the\nhandsomest man in Tierra del Fuego. After our first feeling of\ngrave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than\nthe odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every\nmoment exhibited.\n\nThe next day I attempted to penetrate some way into the country.\nTierra del Fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly\nsubmerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place\nwhere valleys should exist. The mountain sides, except on the\nexposed western coast, are covered from the water's edge upwards by\none great forest. The trees reach to an elevation of between 1000\nand 1500 feet, and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute\nalpine plants; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual\nsnow, which, according to Captain King, in the Strait of Magellan\ndescends to between 3000 and 4000 feet. To find an acre of level\nland in any part of the country is most rare. I recollect only one\nlittle flat piece near Port Famine, and another of rather larger\nextent near Goeree Road. In both places, and everywhere else, the\nsurface is covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. Even within the\nforest, the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying\nvegetable matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to\nthe foot.\n\nFinding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, I\nfollowed the course of a mountain torrent. At first, from the\nwaterfalls and number of dead trees, I could hardly crawl along;\nbut the bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the\nfloods having swept the sides. I continued slowly to advance for an\nhour along the broken and rocky banks, and was amply repaid by the\ngrandeur of the scene. The gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded\nwith the universal signs of violence. On every side were lying\nirregular masses of rock and torn-up trees; other trees, though\nstill erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. The\nentangled mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the\nforests within the tropics--yet there was a difference: for in\nthese still solitudes, Death, instead of Life, seemed the\npredominant spirit. I followed the watercourse till I came to a\nspot where a great slip had cleared a straight space down the\nmountain side. By this road I ascended to a considerable elevation,\nand obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. The trees all\nbelong to one kind, the Fagus betuloides; for the number of the\nother species of Fagus and of the Winter's Bark is quite\ninconsiderable. This beech keeps its leaves throughout the year;\nbut its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green colour, with a\ntinge of yellow. As the whole landscape is thus coloured, it has a\nsombre, dull appearance; nor is it often enlivened by the rays of\nthe sun.\n\nDECEMBER 20, 1832.\n\nOne side of the harbour is formed by a hill about 1500 feet high,\nwhich Captain Fitz Roy has called after Sir J. Banks, in\ncommemoration of his disastrous excursion which proved fatal to two\nmen of his party, and nearly so to Dr. Solander. The snow-storm,\nwhich was the cause of their misfortune, happened in the middle of\nJanuary, corresponding to our July, and in the latitude of Durham!\nI was anxious to reach the summit of this mountain to collect\nalpine plants; for flowers of any kind in the lower parts are few\nin number. We followed the same watercourse as on the previous day,\ntill it dwindled away, and we were then compelled to crawl blindly\namong the trees. These, from the effects of the elevation and of\nthe impetuous winds, were low, thick and crooked. At length we\nreached that which from a distance appeared like a carpet of fine\ngreen turf, but which, to our vexation, turned out to be a compact\nmass of little beech-trees about four or five feet high. They were\nas thick together as box in the border of a garden, and we were\nobliged to struggle over the flat but treacherous surface. After a\nlittle more trouble we gained the peat, and then the bare slate\nrock.\n\nA ridge connected this hill with another, distant some miles, and\nmore lofty, so that patches of snow were lying on it. As the day\nwas not far advanced, I determined to walk there and collect plants\nalong the road. It would have been very hard work, had it not been\nfor a well-beaten and straight path made by the guanacos; for these\nanimals, like sheep, always follow the same line. When we reached\nthe hill we found it the highest in the immediate neighbourhood,\nand the waters flowed to the sea in opposite directions. We\nobtained a wide view over the surrounding country: to the north a\nswampy moorland extended, but to the south we had a scene of savage\nmagnificence, well becoming Tierra del Fuego. There was a degree of\nmysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep\nintervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of\nforest. The atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale\nsucceeds gale, with rain, hail, and sleet, seems blacker than\nanywhere else. In the Strait of Magellan, looking due southward\nfrom Port Famine, the distant channels between the mountains\nappeared from their gloominess to lead beyond the confines of this\nworld.\n\nDECEMBER 21, 1832.\n\n(PLATE 45.  CAPE HORN.)\n\n(PLATE 46.  CAPE HORN (ANOTHER VIEW).)\n\nThe \"Beagle\" got under way: and on the succeeding day, favoured to\nan uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze, we closed in with the\nBarnevelts, and running past Cape Deceit with its stony peaks,\nabout three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten Cape Horn. The\nevening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine view of the\nsurrounding isles. Cape Horn, however, demanded his tribute, and\nbefore night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. We stood\nout to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw\non our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper\nform--veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm\nof wind and water. Great black clouds were rolling across the\nheavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such\nextreme violence, that the Captain determined to run into Wigwam\nCove. This is a snug little harbour, not far from Cape Horn; and\nhere, at Christmas-eve, we anchored in smooth water. The only thing\nwhich reminded us of the gale outside was every now and then a puff\nfrom the mountains, which made the ship surge at her anchors.\n\nDECEMBER 25, 1832.\n\nClose by the cove, a pointed hill, called Kater's Peak, rises to\nthe height of 1700 feet. The surrounding islands all consist of\nconical masses of greenstone, associated sometimes with less\nregular hills of baked and altered clay-slate. This part of Tierra\ndel Fuego may be considered as the extremity of the submerged chain\nof mountains already alluded to. The cove takes its name of\n\"Wigwam\" from some of the Fuegian habitations; but every bay in the\nneighbourhood might be so called with equal propriety. The\ninhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are obliged constantly\nto change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to\nthe same spots, as is evident from the piles of old shells, which\nmust often amount to many tons in weight. These heaps can be\ndistinguished at a long distance by the bright green colour of\ncertain plants, which invariably grow on them. Among these may be\nenumerated the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable\nplants, the use of which has not been discovered by the natives.\n\nThe Fuegian wigwam resembles, in size and dimensions, a haycock. It\nmerely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, and\nvery imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts of grass and\nrushes. The whole cannot be the work of an hour, and it is only\nused for a few days. At Goeree Roads I saw a place where one of\nthese naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover\nthan the form of a hare. The man was evidently living by himself,\nand York Minster said he was \"very bad man,\" and that probably he\nhad stolen something. On the west coast, however, the wigwams are\nrather better, for they are covered with seal-skins. We were\ndetained here several days by the bad weather. The climate is\ncertainly wretched: the summer solstice was now past, yet every day\nsnow fell on the hills, and in the valleys there was rain,\naccompanied by sleet. The thermometer generally stood about 45\ndegrees, but in the night fell to 38 or 40 degrees. From the damp\nand boisterous state of the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of\nsunshine, one fancied the climate even worse than it really was.\n\nWhile going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we pulled\nalongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject and\nmiserable creatures I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the\nnatives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west they\npossess seal-skins. Amongst these central tribes the men generally\nhave an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a\npocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their\nbacks as low down as their loins. It is laced across the breast by\nstrings, and according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side\nto side. But these Fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even\none full-grown woman was absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and\nthe fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body.\nIn another harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a\nrecently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and\nremained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet fell and\nthawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of her naked baby! These\npoor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces\nbedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their\nhair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures\nviolent. Viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that\nthey are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. It is\na common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life some of the\nlower animals can enjoy: how much more reasonably the same question\nmay be asked with respect to these barbarians! At night five or six\nhuman beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain\nof this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled up like\nanimals. Whenever it is low water, winter or summer, night or day,\nthey must rise to pick shellfish from the rocks; and the women\neither dive to collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes,\nand with a baited hair-line without any hook, jerk out little fish.\nIf a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale is\ndiscovered, it is a feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a\nfew tasteless berries and fungi.\n\nThey often suffer from famine: I heard Mr. Low, a sealing-master\nintimately acquainted with the natives of this country, give a\ncurious account of the state of a party of one hundred and fifty\nnatives on the west coast, who were very thin and in great\ndistress. A succession of gales prevented the women from getting\nshell-fish on the rocks, and they could not go out in their canoes\nto catch seal. A small party of these men one morning set out, and\nthe other Indians explained to him that they were going a four\ndays' journey for food: on their return, Low went to meet them, and\nhe found them excessively tired, each man carrying a great square\npiece of putrid whales-blubber with a hole in the middle, through\nwhich they put their heads, like the Gauchos do through their\nponchos or cloaks. As soon as the blubber was brought into a\nwigwam, an old man cut off thin slices, and muttering over them,\nbroiled them for a minute, and distributed them to the famished\nparty, who during this time preserved a profound silence. Mr. Low\nbelieves that whenever a whale is cast on shore, the natives bury\nlarge pieces of it in the sand, as a resource in time of famine;\nand a native boy, whom he had on board, once found a stock thus\nburied. The different tribes when at war are cannibals. From the\nconcurrent, but quite independent evidence of the boy taken by Mr.\nLow, and of Jemmy Button, it is certainly true, that when pressed\nin winter by hunger they kill and devour their old women before\nthey kill their dogs: the boy, being asked by Mr. Low why they did\nthis, answered, \"Doggies catch otters, old women no.\" This boy\ndescribed the manner in which they are killed by being held over\nsmoke and thus choked; he imitated their screams as a joke, and\ndescribed the parts of their bodies which are considered best to\neat. Horrid as such a death by the hands of their friends and\nrelatives must be, the fears of the old women, when hunger begins\nto press, are more painful to think of; we were told that they then\noften run away into the mountains, but that they are pursued by the\nmen and brought back to the slaughter-house at their own firesides!\n\nCaptain Fitz Roy could never ascertain that the Fuegians have any\ndistinct belief in a future life. They sometimes bury their dead in\ncaves, and sometimes in the mountain forests; we do not know what\nceremonies they perform. Jemmy Button would not eat land-birds,\nbecause \"eat dead men\"; they are unwilling even to mention their\ndead friends. We have no reason to believe that they perform any\nsort of religious worship; though perhaps the muttering of the old\nman before he distributed the putrid blubber to his famished party\nmay be of this nature. Each family or tribe has a wizard or\nconjuring doctor, whose office we could never clearly ascertain.\nJemmy believed in dreams, though not, as I have said, in the devil:\nI do not think that our Fuegians were much more superstitious than\nsome of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that\nthe successive heavy gales, which we encountered off Cape Horn,\nwere caused by our having the Fuegians on board. The nearest\napproach to a religious feeling which I heard of, was shown by York\nMinster, who, when Mr. Bynoe shot some very young ducklings as\nspecimens, declared in the most solemn manner, \"Oh, Mr. Bynoe, much\nrain, snow, blow much.\" This was evidently a retributive punishment\nfor wasting human food. In a wild and excited manner he also\nrelated that his brother one day, whilst returning to pick up some\ndead birds which he had left on the coast, observed some feathers\nblown by the wind. His brother said (York imitating his manner),\n\"What that?\" and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff, and\nsaw \"wild man\" picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and\nthen hurled down a great stone and killed him. York declared for a\nlong time afterwards storms raged, and much rain and snow fell. As\nfar as we could make out, he seemed to consider the elements\nthemselves as the avenging agents: it is evident in this case, how\nnaturally, in a race a little more advanced in culture, the\nelements would become personified. What the \"bad wild men\" were,\nhas always appeared to me most mysterious: from what York said,\nwhen we found the place like the form of a hare, where a single man\nhad slept the night before, I should have thought that they were\nthieves who had been driven from their tribes; but other obscure\nspeeches made me doubt this; I have sometimes imagined that the\nmost probable explanation was that they were insane.\n\nThe different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is\nsurrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects,\nand separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral\nterritory: the cause of their warfare appears to be the means of\nsubsistence. Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty\nhills, and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists and\nendless storms. The habitable land is reduced to the stones on the\nbeach; in search of food they are compelled unceasingly to wander\nfrom spot to spot, and so steep is the coast, that they can only\nmove about in their wretched canoes. They cannot know the feeling\nof having a home, and still less that of domestic affection; for\nthe husband is to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave.\nWas a more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on the\nwest coast by Byron, who saw a wretched mother pick up her bleeding\ndying infant-boy, whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the\nstones for dropping a basket of sea-eggs! How little can the higher\npowers of the mind be brought into play: what is there for\nimagination to picture, for reason to compare, for judgment to\ndecide upon? to knock a limpet from the rock does not require even\ncunning, that lowest power of the mind. Their skill in some\nrespects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it is not\nimproved by experience: the canoe, their most ingenious work, poor\nas it is, has remained the same, as we know from Drake, for the\nlast two hundred and fifty years.\n\nWhilst beholding these savages, one asks, Whence have they come?\nWhat could have tempted, or what change compelled, a tribe of men,\nto leave the fine regions of the north, to travel down the\nCordillera or backbone of America, to invent and build canoes,\nwhich are not used by the tribes of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, and\nthen to enter on one of the most inhospitable countries within the\nlimits of the globe? Although such reflections must at first seize\non the mind, yet we may feel sure that they are partly erroneous.\nThere is no reason to believe that the Fuegians decrease in number;\ntherefore we must suppose that they enjoy a sufficient share of\nhappiness, of whatever kind it may be, to render life worth having.\nNature by making habit omnipotent, and its effects hereditary, has\nfitted the Fuegian to the climate and the productions of his\nmiserable country.\n\n(PLATE 47.  BAD WEATHER, MAGELLAN STRAITS.)\n\nAfter having been detained six days in Wigwam Cove by very bad\nweather, we put to sea on the 30th of December. Captain Fitz Roy\nwished to get westward to land York and Fuegia in their own\ncountry. When at sea we had a constant succession of gales, and the\ncurrent was against us: we drifted to 57 degrees 23' south. On the\n11th of January, 1833, by carrying a press of sail, we fetched\nwithin a few miles of the great rugged mountain of York Minster (so\ncalled by Captain Cook, and the origin of the name of the elder\nFuegian), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and\nstand out to sea. The surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and\nthe spray was carried over a cliff estimated at 200 feet in height.\nOn the 12th the gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly\nwhere we were: it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly\nrepeated, \"Keep a good lookout to leeward.\" On the 13th the storm\nraged with its full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the\nsheets of spray borne by the wind. The sea looked ominous, like a\ndreary waving plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship\nlaboured heavily, the albatross glided with its expanded wings\nright up the wind. At noon a great sea broke over us, and filled\none of the whale-boats, which was obliged to be instantly cut away.\nThe poor \"Beagle\" trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes\nwould not obey her helm; but soon, like a good ship that she was,\nshe righted and came up to the wind again. Had another sea followed\nthe first, our fate would have been decided soon, and for ever. We\nhad now been twenty-four days trying in vain to get westward; the\nmen were worn out with fatigue, and they had not had for many\nnights or days a dry thing to put on. Captain Fitz Roy gave up the\nattempt to get westward by the outside coast. In the evening we ran\nin behind False Cape Horn, and dropped our anchor in forty-seven\nfathoms, fire flashing from the windlass as the chain rushed round\nit. How delightful was that still night, after having been so long\ninvolved in the din of the warring elements!\n\n(PLATE 48.  FUEGIAN BASKET AND BONE WEAPONS.)\n\n(PLATE 49.  FALSE HORN, CAPE HORN.)\n\nJANUARY 15, 1833.\n\nThe \"Beagle\" anchored in Goeree Roads. Captain Fitz Roy having\nresolved to settle the Fuegians, according to their wishes, in\nPonsonby Sound, four boats were equipped to carry them there\nthrough the Beagle Channel. This channel, which was discovered by\nCaptain Fitz Roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable\nfeature in the geography of this, or indeed of any other country:\nit may be compared to the valley of Loch Ness in Scotland, with its\nchain of lakes and friths. It is about one hundred and twenty miles\nlong, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great\nvariation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part\nso perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a\nline of mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long\ndistance. It crosses the southern part of Tierra del Fuego in an\neast and west line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on\nthe south side by an irregular channel, which has been called\nPonsonby Sound. This is the residence of Jemmy Button's tribe and\nfamily.\n\nJANUARY 19, 1833.\n\nThree whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of twenty-eight,\nstarted under the command of Captain Fitz Roy. In the afternoon we\nentered the eastern mouth of the channel, and shortly afterwards\nfound a snug little cove concealed by some surrounding islets. Here\nwe pitched our tents and lighted our fires. Nothing could look more\ncomfortable than this scene. The glassy water of the little\nharbour, with the branches of the trees hanging over the rocky\nbeach, the boats at anchor, the tents supported by the crossed\noars, and the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a picture\nof quiet retirement. The next day (20th) we smoothly glided onwards\nin our little fleet, and came to a more inhabited district. Few if\nany of these natives could ever have seen a white man; certainly\nnothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of the\nfour boats. Fires were lighted on every point (hence the name of\nTierra del Fuego, or the land of fire), both to attract our\nattention and to spread far and wide the news. Some of the men ran\nfor miles along the shore. I shall never forget how wild and savage\none group appeared: suddenly four or five men came to the edge of\nan overhanging cliff; they were absolutely naked, and their long\nhair streamed about their faces; they held rugged staffs in their\nhands, and, springing from the ground, they waved their arms round\ntheir heads, and sent forth the most hideous yells.\n\nAt dinner-time we landed among a party of Fuegians. At first they\nwere not inclined to be friendly; for until the Captain pulled in\nahead of the other boats, they kept their slings in their hands. We\nsoon, however, delighted them by trifling presents, such as tying\nred tape round their heads. They liked our biscuit: but one of the\nsavages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin\ncases which I was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as\nmuch disgust at it, as I should have done at putrid blubber. Jemmy\nwas thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen, and declared his own\ntribe were quite different, in which he was woefully mistaken. It\nwas as easy to please as it was difficult to satisfy these savages.\nYoung and old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word\n\"yammerschooner,\" which means \"give me.\" After pointing to almost\nevery object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our\ncoats, and saying their favourite word in as many intonations as\npossible, they would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly\nrepeat \"yammerschooner.\" After yammerschoonering for any article\nvery eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young\nwomen or little children, as much as to say, \"If you will not give\nit me, surely you will to such as these.\"\n\nAt night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove; and at\nlast were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of natives. They\nwere very inoffensive as long as they were few in numbers, but in\nthe morning (21st) being joined by others they showed symptoms of\nhostility, and we thought that we should have come to a skirmish.\nAn European labours under great disadvantages when treating with\nsavages like these who have not the least idea of the power of\nfirearms. In the very act of levelling his musket he appears to the\nsavage far inferior to a man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear,\nor even a sling. Nor is it easy to teach them our superiority\nexcept by striking a fatal blow. Like wild beasts, they do not\nappear to compare numbers; for each individual, if attacked,\ninstead of retiring, will endeavour to dash your brains out with a\nstone, as certainly as a tiger under similar circumstances would\ntear you. Captain Fitz Roy, on one occasion being very anxious,\nfrom good reasons, to frighten away a small party, first flourished\na cutlass near them, at which they only laughed; he then twice\nfired his pistol close to a native. The man both times looked\nastounded, and carefully but quickly rubbed his head; he then\nstared awhile, and gabbled to his companions, but he never seemed\nto think of running away. We can hardly put ourselves in the\nposition of these savages, and understand their actions. In the\ncase of this Fuegian, the possibility of such a sound as the report\nof a gun close to his ear could never have entered his mind. He\nperhaps literally did not for a second know whether it was a sound\nor a blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed his head. In a\nsimilar manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by a bullet, it\nmay be some time before he is able at all to understand how it is\neffected; for the fact of a body being invisible from its velocity\nwould perhaps be to him an idea totally inconceivable. Moreover,\nthe extreme force of a bullet that penetrates a hard substance\nwithout tearing it, may convince the savage that it has no force at\nall. Certainly I believe that many savages of the lowest grade,\nsuch as these of Tierra del Fuego, have seen objects struck, and\neven small animals killed by the musket, without being in the least\naware how deadly an instrument it is.\n\nJANUARY 22, 1833.\n\nAfter having passed an unmolested night, in what would appear to be\nneutral territory between Jemmy's tribe and the people whom we saw\nyesterday, we sailed pleasantly along. I do not know anything which\nshows more clearly the hostile state of the different tribes, than\nthese wide border or neutral tracts. Although Jemmy Button well\nknew the force of our party, he was, at first, unwilling to land\namidst the hostile tribe nearest to his own. He often told us how\nthe savage Oens men \"when the leaf red,\" crossed the mountains from\nthe eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego, and made inroads on the\nnatives of this part of the country. It was most curious to watch\nhim when thus talking, and see his eyes gleaming and his whole face\nassume a new and wild expression. As we proceeded along the Beagle\nChannel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very magnificent\ncharacter; but the effect was much lessened from the lowness of the\npoint of view in a boat, and from looking along the valley, and\nthus losing all the beauty of a succession of ridges. The mountains\nwere here about three thousand feet high, and terminated in sharp\nand jagged points. They rose in one unbroken sweep from the water's\nedge, and were covered to the height of fourteen or fifteen hundred\nfeet by the dusky-coloured forest. It was most curious to observe,\nas far as the eye could range, how level and truly horizontal the\nline on the mountain side was, at which trees ceased to grow: it\nprecisely resembled the high-water mark of driftweed on a\nsea-beach.\n\nAt night we slept close to the junction of Ponsonby Sound with the\nBeagle Channel. A small family of Fuegians, who were living in the\ncove, were quiet and inoffensive, and soon joined our party round a\nblazing fire. We were well clothed, and though sitting close to the\nfire were far from too warm; yet these naked savages, though\nfarther off, were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming\nwith perspiration at undergoing such a roasting. They seemed,\nhowever, very well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the\nseamen's songs: but the manner in which they were invariably a\nlittle behindhand was quite ludicrous.\n\nDuring the night the news had spread, and early in the morning\n(23rd) a fresh party arrived, belonging to the Tekenika, or Jemmy's\ntribe. Several of them had run so fast that their noses were\nbleeding, and their mouths frothed from the rapidity with which\nthey talked; and with their naked bodies all bedaubed with black,\nwhite, and red, they looked like so many demoniacs who had been\nfighting. (10/1. This substance, when dry, is tolerably compact,\nand of little specific gravity: Professor Ehrenberg has examined\nit: he states \"Konig Akad. der Wissen\" Berlin February 1845, that\nit is composed of infusoria, including fourteen polygastrica and\nfour phytolitharia. He says that they are all inhabitants of fresh\nwater; this is a beautiful example of the results obtainable\nthrough Professor Ehrenberg's microscopic researches; for Jemmy\nButton told me that it is always collected at the bottoms of\nmountain-brooks. It is, moreover, a striking fact in the\ngeographical distribution of the infusoria, which are well known to\nhave very wide ranges, that all the species in this substance,\nalthough brought from the extreme southern point of Tierra del\nFuego, are old, known forms.) We then proceeded (accompanied by\ntwelve canoes, each holding four or five people) down Ponsonby\nSound to the spot where poor Jemmy expected to find his mother and\nrelatives. He had already heard that his father was dead; but as he\nhad had a \"dream in his head\" to that effect, he did not seem to\ncare much about it, and repeatedly comforted himself with the very\nnatural reflection--\"Me no help it.\" He was not able to learn any\nparticulars regarding his father's death, as his relations would\nnot speak about it.\n\nJemmy was now in a district well known to him, and guided the boats\nto a quiet pretty cove named Woollya, surrounded by islets, every\none of which and every point had its proper native name. We found\nhere a family of Jemmy's tribe, but not his relations: we made\nfriends with them; and in the evening they sent a canoe to inform\nJemmy's mother and brothers. The cove was bordered by some acres of\ngood sloping land, not covered (as elsewhere) either by peat or by\nforest-trees. Captain Fitz Roy originally intended, as before\nstated, to have taken York Minster and Fuegia to their own tribe on\nthe west coast; but as they expressed a wish to remain here, and as\nthe spot was singularly favourable, Captain Fitz Roy determined to\nsettle here the whole party, including Matthews, the missionary.\nFive days were spent in building for them three large wigwams, in\nlanding their goods, in digging two gardens, and sowing seeds.\n\nThe next morning after our arrival (the 24th) the Fuegians began to\npour in, and Jemmy's mother and brothers arrived. Jemmy recognised\nthe stentorian voice of one of his brothers at a prodigious\ndistance. The meeting was less interesting than that between a\nhorse, turned out into a field, when he joins an old companion.\nThere was no demonstration of affection; they simply stared for a\nshort time at each other; and the mother immediately went to look\nafter her canoe. We heard, however, through York that the mother\nhad been inconsolable for the loss of Jemmy, and had searched\neverywhere for him, thinking that he might have been left after\nhaving been taken in the boat. The women took much notice of and\nwere very kind to Fuegia. We had already perceived that Jemmy had\nalmost forgotten his own language. I should think there was\nscarcely another human being with so small a stock of language, for\nhis English was very imperfect. It was laughable, but almost\npitiable, to hear him speak to his wild brother in English, and\nthen ask him in Spanish (\"no sabe?\") whether he did not understand\nhim.\n\nEverything went on peaceably during the three next days, whilst the\ngardens were digging and wigwams building. We estimated the number\nof natives at about one hundred and twenty. The women worked hard,\nwhilst the men lounged about all day long, watching us. They asked\nfor everything they saw, and stole what they could. They were\ndelighted at our dancing and singing, and were particularly\ninterested at seeing us wash in a neighbouring brook; they did not\npay much attention to anything else, not even to our boats. Of all\nthe things which York saw, during his absence from his country,\nnothing seems more to have astonished him than an ostrich, near\nMaldonado: breathless with astonishment he came running to Mr.\nBynoe, with whom he was out walking--\"Oh, Mr. Bynoe, oh, bird all\nsame horse!\" Much as our white skins surprised the natives, by Mr.\nLow's account a negro-cook to a sealing vessel did so more\neffectually, and the poor fellow was so mobbed and shouted at that\nhe would never go on shore again. Everything went on so quietly,\nthat some of the officers and myself took long walks in the\nsurrounding hills and woods. Suddenly, however, on the 27th, every\nwoman and child disappeared. We were all uneasy at this, as neither\nYork nor Jemmy could make out the cause. It was thought by some\nthat they had been frightened by our cleaning and firing off our\nmuskets on the previous evening: by others, that it was owing to\noffence taken by an old savage, who, when told to keep farther off,\nhad coolly spit in the sentry's face, and had then, by gestures\nacted over a sleeping Fuegian, plainly showed, as it was said, that\nhe should like to cut up and eat our man. Captain Fitz Roy, to\navoid the chance of an encounter, which would have been fatal to so\nmany of the Fuegians, thought it advisable for us to sleep at a\ncove a few miles distant. Matthews, with his usual quiet fortitude\n(remarkable in a man apparently possessing little energy of\ncharacter), determined to stay with the Fuegians, who evinced no\nalarm for themselves; and so we left them to pass their first awful\nnight.\n\nOn our return in the morning (28th) we were delighted to find all\nquiet, and the men employed in their canoes spearing fish. Captain\nFitz Roy determined to send the yawl and one whale-boat back to the\nship; and to proceed with the two other boats, one under his own\ncommand (in which he most kindly allowed me to accompany him), and\none under Mr. Hammond, to survey the western parts of the Beagle\nChannel, and afterwards to return and visit the settlement. The day\nto our astonishment was overpoweringly hot, so that our skins were\nscorched; with this beautiful weather, the view in the middle of\nthe Beagle Channel was very remarkable. Looking towards either\nhand, no object intercepted the vanishing points of this long canal\nbetween the mountains. The circumstance of its being an arm of the\nsea was rendered very evident by several huge whales spouting in\ndifferent directions. (10/2. One day, off the East coast of Tierra\ndel Fuego, we saw a grand sight in several spermaceti whales\njumping upright quite out of the water, with the exception of their\ntail-fins. As they fell down sideways, they splashed the water high\nup, and the sound reverberated like a distant broadside.) On one\noccasion I saw two of these monsters, probably male and female,\nslowly swimming one after the other, within less than a stone's\nthrow of the shore, over which the beech-tree extended its\nbranches.\n\nWe sailed on till it was dark, and then pitched our tents in a\nquiet creek. The greatest luxury was to find for our beds a beach\nof pebbles, for they were dry and yielded to the body. Peaty soil\nis damp; rock is uneven and hard; sand gets into one's meat, when\ncooked and eaten boat-fashion; but when lying in our blanket-bags,\non a good bed of smooth pebbles, we passed most comfortable nights.\n\nIt was my watch till one o'clock. There is something very solemn in\nthese scenes. At no time does the consciousness in what a remote\ncorner of the world you are then standing come so strongly before\nthe mind. Everything tends to this effect; the stillness of the\nnight is interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the seamen\nbeneath the tents, and sometimes by the cry of a night-bird. The\noccasional barking of a dog, heard in the distance, reminds one\nthat it is the land of the savage.\n\nJANUARY 29, 1833.\n\nEarly in the morning we arrived at the point where the Beagle\nChannel divides into two arms; and we entered the northern one. The\nscenery here becomes even grander than before. The lofty mountains\non the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the\ncountry, and boldly rise to a height of between three and four\nthousand feet, with one peak above six thousand feet. They are\ncovered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous cascades\npour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow channel\nbelow. In many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountain\nside to the water's edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine\nanything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers,\nand especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper\nexpanse of snow. The fragments which had fallen from the glacier\ninto the water were floating away, and the channel with its\nicebergs presented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness\nof the Polar Sea. The boats being hauled on shore at our\ndinner-hour, we were admiring from the distance of half a mile a\nperpendicular cliff of ice, and were wishing that some more\nfragments would fall. At last, down came a mass with a roaring\nnoise, and immediately we saw the smooth outline of a wave\ntravelling towards us. The men ran down as quickly as they could to\nthe boats; for the chance of their being dashed to pieces was\nevident. One of the seamen just caught hold of the bows, as the\ncurling breaker reached it: he was knocked over and over, but not\nhurt, and the boats, though thrice lifted on high and let fall\nagain, received no damage. This was most fortunate for us, for we\nwere a hundred miles distant from the ship, and we should have been\nleft without provisions or firearms. I had previously observed that\nsome large fragments of rock on the beach had been lately\ndisplaced; but until seeing this wave I did not understand the\ncause. One side of the creek was formed by a spur of mica-slate;\nthe head by a cliff of ice about forty feet high; and the other\nside by a promontory fifty feet high, built up of huge rounded\nfragments of granite and mica-slate, out of which old trees were\ngrowing. This promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a\nperiod when the glacier had greater dimensions.\n\nWhen we reached the western mouth of this northern branch of the\nBeagle Channel, we sailed amongst many unknown desolate islands,\nand the weather was wretchedly bad. We met with no natives. The\ncoast was almost everywhere so steep that we had several times to\npull many miles before we could find space enough to pitch our two\ntents: one night we slept on large round boulders, with putrefying\nsea-weed between them; and when the tide rose, we had to get up and\nmove our blanket-bags. The farthest point westward which we reached\nwas Stewart Island, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles\nfrom our ship. We returned into the Beagle Channel by the southern\narm, and thence proceeded, with no adventure, back to Ponsonby\nSound.\n\nFEBRUARY 6, 1833.\n\nWe arrived at Woollya. Matthews gave so bad an account of the\nconduct of the Fuegians, that Captain Fitz Roy determined to take\nhim back to the \"Beagle\"; and ultimately he was left at New\nZealand, where his brother was a missionary. From the time of our\nleaving, a regular system of plunder commenced; fresh parties of\nthe natives kept arriving: York and Jemmy lost many things, and\nMatthews almost everything which had not been concealed\nunderground. Every article seemed to have been torn up and divided\nby the natives. Matthews described the watch he was obliged always\nto keep as most harassing; night and day he was surrounded by the\nnatives, who tried to tire him out by making an incessant noise\nclose to his head. One day an old man, whom Matthews asked to leave\nhis wigwam, immediately returned with a large stone in his hand:\nanother day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes, and\nsome of the younger men and Jemmy's brother were crying: Matthews\nmet them with presents. Another party showed by signs that they\nwished to strip him naked and pluck all the hairs out of his face\nand body. I think we arrived just in time to save his life. Jemmy's\nrelatives had been so vain and foolish, that they had showed to\nstrangers their plunder, and their manner of obtaining it. It was\nquite melancholy leaving the three Fuegians with their savage\ncountrymen; but it was a great comfort that they had no personal\nfears. York, being a powerful resolute man, was pretty sure to get\non well, together with his wife Fuegia. Poor Jemmy looked rather\ndisconsolate, and would then, I have little doubt, have been glad\nto have returned with us. His own brother had stolen many things\nfrom him; and as he remarked, \"What fashion call that:\" he abused\nhis countrymen, \"all bad men, no sabe (know) nothing\" and, though I\nnever heard him swear before, \"damned fools.\" Our three Fuegians,\nthough they had been only three years with civilised men, would, I\nam sure, have been glad to have retained their new habits; but this\nwas obviously impossible. I fear it is more than doubtful whether\ntheir visit will have been of any use to them.\n\nIn the evening, with Matthews on board, we made sail back to the\nship, not by the Beagle Channel, but by the southern coast. The\nboats were heavily laden and the sea rough, and we had a dangerous\npassage. By the evening of the 7th we were on board the \"Beagle\"\nafter an absence of twenty days, during which time we had gone\nthree hundred miles in the open boats. On the 11th Captain Fitz Roy\npaid a visit by himself to the Fuegians and found them going on\nwell; and that they had lost very few more things.\n\nOn the last day of February in the succeeding year (1834) the\n\"Beagle\" anchored in a beautiful little cove at the eastern\nentrance of the Beagle Channel. Captain Fitz Roy determined on the\nbold, and as it proved successful, attempt to beat against the\nwesterly winds by the same route which we had followed in the boats\nto the settlement at Woollya. We did not see many natives until we\nwere near Ponsonby Sound, where we were followed by ten or twelve\ncanoes. The natives did not at all understand the reason of our\ntacking, and, instead of meeting us at each tack, vainly strove to\nfollow us in our zigzag course. I was amused at finding what a\ndifference the circumstance of being quite superior in force made,\nin the interest of beholding these savages. While in the boats I\ngot to hate the very sound of their voices, so much trouble did\nthey give us. The first and last word was \"yammerschooner.\" When,\nentering some quiet little cove, we have looked round and thought\nto pass a quiet night, the odious word \"yammerschooner\" has shrilly\nsounded from some gloomy nook, and then the little signal-smoke has\ncurled up to spread the news far and wide. On leaving some place we\nhave said to each other, \"Thank heaven, we have at last fairly left\nthese wretches!\" when one more faint halloo from an all-powerful\nvoice, heard at a prodigious distance, would reach our ears, and\nclearly could we distinguish--\"yammerschooner.\" But now, the more\nFuegians the merrier; and very merry work it was. Both parties\nlaughing, wondering, gaping at each other; we pitying them, for\ngiving us good fish and crabs for rags, etc.; they grasping at the\nchance of finding people so foolish as to exchange such splendid\nornaments for a good supper. It was most amusing to see the\nundisguised smile of satisfaction with which one young woman with\nher face painted black, tied several bits of scarlet cloth round\nher head with rushes. Her husband, who enjoyed the very universal\nprivilege in this country of possessing two wives, evidently became\njealous of all the attention paid to his young wife; and, after a\nconsultation with his naked beauties, was paddled away by them.\n\nSome of the Fuegians plainly showed that they had a fair notion of\nbarter. I gave one man a large nail (a most valuable present)\nwithout making any signs for a return; but he immediately picked\nout two fish, and handed them up on the point of his spear. If any\npresent was designed for one canoe, and it fell near another, it\nwas invariably given to the right owner. The Fuegian boy, whom Mr.\nLow had on board, showed, by going into the most violent passion,\nthat he quite understood the reproach of being called a liar, which\nin truth he was. We were this time, as on all former occasions,\nmuch surprised at the little notice, or rather none whatever, which\nwas taken of many things, the use of which must have been evident\nto the natives. Simple circumstances--such as the beauty of scarlet\ncloth or blue beads, the absence of women, our care in washing\nourselves,--excited their admiration far more than any grand or\ncomplicated object, such as our ship. Bougainville has well\nremarked concerning these people, that they treat the \"chefs\nd'oeuvre de l'industrie humaine, comme ils traitent les loix de la\nnature et ses phénomènes.\"\n\nOn the 5th of March we anchored in a cove at Woollya, but we saw\nnot a soul there. We were alarmed at this, for the natives in\nPonsonby Sound showed by gestures that there had been fighting; and\nwe afterwards heard that the dreaded Oens men had made a descent.\nSoon a canoe, with a little flag flying, was seen approaching, with\none of the men in it washing the paint off his face. This man was\npoor Jemmy,--now a thin, haggard savage, with long disordered hair,\nand naked, except a bit of blanket round his waist. We did not\nrecognize him till he was close to us, for he was ashamed of\nhimself, and turned his back to the ship. We had left him plump,\nfat, clean, and well-dressed;--I never saw so complete and grievous\na change. As soon however as he was clothed, and the first flurry\nwas over, things wore a good appearance. He dined with Captain Fitz\nRoy, and ate his dinner as tidily as formerly. He told us that he\nhad \"too much\" (meaning enough) to eat, that he was not cold, that\nhis relations were very good people, and that he did not wish to go\nback to England: in the evening we found out the cause of this\ngreat change in Jemmy's feelings, in the arrival of his young and\nnice-looking wife. With his usual good feeling, he brought two\nbeautiful otter-skins for two of his best friends, and some\nspear-heads and arrows made with his own hands for the Captain. He\nsaid he had built a canoe for himself, and he boasted that he could\ntalk a little of his own language! But it is a most singular fact,\nthat he appears to have taught all his tribe some English: an old\nman spontaneously announced \"Jemmy Button's wife.\" Jemmy had lost\nall his property. He told us that York Minster had built a large\ncanoe, and with his wife Fuegia, had several months since gone to\nhis own country, and had taken farewell by an act of consummate\nvillainy; he persuaded Jemmy and his mother to come with him, and\nthen on the way deserted them by night, stealing every article of\ntheir property. (10/3. Captain Sulivan, who, since his voyage in\nthe \"Beagle,\" has been employed on the survey of the Falkland\nIslands, heard from a sealer in (1842?), that when in the western\npart of the Strait of Magellan, he was astonished by a native woman\ncoming on board, who could talk some English. Without doubt this\nwas Fuegia Basket. She lived (I fear the term probably bears a\ndouble interpretation) some days on board.)\n\nJemmy went to sleep on shore, and in the morning returned, and\nremained on board till the ship got under weigh, which frightened\nhis wife, who continued crying violently till he got into his\ncanoe. He returned loaded with valuable property. Every soul on\nboard was heartily sorry to shake hands with him for the last time.\nI do not now doubt that he will be as happy as, perhaps happier\nthan, if he had never left his own country. Every one must\nsincerely hope that Captain Fitz Roy's noble hope may be fulfilled,\nof being rewarded for the many generous sacrifices which he made\nfor these Fuegians, by some shipwrecked sailor being protected by\nthe descendants of Jemmy Button and his tribe! When Jemmy reached\nthe shore, he lighted a signal fire, and the smoke curled up,\nbidding us a last and long farewell, as the ship stood on her\ncourse into the open sea.\n\nThe perfect equality among the individuals composing the Fuegian\ntribes must for a long time retard their civilisation. As we see\nthose animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and\nobey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the\nraces of mankind. Whether we look at it as a cause or a\nconsequence, the more civilised always have the most artificial\ngovernments. For instance, the inhabitants of Otaheite, who, when\nfirst discovered, were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at\na far higher grade than another branch of the same people, the New\nZealanders,--who, although benefited by being compelled to turn\ntheir attention to agriculture, were republicans in the most\nabsolute sense. In Tierra del Fuego, until some chief shall arise\nwith power sufficient to secure any acquired advantage, such as the\ndomesticated animals, it seems scarcely possible that the political\nstate of the country can be improved. At present, even a piece of\ncloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one\nindividual becomes richer than another. On the other hand, it is\ndifficult to understand how a chief can arise till there is\nproperty of some sort by which he might manifest his superiority\nand increase his power.\n\nI believe, in this extreme part of South America, man exists in a\nlower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. The\nSouth Sea Islanders, of the two races inhabiting the Pacific, are\ncomparatively civilised. The Esquimaux, in his subterranean hut,\nenjoys some of the comforts of life, and in his canoe, when fully\nequipped, manifests much skill. Some of the tribes of Southern\nAfrica, prowling about in search of roots, and living concealed on\nthe wild and arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. The\nAustralian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes nearest\nthe Fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang, his spear and\nthrowing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of tracking animals,\nand of hunting. Although the Australian may be superior in\nacquirements, it by no means follows that he is likewise superior\nin mental capacity: indeed, from what I saw of the Fuegians when on\nboard and from what I have read of the Australians, I should think\nthe case was exactly the reverse.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n(PLATE 50.  WOLLASTON ISLAND, TIERRA DEL FUEGO.)\n\n(PLATE 51.  PATAGONIANS FROM CAPE GREGORY.)\n\nStrait of Magellan.\nPort Famine.\nAscent of Mount Tarn.\nForests.\nEdible fungus.\nZoology.\nGreat Seaweed.\nLeave Tierra del Fuego.\nClimate.\nFruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts.\nHeight of snow-line on the Cordillera.\nDescent of glaciers to the sea.\nIcebergs formed.\nTransportal of boulders.\nClimate and productions of the Antarctic Islands.\nPreservation of frozen carcasses.\nRecapitulation.\n\nSTRAIT OF MAGELLAN.--CLIMATE OF THE SOUTHERN COASTS.\n\n\n\nIn the end of May 1834 we entered for a second time the eastern\nmouth of the Strait of Magellan. The country on both sides of this\npart of the Strait consists of nearly level plains, like those of\nPatagonia. Cape Negro, a little within the second Narrows, may be\nconsidered as the point where the land begins to assume the marked\nfeatures of Tierra del Fuego. On the east coast, south of the\nStrait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these\ntwo countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every\nfeature. It is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles\nsuch a change in the landscape. If we take a rather greater\ndistance, as between Port Famine and Gregory Bay, that is about\nsixty miles, the difference is still more wonderful. At the former\nplace we have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests,\nwhich are drenched with the rain brought by an endless succession\nof gales; while at Cape Gregory there is a clear and bright blue\nsky over the dry and sterile plains. The atmospheric currents,\nalthough rapid, turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits,\nyet seem to follow, like a river in its bed, a regularly determined\ncourse. (11/1. The south-westerly breezes are generally very dry.\nJanuary 29th, being at anchor under Cape Gregory: a very hard gale\nfrom west by south, clear sky with few cumuli; temperature 57\ndegrees, dew-point 36 degrees,--difference 21 degrees. On January\n15th, at Port St. Julian: in the morning light winds with much\nrain, followed by a very heavy squall with rain,--settled into\nheavy gale with large cumuli,--cleared up, blowing very strong from\nsouth-south-west. Temperature 60 degrees, dew-point 42\ndegrees,--difference 18 degrees.)\n\nDuring our previous visit (in January), we had an interview at Cape\nGregory with the famous so-called gigantic Patagonians, who gave us\na cordial reception. Their height appears greater than it really\nis, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair, and\ngeneral figure: on an average their height is about six feet, with\nsome men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also\ntall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we\nanywhere saw. In features they strikingly resemble the more\nnorthern Indians whom I saw with Rosas, but they have a wilder and\nmore formidable appearance: their faces were much painted with red\nand black, and one man was ringed and dotted with white like a\nFuegian. Captain Fitz Roy offered to take any three of them on\nboard, and all seemed determined to be of the three. It was long\nbefore we could clear the boat; at last we got on board with our\nthree giants, who dined with the Captain, and behaved quite like\ngentlemen, helping themselves with knives, forks, and spoons:\nnothing was so much relished as sugar. This tribe has had so much\ncommunication with sealers and whalers, that most of the men can\nspeak a little English and Spanish; and they are half civilised,\nand proportionally demoralised.\n\nThe next morning a large party went on shore, to barter for skins\nand ostrich-feathers; fire-arms being refused, tobacco was in\ngreatest request, far more so than axes or tools. The whole\npopulation of the toldos, men, women, and children, were arranged\non a bank. It was an amusing scene, and it was impossible not to\nlike the so-called giants, they were so thoroughly good-humoured\nand unsuspecting: they asked us to come again. They seem to like to\nhave Europeans to live with them; and old Maria, an important woman\nin the tribe, once begged Mr. Low to leave any one of his sailors\nwith them. They spend the greater part of the year here; but in\nsummer they hunt along the foot of the Cordillera: sometimes they\ntravel as far as the Rio Negro, 750 miles to the north. They are\nwell stocked with horses, each man having, according to Mr. Low,\nsix or seven, and all the women, and even children, their one own\nhorse. In the time of Sarmiento (1580) these Indians had bows and\narrows, now long since disused; they then also possessed some\nhorses. This is a very curious fact, showing the extraordinarily\nrapid multiplication of horses in South America. The horse was\nfirst landed at Buenos Ayres in 1537, and the colony being then for\na time deserted, the horse ran wild (11/2. Rengger \"Natur. der\nSaugethiere von Paraguay\" S. 334.); in 1580, only forty-three years\nafterwards, we hear of them at the Strait of Magellan! Mr. Low\ninforms me, that a neighbouring tribe of foot-Indians is now\nchanging into horse-Indians: the tribe at Gregory Bay giving them\ntheir worn-out horses, and sending in winter a few of their best\nskilled men to hunt for them.\n\nJUNE 1, 1834.\n\n(PLATE 52.  PORT FAMINE, MAGELLAN.)\n\nWe anchored in the fine bay of Port Famine. It was now the\nbeginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheerless prospect; the\ndusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly\nthrough a drizzling hazy atmosphere. We were, however, lucky in\ngetting two fine days. On one of these, Mount Sarmiento, a distant\nmountain 6800 feet high, presented a very noble spectacle. I was\nfrequently surprised, in the scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the\nlittle apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. I suspect it\nis owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely,\nthat the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is\ngenerally in full view. I remember having seen a mountain, first\nfrom the Beagle Channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to\nthe base was full in view, and then from Ponsonby Sound across\nseveral successive ridges; and it was curious to observe in the\nlatter case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of\nthe distance, how the mountain rose in height.\n\nBefore reaching Port Famine, two men were seen running along the\nshore and hailing the ship. A boat was sent for them. They turned\nout to be two sailors who had run away from a sealing-vessel, and\nhad joined the Patagonians. These Indians had treated them with\ntheir usual disinterested hospitality. They had parted company\nthrough accident, and were then proceeding to Port Famine in hopes\nof finding some ship. I daresay they were worthless vagabonds, but\nI never saw more miserable-looking ones. They had been living for\nsome days on mussel-shells and berries, and their tattered clothes\nhad been burnt by sleeping so near their fires. They had been\nexposed night and day, without any shelter, to the late incessant\ngales, with rain, sleet, and snow, and yet they were in good\nhealth.\n\n(PLATE 53.  PATAGONIAN BOLAS.)\n\n(PLATE 54.  PATAGONIAN SPURS AND PIPE.)\n\nDuring our stay at Port Famine, the Fuegians twice came and plagued\nus. As there were many instruments, clothes, and men on shore, it\nwas thought necessary to frighten them away. The first time a few\ngreat guns were fired, when they were far distant. It was most\nludicrous to watch through a glass the Indians, as often as the\nshot struck the water, take up stones, and, as a bold defiance,\nthrow them towards the ship, though about a mile and a half\ndistant! A boat was then sent with orders to fire a few\nmusket-shots wide of them. The Fuegians hid themselves behind the\ntrees, and for every discharge of the muskets they fired their\narrows; all, however, fell short of the boat, and the officer as he\npointed at them laughed. This made the Fuegians frantic with\npassion, and they shook their mantles in vain rage. At last, seeing\nthe balls cut and strike the trees, they ran away, and we were left\nin peace and quietness. During the former voyage the Fuegians were\nhere very troublesome, and to frighten them a rocket was fired at\nnight over their wigwams; it answered effectually, and one of the\nofficers told me that the clamour first raised, and the barking of\nthe dogs, was quite ludicrous in contrast with the profound silence\nwhich in a minute or two afterwards prevailed. The next morning not\na single Fuegian was in the neighbourhood.\n\nWhen the \"Beagle\" was here in the month of February, I started one\nmorning at four o'clock to ascend Mount Tarn, which is 2600 feet\nhigh, and is the most elevated point in this immediate district. We\nwent in a boat to the foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to\nthe best part), and then began our ascent. The forest commences at\nthe line of high-water mark, and during the first two hours I gave\nover all hopes of reaching the summit. So thick was the wood, that\nit was necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for\nevery landmark, though in a mountainous country, was completely\nshut out. In the deep ravines the death-like scene of desolation\nexceeded all description; outside it was blowing a gale, but in\nthese hollows not even a breath of wind stirred the leaves of the\ntallest trees. So gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that not\neven the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish. In the valleys it\nwas scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so completely\nbarricaded by great mouldering trunks, which had fallen down in\nevery direction. When passing over these natural bridges, one's\ncourse was often arrested by sinking knee deep into the rotten\nwood; at other times, when attempting to lean against a firm tree,\none was startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall\nat the slightest touch. We at last found ourselves among the\nstunted trees, and then soon reached the bare ridge, which\nconducted us to the summit. Here was a view characteristic of\nTierra del Fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with patches\nof snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea\nintersecting the land in many directions. The strong wind was\npiercingly cold, and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not\nstay long on the top of the mountain. Our descent was not quite so\nlaborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a\npassage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction.\n\nI have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the\nevergreen forests, in which two or three species of trees grow, to\nthe exclusion of all others. (11/3. Captain Fitz Roy informs me\nthat in April (our October) the leaves of those trees which grow\nnear the base of the mountains change colour, but not those on the\nmore elevated parts. I remember having read some observations,\nshowing that in England the leaves fall earlier in a warm and fine\nautumn than in a late and cold one. The change in the colour being\nhere retarded in the more elevated, and therefore colder\nsituations, must be owing to the same general law of vegetation.\nThe trees of Tierra del Fuego during no part of the year entirely\nshed their leaves.) Above the forest land there are many dwarf\nalpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to\ncompose it: these plants are very remarkable from their close\nalliance with the species growing on the mountains of Europe,\nthough so many thousand miles distant. The central part of Tierra\ndel Fuego, where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most\nfavourable to the growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer\ngranitic soil, and a situation more exposed to the violent winds,\ndo not allow of their attaining any great size. Near Port Famine I\nhave seen more large trees than anywhere else: I measured a\nWinter's Bark which was four feet six inches in girth, and several\nof the beech were as much as thirteen feet. Captain King also\nmentions a beech which was seven feet in diameter seventeen feet\nabove the roots.\n\n(PLATE 55.  CYTTARIA DARWINII.)\n\nThere is one vegetable production deserving notice from its\nimportance as an article of food to the Fuegians. It is a globular,\nbright-yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the\nbeech-trees. When young it is elastic and turgid, with a smooth\nsurface; but when mature, it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its\nentire surface deeply pitted or honeycombed, as represented in\nPlate 55. This fungus belongs to a new and curious genus (11/4.\nDescribed from my specimens and notes by the Reverend J.M. Berkeley\nin the \"Linnean Transactions\" volume 19 page 37, under the name of\nCyttaria Darwinii: the Chilean species is the C. Berteroii. This\ngenus is allied to Bulgaria.); I found a second species on another\nspecies of beech in Chile: and Dr. Hooker informs me that just\nlately a third species has been discovered on a third species of\nbeech in Van Dieman's Land. How singular is this relationship\nbetween parasitical fungi and the trees on which they grow, in\ndistant parts of the world! In Tierra del Fuego the fungus in its\ntough and mature state is collected in large quantities by the\nwomen and children, and is eaten un-cooked. It has a mucilaginous,\nslightly sweet taste, with a faint smell like that of a mushroom.\nWith the exception of a few berries, chiefly of a dwarf arbutus,\nthe natives eat no vegetable food besides this fungus. In New\nZealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of the\nfern were largely consumed; at the present time, I believe, Tierra\ndel Fuego is the only country in the world where a cryptogamic\nplant affords a staple article of food.\n\nThe zoology of Tierra del Fuego, as might have been expected from\nthe nature of its climate and vegetation, is very poor. Of\nmammalia, besides whales and seals, there is one bat, a kind of\nmouse (Reithrodon chinchilloides), two true mice, a ctenomys allied\nto or identical with the tucutuco, two foxes (Canis Magellanicus\nand C. Azarae), a sea-otter, the guanaco, and a deer. Most of these\nanimals inhabit only the drier eastern parts of the country; and\nthe deer has never been seen south of the Strait of Magellan.\nObserving the general correspondence of the cliffs of soft\nsandstone, mud, and shingle, on the opposite sides of the Strait,\nand on some intervening islands, one is strongly tempted to believe\nthat the land was once joined, and thus allowed animals so delicate\nand helpless as the tucutuco and Reithrodon to pass over. The\ncorrespondence of the cliffs is far from proving any junction;\nbecause such cliffs generally are formed by the intersection of\nsloping deposits, which, before the elevation of the land, had been\naccumulated near the then existing shores. It is, however, a\nremarkable coincidence, that in the two large islands cut off by\nthe Beagle Channel from the rest of Tierra del Fuego, one has\ncliffs composed of matter that may be called stratified alluvium,\nwhich front similar ones on the opposite side of the\nchannel,--while the other is exclusively bordered by old\ncrystalline rocks; in the former, called Navarin Island, both foxes\nand guanacos occur; but in the latter, Hoste Island, although\nsimilar in every respect, and only separated by a channel a little\nmore than half a mile wide, I have the word of Jemmy Button for\nsaying that neither of these animals is found.\n\nThe gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds: occasionally the\nplaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius\nalbiceps) may be heard, concealed near the summit of the most lofty\ntrees; and more rarely the loud strange cry of a black woodpecker,\nwith a fine scarlet crest on its head. A little, dusky-coloured\nwren (Scytalopus Magellanicus) hops in a skulking manner among the\nentangled mass of the fallen and decaying trunks. But the creeper\n(Oxyurus tupinieri) is the commonest bird in the country.\nThroughout the beech forests, high up and low down, in the most\ngloomy, wet, and impenetrable ravines, it may be met with. This\nlittle bird no doubt appears more numerous than it really is, from\nits habit of following with seeming curiosity any person who enters\nthese silent woods: continually uttering a harsh twitter, it\nflutters from tree to tree, within a few feet of the intruder's\nface. It is far from wishing for the modest concealment of the true\ncreeper (Certhia familiaris); nor does it, like that bird, run up\nthe trunks of trees, but industriously, after the manner of a\nwillow-wren, hops about, and searches for insects on every twig and\nbranch. In the more open parts, three or four species of finches, a\nthrush, a starling (or Icterus), two Opetiorhynchi, and several\nhawks and owls occur.\n\nThe absence of any species whatever in the whole class of Reptiles\nis a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in\nthat of the Falkland Islands. I do not ground this statement merely\non my own observation, but I heard it from the Spanish inhabitants\nof the latter place, and from Jemmy Button with regard to Tierra\ndel Fuego. On the banks of the Santa Cruz, in 50 degrees south, I\nsaw a frog; and it is not improbable that these animals, as well as\nlizards, may be found as far south as the Strait of Magellan, where\nthe country retains the character of Patagonia; but within the damp\nand cold limit of Tierra del Fuego not one occurs. That the climate\nwould not have suited some of the orders, such as lizards, might\nhave been foreseen; but with respect to frogs, this was not so\nobvious.\n\nBeetles occur in very small numbers: it was long before I could\nbelieve that a country as large as Scotland, covered with vegetable\nproductions and with a variety of stations, could be so\nunproductive. The few which I found were alpine species (Harpalidae\nand Heteromidae) living under stones. The vegetable-feeding\nChrysomelidae, so eminently characteristic of the Tropics, are here\nalmost entirely absent (11/5. I believe I must except one alpine\nHaltica, and a single specimen of a Melasoma. Mr. Waterhouse\ninforms me, that of the Harpalidae there are eight or nine\nspecies--the forms of the greater number being very peculiar; of\nHeteromera, four or five species; of Rhyncophora, six or seven; and\nof the following families one species in each: Staphylinidae,\nElateridae, Cebrionidae, Melolonthidae. The species in the other\norders are even fewer. In all the orders, the scarcity of the\nindividuals is even more remarkable than that of the species. Most\nof the Coleoptera have been carefully described by Mr. Waterhouse\nin the \"Annals of Natural History.\"); I saw very few flies,\nbutterflies, or bees, and no crickets or Orthoptera. In the pools\nof water I found but few aquatic beetles, and not any fresh-water\nshells: Succinea at first appears an exception; but here it must be\ncalled a terrestrial shell, for it lives on the damp herbage far\nfrom water. Land-shells could be procured only in the same alpine\nsituations with the beetles. I have already contrasted the climate\nas well as the general appearance of Tierra del Fuego with that of\nPatagonia; and the difference is strongly exemplified in the\nentomology. I do not believe they have one species in common;\ncertainly the general character of the insects is widely different.\n\nIf we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter as\nabundantly stocked with living creatures as the former is poorly\nso. In all parts of the world a rocky and partially protected shore\nperhaps supports, in a given space, a greater number of individual\nanimals than any other station. There is one marine production\nwhich, from its importance, is worthy of a particular history. It\nis the kelp, or Macrocystis pyrifera. This plant grows on every\nrock from low-water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast\nand within the channels. (11/6. Its geographical range is\nremarkably wide; it is found from the extreme southern islets near\nCape Horn, as far north on the eastern coast (according to\ninformation given me by Mr. Stokes) as latitude 43 degrees,--but on\nthe western coast, as Dr. Hooker tells me, it extends to the R. San\nFrancisco in California, and perhaps even to Kamtschatka. We thus\nhave an immense range in latitude; and as Cook, who must have been\nwell acquainted with the species, found it at Kerguelen Land, no\nless than 140 degrees in longitude.) I believe, during the voyages\nof the \"Adventure\" and \"Beagle,\" not one rock near the surface was\ndiscovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. The good\nservice it thus affords to vessels navigating near this stormy land\nis evident; and it certainly has saved many a one from being\nwrecked. I know few things more surprising than to see this plant\ngrowing and flourishing amidst those great breakers of the western\nocean, which no mass of rock, let it be ever so hard, can long\nresist. The stem is round, slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a\ndiameter of so much as an inch. A few taken together are\nsufficiently strong to support the weight of the large loose\nstones, to which in the inland channels they grow attached; and yet\nsome of these stones were so heavy that when drawn to the surface,\nthey could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person. Captain\nCook, in his second voyage, says that this plant at Kerguelen Land\nrises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; \"and as it\ndoes not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute\nangle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many\nfathoms on the surface of the sea, I am well warranted to say that\nsome of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards.\" I do\nnot suppose the stem of any other plant attains so great a length\nas three hundred and sixty feet, as stated by Captain Cook. Captain\nFitz Roy, moreover, found it growing up from the greater depth of\nforty-five fathoms. (11/7. \"Voyages of the 'Adventure' and\n'Beagle'\" volume 1 page 363. It appears that seaweed grows\nextremely quick. Mr. Stephenson found Wilson's \"Voyage round\nScotland\" volume 2 page 228, that a rock uncovered only at\nspring-tides, which had been chiselled smooth in November, on the\nfollowing May, that is, within six months afterwards, was thickly\ncovered with Fucus digitatus two feet, and F. esculentus six feet,\nin length.) The beds of this sea-weed, even when of not great\nbreadth, make excellent natural floating breakwaters. It is quite\ncurious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the waves from the\nopen sea, as they travel through the straggling stems, sink in\nheight, and pass into smooth water.\n\nThe number of living creatures of all Orders, whose existence\nintimately depends on the kelp, is wonderful. A great volume might\nbe written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of\nseaweed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the\nsurface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a\nwhite colour. We find exquisitely delicate structures, some\ninhabited by simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organised\nkinds, and beautiful compound Ascidiae. On the leaves, also,\nvarious patelliform shells, Trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some\nbivalves are attached. Innumerable crustacea frequent every part of\nthe plant. On shaking the great entangled roots, a pile of small\nfish, shells, cuttlefish, crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, starfish,\nbeautiful Holothuriae, Planariae, and crawling nereidous animals of\na multitude of forms, all fall out together. Often as I recurred to\na branch of the kelp, I never failed to discover animals of new and\ncurious structures. In Chiloe, where the kelp does not thrive very\nwell, the numerous shells, corallines, and crustacea are absent;\nbut there yet remain a few of the Flustraceae, and some compound\nAscidiae; the latter, however, are of different species from those\nin Tierra del Fuego; we see here the fucus possessing a wider range\nthan the animals which use it as an abode. I can only compare these\ngreat aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere with the\nterrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. Yet if in any\ncountry a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly so many\nspecies of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction\nof the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of\nfish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with\ntheir destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the\notters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly,\nthe Fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land,\nwould redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps\ncease to exist.\n\nJUNE 8, 1834.\n\nWe weighed anchor early in the morning and left Port Famine.\nCaptain Fitz Roy determined to leave the Strait of Magellan by the\nMagdalen Channel, which had not long been discovered. Our course\nlay due south, down that gloomy passage which I have before alluded\nto as appearing to lead to another and worse world. The wind was\nfair, but the atmosphere was very thick; so that we missed much\ncurious scenery. The dark ragged clouds were rapidly driven over\nthe mountains, from their summits nearly down to their bases. The\nglimpses which we caught through the dusky mass were highly\ninteresting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue glaciers, strong\noutlines, marked on a lurid sky, were seen at different distances\nand heights. In the midst of such scenery we anchored at Cape Turn,\nclose to Mount Sarmiento, which was then hidden in the clouds. At\nthe base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of our little\ncove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that\nman sometimes wandered into these desolate regions. But it would be\ndifficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have fewer claims\nor less authority. The inanimate works of nature--rock, ice, snow,\nwind, and water, all warring with each other, yet combined against\nman--here reigned in absolute sovereignty.\n\nJUNE 9, 1834.\n\nIn the morning we were delighted by seeing the veil of mist\ngradually rise from Sarmiento, and display it to our view. This\nmountain, which is one of the highest in Tierra del Fuego, has an\naltitude of 6800 feet. Its base, for about an eighth of its total\nheight, is clothed by dusky woods, and above this a field of snow\nextends to the summit. These vast piles of snow, which never melt,\nand seem destined to last as long as the world holds together,\npresent a noble and even sublime spectacle. The outline of the\nmountain was admirably clear and defined. Owing to the abundance of\nlight reflected from the white and glittering surface, no shadows\nwere cast on any part; and those lines which intersected the sky\ncould alone be distinguished: hence the mass stood out in the\nboldest relief. Several glaciers descended in a winding course from\nthe upper great expanse of snow to the sea-coast: they may be\nlikened to great frozen Niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of\nblue ice are full as beautiful as the moving ones of water. By\nnight we reached the western part of the channel; but the water was\nso deep that no anchorage could be found. We were in consequence\nobliged to stand off and on in this narrow arm of the sea, during a\npitch-dark night of fourteen hours long.\n\nJUNE 10, 1834.\n\nIn the morning we made the best of our way into the open Pacific.\nThe western coast generally consists of low, rounded, quite barren\nhills of granite and greenstone. Sir J. Narborough called one part\nSouth Desolation, because it is \"so desolate a land to behold:\" and\nwell indeed might he say so. Outside the main islands there are\nnumberless scattered rocks on which the long swell of the open\nocean incessantly rages. We passed out between the East and West\nFuries; and a little farther northward there are so many breakers\nthat the sea is called the Milky Way. One sight of such a coast is\nenough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril,\nand death; and with this sight we bade farewell for ever to Tierra\ndel Fuego.\n\nThe following discussion on the climate of the southern parts of\nthe continent with relation to its productions, on the snow-line,\non the extraordinarily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone\nof perpetual congelation in the antarctic islands, may be passed\nover by any one not interested in these curious subjects, or the\nfinal recapitulation alone may be read. I shall, however, here give\nonly an abstract, and must refer for details to the Thirteenth\nChapter and the Appendix of the former edition of this work.\n\n\nON THE CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND OF THE\nSOUTH-WEST COAST.\n\nThe following table gives the mean temperature of Tierra del\nFuego, the Falkland Islands, and, for comparison, that of\nDublin:--\n\n                       Latitude    Summer   Winter   Mean of Summer\n                       degrees '   Temp.    Temp.      and Winter\n                                   deg. F.  deg. F.      deg. F.\n     ---------------------------------------------------------------\n     Tierra del Fuego  53 38 S.    50       33.08         41.54\n     Falkland Islands  51 38 S.    51         --           --\n     Dublin            53 21 N.    59.54    39.2          49.37\n\n\n\nHence we see that the central part of Tierra del Fuego is colder in\nwinter, and no less than 9 1/2 degrees less hot in summer, than\nDublin. According to von Buch the mean temperature of July (not the\nhottest month in the year) at Saltenfiord in Norway, is as high as\n57.8 degrees, and this place is actually 13 degrees nearer the pole\nthan Port Famine! (11/8. With respect to Tierra del Fuego, the\nresults are deduced from the observations of Captain King\n\"Geographical Journal\" 1830, and those taken on board the \"Beagle.\"\nFor the Falkland Islands, I am indebted to Captain Sulivan for the\nmean of the mean temperature (reduced from careful observation at\nmidnight, 8 A.M., noon, and 8 P.M.) of the three hottest months,\nnamely, December, January, and February. The temperature of Dublin\nis taken from Barton.) Inhospitable as this climate appears to our\nfeelings, evergreen trees flourish luxuriantly under it.\nHumming-birds may be seen sucking the flowers, and parrots feeding\non the seeds of the Winter's Bark, in latitude 55 degrees south. I\nhave already remarked to what a degree the sea swarms with living\ncreatures; and the shells (such as the Patellae, Fissurellae,\nChitons, and Barnacles), according to Mr. G.B. Sowerby, are of a\nmuch larger size, and of a more vigorous growth, than the analogous\nspecies in the northern hemisphere. A large Voluta is abundant in\nsouthern Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. At Bahia\nBlanca, in latitude 39 degrees south, the most abundant shells were\nthree species of Oliva (one of large size), one or two Volutas, and\na Terebra. Now these are amongst the best characterised tropical\nforms. It is doubtful whether even one small species of Oliva\nexists on the southern shores of Europe, and there are no species\nof the two other genera. If a geologist were to find in latitude 39\ndegrees on the coast of Portugal a bed containing numerous shells\nbelonging to three species of Oliva, to a Voluta, and Terebra, he\nwould probably assert that the climate at the period of their\nexistence must have been tropical; but, judging from South America,\nsuch an inference might be erroneous.\n\nThe equable, humid, and windy climate of Tierra del Fuego extends,\nwith only a small increase of heat, for many degrees along the west\ncoast of the continent. The forests for 600 miles northward of Cape\nHorn, have a very similar aspect. As a proof of the equable\nclimate, even for 300 or 400 miles still farther northward, I may\nmention that in Chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the northern\nparts of Spain) the peach seldom produces fruit, whilst\nstrawberries and apples thrive to perfection. Even the crops of\nbarley and wheat are often brought into the houses to be dried and\nripened. (11/9. Agüeros \"Descrip. Hist. de la Prov. de Chiloé\" 1791\npage 94.) At Valdivia (in the same latitude of 40 degrees with\nMadrid) grapes and figs ripen, but are not common; olives seldom\nripen even partially, and oranges not at all. These fruits, in\ncorresponding latitudes in Europe, are well known to succeed to\nperfection; and even in this continent, at the Rio Negro, under\nnearly the same parallel with Valdivia, sweet potatoes\n(convolvulus) are cultivated; and grapes, figs, olives, oranges,\nwater and musk melons, produce abundant fruit. Although the humid\nand equable climate of Chiloe, and of the coast northward and\nsouthward of it, is so unfavourable to our fruits, yet the native\nforests, from latitude 45 to 38 degrees, almost rival in luxuriance\nthose of the glowing intertropical regions. Stately trees of many\nkinds, with smooth and highly coloured barks, are loaded by\nparasitical monocotyledonous plants; large and elegant ferns are\nnumerous, and arborescent grasses entwine the trees into one\nentangled mass to the height of thirty or forty feet above the\nground. Palm-trees grow in latitude 37 degrees; an arborescent\ngrass, very like a bamboo, in 40 degrees; and another closely\nallied kind, of great length, but not erect, flourishes even as far\nsouth as 45 degrees south.\n\n\nON THE HEIGHT OF THE SNOW-LINE, AND ON THE DESCENT OF THE GLACIERS,\nIN SOUTH AMERICA.\n\nFor the detailed authorities for the following table, I must\nrefer to the former edition:--\n\n                              Height in feet\n     Latitude                 of Snow-line          Observer\n     ----------------------------------------------------------------\n     Equatorial region;\n     mean result              15,748                Humboldt.\n\n     Bolivia, latitude\n     16 to 18 degrees south   17,000                Pentland.\n\n     Central Chile, latitude\n     33 degrees south         14,500 to 15,000       Gillies and the\n     Author.\n\n     Chiloe, latitude\n     41 to 43 degrees south   6,000                 Officers of the\n                                                    \"Beagle\" and the\n     Author.\n\n     Tierra del Fuego\n     54 degrees south         3,500 - 4,000  King.\n\nAn equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared\nwith the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the\nsouthern hemisphere; and as a consequence, the vegetation partakes\nof a semi-tropical character. Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in Van\nDiemen's Land (latitude 45 degrees), and I measured one trunk no\nless than six feet in circumference. An arborescent fern was found\nby Forster in New Zealand in 46 degrees, where orchideous plants\nare parasitical on the trees. In the Auckland Islands, ferns,\naccording to Dr. Dieffenbach have trunks so thick and high that\nthey may be almost called tree-ferns; and in these islands, and\neven as far south as latitude 55 degrees in the Macquarie Islands,\nparrots abound. (11/10. See the German Translation of this Journal;\nand for the other facts Mr. Brown's Appendix to Flinders's\n\"Voyage.\")\n\nAs the height of the plane of perpetual snow seems chiefly to be\ndetermined by the extreme heat of the summer, rather than by the\nmean temperature of the year, we ought not to be surprised at its\ndescent in the Strait of Magellan, where the summer is so cool, to\nonly 3500 or 4000 feet above the level of the sea; although in\nNorway, we must travel to between latitude 67 and 70 degrees north,\nthat is, about 14 degrees nearer the pole, to meet with perpetual\nsnow at this low level. The difference in height, namely, about\n9000 feet, between the snow-line on the Cordillera behind Chiloe\n(with its highest points ranging from only 5600 to 7500 feet) and\nin central Chile (a distance of only 9 degrees of latitude), is\ntruly wonderful. (11/11. On the Cordillera of central Chile, I\nbelieve the snow-line varies exceedingly in height in different\nsummers. I was assured that during one very dry and long summer,\nall the snow disappeared from Aconcagua, although it attains the\nprodigious height of 23,000 feet. It is probable that much of the\nsnow at these great heights is evaporated, rather than thawed.) The\nland from the southward of Chiloe to near Concepcion (latitude 37\ndegrees) is hidden by one dense forest dripping with moisture. The\nsky is cloudy, and we have seen how badly the fruits of southern\nEurope succeed. In central Chile, on the other hand, a little\nnorthward of Concepcion, the sky is generally clear, rain does not\nfall for the seven summer months, and southern European fruits\nsucceed admirably; and even the sugar-cane has been cultivated.\n(11/12. Miers's \"Chile\" volume 1 page 415. It is said that the\nsugar-cane grew at Ingenio, latitude 32 to 33 degrees, but not in\nsufficient quantity to make the manufacture profitable. In the\nvalley of Quillota, south of Ingenio, I saw some large date-palm\ntrees.) No doubt the plane of perpetual snow undergoes the above\nremarkable flexure of 9000 feet, unparalleled in other parts of the\nworld, not far from the latitude of Concepcion, where the land\nceases to be covered with forest-trees; for trees in South America\nindicate a rainy climate, and rain a clouded sky and little heat in\nsummer.\n\n(PLATE 56.  EYRE SOUND.)\n\nThe descent of glaciers to the sea must, I conceive, mainly depend\n(subject, of course, to a proper supply of snow in the upper\nregion) on the lowness of the line of perpetual snow on steep\nmountains near the coast. As the snow-line is so low in Tierra del\nFuego, we might have expected that many of the glaciers would have\nreached the sea. Nevertheless I was astonished when I first saw a\nrange, only from 3000 to 4000 feet in height, in the latitude of\nCumberland, with every valley filled with streams of ice descending\nto the sea-coast. Almost every arm of the sea, which penetrates to\nthe interior higher chain, not only in Tierra del Fuego, but on the\ncoast for 650 miles northwards, is terminated by \"tremendous and\nastonishing glaciers,\" as described by one of the officers on the\nsurvey. Great masses of ice frequently fall from these icy cliffs,\nand the crash reverberates like the broadside of a man-of-war\nthrough the lonely channels. These falls, as noticed in the last\nchapter, produce great waves which break on the adjoining coasts.\nIt is known that earthquakes frequently cause masses of earth to\nfall from sea-cliffs: how terrific, then, would be the effect of a\nsevere shock (and such occur here (11/13. Bulkeley's and Cummin's\n\"Faithful Narrative of the Loss of the Wager.\" The earthquake\nhappened August 25, 1741.)) on a body like a glacier, already in\nmotion, and traversed by fissures! I can readily believe that the\nwater would be fairly beaten back out of the deepest channel, and\nthen, returning with an overwhelming force, would whirl about huge\nmasses of rock like so much chaff. In Eyre's Sound, in the latitude\nof Paris, there are immense glaciers, and yet the loftiest\nneighbouring mountain is only 6200 feet high. In this Sound, about\nfifty icebergs were seen at one time floating outwards, and one of\nthem must have been AT LEAST 168 feet in total height. Some of the\nicebergs were loaded with blocks of no inconsiderable size, of\ngranite and other rocks, different from the clay-slate of the\nsurrounding mountains.\n\n(PLATE 57.  GLACIER IN GULF OF PENAS.)\n\nThe glacier farthest from the Pole, surveyed during the voyages of\nthe \"Adventure\" and \"Beagle,\" is in latitude 46 degrees 50', in the\nGulf of Penas. It is 15 miles long, and in one part 7 broad, and\ndescends to the sea-coast. But even a few miles northward of this\nglacier, in the Laguna de San Rafael, some Spanish missionaries\nencountered \"many icebergs, some great, some small, and others\nmiddle-sized,\" in a narrow arm of the sea, on the 22 of the month\ncorresponding with our June, and in a latitude corresponding with\nthat of the Lake of Geneva! (11/14. Agüeros \"Desc. Hist. de Chiloé\"\npage 227.)\n\nIn Europe, the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is\nmet with, according to Von Buch, on the coast of Norway, in\nlatitude 67 degrees. Now, this is more than 20 degrees of latitude,\nor 1230 miles, nearer the pole than the Laguna de San Rafael. The\nposition of the glaciers at this place and in the Gulf of Penas may\nbe put even in a more striking point of view, for they descend to\nthe sea-coast within 7 1/2 degrees of latitude, or 450 miles, of a\nharbour, where three species of Oliva, a Voluta, and a Terebra, are\nthe commonest shells, within less than 9 degrees from where palms\ngrow, within 4 1/2 degrees of a region where the jaguar and puma\nrange over the plains, less than 2 1/2 degrees from arborescent\ngrasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemisphere) less\nthan 2 degrees from orchideous parasites, and within a single\ndegree of tree-ferns!\n\nThese facts are of high geological interest with respect to the\nclimate of the northern hemisphere, at the period when boulders\nwere transported. I will not here detail how simply the theory of\nicebergs being charged with fragments of rock explains the origin\nand position of the gigantic boulders of eastern Tierra del Fuego,\non the high plain of Santa Cruz, and on the island of Chiloe. In\nTierra del Fuego the greater number of boulders lie on the lines of\nold sea-channels, now converted into dry valleys by the elevation\nof the land. They are associated with a great unstratified\nformation of mud and sand, containing rounded and angular fragments\nof all sizes, which has originated in the repeated ploughing up of\nthe sea-bottom by the stranding of icebergs, and by the matter\ntransported on them. (11/15. \"Geological Transactions\" volume 6\npage 415.) Few geologists now doubt that those erratic boulders\nwhich lie near lofty mountains have been pushed forward by the\nglaciers themselves, and that those distant from mountains, and\nembedded in subaqueous deposits, have been conveyed thither either\non icebergs, or frozen in coast-ice. The connection between the\ntransportal of boulders and the presence of ice in some form, is\nstrikingly shown by their geographical distribution over the earth.\nIn South America they are not found farther than 48 degrees of\nlatitude, measured from the southern pole; in North America it\nappears that the limit of their transportal extends to 53 1/2\ndegrees from the northern pole; but in Europe to not more than 40\ndegrees of latitude, measured from the same point. On the other\nhand, in the intertropical parts of America, Asia, and Africa, they\nhave never been observed; nor at the Cape of Good Hope, nor in\nAustralia. (11/16. I have given details (the first, I believe,\npublished) on this subject in the first edition, and in the\nAppendix to it. I have there shown that the apparent exceptions to\nthe absence of erratic boulders in certain hot countries are due to\nerroneous observations; several statements there given I have since\nfound confirmed by various authors.)\n\nON THE CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE ANTARCTIC ISLANDS.\n\nConsidering the rankness of the vegetation in Tierra del Fuego, and\non the coast northward of it, the condition of the islands south\nand south-west of America is truly surprising. Sandwich Land, in\nthe latitude of the north part of Scotland, was found by Cook,\nduring the hottest month of the year, \"covered many fathoms thick\nwith everlasting snow;\" and there seems to be scarcely any\nvegetation. Georgia, an island 96 miles long and 10 broad, in the\nlatitude of Yorkshire, \"in the very height of summer, is in a\nmanner wholly covered with frozen snow.\" It can boast only of moss,\nsome tufts of grass, and wild burnet; it has only one land-bird\n(Anthus correndera), yet Iceland, which is 10 degrees nearer the\npole, has, according to Mackenzie, fifteen land-birds. The South\nShetland Islands, in the same latitude as the southern half of\nNorway, possess only some lichens, moss, and a little grass; and\nLieutenant Kendall found the bay in which he was at anchor,\nbeginning to freeze at a period corresponding with our 8th of\nSeptember. (11/17. \"Geographical Journal\" 1830 pages 65, 66.) The\nsoil here consists of ice and volcanic ashes interstratified; and\nat a little depth beneath the surface it must remain perpetually\ncongealed, for Lieutenant Kendall found the body of a foreign\nsailor which had long been buried, with the flesh and all the\nfeatures perfectly preserved. It is a singular fact that on the two\ngreat continents in the northern hemisphere (but not in the broken\nland of Europe between them) we have the zone of perpetually frozen\nunder-soil in a low latitude--namely, in 56 degrees in North\nAmerica at the depth of three feet (11/18. Richardson's \"Append. to\nBack's Exped.\" and Humboldt's \"Fragm. Asiat.\" tome 2 page 386.),\nand in 62 degrees in Siberia at the depth of twelve to fifteen\nfeet--as the result of a directly opposite condition of things to\nthose of the southern hemisphere. On the northern continents, the\nwinter is rendered excessively cold by the radiation from a large\narea of land into a clear sky, nor is it moderated by the\nwarmth-bringing currents of the sea; the short summer, on the other\nhand, is hot. In the Southern Ocean the winter is not so\nexcessively cold, but the summer is far less hot, for the clouded\nsky seldom allows the sun to warm the ocean, itself a bad absorbent\nof heat: and hence the mean temperature of the year, which\nregulates the zone of perpetually congealed under-soil, is low. It\nis evident that a rank vegetation, which does not so much require\nheat as it does protection from intense cold, would approach much\nnearer to this zone of perpetual congelation under the equable\nclimate of the southern hemisphere, than under the extreme climate\nof the northern continents.\n\nThe case of the sailor's body perfectly preserved in the icy soil\nof the South Shetland Islands (latitude 62 to 63 degrees south), in\na rather lower latitude than that (latitude 64 degrees north) under\nwhich Pallas found the frozen rhinoceros in Siberia, is very\ninteresting. Although it is a fallacy, as I have endeavoured to\nshow in a former chapter, to suppose that the larger quadrupeds\nrequire a luxuriant vegetation for their support, nevertheless it\nis important to find in the South Shetland Islands a frozen\nunder-soil within 360 miles of the forest-clad islands near Cape\nHorn, where, as far as the BULK of vegetation is concerned, any\nnumber of great quadrupeds might be supported. The perfect\npreservation of the carcasses of the Siberian elephants and\nrhinoceroses is certainly one of the most wonderful facts in\ngeology; but independently of the imagined difficulty of supplying\nthem with food from the adjoining countries, the whole case is not,\nI think, so perplexing as it has generally been considered. The\nplains of Siberia, like those of the Pampas, appear to have been\nformed under the sea, into which rivers brought down the bodies of\nmany animals; of the greater number of these only the skeletons\nhave been preserved, but of others the perfect carcass. Now it is\nknown that in the shallow sea on the Arctic coast of America the\nbottom freezes (11/19. Messrs. Dease and Simpson, in \"Geographical\nJournal\" volume 8 pages 218 and 220.), and does not thaw in spring\nso soon as the surface of the land, moreover, at greater depths,\nwhere the bottom of the sea does not freeze, the mud a few feet\nbeneath the top layer might remain even in summer below 32 degrees,\nas is the case on the land with the soil at the depth of a few\nfeet. At still greater depths the temperature of the mud and water\nwould probably not be low enough to preserve the flesh; and hence,\ncarcasses drifted beyond the shallow parts near an arctic coast,\nwould have only their skeletons preserved: now in the extreme\nnorthern parts of Siberia bones are infinitely numerous, so that\neven islets are said to be almost composed of them (11/20. Cuvier\n\"Ossemens Fossiles\" tome 1 page 151, from Billing's \"Voyage.\"); and\nthose islets lie no less than ten degrees of latitude north of the\nplace where Pallas found the frozen rhinoceros. On the other hand,\na carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the Arctic Sea,\nwould be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon\nafterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat\nof the summer water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom\nwas upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to\nprevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting\nit.\n\n(PLATE 58.  FLORA OF MAGELLAN.)\n\n(PLATE 59.  MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA, OR MAGELLAN KELP.)\n\nRECAPITULATION.\n\nI will recapitulate the principal facts with regard to the climate,\nice-action, and organic productions of the southern hemisphere,\ntransposing the places in imagination to Europe, with which we are\nso much better acquainted. Then, near Lisbon, the commonest\nsea-shells, namely, three species of Oliva, a Voluta, and a\nTerebra, would have a tropical character. In the southern provinces\nof France, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and\nwith the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face\nof the land. The puma and the jaguar would haunt the Pyrenees. In\nthe latitude of Mont Blanc, but on an island as far westward as\nCentral North America, tree-ferns and parasitical Orchideae would\nthrive amidst the thick woods. Even as far north as central Denmark\nhumming-birds would be seen fluttering about delicate flowers, and\nparrots feeding amidst the evergreen woods; and in the sea there we\nshould have a Voluta, and all the shells of large size and vigorous\ngrowth. Nevertheless, on some islands only 360 miles northward of\nour new Cape Horn in Denmark, a carcass buried in the soil (or if\nwashed into a shallow sea, and covered up with mud) would be\npreserved perpetually frozen. If some bold navigator attempted to\npenetrate northward of these islands, he would run a thousand\ndangers amidst gigantic icebergs, on some of which he would see\ngreat blocks of rock borne far away from their original site.\nAnother island of large size in the latitude of southern Scotland,\nbut twice as far to the west, would be \"almost wholly covered with\neverlasting snow,\" and would have each bay terminated by\nice-cliffs, whence great masses would be yearly detached: this\nisland would boast only of a little moss, grass, and burnet, and a\ntitlark would be its only land inhabitant. From our new Cape Horn\nin Denmark, a chain of mountains, scarcely half the height of the\nAlps, would run in a straight line due southward; and on its\nwestern flank every deep creek of the sea, or fiord, would end in\n\"bold and astonishing glaciers.\" These lonely channels would\nfrequently reverberate with the falls of ice, and so often would\ngreat waves rush along their coasts; numerous icebergs, some as\ntall as cathedrals, and occasionally loaded with \"no inconsiderable\nblocks of rock,\" would be stranded on the outlying islets; at\nintervals violent earthquakes would shoot prodigious masses of ice\ninto the waters below. Lastly, some missionaries attempting to\npenetrate a long arm of the sea, would behold the not lofty\nsurrounding mountains, sending down their many grand icy streams to\nthe sea-coast, and their progress in the boats would be checked by\nthe innumerable floating icebergs, some small and some great; and\nthis would have occurred on our twenty-second of June, and where\nthe Lake of Geneva is now spread out! (11/21. In the former edition\nand Appendix, I have given some facts on the transportal of erratic\nboulders and icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean. This subject has\nlately been treated excellently by Mr. Hayes, in the \"Boston\nJournal\" volume 4 page 426. The author does not appear aware of a\ncase published by me \"Geographical Journal\" volume 9 page 528, of a\ngigantic boulder embedded in an iceberg in the Antarctic Ocean,\nalmost certainly one hundred miles distant from any land, and\nperhaps much more distant. In the Appendix I have discussed at\nlength the probability (at that time hardly thought of) of\nicebergs, when stranded, grooving and polishing rocks, like\nglaciers. This is now a very commonly received opinion; and I\ncannot still avoid the suspicion that it is applicable even to such\ncases as that of the Jura. Dr. Richardson has assured me that the\nicebergs off North America push before them pebbles and sand, and\nleave the submarine rocky flats quite bare; it is hardly possible\nto doubt that such ledges must be polished and scored in the\ndirection of the set of the prevailing currents. Since writing that\nAppendix I have seen in North Wales \"London Philosophical Magazine\"\nvolume 21 page 180) the adjoining action of glaciers and floating\nicebergs.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n(PLATE 60.  TROCHILUS FORFICATUS.)\n\nValparaiso.\nExcursion to the Foot of the Andes.\nStructure of the land.\nAscend the Bell of Quillota.\nShattered masses of greenstone.\nImmense valleys.\nMines.\nState of miners.\nSantiago.\nHot-baths of Cauquenes.\nGold-mines.\nGrinding-mills.\nPerforated stones.\nHabits of the Puma.\nEl Turco and Tapacolo.\nHumming-birds.\n\nCENTRAL CHILE.\n\nJULY 23, 1834.\n\n\n\nThe \"Beagle\" anchored late at night in the bay of Valparaiso, the\nchief seaport of Chile. When morning came, everything appeared\ndelightful. After Tierra del Fuego, the climate felt quite\ndelicious--the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue\nwith the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling\nwith life. The view from the anchorage is very pretty. The town is\nbuilt at the very foot of a range of hills, about 1600 feet high,\nand rather steep. From its position, it consists of one long,\nstraggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a\nravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it. The\nrounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty\nvegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a\nsingularly bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low\nwhitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of St.\nCruz in Teneriffe. In a north-easterly direction there are some\nfine glimpses of the Andes: but these mountains appear much grander\nwhen viewed from the neighbouring hills: the great distance at\nwhich they are situated can then more readily be perceived. The\nvolcano of Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge and\nirregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that of\nChimborazo; for, from measurements made by the officers in the\n\"Beagle,\" its height is no less than 23,000 feet. The Cordillera,\nhowever, viewed from this point, owe the greater part of their\nbeauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. When the sun\nwas setting in the Pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly\ntheir rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied and\nhow delicate were the shades of their colour.\n\nI had the good fortune to find living here Mr. Richard Corfield, an\nold schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality and kindness I\nwas greatly indebted, in having afforded me a most pleasant\nresidence during the \"Beagle's\" stay in Chile. The immediate\nneighbourhood of Valparaiso is not very productive to the\nnaturalist. During the long summer the wind blows steadily from the\nsouthward, and a little off shore, so that rain never falls; during\nthe three winter months, however, it is sufficiently abundant. The\nvegetation in consequence is very scanty: except in some deep\nvalleys there are no trees, and only a little grass and a few low\nbushes are scattered over the less steep parts of the hills. When\nwe reflect that at the distance of 350 miles to the south, this\nside of the Andes is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest,\nthe contrast is very remarkable. I took several long walks while\ncollecting objects of natural history. The country is pleasant for\nexercise. There are many very beautiful flowers; and, as in most\nother dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and\npeculiar odours--even one's clothes by brushing through them became\nscented. I did not cease from wonder at finding each succeeding day\nas fine as the foregoing. What a difference does climate make in\nthe enjoyment of life! How opposite are the sensations when viewing\nblack mountains half-enveloped in clouds, and seeing another range\nthrough the light blue haze of a fine day! The one for a time may\nbe very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy life.\n\nAUGUST 14, 1834.\n\nI set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologising the\nbasal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year are\nnot shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was northward\nalong the sea-coast. After dark we reached the Hacienda of\nQuintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. My\nobject in coming here was to see the great beds of shells which\nstand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for\nlime. The proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are\nunequivocal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells\nare numerous, and I found some at 1300 feet. These shells either\nlie loose on the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black\nvegetable mould. I was much surprised to find under the microscope\nthat this vegetable mould is really marine mud, full of minute\nparticles of organic bodies.\n\nAUGUST 15, 1834.\n\nWe returned towards the valley of Quillota. The country was\nexceedingly pleasant; just such as poets would call pastoral: green\nopen lawns, separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the\ncottages, we may suppose of the shepherds, scattered on the\nhill-sides. We were obliged to cross the ridge of the Chilicauquen.\nAt its base there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but these\nflourished only in the ravines, where there was running water. Any\nperson who had seen only the country near Valparaiso would never\nhave imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in Chile.\nAs soon as we reached the brow of the Sierra, the valley of\nQuillota was immediately under our feet. The prospect was one of\nremarkable artificial luxuriance. The valley is very broad and\nquite flat, and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. The little\nsquare gardens are crowded with orange and olive trees and every\nsort of vegetable. On each side huge bare mountains rise, and this\nfrom the contrast renders the patchwork valley the more pleasing.\nWhoever called \"Valparaiso\" the \"Valley of Paradise,\" must have\nbeen thinking of Quillota. We crossed over to the Hacienda de San\nIsidro, situated at the very foot of the Bell Mountain.\n\n(PLATE 61.  HACIENDA, CONDOR, CACTUS, ETC.)\n\nChile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land\nbetween the Cordillera and the Pacific; and this strip is itself\ntraversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run\nparallel to the great range. Between these outer lines and the main\nCordillera, a succession of level basins, generally opening into\neach other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward: in\nthese, the principal towns are situated, as San Felipe, Santiago,\nSan Fernando. These basins or plains, together with the transverse\nflat valleys (like that of Quillota) which connect them with the\ncoast, I have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep\nbays, such as at the present day intersect every part of Tierra del\nFuego and the western coast. Chile must formerly have resembled the\nlatter country in the configuration of its land and water. The\nresemblance was occasionally shown strikingly when a level fog-bank\ncovered, as with a mantle, all the lower parts of the country: the\nwhite vapour curling into the ravines, beautifully represented\nlittle coves and bays; and here and there a solitary hillock\npeeping up showed that it had formerly stood there as an islet. The\ncontrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular\nmountains gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very\ninteresting.\n\nFrom the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very\neasily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. Without\nthis process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during\nthe whole summer the sky is cloudless. The mountains and hills are\ndotted over with bushes and low trees, and excepting these the\nvegetation is very scanty. Each landowner in the valley possesses a\ncertain portion of hill-country, where his half-wild cattle, in\nconsiderable numbers, manage to find sufficient pasture. Once every\nyear there is a grand \"rodeo,\" when all the cattle are driven down,\ncounted, and marked, and a certain number separated to be fattened\nin the irrigated fields. Wheat is extensively cultivated, and a\ngood deal of Indian corn: a kind of bean is, however, the staple\narticle of food for the common labourers. The orchards produce an\noverflowing abundance of peaches, figs, and grapes. With all these\nadvantages the inhabitants of the country ought to be much more\nprosperous than they are.\n\nAUGUST 16, 1834.\n\nThe mayor-domo of the Hacienda was good enough to give me a guide\nand fresh horses; and in the morning we set out to ascend the\nCampana, or Bell Mountain, which is 6400 feet high. The paths were\nvery bad, but both the geology and scenery amply repaid the\ntrouble. We reached, by the evening, a spring called the Agua del\nGuanaco, which is situated at a great height. This must be an old\nname, for it is very many years since a guanaco drank its waters.\nDuring the ascent I noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the\nnorthern slope, whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo\nabout fifteen feet high. In a few places there were palms, and I\nwas surprised to see one at an elevation of at least 4500 feet.\nThese palms are, for their family, ugly trees. Their stem is very\nlarge, and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at\nthe base or top. They are excessively numerous in some parts of\nChile, and valuable on account of a sort of treacle made from the\nsap. On one estate near Petorca they tried to count them, but\nfailed, after having numbered several hundred thousand. Every year\nin the early spring, in August, very many are cut down, and when\nthe trunk is lying on the ground, the crown of leaves is lopped\noff. The sap then immediately begins to flow from the upper end,\nand continues so doing for some months: it is, however, necessary\nthat a thin slice should be shaved off from that end every morning,\nso as to expose a fresh surface. A good tree will give ninety\ngallons, and all this must have been contained in the vessels of\nthe apparently dry trunk. It is said that the sap flows much more\nquickly on those days when the sun is powerful; and likewise, that\nit is absolutely necessary to take care, in cutting down the tree,\nthat it should fall with its head upwards on the side of the hill;\nfor if it falls down the slope, scarcely any sap will flow;\nalthough in that case one would have thought that the action would\nhave been aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. The\nsap is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which\nit very much resembles in taste.\n\nWe unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the\nnight. The evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear that the\nmasts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso, although\nno less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be\ndistinguished clearly as little black streaks. A ship doubling the\npoint under sail appeared as a bright white speck. Anson expresses\nmuch surprise, in his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels\nwere discovered from the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow\nfor the height of the land and the great transparency of the air.\n\nThe setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black,\nwhilst the snowy peaks of the Andes yet retained a ruby tint. When\nit was dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos,\nfried our charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our maté, and were\nquite comfortable. There is an inexpressible charm in thus living\nin the open air. The evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise\nof the mountain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were\noccasionally to be heard. Besides these, few birds, or even\ninsects, frequent these dry, parched mountains.\n\nAUGUST 17, 1834.\n\nIn the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which\ncrowns the summit. This rock, as frequently happens, was much\nshattered and broken into huge angular fragments. I observed,\nhowever, one remarkable circumstance, namely, that many of the\nsurfaces presented every degree of freshness--some appearing as if\nbroken the day before, whilst on others lichens had either just\nbecome, or had long grown, attached. I so fully believed that this\nwas owing to the frequent earthquakes, that I felt inclined to\nhurry from below each loose pile. As one might very easily be\ndeceived in a fact of this kind, I doubted its accuracy, until\nascending Mount Wellington, in Van Diemen's Land, where earthquakes\ndo not occur; and there I saw the summit of the mountain similarly\ncomposed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if\nthey had been hurled into their present position thousands of years\nago.\n\nWe spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one more\nthoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen\nas in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful,\nwas heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere\nview of the Campana range with its lesser parallel ones, and of the\nbroad valley of Quillota directly intersecting them. Who can avoid\nwondering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even\nmore so at the countless ages which it must have required to have\nbroken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? It is\nwell in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary\nbeds of Patagonia, which, if heaped on the Cordillera, would\nincrease its height by so many thousand feet. When in that country,\nI wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such masses,\nand not have been utterly obliterated. We must not now reverse the\nwonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind down\nmountains--even the gigantic Cordillera--into gravel and mud.\n\nThe appearance of the Andes was different from that which I had\nexpected. The lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and\nto this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel.\nOnly at long intervals a group of points or a single cone showed\nwhere a volcano had existed, or does now exist. Hence the range\nresembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower,\nand making a most perfect barrier to the country.\n\nAlmost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open\ngold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely a spot in Chile\nunexamined. I spent the evening as before, talking round the fire\nwith my two companions. The Guasos of Chile, who correspond to the\nGauchos of the Pampas, are, however, a very different set of\nbeings. Chile is the more civilised of the two countries, and the\ninhabitants, in consequence, have lost much individual character.\nGradations in rank are much more strongly marked: the Guaso does\nnot by any means consider every man his equal; and I was quite\nsurprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at the\nsame time with myself. This feeling of inequality is a necessary\nconsequence of the existence of an aristocracy of wealth. It is\nsaid that some few of the greater landowners possess from five to\nten thousand pounds sterling per annum: an inequality of riches\nwhich I believe is not met with in any of the cattle-breeding\ncountries eastward of the Andes. A traveller does not here meet\nthat unbounded hospitality which refuses all payment, but yet is so\nkindly offered that no scruples can be raised in accepting it.\nAlmost every house in Chile will receive you for the night, but a\ntrifle is expected to be given in the morning; even a rich man will\naccept two or three shillings. The Gaucho, although he may be a\ncutthroat, is a gentleman; the Guaso is in few respects better, but\nat the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. The two men, although\nemployed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and\nattire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their\nrespective countries. The Gaucho seems part of his horse, and\nscorns to exert himself excepting when on its back; the Guaso may\nbe hired to work as a labourer in the fields. The former lives\nentirely on animal food; the latter almost wholly on vegetable. We\ndo not here see the white boots, the broad drawers, and scarlet\nchilipa; the picturesque costume of the Pampas. Here, common\ntrousers are protected by black and green worsted leggings. The\nponcho, however, is common to both. The chief pride of the Guaso\nlies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. I measured one which\nwas six inches in the DIAMETER of the rowel, and the rowel itself\ncontained upwards of thirty points. The stirrups are on the same\nscale, each consisting of a square, carved block of wood, hollowed\nout, yet weighing three or four pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more\nexpert with the lazo than the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the\ncountry, he does not know the use of the bolas.\n\nAUGUST 18, 1834.\n\nWe descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful little spots,\nwith rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the same hacienda as\nbefore, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley, and\npassed through Quillota, which is more like a collection of\nnursery-gardens than a town. The orchards were beautiful,\npresenting one mass of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or two\nplaces the date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and I should think\na group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must be\nsuperb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty straggling town\nlike Quillota. The valley in this part expands into one of those\ngreat bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the Cordillera, which\nhave been mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of\nChile. In the evening we reached the mines of Jajuel, situated in a\nravine at the flank of the great chain. I stayed here five days. My\nhost, the superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather\nignorant Cornish miner. He had married a Spanish woman, and did not\nmean to return home; but his admiration for the mines of Cornwall\nremained unbounded. Amongst many other questions, he asked me, \"Now\nthat George Rex is dead, how many more of the family of Rexes are\nyet alive?\" This Rex certainly must be a relation of the great\nauthor Finis, who wrote all books!\n\nThese mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to Swansea,\nto be smelted. Hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet, as\ncompared to those in England: here no smoke, furnaces, or great\nsteam-engines, disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains.\n\nThe Chilian government, or rather the old Spanish law, encourages\nby every method the searching for mines. The discoverer may work a\nmine on any ground, by paying five shillings; and before paying\nthis he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty\ndays.\n\nIt is now well known that the Chilian method of mining is the\ncheapest. My host says that the two principal improvements\nintroduced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by previous\nroasting the copper pyrites--which, being the common ore in\nCornwall, the English miners were astounded on their arrival to\nfind thrown away as useless: secondly, stamping and washing the\nscoriae from the old furnaces--by which process particles of metal\nare recovered in abundance. I have actually seen mules carrying to\nthe coast, for transportation to England, a cargo of such cinders.\nBut the first case is much the most curious. The Chilian miners\nwere so convinced that copper pyrites contained not a particle of\ncopper, that they laughed at the Englishmen for their ignorance,\nwho laughed in turn, and bought their richest veins for a few\ndollars. It is very odd that, in a country where mining had been\nextensively carried on for many years, so simple a process as\ngently roasting the ore to expel the sulphur previous to smelting\nit, had never been discovered. A few improvements have likewise\nbeen introduced in some of the simple machinery; but even to the\npresent day, water is removed from some mines by men carrying it up\nthe shaft in leathern bags!\n\n(PLATE 62.  CHILIAN MINER.)\n\nThe labouring men work very hard. They have little time allowed for\ntheir meals, and during summer and winter they begin when it is\nlight, and leave off at dark. They are paid one pound sterling a\nmonth, and their food is given them: this for breakfast consists of\nsixteen figs and two small loaves of bread; for dinner, boiled\nbeans; for supper, broken roasted wheat grain. They scarcely ever\ntaste meat; as, with the twelve pounds per annum, they have to\nclothe themselves and support their families. The miners who work\nin the mine itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are\nallowed a little charqui. But these men come down from their bleak\nhabitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks.\n\n(PLATE 63.  CACTUS (Cereus Peruviana).)\n\nDuring my stay here I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these\nhuge mountains. The geology, as might have been expected, was very\ninteresting. The shattered and baked rocks, traversed by\ninnumerable dikes of greenstone, showed what commotions had\nformerly taken place. The scenery was much the same as that near\nthe Bell of Quillota--dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by\nbushes with a scanty foliage. The cactuses, or rather opuntias,\nwere here very numerous. I measured one of a spherical figure,\nwhich, including the spines, was six feet and four inches in\ncircumference. The height of the common cylindrical, branching\nkind, is from twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth (with spines)\nof the branches between three and four feet.\n\nA heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me, during the last\ntwo days, from making some interesting excursions. I attempted to\nreach a lake which the inhabitants, from some unaccountable reason,\nbelieve to be an arm of the sea. During a very dry season, it was\nproposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the\nwater, but the padre, after a consultation, declared it was too\ndangerous, as all Chile would be inundated, if, as generally\nsupposed, the lake was connected with the Pacific. We ascended to a\ngreat height, but becoming involved in the snow-drifts failed in\nreaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning.\nI thought we should have lost our horses; for there was no means of\nguessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could\nonly move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh snowstorm\nwas gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad when we\nescaped. By the time we reached the base the storm commenced, and\nit was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours earlier in\nthe day.\n\nAUGUST 26, 1834.\n\nWe left Jajuel and again crossed the basin of San Felipe. The day\nwas truly Chilian: glaringly bright, and the atmosphere quite\nclear. The thick and uniform covering of newly-fallen snow rendered\nthe view of the volcano of Aconcagua and the main chain quite\nglorious. We were now on the road to Santiago, the capital of\nChile. We crossed the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at a little\nrancho. The host, talking about the state of Chile as compared to\nother countries, was very humble: \"Some see with two eyes, and some\nwith one, but for my part I do not think that Chile sees with any.\"\n\nAUGUST 27, 1834.\n\nAfter crossing many low hills we descended into the small\nland-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such as this one,\nwhich are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet above the\nsea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms, and\nstand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. These\ntrees are never found near the sea-coast; and this gives another\ncharacteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a\nlow ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which\nSantiago stands. The view was here pre-eminently striking: the dead\nlevel surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, and with the\ncity in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the\nAndes, whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. At the\nfirst glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain\nrepresented the extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained\nthe level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the\ncity before it was dark.\n\nI stayed a week in Santiago and enjoyed myself very much. In the\nmorning I rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening\ndined with several of the English merchants, whose hospitality at\nthis place is well known. A never-failing source of pleasure was to\nascend the little hillock of rock (St. Lucia) which projects in the\nmiddle of the city. The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as\nI have said, very peculiar. I am informed that this same character\nis common to the cities on the great Mexican platform. Of the town\nI have nothing to say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as\nBuenos Ayres, but is built after the same model. I arrived here by\na circuit to the north; so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a\nrather longer excursion to the south of the direct road.\n\nSEPTEMBER 5, 1834.\n\nBy the middle of the day we arrived at one of the suspension\nbridges made of hide, which cross the Maypu, a large turbulent\nriver a few leagues southward of Santiago. These bridges are very\npoor affairs. The road, following the curvature of the suspending\nropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. It was\nfull of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the\nweight of a man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a\ncomfortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty\nseñoritas. They were much horrified at my having entered one of\ntheir churches out of mere curiosity. They asked me, \"Why do you\nnot become a Christian--for our religion is certain?\" I assured\nthem I was a sort of Christian; but they would not hear of\nit--appealing to my own words, \"Do not your padres, your very\nbishops, marry?\" The absurdity of a bishop having a wife\nparticularly struck them: they scarcely knew whether to be most\namused or horror-struck at such an enormity.\n\nSEPTEMBER 6, 1834.\n\nWe proceeded due south, and slept at Rancagua. The road passed over\nthe level but narrow plain, bounded on one side by lofty hills, and\non the other by the Cordillera. The next day we turned up the\nvalley of the Rio Cachapual, in which the hot-baths of Cauquenes,\nlong celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. The\nsuspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally\ntaken down during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the\ncase in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross the\nstream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for the foaming\nwater, though not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large\nrounded stones, that one's head becomes quite confused, and it is\ndifficult even to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or\nstanding still. In summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are\nquite impassable; their strength and fury are then extremely great,\nas might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We\nreached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being\nconfined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist of a\nsquare of miserable little hovels, each with a single table and\nbench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just without the\ncentral Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, with a good deal\nof wild beauty.\n\nThe mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of\ndislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which\nbetrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity of gas is\ncontinually escaping from the same orifices with the water. Though\nthe springs are only a few yards apart, they have very different\ntemperatures; and this appears to be the result of an unequal\nmixture of cold water: for those with the lowest temperature have\nscarcely any mineral taste. After the great earthquake of 1822 the\nsprings ceased, and the water did not return for nearly a year.\nThey were also much affected by the earthquake of 1835; the\ntemperature being suddenly changed from 118 to 92 degrees. (12/1.\nCaldcleugh in \"Philosophical Transactions\"  1836.) It seems\nprobable that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the\nearth would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances\nthan those nearer the surface. The man who had charge of the baths\nassured me that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful\nthan in winter. The former circumstance I should have expected,\nfrom the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water; but\nthe latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. The\nperiodical increase during the summer, when rain never falls, can,\nI think, only be accounted for by the melting of the snow: yet the\nmountains which are covered by snow during that season are three or\nfour leagues distant from the springs. I have no reason to doubt\nthe accuracy of my informer, who, having lived on the spot for\nseveral years, ought to be well acquainted with the\ncircumstance,--which, if true, certainly is very curious: for we\nmust suppose that the snow-water, being conducted through porous\nstrata to the regions of heat, is again thrown up to the surface by\nthe line of dislocated and injected rocks at Cauquenes; and the\nregularity of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this\ndistrict heated rock occurred at a depth not very great.\n\nOne day I rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot.\nShortly above that point, the Cachapual divides into two deep\ntremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into the great range.\nI scrambled up a peaked mountain, probably more than six thousand\nfeet high. Here, as indeed everywhere else, scenes of the highest\ninterest presented themselves. It was by one of these ravines that\nPincheira entered Chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. This\nis the same man whose attack on an estancia at the Rio Negro I have\ndescribed. He was a renegade half-caste Spaniard, who collected a\ngreat body of Indians together and established himself by a stream\nin the Pampas, which place none of the forces sent after him could\never discover. From this point he used to sally forth, and crossing\nthe Cordillera by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the\nfarm-houses and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous.\nPincheira was a capital horseman, and he made all around him\nequally good, for he invariably shot any one who hesitated to\nfollow him. It was against this man, and other wandering Indian\ntribes, that Rosas waged the war of extermination.\n\nSEPTEMBER 13, 1834.\n\n(PLATE 64.  CORDILLERAS FROM SANTIAGO DE CHILE.)\n\nWe left the baths of Cauquenes, and, rejoining the main road, slept\nat the Rio Claro. From this place we rode to the town of San\nFernando. Before arriving there, the last land-locked basin had\nexpanded into a great plain, which extended so far to the south\nthat the snowy summits of the more distant Andes were seen as if\nabove the horizon of the sea. San Fernando is forty leagues from\nSantiago; and it was my farthest point southward; for we here\nturned at right angles towards the coast. We slept at the\ngold-mines of Yaquil, which are worked by Mr. Nixon, an American\ngentleman, to whose kindness I was much indebted during the four\ndays I stayed at his house. The next morning we rode to the mines,\nwhich are situated at the distance of some leagues, near the summit\nof a lofty hill. On the way we had a glimpse of the lake\nTagua-tagua, celebrated for its floating islands, which have been\ndescribed by M. Gay. (12/2. \"Annales des Sciences Naturelles\"\nMarch, 1833. M. Gay, a zealous and able naturalist, was then\noccupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout the\nkingdom of Chile.) They are composed of the stalks of various dead\nplants intertwined together, and on the surface of which other\nliving ones take root. Their form is generally circular, and their\nthickness from four to six feet, of which the greater part is\nimmersed in the water. As the wind blows, they pass from one side\nof the lake to the other, and often carry cattle and horses as\npassengers.\n\nWhen we arrived at the mine, I was struck by the pale appearance of\nmany of the men, and inquired from Mr. Nixon respecting their\ncondition. The mine is 450 feet deep, and each man brings up about\n200 pounds weight of stone. With this load they have to climb up\nthe alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a\nzigzag line up the shaft. Even beardless young men, eighteen and\ntwenty years old, with little muscular development of their bodies\n(they are quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great\nload from nearly the same depth. A strong man, who is not\naccustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with merely\ncarrying up his own body. With this very severe labour, they live\nentirely on boiled beans and bread. They would prefer having bread\nalone; but their masters, finding that they cannot work so hard\nupon this, treat them like horses, and make them eat the beans.\nTheir pay is here rather more than at the mines of Jajuel, being\nfrom 24 to 28 shillings per month. They leave the mine only once in\nthree weeks; when they stay with their families for two days. One\nof the rules of this mine sounds very harsh, but answers pretty\nwell for the master. The only method of stealing gold is to secrete\npieces of the ore, and take them out as occasion may offer.\nWhenever the major-domo finds a lump thus hidden, its full value is\nstopped out of the wages of all the men; who thus, without they all\ncombine, are obliged to keep watch over each other.\n\nWhen the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an\nimpalpable powder; the process of washing removes all the lighter\nparticles, and amalgamation finally secures the gold-dust. The\nwashing, when described, sounds a very simple process; but it is\nbeautiful to see how the exact adaptation of the current of water\nto the specific gravity of the gold so easily separates the\npowdered matrix from the metal. The mud which passes from the mills\nis collected into pools, where it subsides, and every now and then\nis cleared out, and thrown into a common heap. A great deal of\nchemical action then commences, salts of various kinds effloresce\non the surface, and the mass becomes hard. After having been left\nfor a year or two, and then rewashed, it yields gold; and this\nprocess may be repeated even six or seven times; but the gold each\ntime becomes less in quantity, and the intervals required (as the\ninhabitants say, to generate the metal) are longer. There can be no\ndoubt that the chemical action, already mentioned, each time\nliberates fresh gold from some combination. The discovery of a\nmethod to effect this before the first grinding would without doubt\nraise the value of gold-ores many fold. It is curious to find how\nthe minute particles of gold, being scattered about and not\ncorroding, at last accumulate in some quantity. A short time since\na few miners, being out of work, obtained permission to scrape the\nground round the house and mill; they washed the earth thus got\ntogether, and so procured thirty dollars worth of gold. This is an\nexact counterpart of what takes place in nature. Mountains suffer\ndegradation and wear away, and with them the metallic veins which\nthey contain. The hardest rock is worn into impalpable mud, the\nordinary metals oxidate, and both are removed; but gold, platina,\nand a few others are nearly indestructible, and from their weight,\nsinking to the bottom, are left behind. After whole mountains have\npassed through this grinding mill, and have been washed by the hand\nof nature, the residue becomes metalliferous, and man finds it\nworth his while to complete the task of separation.\n\nBad as the above treatment of the miners appears, it is gladly\naccepted of by them; for the condition of the labouring\nagriculturists is much worse. Their wages are lower, and they live\nalmost exclusively on beans. This poverty must be chiefly owing to\nthe feudal-like system on which the land is tilled: the landowner\ngives a small plot of ground to the labourer, for building on and\ncultivating, and in return has his services (or those of a proxy)\nfor every day of his life, without any wages. Until a father has a\ngrown-up son, who can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one,\nexcept on occasional days, to take care of his own patch of ground.\nHence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring classes in\nthis country.\n\nThere are some old Indian ruins in this neighbourhood, and I was\nshown one of the perforated stones, which Molina mentions as being\nfound in many places in considerable numbers. They are of a\ncircular flattened form, from five to six inches in diameter, with\na hole passing quite through the centre. It has generally been\nsupposed that they were used as heads to clubs, although their form\ndoes not appear at all well adapted for that purpose. Burchell\nstates that some of the tribes in Southern Africa dig up roots by\nthe aid of a stick pointed at one end, the force and weight of\nwhich are increased by a round stone with a hole in it, into which\nthe other end is firmly wedged. (12/3. Burchell's \"Travels\" volume\n2 page 45.) It appears probable that the Indians of Chile formerly\nused some such rude agricultural instrument.\n\nOne day, a German collector in natural history, of the name of\nRenous, called, and nearly at the same time an old Spanish lawyer.\nI was amused at being told the conversation which took place\nbetween them. Renous speaks Spanish so well that the old lawyer\nmistook him for a Chilian. Renous alluding to me, asked him what he\nthought of the King of England sending out a collector to their\ncountry, to pick up lizards and beetles, and to break stones? The\nold gentleman thought seriously for some time, and then said, \"It\nis not well,--hay un gato encerrado aqui (there is a cat shut up\nhere). No man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such\nrubbish. I do not like it: if one of us were to go and do such\nthings in England, do not you think the King of England would very\nsoon send us out of his country?\" And this old gentleman, from his\nprofession, belongs to the better informed and more intelligent\nclasses! Renous himself, two or three years before, left in a house\nat San Fernando some caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed,\nthat they might turn into butterflies. This was rumoured through\nthe town, and at last the Padres and Governor consulted together,\nand agreed it must be some heresy. Accordingly, when Renous\nreturned, he was arrested.\n\nSEPTEMBER 19, 1834.\n\nWe left Yaquil, and followed the flat valley, formed like that of\nQuillota, in which the Rio Tinderidica flows. Even at these few\nmiles south of Santiago the climate is much damper; in consequence\nthere were fine tracts of pasturage which were not irrigated.\n(20th.) We followed this valley till it expanded into a great\nplain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of\nRancagua. We shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the\ninhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the\nPampas. Never having heard of these plains, I was much surprised at\nmeeting with such scenery in Chile. The plains belong to more than\none series of different elevations, and they are traversed by broad\nflat-bottomed valleys; both of which circumstances, as in\nPatagonia, bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. In\nthe steep cliffs bordering these valleys there are some large\ncaves, which no doubt were originally formed by the waves: one of\nthese is celebrated under the name of Cueva del Obispo; having\nformerly been consecrated. During the day I felt very unwell, and\nfrom that time till the end of October did not recover.\n\nSEPTEMBER 22, 1834.\n\nWe continued to pass over green plains without a tree. The next day\nwe arrived at a house near Navedad, on the sea-coast, where a rich\nHaciendero gave us lodgings. I stayed here the two ensuing days,\nand although very unwell, managed to collect from the tertiary\nformation some marine shells.\n\nSEPTEMBER 24, 1834.\n\nOur course was now directed towards Valparaiso, which with great\ndifficulty I reached on the 27th, and was there confined to my bed\ntill the end of October. During this time I was an inmate in Mr.\nCorfield's house, whose kindness to me I do not know how to\nexpress.\n\nI will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds\nof Chile. The Puma, or South American Lion, is not uncommon. This\nanimal has a wide geographical range; being found from the\nequatorial forests, throughout the deserts of Patagonia, as far\nsouth as the damp and cold latitudes (53 to 54 degrees) of Tierra\ndel Fuego. I have seen its footsteps in the Cordillera of central\nChile, at an elevation of at least 10,000 feet. In La Plata the\npuma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small\nquadrupeds; it there seldom attacks cattle or horses, and most\nrarely man. In Chile, however, it destroys many young horses and\ncattle, owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds: I\nheard, likewise, of two men and a woman who had been thus killed.\nIt is asserted that the puma always kills its prey by springing on\nthe shoulders, and then drawing back the head with one of its paws,\nuntil the vertebrae break: I have seen in Patagonia the skeletons\nof guanacos, with their necks thus dislocated.\n\nThe puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large\nbushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit is often the cause of\nits being discovered; for the condors wheeling in the air, every\nnow and then descend to partake of the feast, and being angrily\ndriven away, rise all together on the wing. The Chileno Guaso then\nknows there is a lion watching his prey--the word is given--and men\nand dogs hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a Gaucho in the\nPampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried\n\"A lion!\" I could never myself meet with any one who pretended to\nsuch powers of discrimination. It is asserted that if a puma has\nonce been betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been\nhunted, it never resumes this habit; but that having gorged itself,\nit wanders far away. The puma is easily killed. In an open country\nit is first entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged\nalong the ground till rendered insensible. At Tandeel (south of the\nPlata), I was told that within three months one hundred were thus\ndestroyed. In Chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees,\nand are then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. The dogs\nemployed in this chase belong to a particular breed, called\nLeoneros: they are weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers,\nbut are born with a particular instinct for this sport. The puma is\ndescribed as being very crafty: when pursued, it often returns on\nits former track, and then suddenly making a spring on one side,\nwaits there till the dogs have passed by. It is a very silent\nanimal, uttering no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during\nthe breeding season.\n\nOf birds, two species of the genus Pteroptochos (megapodius and\nalbicollis of Kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. The\nformer, called by the Chilenos \"el Turco,\" is as large as a\nfieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance; but its legs are\nmuch longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger: its colour is a\nreddish brown. The Turco is not uncommon. It lives on the ground,\nsheltered among the thickets which are scattered over the dry and\nsterile hills. With its tail erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be\nseen every now and then popping from one bush to another with\nuncommon quickness. It really requires little imagination to\nbelieve that the bird is ashamed of itself, and is aware of its\nmost ridiculous figure. On first seeing it, one is tempted to\nexclaim, \"A vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum,\nand has come to life again!\" It cannot be made to take flight\nwithout the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. The\nvarious loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the\nbushes are as strange as its appearance. It is said to build its\nnest in a deep hole beneath the ground. I dissected several\nspecimens: the gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles,\nvegetable fibres, and pebbles. From this character, from the length\nof its legs, scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils,\nshort and arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to\nconnect the thrushes with the gallinaceous order.\n\nThe second species (or P. albicollis) is allied to the first in its\ngeneral form. It is called Tapacolo, or \"cover your posterior;\" and\nwell does the shameless little bird deserve its name; for it\ncarries its tail more than erect, that is, inclined backwards\ntowards its head. It is very common, and frequents the bottoms of\nhedgerows, and the bushes scattered over the barren hills, where\nscarcely another bird can exist. In its general manner of feeding,\nof quickly hopping out of the thickets and back again, in its\ndesire of concealment, unwillingness to take flight, and\nnidification, it bears a close resemblance to the Turco; but its\nappearance is not quite so ridiculous. The Tapacolo is very crafty:\nwhen frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the\nbottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try with\nmuch address to crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an\nactive bird, and continually making a noise: these noises are\nvarious and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves,\nothers like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The\ncountry people say it changes its cry five times in the\nyear--according to some change of season, I suppose. (12/4. It is a\nremarkable fact that Molina, though describing in detail all the\nbirds and animals of Chile, never once mentions this genus, the\nspecies of which are so common, and so remarkable in their habits.\nWas he at a loss how to classify them, and did he consequently\nthink that silence was the more prudent course? It is one more\ninstance of the frequency of omissions by authors on those very\nsubjects where it might have been least expected.)\n\nTwo species of humming-birds are common; Trochilus forficatus is\nfound over a space of 2500 miles on the west coast, from the hot\ndry country of Lima to the forests of Tierra del Fuego--where it\nmay be seen flitting about in snow-storms. In the wooded island of\nChiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird,\nskipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps\nmore abundant than almost any other kind. I opened the stomachs of\nseveral specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in\nall, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a\ncreeper. When this species migrates in the summer southward, it is\nreplaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north.\nThis second kind (Trochilus gigas) is a very large bird for the\ndelicate family to which it belongs: when on the wing its\nappearance is singular. Like others of the genus, it moves from\nplace to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of\nSyrphus amongst flies, and Sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering\nover a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful\nmovement, totally different from that vibratory one common to most\nof the species, which produces the humming noise. I never saw any\nother bird where the force of its wings appeared (as in a\nbutterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body.\nWhen hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut\nlike a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. This\naction appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow\nmovements of its wings. Although flying from flower to flower in\nsearch of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of\ninsects, which I suspect are much more the object of its search\nthan honey. The note of this species, like that of nearly the whole\nfamily, is extremely shrill.\n\n\n(PLATE 65.  CHILIAN SPURS, STIRRUP, ETC.)\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n(PLATE 66.  OLD CHURCH, CASTRO, CHILOE.)\n\nChiloe.\nGeneral Aspect.\nBoat excursion.\nNative Indians.\nCastro.\nTame fox.\nAscend San Pedro.\nChonos Archipelago.\nPeninsula of Tres Montes.\nGranitic range.\nBoat-wrecked sailors.\nLow's Harbour.\nWild potato.\nFormation of peat.\nMyopotamus, otter and mice.\nCheucau and Barking-bird.\nOpetiorhynchus.\nSingular character of ornithology.\nPetrels.\n\nCHILOE AND CHONOS ISLANDS.\n\nNOVEMBER 10, 1834.\n\n\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed from Valparaiso to the south, for the purpose\nof surveying the southern part of Chile, the island of Chiloe, and\nthe broken land called the Chonos Archipelago, as far south as the\nPeninsula of Tres Montes. On the 21st we anchored in the bay of S.\nCarlos, the capital of Chiloe.\n\nThis island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather\nless than thirty. The land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is\ncovered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have\nbeen cleared round the thatched cottages. From a distance the view\nsomewhat resembles that of Tierra del Fuego; but the woods, when\nseen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. Many kinds of fine\nevergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take\nthe place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. In winter the\nclimate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. I\nshould think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate\nregions, where so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous,\nand the sky almost always clouded: to have a week of fine weather\nis something wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single\nglimpse of the Cordillera: during our first visit, once only the\nvolcano of Osorno stood out in bold relief, and that was before\nsunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun rose, the outline\ngradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky.\n\nThe inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, appear to\nhave three-fourths of Indian blood in their veins. They are an\nhumble, quiet, industrious set of men. Although the fertile soil,\nresulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks, supports a\nrank vegetation, yet the climate is not favourable to any\nproduction which requires much sunshine to ripen it. There is very\nlittle pasture for the larger quadrupeds; and in consequence, the\nstaple articles of food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. The people\nall dress in strong woollen garments, which each family makes for\nitself, and dyes with indigo of a dark blue colour. The arts,\nhowever, are in the rudest state;--as may be seen in their strange\nfashion of ploughing, their method of spinning, grinding corn, and\nin the construction of their boats. The forests are so impenetrable\nthat the land is nowhere cultivated except near the coast and on\nthe adjoining islets. Even where paths exist, they are scarcely\npassable from the soft and swampy state of the soil. The\ninhabitants, like those of Tierra del Fuego, move about chiefly on\nthe beach or in boats. Although with plenty to eat, the people are\nvery poor: there is no demand for labour, and consequently the\nlower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient to purchase\neven the smallest luxuries. There is also a great deficiency of a\ncirculating medium. I have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of\ncharcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carrying a\nplank to exchange for a bottle of wine. Hence every tradesman must\nalso be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes in\nexchange.\n\nNOVEMBER 24, 1834.\n\nThe yawl and whale-boat were sent under the command of Mr. (now\nCaptain) Sulivan to survey the eastern or inland coast of Chiloe;\nand with orders to meet the \"Beagle\" at the southern extremity of\nthe island; to which point she would proceed by the outside, so as\nthus to circumnavigate the whole. I accompanied this expedition,\nbut instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired horses to\ntake me to Chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. The\nroad followed the coast; every now and then crossing promontories\ncovered by fine forests. In these shaded paths it is absolutely\nnecessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood, which\nare squared and placed by the side of each other. From the rays of\nthe sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so\ndamp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse\nwould be able to pass along. I arrived at the village of Chacao\nshortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the\nnight.\n\nThe land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and\nthere were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest.\nChacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many\nvessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks\nin the straits, the Spanish government burnt the church, and thus\narbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate\nto S. Carlos. We had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son\nof the governor came down to reconnoitre us. Seeing the English\nflag hoisted at the yawl's masthead, he asked with the utmost\nindifference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In several\nplaces the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of\nmen-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of\na Spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot\ngovernment of Chile. All the men in power, however, had been\ninformed of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. While\nwe were eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. He had\nbeen a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish service, but now was\nmiserably poor. He gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two\ncotton handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco.\n\nNOVEMBER 25, 1834.\n\nTorrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down the coast as far\nas Huapi-lenou. The whole of this eastern side of Chiloe has one\naspect; it is a plain, broken by valleys and divided into little\nislands, and the whole thickly covered with one impervious\nblackish-green forest. On the margins there are some cleared\nspaces, surrounding the high-roofed cottages.\n\nNOVEMBER 26, 1834.\n\nThe day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of Orsono was spouting\nout volumes of smoke. This most beautiful mountain, formed like a\nperfect cone, and white with snow, stands out in front of the\nCordillera. Another great volcano, with a saddle-shaped summit,\nalso emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam.\nSubsequently we saw the lofty-peaked Corcovado--well deserving the\nname of \"el famoso Corcovado.\" Thus we beheld, from one point of\nview, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thousand feet\nhigh. In addition to this, far to the south there were other lofty\ncones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active,\nmust be in their origin volcanic. The line of the Andes is not, in\nthis neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in Chile; neither does it\nappear to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the\nearth. This great range, although running in a straight north and\nsouth line, owing to an optical deception always appeared more or\nless curved; for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's\neye necessarily converged like the radii of a semicircle, and as it\nwas not possible (owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the\nabsence of all intermediate objects) to judge how far distant the\nfarthest peaks were off, they appeared to stand in a flattish\nsemicircle.\n\nLanding at midday, we saw a family of pure Indian extraction. The\nfather was singularly like York Minster; and some of the younger\nboys, with their ruddy complexions, might have been mistaken for\nPampas Indians. Everything I have seen convinces me of the close\nconnexion of the different American tribes, who nevertheless speak\ndistinct languages. This party could muster but little Spanish, and\ntalked to each other in their own tongue. It is a pleasant thing to\nsee the aborigines advanced to the same degree of civilisation,\nhowever low that may be, which their white conquerors have\nattained. More to the south we saw many pure Indians: indeed, all\nthe inhabitants of some of the islets retain their Indian surnames.\nIn the census of 1832 there were in Chiloe and its dependencies\nforty-two thousand souls: the greater number of these appear to be\nof mixed blood. Eleven thousand retain their Indian surnames, but\nit is probable that not nearly all of these are of a pure breed.\nTheir manner of life is the same with that of the other poor\ninhabitants, and they are all Christians; but it is said that they\nyet retain some strange superstitious ceremonies, and that they\npretend to hold communication with the devil in certain caves.\nFormerly, every one convicted of this offence was sent to the\nInquisition at Lima. Many of the inhabitants who are not included\nin the eleven thousand with Indian surnames, cannot be\ndistinguished by their appearance from Indians. Gomez, the governor\nof Lemuy, is descended from noblemen of Spain on both sides; but by\nconstant intermarriages with the natives the present man is an\nIndian. On the other hand, the governor of Quinchao boasts much of\nhis purely kept Spanish blood.\n\nWe reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the island of\nCaucahue. The people here complained of want of land. This is\npartly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods, and\npartly to restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary,\nbefore buying ever so small a piece, to pay two shillings to the\nsurveyor for measuring each quadra (150 yards square), together\nwith whatever price he fixes for the value of the land. After his\nvaluation the land must be put up three times to auction, and if no\none bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. All these\nexactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, where the\ninhabitants are so extremely poor. In most countries, forests are\nremoved without much difficulty by the aid of fire; but in Chiloe,\nfrom the damp nature of the climate, and the sort of trees, it is\nnecessary first to cut them down. This is a heavy drawback to the\nprosperity of Chiloe. In the time of the Spaniards the Indians\ncould not hold land; and a family, after having cleared a piece of\nground, might be driven away, and the property seized by the\ngovernment. The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of\njustice by making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each\nman, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. The\nvalue of uncleared ground is very little. The government gave Mr.\nDouglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of these\ncircumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest near S.\nCarlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for 350 dollars, or\nabout 70 pounds sterling.\n\nThe two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the\nisland of Quinchao. This neighbourhood is the most cultivated part\nof the Archipelago; for a broad strip of land on the coast of the\nmain island, as well as on many of the smaller adjoining ones, is\nalmost completely cleared. Some of the farmhouses seemed very\ncomfortable. I was curious to ascertain how rich any of these\npeople might be, but Mr. Douglas says that no one can be considered\nas possessing a regular income. One of the richest landowners might\npossibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as 1000\npounds sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed\naway in some secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every\nfamily to have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground.\n\nNOVEMBER 30, 1834.\n\nEarly on Sunday morning we reached Castro, the ancient capital of\nChiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted place. The usual\nquadrangular arrangement of Spanish towns could be traced, but the\nstreets and plaza were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep\nwere browsing. The church, which stands in the middle, is entirely\nbuilt of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. The\npoverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that although\ncontaining some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was\nunable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary\nknife. No individual possessed either a watch or a clock; and an\nold man who was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed\nto strike the church bell by guess. The arrival of our boats was a\nrare event in this quiet retired corner of the world; and nearly\nall the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our\ntents. They were very civil, and offered us a house; and one man\neven sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon we paid\nour respects to the governor--a quiet old man, who, in his\nappearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an English\ncottager. At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient\nto drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers on. An\nIndian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen,\nbivouacked near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the\nmorning I asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had\npassed the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, \"Muy\nbien, señor.\"\n\nDECEMBER 1, 1834.\n\nWe steered for the island of Lemuy. I was anxious to examine a\nreported coal-mine which turned out to be lignite of little value,\nin the sandstone (probably of an ancient tertiary epoch) of which\nthese islands are composed. When we reached Lemuy we had much\ndifficulty in finding any place to pitch our tents, for it was\nspring-tide, and the land was wooded down to the water's edge. In a\nshort time we were surrounded by a large group of the nearly pure\nIndian inhabitants. They were much surprised at our arrival, and\nsaid one to the other, \"This is the reason we have seen so many\nparrots lately; the cheucau (an odd red-breasted little bird, which\ninhabits the thick forest, and utters very peculiar noises) has not\ncried 'beware' for nothing.\" They were soon anxious for barter.\nMoney was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for tobacco\nwas something quite extraordinary. After tobacco, indigo came next\nin value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. The latter\narticle was required for a very innocent purpose: each parish has a\npublic musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on\ntheir saint or feast days.\n\nThe people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. At certain\nseasons they catch also, in \"corrales,\" or hedges under water, many\nfish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. They\noccasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle;\nthe order in which they are here mentioned, expressing their\nrespective numbers. I never saw anything more obliging and humble\nthan the manners of these people. They generally began with stating\nthat they were poor natives of the place, and not Spaniards and\nthat they were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. At\nCaylen, the most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick\nof tobacco, of the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of\nwhich, the Indian stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out\nto be a fine duck; and with some cotton handkerchiefs, worth three\nshillings, three sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured.\nThe yawl at this place was anchored some way from the shore, and we\nhad fears for her safety from robbers during the night. Our pilot,\nMr. Douglas, accordingly told the constable of the district that we\nalways placed sentinels with loaded arms, and not understanding\nSpanish, if we saw any person in the dark, we should assuredly\nshoot him. The constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect\npropriety of this arrangement, and promised us that no one should\nstir out of his house during that night.\n\nDuring the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward. The\ngeneral features of the country remained the same, but it was much\nless thickly inhabited. On the large island of Tanqui there was\nscarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their\nbranches over the sea-beach. I one day noticed, growing on the\nsandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (Gunnera\nscabra), which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale.\nThe inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather\nwith the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. The leaf is\nnearly circular, but deeply indented on its margin. I measured one\nwhich was nearly eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than\ntwenty-four in circumference! The stalk is rather more than a yard\nhigh, and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous\nleaves, presenting together a very noble appearance.\n\nDECEMBER 6, 1834.\n\nWe reached Caylen, called \"el fin del Cristiandad.\" In the morning\nwe stopped for a few minutes at a house on the northern end of\nLaylec, which was the extreme point of South American Christendom,\nand a miserable hovel it was. The latitude is 43 degrees 10', which\nis two degrees farther south than the Rio Negro on the Atlantic\ncoast. These extreme Christians were very poor, and, under the plea\nof their situation, begged for some tobacco. As a proof of the\npoverty of these Indians, I may mention that shortly before this we\nhad met a man, who had travelled three days and a half on foot, and\nhad as many to return, for the sake of recovering the value of a\nsmall axe and a few fish. How very difficult it must be to buy the\nsmallest article, when such trouble is taken to recover so small a\ndebt.\n\nIn the evening we reached the island of San Pedro, where we found\nthe \"Beagle\" at anchor. In doubling the point, two of the officers\nlanded to take a round of angles with the theodolite. A fox (Canis\nfulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very\nrare in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks.\nHe was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers,\nthat I was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the\nhead with my geological hammer. This fox, more curious or more\nscientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is\nnow mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society.\n\nWe stayed three days in this harbour, on one of which Captain Fitz\nRoy, with a party, attempted to ascend to the summit of San Pedro.\nThe woods here had rather a different appearance from those on the\nnorthern part of the island. The rock, also, being micaceous slate,\nthere was no beach, but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the\nwater. The general aspect in consequence was more like that of\nTierra del Fuego than of Chiloe. In vain we tried to gain the\nsummit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who has not\nbeheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying and dead trunks.\nI am sure that often, for more than ten minutes together, our feet\nnever touched the ground, and we were frequently ten or fifteen\nfeet above it, so that the seamen as a joke called out the\nsoundings. At other times we crept one after another, on our hands\nand knees, under the rotten trunks. In the lower part of the\nmountain, noble trees of the Winter's Bark, and a laurel like the\nsassafras with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which I do\nnot know, were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. Here\nwe were more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal.\nOn the higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees,\nwith here and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. I was also\npleased to see, at an elevation of a little less than 1000 feet,\nour old friend the southern beech. They were, however, poor stunted\ntrees, and I should think that this must be nearly their northern\nlimit. We ultimately gave up the attempt in despair.\n\nDECEMBER 10, 1834.\n\n(PLATE 67.  INSIDE CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO.)\n\nThe yawl and whale-boat, with Mr. Sulivan, proceeded on their\nsurvey, but I remained on board the \"Beagle,\" which the next day\nleft San Pedro for the southward. On the 13th we ran into an\nopening in the southern part of Guayatecas, or the Chonos\nArchipelago; and it was fortunate we did so, for on the following\nday a storm, worthy of Tierra del Fuego, raged with great fury.\nWhite massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky, and\nacross them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven. The\nsuccessive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows, and the\nsetting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much like that\nproduced by the flame of spirits of wine. The water was white with\nthe flying spray, and the wind lulled and roared again through the\nrigging: it was an ominous, sublime scene. During a few minutes\nthere was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the\neffect of the spray, which, being carried along the surface of the\nwater, changed the ordinary semicircle into a circle--a band of\nprismatic colours being continued, from both feet of the common\narch across the bay, close to the vessel's side: thus forming a\ndistorted, but very nearly entire ring.\n\nWe stayed here three days. The weather continued bad: but this did\nnot much signify, for the surface of the land in all these islands\nis all but impassable. The coast is so very rugged that to attempt\nto walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down\nover the sharp rocks of mica-slate; and as for the woods, our\nfaces, hands, and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment\nwe received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden\nrecesses.\n\nDECEMBER 18, 1834.\n\nWe stood out to sea. On the 20th we bade farewell to the south, and\nwith a fair wind turned the ship's head northward. From Cape Tres\nMontes we sailed pleasantly along the lofty weather-beaten coast,\nwhich is remarkable for the bold outline of its hills, and the\nthick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. The\nnext day a harbour was discovered, which on this dangerous coast\nmight be of great service to a distressed vessel. It can easily be\nrecognised by a hill 1600 feet high, which is even more perfectly\nconical than the famous sugar-loaf at Rio de Janeiro. The next day,\nafter anchoring, I succeeded in reaching the summit of this hill.\nIt was a laborious undertaking, for the sides were so steep that in\nsome parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. There were\nalso several extensive brakes of the Fuchsia, covered with its\nbeautiful drooping flowers, but very difficult to crawl through. In\nthese wild countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of\nany mountain. There is an indefinite expectation of seeing\nsomething very strange, which, however often it may be balked,\nnever failed with me to recur on each successive attempt. Every one\nmust know the feeling of triumph and pride which a grand view from\na height communicates to the mind. In these little frequented\ncountries there is also joined to it some vanity, that you perhaps\nare the first man who ever stood on this pinnacle or admired this\nview.\n\nA strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being\nhas previously visited an unfrequented spot. A bit of wood with a\nnail in it is picked up and studied as if it were covered with\nhieroglyphics. Possessed with this feeling, I was much interested\nby finding, on a wild part of the coast, a bed made of grass\nbeneath a ledge of rock. Close by it there had been a fire, and the\nman had used an axe. The fire, bed, and situation showed the\ndexterity of an Indian; but he could scarcely have been an Indian,\nfor the race is in this part extinct, owing to the Catholic desire\nof making at one blow Christians and Slaves. I had at the time some\nmisgivings that the solitary man who had made his bed on this wild\nspot, must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor, who, in trying\nto travel up the coast, had here laid himself down for his dreary\nnight.\n\nDECEMBER 28, 1834.\n\nThe weather continued very bad, but it at last permitted us to\nproceed with the survey. The time hung heavy on our hands, as it\nalways did when we were delayed from day to day by successive gales\nof wind. In the evening another harbour was discovered, where we\nanchored. Directly afterwards a man was seen waving his shirt, and\na boat was sent which brought back two seamen. A party of six had\nrun away from an American whaling vessel, and had landed a little\nto the southward in a boat, which was shortly afterwards knocked to\npieces by the surf. They had now been wandering up and down the\ncoast for fifteen months, without knowing which way to go, or where\nthey were. What a singular piece of good fortune it was that this\nharbour was now discovered! Had it not been for this one chance,\nthey might have wandered till they had grown old men, and at last\nhave perished on this wild coast. Their sufferings had been very\ngreat, and one of their party had lost his life by falling from the\ncliffs. They were sometimes obliged to separate in search of food,\nand this explained the bed of the solitary man. Considering what\nthey had undergone, I think they had kept a very good reckoning of\ntime, for they had lost only four days.\n\nDECEMBER 30, 1834.\n\nWe anchored in a snug little cove at the foot of some high hills,\nnear the northern extremity of Tres Montes. After breakfast the\nnext morning a party ascended one of these mountains, which was\n2400 feet high. The scenery was remarkable. The chief part of the\nrange was composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of granite, which\nappeared as if they had been coeval with the beginning of the\nworld. The granite was capped with mica-slate, and this in the\nlapse of ages had been worn into strange finger-shaped points.\nThese two formations, thus differing in their outlines, agree in\nbeing almost destitute of vegetation. This barrenness had to our\neyes a strange appearance, from having been so long accustomed to\nthe sight of an almost universal forest of dark-green trees. I took\nmuch delight in examining the structure of these mountains. The\ncomplicated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of\ndurability--equally profitless, however, to man and to all other\nanimals. Granite to the geologist is classic ground: from its\nwidespread limits, and its beautiful and compact texture, few rocks\nhave been more anciently recognised. Granite has given rise,\nperhaps, to more discussion concerning its origin than any other\nformation. We generally see it constituting the fundamental rock,\nand, however formed, we know it is the deepest layer in the crust\nof this globe to which man has penetrated. The limit of man's\nknowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, which is\nperhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the realms of\nimagination.\n\nJANUARY 1, 1835.\n\nThe new year is ushered in with the ceremonies proper to it in\nthese regions. She lays out no false hopes: a heavy north-western\ngale, with steady rain, bespeaks the rising year. Thank God, we are\nnot destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to be in the\nPacific Ocean, where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven,--a\nsomething beyond the clouds above our heads.\n\nThe north-west winds prevailing for the next four days, we only\nmanaged to cross a great bay, and then anchored in another secure\nharbour. I accompanied the Captain in a boat to the head of a deep\ncreek. On the way the number of seals which we saw was quite\nastonishing: every bit of flat rock and parts of the beach were\ncovered with them. They appeared to be of a loving disposition, and\nlay huddled together, fast asleep, like so many pigs; but even pigs\nwould have been ashamed of their dirt, and of the foul smell which\ncame from them. Each herd was watched by the patient but\ninauspicious eyes of the turkey-buzzard. This disgusting bird, with\nits bald scarlet head, formed to wallow in putridity, is very\ncommon on the west coast, and their attendance on the seals shows\non what they rely for their food. We found the water (probably only\nthat of the surface) nearly fresh: this was caused by the number of\ntorrents which, in the form of cascades, came tumbling over the\nbold granite mountains into the sea. The fresh water attracts the\nfish, and these bring many terns, gulls, and two kinds of\ncormorant. We saw also a pair of the beautiful black-necked swans,\nand several small sea-otters, the fur of which is held in such high\nestimation. In returning, we were again amused by the impetuous\nmanner in which the heap of seals, old and young, tumbled into the\nwater as the boat passed. They did not remain long under water, but\nrising, followed us with outstretched necks, expressing great\nwonder and curiosity.\n\nJANUARY 7, 1835.\n\nHaving run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end of the\nChonos Archipelago, in Low's Harbour, where we remained a week. The\nislands were here, as in Chiloe, composed of a stratified, soft,\nlittoral deposit; and the vegetation in consequence was beautifully\nluxuriant. The woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the manner\nof an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. We also enjoyed from\nthe anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy cones of the\nCordillera, including \"el famoso Corcovado;\" the range itself had\nin this latitude so little height, that few parts of it appeared\nabove the tops of the neighbouring islets. We found here a party of\nfive men from Caylen, \"el fin del Cristiandad,\" who had most\nadventurously crossed in their miserable boat-canoe, for the\npurpose of fishing, the open space of sea which separates Chonos\nfrom Chiloe. These islands will, in all probability, in a short\ntime become peopled like those adjoining the coast of Chiloe.\n\nThe wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, on the\nsandy, shelly soil near the sea-beach. The tallest plant was four\nfeet in height. The tubers were generally small, but I found one,\nof an oval shape, two inches in diameter: they resembled in every\nrespect, and had the same smell as English potatoes; but when\nboiled they shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any\nbitter taste. They are undoubtedly here indigenous: they grow as\nfar south, according to Mr. Low, as latitude 50 degrees, and are\ncalled Aquinas by the wild Indians of that part: the Chilotan\nIndians have a different name for them. Professor Henslow, who has\nexamined the dried specimens which I brought home, says that they\nare the same with those described by Mr. Sabine from Valparaiso,\nbut that they form a variety which by some botanists has been\nconsidered as specifically distinct. (13/1. \"Horticultural\nTransactions\" volume 5 page 249. Mr. Caldeleugh sent home two\ntubers, which, being well manured, even the first season produced\nnumerous potatoes and an abundance of leaves. See Humboldt's\ninteresting discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown\nin Mexico,--in \"Political Essay on New Spain\" book 4 chapter 9.) It\nis remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile\nmountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for\nmore than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern\nislands.\n\nIn the central parts of the Chonos Archipelago (latitude 45\ndegrees), the forest has very much the same character with that\nalong the whole west coast, for 600 miles southward to Cape Horn.\nThe arborescent grass of Chiloe is not found here; while the beech\nof Tierra del Fuego grows to a good size, and forms a considerable\nproportion of the wood; not, however, in the same exclusive manner\nas it does farther southward. Cryptogamic plants here find a most\ncongenial climate. In the Strait of Magellan, as I have before\nremarked, the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their\narriving at perfection; but in these islands, within the forest,\nthe number of species and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and\nsmall ferns, is quite extraordinary. (13/2. By sweeping with my\ninsect-net, I procured from these situations a considerable number\nof minute insects, of the family of Staphylinidae, and others\nallied to Pselaphus, and minute Hymenoptera. But the most\ncharacteristic family in number, both of individuals and species,\nthroughout the more open parts of Chiloe and Chonos is that of\nTelephoridae.) In Tierra del Fuego trees grow only on the\nhillsides; every level piece of land being invariably covered by a\nthick bed of peat; but in Chiloe flat land supports the most\nluxuriant forests. Here, within the Chonos Archipelago, the nature\nof the climate more closely approaches that of Tierra del Fuego\nthan that of northern Chiloe; for every patch of level ground is\ncovered by two species of plants (Astelia pumila and Donatia\nmagellanica), which by their joint decay compose a thick bed of\nelastic peat.\n\nIn Tierra del Fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of\nthese eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the\nproduction of peat. Fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the\nother round the central tap-root, the lower ones soon decay, and in\ntracing a root downwards in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their\nplace, can be observed passing through every stage of\ndecomposition, till the whole becomes blended in one confused mass.\nThe Astelia is assisted by a few other plants,--here and there a\nsmall creeping Myrtus (M. nummularia), with a woody stem like our\ncranberry and with a sweet berry,--an Empetrum (E. rubrum), like\nour heath,--a rush (Juncus grandiflorus), are nearly the only ones\nthat grow on the swampy surface. These plants, though possessing a\nvery close general resemblance to the English species of the same\ngenera, are different. In the more level parts of the country, the\nsurface of the peat is broken up into little pools of water, which\nstand at different heights, and appear as if artificially\nexcavated. Small streams of water, flowing underground, complete\nthe disorganisation of the vegetable matter, and consolidate the\nwhole.\n\nThe climate of the southern part of America appears particularly\nfavourable to the production of peat. In the Falkland Islands\nalmost every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the\nwhole surface of the land, becomes converted into this substance:\nscarcely any situation checks its growth; some of the beds are as\nmuch as twelve feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when\ndry, that it will hardly burn. Although every plant lends its aid,\nyet in most parts the Astelia is the most efficient. It is rather a\nsingular circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs\nin Europe, that I nowhere saw moss forming by its decay any portion\nof the peat in South America. With respect to the northern limit at\nwhich the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow\ndecomposition which is necessary for its production, I believe that\nin Chiloe (latitude 41 to 42 degrees), although there is much\nswampy ground, no well-characterised peat occurs: but in the Chonos\nIslands, three degrees farther southward, we have seen that it is\nabundant. On the eastern coast in La Plata (latitude 35 degrees) I\nwas told by a Spanish resident who had visited Ireland, that he had\noften sought for this substance, but had never been able to find\nany. He showed me, as the nearest approach to it which he had\ndiscovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to\nallow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion.\n\nThe zoology of these broken islets of the Chonos Archipelago is, as\nmight have been expected, very poor. Of quadrupeds two aquatic\nkinds are common. The Myopotamus Coypus (like a beaver, but with a\nround tail) is well known from its fine fur, which is an object of\ntrade throughout the tributaries of La Plata. It here, however,\nexclusively frequents salt water; which same circumstance has been\nmentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the\nCapybara. A small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal does not\nfeed exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a large supply\nfrom a small red crab, which swims in shoals near the surface of\nthe water. Mr. Bynoe saw one in Tierra del Fuego eating a\ncuttle-fish; and at Low's Harbour, another was killed in the act of\ncarrying to its hole a large volute shell. At one place I caught in\na trap a singular little mouse (M. brachiotis); it appeared common\non several of the islets, but the Chilotans at Low's Harbour said\nthat it was not found in all. What a succession of chances, or what\nchanges of level must have been brought into play, thus to spread\nthese small animals throughout this broken archipelago! (13/3. It\nis said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their\nnests. If so, in the course of centuries, every now and then, one\nmight escape from the young birds. Some such agency is necessary,\nto account for the distribution of the smaller gnawing animals on\nislands not very near each other.)\n\nIn all parts of Chiloe and Chonos, two very strange birds occur,\nwhich are allied to, and replace, the Turco and Tapacolo of central\nChile. One is called by the inhabitants \"Cheucau\" (Pteroptochos\nrubecula): it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within\nthe damp forests. Sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at\nhand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the\ncheucau; at other times let him stand motionless and the\nred-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the\nmost familiar manner. It then busily hops about the entangled mass\nof rotting canes and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards.\nThe cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the Chilotans, on\naccount of its strange and varied cries. There are three very\ndistinct cries: One is called \"chiduco,\" and is an omen of good;\nanother, \"huitreu,\" which is extremely unfavourable; and a third,\nwhich I have forgotten. These words are given in imitation of the\nnoises; and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by\nthem. The Chilotans assuredly have chosen a most comical little\ncreature for their prophet. An allied species, but rather larger,\nis called by the natives \"Guid-guid\" (Pteroptochos Tarnii), and by\nthe English the barking-bird. This latter name is well given; for I\ndefy any one at first to feel certain that a small dog is not\nyelping somewhere in the forest. Just as with the cheucau, a person\nwill sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain may endeavour by\nwatching, and with still less chance by beating the bushes, to see\nthe bird; yet at other times the guid-guid fearlessly comes near.\nIts manner of feeding and its general habits are very similar to\nthose of the cheucau.\n\nOn the coast, a small dusky-coloured bird (Opetiorhynchus\nPatagonicus) is very common. (13/4. I may mention, as a proof of\nhow great a difference there is between the seasons of the wooded\nand the open parts of this coast, that on September 20th, in\nlatitude 34 degrees, these birds had young ones in the nest, while\namong the Chonos Islands, three months later in the summer, they\nwere only laying, the difference in latitude between these two\nplaces being about 700 miles.) It is remarkable from its quiet\nhabits; it lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a sandpiper.\nBesides these birds only few others inhabit this broken land. In my\nrough notes I describe the strange noises, which, although\nfrequently heard within these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb\nthe general silence. The yelping of the guid-guid, and the sudden\nwhew-whew of the cheucau, sometimes come from afar off, and\nsometimes from close at hand; the little black wren of Tierra del\nFuego occasionally adds its cry; the creeper (Oxyurus) follows the\nintruder screaming and twittering; the humming-bird may be seen\nevery now and then darting from side to side, and emitting, like an\ninsect, its shrill chirp; lastly, from the top of some lofty tree\nthe indistinct but plaintive note of the white-tufted\ntyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius) may be noticed. From the great\npreponderance in most countries of certain common genera of birds,\nsuch as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with\nthe peculiar forms above enumerated, as the commonest birds in any\ndistrict. In central Chile two of them, namely, the Oxyurus and\nScytalopus, occur, although most rarely. When finding, as in this\ncase, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the\ngreat scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created.\nBut it should always be recollected, that in some other country\nperhaps they are essential members of society, or at some former\nperiod may have been so. If America south of 37 degrees were sunk\nbeneath the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to\nexist in central Chile for a long period, but it is very improbable\nthat their numbers would increase. We should then see a case which\nmust inevitably have happened with very many animals.\n\nThese southern seas are frequented by several species of Petrels:\nthe largest kind, Procellaria gigantea, or nelly (quebrantahuesos,\nor break-bones, of the Spaniards), is a common bird, both in the\ninland channels and on the open sea. In its habits and manner of\nflight there is a very close resemblance with the albatross; and as\nwith the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together\nwithout seeing on what it feeds. The \"break-bones\" is, however, a\nrapacious bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at Port\nSt. Antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and\nflying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a\nblow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great petrels were seen\nkilling and devouring young gulls. A second species (Puffinus\ncinereus), which is common to Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast of\nPeru, is of a much smaller size than the P. gigantea, but, like it,\nof a dirty black colour. It generally frequents the inland sounds\nin very large flocks: I do not think I ever saw so many birds of\nany other sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island\nof Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for\nseveral hours in one direction. When part of the flock settled on\nthe water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from\nthem as of human beings talking in the distance.\n\nThere are several other species of petrels, but I will only mention\none other kind, the Pelacanoides Berardi, which offers an example\nof those extraordinary cases, of a bird evidently belonging to one\nwell-marked family, yet both in its habits and structure allied to\na very distinct tribe. This bird never leaves the quiet inland\nsounds. When disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the\nsurface, with the same movement takes flight. After flying by the\nrapid movement of its short wings for a space in a straight line,\nit drops, as if struck dead, and dives again. The form of its beak\nand nostrils, length of foot, and even the colouring of its\nplumage, show that this bird is a petrel: on the other hand, its\nshort wings and consequent little power of flight, its form of body\nand shape of tail, the absence of a hind toe to its foot, its habit\nof living, and its choice of situation, make it at first doubtful\nwhether its relationship is not equally close with the auks. It\nwould undoubtedly be mistaken for an auk, when seen from a\ndistance, either on the wing, or when diving and quietly swimming\nabout the retired channels of Tierra del Fuego.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n(PLATE 69.  ANTUCO VOLCANO, NEAR TALCAHUANO.)\n\nSan Carlos, Chiloe.\nOsorno in eruption, contemporaneously with Aconcagua and\nCoseguina.\nRide to Cucao.\nImpenetrable forests.\nValdivia.\nIndians.\nEarthquake.\nConcepcion.\nGreat earthquake.\nRocks fissured.\nAppearance of the former towns.\nThe sea black and boiling.\nDirection of the vibrations.\nStones twisted round.\nGreat wave.\nPermanent elevation of the land.\nArea of volcanic phenomena.\nThe connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces.\nCause of earthquakes.\nSlow elevation of mountain-chains.\n\nCHILOE AND CONCEPCION: GREAT EARTHQUAKE.\n\n(PLATE 70.  PANORAMIC VIEW OF COAST, CHILOE. OSORNO AND\nQUELLAYPO.)\n\n(PLATE 71.  INSIDE ISLAND OF CHILOE. SAN CARLOS.)\n(PLATE 68.  GUNNERA SCABRA, CHILOE.)\n\n\n\nOn January the 15th, 1835 we sailed from Low's Harbour, and three\ndays afterwards anchored a second time in the bay of S. Carlos in\nChiloe. On the night of the 19th the volcano of Osorno was in\naction. At midnight the sentry observed something like a large\nstar, which gradually increased in size till about three o'clock,\nwhen it presented a very magnificent spectacle. By the aid of a\nglass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the\nmidst of a great glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall\ndown. The light was sufficient to cast on the water a long bright\nreflection. Large masses of molten matter seem very commonly to be\ncast out of the craters in this part of the Cordillera. I was\nassured that when the Corcovado is in eruption, great masses are\nprojected upwards and are seen to burst in the air, assuming many\nfantastical forms, such as trees: their size must be immense, for\nthey can be distinguished from the high land behind S. Carlos,\nwhich is no less than ninety-three miles from the Corcovado. In the\nmorning the volcano became tranquil.\n\nI was surprised at hearing afterwards that Aconcagua in Chile, 480\nmiles northwards, was in action on the same night; and still more\nsurprised to hear that the great eruption of Coseguina (2700 miles\nnorth of Aconcagua), accompanied by an earthquake felt over 1000\nmiles, also occurred within six hours of this same time. This\ncoincidence is the more remarkable, as Coseguina had been dormant\nfor twenty-six years: and Aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of\naction. It is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence\nwas accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. If Vesuvius,\nEtna, and Hecla in Iceland (all three relatively nearer each other\nthan the corresponding points in South America), suddenly burst\nforth in eruption on the same night, the coincidence would be\nthought remarkable; but it is far more remarkable in this case,\nwhere the three vents fall on the same great mountain-chain, and\nwhere the vast plains along the entire eastern coast, and the\nupraised recent shells along more than 2000 miles on the western\ncoast, show in how equable and connected a manner the elevatory\nforces have acted.\n\nCaptain Fitz Roy being anxious that some bearings should be taken\non the outer coast of Chiloe, it was planned that Mr. King and\nmyself should ride to Castro, and thence across the island to the\nCapella de Cucao, situated on the west coast. Having hired horses\nand a guide, we set out on the morning of the 22nd. We had not\nproceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who\nwere bent on the same journey. Every one on this road acts on a\n\"hail-fellow-well-met\" fashion; and one may here enjoy the\nprivilege, so rare in South America, of travelling without\nfirearms. At first the country consisted of a succession of hills\nand valleys: nearer to Castro it became very level. The road itself\nis a curious affair; it consists in its whole length, with the\nexception of very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are\neither broad and laid longitudinally, or narrow and placed\ntransversely. In summer the road is not very bad: but in winter,\nwhen the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is\nexceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, the ground on each\nside becomes a morass, and is often overflowed: hence it is\nnecessary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by\ntransverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the earth.\nThese pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance of\nalighting on one of them is not small. It is remarkable, however,\nhow active custom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad\nparts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to\nthe other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On\nboth hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with\ntheir bases matted together by canes. When occasionally a long\nreach of this avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene\nof uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective,\nbecame hidden by the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which\nascended some steep hill.\n\nAlthough the distance from S. Carlos to Castro is only twelve\nleagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have\nbeen a great labour. I was told that several people had formerly\nlost their lives in attempting to cross the forest. The first who\nsucceeded was an Indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight\ndays, and reached S. Carlos: he was rewarded by the Spanish\ngovernment with a grant of land. During the summer, many of the\nIndians wander about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts,\nwhere the woods are not quite so thick), in search of the half-wild\ncattle which live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees. It\nwas one of these huntsmen who by chance discovered, a few years\nsince, an English vessel, which had been wrecked on the outer\ncoast. The crew were beginning to fail in provisions, and it is not\nprobable that, without the aid of this man, they would ever have\nextricated themselves from these scarcely penetrable woods. As it\nwas, one seaman died on the march, from fatigue. The Indians in\nthese excursions steer by the sun; so that if there is a\ncontinuance of cloudy weather, they cannot travel.\n\nThe day was beautiful, and the number of trees which were in full\nflower perfumed the air; yet even this could hardly dissipate the\neffect of the gloomy dampness of the forest. Moreover, the many\ndead trunks that stand like skeletons, never fail to give to these\nprimeval woods a character of solemnity, absent in those of\ncountries long civilised. Shortly after sunset we bivouacked for\nthe night. Our female companion, who was rather good-looking,\nbelonged to one of the most respectable families in Castro: she\nrode, however, astride, and without shoes or stockings. I was\nsurprised at the total want of pride shown by her and her brother.\nThey brought food with them, but at all our meals sat watching Mr.\nKing and myself whilst eating, till we were fairly shamed into\nfeeding the whole party. The night was cloudless; and while lying\nin our beds, we enjoyed the sight (and it is a high enjoyment) of\nthe multitude of stars which illumined the darkness of the forest.\n\nJANUARY 23, 1835.\n\nWe rose early in the morning, and reached the pretty quiet town of\nCastro by two o'clock. The old governor had died since our last\nvisit, and a Chileno was acting in his place. We had a letter of\nintroduction to Don Pedro, whom we found exceedingly hospitable and\nkind, and more disinterested than is usual on this side of the\ncontinent. The next day Don Pedro procured us fresh horses, and\noffered to accompany us himself. We proceeded to the\nsouth--generally following the coast, and passing through several\nhamlets, each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood. At\nVilipilli, Don Pedro asked the commandant to give us a guide to\nCucao. The old gentleman offered to come himself; but for a long\ntime nothing would persuade him that two Englishmen really wished\nto go to such an out-of-the-way place as Cucao. We were thus\naccompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was\nplainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer Indians towards\nthem. At Chonchi we struck across the island, following intricate\nwinding paths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, and\nsometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with corn and\npotato crops. This undulating woody country, partially cultivated,\nreminded me of the wilder parts of England, and therefore had to my\neye a most fascinating aspect. At Vilinco, which is situated on the\nborders of the lake of Cucao, only a few fields were cleared; and\nall the inhabitants appeared to be Indians. This lake is twelve\nmiles long, and runs in an east and west direction. From local\ncircumstances, the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day,\nand during the night it falls calm: this has given rise to strange\nexaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described to us at S. Carlos,\nwas quite a prodigy.\n\nThe road to Cucao was so very bad that we determined to embark in a\nperiagua. The commandant, in the most authoritative manner, ordered\nsix Indians to get ready to pull us over, without deigning to tell\nthem whether they would be paid. The periagua is a strange rough\nboat, but the crew were still stranger: I doubt if six uglier\nlittle men ever got into a boat together. They pulled, however,\nvery well and cheerfully. The stroke-oarsman gabbled Indian, and\nuttered strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver\ndriving his pigs. We started with a light breeze against us, but\nyet reached the Capella de Cucao before it was late. The country on\neach side of the lake was one unbroken forest. In the same periagua\nwith us a cow was embarked. To get so large an animal into a small\nboat appears at first a difficulty, but the Indians managed it in a\nminute. They brought the cow alongside the boat, which was heeled\ntowards her; then placing two oars under her belly, with their ends\nresting on the gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly\ntumbled the poor beast heels over head into the bottom of the boat,\nand then lashed her down with ropes. At Cucao we found an\nuninhabited hovel (which is the residence of the padre when he pays\nthis Capella a visit), where, lighting a fire, we cooked our\nsupper, and were very comfortable.\n\nThe district of Cucao is the only inhabited part on the whole west\ncoast of Chiloe. It contains about thirty or forty Indian families,\nwho are scattered along four or five miles of the shore. They are\nvery much secluded from the rest of Chiloe, and have scarcely any\nsort of commerce, except sometimes in a little oil, which they get\nfrom seal-blubber. They are tolerably dressed in clothes of their\nown manufacture, and they have plenty to eat. They seemed, however,\ndiscontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to\nwitness. These feelings are, I think, chiefly to be attributed to\nthe harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by\ntheir rulers. Our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved\nto the poor Indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free\nmen. They ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without\never condescending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners\nshould be paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with these\npoor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of cigars\nand maté. A lump of white sugar was divided between all present,\nand tasted with the greatest curiosity. The Indians ended all their\ncomplaints by saying, \"And it is only because we are poor Indians,\nand know nothing; but it was not so when we had a King.\"\n\nThe next day after breakfast we rode a few miles northward to Punta\nHuantamó. The road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even\nafter so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. I was\nassured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night\neven at Castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles\nacross a hilly and wooded country. We had some difficulty in\nreaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for\neverywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire.\nThe point itself is a bold rocky hill. It is covered by a plant\nallied, I believe, to Bromelia, and called by the inhabitants\nChepones. In scrambling through the beds, our hands were very much\nscratched. I was amused by observing the precaution our Indian\nguide took, in turning up his trousers, thinking that they were\nmore delicate than his own hard skin. This plant bears a fruit, in\nshape like an artichoke, in which a number of seed-vessels are\npacked: these contain a pleasant sweet pulp, here much esteemed. I\nsaw at Low's Harbour the Chilotans making chichi, or cider, with\nthis fruit: so true is it, as Humboldt remarks, that almost\neverywhere man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from\nthe vegetable kingdom. The savages, however, of Tierra del Fuego,\nand I believe of Australia, have not advanced thus far in the arts.\n\nThe coast to the north of Punta Huantamó is exceedingly rugged and\nbroken, and is fronted by many breakers, on which the sea is\neternally roaring. Mr. King and myself were anxious to return, if\nit had been possible, on foot along this coast; but even the\nIndians said it was quite impracticable. We were told that men have\ncrossed by striking directly through the woods from Cucao to S.\nCarlos, but never by the coast. On these expeditions, the Indians\ncarry with them only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparingly\ntwice a day.\n\nJANUARY 26, 1835.\n\nRe-embarking in the periagua, we returned across the lake, and then\nmounted our horses. The whole of Chiloe took advantage of this week\nof unusually fine weather, to clear the ground by burning. In every\ndirection volumes of smoke were curling upwards. Although the\ninhabitants were so assiduous in setting fire to every part of the\nwood, yet I did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in\nmaking extensive. We dined with our friend the commandant, and did\nnot reach Castro till after dark. The next morning we started very\nearly. After having ridden for some time, we obtained from the brow\nof a steep hill an extensive view (and it is a rare thing on this\nroad) of the great forest. Over the horizon of trees, the volcano\nof Corcovado, and the great flat-topped one to the north, stood out\nin proud pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long range\nshowed its snowy summit. I hope it will be long before I forget\nthis farewell view of the magnificent Cordillera fronting Chiloe.\nAt night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky, and the next morning\nreached S. Carlos. We arrived on the right day, for before evening\nheavy rain commenced.\n\nFEBRUARY 4, 1835.\n\nSailed from Chiloe. During the last week I made several short\nexcursions. One was to examine a great bed of now-existing shells,\nelevated 350 feet above the level of the sea: from among these\nshells, large forest-trees were growing. Another ride was to P.\nHuechucucuy. I had with me a guide who knew the country far too\nwell; for he would pertinaciously tell me endless Indian names for\nevery little point, rivulet, and creek. In the same manner as in\nTierra del Fuego, the Indian language appears singularly well\nadapted for attaching names to the most trivial features of the\nland. I believe every one was glad to say farewell to Chiloe; yet\nif we could forget the gloom and ceaseless rain of winter, Chiloe\nmight pass for a charming island. There is also something very\nattractive in the simplicity and humble politeness of the poor\ninhabitants.\n\nWe steered northward along shore, but owing to thick weather did\nnot reach Valdivia till the night of the 8th. The next morning the\nboat proceeded to the town, which is distant about ten miles. We\nfollowed the course of the river, occasionally passing a few\nhovels, and patches of ground cleared out of the otherwise unbroken\nforest; and sometimes meeting a canoe with an Indian family. The\ntown is situated on the low banks of the stream, and is so\ncompletely buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are\nmerely paths in an orchard. I have never seen any country where\napple-trees appeared to thrive so well as in this damp part of\nSouth America: on the borders of the roads there were many young\ntrees evidently self-sown. In Chiloe the inhabitants possess a\nmarvellously short method of making an orchard. At the lower part\nof almost every branch, small, conical, brown, wrinkled points\nproject: these are always ready to change into roots, as may\nsometimes be seen, where any mud has been accidentally splashed\nagainst the tree. A branch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in\nthe early spring, and is cut off just beneath a group of these\npoints, all the smaller branches are lopped off, and it is then\nplaced about two feet deep in the ground. During the ensuing summer\nthe stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bears fruit: I\nwas shown one which had produced as many as twenty-three apples,\nbut this was thought very unusual. In the third season the stump is\nchanged (as I have myself seen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded\nwith fruit. An old man near Valdivia illustrated his motto,\n\"Necesidad es la madre del invencion,\" by giving an account of the\nseveral useful things he manufactured from his apples. After making\ncider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse a white and\nfinely flavoured spirit; by another process he procured a sweet\ntreacle, or, as he called it, honey. His children and pigs seemed\nalmost to live, during this season of the year, in his orchard.\n\nFEBRUARY 11, 1835.\n\nI set out with a guide on a short ride, in which, however, I\nmanaged to see singularly little, either of the geology of the\ncountry or of its inhabitants. There is not much cleared land near\nValdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we\nentered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel,\nbefore reaching our sleeping-place for the night. The short\ndifference in latitude, of 150 miles, has given a new aspect to the\nforest compared with that of Chiloe. This is owing to a slightly\ndifferent proportion in the kinds of trees. The evergreens do not\nappear to be quite so numerous, and the forest in consequence has a\nbrighter tint. As in Chiloe, the lower parts are matted together by\ncanes: here also another kind (resembling the bamboo of Brazil and\nabout twenty feet in height) grows in clusters, and ornaments the\nbanks of some of the streams in a very pretty manner. It is with\nthis plant that the Indians make their chuzos, or long tapering\nspears. Our resting-house was so dirty that I preferred sleeping\noutside: on these journeys the first night is generally very\nuncomfortable, because one is not accustomed to the tickling and\nbiting of the fleas. I am sure, in the morning, there was not a\nspace on my legs of the size of a shilling which had not its little\nred mark where the flea had feasted.\n\nFEBRUARY 12, 1835.\n\nWe continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only\noccasionally meeting an Indian on horseback, or a troop of fine\nmules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains. In\nthe afternoon one of the horses knocked up; we were then on a brow\nof a hill, which commanded a fine view of the Llanos. The view of\nthese open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed in and\nburied in the wilderness of trees. The uniformity of a forest soon\nbecomes very wearisome. This west coast makes me remember with\npleasure the free, unbounded plains of Patagonia; yet, with the\ntrue spirit of contradiction, I cannot forget how sublime is the\nsilence of the forest. The Llanos are the most fertile and thickly\npeopled parts of the country, as they possess the immense advantage\nof being nearly free from trees. Before leaving the forest we\ncrossed some flat little lawns, around which single trees stood, as\nin an English park: I have often noticed with surprise, in wooded\nundulatory districts, that the quite level parts have been\ndestitute of trees. On account of the tired horse, I determined to\nstop at the Mission of Cudico, to the friar of which I had a letter\nof introduction. Cudico is an intermediate district between the\nforest and the Llanos. There are a good many cottages, with patches\nof corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to Indians. The tribes\ndependent on Valdivia are \"reducidos y cristianos.\" The Indians\nfarther northward, about Arauco and Imperial, are still very wild,\nand not converted; but they have all much intercourse with the\nSpaniards. The padre said that the Christian Indians did not much\nlike coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for\nreligion. The greatest difficulty is in making them observe the\nceremonies of marriage. The wild Indians take as many wives as they\ncan support, and a cacique will sometimes have more than ten: on\nentering his house, the number may be told by that of the separate\nfires. Each wife lives a week in turn with the cacique; but all are\nemployed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit. To be the wife\nof a cacique is an honour much sought after by the Indian women.\n\nThe men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those\nsouth of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a\npetticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All have their long\nhair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on their\nheads. These Indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones are\nprominent, and in general appearance they resemble the great\nAmerican family to which they belong; but their physiognomy seemed\nto me to be slightly different from that of any other tribe which I\nhad before seen. Their expression is generally grave, and even\naustere, and possesses much character: this may pass either for\nhonest bluntness or fierce determination. The long black hair, the\ngrave and much-lined features, and the dark complexion, called to\nmy mind old portraits of James I. On the road we met with none of\nthat humble politeness so universal in Chiloe. Some gave their\n\"mari-mari\" (good morning) with promptness, but the greater number\ndid not seem inclined to offer any salute. This independence of\nmanners is probably a consequence of their long wars, and the\nrepeated victories which they alone, of all the tribes in America,\nhave gained over the Spaniards.\n\nI spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. He was\nexceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from Santiago, had\ncontrived to surround himself with some few comforts. Being a man\nof some little education, he bitterly complained of the total want\nof society. With no particular zeal for religion, no business or\npursuit, how completely must this man's life be wasted! The next\nday, on our return, we met seven very wild-looking Indians, of whom\nsome were caciques that had just received from the Chilian\ngovernment their yearly small stipend for having long remained\nfaithful. They were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the\nother, with most gloomy faces. An old cacique, who headed them, had\nbeen, I suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for he\nseemed both extremely grave and very crabbed. Shortly before this,\ntwo Indians joined us, who were travelling from a distant mission\nto Valdivia concerning some lawsuit. One was a good-humoured old\nman, but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like an old\nwoman than a man. I frequently presented both of them with cigars;\nand though ready to receive them, and I daresay grateful, they\nwould hardly condescend to thank me. A Chilotan Indian would have\ntaken off his hat, and given his \"Dios le page!\" The travelling was\nvery tedious, both from the badness of the roads and from the\nnumber of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap\nover or to avoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, and\nnext morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded on board.\n\nA few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party of officers,\nand landed near the fort called Niebla. The buildings were in a\nmost ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. Mr. Wickham\nremarked to the commanding officer, that with one discharge they\nwould certainly all fall to pieces. The poor man, trying to put a\ngood face upon it, gravely replied, \"No, I am sure, sir, they would\nstand two!\" The Spaniards must have intended to have made this\nplace impregnable. There is now lying in the middle of the\ncourtyard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardness the\nrock on which it is placed. It was brought from Chile, and cost\n7000 dollars. The revolution having broken out prevented its being\napplied to any purpose, and now it remains a monument of the fallen\ngreatness of Spain.\n\nI wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my\nguide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a\nstraight line. He offered, however, to lead me, by following\nobscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless,\ntook no less than three hours! This man is employed in hunting\nstrayed cattle; yet, well as he must know the woods, he was not\nlong since lost for two whole days, and had nothing to eat. These\nfacts convey a good idea of the impracticability of the forests of\nthese countries. A question often occurred to me--how long does any\nvestige of a fallen tree remain? This man showed me one which a\nparty of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years ago; and\ntaking this as a criterion, I should think a bole a foot and a half\nin diameter would in thirty years be changed into a heap of mould.\n\nFEBRUARY 20,, 1835.\n\nThis day has been memorable in the annals of Valdivia, for the most\nsevere earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. I happened\nto be on shore, and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. It\ncame on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared\nmuch longer. The rocking of the ground was very sensible. The\nundulations appeared to my companion and myself to come from due\neast, whilst others thought they proceeded from south-west: this\nshows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive the direction of\nthe vibrations. There was no difficulty in standing upright, but\nthe motion made me almost giddy: it was something like the movement\nof a vessel in a little cross-ripple, or still more like that felt\nby a person skating over thin ice, which bends under the weight of\nhis body.\n\nA bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the\nearth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like\na thin crust over a fluid;--one second of time has created in the\nmind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would\nnot have produced. In the forest, as a breeze moved the trees, I\nfelt only the earth tremble, but saw no other effect. Captain Fitz\nRoy and some officers were at the town during the shock, and there\nthe scene was more striking; for although the houses, from being\nbuilt of wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the\nboards creaked and rattled together. The people rushed out of doors\nin the greatest alarm. It is these accompaniments that create that\nperfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus\nseen, as well as felt, their effects. Within the forest it was a\ndeeply interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. The\ntides were very curiously affected. The great shock took place at\nthe time of low water; and an old woman who was on the beach told\nme that the water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to\nhigh-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level;\nthis was also evident by the line of wet sand. The same kind of\nquick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few years since at\nChiloe, during a slight earthquake, and created much causeless\nalarm. In the course of the evening there were many weaker shocks,\nwhich seemed to produce in the harbour the most complicated\ncurrents, and some of great strength.\n\nMARCH 4, 1835.\n\nWe entered the harbour of Concepcion. While the ship was beating up\nto the anchorage, I landed on the island of Quiriquina. The\nmayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the terrible\nnews of the great earthquake of the 20th:--\"That not a house in\nConcepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy\nvillages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed\naway the ruins of Talcahuano.\" Of this latter statement I soon saw\nabundant proofs--the whole coast being strewed over with timber and\nfurniture as if a thousand ships had been wrecked. Besides chairs,\ntables, book-shelves, etc., in great numbers, there were several\nroofs of cottages, which had been transported almost whole. The\nstorehouses at Talcahuano had been burst open, and great bags of\ncotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the\nshore. During my walk round the island, I observed that numerous\nfragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adhering to\nthem, must recently have been lying in deep water, had been cast up\nhigh on the beach; one of these was six feet long, three broad, and\ntwo thick.\n\nThe island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of the\nearthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave. The\nground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines, perhaps\ncaused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this\nnarrow island. Some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard\nwide. Many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach; and the\ninhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips\nwould happen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary\nslate, which composes the foundation of the island, was still more\ncurious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as\ncompletely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder. This\neffect, which was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and\ndisplaced soil, must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise\nthere would not exist a block of solid rock throughout Chile; nor\nis this improbable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating\nbody is affected differently from the central part. It is, perhaps,\nowing to this same reason that earthquakes do not cause quite such\nterrific havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe\nthis convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of\nthe island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the\nsea and weather during the course of a whole century.\n\nThe next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode to\nConcepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet interesting\nspectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had formerly known them,\nit possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins\nwere so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little\nthe air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to\nimagine its former condition. The earthquake commenced at half-past\neleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened in the middle of\nthe night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one\nprovince amount to many thousands) must have perished, instead of\nless than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of running\nout of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone saved\nthem. In Concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood by itself,\na heap or line of ruins; but in Talcahuano, owing to the great\nwave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with\nhere and there part of a wall left standing, could be\ndistinguished. From this circumstance Concepcion, although not so\ncompletely desolated, was a more terrible, and if I may so call it,\npicturesque sight. The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo\nat Quiriquina told me that the first notice he received of it, was\nfinding both the horse he rode and himself rolling together on the\nground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. He also told me that\nsome cows which were standing on the steep side of the island were\nrolled into the sea. The great wave caused the destruction of many\ncattle; on one low island near the head of the bay, seventy animals\nwere washed off and drowned. It is generally thought that this has\nbeen the worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as the very\nsevere ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily be\nknown; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made any great\ndifference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerable small\ntremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the first\ntwelve days no less than three hundred were counted.\n\nAfter viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how the greater\nnumber of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The houses in many parts fell\noutwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little hillocks\nof brickwork and rubbish. Mr. Rouse, the English consul, told us\nthat he was at breakfast when the first movement warned him to run\nout. He had scarcely reached the middle of the courtyard, when one\nside of his house came thundering down. He retained presence of\nmind to remember that, if he once got on the top of that part which\nhad already fallen, he would be safe. Not being able from the\nmotion of the ground to stand, he crawled up on his hands and\nknees; and no sooner had he ascended this little eminence, than the\nother side of the house fell in, the great beams sweeping close in\nfront of his head. With his eyes blinded and his mouth choked with\nthe cloud of dust which darkened the sky, at last he gained the\nstreet. As shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes,\nno one dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knew whether\nhis dearest friends and relations were not perishing from the want\nof help. Those who had saved any property were obliged to keep a\nconstant watch, for thieves prowled about, and at each little\ntrembling of the ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and\ncried \"misericordia!\" and then with the other filched what they\ncould from the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, and\nflames burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselves ruined,\nand few had the means of providing food for the day.\n\nEarthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any\ncountry. If beneath England the now inert subterranean forces\nshould exert those powers which most assuredly in former geological\nages they have exerted, how completely would the entire condition\nof the country be changed! What would become of the lofty houses,\nthickly packed cities, great manufactories, the beautiful public\nand private edifices? If the new period of disturbance were first\nto commence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, how\nterrific would be the carnage! England would at once be bankrupt;\nall papers, records, and accounts would from that moment be lost.\nGovernment being unable to collect the taxes, and failing to\nmaintain its authority, the hand of violence and rapine would\nremain uncontrolled. In every large town famine would go forth,\npestilence and death following in its train.\n\nShortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance of\nthree or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a\nsmooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees,\nas it swept onwards with irresistible force. At the head of the bay\nit broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which rushed up to a\nheight of 23 vertical feet above the highest spring-tides. Their\nforce must have been prodigious; for at the Fort a cannon with its\ncarriage, estimated at four tons in weight, was moved 15 feet\ninwards. A schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, 200 yards\nfrom the beach. The first wave was followed by two others, which in\ntheir retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating objects. In one\npart of the bay, a ship was pitched high and dry on shore, was\ncarried off, again driven on shore, and again carried off. In\nanother part two large vessels anchored near together were whirled\nabout, and their cables were thrice wound round each other: though\nanchored at a depth of 36 feet, they were for some minutes aground.\nThe great wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of\nTalcahuano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some\nsailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat\nriding securely over the swell, if they could reach it before it\nbroke. One old woman with a little boy, four or five years old, ran\ninto a boat, but there was nobody to row it out: the boat was\nconsequently dashed against an anchor and cut in twain; the old\nwoman was drowned, but the child was picked up some hours\nafterwards clinging to the wreck. Pools of salt-water were still\nstanding amidst the ruins of the houses, and children, making boats\nwith old tables and chairs, appeared as happy as their parents were\nmiserable. It was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, how\nmuch more active and cheerful all appeared than could have been\nexpected. It was remarked with much truth, that from the\ndestruction being universal, no one individual was humbled more\nthan another, or could suspect his friends of coldness--that most\ngrievous result of the loss of wealth. Mr. Rouse, and a large party\nwhom he kindly took under his protection, lived for the first week\nin a garden beneath some apple-trees. At first they were as merry\nas if it had been a picnic; but soon afterwards heavy rain caused\nmuch discomfort, for they were absolutely without shelter.\n\nIn Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake it is\nsaid that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another\nlike the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. The water\nalso appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it \"became black, and\nexhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell.\" These latter\ncircumstances were observed in the Bay of Valparaiso during the\nearthquake of 1822; they may, I think, be accounted for by the\ndisturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea containing organic\nmatter in decay. In the Bay of Callao, during a calm day, I\nnoticed, that as the ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its\ncourse was marked by a line of bubbles. The lower orders in\nTalcahuano thought that the earthquake was caused by some old\nIndian women, who two years ago, being offended, stopped the\nvolcano of Antuco. This silly belief is curious, because it shows\nthat experience has taught them to observe that there exists a\nrelation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, and the\ntrembling of the ground. It was necessary to apply the witchcraft\nto the point where their perception of cause and effect failed; and\nthis was the closing of the volcanic vent. This belief is the more\nsingular in this particular instance because, according to Captain\nFitz Roy, there is reason to believe that Antuco was noways\naffected.\n\nThe town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanish fashion, with\nall the streets running at right angles to each other; one set\nranging south-west by west, and the other set north-west by north.\nThe walls in the former direction certainly stood better than those\nin the latter; the greater number of the masses of brickwork were\nthrown down towards the north-east. Both these circumstances\nperfectly agree with the general idea of the undulations having\ncome from the south-west; in which quarter subterranean noises were\nalso heard; for it is evident that the walls running south-west and\nnorth-east which presented their ends to the point whence the\nundulations came, would be much less likely to fall than those\nwalls which, running north-west and south-east, must in their whole\nlengths have been at the same instant thrown out of the\nperpendicular; for the undulations, coming from the south-west,\nmust have extended in north-west and south-east waves, as they\npassed under the foundations. This may be illustrated by placing\nbooks edgeways on a carpet, and then, after the manner suggested by\nMichell, imitating the undulations of an earthquake: it will be\nfound that they fall with more or less readiness, according as\ntheir direction more or less nearly coincides with the line of the\nwaves. The fissures in the ground generally, though not uniformly,\nextended in a south-east and north-west direction, and therefore\ncorresponded to the lines of undulation or of principal flexure.\nBearing in mind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to\nthe south-west as the chief focus of disturbance, it is a very\ninteresting fact that the island of S. Maria, situated in that\nquarter, was, during the general uplifting of the land, raised to\nnearly three times the height of any other part of the coast.\n\nThe different resistance offered by the walls, according to their\ndirection, was well exemplified in the case of the Cathedral. The\nside which fronted the north-east presented a grand pile of ruins,\nin the midst of which door-cases and masses of timber stood up, as\nif floating in a stream. Some of the angular blocks of brickwork\nwere of great dimensions; and they were rolled to a distance on the\nlevel plaza, like fragments of rock at the base of some high\nmountain. The side walls (running south-west and north-east),\nthough exceedingly fractured, yet remained standing; but the vast\nbuttresses (at right angles to them, and therefore parallel to the\nwalls that fell) were in many cases cut clean off, as if by a\nchisel, and hurled to the ground. Some square ornaments on the\ncoping of these same walls were moved by the earthquake into a\ndiagonal position. A similar circumstance was observed after an\nearthquake at Valparaiso, Calabria, and other places, including\nsome of the ancient Greek temples. (14/1. M. Arago in \"L'Institut\"\n1839 page 337. See also Miers's \"Chile\" volume 1 page 392; also\nLyell's \"Principles of Geology\" chapter 15 book 2.) This twisting\ndisplacement at first appears to indicate a vorticose movement\nbeneath each point thus affected; but this is highly improbable.\nMay it not be caused by a tendency in each stone to arrange itself\nin some particular position with respect to the lines of\nvibration,--in a manner somewhat similar to pins on a sheet of\npaper when shaken? Generally speaking, arched doorways or windows\nstood much better than any other part of the buildings.\nNevertheless, a poor lame old man, who had been in the habit,\nduring trifling shocks, of crawling to a certain doorway, was this\ntime crushed to pieces.\n\nI have not attempted to give any detailed description of the\nappearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quite impossible to\nconvey the mingled feelings which I experienced. Several of the\nofficers visited it before me, but their strongest language failed\nto give a just idea of the scene of desolation. It is a bitter and\nhumiliating thing to see works, which have cost man so much time\nand labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the\ninhabitants was almost instantly banished, by the surprise in\nseeing a state of things produced in a moment of time, which one\nwas accustomed to attribute to a succession of ages. In my opinion,\nwe have scarcely beheld, since leaving England, any sight so deeply\ninteresting.\n\nIn almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters of the\nsea are said to have been greatly agitated. The disturbance seems\ngenerally, as in the case of Concepcion, to have been of two kinds:\nfirst, at the instant of the shock, the water swells high up on the\nbeach with a gentle motion, and then as quietly retreats; secondly,\nsome time afterwards, the whole body of the sea retires from the\ncoast, and then returns in waves of overwhelming force. The first\nmovement seems to be an immediate consequence of the earthquake\naffecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that their respective\nlevels are slightly deranged: but the second case is a far more\nimportant phenomenon. During most earthquakes, and especially\nduring those on the west coast of America, it is certain that the\nfirst great movement of the waters has been a retirement. Some\nauthors have attempted to explain this, by supposing that the water\nretains its level, whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely\nthe water close to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would\npartake of the motion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by Mr.\nLyell, similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far\ndistant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case with\nJuan Fernandez during this earthquake, and with Madeira during the\nfamous Lisbon shock. I suspect (but the subject is a very obscure\none) that a wave, however produced, first draws the water from the\nshore, on which it is advancing to break: I have observed that this\nhappens with the little waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. It\nis remarkable that whilst Talcahuano and Callao (near Lima), both\nsituated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during\nevery severe earthquake from great waves, Valparaiso, seated close\nto the edge of profoundly deep water, has never been overwhelmed,\nthough so often shaken by the severest shocks. From the great wave\nnot immediately following the earthquake, but sometimes after the\ninterval of even half an hour, and from distant islands being\naffected similarly with the coasts near the focus of the\ndisturbance, it appears that the wave first rises in the offing;\nand as this is of general occurrence, the cause must be general: I\nsuspect we must look to the line where the less disturbed waters of\nthe deep ocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partaken\nof the movements of the land, as the place where the great wave is\nfirst generated; it would also appear that the wave is larger or\nsmaller, according to the extent of shoal water which has been\nagitated together with the bottom on which it rested.\n\nThe most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanent\nelevation of the land; it would probably be far more correct to\nspeak of it as the cause. There can be no doubt that the land round\nthe Bay of Concepcion was upraised two or three feet; but it\ndeserves notice, that owing to the wave having obliterated the old\nlines of tidal action on the sloping sandy shores, I could discover\nno evidence of this fact, except in the united testimony of the\ninhabitants, that one little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly\ncovered with water. At the island of S. Maria (about thirty miles\ndistant) the elevation was greater; on one part, Captain Fitz Roy\nfound beds of putrid mussel-shells STILL ADHERING TO THE ROCKS, ten\nfeet above high-water mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at\nlower-water spring-tides for these shells. The elevation of this\nprovince is particularly interesting, from its having been the\ntheatre of several other violent earthquakes, and from the vast\nnumbers of sea-shells scattered over the land, up to a height of\ncertainly 600, and I believe, of 1000 feet. At Valparaiso, as I\nhave remarked, similar shells are found at the height of 1300 feet:\nit is hardly possible to doubt that this great elevation has been\neffected by successive small uprisings, such as that which\naccompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and likewise by\nan insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress on some\nparts of this coast.\n\nThe island of Juan Fernandez, 360 miles to the north-east, was, at\nthe time of the great shock of the 20th, violently shaken, so that\nthe trees beat against each other, and a volcano burst forth under\nwater close to the shore: these facts are remarkable because this\nisland, during the earthquake of 1751, was then also affected more\nviolently than other places at an equal distance from Concepcion,\nand this seems to show some subterranean connexion between these\ntwo points. Chiloe, about 340 miles southward of Concepcion,\nappears to have been shaken more strongly than the intermediate\ndistrict of Valdivia, where the volcano of Villarica was noways\naffected, whilst in the Cordillera in front of Chiloe two of the\nvolcanos burst forth at the same instant in violent action. These\ntwo volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for a long time\nin eruption, and ten months afterwards were again influenced by an\nearthquake at Concepcion. Some men cutting wood near the base of\none of these volcanos, did not perceive the shock of the 20th,\nalthough the whole surrounding Province was then trembling; here we\nhave an eruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake,\nas would have happened at Concepcion, according to the belief of\nthe lower orders, if the volcano at Antuco had not been closed by\nwitchcraft. Two years and three-quarters afterwards Valdivia and\nChiloe were again shaken, more violently than on the 20th, and an\nisland in the Chonos Archipelago was permanently elevated more than\neight feet. It will give a better idea of the scale of these\nphenomena, if (as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to\nhave taken place at corresponding distances in Europe:--then would\nthe land from the North Sea to the Mediterranean have been\nviolently shaken, and at the same instant of time a large tract of\nthe eastern coast of England would have been permanently elevated,\ntogether with some outlying islands,--a train of volcanos on the\ncoast of Holland would have burst forth in action, and an eruption\ntaken place at the bottom of the sea, near the northern extremity\nof Ireland--and lastly, the ancient vents of Auvergne, Cantal, and\nMont d'Or would each have sent up to the sky a dark column of\nsmoke, and have long remained in fierce action. Two years and\nthree-quarters afterwards, France, from its centre to the English\nChannel, would have been again desolated by an earthquake, and an\nisland permanently upraised in the Mediterranean.\n\nThe space, from under which volcanic matter on the 20th was\nactually erupted, is 720 miles in one line, and 400 miles in\nanother line at right angles to the first: hence, in all\nprobability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of\nnearly double the area of the Black Sea. From the intimate and\ncomplicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptive forces were\nshown to be connected during this train of phenomena, we may\nconfidently come to the conclusion that the forces which slowly and\nby little starts uplift continents, and those which at successive\nperiods pour forth volcanic matter from open orifices, are\nidentical. From many reasons, I believe that the frequent quakings\nof the earth on this line of coast are caused by the rending of the\nstrata, necessarily consequent on the tension of the land when\nupraised, and their injection by fluidified rock. This rending and\ninjection would, if repeated often enough (and we know that\nearthquakes repeatedly affect the same areas in the same manner),\nform a chain of hills;--and the linear island of St. Mary, which\nwas upraised thrice the height of the neighbouring country, seems\nto be undergoing this process. I believe that the solid axis of a\nmountain differs in its manner of formation from a volcanic hill,\nonly in the molten stone having been repeatedly injected, instead\nof having been repeatedly ejected. Moreover, I believe that it is\nimpossible to explain the structure of great mountain-chains, such\nas that of the Cordillera, where the strata, capping the injected\naxis of plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along\nseveral parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on\nthis view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected,\nafter intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or\nwedges to cool and become solid;--for if the strata had been thrown\ninto their present highly-inclined, vertical, and even inverted\npositions, by a single blow, the very bowels of the earth would\nhave gushed out; and instead of beholding abrupt mountain-axes of\nrock solidified under great pressure, deluges of lava would have\nflowed out at innumerable points on every line of elevation. (14/2.\nFor a full account of the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the\nearthquake of the 20th, and for the conclusions deducible from\nthem, I must refer to Volume 5 of the \"Geological Transactions.\")\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n(PLATE 72.  HIDE BRIDGE, SANTIAGO DE CHILE.)\n\nValparaiso.\nPortillo Pass.\nSagacity of mules.\nMountain-torrents.\nMines, how discovered.\nProofs of the gradual elevation of the Cordillera.\nEffect of snow on rocks.\nGeological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct\norigin and upheaval.\nGreat subsidence.\nRed snow.\nWinds.\nPinnacles of snow.\nDry and clear atmosphere.\nElectricity.\nPampas.\nZoology of the opposite sides of the Andes.\nLocusts.\nGreat Bugs.\nMendoza.\nUspallata Pass.\nSilicified trees buried as they grew.\nIncas Bridge.\nBadness of the passes exaggerated.\nCumbre.\nCasuchas.\nValparaiso.\n\nPASSAGE OF THE CORDILLERA.\n\nMARCH 7, 1835.\n\n\n\nWe stayed three days at Concepcion, and then sailed for Valparaiso.\nThe wind being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the harbour\nof Concepcion before it was dark. Being very near the land, and a\nfog coming on, the anchor was dropped. Presently a large American\nwhaler appeared close alongside of us; and we heard the Yankee\nswearing at his men to keep quiet, whilst he listened for the\nbreakers. Captain Fitz Roy hailed him, in a loud clear voice, to\nanchor where he then was. The poor man must have thought the voice\ncame from the shore: such a Babel of cries issued at once from the\nship--every one hallooing out, \"Let go the anchor! veer cable!\nshorten sail!\" It was the most laughable thing I ever heard. If the\nship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could not have\nbeen a greater uproar of orders. We afterwards found that the mate\nstuttered: I suppose all hands were assisting him in giving his\norders.\n\nOn the 11th we anchored at Valparaiso, and two days afterwards I\nset out to cross the Cordillera. I proceeded to Santiago, where Mr.\nCaldcleugh most kindly assisted me in every possible way in making\nthe little preparations which were necessary. In this part of Chile\nthere are two passes across the Andes to Mendoza: the one most\ncommonly used, namely, that of Aconcagua or Uspallata--is situated\nsome way to the north; the other, called the Portillo, is to the\nsouth, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous.\n\nMARCH 18, 1835.\n\n(PLATE 73.  CHILENOS.)\n\nWe set out for the Portillo pass. Leaving Santiago we crossed the\nwide burnt-up plain on which that city stands, and in the afternoon\narrived at the Maypu, one of the principal rivers in Chile. The\nvalley, at the point where it enters the first Cordillera, is\nbounded on each side by lofty barren mountains; and although not\nbroad, it is very fertile. Numerous cottages were surrounded by\nvines, and by orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees--their\nboughs breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. In the\nevening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was examined.\nThe frontier of Chile is better guarded by the Cordillera than by\nthe waters of the sea. There are very few valleys which lead to the\ncentral ranges, and the mountains are quite impassable in other\nparts by beasts of burden. The custom-house officers were very\ncivil, which was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the\nPresident of the Republic had given me; but I must express my\nadmiration at the natural politeness of almost every Chileno. In\nthis instance, the contrast with the same class of men in most\nother countries was strongly marked. I may mention an anecdote with\nwhich I was at the time much pleased: we met near Mendoza a little\nand very fat negress, riding astride on a mule. She had a goitre so\nenormous that it was scarcely possible to avoid gazing at her for a\nmoment; but my two companions almost instantly, by way of apology,\nmade the common salute of the country by taking off their hats.\nWhere would one of the lower or higher classes in Europe have shown\nsuch feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object of a\ndegraded race?\n\nAt night we slept at a cottage. Our manner of travelling was\ndelightfully independent. In the inhabited parts we bought a little\nfirewood, hired pasture for the animals, and bivouacked in the\ncorner of the same field with them. Carrying an iron pot, we cooked\nand ate our supper under a cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. My\ncompanions were Mariano Gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me\nin Chile, and an \"arriero,\" with his ten mules and a \"madrina.\" The\nmadrina (or godmother) is a most important personage: she is an old\nsteady mare, with a little bell round her neck; and wherever she\ngoes, the mules, like good children, follow her. The affection of\nthese animals for their madrinas saves infinite trouble. If several\nlarge troops are turned into one field to graze, in the morning the\nmuleteers have only to lead the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle\ntheir bells; and although there may be two or three hundred\ntogether, each mule immediately knows the bell of its own madrina,\nand comes to her. It is nearly impossible to lose an old mule; for\nif detained for several hours by force, she will, by the power of\nsmell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the madrina,\nfor, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object of\naffection. The feeling, however, is not of an individual nature;\nfor I believe I am right in saying that any animal with a bell will\nserve as a madrina. In a troop each animal carries on a level road,\na cargo weighing 416 pounds (more than 29 stone), but in a\nmountainous country 100 pounds less; yet with what delicate slim\nlimbs, without any proportional bulk of muscle, these animals\nsupport so great a burden! The mule always appears to me a most\nsurprising animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason,\nmemory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance,\nand length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate\nthat art has here outdone nature. Of our ten animals, six were\nintended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes, each taking\nturn about. We carried a good deal of food in case we should be\nsnowed up, as the season was rather late for passing the Portillo.\n\nMARCH 19, 1835.\n\nWe rode during this day to the last, and therefore most elevated,\nhouse in the valley. The number of inhabitants became scanty; but\nwherever water could be brought on the land, it was very fertile.\nAll the main valleys in the Cordillera are characterised by having,\non both sides, a fringe or terrace of shingle and sand, rudely\nstratified, and generally of considerable thickness. These fringes\nevidently once extended across the valleys and were united; and the\nbottoms of the valleys in northern Chile, where there are no\nstreams, are thus smoothly filled up. On these fringes the roads\nare generally carried, for their surfaces are even, and they rise\nwith a very gentle slope up the valleys: hence, also, they are\neasily cultivated by irrigation. They may be traced up to a height\nof between 7000 and 9000 feet, where they become hidden by the\nirregular piles of debris. At the lower end or mouths of the\nvalleys they are continuously united to those land-locked plains\n(also formed of shingle) at the foot of the main Cordillera, which\nI have described in a former chapter as characteristic of the\nscenery of Chile, and which were undoubtedly deposited when the sea\npenetrated Chile, as it now does the more southern coasts. No one\nfact in the geology of South America interested me more than these\nterraces of rudely-stratified shingle. They precisely resemble in\ncomposition the matter which the torrents in each valley would\ndeposit if they were checked in their course by any cause, such as\nentering a lake or arm of the sea; but the torrents, instead of\ndepositing matter, are now steadily at work wearing away both the\nsolid rock and these alluvial deposits, along the whole line of\nevery main valley and side valley. It is impossible here to give\nthe reasons, but I am convinced that the shingle terraces were\naccumulated, during the gradual elevation of the Cordillera, by the\ntorrents delivering, at successive levels, their detritus on the\nbeach-heads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high up the\nvalleys, then lower and lower down as the land slowly rose. If this\nbe so, and I cannot doubt it, the grand and broken chain of the\nCordillera, instead of having been suddenly thrown up, as was till\nlately the universal, and still is the common opinion of\ngeologists, has been slowly upheaved in mass, in the same gradual\nmanner as the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific have risen within\nthe recent period. A multitude of facts in the structure of the\nCordillera, on this view receive a simple explanation.\n\n(PLATE 74.  SOUTH AMERICAN BIT.)\n\nThe rivers which flow in these valleys ought rather to be called\nmountain-torrents. Their inclination is very great, and their water\nthe colour of mud. The roar which the Maypu made, as it rushed over\nthe great rounded fragments, was like that of the sea. Amidst the\ndin of rushing waters, the noise from the stones, as they rattled\none over another, was most distinctly audible even from a distance.\nThis rattling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole\ncourse of the torrent. The sound spoke eloquently to the geologist;\nthe thousands and thousands of stones which, striking against each\nother, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one\ndirection. It was like thinking on time, where the minute that now\nglides past is irrevocable. So was it with these stones; the ocean\nis their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one\nmore step towards their destiny.\n\nIt is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by a slow\nprocess, any effect which is produced by a cause repeated so often\nthat the multiplier itself conveys an idea not more definite than\nthe savage implies when he points to the hairs of his head. As\noften as I have seen beds of mud, sand, and shingle, accumulated to\nthe thickness of many thousand feet, I have felt inclined to\nexclaim that causes, such as the present rivers and the present\nbeaches, could never have ground down and produced such masses.\nBut, on the other hand, when listening to the rattling noise of\nthese torrents, and calling to mind that whole races of animals\nhave passed away from the face of the earth, and that during this\nwhole period, night and day, these stones have gone rattling\nonwards in their course, I have thought to myself, can any\nmountains, any continent, withstand such waste?\n\nIn this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were from\n3000 to 6000 or 8000 feet high, with rounded outlines and steep\nbare flanks. The general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and\nthe stratification very distinct. If the scenery was not beautiful,\nit was remarkable and grand. We met during the day several herds of\ncattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the\nCordillera. This sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps,\nmore than was convenient for geologising. The house where we slept\nwas situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which are\nthe mines of S. Pedro de Nolasko. Sir F. Head marvels how mines\nhave been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the bleak\nsummit of the mountain of S. Pedro de Nolasko. In the first place,\nmetallic veins in this country are generally harder than the\nsurrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills,\nthey project above the surface of the ground. Secondly, almost\nevery labourer, especially in the northern parts of Chile,\nunderstands something about the appearance of ores. In the great\nmining provinces of Coquimbo and Copiapó, firewood is very scarce,\nand men search for it over every hill and dale; and by this means\nnearly all the richest mines have there been discovered.\nChanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred\nthousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was\ndiscovered by a man who threw a stone at his loaded donkey, and\nthinking that it was very heavy, he picked it up, and found it full\nof pure silver: the vein occurred at no great distance, standing up\nlike a wedge of metal. The miners, also, taking a crowbar with\nthem, often wander on Sundays over the mountains. In this south\npart of Chile the men who drive cattle into the Cordillera, and who\nfrequent every ravine where there is a little pasture, are the\nusual discoverers.\n\nMARCH 20, 1835.\n\nAs we ascended the valley, the vegetation, with the exception of a\nfew pretty alpine flowers, became exceedingly scanty; and of\nquadrupeds, birds, or insects, scarcely one could be seen. The\nlofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow,\nstood well separated from each other; the valleys being filled up\nwith an immense thickness of stratified alluvium. The features in\nthe scenery of the Andes which struck me most, as contrasted with\nthe other mountain chains with which I am acquainted, were,--the\nflat fringes sometimes expanding into narrow plains on each side of\nthe valleys,--the bright colours, chiefly red and purple, of the\nutterly bare and precipitous hills of porphyry, the grand and\ncontinuous wall-like dikes,--the plainly-divided strata which,\nwhere nearly vertical, formed the picturesque and wild central\npinnacles, but where less inclined, composed the great massive\nmountains on the outskirts of the range,--and lastly, the smooth\nconical piles of fine and brightly coloured detritus, which sloped\nup at a high angle from the base of the mountains, sometimes to a\nheight of more than 2000 feet.\n\nI frequently observed, both in Tierra del Fuego and within the\nAndes, that where the rock was covered during the greater part of\nthe year with snow, it was shivered in a very extraordinary manner\ninto small angular fragments. Scoresby has observed the same fact\nin Spitzbergen. (15/1. Scoresby's \"Arctic Regions\" volume 1 page\n122.) The case appears to me rather obscure: for that part of the\nmountain which is protected by a mantle of snow must be less\nsubject to repeated and great changes of temperature than any other\npart. I have sometimes thought that the earth and fragments of\nstone on the surface were perhaps less effectually removed by\nslowly percolating snow-water than by rain, and therefore that the\nappearance of a quicker disintegration of the solid rock under the\nsnow was deceptive. (15/2. I have heard it remarked in Shropshire\nthat the water, when the Severn is flooded from long-continued\nrain, is much more turbid than when it proceeds from the snow\nmelting on the Welsh mountains. D'Orbigny tome 1 page 184, in\nexplaining the cause of the various colours of the rivers in South\nAmerica, remarks that those with blue or clear water have their\nsource in the Cordillera, where the snow melts.) Whatever the cause\nmay be, the quantity of crumbling stone on the Cordillera is very\ngreat. Occasionally in the spring great masses of this detritus\nslide down the mountains, and cover the snow-drifts in the valleys,\nthus forming natural ice-houses. We rode over one, the height of\nwhich was far below the limit of perpetual snow.\n\nAs the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular basin-like\nplain, called the Valle del Yeso. It was covered by a little dry\npasture, and we had the pleasant sight of a herd of cattle amidst\nthe surrounding rocky deserts. The valley takes its name of Yeso\nfrom a great bed, I should think at least 2000 feet thick, of\nwhite, and in some parts quite pure, gypsum. We slept with a party\nof men, who were employed in loading mules with this substance,\nwhich is used in the manufacture of wine. We set out early in the\nmorning (21st), and continued to follow the course of the river,\nwhich had become very small, till we arrived at the foot of the\nridge that separates the waters flowing into the Pacific and\nAtlantic Oceans. The road, which as yet had been good with a steady\nbut very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag track up\nthe great range dividing the republics of Chile and Mendoza.\n\nI will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several\nparallel lines forming the Cordillera. Of these lines, there are\ntwo considerably higher than the others; namely, on the Chilian\nside, the Peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it, is\n13,210 feet above the sea; and the Portillo ridge, on the Mendoza\nside, which is 14,305 feet. The lower beds of the Peuquenes ridge,\nand of the several great lines to the westward of it, are composed\nof a vast pile, many thousand feet in thickness, of porphyries\nwhich have flowed as submarine lavas, alternating with angular and\nrounded fragments of the same rocks, thrown out of the submarine\ncraters. These alternating masses are covered in the central parts\nby a great thickness of red sandstone, conglomerate, and calcareous\nclay-slate, associated with, and passing into, prodigious beds of\ngypsum. In these upper beds shells are tolerably frequent; and they\nbelong to about the period of the lower chalk of Europe. It is an\nold story, but not the less wonderful, to hear of shells which were\nonce crawling on the bottom of the sea, now standing nearly 14,000\nfeet above its level. The lower beds in this great pile of strata\nhave been dislocated, baked, crystallised and almost blended\ntogether, through the agency of mountain masses of a peculiar white\nsoda-granitic rock.\n\nThe other main line, namely, that of the Portillo, is of a totally\ndifferent formation: it consists chiefly of grand bare pinnacles of\na red potash-granite, which low down on the western flank are\ncovered by a sandstone, converted by the former heat into a\nquartz-rock. On the quartz there rest beds of a conglomerate\nseveral thousand feet in thickness, which have been upheaved by the\nred granite, and dip at an angle of 45 degrees towards the\nPeuquenes line. I was astonished to find that this conglomerate was\npartly composed of pebbles, derived from the rocks, with their\nfossil shells, of the Peuquenes range; and partly of red\npotash-granite, like that of the Portillo. Hence we must conclude\nthat both the Peuquenes and Portillo ranges were partially upheaved\nand exposed to wear and tear when the conglomerate was forming; but\nas the beds of the conglomerate have been thrown off at an angle of\n45 degrees by the red Portillo granite (with the underlying\nsandstone baked by it), we may feel sure that the greater part of\nthe injection and upheaval of the already partially formed Portillo\nline took place after the accumulation of the conglomerate, and\nlong after the elevation of the Peuquenes ridge. So that the\nPortillo, the loftiest line in this part of the Cordillera, is not\nso old as the less lofty line of the Peuquenes. Evidence derived\nfrom an inclined stream of lava at the eastern base of the Portillo\nmight be adduced to show that it owes part of its great height to\nelevations of a still later date. Looking to its earliest origin,\nthe red granite seems to have been injected on an ancient\npre-existing line of white granite and mica-slate. In most parts,\nperhaps in all parts, of the Cordillera, it may be concluded that\neach line has been formed by repeated upheavals and injections; and\nthat the several parallel lines are of different ages. Only thus\ncan we gain time at all sufficient to explain the truly astonishing\namount of denudation which these great, though comparatively with\nmost other ranges recent, mountains have suffered.\n\nFinally, the shells in the Peuquenes or oldest ridge prove, as\nbefore remarked, that it has been upraised 14,000 feet since a\nSecondary period, which in Europe we are accustomed to consider as\nfar from ancient; but since these shells lived in a moderately deep\nsea, it can be shown that the area now occupied by the Cordillera\nmust have subsided several thousand feet--in northern Chile as much\nas 6000 feet--so as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata\nto have been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. The proof\nis the same with that by which it was shown that, at a much later\nperiod since the tertiary shells of Patagonia lived, there must\nhave been there a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an\nensuing elevation. Daily it is forced home on the mind of the\ngeologist that nothing, not even the wind that blows, is so\nunstable as the level of the crust of this earth.\n\nI will make only one other geological remark: although the Portillo\nchain is here higher than the Peuquenes, the waters, draining the\nintermediate valleys, have burst through it. The same fact, on a\ngrander scale, has been remarked in the eastern and loftiest line\nof the Bolivian Cordillera, through which the rivers pass:\nanalogous facts have also been observed in other quarters of the\nworld. On the supposition of the subsequent and gradual elevation\nof the Portillo line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets\nwould at first appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides\nwould be always wearing deeper and broader channels between them.\nAt the present day, even in the most retired Sounds on the coast of\nTierra del Fuego, the currents in the transverse breaks which\nconnect the longitudinal channels are very strong, so that in one\ntransverse channel even a small vessel under sail was whirled round\nand round.\n\nAbout noon we began the tedious ascent of the Peuquenes ridge, and\nthen for the first time experienced some little difficulty in our\nrespiration. The mules would halt every fifty yards, and after\nresting for a few seconds the poor willing animals started of their\nown accord again. The short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere\nis called by the Chilenos \"puna;\" and they have most ridiculous\nnotions concerning its origin. Some say \"All the waters here have\npuna;\" others that \"where there is snow there is puna;\"--and this\nno doubt is true. The only sensation I experienced was a slight\ntightness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving a\nwarm room and running quickly in frosty weather. There was some\nimagination even in this; for upon finding fossil shells on the\nhighest ridge, I entirely forgot the puna in my delight. Certainly\nthe exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration\nbecame deep and laborious: I am told that in Potosi (about 13,000\nfeet above the sea) strangers do not become thoroughly accustomed\nto the atmosphere for an entire year. The inhabitants all recommend\nonions for the puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in\nEurope for pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real\nservice:--for my part I found nothing so good as the fossil shells!\n\nWhen about half-way up we met a large party with seventy loaded\nmules. It was interesting to hear the wild cries of the muleteers,\nand to watch the long descending string of the animals; they\nappeared so diminutive, there being nothing but the black mountains\nwith which they could be compared. When near the summit, the wind,\nas generally happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. On each\nside of the ridge we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual\nsnow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. When we\nreached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was\npresented. The atmosphere resplendently clear; the sky an intense\nblue; the profound valleys; the wild broken forms: the heaps of\nruins, piled up during the lapse of ages; the bright-coloured\nrocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow, all these\ntogether produced a scene no one could have imagined. Neither plant\nnor bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher\npinnacles, distracted my attention from the inanimate mass. I felt\nglad that I was alone: it was like watching a thunderstorm, or\nhearing in full orchestra a chorus of the Messiah.\n\nOn several patches of the snow I found the Protococcus nivalis, or\nred snow, so well known from the accounts of Arctic navigators. My\nattention was called to it by observing the footsteps of the mules\nstained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. I\nat first thought that it was owing to dust blown from the\nsurrounding mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying\npower of the crystals of snow, the groups of these microscopical\nplants appeared like coarse particles. The snow was coloured only\nwhere it had thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed.\nA little rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled with a\nlittle brick-red. I afterwards scraped some off the paper, and\nfound that it consisted of groups of little spheres in colourless\ncases, each the thousandth part of an inch in diameter.\n\nThe wind on the crest of the Peuquenes, as just remarked, is\ngenerally impetuous and very cold: it is said to blow steadily from\nthe westward or Pacific side. (15/3. Dr. Gillies in \"Journal of\nNatural and Geographical Science\" August 1830. This author gives\nthe heights of the Passes.) As the observations have been chiefly\nmade in summer, this wind must be an upper and return current. The\nPeak of Teneriffe, with a less elevation, and situated in latitude\n28 degrees, in like manner falls within an upper return stream. At\nfirst it appears rather surprising that the trade-wind along the\nnorthern parts of Chile and on the coast of Peru should blow in so\nvery southerly a direction as it does; but when we reflect that the\nCordillera, running in a north and south line, intercepts, like a\ngreat wall, the entire depth of the lower atmospheric current, we\ncan easily see that the trade-wind must be drawn northward,\nfollowing the line of mountains, towards the equatorial regions,\nand thus lose part of that easterly movement which it otherwise\nwould have gained from the earth's rotation. At Mendoza, on the\neastern foot of the Andes, the climate is said to be subject to\nlong calms, and to frequent though false appearances of gathering\nrain-storms: we may imagine that the wind, which coming from the\neastward is thus banked up by the line of mountains, would become\nstagnant and irregular in its movements.\n\nHaving crossed the Peuquenes, we descended into a mountainous\ncountry, intermediate between the two main ranges, and then took up\nour quarters for the night. We were now in the republic of Mendoza.\nThe elevation was probably not under 11,000 feet, and the\nvegetation in consequence exceedingly scanty. The root of a small\nscrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and the\nwind was piercingly cold. Being quite tired with my days work, I\nmade up my bed as quickly as I could, and went to sleep. About\nmidnight I observed the sky became suddenly clouded: I awakened the\narriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he said\nthat without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a heavy\nsnow-storm. The peril is imminent, and the difficulty of subsequent\nescape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between the two\nranges. A certain cave offers the only place of refuge: Mr.\nCaldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained\nthere for some time by a heavy fall of snow. Casuchas, or houses of\nrefuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of Uspallata,\nand therefore, during the autumn, the Portillo is little\nfrequented. I may here remark that within the main Cordillera rain\nnever falls, for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in\nwinter snow-storms alone occur.\n\nAt the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the\ndiminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than\nit does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of\nthat of a Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for\nsome hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The\npot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled\nagain, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this by\noverhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come\nto the simple conclusion \"that the cursed pot (which was a new one)\ndid not choose to boil potatoes.\"\n\nMARCH 22, 1835.\n\nAfter eating our potato-less breakfast, we travelled across the\nintermediate tract to the foot of the Portillo range. In the middle\nof summer cattle are brought up here to graze; but they had now all\nbeen removed: even the greater number of the guanacos had decamped,\nknowing well that if overtaken here by a snow-storm, they would be\ncaught in a trap. We had a fine view of a mass of mountains called\nTupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken snow, in the midst of\nwhich there was a blue patch, no doubt a glacier;--a circumstance\nof rare occurrence in these mountains. Now commenced a heavy and\nlong climb, similar to that of the Peuquenes. Bold conical hills of\nred granite rose on each hand; in the valleys there were several\nbroad fields of perpetual snow. These frozen masses, during the\nprocess of thawing, had in some parts been converted into pinnacles\nor columns, which, as they were high and close together, made it\ndifficult for the cargo mules to pass. (15/4. This structure in\nfrozen snow was long since observed by Scoresby in the icebergs\nnear Spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by Colonel Jackson\n\"Journal of Geographical Society\" volume 5 page 12, on the Neva.\nMr. Lyell \"Principles\" volume 4 page 360, has compared the\nfissures, by which the columnar structure seems to be determined,\nto the joints that traverse nearly all rocks, but which are best\nseen in the non-stratified masses. I may observe that in the case\nof the frozen snow the columnar structure must be owing to a\n\"metamorphic\" action, and not to a process during DEPOSITION.) On\none of these columns of ice a frozen horse was sticking as on a\npedestal, but with its hind legs straight up in the air. The\nanimal, I suppose, must have fallen with its head downward into a\nhole, when the snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding\nparts must have been removed by the thaw.\n\nWhen nearly on the crest of the Portillo, we were enveloped in a\nfalling cloud of minute frozen spicula. This was very unfortunate,\nas it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. The\npass takes its name of Portillo from a narrow cleft or doorway on\nthe highest ridge, through which the road passes. From this point,\non a clear day, those vast plains which uninterruptedly extend to\nthe Atlantic Ocean can be seen. We descended to the upper limit of\nvegetation, and found good quarters for the night under the shelter\nof some large fragments of rock. We met here some passengers, who\nmade anxious inquiries about the state of the road. Shortly after\nit was dark the clouds suddenly cleared away, and the effect was\nquite magical. The great mountains, bright with the full moon,\nseemed impending over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice: one\nmorning, very early, I witnessed the same striking effect. As soon\nas the clouds were dispersed it froze severely; but as there was no\nwind, we slept very comfortably.\n\nThe increased brilliancy of the moon and stars at this elevation,\nowing to the perfect transparency of the atmosphere, was very\nremarkable. Travellers having observed the difficulty of judging\nheights and distances amidst lofty mountains, have generally\nattributed it to the absence of objects of comparison. It appears\nto me, that it is fully as much owing to the transparency of the\nair confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly\nto the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a\nlittle exertion,--habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the\nsenses. I am sure that this extreme clearness of the air gives a\npeculiar character to the landscape, all objects appearing to be\nbrought nearly into one plane, as in a drawing or panorama. The\ntransparency is, I presume, owing to the equable and high state of\natmospheric dryness. This dryness was shown by the manner in which\nwoodwork shrank (as I soon found by the trouble my geological\nhammer gave me); by articles of food, such as bread and sugar,\nbecoming extremely hard; and by the preservation of the skin and\nparts of the flesh of the beasts which had perished on the road. To\nthe same cause we must attribute the singular facility with which\nelectricity is excited. My flannel-waistcoat, when rubbed in the\ndark, appeared as if it had been washed with phosphorus,--every\nhair on a dog's back crackled;--even the linen sheets, and leathern\nstraps of the saddle, when handled, emitted sparks.\n\nMARCH 23, 1835.\n\nThe descent on the eastern side of the Cordillera is much shorter\nor steeper than on the Pacific side; in other words, the mountains\nrise more abruptly from the plains than from the alpine country of\nChile. A level and brilliantly white sea of clouds was stretched\nout beneath our feet, shutting out the view of the equally level\nPampas. We soon entered the band of clouds, and did not again\nemerge from it that day. About noon, finding pasture for the\nanimals and bushes for firewood at Los Arenales, we stopped for the\nnight. This was near the uppermost limit of bushes, and the\nelevation, I suppose, was between seven and eight thousand feet.\n\nI was much struck with the marked difference between the vegetation\nof these eastern valleys and those on the Chilian side: yet the\nclimate, as well as the kind of soil, is nearly the same, and the\ndifference of longitude very trifling. The same remark holds good\nwith the quadrupeds, and in a lesser degree with the birds and\ninsects. I may instance the mice, of which I obtained thirteen\nspecies on the shores of the Atlantic, and five on the Pacific, and\nnot one of them is identical. We must except all those species\nwhich habitually or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and\ncertain birds, which range as far south as the Strait of Magellan.\nThis fact is in perfect accordance with the geological history of\nthe Andes; for these mountains have existed as a great barrier\nsince the present races of animals have appeared; and therefore,\nunless we suppose the same species to have been created in two\ndifferent places, we ought not to expect any closer similarity\nbetween the organic beings on the opposite sides of the Andes than\non the opposite shores of the ocean. In both cases, we must leave\nout of the question those kinds which have been able to cross the\nbarrier, whether of solid rock or salt-water. (15/5. This is merely\nan illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down by Mr.\nLyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced\nby geological changes. The whole reasoning, of course, is founded\non the assumption of the immutability of species; otherwise the\ndifference in the species in the two regions might be considered as\nsuperinduced during a length of time.)\n\nA great number of the plants and animals were absolutely the same\nas, or most closely allied to, those of Patagonia. We here have the\nagouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo, the ostrich, certain\nkinds of partridges and other birds, none of which are ever seen in\nChile, but are the characteristic animals of the desert plains of\nPatagonia. We have likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a\nperson who is not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered\ngrass, and dwarf plants. Even the black slowly crawling beetles are\nclosely similar, and some, I believe, on rigorous examination,\nabsolutely identical. It had always been to me a subject of regret\nthat we were unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the S.\nCruz river before reaching the mountains: I always had a latent\nhope of meeting with some great change in the features of the\ncountry; but I now feel sure that it would only have been following\nthe plains of Patagonia up a mountainous ascent.\n\nMARCH 24, 1835.\n\nEarly in the morning I climbed up a mountain on one side of the\nvalley, and enjoyed a far extended view over the Pampas. This was a\nspectacle to which I had always looked forward with interest, but I\nwas disappointed: at the first glance it much resembled a distant\nview of the ocean, but in the northern parts many irregularities\nwere soon distinguishable. The most striking feature consisted in\nthe rivers, which, facing the rising sun, glittered like silver\nthreads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. At mid-day we\ndescended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and\nthree soldiers were posted to examine passports. One of these men\nwas a thoroughbred Pampas Indian: he was kept much for the same\npurpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who might pass by\nsecretly, either on foot or horseback. Some years ago a passenger\nendeavoured to escape detection by making a long circuit over a\nneighbouring mountain; but this Indian, having by chance crossed\nhis track, followed it for the whole day over dry and very stony\nhills, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully. We here\nheard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from the bright\nregion above, had poured down torrents of rain. The valley from\nthis point gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn\nhillocks compared to the giants behind; it then expanded into a\ngently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes.\nThis talus, although appearing narrow, must be nearly ten miles\nwide before it blends into the apparently dead level Pampas. We\npassed the only house in this neighbourhood, the Estancia of\nChaquaio: and at sunset we pulled up in the first snug corner, and\nthere bivouacked.\n\nMARCH 25, 1835.\n\nI was reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, by seeing the disk of\nthe rising sun intersected by an horizon level as that of the\nocean. During the night a heavy dew fell, a circumstance which we\ndid not experience within the Cordillera. The road proceeded for\nsome distance due east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry\nplain, it turned to the north towards Mendoza. The distance is two\nvery long days' journey. Our first day's journey was called\nfourteen leagues to Estacado, and the second seventeen to Luxan,\nnear Mendoza. The whole distance is over a level desert plain, with\nnot more than two or three houses. The sun was exceedingly\npowerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. There is very little\nwater in this \"traversia,\" and in our second day's journey we found\nonly one little pool. Little water flows from the mountains, and it\nsoon becomes absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that, although\nwe travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from the\nouter range of the Cordillera, we did not cross a single stream. In\nmany parts the ground was incrusted with a saline efflorescence;\nhence we had the same salt-loving plants which are common near\nBahia Blanca. The landscape has a uniform character from the Strait\nof Magellan, along the whole eastern coast of Patagonia, to the Rio\nColorado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends\ninland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as San Luis, and\nperhaps even farther north. To the eastward of this curved line\nlies the basin of the comparatively damp and green plains of Buenos\nAyres. The sterile plains of Mendoza and Patagonia consist of a bed\nof shingle, worn smooth and accumulated by the waves of the sea;\nwhile the Pampas, covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been\nformed by the ancient estuary mud of the Plata.\n\nAfter our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to see in\nthe distance the rows of poplars and willows growing round the\nvillage and river of Luxan. Shortly before we arrived at this place\nwe observed to the south a ragged cloud of a dark reddish-brown\ncolour. At first we thought that it was smoke from some great fire\non the plains; but we soon found that it was a swarm of locusts.\nThey were flying northward; and with the aid of a light breeze,\nthey overtook us at a rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. The\nmain body filled the air from a height of twenty feet to that, as\nit appeared, of two or three thousand above the ground; \"and the\nsound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses\nrunning to battle:\" or rather, I should say, like a strong breeze\npassing through the rigging of a ship. The sky, seen through the\nadvanced guard, appeared like a mezzotinto engraving, but the main\nbody was impervious to sight; they were not, however, so thick\ntogether, but that they could escape a stick waved backwards and\nforwards. When they alighted, they were more numerous than the\nleaves in the field, and the surface became reddish instead of\nbeing green: the swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew\nfrom side to side in all directions. Locusts are not an uncommon\npest in this country: already during this season several smaller\nswarms had come up from the south, where, as apparently in all\nother parts of the world, they are bred in the deserts. The poor\ncottagers in vain attempted by lighting fires, by shouts, and by\nwaving branches, to avert the attack. This species of locust\nclosely resembles, and perhaps is identical with, the famous\nGryllus migratorius of the East.\n\nWe crossed the Luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though\nits course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known: it is\neven doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not\nevaporated and lost. We slept in the village of Luxan, which is a\nsmall place surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern\ncultivated district in the Province of Mendoza; it is five leagues\nsouth of the capital. At night I experienced an attack (for it\ndeserves no less a name) of the Benchuca, a species of Reduvius,\nthe great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel\nsoft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's\nbody. Before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they\nbecome round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily\ncrushed. One which I caught at Iquique (for they are found in Chile\nand Peru) was very empty. When placed on a table, and though\nsurrounded by people, if a finger was presented, the bold insect\nwould immediately protrude its sucker, make a charge, and if\nallowed, draw blood. No pain was caused by the wound. It was\ncurious to watch its body during the act of sucking, as in less\nthan ten minutes it changed from being as flat as a wafer to a\nglobular form. This one feast, for which the benchuca was indebted\nto one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months; but,\nafter the first fortnight, it was quite ready to have another suck.\n\nMARCH 27, 1835.\n\nWe rode on to Mendoza. The country was beautifully cultivated, and\nresembled Chile. This neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit;\nand certainly nothing could appear more flourishing than the\nvineyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. We bought\nwater-melons nearly twice as large as a man's head, most\ndeliciously cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and\nfor the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. The\ncultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small; there\nis little more than that which we passed through between Luxan and\nthe Capital. The land, as in Chile, owes its fertility entirely to\nartificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how\nextraordinarily productive a barren traversia is thus rendered.\n\nWe stayed the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity of the place\nhas much declined of late years. The inhabitants say \"it is good to\nlive in, but very bad to grow rich in.\" The lower orders have the\nlounging, reckless manners of the Gauchos of the Pampas; and their\ndress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same. To my\nmind the town had a stupid, forlorn aspect. Neither the boasted\nalameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of\nSantiago; but to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just\ncrossed the unvaried Pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear\ndelightful. Sir F. Head, speaking of the inhabitants, says, \"They\neat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep--and\ncould they do better?\" I quite agree with Sir F. Head: the happy\ndoom of the Mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle.\n\nMARCH 29, 1835.\n\nWe set out on our return to Chile by the Uspallata pass situated\nnorth of Mendoza. We had to cross a long and most sterile traversia\nof fifteen leagues. The soil in parts was absolutely bare, in\nothers covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable\nspines, and called by the inhabitants \"little lions.\" There were,\nalso, a few low bushes. Although the plain is nearly three thousand\nfeet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat, as\nwell as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling\nextremely irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel to\nthe Cordillera, but gradually approaching them. Before sunset we\nentered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on the\nplain: this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up\nthe house of Villa Vicencio is situated. As we had ridden all day\nwithout a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very\nthirsty, and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows\ndown this valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water\nmade its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by\ndegrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water appeared;\nthese soon became connected; and at Villa Vicencio there was a nice\nlittle rivulet.\n\nMARCH 30, 1835.\n\nThe solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of Villa Vicencio\nhas been mentioned by every traveller who has crossed the Andes. I\nstayed here and at some neighbouring mines during the two\nsucceeding days. The geology of the surrounding country is very\ncurious. The Uspallata range is separated from the main Cordillera\nby a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in\nChile, but higher, being six thousand feet above the sea. This\nrange has nearly the same geographical position with respect to the\nCordillera, which the gigantic Portillo line has, but it is of a\ntotally different origin: it consists of various kinds of submarine\nlava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other remarkable\nsedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close resemblance to\nsome of the tertiary beds on the shores of the Pacific. From this\nresemblance I expected to find silicified wood, which is generally\ncharacteristic of those formations. I was gratified in a very\nextraordinary manner. In the central part of the range, at an\nelevation of about seven thousand feet, I observed on a bare slope\nsome snow-white projecting columns. These were petrified trees,\neleven being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into\ncoarsely-crystallised white calcareous spar. They were abruptly\nbroken off, the upright stumps projecting a few feet above the\nground. The trunks measured from three to five feet each in\ncircumference. They stood a little way apart from each other, but\nthe whole formed one group. Mr. Robert Brown has been kind enough\nto examine the wood: he says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking\nof the character of the Araucarian family, but with some curious\npoints of affinity with the yew. The volcanic sandstone in which\nthe trees were embedded, and from the lower part of which they must\nhave sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers around their\ntrunks; and the stone yet retained the impression of the bark.\n\nIt required little geological practice to interpret the marvellous\nstory which this scene at once unfolded; though I confess I was at\nfirst so much astonished that I could scarcely believe the plainest\nevidence. I saw the spot where a cluster of fine trees once waved\ntheir branches on the shores of the Atlantic, when that ocean (now\ndriven back 700 miles) came to the foot of the Andes. I saw that\nthey had sprung from a volcanic soil which had been raised above\nthe level of the sea, and that subsequently this dry land, with its\nupright trees, had been let down into the depths of the ocean. In\nthese depths, the formerly dry land was covered by sedimentary\nbeds, and these again by enormous streams of submarine lava--one\nsuch mass attaining the thickness of a thousand feet; and these\ndeluges of molten stone and aqueous deposits five times alternately\nhad been spread out. The ocean which received such thick masses\nmust have been profoundly deep; but again the subterranean forces\nexerted themselves, and I now beheld the bed of that ocean, forming\na chain of mountains more than seven thousand feet in height. Nor\nhad those antagonistic forces been dormant, which are always at\nwork wearing down the surface of the land; the great piles of\nstrata had been intersected by many wide valleys, and the trees,\nnow changed into silex, were exposed projecting from the volcanic\nsoil, now changed into rock, whence formerly, in a green and\nbudding state, they had raised their lofty heads. Now, all is\nutterly irreclaimable and desert; even the lichen cannot adhere to\nthe stony casts of former trees. Vast, and scarcely comprehensible\nas such changes must ever appear, yet they have all occurred within\na period, recent when compared with the history of the Cordillera;\nand the Cordillera itself is absolutely modern as compared with\nmany of the fossiliferous strata of Europe and America.\n\nAPRIL 1, 1835.\n\nWe crossed the Uspallata range, and at night slept at the\ncustom-house--the only inhabited spot on the plain. Shortly before\nleaving the mountains, there was a very extraordinary view; red,\npurple, green, and quite white sedimentary rocks, alternating with\nblack lavas, were broken up and thrown into all kinds of disorder\nby masses of porphyry of every shade of colour, from dark brown to\nthe brightest lilac. It was the first view I ever saw, which really\nresembled those pretty sections which geologists make of the inside\nof the earth.\n\nThe next day we crossed the plain, and followed the course of the\nsame great mountain stream which flows by Luxan. Here it was a\nfurious torrent, quite impassable, and appeared larger than in the\nlow country, as was the case with the rivulet of Villa Vicencio. On\nthe evening of the succeeding day we reached the Rio de las Vacas,\nwhich is considered the worst stream in the Cordillera to cross. As\nall these rivers have a rapid and short course, and are formed by\nthe melting of the snow, the hour of the day makes a considerable\ndifference in their volume. In the evening the stream is muddy and\nfull, but about daybreak it becomes clearer and much less\nimpetuous. This we found to be the case with the Rio Vacas, and in\nthe morning we crossed it with little difficulty.\n\nThe scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared with that of\nthe Portillo pass. Little can be seen beyond the bare walls of the\none grand, flat-bottomed valley, which the road follows up to the\nhighest crest. The valley and the huge rocky mountains are\nextremely barren: during the two previous nights the poor mules had\nabsolutely nothing to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes,\nscarcely a plant can be seen. In the course of this day we crossed\nsome of the worst passes in the Cordillera, but their danger has\nbeen much exaggerated. I was told that if I attempted to pass on\nfoot, my head would turn giddy, and that there was no room to\ndismount; but I did not see a place where any one might not have\nwalked over backwards, or got off his mule on either side. One of\nthe bad passes, called las Animas (the Souls), I had crossed, and\ndid not find out till a day afterwards that it was one of the awful\ndangers. No doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should\nstumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; but of\nthis there is little chance. I daresay, in the spring, the\n\"laderas,\" or roads, which each year are formed anew across the\npiles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what I saw, I\nsuspect the real danger is nothing. With cargo-mules the case is\nrather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals,\noccasionally running against each other, or against a point of\nrock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices. In\ncrossing the rivers I can well believe that the difficulty may be\nvery great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the\nsummer they must be very hazardous. I can quite imagine, as Sir F.\nHead describes, the different expressions of those who HAVE passed\nthe gulf, and those who ARE passing. I never heard of any man being\ndrowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. The arriero\ntells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to\ncross as she likes: the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often\nlost.\n\nAPRIL 4, 1835.\n\nFrom the Rio de las Vacas to the Puente del Incas, half a day's\njourney. As there was pasture for the mules, and geology for me, we\nbivouacked here for the night. When one hears of a natural Bridge,\none pictures to oneself some deep and narrow ravine, across which a\nbold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch hollowed out like the\nvault of a cavern. Instead of this, the Incas Bridge consists of a\ncrust of stratified shingle cemented together by the deposits of\nthe neighbouring hot springs. It appears as if the stream had\nscooped out a channel on one side, leaving an overhanging ledge,\nwhich was met by earth and stones falling down from the opposite\ncliff. Certainly an oblique junction, as would happen in such a\ncase, was very distinct on one side. The Bridge of the Incas is by\nno means worthy of the great monarchs whose name it bears.\n\nAPRIL 5, 1835.\n\nWe had a long day's ride across the central ridge, from the Incas\nBridge to the Ojos del Agua, which are situated near the lowest\ncasucha on the Chilian side. These casuchas are round little\ntowers, with steps outside to reach the floor, which is raised some\nfeet above the ground on account of the snow-drifts. They are eight\nin number, and under the Spanish government were kept during the\nwinter well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had a\nmaster-key. Now they only answer the purpose of caves, or rather\ndungeons. Seated on some little eminence, they are not, however,\nill suited to the surrounding scene of desolation. The zigzag\nascent of the Cumbre, or the partition of the waters, was very\nsteep and tedious; its height, according to Mr. Pentland, is 12,454\nfeet. The road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there\nwere patches of it on both hands. The wind on the summit was\nexceedingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few\nminutes to admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and\nthe brilliant transparency of the atmosphere. The scenery was\ngrand: to the westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided\nby profound ravines. Some snow generally falls before this period\nof the season, and it has even happened that the Cordillera have\nbeen finally closed by this time. But we were most fortunate. The\nsky, by night and by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round\nlittle masses of vapour, that floated over the highest pinnacles. I\nhave often seen these islets in the sky, marking the position of\nthe Cordillera, when the far-distant mountains have been hidden\nbeneath the horizon.\n\nAPRIL 6, 1835.\n\nIn the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules, and\nthe bell of the madrina. We therefore rode only two or three miles\ndown the valley, and stayed there the ensuing day in hopes of\nrecovering the mule, which the arriero thought had been hidden in\nsome ravine. The scenery in this part had assumed a Chilian\ncharacter: the lower sides of the mountains, dotted over with the\npale evergreen Quillay tree, and with the great chandelier-like\ncactus, are certainly more to be admired than the bare eastern\nvalleys; but I cannot quite agree with the admiration expressed by\nsome travellers. The extreme pleasure, I suspect, is chiefly owing\nto the prospect of a good fire and of a good supper, after escaping\nfrom the cold regions above: and I am sure I most heartily\nparticipated in these feelings.\n\nAPRIL 8, 1835.\n\nWe left the valley of the Aconcagua, by which we had descended, and\nreached in the evening a cottage near the Villa de St. Rosa. The\nfertility of the plain was delightful: the autumn being advanced,\nthe leaves of many of the fruit-trees were falling; and of the\nlabourers,--some were busy in drying figs and peaches on the roofs\nof their cottages, while others were gathering the grapes from the\nvineyards. It was a pretty scene; but I missed that pensive\nstillness which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening of\nthe year. On the 10th we reached Santiago, where I received a very\nkind and hospitable reception from Mr. Caldcleugh. My excursion\nonly cost me twenty-four days, and never did I more deeply enjoy an\nequal space of time. A few days afterwards I returned to Mr.\nCorfield's house at Valparaiso.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n(PLATE 76.  LIMA AND SAN LORENZO.)\n\nCoast-road to Coquimbo.\nGreat loads carried by the miners.\nCoquimbo.\nEarthquake.\nStep-formed terraces.\nAbsence of recent deposits.\nContemporaneousness of the Tertiary formations.\nExcursion up the valley.\nRoad to Guasco.\nDeserts.\nValley of Copiapó.\nRain and Earthquakes.\nHydrophobia.\nThe Despoblado.\nIndian ruins.\nProbable change of climate.\nRiver-bed arched by an earthquake.\nCold gales of wind.\nNoises from a hill.\nIquique.\nSalt alluvium.\nNitrate of soda.\nLima.\nUnhealthy country.\nRuins of Callao, overthrown by an earthquake.\nRecent subsidence.\nElevated shells on San Lorenzo, their decomposition.\nPlain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery.\nAntiquity of the Indian Race.\n\nNORTHERN CHILE AND PERU.\n\nAPRIL 27, 1835.\n\n\n\nI set out on a journey to Coquimbo, and thence through Guasco to\nCopiapó, where Captain Fitz Roy kindly offered to pick me up in the\n\"Beagle.\" The distance in a straight line along the shore northward\nis only 420 miles; but my mode of travelling made it a very long\njourney. I bought four horses and two mules, the latter carrying\nthe luggage on alternate days. The six animals together only cost\nthe value of twenty-five pounds sterling, and at Copiapó I sold\nthem again for twenty-three. We travelled in the same independent\nmanner as before, cooking our own meals, and sleeping in the open\nair. As we rode towards the Viño del Mar, I took a farewell view of\nValparaiso, and admired its picturesque appearance. For geological\npurposes I made a detour from the high road to the foot of the Bell\nof Quillota. We passed through an alluvial district rich in gold,\nto the neighbourhood of Limache, where we slept. Washing for gold\nsupports the inhabitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the\nsides of each little rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are\nuncertain, they are unthrifty in their habits, and consequently\npoor.\n\nAPRIL 28, 1835.\n\nIn the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the Bell\nmountain. The inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very usual\nin Chile. They supported themselves on the produce of a garden and\na little field, but were very poor. Capital is here so deficient\nthat the people are obliged to sell their green corn while standing\nin the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year.\nWheat in consequence was dearer in the very district of its\nproduction than at Valparaiso, where the contractors live. The next\nday we joined the main road to Coquimbo. At night there was a very\nlight shower of rain: this was the first drop that had fallen since\nthe heavy rain of September 11th and 12th, which detained me a\nprisoner at the Baths of Cauquenes. The interval was seven and a\nhalf months; but the rain this year in Chile was rather later than\nusual. The distant Andes were now covered by a thick mass of snow,\nand were a glorious sight.\n\nMAY 2, 1835.\n\nThe road continued to follow the coast at no great distance from\nthe sea. The few trees and bushes which are common in central Chile\ndecreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced by a tall plant,\nsomething like a yucca in appearance. The surface of the country,\non a small scale, was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt\nlittle peaks of rock rising out of small plains or basins. The\nindented coast and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with\nbreakers, would, if converted into dry land, present similar forms;\nand such a conversion without doubt has taken place in the part\nover which we rode.\n\nMAY 3, 1835.\n\nQuilimari to Conchalee. The country became more and more barren. In\nthe valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for any irrigation;\nand the intermediate land was quite bare, not supporting even\ngoats. In the spring, after the winter showers, a thin pasture\nrapidly springs up, and cattle are then driven down from the\nCordillera to graze for a short time. It is curious to observe how\nthe seeds of the grass and other plants seem to accommodate\nthemselves, as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain\nwhich falls upon different parts of this coast. One shower far\nnorthward at Copiapó produces as great an effect on the vegetation,\nas two at Guasco, and three or four in this district. At Valparaiso\na winter so dry as greatly to injure the pasture, would at Guasco\nproduce the most unusual abundance. Proceeding northward, the\nquantity of rain does not appear to decrease in strict proportion\nto the latitude. At Conchalee, which is only 67 miles north of\nValparaiso, rain is not expected till the end of May; whereas at\nValparaiso some generally falls early in April: the annual quantity\nis likewise small in proportion to the lateness of the season at\nwhich it commences.\n\nMAY 4, 1835.\n\nFinding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we turned\ninland towards the mining district and valley of Illapel. This\nvalley, like every other in Chile, is level, broad, and very\nfertile: it is bordered on each side, either by cliffs of\nstratified shingle, or by bare rocky mountains. Above the straight\nline of the uppermost irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a\nhigh-road; while all below is of as bright a green as verdigris,\nfrom the beds of alfarfa, a kind of clover. We proceeded to Los\nHornos, another mining district, where the principal hill was\ndrilled with holes, like a great ants'-nest. The Chilian miners are\na peculiar race of men in their habits. Living for weeks together\nin the most desolate spots, when they descend to the villages on\nfeast-days there is no excess of extravagance into which they do\nnot run. They sometimes gain a considerable sum, and then, like\nsailors with prize-money, they try how soon they can contrive to\nsquander it. They drink excessively, buy quantities of clothes, and\nin a few days return penniless to their miserable abodes, there to\nwork harder than beasts of burden. This thoughtlessness, as with\nsailors, is evidently the result of a similar manner of life. Their\ndaily food is found them, and they acquire no habits of\ncarefulness; moreover, temptation and the means of yielding to it\nare placed in their power at the same time. On the other hand, in\nCornwall, and some other parts of England, where the system of\nselling part of the vein is followed, the miners, from being\nobliged to act and think for themselves, are a singularly\nintelligent and well-conducted set of men.\n\nThe dress of the Chilian miner is peculiar and rather picturesque.\nHe wears a very long shirt of some dark-coloured baize, with a\nleathern apron; the whole being fastened round his waist by a\nbright-coloured sash. His trousers are very broad, and his small\ncap of scarlet cloth is made to fit the head closely. We met a\nparty of these miners in full costume, carrying the body of one of\ntheir companions to be buried. They marched at a very quick trot,\nfour men supporting the corpse. One set having run as hard as they\ncould for about two hundred yards, were relieved by four others,\nwho had previously dashed on ahead on horseback. Thus they\nproceeded, encouraging each other by wild cries: altogether the\nscene formed a most strange funeral.\n\nWe continued travelling northward in a zigzag line; sometimes\nstopping a day to geologise. The country was so thinly inhabited,\nand the track so obscure, that we often had difficulty in finding\nour way. On the 12th I stayed at some mines. The ore in this case\nwas not considered particularly good, but from being abundant it\nwas supposed the mine would sell for about thirty or forty thousand\ndollars (that is, 6000 or 8000 pounds sterling); yet it had been\nbought by one of the English Associations for an ounce of gold\n(three pounds eight shillings). The ore is yellow pyrites, which,\nas I have already remarked, before the arrival of the English was\nnot supposed to contain a particle of copper. On a scale of profits\nnearly as great as in the above instance, piles of cinders,\nabounding with minute globules of metallic copper, were purchased;\nyet with these advantages, the mining associations, as is well\nknown, contrived to lose immense sums of money. The folly of the\ngreater number of the commissioners and shareholders amounted to\ninfatuation;--a thousand pounds per annum given in some cases to\nentertain the Chilian authorities; libraries of well-bound\ngeological books; miners brought out for particular metals, as tin,\nwhich are not found in Chile; contracts to supply the miners with\nmilk, in parts where there are no cows; machinery, where it could\nnot possibly be used; and a hundred similar arrangements, bore\nwitness to our absurdity, and to this day afford amusement to the\nnatives. Yet there can be no doubt, that the same capital well\nemployed in these mines would have yielded an immense return: a\nconfidential man of business, a practical miner and assayer, would\nhave been all that was required.\n\nCaptain Head has described the wonderful load which the \"Apires,\"\ntruly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest mines. I confess\nI thought the account exaggerated: so that I was glad to take an\nopportunity of weighing one of the loads, which I picked out by\nhazard. It required considerable exertion on my part, when standing\ndirectly over it, to lift it from the ground. The load was\nconsidered under weight when found to be 197 pounds. The apire had\ncarried this up eighty perpendicular yards,--part of the way by a\nsteep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a\nzigzag line up the shaft. According to the general regulation, the\napire is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six\nhundred feet deep. The average load is considered as rather more\nthan 200 pounds, and I have been assured that one of 300 pounds\n(twenty-two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been brought up\nfrom the deepest mine! At this time the apires were bringing up the\nusual load twelve times in the day; that is 2400 pounds from eighty\nyards deep; and they were employed in the intervals in breaking and\npicking ore.\n\nThese men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear\ncheerful. Their bodies are not very muscular. They rarely eat meat\nonce a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard dry charqui.\nAlthough with a knowledge that the labour was voluntary, it was\nnevertheless quite revolting to see the state in which they reached\nthe mouth of the mine; their bodies bent forward, leaning with\ntheir arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering,\nthe perspiration streaming from their faces over their breasts,\ntheir nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn\nback, and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. Each time\nthey draw their breath they utter an articulate cry of \"ay-ay,\"\nwhich ends in a sound rising from deep in the chest, but shrill\nlike the note of a fife. After staggering to the pile of ore, they\nemptied the \"carpacho;\" in two or three seconds recovering their\nbreath, they wiped the sweat from their brows, and apparently quite\nfresh descended the mine again at a quick pace. This appears to me\na wonderful instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it\ncan be nothing else, will enable a man to endure.\n\nIn the evening, talking with the mayor-domo of these mines about\nthe number of foreigners now scattered over the whole country, he\ntold me that, though quite a young man, he remembers when he was a\nboy at school at Coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the captain\nof an English ship, who was brought to the city to speak to the\ngovernor. He believes that nothing would have induced any boy in\nthe school, himself included, to have gone close to the Englishman;\nso deeply had they been impressed with an idea of the heresy,\ncontamination, and evil to be derived from contact with such a\nperson. To this day they relate the atrocious actions of the\nbucaniers; and especially of one man, who took away the figure of\nthe Virgin Mary, and returned the year after for that of St.\nJoseph, saying it was a pity the lady should not have a husband. I\nheard also of an old lady who, at a dinner at Coquimbo, remarked\nhow wonderfully strange it was that she should have lived to dine\nin the same room with an Englishman; for she remembered as a girl,\nthat twice, at the mere cry of \"Los Ingleses,\" every soul, carrying\nwhat valuables they could, had taken to the mountains.\n\nMAY 14, 1835.\n\nWe reached Coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. The town is\nremarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. It is said to\ncontain from 6000 to 8000 inhabitants. On the morning of the 17th\nit rained lightly, the first time this year, for about five hours.\nThe farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast where the atmosphere\nis more humid, taking advantage of this shower, would break up the\nground; after a second they would put the seed in; and if a third\nshower should fall, they would reap a good harvest in the spring.\nIt was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of\nmoisture. Twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as\never; yet after an interval of ten days all the hills were faintly\ntinged with green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in\nhair-like fibres a full inch in length. Before this shower every\npart of the surface was bare as on a high-road.\n\n(PLATE 77.  COQUIMBO, CHILE.)\n\nIn the evening, Captain Fitz Roy and myself were dining with Mr.\nEdwards, an English resident well known for his hospitality by all\nwho have visited Coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake happened. I\nheard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams of the ladies,\nthe running of the servants, and the rush of several of the\ngentlemen to the doorway, I could not distinguish the motion. Some\nof the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman\nsaid he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it\nwould only be to dream of falling houses. The father of this person\nhad lately lost all his property at Talcahuano, and he himself had\nonly just escaped a falling roof at Valparaiso in 1822. He\nmentioned a curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing\nat cards, when a German, one of the party, got up, and said he\nwould never sit in a room in these countries with the door shut,\nas, owing to his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at\nCopiapó. Accordingly he opened the door; and no sooner had he done\nthis, than he cried out, \"Here it comes again!\" and the famous\nshock commenced. The whole party escaped. The danger in an\nearthquake is not from the time lost in opening the door, but from\nthe chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls.\n\nIt is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which natives and\nold residents, though some of them known to be men of great command\nof mind, so generally experience during earthquakes. I think,\nhowever, this excess of panic may be partly attributed to a want of\nhabit in governing their fear, as it is not a feeling they are\nashamed of. Indeed, the natives do not like to see a person\nindifferent. I heard of two Englishmen who, sleeping in the open\nair during a smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not\nrise. The natives cried out indignantly, \"Look at those heretics,\nthey do not even get out of their beds!\"\n\nI spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces of shingle,\nfirst noticed by Captain B. Hall, and believed by Mr. Lyell to have\nbeen formed by the sea during the gradual rising of the land. This\ncertainly is the true explanation, for I found numerous shells of\nexisting species on these terraces. Five narrow, gently sloping,\nfringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best\ndeveloped are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up\nboth sides of the valley. At Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the\nphenomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike\nwith surprise even some of the inhabitants. The terraces are there\nmuch broader, and may be called plains, in some parts there are six\nof them, but generally only five; they run up the valley for\nthirty-seven miles from the coast. These step-formed terraces or\nfringes closely resemble those in the valley of S. Cruz, and,\nexcept in being on a smaller scale, those great ones along the\nwhole coast-line of Patagonia. They have undoubtedly been formed by\nthe denuding power of the sea, during long periods of rest in the\ngradual elevation of the continent.\n\nShells of many existing species not only lie on the surface of the\nterraces at Coquimbo (to a height of 250 feet), but are embedded in\na friable calcareous rock, which in some places is as much as\nbetween twenty and thirty feet in thickness, but is of little\nextent. These modern beds rest on an ancient tertiary formation\ncontaining shells, apparently all extinct. Although I examined so\nmany hundred miles of coast on the Pacific, as well as Atlantic\nside of the continent, I found no regular strata containing\nsea-shells of recent species, excepting at this place, and at a few\npoints northward on the road to Guasco. This fact appears to me\nhighly remarkable; for the explanation generally given by\ngeologists, of the absence in any district of stratified\nfossiliferous deposits of a given period, namely, that the surface\nthen existed as dry land, is not here applicable; for we know from\nthe shells strewed on the surface and embedded in loose sand or\nmould, that the land for thousands of miles along both coasts has\nlately been submerged. The explanation, no doubt, must be sought in\nthe fact, that the whole southern part of the continent has been\nfor a long time slowly rising; and therefore that all matter\ndeposited along shore in shallow water must have been soon brought\nup and slowly exposed to the wearing action of the sea-beach; and\nit is only in comparatively shallow water that the greater number\nof marine organic beings can flourish, and in such water it is\nobviously impossible that strata of any great thickness can\naccumulate. To show the vast power of the wearing action of\nsea-beaches, we need only appeal to the great cliffs along the\npresent coast of Patagonia, and to the escarpments or ancient\nsea-cliffs at different levels, one above another, on that same\nline of coast.\n\nThe old underlying tertiary formation at Coquimbo appears to be of\nabout the same age with several deposits on the coast of Chile (of\nwhich that of Navedad is the principal one), and with the great\nformation of Patagonia. Both at Navedad and in Patagonia there is\nevidence, that since the shells (a list of which has been seen by\nProfessor E. Forbes) there intombed were living, there has been a\nsubsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing\nelevation. It may naturally be asked how it comes that although no\nextensive fossiliferous deposits of the recent period, nor of any\nperiod intermediate between it and the ancient tertiary epoch, have\nbeen preserved on either side of the continent, yet that at this\nancient tertiary epoch, sedimentary matter containing fossil\nremains should have been deposited and preserved at different\npoints in north and south lines, over a space of 1100 miles on the\nshores of the Pacific, and of at least 1350 miles on the shores of\nthe Atlantic, and in an east and west line of 700 miles across the\nwidest part of the continent? I believe the explanation is not\ndifficult, and that it is perhaps applicable to nearly analogous\nfacts observed in other quarters of the world. Considering the\nenormous power of denudation which the sea possesses, as shown by\nnumberless facts, it is not probable that a sedimentary deposit,\nwhen being upraised, could pass through the ordeal of the beach, so\nas to be preserved in sufficient masses to last to a distant\nperiod, without it were originally of wide extent and of\nconsiderable thickness: now it is impossible on a moderately\nshallow bottom, which alone is favourable to most living creatures,\nthat a thick and widely extended covering of sediment could be\nspread out, without the bottom sank down to receive the successive\nlayers. This seems to have actually taken place at about the same\nperiod in southern Patagonia and Chile, though these places are a\nthousand miles apart. Hence, if prolonged movements of\napproximately contemporaneous subsidence are generally widely\nextensive, as I am strongly inclined to believe from my examination\nof the Coral Reefs of the great oceans--or if, confining our view\nto South America, the subsiding movements have been coextensive\nwith those of elevation, by which, within the same period of\nexisting shells, the shores of Peru, Chile, Tierra del Fuego,\nPatagonia, and La Plata have been upraised--then we can see that at\nthe same time, at far distant points, circumstances would have been\nfavourable to the formation of fossiliferous deposits, of wide\nextent and of considerable thickness; and such deposits,\nconsequently, would have a good chance of resisting the wear and\ntear of successive beach-lines, and of lasting to a future epoch.\n\nMAY 21, 1835.\n\nI set out in company with Don José Edwards to the silver-mine of\nArqueros, and thence up the valley of Coquimbo. Passing through a\nmountainous country, we reached by nightfall the mines belonging to\nMr. Edwards. I enjoyed my night's rest here from a reason which\nwill not be fully appreciated in England, namely, the absence of\nfleas! The rooms in Coquimbo swarm with them; but they will not\nlive here at the height of only three or four thousand feet: it can\nscarcely be the trifling diminution of temperature, but some other\ncause which destroys these troublesome insects at this place. The\nmines are now in a bad state, though they formerly yielded about\n2000 pounds in weight of silver a year. It has been said that \"a\nperson with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may gain; but\nwith gold he is sure to lose.\" This is not true: all the large\nChilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious\nmetals. A short time since an English physician returned to England\nfrom Copiapó, taking with him the profits of one share in a\nsilver-mine, which amounted to about 24,000 pounds sterling. No\ndoubt a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is\ngambling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. The owners lose\ngreat quantities of rich ores; for no precautions can prevent\nrobberies. I heard of a gentleman laying a bet with another, that\none of his men should rob him before his face. The ore when brought\nout of the mine is broken into pieces, and the useless stone thrown\non one side. A couple of the miners who were thus employed,\npitched, as if by accident, two fragments away at the same moment,\nand then cried out for a joke \"Let us see which rolls furthest.\"\nThe owner, who was standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the\nrace. The miner by this means watched the very point amongst the\nrubbish where the stone lay. In the evening he picked it up and\ncarried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of silver-ore,\nand saying, \"This was the stone on which you won a cigar by its\nrolling so far.\"\n\nMAY 23, 1835.\n\nWe descended into the fertile valley of Coquimbo, and followed it\ntill we reached an Hacienda belonging to a relation of Don José,\nwhere we stayed the next day. I then rode one day's journey\nfarther, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells and\nbeans, which latter turned out to be small quartz pebbles. We\npassed through several small villages; and the valley was\nbeautifully cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. We were\nhere near the main Cordillera, and the surrounding hills were\nlofty. In all parts of Northern Chile fruit trees produce much more\nabundantly at a considerable height near the Andes than in the\nlower country. The figs and grapes of this district are famous for\ntheir excellence, and are cultivated to a great extent. This valley\nis, perhaps, the most productive one north of Quillota. I believe\nit contains, including Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I\nreturned to the Hacienda, and thence, together with Don José, to\nCoquimbo.\n\nJUNE 2, 1835.\n\nWe set out for the valley of Guasco, following the coast-road,\nwhich was considered rather less desert than the other. Our first\nday's ride was to a solitary house, called Yerba Buena, where there\nwas pasture for our horses. The shower mentioned as having fallen a\nfortnight ago, only reached about half-way to Guasco; we had,\ntherefore, in the first part of our journey a most faint tinge of\ngreen, which soon faded quite away. Even where brightest, it was\nscarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding\nflowers of the spring of other countries. While travelling through\nthese deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in a gloomy court,\nwho longs to see something green and to smell a moist atmosphere.\n\nJUNE 3, 1835.\n\nYerba Buena to Carizal. During the first part of the day we crossed\na mountainous rocky desert, and afterwards a long deep sandy plain,\nstrewed with broken sea-shells. There was very little water, and\nthat little saline: the whole country, from the coast to the\nCordillera, is an uninhabited desert. I saw traces only of one\nliving animal in abundance, namely, the shells of a Bulimus, which\nwere collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest\nspots. In the spring one humble little plant sends out a few\nleaves, and on these the snails feed. As they are seen only very\nearly in the morning, when the ground is slightly damp with dew,\nthe Guasos believe that they are bred from it. I have observed in\nother places that extremely dry and sterile districts, where the\nsoil is calcareous, are extraordinarily favourable to land-shells.\nAt Carizal there were a few cottages, some brackish water, and a\ntrace of cultivation: but it was with difficulty that we purchased\na little corn and straw for our horses.\n\nJUNE 4, 1835.\n\nCarizal to Sauce. We continued to ride over desert plains, tenanted\nby large herds of guanaco. We crossed also the valley of Chañeral;\nwhich, although the most fertile one between Guasco and Coquimbo,\nis very narrow, and produces so little pasture that we could not\npurchase any for our horses. At Sauce we found a very civil old\ngentleman, superintending a copper-smelting furnace. As an especial\nfavour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an armful of\ndirty straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper after\ntheir long day's journey. Few smelting-furnaces are now at work in\nany part of Chile; it is found more profitable, on account of the\nextreme scarcity of firewood, and from the Chilian method of\nreduction being so unskilful, to ship the ore for Swansea. The next\nday we crossed some mountains to Freyrina, in the valley of Guasco.\nDuring each day's ride farther northward, the vegetation became\nmore and more scanty; even the great chandelier-like cactus was\nhere replaced by a different and much smaller species. During the\nwinter months, both in Northern Chile and in Peru, a uniform bank\nof clouds hangs, at no great height, over the Pacific. From the\nmountains we had a very striking view of this white and brilliant\naerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving islands and\npromontories in the same manner as the sea does in the Chonos\narchipelago and in Tierra del Fuego.\n\nWe stayed two days at Freyrina. In the valley of Guasco there are\nfour small towns. At the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely\ndesert, and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood. Five\nleagues higher up stands Freyrina, a long straggling village, with\ndecent whitewashed houses. Again, ten leagues further up Ballenar\nis situated, and above this Guasco Alto, a horticultural village,\nfamous for its dried fruit. On a clear day the view up the valley\nis very fine; the straight opening terminates in the far-distant\nsnowy Cordillera; on each side an infinity of crossing lines are\nblended together in a beautiful haze. The foreground is singular\nfrom the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and the\nincluded strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is\ncontrasted on both hands with the naked hills. That the surrounding\ncountry was most barren will be readily believed, when it is known\nthat a shower of rain had not fallen during the last thirteen\nmonths. The inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the rain at\nCoquimbo; from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of equally\ngood fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realised. I was\nat Copiapó at the time; and there the people, with equal envy,\ntalked of the abundant rain at Guasco. After two or three very dry\nyears, perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time,\na rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even\nthe drought. The rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the\nnarrow strips of ground which alone are fit for cultivation. The\nfloods also injure the irrigating ditches. Great devastation had\nthus been caused three years ago.\n\nJUNE 8, 1835.\n\nWe rode on to Ballenar, which takes its name from Ballenagh in\nIreland, the birthplace of the family of O'Higgins, who, under the\nSpanish government, were presidents and generals in Chile. As the\nrocky mountains on each hand were concealed by clouds, the\nterrace-like plains gave to the valley an appearance like that of\nSanta Cruz in Patagonia. After spending one day at Ballenar I set\nout, on the 10th, for the upper part of the valley of Copiapó. We\nrode all day over an uninteresting country. I am tired of repeating\nthe epithets barren and sterile. These words, however, as commonly\nused, are comparative; I have always applied them to the plains of\nPatagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts of grass;\nand this is absolute fertility, as compared with Northern Chile.\nHere again, there are not many spaces of two hundred yards square,\nwhere some little bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discovered by\ncareful examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready to\nspring up during the first rainy winter. In Peru real deserts occur\nover wide tracts of country. In the evening we arrived at a valley\nin which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up, we\ncame to tolerably good water. During the night the stream, from not\nbeing evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down\nthan during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it\nwas a good place of bivouac for us; but for the poor animals there\nwas not a mouthful to eat.\n\nJUNE 11, 1835.\n\nWe rode without stopping for twelve hours till we reached an old\nsmelting-furnace, where there was water and firewood; but our\nhorses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an old courtyard.\nThe line of road was hilly, and the distant views interesting from\nthe varied colours of the bare mountains. It was almost a pity to\nsee the sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such\nsplendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty\ngardens. The next day we reached the valley of Copiapó. I was\nheartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a continued source\nof anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, whilst eating our own\nsuppers, our horses gnawing the posts to which they were tied, and\nto have no means of relieving their hunger. To all appearance,\nhowever, the animals were quite fresh; and no one could have told\nthat they had eaten nothing for the last fifty-five hours.\n\nI had a letter of introduction to Mr. Bingley, who received me very\nkindly at the Hacienda of Potrero Seco. This estate is between\ntwenty and thirty miles long, but very narrow, being generally only\ntwo fields wide, one on each side the river. In some parts the\nestate is of no width, that is to say, the land cannot be\nirrigated, and therefore is valueless, like the surrounding rocky\ndesert. The small quantity of cultivated land in the whole line of\nvalley does not so much depend on inequalities of level, and\nconsequent unfitness for irrigation, as on the small supply of\nwater. The river this year was remarkably full: here, high up the\nvalley, it reached to the horse's belly, and was about fifteen\nyards wide, and rapid; lower down it becomes smaller and smaller,\nand is generally quite lost, as happened during one period of\nthirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea. The inhabitants\nwatch a storm over the Cordillera with great interest; as one good\nfall of snow provides them with water for the ensuing year. This is\nof infinitely more consequence than rain in the lower country.\nRain, as often as it falls, which is about once in every two or\nthree years, is a great advantage, because the cattle and mules can\nfor some time afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains.\nBut without snow on the Andes, desolation extends throughout the\nvalley. It is on record that three times nearly all the inhabitants\nhave been obliged to emigrate to the south. This year there was\nplenty of water, and every man irrigated his ground as much as he\nchose; but it has frequently been necessary to post soldiers at the\nsluices, to see that each estate took only its proper allowance\nduring so many hours in the week. The valley is said to contain\n12,000 souls, but its produce is sufficient only for three months\nin the year; the rest of the supply being drawn from Valparaiso and\nthe south. Before the discovery of the famous silver-mines of\nChanuncillo, Copiapó was in a rapid state of decay; but now it is\nin a very thriving condition; and the town, which was completely\noverthrown by an earthquake, has been rebuilt.\n\nThe valley of Copiapó, forming a mere ribbon of green in a desert,\nruns in a very southerly direction; so that it is of considerable\nlength to its source in the Cordillera. The valleys of Guasco and\nCopiapó may both be considered as long narrow islands, separated\nfrom the rest of Chile by deserts of rock instead of by salt water.\nNorthward of these, there is one other very miserable valley,\ncalled Paposo, which contains about two hundred souls; and then\nthere extends the real desert of Atacama--a barrier far worse than\nthe most turbulent ocean. After staying a few days at Potrero Seco,\nI proceeded up the valley to the house of Don Benito Cruz, to whom\nI had a letter of introduction. I found him most hospitable; indeed\nit is impossible to bear too strong testimony to the kindness with\nwhich travellers are received in almost every part of South\nAmerica. The next day I hired some mules to take me by the ravine\nof Jolquera into the central Cordillera. On the second night the\nweather seemed to foretell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst\nlying in our beds we felt a trifling shock of an earthquake.\n\nThe connexion between earthquakes and the weather has been often\ndisputed: it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which\nis little understood. Humboldt has remarked in one part of the\n\"Personal Narrative,\" that it would be difficult for any person who\nhad long resided in New Andalusia, or in Lower Peru, to deny that\nthere exists some connection between these phenomena: in another\npart, however, he seems to think the connexion fanciful. (16/1.\nVolume 4 page 11 and volume 2 page 217. For the remarks on\nGuayaquil see Silliman's \"Journal\" volume 24 page 384. For those on\nTacna by Mr. Hamilton see \"Transactions of British Association\"\n1840. For those on Coseguina see Mr. Caldcleugh in \"Philosophical\nTransactions\" 1835. In the former edition I collected several\nreferences on the coincidences between sudden falls in the\nbarometer and earthquakes; and between earthquakes and meteors.) At\nGuayaquil it is said that a heavy shower in the dry season is\ninvariably followed by an earthquake. In Northern Chile, from the\nextreme infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain,\nthe probability of accidental coincidences becomes very small; yet\nthe inhabitants are here most firmly convinced of some connexion\nbetween the state of the atmosphere and of the trembling of the\nground: I was much struck by this when mentioning to some people at\nCopiapó that there had been a sharp shock at Coquimbo: they\nimmediately cried out, \"How fortunate! there will be plenty of\npasture there this year.\" To their minds an earthquake foretold\nrain as surely as rain foretold abundant pasture. Certainly it did\nso happen that on the very day of the earthquake that shower of\nrain fell which I have described as in ten days' time producing a\nthin sprinkling of grass. At other times rain has followed\nearthquakes at a period of the year when it is a far greater\nprodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened after the shock\nof November 1822, and again in 1829 at Valparaiso; also after that\nof September 1833, at Tacna. A person must be somewhat habituated\nto the climate of these countries to perceive the extreme\nimprobability of rain falling at such seasons, except as a\nconsequence of some law quite unconnected with the ordinary course\nof the weather. In the cases of great volcanic eruptions, as that\nof Coseguina, where torrents of rain fell at a time of the year\nmost unusual for it, and \"almost unprecedented in Central America,\"\nit is not difficult to understand that the volumes of vapour and\nclouds of ashes might have disturbed the atmospheric equilibrium.\nHumboldt extends this view to the case of earthquakes unaccompanied\nby eruptions; but I can hardly conceive it possible that the small\nquantity of aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured\nground can produce such remarkable effects. There appears much\nprobability in the view first proposed by Mr. P. Scrope, that when\nthe barometer is low, and when rain might naturally be expected to\nfall, the diminished pressure of the atmosphere over a wide extent\nof country might well determine the precise day on which the earth,\nalready stretched to the utmost by the subterranean forces, should\nyield, crack, and consequently tremble. It is, however, doubtful\nhow far this idea will explain the circumstance of torrents of rain\nfalling in the dry season during several days, after an earthquake\nunaccompanied by an eruption; such cases seem to bespeak some more\nintimate connexion between the atmospheric and subterranean\nregions.\n\nFinding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we retraced\nour steps to the house of Don Benito, where I stayed two days\ncollecting fossil shells and wood. Great prostrate silicified\ntrunks of trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were extraordinarily\nnumerous. I measured one which was fifteen feet in circumference:\nhow surprising it is that every atom of the woody matter in this\ngreat cylinder should have been removed and replaced by silex so\nperfectly that each vessel and pore is preserved! These trees\nflourished at about the period of our lower chalk; they all\nbelonged to the fir-tribe. It was amusing to hear the inhabitants\ndiscussing the nature of the fossil shells which I collected,\nalmost in the same terms as were used a century ago in\nEurope,--namely, whether or not they had been thus \"born by\nnature.\" My geological examination of the country generally created\na good deal of surprise amongst the Chilenos: it was long before\nthey could be convinced that I was not hunting for mines. This was\nsometimes troublesome: I found the most ready way of explaining my\nemployment was to ask them how it was that they themselves were not\ncurious concerning earthquakes and volcanos?--why some springs were\nhot and others cold?--why there were mountains in Chile, and not a\nhill in La Plata? These bare questions at once satisfied and\nsilenced the greater number; some, however (like a few in England\nwho are a century behindhand), thought that all such inquiries were\nuseless and impious; and that it was quite sufficient that God had\nthus made the mountains.\n\nAn order had recently been issued that all stray dogs should be\nkilled, and we saw many lying dead on the road. A great number had\nlately gone mad, and several men had been bitten and had died in\nconsequence. On several occasions hydrophobia has prevailed in this\nvalley. It is remarkable thus to find so strange and dreadful a\ndisease appearing time after time in the same isolated spot. It has\nbeen remarked that certain villages in England are in like manner\nmuch more subject to this visitation than others. Dr. Unanùe states\nthat hydrophobia was first known in South America in 1803: this\nstatement is corroborated by Azara and Ulloa having never heard of\nit in their time. Dr. Unanùe says that it broke out in Central\nAmerica, and slowly travelled southward. It reached Arequipa in\n1807; and it is said that some men there, who had not been bitten,\nwere affected, as were some negroes, who had eaten a bullock which\nhad died of hydrophobia. At Ica forty-two people thus miserably\nperished. The disease came on between twelve and ninety days after\nthe bite; and in those cases where it did come on, death ensued\ninvariably within five days. After 1808 a long interval ensued\nwithout any cases. On inquiry, I did not hear of hydrophobia in Van\nDiemen's Land, or in Australia; and Burchell says that during the\nfive years he was at the Cape of Good Hope, he never heard of an\ninstance of it. Webster asserts that at the Azores hydrophobia has\nnever occurred; and the same assertion has been made with respect\nto Mauritius and St. Helena. (16/2. \"Observa. sobre el clima de\nLima\" page 67.--Azara's \"Travels\" volume 1 page 381.--Ulloa's\n\"Voyage\" volume 2 page 28.--Burchell's \"Travels\" volume 2 page\n524.--Webster's \"Description of the Azores\" page 124.--\"Voyage à\nl'Isle de France par un Officier du Roi\" tome 1 page\n248.--\"Description of St. Helena\" page 123.) In so strange a\ndisease some information might possibly be gained by considering\nthe circumstances under which it originates in distant climates;\nfor it is improbable that a dog already bitten should have been\nbrought to these distant countries.\n\nAt night a stranger arrived at the house of Don Benito and asked\npermission to sleep there. He said he had been wandering about the\nmountains for seventeen days, having lost his way. He started from\nGuasco, and being accustomed to travelling in the Cordillera, did\nnot expect any difficulty in following the track to Copiapó; but he\nsoon became involved in a labyrinth of mountains whence he could\nnot escape. Some of his mules had fallen over precipices and he had\nbeen in great distress. His chief difficulty arose from not knowing\nwhere to find water in the lower country, so that he was obliged to\nkeep bordering the central ranges.\n\nWe returned down the valley, and on the 22nd reached the town of\nCopiapó. The lower part of the valley is broad, forming a fine\nplain like that of Quillota. The town covers a considerable space\nof ground, each house possessing a garden: but it is an\nuncomfortable place, and the dwellings are poorly furnished. Every\none seems bent on the one object of making money, and then\nmigrating as quickly as possible. All the inhabitants are more or\nless directly concerned with mines; and mines and ores are the sole\nsubjects of conversation. Necessaries of all sorts are extremely\ndear; as the distance from the town to the port is eighteen\nleagues, and the land carriage very expensive. A fowl costs five or\nsix shillings; meat is nearly as dear as in England; firewood, or\nrather sticks, are brought on donkeys from a distance of two and\nthree days' journey within the Cordillera; and pasturage for\nanimals is a shilling a day: all this for South America is\nwonderfully exorbitant.\n\nJUNE 26, 1835.\n\nI hired a guide and eight mules to take me into the Cordillera by a\ndifferent line from my last excursion. As the country was utterly\ndesert, we took a cargo and a half of barley mixed with chopped\nstraw. About two leagues above the town a broad valley called the\n\"Despoblado,\" or uninhabited, branches off from that one by which\nwe had arrived. Although a valley of the grandest dimensions, and\nleading to a pass across the Cordillera, yet it is completely dry,\nexcepting perhaps for a few days during some very rainy winter. The\nsides of the crumbling mountains were furrowed by scarcely any\nravines; and the bottom of the main valley, filled with shingle,\nwas smooth and nearly level. No considerable torrent could ever\nhave flowed down this bed of shingle; for if it had, a great\ncliff-bounded channel, as in all the southern valleys, would\nassuredly have been formed. I feel little doubt that this valley,\nas well as those mentioned by travellers in Peru, were left in the\nstate we now see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly\nrose. I observed in one place where the Despoblado was joined by a\nravine (which in almost any other chain would have been called a\ngrand valley), that its bed, though composed merely of sand and\ngravel, was higher than that of its tributary. A mere rivulet of\nwater, in the course of an hour, would have cut a channel for\nitself; but it was evident that ages had passed away, and no such\nrivulet had drained this great tributary. It was curious to behold\nthe machinery, if such a term may be used, for the drainage, all,\nwith the last trifling exception, perfect, yet without any signs of\naction. Every one must have remarked how mud-banks, left by the\nretiring tide, imitate in miniature a country with hill and dale;\nand here we have the original model in rock, formed as the\ncontinent rose during the secular retirement of the ocean, instead\nof during the ebbing and flowing of the tides. If a shower of rain\nfalls on the mud-bank, when left dry, it deepens the already-formed\nshallow lines of excavation; and so it is with the rain of\nsuccessive centuries on the bank of rock and soil, which we call a\ncontinent.\n\nWe rode on after it was dark, till we reached a side ravine with a\nsmall well, called \"Agua amarga.\" The water deserved its name, for\nbesides being saline it was most offensively putrid and bitter; so\nthat we could not force ourselves to drink either tea or maté. I\nsuppose the distance from the river of Copiapó to this spot was at\nleast twenty-five or thirty English miles; in the whole space there\nwas not a single drop of water, the country deserving the name of\ndesert in the strictest sense. Yet about half-way we passed some\nold Indian ruins near Punta Gorda: I noticed also in front of some\nof the valleys which branch off from the Despoblado, two piles of\nstones placed a little way apart, and directed so as to point up\nthe mouths of these small valleys. My companions knew nothing about\nthem, and only answered my queries by their imperturbable \"quien\nsabe?\"\n\nI observed Indian ruins in several parts of the Cordillera: the\nmost perfect which I saw were the Ruinas de Tambillos in the\nUspallata Pass. Small square rooms were there huddled together in\nseparate groups: some of the doorways were yet standing; they were\nformed by a cross slab of stone only about three feet high. Ulloa\nhas remarked on the lowness of the doors in the ancient Peruvian\ndwellings. These houses, when perfect, must have been capable of\ncontaining a considerable number of persons. Tradition says that\nthey were used as halting-places for the Incas, when they crossed\nthe mountains. Traces of Indian habitations have been discovered in\nmany other parts, where it does not appear probable that they were\nused as mere resting-places, but yet where the land is as utterly\nunfit for any kind of cultivation as it is near the Tambillos or at\nthe Incas Bridge, or in the Portillo Pass, at all which places I\nsaw ruins. In the ravine of Jajuel, near Aconcagua, where there is\nno pass, I heard of remains of houses situated at a great height,\nwhere it is extremely cold and sterile. At first I imagined that\nthese buildings had been places of refuge, built by the Indians on\nthe first arrival of the Spaniards; but I have since been inclined\nto speculate on the probability of a small change of climate.\n\nIn this northern part of Chile, within the Cordillera, old Indian\nhouses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the\nruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals,\nand heads of Indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an\narrow-head made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those\nnow used in Tierra del Fuego, was given me. I am aware that the\nPeruvian Indians now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak\nsituations; but at Copiapó I was assured by men who had spent their\nlives in travelling through the Andes, that there were very many\n(muchisimas) buildings at heights so great as almost to border on\nthe perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist no passes, and\nwhere the land produces absolutely nothing, and what is still more\nextraordinary, where there is no water. Nevertheless it is the\nopinion of the people of the country (although they are much\npuzzled by the circumstance), that, from the appearance of the\nhouses, the Indians must have used them as places of residence. In\nthis valley, at Punta Gorda, the remains consisted of seven or\neight square little rooms, which were of a similar form with those\nat Tambillos, but built chiefly of mud, which the present\ninhabitants cannot, either here or, according to Ulloa, in Peru,\nimitate in durability. They were situated in the most conspicuous\nand defenceless position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley.\nThere was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and that only\nin very small quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; I\nlooked in vain even for a lichen adhering to the rocks. At the\npresent day, with the advantage of beasts of burden, a mine, unless\nit were very rich, could scarcely be worked here with profit. Yet\nthe Indians formerly chose it as a place of residence! If at the\npresent time two or three showers of rain were to fall annually,\ninstead of one, as now is the case, during as many years, a small\nrill of water would probably be formed in this great valley; and\nthen, by irrigation (which was formerly so well understood by the\nIndians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiently productive\nto support a few families.\n\nI have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of South\nAmerica has been elevated near the coast at least from 400 to 500,\nand in some parts from 1000 to 1300 feet, since the epoch of\nexisting shells; and farther inland the rise possibly may have been\ngreater. As the peculiarly arid character of the climate is\nevidently a consequence of the height of the Cordillera, we may\nfeel almost sure that before the later elevations, the atmosphere\ncould not have been so completely drained of its moisture as it now\nis; and as the rise has been gradual, so would have been the change\nin climate. On this notion of a change of climate since the\nbuildings were inhabited, the ruins must be of extreme antiquity,\nbut I do not think their preservation under the Chilian climate any\ngreat difficulty. We must also admit on this notion (and this\nperhaps is a greater difficulty) that man has inhabited South\nAmerica for an immensely long period, inasmuch as any change of\nclimate effected by the elevation of the land must have been\nextremely gradual. At Valparaiso, within the last 220 years, the\nrise has been somewhat less than 19 feet: at Lima a sea-beach has\ncertainly been upheaved from 80 to 90 feet, within the Indio-human\nperiod: but such small elevations could have had little power in\ndeflecting the moisture-bringing atmospheric currents. Dr. Lund,\nhowever, found human skeletons in the caves of Brazil, the\nappearance of which induced him to believe that the Indian race has\nexisted during a vast lapse of time in South America.\n\nWhen at Lima, I conversed on these subjects with Mr. Gill, a civil\nengineer, who had seen much of the interior country. (16/3. Temple,\nin his travels through Upper Peru, or Bolivia, in going from Potosi\nto Oruro, says \"I saw many Indian villages or dwellings in ruins,\nup even to the very tops of the mountains, attesting a former\npopulation where now all is desolate.\" He makes similar remarks in\nanother place; but I cannot tell whether this desolation has been\ncaused by a want of population, or by an altered condition of the\nland.) He told me that a conjecture of a change of climate had\nsometimes crossed his mind; but that he thought that the greater\nportion of land, now incapable of cultivation, but covered with\nIndian ruins, had been reduced to this state by the water-conduits,\nwhich the Indians formerly constructed on so wonderful a scale,\nhaving been injured by neglect and by subterranean movements. I may\nhere mention that the Peruvians actually carried their irrigating\nstreams in tunnels through hills of solid rock. Mr. Gill told me he\nhad been employed professionally to examine one: he found the\npassage low, narrow, crooked, and not of uniform breadth, but of\nvery considerable length. Is it not most wonderful that men should\nhave attempted such operations, without the use of iron or\ngunpowder? Mr. Gill also mentioned to me a most interesting, and,\nas far as I am aware, quite unparalleled case, of a subterranean\ndisturbance having changed the drainage of a country. Travelling\nfrom Casma to Huaraz (not very far distant from Lima), he found a\nplain covered with ruins and marks of ancient cultivation but now\nquite barren. Near it was the dry course of a considerable river,\nwhence the water for irrigation had formerly been conducted. There\nwas nothing in the appearance of the watercourse to indicate that\nthe river had not flowed there a few years previously; in some\nparts, beds of sand and gravel were spread out; in others, the\nsolid rock had been worn into a broad channel, which in one spot\nwas about 40 yards in breadth and 8 feet deep. It is self-evident\nthat a person following up the course of a stream will always\nascend at a greater or less inclination: Mr. Gill, therefore, was\nmuch astonished, when walking up the bed of this ancient river, to\nfind himself suddenly going down hill. He imagined that the\ndownward slope had a fall of about 40 or 50 feet perpendicular. We\nhere have unequivocal evidence that a ridge had been uplifted right\nacross the old bed of a stream. From the moment the river-course\nwas thus arched, the water must necessarily have been thrown back,\nand a new channel formed. From that moment, also, the neighbouring\nplain must have lost its fertilising stream, and become a desert.\n\nJUNE 27, 1835.\n\nWe set out early in the morning, and by mid-day reached the ravine\nof Paypote, where there is a tiny rill of water, with a little\nvegetation, and even a few algarroba trees, a kind of mimosa. From\nhaving firewood, a smelting-furnace had formerly been built here:\nwe found a solitary man in charge of it, whose sole employment was\nhunting guanacos. At night it froze sharply; but having plenty of\nwood for our fire, we kept ourselves warm.\n\nJUNE 28, 1835.\n\nWe continued gradually ascending, and the valley now changed into a\nravine. During the day we saw several guanacos, and the track of\nthe closely-allied species, the Vicuña: this latter animal is\npre-eminently alpine in its habits; it seldom descends much below\nthe limit of perpetual snow, and therefore haunts even a more lofty\nand sterile situation than the guanaco. The only other animal which\nwe saw in any number was a small fox: I suppose this animal preys\non the mice and other small rodents which, as long as there is the\nleast vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert\nplaces. In Patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas, where a\ndrop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these little\nanimals swarm. Next to lizards, mice appear to be able to support\nexistence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth--even on\nislets in the midst of great oceans.\n\nThe scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made\npalpable by a clear, unclouded sky. For a time such scenery is\nsublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes\nuninteresting. We bivouacked at the foot of the \"primera linea,\" or\nthe first line of the partition of the waters. The streams,\nhowever, on the east side do not flow to the Atlantic, but into an\nelevated district, in the middle of which there is a large salina,\nor salt lake;--thus forming a little Caspian Sea at the height,\nperhaps, of ten thousand feet. Where we slept, there were some\nconsiderable patches of snow, but they do not remain throughout the\nyear. The winds in these lofty regions obey very regular laws;\nevery day a fresh breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour\nor two after sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends\nas through a funnel. This night it blew a gale of wind, and the\ntemperature must have been considerably below the freezing-point,\nfor water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. No clothes seemed\nto oppose any obstacle to the air; I suffered very much from the\ncold, so that I could not sleep, and in the morning rose with my\nbody quite dull and benumbed.\n\nIn the Cordillera farther southward people lose their lives from\nsnow-storms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. My\nguide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the Cordillera\nwith a party in the month of May; and while in the central parts, a\nfurious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on\ntheir mules, and stones were flying along the ground. The day was\ncloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was\nlow. It is probable that the thermometer would not have stood very\nmany degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their\nbodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to\nthe rapidity of the current of cold air. The gale lasted for more\nthan a day; the men began to lose their strength, and the mules\nwould not move onwards. My guide's brother tried to return, but he\nperished, and his body was found two years afterwards, lying by the\nside of his mule near the road, with the bridle still in his hand.\nTwo other men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of\ntwo hundred mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped\nalive. Many years ago the whole of a large party are supposed to\nhave perished from a similar cause, but their bodies to this day\nhave never been discovered. The union of a cloudless sky, low\ntemperature, and a furious gale of wind, must be, I should think,\nin all parts of the world an unusual occurrence.\n\nJUNE 29, 1835.\n\nWe gladly travelled down the valley to our former night's lodging,\nand thence to near the Agua amarga. On July 1st we reached the\nvalley of Copiapó. The smell of the fresh clover was quite\ndelightful, after the scentless air of the dry sterile Despoblado.\nWhilst staying in the town I heard an account from several of the\ninhabitants, of a hill in the neighbourhood which they called \"El\nBramador,\"--the roarer or bellower. I did not at the time pay\nsufficient attention to the account; but, as far as I understood,\nthe hill was covered by sand, and the noise was produced only when\npeople, by ascending it, put the sand in motion. The same\ncircumstances are described in detail on the authority of Seetzen\nand Ehrenberg, as the cause of the sounds which have been heard by\nmany travellers on Mount Sinai near the Red Sea. (16/4. \"Edinburgh\nPhilosophical Journal\" January 1830 page 74 and April 1830 page\n258. Also Daubeny on Volcanoes page 438 and \"Bengal Journal\" volume\n7 page 324.) One person with whom I conversed had himself heard the\nnoise: he described it as very surprising; and he distinctly stated\nthat, although he could not understand how it was caused, yet it\nwas necessary to set the sand rolling down the acclivity. A horse\nwalking over dry and coarse sand causes a peculiar chirping noise\nfrom the friction of the particles; a circumstance which I several\ntimes noticed on the coast of Brazil.\n\nThree days afterwards I heard of the \"Beagle's\" arrival at the\nPort, distant eighteen leagues from the town. There is very little\nland cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse supports a\nwretched wiry grass, which even the donkeys can hardly eat. This\npoorness of the vegetation is owing to the quantity of saline\nmatter with which the soil is impregnated. The Port consists of an\nassemblage of miserable little hovels, situated at the foot of a\nsterile plain. At present, as the river contains water enough to\nreach the sea, the inhabitants enjoy the advantage of having fresh\nwater within a mile and a half. On the beach there were large piles\nof merchandise, and the little place had an air of activity. In the\nevening I gave my adios, with a hearty good-will, to my companion\nMariano Gonzales, with whom I had ridden so many leagues in Chile.\nThe next morning the \"Beagle\" sailed for Iquique.\n\nJULY 12, 1835.\n\nWe anchored in the port of Iquique, in latitude 20 degrees 12', on\nthe coast of Peru. The town contains about a thousand inhabitants,\nand stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall of\nrock, 2000 feet in height, here forming the coast. The whole is\nutterly desert. A light shower of rain falls only once in very many\nyears; and the ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and\nthe mountainsides covered by piles of fine white sand, even to a\nheight of a thousand feet. During this season of the year a heavy\nbank of clouds, stretched over the ocean, seldom rises above the\nwall of rocks on the coast. The aspect of the place was most\ngloomy; the little port, with its few vessels, and small group of\nwretched houses, seemed overwhelmed and out of all proportion with\nthe rest of the scene.\n\nThe inhabitants live like persons on board a ship: every necessary\ncomes from a distance: water is brought in boats from Pisagua,\nabout forty miles northward, and is sold at the rate of nine reals\n(four shillings and sixpence) an eighteen-gallon cask: I bought a\nwine-bottle full for threepence. In like manner firewood, and of\ncourse every article of food, is imported. Very few animals can be\nmaintained in such a place: on the ensuing morning I hired with\ndifficulty, at the price of four pounds sterling, two mules and a\nguide to take me to the nitrate of soda works. These are at present\nthe support of Iquique. This salt was first exported in 1830: in\none year an amount in value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling\nwas sent to France and England. It is principally used as a manure\nand in the manufacture of nitric acid: owing to its deliquescent\nproperty it will not serve for gunpowder. Formerly there were two\nexceedingly rich silver-mines in this neighbourhood, but their\nproduce is now very small.\n\nOur arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. Peru was\nin a state of anarchy; and each party having demanded a\ncontribution, the poor town of Iquique was in tribulation, thinking\nthe evil hour was come. The people had also their domestic\ntroubles; a short time before, three French carpenters had broken\nopen, during the same night, the two churches, and stolen all the\nplate: one of the robbers, however, subsequently confessed, and the\nplate was recovered. The convicts were sent to Arequipa, which\nthough the capital of this province, is two hundred leagues\ndistant, the government there thought it a pity to punish such\nuseful workmen who could make all sorts of furniture; and\naccordingly liberated them. Things being in this state, the\nchurches were again broken open, but this time the plate was not\nrecovered. The inhabitants became dreadfully enraged, and declaring\nthat none but heretics would thus \"eat God Almighty,\" proceeded to\ntorture some Englishmen, with the intention of afterwards shooting\nthem. At last the authorities interfered, and peace was\nestablished.\n\nJULY 13, 1835.\n\nIn the morning I started for the saltpetre-works, a distance of\nfourteen leagues. Having ascended the steep coast-mountains by a\nzigzag sandy track, we soon came in view of the mines of Guantajaya\nand St. Rosa. These two small villages are placed at the very\nmouths of the mines; and being perched up on hills, they had a\nstill more unnatural and desolate appearance than the town of\nIquique. We did not reach the saltpetre works till after sunset,\nhaving ridden all day across an undulating country, a complete and\nutter desert. The road was strewed with the bones and dried skins\nof many beasts of burden which had perished on it from fatigue.\nExcepting the Vultur aura, which preys on the carcasses, I saw\nneither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. On the\ncoast-mountains, at the height of about 2000 feet, where during\nthis season the clouds generally hang, a very few cacti were\ngrowing in the clefts of rock; and the loose sand was strewed over\nwith a lichen, which lies on the surface quite unattached. This\nplant belongs to the genus Cladonia, and somewhat resembles the\nreindeer lichen. In some parts it was in sufficient quantity to\ntinge the sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish\ncolour. Farther inland, during the whole ride of fourteen leagues,\nI saw only one other vegetable production, and that was a most\nminute yellow lichen, growing on the bones of the dead mules. This\nwas the first true desert which I had seen: the effect on me was\nnot impressive; but I believe this was owing to my having become\ngradually accustomed to such scenes, as I rode northward from\nValparaiso, through Coquimbo, to Copiapó. The appearance of the\ncountry was remarkable, from being covered by a thick crust of\ncommon salt, and of a stratified saliferous alluvium, which seems\nto have been deposited as the land slowly rose above the level of\nthe sea. The salt is white, very hard, and compact: it occurs in\nwater-worn nodules projecting from the agglutinated sand, and is\nassociated with much gypsum. The appearance of this superficial\nmass very closely resembled that of a country after snow, before\nthe last dirty patches are thawed. The existence of this crust of a\nsoluble substance over the whole face of the country shows how\nextraordinarily dry the climate must have been for a long period.\n\nAt night I slept at the house of the owner of one of the saltpetre\nmines. The country is here as unproductive as near the coast; but\nwater, having rather a bitter and brackish taste, can be procured\nby digging wells. The well at this house was thirty-six yards deep:\nas scarcely any rain falls, it is evident the water is not thus\nderived; indeed if it were, it could not fail to be as salt as\nbrine, for the whole surrounding country is incrusted with various\nsaline substances. We must therefore conclude that it percolates\nunder ground from the Cordillera, though distant many leagues. In\nthat direction there are a few small villages, where the\ninhabitants, having more water, are enabled to irrigate a little\nland, and raise hay, on which the mules and asses, employed in\ncarrying the saltpetre, are fed. The nitrate of soda was now\nselling at the ship's side at fourteen shillings per hundred\npounds: the chief expense is its transport to the sea-coast. The\nmine consists of a hard stratum, between two and three feet thick,\nof the nitrate mingled with a little of the sulphate of soda and a\ngood deal of common salt. It lies close beneath the surface, and\nfollows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of a\ngrand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once\nhave been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as may\nbe inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stratum.\nThe surface of the plain is 3300 feet above the Pacific.\n\nJULY 19, 1835.\n\nWe anchored in the Bay of Callao, the seaport of Lima, the capital\nof Peru. We stayed here six weeks, but from the troubled state of\npublic affairs I saw very little of the country. During our whole\nvisit the climate was far from being so delightful as it is\ngenerally represented. A dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung\nover the land, so that during the first sixteen days I had only one\nview of the Cordillera behind Lima. These mountains, seen in\nstages, one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a\nvery grand appearance. It is almost become a proverb, that rain\nnever falls in the lower part of Peru. Yet this can hardly be\nconsidered correct; for during almost every day of our visit there\nwas a thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient to make the\nstreets muddy and one's clothes damp: this the people are pleased\nto call Peruvian dew. That much rain does not fall is very certain,\nfor the houses are covered only with flat roofs made of hardened\nmud; and on the mole ship-loads of wheat were piled up, being thus\nleft for weeks together without any shelter.\n\nI cannot say I liked the very little I saw of Peru: in summer,\nhowever, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. In all\nseasons, both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks\nof ague. This disease is common on the whole coast of Peru, but is\nunknown in the interior. The attacks of illness which arise from\nmiasma never fail to appear most mysterious. So difficult is it to\njudge from the aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy,\nthat if a person had been told to choose within the tropics a\nsituation appearing favourable for health, very probably he would\nhave named this coast. The plain round the outskirts of Callao is\nsparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some parts there are\na few stagnant, though very small, pools of water. The miasma, in\nall probability, arises from these: for the town of Arica was\nsimilarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was much improved by\nthe drainage of some little pools. Miasma is not always produced by\na luxuriant vegetation with an ardent climate; for many parts of\nBrazil, even where there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are\nmuch more healthy than this sterile coast of Peru. The densest\nforests in a temperate climate, as in Chiloe, do not seem in the\nslightest degree to affect the healthy condition of the atmosphere.\n\nThe island of St. Jago, at the Cape de Verds, offers another\nstrongly-marked instance of a country, which any one would have\nexpected to find most healthy, being very much the contrary. I have\ndescribed the bare and open plains as supporting, during a few\nweeks after the rainy season, a thin vegetation, which directly\nwithers away and dries up: at this period the air appears to become\nquite poisonous; both natives and foreigners often being affected\nwith violent fevers. On the other hand, the Galapagos Archipelago,\nin the Pacific, with a similar soil, and periodically subject to\nthe same process of vegetation, is perfectly healthy. Humboldt has\nobserved that \"under the torrid zone, the smallest marshes are the\nmost dangerous, being surrounded, as at Vera Cruz and Carthagena,\nwith an arid and sandy soil, which raises the temperature of the\nambient air.\" (16/5. \"Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain\"\nvolume 4 page 199.) On the coast of Peru, however, the temperature\nis not hot to any excessive degree; and perhaps in consequence the\nintermittent fevers are not of the most malignant order. In all\nunhealthy countries the greatest risk is run by sleeping on shore.\nIs this owing to the state of the body during sleep, or to a\ngreater abundance of miasma at such times? It appears certain that\nthose who stay on board a vessel, though anchored at only a short\ndistance from the coast, generally suffer less than those actually\non shore. On the other hand, I have heard of one remarkable case\nwhere a fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some hundred\nmiles off the coast of Africa, and at the same time one of those\nfearful periods of death commenced at Sierra Leone. (16/6. A\nsimilar interesting case is recorded in the \"Madras Medical\nQuarterly Journal\" 1839 page 340. Dr. Ferguson in his admirable\nPaper see 9th volume of \"Edinburgh Royal Transactions\" shows\nclearly that the poison is generated in the drying process; and\nhence that dry hot countries are often the most unhealthy.)\n\nNo state in South America, since the declaration of independence,\nhas suffered more from anarchy than Peru. At the time of our visit\nthere were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the\ngovernment: if one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful,\nthe others coalesced against him; but no sooner were they\nvictorious than they were again hostile to each other. The other\nday, at the Anniversary of the Independence, high mass was\nperformed, the President partaking of the sacrament: during the \"Te\nDeum laudamus,\" instead of each regiment displaying the Peruvian\nflag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. Imagine a\ngovernment under which such a scene could be ordered, on such an\noccasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to\ndeath! This state of affairs happened at a time very unfortunately\nfor me, as I was precluded from taking any excursions much beyond\nthe limits of the town. The barren island of San Lorenzo, which\nforms the harbour, was nearly the only place where one could walk\nsecurely. The upper part, which is upwards of 1000 feet in height,\nduring this season of the year (winter), comes within the lower\nlimit of the clouds; and in consequence an abundant cryptogamic\nvegetation and a few flowers cover the summit. On the hills near\nLima, at a height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with\nmoss, and beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This\nindicates a very much greater degree of humidity than at a\ncorresponding height at Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the\nclimate becomes damper, till on the banks of the Guayaquil, nearly\nunder the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. The change,\nhowever, from the sterile coast of Peru to that fertile land is\ndescribed as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of Cape\nBlanco, two degrees south of Guayaquil.\n\nCallao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, both\nhere and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture,\nbetween European, Negro, and Indian blood. They appear a depraved,\ndrunken set of people. The atmosphere is loaded with foul smells,\nand that peculiar one, which may be perceived in almost every town\nwithin the tropics, was here very strong. The fortress, which\nwithstood Lord Cochrane's long siege, has an imposing appearance.\nBut the President, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and\nproceeded to dismantle parts of it. The reason assigned was, that\nhe had not an officer to whom he could trust so important a charge.\nHe himself had good reason for thinking so, as he had obtained the\npresidentship by rebelling while in charge of this same fortress.\nAfter we left South America, he paid the penalty in the usual\nmanner, by being conquered, taken prisoner, and shot.\n\nLima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual\nretreat of the sea. It is seven miles from Callao, and is elevated\n500 feet above it; but from the slope being very gradual, the road\nappears absolutely level; so that when at Lima it is difficult to\nbelieve one has ascended even one hundred feet: Humboldt has\nremarked on this singularly deceptive case. Steep barren hills rise\nlike islands from the plain, which is divided, by straight\nmud-walls, into large green fields. In these scarcely a tree grows\nexcepting a few willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of\noranges. The city of Lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the\nstreets are nearly unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up in all\ndirections, where the black gallinazos, tame as poultry, pick up\nbits of carrion. The houses have generally an upper story, built,\non account of the earthquakes, of plastered woodwork; but some of\nthe old ones, which are now used by several families, are immensely\nlarge, and would rival in suites of apartments the most magnificent\nin any place. Lima, the City of the Kings, must formerly have been\na splendid town. The extraordinary number of churches gives it,\neven at the present day, a peculiar and striking character,\nespecially when viewed from a short distance.\n\nOne day I went out with some merchants to hunt in the immediate\nvicinity of the city. Our sport was very poor; but I had an\nopportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the ancient Indian\nvillages, with its mound like a natural hill in the centre. The\nremains of houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, and burial\nmounds, scattered over this plain, cannot fail to give one a high\nidea of the condition and number of the ancient population. When\ntheir earthenware, woollen clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut\nout of the hardest rocks, tools of copper, ornaments of precious\nstones, palaces, and hydraulic works, are considered, it is\nimpossible not to respect the considerable advance made by them in\nthe arts of civilisation. The burial mounds, called Huacas, are\nreally stupendous; although in some places they appear to be\nnatural hills encased and modelled.\n\nThere is also another and very different class of ruins which\npossesses some interest, namely, those of old Callao, overwhelmed\nby the great earthquake of 1746, and its accompanying wave. The\ndestruction must have been more complete even than at Talcahuano.\nQuantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls,\nand vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about like\npebbles by the retiring waves. It has been stated that the land\nsubsided during this memorable shock: I could not discover any\nproof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of\nthe coast must certainly have undergone some change since the\nfoundation of the old town; as no people in their senses would\nwillingly have chosen for their building place the narrow spit of\nshingle on which the ruins now stand. Since our voyage, M. Tschudi\nhas come to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern\nmaps, that the coast both north and south of Lima has certainly\nsubsided.\n\nOn the island of San Lorenzo there are very satisfactory proofs of\nelevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed\nto the belief of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently\ntaken place. The side of this island fronting the Bay of Callao is\nworn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered\nby a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of\neighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea. The height of\nthis bed is eighty-five feet. Many of the shells are deeply\ncorroded, and have a much older and more decayed appearance than\nthose at the height of 500 or 600 feet on the coast of Chile. These\nshells are associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of\nlime (both probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the\nland slowly rose), together with sulphate of soda and muriate of\nlime. They rest on fragments of the underlying sandstone, and are\ncovered by a few inches thick of detritus. The shells higher up on\nthis terrace could be traced scaling off in flakes, and falling\ninto an impalpable powder; and on an upper terrace, at the height\nof 170 feet, and likewise at some considerably higher points, I\nfound a layer of saline powder of exactly similar appearance, and\nlying in the same relative position. I have no doubt that this\nupper layer originally existed as a bed of shells, like that on the\neighty-five-feet ledge; but it does not now contain even a trace of\norganic structure. The powder has been analysed for me by Mr. T.\nReeks; it consists of sulphates and muriates both of lime and soda,\nwith very little carbonate of lime. It is known that common salt\nand carbonate of lime left in a mass for some time together partly\ndecompose each other; though this does not happen with small\nquantities in solution. As the half-decomposed shells in the lower\nparts are associated with much common salt, together with some of\nthe saline substances composing the upper saline layer, and as\nthese shells are corroded and decayed in a remarkable manner, I\nstrongly suspect that this double decomposition has here taken\nplace. The resultant salts, however, ought to be carbonate of soda\nand muriate of lime, the latter is present, but not the carbonate\nof soda. Hence I am led to imagine that by some unexplained means\nthe carbonate of soda becomes changed into the sulphate. It is\nobvious that the saline layer could not have been preserved in any\ncountry in which abundant rain occasionally fell: on the other hand\nthis very circumstance, which at first sight appears so highly\nfavourable to the long preservation of exposed shells, has probably\nbeen the indirect means, through the common salt not having been\nwashed away, of their decomposition and early decay.\n\nI was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the height of\neighty-five feet, EMBEDDED amidst the shells and much sea-drifted\nrubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of\na stalk of Indian corn: I compared these relics with similar ones\ntaken out of the Huacas, or old Peruvian tombs, and found them\nidentical in appearance. On the mainland in front of San Lorenzo,\nnear Bellavista, there is an extensive and level plain about a\nhundred feet high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating\nlayers of sand and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the\nsurface, to the depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish loam,\ncontaining a few scattered sea-shells and numerous small fragments\nof coarse red earthenware, more abundant at certain spots than at\nothers. At first I was inclined to believe that this superficial\nbed, from its wide extent and smoothness, must have been deposited\nbeneath the sea; but I afterwards found in one spot that it lay on\nan artificial floor of round stones. It seems, therefore, most\nprobable that at a period when the land stood at a lower level\nthere was a plain very similar to that now surrounding Callao,\nwhich, being protected by a shingle beach, is raised but very\nlittle above the level of the sea. On this plain, with its\nunderlying red-clay beds, I imagine that the Indians manufactured\ntheir earthen vessels; and that, during some violent earthquake,\nthe sea broke over the beach, and converted the plain into a\ntemporary lake, as happened round Callao in 1713 and 1746. The\nwater would then have deposited mud containing fragments of pottery\nfrom the kilns, more abundant at some spots than at others, and\nshells from the sea. This bed with fossil earthenware stands at\nabout the same height with the shells on the lower terrace of San\nLorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were embedded.\nHence we may safely conclude that within the Indo-human period\nthere has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of more than\neighty-five feet; for some little elevation must have been lost by\nthe coast having subsided since the old maps were engraved. At\nValparaiso, although in the 220 years before our visit the\nelevation cannot have exceeded nineteen feet, yet subsequently to\n1817 there has been a rise, partly insensible and partly by a start\nduring the shock of 1822, of ten or eleven feet. The antiquity of\nthe Indo-human race here, judging by the eighty-five feet rise of\nthe land since the relics were embedded, is the more remarkable, as\non the coast of Patagonia, when the land stood about the same\nnumber of feet lower, the Macrauchenia was a living beast; but as\nthe Patagonian coast is some way distant from the Cordillera, the\nrising there may have been slower than here. At Bahia Blanca the\nelevation has been only a few feet since the numerous gigantic\nquadrupeds were there entombed; and, according to the generally\nreceived opinion, when these extinct animals were living man did\nnot exist. But the rising of that part of the coast of Patagonia is\nperhaps no way connected with the Cordillera, but rather with a\nline of old volcanic rocks in Banda Oriental, so that it may have\nbeen infinitely slower than on the shores of Peru. All these\nspeculations, however, must be vague; for who will pretend to say\nthat there may not have been several periods of subsidence,\nintercalated between the movements of elevation? for we know that\nalong the whole coast of Patagonia there have certainly been many\nand long pauses in the upward action of the elevatory forces.\n\n\n(PLATE 78.  HUACAS, PERUVIAN POTTERY.)\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nGALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.\n\n(PLATE 79.  TESTUDO ABINGDONII, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS.)\n\nThe whole group volcanic.\nNumber of craters.\nLeafless bushes.\nColony at Charles Island.\nJames Island.\nSalt-lake in crater.\nNatural history of the group.\nOrnithology, curious finches.\nReptiles.\nGreat tortoises, habits of.\nMarine Lizard, feeds on Sea-weed.\nTerrestrial Lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous.\nImportance of reptiles in the Archipelago.\nFish, shells, insects.\nBotany.\nAmerican type of organisation.\nDifferences in the species or races on different islands.\nTameness of the birds.\nFear of man an acquired instinct.\n\nSEPTEMBER 15, 1835.\n\n(PLATE 80.  GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO.)\n\n\n\nThis archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five\nexceed the others in size. They are situated under the Equator, and\nbetween five and six hundred miles westward of the coast of\nAmerica. They are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of\ngranite curiously glazed and altered by the heat can hardly be\nconsidered as an exception. Some of the craters surmounting the\nlarger islands are of immense size, and they rise to a height of\nbetween three and four thousand feet. Their flanks are studded by\ninnumerable smaller orifices. I scarcely hesitate to affirm that\nthere must be in the whole archipelago at least two thousand\ncraters. These consist either of lava and scoriae, or of\nfinely-stratified, sandstone-like tuff. Most of the latter are\nbeautifully symmetrical; they owe their origin to eruptions of\nvolcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable circumstance that\nevery one of the twenty-eight tuff-craters which were examined had\ntheir southern sides either much lower than the other sides, or\nquite broken down and removed. As all these craters apparently have\nbeen formed when standing in the sea, and as the waves from the\ntrade wind and the swell from the open Pacific here unite their\nforces on the southern coasts of all the islands, this singular\nuniformity in the broken state of the craters, composed of the soft\nand yielding tuff, is easily explained.\n\nConsidering that these islands are placed directly under the\nequator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems\nchiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surrounding\nwater, brought here by the great southern Polar current. Excepting\nduring one short season very little rain falls, and even then it is\nirregular; but the clouds generally hang low. Hence, whilst the\nlower parts of the islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a\nheight of a thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and a\ntolerably luxuriant vegetation. This is especially the case on the\nwindward sides of the islands, which first receive and condense the\nmoisture from the atmosphere.\n\nIn the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, which, like the\nothers, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and\nthere by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. Nothing\ncould be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of\nblack basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed\nby great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sunburnt\nbrushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and parched\nsurface, being heated by the noonday sun, gave to the air a close\nand sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that\nthe bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently tried to\ncollect as many plants as possible, I succeeded in getting very\nfew; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better\nbecome an arctic than an equatorial Flora. The brushwood appears,\nfrom a short distance, as leafless as our trees during winter; and\nit was some time before I discovered that not only almost every\nplant was now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in\nflower. The commonest bush is one of the Euphorbiaceae: an acacia\nand a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which afford any\nshade. After the season of heavy rains, the islands are said to\nappear for a short time partially green. The volcanic island of\nFernando Noronha, placed in many respects under nearly similar\nconditions, is the only other country where I have seen a\nvegetation at all like this of the Galapagos Islands.\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several\nbays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the island where\nblack truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small\neminence I counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters more or\nless perfect. The greater number consisted merely of a ring of red\nscoriae or slags cemented together: and their height above the\nplain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet: none\nhad been very lately active. The entire surface of this part of the\nisland seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the\nsubterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has\nbeen blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of\ncaverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with\nsteep sides. From the regular form of the many craters, they gave\nto the country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me\nof those parts of Staffordshire where the great iron-foundries are\nmost numerous. The day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the\nrough surface and through the intricate thickets was very\nfatiguing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean scene. As\nI was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of which must\nhave weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece of\ncactus, and as I approached, it stared at me and slowly walked\naway; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head. These huge\nreptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and\nlarge cacti, seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian animals. The\nfew dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the\ngreat tortoises.\n\nSEPTEMBER 23, 1835.\n\nThe \"Beagle\" proceeded to Charles Island. This archipelago has long\nbeen frequented, first by the Bucaniers, and latterly by whalers,\nbut it is only within the last six years that a small colony has\nbeen established here. The inhabitants are between two and three\nhundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have\nbeen banished for political crimes from the Republic of the\nEquator, of which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed\nabout four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a\nthousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed through\nleafless thickets, as in Chatham Island. Higher up the woods\ngradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of\nthe island we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight\nrefreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In this upper region\ncoarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: I saw\nnowhere any member of the Palm family, which is the more singular,\nas 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from the number\nof cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scattered over a flat\nspace of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and\nbananas. It will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of\nblack mud was to us, after having been so long accustomed to the\nparched soil of Peru and Northern Chile. The inhabitants, although\ncomplaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of\nsubsistence. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but\nthe staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises.\nTheir numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island,\nbut the people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for\nthe rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have\ntaken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of\na frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred\ntortoises to the beach.\n\nSEPTEMBER 29, 1835.\n\nWe doubled the south-west extremity of Albemarle Island, and the\nnext day were nearly becalmed between it and Narborough Island.\nBoth are covered with immense deluges of black naked lava, which\nhave flowed either over the rims of the great caldrons, like pitch\nover the rim of a pot in which it has been boiled, or have burst\nforth from smaller orifices on the flanks; in their descent they\nhave spread over miles of the sea-coast. On both of these islands\neruptions are known to have taken place; and in Albemarle we saw a\nsmall jet of smoke curling from the summit of one of the great\ncraters. In the evening we anchored in Bank's Cove, in Albemarle\nIsland. The next morning I went out walking. To the south of the\nbroken tuff-crater, in which the \"Beagle\" was anchored, there was\nanother beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its longer\naxis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about 500 feet.\nAt its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the middle of which a\ntiny crater formed an islet. The day was overpoweringly hot, and\nthe lake looked clear and blue: I hurried down the cindery slope,\nand, choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water--but, to my sorrow,\nI found it salt as brine.\n\nThe rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between\nthree and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-brown\nspecies was equally common. We saw many of this latter kind, some\nclumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling into their\nburrows. I shall presently describe in more detail the habits of\nboth these reptiles. The whole of this northern part of Albemarle\nIsland is miserably sterile.\n\nOCTOBER 8, 1835.\n\nWe arrived at James Island: this island, as well as Charles Island,\nwere long since thus named after our kings of the Stuart line. Mr.\nBynoe, myself, and our servants were left here for a week, with\nprovisions and a tent, whilst the \"Beagle\" went for water. We found\nhere a party of Spaniards who had been sent from Charles Island to\ndry fish and to salt tortoise-meat. About six miles inland and at\nthe height of nearly 2000 feet, a hovel had been built in which two\nmen lived, who were employed in catching tortoises, whilst the\nothers were fishing on the coast. I paid this party two visits, and\nslept there one night. As in the other islands, the lower region\nwas covered by nearly leafless bushes, but the trees were here of a\nlarger growth than elsewhere, several being two feet and some even\ntwo feet nine inches in diameter. The upper region, being kept damp\nby the clouds, supports a green and flourishing vegetation. So damp\nwas the ground, that there were large beds of a coarse cyperus, in\nwhich great numbers of a very small water-rail lived and bred.\nWhile staying in this upper region, we lived entirely upon\ntortoise-meat: the breast-plate roasted (as the Gauchos do carne\ncon cuero), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the young\ntortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste\nis indifferent.\n\nOne day we accompanied a party of the Spaniards in their whale-boat\nto a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. After landing we\nhad a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava, which has\nalmost surrounded a tuff-crater at the bottom of which the\nsalt-lake lies. The water is only three or four inches deep and\nrests on a layer of beautifully crystallised, white salt. The lake\nis quite circular, and is fringed with a border of bright green\nsucculent plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are\nclothed with wood, so that the scene was altogether both\npicturesque and curious. A few years since the sailors belonging to\na sealing-vessel murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and we\nsaw his skull lying among the bushes.\n\nDuring the greater part of our stay of a week the sky was\ncloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour the heat became\nvery oppressive. On two days the thermometer within the tent stood\nfor some hours at 93 degrees; but in the open air, in the wind and\nsun, at only 85 degrees. The sand was extremely hot; the\nthermometer placed in some of a brown colour immediately rose to\n137 degrees, and how much above that it would have risen I do not\nknow for it was not graduated any higher. The black sand felt much\nhotter, so that even in thick boots it was quite disagreeable to\nwalk over it.\n\nThe natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well\ndeserves attention. Most of the organic productions are aboriginal\ncreations found nowhere else; there is even a difference between\nthe inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked\nrelationship with those of America, though separated from that\ncontinent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in\nwidth. The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a\nsatellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray\ncolonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous\nproductions. Considering the small size of these islands, we feel\nthe more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and\nat their confined range. Seeing every height crowned with its\ncrater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still\ndistinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically\nrecent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. Hence, both in space\nand time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great\nfact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings\non this earth.\n\nOf terrestrial mammals there is only one which must be considered\nas indigenous, namely a mouse (Mus Galapagoensis) and this is\nconfined, as far as I could ascertain, to Chatham Island, the most\neasterly island of the group. It belongs, as I am informed by Mr.\nWaterhouse, to a division of the family of mice characteristic of\nAmerica. At James Island there is a rat sufficiently distinct from\nthe common kind to have been named and described by Mr. Waterhouse;\nbut as it belongs to the old-world division of the family, and as\nthis island has been frequented by ships for the last hundred and\nfifty years, I can hardly doubt that this rat is merely a variety\nproduced by the new and peculiar climate, food, and soil, to which\nit has been subjected. Although no one has a right to speculate\nwithout distinct facts, yet even with respect to the Chatham Island\nmouse, it should be borne in mind that it may possibly be an\nAmerican species imported here; for I have seen, in a most\nunfrequented part of the Pampas, a native mouse living in the roof\nof a newly built hovel, and therefore its transportation in a\nvessel is not improbable: analogous facts have been observed by Dr.\nRichardson in North America.\n\nOf land-birds I obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the\ngroup and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like\nfinch from North America (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) which ranges on\nthat continent as far north as 54 degrees, and generally frequents\nmarshes. The other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk,\ncuriously intermediate in structure between a Buzzard and the\nAmerican group of carrion-feeding Polybori; and with these latter\nbirds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice.\nSecondly there are two owls, representing the short-eared and white\nbarn-owls of Europe. Thirdly a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers (two\nof them species of Pyrocephalus, one or both of which would be\nranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove--all\nanalogous to, but distinct from, American species. Fourthly a\nswallow, which though differing from the Progne purpurea of both\nAmericas, only in being rather duller coloured, smaller, and\nslenderer, is considered by Mr. Gould as specifically distinct.\nFifthly there are three species of mocking-thrush--a form highly\ncharacteristic of America. The remaining land-birds form a most\nsingular group of finches, related to each other in the structure\nof their beaks, short tails, form of body and plumage: there are\nthirteen species which Mr. Gould has divided into four sub-groups.\nAll these species are peculiar to this archipelago; and so is the\nwhole group, with the exception of one species of the sub-group\nCactornis, lately brought from Bow Island, in the Low Archipelago.\nOf Cactornis the two species may be often seen climbing about the\nflowers of the great cactus-trees; but all the other species of\nthis group of finches, mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry\nand sterile ground of the lower districts. The males of all, or\ncertainly of the greater number, are jet black; and the females\n(with perhaps one or two exceptions) are brown.\n\n(PLATE 81.  FINCHES FROM GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. 1. Geospiza\nmagnirostris. 2. Geospiza fortis. 3. Geospiza parvula. 4. Certhidea\nolivasea.)\n\nThe most curious fact is the perfect gradation in the size of the\nbeaks in the different species of Geospiza, from one as large as\nthat of a hawfinch to that of a chaffinch, and (if Mr. Gould is\nright in including his sub-group, Certhidea, in the main group)\neven to that of a warbler. The largest beak in the genus Geospiza\nis shown in (Plate 81) Figure 1, and the smallest in Figure 3; but\ninstead of there being only one intermediate species, with a beak\nof the size shown in Figure 2, there are no less than six species\nwith insensibly graduated beaks. The beak of the sub-group\nCerthidea, is shown in Figure 4. The beak of Cactornis is somewhat\nlike that of a starling, and that of the fourth sub-group,\nCamarhynchus, is slightly parrot-shaped. Seeing this gradation and\ndiversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of\nbirds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of\nbirds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified\nfor different ends. In a like manner it might be fancied that a\nbird, originally a buzzard, had been induced here to undertake the\noffice of the carrion-feeding Polybori of the American continent.\n\nOf waders and water-birds I was able to get only eleven kinds, and\nof these only three (including a rail confined to the damp summits\nof the islands) are new species. Considering the wandering habits\nof the gulls, I was surprised to find that the species inhabiting\nthese islands is peculiar, but allied to one from the southern\nparts of South America. The far greater peculiarity of the\nland-birds, namely, twenty-five out of twenty-six being new\nspecies, or at least new races, compared with the waders and\nweb-footed birds, is in accordance with the greater range which\nthese latter orders have in all parts of the world. We shall\nhereafter see this law of aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh\nwater, being less peculiar at any given point of the earth's\nsurface than the terrestrial forms of the same classes, strikingly\nillustrated in the shells, and in a lesser degree in the insects of\nthis archipelago.\n\nTwo of the waders are rather smaller than the same species brought\nfrom other places: the swallow is also smaller, though it is\ndoubtful whether or not it is distinct from its analogue. The two\nowls, the two tyrant-flycatchers (Pyrocephalus) and the dove, are\nalso smaller than the analogous but distinct species, to which they\nare most nearly related; on the other hand, the gull is rather\nlarger. The two owls, the swallow, all three species of\nmocking-thrush, the dove in its separate colours though not in its\nwhole plumage, the Totanus, and the gull, are likewise duskier\ncoloured than their analogous species; and in the case of the\nmocking-thrush and Totanus, than any other species of the two\ngenera. With the exception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, and\nof a tyrant-flycatcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none of the\nbirds are brilliantly coloured, as might have been expected in an\nequatorial district. Hence it would appear probable that the same\ncauses which here make the immigrants of some species smaller, make\nmost of the peculiar Galapageian species also smaller, as well as\nvery generally more dusky coloured. All the plants have a wretched,\nweedy appearance, and I did not see one beautiful flower. The\ninsects, again, are small-sized and dull coloured, and, as Mr.\nWaterhouse informs me, there is nothing in their general appearance\nwhich would have led him to imagine that they had come from under\nthe equator. (17/1. The progress of research has shown that some of\nthese birds, which were then thought to be confined to the islands,\noccur on the American continent. The eminent ornithologist, Mr.\nSclater, informs me that this is the case with the Strix\npunctatissima and Pyrocephalus nanus; and probably with the Otus\ngalapagoensis and Zenaida galapagoensis: so that the number of\nendemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or probably to\ntwenty-one. Mr. Sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic\nforms should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which\nalways seemed to me probable.) The birds, plants, and insects have\na desert character, and are not more brilliantly coloured than\nthose from southern Patagonia; we may, therefore, conclude that the\nusual gaudy colouring of the intertropical productions is not\nrelated either to the heat or light of those zones, but to some\nother cause, perhaps to the conditions of existence being generally\nfavourable to life.\n\nWe will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives the most\nstriking character to the zoology of these islands. The species are\nnot numerous, but the numbers of individuals of each species are\nextraordinarily great. There is one small lizard belonging to a\nSouth American genus, and two species (and probably more) of the\nAmblyrhynchus--a genus confined to the Galapagos Islands. There is\none snake which is numerous; it is identical, as I am informed by\nM. Bibron, with the Psammophis Temminckii from Chile. (17/2. This\nis stated by Dr. Gunther \"Zoological Society\" January 24, 1859, to\nbe a peculiar species, not known to inhabit any other country.) Of\nsea-turtle I believe there are more than one species, and of\ntortoises there are, as we shall presently show, two or three\nspecies or races. Of toads and frogs there are none: I was\nsurprised at this, considering how well suited for them the\ntemperate and damp upper woods appeared to be. It recalled to my\nmind the remark made by Bory St. Vincent, namely, that none of this\nfamily are found on any of the volcanic islands in the great\noceans. (17/3. \"Voyage aux Quatres Iles d'Afrique.\" With respect to\nthe Sandwich Islands see Tyerman and Bennett's \"Journal\" volume 1\npage 434. For Mauritius see \"Voyage par un Officier\" etc. Part 1\npage 170. There are no frogs in the Canary Islands, Webb et\nBerthelot \"Hist. Nat. des Iles Canaries.\" I saw none at St. Jago in\nthe Cape de Verds. There are none at St. Helena.) As far as I can\nascertain from various works, this seems to hold good throughout\nthe Pacific, and even in the large islands of the Sandwich\narchipelago. Mauritius offers an apparent exception, where I saw\nthe Rana Mascariensis in abundance: this frog is said now to\ninhabit the Seychelles, Madagascar, and Bourbon; but on the other\nhand, Du Bois, in his voyage in 1669, states that there were no\nreptiles in Bourbon except tortoises; and the Officier du Roi\nasserts that before 1768 it had been attempted, without success, to\nintroduce frogs into Mauritius--I presume for the purpose of\neating: hence it may be well doubted whether this frog is an\naboriginal of these islands. The absence of the frog family in the\noceanic islands is the more remarkable, when contrasted with the\ncase of lizards, which swarm on most of the smallest islands. May\nthis difference not be caused by the greater facility with which\nthe eggs of lizards, protected by calcareous shells, might be\ntransported through salt-water, than could the slimy spawn of\nfrogs?\n\nI will first describe the habits of the tortoise (Testudo nigra,\nformerly called Indica), which has been so frequently alluded to.\nThese animals are found, I believe, on all the islands of the\nArchipelago; certainly on the greater number. They frequent in\npreference the high damp parts, but they likewise live in the lower\nand arid districts. I have already shown, from the numbers which\nhave been caught in a single day, how very numerous they must be.\nSome grow to an immense size: Mr. Lawson, an Englishman, and\nvice-governor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so\nlarge that it required six or eight men to lift them from the\nground; and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of\nmeat. The old males are the largest, the females rarely growing to\nso great a size: the male can readily be distinguished from the\nfemale by the greater length of its tail. The tortoises which live\non those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid\nparts of the others, feed chiefly on the succulent cactus. Those\nwhich frequent the higher and damp regions eat the leaves of\nvarious trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and\naustere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (Usnera\nplicata), that hangs from the boughs of the trees.\n\nThe tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and\nwallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and\nthese are always situated towards the central parts, and at a\nconsiderable height. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the\nlower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long\ndistance. Hence broad and well-beaten paths branch off in every\ndirection from the wells down to the sea-coast; and the Spaniards,\nby following them up, first discovered the watering-places. When I\nlanded at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled\nso methodically along well-chosen tracks. Near the springs it was a\ncurious spectacle to behold many of these huge creatures, one set\neagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set\nreturning, after having drunk their fill. When the tortoise arrives\nat the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, he buries his\nhead in the water above his eyes, and greedily swallows great\nmouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants\nsay each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of\nthe water, and then returns to the lower country; but they differed\nrespecting the frequency of these visits. The animal probably\nregulates them according to the nature of the food on which it has\nlived. It is, however, certain that tortoises can subsist even on\nthose islands where there is no other water than what falls during\na few rainy days in the year.\n\nI believe it is well ascertained that the bladder of the frog acts\nas a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence: such\nseems to be the case with the tortoise. For some time after a visit\nto the springs, their urinary bladders are distended with fluid,\nwhich is said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less\npure. The inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and\novercome with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance,\nand drink the contents of the bladder if full: in one I saw killed,\nthe fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter\ntaste. The inhabitants, however, always first drink the water in\nthe pericardium, which is described as being best.\n\nThe tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, travel by\nnight and day and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than\nwould be expected. The inhabitants, from observing marked\nindividuals, consider that they travel a distance of about eight\nmiles in two or three days. One large tortoise, which I watched,\nwalked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is 360 yards\nin the hour, or four miles a day,--allowing a little time for it to\neat on the road. During the breeding season, when the male and\nfemale are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing,\nwhich, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a\nhundred yards. The female never uses her voice, and the male only\nat these times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know\nthat the two are together. They were at this time (October) laying\ntheir eggs. The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them\ntogether, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is\nrocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hole: Mr. Bynoe found\nseven placed in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical; one\nwhich I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in\ncircumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. The young\ntortoises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great\nnumbers to the carrion-feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally\nto die from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least,\nseveral of the inhabitants told me that they never found one dead\nwithout some evident cause.\n\nThe inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf;\ncertainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them.\nI was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters, as\nit was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I\npassed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep\nhiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I\nfrequently got on their backs, and then giving a few raps on the\nhinder part of their shells, they would rise up and walk away;--but\nI found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this\nanimal is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a\nbeautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is\ncaught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to\nsee inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is\nthick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and it is said to\nrecover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the\ntortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they\nare often able to get on their legs again.\n\nThere can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal\ninhabitant of the Galapagos; for it is found on all, or nearly all,\nthe islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there is no\nwater; had it been an imported species this would hardly have been\nthe case in a group which has been so little frequented. Moreover,\nthe old Bucaniers found this tortoise in greater numbers even than\nat present: Wood and Rogers also, in 1708, say that it is the\nopinion of the Spaniards that it is found nowhere else in this\nquarter of the world. It is now widely distributed; but it may be\nquestioned whether it is in any other place an aboriginal. The\nbones of a tortoise at Mauritius, associated with those of the\nextinct Dodo, have generally been considered as belonging to this\ntortoise; if this had been so, undoubtedly it must have been there\nindigenous; but M. Bibron informs me that he believes that it was\ndistinct, as the species now living there certainly is.\n\n(PLATE 82.  AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS. a. Tooth of natural size, and\nlikewise magnified.)\n\nThe Amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined to\nthis archipelago; there are two species, resembling each other in\ngeneral form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. This\nlatter species (A. cristatus) was first characterised by Mr. Bell,\nwho well foresaw, from its short, broad head, and strong claws of\nequal length, that its habits of life would turn out very peculiar,\nand different from those of its nearest ally, the Iguana. It is\nextremely common on all the islands throughout the group, and lives\nexclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least I\nnever saw one, even ten yards in-shore. It is a hideous-looking\ncreature, of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its\nmovements. The usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard,\nbut there are some even four feet long; a large one weighed twenty\npounds: on the island of Albemarle they seem to grow to a greater\nsize than elsewhere. Their tails are flattened sideways, and all\nfour feet partially webbed. They are occasionally seen some hundred\nyards from the shore, swimming about; and Captain Collnett, in his\nVoyage says, \"They go to sea in herds a-fishing, and sun themselves\non the rocks; and may be called alligators in miniature.\" It must\nnot, however, be supposed that they live on fish. When in the water\nthis lizard swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine\nmovement of its body and flattened tail--the legs being motionless\nand closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sank one,\nwith a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it\ndirectly; but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up the line, it was\nquite active. Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted\nfor crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava which\neverywhere form the coast. In such situations a group of six or\nseven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black\nrocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with\noutstretched legs.\n\nI opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely distended\nwith minced sea-weed (Ulvae), which grows in thin foliaceous\nexpansions of a bright green or a dull red colour. I do not\nrecollect having observed this sea-weed in any quantity on the\ntidal rocks; and I have reason to believe it grows at the bottom of\nthe sea, at some little distance from the coast. If such be the\ncase, the object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is\nexplained. The stomach contained nothing but the sea-weed. Mr.\nBynoe, however, found a piece of a crab in one; but this might have\ngot in accidentally, in the same manner as I have seen a\ncaterpillar, in the midst of some lichen, in the paunch of a\ntortoise. The intestines were large, as in other herbivorous\nanimals. The nature of this lizard's food, as well as the structure\nof its tail and feet, and the fact of its having been seen\nvoluntarily swimming out at sea, absolutely prove its aquatic\nhabits; yet there is in this respect one strange anomaly, namely,\nthat when frightened it will not enter the water. Hence it is easy\nto drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging the\nsea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their\ntails than jump into the water. They do not seem to have any notion\nof biting; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of fluid\nfrom each nostril. I threw one several times as far as I could,\ninto a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably\nreturned in a direct line to the spot where I stood. It swam near\nthe bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and\noccasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet. As\nsoon as it arrived near the edge, but still being under water, it\ntried to conceal itself in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered\nsome crevice. As soon as it thought the danger was past, it crawled\nout on the dry rocks, and shuffled away as quickly as it could. I\nseveral times caught this same lizard, by driving it down to a\npoint, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and\nswimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water; and as often\nas I threw it in, it returned in the manner above described.\nPerhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted\nfor by the circumstance that this reptile has no enemy whatever on\nshore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous\nsharks. Hence, probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct\nthat the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may\nbe, it there takes refuge.\n\nDuring our visit (in October) I saw extremely few small individuals\nof this species, and none I should think under a year old. From\nthis circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season had\nnot then commenced. I asked several of the inhabitants if they knew\nwhere it laid its eggs: they said that they knew nothing of its\npropagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land\nkind--a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a\nlittle extraordinary.\n\nWe will now turn to the terrestrial species (A. Demarlii), with a\nround tail, and toes without webs. This lizard, instead of being\nfound like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central\npart of the archipelago, namely to Albemarle, James, Barrington,\nand Indefatigable islands. To the southward, in Charles, Hood, and\nChatham Islands, and to the northward, in Towers, Bindloes, and\nAbingdon, I neither saw nor heard of any. It would appear as if it\nhad been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had\nbeen dispersed only to a certain distance. Some of these lizards\ninhabit the high and damp parts of the islands, but they are much\nmore numerous in the lower and sterile districts near the coast. I\ncannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers, than by stating\nthat when we were left at James Island, we could not for some time\nfind a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single\ntent. Like their brothers the sea-kind, they are ugly animals, of a\nyellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from\ntheir low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance.\nThey are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the marine species;\nbut several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds. In\ntheir movements they are lazy and half torpid. When not frightened,\nthey slowly crawl along with their tails and bellies dragging on\nthe ground. They often stop, and doze for a minute or two, with\nclosed eyes and hind legs spread out on the parched soil.\n\n\n\n\n\nThey inhabit burrows which they sometimes make between fragments of\nlava, but more generally on level patches of the soft\nsandstone-like tuff. The holes do not appear to be very deep, and\nthey enter the ground at a small angle; so that when walking over\nthese lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to\nthe annoyance of the tired walker. This animal, when making its\nburrow, works alternately the opposite sides of its body. One front\nleg for a short time scratches up the soil, and throws it towards\nthe hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the\nmouth of the hole. That side of the body being tired, the other\ntakes up the task, and so on alternately. I watched one for a long\ntime, till half its body was buried; I then walked up and pulled it\nby the tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled\nup to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as\nmuch as to say, \"What made you pull my tail?\"\n\nThey feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if\nfrightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except when\nrunning down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently from the\nlateral position of their legs. They are not at all timorous: when\nattentively watching any one, they curl their tails, and, raising\nthemselves on their front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a\nquick movement, and try to look very fierce; but in reality they\nare not at all so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their\ntails, and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. I have\nfrequently observed small fly-eating lizards, when watching\nanything, nod their heads in precisely the same manner; but I do\nnot at all know for what purpose. If this Amblyrhynchus is held and\nplagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely; but I caught\nmany by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. If two are\nplaced on the ground and held together, they will fight, and bite\neach other till blood is drawn.\n\nThe individuals, and they are the greater number, which inhabit the\nlower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout the\nyear; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the branches\nof which are occasionally broken off by the wind. I several times\nthrew a piece to two or three of them when together; and it was\namusing enough to see them trying to seize and carry it away in\ntheir mouths, like so many hungry dogs with a bone. They eat very\ndeliberately, but do not chew their food. The little birds are\naware how harmless these creatures are: I have seen one of the\nthick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which\nis much relished by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a\nlizard was eating at the other end; and afterwards the little bird\nwith the utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile.\n\nI opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of vegetable\nfibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an acacia. In\nthe upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent\nberries of the guayavita, under which trees I have seen these\nlizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. To obtain the\nacacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees; and it is not\nuncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch\nseveral feet above the ground. These lizards, when cooked, yield a\nwhite meat, which is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all\nprejudices. Humboldt has remarked that in intertropical South\nAmerica all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed\ndelicacies for the table. The inhabitants state that those which\ninhabit the upper damp parts drink water, but that the others do\nnot, like the tortoises, travel up for it from the lower sterile\ncountry. At the time of our visit, the females had within their\nbodies numerous, large, elongated eggs, which they lay in their\nburrows: the inhabitants seek them for food.\n\nThese two species of Amblyrhynchus agree, as I have already stated,\nin their general structure, and in many of their habits. Neither\nhave that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera Lacerta\nand Iguana. They are both herbivorous, although the kind of\nvegetation on which they feed is so very different. Mr. Bell has\ngiven the name to the genus from the shortness of the snout:\nindeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to that of the\ntortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation to their\nherbivorous appetites. It is very interesting thus to find a\nwell-characterised genus, having its marine and terrestrial\nspecies, belonging to so confined a portion of the world. The\naquatic species is by far the most remarkable, because it is the\nonly existing lizard which lives on marine vegetable productions.\nAs I at first observed, these islands are not so remarkable for the\nnumber of the species of reptiles, as for that of the individuals,\nwhen we remember the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of\nhuge tortoises--the many turtles--the great warrens of the\nterrestrial Amblyrhynchus--and the groups of the marine species\nbasking on the coast-rocks of every island--we must admit that\nthere is no other quarter of the world where this Order replaces\nthe herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. The\ngeologist on hearing this will probably refer back in his mind to\nthe Secondary epochs, when lizards, some herbivorous, some\ncarnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only with our existing\nwhales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. It is, therefore,\nworthy of his observation that this archipelago, instead of\npossessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, cannot be\nconsidered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for an equatorial\nregion, remarkably temperate.\n\nTo finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish which I\nprocured here are all new species; they belong to twelve genera,\nall widely distributed, with the exception of Prionotus, of which\nthe four previously known species live on the eastern side of\nAmerica. Of land-shells I collected sixteen kinds (and two marked\nvarieties) of which, with the exception of one Helix found at\nTahiti, all are peculiar to this archipelago: a single fresh-water\nshell (Paludina) is common to Tahiti and Van Diemen's Land. Mr.\nCuming, before our voyage, procured here ninety species of\nsea-shells, and this does not include several species not yet\nspecifically examined, of Trochus, Turbo, Monodonta, and Nassa. He\nhas been kind enough to give me the following interesting results:\nof the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are unknown\nelsewhere--a wonderful fact, considering how widely distributed\nsea-shells generally are. Of the forty-three shells found in other\nparts of the world, twenty-five inhabit the western coast of\nAmerica, and of these eight are distinguishable as varieties; the\nremaining eighteen (including one variety) were found by Mr. Cuming\nin the Low Archipelago, and some of them also at the Philippines.\nThis fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the\nPacific occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single\nsea-shell is known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to\nthe west coast of America. The space of open sea running north and\nsouth off the west coast separates two quite distinct conchological\nprovinces; but at the Galapagos Archipelago we have a\nhalting-place, where many new forms have been created, and whither\nthese two great conchological provinces have each sent several\ncolonists. The American province has also sent here representative\nspecies; for there is a Galapageian species of Monoceros, a genus\nonly found on the west coast of America; and there are Galapageian\nspecies of Fissurella and Cancellaria, genera common on the west\ncoast, but not found (as I am informed by Mr. Cuming) in the\ncentral islands of the Pacific. On the other hand, there are\nGalapageian species of Oniscia and Stylifer, genera common to the\nWest Indies and to the Chinese and Indian seas, but not found\neither on the west coast of America or in the central Pacific. I\nmay here add, that after the comparison by Messrs. Cuming and Hinds\nof about 2000 shells from the eastern and western coasts of\nAmerica, only one single shell was found in common, namely, the\nPurpura patula, which inhabits the West Indies, the coast of\nPanama, and the Galapagos. We have, therefore, in this quarter of\nthe world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct,\nthough surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north\nand south spaces either of land or of open sea.\n\nI took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting Tierra\ndel Fuego, I never saw in this respect so poor a country. Even in\nthe upper and damp region I procured very few, excepting some\nminute Diptera and Hymenoptera, mostly of common mundane forms. As\nbefore remarked, the insects, for a tropical region, are of very\nsmall size and dull colours. Of beetles I collected twenty-five\nspecies (excluding a Dermestes and Corynetes imported wherever a\nship touches); of these, two belong to the Harpalidae, two to the\nHydrophilidae, nine to three families of the Heteromera, and the\nremaining twelve to as many different families. This circumstance\nof insects (and I may add plants), where few in number, belonging\nto many different families, is, I believe, very general. Mr.\nWaterhouse, who has published an account of the insects of this\narchipelago, and to whom I am indebted for the above details,\ninforms me that there are several new genera; and that of the\ngenera not new, one or two are American, and the rest of mundane\ndistribution. (17/4. \"Annals and Magazine of Natural History\"\nvolume 16 page 19.) With the exception of a wood-feeding Apate, and\nof one or probably two water-beetles from the American continent,\nall the species appear to be new.\n\nThe botany of this group is fully as interesting as the zoology.\nDr. J. Hooker will soon publish in the \"Linnean Transactions\" a\nfull account of the Flora, and I am much indebted to him for the\nfollowing details. Of flowering plants there are, as far as at\npresent is known, 185 species, and 40 cryptogamic species, making\ntogether 225; of this number I was fortunate enough to bring home\n193. Of the flowering plants, 100 are new species, and are probably\nconfined to this archipelago. Dr. Hooker conceives that, of the\nplants not so confined, at least 10 species found near the\ncultivated ground at Charles Island have been imported. It is, I\nthink, surprising that more American species have not been\nintroduced naturally, considering that the distance is only between\n500 and 600 miles from the continent, and that (according to\nCollnet, page 58) drift-wood, bamboos, canes, and the nuts of a\npalm, are often washed on the south-eastern shores. The proportion\nof 100 flowering plants out of 185 (or 175 excluding the imported\nweeds) being new, is sufficient, I conceive, to make the Galapagos\nArchipelago a distinct botanical province; but this Flora is not\nnearly so peculiar as that of St. Helena, nor, as I am informed by\nDr. Hooker, of Juan Fernandez. The peculiarity of the Galapageian\nFlora is best shown in certain families;--thus there are 21 species\nof Compositae, of which 20 are peculiar to this archipelago; these\nbelong to twelve genera, and of these genera no less than ten are\nconfined to the archipelago! Dr. Hooker informs me that the Flora\nhas an undoubted Western American character; nor can he detect in\nit any affinity with that of the Pacific. If, therefore, we except\nthe eighteen marine, the one fresh-water, and one land-shell, which\nhave apparently come here as colonists from the central islands of\nthe Pacific, and likewise the one distinct Pacific species of the\nGalapageian group of finches, we see that this archipelago, though\nstanding in the Pacific Ocean, is zoologically part of America.\n\nIf this character were owing merely to immigrants from America,\nthere would be little remarkable in it; but we see that a vast\nmajority of all the land animals, and that more than half of the\nflowering plants, are aboriginal productions. It was most striking\nto be surrounded by new birds, new reptiles, new shells, new\ninsects, new plants, and yet by innumerable trifling details of\nstructure, and even by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds,\nto have the temperate plains of Patagonia, or the hot dry deserts\nof Northern Chile, vividly brought before my eyes. Why, on these\nsmall points of land, which within a late geological period must\nhave been covered by the ocean, which are formed of basaltic lava,\nand therefore differ in geological character from the American\ncontinent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate,--why were\ntheir aboriginal inhabitants, associated, I may add, in different\nproportions both in kind and number from those on the continent,\nand therefore acting on each other in a different manner--why were\nthey created on American types of organisation? It is probable that\nthe islands of the Cape de Verd group resemble, in all their\nphysical conditions, far more closely the Galapagos Islands than\nthese latter physically resemble the coast of America, yet the\naboriginal inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike; those\nof the Cape de Verd Islands bearing the impress of Africa, as the\ninhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago are stamped with that of\nAmerica.\n\nI have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the\nnatural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different\nislands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set\nof beings. My attention was first called to this fact by the\nVice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed\nfrom the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell\nfrom which island any one was brought. I did not for some time pay\nsufficient attention to this statement, and I had already partially\nmingled together the collections from two of the islands. I never\ndreamed that islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of them\nin sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed\nunder a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height,\nwould have been differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that\nthis is the case. It is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to\ndiscover what is most interesting in any locality, than they are\nhurried from it; but I ought, perhaps, to be thankful that I\nobtained sufficient materials to establish this most remarkable\nfact in the distribution of organic beings.\n\nThe inhabitants, as I have said, state that they can distinguish\nthe tortoises from the different islands; and that they differ not\nonly in size, but in other characters. Captain Porter has described\nthose from Charles and from the nearest island to it, namely, Hood\nIsland, as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a\nSpanish saddle, whilst the tortoises from James Island are rounder,\nblacker, and have a better taste when cooked. (17/5. \"Voyage in the\nU.S. ship Essex\" volume 1 page 215.) M. Bibron, moreover, informs\nme that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of\ntortoise from the Galapagos, but he does not know from which\nislands. The specimens that I brought from three islands were young\nones: and probably owing to this cause neither Mr. Gray nor myself\ncould find in them any specific differences. I have remarked that\nthe marine Amblyrhynchus was larger at Albemarle Island than\nelsewhere; and M. Bibron informs me that he has seen two distinct\naquatic species of this genus; so that the different islands\nprobably have their representative species or races of the\nAmblyrhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. My attention was first\nthoroughly aroused by comparing together the numerous specimens,\nshot by myself and several other parties on board, of the\nmocking-thrushes, when, to my astonishment, I discovered that all\nthose from Charles Island belonged to one species (Mimus\ntrifasciatus) all from Albemarle Island to M. parvulus; and all\nfrom James and Chatham Islands (between which two other islands are\nsituated, as connecting links) belonged to M. melanotis. These two\nlatter species are closely allied, and would by some ornithologists\nbe considered as only well-marked races or varieties; but the Mimus\ntrifasciatus is very distinct. Unfortunately most of the specimens\nof the finch tribe were mingled together; but I have strong reasons\nto suspect that some of the species of the sub-group Geospiza are\nconfined to separate islands. If the different islands have their\nrepresentatives of Geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly\nlarge number of the species of this sub-group in this one small\narchipelago, and as a probable consequence of their numbers, the\nperfectly graduated series in the size of their beaks. Two species\nof the sub-group Cactornis, and two of the Camarhynchus, were\nprocured in the archipelago; and of the numerous specimens of these\ntwo sub-groups shot by four collectors at James Island, all were\nfound to belong to one species of each; whereas the numerous\nspecimens shot either on Chatham or Charles Island (for the two\nsets were mingled together) all belonged to the two other species:\nhence we may feel almost sure that these islands possess their\nrepresentative species of these two sub-groups. In land-shells this\nlaw of distribution does not appear to hold good. In my very small\ncollection of insects, Mr. Waterhouse remarks that of those which\nwere ticketed with their locality, not one was common to any two of\nthe islands.\n\n\nTABLE 17/1.\n\nColumn 1 : Name of Island.\n\nColumn 2 : Total Number of species.\n\nColumn 3 : Number of species found in other parts of the world.\n\nColumn 4 : Number of Species confined to the Galapagos\nArchipelago.\n\nColumn 5 : Number confined to the one island.\n\nColumn 6 : Number of Species confined to the Galapagos\nArchipelago, but found           on more than the one island.\n\nJames     : 71 : 33  : 38 : 30 :  8.\nAlbemarle : 46 : 18  : 26 : 22 :  4.\nChatham   : 32 : 16  : 16 : 12 :  4.\nCharles   : 68 : 39* : 29 : 21 :  8.\n               *(or 29, if the probably imported plants be\n                 subtracted.)\nIf we now turn to the Flora, we shall find the aboriginal plants of\nthe different islands wonderfully different. I give all the\nfollowing results (Table 17/1) on the high authority of my friend\nDr. J. Hooker. I may premise that I indiscriminately collected\neverything in flower on the different islands, and fortunately kept\nmy collections separate. Too much confidence, however, must not be\nplaced in the proportional results, as the small collections\nbrought home by some other naturalists though in some respects\nconfirming the results, plainly show that much remains to be done\nin the botany of this group: the Leguminosae, moreover, have as yet\nbeen only approximately worked out:--\n\nHence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in James Island, of\nthe thirty-eight Galapageian plants, or those found in no other\npart of the world, thirty are exclusively confined to this one\nisland; and in Albemarle Island, of the twenty-six aboriginal\nGalapageian plants, twenty-two are confined to this one island,\nthat is, only four are at present known to grow in the other\nislands of the archipelago; and so on, as shown in the above table,\nwith the plants from Chatham and Charles Islands. This fact will,\nperhaps, be rendered even more striking, by giving a few\nillustrations:--thus, Scalesia, a remarkable arborescent genus of\nthe Compositae, is confined to the archipelago: it has six species:\none from Chatham, one from Albemarle, one from Charles Island, two\nfrom James Island, and the sixth from one of the three latter\nislands, but it is not known from which: not one of these six\nspecies grows on any two islands. Again, Euphorbia, a mundane or\nwidely distributed genus, has here eight species, of which seven\nare confined to the archipelago, and not one found on any two\nislands: Acalypha and Borreria, both mundane genera, have\nrespectively six and seven species, none of which have the same\nspecies on two islands, with the exception of one Borreria, which\ndoes occur on two islands. The species of the Compositae are\nparticularly local; and Dr. Hooker has furnished me with several\nother most striking illustrations of the difference of the species\non the different islands. He remarks that this law of distribution\nholds good both with those genera confined to the archipelago, and\nthose distributed in other quarters of the world: in like manner we\nhave seen that the different islands have their proper species of\nthe mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely distributed\nAmerican genus of the mocking-thrush, as well as of two of the\nGalapageian sub-groups of finches, and almost certainly of the\nGalapageian genus Amblyrhynchus.\n\nThe distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would not be\nnearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had a\nmocking-thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct\ngenus;--if one island had its genus of lizard, and a second island\nanother distinct genus, or none whatever;--or if the different\nislands were inhabited, not by representative species of the same\ngenera of plants, but by totally different genera, as does to a\ncertain extent hold good; for, to give one instance, a large\nberry-bearing tree at James Island has no representative species in\nCharles Island. But it is the circumstance that several of the\nislands possess their own species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush,\nfinches, and numerous plants, these species having the same general\nhabits, occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the\nsame place in the natural economy of this archipelago, that strikes\nme with wonder. It may be suspected that some of these\nrepresentative species, at least in the case of the tortoise and of\nsome of the birds, may hereafter prove to be only well-marked\nraces; but this would be of equally great interest to the\nphilosophical naturalist. I have said that most of the islands are\nin sight of each other: I may specify that Charles Island is fifty\nmiles from the nearest part of Chatham Island, and thirty-three\nmiles from the nearest part of Albemarle Island. Chatham Island is\nsixty miles from the nearest part of James Island, but there are\ntwo intermediate islands between them which were not visited by me.\nJames Island is only ten miles from the nearest part of Albemarle\nIsland, but the two points where the collections were made are\nthirty-two miles apart. I must repeat, that neither the nature of\nthe soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, nor the general\ncharacter of the associated beings, and therefore their action one\non another, can differ much in the different islands. If there be\nany sensible difference in their climates, it must be between the\nwindward group (namely, Charles and Chatham Islands), and that to\nleeward; but there seems to be no corresponding difference in the\nproductions of these two halves of the archipelago.\n\nThe only light which I can throw on this remarkable difference in\nthe inhabitants of the different islands is that very strong\ncurrents of the sea running in a westerly and west-north-westerly\ndirection must separate, as far as transportal by the sea is\nconcerned, the southern islands from the northern ones; and between\nthese northern islands a strong north-west current was observed,\nwhich must effectually separate James and Albemarle Islands. As the\narchipelago is free to a most remarkable degree from gales of wind,\nneither the birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from\nisland to island. And lastly, the profound depth of the ocean\nbetween the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geological\nsense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they were\never united; and this, probably, is a far more important\nconsideration than any other with respect to the geographical\ndistribution of their inhabitants. Reviewing the facts here given,\none is astonished at the amount of creative force, if such an\nexpression may be used, displayed on these small, barren, and rocky\nislands; and still more so, at its diverse yet analogous action on\npoints so near each other. I have said that the Galapagos\nArchipelago might be called a satellite attached to America, but it\nshould rather be called a group of satellites, physically similar,\norganically distinct, yet intimately related to each other, and all\nrelated in a marked though much lesser degree, to the great\nAmerican continent.\n\nI will conclude my description of the natural history of these\nislands by giving an account of the extreme tameness of the birds.\n\nThis disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely,\nto the mocking-thrushes, the finches, wrens, tyrant-flycatchers,\nthe dove, and carrion-buzzard. All of them often approached\nsufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as I\nmyself tried, with a cap or hat. A gun is here almost superfluous;\nfor with the muzzle I pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. One\nday, whilst lying down, a mocking-thrush alighted on the edge of a\npitcher, made of the shell of a tortoise, which I held in my hand,\nand began very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it\nfrom the ground whilst seated on the vessel: I often tried, and\nvery nearly succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs.\nFormerly the birds appear to have been even tamer than at present.\nCowley (in the year 1684) says that the \"Turtledoves were so tame,\nthat they would often alight on our hats and arms, so as that we\ncould take them alive: they not fearing man, until such time as\nsome of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered\nmore shy.\" Dampier also, in the same year, says that a man in a\nmorning's walk might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. At\npresent, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on\npeople's arms, nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such\nlarge numbers. It is surprising that they have not become wilder;\nfor these islands during the last hundred and fifty years have been\nfrequently visited by bucaniers and whalers; and the sailors,\nwandering through the wood in search of tortoises, always take\ncruel delight in knocking down the little birds.\n\nThese birds, although now still more persecuted, do not readily\nbecome wild: in Charles Island, which had then been colonised about\nsix years, I saw a boy sitting by a well with a switch in his hand,\nwith which he killed the doves and finches as they came to drink.\nHe had already procured a little heap of them for his dinner, and\nhe said that he had constantly been in the habit of waiting by this\nwell for the same purpose. It would appear that the birds of this\narchipelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more dangerous\nanimal than the tortoise or the Amblyrhynchus, disregard him, in\nthe same manner as in England shy birds, such as magpies, disregard\nthe cows and horses grazing in our fields.\n\nThe Falkland Islands offer a second instance of birds with a\nsimilar disposition. The extraordinary tameness of the little\nOpetiorhynchus has been remarked by Pernety, Lesson, and other\nvoyagers. It is not, however, peculiar to that bird: the Polyborus,\nsnipe, upland and lowland goose, thrush, bunting, and even some\ntrue hawks, are all more or less tame. As the birds are so tame\nthere, where foxes, hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the\nabsence of all rapacious animals at the Galapagos is not the cause\nof their tameness here. The upland geese at the Falklands show, by\nthe precaution they take in building on the islets, that they are\naware of their danger from the foxes; but they are not by this\nrendered wild towards man. This tameness of the birds, especially\nof the waterfowl, is strongly contrasted with the habits of the\nsame species in Tierra del Fuego, where for ages past they have\nbeen persecuted by the wild inhabitants. In the Falklands, the\nsportsman may sometimes kill more of the upland geese in one day\nthan he can carry home; whereas in Tierra del Fuego it is nearly as\ndifficult to kill one as it is in England to shoot the common wild\ngoose.\n\nIn the time of Pernety (1763) all the birds there appear to have\nbeen much tamer than at present; he states that the Opetiorhynchus\nwould almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed\nten in half an hour. At that period the birds must have been about\nas tame as they now are at the Galapagos. They appear to have\nlearnt caution more slowly at these latter islands than at the\nFalklands, where they have had proportionate means of experience;\nfor besides frequent visits from vessels, those islands have been\nat intervals colonised during the entire period. Even formerly,\nwhen all the birds were so tame, it was impossible by Pernety's\naccount to kill the black-necked swan--a bird of passage, which\nprobably brought with it the wisdom learnt in foreign countries.\n\nI may add that, according to Du Bois, all the birds at Bourbon in\n1571-72, with the exception of the flamingoes and geese, were so\nextremely tame, that they could be caught by the hand, or killed in\nany number with a stick. Again, at Tristan d'Acunha in the\nAtlantic, Carmichael states that the only two land-birds, a thrush\nand a bunting, were \"so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught\nwith a hand-net.\" (17/6. \"Linnean Transactions\" volume 12 page 496.\nThe most anomalous fact on this subject which I have met with is\nthe wildness of the small birds in the Arctic parts of North\nAmerica (as described by Richardson \"Fauna Bor.\" volume 2 page\n332), where they are said never to be persecuted. This case is the\nmore strange, because it is asserted that some of the same species\nin their winter-quarters in the United States are tame. There is\nmuch, as Dr. Richardson well remarks, utterly inexplicable\nconnected with the different degrees of shyness and care with which\nbirds conceal their nests. How strange it is that the English\nwood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very frequently rear\nits young in shrubberies close to houses!) From these several facts\nwe may, I think, conclude, first, that the wildness of birds with\nregard to man is a particular instinct directed against HIM, and\nnot dependent upon any general degree of caution arising from other\nsources of danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual\nbirds in a short time, even when much persecuted; but that in the\ncourse of successive generations it becomes hereditary. With\ndomesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental habits or\ninstincts acquired and rendered hereditary; but with animals in a\nstate of nature it must always be most difficult to discover\ninstances of acquired hereditary knowledge. In regard to the\nwildness of birds towards man, there is no way of accounting for\nit, except as an inherited habit: comparatively few young birds, in\nany one year, have been injured by man in England, yet almost all,\neven nestlings, are afraid of him; many individuals, on the other\nhand, both at the Galapagos and at the Falklands, have been pursued\nand injured by man, but yet have not learned a salutary dread of\nhim. We may infer from these facts, what havoc the introduction of\nany new beast of prey must cause in a country, before the instincts\nof the indigenous inhabitants have become adapted to the stranger's\ncraft or power.\n\n\n(PLATE 83.  OPUNTIA GALAPAGEIA, JAMES ISLAND. C. DARWIN'S SKETCH.\nStem 6 to 10 feet. Diameter 1 foot.)\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n(PLATE 84.  AVA OR KAVA (Macropiper methysticum), TAHITI.)\n\nTAHITI AND NEW ZEALAND.\n\nPass through the Low Archipelago.\nTahiti.\nAspect.\nVegetation on the mountains.\nView of Eimeo.\nExcursion into the interior.\nProfound ravines.\nSuccession of waterfalls.\nNumber of wild useful plants.\nTemperance of the inhabitants.\nTheir moral state.\nParliament convened.\nNew Zealand.\nBay of islands.\nHippahs.\nExcursion to Waimate.\nMissionary establishment.\nEnglish weeds now run wild.\nWaiomio.\nFuneral of a New Zealand woman.\nSail for Australia.\n\nOCTOBER 20, 1835.\n\n\n\nThe survey of the Galapagos Archipelago being concluded, we steered\ntowards Tahiti and commenced our long passage of 3200 miles. In the\ncourse of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded\nocean-district which extends during the winter far from the coast\nof South America. We then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while\nrunning pleasantly along at the rate of 150 or 160 miles a day\nbefore the steady trade-wind. The temperature in this more central\npart of the Pacific is higher than near the American shore. The\nthermometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between 80\nand 83 degrees, which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or\ntwo higher, the heat becomes oppressive. We passed through the Low\nor Dangerous Archipelago, and saw several of those most curious\nrings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have\nbeen called Lagoon Islands. A long and brilliantly-white beach is\ncapped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking\neither way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath\nthe horizon. From the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water can\nbe seen within the ring. These low hollow coral islands bear no\nproportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and\nit seems wonderful that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed by\nthe all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea,\nmiscalled the Pacific.\n\nNOVEMBER 15, 1835.\n\nAt daylight, Tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical\nto the voyager in the South Sea, was in view. At a distance the\nappearance was not attractive. The luxuriant vegetation of the\nlower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past,\nthe wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards\nthe centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in Matavai Bay, we\nwere surrounded by canoes. This was our Sunday, but the Monday of\nTahiti: if the case had been reversed, we should not have received\na single visit; for the injunction not to launch a canoe on the\nSabbath is rigidly obeyed. After dinner we landed to enjoy all the\ndelights produced by the first impressions of a new country, and\nthat country the charming Tahiti. A crowd of men, women, and\nchildren, was collected on the memorable Point Venus, ready to\nreceive us with laughing, merry faces. They marshalled us towards\nthe house of Mr. Wilson, the missionary of the district, who met us\non the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. After sitting a\nshort time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned\nthere in the evening.\n\nThe land capable of cultivation is scarcely in any part more than a\nfringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the\nmountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef,\nwhich encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef there is\nan expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes\nof the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. The low\nland which comes down to the beach of coral-sand is covered by the\nmost beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. In the\nmidst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots\nare cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, the sugar-cane, and\npine-apples are cultivated. Even the brushwood is an imported\nfruit-tree, namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become\nas noxious as a weed. In Brazil I have often admired the varied\nbeauty of the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together;\nand here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large,\nglossy, and deeply digitated leaf. It is admirable to behold groves\nof a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour of an English\noak, loaded with large and most nutritious fruit. However seldom\nthe usefulness of an object can account for the pleasure of\nbeholding it, in the case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge\nof their high productiveness no doubt enters largely into the\nfeeling of admiration. The little winding paths, cool from the\nsurrounding shade, led to the scattered houses; the owners of which\neverywhere gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception.\n\nI was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants. There\nis a mildness in the expression of their countenances which at once\nbanishes the idea of a savage; and an intelligence which shows that\nthey are advancing in civilisation. The common people, when\nworking, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked; and it is\nthen that the Tahitians are seen to advantage. They are very tall,\nbroad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. It has been\nremarked that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more\npleasing and natural to the eye of a European than his own colour.\nA white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian was like a plant\nbleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one\ngrowing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are\ntattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so\ngracefully that they have a very elegant effect. One common\npattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a\npalm-tree. It springs from the central line of the back, and\ngracefully curls round both sides. The simile may be a fanciful\none, but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the\ntrunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper.\n\nMany of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures,\nso placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, however, is partly\ngone by, and has been succeeded by others. Here, although fashion\nis far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in\nhis youth. An old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his\nbody, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. The women are\ntattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their\nfingers. One unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: namely,\nshaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a circular\nform, so as to leave only an outer ring. The missionaries have\ntried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the\nfashion, and that is a sufficient answer at Tahiti, as well as at\nParis. I was much disappointed in the personal appearance of the\nwomen: they are far inferior in every respect to the men. The\ncustom of wearing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the\nhead, or through a small hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of\nwoven cocoa-nut leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The\nwomen appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even\nthan the men.\n\nNearly all the natives understand a little English--that is, they\nknow the names of common things; and by the aid of this, together\nwith signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on. In\nreturning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a very\npretty scene. Numbers of children were playing on the beach, and\nhad lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding\ntrees; others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. We seated\nourselves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs were\nimpromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one little girl\nsang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty\nchorus. The whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were\nseated on the shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea.\n\nNOVEMBER 17, 1835.\n\nThis day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday the 17th, instead\nof Monday the 16th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the\nsun. Before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of\ncanoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, I\nsuppose there could not have been less than two hundred. It was the\nopinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have\npicked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have\ngiven so little trouble. Everybody brought something for sale:\nshells were the main article of trade. The Tahitians now fully\nunderstand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or\nother articles. The various coins, however, of English and Spanish\ndenomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small\nsilver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs\nhave accumulated considerable sums of money. One chief, not long\nsince, offered 800 dollars (about 160 pounds sterling) for a small\nvessel; and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the\nrate of from 50 to 100 dollars.\n\nAfter breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to\na height of between two and three thousand feet. The outer\nmountains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic\nrocks, of which they are formed, have been cut through by many\nprofound ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the\nisland to the coast. Having crossed the narrow low girt of\ninhabited and fertile land, I followed a smooth steep ridge between\ntwo of the deep ravines. The vegetation was singular, consisting\nalmost exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled, higher up, with\ncoarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the\nWelsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants\non the coast was very surprising. At the highest point which I\nreached trees again appeared. Of the three zones of comparative\nluxuriance, the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore\nfertility, to its flatness; for, being scarcely raised above the\nlevel of the sea, the water from the higher land drains away\nslowly. The intermediate zone does not, like the upper one, reach\ninto a damp and cloudy atmosphere, and therefore remains sterile.\nThe woods in the upper zone are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing\nthe cocoa-nuts on the coast. It must not, however, be supposed that\nthese woods at all equal in splendour the forests of Brazil. The\nvast number of productions, which characterise a continent, cannot\nbe expected to occur in an island.\n\n(PLATE 85.  EIMEO AND BARRIER-REEF.)\n\nFrom the highest point which I attained there was a good view of\nthe distant island of Eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign with\nTahiti. On the lofty and broken pinnacles white massive clouds were\npiled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as Eimeo itself\ndid in the blue ocean. The island, with the exception of one small\ngateway, is completely encircled by a reef. At this distance, a\nnarrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone visible,\nwhere the waves first encountered the wall of coral. The mountains\nrose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included\nwithin this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of\nthe ocean were dark-coloured. The view was striking: it may aptly\nbe compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the\nbreakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the\nisland itself. When in the evening I descended from the mountain, a\nman, whom I had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with\nhim hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. After\nwalking under a burning sun, I do not know anything more delicious\nthan the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples are here so\nabundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner as we\nmight turnips. They are of an excellent flavour--perhaps even\nbetter than those cultivated in England; and this I believe is the\nhighest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. Before going on\nboard, Mr. Wilson interpreted for me to the Tahitian who had paid\nme so adroit an attention, that I wanted him and another man to\naccompany me on a short excursion into the mountains.\n\nNOVEMBER 18, 1835.\n\nIn the morning I came on shore early, bringing with me some\nprovisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant. These\nwere lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately\ncarried by my Tahitian companions on their shoulders. These men are\naccustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds\nat each end of their poles. I told my guides to provide themselves\nwith food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty of food\nin the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were\nsufficient. Our line of march was the valley of Tia-auru, down\nwhich a river flows into the sea by Point Venus. This is one of the\nprincipal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of\nthe loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about\n7000 feet. The whole island is so mountainous that the only way to\npenetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. Our road,\nat first, lay through woods which bordered each side of the river;\nand the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an\navenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side,\nwere extremely picturesque. The valley soon began to narrow, and\nthe sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. After having walked\nbetween three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine\nscarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. On each hand the\nwalls were nearly vertical; yet from the soft nature of the\nvolcanic strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every\nprojecting ledge. These precipices must have been some thousand\nfeet high; and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more\nmagnificent than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until the\nmid-day sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and\ndamp, but now it became very sultry. Shaded by a ledge of rock,\nbeneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. My guides had\nalready procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. They\ncarried with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the\nwater was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with\ntheir eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus\ncaught them.\n\nThe Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the\nwater. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how much they feel at\nhome in this element. When a horse was landing for Pomarre in 1817,\nthe slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the\nnatives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at\nassistance almost drowned it. As soon, however, as it reached the\nshore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide\nthemselves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse.\n\nA little higher up, the river divided itself into three little\nstreams. The two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a\nsuccession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of\nthe highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally\ninaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary\nroad. The sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as\nfrequently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected,\nwhich were thickly covered by wild bananas, liliaceous plants, and\nother luxuriant productions of the tropics. The Tahitians, by\nclimbing amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered\na track by which the whole precipice could be scaled. The first\nascent from the valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to\npass a steeply inclined face of naked rock by the aid of ropes\nwhich we brought with us. How any person discovered that this\nformidable spot was the only point where the side of the mountain\nwas practicable, I cannot imagine. We then cautiously walked along\none of the ledges till we came to one of the three streams. This\nledge formed a flat spot above which a beautiful cascade, some\nhundred feet in height, poured down its waters, and beneath,\nanother high cascade fell into the main stream in the valley below.\nFrom this cool and shady recess we made a circuit to avoid the\noverhanging waterfall. As before, we followed little projecting\nledges, the danger being partly concealed by the thickness of the\nvegetation. In passing from one of the ledges to another there was\na vertical wall of rock. One of the Tahitians, a fine active man,\nplaced the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by\nthe aid of crevices reached the summit. He fixed the ropes to a\nprojecting point, and lowered them for our dog and luggage, and\nthen we clambered up ourselves. Beneath the ledge on which the dead\ntree was placed, the precipice must have been five or six hundred\nfeet deep; and if the abyss had not been partly concealed by the\noverhanging ferns and lilies my head would have turned giddy, and\nnothing should have induced me to have attempted it. We continued\nto ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife-edged\nridges, having on each hand profound ravines. In the Cordillera I\nhave seen mountains on a far grander scale, but for abruptness\nnothing at all comparable with this. In the evening we reached a\nflat little spot on the banks of the same stream which we had\ncontinued to follow, and which descends in a chain of waterfalls:\nhere we bivouacked for the night. On each side of the ravine there\nwere great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit.\nMany of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and\nfrom three to four in circumference. By the aid of strips of bark\nfor rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, and the large leaf of\nthe banana for a thatch, the Tahitians in a few minutes built us an\nexcellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed.\n\n(PLATE 86.  FATAHUA FALL, TAHITI.)\n\n(PLATE 87.  TAHITIAN.)\n\nThey then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. A\nlight was procured by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove\nmade in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the\nfriction the dust became ignited. A peculiarly white and very light\nwood (the Hibiscus tiliaceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is\nthe same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the\nfloating out-riggers to their canoes. The fire was produced in a\nfew seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, it\nrequires, as I found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my\ngreat pride, I succeeded in igniting the dust. The Gaucho in the\nPampas uses a different method: taking an elastic stick about\neighteen inches long, he presses one end on his breast, and the\nother pointed end into a hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly\nturns the curved part like a carpenter's centre-bit. The Tahitians\nhaving made a small fire of sticks, placed a score of stones of\nabout the size of cricket-balls, on the burning wood. In about ten\nminutes the sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. They had\npreviously folded up in small parcels of leaves, pieces of beef,\nfish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops of the wild arum. These\ngreen parcels were laid in a layer between two layers of the hot\nstones, and the whole then covered up with earth, so that no smoke\nor steam could escape. In about a quarter of an hour the whole was\nmost deliciously cooked. The choice green parcels were now laid on\na cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-nut shell we drank the\ncool water of the running stream; and thus we enjoyed our rustic\nmeal.\n\nI could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration. On\nevery side were forests of bananas; the fruit of which, though\nserving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the\nground. In front of us there was an extensive brake of wild\nsugar-cane; and the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted\nstem of the Ava,--so famous in former days for its powerful\nintoxicating effects. I chewed a piece, and found that it had an\nacrid and unpleasant taste, which would have induced any one at\nonce to have pronounced it poisonous. Thanks to the missionaries,\nthis plant now thrives only in these deep ravines, innocuous to\nevery one. Close by I saw the wild arum, the roots of which, when\nwell baked, are good to eat, and the young leaves better than\nspinach. There was the wild yam, and a liliaceous plant called Ti,\nwhich grows in abundance, and has a soft brown root, in shape and\nsize like a huge log of wood: this served us for dessert, for it is\nas sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant taste. There were,\nmoreover, several other wild fruits, and useful vegetables. The\nlittle stream, besides its cool water, produced eels and crayfish.\nI did indeed admire this scene, when I compared it with an\nuncultivated one in the temperate zones. I felt the force of the\nremark that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers\nonly partly developed, is the child of the tropics.\n\nAs the evening drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy shade\nof the bananas up the course of the stream. My walk was soon\nbrought to a close by coming to a waterfall between two and three\nhundred feet high; and again above this there was another. I\nmention all these waterfalls in this one brook to give a general\nidea of the inclination of the land. In the little recess where the\nwater fell, it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown.\nThe thin edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray,\nwere unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split\ninto a thousand shreds. From our position, almost suspended on the\nmountain-side, there were glimpses into the depths of the\nneighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of the central\nmountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half\nthe evening sky. Thus seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch\nthe shades of night gradually obscuring the last and highest\npinnacles.\n\nBefore we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder Tahitian fell on\nhis knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his\nnative tongue. He prayed as a Christian should do, with fitting\nreverence, and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of\npiety. At our meals neither of the men would taste food, without\nsaying beforehand a short grace. Those travellers who think that a\nTahitian prays only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on\nhim, should have slept with us that night on the mountain-side.\nBefore morning it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of\nbanana-leaves kept us dry.\n\nNOVEMBER 19, 1835.\n\nAt daylight my friends, after their morning prayer, prepared an\nexcellent breakfast in the same manner as in the evening. They\nthemselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed I never saw any\nmen eat near so much. I suppose such enormously capacious stomachs\nmust be the effect of a large part of their diet consisting of\nfruit and vegetables which contain, in a given bulk, a\ncomparatively small portion of nutriment. Unwittingly, I was the\nmeans of my companions breaking, as I afterwards learned, one of\ntheir own laws and resolutions: I took with me a flask of spirits,\nwhich they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they\ndrank a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and\nuttered the word \"Missionary.\" About two years ago, although the\nuse of the ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of\nspirits became very prevalent. The missionaries prevailed on a few\ngood men who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to\njoin with them in a Temperance Society. From good sense or shame,\nall the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join.\nImmediately a law was passed that no spirits should be allowed to\nbe introduced into the island, and that he who sold and he who\nbought the forbidden article should be punished by a fine. With\nremarkable justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand\nto be sold, before the law came into effect. But when it did, a\ngeneral search was made, in which even the houses of the\nmissionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the natives\ncall all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. When one\nreflects on the effect of intemperance on the aborigines of the two\nAmericas, I think it will be acknowledged that every well-wisher of\nTahiti owes no common debt of gratitude to the missionaries. As\nlong as the little island of St. Helena remained under the\ngovernment of the East India Company, spirits, owing to the great\ninjury they had produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine\nwas supplied from the Cape of Good Hope. It is rather a striking,\nand not very gratifying fact, that in the same year that spirits\nwere allowed to be sold in St. Helena, their use was banished from\nTahiti by the free will of the people.\n\nAfter breakfast we proceeded on our journey. As my object was\nmerely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by\nanother track, which descended into the main valley lower down. For\nsome distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of\nthe mountain which formed the valley. In the less precipitous parts\nwe passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. The\nTahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads\nornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these\ngroves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some\nprimeval land. In our descent we followed the line of ridges; these\nwere exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep as a\nladder; but all clothed with vegetation. The extreme care necessary\nin poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. I did not cease\nto wonder at these ravines and precipices: when viewing the country\nfrom one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so\nsmall that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from a\nballoon. In this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only\nonce, at the point where we entered the main valley. We slept under\nthe same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before: the night\nwas fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the gorge,\nprofoundly dark.\n\nBefore actually seeing this country, I found it difficult to\nunderstand two facts mentioned by Ellis; namely, that after the\nmurderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered\nside retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could\nresist a multitude. Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where\nthe Tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed\nthousands. Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity,\nthere were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats\nwere unknown to the more civilised inhabitants.\n\nNOVEMBER 20, 1835.\n\nIn the morning we started early, and reached Matavai at noon. On\nthe road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild\nbananas. I found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in\nwatering, had moved to the harbour of Papawa, to which place I\nimmediately walked. This is a very pretty spot. The cove is\nsurrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. The\ncultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed\nwith cottages, comes close down to the water's edge.\n\nFrom the varying accounts which I had read before reaching these\nislands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a\njudgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would\nnecessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very\nmuch depend on one's previously acquired ideas. My notions were\ndrawn from Ellis's \"Polynesian Researches\"--an admirable and most\ninteresting work, but naturally looking at everything under a\nfavourable point of view, from Beechey's \"Voyage;\" and from that of\nKotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system.\nHe who compares these three accounts will, I think, form a\ntolerably accurate conception of the present state of Tahiti. One\nof my impressions, which I took from the two last authorities, was\ndecidedly incorrect; namely, that the Tahitians had become a gloomy\nrace, and lived in fear of the missionaries. Of the latter feeling\nI saw no trace, unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded\nunder one name. Instead of discontent being a common feeling, it\nwould be difficult in Europe to pick out of a crowd half so many\nmerry and happy faces. The prohibition of the flute and dancing is\ninveighed against as wrong and foolish;--the more than presbyterian\nmanner of keeping the Sabbath is looked at in a similar light. On\nthese points I will not pretend to offer any opinion, in opposition\nto men who have resided as many years as I was days on the island.\n\nOn the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of\nthe inhabitants are highly creditable. There are many who attack,\neven more acrimoniously than Kotzebue, both the missionaries, their\nsystem, and the effects produced by it. Such reasoners never\ncompare the present state with that of the island only twenty years\nago; nor even with that of Europe at this day; but they compare it\nwith the high standard of Gospel perfection. They expect the\nmissionaries to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to\ndo. Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this\nhigh standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of\ncredit for that which he has effected. They forget, or will not\nremember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous\npriesthood--a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part\nof the world--infanticide a consequence of that system--bloody\nwars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children--that\nall these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance,\nand licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of\nChristianity. In a voyager to forget these things is base\ningratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck\non some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson\nof the missionary may have extended thus far.\n\nIn point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often\nsaid, is most open to exception. But before they are blamed too\nseverely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes\ndescribed by Captain Cook and Mr. Banks, in which the grandmothers\nand mothers of the present race played a part. Those who are most\nsevere, should consider how much of the morality of the women in\nEurope is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their\ndaughters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of\nreligion. But it is useless to argue against such reasoners;--I\nbelieve that, disappointed in not finding the field of\nlicentiousness quite so open as formerly, they will not give credit\nto a morality which they do not wish to practise, or to a religion\nwhich they undervalue, if not despise.\n\nSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1835.\n\nThe harbour of Papiete, where the queen resides, may be considered\nas the capital of the island: it is also the seat of government,\nand the chief resort of shipping. Captain Fitz Roy took a party\nthere this day to hear divine service, first in the Tahitian\nlanguage, and afterwards in our own. Mr. Pritchard, the leading\nmissionary in the island, performed the service. The chapel\nconsisted of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to\nexcess by tidy, clean people, of all ages and both sexes. I was\nrather disappointed in the apparent degree of attention; but I\nbelieve my expectations were raised too high. At all events the\nappearance was quite equal to that in a country church in England.\nThe singing of the hymns was decidedly very pleasing, but the\nlanguage from the pulpit, although fluently delivered, did not\nsound well: a constant repetition of words, like \"tata ta, mata\nmai,\" rendered it monotonous. After English service, a party\nreturned on foot to Matavai. It was a pleasant walk, sometimes\nalong the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the many\nbeautiful trees.\n\nAbout two years ago, a small vessel under English colours was\nplundered by some of the inhabitants of the Low Islands, which were\nthen under the dominion of the Queen of Tahiti. It was believed\nthat the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some\nindiscreet laws issued by her majesty. The British government\ndemanded compensation; which was acceded to, and a sum of nearly\nthree thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last\nSeptember. The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain Fitz Roy to\ninquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were\nnot paid. Captain Fitz Roy accordingly requested an interview with\nthe Queen Pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she has\nreceived from the French; and a parliament was held to consider the\nquestion, at which all the principal chiefs of the island and the\nqueen were assembled. I will not attempt to describe what took\nplace, after the interesting account given by Captain Fitz Roy. The\nmoney, it appeared, had not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons\nwere rather equivocal; but otherwise I cannot sufficiently express\nour general surprise at the extreme good sense, the reasoning\npowers, moderation, candour, and prompt resolution, which were\ndisplayed on all sides. I believe we all left the meeting with a\nvery different opinion of the Tahitians from what we entertained\nwhen we entered. The chiefs and people resolved to subscribe and\ncomplete the sum which was wanting; Captain Fitz Roy urged that it\nwas hard that their private property should be sacrificed for the\ncrimes of distant islanders. They replied that they were grateful\nfor his consideration, but that Pomarre was their Queen, and that\nthey were determined to help her in this her difficulty. This\nresolution and its prompt execution, for a book was opened early\nthe next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very remarkable\nscene of loyalty and good feeling.\n\nAfter the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took the\nopportunity of asking Captain Fitz Roy many intelligent questions\non international customs and laws, relating to the treatment of\nships and foreigners. On some points, as soon as the decision was\nmade, the law was issued verbally on the spot. This Tahitian\nparliament lasted for several hours; and when it was over Captain\nFitz Roy invited Queen Pomarre to pay the \"Beagle\" a visit.\n\nNOVEMBER 25, 1835.\n\nIn the evening four boats were sent for her majesty; the ship was\ndressed with flags, and the yards manned on her coming on board.\nShe was accompanied by most of the chiefs. The behaviour of all was\nvery proper: they begged for nothing, and seemed much pleased with\nCaptain Fitz Roy's presents. The Queen is a large awkward woman,\nwithout any beauty, grace or dignity. She has only one royal\nattribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all\ncircumstances, and that rather a sullen one. The rockets were most\nadmired, and a deep \"Oh!\" could be heard from the shore, all round\nthe dark bay, after each explosion. The sailors' songs were also\nmuch admired; and the queen said she thought that one of the most\nboisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! The royal party did\nnot return on shore till past midnight.\n\nNOVEMBER 26, 1835.\n\nIn the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was steered for\nNew Zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view of the\nmountains of Tahiti--the island to which every voyager has offered\nup his tribute of admiration.\n\nDECEMBER 19, 1835.\n\nIn the evening we saw in the distance New Zealand. We may now\nconsider that we have nearly crossed the Pacific. It is necessary\nto sail over this great ocean to comprehend its immensity. Moving\nquickly onwards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the\nsame blue, profoundly deep, ocean. Even within the archipelagoes,\nthe islands are mere specks, and far distant one from the other.\nAccustomed to look at maps drawn on a small scale, where dots,\nshading, and names are crowded together, we do not rightly judge\nhow infinitely small the proportion of dry land is to the water of\nthis vast expanse. The meridian of the Antipodes has likewise been\npassed; and now every league, it made us happy to think, was one\nleague nearer to England. These Antipodes call to one's mind old\nrecollections of childish doubt and wonder. Only the other day I\nlooked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in our\nvoyage homewards; but now I find it, and all such resting-places\nfor the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards\ncannot catch. A gale of wind lasting for some days has lately given\nus full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward\nvoyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination.\n\nDECEMBER 21, 1835.\n\nEarly in the morning we entered the Bay of Islands, and being\nbecalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did not reach the\nanchorage till the middle of the day. The country is hilly, with a\nsmooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the\nsea extending from the bay. The surface appears from a distance as\nif clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing but\nfern. On the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the\nvalleys, there is a good deal of woodland. The general tint of the\nlandscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a\nshort distance to the south of Concepcion in Chile. In several\nparts of the bay little villages of square tidy-looking houses are\nscattered close down to the water's edge. Three whaling-ships were\nlying at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from shore\nto shore; with these exceptions, an air of extreme quietness\nreigned over the whole district. Only a single canoe came\nalongside. This, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a\nremarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and\nboisterous welcome at Tahiti.\n\nIn the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of\nhouses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. Its name\nis Pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no\nnative residents except servants and labourers. In the vicinity of\nthe Bay of Islands the number of Englishmen, including their\nfamilies, amounts to between two and three hundred. All the\ncottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the\nproperty of the English. The hovels of the natives are so\ndiminutive and paltry that they can scarcely be perceived from a\ndistance. At Pahia it was quite pleasing to behold the English\nflowers in the gardens before the houses; there were roses of\nseveral kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of\nsweetbriar.\n\nDECEMBER 22, 1835.\n\nIn the morning I went out walking; but I soon found that the\ncountry was very impracticable. All the hills are thickly covered\nwith tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a\ncypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated. I\nthen tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my\nwalk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. The\ncommunication between the inhabitants of the different parts of the\nbay is (as in Chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats. I was\nsurprised to find that almost every hill which I ascended had been\nat some former time more or less fortified. The summits were cut\ninto steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been\nprotected by deep trenches. I afterwards observed that the\nprincipal hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline.\nThese are the Pas, so frequently mentioned by Captain Cook under\nthe name of \"hippah;\" the difference of sound being owing to the\nprefixed article.\n\nThat the Pas had formerly been much used was evident from the piles\nof shells, and the pits in which, as I was informed, sweet potatoes\nused to be kept as a reserve. As there was no water on these hills,\nthe defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a\nhurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces\nwould have afforded good protection. The general introduction of\nfirearms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed\nsituation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. The Pas\nin consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level\npiece of ground. They consist of a double stockade of thick and\ntall posts, placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be\nflanked. Within the stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind\nwhich the defenders can rest in safety, or use their firearms over\nit. On the level of the ground little archways sometimes pass\nthrough this breastwork, by which means the defenders can crawl out\nto the stockade and reconnoitre their enemies. The Reverend W.\nWilliams, who gave me this account, added that in one Pas he had\nnoticed spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected\nside of the mound of earth. On asking the chief the use of them, he\nreplied, that if two or three of his men were shot their neighbours\nwould not see the bodies, and so be discouraged.\n\nThese Pas are considered by the New Zealanders as very perfect\nmeans of defence: for the attacking force is never so well\ndisciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and\neffect their entry. When a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot\norder one party to go here and another there; but every man fights\nin the manner which best pleases himself; and to each separate\nindividual to approach a stockade defended by firearms must appear\ncertain death. I should think a more warlike race of inhabitants\ncould not be found in any part of the world than the New\nZealanders. Their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by\nCaptain Cook, strongly illustrates this: the act of throwing\nvolleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their\ndefiance of \"Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all,\" shows\nuncommon boldness. This warlike spirit is evident in many of their\ncustoms, and even in their smallest actions. If a New Zealander is\nstruck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned; and of\nthis I saw an instance with one of our officers.\n\nAt the present day, from the progress of civilisation, there is\nmuch less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. I\nheard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in\nthe south. A missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation\nfor war;--their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition\nready. He reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little\nprovocation which had been given for it. The chief was much shaken\nin his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred\nto him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that\nit would not keep much longer. This was brought forward as an\nunanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring\nwar: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not\nto be thought of; and this settled the point. I was told by the\nmissionaries that in the life of Shongi, the chief who visited\nEngland, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every\naction. The tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time\nbeen much oppressed by another tribe from the Thames River. A\nsolemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys should grow\nup, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or\nforgive these injuries. To fulfil this oath appears to have been\nShongi's chief motive for going to England; and when there it was\nhis sole object. Presents were valued only as they could be\nconverted into arms; of the arts, those alone interested him which\nwere connected with the manufacture of arms. When at Sydney,\nShongi, by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the\nThames River at the house of Mr. Marsden: their conduct was civil\nto each other; but Shongi told him that when again in New Zealand\nhe would never cease to carry war into his country. The challenge\nwas accepted; and Shongi on his return fulfilled the threat to the\nutmost letter. The tribe on the Thames River was utterly\noverthrown, and the chief to whom the challenge had been given was\nhimself killed. Shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of\nhatred and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured\nperson.\n\nIn the evening I went with Captain Fitz Roy and Mr. Baker, one of\nthe missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika: we wandered about\nthe village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both\nmen, women, and children. Looking at the New Zealander, one\nnaturally compares him with the Tahitian; both belonging to the\nsame family of mankind. The comparison, however, tells heavily\nagainst the New Zealander. He may, perhaps be superior in energy,\nbut in every other respect his character is of a much lower order.\nOne glance at their respective expressions brings conviction to the\nmind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. It would be\nvain to seek in the whole of New Zealand a person with the face and\nmien of the old Tahitian chief Utamme. No doubt the extraordinary\nmanner in which tattooing is here practised gives a disagreeable\nexpression to their countenances. The complicated but symmetrical\nfigures covering the whole face puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed\neye: it is moreover probable that the deep incisions, by destroying\nthe play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid\ninflexibility. But, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye\nwhich cannot indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. Their\nfigures are tall and bulky; but not comparable in elegance with\nthose of the working-classes in Tahiti.\n\nBoth their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the\nidea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to\nenter their heads. I saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and\nmatted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he\nreplied, with surprise, \"Do not you see it is an old one?\" Some of\nthe men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large\nblankets, generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their\nshoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the\nprincipal chiefs have decent suits of English clothes; but these\nare only worn on great occasions.\n\nDECEMBER 23, 1835.\n\nAt a place called Waimate, about fifteen miles from the Bay of\nIslands, and midway between the eastern and western coasts, the\nmissionaries have purchased some land for agricultural purposes. I\nhad been introduced to the Reverend W. Williams, who, upon my\nexpressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. Mr. Bushby,\nthe British resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek,\nwhere I should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk\nwould be shortened. He likewise procured for me a guide. Upon\nasking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief himself\noffered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was so\ncomplete, that at first he asked how many pounds I would give him,\nbut afterwards was well contented with two dollars. When I showed\nthe chief a very small bundle which I wanted carried, it became\nabsolutely necessary for him to take a slave. These feelings of\npride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man would\nsooner have died than undergone the indignity of carrying the\nsmallest burden. My companion was a light active man, dressed in a\ndirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. He had\nformerly been a great warrior. He appeared to be on very cordial\nterms with Mr. Bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled\nviolently. Mr. Bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would\nfrequently silence any one of these natives in their most\nblustering moments. This chief has come and harangued Mr. Bushby in\na hectoring manner, saying, \"A great chief, a great man, a friend\nof mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something\ngood to eat, some fine presents, etc.\" Mr. Bushby has allowed him\nto finish his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some\nanswer such as, \"What else shall your slave do for you?\" The man\nwould then instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his\nbraggadocio.\n\nSome time ago Mr. Bushby suffered a far more serious attack. A\nchief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the\nmiddle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a\nbrisk firing with their muskets. Mr. Bushby was slightly wounded,\nbut the party was at length driven away. Shortly afterwards it was\ndiscovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the\nchiefs was convened to consider the case. It was considered by the\nNew Zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night\nattack, and that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill in the house: this\nlatter circumstance, much to their honour, being considered in all\ncases as a protection. The chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of\nthe aggressor to the King of England. The whole proceeding,\nhowever, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely without\nprecedent. The aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of\nhis equals; and this was considered by the British as of more\nconsequence than the confiscation of his land.\n\nAs the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who\nonly wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. I\nnever saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had.\nIt immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness: it will\nbe found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin,\nwhere two men are pushing Robert into the burning iron furnace. It\nis the man who has his arm on Robert's breast. Physiognomy here\nspoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was\nan arrant coward to boot. At the point where the boat landed, Mr.\nBushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: I could not\nhelp admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we\nleft lying in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby, \"Do not you\nstay long, I shall be tired of waiting here.\"\n\nWe now commenced our walk. The road lay along a well-beaten path,\nbordered on each side by the tall fern which covers the whole\ncountry. After travelling some miles we came to a little country\nvillage, where a few hovels were collected together, and some\npatches of ground cultivated with potatoes. The introduction of the\npotato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now\nmuch more used than any native vegetable. New Zealand is favoured\nby one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can\nnever perish from famine. The whole country abounds with fern: and\nthe roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much\nnutriment. A native can always subsist on these, and on the\nshell-fish which are abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. The\nvillages are chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised\non four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on which the\nproduce of the fields is kept secure from all accidents.\n\nOn coming near one of the huts I was much amused by seeing in due\nform the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called,\npressing noses. The women, on our first approach, began uttering\nsomething in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves\ndown and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one\nafter another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to\ntheirs, and commenced pressing. This lasted rather longer than a\ncordial shake of the hand with us, and as we vary the force of the\ngrasp of the hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. During the\nprocess they uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the\nsame manner as two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. I\nnoticed that the slave would press noses with any one he met,\nindifferently either before or after his master the chief. Although\namong these savages the chief has absolute power of life and death\nover his slave, yet there is an entire absence of ceremony between\nthem. Mr. Burchell has remarked the same thing in Southern Africa\nwith the rude Bachapins. Where civilisation has arrived at a\ncertain point, complex formalities soon arise between the different\ngrades of society: thus at Tahiti all were formerly obliged to\nuncover themselves as low as the waist in presence of the king.\n\nThe ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with all\npresent, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of\nthe-hovels, and rested there half an hour. All the hovels have\nnearly the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being\nfilthily dirty. They resemble a cow-shed with one end open, but\nhaving a partition a little way within, with a square hole in it,\nmaking a small gloomy chamber. In this the inhabitants keep all\ntheir property, and when the weather is cold they sleep there. They\neat, however, and pass their time in the open part in front. My\nguides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. The path\nled through the same undulating country, the whole uniformly\nclothed as before with fern. On our right hand we had a serpentine\nriver, the banks of which were fringed with trees, and here and\nthere on the hill-sides there was a clump of wood. The whole scene,\nin spite of its green colour, had rather a desolate aspect. The\nsight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility:\nthis, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick\nand breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of\nthe residents think that all this extensive open country originally\nwas covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. It\nis said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of\nresin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. The\nnatives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the\nfern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the\nopen cleared tracks. The almost entire absence of associated\ngrasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of\nthis island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been\naboriginally covered with forest-trees.\n\nThe soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over slaggy lavas,\nand craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the\nneighbouring hills. Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and\nonly occasionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I should have enjoyed\nit more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed\nextraordinary conversational powers. I knew only three words:\n\"good,\" \"bad,\" and \"yes:\" and with these I answered all his\nremarks, without of course having understood one word he said.\nThis, however, was quite sufficient: I was a good listener, an\nagreeable person, and he never ceased talking to me.\n\nAt length we reached Waimate. After having passed over so many\nmiles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of\nan English farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as\nif by an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. Mr. Williams\nnot being at home, I received in Mr. Davies's house a cordial\nwelcome. After drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll\nabout the farm. At Waimate there are three large houses, where the\nmissionary gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside;\nand near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an adjoining\nslope fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and\nin another part fields of potatoes and clover. But I cannot attempt\nto describe all I saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit\nand vegetable which England produces; and many belonging to a\nwarmer clime. I may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers,\nrhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives,\ngooseberries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks;\nalso many kinds of flowers. Around the farmyard there were stables,\na thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge,\nand on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was\nthat happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together,\nas in every English farmyard. At the distance of a few hundred\nyards, where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a\npool, there was a large and substantial water-mill.\n\nAll this is very surprising when it is considered that five years\nago nothing but the fern flourished here. Moreover, native\nworkmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this\nchange;--the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. The\nhouse had been built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and\neven the trees grafted, by the New Zealander. At the mill a New\nZealander was seen powdered white with flower, like his brother\nmiller in England. When I looked at this whole scene I thought it\nadmirable. It was not merely that England was brought vividly\nbefore my mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic\nsounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its\ntrees, might well have been mistaken for our fatherland: nor was it\nthe triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen could effect, but\nrather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this\nfine island.\n\nSeveral young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery, were\nemployed on the farm. They were dressed in a shirt, jacket, and\ntrousers, and had a respectable appearance. Judging from one\ntrifling anecdote, I should think they must be honest. When walking\nin the fields, a young labourer came up to Mr. Davies and gave him\na knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and\ndid not know to whom they belonged! These young men and boys\nappeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening I saw a party\nof them at cricket: when I thought of the austerity of which the\nmissionaries have been accused, I was amused by observing one of\ntheir own sons taking an active part in the game. A more decided\nand pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who acted as\nservants within the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy\nappearance, like that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a\nwonderful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in\nKororadika. The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them\nnot to be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the\nsouth, they said, \"We really must just have a few lines on our\nlips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be\nso very ugly.\" There is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly;\nbut as it is a badge of distinction between the chief and the\nslave, it will probably long be practised. So soon does any train\nof ideas become habitual, that the missionaries told me that even\nin their eyes a plain face looked mean, and not like that of a New\nZealand gentleman.\n\nLate in the evening I went to Mr. Williams's house, where I passed\nthe night. I found there a large party of children, collected\ntogether for Christmas Day, and all sitting round a table at tea. I\nnever saw a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was\nin the centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious\ncrimes! The cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the\nfaces of the little circle appeared equally felt by the older\npersons of the mission.\n\nDECEMBER 24, 1835.\n\nIn the morning prayers were read in the native tongue to the whole\nfamily. After breakfast I rambled about the gardens and farm. This\nwas a market-day, when the natives of the surrounding hamlets bring\ntheir potatoes, Indian corn, or pigs, to exchange for blankets,\ntobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the\nmissionaries, for soap. Mr. Davies's eldest son, who manages a farm\nof his own, is the man of business in the market. The children of\nthe missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand\nthe language better than their parents, and can get anything more\nreadily done by the natives.\n\nA little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me to\npart of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. I\nmeasured one of these noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in\ncircumference above the roots. There was another close by, which I\ndid not see, thirty-three feet; and I heard of one no less than\nforty feet. These trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical\nboles, which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet,\nwith a nearly equal diameter, and without a single branch. The\ncrown of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to\nthe trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the\nbranches. The forest was here almost composed of the kauri; and the\nlargest trees, from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like\ngigantic columns of wood. The timber of the kauri is the most\nvaluable production of the island; moreover, a quantity of resin\noozes from the bark, which is sold at a penny a pound to the\nAmericans, but its use was then unknown. Some of the New Zealand\nforests must be impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. Mr.\nMatthews informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in\nwidth, and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for\nthe first time, been crossed. He and another missionary, each with\na party of about fifty men, undertook to open a road, but it cost\nthem more than a fortnight's labour! In the woods I saw very few\nbirds. With regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact, that\nso large an island, extending over more than 700 miles in latitude,\nand in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine\nclimate, and land of all heights, from 14,000 feet downwards, with\nthe exception of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous\nanimal. The several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the\nDeinornis, seem here to have replaced mammiferous quadrupeds, in\nthe same manner as the reptiles still do at the Galapagos\nArchipelago. It is said that the common Norway rat, in the short\nspace of two years, annihilated in this northern end of the island\nthe New Zealand species. In many places I noticed several sorts of\nweeds, which, like the rats, I was forced to own as countrymen. A\nleek has overrun whole districts, and will prove very troublesome,\nbut it was imported as a favour by a French vessel. The common dock\nis also widely disseminated, and will, I fear, for ever remain a\nproof of the rascality of an Englishman who sold the seeds for\nthose of the tobacco plant.\n\nOn returning from our pleasant walk to the house, I dined with Mr.\nWilliams; and then, a horse being lent me, I returned to the Bay of\nIslands. I took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness for\ntheir kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect for their\ngentlemanlike, useful, and upright characters. I think it would be\ndifficult to find a body of men better adapted for the high office\nwhich they fulfil.\n\nCHRISTMAS DAY, 1835.\n\nIn a few more days the fourth year of our absence from England will\nbe completed. Our first Christmas Day was spent at Plymouth, the\nsecond at St. Martin's Cove near Cape Horn; the third at Port\nDesire in Patagonia; the fourth at anchor in a wild harbour in the\npeninsula of Tres Montes, this fifth here, and the next, I trust in\nProvidence, will be in England. We attended divine service in the\nchapel of Pahia; part of the service being read in English, and\npart in the native language. Whilst at New Zealand we did not hear\nof any recent acts of cannibalism; but Mr. Stokes found burnt human\nbones strewed round a fireplace on a small island near the\nanchorage; but these remains of a comfortable banquet might have\nbeen lying there for several years. It is probable that the moral\nstate of the people will rapidly improve. Mr. Bushby mentioned one\npleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some, at least, of\nthose who profess Christianity. One of his young men left him, who\nhad been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the servants.\nSome weeks afterwards, happening to pass late in the evening by an\nouthouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading the Bible with\ndifficulty by the light of the fire, to the others. After this the\nparty knelt and prayed: in their prayers they mentioned Mr. Bushby\nand his family, and the missionaries, each separately in his\nrespective district.\n\nDECEMBER 26, 1835.\n\nMr. Bushby offered to take Mr. Sulivan and myself in his boat some\nmiles up the river to Cawa-Cawa, and proposed afterwards to walk on\nto the village of Waiomio, where there are some curious rocks.\nFollowing one of the arms of the bay we enjoyed a pleasant row, and\npassed through pretty scenery, until we came to a village, beyond\nwhich the boat could not pass. From this place a chief and a party\nof men volunteered to walk with us to Waiomio, a distance of four\nmiles. The chief was at this time rather notorious from having\nlately hung one of his wives and a slave for adultery. When one of\nthe missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised, and\nsaid he thought he was exactly following the English method. Old\nShongi, who happened to be in England during the Queen's trial,\nexpressed great disapprobation at the whole proceeding: he said he\nhad five wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads than be\nso much troubled about one. Leaving this village, we crossed over\nto another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. The\ndaughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died there five\ndays before. The hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to\nthe ground: her body, being enclosed between two small canoes, was\nplaced upright on the ground, and protected by an enclosure bearing\nwooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red,\nso as to be conspicuous from afar. Her gown was fastened to the\ncoffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. The\nrelatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies,\nand faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the\nold women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. On the following\nday some of the officers visited this place, and found the women\nstill howling and cutting themselves.\n\nWe continued our walk, and soon reached Waiomio. Here there are\nsome singular masses of limestone resembling ruined castles. These\nrocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence are\nheld too sacred to be approached. One of the young men, however,\ncried out, \"Let us all be brave,\" and ran on ahead; but when within\na hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped\nshort. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to\nexamine the whole place. At this village we rested some hours,\nduring which time there was a long discussion with Mr. Bushby,\nconcerning the right of sale of certain lands. One old man, who\nappeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive\npossessors by bits of stick driven into the ground. Before leaving\nthe houses a little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given\nto each of our party; and we all, according to the custom, carried\nthem away to eat on the road. I noticed that among the women\nemployed in cooking, there was a man-slave: it must be a\nhumiliating thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed\nin doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work.\nSlaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can hardly be\nconsidered as a hardship. I heard of one poor wretch who, during\nhostilities, ran away to the opposite party; being met by two men,\nhe was immediately seized; but as they could not agree to whom he\nshould belong, each stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed\ndetermined that the other at least should not take him away alive.\nThe poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the\naddress of a chief's wife. We afterwards enjoyed a pleasant walk\nback to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in the\nevening.\n\nDECEMBER 30, 1835.\n\nIn the afternoon we stood out of the Bay of Islands, on our course\nto Sydney. I believe we were all glad to leave New Zealand. It is\nnot a pleasant place. Amongst the natives there is absent that\ncharming simplicity which is found in Tahiti; and the greater part\nof the English are the very refuse of society. Neither is the\ncountry itself attractive. I look back but to one bright spot, and\nthat is Waimate, with its Christian inhabitants.\n\n\n(PLATE 88.  HIPPAH, NEW ZEALAND.)\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n(PLATE 89.  SYDNEY, 1835.)\n\nAUSTRALIA.\n\nSydney.\nExcursion to Bathurst.\nAspect of the woods.\nParty of natives.\nGradual extinction of the aborigines.\nInfection generated by associated men in health.\nBlue Mountains.\nView of the grand gulf-like valleys.\nTheir origin and formation.\nBathurst, general civility of the lower orders.\nState of society.\nVan Diemen's Land.\nHobart Town.\nAborigines all banished.\nMount Wellington.\nKing George's Sound.\nCheerless aspect of the country.\nBald Head, calcareous casts of branches of trees.\nParty of natives.\nLeave Australia.\n\nJANUARY 12, 1836.\n\n\n\nEarly in the morning a light air carried us towards the entrance of\nPort Jackson. Instead of beholding a verdant country, interspersed\nwith fine houses, a straight line of yellowish cliff brought to our\nminds the coast of Patagonia. A solitary lighthouse, built of white\nstone, alone told us that we were near a great and populous city.\nHaving entered the harbour, it appears fine and spacious, with\ncliff-formed shores of horizontally stratified sandstone. The\nnearly level country is covered with thin scrubby trees, bespeaking\nthe curse of sterility. Proceeding farther inland, the country\nimproves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and there\nscattered along the beach. In the distance stone houses, two and\nthree stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank,\npointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of Australia.\n\nAt last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little basin\noccupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. In the\nevening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration\nat the whole scene. It is a most magnificent testimony to the power\nof the British nation. Here, in a less promising country, scores of\nyears have done many more times more than an equal number of\ncenturies have effected in South America. My first feeling was to\ncongratulate myself that I was born an Englishman. Upon seeing more\nof the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but\nyet it is a fine town. The streets are regular, broad, clean, and\nkept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the\nshops well furnished. It may be faithfully compared to the large\nsuburbs which stretch out from London and a few other great towns\nin England; but not even near London or Birmingham is there an\nappearance of such rapid growth. The number of large houses and\nother buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless,\nevery one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring\na house. Coming from South America, where in the towns every man of\nproperty is known, no one thing surprised me more than not being\nable to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage belonged.\n\nI hired a man and two horses to take me to Bathurst, a village\nabout one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre\nof a great pastoral district. By this means I hoped to gain a\ngeneral idea of the appearance of the country. On the morning of\nthe 16th (January) I set out on my excursion. The first stage took\nus to Paramatta, a small country town, next to Sydney in\nimportance. The roads were excellent, and made upon the MacAdam\nprinciple, whinstone having been brought for the purpose from the\ndistance of several miles. In all respects there was a close\nresemblance to England: perhaps the alehouses here were more\nnumerous. The iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed\nhere some offence, appeared the least like England: they were\nworking in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms.\nThe power which the government possesses, by means of forced\nlabour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has\nbeen, I believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this\ncolony. I slept at night at a very comfortable inn at Emu ferry,\nthirty-five miles from Sydney, and near the ascent of the Blue\nMountains. This line of road is the most frequented, and has been\nthe longest inhabited of any in the colony. The whole land is\nenclosed with high railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in\nrearing hedges. There are many substantial houses and good cottages\nscattered about; but although considerable pieces of land are under\ncultivation, the greater part yet remains as when first discovered.\n\nThe extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable\nfeature in the landscape of the greater part of New South Wales.\nEverywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially\ncovered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of\nverdure. The trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have\ntheir leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in Europe, in a\nnearly horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of a\npeculiar pale green tint, without any gloss. Hence the woods appear\nlight and shadowless: this, although a loss of comfort to the\ntraveller under the scorching rays of summer, is of importance to\nthe farmer, as it allows grass to grow where it otherwise would\nnot. The leaves are not shed periodically: this character appears\ncommon to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, South America,\nAustralia, and the Cape of Good Hope. The inhabitants of this\nhemisphere, and of the intertropical regions, thus lose perhaps one\nof the most glorious, though to our eyes common, spectacles in the\nworld--the first bursting into full foliage of the leafless tree.\nThey may, however, say that we pay dearly for this by having the\nland covered with mere naked skeletons for so many months. This is\ntoo true; but our senses thus acquire a keen relish for the\nexquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those living\nwithin the tropics, sated during the long year with the gorgeous\nproductions of those glowing climates, can never experience. The\ngreater number of the trees, with the exception of some of the\nBlue-gums, do not attain a large size; but they grow tall and\ntolerably straight, and stand well apart. The bark of some of the\nEucalypti falls annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing\nabout with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate and untidy\nappearance. I cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every\nrespect, than between the forests of Valdivia or Chiloe, and the\nwoods of Australia.\n\nAt sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines passed by,\neach carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and\nother weapons. By giving a leading young man a shilling, they were\neasily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement. They were\nall partly clothed, and several could speak a little English: their\ncountenances were good-humoured and pleasant, and they appeared far\nfrom being such utterly degraded beings as they have usually been\nrepresented. In their own arts they are admirable. A cap being\nfixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a spear,\ndelivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow from\nthe bow of a practised archer. In tracking animals or men they show\nmost wonderful sagacity; and I heard of several of their remarks\nwhich manifested considerable acuteness. They will not, however,\ncultivate the ground, or build houses and remain stationary, or\neven take the trouble of tending a flock of sheep when given to\nthem. On the whole they appear to me to stand some few degrees\nhigher in the scale of civilisation than the Fuegians.\n\nIt is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilised people,\na set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where\nthey shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting\nin the woods. As the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread\nover the country belonging to several tribes. These, although thus\nenclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions,\nand sometimes go to war with each other. In an engagement which\ntook place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre\nof the village of Bathurst for the field of battle. This was of\nservice to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge\nin the barracks.\n\nThe number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. In my whole ride,\nwith the exception of some boys brought up by Englishmen, I saw\nonly one other party. This decrease, no doubt, must be partly owing\nto the introduction of spirits, to European diseases (even the\nmilder ones of which, such as the measles, prove very destructive),\nand to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. (19/1. It is\nremarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates.\nAt the little island of St. Helena the introduction of\nscarlet-fever is dreaded as a plague. In some countries foreigners\nand natives are as differently affected by certain contagious\ndisorders as if they had been different animals; of which fact some\ninstances have occurred in Chile; and according to Humboldt in\nMexico \"Political Essay New Spain\" volume 4.) It is said that\nnumbers of their children invariably perish in very early infancy\nfrom the effects of their wandering life; and as the difficulty of\nprocuring food increases, so must their wandering habits increase;\nand hence the population, without any apparent deaths from famine,\nis repressed in a manner extremely sudden compared to what happens\nin civilised countries, where the father, though in adding to his\nlabour he may injure himself, does not destroy his offspring.\n\nBesides these several evident causes of destruction, there appears\nto be some more mysterious agency generally at work. Wherever the\nEuropean has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. We may\nlook to the wide extent of the Americas, Polynesia, the Cape of\nGood Hope, and Australia, and we find the same result. Nor is it\nthe white man alone that thus acts the destroyer; the Polynesian of\nMalay extraction has in parts of the East Indian archipelago thus\ndriven before him the dark-coloured native. The varieties of man\nseem to act on each other in the same way as different species of\nanimals--the stronger always extirpating the weaker. It was\nmelancholy at New Zealand to hear the fine energetic natives saying\nthat they knew the land was doomed to pass from their children.\nEvery one has heard of the inexplicable reduction of the population\nin the beautiful and healthy island of Tahiti since the date of\nCaptain Cook's voyages: although in that case we might have\nexpected that it would have been increased; for infanticide, which\nformerly prevailed to so extraordinary a degree, has ceased,\nprofligacy has greatly diminished, and the murderous wars become\nless frequent.\n\nThe Reverend J. Williams, in his interesting work, says that the\nfirst intercourse between natives and Europeans \"is invariably\nattended with the introduction of fever, dysentery, or some other\ndisease which carries off numbers of the people.\" (19/2. \"Narrative\nof Missionary Enterprise\" page 282.) Again he affirms \"It is\ncertainly a fact, which cannot be controverted, that most of the\ndiseases which have raged in the islands during my residence there\nhave been introduced by ships; and what renders this fact\nremarkable is that there might be no appearance of disease among\nthe crew of the ship which conveyed this destructive importation.\"\n(19/3. Captain Beechey chapter 4 volume 1, states that the\ninhabitants of Pitcairn Island are firmly convinced that after the\narrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other disorders.\nCaptain Beechey attributes this to the change of diet during the\ntime of the visit. Dr. Macculloch \"Western Isles\" volume 2 page 32,\nsays \"It is asserted that on the arrival of a stranger (at St.\nKilda) all the inhabitants, in the common phraseology, catch a\ncold.\" Dr. Macculloch considers the whole case, although often\npreviously affirmed, as ludicrous. He adds, however, that \"the\nquestion was put by us to the inhabitants who unanimously agreed in\nthe story.\" In Vancouver's \"Voyage\" there is a somewhat similar\nstatement with respect to Otaheite. Dr. Dieffenbach, in a note to\nhis translation of this Journal, states that the same fact is\nuniversally believed by the inhabitants of the Chatham Islands and\nin parts of New Zealand. It is impossible that such a belief should\nhave become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the Antipodes,\nand in the Pacific, without some good foundation. Humboldt\n\"Political Essay on Kingdom of New Spain\" volume 4, says that the\ngreat epidemics at Panama and Callao are \"marked\" by the arrival of\nships from Chile, because the people from that temperate region\nfirst experience the fatal effects of the torrid zones. I may add\nthat I have heard it stated in Shropshire that sheep which have\nbeen imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy\ncondition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently\nproduce sickness in the flock.) This statement is not quite so\nextraordinary as it at first appears; for several cases are on\nrecord of the most malignant fevers having broken out, although the\nparties themselves, who were the cause, were not affected. In the\nearly part of the reign of George III, a prisoner who had been\nconfined in a dungeon was taken in a coach with four constables\nbefore a magistrate; and although the man himself was not ill, the\nfour constables died from a short putrid fever; but the contagion\nextended to no others. From these facts it would almost appear as\nif the effluvium of one set of men shut up for some time together\nwas poisonous when inhaled by others; and possibly more so, if the\nmen be of different races. Mysterious as this circumstance appears\nto be, it is not more surprising than that the body of one's\nfellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction has\ncommenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality that the\nmere puncture from an instrument used in its dissection should\nprove fatal.\n\nJANUARY 17, 1836.\n\nEarly in the morning we passed the Nepean in a ferry-boat. The\nriver, although at this spot both broad and deep, had a very small\nbody of running water. Having crossed a low piece of land on the\nopposite side, we reached the slope of the Blue Mountains. The\nascent is not steep, the road having been cut with much care on the\nside of a sandstone cliff. On the summit an almost level plain\nextends, which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last\nattains a height of more than 3000 feet. From so grand a title as\nBlue Mountains, and from their absolute altitude, I expected to\nhave seen a bold chain of mountains crossing the country; but\ninstead of this, a sloping plain presents merely an inconsiderable\nfront to the low land near the coast. From this first slope the\nview of the extensive woodland to the east was striking, and the\nsurrounding trees grew bold and lofty. But when once on the\nsandstone platform, the scenery becomes exceedingly monotonous;\neach side of the road is bordered by scrubby trees of the\nnever-failing Eucalyptus family; and with the exception of two or\nthree small inns, there are no houses or cultivated land; the road,\nmoreover, is solitary; the most frequent object being a\nbullock-waggon, piled up with bales of wool.\n\nIn the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little inn,\ncalled the Weatherboard. The country here is elevated 2800 feet\nabove the sea. About a mile and a half from this place there is a\nview exceedingly well worth visiting. Following down a little\nvalley and its tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly\nopens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of\nperhaps 1500 feet. Walking on a few yards, one stands on the brink\nof a vast precipice, and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for I\nknow not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest.\nThe point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line\nof cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind\nheadland, as on a bold sea-coast. These cliffs are composed of\nhorizontal strata of whitish sandstone; and are so absolutely\nvertical, that in many places a person standing on the edge and\nthrowing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss\nbelow. So unbroken is the line of cliff that in order to reach the\nfoot of the waterfall formed by this little stream, it is said to\nbe necessary to go sixteen miles round. About five miles distant in\nfront another line of cliff extends, which thus appears completely\nto encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as\napplied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. If we imagine a\nwinding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like\nshores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy\nbottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here\nexhibited. This kind of view was to me quite novel, and extremely\nmagnificent.\n\nIn the evening we reached the Blackheath. The sandstone plateau has\nhere attained the height of 3400 feet; and is covered, as before,\nwith the same scrubby woods. From the road there were occasional\nglimpses into a profound valley of the same character as the one\ndescribed; but from the steepness and depth of its sides, the\nbottom was scarcely ever to be seen. The Blackheath is a very\ncomfortable inn, kept by an old soldier; and it reminded me of the\nsmall inns in North Wales.\n\nJANUARY 18, 1836.\n\nVery early in the morning I walked about three miles to see\nGovett's Leap: a view of a similar character with that near the\nWeatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in the day\nthe gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although\ndestroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent\ndepth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. These\nvalleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the\nattempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the\ninterior, are most remarkable. Great armlike bays, expanding at\ntheir upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate\nthe sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends\npromontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great,\nalmost insulated, masses. To descend into some of these valleys, it\nis necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others, the\nsurveyors have only lately penetrated, and the colonists have not\nyet been able to drive in their cattle. But the most remarkable\nfeature in their structure is, that although several miles wide at\ntheir heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a\ndegree as to become impassable. The Surveyor-General, Sir T.\nMitchell, endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling\nbetween the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through\nthe gorge by which the river Grose joins the Nepean (19/4. \"Travels\nin Australia\" volume 1 page 154. I must express my obligation to\nSir T. Mitchell for several interesting personal communications on\nthe subject of these great valleys of New South Wales.); yet the\nvalley of the Grose in its upper part, as I saw, forms a\nmagnificent level basin some miles in width, and is on all sides\nsurrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be\nnowhere less than 3000 feet above the level of the sea. When cattle\nare driven into the valley of the Wolgan by a path (which I\ndescended), partly natural and partly made by the owner of the\nland, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part\nsurrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down it\ncontracts from an average width of half a mile, to a mere chasm,\nimpassable to man or beast. Sir T. Mitchell states that the great\nvalley of the Cox river with all its branches, contracts, where it\nunites with the Nepean, into a gorge 2200 yards in width, and about\n1000 feet in depth. Other similar cases might have been added.\n\nThe first impression on seeing the correspondence of the horizontal\nstrata on each side of these valleys and great amphitheatrical\ndepressions, is that they have been hollowed out, like other\nvalleys, by the action of water; but when one reflects on the\nenormous amount of stone which on this view must have been removed\nthrough mere gorges or chasms, one is led to ask whether these\nspaces may not have subsided. But considering the form of the\nirregularly branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories\nprojecting into them from the platforms, we are compelled to\nabandon this notion. To attribute these hollows to the present\nalluvial action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage from\nthe summit-level always fall, as I remarked near the Weatherboard,\ninto the head of these valleys, but into one side of their baylike\nrecesses. Some of the inhabitants remarked to me that they never\nviewed one of those baylike recesses, with the headlands receding\non both hands, without being struck with their resemblance to a\nbold sea-coast. This is certainly the case; moreover, on the\npresent coast of New South Wales, the numerous fine,\nwidely-branching harbours, which are generally connected with the\nsea by a narrow mouth worn through the sandstone coast-cliffs,\nvarying from one mile in width to a quarter of a mile, present a\nlikeness, though on a miniature scale, to the great valleys of the\ninterior. But then immediately occurs the startling difficulty, why\nhas the sea worn out these great though circumscribed depressions\non a wide platform, and left mere gorges at the openings, through\nwhich the whole vast amount of triturated matter must have been\ncarried away? The only light I can throw upon this enigma is by\nremarking that banks of the most irregular forms appear to be now\nforming in some seas, as in parts of the West Indies and in the Red\nSea, and that their sides are exceedingly steep. Such banks, I have\nbeen led to suppose, have been formed by sediment heaped by strong\ncurrents on an irregular bottom. That in some cases the sea,\ninstead of spreading out sediment in a uniform sheet, heaps it\nround submarine rocks and islands, it is hardly possible to doubt,\nafter examining the charts of the West Indies; and that the waves\nhave power to form high and precipitous cliffs, even in land-locked\nharbours, I have noticed in many parts of South America. To apply\nthese ideas to the sandstone platforms of New South Wales, I\nimagine that the strata were heaped by the action of strong\ncurrents, and of the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular\nbottom; and that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had\ntheir steeply sloping flanks worn into cliffs during a slow\nelevation of the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed,\neither at the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the\nretreating sea, or subsequently by alluvial action.\n\nSoon after leaving the Blackheath we descended from the sandstone\nplatform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect this pass an\nenormous quantity of stone has been cut through; the design and its\nmanner of execution being worthy of any line of road in England. We\nnow entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet,\nand consisting of granite. With the change of rock the vegetation\nimproved; the trees were both finer and stood farther apart; and\nthe pasture between them was a little greener and more plentiful.\nAt Hassan's Walls I left the high-road, and made a short detour to\na farm called Walerawang; to the superintendent of which I had a\nletter of introduction from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the\nkindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had much\npleasure in doing. This place offers an example of one of the large\nfarming, or rather sheep-grazing, establishments of the colony.\nCattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous\nthan usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and producing\na coarser pasture. Two or three flat pieces of ground near the\nhouse were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men\nwere now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the\nannual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. The\nusual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty, but\nat the present time there were rather more. Although the farm was\nwell stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence of\ncomfort; and not one single woman resided here. The sunset of a\nfine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any\nscene; but here, at this retired farmhouse, the brightest tints on\nthe surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened,\nprofligate men were ceasing from their daily labours, like the\nslaves from Africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion.\n\nEarly on the next morning Mr. Archer, the joint superintendent, had\nthe kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. We continued riding\nthe greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing a\nkangaroo, or even a wild dog. The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat\ninto a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as\nlarge as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years\nsince this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu is\nbanished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce; to\nboth the English greyhound has been highly destructive. It may be\nlong before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their\ndoom is fixed. The aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs\nfrom the farmhouses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is\nkilled, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the\nsettlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. The\nthoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is\ndelighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined\nto inherit the country of his children.\n\nAlthough having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. The\nwoodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gallop\nthrough it. It is traversed by a few flat-bottomed valleys, which\nare green and free from trees: in such spots the scenery was pretty\nlike that of a park. In the whole country I scarcely saw a place\nwithout the marks of a fire; whether these had been more or less\nrecent--whether the stumps were more or less black, was the\ngreatest change which varied the uniformity so wearisome to the\ntraveller's eye. In these woods there are not many birds; I saw,\nhowever, some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a\ncorn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows like our\njackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something like the\nmagpie. In the dusk of the evening I took a stroll along a chain of\nponds, which in this dry country represented the course of a river,\nand had the good fortune to see several of the famous\nOrnithorhynchus paradoxus. They were diving and playing about the\nsurface of the water, but showed so little of their bodies that\nthey might easily have been mistaken for water-rats. Mr. Browne\nshot one: certainly it is a most extraordinary animal; a stuffed\nspecimen does not at all give a good idea of the appearance of the\nhead and beak when fresh; the latter becoming hard and contracted.\n(19/5. I was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall\nof the lion-ant, or some other insect: first a fly fell down the\ntreacherous slope and immediately disappeared; then came a large\nbut unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those\ncurious little jets of sand, described by Kirby and Spence\n\"Entomology\" volume 1 page 425, as being flirted by the insect's\ntail, were promptly directed against the expected victim. But the\nant enjoyed a better fate than the fly and escaped the fatal jaws\nwhich lay concealed at the base of the conical hollow. This\nAustralian pitfall was only about half the size of that made by the\nEuropean lion-ant.)\n\nJANUARY 20, 1836.\n\nA long day's ride to Bathurst. Before joining the high road we\nfollowed a mere path through the forest; and the country, with the\nexception of a few squatters' huts, was very solitary. We\nexperienced this day the sirocco-like wind of Australia, which\ncomes from the parched deserts of the interior. Clouds of dust were\ntravelling in every direction; and the wind felt as if it had\npassed over a fire. I afterwards heard that the thermometer out of\ndoors had stood at 119 degrees, and in a closed room at 96 degrees.\nIn the afternoon we came in view of the downs of Bathurst. These\nundulating but nearly smooth plains are very remarkable in this\ncountry, from being absolutely destitute of trees. They support\nonly a thin brown pasture. We rode some miles over this country,\nand then reached the township of Bathurst, seated in the middle of\nwhat may be called either a very broad valley, or narrow plain. I\nwas told at Sydney not to form too bad an opinion of Australia by\njudging of the country from the roadside, nor too good a one from\nBathurst; in this latter respect I did not feel myself in the least\ndanger of being prejudiced. The season, it must be owned, had been\none of great drought, and the country did not wear a favourable\naspect; although I understand it was incomparably worse two or\nthree months before. The secret of the rapidly growing prosperity\nof Bathurst is that the brown pasture which appears to the\nstranger's eye so wretched is excellent for sheep-grazing. The town\nstands at the height of 2200 feet above the sea, on the banks of\nthe Macquarie: this is one of the rivers flowing into the vast and\nscarcely known interior. The line of watershed which divides the\ninland streams from those on the coast, has a height of about 3000\nfeet, and runs in a north and south direction at the distance of\nfrom eighty to a hundred miles from the seaside. The Macquarie\nfigures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the largest of\nthose draining this part of the watershed; yet to my surprise I\nfound it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other by spaces\nalmost dry. Generally a small stream is running; and sometimes\nthere are high and impetuous floods. Scanty as the supply of the\nwater is throughout this district, it becomes still scantier\nfurther inland.\n\nJANUARY 22, 1836.\n\nI commenced my return and followed a new road called Lockyer's Line\nalong which the country is rather more hilly and picturesque. This\nwas a long day's ride; and the house where I wished to sleep was\nsome way off the road, and not easily found. I met on this\noccasion, and indeed on all others, a very general and ready\ncivility among the lower orders, which, when one considers what\nthey are, and what they have been, would scarcely have been\nexpected. The farm where I passed the night was owned by two young\nmen who had only lately come out, and were beginning a settler's\nlife. The total want of almost every comfort was not very\nattractive; but future and certain prosperity was before their\neyes, and that not far distant.\n\nThe next day we passed through large tracts of country in flames,\nvolumes of smoke sweeping across the road. Before noon we joined\nour former road and ascended Mount Victoria. I slept at the\nWeatherboard, and before dark took another walk to the\namphitheatre. On the road to Sydney I spent a very pleasant evening\nwith Captain King at Dunheved; and thus ended my little excursion\nin the colony of New South Wales.\n\nBefore arriving here the three things which interested me most\nwere--the state of society amongst the higher classes, the\ncondition of the convicts, and the degree of attraction sufficient\nto induce persons to emigrate. Of course, after so very short a\nvisit, one's opinion is worth scarcely anything; but it is as\ndifficult not to form some opinion, as it is to form a correct\njudgment. On the whole, from what I heard, more than from what I\nsaw, I was disappointed in the state of society. The whole\ncommunity is rancorously divided into parties on almost every\nsubject. Among those who, from their station in life, ought to be\nthe best, many live in such open profligacy that respectable people\ncannot associate with them. There is much jealousy between the\nchildren of the rich emancipist and the free settlers, the former\nbeing pleased to consider honest men as interlopers. The whole\npopulation, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring wealth: amongst\nthe higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing form the constant subject\nof conversation. There are many serious drawbacks to the comforts\nof a family, the chief of which, perhaps, is being surrounded by\nconvict servants. How thoroughly odious to every feeling, to be\nwaited on by a man who the day before, perhaps, was flogged, from\nyour representation, for some trifling misdemeanour. The female\nservants are of course much worse: hence children learn the vilest\nexpressions, and it is fortunate if not equally vile ideas.\n\nOn the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble on\nhis part, produces him treble interest to what it will in England;\nand with care he is sure to grow rich. The luxuries of life are in\nabundance, and very little dearer than in England, and most\narticles of food are cheaper. The climate is splendid, and\nperfectly healthy; but to my mind its charms are lost by the\nuninviting aspect of the country. Settlers possess a great\nadvantage in finding their sons of service when very young. At the\nage of from sixteen to twenty they frequently take charge of\ndistant farming stations. This, however, must happen at the expense\nof their boys associating entirely with convict servants. I am not\naware that the tone of society has assumed any peculiar character;\nbut with such habits, and without intellectual pursuits, it can\nhardly fail to deteriorate. My opinion is such that nothing but\nrather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate.\n\nThe rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me,\nnot understanding these subjects, very puzzling. The two main\nexports are wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions\nthere is a limit. The country is totally unfit for canals,\ntherefore there is a not very distant point beyond which the\nland-carriage of wool will not repay the expense of shearing and\ntending sheep. Pasture everywhere is so thin that settlers have\nalready pushed far into the interior; moreover, the country farther\ninland becomes extremely poor. Agriculture, on account of the\ndroughts, can never succeed on an extended scale: therefore, so far\nas I can see, Australia must ultimately depend upon being the\ncentre of commerce for the southern hemisphere and perhaps on her\nfuture manufactories. Possessing coal, she always has the moving\npower at hand. From the habitable country extending along the\ncoast, and from her English extraction, she is sure to be a\nmaritime nation. I formerly imagined that Australia would rise to\nbe as grand and powerful a country as North America, but now it\nappears to me that such future grandeur is rather problematical.\n\nWith respect to the state of the convicts, I had still fewer\nopportunities of judging than on other points. The first question\nis, whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one\nwill maintain that it is a very severe one. This, however, I\nsuppose, is of little consequence as long as it continues to be an\nobject of dread to criminals at home. The corporeal wants of the\nconvicts are tolerably well supplied: their prospect of future\nliberty and comfort is not distant, and, after good conduct,\ncertain. A \"ticket of leave,\" which, as long as a man keeps clear\nof suspicion as well as of crime, makes him free within a certain\ndistrict, is given upon good conduct, after years proportional to\nthe length of the sentence; yet with all this, and overlooking the\nprevious imprisonment and wretched passage out, I believe the years\nof assignment are passed away with discontent and unhappiness. As\nan intelligent man remarked to me, the convicts know no pleasure\nbeyond sensuality, and in this they are not gratified. The enormous\nbribe which Government possesses in offering free pardons, together\nwith the deep horror of the secluded penal settlements, destroys\nconfidence between the convicts, and so prevents crime. As to a\nsense of shame, such a feeling does not appear to be known, and of\nthis I witnessed some very singular proofs. Though it is a curious\nfact, I was universally told that the character of the convict\npopulation is one of arrant cowardice; not unfrequently some become\ndesperate, and quite indifferent as to life, yet a plan requiring\ncool or continued courage is seldom put into execution. The worst\nfeature in the whole case is that although there exists what may be\ncalled a legal reform, and comparatively little is committed which\nthe law can touch, yet that any moral reform should take place\nappears to be quite out of the question. I was assured by\nwell-informed people that a man who should try to improve, could\nnot while living with other assigned servants;--his life would be\none of intolerable misery and persecution. Nor must the\ncontamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both here and in\nEngland, be forgotten. On the whole, as a place of punishment, the\nobject is scarcely gained; as a real system of reform it has\nfailed, as perhaps would every other plan; but as a means of making\nmen outwardly honest,--of converting vagabonds, most useless in one\nhemisphere, into active citizens of another, and thus giving birth\nto a new and splendid country--a grand centre of civilisation--it\nhas succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history.\n\nJANUARY 30, 1836.\n\n(PLATE 90.  HOBART TOWN AND MOUNT WELLINGTON.)\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed for Hobart Town in Van Diemen's Land. On the\n5th of February, after a six days' passage, of which the first part\nwas fine, and the latter very cold and squally, we entered the\nmouth of Storm Bay; the weather justified this awful name. The bay\nshould rather be called an estuary, for it receives at its head the\nwaters of the Derwent. Near the mouth there are some extensive\nbasaltic platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and\nis covered by a light wood. The lower parts of the hills which\nskirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn,\nand dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant. Late in the\nevening we anchored in the snug cove on the shores of which stands\nthe capital of Tasmania. The first aspect of the place was very\ninferior to that of Sydney; the latter might be called a city, this\nis only a town. It stands at the base of Mount Wellington, a\nmountain 3100 feet high, but of little picturesque beauty; from\nthis source, however, it receives a good supply of water. Round the\ncove there are some fine warehouses and on one side a small fort.\nComing from the Spanish settlements, where such magnificent care\nhas generally been paid to the fortifications, the means of defence\nin these colonies appeared very contemptible. Comparing the town\nwith Sydney, I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of\nthe large houses, either built or building. Hobart Town, from the\ncensus of 1835, contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of\nTasmania 36,505.\n\nAll the aborigines have been removed to an island in Bass's\nStraits, so that Van Diemen's Land enjoys the great advantage of\nbeing free from a native population. This most cruel step seems to\nhave been quite unavoidable, as the only means of stopping a\nfearful succession of robberies, burnings, and murders, committed\nby the blacks; and which sooner or later would have ended in their\nutter destruction. I fear there is no doubt that this train of evil\nand its consequences originated in the infamous conduct of some of\nour countrymen. Thirty years is a short period in which to have\nbanished the last aboriginal from his native island,--and that\nisland nearly as large as Ireland. The correspondence on this\nsubject which took place between the government at home and that of\nVan Diemen's Land, is very interesting. Although numbers of natives\nwere shot and taken prisoners in the skirmishing, which was going\non at intervals for several years, nothing seems fully to have\nimpressed them with the idea of our overwhelming power, until the\nwhole island, in 1830, was put under martial law, and by\nproclamation the whole population commanded to assist in one great\nattempt to secure the entire race. The plan adopted was nearly\nsimilar to that of the great hunting-matches in India: a line was\nformed reaching across the island, with the intention of driving\nthe natives into a cul-de-sac on Tasman's peninsula. The attempt\nfailed; the natives, having tied up their dogs, stole during one\nnight through the lines. This is far from surprising, when their\npractised senses and usual manner of crawling after wild animals is\nconsidered. I have been assured that they can conceal themselves on\nalmost bare ground, in a manner which until witnessed is scarcely\ncredible; their dusky bodies being easily mistaken for the\nblackened stumps which are scattered all over the country. I was\ntold of a trial between a party of Englishmen and a native, who was\nto stand in full view on the side of a bare hill; if the Englishmen\nclosed their eyes for less than a minute, he would squat down, and\nthen they were never able to distinguish him from the surrounding\nstumps. But to return to the hunting-match; the natives\nunderstanding this kind of warfare, were terribly alarmed, for they\nat once perceived the power and numbers of the whites. Shortly\nafterwards a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in;\nand, conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered themselves\nup in despair. Subsequently by the intrepid exertions of Mr.\nRobinson, an active and benevolent man, who fearlessly visited by\nhimself the most hostile of the natives, the whole were induced to\nact in a similar manner. They were then removed to an island, where\nfood and clothes were provided them. Count Strzelecki states that\n\"at the epoch of their deportation in 1835, the number of natives\namounted to 210. In 1842, that is after the interval of seven\nyears, they mustered only fifty-four individuals; and, while each\nfamily of the interior of New South Wales, uncontaminated by\ncontact with the whites, swarms with children, those of Flinders'\nIsland had during eight years an accession of only fourteen in\nnumber!\" (19/6. \"Physical Description of New South Wales and Van\nDiemen's Land\" page 354.)\n\nThe \"Beagle\" stayed here ten days, and in this time I made several\npleasant little excursions, chiefly with the object of examining\nthe geological structure of the immediate neighbourhood. The main\npoints of interest consist, first in some highly fossiliferous\nstrata belonging to the Devonian or Carboniferous period; secondly,\nin proofs of a late small rise of the land; and lastly, in a\nsolitary and superficial patch of yellowish limestone or travertin,\nwhich contains numerous impressions of leaves of trees, together\nwith land-shells, not now existing. It is not improbable that this\none small quarry includes the only remaining record of the\nvegetation of Van Diemen's Land during one former epoch.\n\nThe climate here is damper than in New South Wales, and hence the\nland is more fertile. Agriculture flourishes; the cultivated fields\nlook well, and the gardens abound with thriving vegetables and\nfruit-trees. Some of the farmhouses, situated in retired spots, had\na very attractive appearance. The general aspect of the vegetation\nis similar to that of Australia; perhaps it is a little more green\nand cheerful; and the pasture between the trees rather more\nabundant. One day I took a long walk on the side of the bay\nopposite to the town: I crossed in a steamboat, two of which are\nconstantly plying backwards and forwards. The machinery of one of\nthese vessels was entirely manufactured in this colony, which, from\nits very foundation, then numbered only three and thirty years!\nAnother day I ascended Mount Wellington; I took with me a guide,\nfor I failed in a first attempt, from the thickness of the wood.\nOur guide, however, was a stupid fellow, and conducted us to the\nsouthern and damp side of the mountain, where the vegetation was\nvery luxuriant; and where the labour of the ascent, from the number\nof rotten trunks, was almost as great as on a mountain in Tierra\ndel Fuego or in Chiloe. It cost us five and a half hours of hard\nclimbing before we reached the summit. In many parts the Eucalypti\ngrew to a great size and composed a noble forest. In some of the\ndampest ravines tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I\nsaw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base\nof the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds,\nforming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like\nthat of the first hour of night. The summit of the mountain is\nbroad and flat and is composed of huge angular masses of naked\ngreenstone. Its elevation is 3100 feet above the level of the sea.\nThe day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view;\nto the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of\nabout the same height with that on which we were standing, and with\nan equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water,\nforming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us.\nAfter staying some hours on the summit we found a better way to\ndescend, but did not reach the \"Beagle\" till eight o'clock, after a\nsevere day's work.\n\nFEBRUARY 7, 1836.\n\nThe \"Beagle\" sailed from Tasmania, and, on the 6th of the ensuing\nmonth, reached King George's Sound, situated close to the\nsouth-west corner of Australia. We stayed there eight days; and we\ndid not during our voyage pass a more dull and uninteresting time.\nThe country, viewed from an eminence, appears a woody plain, with\nhere and there rounded and partly bare hills of granite protruding.\nOne day I went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a\nkangaroo-hunt, and walked over a good many miles of country.\nEverywhere we found the soil sandy, and very poor; it supported\neither a coarse vegetation of thin, low brushwood and wiry grass,\nor a forest of stunted trees. The scenery resembled that of the\nhigh sandstone platform of the Blue Mountains; the Casuarina (a\ntree somewhat resembling a Scotch fir) is, however, here in greater\nnumber, and the Eucalyptus in rather less. In the open parts there\nwere many grass-trees,--a plant which, in appearance, has some\naffinity with the palm; but, instead of being surmounted by a crown\nof noble fronds, it can boast merely of a tuft of very coarse\ngrass-like leaves. The general bright green colour of the brushwood\nand other plants, viewed from a distance, seemed to promise\nfertility. A single walk, however, was enough to dispel such an\nillusion; and he who thinks with me will never wish to walk again\nin so uninviting a country.\n\nOne day I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to Bald Head, the place\nmentioned by so many navigators, where some imagined that they saw\ncorals, and others that they saw petrified trees, standing in the\nposition in which they had grown. According to our view, the beds\nhave been formed by the wind having heaped up fine sand, composed\nof minute rounded particles of shells and corals, during which\nprocess branches and roots of trees, together with many\nland-shells, became enclosed. The whole then became consolidated by\nthe percolation of calcareous matter; and the cylindrical cavities\nleft by the decaying of the wood were thus also filled up with a\nhard pseudo-stalactitical stone. The weather is now wearing away\nthe softer parts, and in consequence the hard casts of the roots\nand branches of the trees project above the surface, and, in a\nsingularly deceptive manner, resemble the stumps of a dead thicket.\n\nA large tribe of natives, called the White Cockatoo men happened to\npay the settlement a visit while we were there. These men, as well\nas those of the tribe belonging to King George's Sound, being\ntempted by the offer of some tubs of rice and sugar, were persuaded\nto hold a \"corrobery,\" or great dancing-party. As soon as it grew\ndark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet,\nwhich consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. As\nsoon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which\nthe women and children were collected as spectators; the Cockatoo\nand King George's men formed two distinct parties, and generally\ndanced in answer to each other. The dancing consisted in their\nrunning either sideways or in Indian file into an open space, and\nstamping the ground with great force as they marched together.\nTheir heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by\nbeating their clubs and spears together, and by various other\ngesticulations, such as extending their arms and wriggling their\nbodies. It was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas,\nwithout any sort of meaning; but we observed that the black women\nand children watched it with the greatest pleasure. Perhaps these\ndances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories;\nthere was one called the Emu dance, in which each man extended his\narm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. In another dance\none man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods,\nwhilst a second crawled up and pretended to spear him. When both\ntribes mingled in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness\nof their steps, and the air resounded with their wild cries. Every\none appeared in high spirits, and the group of nearly naked\nfigures, viewed by the light of the blazing fires, all moving in\nhideous harmony, formed a perfect display of a festival amongst the\nlowest barbarians. In Tierra del Fuego we have beheld many curious\nscenes in savage life, but never, I think, one where the natives\nwere in such high spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. After\nthe dancing was over the whole party formed a great circle on the\nground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, to the\ndelight of all.\n\nAfter several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the 14th of\nMarch we gladly stood out of King George's Sound on our course to\nKeeling Island. Farewell, Australia! you are a rising child, and\ndoubtless some day will reign a great princess in the South; but\nyou are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough\nfor respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret.\n\n\n(PLATE 91.  AUSTRALIAN GROUP OF WEAPONS AND THROWING STICKS.)\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n(PLATE 92.  INSIDE AN ATOLL, KEELING ISLAND.)\n\nKEELING ISLAND:--CORAL FORMATIONS.\n\nKeeling Island.\nSingular appearance.\nScanty Flora.\nTransport of seeds.\nBirds and insects.\nEbbing and flowing springs.\nFields of dead coral.\nStones transported in the roots of trees.\nGreat crab.\nStinging corals.\nCoral-eating fish.\nCoral formations.\nLagoon islands or atolls.\nDepth at which reef-building corals can live.\nVast areas interspersed with low coral islands.\nSubsidence of their foundations.\nBarrier reefs.\nFringing reefs.\nConversion of fringing-reefs into barrier-reefs, and into atolls.\nEvidence of changes in level.\nBreaches in barrier-reefs.\nMaldiva atolls; their peculiar structure.\nDead and submerged reefs.\nAreas of subsidence and elevation.\nDistribution of volcanoes.\nSubsidence slow and vast in amount.\n\nAPRIL 1, 1836.\n\n\n\nWe arrived in view of the Keeling or Cocos Islands, situated in the\nIndian Ocean, and about six hundred miles distant from the coast of\nSumatra. This is one of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of coral\nformation similar to those in the Low Archipelago which we passed\nnear. When the ship was in the channel at the entrance, Mr. Liesk,\nan English resident, came off in his boat. The history of the\ninhabitants of this place, in as few words as possible, is as\nfollows. About nine years ago, Mr. Hare, a worthless character,\nbrought from the East Indian archipelago a number of Malay slaves,\nwhich now, including children, amount to more than a hundred.\nShortly afterwards Captain Ross, who had before visited these\nislands in his merchant-ship, arrived from England, bringing with\nhim his family and goods for settlement: along with him came Mr.\nLiesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. The Malay slaves soon ran\naway from the islet on which Mr. Hare was settled, and joined\nCaptain Ross's party. Mr. Hare upon this was ultimately obliged to\nleave the place.\n\nThe Malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and certainly\nare so as far as regards their personal treatment; but in most\nother points they are considered as slaves. From their discontented\nstate, from the repeated removals from islet to islet, and perhaps\nalso from a little mismanagement, things are not very prosperous.\nThe island has no domestic quadruped excepting the pig, and the\nmain vegetable production is the cocoa-nut. The whole prosperity of\nthe place depends on this tree; the only exports being oil from the\nnut, and the nuts themselves, which are taken to Singapore and\nMauritius, where they are chiefly used, when grated, in making\ncurries. On the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are loaded with\nfat, almost entirely subsist, as do the ducks and poultry. Even a\nhuge land-crab is furnished by nature with the means to open and\nfeed on this most useful production.\n\nThe ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the\ngreater part of its length by linear islets. On the northern or\nleeward side there is an opening through which vessels can pass to\nthe anchorage within. On entering, the scene was very curious and\nrather pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the\nbrilliancy of the surrounding colours. The shallow, clear, and\nstill water of the lagoon, resting in its greater part on white\nsand, is, when illumined by a vertical sun, of the most vivid\ngreen. This brilliant expanse, several miles in width, is on all\nsides divided, either by a line of snow-white breakers from the\ndark heaving waters of the ocean, or from the blue vault of heaven\nby the strips of land, crowned by the level tops of the cocoa-nut\ntrees. As a white cloud here and there affords a pleasing contrast\nwith the azure sky, so in the lagoon bands of living coral darken\nthe emerald green water.\n\nThe next morning after anchoring I went on shore on Direction\nIsland. The strip of dry land is only a few hundred yards in width;\non the lagoon side there is a white calcareous beach, the radiation\nfrom which under this sultry climate was very oppressive; and on\nthe outer coast a solid broad flat of coral-rock served to break\nthe violence of the open sea. Excepting near the lagoon, where\nthere is some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded\nfragments of coral. In such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate\nof the intertropical regions alone could produce a vigorous\nvegetation. On some of the smaller islets nothing could be more\nelegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown cocoa-nut\ntrees, without destroying each other's symmetry, were mingled into\none wood. A beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these\nfairy spots.\n\nI will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands,\nwhich, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. The\ncocoa-nut tree, at first glance, seems to compose the whole wood;\nthere are however, five or six other trees. One of these grows to a\nvery large size, but, from the extreme softness of its wood, is\nuseless; another sort affords excellent timber for ship-building.\nBesides the trees the number of plants is exceedingly limited and\nconsists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, which includes,\nI believe, nearly the perfect Flora, there are twenty species\nwithout reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. To this number two\ntrees must be added; one of which was not in flower, and the other\nI only heard of. The latter is a solitary tree of its kind, and\ngrows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown\nup by the waves. A Guilandina also grows on only one of the islets.\nI do not include in the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some\nother vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. As the islands\nconsist entirely of coral, and at one time must have existed as\nmere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial productions must\nhave been transported here by the waves of the sea. In accordance\nwith this, the Florula has quite the character of a refuge for the\ndestitute: Professor Henslow informs me that of the twenty species\nnineteen belong to different genera, and these again to no less\nthan sixteen families! (20/1. These plants are described in the\n\"Annals of Natural History\" volume 1 1838 page 337.)\n\nIn Holman's \"Travels\" an account is given, on the authority of Mr.\nA.S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the\nvarious seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been\nwashed on shore. (20/2. Holman's \"Travels\" volume 4 page 378.)\n\"Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java have been driven up by the\nsurf on the windward side of the islands. Among them have been\nfound the Kimiri, native of Sumatra and the peninsula of Malacca;\nthe cocoa-nut of Balci, known by its shape and size; the Dadass,\nwhich is planted by the Malays with the pepper-vine, the latter\nentwining round its trunk, and supporting itself by the prickles on\nits stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks of the sago\npalm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the Malays settled on\nthe islands. These are all supposed to have been driven by the\nnorth-west monsoon to the coast of New Holland, and thence to these\nislands by the south-east trade-wind. Large masses of Java teak and\nYellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and\nwhite cedar, and the blue gum-wood of New Holland, in a perfectly\nsound condition. All the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain\ntheir germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the\nmangostin, are destroyed in the passage. Fishing-canoes, apparently\nfrom Java, have at times been washed on shore.\" It is interesting\nthus to discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from\nseveral countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. Professor\nHenslow tells me he believes that nearly all the plants which I\nbrought from these islands are common littoral species in the East\nIndian archipelago. From the direction, however, of the winds and\ncurrents, it seems scarcely possible that they could have come here\nin a direct line. If, as suggested with much probability by Mr.\nKeating, they were first carried towards the coast of New Holland,\nand thence drifted back together with the productions of that\ncountry, the seeds, before germinating, must have travelled between\n1800 and 2400 miles.\n\nChamisso, when describing the Radack Archipelago, situated in the\nwestern part of the Pacific, states that \"the sea brings to these\nislands the seeds and fruits of many trees, most of which have yet\nnot grown here. The greater part of these seeds appear to have not\nyet lost the capability of growing.\" (20/3. Kotzebue's \"First\nVoyage\" volume 3 page 155.) It is also said that palms and bamboos\nfrom somewhere in the torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are\nwashed on shore; these firs must have come from an immense\ndistance. These facts are highly interesting. It cannot be doubted\nthat, if there were land-birds to pick up the seeds when first cast\non shore, and a soil better adapted for their growth than the loose\nblocks of coral, the most isolated of the lagoon islands would in\ntime possess a far more abundant Flora than they now have.\n\nThe list of land animals is even poorer than that of the plants.\nSome of the islets are inhabited by rats, which were brought in a\nship from the Mauritius, wrecked here. These rats are considered by\nMr. Waterhouse as identical with the English kind, but they are\nsmaller, and more brightly coloured. There are no true land-birds,\nfor a snipe and a rail (Rallus Phillippensis), though living\nentirely in the dry herbage, belong to the order of Waders. Birds\nof this order are said to occur on several of the small low islands\nin the Pacific. At Ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail\n(Porphyrio simplex) was shot near the summit of the mountain, and\nit was evidently a solitary straggler. At Tristan d'Acunha, where,\naccording to Carmichael, there are only two land-birds, there is a\ncoot. From these facts I believe that the waders, after the\ninnumerable web-footed species, are generally the first colonists\nof small isolated islands. I may add that whenever I noticed birds,\nnot of oceanic species, very far out at sea, they always belonged\nto this order; and hence they would naturally become the earliest\ncolonists of any remote point of land.\n\nOf reptiles I saw only one small lizard. Of insects I took pains to\ncollect every kind. Exclusive of spiders, which were numerous,\nthere were thirteen species. (20/4. The thirteen species belong to\nthe following orders:--In the Coleoptera, a minute Elater;\nOrthoptera, a Gryllus and a Blatta; Hemiptera, one species;\nHomoptera, two; Neuroptera, a Chrysopa; Hymenoptera, two ants;\nLepidoptera nocturna, a Diopaea, and a Pterophorus (?); Diptera,\ntwo species.) Of these one only was a beetle. A small ant swarmed\nby thousands under the loose dry blocks of coral, and was the only\ntrue insect which was abundant. Although the productions of the\nland are thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surrounding\nsea the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. Chamisso has\ndescribed the natural history of a lagoon-island in the Radack\nArchipelago (20/5. Kotzebue's \"First Voyage\" volume 3 page 222.);\nand it is remarkable how closely its inhabitants, in number and\nkind, resemble those of Keeling Island. There is one lizard and two\nwaders, namely, a snipe and curlew. Of plants there are nineteen\nspecies, including a fern; and some of these are the same with\nthose growing here, though on a spot so immensely remote, and in a\ndifferent ocean.\n\nThe long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have been\nraised only to that height to which the surf can throw fragments of\ncoral, and the wind heap up calcareous sand. The solid flat of\ncoral rock on the outside, by its breadth, breaks the first\nviolence of the waves, which otherwise, in a day, would sweep away\nthese islets and all their productions. The ocean and the land seem\nhere struggling for mastery: although terra firma has obtained a\nfooting, the denizens of the water think their claim at least\nequally good. In every part one meets hermit crabs of more than one\nspecies, carrying on their backs the shells which they have stolen\nfrom the neighbouring beach. (20/6. The large claws or pincers of\nsome of these crabs are most beautifully adapted, when drawn back,\nto form an operculum to the shell, nearly as perfect as the proper\none originally belonging to the molluscous animal. I was assured,\nand as far as my observations went I found it so, that certain\nspecies of the hermit-crab always use certain species of shells.)\nOverhead numerous gannets, frigate-birds, and terns, rest on the\ntrees; and the wood, from the many nests and from the smell of the\natmosphere, might be called a sea-rookery. The gannets, sitting on\ntheir rude nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. The\nnoddies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. But\nthere is one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which\nsmoothly hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's head, its\nlarge black eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your expression.\nLittle imagination is required to fancy that so light and delicate\na body must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit.\n\nSUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1836.\n\nAfter service I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to the settlement,\nsituated at the distance of some miles, on the point of an islet\nthickly covered with tall cocoa-nut trees. Captain Ross and Mr.\nLiesk live in a large barn-like house open at both ends, and lined\nwith mats made of woven bark. The houses of the Malays are arranged\nalong the shore of the lagoon. The whole place had rather a\ndesolate aspect, for there were no gardens to show the signs of\ncare and cultivation. The natives belong to different islands in\nthe East Indian archipelago, but all speak the same language: we\nsaw the inhabitants of Borneo, Celebes, Java, and Sumatra. In\ncolour they resemble the Tahitians, from whom they do not widely\ndiffer in features. Some of the women, however, show a good deal of\nthe Chinese character. I liked both their general expressions and\nthe sound of their voices. They appeared poor, and their houses\nwere destitute of furniture; but it was evident from the plumpness\nof the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad\nsustenance.\n\nOn this island the wells are situated from which ships obtain\nwater. At first sight it appears not a little remarkable that the\nfresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it\nhas even been imagined that sand has the power of filtering the\nsalt from the sea-water. These ebbing wells are common on some of\nthe low islands in the West Indies. The compressed sand, or porous\ncoral rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water, but the\nrain which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the\nsurrounding sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal\nbulk of the salt water. As the water in the lower part of the great\nsponge-like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the\nwater near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass be\nsufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admixture; but\nwhere the land consists of great loose blocks of coral with open\ninterstices, if a well be dug, the water, as I have seen, is\nbrackish.\n\nAfter dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious scene\nacted by the Malay women. A large wooden spoon dressed in garments,\nand which had been carried to the grave of a dead man, they pretend\nbecomes inspired at the full of the moon, and will dance and jump\nabout. After the proper preparations, the spoon, held by two women,\nbecame convulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the\nsurrounding children and women. It was a most foolish spectacle;\nbut Mr. Liesk maintained that many of the Malays believed in its\nspiritual movements. The dance did not commence till the moon had\nrisen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her bright orb so\nquietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nut trees as\nthey waved in the evening breeze. These scenes of the tropics are\nin themselves so delicious that they almost equal those dearer ones\nat home, to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind.\n\nThe next day I employed myself in examining the very interesting,\nyet simple structure and origin of these islands. The water being\nunusually smooth, I waded over the outer flat of dead rock as far\nas the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea\nbreaks. In some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful\ngreen and other coloured fishes, and the form and tints of many of\nthe zoophytes were admirable. It is excusable to grow enthusiastic\nover the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of\nthe tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet I must confess I think\nthose naturalists who have described, in well-known words, the\nsubmarine grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged\nin rather exuberant language.\n\nAPRIL 6, 1836.\n\nI accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to an island at the head of the\nlagoon: the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding through\nfields of delicately branched corals. We saw several turtle and two\nboats were then employed in catching them. The water was so clear\nand shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out of\nsight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail the pursuers after no very\nlong chase come up to it. A man standing ready in the bow at this\nmoment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then\nclinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried\naway till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. It was quite\nan interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and\nthe men dashing head foremost into the water trying to seize their\nprey. Captain Moresby informs me that in the Chagos archipelago in\nthis same ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell\nfrom the back of the living turtle. \"It is covered with burning\ncharcoal, which causes the outer shell to curl upwards, it is then\nforced off with a knife, and before it becomes cold flattened\nbetween boards. After this barbarous process the animal is suffered\nto regain its native element, where, after a certain time, a new\nshell is formed; it is, however, too thin to be of any service, and\nthe animal always appears languishing and sickly.\"\n\nWhen we arrived at the head of the lagoon we crossed a narrow islet\nand found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. I can hardly\nexplain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in the\nview of the outer shores of these lagoon-islands. There is a\nsimplicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes\nand tall cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed\nhere and there with great loose fragments, and the line of furious\nbreakers, all rounding away towards either hand. The ocean throwing\nits waters over the broad reef appears an invincible, all-powerful\nenemy; yet we see it resisted, and even conquered, by means which\nat first seem most weak and inefficient. It is not that the ocean\nspares the rock of coral; the great fragments scattered over the\nreef, and heaped on the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs,\nplainly bespeak the unrelenting power of the waves. Nor are any\nperiods of repose granted. The long swell caused by the gentle but\nsteady action of the trade-wind, always blowing in one direction\nover a wide area, causes breakers, almost equalling in force those\nduring a gale of wind in the temperate regions, and which never\ncease to rage. It is impossible to behold these waves without\nfeeling a conviction that an island, though built of the hardest\nrock, let it be porphyry, granite, or quartz, would ultimately\nyield and be demolished by such an irresistible power. Yet these\nlow, insignificant coral-islets stand and are victorious: for here\nanother power, as an antagonist, takes part in the contest. The\norganic forces separate the atoms of carbonate of lime, one by one,\nfrom the foaming breakers, and unite them into a symmetrical\nstructure. Let the hurricane tear up its thousand huge fragments;\nyet what will that tell against the accumulated labour of myriads\nof architects at work night and day, month after month? Thus do we\nsee the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency\nof the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the\nwaves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate\nworks of nature could successfully resist.\n\nWe did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed\na long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the\ngigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his\nhand, he would not, as long as the animal lived, be able to\nwithdraw it. Near the head of the lagoon I was much surprised to\nfind a wide area, considerably more than a mile square, covered\nwith a forest of delicately branching corals, which, though\nstanding upright, were all dead and rotten. At first I was quite at\na loss to understand the cause; afterwards it occurred to me that\nit was owing to the following rather curious combination of\ncircumstances. It should, however, first be stated, that corals are\nnot able to survive even a short exposure in the air to the sun's\nrays, so that their upward limit of growth is determined by that of\nlowest water at spring tides. It appears, from some old charts,\nthat the long island to windward was formerly separated by wide\nchannels into several islets; this fact is likewise indicated by\nthe trees being younger on these portions. Under the former\ncondition of the reef, a strong breeze, by throwing more water over\nthe barrier, would tend to raise the level of the lagoon. Now it\nacts in a directly contrary manner; for the water within the lagoon\nnot only is not increased by currents from the outside, but is\nitself blown outwards by the force of the wind. Hence it is\nobserved that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not rise so\nhigh during a strong breeze as it does when it is calm. This\ndifference of level, although no doubt very small, has, I believe,\ncaused the death of those coral-groves, which under the former and\nmore open condition of the outer reef had attained the utmost\npossible limit of upward growth.\n\nA few miles north of Keeling there is another small atoll, the\nlagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. Captain Ross\nfound embedded in the conglomerate on the outer coast a\nwell-rounded fragment of greenstone, rather larger than a man's\nhead: he and the men with him were so much surprised at this, that\nthey brought it away and preserved it as a curiosity. The\noccurrence of this one stone, where every other particle of matter\nis calcareous, certainly is very puzzling. The island has scarcely\never been visited, nor is it probable that a ship had been wrecked\nthere. From the absence of any better explanation, I came to the\nconclusion that it must have come entangled in the roots of some\nlarge tree: when, however, I considered the great distance from the\nnearest land, the combination of chances against a stone thus being\nentangled, the tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then\nlanded safely, and the stone finally so embedded as to allow of its\ndiscovery, I was almost afraid of imagining a means of transport\napparently so improbable. It was therefore with great interest that\nI found Chamisso, the justly distinguished naturalist who\naccompanied Kotzebue, stating that the inhabitants of the Radack\nArchipelago, a group of lagoon islands in the midst of the Pacific,\nobtained stones for sharpening their instruments by searching the\nroots of trees which are cast upon the beach. It will be evident\nthat this must have happened several times, since laws have been\nestablished that such stones belong to the chief, and a punishment\nis inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them. When the\nisolated position of these small islands in the midst of a vast\nocean--their great distance from any land excepting that of coral\nformation, attested by the value which the inhabitants, who are\nsuch bold navigators, attach to a stone of any kind--and the\nslowness of the currents of the open sea, are all considered, the\noccurrence of pebbles thus transported does appear wonderful.\n(20/7. Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected\nstones to take back to their country.) Stones may often be thus\ncarried; and if the island on which they are stranded is\nconstructed of any other substance besides coral, they would\nscarcely attract attention, and their origin at least would never\nbe guessed. Moreover, this agency may long escape discovery from\nthe probability of trees, especially those loaded with stones,\nfloating beneath the surface. In the channels of Tierra del Fuego\nlarge quantities of drift timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is\nextremely rare to meet a tree swimming on the water. These facts\nmay possibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or\nrounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary masses.\n\nDuring another day I visited West Islet, on which the vegetation\nwas perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. The cocoa-nut trees\ngenerally grow separate, but here the young ones flourished beneath\ntheir tall parents, and formed with their long and curved fronds\nthe most shady arbours. Those alone who have tried it know how\ndelicious it is to be seated in such shade, and drink the cool\npleasant fluid of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large\nbay-like space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite\nlevel and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this\nlarge bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods. To see a\nfield of glittering white sand representing water, with the\ncocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving trunks round the\nmargin, formed a singular and very pretty view.\n\nI have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts; it\nis very common on all parts of the dry land, and grows to a\nmonstrous size: it is closely allied or identical with the Birgos\nlatro. The front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy\npincers, and the last pair are fitted with others weaker and much\nnarrower. It would at first be thought quite impossible for a crab\nto open a strong cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but Mr. Liesk\nassures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected. The crab\nbegins by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that\nend under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this is\ncompleted, the crab commences hammering with its heavy claws on one\nof the eye-holes till an opening is made. Then turning round its\nbody, by the aid of its posterior and narrow pair of pincers it\nextracts the white albuminous substance. I think this is as curious\na case of instinct as ever I heard of, and likewise of adaptation\nin structure between two objects apparently so remote from each\nother in the scheme of nature as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. The\nBirgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to pay\na visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening its\nbranchiae. The young are likewise hatched, and live for some time,\non the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they hollow\nout beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate\nsurprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk,\non which they rest as on a bed. The Malays sometimes take advantage\nof this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs\nare very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones\nthere is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as\nmuch as a quart-bottleful of limpid oil. It has been stated by some\nauthors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the\npurpose of stealing the nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of\nthis; but with the Pandanus the task would be very much easier.\n(20/8. See \"Proceedings of the Zoological Society\" 1832 page 17.) I\nwas told by Mr. Liesk that on these islands the Birgos lives only\non the nuts which have fallen to the ground.\n\nCaptain Moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the Chagos and\nSeychelle groups, but not the neighbouring Maldiva archipelago. It\nformerly abounded at Mauritius, but only a few small ones are now\nfound there. In the Pacific this species, or one with closely\nallied habits, is said to inhabit a single coral island north of\nthe Society group. (20/9. Tyerman and Bennett \"Voyage\" etc. volume\n2 page 33.) To show the wonderful strength of the front pair of\npincers, I may mention that Captain Moresby confined one in a\nstrong tin box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with\nwire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. In turning\ndown the edges it actually punched many small holes quite through\nthe tin!\n\nI was a good deal surprised by finding two species of coral of the\ngenus Millepora (M. complanata and alcicornis), possessed of the\npower of stinging. The stony branches or plates, when taken fresh\nfrom the water, have a harsh feel and are not slimy, although\npossessing a strong and disagreeable smell. The stinging property\nseems to vary in different specimens: when a piece was pressed or\nrubbed on the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation\nwas usually caused, which came on after the interval of a second,\nand lasted only for a few minutes. One day, however, by merely\ntouching my face with one of the branches, pain was instantaneously\ncaused; it increased as usual after a few seconds, and remaining\nsharp for some minutes, was perceptible for half an hour\nafterwards. The sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but\nmore like that caused by the Physalia or Portuguese man-of-war.\nLittle red spots were produced on the tender skin of the arm, which\nappeared as if they would have formed watery pustules, but did not.\nM. Quoy mentions this case of the Millepora; and I have heard of\nstinging corals in the West Indies. Many marine animals seem to\nhave this power of stinging: besides the Portuguese man-of-war,\nmany jelly-fish, and the Aplysia or sea-slug of the Cape de Verd\nIslands, it is stated in the \"Voyage of the Astrolabe\" that an\nActinia or sea-anemone, as well as a flexible coralline allied to\nSertularia, both possess this means of offence or defence. In the\nEast Indian sea a stinging sea-weed is said to be found.\n\nTwo species of fish, of the genus Scarus, which are common here,\nexclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a splendid\nbluish-green, one living invariably in the lagoon, and the other\namongst the outer breakers. Mr. Liesk assured us that he had\nrepeatedly seen whole shoals grazing with their strong bony jaws on\nthe tops of the coral branches: I opened the intestines of several\nand found them distended with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. The\nslimy disgusting Holuthuriae (allied to our star-fish), which the\nChinese gourmands are so fond of, also feed largely, as I am\ninformed by Dr. Allan, on corals; and the bony apparatus within\ntheir bodies seems well adapted for this end. These holuthuriae,\nthe fish, the numerous burrowing shells, and nereidous worms, which\nperforate every block of dead coral, must be very efficient agents\nin producing the fine white mud which lies at the bottom and on the\nshores of the lagoon. A portion, however, of this mud, which when\nwet resembled pounded chalk, was found by Professor Ehrenberg to be\npartly composed of siliceous-shielded infusoria.\n\nAPRIL 12, 1836.\n\nIn the morning we stood out of the lagoon on our passage to the\nIsle of France. I am glad we have visited these islands: such\nformations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of this\nworld. Captain Fitz Roy found no bottom with a line 7200 feet in\nlength, at the distance of only 2200 yards from the shore; hence\nthis island forms a lofty submarine mountain, with sides steeper\neven than those of the most abrupt volcanic cone. The saucer-shaped\nsummit is nearly ten miles across; and every single atom, from the\nleast particle to the largest fragment of rock, in this great pile,\nwhich however is small compared with very many other lagoon\nislands, bears the stamp of having been subjected to organic\narrangement. (20/10. I exclude, of course, some soil which has been\nimported here in vessels from Malacca and Java, and likewise some\nsmall fragments of pumice, drifted here by the waves. The one block\nof greenstone, moreover, on the northern island must be excepted.)\nWe feel surprise when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions of\nthe Pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant\nare the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of\nstone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender\nanimals! This is a wonder which does not at first strike the eye of\nthe body, but, after reflection, the eye of reason.\n\n(PLATE 93.  WHITSUNDAY ISLAND.)\n\nI will now give a very brief account of the three great classes of\ncoral-reefs; namely, Atolls, Barrier, and Fringing Reefs, and will\nexplain my views on their formation. (20/11. These were first read\nbefore the Geological Society in May 1837 and have since been\ndeveloped in a separate volume on the \"Structure and Distribution\nof Coral Reefs.\") Almost every voyager who has crossed the Pacific\nhas expressed his unbounded astonishment at the lagoon islands, or\nas I shall for the future call them by their Indian name of atolls,\nand has attempted some explanation. Even as long ago as the year\n1605, Pyrard de Laval well exclaimed, \"C'est une merveille de voir\nchacun de ces atollons, environné d'un grand banc de pierre tout\nautour, n'y ayant point d'artifice humain.\" The accompanying sketch\nof Whitsunday Island in the Pacific, copied from Captain Beechey's\nadmirable \"Voyage\" (Plate 93), gives but a faint idea of the\nsingular aspect of an atoll: it is one of the smallest size, and\nhas its narrow islets united together in a ring. The immensity of\nthe ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of\nthe land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the\nlagoon, can hardly be imagined without having been seen.\n\nThe earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals\ninstinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves\nprotection in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth\nthat those massive kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer\nshores the very existence of the reef depends, cannot live within\nthe lagoon, where other delicately-branching kinds flourish.\nMoreover, on this view, many species of distinct genera and\nfamilies are supposed to combine for one end; and of such a\ncombination, not a single instance can be found in the whole of\nnature. The theory that has been most generally received is that\natolls are based on submarine craters; but when we consider the\nform and size of some, the number, proximity, and relative\npositions of others, this idea loses its plausible character: thus\nSuadiva atoll is 44 geographical miles in diameter in one line, by\n34 miles in another line; Rimsky is 54 by 20 miles across, and it\nhas a strangely sinuous margin; Bow atoll is 30 miles long, and on\nan average only 6 in width; Menchicoff atoll consists of three\natolls united or tied together. This theory, moreover, is totally\ninapplicable to the northern Maldiva atolls in the Indian Ocean\n(one of which is 88 miles in length, and between 10 and 20 in\nbreadth), for they are not bounded like ordinary atolls by narrow\nreefs, but by a vast number of separate little atolls; other little\natolls rising out of the great central lagoon-like spaces. A third\nand better theory was advanced by Chamisso, who thought that from\nthe corals growing more vigorously where exposed to the open sea,\nas undoubtedly is the case, the outer edges would grow up from the\ngeneral foundation before any other part, and that this would\naccount for the ring or cup-shaped structure. But we shall\nimmediately see, that in this, as well as in the crater-theory, a\nmost important consideration has been overlooked, namely, on what\nhave the reef-building corals, which cannot live at a great depth,\nbased their massive structures?\n\nNumerous soundings were carefully taken by Captain Fitz Roy on the\nsteep outside of Keeling atoll, and it was found that within ten\nfathoms the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead invariably\ncame up marked with the impressions of living corals, but as\nperfectly clean as if it had been dropped on a carpet of turf; as\nthe depth increased, the impressions became less numerous, but the\nadhering particles of sand more and more numerous, until at last it\nwas evident that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer; to\ncarry on the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner\nand thinner, till at last the soil was so sterile that nothing\nsprang from it. From these observations, confirmed by many others,\nit may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at which corals can\nconstruct reefs is between 20 and 30 fathoms. Now there are\nenormous areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in which every\nsingle island is of coral formation, and is raised only to that\nheight to which the waves can throw up fragments, and the winds\npile up sand. Thus the Radack group of atolls is an irregular\nsquare, 520 miles long and 240 broad; the Low Archipelago is\nelliptic-formed, 840 miles in its longer, and 420 in its shorter\naxis: there are other small groups and single low islands between\nthese two archipelagoes, making a linear space of ocean actually\nmore than 4000 miles in length, in which not one single island\nrises above the specified height. Again, in the Indian Ocean there\nis a space of ocean 1500 miles in length, including three\narchipelagoes, in which every island is low and of coral formation.\nFrom the fact of the reef-building corals not living at great\ndepths, it is absolutely certain that throughout these vast areas,\nwherever there is now an atoll, a foundation must have originally\nexisted within a depth of from 20 to 30 fathoms from the surface.\nIt is improbable in the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated,\nsteep-sided banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines\nhundreds of leagues in length, could have been deposited in the\ncentral and profoundest parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, at\nan immense distance from any continent, and where the water is\nperfectly limpid. It is equally improbable that the elevatory\nforces should have uplifted throughout the above vast areas,\ninnumerable great rocky banks within 20 to 30 fathoms, or 120 to\n180 feet, of the surface of the sea, and not one single point above\nthat level; for where on the whole face of the globe can we find a\nsingle chain of mountains, even a few hundred miles in length, with\ntheir many summits rising within a few feet of a given level, and\nnot one pinnacle above it? If then the foundations, whence the\natoll-building corals sprang, were not formed of sediment, and if\nthey were not lifted up to the required level, they must of\nnecessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the\ndifficulty. For as mountain after mountain, and island after\nisland, slowly sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be\nsuccessively afforded for the growth of the corals. It is\nimpossible here to enter into all the necessary details, but I\nventure to defy any one to explain in any other manner how it is\npossible that numerous islands should be distributed throughout\nvast areas--all the islands being low--all being built of corals,\nabsolutely requiring a foundation within a limited depth from the\nsurface. (20/12. It is remarkable that Mr. Lyell, even in the first\nedition of his \"Principles of Geology,\" inferred that the amount of\nsubsidence in the Pacific must have exceeded that of elevation,\nfrom the area of land being very small relatively to the agents\nthere tending to form it, namely, the growth of coral and volcanic\naction.)\n\n(PLATE 94.  BARRIER-REEF, BOLABOLA.)\n\nBefore explaining how atoll-formed reefs acquire their peculiar\nstructure, we must turn to the second great class, namely,\nBarrier-reefs. These either extend in straight lines in front of\nthe shores of a continent or of a large island, or they encircle\nsmaller islands; in both cases, being separated from the land by a\nbroad and rather deep channel of water, analogous to the lagoon\nwithin an atoll. It is remarkable how little attention has been\npaid to encircling barrier-reefs; yet they are truly wonderful\nstructures. The sketch (Plate 94) represents part of the barrier\nencircling the island of Bolabola in the Pacific, as seen from one\nof the central peaks. In this instance the whole line of reef has\nbeen converted into land; but usually a snow-white line of great\nbreakers, with only here and there a single low islet crowned with\ncocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters of the ocean from\nthe light green expanse of the lagoon-channel. And the quiet waters\nof this channel generally bathe a fringe of low alluvial soil,\nloaded with the most beautiful productions of the tropics, and\nlying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, central mountains.\n\nEncircling barrier-reefs are of all sizes, from three miles to no\nless than forty-four miles in diameter; and that which fronts one\nside, and encircles both ends, of New Caledonia, is 400 miles long.\nEach reef includes one, two, or several rocky islands of various\nheights; and in one instance, even as many as twelve separate\nislands. The reef runs at a greater or less distance from the\nincluded land; in the Society Archipelago generally from one to\nthree or four miles; but at Hogoleu the reef is 20 miles on the\nsouthern side, and 14 miles on the opposite or northern side, from\nthe included islands. The depth within the lagoon-channel also\nvaries much; from 10 to 30 fathoms may be taken as an average; but\nat Vanikoro there are spaces no less than 56 fathoms or 336 feet\ndeep. Internally the reef either slopes gently into the\nlagoon-channel, or ends in a perpendicular wall sometimes between\ntwo and three hundred feet under water in height: externally the\nreef rises, like an atoll, with extreme abruptness out of the\nprofound depths of the ocean. What can be more singular than these\nstructures? We see an island, which may be compared to a castle\nsituated on the summit of a lofty submarine mountain, protected by\na great wall of coral-rock, always steep externally and sometimes\ninternally, with a broad level summit, here and there breached by\nnarrow gateways, through which the largest ships can enter the wide\nand deep encircling moat.\n\nAs far as the actual reef of coral is concerned, there is not the\nsmallest difference in general size, outline, grouping, and even in\nquite trifling details of structure, between a barrier and an\natoll. The geographer Balbi has well remarked that an encircled\nisland is an atoll with high land rising out of its lagoon; remove\nthe land from within, and a perfect atoll is left.\n\nBut what has caused these reefs to spring up at such great\ndistances from the shores of the included islands? It cannot be\nthat the corals will not grow close to the land; for the shores\nwithin the lagoon-channel, when not surrounded by alluvial soil,\nare often fringed by living reefs; and we shall presently see that\nthere is a whole class, which I have called Fringing-reefs from\ntheir close attachment to the shores both of continents and of\nislands. Again, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot\nlive at great depths, based their encircling structures? This is a\ngreat apparent difficulty, analogous to that in the case of atolls,\nwhich has generally been overlooked. It will be perceived more\nclearly by inspecting the following sections which are real ones,\ntaken in north and south lines, through the islands with their\nbarrier-reefs, of Vanikoro, Gambier, and Maurua; and they are laid\ndown, both vertically and horizontally, on the same scale of a\nquarter of an inch to a mile.\n\n(PLATE 95.  SECTIONS OF BARRIER-REEFS. 1. Vanikoro. 2. Gambier\nIslands. 3. Maurua.\n\nThe horizontal shading shows the barrier-reefs and lagoon-channels.\nThe inclined shading above the level of the sea (AA) shows the\nactual form of the land; the inclined shading below this line shows\nits probable prolongation under water.)\n\nIt should be observed that the sections might have been taken in\nany direction through these islands, or through many other\nencircled islands, and the general features would have been the\nsame. Now bearing in mind that reef-building coral cannot live at a\ngreater depth than from 20 to 30 fathoms, and that the scale is so\nsmall that the plummets on the right hand show a depth of 200\nfathoms, on what are these barrier-reefs based? Are we to suppose\nthat each island is surrounded by a collar-like submarine ledge of\nrock, or by a great bank of sediment, ending abruptly where the\nreef ends? If the sea had formerly eaten deeply into the islands,\nbefore they were protected by the reefs, thus having left a shallow\nledge round them under water, the present shores would have been\ninvariably bounded by great precipices; but this is most rarely the\ncase. Moreover, on this notion, it is not possible to explain why\nthe corals should have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme\nouter margin of the ledge, often leaving a broad space of water\nwithin, too deep for the growth of corals. The accumulation of a\nwide bank of sediment all round these islands, and generally widest\nwhere the included islands are smallest, is highly improbable,\nconsidering their exposed positions in the central and deepest\nparts of the ocean. In the case of the barrier-reef of New\nCaledonia, which extends for 150 miles beyond the northern point of\nthe island, in the same straight line with which it fronts the west\ncoast, it is hardly possible to believe that a bank of sediment\ncould thus have been straightly deposited in front of a lofty\nisland, and so far beyond its termination in the open sea. Finally,\nif we look to other oceanic islands of about the same height and of\nsimilar geological constitution, but not encircled by coral-reefs,\nwe may in vain search for so trifling a circumambient depth as 30\nfathoms, except quite near to their shores; for usually land that\nrises abruptly out of water, as do most of the encircled and\nnon-encircled oceanic islands, plunges abruptly under it. On what\nthen, I repeat, are these barrier reefs based? Why, with their wide\nand deep moat-like channels, do they stand so far from the included\nland? We shall soon see how easily these difficulties disappear.\n\nWe come now to our third class of Fringing-reefs, which will\nrequire a very short notice. Where the land slopes abruptly under\nwater, these reefs are only a few yards in width, forming a mere\nribbon or fringe round the shores: where the land slopes gently\nunder the water the reef extends farther, sometimes even as much as\na mile from the land; but in such cases the soundings outside the\nreef always show that the submarine prolongation of the land is\ngently inclined. In fact the reefs extend only to that distance\nfrom the shore at which a foundation within the requisite depth\nfrom 20 to 30 fathoms is found. As far as the actual reef is\nconcerned, there is no essential difference between it and that\nforming a barrier or an atoll: it is, however, generally of less\nwidth, and consequently few islets have been formed on it. From the\ncorals growing more vigorously on the outside, and from the noxious\neffect of the sediment washed inwards, the outer edge of the reef\nis the highest part, and between it and the land there is generally\na shallow sandy channel a few feet in depth. Where banks of\nsediment have accumulated near to the surface, as in parts of the\nWest Indies, they sometimes become fringed with corals, and hence\nin some degree resemble lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same\nmanner as fringing-reefs, surrounding gently sloping islands, in\nsome degree resemble barrier-reefs.\n\n(PLATE 96.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF.\n\nAA, Outer edges of the fringing-reef, at the level of the sea. BB,\nThe shores of the fringed island. A'A', Outer edges of the reef,\nafter its upward growth during a period of subsidence, now\nconverted into a barrier, with islets on it. B'B', The shores of\nthe now encircled islands. CC, Lagoon-channel. NB.--In this and\nPlate 97, the subsidence of the land could be represented only by\nan apparent rise in the level of the sea.)\n\nNo theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be considered\nsatisfactory which does not include the three great classes. We\nhave seen that we are driven to believe in the subsidence of those\nvast areas, interspersed with low islands, of which not one rises\nabove the height to which the wind and waves can throw up matter,\nand yet are constructed by animals requiring a foundation, and that\nfoundation to lie at no great depth. Let us then take an island\nsurrounded by fringing-reefs, which offer no difficulty in their\nstructure; and let this island with its reef, represented by the\nunbroken lines in Plate 96, slowly subside. Now as the island sinks\ndown, either a few feet at a time or quite insensibly, we may\nsafely infer, from what is known of the conditions favourable to\nthe growth of coral, that the living masses, bathed by the surf on\nthe margin of the reef, will soon regain the surface. The water,\nhowever, will encroach little by little on the shore, the island\nbecoming lower and smaller, and the space between the inner edge of\nthe reef and the beach proportionally broader. A section of the\nreef and island in this state, after a subsidence of several\nhundred feet, is given by the dotted lines. Coral islets are\nsupposed to have been formed on the reef; and a ship is anchored in\nthe lagoon-channel. This channel will be more or less deep,\naccording to the rate of subsidence, to the amount of sediment\naccumulated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched\ncorals which can live there. The section in this state resembles in\nevery respect one drawn through an encircled island: in fact, it is\na real section (on the scale of .517 of an inch to a mile) through\nBolabola in the Pacific. We can now at once see why encircling\nbarrier-reefs stand so far from the shores which they front. We can\nalso perceive that a line drawn perpendicularly down from the outer\nedge of the new reef, to the foundation of solid rock beneath the\nold fringing-reef, will exceed by as many feet as there have been\nfeet of subsidence, that small limit of depth at which the\neffective corals can live:--the little architects having built up\ntheir great wall-like mass, as the whole sank down, upon a basis\nformed of other corals and their consolidated fragments. Thus the\ndifficulty on this head, which appeared so great, disappears.\n\nIf, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a continent\nfringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have subsided, a great\nstraight barrier, like that of Australia or New Caledonia,\nseparated from the land by a wide and deep channel, would evidently\nhave been the result.\n\n(PLATE 97.  SECTION OF CORAL-REEF. A'A', Outer edges of the\nbarrier-reef at the level of the sea, with islets on it. B'B', The\nshores of the included island. CC, The lagoon-channel. A''A'',\nOuter edges of the reef, now converted into an atoll. C', The\nlagoon of the new atoll. NB.--According to the true scale, the\ndepths of the lagoon-channel and lagoon are much exaggerated.)\n\nLet us take our new encircling barrier-reef (Plate 97), of which\nthe section is now represented by unbroken lines, and which, as I\nhave said, is a real section through Bolabola, and let it go on\nsubsiding. As the barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the corals will\ngo on vigorously growing upwards; but as the island sinks, the\nwater will gain inch by inch on the shore--the separate mountains\nfirst forming separate islands within one great reef--and finally,\nthe last and highest pinnacle disappearing. The instant this takes\nplace, a perfect atoll is formed: I have said, remove the high land\nfrom within an encircling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and\nthe land has been removed. We can now perceive how it comes that\natolls, having sprung from encircling barrier-reefs, resemble them\nin general size, form, in the manner in which they are grouped\ntogether, and in their arrangement in single or double lines; for\nthey may be called rude outline charts of the sunken islands over\nwhich they stand. We can further see how it arises that the atolls\nin the Pacific and Indian Oceans extend in lines parallel to the\ngenerally prevailing strike of the high islands and great\ncoast-lines of those oceans. I venture, therefore, to affirm that\non the theory of the upward growth of the corals during the sinking\nof the land, all the leading features in those wonderful\nstructures, the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long\nexcited the attention of voyagers, as well as in the no less\nwonderful barrier-reefs, whether encircling small islands or\nstretching for hundreds of miles along the shores of a continent,\nare simply explained. (20/13. It has been highly satisfactory to me\nto find the following passage in a pamphlet by Mr. Couthouy, one of\nthe naturalists in the great Antarctic Expedition of the United\nStates:--\"Having personally examined a large number of\ncoral-islands, and resided eight months among the volcanic class\nhaving shore and partially encircling reefs, I may be permitted to\nstate that my own observations have impressed a conviction of the\ncorrectness of the theory of Mr. Darwin.\" The naturalists, however,\nof this expedition differ with me on some points respecting coral\nformations.)\n\n(PLATE 98.  BOLABOLA ISLAND.)\n\nIt may be asked whether I can offer any direct evidence of the\nsubsidence of barrier-reefs or atolls; but it must be borne in mind\nhow difficult it must ever be to detect a movement, the tendency of\nwhich is to hide under water the part affected. Nevertheless, at\nKeeling atoll I observed on all sides of the lagoon old cocoa-nut\ntrees undermined and falling; and in one place the foundation-posts\nof a shed, which the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years\nbefore just above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by\nevery tide; on inquiry I found that three earthquakes, one of them\nsevere, had been felt here during the last ten years. At Vanikoro\nthe lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely any alluvial soil\nhas accumulated at the foot of the lofty included mountains, and\nremarkably few islets have been formed by the heaping of fragments\nand sand on the wall-like barrier reef; these facts, and some\nanalogous ones, led me to believe that this island must lately have\nsubsided and the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are\nfrequent and very severe. In the Society Archipelago, on the other\nhand, where the lagoon-channels are almost choked up, where much\nlow alluvial land has accumulated, and where in some cases long\nislets have been formed on the barrier-reefs--facts all showing\nthat the islands have not very lately subsided--only feeble shocks\nare most rarely felt. In these coral formations, where the land and\nwater seem struggling for mastery, it must be ever difficult to\ndecide between the effects of a change in the set of the tides and\nof a slight subsidence: that many of these reefs and atolls are\nsubject to changes of some kind is certain; on some atolls the\nislets appear to have increased greatly within a late period; on\nothers they have been partially or wholly washed away. The\ninhabitants of parts of the Maldiva Archipelago know the date of\nthe first formation of some islets; in other parts the corals are\nnow flourishing on water-washed reefs, where holes made for graves\nattest the former existence of inhabited land. It is difficult to\nbelieve in frequent changes in the tidal currents of an open ocean;\nwhereas we have in the earthquakes recorded by the natives on some\natolls, and in the great fissures observed on other atolls, plain\nevidence of changes and disturbances in progress in the\nsubterranean regions.\n\nIt is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by reefs\ncannot have subsided to any perceptible amount; and therefore they\nmust, since the growth of their corals, either have remained\nstationary or have been upheaved. Now it is remarkable how\ngenerally it can be shown, by the presence of upraised organic\nremains, that the fringed islands have been elevated: and so far,\nthis is indirect evidence in favour of our theory. I was\nparticularly struck with this fact, when I found, to my surprise,\nthat the descriptions given by MM. Quoy and Gaimard were\napplicable, not to reefs in general as implied by them, but only to\nthose of the fringing class; my surprise, however, ceased when I\nafterwards found that, by a strange chance, all the several islands\nvisited by these eminent naturalists could be shown by their own\nstatements to have been elevated within a recent geological era.\n\nNot only the grand features in the structure of barrier-reefs and\nof atolls, and of their likeness to each other in form, size, and\nother characters, are explained on the theory of subsidence--which\ntheory we are independently forced to admit in the very areas in\nquestion, from the necessity of finding bases for the corals within\nthe requisite depth--but many details in structure and exceptional\ncases can thus also be simply explained. I will give only a few\ninstances. In barrier-reefs it has long been remarked with surprise\nthat the passages through the reef exactly face valleys in the\nincluded land, even in cases where the reef is separated from the\nland by a lagoon-channel so wide and so much deeper than the actual\npassage itself, that it seems hardly possible that the very small\nquantity of water or sediment brought down could injure the corals\non the reef. Now, every reef of the fringing class is breached by a\nnarrow gateway in front of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during\nthe greater part of the year, for the mud, sand, or gravel\noccasionally washed down kills the corals on which it is deposited.\nConsequently, when an island thus fringed subsides, though most of\nthe narrow gateways will probably become closed by the outward and\nupward growth of the corals, yet any that are not closed (and some\nmust always be kept open by the sediment and impure water flowing\nout of the lagoon-channel) will still continue to front exactly the\nupper parts of those valleys at the mouths of which the original\nbasal fringing-reef was breached.\n\nWe can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, or on one\nside with one end or both ends encircled by barrier-reefs, might\nafter long-continued subsidence be converted either into a single\nwall-like reef, or into an atoll with a great straight spur\nprojecting from it, or into two or three atolls tied together by\nstraight reefs--all of which exceptional cases actually occur. As\nthe reef-building corals require food, are preyed upon by other\nanimals, are killed by sediment, cannot adhere to a loose bottom,\nand may be easily carried down to a depth whence they cannot spring\nup again, we need feel no surprise at the reefs both of atolls and\nbarriers becoming in parts imperfect. The great barrier of New\nCaledonia is thus imperfect and broken in many parts; hence, after\nlong subsidence, this great reef would not produce one great atoll\n400 miles in length, but a chain or archipelago of atolls, of very\nnearly the same dimensions with those in the Maldiva Archipelago.\nMoreover, in an atoll once breached on opposite sides, from the\nlikelihood of the oceanic and tidal currents passing straight\nthrough the breaches, it is extremely improbable that the corals,\nespecially during continued subsidence, would ever be able again to\nunite the rim; if they did not, as the whole sank downwards, one\natoll would be divided into two or more. In the Maldiva Archipelago\nthere are distinct atolls so related to each other in position, and\nseparated by channels either unfathomable or very deep (the channel\nbetween Ross and Ari atolls is 150 fathoms, and that between the\nnorth and south Nillandoo atolls is 200 fathoms in depth), that it\nis impossible to look at a map of them without believing that they\nwere once more intimately related. And in this same archipelago,\nMahlos-Mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating channel from 100 to\n132 fathoms in depth, in such a manner that it is scarcely possible\nto say whether it ought strictly to be called three separate\natolls, or one great atoll not yet finally divided.\n\n(PLATE 99.  CORALS.)\n\nI will not enter on many more details; but I must remark that the\ncurious structure of the northern Maldiva atolls receives (taking\ninto consideration the free entrance of the sea through their\nbroken margins) a simple explanation in the upward and outward\ngrowth of the corals, originally based both on small detached reefs\nin their lagoons, such as occur in common atolls, and on broken\nportions of the linear marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of\nthe ordinary form. I cannot refrain from once again remarking on\nthe singularity of these complex structures--a great sandy and\ngenerally concave disk rises abruptly from the unfathomable ocean,\nwith its central expanse studded and its edge symmetrically\nbordered with oval basins of coral-rock just lipping the surface of\nthe sea, sometimes clothed with vegetation, and each containing a\nlake of clear water!\n\nOne more point in detail: as in the two neighbouring archipelagoes\ncorals flourish in one and not in the other, and as so many\nconditions before enumerated must affect their existence, it would\nbe an inexplicable fact if, during the changes to which earth, air,\nand water are subjected, the reef-building corals were to keep\nalive for perpetuity on any one spot or area. And as by our theory\nthe areas including atolls and barrier-reefs are subsiding, we\nought occasionally to find reefs both dead and submerged. In all\nreefs, owing to the sediment being washed out of the lagoon or\nlagoon-channel to leeward, that side is least favourable to the\nlong-continued vigorous growth of the corals; hence dead portions\nof reef not unfrequently occur on the leeward side; and these,\nthough still retaining their proper wall-like form, are now in\nseveral instances sunk several fathoms beneath the surface. The\nChagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the subsidence\nhaving been too rapid, at present to be much less favourably\ncircumstanced for the growth of reefs than formerly: one atoll has\na portion of its marginal reef, nine miles in length, dead and\nsubmerged; a second has only a few quite small living points which\nrise to the surface, a third and fourth are entirely dead and\nsubmerged; a fifth is a mere wreck, with its structure almost\nobliterated. It is remarkable that in all these cases the dead\nreefs and portions of reef lie at nearly the same depth, namely,\nfrom six to eight fathoms beneath the surface, as if they had been\ncarried down by one uniform movement. One of these \"half-drowned\natolls,\" so called by Captain Moresby (to whom I am indebted for\nmuch invaluable information), is of vast size, namely, ninety\nnautical miles across in one direction, and seventy miles in\nanother line; and is in many respects eminently curious. As by our\ntheory it follows that new atolls will generally be formed in each\nnew area of subsidence, two weighty objections might have been\nraised, namely, that atolls must be increasing indefinitely in\nnumber; and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence each separate\natoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if proofs of\ntheir occasional destruction could not have been adduced. Thus have\nwe traced the history of these great rings of coral-rock, from\ntheir first origin through their normal changes, and through the\noccasional accidents of their existence, to their death and final\nobliteration.\n\nIn my volume on \"Coral Formations\" I have published a map, in which\nI have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the barrier-reefs\npale-blue, and the fringing reefs red. These latter reefs have been\nformed whilst the land has been stationary, or, as appears from the\nfrequent presence of upraised organic remains, whilst it has been\nslowly rising: atolls and barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have\ngrown up during the directly opposite movement of subsidence, which\nmovement must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so\nvast in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over wide\nocean-spaces. Now in this map we see that the reefs tinted pale and\ndark-blue, which have been produced by the same order of movement,\nas a general rule manifestly stand near each other. Again we see\nthat the areas with the two blue tints are of wide extent; and that\nthey lie separate from extensive lines of coast coloured red, both\nof which circumstances might naturally have been inferred, on the\ntheory of the nature of the reefs having been governed by the\nnature of the earth's movement. It deserves notice that in more\nthan one instance where single red and blue circles approach near\neach other, I can show that there have been oscillations of level;\nfor in such cases the red or fringed circles consist of atolls,\noriginally by our theory formed during subsidence, but subsequently\nupheaved; and on the other hand, some of the pale-blue or encircled\nislands are composed of coral-rock, which must have been uplifted\nto its present height before that subsidence took place, during\nwhich the existing barrier-reefs grew upwards.\n\nAuthors have noticed with surprise that although atolls are the\ncommonest coral-structures throughout some enormous oceanic tracts,\nthey are entirely absent in other seas, as in the West Indies: we\ncan now at once perceive the cause, for where there has not been\nsubsidence, atolls cannot have been formed; and in the case of the\nWest Indies and parts of the East Indies, these tracts are known to\nhave been rising within the recent period. The larger areas,\ncoloured red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two\ncolours there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of\none had balanced the sinking of the other. Taking into\nconsideration the proofs of recent elevation both on the fringed\ncoasts and on some others (for instance, in South America) where\nthere are no reefs, we are led to conclude that the great\ncontinents are for the most part rising areas: and from the nature\nof the coral-reefs, that the central parts of the great oceans are\nsinking areas. The East Indian Archipelago, the most broken land in\nthe world, is in most parts an area of elevation, but surrounded\nand penetrated, probably in more lines than one, by narrow areas of\nsubsidence.\n\nI have marked with vermilion spots all the many known active\nvolcanos within the limits of this same map. Their entire absence\nfrom every one of the great subsiding areas, coloured either pale\nor dark blue, is most striking; and not less so is the coincidence\nof the chief volcanic chains with the parts coloured red, which we\nare led to conclude have either long remained stationary, or more\ngenerally have been recently upraised. Although a few of the\nvermilion spots occur within no great distance of single circles\ntinted blue, yet not one single active volcano is situated within\nseveral hundred miles of an archipelago, or even small group of\natolls. It is, therefore, a striking fact that in the Friendly\nArchipelago, which consists of a group of atolls upheaved and since\npartially worn down, two volcanos, and perhaps more, are\nhistorically known to have been in action. On the other hand,\nalthough most of the islands in the Pacific which are encircled by\nbarrier-reefs are of volcanic origin, often with the remnants of\ncraters still distinguishable, not one of them is known to have\never been in eruption. Hence in these cases it would appear that\nvolcanos burst forth into action and become extinguished on the\nsame spots, accordingly as elevatory or subsiding movements prevail\nthere. Numberless facts could be adduced to prove that upraised\norganic remains are common wherever there are active volcanos; but\nuntil it could be shown that in areas of subsidence volcanos were\neither absent or inactive, the inference, however probable in\nitself, that their distribution depended on the rising or falling\nof the earth's surface, would have been hazardous. But now, I\nthink, we may freely admit this important deduction.\n\nTaking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the statements\nmade with respect to the upraised organic remains, we must feel\nastonished at the vastness of the areas which have suffered changes\nin level either downwards or upwards, within a period not\ngeologically remote. It would appear also that the elevatory and\nsubsiding movements follow nearly the same laws. Throughout the\nspaces interspersed with atolls, where not a single peak of high\nland has been left above the level of the sea, the sinking must\nhave been immense in amount. The sinking, moreover, whether\ncontinuous, or recurrent with intervals sufficiently long for the\ncorals again to bring up their living edifices to the surface, must\nnecessarily have been extremely slow. This conclusion is probably\nthe most important one which can be deduced from the study of coral\nformations;--and it is one which it is difficult to imagine how\notherwise could ever have been arrived at. Nor can I quite pass\nover the probability of the former existence of large archipelagoes\nof lofty islands, where now only rings of coral-rock scarcely break\nthe open expanse of the sea, throwing some light on the\ndistribution of the inhabitants of the other high islands, now left\nstanding so immensely remote from each other in the midst of the\ngreat oceans. The reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and\npreserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of\nlevel; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there\nsubsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost. We\nmay thus, like unto a geologist who had lived his ten thousand\nyears and kept a record of the passing changes, gain some insight\ninto the great system by which the surface of this globe has been\nbroken up, and land and water interchanged.\n\n\n(PLATE 100.  BIRGOS LATRO, KEELING ISLAND.)\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n(PLATE 101.  ST. LOUIS, MAURITIUS.)\n\nMAURITIUS TO ENGLAND.\n\nMauritius, beautiful appearance of.\nGreat crateriform ring of mountains.\nHindoos.\nSt. Helena.\nHistory of the changes in the vegetation.\nCause of the extinction of land-shells.\nAscension.\nVariation in the imported rats.\nVolcanic bombs.\nBeds of infusoria.\nBahia, Brazil.\nSplendour of tropical scenery.\nPernambuco.\nSingular reef.\nSlavery.\nReturn to England.\nRetrospect on our voyage.\n\nAPRIL 29, 1836.\n\n\n\nIn the morning we passed round the northern end of Mauritius, or\nthe Isle of France. From this point of view the aspect of the\nisland equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known\ndescriptions of its beautiful scenery. The sloping plain of the\nPamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and coloured by the large\nfields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed the foreground.\nThe brilliancy of the green was the more remarkable because it is a\ncolour which generally is conspicuous only from a very short\ndistance. Towards the centre of the island groups of wooded\nmountains rose out of this highly cultivated plain; their summits,\nas so commonly happens with ancient volcanic rocks, being jagged\ninto the sharpest points. Masses of white clouds were collected\naround these pinnacles, as if for the sake of pleasing the\nstranger's eye. The whole island, with its sloping border and\ncentral mountains, was adorned with an air of perfect elegance: the\nscenery, if I may use such an expression, appeared to the sight\nharmonious.\n\nI spent the greater part of the next day in walking about the town\nand visiting different people. The town is of considerable size,\nand is said to contain 20,000 inhabitants; the streets are very\nclean and regular. Although the island has been so many years under\nthe English government, the general character of the place is quite\nFrench: Englishmen speak to their servants in French, and the shops\nare all French; indeed I should think that Calais or Boulogne was\nmuch more Anglified. There is a very pretty little theatre in which\noperas are excellently performed. We were also surprised at seeing\nlarge booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves;--music and\nreading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilisation; for\nin truth both Australia and America are new worlds.\n\nThe various races of men walking in the streets afford the most\ninteresting spectacle in Port Louis. Convicts from India are\nbanished here for life; at present there are about 800, and they\nare employed in various public works. Before seeing these people, I\nhad no idea that the inhabitants of India were such noble-looking\nfigures. Their skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men\nhad large mustaches and beards of a snow-white colour; this,\ntogether with the fire of their expression, gave them quite an\nimposing aspect. The greater number had been banished for murder\nand the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely be\nconsidered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from\nsuperstitious motives, the English laws. These men are generally\nquiet and well-conducted; from their outward conduct, their\ncleanliness and faithful observance of their strange religious\nrites, it was impossible to look at them with the same eyes as on\nour wretched convicts in New South Wales.\n\nSUNDAY, MAY 1, 1836.\n\nI took a quiet walk along the sea-coast to the north of the town.\nThe plain in this part is quite uncultivated; it consists of a\nfield of black lava, smoothed over with coarse grass and bushes,\nthe latter being chiefly Mimosas. The scenery may be described as\nintermediate in character between that of the Galapagos and of\nTahiti; but this will convey a definite idea to very few persons.\nIt is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of Tahiti,\nor the grandeur of Brazil. The next day I ascended La Pouce, a\nmountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close\nbehind the town to a height of 2,600 feet. The centre of the island\nconsists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic\nmountains, with their strata dipping seawards. The central\nplatform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an\noval shape, thirteen geographical miles across in the line of its\nshorter axis. The exterior bounding mountains come into that class\nof structures called Craters of Elevation, which are supposed to\nhave been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and\nsudden upheaval. There appear to me to be insuperable objections to\nthis view: on the other hand, I can hardly believe, in this and in\nsome other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are\nmerely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits\neither have been blown off or swallowed up in subterranean abysses.\n\nFrom our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the\nisland. The country on this side appears pretty well cultivated,\nbeing divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. I was\nhowever assured that of the whole land not more than half is yet in\na productive state; if such be the case, considering the present\nlarge export of sugar, this island, at some future period when\nthickly peopled, will be of great value. Since England has taken\npossession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of\nsugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. One great cause\nof its prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. In the\nneighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French\ngovernment, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they\nwere here only a few years ago. Although the French residents must\nhave largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island,\nyet the English government is far from popular.\n\nMAY 3, 1836.\n\nIn the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor-general, so well known\nfrom his examination of the Isthmus of Panama, invited Mr. Stokes\nand myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge of\nWilheim Plains, and about six miles from the Port. We stayed at\nthis delightful place two days; standing nearly 800 feet above the\nsea, the air was cool and fresh, and on every side there were\ndelightful walks. Close by a grand ravine has been worn to a depth\nof about 500 feet through the slightly inclined streams of lava,\nwhich have flowed from the central platform.\n\nMAY 5, 1836.\n\nCaptain Lloyd took us to the Rivière Noire, which is several miles\nto the southward, that I might examine some rocks of elevated\ncoral. We passed through pleasant gardens, and fine fields of\nsugar-cane growing amidst huge blocks of lava. The roads were\nbordered by hedges of Mimosa, and near many of the houses there\nwere avenues of the mango. Some of the views where the peaked hills\nand the cultivated farms were seen together, were exceedingly\npicturesque; and we were constantly tempted to exclaim \"How\npleasant it would be to pass one's life in such quiet abodes!\"\nCaptain Lloyd possessed an elephant, and he sent it half-way with\nus, that we might enjoy a ride in true Indian fashion. The\ncircumstance which surprised me most was its quite noiseless step.\nThis elephant is the only one at present on the island; but it is\nsaid others will be sent for.\n\nMAY 9, 1836.\n\n(PLATE 102.  ST. HELENA.)\n\nWe sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the Cape of Good Hope,\non the 8th of July we arrived off St. Helena. This island, the\nforbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises\nabruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the town, as\nif to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every\ngap in the rugged rocks. The town runs up a flat and narrow valley;\nthe houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few\ngreen trees. When approaching the anchorage there was one striking\nview: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty hill,\nand surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected\nagainst the sky.\n\nThe next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of\nNapoleon's tomb; it was a capital central situation, whence I could\nmake excursions in every direction. (21/1. After the volumes of\neloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is dangerous\neven to mention the tomb. A modern traveller, in twelve lines,\nburdens the poor little island with the following titles,--it is a\ngrave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus,\nminaret, and mausoleum!) During the four days I stayed here I\nwandered over the island from morning to night and examined its\ngeological history. My lodgings were situated at a height of about\n2000 feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant\nshowers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled\nin thick clouds.\n\nNear the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and\nhigher parts feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced\na clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained\nin broad bands of many bright colours. At this season the land,\nmoistened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green\npasture, which lower and lower down gradually fades away and at\nlast disappears. In latitude 16 degrees, and at the trifling\nelevation of 1500 feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation\npossessing a character decidedly British. The hills are crowned\nwith irregular plantations of Scotch firs; and the sloping banks\nare thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its\nbright yellow flowers. Weeping-willows are common on the banks of\nthe rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, producing\nits well-known fruit. When we consider that the number of plants\nnow found on the island is 746, and that out of these fifty-two\nalone are indigenous species, the rest having been imported, and\nmost of them from England, we see the reason of the British\ncharacter of the vegetation. Many of these English plants appear to\nflourish better than in their native country; some also from the\nopposite quarter of Australia succeed remarkably well. The many\nimported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and\nit is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous\nFlora is now predominant.\n\nThe English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is kept up\nby the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the\nbottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of\nthe lofty hills. Some of the views are striking, for instance that\nfrom near Sir W. Doveton's house, where the bold peak called Lot is\nseen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red\nwater-worn mountains of the southern coast. On viewing the island\nfrom an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one is the\nnumber of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public\nworks, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all\nproportion to its extent or value. There is so little level or\nuseful land that it seems surprising how so many people, about\n5000, can subsist here. The lower orders, or the emancipated\nslaves, are, I believe, extremely poor: they complain of the want\nof work. From the reduction in the number of public servants, owing\nto the island having been given up by the East India Company, and\nthe consequent emigration of many of the richer people, the poverty\nprobably will increase. The chief food of the working class is rice\nwith a little salt meat; as neither of these articles are the\nproducts of the island, but must be purchased with money, the low\nwages tell heavily on the poor people. Now that the people are\nblessed with freedom, a right which I believe they value fully, it\nseems probable that their numbers will quickly increase: if so,\nwhat is to become of the little state of St. Helena?\n\nMy guide was an elderly man who had been a goatherd when a boy, and\nknew every step amongst the rocks. He was of a race many times\ncrossed, and although with a dusky skin, he had not the\ndisagreeable expression of a mulatto. He was a very civil, quiet\nold man, and such appears the character of the greater number of\nthe lower classes. It was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly\nwhite and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of the\ntimes when he was a slave. With my companion, who carried our\ndinners and a horn of water, which is quite necessary, as all the\nwater in the lower valleys is saline, I every day took long walks.\n\nBeneath the upper and central green circle, the wild valleys are\nquite desolate and untenanted. Here, to the geologist, there were\nscenes of high interest, showing successive changes and complicated\ndisturbances. According to my views, St. Helena has existed as an\nisland from a very remote epoch: some obscure proofs, however, of\nthe elevation of the land are still extant. I believe that the\ncentral and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater,\nthe southern half of which has been entirely removed by the waves\nof the sea: there is, moreover, an external wall of black basaltic\nrocks, like the coast-mountains of Mauritius, which are older than\nthe central volcanic streams. On the higher parts of the island\nconsiderable numbers of a shell, long thought to be a marine\nspecies, occur imbedded in the soil. It proves to be a Cochlogena,\nor land-shell of a very peculiar form; with it I found six other\nkinds; and in another spot an eighth species. (21/2. It deserves\nnotice that all the many specimens of this shell found by me in one\nspot differ as a marked variety from another set of specimens\nprocured from a different spot.) It is remarkable that none of them\nare now found living. Their extinction has probably been caused by\nthe entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of\nfood and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last\ncentury.\n\nThe history of the changes which the elevated plains of Longwood\nand Deadwood have undergone, as given in General Beatson's account\nof the island, is extremely curious. Both plains, it is said, in\nformer times were covered with wood, and were therefore called the\nGreat Wood. So late as the year 1716 there were many trees, but in\n1724 the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had\nbeen suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed.\nIt appears also from the official records that the trees were\nunexpectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire grass\nwhich spread over the whole surface. (21/3. Beatson's \"St. Helena\"\nIntroductory chapter page 4.) General Beatson adds that now this\nplain \"is covered with fine sward, and is become the finest piece\nof pasture on the island.\" The extent of surface, probably covered\nby wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two\nthousand acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be\nfound there. It is also said that in 1709 there were quantities of\ndead trees in Sandy Bay; this place is now so utterly desert that\nnothing but so well attested an account could have made me believe\nthat they could ever have grown there. The fact that the goats and\nhogs destroyed all the young trees as they sprang up, and that in\nthe course of time the old ones, which were safe from their\nattacks, perished from age, seems clearly made out. Goats were\nintroduced in the year 1502; eighty-six years afterwards, in the\ntime of Cavendish, it is known that they were exceedingly numerous.\nMore than a century afterwards, in 1731, when the evil was complete\nand irretrievable, an order was issued that all stray animals\nshould be destroyed. It is very interesting thus to find that the\narrival of animals at St. Helena in 1501 did not change the whole\naspect of the island, until a period of two hundred and twenty\nyears had elapsed: for the goats were introduced in 1502, and in\n1724 it is said \"the old trees had mostly fallen.\" There can be\nlittle doubt that this great change in the vegetation affected not\nonly the land-shells, causing eight species to become extinct, but\nlikewise a multitude of insects.\n\nSt. Helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the midst of\na great ocean, and possessing a unique Flora, excites our\ncuriosity. The eight land-shells, though now extinct, and one\nliving Succinea, are peculiar species found nowhere else. Mr.\nCuming, however, informs me that an English Helix is common here,\nits eggs no doubt having been imported in some of the many\nintroduced plants. Mr. Cuming collected on the coast sixteen\nspecies of sea-shells, of which seven, as far as he knows, are\nconfined to this island. Birds and insects, as might have been\nexpected, are very few in number; indeed I believe all the birds\nhave been introduced within late years. (21/4. Among these few\ninsects I was surprised to find a small Aphodius (nov. spec.) and\nan Oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. When the island was\ndiscovered it certainly possessed no quadruped excepting PERHAPS a\nmouse: it becomes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain,\nwhether these stercovorous insects have since been imported by\naccident, or if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted.\nOn the banks of the Plata, where, from the vast number of cattle\nand horses, the fine plains of turf are richly manured, it is vain\nto seek the many kinds of dung-feeding beetles which occur so\nabundantly in Europe. I observed only an Oryctes (the insects of\nthis genus in Europe generally feed on decayed vegetable matter)\nand two species of Phanaeus, common in such situations. On the\nopposite side of the Cordillera in Chiloe another species of\nPhanaeus is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung of the\ncattle in large earthen balls beneath the ground. There is reason\nto believe that the genus Phanaeus, before the introduction of\ncattle, acted as scavengers to man. In Europe beetles which find\nsupport in the matter which has already contributed towards the\nlife of other and larger animals, are so numerous that there must\nbe considerably more than one hundred different species.\nConsidering this, and observing what a quantity of food of this\nkind is lost on the plains of La Plata, I imagined I saw an\ninstance where man had disturbed that chain by which so many\nanimals are linked together in their native country. In Van\nDiemen's Land, however, I found four species of Onthophagus, two of\nAphodius, and one of a third genus, very abundant under the dung of\ncows; yet these latter animals had been then introduced only\nthirty-three years. Previous to that time the kangaroo and some\nother small animals were the only quadrupeds; and their dung is of\na very different quality from that of their successors introduced\nby man. In England the greater number of stercovorous beetles are\nconfined in their appetites; that is, they do not depend\nindifferently on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. The\nchange, therefore, in habits which must have taken place in Van\nDiemen's Land is highly remarkable. I am indebted to the Reverend\nF.W. Hope, who, I hope, will permit me to call him my master in\nEntomology, for giving me the names of the foregoing insects.)\nPartridges and pheasants are tolerably abundant; the island is much\ntoo English not to be subject to strict game-laws. I was told of a\nmore unjust sacrifice to such ordinances than I ever heard of even\nin England. The poor people formerly used to burn a plant which\ngrows on the coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a\nperemptory order came out prohibiting this practice, and giving as\na reason that the partridges would have nowhere to build!\n\nIn my walks I passed more than once over the grassy plain, bounded\nby deep valleys, on which Longwood stands. Viewed from a short\ndistance, it appears like a respectable gentleman's country-seat.\nIn front there are a few cultivated fields, and beyond them the\nsmooth hill of coloured rocks called the Flagstaff, and the rugged\nsquare black mass of the Barn. On the whole the view was rather\nbleak and uninteresting. The only inconvenience I suffered during\nmy walks was from the impetuous winds. One day I noticed a curious\ncircumstance: standing on the edge of a plain, terminated by a\ngreat cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, I saw at the\ndistance of a few yards right to windward, some tern, struggling\nagainst a very strong breeze, whilst, where I stood, the air was\nquite calm. Approaching close to the brink, where the current\nseemed to be deflected upwards from the face of the cliff, I\nstretched out my arm, and immediately felt the full force of the\nwind: an invisible barrier, two yards in width, separated perfectly\ncalm air from a strong blast.\n\nI so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains of St.\nHelena that I felt almost sorry on the morning of the 14th to\ndescend to the town. Before noon I was on board, and the \"Beagle\"\nmade sail.\n\nOn the 19th of July we reached Ascension. Those who have beheld a\nvolcanic island situated under an arid climate will at once be able\nto picture to themselves the appearance of Ascension. They will\nimagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their\nsummits generally truncated, rising separately out of a level\nsurface of black rugged lava. A principal mound in the centre of\nthe island seems the father of the lesser cones. It is called Green\nHill: its name being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour,\nwhich at this time of the year is barely perceptible from the\nanchorage. To complete the desolate scene, the black rocks on the\ncoast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea.\n\nThe settlement is near the beach; it consists of several houses and\nbarracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. The\nonly inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from\nslave-ships, who are paid and victualled by government. There is\nnot a private person on the island. Many of the marines appeared\nwell contented with their situation; they think it better to serve\ntheir one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in\na ship; in this choice, if I were a marine, I should most heartily\nagree.\n\nThe next morning I ascended Green Hill, 2840 feet high, and thence\nwalked across the island to the windward point. A good cart-road\nleads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and fields,\nplaced near the summit of the central mountain. On the roadside\nthere are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty\npasser-by can drink some good water. Similar care is displayed in\neach part of the establishment, and especially in the management of\nthe springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: indeed\nthe whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate\norder. I could not help, when admiring the active industry which\nhad created such effects out of such means, at the same time\nregretting that it had been wasted on so poor and trifling an end.\nM. Lesson has remarked with justice that the English nation would\nhave thought of making the island of Ascension a productive spot,\nany other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the\nocean.\n\nNear this coast nothing grows; farther inland an occasional green\ncastor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the\ndesert, may be met with. Some grass is scattered over the surface\nof the central elevated region, and the whole much resembles the\nworse parts of the Welsh mountains. But, scanty as the pasture\nappears, about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and\nhorses, all thrive well on it. Of native animals, land-crabs and\nrats swarm in numbers. Whether the rat is really indigenous may\nwell be doubted; there are two varieties as described by Mr.\nWaterhouse; one is of a black colour, with fine glossy fur, and\nlives on the grassy summit, the other is brown-coloured and less\nglossy, with longer hairs, and lives near the settlement on the\ncoast. Both these varieties are one-third smaller than the common\nblack rat (M. rattus); and they differ from it both in the colour\nand character of their fur, but in no other essential respect. I\ncan hardly doubt that these rats (like the common mouse, which has\nalso run wild) have been imported, and, as at the Galapagos, have\nvaried from the effect of the new conditions to which they have\nbeen exposed: hence the variety on the summit of the island differs\nfrom that on the coast. Of native birds there are none; but the\nguinea-fowl, imported from the Cape de Verd Islands, is abundant,\nand the common fowl has likewise run wild. Some cats which were\noriginally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have increased,\nso as to become a great plague. The island is entirely without\ntrees, in which, and in every other respect, it is very far\ninferior to St. Helena.\n\nOne of my excursions took me towards the south-west extremity of\nthe island. The day was clear and hot, and I saw the island, not\nsmiling with beauty, but staring with naked hideousness. The lava\nstreams are covered with hummocks, and are rugged to a degree\nwhich, geologically speaking, is not of easy explanation. The\nintervening spaces are concealed with layers of pumice, ashes and\nvolcanic tuff. Whilst passing this end of the island at sea, I\ncould not imagine what the white patches were with which the whole\nplain was mottled; I now found that they were sea-fowl, sleeping in\nsuch full confidence, that even in mid-day a man could walk up and\nseize hold of them. These birds were the only living creatures I\nsaw during the whole day. On the beach a great surf, although the\nbreeze was light, came tumbling over the broken lava rocks.\n\n(PLATE 103.  CELLULAR FORMATION OF VOLCANIC BOMB.)\n\nThe geology of this island is in many respects interesting. In\nseveral places I noticed volcanic bombs, that is, masses of lava\nwhich have been shot through the air whilst fluid, and have\nconsequently assumed a spherical or pear-shape. Not only their\nexternal form, but, in several cases, their internal structure\nshows in a very curious manner that they have revolved in their\naerial course. The internal structure of one of these bombs, when\nbroken, is represented very accurately in Plate 103. The central\npart is coarsely cellular, the cells decreasing in size towards the\nexterior; where there is a shell-like case about the third of an\ninch in thickness, of compact stone, which again is overlaid by the\noutside crust of finely cellular lava. I think there can be little\ndoubt, first, that the external crust cooled rapidly in the state\nin which we now see it; secondly, that the still fluid lava within\nwas packed by the centrifugal force generated by the revolving of\nthe bomb, against the external cooled crust, and so produced the\nsolid shell of stone; and lastly, that the centrifugal force, by\nrelieving the pressure in the more central parts of the bomb,\nallowed the heated vapours to expand their cells, thus forming the\ncoarse cellular mass of the centre.\n\nA hill formed of the older series of volcanic rocks, and which has\nbeen incorrectly considered as the crater of a volcano, is\nremarkable from its broad, slightly hollowed, and circular summit\nhaving been filled up with many successive layers of ashes and fine\nscoriae. These saucer-shaped layers crop out on the margin, forming\nperfect rings of many different colours, giving to the summit a\nmost fantastic appearance; one of these rings is white and broad,\nand resembles a course round which horses have been exercised;\nhence the hill has been called the Devil's Riding School. I brought\naway specimens of one of the tufaceous layers of a pinkish colour\nand it is a most extraordinary fact that Professor Ehrenberg finds\nit almost wholly composed of matter which has been organised; he\ndetects in it some siliceous-shielded, fresh-water infusoria, and\nno less than twenty-five different kinds of the siliceous tissue of\nplants, chiefly of grasses. (21/5. \"Monats. der Konig. Akad. d.\nWiss. zu Berlin\" Vom April 1845.) From the absence of all\ncarbonaceous matter, Professor Ehrenberg believes that these\norganic bodies have passed through the volcanic fire, and have been\nerupted in the state in which we now see them. The appearance of\nthe layers induced me to believe that they had been deposited under\nwater, though from the extreme dryness of the climate I was forced\nto imagine that torrents of rain had probably fallen during some\ngreat eruption, and that thus a temporary lake had been formed into\nwhich the ashes fell. But it may now be suspected that the lake was\nnot a temporary one. Anyhow we may feel sure that at some former\nepoch the climate and productions of Ascension were very different\nfrom what they now are. Where on the face of the earth can we find\na spot on which close investigation will not discover signs of that\nendless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, is, and will\nbe subjected?\n\nOn leaving Ascension, we sailed for Bahia, on the coast of Brazil,\nin order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world.\nWe arrived there on August 1st, and stayed four days, during which\nI took several long walks. I was glad to find my enjoyment in\ntropical scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even\nin the slightest degree. The elements of the scenery are so simple\nthat they are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling\ncircumstances exquisite natural beauty depends.\n\nThe country may be described as a level plain of about three\nhundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into\nflat-bottomed valleys. This structure is remarkable in a granitic\nland, but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of\nwhich plains are usually composed. The whole surface is covered by\nvarious kinds of stately trees, interspersed with patches of\ncultivated ground, out of which houses, convents, and chapels\narise. It must be remembered that within the tropics the wild\nluxuriance of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large\ncities: for the natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides\noverpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man.\nHence, there are only a few spots where the bright red soil affords\na strong contrast with the universal clothing of green. From the\nedges of the plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or\nof the great Bay with its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous\nboats and canoes show their white sails. Excepting from these\npoints, the scene is extremely limited; following the level\npathways, on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below\ncan be obtained. The houses I may add, and especially the sacred\nedifices, are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of\narchitecture. They are all whitewashed; so that when illumined by\nthe brilliant sun of mid-day, and as seen against the pale blue sky\nof the horizon, they stand out more like shadows than real\nbuildings.\n\nSuch are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt\nto paint the general effect. Learned naturalists describe these\nscenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and\nmentioning some characteristic feature of each. To a learned\ntraveller this possibly may communicate some definite ideas: but\nwho else from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its\nappearance when growing in its native soil? Who from seeing choice\nplants in a hothouse can magnify some into the dimensions of forest\ntrees, and crowd others into an entangled jungle? Who when\nexamining in the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic\nbutterflies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these\nlifeless objects the ceaseless harsh music of the latter and the\nlazy flight of the former,--the sure accompaniments of the still,\nglowing noonday of the tropics? It is when the sun has attained its\ngreatest height that such scenes should be viewed: then the dense\nsplendid foliage of the mango hides the ground with its darkest\nshade, whilst the upper branches are rendered from the profusion of\nlight of the most brilliant green. In the temperate zones the case\nis different--the vegetation there is not so dark or so rich, and\nhence the rays of the declining sun, tinged of a red, purple, or\nbright yellow colour, add most to the beauties of those climes.\n\nWhen quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring each\nsuccessive view, I wished to find language to express my ideas.\nEpithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who\nhave not visited the intertropical regions the sensation of delight\nwhich the mind experiences. I have said that the plants in a\nhothouse fail to communicate a just idea of the vegetation, yet I\nmust recur to it. The land is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant\nhothouse, made by Nature for herself, but taken possession of by\nman, who has studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. How\ngreat would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if\nsuch were possible, the scenery of another planet! yet to every\nperson in Europe, it may be truly said, that at the distance of\nonly a few degrees from his native soil the glories of another\nworld are opened to him. In my last walk I stopped again and again\nto gaze on these beauties, and endeavoured to fix in my mind for\never an impression which at the time I knew sooner or later must\nfail. The form of the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the\nmango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate;\nbut the thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene\nmust fade away: yet they will leave, like a tale heard in\nchildhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful\nfigures.\n\nAUGUST 6, 1836.\n\nIn the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the intention of making\na direct course to the Cape de Verd Islands. Unfavourable winds,\nhowever, delayed us, and on the 12th we ran into Pernambuco,--a\nlarge city on the coast of Brazil, in latitude 8 degrees south. We\nanchored outside the reef; but in a short time a pilot came on\nboard and took us into the inner harbour, where we lay close to the\ntown.\n\nPernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks which are\nseparated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. The\nthree parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges\nbuilt on wooden piles. The town is in all parts disgusting, the\nstreets being narrow, ill-paved, and filthy; the houses tall and\ngloomy. The season of heavy rains had hardly come to an end, and\nhence the surrounding country, which is scarcely raised above the\nlevel of the sea, was flooded with water; and I failed in all my\nattempts to take long walks.\n\nThe flat swampy land on which Pernambuco stands is surrounded, at\nthe distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or\nrather by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet\nabove the sea. The old city of Olinda stands on one extremity of\nthis range. One day I took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the\nchannels to visit it; I found the old town from its situation both\nsweeter and cleaner than that of Pernambuco. I must here\ncommemorate what happened for the first time during our nearly five\nyears' wandering, namely, having met with a want of politeness; I\nwas refused in a sullen manner at two different houses, and\nobtained with difficulty from a third, permission to pass through\ntheir gardens to an uncultivated hill, for the purpose of viewing\nthe country. I feel glad that this happened in the land of the\nBrazilians, for I bear them no good will--a land also of slavery,\nand therefore of moral debasement. A Spaniard would have felt\nashamed at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of\nbehaving to a stranger with rudeness. The channel by which we went\nto and returned from Olinda was bordered on each side by mangroves,\nwhich sprang like a miniature forest out of the greasy mud-banks.\nThe bright green colour of these bushes always reminded me of the\nrank grass in a churchyard: both are nourished by putrid\nexhalations; the one speaks of death past, and the other too often\nof death to come.\n\n(PLATE 104.  CICADA HOMOPTERA.)\n\nThe most curious object which I saw in this neighbourhood was the\nreef that forms the harbour. I doubt whether in the whole world any\nother natural structure has so artificial an appearance. (21/6. I\nhave described this Bar in detail in the \"London and Edinburgh\nPhilosophical Magazine\" volume 19 1841 page 257.) It runs for a\nlength of several miles in an absolutely straight line, parallel to\nand not far distant from the shore. It varies in width from thirty\nto sixty yards, and its surface is level and smooth; it is composed\nof obscurely-stratified hard sandstone. At high water the waves\nbreak over it; at low water its summit is left dry, and it might\nthen be mistaken for a breakwater erected by Cyclopean workmen. On\nthis coast the currents of the sea tend to throw up in front of the\nland long spits and bars of loose sand, and on one of these part of\nthe town of Pernambuco stands. In former times a long spit of this\nnature seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of\ncalcareous matter, and afterwards to have been gradually upheaved;\nthe outer and loose parts during this process having been worn away\nby the action of the sea, and the solid nucleus left as we now see\nit. Although night and day the waves of the open Atlantic, turbid\nwith sediment, are driven against the steep outside edges of this\nwall of stone, yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any\nchange in its appearance. This durability is much the most curious\nfact in its history: it is due to a tough layer, a few inches\nthick, of calcareous matter, wholly formed by the successive growth\nand death of the small shells of Serpulae, together with some few\nbarnacles and nulliporae. These nulliporae, which are hard, very\nsimply-organised sea-plants, play an analogous and important part\nin protecting the upper surfaces of coral-reefs, behind and within\nthe breakers, where the true corals, during the outward growth of\nthe mass, become killed by exposure to the sun and air. These\ninsignificant organic beings, especially the Serpulae, have done\ngood service to the people of Pernambuco; for without their\nprotective aid the bar of sandstone would inevitably have been long\nago worn away and without the bar, there would have been no\nharbour.\n\nOn the 19th of August we finally left the shores of Brazil. I thank\nGod, I shall never again visit a slave-country. To this day, if I\nhear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my\nfeelings, when passing a house near Pernambuco, I heard the most\npitiable moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was\nbeing tortured, yet knew that I was as powerless as a child even to\nremonstrate. I suspected that these moans were from a tortured\nslave, for I was told that this was the case in another instance.\nNear Rio de Janeiro I lived opposite to an old lady, who kept\nscrews to crush the fingers of her female slaves. I have stayed in\na house where a young household mulatto, daily and hourly, was\nreviled, beaten, and persecuted enough to break the spirit of the\nlowest animal. I have seen a little boy, six or seven years old,\nstruck thrice with a horse-whip (before I could interfere) on his\nnaked head, for having handed me a glass of water not quite clean;\nI saw his father tremble at a mere glance from his master's eye.\nThese latter cruelties were witnessed by me in a Spanish colony, in\nwhich it has always been said that slaves are better treated than\nby the Portuguese, English, or other European nations. I have seen\nat Rio de Janeiro a powerful negro afraid to ward off a blow\ndirected, as he thought, at his face. I was present when a\nkind-hearted man was on the point of separating forever the men,\nwomen, and little children of a large number of families who had\nlong lived together. I will not even allude to the many\nheart-sickening atrocities which I authentically heard of;--nor\nwould I have mentioned the above revolting details, had I not met\nwith several people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the\nnegro as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. Such people have\ngenerally visited at the houses of the upper classes, where the\ndomestic slaves are usually well treated, and they have not, like\nmyself, lived amongst the lower classes. Such inquirers will ask\nslaves about their condition; they forget that the slave must\nindeed be dull who does not calculate on the chance of his answer\nreaching his master's ears.\n\nIt is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cruelty; as\nif self-interest protected our domestic animals, which are far less\nlikely than degraded slaves to stir up the rage of their savage\nmasters. It is an argument long since protested against with noble\nfeeling, and strikingly exemplified, by the ever-illustrious\nHumboldt. It is often attempted to palliate slavery by comparing\nthe state of slaves with our poorer countrymen: if the misery of\nour poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our\ninstitutions, great is our sin; but how this bears on slavery, I\ncannot see; as well might the use of the thumb-screw be defended in\none land, by showing that men in another land suffered from some\ndreadful disease. Those who look tenderly at the slave owner, and\nwith a cold heart at the slave, never seem to put themselves into\nthe position of the latter;--what a cheerless prospect, with not\neven a hope of change! picture to yourself the chance, ever hanging\nover you, of your wife and your little children--those objects\nwhich nature urges even the slave to call his own--being torn from\nyou and sold like beasts to the first bidder! And these deeds are\ndone and palliated by men who profess to love their neighbours as\nthemselves, who believe in God, and pray that His Will be done on\nearth! It makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that\nwe Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry\nof liberty, have been and are so guilty; but it is a consolation to\nreflect, that we at least have made a greater sacrifice than ever\nmade by any nation, to expiate our sin.\n\nOn the last day of August we anchored for the second time at Porto\nPraya in the Cape de Verd archipelago; thence we proceeded to the\nAzores, where we stayed six days. On the 2nd of October we made the\nshores of England; and at Falmouth I left the \"Beagle,\" having\nlived on board the good little vessel nearly five years.\n\n(PLATE 105.  HOMEWARD BOUND, THE \"BEAGLE.\")\n\nOur Voyage having come to an end, I will take a short retrospect of\nthe advantages and disadvantages, the pains and pleasures, of our\ncircumnavigation of the world. If a person asked my advice, before\nundertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his\npossessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which\ncould by this means be advanced. No doubt it is a high satisfaction\nto behold various countries and the many races of mankind, but the\npleasures gained at the time do not counterbalance the evils. It is\nnecessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant that may\nbe, when some fruit will be reaped, some good effected.\n\nMany of the losses which must be experienced are obvious; such as\nthat of the society of every old friend, and of the sight of those\nplaces with which every dearest remembrance is so intimately\nconnected. These losses, however, are at the time partly relieved\nby the exhaustless delight of anticipating the long-wished-for day\nof return. If, as poets say, life is a dream, I am sure in a voyage\nthese are the visions which best serve to pass away the long night.\nOther losses, although not at first felt, tell heavily after a\nperiod: these are the want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the\njading feeling of constant hurry; the privation of small luxuries,\nthe loss of domestic society and even of music and the other\npleasures of imagination. When such trifles are mentioned, it is\nevident that the real grievances, excepting from accidents, of a\nsea-life are at an end. The short space of sixty years has made an\nastonishing difference in the facility of distant navigation. Even\nin the time of Cook, a man who left his fireside for such\nexpeditions underwent severe privations. A yacht now, with every\nluxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. Besides the vast\nimprovements in ships and naval resources, the whole western shores\nof America are thrown open, and Australia has become the capital of\na rising continent. How different are the circumstances to a man\nshipwrecked at the present day in the Pacific, to what they were in\nthe time of Cook! Since his voyage a hemisphere has been added to\nthe civilised world.\n\nIf a person suffer much from sea-sickness, let him weigh it heavily\nin the balance. I speak from experience: it is no trifling evil,\ncured in a week. If, on the other hand, he take pleasure in naval\ntactics, he will assuredly have full scope for his taste. But it\nmust be borne in mind how large a proportion of the time, during a\nlong voyage, is spent on the water, as compared with the days in\nharbour. And what are the boasted glories of the illimitable ocean?\nA tedious waste, a desert of water, as the Arabian calls it. No\ndoubt there are some delightful scenes. A moonlight night, with the\nclear heavens and the dark glittering sea, and the white sails\nfilled by the soft air of a gently-blowing trade-wind, a dead calm,\nwith the heaving surface polished like a mirror, and all still\nexcept the occasional flapping of the canvas. It is well once to\nbehold a squall with its rising arch and coming fury, or the heavy\ngale of wind and mountainous waves. I confess, however, my\nimagination had painted something more grand, more terrific, in the\nfull-grown storm. It is an incomparably finer spectacle when beheld\non shore, where the waving trees, the wild flight of the birds, the\ndark shadows and bright lights, the rushing of the torrents, all\nproclaim the strife of the unloosed elements. At sea the albatross\nand little petrel fly as if the storm were their proper sphere, the\nwater rises and sinks as if fulfilling its usual task, the ship\nalone and its inhabitants seem the objects of wrath. On a forlorn\nand weather-beaten coast the scene is indeed different, but the\nfeelings partake more of horror than of wild delight.\n\nLet us now look at the brighter side of the past time. The pleasure\nderived from beholding the scenery and the general aspect of the\nvarious countries we have visited has decidedly been the most\nconstant and highest source of enjoyment. It is probable that the\npicturesque beauty of many parts of Europe exceeds anything which\nwe beheld. But there is a growing pleasure in comparing the\ncharacter of the scenery in different countries, which to a certain\ndegree is distinct from merely admiring its beauty. It depends\nchiefly on an acquaintance with the individual parts of each view;\nI am strongly induced to believe that as in music, the person who\nunderstands every note will, if he also possesses a proper taste,\nmore thoroughly enjoy the whole, so he who examines each part of a\nfine view may also thoroughly comprehend the full and combined\neffect. Hence, a traveller should be a botanist, for in all views\nplants form the chief embellishment. Group masses of naked rock\neven in the wildest forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime\nspectacle, but they will soon grow monotonous. Paint them with\nbright and varied colours, as in Northern Chile, they will become\nfantastic; clothe them with vegetation, they must form a decent, if\nnot a beautiful picture.\n\nWhen I say that the scenery of parts of Europe is probably superior\nto anything which we beheld, I except, as a class by itself, that\nof the intertropical zones. The two classes cannot be compared\ntogether; but I have already often enlarged on the grandeur of\nthose regions. As the force of impressions generally depends on\npreconceived ideas, I may add that mine were taken from the vivid\ndescriptions in the \"Personal Narrative\" of Humboldt, which far\nexceed in merit anything else which I have read. Yet with these\nhigh-wrought ideas, my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge\nof disappointment on my first and final landing on the shores of\nBrazil.\n\nAmong the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed\nin sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man;\nwhether those of Brazil, where the powers of Life are predominant,\nor those of Tierra del Fuego, where Death and Decay prevail. Both\nare temples filled with the varied productions of the God of\nNature:--no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel\nthat there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. In\ncalling up images of the past, I find that the plains of Patagonia\nfrequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pronounced by\nall wretched and useless. They can be described only by negative\ncharacters; without habitations, without water, without trees,\nwithout mountains, they support merely a few dwarf plants. Why,\nthen, and the case is not peculiar to myself, have these arid\nwastes taken so firm a hold on my memory? Why have not the still\nmore level, the greener and more fertile Pampas, which are\nserviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? I can\nscarcely analyse these feelings: but it must be partly owing to the\nfree scope given to the imagination. The plains of Patagonia are\nboundless, for they are scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they\nbear the stamp of having lasted, as they are now, for ages, and\nthere appears no limit to their duration through future time. If,\nas the ancients supposed, the flat earth was surrounded by an\nimpassable breadth of water, or by deserts heated to an intolerable\nexcess, who would not look at these last boundaries to man's\nknowledge with deep but ill-defined sensations?\n\nLastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, though\ncertainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memorable. When\nlooking down from the highest crest of the Cordillera, the mind,\nundisturbed by minute details, was filled with the stupendous\ndimensions of the surrounding masses.\n\nOf individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to create\nastonishment than the first sight in his native haunt of a\nbarbarian,--of man in his lowest and most savage state. One's mind\nhurries back over past centuries, and then asks, Could our\nprogenitors have been men like these?--men, whose very signs and\nexpressions are less intelligible to us than those of the\ndomesticated animals; men, who do not possess the instinct of those\nanimals, nor yet appear to boast of human reason, or at least of\narts consequent on that reason. I do not believe it is possible to\ndescribe or paint the difference between savage and civilised man.\nIt is the difference between a wild and tame animal: and part of\nthe interest in beholding a savage is the same which would lead\nevery one to desire to see the lion in his desert, the tiger\ntearing his prey in the jungle, or the rhinoceros wandering over\nthe wild plains of Africa.\n\nAmong the other most remarkable spectacles which we have beheld,\nmay be ranked the Southern Cross, the cloud of Magellan, and the\nother constellations of the southern hemisphere--the\nwaterspout--the glacier leading its blue stream of ice, overhanging\nthe sea in a bold precipice--a lagoon-island raised by the\nreef-building corals--an active volcano--and the overwhelming\neffects of a violent earthquake. These latter phenomena, perhaps,\npossess for me a peculiar interest, from their intimate connexion\nwith the geological structure of the world. The earthquake,\nhowever, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth,\nconsidered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity, has\noscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and in seeing the\nlaboured works of man in a moment overthrown, we feel the\ninsignificance of his boasted power.\n\nIt has been said that the love of the chase is an inherent delight\nin man--a relic of an instinctive passion. If so, I am sure the\npleasure of living in the open air, with the sky for a roof and the\nground for a table, is part of the same feeling; it is the savage\nreturning to his wild and native habits. I always look back to our\nboat cruises, and my land journeys, when through unfrequented\ncountries, with an extreme delight, which no scenes of civilisation\ncould have created. I do not doubt that every traveller must\nremember the glowing sense of happiness which he experienced when\nhe first breathed in a foreign clime where the civilised man had\nseldom or never trod.\n\nThere are several other sources of enjoyment in a long voyage which\nare of a more reasonable nature. The map of the world ceases to be\na blank; it becomes a picture full of the most varied and animated\nfigures. Each part assumes its proper dimensions: continents are\nnot looked at in the light of islands, or islands considered as\nmere specks, which are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of\nEurope. Africa, or North and South America, are well-sounding\nnames, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for\nweeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly\nconvinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply.\n\nFrom seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look forward\nwith high expectations to the future progress of nearly an entire\nhemisphere. The march of improvement, consequent on the\nintroduction of Christianity throughout the South Sea, probably\nstands by itself in the records of history. It is the more striking\nwhen we remember that only sixty years since, Cook, whose excellent\njudgment none will dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change.\nYet these changes have now been effected by the philanthropic\nspirit of the British nation.\n\nIn the same quarter of the globe Australia is rising, or indeed may\nbe said to have risen, into a grand centre of civilisation, which,\nat some not very remote period, will rule as empress over the\nsouthern hemisphere. It is impossible for an Englishman to behold\nthese distant colonies without a high pride and satisfaction. To\nhoist the British flag seems to draw with it as a certain\nconsequence, wealth, prosperity, and civilisation.\n\nIn conclusion it appears to me that nothing can be more improving\nto a young naturalist than a journey in distant countries. It both\nsharpens and partly allays that want and craving, which, as Sir J.\nHerschel remarks, a man experiences although every corporeal sense\nbe fully satisfied. The excitement from the novelty of objects, and\nthe chance of success, stimulate him to increased activity.\nMoreover, as a number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting,\nthe habit of comparison leads to generalisation. On the other hand,\nas the traveller stays but a short time in each place, his\ndescriptions must generally consist of mere sketches, instead of\ndetailed observations. Hence arises, as I have found to my cost, a\nconstant tendency to fill up the wide gaps of knowledge by\ninaccurate and superficial hypotheses.\n\nBut I have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recommend any\nnaturalist, although he must not expect to be so fortunate in his\ncompanions as I have been, to take all chances, and to start, on\ntravels by land if possible, if otherwise, on a long voyage. He may\nfeel assured he will meet with no difficulties or dangers,\nexcepting in rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand\nanticipates. In a moral point of view the effect ought to be to\nteach him good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the\nhabit of acting for himself, and of making the best of every\noccurrence. In short, he ought to partake of the characteristic\nqualities of most sailors. Travelling ought also to teach him\ndistrust; but at the same time he will discover how many truly\nkind-hearted people there are, with whom he never before had, or\never again will have any further communication, who yet are ready\nto offer him the most disinterested assistance.\n\n(PLATE 106.  ASCENSION. TERNS AND NODDIES.)\n\n(PLATE 107.  MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA.)\n\n(PLATE 108.  MAP OF THE WORLD, SHOWING THE TRACK OF H.M.S.\n\"BEAGLE.\")"