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THE HARVARD CLASSICS
EDITED BY CHARLES W. ELIOT, LL.D.

The Voyage of
the Beagle

By Charles Darwin

With Introduction and Notes
Volume 29

P. F. Collier & Son Corporation

NEW YORK

Copyright, 1909
By P. F. Collier & Son

MANUFACTURED IN U. S. A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

Porto Praya — Ribeira Grande — Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria — Habits of a
Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish — St. Paul's Rocks, non-volcanic — Singular Incrus-
tations — Insects the first Colonists of Islands — Fernando Noronha — Bahia
— Burnished Rocks — Habits of a Diodon — Pelagic Conferva; and Infusoria
— Causes of discoloured Sea II

CHAPTER II

Rio de Janeiro — Excursion north of Cape Frio — Great Evaporation — -Slavery —
Botofogo Bay — Terrestrial Planaria: — Clouds on the Corcovado — Heavy
Rain — Musical Frogs — Phosphorescent Insects — Elater, springing powers
of — Blue Haze — Noise made by a Butterfly — Entomology — Ants — Wasp
killing a Spider — Parasitical Spider — Artifices of an Epeira — Gregarious
Spider — Spider with an unsymmetrical Web 28

CHAPTER III

Monte Video — Maldonado — Excursion to R. Polanco— Lazo and Bolas — Par-
tridges — Absence of Trees — Deer — Capybara, or River Hog — Tucutuco — -
Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits — Tyrant-flycatcher — Mocking-bird — Carrion
Hawks — Tubes formed by Lightning — House struck 48

CHAPTER IV

Rio Negro — Estancias attacked by the Indians — Salt Lakes — Flamingoes — R.
Negro to R. Colorado — Sacred Tree — Patagonian Hare — Indian Families —
General Rosas — Proceed to Bahia Blanca — Sand Dunes — Negro Lieutenant
— Bahia Blanca — Saline Incrustations — Punta Alta — Zorillo .... 70

CHAPTER V

Bahia Blanca — Geology — Numerous gigantic extinct Quadrupeds — Recent Ex-
tinction — Longevity of Species — Large Animals do not require a luxuriant
vegetation — Southern Africa — Siberian Fossils — Two Species of Ostrich —
Habits of Oven-bird — Armadilloes — Venomous Snake, Toad, Lizard —
Hybernation of Animals — Habits of Sea-Pen — Indian Wars and Massacres
— Arrow-head, antiquarian Relic 88

CHAPTER VI

Set out for Buenos Ayres — Rio Sauce — Sierra Ventana — Third Posta — Driving
Horses — Bolas — Partridges and Foxes — Features of the Country — Long-
legged Plover — Teru-tero — Hail-storm — Natural Enclosures in the Sierra
Tapalguen — Flesh of Puma — Meat Diet — Guardia del Monte — Effects of
Cattle on the Vegetation — Cardoon — Buenos Ayres — Corral where Cattle

are slaughtered 112

I

2 CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

PAGE

Excursion to St. F6 — Thistle-Beds — Habits of the Bizcacha — Little Owl — Saline
Streams — Level Plains — Mastodon — St. K — Change in Landscape— Geol-
ogy — Tooth of extinct Horse — Relation of the Fossil and Recent Quad-
rupeds of North and South America — Effects of a great Drought — Parana
— Habits of the Jaguar — Scissor-beak — Kingfisher, Parrot, and Scissor-tail
— Revolution — Buenos Ayres — State of Government 128

CHAPTER VIII

Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento — Value of an Estancia— Cattle, how
counted — Singular Breed of Oxen — Perforated Pebbles — Shepherd Dogs —
Horses broken-in, Gauchos riding — Character of Inhabitants — Rio Plata
— Flocks of Butterflies — Aeronaut Spiders — Phosphorescence of the Sea—
Port Desire — Guanaco — Port St. Julian — Geology of Patagonia — Fossil
gigantic Animal — Types of Organization constant— Change in the Zoology
of America — Causes of Extinction 147

CHAPTER IX

Santa Cruz — Expedition up the River — Indians — Immense Streams of Basaltic
Lava- — Fragments not transported by the River — Excavation of the Valley
— Condor, habits of — Cordillera — Erratic Boulders of great size — Indian
Relics — Return to the Ship — Falkland Islands — Wild Horses, Cattle,
Rabbits — Wolf-like Fox— Fire made of Bones — Manner of hunting Wild
Cattle — Geology — Streams of Stones — Scenes of Violence — Penguin —
Geese — Eggs of Doris — Compound Animals 182

CHAPTER X

Tierra del Fuego, first arrival — Good Success Bay — An Account of the Fuegians
on board — Interview with the Savages — Scenery of the Forests — Cape
Horn — Wigwam Cove — Miserable Condition of the Savages — Famines —
Cannibals — Matricide — Religious Feelings — Great Gale — Beagle Channel
— Ponsonby Sound — Build Wigwams and settle the Fuegians — Bifurcation
of the Beagle Channel — Glaciers — Return to the Ship — Second Visit in
the Ship to the Setdement — Equality of Condition amongst the Natives 209

CHAPTER XI

Strait of Magellan — Port Famine — Ascent of Mount Tarn — Forests — Edible
Fungus — Zoology — Great Sea-weed — Leave Tierra del Fuego — Climate — >
Fruit-trees and Productions of the Southern Coasts — Height of Snow-line
on the Cordillera — Descent of Glaciers to the Sea — Icebergs formed —
Transportal of Boulders — Climate and Productions of the Antarctic Islands
— Preservation of Frozen Carcasses — Recapitulation 236

CHAPTER XII

Valparaiso — Excursion to the Foot of the Andes — Structure of the Land — Ascend
the Bell of Quillota — Shattered Masses of Greenstone — Immense Valleys-
Mines — State of Miners — Santiago — Hot-baths of Cauquenes — Gold-mines
— Grinding-Mills — Perforated Stones — Habits of the Puma — El Turco and
Tapacolo — Humming-birds 257

CONTENTS 3

CHAPTER XIII „.„„

PAGE

Chiloe — General Aspect — Boat Excursion — Native Indians — Castro — Tame Fox
— Ascend San Pedro — Chonos Archipelago — Peninsula of Tres Montes —
Granitic Range — Boat-wrecked Sailors — Low's Harbour — Wild Potato —
Formation of Peat — Myopotamus, Otter and Mice — Cheucau and Barking-
bird — Opetiorhynchus — Singular Character of Ornithology — Petrels 277

CHAPTER XIV

San Carlos, Chiloe — Osorno in Eruption, contemporaneously with Aconcagua
and Coseguina — Ride to Cucao — Impenetrable Forests — Valdivia — Indians
— Earthquake — Concepcion — Great Earthquake — Rocks fissured — Appear-
ance of the former Towns — The Sea Black and Boiling — Direction of the
Vibrations — Stones twisted round — Great Wave — Permanent Elevation of
the Land — Area of Volcanic Phenomena — -The connection between the
Elevatory and Eruptive Forces — Causes of Earthquakes — Slow Elevation
of Mountain-chains 295

CHAPTER XV

Valparaiso — Portillo Pass — Sagacity of Mules — Mountain-torrents — Mines, how
discovered — Proofs of the gradual Elevation of the Cordillera — Effect of
Snow on Rocks — Geological Structure of the two main Ranges — Their
distinct Origin and Upheaval — Great subsidence — Red Snow — Winds —
Pinnacles of Snow — Dry and clear Atmosphere — Electricity — Pampas —
Zoology of the opposite Sides of the Andes — Locusts — Great Bugs —
Mendoza — Uspallata Pass — Silicified trees buried as they grew — Incas
Bridge — Badness of the Passes exaggerated — Cumbre — Casuchas —
Valparaiso 317

CHAPTER XVI

Coast-road to Coquimbo — Great Loads carried by the Miners — Coquimbo —
Earthquake — Step-formed Terraces — Absence of recent Deposits — Con-
temporaneousness of the Tertiary Formations — Excursion up the Valley —
Road to Guasco — Deserts — Valley of Copiapo — Rain and Earthquakes
— Hydrophobia — The Despoblado — Indian Ruins — Probable change of
Climate — River-bed arched by an Earthquake — Cold Gales of Wind —
Noises from a Hill — Iquique — Salt Alluvium — Nitrate of Soda — Lima
— Unhealthy Country — Ruins of Callao, overthrown by an Earthquake —
Recent subsidence — Elevated Shells on San Lorenzo, their decomposition
— Plain with embedded Shells and fragments of Pottery — Antiquity of
the Indian Race 341

CHAPTER XVII

Galapagos Archipelago — The whole Group Volcanic — Number of Craters —
Leafless Bushes — Colony at Charles Island — James Island — Salt-lake in
Crater — Natural History of the Group — Ornithology, curious Finches —
Reptiles — Great Tortoises, habits of — Marine Lizard, feeds on Sea-weed
— Terrestrial Lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous — Importance of
Reptiles in the Archipelago — Fish, Shells, Insects — Botany — American
Type of Organization — Differences in the Species or Races on different
Islands- — Tameness of the Birds — Fear of Man, an acquired Instinct . 376

4 CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVIII „„.„

PAGE

Pass through the Low Archipelago — Tahiti — Aspect — Vegetation on the Moun-
tains — View of Eimeo — Excursion into the Interior — Profound Ravines —
Succession of Waterfalls — Number of wild useful Plants — Temperance of
the Inhabitants — Their moral state — Parliament convened — New Zealand —
Bay of Islands — Hippahs — Excursion to Waimate — Missionary Establish-
ment — English Weeds now run wild — Waiomio — Funeral of a New
Zealand Woman — Sail for Australia 406

CHAPTER XIX

Sydney — Excursion to Bathurst — Aspect of the Woods — Party of Natives —
Gradual extinction of the Aborigines — Infection generated by associated
Men in health — Blue Mountains — View of the grand gulf-like Valleys —
Their origin and formation — Bathurst, general civility of the Lower Orders
— State of Society — Van Diemen's Land — Hobart Town — Aborigines all
banished — Mount Wellington — King George's Sound — Cheerless Aspect
of the Country — Bald Head, calcareous casts of branches of Trees — Party
of Natives — Leave Australia 435

CHAPTER XX

Keeling Island — Singular appearance — Scanty Flora — Transport of Seeds — Birds
and Insects — Ebbing and flowing Springs — Fields of dead Coral — Stone
transported in the roots of Trees — Great Crab — Stinging Corals — Coral-
eating Fish — Coral Formations — Lagoon Islands, or Atolls — Depth at
which reef-building Corals can live — Vast Areas interspersed with low
Coral Islands — Subsidence of their foundations — Barrier Reefs — Fringing
Reefs— Conversion of Fringing Reefs into Barrier Reefs, and into Atolls
— Evidence of changes in Level — Breaches in Barrier Reefs — Maldiva
Atolls; their peculiar structure — Dead and submerged Reefs — Areas of
subsidence and elevation — Distribution of Volcanoes — Subsidence slow,
and vast in amount 456

CHAPTER XXI

Mauritius, beautiful appearance of — Great crateriform ring of Mountains —
Hindoos — St. Helena — History of the changes in the Vegetation — Cause
of the extinction of Land-shells — Ascension — Variation in the imported
Rats — Volcanic Bombs — Beds of Infusoria — Bahia — Brazil — Splendour of
Tropical Scenery — Pernambuco — Singular Reef — Slavery — Return to Eng-
land — Retrospect on our Voyage 486

Index -u

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

A sketch of Darwin's life and some indication of the importance of
his work have been given in the edition of "The Origin of Species"
published in the Harvard Classics.

The text of the present volume shows without further comment the
nature of Darwin's labors and their results on this momentous voyage.
A few sentences gathered from his autobiography will, however, throw
some additional light upon the more personal aspects of the expedition.

"The Voyage of the 'Beagle' has been by far the most important event
in my life, and has determined my whole career. ... I have always felt
that I owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind;
I was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus
my powers of observation were improved, though they were always
fairly developed. . . ."

"The above various special studies were, however, of no importance
compared with the habit of energetic industry and of concentrated atten-
tion to whatever I was engaged in, which I then acquired. Everything
about which I thought or read was made to bear directly on what I had
seen or was likely to see; and this habit of mind was continued during
the five years of the voyage. I feel sure that it was this training which
has enabled me to do whatever I have done in science."

"Looking backwards, I can now perceive how my love for science
gradually preponderated over every other taste. During the first two
years my old passion for shooting survived in nearly full force, and I shot,
myself, all the birds and animals for my collection; but gradually I gave
up my gun more and more, and finally altogether, to my servant, as
shooting interfered with my work, more especially with making out the
geological structure of a country. I discovered, though unconsciously
and insensibly, that the pleasure of observing and reasoning was a much
higher one than that of skill and sport. . . ."

"As far as I can judge of myself, I worked to the utmost during the
voyage from the mere pleasure of investigation, and from my strong
desire to add a few facts to the great mass of facts in Natural Science.
But I was also ambitious to take a fair place among scientific men, —
whether more ambitious or less so than most of my fellow-workers, I can
form no opinion." — (Life and Letters, I. pp. 61-65.)

Even if the Journal of the voyage were not one of the most interesting
and informing of books, this statement by its author of the importance

O INTRODUCTION

of the expedition in making possible his later epoch-making generaliza-
tions would give it a distinctive place in the literature of science. But
its amazing wealth of information and its unconsciously painted picture
of disinterested zeal in the search for scientific truth have made it for
intrinsic reasons a classic in its kind.

TO
CHARLES LYELL, Esq., F.R.S.

THIS SECOND EDITION IS DEDICATED WITH GRATEFUL PLEASURE, AS AN
ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THE CHIEF PART OF WHATEVER SCIENTIFIC
MERIT THIS JOURNAL AND THE OTHER WORKS OF THE AUTHOR MAY
POSSESS, HAS BEEN DERIVED FROM STUDYING THE WELL-KNOWN AND
ADMIRABLE

PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY

PREFACE

I have stated in the preface to the first Edition of this work, and in
the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, that it was in consequence of a
wish expressed by Captain Fitz Roy, of having some scientific person on
board, accompanied by an offer from him of giving up part of his own
accommodations, that I volunteered my services, which received, through
the kindness of the hydrographer, Captain Beaufort, the sanction of the
Lords of the Admiralty. As I feel that the opportunities which I enjoyed
of studying the Natural History of the different countries we visited,
have been wholly due to Captain Fitz Roy, I hope I may here be per-
mitted to repeat my expression of gratitude to him; and to add that,
during the five years we were together, I received from him the most
cordial friendship and steady assistance. Both to Captain Fitz Roy and
to all the Officers of the Beagle 1 I shall ever feel most thankful for the
undeviating kindness with which I was treated during our long voyage.

This volume contains, in the form of a Journal, a history of our voyage,
and a sketch of those observations in Natural History and Geology, which
I think will possess some interest for the general reader. I have in this
edition largely condensed and corrected some parts, and have added a
little to others, in order to render the volume more fitted for popular
reading; but I trust that naturalists will remember, that they must refer
for details to the larger publications which comprise the scientific results
of the Expedition. The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle includes an
account of the Fossil Mammalia, by Professor Owen; of the Living
Mammalia, by Mr. Waterhouse; of the Birds, by Mr. Gould; of the Fish,
by the Rev. L. Jenyns; and of the Reptiles, by Mr. Bell. I have appended
to the descriptions of each species an account of its habits and range.
These works, which I owe to the high talents and disinterested zeal of
the above distinguished authors, could not have been undertaken, had it
not been for the liberality of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's
Treasury, who, through the representation of the Right Honourable the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum of one
thousand pounds towards defraying part of the expenses of publication.

I have myself published separate volumes on the 'Structure and Distri-

I I must take this opportunity of returning my sincere thanks to Mr. Bynoe, the
surgeon of the Beagle, for his very kind attention to me when I was ill at Valparaiso.

10 PREFACE

bution of Coral Reefs;' on the 'Volcanic Islands visited during the Voyage
of the Beagle;' and on the 'Geology of South America.' The sixth volume
of the 'Geological Transactions' contains two papers of mine on the
Erratic Boulders and Volcanic Phenomena of South America. Messrs.
Waterhouse, Walker, Newman, and White, have published several able
papers on the Insects which were collected, and I trust that many others
will hereafter follow. The plants from the southern parts of America
will be given by Dr. J. Hooker, in his great work on the Botany of the
Southern Hemisphere. The Flora of the Galapagos Archipelago is the
subject of a separate memoir by him, in the 'Linnean Transactions.' The
Reverend Professor Henslow has published a list of the plants collected
by me at the Keeling Islands; and the Reverend J. M. Berkeley has
described my cryptogamic plants.

I shall have the pleasure of acknowledging the great assistance which
I have received from several other naturalists, in the course of this and
my other works; but I must be here allowed to return my most sincere
thanks to the Reverend Professor Henslow, who, when I was an under-
graduate at Cambridge, was one chief means of giving me a taste for
Natural History, — who, during my absence, took charge of the collections
I sent home, and by his correspondence directed my endeavours, — and
who, since my return, has constantly rendered me every assistance which
the kindest friend could offer.

Down, Bromley, Kent,
June, 1845.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE

CHAPTER I

St. Jago — Cape de Verd Islands

Porto Praya — Ribeira Grande — Atmospheric Dust with Infusoria —
Habits of a Sea-slug and Cuttle-fish — St. Paul's Rocks, non-volcanic —
Singular Incrustations — Insects the first Colonists of Islands — Fernando
Noronha — Bahia — Burnished Rocks — Habits of a Diodon — Pelagic
Confervse and Infusoria — Causes of discoloured Sea.

AFTER having been twice driven back by heavy southwestern
L\ gales, Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the
jL » command of Captain Fitz Roy, R. N., sailed from Devon-
port on the 27th of December, 1831. The object of the expedition
was to complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, com-
menced under Captain King in 1826 to 1830 — to survey the shores
of Chile, Peru, and of some islands in the Pacific — and to carry a
chain of chronometrical measurements round the World. On the
6th of January we reached Teneriffe, but were prevented landing, by
fears of our bringing the cholera : the next morning we saw the sun
rise behind the rugged outline of the Grand Canary island, and
suddenly illuminate the Peak of Teneriffe, whilst the lower parts
were veiled in fleecy clouds. This was the first of many delightful
days never to be forgotten. On the 16th of January, 1832, we anchored
at Porto Praya, in St. Jago, the chief island of the Cape de Verd
archipelago.

The neighbourhood of Porto Praya, viewed from the sea, wears a
desolate aspect. The volcanic fires of a past age, and the scorching
heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the soil unfit for
vegetation. The country rises in successive steps of table-land, inter-
spersed with some truncate conical hills, and the horizon is bounded
by an irregular chain of more lofty mountains. The scene, as beheld
through the hazy atmosphere of this climate, is one of great interest;
if, indeed, a person, fresh from sea, and who has just walked, for the

12 CHARLES DARWIN

first time, in a grove of cocoa-nut trees, can be a judge of anything
but his own happiness. The island would generally be considered
as very uninteresting; but to anyone accustomed only to an English
landscape, the novel aspect of an utterly sterile land possesses a
grandeur which more vegetation might spoil. A single green leaf
can scarcely be discovered over wide tracts of the lava plains; yet
flocks of goats, together with a few cows, contrive to exist. It rains
very seldom, but during a short portion of the year heavy torrents
fall, and immediately afterwards a light vegetation springs out of
every crevice. This soon withers; and upon such naturally formed
hay the animals live. It had not now rained for an entire year. When
the island was discovered, the immediate neighbourhood of Porto
Praya was clothed with trees, 1 the reckless destruction of which has
caused here, as at St. Helena, and at some of the Canary islands,
almost entire sterility. The broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of
which serve during a few days only in the season as water-courses, are
clothed with thickets of leafless bushes. Few living creatures inhabit
these valleys. The commonest bird is a kingfisher (Dacelo Iago-
ensis), which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil plant, and
thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly coloured, but
not so beautiful as the European species: in its flight, manners, and
place of habitation, which is generally in the driest valley, there is
also a wide difference.

One day, two of the officers and myself rode to Ribeira Grande,
a village a few miles eastward of Porto Praya. Until we reached the
valley of St. Martin, the country presented its usual dull brown
appearance; but here, a very small rill of water produces a most
refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. In the course of an hour
we arrived at Ribeira Grande, and were surprised at the sight of a
large ruined fort and cathedral. This little town, before its harbour
was filled up, was the principal place in the island: it now presents
a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. Having procured a
black Padre for a guide, and a Spaniard who had served in the
Peninsular war as an interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings,
of which an ancient church formed the principal part. It is here the

'I state this on the authority of Dr. E. Dieffenbach, in his German translation of
the first edition of this Journal.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 13

governors and captain-generals of the islands have been buried.
Some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth century. 2
The heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place
that reminded us of Europe. The church or chapel formed one side
of a quadrangle, in the middle of which a large clump of bananas
were growing. On another side was a hospital, containing about a
dozen miserable-looking inmates.

We returned to the Venda to eat our dinners. A considerable
number of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, collected
to watch us. Our companions were extremely merry; and every-
thing we said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. Before
leaving the town we visited the cathedral. It does not appear so
rich as the smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent
forth singularly inharmonious cries. We presented the black priest
with a few shillings, and the Spaniard, patting him on the head,
said, with much candour, he thought his colour made no great
difference. We then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to
Porto Praya.

Another day we rode to the village of St. Domingo, situated near
the centre of the island. On a small plain which we crossed, a few
stunted acacias were growing; their tops had been bent by the
steady trade-wind, in a singular manner — some of them even at
right angles to their trunks. The direction of the branches was
exactly N. E. by N., and S. W. by S., and these natural vanes must
indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the trade-wind. The
travelling had made so little impression on the barren soil, that we
here missed our track, and took that to Fuentes. This we did not
find out till we arrived there; and we were afterwards glad of our
mistake. Fuentes is a pretty village, with a small stream; and every-
thing appeared to prosper well, excepting, indeed, that which ought
to do so most — its inhabitants. The black children, completely naked,
and looking very wretched, were carrying bundles of firewood half
as big as their own bodies.

Near Fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl — probably fifty
or sixty in number. They were extremely wary, and could not be

2 The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449. There was a tombstone of
a bishop with the date of 1571; and a crest of a hand and dagger, dated 1497.

14 CHARLES DARWIN

approached. They avoided us, like partridges on a rainy day in
September, running with their heads cocked up; and if pursued,
they readily took to the wing.

The scenery of St. Domingo possesses a beauty totally unexpected,
from the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the island. The
village is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded by lofty and
jagged walls of stratified lava. The black rocks afford a most strik-
ing contrast with the bright green vegetation, which follows the
banks of a little stream of clear water. It happened to be a grand
feast-day, and the village was full of people. On our return we over-
took a party of about twenty young black girls, dressed in excellent
taste; their black skins and snow-white linen being set off by coloured
turbans and large shawls. As soon as we approached near, they
suddenly all turned round, and covering the path with their shawls,
sung with great energy a wild song, beating time with their hands
upon their legs. We threw them some vintems, which were received
with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the noise
of their song.

One morning the view was singularly clear; the distant mountains
being projected with the sharpest outline on a heavy bank of dark
blue clouds. Judging from the appearance, and from similar cases
in England, I supposed that the air was saturated with moisture.
The fact, however, turned out quite the contrary. The hygrometer
gave a difference of 29.6 degrees, between the temperature of the
air, and the point at which dew was precipitated. This difference
was nearly double that which I had observed on the previous morn-
ings. This unusual degree of atmospheric dryness was accompanied
by continual flashes of lightning. Is it not an uncommon case, thus
to find a remarkable degree of aerial transparency with such a state
of weather ?

Generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling
of impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly injured
the astronomical instruments. The morning before we anchored at
Porto Praya, I collected a little packet of this brown-coloured fine
dust, which appeared to have been filtered from the wind by the
gauze of the vane at the masthead. Mr. Lyell has also given me four
packets of dust which fell on a vessel a few hundred miles north-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1$

ward of these islands. Professor Ehrenberg 3 finds that this dust con-
sists in great part of infusoria with siliceous shields, and of the
siliceous tissue of plants. In five litde packets which I sent him, he
has ascertained no less than sixty-seven different organic forms! The
infusoria, with the exception of two marine species, are all inhabit-
ants of fresh-water. I have found no less than fifteen different
accounts of dust having fallen on vessels when far out in the Atlantic.
From the direction of the wind whenever it has fallen, and from its
having always fallen during those months when the harmattan is
known to raise clouds of dust high into the atmosphere, we may
feel sure that it all comes from Africa. It is, however, a very singular
fact, that, although Professor Ehrenberg knows many species of
infusoria peculiar to Africa, he finds none of these in the dust which
I sent him. On the other hand, he finds in it two species which
hitherto he knows as living only in South America. The dust falls
in such quantities as to dirty everything on board, and to hurt
people's eyes; vessels even have run on shore owing to the obscurity
of the atmosphere. It has often fallen on ships when several hundred,
and even more than a thousand miles from the coast of Africa, and
at points sixteen hundred miles distant in a north and south direction.
In some dust which was collected on a vessel three hundred miles
from the land, I was much surprised to find particles of stone above
the thousandth of an inch square, mixed with finer matter. After
this fact one need not be surprised at the diffusion of the far lighter
and smaller sporules of cryptogamic plants.

The geology of this island is the most interesting part of its
natural history. On entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal
white band, in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for some
miles along the coast, and at the height of about forty-five feet above
the water. Upon examination, this white stratum is found to consist
of calcareous matter, with numerous shells embedded, most or all of
which now exist on the neighbouring coast. It rests on ancient vol-
canic rocks, and has been covered by a stream of basalt, which must
have entered the sea when the white shelly bed was lying at the
bottom. It is interesting to trace the changes, produced by the heat

3 1 must take this opportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with which this
illustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. I have sent (June, 1845)
a full account of the falling of this dust to the Geological Society.

1 6 CHARLES DARWIN

of the overlying lava, on the friable mass, which in parts has been
converted into a crystalline limestone, and in other parts into a
compact spotted stone. Where the lime has been caught up by the
scoriaceous fragments of the lower surface of the stream, it is con-
verted into groups of beautifully radiated fibres resembling arrago-
nite. The beds of lava rise in successive gently-sloping plains, towards
the interior, whence the deluges of melted stone have originally
proceeded. Within historical times, no signs of volcanic activity
have, I believe, been manifested in any part of St. Jago. Even the
form of a crater can but rarely be discovered on the summits of the
many red cindery hills; yet the more recent streams can be distin-
guished on the coast, forming lines of cliffs of less height, but stretch-
ing out in advance of those belonging to an older series: the height
of the cliffs thus affording a rude measure of the age of the streams.

During our stay, I observed the habits of some marine animals.
A large Aplysia is very common. This sea-slug is about five inches
long; and is of a dirty yellowish colour, veined with purple. On each
side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a broad membrane, which
appears sometimes to act as a ventilator, in causing a current of
water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or lungs. It feeds on the
delicate sea-weeds which grow among the stones in muddy and
shallow water; and I found in its stomach several small pebbles,
as in the gizzard of a bird. This slug, when disturbed, emits a
very fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for the space of
a foot around. Besides this means of defense, an acrid secretion,
which is spread over its body, causes a sharp, stinging sensation,
similar to that produced by the Physalia, or Portuguese man-of-war.

I was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the
habits of an Octopus, or cuttle-fish. Although common in the pools
of water left by the retiring tide, these animals were not easily
caught. By means of their long arms and suckers, they could drag
their bodies into very narrow crevices; and when thus fixed, it
required great force to remove them. At other times they darted
tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the pool
to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with a dark
chestnut-brown ink. These animals also escape detection by a very

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 7

extraordinary, chameleon-like power of changing their colour. They
appear to vary their tints according to the nature of the ground over
which they pass: when in deep water, their general shade was
brownish purple, but when placed on the land, or in shallow water,
this dark tint changed into one of a yellowish green. The colour,
examined more carefully, was a French grey, with numerous minute
spots of bright yellow: the former of these varied in intensity; the
latter entirely disappeared and appeared again by turns. These
changes were effected in such a manner, that clouds, varying in
tint between a hyacinth red and a chestnut-brown, 4 were continually
passing over the body. Any part, being subjected to a slight shock of
galvanism, became almost black : a similar effect, but in a less degree,
was produced by scratching the skin with a needle. These clouds,
or blushes as they may be called, are said to be produced by the alter-
nate expansion and contraction of minute vesicles containing vari-
ously coloured fluids. 5

This cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during
the act of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bottom.
I was much amused by the various arts to escape detection used by
one individual, which seemed fully aware that I was watching it.
Remaining for a time motionless, it would then stealthily advance
an inch or two, like a cat after a mouse; sometimes changing its
colour: it thus proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it darted
away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into which it
had crawled.

While looking for marine animals, with my head about two feet
above the rocky shore, I was more than once saluted by a jet of
water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. At first I could not
think what it was, but afterwards I found out that it was this cuttle-
fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led me to its
discovery. That it possesses the power of ejecting water there is no
doubt, and it appeared to me that it could certainly take good aim
by directing the tube or siphon on the under side of its body. From
the difficulty which these animals have in carrying their heads, they

4 So named according to Patrick Symes's nomenclature.

5 See Encyclop. of Anat. and Physiol., article Cephalopoda.

l8 CHARLES DARWIN

cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground. I observed that
one which I kept in the cabin was slightly phosphorescent in the
dark.

St. Paul's Rocks. — In crossing the Atlantic we hove-to, during the
morning of February 16th, close to the island of St. Paul's. This
cluster of rocks is situated in o° 58' north latitude, and 29 ° 15' west
longitude. It is 540 miles distant from the coast of America, and

350 from the island of Fernando Noronha. The highest point is
only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the entire circumference
is under three-quarters of a mile. This small point rises abrupdy
out of the depths of the ocean. Its mineralogical constitution is not
simple; in some parts the rock is of a cherty, in others of a felspathic
nature, including thin veins of serpentine. It is a remarkable fact,
that all the many small islands, lying far from any continent, in the
Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, with the exception of the
Seychelles and this little point of rock, are, I believe, composed either
of coral or of erupted matter. The volcanic nature of these oceanic
islands is evidently an extension of that law, and the effect of those
same causes, whether chemical or mechanical, from which it results
that a vast majority of the volcanoes now in action stand either near
sea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea.

The rocks of St. Paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly white
colour. This is partly owing to the dung of a vast multitude of sea-
fowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy substance with a pearly

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 9

lustre, which is intimately united to the surface of the rocks. This,
when examined with a lens, is found to consist of numerous exceed-
ingly thin layers, its total thickness being about the tenth of an inch.
It contains much animal matter, and its origin, no doubt, is due to
the action of the rain or spray on the birds' dung. Below some small
masses of guano at Ascension, and on the Abrolhos Islets, I found
certain stalactitic branching bodies, formed apparently in the same
manner as the thin white coating on these rocks. The branching
bodies so closely resembled in general appearance certain nulliporae
(a family of hard calcareous sea-plants), that in lately looking hastily
over my collection I did not perceive the difference. The globular
extremities of the branches are of a pearly texture, like the enamel
of teeth, but so hard as just to scratch plate-glass. I may here
mention, that on a part of the coast of Ascension, where there is a
vast accumulation of shelly sand, an incrustation is deposited on the
tidal rocks by the water of the sea, resembling, as represented in the
woodcut, certain cryptogamic plants (Marchantia?) often seen on
damp walls. The surface of the fronds is beautifully glossy; and
those parts formed where fully exposed to the light are of a jet black
colour, but those shaded under ledges are only grey. I have shown
specimens of this incrustation to several geologists, and they all
thought that they were of volcanic or igneous origin! In its hard-
ness and translucency — in its polish, equal to that of the finest oliva-
shell — in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under the blow-
pipe — it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells. Moreover, in
sea-shells, it is known that the parts habitually covered and shaded
by the mantle of the animal, are of a paler colour than those fully
exposed to the light, just as is the case with this incrustation. When
we remember that lime, either as a phosphate or carbonate, enters
into the composition of the hard parts, such as bones and shells, of
all living animals, it is an interesting physiological fact 6 to find sub-

6 Mr. Horner and Sir David Brewster have described (Philosophical Transactions,
1836, p. 65) a singular "artificial substance resembling shell." It is deposited in
fine, transparent, highly polished, brown-coloured laminae, possessing peculiar optical
properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which cloth, first prepared with glue and
then with lime, is made to revolve rapidly in water. It is much softer, more
transparent, and contains more animal matter, than the natural incrustation at
Ascension; but we here again see the strong tendency which carbonate of lime and
animal matter evince to form a solid substance allied to shell.

20 CHARLES DARWIN

stances harder than the enamel of teeth, and coloured surfaces as
well polished as those of a fresh shell, reformed through inorganic
means from dead organic matter — mocking, also, in shape, some of
the lower vegetable productions.

We found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds — the booby and
the noddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern.
Both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed
to visitors, that I could have killed any number of them with my
geological hammer. The booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but
the tern makes a very simple nest with seaweed. By the side of
many of these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which, I suppose,
had been brought by the male bird for its partner. It was amusing
to watch how quickly a large and active crab (Graspus), which
inhabits the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the
nest, as soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. Sir W. Symonds,
one of the few persons who have landed here, informs me that he
saw the crabs dragging even the young birds out of their nests, and
devouring them. Not a single plant, not even a lichen, grows on this
islet; yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders. The following
list completes, I believe, the terrestrial fauna: a fly (Olfersia) living
on the booby, and a tick which must have come here as a parasite on
the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a genus that feeds on
feathers; a beetle (Quedius) and a woodlouse from beneath the
dung; and lastly, numerous spiders, which I suppose prey on these
small attendants and scavengers of the water-fowl. The often re-
peated description of the stately palm and other noble tropical
plants, then birds, and lastly man, taking possession of the coral
islets as soon as formed, in the Pacific, is probably not correct; I
fear it destroys the poetry of this story, that feather and dirt-feeding
and parasitic insects and spiders should be the first inhabitants of
newly formed oceanic land.

The smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation for
the growth of innumerable kinds of seaweed and compound animals,
supports likewise a large number of fish. The sharks and the sea-
men in the boats maintained a constant struggle which should
secure the greater share of the prey caught by the fishing-lines. I
have heard that a rock near the Bermudas, lying many miles out at

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 21

sea, and at a considerable depth, was first discovered by the circum-
stance of fish having been observed in the neighbourhood.

Fernando Noronha, Feb. 20th. — As far as I was enabled to
observe, during the few hours we stayed at this place, the constitution
of the island is volcanic, but probably not of a recent date. The most
remarkable feature is a conical hill, about one thousand feet high,
the upper part of which is exceedingly steep, and on one side over-
hangs its base. The rock is phonolite, and is divided into irregular
columns. On viewing one of these isolated masses, at first one is
inclined to believe that it has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-
fluid state. At St. Helena, however, I ascertained that some pinnacles,
of a nearly similar figure and constitution, had been formed by the
injection of melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed
the moulds for these gigantic obelisks. The whole island is covered
with wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no appear-
ance of luxuriance. Half-way up the mountain, some great masses
of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and ornamented by
others covered with fine pink flowers but without a single leaf, gave
a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the scenery.

Bahia, or San Salvador. Brazil, Feb. 29th. — The day has passed
delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the
feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by him-
self in a Brazilian forest. The elegance of the grasses, the novelty
of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flowers, the glossy green
of the foliage, but above all the general luxuriance of the vege-
tation, filled me with admiration. A most paradoxical mixture of
sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise
from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel
anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the
recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign. To a
person fond of natural history, such a day as this brings with it a
deeper pleasure than he can ever hope to experience again. After
wandering about for some hours, I returned to the landing-place;
but, before reaching it, I was overtaken by a tropical storm. I tried
to find shelter under a tree, which was so thick that it would never

22 CHARLES DARWIN

have been penetrated by common English rain; but here, in a couple
of minutes, a little torrent flowed down the trunk. It is to this
violence of the rain that we must attribute the verdure at the bottom
of the thickest woods: if the showers were like those of a colder
climate, the greater part would be absorbed or evaporated before it
reached the ground. I will not at present attempt to describe the
gaudy scenery of this noble bay, because, in our homeward voyage,
we called here a second time, and I shall then have occasion to
remark on it.

Along the whole coast of Brazil, for a length of at least 2000 miles,
and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever solid rock
occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. The circumstance of this
enormous area being constituted of materials which most geologists
believe to have been crystallized when heated under pressure, gives
rise to many curious reflections. Was this effect produced beneath
the depths of a profound ocean ? or did a covering of strata formerly
extend over it, which has since been removed ? Can we believe that
any power, acting for a time short of infinity, could have denuded
the granite over so many thousand square leagues?

On a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the
sea, I observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by Hum-
boldt. 7 At the cataracts of the great rivers Orinoco, Nile, and Congo,
the syenitic rocks are coated by a black substance, appearing as if
they had been polished with plumbago. The layer is of extreme
thinness; and on analysis by Berzelius it was found to consist of the
oxides of manganese and iron. In the Orinoco it occurs on the rocks
periodically washed by the floods, and in those parts alone where the
stream is rapid; or, as the Indians say, "the rocks are black where
the waters are white." Here the coating is of a rich brown instead
of a black colour, and seems to be composed of ferruginous matter
alone. Hand specimens fail to give a just idea of these brown
burnished stones which glitter in the sun's rays. They occur only
within the limits of the tidal waves; and as the rivulet slowly trickles
down, the surf must supply the polishing power of the cataracts in
the great rivers. In like manner, the rise and fall of the tide probably
answer to the periodical inundations; and thus the same effects are
7 Pers. Narr., vol. v., pt. 1., p. 18.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 23

produced under apparently different but really similar circumstances.
The origin, however, of these coatings of metallic oxides, which
seem as if cemented to the rocks, is not understood; and no reason,
I believe, can be assigned for their thickness remaining the same.

One day I was amused by watching the habits of the Diodon
antennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. This fish,
with its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular power
of distending itself into a nearly spherical form. After having been
taken out of water for a short time, and then again immersed in it,
a considerable quantity both of water and air is absorbed by the
mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial orifices. This process
is effected by two methods: the air is swallowed, and is then forced
into the cavity of the body, its return being prevented by a muscular
contraction which is externally visible: but the water enters in a
gentle stream through the mouth, which is kept wide open and
motionless; this latter action must, therefore, depend on suction.
The skin about the abdomen is much looser than that on the back;
hence, during the inflation, the lower surface becomes far more
distended than the upper; and the fish, in consequence, floats with
its back downwards. Cuvier doubts whether the Diodon in this
position is able to swim; but not only can it thus move forward in
a straight line, but it can turn round to either side. This latter
movement is effected solely by the aid of the pectoral fins; the tail
being collapsed, and not used. From the body being buoyed up with
so much air, the branchial openings are out of water, but a stream
drawn in by the mouth constantly flows through them.

The fish, having remained in this distended state for a short time,
generally expelled the air and water with considerable force from
the branchial apertures and mouth. It could emit, at will, a certain
portion of the water; and it appears, therefore, probable that this
fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regulating its specific gravity.
This Diodon possessed several means of defence. It could give a
severe bite, and could eject water from its mouth to some distance,
at the same time making a curious noise by the movement of its
jaws. By the inflation of its body, the papilla?, with which the skin
is covered, become erect and pointed. But the most curious circum-
stance is, that it secretes from the skin of its belly, when handled, a

24 CHARLES DARWIN

most beautiful carmine-red fibrous matter, which stains ivory and
paper in so permanent a manner that the tint is retained with all
its brightness to the present day: I am quite ignorant of the nature
and use of this secretion. I have heard from Dr. Allan of Forres,
that he has frequently found a Diodon, floating alive and distended,
in the stomach of the shark; and that on several occasions he has
known it eat its way, not only through the coats of the stomach, but
through the sides of the monster, which has thus been killed. Who
would ever have imagined that a little soft fish could have destroyed
the great and savage shark?

March 18th. — We sailed from Bahia. A few days afterwards,
when not far distant from the Abrolhos Islets, my attention was
called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. The whole surface
of the water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered
by chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. These are minute
cylindrical conferva, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty in
each. Mr. Berkeley informs me that they are the same species
(Trichodesmium erythraum) with that found over large spaces in
the Red Sea, and whence its name of Red Sea is derived. 8 Their
numbers must be infinite: the ship passed through several bands of
them, one of which was about ten yards wide, and, judging from
the mud-like colour of the water, at least two and a half miles long.
In almost every long voyage some account is given of these confervas.
They appear especially common in the sea near Australia; and off
Cape Leeuwin I found an allied but smaller and apparently different
species. Captain Cook, in his third voyage, remarks, that the sailors
gave to this appearance the name of sea-sawdust.

Near Keeling Atoll, in the Indian Ocean, I observed many little
masses of conferva? a few inches square, consisting of long cylindrical
threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely visible to the naked
eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies, finely conical at both
ends. Two of these are shown in the woodcut united together. They
vary in length from .04 to .06, and even to .08 of an inch in length;
and in diameter from .006 to .008 of an inch. Near one extremity of

8 M. Montagne, in Comptes Rendus, etc., Juillet, 1844; an d Annal. des Scienc.
Nat, Dec. 1844.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 2$

the cylindrical part, a green septum, formed of granular matter, and
thickest in the middle, may generally be seen. This, I believe, is the
bottom of a most delicate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy sub-
stance, which lines the exterior case, but does not extend within the
extreme conical points. In some speci- ^j ^^^f ^

mens, small but perfect spheres of < ~ 4 — )^ |^— ^

brownish granular matter supplied the

places of the septa; and I observed the curious process by which they
were produced. The pulpy matter of the internal coating suddenly
grouped itself into lines, some of which assumed a form radiating
from a common centre; it then continued, with an irregular and
rapid movement, to contract itself, so that in the course of a second
the whole was united into a perfect little sphere, which occupied the
position of the septum at one end of the now quite hollow case. The
formation of the granular sphere was hastened by any accidental
injury. I may add, that frequently a pair of these bodies were attached
to each other, as represented above, cone beside cone, at that end
where the septum occurs.

I will add here a few other observations connected with the dis-
coloration of the sea from organic causes. On the coast of Chile, a
few leagues north of Concepcion, the Beagle one day passed through
great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of a swollen river;
and again, a degree south of Valparaiso, when fifty miles from the
land, the same appearance was still more extensive. Some of the
water placed in a glass was of a pale reddish tint; and, examined
under a microscope, was seen to swarm with minute animalcula
darting about, and often exploding. Their shape is oval, and con-
tracted in the middle by a ring of vibrating curved cilia. It was,
however, very difficult to examine them with care, for almost the
instant motion ceased, even while crossing the field of vision, their
bodies burst. Sometimes both ends burst at once, sometimes only
one, and a quantity of coarse, brownish, granular matter was ejected.
The animal an instant before bursting expanded to half again its
natural size; and the explosion took place about fifteen seconds after
the rapid progressive motion had ceased: in a few cases it was pre-
ceded for a short interval by a rotatory movement on the longer
axis. About two minutes after any number were isolated in a drop

26 CHARLES DARWIN

of water, they thus perished. The animals move with the narrow
apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory ciliae, and generally by
rapid starts. They are exceedingly minute, and quite invisible to
the naked eye, only covering a space equal to the square of the
thousandth of an inch. Their numbers were infinite; for the small-
est drop of water which I could remove contained very many. In
one day we passed through two spaces of water thus stained, one of
which alone must have extended over several square miles. What
incalculable numbers of these microscopical animals! The colour
of the water, as seen at some distance, was like that of a river which
has flowed through a red clay district; but under the shade of the
vessel's side it was quite as dark as chocolate. The line where the
red and blue water joined was distinctly defined. The weather for
some days previously had been calm, and the ocean abounded, to
an unusual degree, with living creatures. 9

In the sea around Tierra del Fuego, and at no great distance from
the land, I have seen, narrow lines of water of a bright red colour,
from the number of Crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form
large prawns. The sealers call them whale-food. Whether whales
feed on them I do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense
herds of great unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast,
their chief sustenance from these swimming crabs. Seamen in-
variably attribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but I
found this to be the case only on one occasion. At the distance of
several leagues from the Archipelago of the Galapagos, the ship
sailed through three strips of a dark yellowish, or mudlike water;
these strips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and
they were separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet
distinct margin. The colour was caused by little gelatinous balls,
about the fifth of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute
spherical ovules were imbedded: they were of two distinct kinds,
one being of a reddish colour and of a different shape from the

9 M. Lesson (Voyage de la Coquille, torn, i., p. 255) mentions red water off
Lima, apparently produced by the same cause. Peron, the distinguished naturalist, in
the Voyage aux Torres Australes, gives no less than twelve references to voyagers
who have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea (vol. ii. p. 239). To the
references given by Peron may be added, Humboldt's Pers. Narr., vol. vi. p. 804;
Flinders' Voyage, vol. i. p. 92; Labillardiere, vol. i. p. 287; Ulloa's Voyage; Voyage
of the Astrolabe and of the Coquille; Captain King's Survey of Australia, etc.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 27

other. I cannot form a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals
these belonged. Captain Colnett remarks, that this appearance is
very common among the Galapagos Islands, and that the directions
of the bands indicate that of the currents; in the described case,
however, the line was caused by the wind. The only other appear-
ance which I have to notice, is a thin oily coat on the water which
displays iridescent colours. I saw a considerable tract of the ocean
thus covered on the coast of Brazil; the seamen attributed it to the
putrefying carcase of some whale, which probably was floating at
no great distance. I do not here mention the minute gelatinous
particles, hereafter to be referred to, which are frequently dispersed
throughout the water, for they are not sufficiently abundant to
create any change of colour.

There are two circumstances in the above accounts which appear
remarkable: first, how do the various bodies which form the bands
with defined edges keep together? In the case of the prawn-like
crabs, their movements were as coinstantaneous as in a regiment of
soldiers; but this cannot happen from anything like voluntary action
with the ovules, or the confervas, nor is it probable among the in-
fusoria. Secondly, what causes the length and narrowness of the
bands? The appearance so much resembles that which may be seen
in every torrent, where the stream uncoils into long streaks the froth
collected in the eddies, that I must attribute the effect to a similar
action either of the currents of the air or sea. Under this supposition
we must believe that the various organized bodies are produced in
certain favourable places, and are thence removed by the set of either
wind or water. I confess, however, there is a very great difficulty in
imagining any one spot to be the birthplace of the millions of mil-
lions of animalcula and conferva?: for whence come the germs at
such points? — the parent bodies having been distributed by the
winds and waves over the immense ocean. But on no other hy-
pothesis can I understand their linear grouping. I may add that
Scoresby remarks that green water abounding with pelagic animals
is invariably found in a certain part of the Arctic Sea.

CHAPTER II

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro — Excursion north of Cape Frio — Great Evaporation —
Slavery — Botofogo Bay — Terrestrial Planariae — Clouds on the Corco-
vado — Heavy Rain — Musical Frogs — Phosphorescent Insects — Elater,
springing powers of — Blue Haze — Noise made by a Butterfly — Ento-
mology — Ants — Wasp killing a Spider — Parasitical Spider — Artifices
of an Epeira — Gregarious Spider — Spider with an unsymmetrical Web.

/4PRIL 4th to July 5th, 1832. — A few days after our arrival I

/-§ became acquainted with an Englishman who was going to

-*■ visit his estate, situated rather more than a hundred miles

from the capital, to the northward of Cape Frio. I gladly accepted

his kind offer of allowing me to accompany him.

April 8th. — Our party amounted to seven. The first stage was
very interesting. The day was powerfully hot, and as we passed
through the woods, everything was motionless, excepting the large
and brilliant butterflies, which lazily fluttered about. The view seen
when crossing the hills behind Praia Grande was most beautiful; the
colours were intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky
and the calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour.
After passing through some cultivated country, we entered a forest,
which in the grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. We
arrived by midday at Ithacaia; this small village is situated on a
plain, and round the central house are the huts of the negroes. These,
from their regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings
of the Hottentot habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon rose
early, we determined to start the same evening for our sleeping-place
at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we passed under one
of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite which are so common
in this country. This spot is notorious from having been, for a long
time, the residence of some runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little
ground near the top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length
they were discovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole

28

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 20,

were seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than
again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit
of the mountain. In a Roman matron this would have been called
the noble love of freedom: in a poor negress it is mere brutal ob-
stinacy. We continued riding for some hours. For the few last miles
the road was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste of marshes
and lagoons. The scene by the dimmed light of the moon was most
desolate. A few fireflies flitted by us; and the solitary snipe, as it
rose, uttered its plaintive cry. The distant and sullen roar of the sea
scarcely broke the stillness of the night.

April gth. — We left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise.
The road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the
sea and the interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful fishing
birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming
most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would
not otherwise have possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded
with parasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fra-
grance of some of the orchidese were most to be admired. As the sun
rose, the day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light
and heat from the white sand was very distressing. We dined at
Mandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being 84 °. The beautiful
view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water
of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda 1 here was
a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of
an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and presently describe it, as
the type of its class. These houses are often large, and are built of
thick upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plas-
tered. They seldom have floors, and never glazed windows; but
are generally pretty well roofed. Universally the front part is open,
forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and benches are placed.
The bed-rooms join on each side, and here the passenger may sleep
as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform, covered by a
thin straw mat. The venda stands in a courtyard, where the horses
are fed. On first arriving it was our custom to unsaddle the horses
and give them their Indian corn; then, with a low bow, to ask the
senhor to do us the favour to give up something to eat. "Anything
1 Venda, the Portuguese name for an inn.

30 CHARLES DARWIN

you choose, sir," was his usual answer. For the few first times,
vainly I thanked providence for having guided us to so good a man.
The conversation proceeding, the case universally became deplorable.
"Any fish can you do us the favour of giving?" — "Oh! no, sir." —
"Any soup?"— "No, sir."— "Any bread?"— "Oh! no, sir."— "Any
dried meat?" — "Oh! no, sir." If we were lucky, by waiting a couple
of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It not unfrequently
happened, that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for
our own supper. When, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger,
we timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pom-
pous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "It will
be ready when it is ready." If we had dared to remonstrate any
further, we should have been told to proceed on our journey, as being
too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious and disagreeable in
their manners; their houses and their persons are often filthily dirty;
the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is com-
mon; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in England could be found
in a state so utterly destitute of every comfort. At Campos Novos,
however, we fared sumptuously; having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine,
and spirits, for dinner; coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee for
breakfast. All this, with good food for the horses, only cost 2s. dd. per
head. Yet the host of this venda, being asked if he knew anything
of a whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, "How
should I know? why did you not take care of it? — I suppose the
dogs have eaten it."

Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate
wilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt
water shells. Of the former kinds, I found a Limnasa in great num-
bers in a lake, into which, the inhabitants assured me that the sea
enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the water
quite salt. I have no doubt many interesting facts, in relation to
marine and fresh water animals, might be observed in this chain of
lagoons, which skirt the coast of Brazil. M. Gay 2 has stated that he
found in the neighbourhood of Rio, shells of the marine genera
solen and mytilus, and fresh water ampullariae, living together in
brackish water. I also frequently observed in the lagoon near the

2 Annales des Sciences Naturelles for 1833.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 3 1

Botanic Garden, where the water is only a little less salt than in the
sea, a species of hydrophilus, very similar to a water-beetle com-
mon in the ditches of England: in the same lake the only shell
belonged to a genus generally found in estuaries.

Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The
trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of
Europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my note-
book, "wonderful and beautiful, flowering parasites," invariably
struck me as the most novel object in these grand scenes. Travel-
ling onwards we passed through tracts of pasturage, much injured
by the enormous conical ants' nests, which were nearly twelve feet
high. They gave to the plain exactly the appearance of the mud
volcanos at Jorullo, as figured by Humboldt. We arrived at Engen-
hodo after it was dark, having been ten hours on horseback. I
never ceased, during the whole journey, to be surprised at the
amount of labour which the horses were capable of enduring; they
appeared also to recover from any injury much sooner than those
of our English breed. The Vampire bat is often the cause of much
trouble, by biting the horses on their withers. The injury is gen-
erally not so much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflamma-
tion which the pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. The
whole circumstance has lately been doubted in England; I was there-
fore fortunate in being present when one (Desmodus d'orbignyi,
Wat.) was actually caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking
late one evening near Coquimbo, in Chile, when my servant, notic-
ing that one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was
the matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly
put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the vampire. In
the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was easily
distinguished from being slightly swollen and bloody. The third day
afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects.

April 13th. — After three days' travelling, we arrived at Socego,
the estate of Senhor Manuel Figuireda, a relation of one of our party.
The house was simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well
suited to the climate. In the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas
were oddly contrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof,
and windows without glass. The house, together with the granaries,

32 CHARLES DARWIN

the stables, and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught vari-
ous trades, formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which
a large pile of coffee was drying. These buildings stand on a little
hill, overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every
side by a wall of dark green luxuriant forest. The chief produce of
this part of the country is coffee. Each tree is supposed to yield an-
nually, on an average, two pounds; but some give as much as eight.
Mandioca or cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity. Every
part of this plant is useful; the leaves and stalks are eaten by the
horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp, which, when pressed
dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principal article of sustenance
in the Brazils. It is a curious, though well-known fact, that the
juice of this most nutritious plant is highly poisonous. A few years
ago a cow died at this Fazenda, in consequence of having drunk
some of it. Senhor Figuireda told me that he had planted, the year
before, one bag of feijao or beans, and three of rice; the former of
which produced eighty, and the latter three hundred and twenty
fold. The pasturage supports a fine stock of cattle, and the woods
are so full of game that a deer had been killed on each of the three
previous days. This profusion of food showed itself at dinner,
where, if the tables did not groan, the guests surely did; for each
person is expected to eat of every dish. One day, having, as I thought,
nicely calculated so that nothing should go away untasted, to my
utter dismay a roast turkey and a pig appeared in all their substantial
reality. During the meals, it was the employment of a man to drive
out of the room sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black chil-
dren, which crawled in together, at every opportunity. As long as the
idea of slavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly
fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was
such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the
world.

As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set tolling,
and generally some small cannon are fired. The event is thus an-
nounced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. One morning
I walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn stillness
of the scene; at last, the silence was broken by the morning hymn,
raised on high by the whole 'body of the blacks; and in this manner

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 33

their daily work is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I
have no doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. On Satur-
day and Sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate
the labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family
for the whole week.

April 14th. — Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on the Rio
Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direc-
tion. The estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had
forgotten how many broad. Only a very small piece had been
cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of yielding all the various
rich productions of a tropical land. Considering the enormous area
of Brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be con-
sidered as anything, compared to that which is left in the state of
nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will support!
During the second day's journey we found the road so shut up, that
it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to cut
away the creepers. The forest abounded with beautiful objects;
among which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their
bright green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds,
most worthy of admiration. In the evening it rained very heavily,
and although the thermometer stood at 65 °, I felt very cold. As
soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinary
evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the forest.
At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in a dense white
vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the most thickly
wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I observed this phe-
nomenon on several occasions. I suppose it is owing to the large
surface of foliage, previously heated by the sun's rays.

While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an eye-witness
to one of those atrocious acts which can only take place in a slave
country. Owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the owner was on the
point of taking all the women and children from the male slaves,
and selling them separately at the public auction at Rio. Interest,
and not any feeling of compassion, prevented this act. Indeed, I do
not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty families, who had
lived together for many years, even occurred to the owner. Yet I will
pledge myself, that in humanity and good feeling he was superior

34 CHARLES DARWIN

to the common run of men. It may be said there exists no limit to
the blindness of interest and selfish habit. I may mention one very
trifling anecdote, which at the time struck me more forcibly than
any story of cruelty. I was crossing a ferry with a negro, who was
uncommonly stupid. In endeavouring to make him understand, I
talked loud, and made signs, in doing which I passed my hand near
his face. He, I suppose, thought I was in a passion, and was going to
strike him; for instantly, with a frightened look and half-shut eyes,
he dropped his hands. I shall never forget my feelings of surprise,
disgust, and shame, at seeing a great powerful man afraid even to
ward off a blow, directed, as he thought, at his face. This man had
been trained to a degradation lower than the slavery of the most
helpless animal.

April 18th. — In returning, we spent two days at Socego, and I em-
ployed them in collecting insects in the forest. The greater number of
trees, although so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in cir-
cumference. There are, of course, a few of much greater dimen-
sions. Senhor Manuel was then making a canoe 70 feet in length
from a solid trunk, which had originally been no feet long, and of
great thickness. The contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the com-
mon branching kinds, never fails to give the scene an intertropical
character. Here the woods were ornamented by the Cabbage Palm
— one of the most beautiful of its family. With a stem so narrow
that it might be clasped with the two hands, it waves its elegant head
at the height of forty or fifty feet above the ground. The woody
creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of great thick-
ness : some which I measured were two feet in circumference. Many
of the older trees presented a very curious appearance from the
tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resembling bundles
of hay. If the eye was turned from the world of foliage above, to the
ground beneath, it was attracted by the extreme elegance of the
leaves of the ferns and mimosa?. The latter, in some parts, covered
the surface with a brush-wood only a few inches high. In walking
across these thick beds of mimosas, a broad track was marked by the
change of shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive petioles.
It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these
grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 35

higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and
elevate the mind.

April 19th— Leaving Socego, during the two first days, we re-
traced our steps. It was very wearisome work, as the road generally
ran across a glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed
that each time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle
chirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different
line, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de Deos.
This is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet it was in so
bad a state that no wheeled vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-
wagon, could pass along. In our whole journey we did not cross a
single bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were
frequently so much out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one
side to avoid them. All distances are inaccurately known. The road
is often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where
human blood has been spilled. On the evening of the 23rd we ar-
rived at Rio, having finished our pleasant little excursion.

During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at
Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more delight-
ful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. In
England any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a
great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention;
but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so
numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.

The few observations which I was enabled to make were almost
exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of a
division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land, inter-
ested me much. These animals are of so simple a structure, that
Cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never
found within the bodies of other animals. Numerous species in-
habit both salt and fresh water; but those to which I allude were
found, even in the drier parts of the forest, beneath logs of rotten
wood, on which I believe they feed. In general form they resemble
little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion, and several o£
the species are beautifully coloured with longitudinal stripes. Their
structure is very simple: near the middle of the under or crawling sur-

36 CHARLES DARWIN

face there are two small transverse slits, from the anterior one of
which a funnel-shaped and highly irritable mouth can be protruded.
For some time after the rest of the animal was completely dead from
the effects of salt water or any other cause, this organ still retained
its vitality.

I found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial Planariae
in different parts of the southern hemisphere. 3 Some specimens
which I obtained at Van Dieman's Land, I kept alive for nearly two
months, feeding them on rotten wood. Having cut one of them
transversely into two nearly equal parts, in the course of a fortnight
both had the shape of perfect animals. I had, however, so divided the
body, that one of the halves contained both the inferior orifices, and
the other, in consequence, none. In the course of twenty-five days
from the operation, the more perfect half could not have been dis-
tinguished from any other specimen. The other had increased much
in size; and towards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in
the parenchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped
mouth could clearly be distinguished; on the under surface, however,
no corresponding slit was yet open. If the increased heat of the
weather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed all the
individuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would have com-
pleted its structure. Although so well-known an experiment, it was
interesting to watch the gradual production of every essential organ,
out of the simple extremity of another animal. It is extremely difficult
to preserve these Planarije; as soon as the cessation of life allows the
ordinary laws of change to act, their entire bodies become soft and
fluid, with a rapidity which I have never seen equalled.

I first visited the forest in which these Planarise were found, in
company with an old Portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with
him. The sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs,
and then patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might ap-
pear. We were accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer —
a good specimen of a wild Brazilian youth. He was dressed in a
tattered old shirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he car-
ried an old-fashioned gun and a large knife. The habit of carry-

3 1 have described and named these species in the Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. xiv.
p. 241.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 37

ing the knife is universal; and in traversing a thick wood it is al-
most necessary, on account of the creeping plants. The frequent oc-
currence of murder may be partly attributed to this habit. The
Brazilians are so dexterous with the knife, that they can throw it to
some distance with precision, and with sufficient force to cause a
fatal wound. I have seen a number of little boys practising this art
as a game of play, and from their skill in hitting an upright stick,
they promised well for more earnest attempts. My companion, the
day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. These animals
have prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after death, can
support the whole weight of the body. One of them thus remained
fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to pro-
cure it. This was soon effected, and down came tree and monkey
with an awful crash. Our day's sport, besides the monkey, was con-
fined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. I profited,
however, by my acquaintance with the Portuguese padre, for on
another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the Yagouaroundi
cat.

Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near Botofogo.
The house in which I lived was seated close beneath the well-known
mountain of the Corcovado. It has been remarked, with much
truth, that abruptly conical hills are characteristic of the formation
which Humboldt designates as gneiss-granite. Nothing can be more
striking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock
rising out of the most luxuriant vegetation.

I was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in
from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the
Corcovado. This mountain, like most others, when thus partly
veiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its real height
of 2300 feet. Mr. Daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays,
that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, while
the wind continues to blow over it. The same phenomenon here
presented a slightly different appearance. In this case the cloud was
clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was
neither diminished nor increased in size. The sun was setting, and
a gentle southerly breeze, striking against the southern side of the
rock, mingled its current with the colder air above; and the vapour

38 CHARLES DARWIN

was thus condensed; but as the light wreaths of cloud passed over
the ridge, and came within the influence of the warmer atmosphere
of the northern sloping bank, they were immediately re-dissolved.

The climate, during the months of May and June, or the begin-
ning of winter, was delightful. The mean temperature, from ob-
servations taken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was
only 72 °. It often rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds
soon again rendered the walks pleasant. One morning, in the course
of six hours, 1.6 inches of rain fell. As this storm passed over the
forests which surround the Corcovado, the sound produced by the
drops pattering on the countless multitude of leaves was very re-
markable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a mile,
and was like the rushing of a great body of water. After the hotter
days, it was delicious to sit quietly in the garden and watch the
evening pass into night. Nature, in these climes, chooses her vocal-
ists from more humble performers than in Europe. A small frog, of
the genus Hyla, sits on a blade of grass about an inch above the sur-
face of the water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp : when several are
together they sing in harmony on different notes. I had some diffi-
culty in catching a specimen of this frog. The genus Hyla has its
toes terminated by small suckers; and I found this animal could
crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely perpendicular.
Various cicidz and crickets, at the same time, keep up a ceaseless
shrill cry, but which, softened by the distance, is not unpleasant.
Every evening after dark this great concert commenced; and often
have I sat listening to it, until my attention has been drawn away by
some curious passing insect.

At these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to
hedge. On a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred
paces distant. It is remarkable that in all the different kinds of glow-
worms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the
Crustacea, medusz, nereidz, a coralline of the genus Clytia, and
Pyrosma), which I have observed, the light has been of a well-marked
green colour. All the fireflies, which I caught here, belonged to the
Lampyridse (in which family the English glowworm is included),
and the greater number of specimens were of Lampyris occidentalism

4 I am greatly indebted to Mr. Waterhouse for his kindness in naming for me this
and many other insects, and in giving me much valuable assistance.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 39

I found that this insect emitted the most brilliant flashes when ir-
ritated: in the intervals, the abdominal rings were obscured. The
flash was almost co-instantaneous in the two rings, but it was just
perceptible first in the anterior one. The shining matter was fluid
and very adhesive: little spots, where the skin had been torn, con-
tinued bright with a slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts
were obscured. When the insect was decapitated the rings remained
uninterruptedly bright, but not so brilliant as before: local irritation
with a needle always increased the vividness of the light. The rings
in one instance retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four
hours after the death of the insect. From these facts it would appear
probable, that the animal has only the power of concealing or extin-
guishing the light for short intervals, and that at other times the dis-
play is involuntary. On the muddy and wet gravel-walks I found the
larvae of this lampyris in great numbers: they resembled in general
form the female of the English glowworm. These larvae possessed
but feeble luminous powers; very differently from their parents, on
the slightest touch they feigned death and ceased to shine; nor did
irritation excite any fresh display. I kept several of them alive for
some time: their tails are very singular organs, for they act, by a
well-fitted contrivance, as suckers or organs of attachment, and like-
wise as reservoirs for saliva, or some such fluid. I repeatedly fed
them on raw meat; and I invariably observed, that every now and
then the extremity of the tail was applied to the mouth, and a drop
of fluid exuded on the meat, which was then in the act of being
consumed. The tail, notwithstanding so much practice, does not
seem to be able to find its way to the mouth; at least the neck was
always touched first, and apparently as a guide.

When we were at Bahia, an elater or beetle (Pyrophorus lumi-
nosus, Illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. The light
in this case was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. I amused
myself one day by observing the springing powers of this insect,
which have not, as it appears to me, been properly described. 5 The
elater, when placed on its back and preparing to spring, moved its
head and thorax backwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn
out, and rested on the edge of its sheath. The same backward move-
ment being continued, the spine, by the full action of the muscles,
s Kirby's Entomology, vol. ii. p. 317.

40 CHARLES DARWIN

was bent like a spring; and the insect at this moment rested on the
extremity of its head and wing-cases. The effort being suddenly
relaxed, the head and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base
of the wing-cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that
the insect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one
or two inches. The projecting points of the thorax, and the sheath
of the spine, served to steady the whole body during the spring. In
the descriptions which I have read, sufficient stress does not appear
to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden a spring
could not be the result of simple muscular contraction, without the
aid of some mechanical contrivance.

On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant ex-
cursions in the neighbouring country. One day I went to the Botanic
Garden, where many plants, well known for their great utility,
might be seen growing. The leaves of the camphor, pepper, cinna-
mon, and clove trees were delightfully aromatic; and the bread-fruit,
the jaca, and the mango, vied with each other in the magnificence
of their foliage. The landscape in the neighbourhood of Bahia
almost takes its character from the two latter trees. Before seeing
them, I had no idea that any trees could cast so black a shade on the
ground. Both of them bear to the evergreen vegetation of these
climates the same kind of relation which laurels and hollies in Eng-
land do to the lighter green of the deciduous trees. It may be ob-
served, that the houses within the tropics are surrounded by the
most beautiful forms of vegetation, because many of them are at
the same time most useful to man. Who can doubt that these quali-
ties are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm,
the orange, and the bread-fruit tree ?

During this day I was particularly struck with a remark of
Humboldt's, who often alludes to "the thin vapour which, without
changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more har-
monious, and softens its effects." This is an appearance which I
have never observed in the temperate zones. The atmosphere, seen
through a short space of half or three-quarters of a mile, was per-
fectly lucid, but at a greater distance all colours were blended into
a most beautiful haze, of a pale French grey, mingled with a little
blue. The condition of the atmosphere between the morning and

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 41

about noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergone little
change, excepting in its dryness. In the interval, the difference be-
tween the dew point and temperature had increased from 7°.5 to 17 .

On another occasion I started early and walked to the Gavia, or
topsail mountain. The air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and
the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the large liliaceous
plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear water. Sitting down on
a block of granite, it was delightful to watch the various insects and
birds as they flew past. The humming-bird seems particularly fond
of such shady retired spots. Whenever I saw these little creatures
buzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to
be scarcely visible, I was reminded of the sphinx moths: their move-
ments and habits are indeed in many respects very similar.

Following a pathway, I entered a noble forest, and from a height
of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was pre-
sented, which are so common on every side of Rio. At this elevation
the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every form, every
shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that the European
has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not how to express
his feelings. The general effect frequently recalled to my mind the
gayest scenery of the Opera-house or the great theatres. I never re-
turned from these excursions empty-handed. This day I found a
specimen of a curious fungus, called Hymenophallus. Most people
know the English Phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its
odious smell : this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is, to some
of our beetles a delightful fragrance. So was it here; for a Strongylus,
attracted by the odour, alighted on the fungus as I carried it in my
hand. We here see in two distant countries a similar relation be-
tween plants and insects of the same families, though the species of
both are different. When man is the agent in introducing into a
country a new species, this relation is often broken: as one instance
of this I may mention, that the leaves of the cabbages and lettuces,
which in England afford food to such a multitude of slugs and cater-
pillars, in the gardens near Rio are untouched.

During our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects. A
few general observations on the comparative importance of the dif-
ferent orders may be interesting to the English entomologist. The

42 CHARLES DARWIN

large and brilliantly coloured Lepidoptera bespeak the zone they
inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of animals. I allude
only to the butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what might have
been expected from the rankness of the vegetation, certainly appeared
in much fewer numbers than in our own temperate regions. I was
much surprised at the habits of Papilio feronia. This butterfly is not
uncommon, and generally frequents the orange-groves. Although
a high flier, yet it very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. On
these occasions its head is invariably placed downwards; and its
wings are expanded in a horizontal plane, instead of being folded
vertically, as is commonly the case. This is the only butterfly which
I have ever seen, that uses its legs for running. Not being aware of
this fact, the insect, more than once, as I cautiously approached with
my forceps, shuffled on one side just as the instrument was on the
point of closing, and thus escaped. But a far more singular fact is
the power which this species possesses of making a noise. 6 Several
times when a pair, probably male and female, were chasing each
other in an irregular course, they passed within a few yards of me;
and I distinctly heard a clicking noise, similar to that produced by
a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch. The noise was con-
tinued at short intervals, and could be distinguished at about twenty
yards' distance : I am certain there is no error in the observation.

I was disappointed in the general aspect of the Coleoptera. The
number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly
great. 7 The cabinets of Europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger
species from tropical climates. It is sufficient to disturb the com-
posure of an entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future

6 Mr. Doubleday has lately described (before the Entomological Society, March 3rd,
1845) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly, which seems to be the means
of its making its noise. He says, "It is remarkable for having a sort of drum at the
base of the fore wings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. These two
nervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel in the interior."
I find in Langsdorff's travels (in the years 1803-7, p. 74) it is said, that in the
island of St. Catherine's on the coast of Brazil, a butterfly called Februa Hoffraanseggi,
makes a noise, when flying away, like a rattle.

7 1 may mention, as a common instance of one day's (June 23rd) collecting, when
I was not attending particularly to the Coleoptera, that I caught sixty-eight species
of that order. Among these, there were only two of the Carabidai, four Brachelytra,
fifteen Rhyncophora, and fourteen of the Chrysomelida:. Thirty-seven species of
Arachnidac, which I brought home, will be sufficient to prove that I was not paying
overmuch attention to the generally favoured order of Coleoptera.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 43

dimensions of a complete catalogue. The carnivorous beetles, or
Carabidae, appear in extremely few numbers within the tropics : this
is the more remarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous
quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot countries. I was struck
with this observation both on entering Brazil, and when I saw the
many elegant and active forms of the Harpalidae re-appearing on
the temperate plains of La Plata. Do the very numerous spiders and
rapacious Hymenoptera supply the place of the carnivorous beetles?
The carrion-feeders and Brachelytra are very uncommon; on the
other hand, the Rhyncophora and Chrysomelidae, all of which de-
pend on the vegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonish-
ing numbers. I do not here refer to the number of different species,
but to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that the most
striking character in the entomology of different countries depends.
The orders Orthoptera and Hemiptera are particularly numerous;
as likewise is the stinging division of the Hymenoptera; the bees,
perhaps, being excepted. A person, on first entering a tropical forest,
is astonished at the labours of the ants : well-beaten paths branch off
in every direction, on which an army of never-failing foragers may
be seen, some going forth, and others returning, burdened with
pieces of green leaf, often larger than their own bodies.

A small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless num-
bers. One day, at Bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many
spiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing in
the greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. A little way
behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. The
swarm having crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended
an old wall. By this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and
the efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricate them-
selves from such a death were wonderful. When the ants came to
the road they changed their course, and in narrow files reascended
the wall. Having placed a small stone so as to intercept one of the
lines, the whole body attacked it, and then immediately retired.
Shortly afterwards another body came to the charge, and again
having failed to make any impression, this line of march was en-
tirely given up. By going an inch round, the file might have avoided
the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it had been

44 CHARLES DARWIN

originally there: but having been attacked, the lion-hearted little
warriors scorned the idea of yielding.

Certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the
verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the neigh-
bourhood of Rio. These cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders and
caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to
that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their eggs
are hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless,
half-killed victims — a sight which has been described by an en-
thusiastic naturalist 8 as curious and pleasing! I was much interested
one day by watching a deadly contest between a Pepsis and a large
spider of the genus Lycosa. The wasp made a sudden dash at its
prey, and then flew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for,
trying to escape, it rolled down a little slope, but had still strength
sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of grass. The wasp soon returned,
and seemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim. It then
commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making
short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its wings
and antennae. The spider, though well concealed, was soon dis-
covered; and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's jaws,
after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under side of
its thorax. At last, carefully examining with its antennae the now
motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. But I stopped
both tyrant and prey. 9

The number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here
compared with England very much larger; perhaps more so than
with any other division of the articulate animals. The variety of
species among the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. The
genus, or rather family, of Epeira, is here characterized by many
singular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others
enlarged and spiny tibiae. Every path in the forest is barricaded with
the strong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same division

8 In a MS. in the British Museum by Mr. Abbott, who made his observations in
Georgia; see Mr. A. White's paper in the "Annals of Nat. Hist.," vol. vii. p. 472.
Lieut. Hutton has described a sphex with similar habits in India, in the "Journal of
the Asiatic Society," vol. i. p. 555.

9 Don Felix Azara (vol. i. p. 175), mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably
of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a
straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three paces distant. He
adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every now and then made "demi-tours
d'environ trois palmes."

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 45

with the Epeira clavipes of Fabricius, which was formerly said by
Sloane to make, in the West Indies, webs so strong as to catch birds.
A small and pretty kind of spider, with very long fore-legs, and
which appears to belong to an undescribed genus, lives as a parasite
on almost every one of these webs. I suppose it is too insignificant
to be noticed by the great Epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey
on the minute insects, which, adhering to the lines, would otherwise
be wasted. When frightened, this little spider either feigns death
by extending its front legs, or suddenly drops from the web. A
large Epeira of the same division with Epeira tuberculata and conica
is extremely common, especially in dry situations. Its web, which
is generally placed among the great leaves of the common agave,
is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a pair or even four
zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining rays. When any large
insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is caught, the spider, by a dexterous
movement, makes it revolve very rapidly, and at the same time
emitting a band of threads from its spinners, soon envelops its prey
in a case like the cocoon of a silkworm. The spider now examines
the powerless victim, and gives the fatal bite on the hinder part of
its thorax; then retreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken
effect. The virulence of this poison may be judged of from the fact
that in half a minute I opened the mesh, and found a large wasp
quite lifeless. This Epeira always stands with its head downwards
near the centre of the web. When disturbed, it acts differently
according to circumstances: if there is a thicket below, it suddenly
falls down; and I have distinctly seen the thread from the spinners
lengthened by the animal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its
fall. If the ground is clear beneath, the Epeira seldom falls, but
moves quickly through a central passage from one to the other side.
When still further disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre:
standing in the middle, it violently jerks the web, which is attached
to elastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires such a rapid vibratory
movement, that even the outline of the spider's body becomes
indistinct.

It is well known that most of the British spiders, when a large
insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and liberate
their prey, to save their nets from being entirely spoiled. I once,
however, saw in a hot-house in Shropshire a large female wasp

46 CHARLES DARWIN

caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider; and this spider,
instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly continued to entangle
the body, and especially the wings, of its prey. The wasp at first
aimed in vain repeated thrusts with its sting at its little antagonist.
Pitying the wasp, after allowing it to struggle for more than an
hour, I killed it and put it back into the web. The spider soon
returned; and an hour afterwards I was much surprised to find it
with its jaws buried in the orifice, through which the sting is pro-
truded by the living wasp. I drove the spider away two or three
times, but for the next twenty-four hours I always found it again
sucking at the same place. The spider became much distended by
the juices of its prey, which was many times larger than itself.

I may here just mention, that I found, near St. Fe Bajada, many
large black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs, having
gregarious habits. The webs were placed vertically, as is invariably
the case with the genus Epeira: they were separated from each other
by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to certain com-
mon lines, which were of great length, and extended to all parts of
the community. In this manner the tops of some large bushes were
encompassed by the united nets. Azara 10 has described a gregarious
spider in Paraguay, which Walckenaer thinks must be a Theridion,
but probably it is an Epeira, and perhaps even the same species with
mine. I cannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as
a hat, in which, during autumn, when the spiders die, Azara says
the eggs are deposited. As all the spiders which I saw were of the
same size, they must have been nearly of the same age. This gre-
garious habit, in so typical a genus as Epeira, among insects, which
are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each
other, is a very singular fact.

In a lofty valley of the Cordillera, near Mendoza, I found another
spider with a singularly-formed web. Strong lines radiated in a
vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its sta-
tion; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical
mesh- work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the
case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. All the webs
were similarly constructed.

10 Azara's Voyage, vol. i. p. 213

CHAPTER III

Maldonado

Monte Video — Maldonado — Excursion to R. Polanco — Lazo and Bolas —
Partridges — Absence of Trees — Deer — Capybara, or River Hog — Tucu-
tuco — Molothrus, cuckoo-like habits — Tyrant-flycatcher — Mocking-bird
— Carrion Hawks — Tubes formed by Lightning — House struck.

yULY $th, 1832. — In the morning we got under way, and stood
out of the splendid harbour of Rio de Janeiro. In our passage
to the Plata, we saw nothing particular, excepting on one day
a great shoal of porpoises, many hundreds in number. The whole
sea was in places furrowed by them; and a most extraordinary
spectacle was presented, as hundreds, proceeding together by jumps,
in which their whole bodies were exposed, thus cut the water. When
the ship was running nine knots an hour, these animals could cross
and recross the bows with the greatest ease, and then dash away
right ahead. As soon as we entered the estuary of the Plata, the
weather was very unsettled. One dark night we were surrounded
by numerous seals and penguins, which made such strange noises,
that the officer on watch reported he could hear the cattle bellowing
on shore. On a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of
natural fireworks; the mast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with St.
Elmo's light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if
it had been rubbed with phosphorus. The sea was so highly lumi-
nous, that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake,
and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the
most vivid lightning.

When within the mouth of the river, I was interested by observing
how slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. The latter, muddy
and discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the surface
of the salt water. This was curiously exhibited in the wake of the
vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in little eddies,
with the adjoining fluid.

July 26th. — We anchored at Monte Video. The Beagle was em-

47

48 CHARLES DARWIN

ployed in surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts of
America, south of the Plata, during the two succeeding years. To
prevent useless repetitions, I will extract those parts of my journal
which refer to the same districts, without always attending to the
order in which we visited them.

Maldonado is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not
very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet, forlorn,
little town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with
the streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the
middle a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the
scantiness of the population more evident. It possesses scarcely any
trade; the exports being confined to a few hides and living cattle.
The inhabitants are chiefly landowners, together with a few shop-
keepers and the necessary tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and car-
penters, who do nearly all the business for a circuit of fifty miles
round. The town is separated from the river by a band of sand-
hillocks, about a mile broad: it is surrounded, on all other sides, by
an open slightly-undulating country, covered by one uniform layer
of fine green turf, on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and
horses graze. There is very little land cultivated even close to the
town. A few hedges, made of cacti and agave, mark out where some
wheat or Indian corn has been planted. The features of the country
are very similar along the whole northern bank of the Plata. The
only difference is, that here the granitic hills are a little bolder. The
scenery is very uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed
piece of ground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness. Yet,
after being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in
the unconfined feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf.
Moreover, if your view is limited to a small space, many objects
possess beauty. Some of the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured;
and the bright green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is orna-
mented by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the
daisy, claimed the place of an old friend. What would a florist say
to whole tracts, so thickly covered by the Verbena melindres, as,
even at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet?

I stayed ten weeks at Maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect
collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured. Before
making any observations respecting them, I will give an account of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 49

a little excursion I made as far as the river Polanco, which is about
seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction. I may mention, as
a proof how cheap everything is in this country, that I paid only
two dollars a day, or eight shillings, for two men, together with a
troop of about a dozen riding-horses. My companions were well
armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which I thought rather
unnecessary; but the first piece of news we heard was, that, the day
before, a traveller from Monte Video had been found dead on the
road, with his throat cut. This happened close to a cross, the record
of a former murder.

On the first night we slept at a retired little country-house; and
there I soon found out that I possessed two or three articles, especially
a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonishment. In every
house I was asked to show the compass, and by its aid, together with
a map, to point out the direction of various places. It excited the
liveliest admiration that I, a perfect stranger, should know the road
(for direction and road are synonymous in this open country) to
places where I had never been. At one house a young woman, who
was ill in bed, sent to entreat me to come and show her the compass.
If their surprise was great, mine was greater, to find such ignorance
among people who possessed their thousands of cattle, and "estan-
cias" of great extent. It can only be accounted for by the circum-
stance that this retired part of the country is seldom visited by
foreigners. I was asked whether the earth or sun moved; whether it
was hotter or colder to the north; where Spain was, and many other
such questions. The greater number of the inhabitants had an in-
distinct idea that England, London, and North America, were
different names for the same place; but the better informed well
knew that London and North America were separate countries
close together, and that England was a large town in London! I
carried with me some promethean matches, which I ignited by
biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike fire
with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family to see
it: I was once offered a dollar for a single one. Washing my face
in the morning caused much speculation at the village of Las Minas;
a superior tradesman closely cross-questioned me about so singular
a practice; and likewise why on board we wore our beards; for he
had heard from my guide that we did so. He eyed me with much

50 CHARLES DARWIN

suspicion; perhaps he had heard of ablutions in the Mahomedan
religion, and knowing me to be a heretick, probably he came to the
conclusion that all hereticks were Turks. It is the general custom in
this country to ask for a night's lodging at the first convenient house.
The astonishment at the compass, and my other feats of jugglery,
was to a certain degree advantageous, as with that, and the long
stories my guides told of my breaking stones, knowing venomous
from harmless snakes, collecting insects, etc., I repaid them for their
hospitality. I am writing as if I had been among the inhabitants of
central Africa: Banda Oriental would not be flattered by the com-
parison; but such were my feelings at the time.

The next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The country
was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an in-
habitant of the Pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly
Alpine. The country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole
day we scarcely met a single person. Las Minas is much smaller
even than Maldonado. It is seated on a little plain, and is surrounded
by low rocky mountains. It is of the usual symmetrical form; and
with its whitewashed church standing in the centre, had rather a
pretty appearance. The outskirting houses rose out of the plain like
isolated beings, without the accompaniment of gardens or court-
yards. This is generally the case in the country, and all the houses
have, in consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. At night we stopped
at a pulperia, or drinking-shop. During the evening a great number
of Gauchos came in to drink spirit and smoke cigars: their appear-
ance is very striking; they are generally tall and handsome, but with
a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. They frequently
wear their moustaches and long black hair curling down their backs.
With their brightly coloured garments, great spurs clanking about
their heels, and knives stuck as daggers (and often so used) at their
waists, they look a very different race of men from what might be
expected from their name of Gauchos, or simple countrymen. Their
politeness is excessive; they never drink their spirits without expect-
ing you to taste it; but whilst making their exceedingly graceful
bow, they seem quite as ready, if occasion offered, to cut your throat.

On the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as I was
employed in examining some beds of marble. On the fine plains of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 5 1

turf we saw many ostriches (Struthio rhea). Some of the flocks
contained as many as twenty or thirty birds. These, when stand-
ing on any little eminence, and seen against the clear sky, pre-
sented a very noble appearance. I never met with such tame os-
triches in any other part of the country: it was easy to gallop up
within a short distance of them; but then, expanding their wings,
they made all sail right before the wind, and soon left the horse
astern.

At night we came to the house of Don Juan Fuentes, a rich
landed proprietor, but not personally known to either of my com-
panions. On approaching the house of a stranger, it is usual to follow
several little points of etiquette: riding up slowly to the door, the
salutation of Ave Maria is given, and until somebody comes out
and asks you to alight, it is not customary even to get off your horse:
the formal answer of the owner is, "sin pecado concebida" — that is,
conceived without sin. Having entered the house, some general
conversation is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is asked
to pass the night there. This is granted as a matter of course. The
stranger then takes his meals with the family, and a room is assigned
him, where with the horsecloths belonging to his recado (or saddle
of the Pampas) he makes his bed. It is curious how similar circum-
stances produce such similar results in manners. At the Cape of
Good Hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the same points
of etiquette, are universally observed. The difference, however, be-
tween the character of the Spaniard and that of the Dutch boer is
shown, by the former never asking his guest a single question beyond
the strictest rule of politeness, whilst the honest Dutchman demands
where he has been, where he is going, what is his business, and even
how many brothers, sisters, or children he may happen to have.

Shortly after our arrival at Don Juan's, one of the largest herds
of cattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were
picked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment.
These half- wild cattle are very active; and knowing full well the
fatal lazo, they led the horses a long and laborious chase. After
witnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of cattle, men,
and horses, Don Juan's miserable house was quite curious. The
floor consisted of hardened mud, and the windows were without

52 CHARLES DARWIN

glass; the sitting-room boasted only of a few of the roughest chairs
and stools, with a couple of tables. The supper, although several
strangers were present, consisted of two huge piles, one of roast
beef, the other of boiled, with some pieces of pumpkin: besides this
latter there was no other vegetable, and not even a morsel of bread.
For drinking, a large earthenware jug of water served the whole
party. Yet this man was the owner of several square miles of land,
of which nearly every acre would produce corn, and, with a little
trouble, all the common vegetables. The evening was spent in smok-
ing, with a little impromptu singing, accompanied by the guitar.
The signoritas all sat together in one corner of the room, and did
not sup with the men.

So many works have been written about these countries, that it
is almost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas. The
lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope, made of
raw hide. One end is attached to the broad surcingle, which fastens
together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle used in the
Pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or brass, by
which a noose can be formed. The Gaucho, when he is going to
use the lazo, keeps a small coil in his bridle-hand, and in the other
holds the running noose, which is made very large, generally having
a diameter of about eight feet. This he whirls round his head, and
by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose open; then,
throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular spot he chooses.
The lazo, when not used, is tied up in a small coil to the after part
of the recado. The bolas, or balls, are of two kinds: the simplest,
which is chiefly used for catching ostriches, consists of two round
stones, covered with leather, and united by a thin plaited thong,
about eight feet long. The other kind differs only in having three
balls united by the thongs to a common centre. The Gaucho holds
the smallest of the three in his hand, and whirls the other two round
and round his head; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot
revolving through the air. The balls no sooner strike any object,
than, winding round it, they cross each other, and become firmly
hitched. The size and weight of the balls vary, according to the
purpose for which they are made: when of stone, although not
larger than an apple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to
break the leg even of a horse. I have seen the balls made of wood,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 53

and as large as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals with-
out injuring them. The balls are sometimes made of iron, and these
can be hurled to the greatest distance. The main difficulty in using
either lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full speed, and
while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily round the
head, as to take aim: on foot any person would soon learn the art.
One day, as I was amusing myself by galloping and whirling the
balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush; and its
revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell to the
ground, and, like magic, caught one hind leg of my horse; the other
ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured.
Luckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it meant;
otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself
down. The Gauchos roared with laughter; they cried out that they
had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen a
man caught by himself.

During the two succeeding days, I reached the furthest point
which I was anxious to examine. The country wore the same aspect,
till at last the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty
turnpike road. We everywhere saw great numbers of partridges
(Nothura major). These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they
conceal themselves like the English kind. It appears a very silly
bird. A man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle,
or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock
on the head as many as he pleases. The more common method is
to catch them with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem
of an ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. A boy on
a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day.
In Arctic North America 1 the Indians catch the Varying Hare by
walking spirally round and round it, when on its form: the middle
of the day is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the
shadow of the hunter not very long.

On our return to Maldonado, we followed rather a different line
of road. Near Pan de Azucar, a landmark well known to all those
who have sailed up the Plata, I stayed a day at the house of a most
hospitable old Spaniard. Early in the morning we ascended the
Sierra de las Animas. By the aid of the rising sun the scenery was
1 Hearnc's Journey, p. 383.

54 CHARLES DARWIN

almost picturesque. To the westward the view extended over an
immense level plain as far as the Mount, at Monte Video, and to
the eastward, over the mammillated country of Maldonado. On
the summit of the mountain there were several small heaps of stones,
which evidently had lain there for many years. My companion
assured me that they were the work of the Indians in the old time.
The heaps were similar, but on a much smaller scale, to those so
commonly found on the mountains of Wales. The desire to sig-
nalize any event, on the highest point of the neighbouring land,
seems an universal passion with mankind. At the present day, not
a single Indian, either civilized or wild, exists in this part of the
province; nor am I aware that the former inhabitants have left
behind them any more permanent records than these insignificant
piles on the summit of the Sierra de las Animas.

The general, and almost entire absence of trees in Banda Oriental
is remarkable. Some of the rocky hills are partly covered by thickets,
and on the banks of the larger streams, especially to the north of
Las Minas, willow-trees are not uncommon. Near the Arroyo Tapes
I heard of a wood of palms; and one of these trees, of considerable
size, I saw near the Pan de Azucar, in lat. 35 °. These, and the trees
planted by the Spaniards, offer the only exceptions to the general
scarcity of wood. Among the introduced kinds may be enumerated
poplars, olives, peach, and other fruit trees: the peaches succeed so
well, that they afford the main supply of firewood to the city of
Buenos Ayres. Extremely level countries, such as the Pampas, sel-
dom appear favourable to the growth of trees. This may possibly
be attributed either to the force of the winds, or the kind of drainage.
In the nature of the land, however, around Maldonado, no such
reason is apparent; the rocky mountains afford protected situations,
enjoying various kinds of soil; streamlets of water are common at
the bottoms of nearly every valley; and the clayey nature of the earth
seems adapted to retain moisture. It has been inferred with much
probability, that the presence of woodland is generally determined 2
by the annual amount of moisture; yet in this province abundant
and heavy rain falls during the winter; and the summer, though dry,
2 Madaren, art. "America," Encyclop. Britann.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 55

is not so in any excessive degree. 3 We see nearly the whole of

Australia covered by lofty trees, yet that country possesses a far more
arid climate. Hence we must look to some other and unknown cause.
Confining our view to South America, we should certainly be
tempted to believe that trees flourished only under a very humid
climate; for the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most remark-
able manner, that of the damp winds. In the southern part of the
continent, where the western gales, charged with moisture from the
Pacific, prevail, every island on the broken west coast, from lat. 38 °
to the extreme point of Tierra del Fuego, is densely covered by im-
penetrable forests. On the eastern side of the Cordillera, over the
same extent of latitude, where a blue sky and a fine climate prove
that the atmosphere has been deprived of its moisture by passing
over the mountains, the arid plains of Patagonia support a most
scanty vegetation. In the more northern parts of the continent,
within the limits of the constant south-eastern trade- wind, the eastern
side is ornamented by magnificent forests; whilst the western coast,
from lat. 4 S. to lat. 32 ° S., may be described as a desert; on this
western coast, northward of lat. 4 S., where the trade-wind loses its
regularity, and heavy torrents of rain fall periodically, the shores of
the Pacific, so utterly desert in Peru, assume near Cape Blanco the
character of luxuriance so celebrated at Guyaquil and Panama.
Hence in the southern and northern parts of the continent, the forest
and desert lands occupy reversed positions with respect to the Cor-
dillera, and these positions are apparently determined by the direction
of the prevalent winds. In the middle of the continent there is a
broad intermediate band, including central Chile and the provinces
of La Plata, where the rain-bringing winds have not to pass over
lofty mountains, and where the land is neither a desert nor covered
by forests. But even the rule, if confined to South America, of trees
flourishing only in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds,
has a strongly marked exception in the case of the Falkland Islands.
These islands, situated in the same latitude with Tierra del Fuego
and only between two and three hundred miles distant from it, hav-
ing a nearly similar climate, with a geological formation almost

3 Azara says, "J« crois que la quantity annuelle des pluies est, dans toutes ces
contrees, plus considerable qu'en Espagne." — Vol. i. p. 36.

$6 CHARLES DARWIN

identical, with favourable situations and the same kind of peaty
soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving even the title of bushes;
whilst in Tierra del Fuego it is impossible to find an acre of land
not covered by the densest forest. In this case, both the direction of
the heavy gales of wind and of the currents of the sea are favourable
to the transport of seeds from Tierra del Fuego, as is shown by the
canoes and trunks of trees drifted from that country, and frequently
thrown on the shores of the Western Falkland. Hence perhaps it
is, that there are many plants in common to the two countries: but
with respect to the trees of Tierra del Fuego, even attempts made to
transplant them have failed.

During our stay at Maldonado I collected several quadrupeds,
eighty kinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine species of
snakes. Of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any
size, which is common, is the Cervus campestris. This deer is ex-
ceedingly abundant, often in small herds, throughout the countries
bordering the Plata and in Northern Patagonia. If a person crawling
close along the ground, slowly advances towards a herd, the deer
frequently, out of curiosity, approach to reconnoitre him. I have by
this means, killed from one spot, three out of the same herd. Al-
though so tame and inquisitive, yet when approached on horseback,
they are exceedingly wary. In this country nobody goes on foot, and
the deer knows man as its enemy only when he is mounted and
armed with the bolas. At Bahia Blanca, a recent establishment in
Northern Patagonia, I was surprised to find how little the deer
cared for the noise of a gun: one day I fired ten times from within
eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more startled at the
ball cutting up the ground than at the report of the rifle. My powder
being exhausted, I was obliged to get up (to my shame as a sports-
man be it spoken, though well able to kill birds on the wing) and
halloo till the deer ran away.

The most curious fact, with respect to this animal, is the over-
poweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the
buck. It is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the
specimen which is now mounted at the Zoological Museum, I was
almost overcome by nausea. I tied up the skin in a silk pocket-
handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief, after being

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 57

well washed, I continually used, and it was of course as repeatedly
washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and seven months,
when first unfolded, I distinctly perceived the odour. This appears
an astonishing instance of the permanence of some matter, which
nevertheless in its nature must be most subtile and volatile. Fre-
quently, when passing at the distance of half a mile to leeward of a
herd, I have perceived the whole air tainted with the effluvium. I
believe the smell from the buck is most powerful at the period when
its horns are perfect, or free from the hairy skin. When in this state
the meat is, of course, quite uneatable; but the Gauchos assert, that
if buried for some time in fresh earth, the taint is removed. I have
somewhere read that the islanders in the north of Scotland treat the
rank carcasses of the fish-eating birds in the same manner.

The order Rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice
alone I obtained no less than eight kinds. 4 The largest gnawing
animal in the world, the Hydrochaerus capybara (the water-hog),
is here also common. One which I shot at Monte Video weighed
ninety-eight pounds: its length, from the end of the snout to the
stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth three feet
eight. These great Rodents occasionally frequent the islands in the
mouth of the Plata, where the water is quite salt, but are far more
abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and rivers. Near
Maldonado three or four generally live together. In the daytime they
either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly feed on the turf plain. 5
When viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and
colour they resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and
attentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the
appearance of their congeners, cavies and rabbits. Both the front
and side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the

4 In South America I collected altogether twenty-seven species of mice, and
thirteen more are known from the works of Azara and other authors. Those
collected by myself have been named and described by Mr. Waterhouse at the
meetings of the Zoological Society. I must be allowed to take this opportunity of
returning my cordial thanks to Mr. Waterhouse, and to the other gendemen attached
to that Society, for their kind and most liberal assistance on all occasions.

5 In the stomach and duodenum of a capybara which I opened I found a very
large quantity of a thin yellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could be dis-
tinguished. Mr. Owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so constructed
that nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down. Certainly the broad
teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well fitted to grind into pulp the aquatic
plants on which it feeds.

58 CHARLES DARWIN

great depth of their jaw. These animals, at Maldonado, were very
tame; by cautiously walking, I approached within three yards of
four old ones. This tameness may probably be accounted for, by the
Jaguar having been banished for some years, and by the Gaucho
not thinking it worth his while to hunt them. As I approached
nearer and nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which
is a low abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather
arising from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise I know at
all like it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. Having watched
the four from almost within arm's length (and they me) for several
minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with the greatest
impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their bark. After diving
a short distance they came again to the surface, but only just showed
the upper part of their heads. When the female is swimming in
the water, and has young ones, they are said to sit on her back.
These animals are easily killed in numbers; but their skins are of
trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. On the islands in the
Rio Parana they are exceedingly abundant, and afford the ordinary
prey to the Jaguar.

The Tucutuco (Ctenomys Brasiliensis) is a curious small animal,
which may be briefly described as a Gnawer, with the habits of a
mole. It is extremely numerous in some parts of the country, but it
is difficult to be procured, and never, I believe, comes out of the
ground. It throws up at the mouth of its burrows hillocks of earth
like those of the mole, but smaller. Considerable tracts of country
are so completely undermined by these animals, that horses in pass-
ing over, sink above their fedocks. The tucutucos appear, to a cer-
tain degree, to be gregarious: the man who procured the specimens
for me had caught six together, and he said this was a common
occurrence. They are nocturnal in their habits; and their principal
food is the roots of plants, which are the object of their extensive and
superficial burrows. This animal is universally known by a very
peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the ground. A person,
the first time he hears it, is much surprised; for it is not easy to tell
whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess what kind of creature
utters it. The noise consists in a short, but not rough, nasal grunt,
which is monotonously repeated about four times in quick succes-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 59

sion: 6 the name Tucutuco is given in imitation of the sound. Where
this animal is abundant, it may be heard at all times of the day, and
sometimes directly beneath one's feet. When kept in a room, the
tucutucos move both slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to
the outward action of their hind legs; and they are quite incapable,
from the socket of the thigh-bone not having a certain ligament,
of jumping even the smallest vertical height. They are very stupid
in making any attempt to escape; when angry or frightened they
utter the tucutuco. Of those I kept alive several, even the first day,
became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others
were a little wilder.

The man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably
found blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was in this
state; Mr. Reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in the
nictitating membrane. When the animal was alive I placed my
finger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest notice
was taken : it made its way, however, about the room nearly as well
as the others. Considering the strictly subterranean habits of the
tucutuco, the blindness, though so common, cannot be a very serious
evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess an organ
frequently subject to be injured. Lamarck would have been delighted
with this fact, had he known it, when speculating 7 (probably with
more truth than usual with him) on the gradually acquired blind-
ness of the Asphalax, a Gnawer living under ground, and of the
Proteus, a reptile living in dark caverns filled with water; in both
of which animals the eye is in an almost rudimentary state, and is
covered by a tendinous membrane and skin. In the common mole
the eye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists
doubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its vision
must certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the animal
when it leaves its burrow. In the tucutuco, which I believe never
comes to the surface of the ground, the eye is rather larger, but often

6 At the R. Negro, in Northern Patagonia, there is an animal of the same habits,
and probably a closely allied species, but which I never saw. Its noise is different
from that of the Maldonado kind; it is repeated only twice instead of three or four
times, and is more distinct and sonorous; when heard from a distance it so closely
resembles the sound made in cutting down a small tree with an axe, that I have
sometimes remained in doubt concerning it.

7 Philosoph. Zoolog., torn. i. p. 242.

60 CHARLES DARWIN

rendered blind and useless, though without apparently causing any
inconvenience to the animal; no doubt Lamarck would have said
that the tucutuco is now passing into the state of the Asphalax and
Proteus.

Birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating
grassy plains around Maldonado. There are several species of a
family allied in structure and manners to our Starling: one of these
(Molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. Several may
often be seen standing together on the back of a cow or horse;
and while perched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the sun, they
sometimes attempt to sing, or rather to hiss; the noise being very
peculiar, resembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a
small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. Accord-
ing to Azara, this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other
birds' nests. I was several times told by the country people that there
certainly is some bird having this habit; and my assistant in collect-
ing, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the sparrow of
this country (Zonotrichia matutina), with one egg in it larger than
the others, and of a different colour and shape. In North America
there is another species of Molothrus (M. pecoris), which has a
similar cuckoo-like habit, and which is most closely allied in every
respect to the species from the Plata, even in such trifling peculiarities
as standing on the backs of cattle; it differs only in being a little
smaller, and in its plumage and eggs being of a slightly different
shade of colour. This close agreement in structure and habits, in
representative species coming from opposite quarters of a great
continent, always strikes one as interesting, though of common
occurrence.

Mr. Swainson has well remarked, 8 that with the exception of the
Molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the M. niger, the cuckoos
are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such
as "fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose
animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they live upon,
and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy."
It is remarkable that some of the species, but not all, both of the
Cuckoo and Molothrus, should agree in this one strange habit of
their parasitical propagation, whilst opposed to each other in almost
* Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. p. 217.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 6l

every other habit: the molothrus, like our starling, is eminently
sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise: the
cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents
the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars. In
structure also these two genera are widely removed from each other.
Many theories, even phrenological theories, have been advanced to
explain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs in other birds' nests.
M. Prevost alone, I think, has thrown light by his observations 9 on
this puzzle: he finds that the female cuckoo, which, according to
most observers, lays at least from four to six eggs, must pair with
the male each time after laying only one or two eggs. Now, if the
cuckoo was obliged to sit on her own eggs, she would either have
to sit on all together, and therefore leave those first laid so long, that
they probably would become addled; or she would have to hatch
separately each egg, or two eggs, as soon as laid: but as the cuckoo
stays a shorter time in this country than any other migratory bird,
she certainly would not have time enough for the successive hatch-
ings. Hence we can perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several
times, and laying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing
her eggs in other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of foster-
parents. I am strongly inclined to believe that this view is correct,
from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter see) to
an analogous conclusion with regard to the South American ostrich,
the females of which are parasitical, if I may so express it, on each
other; each female laying several eggs in the nests of several other
females, and the male ostrich undertaking all the cares of incubation,
like the strange foster-parents with the cuckoo.

I will mention only two other birds, which are very common, and
render themselves prominent from their habits. The Saurophagus
sulphuratus is typical of the great American tribe of tyrant-flycatch-
ers. In its structure it closely approaches the true shrikes, but in its
habits may be compared to many birds. I have frequently observed
it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot like a hawk, and then
proceeding on to another. When seen thus suspended in the air, it
might very readily at a short distance be mistaken for one of the
Rapacious order; its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and
rapidity to that of a hawk. At other times the Saurophagus haunts
9 Read before the Academy of Sciences in Paris. L'Institut, 1834, p. 418.

62 CHARLES DARWIN

the neighbourhood of water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining
stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the margin.
These birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages or in court-
yards, with their wings cut. They soon become tame, and are very
amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described
to me as being similar to those of the common magpie. Their flight
is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appears too great
for the body. In the evening the Saurophagus takes its stand on a
bush, often by the roadside, and continually repeats without a change
a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articu-
late words: the Spaniards say it is like the words "Bien te veo"
(I see you well), and accordingly have given it this name.

A mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants
Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to
that of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the only
bird in South America which I have observed to take its stand for
the purpose of singing. The song may be compared to that of the
Sedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some
very high ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. It is heard
only during the spring. At other times its cry is harsh and far from
harmonious. Near Maldonado these birds were tame and bold;
they constantly attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the
meat which was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small
bird joined the feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the
wide uninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied species,
O. Patagonica of d'Orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed
with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone
of voice. It appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the
fine shades of difference in habits, that judging from this latter
respect alone, when I first saw this second species, I thought it was
different from the Maldonado kind. Having afterwards procured a
specimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they
appeared so very similar, that I changed my opinion; but now Mr.
Gould says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in con-
formity with the trifling difference of habit, of which, of course, he
was not aware.

The number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-feed-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 63

ing hawks of South America make them pre-eminently striking to
any one accustomed only to the birds of Northern Europe. In this
list may be included four species of the Caracara or Polyborus, the
Turkey buzzard, the Gallinazo, and the Condor. The Caracaras
are, from their structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon
see how ill they become so high a rank. In their habits they well
supply the place of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe
of birds widely distributed over the rest of the world, but entirely
absent in South America. To begin with the Polyborus Brasiliensis :
this is a common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is
most numerous on the grassy savannahs of La Plata (where it goes
by the name of Carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout
the sterile plains of Patagonia. In the desert between the rivers
Negro and Colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road to
devour the carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish
from fatigue and thirst. Although thus common in these dry and
open countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the Pacific, it is
nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of West
Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The Carranchas, together with
the Chimango, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and
slaughtering-houses. If an animal dies on the plain the Gallinazo
commences the feast, and then the two species of Polyborus pick
the bones clean. These birds, although thus commonly feeding
together, are far from being friends. When the Carrancha is quietly
seated on the branch of a tree or on the ground, the Chimango often
continues for a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and
down, in a semicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the curve
to strike its larger relative. The Carrancha takes little notice, except
by bobbing its head. Although the Carranchas frequently assemble
in numbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may
be seen solitary, or more commonly by pairs.

The Carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great num-
bers of eggs. They attempt, also, together with the Chimango, to
pick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. The
poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back
arched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing at the distance
of a yard the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has been

64 CHARLES DARWIN

described by Captain Head with his own peculiar spirit and ac-
curacy. These false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or animal;
and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very evident to any
one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of Patagonia, for
when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding hillock, one of
these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye: it is a feature
in the landscape of these countries, which will be recognised by
every one who has wandered over them. If a party of men go out
hunting with dogs and horses, they will be accompanied, during
the day, by several of these attendants. After feeding, the uncovered
craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed generally, the Carrancha
is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. Its flight is heavy and slow,
like that of an English rook. It seldom soars; but I have twice seen
one at a great height gliding through the air with much ease. It
runs (in contradistinction to hopping), but not quite so quickly as
some of its congeners. At times the Carrancha is noisy, but is not
generally so: its cry is loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be
likened to the sound of the Spanish guttural g, followed by a rough
double r r; when uttering this cry it elevates its head higher and
higher, till at last, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches
the lower part of the back. This fact, which has been doubted, is
quite true; I have seen them several times with their heads back-
wards in a completely inverted position. To these observations I
may add, on the high authority of Azara, that the Carrancha feeds
on worms, shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys
young lambs by tearing the umbilical cord; and that it pursues the
Gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion it may
have recently gorged. Lastly, Azara states that several Carranchas,
five or six together, will unite in chase of large birds, even such as
herons. All these facts show that it is a bird of very versatile habits
and considerable ingenuity.

The Polyborus Chimango is considerably smaller than the last
species. It is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; and I was
assured that it materially injures the potato crops in Chiloe, by
stocking up the roots when first planted. Of all the carrion-feeders
it is generally the last which leaves the skeleton of a dead animal,
and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 65

in a cage. Another species is the Polyborus Novae Zelandiae, which
is exceedingly common in the Falkland Islands. These birds in many
respects resemble in their habits the Carranchas. They live on the
flesh of dead animals and on marine productions; and on the
Ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must depend on the sea.
They are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and haunt the neighbor-
hood of houses for offal. If a hunting party kills an animal, a num-
ber soon collect and patiently await, standing on the ground on all
sides. After eating, their uncovered craws are largely protruded,
giving them a disgusting appearance. They readily attack wounded
birds: a cormorant in this state having taken to the shore, was im-
mediately seized on by several, and its death hastened by their blows.
The Beagle was at the Falklands only during the summer, but the
officers of the Adventure, who were there in the winter, mention
many extraordinary instances of the boldness and rapacity of these
birds. They actually pounced on a dog that was lying fast asleep
close by one of the party; and the sportsmen had difficulty in pre-
venting the wounded geese from being seized before their eyes. It
is said that several together (in this respect resembling the Car-
ranchas) wait at the mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on
the animal when it comes out. They were constantly flying on board
the vessel when in the harbour; and it was necessary to keep a good
look out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the
meat or game from the stern. These birds are very mischievous and
inquisitive; they will pick up almost anything from the ground; a
large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of
the heavy balls used in catching cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced
during the survey a more severe loss, in their stealing a small Kater's
compass in a red morocco leather case, which was never recovered.
These birds are, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing
up the grass with their bills from rage. They are not truly grega-
rious; they do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy; on the
ground they run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. They
are noisy, uttering several harsh cries, one of which is like that of
the English rook; hence the sealers always call them rooks. It is a
curious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their heads
upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the Carrancha.

66 CHARLES DARWIN

They build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but only on the
small adjoining islets, and not on the two main islands: this is a
singular precaution in so tame and fearless a bird. The sealers say
that the flesh of these birds, when cooked, is quite white, and
very good eating; but bold must the man be who attempts such
a meal.

We have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (Vultur aura),
and the Gallinazo. The former is found wherever the country is
moderately damp, from Cape Horn to North America. Differently
from the Polyborus Brasiliensis and Chimango, it has found its way
to the Falkland Islands. The turkey-buzzard is a solitary bird, or
at most goes in pairs. It may at once be recognized from a long
distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. It is well
known to be a true carrion-feeder. On the west coast of Patagonia,
among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it lives exclusively
on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses of dead seals. Wher-
ever these animals are congregated on the rocks, there the vultures
may be seen. The Gallinazo (Cathartes atratus) has a different range
from the last species, as it never occurs southward of lat. 41 °. Azara
states that there exists a tradition that these birds, at the time of the
conquest were not found near Monte Video, but that they subse-
quently followed the inhabitants from more northern districts. At
the present day they are numerous in the valley of the Colorado,
which is three hundred miles due south of Monte Video. It seems
probable that this additional migration has happened since the time
of Azara. The Gallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or
rather the neighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely
abundant in Brazil and La Plata, while it is never found on the
desert and arid plains of Northern Patagonia, excepting near some
stream. These birds frequent the whole Pampas to the foot of the
Cordillera, but I never saw or heard of one in Chile; in Peru they
are preserved as scavengers. These vultures certainly may be called
gregarious, for they seem to have pleasure in society, and are not
solely brought together by the attraction of a common prey. On a
fine day a flock may often be observed at a great height, each bird
wheeling round and round without closing its wings, in the most
graceful evolutions. This is clearly performed for the mere pleasure

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 6y

of the exercise, or perhaps is connected with their matrimonial
alliances.

I have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the con-
dor, an account of which will be more appropriately introduced
when we visit a country more congenial to its habits than the plains
of La Plata.

In a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the Laguna del
Potrero from the shores of the Plata, at the distance of a few miles
from Maldonado, I found a group of those vitrified, siliceous tubes,
which are formed by lightning entering loose sand. These tubes
resemble in every particular those from Drigg in Cumberland, de-
scribed in the Geological Transactions. 10 The sand-hillocks of
Maldonado, not being protected by vegetation, are constantly chang-
ing their position. From this cause the tubes projected above the
surface, and numerous fragments lying near, showed that they had
formerly been buried to a greater depth. Four sets entered the sand
perpendicularly: by working with my hands I traced one of them
two feet deep; and some fragments which evidently had belonged
to the same tube, when added to the other part, measured five feet
three inches. The diameter of the whole tube was nearly equal, and
therefore we must suppose that originally it extended to a much
greater depth. These dimensions are however small, compared to
those of the tubes from Drigg, one of which was traced to a depth
of not less than thirty feet.

The internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth.
A small fragment examined under the microscope appeared, from
the number of minute entangled air or perhaps steam bubbles, like
an assay fused before the blowpipe. The sand is entirely, or in
greater part, siliceous; but some points are of a black colour, and
from their glossy surface possess a metallic lustre. The thickness of
the wall of the tube varies from a thirtieth to a twentieth of an inch,
and occasionally even equals a tenth. On the outside the grains of
sand are rounded, and have a slightly glazed appearance: I could

I0 Geolog. Transact., vol. ii. p. 528. In the Philosoph. Transact. (1790, p. 294)
Dr. Priestley has described some imperfect siliceous tubes and a melted pebble of
quartz, found in digging into the ground, under a tree, where a man had been
killed by lightning.

68 CHARLES DARWIN

not distinguish any signs of crystallization. In a similar manner to
that described in the Geological Transactions, the tubes are gen-
erally compressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows, so as closely
to resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark of the elm or
cork tree. Their circumference is about two inches, but in some
fragments, which are cylindrical and without any furrows, it is as
much as four inches. The compression from the surrounding loose
sand, acting while the tube was still softened from the effects of the
intense heat, has evidently caused the creases or furrows. Judging
from the uncompressed fragments, the measure or bore of the light-
ning (if such a term may be used) must have been about one inch
and a quarter. At Paris, M. Hachette and M. Beudant" succeeded
in making tubes, in most respects similar to these fulgurites, by
passing very strong shocks of galvanism through finely-powdered
glass: when salt was added, so as to increase its fusibility, the tubes
were larger in every dimension. They failed both with powdered
felspar and quartz. One tube, formed with pounded glass, was very
nearly an inch long, namely .982, and had an internal diameter of
.019 of an inch. When we hear that the strongest battery in Paris
was used, and that its power on a substance of such easy fusibility
as glass was to form tubes so diminutive, we must feel greatly
astonished at the force of a shock of lightning, which, striking the
sand in several places, has formed cylinders, in one instance of at
least thirty feet long, and having an internal bore, where not com-
pressed, of full an inch and a half; and this in a material so extraor-
dinarily refractory as quartz!

The tubes, as I have already remarked, enter the sand nearly in a
vertical direction. One, however, which was less regular than the
others, deviated from a right line, at the most considerable bend, to
the amount of thirty-three degrees. From this same tube, two small
branches, about a foot apart, were sent off; one pointed downwards,
and the other upwards. This latter case is remarkable, as the elec-
tric fluid must have turned back at the acute angle of 26 , to the
line of its main course. Besides the four tubes which I found vertical,
and traced beneath the surface, there were several other groups of
fragments, the original sites of which without doubt were near. All

11 Annals de Chimie et de Physique, torn, xxxvii. p. 319.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 69

occurred in a level area of shifting sand, sixty yards by twenty,
situated among some high sand-hillocks, and at the distance of
about half a mile from a chain of hills four or five hundred feet in
height. The most remarkable circumstance, as it appears to me, in
this case as well as in that of Drigg, and in one described by M.
Ribbentrop in Germany, is the number of tubes found within such
limited spaces. At Drigg, within an area of fifteen yards, three were
observed, and the same number occurred in Germany. In the case
which I have described, certainly more than four existed within the
space of the sixty by twenty yards. As it does not appear probable
that the tubes are produced by successive distinct shocks, we must
believe that the lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides
itself into separate branches.

The neighbourhood of the Rio Plata seems peculiarly subject to
electric phenomena. In the year 1793, 12 one of the most destructive
thunderstorms perhaps on record happened at Buenos Ayres: thirty-
seven places within the city were struck by lightning, and nineteen
people killed. From facts stated in several books of travels, I am
inclined to suspect that thunderstorms are very common near the
mouths of great rivers. Is it not possible that the mixture of large
bodies of fresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium ?
Even during our occasional visits to this part of South America, we
heard of a ship, two churches, and a house having been struck. Both
the church and the house I saw shortly afterwards: the house be-
longed to Mr. Hood, the consul-general at Monte Video. Some of
the effects were curious: the paper, for nearly a foot on each side of
the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. The metal
had been fused, and although the room was about fifteen feet high,
the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in
them a chain of minute holes. A part of the wall was shattered, as
if by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force
sufficient to dent the wall on the opposite side of the room. The
frame of a looking-glass was blackened, and the gilding must have
been volatilized, for a smelling-bottle, which stood on the chimney-
piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which adhered as
firmly as if they had been enamelled.

12 Azara's Voyage, vol. i. p. 36.

CHAPTER IV

Rio Negro to Bahia Blanca

Rio Negro — Estancias attacked by the Indians — Salt-Lakes — Flamingoes
— R. Negro to R. Colorado — Sacred Tree — Patagonian Hare — Indian
Families — General Rosas — Proceed to Bahia Blanca — Sand Dunes —
Negro Lieutenant — Bahia Blanca — Saline Incrustations — Punta Alta
— Zorillo.

7ULY 24th, 1833. — The Beagle sailed from Maldonado, and on
August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro.
This is the principal river on the whole line of coast between
the Strait of Magellan and the Plata. It enters the sea about three
hundred miles south of the estuary of the Plata. About fifty years
ago, under the old Spanish government, a small colony was estab-
lished here; and it is still the most southern position (lat. 41 °) on
this eastern coast of America inhabited by civilized man.

The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the ex-
treme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs com-
mences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of the
country. The strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable
from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice
pebbles, which must have travelled more than four hundred miles,
from the Andes. The surface is everywhere covered up by a thick
bed of gravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain.
Water is extremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably
brackish. The vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes
of many kinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem
to warn the stranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions.

The settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. The road
follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern bound-
ary of the great valley, in which the Rio Negro flows. On the way
we passed the ruins of some fine "estancias," which a few years
since had been destroyed by the Indians. They withstood several
attacks. A man present at one gave me a very lively description of

70

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 71

what took place. The inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all
the cattle and horses into the "corral" x which surrounded the house,
and likewise to mount some small cannon. The Indians were
Araucanians from the south of Chile; several hundreds in number,
and highly disciplined. They first appeared in two bodies on a
neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and taken off their
fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. The only weapon
of an Indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented with
ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spearhead. My informer
seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering of these
chuzos as they approached near. When close, the cacique Pincheira
hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would cut all their
throats. As this would probably have been the result of their en-
trance under any circumstances, the answer was given by a volley
of musketry. The Indians, with great steadiness, came to the very
fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the posts
fastened together by iron nails instead of leather thongs, and, of
course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives. This saved
the lives of the Christians: many of the wounded Indians were car-
ried away by their companions, and at last, one of the under caciques
being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. They retired to their
horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. This was an awful
pause for the Spaniards, as all their ammunition, with the exception
of a few cartridges, was expended. In an instant the Indians mounted
their horses, and galloped out of sight. Another attack was still more
quickly repulsed. A cool Frenchman managed the gun; he stopped
till the Indians approached close, and then raked their line with
grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground; and, of
course, such a blow immediately routed the whole party.

The town is indifferently called El Carmen or Patagones. It is
built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of the
houses are excavated even in the sandstone. The river is about two
or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. The many
islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one
behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green valley,

'The corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. Every estancia, or
farming estate, has one attached to it.

72 CHARLES DARWIN

form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. The
number of inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. These
Spanish colonies do not, like our British ones, carry within them-
selves the elements of growth. Many Indians of pure blood reside
here: the tribe of the Cacique Lucanee constantly have their Toldos 2
on the outskirts of the town. The local government partly supplies
them with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses,
and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of
riding-gear. These Indians are considered civilized; but what their
character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost
counterbalanced by their entire immorality. Some of the younger
men are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a
short time since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very
well. They were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being
dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. The taste
they showed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned
one of these young Indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery
would have been perfectly graceful.

One day I rode to a large salt-lake, or Salina, which is distant
fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a
shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of
snow-white salt. The layer near the margin is from four to five
inches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. This lake
was two and a half miles long, and one broad. Others occur in the
neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two and
three feet in thickness, even when under water during the winter.
One of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the midst of
the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary spectacle. A
large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the salina: and great
piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying ready for exportation.
The season for working the salinas forms the harvest of Patagones;
for on it the prosperity of the place depends. Nearly the whole
population encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are
employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons. This salt is
crystallized in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: Mr. Trenham
Reeks has kindly analyzed some for me, and he finds in it only 0.26
2 The hovels of the Indians are thus called.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 73

of gypsum and 0.22 of earthy matter. It is a singular fact, that it
does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the Cape
de Verd islands; and a merchant at Buenos Ayres told me that he
considered it as fifty per cent, less valuable. Hence the Cape de
Verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these
salinas. The purity of the Patagonian salt, or absence from it of
those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only assign-
able cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, I think,
would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact lately
ascertained, 3 that those salts answer best for preserving cheese which
contain most of the deliquescent chlorides.

The border of this lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous
large crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie
embedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie
scattered about. The Gauchos call the former the "Padre del sal,"
and the latter the "Madre;" they state that these progenitive salts
always occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins
to evaporate. The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not
at first imagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that the
froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if by
confervas; I attempted to carry home some of this green matter, but
from an accident failed. Parts of the lake seen from a short distance
appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing to some
infusorial animalcula. The mud in many places was thrown up by
numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. How sur-
prising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in brine, and
that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda and
lime! And what becomes of these worms when, during the long
summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt? Flamin-
goes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed here;
throughout Patagonia, in Northern Chile, and at the Galapagos
Islands, I met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine.
I saw them here wading about in search of food — probably for the
worms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on
infusoria or confervae. Thus we have a little living world within
itself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. A minute crustaceous
'Report of the Agricult. Chem. Assoc, in the Agricult. Gazette, 1845, p. 93.

74 CHARLES DARWIN

animal (Cancer salinus) is said 4 to live in countless numbers in the
brine-pans at Lymington: but only in those in which the fluid has
attained, from evaporation, considerable strength — namely, about a
quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of water. Well may we affirm
that every part of the world is habitable! Whether lakes of brine,
or those subterranean ones hidden beneath volcanic mountains —
warm mineral springs — the wide expanse and depths of the ocean
— the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even the surface of
perpetual snow — all support organic beings.

To the northward of the Rio Negro, between it and the inhabited
country near Buenos Ayres, the Spaniards have only one small
settlement, recendy established at Bahia Blanca. The distance in a
straight line to Buenos Ayres is very nearly five hundred British
miles. The wandering tribes of horse Indians, which have always
occupied the greater part of this country, having of late much
harassed the outlying estancias, the government at Buenos Ayres
equipped some time since an army under the command of General
Rosas for the purpose of exterminating them. The troops were now
encamped on the banks of the Colorado; a river lying about eighty
miles northward of the Rio Negro. When General Rosas left Buenos
Ayres he struck in a direct line across the unexplored plains : and as
the country was thus pretty well cleared of Indians, he left behind
him, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of horses
(a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication with the
capital. As the Beagle intended to call at Bahia Blanca, I determined
to proceed there by land; and ultimately I extended my plan to
travel the whole way by the postas to Buenos Ayres.

4 Linnaean Trans., vol. xi. p. 205. It is remarkable how all the circumstances
connected with the salt-lakes in Siberia and Patagonia are similar. Siberia, like
Patagonia, appears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea. In
both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the plains; in both the
mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath the crust of common salt, sulphate
of soda or of magnesia occurs, imperfectly crystallized; and in both, the muddy
sand is mixed with lentils of gypsum. The Siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small
crustaceous animals; and flamingoes (Edin. New Philos. Jour., Jan. 1830) likewise
frequent them. As these circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant
continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of common causes. —
See Pallas's Travels, 1793 to 1794, pp. 129-134.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 75

August nth. — Mr. Harris, an Englishman residing at Patagones,
a guide, and five Gauchos who were proceeding to the army on
business, were my companions on the journey. The Colorado, as I
have already said, is nearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled
slowly, we were two days and a half on the road. The whole line
of country deserves scarcely a better name than that of a desert.
Water is found only in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even
at this time of the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brack-
ish. In the summer this must be a distressing passage; for now it
was sufficiently desolate. The valley of the Rio Negro, broad as it is,
has merely been excavated out of the sandstone plain; for immedi-
ately above the bank on which the town stands, a level country com-
mences, which is interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and
depressions. Everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect ;
a dry gravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and low
scattered bushes, armed with thorns.

Shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous
tree, which the Indians reverence as the altar of Walleechu. It is
situated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark visible
at a great distance. As soon as a tribe of Indians come in sight of it,
they offer their adorations by loud shouts. The tree itself is low,
much branched, and thorny: just above the root it has a diameter
of about three feet. It stands by itself without any neighbour, and
was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met with a few
others of the same kind, but they were far from common. Being
winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless threads,
by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces
of cloth, etc., had been suspended. Poor Indians, not having any-
thing better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and fasten it
to the tree. Richer Indians are accustomed to pour spirits and mate
into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke upwards, thinking thus
to afford all possible gratification to Walleechu. To complete the
scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached bones of horses which
had been slaughtered as sacrifices. All Indians of every age and sex
make their offerings; they then think that their horses will not tire,
and that they themselves shall be prosperous. The Gaucho who told

j6 CHARLES DARWIN

me this, said that in the time of peace he had witnessed this scene,
and that he and others used to wait till the Indians had passed by,
for the sake of stealing from Walleechu the offerings.

The Gauchos think that the Indians consider the tree as the god
itself, but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the
altar. The only cause which I can imagine for this choice, is its
being a landmark in a dangerous passage. The Sierra de la Ventana
is visible at an immense distance; and a Gaucho told me that he
was once riding with an Indian a few miles to the north of the Rio
Colorado, when the Indian commenced making the same loud
noise, which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree; putting
his hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the
Sierra. Upon being asked the reason of this, the Indian said in
broken Spanish, "First see the Sierra." About two leagues beyond
this curious tree we halted for the night : at this instant an unfortu-
nate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed Gauchos, who set off in full
chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and
slaughtered her. We here had the four necessaries of life "en el
campo," — pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle),
meat and firewood. The Gauchos were in high spirits at finding all
these luxuries; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. This was
the first night which I passed under the open sky, with the gear of
the recado for my bed. There is high enjoyment in the independence
of the Gaucho life — to be able at any moment to pull up your horse,
and say, "Here we will pass the night." The death-like stillness of
the plain, the dogs keeping watch, the gipsy-group of Gauchos
making their beds round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-
marked picture of this first night, which will never be forgotten.

The next day the country continued similar to that above described.
It is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. Occasionally a
deer, or a Guanaco (wild Llama) may be seen; but the Agouti
(Cavia Patagonica) is the commonest quadruped. This animal here
represents our hares. It differs, however, from that genus in many
essential respects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. It is
also nearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five
pounds. The Agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common
feature of the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 77

after the other in a straight line across these wild plains. They are
found as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 37 30'), where the
plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and their
southern limit is between Port Desire and St. Julian, where there is
no change in the nature of the country. It is a singular fact, that
although the Agouti is not now found as far south as Port St.
Julian, yet that Captain Wood, in his voyage in 1670, talks of them
as being numerous there. What cause can have altered, in a wide,
uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the range of an animal like
this? It appears also, from the number shot by Captain Wood in
one day at Port Desire, that they must have been considerably more
abundant there formerly than at present. Where the Bizcacha lives
and makes its burrows, the Agouti uses them; but where, as at
Bahia Blanca, the Bizcacha is not found, the Agouti burrows for
itself. The same thing occurs with the little owl of the Pampas
(Athene cunicularia), which has so often been described as stand-
ing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in Banda
Oriental, owing to the absence of the Bizcacha, it is obliged to
hollow out its own habitation.

The next morning, as we approached the Rio Colorado, the appear-
ance of the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with
turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled
the Pampas. We passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent,
which in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts;
and hence is called a salitral. It was covered by low succulent plants,
of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. The Colo-
rado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty yards wide;
generally it must be nearly double that width. Its course is very
tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of reeds: in a
direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine
leagues, but by water twenty-five. We were delayed crossing in the
canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming
the river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior.
A more ludicrous spectacle I never beheld than the hundreds and
hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears and
distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the water like a
great shoal of some amphibious animal. Mare's flesh is the only

78 CHARLES DARWIN

food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. This gives
them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which horses
can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: I have been
assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day
for many days successively.

The encampment of General Rosas was close to the river. It
consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts, etc.
The soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and I should think such a
villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected together.
The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between Negro,
Indian, and Spaniard. I know not the reason, but men of such
origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. I called on
the Secretary to show my passport. He began to cross-question me
in the most dignified and mysterious manner. By good luck I had a
letter of recommendation from the government of Buenos Ayres 5
to the commandant of Patagones. This was taken to General Rosas,
who sent me a very obliging message; and the Secretary returned
all smiles and graciousness. We took up our residence in the rancho,
or hovel, of a curious old Spaniard, who had served with Napoleon
in the expedition against Russia.

We stayed two days at the Colorado; I had little to do, for the
surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (December),
when the snow melts on the Cordillera, is overflowed by the river.
My chief amusement was watching the Indian families as they
came to buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. It was
supposed that General Rosas had about six hundred Indian allies.
The men were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in
the Fuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold,
want of food, and less civilization. Some authors, in defining the
primary races of mankind, have separated these Indians into two
classes; but this is certainly incorrect. Among the young women or
chinas, some deserve to be called even beautiful. Their hair was
coarse, but bright and black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging
down to the waist. They had a high colour, and eyes that glistened
with brilliancy; their legs, feet, and arms were small and elegantly

5 I am bound to express, in the strongest terms, my obligation to the government
of Buenos Ayres for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the
country were given me, as naturalist of the Beagle.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 79

formed; their ankles, and sometimes their wrists, were ornamented
by broad bracelets of blue beads. Nothing could be more interesting
than some of the family groups. A mother with one or two daughters
would often come to our rancho, mounted on the same horse. They
ride like men, but with their knees tucked up much higher. This
habit, perhaps, arises from their being accustomed, when travelling, to
ride the loaded horses. The duty of the women is to load and unload
the horses; to make the tents for the night; in short to be, like the
wives of all savages, useful slaves. The men fight, hunt, take care of
the horses, and make the riding gear. One of their chief indoor
occupations is to knock two stones together till they become round,
in order to make the bolas. With this important weapon the Indian
catches his game, and also his horse, which roams free over the plain.
In fighting, his first attempt is to throw down the horse of his
adversary with the bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill
him with the chuzo. If the balls only catch the neck or body of an
animal, they are often carried away and lost. As the making the
stones round is the labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls
is a very common employment. Several of the men and women
had their faces painted red, but I never saw the horizontal bands
which are so common among the Fuegians. Their chief pride con-
sists in having everything made of silver; I have seen a cacique with
his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this
metal: the head-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than
whipcord; and to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the com-
mand of so light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable
character of elegance.

General Rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which
I was afterwards very glad of. He is a man of an extraordinary
character, and has a most predominant influence in the country,
which it seems he will use to its prosperity and advancement. 6 He
is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to
have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. His estates are
admirably managed, and are far more productive of corn than those
of others. He first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own
estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men, so as to resist
6 This prophecy has turned out entirely and miserably wrong. 1845.

80 CHARLES DARWIN

with success the attacks of the Indians. There are many stories
current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced.
One of these was, that no man, on penalty of being put into the
stocks, should carry his knife on a Sunday: this being the principal
day for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from
the general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal.
One Sunday the Governor came in great form to pay the estancia
a visit, and General Rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him
with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. The steward touched his
arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which, turning to the
Governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into
the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in his
own house. After a little time the steward was persuaded to open
the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done, than he
turned to the steward and said, "You now have broken the laws,
so you must take my place in the stocks." Such actions as these
delighted the Gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own
equality and dignity.

General Rosas is also a perfect horseman — an accomplishment of
no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected
its general by the following trial : A troop of unbroken horses being
driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which
was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar
on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able,
without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back
to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who
succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general
for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed
by Rosas.

By these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the
Gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country,
and in consequence a despotic power. I was assured by an English
merchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and
questioned concerning his motive, answered, "He spoke disrespect-
fully of General Rosas, so I killed him." At the end of a week the
murderer was at liberty. This doubtless was the act of the general's
party, and not of the general himself.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 8 1

In conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His
gravity is carried to a high pitch: I heard one of his mad buffoons
(for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anec-
dote. "I wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so I
went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me,
'Go about your business, for I am engaged.' I went a second time;
he said, 'If you come again I will punish you.' A third time I asked,
and he laughed. I rushed out of the tent, but it was too late; he
ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. I begged by all the
saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not do; — when
the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound." The
poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recollection
of the staking. This is a very severe punishment; four posts are
driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and
legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours. The
idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying hides. My
interview passed away, without a smile, and I obtained a passport
and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave me in
the most obliging and ready manner.

In the morning we started for Bahia Blanca, which we reached
in two days. Leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the
toldos of the Indians. These are round like ovens, and covered with
hides; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the
ground. The toldos were divided into separate groups, which belong
to the different caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided
into smaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. For
several miles we travelled along the valley of the Colorado. The
alluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that
they are well adapted to the growth of corn. Turning northward
from the river, we soon entered on a country, differing from the
plains south of the river. The land still continued dry and sterile:
but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass,
though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny
bushes were less so. These latter in a short space entirely disappeared,
and the plains were left without a thicket to cover their nakedness.
This change in the vegetation marks the commencement of the
grand calcareo argillaceous deposit, which forms the wide extent of

82 CHARLES DARWIN

the Pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of Banda Oriental. From
the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado, a distance of about eight
hundred miles, the face of the country is everywhere composed of
shingle: the pebbles are chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their
origin to the rocks of the Cordillera. North of the Colorado this bed
thins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the
characteristic vegetation of Patagonia ceases.

Having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt
of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the
east and west. The sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small
pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an
invaluable supply of fresh water. The great advantage arising from
depressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home to
the mind. The two miserable springs in the long passage between
the Rio Negro and Colorado were caused by trifling inequalities
in the plain; without them not a drop of water would have been
found. The belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some
former period, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary,
where the Colorado now flows. In this district, where absolute proofs
of the recent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can
hardly be neglected by any one, although merely considering the
physical geography of the country. Having crossed the sandy tract,
we arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh
horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night
there.

The house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and
two hundred feet high — a most remarkable feature in this country.
This posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant, born in Africa:
to his credit be it said, there was not a ranche between the Colorado
and Buenos Ayres in nearly such neat order as his. He had a little
room for strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of
sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a
defence in case of being attacked. This would, however, have been
of little avail, if the Indians had come; but his chief comfort seemed
to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. A short time before,
a body of Indians had travelled past in the night; if they had been
aware of the posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 83

assuredly have been slaughtered. I did not anywhere meet a more
civil and obliging man than this negro; it was therefore the more
painful to see that he would not sit down and eat with us.

In the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for
another exhilarating gallop. We passed the Cabeza del Buey, an old
name given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from Bahia
Blanca. Here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues
of swamps and saline marshes. Changing horses for the last time,
we again began wading through the mud. My animal fell and I
was well soused in black mire — a very disagreeable accident when
one does not possess a change of clothes. Some miles from the fort
we met a man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is
a signal that Indians are near. We immediately left the road, and
followed the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best
mode of escape. We were glad to arrive within the walls, when we
found all the alarm was about nothing, for the Indians turned out
to be friendly ones, who wished to join General Rosas.

Bahia Blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. A few
houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch
and fortified wall. The settlement is only of recent standing (since
1828); and its growth has been one of trouble. The government of
Buenos Ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following
the wise example of the Spanish Viceroys, who purchased the land
near the older settlement of the Rio Negro, from the Indians. Hence
the need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little culti-
vated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle are not
safe from the attacks of the Indians beyond the boundaries of the
plain, on which the fortress stands.

The part of the harbour where the Beagle intended to anchor
being distant twenty-five miles, I obtained from the Commandant
a guide and horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived.
Leaving the plain of green turf, which extended along the course
of a little brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting
either of sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. Some parts were clothed
by low thickets, and others with those succulent plants, which lux-
uriate only where salt abounds. Bad as the country was, ostriches,
deer, agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. My guide told me,

84 CHARLES DARWIN

that two months before he had a most narrow escape of his life:
he was out hunting with two other men, at no great distance from
this part of the country, when they were suddenly met by a party
of Indians, who giving chase, soon overtook and killed his two
friends. His own horse's legs were also caught by the bolas; but he
jumped off, and with his knife cut them free: while doing this he
was obliged to dodge round his horse, and received two severe
wounds from their chuzos. Springing on the saddle, he managed, by
a most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of
his pursuers, who followed him to within sight of the fort. From
that time there was an order that no one should stray far from the
settlement. I did not know of this when I started, and was sur-
prised to observe how earnestly my guide watched a deer, which
appeared to have been frightened from a distant quarter.

We found the Beagle had not arrived, and consequently set out
on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac
on the plain. In the morning we had caught an armadillo, which,
although a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not
make a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men.
The ground at the place where we stopped for the night, was
incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course, was
without water. Yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist
even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath
my head, during half the night. Our horses were very poor ones,
and in the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had
anything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. About noon
the dogs killed a kid, which we roasted. I ate some of it, but it made
me intolerably thirsty. This was the more distressing as the road,
from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water, yet
not a drop was drinkable. I had scarcely been twenty hours without
water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the thirst
rendered me very weak. How people survive two or three days
under such circumstances, I cannot imagine: at the same time, I
must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was astonished
that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to me.

I have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being
incrusted with salt. This phenomenon is quite different from that

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 85

of the salinas, and more extraordinary. In many parts of South
America, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these incrustations
occur; but I have nowhere seen them so abundant as near Bahia
Blanca. The salt here, and in other parts of Patagonia, consists chiefly
of sulphate of soda with some common salt. As long as the ground
remains moist in the salitrales (as the Spaniards improperly call
them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre), nothing is to be seen
but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting
scattered tufts of succulent plants. On returning through one of
these tracts, after a week's hot weather, one is surprised to see square
miles of the plain white, as if from a slight fall of snow, here and
there heaped up by the wind into little drifts. This latter appearance
is chiefly caused by the salts being drawn up, during the slow
evaporation of the moisture, round blades of dead grass, stumps of
wood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being crystallized at
the bottoms of the puddles of water. The salitrales occur either on
level tracts elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea, or on
alluvial land bordering rivers. M. Parchappe 7 found that the saline
incrustation on the plain, at the distance of some miles from the
sea, consisted chiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent,
of common salt; whilst nearer to the coast, the common salt increased
to 37 parts in a hundred. This circumstance would tempt one to
believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the soil, from the
muriate, left on the surface during the slow and recent elevation of
this dry country. The whole phenomenon is well worthy the atten-
tion of naturalists. Have the succulent, salt-loving plants, which are
well known to contain much soda, the power of decomposing the
muriate ? Does the black fetid mud, abounding with organic matter,
yield the sulphur and ultimately the sulphuric acid?

Two days afterwards I again rode to the harbour: when not far
from our destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied
three people hunting on horseback. He immediately dismounted,
and watching them intently, said, "They don't ride like Christians,
and nobody can leave the fort." The three hunters joined company,
and likewise dismounted from their horses. At last one mounted
again and rode over the hill out of sight. My companion said, "We

7 Voyage dans l'Amenque Mend par M. A. d'Orbigny. Part. Hist. torn. i. p. 664.

86 CHARLES DARWIN

must now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and he looked to his
own sword. I asked, "Are they Indians?" — "Quien sabe? (who
knows?) if there are no more than three, it does not signify." It
then struck me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch
the rest of his tribe. I suggested this; but all the answer I could
extort was, "Quien sabe?" His head and eye never for a minute
ceased scanning slowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncommon
coolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did not return
home. I was startled when he answered, "We are returning, but in
a line so as to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the
horses as far as they can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that
there is no danger." I did not feel quite so confident of this, and
wanted to increase our pace. He said, "No, not until they do." When
any little inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight,
continued walking. At last we reached a valley, and turning to the
left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse to
hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and
knees to reconnoitre. He remained in this position for some time,
and at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, "Mugeres!"
(women!). He knew them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the
major's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs. I have described this man's
conduct, because he acted under the full impression that they were
Indians. As soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out,
he gave me a hundred reasons why they could not have been Indians;
but all these were forgotten at the time. We then rode on in peace
and quietness to a low point called Punta Alta, whence we could
see nearly the whole of the great harbour of Bahia Blanca.

The wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mud-
banks, which the inhabitants call Cangrejales, or crabberies, from
the number of small crabs. The mud is so soft that it is impossible
to walk over them, even for the shortest distance. Many of the
banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of
which alone are visible at high water. On one occasion, when in a
boat, we were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly
find our way. Nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the
day was not very clear, and there was much refraction, or as the
sailors expressed it, "things loomed high." The only object within

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 87

our view which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like
bushes unsupported in the air, and water like mud-banks, and mud-
banks like water.

We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in
searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for
monsters of extinct races. The evening was perfectly calm and clear;
the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in the
midst of mud-banks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary vultures.
In riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh track of
a Puma, but did not succeed in finding it. We saw also a couple of
Zorillos, or skunks, — odious animals, which are far from uncommon.
In general appearance, the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is
rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its
power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog
nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly
checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent
sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it,
is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league
distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video,
the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the
Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room
for the Zorillo.

CHAPTER V

Bahia Blanca

Bahia Blanca — Geology — Numerous gigantic Quadrupeds — Recent Ex-
tinction — Longevity of Species — Large Animals do not require a
luxuriant vegetation — Southern Africa — Siberian Fossils — Two Species
of Ostrich — Habits of Oven-bird — Armadilloes — Venomous Snake,
Toad, Lizard — Hybernation of Animals — Habits of Sea-Pen — Indian
Wars and Massacres — Arrow-head, antiquarian Relic.

THE Beagle arrived here on the 24th of August, and a week
afterwards sailed for the Plata. With Captain Fitz Roy's
consent I was left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres.
I will here add some observations, which were made during this
visit and on a previous occasion, when the Beagle was employed in
surveying the harbour.

The plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, belongs
to the great Pampean formation, which consists in part of a reddish
clay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock. Nearer the coast
there are some plains formed from the wreck of the upper plain, and
from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up by the sea during the slow
elevation of the land, of which elevation we have evidence in up-
raised beds of recent shells, and in rounded pebbles of pumice scat-
tered over the country. At Punta Alta we have a section of one of
these later-formed little plains, which is highly interesting from the
number and extraordinary character of the remains of gigantic land-
animals embedded in it. These have been fully described by Pro-
fessor Owen, in the Zoology of the voyage of the Beagle, and are
deposited in the College of Surgeons. I will here give only a brief
outline of their nature.

First, parts of three heads and other bones of the Megatherium, the
huge dimensions of which are expressed by its name. Secondly, the
Megalonyx, a great allied animal. Thirdly, the Scelidotherium,
also an allied animal, of which I obtained a nearly perfect skeleton.
It must have been as large as a rhinoceros: in the structure of its head

88

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 89

it comes, according to Mr. Owen, nearest to the Cape Anteater, but
in some other respects it approaches to the armadilloes. Fourthly,
the Mylodon Darwinii, a closely related genus of little inferior size.
Fifthly, another gigantic edental quadruped. Sixthly, a large ani-
mal, with an osseous coat in compartments, very like that of an ar-
madillo. Seventhly, an extinct kind of horse, to which I shall have
again to refer. Eighthly, a tooth of a Pachydermatous animal,
probably the same with the Macrauchenia, a huge beast with a long
neck like a camel, which I shall also refer to again. Lastly, the
Toxodon, perhaps one of the strangest animals ever discovered: in
size it equalled an elephant or megatherium, but the structure of its
teeth, as Mr. Owen states, proves indisputably that it was intimately
related to the Gnawers, the order which, at the present day, includes
most of the smallest quadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the
Pachydermata: judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nos-
trils, it was probably aquatic, like the Dugong and Manatee, to
which it is also allied. How wonderfully are the different Orders, at
the present time so well separated, blended together in different
points of the structure of the Toxodon!

The remains of these nine great quadrupeds, and many detached
bones, were found embedded on the beach, within the space of about
200 yards square. It is a remarkable circumstance that so many dif-
ferent species should be found together; and it proves how numerous
in kind the ancient inhabitants of this country must have been. At
the distance of about thirty miles from Punta Alta, in a cliff of red
earth, I found several fragments of bones, some of large size. Among
them were the teeth of a gnawer, equalling in size and closely re-
sembling those of the Capybara, whose habits have been described;
and therefore, probably, an aquatic animal. There was also part of
the head of a Ctenomys; the species being different from the Tucu-
tuco, but with a close general resemblance. The red earth, like that of
the Pampas, in which these remains were embedded, contains,
according to Professor Ehrenberg, eight fresh-water and one salt-
water infusorial animalcule; therefore, probably, it was an estuary
deposit.

The remains at Punta Alta were embedded in stratified gravel and
reddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a shallow

90 CHARLES DARWIN

bank. They were associated with twenty-three species of shells, of
which thirteen are recent and four others very closely related te
recent forms. 1 From the bones of the Scelidotherium, including even
the knee-cap, being intombed in their proper relative positions, and
from the osseous armour of the great armadillo-like animal being so
well preserved, together with the bones of one of its legs, we may
feel assured that these remains were fresh and united by their liga-
ments, when deposited in the gravel together with the shells. 2 Hence
we have good evidence that the above enumerated gigantic quad-
rupeds, more different from those of the present day than the oldest
of the tertiary quadrupeds of Europe, lived whilst the sea was peo-
pled with most of its present inhabitants; and we have confirmed
that remarkable law so often insisted on by Mr. Lyell, namely, that
the "longevity of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole
inferior to that of the testacea." 3

The great size of the bones of the Megatheroid animals, including
the Megatherium, Megalonyx, Scelidotherium, and Mylodon, is
truly wonderful. The habits of life of these animals were a complete
puzzle to naturalists, until Professor Owen 4 solved the problem with
remarkable ingenuity. The teeth indicate, by their simple structure,
that these Megatheroid animals lived on vegetable food, and probably
on the leaves and small twigs of trees; their ponderous forms and
great strong curved claws seem so little adapted for locomotion, that
some eminent naturalists have actually believed, that, like the sloths,
to which they are intimately related, they subsisted by climbing
back downwards on trees, and feeding on the leaves. It was a bold,
not to say preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees,
with branches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants.
Professor Owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead of
climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches down to them,

1 Since this was written, M. Alcide d'Orbigny has examined these shells, and
pronounces them all to be recent.

2 M. Aug. Bravard has described, in a Spanish work ('Observaciones Geologicas,'
1857), this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct mammals were
washed out of the underlying Pampean deposit, and subsequently became embedded
with the still existing shells; but I am not convinced by his remarks. M. Bravard
believes that the whole enormous Pampean deposit is a sub-aerial formation, like
sand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable doctrine.

3 Principles of Geology, vol. iv. p. 40.

4 This theory was first developed in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle,
and subsequently in Professor Owen's Memoir on Mylodon robustus.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE OJ

and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the leaves.
The colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters, which can
hardly be imagined without having been seen, become, on this view,
of obvious service, instead of being an incumbrance: their apparent
clumsiness disappears. With their great tails and their huge heels
firmly fixed like a tripod on the ground, they could freely exert the
full force of their most powerful arms and great claws. Strongly
rooted, indeed, must that tree have been, which could have resisted
such force! The Mylodon, moreover, was furnished with a long
extensile tongue like that of the giraffe, which, by one of those beau-
tiful provisions of nature, thus reaches with the aid of its long neck
its leafy food. I may remark, that in Abyssinia the elephant, accord-
ing to Bruce, when it cannot reach with its proboscis the branches,
deeply scores .with its tusks the trunk of the tree, up and down and
all round, till it is sufficiently weakened to be broken down.

The beds including the above fossil remains, stand only from
fifteen to twenty feet above the level of high- water; and hence the
elevation of the land has been small (without there has been an in-
tercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no evidence) since
the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains; and
the external features of the country must then have been very nearly
the same as now. What, it may naturally be asked, was the character
of the vegetation at that period; was the country as wretchedly
sterile as it now is? As so many of the co-embedded shells are the
same with those now living in the bay, I was at first inclined to think
that the former vegetation was probably similar to the existing one;
but this would have been an erroneous inference, for some of these
same shells live on the luxuriant coast of Brazil; and generally, the
character of the inhabitants of the sea are useless as guides to judge
of those on the land. Nevertheless, from the following considera-
tions, I do not believe that the simple fact of many gigantic quad-
rupeds having lived on the plains round Bahia Blanca, is any sure
guide that they formerly were clothed with a luxuriant vegetation:
I have no doubt that the sterile country a little southward, near the
Rio Negro, with its scattered thorny trees, would support many and
large quadrupeds.

That large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a

92 CHARLES DARWIN

general assumption which has passed from one work to another;
but I do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has
vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest
in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has probably been
derived from India, and the Indian islands, where troops of elephants,
noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in
every one's mind. If, however, we refer to any work of travels
through the southern parts of Africa, we shall find allusions in al-
most every page either to the desert character of the country, or to
the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. The same thing is ren-
dered evident by the many engravings which have been published of
various parts of the interior. When the Beagle was at Cape Town,
I made an excursion of some days' length into the country, which
at least was sufficient to render that which I had read more fully
intelligible.

Dr. Andrew Smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has
lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me that,
taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of Africa,
there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. On the southern
and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these
exceptions, the traveller may pass for days together through open
plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. It is difficult to
convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative fertility; but it
may be safely said that the amount of vegetation supported at any
one time 5 by Great Britain, exceeds, perhaps even tenfold, the quan-
tity on an equal area, in the interior parts of Southern Africa. The
fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any direction, excepting near
the coast, without more than occasionally half an hour's delay in
cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more definite notion of the
scantiness of the vegetation. Now, if we look to the animals inhab-
iting these wide plains, we shall find their numbers extraordinarily
great, and their bulk immense. We must enumerate the elephant,
three species of rhinoceros, and probably, according to Dr. Smith, two
others, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the bos caffer — as large as a
full-grown bull, and the elan — but little less, two zebras, and the

S I mean by this to exclude the total amount which may have been successively
produced and consumed during a given period.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 93

quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes even larger than these
latter animals. It may be supposed that although the species are
numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. By the kindness of
Dr. Smith, I am enabled to show that the case is very different. He
informs me, that in lat. 24 , in one day's march with the bullock-
waggons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either
side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses,
which belonged to three species: the same day he saw several herds
of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred; and that al-
though no elephant was observed, yet they are found in this district.
At the distance of a little more than one hour's march from their
place of encampment on the previous night, his party actually killed
at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many more. In this same
river there were likewise crocodiles. Of course, it was a case quite
extraordinary, to see so many great animals crowded together, but
it evidently proves that they must exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith
describes the country passed through that day, as "being thinly
covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more
thinly with mimosa-trees." The waggons were not prevented travel-
ling in a nearly straight line.

Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with the
natural history of the Cape, has read of the herds of antelopes, which
can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The num-
bers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude of
birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadru-
peds : one evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowl-
ing round Dr. Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist remarked
to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed be
terrific! I confess it is truly surprising how such a number of ani-
mals can find support in a country producing so little food. The
larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it;
and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably con-
tains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me
that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed,
than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can be no doubt,
however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of food
necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much exag-

94 CHARLES DARWIN

gerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an animal
of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of the
desert.

The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must
necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the con-
verse is far from true. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when enter-
ing Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of
the South American vegetation contrasted with that of South Africa,
together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In his Travels, 6
he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if
there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest her-
bivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely curious. If
we take on the one side, the elephant, 7 hippopotamus, giraffe, bos
caffer, elan, certainly three, and probably five species of rhinoceros;
and on the American side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the
vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose from the
monkeys to complete the number), and then place these two groups
alongside each other, it is not easy to conceive ranks more dispro-
portionate in size. After the above facts, we are compelled to con-
clude, against anterior probability, 8 that among the mammalia there
exists no close relation between the bul\ of the species, and the
quantity of 'the vegetation, in the countries which they inhabit.

'Travels in the Interior of South Africa, vol. ii. p. 207.

7 The elephant which was killed at Exeter Change was estimated (being partly
weighed) at five tons and a half. The elephant actress, as I was informed, weighed
one ton less; so that we may take five as the average of a full-grown elephant.
I was told at the Surrey Gardens, that a hippopotamus which was sent to England
cut up into pieces was estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it three.
From these premises we may give three tons and a half to each of the five
rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to the bos caffer as well as to
the elan (a large ox weighs 1200 to 1500 pounds). This will give an average
(from the above estimates) of 2.7 of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals
of Southern Africa. In South America, allowing 1200 pounds for the two tapirs
together, 550 for the guanaco and vicuna, 500 for three deer, 300 for the capybara,
peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average of 250 pounds, which I believe is
overstating the result. The ratio will therefore be as 6048 to 250, or 24 to 1, for
the ten largest animals from the two continents.

8 If we suppose the case of the discovery of a skeleton of a Greenland whale in
a fossil state, not a single cetaceous animal being known to exist, what naturalist
would have ventured conjecture on the possibility of a carcass so gigantic being
supported on the minute Crustacea and mollusca living in the frozen seas of the
extreme North?

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 95

With regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly
exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with
Southern Africa. After the different statements which have been
given, the extremely desert character of that region will not be dis-
puted. In the European division of the world, we must look back
to the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of things among the mam-
malia, resembling that now existing at the Cape of Good Hope.
Those tertiary epochs, which we are apt to consider as abounding
to an astonishing degree with large animals, 'because we find the re-
mains of many ages accumulated at certain spots, could hardly boast
of more large quadrupeds than Southern Africa does at present.
If we speculate on the condition of the vegetation during these
epochs, we are at least bound so far to consider existing analogies,
as not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant vegetation, when
we see a state of things so totally different at the Cape of Good Hope.

We know 9 that the extreme regions of North America, many de-
grees beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet
remains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and
tall trees. In a like manner, in Siberia, we have woods of birch, fir,
aspen, and larch, growing in a latitude 10 (64 ) where the mean tem-
perature of the air falls below the freezing point, and where the
earth is so completely frozen, that the carcass of an animal embedded
in it is perfectly preserved. With these facts we must grant, as far as
quantity alone of vegetation is concerned, that the great quadrupeds
of the later tertiary epochs might, in most parts of Northern Europe
and Asia, have lived on the spots where their remains are now found.
I do not here speak of the \irid of vegetation necessary for their sup-
port; because, as there is evidence of physical changes, and as the
animals have become extinct, so may we suppose that the species of
plants have likewise been changed.

9 See Zoological Remarks to Capt. Back's Expedition, by Dr. Richardson. He says,
"The subsoil north of latitude 56° is perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast not
penetrating above three feet, and at Bear Lake, in latitude 64°, not more than
twenty inches. The frozen substratum does not of itself destroy vegetation, for
forests flourish on the surface, at a distance from the coast."

10 See Humboldt, Fragments Asiatiques, p. 386: Barton's Geography of Plants:
and Make Brun. In the latter work it is said that the limit of the growth of trees
in Siberia may be drawn under the parallel of 70 .

96 CHARLES DARWIN

These remarks, I may be permitted to add, directly bear on the
case of the Siberian animals preserved in ice. The firm conviction of
the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical luxu-
riance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of recon-
ciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one
chief cause of the several. theories of sudden revolutions of climate,
and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to account
for their entombment. I am far from supposing that the climate has
not changed since the period when those animals lived, which now
lie buried in the ice. At present I only wish to show, that as far as
quantity of food alone is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might
have roamed over the steppes of central Siberia (the northern parts
probably being under water) even in their present condition, as well
as the living rhinoceroses and elephants over the Karros of Southern
Africa.

I will now give an account of the habits of some of the more in-
teresting birds which are common on the wild plains of Northern
Patagonia; and first for the largest, or South American ostrich. The
ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. They live on
vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at Bahia Blanca I have
repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water to the exten-
sive mud^banks which are then dry, for the sake, as the Gauchos
say, of feeding on small fish. Although the ostrich in its habits is so
shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it is caught
without much difficulty by the Indian or Gaucho armed with the
bolas. When several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes
confounded, and does not know which way to escape. They gen-
erally prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start they ex-
pand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. On one fine hot day
I saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted
concealed, till quite closely approached. It is not generally known
that ostriches readily take to the water. Mr. King informs me that
at the Bay of San Bias, and at Port Valdes in Patagonia, he saw these
birds swimming several times from island to island. They ran into
the water both when driven down to a point, and likewise of their
own accord when not frightened: the distance crossed was about

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 97

two hundred yards. When swimming, very little of their bodies ap-
pear above water; their necks are extended a little forward, and
their progress is slow. On two occasions I saw some ostriches swim-
ming across the Santa Cruz river, where its course was about four
hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. Captain Sturt," when
descending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two emus in the
act of swimming.

The inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a dis-
tance, the cock bird from the hen. The former is larger and darker-
coloured, 12 and has a bigger head. The ostrich, I believe the cock,
emits a singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first I heard it,
standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, I thought it was made
by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence it
comes, or from how far distant. When we were at Bahia Blanca
in the months of September and October, the eggs, in extraordinary
numbers, were found all over the country. They lie either scattered
and single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by
the Spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a shallow
excavation, which forms the nest. Out of the four nests which I
saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-
seven. In one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were
found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining
twenty, scattered huachos. The Gauchos unanimously affirm, and
there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird alone
hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the
young. The cock when on the nest lies very close; I have myself
almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they are occa-
sionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known
to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. My
informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he had seen much
terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell's travels in South
Africa, that he remarks, "Having killed a male ostrich, and the
feathers being dirty, it was said by the Hottentots to be a nest bird."
I understand that the male emu in the Zoological Gardens takes
charge of the nest: this habit, therefore, is common to the family.

11 Sturt's Travels, vol. ii. p. 74.

12 A Gaucho assured me that he had once seen a snow-white or Albino variety,
and that it was a most beautiful bird.

98 CHARLES DARWIN

The Gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one
nest. I have been positively told that four or five hen birds have
been watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the other,
to the same nest. I may add, also, that it is believed in Africa, that
two or more females lay in one nest. 13 Although this habit at first
appears very strange, I think the cause may be explained in a simple
manner. The number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to
forty, and even to fifty; and according to Azara, sometimes to
seventy or eighty. Now, although it is most probable, from the
number of eggs found in one district being so extraordinarily great
in proportion to the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the
ovarium of the hen, that she may in the course of the season lay a
large number, yet the time required must be very long. Azara
states, 14 that a female in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs,
each at the interval of three days one from another. If the hen was
obliged to hatch her own eggs, before the last was laid the first
probably would be addled; but if each laid a few eggs at successive
periods, in different nests, and several hens, as is stated to be the case,
combined together, then the eggs in one collection would be nearly
of the same age. If the number of eggs in one of these nests is, as I
believe, not greater on an average than the number laid by one
female in the season, then there must be as many nests as females,
and each cock bird will have its fair share of the labour of incuba-
tion; and that during a period when the females probably could not
sit, from not having finished laying. 15 I have before mentioned the
great numbers of huachos, or deserted eggs; so that in one day's
hunting twenty were found in this state. It appears odd that so many
should be wasted. Does it not arise from the difficulty of several fe-
males associating together, and finding a male ready to undertake
the office of incubation ? It is evident that there must at first be some
degree of association between at least two females; otherwise the
eggs would remain scattered over the wide plain, at distances far too
great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest: some au-

13 Burchell's Travels, vol. i. p. 280. u Azara, vol. iv. p. 173.

15 Lichtenstein, however, asserts (Travels, vol. ii. p. 25) that the hens begin sitting
when they have laid ten or twelve eggs; and that they continue laying, I presume,
in another nest. This appears to me very improbable. He asserts that four or five
hens associate for incubation with one cock, who sits only at night.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 99

thors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for the
young birds to feed on. This can hardly be the case in America, be-
cause the huachos, although often found addled and putrid, are
generally whole.

When at the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly
heard the Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called
Avestruz Petise. They described it as being less than the common
ostrich (which is there abundant), but with a very close general re-
semblance. They said its colour was dark and motded, and that its
legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the com-
mon ostrich. It is more easily caught by the bolas than the other
species. The few inhabitants who had seen both kinds, affirmed
they could distinguish them apart from a long distance. The eggs
of the small species appeared, however, more generally known; and
it was remarked, with surprise, that they were very little less than
those of the Rhea, but of a slightly different form, and with a tinge
of pale blue. This species occurs most rarely on the plains bordering
the Rio Negro; but about a degree and a half further south they are
tolerably abundant. When at Port Desire, in Patagonia (lat. 48 ),
Mr. Martens shot an ostrich; and I looked at it, forgetting at the
moment, in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the
Petises, and thought it was a not full-grown bird of the common sort.
It was cooked and eaten before my memory returned. Fortunately
the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large
part of the skin, had been preserved; and from these a very nearly
perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the
museum of the Zoological Society. Mr. Gould, in describing this
new species, has done me the honour of calling it after my name.

Among the Patagonian Indians in the Strait of Magellan, we
found a half Indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but
had been born in the northern provinces. I asked him if he had
ever heard of the Avestruz Petise ? He answered by saying, "Why,
there are none others in these southern countries." He informed
me that the number of eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably
less than in that of the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on
an average; but he asserted that more than one female deposited
them. At Santa Cruz we saw several of these birds. They were

100 CHARLES DARWIN

excessively wary : I think they could see a person approaching when
too far off to be distinguished themselves. In ascending the river
few were seen; but in our quiet and rapid descent, many, in pairs and
by fours or fives, were observed. It was remarked that this bird did
not expand its wings, when first starting at full speed, after the
manner of the northern kind. In conclusion I may observe, that
the Struthio rhea inhabits the country of La Plata as far as a little
south of the Rio Negro in lat 41°, and that the Struthio Darwinii
takes its place in Southern Patagonia; the part about the Rio Negro
being neutral territory. M. A. d'Orbigny, 16 when at the Rio Negro,
made great exertions to procure this bird, but never had the good
fortune to succeed. Dobrizhoffer 17 long ago was aware of there
being two kinds of ostriches; he says, "You must know, more-
over, that Emus differ in size and habits in different tracts of land;
for those that inhabit the plains of Buenos Ayres and Tucuman are
larger, and have black, white and grey, feathers; those near to the
Strait of Magellan are smaller and more beautiful, for their white
feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones
in like manner terminate in white."

A very singular little bird, Tinochorus rumicivorus, is here com-
mon: in its habits and general appearance, it nearly equally par-
takes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and snipe.
The Tinochorus is found in the whole of southern South America,
wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture land. It fre-
quents in pairs or small flocks the most desolate places, where
scarcely another living creature can exist. Upon being approached
they squat close, and then are very difficult to be distinguished from
the ground. When feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs
wide apart. They dust themselves in roads and sandy places, and
frequent particular spots, where they may be found day after day:
like partridges, they take wing in a flock. In all these respects, in the
muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, in the arched beak

16 When at the Rio Negro, we heard much of the indefatigable labours of this
naturalist. M. Alcide d'Orbigny, during the years 1825 to 1833, traversed several
large portions of South America, and has made a collection, and is now publishing
the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once places himself in the list of
American travellers second only to Humboldt.

17 Account of the Abipones, a.d. 1749, vol. i. (English translation) p. 314.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 101

and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form of foot, the Tinochorus has
a close affinity with quails. But as soon as the bird is seen flying,
its whole appearance changes; the long pointed wings, so different
from those in the gallinaceous order, the irregular manner of flight,
and plaintive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recall the idea of
a snipe. The sportsmen of the Beagle unanimously called it the short-
billed snipe. To this genus, or rather to the family of the Waders,
its skeleton shows that it is really related.

The Tinochorus is closely related to some other South American
birds. Two species of the genus Attagis are in almost every respect
ptarmigans in their habits; one lives in Tierra del Fuego, above the
limits of the forest land; and the other just beneath the snow-line on
the Cordillera of Central Chile. A bird of another closely allied
genus, Chionis alba, is an inhabitant of the antarctic regions; it
feeds on sea-weed and shells on the tidal rocks. Although not web-
footed, from some unaccountable habit, it is frequently met with far
out at sea. This small family of birds is one of those which, from
its varied relations to other families, although at present offering
only difficulties to the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist
in revealing the grand scheme, common to the present and past ages,
on which organized beings have been created.

The genus Furnarius contains several species, all small birds,
living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. In structure
they cannot be compared to any European form. Ornithologists have
generally included them among the creepers, although opposed to
that family in every habit. The best known species is the common
oven-bird of La Plata, the Casara or housemaker of the Spaniards.
The nest, whence it takes its name, is placed in the most exposed
situations, as on the top of a post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. It is
composed of mud and bits of straw, and has strong thick walls: in
shape it precisely resembles an oven, or depressed beehive. The
opening is large and arched, and directly in front, within the nest,
there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming
a passage or antechamber to the true nest.

Another and smaller species of Furnarius (F. cunicularius), re-
sembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage, in
a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner of running by

102 CHARLES DARWIN

starts. From its affinity, the Spaniards call it Casarita (or little
housebuilder), although its nidification is quite different. The
Casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole,
which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under ground.
Several of the country people told me, that when boys, they had at-
tempted to dig out the nest, but had scarcely ever succeeded in getting
to the end of the passage. The bird chooses any low bank of firm
sandy soil by the side of a road or stream. Here (at Bahia Blanca)
the walls round the houses are built of hardened mud; and I noticed
that one, which enclosed a courtyard where I lodged, was bored
through by round holes in a score of places. On asking the owner
the cause of this, he bitterly complained of the little casarita, several
of which I afterwards observed at work. It is rather curious to find
how incapable these birds must be of acquiring any notion of thick-
ness, for although they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they
continued vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for
their nests. I do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to day-
light on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous
fact.

I have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in
this country. Of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the Dasy-
pus minutus or pichy, the D. villosus or peludo, and the apar. The
first extends ten degrees further south than any other kind; a fourth
species, the Mulita, does not come as far south as Bahia Blanca. The
four species have nearly similar habits; the peludo, however, is noc-
turnal, while the others wander by day over the open plains, feeding
on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes. The apar, commonly
called mataco, is remarkable by having only three moveable bands;
the rest of its tesselated covering being nearly inflexible. It has the
power of rolling itself into a perfect sphere, like one kind of English
woodlouse. In this state it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the
dog not being able to take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one
side, and the ball slips away. The smooth hard covering of the
mataco offers a better defence than the sharp spines of the hedge-
hog. The pichy prefers a very dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the
coast, where for many months it can never taste water, is its favourite
resort: it often tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IO3

In the course of a day's ride, near Bahia Blanca, several were gen-
erally met with. The instant one was perceived, it was necessary,
in order to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil
the animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would
almost disappear before one could alight. It seems almost a pity to
kill such nice little animals, for as a Gaucho said, while sharpening
his knife on the back of one, "Son tan mansos" (they are so quiet).

Of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a Trigonocephalus,
or Cophias 18 ), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must
be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes
this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and
the viper. In confirmation of this opinion, I observed a fact, which
appears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every
character, even though it may be in some degree independent of
structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. The extremity of
the tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which ds very slightly
enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly vibrates the
last inch; and this part striking against the dry grass and brush-
wood, produces a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at
the distance of six feet. As often as the animal was irritated or sur-
prised, its tail was shaken; and the vibrations were extremely rapid.
Even as long as the body retained its irritability, a tendency to this
habitual movement was evident. This Trigonocephalus has, there-
fore, in some respects the structure of a viper, with the habits of a
rattlesnake: the noise, however, being produced by a simpler device.
The expression of this snake's face was hideous and fierce; the pupil
consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were
broad at the base, and the nose terminated in a triangular projection.
I do not think I ever saw anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps,
some of the vampire bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect originates
from the features being placed in positions, with respect to each
other, somewhat proportional to those of the human face; and thus
we obtain a scale of hideousness.

Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad
(Phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour.
If we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink,
W M. Bibron calls it T. crepitans.

104 CHARLES DARWIN

and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted
with the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet and
parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained.
If it had been an unnamed species, surely it ought to have been called
Diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear of Eve. Instead
of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads are, and living in damp
obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry
sand-hillocks and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can
be found. It must necessarily depend on the dew for its moisture;
and this probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known, that these
reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. At Maldonado,
I found one in a situation nearly as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and
thinking to give it a great treat, carried it to a pool of water; not only
was the little animal unable to swim, but I think without help it
would soon have been drowned.

Of lizards there were many kinds, but only one (Proctotretus
multimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. It lives on the bare
sand near the sea coast, and from its mottled colour, the brownish
scales being speckled with white, yellowish red, and dirty blue, can
hardly be distinguished from the surrounding surface. When fright-
ened, it attempts to avoid discovery by feigning death, with out-
stretched legs, depressed body, and closed eyes: if further molested,
it buries itself with great quickness in the loose sand. This lizard,
from its flattened body and short legs, cannot run quickly.

I will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in
this part of South America. When we first arrived at Bahia Blanca,
September 7th, 1832, we thought nature had granted scarcely a living
creature to this sandy and dry country. By digging, however, in the
ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were found in a
half-torpid state. On the 15th, a few animals began to appear, and
by the 18th (three days from the equinox), everything announced
the commencement of spring. The plains were ornamented by the
flowers of a pink wood-sorrel, wild peas, Oenothera?, and geraniums;
and the birds began to lay their eggs. Numerous Lamellicorn and
Heteromerous insects, the latter remarkable for their deeply sculp-
tured bodies, were slowly crawling about; while the lizard tribe, the
constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted about in every direction.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IO5

During the first eleven days, whilst nature was dormant, the mean
temperature taken from observations made every two hours on
board the Beagle, was 51 °; and in the middle of the day the ther-
mometer seldom ranged above 55 °. On the eleven succeeding days,
in which all living things became so animated, the mean was 58 ,
and the range in the middle of the day between 60 ° and 70 °. Here,
then, an increase of seven degrees in mean temperature, but a greater
one of extreme heat, was sufficient to awake the functions of life.
At Monte Video, from which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-
three days included between the 26th of July and the 19th of August,
the mean temperature from 276 observations was 58°4; the mean
hottest day being 65°.5, and the coldest 46 . The lowest point to
which the thermometer fell was 41 °. 5, and occasionally in the middle
of the day it rose to 69 or 70 . Yet with this high temperature, al-
most every beetle, several genera of spiders, snails, and land-shells,
toads and lizards were all lying torpid beneath stones. But we have
seen that at Bahia Blanca, which is four degrees southward, and
therefore with a climate only a very little colder, this same tempera-
ture with a rather less extreme heat, was sufficient to awake all or-
ders of animated beings. This shows how nicely the stimulus re-
quired to arouse hybernating animals is governed by the usual
climate of the district, and not by the absolute heat. It is well known
that within the tropics, the hybernation, or more properly aestiva-
tion, of animals is determined not by the temperature, but by the
times of drought. Near Rio de Janeiro, I was at first surprised to
observe, that, a few days after some little depressions had been filled
with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown shells and
beetles, which must have been lying dormant. Humboldt has re-
lated the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a
spot where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. He
adds, "The Indians often find enormous boas, which they call Uji,
or water serpents, in the same lethargic state. To reanimate them,
they must be irritated or wetted with water."

I will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (I believe Vir-
gularia Patagonica), a kind of sea-pen. It consists of a thin, straight,
fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polyps on each side, and surround-
ing an elastic stony axis, varying in length from eight inches to two

106 CHARLES DARWIN

feet. The stem at one extremity is truncate, but at the other is ter-
minated by a vermiform fleshy appendage. The stony axis which
gives strength to the stem may be traced at this extremity into a
mere vessel filled with granular matter. At low water hundreds of
these zoophytes might be seen, projecting like stubble, with the
truncate end upwards, a few inches above the surface of the muddy
sand. When touched or pulled they suddenly drew themselves in
with force, so as nearly or quite to disappear. By this action, the
highly elastic axis must be bent at the lower extremity, where it is
naturally slightly curved; and I imagine it is by this elasticity alone
that the zoophyte is enabled to rise again through the mud. Each
polypus, though closely united to its brethren, has a distinct mouth,
body, and tentacula. Of these polypi, in a large specimen, there
must be many thousands; yet we see that they act by one movement:
they have also one central axis connected with a system of obscure
circulation, and the ova are produced in an organ distinct from the
separate individuals. 19 Well may one be allowed to ask, what is an
individual? It is always interesting to discover the foundation of
the strange tales of the old voyagers; and I have no doubt but that
the habits of this Virgularia explain one such case. Captain Lan-
caster, in his voyage 20 in 1601, narrates that on the sea-sands of the
Island of Sombrero, in the East Indies, he "found a small twig grow-
ing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up it shrinks
down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. On being
plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the tree
groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish; and as soon as the
worm is entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth, and so be-

19 The cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity, were
rilled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a microscope, presented
an extraordinary appearance. The mass consisted of rounded, semi-transparent,
irregular grains, aggregated together into particles of various sizes. All such particles,
and the separate grains, possessed the power of rapid movement; generally revolving
around different axes, but sometimes progressive. The movement was visible with
a very weak power, but even with the highest its cause could not be perceived. It
was very different from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag, containing the
thin extremity of the axis. On other occasions, when dissecting small marine animals
beneath the microscope, I have seen particles of pulpy matter, some of large size,
as soon as they were disengaged, commence revolving. I have imagined, I know not
with how much truth, that this granulo-pulpy matter was in process of being
converted into ova. Certainly in this zoophyte such appeared to be the case.

20 Kerr's Collection of Voyages, vol. viii. p. 119.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IO7

comes great. This transformation is one of the strangest wonders
that I saw in all my travels: for if this tree is plucked up, while
young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a hard stone
when dry, much like white coral: thus is this worm twice trans-
formed into different natures. Of these we gathered and brought
home many."

During my stay at Bahia Blanca, while waiting for the Beagle, the
place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars and
victories, between the troops of Rosas and the wild Indians. One
day an account came that a small party forming one of the postas on
the line to Buenos Ayres, had been found all murdered. The next
day three hundred men arrived from the Colorado, under the com-
mand of Commandant Miranda. A large portion of these men were
Indians (mansos, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the Cacique
Bernantio. They passed the night here; and it was impossible to
conceive anything more wild and savage than the scene of their
bivouac. Some drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed
the steaming blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and
then, being sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were
besmeared with filth and gore.

Nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus
Cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum
Immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta
Per somnum commixta mero.

In the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with or-
ders to follow the "rastro," or track, even if it led them to Chile. We
subsequently heard that the wild Indians had escaped into the great
Pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed. One glance
at the rastro tells these people a whole history. Supposing they ex-
amine the track of a thousand horses, they will soon guess the num-
ber of mounted ones by seeing how many have, cantered; by the depth
of the other impressions, whether any horses were loaded with car-
goes; by the irregularity of the footsteps, how far tired; by the man-
ner in which the food has been cooked, whether the pursued travelled
in haste; by the general appearance, how long it has been since they
passed. They consider a rastro of ten days or a fortnight, quite

108 CHARLES DARWIN

recent enough to be hunted out. We also heard that Miranda struck
from the west end of the Sierra Ventana, in a direct line to the island
of Cholechel, situated seventy leagues up the Rio Negro. This is a
distance of between two and three hundred miles, through a country
completely unknown. What other troops in the world are so inde-
pendent? With the sun for their guide, mare's flesh for food, their
saddle-cloths for beds, — as long as there is a little water, these men
would penetrate to the end of the world.

A few days afterwards I saw another troop of these banditti-like
soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of Indians at the small
Salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. The Spaniard
Who brought the orders for this expedition was a very intelligent
man. He gave me an account of the last engagement at which he was
present. Some Indians, who had been taken prisoners, gave informa-
tion of a tribe living north of the Colorado. Two hundred soldiers
were sent; and they first discovered the Indians by a cloud of dust
from their horses' feet, as they chanced to be travelling. The country
was mountainous and wild, and it must have been far in the interior,
for the Cordillera were in sight. The Indians, men, women, and
children, were about one hundred and ten in number, and they
were nearly all taken or killed, for the soldiers sabre every man. The
Indians are now so terrified that they offer no resistance in a body,
but each flies, neglecting even his wife and children; but when over-
taken, like wild animals, they fight against any number to the last
moment. One dying Indian seized with his teeth the thumb of his
adversary, and allowed his own eye to be forced out sooner than re-
linquish his hold. Another, who was wounded, feigned death, keep-
ing a knife ready to strike one more fatal blow. My informer said,
when he was pursuing an Indian, the man cried out for mercy, at
the same time that he was covertly loosing the bolas from his waist,
meaning to whirl it round his head and so strike his pursuer. "I
however struck him with my sabre to the ground, and then got off
my horse, and cut his throat with my knife." This is a dark picture;
but how much more shocking is the unquestionable fact, that all the
women who appear above twenty years old are massacred in cold
blood! When I exclaimed that this appeared rather inhuman, he
answered, "Why, what can be done? they breed so!"

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IOO.

Every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war,
because it is against barbarians. Who would believe in this age that
such atrocities could be committed in a Christian civilized country ?
The children of the Indians are saved, to be sold or given away as
servants, or rather staves for as long a time as the owners can make
them believe themselves slaves; but I believe in their treatment
there is little to complain of.

In the battle four men ran away together. They were pursued,
one was killed, and the other three were taken alive. They turned out
to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of Indians,
united in the common cause of defence, near the Cordillera. The
tribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a
grand council; the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance
prepared : in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to
the Cordillera. They were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six
feet high, and all under thirty years of age. The three survivors of
course possessed very valuable information; and to extort this they
were placed in a line. The two first being questioned, answered,
"No se" (I do not know), and were one after the other shot. The
third also said "No se;" adding, "Fire, I am a man, and can die!"
Not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united cause of
their country! The conduct of the above-mentioned cacique was very
different; he saved his life by betraying the intended plan of warfare,
and the point of union in the Andes. It was believed that there were
already six or seven hundred Indians together, and that in summer
their numbers would be doubled. Ambassadors were to have been
sent to the Indians at the small Salinas, near Bahia Blanca, whom I
have mentioned that this same cacique had betrayed. The communi-
cation, therefore, between the Indians, extends from the Cordillera
to the coast of the Atlantic.

General Rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven the
remainder to a common point, to attack them in a body, in the sum-
mer, with the assistance of the Chilenos. This operation is to be re-
peated for three successive years. I imagine the summer is chosen as
the time for the main attack, because the plains are then without
water, and the Indians can only travel in particular directions. The
escape of the Indians to the south of the Rio Negro, where in such

110 CHARLES DARWIN

a vast unknown country they would be safe, is prevented by a treaty
with the Tehuelches to this effect; — that Rosas pays them so much
to slaughter every Indian who passes to the south of the river, but if
they fail in so doing, they themselves are to be exterminated. The
war is waged chiefly against the Indians near the Cordillera; for
many of the tribes on this eastern side are fighting with Rosas. The
general, however, like Lord Chesterfield, thinking that his friends
may in a future day become his enemies, always places them in the
front ranks, so that their numbers may be thinned. Since leaving
South America we have heard that this war of extermination com-
pletely failed.

Among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there
were two very pretty Spanish ones, who had been carried away by
the Indians when young, and could now only speak the Indian
tongue. From their account they must have come from Salta, a dis-
tance in a straight line of nearly one thousand miles. This gives one
a grand idea of the immense territory over which the Indians roam:
yet, great as it is, I think there will not, in another half -century, be
a wild Indian northward of the Rio Negro. The warfare is too
bloody to last; the Christians killing every Indian, and the Indians
doing the same by the Christians. It is melancholy to trace how the
Indians have given way before the Spanish invaders. Schirdel 21 says
that in 1535, when Buenos Ayres was founded, there were villages
containing two and three thousand inhabitants. Even in Falconer's
time (1750) the Indians made inroads as far as Luxan, Areco, and
Arrecife, but now they are driven beyond the Salado. Not only have
whole tribes been exterminated, but the remaining Indians have be-
come more barbarous: instead of living in large villages, and being
employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase, they now
wander about the open plains, without home or fixed occupation.

I heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a
few weeks previously to the one mentioned, at Cholechel. This is a
very important station on account of being a pass for horses; and it
was, in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a divi-
sion of the army. When the troops first arrived there they found a
tribe of Indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. The cacique

21 Purchas's Collection of Voyages. I believe the date was really 1537.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE III

escaped in a manner which astonished every one. The chief Indians
always have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any
urgent occasion. On one of these, an old white horse, the cacique
sprung, taking with him his little son. The horse had neither saddle
nor bridle. To avoid the shots, the Indian rode in the peculiar method
of his nation; namely, with an arm round the horse's neck, and one
leg only on its back. Thus hanging on one side, he was seen patting
the horse's head, and talking to him. The pursuers urged every effort
in the chase; the Commandant three times changed his horse, but all
in vain. The old Indian father and his son escaped, and were free.
What a fine picture one can form in one's mind, — the naked, bronze-
like figure of the old man with his little boy, riding like a Mazeppa
on the white horse, thus leaving far behind him the host of his pur-
suers!

I saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which I
immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an
arrow. He told me it was found near the island of Cholechel, and
that they are frequently picked up there. It was between two and
three inches long, and therefore twice as large as those now used in
Tierra del Fuego: it was made of opaque cream-coloured flint, but
the point and barbs had been intentionally broken off. It is well
known that no Pampas Indians now use bows and arrows. I be-
lieve a small tribe in Banda Oriental must be excepted; but they are
widely separated from the Pampas Indians, and border close on those
tribes that inhabit the forest, and live on foot. It appears, therefore,
that these arrow-heads are antiquarian 22 relics of the Indians, before
the great change in habits consequent on the introduction of the
horse into South America.

22 Azara has even doubted whether the Pampas Indians ever used bows.

CHAPTER VI

Bahia Blanca to Buenos Ayres

Set out for Buenos Ayres — : Rio Sauce — Sierra Ventana — Third Posta —
Driving Horses — Bolas — Partridges and Foxes — Features of the Coun-
try — Long-legged Plover — Teru-tero — Hail-storm — Natural Enclosures
in the Sierra Tapalguen — Flesh of Puma — Meat Diet — Guardia del
Monte — Effects of Cattle on the Vegetation — Cardoon — Buenos Ayres
— Corral where Catde are Slaughtered.

("SEPTEMBER 18th. — I hired a Gaucho to accompany me on
\ my ride to Buenos Ayres, though with some difficulty, as
KJ the father of one man was afraid to let him go, and another,
who seemed willing, was described to me as so fearful, that I was
afraid to take him, for I was told that even if he saw an ostrich at
a distance, he would mistake it for an Indian, and would fly like the
wind away. The distance to Buenos Ayres is about four hundred
miles, and nearly the whole way through an uninhabited country.
We started early in the morning; ascending a few hundred feet from
the basin of green turf on which Bahia Blanca stands, we entered
on a wide desolate plain. It consists of a crumbling argillaceo<al-
careous rock, which, from the dry nature of the climate, supports
only scattered tufts of withered grass, without a single bush or tree to
break the monotonous uniformity. The weather was fine, but the
atmosphere remarkably hazy; I thought the appearance foreboded
a gale, but the Gauchos said it was owing to the plain, at some great
distance in the interior, being on fire. After a long gallop, having
changed horses twice, we reached the Rio Sauce: it is a deep, rapid,
little stream, not above twenty-five feet wide. The second posta on
the road to Buenos Ayres stands on its banks; a little above there is
a ford for horses, where the water does not reach to the horses' belly;
but from that point, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable,
and hence makes a most useful barrier against the Indians.

Insignificant as this stream is, the Jesuit Falconer, whose informa-
tion is generally so very correct, figures it as a considerable river,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IIjJ

rising at the foot of the Cordillera. With respect to its source, I do
not doubt that this is the case; for the Gauchos assured me, that in
the middle of the dry summer, this stream, at the same time with the
Colorado, has periodical floods; which can only originate in the snow
melting on the Andes. It is extremely improbable that a stream so
small as the Sauce then was, should traverse the entire width of the
continent; and indeed, if it were the residue of a large river, its waters,
as in other ascertained cases, would be saline. During the winter we
must look to the springs round the Sierra Ventana as the source of its
pure and limpid stream. I suspect the plains of Patagonia, like those
of Australia, are traversed by many water-courses, which only per-
form their proper parts at certain periods. Probably this is the case
with the water which flows into the head of Port Desire, and like-
wise with the Rio Chupat, on the banks of which masses of highly
cellular scoriae were found by the officers employed in the survey.

As it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took fresh
horses, and a soldier for a guide, and started for the Sierra de la
Ventana. This mountain is visible from the anchorage at Bahia
Blanca; and Capt. Fitz Roy calculates its height to foe 3340 feet — an
altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of the continent. I am
not aware that any foreigner, previous to my visit, had ascended this
mountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at Bahia Blanca knew
anything about it. Hence we heard of beds of coal, of gold and sil-
ver, of caves, and of forests, all of which inflamed my curiosity,
only to disappoint it. The distance from the posta was about six
leagues, over a level plain of the same character as before. The ride
was, however, interesting, as the mountain began to show its true
form. When we reached the foot of the main ridge, we had much
difficulty in finding any water, and we thought we should have been
obliged to have passed the night without any. At last we discovered
some by looking close to the mountain, for at the distance even of a
few hundred yards, the streamlets were buried and entirely lost in
the friable calcareous stone and loose detritus. I do not think Nature
ever made a more solitary, desolate pile of rock; — it well deserves
its name of Hurtado, or separated. The mountain is steep, extremely
rugged, and broken, and so entirely destitute of trees, and even
bushes, that we actually could not make a skewer to stretch out our

114 CHARLES DARWIN

meat over the fire of thistle-stalks. 1 The strange aspect of this moun-
tain is contrasted by the sea-like plain, which not only abuts against
its steep sides, but likewise separates the parallel ranges. The uni-
formity of the colouring gives an extreme quietness to the view; —
the whitish grey of the quartz rock, and the light brown of the
withered grass of the plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint.
From custom, one expects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and
bold mountain, a broken country strewed over with huge frag-
ments. Here nature shows that the last movement before the bed of
the sea is changed into dry land may sometimes be one of tranquil-
lity. Under these circumstances I was curious to observe how far
from the parent rock any pebbles could be found. On the shores of
Bahia Blanca, and near the settlement, there were some of quartz,
which certainly must have come from this source: the distance is
forty-five miles.

The dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the saddle-
cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen. The plain,
though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped up to a height of
between 800 and 900 feet above the sea. In the morning (9th of
September) the guide told me to ascend the nearest ridge, which he
thought would lead me to the four peaks that crown the summit.
The climbing up such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the sides
were so indented, that what was gained in one five minutes was often
lost in the next. At last, when I reached the ridge, my disappoint-
ment was extreme in finding a precipitous valley as deep as the plain,
which cut the chain transversely in two, and separated me from the
four points. This valley is very narrow, but flat-bottomed, and it
forms a fine horse-pass for the Indians, as it connects the plains on
the northern and southern sides of the range. Having descended,
and while crossing it, I saw two horses grazing: I immediately hid
myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre; but as I could see
no signs of Indians I proceeded cautiously on my second ascent. It
was late in the day, and this part of the mountain, like the other, was
steep and rugged. I was on the top of the second peak by two
o'clock, but got there with extreme difficulty; every twenty yards I

1 1 call these thistle-stalks for the want of a more correct name. I believe it is a
species of Eryngium.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE II5

had the cramp in the upper part of both thighs, so that I was afraid
I should not have been able to have got down again. It was also
necessary to return by another road, as it was out of the question to
pass over the saddle-back. I was therefore obliged to give up the two
higher peaks. Their altitude was but little greater, and every pur-
pose of geology had been answered; so that the attempt was not
worth the hazard of any further exertion. I presume the cause of the
cramp was the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that
of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. It is a lesson worth
remembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty.

I have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz
rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. At the height
of a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglomerate ad-
hered in several places to the solid rock. They resembled in hardness,
and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be seen daily
forming on some coasts. I do not doubt these pebbles were in a
similar manner aggregated, at a period when the great calcareous
formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. We may be-
lieve that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz yet show
the effects of the waves of an open ocean.

I was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. Even the view
was insignificant; — a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful
colour and defined outline. The scene, however, was novel, and a
little danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish. That the danger was
very little was certain, for my two companions made a good fire — a
thing which is never done when it is suspected that Indians are near.
I reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and drinking much
mate, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my bed for the
night. The wind was very strong and cold, but I never slept more
comfortably.

September 10th. — In the morning, having fairly scudded before the
gale, we arrived by the middle of the day at the Sauce posta. On the
road we saw great numbers of deer and near the mountain, a gua-
naco. The plain, which abuts against the Sierra, is traversed by some
curious gullies, of which one was about twenty feet wide, and at
least thirty deep; we were obliged in consequence to make a consid-
erable circuit before we could find a pass. We stayed the night at

Il6 CHARLES DARWIN

the posta, the conversation, as was generally the case, being about the
Indians. The Sierra Ventana was formerly a great place of resort;
and three or four years ago there was much fighting there. My
guide had been present when many Indians were killed : the women
escaped to the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with
great stones; many thus saving themselves.

September nth. — Proceeded to the third posta in company with
the lieutenant who commanded it. The distance is called fifteen
leagues; but it is only guess-work, and is generally overstated. The
road was uninteresting, over a dry grassy plain; and on our left hand
at a greater or less distance there were some low hills; a continuation
of which we crossed close to the posta. Before our arrival, we met
a large herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers; but we
were told many had been lost. It is very difficult to drive animals
across the plains; for if in the night a puma, or even a fox, approaches,
nothing can prevent the horses dispersing in every direction; and a
storm will have the same effect. A short time since, an officer left
Buenos Ayres with five hundred horses, and when he arrived at the
army he had under twenty.

Soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a party
of horsemen were coming towards us; when far distant my com-
panions knew them to be Indians, by their long hair streaming be-
hind their backs. The Indians generally have a fillet round their
heads, but never any covering; and their black hair blowing across
their swarthy faces, heightens to an uncommon degree the wildness
of their appearance. They turned out to be a party of Bernantio's
friendly tribe, going to a salina for salt. The Indians eat much salt,
their children sucking it like sugar. This habit is very different
from that of the Spanish Gauchos, who, leading the same kind of
life, eat scarcely any; according to Mungo Park, 2 it is people who
live on vegetable food who have an unconquerable desire for salt.
The Indians gave us good-humoured nods as they passed at full
gallop, driving before them a troop of horses, and followed by a train
of lanky dogs.

September 12th and 13th. — I stayed at this posta two days, waiting
for a troop of soldiers, which General Rosas had the kindness to

2 Travels in Africa, p. 233.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE llj

send to inform me, would shortly travel to Buenos Ayres; and he
advised me to take the opportunity of the escort. In the morning we
rode to some neighbouring hills to view the country, and to examine
the geology. After dinner the soldiers divided themselves into two
parties for a trial of skill with the bolas. Two spears were stuck in
the ground twenty-five yards apart, but they were struck and en-
tangled only once in four or five times. The balls can be thrown
fifty or sixty yards, but with little certainty. This, however, does not
apply to a man on horseback; for when the speed of the horse is
added to the force of the arm, it is said, that they can be whirled
with effect to the distance of eighty yards. As a proof of their force,
I may mention, that at the Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards
murdered some of their own countrymen and all the Englishmen, a
young friendly Spaniard was running away, when a great tall man,
by name Luciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting to him to
stop, and saying that he only wanted to speak to him. Just as the
Spaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, Luciano threw the
balls: they struck him on the legs with such a jerk, as to throw him
down and to render him for some time insensible. The man, after
Luciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. He told us that his
legs were marked by great weals, where the thong had wound round,
as if he had been flogged with a whip. In the middle of the day two
men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next posta to be for-
warded to the general : so that besides these two, our party consisted
this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and his four soldiers.
The latter were strange beings; the first a fine young negro; the
second half Indian and negro; and the two others nondescripts;
namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany, and another
partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels, with such detestable ex-
pressions, I never saw before. At night, when they were sitting round
the fire, and playing at cards, I retired to view such a Salvator Rosa
scene. They were seated under a low cliff, so that I could look down
upon them; around the party were lying dogs, arms, remnants of
deer and ostriches; and their long spears were stuck in the turf.
Further in the dark background, their horses were tied up, ready for
any sudden danger. If the stillness of the desolate plain was broken
by one of the dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his

Il8 CHARLES DARWIN

head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. Even if
the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in the
conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined.

What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! They were
at least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and since the murder com-
mitted by the Indians, twenty from another. The Indians are sup-
posed to have made their attack in the middle of the night; for very
early in the morning after the murder, they were luckily seen ap-
proaching this posta. The whole party here, however, escaped, to-
gether with the troop of horses; each one taking a line for him-
self, and driving with him as many animals as he was able to
manage.

The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept, neither
kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the only effect
the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops. They had nothing
to eat excepting what they could catch, such as ostriches, deer, arma-
dilloes, etc., and their only fuel was the dry stalks of a small plant,
somewhat resembling an aloe. The sole luxury which these men
enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars, and sucking mate. I
used to think that the carrion vultures, man's constant attendants
on these dreary plains, while seated on the little neighbouring cliffs
seemed by their very patience to say, "Ah! when the Indians come
we shall have a feast."

In the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although we had
not much success, there were some animated chases. Soon after
starting the party separated, and so arranged their plans, that at a
certain time of the day (in guessing which they show much skill)
they should all meet from different points of the compass on a plain
piece of ground, and thus drive together the wild animals. One
day I went out hunting at Bahia Blanca, but the men there merely
rode in a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile apart from
the other. A fine male ostrich being turned by the headmost riders,
tried to escape on one side. The Gauchos pursued at a reckless pace,
twisting their horses about with the most admirable command, and
each man whirling the balls round his head. At length the foremost
threw them, revolving through the air: in an instant the ostrich
rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 10,

The plains abound with three kinds of partridge, 3 two of which
are as large as hen pheasants. Their destroyer, a small and pretty
fox, was also singularly numerous; in the course of the day we could
not have seen less than forty or fifty. They were generally near their
earths, but the dogs killed one. When we returned to the posta, we
found two of the party returned who had been hunting by them-
selves. They had killed a puma, and had found an ostrich's nest
with twenty-seven eggs in it. Each of these is said to equal in weight
eleven hen's eggs; so that we obtained from this one nest as much
food as 297 hen's eggs would have given.

September 14th. — As the soldiers belonging to the next posta
meant to return, and we should together make a party of five, and
all armed, I determined not to wait for the expected troops. My host,
the lieutenant, pressed me much to stop. As he had been very oblig-
ing — not only providing me with food, but lending me his private
horses — I wanted to make him some remuneration. I asked my guide
whether I might do so, but he told me certainly not; that the only
answer I should receive, probably would be, "We have meat for the
dogs in our country, and therefore do not grudge it to a Christian."
It must not be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army
would at all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high
sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge as
nearly universal throughout these provinces. After galloping some
leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for nearly
eighty miles northward, as far as the Sierra Tapalguen. In some
parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while others
had a soft, black, and peaty soil. There were also many extensive
but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. The country on the whole
resembled the better parts of the Cambridgeshire fens. At night we
had some difficulty in finding amidst the swamps, a dry place for our
bivouac.

September 15th. — Rose very early in the morning and shortly
after passed the posta where the Indians had murdered the five
soldiers. The officer had eighteen chuzo wounds in his body. By the
middle of the day, after a hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta : on

3 Two species of Tinamus, and Eudromia elegans of A. d'Orbigny, which can only
be called a partridge with regard to its habits.

120 CHARLES DARWIN

account of some difficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the
night. As this point was the most exposed on the whole line,
twenty-one soldiers were stationed here; at sunset they returned from
hunting, bringing with them seven deer, three ostriches, and many
armadilloes and partridges. When riding through the country, it is
a common practice to set fire to the plain; and hence at night, as on
this occasion, the horizon was illuminated in several places by bril-
liant conflagrations. This is done partly for the sake of puzzling any
stray Indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture. In grassy plains
unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems necessary
to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as to render the new
year's growth serviceable.

The rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely
consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the wind.
It was situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow lake,
swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan was
conspicuous.

The kind of plover, which appears as if mounted on stilts (Himan-
topus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable size. It
has been wrongfully accused of inelegance; when wading about in
shallow water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is far from
awkward. These birds in a flock utter a noise, that singularly resem-
bles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase: waking in the
night, I have more than once been for a moment startled at the dis-
tant sound. The teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is another bird, which
often disturbs the stillness of the night. In appearance and habits it
resembles in many respects our peewits; its wings, however, are
armed with sharp spurs, like those on the legs of the common cock.
As our peewit takes its name from the sound of its voice, so does the
teru-tero. While riding over the grassy plains, one is constantly pur-
sued by these birds, which appear to hate mankind, and I am sure
deserve to be hated for their never-ceasing, unvaried, harsh screams.
To the sportsman they are most annoying, by telling every other
bird and animal of his approach : to the traveller in the country, they
may possibly, as Molina says, do good, by warning him of the mid-
night robber. During the breeding season, they attempt, like our
peewits, by feigning to be wounded, to draw away from their nests

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 121

dogs and other enemies. The eggs of this bird are esteemed a great
delicacy.

September 16th. — To the seventh posta at the foot of the Sierra
Tapalguen. The country was quite level, with a coarse herbage and
a soft peaty soil. The hovel was here remarkably neat, the posts
and rafters being made of about a dozen dry thistle-stalks bound
together with thongs of hide; and by the support of these Ionic-like
columns, the roof and sides were thatched with reeds. We were here
told a fact, which I would not have credited, if I had not had partly
ocular proof of it; namely, that, during the previous night hail as
large as small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such
violence, as to kill the greater number of the wild animals. One of
the men had already found thirteen deer (Cervus campestris) lying
dead, and I saw their fresh hides; another of the party, a few minutes
after my arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know, that one
man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week.
The men believed they had seen about fifteen ostriches (part of one
of which we had for dinner) ; and they said that several were
running about evidently blind in one eye. Numbers of smaller
birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. I saw one of the
latter with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a
paving-stone. A fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly
broken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was
the matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. The
storm was said to have been of limited extent : we certainly saw from
our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this direction.
It is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have
been killed; but I have no doubt, from the evidence I have given,
that the story is not in the least exaggerated. I am glad, however,
to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit Dobrizhoffen, 4 who,
speaking of a country much to the northward, says, hail fell of an
enormous size and killed vast numbers of cattle: the Indians hence
called the place Lalegraicavalca, meaning "the little white things."
Dr. Malcolmson, also, informs me that he witnessed in 1831 in
India, a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds and much
injured the cattle. These hailstones were flat, and one was ten inches
4 History of the Abipones, vol. ii. p. 6.

122 CHARLES DARWIN

in circumference, and another weighed two ounces. They ploughed
up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed through glass-win-
dows, making round holes, but not cracking them.

Having finished our dinner, of hail-stricken meat, we crossed the
Sierra Tapalguen; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet in
height, which commences at Cape Corrientes. The rock in this part
is pure quartz; further eastward I understand it is granitic. The
hills are of a remarkable form; they consist of flat patches of table-
land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs, like the outliers of a
sedimentary deposit. The hill which I ascended was very small, not
above a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but I saw others
larger. One which goes by the name of the "Corral," is said to be
two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed by perpendicular
cliffs, between thirty and forty feet high, excepting at one spot, where
the entrance lies. Falconer 5 gives a curious account of the Indians
driving troops of wild horses into it, and then by guarding the
entrance, keeping them secure. I have never heard of any other in-
stance of table-land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill I
examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. I was told that the
rock of the "Corral" was white, and would strike fire.

We did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen till after it was
dark. At supper, from something which was said, I was suddenly
struck with horror at thinking that I was eating one of the favourite
dishes of the country, namely, a half-formed calf, long before its
proper time of birth. It turned out to be Puma; the meat is very
white, and remarkably like veal in taste. Dr. Shaw was laughed at
for stating that "the flesh of the lion is in great esteem, having no
small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste, and flavour." Such
certainly is the case with the Puma. The Gauchos differ in their
opinion, whether the Jaguar is good eating, but are unanimous in
saying that cat is excellent.

September iyth. — We followed the course of the Rio Tapalguen,
through a very fertile country, to the ninth posta. Tapalguen, itself,
or the town of Tapalguen, if it may be so called, consists of a per-
fectly level plain, studded over, as far as the eye can reach, with
the toldos or oven-shaped huts of the Indians. The families of the
5 Falconer's Patagonia, p. 70.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 23

friendly Indians, who were righting on the side of Rosas, resided
here. We met and passed many young Indian women, riding by
two or three together on the same horse: they, as well as many of
the young men, were strikingly handsome, — their fine ruddy com-
plexions being the picture of health. Besides the toldos, there were
three ranchos; one inhabited by the Commandant, and the two
others by Spaniards with small shops.

We were here able to buy some biscuit. I had now been seveial
days without tasting anything besides meat: I did not at all dislike
this new regimen; but I felt as if it would only have agreed with me
with hard exercise. I have heard that patients in England, when
desired to confine themselves exclusively to an animal diet, even with
the hope of life before their eyes, have hardly been able to endure it.
Yet the Gaucho in the Pampas, for months together, touches nothing
but beef. But they eat, I observe, a very large proportion of fat,
which is of a less animalized nature; and they particularly dislike dry
meat, such as that of the Agouti. Dr. Richardson, 6 also, has re-
marked, "that when people have fed for a long time solely upon lean
animal food, the desire for fat becomes so insatiable, that they can
consume a large quantity of unmixed and even oily fat without
nausea:" this appears to me a curious physiological fact. It is, per-
haps, from their meat regimen that the Gauchos, like other carniv-
orous animals, can abstain long from food. I was told that at
Tandeel, some troops voluntarily pursued a party of Indians for
three days, without eating or drinking.

We saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, belts, and
garters, woven by the Indian women. The patterns were very pretty,
and the colours brilliant; the workmanship of the garters was so
good that an English merchant at Buenos Ayres maintained they
must have been manufactured in England, till he found the tassels
had been fastened by split sinew.

September 18th. — We had a very long ride this day. At the twelfth
posta, which is seven leagues south of the Rio Salado, we came to
the first estancia with cattle and white women. Afterwards we had
to ride for many miles through a country flooded with water above
our horses' knees. By crossing the stirrups, and riding Arab-like with
6 Fauna Boreali-Americana, vol. i. p. 35.

124 CHARLES DARWIN

our legs bent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. It was nearly
dark when we arrived at the Salado; the stream was deep, and about
forty yards wide; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry,
and the little remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea. We
slept at one of the great estancias of General Rosas. It was fortified,
and of such an extent, that arriving in the dark I thought it was a
town and fortress. In the morning we saw immense herds of cattle,
the general here having seventy-four square leagues of land. For-
merly nearly three hundred men were employed about this estate,
and they defied all the attacks of the Indians.

September igth. — Passed the Guardia del Monte. This is a nice
scattered little town, with many gardens, full of peach and quince
trees. The plain here looked like that around Buenos Ayres; the turf
being short and bright green, with beds of clover and thistles, and
with bizcacha holes. I was very much struck with the marked
change in the aspect of the country after having crossed the Salado.
From a coarse herbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green ver-
dure. I at first attributed this to some change in the nature of the soil,
but the inhabitants assured me that here, as well as in Banda Oriental,
where there is as great a difference between the country round Monte
Video and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of Colonia, the whole was
to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle. Exactly
the same fact has been observed in the prairies 7 of North America,
where coarse grass, between five and six feet high, when grazed by
cattle, changes into common pasture land. I am not botanist enough
to say whether the change here is owing to the introduction of new
species, to the altered growth of the same, or to a difference in their
proportional numbers. Azara has also observed with astonishment
this change : he is likewise much perplexed by the immediate appear-
ance of plants not occurring in the neighbourhood, on the borders of
any track that leads to a newly-constructed hovel. In another part he
says, 8 "ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la manie de preferer les chemins,
et le bord des routes pour deposer leurs excremens, dont on trouve
des monceaux dans ces endroits." Does this not partly explain the

7 See Mr. Atwater's account of the Prairies, in Silliman's N. A. Journal, vol. i. p. 1 1 7.

8 Azara's Voyages, vol. i. p. 373.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 25

circumstance? We thus have lines of richly manured land serving
as channels of communication across wide districts.

Near the Guardia we find the southern limit of two European
plants, now become extraordinarily common. The fennel in great
profusion covers the ditclvbanks in the neighbourhood of Buenos
Ayres, Monte Video, and other towns. But the cardoon (Cynara
cardunculus) has a far wider range: 9 it occurs in these latitudes on
both sides of the Cordillera, across the continent. I saw it in unfre-
quented spots in Chile, Entre Rios, and Banda Oriental. In the latter
country alone, very many (probably several hundred) square miles
are covered by one mass of these prickly plants, and are impenetrable
by man or beast. Over the undulating plains, where these great beds
occur, nothing else can now live. Before their introduction, however,
the surface must have supported, as in other parts, a rank herbage.
I doubt whether any case is on record of an invasion on so grand a
scale of one plant over the aborigines. As I have already said, I
nowhere saw the cardoon south of the Salado; but it is probable
that in proportion as that country becomes inhabited, the cardoon
will extend its limits. The case is different with the giant thistle
(with variegated leaves) of the Pampas, for I met with it in the valley
of the Sauce. According to the principles so well laid down by Mr.
Lyell, few countries have undergone more remarkable changes,
since the year 1535, when the first colonist of La Plata landed with
seventy-two horses. The countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep,
not only have altered the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they
have almost banished the guanaco, deer and ostrich. Numberless
other changes must likewise have taken place; the wild pig in some
parts probably replaces the peccari ; packs of wild dogs may be heard

9 M. A. d'Orbigny (vol. i. p. 474) says that the cardoon and artichoke are both
found wild. Dr. Hooker (Botanical Magazine, vol. Iv. p. 2862), has described a
variety of the Cynara from this part of South America under the name of incrmis.
He states that botanists are now generally agreed that the cardoon and the artichoke
are varieties of one plant. I may add, that an intelligent farmer assured me that
he had observed in a deserted garden some artichokes changing into the common
cardoon. Dr. Hooker believes that Head's vivid description of the thistle of the
Pampas applies to the cardoon; but this is a mistake. Captain Head referred to the
plant, which I have mentioned a few lines lower down, under the title of giant
thistle. Whether it is a true thistle I do not know; but it is quite different from
the cardoon; and more like a thistle properly so called.

126 CHARLES DARWIN

howling on the wooded banks of the less-frequented streams; and the
common cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky
hills. As M. d'Orbigny has remarked, the increase in numbers of the
carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the domestic animals, must
have been infinitely great; and we have given reasons for believing
that they have extended their southern range. No doubt many plants,
besides the cardoon and fennel, are naturalized; thus the islands
near the mouth of the Parana, are thickly clothed with peach and
orange trees, springing from seeds carried there by the waters of the
river.

While changing horses at the Guardia several people questioned
us much about the army, — I never saw anything like the enthusiasm
for Rosas, and for the success of the "most just of all wars, because
against barbarians." This expression, it must be confessed, is very
natural, for till lately, neither man, woman nor horse, was safe
from the attacks of the Indians. We had a long day's ride over the
same rich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and with here
and there a solitary estancia, and its one ombu tree. In the evening it
rained heavily: on arriving at a post-house we were told by the
owner, that if we had not a regular passport we must pass on, for
there were so many robbers he would trust no one. When he read,
however, my passport, which began with "El Naturalista Don
Carlos," his respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions
had been before. What a naturalist might be, neither he nor his
countrymen, I suspect, had any idea; but probably my title lost
nothing of its value from that cause.

September 20th. — We arrived by the middle of the day at Buenos
Ayres. The outskirts of the city looked quite pretty, with the agave
hedges, and groves of olive, peach and willow trees, all just throwing
out their fresh green leaves. I rode to the house of Mr. Lumb, an
English merchant, to whose kindness and hospitality, during my stay
in the country, I was greatly indebted.

The city of Buenos Ayres is large; 10 and I should think one of the
most regular in the world. Every street is at right angles to the one
it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the houses are

10 It is said to contain 60,000 inhabitants. Monte Video, the second town of
importance on the banks of the Plata, has 15,000.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 27

collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which are called
quadras. On the other hand, the houses themselves are hollow
squares; all the rooms opening into a neat little courtyard. They are
generally only one story high, with flat roofs, which are fitted with
seats, and are much frequented by the inhabitants in summer. In
the centre of the town is the Plaza, where the public offices, fortress,
cathedral, etc., stand. Here also, the old viceroys, before the revolu-
tion, had their palaces. The general assemblage of buildings possesses
considerable architectural beauty, although none individually can
boast of any.

The great corrai, where the animals are kept for slaughter to supply
food to this beef-eating population, is one of the spectacles best
worth seeing. The strength of the horse as compared to that of the
bullock is quite astonishing: a man on horseback having thrown his
lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses.
The animal ploughing up the ground with outstretched legs, in
vain efforts to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed to one
side; but the horse immediately turning to receive the shock, stands
so firmly that the bullock is almost thrown down, and it is surprising
that their necks are not broken. The struggle is not, however, one of
fair strength; the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's
extended neck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest
horse, if caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. When the bullock
has been dragged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the
matador with great caution cuts the hamstrings. Then is given the
death bellow; a noise more expressive of fierce agony than any I
know. I have often distinguished it from a long distance, and have
always known that the struggle was then drawing to a close. The
whole sight is horrible and revolting: the ground is almost made of
bones; and the horses and riders are drenched with gore.

CHAPTER VII

Buenos Ayres and St. Fe

Excursion to St. Fe — Thistle Beds — Habits of the Bizcacha — Little Owl
— Saline Streams — Level Plains — Mastodon — St. Fe — Change in Land-
scape^ — Geology — Tooth of extinct Horse — Relation of the Fossil and
recent Quadrupeds of North and South America — Effects of a great
Drought — Parana — Habits of the Jaguar — Scissor-beak — Kingfisher,
Parrot, and Scissor-tail — Revolution — Buenos Ayres — State of Govern-
ment.

C^fEPTEMBER 2ph. — In the evening I set out on an excursion

\ to St. Fe, which is situated nearly three hundred English
A^J miles from Buenos Ayres, on the banks of the Parana. The
roads in the neighbourhood of the city after the rainy weather, were
extraordinarily bad. I should never have thought it possible for a
bullock waggon to have crawled along: as it was, they scarcely went
at the rate of a mile an hour, and a man was kept ahead, to survey
the best line for making the attempt. The bullocks were terribly
jaded: it is a great mistake to suppose that with improved roads,
and an accelerated rate of travelling, the sufferings of the animals
increase in the same proportion. We passed a train of waggons and
a troop of beasts on their road to Mendoza. The distance is about
580 geographical miles, and the journey is generally performed in
fifty days. These waggons are very long, narrow, and thatched with
reeds; they have only two wheels, the diameter of which in some
cases is as much as ten feet. Each is drawn by six bullocks, which
are urged on by a goad at least twenty feet long: this is suspended
from within the roof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept;
and for the intermediate pair, a point projects at right angles from
the middle of the long one.

The whole apparatus looked like some implement of war.

September 28th. — We passed the small town of Luxan, where there
is a wooden bridge over the river — a most unusual convenience in
this country. We passed also Areco. The plains appeared level, but

128

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 120.

were not so in fact; for in various places the horizon was distant.
The estancias are here wide apart; for there is little good pasture,
owing to the land being covered by beds either of an acrid clover,
or of the great thistle. The latter, well known from the animated
description given by Sir F. Head, were at this time of the year two-
thirds grown; in some parts they were as high as the horse's back,
but in others they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare
and dusty as on a turnpike-road. The clumps were of the most
brilliant green, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of
broken forest land. When the thistles are full grown, the great beds
are impenetrable, except by a few tracts, as intricate as those in a
labyrinth. These are only known to the robbers, who at this season
inhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut throats with
impunity. Upon asking at a house whether robbers were numerous,
I was answered, "The thistles are not up yet;" — the meaning of
which reply was not at first very obvious. There is little interest in
passing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or
birds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl.

The bizcacha 1 is well known to form a prominent feature in the
zoology of the Pampas. It was found as far south as the Rio Negro,
in lat. 41 °, but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the
gravelly and desert plains of Patagonia, but prefers a clayey or sandy
soil, which produces a different and more abundant vegetation.
Near Mendoza, at the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs in close neigh-
bourhood with the allied alpine species. It is a very curious circum-
stance in its geographical distribution, that it has never been seen,
fortunately for the inhabitants of Banda Oriental, to the eastward of
the river Uruguay: yet in this province there are plains which appear
admirably adapted to its habits. The Uruguay has formed an insu-
perable obstacle to its migration : although the broader barrier of the
Parana has been passed, and the bizcacha is common in Entre Rios,
the province between these two great rivers. Near Buenos Ayres
these animals are exceedingly common. Their most favourite resort
appears to be those parts of the plain which during one-half of the

1 The bizcacha (Lagostomus trichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large rabbit,
but with bigger gnawing teeth and a long tail; it has, however, only three toes
behind, like the agouti. During the last three or four years the skins of these
animals have been sent to England for the sake of the fur.

130 CHARLES DARWIN

year are covered with giant thistles, to the exclusion of other plants.
The Gauchos affirm that it lives on roots; which, from the great
strength of its gnawing teeth, and the kind of places frequented by
it, seems probable. In the evening the bizcachas come out in num-
bers, and quietly sit at the mouths of their burrows on their haunches.
At such times they are very tame, and a man on horseback passing
by seems only to present an object for their grave contemplation.
They run very awkwardly, and when running out of danger, from
their elevated tails and short front legs, much resemble great rats.
Their flesh, when cooked, is very white and good, but it is seldom
used.

The bizcacha has one very singular habit; namely, dragging every
hard object to the mouth of its burrow: around each group of holes
many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth, dry
dung, etc., are collected into an irregular heap, which frequently
amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. I was credibly
informed that a gentleman, when riding on a dark night, dropped
his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching the neigh-
bourhood of every bizcacha hole on the line of road, as he
expected, he soon found it. This habit of picking up whatever may
be lying on the ground anywhere near its habitation, must cost much
trouble. For what purpose it is done, I am quite unable to form even
the most remote conjecture: it cannot be for defence, because the
rubbish is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which enters
the ground at a very small inclination. No doubt there must exist
some good reason; but the inhabitants of the country are quite
ignorant of it. The only fact which I know analogous to it, is the
habit of that extraordinary Australian bird, the Calodera maculata,
which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs for playing in, and
which collects near the spot, land and sea-shells, bones, and the
feathers of birds, especially brightly coloured ones. Mr. Gould, who
has described these facts, informs me, that the natives, when they
lose any hard object, search the playing passages, and he has known
a tobacco-pipe thus recovered.

The little owl (Athene cunicularia), which has been so often
mentioned, on the plains of Buenos Ayres exclusively inhabits the
holes of the bizcacha; but in Banda Oriental it is its own workman.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE I3I

During the open day, but more especially in the evening, these birds
may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs on the
hillock near their burrows. If disturbed they either enter the hole,
or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably undulatory
flight to a short distance, and then turning round, steadily gaze at
their pursuer. Occasionally in the evening they may be heard hoot-
ing. I found in the stomachs of two which I opened the remains of
mice, and I one day saw a small snake killed and carried away.
It is said that snakes are their common prey during the daytime.
I may here mention, as showing on what various kinds of food owls
subsist, that a species killed among the islets of the Chonos Archi-
pelago, had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. In India 2 there is
a fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches crabs.

In the evening we crossed the Rio Arrecife on a simple raft made
of barrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on the other
side. I this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and although
the sun was glaring hot I was but little fatigued. When Captain
Head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, I do not imagine the
distance is equal to 150 English miles. At all events, the thirty-one
leagues was only 76 miles in a straight line, and in an open country
I should think four additional miles for turnings would be a suffi-
cient allowance.

2<)th and 30th. — We continued to ride over plains of the same
character. At San Nicolas I first saw the noble river of the Parana.
At the foot of the cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels
were at anchor. Before arriving at Rozario, we crossed the Saladillo,
a stream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink. Rozario
is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a cliff about
sixty feet high over the Parana. The river here is very broad, with
many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the opposite
shore. The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not
for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of running
water. The cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes they are
absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other times in large
broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees. The real
grandeur, however, of an immense river like this, is derived from

2 Journal of Asiatic Soc, vol. v. p. 363.

132 CHARLES DARWIN

reflecting how important a means of communication and commerce
it forms between one nation and another; to what a distance it
travels; and from how vast a territory it drains the great body of
fresh water which flows past your feet.

For many leagues north and south of San Nicolas and Rozario,
the country is really level. Scarcely anything which travellers have
written about its extreme flatness, can be considered as exaggeration.
Yet I could never find a spot where, by slowly turning round, objects
were not seen at greater distances in some directions than in others;
and this manifestly proves inequality in the plain. At sea, a person's
eye being six feet above the surface of the water, his horizon is two
miles and four-fifths distant. In like manner, the more level the
plain, the more nearly does the horizon approach within these nar-
row limits; and this, in my opinion, entirely destroys that grandeur
which one would have imagined that a vast level plain would have
possessed.

October 1st. — We started by moonlight and arrived at the Rio
Tercero by sunrise. The river is also called the Saladillo, and it
deserves the name, for the water is brackish. I stayed here the greater
part of the day, searching for fossil bones. Besides a perfect tooth
of the Toxodon, and many scattered bones, I found two immense
skeletons near each other, projecting in bold relief from the perpen-
dicular cliff of the Parana. They were, however, so completely
decayed, that I could only bring away small fragments of one of the
great molar teeth; but these are sufficient to show that the remains
belonged to a Mastodon, probably to the same species with that,
which formerly must have inhabited the Cordillera in Upper Peru
in such great numbers. The men who took me in the canoe, said
they had long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered
how they had got there: the necessity of a theory being felt, they
came to the conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was
formerly a burrowing animal! In the evening we rode another
stage, and crossed the Monge, another brackish stream, bearing the
dregs of the washings of the Pampas.

October 2nd. — We passed through Corunda, which, from the
luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages I saw.
From this point to St. Fe the road is not very safe. The western side

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 33

of the Parana northward, ceases to be inhabited; and hence the
Indians sometimes come down thus far, and waylay travellers. The
nature of the country also favours this, for instead of a grassy plain,
there is an open woodland, composed of low prickly mimosas. We
passed some houses that had been ransacked and since deserted; we
saw also a spectacle, which my guides viewed with high satisfaction;
it was the skeleton of an Indian with the dried skin hanging on the
bones, suspended to the branch of a tree.

In the morning we arrived at St. Fe. I was surprised to observe
how great a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of
latitude between this place and Buenos Ayres had caused. This was
evident from the dress and complexion of the men— from the in-
creased size of the ombu-trees — the number of new cacti and other
plants — and especially from the birds. In the course of an hour I
remarked half-a-dozen birds, which I had never seen at Buenos
Ayres. Considering that there is no natural boundary between the
two places, and that the character of the country is nearly similar,
the difference was much greater than I should have expected.

October 3rd and 4th. — I was confined for these two days to my bed
by a headache. A good-natured old woman, who attended me,
wished me to try many odd remedies. A common practice is, to
bind an orange-leaf or a bit of black plaster to each temple: and a
still more general plan is, to split a bean into halves, moisten them,
and place one on each temple, where they will easily adhere. It is
not thought proper ever to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow
them to drop off; and sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head,
is asked, what is the matter? he will answer, "I had a headache the
day before yesterday." Many of the remedies used by the people
of the country are ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be
mentioned. One of the least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies
and bind them on each side of a broken limb. Little hairless dogs
are in great request to sleep at the feet of invalids.

St. Fe is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order.
The governor, Lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the
revolution; but has now been seventeen years in power. This
stability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for tyranny
seems as yet better adapted to these countries than republicanism.

134 CHARLES DARWIN

The governor's favourite occupation is hunting Indians: a short
time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold the children at the
rate of three or four pounds apiece.

October ph. — We crossed the Parana to St. Fe Bajada, a town on
the opposite shore. The passage took some hours, as the river here
consisted of a labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded
islands. I had a letter of introduction to an old Catalonian Spaniard,
who treated me with the most uncommon hospitality. The Bajada
is the capital of Entre Rios. In 1825 the town contained 6000 inhabi-
tants, and the province 30,000; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no
province has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions.
They boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and
governors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. At
some future day this must be one of the richest countries of La
Plata. The soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular form
gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers Parana
and Uruguay.

I was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining
the geology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting.
We here see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds containing sharks'
teeth and sea-shells of extinct species, passing above into an indurated
marl, and from that into the red clayey earth of the Pampas, with its
calcareous concretions and the bones of terrestrial quadrupeds. This
vertical section clearly tells us of a large bay of pure salt-water,
gradually encroached on, and at last converted into the bed of a
muddy estuary, into which floating carcasses were swept. At Punta
Gorda, in Banda Oriental, I found an alternation of the Pampaean
estuary deposit, with a limestone containing some of the same
extinct sea-shells; and this shows either a change in the former
currents, or more probably an oscillation of level in the bottom of
the ancient estuary. Until lately, my reasons for considering the
Pampaean formation to be an estuary deposit were, its general appear-
ance, its position at the mouth of the existing great river the Plata,
and the presence of so many bones of terrestrial quadrupeds: but
now Professor Ehrenberg has had the kindness to examine for me a
little of the red earth, taken from low down in the deposit, close to

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE I35

the skeletons of the mastodon, and he finds in it many infusoria,
partly salt-water and partly fresh-water forms, with the latter rather
preponderating; and therefore, as he remarks, the water must have
been brackish. M. A. d'Orbigny found on the banks of the Parana,
at the height of a hundred feet, great beds of an estuary shell, now
living a hundred miles lower down nearer the sea; and I found
similar shells at a less height on the banks of the Uruguay; this
shows that just before the Pampas was slowly elevated into dry
land, the water covering it was brackish. Below Buenos Ayres there
are upraised beds of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves
that the period of elevation of the Pampas was within the recent
period.

In the Pampaean deposit at the Bajada I found the osseous armour
of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the
earth was removed, was like a great cauldron; I found also teeth of
the Toxodon and Mastodon, and one tooth of a Horse, in the same
stained and decayed state. This latter tooth greatly interested me, 1
and I took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been embedded
contemporaneously with the other remains; for I was not then aware
that amongst the fossils from Bahia Blanca there was a horse's tooth
hidden in the matrix: nor was it then known with certainty that
the remains of horses are common in North America. Mr. Lyell has
lately brought from the United States a tooth of a horse; and it is an
interesting fact, that Professor Owen could find in no species, either
fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature characterizing it,
until he thought of comparing it with my specimen found here: he
has named this American hors.e Equus curvidens. Certainly it is a
marvellous fact in the history of the Mammalia, that in South
America a native horse should have lived and disappeared, to be
succeeded in after-ages by the countless herds descended from the
few introduced with the Spanish colonists!

The existence in South America of a fossil horse, of the mastodon,
possibly of an elephant, 4 and of a hollow-horned ruminant, dis-
covered by MM. Lund and Clausen in the caves of Brazil, are highly
interesting facts with respect to the geographical distribution of

3 1 need hardly state here that there is good evidence against any horse living in
America at the time of Columbus.

4 Cuvier. Ossemens Fossiles, torn. i. p. 158.

I36 CHARLES DARWIN

animals. At the present time, if we divide America, not by the
Isthmus of Panama, but by the southern part of Mexico 5 in lat. 20 ,
where the great table-land presents an obstacle to the migration of
species, by affecting the climate, and by forming, with the exception
of some valleys and of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad
barrier; we shall then have the two zoological provinces of North
and South America strongly contrasted with each other. Some few
species alone have passed the barrier, and may be considered as
wanderers from the south, such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou,
and peccari. South America is characterized by possessing many
peculiar gnawers, a family of monkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir,
opossums, and, especially, several genera of Edentata, the order
which includes the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadilloes. North Amer-
ica, on the other hand, is characterized (putting on one side a few
wandering species) by numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four
genera (the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope) of hollow-horned rumi-
nants, of which great division South America is not known to
possess a single species. Formerly, but within the period when most
of the now existing shells were living, North America possessed,
besides hollow-horned ruminants, the elephant, mastodon, horse,
and three genera of Edentata, namely, the Megatherium, Megalonyx,
and Mylodon. Within nearly this same period (as proved by the
shells at Bahia Blanca) South America possessed, as we have just
seen, a mastodon, horse, hollow-horned ruminant, and the same
three genera (as well as several others) of the Edentata. Hence it
is evident that North and South America, in having within a late
geological period these several genera in common, were much more
closely related in the character of their terrestrial inhabitants than
they now are. The more I reflect on this case, the more interesting
it appears: I know of no other instance where we can almost mark
the period and manner of the splitting up of one great region into

5 This is the geographical division followed by Lichtenstein, Swainson, Erichson,
and Richardson. The section from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, given by Humboldt in
the Polit. Essay on Kingdom of N. Spain will show how immense a barrier the
Mexican table-land forms. Dr. Richardson, in his admirable Report on the Zoology
of N. America read before the Brit. Assoc. 1836 (p. 157), talking of the identification
of a Mexican animal with the Synetheres prehensilis, says, "We do not know with
what propriety, but if correct, it is, if not a solitary instance, at least very nearly
so, of a rodent animal being common to North and South America."

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 137

two well-characterized zoological provinces. The geologist, who is
fully impressed with the vast oscillations of level which have affected
the earth's crust within late periods, will not fear to speculate on the
recent elevation of the Mexican platform, or, more probably, on the
recent submergence of land in the West Indian Archipelago, as the
cause of the present zoological separation of North and South
America. The South American character of the West Indian mam-
mals 6 seems to indicate that this archipelago was formerly united
to the southern continent, and that it has subsequently been an area
of subsidence.

When America, and especially North America, possessed its ele-
phants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was
much more closely related in its zoological characters to the temper-
ate parts of Europe and Asia than it now is. As the remains of these
genera are found on both sides of Behring's Straits 7 and on the
plains of Siberia, we are led to look to the north-western side of
North America as the former point of communication between the
Old and so-called New World. And as so many species, both living
and extinct, of these same genera inhabit and have inhabited the
Old World, it seems most probable that the North American ele-
phants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants migrated,
on land since submerged near Behring's Straits, from Siberia into
North America, and thence, on land since submerged in the West
Indies, into South America, where for a time they mingled with the
forms characteristic of that southern continent, and have since
become extinct.

While travelling through the country, I received several vivid
descriptions of the effects of a late great drought; and the account
of this may throw some light on the cases where vast numbers of
animals of all kinds have been embedded together. The period
included between the years 1827 and 1830 is. called the "gran seco,"

6 See Dr. Richardson's Report, p. 157; also L'Institut, 1837, p. 253. Cuvier says
the kinkajou is found in the larger Antilles, but this is doubtful. M. Gervais states
that the Didelphis crancrivora is found there. It is certain that the West Indies possess
some mammifers peculiar to themselves. A tooth of a mastodon has been brought
from Bahama; Edin. New Phil. Journ., 1826, p. 395.

7 See the admirable Appendix by Dr. Buckland to Beechey's Voyage; also the
writings of Chamisso in Kotzebue's Voyage.

138 CHARLES DARWIN

or the great drought. During this time so little rain fell, that the
vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were dried up, and
the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty high road.
This was especially the case in the northern part of the province of
Buenos Ayres and the southern part of St. Fe. Very great numbers
of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of
food and water. A man told me that the deer 8 used to come into his
courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply his
own family with water; and that the partridges had hardly strength
to fly away when pursued. The lowest estimation of the loss of
cattle in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, was taken at one million
head. A proprietor at San Pedro had previously to these years
20,000 cattle; at the end not one remained. San Pedro is situated in
the middle of the finest country; and even now abounds again with
animals; yet, during the latter part of the "gran seco," live cattle were
brought in vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. The
animals roamed from their estancias, and, wandering far southward,
were mingled together in such multitudes, that a government com-
mission was sent from Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the
owners. Sir Woodbine Parish informed me of another and very
curious source of dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quan-
tities of dust were blown about, that in this open country the land-
marks became obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of
their estates.

I was informed by an eye-witness that the catde in herds of thou-
sands rushed into the Parana, and being exhausted by hunger they
were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were drowned.
The arm of the river which runs by San Pedro was so full of putrid
carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the smell rendered
it quite impassable. Without doubt several hundred thousand ani-

8 In Captain Owen's Surveying Voyage (vol. ii. p. 274) there is a curious account
of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at Benguela (west coast of Africa).
"A number of these animals had some time since entered the town, in a body, to
possess themselves of the wells, not being able to procure any water in the country.
The inhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which terminated in
the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not until they had killed one man, and
wounded several others." The town is said to have a population of nearly three
thousand! Dr. Malcolmson informs me that, during a great drought in India, the
wild animals entered the tents of some troops at Ellore, and that a hare drank out of
a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 139

mals thus perished in the river: their bodies when putrid were seen
floating down the stream; and many in all probability were deposited
in the estuary of the Plata. All the small rivers became highly saline,
and this caused the death of vast numbers in particular spots; for
when an animal drinks of such water it does not recover. Azara
describes 9 the fury of the wild horses on a similar occasion, rushing
into the marshes, those which arrived first being overwhelmed and
crushed by those which followed. He adds that more than once he
has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild horses thus
destroyed. I noticed that the smaller streams in the Pampas were
paved with a breccia of bones, but this probably is the effect of a
gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any one period.
Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to 1832, a very rainy season
followed, which caused great floods. Hence it is almost certain that
some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the deposits of the
very next year. What would be the opinion of a geologist, viewing
such an enormous collection of bones, of all kinds of animals and of
all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy mass? Would he not
attribute it to a flood having swept over the surface of the land,
rather than to the common order of things? 10

October 12th. — I had intended to push my excursion further, but
not being quite well, I was compelled to return by a balandra, or
one-masted vessel of about a hundred tons' burden, which was bound
to Buenos Ayres. As the weather was not fair, we moored early in
the day to a branch of a tree on one of the islands. The Parana is
full of islands, which undergo a constant round of decay and
renovation. In the memory of the master several large ones had
disappeared, and others again had been formed and protected by
vegetation. They are composed of muddy sand, without even the
smallest pebble, and were then about four feet above the level of
the river; but during the periodical floods they are inundated. They
all present one character; numerous willows and a few other trees
are bound together by a great variety of creeping plants, thus form-
ing a thick jungle. These thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and

9 Travels, vol. i. p. 374.

10 These droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost periodical; I was told the
dates of several others, and the intervals were about fifteen years.

140 CHARLES DARWIN

jaguars. The fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure
in scrambling through the woods. This evening I had not proceeded
a hundred yards, before finding indubitable signs of the recent pres-
ence of the tiger, I was obliged to come back. On every island there
were tracks; and as on the former excursion "el rastro de los Indios"
had been the subject of conversation, so in this was "el rastro del tigre."

The wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite
haunts of the jaguar; but south of the Plata, I was told that they
frequented the reeds bordering lakes: wherever they are, they seem
to require water. Their common prey is the capybara, so that it is
generally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little danger
from the jaguar. Falconer states that near the southern side of the
mouth of the Plata there are many jaguars, and that they chiefly live
on fish; this account I have heard repeated. On the Parana they
have killed many wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels at
night. There is a man now living in the Bajada, who, coming up
from below when it was dark, was seized on the deck; he escaped,
however, with the loss of the use of one arm. When the floods drive
these animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. I was told
that a few years since a very large one found its way into a church
at St. Fe: two padres entering one after the other were killed, and a
third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with difficulty.
The beast was destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building
which was unroofed. They commit also at these times great ravages
among cattle and horses. It is said that they kill their prey by break-
ing their necks. If driven from the carcass, they seldom return to it.
The Gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering about at night,
is much tormented by the foxes yelping as they follow him. This is
a curious coincidence with the fact which is generally affirmed of
the jackals accompanying, in a similarly officious manner, the East
Indian tiger. The jaguar is a noisy animal, roaring much by night,
and especially before bad weather.

One day, when hunting on the banks of the Uruguay, I was shown
certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for the pur-
pose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. I saw three well-known
trees; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by the breast of the
animal, and on each side there were deep scratches, or rather grooves,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 141

extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in length. The scars were
of different ages. A common method of ascertaining whether a
jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine these trees. I imagine
this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar to one which may any day
be seen in the common cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted
claws it scrapes the leg of a chair; and I have heard of young fruit-
trees in an orchard in England having been thus much injured.
Some such habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare
hard soil of Patagonia I have frequently seen scores so deep that no
other animal could have made them. The object of this practice is,
I believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as the
Gauchos think, to sharpen them. The jaguar is killed, without much
difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree,
where he is despatched with bullets.

Owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings.
Our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there were
several kinds, and all good eating. A fish called the "armado" (a
Silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating noise which it makes
when caught by hook and line, and which can be distinctly heard
when the fish is beneath the water. This same fish has the power of
firmly catching hold of any object, such as the blade of an oar or
the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal
fin. In the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer
standing at 79 °. Numbers of fireflies were hovering about, and the
musquitoes were very troublesome. I exposed my hand for five min-
utes, and it was soon black with them ; I do not suppose there could
have been less than fifty, all busy sucking.

October 15th. — We got under way and passed Punta Gorda, where
there is a colony of tame Indians from the province of Missiones.
We sailed rapidly down the current, but before sunset, from a silly
fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a narrow arm of the river. I
took the boat and rowed some distance up this creek. It was very
narrow, winding, and deep; on each side a wall thirty or forty feet
high, formed by trees intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a
singularly gloomy appearance. I here saw a very extraordinary bird,
called the Scissor-beak (Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web
feet, extremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern.

142 CHARLES DARWIN

The beak is flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to
that of a spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper-
cutter, and the lower mandible, differing from every other bird, is
an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a lake near Maldonado,
from which the water had been nearly drained, and which, in con-
sequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of these birds, gen-

erally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards and forwards close
to the surface of the lake. They kept their bills wide open, and the
lower mandible half buried in the water. Thus skimming the sur-
face, they ploughed it in their course: the water was quite smooth,
and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird
leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. In their flight
they frequently twist about with extreme quickness, and dexterously
manage with their projecting lower mandible to plough up small
fish, which are secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-
like bills. This fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued
to fly backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when
leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular, and
rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these birds are
fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings,
in keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus employed, their
forms resemble the symbol by which many artists represent marine
birds. Their tails are much used in steering their irregular course.
These birds are common far inland along the course of the Rio
Parana; it is said that they remain here during the whole year, and
breed in the marshes. During the day they rest in flocks on the grassy
plains at some distance from the water. Being at anchor, as I have
said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the Parana, as
the evening drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks suddenly

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE I43

appeared. The water was quite still, and many little fish were ris-
ing. The bird continued for a long time to skim the surface, flying
in its wild and irregular manner up and down the narrow canal,
now dark with the growing night and the shadows of the over-
hanging trees. At Monte Video, I observed that some large flocks
during the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the har-
bour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the Parana;
and every evening they took flight seaward. From these facts I
suspect that the Rhynchops generally fishes by night, at which time
many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the surface.
M. Lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the shells of
the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of Chile: from
their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much projecting, their
short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that this can be a
general habit.

In our course down the Parana, I observed only three other birds,
whose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small kingfisher
(Ceryle Americana) ; it has a longer tail than the European species,
and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. Its flight
also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course of an arrow,
is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds. It utters a
low note, like the clicking together of two small stones. A small
green parrot (Conurus murinus), with a grey breast, appears to
prefer the tall trees on the islands to any other situation for its
building-place. A number of nests are placed so close together as to
form one great mass of sticks. These parrots always live in flocks,
and commit great ravages on the corn-fields. I was told, that near
Colonia 2500 were killed in the course of one year. A bird with a
forked tail, terminated by two long feathers (Tyrannus savana), and
named by the Spaniards scissor-tail, is very common near Buenos
Ayres: it commonly sits on a branch of the ombu tree, near a house,
and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of insects, and returns to
the same spot. When on the wing it presents in its manner of flight
and general appearance a caricature-likeness of the common swal-
low. It has the power of turning very shortly in the air, and in so
doing opens and shuts its tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral
and sometimes in a vertical direction, just like a pair of scissors.

144 CHARLES DARWIN

October 16th. — Some leagues below Rozario, the western shore
of the Parana is bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extend in a
long line to below San Nicolas; hence it more resembles a sea-coast
than that of a fresh-water river. It is a great drawback to the scenery
of the Parana, that, from the soft nature of its banks, the water is
very muddy. The Uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is
much clearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of the
Plata, the waters may for a long distance be distinguished by their
black and red colours. In the evening, the wind being not quite
fair, as usual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew
rather freshly, though with a favouring current, the master was
much too indolent to think of starting. At Bajada, he was described
to me as "hombre muy aflicto" — a man always miserable to get on;
but certainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation. He was
an old Spaniard, and had been many years in this country. He pro-
fessed a great liking to the English, but stoutly maintained that the
battle of Trafalgar was merely won by the Spanish captains having
been all bought over; and that the only really gallant action on either
side was performed by the Spanish admiral. It struck me as rather
characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen being
thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or cowardly.

18th and 19th. — We continued slowly to sail down the noble
stream: the current helped us but little. We met, during our descent,
very few vessels. One of the best gifts of nature, in so grand a chan-
nel of communication, seems here wilfully thrown away — a river in
which ships might navigate from a temperate country, as surpris-
ingly abundant in certain productions as destitute of others, to
another possessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to
the best of judges, M. Bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility
in any part of the world. How different would have been the aspect
of this river if English colonists had by good fortune first sailed up
the Plata! What noble towns would now have occupied its shores!
Till the death of Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, these two coun-
tries must remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of the globe.
And when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long account,
Paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in proportion to the
previous unnatural calm. That country will have to learn, like every

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 45

other South American state, that a republic cannot succeed till it
contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice
and honour.

October 20th. — Being arrived at the mouth of the Parana, and as
I was very anxious to reach Buenos Ayres, I went on shore at Las
Conchas, with the intention of riding there. Upon landing, I found
to my great surprise that I was to a certain degree a prisoner. A
violent revolution having broken out, all the ports were laid under
an embargo. I could not return to my vessel, and as for going by
land to the city, it was out of the question. After a long conversa-
tion with the commandant, I obtained permission to go the next
day to General Rolor, who commanded a division of the rebels on
this side the capital. In the morning I rode to the encampment.
The general, officers, and soldiers, all appeared, and I believe really
were, great villains. The general, the very evening before he left
the city, voluntarily went to the Governor, and with his hand to his
heart, pledged his word of honour that he at least would remain
faithful to the last. The general told me that the city was in a state
of close blockade, and that all he could do was to give me a passport
to the commander-in-chief of the rebels at Quilmes. We had there-
fore to take a great sweep round the city, and it was with much
difficulty that we procured horses. My reception at the encampment
was quite civil, but I was told it was impossible that I could be
allowed to enter the city. I was very anxious about this, as I an-
ticipated the Beagle's departure from the Rio Plata earlier than it
took place. Having mentioned, however, General Rosas's obliging
kindness to me when at the Colorado, magic itself could not have
altered circumstances quicker than did this conversation. I was
instantly told that though they could not give me a passport, if I
chose to leave my guide and horses, I might pass their sentinels. I
was too glad to accept of this, and an officer was sent with me to
give directions that I should not be stopped at the bridge. The road
for the space of a league was quite deserted. I met one party of
soldiers, who were satisfied by gravely looking at an old passport:
and at length I was not a little pleased to find myself within the city.

This revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of griev-
ances: but in a state which, in the course of nine months (from

I46 CHARLES DARWIN

February to October, 1820), underwent fifteen changes in its govern-
ment—each governor, according to the constitution, being elected
for three years — it would be very unreasonable to ask for pretexts.
In this case, a party of men — who, being attached to Rosas, were
disgusted with the governor Balcarce — to the number of seventy
left the city, and with the cry of "Rosas!" the whole country took
arms. The city was then blockaded, no provisions, catde or horses,
were allowed to enter; besides this, there was only a little skirmish-
ing, and a few men daily killed. The outside party well knew that
by stopping the supply of meat they would certainly be victorious.
General Rosas could not have known of this rising; but it appears
to be quite consonant with the plans of his party. A year ago he
was elected governor, but he refused it, unless the Sala would also
confer on him extraordinary powers. This was refused, and since
then his party have shown that no other governor can keep his place.
The warfare on both sides was avowedly protracted till it was pos-
sible to hear from Rosas. A note arrived a few days after I left
Buenos Ayres, which stated that the General disapproved of peace
having been broken, but that he thought the outside party had
justice on their side. On the bare reception of this, the Governor,
ministers, and part of the military, to the number of some hundreds,
fled from the city. The rebels entered, elected a new governor, and
were paid for their services to the number of 5500 men. From these
proceedings, it was clear that Rosas ultimately would become the
dictator: to the term king, the people in this, as in other republics,
have a particular dislike. Since leaving South America, we have
heard that Rosas has been elected, with powers and for a time
altogether opposed to the constitutional principles of the republic.

CHAPTER VIII

Banda Oriental and Patagonia

Excursion to Colonia del Sacramiento — Value of an Estancia — Cattle,
how counted — Singular Breed of Oxen — Perforated Pebbles — Shepherd
Dogs — Horses broken-in, Gauchos riding — Character of Inhabitants —
Rio Plata — Flocks of Butterflies — Aeronaut Spiders — Phosphorescence
of the Sea — Port Desire — Guanaco — Port St. Julian — Geology of Pata-
gonia — Fossil gigantic Animal — Types of Organization constant-
Change in the Zoology of America— Causes of Extinction.

HAVING been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, I
was glad to escape on board a packet bound for Monte
Video. A town in a state of blockade must always be a
disagreeable place of residence; in this case moreover there were
constant apprehensions from robbers within. The sentinels were the
worst of all; for, from their office and from having arms in their
hands, they robbed with a degree of authority which other men
could not imitate.

Our passage was a very long and tedious one. The Plata looks
like a noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. A wide
expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. At one
time of the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low,
could just be distinguished from the deck. On arriving at Monte
Video I found that the Beagle would not sail for some time, so I
prepared for a short excursion in this part of Banda Oriental. Every-
thing which I have said about the country near Maldonado is ap-
plicable to Monte Video; but the land, with the one exception of
the Green Mount 450 feet high, from which it takes its name, is far
more level. Very little of the undulating grassy plain is enclosed;
but near the town there are a few hedge-banks, covered with agaves,
cacti, and fennel.

November 14th. — We left Monte Video in the afternoon. I in-
tended to proceed to Colonia del Sacramiento, situated on the
northern bank of the Plata and opposite to Buenos Ayres, and thence,

147

I48 CHARLES DARWIN

following up the Uruguay, to the village of Mercedes on the Rio
Negro (one of the many rivers of this name in South America), and
from this point to return direct to Monte Video. We slept at the
house of my guide at Canelones. In the morning we rose early, in
the hopes of being able to ride a good distance; but it was a vain
attempt, for all the rivers were flooded. We passed in boats the
streams of Canelones, St. Lucia, and San Jose, and thus lost much
time. On a former excursion I crossed the Lucia near its mouth, and
I was surprised to observe how easily our horses, although not used
to swim, passed over a width of at least six hundred yards. On
mentioning this at Monte Video, I was told that a vessel containing
some mountebanks and their horses, being wrecked in the Plata,
one horse swam seven miles to the shore. In the course of the day
I was amused by the dexterity with which a Gaucho forced a
restive horse to swim a river. He stripped off his clothes, and jump-
ing on its back, rode into the water till it was out of its depth; then
slipping off over the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as
often as the horse turned round, the man frightened it back by
splashing water in its face. As soon as the horse touched the bottom
on the other side, the man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated,
bridle in hand, before the horse gained the bank. A naked man on
a naked horse is a fine spectacle; I had no idea how well the two
animals suited each other. The tail of a horse is a very useful
appendage; I have passed a river in a boat with four people in it,
which was ferried across in the same way as the Gaucho. If a man
and horse have to cross a broad river, the best plan is for the man to
catch hold of the oommel or mane, and help himself with the other
arm.

We slept and stayed the following day at the post of Cufre. In
the evening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. He was a day
after his time, owing to the Rio Rozario being flooded. It would not,
however, be of much consequence; for, although he had passed
through some of the principal towns in Banda Oriental, his lug-
gage consisted of two letters! The view from the house was pleas-
ing; an undulating green surface, with distant glimpses of the
Plata. I find that I look at this province with very different eyes
from what I did upon my first arrival. I recollect I then thought it

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 149

singularly level; but now, after galloping over the Pampas, my only
surprise is, what could have induced me ever to call it level. The
country is a series of undulations, in themselves perhaps not ab-
solutely great, but, as compared to the plains of St. Fe, real moun-
tains. From these inequalities there is an abundance of small
rivulets, and the turf is green and luxuriant.

November ijth. — We crossed the Rozario, which was deep and
rapid, and passing the village of Colla, arrived at midday at Colonia
del Sacramiento. The distance is twenty leagues, through a coun-
try covered with fine grass, but poorly stocked with cattle or in-
habitants. I was invited to sleep at Colonia, and to accompany on
the following day a gentleman to his estancia, where there were
some limestone rocks. The town is built on a stony promontory
something in the same manner as at Monte Video. It is strongly
fortified, but both fortifications and town suffered much in the
Brazilian war. It is very ancient; and the irregularity of the streets,
and the surrounding groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a
pretty appearance. The church is a curious ruin; it was used as a
powder-magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten
thousand thunder-storms of the Rio Plata. Two-thirds of the build-
ing were blown away to the very foundation; and the rest stands a
shattered and curious monument of the united powers of lightning
and gunpowder. In the evening I wandered about the half-demol-
ished walls of the town. It was the chief seat of the Brazilian war;
— a war most injurious to this country, not so much in its immediate
effects, as in being the origin of a multitude of generals and all
other grades of officers. More generals are numbered (but not paid)
in the United Provinces of La Plata than in the United Kingdom of
Great Britain. These gentlemen have learned to like power, and
do not object to a little skirmishing. Hence there are many always
on the watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government
which as yet has never rested on any staple foundation. I noticed,
however, both here and in other places, a very general interest in
the ensuing election for the President; and this appears a good sign
for the prosperity of this little country. The inhabitants do not re-
quire much education in their representatives; I heard some men
discussing the merits of those for Colonia; and it was said that,

150 CHARLES DARWIN

"although they were not men of business, they could all sign their
names :" with this they seemed to think every reasonable man ought
to be satisfied.

18th. — Rode with my host to his estancia, at the Arroyo de San
Juan. In the evening we took a ride round the estate: it contained
two square leagues and a half, and was situated in what is called a
rincon; that is, one side was fronted by the Plata, and the two others
guarded by impassable brooks. There was an excellent port for
little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is valuable as
supplying fuel to Buenos Ayres. I was curious to know the value of
so complete an estancia. Of cattle there were 3000, and it would
well support three or four times that number; of mares 800, together
with 150 broken-in horses, and 600 sheep. There was plenty of
water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals, and a peach
orchard. For all this he had been offered ^2000, and he only wanted
,£500 additional, and probably would sell it for less. The chief
trouble with an estancia is driving the cattle twice a week to a
central spot, in order to make them tame, and to count them. This
latter operation would be thought difficult, where there are ten or
fifteen thousand head together. It is managed on the principle that
the cattle invariably divide themselves into little troops of from forty
to one hundred. Each troop is recognized by a few peculiarly marked
animals, and its number is known : so that, one being lost out of ten
thousand, it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas.
During a stormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next
morning the tropillas separate as before; so that each animal must
know its fellow out of ten thousand others.

On two occasions I met with in this province some oxen of a very
curious breed, called nata or niata. They appear externally to hold
nearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull or pug dogs do
to other dogs. Their forehead is very short and broad, with the
nasal end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their
lower jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corresponding up-
ward curve; hence their teeth are always exposed. Their nostrils
are seated high up and are very open; their eyes project outwards.
When walking they carry their heads low, on a short neck; and
their hinder legs are rather longer compared with the front legs

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 151

than is usual. Their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned
nostrils give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance
imaginable.

Since my return, I have procured a skeleton head, through the
kindness of my friend Captain Sulivan, R. N., which is now de-
posited in the College of Surgeons. 1 Don F. Muniz, of Luxan, has
kindly collected for me all the information which he could respecting
this breed. From his account it seems that about eighty or ninety
years ago, they were rare and kept as curiosities at Buenos Ayres.
The breed is universally believed to have originated amongst the
Indians southward of the Plata; and that it was with them the com-
monest kind. Even to this day, those reared in the provinces near
the Plata show their less civilized origin, in being fiercer than com-
mon cattle, and in the cow easily deserting her first calf, if visited
too often or molested. It is a singular fact that an almost similar
structure to the abnormal 2 one of the niata breed, characterizes, as
I am informed by Dr. Falconer, that great extinct ruminant of India,
the Sivatherium. The breed is very true; and a niata bull and cow
invariably produce niata calves. A niata bull with a common cow,
or the reverse cross, produces offspring having an intermediate
character, but with the niata characters strongly displayed: accord-
ing to Senor Muniz, there is the clearest evidence, contrary to the
common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases, that the niata
cow when crossed with a common bull transmits her peculiarities
more strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a common
cow. When the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle feed with
the tongue and palate as well as common cattle; but during the
great droughts, when so many animals perish, the niata breed is
under a great disadvantage, and would be exterminated if not at-
tended to; for the common cattle, like horses, are able just to keep
alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and reeds; this
the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not join, and hence they
are found to perish before the common cattle. This strikes me as a

' Mr. Waterhouse has drawn up a detailed description of this head, which I hope
he will publish in some Journal.

2 A nearly similar abnormal, but I do not know whether hereditary, structure has
been observed in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the Ganges: Histoire
des Anomalies, par M. Isid Geoffroy St. Hilaire, torn. i. p. 244.

152 CHARLES DARWIN

good illustration of how little we are able to judge from the ordinary
habits of life, on what circumstances, occurring only at long inter-
vals, the rarity or extinction of a species may be determined.

November igth. — Passing the valley of Las Vacas, we slept at a
house of a North American, who worked a lime-kiln on the Arroyo
de las Vivoras. In the morning we rode to a projecting headland on
the banks of the river, called Punta Gorda. On the way we tried to
find a jaguar. There were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the
trees, on which they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not
succeed in disturbing one. From this point the Rio Uruguay pre-
sented to our view a noble volume of water. From the clearness
and rapidity of the stream, its appearance was far superior to that of
its neighbour, the Parana. On the opposite coast, several branches
from the latter river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining,
the two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct.

In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on
the Rio Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia
at which we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being
ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners
in the country. His nephew had charge of it, and with him there
was a captain in the army, who the other day ran away from Buenos
Ayres. Considering their station, their conversation was rather
amusing. They expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment
at the globe being round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would,
if deep enough, come out on the other side. They had, however,
heard of a country where there were six months of light and six of
darkness, and where the inhabitants were very tall and thin! They
were curious about the price and condition of horses and cattle in
England. Upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the
lazo, they cried out, "Ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas:" the
idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. The captain at
last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be very
much obliged if I would answer with all truth. I trembled to think
how deeply scientific it would be: it was, "Whether the ladies of
Buenos Ayres were not the handsomest in the world." I replied,
like a renegade, "Charmingly so." He added, "I have one other
question: Do ladies in any other part of the world wear such large

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 153

combs?" I solemnly assured him that they did not. They were ab-
solutely delighted. The captain exclaimed, "Look there! a man
who has seen half the world says it is the case; we always thought
so, but now we know it." My excellent judgment in combs and
beauty procured me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced
me to take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado.

21st. — Started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole day.
The geological nature of this part of the province was different from
the rest, and closely resembled that of the Pampas. In consequence,
there were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon:
the whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed of these
plants. The two sorts grow separate, each plant in company with
its own kind. The cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the
Pampas thistle is often higher than the crown of the rider's head.
To leave the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road
itself is partly, and in some cases entirely closed. Pasture, of course
there is none; if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the
time completely lost. Hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive
cattle at this season of the year; for when jaded enough to face the
thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no more. In these
districts there are very few estancias, and these few are situated in
the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortunately neither of
these overwhelming plants can exist. As night came on before we
arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a miserable little hovel in-
habited by the poorest people. The extreme though rather formal
courtesy of our host and hostess, considering their grade of life,
was quite delightful.

November 22nd. — Arrived at an estancia on the Berquelo belong-
ing to a very hospitable Englishman, to whom I had a letter of
introduction from my friend Mr. Lumb. I stayed here three days.
One morning I rode with my host to the Sierra del Pedro Flaco,
about twenty miles up the Rio Negro. Nearly the whole country
was covered with good, though coarse, grass, which was as high as
a horse's belly; yet there were square leagues without a single head
of cattle. The province of Banda Oriental, if well stocked, would
support an astonishing number of animals; at present the annual
export of hides from Monte Video amounts to three hundred

154 CHARLES DARWIN

thousand; and the home consumption, from waste, is very consider-
able. An "estanciero" told me that he often had to send large herds
of cattle a long journey to a salting establishment, and that the tired
beasts were frequently obliged to be killed and skinned; but that he
could never persuade the Gauchos to eat of them, and every evening
a fresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! The view of the
Rio Negro from the Sierra was more picturesque than any other
which I saw in this province. The river, broad, deep, and rapid,
wound at the foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood fol-
lowed its course, and the horizon terminated in the distant undula-
tions of the turf-plain.

When in this neighbourhood, I several times heard of the Sierra
de las Cuentas: a hill distant many miles to the northward. The
name signifies hill of beads. I was assured that vast numbers of
little round stones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical
hole, are found there. Formerly the Indians used to collect them,
for the purpose of making necklaces and bracelets — a taste, I may
observe, which is common to all savage nations, as well as to the
most polished. I did not know what to understand from this story,
but upon mentioning it at the Cape of Good Hope to Dr. Andrew
Smith, he told me that he recollected finding on the south-eastern
coast of Africa, about one hundred miles to the eastward of St.
John's river, some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from
attrition, and mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. Each crystal was
about five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a half
in length. Many of them had a small canal extending from one
extremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that readily
admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. Their colour was
red or dull white. The natives were acquainted with this structure
in crystals. I have mentioned these circumstances because, although
no crystallized body is at present known to assume this form, it may
lead some future traveller to investigate the real nature of such stones.

While staying at this estancia, I was amused with what I saw and
heard of the shepherd-dogs of the country. 3 When riding, it is a
common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by one or two

3 M. A. d'Orbigny has given nearly a similar account of these dogs, torn. i. p. 175.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 55

dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house or man. I often
wondered how so firm a friendship had been established. The
method of education consists in separating the puppy, while very
young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to its future compan-
ions. An ewe is held three or four times a day for the litde thing to
suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the sheep-pen; at no time
is it allowed to associate with other dogs, or with the children of
the family. The puppy is, moreover, generally castrated; so that,
when grown up, it can scarcely have any feelings in common with
the rest of its kind. From this education it has no wish to leave the
flock, and just as another dog will defend its master, man, so will
these the sheep. It is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock,
how the dog immediately advances barking, and the sheep all close
in his rear, as if round the oldest ram. These dogs are also easily
taught to bring home the flock, at a certain hour in the evening.
Their most troublesome fault, when young, is their desire of play-
ing with the sheep; for in their sport they sometimes gallop their
poor subjects most unmercifully.

The shepherd-dog comes to the house every day for some meat,
and as soon as it is given him, he skulks away as if ashamed of him-
self. On these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the
least of them will attack and pursue the stranger. The minute, how-
ever, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and begins to
bark, and then all the house-dogs take very quickly to their heels.
In a similar manner a whole pack of the hungry wild dogs will
scarcely ever (and I was told by some never) venture to attack a
flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. The whole
account appears to me a curious instance of the pliability of the
affections in the dog; and yet, whether wild or however educated,
he has a feeling of respect or fear for those that are fulfilling their
instinct of association. For we can understand on no principle the
wild dogs being driven away by the single one with its flock, except
that they consider, from some confused notion, that the one thus
associated gains power, as if in company with its own kind. F.
Cuvier has observed, that all animals that readily enter into domesti-
cation, consider man as a member of their own society, and thus
fulfil their instinct of association. In the above case the shepherd-

I56 CHARLES DARWIN

dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-brethren, and thus gains confidence;
and the wild dogs, though knowing that the individual sheep are
not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly consent to this view when
seeing them in a flock with a shepherd-dog at their head.

One evening a "domidor" (a subduer of horses) came for the
purpose of breaking-in some colts. I will describe the preparatory
steps, for I believe they have not been mentioned by other travellers.
A troop of wild young horses is driven into the corral, or large en-
closure of stakes, and the door is shut. We will suppose that one
man alone has to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never
felt bridle or saddle. I conceive, except by a Gaucho, such a feat
would be utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks out a full-grown
colt; and as the beast rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo so
as to catch both the front legs. Instantly the horse rolls over with
a heavy shock, and whilst struggling on the ground, the Gaucho,
holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one of the hind
legs, just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to the two front
legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are bound together.
Then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong bridle, without a
bit, to the lower jaw: this he does by passing a narrow thong through
the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and several times round both
jaw and tongue. The two front legs are now tied closely together
with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a slip-knot. The lazo,
which bound the three together, being then loosed, the horse rises
with difficulty. The Gaucho now holding fast the bridle fixed to
the lower jaw, leads the horse outside the corral. If a second man is
present (otherwise the trouble is much greater) he holds the animal's
head, whilst the first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, and girths
the whole together. During this operation, the horse, from dread
and astonishment at thus being bound round the waist, throws him-
self over and over again on the ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling
to rise. At last, when the saddling is finished, the poor animal can
hardly breathe from fear, and is white with foam and sweat. The
man now prepares to mount by pressing heavily on the stirrup, so
that the horse may not lose its balance; and at the moment that he
throws his leg over the animal's back, he pulls the slip-knot binding
the front legs, and the beast is free. Some "domidors" pull the knot

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 57

while the animal is lying on the ground, and, standing over the
saddle, allow him to rise beneath them. The horse, wild with dread,
gives a few most violent bounds, and then starts off at full gallop:
when quite exhausted, the man, by patience, brings him back to the
corral, where, reeking hot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let
free. Those animals which will not gallop away, but obstinately
throw themselves on the ground, are by far the most troublesome.
This process is tremendously severe, but in two or three trials the
horse is tamed. It is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is
ridden with the iron bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate
the will of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most powerful
bridle can be of any service.

Animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and
self-interest are not closely united; therefore I fear it is that the
former is here scarcely known. One day, riding in the Pampas with
a very respectable "estanciero," my horse, being tired, lagged behind.
The man often shouted to me to spur him. When I remonstrated
that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted, he cried out,
"Why not? — never mind — spur him — it is my horse." I had then
some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for the horse's
sake, and not on his account, that I did not choose to use my spurs.
He exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, "Ah, Don Carlos, que
cosa!" It was clear that such an idea had never before entered his
head.

The Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The idea of
being thrown, let the horse do what it likes, never enters their head.
Their criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage an un-
tamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own feet, or can
perform other such exploits. I have heard of a man betting that he
would throw his horse down twenty times, and that nineteen times
he would not fall himself. I recollect seeing a Gaucho riding a very
stubborn horse, which three times successively reared so high as to
fall backwards with great violence. The man judged with uncom-
mon coolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an instant
before or after the right time; and as soon as the horse got up, the
man jumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. The
Gaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. I was one day

158 CHARLES DARWIN

watching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace,
and thought to myself, "Surely if the horse starts, you appear so
careless on your seat, you must fall." At this moment, a male
ostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the horse's nose : the young
colt bounded on one side like a stag; but as for the man, all
that could be said was, that he started and took fright with his
horse.

In Chile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the
horse than in La Plata, and this is evidently a consequence of the
more intricate nature of the country. In Chile, a horse is not con-
sidered perfectly broken, till he can be brought up standing, in the
midst of his full speed, on any particular spot, — for instance, on a
cloak thrown on the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and
rearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs. I have seen an animal
bounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a fore-finger and thumb,
taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel
round the post of a veranda with great speed, but at so equal a
distance, that the rider, with outstretched arm, all the while kept
one finger rubbing the post. Then making a demi-volte in the air,
with the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round,
with astonishing force, in an opposite direction.

Such a horse is well broken; and although this at first may appear
useless, it is far otherwise. It is only carrying that which is daily
necessary into perfection. When a bullock is checked and caught
by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a circle,
and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not well broken,
will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. In consequence many
men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a twist round a
man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the two opposed
animals, almost cut him in twain. On the same principle the races
are managed; the course is only two or three hundred yards long,
the wish being to have horses that can make a rapid dash. The
racehorses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs touching a
line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the first spring to
bring into play the full action of the hind-quarters. In Chile I was
told an anecdote, which I believe was true; and it offers a good
illustration of the use of a well-broken animal. A respectable man
riding one day met two others, one of whom was mounted on a

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 59

horse, which he knew to have been stolen from himself. He chal-
lenged them; they answered him by drawing their sabres and giv-
ing chase. The man, on his good and fleet beast, kept just ahead:
as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and brought up his
horse to a dead check. The pursuers were obliged to shoot on one
side and ahead. Then instantly dashing on, right behind them, he
buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the other, recovered
his horse from the dying robber, and rode home. For these feats of
horsemanship two things are necessary: a most severe bit, like the
Mameluke, the power of which, though seldom used, the horse
knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be applied either as
a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme pain. I conceive that
with English spurs, the slightest touch of which pricks the skin, it
would be impossible to break in a horse after the South American
fashion.

At an estancia near Las Vacas large numbers of mares are weekly
slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five
paper dollars, or about half a crown apiece. It seems at first strange
that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle; but as it is thought
ridiculous in this country ever to break in or ride a mare, they are
of no value except for breeding. The only thing for which I ever
saw mares used, was to tread out wheat from the ear; for which
purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure, where the
wheat-sheaves were strewed. The man employed for slaughtering
the mares happened to be celebrated for his dexterity with the lazo.
Standing at the distance of twelve yards from the mouth of the
corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the legs every
animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him. There was
another man who said he would enter the corral on foot, catch a
mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw her down,
kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter is a tedious
job); and he engaged that he would perform this whole operation
on twenty-two animals in one day. Or he would kill and take the
skin off fifty in the same time. This would have been a prodigious
task, for it is considered a good day's work to skin and stake the
hides of fifteen or sixteen animals.

November 26th. — I set out on my return in a direct line for Monte
Video. Having heard of some giant's bones at a neighbouring farm-

l60 CHARLES DARWIN

house on the Sarandis, a small stream entering the Rio Negro, I rode
there accompanied by my host, and purchased for the value of
eighteen pence the head of the Toxodon. 4 When found it was quite
perfect; but the boys knocked out some of the teeth with stones, and
then set up the head as a mark to throw at. By a most fortunate
chance I found a perfect tooth, which exactly fitted one of the sock-
ets in this skull, embedded by itself on the banks of the Rio Tercero,
at the distance of about 180 miles from this place. I found remains
of this extraordinary animal at two other places, so that it must
formerly have been common. I found here, also, some large portions
of the armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the
great head of a Mylodon. The bones of this head are so fresh, that
they contain, according to the analysis by Mr. T. Reeks, seven per
cent of animal matter; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn
with a small flame. The number of the remains embedded in the
grand estuary deposit which forms the Pampas and covers the
granitic rocks of Banda Oriental, must be extraordinarily great. I
believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the Pampas
would cut through some skeleton or bones. Besides those which I
found during my short excursions, I heard of many others, and the
origin of such names as "the stream of the animal," "the hill of the
giant," is obvious. At other times I heard of the marvellous prop-
erty of certain rivers, which had the power of changing small bones
into large; or, as some maintained, the bones themselves grew. As
far as I am aware, not one of these animals perished, as was formerly
supposed, in the marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land,
but their bones have been exposed by the streams intersecting the
subaqueous deposit in which they were originally embedded. We
may conclude that the whole area of the Pampas is one wide sepul-
chre of these extinct gigantic quadrupeds.

By the middle of the day, on the 28th, we arrived at Monte Video,
having been two days and a half on the road. The country for the
whole way was of a very uniform character, some parts being rather
more rocky and hilly than near the Plata. Not far from Monte Video

4 I must express my obligation to Mr. Keane, at whose house I was staying on
the Berquelo, and to Mr. Lumb at Buenos Ayres, for without their assistance these
valuable remains would never have reached England.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE l6l

we passed through the village of Las Pietras, so named from some
large rounded masses of syenite. Its appearance was rather pretty.
In this country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site
elevated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be
called picturesque.

During the last six months I have had an opportunity of seeing a
little of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces. The
Gauchos, or countrymen, are very superior to those who reside in
the towns. The Gaucho is invariably most obliging, polite, and hos-
pitable: I did not meet with even one instance of rudeness or in-
hospitality. He is modest, both respecting himself and country, but
at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. On the other hand, many
robberies are committed, and there is much bloodshed: the habit of
constantly wearing the knife is the chief cause of the latter. It is
lamentable to hear how many lives are lost in trifling quarrels. In
fighting, each party tries to mark the face of his adversary by slash-
ing his nose or eyes; as is often attested by deep and horrid-looking
scars. Robberies are a natural consequence of universal gambling,
much drinking, and extreme indolence. At Mercedes I asked two
men why they did not work. One gravely said the days were too
long; the other that he was too poor. The number of horses and the
profusion of food are the destruction of all industry. Moreover,
there are so many feast-days; and again, nothing can succeed with-
out it be begun when the moon is on the increase; so that half the
month is lost from these two causes.

Police and justice are quite inefficient. If a man who is poor com-
mits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps even
shot; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no very
severe consequence will ensue. It is curious that the most respectable
inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer to escape:
they seem to think that the individual sins against the government,
and not against the people. A traveller has no protection besides his
fire-arms; and the constant habit of carrying them is the main check
to more frequent robberies.

The character of the higher and more educated classes who reside
in the towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the good

1 62 CHARLES DARWIN

parts of the Gaucho, but is, I fear, stained by many vices of which
he is free. Sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the grossest cor-
ruption, are far from uncommon. Nearly every public officer can be
bribed. The head man in the post-office sold forged government
franks. The governor and prime minister openly combined to plun-
der the state. Justice, where gold came into play, was hardly expected
by any one. I knew an Englishman, who went to the Chief Justice
(he told me, that not then understanding the ways of the place, he
trembled as he entered the room), and said, "Sir, I have come to
offer you two hundred (paper) dollars (value about five pounds
sterling) if you will arrest before a certain time a man who has
cheated me. I know it is against the law, but my lawyer (naming
him) recommended me to take this step." The Chief Justice smiled
acquiescence, thanked him, and the man before night was safe in
prison. With this entire want of principle in many of the leading
men, with the country full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the people
yet hope that a democratic form of government can succeed!

On first entering society in these countries, two or three features
strike one as particularly remarkable. The polite and dignified man-
ners pervading every rank of life, the excellent taste displayed by
the women in their dresses, and the equality amongst all ranks. At
the Rio Colorado some men who kept the humblest shops used to
dine with General Rosas. A son of a major at Bahia Blanca gained
his livelihood by making paper cigars, and he wished to accompany
me, as guide or servant, to Buenos Ayres, but his father objected on
the score of the danger alone. Many officers in the army can neither
read nor write, yet all meet in society as equals. In Entre Rios, the
Sala consisted of only six representatives. One of them kept a com-
mon shop, and evidently was not degraded by the office. All this is
what would be expected in a new country; nevertheless the absence
of gentlemen by profession appears to an Englishman something
strange.

When speaking of these countries, the manner in which they
have been brought up by their unnatural parent, Spain, should
always be borne in mind. On the whole, perhaps, more credit is due
for what has been done, than blame for that which may be deficient.
It is impossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism of these

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 63

countries must ultimately lead to good results. The very general
toleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the means of educa-
tion, the freedom of the press, the facilities offered to all foreigners,
and especially, as I am bound to add, to every one professing the
humblest pretensions to science, should be recollected with gratitude
by those who have visited Spanish South America.

December 6th. — The Beagle sailed from the Rio Plata, never again
to enter its muddy stream. Our course was directed to Port Desire,
on the coast of Patagonia. Before proceeding any further, I will
here put together a few observations made at sea.

Several times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth
of the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern
Patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. One evening, when
we were about ten miles from the Bay of San Bias, vast numbers of
butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far
as the eye could range. Even by the aid of a telescope it was not pos-
sible to see a space free from butterflies. The seamen cried out "it
was snowing butterflies," and such in fact was the appearance. More
species than one were present, but the main part belonged to a kind
very similar to, but not identical with, the common English Colias
edusa. Some moths and hymenoptera accompanied the butterflies;
and a fine beetle (Calosoma) flew on board. Other instances are
known of this beetle having been caught far out at sea; and this is
the more remarkable, as the greater number of the Carabidae seldom
or never take wing. The day had been fine and calm, and the one
previous to it equally so, with light and variable airs. Hence we
cannot suppose that the insects were blown off the land, but we
must conclude that they voluntarily took flight. The great bands of
the Colias seem at first to afford an instance like those on record o£
the migrations of another butterfly, Vanessa cardui; 5 but the presence
of other insects makes the case distinct, and even less intelligible.
Before sunset a strong breeze sprung up from the north, and this
must have caused tens of thousands of the butterflies and other in-
sects to have perished.

On another occasion, when seventeen miles off Cape Corrientes,
I had a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. Upon drawing it

5 Lyell's Principles of Geology, vol. iii. p. 63.

164 CHARLES DARWIN

up, to my surprise, I found a considerable number of beetles in it,
and although in the open sea, they did not appear much injured by
the salt water. I lost some of the specimens, but those which I pre-
served belonged to the genera Colymbetes, Hydroporus, Hydrobius
(two species), Notaphus, Cynucus, Adimonia, and Scarabaeus. At
first, I thought that these insects had been blown from the shore;
but, upon reflecting that out of the eight species four were aquatic
and two others partly so in their habits, it appeared to me most
probable that they were floated into the sea by a small stream which
drains a lake near Cape Corrientes. On any supposition it is an
interesting circumstance to find live insects swimming in the open
ocean seventeen miles from the nearest point of land. There are
several accounts of insects having been blown off the Patagonian
shore. Captain Cook observed it, as did more lately Captain King
of the Adventure. The cause probably is due to the want of shelter,
both of trees and hills, so that an insect on the wing with an off-shore
breeze, would be very apt to be blown out to sea. The most remark-
able instance I have known of an insect being caught far from the
land, was that of a large grasshopper (Acrydium), which flew on
board, when the Beagle was to windward of the Cape de Verd
Islands, and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed to
the trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the coast of Africa, 370 miles
distant. 6

On several occasions, when the Beagle has been within the mouth
of the Plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of the Gos-
samer Spider. One day (November 1st, 1832) I paid particular
attention to this subject. The weather had been fine and clear, and
in the morning the air was full of patches of the flocculent web, as
on an autumnal day in England. The ship was sixty miles distant
from the land, in the direction of a steady, though light, breeze.
Vast numbers of a small spider, about one-tenth of an inch in length,
and of a dusky red colour, were attached to the webs. There must
have been, I should suppose, some thousands on the ship. The little
spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was always
seated on a single thread, and not on the flocculent mass. This lat-

6 The flies which frequently accompany a ship for some days on its passage from
harbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost, and all disappear.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 65

ter seems merely to be produced by the entanglement of the single
threads. The spiders were all of one species, but of both sexes,
together with young ones. These latter were distinguished by their
smaller size and more dusky colour. I will not give the description
of this spider, but merely state that it does not appear to me to be
included in any of Latreille's genera. The little aeronaut as soon as
it arrived on board was very active, running about, sometimes let-
ting itself fall, and then reascending the same thread; sometimes
employing itself in making a small and very irregular mesh in the
corners between the ropes. It could run with facility on the surface
of the water. When disturbed it lifted up its front legs, in the atti-
tude of attention. On its first arrival it appeared very thirsty, and
with exserted maxillae drank eagerly of drops of water; this same
circumstance has been observed by Strack: may it not be in conse-
quence of the little insect having passed through a dry and rarefied
atmosphere? Its stock of web seemed inexhaustible. While watch-
ing some that were suspended by a single thread, I several times
observed that the slightest breath of air bore them away out of sight,
in a horizontal line.

On another occasion (25th) under similar circumstances, I re-
peatedly observed the same kind of small spider, either when placed
or having crawled on some little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send
forth a thread, and then sail away horizontally, but with a rapidity
which was quite unaccountable. I thought I could perceive that the
spider, before performing the above preparatory steps, connected its
legs together with the most delicate threads, but I am not sure
whether this observation was correct.

One day, at St. Fe, I had a better opportunity of observing some
similar facts. A spider which was about three-tenths of an inch in
length, and which in its general appearance resembled a Citigrade
(therefore quite different from the gossamer), while standing on the
summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads from its spinners.
These, glittering in the sunshine, might be compared to diverging
rays of light; they were not, however, straight, but in undulations
like films of silk blown by the wind. They were more than a yard
in length, and diverged in an ascending direction from the orifices.
The spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post, and was quickly

1 66 CHARLES DARWIN

borne out of sight. The day was hot and apparently calm; yet under
such circumstances, the atmosphere can never be so tranquil as not
to affect a vane so delicate as the thread of a spider's web. If during
a warm day we look either at the shadow of any object cast on a
bank, or over a level plain at a distant landmark, the effect of an
ascending current of heated air is almost always evident: such up-
ward currents, it has been remarked, are also shown by the ascent
of soap-bubbles, which will not rise in an in-doors room. Hence I
think there is not much difficulty in understanding the ascent of the
fine lines projected from a spider's spinners, and afterwards of the
spider itself; the divergence of the lines has been attempted to be
explained, I believe by Mr. Murray, by their similar electrical con-
dition. The circumstance of spiders of the same species, but of
different sexes and ages, being found on several occasions at the
distance of many leagues from the land, attached in vast numbers
to the lines, renders it probable that the habit of sailing through the
air is as characteristic of this tribe, as that of diving is of the
Argyroneta. We may then reject Latreille's supposition, that the
gossamer owes its origin indifferently to the young of several genera
of spiders: although, as we have seen, the young of other spiders do
possess the power of performing aerial voyages. 7

During our different passages south of the Plata, I often towed
astern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious animals.
Of Crustacea there were many strange and undescribed genera. One,
which in some respects is allied to the Notopods (or those crabs which
have their posterior legs placed almost on their backs, for the purpose
of adhering to the under side of rocks), is very remarkable from the
structure of its hind pair of legs. The penultimate joint, instead of
terminating in a simple claw, ends in three bristle-like appendages of
dissimilar lengths — the longest equalling that of the entire leg. These
claws are very thin, and are serrated with the finest teeth, directed
backwards : their curved extremities are flattened, and on this part five
most minute cups are placed which seem to act in the same manner as
the suckers on the arms of the cuttle-fish. As the animal lives in the

T Mr. Blackwall, in his Researches in Zoology, has many excellent observations
on the habits of spiders.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 67

open sea, and probably wants a place of rest, I suppose this beautiful
and most anomalous structure is adapted to take hold of floating ma-
rine animals.

In deep water, far from the land, the number of living creatures is
extremely small: south of the latitude 35 °, I never succeeded in catch-
ing anything besides some beroe, and a few species of minute en-
tomostracous Crustacea. In shoaler water, at the distance of a few
miles from the coast, very many kinds of Crustacea and some other
animals are numerous, but only during the night. Between latitudes
56 ° and 57 south of Cape Horn, the net was put astern several
times; it never, however, brought up anything besides a few of two
extremely minute species of Entomostraca. Yet whales and seals,
petrels and albatross, are exceedingly abundant throughout this part
of the ocean. It has always been a mystery to me on what the
albatross, which lives far from the shore, can subsist; I presume that,
like the condor, it is able to fast long; and that one good feast on the
carcass of a putrid whale lasts for a long time. The central and
intertropical parts of the Atlantic swarm with Pteropoda, Crustacea,
and Radiata, and with their devourers the flying-fish, and again
with their devourers the bonitos and albicores; I presume that the
numerous lower pelagic animals feed on the Infusoria, which are
now known, from the researches of Ehrenberg, to abound in the
open ocean: but on what, in the clear blue water, do these Infusoria
subsist?

While sailing a little south of the Plata on one very dark night,
the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There
was a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the
day is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove
before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake
she was followed by a milky train. As far as the eye reached, the
crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from
the reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly obscure as
over the vault of the heavens.

As we proceed further southward the sea is seldom phosphorescent;
and off Cape Horn I do not recollect more than once having seen it
so, and then it was far from being brilliant. This circumstance

1 68 CHARLES DARWIN

probably has a close connection with the scarcity of organic beings
in that part of the ocean. After the elaborate paper, 8 by Ehrenberg,
on the phosphorescence of the sea, it is almost superfluous on my
part to make any observations on the subject. I may however add,
that the same torn and irregular particles of gelatinous matter, de-
scribed by Ehrenberg, seem in the southern as well as in the north-
ern hemisphere, to be the common cause of this phenomenon.
The particles were so minute as easily to pass through fine gauze;
yet many were distinctly visible by the naked eye. The water when
placed in a tumbler and agitated, gave out sparks, but a small por-
tion in a watch-glass scarcely ever was luminous. Ehrenberg states
that these particles all retain a certain degree of irritability. My
observations, some of which were made directly after taking up the
water, gave a different result. I may also mention, that having used
the net during one night, I allowed it to become partially dry, and
having occasion twelve hours afterwards to employ it again, I found
the whole surface sparkled as brightly as when first taken out of
the water. It does not appear probable in this case, that the particles
could have remained so long alive. On one occasion having kept a
jelly-fish of the genus Dianaea till it was dead, the water in which
it was placed became luminous. When the waves scintillate with
bright green sparks, I believe it is generally owing to minute Crus-
tacea. But there can be no doubt that very many other pelagic
animals, when alive, are phosphorescent.

On two occasions I have observed the sea luminous at considerable
depths beneath the surface. Near the mouth of the Plata some cir-
cular and oval patches, from two to four yards in diameter, and with
defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale light; while the sur-
rounding water only gave out a few sparks. The appearance re-
sembled the reflection of the moon, or some luminous body; for the
edges were sinuous from the undulations of the surface. The ship,
which drew thirteen feet of water, passed over, without disturbing
these patches. Therefore we must suppose that some animals were
congregated together at a greater depth than the bottom of the vessel.

Near Fernando Noronha the sea gave out light in flashes. The
appearance was very similar to that which might be expected from
8 An abstract is given in No. IV. of the Magazine of Zoology and Botany.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 69

a large fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid. To this cause
the sailors attributed it; at the time, however, I entertained some
doubts, on account of the frequency and rapidity of the flashes. I
have already remarked that the phenomenon is very much more
common in warm than in cold countries; and I have sometimes
imagined that a disturbed electrical condition of the atmosphere
was most favourable to its production. Certainly I think the sea is
most luminous after a few days of more calm weather than ordinary,
during which time it has swarmed with various animals. Observ-
ing that the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure
state, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is pro-
duced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the atmosphere,
I am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is the result of
the decomposition of the organic particles, by which process (one
is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration) the ocean becomes
purified.

December 23rd. — We arrived at Port Desire, situated in lat. 47°,
on the coast of Patagonia. The creek runs for about twenty miles
inland, with an irregular width. The Beagle anchored a few miles
within the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old Spanish settle-
ment.

The same evening I went on shore. The first landing in any new
country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the
whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character.
At the height of between two and three hundred feet above some
masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly characteristic
of Patagonia. The surface is quite level, and is composed of well-
rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. Here and there scat-
tered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and still more rarely,
some low thorny bushes. The weather is dry and pleasant, and the
fine blue sky is but seldom obscured. When standing in the middle
of one of these desert plains and looking towards the interior, the
view is generally bounded by the escarpment of another plain, rather
higher, but equally level and desolate; and in every other direction
the horizon is indistinct from the trembling mirage which seems to
rise from the heated surface.

170 CHARLES DARWIN

In such a country the fate of the Spanish settlement was soon de-
cided; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of the year,
and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering Indians, com-
pelled the colonists to desert their half-finished buildings. The style,
however, in which they were commenced shows the strong and
liberal hand of Spain in the old time. The result of all the attempts
to colonize this side of America south of 41 °, has been miserable.
Port Famine expresses by its name the lingering and extreme suf-
ferings of several hundred wretched people, of whom one alone
survived to relate their misfortunes. At St. Joseph's Bay, on the coast
of Patagonia, a small settlement was made; but during one Sunday
the Indians made an attack and massacred the whole party, excepting
two men, who remained captives during many years. At the Rio
Negro I conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old age.

The zoology of Patagonia is as limited as its flora. 9 On the arid
plains a few black beetles (Heteromera) might be seen slowly crawl-
ing about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side to side. Of
birds we have three carrion hawks, and in the valleys a few finches
and insect-feeders. An ibis (Theristicus melanops — a species said to
be found in central Africa) is not uncommon on the most desert
parts: in their stomachs I found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards,
and even scorpions. 10 At one time of the year these birds go in
flocks, at another in pairs; their cry is very loud and singular, like
the neighing of the guanaco.

The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the
plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the
camel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with
a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the whole
of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands
near Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from half a

9 1 found here a species of cactus, described by Professor Henslow, under the name
of Opuntia Darwinii (Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. p. 466), which was
remarkable for the irritability of the stamens, when I inserted either a piece of stick
or the end of my finger in the flower. The segments of the perianth also closed on
the pistil, but more slowly than the stamens. Plants of this family, generally con-
sidered as tropical, occur in North America (Lewis and Clarke's Travels, p. 221), in
the same high latitude as here, namely, in both cases, in 47°.

10 These insects were not uncommon beneath stones. I found one cannibal scorpion
quietly devouring another.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1JI

dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw
one herd which must have contained at least five hundred.

They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes told me
that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which
evidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed,
although their distance was so great that he could not distinguish
them with his naked eye. The sportsman frequently receives the
first notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance their
peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively,
he will probably see the herd standing in a line on the side of some
distant hill. On approaching nearer, a few more squeals are given,
and off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along
some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by
chance he abruptly meets a single animal, or several together, they
will generally stand motionless and intently gaze at him; then per-
haps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is
the cause of this difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a
man in the distance for their chief enemy, the puma? Or does
curiosity overcome their timidity? That they are curious is certain;
for if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as
throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by
degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was repeatedly
practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the
advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken
as parts of the performance. On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego,
I have more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not
only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most
ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. These
animals are very easily domesticated, and I have seen some thus kept
in northern Patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint.
They are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by strik-
ing him from behind with both knees. It is asserted that the motive
for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females. The wild
guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will
secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up.
In many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. Thus, when

172 CHARLES DARWIN

they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they
soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. This
greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for they are thus
easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed.

The guanacos readily take to the water: several times at Port
Valdes they were seen swimming from island to island. Byron, in
his voyage, says he saw them drinking salt water. Some of our
officers likewise saw a herd apparently drinking the briny fluid from
a salina near Cape Blanco. I imagine in several parts of the country,
if they do not drink salt water, they drink none at all. In the middle
of the day they frequently roll in the dust, in saucer-shaped hollows.
The males fight together; two one day passed quite close to me,
squealing and trying to bite each other; and several were shot with
their hides deeply scored. Herds sometimes appear to set out on
exploring parties: at Bahia Blanca, where, within thirty miles of
the coast, these animals are extremely unfrequent, I one day saw the
tracks of thirty or forty, which had come in a direct line to a muddy
salt-water creek. They then must have perceived that they were
approaching the sea, for they had wheeled with the regularity of
cavalry, and had returned back in as straight a line as they had
advanced. The guanacos have one singular habit, which is to me
quite inexplicable; namely, that on successive days they drop their
dung in the same defined heap. I saw one of these heaps which was
eight feet in diameter, and was composed of a large quantity. This
habit, according to M. A. d'Orbigny, is common to all the species
of the genus; it is very useful to the Peruvian Indians, who use the
dung for fuel, and are thus saved the trouble of collecting it.

The guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down to
die. On the banks of the St. Cruz, in certain circumscribed spaces,
which were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was
actually white with bones. On one such spot I counted between ten
and twenty heads. I particularly examined the bones; they did not
appear, as some scattered ones which I had seen, gnawed or broken,
as if dragged together by beasts of prey. The animals in most cases
must have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes.
Mr. Bynoe informs me that during a former voyage he observed the
same circumstance on the banks of the Rio Gallegos. I do not at all

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 73

understand the reason of this, but I may observe, that the wounded
guanacos at the St. Cruz invariably walked towards the river. At
St. Jago in the Cape de Verd Islands, I remember having seen in a
ravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat; we at the
time exclaimed that it was the burial ground of all the goats in the
island. I mention these trifling circumstances, because in certain
cases they might explain the occurrence of a number of uninjured
bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial accumulations; and like-
wise the cause why certain animals are more commonly embedded
than others in sedimentary deposits.

One day the yawl was sent under the command of Mr. Chaffers
with three days' provisions to survey the upper part of the harbour.
In the morning we searched for some watering-places mentioned in
an old Spanish chart. We found one creek, at the head of which
there was a trickling rill (the first we had seen) of brackish water.
Here the tide compelled us to wait several hours; and in the interval
I walked some miles into the interior. The plain as usual consisted
of gravel, mingled with soil resembling chalk in appearance, but
very different from it in nature. From the softness of these materials
it was worn into many gulleys. There was not a tree, and, excepting
the guanaco, which stood on the hill-top a watchful sentinel over
its herd, scarcely an animal or a bird. All was stillness and desolation.
Yet in passing over these scenes, without one bright object near, an
ill-defined but strong sense of pleasure is vividly excited. One asked
how many ages the plain had thus lasted, and how many more it
was doomed thus to continue.

"None can reply — all seems eternal now.
The wilderness has a mysterious tongue,
Which teaches awful doubt." n

In the evening we sailed a few miles further up, and then pitched
the tents for the night. By the middle of the next day the yawl was
aground, and from the shoalness of the water could not proceed any
higher. The water being found partly fresh, Mr. Chaffers took the
dingey and went up two or three miles further, where she also
grounded, but in a fresh-water river. The water was muddy, and
11 Shelley, Lines on Mt. Blanc.

174 CHARLES DARWIN

though the stream was most insignificant in size, it would be difficult
to account for its origin, except from the melting snow on the Cordil-
lera. At the spot where we bivouacked, we were surrounded by bold
cliffs and steep pinnacles of porphyry. I do not think I ever saw a
spot which appeared more secluded from the rest of the world, than
this rocky crevice in the wide plain.

The second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of officers
and myself went to ransack an old Indian grave, which I had found
on the summit of a neighbouring hill. Two immense stones, each
probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had been placed in front
of a ledge of rock about six feet high. At the bottom of the grave on
the hard rock there was a layer of earth about a foot deep, which
must have been brought up from the plain below. Above it a pave-
ment of flat stones was placed, on which others were piled, so as to
fill up the space between the ledge and the two great blocks. To
complete the grave, the Indians had contrived to detach from the
ledge a huge fragment, and to throw it over the pile so as to rest on
the two blocks. We undermined the grave on both sides, but could
not find any relics, or even bones. The latter probably had decayed
long since (in which case the grave must have been of extreme an-
tiquity), for I found in another place some smaller heaps, beneath
which a very few crumbling fragments could yet be distinguished as
having belonged to a man. Falconer states, that where an Indian dies
he is buried, but that subsequently his bones are carefully taken up
and carried, let the distance be ever so great, to be deposited near the
sea-coast. This custom, I think, may be accounted for by recollecting,
that before the introduction of horses, these Indians must have led
nearly the same life as the Fuegians now do, and therefore generally
have resided in the neighbourhood of the sea. The common preju-
dice of lying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now
roaming Indians bring the less perishable part of their dead to their
ancient burial-ground on the coast.

January yth, 1834. — Before it was dark the Beagle anchored in the
fine spacious harbour of Port St. Julian, situated about one hundred
and ten miles to the south of Port Desire. We remained here eight
days. The country is nearly similar to that of Port Desire, but per-
haps rather more sterile. One day a party accompanied Captain

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 75

Fitz Roy on a long walk round the head of the harbour. We were
eleven hours without tasting any water, and some of the party were
quite exhausted. From the summit of a hill (since well named
Thirsty Hill) a fine lake was spied, and two of the party proceeded
with concerted signals to show whether it was fresh water. What
was our disappointment to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crys-
tallized in great cubes! We attributed our extreme thirst to the dry-
ness of the atmosphere; but whatever the cause might be, we were
exceedingly glad late in the evening to get back to the boats. Al-
though we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single drop
of fresh water, yet some must exist; for by an odd chance I found
on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a Colym-
betes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far distant
pool. Three other insects (a Cincindela, like hybrida, a Cymindis,
and a Harpalus, which all live on muddy flats occasionally over-
flowed by the sea), and one other found dead on the plain, complete
the list of the beetles. A good-sized fly (Tabanus) was extremely
numerous, and tormented us by its painful bite. The common
horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady lanes of England,
belongs to this same genus. We here have the puzzle that so fre-
quently occurs in the case of musquitoes — on the blood of what
animals do these insects commonly feed? The guanaco is nearly the
only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found in quite inconsid-
erable numbers compared with the multitude of flies.

The geology of Patagonia is interesting. Differently from Europe,
where the tertiary formations appear to have accumulated in bays,
here along hundreds of miles of coast we have one great deposit,
including many tertiary shells, all apparently extinct. The most com-
mon shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even a foot in
diameter. These beds are covered by others of a peculiar soft white
stone, including much gypsum, and resembling chalk, but really of
a pumiceous nature. It is highly remarkable, from being composed,
to at least one-tenth of its bulk, of Infusoria. Professor Ehrenberg
has already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. This bed extends
for 500 miles along the coast, and probably for a considerably greater
distance. At Port St. Julian its thickness is more than 800 feet! These

I76 CHARLES DARWIN

white beds are everywhere capped by a mass of gravel, forming
probably one of the largest beds of shingle in the world: it certainly
extends from near the Rio Colorado to between 600 and 700 nautical
miles southward; at Santa Cruz (a river a little south of St. Julian),
it reaches to the foot of the Cordillera; half way up the river, its
thickness is more than 200 feet; it probably everywhere extends to
this great chain, whence the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have
been derived : we may consider its average breadth as 200 miles, and
its average thickness as about 50 feet. If this great bed of pebbles,
without including the mud necessarily derived from their attrition,
was piled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain!
When we consider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains of
sand in the desert, have been derived from the slow falling of masses
of rock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers; and that these
fragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and that each of
them has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and far transported, the
mind is stupefied in thinking over the long, absolutely necessary,
lapse of years. Yet all this gravel has been transported, and probably
rounded, subsequently to the deposition of the white beds, and long
subsequently to the underlying beds with the tertiary shells.

Everything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand
scale: the land, from the Rio Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance
of 1200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia to a height
of between 300 and 400 feet), within the period of the now existing
sea-shells. The old and weathered shells left on the surface of the
upraised plain still partially retain their colours. The uprising move-
ment has been interrupted by at least eight long periods of rest, dur-
ing which the sea ate deeply back into the land, forming at successive
levels the long lines of cliffs, or escarpments, which separate the dif-
ferent plains as they rise like steps one behind the other. The elevatory
movement, and the eating-back power of the sea during the periods of
rest, have been equable over long lines of coast; for I was astonished
to find that the step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding heights
at far distant points. The lowest plain is 90 feet high; and the highest,
which I ascended near the coast, is 950 feet; and of this, only relics
are left in the form of flat gravel-capped hills. The upper plain of
Santa Cruz slopes up to a height of 3000 feet at the foot of the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE IJJ

Cordillera. I have said that within the period of existing sea-shells,
Patagonia has been upraised 300 to 400 feet : I may add, that within
the period when icebergs transported boulders over the upper plain
of Santa Cruz, the elevation has been at least 1500 feet. Nor has
Patagonia been affected only by upward movements: the extinct
tertiary shells from Port St. Julian and Santa Cruz cannot have lived,
according to Professor E. Forbes, in a greater depth of water than
from 40 to 250 feet; but they are now covered with sea-deposited
strata from 800 to 1000 feet in thickness: hence the bed of the sea,
on which these shells once lived, must have sunk downwards several
hundred feet, to allow of the accumulation of the superincumbent
strata. What a history of geological changes does the simply-
constructed coast of Patagonia reveal!

At Port St. Julian, 12 in some red mud capping the gravel on the 90-
feet plain, I found half the skeleton of the Macrauchenia Pata-
chonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a camel. It belongs
to the same division of the Pachydermata with the rhinoceros, tapir,
and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the bones of its long neck it
shows a clear relation to the camel, or rather to the guanaco and
llama. From recent sea-shells being found on two of the higher
step-formed plains, which must have been modelled and upraised
before the mud was deposited in which the Macrauchenia was en-
tombed, it is certain that this curious quadruped lived long after the
sea was inhabited by its present shells. I was at first much surprised
how a large quadruped could so lately have subsisted, in lat. 49 ° 15',
on these wretched gravel plains, with their stunted vegetation; but
the relationship of the Macrauchenia to the Guanaco, now an in-
habitant of the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty.

The relationship, though distant, between the Macrauchenia and
the Guanaco, between the Toxodon and the Capybara, — the closer
relationship between the many extinct Edentata and the living sloths,
ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently characteristic of South
American zoology,— and the still closer relationship between the
fossil and living species of Ctenomys and Hydrochaerus, are most

12 1 have lately heard that Capt. Sulivan, R.N., has found numerous fossil bones,
embedded in regular strata, on the banks of the R. Gallegos, in lat. 51 ° 4'. Some
of the bones are large; others are small, and appear to have belonged to an armadillo.
This is a most interesting and important discovery.

I78 CHARLES DARWIN

interesting facts. This relationship is shown wonderfully — as won-
derfully as between the fossil and extinct Marsupial animals of
Australia — by the great collection lately brought to Europe from the
caves of Brazil by MM. Lund and Clausen. In this collection there
are extinct species of all the thirty-two genera, excepting four, of the
terrestrial quadrupeds now inhabiting the provinces in which the
caves occur; and the extinct species are much more numerous than
those now living: there are fossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, pec-
caries, guanacos, opossums, and numerous South American gnawers
and monkeys, and other animals. This wonderful relationship in the
same continent between the dead and the living, will, I do not
doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of organic
beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any other
class of facts.

It is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the American
continent without the deepest astonishment. Formerly it must have
swarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared
with the antecedent, allied races. If Buffon had known of the
gigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost Pachy-
dermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of truth that
the creative force in America had lost its power, rather than that it
had never possessed great vigour. The greater number, if not all, of
these extinct quadrupeds lived at a late period, and were the con-
temporaries of most of the existing sea-shells. Since they lived, no
very great change in the form of the land can have taken place.
What, then, has exterminated so many species and whole genera?
The mind at first is irresistibly hurried into the belief of some great
catastrophe; but thus to destroy animals, both large and small, in
Southern Patagonia, in Brazil, on the Cordillera of Peru, in North
America up to Behring's Straits, we must shake the entire frame-
work of the globe. An examination, moreover, of the geology of La
Plata and Patagonia, leads to the belief that all the features of the
land result from slow and gradual changes. It appears from the
character of the fossils in Europe, Asia, Australia, and in North and
South America, that those conditions which favour the life of the
larger quadrupeds were lately co-extensive with the world: what
those conditions were, no one has yet even conjectured. It could

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 79

hardly have been a change of temperature, which at about the same
time destroyed the inhabitants of tropical, temperate, and arctic
latitudes on both sides of the globe. In North America we positively
know from Mr. Lyell, that the large quadrupeds lived subsequently
to that period, when boulders were brought into latitudes at which
icebergs now never arrive: from conclusive but indirect reasons we
may feel sure, that in the southern hemisphere the Macrauchenia,
also, lived long subsequently to the ice-transporting boulder-period.
Did man, after his first inroad into South America, destroy, as has
been suggested, the unwieldy Megatherium and the other Edentata?
We must at least look to some other cause for the destruction of the
little tucutuco at Bahia Blanca, and of the many fossil mice and other
small quadrupeds in Brazil. No one will imagine that a drought,
even far severer than those which cause such losses in the provinces
of La Plata, could destroy every individual of every species from
Southern Patagonia to Behring's Straits. What shall we say of the
extinction of the horse ? Did those plains fail of pasture, which have
since been overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of the
descendants of the stock introduced by the Spaniards? Have the
subsequently introduced species consumed the food of the great ante-
cedent races? Can we believe that the Capybara has taken the food
of the Toxodon, the Guanaco of the Macrauchenia, the existing small
Edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes? Certainly, no fact
in the long history of the world is so starding as the wide and repeated
exterminations of its inhabitants.

Nevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point of
view, it will appear less perplexing. We do not steadily bear in mind,
how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of existence of
every animal; nor do we always remember, that some check is con-
stantly preventing the too rapid increase of every organized being left
in a state of nature. The supply of food, on an average, remains con-
stant; yet the tendency .in every animal to increase by propagation is
geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere been more
astonishingly shown, than in the case of the European animals run
wild during the last few centuries in America. Every animal in a
state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species long established, any
great increase in numbers is obviously impossible, and must be

l8o CHARLES DARWIN

checked by some means. We are, nevertheless, seldom able with cer-
tainty to tell in any given species, at what period of life, or at what
period of the year, or whether only at long intervals, the check falls;
or, again, what is the precise nature of the check. Hence probably it
is, that we feel so little surprise at one, of two species closely allied in
habits, being rare and the other abundant in the same district; or,
again, that one should be abundant in one district, and another,
filling the same place in the economy of nature, should be abundant
in a neighbouring district, differing very little in its conditions. If
asked how this is, one immediately replies that it is determined by
some slight difference, in climate, food, or the number of enemies:
yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and manner
of action of the check! We are, therefore, driven to the conclusion,
that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine whether a
given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers.

In the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through
man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes
rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to point out any
just distinction 13 between a species destroyed by man or by the in-
crease of its natural enemies. The evidence of rarity preceding
extinction, is more striking in the successive tertiary strata, as re-
marked by several able observers; it has often been found that a shell
very common in a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even
long been thought to be extinct. If then, as appears probable, species
first become rare and then extinct — if the too rapid increase of every
species, even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must
admit, though how and when it is hard to say — and if we see, with-
out the smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason,
one species abundant and another closely allied species rare in the
same district — why should we feel such great astonishment at the
rarity being carried a step further to extinction ? An action going on,
on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be carried
a little further, without exciting our observation. Who would feel
any great surprise at hearing that the Magalonyx was formerly rare
compared with the Megatherium, or that one of the fossil monkeys

13 See the excellent remarks on this subject by Mr. Lyell, in his Principles of
Geology.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE l8l

was few in number compared with one of the now living monkeys?
and yet in this comparative rarity, we should have the plainest evi-
dence of less favourable conditions for their existence. To admit that
species generally become rare before they become extinct — to feel no
surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and
yet to call in some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a
species ceases to exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that
sickness in the individual is the prelude to death — to feel no surprise
at sickness — but when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe
that he died through violence.

CHAPTER IX

Santa Cruz, Patagonia, and the Falkland Islands

Santa Cruz — Expedition up the River — Indians — Immense Streams of
Basaltic Lava — Fragments not transported by the River — Excavation
of the Valley — Condor, Habits of — Cordillera — Erratic Boulders of
great size — Indian Relics — Return to the Ship — Falkland Islands —
Wild Horses, Cattle, Rabbits — Wolf-like Fox — Fire made of Bones —
Manner of Hunting Wild Cattle — Geology — Streams of Stones — Scenes
of Violence — Penguin — Geese — Eggs of Doris — Compound Animals.

/tPRlh iph, 1834. — The Beagle anchored within the mouth
/J of the Santa Cruz. This river is situated about sixty miles
*Jl JL south of Port St. Julian. During the last voyage Captain
Stokes proceeded thirty miles up it, but then, from the want of
provisions, was obliged to return. Excepting what was discovered at
that time, scarcely anything was known about this large river. Cap-
tain Fitz Roy now determined to follow its course as far as time
would allow. On the 18th three whale-boats started, carrying three
weeks' provisions; and the party consisted of twenty-five souls — a
force which would have been sufficient to have defied a host of
Indians. With a strong flood-tide and a fine day we made a good
run, soon drank some of the fresh water, and were at night nearly
above the tidal influence.

The river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at the
highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. It was
generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in the middle
about seventeen feet deep. The rapidity of the current, which in its
whole course runs at the rate of from four to six knots an hour, is
perhaps its most remarkable feature. The water is of a fine blue
colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and not so transparent as at
first sight would have been expected. It flows over a bed of pebbles,
like those which compose the beach and the surrounding plains. It
runs in a winding course through a valley, which extends in a direct

182

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 183

line westward. This valley varies from five to ten miles in breadth;
it is bounded by step-formed terraces, which rise in most parts, one
above the other, to the height of five hundred feet, and have on the
opposite sides a remarkable correspondence.

April igth. — Against so strong a current it was, of course, quite
impossible to row or sail : consequently the three boats were fastened
together head and stern, two hands left in each, and the rest came on
shore to track. As the general arrangements made by Captain Fitz
Roy were very good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a
share in it, I will describe the system. The party including every one,
was divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the tracking line
alternately for an hour and a half. The officers of each boat lived
with, ate the same food, and slept in the same tent with their crew,
so that each boat was quite independent of the others. After sunset
the first level spot where any bushes were growing, was chosen for
our night's lodging. Each of the crew took it in turns to be cook.
Immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his fire; two
others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things out of the
boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and collected firewood.
By this order, in half an hour everything was ready for the night.
A watch of two men and an officer was always kept, whose duty it
was to look after the boats, keep up the fire, and guard against In-
dians. Each in the party had his one hour every night.

During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were
many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between
them were shallow.

April 20th. — We passed the islands and set to work. Our regular
day's march, although it was hard enough, carried us on an average
only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty alto-
gether. Beyond the place where we slept last night, the country is
completely terra incognita, for it was there that Captain Stokes
turned back. We saw in the distance a great smoke, and found the
skeleton of a horse, so we knew that Indians were in the neighbour-
hood. On the next morning (21st) tracks of a party of horse, and
marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long spears, were observed
on the ground. It was generally thought that the Indians had recon-

184 CHARLES DARWIN

noitred us during the night. Shortly afterwards we came to a spot
where, from the fresh footsteps of men, children, and horses, it was
evident that the party had crossed the river.

April 22nd. — The country remained the same, and was extremely
uninteresting. The complete similarity of the productions throughout
Patagonia is one of its most striking characters. The level plains of
arid shingle support the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the
valleys the same thorn-bearing bushes grow. Everywhere we see the
same birds and insects. Even the very banks of the river and of the
clear streamlets which entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a
brighter tint of green. The curse of sterility is on the land, and the
water flowing over a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse.
Hence the number of waterfowl is very scanty; for there is nothing
to support life in the stream of this barren river.

Patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast of
a greater stock of small rodents 1 than perhaps any other country in
the world. Several species of mice are externally characterized by
large thin ears and a very fine fur. These little animals swarm
amongst the thickets in the valleys, where they cannot for months
together taste a drop of water excepting the dew. They all seem to
be cannibals; for no sooner was a mouse caught in one of my traps
than it was devoured by others. A small and delicately shaped fox,
which is likewise very abundant, probably derives its entire support
from these small animals. The guanaco is also in his proper district;
herds of fifty or a hundred were common; and, as I have stated, we
saw one which must have contained at least five hundred. The
puma, with the condor and other carrion-hawks in its train, follows
and preys upon these animals. The footsteps of the puma were to
be seen almost everywhere on the banks of the river; and the re-
mains of several guanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones
broken, showed how they had met their death.

April 24th. — Like the navigators of old when approaching an
unknown land, we examined and watched for the most trivial sign
of a change. The drifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of primitive
rock, was hailed with joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the

'The deserts of Syria are characterized, according to Volney (torn. i. p. 351), by
woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles and hares. In the landscape of Patagonia, the
guanaco replaces the gazelle, and the agouti the hare.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 85

flanks of the Cordillera. The top, however, of a heavy bank of clouds,
which remained almost constantly in one position, was the most
promising sign, and eventually turned out a true harbinger. At
first the clouds were mistaken for the mountains themselves, instead
of the masses of vapour condensed by their icy summits.

April 26th. — We this day met with a marked change in the geo-
logical structure of the plains. From the first starting I had carefully
examined the gravel in the river, and for the two last days had no-
ticed the presence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular basalt.
These gradually increased in number and in size, but none were
as large as a man's head. This morning, however, pebbles of the
same rock, but more compact, suddenly became abundant, and in
the course of half an hour we saw, at the distance of five or six miles,
the angular edge of a great basaltic platform. When we arrived at
its base we found the stream bubbling among the fallen blocks. For
the next twenty-eight miles the river-course was encumbered with
these basaltic masses. Above that limit, immense fragments of primi-
tive rocks, derived from its surrounding boulder-formation, were
equally numerous. None of the fragments of any considerable size
had been washed more than three or four miles down the river below
their parent-source: considering the singular rapidity of the great
body of water in the Santa Cruz, and that no still reaches occur in
any part, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of
rivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments.

The basalt is only lava, which has flowed beneath the sea; but the
eruptions must have been on the grandest scale. At the
point where we first met this formation it was 120 feet in thickness;
following up the river course, the surface imperceptibly rose and the
mass became thicker, so that at forty miles above the first station it
was 320 feet thick. What the thickness may be close to the Cordillera,
I have no means of knowing, but the platform there attains a height
of about three thousand feet above the level of the sea: we must
therefore look to the mountains of that great chain for its source;
and worthy of such a source are streams that have flowed over the
gently inclined bed of the sea to a distance of one hundred miles. At
the first glance of the basaltic cliffs on the opposite sides of the valley,
it was evident that the strata once were united. What power, then,

l86 CHARLES DARWIN

has removed along a whole line of country, a solid mass of very hard
rock, which had an average thickness of nearly three hundred feet,
and a breadth varying from rather less than two miles to four miles?
The river, though it has so little power in transporting even incon-
siderable fragments, yet in the lapse of ages might produce by its
gradual erosion an effect of which it is difficult to judge the amount.
But in this case, independently of the insignificance of such an
agency, good reasons can be assigned for believing that this valley
was formerly occupied by an arm of the sea. It is needless in this
work to detail the arguments leading to this conclusion, derived
from the form and the nature of the step-formed terraces on both
sides of the valley, from the manner in which the bottom of the
valley near the Andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with
sand-hillocks on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells lying
in the bed of the river. If I had space I could prove that South Amer-
ica was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, like that of Magellan. But it may yet be asked, how
has the solid basalt been moved? Geologists formerly would have
brought into play, the violent action of some overwhelming debacle;
but in this case such a supposition would have been quite inadmis-
sible; because, the same step-like plains with existing sea-shells lying
on their surface, which front the long line of the Patagonian coast,
sweep up on each side of the valley of Santa Cruz. No possible action
of any flood could thus have modelled the land, either within the
valley or along the open coast; and by the formation of such step-
like plains or terraces the valley itself had been hollowed out. Al-
though we know that there are tides, which run within the Narrows
of the Strait of Magellan at the rate of eight knots an hour, yet we
must confess that it makes the head almost giddy to reflect on the
number of years, century after century, which the tides, unaided by
a heavy surf, must have required to have corroded so vast an area
and thickness of solid basaltic lava. Nevertheless, we must believe
that the strata undermined by the waters of this ancient strait, were
broken up into huge fragments, and these lying scattered on the
beach, were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles and lastly
to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far into the
Eastern or Western Ocean.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 87

With the change in the geological structure of the plains the char-
acter of the landscape likewise altered. While rambling up some
of the narrow and rocky defiles, I could almost have fancied myself
transported back again to the barren valleys of the island of St. Jago.
Among the basaltic cliffs, I found some plants which I had seen
nowhere else, but others I recognised as being wanderers from Tierra
del Fuego. These porous rocks serve as a reservoir for the scanty
rain-water; and consequently on the line where the igneous and
sedimentary formations unite, some small springs (most rare occur-
rences in Patagonia) burst forth; and they could be distinguished
at a distance by the circumscribed patches of bright green herbage.

April 2.7th. — The bed of the river became rather narrower, and
hence the stream more rapid. It here ran at the rate of six knots an
hour. From this cause, and from the many great angular fragments,
tracking the boats became both dangerous and laborious.

This day I shot a condor. It measured from tip to tip of the wings,
eight and a half feet, and from beak to tail, four feet. This bird is
known to have a wide geographical range, being found on the west
coast of South America, from the Strait of Magellan along the
Cordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. The steep
cliff near the mouth of the Rio Negro is its northern limit on the
Patagonian coast; and they have there wandered about four hundred
miles from the great central line of their habitation in the Andes.
Further south, among the bold precipices at the head of Port Desire,
the condor is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers occasionally
visit the seacoast. A line of cliff near the mouth of the Santa Cruz
is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles up the river,
where the sides of the valley are formed by steep basaltic precipices,
the condor reappears. From these facts, it seems that the condors
require perpendicular cliffs. In Chile, they haunt, during the greater
part of the year, the lower country near the shores of the Pacific,
and at night several roost together in one tree; but in the early part
of summer, they retire to the most inaccessible parts of the inner
Cordillera, there to breed in peace.

With respect to their propagation, I was told by the country people
In Chile, that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months

1 88 CHARLES DARWIN

of November and December lays two large white eggs on a shelf
of bare rock. It is said that the young condors cannot fly for an
entire year; and long after they are able, they continue to roost by
night, and hunt by day with their parents. The old birds generally
live in pairs; but among the inland basaltic cliffs of the Santa Cruz,
I found a spot, where scores must usually haunt. On coming sud-
denly to the brow of the precipice, it was a grand spectacle to see
between twenty and thirty of these great birds start heavily from
their resting-place, and wheel away in majestic circles. From the
quantity of dung on the rocks, they must long have frequented this
cliff for roosting and breeding. Having gorged themselves with
carrion on the plains below, they retire to these favourite ledges to
digest their food. From these facts, the condor, like the gallinazo,
must to a certain degree be considered as a gregarious bird. In this
part of the country they live altogether on the guanacos which have
died a natural death, or as more commonly happens, have been killed
by the pumas. I believe, from what I saw in Patagonia, that they do
not on ordinary occasions extend their daily excursions to any great
distance from their regular sleeping-places.

The condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring
over a certain spot in the most graceful circles. On some occasions
I am sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the
Chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal,
or the puma devouring its prey. If the condors glide down, and then
suddenly all rise together, the Chileno knows that it is the puma
which, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the rob-
bers. Besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack young
goats and lambs; and the shepherd-dogs are trained, whenever they
pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently. The
Chilenos destroy and catch numbers. Two methods are used; one
is to place a carcass on a level piece of ground within an enclosure
of sticks with an opening, and when the condors are gorged, to
gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose them: for
when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its body sufficient
momentum to rise from the ground. The second method is to mark
the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or six together,
they roost, and then at night to climb up and noose them. They

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 89

are such heavy sleepers, as I have myself witnessed, that this is not
a difficult task. At Valparaiso, I have seen a living condor sold for
sixpence, but the common price is eight or ten shillings. One which
I saw brought in, had been tied with rope, and was much injured;
yet, the moment the line was cut by which its bill was secured, al-
though surrounded by people, it began ravenously to tear a piece
of carrion. In a garden at the same place, between twenty and thirty
were kept alive. They were fed only once a week, but they appeared
in pretty good health. 2 The Chileno countrymen assert that the
condor will live, and retain its vigour, between five and six weeks
without eating: I cannot answer for the truth of this, but it is a
cruel experiment, which very likely has been tried.

When an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that
the condors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of
it, and congregate in an inexplicable manner. In most cases it must
not be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey, and
have picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least degree
tainted. Remembering the experiments of M. Audubon, on the
little smelling powers of carrion-hawks, I tried in the above-men-
tioned garden the following experiment: the condors were tied, each
by a rope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall; and having folded
up a piece of meat in white paper, I walked backwards and forwards,
carrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from
them, but no notice whatever was taken. I then threw it on the
ground, within one yard of an old male bird; he looked at it for a
moment with attention, but then regarded it no more. With a stick
I pushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his beak;
the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the same
moment, every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping
its wings. Under the same circumstances, it would have been quite
impossible to have deceived a dog. The evidence in favour of and
against the acute smelling powers of carrion-vultures is singularly
balanced. Professor Owen has demonstrated that the olfactory nerves
of the turkey-buzzard (Cathartes aura) are highly developed; and
on the evening when Mr. Owen's paper was read at the Zoological

2 1 noticed that several hours before any one of the condors died, all the lice, with
which it was infested, crawled to the outside feathers. I was assured that this
always happened.

190 CHARLES DARWIN

Society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that he had seen the
carrion-hawks in the West Indies on two occasions collect on the
roof of a house, when a corpse had become offensive from not having
been buried; in this case, the intelligence could hardly have been
acquired by sight. On the other hand, besides the experiments of
Audubon and that one by myself, Mr. Bachman has tried in the
United States many varied plans, showing that neither the turkey-
buzzard (the species dissected by Professor Owen) nor the gallinazo
find their food by smell. He covered portions of highly-offensive
offal with a thin canvas cloth, and strewed pieces of meat on it:
these the carrion-vultures ate up, and then remained quietly standing,
with their beaks within the eighth of an inch of the putrid mass,
without discovering it. A small rent was made in the canvas, and
the offal was immediately discovered; the canvas was replaced by a
fresh piece, and meat again put on it, and was again devoured by the
vultures without their discovering the hidden mass on which they
were trampling. These facts are attested by the signatures of six
gentlemen, besides that of Mr. Bachman. 5

Often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking
upwards, I have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a
great height. Where the country is level I do not believe a space of
the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the horizon, is com-
monly viewed with any attention by a person either walking or on
horseback. If such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing at a
height of between three and four thousand feet, before it could come
within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line from the
beholder's eye, would be rather more than two British miles. Might
it not thus readily be overlooked? When an animal is killed by the
sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the while be watched
from above by the sharp-sighted bird? And will not the manner of
its descent proclaim throughout the district to the whole family of
carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand?

When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any

spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground,

I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings.

Near Lima, I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once

3 Loudon's Magazine of Nat. Hist., vol. vii.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 191

taking off my eyes: they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles,
descending and ascending without giving a single flap. As they
glided close over my head, I intently watched from an oblique posi-
tion, the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each
wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibra-
tory movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but
they were seen distinct against the blue sky. The head and neck were
moved frequently, and apparently with force; and the extended
wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the
neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend, the wings
were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded with an
altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent
seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement
of a paper kite. In the case of any bird soaring, its motion must be
sufficiently rapid so that the action of the inclined surface of its body
on the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. The force to keep
up the momentum of a body moving in a horizontal plane in the air
(in which there is so little friction) cannot be great, and this force
is all that is wanted. The movement of the neck and body of the
condor, we must suppose, is sufficient for this. However this may
be, it is truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour
after hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over
mountain and river.

April 29th. — From some high land we hailed with joy the white
summits of the Cordillera, as they were seen occasionally peeping
through their dusky envelope of clouds. During the few succeeding
days we continued to get on slowly, for we found the river-course
very tortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various
ancient slaty rocks, and of granite. The plain bordering the valley
had here attained an elevation of about 1100 feet above the river, and
its character was much altered. The well-rounded pebbles of por-
phyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of
basalt and of primary rocks. The first of these erratic boulders which
I noticed, was sixty-seven miles distant from the nearest mountain;
another which I measured was five yards square, and projected five
feet above the gravel. Its edges were so angular, and its size so great,

192 CHARLES DARWIN

that I at first mistook it for a rock in situ, and took out my compass
to observe the direction of its cleavage. The plain here was not
quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet it betrayed no signs of
any great violence. Under these circumstances it is, I believe, quite
impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic masses of
rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any theory except
by that of floating icebergs.

During the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with
several small articles which had belonged to the Indians — such as
parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers — but they appeared
to have been lying long on the ground. Between the place where
the Indians had so lately crossed the river and this neighbourhood,
though so many miles apart, the country appears to be quite unfre-
quented. At first, considering the abundance of the guanacos, I was
surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony nature of the plains,
which would soon disable an unshod horse from taking part in the
chase. Nevertheless, in two places in this very central region, I found
small heaps of stones, which I do not think could have been acci-
dentally thrown together. They were placed on points, projecting
over the edge of the highest lava cliff, and they resembled, but on a
small scale, those near Port Desire.

May 4th. — Captain Fitz Roy determined to take the boats no
higher. The river had a winding course, and was very rapid; and
the appearance of the country offered no temptation to proceed any
further. Everywhere we met with the same productions, and the
same dreary landscape. We were now one hundred and forty miles
distant from the Atlantic, and about sixty from the nearest arm of
the Pacific. The valley in this upper part expanded into a wide
basin, bounded on the north and south by the basaltic platforms,
and fronted by the long range of the snow-clad Cordillera. But we
viewed these grand mountains with regret, for we were obliged to
imagine their nature and productions, instead of standing, as we
had hoped, on their summits. Besides the useless loss of time which
an attempt to ascend the river any higher would have cost us,
we had already been for some days on half allowance of bread.
This, although really enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard
day's march, rather scanty food: a light stomach and an easy diges-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 93

tion are good things to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice.
$th. — Before sunrise we commenced our descent. We shot down
the stream with great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots an
hour. In this one day we effected what had cost us five-and-a-half
hard days' labour in ascending. On the 8th, we reached the Beagle
after our twenty-one days' expedition. Every one, excepting myself,
had cause to be dissatisfied; but to me the ascent afforded a most
interesting section of the great tertiary formation of Patagonia.

On March 1st, 1833, and again on March 16th, 1834, the Beagle
anchored in Berkeley Sound, in East Falkland Island. This archi-
pelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth of the
Strait of Magellan; it covers a space of one hundred and twenty by
sixty geographical miles, and is a little more than half the size of
Ireland. After the possession of these miserable islands had been
contested by France, Spain, and England, they were left uninhabited.
The government of Buenos Ayres then sold them to a private indi-
vidual, but likewise used them, as old Spain had done before, for a
penal settlement. England claimed her right and seized them. The
Englishman who was left in charge of the flag was consequently
murdered. A British officer was next sent, unsupported by any
power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a popula-
tion, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and
murderers.

The theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. An undulating
land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered
by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour.
Here and there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock breaks through
the smooth surface. Every one has heard of the climate of these
regions; it may be compared to that which is experienced at the"
height of between one and two thousand feet, on the mountains of
North Wales; having however less sunshine and less frost, but more
wind and rain. 4

4 From accounts published since our voyage, and more especially from several
interesting letters from Capt. Sulivan, R.N., employed on the survey, it appears that
we took an exaggerated view of the badness of the climate of these islands. But
when I reflect on the almost universal covering of peat, and on the fact of wheat
seldom ripening here, I can hardly believe that the climate in summer is so fine
and dry as it has lately been represented.

194 CHARLES DARWIN

16th. — I will now describe a short excursion which I made round
a part of this island. In the morning I started with six horses and
two Gauchos: the latter were capital men for the purpose, and well
accustomed to living on their own resources. The weather was very
boisterous and cold, with heavy hail-storms. We got on, however,
pretty well, but, except the geology, nothing could be less interesting
than our day's ride. The country is uniformly the same undulating
moorland; the surface being covered by light brown withered grass
and a few very small shrubs, all springing out of an elastic peaty
soil. In the valleys here and there might be seen a small flock of wild
geese, and everywhere the ground was so soft that the snipe were
able to feed. Besides these two birds there were few others. There
is one main range of hills, nearly two thousand feet in height, and
composed of quartz rock, the rugged and barren crests of which
gave us some trouble to cross. On the south side we came to the best
country for wild cattle; we met, however, no great number, for they
had been lately much harassed.

In the evening we came across a small herd. One of my com-
panions, St. Jago by name, soon separated a fat cow; he threw the
bolas, and it struck her legs, but failed in becoming entangled. Then
dropping his hat to mark the spot where the balls were left, while at
full gallop, he uncoiled his lazo, and after a most severe chase, again
came up to the cow, and caught her round the horns. The other
Gaucho had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that St. Jago
had some difficulty in killing the furious beast. He managed to get
her on a level piece of ground, by taking advantage of her as often
as she rushed at him; and when she would not move, my horse, from
having been trained, would canter up, and with his chest give her a
violent push. But when on level ground it does not appear an easy
job for one man to kill a beast mad with terror. Nor would it be
so, if the horse, when left to itself without its rider, did not soon
learn, for its own safety, to keep the lazo tight; so that, if the cow
or ox moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward;
otherwise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. This horse, how-
ever, was a young one, and would not stand still, but gave in to the
cow as she struggled. It was admirable to see with what dexterity
St. Jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he contrived to give the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 95

fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind leg; after which, without
much difficulty, he drove his knife into the head of the spinal mar-
row, and the cow dropped as if struck by lightning. He cut off pieces
of flesh with the skin to it, but without any bones, sufficient for our
expedition. We then rode on to our sleeping-place, and had for
supper "carne con cuero," or meat roasted with the skin on it. This
is as superior to common beef as venison is to mutton. A large cir-
cular piece taken from the back is roasted on the embers with the
hide downwards and in the form of a saucer, so that none of the
gravy is lost. If any worthy alderman had supped with us that
evening, "carne con cuero," without doubt, would soon have been
celebrated in London.

During the night it rained, and the next day (17th) was very
stormy, with much hail and snow. We rode across the island to the
neck of land which joins the Rincon del Toro (the great peninsula
at the S. W. extremity) to the rest of the island. From the great
number of cows which have been killed, there is a large proportion
of bulls. These wander about single, or two and three together, and
are very savage. I never saw such magnificent beasts; they equalled
in the size of their huge heads and necks the Grecian marble sculp-
tures. Capt. Sulivan informs me that the hide of an average-sized
bull weighs forty-seven pounds, whereas a hide of this weight, less
thoroughly dried, is considered as a very heavy one at Monte Video.
The young bulls generally run away, for a short distance; but the
old ones do not stir a step, except to rush at man and horse; and many
horses have been thus killed. An old bull crossed a boggy stream,
and took his stand on the opposite side to us; we in vain tried to
drive him away, and failing, were obliged to make a large circuit.
The Gauchos in revenge determined to emasculate him and render
him for the future harmless. It was very interesting to see how art
completely mastered force. One lazo was thrown over his horns as
he rushed at the horse, and another round his hind legs: in a minute
the monster was stretched powerless on the ground. After the lazo
has once been drawn tightly round the horns of a furious animal, it
does not at first appear an easy thing to disengage it again without
killing the beast : nor, I apprehend, would it be so if the man was by
himself. By the aid, however, of a second person throwing his lazo

I96 CHARLES DARWIN

so as to catch both hind legs, it is quickly managed : for the animal,
as long as its hind legs are kept outstretched, is quite helpless, and
the first man can with his hands loosen his lazo from the horns, and
then quietly mount his horse; but the moment the second man, by
backing ever so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs
of the struggling beast, which then rises free, shakes himself, and
vainly rushes at his antagonist.

During our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses.
These animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the French
in 1764, since which time both have greatly increased. It is a curious
fact, that the horses have never left the eastern end of the island,
although there is no natural boundary to prevent them from roam-
ing, and that part of the island is not more tempting than the rest.
The Gauchos whom I asked, though asserting this to be the case,
were unable to account for it, except from the strong attachment
which horses have to any locality to which they are accustomed.
Considering that the island does not appear fully stocked, and that
there are no beasts of prey, I was particularly curious to know what
has checked their originally rapid increase. That in a limited island
some check would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable; but why
has the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that of the
cattle? Capt. Sulivan has taken much pains for me in this inquiry.
The Gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to the stallions con-
stantly roaming from place to place, and compelling the mares to
accompany them, whether or not the young foals are able to follow.
One Gaucho told Capt. Sulivan that he had watched a stallion for
a whole hour, violently kicking and biting a mare till he forced her
to leave her foal to its fate. Capt. Sulivan can so far corroborate this
curious account, that he has several times found young foals dead,
whereas he has never found a dead calf. Moreover, the dead bodies
of full-grown horses are more frequently found, as if more subject
to disease or accidents, than those of the cattle. From the softness
of the ground their hoofs often grow irregularly to a great length,
and this causes lameness. The predominant colours are roan and
iron-grey. All the horses bred here, both tame and wild, are rather
small-sized, though generally in good condition; and they have lost
so much strength, that they are unfit to be used in taking wild cattle

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 97

with the lazo: in consequence, it is necessary to go to the great ex-
pense of importing fresh horses from the Plata. At some future
period the southern hemisphere probably will have its breed o£
Falkland ponies, as the northern has its Shetland breed.

The cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horse, seem, as
before remarked, to have increased in size; and they are much more
numerous than the horses. Capt. Sulivan informs me that they vary
much less in the general form of their bodies and in the shape of
their horns than English cattle. In colour they differ much; and
it is a remarkable circumstance, that in different parts of this one
small island, different colours predominate. Round Mount Usborne,
at a height of from 1000 to 1500 feet above the sea, about half of
some of the herds are mouse or lead-coloured, a tint which is not
common in other parts of the island. Near Port Pleasant dark brown
prevails, whereas south of Choiseul Sound (which almost divides
the island into two parts), white beasts with black heads and feet
are the most common : in all parts black, and some spotted animals
may be observed. Capt. Sulivan remarks, that the difference in the
prevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds near
Port Pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black spots,
whilst south of Choiseul Sound they appeared like white spots on
the hill-sides. Capt. Sulivan thinks that the herds do not mingle;
and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured cattle, though living
on the high land, calve about a month earlier in the season than the
other coloured beasts on the lower land. It is interesting thus to find
the once domesticated cattle breaking into three colours, of which
some one colour would in all probability ultimately prevail over the
others, if the herds were left undisturbed for the next several cen-
turies.

The rabbit is another animal which has been introduced, and has
succeeded very well; so that they abound over large parts of the
island. Yet, like the horses, they are confined within certain limits;
for they have not crossed the central chain of hills, nor would they
have extended even so far as its base, if, as the Gauchos informed
me, small colonies had not been carried there. I should not have
supposed that these animals, natives of northern Africa, could have
existed in a climate so humid as this, and which enjoys so little sun-

I98 CHARLES DARWIN

shine that even wheat ripens only occasionally. It is asserted that in
Sweden, which any one would have thought a more favourable
climate, the rabbit cannot live out of doors. The first few pairs,
moreover, had here to contend against pre-existing enemies, in the
fox and some large hawks. The French naturalists have considered
the black variety a distinct species, and called it Lepus Magellanicus. 5
They imagined that Magellan, when talking of an animal under the
name of "conejos" in the Strait of Magellan, referred to this species;
but he was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day is thus called
by the Spaniards. The Gauchos laughed at the idea of the black
kind being different from the grey, and they said that at all events it
had not extended its range any further than the grey kind; that the
two were never found separate; and that they readily bred together,
and produced piebald offspring. Of the latter I now possess a speci-
men, and it is marked about the head differently from the French
specific description. This circumstance shows how cautious natural-
ists should be in making species; for even Cuvier, on looking at the
skull of one of these rabbits, thought it was probably distinct!

The only quadruped native to the island 6 is a large wolf-like fox
(Canis antarcticus), which is common to both East and West Falk-
land. I have no doubt it is a peculiar species, and confined to this
archipelago; because many sealers, Gauchos, and Indians, who have
visited these islands, all maintain that no such animal is found in any
part of South America.

Molina, from a similarity in habits, thought that this was the same
with his "culpeu;" 7 but I have seen both, and they are quite distinct.
These wolves are well known, from Byron's account of their tame-
ness and curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water to
avoid them, mistook for fierceness. To this day their manners remain

5 Lesson's Zoology of the Voyage of the Coquille, torn. i. p. 168. All the early
voyagers, and especially Bougainville, distinctly state that the wolf-like fox was the
only native animal on the island. The distinction of the rabbit as a species, is taken
from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape of the head, and from the shortness of
the ears. I may here observe that the difference between the Irish and English hare
rests upon nearly similar characters, only more strongly marked.

6 1 have reason, however, to suspect that there is a field-mouse. The common
European rat and mouse have roamed far from the habitations of the settlers. The
common hog has also run wild on one islet; all are of a black colour: the boars
are very fierce, and have great tusks.

7 The "culpeu" is the Canis Magellanicus brought home by Captain King from
the Strait of Magellan. It is common in Chile.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 1 99

the same. They have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull
some meat from beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. The
Gauchos also have frequently in the evening killed them, by holding
out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to
stick them. As far as I am aware, there is no other instance in any
part of the world, of so small a mass of broken land, distant from
a continent, possessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to
itself. Their numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already ban-
ished from that half of the island which lies to the eastward of the
neck of land between St. Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound. Within
a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly set-
tled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an
animal which has perished from the face of the earth.

At night (17th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of Choi-
seul Sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. The valley was
pretty well sheltered from the cold wind; but there was very little
brushwood for fuel. The Gauchos, however, soon found what, to
my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as coals; this was the
skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which the flesh had been
picked by the carrion-hawks. They told me that in winter they often
killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the bones with their knives,
and then with these same bones roasted the meat for their suppers.

18th. — It rained during nearly the whole day. At night we man-
aged, however, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves pretty well
dry and warm; but the ground on which we slept was on each occa-
sion nearly in the state of a bog, and there was not a dry spot to sit
down on after our day's ride. I have in another part stated how
singular it is that there should be absolutely no trees on these islands,
although Tierra del Fuego is covered by one large forest. The largest
bush in the island (belonging to the family of Composite) is
scarcely so tall as our gorse. The best fuel is afforded by a green
little bush about the size of common heath, which has the useful
property of burning while fresh and green. It was very surprising to
see the Gauchos, in the midst of rain and everything soaking wet,
with nothing more than a tinder-box and a piece of rag, immediately
make a fire. They sought beneath the tufts of grass and bushes for
a few dry twigs, and these they rubbed into fibres; then surround-

200 CHARLES DARWIN

ing them with coarser twigs, something like a bird's nest, they put
the rag with its spark of fire in the middle and covered it up. The
nest being then held up to the wind, by degrees it smoked more and
more, and at last burst out in flames. I do not think any other
method would have had a chance of succeeding with such damp
materials.

igth. — Each morning, from not having ridden for some time
previously, I was very stiff. I was surprised to hear the Gauchos,
who have from infancy almost lived on horseback, say that, under
similar circumstances, they always suffer. St. Jago told me, that
having been confined for three months by illness, he went out hunt-
ing wild cattle, and in consequence, for the next two days, his thighs
were so stiff that he was obliged to lie in bed. This shows that the
Gauchos, although they do not appear to do so, yet really must exert
much muscular effort in riding. The hunting wild cattle, in a coun-
try so difficult to pass as this is on account of the swampy ground,
must be very hard work. The Gauchos say they often pass at full
speed over ground which would be impassable at a slower pace; in
the same manner as a man is able to skate over thin ice. When hunt-
ing, the party endeavours to get as close as possible to the herd
without being discovered. Each man carries four or five pair of
the bolas; these he throws one after the other at as many cattle,
which, when once entangled, are left for some days, till they become
a little exhausted by hunger and struggling. They are then let free
and driven towards a small herd of tame animals, which have been
brought to the spot on purpose. From their previous treatment,
being too much terrified to leave the herd, they are easily driven, if
their strength last out, to the settlement.

The weather continued so very bad that we determined to make
a push, and try to reach the vessel before night. From the quantity
of rain which had fallen, the surface of the whole country was
swampy. I suppose my horse fell at least a dozen times, and some-
times the whole six horses were floundering in the mud together.
All the little streams are bordered by soft peat, which makes it
very difficult for the horses to leap them without falling. To com-
plete our discomforts we were obliged to cross the head of a creek
of the sea, in which the water was as high as our horses' backs;

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 201

and the little waves, owing to the violence of the wind, broke over
us, and made us very wet and cold. Even the iron-framed Gauchos
professed themselves glad when they reached the settlement, after
our little excursion.

The geological structure of these islands is in most respects simple.
The lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone, containing
fossils, very closely related to, but not identical with, those found in
the Silurian formations of Europe; the hills are formed of white
granular quartz rock. The strata of the latter are frequently arched
with perfect symmetry, and the appearance of some of the masses
is in consequence most singular. Pernety 8 has devoted several pages
to the description of a Hill of Ruins, the successive strata of which he
has justly compared to the seats of an amphitheatre. The quartz
rock must have been quite pasty when it underwent such remark-
able flexures without being shattered into fragments. As the
quartz insensibly passes into the sandstone, it seems probable
that the former owes its origin to the sandstone having been heated
to such a degree that it became viscid, and upon cooling crystallized.
While in the soft state it must have been pushed up through the
overlying beds.

In many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are covered
in an extraordinary manner by myriads of great loose angular frag-
ments of the quartz rock, forming "streams of stones." These have
been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since the time of
Pernety. The blocks are not waterworn, their angles being only a
little blunted; they vary in size from one or two feet in diameter to
ten, or even more than twenty times as much. They are not thrown
together into irregular piles, but are spread out into level sheets or
great streams. It is not possible to ascertain their thickness, but the
water of small streamlets can be heard trickling through the stones
many feet below the surface. The actual depth is probably great,
because the crevices between the lower fragments must long ago
have been filled up with sand. The width of these sheets of stones
varies from a few hundred feet to a mile; but the peaty soil daily
encroaches on the borders, and even forms islets wherever a few
8 Pernety, Voyage aux Isles Malouines, p. 526.

202 CHARLES DARWIN

fragments happen to lie close together. In a valley south of Berkeley
Sound, which some of our party called the "great valley of frag-
ments," it was necessary to cross an uninterrupted band half a mile
wide, by jumping from one pointed stone to another. So large were
the fragments, that being overtaken by a shower of rain, I readily
found shelter beneath one of them.

Their little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance in
these "streams of stones." On the hill-sides I have seen them sloping
at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon; but in some of the level,
broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only just sufficient to be
clearly perceived. On so rugged a surface there was no means of
measuring the angle; but to give a common illustration, I may say
that the slope would not have checked the speed of an English mail-
coach. In some places, a continuous stream of these fragments
followed up the course of a valley, and even extended to the very
crest of the hill. On these crests huge masses, exceeding in dimen-
sions any small building, seemed to stand arrested in their headlong
course: there, also, the curved strata of the archways lay piled on
each other, like the ruins of some vast and ancient cathedral. In
endeavouring to describe these scenes of violence one is tempted to
pass from one simile to another. We may imagine that streams of
white lava had flowed from many parts of the mountains into the
lower country, and that when solidified they had been rent by some
enormous convulsion into myriads of fragments. The expression
"streams of stones," which immediately occurred to every one, con-
veys the same idea. These scenes are on the spot rendered more
striking by the contrast of the low rounded forms of the neighbour-
ing hills.

I was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range (about
700 feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying on its convex
side, or back downwards. Must we believe that it was fairly pitched
up in the air, and thus turned? Or, with more probability, that there
existed formerly a part of the same range more elevated than the
point on which this monument of a great convulsion of nature now
lies? As the fragments in the valleys are neither rounded nor the
crevices filled up with sand, we must infer that the period of violence
was subsequent to the land having been raised above the waters of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 203

the sea. In a transverse section within these valleys, the bottom is
nearly level, or rises but very little towards either side. Hence the
fragments appear to have travelled from the head of the valley; but in
reality it seems more probable that they have been hurled down
from the nearest slopes; and that since, by a vibratory movement
of overwhelming force, 9 the fragments have been levelled into one
continuous sheet. If during the earthquake 10 which in 1835 over-
threw Concepcion, in Chile, it was thought wonderful that small
bodies should have been pitched a few inches from the ground, what
must we say to a movement which has caused fragments many tons
in weight, to move onwards like so much sand on a vibrating board,
and find their level ? I have seen, in the Cordillera of the Andes, the
evident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into
pieces like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on their vertical
edges; but never did any scene, like these "streams of stones," so
forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of which in
historical records we might in vain seek for any counterpart: yet
the progress of knowledge will probably some day give a simple
explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of the so long-
thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic boulders, which are
strewed over the plains of Europe.

I have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. I have be-
fore described the carrion-vulture of Polyborus. There are some
other hawks, owls, and a few small landbirds. The water-fowl are
particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts
of the old navigators, have been much more so. One day I observed
a cormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. Eight times
successively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and although
in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. In the Zoological
Gardens I have seen the otter treat a fish in the same manner, much
as a cat does a mouse: I do not know of any other instance where

9 "Nous n'avons pas iti moins saisis d'&onnement a la vue de l'innombrable
quantity de pierres de toutes grandeurs, bouleversees Ies unes sur les autres, et
cependant rangfes, comme si elles avoient 616 amoncel^es n^gligemment pour remplir
des ravins. On ne se lassoit pas d'admirer les effets prodigieux de la nature." —
Pernety, p. 526.

10 An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, assured me that,
during the several years he had resided on these islands, he had never felt the
slightest shock of an earthquake.

204 CHARLES DARWIN

dame Nature appears so wilfully cruel. Another day, having placed
myself between a penguin (Aptenodytes demersa) and the water,
I was much amused by watching its habits. It was a brave bird; and
till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards.
Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him; every inch
he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect and deter-
mined. When thus opposed he continually rolled his head from
side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of distinct vision
lay only in the anterior and basal part of each eye. This bird is
commonly called the jackass penguin, from its habit, while on shore,
of throwing its head backwards, and making a loud strange noise,
very like the braying of an ass; but while at sea, and undisturbed,
its note is very deep and solemn, and is often heard in the night-
time. In diving, its little wings are used as fins; but on the land, as
front legs. When crawling, it may be said on four legs, through the
tussocks or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moves so very quickly that
it might easily be mistaken for a quadruped. When at sea and fish-
ing, it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing with such
a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, that I defy any one at
first sight to be sure that it was not a fish leaping for sport.

Two kinds of geese frequent the Falklands. The upland species
(Anas Magellanica) is common, in pairs and in small flocks, through-
out the island. They do not migrate, but build on the small outlying
islets. This is supposed to be from fear of the foxes: and it is per-
haps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by day,
are shy and wild in the dusk of the evening. They live entirely on
vegetable matter.

The rock-goose, so called from living exclusively on the sea J beach
(Anas antarctica), is common both here and on the west coast of
America, as far north as Chile. In the deep and retired channels of
Tierra del Fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accompanied
by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on some
distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape.

In these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (Anas brachyp-
tera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very abundant.
These birds were in former days called, from their extraordinary
manner of paddling and splashing upon the water, race-horses; but

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 205

now they are named, much more appropriately, steamers. Their
wings are too small and weak to allow of flight, but by their aid,
partly swimming and partly flapping the surface of the water, they
move very quickly. The manner is something like that by which
the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog; but I am
nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately, instead of
both together, as in other birds. These clumsy, loggerheaded ducks
make such a noise and splashing, that the effect is exceedingly
curious.

Thus we find in South America three birds which use their wings
for other purposes besides flight; the penguins as fins, the steamer as
paddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the Apteryz of New Zealand, as
well as its gigantic extinct prototype the Deinornis, possess only rudi-
mentary representatives of wings. The steamer is able to dive only
to a very short distance. It feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp
and tidal rocks: hence the beak and head, for the purpose of breaking
them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the head is so strong that
I have scarcely been able to fracture it with my geological hammer;
and all our sportsmen soon discovered how tenacious these birds
were of life. When in the evening pluming themselves in a flock,
they make the same odd mixture of sounds which bull-frogs do
within the tropics.

In Tierra del Fuego, as well as in the Falkland Islands, I made
many observations on the lower marine animals, 11 but they are of
little general interest. I will mention only one class of facts, relating
to certain zoophytes in the more highly organized division of that
class. Several genera (Flustra, Eschara, Cellaria, Crisia, and others)
agree in having singular moveable organs (like those of Flustra

11 1 was surprised to find, on counting the eggs of a large white Doris (this
sea-slug was three and a half inches long), how extraordinarily numerous they
were. From two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an inch in diameter) were
contained in a spherical little case. These were arranged two deep in transverse rows
forming a ribbon. The ribbon adhered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire.
One which I found, measured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth.
By counting how many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the row, and
how many rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the most moderate computation
there were six hundred thousand eggs. Yet this Doris was certainly not very common;
although I was often searching under the stones, I saw only seven individuals. No
fallacy is more common with naturalists, than that the numbers of an individual
species depend on its powers of propagation.

206 CHARLES DARWIN

avicularia, found in the European seas) attached to their cells. The
organ, in the greater number of cases, very closely resembles the
head of a vulture; but the lower mandible can be opened much
wider than in a real bird's beak. The head itself possesses consider-
able powers of movement, by means of a short neck. In one zoophyte
the head itself was fixed, but the lower jaw free: in another it was
replaced by a triangular hood, with a beautifully-fitted trap-door,
which evidently answered to the lower mandible. In the greater
number of species, each cell was provided with one head, but in
others each cell had two.

The young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines
contain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-heads attached to
them, though small, are in every respect perfect. When the polypus
was removed by a needle from any of the cells, these organs did not
appear in the least affected. When one of the vulture-like heads was
cut off from the cell, the lower mandible retained its power of open-
ing and closing. Perhaps the most singular part of their structure
is, that when there were more than two rows of cells on a branch,
the central cells were furnished with these appendages, of only one-
fourth the size of the outside ones. Their movements varied accord-
ing to the species; but in some I never saw the least motion; while
others, with the lower mandible generally wide open, oscillated back-
wards and forwards at the rate of about five seconds each turn; others
moved rapidly and by starts. When touched with a needle, the beak
generally seized the point so firmly, that the whole branch might
be shaken.

These bodies have no relation whatever with the production of
the eggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi
appear in the cells it the end of the growing branches; as they move
independently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any way con-
nected with them; and as they differ in size on the outer and inner
rows of cells, I have little doubt, that in their functions, they are
related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to the polypi
in the cells. The fleshy appendage at the lower extremity of the sea-
pen (described at Bahia Blanca) also forms part of the zoophyte,
as a whole, in the same manner as the roots of a tree form part of
the whole tree, and not of the individual leaf or flower-buds.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 2.0J

In another elegant little coralline (Crisia?), each cell was furnished
with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of moving quickly.
Each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like heads generally
moved quite independently of the others, but sometimes all on both
sides of a branch, sometimes only those on one side, moved together
coinstantaneously; sometimes each moved in regular order one after
another. In these actions we apparently behold as perfect a trans-
mission of will in the zoophyte, though composed of thousands of
distinct polypi, as in any single animal. The case, indeed, is not
different from that of the sea-pens, which, when touched, drew
themselves into the sand on the coast of Bahia Blanca. I will state
one other instance of uniform action, though of a very different
nature, in a zoophyte closely allied to Clytia, and therefore very
simply organized. Having kept a large tuft of it in a basin of salt-
water, when it was dark I found that as often as I rubbed any part
of a branch, the whole became strongly phosphorescent with a green
light: I do not think I ever saw any object more beautifully so. But
the remarkable circumstance was, that the flashes of light always
proceeded up the branches, from the base towards the extremities.

The examination of these compound animals was always very in-
teresting to me. What can be more remarkable than to see a plant-
like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of
choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into
branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often
of complicated organizations? The branches, moreover, as we have
just seen, sometimes possess organs capable of movement and inde-
pendent of the polypi. Surprising as this union of separate individ-
uals in a common stock must always appear, every tree displays the
same fact, for buds must be considered as individual plants. It is,
however, natural to consider a polypus, furnished with a mouth,
intestines, and other organs, as a distinct individual, whereas the
individuality of a leaf-bud is not easily realised; so that the union of
separate individuals in a common body is more striking in a coral-
line than in a tree. Our conception of a compound animal, where
in some respects the individuality of each is not completed, may be
aided, by reflecting on the production of two distinct creatures by
bisecting a single one with a knife, or where Nature herself per-

208 CHARLES DARWIN

forms the task of bisection. We may consider the polypi in a zoo-
phyte, or the buds in a tree, as cases where the division of the
individual has not been completely effected. Certainly in the case
of trees, and judging from analogy in that of corallines, the indi-
viduals propagated by buds seem more intimately related to each
other, than eggs or seeds are to their parents. It seems now pretty
well established that plants propagated by buds all partake of a com-
mon duration of life; and it is familiar to every one, what singular
and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty, by buds,
layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or only
casually reappear.

CHAPTER X

TiERRA DEL FuEGO

Tierra del Fuego, first arrival — Good Success Bay — An Account of the
Fuegians on board — Interview with the Savages — Scenery of the For-
ests — Cape Horn — Wigwam Cove — Miserable Condition of the Savages
— Famines — Cannibals — Matricide — Religious Feelings — Great Gale —
Beagle Channel — Ponsonby Sound — Build Wigwams and settle the
Fuegians — Bifurcation of the Beagle Channel — Glaciers — Return to
the Ship — Second Visit in the Ship to the Settlement — Equality of
Condition amongst the Natives.

DECEMBER ijth, 1832. — Having now finished with Pata-
gonia and the Falkland Islands, I will describe our first
arrival in Tierra del Fuego. A little after noon we doubled
Cape St. Diego, and entered the famous strait of Le Maire. We kept
close to the Fuegian shore, but the outline of the rugged, inhospitable
Statenland was visible amidst the clouds. In the afternoon we
anchored in the Bay of Good Success. While entering we were
saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of this savage land.
A group of Fuegians partly concealed by the entangled forest, were
perched on a wild point overhanging the sea; and as we passed by,
they sprang up and waving their tattered cloaks sent forth a loud
and sonorous shout. The savages followed the ship, and just before
dark we saw their fire, and again heard their wild cry. The harbour
consists of a fine piece of water half surrounded by low rounded
mountains of clay-slate, which are covered to the water's edge by
one dense gloomy forest. A single glance at the landscape was suf-
ficient to show me how widely different it was from anything I had
ever beheld. At night it blew a gale of wind, and heavy squalls from
the mountains swept past us. It would have been a bad time out at
sea, and we, as well as others, may call this Good Success Bay.

In the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate with the
Fuegians. When we came within hail, one of the four natives who
were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most vehe-

309

210 CHARLES DARWIN-

mently, wishing to direct us where to land. When we were on shore
the party looked rather alarmed, but continued talking and making
gestures with great rapidity. It was without exception the most
curious and interesting spectacle I ever beheld: I could not have
believed how wide was the difference between savage and civilized
man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated animal,
inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement. The
chief spokesman was old, and appeared to be the head of the family;
the three others were powerful young men, about six feet high. The
women and children had been sent away. These Fuegians are a very
different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther west-
ward; and they seem closely allied to the famous Patagonians of
the Strait of Magellan. Their only garment consists of a mantle
made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside: this they wear Just
thrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as often exposed
as covered. Their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour.

The old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head,
which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair. His
face was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted bright
red, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip; the other,
white like chalk, extended above and parallel to the first, so that
even his eyelids were thus coloured. The other two men were orna-
mented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. The party
altogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in
plays like Der Freischutz.

Their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their
countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After we had pre-
sented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied
round their necks, they became good friends. This was shown by
the old man patting our breasts, and making a chuckling kind of
noise, as people do when feeding chickens. I walked with the old
man, and this demonstration of friendship was repeated several
times; it was concluded by three hard slaps, which were given me
on the breast and back at the same time. He then bared his bosom
for me to return the compliment, which being done, he seemed
highly pleased. The language of these people, according to our
notions, scarcely deserves to be called articulate. Captain Cook has

THE' VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 211

compared it to a man clearing his throat, but certainly no European
ever cleared his throat with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking
sounds.

They are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned, or
made any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. Some of our
party began to squint and look awry; but one of the young Fuegians
(whose whole face was painted black, excepting a white band across
his eyes) succeeded in making far more hideous grimaces. They
could repeat with perfect correctness each word in any sentence we
addressed them, and they remembered such words for some time.
Yet we Europeans all know how difficult it is to distinguish apart
the sounds in a foreign language. Which of us, for instance, could
follow an American Indian through a sentence of more than three
words? All savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this
power of mimicry. I was told, almost in the same words, of the same
ludicrous habit among the Caffres; the Australians, likewise, have
long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait
of any man, so that he may be recognized. How can this faculty be
explained? is it a consequence of the more practised habits of per-
ception and keener senses, common to all men in a savage state, as
compared with those long civilized ?

When a song was struck up by our party, I thought the Fuegians
would have fallen down with astonishment. With equal surprise
they viewed our dancing; but one of the young men, when asked,
had no objection to a little waltzing. Litde accustomed to Europeans
as they appeared to be, yet they knew and dreaded our fire-arms;
nothing would tempt them to take a gun in their hands. They
begged for knives, calling them by the Spanish word "cuchilla."
They explained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a
piece of blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead
of tear it.

I have not as yet noticed the Fuegians whom we had on board.
During the former voyage of the Adventure and Beagle in 1826 to
1830, Captain Fitz Roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for
the loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopardy of a
party employed on the survey; and some of these natives, as well as
a child whom he bought for a pearl-button, he took with him to

212 CHARLES DARWIN

England, determining to educate them and instruct them in religion
at his own expense. To settle these natives in their own country,
was one chief inducement to Captain Fitz Roy to undertake our
present voyage; and before the Admiralty had resolved to send out
this expedition, Captain Fitz Roy had generously chartered a vessel,
and would himself have taken them back. The natives were accom-
panied by a missionary, R. Matthews; of whom and of the natives,
Captain Fitz Roy had published a full and excellent account. Two
men, one of whom died in England of the small-pox, a boy and a
little girl, were originally taken; and we had now on board, York
Minster, Jemmy Button (whose name expresses his purchase-
money), and Fuegia Basket. York Minster was a full-grown, short,
thick, powerful man: his disposition was reserved, taciturn, morose,
and when excited violently passionate; his affections were very
strong towards a few friends on board; his intellect good. Jemmy
Button was a universal favourite, but likewise passionate; the expres-
sion of his face at once showed his nice disposition. He was merry
and often laughed, and was remarkably sympathetic with any one in
pain : when the water was rough, I was often a little sea-sick, and he
used to come to me and say in a plaintive voice, "Poor, poor fellow!"
but the notion, after his aquatic life, of a man being sea-sick, was too
ludicrous, and he was generally obliged to turn on one side to hide a
smile or laugh, and then he would repeat his "Poor, poor fellow!"
He was of a patriotic disposition; and he liked to praise his own
tribe and country, in which he truly said there were "plenty of
trees," and he abused all the other tribes: he stoutly declared that
there was no Devil in his land. Jemmy was short, thick, and fat, but
vain of his personal appearance; he used always to wear gloves, his
hair was neatly cut, and he was distressed if his well-polished shoes
were dirtied. He was fond of admiring himself in a looking glass;
and a merry-faced little Indian boy from the Rio Negro, whom we
had for some months on board, soon perceived this, and used to
mock him: Jemmy, who was always rather jealous of the attention
paid to this little boy, did not at all like this, and used to say, with
rather a contemptuous twist of his head, "Too much skylark." It
seems yet wonderful to me, when I think over all his many good
qualities, that he should have been of the same race, and doubtless

THE" VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 213

partaken of the same character, with the miserable, degraded savages
whom we first met here. Lastly, Fuegia Basket was a nice, modest,
reserved young girl, with a rather pleasing but sometimes sullen
expression, and very quick in learning anything, especially languages.
This she showed in picking up some Portuguese and Spanish, when
left on shore for only a short time at Rio de Janeiro and Monte
Video, and in her knowledge of English. York Minster was very
jealous of any attention paid to her; for it was clear he determined
to marry her as soon as they were settled on shore.

Although all three could both speak and understand a good deal
of English, it was singularly difficult to obtain much information
from them, concerning the habits of their countrymen; this was
partly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding the
simplest alternative. Every one accustomed to very young children,
knows how seldom one can get an answer even to so simple a
question as whether a thing is black or white; the idea of black or
white seems alternately to fill their minds. So it was with these
Fuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find out, by
cross-questioning, whether one had rightly understood anything
which they had asserted. Their sight was remarkably acute; it is
well known that sailors, from long practice, can make out a distant
object much better than a landsman; but both York and Jemmy
were much superior to any sailor on board: several times they have
declared what some distant object has been, and though doubted by
every one, they have proved right, when it has been examined
through a telescope. They were quite conscious of this power; and
Jemmy, when he had any little quarrel with the officer on watch,
would say, "Me see ship, me no tell."

It was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when we
landed, towards Jemmy Button: they immediately perceived the
difference between him and ourselves, and held much conversation
one with another on the subject. The old man addressed a long
harangue to Jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with
them. But Jemmy understood very little of their language, and was,
moreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. When York
Minster afterwards came on shore, they noticed him in the same
way, and told him he ought to shave; yet he had not twenty dwarf

214 CHARLES DARWIN

hairs on his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. They
examined the colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. One of
our arms being bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and
admiration at its whiteness, just in the same way in which I have
seen the ourang-outang do at the Zoological Gardens. We thought
that they mistook two or three of the officers, who were rather
shorter and fairer, though adorned with large beards, for the ladies
of our party. The tallest amongst the Fuegians was evidently much
pleased at his height being noticed. When placed back to back with
the tallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher
ground, and to stand on tiptoe. He opened his mouth to show his
teeth, and turned his face for a side view; and all this was done
with such alacrity, that I dare say he thought himself the hand-
somest man in Tierra del Fuego. After our first feeling of grave
astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than the
odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every
moment exhibited.

The next day I attempted to penetrate some way into the country.
Tierra del Fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly
submerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place
where valleys should exist. The mountain sides, except on the
exposed western coast, are covered from the water's edge upwards
by one great forest. The trees reach to an elevation of between iooo
and 1500 feet, and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute
alpine plants; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual
snow, which, according to Captain King, in the Strait of Magellan
descends to between 3000 and 4000 feet. To find an acre of level
land in any part of the country is most rare. I recollect only one little
flat piece near Port Famine, and another of rather larger extent near
Goeree Road. In both places, and everywhere else, the surface is
covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. Even within the forest,
the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying vegetable
matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to the foot.

Finding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, I
followed the course of a mountain torrent. At first, from the water-
falls and number of dead trees, I could hardly crawl along; but the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 215

bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the floods
having swept the sides. I continued slowly to advance for an hour
along the broken and rocky banks, and was amply repaid by the
grandeur of the scene. The gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded
with the universal signs of violence. On every side were lying
irregular masses of rock and torn-up trees; other trees, though still
erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. The entangled
mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the forests within
the tropics — yet there was a difference: for in these still solitudes,
Death, instead of Life, seemed the predominant spirit. I followed
the watercourse till I came to a spot where a great slip had cleared
a straight space down the mountain side. By this road I ascended
to a considerable elevation, and obtained a good view of the sur-
rounding woods. The trees all belong to one kind, the Fagus
betuloides; for the number of the other species of Fagus and of the
Winter's Bark, is quite inconsiderable. This beech keeps its leaves
throughout the year; but its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green
colour, with a tinge of yellow. As the whole landscape is thus
coloured, it has a sombre, dull appearance; nor is it often enlivened
by the rays of the sun.

December 20th. — One side of the harbour is formed by a hill about
1500 feet high, which Captain Fitz Roy has called after Sir J. Banks,
in commemoration of his disastrous excursion, which proved fatal to
two men of his party, and nearly so to Dr. Solander. The snow-
storm, which was the cause of their misfortune, happened in the
middle of January, corresponding to our July, and in the latitude
of Durham! I was anxious to reach the summit of this mountain
to collect alpine plants; for flowers of any kind in the lower parts
are few in number. We followed the same watercourse as on the
previous day, till it dwindled away, and we were then compelled to
crawl blindly among the trees. These, from the effects of the eleva-
tion and of the impetuous winds, were low, thick and crooked. At
length we reached that which from a distance appeared like a carpet
of fine green turf, but which, to our vexation, turned out to be a
compact mass of little beech-trees about four or five feet high. They
were as thick together as box in the border of a garden, and we were
obliged to struggle over the flat but treacherous surface. After a

2l6 CHARLES DARWIN

little more trouble we gained the peat, and then the bare slate rock.

A ridge connected this hill with another, distant some miles, and
more lofty, so that patches of snow were lying on it. As the day
was not far advanced, I determined to walk there and collect plants
along the road. It would have been very hard work, had it not been
for a well-beaten and straight path made by the guanacos; for these
animals, like sheep, always follow the same line. When we reached
the hill we found it the highest in the immediate neighbourhood,
and the waters flowed to the sea in opposite directions. We obtained
a wide view over the surrounding country: to the north a swampy
moorland extended, but to the south we had a scene of savage mag-
nificence, well becoming Tierra del Fuego. There was a degree of
mysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep
intervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of forest.
The atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale succeeds gale,
with rain, hail, and sleet, seems blacker than anywhere else. In the
Strait of Magellan looking due southward from Port Famine, the
distant channels between the mountains appeared from their gloomi-
ness to lead beyond the confines of this world.

December 21st. — The Beagle got under way: and on the succeed-
ing day, favoured to an uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze,
we closed in with the Barnevelts, and running past Cape Deceit with
its stony peaks, about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten Cape
Horn. The evening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine
view of the surrounding isles. Cape Horn, however, demanded his
tribute, and before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our
teeth. We stood out to sea, and on the second day again made the
land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious promontory
in its proper form — veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded
by a storm of wind and water. Great black clouds were rolling
across the heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with
such extreme violence, that the Captain determined to run into
Wigwam Cove. This is a snug little harbour, not far from Cape
Horn; and here, at Christmas-eve, we anchored in smooth water.
The only thing which reminded us of the gale outside, was every
now and then a puff from the mountains, which made the ship
surge at her anchors.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 217

December 25th. — Close by the Cove, a pointed hill, called Kater's
Peak, rises to the height of 1700 feet. The surrounding islands all
consist of conical masses of greenstone, associated sometimes with
less regular hills of baked and altered clay-slate. This part of Tierra
del Fuego may be considered as the extremity of the submerged
chain of mountains already alluded to. The cove takes its name of
"Wigwam" from some of the Fuegian habitations; but every bay in
the neighbourhood might be so called with equal propriety. The
inhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are obliged constantly to
change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to the
same spots, as is evident from the piles of old shells, which must
often amount to many tons in weight. These heaps can be distin-
guished at a long distance by the bright green colour of certain
plants, which invariably grow on them. Among these may be
enumerated the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable
plants, the use of which has not been discovered by the natives.

The Fuegian wigwam resembles, in size and dimensions, a hay-
cock. It merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the
ground, and very imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts
of grass and rushes. The whole cannot be the work of an hour, and
it is only used for a few days. At Goeree Roads I saw a place where
one of these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more
cover than the form of a hare. The man was evidently living by
himself, and York Minster said he was "very bad man," and that
probably he had stolen something. On the west coast, however, the
wigwams are rather better, for they are covered with seal-skins. We
were detained here several days by the bad weather. The climate is
certainly wretched: the summer solstice was now passed, yet every
day snow fell on the hills, and in the valleys there was rain, accom-
panied by sleet. The thermometer generally stood about 45 , but in
the night fell to 38 ° or 40 °. From the damp and boisterous state of
the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of sunshine, one fancied the
climate even worse than it really was.

While going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we pulled
alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject
and miserable creatures I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the
natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west

2l8 CHARLES DARWIN

they possess seal-skins. Amongst these central tribes the men gen-
erally have an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a
pocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their backs
as low down as their loins. It is laced across the breast by strings,
and according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side to side. But
these Fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even one full-
grown woman was absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and the
fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body. In
another harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a
recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and remained
there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet fell and thawed on her
naked bosom, and on the skin of her naked baby! These poor
wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed
with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled,
their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. Viewing such
men, one can hardly make one's self believe that they are fellow-
creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. It is a common subject
of conjecture what pleasure in life some of the lower animals can
enjoy : how much more reasonably the same question may be asked
with respect to these barbarians! At night, five or six human beings,
naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of this tem-
pestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled up like animals.
Whenever it is low water, winter or summer, night or day, they
must rise to pick shell-fish from the rocks; and the women either
dive to collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes, and with a
baited hair-line without any hook, jerk out little fish. If a seal is
killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale is discovered, it is a
feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a few tasteless berries
and fungi.

They often suffer from famine: I heard Mr. Low, a sealing-
master intimately acquainted with the natives of this country, give
a curious account of the state of a party of one hundred and fifty
natives on the west coast, who were very thin and in great distress.
A succession of gales prevented the women from getting shell-fish
on the rocks, and they could not go out in their canoes to catch seal.
A small party of these men one morning set out, and the other
Indians explained to him, that they were going a four days' journey

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 219

for food: on their return, Low went to meet them, and he found
them excessively tired, each man carrying a great square piece of
putrid whale's-blubber with a hole in the middle, through which
they put their heads, like the Gauchos do through their ponchos or
cloaks. As soon as the blubber was brought into a wigwam, an old
man cut off thin slices, and muttering over them, broiled them for
a minute, and distributed them to the famished party, who during
this time preserved a profound silence. Mr. Low believes that when-
ever a whale is cast on shore, the natives bury large pieces of it in
the sand, as a resource in time of famine; and a native boy, whom
he had on board, once found a stock thus buried. The different
tribes when at war are cannibals. From the concurrent, but quite
independent evidence of the boy taken by Mr. Low, and of Jemmy
Button, it is certainly true, that when pressed in winter by hunger,
they kill and devour their old women before they kill their dogs:
the boy, being asked by Mr. Low why they did this, answered,
"Doggies catch otters, old women no." This boy described the
manner in which they are killed by being held over smoke and thus
choked; he imitated their screams as a joke, and described the parts
of their bodies which are considered best to eat. Horrid as such a
death by the hands of their friends and relatives must be, the fears
of the old women, when hunger begins to press, are more painful
to think of; we are told that they then often run away into the
mountains, but that they are pursued by the men and brought back
to the slaughter-house at their own firesides!

Captain Fitz Roy could never ascertain that the Fuegians have
any distinct belief in a future life. They sometimes bury their dead
in caves, and sometimes in the mountain forests; we do not know
what ceremonies they perform. Jemmy Button would not eat land-
birds, because "eat dead men": they are unwilling even to mention
their dead friends. We have no reason to believe that they perform
any sort of religious worship; though perhaps the muttering of the
old man before he distributed the putrid blubber to his famished
party, may be of this nature. Each family or tribe has a wizard or
conjuring doctor, whose office we could never clearly ascertain.
Jemmy believed in dreams, though not, as I have said, in the devil:
I do not think that our Fuegians were much more superstitious than

220 CHARLES DARWIN

some of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that the
successive heavy gales, which we encountered off Cape Horn, were
caused by our having the Fuegians on board. The nearest approach
to a religious feeling which I heard of, was shown by York Minster,
who, when Mr. Bynoe shot some very young ducklings as specimens,
declared in the most solemn manner, "Oh, Mr. Bynoe, much rain,
snow, blow much." This was evidently a retributive punishment for
wasting human food. In a wild and excited manner he also related,
that his brother, one day whilst returning to pick up some dead birds
which he had left on the coast, observed some feathers blown by the
wind. His brother said (York imitating his manner), "What that?"
and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff, and saw "wild man"
picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and then hurled down a
great stone and killed him. York declared for a long time afterwards
storms raged, and much rain and snow fell. As far as we could make
out, he seemed to consider the elements themselves as the avenging
agents: it is evident in this case, how naturally, in a race a little
more advanced in culture, the elements would become personified.
What the "bad wild men" were, has always appeared to me most
mysterious : from what York said, when we found the place like the
form of a hare, where a single man had slept the night before, I
should have thought that they were thieves who had been driven
from their tribes; but other obscure speeches made me doubt this;
I have sometimes imagined that the most probable explanation was
that they were insane.

The different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is sur-
rounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects, and
separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral terri-
tory : the cause of their warfare appears to be the means of subsistence.
Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills, and useless
forests: and these are viewed through mists and endless storms. The
habitable land is reduced to the stones on the beach; in search of
food they are compelled unceasingly to wander from spot to spot,
and so steep is the coast, that they can only move about in their
wretched canoes. They cannot know the feeling of having a home,
and still less that of domestic affection; for the husband is to the
wife a brutal master to a laborious slave. Was a more horrid deed

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 221

ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on the west coast by Byron,
who saw a wretched mother pick up her bleeding dying infant-boy,
whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the stones for drop-
ping a basket of sea-eggs. How little can the higher powers of the
mind be brought into play: what is there for imagination to picture,
for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon? to knock a
limpet from the rock does not require even cunning, that lowest
power of the mind. Their skill in some respects may be compared
to the instinct of animals; for it is not improved by experience: the
canoe, their most ingenious work, poor as it is, has remained the
same, as we know from Drake, for the last two hundred and fifty
years.

Whilst beholding these savages, one asks, whence have they come ?
What could have tempted, or what change compelled a tribe of men,
to leave the fine regions of the north, to travel down the Cordillera
or backbone of America, to invent and build canoes, which are not
used by the tribes of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, and then to enter on
one of the most inhospitable countries within the limits of the globe?
Although such reflections must at first seize on the mind, yet we may
feel sure that they are partly erroneous. There is no reason to believe
that the Fuegians decrease in number; therefore we must suppose
that they enjoy a sufficient share of happiness, of whatever kind it
may be, to render life worth having. Nature by making habit om-
nipotent, and its effects hereditary, has fitted the Fuegian to the
climate and the productions of his miserable country.

After having been detained six days in Wigwam Cove by very bad
weather, we put to sea on the 30th of December. Captain Fitz Roy
wished to get westward to land York and Fuegia in their own coun-
try. When at sea we had a constant succession of gales, and the
current was against us: we drifted to 57 23' south. On the nth of
January, 1833, by carrying a press of sail, we fetched within a few
miles of the great rugged mountain of York Minster (so called by
Captain Cook, and the origin of the name of the elder Fuegian),
when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and stand out to
sea. The surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and the spray was
carried over a cliff estimated to 200 feet in height. On the 12th the

222 CHARLES DARWIN

gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly where we were:
it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly repeated, "keep
a good look-out to leeward." On the 13th the storm raged with its
full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the sheets of spray
borne by the wind. The sea looked ominous, like a dreary waving
plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship laboured heavily,
the albatross glided with its expanded wings right up the wind. At
noon a great sea broke over us, and filled one of the whale-boats,
which was obliged to be instantly cut away. The poor Beagle trem-
bled at the shock, and for a few minutes would not obey her helm;
but soon, like a good ship that she was, she righted and came up to
the wind again. Had another sea followed the first, our fate would
have been decided soon, and for ever. We had now been twenty-four
days trying in vain to get westward; the men were worn out with
fatigue, and they had not had for many nights or days a dry thing
to put on. Captain Fitz Roy gave up the attempt to get westward
by the outside coast. In the evening we ran in behind False Cape
Horn, and dropped our anchor in forty-seven fathoms, fire flashing
from the windlass as the chain rushed round it. How delightful
was that still night, after having been so long involved in the din
of the warring elements!

January 15th, 1833. — The Beagle anchored in Goeree Roads. Cap-
tain Fitz Roy having resolved to settle the Fuegians, according to
their wishes, in Ponsonby Sound, four boats were equipped to carry
them there through the Beagle Channel. This channel, which was
discovered by Captain Fitz Roy during the last voyage, is a most
remarkable feature in the geography of this, or indeed of any other
country: it may be compared to the valley of Lochness in Scotland,
with its chain of lakes and friths. It is about one hundred and twenty
miles long, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great
variation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part so
perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a line of
mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long distance. It
crosses the southern part of Tierra del Fuego in an east and west
line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on the south side by
an irregular channel, which has been called Ponsonby Sound. This
is the residence of Jemmy Button's tribe and family.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 223

igth. — Three whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of twenty-
eight, started under the command of Captain Fitz Roy. In the after-
noon we entered the eastern mouth of the channel, and shortly
afterwards found a snug little cove concealed by some surrounding
islets. Here we pitched our tents and lighted our fires. Nothing
could look more comfortable than this scene. The glassy water of
the little harbour, with the branches of the trees hanging over the
rocky beach, the boats at anchor, the tents supported by the crossed
oars, and the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a picture
of quiet retirement. The next day (20th) we smoothly glided on-
wards in our little fleet, and came to a more inhabited district. Few
if any of these natives could ever have seen a white man; certainly
nothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of the four
boats. Fires were lighted on every point (hence the name of Tierra
del Fuego, or the land of fire), both to attract our attention and to
spread far and wide the news. Some of the men ran for miles along
the shore. I shall never forget how wild and savage one group
appeared: suddenly four or five men came to the edge of an over-
hanging cliff; they were absolutely naked, and their long hair
streamed about their faces; they held rugged staffs in their hands,
and, springing from the ground, they waved their arms round their
heads, and sent forth the most hideous yells.

At dinner-time we landed among a party of Fuegians. At first
they were not inclined to be friendly; for until the Captain pulled
in ahead of the other boats, they kept their slings in their hands. We
soon, however, delighted them by trifling presents, such as tying red
tape round their heads. They liked our biscuit: but one of the sav-
ages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin cases
which I was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as much
disgust at it, as I should have done at putrid blubber. Jemmy was
thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen, and declared his own tribe
were quite different, in which he was wofiilly mistaken. It was as
easy to please as it was difficult to satisfy these savages. Young and
old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word "yammer-
schooner," which means "give me." After pointing to almost every
object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our coats, and
saying their favourite word in as many intonations as possible, they

224 CHARLES DARWIN

would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly repeat "yammer-
schooner." After yammerschoonering for any article very eagerly,
they would by a simple artifice point to their young women or little
children, as much as to say, "If you wUl not give it me, surely you
will to such as these."

At night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove; and
at last were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of natives. They
were very inoffensive as long as they were few in numbers, but in the
morning (21st) being joined by others they showed symptoms of
hostility, and we thought that we should have come to a skirmish.
An European labours under great disadvantages when treating with
savages like these, who have not the least idea of the power of fire-
arms. In the very act of levelling his musket he appears to the
savage far inferior to a man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear,
or even a sling. Nor is it easy to teach them our superiority except
by striking a fatal blow. Like wild beasts, they do not appear to
compare numbers; for each individual, if attacked, instead of retir-
ing, will endeavour to dash your brains out with a stone, as certainly
as a tiger under similar circumstances would tear you. Captain Fitz
Roy on one occasion being very anxious, from good reasons, to
frighten away a small party, first flourished a cutlass near them, at
which they only laughed; he then twice fired his pistol close to a
native. The man both times looked astounded, and carefully but
quickly rubbed his head; he then stared awhile, and gabbled to his
companions, but he never seemed to think of running away. We
can hardly put ourselves in the position of these savages, and under-
stand their actions. In the case of this Fuegian, the possibility of
such a sound as the report of a gun close to his ear could never have
entered his mind. He perhaps literally did not for a second know
whether it was a sound or a blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed
his head. In a similar manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by
a bullet, it may be some time before he is able at all to understand
how it is effected; for the fact of a body being invisible from its
velocity would perhaps be to him an idea totally inconceivable.
Moreover, the extreme force of a bullet, that penetrates a hard sub-
stance without tearing it, may convince the savage that it has no
force at all. Certainly I believe that many savages of the lowest

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 225

grade, such as these of Tierra del Fuego, have seen objects struck,
and even small animals killed by the musket, without being in the
least aware how deadly an instrument it is.

22nd. — After having passed an unmolested night, in what would
appear to be neutral territory between Jemmy's tribe and the people
whom we saw yesterday, we sailed pleasantly along. I do not know
anything which shows more clearly the hostile state of the different
tribes, than these wide border or neutral tracts. Although Jemmy
Button well knew the force of our party, he was, at first, unwilling to
land amidst the hostile tribe nearest to his own. He often told us
how the savage Oens men "when the leaf red," crossed the moun-
tains from the eastern coast of Tierra del Fuego, and made inroads
on the natives of this part of the country. It was most curious to
watch him when thus talking, and see his eyes gleaming and his
whole face assume a new and wild expression. As we proceeded
along the Beagle Channel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very
magnificent character; but the effect was much lessened from the
lowness of the point of view in a boat, and from looking along the
valley, and thus losing all the beauty of a succession of ridges. The
mountains were here about three thousand feet high, and termi-
nated in sharp and jagged points. They rose in one unbroken sweep
from the water's edge, and were covered to the height of fourteen
or fifteen hundred feet by the dusky-coloured forest. It was most
curious to observe, as far as the eye could range, how level and truly
horizontal the line on the mountain side was, at which trees ceased
to grow: it precisely resembled the high- water mark of drift-weed
on a sea-beach.

At night we slept close to the junction of Ponsonby Sound with
the Beagle Channel. A small family of Fuegians, who were living in
the cove, were quiet and inoffensive, and soon joined our party round
a blazing fire. We were well clothed, and though sitting close to
the fire were far from too warm; yet these naked savages, though
further off, were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming with
perspiration at undergoing such a roasting. They seemed, however,
very well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the seamen's songs:
but the manner in which they were invariably a little behindhand
was quite ludicrous.

226 CHARLES DARWIN

During the night the news had spread, and early in the morning
(23rd) a fresh party arrived, belonging to the Tekenika, or Jemmy's
tribe. Several of them had run so fast that their noses were bleeding,
and their mouths frothed from the rapidity with which they talked;
and with their naked bodies all bedaubed with black, white, 1 and
red, they looked like so many demoniacs who had been fighting.
We then proceeded (accompanied by twelve canoes, each holding
four or five people) down Ponsonby Sound to the spot where poor
Jemmy expected to find his mother and relatives. He had already
heard that his father was dead; but as he had had a "dream in his
head" to that effect, he did not seem to care much about it, and
repeatedly comforted himself with the very natural reflection — "Me
no help it." He was not able to learn any particulars regarding his
father's death, as his relations would not speak about it.

Jemmy was now in a district well known to him, and guided the
boats to a quiet pretty cove named Woollya, surrounded by islets,
every one of which and every point had its proper native name. We
found here a family of Jemmy's tribe, but not his relations: we made
friends with them; and in the evening they sent a canoe to inform
Jemmy's mother and brothers. The cove was bordered by some
acres of good sloping land, not covered (as elsewhere) either by peat
or by forest-trees. Captain Fitz Roy originally intended, as before
stated, to have taken York Minster and Fuegia to their own tribe
on the west coast; but as they expressed a wish to remain here, and
as the spot was singularly favourable, Captain Fitz Roy determined
to settle here the whole party, including Matthews, the mission-
ary. Five days were spent in building for them three large wig-
wams, in landing their goods, in digging two gardens, and sowing
seeds.

The next morning after our arrival (the 24th) the Fuegians began

1 This substance, when dry, is tolerably compact, and of little specific gravity:
Professor Ehrenberg has examined it: he states (Konig Akad. der Wissen: Berlin,
Feb. 1845) that it is composed of infusoria, including fourteen polygastrica, and
four phytolitharia. He says that they are all inhabitants of fresh-water; this is a
beautiful example of the results obtainable through Professor Ehrenberg's microscopic
researches; for Jemmy Button told me that it is always collected at the bottoms of
mountain-brooks. It is, moreover, a striking fact in the geographical distribution of
the infusoria, which are well known to have very wide ranges, that all the species
in this substance, although brought from the extreme southern point of Tierra del
Fuego, are old, known forms.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 227

to pour in, and Jemmy's mother and brothers arrived. Jemmy recog-
nized the stentorian voice of one of his brothers at a prodigious
distance. The meeting was less interesting than that between a horse,
turned out into a field, when he joins an old companion. There was
no demonstration of affection; they simply stared for a short time at
each other; and the mother immediately went to look after her canoe.
We heard, however, through York that the mother has been incon-
solable for the loss of Jemmy, and had searched everywhere for
him, thinking that he might have been left after having been taken
in the boat. The women took much notice of and were very kind
to Fuegia. We had already perceived that Jemmy had almost for-
gotten his own language. I should think there was scarcely another
human being with so small a stock of language, for his English was
very imperfect. It was laughable, but almost pitiable, to hear him
speak to his wild brother in English, and then ask him in Spanish
("no sabe?") whether he did not understand him.

Everything went on peaceably during the three next days, whilst
the gardens were digging and wigwams building. We estimated
the number of natives at about one hundred and twenty. The
women worked hard, whilst the men lounged about all day long,
watching us. They asked for everything they saw, and stole what
they could. They were delighted at our dancing and singing, and
were particularly interested at seeing us wash in a neighbouring
brook; they did not pay much attention to anything else, not even
to our boats. Of all the things which York saw, during his absence
from his country, nothing seems more to have astonished him than
an ostrich, near Maldonado: breathless with astonishment, he came
running to Mr. Bynoe, with whom he was out walking — "Oh, Mr.
Bynoe, oh, bird all same horse!" Much as our white skins surprised
the natives, by Mr. Low's account a negro-cook to a sealing vessel,
did so more effectually; and the poor fellow was so mobbed and
shouted at that he would never go on shore again. Everything went
on so quietly, that some of the officers and myself took long walks
in the surrounding hills and woods. Suddenly, however, on the 27th,
every woman and child disappeared. We were all uneasy at this, as
neither York nor Jemmy could make out the cause. It was thought
by some that they had been frightened by our cleaning and firing

228 CHARLES DARWIN

off our muskets on the previous evening; by others, that it was owing
to offence taken by an old savage, who, when told to keep further
off, had coolly spit in the sentry's face, and had then, by gestures
acted over a sleeping Fuegian, plainly showed, as it was said, that
he should like to cut up and eat our man. Captain Fitz Roy, to
avoid the chance of an encounter, which would have been fatal to
so many of the Fuegiahs, thought it advisable for us to sleep at a
cove a few miles distant. Matthews, with his usual quiet fortitude
(remarkable in a man apparently possessing little energy of char-
acter), determined to stay with the Fuegians, who evinced no alarm
for themselves; and so we left them to pass their first awful night.

On our return in the morning (28th) we were delighted to find
all quiet, and the men employed in their canoes spearing fish. Cap-
tain Fitz Roy determined to send the yawl and one whale-boat back
to the ship; and to proceed with the two other boats, one under his
own command (in which he most kindly allowed me to accompany
him), and one under Mr. Hammond, to survey the western parts
of the Beagle Channel, and afterwards to return and visit the settle-
ment. The day to our astonishment was overpoweringly hot, so that
our skins were scorched: with this beautiful weather, the view in
the middle of the Beagle Channel was very remarkable. Looking
towards either hand, no object intercepted the vanishing points of
this long canal between the mountains. The circumstance of its
being an arm of the sea was rendered very evident by several huge
whales 2 spouting in different directions. On one occasion I saw two
of these monsters, probably male and female, slowly swimming one
after the other, within less than a stone's throw of the shore, over
which the beech-Cree extended its branches.

We sailed on till it was dark, and then pitched our tents in a quiet
creek. The greatest luxury was to find for our beds a beach of peb-
bles, for they were dry and yielded to the body. Peaty soil is damp;
rock is uneven and hard; sand gets into one's meat, when cooked and
eaten boat-fashion; but when lying in our blanket-bags, on a good
bed of smooth pebbles, we passed most comfortable nights.

2 One day, off the East coast of Tierra del Fuego, we saw a grand sight in several
spermaceti whales jumping upright quite out o£ the water, with the exception of
their tail -fins. As they fell down sideways, they splashed the water high up, and
the sound reverberated like a distant broadside.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 229

It was my watch till one o'clock. There is something very solemn
in these scenes. At no time does the consciousness in what a remote
corner of the world you are then standing, come so strongly before
the mind. Everything tends to this effect; the stillness of the night
is interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the seamen beneath the
tents, and sometimes by the cry of a night-bird. The occasional
barking of a dog, heard in the distance, reminds one that it is the
land of the savage.

January 29th. — Early in the morning we arrived at the point where
the Beagle Channel divides into two arms; and we entered the north-
ern one. The scenery here becomes even grander than before. The
lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or
backbone of the country, and boldly rise to a height of between three
and four thousand feet, with one peak above six thousand feet. They
are covered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous
cascades pour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow chan-
nel below. In many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the
mountain side to the water's edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine
anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and
especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of
snow. The fragments which had fallen from the glacier into the
water were floating away, and the channel with its icebergs pre-
sented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness of the Polar Sea.
The boats being hauled on shore at our dinner-hour, we were admir-
ing from the distance of half a mile a perpendicular cliff of ice, and
were wishing that some more fragments would fall. At last, down
came a mass with a roaring noise, and immediately we saw the
smooth outline of a wave travelling towards us. The men ran down
as quickly as they could to the boats; for the chance of their being
dashed to pieces was evident. One of the seamen just caught hold
of the bows, as the curling breaker reached it : he was knocked over
and over, but not hurt; and the boats, though thrice lifted on high
and let fall again, received no damage. This was most fortunate for
us, for we were a hundred miles distant from the ship, and we should
have been left without provisions or fire-arms. I had previously
observed that some large fragments of rock on the beach had been
lately displaced; but until seeing this wave, I did not understand

230 CHARLES DARWIN

the cause. One side of the creek was formed by a spur of mica-slate;
the head by a cliff of ice about forty feet high; and the other side by
a promontory fifty feet high, built up of huge rounded fragments of
granite and mica-slate, out of which old trees were growing. This
promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a period when
the glacier had greater dimensions.

When we reached the western mouth of this northern branch of
the Beagle Channel, we sailed amongst many unknown desolate
islands, and the weather was wretchedly bad. We met with no
natives. The coast was almost everywhere so steep, that we had
several times to pull many miles before we could find space enough
to pitch our two tents: one night we slept on large round boulders,
with putrefying sea- weed between them; and when the tide rose, we
had to get up and move our blanket-bags. The farthest point west-
ward which we reached was Stewart Island, a distance of about one
hundred and fifty miles from our ship. We returned into the Beagle
Channel by the southern arm, and thence proceeded, with no adven-
ture, back to Ponsonby Sound.

February 6th. — We arrived at Woollya. Matthews gave so bad an
account of the conduct of the Fuegians, that Captain Fitz Roy deter-
mined to take him back to the Beagle; and ultimately he was left at
New Zealand, where his brother was a missionary. From the time
of our leaving, a regular system of plunder commenced; fresh parties
of the natives kept arriving: York and Jemmy lost many things, and
Matthews almost everything which had not been concealed under-
ground. Every article seemed to have been torn up and divided by
the natives. Matthews described the watch he was obliged always to
keep as most harassing; night and day he was surrounded by the
natives, who tried to tire him out by making an incessant noise
close to his head. One day an old man, whom Matthews asked to
leave his wigwam, immediately returned with a large stone in his
hand : another day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes,
and some of the younger men and Jemmy's brother were crying:
Matthews met them with presents. Another party showed by signs
that they wished to strip him naked and pluck all the hairs out of
his face and body. I think we arrived just in time to save his life.
Jemmy's relatives had been so vain and foolish, that they had showed

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 23 1

to strangers their plunder, and their manner of obtaining it. It was
quite melancholy leaving the three Fuegians with their savage coun-
trymen; but it was a great comfort that they had no personal fears.
York, being a powerful resolute man, was pretty sure to get on well,
together with his wife Fuegia. Poor Jemmy looked rather discon-
solate, and would then, I have little doubt, have been glad to have
returned with us. His own brother had stolen many things from
him; and as he remarked, "What fashion call that:" he abused his
countrymen, "all bad men, no sabe (know) nothing," and, though
I never heard him swear before, "damned fools." Our three Fue-
gians, though they had been only three years with civilized men,
would, I am sure, have been glad to have retained their new habits;
but this was obviously impossible. I fear it is more than doubtful,
whether their visit will have been of any use to them.

In the evening, with Matthews on board, we made sail back to the
ship, not by the Beagle Channel, but by the southern coast. The
boats were heavily laden and the sea rough, and we had a dangerous
passage. By the evening of the 7th we were on board the Beagle
after an absence of twenty days, during which time we had gone
three hundred miles in the open boats. On the nth, Captain Fitz
Roy paid a visit by himself to the Fuegians and found them going
on well; and that they had lost very few more things.

On the last day of February in the succeeding year (1834), the
Beagle anchored in a beautiful little cove at the eastern entrance of
the Beagle Channel. Captain Fitz Roy determined on the bold, and
as it proved successful, attempt to beat against the westerly winds
by the same route, which we had followed in the boats to the setde-
ment at Woollya. We did not see many natives until we were near
Ponsonby Sound, where we were followed by ten or twelve canoes.
The natives did not at all understand the reason of our tacking, and,
instead of meeting us at each tack, vainly strove to follow us in our
zigzag course. I was amused at finding what a difference the cir-
cumstance of being quite superior in force made, in the interest of
beholding these savages. While in the boats I got to hate the very
sound of their voices, so much trouble did they give us. The first and
last word was "yammerschooner." When, entering some quiet little

232 CHARLES DARWIN

cove, we have looked round and thought to pass a quiet night, the
odious word "yammerschooner" has shrilly sounded from some
gloomy nook, and then the little signal-smoke has curled up to spread
the news far and wide. On leaving some place we have said to each
other, "Thank Heaven, we have at last fairly left these wretches!"
when one more faint hallo from an all-powerful voice, heard at a
prodigious distance, would reach our ears, and clearly could we
distinguish — "yammerschooner." But now, the more Fuegians the
merrier; and very merry work it was. Both parties laughing, won-
dering, gaping at each other; we pitying them, for giving us good
fish and crabs for rags, etc.; they grasping at the chance of finding
people so foolish as to exchange such splendid ornaments for a good
supper. It was most amusing to see the undisguised smile of satis-
faction with which one young woman with her face painted black,
tied several bits of scarlet cloth round her head with rushes. Her
husband, who enjoyed the very universal privilege in this country
of possessing two wives, evidently became jealous of all the attention
paid to his young wife; and, after a consultation with his naked
beauties, was paddled away by them.

Some of the Fuegians plainly showed that they had a fair notion
of barter. I gave one man a large nail (a most valuable present)
without making any signs for a return; but he immediately picked
out two fish, and handed them up on the point of his spear. If any
present was designed for one canoe, and it fell near another, it was
invariably given to the right owner. The Fuegian boy, whom Mr.
Low had on board, showed, by going into the most violent passion,
that he quite understood the reproach of being called a liar, which
in truth he was. We were this time, as on all former occasions,
much surprised at the little notice, or rather none whatever, which
was taken of many things, the use of which must have been evident
to the natives. Simple circumstances — such as the beauty of scarlet
cloth or blue beads, the absence of women, our care in washing our-
selves, — excited their admiration far more than any grand or compli-
cated object, such as our ship. Bougainville has well remarked
concerning these people, that they treat the "chefs-d'oeuvre de l'in-
dustrie humaine, comme ils traitent les loix de la nature et ses
phenomenes."

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 233

On the 5th of March, we anchored in a cove at Woollya, but we
saw not a soul there. We were alarmed at this, for the natives in
Ponsonby Sound showed by gestures, that there had been fighting;
and we afterwards heard that the dreaded Oens men had made a
descent. Soon a canoe, with a little flag flying, was seen approaching,
with one of the men in it washing the paint off his face. This man
was poor Jemmy, — now a thin, haggard savage, with long disordered
hair, and naked, except a bit of blanket round his waist. We did not
recognize him till he was close to us, for he was ashamed of himself,
and turned his back to the ship. We had left him plump, fat, clean,
and well-dressed; — I never saw so complete and grievous a change.
As soon, however, as he was clothed, and the first flurry was over,
things wore a good appearance. He dined with Captain Fitz Roy,
and ate his dinner as tidily as formerly. He told us that he had "too
much" (meaning enough) to eat, that he was not cold, that his rela-
tions were very good people, and that he did not wish to go back to
England : in the evening we found out the cause of this great change
in Jemmy's feelings, in the arrival of his young and nice-looking
wife. With his usual good feeling, he brought two beautiful otter-
skins for two of his best friends, and some spear-heads and arrows
made with his own hands for the Captain. He said he had built a
canoe for himself, and he boasted that he could talk a little of his own
language! But it is a most singular fact, that he appears to have
taught all his tribe some English: an old man spontaneously an-
nounced "Jemmy Button's wife." Jemmy had lost all his property.
He told us that York Minster had built a large canoe, and with his
wife Fuegia, 3 had several months since gone to his own country,
and had taken farewell by an act of consummate villainy; he per-
suaded Jemmy and his mother to come with him, and then on the
way deserted them by night, stealing every article of their property.

Jemmy went to sleep on shore, and in the morning returned, and
remained on board till the ship got under way, which frightened his
wife, who continued crying violently till he got into his canoe. He

'Captain Sulivan, who, since his voyage in the Beagle, has been employed on the
survey of the Falkland Islands, heard from a sealer in (1842?), that when in the
western part of the Strait of Magellan, he was astonished by a native woman coming
on board, who could talk some English. Without doubt this was Fuegia Basket. She
lived (I fear the term probably bears a double interpretation) some days on board.

234 CHARLES DARWIN

returned loaded with valuable property. Every soul on board was
heartily sorry to shake hands with him for the last time. I do not
now doubt that he will be as happy as, perhaps happier than, if he
had never left his own country. Every one must sincerely hope that
Captain Fitz Roy's noble hope may be fulfilled, of being rewarded
for the many generous sacrifices which he made for these Fuegians,
by some shipwrecked sailor being protected by the descendants of
Jemmy Button and his tribe! When Jemmy reached the shore, he
lighted a signal fire, and the smoke curled up, bidding us a last and
long farewell, as the ship stood on her course into the open sea.

The perfect equality among the individuals composing the Fue-
gian tribes must for a long time retard their civilization. As we see
those animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and
obey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the
races of mankind. Whether we look at it as a cause or a consequence,
the more civilized always have the most artificial governments. For
instance, the inhabitants of Otaheite, who, when first discovered,
were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at a far higher grade
than another branch of the same people, the New Zealanders, — who,
although benefited by being compelled to turn their attention to
agriculture, were republicans in the most absolute sense. In Tierra
del Fuego, until some chief shall arise with power sufficient to
secure any acquired advantage, such as the domesticated animals, it
seems scarcely possible that the political state of the country can be
improved. At present, even a piece of cloth given to one is torn into
shreds and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than
another. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand how a chief
can arise till there is property of some sort by which he might mani-
fest his superiority and increase his power.

I believe, in this extreme part of South America, man exists in a
lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. The
South Sea Islanders, of the two races inhabiting the Pacific, are com-
paratively civilized. The Esquimau in his subterranean hut, enjoys
some of the comforts of life, and in his canoe, when fully equipped,
manifests much skill. Some of the tribes of Southern Africa, prowl-
ing about in search of roots, and living concealed on the wild and

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 235

arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. The Australian, in the sim-
plicity of the arts of life, comes nearest the Fuegian : he can, however,
boast of his boomerang, his spear and throwing-stick, his method of
climbing trees, of tracking animals, and of hunting. Although the
Australian may be superior in acquirements, it by no means follows
that he is likewise superior in mental capacity: indeed, from what I
saw of the Fuegians when on board, and from what I have read of
the Australians, I should think the case was exactly the reverse.

CHAPTER XI

Strait of Magellan. — Climate of the Southern Coasts

Strait of Magellan — Port Famine — Ascent of Mount Tarn — Forests —
Edible Fungus — Zoology — Great Sea-weed — Leave Tierra del Fuego —
Climate — Fruit-trees and Productions of the Southern Coasts — Height
of Snow-line on the Cordillera — Descent of Glaciers to the Sea — Ice-
bergs formed — Transportal of Boulders — Climate and Productions of
the Antarctic Islands — Preservation of Frozen Carcasses — Recapitula-
tion.

IN THE end of May, 1834, we entered for a second time the
eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan. The country on both
sides of this part of the Strait consists of nearly level plains, like
those of Patagonia. Cape Negro, a little within the second Narrows,
may be considered as the point where the land begins to assume the
marked features of Tierra del Fuego. On the east coast, south of the
Strait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these
two countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every fea-
ture. It is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles such a
change in the landscape. If we take a rather greater distance, as
between Port Famine and Gregory Bay, that is about sixty miles, the
difference is still more wonderful. At the former place, we have
rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests, which are
drenched with the rain, brought by an endless succession of gales;
while at Cape Gregory, there is a clear and bright blue sky over the
dry and sterile plains. The atmospheric currents, 1 although rapid,
turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits, yet seem to follow,
like a river in its bed, a regularly determined course.

During our previous visit (in January), we had an interview at
Cape Gregory with the famous so-called gigantic Patagonians, who

1 The south-westerly breezes are generally very dry. January 29th, being at
anchor under Cape Gregory: a very hard gale from W. by S., clear sky with few
cumuli; temperature 57 , dew-point 36 , — difference 21°. On January 15th, at Port
St. Julian: in the morning, light winds with much rain, followed by a very heavy
squall with rain, — settled into heavy gale with large cumuli, — cleared up, blowing
very strong from S.S.W. Temperature 6o°, dew-point 42 , — difference 18 .

236

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 237

gave us a cordial reception. Their height appears greater than it
really is, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair,
and general figure: on an average, their height is about six feet, with
some men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also
tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we anywhere
saw. In features they strikingly resemble the more northern Indians
whom I saw with Rosas, but they have a wilder and more formidable
appearance: their faces were much painted with red and black, and
one man was ringed and dotted with white like a Fuegian. Captain
Fitz Roy offered to take any three of them on board, and all seemed
determined to be of the three. It was long before we could clear the
boat; at last we got on board with our three giants, who dined with
the Captain, and behaved quite like gentlemen, helping them-
selves with knives, forks, and spoons : nothing was so much relished
as sugar. This tribe has had so much communication with sealers
and whalers that most of the men can speak a little English and
Spanish; and they are half civilized, and proportionally demoral-
ized.

The next morning a large party went on shore, to barter for skins
and ostrich-feathers; fire-arms being refused, tobacco was in great-
est request, far more so than axes or tools. The whole population of
the toldos, men, women, and children, were arranged on a bank.
It was an amusing scene, and it was impossible not to like the so-
called giants, they were so thoroughly good-humoured and unsus-
pecting: they asked us to come again. They seem to like to have
Europeans to live with them; and old Maria, an important woman
in the tribe, once begged Mr. Low to leave any one of his sailors
with them. They spend the greater part of the year here; but in
summer they hunt along the foot of the Cordillera : sometimes they
travel as far as the Rio Negro, 750 miles to the north. They are well
stocked with horses, each man having, according to Mr. Low, six or
seven, and all the women, and even children, their one own horse.
In the time of Sarmiento (1580), these Indians had bows and arrows,
now long since disused; they then also possessed some horses. This
is a very curious fact, showing the extraordinarily rapid multiplica-
tion of horses in South America. The horse was first landed at
Buenos Ayres in 1537, and the colony being then for a time deserted,

238 CHARLES DARWIN

the horse ran wild; 2 in 1580, only forty-three years afterwards, we
hear of them at the Strait of Magellan! Mr. Low informs me, that
a neighbouring tribe of foot-Indians is now changing into horse-
Indians : the tribe at Gregory Bay giving them their worn-out horses,
and sending in winter a few of their best skilled men to hunt for
them.

June 1st. — We anchored in the fine bay of Port Famine. It was
now the beginning of winter, and I never saw a more cheerless
prospect; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen
indistinctly, through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. We were, how-
ever, lucky in getting two fine days. On one of these, Mount Sar-
miento, a distant mountain 6800 feet high, presented a very noble
spectacle. I was frequently surprised in the scenery of Tierra del
Fuego, at the little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. I
suspect it is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined,
namely, that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge,
is generally in full view. I remember having seen a mountain, first
from the Beagle Channel, where the whole sweep from the summit
to the base was full in view, and then from Ponsonby Sound across
several successive ridges; and it was curious to observe in the latter
case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of the dis-
tance, how the mountain rose in height.

Before reaching Port Famine, two men were seen running along
the shore and hailing the ship. A boat was sent for them. They
turned out to be two sailors who had run away from a sealing-vessel,
and had joined the Patagonians. These Indians had treated them
with their usual disinterested hospitality. They had parted company
through accident, and were then proceeding to Port Famine in hopes
of finding some ship. I dare say they were worthless vagabonds, but
I never saw more miserable-looking ones. They had been living for
some days on mussel-shells and berries, and their tattered clothes had
been burnt by sleeping so near their fires. They had been exposed
night and day, without any shelter, to the late incessant gales, with
rain, sleet, and snow, and yet they were in good health.

During our stay at Port Famine, the Fuegians twice came and
plagued us. As there were many instruments, clothes, and men on
2 Rengger, Natur. der Saugethiere von Paraguay. S. 334.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 239

shore, it was thought necessary to frighten them away. The first
time a few great guns were fired, when they were far distant. It was
most ludicrous to watch through a glass the Indians, as often as the
shot struck the water, take up stones, and, as a bold defiance, throw
them towards the ship, though about a mile and a half distant! A
boat was sent with orders to fire a few musket-shots wide of them.
The Fuegians hid themselves behind the trees, and for every dis-
charge of the muskets they fired their arrows; all, however, fell short
of the boat, and the officer as he pointed at them laughed. This made
the Fuegians frantic with passion, and they shook their mandes in
vain rage. At last, seeing the balls cut and strike the trees, they ran
away, and we were left in peace and quietness. During the former
voyage the Fuegians were here very troublesome, and to frighten
them a rocket was fired at night over their wigwams; it answered
effectually, and one of the officers told me that the clamour first
raised, and the barking of the dogs, was quite ludicrous in contrast
with the profound silence which in a minute or two afterwards pre-
vailed. The next morning not a single Fuegian was in the neigh-
bourhood.

When the Beagle was here in the month of February, I started one
morning at four o'clock to ascend Mount Tarn, which is 2600 feet
high, and is the most elevated point in this immediate district. We
went in a boat to the foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to the
best part), and then began our ascent. The forest commences at the
line of high-water mark, and during the first two hours I gave over
all hopes of reaching the summit. So thick was the wood, that it was
necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for every land-
mark, though in a mountainous country, was completely shut out.
In the deep ravines, the death-like scene of desolation exceeded all
description; outside it was blowing a gale, but in these hollows, not
even a breath of wind stirred the leaves of the tallest trees. So
gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that not even the fungi, mosses,
or ferns could flourish. In the valleys it was scarcely possible to crawl
along, they were so completely barricaded by great mouldering
trunks, which had fallen down in every direction. When passing
over these natural bridges, one's course was often arrested by sinking
knee deep into the rotten wood; at other times, when attempting to

240 CHARLES DARWIN

lean against a firm tree, one was startled by finding a mass of decayed
matter ready to fall at the slightest touch. We at last found ourselves
among the stunted trees, and then soon reached the bare ridge, which
conducted us to the summit. Here was a view characteristic of
Tierra del Fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with patches of
snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea intersecting
the land in many directions. The strong wind was piercingly cold,
and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not stay long on the
top of the mountain. Our descent was not quite so laborious as our
ascent; for the weight of the body forced a passage, and all the slips
and falls were in the right direction.

I have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the
evergreen forests, 3 in which two or three species of trees grow, to the
exclusion of all others. Above the forest land, there are many dwarf
alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to
compose it : these plants are very remarkable from their close alliance
with the species growing on the mountains of Europe, though so
many thousand miles distant. The central part of Tierra del Fuego,
where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most favourable to the
growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer granitic soil, and a
situation more exposed to the violent winds, do not allow of their
attaining any great size. Near Port Famine I have seen more large
trees than anywhere else: I measured a Winter's Bark which was four
feet six inches in girth, and several of the beech were as much as
thirteen feet. Captain King also mentions a beech which was seven
feet in diameter, seventeen feet above the roots.

There is one vegetable production deserving notice from its im-
portance as an article of food to the Fuegians. It is a globular, bright-
yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the beech-trees.
When young it is elastic and turgid, with a smooth surface; but
when mature it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its entire surface
deeply pitted or honey-combed, as represented in the accompanying

3 Captain Fitz Roy informs me that in April (our October), the leaves of those
trees which grow near the base of the mountains change colour, but not those on
the more elevated parts. I remember having read some observations, showing that
in England the leaves fall earlier in a warm and fine autumn than in a late and
cold one. The change in the colour being here retarded in the more elevated, and
therefore colder situations, must be owing to the same general law of vegetation.
The trees of Tierra del Fuego during no part of the year entirely shed their leaves.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 24I

wood-cut. This fungus belongs to a new and curious genus; 4 I
found a second species on another species of beech in Chile; and
Dr. Hooker informs me, that just lately a third species has been
discovered on a third species of beech in Van Dieman's Land. How
singular is this relationship between parasitical fungi and the trees
on which they grow, in distant parts of the world! In Tierra del
Fuego the fungus in its tough and mature
state is collected in large quantities by the
women and children, and is eaten un-
cooked. It has a mucilaginous, slightly
sweet taste, with a faint smell like that of
a mushroom. With the exception of a few
berries, chiefly of a dwarf arbutus, the
natives eat no vegetable food besides this
fungus. In New Zealand, before the intro-
duction of the potato, the roots of the fern were largely consumed;
at the present time, I believe, Tierra del Fuego is the only country
in the world where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of
food.

The zoology of Tierra del Fuego, as might have been expected
from the nature of its climate and vegetation, is very poor. Of mam-
malia, besides whales and seals, there is one bat, a kind of mouse
(Reithrodon chinchilloides), two true mice, a ctenomys allied to or
identical with the tucutuco, two foxes (Canis Magellanicus and C.
Azarae), a sea-otter, the guanaco, and a deer. Most of these animals
inhabit only the drier eastern parts of the country; and the deer has
never been seen south of the Strait of Magellan. Observing the gen-
eral correspondence of the cliffs of soft sandstone, mud, and shingle,
on the opposite sides of the Strait, and on some intervening islands,
one is strongly tempted to believe that the land was once joined, and
thus allowed animals so delicate and helpless as the tucutuco and
Reithrodon to pass over. The correspondence of the cliffs is far from
proving any junction; because such cliffs generally are formed by
the intersection of sloping deposits, which, before the elevation of
the land, had been accumulated near the then existing shores. It is,

4 Described from my specimens and notes by the Rev. J. M. Berkeley, in the
Linnean Transactions (vol. xix. p. 37), under the name of Cyttaria Darwinii; the
Chilian species is the C. Berteroii. This genus is allied to Bulgaria.

242 CHARLES DARWIN

however, a remarkable coincidence, that in the two large islands cut
off by the Beagle Channel from the rest of Tierra del Fuego, one has
cliffs composed of matter that may be called stratified alluvium,
which front similar ones on the opposite side of the channel, — while
the other is exclusively bordered by old crystalline rocks: in the
former, called Navarin Island, both foxes and guanacos occur; but
in the latter, Hoste Island, although similar in every respect, and only
separated by a channel a little more than half a mile wide, I have the
word of Jemmy Button for saying that neither of these animals are
found.

The gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds: occasionally the
plaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius albiceps)
may be heard, concealed near the summit of the most lofty trees; and
more rarely the loud strange cry of a black wood-pecker, with a fine
scarlet crest on its head. A little, dusky-coloured wren (Scytalopus
Magellanicus) hops in a skulking manner among the entangled mass
of the fallen and decaying trunks. But the creeper (Oxyurus tupi-
nieri) is the commonest bird in the country. Throughout the beech
forests, high up and low down, in the most gloomy, wet, and im-
penetrable ravines, it may be met with. This little bird no doubt
appears more numerous than it really is, from its habit of following
with seeming curiosity any person who enters these silent woods:
continually uttering a harsh twitter, it flutters from tree to tree,
within a few feet of the intruder's face. It is far from wishing for
the modest concealment of the true creeper (Certhia familiaris) ;
nor does it, like that bird, run up the trunks of trees, but indus-
triously, after the manner of a willow-wren, hops about, and searches
for insects on every twig and branch. In the more open parts, three
or four species of finches, a thrush, a starling (or Icterus), two
Opetiorhynchi, and several hawks and owls occur.

The absence of any species whatever in the whole class of Reptiles,
is a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in that
of the Falkland Islands. I do not ground this statement merely on
my own observation, but I heard it from the Spanish inhabitants of
the latter place, and from Jemmy Button with regard to Tierra del
Fuego. On the banks of the Santa Cruz, in 50 south, I saw a frog;

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 243

and it is not improbable that these animals, as well as lizards, may
be found as far south as the Strait of Magellan, where the country
retains the character of Patagonia; but within the damp and cold
limit of Tierra del Fuego not one occurs. That the climate would not
have suited some of the orders, such as lizards, might have been
foreseen; but with respect to frogs, this was not so obvious.

Beedes occur in very small numbers: it was long before I could
believe that a country as large as Scotland, covered with vegetable
productions and with a variety of stations, could be so unproductive.
The few which I found were alpine species (Harpalidx and Heter-
omidae) living under stones. The vegetable-feeding Chrysomelidat,
so eminently characteristic of the Tropics, are here almost entirely
absent; 5 I saw very few flies, butterflies, or bees, and no crickets or
Orthoptera. In the pools of water I found but a few aquatic beetles,
and not any fresh-water shells: Succinea at first appears an exception;
but here it must be called a terrestrial shell, for it lives on the damp
herbage far from the water. Land-shells could be procured only in
the same alpine situations with the beetles. I have already contrasted
the climate as well as the general appearance of Tierra del Fuego
with that of Patagonia; and the difference is strongly exemplified in
the entomology. I do not believe they have one species in common;
certainly the general character of the insects is widely different.

If we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter as
abundandy stocked with living creatures as the former is poorly so.
In all parts of the world a rocky and partially protected shore per-
haps supports, in a given space, a greater number of individual ani-
mals than any other station. There is one marine production which,
from its importance, is worthy of a particular history. It is the kelp,
or Macrocystis pyrifera. This plant grows on every rock from low-
water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast and within the

5 1 believe I must except one alpine Haltica, and a single specimen of a Melasoma.
Mr. Waterhouse informs me, that of the Harpalidse there are eight or nine species —
the forms of the greater number being very peculiar; of Heteromera, four or five
species; of Rhyncophora, six or seven; and of the following families one species in
each: Staphylinida;, Elateridae, Cebrionidar, Melolonthida?. The species in the other
orders are even fewer. In all the orders, the scarcity of the individuals is even more
remarkable than that of the species. Most of the Coleoptera have been carefully
described by Mr. Waterhouse in the Annals of Nat. Hist.

244 CHARLES DARWIN

channels. 6 I believe, during the voyages of the Adventure and
Beagle, not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not
buoyed by this floating weed. The good service it thus affords to
vessels navigating near this stormy land is evident; and it certainly
has saved many a one from being wrecked. I know few things more
surprising than to see this plant growing and flourishing amidst those
great breakers of the western ocean, which no mass of rock, let it
be ever so hard, can long resist. The stem is round, slimy, and
smooth, and seldom has a diameter of so much as an inch. A few
taken together are sufficiently strong to support the weight of the
large loose stones, to which in the inland channels they grow at-
tached; and yet some of these stones were so heavy that when drawn
to the surface, they could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person.
Captain Cook, in his second voyage, says, that this plant at Kerguelen
Land rises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; "and as
it does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute
angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many
fathoms on the surface of the sea, I am well warranted to say that
some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards." I do
not suppose the stem of any other plant attains so great a length as
three hundred and sixty feet, as stated by Captain Cook. Captain
Fitz Roy, moreover, found it growing 7 up from the greater depth of
forty-five fathoms. The beds of this sea-weed, even when of not great
breadth, make excellent natural floating breakwaters. It is quite
curious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the waves from the
open sea, as they travel through the straggling stems, sink in height,
and pass into smooth water.
The number of living creatures of all Orders, whose existence

6 Its geographical range is remarkably wide; it is found from the extreme southern
islets near Cape Horn, as far north on the eastern coast (according to information
given me by Mr. Stokes) as lat. 43°, — but on the western coast, as Dr. Hooker tells
me, it extends to the R. San Francisco in California, and perhaps even to Kamtschatka.
We thus have an immense range in latitude; and as Cook, who must have been well
acquainted with the species, found it at Kerguelen Land, no less than 140 in
longitude.

7 Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, vol. i. p. 363. — It appears that sea-weed
grows extremely quick. — Mr. Stephenson found (Wilson's Voyage round Scotland,
vol. ii. p. 228) that a rock uncovered only at spring-tides, which had been chiselled
smooth in November, on the following May, that is, within six months afterwards,
was thickly covered with Fucus digitatus two feet, and F. esculentus six feet, in
length.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 245

intimately depends on the kelp, is wonderful. A great volume might
be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of sea-
weed. Almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the surface,
are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a white colour.
We find exquisitely delicate structures, some inhabited by simple
hydra-like polypi, others by more organized kinds, and beautiful
compound Ascidias. On the leaves, also, various patelliform shells,
Trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some bivalves are attached. Innu-
merable Crustacea frequent every part of the plant. On shaking the
great entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish, crabs of
all orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, beautiful Holuthuriae, Planariae, and
crawling nereidous animals of a multitude of forms, all fall out to-
gether. Often as I recurred to a branch of the kelp, I never failed to
discover animals of new and curious structures. In Chiloe, where
the kelp does not thrive very well, the numerous shells, corallines,
and Crustacea are absent; but there yet remain a few of the Flustra-
ceae, and some compound Ascidiae; the latter, however, are of differ-
ent species from those in Tierra del Fuego: we see here the fucus
possessing a wider range than the animals which use it as an abode.
I can only compare these great aquatic forests of the southern hemi-
sphere with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. Yet if in
any country a forest was destroyed, I do not believe nearly so many
species of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction
of the kelp. Amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish
live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with their de-
struction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the otters,
seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly, the Fuegian
savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land, would redouble
his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to exist.

June 8th. — We weighed anchor early in the morning and left
Port Famine. Captain Fitz Roy determined to leave the Strait of
Magellan by the Magdalen Channel, which had not long been dis-
covered. Our course lay due south, down that gloomy passage which
I have before alluded to as appearing to lead to another and worse
world. The wind was fair, but the atmosphere was very thick; so
that we missed much curious scenery. The dark ragged clouds were
rapidly driven over the mountains, from their summits nearly down

246 CHARLES DARWIN

to their bases. The glimpses which we caught through the dusky
mass were highly interesting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue
glaciers, strong outlines, marked on a lurid sky, were seen at differ-
ent distances and heights. In the midst of such scenery we anchored
at Cape Turn, close to Mount Sarmiento, which was then hidden in
the clouds. At the base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of
our little cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded
us that man sometimes wandered into these desolate regions. But
it would be difficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have
fewer claims or less authority. The inanimate works of nature —
rock, ice, snow, wind, and water — all warring with each other, yet
combined against man — here reigned in absolute sovereignty.

]une gth. — In the morning, we were delighted by seeing the veil
of mist gradually rise from Sarmiento, and display it to our view.
This mountain, which is one of the highest in Tierra del Fuego, has
an altitude of 6800 feet. Its base, for about an eighth of its total
height, is clothed by dusky woods, and above this a field of snow
extends to the summit. These vast piles of snow, which never melt,
and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together, present
a noble and even sublime spectacle. The outline of the mountain was
admirably clear and defined. Owing to the abundance of light re-
flected from the white and glittering surface, no shadows were cast
on any part; and those lines which intersected the sky could alone be
distinguished : hence the mass stood out in the boldest relief. Several
glaciers descended in a winding course from the upper great expanse
of snow to the sea-coast: they may be likened to great frozen Ni-
agaras; and perhaps these cataracts of blue ice are full as beautiful as
the moving ones of water. By night we reached the western part of
the channel; but the water was so deep that no anchorage could be
found. We were in consequence obliged to stand off and on in this
narrow arm of the sea, during a pitch-dark night of fourteen hours
long.

June 10th. — In the morning we made the best of our way into the
open Pacific. The western coast generally consists of low, rounded,
quite barren hills of granite and greenstone. Sir J. Narborough
called one part South Desolation, because it is "so desolate a land to
behold:" and well indeed might he say so. Outside the main islands,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 247

there are numberless scattered rocks on which the long swell of the
open ocean incessantly rages. We passed out between the East and
West Furies; and a little farther northward there are so many
breakers that the sea is called the Milky Way. One sight of such a
coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about ship-
wrecks, peril, and death; and with this sight we bade farewell for
ever to Tierra del Fuego.

The following discussion on the climate of the southern parts of the
continent with relation to its productions, on the snow-line, on the
extraordinarily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone of per-
petual congelation in the antarctic islands, may be passed over by
any one not interested in these curious subjects, or the final recapitu-
lation alone may be read. I shall, however, here give only an abstract,
and must refer for details to the Thirteenth Chapter and the Appen-
dix of the former edition of this work.

On the Climate and Productions of Tierra del Fuego and of the
South-west Coast. — The following table gives the mean temperature
of Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and, for comparison, that
of Dublin : —

Summer Winter Mean of Summer

Latitude Temp. Temp. and Winter

Tiara del Fuego 53 38' S. 50 33°.o8 4i°. 5 4

Falkland Islands 51 38 S. 51 — —

Dublin 53 11 N. 59.54 39.2. 49.37

Hence we see that the central part of Tierra del Fuego is colder in
winter, and no less than 9V2 l ess hot in summer, than Dublin.
According to von Buch, the mean temperature of July (not the hot-
test month in the year) at Saltenfiord in Norway, is as high as
57°.8, and this place is actually 13 nearer the pole than Port Famine! 8
Inhospitable as this climate appears to our feelings, evergreen trees
flourish luxuriandy under it. Humming-birds may be seen sucking
the flowers, and parrots feeding on the seeds of the Winter's Bark,
in lat. 55 S. I have already remarked to what a degree the sea

8 With respect to Tierra del Fuego, the results are deduced from the observations
by Capt. King (Geographical Journal, 1830), and those taken on board the Beagle.
For the Falkland Islands, I am indebted to Capt. Sulivan for the mean of the mean
temperature (reduced from careful observation at midnight, 8 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m.)
of the three hottest months, viz., December, January, and February. The temperature
of Dublin is taken from Barton.

248 CHARLES DARWIN

swarms with living creatures; and the shells (such as the Patellae,
Fissurellae, Chitons, and Barnacles), according to Mr. G. B. Sowerby,
are of a much larger size and of a more vigorous growth, than the
analogous species in the northern hemisphere. A large Voluta is
abundant in southern Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands.
At Bahia Blanca, in lat. 39 S., the most abundant shells were three
species of Oliva (one of large size), one or two Volutas, and a
Terebra. Now, these are amongst the best characterized tropical
forms. It is doubtful whether even one small species of Oliva exists
on the southern shores of Europe, and there are no species of the
two other genera. If a geologist were to find in lat. 39 on the coast
of Portugal a bed containing numerous shells belonging to three
species of Oliva, to a Voluta and Terebra, he would probably assert
that the climate at the period of their existence must have been trop-
ical; but judging from South America, such an inference might be
erroneous.

The equable, humid, and windy climate of Tierra del Fuego ex-
tends, with only a small increase of heat, for many degrees along the
west coast of the continent. The forests for 600 miles northward of
Cape Horn, have a very similar aspect. As a proof of the equable
climate, even for 300 or 400 miles still further northward, I may men-
tion that in Chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the northern
parts of Spain) the peach seldom produces fruit, whilst strawberries
and apples thrive to perfection. Even the crops of barley and wheat 9
are often brought into the houses to be dried and ripened. At Val-
divia (in the same latitude of 40 , with Madrid) grapes and figs
ripen, but are not common; olives seldom ripen even partially, and
oranges not at all. These fruits, in corresponding latitudes in Europe,
are well known to succeed to perfection; and even in this continent,
at the Rio Negro, under nearly the same parallel with Valdivia,
sweet potatoes (convolvulus) are cultivated; and grapes, figs, olives,
oranges, water and musk melons, produce abundant fruit. Although
the humid and equable climate of Chiloe, and of the coast northward
and southward of it, is so unfavourable to our fruits, yet the native
forests, from lat. 45 ° to 38 °, almost rival in luxuriance those of the
glowing intertropical regions. Stately trees of many kinds, with

9 Agueros, Descrip. Hist, de la Prov. de Chilo£, 1791, p. 94.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 249

smooth and highly coloured barks, are loaded by parasitical mono-
cotyledonous plants; large and elegant ferns are numerous, and
arborescent grasses entwine the trees into one entangled mass to the
height of thirty or forty feet above the ground. Palm-trees grow in
lat. 37 ; an arborescent grass, very like a bamboo, in 40 ° ; and another
closely allied kind, of great length, but not erect, flourishes even as
far south as 45 S.

An equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea com-
pared with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the
southern hemisphere; and, as a consequence, the vegetation par-
takes of a semi-tropical character. Tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in
Van Diemen's Land (lat. 45 ), and I measured one trunk no less
than six feet in circumference. An arborescent fern was found by
Forster in New Zealand in 46 °, where orchideous plants are parasiti-
cal on the trees. In the Auckland Islands, ferns, according to Dr.
Dieffenbach 10 have trunks so thick and high that they may be almost
called tree-ferns; and in these islands, and even as far south as lat.
55° in the Macquarrie Islands, parrots abound.

On the Height of the Snow-line, and on the Descent of the Gla-
ciers in South America. — For the detailed authorities for the follow-
ing table, I must refer to the former edition : —

Height in feet
Latitude at Snow-line Observer

Equatorial region; mean result I 5.748 Humboldt.

Bolivia, lat. 16 to 18 S 17,000 Pentland.

Central Chile, lat. 33 S 14,5001015,000 Gillies, and the Author.

Chiloe, lat. 41° to 43° S 6,000 Officers of the Beagle,

and the Author.
Tierra del Fuego, 54 S 3.500 to 4,000 King.

As the height of the plane of perpetual snow seems chiefly to be
determined by the extreme heat of the summer, rather than by the
mean temperature of the year, we ought not to be surprised at its
descent in the Strait of Magellan, where the summer is so cool, to
only 3500 or 4000 feet above the level of the sea; although in Nor-
way, we must travel to between lat. 67 ° and 70 ° N., that is, about
14 ° nearer the pole, to meet with perpetual snow at this low level.
The difference in height, namely, about 9000 feet, between the snow-
line on the Cordillera behind Chiloe (with its highest points rang-

10 See the German Translation of this Journal; and for the other facts, Mr. Brown's
Appendix to Flinders's Voyage.

250 CHARLES DARWIN

ing from only 5600 to 7500 feet) and in central Chile 11 (a distance of
only 9 of latitude), is truly wonderful. The land from the south-
ward of Chiloe to near Concepcion (lat. 37 °) is hidden by one
dense forest dripping with moisture. The sky is cloudy, and we have
seen how badly the fruits of southern Europe succeed. In central
Chile, on the other hand, a little northward of Concepcion, the sky
is generally clear, rain does not fall for the seven summer months,
and southern European fruits succeed admirably; and even the sugar-
cane has been cultivated. 12 No doubt the plane of perpetual snow
undergoes the above remarkable flexure of 9000 feet, unparalleled in
other parts of the world, not far from the latitude of Concepcion,
where the land ceases to be covered with foresMrees; for trees in
South America indicate a rainy climate, and rain a clouded sky and
little heat in summer.

The descent of glaciers to the sea must, I conceive, mainly depend
(subject, of course, to a proper supply of snow in the upper region)
on the lowness of the line of perpetual snow on steep mountains near
the coast. As the snow-line is so low in Tierra del Fuego, we might
have expected that many of the glaciers would have reached the sea.
Nevertheless, I was astonished when I first saw a range, only from
3000 to 4000 feet in height, in the latitude of Cumberland, with every
valley filled with streams of ice descending to the sea-coast. Almost
every arm of the sea, which penetrates to the interior higher chain,
not only in Tierra del Fuego, but on the coast for 650 miles north-
wards, is terminated by "tremendous and astonishing glaciers," as
described by one of the officers on the survey. Great masses of ice
frequently fall from these icy cliffs, and the crash reverberates like the
broadside of a man-of-war through the lonely channels. These falls,
as noticed in the last chapter, produce great waves which break on
the adjoining coasts. It is known that earthquakes frequently cause
masses of earth to fall from sea-cliffs: how terrific, then, would be

11 On the Cordillera of central Chile, I believe the snow-line varies exceedingly in
height in different summers. I was assured that during one very dry and long
summer, all the snow disappeared from Aconcagua, although it attains the prodigious
height of 23,000 feet. It is probable that much of the snow at these great heights
is evaporated rather than thawed.

12 Miers's Chile, vol. i. p. 415. It is said that the sugar-cane grew at Ingenio,
lat. 32° to 33 , but not in sufficient quantity to make the manufacture profitable.
In the valley of Quillota, south of Ingenio, I saw some large date palm-trees.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 25 1

the effect of a severe shock (and such occur here 13 ) on a body like a
glacier, already in motion, and traversed by fissures! I can readily
believe that the water would be fairly beaten back out of the deepest
channel, and then, returning with an overwhelming force, would
whirl about huge masses of rock like so much chaff. In Eyre's
Sound, in the latitude of Paris, there are immense glaciers, and yet
the loftiest neighbouring mountain is only 6200 feet high. In this

JKorass
often inundated

V

Kellyfktien

% :

46'40'

—SO'

47'QO'

Sound, about fifty icebergs were seen at one time floating outwards,
and one of them must have been at least 168 feet in total height.
Some of the icebergs were loaded with blocks of no inconsiderable
size, of granite and other rocks, different from the clay-slate of the
surrounding mountains. The glacier furthest from the pole, sur-
veyed during the voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, is in lat. 46
50', in the Gulf of Penas. It is 15 miles long, and in one part 7 broad
and descends to the sea-coast. But even a few miles northward of
this glacier, in the Laguna de San Rafael, some Spanish missionaries 14
encountered "many icebergs, some great, some small, and others

13 Bulkeley's and Cummin's Faithful Narrative of the Loss of the Wager. The
earthquake happened August 25, 1741.

14 Agiieros, Desc. Hist, de Chiloe\ p. 227.

252 CHARLES DARWIN

middle-sized," in a narrow arm of the sea, on the 22nd of the month
corresponding with our June, and in a latitude corresponding with
that of the Lake of Geneva!

In Europe, the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea
is met with, according to Von Buch, on the coast of Norway, in lat.
67 . Now, this is more than 20 of latitude, or 1230 miles, nearer the
pole than the Laguna de San Rafael. The position of the glaciers at
this place and in the Gulf of Penas may be put even in a more strik-
ing point of view, for they descend to the sea<oast within j l / 2 ° of
latitude, or 450 miles, of a harbour, where three species of Oliva, a
Voluta, and a Terebra, are the commonest shells, within less than
9° from where palms grow, within 4/4° of a region where the
jaguar and puma range over the plains, less than 2 1 / 4° from arbo-
rescent grasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemi-
sphere) less than 2 from orchideous parasites, and within a single
degree of tree-ferns!

These facts are of high geological interest with respect to the cli-
mate of the northern hemisphere at the period when boulders were
transported. I will not here detail how simply the theory of ice-
bergs being charged with fragments of rock, explain the origin and
position of the gigantic boulders of eastern Tierra del Fuego, on
the high plain of Santa Cruz, and on the island of Chiloe. In Tierra
del Fuego, the greater number of boulders lie on the lines of old
sea-channels, now converted into dry valleys by the elevation of the
land. They are associated with a great unstratified formation of mud
and sand, containing rounded and angular fragments of all sizes,
which has originated 15 in the repeated ploughing up of the sea-
bottom by the stranding of icebergs, and by the matter transported
on them. Few geologists now doubt that those erratic boulders which
lie near lofty mountains have been pushed forward by the glaciers
themselves, and that those distant from mountains, and embedded
in subaqueous deposits, have been conveyed thither either on ice-
bergs or frozen in coast-ice. The connection between the transportal
of boulders and the presence of ice in some form, is strikingly
shown by their geographical distribution over the earth. In South
America they are not found further than 48 ° of latitude, measured

15 Geological Transactions, vol. vi. p. 415.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 253

from the southern pole; in North America it appears that the limit
of their transportal extends to 53 x /z° from the northern pole; but in
Europe to not more than 40 of latitude, measured from the same
point. On the other hand, in the intertropical parts of America, Asia,
and Africa, they have never been observed; nor at the Cape of Good
Hope, nor in Australia. 16

On the Climate and Productions of the Antarctic Islands. — Con-
sidering the rankness of the vegetation in Tierra del Fuego, and on
the coast northward of it, the condition of the islands south and
south-west of America is truly surprising. Sandwich Land, in the
latitude of the north part of Scotland, was found by Cook, during
the hottest month of the year, "covered many fathoms thick with
everlasting snow;" and there seems to be scarcely any vegetation.
Georgia, an island 96 miles long and 10 broad, in the latitude of
Yorkshire, "in the very height of summer, is in a manner wholly
covered with frozen snow." It can boast only of moss, some tufts
of grass, and wild burnet; it has only one land-bird (Anthus cor-
rendera), yet Iceland, which is 10 ° nearer the pole, has, according to
Mackenzie, fifteen land-birds. The South Shetland Islands, in the
same latitude as the southern half of Norway, possess only some
lichens, moss, and a little grass; and Lieut. Kendall" found the bay,
in which he was at anchor, beginning to freeze at a period corre-
sponding with our 8th of September. The soil here consists of ice
and volcanic ashes interstratified; and at a little depth beneath the
surface it must remain perpetually congealed, for Lieut. Kendall
found the body of a foreign sailor which had long been buried, with
the flesh and all the features perfectly preserved. It is a singular fact,
that on the two great continents in the northern hemisphere (but not
in the broken land of Europe between them), we have the zone of
perpetually frozen undersoil in a low latitude — namely, in 56 ° in
North America at the depth of three feet, 18 and in 62 ° in Siberia at

16 1 have given details (the first, I believe, published) on this subject in the first
edition, and in the Appendix to it. I have there shown that the apparent exceptions
to the absence of erratic boulders in certain hot countries, are due to erroneous ob-
servations; several statements there given I have since found confirmed by various
authors.

17 Geographical Journal, 1830, pp. 65, 66.

18 Richardson's Append, to Back's Exped., and Humboldt's Fragm. Asiat., torn. ii.
p. 386.

254 CHARLES DARWIN

the depth of twelve to fifteen feet — as the result of a directly opposite
condition of things to those of the southern hemisphere. On the
northern continents, the winter is rendered excessively cold by the
radiation from a large area of land into a clear sky, nor is it mod-
erated by the warmth-bringing currents of the sea; the short summer,
on the other hand, is hot. In the Southern Ocean the winter is not
so excessively cold, but the summer is far less hot, for the clouded
sky seldom allows the sun to warm the ocean, itself a bad absorbent
of heat; and hence the mean temperature of the year, which regulates
the zone of perpetually congealed under-soil, is low. It is evident that
a rank vegetation, which does not so much require heat as it does
protection from intense cold, would approach much nearer to this
zone of perpetual congelation under the equable climate of the
southern hemisphere, than under the extreme climate of the northern
continents.

The case of the sailor's body perfectly preserved in the icy soil of
the South Shetland Islands (lat. 62 to 63 S.), in a rather lower
latitude than that (lat. 64 ° N.) under which Pallas found the frozen
rhinoceros in Siberia, is very interesting. Although it is a fallacy, as
I have endeavoured to show in a former chapter, to suppose that the
larger quadrupeds require a luxuriant vegetation for their support,
nevertheless it is important to find in the South Shetland Islands,
a frozen under-soil within 360 miles of the forest-clad islands near
Cape Horn, where, as far as the bull{ of vegetation is concerned, any
number of great quadrupeds might be supported. The perfect preser-
vation of the carcasses of the Siberian elephants and rhinoceroses is
certainly one of the most wonderful facts in geology; but independ-
ently of the imagined difficulty of supplying them with food from the
adjoining countries, the whole case is not, I think, so perplexing as
k has generally been considered. The plains of Siberia, like those of
the Pampas, appear to have been formed under the sea, into which
rivers brought down the bodies of many animals; of the greater
number of these, only the skeletons have been preserved, but of
others the perfect carcass. Now, it is known that in the shallow sea
on the Arctic coast of America the bottom freezes, 19 and does not
thaw in spring so soon as the surface of the land; moreover at

"Messrs. Dease and Simpson, in Geograph. Journ., vol. viii. pp. 2:8 and 220.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 255

greater depths, where the bottom of the sea does not freeze, the mud
a few feet beneath the top layer might remain even in summer below
32 °, as in the case on the land with the soil at the depth of a few
feet. At still greater depths, the temperature of the mud and water
would probably not be low enough to preserve the flesh; and hence,
carcasses drifted beyond the shallow parts near an Arctic coast,
would have only their skeletons preserved: now in the extreme
northern parts of Siberia bones are infinitely numerous, so that even
islets are said to be almost composed of them; 20 and those islets lie
no less than ten degrees of latitude north of the place where Pallas
found the frozen rhinoceros. On the other hand, a carcass washed
by a flood into a shallow part of the Arctic Sea, would be preserved
for an indefinite period, if it were soon afterwards covered with mud
sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer-water penetrating
to it; and if, when the sea--bottom was upraised into land, the cover-
ing was sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer air and
sun thawing and corrupting it.

Recapitulation. — I will recapitulate the principal facts with regard
to the climate, ice-action, and organic productions of the southern
hemisphere, transposing the places in imagination to Europe, with
which we are so much better acquainted. Then, near Lisbon, the
commonest sea-shells, namely, three species of Oliva, a Voluta, and
a Terebra, would have a tropical character. In the southern provinces
of France, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and
with the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face of
the land. The puma and the jaguar would haunt the Pyrenees. In
the latitude of Mont Blanc, but on an island as far westward as
Central North America, tree-ferns and parasitical Orchideae would
thrive amidst the thick woods. Even as far north as central Den-
mark, humming-birds would be seen fluttering about delicate flowers,
and parrots feeding amidst the evergreen woods; and in the sea there,
we should have a Voluta, and all the shells of large size and vigorous
growth. Nevertheless, on some islands only 360 miles northward of
our new Cape Horn in Denmark, a carcass buried in the soil (or if
washed into a shallow sea, and covered up with mud) would be
preserved perpetually frozen. If some bold navigator attempted to

20 Cuvier (Ossemens Fossiles, torn. i. p. 151), from Billing's Voyage.

256 CHARLES DARWIN

penetrate northward of these islands, he would run a thousand dan-
gers amidst gigantic icebergs, on some of which he would see great
blocks of rock borne far away from their original site. Another island
of large size in the latitude of southern Scotland, but twice as far to
the west, would be "almost wholly covered with everlasting snow,"
and would have each bay terminated by ice-cliffs, whence great
masses would be yearly detached: this island would boast only of a
little moss, grass, and burnet, and a titlark would be its only land
inhabitant. From our new Cape Horn in Denmark, a chain of
mountains, scarcely half the height of the Alps, would run in a
straight line due southward; and on its western flank every deep
creek of the sea, or fiord, would end in "bold and astonishing gla-
ciers." These lonely channels would frequently reverberate with the
falls of ice, and so often would great waves rush along their coasts;
numerous icebergs, some as tall as cathedrals, and occasionally loaded
with "no inconsiderable blocks of rock," would be stranded on the
outlying islets; at intervals violent earthquakes would shoot prodi-
gious masses of ice into the waters below. Lastly, some missionaries
attempting to penetrate a long arm of the sea, would behold the not
lofty surrounding mountains, sending down their many grand icy
streams to the sea-coast, and their progress in the boats would be
checked by the innumerable floating icebergs, some small and some
great; and this would have occurred on our twenty-second of June,
and where the Lake of Geneva is now spread out! 21

21 In the former edition and Appendix, I have given some facts on the transportal
of erratic boulders and icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean. This subject has lately been
treated excellently by Mr. Hayes, in the Boston Journal (vol. iv. p. 426). The author
does not appear aware of a case published by me (Geographical Journal, vol. ix. p. 528)
of a gigantic boulder embedded in an iceberg in the Antarctic Ocean, almost certainly
one hundred miles distant from any land, and perhaps much more distant. In the
Appendix I have discussed at length the probability (at that time hardly thought of)
of icebergs, when stranded, grooving and polishing rocks, like glaciers. This is now
a very commonly received opinion; and I cannot still avoid the suspicion that it is
applicable even to such cases as that of the Jura. Dr. Richardson has assured me
that the icebergs off North America push before them pebbles and sand, and leave
the submarine rocky flats quite bare; it is hardly possible to doubt that such ledges
must be polished and scored in the direction of the set of the prevailing currents.
Since writing that Appendix, I have seen in North Wales (London Phil. Mag., vol.
xxi. p. 180) the adjoining action of glaciers and floating icebergs.

CHAPTER XII

Central Chile

Valparaiso — Excursion to the Foot of the Andes — Structure of the Land
— Ascend the Bell of Quillota — Shattered Masses of Greenstone —
Immense Valleys — Mines — State of Miners — Santiago — Hot-baths of
Cauquenes — Gold-mines — Grinding-mills — Perforated Stones — Habits
of the Puma — El Turco and Tapacolo — Humming-birds.

/ULY 23rd. — The Beagle anchored late at night in the bay of
Valparaiso, the chief seaport of Chile. When morning came,
everything appeared delightful. After Tierra del Fuego, the
climate felt quite delicious — the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens
so clear and blue with the sun shining brightly, that all nature
seemed sparkling with life. The view from the anchorage is very
pretty. The town is built at the very foot of a range of hills, about
1600 feet high, and rather steep. From its position, it consists of one
long, straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wher-
ever a ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it.
The rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty
vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a
singularly bright red soil. From this cause, and from the low white-
washed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of St. Cruz in
Teneriffe. In a northwesterly direction there are some fine glimpses
of the Andes: but these mountains appear much grander when
viewed from the neighbouring hills; the great distance at which they
are situated can then more readily be perceived. The volcano of
Aconcagua is particularly magnificent. This huge and irregularly
conical mass has an elevation greater than that of Chimborazo; for,
from measurements made by the officers in. the Beagle, its height is
no less than 23,000 feet. The Cordillera, however, viewed from this
point, owe the greater part of their beauty to the atmosphere through
which they are seen. When the sun was setting in the Pacific, it was
admirable to watch how clearly their rugged outlines could be dis-

257

258 CHARLES DARWIN

tinguished, yet how varied and how delicate were the shades of
their colour.

I had the good fortune to find living here Mr. Richard Corfield,
an old schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality and kindness I
was greatly indebted, in having afforded me a most pleasant residence
during the Beagle's stay in Chile. The immediate neighbourhood of
Valparaiso is not very productive to the naturalist. During the long
summer the wind blows steadily from the southward, and a little off
shore, so that rain never falls; during the three winter months, how-
ever, it is sufficiently abundant. The vegetation in consequence is
very scanty : except in some deep valleys, there are no trees, and only
a little grass and a few low bushes are scattered over the less steep
parts of the hills. When we reflect, that at the distance of 350 miles
to the south, this side of the Andes is completely hidden by one im-
penetrable forest, the contrast is very remarkable. I took several long
walks while collecting objects of natural history. The country is
pleasant for exercise. There are many very beautiful flowers; and,
as in most other dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong
and peculiar odours — even one's clothes by brushing through them
became scented. I did not cease from wonder at finding each suc-
ceeding day as fine as the foregoing. What a difference does climate
make in the enjoyment of life! How opposite are the sensations when
viewing black mountains half enveloped in clouds, and seeing
another range through the light blue haze of a fine day! The one
for a time may be very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy
life.

August 14th. — I set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of
geologizing the basal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of
the year are not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was
northward along the seacoast. After dark we reached the Hacienda
of Quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane.
My object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells, which
stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for lime.
The proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivo-
cal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are nu-
merous and I found some at 1300 feet. These shells either lie loose on
the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black vegetable mould. I

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 259

was much surprised to find under the microscope that this vegetable
mould is really marine mud, full of minute particles of organic bodies.

15th. — We returned towards the valley of Quillota. The country
was exceedingly pleasant; just such as poets would call pastoral:
green open lawns, separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the
cottages, we may suppose of the shepherds, scattered on the hill-
sides. We were obliged to cross the ridge of the Chilicauquen. At
its base there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but these flour-
ished only in the ravines, where there was running water. Any
person who had seen only the country near Valparaiso, would never
have imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in Chile.
As soon as we reached the brow of the Sierra, the valley of Quillota
was immediately under our feet. The prospect was one of remark-
able artificial luxuriance. The valley is very broad and quite flat,
and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. The little square gardens are
crowded with orange and olive trees, and every sort of vegetable. On
each side huge bare mountains rise, and this from the contrast ren-
ders the patchwork valley the more pleasing. Whoever called "Val-
paraiso" the "Valley of Paradise," must have been thinking of
Quillota. We crossed over to the Hacienda de San Isidro, situated
at the very foot of the Bell Mountain.

Chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between
the Cordillera and the Pacific; and this strip is itself traversed by
several mountain-lines, which in this part run parallel to the great
range. Between these outer lines and the main Cordillera, a succes-
sion of level basins, generally opening into each other by narrow
passages, extend far to the southward: in these, the principal towns
are situated, as San Felipe, Santiago, San Fernando. These basins
or plains, together with the transverse flat valleys (like that of Quil-
lota) which connect them with the coast, I have no doubt are the
bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays, such as at the present day
intersect every part of Tierra del Fuego and the western coast. Chile
must formerly have resembled the latter country in the configura-
tion of its land and water. The resemblance was occasionally shown
strikingly when a level fog-bank covered, as with a mantle, all the
lower parts of the country: the white vapour curling into the ravines,
beautifully represented little coves and bays; and here and there a

260 CHARLES DARWIN

solitary hillock peeping up, showed that it had formerly stood there
as an islet. The contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the ir-
regular mountains, gave the scenery a character which to me was
new and very interesting.

From the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very
easily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. Without this
process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during the
whole summer the sky is cloudless. The mountains and hills are
dotted over with bushes and low trees, and excepting these the vege-
tation is very scanty. Each landowner in the valley possesses a certain
portion of hill-country, where his half-wild cattle, in considerable
numbers, manage to find sufficient pasture. Once every year there is
a grand "rodeo," when all the cattle are driven down, counted, and
marked, and a certain number separated to be fattened in the irri-
gated fields. Wheat is extensively cultivated, and a good deal of In-
dian corn : a kind of bean is, however, the staple article of food for the
common labourers. The orchards produce an overflowing abun-
dance of peaches, figs, and grapes. With all these advantages, the in-
habitants of the country ought to be much more prosperous than
they are.

16th. — The mayor-domo of the Hacienda was good enough to give
me a guide and fresh horses; and in the morning we set out to ascend
the Campana, or Bell Mountain, which is 6400 feet high. The paths
were very bad, but both the geology and scenery amply repaid the
trouble. We reached, by the evening, a spring called the Agua del
Guanaco, which is situated at a great height. This must be an old
name, for it is very many years since a guanaco drank its waters.
During the ascent I noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the
northern slope, whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo
about fifteen feet high. In a few places there were palms, and I was
surprised to see one at an elevation of at least 4500 feet. These palms
are, for their family, ugly trees. Their stem is very large, and of a
curious form, being thicker in the middle than at the base or top.
They are excessively numerous in some parts of Chile, and valuable
on account of a sort of treacle made from the sap. On one estate near
Petorca they tried to count them, but failed, after having numbered
several hundred thousand. Every year in the early spring, in August,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 26l

very many are cut down, and when the trunk is lying on the ground,
the crown of leaves is lopped off. The sap then immediately begins to
flow from the upper end, and continues so doing tor some months:
it is, however, necessary that a thin slice should be shaved off from
that end every morning, so as to expose a fresh surface. A good
tree will give ninety gallons, and all this must have been contained
in the vessels of the apparently dry trunk. It is said that the sap
flows much more quickly on those days when the sun is powerful;
and likewise, that it is absolutely necessary to take care, in cutting
down the tree, that it should fall with its head upwards on the side of
the hill; for if it falls down the slope, scarcely any sap will flow;
although in that case one would have thought that the action would
have been aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. The sap
is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which it very
much resembles in taste.

We unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the
night. The evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear, that the
masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of Valparaiso, although no
less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be distin-
guished clearly as little black streaks. A ship doubling the point
under sail, appeared as a bright white speck. Anson expresses much
surprise, in his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels were dis-
covered from the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow for the
height of the land, and the great transparency of the air.

The setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black whilst
the snowy peaks of the Andes yet retained a ruby tint. When it was
dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos, fried our
charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our mate, and were quite com-
fortable. There is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open
air. The evening was calm and still; — 'the shrill noise of the moun-
tain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were occasionally to
be heard. Besides these, few birds, or even insects, frequent these
dry, parched mountains.

August iyth. — In the morning we climbed up the rough mass of
greenstone which crowns the summit. This rock, as frequently hap-
pens, was much shattered and broken into huge angular fragments.
I observed, however, one remarkable circumstance, namely, that

262 CHARLES DARWIN

many of the surfaces presented every degree of freshness — some ap-
pearing as if broken the day before, whilst on others lichens had
either just become, or had long grown, attached. I so fully believed
that this was owing to the frequent earthquakes, that I felt inclined
to hurry from below each loose pile. As one might very easily be
deceived in a iact ot this kind, I doubted its accuracy, until ascend-
ing Mount Wellington, in Van Diemen's Land, where earthquakes
do not occur; and there I saw the summit of the mountain similarly
composed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if
they had been hurled into their present position thousands of years
ago.

We spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one more
thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen
as in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful, was
heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere view
of the Campana range with its lesser parallel ones, and of the broad
valley of Quillota directly intersecting them. Who can avoid won-
dering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even
more so at the countless ages which it must have required to have
broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them?
It is well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary
beds of Patagonia, which, if heaped on the Cordillera, would in-
crease its height by so many thousand feet. When in that country,
I wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such
masses, and not have been utterly obliterated. We must not now
reverse the wonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind
down mountains — even the gigantic Cordillera — into gravel and
mud.

The appearance of the Andes was different from that which I had
expected. The lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and
to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel.
Only at long intervals, a group of points or a single cone showed
where a volcano had existed, or does now exist. Hence the range
resembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower,
and making a most perfect barrier to the country.

Almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open
gold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely a spot in Chile un-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 263

examined. I spent the evening as before, talking round the fire with
my two companions. The Guasos of Chile, who correspond to the
Gauchos of the Pampas, are, however, a very different set of beings.
Chile is the more civilized of the two countries, and the inhabitants,
in consequence, have lost much individual character. Gradations in
rank are much more strongly marked: the Guaso does not by any
means consider every man his equal; and I was quite surprised to
find that my companions did not like to eat at the same time with
myself. This feeling of inequality is a necessary consequence of the
existence of an aristocracy of wealth. It is said that some few of the
greater landowners possess from five to ten thousand pounds sterling
per annum: an inequality of riches which I believe is not met with in
any of the cattle-breeding countries eastward of the Andes. A trav-
eller does not here meet that unbounded hospitality which refuses all
payment, but yet is so kindly offered that no scruples can be raised
in accepting it. Almost every house in Chile will receive you for the
night, but a trifle is expected to be given in the morning; even a rich
man will accept two or three shillings. The Gaucho, although he
may be a cutthroat, is a gendeman; the Guaso is in few respects
better, but at the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. The two men,
although employed much in the same manner, are different in their
habits and attire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their
respective countries. The Gaucho seems part of his horse, and
scorns to exert himself except when on his back : the Guaso may be
hired to work as a labourer in the fields. The former lives entirely on
animal food; the latter almost wholly on vegetable. We do not here
see the white boots, the broad drawers and scarlet chilipa; the pic-
turesque costume of the Pampas. Here, common trousers are pro-
tected by black and green worsted leggings. The poncho, however,
is common to both. The chief pride of the Guaso lies in his spurs,
which are absurdly large. I measured one which was six inches in the
diameter of the rowel, and the rowel, itself contained upwards of
thirty points. The stirrups are on the same scale, each consisting of a
square, carved block of wood, hollowed out, yet weighing three or
four pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more expert with the lazo than
the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the country, he does not know
the use of the bolas.

264 CHARLES DARWIN

August 18th. — We descended the mountain, and passed some beau-
tiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the
same hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days
up the valley, and passed through Quillota, which is more like a
collection of nursery-gardens than a town. The orchards were beau-
tiful, presenting one mass of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or
two places the date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and I should think
a group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must be
superb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty straggling town like
Quillota. The valley in this part expands into one of those great
bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the Cordillera, which have been
mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of Chile. In
the evening we reached the mines of Jajuel, situated in a ravine at
the flank of the great chain. I stayed here five days. My host, the
superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather ignorant Cor-
nish miner. He had married a Spanish woman, and did not mean to
return home; but his admiration for the mines of Cornwall re-
mained unbounded. Amongst many other questions, he asked me,
"Now that George Rex is dead, how many more of the family of
Rexes are yet alive?" This Rex certainly must be a relation of the
great author Finis, who wrote all books !

These mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to Swansea, to
be smelted. Hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet, as
compared to those in England: here no smoke, furnaces, or great
steam-engines, disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains.

The Chilian government, or rather the old Spanish law, encourages
by every method the searching for mines. The discoverer may work
a mine on any ground, by paying five shillings; and before paying this
he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty days.

It is now well known that the Chilian method of mining is the
cheapest. My host says that the two principal improvements intro-
duced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by previous roasting
the copper pyrites — which, being the common ore in Cornwall, the
English miners were astounded on their arrival to find thrown away
as useless: secondly, stamping and washing the scoriae from the old
furnaces — by which process particles of metal are recovered in abun-
dance. I have actually seen mules carrying to the coast, for transporta-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 265

tion to England, a cargo of such cinders. But the first case is much
the most curious. The Chilian miners were so convinced that copper
pyrites contained not a particle of copper, that they laughed at the
Englishmen for their ignorance, who laughed in turn, and bought
their richest veins for a few dollars. It is very odd that, in a country
where mining had been extensively carried on for many years, so
simple a process as gently roasting the ore to expel the sulphur
previous to smelting it, had never been discovered. A few improve-
ments have likewise been introduced in some of the simple ma-
chinery; but even to the present day, water is removed from some
mines by men carrying it up the shaft in leathern bags!

The labouring men work very hard. They have little time allowed
for their meals, and during summer and winter they begin when
it is light, and leave off at dark. They are paid one pound sterling
a month, and their food is given them: this for breakfast consists
of sixteen figs and two small loaves of bread; for dinner, boiled beans;
for supper, broken roasted wheat grain. They scarcely ever taste
meat; as, with the twelve pounds per annum, they have to clothe
themselves, and support their families. The miners who work in the
mine itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are allowed a
little charqui. But these men come down from their bleak habita-
tions only once in every fortnight or three weeks.

During my stay here I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these
huge mountains. The geology, as might have been expected, was
very interesting. The shattered and baked rocks, traversed by in-
numerable dykes of greenstone, showed what commotions had
formerly taken place. The scenery was much the same as that near
the Bell of Quillota — dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by
bushes with a scanty foliage. The cactuses, or rather opuntias, were
here very numerous. I measured one of a spherical figure, which, in-
cluding the spines, was six feet and four inches in circumference.
The height of the common cylindrical, branching kind, is from
twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth (with spines) of the branches
between three and four feet.

A heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me, during
the last two days, from making some interesting excursions. I at-
tempted to reach a lake which the inhabitants, from some unaccount-

266 CHARLES DARWIN

able reason, believe to be an arm of the sea. During a very dry
season, it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the
sake of the water, but the padre, after a consultation, declared it
was too dangerous, as all Chile would be inundated, if, as generally
supposed, the lake was connected with the Pacific. We ascended to
a great height, but becoming involved in the snow-drifts failed in
reaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning.
I thought we should have lost our horses; for there was no means
of guessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led,
could only move by jumping. The black sky showed that a fresh
snowstorm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad
when we escaped. By the time we reached the base the storm com-
menced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours
earlier in the day.

August 26th. — We left Jajuel and again crossed the basin of San
Felipe. The day was truly Chilian: glaringly bright and the atmos-
phere quite clear. The thick and uniform covering of newly fallen
snow rendered the view of the volcano of Aconcagua and the
main chain quite glorious. We were now on the road to Santiago,
the capital of Chile. We crossed the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at
a little rancho. The host, talking about the state of Chile as com-
pared to other countries, was very humble: "Some see with two eyes,
and some with one, but for my part I do not think that Chile sees
with any."

August 27th. — After crossing many low hills we descended into
the small land-locked plain of Guitron. In the basins, such as this
one, which are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet
above the sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms,
and stand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. These
trees are never found near the sea-coast; and this gives another char-
acteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a low
ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which San-
tiago stands. The view was here pre-eminently striking: the dead
level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, and with the city
in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the Andes,
whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. At the first
glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain represented

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 267

the extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained the level
road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the city before
it was dark.

I stayed a week in Santiago, and enjoyed myself very much. In
the morning I rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening
dined with several of the English merchants, whose hospitality at
this place is well known. A never-failing source of pleasure was to
ascend the little hillock of rock (St. Lucia) which projects in the
middle of the city. The scenery certainly is most striking, and, as I
have said, very peculiar. I am informed that this same character is
common to the cities on the great Mexican platform. Of the town I
have nothing to say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as Buenos
Ayres, but is built after the same model. I arrived here by a circuit
to the north; so I resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer
excursion to the south of the direct road.

September $th. — By the middle of the day we arrived at one of the
suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the Maypu, a large
turbulent river a few leagues southward of Santiago. These bridges
are very poor affairs. The road, following the curvature of the
suspending ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together.
It was full of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the
weight of a man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a
comfortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty sefio-
ritas. They were much horrified at my having entered one of their
churches out of mere curiosity. They asked me, "Why do you not
become a Christian — for our religion is certain?" I assured them I
was a sort of Christian; but they would not hear of it — appealing to
my own words, "Do not your padres, your very bishops, marry?"
The absurdity of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them:
they scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck at
such an enormity.

6th. — We proceeded due south, and slept at Rancagua. The road
passed over the level but narrow plain, bounded on one side by lofty
hills, and on the other by the Cordillera. The next day we turned up
the valley of the Rio Cachapual, in which the hot-baths of Cauquenes,
long celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. The
suspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally taken

268 CHARLES DARWIN

down during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the case
in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on
horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for the foaming water, though
not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones, that
one's head becomes quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive
whether the horse is moving onward or standing still. In summer,
when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable; their
strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be plainly seen
by the marks which they had left. We reached the baths in the
evening, and stayed there five days, being confined the two last by
heavy rain. The buildings consist of a square of miserable little
hovels, each with a single table and bench. They are situated in a
narrow deep valley just without the central Cordillera. It is a quiet,
solitary spot, with a good deal of wild beauty.

The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of dislo-
cation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which betrays
the action of heat. A considerable quantity of gas is continually
escaping from the same orifices with the water. Though the springs
are only a few yards apart, they have very different temperature; and
this appears to be the result of an unequal mixture of cold water:
for those with the lowest temperature have scarcely any mineral
taste. After the great earthquake of 1822 the springs ceased, and the
water did not return for nearly a year. They were also much affected
by the earthquake of 1835; the temperature being suddenly changed
from 118 to 92 . 1 It seems probable that mineral waters rising deep
from the bowels of the earth, would always be more deranged by sub-
terranean disturbances than those nearer the surface. The man who
had charge of the baths assured me that in summer the water is
hotter and more plentiful than in winter. The former circumstance
I should have expected, from the less mixture, during the dry season,
of cold water; but the latter statement appears very strange and
contradictory. The periodical increase during the summer, when
rain never falls, can, I think, only be accounted for by the melting
of the snow: yet the mountains which are covered by snow during
that season, are three or four leagues distant from the springs. I
have no reason to doubt the accuracy of my informer, who, having
1 Calddeugh, in Philosoph. Transact, for 1836.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 269

lived on the spot for several years, ought to be well acquainted with
the circumstance, — which, if true, certainly is very curious: for we
must suppose that the snow-water, being conducted through porous
strata to the regions of heat, is again thrown up to the surface by the
line of dislocated and injected rocks at Cauquenes; and the regularity
of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this district heated
rock occurred at a depth not very great.

One day I rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot. Shortly
above that point, the Cachapual divides into two deep tremendous
ravines, which penetrate directly into the great range. I scrambled
up a peaked mountain, probably more than six thousand feet high.
Here, as indeed everywhere else, scenes of the highest interest pre-
sented themselves. It was by one of these ravines, that Pincheira
entered Chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. This is the
same man whose attack on an estancia at the Rio Negro I have
described. He was a renegade half-caste Spaniard, who collected a
great body of Indians together and established himself by a stream in
the Pampas, which place none of the forces sent after him could ever
discover. From this point he used to sally forth, and crossing the
Cordillera by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the farm-
houses and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous. Pincheira was
a capital horseman, and he made all around him equally good, for
he invariably shot any one who hesitated to follow him. It was
against this man, and other wandering Indian tribes, that Rosas
waged the war of extermination.

September 13th. — We left the baths of Cauquenes, and, rejoining
the main road, slept at the Rio Clara. From this place we rode to
the town of San Fernando. Before arriving there, the last land-
locked basin had expanded into a great plain, which extended so far
to the south, that the snowy summits of the more distant Andes were
seen as if above the horizon of the sea. San Fernando is forty leagues
from Santiago; and it was my farthest point southward; for we here
turned at right angles towards the coast. We slept at the gold-mines
of Yaquil, which are worked by Mr. Nixon, an American gentleman,
to whose kindness I was much indebted during the four days I stayed
at his house. The next morning we rode to the mines, which are sit-
uated at the distance of some leagues, near the summit of a lofty

27O CHARLES DARWIN

hill. On the way we had a glimpse of the lake Tagua-tagua, cele-
brated for its floating islands, which have been described by M. Gay. 2
They are composed of the stalks of various dead plants intertwined
together, and on the surface of which other living ones take root.
Their form is generally circular, and their thickness from four
to six feet, of which the greater part is immersed in the water. As
the wind blows, they pass from one side of the lake to the other,
and often carry catde and horses as passengers.

When we arrived at the mine, I was struck by the pale appearance
of many of the men, and inquired from Mr. Nixon respecting their
condition. The mine is 450 feet deep, and each man brings up about
200 pounds weight of stone. With this load they have to climb up the
alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a zigzag line up
the shaft. Even beardless young men, eighteen and twenty years
old, with little muscular development of their bodies (they are quite
naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great load from nearly
the same depth. A strong man, who is not accustomed to this labour,
perspires most profusely, with merely carrying up his own body.
With this very severe labour, they live entirely on boiled beans and
bread. They would prefer having bread alone; but their masters,
finding that they cannot work so hard upon this, treat them like
horses, and make them eat the beans. Their pay is here rather more
than at the mines of Jajuel, being from 24 to 28 shillings per month.
They leave the mine only once in three weeks; when they stay
with their families for two days. One of the rules of this mine sounds
very harsh, but answers pretty well for the master. The only method
of stealing gold is to secrete pieces of the ore, and take them out as
occasion may offer. Whenever the major-domo finds a lump thus
hidden, its full value is stopped out of the wages of all the men;
who thus, without tihey all combine, are obliged to keep watch over
each other.

When the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an impal-
pable powder; the process of washing removes all the lighter particles,
and amalgamation finally secures the gold-dust. The washing, when
described, sounds a very simple process; but it is beautiful to see how

2 Annates des Sciences Naturelles, March, 1833. M. Gay, a zealous and able
naturalist, was then occupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout
the kingdom of Chile.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 27 1

the exact adaptation of the current of water to the specific gravity of
the gold, so easily separates the powdered matrix from the metal.
The mud which passes from the mills is collected into pools, where
it subsides, and every now and then is cleared out, and thrown into
a common heap. A great deal of chemical action then commences,
salts of various kinds effloresce on the surface, and the mass becomes
hard. After having been left for a year or two, and then rewashed,
it yields gold; and this process may be repeated even six or seven
times; but the gold each time becomes less in quantity, and the
intervals required (as the inhabitants say, to generate the metal) are
longer. There can be no doubt that the chemical action, already
mentioned, each time liberates fresh gold from some combination.
The discovery of a method to effect this before the first grinding,
would without doubt raise the value of gold-ores many fold. It is
curious to find how the minute particles of gold, being scattered
about and not corroding, at last accumulate in some quantity. A
short time since a few miners, being out of work, obtained per-
mission to scrape the ground round the house and mills; they washed
the earth thus got together, and so procured thirty dollars' worth of
gold. This is an exact counterpart of what takes place in nature.
Mountains suffer degradation and wear away, and with them the
metallic veins which they contain. The hardest rock is worn into
impalpable mud, the ordinary metals oxidate, and both are removed;
but gold, platina, and a few others are nearly indestructible, and from
their weight, sinking to the bottom, are left behind. After whole
mountains have passed through this grinding mill, and have been
washed by the hand of nature, the residue becomes metalliferous, and
man finds it worth his while to complete the task of separation.

Bad as the above treatment of the miners appears, it is gladly
accepted of by them; for the condition of the labouring agriculturists
is much worse. Their wages are lower, and they live almost exclu-
sively on beans. This poverty must be chiefly owing to the feudal-
like system on which the land is tilled : the landowner gives a small
plot of ground to the labourer, for building on and cultivating, and in
return has his services (or chose of a proxy) for every day of his
life, without any wages. Until a father has a grown-up son, who can
by his labour pay the rent, there is no one, except on occasional days,

272 CHARLES DARWIN

to take care of his own patch of ground. Hence extreme poverty is
very common among the labouring classes in this country.

There are some old Indian ruins in this neighbourhood, and I was
shown one of the perforated stones, which Molina mentions as being
found in many places in considerable numbers. They are of a circular
flattened form, from five to six inches in diameter, with a hole passing
quite through the centre. It has generally been supposed that they
were used as heads to clubs, although their form does not appear at
all well adapted for that purpose. Burchell 3 states that some of the
tribes in Southern Africa dig up roots by the aid of a stick pointed
at one end, the force and weight of which are increased by a round
stone with a hole in it, into which the other end is firmly wedged.
It appears probable that the Indians of Chile formerly used some
such rude agricultural instrument.

One day, a German collector in natural history, of the name of
Renous, called, and nearly at the same time an old Spanish lawyer.
I was amused at being told the conversation which took place be-
tween them. Renous speaks Spanish so well, that the old lawyer
mistook him for a Chilian. Renous, alluding to me, asked him what
he thought of the King of England sending out a collector to their
country, to pick up lizards and beetles, and to break stones? The
old gentleman thought seriously for some time, and then said, "It is
not well, — hay un gato encerrado aqui (there is a cat shut up here).
No man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such rubbish. I
do not like it: if one of us were to go and do such things in England,
do not you think the King of England would very soon send us out
of his country?" And this old gentleman, from his profession, be-
longs to the better informed and more intelligent classes! Renous
himself, two or three years before, left in a house at San Fernando
some caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed, that they might turn
into butterflies. This was rumoured through the town, and at last
the padres and governor consulted together, and agreed it must be
some heresy. Accordingly, when Renous returned, he was arrested.

September 19th. — We left Yaquil, and followed the flat valley,
formed like that of Quillota, in which the Rio Tinderidica flows.
Even at these few miles south of Santiago the climate is much

3 Burchell's Travels, vol. ii. p. 45.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 273

damper; in consequence there are fine tracts of pasturage, which are
not irrigated. (20th.) We followed this valley till it expanded into
a great plain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of
Rancagua. We shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the
inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the Pam-
pas. Never having heard of these plains, I was much surprised at
meeting with such scenery in Chile. The plains belong to more
than one series of different elevations, and they are traversed by broad
flat-bottomed valleys; both of which circumstances, as in Patagonia,
bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. In the steep cliffs
bordering these valleys, there are some large caves, which no doubt
were originally formed by the waves: one of these is celebrated under
the name of Cueva del Obispo; having formerly been consecrated.
During the day I felt very unwell, and from that time till the end
of October did not recover.

September 22nd. — We continued to pass over green plains without
a tree. The next day we arrived at a house near Navedad, on the sea-
coast, where a rich Haciendero gave us lodgings. I stayed here the
two ensuing days, and although very unwell, managed to collect
from the tertiary formation some marine shells.

24th. — Our course was now directed towards Valparaiso, which
with great difficulty I reached on the 27th, and was there confined
to my bed till the end of October. During this time I was an inmate
in Mr. Corfield's house, whose kindness to me I do not know how to
express.

I will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds
of Chile. The Puma, or South American Lion, is not uncommon.
This animal has a wide geographical range; being found from the
equatorial forests, throughout the deserts of Patagonia, as far south as
the damp and cold latitudes (53 to 54 ) of Tierra del Fuego. I
have seen its footsteps in the Cordillera of central Chile, at an eleva-
tion of at least 10,000 feet. In La Plata the puma preys chiefly on
deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small quadrupeds; it there seldom
attacks cattle or horses, and most rarely man. In Chile, however, it
destroys many young horses and cattle, owing probably to the
scarcity of other quadrupeds: I heard, likewise, of two men and a

274 CHARLES DARWIN

woman who had been thus killed. It is asserted that the puma always
kills its prey by springing on the shoulders, and then drawing back
the head with one of its paws, until the vertebrae break : I have seen
in Patagonia the skeletons of guanacos, with their necks thus dis-
located.

The puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large
bushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit is often the cause of
its being discovered; for >the condors wheeling in the air every now
and then descend to partake of the feast, and being angrily driven
away, rise all together on the wing. The Chileno Guaso then knows
there is a lion watching his prey — the word is given — and men and
dogs hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a Gaucho in the Pam-
pas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried "A
lion!" I could never myself meet with any one who pretended to
such powers of discrimination. It is asserted that, if a puma has once
been betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been
hunted, it never resumes this habit; but that, having gorged itself,
it wanders far away. The puma is easily killed. In an open country,
it is first entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged along
the ground till rendered insensible. At Tandeel (south of the Plata),
I was told that within three months one hundred were thus de-
stroyed. In Chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees, and are
then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. The dogs employed in
this chase belong to a particular breed, called Leoneros: they are
weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers, but are born with a
particular instinct for this sport. The puma is described as being
very crafty : when pursued, it often returns on its former track, and
then suddenly making a spring on one side, waits there till the dogs
have passed by. It is a very silent animal, uttering no cry even when
wounded, and only rarely during the breeding season.

Of birds, two species of the genus Pteroptochos (megapodius and
albicollis of Kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. The former,
called by the Ghilenos "el Turco," is as large as a fieldfare, to which
bird it has some alliance; but its legs are much longer, tail shorter,
and beak stronger: its colour is a reddish brown. The Turco is not
uncommon. It lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets
which are scattered -over the dry and sterile hills. With its tail erect,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 275

and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then popping from
one bush to another with uncommon quickness. It really requires
little imagination to believe that the bird is ashamed of itself, and is
aware of its most ridiculous figure. On first seeing it, one is tempted
to exclaim, "A vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some mu-
seum, and has come to life again!" It cannot be made to take flight
without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. The
various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the
bushes, are as strange as its appearance. It is said to build its nest in a
deep hole beneath the ground. I dissected several specimens: the
gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles, vegetable
fibres, and pebbles. From this character, from the length of its legs,
scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils, short and
arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to connect the
thrushes with the gallinaceous order.

The second species (or P. albicollis) is allied to the first in its
general form. It is called Tapacolo, or "cover your posterior;" and
well does the shameless little bird deserve its name; for it carries its
tail more than erect, that is, inclined backwards towards its head. It
is very common, and frequents the bottoms of hedge-rows, and the
bushes scattered over the barren hills, where scarcely another bird can
exist. In its general manner of feeding, of quickly hopping out of the
thickets and back again, in its desire of concealment, unwillingness
to take flight, and nidification, it bears a close resemblance to the
Turco; but its appearance is not quite so ridiculous. The Tapacolo
is very crafty : when frightened by any person, it will remain motion-
less at the bottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try
with much address to crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an
active bird, and continually making a noise: these noises are various
and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves, others like the
bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The country people say
it changes its cry five times in the year — according to some change of
season, I suppose. 4

4 It is a remarkable fact, that Molina, though describing in detail all the birds and
animals of Chile, never once mentions this genus, the species of which are so common,
and so remarkable in their habits. Was he at a loss how to classify them, and did
he consequently think that silence was the more prudent course? It is one more
instance of the frequency of omissions by authors, on those very subjects where it might
have been least expected.

276 CHARLES DARWIN

Two species of humming-birds are common; Trochilus forfkatus
is found over a space of 2500 miles on the west coast, from the hot
dry country of Lima, to the forests of Tierra del Fuego — where it
may be seen flitting about in snow-storms. In the wooded island of
Chiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird,
skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps
more abundant than almost any other kind. I opened the stomachs
of several specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in
all, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a
creeper. When this species migrates in the summer southward, it is
replaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north.
This second kind (Trochilus gigas) is a very large bird for the deli-
cate family to which it belongs: when on the wing its appearance is
singular. Like others of the genus, it moves from place to place with
a rapidity which may be compared to that of Syrphus amongst flies,
and Sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps
its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different
from that vibratory one common to most of the species, which pro-
duces the humming noise. I never saw any other bird where the
force of its wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in pro-
portion to the weight of its body. When hovering by a flower, its tail
is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a
nearly vertical position. This action appears to steady and support
the bird, between the slow movements of its wings. Although flying
from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally con-
tained abundant remains of insects, which I suspect are much more
the object of its search than honey. The note of this species, like that
of nearly the whole family, is extremely shrill.

CHAPTER XIII
Chiloe and Chonos Islands

Chiloe — General Aspect— Boat Excursion — Native Indians — Castro —
Tame Fox — Ascend San Pedro — Chonos Archipelago — Peninsula of
Tres Montes — Granitic Range — Boat-wrecked Sailors — Low's Harbour
— Wild Potato — Formation of Peat — Myopotamus, Otter and Mice —
Cheucau and Barking-bird — Opetiorhynchus — Singular Character of
Ornithology — Petrels.

Tt "TOVEMBER ioth. — The Beagle sailed from Valparaiso to

/ \f the south, for the purpose of surveying the southern part
-*- » of Chile, the island of Chiloe, and the broken land called
the Chonos Archipelago, as far south as the Peninsula of Tres
Montes. On the 21st we anchored in the bay of S. Carlos, the capital
of Chiloe.

This island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather
less than thirty. The land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is
covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have
been cleared round the thatched cottages. From a distance the view
somewhat resembles that of Tierra del Fuego; but the woods, when
seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. Many kinds of fine
evergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take the
place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. In" winter the
climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. I should
think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate regions,
where so much rain falls. The winds are very boisterous, and the
sky almost always clouded : to have a week of fine weather is some-
thing wonderful. It is even difficult to get a single glimpse of the
Cordillera: during our first visit, once only the volcano of Osorno
stood out in bold relief, and that was before sunrise; it was curious
to watch, as the sun rose, the outline gradually fading away in the
glare of the eastern sky.

The inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, appear to
have three-fourths of Indian blood in their veins. They are an
humble, quiet, industrious set of men. Although the fertile soil,

277

278 CHARLES DARWIN

resulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks, supports a
rank vegetation, yet the climate is not favourable to any production
which requires much sunshine to ripen it. There is very little pasture
for the larger quadrupeds; and in consequence, the staple articles of
food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. The people all dress in strong
woollen garments, which each family makes for itself, and dyes with
indigo of a dark blue colour. The arts, however, are in the rudest
state; — as may be seen in their strange fashion of ploughing, their
method of spinning, grinding corn, and in the construction of their
boats. The forests are so impenetrable, that the land is nowhere culti-
vated except near the coast and on the adjoining islets. Even where
paths exist, they are scarcely passable from the soft and swampy
state of the soil. The inhabitants, like those of Tierra del Fuego, move
about chiefly on the beach or in boats. Although with plenty to eat,
the people are very poor: there is no demand for labour, and con-
sequently the lower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient
to purchase even the smallest luxuries. There is also a great deficiency
of a circulating medium. I have seen a man bringing on his back
a bag of charcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carry-
ing a plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. Hence every tradesman
must also be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes
in exchange.

November 24th. — The yawl and whale-boat were sent under the
command of Mr. (now Captain) Sulivan, to survey the eastern or
inland coast of Chiloe; and with orders to meet the Beagle at the
southern extremity of the island; to which point she would proceed
by the outside, so as thus to circumnavigate the whole. I accompanied
this expedition, but instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired
horses to take me to Chacao, at the northern extremity of the island.
The road followed the coast; every now and then crossing promon-
tories covered by fine forests. In these shaded paths it is absolutely
necessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood, which
are squared and placed by the side of each other. From the rays of
the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so
damp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse
would be able to pass along. I arrived at the village of Chacao shortly
after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 279

The land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and
there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest.
Chacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many
vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks
in the straits, the Spanish government burnt the church, and thus
arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate
to S. Carlos. We had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son
of the governor came down to reconnoitre us. Seeing the English
flag hoisted at the yawl's mast-head, he asked with the utmost in-
difference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In several places
the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of men-of-
war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a
Spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot govern-
ment of Chile. All the men in power, however, had been informed
of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. While we were
eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. He had been a
lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish service, but now was miserably
poor. He gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two cotton
handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco.

25th. — Torrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down the
coast as far as Huapi-lenou. The whole of this eastern side of Chiloe
has one aspect; it is a plain, broken by valleys and divided into little
islands, and the whole thickly covered with one impervious blackish-
green forest. On the margins there are some cleared spaces, sur-
rounding the high-roofed cottages.

26th. — The day rose splendidly clear. The volcano of Orsono was
spouting out volumes of smoke. This most beautiful mountain,
formed like a perfect cone, and white with snow, stands out in
front of the Cordillera. Another great volcano, with a saddle-shaped
summit, also emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam. Sub-
sequently we saw the lofty-peaked Corcovado — well deserving the
name of "el famoso Corcovado." Thus we beheld, from one point
of view, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thousand feet
high. In addition to this, far to the south, there were other lofty
cones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active,
must be in their origin volcanic. The line of the Andes is not, in this
neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in Chile; neither does it appear

280 CHARLES DARWIN

to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the earth. This
great range, although running in a straight north and south line,
owing to an optical deception, always appeared more or less curved;
for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's eye, necessarily
converged like the radii of a semicircle, and as it was not possible
(owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the absence of all
intermediate objects) to judge how far distant the farthest peaks
were off, they appeared to stand in a flatfish semicircle.

Landing at midday, we saw a family of pure Indian extraction.
The father was singularly like York Minster; and some of the
younger boys, with their ruddy complexions, might have been mis-
taken for Pampas Indians. Everything I have seen, convinces me
of the close connexion of the different American tribes, who never-
theless speak distinct languages. This party could muster but little
Spanish, and talked to each other in their own tongue. It is a
pleasant thing to see the aborigines advanced to the same degree of
civilization, however low that may be, which their white conquerors
have attained. More to the south we saw many pure Indians: indeed,
all the inhabitants of some of the islets retain their Indian surnames.
In the census of 1832, there were in Chiloe and its dependencies
forty-two thousand souls; the greater number of these appear to be
of mixed blood. Eleven thousand retain their Indian surnames, but it
is probable that not nearly all of these are of a pure breed. Their
manner of life is the same with that of the other poor inhabitants,
and they are all Christians; but it is said that they yet retain some
strange superstitious ceremonies, and that they pretend to hold
communication with the devil in certain caves. Formerly, every
one convicted of this offence was sent to the Inquisition at Lima.
Many of the inhabitants who are not included in the eleven thousand
with Indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by their appearance
from Indians. Gomez, the governor of Lemuy, is descended from
noblemen of Spain on both sides; but by constant intermarriages
with the natives the present man is an Indian. On the other hand,
the governor of Quinchao boasts much of his purely kept Spanish
blood.

We reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the island
of Caucahue. The people here complained of want of land. This is

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 28 1

partly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods, and
partly to restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary,
before buying ever so small a piece, to pay two shillings to the
surveyor for measuring each quadra (150 yards square), together
with whatever price he fixes for the value of the land. After his
valuation, the land must be put up three times to auction, and if no
one bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. All these
exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, where the
inhabitants are so extremely poor. In most countries, forests are
removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire; but in Chiloe,
from the damp nature of the climate, and the sort of trees, it is
necessary first to cut them down. This is a heavy drawback to the
prosperity of Chiloe. In the time of the Spaniards the Indians could
not hold land; and a family, after having cleared a piece of ground,
might be driven away, and the property seized by the government.
The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice by
making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each man, accord-
ing to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. The value of
uncleared ground is very little. The government gave Mr. Douglas
(the present surveyor, who informed me of these circumstances)
eight and a half square miles of forest near S. Carlos, in lieu of a
debt; and this he sold for 350 dollars, or about 70/. sterling.

The two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the
island of Quinchao. This neighbourhood is the most cultivated
part of the Archipelago; for a broad strip of land on the coast of
the main island, as well as on many of the smaller adjoining ones, is
almost completely cleared. Some of the farmhouses seemed very
comfortable. I was curious to ascertain how rich any of these people
might be, but Mr. Douglas says that no one can be considered as
possessing a regular income. One of the richest land-owners might
possibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as 1000/.
sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed away in some
secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every family to have a
jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground.

November 30th. — Early on Sunday morning we reached Castro,
the ancient capital of Chiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted
place. The usual quadrangular arrangement of Spanish towns could

282 CHARLES DARWIN

be traced, but the streets and plaza were coated with fine green turf,
on which sheep were browsing. The church, which stands in the
middle, is entirely built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable
appearance. The poverty of the place may be conceived from the
fact, that although containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of
our party was unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar
or an ordinary knife. No individual possessed either a watch or a
clock; and an old man, who was supposed to have a good idea of
time, was employed to strike the church bell by guess. The arrival
of our boats was a rare event in this quiet retired corner of the world;
and nearly all the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch
our tents. They were very civil, and offered us a house; and one
man even sent us a cask of cider as a present. In the afternoon we
paid our respects to the governor — a quiet old man, who, in his ap-
pearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an English
cottager. At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient to
drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers-on. An Indian
family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen, bivouacked
near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the morning I
asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had passed
the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, "Muy bien,
sefior."

December 1st. — We steered for the island of Lemuy. I was
anxious to examine a reported coal-mine which turned out to be
lignite of little value, in the sandstone (probably of an ancient tertiary
epoch) of which these islands are composed. When we reached
Lemuy we had much difficulty in finding any place to pitch our
tents, for it was spring-tide, and the land was wooded down to the
water's edge. In a short time we were surrounded by a large group
of the nearly pure Indian inhabitants. They were much surprised
at our arrival, and said one to the other, "This is the reason we have
seen so many parrots lately; the cheucau (an odd red-breasted little
bird, which inhabits the thick forest, and utters very peculiar noises)
has not cried 'beware' for nothing." They were soon anxious for
barter. Money was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for
tobacco was something quite extraordinary. After tobacco, indigo
came next in value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. The

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 283

latter article was required for a very innocent purpose: each parish
has a public musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a
noise on their saint or feast days.

The people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. At certain
seasons they catch also, in "corrales," or hedges under water, many
fish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. They occa-
sionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle; the order
in which they are here mentioned, expressing their respective num-
bers. I never saw anything more obliging and humble than the
manners of these people. They generally began with stating that
they were poor natives of the place, and not Spaniards, and that they
were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. At Caylen, the
most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick of tobacco, of
the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of which, the Indian
stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out to be a fine duck;
and with some cotton handkerchiefs, worth three shillings, three
sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured. The yawl at this
place was anchored some way from the shore, and we had fears for
her safety from robbers during the night. Our pilot, Mr. Douglas,
accordingly told the constable of the district that we always placed
sentinels with loaded arms, and not understanding Spanish, if we
saw any person in the dark, we should assuredly shoot him. The
constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect propriety of this
arrangement, and promised us that no one should stir out of his
house during that night.

During the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward.
The general features of the country remained the same, but it was
much less thickly inhabited. On the large island of Tanqui there
was scarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their
branches over the sea-beach. I one day noticed, growing on the sand-
stone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (Gunnera scabra),
which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. The
inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather with the
roots, and prepare a black dye from them. The leaf is nearly circular,
but deeply indented on its margin. I measured one which was nearly
eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than twenty-four in
circumference! The stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each

284 CHARLES DARWIN

plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, presenting
together a very noble appearance.

December 6th. — We reached Caylen, called "el fin del Cristiandad."
In the morning we stopped for a few minutes at a house on the
northern end of Laylec, which was the extreme point of South
American Christendom, and a miserable hovel it was. The latitude
is 43 10', which is two degrees farther south than the Rio Negro on
the Atlantic coast. These extreme Christians were very poor, and,
under the plea of their situation, begged for some tobacco. As a
proof of the poverty of these Indians, I may mention that shortly
before this, we had met a man, who had travelled three days and a
half on foot, and had as many to return, for the sake of recovering
the value of a small axe and a few fish. How very difficult it must
be to buy the smallest article, when such trouble is taken to recover
so small a debt.

In the evening we reached the island of San Pedro, where we
found the Beagle at anchor. In doubling the point, two of the officers
landed to take a round of angles with the theodolite. A fox (Canis
fulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very rare
in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks. He was
so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers, that I was
able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the head with
my geological hammer. This fox, more curious or more scientific,
but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is now mounted in
the museum of the Zoological Society.

We stayed three days in this harbour, on one of which Captain
Fitz Roy, with a party, attempted to ascend to the summit of San
Pedro. The woods here had rather a different appearance from
those on the northern part of the island. The rock, also, being mica-
ceous slate, there was no beach, but the steep sides dipped directly
beneath the water. The general aspect in consequence was more like
that of Tierra del Fuego than of Chiloe. In vain we tried to gain the
summit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who has
not beheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying and dead
trunks. I am sure that often, for more than ten minutes together,
our feet never touched the ground, and we were frequently ten or
fifteen feet above it, so that the seamen as a joke called out the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 285

soundings. At other times we crept one after another on our hands
and knees, under the rotten trunks. In the lower part of the moun-
tain, noble trees of the Winter's Bark, and a laurel like the sassafras
with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which I do not know,
were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. Here we were
more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal. On the
higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees, with here
and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. I was also pleased to see,
at an elevation of a little less than 1000 feet, our old friend the
southern beech. They were, however, poor stunted trees; and I
should think that this must be nearly their northern limit. We ulti-
mately gave up the attempt in despair.

December 10th. — The yawl and whale-boat, with Mr. Sulivan,
proceeded on their survey, but I remained on board the Beagle,
which the next day left San Pedro for the southward. On the 13th
we ran into an opening in the southern part of Guayatecas, or the
Chonos Archipelago; and it was fortunate we did so, for on the
following day a storm, worthy of Tierra del Fuego, raged with great
fury. White massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky,
and across them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven.
The successive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows; and the
setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much like that
produced by the flame of spirits of wine. The water was white with
the flying spray, and the wind lulled and roared again through the
rigging: it was an ominous, sublime scene. During a few minutes
there was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the effect
of the spray, which being carried along the surface of the water,
changed the ordinary semicircle into a circle — a band of prismatic
colours being continued, from both feet of the common arch across
the bay, close to the vessel's side: thus forming a distorted, but very
nearly entire ring.

We stayed here three days. The weather continued bad : but this
did not much signify, for the surface of the land in all these islands
is all but impassable. The coast is so very rugged that to attempt
to walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down
over the sharp rocks of mica-slate; and as for the woods, our faces,
hands, and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment we

286 CHARLES DARWIN

received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden recesses.

December iSth. — We stood out to sea. On the 20th we bade fare-
well to the south, and with a fair wind turned the ship's head north-
ward. From Cape Tres Montes we sailed pleasantly along the lofty
weather-beaten coast, which is remarkable for the bold outline of its
hills, and the thick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous
flanks. The next day a harbour was discovered, which on this dan-
gerous coast might be of great service to a distressed vessel. It can
easily be recognized by a hill 1600 feet high, which is even more
perfectly conical than the famous sugar-loaf at Rio de Janeiro. The
next day, after anchoring, I succeeded in reaching the summit of this
hill. It was a laborious undertaking, for the sides were so steep that
in some parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. There were
also several extensive brakes of the Fuchsia, covered with its beautiful
drooping flowers, but very difficult to crawl through. In these wild
countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of any mountain.
There is an indefinite expectation of seeing something very strange,
which, however often it may be balked, never failed with me to recur
on each successive attempt. Every one must know the feeling of
triumph and pride which a grand view from a height communicates
to the mind. In these little frequented countries there is also joined
to it some vanity, that you perhaps are the first man who ever stood
on this pinnacle or admired this view.

A strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being
has previously visited an unfrequented spot. A bit of wood with a
nail in it, is picked up and studied as if it were covered with hiero-
glyphics. Possessed with this feeling, I was much interested by find-
ing, on a wild part of the coast, a bed made of grass beneath a ledge
of rock. Close by it there had been a fire, and the man had used an
axe. The fire, bed, and situation showed the dexterity of an Indian;
but he could scarcely have been an Indian, for the race is in this part
extinct, owing to the Catholic desire of making at one blow Chris-
tians and Slaves. I had at the time some misgivings that the solitary
man who had made his bed on this wild spot, must have been some
poor shipwrecked sailor, who, in trying to travel up the coast, had
here laid himself down for his dreary night.

December 28th. — The weather continued very bad, but it at last

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 287

permitted us to proceed with the survey. The time hung heavy on
our hands, as it always did when we were delayed from day to day
by successive gales of wind. In the evening another harbour was
discovered, where we anchored. Directly afterwards a man was seen
waving a shirt, and a boat was sent which brought back two seamen.
A party of six had run away from an American whaling vessel, and
had landed a little to the southward in a boat, which was shortly
afterwards knocked to pieces by the surf. They had now been wan-
dering up and down the coast for fifteen months, without knowing
which way to go, or where they were. What a singular piece of good
fortune it was that this harbour was now discovered! Had it not
been for this one chance, they might have wandered till they had
grown old men, and at last have perished on this wild coast. Their
sufferings had been very great, and one of their party had lost his
life by falling from the cliffs. They were sometimes obliged to
separate in search of food, and this explained the bed of the solitary
man. Considering what they had undergone, I think they had kept a
very good reckoning of time, for they had lost only four days.

December 30th. — We anchored in a snug litde cove at the foot of
some high hills, near the northern extremity of Tres Montes. After
breakfast the next morning, a party ascended one of these mountains,
which was 2400 feet high. The scenery was remarkable. The chief
part of the range was composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of
granite, which appeared as if they had been coeval with the begin-
ning of the world. The granite was capped with mica-slate, and this
in the lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger-shaped points.
These two formations, thus differing in their outlines, agree in being
almost destitute of vegetation. This barrenness had to our eyes a
strange appearance, from having been so long accustomed to the
sight of an almost universal forest of dark-green trees. I took much
delight in examining the structure of these mountains. The compli-
cated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of durability — equally prof-
itless, however, to man and to all other animals. Granite to the geolo-
gist is classic ground: from its widespread limits, and its beautiful
and compact texture, few rocks have been more anciently recognised.
Granite has given rise, perhaps, to more discussion concerning its
origin than any other formation. We generally see it constituting the

288 CHARLES DARWIN

fundamental rock, and, however formed, we know it is the deepest
layer in the crust of this globe to which man has penetrated. The
limit of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest,
which is perhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the realms
of imagination.

January ist, 1835. — The new year is ushered in with the ceremonies
proper to it in these regions. She lays out no false hopes: a heavy
north-western gale, with steady rain, bespeaks the rising year. Thank
God, we are not destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to
be in the Pacific Ocean, where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven, —
a something beyond the clouds above our heads.

The north-west winds prevailing for the next four days, we only
managed to cross a great bay, and then anchored in another secure
harbour. I accompanied the Captain in a boat to the head of a deep
creek. On the way the number of seals which we saw was quite
astonishing: every bit of flat rock, and parts of the beach, were covered
with them. They appeared to be of a loving disposition, and lay
huddled together, fast asleep, like so many pigs; but even pigs would
have been ashamed of their dirt, and of the foul smell which came
from them. Each herd was watched by the patient but inauspicious
eyes of the turkey-buzzard. This disgusting bird, with its bald scarlet
head, formed to wallow in putridity, is very common on the west
coast, and their attendance on the seals shows on what they rely for
their food. We found the water (probably only that of the surface)
nearly fresh: this was caused by the number of torrents which, in
the form of cascades, came tumbling over the bold granite mountains
into the sea. The fresh water attracts the fish, and these bring many
terns, gulls, and two kinds of cormorant. We saw also a pair of
the beautiful black-necked swans, and several small sea-otters, the fur
of which is held in such high estimation. In returning, we were again
amused by the impetuous manner in which the heap of seals, old
and young, tumbled into the water as the boat passed. They did not
remain long under water, but rising, followed us with out-stretched
necks, expressing great wonder and curiosity.

yth. — Having run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end
of the Chonos Archipelago, in Low's Harbour, where we remained
a week. The islands were here, as in Chiloe, composed of a stratified,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 289

soft, littoral deposit; and the vegetation in consequence was beauti-
fully luxuriant. The woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the
manner of an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. We also
enjoyed from the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy
cones of the Cordillera, including "el famoso Corcovado;" the range
itself had in this latitude so little height, that few parts of it appeared
above the tops of the neighbouring islets. We found here a party
of five men from Caylen, "el fin del Cristiandad," who had most
adventurously crossed in their miserable boat-canoe, for the purpose
of fishing, the open space of sea which separates Chonos from Chiloe.
These islands will, in all probability, in a short time become peopled
like those adjoining the coast of Chiloe.

The wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, on the
sandy, shelly soil near the sea-beach. The tallest plant was four feet
in height. The tubers were generally small, but I found one, of an
oval shape, two inches in diameter: they resembled in every respect,
and had the same smell as English potatoes; but when boiled they
shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any bitter taste.
They are undoubtedly here indigenous: they grow as far south,
according to Mr. Low, as lat. 50 °, and are called Aquinas by the wild
Indians of that part : the Chilotan Indians have a different name for
them. Professor Henslow, who has examined the dried specimens
which I brought home, says that they are the same with those de-
scribed by Mr. Sabine 1 from Valparaiso, but that they form a variety
which by some botanists has been considered as specifically distinct.
It is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile
mountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for
more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern
islands.

In the central parts of the Chonos Archipelago (lat. 45 ), the
forest has very much the same character with that along the whole
west coast, for 600 miles southward to Cape Horn. The arborescent
grass of Chiloe is not found here; while the beech of Tierra del

1 Horticultural Transact., vol. v. p. 249. Mr. Caldcleugh sent home two tubers,
which, being well manured, even the first season produced numerous potatoes and an
abundance of leaves. See Humboldt's interesting discussion on this plant, which it
appears was unknown in Mexico, — in Polit. Essay on New Spain, book iv. chap. ix.

290 CHARLES DARWIN

Fuego grows to a good size, and forms a considerable proportion of
the wood; not, however, in the same exclusive manner as it does
farther southward. Cryptogamic plants here find a most congenial
climate. In the Strait of Magellan, as I have before remarked, the
country appears too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at per-
fection; but in these islands, within the forest, the number of species
and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns, is quite
extraordinary. 2 In Tierra del Fuego trees grow only on the hillsides;
every level piece of land being invariably covered by a thick bed of
peat; but in Chiloe flat land supports the most luxuriant forests.
Here, within the Chonos Archipelago, the nature of the climate more
closely approaches that of Tierra del Fuego than that of northern
Chiloe; for every patch of level ground is covered by two species of
plants (Astelia pumila and Donatia magellanica), which by their
joint decay compose a thick bed of elastic peat.

In Tierra del Fuego, above the region of woodland, the former
of these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the production
of peat. Fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the other round
the central tap-root; the lower ones soon decay, and in tracing a root
downwards in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their place, can be
observed passing through every stage of decomposition, till the whole
becomes blended in one confused mass. The Astelia is assisted by a
few other plants, — here and there a small creeping Myrtus (M.
nummularia), with a woody stem like our cranberry and with a sweet
berry, — an Empetrum (E. rubrum), like our heath, — a rush (Juncus
grandiflorus), are nearly the only ones that grow on the swampy
surface. These plants, though possessing a very close general re-
semblance to the English species of the same genera, are different.
In the more level parts of the country, the surface of the peat is
broken up into little pools of water, which stand at different heights,
and appear as if artificially excavated. Small streams of water, flow-
ing underground, complete the disorganization of the vegetable
matter, and consolidate the whole.

2 By sweeping with my insect-net, I procured from these situations a considerable
number of minute insects, of the family of Staphylinidae, and others allied to Pselaphus,
and minute Hymenoptera. But the most characteristic family in number, both of in-
dividuals and species, throughout the more open parts of Chiloe and Chonos is that
of the Telephoridae.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 29 1

The climate of the southern part of America appears particularly
favourable to the production of peat. In the Falkland Islands almost
every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the whole
surface of the land, becomes converted into this substance: scarcely
any situation checks its growth; some of the beds are as much as
twelve feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when dry,
that it will hardly burn. Although every plant lends its aid, yet in
most parts the Astelia is the most efficient. It is rather a singular
circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs in Europe,
that I nowhere saw moss forming by its decay any portion of the
peat in South America. With respect to the northern limit, at which
the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow decomposition which
is necessary for its production, I believe that in Chiloe (lat. 41 ° to
42 ), although there is much swampy ground, no well-characterized
peat occurs : but in the Chonos Islands, three degrees farther south-
ward, we have seen that it is abundant. On the eastern coast in La
Plata (lat. 35 °) I was told by a Spanish resident who had visited
Ireland, that he had often sought for this substance, but had never
been able to find any. He showed me, as the nearest approach to it
which he had discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots
as to allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion.

The zoology of these broken islets of the Chonos Archipelago is,
as might have been expected, very poor. Of quadrupeds two aquatic
kinds are common. The Myopotamus Coypus (like a beaver, but
with a round tail) is well known from its fine fur, which is an object
of trade throughout the tributaries of La Plata. It here, however, ex-
clusively frequents salt water; which same circumstance has been
mentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the Capy-
bara. A small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal does not feed
exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a large supply from a
small red crab, which swims in shoals near the surface of the water.
Mr. Bynoe saw one in Tierra del Fuego eating a cuttle-fish; and at
Low's Harbour, another was killed in the act of carrying to its hole a
large volute shell. At one place I caught in a trap a singular little
mouse (M. brachiotis) ; it appeared common on several of the islets,
but the Chilotans at Low's Harbour said that it was not found in all.

292 CHARLES DARWIN

What a succession of chances, 3 or what changes of level must have
been brought into play, thus to spread these small animals through-
out this broken archipelago!

In all parts of Chiloe and Chonos, two very strange birds occur,
which are allied to, and replace, the Turco and Tapacolo of central
Chile. One is called by the inhabitants "Cheucau" (Pteroptochos
rubecula) : it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within the
damp forests. Sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at
hand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the
cheucau; at other times, let him stand motionless and the red-breasted
little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar man-
ner. It then busily hops about the entangled mass of rotting canes
and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards. The cheucau is
held in superstitious fear by the Chilotans, on account of its strange
and varied cries. There are three very distinct cries: one is called
"chiduco," and is an omen of good; another, "huitreu," which is
extremely unfavourable; and a third, which I have forgotten. These
words are given in imitation of the noises; and the natives are in
some things absolutely governed by them. The Chilotans assuredly
have chosen a most comical little creature for their prophet. An allied
species, but rather larger, is called by the natives "Guid-guid" (Pter-
optochos Tarnii), and by the English the barking-bird. This latter
name is well given; for I defy any one at first to feel certain that a
small dog is not yelping somewhere in the forest. Just as with the
cheucau, a person will sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain
many endeavour by watching, and with still less chance by beating
the bushes, to see the bird; yet at other times the guid-guid fearlessly
comes near. Its manner of feeding and its general habits are very
similar to those of the cheucau.

On the coast 4 a small dusky-coloured bird (Opetiorhynchus Pata-
gonicus) is very common. It is remarkable from its quiet habits; it

3 It is said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their nests. If so,
in the course of centuries, every now and then, one might escape from the young
birds. Some such agency is necessary, to account for the distribution of the smaller
gnawing animals on islands not very near each other.

4 1 may mention, as a proof of how great a difference there is between the seasons
of the wooded and the open parts of this coast, that on September 20th, in lat. 34°,
these birds had young ones in the nest, while among the Chonos Islands, three months
later in the summer, they were only laying, the difference in latitude between these two
places being about 700 miles.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 293

lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a sandpiper. Besides these birds
only few others inhabit this broken land. In my rough notes I de-
scribe the strange noises, which, although frequently heard within
these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb the general silence. The
yelping of the guid-guid, and the sudden whew-whew of the cheucau,
sometimes come from afar off, and sometimes from close at hand;
the little black wren of Tierra del Fuego occasionally adds its cry;
the creeper (Oxyurus) follows the intruder screaming and twitter-
ing; the humming-bird may be seen every now and then darting
from side to side, and emitting, like an insect, its shrill chirp; lastly,
from the top of some lofty tree the indistinct but plaintive note of the
white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (Myiobius) may be noticed. From the
great preponderance in most countries of certain common genera of
birds, such as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with
the peculiar forms above enumerated, as the commonest birds in any
district. In central Chile two of them, namely, the Oxyurus and
Scytalopus, occur, although most rarely. When finding, as in this
case, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the great
scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created.

But it should always be recollected, that in some other country
perhaps they are essential members of society, or at some former
period may have been so. If America south of 37 were sunk beneath
the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to exist in
central Chile for a long period, but it is very improbable that their
numbers would increase. We should then see a case which must in-
evitably have happened with very many animals.

These southern seas are frequented by several species of Petrels:
the largest kind, Procellaria gigantea, or nelly (quebrantahuesos,
or break-bones, of the Spaniards), is a common bird, both in the
inland channels and on the open sea. In its habits and manner of
flight, there is a very close resemblance with the albatross; and as
with the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together with-
out seeing on what it feeds. The "break-bones" is, however, a
rapacious bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at Port
St. Antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and
flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a
blow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great petrels were seen

294 CHARLES DARWIN

killing and devouring young gulls. A second species (Puffinus
cinereus), which is common to Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast
of Peru, is of much smaller size than the P. gigantea, but, like it,
of a dirty black colour. It generally frequents the inland sounds in
very large flocks: I do not think I ever saw so many birds of any
other sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island of
Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for several
hours in one direction. When part of the flock settled on the water
the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from them as of
human beings talking in the distance.

There are several other species of petrels, but I will only mention
one other kind, the Pelacanoides Berardi, which offers an example
of those extraordinary cases, of a bird evidently belonging to one
well-marked family, yet both in its habits and structure allied to a
very distinct tribe. This bird never leaves the quiet inland sounds.
When disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the sur-
face, with the same movement takes flight. After flying by a rapid
movement of its short wings for a space in a straight line, it drops,
as if struck dead, and dives again. The form of its beak and nostrils,
length of foot, and even the colouring of its plumage, show that this
bird is a petrel: on the other hand, its short wings and consequent
little power of flight, its form of body and shape of tail, the absence
of a hind toe to its foot, its habit of diving, and its choice of situation,
make it at first doubtful whether its relationship is not equally
close with the auks. It would undoubtedly be mistaken for an auk,
when seen from a distance, either on the wing, or when diving and
quietly swimming about the retired channels of Tierra del Fuego.

CHAPTER XIV

Chiloe and Concepcion: Great Earthquake

San Carlos, Chiloe — Osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with Acon-
cagua and Coseguina — Ride to Cucao — Impenetrable Forests — Valdivia
Indians — Earthquake — Concepcion — Great Earthquake — Rocks fis-
sured — Appearance of the former Towns — The Sea Black and Boiling
— Direction of the Vibrations — Stones twisted round — Great Wave —
Permanent Elevation of the Land — Area of Volcanic Phenomena —
The connection between the Elevatory and Eruptive Forces — Cause of
Earthquakes — Slow Elevation of Mountain-chains.

ON JANUARY the 15th we sailed from Low's Harbour, and
three days afterwards anchored a second time in the bay
of S. Carlos in Chiloe. On the night of the 19th the volcano
of Osorno was in action. At midnight the sentry observed something
like a large star, which gradually increased in size till about three
o'clock, when it presented a very magnificent spectacle. By the aid
of a glass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the
midst of a great glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall down.
The light was sufficient to cast on the water a long bright reflection.
Large masses of molten matter seem very commonly to be cast out
of the craters in this part of the Cordillera. I was assured that when
the Corcovado is in eruption, great masses are projected upwards
and are seen to burst in the air, assuming many fantastical forms,
such as trees: their size must be immense, for they can be distin-
guished from the high land behind S. Carlos, which is no less than
ninety-three miles from the Corcovado. In the morning the volcano
became tranquil.

I was surprised at hearing afterwards that Aconcagua in Chile, 480
miles northwards, was in action on the same night; and still more
surprised to hear that the great eruption of Coseguina (2700 miles
north of Aconcagua), accompanied by an earthquake felt over a
1000 miles, also occurred within six hours of this same time. This
coincidence is the more remarkable, as Coseguina had been dormant

295

296 CHARLES DARWIN

for twenty-six years; and Aconcagua most rarely shows any signs o£
action. It is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence was
accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. If Vesuvius,
Etna, and Hecla in Iceland (all three relatively nearer each other
than the corresponding points in South America), suddenly burst
forth in eruption on the same night, the coincidence would be
thought remarkable; but it is far more remarkable in this case, where
the three vents fall on the same great mountain-chain, and where
the vast plains along the entire eastern coast, and the upraised recent
shells along more than 2000 miles on the western coast, show in
how equable and connected a manner the elevatory forces have
acted.

Captain Fitz Roy being anxious that some bearings should be
taken on the outer coast of Chiloe, it was planned that Mr. King
and myself should ride to Castro, and thence across the island to the
Capella de Cucao, situated on the west coast. Having hired horses
and a guide, we set out on the morning of the 22nd. We had not
proceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who
were bent on the same journey. Every one on this road acts on a
"hail fellow well met" fashion; and one may here enjoy the privilege,
so rare in South America, of travelling without firearms. At first,
the country consisted of a succession of hills and valleys: nearer to
Castro it became very level. The road itself is a curious affair; it
consists in its whole length, with the exception of very few parts, of
great logs of wood, which are either broad and laid longitudinally,
or narrow and placed transversely. In summer the road is not very
bad; but in winter, when the wood is rendered slippery from rain,
travelling is exceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, the
ground on each side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed:
hence it is necessary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened
down by transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the
earth. These pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance
of alighting on one of them is not small. It is remarkable, however,
how active custom has made the Chilotan horses. In crossing bad
parts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to
the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. On both
hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 297

matted together by canes. When occasionally a long reach of this
avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene of uniformity:
the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective, became hidden by
the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which ascended some
steep hill.

Although the distance from S. Carlos to Castro is only twelve
leagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have been
a great labour. I was told that several people had formerly lost their
lives in attempting to cross the forest. The first who succeeded was
an Indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight days, and
reached S. Carlos : he was rewarded by the Spanish government with
a grant of land. During the summer, many of the Indians wander
about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts, where the woods
are not quite so thick) in search of the half-wild cattle which live on
the leaves of the cane and certain trees. It was one of these huntsmen
who by chance discovered, a few years since, an English vessel, which
had been wrecked on the outer coast. The crew were beginning to
fail in provisions, and it is not probable that, without the aid of this
man, they would ever have extricated themselves from these scarcely
penetrable woods. As it was, one seaman died on the march, from
fatigue. The Indians in these excursions steer by the sun; so that if
there is a continuance of cloudy weather, they cannot travel.

The day was beautiful, and the number of trees which were in full
flower perfumed the air; yet even this could hardly dissipate the
effects of the gloomy dampness of the forest. Moreover, the many
dead trunks that stand like skeletons, never fail to give to these
primeval woods a character of solemnity, absent in those of countries
long civilized. Shortly after sunset we bivouacked for the night. Our
female companion, who was rather good-looking, belonged to one of
the most respectable families in Castro: she rode, however, astride,
and without shoes or stockings. I was surprised at the total want of
pride shown by her and her brother. They brought food with them,
but at all our meals sat watching Mr. King and myself whilst eating,
till we were fairly shamed into feeding the whole party. The night
was cloudless; and while lying in our beds, we enjoyed the sight (and
it is a high enjoyment) of the multitude of stars which illumined the
darkness of the forest.

298 CHARLES DARWIN

January 23rd. — We rose early in the morning, and reached the
pretty quiet town of Castro by two o'clock. The old governor had
died since our last visit, and a Chileno was acting in his place. We
had a letter of introduction to Don Pedro, whom we found exceed-
ingly hospitable and kind, and more disinterested than is usual on
this side of the continent. The next day Don Pedro procured us
fresh horses, and offered to accompany us himself. We proceeded
to the south — generally following the coast, and passing through
several hamlets, each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood.
At Vilipilli, Don Pedro asked the commandant to give us a guide
to Cucao. The old gentleman offered to come himself; but for a long
time nothing would persuade him that two Englishmen really
wished to go to such an out-of-the-way place as Cucao. We were thus
accompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was
plainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer Indians towards
them. At Chonchi we struck across the island, following intricate
winding paths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, and
sometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with corn and
potato crops. This undulating woody country, partially cultivated,
reminded me of the wilder parts of England, and therefore had to my
eye a most fascinating aspect. At Vilinco, which is situated on the
borders of the lake of Cucao, only a few fields were cleared; and all
the inhabitants appeared to be Indians. This lake is twelve miles
long, and runs in an east and west direction. From local circum-
stances, the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day, and
during the night it falls calm : this has given rise to strange exaggera-
tions, for the phenomenon, as described to us at S. Carlos, was quite
a prodigy.

The road to Cucao was so very bad that we determined to embark
in a periagua. The commandant, in the most authoritative manner,
ordered six Indians to get ready to pull us over, without deigning to
tell them whether they would be paid. The periagua is a strange
rough boat, but the crew were still stranger : I doubt if six uglier little
men ever got into a boat together. They pulled, however, very well
and cheerfully. The stroke-oarsman gabbled Indian, and uttered
strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver driving his pigs.
We started with a light breeze against us, but yet reached the Capella

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 299

de Cucao before it was late. The country on each side of the lake
was one unbroken forest. In the same periagua with us, a cow was
embarked. To get so large an animal into a small boat appears at
first a difficulty, but the Indians managed it in a minute. They
brought the cow alongside the boat, which was heeled towards her;
then placing two oars under her belly, with their ends resting on the
gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly tumbled the poor beast
heels over head into the bottom of the boat, and then lashed her
down with ropes. At Cucao we found an uninhabited hovel (which
is the residence of the padre when he pays this Capella a visit), where,
lighting a fire, we cooked our supper, and were very comfortable.

The district of Cucao is the only inhabited part on the whole west
coast of Chiloe. It contains about thirty or forty Indian families, who
are scattered along four or five miles of the shore. They are very
much secluded from the rest of Chiloe, and have scarcely any sort of
commerce, except sometimes in a little oil, which they get from seal-
blubber. They are tolerably dressed in clothes of their own manu-
facture, and they have plenty to eat. They seemed, however,
discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to
witness. These feelings are, I think, chiefly to be attributed to the
harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by their
rulers. Our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved to the
poor Indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free men. They
ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without ever conde-
scending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners should
be paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with these poor
people, we soon ingratiated oursel ves by presents of cigars and mate.
A lump of white sugar was divided between all present, and tasted
with the greatest curiosity. The Indians ended all their complaints
by saying, "And it is only because we are poor Indians, and know
nothing; but it was not so when we had a King."

The next day after breakfast, we rode a few miles northward to
Punta Huantamo. The road lay along a very broad beach, on which,
even after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. I was
assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night even at
Castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles across a hilly
and wooded country. We had some difficulty in reaching the point,

300 CHARLES DARWIN

owing to the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shade the
ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire. The point itself is a bold
rocky hill. It is covered by a plant allied, I believe, to Bromelia, and
called by the inhabitants Chepones. In scrambling through the beds,
our hands were very much scratched. I was amused by observing
the precaution our Indian guide took, in turning up his trousers,
thinking that they were more delicate than his own hard skin. This
plant bears a fruit, in shape like an artichoke, in which a number
of seed-vessels are packed: these contain a pleasant sweet pulp, here
much esteemed. I saw at Low's Harbour the Chilotans making
chichi, or cider, with this fruit: so true is it, as Humboldt remarks,
that almost everywhere man finds means of preparing some kind of
beverage from the vegetable kingdom. The savages, however, of
Tierra del Fuego, and I believe of Australia, have not advanced thus
far in the arts.

The coast to the north of Punta Huantamo is exceedingly rugged
and broken, and is fronted by many breakers, on which the sea is
eternally roaring. Mr. King and myself were anxious to return,
if it had been possible, on foot along this coast; but even the Indians
said it was quite impracticable. We were told that men have crossed
by striking directly through the woods from Cucao to S. Carlos, but
never by the coast. On these expeditions, the Indians carry with them
only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparingly twice a day.

26th. — Re-embarking in the periagua, we returned across the lake,
and then mounted our horses. The whole of Chiloe took advantage
of this week of unusually fine weather, to clear the ground by burn-
ing. In every direction volumes of smoke were curling upwards. Al-
though the inhabitants were so assiduous in setting fire to every part
of the wood, yet I did not see a single fire which they had succeeded
in making extensive. We dined with our friend the commandant,
and did not reach Castro till after dark. The next morning we
started very early. After having ridden for some time, we obtained
from the brow of a steep hill an extensive view (and it is a rare
thing on this road) of the great forest. Over the horizon of trees,
the volcano of Corcovado, and the great flat-topped one to the north,
stood out in proud pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long
range showed its snowy summit. I hope it will be long before I

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 3OI

forget this farewell view of the magnificent Cordillera fronting
Chiloe. At night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky, and the
next morning reached S. Carlos. We arrived on the right day, for
before evening heavy rain commenced.

February 4th. — Sailed from Chiloe. During the last week I made
several short excursions. One was to examine a great bed of now-
existing shells, elevated 350 feet above the level of the sea: from
among these shells, large forest-trees were growing. Another ride
was to P. Huechucucuy. I had with me a guide who knew the
country far too well; for he would pertinaciously tell me endless
Indian names for every little point, rivulet, and creek. In the same
manner as in Tierra del Fuego, the Indian language appears singu-
larly well adapted for attaching names to the most trivial features of
the land. I believe every one was glad to say farewell to Chiloe;
yet if we could forget the gloom and ceaseless rain of winter, Chiloe
might pass for a charming island. There is also something very
attractive in the simplicity and humble politeness of the poor
inhabitants.

We steered northward along shore, but owing to thick weather did
not reach Valdivia till the night of the 8th. The next morning the
boat proceeded to the town, which is distant about ten miles. We
followed the course of the river, occasionally passing a few hovels,
and patches of ground cleared out of the otherwise unbroken
forest; and sometimes meeting a canoe with an Indian family. The
town is situated on the low banks of the stream, and is so completely
buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are merely paths in an
orchard. I have never seen any country, where apple-trees appeared
to thrive so well as in this damp part of South America: on .the
borders of the roads there were many young trees evidently self-
grown. In Chiloe the inhabitants possess a marvellously short
method of making an orchard. At the lower part of almost every
branch, small, conical, brown, wrinkled points project: these are
always ready to change into roots, as may sometimes be seen, where
any mud has been accidentally splashed against the tree. A branch
as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in the early spring, and is cut off
just beneath a group of these points, all the smaller branches are
lopped off, and it is then placed about two feet deep in the ground.

302 CHARLES DARWIN

During the ensuing summer the stump throws out long shoots, and
sometimes even bears fruit: I was shown one which had produced
as many as twenty-three apples, but this was thought very unusual.
In the third season the stump is changed (as I have myself seen)
into a well-wooded tree, loaded with fruit. An old man near Val-
divia illustrated his motto, "Necesidad es la madre del invencion,"
by giving an account of the several useful things he manufactured
from his apples. After making cider, and likewise wine, he extracted
from the refuse a white and finely flavoured spirit; by another process
he procured a sweet treacle, or, as he called it, honey. His children
and pigs seemed almost to live, during this season of the year, in his
orchard.

February nth. — I set out with a guide on a short ride, in which,
however, I managed to see singularly little, either of the geology of
the country or of its inhabitants. There is not much cleared land near
Valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we
entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel, before
reaching our sleeping-place for the night. The short difference in
latitude, of 150 miles, has given a new aspect to the forest, compared
with that of Chiloe. This is owing to a slightly different proportion
in the kinds of trees. The evergreens do not appear to be quite so
numerous, and the forest in consequence has a brighter tint. As in
Chiloe, the lower parts are matted together by canes: here also
another kind (resembling the bamboo of Brazil and about twenty
feet in height) grows in clusters, and ornaments the banks of some
of the streams in a very pretty manner. It is with this plant that the
Indians make their chuzos, or long tapering spears. Our resting-
house was so dirty that I preferred sleeping outside: on these
journeys the first night is generally very uncomfortable, because one
is not accustomed to the tickling and biting of the fleas. I am sure,
in the morning, there was not a space on my legs the size of a
shilling which had not its little red mark where the flea had
feasted.

12th. — We continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only
occasionally meeting an Indian on horseback, or a troop of fine mules
bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains. In the
afternoon one of the horses knocked up: we were then on a brow of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 303

a hill, which commanded a fine view of the Llanos. The view of
these open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed in and
buried in the wilderness of trees. The uniformity of a forest soon
becomes very wearisome. This west coast makes me remember with
pleasure the free, unbounded plains of Patagonia; yet, with the true
spirit of contradiction, I cannot forget how sublime is the silence
of the forest. The Llanos are the most fertile and thickly peopled
parts of the country, as they possess the immense advantage of being
nearly free from trees. Before leaving the forest we crossed some flat
little lawns, around which single trees stood, as in an English park:
I have often noticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory districts,
that the quite level parts have been destitute of trees. On account of
the tired horse, I determined to stop at the Mission of Cudico, to
the friar of which I had a letter of introduction. Cudico is an inter-
mediate district between the forest and the Llanos. There are a good
many cottages, with patches of corn and potatoes, nearly all belong-
ing to Indians. The tribes dependent on Valdivia are "reducidos y
cristianos." The Indians farther northward, about Arauco and
Imperial, are still very wild, and not converted; but they have all
much intercourse with the Spaniards. The padre said that the Chris-
tian Indians did not much like coming to mass, but that otherwise
they showed respect for religion. The greatest difficulty is in making
them observe the ceremonies of marriage. The wild Indians take as
many wives as they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have
more than ten: on entering his house, the number may be told by
that of the separate fires. Each wife lives a week in turn with the
cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit.
To be the wife of a cacique, is an honour much sought after by the
Indian women.

The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those
south of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a petti-
coat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All have their long hair bound
by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on their heads. These
Indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones are prominent, and in
general appearance they resemble the great American family to
which they belong; but their physiognomy seemed to me to be
slightly different from that of any other tribe which I had before

304 CHARLES DARWIN

seen. Their expression is generally grave, and even austere, and
possesses much character: this may pass either for honest bluntness
or fierce determination. The long black hair, the grave and much-
lined features, and the dark complexion, called to my mind old
portraits of James I. On the road we met with none of that humble
politeness so universal in Chiloe. Some gave their "mari-mari"
(good morning) with promptness, but the greater number did not
seem inclined to offer any salute. This independence of manners
is probably a consequence of their long wars, and the repeated
victories which they alone, of all the tribes in America, have gained
over the Spaniards.

I spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. He
was exceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from Santiago,
had contrived to surround himself with some few comforts. Being
a man of some little education, he bitterly complained of the total
want of society. With no particular zeal for religion, no business or
pursuit, how completely must this man's life be wasted! The next
day, on our return, we met seven very wild-looking Indians, of
whom some were caciques that had just received from the Chilian
government their yearly small stipend for having long remained
faithful. They were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the
other, with most gloomy faces. An old cacique, who headed them,
had been, I suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for he
seemed extremely grave and very crabbed. Shortly before this, two
Indians joined us, who were travelling from a distant mission to
Valdivia concerning some lawsuit. One was a good-humoured old
man, but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like an old
woman than a man. I frequently presented both of them with cigars;
and though ready to receive them, and I dare say grateful, they would
hardly condescend to thank me. A Chilotan Indian would have
taken off his hat, and given his "Dios le page!" The travelling was
very tedious, both from the badness of the roads, and from the num-
ber of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over or
to avoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, and next
morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded on board.

A few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party of officers,
and landed near the fort called Niebla. The buildings were in a

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 305

most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. Mr. Wickham
remarked to the commanding officer, that with one discharge they
would certainly all fall to pieces. The poor man, trying to put a
good face upon it, gravely replied, "No, I am sure, sir, they would
stand two!" The Spaniards must have intended to have made this
place impregnable. There is now lying in the middle of the court-
yard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardness the rock
on which it is placed. It was brought from Chile, and cost 7000
dollars. The revolution having broken out, prevented its being
applied to any purpose, and now it remains a monument of the fallen
greatness of Spain.

I wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my
guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a straight
line. He offered, however, to lead me, by following obscure cattle-
tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless, took no less than
three hours! This man is employed in hunting strayed cattle; yet,
well as he must know the woods, he was not long since lost for two
whole days, and had nothing to eat. These facts convey a good
idea of the impracticability of the forests of these countries. A
question often occurred to me — how long does any vestige of a fallen
tree remain? This man showed me one which a party of fugitive
royalists had cut down fourteen years ago; and taking this as a cri-
terion, I should think a bole a foot and a half in diameter would in
thirty years be changed into a heap of mould.

February 20th. — This day has been memorable in the annals of
Valdivia, for the most severe earthquake experienced by the oldest
inhabitant. I happened to be on shore, and was lying down in the
wood to rest myself. It came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes,
but the time appeared much longer. The rocking of the ground was
very sensible. The undulations appeared to my companion and my-
self to come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded
from south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive
the directions of the vibrations. There was no difficulty in standing
upright, but the motion made me almost giddy: it was something
like the movement of a vessel in a little cross-ripple, or still more
like that felt by a person skating over thin ice, which bends under
the weight of his body.

306 CHARLES DARWIN

A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the
earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like a
thin crust over a fluid; — one second of time has created in the mind
a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would not
have produced. In the forest, as a breeze moved the trees, I felt
only the earth tremble, but saw no other effect. Captain Fitz Roy
and some officers were at the town during the shock, and there the
scene was more striking; for although the houses, from being built
of wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the boards
creaked and rattled together. The people rushed out of doors in the
greatest alarm. It is these accompaniments that create that perfect
horror of earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus seen, as well
as felt, their effects. Within the forest it was a deeply interesting,
but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. The tides were very
curiously affected. The great shock took place at the time of low
water; and an old woman who was on the beach told me that the
water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to high-water
mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level; this was also
evident by the line of wet sand. The same kind of quick but quiet
movement in the tide happened a few years since at Chiloe, during
a slight earthquake, and created much causeless alarm. In the course
of the evening there were many weaker shocks, which seemed to
produce in the harbour the most complicated currents, and some
of great strength.

March 4th. — We entered the harbour of Concepcion. While the
ship was beating up to the anchorage, I landed on the island of
Quiriquina. The mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to
tell me the terrible news of the great earthquake of the 20th: —
"That not a house in Concepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was
standing; that seventy villages were destroyed; and that a great
wave had almost washed away the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this
latter statement I soon saw abundant proofs — the whole coast being
strewed over with timber and furniture as if a thousand ships had
been wrecked. Besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., in great
numbers, there were several roofs of cottages, which had been trans-
ported almost whole. The storehouses at Talcahuano had been burst

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 307

open, and great bags of cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchan-
dise were scattered on the shore. During my walk round the island,
I observed that numerous fragments of rock, which, from the ma-
rine productions adhering to them, must recently have been lying
in deep water, had been cast up high on the beach; one of these
was six feet long, three broad, and two thick.

The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of
the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave.
The ground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines,
perhaps caused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this
narrow island. Some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide.
Many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach; and the
inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far greater
slips would happen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary
slate, which composes the foundation of the island, was still more
curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as com-
pletely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder. This
effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and
displaced soil, must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise
there would not exist a block of solid rock throughout Chile; nor
is this improbable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating body
is affected differently from the central part. It is, perhaps, owing to
this same reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific
havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe this con-
vulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of the island of
Quinquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea and weather
during the course of a whole century.

The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode to
Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet interesting
spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had formerly known them,
it possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins
were so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little
the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to imagine
its former condition. The earthquake commenced at half-past eleven
o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened in the middle of the
night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one
province must amount to many thousands) must have perished,

308 CHARLES DARWIN

instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of
running out of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone
saved them. In Concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood
by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but in Talcahuano, owing to the
great wave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber,
with here and there part of a wall left standing, could be distin-
guished. From this circumstance Concepcion, although not so com-
pletely desolated, was a more terrible, and if I may so call it, pic-
turesque sight. The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo
at Quiriquina told me, that the first notice he received of it, was
finding both the horse he rode and himself, roiling together on the
ground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. He also told me
that some cows which were standing on the steep side of the island
were rolled into the sea. The great wave caused the destruction of
many cattle; on one low island, near the head of the bay, seventy
animals were washed off and drowned. It is generally thought that
this has been the worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as
the very severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily
be known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made any
difference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerable small
tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the first
twelve days no less than three hundred were counted.

After viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how the greater
number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The houses in many parts
fell outwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little hillocks
of brickwork and rubbish. Mr. Rouse, the English consul, told us
that he was at breakfast when the first movement warned him to
run out. He had scarcely reached the middle of the court-yard, when
one side of his house came thundering down. He retained presence
of mind to remember, that if he once got on the top of that part
which had already fallen, he would be safe. Not being able from
the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up on his hands and
knees; and no sooner had he ascended this little eminence, than the
other side of the house fell in, the great beams sweeping close in
front of his head. With his eyes blinded, and his mouth choked with
the cloud of dust which darkened the sky, at last he gained the
street. As shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 309

no one dared approach the shattered ruins; and no one knew whether
his dearest friends and relations were not perishing from the want
of help. Those who had saved any property were obliged to keep
a constant watch, for thieves prowled about, and at each little trem-
bling of the ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and cried
"Misericordia!" and then with the other filched what they could
from the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, and flames
burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselves ruined, and
few had the means of providing food for the day.

Earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any
country. If beneath England the now inert subterranean forces
should exert those powers, which most assuredly in former geological
ages they have exerted, how completely would the entire condition
of the country be changed! What would become of the lofty houses,
thickly packed cities, great manufactories, the beautiful public and
private edifices ? If the new period of disturbance were first to com-
mence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, how
terrific would be the carnage! England would at once be bankrupt;
all papers, records, and accounts would from that moment be lost.
Government being unable to collect the taxes, and failing to main-
tain its authority, the hand of violence and rapine would remain
uncontrolled. In every large town famine would go forth, pestilence
and death following in its train.

Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance
of three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a
smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees, as
it swept onwards with irresistible force. At the head of the bay it
broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which rushed up to a
height of 23 vertical feet above the highest spring-tides. Their force
must have been prodigious; for at the Fort a cannon with its car-
riage, estimated at four tons in weight, was moved 15 feet inwards.
A schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, 200 yards from the
beach. The first wave was followed by two others, which in their
retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating objects. In one part of
the bay, a ship was pitched high and dry on shore, was carried off,
again driven on shore, and again carried off. In another part, two
large vessels anchored near together were whirled about, and their

310 CHARLES DARWIN

cables were thrice wound round each other; though anchored at a
depth of 36 feet, they were for some minutes aground. The great
wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of Talcahuano
had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some sailors
pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat riding securely
over the swell, if they could reach it before it broke. One old woman
with a little boy, four or five years old, ran into a boat, but there
was nobody to row it out : the boat was consequently dashed against
an anchor and cut in twain; the old woman was drowned, but the
child was picked up some hours afterwards clinging to the wreck.
Pools of salt-water were still standing amidst the ruins of the houses,
and children, making boats with old tables and chairs, appeared as
happy as their parents were miserable. It was, however, exceedingly
interesting to observe, how much more active and cheerful all ap-
peared than could have been expected. It was remarked with much
truth, that from the destruction being universal, no one individual
was humbled more than another, or could suspect his friends of
coldness — that most grievous result of the loss of wealth. Mr. Rouse,
and a large party whom he kindly took under his protection, lived
for the first week in a garden beneath some apple-trees. At first
they were as merry as if it had been a picnic; but soon afterwards
heavy rain caused much discomfort, for they were absolutely with-
out shelter.

In Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake, it is
said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another
like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. The water
also appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it "became black, and
exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell." These latter cir-
cumstances were observed in the Bay of Valparaiso during the
earthquake of 1822; they may, I think, be accounted for, by the
disturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea containing organic
matter in decay. In the Bay of Callao, during a calm day, I noticed,
that as the ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its course was
marked by a line of bubbles. The lower orders in Talcahuano
thought that the earthquake was caused by some old Indian women,
who two years ago, being offended, stopped the volcano of Antuco.
This silly belief is curious, because it shows that experience has

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 3II

taught them to observe, that there exists a relation between the sup-
pressed action of the volcanos, and the trembling of the ground. It
was necessary to apply the witchcraft to the point where their per-
ception of cause and effect failed; and this was the closing of the
volcanic vent. This belief is the more singular in this particular
instance, because, according to Captain Fitz Roy, there is reason to
believe that Antuco was noways affected.

The town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanish fashion,
with all the streets running at right angles to each other; one set
ranging S.W. by W., and the other set N.W. by N. The walls in
the former direction certainly stood better than those in the latter;
the greater number of the masses of brickwork were thrown down
towards the N.E. Both these circumstances perfectly agree with the
general idea, of the undulations having come from the S.W., in
which quarter subterranean noises were also heard; for it is evident
that the walls running S.W. and N.E. which presented their ends
to the point whence the undulations came, would be much less
likely to fall than those walls which, running N.W. and S.E., must
in their whole lengths have been at the same instant thrown out of
the perpendicular; for the undulations, coming from the S.W., must
have extended in N.W. and S.E. waves, as they passed under the
foundations. This may be illustrated by placing books edgeways
on a carpet, and then, after the manner suggested by Michell, imi-
tating the undulations of an earthquake: it will be found that they
fall with more or less readiness, according as their direction more
or less nearly coincides with the line of the waves. The fissures in
the ground generally, though not uniformly, extended in a S.E.
and N.W. direction, and therefore corresponded to the lines of un-
dulation or of principal flexure. Bearing in mind all these circum-
stances, which so clearly point to the S.W. as the chief focus of
disturbance, it is a very interesting fact that the island of S. Maria,
situated in that quarter, was, during the general uplifting of the
land, raised to nearly three times the height of any other part of
the coast.

The different resistance offered by the walls, according to their
direction, was well exemplified in the case of the Cathedral. The
side which fronted the N.E. presented a grand pile of ruins, in the

312 CHARLES DARWIN

midst of which door-cases and masses of timber stood up, as if float-
ing in a stream. Some of the angular blocks of brickwork were of
great dimensions; and they were rolled to a distance on the level
plaza, like fragments of rock at the base of some high mountain.
The side walls (running S.W. and N.E.), though exceedingly frac-
tured, yet remained standing; but the vast buttresses (at right angles
to them, and therefore parallel to the walls that fell) were in many
cases cut clean off, as if by a chisel, and hurled to the ground. Some
square ornaments on the coping of these same walls, were moved by
the earthquake into a diagonal position. A similar circumstance was
observed after an earthquake at Valparaiso, Calabria, and other
places, including some of the ancient Greek temples. 1 This twist-
ing displacement, at first appears to indicate a vorticose movement
beneath each point thus affected; but this is highly improbable. May
it not be caused by a tendency in each stone to arrange itself in
some particular position, with respect to the lines of vibration,—
in a manner somewhat similar to pins on a sheet of paper when
shaken? Generally speaking, arched doorways or windows stood
much better than any other part of the buildings. Nevertheless, a
poor lame old man, who had been in the habit, during trifling
shocks, of crawling to a certain doorway, was this time crushed
to pieces.

I have not attempted to give any detailed description of the ap-
pearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quite impossible to
convey the mingled feelings which I experienced. Several of the
officers visited it before me, but their strongest language failed to
give a just idea of the scene of desolation. It is a bitter and humiliat-
ing thing to see works, which have cost man so much time and
labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the in-
habitants was almost instantly banished, by the surprise in seeing a
state of things produced in a moment of time, which one was accus-
tomed to attribute to a succession of ages. In my opinion, we have
scarcely beheld, since leaving England, any sight so deeply interest-
ing.

In almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters of

1 M. Arago in L'Institut, 1839, p. 337. See also Miers's Chile, vol. i. p. 392; also
Lyell's Principles o£ Geology, chap, xv., book ii.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 313

the sea are said to have been greatly agitated. The disturbance
seems generally, as in the case of Concepcion, to have been of two
kinds: first, at the instant of the shock, the water swells high up on
the .beach with a gentle motion, and then as quietly retreats;
secondly, some time afterwards, the whole body of the sea retires
from the coast, and then returns in waves of overwhelming force.
The first movement seems to be an immediate consequence of the
earthquake affecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that their
respective levels are slightly deranged: but the second case is a far
more important phenomenon. During most earthquakes, and espe-
cially during those on the west coast of America, it is certain that
the first great movement of the waters has been a retirement. Some
authors have attempted to explain this, by supposing that the water
retains its level, whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely the
water close to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would partake
of the motion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by Mr. Lyell,
similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far distant
from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case with Juan Fer-
nandez during this earthquake, and with Madeira during the famous
Lisbon shock. I suspect (but the subject is a very obscure one) that
a wave, however produced, first draws the water from the shore, on
which it is advancing to break: I have observed that this happens
with the little waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. It is re-
markable that whilst Talcahuano and Callao (near Lima), both
situated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during
every severe earthquake from great waves, Valparaiso, seated close to
the edge of profoundly deep water, has never been overwhelmed,
though so often shaken by the severest shocks. From the great wave
not immediately following the earthquake, but sometimes after the
interval of even half an hour, and from distant islands being affected
similarly with the coasts near the focus of the disturbance, it ap-
pears that the wave first rises in the offing; and as this is of general
occurrence, the cause must be general: I suspect we must look to
the line, where the less disturbed waters of the deep ocean join the
water nearer the coast, which has partaken of the movements of
the land, as the place where the great wave is first generated; it
would also appear that the wave is larger or smaller, according to tne

314 CHARLES DARWIN

extent of shoal water which has been agitated together with the
bottom on which it rested.

The most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanent
elevation of the land; it would probably be far more correct to
speak of it as the cause. There can be no doubt that the land round
the Bay of Concepcion was upraised two or three feet; but it deserves
notice, that owing to the wave having obliterated the old lines of
tidal action on the sloping sandy shores, I could discover no evidence
of this fact, except in the united testimony of the inhabitants, that
one little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly covered with water.
At the island of S. Maria (about thirty miles distant) the elevation
was greater; on one part, Captain Fitz Roy found beds of putrid
mussel-shells still adhering to the roc\s, ten feet above high-water
mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at lower-water spring-
tides for these shells. The elevation of this province is particularly
interesting, from its having been the theatre of several other violent
earthquakes, and from the vast numbers of sea-shells scattered over
the land, up to a height of certainly 600, and I believe, of 1000 feet.
At Valparaiso, as I have remarked, similar shells are found at the
height of 1300 feet: it is hardly possible to doubt that this great
elevation has been effected by successive small uprisings, such as
that which accompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and
likewise by an insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress on
some parts of this coast.

The island of Juan Fernandez, 360 miles to the N.E., was, at the
time of the great shock of the 20th, violently shaken, so that the
trees beat against each other, and a volcano burst forth under water
close to the shore: these facts are remarkable because this island,
during the earthquake of 1751, was then also affected more violently
than other places at an equal distance from Concepcion, and
this seems to show some subterranean connection between these two
points. Chiloe, about 340 miles southward of Concepcion, appears
to have been shaken more strongly than the intermediate district
of Valdivia, where the volcano of Villarica was noways affected,
whilst in the Cordillera in front of Chiloe, two of the volcanos burst
forth at the same instant in violent action. These two volcanos, and

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 315

some neighbouring ones, continued for a long time in eruption, and
ten months afterwards were again influenced by an earthquake at
Concepcion. Some men, cutting wood near the base of one of these
volcanos, did not perceive the shock of the 20th, although the whole
surrounding Province was then trembling; here we have an eruption
relieving and taking the place of an earthquake, as would have hap-
pened at Concepcion, according to the belief of the lower orders, if
the volcano at Antuco had not been closed by witchcraft. Two years
and three-quarters afterwards, Valdivia and Chiloe were again
shaken, more violently than on the 20th, and an island in the Chonos
Archipelago was permanently elevated more than eight feet. It
will give a better idea of the scale of these phenomena, if (as in the
case of the glaciers) we suppose them to have taken place at cor-
responding distances in Europe: — then would the land from the
North Sea to the Mediterranean have been violently shaken, and
at the same instant of time a large tract of the eastern coast of Eng-
land would have been permanently elevated, together with some
outlying islands, — a train of volcanos on the coast of Holland would
have burst forth in action, and an eruption taken place at the bottom
of the sea, near the northern extremity of Ireland — and lastly, the
ancient vents of Auvergne, Cantal, and Mont d'Or would each have
sent up to the sky a dark column of smoke, and have long remained
in fierce action. Two years and three-quarters afterwards, France,
from its centre to the English Channel, would have been again
desolated by an earthquake, and an island permanently upraised
in the Mediterranean.

The space, from under which volcanic matter on the 20th was
actually erupted, is 720 miles in one line, and 400 miles in another
line at right angles to the first: hence, in all probability, a sub-
terranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of nearly double the
area of the Black Sea. From the intimate and complicated manner
in which the elevatory and eruptive forces were shown to be con-
nected during this train of phenomena, we may confidently come to
the conclusion, that the forces which slowly and by little starts uplift
continents, and those which at successive periods pour forth volcanic
matter from open orifices, are identical. From many reasons, I
believe that the frequent quakings of the earth on this line of coast

316 CHARLES DARWIN

are caused by the rending of the strata, necessarily consequent on the
tension of the land when upraised, and their injection by fluidified
rock. This rending and injection would, if repeated often enough
(and we know that earthquakes repeatedly affect the same areas in
the same manner), form a chain of hills; — and the linear island of
S. Mary, which was upraised thrice the height of the neighbouring
country, seems to be undergoing this process. I believe that the solid
axis of a mountain differs in its manner of formation from a vol-
canic hill only in the molten stone having been repeatedly injected,
instead of having been repeatedly ejected. Moreover, I believe that
it is impossible to explain the structure of great mountain-chains,
such as that of the Cordillera, where the strata, capping the
injected axis of plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along
several parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on this
view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected, after
intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or wedges to cool
and become solid; — for if the strata had been thrown into their
present highly inclined, vertical, and even inverted positions, by a
single blow, the very bowels of the earth would have gushed out;
and instead of beholding abrupt mountain-axes of rock solidified
under great pressure, deluges of lava would have flowed out at in-
numerable points on every line of elevation. 2

2 For a full account of the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the earthquake
of the 20th, and for the conclusions deducible from them, I must refer to Volume V.
of the Geological Transactions.

CHAPTER XV

Passage of the Cordillera

Valparaiso — Portillo Pass — Sagacity of Mules — Mountain-torrents —
Mines, how discovered — Proofs of the gradual Elevation of the Cordil-
lera—Effect of Snow on Rocks — Geological Structure of the two main
Ranges, their distinct Origin and Upheaval — Great Subsidence — Red
Snow — Winds — Pinnacles of Snow — Dry and clear Atmosphere —
Electricity — Pampas — Zoology of the opposite Side of the Andes —
Locusts — Great Bugs — Mendoza — Uspallata Pass — Silicified Trees
buried as they grew — Incas Bridge — Badness of the Passes exaggerated
— Cumbre — Casuchas — Valparaiso.

71 /WARCH jth, 1835. — We stayed three days at Concepcion
I \/ M and then sailed for Valparaiso. The wind being north-
_J__ f -M. erly, we only reached the mouth of the harbour of Con-
cepcion before it was dark. Being very near the land, and a fog com-
ing on, the anchor was dropped. Presently a large American whaler
appeared alongside of us; and we heard the Yankee swearing at his
men to keep quiet, whilst he listened for the breakers. Captain Fitz
Roy hailed him, in a loud clear voice, to anchor where he then was.
The poor man must have thought the voice came from the shore:
such a Babel of cries issued at once from the ship — every one hal-
looing out, "Let go the anchor! veer cable! shorten sail!" It was the
most laughable thing I ever heard. If the ship's crew had been
all captains, and no men, there could not have been a greater uproar
of orders. We afterwards found that the mate stuttered: I suppose
all hands were assisting him in giving his orders.

On the nth we anchored at Valparaiso, and two days afterwards
I set out to cross the Cordillera. I proceeded to Santiago, where Mr.
Caldcleugh most kindly assisted me in every possible way in making
the little preparations which were necessary. In this part of Chile
there are two passes across the Andes to Mendoza: the one most
commonly used — namely, that of Aconcagua or Uspallata — is situ-
ated some way to the north; the other, called the Portillo, is to the
south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous.

317

318 CHARLES DARWIN

March 18th. — We set out for the Portillo pass. Leaving Santiago,
we crossed the wide burnt-up plain on which that city stands, and
in the afternoon arrived at the Maypu, one of the principal rivers
in Chile. The valley, at the point where it enters the first Cordillera,
is bounded on each side by lofty barren mountains; and although
not broad, it is very fertile. Numerous cottages were surrounded by
vines, and by orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees — their
boughs breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. In the
evening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was exam-
ined. The frontier of Chile is better guarded by the Cordillera, than
by the waters of the sea. There are very few valleys which lead to
the central ranges, and the mountains are quite impassable in other
parts by beasts of burden. The custom-house officers were very civil,
which was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the President
of the Republic had given me; but I must express my admiration at
the natural politeness of almost every Chileno. In this instance, the
contrast with the same class of men in most other countries was
strongly marked. I may mention an anecdote with which I was at
the time much pleased: we met near Mendoza a little and very fat
negress, riding astride on a mule. She had a goitre so enormous that
it was scarcely possible to avoid gazing at her for a moment; but
my two companions almost instantly, by way of apology, made the
common salute of the country by taking off their hats. Where would
one of the lower or higher classes in Europe, have shown such
feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object of a degraded
race?

At night we slept at a cottage. Our manner of travelling was
delightfully independent. In the inhabited parts we bought a little
firewood, hired pasture for the animals, and bivouacked in the
corner of the same field with them. Carrying an iron pot, we cooked
and ate our supper under a cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. My
companions were Mariano Gonzales, who had formerly accom-
panied me in Chile, and an "arriero," with his ten mules and a
"madrina." The madrina (or godmother) is a most important per-
sonage: she is an old steady mare, with a little bell round her neck;
and wherever she goes, the mules, like good children, follow her.
The affection of these animals for their madrinas saves infinite

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 319

trouble. If several large troops are turned into one field to graze,
in the morning the muleteers have only to lead the madrinas a little
apart, and tinkle their bells; although there may be two or three
hundred together, each mule immediately knows the bell of its own
madrina, and comes to her. It is nearly impossible to lose an old
mule; for if detained for several hours by force, she will, by the
power of smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the
madrina, for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object of
affection. The feeling, however, is not of an individual nature; for
I believe I am right in saying that any animal with a bell will serve
as a madrina. In a troop each animal carries on a level road, a cargo
weighing 416 pounds (more than 29 stone), but in a mountainous
country 100 pounds less; yet with what delicate slim limbs, without
any proportional bulk of muscle, these animals support so great a
burden! The mule always appears to me a most surprising animal.
That a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social
affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than
either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone
nature. Of our ten animals, six were intended for riding, and four
for carrying cargoes, each taking turn about. We carried a good deal
of food, in case we should be snowed up, as the season was rather
late for passing the Portillo.

March igth. — We rode during this day to the last, and therefore
most elevated, house in the valley. The number of inhabitants be-
came scanty; but wherever water could be brought on the land, it
was very fertile. All the main valleys in the Cordillera are charac-
terized by having, on both sides, a fringe or terrace of shingle and
sand, rudely stratified, and generally of considerable thickness.
These fringes evidently once extended across the valleys and were
united; and the bottoms of the valleys in northern Chile, where
there are no streams, are thus smoothly filled up. On these fringes
the roads are generally carried, for their surfaces are even, and they
rise with a very gentle slope up the valleys: hence, also, they are
easily cultivated by irrigation. They may be traced up to a height
of between 7000 and 9000 feet, where they become hidden by the
irregular piles of debris. At the lower end or mouths of the valleys,
they are continuously united to those land-locked plains (also formed

320 CHARLES DARWIN

of shingle) at the foot of the main Cordillera, which I have described
in a former chapter as characteristic of the scenery of Chile, and
which were undoubtedly deposited when the sea penetrated Chile,
as it now does the more southern coasts. No one fact in the geology
of South America, interested me more than these terraces of rudely-
stratified shingle. They precisely resemble in composition the matter
which the torrents in each valley would deposit, if they were
checked in their course by any cause, such as entering a lake or arm
of the sea; but the torrents, instead of depositing matter, are now
steadily at work wearing away both the solid rock and these alluvial
deposits, along the whole line of every main valley and side valley.
It is impossible here to give the reasons, but I am convinced that
the shingle terraces were accumulated, during the gradual elevation
of the Cordillera, by the torrents delivering, at successive levels, their
detritus on the beachheads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high
up the valleys, then lower and lower down as the land slowly rose.
If this be so, and I cannot doubt it, the grand and broken chain of the
Cordillera, instead of having been suddenly thrown up, as was till
lately the universal, and still is the common opinion of geologists,
has been slowly upheaved in mass, in the same gradual manner as
the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific have risen within the recent
period. A multitude of facts in the structure of the Cordillera, on
this view receive a simple explanation.

The rivers which flow in these valleys ought rather to be called
mountain-torrents. Their inclination is very great, and their water
the colour of mud. The roar which the Maypu made, as it rushed
over the great rounded fragments, was like that of the sea. Amidst
the din of rushing waters, the noise from the stones, as they rattled
one over another, was most distinctly audible even from a distance.
This rattling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole
course of the torrent. The sound spoke eloquently to the geologist;
the thousands and thousands of stones, which, striking against each
other, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one
direction. It was like thinking on time, where the minute that now
glides past is irrevocable. So was it with these stones; the ocean is
their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one more step
towards their destiny.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 32I

It is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by a slow
process, any effect which is produced by a cause repeated so often,
that the multiplier itself conveys an idea, not more definite than the
savage implies when he points to the hairs of his head. As often as
I have seen beds of mud, sand, and shingle, accumulated to the
thickness of many thousand feet, I have felt inclined to exclaim that
causes, such as the present rivers and the present beaches, could
never have ground down and produced such masses. But, on the
other hand, when listening to the ratding noise of these torrents,
and calling to mind that whole races of animals have passed away
from the face of the earth, and that during this whole period, night
and day, these stones have gone rattling onwards in their course,
I have thought to myself, can any mountains, any continent, with-
stand such waste?

In this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were from
3000 to 6000 or 8000 feet high, with rounded outlines and steep bare
flanks. The general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and the
stratification very distinct. If the scenery was not beautiful, it was
remarkable and grand. We met during the day several herds of
cattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the
Cordillera. This sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps,
more than was convenient for geologizing. The house where we
slept was situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which
are the mines of S. Pedro de Nolasko. Sir F. Head marvels how
mines have been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the
bleak summit of the mountain of S. Pedro de Nolasko. In the first
place, metallic veins in this country are generally harder than the
surrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills, they
project above the surface of the ground. Secondly, almost every
labourer, especially in the northern parts of Chile, understands some-
thing about the appearance of ores. In the great mining provinces of
Coquimbo and Copiapo, firewood is very scarce, and men search
for it over every hill and dale; and by this means nearly all the
richest mines have there been discovered. Chanuncillo, from which
silver to the value of many hundred thousand pounds has been raised
in the course of a few years, was discovered by a man who threw a
stone at his loaded donkey, and thinking that it was very heavy, he

322 CHARLES DARWIN

picked it up, and found it full of pure silver: the vein occurred at no
great distance, standing up like a wedge of metal. The miners, also,
taking a crowbar with them, often wander on Sundays over the
mountains. In this south part of Chile, the men who drive cattle into
the Cordillera, and who frequent every ravine where there is a little
pasture, are the usual discoverers.

20th. — As we ascended the valley, the vegetation, with the excep-
tion of a few pretty alpine flowers, became exceedingly scanty; and
of quadrupeds, birds, or insects, scarcely one could be seen. The lofty
mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow, stood
well separated from each other, the valleys being filled up with an
immense thickness of stratified alluvium. The features in the scenery
of the Andes which struck me most, as contrasted with the other
mountain chains with which I am acquainted, were, — the flat fringes
sometimes expanding into narrow plains on each side of the valleys,
— the bright colours, chiefly red and purple, of the utterly bare and
precipitous hills of porphyry, the grand and continuous wall-like
dykes, — the plainly-divided strata which, where nearly vertical,
formed the picturesque and wild central pinnacles, but where less
inclined, composed the great massive mountains on the outskirts of
the range, — and lastly, the smooth conical piles of fine and brightly
coloured detritus, which sloped up at a high angle from the base
of the mountains, sometimes to a height of more than 2000 feet.

I frequently observed, both in Tierra del Fuego and within the
Andes, that where the rock was covered during the greater part of
the year with snow, it was shivered in a very extraordinary manner
into small angular fragments. Scoresby 1 has observed the same fact
in Spitzbergen. The case appears to me rather obscure: for that part
of the mountain which is protected by a mantle of snow, must be
less subject to repeated and great changes of temperature than any
other part. I have sometimes thought, that the earth and fragments
of stone on the surface, were perhaps less effectually removed by
slowly percolating snow-water 2 than by rain, and therefore that the

1 Scoresby's Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 122.

2 1 have heard it remarked in Shropshire that the water, when the Severn is
flooded from long-continued rain, is much more turbid than when it proceeds from the
snow melting in the Welsh mountains. D'Orbigny (torn. i. p. 184), in explaining
the cause of the various colours of the rivers in South America, remarks that those
with blue or clear water have their source in the Cordillera, where the snow melts.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 323

appearance of a quicker disintegration of the solid rock under the
snow, was deceptive. Whatever the cause may be, the quantity
of crumbling stone on the Cordillera is very great. Occasionally in
the spring, great masses of this detritus slide down the mountains,
and cover the snow-drifts in the valleys, thus forming natural
ice-houses. We rode over one, the height of which was far below the
limit of perpetual snow.

As the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular basin-like
plain, called the Valle del Yeso. It was covered by a little dry pasture,
and we had the pleasant sight of a herd of cattle amidst the surround-
ing rocky deserts. The valley takes its name of Yeso from a great bed,
I should think at least 2000 feet thick, of white, and in some parts
quite pure, gypsum. We slept with a party of men, who were em-
ployed in loading mules with this substance, which is used in the
manufacture of wine. We set out early in the morning (21st), and
continued to follow the course of the river, which had become very
small, till we arrived at the foot of the ridge, that separates the waters
flowing into the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The road, which as
yet had been good with a steady but very gradual ascent, now
changed into a steep zigzag track up the great range, dividing the
republics of Chile and Mendoza.

I will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several
parallel lines forming the Cordillera. Of these lines, there are two
considerably higher than the others; namely, on the Chilian side, the
Peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it, is 13,210 feet above
the sea; and the Portillo ridge, on the Mendoza side, which is 14,305
feet. The lower beds of the Peuquenes ridge, and of the several great
lines to the westward of it, are composed of a vast pile, many thou-
sand feet in thickness, of porphyries which have flowed as subma-
rine lavas, alternating with angular and rounded fragments of the
same rocks, thrown out of the submarine craters. These alter-
nating masses are covered in the central parts, by a great thickness
of red sandstone, conglomerate, and calcareous clay-slate, associ-
ated with, and passing into, prodigious beds of gypsum. In these
upper beds shells are tolerably frequent; and they belong to about
the period of the lower chalk of Europe. It is an old story, but
not the less wonderful, to hear of shells which were once crawling

324 CHARLES DARWIN

on the bottom of the sea, now standing nearly 14,000 feet above its
level. The lower beds in this great pile of strata, have been dis-
located, baked, crystallized and almost blended together, through
the agency of mountain masses of a peculiar white soda-granitic
rock.

The other main line, namely, that of the Portillo, is of a totally
different formation: it consists chiefly of grand bare pinnacles of a
red potash-granite, which low down on the western flank are covered
by a sandstone, converted by the former heat into a quartz-rock.
On the quartz, there rest beds of a conglomerate several thousand
feet in thickness, which have been upheaved by the red granite, and
dip at an angle of 45 ° towards the Peuquenes line. I was astonished
to find that this conglomerate was partly composed of pebbles, de-
rived from the rocks, with their fossil shells, of the Peuquenes range;
and partly of red potash-granite, like that of the Portillo. Hence we
must conclude, that both the Peuquenes and Portillo ranges were
partially upheaved and exposed to wear and tear, when the con-
glomerate was forming; but as the beds of the conglomerate have
been thrown off at an angle of 45 ° by the red Portillo granite (with
the underlying sandstone baked by it), we may feel sure, that the
greater part of the injection and upheaval of the already partially
formed Portillo line, took place after the accumulation of the con-
glomerate, and long after the elevation of the Peuquenes ridge. So
that the Portillo, the loftiest line in this part of the Cordillera, is not
so old as the less lofty line of the Peuquenes. Evidence derived from
an inclined stream of lava at the eastern base of the Portillo, might
be adduced to show, that it owes part of its great height to elevations
of a still later date. Looking to its earliest origin, the red granite
seems to have been injected on an ancient pre-existing line of white
granite and mica-slate. In most parts, perhaps in all parts, of the
Cordillera, it may be concluded that each line has been formed by
repeated upheavals and injections; and that the several parallel
lines are of different ages. Only thus can we gain time, at all suf-
ficient to explain the truly astonishing amount of denudation, which
these great, though comparatively with most other ranges recent,
mountains have suffered.

Finally, the shells in the Peuquenes or oldest ridge, prove, as before
remarked, that it has been upraised 14,000 feet since a Secondary

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 325

period, which in Europe we are accustomed to consider as far from
ancient; but since these shells lived in a moderately deep sea, it can
be shown that the area now occupied by the Cordillera, must have
subsided several thousand feet — in northern Chile as much as 6000
feet — so as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata to have
been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. The proof is the
same with that by which it was shown, that at a much later period,
since the tertiary shells of Patagonia lived, there must have been there
a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation.
Daily it is forced home on the mind of the geologist, that nothing,
not even the wind that blows, is so unstable as the level of the crust
of this earth.

I will make only one other geological remark: although the Por-
tillo chain is here higher than the Peuquenes, the waters draining the
intermediate valleys, have burst through it. The same fact, on a
grander scale, has been remarked in the eastern and loftiest line
of the Bolivian Cordillera, through which the rivers pass: analogous
facts have also been observed in other quarters of the world. On the
supposition of the subsequent and gradual elevation of the Portillo
line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets would at first
appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides would be always wear-
ing deeper and broader channels between them. At the present day,
even in the most retired Sounds on the coast of Tierra del Fuego, the
currents in the transverse breaks which connect the longitudinal
channels, are very strong, so that in one transverse channel even a
small vessel under sail was whirled round and round.

About noon we began the tedious ascent of the Peuquenes ridge,
and then for the first time experienced some little difficulty in our
respiration. The mules would halt every fifty yards, and after resting
for a few seconds the poor willing animals started of their own
accord again. The short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere is
called by the Chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous notions
concerning its origin. Some say "all the waters here have puna;"
others that "where there is snow there is puna;" — and this no
doubt is true. The only sensation I experienced was a slight tight-
ness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving a warm
room and running quickly in frosty weather. There was some

326 CHARLES DARWIN

imagination even in this; for upon finding fossil shells on the highest
ridge, I entirely forgot the puna in my delight. Certainly the exertion
of walking was extremely great, and the respiration became deep and
laborious: I am told that in Potosi (about 13,000 feet above the sea)
strangers do not become thoroughly accustomed to the atmosphere
for an entire year. The inhabitants all recommend onions for the
puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in Europe for
pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real service: — for my part
I found nothing so good as the fossil shells!

When about half-way up we met a large party with seventy loaded
mules. It was interesting to hear the wild cries of the muleteers,
and to watch the long descending string of the animals; they ap-
peared so diminutive, there being nothing but the black mountains
with which they could be compared. When near the summit, the
wind, as generally happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. On
each side of the ridge, we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual
snow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. When
we reached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was
presented. The atmosphere resplendently clear; the sky an intense
blue; the profound valleys; the wild broken forms; the heaps of
ruins, piled up during the lapse of ages; the bright-coloured rocks,
contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow; all these together
produced a scene no one could have imagined. Neither plant nor
bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher pinnacles,
distracted my attention from the inanimate mass. I felt glad that I
was alone: it was like watching a thunderstorm, or hearing in full
orchestra a chorus of the Messiah.

On several patches of the snow I found the Protococcus nivalis,
or red snow, so well known from the accounts of Arctic navigators.
My attention was called to it, by observing the footsteps of the mules
stained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. I at
first thought that it was owing to dust blown from the surrounding
mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying power of the
crystals of snow, the groups of these microscopical plants appeared
like coarse particles. The snow was coloured only where it had
thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed. A little
rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled with a little
brick-red. I afterwards scraped some off the paper, and found that

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 327

it consisted of groups of little spheres in colourless cases, each of the
thousandth part of an inch in diameter.

The wind on the crest of the Peuquenes, as just remarked, is
generally impetuous and very cold: it is said 3 to blow steadily from
the westward or Pacific side. As the observations have been chiefly
made in summer, this wind must be an upper and return current.
The Peak of Teneriffe, with a less elevation, and situated in lat. 28 °,
in like manner falls within an upper return stream. At first it appears
rather surprising, that the trade-wind along the northern parts of
Chile and on the coast of Peru, should blow in so very southerly a
direction as it does; but when we reflect that the Cordillera, running
in a north and south line, intercepts, like a great wall, the entire
depth of the lower atmospheric current, we can easily see that the
trade-wind must be drawn northward, following the line of moun-
tains, towards the equatorial regions, and thus lose part of that
easterly movement which it otherwise would have gained from the
earth's rotation. At Mendoza, on the eastern foot of the Andes,
the climate is said to be subject to long calms, and to frequent
though false appearances of gathering rain-storms: we may imagine
that the wind, which coming from the eastward is thus banked up
by the line of mountains, would become stagnant and irregular in
its movements.

Having crossed the Peuquenes, we descended into a mountainous
country, intermediate between the two main ranges, and then took
up our quarters for the night. We were now in the republic of
Mendoza. The elevation was probably not under 11,000 feet, and
the vegetation in consequence exceedingly scanty. The root of a
small scrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and
the wind was piercingly cold. Being quite tired with my day's work,
I made up my bed as quickly as I could, and went to sleep. About
midnight, I observed the sky became suddenly clouded: I awakened
the arriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he
said that without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a
heavy snow-storm. The peril is imminent, and the difficulty of sub-
sequent escape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between
the two ranges. A certain cave offers the only place of refuge: Mr.

3 Dr. Gillies in lourn. of Nat. and Geograph. Science, Aug., 1830. This author
gives the heights of the Passes.

328 CHARLES DARWIN

Caldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained
there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. Casuchas, or houses of
refuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of Uspallata, and,
therefore, during the autumn, the Portillo is little frequented. I
may here remark that within the main Cordillera rain never falls,
for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in winter snow-
storms alone occur.

At the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the
diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than
it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a
Papin's digester. Hence the potatoes, after remaining for some
hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. The pot was
left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but
yet the potatoes were not cooked. I found out this, by overhearing
my two companions discussing the cause; they had come to the
simple conclusion, "that the cursed pot [which was a new one] did
not choose to boil potatoes."

March 22nd. — After eating our potatoless breakfast, we travelled
across the intermediate tract to the foot of the Portillo range. In the
middle of summer cattle are brought up here to graze; but they had
now all been removed : even the greater number of the Guanacos had
decamped, knowing well that if overtaken here by a snow-storm,
they would be caught in a trap. We had a fine view of a mass of
mountains called Tupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken
snow, in the midst of which there was a blue patch, no doubt a
glacier; — a circumstance of rare occurrence in these mountains. Now
commenced a heavy and long climb, similar to that of the Peuquenes.
Bold conical hills of red granite rose on each hand; in the valleys
there were several broad fields of perpetual snow. These frozen
masses, during the process of thawing, had in some parts been con-
verted into pinnacles or columns, 4 which, as they were high and
close together, made it difficult for the cargo mules to pass. On one
of these columns of ice, a frozen horse was sticking as on a pedestal,

4 This structure in frozen snow was long since observed by Scoresby in the ice-
bergs near Spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by Colonel Jackson (Journ. of
Geograph. Soc, vol. v. p. 12) on the Neva. Mr. Lyell (Principles, vol. iv. p. 360)
has compared the fissures by which the columnar structure seems to be determined,
to the joints that traverse nearly all rocks, but which are best seen in the non-stratified
masses. I may observe, that in the case of the frozen snow, the columnar structure
must be owing to a "metamorphic" action, and not to a process during deposition.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 329

but with its hind legs straight up in the air. The animal, I suppose,
must have fallen with its head downward into a hole, when the
snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding parts must
have been removed by the thaw.

When nearly on the crest of the Portillo, we were enveloped in a
falling cloud of minute frozen spicula. This was very unfortunate,
as it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. The
pass takes its name of Portillo, from a narrow cleft or doorway on
the highest ridge, through which the road passes. From this point,
on a clear day, those vast plains which uninterruptedly extend to the
Atlantic Ocean can be seen. We descended to the upper limit of
vegetation, and found good quarters for the night under the shelter
of some large fragments of rock. We met here some passengers,
who made anxious inquiries about the state of the road. Shortly after
it was dark the clouds suddenly cleared away, and the effect was
quite magical. The great mountains, bright with the full moon,
seemed impending over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice: one
morning, very early, I witnessed the same striking effect. As soon as
the clouds were dispersed it froze severely; but as there was no wind
we slept very comfortably.

The increased brilliancy of the moon and stars at this elevation,
owing to the perfect transparency of the atmosphere, was very
remarkable. Travelers having observed the difficulty of judging
heights and distances amidst lofty mountains, have generally at-
tributed it to the absence of objects of comparison. It appears to
me, that it is fully as much owing to the transparency of the air
confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly to
the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a little
exertion,— habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the senses.
I am sure that this extreme clearness of the air gives a peculiar
character to the landscape, all objects appearing to be brought nearly
into one plane, as in a drawing or panorama. The transparency is, I
presume, owing to the equable and high state of atmospheric dry-
ness. This dryness was shown by the manner in which woodwork
shrank (as I soon found by the trouble my geological hammer gave
me) ; by articles of food, such as bread and sugar, becoming ex-
tremely hard; and by the preservation of the skin and parts of the
flesh of the beasts, which had perished on the road. To the same

330 CHARLES DARWIN

cause we must attribute the singular facility with which electricity is
excited. My flannel waistcoat, when rubbed in the dark, appeared
as if it had been washed with phosphorus; — every hair on a dog's
back crackled; — even the linen sheets, and leathern straps of the
saddle, when handled, emitted sparks.

March 23rd. — The descent on the eastern side of the Cordillera is
much shorter or steeper than on the Pacific side; in other words, the
mountains rise more abruptly from the plains than from the alpine
country of Chile. A level and brilliantly white sea of clouds was
stretched out beneath our feet, shutting out the view of the equally
level Pampas. We soon entered the band of clouds, and did not again
emerge from it that day. About noon, finding pasture for the ani-
mals and bushes for firewood at Los Arenales, we stopped for the
night. This was near the uppermost limit of bushes, and the ele-
vation, I suppose, was between seven and eight thousand feet.

I was much struck with the marked difference between the vege-
tation of these eastern valleys and those on the Chilian side: yet the
climate, as well as the kind of soil, is nearly the same, and the dif-
ference of longitude very trifling. The same remark holds good with
the quadrupeds, and in a lesser degree with the birds and insects. I
may instance the mice, of which I obtained thirteen species on the
shores of the Atlantic, and five on the Pacific, and not one of them is
identical. We must except all those species, which habitually or occa-
sionally frequent elevated mountains; and certain birds, which range
as far south as the Strait of Magellan. This fact is in perfect accord-
ance with the geological history of the Andes; for these mountains
have existed as a great barrier since the present races of animals have
appeared; and therefore, unless we suppose the same species to have
been created in two different places, we ought not to expect any
closer similarity between the organic beings on the opposite sides of
the Andes than on the opposite shores of the ocean. In both cases,
we must leave out of the question those kinds which have been able
to cross the barrier, whether of solid rock or salt-water. 5

5 This is merely an illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down by Mr.
Lyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced by geological
changes. The whole reasoning, of course, is founded on the assumption of the im-
mutability of species; otherwise the difference in the species in the two regions might
be considered as superinduced during a length of time.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 33 1

A great number of the plants and animals were absolutely the
same as, or most closely allied to, those of Patagonia. We here have
the agouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo, the ostrich, certain
kinds of partridges and other birds, none of which are ever seen in
Chile, but are the characteristic animals of the desert plains of
Patagonia. We have likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a
person who is not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered grass,
and dwarf plants. Even the black slowly crawling beetles are closely
similar, and some, I believe, on rigorous examination, absolutely
identical. It had always been to me a subject of regret, that we were
unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the S. Cruz river
before reaching the mountains: I always had a latent hope of meet-
ing with some great change in the features of the country; but I
now feel sure, that it would only have been following the plains of
Patagonia up a mountainous ascent.

March 24th. — Early in the morning I climbed up a mountain on
one side of the valley, and enjoyed a far extended view over the
Pampas. This was a spectacle to which I had always looked forward
with interest, but I was disappointed: at the first glance it much
resembled a distant view of the ocean, but in the northern parts many
irregularities were soon distinguishable. The most striking feature
consisted in the rivers, which, facing the rising sun, glittered like
silver threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. At midday
we descended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and
three soldiers were posted to examine passports. One of these
men was a thoroughbred Pampas Indian: he was kept much for
the same purpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who
might pass by secretly, either on foot or horseback. Some years ago,
a passenger endeavoured to escape detection, by making a long cir-
cuit over a neighbouring mountain; but this Indian, having by
chance crossed his track, followed it for the whole day over dry and
very stony hills, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully.
We here heard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from
the bright region above, had poured down torrents of rain. The
valley from this point gradually opened, and the hills became mere
water-worn hillocks compared to the giants behind: it then ex-
panded into a gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low

332 CHARLES DARWIN

trees and bushes. This talus, although appearing narrow, must be
nearly ten miles wide before it blends into the apparently dead level
Pampas. We passed the only house in this neighbourhood, the
Estancia of Chaquaio: and at sunset we pulled up in the first snug
corner, and there bivouacked.

March 25th. — I was reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres,
by seeing the disk of the rising sun, intersected by an horizon level
as that of the ocean. During the night a heavy dew fell, a circum-
stance which we did not experience within the Cordillera. The road
proceeded for some distance due east across a low swamp; then
meeting the dry plain, it turned to the north towards Mendoza.
The distance is two very long days' journey. Our first day's journey
was called fourteen leagues to Estacado, and the second seventeen
to Luxan, near Mendoza. The whole distance is over a level desert
plain, with not more than two or three houses. The sun was ex-
ceedingly powerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. There is very
little water in this "traversia," and in our second day's journey
we found only one little pool. Little water flows from the mountains,
and it soon becomes absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that,
although we travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from
the outer range of the Cordillera, we did not cross a single stream.
In many parts the ground was incrusted with a saline efflorescence;
hence we had the same salt-loving plants which are common near
Bahia Blanca. The landscape has a uniform character from the
Strait of Magellan, along the whole eastern coast of Patagonia, to the
Rio Colorado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends
inland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as San Luis, and per-
haps even further north. To the eastward of this curved line lies the
basin of the comparatively damp and green plains of Buenos Ayres.
The sterile plains of Mendoza and Patagonia consist of a bed of
shingle, worn smooth and accumulated by the waves of the sea; while
the Pampas, covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been formed
by the ancient estuary mud of the Plata.

After our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to see in
the distance the rows of poplars and willows growing round the vil-
lage and river of Luxan. Shortly before we arrived at this place,
we observed to the south a ragged cloud of dark reddish-brown col-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 333

our. At first we thought that it was smoke from some great fire
on the plains; but we soon found that it was a swarm of locusts.
They were flying northward; and with the aid of a light breeze,
they overtook us at a rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. The main
body filled the air from a height of twenty feet, to that, as it ap-
peared, of two or three thousand above the ground; "and the sound
of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running
to battle:" or rather, I should say, like a strong breeze passing through
the rigging of a ship. The sky, seen through the advanced guard,
appeared like a mezzotinto engraving, but the main body was im-
pervious to sight; they were not, however, so thick together, but
that they could escape a stick waved backwards and forwards.
When they alighted, they were more numerous than the leaves in
the field, and the surface became reddish instead of being green : the
swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew from side to side
in all directions. Locusts are not an uncommon pest in this country :
already during the season, several smaller swarms had come up
from the south, where, as apparently in all other parts of the world,
they are bred in the deserts. The poor cottagers in vain attempted
by lighting fires, by shouts, and by waving branches to avert the
attack. This species of locust closely resembles, and perhaps is identi-
cal with, the famous Gryllus migratorius of the East.

We crossed the Luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though
its course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known : it is even
doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not evaporated
and lost. We slept in the village of Luxan, which is a small place
surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern cultivated dis-
trict in the Province of Mendoza; it is five leagues south of the
capital. At night I experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a
name) of the Benchuca, a species of Reduvius, the great black bug
of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects,
about an inch long, crawling over one's body. Before sucking they
are quite thin, but afterwards they become round and bloated with
blood, and in this state are easily crushed. One which I caught at
Iquique, (for they are found in Chile and Peru,) was very empty.
When placed on a table, and though surrounded by people, if a
finger was presented, the bold insect would immediately protrude

334 CHARLES DARWIN

its sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. No pain
was caused by the wound. It was curious to watch its body during
the act of sucking, as in less than ten minutes it changed from
being as flat as a wafer to a globular form. This one feast, for which
the benchuca was indebted to one of the officers, kept it fat during
four whole months; but, after the first fortnight, it was quite ready
to have another suck.

March 2jth. — We rode on to Mendoza. The country was beauti-
fully cultivated, and resembled Chile. This neighbourhood is cele-
brated for its fruit; and certainly nothing could appear more flourish-
ing than the vineyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives.
We bought water-melons nearly twice as large as a man's head,
most deliciously cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece;
and for the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches.
The cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small; there
is little more than that which we passed through between Luxan
and the capital. The land, as in Chile, owes its fertility entirely to
artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how ex-
traordinarily productive a barren traversia is thus rendered.

We stayed the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity of the
place has much declined of late years. The inhabitants say "it is
good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in." The lower orders
have the lounging, reckless manners of the Gauchos of the Pampas;
and their dress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same.
To my mind the town had a stupid, forlorn aspect. Neither the
boasted alameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of
Santiago; but to those who, coming from Buenos Ay res, have just
crossed the unvaried Pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear
delightful. Sir F. Head, speaking of the inhabitants, says, "They
eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep — and could
they do better?" I quite agree with Sir F. Head: the happy doom
of the Mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle.

March 2<)th. — We set out on our return to Chile, by the Uspallata
pass situated north of Mendoza. We had to cross a long and most
sterile traversia of fifteen leagues. The soil in parts was absolutely
bare, in others covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 335

formidable spines, and called by the inhabitants "little lions." There
were, also, a few low bushes. Although the plain is nearly three
thousand feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat,
as well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling
extremely irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly parallel
to the Cordillera, but gradually approaching them. Before sunset
we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on
the plain : this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up
the house of Villa Vicencio is situated. As we had ridden all day
without a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very thirsty,
and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down this
valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water made its
appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by degrees it be-
came a little damper; then puddles of water appeared; these soon be-
came connected; and at Villa Vicencio there was a nice little rivulet.
30th. — The solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of
Villa Vicencio, has been mentioned by every traveller who has
crossed the Andes. I stayed here and at some neighbouring mines
during the two succeeding days. The geology of the surrounding
country is very curious. The Uspallata range is separated from the
main Cordillera by a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often
mentioned in Chile, but higher, being six thousand feet above the
sea. This range has nearly the same geographical position with
respect to the Cordillera, which the gigantic Portillo line has, but
it is of a totally different origin: it consists of various kinds of
submarine lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other
remarkable sedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close
resemblance to some of the tertiary beds on the shores of the Pacific.
From this resemblance I expected to find silicified wood, which is
generally characteristic of those formations. I was gratified in a very
extraordinary manner. In the central part of the range, at an eleva-
tion of about seven thousand feet, I observed on a bare slope some
snow-white projecting columns. These were petrified trees, eleven
being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into coarsely-
crystallized white calcareous spar. They were abruptly broken off,
the upright stumps projecting a few feet above the ground. The
trunks measured from three to five feet each in circumference.

336 CHARLES DARWIN

They stood a little way apart from each other, but the whole formed
one group. Mr. Robert Brown has been kind enough to examine
the wood: he says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking of the char-
acter of the Araucarian family, but with some curious points of
affinity with the yew. The volcanic sandstone in which the trees
were embedded, and from the lower part of which they must have
sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers around their
trunks; and the stone yet retained the impression of the bark.

It required little geological practice to interpret the marvellous
story which this scene at once unfolded; though I confess I was at
first so much astonished that I could scarcely believe the plainest
evidence. I saw the spot where a cluster of fine trees once waved
their branches on the shores of the Atlantic, when that ocean (now
driven back 700 miles) came to the foot of the Andes. I saw that
they had sprung from a volcanic soil which had been raised above
the level of the sea, and that subsequently this dry land, with its
upright trees, had been let down into the depths of the ocean. In
these depths, the formerly dry land was covered by sedimentary beds,
and these again by enormous streams of submarine lava — one such
mass attaining the thickness of a thousand feet; and these deluges
of molten stone and aqueous deposits five times alternately had been
spread out. The ocean which received such thick masses, must have
been profoundly deep; but again the subterranean forces exerted
themselves, and I now beheld the bed of that ocean, forming a chain
of mountains more than seven thousand feet in height. Nor had
those antagonistic forces been dormant, which are always at work
wearing down the surface of the land; the great piles of strata had
been intersected by many wide valleys, and the trees now changed
into silex, were exposed projecting from the volcanic soil, now
changed into rock, whence formerly, in a green and budding state,
they had raised their lofty heads. Now, all is utterly irreclaimable
and desert; even the lichen cannot adhere to the stony casts of
former trees. Vast, and scarcely comprehensible as such changes
must ever appear, yet they have all occurred within a period, recent
when compared with the history of the Cordillera; and the Cor-
dillera itself is absolutely modern as compared with many of the
fossiliferous strata of Europe and America.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 337

April 1st. — We crossed the Uspallata range, and at night slept at
the custom-house — the only inhabited spot on the plain. Shortly
before leaving the mountains, there was a very extraordinary view;
red, purple, green, and quite white sedimentary rocks, alternating
with black lavas, were broken up and thrown into all kinds of dis-
order by masses of porphyry of every shade of colour, from dark
brown to the brightest lilac. It was the first view I ever saw, which
really resembled those pretty sections which geologists make of the
inside of the earth.

The next day we crossed the plain, and followed the course of the
same great mountain stream which flows by Luxan. Here it was a
furious torrent, quite impassable, and appeared larger than in the
low country, as was the case with the rivulet of Villa Vicencio. On
the evening of the succeeding day, we reached the Rio de las Vacas,
which is considered the worst stream in the Cordillera to cross. As
all these rivers have a rapid and short course, and are formed by
the melting of the snow, the hour of the day makes a considerable
difference in their volume. In the evening the stream is muddy
and full, but about daybreak it becomes clearer, and much less im-
petuous. This we found to be the case with the Rio Vacas, and in
the morning we crossed it with little difficulty.

The scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared with that
of the Portillo pass. Little can be seen beyond the bare walls of the
one grand flat-bottomed valley, which the road follows up to the
highest crest. The valley and the huge rocky mountains are ex-
tremely barren: during the two previous nights the poor mules had
absolutely nothing to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes,
scarcely a plant can be seen. In the course of this day we crossed
some of the worst passes in the Cordillera, but their danger has been
much exaggerated. I was told that if I attempted to pass on foot,
my head would turn giddy, and that there was no room to dismount;
but I did not see a place where any one might not have walked over
backwards, or got off his mule on either side. One of the bad passes,
called las Animas (the souls), I had crossed, and did not find out till
a day afterwards, that it was one of the awful dangers. No doubt
there are many parts in which, if the mule should stumble, the rider
would be hurled down a great precipice; but of this there is little

338 CHARLES DARWIN

chance. I dare say, in the spring, the "laderas," or roads, which each
year are formed anew across the piles of fallen detritus, are very bad;
but from what I saw, I suspect the real danger is nothing. With
cargo-mules the case is rather different, for the loads project so far,
that the animals, occasionally running against each other, or against
a point of rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the preci-
pices. In crossing the rivers I can well believe that the difficulty may
be very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the sum-
mer they must be very hazardous. I can quite imagine, as Sir F.
Head describes, the different expressions of those who have passed
the gulf, and those who are passing. I never heard of any man being
drowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. The arriero
tells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to
cross as she likes, the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often
lost.

April /fth. — From the Rio de las Vacas to the Puente del Incas, half
a day's journey. As there was pasture for the mules, and geology
for me, we bivouacked here for the night. When one hears of a
natural Bridge, one pictures to one's self some deep and narrow
ravine, across which a bold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch
hollowed out like the vault of a cavern. Instead of this, the Incas
Bridge consists of a crust of stratified shingle cemented together by
the deposits of the neighbouring hot springs. It appears as if the
stream had scooped out a channel on one side, leaving an overhanging
ledge, which was met by earth and stones falling down from the
opposite cliff. Certainly an oblique junction, as would happen in such
a case, was very distinct on one side. The Bridge of the Incas is by no
means worthy of the great monarchs whose name it bears.

$th. — We had a long day's ride across the central ridge, from the
Incas Bridge to the Ojos del Agua, which are situated near the
lowest casucha on the Chilian side. These casuchas are round little
towers, with steps outside to reach the floor, which is raised some
feet above the ground on account of the snow-drifts. They are eight
in number, and under the Spanish government were kept during
the winter well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had
a master-key. Now they only answer the purpose of caves, or rather
dungeons. Seated on some little eminence, they are not, however, ill

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 339

suited to the surrounding scene of desolation. The zigzag ascent of
the Cumbre, or the partition of the waters, was very steep and
tedious; its height, according to Mr. Pentland, is 12,454 ^ eet - The
road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there were
patches of it on both hands. The wind on the summit was exceed-
ingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few minutes to
admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and the brilliant
transparency of the atmosphere. The scenery was grand: to the
westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided by profound
ravines. Some snow generally falls before this period of the season,
and it has even happened that the Cordillera have been finally closed
by this time. But we were most fortunate. The sky, by night and
by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round little masses of vapour,
that floated over the highest pinnacles. I have often seen these islets
in the sky, marking the position of the Cordillera, when the far-
distant mountains have been hidden beneath the horizon.

April 6th. — In the morning we found some thief had stolen one
of our mules, and the bell of the madrina. We therefore rode only
two or three miles down the valley, and stayed there the ensuing
day in hopes of recovering the mule, which the arriero thought had
been hidden in some ravine. The scenery in this part had assumed
a Chilian character: the lower sides of the mountains, dotted over
with the pale evergreen Quillay tree, and with the great chandelier-
like cactus, are certainly more to be admired than the bare eastern
valleys; but I cannot quite agree with the admiration expressed by
some travellers. The extreme pleasure, I suspect, is chiefly owing
to the prospect of a good fire and of a good supper, after escaping
from the cold regions above: and I am sure I most heartily partici-
pated in these feelings.

8th. — We left the valley of the Aconcagua, by which we had
descended, and reached in the evening a cottage near the Villa del
St. Rosa. The fertility of the plain was delightful: the autumn being
advanced, the leaves of many of the fruit-trees were falling; and of
the labourers, — some were busy in drying figs and peaches on the
roofs of their cottages, while others were gathering the grapes from
the vineyards. It was a pretty scene; but I missed that pensive
stillness which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening of

340 CHARLES DARWIN

the year. On the ioth we reached Santiago, where I received a very
kind and hospitable reception from Mr. Caldcleugh. My excursion
only cost me twenty-four days, and never did I more deeply enjoy
an equal space of time. A few days afterwards I returned to Mr.
Corfield's house at Valparaiso.

CHAPTER XVI

Northern Chile and Peru

Coast-road to Coquimbo — Great Loads carried by the Miners — Coquimbo
— Earthquake — Step-formed Terraces — Absence of recent Deposits —
Contemporaneousness of the Tertiary Formations — Excursion up the
Valley — Road to Guasco — Deserts — Valley of Copiapo — Rain and
Earthquakes — Hydrophobia — The Despoblado — Indian Ruins — Prob-
able Change of Climate — River-bed arched by an Earthquake — Cold
Gales of Wind — Noises from a Hill — Iquique — Salt Alluvium —
Nitrate of Soda — Lima — Unhealthy Country — Ruins of Callao, over-
thrown by an Earthquake — Recent subsidence — Elevated Shells on San
Lorenzo, their decomposition — Plain with embedded Shells and frag-
ments of Pottery — Antiquity of the Indian Race.

^PRIL 27th. — I set out on a journey to Coquimbo, and thence
ZJ through Guasco to Copiapo, where Captain Fitz Roy
J M kindly offered to pick me up in the Beagle. The distance in
a straight line along the shore northward is only 420 miles; but my
mode of travelling made it a very long journey. I bought four horses
and two mules, the latter carrying the luggage on alternate days.
The six animals together only cost the value of twenty-five pounds
sterling, and at Copiapo I sold them again for twenty-three. We
travelled in the same independent manner as before, cooking our
own meals, and sleeping in the open air. As we rode towards the
Vino del Mar, I took a farewell view of Valparaiso, and admired its
picturesque appearance. For geological purposes I made a detour
from the high road to the foot of the Bell of Quillota. We passed
through an alluvial district rich in gold, to the neighbourhood of
Limache, where we slept. Washing for gold supports the in-
habitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the sides of each little
rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are uncertain, they are un-
thrifty in all their habits, and consequently poor.

28th. — In the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the
Bell mountain. The inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very
usual in Chile. They supported themselves on the produce of a

341

34 2 CHARLES DARWIN

garden and a little field, but were very poor. Capital is here so defi-
cient, that the people are obliged to sell their green corn while stand-
ing in the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year.
Wheat in consequence was dearer in the very district of its produc-
tion than at Valparaiso, where the contractors live. The next day
we joined the main road to Coquimbo. At night there was a very
light shower of rain: this was the first drop that had fallen since
the heavy rain of September nth and 12th, which detained me a
prisoner at the Baths of Cauquenes. The interval was seven and a
half months; but the rain this year in Chile was rather later than
usual. The distant Andes were now covered by a thick mass of
snow, and were a glorious sight.

May 2nd. — The road continued to follow the coast, at no great
distance from the sea. The few trees and bushes which are common
in central Chile decreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced
by a tall plant, something like a yucca in appearance. The surface
o£ the country, on a small scale, was singularly broken and irregular;
abrupt little peaks of rock rising out of small plains or basins. The
indented coast and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with
breakers, would, if converted into dry land, present similar forms;
and such a conversion without doubt has taken place in the part
over which we rode.

yd. — Quilimari to Conchalee. The country became more and
more barren. In the valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for
any irrigation; and the intermediate land was quite bare, not sup-
porting even goats. In the spring, after the winter showers, a thin
pasture rapidly springs up, and cattle are then driven down from
the Cordillera to graze for a short time. It is curious to observe how
the seeds of the grass and other plants seem to accommodate them-
selves, as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain which falls
upon different parts of this coast. One shower far northward at
Copiapo produces as great an effect on the vegetation, as two at
Guasco, and three or four in this district. At Valparaiso a winter
so dry as greatly to injure the pasture, would at Guasco produce the
most unusual abundance. Proceeding northward, the quantity of
rain does not appear to decrease in strict proportion to the latitude.
At Conchalee, which is only 67 miles north of Valparaiso, rain is

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 343

not expected till the end of May; whereas at Valparaiso some gener-
ally falls early in April: the annual quantity is likewise small in
proportion to the lateness of the season at which it commences.

4th.— Finding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we
turned inland towards the mining district and valley of Illapel. This
valley, like every other in Chile, is level, broad, and very fertile: it
is bordered on each side, either by cliffs of stratified shingle, or by
bare rocky mountains. Above the straight line of the uppermost
irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a high road; while all below is of
as bright a green as verdigris, from the beds of alfalfa, a kind of
clover. We proceeded to Los Hornos, another mining district, where
the principal hill was drilled with holes, like a great ants'-nest. The
Chilian miners are a peculiar race of men in their habits. Living for
weeks together in the most desolate spots, when they descend to the
villages on feast-days, there is no excess of extravagance into which
they do not run. They sometimes gain a considerable sum, and
then, like sailors with prize-money, they try how soon they can con-
trive to squander it. They drink excessively, buy quantities of clothes,
and in a few days return penniless to their miserable abodes, there
to work harder than beasts of burden. This thoughdessness, as with
sailors, is evidently the result of a similar manner of life. Their daily
food is found them, and they acquire no habits of carefulness: more-
over, temptation and the means of yielding to it are placed in their
power at the same time. On the other hand, in Cornwall, and some
other parts of England, where the system of selling part of the vein
is followed, the miners, from being obliged to act and think for them-
selves, are a singularly intelligent and well-conducted set of men.

The dress of the Chilian miner is peculiar and rather picturesque.
He wears a very long shirt of some dark-coloured baize, with a
leathern apron; the whole being fastened round his waist by a bright-
coloured sash. His trousers are very broad, and his small cap of
scarlet cloth is made to fit the head closely. We met a party of these
miners in full costume, carrying the body of one of their companions
to be buried. They marched at a very quick trot, four men support-
ing the corpse. One set having run as hard as they could for about
two hundred yards, were relieved by four others, who had previously
dashed on ahead on horseback. Thus they proceeded, encouraging

344 CHARLES DARWIN

each other by wild cries: altogether the scene formed a most strange
funeral.

We continued travelling northward, in a zigzag line; sometimes
stopping a day to geologize. The country was so thinly inhabited,
and the track so obscure, that we often had difficulty in finding our
way. On the 12th I stayed at some mines. The ore in this case was
not considered particularly good, but from being abundant it was
supposed the mine would sell for about thirty or forty thousand
dollars (that is, 6000 or 8000 pounds sterling) ; yet it had been bought
by one of the English Associations for an ounce of gold (3/. 8.r.) . The
ore is yellow pyrites, which, as I have already remarked, before the
arrival of the English, was not supposed to contain a particle of
copper. On a scale of profits nearly as great as in the above instance,
piles of cinders, abounding with minute globules of metallic copper,
were purchased; yet with these advantages, the mining associations,
as is well known, contrived to lose immense sums of money. The
folly of the greater number of the commissioners and shareholders
amounted to infatuation; — a thousand pounds per annum given in
some cases to entertain the Chilian authorities; libraries of well-
bound geological books; miners brought out for particular metals,
as tin, which are not found in Chile; contracts to supply the miners
with milk, in parts where there are no cows; machinery, where it
could not possibly be used; and a hundred similar arrangements,
bore witness to our absurdity, and to this day afford amusement to
the natives. Yet there can be no doubt, that the same capital well
employed in these mines would have yielded an immense return, a
confidential man of business, a practical miner and assayer, would
have been all that was required.

Captain Head has described the wonderful load which the
"Apires," truly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest mines.
I confess I thought the account exaggerated; so that I was glad to
take an opportunity of weighing one of the loads, which I picked
out by hazard. It required considerable exertion on my part, when
standing directly over it, to lift it from the ground. The load was
considered under weight when found to be 197 pounds. The apire
had carried this up eighty perpendicular yards, — part of the way by
a steep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 345

zigzag line up the shaft. According to the general regulation, the
apire is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six hundred
feet deep. The average load is considered as rather more than 200
pounds, and I have been assured that one of 300 pounds (twenty-
two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been brought up from
the deepest mine! At this time the apires were bringing up the usual
load twelve times in the day; that is 2400 pounds from eighty yards
deep; and they were employed in the intervals in breaking and
picking ore.

These men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear
cheerful. Their bodies are not very muscular. They rarely eat meat
once a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard dry charqui.
Although with a knowledge that the labour was voluntary, it was
nevertheless quite revolting to see the state in which they reached
the mouth of the mine; their bodies bent forward, leaning with
their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering,
the perspiration streaming from their faces over their breasts, their
nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn back,
and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. Each time they
draw their breath, they utter an articulate cry of "ay-ay," which
ends in a sound rising from deep in the chest, but shrill like the note
of a fife. After staggering to the pile of ore, they emptied the "car-
pacho;" in two or three seconds recovering their breath, they wiped
the sweat from their brows, and apparently quite fresh descended
the mine again at a quick pace. This appears to me a wonderful
instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it can be nothing
else, will enable a man to endure.

In the evening, talking with the mayor-domo of these mines about
the number of foreigners now scattered over the whole country, he
told me that, though quite a young man, he remembers when he
was a boy at school at Coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the
captain of an English ship, who was brought to the city to speak to
the governor. He believes that nothing would have induced any
boy in the school, himself included, to have gone close to the English-
man; so deeply had they been impressed with an idea of the heresy,
contamination, and evil to be derived from contact with such a
person. To this day they relate the atrocious actions of the bucaniers;

346 CHARLES DARWIN

and especially of one man, who took away the figure of the Virgin
Mary, and returned the year after for that of St. Joseph, saying
it was a pity the lady should not have a husband. I heard also of
an old lady who, at a dinner at Coquimbo, remarked how wonder-
fully strange it was that she should have lived to dine in the same
room with an Englishman; for she remembered as a girl, that twice,
at the mere cry of "Los Ingleses," every soul, carrying what valuables
they could, had taken to the mountains.

14th. — We reached Coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. The
town is remarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. It is said
to contain from 6000 to 8000 inhabitants. On the morning of the
17th it rained lightly, the first time this year, for about five hours.
The farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast where the atmosphere
is most humid, taking advantage of this shower, would break up the
ground; after a second they would put the seed in; and if a third
shower should fall, they would reap a good harvest in the spring.
It was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of mois-
ture. Twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as ever;
yet after an interval of ten days, all the hills were faintly tinged with
green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres
a full inch in length. Before this shower every part of the surface
was bare as on a high road.

In the evening, Captain Fitz Roy and myself were dining with
Mr. Edwards, an English resident well known for his hospitality
by all who have visited Coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake hap-
pened. I heard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams of the
ladies, the running of the servants, and the rush of several of the
gentlemen to the doorway, I could not distinguish the motion. Some
of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman
said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it would
only be to dream of falling houses. The father of this person had
lately lost all his property at Talcahuano, and he himself had only
just escaped a falling roof at Valparaiso, in 1822. He mentioned a
curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing at cards,
when a German, one of the party, got up, and said he would never
sit in a room in these countries with the door shut, as owing to
his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at Copiapo. Accord-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 347

ingly he opened the door; and no sooner had he done this, than he
cried out, "Here it comes again!" and the famous shock commenced.
The whole party escaped. The danger in an earthquake is not from
the time lost in opening the door, but from the chance of its becoming
jammed by the movement of the walls.

It is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which natives and
old residents, though some of them known to be men of great com-
mand of mind, so generally experience during earthquakes. I think,
however, this excess of panic may be partly attributed to a want of
habit in governing their fear, as it is not a feeling they are ashamed
of. Indeed, the natives do not like to see a person indifferent. I
heard of two Englishmen who, sleeping in the open air during a
smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not rise. The
natives cried out indignantly, "Look at those heretics, they do not
even get out of their beds!"

I spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces of shingle,
first noticed by Captain B. Hall, and believed by Mr. Lyell to have
been formed by the sea, during the gradual rising of the land. This
certainly is the true explanation, for I found numerous shells of
existing species on these terraces. Five narrow, gently sloping,
fringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best devel-
oped are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up both
sides of the valley. At Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the phenomenon
is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike with surprise
even some of the inhabitants. The terraces are there much broader,
and may be called plains; in some parts there are six of them, but
generally only five; they run up the valley for thirty-seven miles
from the coast. These step-formed terraces or fringes closely resem-
ble those in the valley of S. Cruz, and, except in being on a smaller
scale, those great ones along the whole coast-line of Patagonia. They
have undoubtedly been formed by the denuding power of the sea,
during long periods of rest in the gradual elevation of the conti-
nent.

Shells of many existing species not only lie on the surface of the
terraces at Coquimbo (to a height of 250 feet), but are embedded
in a friable calcareous rock, which in some places is as much as

348 CHARLES DARWIN

between twenty and thirty feet in thickness, but is of little extent.
These modern beds rest on an ancient tertiary formation containing
shells, apparently all extinct. Although I examined so many hundred
miles of coast on the Pacific, as well as Atlantic side of the continent,
I found no regular strata containing sea-shells of recent species,
excepting at this place, and at a few points northward on the road
to Guasco. This fact appears to me highly remarkable; for the ex-
planation generally given by geologists, of the absence in any district
of stratified fossiliferous deposits of a given period, namely, that
the surface then existed as dry land, is not here applicable; for we
know from the shells strewed on the surface and embedded in loose
sand or mould, that the land for thousands of miles along both coasts
has lately been submerged. The explanation, no doubt, must be
sought in the fact, that the whole southern, part of the continent
has been for a long time slowly rising; and therefore that all matter
deposited along shore in shallow water, must have been soon brought
up and slowly exposed to the wearing action of the sea-beach; and
it is only in comparatively shallow water that the greater number of
marine organic beings can flourish, and in such water it is obviously
impossible that strata of any great thickness can accumulate. To
show the vast power of the wearing action of sea-beaches, we need
only appeal to the great cliffs along the present coast of Patagonia,
and to the escarpments or ancient sea-cliffs at different levels, one
above another, on that same line of coast.

The old underlying tertiary formation at Coquimbo, appears to
be of about the same age with several deposits on the coast of Chile
(of which that of Navedad is the principal one), and with the great
formation of Patagonia. Both at Navedad and in Patagonia there
is evidence, that since the shells (a list of which has been seen by
Professor E. Forbes) there entombed were living, there has been a
subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation.
It may naturally be asked, how it comes that, although no extensive
fossiliferous deposits of the recent period, nor of any period inter-
mediate between it and the ancient tertiary epoch, have been pre-
served on either side of the continent, yet that at this ancient tertiary
epoch, sedimentary matter containing fossil remains, should have
been deposited and preserved at different points in north and south
lines, over a space of 1100 miles on the shores of the Pacific, and of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 349

at least 1350 miles on the shores of the Atlantic, and in an east and
west line of 700 miles across the widest part of the continent? I
believe the explanation is not difficult, and that it is perhaps applica-
ble to nearly analogous facts observed in other quarters of the world.
Considering the enormous power of denudation which the sea
possesses, as shown by numberless facts, it is not probable that a sedi-
mentary deposit, when being upraised, could pass through the ordeal
of the beach, so as to be preserved in sufficient masses to last to a
distant period, without it were originally of wide extent and of con-
siderable thickness: now it is impossible on a moderately shallow
bottom, which alone is favourable to most living creatures, that a
thick and widely extended covering of sediment could be spread out,
without the bottom sank down to receive the successive layers. This
seems to have actually taken place at about the same period in south-
ern Patagonia and Chile, though these places are a thousand miles
apart. Hence, if prolonged movements of approximately contem-
poraneous subsidence are generally widely extensive, as I am strongly
inclined to believe from my examination of the Coral Reefs of the
great oceans — or if, confining our view to South America, the sub-
siding movements have been coextensive with those of elevation, by
which, within the same period of existing shells, the shores of Peru,
Chile, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, and La Plata have been upraised
— then we can see that at the same time, at far distant points, cir-
cumstances would have been favourable to the formation of fossilifer-
ous deposits of wide extent and of considerable thickness; and such
deposits, consequently, would have a good chance of resisting the
wear and tear of successive beach-lines, and of lasting to a future
epoch.

May 21st. — I set out in company with Don Jose Edwards to the
silver-mine of Arqueros, and thence up the valley of Coquimbo.
Passing through a mountainous country, we reached by nightfall the
mines belonging to Mr. Edwards. I enjoyed my night's rest here
from a reason which will not be fully appreciated in England,
namely, the absence of fleas! The rooms in Coquimbo swarm with
them; but they will not live here at the height of only three or four
thousand feet: it can scarcely be the trifling diminution of tempera-
ture, but some other cause which destroys these troublesome insects

350 CHARLES DARWIN

at this place. The mines are now in a bad state, though they formerly
yielded about 2000 pounds in weight of silver a year. It has been
said that "a person with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may
gain; but with gold he is sure to lose." This is not true: all the large
Chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious
metals. A short time since an English physician returned to England
from Copiapo, taking with him the profits of one share of a silver-
mine, which amounted to about 24,000 pounds sterling. No doubt
a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is gam-
bling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. The owners lose great
quantities of rich ores; for no precautions can prevent robberies. I
heard of a gentleman laying a bet with another, that one of his men
should rob him before his face. The ore when brought out of the
mine is broken into pieces, and the useless stone thrown on one side.
A couple of the miners who were thus employed pitched, as if by
accident, two fragments away at the same moment, and then cried
out for a joke "Let us see which rolls furthest." The owner, who was
standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the race. The miner by
this means watched the very point amongst the rubbish where the
stone lay. In the evening he picked it up and carried it to his master,
showing him a rich mass of silver-ore, and saying, "This was the
stone on which you won a cigar by its rolling so far."

May 23rd. — We descended into the fertile valley of Coquimbo, and
followed it till we reached an Hacienda belonging to a relation of
Don Jose, where we stayed the next day. I then rode one day's
journey further, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells
and beans, which latter turned out to be small quartz pebbles. We
passed through several small villages; and the valley was beautifully
cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. We were here near the
main Cordillera, and the surrounding hills were lofty. In all parts
of northern Chile, fruit trees produce much more abundantly at a
considerable height near the Andes than in the lower country. The
figs and grapes of this district are famous for their excellence, and
are cultivated to a great extent. This valley is, perhaps, the most
productive one north of Quillota. I believe it contains, including
Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I returned to the Ha-
cienda, and thence, together with Don Jose, to Coquimbo.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 35 1

June 2nd. — We set out for the valley of Guasco, following the
coast-road, which was considered rather less desert than the other.
Our first day's ride was to a solitary house, called Yerba Buena,
where there was pasture for our horses. The shower mentioned as
having fallen, a fortnight ago, only reached about half-way to
Guasco; we had, therefore, in the first part of our journey a most
faint tinge of green, which soon faded quite away. Even where
brightest, it was scarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and
budding flowers of the spring of other countries. While travelling
through these deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in a gloomy
court, who longs to see something green and to smell a moist atmos-
phere.

June 3rd— Yerba Buena to Carizal. During the first part of the
day we crossed a mountainous rocky desert, and afterwards a long
deep sandy plain, strewed with broken sea-shells. There was very
little water, and that little saline : the whole country, from the coast
to the Cordillera, is an uninhabited desert. I saw traces only of one
living animal in abundance, namely, the shells of a Bulimus, which
were collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest
spots. In the spring one humble little plant sends out a few leaves,
and on these the snails feed. As they are seen only very early in the
morning, when the ground is slighdy damp with dew, the Guascos
believe that they are bred from it. I have observed in other places
that extremely dry and sterile districts, where the soil is calcareous,
are extraordinarily favourable to land-shells. At Carizal there were
a few cottages, some brackish water, and a trace of cultivation: but
it was with difficulty that we purchased a little corn and straw for
our horses.

4th. — Carizal to Sauce. We continued to ride over desert plains,
tenanted by large herds of guanaco. We crossed also the valley of
Chaneral; which, although the most fertile one between Guasco and
Coquimbo, is very narrow, and produces so little pasture, that we
could not purchase any for our horses. At Sauce we found a very
civil old gentleman, superintendent of a copper-smelting furnace.
As an especial favour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an
armful of dirty straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper
after their long day's journey. Few smelting-furnaces are now at

352 CHARLES DARWIN

work in any part of Chile; it is found more profitable, on, account
of the extreme scarcity of firewood, and from the Chilian method of
reduction being so unskilful, to ship the ore for Swansea. The next
day we crossed some mountains to Freyrina, in the valley of Guasco.
During each day's ride further northward, the vegetation became
more and more scanty; even the great chandelier-like cactus was here
replaced by a different and much smaller species. During the winter
months, both in northern Chile and in Peru, a uniform bank of
clouds hangs, at no great height, over the Pacific. From the moun-
tains we had a very striking view of this white and brilliant aerial-
field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving islands and promon-
tories in the same manner, as the sea does in the Chonos archipelago
and in Tierra del Fuego.

We stayed two days at Freyrina. In the valley of Guasco there
are four small towns. At the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely
desert, and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood.
Five leagues higher up stands Freyrina, a long straggling village,
with decent whitewashed houses. Again, ten leagues further up
Ballenar is situated, and above this Guasco Alto, a horticultural vil-
lage, famous for its dried fruit. On a clear day the view up the
valley is very fine; the straight opening terminates in the far-distant
snowy Cordillera; on each side an infinity of crossing-lines are
blended together in a beautiful haze. The foreground is singular
from the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and the in-
cluded strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is contrasted
on both hands with the naked hills. That the surrounding country
was most barren will be readily believed, when it is known that a
shower of rain had not fallen during the last thirteen months. The
inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the rain at Coquimbo;
from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of equally good
fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realized. I was at
Copiapo at the time; and there the people, with equal envy, talked
of the abundant rain at Guasco. After two or three very dry years,
perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time, a
rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even the
drought. The rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the nar-
row strips of ground, which alone are fit for cultivation. The floods

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 353

also injure the irrigating ditches. Great devastation had thus been
caused three years ago.

]une 8th. — We rode on to Ballenar, which takes its name from
Ballenagh in Ireland, the birthplace of the family of O'Higgins, who,
under the Spanish government, were presidents and generals in
Chile. As the rocky mountains on each hand were concealed by
clouds, the terrace-like plains gave to the valley an appearance like
that of Santa Cruz in Patagonia. After spending one day at Ballenar
I set out, on the 10th, for the upper part of the valley of Copiapo.
We rode all day over an uninteresting country. I am tired of repeat-
ing the epithets barren and sterile. These words, however, as com-
monly used, are comparative; I have always applied them to the
plains of Patagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts
of grass; and this is absolute fertility, as compared with northern
Chile. Here again, there are not many spaces of two hundred yards
square, where some little bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discov-
ered by careful examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready
to spring up during the first rainy winter. In Peru real deserts occur
over wide tracts of country. In the evening we arrived at a valley,
in which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up, we
came to tolerably good water. During the night, the stream, from
not being evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower
down than during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so
that it was a good place to bivouac for us; but for the poor animals
there was not a mouthful to eat.

June nth. — We rode without stopping for twelve hours, till we
reached an old smelting-furnace, where there was water and fire-
wood; but our horses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an
old courtyard. The line of road was hilly, and the distant views
interesting, from the varied colours of the bare mountains. It was
almost a pity to see the sun shining constantly over so useless a coun-
try; such splendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty
gardens. The next day we reached the valley of Copiapo. I was
heartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a continued source
of anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, whilst eating our
own suppers, our horses gnawing the posts to which they were
tied, and to have no means of relieving their hunger. To all

354 CHARLES DARWIN

appearance, however, the animals were quite fresh; and no one

could have told that they had eaten nothing for the last fifty-five

hours.

I had a letter of introduction to Mr. Bingley, who received me
very kindly at the Hacienda of Potrero Seco. This estate is between
twenty and thirty miles long, but very narrow, being generally only
two fields wide, one on each side the river. In some parts the estate
is of no width, that is to say, the land cannot be irrigated, and there-
fore is valueless, like the surrounding rocky desert. The small quan-
tity of cultivated land in the whole line of valley, does not so much
depend on inequalities of level, and consequent unfitness for irriga-
tion, as on the small supply of water. The river this year was
remarkably full: here, high up the valley, it reached to the horse's
belly, and was about fifteen yards wide, and rapid; lower down it
becomes smaller and smaller, and is generally quite lost, as happened
during one period of thirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea.
The inhabitants watch a storm over the Cordillera with great inter-
est; as one good fall of snow provides them with water for the
ensuing year. This is of infinitely more consequence than rain in the
lower country. Rain, as often as it falls, which is about once in every
two or three years, is a great advantage, because the cattle and mules
can for some time afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains.
But without snow on the Andes, desolation extends throughout the
valley. It is on record that three times nearly all the inhabitants
have been obliged to emigrate to the south. This year there was
plenty of water, and every man irrigated his ground as much as he
chose; but it has frequently been necessary to post soldiers at the
sluices, to see that each estate took only its proper allowance during
so many hours in the week. The valley is said to contain 12,000
souls, but its produce is sufficient only for three months in the year;
the rest of the supply being drawn from Valparaiso and the south.
Before the discovery of the famous silver-mines of Chanuncillo,
Copiapo was in a rapid state of decay; but now it is in a very thriv-
ing condition; and the town, which was completely overthrown by
an earthquake, has been rebuilt.

The valley of Copiapo, forming a mere ribbon of green in a desert,
runs in a very southerly direction; so that it is of considerable length
to its source in the Cordillera. The valleys of Guasco and Copiapo

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 355

may both be considered as long narrow islands, separated from the
rest of Chile by deserts of rock instead of by salt water. Northward
of these, there is one other very miserable valley, called Paposo,
which contains about two hundred souls; and then there extends
the real desert of Atacama — a barrier far worse than the most turbu-
lent ocean. After staying a few days at Potrero Seco, I proceeded up
the valley to the house of Don Benito Cruz, to whom I had a letter
of introduction. I found him most hospitable; indeed it is impos-
sible to bear too strong testimony to the kindness with which travel-
lers are received in almost every part of South America. The next day
I hired some mules to take me by the ravine of Jolquera into the
central Cordillera. On the second night the weather seemed to fore-
tell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst lying in our beds we felt a
trifling shock of an earthquake.

The connection between earthquakes and the weather has been
often disputed : it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which
is little understood. Humboldt has remarked in one part of the
Personal Narrative, 1 that it would be difficult for any person who had
long resided in New Andalusia, or in Lower Peru, to deny that there
exists some connection between these phenomena: in another part,
however, he seems to think the connection fanciful. At Guayaquil,
it is said that a heavy shower in the dry season is invariably followed
by an earthquake. In Northern Chile, from the extreme inf requency
of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain, the probability of acci-
dental coincidences becomes very small; yet the inhabitants are here
most firmly convinced of some connection between the state of the
atmosphere and of the trembling of the ground : I was much struck
by this, when mentioning to some people at Copiapo that there had
been a sharp shock at Coquimbo: they immediately cried out, "How
fortunate! there will be plenty of pasture there this year." To their
minds an earthquake foretold rain, as surely as rain foretold abund-
ant pasture. Certainly it did so happen that on the very day of the
earthquake, that shower of rain fell, which I have described as in
ten days' time producing a thin sprinkling of grass. At other times

1 Vol. iv. p. 11, and vol. ii. p. 217. For the remarks on Guayaquil, see Silliman's
Journ., vol. xxiv. p. 384. For those on Tacna by Mr. Hamilton, see Trans, of
British Association, 1840. For those on Coseguina see Mr. Caldcleugh in Phil. Trans.,
1835. In the former edition I collected several references on the coincidences be-
tween sudden falls in the barometer and earthquakes; and between earthquakes and

356 CHARLES DARWIN

rain has followed earthquakes at a period of the year when it is a
far greater prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened after
the shock of November, 1822, and again in 1829, at Valparaiso; also
after that of September, 1833, at Tacna. A person must be somewhat
habituated to the climate of these countries to perceive the extreme
improbability of rain falling at such seasons, except as a consequence
of some law quite unconnected with the ordinary course of the
weather. In the cases of great volcanic eruptions, as that of Co-
seguina, where torrents of rain fell at a time of the year most unusual
for it, and "almost unprecedented in Central America," it is not
difficult to understand that the volumes of vapour and clouds of
ashes might have disturbed the atmospheric equilibrium. Humboldt
extends this view to the case of earthquakes unaccompanied by erup-
tions; but I can hardly conceive it possible, that the small quantity of
aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured ground, can
produce such remarkable effects. There appears much probability in
the view first proposed by Mr. P. Scrope, that when the barometer is
low, and when rain might naturally be expected to fall, the dimin-
ished pressure of the atmosphere over a wide extent of country,
might well determine the precise day on which the earth, already
stretched to the utmost by the subterranean forces, should yield,
crack, and consequently tremble. It is, however, doubtful how far
this idea will explain the circumstances of torrents of rain falling
in the dry season during several days, after an earthquake unac-
companied by an eruption; such cases seem to bespeak some more
intimate connection between the atmospheric and subterranean
regions.

Finding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we retraced
our steps to the house of Don Benito, where I stayed two days col-
lecting fossil shells and wood. Great prostrate silicified trunks of
trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were extraordinarily numerous.
I measured one, which was fifteen feet in circumference: how sur-
prising it is that every atom of the woody matter in this great
cylinder should have been removed and replaced by silex so perfectly,
that each vessel and pore is preserved! These trees flourished at about
the period of our lower chalk; they all belonged to the fir-tribe. It
was amusing to hear the inhabitants discussing the nature of the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 357

fossil shells which I collected, almost in the same terms as were used
a century ago in Europe, — namely, whether or not they had been
thus "born by nature." My geological examination of the country
generally created a good deal of surprise amongst the Chilenos: it
was long before they could be convinced that I was not hunting for
mines. This was sometimes troublesome: I found the most ready
way of explaining my employment, was to ask them how it was
that they themselves were not curious concerning earthquakes and
volcanos? — why some springs were hot and others cold? — why there
were mountains in Chile, and not a hill in La Plata? These bare
questions at once satisfied and silenced the greater number; some,
however (like a few in England who are a century behindhand),
thought that all such inquiries were useless and impious; and that
it was quite sufficient that God had thus made the mountains.

An order had recently been issued that all stray dogs should be
killed, and we saw many lying dead on the road. A great number
had lately gone mad, and several men had been bitten and had died
in consequence. On several occasions hydrophobia has prevailed in
this valley. It is remarkable thus to find so strange and dreadful a
disease, appearing time after time in the same isolated spot. It has
been remarked that certain villages in England are in like manner
much more subject to this visitation than others. Dr. Unanue states
that hydrophobia was first known in South America in 1803: this
statement is corroborated by Azara and Ulloa having never heard
of it in their time. Dr. Unanue says that it broke out in Central
America, and slowly travelled southward. It reached Arequipa in
1807; and it is said that some men there, who had not been bitten,
were affected, as were some negroes, who had eaten a bullock which
had died of hydrophobia. At lea forty-two people thus miserably
perished. The disease came on between twelve and ninety days
after the bite; and in those cases where it did come on, death ensued
invariably within five days. After 1808, a long interval ensued with-
out any cases. On inquiry, I did not hear of hydrophobia in Van
Diemen's Land, or in Australia; and Burchell says, that during the
five years he was at the Cape of Good Hope, he never heard of an
instance of it. Webster asserts that at the Azores hydrophobia has
never occurred; and the same assertion has been made with respect

358 CHARLES DARWIN

to Mauritius and St. Helena. 2 In so strange a disease some informa-
tion might possibly be gained by considering the circumstances under
which it originates in distant climates; for it is improbable that a
dog already bitten, should have been brought to these distant coun-
tries.

At night, a stranger arrived at the house of Don Benito, and asked
permission to sleep there. He said he had been wandering about
the mountains for seventeen days, having lost his way. He started
from Guasco, and being accustomed to travelling in the Cordillera,
did not expect any difficulty in following the track to Copiapo; but
he soon became involved in a labyrinth of mountains, whence he
could not escape. Some of his mules had fallen over precipices, and
he had been in great distress. His chief difficulty arose from not
knowing where to find water in the lower country, so that he was
obliged to keep bordering the central ranges.

We returned down the valley, and on the 22nd reached the town
of Copiapo. The lower part of the valley is broad, forming a fine
plain like that of Quillota. The town covers a considerable space
of ground, each house possessing a garden: but it is an uncomfortable
place, and the dwellings are poorly furnished. Every one seems
bent on the one object of making money, and then migrating as
quickly as possible. All the inhabitants are more or less direcdy
concerned with mines; and mines and ores are the sole subjects of
conversation. Necessaries of all sorts are extremely dear; as the dis-
tance from the town to the port is eighteen leagues, and the land
carriage very expensive. A fowl costs five or six shillings; meat is
nearly as dear as in England; firewood, or rather sticks, are brought
on donkeys from a distance of two and three days' journey within
the Cordillera; and pasturage for animals is a shilling a day: all this
for South America is wonderfully exorbitant.

June 26th. — I hired a guide and eight mules to take me into the
Cordillera by a different line from my last excursion. As the coun-
try was utterly desert, we took a cargo and a half of barley mixed

2 Observa, sobre el Clima de Lima, p. 67. — Azara's Travels, vol. i. p. 381. —
Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 28. — Burchell's Travels, vol. ii. p. 524. — Webster's Descrip-
tion of the Azores, p. 124. — Voyage a l'lsle de France par un Officier du Roi, torn. i.
p. 248. — Description of St. Helena, p. 123.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 359

with chopped straw. About two leagues above the town a broad
valley called the "Despoblado," or uninhabited, branches off from
that one by which we had arrived. Although a valley of the grand-
est dimensions, and leading to a pass across the Cordillera, yet it is
completely dry, excepting perhaps for a few days during some very
rainy winter. The sides of the crumbling mountains were furrowed
by scarcely any ravines; and the bottom of the main valley, filled
with shingle, was smooth and nearly level. No considerable torrent
could ever have flowed down this bed of shingle; for if it had, a
great cliff-bounded channel, as in all the southern valleys, would
assuredly have been formed. I feel little doubt that this valley, as
well as those mentioned by travellers in Peru, were left in the state
we now see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly rose.
I observed in one place, where the Despoblado was joined by a
ravine (which in almost any other chain would have been called
a grand valley), that its bed, though composed merely of sand and
gravel, was higher than that of its tributary. A mere rivulet o£
water, in the course of an hour, would have cut a channel for itself j
but it was evident that ages had passed away, and no such rivulet
had drained this great tributary. It was curious to behold the ma-
chinery, if such a term may be used, for the drainage, all, with the
last trifling exception, perfect, yet without any signs of action. Every
one must have remarked how mud-banks, left by the retiring tide,
imitate in miniature a country with hill and dale; and here we have
the original model in rock, formed as the continent rose during the
secular retirement of the ocean, instead of during the ebbing and
flowing of the tides. If a shower of rain falls on the mud-bank, when
left dry, it deepens the already-formed shallow lines of excavation;
and so it is with the rain of successive centuries on the bank of rock
and soil, which we call a continent.

We rode on after it was dark, till we reached a side ravine with
a small well, called "Agua amarga." The water deserved its name,
for besides being saline it was most offensively putrid and bitter;
so that we could not force ourselves to drink either tea or mate. 1
suppose the distance from the river of Copiapo to this spot was at
least twenty-five or thirty English miles; in the whole space there was
not a single drop of water, the country deserving the name of desert

360 CHARLES DARWIN

in the strictest sense. Yet about half way we passed some old Indian
ruins near Punta Gorda : I noticed also in front of some of the valleys,
which branch off from the Despoblado, two piles of stones placed
a little way apart, and directed so as to point up the mouths of these
small valleys. My companions knew nothing about them, and only
answered my queries by their imperturbable "quien sabe?"

I observed Indian ruins in several parts of the Cordillera: the
most perfect which I saw, were the Ruinas de Tambillos, in the
Uspallata Pass. Small square rooms were there huddled together
in separate groups: some of the doorways were yet standing; they
were formed by a cross slab of stone only about three feet high.
Ulloa has remarked on the lowness of the doors in the ancient Peru-
vian dwellings. These houses, when perfect, must have been capable
of containing a considerable number of persons. Tradition says,
that they were used as halting-places for the Incas, when they crossed
the mountains. Traces of Indian habitations have been discovered
in many other parts, where it does not appear probable that they
were used as mere resting-places, but yet where the land is as utterly
unfit for any kind of cultivation, as it is near the Tambillos or at
the Incas Bridge, or in the Portillo Pass, at all which places I saw
ruins. In the ravine of Jajuel, near Aconcagua, where there is no pass,
I heard of remains of houses situated at a great height, where it is
extremely cold and sterile. At first I imagined that these buildings
had been places of refuge, built by the Indians on the first arrival
of the Spaniards; but I have since been inclined to speculate on the
probability of a small change of climate.

In this northern part of Chile, within the Cordillera, old Indian
houses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the
ruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals, and
heads of Indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an arrow-
head made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those now
used in Tierra del Fuego, was given me. I am aware that the Peru-
vian Indians now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak situations;
but at Copiapo I was assured by men who had spent their lives in
travelling through the Andes, that there were very many (muchi-
simas) buildings at heights so great as almost to border upon the
perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist no passes, and where

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 361

the land produces absolutely nothing, and what is still more extraor-
dinary, where there is no water. Nevertheless it is the opinion of
the people of the country (although they are much puzzled by the
circumstance), that, from the appearance of the houses, the Indians
must have used them as places of residence. In this valley, at Punta
Gorda, the remains consisted of seven or eight square little rooms,
which were of a similar form with those at Tambillos, but built
chiefly of mud, which the present inhabitants cannot, either here or,
according to Ulloa, in Peru, imitate in durability. They were situ-
ated in the most conspicuous and defenceless position, at the bottom
of the flat broad valley. There was no water nearer than three or
four leagues, and that only in very small quantity, and bad: the
soil was absolutely sterile; I looked in vain even for a lichen adhering
to the rocks. At the present day, with the advantage of beasts of
burden, a mine, unless it were very rich, could scarcely be worked
here with profit. Yet the Indians formerly chose it as a place of
residence! If at the present time two or three showers of rain were
to fall annually, instead of one, as now is the case during as many
years, a small rill of water would probably be formed in this great
valley; and then, by irrigation (which was formerly so well under-
stood by the Indians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiendy
productive to support a few families.

I have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of South
America has been elevated near the coast at least from 400 to 500,
and in some parts from 1000 to 1300 feet, since the epoch of existing
shells; and further inland the rise possibly may have been greater.
As the peculiarly arid character of the climate is evidently a conse-
quence of the height of the Cordillera, we may feel almost sure that
before the later elevations, the atmosphere could not have been so
completely drained of its moisture as it now is; and as the rise has
been gradual, so would have been the change in climate. On this
notion of a change of climate since the buildings were inhabited,
the ruins must be of extreme antiquity, but I do not think their
preservation under the Chilian climate any great difficulty. We
must also admit on this notion (and this perhaps is a greater
difficulty) that man has inhabited South America for an immensely
long period, inasmuch as any change of climate effected by the

362 CHARLES DARWIN

elevation of the land must have been extremely gradual. At Val-
paraiso, within the last 220 years, the rise has been somewhat less
than 19 feet: at Lima a sea-beach has certainly been upheaved from
80 to 90 feet, within the Indo-human period: but such small eleva-
tions could have had little power in deflecting the moisture-bringing
atmospheric currents. Dr. Lund, however, found human skeletons
in the caves of Brazil, the appearance of which induced him to be-
lieve that the Indian race has existed during a vast lapse of time in
South America.

When at Lima, I conversed on these subjects 3 with Mr. Gill, a
civil engineer, who had seen much of the interior country. He told
me that a conjecture of a change of climate had sometimes crossed
his mind; but that he thought that the greater portion of land, now
incapable of cultivation, but covered with Indian ruins, had been
reduced to this state by the water-conduits, which the Indians for-
merly constructed on so wonderful a scale, having been injured by
neglect and by subterranean movements. I may here mention, that
the Peruvians actually carried their irrigating streams in tunnels
through hills of solid rock. Mr. Gill told me, he had been employed
professionally to examine one: he found the passage low, narrow,
crooked, and not of uniform breadth, but of very considerable
length. Is it not most wonderful that men should have attempted
such operations, without the use of iron or gunpowder? Mr. Gill
also mentioned to me a most interesting, and, as far as I am aware,
quite unparalleled case, of a subterranean disturbance having changed
the drainage of a country. Travelling from Casma to Huaraz (not
very far distant from Lima), he found a plain covered with ruins
and marks of ancient cultivation, but now quite barren. Near it
was the dry course of a considerable river, whence the water for
irrigation had formerly been conducted. There was nothing in the
appearance of the water-course to indicate that the river had not
flowed there a few years previously; in some parts, beds of sand
and gravel were spread out; in others, the solid rock had been worn

3 Temple, in his travels through Upper Peru, or Bolivia, in going from Potosi to
Oruro, says, "I saw many Indian villages or dwellings in ruins, up even to the very
tops of the mountains, attesting a former population where now all is desolate." He
makes similar remarks in another place; but I cannot tell whether this desolation has
been caused by a want of population, or by an altered condition of the land.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 363

into a broad channel, which in one spot was about 40 yards in breadth
and 8 feet deep. It is self-evident that a person following up the
course of a stream, will always ascend at a greater or less inclination:
Mr. Gill, therefore, was much astonished, when walking up the bed
of this ancient river, to find himself suddenly going down hill. He
imagined that the downward slope had a fall of about 40 or 50 feet
perpendicular. We here have unequivocal evidence that a ridge
had been uplifted right across the old bed of a stream. From the
moment the river-course was thus arched, the water must necessarily
have been thrown back, and a new channel formed. From that
moment, also, the neighbouring plain must have lost its fertilizing
stream, and become a desert.

June 27th. — We set out early in the morning, and by mid day
reached the ravine of Paypote, where there is a tiny rill of water,
with a little vegetation, and even a few algarroba trees, a kind
of mimosa. From having fire-wood, a smelting-furnace had for-
merly been built here: we found a solitary man in charge of it,
whose sole employment was hunting guanacos. At night it froze
sharply; but having plenty of wood for our fire, we kept ourselves
warm.

28th. — We continued gradually ascending, and the valley now
changed into a ravine. During the day we saw several guanacos,
and the track of the closely-allied species, the Vicuna: this latter ani-
mal is pre-eminently alpine in its habits; it seldom descends much
below the limit of perpetual snow, and therefore haunts even a
more lofty and sterile situation than the guanaco. The only other
animal which we saw in any number was a small fox: I suppose
this animal preys on the mice and other small rodents, which, as
long as there is the least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers
in very desert places. In Patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas,
where a drop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these
little animals swarm. Next to lizards, mice appear to be able to sup-
port existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth — even
on islets in the midst of great oceans.

The scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made
palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. For a time such scenery is sub-
lime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes uninteresting.

364 CHARLES DARWIN

We bivouacked at the foot of the "primera linea," or the first line
of the partition of waters. The streams, however, on the east side
do not flow to the Atlantic, but into an elevated district, in the
middle of which there is a large saline, or salt lake; thus forming a
little Caspian Sea at the height, perhaps, of ten thousand feet. Where
we slept, there were some considerable patches of snow, but they
do not remain throughout the year. The winds in these lofty regions
obey very regular laws: every day a fresh breeze blows up the valley,
and at night, an hour or two after sunset, the air from the cold
regions above descends as through a funnel. This night it blew a
gale of wind, and the temperature must have been considerably be-
low the freezing-point, for water in a vessel soon became a block of
ice. No clothes seemed to oppose any obstacle to the air; I suffered
very much from the cold, so that I could not sleep, and in the morn-
ing rose with my body quite dull and benumbed.

In the Cordillera further southward, people lose their lives from
snowstorms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. My
guide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the Cordillera
with a party in the month of May; and while in the central parts,
a furious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on
their mules, and stones were flying along the ground. The day was
cloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was low.
It is probable that the thermometer could not have stood very many
degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their bodies, ill
protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to the rapidity
of the current of cold air. The gale lasted for more than a day; the
men began to lose their strength, and the mules would not move
onwards. My guide's brother tried to return, but he perished, and
his body was found two years afterwards, lying by the side of his
mule near the road, with the bridle still in his hand. Two other
men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of two hundred
mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped alive. Many
years ago the whole of a large party are supposed to have perished
from a similar cause, but their bodies to this day have never been
discovered. The union of a cloudless sky, low temperature, and a
furious gale of wind, must be, I should think, in all parts of the
world an unusual occurrence.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 365

June 29th. — We gladly travelled down the valley to our former
night's lodging, and thence to near the Agua amarga. On July 1st
we reached the valley of Copiapo. The smell of the fresh clover was
quite delightful, after the scentless air of the dry, sterile Despoblado.
Whilst staying in the town I heard an account from several of the
inhabitants, of a hill in the neighbourhood which they called "El
Bramador," — the roarer or bellower. I did not at the time pay suffi-
cient attention to the account; but, as far as I understood, the hill
was covered by sand, and the noise was produced only when people,
by ascending it, put the sand in motion. The same circumstances
are described in detail on the authority of Seetzen and Ehrenberg, 4
as the cause of the sounds which have been heard by many travellers
on Mount Sinai near the Red Sea. One person with whom I con-
versed had himself heard the noise: he described it as very surprising;
and he distinctly stated that, although he could not understand how
it was caused, yet it was necessary to set the sand rolling down the
acclivity. A horse walking over dry coarse sand, causes a peculiar
chirping noise from the friction of the particles; a circumstance which
I several times noticed on the coast of Brazil.

Three days afterwards I heard of the Beagle's arrival at the Port,
distant eighteen leagues from the town. There is very little land
cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse supports a wretched
wiry grass, which even the donkeys can hardly eat. This poorness
of the vegetation is owing to the quantity of saline matter with which
the soil is impregnated. The Port consists of an assemblage of mis-
erable little hovels, situated at the foot of a sterile plain. At present,
as the river contains water enough to reach the sea, the inhabitants
enjoy the advantage of having fresh water within a mile and a half.
On the beach there were large piles of merchandise, and the little
place had an air of activity. In the evening I gave my adios, with a
hearty good-will, to my companion Mariano Gonzales, with whom
I had ridden so many leagues in Chile. The next morning the Bea-
gle sailed for Iquique.

July 12th. — We anchored in the port of Iquique, in lat. 20 c 12',
on the coast of Peru. The town contains about a thousand inhabit-

4 Edinburgh Phil. Journ., Jan., 1830, p. 74; and April, 1830, p. 258 — also Daubeny
on Volcanoes, p. 438; and Bengal Journ., vol. vii. p. 324.

366 CHARLES DARWIN

ants, and stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall
of rock, 2000 feet in height, here forming the coast. The whole is
utterly desert. A light shower of rain falls only once in very many
years; and the ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and the
mountain-sides covered by piles of fine white sand, even to a height
of a thousand feet. During this season of the year a heavy bank of
clouds, stretched over the ocean, seldom rises above the wall of
rocks on the coast. The aspect of the place was most gloomy; the
little port, with its few vessels, and small group of wretched houses,
seemed overwhelmed and out of all proportion with the rest of
the scene.

The inhabitants live like persons on board a ship : every necessary
comes from a distance: water is brought in boats from Pisagua,
about forty miles northward, and is sold at the rate of nine reals (4*.
6d.) an eighteen-gallon cask: I bought a wine-bottle full for three-
pence. In like manner firewood, and of course every article of food,
is imported. Very few animals can be maintained in such a place:
on the ensuing morning I hired with difficulty, at the price of four
pounds sterling, two mules and a guide to take me to the nitrate of
soda works. These are at present the support of Iquique. This salt
was first exported in 1830: in one year an amount in value of one
hundred thousand pounds sterling, was sent to France and England.
It is principally used as a manure and in the manufacture of nitric
acid: owing to its deliquescent property it will not serve for gun-
powder. Formerly there were two exceedingly rich silver-mines in
this neighbourhood, but their produce is now very small.

Our arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. Peru
was in a state of anarchy; and each party having demanded a con-
tribution, the poor town of Iquique was in tribulation, thinking the
evil hour was come. The people had also their domestic troubles;
a short time before, three French carpenters had broken open, dur-
ing the same night, the two churches, and stolen all the plate: one
of the robbers, however, subsequently confessed, and the plate was
recovered. The convicts were sent to Arequipa, which though the
capital of this province, is two hundred leagues distant; the govern-
ment there thought it a pity to punish such useful workmen, who
could make all sorts of furniture; and accordingly liberated them.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 367

Things being in this state, the churches were again broken open,
but this time the plate was not recovered. The inhabitants became
dreadfully enraged, and declaring that none but heretics would thus
"eat God Almighty," proceeded to torture some Englishmen, with
the intention of afterwards shooting them. At last the authorities
interfered, and peace was established.

13th. — In the morning I started for the saltpetre-works, a distance
of fourteen leagues. Having ascended the steep coast-mountains by
a zigzag sandy track, we soon came in view of the mines of Guanta-
jaya and St. Rosa. These two small villages are placed at the very
mouths of the mines; and being perched up on hills, they had a still
more unnatural and desolate appearance than the town of Iquique.
We did not reach the saltpetre-works till after sunset, having ridden
all day across an undulating country, a complete and utter desert.
The road was strewed with the bones and dried skins of many beasts
of burden which had perished on it from fatigue. Excepting the
Vultur aura, which preys on the carcasses, I saw neither bird, quad-
ruped, reptile, nor insect. On the coast-mountains, at the height of
about 2000 feet, where during this season the clouds generally hang,
a very few cacti were growing in the clefts of rock; and the loose
sand was strewed over with a lichen, which lies on the surface quite
unattached. This plant belongs to the genus Cladonia, and somewhat
resembles the reindeer lichen. In some parts it was in sufficient
quantity to tinge the sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellow-
ish colour. Further inland, during the whole ride of fourteen
leagues, I saw only one other vegetable production, and that was
a most minute yellow lichen, growing on the bones of the dead
mules. This was the first true desert which I had seen: the effect on
me was not impressive; but I believe this was owing to my having
become gradually accustomed to such scenes, as I rode northward
from Valparaiso, through Coquimbo, to Copiapo. The appearance
of the country was remarkable, from being covered by a thick crust
of common salt, and of a stratified saliferous alluvium, which seems
to have been deposited as the land slowly rose above the level of
the sea. The salt is white, very hard, and compact: it occurs in
water-worn nodules projecting from the agglutinated sand, and is

368 CHARLES DARWIN

associated with much gypsum. The appearance of this superficial
mass very closely resembled that of a country after snow, before the
last dirty patches are thawed. The existence of this crust of a soluble
substance over the whole face of the country, shows how extraor-
dinarily dry the climate must have been for a long period.

At night I slept at the house of the owner of one of the saltpetre
mines. The country is here as unproductive as near the coast; but
water, having rather a bitter and brackish taste, can be procured by
digging wells. The well at this house was thirty-six yards deep: as
scarcely any rain falls, it is evident the water is not thus derived;
indeed if it were, it could not fail to be as salt as brine, for the whole
surrounding country is incrusted with various saline substances.
We must therefore conclude that it percolates under ground from
the Cordillera, though distant many leagues. In that direction there
are a few small villages, where the inhabitants, having more water,
are enabled to irrigate a little land, and raise hay, on which the mules
and asses, employed in carrying the saltpetre, are fed. The nitrate
of soda was now selling at the ship's side at fourteen shillings per
hundred pounds: the chief expense is its transport to the sea-coast.
The mine consists of a hard stratum, between two and three feet
thick, of the nitrate mingled with a little of the sulphate of soda and
a good deal of common salt. It lies close beneath the surface, and
follows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of
a grand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once
have been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as may
be inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stratum.
The surface of the plain is 3300 feet above the Pacific.

igth. — We anchored in the Bay of Callao, the seaport of Lima, the
capital of Peru. We stayed here six weeks, but from the troubled
state of public affairs, I saw very little of the country. During our
whole visit the climate was far from being so delightful, as it is
generally represented. A dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung
over the land, so that during the first sixteen days I had only one
view of the Cordillera behind Lima. These mountains, seen in
stages, one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a
very grand appearance. It is almost become a proverb, that rain
never falls in the lower part of Peru. Yet this can hardly be consid-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 369

ered correct; for during almost every day of our visit there was a
thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient to make the streets muddy
and one's clothes damp: this the people are pleased to call Peruvian
dew. That much rain does not fall is very certain, for the houses are
covered only with flat roofs made of hardened mud; and on the
mole shiploads of wheat were piled up, being thus left for weeks
together without any shelter.

I cannot say I liked the very little I saw of Peru: in summer, how-
ever, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. In all seasons,
both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks of ague.
This disease is common on the whole coast of Peru, but is unknown
in the interior. The attacks of illness which arise from miasma
never fail to appear most mysterious. So difficult is it to judge from
the aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy, that if a person
had been told to choose within the tropics a situation appearing
favourable for health, very probably he would have named this
coast. The plain round the outskirts of Callao is sparingly covered
with a coarse grass, and in some parts there are a few stagnant,
though very small, pools of water. The miasma, in all probability,
arises from these: for the town of Arica was similarly circumstanced,
and its healthiness was much improved by the drainage of some
little pools. Miasma is not always produced by a luxuriant vegeta-
tion with an ardent climate; for many parts of Brazil, even where
there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are much more healthy
than this sterile coast of Peru. The densest forests in a temperate
climate, as in Chiloe, do not seem in the slightest degree to affect the
healthy condition of the atmosphere.

The island of St. Jago, at the Cape de Verds, offers another
strongly marked instance of a country, which any one would have
expected to find most healthy, being very much the contrary. I have
described the bare and open plains as supporting, during a few weeks
after the rainy season, a thin vegetation, which directly withers away
and dries up : at this period the air appears to become quite poison-
ous; both natives and foreigners often being affected with violent
fevers. On the other hand, the Galapagos Archipelago, in the Pa-
cific, with a similar soil, and periodically subject to the same process
of vegetation, is perfectly healthy. Humboldt has observed, that,

370 CHARLES DARWIN

"under the torrid zone, the smallest marshes are the most dangerous,
being surrounded, as at Vera Cruz and Carthagena, with an arid
and sandy soil, which raises the temperature of the ambient air." 5
On the coast of Peru, however, the temperature is not hot to any
excessive degree; and perhaps in consequence, the intermittent fevers
are not of the most malignant order. In all unhealthy countries the
greatest risk is run by sleeping on shore. Is this owing to the state
of the body during sleep, or to a greater abundance of miasma at
such times? It appears certain that those who stay on board a vessel,
though anchored at only a short distance from the coast, generally
surfer less than those actually on shore. On the other hand, I have
heard of one remarkable case where a fever broke out among the
crew of a man-of-war some hundred miles off the coast of Africa,
and at the same time one of those fearful periods 6 of death com-
menced at Sierra Leone.

No state in South America, since the declaration of independence,
has suffered more from anarchy than Peru. At the time of our visit,
there were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the
government: if one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful,
the others coalesced against him; but no sooner were they victorious,
than they were again hostile to each other. The other day, at the
Anniversary of the Independence, high mass was performed, the
President partaking of the sacrament: during the Te Deum lauda-
mus, instead of each regiment displaying the Peruvian flag, a black
one with death's head was unfurled. Imagine a government under
which such a scene could be ordered, on such an occasion, to be
typical of their determination of fighting to death! This state of
affairs happened at a time very unfortunately for me, as I was
precluded from taking any excursions much beyond the limits of the
town. The barren island of St. Lorenzo, which forms the harbour,
was nearly the only place where one could walk securely. The
upper part, which is upwards of iooo feet in height, during this
season of the year (winter), comes within the lower limit of the

5 Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, vol. iv. p. 199.

6 A similar interesting case is recorded in the Madras Medical Quart. Journ., 1839,
p. 340. Dr. Ferguson, in his admirable Paper (see 9th vol. of Edinburgh Royal
Trans.), shows clearly that the poison is generated in the drying process; and hence
that dry hot countries are often the most unhealthy.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 371

clouds; and in consequence, an abundant cryptogamic vegetation,
and a few flowers cover the summit. On the hills near Lima, at a
height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and beds
of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This indicates a very
much greater degree of humidity, than at a corresponding height at
Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the climate becomes
damper, till on the banks of the Guayaquil, nearly under the equator,
we find the most luxuriant forests. The change, however, from the
sterile coast of Peru to that fertile land is described as taking place
rather abruptly in the latitude of Cape Blanco, two degrees south
of Guayaquil.

Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, both
here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture, be-
tween European, Negro, and Indian blood. They appear a depraved,
drunken set of people. The atmosphere is loaded with foul smells,
and that peculiar one, which may be perceived in almost every town
within the tropics, was here very strong. The fortress, which with-
stood Lord Cochrane's long siege, has an imposing appearance. But
the President, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and proceeded to
dismantle parts of it. The reason assigned was, that he had not an
officer to whom he could trust so important a charge. He himself
had good reason for thinking so, as he had obtained the president-
ship by rebelling while in charge of this same fortress. After we left
South America, he paid the penalty in the usual manner, by being
conquered, taken prisoner, and shot.

Lima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual
retreat of the sea. It is seven miles from Callao, and is elevated 500
feet above it; but from the slope being very gradual, the road appears
absolutely level; so that when at Lima it is difficult to believe one
has ascended even one hundred feet: Humboldt has remarked on
this singularly deceptive case. Steep, barren hills rise like islands
from the plain, which is divided, by straight mud-walls, into large
green fields. In these, scarcely a tree grows excepting a few willows
and an occasional clump of bananas and of oranges. The city of
Lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the streets are nearly
unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up in all directions, where the
black gallinazos, tame as poultry, pick up bits of carrion. The houses

3/2 CHARLES DARWIN

have generally an upper story, built on account of the earthquakes,
of plastered woodwork; but some of the old ones, which are now
used by several families, are immensely large, and would rival in
suites of apartments the most magnificent in any place. Lima, the
City of the Kings, must formerly have been a splendid town. The
extraordinary number of churches gives it, even at the present day,
a peculiar and striking character, especially when viewed from a
short distance.

One day I went out with some merchants to hunt in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the city. Our sport was very poor; but I had an
opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the ancient Indian villages,
with its mound like a natural hill in the centre. The remains of
houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, and burial mounds, scattered
over this plain, cannot fail to give one a high idea of the condition
and number of the ancient population. When their earthenware,
woollen clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut out of the hardest
rocks, tools of copper, ornaments of precious stones, palaces, and
hydraulic works, are considered, it is impossible not to respect the
considerable advance made by them in the arts of civilization. The
burial mounds, called Huacas, are really stupendous; although
in some places they appear to be natural hills incased and mod-
elled.

There is also another and very different class of ruins, which
possesses some interest, namely, those of old Callao, overwhelmed
by the great earthquake of 1746, and its accompanying wave. The
destruction must have been more complete even than at Talcahuano.
Quantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls,
and vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about
like pebbles by the retiring waves. It has been stated that the land
subsided during this memorable shock: I could not discover any
proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of the
coast must certainly have undergone some change since the founda-
tion of the old town; as no people in their senses would willingly
have chosen for their building place, the narrow spit of shingle on
which the ruins now stand. Since our voyage, M. Tschudi has come
to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern maps, that
the coast both north and south of Lima has certainly subsided.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 373

On the island of San Lorenzo, there are very satisfactory proofs
of elevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed to
the belief, of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently
taken place. The side of this island fronting the Bay of Callao, is
worn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered
by a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of
eighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea. The height of
this bed is eighty-five feet. Many of the shells are deeply corroded,
and have a much older and more decayed appearance than those
at the height of 500 or 600 feet on the coast of Chile. These shells
are associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of lime (both
probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the land slowly rose),
together with sulphate of soda and muriate of lime. They rest on
fragments of the underlying sandstone, and are covered by a few
inches thick of detritus. The shells, higher up on this terrace, could
be traced scaling off in flakes, and falling into an impalpable pow-
der; and on an upper terrace, at the height of 170 feet, and likewise
at some considerably higher points, I found a layer of saline powder
of exactly similar appearance, and lying in the same relative position.
I have no doubt that this upper layer originally existed as a bed of
shells, like that on the eighty-five-feet ledge; but it does not now
contain even a trace of organic structure. The powder has been
analyzed for me by Mr. T. Reeks; it consists of sulphates and muri-
ates both of lime and soda, with very little carbonate of lime. It is
known that common salt and carbonate of lime left in a mass for
some time together, partly decompose each other; though this does
not happen with small quantities in solution. As the half-decom-
posed shells in the lower parts are associated with much common
salt, together with some of the saline substances composing the
upper saline layer, and as these shells are corroded and decayed in
a remarkable manner, I strongly suspect that this double decomposi-
tion has here taken place. The resultant salts, however, ought to
be carbonate of soda and muriate of lime; the latter is present, but
not the carbonate of soda. Hence I am led to imagine that by some
unexplained means, the carbonate of soda becomes changed into
the sulphate. It is obvious that the saline layer could not have been
preserved in any country in which abundant rain occasionally fell:

374 CHARLES DARWIN

on the other hand, this very circumstance, which at first sight ap-
pears so highly favourable to the long preservation of exposed shells,
has probably been the indirect means, through the common salt
not having been washed away, of their decomposition and early
decay.

I was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the height of
eighty-five feet, embedded amidst the shells and much sea-drifted
rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of a
stalk of Indian corn : I compared these relics with similar ones taken
out of the Huacas, or old Peruvian tombs, and found them identical
in appearance. On the mainland in front of San Lorenzo, near
Bellavista, there is an extensive and level plain about a hundred feet
high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating layers of sand
and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the surface, to the
depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish loam, containing a few
scattered sea-shells and numerous small fragments of coarse red
earthenware, more abundant at certain spots than at others. At first I
was inclined to believe that this superficial bed, from its wide
extent and smoothness, must have been deposited beneath the sea;
but I afterwards found in one spot, that it lay on an artificial floor
of round stones. It seems, therefore, most probable that at a period
when the land stood at a lower level there was a plain very similar
to that now surrounding Callao, which being protected by a shingle
beach, is raised but very little above the level of the sea. On this
plain, with its underlying red-clay beds, I imagine that the Indians
manufactured their earthen vessels; and that, during some violent
earthquake, the sea broke over the beach, and converted the plain
into a temporary lake, as happened round Callao in 1713 and 1746.
The water would then have deposited mud, containing fragments
of pottery from the kilns, more abundant at some spots than at
others, and shells from the sea. This bed, with fossil earthenware,
stands at about the same height with the shells on the lower terrace
of San Lorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were
embedded.

Hence we may safely conclude, that within the Indo-human period
there has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of more than eighty-
five feet; for some little elevation must have been lost by the coast

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 375

having subsided since the old maps were engraved. At Valparaiso,
although in the 220 years before our visit, the elevation cannot have
exceeded nineteen feet, yet subsequently to 1817, there has been a
rise, partly insensible and partly by a start during the shock of 1822,
of ten or eleven feet. The antiquity of the Indo-human race here,
judging by the eighty-five feet rise of the land since the relics were
embedded, is the more remarkable, as on the coast of Patagonia,
when the land stood about the same number of feet lower, the
Macrauchenia was a living beast; but as the Patagonian coast is some
way distant from the Cordillera, the rising there may have been
slower than here. At Bahia Blanca, the elevation has been only a
few feet since the numerous gigantic quadrupeds were there en-
tombed; and, according to the generally received opinion, when
these extinct animals were living, man did not exist. But the rising
of that part of the coast of Patagonia, is perhaps no way connected
with the Cordillera, but rather with a line of old volcanic rocks in
Banda Oriental, so that it may have been infinitely slower than on
the shores of Peru. All these speculations, however, must be vague;
for who will pretend to say that there may not have been several
periods of subsidence, intercalated between the movements of eleva-
tion; for we know that along the whole coast of Patagonia, there
have certainly been many and long pauses in the upward action of
the elevatory forces.

CHAPTER XVII

Galapagos Archipelago

The whole Group Volcanic — Numbers of Craters — Leafless Bushes —
Colony at Charles Island — James Island — Salt-lake in Crater — Natural
History of the Group — Ornithology, curious Finches — Reptiles — Great
Tortoises, habits of — Marine Lizard, feeds on Seaweed — Terrestrial
Lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous — Importance of Reptiles in the
Archipelago — Fish, Shells, Insects — Botany — American Type of Organ-
ization — Differences in the Species or Races on different Islands —
Tameness of the Birds — Fear of Man, an acquired Instinct.

f^fEPTEMBER 15th. — This archipelago consists of ten prin-
\ cipal islands, of which five exceed the others in size. They
K^J are situated under the Equator, and between five and six
hundred miles westward of the coast of America. They are all
formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of granite curiously
glazed and altered by the heat, can hardly be considered as an ex-
ception. Some of the craters, surmounting the larger islands, are
of immense size, and they rise to a height of between three and
four thousand feet. Their flanks are studded by innumerable
smaller orifices. I scarcely hesitate to affirm, that there must be in
the whole archipelago at least two thousand craters. These consist
either of lava or scoria?, or of finely-stratified, sandstone-like tuff.
Most of the latter are beautifully symmetrical; they owe their origin
to eruptions of volcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable
circumstance that every one of the twenty-eight tuff-craters which
were examined, had their southern sides either much lower than
the other sides, or quite broken down and removed. As all these
craters apparently have been formed when standing in the sea,
and as the waves from the trade wind and the swell from the
open Pacific here unite their forces on the southern coasts of
all the islands, this singular uniformity in the broken state of
the craters, composed of the soft and yielding tuff, is easily ex-
plained.

376

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 377

Considering that these islands are placed directly under the
equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems
chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surrounding
water, brought here by the great southern Polar current. Excepting
during one short season, very little rain falls, and even then it is
irregular; but the clouds generally hang low. Hence, whilst the

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lower parts of the islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a
height of a thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and
a tolerably luxuriant vegetation. This is especially the case on the
windward sides of the islands, which first receive and condense
the moisture from the atmosphere.

In the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, which,
like the others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here
and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. Noth-
ing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field
of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and

378 CHARLES DARWIN

crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-
burnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and
parched surface, being heated by the noon-day sun, gave to the air
a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even
that the bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently tried to
collect as many plants as possible, I succeeded in getting very few;
and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become
an arctic than an equatorial Flora. The brushwood appears, from
a short distance, as leafless as our trees during winter; and it was
some time before I discovered that not only almost every plant was
now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in flower. The
commonest bush is one of the Euphorbiaceae : an acacia and a great
odd-looking cactus are the only trees which afford any shade. After
the season of heavy rains, the islands are said to appear for a short
time partially green. The volcanic island of Fernando Noronha,
placed in many respects under nearly similar conditions, is the only
other country where I have seen a vegetation at all like this of the
Galapagos Islands.

The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in sev-
eral bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the island, where
black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one
small eminence I counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters
more or less perfect. The greater number consisted merely of a
ring of red scoriae or slags, cemented together: and their height
above the plain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred
feet; none had been very lately active. The entire surface of this
part of the island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the
subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has been
blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of caverns
similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with steep
sides. From the regular form of the many craters, they gave to the
country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me of
those parts of Staffordshire, where the great iron-foundries are
most numerous. The day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over
the rough surface and through the intricate thickets, was very
fatiguing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean scene.
As I was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of which

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 379

must have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a
piece of cactus, and as I approached, it stared at me and slowly
walked away; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head.
These huge reptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless
shrubs, and large cacti, seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian
animals. The few dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than
they did for the great tortoises.

23rd— The Beagle proceeded to Charles Island. This archipelago
has long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, and latterly by
whalers, but it is only within the last six years, that a small colony
has been established here. The inhabitants are between two and
three hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who
have been banished for political crimes from the Republic of the
Equator, of which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed
about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a
thousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed through
leafless thickets, as in Chatham Island. Higher up, the woods
gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of
the island, we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight
refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In this upper region
coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: I saw
nowhere any member of the palm family, which is the more singu-
lar, as 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from the
number of cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scattered over a
flat space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and
bananas. It will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of
black mud was to us, after having been so long accustomed to the
parched soil of Peru and northern Chile. The inhabitants, although
complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of
subsistence. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but
the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. Their
numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the
people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for the rest
of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away
as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of a frigate
some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises
to the beach.

380 CHARLES DARWIN

September 29th. — We doubled the south-west extremity of Albe-
marle Island, and the next day were nearly becalmed between it and
Narborough Island. Both are covered with immense deluges of
black naked lava, which have flowed either over the rims of the great
caldrons, like pitch over the rim of a pot in which it has been
boiled, or have burst forth from smaller orifices on the flanks; in
their descent they have spread over miles of the sea-coast. On both
of these islands, eruptions are known to have taken place; and in
Albemarle, we saw a small jet of smoke curling from the summit
of one of the great craters. In the evening we anchored in Bank's
Cove, in Albemarle Island. The next morning I went out walking.
To the south of the broken tuff-crater, in which the Beagle was
anchored, there was another beautifully symmetrical one of an
elliptic form; its longer axis was a little less than a mile, and its
depth about 500 feet. At its bottom there was a shallow lake, in
the middle of which a tiny crater formed an islet. The day was
overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue: I hurried
down the cindery slope, and, choked with dust, eagerly tasted the
water — but, to my sorrow, I found it salt as brine.

The rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, be-
tween three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-
brown species was equally common. We saw many of this latter
kind, some clumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling
into their burrows. I shall presently describe in more detail the
habits of both these reptiles. The whole of this northern part of
Albemarle Island is miserably sterile.

October 8th. — We arrived at James Island: this island, as well as
Charles Island, were long since thus named after our kings of the
Stuart line. Mr. Bynoe, myself, and our servants were left here for
a week, with provisions and a tent, whilst the Beagle went for water.
We found here a party of Spaniards, who had been sent from
Charles Island to dry fish, and to salt tortoise-meat. About six miles
inland, and at the height of nearly 2000 feet, a hovel had been built
in which two men lived, who were employed in catching tortoises,
whilst the others were fishing on the coast. I paid this party two
visits, and slept there one night. As in the other islands, the lower

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 38 I

region was covered by nearly leafless bushes, but the trees were
here of a larger growth than elsewhere, several being two feet and
some even two feet nine inches in diameter. The upper region
being kept damp by the clouds, supports a green and flourishing
vegetation. So damp was the ground, that there were large beds
of a coarse cyperus, in which great numbers of a very small water-
rail lived and bred. While staying in this upper region, we lived
entirely upon tortoise-meat : the breast-plate roasted (as the Gauchos
do came con cuerd), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the
young tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my
taste is indifferent.

One day we accompanied a party of the Spaniards in their whale-
boat to a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. After land-
ing, we had a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava,
which has almost surrounded a tuff-crater, at the bottom of which
the salt-lake lies. The water is only three or four inches deep, and
rests on a layer of beautifully crystallized, white salt. The lake is
quite circular, and is fringed with a border of bright green succu-
lent plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are clothed
with wood, so that the scene was altogether both picturesque and
curious. A few years since, the sailors belonging to a sealing-vessel
murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and we saw his skull
lying among the bushes.

During the greater part of our stay of a week, the sky was cloud-
less, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour, the heat became very
oppressive. On two days, the thermometer within the tent stood for
some hours at 93 ; but in the open air, in the wind and sun, at
only 85 °. The sand was extremely hot; the thermometer placed in
some of a brown colour immediately rose to 137 , and how much
above that it would have risen, I do not know, for it was not gradu-
ated any higher. The black sand felt much hotter, so that even in
thick boots it was quite disagreeable to walk over it.

The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and
well deserves attention. Most of the organic productions are abo-
riginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even a difference be-

382 CHARLES DARWIN

tween the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked
relationship with those of America, though separated from that
continent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in
width. The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a
satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray
colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous
productions. Considering the small size of the islands, we feel the
more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at
their confined range. Seeing every height crowned with its crater,
and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are
led to believe that within a period geologically recent the unbroken
ocean was here spread out. Hence, both in space and time, we
seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact — that mystery
of mysteries — the first appearance of new beings on this earth.

Of terrestrial mammals, there is only one which must be con-
sidered as indigenous, namely, a mouse (Mus Galapagoensis), and
this is confined, as far as I could ascertain, to Chatham Island, the
most easterly island of the group. It belongs, as I am informed by
Mr. Waterhouse, to a division of the family of mice characteristic
of America. At James Island, there is a rat sufficiently distinct
from the common kind to have been named and described by Mr.
Waterhouse; but as it belongs to the old-world division of the
family, and as this island has been frequented by ships for the last
hundred and fifty years, I can hardly doubt that this rat is merely
a variety produced by the new and peculiar climate, food, and soil,
to which it has been subjected. Although no one has a right to
speculate without distinct facts, yet even with respect to the Chat-
ham Island mouse, it should be borne in mind, that it may possibly
be an American species imported here; for I have seen, in a most
unfrequented part of the Pampas, a native mouse living in the roof
of a newly built hovel, and therefore its transportation in a vessel
is not improbable: analogous facts have been observed by Dr.
Richardson in North America.

Of land-birds I obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the
group and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like
finch from North America (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), which ranges
on that continent as far north as 54 °, and generally frequents

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 383

marshes. The other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk,
curiously intermediate in structure between a buzzard and the
American group of carrion-feeding Polybori; and with these latter
birds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice.
Secondly, there are two owls, representing the short-eared and white
barn-owls of Europe. Thirdly, a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers
(two of them species of Pyrocephalus, one or both of which would
be ranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove —
all analogous to, but distinct from, American species. Fourthly, a
swallow, which though differing from the Progne purpurea of
both Americas, only in being rather duller colored, smaller, and
slenderer, is considered by Mr. Gould as specifically distinct. Fifthly,
there are three species of mocking thrush — a form highly charac-
teristic of America. The remaining land^birds form a most singular
group of finches, related to each other in the structure of their beaks,
short tails, form of body and plumage: there are thirteen species,
which Mr. Gould has divided into four sub-groups. All these
species are peculiar to this archipelago; and so is the whole group,
with the exception of one species of the sub-group Cactornis, lately
brought from Bow Island, in the Low Archipelago. Of Cactornis,
the two species may be often seen climbing about the flowers of the
great cactus-trees; but all the other species of this group of finches,
mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry and sterile ground of the
lower districts. The males of all, or certainly of the greater num-
ber, are jet black; and the females (with perhaps one or two excep-
tions) are brown. The most curious fact is the perfect gradation in
the size of the beaks in the different species of Geospiza, from one
as large as that of a hawfinch to that of a chaffinch, and (if Mr.
Gould is right in including his sub-group, Certhidea, in the main
group) even to that of a warbler. The largest beak in the genus
Geospiza is shown in Fig. 1, and the smallest in Fig. 3; but instead
of there being only one intermediate species, with a beak of the size
shown in Fig. 2, there are no less than six species with insensibly
graduated beaks. The beak of the sub-group Certhidea, is shown in
Fig. 4. The beak of Cactornis is somewhat like that of a starling;
and that of the fourth sub-group, Camarhynchus, is slightly parrot-
shaped. Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one

384 CHARLES DARWIN

small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that
from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species
had been taken and modified for different ends. In a like manner
it might be fancied that a bird originally a buzzard, had been in-
duced here to undertake the office of the carrion-feeding Polybori
of the American continent.

Of waders and water-birds I was able to get only eleven kinds,
and of these only three (including a rail confined to the damp

1. Geospiza magnirostris.
3. Geospiza parvula.

Geospiza fortis.
Certhidea olivasea.

summits of the islands) are new species. Considering the wander-
ing habits of the gulls, I was surprised to find that the species inhab-
iting these islands is peculiar, but allied to one from the southern
parts of South America. The far greater peculiarity of the land-
birds, namely, twenty-five out of twenty-six, being new species, or at
least new races, compared with the waders and web-footed birds,
is in accordance with the greater range which these latter orders
have in all parts of the world. We shall hereafter see this law of
aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh-water, being less peculiar
at any given point of the earth's surface than the terrestrial forms of
the same classes, strikingly illustrated in the shells, and in a lesser
degree in the insects of this archipelago.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 385

Two of the waders are rather smaller than the same species
brought from other places: the swallow is also smaller, though it is
doubtful whether or not it is distinct from its analogue. The two
owls, the two tyrant-catchers (Pyrocephalus) and the dove, are also
smaller than the analogous but distinct species, to which they are
most nearly related; on the other hand, the gull is rather larger.
The two owls, the swallow, all three species of mocking-thrush, the
dove in its separate colours though not in its whole plumage, the
Totanus, and the gull, are likewise duskier coloured than their
analogous species; and in the case of the mocking-thrush and
Totanus, than any other species of the two genera. With the ex-
ception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, and of a tyrant-fly-
catcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none of the birds are bril-
liantly coloured, as might have been expected in an equatorial dis-
trict. Hence it would appear probable, that the same causes which
here make the immigrants of some peculiar species smaller, make
most of the peculiar Galapageian species also smaller, as well as
very generally more dusky coloured. All the plants have a wretched,
weedy appearance, and I did not see one beautiful flower. The in-
sects, again, are small-sized and dull-coloured, and, as Mr. Water-
house informs me, there is nothing in their general appearance
which would have led him to imagine that they had come from
under the equator. 1 The birds, plants, and insects have a desert
character, and are not more brilliantly coloured than those from
southern Patagonia; we may, therefore, conclude that the usual
gaudy colouring of the inter-tropical productions, is not related
either to the heat or light of those zones, but to some other cause,
perhaps to the conditions of existence being generally favourable
to life.

We will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives the most
striking character to the zoology of these islands. The species are

1 The progress of research has shown that some of these birds, which were then
thought to be confined to the islands, occur on the American continent. The eminent
ornithologist, Mr. Sclater, informs me that this is the case with the Strix punctatissima
and Pyrocephalus nanus; and probably with the Otus Galapagoensis and Zenaida
Galapagoensis : so that the number of endemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or
probably to twenty-one. Mr. Sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic forms
should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which always seemed to me probable.

386 CHARLES DARWIN

not numerous, but the numbers of individuals of each species are
extraordinarily great. There is one small lizard belonging to a
South American genus, and two species (and probably more) of
the Amblyrhynchus — a genus confined to the Galapagos Islands.
There is one snake which is numerous; it is identical, as I am in-
formed by M. Bibron, with the Psammophis Temminckii from
Chile. 2 Of sea-turtle I believe there are more than one species; and
of tortoises there are, as we shall presently show, two or three species
or races. Of toads and frogs there are none : I was surprised at this,
considering how well suited for them the temperate and damp
upper woods appeared to be. It recalled to my mind the remark
made by Bory St. Vincent, 3 namely, that none of this family are
found on any of the volcanic islands in the great oceans. As far as
I can ascertain from various works, this seems to hold good through-
out the Pacific, and even in the large islands of the Sandwich archi-
pelago. Mauritius offers an apparent exception, where I saw the
Rana Mascariensis in abundance: this frog is said now to inhabit
the Seychelles, Madagascar, and Bourbon; but on the other hand,
Du Bois, in his voyage in 1669, states that there were no reptiles in
Bourbon except tortoises; and the Officier du Roi asserts that before
1768 it had been attempted, without success, to introduce frogs
into Mauritius — I presume for the purpose of eating: hence it may
be well doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands.
The absence of the frog family in the oceanic islands is the more
remarkable, when contrasted with the case of lizards, which swarm
on most of the smallest islands. May this difference not be caused,
by the greater facility with which the eggs of lizards, protected by
calcareous shells, might be transported through salt-water, than
could the slimy spawn of frogs ?

1 will first describe the habits of the tortoise (Testudo nigra,
formerly called Indica), which has been so frequently alluded to.
These animals are found, I believe, on all the islands of the archi-

2 This is stated by Dr. Giinther (Zoolog. Soc, Jan. 24th, 1859) to be a peculiar
species, not known to inhabit any other country.

3 Voyage aux Quatre lies d'Afrique. With respect to the Sandwich Islands, see
Tyerman and Bennett's Journal, vol. i. p. 434. For Mauritius, see Voyage par un
Officier, etc., part i. p. 170. There are no frogs in the Canary Islands (Webb et
Berthelot, Hist. Nat. des lies Canaries). I saw none at St. Jago in the Cape de Verds.
There are none at St. Helena.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 387

pelago; certainly on the greater number. They frequent in prefer-
ence the high damp parts, but they likewise live in the lower and
arid districts. I have already shown, from the numbers which have
been caught in a single day, how very numerous they must be.
Some grow to an immense size: Mr. Lawson, an Englishman, and
vice-governor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so
large, that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground;
and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of
meat. The old males are the largest, the females rarely growing
to so great a size: the male can readily be distinguished from the
female by the greater length of its tail. The tortoises which live on
those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid parts
of the others, feed chiefly on the succulent cactus. Those which fre-
quent the higher and damp regions, eat the leaves of various trees,
a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, and
likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (Usnera plicata), that
hangs from the boughs of the trees.

The tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and
wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs,
and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a
considerable height. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the
lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long dis-
tance. Hence broad and well-beaten paths branch off in every direc-
tion from the wells down to the sea-coast; and the Spaniards by
following them up, first discovered the watering-places. When I
landed at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal
travelled so methodically along well-chosen tracks. Near the springs
it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these huge creatures,
one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and
another set returning, after having drunk their fill. When the tor-
toise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, he
buries his head in the water above his eyes, and greedily swallows
great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabit-
ants say each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood
of the water, and then returns to the lower country; but they dif-
fered respecting the frequency of these visits. The animal probably
regulates them according to the nature of the food on which it has

388 CHARLES DARWIN

lived. It is, however, certain, that tortoises can subsist even on
these islands where there is no other water than what falls during
a few rainy days in the year.

I believe it is well ascertained, that the bladder of the frog acts
as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence: such seems
to be the case with the tortoise. For some time after a visit to the
springs, their urinary bladders are distended with fluid, which is
said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less pure. The
inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and overcome
with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance, and drink
the contents of the bladder if full : in one I saw killed, the fluid was
quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter taste. The inhabit-
ants, however, always first drink the water in the pericardium,
which is described as being best.

The tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, travel
by night and day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner
than would be expected. The inhabitants, from observing marked
individuals, consider that they travel a distance of about eight
miles in two or three days. One large tortoise, which I watched,
walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is 360 yards
in the hour, or four miles a day, — allowing a little time for it to
eat on the road. During the breeding season, when the male and
female are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing,
which, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a hun-
dred yards. The female never uses her voice, and the male only at
these times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know
that the two are together. They were at this time (October) laying
their eggs. The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them to-
gether, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is
rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hole: Mr. Bynoe
found seven placed in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical;
one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in cir-
cumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. The young tor-
toises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to
the carrion-feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally to die
from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least, several of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 389

the inhabitants told me, that they never found one dead without
some evident cause.

The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf;
certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them.
I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters,
as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I
passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss
fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I fre-
quently got on their backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder
part of their shells, they would rise up and walk away; — but I
found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this animal
is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully clear
oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught, the man
makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body,
whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the
animal is liberated and it is said to recover soon from this strange
operation. In order to secure the tortoise, it is not sufficient to turn
them like turtle, for they are often able to get on their legs again.

There can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal inhab-
itant of the Galapagoes; for it is found on all, or nearly all, the
islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there is no water;
had it been an imported species, this would hardly have been the
case in a group which has been so little frequented. Moreover, the
old Bucaniers found this tortoise in greater numbers even than at
present: Wood and Rogers also, in 1708, say that it is the opinion of
the Spaniards, that it is found nowhere else in this quarter of the
world. It is now widely distributed; but it may be questioned
whether it is in any other place an aboriginal. The bones of a tor-
toise at Mauritius, associated with those of the extinct Dodo, have
generally been considered as belonging to this tortoise; if this had
been so, undoubtedly it must have been there indigenous; but M.
Bibron informs me that he believes that it was distinct, as the species
now living there certainly is.

The Amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined
to this archipelago; there are two species, resembling each other
in general form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. This

390 CHARLES DARWIN

latter species (A. cristatus) was first characterized by Mr. Bell, who
well foresaw, from its short, broad head, and strong claws of equal
length, that its habits of life would turn out very peculiar, and
different from those of its nearest ally, the Iguana. It is extremely
common on all the islands throughout the group, and lives exclu-
sively on the rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least I never
saw one, even ten yards' in-shore. It is a hideous-looking creature,
of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its movements. The
usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard, but there are some

Amblyrhynchus cristatus. a, Tooth of, natural size, and likewise magnified.

even four feet long; a large one weighed twenty pounds: on the
island of Albemarle they seem to grow to a greater size than else-
where. Their tails are flattened sideways, and all four feet partially
webbed. They are occasionally seen some hundred yards from the
shore, swimming about; and Captain Collnett, in his Voyage says,
"They go to sea in herds a-fishing, and sun themselves on the
rocks; and may be called alligators in miniature." It must not,
however, be supposed that they live on fish. When in the water
this lizard swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine
movement of its body and flattened tail — the legs being motionless
and closely collapsed on its sides. A seaman on board sank one, with
a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly; but
when, an hour afterwards, he drew up the line, it was quite active.
Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling
over the rugged and fissured masses of lava, which everywhere form
the coast. In such situations, a group of six or seven of these hideous

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 39I

reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above
the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs.

I opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely dis-
tended with minced sea-weed (Ulvae), which grows in thin folia-
ceous expansions of a bright green or a dull red colour. I do not
recollect having observed this sea-weed in any quantity on the tidal
rocks; and I have reason to believe it grows at the bottom of the
sea, at some little distance from the coast. If such be the case, the
object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is explained.
The stomach contained nothing but the sea-weed. Mr. Baynoe,
however, found a piece of crab in one; but this might have got in
accidentally, in the same manner as I have seen a caterpillar, in the
midst of some lichen, in the paunch of a tortoise. The intestines were
large, as in other herbivorous animals. The nature of this lizard's
food, as well as the structure of its tail and feet, and the fact of its
having been seen voluntarily swimming out at sea, absolutely prove
its aquatic habits; yet there is in this respect one strange anomaly,
namely, that when frightened it will not enter the water. Hence it
is easy to drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging
the sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their
tails than jump into the water. They do not seem to have any no-
tion of biting; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of
fluid from each nostril. I threw one several times as far as I could,
into a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably returned
in a direct line to the spot where I stood. It swam near the bottom,
with a very graceful and rapid movement, and occasionally aided
itself over the uneven ground with its feet. As soon as it arrived
near the edge, but still being under water, it tried to conceal itself
in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered some crevice. As soon as it
thought the danger was past, it crawled out on the dry rocks, and
shuffled away as quickly as it could. I several times caught this same
lizard, by driving it down to a point, and though possessed of such
perfect powers of diving and swimming, nothing would induce it to
enter the water; and as often as I threw it in, it returned in the
manner above described. Perhaps this singular piece of apparent
stupidity may be accounted for by the circumstance, that this reptile
has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a

392 CHARLES DARWIN

prey to the numerous sharks. Hence, probably, urged by a fixed
and hereditary instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever
the emergency may be, it there takes refuge.

During our visit (in October), I saw extremely few small in-
dividuals of this species, and none I should think under a year old.
From this circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season
had not then commenced. I asked several of the inhabitants if they
knew where it laid its eggs : they said that they knew nothing of its
propagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land
kind — a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a
little extraordinary.

We will now turn to the terrestrial species (A. Demarlii), with a
round tail, and toes without webs. This lizard, instead of being
found like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central part
of the archipelago, namely to Albemarle, James, Barrington, and
Indefatigable islands. To the southward, in Charles, Hood, and
Chatham islands, and to the northward, in Towers, Bindloes, and
Abingdon, I neither saw nor heard of any. It would appear as if
it had been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had
been dispersed only to a certain distance. Some of these lizards in-
habit the high and damp parts of the islands, but they are much
more numerous in the lower and sterile districts near the coast. I
cannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers, than by stating
that when we were left at James Island, we could not for some time
find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single
tent. Like their brothers the sea-kind, they are ugly animals, of a
yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish red colour above: from
their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance.
They are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the marine species; but
several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds. In their
movements they are lazy and half torpid. When not frightened,
they slowly crawl along with their tails and bellies dragging on the
ground. They often stop, and doze for a minute or two, with closed
eyes and hind legs spread out on the parched soil.

They inhabit burrows, which they sometimes make between
fragments of lava, but more generally on level patches of the soft
sandstone-like tuff. The holes do not appear to be very deep, and

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 393

they enter the ground at a small angle; so that when walking over
these lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to the
annoyance of the tired walker. This animal, when making its bur-
row, works alternately the opposite sides of its body. One front
leg for a short time scratches up the soil, and throws it towards the
hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the mouth
of the hole. That side of the body being tired, the other takes up
the task, and so on alternately. I watched one for a long time, till
half its body was buried; I then walked up and pulled it by the
tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see
what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as much as to
say, "What made you pull my tail?"

They feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if
frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except
when running down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently
from the lateral position of their legs. They are not at all timorous :
when attentively watching any one, they curl their tails, and, rais-
ing themselves on their front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a
quick movement, and try to look very fierce; but in reality they are
not at all so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their tails,
and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. I have frequently ob-
served small fly-eating lizards, when watching anything, nod their
heads in precisely the same manner; but I do not at all know for
what purpose. If this Amblyrhynchus is held and plagued with a
stick, it will bite it very severely; but I caught many by the tail,
and they never tried to bite me. If two are placed on the ground
and held together, they will fight, and bite each other till blood is
drawn.

The individuals, and they are the greater number, which inhabit
the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout
the year; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the
branches of which are occasionally broken off by the wind. I
several times threw a piece to two or three of them when together;
and it was amusing enough to see them trying to seize and carry
it away in their mouths, like so many hungry dogs with a bone.
They eat very deliberately, but do not chew their food. The little
birds are aware how harmless these creatures are: I have seen one

394 CHARLES DARWIN

of the thick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus
(which is much relished by all the animals of the lower region),
whilst a lizard was eating at the other end; and afterwards the
little bird with the utmost indifference hopped on the back of the
reptile.

I opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of vege-
table fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an acacia. In
the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent berries
of the guayavita, under which trees I have seen these lizards and the
huge tortoises feeding together. To obtain the acacia-leaves they
crawl up the low stunted trees; and it is not uncommon to see a
pair quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch several feet above
the ground. These lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, which
is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all prejudices.

Humboldt has remarked that in intertropical South America, all
lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the
table. The inhabitants state that those which inhabit the upper
damp parts drink water, but that the others do not, like the tortoises,
travel up for it from the lower sterile country. At the time of our
visit, the females had within their bodies numerous, large, elon-
gated eggs, which they lay in their burrows: the inhabitants seek
them for food.

These two species of Amblyrhynchus agree, as I have already
stated, in their general structure, and in many of their habits.
Neither have that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera
Lacerta and Iguana. They are both herbivorous, although the
kind of vegetation on which they feed is so very different. Mr.
Bell has given the name to the genus from the shortness of the
snout: indeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to
that of the tortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation
to their herbivorous appetites. It is very interesting thus to find a
well-characterized genus, having its marine and terrestrial species,
belonging to so confined a portion of the world. The aquatic species
is by far the most remarkable, because it is the only existing lizard
which lives on marine vegetable productions. As I at first observed,
these islands are not so remarkable for the number of the species of
reptiles, as for that of the individuals; when we remember the well-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 395

beaten paths made by the thousands of huge tortoises — the many
turtles — the great warrens of the terrestrial Amblyrhynchus — and
the groups of the marine species basking on the coast-rocks of every
island — we must admit that there is no other quarter of the world
where this Order replaces the herbivorous mammalia in so extraor-
dinary a manner. The geologist on hearing this will probably
refer back in his mind to the Secondary epochs, when lizards, some
herbivorous, some carnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only
with our existing whales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. It
is, therefore, worthy of his observation, that this archipelago, instead
of possessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, cannot be con-
sidered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for an equatorial region,
remarkably temperate.

To finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish which I
procured here are all new species; they belong to twelve genera,
all widely distributed, with the exception of Prionotus, of which the
four previously known species live on the eastern side of America.
Of land-shells I collected sixteen kinds (and two marked varieties),
of which, with the exception of one Helix found at Tahiti, all are
peculiar to this archipelago: a single fresh-water shell (Paludina)
is common to Tahiti and Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Cuming, before
our voyage, procured here ninety species of sea-shells, and this does
not include several species not yet specifically examined, of Trochus,
Turbo, Monodonta, and Nassa. He has been kind enough to give
me the following interesting results: Of the ninety shells, no less
than forty-seven are unknown elsewhere — a wonderful fact, con-
sidering how widely distributed sea-shells generally are. Of the
forty-three shells found in other parts of the world, twenty-five
inhabit the western coast of America, and of these eight are dis-
tinguishable as varieties; the remaining eighteen (including one
variety) were found by Mr. Cuming in the Low Archipelago, and
some of them also at the Philippines. This fact of shells from islands
in the central parts of the Pacific occurring here, deserves notice,
for not one single sea-shell is known to be common to the islands of
that ocean and to the west coast of America. The space of open sea
running north and south off the west coast, separates two quite dis-
tinct conchological provinces; but at the Galapagos Archipelago

396 CHARLES DARWIN

we have a halting-place, where many new forms have been created,
and whither these two great conchological provinces have each sent
up several colonists. The American province has also sent here
representative species; for there is a Galapageian species of Mono-
ceros, a genus only found on the west coast of America; and there
are Galapageian species of Fissurella and Cancellaria, genera com-
mon on the west coast, but not found (as I am informed by Mr.
Cuming) in the central islands of the Pacific. On the other hand,
there are Galapageian species of Oniscia and Stylifer, genera com-
mon to the West Indies and to the Chinese and Indian seas, but not
found either on the west coast of America or in the central Pacific.
I may here add, that after the comparison by Messrs. Cuming and
Hinds of about 2000 shells from the eastern and western coasts of
America, only one single shell was found in common, namely, the
Purpura patula, which inhabits the West Indies, the coast of Pan-
ama, and the Galapagos. We have, therefore, in this quarter of the
world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct, though
surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north and
south spaces either of land or of open sea.

I took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting Tierra
del Fuego, I never saw in this respect so poor a country. Even in
the upper and damp region I procured very few, excepting some
minute Diptera and Hymenoptera, mostly of common mundane
forms. As before remarked, the insects, for a tropical region, are of
very small size and dull colours. Of beetles I collected twenty-five
species (excluding a Dermestes and Corynetes imported, wherever
a ship touches) ; of these, two belong to the Harpalids, two to the
Hydrophilida;, nine to three families of the Heteromera, and the
remaining twelve to as many different families. This circumstance
of insects (and I may add plants) , where few in number, belonging
to many different families, is, I believe, very general. Mr. Water-
house, who has published 4 an account of the insects of this archi-
pelago, and to whom I am indebted for the above details, informs
me that there are several new genera: and that of the genera not
new, one or two are American, and the rest of mundane distribu-
tion. With the exception of a wood-feeding Apate, and of one or
4 Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xvi. p. 19.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 397

probably two water-beetles from the American continent, all the
species appear to be new.

The botany of this group is fully as interesting as the zoology.
Dr. J. Hooker will soon publish in the "Linnean Transactions" a
full account of the Flora, and I am much indebted to him for the
following details. Of flowering plants there are, as far as at present
is known, 185 species, and 40 cryptogamic species, making alto-
gether 225; of this number I was fortunate enough to bring home
193. Of the flowering plants, 100 are new species, and are probably
confined to this archipelago. Dr. Hooker conceives that, of the
plants not so confined, at least 10 species found near the cultivated
ground at Charles Island, have been imported. It is, I think, sur-
prising that more American species have not been introduced natu-
rally, considering that the distance is only between 500 and 600
miles from the continent; and that (according to Collnet, p. 58)
drift-wood, bamboos, canes, and the nuts of a palm, are often washed
on the south-eastern shores. The proportion of 100 flowering plants
out of 185 (or 175 excluding the imported weeds) being new, is
sufficient, I conceive, to make the Galapagos Archipelago a dis-
tinct botanical province; but this Flora is not nearly so peculiar as
that of St. Helena, nor, as I am informed by Dr. Hooker, of Juan
Fernandez. The peculiarity of the Galapageian Flora is best shown
in certain families; — thus there are 21 species of Compositae, of
which 20 are peculiar to this archipelago; these belong to twelve
genera, and of these genera no less than ten are confined to the archi-
pelago! Dr. Hooker informs me that the Flora has an undoubtedly
Western American character; nor can he detect in it any affinity
with that of the Pacific. If, therefore, we except the eighteen marine,
the one fresh-water, and one land-shell, which have apparently come
here as colonists from the central islands of the Pacific, and likewise
the one distinct Pacific species of the Galapageian group of finches,
we see that this archipelago, though standing in the Pacific Ocean,
is zoologically part of America.

If this character were owing merely to immigrants from America,
there would be little remarkable in it; but we see that a vast majority
of all the land animals, and that more than half of the flowering
plants, are aboriginal productions. It was most striking to be sur-

398 CHARLES DARWIN

rounded by new birds, new reptiles, new shells, new insects, new
plants, and yet by innumerable trifling details of structure, and even
by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds, to have the temper-
ate plains of Patagonia, or rather the hot dry deserts of Northern
Chile, vividly brought before my eyes. Why, on these small points
of land, which within a late geological period must have been cov-
ered by the ocean, which are formed by basaltic lava, and therefore
differ in geological character from the American continent, and
which are placed under a peculiar climate, — why were their aborig-
inal inhabitants, associated, I may add, in different proportions both
in kind and number from those on the continent, and therefore
acting on each other in a different manner — why were they created
on American types of organization? It is probable that the islands
of the Cape de Verd group resemble, in all their physical condi-
tions, far more closely the Galapagos Islands, than these latter phys-
ically resemble the coast of America, yet the aboriginal inhabitants
of the two groups are totally unlike; those of the Cape de Verd
Islands bearing the impress of Africa, as the inhabitants of the
Galapagos Archipelago are stamped with that of America.

I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in
the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different islands
to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings.
My attention was first called to this fact by the Vice-Governor, Mr.
Lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed from the different
islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which island
any one was brought. I did not for some time pay sufficient atten-
tion to this statement, and I had already partially mingled together
the collections from two of the islands. I never dreamed that
islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of them in sight of
each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite
similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been
differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that this is the case. It
is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most in-
teresting in any locality, than they are hurried from it; but I ought,
perhaps, to be thankful that I obtained sufficient materials to estab-
lish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of organic beings.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 399

The inhabitants, as I have said, state that they can distinguish
the tortoises from the different islands; and that they differ not only
in size, but in other characters. Captain Porter has described 5 those
from Charles and from the nearest island to it, namely, Hood Island,
as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a Spanish
saddle, whilst the tortoises from James Island are rounder, blacker,
and have a better taste when cooked. M. Bibron, moreover, informs
me that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of tortoise
from the Galapagos, but he does not know from which islands.
The specimens that I brought from three islands were young ones:
and probably owing to this cause neither Mr. Gray nor myself
could find in them any specific differences. I have remarked that
the marine Amblyrhynchus was larger at Albemarle Island than
elsewhere; and M. Bibron informs me that he has seen two dis-
tinct aquatic species of this genus; so that the different islands
probably have their representative species or races of the Ambly-
rhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. My attention was first thoroughly
aroused, by comparing together the numerous specimens, shot by
myself and several other parties on board, of the mocking-thrushes,
when, to my astonishment, I discovered that all those from Charles
Island belonged to one species (Mimus trifasciatus) ; all from Albe-
marle Island to M. parvulus; and all from James and Chatham
Islands (between which two other islands are situated, as connect-
ing links) belonged to M. melanotis. These two latter species are
closely allied, and would by some ornithologists be considered as
only well-marked races or varieties; but the Mimus trifasciatus is
very distinct. Unfortunately most of the specimens of the finch
tribe were mingled together; but I have strong reasons to suspect
that some of the species of the sub-group Geospiza are confined
to separate islands. If the different islands have their representa-
tives of Geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly large num-
ber of the species of this sub-group in this one small archipelago,
and as a probable consequence of their numbers, the perfectly grad-
uated series in the size of their beaks. Two species of the sub-group
Caotornis, and two of the Camarhynchus, were procured in the
archipelago; and of the numerous specimens of these two sub-
5 Voyage in the U. S. ship Essex, vol. i. p. 215.

400 CHARLES DARWIN

groups shot by four collectors at James Island, all were found to
belong to one species of each; whereas the numerous specimens
shot either on Chatham or Charles Island (for the two sets were
mingled together) all belonged to the two other species: hence we
may feel almost sure that these islands possess their respective spe-
cies of these two sub-groups. In land-shells this law of distribution
does not appear to hold good. In my very small collection of in-
sects, Mr. Waterhouse remarks, that of those which were ticketed
with their locality, not one was common to any two of the islands.
If we now turn to the Flora, we shall find the aboriginal plants
of the different islands wonderfully different. I give all the follow-
ing results on the high authority of my friend Dr. J. Hooker. I
may premise that I indiscriminately collected everything in flower
on the different islands, and fortunately kept my collections sepa-
rate. Too much confidence, however, must not be placed in the
proportional results, as the small collections brought home by some
other naturalists, though in some respects confirming the -results,
plainly show that much remains to be done in the botany of this
group: the Leguminosa?, moreover, has as yet been only approxi-
mately worked out: —

Name

of
Island.

James Island
Albemarle Island
Chatham Island
Charles Island

No. of
Species
found in
other parts
of the
world.

33
18
16
39

(or 20, if the
probably im-
ported plants
be subtracted)

No. of

No.

Species

con-

confined

fined

to the

to the

Galapagos

one

Archipelago.

Island.

38

3°

2.6

2.1

16

11

i 9

11

No. of Species
confined to the

Archipelago,

but found on

more than the

one Island.

Hence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in James Island, of
the thirty-eight Galapageian plants, or those found in no other part
of the world, thirty are exclusively confined to this one island; and
in Albemarle Island, of the twenty-six aboriginal Galapageian
plants, twenty-^two are confined to this one island, that is, only four
are at present known to grow in the other islands of the archipelago;

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 4OI

and so on, as shown in the above table, with the plants from Chat-
ham and Charles Islands. This fact will, perhaps, be rendered even
more striking, by giving a few illustrations: — thus, Scalesia, a re-
markable arborescent genus of the Composita:, is confined to the
archipelago: it has six species: one from Chatham, one from Albe-
marle, one from Charles Island, two from James Island, and the
sixth from one of the three latter islands, but it is not known from
which: not one of these six species grows on any two islands.
Again, Euphorbia, a mundane or widely distributed genus, has
here eight species, of which seven are confined to the archipelago,
and not one found on any two islands: Acalypha and Borreria,
both mundane genera, have respectively six and seven species, none
of which have the same species on two islands, with the exception
of one Borreria, which does occur on two islands. The species of the
Composita: are particularly local; and Dr. Hooker has furnished me
with several other most striking illustrations of the difference of
the species on the different islands. He remarks that this law of
distribution holds good both with those genera confined to the
archipelago, and those distributed in other quarters of the world : in
like manner we have seen that the different islands have their
proper species of the mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely
distributed American genus of the mocking-thrush, as well as of
two of the Galapageian sub-groups of finches, and almost certainly
of the Galapageian genus Amblyrhynchus.

The distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would not be
nearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had a mocking-
thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct genus; — if
one island had its genus of lizard, and a second island another dis-
tinct genus, or none whatever; — or if the different islands were in-
habited, not by representative species of the same genera of plants,
but by totally different genera, as does to a certain extent hold good :
for, to give one instance, a large berry-bearing tree at James Island
has no representative species in Charles Island. But it is the cir-
cumstance, that several of the islands possess their own species of
the tortoise, mocking-thrush, finches, and numerous plants, these
species having the same general habits, occupying analogous situa-
tions, and obviously filling the same place in the natural economy of

402 CHARLES DARWIN

this archipelago, that strikes me with wonder. It may be suspected
that some of these representative species, at least in the case of the
tortoise and of some of the birds, may hereafter prove to be only
well-marked races; but this would be of equally great interest to the
philosophical naturalist. I have said that most of the islands are in
sight of each other: I may specify that Charles Island is fifty miles
from the nearest part of Chatham Island, and thirty-three miles
from the nearest part of Albemarle Island. Chatham Island is sixty
miles from the nearest part of James Island, but there are two inter-
mediate islands between them which were not visited by me. James
Island is only ten miles from the nearest part of Albemarle Island,
but the two points where the collections were made are thirty-two
miles apart. I must repeat, that neither the nature of the soil, nor
height of the land, nor the climate, nor the general character of the
associated beings, and therefore their action one on another, can
differ much in the different islands. If there be any sensible differ-
ence in their climates, it must be between the Windward group
(namely, Charles and Chatham Islands), and that to leeward; but
there seems to be no corresponding difference in the productions of
these two halves of the archipelago.

The only light which I can throw on this remarkable difference
in the inhabitants of the different islands, is, that very strong cur-
rents of the sea running in a westerly and W.N.W. direction must
separate, as far as transportal by the sea is concerned, the southern
islands from the northern ones; and between these northern islands
a strong N.W. current was observed, which must effectually sepa-
rate James and Albemarle Islands. As the archipelago is free to a
most remarkable degree from gales of wind, neither the birds, in-
sects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from island to island. And
lastly, the profound depth of the ocean between the islands, and
their apparently recent (in a geological sense) volcanic origin, ren-
der it highly unlikely that they were ever united; and this, prob-
ably, is a far more important consideration than any other, with
respect to the geographical distribution of their inhabitants. Re-
viewing the facts here given, one is astonished at the amount of
creative force, if such an expression may be used, displayed on these
small, barren, and rocky islands; and still more so, at its diverse yet

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 403

analogous action on points so near each other. I have said that the
Galapagos Archipelago might be called a satellite attached to Amer-
ica, but it should rather be called a group of satellites, physically
similar, organically distinct, yet intimately related to each other,
and all related in a marked, though much lesser degree, to the great
American continent.

I will conclude my description of the natural history of these
islands, by giving an account of the extreme tameness of the birds.

This disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely,
to the mocking-thrushes, the finches, wrens, tyrant-flycatchers, the
dove, and carrion-buzzard. All of them are often approached suffi-
ciently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as I myself
tried, with a cap or hat. A gun is here almost superfluous; for with
the muzzle I pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. One day,
whilst lying down, a mocking-thrush alighted on the edge of a
pitcher, made of the shell of a tortoise, which I held in my hand,
and began very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it from
the ground whilst seated on the vessel : I often tried, and very nearly
succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs. Formerly the birds
appear to have been even tamer than at present. Cowley (in the
year 1684) says that the "Turtledoves were so tame, that they would
often alight on our hats and arms, so as that we could take them
alive; they not fearing man, until such time as some of our com-
pany did fire at them, whereby they were rendered more shy."
Dampier also, in the same year, says that a man in a morning's walk
might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. At present, although
certainly very tame, they do not alight on people's arms, nor do they
suffer themselves to be killed in such large numbers. It is surpris-
ing that they have not become wilder; for these islands during the
last hundred and fifty years have been frequently visited by buca-
niers and whalers; and the sailors, wandering through the wood in
search of tortoises, always take cruel delight in knocking down the
little birds.

These birds, although now still more persecuted, do not readily
become wild. In Charles Island, which had then been colonized
about six years, I saw a boy sitting by a well with a switch in his
hand, with which he killed the doves and finches as they came to

404 CHARLES DARWIN

drink. He had already procured a little heap of them for his din-
ner; and he said that he had constantly been in the habit of waiting
by this well for the same purpose. It would appear that the birds
of this archipelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more dan-
gerous animal than the tortoise or the Amblyrhynchus, disregard
him, in the same manner as in England shy birds, such as mag-
pies, disregard the cows and horses grazing in our fields.

The Falkland Islands offer a second instance of birds with a
similar disposition. The extraordinary tameness of the little Ope-
tiorhynchus has been remarked by Pernety, Lesson, and other voy-
agers. It is not, however, peculiar to that bird : the Polyborus, snipe,
upland and lowland goose, thrush, bunting, and even some true
hawks, are all more or less tame. As the birds are so tame there,
where foxes, hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the absence
of all rapacious animals at the Galapagos, is not the cause of their
tameness here. The upland geese at the Falklands show, by the
precaution they take in building on the islets, that they are aware
of their danger from the foxes; but they are not by this rendered
wild towards man. This tameness of the birds, especially of the
waterfowl, is strongly contrasted with the habits of the same species
in Tierra del Fuego, where for ages past they have been persecuted
by the wild inhabitants. In the Falklands, the sportsman may
sometimes kill more of the upland geese in one day than he can
carry home; whereas in Tierra del Fuego it is nearly as difficult to
kill one, as it is in England to shoot the common wild goose.

In the time of Pernety (1763), all the birds there appear to have
been much tamer than at present; he states that the Opetiorhynchus
would almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed
ten in half an hour. At that period the birds must have been about
as tame as they now are at the Galapagos. They appear to have
learnt caution more slowly at these latter islands than at the Falk-
lands, where they have had proportionate means of experience; for
besides frequent visits from vessels, those islands have been at
intervals colonized during the entire period. Even formerly, when
all the birds were so tame, it was impossible by Pernety's account
to kill the black-necked swan — a bird of passage, which probably
brought with it the wisdom learnt in foreign countries.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 405

I may add that, according to Du Bois, all the birds at Bourbon in
1571-72, with the exception of the flamingoes and geese, were so
extremely tame, that they could be caught by the hand, or killed
in any number with a stick. Again, at Tristan d'Acunha in the
Atlantic, Carmichael 6 states that the only two land-birds, a thrush
and a bunting, were "so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught
with a hand-net." From these several facts we may, I think, con-
clude, first, that the wildness of birds with regard to man, is a par-
ticular instinct directed against him, and not dependent upon any
general degree of caution arising from other sources of danger;
secondly, that it is not acquired by individual birds in a short time,
even when much persecuted; but that in the course of successive
generations it becomes hereditary. With domesticated animals
we are accustomed to sue new mental habits or instincts acquired or
rendered hereditary; but with animals in a state of nature, it must
always be most difficult to discover instances of acquired hereditary
knowledge. In regard to the wildness of birds towards man, there
is no way of accounting for it, except as an inherited habit: com-
paratively few young birds, in any one year, have been injured by
man in England, yet almost all, even nestlings, are afraid of him;
many individuals, on the other hand, both at the Galapagos and
at the Falklands, have been pursued and injured by man, yet have
not learned a salutary dread of him. We may infer from these facts,
what havoc the introduction of any new beast of prey must cause
in a country, before the instincts of the indigenous inhabitants have
become adapted to the stranger's craft or power.

6 Linn. Trans., vol. xii. p. 496. The most anomalous fact on this subject which I
have met with is the wildness of the small birds in the Arctic parts of North America
(as described by Richardson, Fauna Bor., vol. ii. p. 332), where they are said never
to be persecuted. This case is the more strange, because it is asserted that some of the
same species in their winter-quarters in the United States are tame. There is much,
as Dr. Richardson well remarks, utterly inexplicable connected with the different
degrees of shyness and care with which birds conceal their nests. How strange it
is that the English wood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very frequently rear
its young in shrubberies close to houses 1

CHAPTER XVIII

Tahiti and New Zealand

Pass through the Low Archipelago — Tahiti — Aspect — Vegetation on the
Mountains — View of Eimeo — Excursion into the Interior — Profound
Ravines — Succession of Waterfalls — Number of wild useful Plants —
Temperance of the Inhabitants — Their moral state — Parliament con-
vened — New Zealand — Bay of Islands — Hippahs — Excursion to Wai-
mate — Missionary Establishment — English Weeds now run wild —
Waiomio — Funeral of a New Zealand Woman — Sail for Australia.

OCTOBER 20th. — The survey of the Galapagos Archi-
pelago being concluded, we steered towards Tahiti and
commenced our long passage of 3200 miles. In the course
of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded ocean-district
which extends during the winter far from the coast of South
America. We then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while run-
ning pleasantly along at the rate of 150 or 160 miles a day before
the steady trade-wind. The temperature in this more central part
of the Pacific is higher than near the American shore. The ther-
mometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between 80
and 83 , which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or two
higher, the heat becomes oppressive. We passed through the Low
or Dangerous Archipelago, and saw several of those most curious
rings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have
been called Lagoon Islands. A long and brilliantly white beach is
capped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking
either way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath
the horizon. From the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water
can be seen within the ring. These low hollow coral islands bear
no proportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and
it seems wonderful, that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed,
by the all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea, mis-
called the Pacific.

406

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 407

November 15th. — At daylight, Tahiti, an island which must for
ever remain classical to the voyager in the South Sea, was in view.
At a distance the appearance was not attractive. The luxuriant
vegetation of the lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds
rolled past, the wildest and most precipitous peaks showed them-
selves towards the centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in
Matavai Bay, we were surrounded by canoes. This was our Sun-
day, but the Monday of Tahiti: if the case had been reversed, we
should not have received a single visit; for the injunction not to
launch a canoe on the Sabbath is rigidly obeyed. After dinner, we
landed to enjoy all the delights produced by the first impressions of
a new country, and that country the charming Tahiti. A crowd of
men, women, and children, was collected on the memorable Point
Venus, ready to receive us with laughing, merry faces. They mar-
shalled us towards the house of Mr. Wilson, the missionary of the
district, who met us on the road, and gave us a very friendly recep-
tion. After sitting a very short time in his house, we separated to
walk about, but returned there in the evening.

The land capable of cultivation, is scarcely in any part more than
a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the
mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef,
which encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef there is an
expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes of
the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. The low
land which comes down to the beach of coral-sand, is covered by
the most beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. In the
midst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots are
cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane, and pine-apples
are cultivated. Even the brush-wood is an imported fruit-tree,
namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become as nox-
ious as a weed. In Brazil I have often admired the varied beauty of
the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together; and here
we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large, glossy, and
deeply digitated leaf. It is admirable to behold groves of a tree,
sending forth its branches with the vigour of an English oak, loaded
with large and most nutritious fruit. However seldom the useful-
ness of an object can account for the pleasure of beholding it, in the

408 CHARLES DARWIN

case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge of their high produc-
tiveness no doubt enters largely into the feeling of admiration. The
little winding paths, cool from the surrounding shade, led to the
scattered houses; the owners of which everywhere gave us a cheer-
ful and most hospitable reception.

I was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants.
There is a mildness in the expression of their countenances which
at once banishes the idea of a savage; and an intelligence which
shows that they are advancing in civilization. The common people,
when working, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked;
and it is then that the Tahitians are seen to advantage. They are
very tall, broad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. It has
been remarked, that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more
pleasing and natural to the eye of an European than his own colour.
A white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian, was like a plant
bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one
growing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are tattooed,
and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so gracefully,
that they have a very elegant effect. One common pattern, varying
in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a palm-tree. It springs
from the central line of the back, and gracefully curls round bath
sides. The simile may be a fanciful one, but I thought the body of
a man thus ornamented was like the trunk of a noble tree embraced
by a delicate creeper.

Many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures,
so placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, however, is partly
gone by, and has been succeeded by others. Here, although fashion
is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in
his youth. An old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his
body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. The women
are tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on
their fingers. One unbecoming fashion is now almost universal:
namely, shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a cir-
cular form, so as to leave only an outer ring. The missionaries have
tried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the fashion,
and that is a sufficient answer at Tahiti, as well as at Paris. I was
much disappointed in the personal appearance of the women: they

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 409

are far inferior in every respect to the men. The custom of wear-
ing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the head, or through a
small hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of woven cocoa-nut leaves
is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The women appear to be in
greater want of some becoming costume even than the men.

Nearly all the natives understand a little English — that is, they
know the names of common things; and by the aid of this, to-
gether with signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on.
In returning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a
very pretty scene. Numbers of children were playing on the beach,
and had lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and sur-
rounding trees; others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses.
We seated ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs
were impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one little girl
sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty
chorus. The whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we
were seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea.

ijth. — This day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday the 17th,
instead of Monday the 16th, owing to our, so far, successful chase
of the sun. Before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla
of canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, I
suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. It was
the opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have
picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have
given so little trouble. Everybody brought something for sale : shells
were the main articles of trade. The Tahitians now fully understand
the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or other articles. The
various coins, however, of English and Spanish denomination puz-
zle them, and they never seemed to think the small silver quite
secure until changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs have accu-
mulated considerable sums of money. One chief, not long since, of-
fered 800 dollars (about 160/. sterling) for a small vessel; and fre-
quently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the rate of from
50 to 100 dollars.

After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to
a height of between two and three thousand feet. The outer moun-
tains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic rocks,

410 CHARLES DARWIN

of which they are formed, have been cut through by many pro-
found ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the island
to the coast. Having crossed the narrow low girt of inhabited and
fertile land, I followed a smooth steep ridge between two of the
deep ravines. The vegetation was singular, consisting almost ex-
clusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled higher up, with coarse
grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the Welsh
hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants on the
coast was very surprising. At the highest point, which I reached,
trees again appeared. Of the three zones of comparative luxuriance,
the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore fertility, to its flat-
ness; for, being scarcely raised above the level of the sea, the water
from the higher land drains away slowly. The intermediate zone
does not, like the upper one, reach into a damp and cloudy atmos-
phere, and therefore remains sterile. The woods in the upper zone
are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing the cocoa-nuts on the coast. It
must not, however, be supposed that these woods at all equal in
splendour the forests of Brazil. The vast numbers of productions,
which characterize a continent, cannot be expected to occur in an
island.

From the highest point which I attained, there was a good view
of the distant island of Eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign
with Tahiti. On the lofty and broken pinnacles, white massive
clouds were piled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as
Eimeo itself did in the blue ocean. The island, with the exception
of one small gateway, is completely encircled by a reef. At this dis-
tance, a narrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone vis-
ible, where the waves first encountered the wall of coral. The moun-
tains rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included
within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of
the ocean were dark-coloured. The view was striking: it may aptly
be compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the
breakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing
the island itself. When in the evening I descended from the moun-
tain, a man, whom I had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bring-
ing with him hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts.
After walking under a burning sun, I do not know anything more

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 4II

delicious than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples are here
so abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner
as we might turnips. They are of an excellent flavor — perhaps even
better than those cultivated in England; and this I believe is the
highest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. Before going
on board, Mr. Wilson interpreted for me to the Tahitian who had
paid me so adroit an attention, that I wanted him and another man
to accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains.

18th. — In the morning I came on shore early, bringing with me
some provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant.
These were lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately
carried by my Tahitian companions on their shoulders. These
men are accustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as
fifty pounds at each end of their poles. I told my guides to provide
themselves with food and clothing; but they said that there was
plenty of food in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins
were sufficient. Our line of march was the valley of Tia-auru, down
which a river flows into the sea by Point Venus. This is one of the
principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of the
loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about 7000 feet.
The whole island is so mountainous that the only way to penetrate
into the interior is to follow up the valleys. Our road, at first, lay
through woods which bordered each side of the river; and the
glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an avenue,
with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side, were ex-
tremely picturesque. The valley soon began to narrow, and the
sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. After having walked be-
tween three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine
scarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. On each hand the
walls were nearly vertical; yet from the soft nature of the volcanic
strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting
ledge. These precipices must have been some thousand feet high;
and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnificent
than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until the midday
sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and damp, but
now it became very sultry. Shaded by a ledge of rock, beneath a
facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. My guides had already

412 CHARLES DARWIN

procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. They carried
with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the water
was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their eyes
open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus caught them.

The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the
water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how much they feel
at home in this element. When a 'horse was landing for Pomarre in
1817, the slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the
natives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at
assistance almost drowned it. As soon, however, as it reached the
shore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide them-
selves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse.

A little higher up, the river divided itself into three little streams.
The two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a succession
of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of the
highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally inacces-
sible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary road.
The sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as fre-
quently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected, which
were thickly covered by wild bananas, lilaceous plants, and other
luxuriant productions of the tropics. The Tahitians, by climbing
amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered a track by
which the whole precipice could be scaled. The first ascent from the
valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to pass a steeply
inclined face of naked rock, by the aid of ropes which we brought
with us. How any person discovered that this formidable spot was
the only point where the side of the mountain was practicable, I
cannot imagine. We then cautiously walked along one of the ledges
till we came to one of the three streams. This ledge formed a flat
spot, above which a beautiful cascade, some hundred feet in height,
poured down its waters, and beneath, another high cascade fell into
the main stream in the valley below. From this cool and shady recess
we made a circuit to avoid the overhanging waterfall. As before,
we followed little projecting ledges, the danger being partly con-
cealed by the thickness of the vegetation. In passing from one of
the ledges to another, there was a vertical wall of rock. One of the
Tahitians, a fine active man, placed the trunk of a tree against this,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 413

climbed up it, and then by the aid of crevices reached the summit.
He fixed the ropes to a projecting point, and lowered them for our
dog and luggage, and then we clambered up ourselves. Beneath
the ledge on which the dead tree was placed, the precipice must
have been five or six hundred feet deep; and if the abyss had not
been partly concealed by the overhanging ferns and lilies my head
would have turned giddy, and nothing should have induced me to
have attempted it. We continued to ascend, sometimes along ledges,
and sometimes along knife-edged ridges, having on each hand pro-
found ravines. In the Cordillera I have seen mountains on a far
grander scale, but for abruptness, nothing at all comparable with
this. In the evening we reached a flat little spot on the banks of the
same stream, which we had continued to follow, and which descends
in a chain of waterfalls: here we bivouacked for the night. On each
side of the ravine there were great beds of the mountain-banana,
covered with ripe fruit. Many of these plants were from twenty to
twenty-five feet high, and from three to four in circumference. By
the aid of strips of bark for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters,
and the large leaf of the banana for a thatch, the Tahitians in a few
minutes built us an excellent house; and with withered leaves made
a soft bed.

They then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal.
A light was procured, by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove
made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the
friction the dust became ignited. A peculiarly white and very light
wood (the Hibiscus tiliaceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is the
same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the floating
out-riggers to their canoes. The fire was produced in a few seconds:
but to a person who does not understand the art, it requires, as I
found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my great pride, I suc-
ceeded in igniting the dust. The Gaucho in the Pampas uses a
different method: taking an elastic stick about eighteen inches long,
he presses one end on his breast, and the other pointed end into a
hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly turns the curved part, like
a carpenter's centre-bit. The Tahitians having made a small fire
of sticks, placed a score of stones, of about the size of cricket^balls, on
the burning wood. In about ten minutes the sticks were consumed,

414 CHARLES DARWIN

and the stones hot. They had previously folded up in small parcels
of leaves, pieces of beef, fish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops
of the wild arum. These green parcels were laid in a layer between
two layers of the hot stones, and the whole then covered up with
earth, so that no smoke or steam could escape. In about a quarter
of an hour, the whole was most deliciously cooked. The choice green
parcels were now laid on a cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-
nut shell we drank the cool water of the running stream; and thus
we enjoyed our rustic meal.

I could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration.
On every side were forests of banana; the fruit of which, though
serving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground.
In front of us there was an extensive brake of wild sugar-cane; and
the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted stem of the Ava, —
so famous in former days for its powerful intoxicating effects. I
chewed a piece, and found that it had an acrid and unpleasant taste,
which would have induced any one at once to have pronounced it
poisonous. Thanks to the missionaries, this plant now thrives only
in these deep ravines, innocuous to every one. Close by I saw the
wild arum, the roots of which, when well baked, are good to eat,
and the young leaves better than spinach. There was the wild yam,
and a liliaceous plant called Ti, which grows in abundance, and has
a soft brown root, in shape and size like a huge log of wood: this
served us for dessert, for it is as sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant
taste. There were, moreover, several other wild fruits, and useful
vegetables. The little stream, besides its cool water, produced eels,
and cray-fish. I did indeed admire this scene, when I compared it
with an uncultivated one in the temperate zones. I felt the force of
the remark, that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers
only partly developed, is the child of the tropics.

As the evening drew to a close, I strolled beneath the gloomy
shade of the bananas up the course of the stream. My walk was soon
brought to a close, by coming to a waterfall between two and three
hundred feet high; and again above this there was another. I men-
tion all these waterfalls in this one brook, to give a general idea of
the inclination of the land. In the little recess where the water fell,
it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. The thin

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 415

edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray, were
unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split into a
thousand shreds. From our position, almost suspended on the moun-
tain side, there were glimpses into the depths of the neighbouring
valleys; and the lofty points of the central mountains, towering up
within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half the evening sky. Thus
seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch the shades of night gradu-
ally obscuring the last and highest pinnacles.

Before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder Tahitian fell on
his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his native
tongue. He prayed as a Christian should do, with fitting reverence,
and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of piety. At our
meals neither of the men would taste food, without saying before-
hand a short grace. Those travellers who think that a Tahitian prays
only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on him, should have
slept with us that night on the mountain-side. Before morning it
rained very heavily; but the good thatch of banana-leaves kept us dry.

November i()th. — At daylight my friends, after their morning
prayer, prepared an excellent breakfast in the same manner as in the
evening. They themselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed I
never saw any men eat near so much. I suppose such enormously
capacious stomachs must be the effect of a large part of their diet
consisting of fruit and vegetables, which contain, in a given bulk,
a comparatively small portion of nutriment. Unwittingly, I was the
means of my companions breaking, as I afterwards learned, one of
their own laws, and resolutions: I took with me a flask of spirits,
which they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they drank
a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and uttered the
word "Missionary." About two years ago, although the use of the
ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of spirits
became very prevalent. The missionaries prevailed on a few good
men, who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to join
with them in a Temperance Society. From good sense or shame, all
the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join. Immedi-
ately a law was passed, that no spirits should be allowed to be intro-
duced into the island, and that he who sold and he who bought the
forbidden article should be punished by a fine. With remarkable

416 CHARLES DARWIN

justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand to be sold,
before the law came into effect. But when it did, a general search
was made, in which even the houses of the missionaries were not
exempted, and all the ava (as the natives call all ardent spirits) was
poured on the ground. When one reflects on the effect of intem-
perance on the aborigines of the two Americas, I think it will be
acknowledged that every well-wisher of Tahiti owes no common
debt of gratitude to the missionaries. As long as the little island of
St. Helena remained under the government of the East India Com-
pany, spirits, owing to the great injury they had produced, were
not allowed to be imported; but wine was supplied from the Cape
of Good Hope. It is rather a striking and not very gratifying
fact, that in the same year that spirits were allowed to be sold in
Helena, their use was banished from Tahiti by the free will of the
people.

After breakfast we proceeded on our journey. As my object was
merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by another
track, which descended into the main valley lower down. For some
distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of the
mountain which formed the valley. In the less precipitous parts we
passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. The Tahitians,
with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads ornamented with
flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these groves, would have
formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some primeval land. In our
descent we followed the line of ridges; these were exceedingly nar-
row, and for considerable lengths steep as a ladder; but all clothed
with vegetation. The extreme care necessary in poising each step
rendered the walk fatiguing. I did not cease to wonder at these
ravines and precipices: when viewing the country from one of the
knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so small, that the effect
was nearly the same as it must be from a balloon. In this descent
we had occasion to use the ropes only once, at the point where we
entered the main valley. We slept under the same ledge of rock
where we had dined the day before : the night was fine, but from the
depth and narrowness of the gorge, profoundly dark.

Before actually seeing this country, I found it difficult to under-
stand two facts mentioned by Ellis; namely, that after the murder-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 417

ous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered side
retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could resist a
multitude. Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where the Ta-
hitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed thousands.
Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity, there were
wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats were
unknown to the more civilized inhabitants.

November 20th. — In the morning we started early, and reached
Matavai at noon. On the road we met a large party of noble athletic
men, going for wild bananas. I found that the ship, on account of the
difficulty in watering, had moved to the harbour of Papawa, to which
place I immediately walked. This is a very pretty spot. The cove
is surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. The
cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed with
cottages, comes close down to the water's edge.

From the varying accounts which I had read before reaching
these islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation,
a judgment of their moral state, — although such judgment would
necessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very
much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. My notions were
drawn from Ellis's "Polynesian Researches" — an admirable and
most interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a
favourable point of view; from Beechey's Voyage; and from that of
Kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system.
He who compares these three accounts will, I think, form a tolerably
accurate conception of the present state of Tahiti. One of my im-
pressions, which I took from the two last authorities, was decidedly
incorrect; viz., that the Tahitians had become a gloomy race, and
lived in fear of the missionaries. Of the latter feeling I saw no trace,
unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded under one name.
Instead of discontent being a common feeling, it would be difficult
in Europe to pick out of a crowd half so many merry and happy
faces. The prohibition of the flute and dancing is inveighed against
as wrong and foolish; — the more than presbyterian manner of keep-
ing the sabbath is looked at in a similar light. On these points I will
not pretend to offer any opinion to men who have resided as many
years as I was days on the island.

41 8 CHARLES DARWIN

On the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of
the inhabitants are highly creditable. There are many who attack,
even more acrimoniously than Kotzebue, both the missionaries,
their system, and the effects produced by it. Such reasoners never
compare the present state with that of the island only twenty years
ago; nor even with that of Europe at this day; but they compare it
with the high standard of Gospel perfection. They expect the mis-
sionaries to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to do.
Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this high
standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of credit for
that which he has effected. They forget, or will not remember, that
human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous priesthood — a
system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part of the world —
infanticide a consequence of that system — bloody wars, where the
conquerors spared neither women nor children — that all these have
been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance, and licentiousness
have been greatly reduced by the introduction of Christianity. In
a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for should he
chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he
will most devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have
extended thus far.

In point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often
said, is most open to exception. But before they are blamed too
severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes described
by Captain Cook and Mr. Banks, in which the grandmothers and
mothers of the present race played a part. Those who are most severe,
should consider how much of the morality of the women in Europe
is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their daugh-
ters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of re-
ligion. But it is useless to argue against such reasoners; — I believe
that, disappointed in not finding the field of licentiousness quite so
open as formerly, they will not give credit to a morality which they
do not wish to practise, or to a religion which they undervalue, if not
despise.

Sunday, 22nd. — The harbour of Papiete, where the queen resides,
may be considered as the capital of the island: it is also the seat
of government, and the chief resort of shipping. Captain Fitz Roy

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 419

took a party there this day to hear divine service, first in the Tahitian
language, and afterwards in our own. Mr. Pritchard, the leading
missionary in the island, performed the service. The chapel consisted
of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to excess by tidy,
clean people, of all ages and both sexes. I was rather disappointed
in the apparent degree of attention; but I believe my expectations
were raised too high. At all events the appearance was quite equal to
that in a country church in England. The singing of the hymns was
decidedly very pleasing, but the language from the pulpit, although
fluently delivered, did not sound well : a constant repetition of words,
like "tata ta, mata mai," rendered it monotonous. After English
service, a party returned on foot to Matavai. It was a pleasant walk,
sometimes along the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the
many beautiful trees.

About two years ago, a small vessel under English colours was
plundered by some of the inhabitants of the Low Islands, which were
then under the dominion of the Queen of Tahiti. It was believed
that the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some indiscreet
laws issued by her majesty. The British government demanded com-
pensation; which was acceded to, and the sum of nearly three
thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last September.
The Commodore at Lima ordered Captain Fitz Roy to inquire con-
cerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were not paid.
Captain Fitz Roy accordingly requested an interview with the Queen
Pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she had received from
the French; and a parliament was held to consider the question, at
which all the principal chiefs of the island and the queen were assem-
bled. I will not attempt to describe what took place, after the interest-
ing account given by Captain Fitz Roy. The money, it appeared, had
not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons were rather equivocal;
but otherwise I cannot sufficiently express our general surprise at
the extreme good sense, the reasoning powers, moderation, candour,
and prompt resolution, which were displayed on all sides. I believe
we all left the meeting with a very different opinion of the Tahitians,
from what we entertained when we entered. The chiefs and people
resolved to subscribe and complete the sum which was wanting;
Captain Fitz Roy urged that it was hard that their private property

420 CHARLES DARWIN

should be sacrificed for the crimes of distant islanders. They replied,
that they were grateful for his consideration, but that Pomarre was
their Queen, and that they were determined to help her in this her
difficulty. This resolution and its prompt execution, for a book was
opened early the next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very
remarkable scene of loyalty and good feeling.

After the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took
the opportunity of asking Captain Fitz Roy many intelligent ques-
tions on international customs and laws, relating to the treatment
of ships and foreigners. On some points, as soon as the decision was
made, the law was issued verbally on the spot. This Tahitian par-
liament lasted for several hours; and when it was over Captain
Fitz Roy invited Queen Pomarre to pay the Beagle a visit.

November 25th. — In the evening four boats were sent for her
majesty; the ship was dressed with flags, and the yards manned on
her coming on board. She was accompanied by most of the chiefs.
The behaviour of all was very proper: they begged for nothing, and
seemed much pleased with Captain Fitz Roy's presents. The queen
is a large awkward woman, without any beauty, grace or dignity.
She has only one royal attribute: a perfect immovability of expression
under all circumstances, and that rather a sullen one. The rockets
were most admired; and a deep "Oh!" could be heard from the
shore, all round the dark bay, after each explosion. The sailors' songs
were also much admired; and the queen said she thought that one
of the most boisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! The royal
party did not return on shore till past midnight.

26^/2. — In the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was
steered for New Zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view
of the mountains of Tahiti — the island to which every voyager has
offered up his tribute of admiration.

December igth. — In the evening we saw in the distance New Zea-
land. We may now consider that we have nearly crossed the
Pacific. It is necessary to sail over this great ocean to comprehend its
immensity. Moving quickly onwards for weeks together, we meet
with nothing but the same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. Even
within the archipelagoes, the islands are mere specks, and far distant
one from the other. Accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 42 1

scale, where dots, shading, and names are crowded together, we do
not rightly judge how infinitely small the proportion of dry land is
to water of this vast expanse. The meridian of the Antipodes has
likewise been passed; and now every league, it made us happy to
think, was one league nearer to England. These Antipodes call to
one's mind old recollections of childish doubt and wonder. Only the
other day I looked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in
our voyage homewards; but now I find it, and all such resting-places
for the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards
cannot catch. A gale of wind lasting for some days, has lately given
us full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward voyage,
and to wish most earnestly for its termination.

December 21st. — Early in the morning we entered the Bay of
Islands, and being becalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did
not reach the anchorage till the middle of the day. The country is
hilly, with a smooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous
arms of the sea extending from the bay. The surface appears from a
distance as if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing
but fern. On the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the valleys,
there is a good deal of woodland. The general tint of the landscape
is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a short distance
to the south of Concepcion in Chile. In several parts of the bay, little
villages of square tidy-looking houses are scattered close down to the
water's edge. Three whaling-ships were lying at anchor, and a
canoe every now and then crossed from shore to shore; with these
exceptions, an air of extreme quietness reigned over the whole dis-
trict. Only a single canoe came alongside. This, and the aspect of
the whole scene, afforded a remarkable, and not very pleasing
contrast, with our joyful and boisterous welcome at Tahiti.

In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of
houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. Its name
is Pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no
native residents except servants and labourers. In the vicinity of the
Bay of Islands, the number of Englishmen, including their families,
amounts to between two and three hundred. All the cottages, many
of which are white-washed and look very neat, are the property of
the English. The hovels of the natives are so diminutive and paltry,

4'22 CHARLES DARWIN

that they can scarcely be perceived from a distance. At Pahia, it was
quite pleasing to behold the English flowers in the gardens before the
houses; there were roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine,
stocks, and whole hedges of sweetbrier.

December 22nd. — In the morning I went out walking; but I soon
found that the country was very impracticable. All the hills are
thickly covered with tall fern, together with a low bush which
grows like a cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or
cultivated. I then tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either
hand, my walk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep
brooks. The communication between the inhabitants of the different
parts of the bay, is (as in Chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats.
I was surprised to find that almost every hill which I ascended, had
been at some former time more or less fortified. The summits were
cut into steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been
protected by deep trenches. I afterwards observed that the principal
hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline. These
are the Pas, so frequendy mentioned by Captain Cook under
the name of "hippah;" the difference of sound being owing to the
prefixed article.

That the Pas had formerly been much used, was evident from the
piles of shells, and the pits in which, as I was informed, sweet potatoes
used to be kept as a reserve. As there was no water on these hills,
the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a
hurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces
would have afforded good protection. The general introduction of
fire-arms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed
situation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. The Pas in
consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level piece of
ground. They consist of a double stockade of thick and tall posts,
placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be flanked. Within the
stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind which the defenders
can rest in safety, or use their fire-arms over it. On the level of the
ground little archways sometimes pass through this breastwork, by
which means the defenders can crawl out to the stockade and recon-
noitre their enemies. The Rev. W. Williams, who gave me this
account, added, that in one Pas he had noticed spurs or buttresses

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 423

projecting on the inner and protected side of the mound of earth.
On asking the chief the use of them, he replied, that if two or three
of his men were shot, their neighbours would not see the bodies, and
so be discouraged.

These Pas are considered by the New Zealanders as very perfect
means of defense : for the attacking force is never so well disciplined
as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and effect their
entry. When a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot order one party
to go here and another there; but every man fights in the manner
which best pleases himself; and to each separate individual to ap-
proach a stockade defended by fire-arms must appear certain death.
I should think a more warlike race of inhabitants could not be found
in any part of the world than the New Zealanders. Their conduct
on first seeing a ship, as described by Captain Cook, strongly illus-
trates this: the act of throwing volleys of stones at so great and
novel an object, and their defiance of "Come on shore and we will
kill and eat you all," shows uncommon boldness. This warlike spirit
is evident in many of their customs, and even in their smallest
actions. If a New Zealander is struck, although but in joke, the blow
must be returned and of this I saw an instance with one of our
officers.

At the present day, from the progress of civilization, there is
much less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. I
heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in
the south. A missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation
for war; — their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition
ready. He reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little
provocation which had been given for it. The chief was much shaken
in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred to
him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that it
would not keep much longer. This was brought forward as an
unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring
war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not
to be thought of; and this settled the point. I was told by the mis-
sionaries that in the life of Shongi, the chief who visited England,
the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every action. The
tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time been oppressed

424 CHARLES DARWIN

by another tribe from the Thames River. A solemn oath was taken
by the men that when their boys should grow up, and they should
be powerful enough, they would never forget or forgive these in-
juries. To fulfil this oath appears to have been Shongi's chief motive
for going to England; and when there it was his sole object. Presents
were valued only as they could be converted into arms; of the arts,
those alone interested him which were connected with the manu-
facture of arms. When at Sydney, Shongi, by a strange coincidence,
met the hostile chief of the Thames River at the house of Mr.
Marsden: their conduct was civil to each other; but Shongi told him
that when again in New Zealand he would never cease to carry war
into his country. The challenge was accepted; and Shongi on his
return fulfilled the threat to the utmost letter. The tribe on the
Thames River was utterly overthrown, and the chief to whom the
challenge had been given was himself killed. Shongi, although har-
bouring such deep feelings of hatred and revenge, is described as
having been a good-natured person.

In the evening I went with Captain Fitz Roy and Mr. Baker, one
of the missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika : we wandered about
the village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both
men, women, and children. Looking at the New Zealander, one
naturally compares him with the Tahitian; both belonging to the
same family of mankind. The comparison, however, tells heavily
against the New Zealander. He may, perhaps be superior in energy,
but in every other respect his character is of a much lower order. One
glance at their respective expressions, brings conviction to the mind
that one is a savage, the other a civilized man. It would be vain to
seek in the whole of New Zealand a person with the face and mien
of the old Tahitian chief Utamme. No doubt the extraordinary man-
ner in which tattooing is here practised, gives a disagreeable expres-
sion to their countenances. The complicated but symmetrical figures
covering the whole face, puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye:
it is moreover probable, that the deep incisions, by destroying the
play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid inflexibility. But,
besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye, which cannot indicate
anything but cunning and ferocity. Their figures are tall and bulky;

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 425

but not comparable in elegance with those of the working-classes in
Tahiti.

But their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the
idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to
enter their heads. I saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and
matted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he
replied, with surprise, "Do not you see it is an old one?" Some of the
men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large blankets,
generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their shoulders in
a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the principal
chiefs have decent suits of English clothes; but these are only worn
on great occasions.

December 23rd. — At a place called Waimate, about fifteen miles
from the Bay of Islands, and midway between the eastern and west-
ern coasts, the missionaries have purchased some land for agricul-
tural purposes. I had been introduced to the Rev. W. Williams, who,
upon my expressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. Mr.
Bushby, the British resident, offered to take me in his boat by a
creek, where I should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my
walk would be shortened. He likewise procured for me a guide.

Upon asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief
himself offered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was
so complete, that at first he asked how many pounds I would give
him, but afterwards was well contented with two dollars. When I
showed the chief a very small bundle, which I wanted carried, it
became absolutely necessary for him to take a slave. These feelings
of pride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man
would sooner have died, than undergone the indignity of carrying
the smallest burden. My companion was a light active man, dressed
in a dirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. He had
formerly been a great warrior. He appeared to be on very cordial
terms with Mr. Bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled
violently. Mr. Bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would
frequently silence any one of these natives in their most blustering
moments. This chief has come and harangued Mr. Bushby in a
hectoring manner, saying, "great chief, a great man, a friend of mine,

426 CHARLES DARWIN

has come to pay me a visit — you must give him something good to
eat, some fine presents, etc." Mr. Bushby has allowed him to finish
his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some answer such as,
"What else shall your slave do for you?" The man would then
instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his braggadocio.

Some time ago, Mr. Bushby suffered a far more serious attack.
A chief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the
middle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a brisk
firing with their muskets. Mr. Bushby was slightly wounded, but
the party was at length driven away. Shortly afterwards it was
discovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the
chiefs was convened to consider the case. It was considered by the
New Zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night attack,
and that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill in the house: this latter circum-
stance, much to their honour, being considered in all cases as a
protection. The chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of the aggressor
to the King of England. The whole proceeding, however, in thus
trying and punishing a chief was entirely without precedent. The
aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of his equals and
this was considered by the British as of more consequence than the
confiscation of his land.

As the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who
only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek.
I never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man
had. It immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness:
it will be found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin,
where two men are pushing Robert into the burning iron furnace.
It is the man who has his arm on Robert's breast. Physiognomy here
spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was
an arrant coward to boot. At the point where the boat landed, Mr.
Bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: I could
not help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain,
whom we left lying in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby,
"Do not you stay long, I shall be tired of waiting here."

We now commenced our walk. The road lay along a well beaten
path, bordered on each side by the tall fern, which covers the whole
country. After travelling some miles, we came to a little country

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 427

village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some patches
of ground cultivated with potatoes. The introduction of the potato
has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now much
more used than any native vegetable. New Zealand is favoured by
one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can never
perish from famine. The whole country abounds with fern: and the
roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much nutriment.
A native can always subsist on these, and on the shell-fish, which are
abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. The villages are chiefly con-
spicuous by the platforms which are raised on four posts ten or twelve
feet above the ground, and on which the produce of the fields is kept
secure from all accidents.

On coming near one of the huts I was much amused by seeing in
due form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called, press-
ing noses. The women, on our first approach, began uttering some-
thing in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves down
and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one after
another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to theirs, and
commenced pressing. This lasted rather longer than a cordial shake
of the hand with us; and as we vary the force of the grasp of the
hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. During the process they
uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the same manner as
two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. I noticed that the
slave would press noses with any one he met, indifferently either be-
fore or after his master the chief. Although among the savages, the
chief has absolute power of life and death over his slave, yet there is
an entire absence of ceremony between them. Mr. Burchell has
remarked the same thing in Southern Africa, with the rude Bacha-
pins. Where civilization has arrived at a certain point, complex
formalities soon arise between the different grades of society: thus
at Tahiti all were formerly obliged to uncover themselves as low as
the waist in presence of the king.

The ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with
all present, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of the
hovels, and rested there half-an-hour. All the hovels have nearly
the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being filthily dirty.
They resemble a cowshed with one end open, but having a partition

428 CHARLES DARWIN

a little way within, with a square hole in it, making a small gloomy
chamber. In this the inhabitants keep all their property, and when
the weather is cold they sleep there. They eat, however, and pass
their time in the open part in front. My guides having finished their
pipes, we continued our walk. The path led through the same undu-
lating country, the whole uniformly clothed as before with fern. On
our right hand we had a serpentine river, the banks of which were
fringed with trees, and here and there on the hill sides there was a
clump of wood. The whole scene, in spite of its green colour, had
rather a desolate aspect. The sight of so much fern impresses the
mind with an idea of sterility: this, however, is not correct; for
wherever the fern grows thick and breast-high, the land by tillage
becomes productive. Some of the residents think that all this exten-
sive open country originally was covered with forests, and that it has
been cleared by fire. It is said, that by digging in the barest spots,
lumps of the kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are
frequently found. The natives had an evident motive in clearing the
country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only
in the open cleared tracks. The almost entire absence of associated
grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of this
island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been abo-
riginally covered with forest-trees.

The soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over shaggy lavas,
and craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the neigh-
bouring hills. Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and only
occasionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I should have enjoyed it
more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed extraordinary
conversational powers. I knew only three words: "good," "bad," and
"yes:" and with these I answered all his remarks, without of course
having understood one word he said. This, however, was quite
sufficient: I was a good listener, an agreeable person, and he never
ceased talking to me.

At length we reached Waimate. After having passed over so many
miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of an
English farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as if by
an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. Mr. Williams not
being at home, I received in Mr. Davies's house a cordial welcome.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 429

After drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll about the
farm. At Waimate there are three large houses, where the mis-
sionary gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside;
and near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an adjoining
slope, fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and
in another part, fields of potatoes and clover. But I cannot attempt to
describe all I saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit and
vegetable which England produces; and many belonging to a
warmer clime. I may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers,
rhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives, goose-
berries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks; also many
kinds of flowers. Around the farm-yard there were stables, a thrash-
ing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge, and on
the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was that
happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together, as in
every English farm-yard. At the distance of a few hundred yards,
where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a pool,
there was a large and substantial water-mill.

All this is very surprising, when it is considered that five years
ago nothing but the fern flourished here. Moreover, native work-
manship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this change; — the
lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. The house had been
built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and even the trees
grafted, by a New Zealander. At the mill, a New Zealander was seen
powdered white with flower, like his brother miller in England.
When I looked at this whole scene, I thought it admirable. It was
not merely that England was brought vividly before my mind;
yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic sounds, the fields of
corn, the distant undulating country with its trees might well have
been mistaken for our fatherland : nor was it the triumphant feeling
at seeing what Englishmen could effect; but rather the high hopes
thus inspired for the future progress of this fine island.

Several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery,
were employed on the farm. They were dressed in a shirt, jacket,
and trousers, and had a respectable appearance. Judging from one
trifling anecdote, I should think they must be honest. When walking
in the fields, a young labourer came up to Mr. Davies, and gave him

430 CHARLES DARWIN

a knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and
did not know to whom they belonged! These young men and boys
appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening I saw a
party of them at cricket: when I thought of the austerity of which
the missionaries have been accused, I was amused by observing one
of their own sons taking an active part in the game. A more decided
and pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who
acted as servants within the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy
appearance, like that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a won-
derful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in Kororadika.
The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to be
tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the south, they
said, "We really must just have a few lines on our lips; else when we
grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be so very ugly." There
is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly; but as it is a badge of
distinction between the chief and the slave, it will probably long be
practised. So soon does any train of ideas become habitual, that the
missionaries told me that even in their eyes a plain face looked mean,
and not like that of a New Zealand gentleman.

Late in the evening I went to Mr. Williams's house, where I passed
the night. I found there a large party of children, collected together
for Christmas Day, and all sitting round a table at tea. I never saw
a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was in the
centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious crimes!
The cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the faces of the
little circle, appeared equally felt by the older persons of the
mission.

December 24th. — In the morning, prayers were read in the native
tongue to the whole family. After breakfast I rambled about the
gardens and farm. This was a market-day, when the natives of the
surrounding hamlets bring their potatoes, Indian corn, or pigs, to
exchange for blankets, tobacco, and sometimes, through the persua-
sions of the missionaries, for soap. Mr. Davies's eldest son, who
manages a farm of his own, is the man of business in the market.
The children of the missionaries, who came while young to the
island, understand the language better than their parents, and can
get anything more readily done by the natives.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 43 I

A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me
to a part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine.
I measured one of the noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in cir-
cumference above the roots. There was another close by, which I
did not see, thirty-three feet; and I heard of one no less than forty
feet. These trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical boles,
which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet, with a nearly
equal diameter, and without a single branch. The crown of branches
at the summit is out of all proportion small to the trunk; and the
leaves are likewise small compared with the branches. The forest was
here almost composed of the kauri; and the largest trees, from the
parallelism of their sides, stood up like gigantic columns of wood.
The timber of the kauri is the most valuable production of the island;
moreover, a quantity of resin oozes from the bark, which is sold at a
penny a pound to the Americans, but its use was then unknown.
Some of the New Zealand forest must be impenetrable to an extraor-
dinary degree. Mr. Matthews informed me that one forest only
thirty-four miles in width, and separating two inhabited districts, had
only lately, for the first time, been crossed. He and another mis-
sionary, each with a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a
road; but it cost more than a fortnight's labour! In the woods I saw
very few birds. With regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact,
that so large an island, extending over more than 700 miles in lati-
tude, and in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine
climate, and land of all heights, from 14,000 feet downwards, with
the exception of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous animal.
The several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the Deinornis
seem here to have replaced mammiferous quadrupeds, in the same
manner as the reptiles still do at the Galapagos archipelago. It is said
that the common Norway rat, in the short space of two years, anni'
hilated in this northern end of the island, the New Zealand species.
In many places I noticed several sorts of weeds, which, like the rats,
I was forced to own as countrymen. A leek has overrun whole dis-
tricts, and will prove very troublesome, but it was imported as a
favour by a French vessel. The common dock is also widely dissem-
inated, and will, I fear, for ever remain a proof of the rascality of an
Englishman, who sold the seeds for those of the tobacco plant.

432 CHARLES DARWIN

On returning from our pleasant walk to the house, I dined with
Mr. Williams; and then, a horse being lent me, I returned to the
Bay of Islands. I took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness for
their kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect for their
gentlemanlike, useful, and upright characters. I think it would be
difficult to find a body of men better adapted for the high office which
they fulfil.

Christmas Day. — In a few more days the fourth year of our absence
from England will be completed. Our first Christmas Day was spent
at Plymouth; the second at St. Martin's Cove, near Cape Horn; the
third at Port Desire, in Patagonia; the fourth at anchor in a wild
harbour in the peninsula of Tres Montes; this fifth here; and the
next, I trust in Providence, will be in England. We attended divine
service in the chapel of Pahia; part of the service being read in
English, and part in the native language. Whilst at New Zealand
we did not hear of any recent acts of cannibalism; but Mr. Stokes
found burnt human bones strewed round a fire-place on a small
island near the anchorage; but these remains of a comfortable ban-
quet might have been lying there for several years. It is probable
that the moral state of the people will rapidly improve. Mr. Bushby
mentioned one pleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some,
at least, of those who profess Christianity. One of his young men
left him, who had been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the
servants. Some weeks afterwards, happening to pass late in the
evening by an outhouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading
the Bible with difficulty by the light of the fire, to the others. After
this the party knelt and prayed: in their prayers they mentioned Mr.
Bushby and his family, and the missionaries, each separately in his
respective district.

December 26th. — Mr. Bushby offered to take Mr. Sulivan and
myself in his boat some miles up the river to Cawa-Cawa; and
proposed afterwards to walk on to the village of Waiomio, where
there are some curious rocks. Following one of the arms of the bay,
we enjoyed a pleasant row, and passed through pretty scenery, until
we came to a village, beyond which the boat could not pass. From
this place a chief and a party of men volunteered to walk with us to
Waiomio, a distance of four miles. The chief was at this time rather

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 433

notorious from having lately hung one of his wives and a slave for
adultery. When one of the missionaries remonstrated with him he
seemed surprised, and said he thought he was exactly following the
English method. Old Shongi, who happened to be in England
during the Queen's trial, expressed great disapprobation at the whole
proceeding: he said he had five wives, and he would rather cut off
all their heads than be so much troubled about one. Leaving this
village, we crossed over to another, seated on a hill-side at a little
distance. The daughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died
there five days before. The hovel in which she had expired had been
burnt to the ground: her body being enclosed between two small
canoes, was placed upright on the ground, and protected by an
enclosure bearing wooden images of their gods, and the whole was
painted bright red, so as to be conspicuous from afar. Her gown was
fastened to the coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot.
The relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies,
and faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the old
women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. On the following day
some of the officers visited this place, and found the women still
howling and cutting themselves.

We continued our walk, and soon reached Waiomio. Here there
are some singular masses of limestone, resembling ruined castles.
These rocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence
are held too sacred to be approached. One of the young men, how-
ever, cried out, "Let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when
within a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and
stopped short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us
to examine the whole place. At this village we rested some hours,
during which time there was a long discussion with Mr. Bushby,
concerning the right of sale of certain lands. One old man, who
appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive possessors by
bits of stick driven into the ground. Before leaving the houses a
little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given to each of our
party; and we all, according to the custom, carried them away to
eat on the road. I noticed that among the women employed in cook-
ing, there was a man-slave: it must be a humiliating thing for a man
in this warlike country to be employed in doing that which is con-

434 CHARLES DARWIN

sidered as the lowest woman's work. Slaves are not allowed to go to
war; but this perhaps can hardly be considered as a hardship. I
heard of one poor wretch who, during hostilities, ran away to the
opposite party; being met by two men, he was immediately seized;
but as they could not agree to whom he should belong, each stood
over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed determined that the other
at least should not take him away alive. The poor man, almost dead
with fright, was only saved by the address of a chief's wife. We
afterwards enjoyed a pleasant walk back to the boat, but did not
reach the ship till late in the evening.

December 30th. — In the afternoon we stood out of the Bay of
Islands, on our course to Sydney. I believe we were all glad to leave
New Zealand. It is not a pleasant place. Amongst the natives there
is absent that charming simplicity which is found in Tahiti; and the
greater part of the English are the very refuse of society. Neither is
the country itself attractive. I look back but to one bright spot, and
that is Waimate, with its Christian inhabitants.

CHAPTER XIX

Australia

Sydney — Excursion to Bathurst — Aspect of the Woods — Party of Natives
— Gradual Extinction of the Aborigines — Infection generated by asso-
ciated Men in health — Blue Mountains — View of the grand gulf-like
Valleys — -Their origin and formation — Bathurst, general civility of the
Lower Orders — State of Society — Van Diemen's Land — Hobart Town
— Aborigines all banished — Mount Wellington — King George's Sound
— Cheerless Aspect of the Country — Bald Head, calcareous casts of
branches of Trees — Party of Natives — Leave Australia.

y'ANUARY 12th, i836. — Early in the morning a light air carried
us towards the entrance of Port Jackson. Instead of beholding
a verdant country, interspersed with fine houses, a straight
line of yellowish cliff brought to our minds the coast of Patagonia.
A solitary lighthouse, built of white stone, alone told us that we were
near a great and populous city. Having entered the harbour, it
appears fine and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of horizontally
stratified sandstone. The nearly level country is covered with thin
scrubby trees, bespeaking the curse of sterility. Proceeding further
inland, the country improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are
here and there scattered along the beach. In the distance stone
houses, two and three stories high, and windmills standing on the
edge of a bank, pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital
of Australia.

At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little
basin occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses.
In the evening I walked through the town, and returned full of
admiration at the whole scene. It is a most magnificent testimony
to the power of the British nation. Here, in a less promising country,
scores of years have done many more times more than an equal
number of centuries have effected in South America. My first feeling
was to congratulate myself that I was born an Englishman. Upon
seeing more of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a

435

436 CHARLES DARWIN

little; but yet it is a fine town. The streets are regular, broad, clean,
and kept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the
shops well furnished. It may be faithfully compared to the large
suburbs which stretch out from London and a few other great
towns in England; but not even near London or Birmingham is there
an appearance of such rapid growth. The number of large houses
and other buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless,
every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring
a house. Coming from South America, where in the towns every
man of property is known, no one thing surprised me more than
not being able to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage
belonged.

I hired a man and two horses to take me to Bathurst, a village
about one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre
of a great pastoral district. By this means I hoped to gain a general
idea of the appearance of the country. On the morning of the 16th
(January) I set out on my excursion. The first stage took us to
Paramatta, a small country town, next to Sydney in importance. The
roads were excellent, and made upon the MacAdam principle, whin-
stone having been brought for the purpose from the distance of
several miles. In all respects there was a close resemblance to Eng-
land: perhaps the alehouses here were more numerous. The iron
gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed here some offense,
appeared the least like England: they were working in chains, under
the charge of sentries with loaded arms.

The power which the government possesses, by means of forced
labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has
been, I believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this colony.
I slept at night at a very comfortable inn at Emu ferry, thirty-five
miles from Sydney, and near the ascent of the Blue Mountains. This
line of road is the most frequented, and has been the longest in-
habited of any in the colony. The whole land is enclosed with high
railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in rearing hedges. There
are many substantial houses and good cottages scattered about; but
although considerable pieces of land are under cultivation, the greater
part yet remains as when first discovered.

The extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 437

feature in the landscape of the greater part of New South Wales.
Everywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially
covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of verdure.
The trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have their
leaves placed in a vertical, instead of, as in Europe, in a nearly
horizontal position : the foliage is scanty, and of a peculiar pale green
tint; without any gloss. Hence the woods appear light and shadow-
less: this, although a loss of comfort to the traveller under the scorch-
ing rays of summer, is of importance to the farmer, as it allows grass
to grow where it otherwise would not. The leaves are not shed
periodically: this character appears common to the entire southern
hemisphere, namely, South America, Australia, and the Cape of
Good Hope. The inhabitants of this hemisphere, and of the inter-
tropical regions, thus lose perhaps one of the most glorious, though
to our eyes common, spectacles in the world — the first bursting into
full foliage of the leafless tree. They may, however, say that we pay
dearly for this by having the land covered with mere naked skeletons
for so many months. This is too true; but our senses thus acquire
a keen relish for the exquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of
those living within the tropics, sated during the long year with the
gorgeous productions of those glowing climates, can never experi-
ence. The greater number of the trees, with the exception of some
of the Blue-gums, do not attain a large size; but they grow tall and
tolerably straight, and stand well apart. The bark of some of the
Eucalypti falls annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing
about with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate and untidy
appearance. I cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every
respect, than between the forests of Valdivia or Chiloe, and the woods
of Australia.

At sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines passed by,
each carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and
other weapons. By giving a leading young man a shilling, they
were easily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement.
They were all partly clothed, and several could speak a little English:
their countenances were good-humoured and pleasant, and they
appeared far from being such utterly degraded beings as they have
usually been represented. In their own arts they are admirable. A

438 CHARLES DARWIN

cap being fixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a
spear, delivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow
from the bow of a practised archer. In tracking animals or men
they show most wonderful sagacity; and I heard of several of their
remarks which manifested considerable acuteness. They will not,
however, cultivate the ground, or build houses and remain stationary,
or even take the trouble of tending a flock of sheep when given to
them. On the whole, they appear to me to stand some few degrees
higher in the scale of civilization than the Fuegians.

It is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilized people, a
set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where
they shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting in
the woods. As the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread
over the country belonging to several tribes. These, although thus
enclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions,
and sometimes go to war with each other. In an engagement which
took place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre of
the village of Bathurst for the field of battle. This was of service
to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge in the
barracks.

The number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. In my whole
ride, with the exception of some boys brought up by Englishmen,
I saw only one other party. This decrease, no doubt, must be partly
owing to the introduction of spirits, to European diseases (even the
milder ones of which, such as the measles, 1 prove very destructive),
and to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. It is said that
numbers of their children invariably perish in very early infancy
from the effects of their wandering life; and as the difficulty of
procuring food increases, so must their wandering habits increase;
and hence the population, without any apparent deaths from famine,
is repressed in a manner extremely sudden compared to what hap-
pens in civilized countries, where the father, though in adding to his
labour he may injure himself, does not destroy his offspring.

Besides the several evident causes of destruction, there appears

1 It is remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates. At
the little island of St. Helena the introduction of scarlet fever is dreaded as a plague.
In some countries, foreigners and natives are as differently affected by certain con-
tagious disorders as if they had been different animals; of which fact some instances
have occurred in Chile; and, according to Humboldt, in Mexico (Polit. Essay, New
Spain, vol. iv.).

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 439

to be some more mysterious agency generally at work. Wherever
the European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. We
may look to the wide extent of the Americas, Polynesia, the Cape of
Good Hope, and Australia, and we find the same result. Nor is it
the white man alone that thus acts the destroyer; the Polynesian of
Malay extraction has in parts of the East Indian archipelago, thus
driven before him the dark-coloured native. The varieties of man
seem to act on each other in the same way as different species of
animals — the stronger always extirpating the weaker. It was melan-
choly at New Zealand to hear the fine energetic natives saying, that
they knew the land was doomed to pass from their children. Every
one has heard of the inexplicable reduction of the population in the
beautiful and healthy island of Tahiti since the date of Captain
Cook's voyages: although in that case we might have expected that
it would have been increased; for infanticide, which formerly pre-
vailed to so extraordinary a degree, has ceased; profligacy has greatly
diminished, and the murderous wars become less frequent.

The Rev. J. Williams, in his interesting work 2 , says, that the first
intercourse between natives and Europeans, "is invariably attended
with the introduction of fever, dysentery, or some other disease,
which carries off numbers of the people." Again he affirms, "It is
certainly a fact, which cannot be controverted, that most of the dis-
eases which have raged in the islands during my residence there,
have been introduced by ships; 3 and what renders this fact remark-

2 Narrative of Missionary Enterprise, p. 282.

3 Captain Beechcy (chap, iv., vol. i.) states that the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island
are firmly convinced that after the arrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other
disorders. Captain Becchey attributes this to the change of diet during the time of the
visit. Dr. Macculloch (Western Isles, vol. ii. p. 32) says: "It is asserted, that on the
arrival of a stranger (at St. Kilda) all the inhabitants, in the common phraseology,
catch a cold." Dr. Macculloch considers the whole case, although often previously
affirmed, as ludicrous. He adds, however, that "the question was put by us to the
inhabitants who unanimously agreed in the story." In Vancouver's Voyage, there is a
somewhat similar statement with respect to Otaheite. Dr. Dieffenbach, in a note to
his translation of this Journal, states that the same fact is universally believed by the
inhabitants of the Chatham Islands, and in parts of New Zealand. It is impossible that
such a belief should have become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the Antip-
odes, and in the Pacific, without some good foundation. Humboldt (Polit. Essay on
King of New Spain, vol. iv.) says, that the great epidemics of Panama and Cailao are
"marked" by the arrival of ships from Chile, because the people from that temperate
region, first experience the fatal effects of the torrid zones. I may add, that I have
heard it stated in Shropshire, that sheep, which have been imported from vessels,
although themselves in a healthy condition, if placed in the same fold with others,
frequently produce sickness in the flock.

440 CHARLES DARWIN

able is, that there might be no appearance of disease among the crew
of the ship which conveyed this destructive importation." This
statement is not quite so extraordinary as it at first appears; for
several cases are on record of the most malignant fevers having
broken out, although the parties themselves, who were the cause,
were not affected. In the early part of the reign of George III., a
prisoner who had been confined in a dungeon, was taken in a coach
with four constables before a magistrate; and although the man
himself was not ill, the four constables died from a short putrid fever;
but the contagion extended to no others. From these facts it would
almost appear as if the effluvium of one set of men shut up for some
time together was poisonous when inhaled by others; and possibly
more so, if the men be of different races. Mysterious as this circum-
stance appears to be, it is not more surprising than that the body of
one's fellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction
has commenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality, that the
mere puncture from an instrument used in its dissection, should
prove fatal.

lyth. — Early in the morning we passed the Nepean in a ferry-boat.
The river, although at this spot both broad and deep, had a very
small body of running water. Having crossed a low piece of land on
the opposite side, we reached the slope of the Blue Mountains. The
ascent is not steep, the road having been cut with much care on the
side of a sandstone cliff. On the summit an almost level plain ex-
tends, which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last attains
a height of more than 3000 feet. From so grand a title as Blue Moun-
tains, and from their absolute altitude, I expected to have seen a bold
chain of mountains crossing the country; but instead of this, a sloping
plain presents merely an inconsiderable front to the low land near
the coast. From this first slope, the view of the extensive woodland
to the east was striking, and the surrounding trees grew bold and
lofty. But when once on the sandstone platform, the scenery becomes
exceedingly monotonous; each side of the road is bordered by scrubby
trees of the never-failing Eucalyptus family; and with the exception
of two or three small inns, there are no houses or cultivated land:
the road, moreover, is solitary; the most frequent object being a
bullock-waggon, piled up with bales of wool.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 44 1

In the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little inn, called
the Weatherboard. The country here is elevated 2800 feet above the
sea. About a mile and a half from this place there is a view exceed-
ingly well worth visiting. Following down a little valley and its
tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the
trees which border the pathway, at the depth of perhaps 1500 feet.
Walking on a few yards, one stands on the brink of a vast precipice,
and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for I know not what other
name to give it, thickly covered with forest. The point of view is
situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff diverging on each
side, and showing headland behind headland, as on a bold sea-coast.
These cliffs are composed of horizontal strata of whitish sandstone;
and are so absolutely vertical, that in many places a person standing
on the edge and throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees
in the abyss below. So unbroken is the line of cliff, that in order to
reach the foot of the waterfall, formed by this little stream, it is said
to be necessary to go sixteen miles round. About five miles distant
in front, another line of cliff extends, which thus appears completely
to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as
applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. If we imagine a
winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like
shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom,
we should then have the appearance and structure here exhibited.
This kind of view was to me quite novel, and extremely magnificent.

In the evening we reached the Blackheath. The sandstone plateau
has here attained the height of 3400 feet; and is covered, as before,
with the same scrubby woods. From the road, there were occasional
glimpses into a profound valley, of the same character as the one
described; but from the steepness and depth of its sides, the bottom
was scarcely ever to be seen. The Blackheath is a very comfortable
inn, kept by an old soldier; and it reminded me of the small inns
in North Wales.

18th. — Very early in the morning, I walked about three miles to
see Govett's Leap; a view of a similar character with that near
the Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in
the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although
destroying the general effect of the view added to the apparent depth

44 2 CHARLES DARWIN

at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. These valleys,
which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the
most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most
remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at their upper ends,
often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone
platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories
into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated,
masses. To descend into some of these valleys, it is necessary to go
round twenty miles; and into others, the surveyors have only lately
penetrated, and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their
cattle. But the most remarkable feature in their structure is, that
although several miles wide at their heads, they generally contract
towards their mouths to such a degree as to become impassable. The
Surveyor-General, Sir T. Mitchell, 1 endeavoured in vain, first walk-
ing and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of
sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the river Grose
joins the Nepean; yet the valley of the Grose in its upper part, as I
saw, forms a magnificent level basin some miles in width, and is
on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed
to be nowhere less than 3000 feet above the level of the sea. When
cattle are driven into the valley of the Wolgan by a path (which I
descended), pardy natural and pardy made by the owner of the land,
they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part surrounded
by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down, it contracts from
an average width of half a mile, to a mere chasm, impassable to man
or beast. Sir T. Mitchell states that the great valley of the Cox river
with all its branches, contracts, where it unites with the Nepean, into
a gorge 2200 yards in width, and about 1000 feet in depth. Other
similar cases might have been added.

The first impression, on seeing the correspondence of the hori-
zontal strata on each side of these valleys and great amphitheatrical
depressions, is that they have been hollowed out, like other valleys,
by the action of water; but when one reflects on the enormous
amount of stone, which on this view must have been removed

4 Travels in Australia, vol. i. p. 154. I must express my obligation to Sir T. Mitchell,
for several interesting personal communications on the subject of these great valleys
of New South Wales.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 443

through mere gorges or chasms, one is led to ask whether these
spaces may not have subsided. But considering the form of the
irregularly branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories
projecting into them from the platforms, we are compelled to aban-
don this notion. To attribute these hollows to the present alluvial
action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage from the sum-
mit-level always fall, as I remarked near the Weatherboard, into the
head of these valleys, but into one side of their bay-like recesses.
Some of the inhabitants remarked to me that they never viewed one
of those bay-like recesses, with the headlands receding on both hands,
without being struck with their resemblance to a bold sea-coast.
This is certainly the case; moreover, on the present coast of New
South Wales, the numerous, fine, widely-branching harbours, which
are generally connected with the sea by a narrow mouth worn
through the sandstone coast-cliffs, varying from one mile in width
to a quarter of a mile, present a likeness, though on a miniature scale,
to the great valleys of the interior. But then immediately occurs the
startling difficulty, why has the sea worn out these great, though
circumscribed depressions on a wide platform, and left mere gorges
at the openings, through which the whole vast amount of triturated
matter must have been carried away? The only light I can throw
upon this enigma, is by remarking that banks of the most irregular
forms appear to be now forming in some seas, as in parts of the
West Indies and in the Red Sea, and that their sides are exceedingly
steep. Such banks, I have been led to suppose, have been formed by
sediment heaped by strong currents on an irregular bottom. That
in some cases the sea, instead of spreading out sediment in a uniform
sheet, heaps it round submarine rocks and islands, it is hardly pos-
sible to doubt, after examining the charts of the West Indies; and
that the waves have power to form high and precipitous cliffs, even
in land-locked harbours, I have noticed in many parts of South
America. To apply these ideas to the sandstone platforms of New
South Wales, I imagine that the strata were heaped by the action of
strong currents, and of the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular
bottom; and that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had their
steeply sloping flanks worn into cliffs, during a slow elevation of

444 CHARLES DARWIN

the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed, either at the
time when the narrow gorges were cut by the retreating sea, or sub-
sequently by alluvial action.

Soon after leaving the Blackheath, we descended from the sand-
stone platform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect this pass,
an enormous quantity of stone has been cut through; the design,
and its manner of execution, being worthy of any line of road in
England. We now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly
a thousand feet, and consisting of granite. With the change of rock,
the vegetation improved; the trees were both finer and stood farther
apart; and the pasture between them was a little greener and more
plentiful. At Hassan's Walls, I left the high road, and made a short
detour to a farm called Walerawang; to the superintendent of which
I had a letter of introduction from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne
had the kindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had
much pleasure in doing. This place offers an example of one of the
large farming, or rather sheep-grazing establishments of the colony.
Cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous
than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and produc-
ing a coarser pasture. Two or three flat pieces of ground near the
house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men
were now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for
the annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment.
The usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty,
but at the present time there were rather more. Although the farm
was well stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence
of comfort; and not one single woman resided here. The sunset of
a fine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any
scene; but here, at this retired farm-house, the brightest tints on the
surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened,
profligate men were ceasing from their daily labours, like the slaves
from Africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion.

Early on the next morning, Mr. Archer, the joint superintendent,
had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. We continued
riding the greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing
a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. The greyhounds pursued a kanga-
roo rat into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal
as large as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 445

since this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu
is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce;
to both the English greyhound has been highly destructive. It may
be long before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their
doom is fixed. The aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs
from the farm-houses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is
killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the
settlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. The
thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is de-
lighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined
to inherit the country of his children.

Although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. The
woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gal-
lop through it. It is traversed by a few flat-bottomed valleys, which
are green and free from trees: in such spots the scenery was pretty
like that of a park. In the whole country I scarcely saw a place with-
out the marks of a fire; whether these had been more or less recent
— whether the stumps were more or less black, was the greatest
change which varied the uniformity, so wearisome to the traveller's
eye. In these woods there are not many birds; I saw, however, some
large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a corn-field, and a few
most beautiful parrots; crows, like our jackdaws were not uncom-
mon, and another bird something like the magpie. In the dusk of
the evening I took a stroll along a chain of ponds, which in this dry
country represented the course of a river, and had the good fortune
to see several of the famous Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. They were
diving and playing about the surface of the water, but showed so
little of their bodies, that they might easily have been mistaken for
water-rats. Mr. Browne shot one : certainly it is a most extraordinary
animal; a stuffed specimen does not at all give a good idea of the
appearance of the head and beak when fresh; the latter becoming
hard and contracted. 5

5 1 was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall of the lion-ant, or some
other insect; first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and immediately disappeared;
then came a large but unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those
curious little jets of sand, described by Kirby and Spence (Entomol., vol. i. p. 425)
as being flirted by the insect's tail, were promptly directed against the expected victim.
But the ant enjoyed a better fate than the fly, and escaped the fatal jaws which lay
concealed at the base of the conical hollow. This Australian pitfall was only about
half the size of that made by the European lion-ant.

44^ CHARLES DARWIN

20th. — A long day's ride to Bathurst. Before joining the highroad
we followed a mere path through the forest; and the country, with
the exception of a few squatters' huts, was very solitary. We expe-
rienced this day the sirocco-like wind of Australia, which comes
from the parched deserts of the interior. Clouds of dust were travel-
ling in every direction; and the wind felt as if it had passed over a
fire. I afterwards heard that the thermometer out of doors had stood
at 119 , and in a closed room at 96 . In the afternoon we came in
view of the downs of Bathurst. These undulating but nearly smooth
plains are very remarkable in this country, from being absolutely
destitute of trees. They support only a thin brown pasture. We rode
some miles over this country, and then reached the township of
Bathurst, seated in the middle of what may be called either a very
broad valley, or narrow plain. I was told at Sydney not to form too
bad an opinion of Australia by judging of the country from the
roadside, nor too good a one from Bathurst; in this latter respect,
I did not feel myself in the least danger of being prejudiced. The
season, it must be owned, had been one of great drought, and the
country did not wear a favourable aspect; although I understand
it was incomparably worse two or three months before. The secret
of the rapidly growing prosperity of Bathurst is, that the brown
pasture which appears to the stranger's eye so wretched, is excellent
for sheep-grazing. The town stands, at the height of 2200 feet above
the sea, on the banks of the Macquarie. This is one of the rivers
flowing into the vast and scarcely known interior. The line of water-
shed, which divides the inland streams from those on the coast, has
a height of about 3000 feet, and runs in a north and south direction
at the distance of from eighty to a hundred miles from the sea-side.
The Macquarie figures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the
largest of those draining this part of the water-shed; yet to my sur-
prise I found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other
by spaces almost dry. Generally a small stream is running; and some-
times there are high and impetuous floods. Scanty as the supply of
the water is throughout this district, it becomes still scantier further
inland.

22nd. — I commenced my return, and followed a new road called
Lockyer's Line, along which the country is rather more hilly and
picturesque. This was a long day's ride; and the house where I

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 447

wished to sleep was some way off the road, and not easily found.
I met on this occasion, and indeed on all others, a very general and
ready civility among the lower orders, which, when one considers
what they are, and what they have been, would scarcely have been
expected. The farm where I passed the night, was owned by two
young men who had only lately come out, and were beginning a
setder's life. The total want of almost every comfort was not attrac-
tive; but future and certain prosperity was before their eyes, and
that not far distant.

The next day we passed through large tracts of country in flames,
volumes of smoke sweeping across the road. Before noon we joined
our former road, and ascended Mount Victoria. I slept at the
Weatherboard, and before dark took another walk to the amphi-
theatre. On the road to Sydney I spent a very pleasant evening with
Captain King at Dunheved; and thus ended my little excursion in
the colony of New South Wales.

Before arriving here the three things which interested me most
were — the state of society amongst the higher classes, the condition
of the convicts, and the degree of attraction sufficient to induce per-
sons to emigrate. Of course, after so very short a visit, one's opinion
is worth scarcely anything; but it is as difficult not to form some
opinion, as it is to form a correct judgment. On the whole, from
what I heard, more than from what I saw, I was disappointed in
the state of society. The whole community is rancorously divided
into parties on almost every subject. Among those who, from their
station in life, ought to be the best, many live in such open profligacy
that respectable people cannot associate with them. There is much
jealousy between the children of the rich emancipist and the free
setders, the former being pleased to consider honest men as inter-
lopers. The whole population, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring
wealth: amongst the higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing form
the constant subject of conversation. There are many serious draw-
backs to the comforts of a family, the chief of which, perhaps, is being
surrounded by convict servants. How thoroughly odious to every
feeling, to be waited on by a man who the day before, perhaps, was
flogged, from your representation, for some trifling misdemeanor.
The female servants are of course, much worse : hence children learn
the vilest expressions, and it is fortunate, if not equally vile ideas.

448 CHARLES DARWIN

On the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble
on his part, produces him treble interest to what it will in England;
and with care he is sure to grow rich. The luxuries of life are in
abundance, and very little dearer than in England, and most articles
of food are cheaper. The climate is splendid, and perfectly healthy;
but to my mind its charms are lost by the uninviting aspect of the
country. Settlers possess a great advantage in finding their sons of
service when very young. At the age of from sixteen to twenty, they
frequently take charge of distant farming stations. This, however,
must happen at the expense of their boys associating entirely with
convict servants. I am not aware that the tone of society has assumed
any peculiar character; but with such habits, and without intellectual
pursuits, it can hardly fail to deteriorate. My opinion is such, that
nothing but rather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate.

The rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me,
not understanding these subjects, very puzzling. The two main
exports are wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions
there is a limit. The country is totally unfit for canals, therefore there
is a not very distant point,, beyond which the land-carriage of wool
will not repay the expense of shearing and tending sheep. Pasture
everywhere is so thin that settlers have already pushed far into the
interior: moreover, the country further inland becomes extremely
poor. Agriculture, on account of the droughts, can never succeed on
an extended scale: therefore, so far as I can see, Australia must ulti-
mately depend upon being the centre of commerce for the southern
hemisphere, and perhaps on her future manufactories. Possessing
coal, she always has the moving power at hand. From the habitable
country extending along the coast, and from her English extraction,
she is sure to be a maritime nation. I formerly imagined that Aus-
tralia would rise to be as grand and powerful a country as North
America, but now it appears to me that such future grandeur is
rather problematical.

With respect to the state of the convicts, I had still fewer oppor-
tunities of judging than on other points. The first question is,
whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one will
maintain that it is a very severe one. This, however, I suppose, is of
little consequence as long as it continues to be an object of dread

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 449

to criminals at home. The corporeal wants of the convicts are toler-
ably well supplied: their prospect of future liberty and comfort is not
distant, and, after good conduct, certain. A "ticket of leave," which,
as long as a man keeps clear of suspicion as well as of crime, makes
him free within a certain district, is given upon good conduct, after
years proportional to the length of the sentence; yet with all this,
and overlooking the previous imprisonment and wretched passage
out, I believe the years of assignment are passed away with discon-
tent and unhappiness. As an intelligent man remarked to me, the
convicts know no pleasure beyond sensuality, and in this they are not
gratified. The enormous bribe which Government possesses in offer-
ing free pardons, together with the deep horror of the secluded penal
settlements, destroys confidence between the convicts, and so prevents
crime. As to a sense of shame, such a feeling does not appear to be
known, and of this I witnessed some very singular proofs. Though
it is a curious fact, I was universally told that the character of the
convict population is one of arrant cowardice: not unfrequently
some become desperate, and quite indifferent as to life, yet a plan
requiring cool or continued courage is seldom put into execution.
The worst feature in the whole case is, that although there exists
what may be called a legal reform, and comparatively little is com-
mitted which the law can touch, yet that any moral reform should
take place appears to be quite out of the question. I was assured
by well-informed people, that a man who should try to improve,
could not while living with other assigned servants; — his life would
be one of intolerable misery and persecution. Nor must the con-
tamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both here and in Eng-
land, be forgotten. On the whole, as a place of punishment, the
object is scarcely gained; as a real system of reform it has failed, as
perhaps would every other plan; but as a means of making men
outwardly honest, — of converting vagabonds, most useless in one
hemisphere, into active citizens of another, and thus giving birth to
a new and splendid country — a grand centre of civilization — it has
succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history.

30th. — The Beagle sailed for Hobart Town in Van Diemen's
Land. On the 5th of February, after a six days' passage, of which

450 CHARLES DARWIN

the first part was fine, and the latter very cold and squally, we entered
the mouth of Storm Bay: the weather justified this awful name. The
bay should rather be called an estuary, for it receives at its head the
waters of the Derwent. Near the mouth, there are some extensive
basaltic platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and
is covered by a light wood. The lower parts of the hills which skirt
the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn, and dark
green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant. Late in the evening
we anchored in the snug cove, on the shores of which stands the
capital of Tasmania. The first aspect of the place was very inferior
to that of Sydney; the latter might be called a city, this is only a
town. It stands at the base of Mount Wellington, a mountain 3100
feet high, but of little picturesque beauty; from this source, however,
it receives a good supply of water. Round the cove there are some
fine warehouses, and on one side a small fort. Coming from the
Spanish settlements, where such magnificent care has generally been
paid to the fortifications, the means of defense in these colonies ap-
peared very contemptible. Comparing the town with Sydney, I was
chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large houses,
either built or building. Hobart Town, from the census of 1835,
contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of Tasmania 36,505.

All the aborigines have been removed to an island in Bass's Straits,
so that Van Diemen's Land enjoys the great advantage of being free
from a native population. This most cruel step seems to have been
quite unavoidable, as the only means of stopping a fearful succession
of robberies, burnings, and murders, committed by the blacks; and
which sooner or later would have ended in their utter destruction.
I fear there is no doubt, that this train of evil and its consequences,
originated in the infamous conduct of some of our countrymen.
Thirty years is a short period, in which to have banished the last
aboriginal from his native island, — and that island nearly as large
as Ireland. The correspondence on this subject, which took place
between the government at home and that of Van Diemen's Land,
is very interesting. Although numbers of natives were shot and
taken prisoners in the skirmishing, which was going on at intervals
for several years; nothing seems fully to have impressed them with

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 45 1

the idea of our overwhelming power, until the whole island, in 1830,
was put under martial law, and by proclamation the whole popula-
tion commanded to assist in one great attempt to secure the entire
race. The plan adopted was nearly similar to that of the great hunt-
ing-matches in India: a line was formed reaching across the island,
with the intention of driving the natives into a cul-de-sac on Tas-
man's peninsula. The attempt failed; the natives, having tied up
their dogs, stole during one night through the lines. This is far from
surprising, when their practised senses, and usual manner of crawling
after wild animals is considered. I have been assured that they can
conceal themselves on almost bare ground, in a manner which until
witnessed is scarcely credible; their dusky bodies being easily mis-
taken for the blackened stumps which are scattered all over the
country. I was told of a trial between a party of Englishmen and a
native, who was to stand in full view on the side of a bare hill; if the
Englishmen closed their eyes for less than a minute, he would squat
down, and then they were never able to distinguish him from the
surrounding stumps. But to return to the hunting-match; the na-
tives understanding this kind of warfare, were terribly alarmed, for
they at once perceived the power and numbers of the whites. Shortly
afterwards a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in; and,
conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered themselves up in
despair. Subsequently by the intrepid exertions of Mr. Robinson, an
active and benevolent man, who fearlessly visited by himself the
most hostile of the natives, the whole were induced to act in a
similar manner. They were then removed to an island, where food
and clothes were provided them. Count Strzelecki states, 6 that "at
the epoch of their deportation in 1835, the number of natives
amounted to 210. In 1842, that is, after the interval of seven years,
they mustered only fifty-four individuals; and, while each family of
the interior of New South Wales, uncontaminated by contact with
the whites, swarms with children, those of Flinders' Island had dur-
ing eight years an accession of only fourteen in number!"

The Beagle stayed here ten days, and in this time I made several
pleasant little excursions, chiefly with the object of examining the
6 Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, p. 354.

45 2 CHARLES DARWIN

geological structure of the immediate neighbourhood. The main
points of interest consist, first in some highly fossiliferous strata,
belonging to the Devonian or Carboniferous period; secondly, in
proofs of a late small rise of the land; and lastly, in a solitary and
superficial patch of yellowish limestone or travertin, which contains
numerous impressions of leaves of trees, together with land-shells,
not now existing. It is not improbable that this one small quarry
includes the only remaining record of the vegetation of Van Diemen's
Land during one former epoch.

The climate here is damper than in New South Wales, and hence
the land is more fertile. Agriculture flourishes: the cultivated fields
look well, and the gardens abound with thriving vegetables and
fruit-trees. Some of the farmhouses, situated in retired spots, had a
very attractive appearance. The general aspect of the vegetation is
similar to that of Australia; perhaps it is a little more green and
cheerful; and the pasture between the trees rather more abundant.
One day I took a long walk on the side of the bay opposite to the
town: I crossed in a steamboat, two of which are constantly plying
backwards and forwards. The machinery of one of these vessels
was entirely manufactured in this colony, which, from its very foun-
dation, then numbered only three and thirty years! Another day I
ascended Mount Wellington; I took with me a guide, for I failed in
a first attempt, from the thickness of the wood. Our guide, however,
was a stupid fellow, and conducted us to the southern and damp side
of the mountain, where the vegetation was very luxuriant; and
where the labour of the ascent, from the number of rotten trunks,
was almost as great as on a mountain in Tierra del Fuego or in
Chiloe. It cost us five and a half hours of hard climbing before we
reached the summit. In many parts the Eucalypti grew to a great
size, and composed a noble forest. In some of the dampest ravines,
tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I saw one which
must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds,
and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds forming the most
elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like that of the first hour
of the night. The summit of the mountain is broad and flat, and is
composed of huge angular masses of naked greenstone. Its elevation
is 3100 feet above the level of the sea. The day was splendidly clear,

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 453

and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country
appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with
that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline :
to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays,
was mapped with clearness before us. After staying some hours on
the summit, we found a better way to descend, but did not reach the
Beagle till eight o'clock, after a severe day's work.

February yth. — The Beagle sailed from Tasmania, and, on the 6th
of the ensuing month, reached King George's Sound, situated close
to the S. W. corner of Australia. We stayed there eight days; and we
did not during our voyage pass a more dull and uninteresting time.
The country, viewed from an eminence, appears a woody plain, with
here and there rounded and partly bare hills of granite protruding.
One day I went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a kangaroo hunt,
and walked over a good many miles of country. Everywhere we
found the soil sandy, and very poor; it supported either a coarse
vegetation of thin, low brushwood and wiry grass, or a forest of
stunted trees. The scenery resembled that of the high sandstone
platform of the Blue Mountains; the Casuarina (a tree somewhat
resembling a Scotch fir) is, however, here in greater number, and
the Eucalyptus in rather less. In the open parts there were many
grass-trees, — a plant which, in appearance, has some affinity with the
palm; but, instead of being surmounted by a crown of noble fronds,
it can boast merely of a tuft of very coarse grass-like leaves. The
general bright green colour of the brushwood and other plants,
viewed from a distance, seemed to promise fertility. A single walk,
however, was enough to dispel such an illusion; and he who thinks
with me will never wish to walk again in so uninviting a country.

One day I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to Bald Head; the
place mentioned by so many navigators, where some imagined that
they saw corals, and others that they saw petrified trees, standing in
the position in which they had grown. According to our view, the
beds have been formed by the wind having heaped up fine sand,
composed of minute rounded particles of shells and corals, during
which process branches and roots of trees, together with many land-
shells, became enclosed. The whole then became consolidated by the
percolation of calcareous matter; and the cylindrical cavities left

454 CHARLES DARWIN

by the decaying of the wood, were thus also filled up with a hard
pseudo-stalactical stone. The weather is now wearing away the
softer parts, and in consequence the hard casts of the roots and
branches of the trees project above the surface, and, in a singularly
deceptive manner, resemble the stumps of a dead thicket.

A large tribe of natives, called the White Cockatoo men, happened
to pay the settlement a visit while we were there. These men, as
well as those of the tribe belonging to King George's Sound, being
tempted by the offer of some tubs of rice and sugar, were persuaded
to hold a "corrobery," or great dancing-party. As soon as it grew
dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet,
which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. As
soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which the
women and children were collected as spectators; the Cockatoo and
King George's men formed two distinct parties, and generally danced
in answer to each other. The dancing consisted in their running
either sideways or in Indian file into an open space, and stamping
the ground with great force as they marched together. Their heavy
footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by beating their
clubs and spears together, and by various other gesticulations, such
as extending their arms and wriggling their bodies. It was a most
rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas, without any sort of meaning;
but we observed that the black women and children watched it
with the greatest pleasure. Perhaps these dances originally repre-
sented actions, such as wars and victories; there was one called the
Emu dance, in which each man extended his arm in a bent manner,
like the neck of that bird. In another dance, one man imitated the
movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second
crawled up, and pretended to spear him. When both tribes mingled
in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness of their steps,
and the air resounded with their wild cries. Every one appeared in
high spirits, and the group of nearly naked figures, viewed by the
light of the blazing fires, all moving in hideous harmony, formed
a perfect display of a festival amongst the lowest barbarians. In
Tierra del Fuego, we have beheld many curious scenes in savage
life, but never, I think, one where the natives were in such high
spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. After the dancing was over, the

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 455

whole party formed a great circle on the ground, and the boiled rice
and sugar was distributed, to the delight of all.

After several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the 14th of
March, we gladly stood out of King George's Sound on our course
to Keeling Island. Farewell, Australia! you are a rising child, and
doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the South: but
you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough
for respect. I leave your shores without sorrow or regret.

CHAPTER XX

Keeling Island: — Coral Formations

Keeling Island — Singular appearance — Scanty Flora — Transport of Seeds
— Birds and Insects — Ebbing and flowing Springs — Fields of dead
Coral — Stones transported in the roots of Trees— Great Crab — Stinging
Corals — Coral-eating Fish — Coral Formations — Lagoon Islands, or
Atolls — Depth at which reef-building Corals can live — Vast Areas
interspersed with low Coral Islands — Subsidence of their foundations
— Barrier Reefs — Fringing Reefs — Conversion of Fringing Reefs into
Barrier Reefs, and into Atolls — Evidence of changes in Level— Breaches
in Barrier Reefs — Maldiva Atolls; their peculiar structure — Dead and
submerged Reefs — Areas of subsidence and elevation — Distribution of
Volcanoes — Subsidence slow, and vast in amount.

yiVRlL. ist. — We arrived in view of the Keeling or Cocos
ZJ Islands, situated in the Indian Ocean, and about six hun-
V M dred miles distant from the coast of Sumatra. This is one
of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of coral formation, similar to those
in the Low Archipelago which we passed near. When the ship was
in the channel at the entrance, Mr. Liesk, an English resident, came
off in his boat. The history of the inhabitants of this place, in as
few words as possible, is as follows. About nine years ago, Mr. Hare,
a worthless character, brought from the East Indian archipelago a
number of Malay slaves, which now, including children, amount to
more than a hundred. Shortly afterwards, Captain Ross, who had
before visited these islands in his merchant-ship, arrived from Eng-
land, bringing with him his family and goods for settlement: along
with him came Mr. Liesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. The
Malay slaves soon ran away from the islet on which Mr. Hare was
settled, and joined Captain Ross's party. Mr. Hare upon this was
ultimately obliged to leave the place.

The Malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and cer-
tainly are so, as far as regards their personal treatment; but in most
other points they are considered as slaves. From their discontented
state, from the repeated removals from islet to islet, and perhaps also

456

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 457

from a little mismanagement, things are not very prosperous. The
island has no domestic quadruped, excepting the pig, and the main
vegetable production is the cocoa-nut. The whole prosperity of the
place depends on this tree: the only exports being oil from the nut,
and the nuts themselves, which are taken to Singapore and Mauritius,
where they are chiefly used, when grated, in making curries. On
the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are loaded with fat, almost entirely
subsist, as do the ducks and poultry. Even a huge land-crab is
furnished by nature with the means to open and feed on this most
useful production.

The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the
greater part of its length by linear islets. On the northern or leeward
side, there is an opening through which vessels can pass to the an-
chorage within. On entering, the scene was very curious and rather
pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the brilliancy of
the surrounding colours. The shallow, clear, and still water of the
lagoon, resting in its greater part on white sand, is, when illumined
by a vertical sun, of the most vivid green. This brilliant expanse,
several miles in width, is on all sides divided, either by a line of
snow-white breakers from the dark heaving waters of the ocean, or
from the blue vault of heaven by the strips of land, crowned by the
level tops of the cocoa-nut trees. As a white cloud here and there
affords a pleasing contrast with the azure sky, so in the lagoon, bands
of living coral darken the emerald green water.

The next morning after anchoring, I went on shore on Direction
Island. The strip of dry land is only a few hundred yards in width;
on the lagoon side there is a white calcareous beach, the radiation
from which under this sultry climate was very oppressive; and on
the outer coast, a solid broad flat of coral-rock served to break the
violence of the open sea. Excepting near the lagoon, where there is
some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded fragments of
coral. In such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate of the intertropical
regions alone could produce a vigorous vegetation. On some of the
smaller islets, nothing could be more elegant than the manner in
which the young and full-grown cocoa-nut trees, without destroying
each other's symmetry, were mingled into one wood. A beach of
glittering white sand formed a border to these fairy spots.

45^ CHARLES DARWIN

I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands,
which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. The cocoa-
nut tree, at the first glance, seems to compose the whole wood; there
are, however, five or six other trees. One of these grows to a very
large size, but from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless;
another sort affords excellent timber for ship-building. Besides the
trees, the number of plants is exceedingly limited, and consists of
insignificant weeds. In my collection, which includes, I believe,
nearly the perfect Flora, there are twenty species, without reckoning
a moss, lichen, and fungus. To this number two trees must be
added; one of which was not in flower, and the other I only heard
of. The latter is a solitary tree of its kind, and grows near the beach,
where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown up by the waves. A
Guilandina also grows on only one of the islets. I do not include in
the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some other vegetables, fruit-
trees, and imported grasses. As the islands consist entirely of coral,
and at one time must have existed as mere water-washed reefs, all
their terrestrial productions must have been transported here by the
waves of the sea. In accordance with this, the Florula has quite the
character of a refuge for the destitute: Professor Henslow informs
me that of the twenty species nineteen belong to different genera, and
these again to no less than sixteen families! l

In Holman's 2 Travels an account is given, on the authority of Mr.
A. S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the
various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been
washed on shore. "Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java have
been driven up by the surf on the windward side of the islands.
Among them have been found the Kimiri, native of Sumatra and
the peninsula of Malacca; the cocoa-nut of Balci, known by its shape
and size; the Dadass, which is planted by the Malays with the pep-
per-vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, and supporting itself
by the prickles on its stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks
of the sago palm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the Malays
settled on the islands. These are all supposed to have been driven
by the N. W. monsoon to the coast of New Holland, and thence to

1 These plants are described in the Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. i., 1838, p. 337.

2 Holman's Travels, vol. iv. p. 378.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 459

these islands by the S. E. trade-wind. Large masses of Java teak and
Yellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and
white cedar, and the blue gumwood of New Holland, in a perfectly
sound condition. All the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain their
germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the man-
gostin, are destroyed in the passage. Fishing-canoes, apparently from
Java, have at times been washed on shore." It is interesting thus to
discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from several
countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. Professor Henslow tells
me, he believes that nearly all the plants which I brought from these
islands, are common littoral species in the East Indian archipelago.
From the direction, however, of the winds and currents, it seems
scarcely possible that they could have come here in a direct line. If,
as suggested with much probability by Mr. Keating, they were first
carried towards the coast of New Holland, and thence drifted back
together with the productions of that country, the seeds, before ger-
minating, must have travelled between 1800 and 2400 miles.

Chamisso, 3 when describing the Radack Archipelago, situated in
the western part of the Pacific, states that "the sea brings to these
islands the seeds and fruits of many trees, most of which have yet
not grown here. The greater part of these seeds appear to have not
yet lost the capability of growing."

It is also said that palms and bamboos from somewhere in the
torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are washed on shore: these
firs must have come from an immense distance. These facts are
highly interesting. It cannot be doubted that if there were land-
birds to pick up the seeds when first cast on shore, and a soil better
adapted for their growth than the loose blocks of coral, that the
most isolated of the lagoon-islands would in time possess a far more
abundant Flora than they now have.

The list of land animals is even poorer than that of the plants.
Some of the islets are inhabited by rats, which were brought in a
ship from the Mauritius, wrecked here. These rats are considered
by Mr. Waterhouse as identical with the English kind, but they are
smaller, and more brightly coloured. There are no true land-birds,
for a snipe and a rail (Rallus Phillippensis), though living entirely
3 Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. ill. p. 155.

460 CHARLES DARWIN

in the dry herbage, belong to the order of Waders. Birds of this order
are said to occur on several of the small low islands in the Pacific.
At Ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail (Porphyrio simplex)
was shot near the summit of the mountain, and it was evidently a
solitary straggler. At Tristan d'Acunha, where, according to Car-
michael, there are only two land-birds, there is a coot. From these
facts I believe that the waders, after the innumerable web-footed
species, are generally the first colonists of small isolated islands. I
may add, that whenever I noticed birds, not of oceanic species, very
far out at sea, they always belonged to this order; and hence they
would naturally become the earliest colonists of any remote point
of land.

Of reptiles I saw only one small lizard. Of insects I took pains to
collect every kind. Exclusive of spiders, which were numerous, there
were thirteen species. 4 Of these, one only was a beetle. A small ant
swarmed by thousands under the loose dry blocks of coral, and was
the only true insect which was abundant. Although the productions
of the land are thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surround-
ing sea, the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. Chamisso
has described 5 the natural history of a lagoon -island in the Radack
Archipelago; and it is remarkable how closely its inhabitants, in
number and kind, resemble those of Keeling Island. There is one
lizard and two waders, namely, a snipe and curlew. Of plants there
are nineteen species, including a fern; and some of these are the same
with those growing here, though on a spot so immensely remote,
and in a different ocean.

The long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have been raised
only to that height to which the surf can throw fragments of coral,
and the wind heap up calcareous sand. The solid flat of coral rock
on the outside, by its breadth, breaks the first violence of the waves,
which otherwise, in a day, would sweep away these islets and all
their productions. The ocean and the land seem here struggling for
mastery: although terra firma has obtained a footing, the denizens

4 The thirteen species belong to the following orders: — In the Coleoptera, a minute
Elater; Orthoptera, a Gryllus and a Blatta; Hemiptera, one species; Homoptera, two;
Neuroptera, a Chrysopa; Hymenoptera, two ants; Lepidoptera nocturna, a Diopsa, and
a Pterophorus (r); Diptera, two species.

5 Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. iii. p. 222.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 46 1

of the water think their claim at least equally good. In every part
one meets hermit crabs of more than one species, 6 carrying on their
backs the shells which they have stolen from the neighbouring beach.
Overhead, numerous gannets, frigate-birds, and terns, rest on the
trees; and the wood, from the many nests and from the smell of the
atmosphere, might be called a sea-rookery. The gannets, sitting on
their rude nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. The nod-
dies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. But there is
one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which smoothly
hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's head, its large black
eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your expression. Little imagina-
tion is required to fancy that so light and delicate a body must be
tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit.

Sunday, April jrd. — After service I accompanied Captain Fitz
Roy to the settlement, situated at the distance of some miles, on the
point of an islet thickly covered with tall cocoa-nut trees. Captain
Ross and Mr. Liesk live in a large barn-like house open at both ends,
and lined with mats made of woven bark. The houses of the Malays
are arranged along the shore of the lagoon. The whole place had
rather a desolate aspect, for there were no gardens to show the signs
of care and cultivation. The natives belong to different islands in the
East Indian archipelago, but all speak the same language: we saw
the inhabitants of Borneo, Celebes, Java, and Sumatra. In colour
they resemble the Tahitians, from whom they do not widely differ
in features. Some of the women, however, show a good deal of the
Chinese character. I liked both their general expressions and the
sound of their voices. They appeared poor, and their houses were
destitute of furniture; but it was evident, from the plumpness of
the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad suste-
nance.

On this island the wells are situated, from which ships obtain
water. At first sight, it appears not a little remarkable that the fresh
water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it has even

6 The large claws or pincers of some of these crabs are most beautifully adapted, when
drawn back, to form an operculum to the shell, nearly as perfect as the proper one
originally belonging to the molluscous animal. I was assured, and as far as my ob-
servation went I found it so, that certain species of the hermit-crab always use certain
species of shells.

462 CHARLES DARWIN

been imagined, that sand has the power of filtering the salt from the
sea-water. These ebbing wells are common on some of the low
islands in the West Indies. The compressed sand, or porous coral
rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water; but the rain
which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the surrounding
sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal bulk of the salt
water. As the water in the lower part of the great sponge-like coral
mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the water near the surface;
and this will keep fresh, if the mass be sufficiently compact to pre-
vent much mechanical admixture; but where the land consists of
great loose blocks of coral with open interstices, if a well be dug,
the water, as I have seen, is brackish.

After dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious scene
acted by the Malay women. A large wooden spoon dressed in gar-
ments, and which had been carried to the grave of a dead man, they
pretend becomes inspired at the full of the moon, and will dance
and jump about. After the proper preparations, the spoon, held by
two women, became convulsed, and danced in good time to the song
of the surrounding children and women. It was a most foolish spec-
tacle; but Mr. Liesk maintained that many of the Malays believed
in its spiritual movements. The dance did not commence till the
moon had risen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her
bright orb so quietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nut
trees as they waved in the evening breeze. These scenes of the tropics
are in themselves so delicious, that they almost equal those dearer
ones at home, to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind.

The next day I employed myself in examining the very interesting,
yet simple structure and origin of these islands. The water being
unusually smooth, I waded over the outer flat of dead rock as far
as the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea
breaks. In some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful
green and other coloured fishes, and the form and tints of many of
the zoophytes were admirable. It is excusable to grow enthusiastic
over the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of
the tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet I must confess I think those
naturalists who have described, in well-known words, the subma-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 463

rine grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged in
rather exuberant language.

April 6th. — I accompanied Captain Fitz Roy to an island at the
head of the lagoon: the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding
through fields of delicately branched corals. We saw several turtle
and two boats were then employed in catching them. The water was
so clear and shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out
of sight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail, the pursuers after no very
long chase come up to it. A man standing ready in the bow, at
this moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then
clinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried away
till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. It was quite an
interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and the
men dashing head foremost into the water trying to seize their prey.
Captain Moresby informs me that in the Chagos archipelago in this
same ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell from
the back of the living turtle. "It is covered with burning charcoal,
which causes the outer shell to curl upwards; it is then forced off with
a knife, and before it becomes cold flattened between boards. After
this barbarous process the animal is suffered to regain its native ele-
ment, where, after a certain time, a new shell is formed; it is, how-
ever, too thin to be of any service, and the animal always appears
languishing and sickly."

When we arrived at the head of the lagoon, we crossed a narrow
islet, and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. I can
hardly explain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in
the view of the outer shores of these lagoon-islands. There is a sim-
plicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes and tall
cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed here and there
with great loose fragments, and the line of furious breakers, all
rounding away towards either hand. The ocean throwing its waters
over the broad reef appears an invincible, all-powerful enemy; yet
we see it resisted, and even conquered, by means which at first seem
most weak and inefficient. It is not that the ocean spares the rock
of coral; the great fragments scattered over the reef, and heaped on
the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs, plainly bespeak the

464 CHARLES DARWIN

unrelenting power of the waves. Nor are any periods of repose
granted. The long swell caused by the gentle but steady action of
the trade-wind, always blowing in one direction over a wide area,
causes breakers, almost equalling in force those during a gale of wind
in the temperate regions, and which never cease to rage. Ic is impos-
sible to behold these waves without feeling a conviction that an
island, though built of the hardest rock, let it be porphyry, granite,
or quartz, would ultimately yield and be demolished by such an
irresistible power. Yet these low, insignificant coral-islets stand and
are victorious: for here another power, as an antagonist, takes
part in the contest. The organic forces separate the atoms of
carbonate of lime, one by one, from the foaming breakers, and unite
them into a symmetrical structure. Let the hurricane tear up its
thousand huge fragments; yet what will that tell against the accumu-
lated labour of myriads of architects at work night and day, month
after month? Thus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a
polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering the great
mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of
man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist.

We did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed
a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the gigan-
tic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his hand,
he would not, as long as the animal lived, be able to withdraw it.
Near the head of the lagoon I was much surprised to find a wide
area, considerably more than a mile square, covered with a forest
of delicately branching corals, which, though standing upright, were
all dead and rotten. At first I was quite at a loss to understand the
cause; afterwards it occurred to me that it was owing to the following
rather curious combination of circumstances. It should, however,
first be stated, that corals are not able to survive even a short exposure
in the air to the sun's rays, so that their upward limit of growth is
determined by that of lowest water at spring tides. It appears, from
some old charts, that the long island to windward was formerly
separated by wide channels into several islets; this fact is likewise
indicated by the trees being younger on these portions. Under the
former condition of the reef, a strong breeze, by throwing more

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 465

water over the barrier, would tend to raise the level of the lagoon.
Now it acts in a directly contrary manner; for the water within the
lagoon not only is not increased by currents from the outside, but is
itself blown outwards by the force of the wind. Hence it is observed,
that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not rise so high during
a strong breeze as it does when it is calm. This difference of level,
although no doubt very small, has, I believe, caused the death of those
coral-groves, which under the former and more open condition of
the outer reef has attained the utmost possible limit of upward
growth.

A few miles north of Keeling there is another small atoll, the
lagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. Captain Ross
found embedded in the conglomerate on the outer coast, a well-
rounded fragment of greenstone, rather larger than a man's head:
he and the men with him were so much surprised at this, that they
brought it away and preserved it as a curiosity. The occurrence of
this one stone, where every other particle of matter- is calcareous,
certainly is very puzzling. The island has scarcely ever been visited,
nor is it probable that a ship had been wrecked there. From the
absence of any better explanation, I came to the conclusion that it
must have come entangled in the roots of some large tree: when,
however, I considered the great distance from the nearest land, the
combination of chances against a stone thus being entangled, the
tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then landed safely, and the
stone finally so embedded as to allow of its discovery, I was almost
afraid of imagining a means of transport apparently so improbable.
It was therefore with great interest that I found Chamisso, the justly
distinguished naturalist who accompanied Kotzebue, stating that the
inhabitants of the Radack archipelago, a group of lagoon-islands in
the midst of the Pacific, obtained stones for sharpening their instru-
ments by searching the roots of trees which are cast upon the beach.
It will be evident that this must have happened several times, since
laws have been established that such stones belong to the chief, and
a punishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them.
When the isolated position of these small islands in the midst of a
vast ocean — their great distance from any land excepting that of coral

466 CHARLES DARWIN

formation, attested by the value which the inhabitants, who are such
bold navigators, attach to a stone of any kind, 7 — and the slowness of
the currents of the open sea, are all considered, the occurrence of
pebbles thus transported does appear wonderful. Stones may often
be thus carried; and if the island on which they are stranded is con-
structed of any other substance besides coral, they would scarcely
attract attention, and their origin at least would never be guessed.
Moreover, this agency may long escape discovery from the proba-
bility of trees, especially those loaded with stones, floating beneath
the surface. In the channels of Tierra del Fuego large quantities of
drift timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is extremely rare to meet
a tree swimming on the water. These facts may possibly throw light
on single stones, whether angular or rounded, occasionally found
embedded in fine sedimentary masses.

During another day I visited West Islet, on which the vegetation
was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. The cocoa-nut trees
generally grow separate, but here the young ones flourished beneath
their tall parents, and formed with their long and curved fronds the
most shady arbours. Those alone who have tried it, know how deli-
cious it is to be seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid
of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large bay-like space, com-
posed of the finest white sand: it is quite level and is only covered
by the tide at high water; from this large bay smaller creeks pene-
trate the surrounding woods. To see a field of glittering white sand,
representing water, with the cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and
waving trunks around the margin, formed a singular and very pretty
view.

I have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts; it is
very common on all parts of the dry land, and grows to a monstrous
size: it is closely allied or identical with the Birgos latro. The front
pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers, and the last
pair are fitted with others weaker and much narrower. It would at
first be thought quite impossible for a crab to open a strong cocoa-nut
covered with the husk; but Mr. Liesk assures me that he has re-
peatedly seen this effected. The crab begins by tearing the husk,

7 Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected stones to take back
to their country.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 467

fibre by fibre, and always from that end under which the three eye-
holes are situated; when this is completed, the crab commences ham-
mering with its heavy claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is
made. Then turning round its body, by the aid of its posterior and
narrow pair of pincers, it extracts the white albuminous substance.
I think this is as curious a case of instinct as ever I heard of, and
likewise of adaptation in structure between two objects apparently
so remote from each other in the scheme of nature, as a crab and a
cocoa-nut tree. The Birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it
is said to pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moisten-
ing its branchia:. The young are likewise hatched, and live for some
time, on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they
hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate
surprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, on
which they rest as on a bed. The Malays sometimes take advantage
of this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs are
very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones there
is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as much as
a quart bottle full of limpid oil. It has been stated by some authors
that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the purpose of steal-
ing the nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of this; but with
the Pandanus 8 the task would be very much easier. I was told by
Mr. Liesk that on these islands the Birgos lives only on the nuts
which have fallen to the ground.

Captain Moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the Chagos
and Seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring Maldiva archipelago.
It formerly abounded at Mauritius, but only a few small ones are
now found there. In the Pacific, this species, or one with closely
allied habits, is said 9 to inhabit a single coral island, north of the
Society group. To show the wonderful strength of the front pair of
pincers, I may mention, that Captain Moresby confined one in a
strong tin-box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with
wire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. In turning
down the edges, it actually punched many small holes quite through
the tin!

'See Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1832, p. 17.
'Tyerman and Bennett. Voyage, etc., vol. ii. p. 33.

468 CHARLES DARWIN

I was a good deal surprised by finding two species of coral of the
genus Millepora (M. complanata and alcicornis), possessed of the
power of stinging. The stony branches or plates, when taken fresh
from the water, have a harsh feel and are not slimy, although possess-
ing a strong and disagreeable smell. The stinging property seems to
vary in different specimens: when a piece was pressed or rubbed on
the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation was usually
caused, which came on after the interval of a second, and lasted only
for a few minutes. One day, however, by merely touching my face
with one of the branches, pain was instantaneously caused; it in-
creased as usual after a few seconds, and remaining sharp for some
minutes, was perceptible for half an hour afterwards. The sensation
was as bad as that from a nettle, but more like that caused by the
Physalia or Portuguese man-of-war. Little red spots were produced
on the tender skin of the arm, which appeared as if they would have
formed watery pustules, but did not. M. Quoy mentions this case of
the Millepora; and I have heard of stinging corals in the West Indies.
Many marine animals seem to have this power of stinging: besides
the Portuguese man-of-war, many jelly-fish, and the Aplysia or sea-
slug of the Cape de Verd Islands, it is stated in the voyage of the
Astrolabe, that an Actinia or sea-anemone, as well as a flexible coral-
line allied to Sertularia, both possess this means of offence or defence.
In the East Indian sea, a stinging sea-weed is said to be found.

Two species of fish, of the genus Scarus, which are common here,
exclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a splendid bluish-
green, one living invariably in the lagoon, and the other amongst the
outer breakers. Mr. Liesk assured us, that he had repeatedly seen
whole shoals grazing with their strong bony jaws on the tops of the
coral branches: I opened the intestines of several, and found them
distended with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. The slimy disgust-
ing Holuthuriae (allied to our star-fish), which the Chinese gour-
mands are so fond of, also feed largely, as I am informed by Dr.
Allan, on corals; and the bony apparatus within their bodies seems
well adapted for this end. These Holuthuriae, the fish, the numerous
burrowing shells, and nereidous worms, which perforate every block
of dead coral, must be very efficient agents in producing the fine
white mud which lies at the bottom and on the shores of the lagoon.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 469

A portion, however, of this mud, which when wet resembled
pounded chalk, was found by Professor Ehrenberg to be partly
composed of siliceous-shielded infusoria.

April 12th. — In the morning we stood out of the lagoon on our
passage to the Isle of France. I am glad we have visited these islands:
such formations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of
this world. Captain Fitz Roy found no bottom with a line 7200 feet
in length, at the distance of only 2200 yards from the shore; hence
this island forms a lofty submarine mountain, with sides steeper even
than those of the most abrupt volcanic cone. The saucer-shaped
summit is nearly ten miles across; and every single atom, 10 from
the least particle to the largest fragment of rock, in this great pile,
which however is small compared with very many other lagoon-
islands, bears the stamp of having been subjected to organic arrange-
ment. We feel surprise when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions
of the Pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant
are the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of stone
accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender animals!
This is a wonder which does not at first strike the eye of the body,
but, after reflection, the eye of reason.

I will now give a very brief account of the three great classes of
coral-reefs; namely, Atolls, Barrier, and Fringing-reefs, and will
explain my views 11 on their formation. Almost every voyager who
has crossed the Pacific has expressed his unbounded astonishment
at the lagoon-islands, or as I shall for the future call them by their
Indian name of atolls, and has attempted some explanation. Even
as long ago as the year 1605, Pyrard de Laval well exclaimed, "C'est
une merveille de voir chacun de ces atollons, environne d'un grand
banc de pierre tout autour, n'y ayant point d'artifice humain." The
accompanying sketch of Whitsunday Island in the Pacific, copied
from Capt. Beechey's admirable Voyage, gives but a faint idea of

10 1 exclude, of course, some soil which has been imported here in vessels from
Malacca and Java, and likewise some small fragments of pumice, drifted here by the
waves. The one block of greenstone, moreover, on the northern island must be
excepted.

II These were first read before the Geological Society in May, 1837, and have since
been developed in a separate volume on the "Structure and Distribution of Coral
Reefs."

470 CHARLES DARWIN

the singular aspect of an atoll : it is one of the smallest size, and has
its narrow islets united together in a ring. The immensity of the
ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of the
land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoon,
can hardly be imagined without having been seen.

The earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals in-
stinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves protection
in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth, that those massive
kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer shores the very existence
of the reef depends, cannot live within the lagoon, where other

delicately^branching kinds flourish. Moreover, on this view, many
species of distinct genera and families are supposed to combine for
one end; and of such a combination, not a single instance can be
found in the whole of nature. The theory that has been most gener-
ally received is, that atolls are based on submarine craters; but when
we consider the form and size of some, the number, proximity, and
relative positions of others, this idea loses its plausible character:
thus Suadiva atoll is 44 geographical miles in diameter in one line,
by 34 miles in another line; Rimsky is 54 by 20 miles across, and it
has a strangely sinuous margin; Bow atoll is 30 miles long, and on
an average only 6 in width; Menchicoff atoll consists of three atolls
united or tied together. This theory, moreover, is totally inapplicable
to the northern Maldiva atolls in the Indian Ocean (one of which is
88 miles in length, and between 10 and 20 in breadth), for they are
not bounded like ordinary atolls by narrow reefs, but by a vast
number of separate little atolls; other little atolls rising out of the
great central lagoon-like spaces. A third and better theory was ad-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 47I

vanced by Chamisso, who thought that from the corals growing
more vigorously where exposed to the open sea, as undoubtedly is
the case, the outer edges would grow up from the general founda-
tion before any other part, and that this would account for the ring
or cup-shaped structure. But we shall immediately see, that in this,
as well as in the crater-theory, a most important consideration has
been overlooked, namely, on what have the reef-building corals,
which cannot live at a great depth, based their massive structures?

Numerous soundings were carefully taken by Captain Fitz Roy
on the steep outside of Keeling atoll, and it was found that within
ten fathoms, the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead, invariably
came up marked with the impression of living corals, but as perfectly
clean as if it had been dropped on a carpet of turf; as the depth in-
creased, the impressions became less numerous, but the adhering
particles of sand more and more numerous, until at last it was evi-
dent that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer: to carry on
the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner and thinner,
till at last the soil was so sterile, that nothing sprang from it. From
these observations, confirmed by many others, it may be safely in-
ferred that the utmost depth at which corals can construct reefs is
between 20 and 30 fathoms. Now there are enormous areas in the
Pacific and Indian Ocean, in which every single island is of coral
formation, and is raised only to that height to which the waves can
throw up fragments, and the winds pile up sand. Thus Radack
group of atolls is an irregular square, 520 miles long and 240 broad;
the Low Archipelago is elliptic-formed, 840 miles in its longer, and
420 in its shorter axis: there are other small groups and single low
islands between these two archipelagoes, making a linear space of
ocean actually more than 4000 miles in length, in which not one
single island rises above the specified height. Again, in the Indian
Ocean there is a space of ocean 1500 miles in length, including three
archipelagoes, in which every island is low and of coral formation.
From the fact of the reef-building corals not living at great depths,
it is absolutely certain that throughout these vast areas, wherever
there is now an atoll, a foundation must have originally existed
within a depth of from 20 to 30 fathoms from the surface. It is im-
probable in the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated, steep-sided

472 CHARLES DARWIN

banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines hundreds of leagues
in length, could have been deposited in the central and profoundest
parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, at an immense distance from
any continent, and where the water is perfectly limpid. It is equally
improbable that the elevatory forces should have uplifted throughout
the above vast areas, innumerable great rocky banks within 20 to 30
fathoms, or 120 to 180 feet, of the surface of the sea, and not one single
point above that level; for where on the whole surface of the globe
can we find a single chain of mountains, even a few hundred miles
in length, with their many summits rising within a few feet of a
given level, and not one pinnacle above it? If then the foundations,
whence the atoll-building corals sprang, were not fo'med of sedi-
ment, and if they were not lifted up to the required level, they must
of necessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the diffi-
culty. For as mountain after mountain, and island after island, slowly
sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be successively afforded
for the growth of the corals. It is impossible here to enter into all
the necessary details, but I venture to defy 12 any one to explain in
any other manner how it is possible that numerous islands should be
distributed throughout vast areas — all the islands being low — all
being built of corals, absolutely requiring a foundation within a
limited depth from the surface.

Before explaining how atoll-formed reefs acquire their peculiar
structure, we must turn to the second great class, namely, Barrier-
reefs. These either extend in straight lines in front of the shores of
a continent or of a large island, or they encircle smaller islands; in
both cases, being separated from the land by a broad and rather deep
channel of water, analogous to the lagoon within an atoll. It is re-
markable how little attention has been paid to encircling barrier-
reefs; yet they are truly wonderful structures. The following sketch
represents part of the barrier encircling the island of Bolabola in the
Pacific, as seen from one of the central peaks. In this instance the
whole line of reef has been converted into land; but usually a snow-
white line of great breakers, with only here and there a single low

12 It is remarkable that Mr. Lyell, even in the first edition of his "Principles of
Geology," inferred that the amount of subsidence in the Pacific must have exceeded
that of elevation, from the area of land being very small relatively to the agents there
tending to form it, namely, the growth of coral and volcanic action.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 473

islet crowned with cocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters
of the ocean from the light-green expanse of the lagoon-channel. And
the quiet waters of this channel generally bathe a fringe of low
alluvial soil, loaded with the most beautiful productions of the
tropics, and lying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, central mountains.
Encircling barrier-reefs are of all sizes, from three miles to no less
than forty-four miles in diameter; and that which fronts one side,
and encircles both ends, of New Caledonia, is 400 miles long. Each
reef includes one, two, or several rocky islands of various heights;
and in one instance, even as many as twelve separate islands. The
reef runs at a greater or less distance from the included land ; in the
Society archipelago generally from one to three or four miles; but

at Hogoleu the reef is 20 miles on the southern side, and 14 miles on
the opposite or northern side, from the included islands. The depth
within the lagoon-channel also varies much; from 10 to 30 fathoms
may be taken as an average; but at Vanikoro there are spaces no less
than 56 fathoms or 363 feet deep. Internally the reef either slopes
gently into the lagoon-channel, or ends in a perpendicular wall
sometimes between two and three hundred feet under water in
height: externally the reef rises, like an atoll, with extreme abrupt-
ness out of the profound depths of the ocean. What can be more
singular than these structures? We see an island, which may be
compared to a castle situated on the summit of a lofty submarine
mountain, protected by a great wall of coral-rock, always steep ex-
ternally and sometimes internally, with a broad level summit, here

474 CHARLES DARWIN

and there breached by a narrow gateway, through which the largest
ships can enter the wide and deep encircling moat.

As far as the actual reef of coral is concerned, there is not the
smallest difference, in general size, outline, grouping, and even in
quite trifling details of structure, between a barrier and an atoll.
The geographer Balbi has well remarked, that an encircled island
is an atoll with high land rising out of its lagoon; remove the land
from within, and a perfect atoll is left.

But what has caused these reefs to spring up at such great distances
from the shores of the included islands? It cannot be that the corals
will not grow close to the land; for the shores within the lagoon-
channel, when not surrounded by alluvial soil, are often fringed by
living reefs; and we shall presently see that there is a whole class,
which I have called Fringing Reefs from their close attachment to
the shores both of continents and of islands. Again, on what have
the reef-building corals, which cannot live at great depths, based
their encircling structures ? This is a great apparent difficulty, analo-

3032 ft.

I. Vanikoro. 2. Gambier Islands. 3. Maurua.

The horizontal shading shows the barrier-reefs and lagoon-channels. The in-
clined shading above the level of the sea (AA) shows the actual form of the land;
the inclined shading below this line, shows its probable prolongation under water.

gous to that in the case of atolls, which has generally been overlooked.
It will be perceived more clearly by inspecting the above sections,
which are real ones, taken in north and south lines, through the
islands with their barrier-reefs, of Vanikoro, Gambier, and Maurua;
and they are laid down, both vertically and horizontally, on the same
scale of a quarter of an inch to a mile.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 475

It should be observed that the sections might have been taken in
any direction through these islands, or through many other encircled
islands, and the general features would have been the same. Now,
bearing in mind that reef-building coral cannot live at a greater
depth than from 20 to 30 fathoms, and that the scale is so small that
the plummets on the right hand show a depth of 200 fathoms, on
what are these barrier-reefs based? Are we to suppose that each
island is surrounded by a collar-like submarine ledge of rock, or by
a great bank of sediment, ending abruptly where the reef ends?

If the sea had formerly eaten deeply into the islands, before they
were protected by the reefs, thus having left a shallow ledge round
them under water, the present shores would have been invariably
bounded by great precipices; but this is most rarely the case. More-
over, on this notion, it is not possible to explain why the corals should
have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme outer margin of the
ledge, often leaving a broad space of water within, too deep for the
growth of corals. The accumulation of a wide bank of sediment all
round these islands, and generally widest where the included islands
are smallest, is highly improbable, considering their exposed posi-
tions in the central and deepest parts of the ocean. In the case of the
barrier-reef of New Caledonia, which extends for 150 miles beyond
the northern point of the islands, in the same straight line with
which it fronts the west coast, it is hardly possible to believe that a
bank of sediment could thus have been straightly deposited in front
of a lofty island, and so far beyond its termination in the open sea.
Finally, if we look to other oceanic islands of about the same height
and of similar geological constitution, but not encircled by coral-reefs,
we may in vain search for so trifling a circumambient depth as 30
fathoms, except quite near to their shores; for usually land that rises
abruptly out of water, as do most of the encircled and non-encircled
oceanic islands, plunges abruptly under it. On what then, I repeat,
are these barrier-reefs based ? Why, with their wide and deep moat-
like channels, do they stand so far from the included land? We shall
soon see how easily these difficulties disappear.

We come now to our third class of Fringing-reefs, which will
require a very short notice. Where the land slopes abruptly under
water, these reefs are only a few yards in width, forming a mere

476 CHARLES DARWIN

ribbon or fringe round the shores: where the land slopes gently
under the water the reef extends further, sometimes even as much
as a mile from the land; but in such cases the soundings outside the
reef always show that the submarine prolongation of the land is
gently inclined. In fact, the reefs extend only to that distance from
the shore, at which a foundation within the requisite depth from
20 to 30 fathoms is found. As far as the actual reef is concerned,
there is no essential difference between it and that forming a barrier
or an atoll: it is, however, generally of less width, and consequently
few islets have been formed on it. From the corals growing more
vigorously on the outside, and from the noxious effect of the sedi-
ment washed inwards, the outer edge of the reef is the highest part,
and between it and the land there is generally a shallow sandy chan-
nel a few feet in depth. Where banks or sediments have accumulated
near to the surface, as in parts of the West Indies, they sometimes
become fringed with corals, and hence in some degree resemble

AA. Outer edges of the fringing-reef, at the level of the sea. BB. The shores of the
fringed island.

A' A'. Outer edges of the reef, after its upward growth during a period of sub-
sidence, now converted into a barrier, with islets on it B'B'. The shores of the now
encircled island. CC. Lagoon-channel.

N. B. — In this and the following woodcut, the subsidence of the land could be
represented only by an apparent rise in the level of the sea.

lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same manner as fringing-reefs, sur-
rounding gently sloping islands, in some degree resemble barrier-
reefs.

No theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be considered satis-
factory which does not include the three great classes. We have seen
that we are driven to believe in the subsidence of those vast areas,
interspersed with low islands, of which not one rises above the height
to which the wind and waves can throw up matter, and yet are con-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 477

structed by animals requiring a foundation, and that foundation to
lie at no great depth. Let us then take an island surrounded by
f ringing-reefs, which offer no difficulty in their structure; and let
this island with its reefs, represented by the unbroken lines in the
woodcut, slowly subside. Now, as the island sinks down, either a
few feet at a time or quite insensibly, we may safely infer, from what
is known of the conditions favourable to the growth of coral, that
the living masses, bathed by the surf on the margin of the reef, will
soon regain the surface. The water, however, will encroach little by
little on the shore, the island becoming lower and smaller, and the
space between the inner edge of the reef and the beach propor-
tionately broader. A section of the reef and island in this state, after
a subsidence of several hundred feet, is given by the dotted lines.
Coral islets are supposed to have been formed on the reef; and a ship
is anchored in the lagoon-channel. This channel will be more or less
deep, according to the rate of subsidence, to the amount of sediment
accumulated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched corals
which can live there. The section in this state resembles in every
respect one drawn through an encircled island: in fact, it is a real
section (on the scale of .517 of an inch to a mile) through Bolabola
in the Pacific. We can now at once see why encircling barrier-reefs
stand so far from the shores which they front. We can also perceive,
that a line drawn perpendicularly down from the outer edge of the
new reef, to the foundation of solid rock beneath the old fringing-
reef, will exceed by as many feet as there have been feet of subsi-
dence, that small limit of depth at which the effective corals can live:
— the little architects having built up their great wall-like mass, as
the whole sank down, upon a basis formed of other corals and their
consolidated fragments. Thus the difficulty on this head, which
appeared so great, disappears.

If, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a continent
fringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have subsided, a great
straight barrier, like that of Australia or New Caledonia, separated
from the land by a wide and deep channel, would evidently have
been the result.

Let us take our new encircling barrier-reef, of which the section is
now represented by unbroken lines, and which, as I have said, is a

478 CHARLES DARWIN

real section through Bolabola, and let it go on subsiding. As the
barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the corals will go on vigorously
growing upwards; but as the island sinks, the water will gain inch
by inch on the shore — the separate mountains first forming separate
islands within one great reef — and finally, the last and highest

A' A'. Outer edges of the barrier-reef at the level of the sea, with islets on it. B'B'.
The shores of the included island. CC. The lagoon-channel.

A" A". Outer edges of the reef, now converted into an atoll. C. The lagoon of
the new atoll.

N. B. — According to the true scale, the depths of the lagoon-channel and lagoon
are much exaggerated.

pinnacle disappearing. The instant this takes place, a perfect atoll
is formed: I have said, remove the high land from within an encir-
cling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and the land has been removed.
We can now perceive how it comes that atolls, having sprung from
encircling barrier-reefs, resemble them in general size, form, in the
manner in which they are grouped together, and in their arrange-
ment in single or double lines; for they may be called rude outline
charts of the sunken islands over which they stand. We can further
see how it arises that the atolls in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
extend in lines parallel to the generally prevailing strike of the high
islands and great coast-lines of those oceans. I venture, therefore, to
affirm, that on the theory of the upward growth of the corals during
the sinking of the land, 13 all the leading features in those wonderful

13 It has been highly satisfactory to me to find the following passage in a pamphlet
by Mr. Couthouy, one of the naturalists in the great Antarctic Expedition of the United
States: — "Having personally examined a large number of coral-islands and resided
eight months among the volcanic class having shore and partially encircling reefs. I
may be permitted to state that my own observations have impressed a conviction of the
correctness of the theory of Mr. Darwin." — The naturalists, however, of this expedition
differ with me on some points respecting coral formations.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 479

structures, the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long excited
the attention of voyagers, as well as in the no less wonderful barrier-
reefs, whether encircling small islands or stretching for hundreds of
miles along the shores of a continent, are simply explained.

It may be asked, whether I can offer any direct evidence of the
subsidence of barrier-reefs or atolls; but it must be borne in mind
how difficult it must ever be to detect a movement, the tendency of
which is to hide under water the part affected. Nevertheless, at
Keeling atoll I observed on all sides of the lagoon old cocoa-nut
trees undermined and falling; and in one place the foundation-posts
of a shed, which the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years
before just above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by
every tide: on inquiry I found that three earthquakes, one of them
severe, had been felt here during the last ten years. At Vanikoro,
the lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely any alluvial soil has
accumulated at the foot of the lofty included mountains, and re-
markably few islets have been formed by the heaping of fragments
and sand on the wall-like barrier reef; these facts, and some analo-
gous ones, led me to believe that this island must lately have subsided
and the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are frequent
and very severe. In the Society archipelago, on the other hand, where
the lagoon-channels are almost choked up, where much low alluvial
land has accumulated, and where in some cases long islets have been
formed on the barrier-reefs — facts all showing that the islands have
not very lately subsided — only feeble shocks are most rarely felt.
In these coral formations, where the land and water seem struggling
for mastery, it must be ever difficult to decide between the effects
of a change in the set of the tides and of a slight subsidence: that
many of these reefs and atolls are subject to changes of some kind is
certain; on some atolls the islets appear to have increased greatly
within a late period; on others they have been partially or wholly
washed away. The inhabitants of parts of the Maldiva archipelago
know the date of the first formation of some islets; in other parts,
the corals are now flourishing on water-washed reefs, where holes
made for graves attest the former existence of inhabited land. It is
difficult to believe in frequent changes in the tidal currents of an
open ocean; whereas, we have in the earthquakes recorded by the

480 CHARLES DARWIN

natives on some atolls, and in the great fissures observed on other
atolls, plain evidence of changes and disturbances in progress in the
subterranean regions.

It is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by reefs can-
not have subsided to any perceptible amount; and therefore they
must, since the growth of their corals, either have remained station-
ary or have been upheaved. Now, it is remarkable how generally it
can be shown, by the presence of upraised organic remains, that
the fringed islands have been elevated: and so far, this is indirect
evidence in favour of our theory. I was particularly struck with this
fact, when I found, to my surprise, that the descriptions given by
MM. Quoy and Gaimard were applicable, not to reefs in general
as implied by them, but only to those of the fringing class; my sur-
prise, however, ceased when I afterwards found that, by a strange
chance, all the several islands visited by these eminent naturalists,
could be shown by their own statements to have been elevated within
a recent geological era.

Not only the grand features in the structure of barrier-reefs and of
atolls, and to their likeness to each other in form, size, and other
characters, are explained on the theory of subsidence — which theory
we are independently forced to admit in the very areas in question,
from the necessity of finding bases for the corals within the requisite
depth — but many details in structure and exceptional cases can thus
also be simply explained. I will give only a few instances. In barrier-
reefs it has long been remarked with surprise, that the passages
through the reef exacdy face valleys in the included land, even in
cases where the reef is separated from the land by a lagoon-channel
so wide and so much deeper than the actual passage itself, that it
seems hardly possible that the very small quantity of water or sedi-
ment brought down could injure the corals on the reef. Now, every
reef of the fringing class is breached by a narrow gateway in front
of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during the greater part of the year,
for the mud, sand, or gravel, occasionally washed down kills the
corals on which it is deposited. Consequently, when an island thus
fringed subsides, though most of the narrow gateways will probably
become closed by the outward and upward growth of the corals,
yet any that are not closed (and some must always be kept open by

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 48 1

the sediment and impure water flowing out of the lagoon-channel)
will still continue to front exactly the upper parts of those valleys,
at the mouths of which the original basal fringing-reef was breached.

We can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, or on
one side with one end or both ends encircled by barrier-reefs, might
after long-continued subsidence be converted either into a single
wall-like reef, or into an atoll with a great straight spur projecting
from it, or into two or three atolls tied together by straight reefs —
all of which exceptional cases actually occur. As the reef-building
corals require food, are preyed upon by other animals, are killed by
sediment, cannot adhere to a loose bottom, and may be easily carried
down to a depth whence they cannot spring up again, we need feel
no surprise at the reefs both of atolls and barriers becoming in parts
imperfect. The great barrier of New Caledonia is thus imperfect
and broken in many parts; hence, after long subsidence, this great
reef would not produce one great atoll 400 miles in length, but -a
chain or archipelago of atolls, of very nearly the same dimension with
those in the Maldiva archipelago. Moreover, in an atoll once
breached on opposite sides, from the likelihood of the oceanic and
tidal currents passing straight through the breaches, it is extremely
improbable that the corals, especially during continued subsidence,
would ever be able again to unite the rim; if they did not, as the
whole sank downwards, one atoll would be divided into two or more.
In the Maldiva archipelago there are distinct atolls so related to each
other in position, and separated by channels either unfathomable or
very deep (the channel between Ross and Ari atolls is 150 fathoms,
and that between the north and south Nillandoo atolls is 200 fath-
oms in depth), that it is impossible to look at a map of them without
believing that they were once more intimately related. And in this
same archipelago, Mahlos-Mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating
channel from 100 to 132 fathoms in depth, in such a manner, that
it is scarcely possible to say whether it ought strictly to be called three
separate atolls, or one great atoll not yet finally divided.

I will not enter on many more details; but I must remark that the
curious structure of the northern Maldiva atolls receives (taking into
consideration the free entrance of the sea through their broken mar-
gins) a simple explanation in the upward and outward growth of the

482 CHARLES DARWIN

corals, originally based both on small detached reefs in their lagoons,
such as occur in common atolls, and on broken portions of the linear
marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of the ordinary form. I
cannot refrain from once again remarking on the singularity of these
complex structures — a great sandy and generally concave disk rises
abruptly from the unfathomable ocean, with its central expanse
studded, and its edge symmetrically bordered with oval basins of
coral-rock just lipping the surface of the sea, sometimes clothed with
vegetation, and each containing a lake of clear water!

One more point in detail : as in the two neighbouring archipelagoes
corals flourish in one and not in the other, and as so many conditions
before enumerated must affect their existence, it would be an inex-
plicable fact if, during the changes to which earth, air, and water are
subjected, the reef-building corals were to keep alive for perpetuity
on any one spot or area. And as by our theory the areas including
atolls and barrier-reefs are subsiding, we ought occasionally to find
reefs both dead and submerged. In all reefs, owing to the sediment
being washed out of the lagoon-channel to leeward, that side is least
favourable to the long-continued vigorous growth of the corals;
hence dead portions of reef not unfrequently occur on the leeward
side; and these, though still retaining their proper wall-like form,
are now in several instances sunk several fathoms beneath the sur-
face. The Chagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the
subsidence having been too rapid, at present to be much less favour-
ably circumstanced for the growth of reefs than formerly: one atoll
has a portion of its marginal reef, nine miles in length, dead and
submerged; a second has only a few quite small living points which
rise to the surface; a third and fourth are entirely dead and sub-
merged; a fifth is a mere wreck, with its structure almost obliterated.
It is remarkable that in all these cases, the dead reefs and portions
of reef lie at nearly the same depth, namely, from six to eight fathoms
beneath the surface, as if they had been carried down by one uniform
movement. One of these "half-drowned atolls," so called by Capt.
Moresby (to whom I am indebted for much invaluable information),
is of vast size, namely, ninety nautical miles across in one direction,
and seventy miles in another line; and is in many respects eminently
curious. As by our theory it follows that new atolls will generally

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 483

be formed in each new area of subsidence, two weighty objections
might have been raised, namely, that atolls must be increasing in-
definitely in number; and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence
each separate atoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if
proofs of their occasional destruction could not have been adduced.
Thus have we traced the history of these great rings of coral-rock,
from their first origin through their normal changes, and through
the occasional accidents of their existence, to their death and final
obliteration.

In my volume on "Coral Formations" I have published a map,
in which I have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the barrier-reefs
pale j blue, and the fringing reefs red. These latter reefs have been
formed whilst the land has been stationary, or, as appears from the
frequent presence of upraised organic remains, whilst it has been
slowly rising: atolls and barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have grown
up during the directly opposite movement of subsidence, which
movement must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so
vast in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over wide
ocean-spaces. Now in this map we see that the reefs tinted pale and
dark-blue, which have been produced by the same order of move-
ment, as a general rule manifestly stand near each other. Again
we see, that the areas with the two blue tints are of wide extent; and
that they lie separate from extensive lines of coast coloured red, both
of which circumstances might naturally have been inferred, on the
theory of the nature of the reefs having been governed by the nature
of the earth's movement. It deserves notice, that in more than one
instance where single red and blue circles approach near each other,
I can show that there have been oscillations of level; for in such cases
the red or fringed circles consist of atolls, originally by our theory
formed during subsidence, but subsequently upheaved; and on the
other hand, some of the pale-blue or encircled islands are composed
of coral-rock, which must have been uplifted to its present height
before that subsidence took place, during which the existing barrier-
reefs grew upwards.

Authors have noticed with surprise, that although atolls are the
commonest coral-structures throughout some enormous oceanic

484 CHARLES DARWIN

tracts, they are entirely absent in other seas, as in the West Indies:
we can now at once perceive the cause, for where there has not been
subsidence, atolls cannot have been formed; and in the case of the
West Indies and parts of the East Indies, these tracts are known
to have been rising within the recent period. The larger areas,
coloured red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two colours
there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of one had
balanced the sinking of the other. Taking into consideration the
proofs of recent elevation both on the fringed coasts and on some
others (for instance, in South America) where there are no reefs,
we are led to conclude that the great continents are for the most
part rising areas: and from the nature of the coral-reefs, that the
central parts of the great oceans are sinking areas. The East Indian
archipelago, the most broken land in the world, is in most parts an
area of elevation, but surrounded and penetrated, probably in more
lines than one, by narrow areas of subsidence.

I have marked with vermilion spots all the many known active
volcanos within the limits of this same map. Their entire absence
from every one of the great subsiding areas, coloured either pale or
dark blue, is most striking and not less so is the coincidence of the
chief volcanic chains with the parts coloured red, which we are led to
conclude have either long remained stationary, or more generally
have been recently upraised. Although a few of the vermilion spots
occur within no great distance of single circles tinted blue, yet not
one single active volcano is situated within several hundred miles
of an archipelago, or even small group of atolls. It is, therefore, a
striking fact that in the Friendly archipelago, which consists of a
group of atolls upheaved and since partially worn down, two vol-
canos, and perhaps more, are historically known to have been in
action. On the other hand, although most of the islands in the
Pacific which are encircled by barrier-reefs, are of volcanic origin,
often with the remnants of craters still distinguishable, not one of
them is known to have ever been in eruption. Hence in these cases
it would appear, that volcanos burst forth into action and become ex-
tinguished on the same spots, accordingly as elevatory or subsiding
movements prevail there. Numberless facts could be adduced to
prove that upraised organic remains are common wherever there

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 485

are active volcanos; but until it could be shown that in areas of
subsidence, volcanos were either absent or inactive, the inference,
however probable in itself, that their distribution depended on the
rising or falling of the earth's surface, would have been hazardous.
But now, I think, we may freely admit this important deduction.

Taking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the state-
ments made with respect to the upraised organic remains, we must
feel astonished at the vastness of the areas, which have suffered
changes in level either downwards or upwards, within a period not
geologically remote. It would appear also, that the elevatory and
subsiding movements follow nearly the same laws. Throughout the
spaces interspersed with atolls, where not a single peak of high
land has been left above the level of the sea, the sinking must have
been immense in amount. The sinking, moreover, whether contin-
uous, or recurrent with intervals sufficiently long for the corals again
to bring up their living edifices to the surface, must necessarily have
been extremely slow. This conclusion is probably the most important
one which can be deduced from the study of coral formations; — and
it is one which it is difficult to imagine how otherwise could ever
have been arrived at. Nor can I quite pass over the probability of the
former existence of large archipelagoes of lofty islands, where now
only rings of coral-rock scarcely break the open expanse of the
sea, throwing some light on the distribution of the inhabitants of the
other high islands, now left standing so immensely remote from
each other in the midst of the great oceans. The reef-constructing
corals have indeed reared and preserved wonderful memorials of the
subterranean oscillations of level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof
that the land has there subsided, and in each atoll a monument over
an island now lost. We may thus, like unto a geologist who had
lived his ten thousand years and kept a record of the passing changes,
gain some insight into the great system by which the surface of this
globe has been broken up, and land and water interchanged.

CHAPTER XXI

Mauritius to England

Mauritius, beautiful appearance of — Great crateriform ring of Mountains
— Hindoos — St. Helena-^History of the changes in the Vegetation —
Cause of the extinction of Land-shells — Ascension — Variation in the
imported Rats — Volcanic Bombs — Beds of Infusoria — Bahia — Brazil —
Splendour of Tropical Scenery — Pernambuco — Singular Reef — Slavery
— Return to England — Retrospect on our Voyage.

/tPRIL 2gth. — In the morning we passed round the northern
ZJ end of Mauritius, or the Isle of France. From this point of
^£. JL view the aspect of the island equalled the expectations raised
by the many well-known descriptions of its beautiful scenery. The
sloping plain of the Pamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and
coloured by the large fields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed
the foreground. The brilliancy of the green was the more remarkable
because it is a colour which generally is conspicuous only from a very
short distance. Towards the centre of the island groups of wooded
mountains rose out of this highly cultivated plain; their summits, as
so commonly happens with ancient volcanic rocks, being jagged into
the sharpest points. Masses of white clouds were collected around
these pinnacles, as if for the sake of pleasing the stranger's eye. The
whole island, with its sloping border and central mountains, was
adorned with an air of perfect elegance: the scenery, if I may use
such an expression, appeared to the sight harmonious.

I spent the greater part of the next day in walking about the town
and visiting different people. The town is of considerable size, and is
said to contain 20,000 inhabitants; the streets are very clean and
regular. Although the island has been so many years under the
English Government, the general character of the place is quite
French: Englishmen speak to their servants in French, and the
shops are all French; indeed, I should think that Calais or Boulogne
was much more Anglified. There is a very pretty little theatre, in
which operas are excellently performed. We were also surprised at

486

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 487

seeing large booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves; — music and
reading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilization; for in
truth both Australia and America are new worlds.

The various races of men walking in the streets afford the most
interesting spectacle in Port Louis. Convicts from India are banished
here for life; at present there are about 800, and they are employed
in various public works. Before seeing these people, I had no idea
that the inhabitants of India were such noble-looking figures. Their
skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men had large mus-
taches and beards of a snow-white colour; this, together with the
fire of their expression, gave them quite an imposing aspect. The
greater number had been banished for murder and the worst crimes;
others for causes which can scarcely be considered as moral faults,
such as for not obeying, from superstitious motives, the English laws.
These men are generally quiet and well-conducted; from their out-
ward conduct, their cleanliness, and faithful observance of their
strange religious rites, it was impossible to look at them with the
same eyes as on our wretched convicts in New South Wales.

May 1st. — Sunday. I took a quiet walk along the sea-coast to the
north of the town. The plain in this part is quite uncultivated; it
consists of a field of black lava, smoothed over with coarse grass and
bushes, the latter being chiefly Mimosas. The scenery may be
described as intermediate in character between that of the Galapagos
and of Tahiti; but this will convey a definite idea to very few persons.
It is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of Tahiti, or
the grandeur of Brazil. The next day I ascended La Pouce, a moun-
tain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind
the town to a height of 2,600 feet. The centre of the island consists
of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains,
with their strata dipping seawards. The central platform, formed
of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen
geographical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. The exterior
bounding mountains come into that class of structures called Craters
of Elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like
ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. There appears
to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand,
I can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these

488 CHARLES DARWIN

marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of
immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown
off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses.

From our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the
island. The country on this side appears pretty well cultivated, being
divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. I was, however,
assured that of the whole land, not more than half is yet in a produc-
tive state; if such be the case, considering the present large export of
sugar, this island, at some future period when thickly peopled, will be
of great value. Since England has taken possession of it, a period of
only twenty-five years, the export of sugar is said to have increased
seventy-five fold. One great cause of its prosperity is the excellent
state of the roads. In the neighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which
remains under the French government, the roads are still in the same
miserable state as they were here only a few years ago. Although the
French residents must have largely profited by the increased pros-
perity of their island, yet the English government is far from popular.

yrd. — In the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor-general, so well
known from his examination of the Isthmus of Panama, invited Mr.
Stokes and myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge
of Wilheim Plains, and about six miles from the Port. We stayed at
this delightful place two days; standing nearly 800 feet above the sea,
the air was cool and fresh, and on every side there were delightful
walks. Close by, a grand ravine has been worn to a depth of about
500 feet through the slightly inclined streams of lava, which have
flowed from the central platform.

$th. — Captain Lloyd took us to the Riviere Noire, which is several
miles to the southward, that I might examine some rocks of elevated
coral. We passed through pleasant gardens, and fine fields of sugar-
cane growing amidst huge blocks of lava. The roads were bordered
by hedges of Mimosa, and near many of the houses there were
avenues of the mango. Some of the views, where the peaked hills
and the cultivated farms were seen together, were exceedingly pic-
turesque; and we were constantly tempted to exclaim, "How pleasant
it would be to pass one's life in such quiet abodes!" Captain Lloyd
possessed an elephant, and he sent it half way with us, that we might

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 489

enjoy a ride in true Indian fashion. The circumstance which sur-
prised me most was its quite noiseless step. This elephant is the
only one at present on the island; but it is said others will be sent for.

May gth. — We sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the Cape of
Good Hope, on the 8th of July, we arrived off St. Helena. This
island, the forbidding aspect of which has been so often described,
rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the
town, as if to complete nature's defence, small forts and gnns fill up
every gap in the rugged rocks. The town runs up a flat and narrow
valley; the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very
few green trees. When approaching the anchorage there was one
striking view: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty
hill, and surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected
against the sky.

The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of
Napoleon's tomb; 1 it was a capital central situation, whence I could
make excursions in every direction. During the four days I stayed
here, I wandered over the island from morning to night, and exam-
ined its geological history. My lodgings were situated at a height
of about 2000 feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with
constant showers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene
was veiled in thick clouds.

Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and
higher parts, feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced
a clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained in
broad bands of many bright colours. At this season, the land mois-
tened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green pas-
ture, which lower and lower down, gradually fades away and at
last disappears. In latitude 16 , and at the trifling elevation of 1500
feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation possessing a character
decidedly British. The hills are crowned with irregular plantations
of Scotch firs; and the sloping banks are thickly scattered over with

1 After the volumes of eloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is
dangerous even to mention the tomb. A modern traveller, in twelve lines, burdens
the poor little island with the following titles, — it is a grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery,
sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus, minaret, and mausoleum!

490 CHARLES DARWIN

thickets of gorse, covered with its bright yellow flowers. Weeping-
willows are common on the banks of the rivulets, and the hedges are
made of the blackberry, producing its well-known fruit. When we
consider that the number of plants now found on the island is 746,
and that out of these fifty-two alone are indigenous species, the rest
having been imported, and most of them from England, we see the
reason of the British character of the vegetation. Many of these
English plants appear to flourish better than in their native country;
some also from the opposite quarter of Australia succeed remark-
ably well. The many imported species must have destroyed some of
the native kinds; and it is only on the highest and steepest ridges
that the indigenous Flora is now predominant.

The English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is kept up
by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at
the bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests
of the lofty hills. Some of the views are striking, for instance that
from near Sir W. Doveton's house, where the bold peak called Lot
is seen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red
water-worn mountains of the southern coast. On viewing the island
from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one, is the
number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public
works, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all pro-
portion to its extent or value. There is so little level or useful land,
that it seems surprising how so many people, about 5000, can subsist
here. The lower orders, or the emancipated slaves, are I believe
extremely poor : they complain of the want of work. From the reduc-
tion in the number of public servants, owing to the island having
been given up by the East Indian Company, and the consequent
emigration of many of the richer people, the poverty probably will
increase. The chief food of the working class is rice with a little salt
meat; as neither of these articles are the products of the island, but
must be purchased with money, the low wages tell heavily on the
poor people. Now that the people are blessed with freedom, a right
which I believe they value fully, it seems probable that their num-
bers will quickly increase : if so, what is to become of the little state
of St. Helena?

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 49 1

My guide was an elderly man, who had been a goatherd when a
boy, and knew every step amongst the rocks. He was of a race many
times crossed, and although with a dusky skin, he had not the dis-
agreeable expression of a mulatto. He was a very civil, quiet old
man, and such appears the character of the greater number of the
lower classes. It was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly white
and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of the times when
he was a slave. With my companion, who carried our dinners and
a horn of water, which is quite necessary, as all the water in the lower
valleys is saline, I every day took long walks.

Beneath the upper and central green circle, the wild valleys are
quite desolate and untenanted. Here, to the geologist, there were
scenes of high interest, showing successive changes and complicated
disturbances. According to my views, St. Helena has existed as an
island from a very remote epoch: some obscure proofs, however, of
the elevation of the land are still extant. I believe that the central
and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater, the southern
half of which has been entirely removed by the waves of the sea:
there is, moreover, an external wall of black basaltic rocks, like the
coast-mountains of Mauritius, which are older than the central vol-
canic streams. On the higher parts of the island, considerable num-
bers of a shell, long thought to be a marine species, occur imbedded
in the soil.

It proved to be a Cochlogena, or land-shell of a very peculiar
form; 2 with it I found six other kinds; and in another spot an eighth
species. It is remarkable that none of them are now found living.
Their extinction has probably been caused by the entire destruction
of the woods, and the consequent loss of food and shelter, which
occurred during the early part of the last century.

The history of the changes, which the elevated plains of Long-
wood and Deadwood have undergone, as given in General Beatson's
account of the island, is extremely curious. Both plains, it is said in
former times were covered with wood, and were therefore called
the Great Wood. So late as the year 1716 there were many trees, but

2 It deserves notice, that all the many specimens of this shell found by me in one
spot, differ as a marked variety, from another set of specimens procured from a
different spot.

492 CHARLES DARWIN

in 1724 the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had
been suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed.
It appears also from the official records, that the trees were unex-
pectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire grass which
spread over the whole surface. 3 General Beatson adds that now this
plain "is covered with fine sward, and is become the finest piece of
pasture on the island." The extent of surface, probably covered by
wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two thousand
acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be found there.
It is also said that in 1709 there were quantities of dead trees in
Sandy Bay; this place is now so utterly desert, that nothing but so
well attested an account could have made me believe that they could
ever have grown there. The fact, that the goats and hogs destroyed
all the young trees as they sprang up, and that in the course of time
the old ones, which were safe from their attacks, perished from age,
seems clearly made out. Goats were introduced in the year 1502;
eighty-six years afterwards, in the time of Cavendish, it is known
that they were exceedingly numerous. More than a century after-
wards, in 1731, when the evil was complete and irretrievable, an
order was issued that all stray animals should be destroyed. It is very
interesting thus to find, that the arrival of animals at St. Helena in
1501, did not change the whole aspect of the island, until a period
of two hundred and twenty years had elapsed: for the goats were
introduced in 1502, and in 1724 it is said "the old trees had mostly
fallen." There can be little doubt that this great change in the vege-
tation affected not only the land-shells, causing eight species to
become extinct, but likewise a multitude of insects.

St. Helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the midst
of a great ocean, and possessing a unique Flora, excites our curiosity.
The eight land-shells, though now extinct, and one living Succinea,
are peculiar species found nowhere else. Mr. Cuming, however,
informs me that an English Helix is common here, its eggs no doubt
having been imported in some of the many introduced plants. Mr.
Cuming collected on the coast sixteen species of sea-shells, of which
seven, as far as he knows, are confined to this island. Birds and
3 Beatson's St. Helena. Introductory chapter, p. 4.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 493

insects, 4 as might have been expected, are very few in number; indeed
I believe all the birds have been introduced within late years. Part-
ridges and pheasants are tolerably abundant; the island is much too
English not to be subject to strict game-laws. I was told of a more
unjust sacrifice to such ordinances than I ever heard of even in Eng-
land. The poor people formerly used to burn a plant, which grows
on the coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a per-
emptory order came out prohibiting this practice, and giving as a
reason that the partridges would have nowhere to build.

In my walks I passed more than once over the grassy plain
bounded by deep valleys, on which Longwood stands. Viewed from
a short distance, it appears like a respectable gentleman's country-
seat. In front there are a few cultivated fields, and beyond them the
smooth hill of coloured rocks called the Flagstaff, and the rugged
square black mass of the Barn. On the whole the view was rather
bleak and uninteresting. The only inconvenience I suffered during

4 Among these few insects, I was surprised to find a small Aphodius irtov. spec.)
and an Oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. When the island was
discovered it certainly possessed no quadruped, excepting perhaps a mouse: it be-
comes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain, whether these stercovorous insects have
since been imported by accident, or if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted.
On the banks of the Plata, where, from the vast number of cattle and horses, the fine
plains of turf are richly manured, it is vain to seek the many kinds of dung-feeding
beetles, which occur so abundantly in Europe. I observed only an Oryctes (the insects
of this genus in Europe generally feed on decayed vegetable matter) and two species
of Phansus, common in such situations. On the opposite side of the Cordillera in
Chiloe, another species of Phana:us is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung
of the cattle in large earthen balls beneath the ground. There is reason to believe
that the genus Phansus, before the introduction of cattle, acted as scavengers to
man. In Europe, beetles, which find support in the matter which has already con-
tributed towards the life of other and larger animals, are so numerous that there must
be considerably more than one hundred different species. Considering this, and ob-
serving what a quantity of food of this kind is lost on the plains of La Plata, I
imagined I saw an instance where man had disturbed that chain, by which so many
animals are linked together in their native country. In Van Diemen's Land, however,
I found four species of Onthophagus, two of Aphodius, and one of a third genus,
very abundantly under the dung of cows; yet these latter animals had been then
introduced only thirty-three years. Previously to that time the kangaroo and some
other small animals were the only quadrupeds; and their dung is of a very different
quality from that of their successors introduced by man. In England the greater
number of stercovorous beetles are confined in their appetites; that is, they do not de-
pend indifferently on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. The change,
therefore, in habits which must have taken place in Van Diemen's Land is highly
remarkable. I am indebted to the Rev. F. W. Hope, who, I hope, will permit me to
call him my master in Entomology, for giving me the names of the foregoing insects.

494 CHARLES DARWIN

my walks was from the impetuous winds. One day I noticed a curi-
ous circumstance; standing on the edge of a plain, terminated by a
great cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, I saw at the distance
of a few yards right to windward, some tern, struggling against a
very strong breeze, whilst, where I stood, the air was quite calm.
Approaching close to the brink, where the current seemed to be
deflected upwards from the face of the cliff, I stretched out my arm,
and immediately felt the full force of the wind: an invisible barrier,
two yards in width, separated perfectly calm air from a strong blast.

I so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains
of St. Helena, that I felt almost sorry on the morning of the 14th to
descend to the town. Before noon I was on board, and the Beagle
made sail.

On the 19th of July we reached Ascension. Those who have beheld
a volcanic island, situated under an arid climate, will at once be able
to picture to themselves the appearance of Ascension. They will
imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their sum-
mits generally truncated, rising separately out of a level surface of
black rugged lava. A principal mound in the centre of the island,
seems the father of the lesser cones. It is called Green Hill : its name
being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour, which at this time
of the year is barely perceptible from the anchorage. To complete
the desolate scene, the black rocks on the coast are lashed by a wild
and turbulent sea.

The settlement is near the beach; it consists of several houses and
barracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. The
only inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from slave-
ships, who are paid and victualled by government. There is not a
private person on the island. Many of the marines appeared well
contented with their situation; they think it better to serve their
one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in a ship;
in this choice, if I were a marine, I should most heartily agree.

The next morning I ascended Green Hill, 2840 feet high, and
thence walked across the island to the windward point. A good
cart-road leads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and
fields, placed near the summit of the central mountain. On the road-
side there are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 495

passer-by can drink some good water. Similar care is displayed in
each part of the establishment, and especially in the management of
the springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: indeed
the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate
order. I could not help, when admiring the active industry, which
had created such effects out of such means, at the same time regret-
ting that it had been wasted on so poor and trifling an end. M.
Lesson has remarked with justice, that the English nation would
have thought of making the island of Ascension a productive spot;
any other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the ocean.

Near this coast nothing grows; further inland, an occasional green
castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the desert,
may be met with. Some grass is scattered over the surface of the
central elevated region, and the whole much resembles the worse
parts of the Welsh mountains. But scanty as the pasture appears,
about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and horses, all
thrive well on it. Of native animals, land-crabs and rats swarm in
numbers. Whether the rat is really indigenous, may well be doubted;
there are two varieties as described by Mr. Waterhouse; one is of a
black colour, with fine glossy fur, and lives on the grassy summit;
the other is brown-coloured and less glossy, with longer hairs, and
lives near the settlement on the coast. Both these varieties are one-
third smaller than the common black rat (M. rattus) ; and they differ
from it both in the colour and character of their fur, but in no other
essential respect. I can hardly doubt that these rats (like the common
mouse, which has also run wild) have been imported, and, as at the
Galapagos, have varied from the effect of the new conditions to
which they have been exposed: hence the variety on the summit of
the island differs from that on the coast. Of native birds there are
none; but the guinea-fowl, imported from the Cape de Verd Islands,
is abundant, and the common fowl has likewise run wild. Some cats,
which were originally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have
increased, so as to become a great plague. The island is entirely
without trees, in which, and in every other respect, it is very far
inferior to St. Helena.

One of my excursions took me towaras tne S. W. extremity of
the island. The day was clear and hot, and I saw the island, not

496 CHARLES DARWIN

smiling with beauty, but staring with naked hideousness. The lava
streams are covered with hummocks, and are rugged to a degree
which, geologically speaking, is not of easy explanation. The inter-
vening spaces are concealed with layers of pumice, ashes and vol-
canic tuff. Whilst passing this end of the island at sea, I could not
imagine what the white patches were with which the whole plain
was mottled; I now found that they were seafowl, sleeping in such
full confidence, that even in midday a man could walk up and seize
hold of them. These birds were the only living creatures I saw
during the whole day. On the beach a great surf, although the breeze
was light, came tumbling over the broken lava rocks.

The geology of this island is in many respects interesting. In
several places I noticed volcanic bombs, that is, masses of lava which
have been shot through the air whilst fluid, and have consequently
assumed a spherical or pear-shape. Not only their external form,
but, in several cases, their internal structure shows in a very curious
manner that they have revolved in their aerial course. The internal
structure of one of these bombs, when broken, is represented very
accurately in the woodcut. The central part is coarsely cellular, the
cells decreasing in size towards the exterior; where there is a shell-
like case about the third of an inch in thickness, of compact stone,
which again is overlaid by the outside crust of finely cellular lava.
I think there can be little doubt, first that the external crust cooled
rapidly in the state in which we now see it; secondly, that the still
fluid lava within, was packed by the centrifugal force, generated by
the revolving of the bomb, against the external cooled crust, and
so produced the solid shell of stone; and lastly, that the centrifugal
force, by relieving the pressure in the more central parts of the bomb,
allowed the heated vapours to expand their cells, thus forming the
coarse cellular mass of the centre.

A hill, formed of the older series of volcanic rocks, and which has
been incorrectly considered as the crater of a volcano, is remarkable
from its broad, slighdy hollowed, and circular summit having been
filled up with many successive layers of ashes and fine scoriae. These
saucer-shaped layers crop out on the margin, forming perfect rings
of many different colours, giving to the summit a most fantastic
appearance; one of these rings is white and broad, and resembles

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 497

a course round which horses have been exercised; hence the hill has
been called the Devil's Riding School. I brought away specimens
of one of the tufaceous layers of a pinkish colour and it is a most
extraordinary fact, that Professor Ehrenberg 5 finds it almost wholly
composed of matter which has been organized : he detects in it some
siliceous-shielded fresh-water infusoria, and no less than twenty-five
different kinds of the siliceous tissue of plants, chiefly of grasses.
From the absence of all carbonaceous matter, Professor Ehrenberg

believes that these organic bodies have passed through the volcanic
fire, and have been erupted in the state in which we now see them.
The appearance of the layers induced me to believe that they had
been deposited under water, though from the extreme dryness of
the climate I was forced to imagine, that torrents of rain had proba-
bly fallen during some great eruption, and that thus a temporary
lake had been formed into which the ashes fell. But it may now be
suspected that the lake was not a temporary one. Anyhow, we may
feel sure, that at some former epoch the climate and productions of
Ascension were very different from what they now are. Where on
the face of the earth can we find a spot, on which close investigation
5 Monats. der Konig. Akad. d. Wiss. zu Berlin. Vom April, 1845.

498 CHARLES DARWIN

will not discover signs of that endless cycle of change, to which this
earth has been, is, and will be subjected?

On leaving Ascension, we sailed for Bahia, on the coast of Brazil,
in order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world.
We arrived there on August 1st, and stayed four days, during which
I took several long walks. I was glad to find my enjoyment in tropi-
cal scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even in the
slightest degree. The elements of the scenery are so simple, that
they are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances
exquisite natural beauty depends.

The country may be described as a level plain of about three
hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into flat-
bottomed valleys. This structure is remarkable in a granitic land,
but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of which plains
are usually composed. The whole surface is covered by various kinds
of stately trees, interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, out
of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. It must be remembered
that within the tropics, the wild luxuriance of nature is not lost even
in the vicinity of large cities: for the natural vegetation of the hedges
and hill-sides overpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour
of man. Hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red soil
affords a strong contrast with the universal clothing of green. From
the edges of the plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or
of the great Bay with its low-wooded shores, and on which numer-
ous boats and canoes show their white sails. Excepting from these
points, the scene is extremely limited; following the level pathways,
on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below can be
obtained. The houses I may add, and especially the sacred edifices,
are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of architecture. They
are all whitewashed; so that when illumined by the brilliant sun of
midday, and as seen against the pale blue sky of the horizon, they
stand out more like shadows than real buildings.

Such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt
to paint the general effect. Learned naturalists describe these scenes
of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and mentioning
some characteristic feature of each. To a learned traveller this pos-

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 499

sibly may communicate some definite ideas: but who else from see-
ing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its appearance when grow-
ing in its native soil ? Who from seeing choice plants in a hothouse,
can magnify some into the dimensions of forest trees, and crowd
others into an entangled jungle? Who when examining in the
cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic butterflies, and singular
cicadas, will associate with these lifeless objects, the ceaseless harsh
music of the latter, and the lazy flight of the former, — the sure ac-
companiments of the still, glowing noonday of the tropics? It is
when the sun has attained its greatest height, that such scenes should
be viewed: then the dense splendid foliage of the mango hides the
ground with its darkest shade, whilst the upper branches are ren-
dered from the profusion of light of the most brilliant green. In
the temperate zones the case is different — the vegetation there is not
so dark or so rich, and hence the rays of the declining sun, tinged
of a red, purple, or bright yellow color, add most to the beauties of
those climes.

When quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring
each successive view, I wished to find language to express my ideas.
Epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who
have not visited the intertropical regions, the sensation of delight
which the mind experiences. I have said that the plants in a hot-
house fail to communicate a just idea of the vegetation, yet I must
recur to it. The land is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse,
made by Nature for herself, but taken possession of by man, who has
studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. How great would
be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if such were pos-
sible, the scenery of another planet! yet to every person in Europe,
it may be truly said, that at the distance of only a few degrees from
his native soil, the glories of another world are opened to him. In
my last walk I stopped again and again to gaze on these beauties,
and endeavoured to fix in my mind for ever, an impression which
at the time I knew sooner or later must fail. The form of the orange-
tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the mango, the tree-fern, the banana,
will remain clear and separate; but the thousand beauties which
unite these into one perfect scene must fade away: yet they will

500 CHARLES DARWIN

leave, like a tale heard in childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but
most beautiful figures.

August 6th. — In the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the inten-
tion of making a direct course to the Cape de Verd Islands. Unfa-
vourable winds, however, delayed us, and on the 12th we ran into
Pernambuco, — a large city on the coast of Brazil, in latitude 8° south.
We anchored outside the reef; but in a short time a pilot came on
board and took us into the inner harbour, where we lay close to the
town.

Pernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks, which
are separated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. The
three parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges
built on wooden piles. The town is in all parts disgusting, the streets
being narrow, ill-paved, and filthy; the houses, tall and gloomy. The
season of heavy rains had hardly come to an end, and hence the
surrounding country, which is scarcely raised above the level of the
sea, was flooded with water; and I failed in all my attempts to take
walks.

The flat swampy land on which Pernambuco stands is surrounded,
at the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or rather
by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet above
the sea. The old city of Olinda stands on one extremity of this range.
One day I took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the channels to
visit it; I found the old town from its situation both sweeter and
cleaner than that of Pernambuco. I must here commemorate what
happened for the first time during our nearly five years' wandering,
namely, having met with a want of politeness. I was refused in a
sullen manner at two different houses, and obtained with difficulty
from a third, permission to pass through their gardens to an unculti-
vated hill, for the purpose of viewing the country. I feel glad that
this happened in the land of the Brazilians, for I bear them no good
will — a land also of slavery, and therefore of moral debasement. A
Spaniard would have felt ashamed at the very thought of refusing
such a request, or of behaving to a stranger with rudeness. The
channel by which we went to and returned from Olinda, was bor-
dered on each side by mangroves, which sprang like a miniature

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 501

forest out of the greasy mud-banks. The bright green colour of
these bushes always reminded me of the rank grass in a church-
yard: both are nourished by putrid exhalations; the one speaks of
death past, and the other too often of death to come.

The most curious object which I saw in this neighbourhood, was
the reef that forms the harbour. I doubt whether in the whole world
any other natural structure has so artificial an appearance. 6 It runs
for a length of several miles in an absolutely straight line, parallel
to, and not far distant from, the shore. It varies in width from thirty
to sixty yards, and its surface is level and smooth; it is composed of
obscurely stratified hard sandstone. At high water the waves break
over it; at low water its summit is left dry, and it might then be
mistaken for a breakwater erected by Cyclopean workmen. On this
coast the currents of the sea tend to throw up in front of the land,
long spits and bars of loose sand, and on one of these, part of the
town of Pernambuco stands. In former times, a long spit of this
nature seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of cal-
careous matter, and afterwards, to have been gradually upheaved; the
outer and loose parts during this process having been worn away by
the action of the sea, and the solid nucleus left as we now see it. Al-
though night and day the waves of the open Atlantic, turbid with
sediment, are driven against the steep outside edges of this wall of
stone, yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any change in its
appearance. This durability is much the most curious fact in its
history : it is due to a tough layer, a few inches thick, of calcareous
matter, wholly formed by the successive growth and death of the
small shells of Serpulae, together with some few barnacles and nullip-
orae. These nulliporae, which are hard, very simply-organized sea-
plants, play an analogous and important part in protecting the upper
surfaces of coral-reefs, behind and within the breakers, where the
true corals, during the outward growth of the mass, become killed
by exposure to the sun and air. These insignificant organic beings,
especially the Serpulae, have done good service to the people of Per-
nambuco; for without their protective aid the bar of sandstone would

6 I have described this Bar in detail, in the Lond. and Edin. Phil. Mag., vol. xix.
(1841), p. 257.

502 CHARLES DARWIN

inevitably have been long ago worn away and without the bar,
there would have been no harbour.

On the 19th of August we finally left the shores of Brazil. I thank
God, I shall never again visit a slave-country. To this day, if I hear
a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my feelings, when
passing a house near Pernambuco, I heard the most pitiable moans,
and could not but suspect that some poor slave was being tortured,
yet knew that I was as powerless as a child even to remonstrate. I
suspected that these moans were from a tortured slave, for I was told
that this was the case in another instance. Near Rio de Janeiro I
lived opposite to an old lady, who kept screws to crush the fingers
of her female slaves. I have stayed in a house where a young house-
hold mulatto, daily and hourly, was reviled, beaten, and persecuted
enough to break the spirit of the lowest animal. I have seen a little
boy, six or seven years old, struck thrice with a horse-whip (before
I could interfere) on his naked head, for having handed me a glass
of water not quite clean; I saw his father tremble at a mere glance
from his master's eye. These latter cruelties were witnessed by me in
a Spanish colony, in which it has always been said, that slaves are
better treated than by the Portuguese, English, or other European
nations. I have seen at Rio de Janeiro a powerful negro afraid to
ward off a blow directed, as he thought, at his face. I was present
when a kind-hearted man was on the point of separating forever
the men, women, and little children of a large number of families
who had long lived together. I will not even allude to the many
hem-sickening atrocities which I authentically heard of; — nor would
I have mentioned the above revolting details, had I not met with
several people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the negro
as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. Such people have generally
visited at the houses of the upper classes, where the domestic slaves
are usually well treated; and they have not, like myself, lived amongst
the lower classes. Such inquirers will ask slaves about their con-
dition; they forget that the slave must indeed be dull, who does
not calculate on the chance of his answer reaching his master's
ears.

It is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cruelty; as
if self-interest protected our domestic animals, which are far less

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 503

likely than degraded slaves, to stir up the rage of their savage mas-
ters. It is an argument long since protested against with noble feel-
ing, and strikingly exemplified, by the ever-illustrious Humboldt.
It is often attempted to palliate slavery by comparing the state of
slaves with our poorer countrymen: if the misery of our poor be
caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is
our sin; but how this bears on slavery, I cannot see; as well might
the use of the thumb-screw be defended in one land, by showing
that men in another land suffered from some dreadful disease. Those
who look tenderly at the slave owner, and with a cold heart at the
slave, never seem to put themselves into the position of the latter;
what a cheerless prospect, with not even a hope of change! picture
to yourself the chance, ever hanging over you, of your wife and your
little children — those objects which nature urges even the slave to
call his own — 'being torn from you and sold like beasts to the first
bidder! And these deeds are done and palliated by men, who pro-
fess to love their neighbours as themselves, who believe in God, and
pray that his Will be done on earth! It makes one's blood boil, yet
heart tremble, to think that we Englishmen and our American de-
scendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so
guilty: but it is a consolation to reflect, that we at least have made
a greater sacrifice, than ever made by any nation, to expiate our sin.

On the last day of August we anchored for the second time at
Porto Pray a in the Cape de Verd archipelago; thence we proceeded
to the Azores, where we stayed six days. On the 2nd of October we
made the shores of England; and at Falmouth I left the Beagle,
having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years.

Our Voyage having come to an end, I will take a short retrospect
of the advantages and disadvantages, the pains and pleasures, of our
circumnavigation of the world. If a person asked my advice, before
undertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his
possessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which
could by this means be advanced. No doubt it is a high satisfaction
to behold various countries and the many races of mankind, but the
pleasures gained at the time do not counterbalance the evils. It is

504 CHARLES DARWIN

necessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant that may be,
when some fruit will be reaped, some good effected.

Many of the losses which must be experienced are obvious; such
as that of the society of every old friend, and of the sight of those
places with which every dearest remembrance is so intimately con-
nected. These losses, however, are at the time partly relieved by the
exhaustless delight of anticipating the long wished-for day of return.
If, as poets say, life is a dream, I am sure in a voyage these are the
visions which best serve to pass away the long night. Other losses,
although not at first felt, tell heavily after a period: these are the
want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the jading feeling of constant
hurry; the privation of small luxuries, the loss of domestic society
and even of music and the other pleasures of imagination. When
such trifles are mentioned, it is evident that the real grievances, ex-
cepting from accidents, of a sea-life are at an end. The short space
of sixty years has made an astonishing difference in the facility of
distant navigation. Even in the time of Cook, a man who left his
fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations. A yacht
now, with every luxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. Be-
sides the vast improvements in ships and naval resources, the whole
western shores of America are thrown open, and Australia has be-
come the capital of a rising continent. How different are the cir-
cumstances to a man shipwrecked at the present day in the Pacific,
to what they were in the time of Cook! Since his voyage a hemi-
sphere has been added to the civilized -world.

If a person suffer much from sea-sickness, let him weigh it heavily
in the balance. I speak from experience: it is no trifling evil, cured
in a week. If, on the other hand, he take pleasure in naval tactics,
he will assuredly have full scope for his taste. But it must be borne
in mind, how large a proportion of the time, during a long voyage,
is spent on the water, as compared with the days in harbour. And
what are the boasted glories of the illimitable ocean. A tedious waste,
a desert of water, as the Arabian calls it. No doubt there are some
delightful scenes. A moonlight night, with the clear heavens and the
dark glittering sea, and the white sails filled by the soft air of a
gently blowing trade-wind, a dead calm, with the heaving surface
polished like a mirror, and all still except the occasional flapping of

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 505

the canvas. It is well once to behold a squall with its rising arch
and coming fury, or the heavy gale of wind and mountainous waves.
I confess, however, my imagination had painted something more
grand, more terrific in the full-grown storm. It is an incomparably
finer spectacle when beheld on shore, where the waving trees, the
wild flight of the birds, the dark shadows and bright lights, the
rushing of the torrents all proclaim the strife of the unloosed ele-
ments. At sea the albatross and little petrel fly as if the storm were
their proper sphere, the water rises and sinks as if fulfilling its usual
task, the ship alone and its inhabitants seem the objects of wrath.
On a forlorn and weather-beaten coast, the scene is indeed different,
but the feelings partake more of horror than of wild delight.

Let us now look at the brighter side of the past time. The pleasure
derived from beholding the scenery and the general aspect of the
various countries we have visited, has decidedly been the most con-
stant and highest source of enjoyment. It is probable that the pictur-
esque beauty of many parts of Europe exceeds anything which we
beheld. But there is a growing pleasure in comparing the charaoter
of the scenery in different countries, which to a certain degree is
distinct from merely admiring its beauty. It depends chiefly on an
acquaintance with the individual parts of each view. I am strongly
induced to believe that as in music, the person who understands
every note will, if he also possesses a proper taste, more thoroughly
enjoy the whole, so he who examines each part of a fine view, may
also thoroughly comprehend the full and combined effect. Hence,
a traveller should be a botanist, for in all views plants form the
chief embellishment. Group masses of naked rock, even in the wild-
est forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime spectacle, but
they will soon grow monotonous. Paint them with bright and varied
colours, as in Northern Chile, they will become fantastic; clothe
them with vegetation, they must form a decent, if not a beautiful
picture.

When I say that the scenery of parts of Europe is probably superior
to anything which we beheld, I except, as a class by itself, that of
the intertropical zones. The two classes cannot be compared together;
but I have already often enlarged on the grandeur of those regions.
As the force of impressions generally depends on preconceived ideas,

506 CHARLES DARWIN

I may add, that mine were taken from the vivid descriptions in the
Personal Narrative of Humboldt, which far exceed in merit any-
thing else which I have read. Yet with these high-wrought ideas,
my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge of disappointment
on my first and final landing on the shores of Brazil.

Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none
exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of
man; whether those of Brazil, where the powers of Life are pre-
dominant, or those of Tierra del Fuego, where Death and Decay
prevail. Both are temples filled with the varied productions of the
God of Nature: — no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and
not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body.
In calling up images of the past, I find that the plains of Patagonia
frequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pronounced by
all wretched and useless. They can be described only by negative
characters; without habitations, without water, without trees, with-
out mountains, they support merely a few dwarf plants. Why, then,
and the case is not peculiar to myself, have these arid wastes taken
so firm a hold on my memory? Why have not the still more level,
the greener and more fertile Pampas, which are serviceable to man-
kind, produced an equal impression? I can scarcely analyze these
feelings: but it must be partly owing to the free scope given to the
imagination. The plains of Patagonia are boundless, for they are
scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they bear the stamp of having
lasted, as they are now, for ages, and there appears no limit to their
duration through future time. If, as the ancients supposed, the flat
earth was surrounded by an impassable breadth of water, or by
deserts heated to an intolerable excess, who would not look at these
last boundaries to man's knowledge with deep but ill-defined sensa-
tions?

Lastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, though
certainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memorable. When look-
ing down from the highest crest of the Cordillera, the mind, undis-
turbed by minute details, was filled with the stupendous dimensions
of the surrounding masses.

Of individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to create
astonishment than the first sight in his native haunt of a barbarian

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 507

— of man in his lowest and most savage state. One's mind hurries
back over past centuries, and then asks, could our progenitors have
been men like these? — men, whose very signs and expressions are
less intelligible to us than those of the domesticated animals; men,
who do not possess the instinct of those animals, nor yet appear to
boast of human reason, or at least of arts consequent on that reason.
I do not believe it is possible to describe or paint the difference be-
tween savage and civilized man. It is the difference between a wild
and tame animal: and part of the interest in beholding a savage, is
the same which would lead every one to desire to see the lion in his
desert, the tiger tearing his prey in the jungle, or the rhinoceros wan-
dering over the wild plains of Africa.

Among the other most remarkable spectacles which we have be-
held, may be ranked, the Southern Cross, the cloud of Magellan, and
the other constellations of the southern hemisphere — the water-spout
— the glacier leading its blue stream of ice, over-hanging the sea in
a bold precipice — a lagoon-island raised by the reef ^building corals — ■
an active volcano — and the overwhelming effects of a violent earth-
quake. These latter phenomena, perhaps, possess for me a peculiar
interest, from their intimate connection with the geological structure
of the world. The earthquake, however, must be to every one a
most impressive event: the earth, considered from our earliest child-
hood as the type of solidity, has oscillated like a thin crust beneath
our feet; and in seeing the laboured works of man in a moment
overthrown, we feel the insignificance of his boasted power.

It has been said, that the love of the chase is an inherent delight
in man — a relic of an instinctive passion. If so, I am sure the pleasure
of living in the open air, with the sky for a roof and the ground for
a table, is part of the same feeling; it is the savage returning to his
v/ild and native habits. I always look back to our boat cruises, and
my land journeys, when through unfrequented countries, with an
extreme delight, which no scenes of civilization could have created.
I do not doubt that every traveller must remember the glowing
sense of happiness which he experienced, when he first breathed in
a foreign clime, where the civilized man had seldom or never trod

There are several other sources of enjoyment in a long voyage,
which are of a more reasonable nature. The map of the world ceases

508 CHARLES DARWIN

to be a blank; it becomes a picture full of the most varied and ani-
mated figures. Each part assumes its proper dimensions: continents
are not looked at in the light of islands, or islands considered as
mere specks, which are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of
Europe. Africa, or North and South America, are well-sounding
names, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for
weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly
convinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply.

From seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look forward
with high expectations to the future progress of nearly an entire
hemisphere. The march of improvement, consequent on the intro-
duction of Christianity throughout the South Sea, probably stands
by itself in the records of history. It is the more striking when we
remember that only sixty years since, Cook, whose excellent judg-
ment none will dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change. Yet
these changes have now been effected by the philanthropic spirit
of the British nation.

In the same quarter of the globe Australia is rising, or indeed may
be said to have risen, into a grand centre of civilization, which, at
some not very remote period, will rule as empress over the southern
hemisphere. It is impossible for an Englishman to behold these
distant colonies, without a high pride and satisfaction. To hoist the
British flag, seems to draw with it as a certain consequence, wealth,
prosperity, and civilization.

In conclusion, it appears to me that nothing can be more improv-
ing to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries. It
both sharpens, and partly allays that want and craving, which, as
Sir J. Herschel remarks, a man experiences although every corporeal
sense be fully satisfied. The excitement from the novelty of objects,
and the chance of success, stimulate him to increased activity. More-
over, as a number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting, the
habit of comparison leads to generalization. On the other hand, as
the traveller stays but a short time in each place, his descriptions
must generally consist of mere sketches, instead of detailed observa-
tions. Hence arises, as I have found to my cost, a constant tendency
to fill up the wide gaps of knowledge, by inaccurate and superficial
hypotheses.

THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 509

But I have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recommend any
naturalist, although he must not expect to be so fortunate in his
companions as I have been, to take all chances, and to start, on travels
by land if possible, if otherwise, on a long voyage. He may feel
assured, he will meet with no difficulties or dangers, excepting in
rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand anticipates. In a moral
point of view, the effect ought to be, to teach him good-humoured
patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself,
and of making the best of every occurrence. In short, he ought to
partake of the characteristic qualities of most sailors. Travelling
ought also to teach him distrust; but at the same time he will dis-
cover, how many truly kind-hearted people there are, with whom
he never before had, or ever again will have any further communica-
tion, who yet are ready to offer him the most disinterested assistance.

INDEX

INDEX

Abbott, Mr., on spiders, 44.

Aborigines banished from Van Diemen's
Land, 450.

of Australia, 438-9.

Abrolhos, 24.

Absence of trees in Pampas, 54.

Aconcagua, volcano of, 257, 295.

Actinia, stinging species, 468.

Africa, Southern part desert, yet supports
large animals, 92.

Agouti, habits of, 75.

Ague, common in Peru, 369.

Albemarle Island, 380.

Allan, Dr., on Diodon, 24.

, on Holuthuriae, 468.

Alluvium, saliferous, in Peru, 367.

stratified, in Andes, 319.

Amblyrhynchus, 389-90, 399.

Anas, species of, 204.

Animalcule, see Infusoria.

Antarctic islands, 253.

Antipodes, 421.

Ants at Keeling Island, 460.

in Brazil, 43.

Apires, or miners, 344-5.

Aplysia, 16.

Apple-trees, 301—2.

Aptenodytes demersa, 204.

Areas of alternate movements in the Pa-
cific and Indian oceans, 484.

Armadilloes, habits of, 102-103.

, fossil animal allied to, 135,

Arrow-heads, ancient, 360.

Ascension, 494.

Aspalax, blindness of, 59.

Athene, 76, 130-13 1.

Atolls, 469.

Attagis, 101.

Atwater, Mr.,

Audubon, M.
rion hawks, 1B9.

Australia, 437.

Australian barrier, 476.

Azara on spiders, 44.

on rain in La Plata, 55.

on range of carrion-hawks, 66.

on habits of carrion-hawks, 64.

160.

on the prairies, 124.
on smelling-power of car-

Azara on a thunder-storm, 69.

on ostrich-eggs, 98.

-on bows and arrows, in.

on new plants springing up, 124.

— — -on great droughts, 137—138.
on hydrophobia, 357.

Bachman, Mr., on carrion-hawks, 190.
Bahia Blanca, 81-207.
Bahia, Brazil, 21.

, scenery of, 498.

Balbi on coral reefs, 474.

Bald Head, Australia, 453.

Ballenar, Chile, 352.

Banda Oriental, 147.

Banks's Hill, 215.

Barking-bird, 292.

Basaltic platform of Santa Cruz, 185.

Bathurst, Australia, 446.

Bats, vampire, 31.

Bay of Islands, New Zealand, 421.

Beads', hill of, 154.

Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, 222.

Beech-trees, 240, 285.

Beetles in brackish water, 31.

on a fungus, 39.

alive in sea, 163.

at St. Julian, 175.

, dung-feeders, 493.

Behring's Straits, fossils of, 137.
Bell of Quillota, 259.
Benchuca, 333.
Berkeley Sound, 193.

, Rev. J., on Conferva:, 24.

, on Cyttaria, 241.

Bibron, M., 386, 399.

Bien-te-veo, 62.

Birds of the Galapagos Archipelago, 382-

3. 399-400-

, tameness of, 403.

Birgos latro, 466.

Bizcacha, habits of, 76, 129.

Blackwall, Mr., on Spiders, 166.

Blindness of tucutuco, 59.

Body, frozen, 95, 253.

Bolabola, 472, 477.

Bolas, manner of using, 52, 117.

513

514 INDEX

Bombs, volcanic, 496.

Bones, fossil, 87, 132, 134-135, 159-160,

177-

, recent in Pampas, 139.

of. the guanaco collected in certain

spots, 172.

, fire made of, 199.

Bory St. Vincent on frogs, 386.

Boulders, 191, 252.

Bramador, El, 365.

Brazil, great area of granite, 22.

Breaches in coral reefs, 480.

Breakwater of sea-weed, 244.

Brewster, Sir D., on a calcareous deposit,

20.
Bridge of hide, 267.

of Incas, 338, 360.

Buckland, Dr., on fossils, 137.

Buenos Ayres, 126.

Buffon on American animals, 178.

Bug of Pampas, 333.

Buildings, Indian, 360, 372.

Bulimus on desert places, 351.

Burchell, Mr., on food of quadrupeds, 94.

, on ostrich eggs, 98.

, on perforated stones, 272.

Butterflies, flocks of, 163.

Butterfly producing clicking sound, 42.

Button, Jemmy, 212.

Byron's account of fox of Falklands, 198.

Byron on an Indian killing his child, 221.

Cacti, 170, 378.

Cactornis, 383, 399.

Calcareous casts of branches and roots of

trees at King George's Sound, 454.
Calosoma on wing out at sea, 163.
incrustations on rocks of Ascension,

20.
Callao, 368.
Calodera, 130.
Calomys bizcacha, 129.
Camarhynchus, 383, 399.
Camelidse, fossil animal allied to, 177.
Canis antarcticus, 198.

fulvipes, 284.

Capybara, or carpincho, 57, 291.

fossil allied to, 89.

Cape Horn, 216.

of Good Hope, 92.

Caracara, or Carrancha, 63.
Cardoon, bids of, 125, 153.
Carmichael, Capt., 405.
Carrion-havrks, 63, 126, 189.
Casarita, 101-102.

Castro, Chiloe, 281, 298.
Casts of trees, 453.
Casuchas, 338.
Cathartes, 66, 189, 288.
Cats run wild, 126, 495.

good to eat, 1 22.

scratch trees, 1 40.

cruelty to mice, 203.

Cattle, effects of their grazing on the

vegetation, 124.
killed by great droughts, 137-138,

151.

■ know each other, 150.

, curious breed of, 1 50.

, waste of, 154.

• -wild at the Falkland Islands, 195,

196.
Cauquenes, hot springs of, 267.
Causes of extinction of species among

mammalia, 178-179.

of discoloured sea, 25.

Cavia Patagonica, 75.

Cervus campestris, 56.

Ceryle Americana, 143.

Chacao, Chiloe, 278-279.

Chagos, atolls, 482.

Chalk-like mud, 468.

Chamisso on drifted seeds and trees, 459,

465.

on coral reefs, 470-471.

Changes in vegetation of Pampas, 124.

of St. Helena, 492.

Charles Island, Galapagos Archipelago,

379-
Cheese, salt required for, 73.
Cheucau, 282, 292.
Chile, 257, 341.

, features of country, 259.

Chiloe, 278.

■, forests of, and climate, 248—249.

, roads of, 278, 296.

, inhabitants of, 277, 281-282.

Chionis, 10 1.

Chonos, Archipelago, 285.

, climate of, 248.

, ornithology of, 292.

Chupat, Rio, 113.

Cladonia, 367.

Clearness of atmosphere within Andes, in

Chile, 261.
Climate of Tierra del Fuego and Falkland

Islands, 247.

Antarctic Islands, 253.

Galapagos, 376, 381.

.change of, in Chile, 361.

INDEX

515

Clouds of vapour after rain, 33.

on Corcovado, 37.

hanging low, 370-371.

hanging low at sea, 406.

Coleoptera in Tropics, 42—43.

out at sea, 164.

of St. Julian, 175.

Colias edusa, flocks of, 163.
Colnett, Capt., on spawn in sea, 26.

, on a marine lizard, 390.

, on transport of seeds, 397.

Colonia del Sacramiento, 149.
Colorado, Rio, 78.
Compound animals, 205-206.
Concepcion, Chile, 306.
Condor, habits of, 187, 190, 274.
Conferva;, pelagic, 24.
Conglomerate on the Ventana, 115.

in Cordillera, 323, 324.

Conurus, 143.

Convicts of Mauritius, 487.

, condition of, in New South Wales,

448-449.
Cook, Capt., on Kelp, 243-244.
Copiapo, river and valley of, 354.

, town of, 358.

Coquimbo, 347—348.

Coral formations, 406, 456-486.

, stinging species of, 468.

, dead, 465, 482-483.

Corallines, 206.

Corcovado, clouds on, 37-38.

volcano, 295.

Cordillera, appearance of, 262, 279-280,

323.

.passage of, 319.

, structure of valleys, 320.

, rivers of, 320.

.geology of, 323-324. 335-

, winds and storms of, 327, 364.

, different productions on east and

west side, 330.
Cormorant catching fish, 203.
Corral, where animals are slaughtered at

Buenos Ayres, 127.
Coseguina, eruption of, 295.
Countries, unhealthy, 369.
Couthouy, Mr., on coral-reefs, 478.
Crabs, hermit species of, 461.

at Keeling Island, 466-467.

at St. Paul's, 20.

Craters, number of, at the Galapagos

Archipelago, 376.

of elevation, 487.

Crisia, 205.

Cruelty to animals, 159.
Crustacea, pelagic, 166.
Ctenomys Brasiliensis, 58.

, fossil species of, 89.

Cucao, Chiloe, 298.

Cuckoo-like habits of Molothrus, 60.

Cuentas, Sierra de, 154.

Cumbre of Cordillera, 339.

Cuming, Mr., on shells, 395-6, 492.

Cuttle-fish, habits of, 16-17.

Cuvier on Diodon, 23.

Cynara, 125.

Cyttaria Darwinii, 241.

Dacelo Iagoensis, 1 2.

Dasypus, three species of, 102.

Deer, 56, 138.

Degradation of tertiary formations, 347—

348. .
Deinornis, 431.
Deserts, 352, 367.
Desmodus, 31.
Despoblado, valley of, 359.
Dieffenbach on Auckland Island, 249,

439-

Diodon, habits of, 23.

Discoloured sea, 24.

Diseases from miasma, 369, 439-440.

Distribution of mammalia in America,
135-136.

of animals on opposite sides of Cor-
dilleras, 330-331.

of frogs, 386.

■ -of fauna of Galapagos, 398.

Dobrizhoffer on ostriches, 100.

on a hail -storm, 121.

Dock, imported, 431.

Dogs, shepherd, 154-155.

D'Orbigny, Travels in South America, 85,
100, 126, 135, 154, 172.

Doris, eggs of, 205.

Doubleday, Mr., on a noise made by the
butterfly, 42.

Drigg, lightning tubes at, 67.

Droughts, great, in Pampas, 137-138.

Dryness of St. Jago, 14.

■ of winds in Tierra del Fuego, 236.

of air in Cordillera, 329.

Du Bois, 386, 405.

Dung-feeding beetles, 493.

Dust falling from atmosphere, 14-15.

Earthenware fossil, 374.
Earthquake, accompanied by an elevation
of the coast, 314.

5 i6

INDEX

Earthquake accompanied by rain, 356.

at Callao, 372.

at Concepcion, 306.

at Coquimbo, 346.

at Keeling and Vanikoro, and So-
ciety Islands, 479.

at Valdivia, 305.

.causes of, 315-316.

, effect of, on bottom of sea, 310.

, effects of, on rocks, 261-262, 305.

, effects of, on sea, 306.

, effects of, on a river-bed, 362.

, line of vibration, 310.

on S. A. coast, 250.

— — ■, tossing fragments from the ground,
203.

, twisting movement of, 311, 312.

Eggs of Doris, 205.

Ehrenberg, Prof., on Atlantic dust, 15.

on infusoria in Pampas, 89, 134-

135-

on infusoria in the open sea, 167.

on infusoria in Patagonia, 175.

on infusoria in Fuegian paint, 226.

on infusoria in coral mud, 469.

■ on infusoria in tuff at Ascension, 497.

on phosphorescence of the sea, 168.

on noises from a hill, 365.

Eimeo, view of, 410.

Elater, springing powers of, 39.

Electricity of atmosphere within Andes,

329-330.
Elephant, weight of, 94.
Elevated shells, 91, 175. 258, 314, 347~

348, 373-
Elevation of coasts of Chile, 259, 302,

3". 3M. 342. 349. 361.

of B. Blanca, 86.

of Patagonia, 176, 375.

of Pampas, 135.

of mountain-chains, 314.

of Cordillera, 320, 323-324, 335.

of f ringing-reefs, 481.

of the coast of Peru, 374.

within human period, 374.

Entomology of the Galapagos Archipel-
ago, 385. 396. 398.

of Brazil, 41-42.

of Patagonia, 175, 331.

of Tierra del Fuego, 243.

of Keeling Island, 460.

of St. Helena, 493.

Entre Rios, geology of, 134.

Epeira, habits of, 45.

Erratic blocks, how transported, 252.

Erratic blocks absent in intertropical
countries, 252-253.

on plains of Santa Cruz, 191.

of Tierra del Fuego, 252.

Estancia, value of, 150.

Extermination of species and races, 177-

178, 438, 45i-
Extinction of shells at St. Helena, 491.

of species, causes of, 178, 179.

of man in New South Wales, 438,

451.
Eyes of tucutuco and mole, 59-60.

Falconer, Dr., on the jaguar, 140.

, Jesuit, on the Indians, no.

, Jesuit, on rivers in Pampas, 112-

113.

, Jesuit, on natural enclosures, 122.

Falkland Islands, 193.

, birds tame at, 403.

, absence of trees at, 55-56.

, carrion-hawks of, 65.

, wild cattle and horses of, 194.

, climate of, 247.

■ , peat of, 290.

Fat, quantity eaten, 123.
Fear, an acquired instinct, 404.
Februa, 42.
Fennel, run wild, 125.
Ferguson, Dr., on miasma, 370.
Fern-trees, 249, 452.
Fernando Noronha, 21, 378.
Fields of dead coral, 463.
Fire, art of making, 199, 413.
Fish, eating coral, 468.

■ of Galapagos, 395.

emitting harsh sound, 141.

Flamingoes, 73.

Fleas, 349.

Floods after droughts, 139.

clear after snow, 322.

Flora of the Galapagos, 378, 397, 400.

of Keeling Island, 458.

of St. Helena, 489-490.

Flustracese, 205-206.

Forests, absence of, in La Plata, 55.

of Tierra del Fuego, 214-215, 248

289-290.

of Chiloe, 248, 281, 290, 296.

of Valdivia, 301, 302.

of New Zealand, 431.

of Australia, 437.

Fossil Mammalia, 88, 132, 135, 160, 177

earthenware, 374.

Fox of the Falkland Islands, 198.

Fox of Chiloe, 284.
Friendly Archipelago, 484.
Frogs, noises of, 38.

, bladders of, 388.

and toads, not found on oceanic

islands, 386.
Frozen soil, 95, 253.
Fruit-trees, southern limit of, 248.
Fucus giganteus, 243.
Fuegians, 209-239.
Fulgurites, 67-68.
Fungus, edible, 241.
Furnarius, 101.

Galapagos Archipelago, 376; natural his-
tory of, 381.
-belongs to American Zoology, 382,

397-
Gale of wind, 221-222, 285.
Gallegos River, fossil bones at, 177.
Gallinazo, 63.
Gauchos, 50, 157.

.character of, 161-162.

live on meat, 123.

Gay, M., on floating islands, 270.

, on shells in brackish water, 30.

Geese at the Falkland Islands, 204.
Geographical distribution of American

animals, 136-7, 330.

of frogs, 386.

of fauna and flora of Galapagos,

397-398.
Geology of Cordillera, 322-323, 335.

of Patagonia, 175, 186.

of St. Jago, 15-16.

of St. Paul, 18.

of B. Blanca, 88.

of Pampas, 134.

of Brazil, 22.

Georgia, climate of, 253.

Geospiza, 383, 399.

Gill, Mr., on an upheaved riverbed, 362.

Gillies, Dr., on the Cordillera, 327.

Glaciers in Tierra del Fuego, 229, 250.

in Cordillera, 328.

inlat. 46 ° 40', 251.

Glowworms, 38.

Goats, destructive to vegetation at St.

Helena, 492.

, bones of, 173.

Goitre, 318.

Gold-washing, 270-271.

Good Success Bay, 209.

Gossamer spider, 164.

Gould, Mr., on the Calodera, 130.

INDEX 517

Gould, Mr., on birds of Galapagos, 383.
Granite mountains, Tres Montes, 287.

of Cordillera, 324.

Graspus, 20.

Gravel, how far transported, 114.

of Patagonia, 82, 176.

Greenstone, fragments of, 261.

Gryllus migratorius, 333.

Guanaco, habits of, 170.

• — — .fossil allied genus, 177-178.

Guantajaya, mines of, 367.

Guardia del Monte, 124.

Guasco, 351.

Guasos of Chile, 263.

Guava, imported into Tahiti, 407.

Guinea-fowl, 13, 495.

Gunnera scabra, 283.

Gypsum, great beds of, 323.

in salt-lake, 72-73.

in Patagonian tertiary -beds, 175.

at Iquique with salt, 367-368.

at Lima with shells, 373.

Hachette, M., on lightning-tubes, 68.

Hailstorm, 121-122.

Hall, Capt. Basil, on terraces of Co-

quimbo, 347.
Hare, Varying, 53.

Head, Capt., on thistle-beds, 125, 129.
Height of snow-line on Cordillera, 249.
Henslow, Prof., on potatoes, 289.

on plants of Keeling Island, 458.

Hermit crabs, 461.
Hill, emitting a noise, 365.
Himantopus, 120.
Hogoleu barrier-reef, 473.
Holes made by a bird, 102.
Holman on drifted seeds, 458.
Holuthuria; feeding on coral, 468.
Hooker, Sir J., on the Cardoon, 125.

, Dr. J. D., on the Kelp, 244.

, Dr. J. D., on Galapageian plants,

397. 400-
Horn, Cape, 216.

Horner, Mr., on a calcareous deposit, 20.
Horse, powers of swimming of, 148.

, wild at the Falkland Islands, 196.

fossil, 89, 135.

Horsefly, 175.

Horsemanship of the Gauchos, 156-157,

200.
Horses difficult to drive, 116.

drop excrement on paths, 124.

killed by great droughts, 138-139.

, multiplication of, 237.

5 i8

INDEX

Horses broken in, 156.

Hot springs of Cauquenes, 267.

Huacas, 372, 374.

Humboldt on burnished rocks, 22.

on the atmosphere in tropics, 40.

on frozen soil, 95.

on hybernation, 105.

on potatoes, 289.

on earthquakes and rain, 356.

on miasma, 369—370, 438.

Humming-birds of Rio de Janeiro, 41.

of Chile, 276.

Hybernation of animals, 105.
Hydrochsrus capybara, 57.
Hydrophobia, 357.
Hyla, 38.
Hymenophallus, 41.

Ibis melanops, 170.
Ice, prismatic structure of, 328.
Icebergs, 192, 229, 252-256.
Incas Bridge, 338, 360.
Incrustations on coast rocks, 19, 22.
Indian fossil remains, 374.
Indians, attacks of, 71, 82, 83.

, Patagonians, 236-237.

, Araucarians, 303.

of the Pampas, 108.

of Valdivia, 303.

, perforated stones used by, 272.

powers of tracking, 331.

, grave of, 174, 192.

, ruins of houses of, in Cordillera,

360, 372.

, antiquities of, in La Plata, 54, 1 1 1 .

decrease in numbers, no.

Infection, 439.

Infusoria in dust of the Adantic, 15.

in the sea, 25, 167.

in Pampas, 89, 135.

in Patagonia, 175.

in white paint, 226.

in coral mud, 468-469.

at Ascension, 497.

Insects, first colonists of St. Paul's rocks,

20.

blown out to sea, 164.

of Patagonia, 175, 331.

ofTierra del Fuego, 243.

of Galapagos, 385, 396, 397-398.

of Keeling Island, 460.

of St. Helena, 493.

Instincts of birds, 101-102, 403.
Iodine with salt at Iquique, 368.
Iquique, 365.

Iron, oxide of, on rocks, 22.
Islands, oceanic, volcanic, 18.

, Antarctic, 253.

, floating, 270.

, low, 406, 470-471.

Jackson, Col., on frozen snow, 328.

Jaguar, habits of, 140.

Jajuel, mines of, 264.

James Island, Galapagos Archipelago ; 380.

Juan Fernandez, volcano of, 314.

, flora of, 397.

Kater's Peak, 217.
Kauri pine, 431.
Keeling Island, 456.

, birds of, 459-460.

, entomology of, 460.

■, flora of, 458.

• •, subsidence of, 479.

Kelp, or sea-weed, 243.

Kendall, Lieut., on a frozen body, 253.

Kingfishers, 12, 143.

King George's Sound, 453.

Labourers, condition of, in Chile, 270.

Lagoon-islands, 406, 457, 469.

Lagostomus, 129.

Lake, brackish, near Rio, 30.

— — ■, with floating islands, 270.

formed during earthquake, 374.

Lamarck on acquired blindness, 59.

Lampyris, 38.

Lancaster, Capt, on a sea-tree, 106.

Land-shells, 351, 491, 492.

Lazo, 51, 158, 194.

Leaves, fall of, 240.

, fossil, 452.

Leeks in New Zealand, imported, 431.

Lepus Magellanicus, 198.

Lesson, M., on the scissor-beak, 143.

, on rabbit of the Falklands, 198.

Lichen on loose sand, 367.
Lichtenstein on ostriches, 98.
Lightning storms, 69.

tubes, 67.

Lima, 368, 371.

, elevation of a river near, 362.

Lime, changed by lava into crystalline

rock, 15-16.
Limnaia in brackish water, 30.
Lion-ant, 445.
Lizard, 104.

, marine species of, 389, 390.

Lizards, transport of eggs of, 386.

Llama or Guanaco, habits of, 170.

Locusts, 333.

Longevity of species in Mammalia, 90.

Low archipelago, 406.

Lund, M., on antiquity of man, 362.

Lund and Clausen on fossils of Brazil,
135, 178.

Luxan, 332.

Luxuriant vegetation not necessary to sup-
port large animals, 91, 92.

Lycosa, 44.

Lyell, Mr., on terraces of Coquimbo, 347.

, on longevity of Mammalia, 90.

, on subsidence in the Pacific, 472.

, on change in vegetation, 125.

, on fossil horses' teeth, 135.

, on distribution of animals, 330.

, on frozen snow, 328.

, on extinct mammals and ice-period,

178, 179-

, on flocks of butterflies, 163.

, on stones twisted by earthquakes,

Macculloch on infection, 439.

Macquarie river, 446.

Macrauchenia, 89, 177.

Macrocystis, 243.

Madrina, or godmother of a troop of

mules, 319.
Magdalen Channel, 245.
Magellan, Strait of, 236.
Malcolmson, Dr., on hail, 121.
Maldiva atolls, 470, 479, 481.
Maldonado, 48.
Mammalia, fossil, 88, 132, 135, 160, 177,

375-
Man, antiquity of, 361.

, fossil remains of, 375.

, body frozen, 254.

, fear of, an acquired instinct, 405.

■ , extinction of races, 439, 451.

Mares' flesh eaten by troops, 108.

killed for their hides, 159.

Mastodon, 132, 135.

Matter, granular, movements in, 106.

Mauritius, 486.

Maypu river, 320.

Megalonyx, 88, 136.

Megatherium, 88, 90, 136.

Mendoza, climate of, 327.

, 334-

Mexico, elevation of, 136.
Miasmata, 369, 440.
Mice inhabit sterile places, 363.
— — ■, number of, in America, 57.

INDEX 519

Mice, how transported, 292, 382.

different on opposite sides of Andes,

330.

-of the Galapagos, 382.

of Ascension, 495.

Millepora, 468.

Mills for grinding ores, 270.

Mimosae, 34.

Mimus, 62, 399, 403.

Miners, condition of, 265, 270, 342, 350.

Mines, 264, 344, 349-35°-

, how discovered, 321.

Missionaries at New Zealand, 429.
Mitchell, Sir T., on valleys of Australia,

442.
Mocking-bird, 62, 399, 403.
Molina omits description of certain birds,

275-
Molothrus, habits of, 60.
Monkeys with prehensile tails, 37.
Monte Video, 147.
Moresby, Capt., on a great crab, 467.

on coral-reefs, 482-483.

Mount Sarmiento, 238, 246.

Tarn, 239.

Mountains, elevation of, 315-316.
Movements in granular matter, 106.
Mud, chalk-like, 468.

disturbed by earthquake, 310.

Mules, 318-319.

Muniz, Sig., on niata cattle, 151.
Murray, Mr., on spiders, 166.
Mylodon, 89, 136, 160.
Myopotamus Coypus, 291.

Negress with goitre, 318.
Negro, Rio, 70, 154.

lieutenant, 82.

New Caledonia, reef of, 473, 474, 480.

Zealand, 420.

Niata cattle, 150-151.

Noises from a hill, 365.

Noses, ceremony of pressing, 427.

Nothura, 53.

Notopod, crustacean, 166.

Nulliporae, incrustations like, 19.

protecting reefs, 501.

Octopus, habits of, 16—17.
Oily coating on sea, 27.
Olfersia, 20.
Opetiorhynchus, 292.
Opuntia, 265.

Darwinii, 170.

Galapageia, 378.

520 INDEX

Orange-trees self-sown, 126.

Ores, gold, 270—271.

Ornithology of Galapagos, 382—383, 399.

Ornithorhynchus, 445.

Osorno, volcano of, 277, 279, 295.

Ostrich, habits of, 51, 96.

Ostriches' eggs, 119.

Otaheite, see Tahiti.

Otter, 291.

Ova in sea, 26.

Oven-bird, 101.

Owen, Capt., on a drought in Africa, 138.

, Professor, on the Capybara, 57.

, Professor, on fossil quadrupeds, 88—

91. 135-
, Professor, on nostrils of the Galli-

nazo, 189.
Owl of Pampas, 76, 130-131.
Oxyurus, 242, 293.
Oysters, gigantic, 175.

Paint, white, 226.
Pallas on Siberia, 74.
Palm-trees in La Plata, 54.

in Chile, 260-261.

, south limit of, 249.

Palms absent at Galapagos, 379.
Pampas, number of embedded remains in,

159-160.

, S. limit of, 81-82.

.changes in, 125-126.

not quite level, 128-129, 132, 148-

149.

, geology of, 134, 160.

, view of, from the Andes, 331.

Papilio feronia, 42.
Parana, Rio, 131, 144, 152.

■ , islands in, 139.

Parish, Sir W., on the great drought, 138.

Park, Mungo, on eating salt, 116.

Parrots, 143, 247.

Partridges, 53.

Pas, fortresses of New Zealand, 422.

Passes in Cordillera, 337.

Pasture, altered from grazing of cattle,

124.
Patagones, 71.
Patagonia, geology of, 175, 332.

, zoology of, 170, 175, 184.

Patagonian Indians, 234.
Peach-trees, self-sown, 126.
Peat, formation of, 290.
Pebbles perforated, 154, 272.

transported in roots of trees, 465.

Pelagic animals in southern ocean, 166.

Pelacanoides Berardii, 294.
Penas, Gulf of, 252.
Penguin, habits of, 204.
Pepsis, habits of, 44.
Pernambuco, reef of, 501.
Pernety on hill of ruins, 203.

■ on tame birds, 404.

Peru, 366-376.

, dry valleys of, 362, 366.

Petrels, habits of, 293.
Peuquenes, pass of, 323.
Phonolite at F. Noronha, 21.
Phosphorescence of the sea, 167.

of a coralline, 207.

■ of land insects and sea animals, 38-

39-
Phryniscus, 103.
Pine of New Zealand, 431.
Plains at foot of Andes in Chile, 266, 319-

320.

almost horizontal near St. F£, 132.

Planariae, terrestrial species of, 35.
Plants of the Galapagos, 378, 397, 400-

401.

■ of Keeling Island, 458.

of St. Helena, 490.

Plata, Rio, 47.

, thunderstorms of, 69.

Plover, long-legged, 120.
Polished rocks, Brazil, 22.
Polyborus chimango, 63.

Nova; Zelandiae, 65.

Brasiliensis, 63.

Ponsonby Sound, 225.
Porpoises, 47.
Port Desire, 169.

, river of, 113.

St. Julian, 174.

Famine, 238.

Portillo pass, 324, 329.
Porto Praya, 11.
Potato, wild, 289.
Potrero, Seco, 354.
Prairies, vegetation of, 125—126.
Provost, M., on cuckoos, 61.
Priestley, Dr., on lightning-tubes, 67.
Procellaria gigantea, habits of, 293.
Proctotretus, 104.
Proteus, blindness of, 59.
Protococcus nivalis, 326.
Pteroptochos, two species of, 274.

-, species of, 282, 292.

Puente del Inca, 338, 360.

Puffinus cinereus, 294.

Puma, habits of, 141, 188, 273-274.

Puma, flesh of, 122.

Puna, or short respiration, 326.

Punta Alta, Bahia Blanca, 88.

Gorda, 134, 361.

Pyrophorus luminosus, 39.

Quadrupeds, fossil, 88, 132, 135, 160,

177-

, large, do not require luxuriant vege-
tation, 91-92.

, large, weight of, 94.

Quartz of the Ventana, 115.

of Tapalguen, 122.

of Falkland Islands, 201.

Quedius, 20.

Quillota, valley of, 259.

Quintero, 258.

Quiriquina Island, 306.

Quoy and Gaimard on stinging corals,
468.

■ on coral reefs, 480.

Rabbit, wild, at the Falkland Islands,
197.

Rain at Coquimbo, 342, 352.

at Rio, 38.

and earthquakes, 355-356.

in Peru, 368, 369.

in Chile, formerly more abundant,

361.

in Chile, effects on vegetation, 342.

Rana mascariensis, 386.

Rat, only aboriginal animal of New Zea-
land, 431.

Rats at Galapagos, 382.

at Ascension, 495.

at Keeling Island, 459.

Rattle-snake, species with allied habit,
103.

Red snow, 326.

Reduvius, 333.

Reef at Pernambuco of sandstone, 501.

Reefs of coral, 469-485.

, Barrier, 472-479.

, Fringing, 475.

Reeks, Mr., analysis of salt, 72-73.

.analysis of bones, 160.

, analysis of salt and shells, 373—374.

Remains, human elevated, 374-375.

Remedies of the Gauchos, 133.

Rengger on the horse, 238.

Reptiles absent in Tierra del Fuego, 242.

at Galapagos, 385-386.

Respiration difficult in Andes, 325-326.

Retrospect, 503 et seq.

INDEX 521

Revolutions at Buenos Ayres, 145.
Rhinoceroses live in desert countries, 92-

93-

, frozen, 95-96, 254.

Rhynchops nigra, 141.

Richardson, Dr., on mice of North Amer-
ica, 382.

, on frozen soil, 95, 253.

-, on eating fat, 123.

, on geographical distribution, 137.

Rimsky atoll, 470.

Rio de Janeiro, 28.

Plata, 47.

Negro, 70, 152.

Colorado, 76.

S. Cruz, 182.

, Sauce, 113.

Salado, 124.

Rivers, power of, in wearing channels,
185, 320.

River-bed, arched, 325.

River-courses dry in America, 113.

Rocks burnished with ferruginous matter,
22.

Rodents, number of, in America, 57-58,
184.

, fossil species of, 89.

Rosas, General, 78, 109, 145.

Ruins of Callao, 372.

of Indian buildings in Cordillera,

360, 372.

S. Cruz, 182.

Salado, Rio, 123.

Salinas at the Galapagos Archipelago, 381.

in Patagonia, 72, 175.

Saline efflorescences, 85.

Salt with vegetable food, 116.

, superficial crust of, 367—368.

, with elevated shells, 373.

Salt-lakes, 72, 175, 381.
Sand, hot from sun's rays, at Galapagos
Archipelago, 381.

, noise from friction of, 365.

Sand-dunes, 82.

Sandstone of New South Wales, 442.

, reef of, 501.

Sandwich Archipelago, no frogs at, 386.

Land, 253.

San Lorenzo, island of, 370.
San Pedro, forests of, 284-285.
Santa Cruz, river of, 182.
Santiago, Chile, 267.
Sarmiento, Mount, 238, 246.
Sauce, Rio, 113.

522 INDEX

Saurophagus, sulphuratus, 61.

Scams eating corals, 468.

Scelidotherium, 88.

Scenery of Andes, 322.

Scissor-tail, 143.

Scissor-beak, habits of, 143.

Scoresby, Mr., on effects of snow on rocks,

Scorpions, cannibals, 170.
Scrope, Mr., on earthquakes, 356;
Scytalopus fuscus, 242, 293.
Sea, open, inhabitants of, 167.

, phosphorescence of, 167.

Sea, distant noise of, 300.

Sea-pen, habits of, 105, 207.

Sea-weed, growth of, 243-244.

Seals, number of, 288.

Seeds transported by sea, 397, 458.

Serpula;, protecting reef, 501.

Shark killed by Diodon, 24.

Shaw, Dr., on lion's flesh, 122.

Sheep, infected, 439.

Shelley, lines on Mont Blanc, 173.

Shells, land, in great numbers, 351.

, land, at St. Helena, 491.

, fossil, of Cordillera, 324.

of Galapagos, 395.

.elevated, 90, 135, 175, 258, 347-

348. 373-

, tropical forms of, far south, 248.

, decomposition of, with salt, 373—

374-
Shepherds' dogs, 154-155.
Shingle-bed of Patagonia, 82, 177.
Siberia compared with Patagonia, 74.
, zoology of, related to North

America, 137.
Siberian animals, how preserved in ice,

254-255-
, animals, food necessary during their

existence, 96.
Silicified trees, 335, 356.
Silurian formations at Falkland Islands,

201.
Silurus, habits of, 141.
Skunks, 87.

Slavery, 28-29, 32, 33-34, 502.
Smelling power of carrion-hawks, 189—

190.
Smith, Dr. Andrew, on the support of

large quadrupeds, 92.

, on perforated pebbles, 154.

Snake, venomous, 103.

Snow, effects of, on rocks, 322.

, prismatic structure of, 329.

Snow, red, 326.

Snow-line on Cordillera, 249, 326, 328.

Society, state of, in La Plata, 49, 161— 162.

, state of, in Australia, 447-448.

Archipelago, 406.

Archipelago, volcanic phenomena at,

479-
Soda, nitrate of, 366.

, sulphate of, 85.

Soil, frozen, 95, 253—254.
Spawn on surface of sea, 26.
Species, distribution of, 134—135, 367.

■ ■, extinction of, 178-179.

Spiders, habits of, 44-46.

•, gossamer, 164.

killed by and killing wasps, 44-46.

on Keeling Island, 460.

on St. Paul's, 20.

Springs, hot, 268.

Stephenson, Mr., on growth of sea-weed,

245.
Stinging animals, 468.
St. Helena, 489.

• , introduction of spirits into, 415-416.

St. Fe, 133.

St. Jago, C. Verds, 11.

, C. Verds, unhealthiness of, 369.

St. Maria, elevated, 311, 314.

St. Paul's rocks, 18.

Stones perforated, 154, 272.

■ transported in roots, 465.

Storm, 221-222, 285.

in Cordillera, 327, 364.

Streams of stones at Falkland Islands, 201.
Strongylus, 41.
Struthio Rhea, 51, 100.

■ Darwinii, 100.

Strzelecki, Count, 451.

Suadiva atoll, 470.

Subsidence of coral reef, 471—485.

of Keeling Island, 479.

of Patagonia, 177.

of coast of Peru, 372.

■ of Cordillera, 324, 336.

of coasts of Chile, 348.

of Vanikoro, 479.

of coral reefs great in amount,

482.
, cause of distinctness in Tertiary

epochs, 349.
Sulphate of lime, 73, 373.

■ of soda incrusting the ground, 84.

of soda with common salt, 73, 373.

Swainson, Mr., on cuckoos, 60.
Sydney, 435.

INDEX

523

Tabanus, 175.

Tahiti (Otaheite), 407.

, three zones of fertility, 410.

, advanced civilization of, 234.

Talcahuano, 306.

Tambillos, Ruinas de, 360.

Tameness of birds, 403.

Tapacolo and Turco, 274-275.

Tapalguen, Sierra, flat hills of quartz, 122.

Tarn, Mount, 239.

Tasmania, 450.

Tattooing, 408, 430.

Temperance of the Tahitians, 415-416.

Temperature of Tierra del Fuego and

Falkland Islands, 247.

of Galapagos, 377, 381.

Tercero, Rio, fossils in banks of, 132.
Terraces in valleys of Cordillera, 319.

of Coquimbo, 347.

of Patagonia, 175-176, 186.

Tertiary formations of the Pampas, 88,

134-135. 160.

formations of Patagonia, 175, 332.

formations in Chile, epochs of,

348-349-
Teru-tero, habits of, 120.
Testudo, habits of, 386-387, 399.
Theory of lagoon-islands, 475.
Theristicus, 170.
Thistle beds, 124, 129, 153.
Thunder-storms, 69.
Tierra del Fuego, 209-256.

, climate and vegetation of, 247.

, zoology of, 241.

, entomology of, 243.

Tinamus rufescens, 119.
Tinochorus Eschscholtzii, 100.
Toad, habits of, 103-104.

not found in oceanic islands, 386.

Torrents in Cordillera, 320, 325.
Tortoise, habits of, 386-387, 399.
Toxodon, 89, 132, 135, 160.
Transparency of air in Andes, 329.

of air in St. Jago, 14.

Transport of seeds, 397, 458.

of boulders, 1 91-192, 252.

of stones in, roots of trees, 465.

of fragments of rock on banks of the

St. Cruz river, 185.
Travertin with leaves of trees, Van

Diemen's Land, 452.
Tree-ferns, southern limits of, 249.

. 452-

Trees, absence of, in Pampas, 54.
, floating, transport stones, 466.

Trees, silicified, vertical, 335.

, silicified, size of, 356.

, time required to rot, 305.

Tres Montes, 286.

Trichodesmium, 24.

Trigonocephalus, 103.

Tristan d'Acunha, 405, 460.

Trochilus, 276.

Tropical scenery, 498.

Tschudi, M., on subsidence, 372.

Tubes, silicious, formed by lightning, 67.

Tucutuco, habits of, 58.

, fossil species of, 89.

Tuff, craters of, 376.

, Infusoria in, 497.

Tupungato, volcano of, 328.

Turco, El, 274.

Turkey buzzard, 66, 189-190, 288.

Turtle, manner of catching, 463.

Type of organization in Galapagos Is-
lands, American, 397.

Types of organization in different coun-
tries, constant, 178-179.

Tyrannus, 143.

Ulloa on hydrophobia, 357.

on Indian buildings, 361.

Unanue, Dr., on hydrophobia, 357.
Uruguay, Rio, 144, 152.

, not crossed by the Bizcacha, 1 29.

Uspallata range and pass, 335.

Vacas, Rio, 337.
Valdivia, 301.

, forests of, 302, 306.

Valley of St. Cruz, how excavated, 186.

, dry, at Copiapo, 359.

Valleys, excavation of, in Chile, 319, 359.

of Tahiti, 412, 416.

in Cordillera, 319.

of New South Wales, 442.

Valparaiso, 257, 317.

Vampire bat, 31.

Vapour from forests, 33.

Van Diemen's Land, 449.

Vanellus Cayanus, 120.

Vanessa, flocks of, 163.

Vanikoro, 473, 474, 479.

Vegetation of St. Helena, changes of, 492.

Vegetation on opposite sides of Cordillera,

33°-
, luxuriant, not necessary to support

large animals, 91-92.
Ventana, Sierra, 116.
Verbena melindres, 48.

524 INDEX

Villa Vicencio, 335.

Virgularia Patagonica, 105, 207.

Volcanic bombs, 496.

Islands, 18.

phenomena, 314—315.

Volcanoes near Chiloe, 277, 279, 295,

3I4-3I5-

, their presence determined by ele-
vation or subsidence, 484.

Vultur aura, 66, 190, 288.

Waders, first colonists of distant islands,

384.
Waimate, New Zealand, 425.
Walckenaer, on spiders, 46.
Walleechu tree, 75.
Wasps preying on spiders and killed by,

44-46.
Water, sold at Iquique, 366.

, fresh, floating on salt, 47, 461-462.

Water-hog, 57.

Waterhouse, Mr., on Rodents, 57, 382.

, on the Niata ox, 151.

, on the insects of Tierra del Fuego,

243.
, on the insects of Galapagos, 385,

396.
Waves, caused by fall of ice, 229, 250.

from earthquakes, 309, 312-313.

Weather, connection with earthquakes,

355-

Weather-board, N. S. Wales, 441.
Weeds in New Zealand, imported, 397,

431.
Weight of large quadrupeds, 94.
Wellington, Mount, 452.

Wells, ebbing and flowing, 461-462.

at Iquique, 368.

West Indies, banks of, 443.

, coral reefs of, 476, 483-484.

, zoology of, 137.

Whales, oil from, 27.

leaping out of water, 228.

White, Mr., on Spiders, 44.

Wigwams of Fuegians, 217.

Williams, Rev., on infectious disorders,

439-
Winds, dry, in Tierra del Fuego, 236.

at the Cape Verds, 13.

, cold, in Cordillera, 364.

on Cordillera, 327.

Winter's Bark, 240, 285.
Wolf at the Falklands, 198.
Wood, Capt., on the Agouti, 76.
Woollya, 226.

Yaquil, 269.

Yeso, Valle del, 323.

York Minster, 213.

Zonotrichia, 60.

Zoological provinces of N. and S.

America, 136-137.
Zoology of Galapagos, 382.

of Keeling Island, 459-460.

of Tierra del Fuego, 241.

of Chonos Islands, 291.

of St. Helena, 492-493.

Zoophytes, 106.

at Falkland Islands, 205.

Zorillo, or skunk, 87.