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—The Beagle arrived at the southernmost of the Galapagos islands. This archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five much exceed the others in size. They are situated under the equatorial line, and between five and six hundred miles to the westward of the coast of America. The constitution of the whole is volcanic. With the exception of some ejected fragments of granite, which have been most curiously glazed and altered by the heat, every part consists of lava, or of sandstone resulting from the attrition of such materials. The higher islands, (which attain an elevation of three, and even four thousand feet) generally have one or more principal craters towards their centre, and on their flanks smaller orifices. I have no exact data from which to calculate, but I do not hesitate to affirm, that there must be, in all the islands of the archipelago, at least two thousand craters. These are of two kinds; one, as in ordinary cases, consisting of scoriæ and lava, the other of finely- stratified volcanic sandstone. The latter in most instances have a form beautifully symmetrical: their origin is due to the ejection of mud,—that is, fine volcanic ashes and water,—without any lava. Considering that these islands are placed directly under the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; a

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circumstance which, perhaps, is chiefly owing to the singularly low temperature of the surrounding sea. Excepting during one short season, very little rain falls, and even then it is not regular: but the clouds generally hang low. From these circumstances the lower parts of the islands are extremely arid, whilst the summits, at an elevation of a thousand feet or more, possess a tolerably luxuriant vegetation. This is especially the case on the windward side, which first receives and condenses 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, interrupted only here and there by scattered hillocks—the remains of former craters. Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava is every where covered by astunted brushwood, which shows little signs of life. The dry and parched surface, having been heated by the noonday sun, gave the air a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even the bushes smelt unpleasantly. Although I diligently tried to collect as many plants as possible, I succeeded in getting only ten kinds; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become an arctic, than an equatorial Flora. The thin woods, which cover the lower parts of all the islands, excepting where the lava has recently flowed, appear from a short distance quite leafless, like the deciduous trees of the northern hemisphere in winter. It was some time before I discovered, that not only almost every plant was in full leaf, but that the greater number were now in flower. After the period of heavy rains, the islands are said to appear for a short time partially green. The only other country, in which I have seen a vegetation with a character at all approaching to this, is at the volcanic island of Fernando Noronha, placed in many respects under similar conditions. The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found

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nowhere else. As I shall refer to this subject again, I will only here remark, as forming a striking character on first landing, that the birds are strangers to man. So tame and unsuspecting were they, that they did not even understand what was meant by stones being thrown at them; and quite regardless of us, they approached so close that any number might have been killed with a stick. The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several bays. One night I slept on shore, on a part of the island where some black cones—the former chimneys of the subterranean heated fluids—were extraordinarily numerous. From one small eminence, I counted sixty of these truncated hillocks, which were all surmounted by a more or less perfect crater. The greater number consisted merely of a ring of red scoriæ, or slags, cemented together: and their height above the plain of lava, was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet. From their regular form, they gave the country a workshop appearance, which strongly reminded me of those parts of Staffordshire where the great iron-foundries are most numerous. The age of the various beds of lava was distinctly marked by the comparative growth, or entire absence, of vegetation. Nothing can be imagined more rough and horrid than the surface of the more modern streams. These have been aptly compared to the sea petrified in its most boisterous moments: no sea, however, would present such irregular undulations, or would be traversed by such deep chasms. All the craters are in an extinct condition; and although the age of the different streams of lava could be so clearly distinguished, it is probable they have remained so for many centuries. There is no account in any of the old voyagers of any volcano on this island having been seen in activity; yet since the time of Dampier (1684), there must have been some increase in the quantity of vegetation, otherwise so accurate a person would not have expressed himself thus : —"Four or five of the easternmost islands are rocky, barren, and hilly, producing neither

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tree, herb, nor grass, but a few dildoe (cactus) trees, except by the sea-side."* This description is at present applicable only to the western islands, where the volcanic forces are in frequent activity. The day, on which I visited the little craters, 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 Cyclopian scene. In my walk I met two large tortoises, each of which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. One was eating a piece of cactus, and when I approached, it looked at me, and then quietly 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, appeared to my fancy like some antediluvian animals.

—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 on it. The inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number: they nearly all consist of people of colour, who have been banished for political crimes from the Republic of the Equator (Quito is the capital of this state) to which these islands belong. The settlement is placed about four and a half miles inland, and at an elevation probably of a thousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed through leafless thickets, as in Chatham Island. Higher up, the wood gradually became greener; and immediately we had crossed the ridge of the island, our bodies were cooled by the fine southerly trade-wind, and our senses refreshed by the sight of a green and thriving vegetation. 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

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sight of black mud was to us, after having been so long accustomed to the parched soil of Peru and Chile. The inhabitants, although complaining of poverty, gain, without much trouble, the means of subsistence from the fertile soil. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats, but the main article of animal food is derived from the tortoise. Their numbers in this island have of course been greatly reduced, but the people yet reckon on two days' hunting supplying food for the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred of these animals, and that the ship's company of a frigate some years since brought down two hundred to the beach in one day. We staid at this island four days, during which time I collected many plants and birds. One morning I ascended the highest hill, which has an altitude of nearly 1800 feet. The summit consists of a broken-down crater, thickly clothed with coarse grass and brushwood. Even in this one island, I counted thirty-nine hills, each of which was terminated by a more or less perfect circular depression.

—We doubled the south-west extremity of Albermarle Island, and the next day were nearly becalmed between it and Narborough Island. Both are covered with immense streams of black naked lava; which, having either flowed over the rims of the great caldrons, or having burst forth from the smaller orifices on the flanks, have in their descent spread over miles of the sea-coast. On both of these islands eruptions are known occasionally to take place; and in Albermarle we saw a small jet of smoke curling from the summit of one of the more lofty craters. In the evening we anchored in Bank's Cove, in Albermarle Island. When morning came, we found that the harbour in which we were at anchor was formed by a broken-down crater, composed of volcanic sandstone. After breakfast I went out walking. To the southward of this first crater, there was another of similar composition, and beautifully

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symmetrical. It was elliptic in form; the longer axis being less than a mile, and its depth about 500 feet. The bottom was occupied by a shallow lake, and in its centre a tiny crater formed an islet. The day was overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue. I hurried down the cindery slope, and choked with dust eagerly tasted the water—but to my sorrow I found it salt as brine. The rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between three and four feet long; and on the hills, another species was equally common. We saw several of the latter, some clumsily running out of our way, and others shuffling into their burrows. I shall presently describe in more detail the habits of both these reptiles.

—We sailed round the northern end of Albermarle Island. Nearly the whole of this side is covered with recent streams of dark-coloured lavas, and is studded with craters. I should think it would be difficult to find in any other part of the world, an island situated within the tropics, and of such considerable size (namely 75 miles long), so sterile and incapable of supporting life.

On the 8th we reached James Island. Captain FitzRoy put Mr. Bynoe, myself, and three others on shore, leaving with us a tent and provisions, to wait there till the vessel returned from watering. This was an admirable plan for the collections, as we had an entire week of hard work. We found here a party of Spaniards, who had been sent from Charles Island to dry fish, and to salt tortoise-meat. At the distance of about six miles, and at the height of nearly 2000 feet, the Spaniards had erected a hovel 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. In the same manner as in the other islands, the lower region is covered by nearly leafless bushes: but here many of them grow to the size of

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trees. I measured several which were two feet in diameter, and some even two feet nine inches. The upper region being kept damp, from the moisture of the condensed clouds, supports a green and flourishing vegetation. So damp was the ground, that there were large beds of a coarse carex, 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 breastplate roasted (as the Gauchos do carne con cuero), with the flesh attached to it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste is very indifferent. During another day we accompanied a party of the Spaniards in their whale-boat to a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. After landing, we had a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava, which has almost surrounded a sandstone crater, at the bottom of which the salt-lake is situated. The water was only three or four inches deep, and rested on a layer of beautifully crystallized white salt. The lake was quite circular, and fringed with a border of brightly green succulent plants: the precipitous walls of the crater were also clothed with wood, so that the scene was 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 week on shore, the sky was cloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour, the heat became very oppressive. On two days, the thermometer within the tent stood for some hours at 93°; 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 higher it would have risen, I do not know, for it was not graduated above that number. The black sand felt much hotter, so that even in thick boots it was disagreeable, on this account, to walk over it.