Vol 29: The Classics - Part 2

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Vol 29: The Classics - Part 2

    Part 1    Part 2

 I so fully believed 
that this was owing to the frequent earthquakes, that I felt 
inclined to hurry from below each loose pile. As one might 
very easily be deceived in a fact of this kind, I doubted its 
accuracy, until ascending Mount Wellington, in Van Die- 
men's Land, where earthquakes do not occur ; and there I saw 
the summit of the mountain similarly composed and similarly 
shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if they had been 
hurled into their present position thousands of years ago. 

We spent the day on the summit, and I never enjoyed one 
more thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the 
Pacific, was seen as in a map. The pleasure from the scenery, 
in itself beautiful, was heightened by the many reflections 
which arose from the mere view of the Campana range with 
its lesser parallel ones, and of the broad valley of Quillota 
directly intersecting them. Who can avoid wondering at the 
force which has upheaved these mountains, and even more 
so at the countless ages which it must have required to have 
broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? 
It is well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and 
sedimentary beds of Patagonia, which, if heaped on the Cor- 
dillera, would increase its height by so many thousand feet. 
When in that country, I wondered how any mountain-chain 
could have supplied such masses, and not have been utterly 
obliterated. We must not now reverse the wonder, and doubt 
whether all-powerful time can grind down mountains — even 
the gigantic Cordillera — into gravel and mud. 

The appearance of the Andes was different from that 
which I had expected. The lower line pf the snow was of 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 275 

course horizontal, and to this line the even summits of the 
range seemed quite parallel. Only at long intervals, a group 
of points or a single cone showed where a volcano had 
existed, or does now exist. Hence the range resembled a 
great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower, and 
making a most perfect barrier to the country. 

Almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts 
to open gold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely 
a spot in Chile unexamined. I spent the evening as before, 
talking round the fire with my two companions. The Guasos 
of Chile, who correspond to the Gauchos of the Pampas, are, 
however, a very different set of beings. Chile is the more 
civilized of the two countries, and the inhabitants, in conse- 
quence, have lost much individual character. Gradations in 
rank are much more strongly marked: the Guaso does not 
by any means consider every man his equal ; and I was quite 
surprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at 
the same time with myself. This feeling of inequality is a 
necessary consequence of the existence of an aristocracy of 
wealth. It is said that some few of the greater landowners 
possess from five to ten thousand pounds sterling per annum : 
an inequality of riches which I believe is not met with in 
any of the cattle-breeding countries eastward of the Andes. 
A traveller does not here meet that unbounded hospitality 
which refuses all payment, but yet is so kindly offered that 
no scruples can be raised in accepting it. Almost every house 
in Chile will receive you for the night, but a trifle is expected 
to be given in the morning; even a rich man will accept two 
or three shillings. The Gaucho, although he may be a cut- 
throat, is a gentleman; the Guaso is in few respects better, 
but at the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. The two men, 
although employed much in the same manner, are different in 
their habits and attire; and the peculiarities of each are 
universal in their respective countries. The Gaucho seems 
part of his horse, and scorns to exert himself 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 picturesque 
costume of the Pampas. Here, common trousers are pro- 



276 CHARLES DARWIN 

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. 

August 18th. — We descended the mountain, and passed 
some beautiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. Hav- 
ing slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the 
two succeeding days up the valley, and passed through Quil- 
lota, which is more like a collection of nursery-gardens than 
a town. The orchards were beautiful, presenting one mass 
of peach-blossoms. I saw, also, in one or two places the 
date-palm ; it is a most stately tree ; and I should think a 
group of them in their native Asiatic or African deserts must 
be superb. We passed likewise San Felipe, a pretty strag- 
gling 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 superin- 
tendent 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 remained unbounded. Amongst many other ques- 
tions, 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 277 

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 improve- 
ments introduced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by 
previous roasting the copper pyrites — which, being the com- 
mon ore in Cornwall, the English miners were astounded on 
their arrival to find thrown away as useless : secondly, stamp- 
ing and washing the scoriae from the old furnaces — by which 
process particles of metal are recovered in abundance. I have 
actually seen mules carrying to the coast, for transportation 
to England, a cargo of such cinders. But the first case is 
much the most curious. The Chilian miners were so con- 
vinced 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 pre- 
vious to smelting it, had never been discovered. A few im- 
provements have likewise been introduced in some of the 
simple machinery; but even to the present day, water is 
removed from some mines by men carrying it up the shaft in 
leathern bags ! 

The labouring men work very hard. They have little time 
allowed for their meals, and during summer and winter they 
begin when it is light, and leave off at dark. They are paid 
one pound sterling a month, and their food is given them: 
this for breakfast consists of sixteen figs and two small loaves 
of bread ; for dinner, boiled beans ; for supper, broken roasted 
wheat grain. They scarcely ever taste meat; as, with the 
twelve pounds per annum, they have to clothe themselves, and 
support their families. The miners who work in the mine 
itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are allowed 
a little charqui. But these men come down from their bleak 
habitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks. 

During my stay here I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling 
about these huge mountains. The geology, as might have 

VOL. XXIX— R HC 



278 CHARLES DARWIN 

been expected, was very interesting. The shattered and 
baked rocks, traversed by innumerable dykes of greenstone, 
showed what commotions had formerly taken place. The 
scenery was much the same as that near the Bell of Quil- 
lota — dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by bushes 
with a scanty foliage. The cactuses, or rather opuntias, 
were here very numerous. I measured one of a spherical 
figure, which, including the spines, was six feet and four 
inches in circumference. The height of the common cylin- 
drical, branching kind, is from twelve to fifteen feet, and 
the girth (with spines) of the branches between three and 
four feet. 

A heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me, 
during the last two days, from making some interesting 
excursions. I attempted to reach a lake which the inhab- 
itants, from some unaccountable reason, believe to be an arm 
of the sea. During a very dry season, it was proposed to 
attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the water, 
but the padre, after a consultation, declared it was too dan- 
gerous, 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 snow- 
storm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad 
when we escaped. By the time we reached the base the 
storm commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not 
happen three hours earlier in the day. 

August 26th. — We left Jajuel and again crossed the basin 
of San Felipe. The day was truly Chilian : glaringly bright, 
and the atmosphere quite clear. The thick and uniform 
covering of newly fallen snow rendered the view of the vol- 
cano of Aconcagua and the main chain quite glorious. We 
were now on the road to Santiago, the capital of Chile. We 
crossed the Cerro del Talguen, and slept at a little rancho. 
The host, talking about the state of Chile as compared to 
other countries, was very humble: " Some see with two eyes, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 279 

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 characteristic 
feature to the scenery of these basins. We crossed a low 
ridge which separates Guitron from the great plain on which 
Santiago stands. The view was here pre-eminently striking: 
the dead level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, 
and with the city in the distance, abutting horizontally 
against the base of the Andes, whose snowy peaks were 
bright with the evening sun. At the first glance of this 
view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the 
extent of a former inland sea. As soon as we gained the 
level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached 
the city before it was dark. 

I stayed a week in Santiago, and enjoyed myself very 
much. In the morning I rode to various places on the plain, 
and in the evening dined with several of the English mer- 
chants, 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 excur- 
sion to the south of the direct road. 

September 5th. — By the middle of the day we arrived at 
one of the suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the 
t 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, 



280 CHARLES DARWIN 

and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a 
man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a com- 
fortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty 
senoritas. 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, ar generally taken down 
during the winter when the rivers are low. Such was the 
case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross 
the stream on horseback. This is rather disagreeable, for 
the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over 
the bed of large rounded stones, that one's head becomes 
quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive whether 
the horse is moving onward or standing still. In summer, 
when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable ; their 
strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be 
plainly seen by the marks which they had left. We reached 
the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being 
confined the two last by heavy rain. The buildings consist 
of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table 
and bench. They are situated in a narrow deep valley just 
without the central Cordillera. It is a quiet, solitary spot, 
with a good deal of wild beauty. 

The mineral springs of Cauquenes burst forth on a line of 
dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole 
of which betrays the action of heat. A considerable quantity 
of gas is continually escaping from the same orifices with 
the water. Though the springs are only a few yards apart, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 281 

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 92V It seems probable 
that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the earth, 
would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances 
than those nearer the surface. The man who had charge of 
the baths assured me that in summer the water is hotter and 
more plentiful than in winter. The former circumstance I 
should have expected, from the less mixture, during the dry 
season, of cold water; but the latter statement appears very 
strange and contradictory. The periodical increase during 
the summer, when rain never falls, can, I think, only be 
accounted for by the melting of the snow: yet the mountains 
which are covered by snow during that season, are three or 
four leagues distant from the springs. I have no reason to 
doubt the accuracy of my informer, who, having lived on 
the spot for several years, ought to be well acquainted with 
the circumstance, — which, if true, certainly is very curious: 
for we must suppose that the snow-water, being conducted 
through porous strata to the regions of heat, is again thrown 
up to the surface by the line of dislocated and injected rocks 
at Cauquenes; and the regularity of the phenomenon would 
seem to indicate that in this district heated rock occurred at 
a depth not very great. 

One day I rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited 
spot. Shortly above that point, the Cachapual divides into 
two deep tremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into 
the great range. I scrambled up a peaked mountain, prob- 
ably more than six thousand feet high. Here, as indeed 
everywhere else, scenes of the highest interest presented 
themselves. It was by one of these ravines, that Pincheira 
entered Chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. This 
is the same man whose attack on an estancia at the Rio Negro 
I have described. He was a renegade half-caste Spaniard, 
who collected a great body of Indians together and estab- 

1 Caldcleugh, in Philosoph. Transact, for 1836. 



282 CHARLES DARWIN 

lished himself oy 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 San- 
tiago; 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 in- 
debted during the four days I stayed at his house. The next 
morning we rode to the mines, which are situated at the 
distance of some leagues, near the summit of a lofty hill. On 
the way we had a glimpse of the lake Tagua-tagua, 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 cattle and horses as passengers. 

When we arrived at the mine, I was struck by the pale 
appearance of many of the men, and inquired from Mr. 
Nixon respecting their condition. The mine is 450 feet deep, 
and each man brings up about 200 pounds weight of stone. 
With this load they have to climb up the alternate notches cut 
in the trunks of trees, placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. 

2 Annales des Sciences Naturelles, March, 1833. M. Gay, a zealous and 
able naturalist, was then occupied in studying every branch of natural 
history throughout the kingdom of Chile. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 283 

Even beardless young men, eighteen and twenty years old, 
with little muscular development of their bodies (they are 
quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great load 
from nearly the same depth. A strong man, who is not 
accustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with 
merely carrying up his own body. With this very severe 
labour, they live entirely on boiled beans and bread. They 
would prefer having bread alone; but their masters, finding 
that they cannot work so hard upon this, treat them like 
horses, and make them eat the beans. Their pay is here 
rather more than at the mines of Jajuel, being from 24 to 28 
shillings per month. They leave the mine only once in three 
weeks ; when they stay with their families for two days. One 
of the rules of this mine sounds very harsh, but answers 
pretty well for the master. The only method of stealing gold 
is to secrete pieces of the ore, and take them out as occasion 
may offer. Whenever the major-domo finds a lump thus 
hidden, its full value is stopped out of the wages of all the 
men ; who thus, without they all combine, are obliged to keep 
watch over each other. 

When the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an 
impalpable powder; the process of washing removes all the 
lighter particles, and amalgamation finally secures the gold- 
dust. The washing, when described, sounds a very simple 
process; but it is beautiful to see how the exact adaptation of 
the current of water to the specific gravity of the gold, so 
easily separates the powdered matrix from the metal. The 
mud which passes from the mills is collected into pools, where 
it subsides, and every now and then is cleared out, and thrown 
into a common heap. A great deal of chemical action then 
commences, salts of various kinds effloresce on the surface, 
and the mass becomes hard. After having been left for a year 
or two, and then rewashed, it yields gold; and this process 
may be repeated even six or seven times ; but the gold each 
time becomes less in quantity, and the intervals required (as 
the inhabitants say, to generate the metal) are longer. There 
can be no doubt that the chemical action, already mentioned, 
each time liberates fresh gold from some combination. The 
discovery of a method to effect this before the first grinding, 
would without doubt raise the value of gold-ores many fold. 



284 CHARLES DARWIN 

It is curious to find how the minute particles of gold, being 
scattered about and not corroding, at last accumulate in 
some quantity. A short time since a few miners, being out of 
work, obtained permission to scrape the ground round the 
house and 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 impalpa- 
ble 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 labour- 
ing agriculturists is much worse. Their wages are lower, and 
they live almost exclusively on beans. This poverty must be 
chiefly owing to the feudal-like system on which the land is 
tilled: the landowner gives a small plot of ground to the 
labourer, for building on and cultivating, and in return has 
his services (or those of a proxy) for every day of his life, 
without any wages. Until a father has a grown-up son, who 
can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one, except on 
occasional days, to take care of his own patch of ground. 
Hence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring 
classes in this country. 

There are some old Indian ruins in this neighbourhood, 
and I was shown one of the perforated stones, which Molina 
mentions as being found in many places in considerable 
numbers. They are of a circular flattened form, from five to 
six inches in diameter, with a hole passing quite through the 
centre. It has generally been supposed that they were used 
as heads to clubs, although their form does not appear at all 
well adapted for that purpose. Burchell 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 

8 Burchell's Travels, vol. ii. p. 45. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 285 

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 between them. Renous speaks Spanish so 
well, that the old lawyer mistook him for a Chilian. Renous, 
alluding to me, asked him what he thought of the King of 
England sending out a collector to their country, to pick up 
lizards and beetles, and to break stones? The old gentleman 
thought seriously for some time, and then said, " It is not 
well, — hay un gato encerrado aqui (there is a cat shut up 
here). No man is so rich as to send out people to pick up 
such rubbish. I do not like it: if one of us were to go and 
do such things in England, do not you think the King of 
England would very soon send us out of his country? " And 
this old gentleman, from his profession, belongs to the better 
informed and more intelligent classes ! Renous himself, two 
or three years before, left in a house at San Fernando some 
caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed, that they might 
turn into butterflies. This was rumoured through the town, 
and at last the padres and governor consulted together, and 
agreed it must be some heresy. Accordingly, when Renous 
returned, he was arrested. 

September ipth. — We left Yaquil, and followed the flat 
valley, formed like that of Quillota, in which the Rio Tin- 
deridica flows. Even at these few miles south of Santiago 
the climate is much 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 inhabi- 
tants 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 



286 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 cele- 
brated 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 elevation of 
at least 10,000 feet. In La Plata the puma preys chiefly on 
deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small quadrupeds ; it there 
seldom attacks cattle or horses, and most rarely man. In 
Chile, however, it destroys many young horses and cattle, 
owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds : I heard, 
likewise, of two men and a woman who had been thus killed. 
It is asserted that the puma always kills its prey by springing 
on the shoulders, and then drawing back the head with one 
of its paws, until the vertebrae break: I have seen in Pata- 
gonia the skeletons of guanacos, with their necks thus 
dislocated. 

The puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with 
many large bushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit is 
often the cause of its being discovered; for the condors 
wheeling in the air every now and then descend to partake 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 287 

of the feast, and being angrily driven away, rise all together 
on the wing. The Chileno Guaso then knows there is a lion 
watching his prey — the word is given — and men and dogs 
hurry to the chase. Sir F. Head says that a Gaucho in the 
Pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the 
air, cried " A lion ! " I could never myself meet with any one 
who pretended to such powers of discrimination. It is as- 
serted that, if a puma has once been betrayed by thus watch- 
ing the carcass, and has then been hunted, it never resumes 
this habit ; but that, having gorged itself, it wanders far away. 
The puma is easily killed. In an open country, it is first 
entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged along the 
ground till rendered insensible. At Tandeel (south of the 
Plata), I was told that within three months one hundred 
were thus destroyed. In Chile they are generally driven up 
bushes or trees, and are then either shot, or baited to death 
by dogs. The dogs employed in this chase belong to a par- 
ticular 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 niaking 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 (mega- 
podius and albicollis of Kittlitz) are perhaps the most con- 
spicuous. The former, called by the Chilenos " el Turco," 
is as large as a fieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance ; 
but its legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger : 
its colour is a reddish brown. The Turco is not uncommon. 
It lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets which are 
scattered over the dry and sterile hills. With its tail erect, 
and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then pop- 
ping from one bush to another with uncommon quickness. 
It really requires little imagination to believe that the bird is 
ashamed of itself, and is aware of its most ridiculous figure. 
On first seeing it, one is tempted to exclaim, " A vilely stuffed 
specimen has escaped from some museum, and has come to 
life again ! " It cannot be made to take flight without the 



288 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 fre- 
quents 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 motionless at the bottom of a bush, 
and will then, after a little while, try with much address to 
crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an active bird, and 
continually making a noise : these noises are various and 
strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves, others like 
the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The coun- 
try people say it changes its cry five times in the year — 
according to some change of season, I suppose. 4 

Two species of humming-birds are common; Trochilus 
forficatus is found over a space of 2500 miles on the west 
coast, from the hot dry country of Lima, to the forests of 
Tierra del Fuego — where it may be seen flitting about in 
snow-storms. In the wooded island of Chiloe, which has an 

* 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 289 

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 south- 
ward, it is replaced by the arrival of another species coming 
from the north. This second kind (Trochilus gigas) is a 
very large bird for the delicate family to which it belongs: 
when on the wing its appearance is singular. Like others 
of the genus, it moves from place to place with a rapidity 
which may be compared to that of Syrphus amongst flies, 
and Sphinx among moths ; but whilst hovering over a flower, 
it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, 
totally different from that vibratory one common to most of 
the species, which produces the humming noise. I never saw 
any other bird where the force of its wings appeared (as in a 
butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. 
When hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded 
and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical 
position. This action appears to steady and support the bird, 
between the slow 'movements of its wings. Although flying 
from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally 
contained abundant remains of insects, which I suspect are 
much more the object of its search than honey. The note of 
this species, like that of nearly the whole family, is extremely 
shrill. 



vol. xxix— -j hc 



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. 

71 TOVEMBER ioth.—Tht Beagle sailed from Valparaiso 
/ y to the south, for the purpose of surveying the south- 
ern 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 mountain- 
ous, 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 incompara- 
bly 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 bois- 
terous, and the sky almost always clouded : to have a week of 
fine weather is something wonderful. It is even difficult to 
get a single glimpse of the Cordillera : during our first visit, 
once only the volcano of Osorno stood out in bold relief, and 
that was before sunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun 
rose, the outline gradually fading away in the glare of the 
eastern sky. 

The inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, 

290 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 291 

appear to have three-fourths of Indian blood in their veins. 
They are an humble, quiet, industrious set of men. Although 
the fertile soil, resulting from the decomposition of the vol- 
canic 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 quad- 
rupeds; and in consequence, the staple articles of food are 
pigs, potatoes, and fish. The people all dress in strong 
woollen garments, which each family makes for itself, and 
dyes with indigo of a dark blue colour. The arts, however, 
are in the rudest state; — as may be seen in their strange 
fashion of ploughing, their method of spinning, grinding 
corn, and in the construction of their boats. The forests are 
so impenetrable, that the land is nowhere cultivated except 
near the coast and on the adjoining islets. Even where paths 
exist, they are scarcely passable from the soft and swampy 
state of the soil. The inhabitants, like those of Tierra del 
Fuego, move about chiefly on the beach or in boats. Although 
with plenty to eat, the people are very poor: there is no 
demand for labour, and consequently the lower orders cannot 
scrape together money sufficient to purchase even the smallest 
luxuries. There is also a great deficiency of a circulating 
medium. I have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of 
charcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carrying 
a plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. Hence every trades- 
man 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 cir- 
cumnavigate the whole. I accompanied this expedition, but 
instead of going in the boats the first day, I hired horses to 
take me to Chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. 
The road followed the coast; every now and then crossing 
promontories covered by fine forests. In these shaded paths 
it is absolutely necessary that the whole road should be made 
of logs of wood, which are squared and placed by the side of 
each other. From the rays of the sun never penetrating the 



292 CHARLES DARWIN 

evergreen foliage, the ground is so damp and soft, that except 
by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass 
along. I arrived at the village of Chacao shortly after the 
tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night. 

The land in this neighbourhood has been extensively 
cleared, and there were many quiet and most picturesque 
nooks in the forest. Chacao was formerly the principal port 
in the island ; but many vessels having been lost, owing to the 
dangerous currents and rocks in the straits, the Spanish gov- 
ernment 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 
indifference, whether it was always to fly at Chacao. In sev- 
eral places the inhabitants were much astonished at the 
appearance of men-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed 
it was the forerunner of a Spanish fleet, coming to recover 
the island from the patriot government of Chile. All the 
men in power, however, had been informed of our intended 
visit, and were exceedingly civil. While we were eating our 
supper, the governor paid us a visit. He had been a lieuten- 
ant-colonel in the Spanish service, but now was miserably 
poor. He gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two cot- 
ton 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, surrounding 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. Subsequently 
we saw the lofty-peaked Corcovado — well deserving the name 
of " el famoso Corcovado." Thus we beheld, from one point 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 293 

of view, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thou- 
sand feet high. In addition to this, far to the south, there 
were other lofty cones covered with snow, which, although 
not known to be active, must be in their origin volcanic. 
The line of the Andes is not, in this neighbourhood, nearly 
so elevated as in Chile; neither does it appear to form so 
perfect a barrier between the regions of the earth. This 
great range, although running in a straight north and south 
line, owing to an optical deception, always appeared more or 
less curved; for the lines drawn from each peak to the 
beholder's eye, necessarily converged like the radii of a 
semicircle, and as it was not possible (owing to the clearness 
of the atmosphere and the absence of all intermediate ob- 
jects) to judge how far distant the farthest peaks were off, 
they appeared to stand in a flattish semicircle. 

Landing at midday, we saw a family of pure Indian extrac- 
tion. The father was singularly like York Minster ; and some 
of the younger boys, with their ruddy complexions, might 
have been mistaken for Pampas Indians. Everything I have 
seen, convinces me of the close connexion of the different 
American tribes, who nevertheless speak distinct languages. 
This party could muster but little Spanish, and talked to each 
other in their own tongue. It is a pleasant thing to see the 
aborigines advanced to the same degree of civilization, how- 
ever 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 thou- 
sand 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. For- 
merly, 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, can- 
not be distinguished by their appearance from Indians. 



294 CHARLES DARWIN 

Gomez, the governor of Lemuy, is descended from noblemtn 
of Spain on both sides; but by constant intermarriages with 
the natives the present man is an Indian. On the other hand, 
the governor of Quinchao boasts much of his purely kept 
Spanish blood. 

We reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the 
island of Caucahue. The people here complained of want of 
land. This is partly owing to their own negligence in not 
clearing the woods, and partly to restrictions by the govern- 
ment, 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 coun- 
tries, forests are removed without much difficulty by the aid 
of fire; but in Chiloe, from the damp nature of the climate, 
and the sort of trees, it is necessary first to cut them down. 
This is a heavy drawback to the prosperity of Chiloe. In the 
time of the Spaniards the Indians could not hold land ; and a 
family, after having cleared a piece of ground, might be 
driven away, and the property seized by the government. 
The Chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice 
by making retribution to these poor Indians, giving to each 
man, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. 
The value of uncleared ground is very little. The govern- 
ment 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 cul- 
tivated 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 295 

regular income. One of the richest land-owners might pos- 
sibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as iooo/. 
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 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 appear- 
ance. 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 after- 
noon we paid our respects to the governor — a quiet old man, 
who, in his appearance and manner of life, was scarcely 
superior to an English cottager. At night heavy rain set in, 
which was hardly sufficient to drive away from our tents the 
large circle of lookers-on. An Indian family, who had come 
to trade in a canoe from Caylen, bivouacked near us. They 
had no shelter during the rain. In the morning I asked a 
young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had passed 
the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered, " Muy 
bien, 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 com- 
posed. 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 



296 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 some- 
thing quite extraordinary. After tobacco, indigo came next 
in value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. The 
latter article was required for a very innocent purpose: each 
parish has a public musket, and the gunpowder was wanted 
for making a noise on their saint or feast days. 

The people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. At 
certain seasons they catch also, in " corrales," or hedges 
under water, many fish which are left on the mud-banks as 
the tide falls. They occasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, 
pigs, horses, and cattle; the order in which they are here 
mentioned, expressing their respective numbers. I never 
saw anything more obliging and humble than the manners 
of these people. They generally began with stating that 
they were poor natives of the place, and not Spaniards, 
and that they were in sad want of tobacco and other com- 
forts. At Caylen, the most southern island, the sailors 
bought with a stick of tobacco, of the value of three-half- 
pence, 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 VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 297 

the same, but it was much less thickly inhabited. On the 
large island of Tanqui there was scarcely one cleared spot, 
the trees on every side extending their branches over the 
sea-beach. I one day noticed, growing on the sandstone 
cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (Gunnera scabra), 
which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. 
The inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan 
leather with the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. 
The leaf is nearly circular, but deeply indented on its mar- 
gin. I measured one which was nearly eight feet in diame- 
ter, and therefore no less than twenty-four in circumfer- 
ence ! The stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each 
plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, pre- 
senting 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 mis- 
erable 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 ab- 
sorbed 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. 



298 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 differ- 
ent appearance from those on the northern part of the island. 
The rock, also, being micaceous slate, there was no beach, 
but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the water. The 
general aspect in consequence was more like that of Tierra 
del Fuego than of Chiloe. In vain we tried to gain the 
summit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who 
has not beheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying 
and dead trunks. I am sure that often, for more than ten 
minutes together, our feet never touched the ground, and 
we were frequently ten or fifteen feet above it, so that the 
seamen as a joke called out the soundings. At other times 
we crept one after another on our hands and knees, under 
the rotten trunks. In the lower part of the mountain, noble 
trees of the Winter's Bark, and a laurel like the sassafras 
with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which I do 
not know, were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. 
Here we were more like fishes struggling in a net than any 
other animal. On the higher parts, brushwood takes the 
place of larger trees, with here and there a red cedar or an 
alerce pine. I was also pleased to see, at an elevation of a 
little less than iooo feet, our old friend the southern beech. 
They were, however, poor stunted trees; and I should think 
that this must be nearly their northern limit. We ultimately 
gave up the attempt in despair. 

December ioth. — 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 south- 
ward. 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 suc- 
cessive 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 299 

roared again through the rigging: it was an ominous, sub- 
lime scene. During a few minutes there was a bright rain- 
bow, 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 dis- 
torted, 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 re- 
quires continued scrambling up and down over the sharp 
rocks of mica-slate ; and as for the woods, our faces, hands, 
and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment we 
received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden 
recesses. 

December 18th. — We stood out to sea. On the 20th we 
bade farewell to the south, and with a fair wind turned the 
ship's head northward. From Cape Tres Montes we sailed 
pleasantly along, the lofty weather-beaten coast, which is 
remarkable for the bold outline of its hills, and the thick 
covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. The 
next day a harbour was discovered, which on this dangerous 
coast might be of great service to a distressed vessel. It 
can easily be 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 under- 
taking, 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 



300 CHARLES DARWIN 

to it some vanity, that you perhaps are the first man who ever 
stood on this pinnacle or admired this view. 

A strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any 
human being has previously visited an unfrequented spot. 
A bit of wood with a nail in it, is picked up and studied as 
if it were covered with hieroglyphics. Possessed with this 
feeling, I was much interested by finding, on a wild part of 
the coast, a bed made of grass beneath a ledge of rock. Close 
by it there had been a fire, and the man had used an axe. 
The fire, bed, and situation showed the dexterity of an Indian; 
but he could scarcely have been an Indian, for the race is 
in this part extinct, owing to the Catholic desire of making 
at one blow Christians and Slaves. I had at the time some 
misgivings that the solitary man who had made his bed on 
this wild spot, must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor, 
who, in trying to travel up the coast, had here laid himself 
down for his dreary night. 

December 28th. — The weather continued very bad, but it 
at last permitted us to proceed with the survey. The time 
hung heavy on our hands, as it always did when we were 
delayed from day to day by successive gales of wind. In 
the evening another harbour was discovered, where we 
anchored. Directly afterwards a man was seen waving 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 wandering up and down the coast for 
fifteen months, without knowing which way to go, or where 
they were. What a singular piece of good fortune it was 
that this harbour was now discovered ! Had it not been for 
this one chance, they might have wandered till they had 
grown old men, and at last have perished on this wild coast. 
Their sufferings had been very great, and one of their party 
had lost his life by falling from the cliffs. They were some- 
times 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 little cove at the 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 301 

foot of some high hills, near the northern extremity of Tres 
Montes. After breakfast the next morning, a party ascended 
one of these mountains, which was 2400 feet high. The 
scenery was remarkable. The chief part of the range was 
composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of granite, which 
appeared as if they had been coeval with the beginning of 
the world. The granite was capped with mica-slate, and this 
in the lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger- 
shaped points. These two formations, thus differing in their 
outlines, agree in being almost destitute of vegetation. This 
barrenness had to our eyes a strange appearance, from having 
been so long accustomed to the sight of an almost universal 
forest of dark-green trees. I took much delight in examining 
the structure of these mountains. The complicated and lofty 
ranges bore a noble aspect of durability — equally profitless, 
however, to man and to all other animals. Granite to the 
geologist is classic ground : from its widespread limits, and its 
beautiful and compact texture, few rocks have been more 
anciently recognised. Granite has given rise, perhaps, to 
more discussion concerning its origin than any other forma- 
tion. We generally see it constituting the fundamental rock, 
and, however formed, we know it is the deepest layer in the 
crust of this globe to which man has penetrated. The limit 
of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, 
which is perhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the 
realms of imagination. 

January 1st, 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 some- 
thing 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 to- 



302 CHARLES DARWIN 

gether, 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 Llarbour, 
where we remained a week. The islands were here, as in 
Chiloe, composed of a stratified, soft, littoral deposit; and 
the vegetation in consequence was beautifully luxuriant. The 
woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the manner of 
an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. We also enjoyed 
from the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy 
cones of the Cordillera, including " el f amoso 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 303 

email, 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 ex- 
amined the dried specimens which I brought home, says that 
they are the same with those described 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 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. Crypto- 
gamic plants here find a most congenial climate. In the Strait 
of Magellan, as I have before remarked, the country appears 
too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at perfection ; but 
in these islands, within the forest, the number of species and 
great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns, is quite 
extraordinary.' 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 Archipel- 
ago, the nature of the climate more closely approaches that 

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 interest- 
ing discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown in Mexico, — 
in Polit. Essay on New Spain, book iv. chap. ix. 

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 char- 
acteristic family in number, both of individuals and species, throughout 
the more open parts of Chiloe and Chonos is that of the Telephoridae. 



304 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 succeed- 
ing one to the other round the central tap-root; the lower 
ones soon decay, and in tracing a root downwards in the peat, 
the leaves, yet holding their place, can be observed passing 
through every stage of decomposition, till the whole becomes 
blended in one confused mass. The Astelia is assisted by a 
few other plants, — here and there a small creeping Myrtus 
(M. nummularia), with a woody stem like our cranberry and 
with a sweet berry, — an Empetrum (E. rubrum), like our 
heath, — a rush (Juncus grandiflorus), are nearly the only 
ones that grow on the swampy surface. These plants, though 
possessing a very close general resemblance to the English 
species of the same genera, are different. In the more level 
parts of the country, the surface of the peat is broken up into 
little pools of water, which stand at different heights, and 
appear as if artificially excavated. Small streams of water, 
flowing underground, complete the disorganization of the 
vegetable matter, and consolidate the whole. 

The climate of the southern part of America appears partic- 
ularly 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 con- 
verted 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 pecul- 
iar 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 305 

occurs: but in the Chonos Islands, three degrees farther 
southward, 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 Archi- 
pelago is, as might have been expected, very poor. Of quad- 
rupeds two aquatic kinds are common. The Myopotamus 
Coypus (like a beaver, but with a round tail) is well known 
from its fine fur, which is an object of trade throughout the 
tributaries of La Plata. It here, however, exclusively fre- 
quents salt water; which same circumstance has been men- 
tioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the 
Capybara. A small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal 
does not feed exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a 
large supply from a small red crab, which swims in shoals 
near the surface of the water. Mr. Bynoe saw one in Tierra 
del Fuego eating a cuttle-fish ; and at Low's Harbour, another 
was killed in the act of carrying to its hole a large volute 
shell. At one place I caught in a trap a singular little mouse 
(M. brachiotis) ; it appeared common on several of the islets, 
but the Chilotans at Low's Harbour said that it was not found 
in all. What a succession of chances, 3 or what changes of 
level must have been brought into play, thus to spread these 
small animals throughout this broken archipelago ! 

In all parts of Chiloe and Chonos, two very strange birds 
occur, which are allied to, and replace, the Turco and Tapa- 
colo of central Chile. One is called by the inhabitants 
"Cheucau" (Pteroptochos rubecula) : it frequents the most 
gloomy and retired spots within the damp forests. Some- 
times, although its cry may be heard close at hand, let a per- 
son watch ever so attentively he will not see the cheucau; at 

8 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. 



306 CHARLES DARWIN 

other times, let him stand motionless and the red-breasted 
little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar 
manner. It then busily hops about the entangled mass of 
rotting canes and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards. 
The cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the Chilotans, on 
account of its strange and varied cries. There are three 
very distinct cries : one is called " chiduco," and is an omen 
of good; another, " huitreu," which is extremely unfavour- 
able; and a third, which I have forgotten. These words are 
given in imitation of the noises ; and the natives are in some 
things absolutely governed by them. The Chilotans assuredly 
have chosen a most comical little creature for their prophet. 
An allied species, but rather larger, is called by the natives 
"Guid-guid" (Pteroptochos Tarnii), and by the English the 
barking-bird. This latter name is well given ; for I defy any 
one at first to feel certain that a small dog is not yelping 
somewhere in the forest. Just as with the cheucau, a person 
will sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain 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 (Opetiorhyn- 
chus Patagonicus) is very common. It is remarkable from 
its quiet habits; it lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a 
sandpiper. Besides these birds only few others inhabit this 
broken land. In my rough notes I describe the strange 
noises, which, although frequently heard within these gloomy 
forests, yet scarcely disturb the general silence. The yelp- 
ing 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 oc- 
casionally adds its cry; the creeper (Oxyurus) follows the 
intruder screaming and twittering; the humming-bird may 
be seen every now and then darting from side to side, and 
emitting, like an insect, its shrill chirp; lastly, from the top 

* I may mention, as a proof of how great a difference there is between the 
seasons of the wooded and the open parts of this coast, that on September 
20th, in 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 S07 

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 enu- 
merated, as the commonest birds in any district. In central 
Chile two of them, namely, the Oxyurus and Scytalopus, oc- 
cur, 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 (que- 
brantahuesos, or break-bones, of the Spaniards), is a com- 
mon bird, both in the inland channels and on the open sea. 
In its habits and manner of flight, there is a very close re- 
semblance with the albatross ; and as with the albatross, a 
person may watch it for hours together without seeing on 
what it feeds. The " break-bones " is, however, a rapacious 
bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at Port St. 
Antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving 
and flying, but was continually struck down, and at last 
killed by a blow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great 
petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. A sec- 
ond 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 



308 CHARLES DARWIN 

water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from 
them as of human beings talking in the distance. 

There are several other species of petrels, but I will only 
mention one other kind, the Pelacanoides Berardi, which 
offers an example of those extraordinary cases, of a bird 
evidently belonging to one well-marked family, yet both in 
its habits and structure allied to a very distinct tribe. This 
bird never leaves the quiet inland sounds. When disturbed 
it dives to a distance, and on coming to the surface, with the 
same movement takes flight. After flying by a rapid move- 
ment 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 plum- 
age, 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 div- 
ing 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 
Aconcagua and Coseguina — Ride to Cucao — Impenetrable Forests 
— Valdivia Indians — Earthquake — Concepcion — Great Earthquake 
— Rocks fissured — Appearance of the former Towns — The Sea Black 
and Boiling — Direction of the Vibrations — Stones twisted round — 
Great Wave — Permanent Elevation of the Land — Area of Volcanic 
Phenomena — The connection between the Elevatory and Eruptive 
Forces — Cause of Earthquakes — Slow Elevation of Mountain- 
chains. 

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 
jgth 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 com- 
monly to be cast out of the craters in this part of the Cordil- 
lera. I was assured that when the Corcovado is in eruption, 
great masses are projected upwards and are seen to burst In 
the air, assuming many fantastical forms, such as trees : 
their size must be immense, for they can be distinguished 
from the high land behind S. Carlos, which is no less than 
ninety-three miles from the Corcovado. In the morning the 
volcano became tranquil. 

I was surprised at hearing afterwards that Aconcagua in 
Chile, 480 miles northwards, was in action on the same night ; 
and still more surprised to hear that the great eruption of 
Coseguina (2700 miles north of Aconcagua), accompanied by 
an earthquake felt over a 1000 miles, also occurred within 

309 



310 CHARLES DARWIN 

six hours of this same time. This coincidence is the more 
remarkable, as Coseguina had been dormant for twenty-six 
years ; and Aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of action. 
It is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence was 
accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. If Vesu- 
vius, 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 coin- 
cidence would be thought remarkable; but it is far more re- 
markable 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 privi- 
lege, so rare in South America, of travelling without fire- 
arms. 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, trav- 
elling is exceedingly difficult. At that time of the year, the 
ground on each side becomes a morass, and is often over- 
flowed: hence it is necessary that the longitudinal logs 
should be fastened down by tranverse 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 311 

where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one 
to the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a 
dog. On both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest- 
trees, with their bases matted together by canes. When oc- 
casionally a long reach of this avenue could be beheld, it pre- 
sented 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 peo- 
ple 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 char- 
acter of solemnity, absent in those of countries long civilized. 
Shortly after sunset we bivouacked for the night. Our fe- 
male 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 sur- 
prised at the total want of pride shown by her and her brother. 
They brought food with them, but at all our meals sat 



312 CHARLES DARWIN 

watching Mr. King and myself* whilst eating, till we were 
fairly shamed into feeding the whole party. The night was 
cloudless; and while lying in our beds, we enjoyed the sight 
(and it is a high enjoyment) of the multitude of stars which 
illumined the darkness of the forest. 

January 23rd. — We rose early in the morning, and reached 
the pretty quiet town of Castro by two o'clock. The old gov- 
ernor had died since our last visit, and a Chileno was acting 
in his place. We had a letter of introduction to Don Pedro, 
whom we found exceedingly hospitable and kind, and more 
disinterested than is usual on this side of the continent. The 
next day Don Pedro procured us fresh horses, and offered 
to accompany us himself. We proceeded to the south — gen- 
erally following the coast, and passing through several ham- 
lets, each with it's 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 En- 
glishmen 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 Vi- 
linco, which is situated on the borders of the lake of Cucao, 
only a few fields were cleared; and all the inhabitants ap- 
peared 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 exaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described to 
us at S. Carlos, was quite a prodigy. 

The road to Cucao was so very bad that we determined to 
embark in a periagua. The commandant, in the most au- 
thoritative manner, ordered six Indians to get ready to pull 
us over, without deigning to tell them whether they would 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 313 

be paid. The periagua is a strange rough boat, but the crew 
were still stranger: I doubt if six uglier little men ever got 
into a boat together. They pulled, however, very well and 
cheerfully. The stroke-oarsman gabbled Indian, and uttered 
strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver driving 
his pigs. We started with a light breeze against us, but yet 
reached the Capella de Cucao before it was late. The coun- 
try 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 pain- 
ful 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 pro- 
visions and the use of their horses, without ever condescend- 
ing to say how much, or indeed whether the owners should 
be paid at all. In the morning, being left alone with these 
poor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of 
cigars and mate. A lump of white sugar was divided be- 
tween all present, and tasted with the greatest curiosity. The 
Indians ended all their complaints by saying, "And it is only 



314 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 north- 
ward 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, 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 vege- 
table 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 imprac- 
ticable. 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 burning. In every direction volumes of 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 315 

smoke were curling upwards. Although the inhabitants were 
so assiduous in setting fire to every part of the wood, yet 
I did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in mak- 
ing extensive. We dined with our friend the commandant, 
and did not reach Castro till after dark. The next morning 
we started very early. After having ridden for some time, 
we obtained from the brow of a steep hill an extensive view 
(and it is a rare thing on this road) of the great forest. 
Over the horizon of trees, the volcano of Corcovado, and 
the great flat-topped one to the north, stood out in proud 
pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long range 
showed its snowy summit. I hope it will be long before I 
forget this farewell view of the magnificent Cordillera front- 
ing 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 singularly 
well adapted for attaching names to the most trivial fea- 
tures of the land. I believe every one was glad to say fare- 
well to Chiloe; yet if we could forget the gloom and cease- 
less 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 dis- 
tant 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 situ- 
ated on the low banks of the stream, and is so completely 
buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are merely 



316 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 in- 
habitants possess a marvellously short method of making an 
orchard. At the lower part of almost every branch, small, 
conical, brown, wrinkled points project: these are always 
ready to change into roots, as may sometimes be seen, where 
any mud has been accidentally splashed against the tree. A 
branch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in the early spring, 
and is cut off just beneath a group of these points, all the 
smaller branches are lopped off, and it is then placed about 
two feet deep in the ground. During the ensuing summer 
the stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bears 
fruit: I was shown one which had produced as many as 
twenty-three apples, but this was thought very unusual. In 
the third season the stump is changed (as I have myself 
seen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded with fruit. An old 
man near Valdivia illustrated his motto, u Necesidad es la 
madre del invencion," by giving an account of the several 
useful things he manufactured from his apples. After mak- 
ing cider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse a 
white and finely flavoured spirit; by another process he pro- 
cured 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 lati- 
tude, of 150 miles, has given a new aspect to the forest, com- 
pared 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 317 

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 out- 
side: on these journeys the first night is generally very un- 
comfortable, 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. 

1 2th. — 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 south- 
ern plains. In the afternoon one of the horses knocked up: 
we were then on a brow of a hill, which commanded a fine 
view of the Llanos. The view of these open plains was very 
refreshing, after being hemmed in and buried in the wilder- 
ness of trees. The uniformity of a forest soon becomes very 
wearisome. This west coast makes me remember with pleas- 
ure 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 ac- 
count of the tired horse, I determined to stop at the Mission 
of Cudico, to the friar of which I had a letter of introduc- 
tion. Cudico is an intermediate district between the forest 
and the Llanos. There are a good many cottages, with 
patches of corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to Indians. 
The tribes dependent on Valdivia are " reducidos y cris- 
tianos." The Indians farther northward, about Arauco and 
Imperial, are still very wild, and not converted; but they 
have all much intercourse with the Spaniards. The padre 
said that the Christian Indians did not much like coming 
to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for religion. 
The greatest difficulty is in making them observe the cere- 
monies of marriage. The wild Indians take as many wives 



318 CHARLES DARWIN 

as they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have more 
than ten : on entering his house, the number may be told by 
that of the separate fires. Each wife lives a week in turn 
with the cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos, 
etc., for his profit. To be the wife of a cacique, is an honour 
much sought after by the Indian women. 

The men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: 
those south of Valdivia wear short trousers, and those north 
of it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the Gauchos. All have 
their long hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other 
covering on their heads. These Indians are good-sized men ; 
their cheek-bones are prominent, and in general appearance 
they resemble the great American family to which they be- 
long; but their physiognomy seemed to me to be slightly 
different from that of any other tribe which I had before 
seen. Their expression is generally grave, and even austere, 
and possesses much character : this may pass either for hon- 
est 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 bit- 
terly complained of the total want of society. With no par- 
ticular zeal for religion, no business or pursuit, how com- 
pletely 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 re- 
mained 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 319 

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 con- 
cerning 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 number of great 
fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over or to 
avoid by making long circuits. We slept on the road, and 
next morning reached Valdivia, whence I proceeded on 
board. 

A few days afterwards I crossed the bay with a party of 
officers, and landed near the fort called Niebla. The build- 
ings were in a most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages 
quite rotten. Mr. Wickham remarked to the commanding 
officer, that with one discharge they would certainly all fall 
to pieces. The poor man, trying to put a good face upon it, 
gravely replied, " No, I am sure, sir, they would stand 
two ! " The Spaniards must have intended to have made this 
place impregnable. There is now lying in the middle of the 
court-yard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hard- 
ness 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 



320 CHARLES DARWIN 

a party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years 
ago; and taking this as a criterion, I should think a bole a 
foot and a half in diameter would in thirty years be changed 
into a heap of mould. 

February 20th. — This day has been memorable in the 
annals of Valdivia, for the most severe earthquake experi- 
enced by the oldest inhabitant. I happened to be on shore, 
and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. It came on 
suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared 
much longer. The rocking of the ground was very sensible. 
The undulations appeared to my companion and myself to 
come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded 
from south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is to 
perceive the directions of the vibrations. There was no diffi- 
culty 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 skat- 
ing over thin ice, which bends under the weight of his body. 

A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations : 
the earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath 
our feet like a thin crust over a fluid; — one second of time 
has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, which 
hours of reflection would not have produced. In the forest, 
as a breeze moved the trees, I felt only the earth tremble, but 
saw no other effect. Captain Fitz Roy and some officers 
were at the town during the shock, and there the scene was 
more striking; for although the houses, from being built of 
wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the boards 
creaked and rattled together. The people rushed out of 
doors in the greatest alarm. It is these accompaniments that 
create that perfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by all 
who have thus seen, as well as felt, their effects. Within the 
forest it was a deeply interesting, but by no means an awe- 
exciting phenomenon. The tides were very curiously affected. 
The great shock took place at the time of low water; 
and an old woman who was on the beach told me that the 
water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to high- 
water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level ; 
this was also evident by the line of wet sand. The same kind 
of quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 321 

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 earth- 
quake of the 20th : — " That not a house in Concepcion or 
Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villages 
were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed 
away the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this latter statement I 
soon saw abundant proofs — the whole coast being strewed 
over with timber and furniture as if a thousand ships had 
been wrecked. Besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., in 
great numbers, there were several roofs of cottages, which 
had been transported almost whole. The storehouses at Tal- 
cahuano had been burst open, and great bags of cotton, yerba, 
and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the shore. 
During my walk round the island, I observed that numerous 
fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions ad- 
hering 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 conse- 
quent great wave. The ground in many parts was fissured 
in north and south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding of 
the parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. Some of 
the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. Many enormous 
masses had already fallen on the beach; and the inhabitants 
thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips would 
happen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary slate, 
which composes the foundation of the island, was still more 
curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as 
completely shivered as if they had been blasted by gun- 
powder. This effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the 
fresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to near 

vol. xxix — K HC 



322 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 differ- 
ently from the central part. It is, perhaps, owing to this 
same reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific 
havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe this 
convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of 
the island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear 
of the sea and weather during the course of a whole century. 
The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode 
to Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet 
interesting spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had 
formerly know 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 prov- 
ince must amount to many thousands) must have perished, 
instead of less than a hundred : as it was, the invariable prac- 
tice of running out of doors at the first trembling of the 
ground, alone saved them. In Concepcion each house, or 
row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins ; but in 
Talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than one 
layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with here and there part of 
a wall left standing, could be distinguished. From this circum- 
stance Concepcion, although not so completely desolated, was 
a more terrible, and if I may so call it, picturesque sight. 
The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo at Quiri- 
quina told me, that the first notice he received of it, was 
finding both the horse he rode and himself, rolling together 
on the ground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. He 
also told me that some cows which were standing on the steep 
side of the island were rolled into the sea. The great wave 
caused the destruction of many cattle; on one low island, 
near the head of the bay, seventy animals were washed off 
and drowned. It is generally thought that this has been the 
worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as the very 
severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 323 

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, no 
one dared approach the shattered ruins; and no one knew 
whether his dearest friends and relations were not perish- 
ing from the want of help. Those who had saved any prop- 
erty were obliged to keep a constant watch, for thieves 
prowled about, and at each little trembling of the ground, 
with one hand they beat their breasts and cried " Miseri- 
cordia ! " 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 subter- 
ranean forces should exert those powers, which most assur- 
edly in former geological ages they have exerted, how com- 
pletely 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 edi- 
fices? If the new period of disturbance were first to com- 
mence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, 



324 CHARLES DARWIN 

how terrific would be the carnage ! England would at once 
be bankrupt; all papers, records, and accounts would from 
that moment be lost. Government being unable to collect 
the taxes, and failing to maintain its authority, the hand of 
violence and rapine would remain uncontrolled. In every 
large town famine would go forth, pestilence and death fol- 
lowing in its train. 

Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the 
distance of three or four miles, approaching in the middie 
of the bay with a smooth outline; but along the shore it tore 
up cottages and trees, as it swept onwards with irresistible 
force. At the head of the bay it broke in a fearful line of 
white breakers, which rushed up to a height of 23 vertical 
feet above the highest spring-tides. Their force must have 
been prodigious ; for at the Fort a cannon with its carriage, 
estimated at four tons in weight, was moved 15 feet inwards. 
A schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, 200 yards 
from the beach. The first wave was followed by two others, 
which in their retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating 
objects. In one part of the bay, a ship was pitched high 
and dry on shore, was carried off, again driven on shore, and 
again carried off. In another part, two large vessels anchored 
near together were whirled about, and their cables were thrice 
wound round each other; though anchored at a depth of 36 
feet, they were for some minutes aground. The great wave- 
must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of Talca- 
huano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and 
some sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their 
boat riding securely over the swell, if they could reach it 
before it broke. One old woman with a little boy, four or 
five years old, ran into a boat, but there was nobody to row 
it out: the boat was consequently dashed against an anchor 
and cut in twain ; the old woman was drowned, but the child 
was picked up some hours afterwards clinging to the wreck. 
Pools of salt-water were still standing amidst the ruins of 
the houses, and children, making boats with old tables and 
chairs, appeared as happy as their parents were miserable. 
It was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, how 
much more active and cheerful all appeared than could have 
been expected. It was remarked with much truth, that from 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 325 

the destruction being universal, no one individual was hum- 
bled more than another, or could suspect his friends of cold- 
ness — 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 discom- 
fort, for they were absolutely without shelter. 

In Captain Fitz Roy's excellent account of the earthquake, 
it is said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and 
another like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the 
bay. The water also appeared everywhere to be boiling ; and 
it " became black, and exhaled a most disagreeable sulphure- 
ous smell." These latter circumstances were observed in the 
Bay of Valparaiso during the earthquake of 1822 ; they may, 
I think, be accounted for, by the disturbance of the mud at 
the bottom of the sea containing organic matter in decay. In 
the Bay of Callao, during a calm day, I noticed, that as the 
ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its course was marked 
by a line of bubbles. The lower orders in Talcahuano thought 
that the earthquake was caused by some old Indian women, ■ 
who two years ago, being offended, stopped the volcano of 
Antuco. This silly belief is curious, because it shows that 
experience has taught them to observe, that there exists a 
relation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, and 
the trembling of the ground. It was necessary to apply the 
witchcraft to the point where their perception of cause and 
effect failed; and this was the closing of the volcanic vent. 
This belief is the more singular in this particular instance, 
because, according to Captain Fitz Roy, there is reason to 
believe that Antuco was noways affected. 

The town of Concepcion was built in the usual Spanish 
fashion, with all the streets running at right angles to each 
other; one set ranging 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 



326 CHARLES DARWIN 

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, imitating the 
undulations of an earthquake : it will be found that they fall 
with more or less readiness, according as their direction more 
or less nearly coincides with the line of the waves. The fis- 
sures in the ground generally, though not uniformly, extended 
in a S.E. and N.W. direction, and therefore corresponded 
to the lines of undulation or of principal flexure. Bearing in 
mind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to the 
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 Cathe- 
dral. The side which fronted the N.E. presented a grand 
pile of ruins, in the midst of which door-cases and masses 
of timber stood up, as if floating in a stream. Some of the 
angular blocks of brickwork were of great dimensions; and 
they were rolled to a distance on the level plaza, like frag- 
ments 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 cop- 
ing 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 

1 M. Arago in L'Institut, 1839, p. 337. See also Miers's Chile, vol. i. p. 
392; also Lyell's Principles of Geology, chap, xv., book ii. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 327 

movement beneath each point thus affected ; but this is highly 
improbable. May it not be caused by a tendency in each stone 
to arrange itself in some particular position, with respect 
to the lines of vibration, — in a manner somewhat similar to 
pins on a sheet of paper when shaken ? Generally speaking, 
arched doorways or windows stood much better than any 
other part of the buildings. Nevertheless, a poor lame old 
man, who had been in the habit, during trifling shocks, of 
crawling to a certain doorway, was this time crushed to 
pieces. 

I have not attempted to give any detailed description of 
the appearance of Concepcion, for I feel that it is quite impos- 
sible to convey the mingled feelings which I experienced. 
Several of the officers visited it before me, but their strongest 
language failed to give a just idea of the scene of desolation. 
It is a bitter and humiliating thing to see works, which have 
cost man so much time and labour, overthrown in one min- 
ute; yet compassion for the inhabitants was almost instantly 
banished, by the surprise in seeing a state of things produced 
in a moment of time, which one was accustomed to attribute 
to a succession of ages. In my opinion, we have scarcely be- 
held, since leaving England, any sight so deeply interesting. 

In almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters 
of the sea are said to have been greatly agitated. The dis- 
turbance 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 move- 
ment seems to be an immediate consequence of the earth- 
quake 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 earth- 
quakes, and especially during those on the west coast of 
America, it is certain that the first great movement of the 
waters has been a retirement. Some authors have attempted 
to explain this, by supposing that the water retains its level, 
whilst the land oscillates upwards ; but surely the water close 
to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would partake of the 



328 CHARLES DARWIN 

motion of the bottom : moreover, as urged by Mr. Lyell, 
similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far 
distant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case 
with Juan Fernandez during this earthquake, and with 
Madeira during the famous Lisbon shock. I suspect (but the 
subject is a very obscure one) that a wave, however produced, 
first draws the water from the shore, on which it is advancing 
to break: I have observed that this happens with the little 
waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. It is remarkable 
that whilst Talcahuano and Callao (near Lima), both situ- 
ated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during 
every severe earthquake from great waves, Valparaiso, 
seated close to the edge of profoundly deep water, has never 
been overwhelmed, though so often shaken by the severest 
shocks. From the great wave not immediately following the 
earthquake, but sometimes after the interval of even half an 
hour, and from distant islands being affected similarly with 
the coasts near the focus of the disturbance, it appears that 
the wave first rises in the offing; and as this is of general 
occurrence, the cause must be general: I suspect we must 
look to the line, where the less disturbed waters of the deep 
ocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partaken 
of the movements of the land, as the place where the great 
wave is first generated; it would also appear that the wave 
is larger or smaller, according to the extent of shoal water 
which has been agitated together with the bottom on which it 
rested. 

The most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the per- 
manent 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 founds beds of putrid mussel-shells still adhering to the 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 329 

rocks, ten feet above high-water mark: the inhabitants had 
formerly dived at lower-water spring-tides for these shells. 
The elevation of this province is particularly interesting, 
from its having been the theatre of several other violent 
earthquakes, and /from the vast numbers of sea-shells scat- 
tered 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 accompa- 
nied 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 remark- 
able 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 sub- 
terranean connection between these two points. Chiloe, about 
340 miles southward of Concepcion, appears to have been 
shaken more strongly than the intermediate district of Val- 
divia, where the volcano of Villarica was noways affected, 
whilst in the Cordillera in front of Chiloe, two of the vol- 
canos burst -forth at the same instant in violent action. These 
two volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for a 
long time in eruption, and ten months afterwards were 
again influenced by an earthquake at Concepcion. Some 
men, cutting wood near the base of one of these volcanos, 
did not perceive the shock of the 20th, although the whole 
surrounding Province was then trembling; here we have an 
eruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake, 
as would have happened at Concepcion, according to the 
belief of the lower orders, if the volcano at Antuco had not 
been closed by witchcraft. Two years and three-quarters 
afterwards, Valdivia and Chiloe were again shaken, more 
violently than on the 20th, and an island in the Chonos 
Archipelago was permanently elevated more than eight feet. 
It will give a better idea of the scale of these phenomena, if 



330 CHARLES DARWIN 

(as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to have 
taken place at corresponding distances in Europe : — then 
would the land from the North Sea to the Mediterranean 
have been violently shaken, and at the same instant of time a 
large tract of the eastern coast of England would have been 
permanently elevated, together with some outlying islands, — a 
train of volcanos on the coast of Holland would have burst 
forth in action, and an eruption taken place at the bottom of 
the sea, near the northern extremity of Ireland — and lastly, 
the ancient vents of Auvergne, Cantal, and Mont d'Or would 
each have sent up to the sky a dark column of smoke, and 
have long remained in fierce action. Two years and three- 
quarters afterwards, France, from its centre to the English 
Channel, would have been again desolated by an earthquake, 
and an island permanently upraised in the Mediterranean. 

The space, from under which volcanic matter on the 20th 
was actually erupted, is 720 miles in one line, and 400 miles 
in another line at right angles to the first : hence, in all prob- 
ability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of 
nearly double the area of the Black Sea. From the intimate 
and complicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptive 
forces were shown to be connected during this train of phe- 
nomena, we may confidently come to the conclusion, that the 
forces which slowly and by little starts uplift continents, and 
those which at successive periods pour forth volcanic matter 
from open orifices, are identical. From many reasons, I 
believe that the frequent quakings of the earth on this line 
of coast are caused by the rending of the strata, necessarily 
consequent on the tension of the land when upraised, and 
their injection by fluidified rock. This rending and injection 
would, if repeated often enough (and we know that earth- 
quakes 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 forma- 
tion from a volcanic hill, only in the molten stone having 
been repeatedly injected, instead of having been repeatedly 
ejected. Moreover, I believe that it is impossible to explain 
the structure of great mountain-chains, such as that of the 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 331 

Cordillera, where the strata, capping the injected axis of 
plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along several 
parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on this 
view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected, 
after intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or 
wedges to cool and become solid; — for if the strata had been 
thrown into their present highly inclined, vertical, and even 
inverted positions, by a single blow, the very bowels of the 
earth would have gushed out; and instead of beholding abrupt 
mountain-axes of rock solidified under great pressure, deluges 
of lava would have flowed out at innumerable points on every 
line of elevation. 2 

3 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 
Cordillera — Effect of Snow on Rocks — Geological Structure of the 
two main Ranges, their distinct Origin and Upheaval — Great Sub- 
sidence — 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. 

T\ /fr^RCH 7th> I $35' — We stayed three days at Concep- 
Iwm c * on > an d then sailed for Valparaiso. The wind 
being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the 
harbour of Concepcion before it was dark. Being very near 
the land, and a fog coming on, the anchor was dropped. 
Presently a large American whaler appeared alongside of us ; 
and we heard the Yankee swearing at his men to keep quiet, 
whilst he listened for the breakers. Captain Fitz Roy hailed 
him, in a loud clear voice, to anchor where he then was. The 
poor man must have thought the voice came from the shore : 
such a Babel of cries issued at once from the ship — every 
one hallooing out, " Let go the anchor ! veer cable ! shorten 
sail ! " It was the most laughable thing I ever heard. If 
the ship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could 
not have been a greater uproar of orders. We afterwards 
found that the mate stuttered: I suppose all hands were 
assisting him in giving his orders. 

On the 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 situated some 

332 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 333 

way to the north; the other, called the Portillo, is to the 
south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous. 

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 
examined. The frontier of Chile is better guarded by the 
Cordillera, than by the waters of the sea. There are very 
few valleys which lead to the central ranges, and the 
mountains are quite impassable in other parts by beasts of 
burden. The custom-house officers were very civil, which 
was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the President 
of the Republic had given me; but I must express my admira- 
tion 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. Car- 
rying an iron pot, we cooked and ate our supper under a 
cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. My companions were 
Mariano Gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me in 
Chile, and an " arriero," with his ten mules and a " madrina." 
The madrina (or godmother) is a most important personage: 



334 CHARLES DARWIN 

she is an old steady mare, with a little bell round her neck; 
and wherever she goes, the mules, like good children, follow 
her. The affection of these animals for their madrinas saves 
infinite trouble. If several large troops are turned into one 
field to graze, in the morning the muleteers have only to lead 
the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle their bells; although 
there may be two or three hundred together, each mule im- 
mediately 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 indi- 
vidual 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 indi- 
cate 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 ipth. — We rode during this day to the last, and 
therefore most elevated, house in the valley. The number of 
inhabitants became scanty; but wherever water could be 
brought on the land, it was very fertile. All the main valleys 
in the Cordillera are characterized 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 335 

they are easily cultivated by irrigation. They may be traced 
up to a height of between 7000 and 9000 feet, where they 
become hidden by the irregular piles of debris. At the lower 
end or mouths of the valleys, they are continuously united to 
those land-locked plains (also formed of shingle) at the foot 
of the main Cordillera, which I have described in a former 
chapter as characteristic of the scenery of Chile, and which 
were undoubtedly deposited when the sea penetrated Chile, as 
it now does the more southern coasts. No one fact in the 
geology of South America, interested me more than these 
terraces of rudely-stratified shingle. They precisely resemble 
in composition the matter which the torrents in each valley 
would deposit, if they were checked in their course by any 
cause, such as entering a lake or arm of the sea; but the 
torrents, instead of depositing matter, are now steadily at 
work wearing away both the solid rock and these alluvial 
deposits, along the whole line of every main valley and side 
valley. It is impossible here to give the reasons, but I am 
convinced that the shingle terraces were accumulated, during 
the gradual elevation of the Cordillera, by the torrents 
delivering, at successive levels, their detritus on the beach- 
heads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high up the val- 
leys, 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 rat- 
tling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole 
course of the torrent. The sound spoke eloquently to the 



336 CHARLES DARWIN 

geologist; the thousands and thousands of stones, which, 
striking against each other, made the one dull uniform sound, 
were all hurrying in one direction. It was like thinking on 
time, where the minute that now glides past is irrevocable. 
So was it with these stones; the ocean is their eternity, and 
each note of that wild music told of one more step towards 
their destiny. 

It is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by 
a slow process, any effect which is produced by a cause re- 
peated 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 incline j. to exclaim that causes, 
such as the present rivers and the present beaches, could 
never have ground down and produced such masses. But, on 
the other hand, when listening to the rattling noise of these 
torrents, and calling to mind that whole races of animals have 
passed away from the face of the earth, and that during this 
whole period, night and day, these stones have gone rattling 
onwards in their course, I have thought to myself, can any 
mountains, any continent, withstand such waste? 

In this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were 
from 3000 to 6000 or 8000 feet high, with rounded outlines 
and steep bare flanks. The general colour of the rock was 
dullish purple, and the stratification very distinct. If the 
scenery was not beautiful, it was remarkable and grand. We 
met during the day several herds of cattle, which men were 
driving down from the higher valleys in the Cordillera. This 
sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps, more than 
was convenient for 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 extraordi- 
nary 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, under- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 337 

stands something 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 
picked it up, and found it full of pure silver: the vein oc- 
curred 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 exception of a few pretty alpine flowers, became exceed- 
ingly 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 pic- 
turesque 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 extraor- 
dinary manner into small angular fragments. Scoresby 1 

1 Scoresby's Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 122. 



338 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 frag- 
ments of stone on the surface, were perhaps less effectually 
removed by slowly percolating snow-water 2 than by rain, and 
therefore that the 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 Cordil- 
lera is very great. Occasionally in the spring, great masses 
of this detritus slide down the mountains, and cover the 
snow-drifts in the valleys, thus forming natural ice-houses. 
We rode over one, the height of which was far below the 
limit of perpetual snow. 

As the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular 
basin-like plain, called the Valle del Yeso. It was covered 
by a little dry pasture, and we had the pleasant sight of a 
herd of cattle amidst the surrounding rocky deserts. The 
valley takes its name of Yeso from a great bed, I should think 
at least 2000 feet thick, of white, and in some parts quite 
pure, gypsum. We slept with a party of men, who were 
employed in loading mules with this substance, which is used 
in the manufacture of wine. We set out early in the morning 
(21st), and continued to follow the course of the river, which 
had become very small, till we arrived at the foot of the ridge, 
that separates the waters flowing into the Pacific and Atlantic 
Oceans. The road, which as yet had been good with a steady 
but very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag 
track up the great range, dividing the republics of Chile 
and Mendoza. 

I will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the 
several parallel lines forming the Cordillera. Of these lines, 
there are two considerably higher than the others; namely, 
on the Chilian side, the Peuquenes ridge, which, where the 
road crosses it, is 13,210 feet above the sea; and the Portillo 

3 I have heard it remarked in Shropshire that the water, when the Severn 
is flooded from long-continued rain, is much more turbid than when it 
proceeds from the snow melting in the Welsh mountains. D'Orbigny (torn. 
1. 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 339 

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 
submarine lavas, alternating with angular and rounded frag- 
ments of the same rocks, thrown out of the submarine craters. 
These alternating masses are covered in the central parts, 
by a great thickness of red sandstone, conglomerate, and cal- 
careous clay-slate, associated with, and passing into, pro- 
digious beds of gypsum. In these upper beds shells are toler- 
ably frequent; and they belong to about the period of the 
lower chalk of Europe. It is an old story, but not the less 
wonderful, to hear of shells which were once crawling on the 
bottom of the sea, now standing nearly 14,000 feet above its 
level. The lower beds in this great pile of strata, have been 
dislocated, baked, 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 peb- 
bles, derived from the rocks, with their fossil shells, of the 
Peuquenes range; and partly of red potash-granite, like that 
of the Portillo. Hence we must conclude, that both the Peu- 
quenes and Portillo ranges were partially upheaved and ex- 
posed to wear and tear, when the conglomerate was forming ; 
but as the beds of the conglomerate have been thrown off at 
an angle of 45 by the red Portillo granite (with the under- 
lying 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 accumula- 
tion of the conglomerate, and long after the elevation of the 
Peuquenes ridge. So that the Portillo, the loftiest line in this 
part of the Cordillera, is not so old as the less lofty line of 



340 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 gran- 
ite seems to have been injected on an ancient pre-existing line 
of white granite and mica-slate. In most parts, perhaps in 
all parts, of the Cordillera, it may be concluded that each line 
has been formed by repeated upheavals and injections; and 
that the several parallel lines are of different ages. Only 
thus can we gain time, at all sufficient to explain the truly 
astonishing amount of denudation, which these great, though 
comparatively with most other ranges recent, mountains have 
suffered. 

Finally, the shells in the Peuquenes or oldest ridge, prove, 
as before remarked, that it has been upraised 14,000 feet 
since a Secondary period, which in Europe we are accus- 
tomed to consider as far from ancient; but since these shells 
lived in a moderately deep sea, it can be shown that the area 
now occupied by the Cordillera, must have subsided several 
thousand feet — in northern Chile as much as 6000 feet — so 
as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata to have 
been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. The proof 
is the same with that by which it was shown, that at a much 
later period, since the tertiary shells of Patagonia lived, 
there must have been there a subsidence of several hundred 
feet, as well as an ensuing elevation. Daily it is forced home 
on the mind of the geologist, that nothing, not even the wind 
that blows, is so unstable as the level of the crust of this 
earth. 

I will make only one other geological remark : although 
the Portillo chain is here higher than the Peuquenes, the 
waters draining the intermediate valleys, have burst through 
it. The same fact, on a grander scale, has been remarked in 
the eastern and loftiest line of the Bolivian Cordillera, 
through which the rivers pass: analogous facts have also 
been observed in other quarters of the world. On the sup- 
position of the subsequent and gradual elevation of the Por- 
tillo line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets would 
at first appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides would be 
always wearing deeper and broader channels between them. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 341 

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 breath- 
ing from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the Chilenos 
" puna ;" and they have most ridiculous notions concerning 
its origin. Some say " all the waters here have puna ;" others 
that " where there is snow there is puna ;" — and this no 
doubt is true. The only sensation I experienced was a slight 
tightness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving 
a warm room and running quickly in frosty weather. There 
was some imagination even in this ; for upon finding fossil 
shells on the highest ridge, I entirely forgot the puna in my 
delight. Certainly the exertion of walking was extremely 
great, and the respiration became deep and laborious : I am 
told that in Potosi (about 13,000 feet above the sea) strangers 
do not become thoroughly accustomed to the atmosphere for 
an entire year. The inhabitants all recommend onions for 
the puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in 
Europe for pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real 
service: — for my part I found nothing so good as the fossil 
shells ! 

When about half-way up we met a large party with sev- 
enty loaded mules. It was interesting to hear the wild cries 
of the muleteers, and to watch the long descending string 
of the animals; they appeared so diminutive, there being 
nothing but the black mountains with which they could be 
compared. When near the summit, the wind, as generally 
happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. On each side of 
the ridge, we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual 
snow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. 
When we reached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious 
view was presented. The atmosphere resplendently clear; 



342 CHARLES DARWIN 

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, dis- 
tracted 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 observ- 
ing the footsteps of the mules stained a pale red, as if their 
hoofs had been slightly bloody. I at first thought that it was 
owing to dust blown from the surrounding mountains of red 
porphyry; for from the magnifying power of the crystals 
of snow, the groups of these microscopical plants appeared 
like coarse particles. The snow was coloured only where it 
had thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed. 
A little rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled 
with a little brick-red. I afterwards scraped some off the 
paper, and found that it consisted of groups of little spheres 
in colourless cases, each 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 observa- 
tions 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 south- 
erly a direction as it does ; but when we reflect that the Cor- 
dillera, 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 north- 
ward, following the line of mountains, towards the equatorial 

3 Dr. Gillies in Journ. of Nat. and Geograph. Science, Aug., 1830. This 
author gives the heights of the Passes. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 343 

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 irregu- 
lar in its movements. 

Having crossed the Peuquenes, we descended into a moun- 
tainous 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 exceed- 
ingly 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 subsequent escape great, to 
any one overtaken by bad weather between the two ranges. 
A certain cave offers the only place of refuge: Mr. Cald- 
cleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was 
detained there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. Casu- 
chas, 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 tem- 
perature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being 
the converse of that of a Papin's digester. Hence the pota- 
toes, 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 



344 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 moun- 
tains 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, simi- 
lar to that of the Peuquenes. Bold conical hills of red 
granite rose on each hand ; in the valleys there were several 
broad fields of perpetual snow. These frozen masses, during 
the process of thawing, had in some parts been converted 
into pinnacles or columns, 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 stick- 
ing as on a pedestal, but with its hind legs straight up in 
the air. The animal, I suppose, must have fallen with its 
head downward into a hole, when the snow was continuous, 
and afterwards the surrounding parts must have been 
removed by the thaw. 

When nearly on the crest of the Portillo, we were envel- 
oped 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 

4 This structure in frozen snow was long since observed by Scoresby in 
the icebergs near Spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by Colonel 
Jackson (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 345 

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 sud- 
denly cleared away, and the effect was quite magical. The 
great mountains, bright with the full moon, seemed impend- 
ing over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice : one morn- 
ing, 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 atmos- 
phere, was very remarkable. Travelers having observed 
the difficulty of judging heights and distances amidst lofty 
mountains, have generally attributed it to the absence of 
objects of comparison. It appears to me, that it is fully as 
much owing to the transparency of the air confounding 
objects at different distances, and likewise partly to the 
novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a little 
exertion, — habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the 
senses. I am sure that this extreme clearness of the air 
gives a peculiar character to the landscape, all objects 
appearing to be brought nearly into one plane, as in a draw- 
ing or panorama. The transparency is, I presume, owing to 
the equable and high state of atmospheric dryness. This 
dryness was shown by the manner in which woodwork 
shrank (as I soon found by the trouble my geological ham- 
mer gave me) ; by articles of food, such as bread and sugar, 
becoming extremely hard; and by the preservation of the 
skin and parts of the flesh of the beasts, which had perished 
on the road. To the same cause we must attribute the singu- 
lar 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 Cor- 
dillera 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 



346 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 elevation, I suppose, was between seven and eight 
thousand feet. 

I was much struck with the marked difference between 
the vegetation of these eastern valleys and those on the 
Chilian side: yet the climate, as well as the kind of soil, is 
nearly the same, and the difference of longitude very trifling. 
The same remark holds good with the quadrupeds, and in 
a lesser degree with the birds and insects. I may instance the 
mice, of which I obtained thirteen species on the shores of 
the Atlantic, and five on the Pacific, and not one of them 
is identical. We must except all those species, which habitu- 
ally or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and cer- 
tain birds, which range as far south as the Strait of Magel- 
lan. This fact is in perfect accordance with the geological 
history of the Andes; for these mountains have existed as 
a great barrier since the present races of animals have 
appeared; and therefore, unless we suppose the same species 
to have been created in two different places, we ought not to 
expect any closer similarity between the organic beings on 
the opposite sides of the Andes than on the opposite shores 
of the ocean. In both cases, we must leave out of the ques- 
tion those kinds which have been able to cross the barrier, 
whether of solid rock or salt-water. 5 

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 arma- 
dillo, the ostrich, certain kinds of partridges and other birds, 
none of which are ever seen in Chile, but are the character- 
istic animals of the desert plains of Patagonia. We have 
likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a person who is 

5 This is merely an illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down 
by Mr. Lyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced 
by geological changes. The whole reasoning, of course, is founded on the 
assumption of the immutability of species; otherwise the difference in the 
species in the two regions might be considered as superinduced during a 
length of time. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 347 

not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered grass, and 
dwarf plants. Even the black slowly crawling beetles are 
closely similar, and some, I believe, on rigorous examination, 
absolutely identical. It had always been to me a subject of 
regret, that we were unavoidably compelled to give up the 
ascent of the S. Cruz river before reaching the mountains: 
I always had a latent hope of meeting with some great 
change in the features of the country; but I now feel sure, 
that it would only have been following the plains of Pata- 
gonia up a mountainous ascent. 

March 24th. — Early in the morning I climbed up a moun- 
tain 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 pass- 
ports. One of these men was a thoroughbred Pampas 
Indian: he was kept much for the same purpose as a blood- 
hound, to track out any person who might pass by secretly, 
either on foot or horseback. Some years ago, a passenger 
endeavoured to escape detection, by making a long circuit 
over a neighbouring mountain; but this Indian, having by 
chance crossed his track, followed it for the whole day over 
dry and very stony hills, till at last he came on his prey 
hidden in a gully. We here heard that the silvery clouds, 
which we had admired from the bright region above, had 
poured down torrents of rain. The valley from this point 
gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn 
hillocks compared to the giants behind: it then expanded 
into a gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees 
and bushes. This talus, although appearing narrow, must be 
nearly ten miles wide before it blends into the apparently 
dead level Pampas. We passed the only house in this neigh- 
bourhood, the Estancia of Chaquaio ; and at sunset we pulled 
up in the first snug corner, and there bivouacked. 



348 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 circumstance which we did not experience within 
the Cordillera. The road proceeded for some distance due 
east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry plain, it 
turned to the north towards Mendoza. The distance is two 
very long days' journey. Our first day's journey was called 
fourteen leagues to Estacado, and the second seventeen to 
Luxan, near Mendoza. The whole distance is over a level 
desert plain, with not more than two or three houses. The 
sun was exceedingly powerful, and the ride devoid of all 
interest. There is very little water in this " traversia," and 
in our second day's journey we found only one little pool. 
Little water flows from the mountains, and it soon becomes 
absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that, although we 
travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from 
the outer range of the Cordillera, we did not cross a single 
stream. In many parts the ground was incrusted with a 
saline efflorescence; hence we had the same salt-loving 
plants which are common near Bahia Blanca. The land- 
scape has a uniform character from the Strait of Magellan, 
along the whole eastern coast of Patagonia, to the Rio Colo- 
rado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends 
inland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as San Luis, 
and perhaps even 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 Men- 
doza and Patagonia consist of a bed of shingle, worn smooth 
and accumulated by the waves of the sea ; while the Pampas, 
covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been formed by 
the ancient estuary mud of the Plata. 

After our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to 
see in the distance the rows of poplars and willows growing 
round the village and river of Luxan. Shortly before we 
arrived at this place, we observed to the south a ragged cloud 
of dark reddish-brown colour. At first we thought that it 
was smoke from some great fire on the plains; but we soon 
found that it was a swarm of locusts. They were flying 
northward; and with the aid of a light breeze, they overtook 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 349 

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 mezzo- 
tinto engraving, but the main body was impervious to sight; 
they were not, however, so thick together, but that they 
could escape a stick waved backwards and forwards. When 
they alighted, they were more numerous than the leaves in 
the field, and the surface became reddish instead of being 
green : the swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew 
from side to side in all directions. Locusts are not an un- 
common pest in this country : already during the season, sev- 
eral 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 light- 
ing fires, by shouts, and by waving branches to avert the 
attack. This species of locust closely resembles, and perhaps 
is identical with, the famous Gryllus migratorius of the East. 
We crossed the Luxan, which is a river of considerable 
size, though its course towards the sea-coast is very imper- 
fectly 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 gar- 
dens, and forms the most southern cultivated district in the 
Province of Mendoza; it is five leagues south of the capital. 
At night I experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a 
name) of the Benchuca, a species of Reduvius, the great 
black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft 
wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's 
body. Before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards 
they become round and bloated with blood, and in this state 
are easily crushed. One which I caught at Iquique, (for they 
are found in Chile and Peru,) was very empty. When placed 
on a table, and though surrounded by people, if a finger was 
presented, the bold insect would immediately protrude its 
sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. No pain 
was caused by the wound. It was curious to watch its body 



350 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 27th. — We rode on to Mendoza. The country was 
beautifully cultivated, and resembled Chile. This neighbour- 
hood is celebrated for its fruit; and certainly nothing could 
appear more flourishing than the vineyards and the orchards 
of figs, peaches, and olives. We bought water-melons nearly 
twice as large as a man's head, most deliciously cool and 
well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and for the value of 
threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. The culti- 
vated 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 fer- 
tility entirely to artificial irrigation ; and it is really wonder- 
ful to observe how extraordinarily productive a barren 
traversia is thus rendered. 

We stayed the ensuing day in Mendoza. The prosperity 
of the place has much declined of late years. The inhabit- 
ants say " it is good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in." 
The lower orders have the lounging, reckless manners of the 
Gauchos of the Pampas; and their dress, riding-gear, and 
habits of life, are nearly the same. To my mind the town 
had a stupid, forlorn aspect. Neither the boasted alameda, 
nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of Santiago; 
but to those who, coming from Buenos Ayres, have just 
crossed the unvaried Pampas, the gardens and orchards must 
appear delightful. Sir F. Head, speaking of the inhabitants, 
says, " They eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go 
to sleep — and could they do better ? " I quite agree with 
Sir F. Head: the happy doom of the Mendozinos is to eat, 
sleep and be idle. 

March 2pth. — 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 num- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 351 

berless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable spines, and called 
by the inhabitants " little lions." There were, also, a few 
low bushes. Although the plain is nearly three thousand feet 
above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat, as 
well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling 
extremely irksome. Our course during the day lay nearly 
parallel to the Cordillera, but gradually approaching them. 
Before sunset we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather 
bays, which open on the plain: this soon narrowed into a 
ravine, where a little higher up the house of Villa Vicencio 
is situated. As we had ridden all day without a drop of 
water, both our mules and selves were very thirsty, and we 
looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down this 
valley. It was curious to observe how gradually the water 
made its appearance : on the plain the course was quite dry ; 
by degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water 
appeared ; these soon became connected ; and at Villa Vicen- 
cio there was a nice little rivulet. 

20th. — 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 neigh- 
bouring 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 nar- 
row plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in Chile, 
but higher, being six thousand feet above the sea. This 
range has nearly the same geographical position with respect 
to the Cordillera, which the gigantic Portillo line has, but it 
is of a totally different origin: it consists of various kinds of 
submarine lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and 
other remarkable sedimentary deposits; the whole having a 
very close resemblance to some of the tertiary beds on the 
shores of the Pacific. From this resemblance I expected to 
find silicified wood, which is generally characteristic of those 
formations. I was gratified in a very extraordinary manner. 
In the central part of the range, at an elevation of about 
seven thousand feet, I observed on a bare slope some snow- 
white projecting columns. These were petrified trees, eleven 
being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into 
coarsely-crystallized white calcareous spar. They were ab- 



352 CHARLES DARWIN 

rnptly broken off, the upright stumps projecting a few feet 
above the ground. The trunks measured from three to five 
feet each in circumference. They stood a little way apart 
from each other, but the whole formed one group. Mr. Rob- 
ert Brown has been kind enough to examine the wood: he 
says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking of the character 
of the Araucarian family, but with some curious points of 
affinity with the yew. The volcanic sandstone in which the 
trees were embedded, and from the lower part of which they 
must have sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers 
around their trunks; and the stone yet retained the impres- 
sion of the bark. 

It required little geological practice to interpret the mar- 
vellous 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 in- 
tersected 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 can- 
not adhere to the stony casts of former trees. Vast, and 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 353 

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. 

April ist. — We crossed the Upsallata range, and at night 
slept at the custom-house — the. only inhabited spot on the 
plain. Shortly before leaving the mountains, there was a 
very extraordinary view; red, purple, green, and quite white 
sedimentary rocks, alternating with black lavas, were broken 
up and thrown into all kinds of disorder by masses of por- 
phyry 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 rivu- 
let 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 differ- 
ence in their volume. In the evening the stream is muddy 
and full, but about daybreak it becomes clearer, and much 
less impetuous. This we found to be the case with the Rio 
Vacas, and in the morning we crossed it with little difficulty. 

The scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared 
with that of the Portillo pass. Little can be seen beyond the 
bare walls of the one grand flat-bottomed valley, which the 
road follows up to the highest crest. The valley and 
the huge rocky mountains are extremely barren: during the 
two previous nights the poor mules had absolutely nothing 
to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes, scarcely a 
plant can be seen. In the course of this day we crossed some 
of the worst passes in the Cordillera, but their danger has 
been much exaggerated. I was told that if I attempted to 
pass on foot,, my head would turn giddy, and that there was 
no room to dismount; but I did not see a place where any 

VOL. XX IX — L HC 



354 CHARLES DARWIN 

one might not have walked over backwards, or got off his 
mule on either side. One of the bad passes, called las 
Animas (the souls), I had crossed, and did not find out 
till a day afterwards, that it was one of the awful dangers. 
No doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should 
stumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; 
but of this there is little chance. I 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 pro- 
ject so far, that the animals, occasionally running against 
each other, or against a point of rock, lose their balance, and 
are thrown down the precipices. In crossing the rivers 
I can well believe that the difficulty may be very great: at 
this season there was little trouble, but in the summer they 
must be very hazardous. I can quite imagine, as Sir F. 
Head describes, the different expressions of those who have 
passed the gulf, and those who are passing. I never heard 
of any man being drowned, but with loaded mules it fre- 
quently 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 4th. — 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 to- 
gether 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. 

5th. — We had a long day's ride across the central ridge, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 355 

from the Incas Bridge to the Ojos del Agua, which are situ- 
ated 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 ac- 
count of the snow-drifts. They are eight in number, and 
under the Spanish government were kept during the winter 
well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had a 
master-key. Now they only answer the purpose of caves, or 
rather dungeons. Seated on some little eminence, they are 
not, however, ill suited to the surrounding scene of desola- 
tion. 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 exceedingly cold, 
but it was impossible not to stop for a few minutes to ad- 
mire, 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 be- 
fore 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 east- 
ern valleys; but I cannot quite agree with the admiration 
expressed by some travellers. The extreme pleasure, I sus- 
pect, is chiefly owing to the prospect of a good fire and of a 



356 CHARLES DARWIN 

good supper, after escaping from the cold regions above : and 
I am sure I most heartily participated 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 delight- 
ful: 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 cot- 
tages, v/hile others were gathering the grapes from the vine- 
yards. It was a pretty scene ; but I missed that pensive still- 
ness which makes the autumn in England indeed the evening 
of the year. On the ioth we reached Santiago, where I re- 
ceived a very kind and hospitable reception from Mr. Cald- 
cleugh. 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. Cor field's house at 
Valparaiso. 



CHAPTER XVI 
Northern Chile and Peru 

Coast-road to Coquimbo — Great Loads carried by the Miners — Co- 
quimbo — 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 — 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. 

APRIL 27th. — I set out on a journey to Coquimbo, and 
jL-M thence through Guasco to Copiapo, where Captain 
Fitz Roy kindly offered to pick me up in the Beagle. 
The distance in a straight line along the shore northward is 
only 420 miles; but my mode of travelling made it a very 
long journey. L 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 Li- 
mache, 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 un- 
certain, they are unthrifty in all their habits, and con- 
sequently poor. 

357 



358 CHARLES DARWIN 

28th. — In the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the 
foot of the Bell mountain. The inhabitants were freehold- 
ers, which is not very usual in Chile. They supported them- 
selves on the produce of a garden and a little field, but were 
very poor. Capital is here so deficient, that the people are 
obliged to sell their green corn while standing in the field, 
in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year. Wheat in 
consequence was dearer in the very district of its production 
than at Valparaiso, where the contractors live. The next 
day we joined the main road to Coquimbo. At night there 
was a very light shower of rain : this was the first drop that 
had fallen since the heavy rain of September 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 glo- 
rious 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 of the country, on a small scale, 
was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt little peaks of 
rock rising out of small plains or basins. The indented coast 
and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with break- 
ers, 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. 

3rd. — Quilimari to Conchalee. The country became more 
and more barren. In the valleys there was scarcely sufficient 
water for any irrigation; and the intermediate land was 
quite bare, not supporting even goats. In the spring, after 
the winter showers, a thin pasture rapidly springs up, and 
cattle are then driven down from the Cordillera to graze 
for a short time. It is curious to observe how the seeds of 
the grass and other plants seem to accommodate themselves, 
as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain which 
falls upon different parts of this coast. One shower far 
northward at Copiapo produces as great an effect on the 
vegetation, as two at Guasco, and three or four in this 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 359 

district. At Valparaiso a winter so dry as greatly to injure 
the pasture, would at Guasco produce the most unusual 
abundance. Proceeding northward, the quantity of rain does 
not appear to decrease in strict proportion to the latitude. 
At Conchalee, which is only 67 miles north of Valparaiso, 
rain is not expected till the end of May; whereas at Val- 
paraiso some generally falls early in April : the annual quan- 
tity 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 moun- 
tains. 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 contrive to squander it. They drink excessively, 
buy quantities of clothes, and in a few days return penniless 
to their miserable abodes, there to work harder than beasts 
of burden. This thoughtlessness, as with sailors, is evidently 
the result of a similar manner of life. Their daily food is 
found them, and they acquire no habits of carefulness: 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 sys- 
tem of selling part of the vein is followed, the miners, from 
being obliged to act and think for themselves, are a singu- 
larly 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-col- 
oured baize, with a leathern apron ; the whole being fastened 



360 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 sup- 
porting the corpse. One set having run as hard as they 
could for about two hundred yards, were relieved by four 
others, who had previously dashed on ahead on horseback. 
Thus they proceeded, encouraging each other by wild cries: 
altogether the scene formed a most strange funeral. 

We continued travelling northward, in a zigzag line; 
sometimes stopping a day to 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/. 
8s.). The ore is yellow pyrites, which, as I have already re- 
marked, 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 im- 
mense 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 VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 361 

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 con- 
siderable 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 car- 
ried this up eighty perpendicular yards, — part of the way by 
a steep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed 
in a zigzag line up the shaft. According to the general 
regulation, the apire is not allowed to halt for breath, ex- 
cept 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 break- 
ing and picking ore. 

These men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and ap- 
pear 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 per- 
spiration streaming from their faces over their breasts, their 
nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn 
back, and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. 
Each time they draw their breath, they utter an articulate 
cry of " ay-ay," which ends in a sound rising from deep in 
the chest, but shrill like the note of a fife. After staggering 
to the pile of ore, they emptied the " carpacho ; " in two or 
three seconds recovering their breath, they wiped the sweat 
from their brows, and apparently quite fresh descended the 
mine again at a quick pace. This appears to me a wonderful 
instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it can be 
nothing else, will enable a man to endure. 

In the evening, talking with the mayor-domo of these 



362 CHARLES DARWIN 

mines about the number of foreigners now scattered over 
the whole country, he told me that, though quite a young 
man, he remembers when he was a boy at school at 
Coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the captain of an 
English ship, who was brought to the city to speak to the 
governor. He believes that nothing would have induced 
any boy in the school, himself included, to have gone close 
to the Englishman; so deeply had they been impressed with 
an idea of the heresy, contamination, and evil to be derived 
from contact with such a person. To this day they relate 
the atrocious actions of the bucaniers; «nd especially of 
one man, who took away the figure of the Virgin Mary, and 
returned the year after for that of St. Joseph, saying it 
was a pity the lady should not have a husband. I heard 
also of an old lady who, at a dinner at Coquimbo, remarked 
how wonderfully strange it was that she should have lived 
to dine in the same room with an Englishman; for she 
remembered as a girl, that twice, at the mere cry of " Los 
Ingleses," every soul, carrying what valuables they could, 
had taken to the mountains. 

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 moisture. Twelve hours afterwards the ground 
appeared as dry as ever; yet after an interval of ten days, 
all the hills were faintly tinged with green patches; the 
grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres a full 
inch in length. Before this shower every part of the sur- 
face 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 happened. I heard the forecoming rumble, but 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 363 

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 after- 
wards 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 per- 
son 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, a? owing to his having 
done so, he had nearly lost his life at Copiapo. Accordingly 
he opened the door ; and no sooner had he done this, than he 
cried out, " Here it comes again ! " and the famous shock 
commenced. The whole party escaped. The danger in an 
earthquake is not from the time lost in opening the door, but 
from the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement 
of the walls. 

It is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which 
natives and old residents, though some of them known to 
be men of great command of mind, so generally experience 
during earthquakes. I think, however, this excess of panic 
may be partly attributed to a want of habit in governing 
their fear, as it is not a feeling they are ashamed of. In- 
deed, the natives do not like to see a person indifferent. I 
heard of two Englishmen who, sleeping in the open air during 
a smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not 
rise. The natives cried out indignantly, " Look at those 
heretics, they do not even get out of their beds! " 

I spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces 
of shingle, first noticed by Captain B. Hall, and believed 
by Mr. Lyell to have been formed by the sea, during the 
gradual rising of the land. This certainly is the true 
explanation, for I found numerous shells of existing species 
on these terraces. Five narrow, gently sloping, fringe-like 
terraces rise one behind the other, and where best developed 
are formed of shingle : they front the bay, and sweep up both 
sides of the valley. At Guasco, north of Coquimbo, the phe- 



364 CHARLES DARWIN 

nomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to 
strike with surprise even some of the inhabitants. The ter- 
races are there much broader, and may be called plains; in 
some parts there are six of them, but generally only five; 
they run up the valley for thirty-seven miles from the coast. 
These step-formed terraces or fringes closely resemble those 
in the valley of S. Cruz, and, except in being on a smaller 
scale, those great ones along the whole coast-line of Pata- 
gonia. They have undoubtedly been formed by the denud- 
ing power of the sea, during long periods of rest in the 
gradual elevation of the continent. 

Shells of many existing species not only lie on the sur- 
face of the terraces at Coquimbo (to a height of 250 feet), 
but are embedded in a friable calcareous rock, which in some 
places is as much as between twenty and thirty feet in thick- 
ness, 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 conti- 
nent, I found no regular strata containing sea-shells of 
recent species, excepting at this place, and at a few points 
northward on the road to Guasco. This fact appears to me 
highly remarkable; for the explanation generally given by 
geologists, of the absence in any district of stratified fossil- 
iferous 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 explana- 
tion, 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 365 

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 intermediate between it and the 
ancient tertiary epoch, have been preserved on either side of 
the continent, yet that at this ancient tertiary epoch, sedi- 
mentary matter containing fossil remains, should have been 
deposited and preserved at different points in north and 
south lines, over a space of noo miles on the shores of the 
Pacific, and of at least 1350 miles on the shores of the Atlan- 
tic, and in an east and west line of 700 miles across the 
widest part of the continent? I believe the explanation is 
not difficult, and that it is perhaps applicable to nearly analo- 
gous facts observed in other quarters of the world. Consid- 
ering the enormous power of denudation which the sea 
possesses, as shown by numberless facts, it is not probable 
that a sedimentary deposit, when being upraised, could pass 
through the ordeal of the beach, so as to be preserved in 
sufficient masses to last to a distant period, without it were 
originally of wide extent and of considerable thickness : now 
it is impossible on a moderately shallow bottom, which 
alone is favourable to most living creatures, that a thick 
and widely extended covering of sediment could be spread 
out, without the bottom sank down to receive the successive 
layers. This seems to have actually taken place at about 
the same period in southern Patagonia and Chile, though 
these places are a thousand miles apart. Hence, if pro- 
longed movements of approximately contemporaneous sub- 
sidence 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 



CHARLES DARWIN 

America, the subsiding movements have been coextensive 
with those of elevation, by which, within the same period 
of existing shells, the shores of Peru, Chile, Tierra del 
Fuego, Patagonia, and La Plata have been upraised — then 
we can see that at the same time, at far distant points, cir- 
cumstances would have been favourable to the formation of 
fossiliferous deposits of wide extent and of considerable 
thickness; and such deposits, consequently, would have a 
good chance of resisting the wear and tear of successive 
beach-lines, and of lasting to a future epoch. 

May 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 thou- 
sand feet: it can scarcely be the trifling diminution of tem- 
perature, but some other cause which destroys these 
troublesome insects at this place. The mines are now in a 
bad state, though they formerly yielded about 2000 pounds 
in weight of silver a year. It has been said that " a person 
with a copper-mine will gain ; with silver he may gain ; but 
with gold he is sure to lose." This is not true: all the large 
Chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more 
precious metals. A short time since an English physician 
returned to England from 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 gambling, or rather 
taking a ticket in a lottery. The owners lose great quan- 
tities 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 use- 
less 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 367 

" 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 Co- 
quimbo, and followed it till we reached an Hacienda belong- 
ing 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 culti- 
vated, 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 cul- 
tivated to a great extent. This valley is, perhaps, the most 
productive one north of Quillota. I believe it contains, 
including Coquimbo, 25,000 inhabitants. The next day I 
returned to the Hacienda, and thence, together with Don 
Jose, to Coquimbo. 

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 atmosphere. 

June 3rd. — Yerba Buena to Carizal. During the first part 
of the day we crossed a mountainous rocky desert, and after- 



368 CHARLES DARWIN 

wards 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 un- 
inhabited desert. I saw traces only of one living animal in 
abundance, namely, the shells of a Bulimus, which were 
collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest 
spots. In the spring one humble little plant sends out a few 
leaves, and on these the snails feed. As they are seen only 
very early in the morning, when the ground is slightly damp 
with dew, the 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 cot- 
tages, 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, super- 
intendent 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 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 re- 
placed by a different and much smaller species. During the 
winter months, both in northern Chile and in Peru, a uniform 
bank of clouds hangs, at no great height, over the Pacific. 
From the mountains we had a very striking view of this 
white and brilliant aerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, 
leaving islands and promontories in the same manner, as the 
sea does in the Chonos archipelago and in Tierra del Fuego. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 369 

We stayed two days at Freyrina. In the valley of Guasco 
there are four small towns. At the mouth there is the port, a 
spot entirely desert, and without any water in the immediate 
neighbourhood. Five leagues higher up stands Freyrina, a 
long straggling village, with decent whitewashed houses. 
Again, ten leagues further up Ballenar is situated, and above 
this Guasco Alto, a horticultural village, famous for its dried 
fruit. On a clear day the view up the valley is very fine ; the 
straight opening terminates in the far-distant snowy Cordil- 
lera; on each side an infinity of crossing-lines are blended 
together in a beautiful haze. The foreground is singular 
from the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and 
the included strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is 
contrasted on both hands with the naked hills. That the sur- 
rounding 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 narrow strips of ground, which alone are 
fit for cultivation. The floods also injure the irrigating 
ditches. Great devastation had thus been caused three years 
ago. 

June 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 presi- 
dents 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 Pata- 
gonia. After spending one day at Ballenar I set out, on the 
ioth, 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 commonly used, are comparative; I have always applied 



370 CHARLES DARWIN 

them to the plains of Patagonia, which can boast of spiny 
bushes and some tufts of grass ; and this is absolute fertility, 
as compared with northern Chile. Here again, there are not 
many spaces of two hundred yards square, where some little 
bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discovered by careful 
examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready to 
spring up during the first rainy winter. In Peru real deserts 
occur over wide tracts of country. In the evening we 
arrived at a valley, in which the bed of the streamlet was 
damp: following it up, we came to tolerably good water. 
During the night, the stream, from not being evaporated 
and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down than 
during the day. Sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that 
it was a good place to bivouac for us; but for the poor ani- 
mals 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 firewood ; but our horses again had nothing to eat, 
being shut up in an old courtyard. The line of road was 
hilly, and the distant views interesting, from the varied 
colours of the bare mountains. It was almost a pity to see 
the sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such 
splendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty 
gardens. The next day we reached the valley of Copiapo. 
I was heartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a con- 
tinued source of anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, 
whilst eating our own suppers, our horses gnawing the posts 
to which they were tied, and to have no means of relieving 
their hunger. To all appearance, however, the animals 
were quite fresh ; and no one could have told that they had 
eaten nothing for the last fifty-five hours. 

I had a letter of introduction to Mr. Bingley, who received 
me very kindly at the Hacienda of Potrero Seco. This 
estate is between twenty and thirty miles long, but very nar- 
row, being generally only two fields wide, one on each side 
the river. In some parts the estate is of no width, that is 
to say, the land cannot be irrigated, and therefore is value- 
less, like the surrounding rocky desert. The small quantity 
of cultivated land in the whole line of valley, does not so 
much depend on inequalities of level, and consequent unfit- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 371 

ness for irrigation, as on the small supply of water. The 
river this year was remarkably full : here, high up the valley, 
it reached to the horse's belly, and was about fifteen yards 
wide, and rapid; lower down it becomes smaller and smaller, 
and is generally quite lost, as happened during one period 
of thirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea. The 
inhabitants watch a storm over the Cordillera with great 
interest; as one good fall of snow provides them with water 
for the ensuing year. This is of infinitely more consequence 
than rain in the lower country. Rain, as often as it falls, 
which is about once in every two or three years, is a great 
advantage, because the cattle and mules can for some time 
afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains. But with- 
out snow on the Andes, desolation extends throughout the 
valley. It is on record that three times nearly all the inhab- 
itants 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 thriving 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 may both be considered as 
long narrow islands, separated from the rest of Chile by 
deserts of rock instead of by salt water. Northward of 
these, there is one other very miserable valley, called Paposo, 
which contains about two hundred souls; and then there 
extends the real desert of Atacama— a barrier far worse 
than the most turbulent ocean. After staying a few days at 
Potrero Seco, I proceeded up the valley to the house of Don 
Benito Cruz, to whom I had a letter of introduction. I found 
him most hospitable; indeed it is impossible to bear too 



372 CHARLES DARWIN 

strong testimony to the kindness with which travellers are 
received in almost every part of South America. The next 
day I hired some mules to take me by the ravine of Jol- 
quera into the central Cordillera. On the second night the 
weather seemed to foretell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst 
lying in our beds we felt a trifling shock of an earthquake. 

The 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 Anda- 
lusia, or in Lower Peru, to deny that there exists some con- 
nection 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 infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding 
rain, the probability of accidental coincidences becomes very 
small; yet the inhabitants are here most firmly convinced of 
some 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 abundant pasture. Certainly it did so hap- 
pen that on the very day of the earthquake, that shower of 
rain fell, which I have described as in ten days' time pro- 
ducing a thin sprinkling of grass. At other times rain has 
followed earthquakes at a period of the year when it is a 
far greater prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened 
after the shock of November, 1822, and again in 1829, at 
Valparaiso; also after that of September, 1833, at Tacna. 
A person must be somewhat habituated to the climate of 
these countries to perceive the extreme improbability of rain 
falling at such seasons, except as a consequence of some law 

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 between sudden falls in the barometer and 
earthquakes; and between earthquakes and meteors. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 373 

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 eruptions; but I 
can hardly conceive it possible, that the small quantity of 
aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured ground, 
can produce such remarkable effects. There appears much 
probability in the view first proposed by Mr. P. Scrope, that 
when the barometer is low, and when rain might naturally 
be expected to fall, the diminished pressure of the atmos- 
phere 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 fall- 
ing in the dry season during several days, after an earth- 
quake unaccompanied by an eruption; such cases seem to 
bespeak some more intimate connection between the atmos- 
pheric and subterranean regions. 

Finding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we 
retraced our steps to the house of Don Benito, where I stayed 
two days collecting fossil shells and wood. Great prostrate 
silicified trunks of trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were 
extraordinarily numerous. I measured one, which was fif- 
teen feet in circumference: how surprising it is that every 
atom of the woody matter in this great cylinder should have 
been removed and replaced by silex so perfectly, that each 
vessel and pore is preserved ! These trees flourished at about 
the period of our lower chalk; they all belonged to the fir- 
tribe. It was amusing to hear the inhabitants discussing the 
nature of the fossil shells which I collected, almost in the 
same terms as were used a century ago in Europe, — namely, 
whether or not they had been thus " born by nature." My 
geological examination of the country generally created a 
good deal of surprise amongst the Chilenos: it was long 
before they could be convinced that I was not hunting for 



374 CHARLES DARWIN 

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. Una- 
nue 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. Una- 
nue 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 without any cases. On inquiry, 
I did not hear of hydrophobia in Van Diemen's Land, or in 
Australia; and Burchell says, that during the five years he 
was at the Cape of Good Hope, he never heard of an instance 
of it. Webster asserts that at the Azores hydrophobia has 
never occurred; and the same assertion has been made with 
respect to Mauritius and St. Helena. 2 In so strange a disease 

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. — Web- 
ster's Description of the Azores, p. 124. — Voyage a l'Isle de France par un 
Officier du Koi, torn. i. p. 248. — Description of St. Helena, p. 123. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 375 

some information might possibly be gained by considering 
the circumstances under which it originates in distant cli- 
mates ; for it is improbable that a dog already bitten, should 
have been brought to these distant countries. 

At night, a stranger arrived at the house of Don Benito, 
and asked permission to sleep there. He said he had been 
wandering about the mountains for seventeen days, having 
lost his way. He started from Guasco, and being accustomed 
to travelling in the Cordillera, did not expect any difficulty 
in following the track to 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 gar- 
den : but it is an uncomfortable place, and the dwellings are 
poorly furnished. Every one seems bent on the one object 
of making money, and then migrating as quickly as possible. 
All the inhabitants -are more or less directly concerned with 
mines; and mines and ores are the sole subjects of conver- 
sation. Necessaries of all sorts are extremely dear; as the 
distance from the town to the port is eighteen leagues, and 
the land carriage very expensive. A fowl costs five or six 
shillings; meat is nearly as dear as in England; firewood, 
or rather sticks, are brought on donkeys from a distance of 
two and three days' journey within the Cordillera; and pas- 
turage 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 excur- 
sion. As the country was utterly desert, we took a cargo 
and a half of barley mixed with chopped straw. About two 
leagues above the town a broad valley called the " Despo- 
blado," or uninhabited, branches off from that one by which 
we had arrived. Although a valley of the grandest dimen- 



376 CHARLES DARWIN 

sions, 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 moun- 
tains 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 chan- 
nel, as in all the southern valleys, would assuredly have been 
formed. I feel little doubt that this valley, as well as those 
mentioned by travellers in Peru, were left in the state we now 
see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly rose. I 
observed in one place, where the Despoblado was joined by a 
ravine (which in almost any other chain would have been 
called a grand valley), that its bed, though composed merely 
of sand and gravel, was higher than that of its tributary. 
A mere rivulet of water, in the course of an hour, would have 
cut a channel for itself; but it was evident that ages had 
passed away, and no such rivulet had drained this great tribu- 
tary. It was curious to behold the machinery, if such a term 
may be used, for the drainage, all, with the last trifling excep- 
tion, 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 offen- 
sively putrid and bitter ; so that we could not force ourselves 
to drink either tea or mate. I 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 in 
the strictest sense. Yet about half way we passed some old 
Indian ruins near Punta Gorda: I noticed also in front of 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 377 

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 com- 
panions 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 hud- 
dled together in separate groups : some of the doorways were 
yet standing; they were formed by a cross slab of stone only 
about three feet high. Ulloa has remarked on the lowness of 
the doors in the ancient Peruvian dwellings. These houses, 
when perfect, must have been capable of containing a con- 
siderable 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 dis- 
covered in many other parts, where it does not appear proba- 
ble 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 unfre- 
quently discovered: an arrow-head made of agate, and of 
precisely the same form with those now used in Tierra del 
Fuego, was given me. I am aware that the Peruvian Indians 
now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak situations; but 
at Copiapo I was assured by men who had spent their lives in 
travelling through the Andes, that there were very many 
(muchisimas) buildings at heights so great as almost to bor- 
der upon the perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist 



378 CHARLES DARWIN 

no passes, and where the land produces absolutely nothing, 
and what is still more extraordinary, where there is no water. 
Nevertheless it is the opinion of the people of the country 
(although they are much puzzled by the circumstance), that, 
from the appearance of the houses, the Indians must have 
used them as places of residence. In this valley, at Punta 
Gorda, the remains consisted of seven or eight square little 
rooms, which were of a similar form with those at Tambillos, 
but built chiefly of mud, which the present inhabitants can- 
not, either here or, according to Ulloa, in Peru, imitate in 
durability. They were situated in the most conspicuous and 
defenceless position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley. 
There was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and 
that only in very small quantity, and bad : the soil was abso- 
lutely sterile ; I looked in vain even for a lichen adhering to 
the rocks. At the present day, with the advantage of beasts 
of burden, a mine, unless it were very rich, could scarcely 
be worked here with profit. Yet the Indians formerly chose 
it as a place of residence! If at the present time two or 
three showers of rain were to fall annually, instead of one, 
as now is the case during as many years, a small rill of water 
would probably be formed in this great valley; and then, by 
irrigation (which was formerly so well understood by the 
Indians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiently pro- 
ductive 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 pos- 
sibly may have been greater. As the peculiarly arid character 
of the climate is evidently a consequence of the height of the 
Cordillera, we may feel almost sure that before the later ele- 
vations, 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 379 

South America for an immensely long period, inasmuch as 
any change of climate effected by the elevation of the land 
must have been extremely gradual. At Valparaiso, within 
the last 220 years, the rise has been somewhat less than 19 
feet : at Lima a sea-beach has certainly been upheaved from 
80 to 90 feet, within the Indo-human period: but such small 
elevations could have had little power in deflecting the mois- 
ture-bringing atmospheric currents. Dr. Lund, however, 
found human skeletons in the caves of Brazil, the appearance 
of which induced him to believe that the Indian race has 
existed during a vast lapse of time in South America. 

When at Lima, I conversed on these subjects 8 with Mr. 
Gill, a civil engineer, who had seen much of the interior 
country. He told me that a conjecture of a change of cli- 
mate had sometimes crossed his mind; but that he thought 
that the greater portion of land, now incapable of cultivation, 
but covered with Indian ruins, had been reduced to this state 
by the water-conduits, which the Indians formerly con- 
structed on so wonderful a scale, having been injured by 
neglect and by subterranean movements. I may here men- 
tion, 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 uni- 
form breadth, but of very considerable length. Is it not 
most wonderful that men should have attempted such opera- 
tions, 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 culti- 
vation, but now quite barren. Near it was the dry course of 
a considerable river, whence the water for irrigation had for- 
merly been conducted. There was nothing in the appearance 
of the water-course to indicate that the river had not flowed 

8 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 anotner place; 
but I cannot tell whether this desolation has been caused by a want of 
population, or by an altered condition of the land. 



380 CHARLES DARWIN 

there a few years previously ; in some parts, beds of sand and 
gravel were spread out; in others, the solid rock had been 
worn into a broad channel, which in one spot was about 40 
yards in breadth and 8 feet deep. It is self-evident that a 
person following up the course of a stream, will always 
ascend at a greater or less inclination: Mr. Gill, therefore, 
was much astonished, when walking up the bed of this 
ancient river, to find himself suddenly going down hill. He 
imagined that the downward slope had a fall of about 40 or 
50 feet perpendicular. We here have unequivocal evidence 
that a ridge had been uplifted right across the old bed of a 
stream. From the moment the river-course was thus arched, 
the water must necessarily have been thrown back, and a new 
channel formed. From that moment, also, the neighbouring 
plain must have lost its 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 formerly been built here: we found a solitary 
man in charge of it, whose sole employment was hunting 
guanacos. At night it froze sharply ; but having plenty of 
wood for our fire, we kept ourselves warm. 

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 animal is pre-eminently alpine in its 
habits ; it seldom descends much below the limit of perpetual 
snow, and therefore haunts even a more lofty and sterile 
situation than the guanaco. The only other animal which we 
saw in any number was a small fox: I suppose this animal 
preys on the mice and other small rodents, which, as long as 
there is the least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers 
in very desert places. In Patagonia, even on the borders of 
the salinas, where a drop of fresh water can never be found, 
excepting dew, these little animals swarm. Next to lizards, 
mice appear to be able to support existence on the smallest 
and driest portions of the earth — even on islets in the midst 
of great oceans. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 381 

The scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and 
made palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. For a time such 
scenery is sublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it 
becomes uninteresting. We bivouacked at the foot of the 
" primera linea," or the first line of the partition of 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 Cas- 
pian Sea at the height, perhaps, of ten thousand feet. Where 
we slept, there were some considerable patches of snow, but 
they do not remain throughout the year. The winds in these 
lofty regions obey very regular laws: every day a fresh 
breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour or two after 
sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends as 
through a funnel. This night it blew a gale of wind, and the 
temperature must have been considerably below the freezing- 
point, for water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. No 
clothes seemed to oppose any obstacle to the air; I suffered 
very much from the cold, so that I could not sleep, and in 
the morning rose with my body quite dull and benumbed. 

In the Cordillera 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 pro- 
portion 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 sup- 



382 CHARLES DARWIN 

posed to have perished from a similar cause, but their bodies 
to this day have never been discovered. The union of a 
cloudless sky, low temperature, and a furious gale of wind, 
must be, I should think, in all parts of the world an unusual 
occurrence. 

June 2pth. — We gladly travelled down the valley to our 
former night's lodging, and thence to near the Agua amarga. 
On July ist 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 sufficient atten- 
tion 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 conversed had himself 
heard the noise: he described it as very surprising; and he 
distinctly stated that, although he could not understand how 
it was caused, yet it was necessary to set the sand rolling 
down the acclivity. A horse walking over dry coarse sand, 
causes a peculiar chirping noise from the friction of the par- 
ticles; a circumstance which I several times noticed on the 
coast of Brazil. 

Three days afterwards I heard of the Beagle's arrival at 
the Port, distant eighteen leagues from the town. There is 
very little land cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse 
supports a wretched wiry grass, which even the donkeys can 
hardly eat. This poorness of the vegetation is owing to the 
quantity of saline matter with which the soil is impregnated. 
The Port consists of an assemblage of miserable little hovels, 
situated at the foot of a sterile plain. At present, as the 
river contains water enough to reach the sea, the inhabitants 
enjoy the advantage of having fresh water within a mile and 
a half. On the beach there were large piles of merchandise, 

♦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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 383 

and the little place had an air of activity. In the evening 
I gave my adios, with a hearty good-will, to my companion 
Mariano Gonzales, with whom I had ridden so many leagues 
in Chile. The next morning the Beagle sailed for Iquique. 

July 12th. — We anchored in the port of Iquique, in lat. 
20° 12', on the coast of Peru. The town contains about a 
thousand inhabitants, and stands on a little plain of sand at 
the foot of a great wall of rock, 2000 feet in height, here 
forming the coast. The whole is utterly desert. A light 
shower of rain falls only once in very many years; and the 
ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and the moun- 
tain-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 (4s. 6d.) an eighteen-gallon cask: I 
bought a wine-bottle full for threepence. In like manner 
firewood, and of course every article of food, is imported. 
Very few animals can be maintained in such a place : on the 
ensuing morning I hired with difficulty, at the price of four 
pounds sterling, two mules and a guide to take me to the 
nitrate of soda works. These are at present the support of 
Iquique. This salt was first exported in 1830: in one year an 
amount in value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling, 
was sent to France and England. It is principally used as a 
manure and in the manufacture of nitric acid: owing to its 
deliquescent property it will not serve for gunpowder. For- 
merly there were two exceedingly rich silver-mines in this 
neighbourhood, but their produce is now very small. 

Our arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. 
Peru was in a state of anarchy; and each party having 
demanded a contribution, the poor town of Iquique was in 
tribulation, thinking the evil hour was come. The people 
had also their domestic troubles; a short time before, three 



384 CHARLES DARWIN 

French carpenters had broken open, during the same night, 
the two churches, and stolen all the plate : one of the robbers, 
however, subsequently confessed, and the plate was recovered. 
The convicts were sent to Arequipa, which though the capital 
of this province, is two hundred leagues distant ; the govern- 
ment there thought it a pity to punish such useful workmen, 
who could make all sorts of furniture; and accordingly 
liberated them. Things being in this state, the churches were 
again broken open, but this time the plate was not recovered. 
The inhabitants became dreadfully enraged, and declaring 
that none but heretics would thus " eat God Almighty," pro- 
ceeded 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 Guantajaya and St. Rosa. These two 
small villages are placed at the very mouths of the mines; 
and being perched up on hills, they had a still more unnatural 
and desolate appearance than the town of Iquique. We did 
not reach the saltpetre-works till after sunset, having ridden 
all day across an undulating country, a complete and utter 
desert. The road was strewed with the bones and dried skins 
of many beasts of burden which had perished on it from 
fatigue. Excepting the Vultur aura, which preys on the 
carcasses, I saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. 
On the coast-mountains, at the height of about 2000 feet, 
where during this season the clouds generally hang, a very 
few cacti were growing in the clefts of rock; and the loose 
sand was strewed over with a lichen, which lies on the sur- 
face quite unattached. This plant belongs to the genus 
Cladonia, and somewhat resembles the reindeer lichen. In 
some parts it was in sufficient quantity to tinge the sand, 
as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish colour. 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 385 

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 Co- 
piapo. The appearance of the country was remarkable, from 
being covered by a thick crust of common salt, and of a strat- 
ified 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 asso- 
ciated with much gypsum. The appearance of this super- 
ficial mass very closely resembled that of a country after 
snow, before the last dirty patches are thawed. The existence 
of this crust of a soluble substance over the whole face of 
the country, shows how extraordinarily dry the climate must 
have been for a long period. 

At night I slept at the house of the owner of one of the 
saltpetre mines. The country is here as unproductive as 
near the coast ; but water, having rather a bitter and brackish 
taste, can be procured by digging wells. The well at this 
house was thirty-six yards deep : as scarcely any rain falls, 
it is evident the water is not thus derived; indeed if it were, 
it could not fail to be as salt as brine, for the whole sur- 
rounding 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 inhabit- 
ants, 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. 33 bo feet above the Pacific. 

VOL. XXIX— m hc 



386 CHARLES DARWIN 

ipth. — We anchored in the Bay of Callao, the seaport of 
Lima, the capital of Peru. We stayed here six weeks, but 
from the troubled state of public affairs, I saw very little of 
the country. During our whole visit the climate was far 
from being so delightful, as it is generally represented. A 
dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung over the land, so 
that during the first sixteen days I had only one view of the 
Cordillera behind Lima. These mountains, seen in stages, 
one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a 
very grand appearance. It is almost become a proverb, that 
rain never falls in the lower part of Peru. Yet this can 
hardly be considered correct ; for during almost every day of 
our visit there was a thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient 
to make the streets muddy and one's clothes damp: this the 
people are pleased to call Peruvian dew. That much rain 
does not fall is very certain, for the houses are covered only 
with flat roofs made of hardened mud; and on the mole ship- 
loads of wheat were piled up, being thus left for weeks to- 
gether without any shelter. 

I cannot say I liked the very little I saw of Peru: in 
summer, however, it is said that the climate is much pleas- 
anter. 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 ap- 
pear most mysterious. So difficult is it to judge from the 
aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy, that if a 
person had been told to choose within the tropics a situation 
appearing favourable for health, very probably he would 
have named this coast. The plain round the outskirts of 
Callao is sparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some 
parts there are a few stagnant, though very small, pools of 
water. The miasma, in all probability, arises from these: 
for the town of Arica was similarly circumstanced, and its 
healthiness was much improved by the drainage of some 
little pools. Miasma is not always produced by a luxuriant 
vegetation with an ardent climate; for many parts of Bra- 
zil, 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 387 

seem in the slightest degree to affect the healthy condition 
of the atmosphere. 

The island of St. Jago, at the Cape de Verds, offers an- 
other strongly marked instance of a country, which any one 
would have expected to find most healthy, being very much 
the contrary. I have described the bare and open plains as 
supporting, during a few weeks after the rainy season, a thin 
vegetation, which directly withers away and dries up : at this 
period the air appears to become quite poisonous; both na- 
tives 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, " 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 suffer less than those 
actually on shore. On the other hand, I have heard of one 
remarkable case where a fever broke out among the crew of 
a man-of-war some hundred miles off the coast of Africa, 
and at the same time one of those fearful periods* of death 
commenced at Sierra Leone. 

No state in South America, since the declaration of inde- 
pendence, has suffered more from anarchy than Peru. At 
the time of our visit, there were four chiefs in arms con- 
tending 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 

■Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, vol. iv. p. iqq-. 

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 *he most 
unhealthy. 



388 CHARLES DARWIN 

were again hostile to each other. The other day, at the An- 
niversary of the Independence, high mass was performed, the 
President partaking of the sacrament: during the Te Deum 
laudamus, instead of each regiment displaying the Peruvian 
flag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. Imagine 
a government under which such a scene could be ordered, on 
such an occasion, to be typical of their determination of 
fighting to death ! This state of affairs happened at a time 
very unfortunately for me, as I was precluded from taking 
any excursions much beyond the limits of the town. The 
barren island of 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 clouds; and in consequence, an abundant crypto- 
gamic 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 de- 
gree 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 Blan- 
co, two degrees south of Guayaquil. 

Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, 
both here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of 
mixture, between European, Negro, and Indian blood. They 
appear a depraved, drunken set of people. The atmosphere 
is loaded with foul smells, and that peculiar one, which may 
be perceived in almost every town within the tropics, was 
here very strong. The fortress, which withstood Lord Coch- 
rane's long siege, has an imposing appearance. But the 
President, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and pro- 
ceeded to dismantle parts of it. The reason assigned was, 
that he had not an officer to whom he could trust so im- 
portant a charge. He himself had good reason for thinking 
so, as he had obtained the presidentship by rebelling while 
in charge of this same fortress. After we left South Amer- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 389 

ica, he paid the penalty in the usual manner, by being con- 
quered, 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 
hundrea feet : Humboldt has remarked on this singularly de- 
ceptive case. Steep, barren hills rise like islands from the 
plain, which is divided, by straight mud-walls, into large 
green fields. In these scarcely a tree grows excepting a few 
willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of oranges. 
The city of Lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the 
streets are nearly unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up 
in all directions, where the black gallinazos, tame as poultry, 
pick up bits of carrion. The houses have generally an upper 
story, built jn account of the earthquakes, of plastered wood- 
work ; but some of the old ones, which are now used by sev- 
eral families, are immensely large, and would rival in suites 
of apartments the most magnificent in any place. Lima, the 
City of the Kings, must formerly have been a splendid town. 
The extraordinary number of churches gives it, even at the 
present day, a; peculiar and striking character, especially 
when viewed from a short distance. 

One day I went out with some merchants to hunt in the 
immediate vicinity of the city. Our sport was very poor; 
but I had an opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the 
ancient Indian villages, with its mound like a natural hill in 
the centre. The remains of houses, enclosures, irrigating 
streams, and burial mounds, scattered over this plain, cannot 
fail to give one a high idea of the condition and number of 
the ancient population. When their earthenware, woollen 
clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut out of the hardest rocks, 
tools of copper, ornaments of precious stones, palaces, and 
hydraulic works, are considered, it is impossible not to re- 
spect 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 nat- 
ural hills incased and modelled. 

There is also another and very different class of ruins, 



390 CHARLES DARWIN 

which possesses some interest, namely, those of old Callao, 
overwhelmed by the great earthquake of 1746, and its ac- 
companying 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 sub" 
sided during this memorable shock: I could not discover any 
proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the 
form of the coast must certainly have undergone some change 
since the foundation of the old town; as no people in their 
senses would willingly have chosen for their building place, 
the narrow spit of shingle on which the ruins now stand. 
Since our voyage, M. Tschudi has come to the conclusion, 
by the comparison of old and modern maps, that the coast 
both north and south of Lima has certainly subsided. 

On the island of San Lorenzo, there are very satisfactory 
proofs of elevation within the recent period; this of course 
is not opposed to the belief, of a small sinking of the ground 
having subsequently taken place. The side of this island 
fronting the Bay of Callao, is worn into three obscure ter- 
races, 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 sul- 
phate of lime (both probably left by the evaporation of the 
spray, as the land slowly rose), together with sulphate of 
soda and muriate of lime. They rest on fragments of the 
underlying sandstone, and are covered by a few inches thick 
of detritus. The shells, higher up on this terrace, could be 
traced scaling off in flakes, and falling into an impalpable 
powder; and on an upper terrace, at the height of 170 feet, 
and likewise at some considerably higher points, I found a 
layer of saline powder of exactly similar appearance, and 
lying in the same relative position. I have no doubt that this 
upper layer originally existed as a bed of shells, like that on 
the eighty-five-feet ledge ; but it does not now contain even a 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 391 

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-decomposed shells in the lower parts 
are associated with much common salt, together with some 
of the saline substances composing the upper saline layer, 
and as these shells are corroded and decayed in a remarkable 
manner, I strongly suspect that this double decomposition 
has here taken place. The resultant salts, however, ought 
to be carbonate of soda and muriate of lime; the latter is 
present, but not the carbonate of soda. Hence I am led to 
imagine that by some unexplained means, the carbonate of 
soda becomes changed into the sulphate. It is obvious that 
the saline layer could not have been preserved in any coun- 
try in which abundant rain occasionally fell: on the other 
hand, this very circumstance, which at first sight appears so 
highly favourable to the long preservation of exposed shells, 
has probably been the indirect means, through the common 
salt not having been washed away, of their decomposition 
and early decay. 

I was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the 
height of eighty-five feet, embedded amidst the shells and 
much sea-drifted rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited 
rush, and the head of a stalk of Indian corn: I compared 
these relics with similar ones taken out of the Huacas, or old 
Peruvian tombs, and found them identical in appearance. 
On the mainland in front of San Lorenzo, near Bellavista, 
there is an extensive and level plain about a hundred feet 
high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating layers 
of sand and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the 
surface, to the depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish 
loam, containing a few scattered sea-shells and numerous 
small fragments of coarse red earthenware, more abundant 
at certain spots than at others. At first I was inclined to 
believe that th!j 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 



392 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 un- 
derlying red-clay beds, I imagine that the Indians manu- 
factured 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 abun- 
dant at some spots than at others, and shells from the sea. 
This bed, with fossil earthenware, stands at about the 
same height with the shells on the lower terrace of San 
Lorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were 
embedded. 

Hence we may safely conclude, that within the Indo-human 
period there has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of 
more than eighty-five feet; for some little elevation must 
have been lost by the coast having subsided since the old 
maps were engraved. At Valparaiso, although in the 220 
years before our visit, the elevation cannot have exceeded 
nineteen feet, yet subsequently to 1817, there has been a rise, 
partly insensible and partly by a start during the shock of 
1822, of ten or eleven feet. The antiquity of the Indo-human 
race here, judging by the eighty-five feet rise of the land 
: since the relics were embedded, is the more remarkable, as on 
the coast of Patagonia, when the land stood about the same 
number of feet lower, the Macrauchenia was a living beast; 
but as the Patagonian coast is some way distant from the 
Cordillera, the rising there may have been slower than here. 
At Bahia Blanca, the elevation has been only a few feet 
since the numerous gigantic quadrupeds were there 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 per- 
haps 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 393 

pretend to say that there may not have been several periods 
of subsidence, intercalated between the movements of ele- 
vation; for we know that along the whole coast of Pata- 
gonia, 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 — Rep- 
tiles — Great Tortoises, habits of — Marine Lizard, feeds on Sea- 
weed — Terrestrial Lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous— Impor- 
tance 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. 

QIEPTEMBER 15th.— This archipelago consists of ten 
i\ principal islands, of which five exceed the others in 
size. They are situated under the Equator, and be- 
tween five and six hundred miles westward of the coast of 
America. They are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few 
fragments of granite curiously glazed and altered by the 
heat, can hardly be considered as an exception. Some of 
the craters, surmounting the larger islands, are of immense 
size, and they rise to a height of between three and four 
thousand feet. Their flanks are studded by innumerable 
smaller orifices. I scarcely hesitate to affirm, that there 
must be in the whole archipelago at least two thousand 
craters. These consist either of lava or scoriae, or of finely- 
stratified, sandstone-like tuff. Most of the latter are beau- 
tifully symmetrical; they owe their origin to eruptions of 
volcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable circum- 
stance 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 

394 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



395 



fn the broken state of the craters, composed of the soft and 
yielding tuff, is easify explained. 

Considering that these islands are placed directly under 
the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; 
this seems chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature 
of the surrounding water, brought here by the great south- 



CUlpeDper&r 



Wen man I 



SOJfiles. 




Bind toes I. 



Mrborough 




Tbwerl 



fJamesl 

Indefatigable I 




Barringtonf^ hatham t 



Mbemarlel 




Charles 1 ^^ L 



ern Polar current. Excepting during one short season, very 
little rain falls, and even then it is irregular; but the clouds 
generally hang low. Hence, whilst the lower parts of the 
islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a height of a 
thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and a 
tolerably luxuriant vegetation. This is especially the case 
on the windward sides of the islands, which first receive and 
condense the moisture from the atmosphere. 

In the morning (17th) we landed on Chatham Island, 
which, like the others, rises with a tame and rounded out- 
line, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains 



396 CHARLES DARWIN 

of former craters. Nothing could be less inviting than the 
first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava, 
thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great 
fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-burnt brush- 
wood, 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 dili- 
gently tried to collect as many plants as possible, I suc- 
ceeded 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 Euphorbiacese : an acacia 
and a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which 
afford any shade. After the season of heavy rains, the isl- 
ands are said to appear for a short time partially green. The 
volcanic island of Fernando Noronha, placed in many re- 
spects under nearly similar conditions, is the only other 
country where I have seen a vegetation at all like this of 
the Galapagos Islands. 

The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored 
in several bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the 
island, where black truncated cones were extraordinarily 
numerous: from one small eminence I counted sixty of 
them, all surmounted by craters more or less perfect. The 
greater number consisted merely of a ring of red scoriae 
or slags, cemented together : and their height above the plain 
of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet; none 
had been very lately active. The entire surface of this part 
of the island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by 
the subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst 
soft, has been blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, 
the tops of caverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving 
circular pits with steep sides. From the regular form of the 
many craters, they gave to the country an artificial appear- 
ance, which vividly reminded me of those parts of Stafford- 
shire, where the great iron-foundries are most numerous. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 397 

The day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the rough 
surface and through the intricate thickets, was very fatigu- 
ing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean scene. 
As I was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of 
which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds : one 
was eating a piece of cactus, and as I approached, it stared 
at me and slowly walked away; the other gave a deep hiss, 
and drew in its head. These huge reptiles, surrounded by 
the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and large cacti, seemed to 
my fancy like some antediluvian animals. The few dull- 
coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the 
great tortoises. 

23rd. — The Beagle proceeded to Charles Island. This ar- 
chipelago has long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, 
and latterly by whalers, but it is only within the last six 
years, that a small colony has been established here. The 
inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number; 
they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished 
for political crimes from the Republic of the Equator, of 
which Quito is the capital. The settlement is placed about 
four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a 
thousand feet. In the first part of the road we passed 
through leafless thickets, as in Chatham Island. Higher up, 
the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we 
crossed the ridge of the island, we were cooled by a fine 
southerly breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and 
thriving vegetation. In this upper region coarse grasses and 
ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: I saw nowhere 
any member of the palm family, which is the more singular, 
as 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from 
the number of cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scat- 
tered 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 sub- 
sistence. 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 re- 



398 CHARLES DARWIN 

duced in this island, but the people yet count on two days' 
hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. It is 
said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many 
as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of a frigate 
some years since brought down in one day two hundred 
tortoises to the beach. 

September 29th. — We doubled the south-west extremity of 
Albemarle Island, and the next day were nearly becalmed 
between it and Narborough Island. Both are covered with 
immense deluges of black naked lava, which have flowed 
either over the rims of the great caldrons, like pitch over the 
rim of a pot in which it has been boiled, or have burst forth 
from smaller orifices on the flanks; in their descent they 
have spread over miles of the sea-coast. On both of these 
islands, eruptions are known to have taken place; and in 
Albemarle, we saw a small jet of smoke curling from the 
summit of one of the great craters. In the evening we an- 
chored in Bank's Cove, in Albemarle Island. The next 
morning I went out walking. To the south of the broken 
tuff-crater, in which the Beagle was anchored, there was 
another beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its 
longer axis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about 
500 feet. At its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the 
middle of which a tiny crater formed an islet. The day was 
overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue : I 
hurried down the cindery slope, and, choked with dust, 
eagerly tasted the water — but, to my sorrow, I found it salt 
as brine. 

The rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, 
between three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly 
yellowish-brown species was equally common. We saw 
many of this latter kind, some clumsily running out of the 
way, and others shuffling into their burrows. I shall pres- 
ently 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 serv- 
ants were left here for a week, with provisions and a tent, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 399 

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 tor- 
toises, whilst the others were fishing on the coast. I paid 
this party two visits, and slept there one night. As in the 
other islands, the lower region was covered by nearly leafless 
bushes, but the trees were here of a larger growth than else- 
where, 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 cueroyf '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 pro- 
cured. After landing, we had a very rough walk over a 
rugged field of recent lava, which has almost surrounded a 
tuff-crater, at the bottom of which the salt-lake lies. The 
water is only three or four inches deep, and rests on a layer 
of beautifully crystallized, white salt. The lake is quite cir- 
cular, and is fringed with a border of bright green succulent 
plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are clothed 
with wood, so that the scene was altogether both picturesque 
and curious. A few years since, the sailors belonging to a 
sealing-vessel murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and 
we saw his skull lying among the bushes. 

During the greater part of our stay of a week, the sky 
was cloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour, the 
heat became very oppressive. On two days, the thermometer 
within the tent stood for some hours at 93 ° ; but in the open 
air, in the wind and sun, at only 85 °. The sand was ex- 
tremely 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- 



400 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 aboriginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even 
a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; 
yet all show a marked relationship with those of America, 
though separated from that continent by an open space of 
ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in width. The archipelago 
is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to 
America, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and 
has received the general character of its indigenous produc- 
tions. 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 
considered as indigenous, namely, a mouse (Mus Galapa- 
goensis), 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 hun- 
dred and fifty years, I can hardly doubt that this rat is 
merely a variety produced by the new and peculiar climate, 
food, and soil, to which it has been subjected. Although no 
one has a right to speculate without distinct facts, yet even 
with respect to the Chatham Island mouse, it should be borne 
in mind, that it may possibly be an American species im- 
ported here; for I have seen, in a most unfrequented part of 
the Pampas, a native mouse living in the roof of a newly 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 401 

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 gen- 
erally frequents marshes. The other twenty-five birds con- 
sist, firstly, of a hawk, curiously intermediate in structure 
between a buzzard and the American group of carrion-feed- 
ing 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-flycatch- 
ers (two of them species of Pyrocephalus, one or both of 
which would be ranked by some ornithologists as only varie- 
ties), and a dove — all analogous to, but distinct from, Amer- 
ican 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 characteristic of 
America. The remaining land-birds form a most singular 
group of finches, related to each other in the structure of 
their beaks, short tails, form of body and plumage : there are 
thirteen species, which Mr. Gould has divided into four sub- 
groups. All these species are peculiar to this archipelago; 
and so is the whole group, with the exception of one species 
of the sub-group Cactornis, lately brought from Bow Island, 
in the Low Archipelago. Of Cactornis, the two species may 
be often seen climbing about the flowers of the great cactus- 
trees ; but all the other species of this group of finches, 
mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry and sterile ground 
of the lower districts. The males of all, or certainly of the 
greater number, are jet black; and the females (with perhaps 
one or two exceptions) are brown. 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 includ- 
ing his sub-group, Certhidea, in the main group) even to 



402 



CHARLES DARWIN 



that of a warbler. The largest beak in the genus Geospiza 
is shown in Fig. I, 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 




1. Geospiza magnirostris. 
3. Geospiza parvula. 



2. Geospiza fortis. 
4. Certhidea olivasea. 



somewhat like that of a starling; and that of the fourth sub- 
group, Camarhynchus, is slightly parrot-shaped. Seeing this 
gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately 
related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an 
original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had 
been taken and modified for different ends. In a like manner 
it might be fancied that a bird originally a buzzard, had been 
induced here to undertake the office of the carrion-feeding 
Polybori of the American continent. 

Of waders and water-birds I- was able to get only eleven 
kinds, and of these only three (including a rail confined to 
the damp summits of the islands) are new species. Consid- 
ering the wandering habits of the gulls, I was surprised to 
find that the species inhabiting these islands is peculiar, but 
allied to one from the southern parts of South America. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 403 

The far greater peculiarity of the land-birds, namely, twenty- 
five out of twenty-six, being new species, or at least new 
races, compared with the waders and web-footed birds, is 
in accordance with the greater range which these latter 
orders have in all parts of the world. We shall hereafter 
see this law of aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh- 
water, being less peculiar at any given point of the earth's 
surface than the terrestrial forms of the same classes, 
strikingly illustrated in the shells, and in a lesser degree in 
the insects of this archipelago. 

Two of the waders are rather smaller than the same spe- 
cies 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 (Pyo- 
cephalus) 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 gen- 
era. With the exception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, 
and of a tyrant-flycatcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none 
of the birds are brilliantly coloured, as might have been ex- 
pected in an equatorial district. Hence it would appear 
probable, that the same causes which here make the im- 
migrants 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 insects, again, are small-sized and dull-coloured, 
and, as Mr. Waterhouse informs me, there is nothing in their 
general appearance which would have led him to imagine 
that they had come from under the equator. 1 The birds, 

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 ease 
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. 



404 CHARLES DARWIN 

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, per- 
haps to the conditions of existence being generally favour- 
able to life. 

We will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives 
the most striking character to the zoology of these islands. 
The species are not numerous, but the numbers of individ- 
uals of each species are extraordinarily great. There is one 
small lizard belonging to a South American genus, and two 
species (and probably more) of the Amblyrhynchus — a genus 
confined to the Galapagos Islands. There is one snake which 
is numerous; it is identical, as I am informed by M. Bibron, 
with the Psammophis Temminckii from Chile: 2 Of sea- 
turtle I believe there are more than one species; and of tor- 
toises 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 re- 
called to my mind the remark made by Bory St. Vincent,* 
namely, that none of this family are found on any of the vol- 
canic islands in the great oceans. As far as I can ascertain 
from various works, this seems to hold good throughout the 
Pacific, and even in the large islands of the Sandwich 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 aserts that before 1768 it had been at- 
tempted, without success, to introduce frogs into Mauritius 
— I presume for the purpose of eating: hence it may be well 

3 This is stated by Dr. Gunther (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 405 

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 dif- 
ference not be caused, by the greater facility with which the 
eggs of lizards, protected by calcareous shells, might be 
transported through salt-water, than could the slimy spawn 
of frogs? 

I will first describe the habits of the tortoise (Testudo 
nigra, formerly called Indica), which has been so frequently 
alluded to. These animals are found, I believe, on all the 
islands of the archipelago; certainly on the greater number. 
They frequent in preference the high damp parts, but they 
likewise live in the lower and arid districts. I have already 
shown, from the numbers which have been caught in a single 
day, how very numerous they must be. Some grow to an 
immense size: Mr. Lawson, an Englishman, and vice-gov- 
ernor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so large, 
that it required six or eight men to lift them from the 
ground ; and that some had afforded as much as two hundred 
pounds of meat. The old males are the largest, the females 
rarely growing to so great a size: the male can readily be 
distinguished from the female by the greater length of its 
tail. The tortoises which live on those islands where there 
is no water, or in the lower and arid parts of the others, feed 
chiefly on the succulent cactus. Those which frequent the 
higher and damp regions, eat the leaves of various trees, a 
kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, 
and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (Usnera plicata), 
that hangs from the boughs of the trees. 

The tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quan- 
tities, and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone 
possess springs, and these are always situated towards the 
central parts, and at a considerable height. The tortoises, 
therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, 
are obliged to travel from a long distance. Hence broa d and 
well-beaten paths branch off in every direction from the 
wells down to the sea-coast; and the Spaniards by following 
them up, first discovered the watering-places. When I landed 
at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled 



406 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 out- 
stretched necks, and another set returning, after having 
drunk their fill. When the tortoise arrives at the spring, 
quite regardless of any spectator, he buries his head in the 
water above his eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, 
at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants say 
each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood 
of the water, and then returns to the lower country; but 
they differed respecting the frequency of these visits. The 
animal probably regulates them according to the nature of 
the food on which it has lived. It is, however, certain, that 
tortoises can subsist even on 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 exist- 
ence : 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 pericar- 
dium, which is described as being best. 

The tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, 
travel by night and day, and arrive at their journey's end 
much sooner than would be expected. The inhabitants, from 
observing marked individuals, consider that they travel a 
distance of about eight miles in two or three days. One large 
tortoise, which I watched, walked at the rate of sixty yards 
in ten minutes, that is 360 yards in the hour, or four miles a 
day, — allowing a little time for it to eat on the road. During 
the breeding season, when the male and female are together, 
the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, 
can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards. 
The female never uses her voice, and the male only at these 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 407 

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, de- 
posits them together, and covers them up with sand ; but 
where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately 
in any hole : Mr. Bynoe found seven placed in a fissure. The 
egg is white and spherical ; one which I measured was seven 
inches and three-eighths in circumference, and therefore 
larger than a hen's egg. The young tortoises, as soon as they 
are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the carrion- 
feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally to die from 
accidents, as from falling down precipices : at least, several 
of the inhabitants told me, that they never found one dead 
without some evident cause. 

The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely 
deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close 
behind them. I was always amused when overtaking one of 
these great monsters, as it was quietly pacing along, to see 
how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head 
and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a 
heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on their 
backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder part of their 
shells, they would rise up and walk away; — but I found it 
very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this animal is 
largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully 
clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught, 
the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see 
inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is 
thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated and it is said to 
recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure 
the 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 
inhabitant 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 



408 



CHARLES DARWIN 



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 con- 
fined to this archipelago; there are two species, resembling 




Amblyrhynchus cristatus. a, Tooth of, natural size, and likewise magnified. 



each other in general form, one being terrestrial and the 
other aquatic. This 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 exclusively on the 
rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least I never saw 
one, even ten yards in-shore. It is a hideous-looking crea- 
ture, of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its move- 
ments. The usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard, 
but there are some even four feet long ; a large one weighed 
twenty pounds: on the island of Albemarle they seem to 
grow to a greater size than elsewhere. Their tails are flat- 
tened 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 409 

" 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 quick- 
ness, 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 after- 
wards, he drew up the line, it was quite active. Their limbs 
and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling over the 
rugged and fissured masses of lava, which everywhere form 
the coast. In such situations, a group of six or seven of 
these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black 
rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with out- 
stretched legs. 

I opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely 
distended with minced sea-weed (Ulvae), which grows in 
thin foliaceous expansions of a bright green or a dull red 
colour. I do not recollect having observed this sea-weed in 
any quantity on the tidal rocks ; and I have reason to believe 
it grows at the bottom of the sea, at some little distance from 
the coast. If such be the case, the object of these animals 
occasionally going out to sea is explained. The stomach con- 
tained nothing but the sea-weed. Mr. Baynoe, however, found 
a piece of crab in one; but this might have got in acci- 
dentally, 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 overhang- 
ing the sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch 
hold of their tails than jump into the water. They do not 
seem to have any notion of biting ; but when much frightened 
they squirt a drop of fluid from each nostril. I threw one 
several times as far as I could, into a deep pool left by the 
retiring tide; but it invariably returned in a direct line to 



410 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 driv- 
ing 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 circum- 
stance, that this reptile has no enemy whatever on shore, 
whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous 
sharks. Hence, probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary 
instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the 
emergency may be, it there takes refuge. 

During our visit (in October), I saw extremely few small 
individuals of this species, and none I should think under 
a year old. From this circumstance it seems probable that 
the breeding season had not then commenced. I asked sev- 
eral 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, con- 
sidering how very common this lizard is, not a little extra- 
ordinary. 

We will now turn to the terrestrial species (A. Demarlii), 
with a round tail, and toes without webs. This lizard, 
instead of being found like the other on all the islands, is 
confined to the central part of the archipelago, namely to 
Albemarle, James, Barrington, and Indefatigable islands. To 
the southward, in Charles, Hood, and Chatham islands, and 
to the northward, in Towers, Bindloes, and Abingdon, I 
neither saw nor heard of any. It would appear as if it had 
been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had 
been dispersed only to a certain distance. Some of these 
lizards inhabit the high and damp parts of the islands, but 
they are much more numerous in the lower and sterile 
districts near the coast. I cannot give a more forcible proof 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 411 

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 yellow- 
ish orange beneath, and of a brownish red colour above: 
from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid 
appearance. They are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the 
marine species; but several of them weighed between ten and 
fifteen pounds. In their movements they are lazy and half 
torpid. When not frightened, they slowly crawl along with 
their tails and bellies dragging on the ground. They often 
stop, and doze for a minute or two, with closed eyes and hind 
legs spread out on the parched soil. 

They inhabit burrows, which they sometimes make between 
fragments of lava, but more generally on level patches of the 
soft sandstone-like tuff. The holes do not appear to be very 
deep, and they enter the ground at a small angle; so that 
when walking over these lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly 
giving way, much to the annoyance of the tired walker. This 
animal, when making its burrow, works alternately the oppo- 
site 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 bur- 
rows ; if frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward 
gait. Except when running down hill, they cannot move 
very fast, apparently from the lateral position of their legs. 
They are not at all timorous. : when attentively watching any 
one, they curl their tails, and, raising themselves on their 
front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a quick movement, 
and try to look very fierce ; but in reality they are not at all 
so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their tails, 
and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. I have frequently 



412 CHARLES DARWIN 

observed small fly-eating lizards, when watching anything, 
nod their heads in precisely the same manner; but I do not 
at all know for what purpose. If this Amblyrhynchus is held 
and plagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely; but 
I caught many by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. 
If two are placed on the ground and held together, they will 
fight, and bite each other till blood is drawn. 

The individuals, and they are the greater number, which 
inhabit the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water 
throughout the year; but they consume much of the succulent 
cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off 
by the wind. I several times threw a piece to two or three 
of them when together; and it was amusing enough to see 
them trying to seize and carry it away in their mouths, like 
so many hungry dogs with a bone. They eat very deliber- 
ately, but do not chew their food. The little birds are aware 
how harmless these creatures are: I have seen one of the 
thick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus 
(which is much relished by all the animals of the lower 
region), whilst a lizard was eating at the other end; and 
afterwards the little bird with the utmost indifference hopped 
on the back of the reptile. 

I opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of 
vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of 
an acacia. In the upper region they live chiefly on the acid 
and astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees 
I have seen these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding 
together. To obtain the acacia-leaves they crawl up the low 
stunted trees ; and it is not uncommon to see a pair quietly 
browsing, whilst seated on a branch several feet above the 
ground. These lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, 
which is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all 
prejudices. 

Humboldt has remarked that in intertropical South 
America, all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed 
delicacies for the table. The inhabitants state that those 
which inhabit the upper damp parts drink water, but that 
the others do not, like the tortoises, travel up for it from 
the lower sterile country. At the time of our visit, the 
females had within their bodies numerous, large, elongated 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 413 

e gg s , 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 charac- 
teristic 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 pro- 
ductions. As I at first observed, these islands are not so 
remarkable for the number of the species of reptiles, as for 
that of the individuals; when we remember the well-beaten 
paths made by the thousands of huge tortoises — the many 
turtles — the great warrens of the terrestrial Amblyrhynchus 
— and the groups of the marine species basking on the coast- 
rocks of every island — we must admit that there is no other 
quarter of the world where this Order replaces the herbivo- 
rous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. The geologist 
on hearing this will probably refer back in his mind to the 
Secondary epochs, when lizards, some herbivorous, some 
carnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only with our 
existing whales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. It is, 
therefore, worthy of his observation, that this archipelago, 
instead of possessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, 
cannot be considered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for 
an equatorial region, remarkably temperate. 

To finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish 
which I procured here are all new species; they belong to 
twelve genera, all widely distributed, with the exception of 
Prionotus, of which the four previously known species live 
on the eastern side of America. Of land-shells I collected 
sixteen kinds (and two marked varieties), of which, with the 
exception of one Helix found at Tahiti, all are peculiar to 



414 CHARLES DARWIN 

this archipelago: a single fresh-water shell (Paludina) is 
common to Tahiti and Van Diemen's Land. Mr. Cuming, 
before our voyage, procured here ninety species of sea-shells, 
and this does not include several species not yet specifically 
examined, of Trochus, Turbo, Monodonta, and Nassa. He 
has been kind enough to give me the following interesting 
results: Of the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are 
unknown elsewhere — a wonderful fact, considering how 
widely distributed sea-shells generally are. Of the forty- 
three shells found in other parts of the world, twenty-five 
inhabit the western coast of America, and of these eight are 
distinguishable as varieties; the remaining eighteen (includ- 
ing one variety) were found by Mr. Cuming in the Low 
Archipelago, and some of them also at the Philippines. This 
fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the Pacific 
occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single sea-shell is 
known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to the 
west coast of America. The space of open sea running north 
and south off the west coast, separates two quite distinct 
conchological provinces; but at the Galapagos Archipelago 
we have a halting-place, where many new forms have been 
created, and whither these two great conchological provinces 
have each sent up several colonists. The American province 
has also sent here representative species ; for there is a Gala- 
pageian species of Monoceros, a genus only found on the 
west coast of America; and there are Galapageian species 
of Fissurella and Cancellaria, genera common on the west 
coast, but not found (as I am informed by Mr. Cuming) in 
the central islands of the Pacific. On the other hand, there 
are Galapageian species of Oniscia and Stylifer, genera 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 Panama, 
and the Galapagos. We have, therefore, in this quarter 
of the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite 
distinct, though surprisingly near each other, being sepa- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 415 

rated 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 coun- 
try. 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 Der- 
mestes and Corynetes imported, wherever a ship touches) ; 
of these, two belong to the Harpalidae, two to the Hydro- 
philidse, nine to three families of the Heteromera, and the 
remaining twelve to as many different families. This cir- 
cumstance of insects (and I may add plants), where few in 
number, belonging to many different families, is, I believe, 
very general. Mr. Waterhouse, who has published 4 an 
account of the insects of this archipelago, and to whom I am 
indebted for the above details, informs me that there are 
several new genera: and that of the genera not new, one 
or two are American, and the rest of mundane distribution. 
With the exception of a wood-feeding Apate, and of one or 
probably two water-beetles from the American continent, 
all the species appear to be new. 

The botany of this group is fully as interesting as the 
zoology. Dr. J. Hooker will soon publish in the " Linnean 
Transactions " a full account of the Flora, and I am much 
indebted to him for the following details. Of flowering 
plants there are, as far as at present is known, 185 species, 
and 40 cryptogamic species, making altogether 225; of this 
number I was fortunate enough to bring home 193. Of the 
flowering plants, 100 are new species, and are probably con- 
fined to this archipelago. Dr. Hooker conceives that, of the 
plants not so confined, at least 10 species found near the 
cultivated ground at Charles Island, have been imported. 
It is, I think, surprising that more American species have 
not been introduced naturally, considering that the distance 
is only between 500 and 600 miles from the continent; and 
that (according to Collnet, p. 58) drift-wood, bamboos, canes, 
and the nuts of a palm, are often washed on the south-eastern 

4 Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xvi. p. 19. 



416 CHARLES DARWIN 

shores. The proportion of ioo flowering plants out of 185 
(or 175 excluding the imported weeds) being new, is suffi- 
cient, 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 Composite, of which 20 are peculiar 
to this archipelago; these belong to twelve genera, and of 
these genera no less than ten are confined to the archipelago ! 
Dr. Hooker informs me that the Flora has an 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 surrounded by new birds, new rep- 
tiles, new shells, new insects, new plants, and yet by innumer- 
able trifling details of structure, and even by the tones of 
voice and plumage of the birds, to have the temperate 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 covered by the ocean, which are formed by basaltic lava, 
and therefore differ in geological character from the Ameri- 
can continent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate, 
— why were their aboriginal inhabitants, associated, I may 
add, in different proportions both in kind and number from 
those on the continent, and therefore acting on each other 
in a different manner — why were they created on American 
types of organization? It is probable that the islands of the 
Cape de Verd group resemble, in all their physical conditions, 
far more closely the Galapagos Islands, than these latter 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 417 

physically resemble the coast of America, yet the aboriginal 
inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike; those of the 
Cape de Verd Islands bearing the impress of Africa, as 
the inhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago are stamped 
with that of America. 

I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable fea- 
ture in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that 
the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by 
a different set of beings. My attention was first called to 
this fact by the Vice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that 
the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he 
could with certainty tell from which island any one was 
brought. I did not for some time pay sufficient attention 
to this statement, and I had already partially mingled to- 
gether the collections from two of the islands. I never 
dreamed that islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of 
them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same 
rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly 
equal height, would have been differently tenanted; but we 
shall soon see that this is the case. It is the fate of most 
voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most interesting in 
any locality, than they are hurried from it; but I ought, per- 
haps, to be thankful that I obtained sufficient materials to 
establish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of 
organic beings. 

The inhabitants, as I have said, state that they can dis- 
tinguish 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 near- 
est 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 

5 Voyage in the U. S. ship Essex, vol. i. p. .215. 

VOL. XXIX — N HC 



418 CHARLES DARWIN 

specific differences. I have remarked that the marine 
Amblyrhynchus was larger at Albemarle Island than else- 
where; 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 Amblyrhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. My atten- 
tion 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 aston- 
ishment, I discovered that all those from Charles Island 
belonged to one species (Mimus trifasciatus) ; all from 
Albemarle Island to M. parvulus; and all from James and 
Chatham Islands (between which two other islands are sit- 
uated, as connecting links) belonged to M. melanotis. These 
two latter species are closely allied, and would by some 
ornithologists be considered as only well-marked races or 
varieties; but the Mimus trifasciatus is very distinct. Un- 
fortunately 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 repre- 
sentatives of Geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly 
large number of the species of this sub-group in this one 
small archipelago, and as a probable consequence of their 
numbers, the perfectly graduated series in the size of their 
beaks. Two species of the sub-group Cactornis, and two of 
the Camarhynchus, were procured in the archipelago; and 
of the numerous specimens of these two sub-groups shot by 
four collectors at James Island, all were found to belong to 
one species of each; whereas the numerous specimens shot 
either on Chatham or Charles Island (for the two sets were 
mingled together) all belonged to the two other species: 
hence we may feel almost sure that these islands possess 
their respective species of these two sub-groups. In land- 
shells this law of distribution does not appear to hold good. 
In my very small collection of insects, Mr. Waterhouse 
remarks, that of those which were ticketed with their local- 
ity, 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 



419 



all the following results on the high authority of my friend 
Dr. J. Hooker. I may premise that I indiscriminately col- 
lected everything in flower on the different islands, and for- 
tunately kept my collections separate. Too much confidence, 
however, must not be placed in the proportional results, as 
the small collections brought home by some other naturalists, 
though in some respects confirming the results, plainly show 
that much remains to be done in the botany of this group: 
the Leguminosae, moreover, has as yet been only approxi- 
mately worked out: — 



Name 

of 
Island. 


Total 
No. of 
Species 


No. of 

Species 

found in 

other parts 

of the 

world. 


No. of 
Species 
confined 

to the 
Galapagos 
Archipel- 
ago. 


No. 

con- 
fined 
to the 

one 
Island. 


No. of Species 

confined to the 

Galapagos 

Archipelago, 

but found on 

more than the 

one Island. 


James Island 
Albemarle Island 
Chatham Island 
Charles Island 


7 1 
4 

32 
68 


33 
18 
16 

39 
(or 29, if the 
probably im- 
ported plants 
be subtracted) 


38 
26 
16 
29 


30 
22 
12 
21 


8 
4 
4 
8 



Hence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in James 
Island, of the thirty-eight Galapageian plants, or those found 
in no other part of the world, thirty are exclusively confined 
to this one island; and in Albemarle Island, of the twenty- 
six aboriginal Galapageian plants, twenty-two are confined 
to this one island, that is, only four are at present known to 
grow in the other islands of the archipelago; and so on, as 
shown in the above table, with the plants from Chatham and 
Charles Islands. This fact will, perhaps, be rendered even 
more striking, by giving a few illustrations: — thus, Scalesia, 
a remarkable arborescent genus of the Composite, is con- 
fined to the archipelago: it has six species: one from Chat- 
ham, one from Albemarle, one from Charles Island, two from 
James Island, and the sixth from one of the three latter 
islands, but it is not known from which : not one of these six 
species grows on any two islands. Again, Euphorbia, a mun- 



420 CHARLES DARWIN 

dane 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 mun- 
dane 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 Composite 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 spe- 
cies 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 dis- 
tinct genus; — if one island had its genus of lizard, and a 
second island another distinct genus, or none whatever; — or 
if the different islands were inhabited, not by representative 
species of the same genera of plants, but by totally different 
genera, as does to a certain extent hold good: for, to give 
one instance, a large berry-bearing tree at James Island has 
no representative species in Charles Island. But it is the 
circumstance, that several of the islands possess their own 
species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush, finches, and numer- 
ous plants, these species having the same general habits, 
occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the 
same place in the natural economy of this archipelago, that 
strikes me with wonder. It may be suspected that some of 
these representative species, at least in the case of the tor- 
toise 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 Chat- 
ham Island, and thirty-three miles from the nearest part of 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 421 

Albemarle Island. Chatham Island is sixty miles from the 
nearest part of James Island, but there are two intermediate 
islands between them which were not visited by me. James 
Island is only ten miles from the nearest part of Albemarle 
Island, but the two points where the collections were made 
are thirty-two miles apart. I must repeat, that neither the 
nature of the soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, 
nor the general character of the associated beings, and there- 
fore their action one on another, can differ much in the dif- 
ferent islands. If there be any sensible difference in their 
climates, it must be between the Windward group (namely, 
Charles and Chatham Islands), and that to leeward; but 
there seems to be no corresponding difference in the produc- 
tions of these two halves of the archipelago. 

The only light which I can throw on this remarkable dif- 
ference in the inhabitants of the different islands, is, that 
very strong currents 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. cur- 
rent was observed, which must effectually separate James 
and Albemarle Islands. As the archipelago is free to a 
most remarkable degree from gales of wind, neither the 
birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from island 
to island. And lastly, the profound depth of the ocean be- 
tween the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geologi- 
cal sense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they 
were ever united ; and this, probably, is a far more important 
consideration than any other, with respect to the geographi- 
cal distribution of their inhabitants. Reviewing the facts 
here given, one is astonished at the amount of creative force, 
if such an expression may be used, displayed on these small, 
barren, and rocky islands; and still more so, at its diverse 
yet analogous action on points so near each other. I have 
said that the Galapagos Archipelago might be called a satel- 
lite attached to America, but it should rather be called a 
group of satellites, physically similar, organically distinct, 
yet intimately related to each other, and all related in a 
marked, though much lesser degree, to the great American 
continent. 



422 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, 
and sometimes, as I myself tried, with a cap or hat. A gun 
is here almost superfluous; for with the muzzle I pushed a 
hawk off the branch of a tree. One day, whilst lying down, 
a mocking- thrush alighted on the edge of a pitcher, made of 
the shell of a tortoise, which I held in my hand, and began 
very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it from 
the ground whilst seated on the vessel: I often tried, and 
very nearly succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs. 
Formerly the birds appear to have been even tamer than at 
present. Cowley (in the year 1684) savs tnat the "Turtle- 
doves were so tame, that they would often alight on our hats 
and arms, so as that we could take them alive ; they not fear- 
ing man, until such time as some of our company did fire at 
them, whereby they were rendered more shy." Dampier 
also, in the same year, says that a man in a morning's walk 
might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. At present, 
although certainly very tame, they do not alight on people's 
arms, nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such large 
numbers. It is surprising that they have not become wilder; 
for these islands during the last hundred and fifty years have 
been frequently visited by bucaniers and whalers; and the 
sailors, wandering through the wood in search of tortoises, 
always take cruel delight in knocking down the little birds. 

These birds, although now still more persecuted, do not 
readily become wild. In Charles Island, which had then 
been 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 drink. He had already procured 
a little heap of them for his dinner; and he said that he had 
constantly been in the habit of waiting by this well for the 
same purpose. It would appear that the birds of this archi- 
pelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more danger- 
ous animal than the tortoise or the Amblyrhynchus, disregard 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 423 

him, in the same manner as in England shy birds, such as 
magpies, disregard the cows and horses grazing in our fields. 

The Falkland Islands offer a second instance of birds 
with a similar disposition. The extraordinary tameness of 
the little Opetiorhynchus has been remarked by Pernety, 
Lesson, and other voyagers. It is not, however, peculiar to 
that bird: the Polyborus, snipe, upland and lowland goose, 
thrush, bunting, and even some true hawks, are all more or 
less tame. As the birds are so tame there, where foxes, 
hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the absence of all 
rapacious animals at the Galapagos, is not the cause of their 
tameness here. The upland geese at the Falklands show, by 
the precaution they take in building on the islets, that they 
are aware of their danger from the foxes; but they are not 
by this rendered wild towards man. This tameness of the 
birds, especially of the waterfowl, is strongly contrasted with 
the habits of the same species in Tierra del Fuego, where for 
ages past they have been persecuted by the wild inhabitants. 
In the Falklands, the sportsman may sometimes kill more 
of the upland geese in one day than he can carry home; 
whereas in Tierra del Fuego it is nearly as difficult to kill 
one, as it is in England to shoot the common wild goose. 

In the time of Pernety (1763), all the birds there appear 
to have been much tamer than at present; he states that the 
Opetiorhynchus would almost perch on his finger; and that 
with a wand he killed ten in half an hour. At that period 
the birds must have been about as tame as they now are at 
the Galapagos. They appear to have learnt caution more 
slowly at these latter islands than at the Falklands, where 
they have had proportionate means of experience; for be- 
sides 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 Per- 
nety's account to kill the black-necked swan — a bird of 
passage, which probably brought with it the wisdom learnt 
in foreign countries. 

I may add that, according to Du Bois, all the birds at 
Bourbon in 1571-72, with the exception of the flamingoes 
and geese, were so extremely tame, that they could be caught 
by the hand, or killed in any number with a stick. Again, 



424 CHARLES DARWIN 

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, conclude, first, that 
the wildness of birds with regard to man, is a particular 
instinct directed against him, and not dependent upon any 
general degree of caution arising from other sources of 
danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual birds 
in a short time, even when much persecuted ; but that in the 
course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. With 
domesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental 
habits or instincts acquired 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: compara- 
tively 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 intro- 
duction 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 sub- 
ject 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 
i; that the English wood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very fre- 
quently rear its young in shrubberies close to houses! 



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 convened — New Zealand — Bay of Islands — Hippahs 
— Excursion to Waimate — Missionary Establishment — English 
Weeds now run wild — Waiomio — Funeral of a New Zealand 
Woman — Sail for Australia. 

S~\CTOBER 20th. — The survey of the Galapagos Archi- 
f J 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 running pleasantly along at the 
rate of 150 or 160 miles a day before the steady trade-wind. 
The temperature in this more central part of the Pacific is 
higher than near the American shore. The thermometer in 
the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between 8o° 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, miscalled the Pacific. 

425 



426 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 themselves towards the 
centre of the island. As soon as we anchored in Matavai 
Bay, we were surrounded by canoes. This was our Sunday, 
but the Monday of Tahiti: if the case had been reversed, 
we should not have received a single visit; for the injunction 
not to launch a canoe on the sabbath is rigidly obeyed. 
After dinner we landed to enjoy all the delights produced 
by the first impressions of a new country, and that country 
the charming Tahiti. A crowd of men, women, and children, 
was collected on the memorable Point Venus, ready to 
receive us with laughing, merry faces. They marshalled 
us towards the house of Mr. Wilson, the missionary of the 
district, who met us on the road, and gave us a very friendly 
reception. After sitting a 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 noxious as a weed. In 
Brazil I have often admired the varied beauty of the 
bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together; and 
here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large, 
glossy, and deeply digitated leaf. It is admirable to behold 
groves of a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour 
of an English oak, loaded with large and most nutritious 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 427 

fruit. However seldom the usefulness of an object can 
account for the pleasure of beholding it, in the case of these 
beautiful woods, the knowledge of their high productiveness 
no doubt enters largely into the feeling of admiration. The 
little winding paths, cool from the surrounding shade, led 
to the scattered houses ; the owners of which everywhere 
gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception. 

I was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabit- 
ants. There is a mildness in the expression of their coun- 
tenances which at once banishes the idea of a savage; and 
an intelligence which shows that they are advancing in civili- 
zation. 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 orna- 
ments follow the curvature of the body so gracefully, that 
they have a very elegant effect. One common pattern, vary- 
ing in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a palm-tree. 
It springs from the central line of the back, and gracefully 
curls round both sides. The simile may be a fanciful one, 
but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like 
the trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper. 

Many of the elder people had their feet covered with 
small figures, so placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, 
however, is partly gone by, and has been succeeded by others. 
Here, although fashion is far from immutable, every one 
must abide by that prevailing in his youth. An old man 
has thus his age for ever stamped on his body, and he cannot 
assume the airs of a young dandy. The women are tattooed 
in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their 
fingers. One unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: 
namely, shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, 
in a circular form, so as to leave only an outer ring. The 
missionaries have tried to persuade the people to change this 



428 CHARLES DARWIN 

habit; but it is the fashion, and that is a sufficient answer 
at Tahiti, as well as at Paris. I was much disappointed in 
the personal appearance of the women: they are far inferior 
in every respect to the men. The custom of wearing a white 
or scarlet flower in the back of the head, or through a small 
hole in each ear, is pretty. A crown of woven cocoa-nut 
leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. The women 
appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even 
than the men. 

Nearly all the natives understand a little English — that is, 
they know the names of common things; and by the aid of 
this, together with signs, a lame sort of conversation could 
be carried on. In returning in the evening to the boat, we 
stopped to witness a very pretty scene. Numbers of chil- 
dren were playing on the beach, and had lighted bonfires 
which illumined the placid sea and surrounding trees ; 
others, in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. We seated 
ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs 
were impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one 
little girl sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, form- 
ing a very pretty chorus. The whole scene made us une- 
quivocally aware that we were seated on the shores of an 
island in the far-famed South Sea. 

iyth. — 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 puzzle them, and they 
never seemed to think the small silver quite secure until 
changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs have accumulated 
considerable sums of money. One chief, not long since, 
offered 800 dollars (about 160/. sterling) for a small vessel; 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 429 

and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the 
rate of from 50 to 100 dollars. 

After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the nearest 
slope to a height of between two and three thousand feet. 
The outer mountains are smooth and conical, but steep ; and 
the old volcanic rocks, of which they are formed, have been 
cut through by many profound ravines, diverging from the 
central broken parts of the island to the coast. Having 
crossed the narrow low girt of inhabited and fertile land, 
I followed a smooth steep ridge between two of the deep 
ravines. The vegetation was singular, consisting almost 
exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled higher up, with 
coarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some 
of the Welsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of 
tropical plants on the coast was very surprising. At the 
highest point, which I reached, trees again appeared. Of 
the three zones of comparative luxuriance, the lower one 
owes its moisture, and therefore fertility, to its flatness ; for, 
being scarcely raised above the level of the sea, the water 
from the higher land drains away slowly. The intermediate 
zone does not, like the upper one, reach into a damp and 
cloudy atmospher.e, 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 distance, a narrow but well- 
defined brilliantly white line was alone visible, where the 
waves first encountered the wall of coral. The mountains 
rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, in- 
cluded within this narrow white line, outside which the heav- 
ing waters of the ocean were dark-coloured. The view was 



430 CHARLES DARWIN 

striking: it may aptly be compared to a framed engraving, 
where the frame represents the breakers, the marginal paper 
the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the island itself. When 
in the evening I descended from the mountain, a man, whom 
I had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with him 
hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. After 
walking under a burning sun, I do not know anything more 
delicious than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples 
are here so abundant that the people eat them in the same 
wasteful manner as we might turnips. They are of an excel- 
lent 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 accom- 
pany 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 my- 
self and servant. These were lashed to each end of a long 
pole, which was alternately carried by my Tahitian com- 
panions on their shoulders. These men are accustomed thus 
to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds at each 
end of their poles. I told my guides to provide themselves 
with food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty 
of food in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins 
were sufficient. Our line of march was the valley of Tia- 
auru, down which a river flows into the sea by Point Venus. 
This is one of the principal streams in the island, and its 
source lies at the base of the loftiest central pinnacles, 
which rise to a height of about 7000 feet. The whole island 
is so mountainous that the only way to penetrate into the 
interior is to follow up the valleys. Our road, at first, lay 
through woods which bordered each side of the river ; and 
the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an 
avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one 
side, were extremely picturesque. The valley soon began to 
narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. 
After having walked between three and four hours, we 
found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that of the 
bed of the stream. On each hand the walls were nearly ver- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 431 

tical; yet from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees 
and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting lecige. 
These precipices must have been some thousand feet high; 
and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnifi- 
cent 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 procured a dish of small 
fish and fresh-water prawns. They carried with them a 
small net stretched on a hoop; and where the water was 
deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their 
eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus 
caught them. 

The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals 
in the water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how 
much they feel at home in this element. When a horse was 
landing for Pomarre in 1817, the slings broke, and it fell 
into the water; immediately the natives jumped overboard, 
and by their cries and vain efforts at assistance almost 
drowned it. As soon, however, as it reached the shore, the 
whole population took to flight, and tried to hide themselves 
from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse. 

A little higher up, the river divided itself into three little 
streams. The two northern ones were impracticable, owing 
to a succession of waterfalls which descended from the 
jagged summit of the highest mountain; the other to all 
appearance was equally inaccessible, but we managed to as- 
cend it by a most extraordinary road. The sides of the 
valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as frequently hap- 
pens 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 dis- 
covered 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 can- 



432 CHARLES DARWIN 

not 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 val- 
ley below. From this cool and shady recess we made a 
circuit to avoid the overhanging waterfall. As before, we 
followed little projecting ledges, the danger being partly 
concealed by the thickness of the vegetation. In passing 
from one of the ledges to another, there was a vertical wall 
of rock. One of the Tahitians, a fine active man, placed 
the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by 
the aid of crevices reached the summit. He fixed the ropes 
to a projecting point, and lowered them for our dog and 
luggage, and then we clambered up ourselves. Beneath the 
ledge on which the dead tree was placed, the precipice must 
have been five or six hundred feet deep; and if the abyss 
had not been partly concealed by the overhanging ferns and 
lilies my head would have turned giddy, and nothing should 
have induced me to have attempted it. We continued to 
ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife- 
edged ridges, having on each hand profound ravines. In 
the Cordillera I have seen mountains on a far grander 
scale, but for abruptness, nothing at all comparable with this. 
In the evening we reached a flat little spot on the banks 
of the same stream, which we had continued to follow, and 
which descends in a chain of waterfalls : here we bivouacked 
for the night. On each side of the ravine there were great 
beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit. Many 
of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, 
and from three to four in circumference. By the aid of 
strips of bark for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, 
and the large leaf of the banana for a thatch, the Tahitians 
in a few minutes built us an excellent house; and with 
withered leaves made a soft bed. 

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 tilia- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 433 

ceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is the same which 
serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the floating 
out-riggers to their canoes. The fire was produced in a few 
seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, 
it requires, as I found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to 
my great pride, I succeeded in igniting the dust. The 
Gaucho in the Pampas uses a different method: taking an 
elastic stick about eighteen inches long, he presses one end 
on his breast, and the other pointed end into a hole in a piece 
of wood, and then rapidly turns the curved part, like a car- 
penter's centre-bit. The Tahitians having made a small fire 
of sticks, placed a score of stones, of about the size of 
cricket-balls, on the burning wood. In about ten minutes the 
sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. They had previ- 
ously 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, arid 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 ad- 
miration. 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 fa- 
mous 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 



434 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 water- 
fall between two and three hundred feet high; and again 
above this there was another. I mention all these waterfalls 
in this one brook, to give a general idea of the inclination 
of the land. In the little recess where the water fell, it did 
not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. The thin 
edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray, 
were unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, 
split into a thousand shreds. From our position, almost sus- 
pended on the mountain side, there were glimpses into the 
depths of the neighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of 
the central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of 
the zenith, hid half the evening sky. Thus seated, it was 
a sublime spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually 
obscuring the last and highest pinnacles. 

Before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder Tahitian 
fell on his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long 
prayer in his native tongue. He prayed as a Christian should 
do, with fitting reverence, and without the fear of ridicule 
or any ostentation of piety. At our meals neither of the men 
would taste food, without saying beforehand a short grace. 
Those travellers who think that a Tahitian prays only when 
the eyes of the missionary are fixed on him, should have 
slept with us that night on the mountain-side. Before morn- 
ing it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of banana- 
leaves kept us dry. 

November ipth. — At daylight my friends, after their 
morning prayer, prepared an excellent breakfast in the same 
manner as in the evening. They themselves certainly par- 
took of it largely; indeed I never saw any men eat near so 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 435 

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 compara- 
tively small portion of nutriment. Unwittingly, I was the 
tneans 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 pre- 
vented, 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 per- 
suaded to join. Immediately a law was passed, that no 
spirits should be allowed to be introduced into the island, 
and that he who sold and he who bought the forbidden 
article should be punished by a fine. With remarkable jus- 
tice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand to be 
sold, before the law came into effect. But when it did, a 
general search was made, in which even the houses of the 
missionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the 
natives call all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. 
When one reflects on the effect of intemperance on the 
aborigines of the two Americas, I think it will be acknowl- 
edged that every well-wisher of Tahiti owes no common debt 
of gratitude to the missionaries. As long as the little island 
of St. Helena remained under the government of the East 
India Company, spirits, owing to the great injury they had 
produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine was 
supplied from the Cape of Good Hope. It is rather a strik- 
ing 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 ob- 
ject 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 



436 CHARLES DARWIN 

the valley. In the less precipitous parts we passed through 
extensive groves of the wild banana. The Tahitians, with 
their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads ornamented with 
flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these groves, would 
have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some primeval 
land. In our descent we followed the line of ridges; these 
were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep 
as a ladder; but all clothed with vegetation. The extreme 
care necessary in poising each step rendered the walk fa- 
tiguing. I did not cease to wonder at these ravines and 
precipices: when viewing the country from one of the knife- 
edged ridges, the point of support was so small, that the 
effect was nearly the same as it must be from a balloon. In 
this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only once, at 
the point where we entered the main valley. We slept under 
the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before : 
the night was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the 
gorge, profoundly dark. 

Before actually seeing this country, I found it difficult 
to understand two facts mentioned by Ellis; namely, that 
after the murderous battles of former times, the survivors 
on the conquered side retired into the mountains, where a 
handful of men could resist a multitude. Certainly half 
a dozen men, at the spot where the Tahitian reared the old 
tree, could easily have repulsed thousands. Secondly, that 
after the introduction of Christianity, there were wild men 
who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats were un- 
known to the more civilized inhabitants. 

November 20th. — In the morning we started early, and 
reached Matavai at noon. On the read 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, inter- 
spersed with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge. 

From the varying accounts which I had read before reach- 
ing these islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own 
observation, a judgment of their moral state, — although such 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 437 

judgment would necessarily be very imperfect. First im- 
pressions at all times very much depend on one's previously 
acquired ideas. My notions were drawn from Ellis's " Poly- 
nesian Researches " — an admirable and most interesting 
work, but naturally looking at everything under a favourable 
point of view; from Beechey's Voyage; and from that of 
Kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary 
system. He who compares these three accounts will, I think, 
form a tolerably accurate conception of the present state of 
Tahiti. One of my impressions, which I took from the two 
last authorities, was decidedly incorrect; viz., that the Ta- 
hitians had become a gloomy race, and lived in fear of the 
missionaries. Of the latter feeling I saw no trace, unless, 
indeed, fear and respect be confounded under one name. 
Instead of discontent being a common feeling, it would be 
difficult in Europe to pick out of a crowd half so many merry 
and happy faces. The prohibition of the flute and dancing 
is inveighed against as wrong and foolish; — the more than 
presbyterian manner of keeping the sabbath is looked at in 
a similar light. On these points I will not pretend to offer 
any opinion to men who have resided as many years as I 
was days on the island. 

On the whole, it appears to me that the morality and 
religion of the inhabitants are highly creditable. There arc 
many who attack, even more acrimoniously than Kotzebue, 
both the missionaries, their system, and the effects produced 
by it Such reasoners never compare the present state with 
that of the island only twenty years ago ; nor even with that 
of Europe at this day; but they compare it with the high 
standard of Gospel perfection. They expect the missionaries 
to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to do. 
Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of 
this high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, in- 
stead 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 unparal- 
leled 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 abol- 
ished; and that dishonesty, intemperance, and licentiousness 



438 CHARLES DARWIN 

have been greatly reduced by the introduction of Christianity. 
In a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for 
should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some 
unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson of 
the missionary may have extended thus far. 

In point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been 
often said, is most open to exception. But before they are 
blamed too severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind 
the scenes described by Captain Cook and Mr. Banks, in 
which the grandmothers and mothers of the present race 
played a part. Those who are most severe, should consider 
how much of the morality of the women in Europe is owing 
to the system early impressed by mothers on their daughters, 
and how much in each individual case to the precepts of re- 
ligion. But it is useless to argue against such reasoners; — I 
believe that, disappointed in not finding the field of licen- 
tiousness 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 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 ex- 
pectations were raised too high. At all events the appear- 
ance 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 serv- 
ice, 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 439 

which were then under the dominion of the Queen of Tahiti. 
It was believed that the perpetrators were instigated to this 
act by some indiscreet laws issued by her majesty. The 
British government demanded compensation; which was ac- 
ceded to, and the sum of nearly three thousand dollars was 
agreed to be paid on the first of last September. The Com- 
modore 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 assembled. I will not at- 
tempt to describe what took place, after the interesting ac- 
count 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 re- 
solved to subscribe and complete the sum which was want- 
ing; Captain Fitz Roy urged that it was hard that their pri- 
vate property should be sacrificed for the crimes of distant 
islanders. They replied, that they were grateful for his con- 
sideration, but that Pomarre was their Queen, and that they 
were determined to help her in this her difficulty. This reso- 
lution 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 in- 
telligent questions on international customs and laws, relat- 
ing to the treatment of ships and foreigners. On some 
points, as soon as the decision was made, the law was issued 
verbally on the spot. This Tahitian parliament lasted for 
several hours; and when it was over Captain Fitz Roy in- 
vited Queen Pomarre to pay the Beagle a visit. 

November 25th. — In the evening four boats were sent for 



440 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 Cap- 
tain 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 ex- 
plosion. 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. 

26th. — 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 Zealand. We may now consider that we have nearly 
crossed the Pacific. It is necessary to sail over this great 
ocean to comprehend its immensity. Moving quickly on- 
wards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the 
same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. Even within the archi- 
pelagoes, the islands are mere specks, and far distant one 
from the other. Accustomed to look at maps drawn on a 
small scale, where dots, shading, and names are crowded 
together, we do not rightly judge how infinitely small the 
proportion of dry land is to 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 last- 
ing 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 441 

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-look- 
ing houses are scattered close down to the water's edge. 
Three whaling-ships were lying at anchor, and a canoe every 
now and then crossed from shore to shore; with these 
exceptions, an air of extreme quietness reigned over the 
whole district. Only a single canoe came alongside. This, 
and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a remarkable, 
and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and boisterous 
welcome at Tahiti. 

In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger 
groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a 
village. Its name is Pahia : it is the residence of the mis- 
sionaries; 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, that they can scarcely be perceived from a dis- 
tance. At Pahia, it was quite pleasing to behold the En- 
glish flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were 
roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and 
whole hedges of sweetbrier. 

December ?2nd. — 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 



442 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 in- 
land in like manner showed an artificial outline. These are 
the Pas, so frequently mentioned by Captain Cook under the 
name of " hippah ; " the difference of sound being owing to 
the prefixed article. 

That the Pas had formerly been much used, was evident 
from the piles of shells, and the pits in which, as I was 
informed, sweet potatoes used to be kept as a reserve. As 
there was no water on these hills, the defenders could never 
have anticipated a long siege, but only a hurried attack for 
plunder, against which the successive terraces would have 
afforded good protection. The general introduction of fire- 
arms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an ex- 
posed 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 reconnoitre their enemies. The Rev. W. Williams, who 
gave me this account, added, that in one Pas he had noticed 
spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected 
side of the mound of earth. On asking the chief the use 
of them, he replied, that if two or three of his men were 
shot, their neighbours would not see the bodies, and so be 
discouraged. 

These Pas are considered by the New Zealanders as very 
perfect means of defence: for the attacking force is never 
so well disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut 
it down, and effect their entry. When a tribe goes to war, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 443 

the chief cannot order one party to go here and another 
there ; but every man fights in the manner which best pleases 
himself; and to each separate individual to approach a stock- 
ade 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 illustrates this: the act of throwing volleys 
of stones at so great and novel an object, and their defiance 
of " Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows 
uncommon boldness. This warlike spirit is evident in many 
of their customs, and even in their smallest actions. If a 
New Zealander is struck, although but in joke, the blow 
must be returned and of this I saw an instance with one 
of our officers. 

At the present day, from the progress of 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 for- 
ward as an unanswerable argument for the necessity of im- 
mediately declaring war : the idea of allowing so much good 
gunpowder to spoil was not to be thought of; and this set- 
tled the point. I was told by the missionaries that in the 
life of Shongi, the chief who visited England, the love of 
war was the one and lasting spring of every action. The 
tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time been 
oppressed by another tribe from the Thames River. A 
solemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys 
should grow up, and they should be powerful enough, they 
would never forget or forgive these injuries. To fulfil this 
oath appears to have been Shongi's chief motive for going 
to England; and when there it was his sole object. Pres- 
ents were valued only as they could be converted into arms ; 



444 CHARLES DARWIN 

of the arts, those alone interested him which were connected 
with the manufacture of arms. When at Sydney, Shongi, 
by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the Thames 
River at the house of Mr. Marsden : their conduct was civil 
to each other; but Shongi told him that when again in New 
Zealand he would never cease to carry war into his country. 
The challenge was accepted; and Shongi on his return ful- 
filled the threat to the utmost letter. The tribe on the 
Thames River was utterly overthrown, and the chief to 
whom the challenge had been given was himself killed. 
Shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of hatred 
and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured 
person. 

In the evening I went with Captain Fitz Roy and Mr. 
Baker, one of the missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika : 
we wandered about the village, and saw and conversed with 
many of the people, both men, women, and children. Look- 
ing 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 manner 
in which tattooing is here practised, gives a disagreeable 
expression to their countenances. The complicated but sym- 
metrical figures covering the whole face, puzzle and mislead 
an unaccustomed eye : it is moreover probable, that the deep 
incisions, by destroying the play of the superficial muscles, 
give an air of rigid inflexibility. But, besides this, there is 
a twinkling in the eye, which cannot indicate anything but 
cunning and ferocity. Their figures are tall and bulky; but 
not comparable in elegance with those of the working- 
classes in Tahiti. 

But their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offen- 
sive: the idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes 
never seems to enter their heads. I saw a chief, who was 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 445 

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 prin- 
cipal 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 western coasts, the missionaries have purchased 
some land for agricultural 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 neces- 
sary 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 ap- 
peared 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 hec- 
toring manner, saying, " great chief, a great man, a friend 
of mine, has come to pay me a visit — you must give him 
something good to eat, some fine presents, etc." Mr. Bushby 
has allowed him to finish his discourse, and then has quietly 
replied by some answer such as, " What else shall your slave 



446 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 Zealand- 
ers as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night attack, and 
that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill in the house : this latter cir- 
cumstance, 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 con- 
sidered by the British as of more consequence than the con- 
fiscation 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. Physiog- 
nomy here spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious 
murderer, and was an arrant coward to boot. At the point 
where the boat landed, Mr. Bushby accompanied me a few 
hundred yards on the road: I could not help admiring the 
cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we left lying 
in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby, " Do not you 
stay long, I shall be tired of waiting here." 

We now commenced our walk. The road lay along a 
well beaten path, bordered on each side by the tall fern, 
which covers the whole country. After travelling some 
miles, we came to a little country village, where a few hovels 
were collected together, and some patches of ground culti- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 447 

vated with potatoes. The introduction of the potato has 
been the most essential benefit to the island ; it is now much 
more used than any native vegetable. New Zealand is 
favoured by one great natural advantage; namely, that the 
inhabitants can never perish from famine. The whole 
country abounds with fern: and the roots of this plant, if 
not very palatable, yet contain much nutriment. A native 
can always subsist on these, and on the shell-fish, which are 
abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. The villages are 
chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised on 
four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on 
which the produce of the fields is kept secure from all 
accidents. 

On coming near one of the huts I was much amused by 
seeing in due form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought 
to be called, pressing noses. The women, on our first ap- 
proach, began uttering something in a most dolorous voice; 
they then squatted themselves down and held up their faces ; 
my companion standing over them, one after another, placed 
the bridge of his nose at right angles to theirs, and com- 
menced 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. Dur- 
ing the process they uttered comfortable little grunts, very 
much in the same manner as two pigs do, when rubbing 
against each other. I noticed that the slave would press 
noses with any one he met, indifferently either before or 
after his master the chief. Although among 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 Af- 
rica, with the rude Bachapins. 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 com- 
pleted 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, 



448 CHARLES DARWIN 

and all agree in being filthily dirty. They resemble a cow- 
shed with one end open, but having a partition a little way 
within, with a square hole in it, making a small gloomy 
chamber. In this the inhabitants keep all their property, 
and when the weather is cold they sleep there. They eat, 
however, and pass their time in the open part in front. My 
guides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. 
The path led through the same undulating country, the whole 
uniformly clothed as before with fern. On our right hand 
we had a serpentine river, the banks of which were fringed 
with trees, and here and there on the hill sides there was a 
clump of wood. The whole scene, in spite of its green col- 
our, had rather a desolate aspect. The sight of so much fern 
impresses the mind with an idea of sterility: this, however, 
is not correct ; for wherever the fern grows thick and breast- 
high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of the 
residents think that all this extensive open country originally 
was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. 
It is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the 
kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently 
found. The natives had an evident motive in clearing the 
country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food, 
flourishes only in the open cleared tracks. The almost entire 
absence of associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a 
feature in the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be 
accounted for by the land having been aboriginally covered 
with forest-trees. 

The soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over 
shaggy lavas, and craters could clearly be distinguished on 
several of the neighbouring hills. Although the scenery is 
nowhere beautiful, and only occasionally pretty, I enjoyed 
my walk. I should have enjoyed it more, if my companion, 
the chief, had not possessed extraordinary conversational 
powers. I knew only three words : " good," " bad," and 
" yes : " and with these I answered all his remarks, without 
of course having understood one word he said. This, how- 
ever, 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 449 

appearance of an English farm-house, and its well-dressed 
fields, placed there as if by an enchanter's wand, was exceed- 
ingly pleasant. Mr. Williams not being at home, I received 
in Mr. Davies's house a cordial welcome. After drinking tea 
with his family party, we took a stroll about the farm. At 
Waimate there are three large houses, where the missionary 
gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside; 
and near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an 
adjoining slope, fine crops of barley and wheat were standing 
in full ear ; and in another part, fields of potatoes and clover. 
But I cannot attempt to describe all I saw ; there were large 
gardens, with every fruit and vegetable which England pro- 
duces; and many belonging to a warmer clime. I may 
instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers, rhubarb, apples, 
pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives, gooseberries, 
currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks ; also many 
kinds of flowers. Around the farm-yard there were stables, 
a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's 
forge, and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in 
the middle was that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying 
comfortably together, as in every English 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 workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected 
this change; — the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's 
wand. The house had been built, the windows framed, the 
fields ploughed, and even the trees grafted, by a New Zea- 
lander. 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 father- 
land : nor was it the triumphant feeling at seeing what Eng- 
lishmen could effect ; but rather the high hopes thus inspired 
for the future progress of this fine island. 

vol. xxix — o hc 



450 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 appear- 
ance. Judging from one trifling anecdote, I should think 
they must be honest. When walking in the fields, a young 
labourer came up to Mr. Davies, and gave him a knife and 
gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and did 
not know to whom they belonged ! These young men and 
boys appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the even- 
ing I saw a party of them at cricket : when I thought of the 
austerity of which the missionaries have been accused, I was 
amused by observing one of their own sons taking an active 
part in the game. A more decided and pleasing change was 
manifested in the young women, who acted as servants within 
the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy appearance, like 
that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a wonderful 
contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in Kororadika. 
The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to 
be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the 
south, they, said, " We really must just have a few lines on 
our lips ; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we 
shall be so very ugly." There is not nearly so much tattooing 
as formerly; but as it is a badge of distinction between the 
chief and the slave, it will probably long be practised. So 
soon does any train of ideas become habitual, that the mis- 
sionaries 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 cannibal- 
ism, 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 451 

tobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the mis- 
sionaries, for soap. Mr. Davies's eldest son, who manages a 
farm of his own, is the man of business in the market. The 
children of the missionaries, who came while young to the 
island, understand the language better than their parents, 
and can get anything more readily done by the natives. 

A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked 
with me to 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 circumference above the roots. 
There was another close by, which I did not see, thirty-three 
feet; and I heard of one no less than forty feet. These trees 
are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical boles, which run 
up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet, with a nearly 
equal diameter, and without a single branch. The crown 
of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to 
the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with 
the branches. The forest was here almost composed of the 
kauri; and the largest trees, from the parallelism of their 
sides, stood up like gigantic columns of wood. The timber 
of the kauri is the most valuable production of the island; 
moreover, a quantity of resin oozes from the bark, which is 
sold at a penny a pound to the Americans, but its use was 
then unknown. Some of the New Zealand forest must be 
impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. Mr. Matthews 
informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in width, 
and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for 
the first time, been crossed. He and another missionary, 
each with a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a 
road; but it cost 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, extend- 
ing over more than 700 miles in latitude, and in many parts 
ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine climate, and land 
of all heights, from 14,000 feet downwards, with the excep- 
tion of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous animal. 
The several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the Dei- 
nornis 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 



452 CHARLES DARWIN 

the short space of two years, annihilated in this northern 
end of the island, the New Zealand species. In many places 
I noticed several sorts of weeds, which, like the rats, I was 
forced to own as countrymen. A leek has overrun whole 
districts, and will prove very troublesome, but it was im- 
ported as a favour by a French vessel. The common dock 
is also widely disseminated, and will, I fear, for ever remain 
a proof of the rascality of an Englishman, who sold the seeds 
for those of the tobacco plant. 

On returning from our pleasant walk to the house, I dined 
with Mr. Williams; and then, a horse being lent me, I re- 
turned to the Bay of Islands. I took leave of the missionaries 
with thankfulness for their kind welcome, and with feel- 
ings 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 canni- 
balism; 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 banquet might have been 
lying there for several years. It is probable that the moral 
state of the people will rapidly improve. Mr. Bushby men- 
tioned 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 453 

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 notorious from having lately hung one of his 
wives and a slave for adultery. When one of the mission- 
aries 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 ap- 
proached. One of the young men, however, cried out, " Let 
us all be brave/' and ran on ahead ; but when within a hun- 



454 CHARLES DARWIN 

dred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped 
short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us 
to examine the whole place. At this village we rested some 
hours, during which time there was a long discussion with 
Mr. Bushby, concerning the right of sale of certain lands. 
One old man, who appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated 
the successive possessors by bits of stick driven into the 
ground. Before leaving the houses a little basketful of 
roasted sweet potatoes was given to each of our party; and 
we all, according to the custom, carried them away to eat 
on the road. I noticed that among the women employed in 
cooking, there was a man-slave: it must be a humiliating 
thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed in 
doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work. 
Slaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can 
hardly be considered as a hardship. I heard of one poor 
wretch who, during hostilities, ran away to the opposite 
party; being met by two men, he was immediately seized; 
but as they could not agree to whom he should belong, each 
stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed determined 
that the other at least should not take him away alive. The 
poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the 
address of a chief's wife. We afterwards enjoyed a pleasant 
walk back to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in 
the evening. 

December 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 gener- 
ated by associated Men in health — Blue Mountains — View of the 
grand gulf-like Valleys — Their origin and formation — Bathurst, gen- 
eral 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, 1836. — Early in the morning a light air 
carried us towards the entrance of Port Jackson. In- 
stead 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 strati- 
fied 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 

455 



456 CHARLES DARWIN 

seeing more of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration 
fell a little ; but yet it is a fine town. The streets are regular, 
broad, clean, and kept in excellent order; the houses are of a 
good size, and the shops well furnished. It may be faithfully 
compared to the large suburbs which stretch out from London 
and a few other great towns in England; but not even near 
London or Birmingham is there an appearance of such rapid 
growth. The nuinber of large houses and other buildings just 
finished was truly surprising; nevertheless, every one com- 
plained 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 car- 
riage 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 excur- 
sion. The first stage took us to Paramatta, a small country 
town, next to Sydney in importance. The roads were excel- 
lent, and made upon the MacAdam principle, whinstone hav- 
ing 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 com- 
fortable 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 457 

land are under cultivation, the greater part yet remains as 
when first discovered. 

The extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most 
remarkable feature in the landscape of the greater part of 
New South Wales. Everywhere we have an open woodland, 
the ground being partially covered with a very thin pasture, 
with little appearance of verdure. The trees nearly all 
belong to one family, and mostly have their leaves placed in 
a vertical, instead of, as in Europe, in a nearly horizontal 
position : the foliage is scanty, and of a peculiar pale green 
tint; without any gloss. Hence the woods appear light and 
shadowless : this, although a loss of comfort to the traveller 
under the scorching rays of summer, is of importance to the 
farmer, as it allows grass to grow where it otherwise would 
not. The leaves are not shed periodically: this character 
appears common to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, 
South America, Australia, and the Cape of Good Hope. The 
inhabitants of this hemisphere, and of the intertropical 
regions, thus lose perhaps one of the most glorious, though 
to our eyes common, spectacles in the world — the first burst- 
ing 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 ex- 
quisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those living 
within the tropics, sated during the long year with the gor- 
geous productions of those glowing climates, can never ex- 
perience. The greater number of the trees, with the excep- 
tion 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 



458 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 repre- 
sented. In their own arts they are admirable. A cap being 
fixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a spear, 
delivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow 
from the bow of a practised archer. In tracking animals or 
men they show most wonderful sagacity ; and I heard of sev- 
eral of their remarks which manifested considerable acute- 
ness. 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 com- 
mon people, keep up their ancient distinctions, and some- 
times 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 

1 It is remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates. 
At the little island of St. Helena the introduction of scarlet fever is dreaded 
as a plague. In some countries, foreigners and natives are as differently 
affected by certain contagious disorders as if they had been different ani- 
mals; 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 459 

procuring food increases, so must their wandering habits 
increase; and hence the population, without any apparent 
deaths from famine, is repressed in a manner extremely 
sudden compared to what happens in civilized countries, 
where the father, though in adding to his labour he may in- 
jure himself, does not destroy his offspring. 

Besides the several evident causes of destruction, there 
appears to be some more mysterious agency generally at 
work. Wherever the European has trod, death seems to pur- 
sue 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 extrac- 
tion has in parts of the East Indian archipelago, thus driven 
before him the dark-coloured native. The varieties of man 
seem to act on each other in the same way as different species 
of animals — the stronger always extirpating the weaker. It 
was melancholy at New Zealand to hear the fine energetic 
natives saying, that they knew the land was doomed to pass 
from their children. Every one has heard of the inexplicable 
reduction of the population in the beautiful and healthy island 
of Tahiti since the date of Captain Cook's voyages : although 
in that case we might have expected that it would have been 
increased; for infanticide, which formerly prevailed to so 
extraordinary a degree, has ceased; profligacy has greatly 
diminished, and the murderous wars become less frequent. 

The Rev. J. Williams, in his interesting work 2 , says, that 
the first intercourse between natives and Europeans, " is in- 
variably attended with the introduction of fever, dysentery, 
or some other disease, which carries off numbers of the peo- 
ple. ,, Again he affirms, " It is certainly a fact, which cannot 
be controverted, that most of the diseases which have raged 
in the islands during my residence there, have been intro- 
duced by ships; 3 and what renders this fact remarkable is, 

3 Narrative of Missionary Enterprise, p. 282. 

f Captain Beechey (chap, iv., vol. i.) states that the inhabitants of Pit- 
cairn Island are firmly convinced that after the arrival of every ship they 
suffer cutaneous and other disorders. Captain Beechey attributes this to 
the change of diet during the time of the visit. Dr. Macculloch (Western 
Isles, 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 



460 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 malig- 
nant fevers having broken out, although the parties them- 
selves, 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 con- 
stables before a magistrate; and although the man himself 
was not ill, the four constables died from a short putrid 
fever; but the contagion extended to no others. From these 
facts it would almost appear as if the effluvium of one set 
of men shut up for some time together was poisonous when 
inhaled by others; and possibly more so, if the men be of 
different races. Mysterious as this circumstance appears to 
be, it is not more surprising than that the body of one's 
fellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction 
has commenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality, 
that the mere puncture from an instrument used in its dis- 
section, should prove fatal. 

17th. — Early in the morning we passed the Nepean in a 
ferry-boat. The river, although at this spot both broad and 
deep, had a very small body of running water. Having 
crossed a low piece of land on the opposite side, we reached 
the slope of the Blue Mountains. The ascent is not steep, 
the road having been cut with much care on the side of a 
sandstone cliff. On the summit an almost level plain extends, 
which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last attains 
a height of more than 3000 feet. From so grand a title as 
Blue Mountains, and from their absolute altitude, I expected 
to have seen a bold chain of mountains crossing the coun- 

us to the inhabitants who unanimously agreed in the story." In Vancou- 
ver's Voyage, there is a somewhat similar statement with respect to Otaheitc 
Dr. Dieffenbach, in a note to his translation of this Journal, states that the 
same fact is universally believed by the inhabitants of the Chatham Islands, 
and in parts of New Zealand. It is impossible that such a belief should 
have become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the Antipodes, and 
in the Pacific, without some good foundation. Humboldt (Polit. Essay on 
King of New Spain, vol. iv.) says, that the great epidemics of Panama and 
Callao are " marked " by the arrival of ships from Chile, because the people 
from that temperate region, first experience the fatal effects of the torrid 
zones. I may add, that I have heard it stated in Shropshire, that sheep, 
which have been imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy 
condition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently produce sick- 
ness in the flock. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 461 

try; but instead of this, a sloping plain presents merely an 
inconsiderable front to the low land near the coast. From 
this first slope, the view of the extensive woodland to the 
east was striking, and the surrounding trees grew bold and 
lofty. But when once on the sandstone platform, the scenery 
becomes exceedingly monotonous; each side of the road is 
bordered by scrubby trees of the never-failing Eucalyptus 
family; and with the exception of two or three small inns, 
there are no houses or cultivated land: the road, moreover, 
is solitary; the most frequent object being a bullock-waggon, 
piled up with bales of wool. 

In the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little 
inn, called the Weatherboard. The country here is elevated 
2800 feet above the sea. About a mile and a half from this 
place there is a view exceedingly well worth visiting. Fol- 
lowing 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 sand- 



462 CHARLES DARWIN 

stone 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 Govetfs Leap; a view of a similar character 
with that near the Weatherboard, but perhaps even more 
stupendous. So early in the day the gulf was filled with a 
thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect 
of the view added to the apparent depth at which the forest 
was stretched out beneath our feet. These valleys, which so 
long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the 
most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are 
most remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at their 
upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and pen- 
etrate the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the plat- 
form 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 pen- 
etrated, and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in 
their cattle. But the most remarkable feature in their struc- 
ture 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, 4 endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by 
crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, 
to ascend through the gorge by which the river Grose joins 
the Nepean; yet the valley of the Grose in its upper part, 
as I saw, forms a magnificent level basin some miles in 
width, and is on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits 
of which are believed to be nowhere less than 3000 feet 
above the level of the sea. When cattle are driven into the 
valley of the Wolgan by a path (which I descended), partly 

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 463 

natural and partly made by the owner of the land, they can- 
not escape ; for this valley is in every other part surrounded 
by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down, it con- 
tracts 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 iooo feet in depth. Other 
similar cases might have been added. 

The first impression, on seeing the correspondence of the 
horizontal strata on each side of these valleys and great 
amphitheatrical depressions, is that they have been hollowed 
out, like other valleys, by the action of water; but when one 
reflects on the enormous amount of stone, which on this 
view must have been removed through mere gorges or 
chasms, one is led to ask whether these spaces may not have 
subsided. But considering the form of the irregularly 
branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories projecting 
into them from the platforms, we are compelled to abandon 
this notion. To attribute these hollows to the present allu- 
vial action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage 
from the summit-level always fall, as I remarked near the 
Weatherboard, into the head of these valleys, but into one 
side of their bay-like recesses. Some of the inhabitants re- 
marked 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, 



464 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 sand- 
stone platforms of New South Wales, I imagine that the 
strata were heaped by the action of strong currents, and of 
the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular bottom; and 
that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had their steeply 
sloping flanks worn into cliffs, during a slow elevation of 
the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed, either at 
the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the retreating 
sea, or subsequently by alluvial action. 

Soon after leaving the Blackheath, we descended from the 
sandstone platform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect 
this pass, an enormous quantity of stone has been cut 
through; the design, and its manner of execution, being 
worthy of any line of road in England. We now entered 
upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet, and 
consisting of granite. With the change of rock, the vegeta- 
tion improved; the trees were both finer and stood farther 
apart ; and the pasture between them was a little greener and 
more plentiful. At Hassan's Walls, I left the high road, 
and made a short detour to a farm called Walerawang; to 
the superintendent of which I had a letter of introduction 
from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the kindness to 
ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had much pleasure 
in doing. This place offers an example of one of the large 
farming, or rather sheep-grazing establishments of the 
colony. Cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather 
more numerous than usual, owing to some of the valleys 
being swampy and producing a coarser pasture. Two or 
three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared and 
cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men were now reap- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 465 

ing: 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. Al- 
though 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 superin- 
tendent, had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. 
We continued riding the greater part of the day, but had 
very bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. 
The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree, 
out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as large as a 
rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years since 
this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu 
is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become 
scarce; to both the English greyhound has been highly de- 
structive. 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 delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems 
predestined to inherit the country of his children. 

Although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. 
The woodland is generally so open that a person on horse- 
back can gallop through it. It is traversed by a few flat- 
bottomed valleys, which are green and free from trees: in 
such spots the scenery was pretty like that of a park. In the 
whole country I scarcely saw a place without the marks of a 
fire ; whether these had been more or less recent — whether 
the stump6 were more or less black, was the greatest change 



466 CHARLES DARWIN 

which varied the uniformity, so wearisome to the traveller's 
eye. In these woods there are not many birds; I saw, how- 
ever, some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a 
corn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows, like our 
jackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something 
like the magpie. In the dusk of the evening I took a stroll 
along a chain of ponds, which in this dry country represented 
the course of a river, and had the good fortune to see several 
of the famous Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. They were 
diving and playing about the surface of the water, but 
showed so little of their bodies, that they might easily have 
been mistaken for water-rats. Mr. Browne shot one: cer- 
tainly 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 

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 experienced this day the sirocco-like wind 
of Australia, which comes from the parched deserts of the 
interior. Clouds of dust were travelling in every direction; 
and the wind felt as if it had passed over a fire. I after- 
wards 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 coun- 
try, 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 road- 
side, nor too good a one from Bathurst ; in this latter respect, 

5 I was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall of the lion- 
ant, or some other insect; first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and 
immediately disappeared; then came a large but unwary ant; its struggles 
to escape being very violent, those curious little jets of sand, described by 
Kirby and Spence (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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 467 

I did not feel myself in the least danger of being preju- 
diced. The season, it must be owned, had been one of great 
drought, and the country did not wear a favourable aspect; 
although I understand it was incomparably worse two or 
three months before. The secret of the rapidly growing 
prosperity of Bathurst is, that the brown pasture which 
appears to the stranger's eye so wretched, is excellent for 
sheep-grazing. The town stands, at the height of 2200 feet 
above the sea, on the banks of the Macquarie. This is one of 
the rivers flowing into the vast and scarcely known interior. 
The line of watershed, which divides the inland streams from 
those on the coast, has a height of about 3000 feet, and runs 
in a north and south direction at the distance of from eighty 
to a hundred miles from the 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 surprise 
I found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other 
by spaces almost dry. Generally a small stream is running; 
and sometimes there are high and impetuous floods. Scanty 
as the supply of the water is throughout this district, it 
becomes still scantier further inland. 

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 wished to sleep was some way off the road, 
and not easily found. I met on this occasion, and indeed on 
all others, a very general and ready civility among the lower 
orders, which, when one considers what they are, and what 
they have been, would scarcely have been expected. The 
farm where I passed the night, was owned by two young 
men who had only lately come out, and were beginning a 
settler's life. The total want of almost every comfort was 
not attractive; but future and certain prosperity was before 
their eyes, and that not far distant. 

The next day we passed through large tracts of country in 
flames, volumes of smoke sweeping across the road. Before 
noon we joined our former road, and ascended Mount Vic- 
toria. I slept at the Weatherboard, and before dark took 
another walk to the amphitheatre. On the road to Sydney 
I spent a very pleasant evening with Captain King at Dun- 



468 CHARLES DARWIN 

heved; and thus ended my little excursion in the colony of 
New South Wales. 

Before arriving here the three things which interested me 
most were — the state of society amongst the higher classes, 
the condition of the convicts, and the degree of attraction 
sufficient to induce persons to emigrate. Of course, after 
so very short a visit, one's opinion is worth scarcely any- 
thing; but it is as difficult not to form some opinion, as it is 
to form a correct judgment. On the whole, from what I 
heard, more than from what I saw, I was disappointed in the 
state of society. The whole community is rancorously 
divided into parties on almost every subject. Among those 
who, from their station in life, ought to be the best, many 
live in such open profligacy that respectable people cannot 
associate with them. There is much jealousy between the 
children of the rich emancipist and the free settlers, the 
former being pleased to consider honest men as interlopers. 
The whole population, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring 
wealth: amongst the higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing 
form the constant subject of conversation. There are many 
serious drawbacks to the comforts of a family, the chief of 
which, perhaps, is being surrounded by convict servants. 
How thoroughly odious to every feeling, to be waited on by 
a man who the day before, perhaps, was flogged, from your 
representation, for some trifling misdemeanor. The female 
servants are of course, much worse: hence children learn the 
vilest expressions, and it is fortunate, if not equally vile 
ideas. 

On the other hand, the capital of a person, without any 
trouble on his part, produces him treble interest to what it 
will in England ; and with care he is sure to grow rich. The 
luxuries of life are in abundance, and very little dearer than 
in England, and most articles of food are cheaper. The 
climate is splendid, and perfectly healthy; but to my mind 
its charms are lost by the uninviting aspect of the country. 
Settlers possess a great advantage in finding their sons of 
service when very young. At the age of from sixteen to 
twenty, they frequently take charge of distant farming sta- 
tions. This, however, must happen at the expense of their 
boys associating entirely with convict servants. I am not 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 469 

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 ex- 
tremely poor. Agriculture, on account of the droughts, can 
never succeed on an extended scale: therefore, so far as I 
can see, Australia must ultimately depend upon being the 
centre of commerce for the southern hemisphere, and per- 
haps on her future manufactories. Possessing coal, she 
always has the moving power at hand. From the habitable 
country extending along the coast, and from her English 
extraction, she is sure to be a maritime nation. I formerly 
imagined that Australia would rise to be as grand and power- 
ful a country as North America, but now it appears to me 
that such future grandeur is rather problematical. 

With respect to the state of the convicts, I had still fewer 
opportunities of judging than on other points. The first 
question is, whether their condition is at all one of punish- 
ment: no one will maintain that it is a very severe one. 
This, however, I suppose, is of little consequence as long as 
it continues to be an object of dread to criminals at home. 
The corporeal wants of the convicts are tolerably well sup- 
plied: 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- 



470 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 Gov- 
ernment possesses in offering free pardons, together with the 
deep horror of the secluded penal settlements, destroys con- 
fidence 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 Qne of arrant cowardice: not 
unfrequently some become desperate, and quite indifferent as 
to life, yet a plan requiring cool or continued courage is 
seldom put into execution. The worst feature in the whole 
case is, that although there exists what may be called a legal 
reform, and comparatively little is committed which the law 
can touch, yet that any moral reform should take place 
appears to be quite out of the question. I was assured by 
well-informed people, that a man who should try to improve, 
could not while living with other assigned servants; — his 
life would be one of intolerable misery and persecution. Nor 
must the contamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both 
here and in England, be forgotten. On the whole, as a place 
of punishment, the object is scarcely gained; as a real system 
of reform it has failed, as perhaps would every other plan; 
but as a means of making men outwardly honest, — of con- 
verting 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 Die- 
men's Land. On the 5th of February, after a six days' pas- 
sage, of which the first part was fine, and the latter very cold 
and squally, we entered the mouth of Storm Bay: the weather 
justified this awful name. The bay should rather be called 
an estuary, for it receives at its head the waters of the Der- 
went. 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 471 

of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very lux- 
uriant. 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 magnifi- 
cent care has generally been paid to the fortifications, the 
means of defence in these colonies appeared very contempti- 
ble. 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 conse- 
quences, 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 correspond- 
ence 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 sev- 
eral years ; nothing seems fully to have impressed them with 
the idea of our overwhelming power, until the whole island, 
in 1830, was put under martial law, and by proclamation the 
whole population commanded to assist in one great attempt 
to secure the entire race. The plan adopted was nearly simi- 
lar to that of the great hunting-matches in India : a line was 
formed reaching across the island, with the intention of 



472 CHARLES DARWIN 

driving the natives into a cul-de-sac on Tasman's peninsula. 
The attempt failed; the natives, having tied up their dogs, 
stole during one night through the lines. This is far from 
surprising, when their practised senses, and usual manner 
of crawling after wild animals is considered. I have been 
assured that they can conceal themselves on almost bare 
ground, in a manner which until witnessed is scarcely credi- 
ble; their dusky bodies being easily mistaken for the black- 
ened 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 distin- 
guish him from the surrounding stumps. But to return to 
the hunting-match; the natives understanding this kind of 
warfare, were terribly alarmed, for they at once perceived 
the power and numbers of the whites. Shortly afterwards 
a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in; and, 
conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered them- 
selves 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, uncontami- 
nated by contact with the whites, swarms with children, those 
of Flinders' Island had during 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 geological structure of the immediate neigh- 
bourhood. 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 

• Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, p.354« 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 473 

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 farm- 
houses, situated in retired spots, had a very attractive ap- 
pearance. The general aspect of the vegetation is similar to 
that of Australia ; perhaps it is a little more green and cheer- 
ful; and the pasture between the trees rather more abun- 
dant. One day I took a long walk on the side of the bay op- 
posite to the town : I crossed in a steamboat, two of which 
are constantly plying backwards and forwards. The ma- 
chinery of one of these vessels was entirely manufactured in 
this colony, which, from its very foundation, then numbered 
only three and thirty years ! Another day I ascended Mount 
Wellington; I took with me a guide, for I failed in a first 
attempt, from the thickness of the wood. Our guide, how- 
ever, 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 moun- 
tain 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 com- 
posed 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, and we 
enjoyed a most extensive view ; to the north, the country ap- 
peared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height 
with that on which we were standing, and with an equally 



474 CHARLES DARWIN 

tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, form- 
ing 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 jth. — 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 protrud- 
ing. One day I went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a 
kangaroo hunt, and walked over a good many miles of coun- 
try. Everywhere we found the soil sandy, and very poor; 
it supported either a coarse vegetation of thin, low brush- 
wood 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 resem- 
bling 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 col- 
our of the brushwood and other plants, viewed from a dis- 
tance, 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 im- 
agined that they saw corals, and others that they saw petri- 
fied 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 round- 
ed 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 475 

cavities left 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, re- 
semble 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 spec- 
tators ; the Cockatoo and King George's men formed two dis- 
tinct 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 foot- 
steps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by beating their 
clubs and spears together, and by various other gesticula- 
tions, such as extending their arms and wriggling their 
bodies. It was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our 
ideas, without any sort of meaning; but we observed that 
the black women and children watched it with the greatest 
pleasure. Perhaps these dances originally represented actions, 
such as wars and victories; there was one called the Emu 
dance, in which each man extended his arm in a bent man- 
ner, 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 per- 
fect display of a festival amongst the lowest barbarians. In 
Tierra del Fuego, we have beheld many curious scenes in 



476 CHARLES DARWIN 

savage life, but never, I think, one where the natives were 
in such high spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. After 
the dancing was over, the whole party formed a great circle 
on the ground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, 
to the delight of all. 

After several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the 
14th of March, we gladly stood out of King George's Sound 
on our course to Keeling Island. Farewell, Australia! you 
are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great 
princess in the South: but you are too great and ambitious 
for affection, yet not great enough for respect. I leave your 
shores without sorrow or regret. 



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. 

APRIL ist. — We arrived in view of the Keeling or 
A\ Cocos Islands, situated in the Indian Ocean, and 
about six hundred miles distant from the coast of 
Sumatra. This is one of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of 
coral formation, similar to those in the Low Archipelago 
which we passed near. When the ship was in the channel 
at the entrance, Mr. Liesk, an English resident, came off in 
his boat. The history of the inhabitants of this place, in 
as few words as possible, is as follows. About nine years 
ago, Mr. Hare, a worthless character, brought from the East 
Indian archipelago a number of Malay slaves, which now, 
including children, amount to more than a hundred. Shortly 
afterwards, Captain Ross, who had before visited these isl- 
ands in his merchant-ship, arrived from England, bringing 
with him his family and goods for settlement: along with 
him came Mr. Liesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. 
The Malay slaves soon ran away from the islet on which 
Mr. Hare was settled, and joined Captain Ross's party. Mr. 
Hare upon this was ultimately obliged to leave the place. 

The Malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and 
certainly are so, as far as regards their personal treatment; 

477 



478 CHARLES DARWIN 

but in most other points they are considered as slaves. From 
their discontented state, from the repeated removals from 
islet to islet, and perhaps also from a little mismanagement, 
things are not very prosperous. The island has no domestic 
quadruped, excepting the pig, and the main vegetable pro- 
duction 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 mak- 
ing curries. On the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are 
loaded with fat, almost entirely subsist, as do the ducks and 
poultry. Even a huge land-crab is furnished by nature with 
the means to open and feed on this most useful production. 

The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted 
in the greater part of its length by linear islets. On the 
northern or leeward side, there is an opening through which 
vessels can pass to the anchorage within. On entering, the 
scene was very curious and rather pretty; its beauty, how- 
ever, 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 pleas- 
ing 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 hun- 
dred yards in width ; on the lagoon side there is a white cal- 
careous 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 vegeta- 
tion. On some of the smaller islets, nothing could be more 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 479 

elegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown 
cocoa-nut trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, 
were mingled into one wood. A beach of glittering white 
sand formed a border to these fairy spots. 

I will now give a sketch of the natural history of these 
islands, which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar 
interest. The cocoa-nut tree, at 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 con- 
sists of insignificant weeds. In my collection, which in- 
cludes, 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 I 1 

In Holman's 2 Travels an account is given, on the author- 
ity 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 

1 These plants are described in the Annals of Nat. Hist, vol. i., 1838, 
P. 337- 

2 Holman's Travels, vol. iv. p. 378. 



480 CHARLES DARWIN 

pepper-vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, and sup- 
porting 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 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 mangostin, are destroyed 
in the passage. Fishing-canoes, apparently from Java, have 
at times been washed on shore." It is interesting thus to 
discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from 
several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. Pro- 
fessor 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 pos- 
sible that they could have come here in a direct line. If, 
as suggested with much probability by Mr. Keating, they 
were first carried towards the coast of New Holland, and 
thence drifted back together with the productions of that 
country, the seeds, before germinating, must have travelled 
between 1800 and 2400 miles. 

Chamisso, 8 when describing the Radack Archipelago, situ- 
ated 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 some- 
where in the torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are 
washed on shore: these firs must have come from an im- 
mense distance. These facts are highly interesting. It can- 
not 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 

8 Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. iii. p. 155. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 481 

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 col- 
oured. There are no true land-birds ; for a snipe and a rail 
(Rallus Phillippensis), though living entirely in the dry 
herbage, belong to the order of Waders. Birds of this order 
are said to occur on several of the small low islands in the 
Pacific. At Ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail 
(Porphyrio simplex) was shot near the summit of the moun- 
tain, and it was evidently a solitary straggler. At Tristan 
d'Acunha, where, according to Carmichael, there are only 
two land-birds, there is a coot. From these facts I believe 
that the waders, after the innumerable web-footed species, 
are generally the first colonists of small isolated islands. I 
may add, that whenever I noticed birds, not of oceanic 
species, very far out at sea, they always belonged to this 
order; and hence they would naturally become the earliest 
colonists of any remote point of land. 

Of reptiles I saw only one small lizard. Of insects I took 
pains to collect every kind. Exclusive of spiders, which were 
numerous, there were thirteen species.* Of these, one only 
was a beetle. A small ant swarmed by thousands under the 
loose dry blocks of coral, and was the only true insect which 
was abundant. Although the productions of the land are 
thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surrounding sea, 
the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. Chamisso 
has described 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 

4 The thirteen species belong to the following orders: — In the Coleop- 
tera, a minute Elater; Orthoptera, a Gryllus and a Blatta; Hemiptera, one 

g>ecies; Homoptera, two; Neuroptera, a Chrysopa; Hymenoptera, two ants; 
epidoptera nocturna, a Diopaea, and a Pterophorus (?) ; Diptera, two species. 
6 Kotzebue's First Voyage, vol. iii. p. 222. 

VOL. XXIX — P HC 



482 CHARLES DARWIN 

here, though on a spot so immensely remote, and in a dif- 
ferent ocean. 

The long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have 
been raised only to that height to which the surf can throw 
fragments of coral, and the wind heap up calcareous sand. 
The solid flat of coral rock on the outside, by its breadth, 
breaks the first violence of the waves, which otherwise, in a 
day, would sweep away these islets and all their productions. 
The ocean and the land seem here struggling for mastery: 
although terra firma has obtained a footing, the denizens of 
the water think their claim at least equally good. In every 
part one meets hermit crabs of more than one species,® car- 
rying on their backs the shells which they have stolen from 
the neighbouring beach. Overhead, numerous gannets, frig- 
ate-birds, and terns, rest on the trees; and the wood, from 
the many nests and from the smell of the atmosphere, might 
be called a sea-rookery. The gannets, sitting on their rude 
nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. The noddies, 
as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. But there 
is one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which 
smoothly hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's 
head, its large black eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your 
expression. Little imagination is required to fancy that so 
light and delicate a body must be tenanted by some wander- 
ing fairy spirit. 

Sunday, April 3rd. — 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 deso- 
late 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 lan- 
guage: we saw the inhabitants of Borneo, Celebes, Java, and 

8 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 observation went I found it so, that certain 
species of the hermit-crab always use certain species of shells. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 483 

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 fur- 
niture; but it was evident, from the plumpness of the little 
children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad sustenance. 

On this island the wells are situated, from which ships 
obtain water. At first sight it appears not a little remarkable 
that the fresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the 
tides ; and it has even been imagined, that sand has the power 
of filtering the salt from the sea-water. These ebbing wells 
are common on some of the low islands in the West Indies. 
The compressed sand, or porous coral rock, is permeated like 
a sponge with the salt water ; but the rain which falls on the 
surface must sink to the level of the surrounding sea, and 
must accumulate there, displacing an equal bulk of the salt 
water. As the water in the lower part of the great sponge- 
like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the 
water near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass 
be sufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admix- 
ture; but where the land consists of great loose blocks of 
coral with open interstices, if a well be dug, the water, as I 
have seen, is brackish. 

After dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious 
scene acted by the Malay women. A large wooden spoon 
dressed in garments, and which had been carried to the grave 
of a dead man, they pretend becomes inspired at the full of 
the moon, and will dance and jump about. After the proper 
preparations, the spoon, held by two women, became con- 
vulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the surround- 
ing children and women. It was a most foolish spectacle; 
but Mr. Liesk maintained that many of the Malays believed 
in its spiritual movements. The dance did not commence till 
the moon had risen, and it was well worth remaining to be- 
hold 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. 



484 CHARLES DARWIN 

The next day I employed myself in examining the very in- 
teresting, 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 col- 
oured fishes, and the form and tints of many of the zoophytes 
were admirable. It is excusable to grow enthusiastic over 
the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of 
the tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet I must confess I 
think those naturalists who have described, in well-known 
words, the submarine grottoes decked with a thousand beau- 
ties, 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 intri- 
cate, 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 al- 
though 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 se- 
cured. It was quite an interesting chase to see the two boats 
thus doubling about, and the men dashing head foremost 
into the water trying to seize their prey. Captain Moresby 
informs me that in the Chagos archipelago in this same 
ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell from 
the back of the living turtle. " It is covered with burning 
charcoal, which causes the outer shell to curl upwards; it is 
then forced off with a knife, and before it becomes cold 
flattened between boards. After this barbarous process the 
animal is suffered to regain its native element, where, after 
a certain time, a new shell is formed; it is, however, too 
thin to be of any service, and the animal always appears 
languishing and sickly." 

When we arrived at the head of the lagoon, we crossed a 
narrow islet, and found a great surf breaking on the wind- 
ward coast. I can hardly explain the reason, but there is to 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 485 

my mind much grandeur in the view of the outer shores of 
these lagoon-islands. There is a simplicity in the barrier- 
like beach, the margin of green bushes and tall cocoa-nuts, 
the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed here and there 
with great loose fragments, and the line of furious break- 
ers, all rounding away towards either hand. The ocean 
throwing its waters over the broad reef appears an invinci- 
ble, all-powerful enemy; yet we see it resisted, and even 
conquered, by means which at first seem most weak and in- 
efficient. 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 be- 
speak the unrelenting power of the waves. Nor are any 
periods of repose granted. The long swell caused by the 
gentle but steady action of the trade-wind, always blow- 
ing in one direction over a wide area, causes breakers, almost 
equalling in force those during a gale of wind in the tem- 
perate regions, and which never cease to rage. It 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 frag- 
ments ; yet what will that tell against the accumulated labour 
of myriads of architects at work night and day, month after 
month? Thus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a 
polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering 
the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which 
neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature 
could successfully resist. 

We did not return on board till late in the evening, for we 
stayed a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of 
coral and the gigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a 
man were to put his hand, he would not, as long as the ani- 
mal lived, be able to withdraw it. Near the head of the 
lagoon I was much surprised to find a wide area, consider- 



486 CHARLES DARWIN 

ably more than a mile square, covered with a forest of deli- 
cately 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 de- 
termined by that of lowest water at spring tides. It appears, 
from some old charts, that the long island to windward was 
formerly separated by wide channels into several islets; this 
fact is likewise indicated by the trees being younger on these 
portions. Under the former condition of the reef, a strong 
breeze, by throwing more water over the barrier, would tend 
to raise the level of the lagoon. Now it acts in a directly 
contrary manner; for the water within the lagoon not only 
is not increased by currents from the outside, but is itself 
blown outwards by the force of the wind. Hence it is ob- 
served, 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 
Jhas 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. Cap- 
tain 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 ab- 
sence 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 487 

allow of its discovery, I was almost afraid of imagining a 
means of transport apparently so improbable. It was there- 
fore with great interest that I found Chamisso, the justly 
distinguished naturalist who accompanied Kotzebue, stating 
that the inhabitants of the Radack archipelago, a group of 
lagoon-islands in the midst of the Pacific, obtained stones 
for sharpening their instruments by searching the roots of 
trees which are cast upon the beach. It will be evident that 
this must have happened several times, since laws have been 
established that such stones belong to the chief, and a pun- 
ishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them. 
When the isolated position of these small islands in the 
midst of a vast ocean — their great distance from any land 
excepting that of coral formation, attested by the value 
which the inhabitants, who are such bold navigators, attach 
to a stone of any kind, 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 constructed of any other substance besides coral, they 
would scarcely .attract attention, and their origin at least 
would never be guessed. Moreover, this agency may long 
escape discovery from the probability of trees, especially 
those loaded with stones, floating beneath the surface. In 
the channels of Tierra del Fuego large quantities of drift 
timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is extremely rare to 
meet a tree swimming on the water. These facts may pos- 
sibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or 
rounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary 
masses. 

During another day I visited West Islet, on which the 
vegetation was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. 
The cocoa-nut trees generally grow separate, but here the 
young ones flourished beneath their tall parents, and formed 
with their long and curved fronds the most shady arbours. 
Those alone who have tried it, know how delicious it is to 
be seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid 
of the cocoa-nut. In this island there is a large bay-like 

7 Some natives carried by Kotzebue to Kamtschatka collected stones to 
take back to their country. 



488 CHARLES DARWIN 

space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite level 
and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this 
large bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods. 
To see a field of glittering white sand, representing water, 
with the cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving 
trunks 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 repeatedly seen this effected. The crab begins 
by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that 
end under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this 
is completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy 
claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is made. Then 
turning round its body, by the aid of its posterior and nar- 
row pair of pincers, it extracts the white albuminous sub- 
stance. I think this is as curious a case of instinct as ever 
I heard of, and likewise of adaptation in structure between 
two objects apparently so remote from each other in the 
scheme of nature, as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. The 
Birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to 
pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening 
its branchiae. The young are likewise hatched, and live for 
some time, on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, 
which they hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where 
they accumulate surprising quantities of the picked fibres 
of the cocoa-nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. The 
Malays sometimes take advantage of this, and collect the 
fibrous mass to use as junk. These crabs are very good to 
eat ; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones there is a 
mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as much 
as a quart 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 stealing the nuts : I very much doubt the 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 489 

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 Mal- 
diva 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 in- 
habit 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 ! 

I was a good deal surprised by finding two species of 
coral of the genus Millepora (M. complanata and alcicornis), 
possessed of the power of stinging. The stony branches or 
plates, when taken fresh from the water, have a harsh feel 
and are not slimy, although possessing a strong and dis- 
agreeable smell. The stinging property seems to vary in 
different specimens : when a piece was pressed or rubbed on 
the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation was 
usually caused, which came on after the interval of a second, 
and lasted only for a few minutes. One day, however, by 
merely touching my face with one of the branches, pain was 
instantaneously caused; it increased as usual after a few 
seconds, and remaining sharp for some minutes, was percep- 
tible 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 ani- 
mals seem to have this power of stinging: besides the Portu- 
guese man-of-war, many jelly-fish, and the Aplysia or sea- 

8 See Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1832, p. 17. 
•Tyerman and Bennett. Voyage, etc., vol. ii. p. 33. 



490 CHARLES DARWIN 

slug of the Cape de Verd Islands, it is stated in the voyage 
of the Astrolabe, that an Actinia or sea-anemone, as well as 
a flexible coralline allied to Sertularia, both possess this 
means of offence or defence. In the East Indian sea, a 
stinging sea-weed is said to be found. 

Two species of fish, of the genus Scarus, which are com- 
mon here, exclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a 
splendid bluish-green, one living invariably in the lagoon, 
and the other amongst the outer breakers. Mr. Liesk assured 
us, that he had repeatedly seen whole shoals grazing with 
their strong bony jaws on the tops of the coral branches: I 
opened the intestines of several, and found them distended 
with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. The slimy disgusting 
Holuthurise (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 Holuthurias, 
the fish, the numerous burrowing shells, and nereidous 
worms, which perforate every block of dead coral, must be 
very efficient agents in producing the fine white mud which 
lies at the bottom and on the shores of the lagoon. A por- 
tion, 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 arrangement. We feel sur- 

10 I exclude, of course, some soil which has been imported here in ves- 
sels 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 491 

prise 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 moun- 
tains 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. Al- 
most every voyager who has crossed the Pacific has ex- 
pressed 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 Voy- 
age* gives but a faint idea of the singular aspect of an atoll: 
it is one of the smallest size, and has its narrow islets united 
together in a ring. The immensity of the ocean, the fury of 
the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of the land and the 
smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoon, can 
hardly be imagined without having been seen. 

The earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building ani- 

n 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." 



492 CHARLES DARWIN 

mals instinctively built up their great circles to afford them- 
selves 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-branch- 
ing kinds flourish. Moreover, on this view, many species 
of distinct genera and families are supposed to combine for 
one end; and of such a combination, not a single instance 
can be found in the whole of nature. The theory that has 
been most generally received is, that atolls are based on sub- 
marine 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 an- 
other 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 to- 
tally inapplicable to the northern Maldiva atolls in the Indian 
Ocean (one of which is 88 miles in length, and between 10 
and 20 in breadth), for they are not bounded like ordinary 
atolls by narrow reefs, but by a vast number of separate 
little atolls; other little atolls rising out of the great central 
lagoon-like spaces. A third and better theory was advanced 
by Chamisso, who thought that from the corals growing more 
vigorously where exposed to the open sea, as undoubtedly is 
the case, the outer edges would grow up from the general 
foundation before any other part, and that this would ac- 
count 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 increased, the im- 
pressions became less numerous, but the adhering particles 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 493 

of sand more and more numerous, until at last it was evident 
that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer : to carry 
on the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner 
and thinner, till at last the soil was so sterile, that nothing 
sprang from it. From these observations, confirmed by many 
others, it may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at 
which corals can construct reefs is between 20 and 30 fath- 
oms. 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 improbable in 
the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated, steep-sided 
banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines hundreds of 
leagues in length, could have been deposited in the central 
and profoundest parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, at 
an immense distance from any continent, and where the 
water is perfectly limpid. It is equally improbable that the 
elevatory forces should have uplifted throughout the above 
vast areas, innumerable great rocky banks within 20 to 30 
fathoms, or 120 to 180 feet, of the surface of the sea, and 
not one single point above that level ; for where on the whole 
surface of the globe can we find a single chain of mountains, 
even a few hundred miles in length, with their many sum- 
mits rising within a few feet of a given level, and not one 
pinnacle above it? If then the foundations, whence the atoll- 
building corals sprang, were not formed of sediment, and if 



494 CHARLES DARWIN 

they were not lifted up to the required level, they must of 
necessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the 
difficulty. For as mountain after mountain, and island after 
island, slowly sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be 
successively afforded for the growth of the corals. It is 
impossible here to enter into all the necessary details, but I 
venture to defy 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 remarkable 
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 Bola- 
bola in the Pacific, as seen from one of the central peaks. 
In this instance the whole line of reef has been converted 
into land; but usually a snow-white line of great breakers, 
with only here and there a single low islet crowned with 
cocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters of the ocean 
from the light-green expanse of the lagoon-channel. And 
the quiet waters of this channel generally bathe a fringe of 
low alluvial soil, loaded with the most beautiful productions 
of the tropics, and lying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, cen- 
tral 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 

12 It is remarkable that Mr. Lyell, even in the first edition of his "Prin- 
ciples 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 



495 



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 abruptness out of the profound depths of the ocean. 
What can be more singular than these structures? We see 




an island, which may be compared to a castle situated on the 
summit of a lofty submarine mountain, protected by a great 
wall of coral-rock, always steep externally and sometimes 
internally, with a broad level summit, here and there breached 
by 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 



496 



CHARLES DARWIN 



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 sur- 
rounded by alluvial soil, are often fringed by living reefs; 
and we shall presently see that there is a whole class, which 
I have called Fringing Reefs from their close attachment 
to the shores both of continents and of islands. Again, on 
what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at 
great depths, based their encircling structures? This is a 
great apparent difficulty, analogous to that in the case of 
atolls, which has generally been overlooked. It will be per- 
ceived more clearly by inspecting the following sections, 
which are real ones, taken in north and south lines, through 
the islands with their barrier-reefs, of Vanikoro, Gambier, 
and Maurua; and they are laid down, both vertically and 
horizontally, on the same scale of a quarter of an inch to 
a mile. 

It should be observed that the sections might have been 
taken in any direction through these islands, or through 



3032 ft. 




i. Vanikoro. 2. Gambier Islands. 3. Maurua. 

The horizontal shading shows the barrier-reefs and lagoon-channels. 
The inclined shading above the level of the sea (AA) shows the actual 
form of the land; the inclined shading below this line, shows its probable 
prolongation under water. 

many other encircled islands, and the general features would 
have been the same. Now, bearing in mind that reef-build- 
ing 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 497 

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 isl- 
ands, 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 preci- 
pices; but this is most rarely the case. Moreover, on this 
notion, it is not possible to explain why the corals should 
have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme outer margin 
of the ledge, often leaving a broad space of water within, 
too deep for the growth of corals. The accumulation of a 
wide, bank of sediment all round these islands, and generally 
widest where the included islands are smallest, is highly im- 
probable, considering their exposed positions in the central 
and deepest parts of the ocean. In the case of the barrier- 
reef of New Caledonia, which extends for 150 miles beyond 
the northern point of the 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 ab- 
ruptly under it. On what then, I repeat, are these barrier- 
reefs based? Why, with their wide and deep moat-like chan- 
nels, 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 ab- 
ruptly under water, these reefs are only a few yards in width, 
forming a mere ribbon or fringe round the shores: where 
the land slopes gently under the water the reef extends 
further, sometimes even as much as a mile from the land; 
but in such cases the soundings outside the reef always show 



496 CHARLES DARWIN 

that the submarine prolongation of the land is gently inclined. 
In fact, the reefs extend only to that distance from the shore, 
at which a foundation within the requisite depth from 20 to 
30 fathoms is found. As far as the actual reef is concerned, 
there is no essential difference between it and that forming 
a barrier or an atoll : it is, however, generally of less width, 
and consequently few islets have been formed on it. From 
the corals growing more vigorously on the outside, and from 
the noxious effect of the sediment washed inwards, the outer 
edge of the reef is the highest part, and between it and the 
land there is generally a shallow sandy channel a few feet in 
depth. Where banks 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 resem- 
ble lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same manner as fringing- 
reefs, surrounding gently sloping islands, in some degree 
resemble barrier-reefs. 

No theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be con- 
sidered satisfactory which does not include the three great 




AA. Outer edges of the fringing-reef, at the level of the sea. BB. The 
shores of the fringed island. 

A' A'. Outer edges of the reef, after its upward growth during a period 
of subsidence, now converted into a barrier, with islets on it. B'B'. The 
shores of the now encircled 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. 

classes. We have seen that we are driven to believe in the 
subsidence of those vast areas, interspersed with low islands, 
of which not one rises above the height to which the wind and 
waves can throw up matter, and yet are constructed by ani- 
mals 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; 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 499 

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 pro- 
portionately 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 accumu- 
lated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched corals 
which can live there. The section in this state resembles in 
every respect one drawn through an encircled island : in fact, 
it is a real section (on the scale of .517 of an inch to a mile) 
through Bolabola in the Pacific. We can now at once see 
why encircling barrier-reefs stand so far from the shores 
which they front. We can also perceive, that a line drawn 
perpendicularly down from the outer edge of the new reef, 
to the foundation of solid rock beneath the old fringing-reef, 
will exceed by as many feet as there have been feet of 
subsidence, that small limit of depth at which the effective 
corals can live : — the little architects having built up their 
great wall-like mass, as the whole sank down, upon a basis 
formed of other corals and their consolidated fragments. 
Thus the difficulty on this head, which appeared so great, 
disappears. 

If, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a con- 
tinent fringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have sub- 
sided, a great straight barrier, like that of Australia or New 
Caledonia, separated from the land by a wide and deep chan- 
nel, 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 real section through Bolabola, and let it go 
on subsiding. As the barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the 



500 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 




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. 

one great reef — and finally, the last and highest pinnacle 
disappearing. The instant this takes place, a perfect atoll 
is formed : I have said, remove the high land from within an 
encircling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and the land has 
been removed. We can now perceive how it comes that 
atolls, having sprung from encircling barrier-reefs, resemble 
them in general size, form, in the manner in which they are 
grouped together, and in their arrangement in single or 
double lines; for they may be called rude outline charts of 
the sunken islands over which they stand. We can further 
see how it arises that the atolls in the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans extend in lines parallel to the generally prevailing 
strike of the high islands and great coast-lines of those 
oceans. I venture, therefore, to affirm, that on the theory of 
the upward growth of the corals during the sinking of the 
land, 13 all the leading features in those wonderful structures, 
the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long excited the 

13 It has been highly satisfactory to me to find the following passage in 
a pamplet 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 expedi- 
tion differ with me on some points respecting coral formations. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 501 

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 move- 
ment, 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 fall- 
ing; and in one place the foundation-posts of a shed, which 
the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years before just 
above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by every 
tide: on inquiry I found that three earthquakes, one of them 
severe, had been felt here during the last ten years. At 
Vanikoro, the lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely 
any alluvial soil has accumulated at the foot of the lofty 
included mountains, and remarkably few islets have been 
formed by the heaping of fragments and sand on the wall- 
like barrier reef; these facts, and some analogous ones, led 
me to believe that this island must lately have subsided and 
the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are fre- 
quent 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 inhab- 
ited land. It is difficult to believe in frequent changes in the 



502 CHARLES DARWIN 

tidal currents of an open ocean; whereas, we have in the 
earthquakes recorded by the natives on some atolls, and in 
the great fissures observed on other atolls, plain evidence of 
changes and disturbances in progress in the subterranean 
regions. 

It is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by 
reefs cannot have subsided to any perceptible amount; and 
therefore they must, since the growth of their corals, either 
have remained stationary or have been upheaved. Now, it 
is remarkable how generally it can be shown, by the presence 
of upraised organic remains, that the fringed islands have 
been elevated : and so far, this is indirect evidence in favour 
of our theory. I was particularly struck with this fact, when 
I found, to my surprise, that the descriptions given by MM. 
Quoy and Gaimard were applicable, not to reefs in general 
as implied by them, but only to those of the fringing class; 
my surprise, however, ceased when I afterwards found that, 
by a strange chance, all the several islands visited by these 
eminent naturalists, could be shown by their own statements 
to have been elevated within a recent geological era. 

Not only the grand features in the structure of barrier- 
reefs and of atolls, and 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 exactly face valleys in the 
included land, even in cases where the reef is separated 
from the land by a lagoon-channel so wide and so much 
deeper than the actual passage itself, that it seems hardly 
possible that the very small quantity of water or sediment 
brought down could injure the corals on the reef. Now, 
every reef of the fringing class is breached by a narrow 
gateway in front of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during 
the greater part of the year, for the mud, sand, or gravel, 
occasionally washed down kills the corals on which it is 
deposited. Consequently, when an island thus fringed sub- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 503 

sides, though most of the narrow gateways will probably 
become closed by the outward and upward growth of the 
corals, yet any that are not closed (and some must always be 
kept open by the sediment and impure water flowing out of 
the lagoon-channel) will still continue to front exactly the 
upper parts of those valleys, at the mouths of which the 
original basal fringing-reef was breached. 

We can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, 
or on one side with one end or both ends encircled by barrier- 
reefs, might after long-continued subsidence be converted 
either into a single wall-like reef, or into an atoll with a 
great straight spur projecting from it, or into two or three 
atolls tied together by straight reefs — all of which excep- 
tional 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 bar- 
riers 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 pro- 
duce 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 archi- 
pelago there are distinct atolls so related to each other in 
position, and separated by channels either unfathomable or 
very deep (the channel between Ross and Ari atolls is 150 
fathoms, and that between the north and south Nillandoo 
atolls is 200 fathoms in depth), that it is impossible to look 
at a map of them without believing that they were once 
more intimately related. And in this same archipelago, 
Mahlos-Mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating channel 
from 100 to 132 fathoms in depth, in such a manner, that 
it is scarcely possible to say whether it ought strictly to 



504 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 margins) a simple explanation in 
the upward and outward growth of the corals, originally 
based both on small detached reefs in their lagoons, such as 
occur in common atolls, and on broken portions of the linear 
marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of the ordinary 
form. I cannot refrain from once again remarking on the 
singularity of these complex structures — a great sandy and 
generally concave disk rises abruptly from the unfathomable 
ocean, with its central expanse studded, and its edge sym- 
metrically bordered with oval basins of coral-rock just 
lipping the surface of the sea, sometimes clothed with vege- 
tation, and each containing a lake of clear water ! 

One more point in detail : as in the two neighbouring archi- 
pelagoes corals flourish in one and not in the other, and as 
so many conditions before enumerated must affect their exist- 
ence, it would be an inexplicable fact if, during the changes 
to which earth, air, and water are subjected, the reef -building 
corals were to keep alive for perpetuity on any one spot or 
area. And as by our theory the areas including atolls and 
barrier-reefs are subsiding, we ought occasionally to find 
reefs both dead and submerged. In all reefs, owing to the 
sediment being washed out of the lagoon-channel to leeward, 
that side is least favourable to the long-continued vigorous 
growth of the corals; hence dead portions of reef not unfre- 
quently occur on the leeward side; and these, though still 
retaining their proper wall-like form, are now in several 
instances sunk several fathoms beneath the surface. The 
Chagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the 
subsidence having been too rapid, at present to be much less 
favourably circumstanced for the growth of reefs than for- 
merly: one atoll has a portion of its marginal reef, nine miles 
in length, dead and submerged; a second has only a few 
quite small living points which rise to the surface; a third 
and fourth are entirely dead and submerged; a fifth is a 
mere wreck, with its structure almost obliterated. It is 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 505 

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 car- 
ried 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 be formed in each new area of sub- 
sidence, two weighty objections might have been raised, 
namely, that atolls must be increasing indefinitely in number ; 
and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence each separate 
atoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if proofs 
of their occasional destruction could not have been adduced. 
Thus have we traced the history of these great rings of 
coral-rock, from their first origin through their normal 
changes, and through the occasional accidents of their exist- 
ence, to their death and final obliteration. 

In my volume on " Coral Formations " I have published a 
map, in which I have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the 
barrier-reefs pale-blue, and the fringing reefs red. These 
latter reefs have been formed whilst the land has been sta- 
tionary, or, as appears from the frequent presence of upraised 
organic remains, whilst it has been slowly rising: atolls and 
barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have grown up during the 
directly opposite movement of subsidence, which movement 
must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so vast 
in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over 
wide ocean-spaces. Now in this map we see that the reefs 
tinted pale and dark-blue, which have been produced by the 
same order of movement, as a general rule manifestly stand 
near each other. Again we see, that the areas with the two 
blue tints are of wide extent ; and that they lie separate from 
extensive lines of coast coloured red, both of which circum- 
stances 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 



506 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 enor- 
mous oceanic tracts, they are entirely absent in other seas, 
as in the West Indies: we can now at once perceive the 
cause, for where there has not been subsidence, atolls cannot 
have been formed; and in the case of the West Indies and 
parts of the East Indies, these tracts are known to have been 
rising within the recent period. The larger areas, coloured 
red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two colours 
there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of one 
had balanced the sinking of the other. Taking into consid- 
eration 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 507 

archipelago, which consists of a group of atolls upheaved 
and since partially worn down, two volcanos, and perhaps 
more, are historically known to have been in action. On the 
other hand, although most of the islands in the Pacific which 
are encircled by barrier-reefs, are of volcanic origin, often 
with the remnants of craters still distinguishable, not one of 
them is known to have ever been in eruption. Hence in these 
cases it would appear, that volcanos burst forth into action 
and become extinguished on the same spots, accordingly as 
elevatory or subsiding movements prevail there. Numberless 
facts could be adduced to prove that upraised organic remains 
are common wherever there are active volcanos ; but until it 
could be shown that in areas of subsidence, volcanos were 
either absent or inactive, the inference, however probable in 
itself, that their distribution depended on the rising or falling 
of the earth's surface, would have been hazardous. But now, 
I think, we may freely admit this important deduction. 

Taking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the 
statements made with respect to the upraised organic remains, 
we must feel astonished at the vastness of the areas, which 
have suffered changes in level either downwards or upwards, 
within a period not geologically remote. It would appear 
also, that the elevatory and subsiding movements follow 
nearly the same laws. Throughout the spaces interspersed 
with atolls, where not a single peak of high land has been 
left above the level of the sea, the sinking must have been 
immense in amount. The sinking, moreover, whether con- 
tinuous, 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 ar- 
rived 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 



508 CHARLES DARWIN 

reared and preserved wonderful memorials of the subter- 
ranean 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 Moun- 
tains — Hindoos — St. Helena — History of the changes in the Vege- 
tation — Cause of the extinction of Land-shells — Ascension — Vari- 
ation 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. 

A PRIL 29th. — In the morning we passed round the 
/-\ northern end of Mauritius, or the Isle of France. 
From this point of view the aspect of the island 
equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known 
descriptions of its beautiful scenery. The sloping plain of 
the Pamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and coloured 
by the large fields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed 
the foreground. The brilliancy of the green was the more 
remarkable because it is a colour which generally is con- 
spicuous only from a very short distance. Towards the cen- 
tre 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, ap- 
peared 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 con- 
siderable 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 gen- 
eral character of the place is quite French: Englishmen 

509 



510 CHARLES DARWIN 

speak to their servants in French, and the shops are all 
French; indeed, I should think that Calais or Boulogne was 
much more Anglified. There is a very pretty little theatre, 
in which operas are excellently performed. We were also 
surprised at seeing large booksellers' shops, with well-stored 
shelves; — music and reading bespeak our approach to the 
old world of 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 ex- 
tremely 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 outward 
conduct, their cleanliness, and faithful observance of their 
strange religious rites, it was impossible to look at them 
with the same eyes as on our wretched convicts in New 
South Wales. 

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 mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which 
rises close behind the town to a height of 2,600 feet. The 
centre of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded 
by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping 
seawards. The central platform, formed of comparatively 






THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 511 

recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geo- 
graphical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. The 
exterior bounding mountains come into that class of struc- 
tures 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 marginal 
crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of 
immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been 
blown off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses. 

From our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view 
over the island. The country on this side appears pretty well 
cultivated, being divided into fields and studded with farm- 
houses. I was, however, assured that of the whole land, not 
more than half is yet in a productive state; if such be the 
case, considering the present large export of sugar, this 
island, at some future period when thickly peopled, will be 
of great value. Since England has taken possession of it, a 
period of only twenty-five years, the export of sugar is said 
to have increased seventy-five fold. One great cause of its 
prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. In the neigh- 
bouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French 
government, the roads are still in the same miserable state 
as they were here only a few years ago. Although the 
French residents must have largely profited by the increased 
prosperity of their island, yet the English government is far 
from popular. 

3rd. — In the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor-general, 
so well known from his examination of the Isthmus of Pana- 
ma, 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. 

5^ —Captain Lloyd took us to the Riviere Noire, which is 
several miles to the southward, that I might examine some 



512 CHARLES DARWIN 

rocks of elevated coral. We passed through pleasant gar- 
dens, 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 exceed- 
ingly picturesque; and we were constantly tempted to 
exclaim, " How pleasant it would be to pass one's life in 
such quiet abodes ! " Captain Lloyd possessed an elephant, 
and he sent it half way with us, that we might enjoy a ride 
in true Indian fashion. The circumstance which 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 pth. — We sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the 
Cape of Good Hope, on the 8th of July, we arrived off St. 
Helena. This island, the forbidding aspect of which has 
been so often described, rises abruptly like a huge black 
castle from the ocean. Near the town, as if to complete 
nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every gap in 
the rugged rocks. The town runs up a flat and narrow 
valley; the houses look respectable, and are interspersed 
with a very few green trees. When approaching the anchor- 
age there was one striking view : an irregular castle perched 
on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by a few scat- 
tered 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 examined its geological history. My 
lodgings were situated at a height of about 2000 feet; here 
the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant showers 
of rain ; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled 
in thick clouds. 

1 After the volumes of eloquence which have poured forth on this sub- 
ject, 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! 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 513 

Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare : in the central 
and higher parts, feldspathic rocks by their decomposition 
have produced a clayey soil, which, where not covered by 
vegetation, is stained in broad bands of many bright colours. 
At this season, the land moistened by constant showers, pro- 
duces a singularly bright green pasture, which lower and 
lower down, gradually fades away and at last disappears. 
In latitude i6°, and at the trifling elevation of 1500 feet, it is 
surprising to behold a vegetation possessing a character 
decidedly British. The hills are crowned with irregular 
plantations of Scotch firs; and the sloping banks are thickly 
scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its bright 
yellow flowers. Weeping-willows are common on the banks 
of the rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, 
producing its well-known fruit. When we consider that the 
number of plants now found on the island is 746, and that 
out of these fifty-two alone are indigenous species, the rest 
having been imported, and most of them from England, 
we see the reason of the British character of the vegetation. 
Many of these English plants appear to flourish better than 
in their native country ; some also from the opposite quarter 
of Australia succeed remarkably well. The many imported 
species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and 
it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indig- 
enous Flora is now predominant. 

The English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is 
kept up by the numerous cottages and small white houses; 
some buried at the bottom of the deepest valleys, and others 
mounted on the crests of the lofty hills. Some of the views 
are striking, for instance that from near Sir W. Doveton's 
house, where the bold peak called Lot is seen over a dark 
wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red water-worn 
mountains of the southern coast. On viewing the island 
from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one, 
is the number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed 
on the public works, if one forgets its character as a prison, 
seems out of all proportion to its extent or value. There 
is so little level or useful land, that it seems surprising how 
so many people, about 5000, can subsist here. The lower 
orders, or the emancipated slaves, are I believe extremely 

vol. xxix — Q hc 



514 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 work- 
ing 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? 

My guide was an elderly man, who had been a goatherd 
when a boy, and knew every step amongst the rocks. He 
was of a race many times crossed, and although with a 
dusky skin, he had not the disagreeable expression of a 
mulatto. He was a very civil, quiet old man, and such 
appears the character of the greater number of the lower 
classes. It was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly 
white and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of 
the times when he was a slave. With my companion, who 
carried our dinners and a horn of water, which is quite 
necessary, as all the water in the lower valleys is saline, I 
every day took long walks. 

Beneath the upper and central green circle, the wild val- 
leys are quite desolate and untenanted. Here, to the geolo- 
gist, 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 eleva- 
tion of the land are still extant. I believe that the central 
and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater, 
the southern half of which has been entirely removed by the 
waves of the sea: there is, moreover, an external wall of 
black basaltic rocks, like the coast-mountains of Mauritius, 
which are older than the central volcanic streams. On the 
higher parts of the island, considerable numbers of a shell, 
long thought to be a marine species, occur imbedded in the 
soil. 
It proved to be a Cochlogena, or land-shell of a very 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 515 

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 prob- 
ably been caused by the entire destruction of the woods, and 
the consequent loss of food and shelter, which occurred 
during the early part of the last century. 

The history of the changes, which the elevated plains of 
Longwood and Deadwood have undergone, as given in Gen- 
eral Beatson's account of the island, is extremely curious. 
Both plains, it is said in former times were covered with 
wood, and were therefore called the Great Wood. So late 
as the year 1716 there were many trees, but in 1724 the old 
trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had been 
suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed. 
Tt appears also from the official records, that the trees were 
unexpectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire 
grass which spread over the whole surface. 3 General Beat- 
son 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 noth- 
ing but so well attested an account could have made me believe 
that they could ever have grown there. The fact, that the 
goats and hogs destroyed all the young trees as they sprang 
up, and that in the course of time the old ones, which were 
safe from their attacks, perished from age, seems clearly 
made out. Goats were introduced in the year 1502; eighty- 
six years afterwards, in the time of Cavendish, it is known 
that, they were exceedingly numerous. More than a century 
afterwards, in 1731, when the evil was complete and irre- 
trievable, 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 

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. 

3 Beatson's St. Helena. Introductory chapter, p. 4. 



516 CHARLES DARWIN 

and twenty years had elapsed : for the goats were introduced 
in 1502, and in 1724 it is said "the old trees had mostly 
fallen." There can be little doubt that this great change in 
the vegetation affected not only the land-shells, causing eight 
species to become extinct, but likewise a multitude of insects. 
St. Helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the 
midst of a great ocean, and possessing a unique Flo*n, ex- 
cites 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 im- 
ported in some of the many introduced plants. Mr. Cuming 
collected on the coast sixteen species of sea-shells, of which 
seven, as far as he knows, are confined to this island. Birds 
and insects, 4 as might have been expected, are very few in 
number ; indeed I believe all the birds have been introduced 
within late years. Partridges and pheasants are tolerably 
abundant; the island is much too English not to be subject 
to strict game-laws. I was told of a more unjust sacrifice to 

4 Among these few insects, I was surprised to find a small Aphodius 
(nov. spec.) and an Oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. When 
the island was discovered it certainly possessed no quadruped, excepting 
perhaps a mouse: it becomes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain, 
whether these stercovorous insects have since been imported by accident, 
or "if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted. On the banks of 
the Plata, where, from the vast number of cattle and horses, the fine plains 
of turf are richly manured, it is vain to seek the many kinds of dung- 
feeding beetles, which occur so abundantly in Europe. I observed only an 
Oryctes (the insects of this genus in Europe generally^ feed on decayed 
vegetable matter) and two species of Phanaeus, common in such situations. 
On the opposite side of the Cordillera in Chiloe, another species of Pha- 
naeus is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung of the cattle in large 
earthen balls beneath the ground. There is reason to believe that the 
genus Phanaeus, before the introduction of cattle, acted as scavengers to 
man. In Europe, beetles, which find support in the matter which has 
already contributed towards the life of other and larger animals, are so 
numerous that there must be considerably more than one hundred different 
species. Considering this, and observing what a quantity of food of this 
kind is lost on the plains of La Plata, I imagined I saw an instance where 
man had disturbed that chain, by which so many animals are linked 
together in their native country. In Van Diemen's Land, however, I 
found four species of Onthophagus, two of Aphodius, and one of a third 
genus, very 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 intro- 
duced by man. In England the greater number of stercovorous beetles 
are confined in their appetites; that is, they do not depend indifferently 
on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. The change, therefore, 
in habits which must have taken place in Van Diemen's Land is highly 
remarkable. I am indebted to the 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. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 517 

such ordinances than I ever heard of even in England. The 
poor people formerly used to burn a plant, which grows on the 
coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a 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 culti- 
vated fields, and beyond them the smooth hill of coloured 
rocks called the Flagstaff, and the rugged square black mass 
of the Barn. On the whole the view was rather bleak and 
uninteresting. The only inconvenience I suffered during my 
walks was from the impetuous winds. One day I noticed 
a curious circumstance ; standing on the edge of a plain, ter- 
minated 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 moun- 
tains of St. Helena, that I felt almost sorry on the morning 
of the 14th to descend to the town. Before noon I was on 
board, and the Beagle made sail. 

On the 19th of July we reached Ascension. Those who 
have beheld a volcanic island, situated under an arid climate, 
will at once be able to picture to themselves the appearance 
of Ascension. They will imagine smooth conical hills of a 
bright red colour, with their summits generally truncated, 
rising separately out of a level surface of black rugged lava. 
A principal mound in the centre of the island, seems the 
father of the lesser cones. It is called Green Hill: its 
name being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour, 
which at this time of the year is barely perceptible from the 
anchorage. To complete the desolate scene, the black rocks 
on the coast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea. 



518 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 victu- 
alled by government. There is not a private person on the 
island. Many of the marines appeared well contented with 
their situation; they think it better to serve their one-and- 
twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in a ship; 
in this choice, if I were a marine, I should most heartily 
agree. 

The next morning I ascended Green Hill, 2840 feet high, 
and thence walked across the island to the windward point. 
A good cart-road leads from the coast-settlement to the 
houses, gardens, and fields, placed near the summit of the 
central mountain. On the roadside there are milestones, and 
likewise cisterns, where each thirsty passer-by can drink 
some good water. Similar care is displayed in each part of the 
establishment, and especially in the management of the 
springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: in- 
deed the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept 
in first-rate order. I could not help, when admiring the 
active industry, which had created such effects out of such 
means, at the same time regretting that it had been wasted on 
so poor and trifling an end. M. Lesson has remarked with 
justice, that the English nation would have thought of mak- 
ing 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 occa- 
sional green castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true 
friends of the desert, may be met with. Some grass is scat- 
tered over the surface of the central elevated region, and the 
whole much resembles the worse parts of the Welsh moun- 
tains. 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 num- 
bers. Whether the rat is really indigenous, may well be 
doubted ; there are two varieties as described by Mr. Water- 
house; 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 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 519 

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 like- 
wise run wild. Some cats, which were originally turned out 
to destroy the rats and mice, have increased, so as to be- 
come a great plague. The island is entirely without trees, 
in which, and in every other respect, it is very far inferior 
to St. Helena. 

One of my excursions took me towards the S. W. extrem- 
ity of the island. The day was clear and hot, and I saw the 
island, not smiling with beauty, but staring with naked hide- 
ousness. The lava streams are covered with hummocks, and 
are rugged to a degree which, geologically speaking, is not 
of easy explanation. The intervening spaces are concealed 
with layers of pumice, ashes and volcanic tuff. Whilst pass- 
ing 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 re- 
volved 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 



520 



CHARLES DARWIN 



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 vol- 
cano, is remarkable from its broad, slightly hollowed, and 
circular summit having been filled up with many successive 
layers of ashes and fine scoriae. These saucer-shaped layers 
crop out on the margin, forming perfect rings of many dif- 
ferent colours, giving to the summit a most fantastic appear- 
ance; one of these rings is white and broad, and resembles 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 521 

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 Ehren- 
berg 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 im- 
agine, that torrents of rain had probably fallen during some 
great eruption, and that thus a temporary lake had been 
formed into which the ashes fell. But it may now be sus- 
pected 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 
th^y now are. Where on the face of the earth can we find 
a spot, on which close investigation will not discover signs 
of that endless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, 
is, and will be subjected? 

On leaving Ascension, we sailed for Bahia, on the coast 
of Brazil, in order to complete the chronometrical measure- 
ment of the world. We arrived there on August ist, and 
stayed four days, during which I took several long walks. 
I was glad to find my enjoyment in tropical scenery had not 
decreased from the want of novelty, even in the slightest 
degree. The elements of the scenery are so simple, that they 
are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circum- 
stances 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 remark- 
able 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 

5 Monats. der Konig. Akad. d. Wics. zu Berlin. Vom April, 1845. 



522 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 over- 
powers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. 
Hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red 
soil affords a strong contrast with the universal clothing 
of green. From the edges of the plain there are distant 
views either of the ocean, or of the great Bay with its 
low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes 
show their white sails. Excepting from these points, the 
scene is extremely limited; following the level pathways, 
on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below 
can be obtained. The houses I may add, and especially the 
sacred edifices, are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic 
style of architecture. They are all whitewashed; so that 
when illumined by the brilliant sun of 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 de- 
scribe these scenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of 
objects, and mentioning some characteristic feature of each. 
To a learned traveller this possibly may communicate some 
definite ideas : but who else from seeing a plant in an herba- 
rium can imagine its appearance when growing in its native 
soil? Who from seeing choice plants in a hothouse, can 
magnify some into the dimensions of forest trees, and crowd 
others into an entangled jungle? Who when examining in 
the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic butter- 
flies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these lifeless 
objects, the ceaseless harsh music of the latter, and the 
lazy flight of the former, — the sure accompaniments of the 
still, glowing noonday of the tropics? It is when the sun has 
attained its greatest height, that such scenes should be 
viewed: then the dense splendid foliage of the mango hides 
the ground with its darkest shade, whilst the upper branches 
are rendered from the profusion of light of the most bril- 
liant green. In the temperate zones the case is different — the 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 523 

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 ad- 
miring each successive view, I wished to find language to 
express my ideas. Epithet after epithet was found too weak 
to convey to those who have not visited the intertropical 
regions, the sensation of delight which the mind experiences. 
I have said that the plants in a hothouse fail to communicate 
a just idea of the vegetation, yet I must recur to it. The land 
is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse, made by 
Nature for herself, but taken possession of by man, who has 
studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. How great 
would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, 
if such were possible, the scenery of another planet ! yet 
to every person in Europe, it may be truly said, that at 
the distance of only a few degrees from his native soil, the 
glories of another world are opened to him. In my last 
walk I stopped again and again to gaze on these beauties, and 
endeavoured to fix in my mind for ever, an impression which 
at the time I knew sooner or later must fail. The form of 
the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the mango, the tree- 
fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate; but the 
thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene 
must fade away; yet they will leave, like a tale heard in 
childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful 
figures. 

August 6th. — In the afternoon we stood out to sea, with 
the intention of making a direct course to the Cape de Verd 
Islands. Unfavourable winds, however, delayed us, and on 
the 12th we ran into Pernambuco, — a large city on the 
coast of Brazil, in latitude 8° 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 to- 
gether by two long bridges built on wooden piles. The 
town is in all parts disgusting, the streets being narrow, ill- 



524 CHARLES DARWIN 

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 sur- 
rounded, at the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of 
low hills, or rather by the edge of a country elevated per- 
haps 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 polite- 
ness. I was refused in a sullen manner at two different 
houses, and obtained with difficulty from a third, per- 
mission to pass through their gardens to an uncultivated hill, 
for the purpose of viewing the country. I feel glad that 
this happened in the land of the Brazilians, for I bear 
them no good will — a land also of slavery, and therefore 
of moral debasement. A Spaniard would have felt ashamed 
at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of 
behaving to a stranger with rudeness. The channel by which 
we went to and returned from Olinda, was bordered on each 
side by mangroves, which sprang like a miniature forest out 
of the greasy mud-banks. The bright green colour of these 
bushes always reminded me of the rank grass in a 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 neighbour- 
hood, was the reef that forms the harbour. I doubt whether 
in the whole world any other natural structure has so arti- 
ficial 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 

6 I have described this Bar in detail, in the Lond. and Edin. Phil. Mag,, 
vol. xix. (1841), p. 257. 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 525 

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 Cyclo- 
pean 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 Per- 
nambuco stands. In former times a long spit of this nature 
seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of 
calcareous matter, and afterwards to have been gradually 
upheaved; the outer and loose parts during this process hav- 
ing been worn away by the action of the sea, and the solid 
nucleus left as we now see it. Although night and day the 
waves of the open Atlantic, turbid with sediment, are 
driven against the steep outside edges of this wall of stone, 
yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any change in its 
appearance. This durability is much the most curious fact 
in its history : it is due to a tough layer, a few inches thick, 
of calcareous matter, wholly formed by the successive 
growth and death of the small shells of Serpulse, together 
with some few barnacles and nulliporae. These nulliporse, 
which are hard, very simply-organized sea-plants, play an 
analogous and important part in protecting the upper sur- 
faces 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 in- 
significant organic beings, especially the Serpulse, have done 
good service to the people of Pernambuco; for without their 
protective aid the bar of sandstone would inevitably have 
been long ago worn away and without the bar, there would 
have been no harbour. 

On the 19th of August we finally left the shores of Brazil. 
I thank God, I shall never again visit a slave-country. To 
this day, if I hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful 
vividness my feelings, when passing a house near Pernam- 
buco, 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 sus- 
pected 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 



526 CHARLES DARWIN 

screws to crush the fingers of her female slaves, I have 
stayed in a house where a young household mulatto, daily 
and hourly, was reviled, beaten, and persecuted enough to 
break the spirit of the lowest animal. I have seen a little 
boy, six or seven years old, struck thrice with a horse-whip 
(before I could interfere) on his naked head, for having 
handed me a glass of water not quite clean; I saw his 
father tremble at a mere glance from his master's eye. 
These latter cruelties were witnessed by me in a Spanish 
colony, in which it has always been said, that slaves are 
better treated than by the Portuguese, English, or other 
European nations. I have seen at Rio de Janeiro a powerful 
negro afraid to ward off a blow directed, as he thought, at his 
face. I was present when a kind-hearted man was on the 
point of separating forever the men, women, and little 
children of a large number of families who had long lived 
together. I will not even allude to the many heart-sickening 
atrocities which I authentically heard of; — nor would I have 
mentioned the above revolting details, had I not met with sev- 
eral people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the negro 
as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. Such people have 
generally visited at the houses of the upper classes, where 
the domestic slaves are usually well treated; and they have 
not, like myself, lived amongst the lower classes. Such 
inquirers will ask slaves about their condition; they forget 
that the slave must indeed be dull, who does not calculate 
on the chance of his answer reaching his master's ears. 

It is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cru- 
elty ; as if self-interest protected our domestic animals, which 
are far less likely than degraded slaves, to stir up the rage 
of their savage masters. It is an argument long since pro- 
tested against with noble feeling, and strikingly exemplified, 
by the ever-illustrious Humboldt. It is often attempted to 
palliate slavery by comparing the state of slaves with our 
poorer countrymen: if the misery of our poor be caused 
not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is 
our sin ; but how this bears on slavery, I cannot see ; as well 
might the use of the thumb-screw be defended in one 
land, by showing that men in another land suffered from 
some dreadful disease. Those who look tenderlv at the slave 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 527 

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 your- 
self the chance, ever hanging over you, of your wife and 
your little children — those objects which nature urges even 
the slave to call his own — being torn from you and sold 
like beasts to the first bidder ! And these deeds are done 
and palliated by men, who profess to love their neighbours 
as themselves, who believe in God, and pray that his Will be 
done on earth ! It makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, 
to think that we Englishmen and our American descendants, 
with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so 
guilty : but it is a consolation to reflect, that we at least have 
made a greater sacrifice, than ever made by any nation, 
to expiate our sin. 

On the last day of August we anchored for the second time 
at Porto Praya in the Cape de Verd archipelago ; thence we 
proceeded to the Azores, where we stayed six days. On the 
2nd of October we made the shores of England ; and at Fal- 
mouth 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 
necessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant 
that may be, when some fruit will be reaped, some good 
effected. 

Many of the losses which must be experienced are obvious ; 
such as that of the society of every old friend, and of the 
sight of those places with which every dearest remembrance 
is so intimately connected. These losses, however, are at 
the time partly relieved by the exhaustless delight of antici- 



528 CHARLES DARWIN 

pating 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 feel- 
ing of constant hurry ; the privation of small luxuries, the loss 
of domestic society and even of music and the other pleasures 
of imagination. When such trifles are mentioned, it is 
evident that the real grievances, excepting from accidents, of 
a sea-life are at an end. The short space of sixty years has 
made an astonishing difference in the facility of distant 
navigation. Even in the time of Cook, a man who left 
his fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations. 
A yacht now, with every luxury of life, can circumnavigate 
the globe. Besides the vast improvements in ships and 
naval resources, the whole western shores of America are 
thrown open, and Australia has become the capital of a 
rising continent. How different are the circumstances to a 
man shipwrecked at the present day in the Pacific, to what 
they were in the time of Cook ! Since his voyage a 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 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, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 529 

where the waving trees, the wild flight of the birds, the 
dark shadows and bright lights, the rushing of the torrents 
all proclaim the strife of the unloosed elements. At sea 
the albatross and little petrel fly as if the storm were their 
proper sphere, the water rises and sinks as if fulfilling its 
usual task, the ship alone and its inhabitants seem the objects 
of wrath. On a forlorn and weather-beaten coast, the scene 
is indeed different, but the feelings partake more of horror 
than of wild delight. 

Let us now look at the brighter side of the past time. The 
pleasure derived from beholding the scenery and the general 
aspect of the various countries we have visited, has decidedly 
been the most constant and highest source of enjoyment. It 
is probable that the picturesque beauty of many parts of Eu- 
rope exceeds anything which we beheld. But there is a 
growing pleasure in comparing the character of the scenery 
in different countries, which to a certain degree is distinct 
from merely admiring its beauty. It depends chiefly on an 
acquaintance with the individual parts of each view. I am 
strongly induced to believe that as in music, the person who 
understands every note will, if he also possesses a proper 
taste, more thoroughly enjoy the whole, so he who examines 
each part of a fine view, may also thoroughly comprehend 
the full and combined effect. Hence, a traveller should be 
a botanist, for in all views plants form the chief embellish- 
ment. Group masses of naked rock, even in the wildest 
forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime spectacle, 
but they will soon grow monotonous. Paint them with bright 
and varied colours, as in Northern Chile, they will become 
fantastic; clothe them with vegetation, they must form a 
decent, if not a beautiful picture. 

When I say that the scenery of parts of Europe is probably 
superior to anything which we beheld, I except, as a class by 
itself, that of the intertropical zones. The two classes cannot 
be compared together; but I have already often enlarged on 
the grandeur of those regions. As the force of impressions 
generally depends on preconceived ideas, I may add, that 
mine were taken from the vivid descriptions in the Personal 
Narrative of Humboldt, which far exceed in merit anything 
else which I have read. Yet with these high-wrought ideas, 



530 CHARLES DARWIN 

my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge of disappoint- 
ment on my first and final landing on the shores of Brazil. 

Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, 
none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by 
the hand of man ; whether those of Brazil, where the powers 
of Life are predominant, or those of Tierra del Fuego, 
where Death and Decay prevail. Both are temples filled with 
the varied productions of the God of Nature: — no one can 
stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is 
more in man than the mere breath of his body. In calling 
up images of the past, I find that the plains of Patagonia 
frequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pro- 
nounced by all wretched and useless. They can be described 
only by negative characters; without habitations, without 
water, without trees, without mountains, they support merely 
a few dwarf plants. Why, then, and the case is not peculiar 
to myself, have these arid wastes taken so firm a hold on 
my memory ? Why have not the still more level, the greener 
and more fertile Pampas, which are serviceable to mankind, 
produced an equal impression? I can scarcely 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 sur- 
rounded by an impassable breadth of water, or by deserts 
heated to an intolerable excess, who would not look at these 
last boundaries to man's knowledge with deep but ill-defined 
sensations ? 

Lastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, 
through certainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memo- 
rable. When looking down from the highest crest of the 
Cordillera, the mind, undisturbed by minute details, was 
filled with the stupendous dimensions of the surrounding 
masses. 

Of individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to 
create astonishment than the first sight in his native haunt o£ 
a barbarian — of man in his lowest and most savage state. 
One's mind hurries back over past centuries, and then asks, 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 531 

could our progenitors have been men like these? — men, 
whose very signs and expressions are less intelligible to us 
than those of the domesticated animals; men, who do not 
possess the instinct of those animals, nor yet appear to boast 
of human reason, or at least of arts consequent on that 
reason. I do not believe it is possible to describe or paint 
the difference between savage and 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 
wandering over the wild plains of Africa. 

Among the other most remarkable spectacles which we 
have beheld, may be ranked, the Southern Cross, the cloud 
of Magellan, and the other constellations of the southern 
hemisphere — the 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 childhood as the type of solid- 
ity, has oscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and 
in seeing the laboured works of man in a moment over- 
thrown, we feel the insignificance of his boasted power. 

It has been said, that the love of the chase is an inherent 
delight in man — a relic of an instinctive passion. If so, I 
am sure the pleasure of living in the open air, with the sky 
for a roof and the ground for a table, is part of the same 
feeling; it is the savage returning to his wild and native 
habits. I always look back to our boat cruises, and my land 
journeys, when through unfrequented countries, with an ex- 
treme 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 



532 CHARLES DARWIN 

voyage, which are of a more reasonable nature. The map 
of the world ceases to be a blank ; it becomes a picture full 
of the most varied and animated figures. Each part assumes 
its proper dimensions: continents are not looked at in the 
light of islands, or islands considered as mere specks, which 
are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of Europe. Africa, 
or North and South America, are well-sounding names, and 
easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for 
weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thor- 
oughly convinced what vast spaces on our immense world 
these names imply. 

From seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look 
forward with high expectations to the future progress of 
nearly an entire hemisphere. The march of improvement, 
consequent on the introduction of Christianity throughout 
the South Sea, probably stands by itself in the records of 
history. It is the more striking when we remember that only 
sixty years since, Cook, whose excellent judgment none will 
dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change. Yet these 
changes have now been effected by the philanthropic spirit 
of the British nation. 

In the same quarter of the globe Australia is rising, or 
indeed may be said to have risen, into a grand centre of 
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, pros- 
perity, and civilization. 

In conclusion, it appears to me that nothing can be more 
improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant 
countries. It both sharpens, and partly allays that want and 
craving, which, as Sir J. Herschel remarks, a man experi- 
ences although every corporeal sense be fully satisfied. The 
excitement from the novelty of objects, and the chance of 
success, stimulate him to increased activity. Moreover, as a 
number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting, the 
habit of comparison leads to generalization. On the other 
hand, as the traveller stays but a short time in each place, 
his descriptions must generally consist of mere sketches, in- 



THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 533 

stead of detailed observations. Hence arises, as I have found 
to my cost, a constant tendency to fill up the wide gaps of 
knowledge, by inaccurate and superficial hypotheses. 

But I have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recom- 
mend 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 other- 
wise, on a long voyage. He may feel assured, he will meet 
with no difficulties or dangers, excepting in rare cases, nearly 
so bad as he beforehand anticipates. In a moral point of 
view, the effect ought to be, to teach him good-humoured 
patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for 
himself, and of making the best of every occurrence. In 
short, he ought to partake of the characteristic qualities of 
most sailors. Travelling ought also to teach him distrust-; 
but at the same time he will discover, how many truly kind- 
hearted people there are, with whom he never before had, 
or ever again will have any further communication, who 
yet are ready to offer him the most disinterested assistance. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Abbott, Mr., on spiders, 46. 
Aborigines banished from Van Die- 
men's Land, 471. 

of Australia, 459-474. 

Abrolhos, 24. 

Absence of trees in Pampas, 56. 
Aconcagua, volcano of, 269, 309. 
Actinia, stinging species, 489. 
Africa, Southern part desert, yet 

supports large animals, 97. 
Agouti, habits of, 81. 
Ague common in Peru, 386. 
Albemarle Island, 398. 
Allan, Dr., on Diodon, 24. 

on Holuthuriae, 490. 

Alluvium, # saliferous, in Peru, 384. 

stratified, in Andes, 334. 

Amblyrhynchus, 408, 418. 
Anas, species of, 214. 
Animalculae, see Infusoria. 
Antarctic islands, 264. 
Antipodes, 440. 

Ants at Keeling Island, 481. 

— in Brazil, 45. 

Apires, or miners, 361. 

Aplysia, 16. 

Apple-trees 316. 

Aptenodytes demersa, 214. 

Areas of alternate movements in the 

Pacific and Indian oceans, 506. 
Armadilloejs, habits of, 108. 
, fossil animal allied to, 142, 

169. 
Arrow-heads, ancient, 377. 
Ascension, 517. 
Aspalax, blindness of, 62. 
Athene, 81, 138. 
Atolls, 491. 
Attagis, 106. 

Atwater, Mr., on the prairies, 131. 
Audubon, M., on smelfing-power of 

carrion hawks, 198. 
Australia, 457. 
Australian barrier, 498. 
Azara on spiders, 46. 

on rain in La Plata, 57. 

on range of carrion-hawks, 69. 

on habits of carrion-hawks, 67. 

on a thunder-storm, 72. 

on ostrich-eggs, 103. 

on bows and arrows, 117. 

■ on new plants springing up, 



131. 



on great droughts, 145, 
on hydrophobia, 374. 



Bachman, Mr., on carrion-hawks, 

199. 
Bahia Blanca, 85-117. 
Bahia, Brazil, 22. 

, scenery of, 520. 

Balbi on coral reefs, 495. 

Bald Head, Australia, 474. 

Ballenar, Chile, 369. 

Banda Oriental, 155. 

Banks's Hill, 225. 

Barking-bird, 306. 

Basaltic platform of Santa Cruz, 

194. 
Bathurst, Australia, 466. 
Bats, vampire, 32. 
Bay of Islands, New Zealand, 441. 
Beads', hill of, 162. 
Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, 

233. 
Beech-trees, 251, 298. 
Beetles alive in sea, 172. 
, dung-feeders, 516. 

at St. Julian, 184. 

in brackish water, 32. 

on a fungus, 41. 

Behring's Straits, fossils of, 145. 
Bell of Quillota, 271. 
Benchuca, 349. 

Berkeley Sound, 202. 

, Rev. J., on Conferva, 25. 

, on Cyttaria, 252. 

Bibron, M., 404, 409. 

Bien-te-veo, 65. 

Birds of the Galapagos Archipelago, 

401, 418. 

, tameness of, 422. 

Birgos latro, 488. 

Bizcacha, habits of, 81, 136. 

Blackwall, Mr., on Spiders, 175. 

Blindness of tucutuco, 62. 

Body, frozen, 100, 265. 

Bolabola, 494, 499. 

Bolas, manner of using, 55, 123. 

Bombs, volcanic, 520. 

Bones of the guanaco collected in 

certain spots, 181. 

, fire made of, 209. 

, fossil, 91, 139, 142, 168, 186. 

, recent in Pampas, 146. 

Bory St. Vincent on frogs, 404. 

Boulders, 201, 264. 

Bramador, El, 382. 

Brazil, great area of granite, 22. 

Breaches in coral reefs. 502. 

Breakwater of sea-weea, 256. 



537 



538 



INDEX 



Brewster, Sir D., on a calcareous 
deposit, 20. 

Bridge of hide, 279. 

of Incas, 354, 377. 

Buckland, Dr., on fossils, 144. 

Buenos Ayres, 133. 

Buffon on American animals, 187. 

Bug of Pampas, 349. 

Buildings, Indian, Z77^ 389. 

Bulimus on desert places, 368. 

Burchell, Mr., on food of quadru- 
peds, 99. 

, on ostrich eggs, 103. 

, on perforated stones, 284. 

Butterflies, flocks of, 172. 

Butterfly producing clicking sound, 

44- 
Button, Jemmy, 222. 
Byron's account of fox of Falk- 

lands, 208. 
Byron on an Indian killing his 

child, 231. 



Cacti, 179, 277, 396. 

Cactornis, 401, 418. 

Calcareous casts of branches and 
roots of trees at King George's 
Sound, 475. 

Calosoma on wing out at sea, 172. 

■ incrustations on rocks of As- 
cension, 20. 

Callao, 386. 

Calodera, 137. 

Calomys bizcacha, 136. 

Camarhynchus, 402, 418. 

Camelidae, fossil animal allied to, 
186. 

Canis antarcticus, 208. 

fulvipes, 297. 

Capybara, or carpincho, 60, 305. 

fossil allied to, 94. 

Cape Horn, 226. 

of Good Hope, 97. 

Caracara, or Carrancha, 66. 
Cardoon, beds of, 131, 161. 
Carmichael, Cnpt., 424. 
Carrion-hawks, 66 y 132, 198. 
Casarita, 107. 

Castro, Chiloe, 295, 313. 
Casts of trees, 474. 
Casuchas, 355. 
Cathartes, 69, 199/302. 
Cats run wild, 132, 519. 

good to eat, 128. 

scratch trees, 148. 

cruelty to mice, 214. 

Cattle, effects of their grazing on 

the vegetation, 130. 
killed by great droughts, 145, 

160. 

know each other, 158. 

, curious breed of, 158. 

. waste of, 162. 

wild at the Falkland Islands, 



205, 206. 
Cauquenes, hot springs of, 280. 



Causes of extinction of species among 

mammalia, 188. 

of discoloured sea, 26. 

Cavia Patagonica, 81. 

Cervus campestris, 59. 

Ceryle Americana, 151. 

Chacao, Chiloe, 292. 

Chagos, atolls, 504. 

Chalk-like mud, 490. 

Chamisso on drifted seeds and trees, 

480, 487. 

on coral reefs, 492. 

Changes in vegetation of Pampas, 

131. 

of St. Helena, 516. 

Charles Island, Galapagos Archi- 
pelago, 397. 

Cheese, salt required for, 77. 

Cheucau, 296, 305. 

Chile, 269, 357. 

, features of country, 271. 

Chiloe, 291. 

, forests of, and climate, 260. 

, roads of, 291, 310. 

, inhabitants of, 290, 295. 

Chionis, 106. 

Chonos, Archipelago, 298. 

, climate of, 260. 

, ornithology of, 305. 

Chupat, Rio, 119. 

Cladonia, 384. 

Clearness of atmosphere within An- 
des, in Chile, 273. 

Climate of Tierra del Fuego and 
Falkland Islands, 259. 

Antarctic Islands, 264. 

Galapagos, 394, 399- 

, change of, in Chile, 378. 

Clouds of vapour after rain, 34. 

on Corcovado, 39. 

hanging low, 388. 

hanging low at sea, 425. 

Coleoptera in Tropics, 44. 

out at sea, 173. 

of St. Julian, 184. 

Colias edusa, flocks of, 172. 
Colnett, Capt., on spawn in sea, 27, 

, on a marine lizard, 408. 

, on transport of seeds, 415. 

Colonia del Sacramiento, 157. 
Colorado, Rio, 82. 

Compound animals, 216. 
Concepcion, Chile, 321. 
Condor, habits of, 196, 200, 287. 
Confervae, pelagic, 25. 
Conglomerate on the Ventana, 121. 

in Cordillera, 338, 339. 

Conurus, 151. 

Convicts of Mauritius, 510. 

, condition of, in New South 

Wales, 469. 
Cook, Capt., on Kelp, 255. 
Copiapo, river and valley of, 371. 

, town of, 375. 

Coquimbo, 364. 

Coral formations, 425, 477-509. 

, stinging species of, 489. 






INDEX 



539 



Coral, dead, 486, 505. 
Corallines, 216. 
Corcov,ado, clouds on, 39. 

volcano, 309. 

Cordillera, appearance of, 274, 293, 
338. 

-, different productions on east 

and west side, 346. 

, passage of, 334. 

« , structure of valleys, 335. 

, geology of, 339, 35 1. 

-, rivers of, 336. 

, of Copiapo, 382. 

Cormorant catching fish, 213. 

Corral, where animals are slaugh- 
tered at Buenos Ayres, 134. 

Coseguina, eruption of, 309. 

Countries, unhealthy, 386. 

Couthouy, Mr., on coral-reefs, 500. 

Crabs, hermit species of, 482. 

at Keeling Island, 488. 

at St. Paul's, 20. 

Craters, number of, at the Gala- 
pagos Archipelago, 394. 

■ of elevation, 511. 

Crisia, 216. 

Cruelty to animals, 168. 
Crustacea, pelagic, 175. 
Ctenomys Brasiliensis, 61. 

, fossil species of, 94. 

Cucao, Chiloe, 312. 

Cuckoo-like habits of Molothrus, 63. 

Cuentas, Sierra de, 162. 

Cumbre of Cordillera, 355. 

Cuming, Mr., on shells, 414, 516. 

Cuttle-fish, habits of, 17. 

Cuvier on Diodon, 24. 

Cynara, mi. 

Cyttaria Darwinii, 252. 

Dacelo Iagoensis, 12. 

Dasypus, three species of, 108. 

Deer, 59,. 145. 

Degradation of tertiary formations, 
364. 

Deinornis, 451. 

Deserts, 369, 384. 

Desmodus, 32. 

Despoblado, valley of, 376. 

Dieffenbach on Auckland Island, 
260, 460. 

Diodon, habits of, 23. 

Discoloured sea, 24. 

Diseases from miasma, 386, 460. 

Distribution of mammalia in Amer- 
ica, 143. # 

of animals on opposite sides of 



Cordilleras, 346. 
— of frogs, 404. 

of fauna of Galapagos, 417. 



Dobrizhoffer on ostriches, 105. 

on a hail-storm, 128. 

Docks, imported, 452. 
Dogs, shepherd, 163. 
D'Orbigny, Travels in South Amer- 
ica, 90, 105, 132, 142, 163, 181. 
Doris, eggs of, 215. 



Doubleday, Mr., on a noise made by 

the butterfly, 44. 
Drigg, lightning tubes at, 70. 
Droughts, great, in Pampas, 145. 
Dryness of St. J ago, 14. 

of winds in Tierra del Fuego, 

247- 

of air in Cordillera, 345. 

Du Bois, 404, 423. 
Dung-feeding beetles, 516. 

Dust falling from atmosphere, 15. 

Earthenware fossil, 391. 
Earthquake, accompanied by an ele- 
vation of the coast, 329. 
■ accompanied by rain, 373. 

at Callao, 390. 

at Concepcion, 321. 

at Coquimbo, 362. 

at Keeling and Vanikoro, and 

Society Islands, 500, 501. 

— — at Valdivia, 320. 

, causes of, 330. 

, effect of, on springs, 271. 

, effect of, on bottom of sea, 



325 



, effects of, on rocks, 274, 320. 
effects of, on sea, 312, 320, 



3*3> 



effects of, on a river-bed, 379. 

— , line of vibration, 325. 

■ on S. A. coast, 262. 

, tossing fragments from the 

ground, 213. 
, twisting movement of, 326, 

327- 
Eggs of Doris, 215. 
Ehrenberg, Prof., on Atlantic dust, 

15. 
on infusoria in Pampas, 94, 



142. 



176. 



on infusoria in the open sea, 



237- 



on infusoria in Patagonia, 185. 

on infusoria in Fuegian paint, 

r. 

on Infusoria in coral mud, 490. 

on infusoria in tuff at Ascen- 
sion, 521. 
— on phosphorescence of the sea, 



177. 



on noises from a hill, 382. 



Eimeo, view of, 429. 

Elater, springing powers of, 41. 

Electricity of atmosphere within 

Andes, 345. 
Elephant, weight of, 99. 
Elevated shells, 96, 143, 184, 270, 

316, 329, 364, 39i. 
Elevation of coasts of Chile, 271, 

316, 326, 328, 358, 365, 378 
)f B. 



ot a. Blanca, 91. 

of Patagonia, 186, 392. 

of Pampas, 142. 

of mountain-chains, 328. 

of Cordillera, 335, 339, 35' 

of fringing-reefs, 503. 



540 



INDEX 



Elevation of the coast of Peru, 391. 

within human period, 392. 

Entomology of the Galapagos Archi- 
pelago, 404, 414, 416. 

of Brazil, 43. 

« of Patagonia, 184, 346. 

of Tierra del Fuego, 254. 

of Keeling Island, 481. 

of St. Helena, 516. 

Entre Rios, geology of, 141. 
Epeira, habits of, 46. 

Erratic blocks, how transported, 264. 

absent in intertropical coun- 
tries, 264. 

- on plains of Santa Cruz, 201. 
of Tierra del Fuego, 264. 



Estancia, value of, 158. 
Extermination of species and races, 

187, 458, 472. 
Extinction of shells at St. Helena, 

5i4- 

of species, causes of, 187, 188. 

of man in New South Wales, 

458, 472. 

Eyes of tucutuco and mole, 63. 

Falconer, Dr., on the Sivatherium, 

150. 

, Jesuit, on the Indians, 116. 

, Jesuit, on rivers in Pampas, 

119. 



Jesuit, on natural enclosures, 
128. 
Falkland Islands, 202. 

, birds tame at, 422. 

, absence of trees at, 58. 

, carrion-hawks of, 68. 

, wild cattle and horses of, 204. 

, climate of, 258. 

, peat of, 304. 

Fat, quantity eaten, 130. 
Fear, an acquired instinct, 423. 
Februa, 44. 
Fennel, run wild, 132. 
Ferguson, Dr., on miasma, 387. 
Fern-trees, 261, 473. 
Fernando Noronha, 21, 396. 
Fields of dead coral, 485. 
Fire, art of making, 209, 433. 
Fish, eating coral, 490. 

of Galapagos, 414. 

— ■ — emitting harsh sound, 149. 

Flamingoes, 78. 

Fleas, 366. 

Floods after droughts, 147. 

clear after snow, 338. 

Flora of the Galapagos, 396, 415, 
418. 

of Keeling Island, 479. 

of St. Helena, 513. 

Flustraceae, 216. 

Forests, absence of, in La Plata, 58. 

01 Tierra del Fuego, 225, 258, 

303. 

of Chiloe, 259, 297, 302, 310. 

of Valdivia, 315, 318. 

1 of New Zealand, 451. 



Forests of Australia, 457. 
Fossil Mammalia, 93, 139, 142, 168, 
186. 

earthenware, 392. 

Fox of the Falkland Islands, 208. 

of Chiloe, 297. 

Friendly Archipelago, 506. 
Frogs, noises of, 39. 
, bladders of, 406. 

and toads, not found on oceanic 

islands, 405. 
Frozen soil, 100, 263. 
Fruit-trees, southern limit of, 260. 
Fucus giganteus, 255. 
Fuegians, 219-251. 
Fulgurites, 70. 
Fungus, edible, 252. 
Furnarius, 107. 

Galapagos Archipelago, 394; natural 
history of, 400. 

belongs to American Zoology, 

400, 416. 

Gale of wind, 232, 299. 

Gallegos River, fossil bones at, 186. 

Gallinazo, 66. 

Gauchos, S3, 166. 

, character of, 170. 

live on meat, 129. 

Gay, M., on floating islands, 282. 

, on shells in brackish water, 32. 

Geese at the Falkland Islands, 214. 
Geographical distribution of Ameri- 
can animals, 144, 346. 

of frogs, 404. 

of fauna of Galapagos, 416. 

Geology of Cordillera, 338, 351. 

of Patagonia, 184, 195. 

of St. Jago, 16. 

of St. Paul, 18. 

of B. Blanca, 93. 

of Pampas, 141. 

of Brazil, 22. 

Georgia, climate of, 265. 
Geospiza, 401, 418. 

Gill, Mr., on an upheaved river- 
bed, 379. 

Gillies, Dr., on the Cordillera, 342. 

Glaciers in Tierra del Fuego, 240, 
261. 

in Cordillera, 344. 

in lat. 46 ° 40', 263. 

Glowworms, 40. 

Goats, destructive to vegetation at 

St. Helena, 515. 

, bones of, 182, 

Goitre, 333. 

Gold-washing, 283. 

Good Success Bay, 219. 

Gossamer spider, 173. 

Gould, Mr., on the Calodera, 137. 

, on birds of Galapagos, 401. 

Granite mountains, Tres Montes, 

301. 

of Cordillera, 339. 

Graspus, 20. 

Gravel, how far transported, 120. 



INDEX 



541 



Gravel of Patagonia, 86, 185. 
Greenstone, fragments of, 274. 
Gryllus migratorius, 349. 
Guanaco, habits of, 179. 

, fossil allied genus, 187. 

Guantajaya, mines of, 384. 

Guardia del Monte, 130. 

Guasco, 367. 

Guasos of Chile, 275. 

Guava, imported into Tahiti, 426. 

Guinea-fowl, 14, 520. 

Gunnera scabra, 297. 

Gypsum, great beds of, 339. 

in salt-lake, 77. 

in Patagonian tertiary-beds, 



185. 

at Iquique with salt, 384. 

- at Lima with shells, 390. 

Hachette, M., on lightning-tubes, 71. 

Hailstorm, 128. 

Hall, Capt. Basil, on terraces of 

Coquimbo, 363. 
Hare, Varying, 56. 
Head, Capt., on thistle-beds, 132, 

136. 
Height of snow-line on Cordillera, 

261. 
Henslow, Prof., on potatoes, 303. 

on plants of Keeling Island, 

479. 

Hermit crabs, 482. 

Hill, emitting a noise, 382. 

Himantopus, 126. 

Hogoleu barrier-reef, 495. 

Holes made by a bird, 107. 

Holman on drifted seeds, 479. 

Holuthurise feeding on coral, 490. 

Hooker, Sir J., on the Cardoon, 132. 

, Dr. J. D., on the Kelp, 255. 

, Dr. J. D., on Gafapageian 

plants, 41 s, 419. 

Horn, Cane, 226. 

Horner, Mr., on a calcareous de- 
posit, 20. 

Horse, powers of swimming of, 156. 

, wild at the Falkland Islands, 

206. 

fossil, 94, 142. 

Horsefly, 184. 

Horsemanship of the Gauchos, 165, 

210. 
Horses difficult to drive, 123. 

drop excrement on paths, 131. 

killed by great droughts, 148. 

, multiplication of, 248. 

broken in, 165. 

Hot springs of Cauquenes, 280. 

Huacas, 389, 391. 

Humboldt on burnished rocks, 23. 

on the atmosphere in tropics, 

42. 

on frozen soil, 100. 

- on hybernation, in. 
on potatoes, 303. 

on earthquakes and rain, 373. 

- on miasma, 387, 460. 



Humming-birds of Rio de Janeiro, 
42. 

of Chile, 291. 

Hybernation of animals, HI. 
Hydrochaerus capybara, 60. 
Hydrophobia, 374. 
Hyla, 39. 
Hymenophallus, 43. 

Ibis melanops, 179. 

Ice prismatic structure of, 344. 

Icebergs, 201, 240, 263-268. 

Incas Bridge, 355, 377. 

Incrustations on coast rocks, 19, 22, 

Indian fossil remains, 392. 

Indians, attacks of, 75, 87. 

1 Patagonians, 248. 

, Araucarians, 317. 

of the Pampas, 114. 

of Valdivia, 317. 

, perforated stones used by, 284. 

powers of tracking, 347. 

, grave of, 183, 201. 

, ruins of houses of, in Cordil- 
lera, 37,7> .3?9. „ 

, antiquities of, in La Plata, 56, 

117. 

decrease in numbers, 116. 

Infection, 459. 

Infusoria in dust of the Atlantic, 15. 

■ in the sea, 26, 176. 

■ in Pampas, 94, 142. 

in Patagonia, 185. 

in white paint, 236. 

— — in coral mud, 490. 
■ at Ascension, 521. 

Insects, first colonists of St. Paul's 

rocks, 20. 
blown out to sea, 173. 

of Patagonia, 184, 346. 

of Tierra del Fuego, 254. 

of Galapagos, 403, 415, 416. 

of Keeling Island, 481. 

of St. Helena, 516. 

Instincts of birds, 107, 422. 
Iodine with salt at Iquique, 385. 
Iquique, 383. 

Iron, oxide of, on rocks, 2^ 
Islands, oceanic, volcanic, 19. 

, Antarctic, 264. 

, floating, 282. 

, low, 425, 492. 

Jackson, Col., on frozen snow, 344. 
Jaguar, habits of, 147. 
Jajuel, mines of, 276. 
James Island, Galapagos Archipel- 
ago, 398. 
Juan Fernandez, volcano of, 329. 
, flora of, 416. 

Rater's Peak, 227. 
Kauri pine, 451. 
Keeling Island, 477. 

, birds of, 480. 

, entomology of, 488. 

, flora of, 479. 



542 



INDEX 



Keeling Island, subsidence of, 500. 

Kelp, or sea-weed, 255. 

Kendall, Lieut., on a frozen body, 

265. 
Kingfishers, 12, 151. 
King George's Sound, 474. 

Labourers, condition of, in Chile, 

283. 
Lagoon-islands, 425, 478, 491. 
Lagostomus, 136. 
Lake, brackish, near Rio, 31. 

■ , with floating islands, 282. 

■ formed during earthquake, 392. 

Lamarck on acquired blindness, 62. 

Lampyris, 40. 

Lancaster, Capt., on a sea-tree, 112. 

Land-shells, 368, 515, 516. 

Lazo, 54, 167, 204. 

Leaves, fall of, 251. 

— — , fossil, 473. 

Leeks in New Zealand, imported, 

452. 
Lepus Magellanicus, 208. 
Lesson, M., on the scissor-beak, 151. 
, on rabbit of the Falklands, 

208. 
Lichen on loose sand, 384. 
Lichtenstein on ostriches, 104. 
Lightning storms, 72. 

> tubes, 70. 

Lima, 386, 389. 

, elevation of a river near, 379. 

Lime, changed by lava into crystal- 
line rock, 16. 
Limnaea in brackish water, 31. 
Lion-ant, 466. 
Lizard, no. 

, marine species of, 408. 

Lizards, transport of, 405. 

Llama or Guanaco, habits of, 179. 

Locusts, 348. 

Longevity of species in Mollusca, 94. 

Lorenzo, San, island of, 388. 

Low archipelago, 425. 

Lund, M., on antiquity of man, 

379. 
Lund and Clausen on fossils of 

Brazil, 143, 187. 
Luxan, 348. 
Luxuriant vegetation not necessary 

to support large animals, 97. 
Lycosa, 46. 
Lyell, Mr., on terraces of Coquimbo, 

363. 

■ , on longevity of Mollusca, 95. 

, on subsidence in the Pacific, 

494- 



, on change in vegetation, 132. 

, on fossil horses' teeth, 143. 

, on distribution of animals, 346. 

, on frozen snow, 344. 

■ , on extinct mammals and ice- 
period, 188. 

, on flocks of butterflies, 172. 

— , on stones twisted by earth- 
quakes, 326. 



Macculloch on infection, 459. 
Macquarie river, 467. 
Macrauchenia, 94, 186. 
Macrocystis, 255. 
Madrina, or godmother of a troop 

of mules, 334. 
Magdalen Channel, 257. 
Magellan, Strait of, 247. 
Malcolmson, Dr., on hail, 128. 
Maldiva atolls, 492, 501, 504. 
Maldonado, 50. 
Mammalia, fossil, 93, 140, 143, 169, 

186, 392. 
Man, antiquity of, 378. 

, fossil remains of, 392. 

, body frozen, 266. ^ 

, fear of, an acquired instinct, 



424. 



-, extinction of races, 459, 472. 



movements in, 



Mares' flesh eaten by troops, 114. 

killed for their hides, 168. 

Mastodon, 139, 142. 
Matter, granular, 

112. 
Mauritius, 509. 
Maypu river, 335. 
Megalonyx, 93, 143. 
Megatherium, 93, 
Mendoza, climate 



95, 143. 
of, 343. 



350. 



Mexico, elevation of, 143. 

Miasmata, 386, 459. 

Mice inhabit sterile places, 380. 

, number of, in America, 60. 

, how transported, 305, 400. 

different on opposite sides of 

Andes, 346. 

of the Galapagos, 400. 

of Ascension, 518. 



Millepora, 489. 

Mills for grinding ores, 283. 

Mimosae, 36. 

Mimus, 65, 418, 422. 

Miners, condition of, 277, 282, 359, 
366. 

Mines, 276, 360, 365. 

— I — , how discovered, 336. 

Missionaries at New Zealand, 449. 

Mitchell, Sir T., on valleys of Aus- 
tralia, 462. 

Mocking-bird, 65, 418, 422. 

Molina omits description of certain 
birds, 288. 

Molothrus, habits of, 63. 

Monkeys with prehensile tails, 38. 

Monte Video, 51, 155. 

Moresby, Capt., on a great crab, 489. 

on coral-reefs, 505. 

Mount Sarmiento, 249, 257. 

Tarn, 250. 

Mountains, elevation of, 330. 
Movements in granular matter, 112. 
Mud, chalk-like, 490. 

disturbed by earthquake, 325. 

Mules, 334. 

Muniz, Sig., on niata cattle, 159. 

Murray, Mr., on spiders, 175. 



INDEX 



543 



Mylodon, 94, 143, 169. 
Myopotamus Coypus, 305. 

Negress with goitre, 333. 
Negro, Rio, 74, 162. 

lieutenant, 87. 

New Caledonia, reef of, 494, 496, 
502. 

Zealand, 440. 

Niata cattle, 159. 
Noises from a hill, 382. 

Noses, ceremony of pressing, 447. 
Nothura, 56. 

Notopod, crustacean, 175. 
Nulliporae, incrustations like, 20. 

protecting reefs, 524. 

Octopus, habits of, 17. 
Oily coating on sea, 27, 
Olfersia, 20. 
Opetiorhynchus, 306. 
Opuntia, 278. 

Darwinii, 179. 

Galapageia, 396. 

Orange-trees self-sown, 132. 
Ores, gold, 283. 

Ornithology of Galapagos, 401, 418. 

Ornithorhynchus, 466. 

Osorno, volcano of, 290, 292, 309. 

Ostrich, habits of, 53, 101. 

Ostriches' eggs, 125. 

Otaheite, 426. 

Otter, 305. 

Ova in sea, 27, 

Oven-bird, 107. 

Owen, Capt., on a drought in Africa, 
145. 

, Professor, on the Capybara, 

60. 

— , Professor, on fossil quadru- 
peds, 93-96, 143- 

, Professor, on nostrils of the 

Gallinazo, 199. 

Owl of Pampas, 81, 138. 

Oxyurus, 253, 307. 

Oysters, gigantic, 185. 

Paint, white, 236. 

Pallas on Siberia, 78, 

Palm-trees in La Plata, 57. 

in Chile, 273. 

, south limit of, 260. 

Palms absent at Galapagos, 397. 

Pampas, number of embedded re- 
mains in, 168. 

, S. limit of, 86. 

, changes in, 132. 

■ not quite level, 135, 139, 156. 

, geology of, 141, 168. 

-, view of, from the Andes, 347. 

Papilio feronia, 43. 

Parana, Rio, 138, 151, 160. 

, islands in, 147. 

Parish, Sir W., on the great drought, 
146. 

Park, Mungo, on eating salt, 123. 

Parrots, 151, 259. 



Partridges, 56. 

Pas, fortresses of New Zealand, 442. 

Passes in Cordillera, 353. 

Pasture, altered from grazing of 

cattle, 131. 
Patagones, 75. 
Patagonia, geology of, 184, 348. 

, zoology of, 179, 184, 193. 

Patagonian Indians, 245. 
Peach-trees, self-sown, 133. 
Peat, formation of, 304. 
Pebbles perforated, 162, 285. 

transported in roots of trees, 

^ 487. 

Pelagic animals in southern ocean, 

175. 
Pelacanoides Berardii, 308. 
Penas, Gulf of, 263. 
Penguin, habits of, 214. 
Pepsis, habits of, 46. 
Pernambuco, reef of, 524. 
Pernety on hill of ruins, 213. 

on tame birds, 423. 

Peru, 383-393- 

, dry valleys of, 379, 383. 

Petrels, habits of, 307. 
Peuquenes, pass of, 338. 
Phonolite at F. Noronha, 21. 
Phosphorescence of the sea, 176. 
of a coralline, 217. 

of land insects and sea ani- 
mals, 40. 

Phryniscus, 109. 



Pine of New Zealand, 451. 
Plains at foot of Andes in 

279, 335. 
almost horizontal near St 



Chile, 

Fe, 

139- 
Planariae, terrestrial species of, 37. 
Plants of the Galapagos, 396, 414, 

419. 

of Keeling Island, 479. 

of St. Helena, 513. 

Plata, Rio, 49. 

, thunderstorms of, 72. 

Plover, long-legged, 126. 
Polished rocks, Brazil, 22. 
Polyborus chimango, 66. 

Novae Zelandise, 68. 

■ Brasiliensis, 66. 

Ponsonby Sound, 236. 
Porpoises, 49. 
Port Desire, 178. 
, river of, 119, 184. 

St. Julian, 184. 

Famine, 249. 

Portillo pass, 339, 344. 

Porto Praya, 1. 

Potato, wild, 302. 

Potrero, Seco, 370. 

Prairies, vegetation of, 132. 

Prevost, M., on cuckoos, 64. 

Priestley, Dr., on lightning-tubes, 

70. 
Procellaria gigantea, habits of, 307. 
Proctotretus. no. 
Proteus, blindness of, 62. 



544 



INDEX 



Protococcus nivalis, 342. 
Pteroptochos, two species of, 287. 

, species of, 296, 306. 

Puente del Inca, 354, 377. 

Puffinus cinereus, 307. 

Puma, habits of, 148, 198, 286. 

, flesh of, 129. 

Puna, or short respiration, 341. 
Punta Alta, Bahia Blanca, 93. 

Gorda, 142, 378. 

Pyrophorus luminosus, 41. 

Quadrupeds, fossil, 93, 139, 142, 

168, 186. 
, large, do not require luxuriant 

vegetation, 97. 
-, large, weight of, 99. 



Quartz of the Ventana, 121. 

of Tapalguen, 129. 

of Falkland Island, 211. 

>uedius, 20. 

►uillota, valley of, 271. 
>uintero, 270. 
Juiriquina Island, 321. 
|uoy and Gaimard on stinging 
corals, 489. 

on coral reefs, 502. 

Rabbit, wild, at the Falkland Isl- 
ands, 207. 
Rain at Coquimbo, 358, 368, 369. 

at Rio, 39. 

and earthquakes, 372. 

in Peru, 385, 386. 

in Chile, formerly more abun- 



dant, 378. 

Chile, 
358. 



in 



effects on vegetation, 



Rana mascariensis, 404. 

Rat, only aboriginal animal of New 

Zealand, 451. 
Rats at Galapagos, 400. 

at Ascension, 519. 

at Keeling Island, 481. 

Rattle-snake, species with allied 

habit, 108. 
Red snow, 342. 
Reduvius, 349. 
Reef at Pernambuco of sandstone, 

524. 
Reefs of coral, 491-508. 

, Barrier, 494-501. 

, Fringing, 497. 

Reeks, Mr., analysis of salt, 77, 

, analysis of bones, 169. 

, analysis of salt and shells, 391. 

Remains, human elevated, 392. 
Remedies of the Gauchos, 140. 
Rengger on the horse, 249. 
Reptiles absent in Tierra del Fuego, 

2S4 * ^ , 
at Galapagos, 404. 

Respiration difficult in Andes, 341. 
Retrospect, 527. 

Revolutions at Buenos Ayres, 153. 
Rhinoceroses live in desert coun- 
tries, 98. 



Rhinoceroses, frozen, 100, 266. 

Rhynchops nigra, 149. 

Richardson, Dr., on mice of North 

America, 401. 

, on frozen soil, 101, 265. 

, on eating fat, 130. 

, on geographical distribution, 

144. 
Rimsky atoll, 492. 
Rio de Janeiro, 29. 

Plata, 49. 

Negro, 74, 161. 

Colorado, 81. 

S. Cruz, 191. 

, Sauce, 119. 

Salado, 130. 

Rivers, power of, in wearing chan- 
nels, 194, 332. 

River-bed, arched, 340. 

River-courses dry in America, 119. 

Rocks burnished with ferruginous 
matter, 23. 

Rodents, number of, in America, 60, 
193. 

, fossil species of, 94. 

Rosas, General, 82, 115, 153. 

Ruins of Callao, 390. 

of Indian buildings in Cordil- 
lera, 377, 389. 

S. Cruz, 191. 

Salado, Rio, 130. 

Salinas at the Galapagos Archipel- 
ago, 399. 

in Patagonia, 76, 184. 

Saline efflorescences, 89. 

Salt with vegetable food, 122. 

, superficial crust of, 385. 

, with elevated shells, 391. 

Salt-lakes, 76, 184, 399. 

Sand, hot from sun's rays, at Gala- 
pagos Archipelago, 399. 

, noise from friction of, 382. 

Sand-dunes, 86. 

Sandstone of New South Wales, 462, 

, reef of, 524. 

Sandwich Archipelago, no frogs at, 
404. 

Land, 265. 

San Pedro, forests of, 298. 
Santa Cruz, river of, 191. 
Santiago, Chile, 279. 
Sarmiento, Mount, 249, 257. 
Sauce, Rio, 119. 
Saurophagus sulphureus, 64. 
Scarus eating corals,- 490. 
Scelidotherium, 93. 
Scenery of Andes, 337. 
Scissor-tail, 151. 
Scissor-beak, habits of, 151. 
Scoresby, Mr., on effects of snow 011 

rocks, 337. 
Scorpions, cannibals, 179. 
Scrope, Mr., on earthquakes, 373. 
Scytalopus fuscus, 253, 307. 
Sea, open, inhabitants of, 176. 
, phosphorescence of, 176. 



INDEX 



545 



Sea, distant noise of, 314. 
Sea-pen, habits of, in, 217. 
Sea-weed, growth of, 255. 
Seals, number of, 302. 
Seeds transported by sea, 415, 479. 
Serpulae, protecting reef, 525. 
Shark killed by Diodon, 24. 
Shaw, Dr., on lion's flesh, 129. 



Sheep, infected, 460. 
lines on Mon 
land, in great numbers, 



ep, ; 
Shelley, lines on Mont Blanc, 182 



Shells, land, in 
368. 

, land, at St. Helena, 515. 

, fossil, of Cordillera, 339. 

- of Galapagos, 413. 

, elevated, 95, 143, 184, 270, 

364, 391. 
, tropical forms of, far south, 

259. 
, decomposition of, with salt, 

39i. 
Shepherds' dogs, 163. 
Shingle-bed of Patagonia, 86, 186. 
Siberia compared with Patagonia, 

78. 
, zoology of, related to North 

America, 144. 
Siberian animals, how preserved in 

ice, 266. 
— , animals, food necessary during 

their existence, 101. 
Silicified trees, 351, 373. 
Silurian formations at Falkland 

Islands, 212. 
Silurus, habits of, 149. 
Skunks, 92. 

Slavery, 30, 33, 34, 525. 
bmelhng power of carrion-hawks, 

198. 
Smith, Dr. Andrew, on the support 

of large quadrupeds, 97. 

, on perforated pebbles, 162. 

Snake, venomous, 108. 

Snow, effects of, on rocks, 337. 

, prismatic structure of, 344. 

, red, 342. 

Snow-line on Cordillera, 261, 342, 

_ 344- 

Society, state of, in La Plata, 51, 

170. 

, state of, in Australia, 468. 

■ ■ Archipelago, 425. 

- Archipelago, volcanic phenom- 
ena at, 500, 506. 

Soda, nitrate of, 383. 
— — , sulphate of, 89. 
Soil, frozen, 100, 265. 
Spawn on surface of sea, 27. 
Species, distribution of, 142, 384. 
— ;—, extinction of, 188. 
Spiders, habits of, 45-48. 
, gossamer, 172. 

killed by and killing wasps, 

45-48. 

on Keeling Island, 481. 

on St. Paul's, 20. 

Springs, hot, 280. 



Stephenson, Mr., on growth of sea- 
weed, 256. 
Stinging animals, 489. 
St. Helena, 512. 
, introduction of spirits into, 

St. Fe, 140. 

St. Jago, C. Verds, 1. 

, C. Verds, unhealthiness of, 

387. 
St. Maria, elevated, 326, 328. 
St. Paul's rocks, 18. 
Stones perforated, 162, 285. 

transported in roots, 487. 

Storm, 232, 298. 

in Cordillera, 342, 381. 

Streams of stones at Falkland Islands, 

211. 
Strongylus, 43. 
Struthio Rhea, 53, 105. 

Darwinii, 105. 

Strzelecki, Count, 472. 

Suadiva atoll, 492. 

Subsidence of coral reef, 492-508. 

of Keeling Island, 500. 

of Patagonia, 186. 

of coast of Peru, 390. 

of Cordillera, 340, 352. 

■ of coasts of Chile, 365. 

• of Vanikoro, 501. 

of coral reefs great in amount, 

504- 

— , cause of distinctness in Ter- 
tiary epochs, 366. 

Sulphate of lime, 77 , 184, 390. 

of soda incrusting the ground, 



89. 



of soda with common salt, 77, 
on cuckoos, 63. 



39i- 
Swainson, Mr. 
Sydney, 455. 



Tabanus, 185. 

Tahiti (Otaheite), 425. 

, three zones of fertility, 429. 

Talcahuano, 321. 
Tambillos, Ruinas de, 377. 
Tameness of birds, 422. 
Tapacolo and Turco, 287. 
Tapalguen, Sierra, flat hills of 

quartz, 129. 
Tarn, Mount, 250. 
Tasmania, 471. 
Tattooing, 427, 450. 
Temperance of the Tahitians, 435. 
Temperature of Tierra del Fuego 

and Falkland Islands, 258. 

of Galapagos, 395, 399. 

Tercero, Rio, fossils in banks of, 139. 
Terraces in valleys of Cordillera, 

334- 

of Coquimbo, 363. 

of Pf.tagonia, 185, 195. 

Tertiary formations of the Pampas, 

93, 142, 168. 

formations of Patagonia, 184, 



348. 



VOL. XXIX— R 



HC 



546 



INDEX 



Tertiary formations in Chile, epochs 

of, 365. 
Teru-tero, habits of, 127. 
Testudo, habits of, 405, 417. 
Theory of lagoon-islands, 497. 
Theristicus, 179. 
Thistle beds, 131, 136, 161. 
Thunder-storms, 72. 
Tierra del Fuego, 219-268. 

, climate and vegetation of, 258. 

, zoology of, 252. 

, entomology of, 254. 

Tinamus rufescens, 125. 
Tinochorus Eschscholtzii, 106. 
Toad, habits of, 109. 
not found in oceanic islands, 

404. 
Torrents in Cordillera, 335, 340. 
Tortoise, habits of, 405, 417. 
Toxodon, 94, 139, 142, 168. 
Transparency of air in Andes, 345. 

of air in St. Jago, 14. 

Transport of seeds, 415, 479. 
■ of boulders, 201, 264. 

of stones in, roots of trees, 487. 

of fragments of rock on banks 

of the St. Cruz river, 194. 

Travertin with leaves of trees, Van 
Diemen's Land, 473. 

Tree-ferns, southern limits of, 261. 

, 473- 

Trees, absence of, in Pampas, 56. 

— ■ — , floating, transport stones, 487. 

, silicified, vertical, 351. 

, silicified, size of, 373. 

, time required to rot, 320. 

Tres Montes, 299. 

Trichodesmium, 25. 

Trigonocephalus, 108. 

Tristan d'Acunha, 424, 481. 

Trochilus, 289. 

Tropical scenery, 521. 

Tschudi, M., on subsidence, 390. 

Tubes, silicious, formed by light- 
ning, 70. 

Tucutuco, habits of, 61. 

, fossil species of, 94. 

Tuff, craters of, 395. 

, Infusoria in, 521. 

Tupungato, volcano of, 344. 

Turco, El, 287. 

Turkey buzzard, 69, 199, 302. 

Turtle, manner of catching, 484. 

Type of organization in Galapagos 
Islands, American^ 416. 

Types of organization in different 
countries, constant, 188. 

Tyrannus, 151. 

Ulloa on hydrophobia, 374. 

on Indian buildings, 378. 

Unanue, Dr., on hydrophobia, 374. 
Uruguay, Rio, 152, 160. 

, not crossed by the Bizcacha, 

136. 
Uspallata range and pass, 351. 
Vacas, Rio, 353. 



Valdivia, 315. 

, forests of, 316, 32a 

Valley of St. Cruz, how excavated, 

195. 

, dry, at Copiapo, 376. 

Valleys, excavation of, in Chile, 

334, 37§ 



Tahiti, 431, 435. 
in Cordillera, 334. 
of New South Wales, 462. 



Valparaiso, 269, 332. 

Vampire bat, 32. 

Vapour from forests, 34. 

Van Diemen's Land, 470% 

Vanellus Cayanus, 127. 

Vanessa, flocks of, 172. 

Vanikoro, 495, 496, 501. 

Vegetation of St. Helena, changes 
of, 515. 

Vegetation on opposite sides of Cor- 
dillera, 346. 

, luxuriant, not necessary to 

support large animals, 97. 

Ventana, Sierra, 122. 

Verbena melindres, 51. 

Villa Vicencio, 351. 

Virgularia Patagonica, III, 217. 

Volcanic bombs, 520. 

Islands, 18. 

■ phenomena, 329. 

Volcanoes near Chiloe, 290, 292, 

309, 329. _ , . .. 
, their presence determined by 

elevation or subsidence, 506. 
Vultur aura, 69, 199, 301. 

Waders, first colonists of distant 

islands, 402. 
Waimate, New Zealand, 445. 
Walckenaer, on spiders, 48. 
Walleechu tree, 79. 
Wasps preying on spiders and killed 

by, 46-48. 
Water, sold at Iquique, 383. 

, fresh, floating on salt, 49, 483. 

Water-hog, 60. 

Waterhouse, Mr., on Rodents, 60, 

400. 

, on the Niata ox, 159. 

, on the insects of Tierra del 

Fuego, 254. ■ 

-, on the insects of Galapagos, 



404, 415. 

Waves, caused by fall of ice, 240, 
262. 

from earthquakes, 324, 327. 

Weather, connection with earth- 
quakes, 372. 

Weather-board, N. S. Wales, 461. 

Weeds in New Zealand, imported, 
415, 452. 

Weight of large quadrupeds, 99. 

Wellington, Mount, 473. 

Wells, ebbing and flowing, 483. 

at Iquique, 384. 

West Indies, banks of, 463. 

1 coral reefs of, 498, 506. 



INDEX 



547 



West Indies, zoology of, 144. 
Whales, oil from, 27. 

leaping out of water, 239. 

White, Mr., on Spiders, 46. 
Wigwams of Fuegians ; 227. 
Williams, Rev., on infectious dis- 
orders, 459. # 

Winds, dry, in Tierra del Fuego, 
247. 

at the Cape Verds, 13. 

, cold, in Cordillera, 381. 

on Cordillera, 342. 

Winter's Bark, 251, 298. 
Wolf at the Falklands, 208. 
Wood, Capt., on the Agouti, 81. 
Woollya, 237. 



Yaquil, 282. 

Yeso, Valle del, 338. 

York Minster, 223. 



Zonotrichia, 63. 

Zoological provinces of N. and S. 

America. 144. 
Zoology or Galapagos, 400. 

of Keeling Island, 480. 

of Tierra del Fuego, 252. 

of Chonos Islands, 305. 

of St. Helena, 516. 

Zoophytes, 112. 

at Falkland Islands, ai5. 

Zorillo, or skunk, 92. 



THE PUBLISHERS OF THE HAR- 
VARD CLASSICS • DR. ELIOT'S 
FIVE-FOOT SHELF OF BOOKS • ARE 
PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE 
PUBLICATION OF 

THE JUNIOR CLASSICS 

A LIBRARY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 



The Junior Classics constitute a set 
of books whose contents will delight 
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ments of those who have the children's 
best interests at heart." 

CHARLES W. ELIOT 



THE COLLIER PRESS • NEW YORK 
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