Galapagos  Source  Whalesite

CHAPTER II.

      With the brief remarks contained in the previous chapter, I take a final leave of the American shores, whence I departed January

15th, 1834, and, after a brisk sail of a few days, arrived at James' Island, belonging to the Gallipagos group, nine in number. Here we anchored for three days, in order to procure a supply of tortoises, which are found in great abundance, and of an enormous size, some of them measuring from four to six feet in length, and four in breadth. They are, moreover, so weighty, that the united strength of five men, alternately exercised, is required to convey them from the mountains. The total absence of fresh-water and springs, with one exception,^* throughout the Gallipagos, would incline us to believe that these remote spots of earth were never intended for the dwelling-place of man. There is no trace of original inhabitants to be discovered; and the recent colonization of Charles' Island, by a party of Guayaquilanians, is the only attempt on record made to fix, amidst these solitary

recesses, a permanent abode. The whole of the group, according to the reports I met with, presents the same natural features as those observable in James' Island; but as I did not visit any of the remainder, I cannot speak with certainty on the subject. The sides and summits of the mountains are entirely covered with trees and long grass, and produce a large species of lizard of a deep orange-colour, its back surmounted by a white comb. These creatures burrow in the earth like rabbits, are extremely unprepossessing in their appearance, but perfectly harmless, and are sometimes taken for food, in preference to the tortoise, by the crews of vessels that anchor here. I did not meet with any quadrupeds; and only saw four kinds of land-birds, namely, two sorts of hawk, a small brown turtle-dove, and a species of sparrow, all of which are so excessively tame, that they frequently, during my rambles, perched on my head, and rested there in fearless security, alike unconscious of

the power and will too often inherent in the lords of the creation to tyrannise over and injure her inferior members. Their confiding tameness bespoke how rarely a human footstep had broken the solitude of those sequestered haunts; and it was a pleasing reflection, to a mind somewhat weary with toil and solicitude, that at least there was one green spot, in this wide world of ours, where suspicion and mistrust were unknown, and their baneful effects unfelt! The trees and shrubs I met with were the same as those I have noticed in Chili and Peru; and this coincidence, combined with the volcanic strata of the island, induces me to think it highly probable that the Gallipago group, now six hundred miles distant from the main land, at one period joined the vast Continent of America, and was separated from it by one of those awful convulsions of nature, which have ever been, and still continue to be, a marked characteristic of this portion of the New World. But however plausible this con-

jecture may be, as to the relative position of these islands on the earth's surface, the subject is still surrounded with difficulties, and remains impenetrable to philosophical research: for, no sooner is one opinion formed, than a contradictory light breaks on the observer's mind, subverts the validity of his former reasoning, and establishes a new theory in its place. Thus the remarkable circumstance, that neither the adjoining continent, nor any of the neighbouring islands, produce the large species of tortoise found amongst the group now under consideration, may perhaps be deemed of sufficient importance to defeat the supposition that these isles ever held a geographical position different from their present one. On the west side of James' Island I discovered a mountain composed of salt; and, a short distance from this, the remains of a crater, but no signs of any recent eruption, though a considerable portion of the adjacent ground was strewed with decayed lava. In

the evening, at certain seasons, the beach is covered with numbers of the hawksbill turtle, which come on shore for the purpose of depositing their eggs to this process I was myself a witness, having seen one make an aperture in the sand with her hind flippers, lay one hundred and twenty eggs, cover them over, and then return to her natural element. On leaving James' Island, we were accompanied by two American sailors, who had resided there for nearly two months, having sought a refuge from the tyranny of their captain in that deserted spot. These men were beginning, when we arrived, to suffer much from the scarcity of water, which can be obtained only during the rainy season. The absence of this necessary of life most probably occasioned the fatal catastrophe, the melancholy memento of which met my gaze, as gaining one morning the mountain's summit, I beheld a human skeleton, whitening in the sun, the remains, no doubt, of some unfortu-

nate being, who, finding naught within the plains or valleys to slake his burning thirst, had climbed that lofty height in search of a spring or rivulet, and, discovering neither, had thus miserably perished!

      After quitting the Gallipagos, several succeeding weeks were occupied by our whaler in seeking her cargo from the ocean's depths. Anxious to witness so exciting a scene as the attack and capture of the mighty leviathan, I volunteered to accompany the boat's crew in their hazardous expedition: our first attempt proved most successful, for in a few hours we returned to the vessel with our prize, a spermwhale, measuring sixty feet in length, and forty in circumference. The next trial, however, was of a less-encouraging nature, the boat being assailed (as it often happens) by the intended victim, who, opening his terrific jaws, threatened us with instant destruction. For a few moments we were suspended, as it were, between life and death, unknowing

which would be our lot; and, but for the timely aid of another boat, all our efforts must have been unavailing to avert the fate that seemed so near. Excursions of similar peril, in which the sailors were continually engaged, formed the only exception I experienced, for nearly three months, to the dull and tedious sameness of a life on shipboard.

Thomas Nightingale.
      Oceanic Sketches.
London: James Cochrane and Co., 1835.
pp. 26-33.

Galapagos  Source  Whalesite