Galapagos Islands  Source  Whalesite

VOYAGE

AUTOUR DU MONDE

Arrival of the Venus in the Galapagos Islands. -- Colony of Floriana. -- Its population. -- Its productions. -- Fitz-Patrick. -- Islands: Hood, Chatam, Barington, Porter, Dower, Bindloes, James or Santiago, Abington, Wénams, Culpepers, Redondo, Albemarle and Narborought.

      On June 21, at six o'clock in the morning, four days after our departure from Peru, we discovered the land in the N.W. 1/4 W.: it was Hood Island that we saw, it hardly appeared, and presented itself under the appearance of three small islets; we were then about thirty miles away. Little by little, as they approached, the parts of the island, still under water, appeared successively and the islets, joining together at the base, soon formed one and the same land.

      Hood Island is small and at best of medium elevation; from its main summit, the land descends in an elongated slope, towards either end, in a general direction from S.E. to N.W.; however, in the eastern part of the island we saw a small hillock higher than the coast, which formed a second peak; we could still see a third located in the interior and further north. This island was covered with vegetation in the middle of which one could distinguish trees, generally not very tall and stunted, but which, however, in some parts seemed more numerous and of a more beautiful appearance: this vegetation, indeed, it is composed of shrubs mixed with arborescent plants and several varieties of cacti. The southern coast has little relief on the shore; almost everywhere it follows, for the escarpment and the elevation, the movement of the land of the island. The sea broke with force on all this coastline, from the tip of the S.E. to that of the W., which is the lowest and seems to extend underwater to a considerable distance; a breaker, which follows this point, and which is always seen, gives it a dangerous appearance.

      Around eight o'clock in the morning, as soon as we began to clearly distinguish Hood Island, we saw Chatam Island in the north: the line of the coast and its contours were still not very defined, however we could see quite clearly the high mountain which dominates the S.E. tip of this island. By noon we were about four and a half miles or five miles at most,

from the south of the eastern tip of Hood Island, from where we measured the eastern end to the north 4° East of the world; the part of the shore nearest to us was about three and a half or four miles away. At the same time, we discovered, from the top of the masts, Charles Island and Gardner Island, but nothing could yet be distinguished because of the distance. We sounded at the time of the observation of the latitude, and we found no bottom in 200 fathoms. At one twenty-five we observed the western tip of Hood Island in the North 4° due East, we broke down to make observations and bearings: we were at this time at most four miles from the game. from the coast nearest to us which remained to us, too, in the direction of the highest peak of Hood, and we found, sounding, 130 fathoms of water on a bottom of fine red sand mixed with ground shells; already, the deck of the frigate, the island easily be distinguished from Gardner and the tops of mountains of Charles Island ¹.

      On the morning of the 22nd, at eight thirty minutes, we raised the summit of Gardner Island, in the north of the world; we then observed to fix the longitude and we sounded during the time of the observations, but without having the bottom by 200 fathoms; We then continued on our way to pass south of Ale Charles.

      Gardner Island is a large islet shaped like a

haystack, somewhat squashed to the east, which can easily be seen from the western point of Hood Island, about 30 miles; it is covered with active vegetation. Near Gardner's islet, and to the west of its position, we see a large, sterile white rock, of medium elevation, the coast of which is steep and the summit flattened. This rock is pierced, towards its eastern end, in the form of a bridge arch, the direction of the vault is located from North to South. It is said that in the half-south east of the eastern point of Gardner, and about a mile or two away, there is a rock underwater which breaks in bad weather. From the top of Gardner's Island, from where we sought to discover it, we have never been able to see it; the sea being too calm.

      At noon of the same day, the Venus was in an approximately easterly and westerly direction of the southern part of Charles Island and a little west of its westernmost point. In that position we didn't have a 200 fathom bottom. At ten minutes past twelve we continued to sail and headed for the anchorage at Black-Beach, where we dropped anchor around two o'clock, roughly west of the only house that exists near the cove. of black sand, where one must disembark, and about two-thirds of a mile from the beach, in 21 fathoms of water on a bottom of fine sand, red and black, strewn with rocks.

      Charles Island is much more hilly than Hood Island, it is also much higher; the multiplied accidents of the ground, its mountains with rounded peaks, serve to its recognition and to prevent that it can be confused with that of Hood. Besides, Gardner's Island, which can be seen about three miles to the east of its position, would put an end to all uncertainty, if there were any as to its recognition. At the southern tip of Charles Island, we see a small rock high on the water, the distance from the land is at most a cable; the whole of the southern coast is healthy and smooth, but everywhere the sea breaks a lot on the shore. Charles Island is covered with rich vegetation that stretches from its summit to the seashore, and it is wooded in several parts. Among the plants that we see on this island, we notice more particularly different species of cactus and a tree higher than the others and usually without leaves, which there is very multiplied. These leafless trees appear dead and as if bleached or dried by the sun. All the travelers who have visited the Galapagos Islands, struck by this aspect, have affirmed, without verifying the fact, that these trees were dead; however, they are not; they only have the appearance of it, which they owe to their lack of leaves. These trees, in fact, being deprived, in a country where, in general, they always last, we naturally had to suppose that they had ceased to vegetate.

      We met on the roadstead of Black-Beach a

a small schooner under the flag of the Republic of Ecuador; it was commanded by Mr. Lawson, lieutenant in the navy of that state. Mr. Lawson, an energetic officer, who has several times been in charge ad interim, of the government of Floriana, is a skilled and enlightened sailor; he hastened to come on board to offer us his services; and he was a useful help to us, both for the nautical information that we received from it, on this archipelago, as for the curious information that he gave us on the occupation of these islands by the government of the republic from Ecuador; on the establishment of the new colony on Charles Island; on the different productions of this island; on the fertility of its soil, the possibility of extending the crops undertaken and forming new ones; and, finally, on the climate, the prevailing winds, and all that may be of interest, either for science or for navigation.

      By stopping on the roadstead of Black-Beach, which is in reality only a mooring in the middle of the coast, my project was only to learn about it. From the 23rd we set sail again, and we went to anchor in Post¹ bay, where we arrived at

four in the evening. There was the American whaling ship Augusta at this anchorage, stopping off to get refreshments and firewood. From that very evening, we took care of setting up our observatory. The beach was not convenient for this operation, for everywhere the coast is bordered by loose and heaped lava rocks, which form a mobile, uneven, rough ground, and very difficult to walk on. Further inland, the ground is not better and it is moreover covered almost everywhere with cacti of several species, thorny shrubs and arborescent plants which prevent entering the island without having first cleared a path. chopped path. During our stay on this roadstead, a stay whose limit was that of the time necessary for the magnetic observations, we sounded the bay and I visited the eastern part of Charles Island, in the hope of discovering the rocks underwater, that was said to exist at the NE tip of this island and to assure me of the existence of the one believed to be located in the eastern half-south of Gardner islet. We first recognized, by our research, that the rocks shown on several maps, at the northeast point of Charles Island, do not exist where they are placed; and the assurance of their non-existence in no other part of this island, assurance which had already been given to me by an

enlightened sailor whom I had met at Payta, was last confirmed to me by Mr. Lawson; but, these two sailors also assured me to have seen the rock located to the east half-south of Gardner breaking and to have recognized the reef Cowan at the NW point of Hood Island.

      On the day of June 26, Captain Lawson, whose schooner had changed moorings at the same time as the Venus, joined me on board and we set off immediately to go to Black-Beach, and from there to visit the establishment of Floriana. We left the frigate at 6 am and arrived at Black-Beach around 8 am. We had some difficulty in disembarking, for the sea was breaking very high on the coast, and without the help of the inhabitants who awaited us, it would have been difficult to put the whale boat high enough on the shore to prevent it from being broken.

      We found at the landing-stage house a quite numerous concourse of inhabitants who had come to meet us: they surrounded us with eagerness and welcomed us with benevolent demonstrations. Shortly after our disembarkation we set off, mounted on donkeys which had been brought to us, and we traveled very peacefully to the establishment located about a mile and a third from the coast, near the first spring.. We walked to this station on a stony path, the inclination of which, at first fairly gentle, winds up, in the middle of active vegetation which borders it on both sides, and does not yet rise. above four to five meters; this vegeta-

tion is composed of shrubs and perennials which, in general, and with few exceptions, showed us a new figure. On the way, Mr. Lawson pointed out to me the useful plants, the use of which is most widespread among the inhabitants. This is how he introduced me to a shrub, whose leaf, with an aromatic scent, is used in infusion, like tea, of which it takes the place: the American whalers, in the absence of another, also make it. use; this drink is moreover of a pleasant and very healthy flavor. Mr. Lawson returned my attention to the tree I have already spoken of; it is the greatest of all; it rises to five or six meters above the ground, and is very numerous in the island; it had no leaves then, and its bark, of a whitish color, made me take it for a dead tree burnt by the sun. Captain Porter, of the United States Navy, and Captain Fitz-Roy, of the English Navy, had judged in the same way, which, in spite of the contrary opinion which I heard to express, left me in a great uncertainty about this. To get out of it we went to one of these trees, and having made an incision in the bark, there immediately resulted a strongly flavored white liquor: this liquor is a balm which is used with success for all kinds of food. wounds and the bark of the tree is usefully employed by the inhabitants, in applications in the dressing of wounds. To collect this balm, it is enough to incise the bark as we had done, but the season of the sap is

most favorable to this harvest and it is also then that we take care of it.

      When we got to the first village, we were about 300 meters above sea level, the view from there was magnificent. At our feet, we could see the entire coast which stretches from Pointe la Selle to the Dismal rocks located at the eastern tip of Post Office bay. It was more or less a link with the development of the coasts of the island, the rest was hidden from us by the relief of the mountains from which we were dominated in the E.; from there, also, we saw the frégale which posed majestically on the harbor of the Post office, where it seemed to rest, and we saw the whaler Augusta, anchored near her, set sail and proceed towards James Island. The horizon being then very clear, we saw at all sight, in the W.N.W., the southern point of the island of Albemarle; farther north than this point we could more easily distinguish the islets situated at the E.S.E. part of this island, and in the north was James Island; recently named Santiago by the colonists of Floriana, finally further to the east, we saw a part of the island called Indefatigable or Porter and quite to the east of our position, the view was, as we have said, limited by the mountains which extend, on one side, towards the northern point of the island, and, on the other, towards that of the S.W. In the E.S.E. we had the great summit of the island, whose peak was, at that moment, surrounded by clouds.

      The village where we stopped is not designated until

that now only by the names of the first source; it is made up of eight to ten huts which were once inhabited, but there were only two or three occupied at the time. The inhabitants came to us; several begged me to authorize the missionaries we had on board to go ashore to administer baptism to their children: I promised them to urge these gentlemen to comply with their vows, then we continued to move towards the establishment main.

      Leaving this station, the path is much steeper, and we notice that the vegetation becomes more and more active as we advance; we were on either side surrounded by trees seven to eight meters high, which sheltered us from the sun and made the road very pleasant by the coolness they gave; on our left we had a ravine masked by trees; on our right was the great summit of the island, around which we were climbing. In the east of this mountain, a great fertile valley suddenly unfolded before our eyes; we then saw huts set up from distance to distance, surrounded by plantations of bananas, fields of corn, cassava, sugar cane, potatoes and vegetables of all kinds; these boxes do were separated from each other only by clumps of trees or by the beginnings of clearing. It is in this valley that the new inhabitants found the reward for their work in the abundant and varied harvests they obtained. The bananas, as well as all the trees

imported by the colonists, grow very well there; the papaya trees came there very beautiful, but they had not yet borne fruit, which was a cause of great surprise to the inhabitants, for they bloomed every year; this sterility undoubtedly results from the fact that these trees are, like almond trees, of both sexes and that, until then, only one kind had been found on the island, which prevented them from being fertilized and could produce; the orange trees were also very popular there, and were equally unproductive, no doubt also for the same reason; what would be a sort of proof of this is that the lemon trees and pomegranates have brought back abundant fruit, and that the fig trees have also given excellent figs in profusion; these trees are, to this day, the only useful trees which have been naturalized.

      The native trees of the Galapagos Islands offer 12 or 15 varieties; the greatest are those who produce

smells of balm; among the others we notice several species of laurels, carob trees and other unknown varieties. The timbers found on the Galapagos Islands are not of great size and are not suitable for carpentry, but they are perfectly suitable for the construction of houses, as they are established. Three species of cacti are very numerous on this island; that which is composed of flat leaves in the shape of rackets comes of a prodigious size: the trunk is sometimes 50 centimeters in diameter and two to three meters in height, the fruit which it produces immediately adheres to the leaf and is of an unpleasant flavor; this species is extremely common on the northern coasts of Africa. A second variety is formed of round and elongated parts, about 60 to 80 centimeters each, which are superimposed on each other; it gives a red-purple fruit that looks like large plums. This fruit is filled inside with a white and soft substance, mixed with an infinity of small black seeds, as in the fig; the taste is very pleasant and a little sour: it recalls that of our large currants. This variety is, I believe, that which the English designate more particularly under the name of it recalls that of our large currants. This variety is, I believe, that which the English designate more particularly under the name of it recalls that of our large currants. This variety is, I believe, that which the English designate more particularly under the name of Prickly pear. The third species is very common on the American continent; it is formed of long and fluted parts like candles. The shrub which produces cotton has been found in the lower parts of the island and up to half the coast in the apparently less fertile terrain and

the driest. This discovery gave rise to the importation of the best cotton species from Guayaquil, which were transplanted in the upper valley and half-coast near the first source; these localities were preferred for the same reason which had encouraged the inhabitants to place coconut trees there. These tests on the cotton plant were much more successful in the latter situation than in the part which at first seemed the most fertile. Near the first spring, the cotton trees have given cocoons well filled with a fine cotton, very white and with long bristles, while in the valley they have not succeeded. The inhabitants attribute this difference in result to the excessive humidity of the valley which, located between the two highest peaks of the island, is almost always covered with clouds, and too exposed to frequent downpours, the effects of which only rarely extend to the lower parts and coasts. We have noticed in these islands what we have frequently observed in the Sandwich Islands; it was because while it was raining very hard on the mountains, placed at their feet and downwind, we did not receive a single drop of water. One cannot doubt that if one does not find water on most of the Galapagos Islands, this is only due to the still too permeable nature of the soil which, being generally only composed of loose lava stones, of slag and volcanic ash, absorbs all that falls, and thus prevents it from flowing and reaching the shore.

      However, we can predict that in a longer time

or closer, this inconvenience will disappear completely. This will undoubtedly take place when the plants, by their successive decomposition, have formed enough topsoil for the different parts of the soil to be able to agglomerate, and for it to cease to be permeable. Even in the Floriana valley, where the topsoil is deeper, we can today, in several places, get water by digging. In a gorge, located to the east of the mountain which serves as a shelter for the valley in this windy area, there is a lake which rarely dries up and whose waters, in the rainy season, are discharged towards the sea. coast of the E.S.E., but they do not reach the shore, the land not yet being compact enough.

      A close examination of the Galapagos Islands in general, and each of them in particular, one notices that the higher parts of these islands are by far the most fertile; that the topsoil is deeper there; that it retains more freshness and that in descending towards the shore, the layers of earth are less thick and more rare; that this decrease in terroir is accompanied by a similar decrease in vegetation; Finally, we notice that by descending from the summit towards the coasts, the same plants become less perennial and the trees more stunted. It is to the point that, on many of these islands, the vegetation ceases almost entirely before reaching the seashore; that most of them still have nothing on the shore, not even a blade of grass. There the ground, composed only of

volcanic stones and slag, shows itself bare, black and unproductive, and even at low tide, we do not find a marine plant, not a wrack on the beach.

      In some of the Galapagos Islands, the peaks, or only parts of them, show traces of vegetation; in others, the vegetation is more advanced and extends to a third or half of the coast; and even to the shore. On the islands which seem to be of more recent formation, the vegetation shows itself only on the peaks and on a few isolated parts, where it forms species of oases which contrast, by their freshness, with the burnt and black aspect of the soil of which they are surrounded.

      It seems to result from these observations, that on the volcanic grounds of new formation, the vegetation begins by seizing the summits where a constant humidity, due to the effect of the condensation which they operate on the air, gives rise to a first decomposition of the soil, and in a way to the creation of a silt which sutfit to give birth to a first vegetation, which gradually increases and extends downward as the plants, by their renewed destruction, form topsoil which allows these plants to take successively more development and vigor. From which it follows that the most fertile islands must necessarily be the oldest, and vice versa.

      From all of the above, it can be seen that it would be easy to classify the Galapagos Islands according to their age, if however one could not presume, and with good reason,

that a greater elevation of the mountains, the principle of greater humidity, should not be a cause of acceleration in the development of vegetation and of the happy consequences which it brings after it. It would be very curious, however, to know, by such a given degree of latitude, how long it takes to convert a formless and barren mass of volcanic stones and scoriae into fertile and watered ground. Would it not be possible by a few well observed observations to obtain the solution of this problem?

      If the first navigators who visited the Galapagos Islands saw clearly, there was no water anywhere on these islands at the time of their discovery; and even later, in a still very recent period, that of the cruise of the United States frigate Essex, in 1813, only one source was known on the island of Floriana. Commander Porter, however, passed to Chatam Island., and did not see the two waterfalls which, from the S.E. point of this island, fall into the sea: he lacked water, he was nevertheless very interested in seeing well! At that time, did these waterfalls not exist and did the land, having since become more compact, now allow the flow of water which, perhaps at that time, was still completely absorbed before reaching the shore? The ignorance in which all the English whalers he had taken prisoner were in regard to this fact would seem to lead one to believe so. But back to the Floriana.

      After having examined the picture before us for a few moments,

we began to descend into the valley; leaving a few chacras on our left, we stopped at the first hut that we found on our right; located on a small hillock, it dominates the valley and the view from this point is as extensive as it is pleasant. This dwelling belonged to a young man named Para who, at this time, fulfilled the functions of governor: he received us with affectionate politeness, and his wife did us to the best of her ability the honors of her house, his praise, but whose extreme simplicity does not give rise to any particular description. Accompanied by the governor, we walked towards a large hut of better appearance, which has one floor, and is located in the eastern part of the valley, at the very birth of the mountain, which is the limit on this side; this dwelling is the most considerable of the establishment, and seems, by its position, to be, one day, the center of the capital to come. This house was once the property and residence of the governor don Jose Willamil. It was then occupied by a lady and her two sisters; this lady, wife of an officer from Guayaquil, exiled following an attempted revolution in which he had become a general, had accompanied her husband in his retirement, and she was esteemed by the inhabitants, of whom she was also beloved, by giving the example of all the virtues and especially that of resignation to one's bad fortune. She lived there very isolated, surrounded only

by her sisters and two pretty little girls who were all her consolation, for her husband lived on James Island where he was in charge of an industrial enterprise. He had land turtles hunted to extract fat; this product, much sought after, is of great commercial value, and is employed in cooking, in preference to sane-sweet and beef fat, in general use on the neighboring continent.

      This very productive industry has unfortunately brought about the almost complete destruction of the land tortoises with which these islands abound; they offered a very precious refreshment to the whalers. There was not a ship which, on its passage through the Galapagos Islands, did not take up to two or three hundred in supply; they kept perfectly for a year and eighteen months, in the holds of buildings, without it being necessary to take care of them, and without giving them food. Captain Porter's diary says that after this time they did not appear to have suffered and, on the contrary, they were better. The same journal also tells us that there were some which weighed from three to four hundred kilograms. Those that we meet today they are already very rare, and their weight varies only from five to fifty kilograms at most. It is assured, however, that turtles are still very numerous on the islands of Albemarle, Chatam and Hood. The inhabitants of Floriana, judging by the little increase which the turtles take

year to year, that these animals are a great number of years before acquiring their full development, imagine that they have a secular existence.

      We received a gracious welcome in the house of las señoritas ¹, this is how the whole population designates them: they offered us a very good meal, made up of only the products of Floriana; instead of bread, we were served pancakes made with corn flour. After enjoying a sweet and pleasant reception for some time, we went for a walk in the vicinity of this house, and saw a cave in which clear water flows from the rock into a small basin dug to collect it, and from where it then escapes, after having filled it, to lose itself a few paces in the spongy soil which adjoins it; we collected in this fountain several shells of the paludine family. Near this spring, the water of which is scarce, but sufficient, however, for the consumption of all the inhabitants, we noticed ovens dug in the rock of the mountain, like those we see on the banks of the Loire, made in the tuff of the hillsides. Not far from these ovens we visited a sort of shallow cave, which is said to have been the home of Fitz-Patrick and his companions.

      Pressed for time, we went to take leave of our hosts, then we went to the house of the gov-

ernor, where we had left our crews. Crossing the valley a second time, the numerous showers which fell during our excursion, made the terrain soft and difficult to walk: we were, nevertheless, ecstatic over the beauty of the day we had chosen, which must do think that the rains are very frequent there at this time of the year. We quickly arrived at the beach, where we immediately embarked, and it was already dark, when we rejoined the frigate.

      On returning from the establishment of Floriana to the beach, we noticed that from the first source to the shore, not a single drop of water had fallen: the rain had therefore been concentrated in the valley; the temperature always pleasant and often cool in the upper basin of the island, sometimes becomes unbearable by the excessive heat which one experiences while descending towards the coast: the temperature difference from the top of the island to the shore, is always at least 3 to 4 degrees.

      The Galapagos Islands, situated under the equator itself, have, strictly speaking, only two seasons, which are divided into dry and rainy, or very exactly, two winters and two summers. Each time the sun passes the equator, the weather is very stormy and grainy; the rains are abundant and very frequent. In the interval between the squalls, the weather is calm, heavy, and the heat excessive, yet the climate is always healthy; no disease has manifested itself there since the establishment of the colony.

      While the sun is at the equator, the winds are more variable; then, they sometimes pass to the N.W. and to the West, but when they come from these directions they are never very strong; mists alone are frequent.

      In the beautiful season, that is to say, when the sun is towards the tropics, the trade winds are cooler; they are more dependent on the South when the sun is in the tropic of Capricorn, and more towards the North when it is in that of cancer. When, in recent seasons, the winds pass to the West or to N.W., it is only instantaneously and they are always weak: the strongest winds usually blow from the S.S.E. to the S.S.W., but it is rare that they require to have more than two reefs in the topsails.

      When the sun is in the tropics, the weather is very fine; the temperature is still high, but delicious, being cooled by the regular breezes which then prevail.

      During our walk in the Floriana valley, we had frequently entered the huts of the inhabitants: everywhere we had been greeted with kindness, we were offered salad, melons and milk; but everywhere it seemed to me that the inhabitants, although rather comfortably established, seemed keenly to return to the continent: they seemed to consider themselves there only as temporary inhabitants.

      I presume that one of the main causes of the settlers' disaffection with this establishment stems from

the mistake which was committed, of mixing among them depraved people and regarded as the reject of the company: the fear of being confused with them is not the least of their subjects of discontent. It also seems to me that men accustomed to the movement and agitation of large towns are the least suited to founding a colony and the least disposed to adopt the habits of country life; they are incapable of appreciating its sweetness, the agitation in which they have lived having become for them a need and as an indispensable element of their existence.

      Most of the mountains of Charles Island show traces, more or less certain, of the existence of volcanoes; the nature of their soil and their sagging peaks inside leave no doubt in this regard. There are still active volcanoes on the islands of Albemarle and Narborough today; until recently, in 1836, they have had several successive eruptions and since then they seem to be still smoking.

      Earthquakes, this terrible scourge of the American continent, are not known in the Galapagos Islands; at least since these islands are occupied, no shock has been experienced.

      Before the arrival of the colonists the Galapagos Islands had only a very small number of animals; among the quadrupeds there were only the land tortoises, which reached a prodigious size; red and gray lizards and another species that appears to be amphibious: this last species is much larger than the

two first, it is black on the back, yellow under the belly, and from the head to the tail it is armed, on the back, with a row of saw-shaped spines: this variety is hideous to see and is not on the mainland; it resembles, however, from a distance, the iguanas of the Guayaquil river. The rat was also among the inhabitants of the Galapagos, but it is not certain that it was not imported there by the ships which, at various times, visited this archipelago.

      Landbirds are few in these islands; one notices among them a very pretty turtledove good to eat; a very familiar bird called sueño on the coast of Peru; a small species of duck, the moorhen; flamingos, egrets of both species, crabbers; and among the seabirds there are several species of gulls, the gray pelican and the frigatebird. The latter receives the name of English man-of-war-hawk¹ this bird is trèscommun Gardner Island, where they nest in large numbers; he was not shy and let himself be taken in the hand.

      Only a very small number of insects and only a few butterflies are found on the Galapagos Islands; but one meets there a very great number of grasshoppers with yellow wings and an immense number of scorpions or thousand feet, which reach up to 18 or 20 centimeters in length; their bite is poisonous but not dangerous; a kind of snake is

also quite common: it is not harmful either.

      Since the occupation of the Galapagos Islands, almost all domestic animals have been introduced there; there are already one hundred and thirty head of cattle, cows, bulls, oxen or calves, a few horses, quite a number of donkeys, several hundred goats, and the number of pigs is raised above two thousand. Most of these animals are free in the mountains where they multiply. Sheep, either from lack of care or from lack of suitable plants for their food, have not done well: perhaps also dogs and pigs have destroyed a lot and are they the sole cause of this non-success.

      Pastures are quite abundant in the island, we notice however, that in general, none of the animals fatten, which does not prevent them from being of good quality. The too large number of dogs which the inhabitants maintain under the pretext of their safety, is a real calamity for the turtles of which they complete the destruction.

      On the morning of the 27th, to keep my word to the inhabitants of Floriana, I put my canoe at the disposal of the apostolic missionaries Devaux and Borgella, and they went to Black-Beach and from there to the main establishment, where they were greeted with eagerness; they celebrated Mass and baptized nine children, the first born of Floriana: they again gave consolation to all, preached on forgetting offenses, the need to

prayer, and consecrated a piece of land for their burial place, of which they blessed the first cross. The missionaries did not return on board until the next day, very happy to have begun their ministry in this way: it was indeed a good omen for these gentlemen. The government, by the nature of the mission with which we were entrusted, had placed at my disposal various objects of first necessity, suitable for being given to new peoples who still lack industry. I thought I could dispose of some of these objects, such as tools, earthenware vases and vegetable seeds, in favor of this nascent colony: I only regretted not being richer, well convinced that I was not doing that. that fulfill one of the king's benevolent intentions.

      The Galapagos Islands, located below the equator, about 60 leagues west of the western coasts of South America, extend in longitude from 91° 37 '23" to 94° 21' 20" in the west of the meridian of Paris: they are included between the parallels of 1° 42' North and 1° 24' 20" South.

      This archipelago, made up of thirteen main islands and several islets or isolated rocks which surround them, is undoubtedly of volcanic origin; all the islands which form part of it are high, and can be seen from 10 to 20 leagues on a clear day. The time of their discovery dates back to the early days of the conquest of Mexico and preceded that of Peru, towards which the adventurers to whom it is attributed, proposed to head, moved by this fever of ambition, glory and of

fortune which agitated the Spaniards of that time, and particularly this gathering of people of all nations known under the name of filibusters, a name which they illustrated by the most brilliant feats of arms. A combined expedition by the latter, having left Panama against the season, to ascend the coasts of America towards the South, where they hoped to make important discoveries, was beaten by a storm in the Gulf of Panama, and, harassed by bad weather and prolonged and unforeseen annoyances, which brought the ruin of the buildings of which it was composed, a part perished at sea; another part arrived at the island of Gorgone, located on the coast of Choco. Finally, several disabled vessels were thrown off the coast and landed in the Galapagos Islands, unaware of their situation and despairing of their salvation. These sailors stayed in this archipelago without being able to leave it, for lack of a building, which, it is said, was the cause of the name of the Enchanted Islands ¹ which the islands of this group then received; name by which they have long been referred to. Uninhabited before the arrival of the buccaneers, they remained deserted since, until quite recent times, when they began to be frequented by American and English whalers; these whalers made an abundant fishing there, and also found for their crews precious resources in refreshments in the great number of tortoises of terré with which they were populated and of

took the name Galapagos, under which they were also designated, and which today seems to be replaced by that of Floriana.

      These modern explorers found the remains of the dwellings of the buccaneers, which made it known that they had settled on the islands of James and Chatam, two of the most fertile and most suitable for permanent settlement. The bays where they encountered these vestiges received from them the name of Buccaneer Bay, a denomination which consecrates in history the greatness of the project conceived by these flibustiers¹, the disaster which followed and their stay in the islands of this archipelago. From the time when these islands were first visited by whalers, the large number of whales they encountered brought them back there, and with them other whalers whose numbers have increased every year until 'in 1834; today this archipelago is much less frequented, the whales having gradually diminished in these localities, either because they fled towards other areas, or because they were destroyed there. The number of whalers also followed the same decreasing progression.

      Towards the early days of the establishment of whaling in the Galapagos Islands, a man named Fitz-Patrick, Irish by birth, mistreated and unhappy on the ship he was embarked on, conceived the

plan to stay in these islands, and, a new Robinson, to live there alone and with his industry. His ship being wet at Charles Island, he hid, to carry out his project, until the moment of departure, then he worked to form a home. In a short time he managed to cultivate potatoes and some vegetable plants, which gave him the means to establish an exchange trade with the whalers, in order to obtain effects, brandy, and even, unfortunately, money. Indeed, having had the imprudence to let suspect its treasure, sailors, excited by greed, stole it, after having beaten and garotté and then abandoned it in this state. FitzPatrick managed to untie himself, however, and swore revenge. The opportunity soon presented itself. A whaler having come to anchor in the roadstead, the captain asked her, as usual, for refreshments; Fitz-Patrick was known to all whalers, in fact, or at least by tradition; we knew that with his help it was possible to obtain some plants; Fitz-Patrick promised, but demanded that a whaling boat be sent to look for them and that the sailors come to his cave to take them. Everything being thus settled, he waited, hidden in the rocks, near the landing stage, until the whaling boat had run aground on the beach and the sailors had left. Then he came out of his retreat and broke the boat so that it could not be used to bring them back; he then returned to his home. The sailors having found no one in the cave, after having searched for some time in the

surroundings, were returned to the beach: they then saw the impossibility where they were, to reach their vessel, and they found themselves, for their subsistence, at the mercy of Fitz-Patrick. This being armed forced them to work on his behalf and thus became a kind of sovereign. It seems that his companions got used to their lot, or rather that, seduced by his promises and the hope of sharing the profits of his establishment, they consented to stay with him, from which soon prosperity ensued. news. However, Fitz-Patrick, often deceived by whalers, became disgusted with his position and formed the plan to cross to the American continent. To carry out this new project, he took a boat from a whaling ship and, followed by his people, six in all, he set out from the Galapagos without a compass and without means of direction; however he made his way to the east, guided by the sun, and after infinite pains, which one can easily imagine, since he had to fight against the winds and currents which generally carry to the west. with a speed of 18 to 20 miles in twenty-four hours, Fitz-Patrick landed at Tumbez Bay, at the mouth of the Guayaquil river. From Tumbez he went to Payta, where his conduct soon aroused suspicion. He had previously married an Indian woman and was talking of returning with her to the Galapagos Islands, when the rumor of his departure from Charles Island, with five sailors, none of whom had arrived with him, spread and aroused him. attention to his companion. He was finally arrested and taken to the prisons of San-Miguel de

Piûra; since this arrest, we do not know what happened to him: we have not heard from him any more.

      The Galapagos Islands were thus again deserted, until a nearer time when Fitz-Patrick had a successor in a named Johnson, a natural of Altona, who was followed by a Dutchman; both had deserted from an English whaler, and imitating the example set by their predecessors, they devoted themselves to agriculture. Soon after their establishment on Charles Island, they supplied the whalers with potatoes, camotes, pumpkins, melons, etc.

      In 1830, Captain Lawson, who had already visited these islands and knew their fertility, and particularly that of Charles Island, brought there some domestic animals, such as goats, sheep, pigs to set them free in the hope founded to derive great advantages from it in a short time. He found Johnson established on this island; this annoyance did not put him off, however: he entrusted all his animals to him on the sole condition that he would not destroy the races. Very soon after this time, in 1831, four people, named Fernandez, Villasmil, Garcès and Barck, all distinguished officers of the Colombian army, proposed to the government of Ecuador to create a permanent establishment in the Galapagos Islands.. The government of this state, presuming itself, with good reason,

execution. Charles Island, chosen to be the chief of the establishment, received from that moment the name of Floriana, a name given out of courtesy to General Flores, then President of the Republic, and which she keeps permanently.

      The first expedition, led by the four above-named officers, was made up of twelve to fourteen plowmen who volunteered to begin this colonization, and also of some political criminals, condemned to death, who obtained their pardon, on the condition that 'they would go and live in this establishment. Starting from Guayaquil, the colony headed for Charles Island, where it first settled near the spring that is found half-way coast, about a mile and a third east of the beach. of Black-Beach, at the very spot where Johnson had settled.

      The first three of the officers we have already mentioned promptly gave up their colonization plans and returned to Guayaquil, leaving the government of the colony to Mr. Barck. This governor had much to suffer in the beginnings of his enterprise, and after a year of residence, during which he received no assistance from the mother country, he solicited and obtained his replacement. Mr. Joseph Willamil, a man of great distinction for his education and for his high administrative capacities, and one of General Bolivar's first companions, in the war he waged for the independence of Peru, proposed to the government to take charge of the direction of Floriana. The gov-

ernment of Ecuador eagerly accepted the services of a man who ensured the success of this colonization, and granted Mr. Willamil a charter which gave him great privileges for himself and his descendants.

      Mr. Willamil, confident in the future, prepared to move to La Floriana, where he led a new detachment of colonists, composed of some political convicts, some volunteers of both sexes, and, well unfortunately also, of some prisoners who had been locked up for vagrancy and bad life; he also brought his own people, cattle and all that seemed necessary to make a successful and prosperous agricultural establishment. Arrived at Floriana, he explored the whole island with particular care, and soon recognized the fertility of the upper valley, whose land he distributed to the colonists. Animated by his example, all worked actively to build houses, to clear, to plant, and, almost without foreign aid and without any support, the colony,

      At the end of 1834, the population was at most one hundred inhabitants. In 1835, a new detachment of thirty-seven colonists of both sexes arrived at Floriana: it was very quickly followed by other colonists who arrived in more or less numerous divisions and at periods very close to each other.

      Until then Mr. Willamil had worked tirelessly to

its colonization and had made great sacrifices to introduce in the island the breeds of domestic animals which were lacking there; there had introduced and naturalized a large number of donkeys, a few horses and sheep; since then, all these animals have multiplied there. Mr. Willamil was relieved during the year 1835 by Mr. Lawson, appointed acting governor; he administered the colony until the beginning of 1836; time of Mr. Willamil's return to Floriana. During this year the inhabitants sold for about 7,000 strong piastres¹ of provisions or refreshments to the buildings which came to release in the Galapagos Islands.

      At the end of 1835, the population had already amounted to about 350 people, of whom more than 150 were soldiers or military exiled for having mixed with the political movements which troubled the Republic of Ecuador in the last months of 1834. As soon as peace was restored to the state, many of these convicts were pardoned and returned to Guayaquil, which considerably reduced the number of settlers.

      After the return of Mr. Willamil in 1836, he took care of the administration and sought to extend the income of Floriana by making some attempts at whaling; this industry that he wanted to create, forced him to travel a lot and was the cause, it is said, of discussions which arose between him

and the government of Ecuador which, from then on, seemed, the president not being the same, to challenge Mr. Willamil some of his privileges, an unfortunate dissidence which obliged this governor to temporarily withdraw to Peru to discuss his rights and which ultimately forced him to abandon an enterprise whose success is generally attributed to him.

      Some disturbances on Venus in the colony after the departure of Mr. Willamil, caused several inhabitants to return to the continent, and the current population is, again, reduced to less than a hundred colonists. However, as several of them, which, through this restless spirit which shows the well-being where one is not left their institutions to return to the mainland, there are re Venus since this, very favorable to colonization, should, I think, make these islands regarded as definitely populated.

      The Galapagos Islands are therefore, from now on, an important place of relaxation for navigators; they are sure to find there refreshments in food, wood in abundance, and even water, at Chatam Island, where, however, it is not yet easy to do, the place where it is being located at the wind of the island, and in full coast. A commercial building could find supplies in the island of Floriana, and even in the part of the ESE of Albemarle; almost all of these islands also offer safe anchorages.

      Hood Island, the southernmost of the Galapagos Islands, is located in the SE part of this archipelago; it

is of medium elevation, and can be seen from 8 to 10 leagues in favorable weather.

      The whole south and east coast appears healthy, and can be approached, in these directions, up to a mile or two from the shore.

      This island is covered with a vegetation of a puny appearance; however, firewood can be obtained there.

      So far, no source of fresh water is known on this island, and the land being made up of lava and slag stones, it is impossible to get it by digging.

      North of Hood Island, a small island, not far from the coast, forms, with the northern shore, a fairly good anchorage which is called Commodore Rodgers Bay. This bay is frequented only by whalers, who come here to rest and to embark land turtles, which are still found in large numbers on this island. During the laying season, the sea turtles are also very numerous on the beach of this bay, which is also very full of fish.

      When going to anchor at Hood Island, you should not enter the bay in less than 12 fathoms. Further inland, there are rocks underwater which would be dangerous if the winds shifted to NW or West.

      At the western tip of the island, there are a few rocks underwater that extend in that direction, and still break. Further offshore and in the NW, about 12 or 14 miles, there is a bass called Cowan,

this low breeze always and has not been explored to this day.

      Chatam Island is the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands, and one of the most important for the resources found there; it is very high in its part of the south and the south; its summit is almost always surrounded by clouds, and can be seen from 15 to 18 leagues, on a clear day.

      In the North and in the NE of Chatam Island, the lands are only of an average elevation, and all this part is curious by the multitude of small cones that one sees there, and which, without a doubt, were once so many volcanic craters. This part of the island is barren or almost entirely devoid of vegetation, while the southern part, covered with beautiful greenery, is wooded and watered.

      The coast of the south of Chatam, right on the shore, appears healthy, and seems capable of being ranged very closely; we covered it a mile or two at most, and found no bottom in 200 fathoms. We know, however, that very near the coast there is a bottom which extends far enough to provide an anchorage.

      There are several roadsteads to choose from on the coasts of this island. One of the best is that of Boucaniers Bay, on the NW coast; however, it has the disadvantage of being in the most sterile part of the island. The anchorage of Stephens Bay, near the Kicker rock, is also very good; it is generally preferred to all others, because of its proximity to

watering and the ease of obtaining wood there. The whalers come to this anchorage to make water, wood, and take land turtles which are still quite numerous on this island.

      Chatam Island, moreover, is not inhabited, but it is likely to be; it is fertile in its southern part; one notices there land suitable for cultivation and extensive pastures. The trees there are also more attractive than those on Charles Island.

      On the southern coast of this island, and in the middle of a mountain gorge, we saw a cascade of a volume of water which seemed to us quite considerable; it is the most abundant waterway of all the islands of this archipelago.

      Barington Island is very small in extent; it is high and very steep on the shore; it seems flat on the summit, where we can see some traces of vegetation. Its ribs are healthy, but they offer no anchorage. It is probable, however, that one could drop anchor on its NW coast, and very close to land; we only approached it eight miles away.

      Porter Island or Indefatigable is located in the NW of Barington World. We only saw it at night, and at a distance of eight to ten miles. Like many of these islands, it has underdeveloped vegetation; it is, moreover, high and right on the shore. We do not know of any closed harbor. Dower Island is located at latitude 0° 19' 30"

North and 91° 19' 33 "W longitude; it is of medium elevation and almost without unevenness; from a distance it appears to have a flat surface; it is the lowest of all the Galapagos Islands; however, although the weather was not very favorable, we saw it, from the deck of the frigate, 25 miles away.

      This island, which we have skirted from east to west by north, at a distance of one or two miles, appeared to us to be healthy. We did not find a bottom in 200 fathoms.

      One notices on the summit of Dower a yellow and poor vegetation, which appears however a little more active in some valleys formed by the irregularities of the ground; its sterility and its small extent do not allow us to suppose that it can be inhabited.

      There is no known anchorage on the coast of this island; it is however probable that towards the part of the NW or NNW, one would find a suitable place to drop the anchor there. Bindloës Island, one of the Galapagos Islands, is located at 0° 21 '20' North latitude and 92° 52 '33' West longitude from Paris; it is approximately to the west of the world of Dower Island, from which it is separated only by a channel of 26 to 27 miles.

      This island, like all those of this group, is evidently of volcanic formation; it is almost entirely sterile. We nevertheless see a pretty bouquet of greenery in a cove located on the coast of the ESE; but almost everywhere else, lava

is uncovered and all black, as if this island were of recent formation. The ground is rather tormented, and in some hollows formed by the accidents of the ground, we noticed some beginnings of vegetation. These clumps of greenery, a kind of oasis, are more numerous towards the top, and become more and more rare and less extensive as they descend towards the shore.

      No anchorage is known on the coast of this island. We circled it east and north at a distance of two or three miles, never finding the bottom in 200 fathoms.

      James Island, or as it is called today, Santiago, is the most fertile of the Galapagos Islands; it has good pastures and it is the most wooded of all. It is also the one that is best suited to a fixed establishment. It has two sheltered anchorages on its west coast; that of Bucaniers Bay is the most northerly; the other is located in the south of Albanie Island; it is known under the name of Saline Bay, because of its proximity to the natural saline that this island has. To this day, James Island has had no fixed inhabitants; but it is often occupied by parties of sea lion hunters, by land turtle hunters, or by sailors who come to seek salt.

      No water supply suitable for supplying vessels of any importance has yet been found on the coasts of James Island; water, however, is not lacking in the interior. There is a crowd of worms

sants of mountains whose soil, today rather agglomerated, allows its flow in the ravines, where the colonists who could receive this ground would find to be supplied. There is still a third anchorage located at the northern tip of this island; it is frequented by whalers, who come there to collect turtles, wood, and even water from a watering hole which has recently been discovered in the interior, a short distance from the coast.

      James Island offers the same productions as that of Charles and, in general, as all the Galapagos Islands; however, we have also found, in the vegetable kingdom, the guava tree, which believes in it spontaneously, and in the animal kingdom, a lizard different from those we see on the other islands; this one has a red back, a yellow belly, and has nothing in common with the others except a hideous aspect. This lizard is getting huge. The largest are around three to three inches long, including the tail. Their flesh is white like that of rabbits, and, like them, they live in burrows. They are very numerous and good to eat. We tasted this lizard to make sure for ourselves what to do with it, and we think that if we could forget the ugly animal that this flesh came from, we would eat it with pleasure. In all such repugnances there is doubtless a great deal of prejudice, for turtles, and even more so armadillos, are repulsive animals to the sight, and yet everyone eats them without thinking of their ugly face.

      Abington Island is small; it is hilly and wooded. There is a good anchorage at its southern point; it has the disadvantage of not being sheltered from the prevailing winds. There is no known watering hole in this island; however, vegetation is active there and extends in many parts from the top of the island to the shore.

      Abington is not inhabited and is unlikely to receive a population, both because of the lack of resources it offers, and because of its cramped localities.

      We extended it from South to N. 0. East, at a distance of one to two miles, without finding bottom at 200 fathoms. The NW point of this island is low, and terminated by a cushions of rocks almost flush with the water. The summit of Abington is high, and can be seen from 12 to 15 leagues. This land is higher than those of Hood, Dower, Bindloës, Indefatigable, Wénams and Culpepers.

      Wénams Island, in the N.W. of the Galapagos group, is located at 8° 24 'o' N latitude and 94° 11 '23 " W longitude of Paris. It is only a large barren rock which, however, has some vegetation at its summit. At the point of W.S.W. there is a large loose rock which is not a half a mile from this point. All this coast is healthy and can be ranged very closely. passed east about half a mile away, and found no bottom in 200 fathoms. To the W.N.W. of Wénams, the coast has an inflection which forms a small circular bay, Off this bay is an islet

low and covered with vegetation; it forms, with the coast, a kind of port. The water in this small basin is deep, and if necessary, in fine weather, a building with some damage could find shelter there to repair itself.

      Off Wénams, in the west, and within a mile, there is no bottom at 200 fathoms.

      Culpepers Island is but a large, steep and very high boulder, which is 1° 41 '10" N. latitude and 94° 21' 00" W. longitude. It is located in the N.W. of Wénams Island, with which it has a great resemblance in the double respect of elevation and sterility; we also see a yellowish grass¹ on its top. This island is the N.W. limit of the Galapagos group.

      East of Culpepers, there is a large islet of rocks which is high, and is only about half a mile away. This islet, pierced in two directions, has the appearance of a triumphal arch in the antique style; it is accompanied by a few breakers which extend towards the island, and render the passage between Culpepers and the islet very dangerous, if not impracticable.

      Redondo Island, or Ronde, is just a large, high, barren, isolated, and steep rock, which is located in the N.N.W. of the world of N.W. Point of Albemarle. Whalers, in the early days of the frequen-

tation of these islands, crossed near this rock, because of the great number of whales with which it was always surrounded. At the time of our passage, we did not see any; there were no fishermen there either; both whalers and whales have also disappeared from these areas. The Redondo rock is located at 0° 19 '00 "North latitude and 94° 00' 23" West longitude of Paris.

      Narborough Island is located west of Albemarle Island, in the middle of the arc formed by the coast of this island, in this windy area.

      Between Narborough Island and Albemarle Island, there is a deep canal that can be used by all kinds of buildings; but one is exposed there to variable winds, currents and calms which can sometimes make the position critical, because there is no anchorage there, because of the too great depth of the sea. Narborough is quite unproductive; it is very high, and composed of a multitude of volcanoes which are almost always in activity, or which, at least, smoke incessantly. Its coasts are steep on the west side, and the sea breaks a lot. The N.W. point is raised and cut to peak; that of the S.W. decreases imperceptibly, and the end of this point seems not to have been put too close.

      We only visited the N.W. part of this island, and by the time we were on this coast, the entire summit was shrouded in clouds and smoke.

Departure from the Galapagos Islands. -- Arrival in the Marquesas Islands. -- Exploration. -- Amanoa Bay. -- King Youtâti. -- Mores and customs of the natives.

      On the evening of July 15, 1838, the Venus was a little to the west. Cape Douglas, Narborought Island; we could see in the N.E. the N.W. tip of Albemarle Island, and to the S.E. we could see the tip of Essex Point on the same island. From the top of the Floriana, M. de Tessan had previously noted this last point; the whole group of the Galapagos Islands was thus confined in our routes, or by our bearings and, as time ran out, to enter into greater hydro-

graphics, we limited our exploration there and headed for the Marquesas Islands.

Abel du Petit-Thouars.
      Voyage autour du monde sur la frégate La Vénus, pendant les années 1836-1839, publie par ordre du roi, sous les auspices du Ministre de la Marine, ...
Paris: Gide, Éditeur, 1841. Tome 2
pp. 279-324.

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