in other parts, the tops of caverns similarly formed have fallen in,
leaving circular pits with steep sides. From the regular form of the
many craters, they gave to the country an artificial appearance, which
vividly reminded me of those parts of Staffordshire, where the great
iron-foundries are most numerous. The day was glowing hot, and the
scrambling over the rough surface and through the intricate thickets,
was very fatiguing; but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclopean
scene. As I was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of which
must have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece
of cactus, and as I approached, it stared at me and slowly walked away;
the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head. These huge reptiles,
surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and large cacti,
seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian animals. The few
dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the great
tortoises.
23rd.--The Beagle proceeded to Charles Island. This archipelago has
long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, and latterly by whalers,
but it is only within the last six years, that a small colony has been
established here. The inhabitants are between two and three hundred in
number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished
for political crimes from the Republic of the Equator, of which Quito
is the capital. The settlement is placed about four and a half miles
inland, and at a height probably of a thousand feet. In the first part
of the road we passed through leafless thickets, as in Chatham Island.
Higher up, the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we
crossed the ridge of the island, we were cooled by a fine southerly
breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. In
this upper region coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no
tree-ferns: I saw nowhere any member of the palm family, which is the
more singular, as 360 miles northward, Cocos Island takes its name from
the number of cocoa-nuts. The houses are irregularly scattered over a
flat space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and
bananas. It will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of
black mud was to us, after having been so long, accustomed to the
parched soil of Peru and northern Chile. The inhabitants, although
complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of
subsistence. In the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but the
staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. Their
numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the
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