Darwin's Diary1835 Sep07 - Oct20(Galapagos archipelago)

Darwin's Diary 1835 Sep07 - Oct20

[注釈1] ダーウィンがビーグル号に乗ってペルーのリマからガラパゴス諸島に出発し、到達後35日滞在してからタヒチに向けて出発するまでのダーウィンの日記原文です。
[日記原典] Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary ed. by R.D.Keynes, Cambridge U.P., 1988.
日記原文に細かい字で付されている脚注は日記の編集者であるR.D.Keynesのものです。

[注釈2] ガラパゴス諸島でのビーグル号の所在地(Capt. R.フィッツロイ)..
1835年
9月
15日 チャタム島に東から近づく
16日 午前9時 バリングトン島沖
17日 午前9時 チャタム島 ステファンズ湾
18日 午前9時 チャタム島 ステファンズ湾
19日 午前9時 チャタム島の周囲を(時計まわりに)周回中
20日 午前9時 チャタム島の周囲を周回中
21日 午前9時 チャタム島 ステファンズ湾 (この夜から翌朝にかけてダーウィンは島に泊まる)
22日 午前10時 チャタム島 ステファンズ湾
23日 午前10時 チャタム島 ステファンズ湾
24日 午前10時 チャールズ島沖
25日 午前9時 チャールズ島 ポスト・オフィス湾
26日 午前9時 チャールズ島 ポスト・オフィス湾
27日 午前6時 チャールズ島 ブラック・ビーチ泊地
28日 アルベマール島へ向かう
29日 正午 アルベマール島の南西端
30日 正午 アルベマール島西岸 エリザベス湾
10月
1日 午前9時 アルベマール島西岸 タグス湾
2日 午前9時 アルベマール島西岸 タグス湾
3日 午前10時 アルベマール島西岸 バンクス湾
4日 午前10時 アビングドン島沖
5日 午前10時 アビングドン島沖
6日 午前10時 タワーズ島沖
7日 午前10時 ビンドローズ島沖
8日 午前9時 ジェームズ島 .....(ダーウィンはこの日下船)
9日 午前9時 ジェームズ島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
10日 午前9時 ジェームズ島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
11日 午前9時 チャタム島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
12日 午前9時 チャタム島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
13日 午前9時 チャタム島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
14日 午前9時 フード島 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
15日 正午 チャールズ島 ポスト・オフィス湾 (ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
16日 午前10時 ポスト・オフィス湾 .....(ダーウィンはジェームズ島滞在)
17日 午前9時 アルベマール島東岸 ....(ダーウィンはこの日ジェームズ島からボートで乗船)
18日 午前10時 ジェームズ島 シュガーローフ沖
19日 午前9時 アビングトン島沿岸
20日 午前10時 ウェンマン島沖 (ビーグル号はこの夕刻 タヒチ島に向けて出帆)

[原文]
7th
The Beagle sailed for the Galapagos:

15th
on the 15th she was employed in surveying the outer coast of Chatham Isd1 the S. Eastern one of the Archipelago.
1 The Spanish name of Chatham Island now used is Isla San Cristobal.

16th
The next day we ran near Hoods Isd1 & there left a Whale boat. — In the evening the Yawl was also sent away on a surveying cruize of some length. — The weather, now & during the passage, has continued as on the coast of Peru, a steady, gentle breeze of wind & gloomy sky. — We landed for an hour on the NW end of Chatham Isd. — These islands at a distance have a sloping uniform outline, excepting where broken by sundry paps & hillocks. — The whole is black Lava, completely covered by small leafless brushwood & low trees. — The fragments of Lava where most porous are reddish & like cinders; the stunted trees show little signs of life. — The black rocks heated by the rays of the Vertical sun like a stove, give to the air a close & sultry feeling. The plants also smell unpleasantly. The country was compared to what we might imagine the cultivated parts of the Infernal regions to be. —2

This day, we now being only 40 miles from the Equator, has been the first warm one; up to this time all on board have worn cloth clothese; & although no one would complain of cold, still less would they of too much warmth. — The case would be very different if we were cruizing on the Atlantic side of the Continent.

1 Now Isla Española.
2 In a letter to Caroline Darwin from Lima, CD had written: 'I am very anxious for the Galapagos Islands, — I think both the Geology & Zoology cannot fail to be very interesting.—' And also from Lima he wrote to W. D. Fox: 'I look forward to the Galapagos, with more interest than any other part of the voyage. — They abound with active Volcanoes & I should hope contain Tertiary strata. —' See Correspondence 1: 458 and 460. In the event, he saw few examples of currently active volcanoes in the Galapagos, and it was the zoology of the islands that proved to be of greatest interest.

l7th
The Beagle was moved into St Stephens harbor. We found there an American Whaler & we previously had seen two at Hoods Island. — The Bay swarmed with animals; Fish, Shark & Turtles were popping their heads up in all parts. Fishing lines were soon put overboard & great numbers of fine fish 2 & even 3 ft long were caught. This sport makes all hands very merry; loud laughter & the heavy flapping of the fish are heard on every side. — After dinner a party went on shore to try to catch Tortoises, but were unsuccessful. — These islands appear paradises for the whole family of Reptiles. Besides three kinds of Turtles, the Tortoise is so abundant; that [a] single Ship's company here caught from 500–800 in a short time. — The black Lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large (2–3 ft) most disgusting, clumsy Lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl & seek their prey from the Sea. — Somebody calls them "imps of darkness". — They assuredly well become the land they inhabit. — When on shore I proceeded to botanize & obtained 10 different flowers; but such insignificant, ugly little flowers, as would better become an Arctic, than a Tropical country. — The birds are Strangers to Man & think him as innocent as their countrymen the huge Tortoises.1 Little birds within 3 & four feet, quietly hopped about the Bushes & were not frightened by stones being thrown at them. Mr King killed one with his hat & I pushed off a branch with the end of my gun a large Hawk. —

1In Down House Notebook 1.17, CD wrote soon after arriving at the Galapagos: 'The Thelma very tame & curious in these Islands. I certainly recognise S. America in Ornithology. Would a botanist? ¾ of plants in flower.' See CD and the Voyage p. 247.

18th
Again we moved our Anchorage & again after dinner took a long walk. — We ascended the broken remains of a low but broard crater. The Volcano had been sub-marine — the strata which dipped away on all sides were composed of hard Sandstones composed of Volcanic dust. A few leagues to the North a broken country was studded with small black cones; the ancient chimneys for the subterranean melted fluids. — The hunting party brought back 15 Tortoises: most of them very heavy & large. One weighed lbs. — 1

1The space left for filling in the weight of the tortoise remains blank.

19th & 20th
During these two days surveyed the seaward coast of the Isd & returned to an anchor where we had found the Whaler. — At one point there were little rills of water, & one small cascade. — The valleys in the neighbourhead were coloured a somewhat brighter green. — Upon first arriving I described the land as covered with leafless brushwood; & such certainly is the appearance. I believe however almost every plant or tree is now both in flower & its leaf. — But the most prevalent kinds are ornamented with but very few & these of a brown color.

21st
My servant & self were landed a few miles to the NE in order that I might examine the district mentioned above as resembling chimney. The comparison would have been more exact if I had said the Iron furnaces near Wolverhampton. — From one point of view I counted 60 of these truncated hillocks, which are only from 50 to 100 ft above the plain of Lava. — The age of the various streams is distinctly marked by the presence & absence of Vegetation; in the latter & more modem nothing can be imagined more rough & horrid. — Such a surface has been aptly compared to a sea petrified in its most boisterous moments. No sea however presents such irregular undulations, — nor such deep & long chasms. The craters are all entirely inert; consisting indeed of nothing more than a ring of cinders. — There are large circular pits, from 30 to 80 ft deep; which might be mistaken for Craters, but are in reality formed by the subsidence of the roofs of great caverns, which probably were produced by a volume of gaz at the time when the Lava was liquid. — The scene was to me novel & full of interest; it is always delightful to behold anything which has been long familiar, but only by description. — In my walk I met two very large Tortoises (circumference of shell about 7 ft). One was eating a Cactus & then quietly walked away. — The other gave a deep & loud hiss & then drew back his head. — They were so heavy, I could scarcely lift |608| them off the ground. — Surrounded by the black Lava, the leafless shrubs & large Cacti, they appeared most old-fashioned antediluvian animals; or rather inhabitants of some other planet. —

22nd
We slept on the sand-beach, & in the morning after having collected many new plants, birds, shells & insects, we returned in the evening on board. — This day was glowing hot, & was the first when our closeness to the Equator was very sensible. —

23rd & 24th
Crossed over & came to an anchor at Charles Island. —1 Here there is a settlement of only five to 6 years standing. An Englishman Mr Lawson2 is now acting as Governor. — By chance he came down to visit a Whaling Vessel & in the morning accompanied us to the Settlement. —

1Now Isla Florena.
2Mr Nicholas O. Lawson was an Englishman serving the Republic of the Equator, or Ecuador.

25th
This is situated nearly in the centre of the Island, about 4 &½ miles inland, & elevated perhaps 1000 ft above the sea. — The first part of the road passed through a thicket of nearly leafless underwood as in Chatham Isd — The dry Volcanic soil affording a congenial habitation only to the Lizard tribe. — The wood gradually becomes greener during the ascent. — Passing round the side of the highest hill; the body is cooled by the fine Southerly trade wind & the eye refreshed by a plain green as England in the Spring time. — Out of the wood extensive patches have been cleared, in which sweet Potatoes (convolvulus Batata) & Plantains grow with luxuriance. — The houses are scattered over the cultivated ground & form what in Chili would be called a "Pueblo". — Since leaving Brazil we have not seen so Tropical a Landscape, but there is a great deficiency in the absence of the lofty, various & all-beautiful trees of that country. — It will not easily be imagined, how pleasant the change was from Peru & Northern Chili, in walking in the pathways to find black mud & on the trees to see mosses, ferns & Lichens & Parasitical plants adhæring. — Owing to an unusual quantity of rain at this time of year, I suspect we have seen the Island at its full advantage. — I suspect this the more from meeting with singularly few insects of any of the orders. — If such luxuriance is constant this scarcity of its universal concomitants is very remarkable — The inhabitants are in number 200–300: nearly all are people of color & banished for Political crimes from the State of the Equator (Quito & Guyaquil &c) to which this Archipelago belongs. — It appears the people are far from contented; they complain, here as in Chiloe, of the deficiency of money: I presume there is some more essential want than that of mere Currency, namely want of sale of their produce. — This of course will gradually be ameliorated. — already on an average, in the year 60–70 Whaling vessels call for provisions & refreshment. — The main evil under which these islands suffer is the scarcity of water. — In very few places streams reach the beach so as to afford facilities for the watering of Shipping. Every where the porous nature of the Volcanic rocks has a tendency to absorb without again throwing up the little water which falls in the course of the year. — At the Settlement there are several springs & small pools, three or four of which are said never to fail. — Generally the islands in the Pacifick are subject to years of drought & subsequent scarcity; I should be afraid this group will not afford an exception. — The inhabitants here lead a sort of Robinson Crusoe life; the houses are very simple, built of poles & thatched with grass. — Part of their time is employed in hunting the wild pigs & goats with which the woods abound; from the climate, agriculture requires but a small portion. — The main article however of animal food is the Terrapin or Tortoise: such numbers yet remain that it is calculated two days hunting will find food for the other five in the week. — Of course the numbers have been much reduced; not many years since the Ship's company of a Frigate brought down to the Beach in one day more than 200,— where the settlement now is, around the Springs, they formerly swarmed. — Mr Lawson thinks there is yet left sufficient for 20 years: he has however sent a party to Jame's1 Island to salt (there is a Salt mine there) the meat. — Some of the animals are there so very large, that upwards of 200 £bs of meat have been procured from one. — Mr Lawson reccollect having seen a Terrapin which 6 men could scarcely lift & two could not turn over on its back. These immense creatures must be very old, in the year 1830 one was caught (which required 6 men to lift it into the boat) which had various dates carved on its shells; one was 1786. — The only reason why it was not at that time carried away must have been, that it was too big for two men to manage. — The Whalers always send away their men in pairs to hunt. —

1 James is the name still in use, the Spanish alternatives being Santiago or San Salvador.

26th& 27th
I industriously collected all the animals, plants, insects & reptiles from this Island. — It will be very interesting to find from future comparison to what district or "centre of creation" the organized beings of this archipelago must be attached. — 1

I ascended the highest hill on the Isd, 2000 ft. — it was covered in its upper part with coarse grass & Shrubs. — The remains of an old Crater were very evident; small as the whole island is, I counted 39 conical hills, in the summit of all of which there was a more or less perfect circular depression. It is long since the Lava streams which form the lower parts of the Island flowed from any of these Craters: Hence we have a smoother surface, a more abundant soil, & more fertile vegetation. — It is probable that much of the Lava is of subaqueous origin. —

1In a letter to Henslow from Sydney written four months later, CD said: 'I last wrote to you from Lima, since which time I have done disgracefully little in Nat: History; or rather I should say since the Galapagos Islands, where I worked hard. — Amongst other things, I collected every plant, which I could see in flower, & as it was the flowering season I hope my collection may be of some interest to you. — I shall be very curious to know whether the Flora belongs to America, oris peculiar. I paid also much attention to theBirds, which I suspect are very curious. —' See Correspondence 1: 485.
Later, when CD was completing his ornithological notes some time between mid-June and August 1836, he wrote: 'Thenca (Mimus Thenca). These birds are closely allied in appearance to the Thenca of Chile. They are lively, inquisitive, active, run fast, frequent houses to pick the meat of the tortoise which is hung up, — sing tolerably well, — are said to build a simple open nest, — are very tame, a character in common with other birds. I imagined, however, its note or cry was rather different from the Thenca of Chile —? Are very abundant over the whole Island; are chiefly tempted up into the high & damp parts by the houses & cleared ground.'
'I have specimens from four of the larger Islands; the specimens from Chatham & Albemarle lsd. appear to be the same, but the other two are different. In each lsd. each kind is exclusively found; habits of all are indistinguishable.'
'When I recollect the fact, that from the form of the body, shape of scales & general size, the Spaniards can at once pronounce from which Isd. any tortoise may have been brought: — when I see these Islands in sight of each other and possessed of but a scanty stock of animals, tenanted by these birds but slightly differing in structure & filling the same place in Nature, I must suspect they are only varieties. The only fact of a similar kind of which I am aware is the constant asserted difference between the wolf-like Fox of East & West Falkland lsds. — If there is the slightest foundation for these remarks, the Zoology of Archipelagoes will be well worth examining; for such facts would undermine the stability of species.' See Nora Barlow, 'Darwin's Ornithological Notes', Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Historical Series, 2: 201–78, 1963; and F. J. Sulloway, 'Darwin's Conversion: The Beagle Voyage and Its Aftermath', Journal of the History of Biology, 15: 325–96,1982.
The first stirrings of doubt about the immutability of species had evidently struck him by now.

28th
Steered towards the Southern end of Albermale Isd,1 which was surveyed.

1 The correct spelling is Albemarle, and the island is now known as Isabela.

29th
Anchored at Noon in a small cove beneath the highest & boldest land which we have yet seen. — The Volcanic origin of all is but too plainly evident: Passed a point studded over with little truncated cones or Spiracles as some Author calls them; the Craters were very perfect & generally red-coloured within. — The whole had even a more work-shop appearance than that described at Chatham Isd. — A calm prevented us anchoring for the night. —

30th
The next day, a light breeze carried us over the calm sea, which lies between Narborough1 & Albermale Isd. In the latter, high up, we saw a small jet of steam issuing from a Crater. — Narborough Isld presents a more rough & horrid aspect than any other; the Lavas are generally naked as when first poured forth. — When H.M.S. Blonde was here there was an active Volcano in that Island. — After sun-set, came to an anchor in Banks cove in Albermale Isd & which cove subsequently turned out to be the Crater of an old Volcano.

1 Now Isla Fernandina.

October 1st
Albermale Is is as it were the mainland of the Archipelago, it is about 75 miles long & several broad. — is composed of 6 or 7 great Volcanic Mounds from 2 to 3000 ft high, joined by low land formed of Lava & other Volcanic substances. — Since leaving the last Island, owing to the small quantity of water on board, only half allowance of water has been served out (ie ½ a Gallon for cooking & all purposes). — This under the line with a Vertical sun is a sad drawback to the few comforts which a Ship possesses. — From different accounts, we had hoped to have found water here. — To our disappointment the little pits in the Sandstone contained scarcely a Gallon & that not good. — it was however sufficient to draw together all the little birds in the country. — Doves & Finches 1 swarmed round its margin. — I was reminded of the manner in which I saw at Charles Isd a boy procuring dinner for his family. Sitting by the side of the Well with a long stick in his hand, as the doves came to drink he killed as many as he wanted & in half an hour collected them together & carried them to the house. —

To the South of the Cove I found a most beautiful Crater, elliptic in form, less than a mile in its longer axis & about 500 ft deep. — Its bottom was occupied by a lake, out of which a tiny Crater formed an Island. — The day was overpowringly hot; & the lake looked blue & clear. — I hurried down the cindery side, choked with dust, to my disgust on tasting the water found it Salt as brine. — This crater & some other neighbouring ones have only poured forth mud or Sandstone containing fragments of Volcanic rocks; but from the mountain behind, great bare streams have flowed, sometimes from the summit, or from small Craters on the side, expanding in their descent have at the base formed plains of Lava. — The little of the country I have yet seen in this vicinity is more arid & sterile than in the other Islands. — We here have another large Reptile in great numbers. — it is a great Lizard, from 10–15 lb in weight & 2–4 ft in length, is in structure closely allied to those imps of darkness which frequent the sea-shore. — This one inhabits burrows to which it hurrys when frightened with quick & clumsy gait. — They have a ridge & spines along the back; are colored an orange yellow, with the hinder part of back brick red. — They are hideous animals; but are considered good food: This day forty were collected. —

1This appears to be the only mention made by CD, either in the Diary or in his pocketbooks, of the family of finches that came to bear his name and to he most closely associated with the development of his ideas about speciation. However, the relative lack of interest in the Geospizidae displayed by CD when he was actually collecting birds in the Galapagos is consistent with the conclusion of Sulloway ('Darwin and his Finches: The Evolution of a Legend', Journal of the History of Biology 15: 1–53, 1982) that it was not until the Bragle's specimens were classified by John Gould early in 1837 that the true significance of their variability between the individual islands first became apparent to him.
By the time the Journal of Researches was published in 1839, CD no longer believed in the fixity of species, but the most radical of his ideas were still kept strictly to himself. He did not give a great deal away when he wrote: 'It has been mentioned, that the inhabitants an distinguish the tortoises, according to the islands whence they are brought I was also informed that many of the islands possess trees and plants which do not occur on the others. For instance the berry-bearing tree, called Guyavita, which is common on James Island, certainly is not found on Charles Island, though appearing equally well fitted for it. Unfortunately, I was not aware of these facts till my collection was nearly completed: it never occured to me, that the productions of islands only a few miles apart, and placed under the same physical conditions, would be dissimilar. I therefore did not attempt to make a series of specimens from the separate islands. It is the fate of every voyager, when he has just discovered what object in any place is more particularly worthy of his attention, to be hurried from it. In the case of the mocking-bird, I ascertained (and have brought home the specimens) that one species (Orpheus trifasciatus, Gould) is exclusively found in Charles Island; a second (O. parvulus) on Albemarle Island; and a third (O. melanotus) common to james and Chatham Islands. The last two species are closely allied, but the first would be considered by every naturalist as quite distinct. I examined many specimens in the different islands, and in each the respective kind was alone present. These birds agree in general plumage, structure, and habits; so that the different species replace each other in the economy of the different islands. These species are not characterized by the markings on the plumage alone, but likewise by the size and form of the bill, and other differences. I have stated, that in the thirteen species of ground-finches, a nearly perfect gradation may be traced, from a beak extraordinarily thick, to one so fine, that it may be compared to that of a warbler. I very much suspect, that certain members of the series are confined to different islands; therefore, if the collection had been made on any one island, it would not have presented so perfect a gradation. It is clear, that if several islands have each their peculiar species of the same genera, when these are placed together, they will have a wide range of character. But there is not space in this work, to enter on this curious subject.' See Journal of Researches pp. 474–5.
FitzRoy's ideas had also changed between the return of the Beagle and publication of the Narrative, since following his marriage he had become a firm believer in the absolute truth of the Bible. His view of the significance of the beaks of the finches differed somewhat from CD's, for he wrote: 'All the small birds that live on these lava-covered islands have short beaks, very thick at the base, like that of a bull-finch. This appears to be one of those admirable provisions of Infinite Wisdom by which each created thing is adapted to the place for which it was intended' See Narrative 2: 503.
In the 1845 edition of the Journal of Researches, the theme of the gradation of the beaks of the ground finches was further expanded, and CD unwrapped his ideas just a little further: '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.' See Journal of Researches, 2nd edn, p. 380.

October 2nd
Sailed from this Crater Harbor: but were becalmed during the greater part of the day in the Straits which separates the two Islands:

3rd
We then stood round the North end of Albermale Island. — The whole of this has the same sterile dry appearance; is studded with the small Craters which are appendages to the great Volcanic mounds, — & from which in very many places the black Lava has flowed, the configuration of the streams being like that of so much mud. — I should think it would be difficult to find in the intertropical latitudes a piece of land 75 miles long, so entirely useless to man or the larger animals. — From the evening of this day to the 8th was most unpleasant passed in struggling to get about 50 miles to Windward against a strong current.

8th
At last we reached Jame's Island, the rendezvous of Mr Sulivan. — Myself, Mr Bynoe & three men were landed with provisions, there to wait till the ship returned from watering at Chatham Isd. — We found on the Isld a party of men sent by Mr Lawson from Charles Isd to salt fish & Tortoise meat (& procure oil from the latter). — Near to our Bivouacing place, there was a miserable little Spring of Water. — We employed these men to bring us sufficient for our daily consumption. — We pitched our tents in a small valley a little way from the Beach. — The little Bay was formed by two old Craters: in this island as in all the others the mouths from which the Lavas have flowed are thickly studded over the country.1

1Note in margin: 'Freshwater Cove of the Buccaniers'.

9th
Taking with us a guide we proceeded into the interior & higher parts of the Island, where there was a small party employed in hunting the Tortoise. — Our walk was a long one. — At about six miles distance & an elevation of perhaps 2000 ft the country begins to show a green color. — Here there are a couple of hovels where the men reside. — Lower down, the land is like that of Chatham Isd, — very dry & the trees nearly leafless. I noticed however that those of the same species attained a much greater size here than in any other part. — The Vegetation here deserved the title of a Wood: the trees were however far from tall & their branches low & crooked.1 About 2 miles from the Hovels & probably at an additional 1000 ft elevation, the Springs are situated. They are very trifling ones, but the water good & deliciously cold. — They afford the only watering places as yet discovered in the interior. — During the greater part of each day clouds hang over the highest land: the vapor condensed by the trees drips down like rain. Hence we have a brightly green & damp Vegetation & muddy soil. — The contrast to the sight & sensation of the body is very doubtful after the glaring dry country beneath. — The case is exactly similar to that described in Charles Isd. — So great a change with so small a one of elevation cannot fail to be striking. — On the 12th I paid a second visit to the houses, bringing with me a blanket bag to sleep in. — I thus enjoyed two days collecting in the fertile region. — Here were many plants, especially Ferns; the tree Fern however is not present.2 The tropical character of the Vegetation is stamped by the commonest tree being covered with compound flowers of the order of Syngynesia. — The tortoise when it can procure it, drinks great quantities of water: Hence these animals swarm in the neighbourhead of the Springs. — The average size of the full-grown ones is nearly a yard long in its back shell: they are so strong as easily to carry me, & too heavy to lift from the ground. — In the pathway many are travelling to the water & others returning, having drunk their fill. — The effect is very comical in seeing these huge creatures with outstreched neck so deliberately pacing onwards. — I think they march at the rate 360 yards in an hour; perhaps four miles in the 24. — When they arrive at the Spring, they bury their heads above the eyes in the muddy water & greedily suck in great mouthfulls, quite regardless of lookers on. —

Wherever there is water, broard & well beaten roads lead from all sides to it, these extend for distances of miles. — It is by this means that these watering places have been discovered by the fishermen. — In the low dry region there are but few Tortoises: they are replaced by infinite numbers of the large yellow herbivorous Lizard mentioned at Albermale Isd. — The burrows of this animal are so very numerous; that we had difficulty in finding a spot to pitch the tents. — These lizards live entirely on vegetable productions; berrys, leaves, for which latter they frequently crawl up the trees, especially a Mimosa; never drinking water, they like much the succulent Cactus, & for a piece of it they will, like dogs, struggle [to] seize it from another. Their congeners the "imps of darkness" in like manner live entirely on sea weed.— I suspect such habits are nearly unique in the Saurian race.

In all these Islds the dry parts reminded me of Fernando Noronha; perhaps the affinity is only in the similar circumstance of an arid Volcanic soil, a flowering leafless Vegetation in an Intertropical region, but without the beauty which generally accompanies such a position. —

During our residence of two days at the Hovels, we lived on the meat of the Tortoise fried in the transparent Oil which is procured from the fat. — The Breast-plate with the meat attached to it is roasted as the Gauchos do the "Carne con cuero". It is then very good. — Young Tortoises make capital soup — otherwise the meat is but, to my taste, indifferent food. —3

1Note in margin: 'Saw some having circumference of 8 ft & several of 6 ft'.
2Note in margin: 'Not any Palm'.
3According to FitzRoy, several tortoises were eventually brought alive to England. He recorded that a hunting party brought 18 on board from Chatham Island on 18 September, and a further 30 on 12 October. 'The largest we killed was three feet in length from one end of the shell to the other: but the large ones are not so good to eat as those of about fifty pounds weight — which are excellent, and extremely wholesome food.' See Narrative 2: 504.

11th
The Mayór-domo took us in his boat to the Salina which is situated about 6 miles down the coast. — We crossed a bare & apparently recent stream of Lava which had flowed round an ancient but very perfect Crater. — At the bottom of this Crater is a Lake, which is only 3 or 4 inches deep & lies on layers of pure & beautifully Crystallized Salt. The Lake is quite circular & fringed with bright breen succulent plants; the sides of Crater are steep & wooded; so that the whole has rather a pretty appearance. — A few years since in this quiet spot the crew of a Sealing vessel murdered their Captain. We saw the skull lying in the bushes. —

In rocky parts there were great numbers of a peculiar Cactus whose large oval leaves connected together formed branches rising from a cylindrical trunk. —1 In places also a Mimosa was common; the shade from its foliage was very refreshing, after being exposed in the open wood to the burning Sun.

1Sketch in the margin

12th —16th
We all were busily employed during these days in collecting all sorts of Specimens. The little well from which our water was procured was very close to the Beach: a long Swell from the Northward having set in, the surf broke over & spoiled the fresh water. — We should have been distressed if an American Whaler had not very kindly given us three casks of water (& made us a present of a bucket of Onions). Several times during the Voyage Americans have showed themselves at least as obliging, if not more so, than any of our Countrymen would have been. Their liberality moreover has always been offered in the most hearty manner. If their prejudices against the English are as strong as our's against the Americans, they forget & smother them in an admirable manner. —

16th
The weather during nearly all the time has been cloudless & the sun very powerful; if by chance the trade wind fails for an hour the heat is very oppressive. During the two last days, the Thermometer within the Tents has stood for some hours at 93°. — In the open air, in the wind & sun, only 85°. — The sand was intensely hot, the Thermometer placed in a brown kind immediately rose to 137, & how much higher it would have done I do not know: for it was not graduated above this:— The black Sand felt far hotter, so that in thick boots it was very disagreeable to pass over it. —

17th
In the afternoon the Beagle sent in her boats to take us on board. —

18th
Finished the survey of Albermale Isd; this East side of the Island is nearly black with recent uncovered Lavas. — The main hills must have immense Cauldron like Craters, — their height is considerable, above 4000 ft: yet from the outline being one uniform curve, the breadth of the mountain great, they do not appear lofty. —

19th
During the night proceeded to Abingdon Isd,1 picked up Mr Chaffers in the Yawl in the morning & then steered for two small Isds which lie 100 miles to the North of the rest of the Group. —2

1Now Isla Pinta.
2Culpepper and Wenman Islands.

20th
After having surveyed these the Ships head was put towards Otaheite & we commenced our long passage of 3200 miles. —




1 チャタム島付近の海図(ビーグル号での測量による)


2 アルベマール島とジェームズ島付近の海図(同上)


上掲1と2とは縮尺が異なります。それぞれ拡大出来ます。

タグ：ガラパゴス

Darwin's Diary 1834May12_June10

ダーウィンの日記1834年5月12日から6月10日までの原文

[注釈] 南米大陸大西洋岸、パタゴニア南部のサンタ・クルス河口を出発して、ビーグル号が太平洋側に移動するまでの間の日付のダーウィンの日記です。

[日記原典] Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary ed. by R.D.Keynes, Cambridge U.P., 1988.

[1834 May] 12th
We put to sea; & steered in search of an alleged rock (the L'aigle) between the Falklands & mouth of Straits of Magellan; after an unsuccessful hunt, we anchored on the 16th off C. Virgins. —

16th
The weather has been bad, cold, & boisterous (& I proportionally sick & miserable). — It never ceases to be in my eyes most marvellous that on the coast of Patagonia there is constant dry weather & a clear sky, & at 120 miles to the South, there should be as constant clouds rain, hail, snow & wind. —

21st
During these days we have been beating about the entrance of the Straits, obtaining soundings & searching for some banks (a dangerous one was found); at night we came to an anchor;

22nd
& before daylight the Adventure was seen on her passage from the Falklands. Shortly after we left Berkeley Sound, a man of war came in; she has taken away all the prisoners, & now the island is quite quiet. — We received our letters; mine were dated October & November. —1 We shall now in a few days make the best of our way to Port Famine; the days are of course very short for surveying; the weather however, gracias a dios, is pretty fine for these Southern latitudes. — It is a very curious fact; that it now being only one month from the shortest day & in such a latitude, that the temperature is scarcely perceptibly colder, than during the summer; we all wear the same clothes as during last years visit. —

These were from his sisters and several friends (see Correspondence 1: 336–42, 345–8, 350–1 and 353–8).

29th
We anchored in Gregory Bay & took in six days water; our old friends the Indians were not there. — The weather has lately been very bad, & is now very cold. — The Thermometer has been all day below the freezing point & much snow has fallen: This is rather miserable work in a ship, where you have no roaring fire; & where the upper deck, covered with thawing snow is as it were, the hall in your house. —

June 1st
Arrived at Port Famine. I never saw a more cheer-less prospect; the dusky woods, pie-bald with snow, were only indistinctly to be seen through an atmosphere composed of two thirds rain & one of fog; the rest, as an Irishman would say, was very cold unpleasant air. —

Yesterday, when passing to the S. of C. Negro, two men hailed us & ran after the ship; a boat was lowered & picked them up. — They turned out to be two seamen who had run away from a Sealer & had joined the Patagonians. They had been treated by these Indians with their usual disinterested noble hospitality. — They parted company from them by accident & were walking down the coast to this place to look out for some vessel. I dare say they were worthless vagabonds, but I never saw more miserable ones; they had for some days been living on Muscles &c & berrys & had been exposed night & day to all the late constant rain & snow. — What will not man endure! —

2nd–8th
The Adventure rejoined us, after having examined the East side of this part of the Straits. —
The weather has during the greater part of the time been very foggy & cold; but we were in high luck in having two clear days for observations. On one of these the view of Sarmiento was most imposing: I have not ceased to wonder, in the scenery of Tierra del Fuego, at the apparent little elevation of mountains really very high. — I believe it is owing to a cause which one would be last to suspect, it is the sea washing their base & the whole mountain being in view. I recollect in Ponsonby Sound, after having seen a mountain down the Beagle Channel, I had another view of it across many ridges, one behind the other. — This immediately made one aware of its distance, & with its distance it was curious how its apparent height rose.

The Fuegians twice came & plagued us. — As there were many instruments, clothese &c & men on shore, the Captain thought it necessary to frighten them away. — The one time, we fired a great gun, when they were a long way off; it was very amusing to see through a glass their bold defiance, for as the shot splashed up the water, they picked up stones in return & threw them towards the ship which was then about a mile & a half off. — This not being sufficient, a boat was sent with orders to fire musket balls wide of them. — The Fuegians hid themselves behind the trees, but for every discharge of a musket they fired an arrow. These fell short of the boat; & the officer pointing to them & laughing made the Fuegians frantic with rage (as they well might be at so unprovoked an attack); they shook their very mantles with passion. — At last seeing the balls strike & cut the trees, they ran away; their final decampement was effected by the boat pretending to go in chase of their canoes & women. Another party having entered the bay was easily driven to a little creek to the north of it: the next day two boats were sent to drive them still further;1 it was admirable to see the determination with which four or five men came forward to defend themselves against three times that number. — As soon as they saw the boats they advanced a 100 yards towards us, prepared a barricade of rotten trees & busily picked up piles of stones for their slings. — Every time a musket was pointed towards them, they in return pointed an arrow. — I feel sure they would not have moved till more than one had been wounded. This being the case we retreated.
We filled up our wood & water; the latter is here excellent. The water we have lately been drinking contained so much salt that brackish is almost too mild a term to call it. — Amongst trifling discomforts there is none so bad as water with salts in it: when you drink a glass of water, like Physic, & then it does not satisfy the thirst. Mere impure, stinking water is of little consequence: especially as boiling it & making tea generally renders it scarcely perceptible. —

1 Note in margin: 'Rockets, noise, dead silence'.

8th
We weighed very early in the morning: The Captain intended to leave the St.s of Magellan by the Magdalen channel, which has only lately been discovered & very seldom travelled by Ships. The wind was fair, but the atmosphere very thick, so that we missed much very curious scenery. The dark ragged clouds were rapidly driven over the mountains, nearly to their base; the glimpses which we had caught through the dusky mass were highly interesting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue glaciers, strong outlines marked on a lurid sky, were seen at different distances & heights. — In the midst of such scenery, we anchored at C. Turn, close to Mount Saimiento, which was then hidden in the clouds. At the base of the lofty & almost perpendicular sides of our little cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that man sometimes wandered amongst these desolate regions; imagination could scarcely paint a scene where he seemed to have less claims or less authority; the inanimate works of nature here alone reign with overpowering force. —

9th
We were delighted in the morning by seeing the veil of mist gradually rise from & display Sarmiento. — I cannot describe the pleasure of viewing these enormous, still, & hence sublime masses of snow which never melt & seem doomed to last as long as this world holds together.1 —

The field of snow extended from the very summit to within 1/8th of the total height, to the base, this part was dusky wood. — Every outline of snow was most admirably clear & defined; or rather I suppose the truth is, that from the absence of shadow, no outlines, but those against the sky, are perceptible & hence such stand out so strongly marked. — Several glaciers descended in a winding course from the pile of snow to the sea, they may be likened to great frozen Niagaras, & perhaps these cataracts of ice are as fully beautiful as the moving ones of water. — By night we reached the Western parts of the Channel; in vain we tried to find anchoring ground, these islands are so truly only the summits of steep submarine mountains.— We had in consequence to stand off & on during a long, pitch-dark night of 14 hours, & this in a narrow channel. — Once we got very near the rocks; The night was sufficiently anxious to the Captain & officers. —

1 See watercolour by Conrad Martens (CM No. 208, Beagle Record p. 113) based on a drawing (CM No. 209) initialled RF and labelled as follows: The grand glacier, Mount Sarmiento. The mountain rises to about 3 times the height here seen, but all is here hidden by dark misty clouds — a faint sunny gleam lights the upper part of the glacier, giving its snowy surface a tinge which appears almost of a rose colour by being contrasted with the blue of its icy crags — a faint rainbow was likewise visible to the right of the glacier, but the whole was otherwise very grey & gloomy. June 9 1834'. See Beagle Record p. 398, and also CM Nos. 210 and 213, Beagle Record pp. 220–1.

10th
In the morning, in company with the Adventure, we made the best of our way into the open ocean. —1 The Western coast generally consists of low, rounded, quite barren hills of Granite. Sir J. Narborough called one part of it South Desolation. — "because it is so desolate a land to behold", well indeed might he say so, — Outside the main islands, there are numberless rocks & breakers on which the long swell of the open Pacific incessantly rages. — We passed out between the "East & West Furies"; a little further to the North, the Captain from the number of breakers called the sea the "Milky way". — The sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about death, peril, & shipwreck.

1 See watercolour by Conrad Martens based on drawing labelled 'Lowe Cockburn Channel — Still morning — the vessel working out of Warp Cove from whence the sketch was taken. The ship's track was from behind this neatest point, which is the termination of Magdalen Channel. June 10 1834' (CM No. 210, Beagle Record p. 221).

[地図] 1834年6月11日日没時のビーグル号の概略位置(タワー・ロックス付近)..

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Darwin's Diary 1834April18_May7

(玄武岩の峡谷; 荒涼とした光景の中にある動物が彫り込まれている事に注意)


(アンデス遠望)

ダーウィンの日記1834年4月18日から5月7日までの原文)

[注釈] ビーグル号のフィッツロイ艦長およびダーウィンたちの一隊によるサンタ・クルス河遡行の時のダーウィンの日記部分です。

[日記原典] Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary ed. by R.D.Keynes, Cambridge U.P., 1988.
日記原文に細かい字で付されている脚注は日記の編集者であるR.D.Keynesのものです。

[1834 April]18th
In the morning three whale-boats started under the command of the Captain to explore as far as time would allow the Santa Cruz river: During the last voyage, Capt. Stokes proceeded 30 miles, but his provisions failing, he was obliged to return. — Excepting, what was then found, even the existence of this large river was hardly known; We carried three weeks provisions & our party consisted of 25 souls; we were all well armed & could defy a host of Indians. With a strong flood tide & a fine day we made a good run, soon drank some of the fresh water, & at night were nearly above the tidal influence. The river here assumed a size & appearance, which, even at the highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. It is generally from three to four hundred yards broad, & in the centre about seventeen feet deep; & perhaps its most remarkable feature is the constant rapidity of the current, which in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to six knots an hour. The water is of a fine blue color with a slight milky tinge, but is not so transparent as would be expected; it flows over a bed of pebbles, such as forms the beach & surrounding plain. — 1 The valley is in a very direct line to the westward, in which the river has [a] winding course, but it varies from five to 10 miles in width, being bounded by perfectly horizontal plains of 3 to 500 feet elevation. —

1Followed by the deleted words; 'excepting where there are cliffs of a sandy clay'.

19th
In so strong a current it was of course quite impossible either to pull or sail so that the three boats were fastened astern of each other, two hands left in each, & the rest all on shore to track, (we brought with us collars all ready fitted to a whale line). —1 As the general arrangements were very good for facilitating the work, I will describe them; the party which included every one, was divided into two spells, (at first into three) & each of these pulled alternately for an hour & a half. — The officers of each boat lived with, eat the same food, & slept in the same tent with their crew; so that each boat was quite independent of the others; After sunset, the first level place where there were any bushes was chosen for our nights lodging. The boats- crew took it in turns to be cook; immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his fire, two others of the men pitched the tent, the coxswain handed the things out of the boat, & the rest, carried them up to the tents & collected fire wood. — By this means in half an hour, every thing was ready for the night. A watch of two men & an officer was always kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep up the fires & look out for Indians; each in the party had his one hour every night. —

During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there are in this part many islands, which are covered with thorny bushes, & the channels between them are shallow, these two causes hindered us much.

1The words in brackets have been marked for deletion in pencil.

20th
We passed the islands & set to work; our regular days work, although it was hard enough, carried us, on an average, only ten miles, in a straight line, & perhaps 15 or 20 as we were obliged to go. — A large smoke was seen at some distance, & a skeleton & other signs of horses; by which we knew that Indians were in the country. Beyond the place, where we slept was completely terra incognita, for there Capt Stokes turned back, — in the course of the day an old boat-hook was picked up (with the Kings mark). One of the boats crew, who had been up the river on the former voyage, remembered that it was then lost. So that the boat-hook after lying 6 or 7 years in Patagonia, returned to its proper home, the Beagle. — Both this & the last night was a severe frost & some of the party felt the cold. —1

1FitzRov wrote: 'Mr Darwin tried to catch fish with a casting net, but without success; so strong a stream being much against successful fishing. A very sharp frost again this night. The net and other things, which had occupied but little room in the boat, were frozen so hard as to become unmanageable and very difficult to stow.' See Narrative 2: 341–4.

21th
In the morning, tracks of a party of horses & the long spear or Chusa which trails on the ground, were found; they were so fresh that it was generally thought they must have reconnoitred us during the night. — Shortly afterwards we came to a place where there were fresh footsteps of men, dogs, children & horses at the edge of the river & beneath the water; on the other side of the river there were also recent tracks & the remains of a fire: it is very clear that this is the place where the Indians cross, it must be both a difficult & dangerous passage. The Spaniard who lives with the Gregory Bay Indians told me that they crossed in the manner which the Gauchos call "a pilota"; that is the corners of a hide are tied up & thus a sort of canoe is made which generally is pulled over by catching hold of the horses tail. — After a mile or two beyond this there were for many days no signs of men or horses. — We saw however fresh smoke of the party whom we left behind, from which I think they never saw us, but that we accidentally passed within a day or two's march of each other. — The Spaniard told me he believed there were no, or very few Indians at S. Cruz; perhaps they are the same small tribe which occassionally frequent Port Desire, & whose lame horse was seen up the river. — A Guanaco was found dead under water, but in a shallow place; the meat was quite fresh: upon skinning its head, a bruise was found, we imagine that the Indians must have struck it with their balls & that going to the water to drink, it died. — Whatever its end might have been, after a few doubtful looks it was voted by the greater number better than salt meat, & was soon cut up & in the evening eat. —

22nd
The country remains the same, & terribly uninteresting. the great similarity in productions is a very striking feature in all Patagonia, the level plains of arid shingle support the same stunted & dwarf plants; in the valleys the same thorn-bearing bushes grow, & everywhere we see the same birds & insects. Ostriches are not uncommon, but wild in the extreme. The Guanaco, however, is in his proper district, the country swarms with them; there were many herds of 50 to 100, & I saw one, with, I should think 500. — The Puma or Lion & the Condor follow & prey upon these animals; The footsteps of the former might almost every-where be seen on the banks of the river. The remains of several Guanaco with their necks dislocated & bones broken & gnawed, showed how they met their deaths. Even the very banks of the river & of the clear little streamlets which enter it, are scarcely enlivened by a brighter tint of green. The curse of sterility is on the land. — The very waters, running over the bed of pebbles, are stocked with no fish: Hence there are no water-fowl, with the exception of some few geese & ducks.—

23rd
Rested till noon, to clean arms, mend clothes & shoes, the latters already began to show symptoms of hard work. —

24th
Like the old navigators approaching an unknown land, we examined & watched for the most trivial signs of a change; the drifted trunk of a tree, a boulder of primitive rock were hailed with joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the stony ridges of the Andes. — But the most promising, & which eventually turned out true sign, was the tops of a heavy bank of clouds which constantly remained in nearly the same place. — These at first were taken for mountains themselves, instead of the clouds condensed by their icy summits. A Guanaco was shot, which much rejoiced those who could not compel their stomachs to relish Carrion. —

25th & 26th
This day I found, for the first time, some interesting work; the plains are here capped by a field of Lava, which at some remote period when these plains formed the bottom of an ocean, was poured forth from the Andes.1 This field of Lava is on a grand scale; further up the river it is more than 300 feet thick, & the distance from its source is great. — The most Southern Volcanic rocks in the Andes hitherto known are many hundred miles to the North, not far from the island of Chiloe. — The Lava caused many small springs,2 the valleys here were greener & I recognised many plants of Tierra del Fuego. — The Guanaco was in his element amongst the rugged low prcecipices. It is curious how in many cases the scenery is totally dependent on the geology; some of the valleys so precisely resembled those at St Jago, that if I could have added the warmth of a Tropical day I should have looked about me to recognize old-frequented spots. —3

1 Note in margin: 'Action of current. Origin of Valley'.
2 Note in margin: 'Cause of springs'.
3 See pencil drawing by Conrad Martens labelled 'Valley with a small stream running into Santa Cruz River, the hills crowned with Volcanic Rock, the most southern yet discovered. April 26' (CM No. 173, Beagle Record p. 200), and watercolour developed from it (CM No. 174, Beagle Record p. 205). FitzRoy wrote of it: 'The glen above mentioned is a wild looking ravine, bounded by black lava cliffs. A stream of excellent water winds through it amongst the long grass, and a kind of jungle at the bottom. Lions or rather pumas shelter in it, as the recently torn remains of guanacoes showed us. Condors inhabit the basaltic cliffs. Near the river some imperfect columns of basalt give to a remarkable rocky height, the semblance of an old castle. Altogether it is a scene of wild loneliness quite fit to be the breeding place of lions.' See Narrative 2: 348. When the scene was engraved by T. Landseer as 'Basalt Glen — River Santa Cruz' in Narrative 2: facing p. 348, the lions were duly added.

27th
The bed of the river is rather narrower hence the stream more rapid; it generally runs nearly 6 knots an hour. — in the channel there are great blocks of Lava — which together make the tracking both laborious & very dangerous. — Yesterday two holes were knocked through the sides of one of the boats, but she was got on shore & repaired, without any further damage. —1 I shot a condor, it measured from tip to tip of wing 8 & ½ feet; — from beak to tail 4 feet. — They are magnificent birds; when seated on a pinnacle over some steep precipice, sultan-like they view the plains beneath them. I believe these birds are never found excepting where there are perpendicular cliffs: Further up the river where the lava is 8 & 900 feet above the bed of the river, I found a regular breeding place; it was a fine sight to see between ten & twenty of these Condors start heavily from their resting spot & then wheel away in majestic circles. —2

1 See engraving by T. Landseer after C. Martens entitled 'Repairing boat', in Narrative 2: facing p. 336.
2 See watercolour by Conrad Martens depicting condors preying on a dead guanaco (CM No. 197, Beagle Record p. 208). In Journal of Researches pp. 219–24, CD proceeds to summarize his observations on the habits of the condor.

28th
Found a tripod of wood, fastened together by hide; it had floated down the river; the first sign of the reappearance of man. —

29th
From the high land, we hailed with joy the snowy summits of the Cordilleras, as they were seen occassionally peeping through their dusky envelope of Clouds. —

30th & May 1st
We continued to get on but slowly. The Captains servant shot two Guanaco:1 Before the men could arrive to carry them to the boats the Condors & some small carrion Vultures had picked even the bones of one clean & white, & this in about four hours. — The Guanaco probably weighed 170 or 180 pounds. — When the men arrived, only two Condors were there & some small Vultures within the ribs were picking the bones. —

1 FitzRoy wrote: 'The order of our march was usually one or two riflemen in advance, as scouts — Mr Darwin, and occasionally Mr Stokes, or Mr Bynoe, upon the heights — a party walking along the banks, near the boats, ready to relieve or assist in tracking, and the eight or ten men who were dragging the three boats along at the rate of about two miles an hour over the ground, though full eight knots through the water.' See Narrative 2: 347, and watercolours by Conrad Martens (CM Nos. 185 and 190, Beagle Record pp. 212–13).

[May] 2nd & 3rd
The river was here very tortuous, & in many parts there were great blocks of Slate & Granite, which in former periods of commotion have come from the Andes:1 Both these causes sadly interfered with our progress. — We had however the satisfaction of seeing in full view the long North & South range of the Cordilleras. — 2 They form a lofty & imposing barrier to this flat country; many of the mountains were steep & pointed cones, & these were clothed with snow. — We looked at them with regret, for it was evident we had not time to reach them; We were obliged to imagine their nature & grandeur, instead of standing as we had hoped, on one of their pinnacles & looking down on the plains below. During these two days we saw signs of horses & several little articles belonging to the Indians, such as a bunch of Ostrich feathers, part of a mantle, a pointed stick. From a thong of cows hide being found; it is certain that these Indians must come from the North. — They probably have no connection with those whose smoke we saw nearer to the Coast; but that during the Summer they travel along the foot Andes, in order to hunt in fresh country. — The Guanaco being so excessively abundant I was at first much surprised that Indians did not constantly reside on the banks of this river; the cause of their not frequenting these plains must be their stony nature (the whole country is a shingle bed) which no unshod horse could withstand. — Yet in two places, in this very central part, I found small piles of stones which I think could not have been accidentally grouped together. — They were placed on projecting points, over the highest lava cliffs; & resembled those at Port Desire, but were on a smaller scale; They would not have been sufficient to have covered more than the bones of a man. —

1 Pencil note in margin: 'Character of upper plain altered'.
2 See watercolour by Conrad Martens sold to CD as 'River Santa Cruz' for 3 guineas in Sydney on 21 January 1836 (CM No. 193, Beagle Record p. 201), which shows the line of men hauling the boats, and the Cordillera of the Andes in the distance.

4th
The Captain determined to take the boats no further; the mountain were between 20 & 30 miles distant & the river very serpentine. — Its apparent dimensions & depth nearly the same; its current equally strong. — The country & its productions remained equally uninteresting. — In addition to all this our provisions were running short; we had been for some days on half allowance of biscuit. — This same half allowance, although really sufficient, was very unpleasant after our hard work; & those who have not tried it will alone exclaim about the comfort of a light stomach & an easy digestion. It was very ridiculous how invariably the conversation in the evening turned upon all sorts, qualities & kinds of food. —

The Captain & a large party set off to walk a few miles to the Westward. — We crossed a desert plain which forms the head of the valley of S. Cruz, but could not see the base of the mountains. — On the North side, there is a great break in the elevated lava plain, as if of the valley of a river. — It is thought probable that the main branch of the S Cruz bends up in that direction & perhaps drains many miles of the Eastern slope of the chain. — We took a farewell look at the Cordilleras which probably in this part had never been viewed by other Europæan eyes, & then returned to the tents. — At the furthest point we were about 140 miles from the Atlantic, & 60 from the nearest inlet of the Pacific. 1

1 At their furthest west, the party were probably within a few miles of Lago Argentino, which connects with Lago Viedma and Lago San Martin, and which was first described by J.H. Gardiner in 1867. FitzRoy read a paper about the expedition to the Royal Geographical Society on 8 May 1837 (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 7: 114–26).

5th
Before sun-rise, we began our descent. We shot down the stream with great rapidity; generally at the rate of 10 miles an hour; what a contrast to the laborious tracking. — We effected in this day. what had cost us five days & a half; from passing over so much country, we as it were condensed all the birds & animals together & they appeared much more numerous. —

6th
We again equalled five & half days tracking: the climate is certainly very different near to the mountains; it is there much colder, more windy & cloudy. —

7th
Slept at the place where the water nearly ceases to be fresh. — A tent & party was left to try to shoot some Guanaco. —

Almost every one is discontented with this expedition; much hard work, & much time lost & scarcely any thing seen or gained. — We have however to thank our good fortune, in enjoying constant fine dry weather & blue skys. To me the cruize has been most satisfactory, from affording so excellent a section of the great modern formation of Patagonia. —