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got aboard the schoouer a little later. Tbis was the hardest day's work thus far, 

 with the possible exception of last Sunday's. The trip was very hard on the 

 tortoise also, and they acted as if " played out." Two of them being set down close 

 together got their poles somewhat tangled up, and by the way they opened their 

 mouths at each other it looked as if they were going to have a fight. 



Sept. 8. — We went ashore quite early, and started immediately for the crater, 

 after looking in vain for more tortoise for a short time. The mate took a small 

 one on his back. Harris and myself, Hull and Beck carried one swung on a pole 

 between us, and we started for the boat by a much easier route than yesterday, and 

 got two of them right aboard the skiff. The other one and the three brought down 

 yesterday were tied up in a sack, one at a time, and then lowered down to the skiff 

 from the top of a bluff 75 ft. high. Getting them into the skiff, at 4 p.m. we were 

 aboard the schooner with six live tortoises. The small one which was found yesterday 

 appeared to be nearly dead when visited to-day. The soil at the bottom of the 

 crater is full of cracks in places, showing that probably during the wet season there 

 is water there. There were several rocks with depressions in their tops, and the 

 prints of tortoise feet near them showed that the animals probably relied on these 

 places for their supply of water during the dry season. It rained last Sunday while 

 we were in the crater, and in one of these holes quite a little water had collected. 

 Beck knocked over a penguin with the boathook, and we got the bird on board in a 

 lively condition. He could walk finely, standing up on his feet, sometimes using 

 his tail as a brace, more often not — waddling along at times quite rapidly ; he kept 

 his wings well away from his body, and pointed down a little in advance of it. 



Sept. 9. — Went ashore at about 8 a.m., or rather started at that time, it being 

 a long pull to the island. Harris, Hull, and Beck carried the guns, while the mate 

 and a sailor (Herman Jahiike) and myself were to bring down the two tortoises. 

 We got into the crater at about 11 a.m. ; picked up the bones of a tortoise that had 

 been found some time before. We saw a snake that was about \k ft. long, slender 

 and blackish, with white rings. The mate noticed it first iind called me, but I only 

 arrived in time to sec it disappearing under the grass, from which we were unable 

 to dislodge it. The mate was afraid of snakes. We ate lunch in the crater. Just 

 as we were commencing, Harris brought in a small tortoise which had escaped lust 

 Sunday, the one first caught. The mate claimed that this one bit him while he was 

 tying it up. After lunch we sturted out of the crater, a sailor and myself carrying 

 the large dead one on a pole, and the mate the live one in a pack on his back. We 

 got down to the bluff' in good time, when we lowered them down, and then climbed 

 down ourselves. At a little after 4 p.m. the rest of the party appeared, bringing in 

 another dead tortoise and the small live one, the sack of bones, and some birds. 

 15eck carried a big tortoise from the other side of the island, and reported seeing 

 five others in a gulch on the other side of the crater, three of them being larger 

 than any secured thus far. He said that one of the big ones was feeding on an old 

 dead cactus. We got on board after a long pull, and started over to Conway Bay, 

 where we anchored at T p.m. 



Sept. 10. — Skinned birds all day ; worked on penguin in the afternoon, and 

 think it by far the greasiest bird that I ever handled. A short-eared owl (J.</o 

 yalapagensis) was taken in the evening. The bird came aboard and sat on the 

 guy rope, which held tiie end of the foreboom, evidently prospecting for turtle meat. 



Sept. 11. — Skinned the two tortoise and a hawk-billed turtle — a long and 

 tedious job. 



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