ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY OF THE SHIP. 595 



had one of his legs crippled, and his feathers never grew pro- 

 perly, but he was perfectly happy, and from his perch, which 

 was one of the wardroom hat-pegs, he talked away and amused 

 us during the whole voyage. His great triumph, constantly 

 repeated, was " "What ! two thousand fathoms and no bottom ? 

 Ah Doctor Carpenter, F.B.S." He knew his own name perfectly, 

 and I have known him climb over the ledge in at the door of 

 the cabin of Dr. Maclean, his chief friend, when I have been 

 sitting there on a dark rough night, after he had come to grief 

 and tumbled off his perch with a thump, plaintively appealing 

 with " Robert," " Robert." 



After leaving the Aru Islands a young Cassowary roamed 

 about the decks for some time, but was soon killed as a nuisance. 

 No doubt, had it not been killed, it would soon have committed 

 suicide, like an Ostrich on board one of the men-of-war at the 

 Cape, which stole a piece of hot iron put down by the black- 

 smith beside his forge, and swallowed it hastily with fatal effect. 



At Monte Video some very young South American Ostriches 

 (Rliea Americana) were brought on board the ship. It was 

 amusing to see them chasing flies on the upper deck, and, as 

 they darted forwards, instinctively spreading their little wings 

 as sails to catch the tiny draughts reflected from the bulwarks. 

 Mr. Darwin has described the use of the wings as sails by the 

 adult birds on the plains of Patagonia.* 



At the Sandwich Islands, two large living Tortoises from the 

 Galapagos Archipelago were received on board from Captain 

 Cookson, R.N., who had visited the group with the special object 

 of collecting the very curious Tortoises found there. The Tor- 

 toises were fed a good deal on pine-apples, a number of which 

 were hung up in the Paymaster's office. The animals used to 

 prop themselves up against a board put across the door of the 

 office to keep out dogs, unable to surmount the obstacle, and 

 used to glare and sniff longingly at the fruit. They also learned 

 to know their way along the deck to the Captain's cabin, where 

 there was another store of Pine-apples, and where they were 

 often fed. 



At Madeira, I had given to me some living specimens of the 



* " Journal of Researches," pp. 43, 89. 



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