l6 ' PliOCliEDINGS OF THE 



BO Tortoise hadevcr been Icnown to live. In order to seciire 

 the moisture requisite for germination and the growth of the 

 seedling, it was necessary to plant th,e nuts in pits dug througli 

 loose sand to a depth of about 3 feet, and then through a crust 

 of solidified coral-sand of one foot thickness. It was below this 

 crust that the eggs were found, showing that probably centuries 

 had elapsed since the eggs were deposited, and indicating at the 

 same time that we shall have to go below the surface, if we want 

 to become acquainted with the extinct autochthont races of these 

 islands. 



The sad history of the extermination of iheMascarene Tortoises 

 is so well known that I may dispense with a repetition of its 

 del ails. I will only allude to some facts with which I have become 

 recently acquainted. The Tortoises, as you know, had proved 

 excellent and more wholesome food than Turtle. Therefore 

 every passing ship stowed away fur her long voyage as uiany as 

 she could carry. With the increase of the population of the 

 settlements, angmented by ndlitary and naval forces, the indi- 

 genous supply was rapidly exhausted ; it was tlien supplemented 

 by importaticm from other islands, and we can form an idea of the 

 extent to which this inter-insular transport was carried from 

 official reports to the French Indian Company *, In 1759 four 

 small vessels were specially appwiuted for the service of bringing 

 Tortoises from Kudriguez to Mauritius : one vessel carried a 

 cargo of GOOO ; and altogether more than 30,000 were imported 

 into Mauritius within the space of eighteen months 1 t 



The result of this prodigality was that, at the beginning of our 

 century, the Tortoises had been pretty well swept oti' the whole of 

 the islands in the Indian Ocean, so that at the present time only 

 one spot remains where they have survived in a wild state, viz. the 

 South Island of the Aldabran atoll. Although only 18 miles 

 long and about one mile wide, it offers by its rugged, deeply 

 fissured surface, which is overgrown with impenetrable bush, a 

 safe retreat to the small number of the survivors J. Aldabra has 



* Milne-Edwards (i), 1876. 



t It seems almost incredible that such a large number could have been con- 

 sumed within so short a time by a population which, at that time, possessed 

 already a considerable meat-supply in the herds of cattle and goats which had 

 spread over the island. At any rate, a large proportion of the Tortoises must 

 have been of small size, perhaps not more than lU or 16 pounds in weight, and 

 yielding about one-third of that weight in eatable meat. A portion of the 

 imported stock may also have been used for provisioning passing Grovernment 

 vessels. 



^ A statement made by the present lessee of Aldabra, and contained in an 

 ofRcial despatch (dated June lo, 1892) of Mr. T. Eisely Griffith, the Admini- 

 strator of the Seychelles, to the Governor of Mauritius, to the effect that " there 

 cannot be less than one 1 honsand (Tortoises) in all the island " has got into print 

 (Sauzier (33 ). pp- 19, 20) and requires correction. In a later despatch (April 4, 

 1893) Mr. Griffith refers to Dr. Abbott's visit to Aldabra, who mformed him 

 " that, whilst he s;iw some of the Land-Tortoises (during a four months' .stay), 

 he was of opinion that Mr. Spurs's estimate of their number was very con- 

 siderably over-estimated " Mr. Griffit h himself, when he visited the island, saw 

 none. But Dr. Voeltzkow, who stayed in the island a month in 1894, obtained 

 seven, which afterwards "w ere for sale at Hamburg. 



