CIllPIGOli 



I 



lowN where the Southern Cross bHnks coldly at 

 the Great Bear across a starry canopy of cobalt skies, the rugged 

 Galapagos Archipelago sprawls along the equator, a vaguely mys- 

 terious and strangely different land, totally unlike other tropical 

 islands or mainland shores of the eastern Pacific Ocean. 



There is something curiously vital about this vast misshapen 

 group of volcanic juttings — something extremely remote, gro- 

 tesque, formidable, unconquerable. 



Spanish explorers early in the sixteenth century stumbled upon 

 the awesome group while prowling the Pacific in their stubby gal- 

 leons and christened the archipelago Galapagos, after immense tor- 

 toises they found there. To famished sailors the tortoise meat was 

 delectable. Moreover, they could take the reptiles aboard and thus 

 keep live, fresh meat on deck for a considerable length of time. 



Fresh water, found on some of the islands, also proved a boon. 

 The starving explorers were so thankful for these things that they 

 named individual islands after their most beloved saints. Tribute 

 to providence must have inspired such names as San Salvador, San 

 Cristobal, Santa Cruz and Santa Maria. Another island was called 

 Isabella in honor of the Queen, patron of Christopher Columbus. 



Buccaneers and pirates later used these distant shores for refuge 

 from their enemies; to repair their boats, and to obtain fresh sup- 

 plies. Thus, from the English the islands gained another set of 

 names, honoring a long line of British kings. Somehow they came 

 to be known as the "Enchanted Islands," though for what reason 

 it is hard to imagine. A modern savant was impressed contrariwise 

 and called this land "Galapagos — World's End." 



Encompassing nearly three thousand square miles of jumbled 

 terrain, the islands are almost totally arid except for scanty sea- 

 sonal rains and swirling mists that veil old craters at higher alti- 

 tudes, condensing sufficient moisture on the steep slopes to support 

 some tropical growth. It is only at the higher altitudes that grow- 

 ing things are green, and there is enough pasturage to support 

 animal life. On most of the islands the lower fringes are stark desert 

 waste, where razor-edged rubble and thorny thickets form un- 

 believably menacing barriers to extensive exploration. 



So uninviting that they remain but sparsely settled after more 

 179 than four hundred years, the islands offer almost virgin frontiers 



