100 DOUGLAS' JOURNAL 



agreeable. At noon on Sunday, 9th, Chatham Island was seen ; we passed 

 along the east side at 4 P.M. of the same day, fifteen miles from the shore. 

 It is not mountainous and apparently but little herbage on it. On the 

 morning of 10th (Monday) I went on shore on James Island, thirty-seven 

 miles to the west of Chatham Island. It is volcanic, mountainous, and 

 very rugged, with some fine vestiges of volcano craters and vitrified lava ; 

 the hills are not high, the highest being about 2000 feet above the level 

 of the sea. The verdure is scanty in comparison with most tropical 

 climates, arising, no doubt, from the scarcity of fresh water, although at 

 the same time some of the trees in the valleys are large, but very little 

 variety ; few of them were known to me. My stay was three days, two 

 hours on shore each time. Few of its plants were known to me. The 

 birds are very numerous, and some of them pretty, so little acquainted 

 with man's devices that they were readily killed with a stick ; a gun 

 was not necessary except to bring them from the rocks or from the tops 

 of the trees. Many of the smaller ones perched on my hat, and when I 

 carried my gun on my shoulder would sit on the muzzlej \ During my stay 

 I killed forty-five, of nineteen genera, all of which I skinned carefully, 

 and had the mortification to lose them all except one species of Sula ; 

 by the almost constant rain of twelve days after leaving the island I could 

 not expose them on deck and no room for them below. Among them 

 were two species of pelican, four of Sula, four of hawk (one particularly 

 fine, nearly orange colour), one very curious small pigeon. I was nearly 

 as unfortunate with plants, my collection amounting to 175 specimens, 

 many of them, no doubt, interesting. I was able only to save forty. 

 Never in my life was I so mortified, touching at a place where everything, 

 indeed the most trifling particle, becomes of interest in England, and to 

 have such a miserable collection to show I have been there. 



With no small labour I dried the few now sent home ; what they may 

 be I cannot say. The weather during the remaining part of my voyage 

 was such as did not admit of looking to plants ; since my arrival my time 

 has been otherwise engaged. In the valleys a very singular large species 

 of cactus, 20 to 50 feet high, with a trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter ; comes in 

 the section of Opuntia ; flowers large, bright yellow and proliferous. Seeds 

 of this are sent home. Also a fine species of Gossypium with large yellow 

 flowers and yellow cotton ; a shrub 4 to 10 feet high ; seeds of this are also 

 sent, with seeds of a plant which may be found to belong to Coniferae. On 

 the island were a species of tortoise, some of them very large, one weighing 

 400 Ib. ; a lizard, 3 feet long, of a bright orange-yellow ; both good eating. 

 A fine skin of the lizard I lost, and regret it exceedingly, being not described. 

 On the shore are abundance of turtle of good quality, probably the green 

 turtle of the West Indies. No fresh water was found except a small 

 spring flowing from the crevices of one of the craters. The last day on 

 shore it ceased to rain for about an hour ; the sun broke through and 

 raised a steam from the ground almost suffocating. My thermometer 

 stood at 96, not a breath of wind. 



Left on Wednesday at dusk ; passed along the east side of Albemarle 

 Island at a short distance. People were on it ; after dark lights were seen. 



