8o GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. [CHAP. xvii. 



v.-ere at this time (October) laying their eggs. The female, where the 

 soil is sandy, deposits them together, and covers them up with sand ; 

 but where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any 

 hole: Mr. Bynoe found seven placed in a fissure. The egg is white 

 and spherical; one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths 

 in circumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. The young 

 tortoises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to 

 the carrion-feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally to die from 

 accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least several of the 

 inhabitants told me, that they had never found one dead without some 

 evident cause. 



The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; 

 certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. 

 I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters, as 

 it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I passed, 

 it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the 

 ground with a heavy sound, as if ^struck dead. I frequently got on 

 their backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder part of their 

 shells, they would rise up and walk away ; but I found it very difficult 

 to keep my balance. The flesh of this animal is largely employed, 

 both fresh and salted ; and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the 

 fat. When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near 

 its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal 

 plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated ; and it is said to 

 recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the 

 tortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they are often 

 able to get on their legs again. 



There can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal inhabitant 

 of the Galapagos ; for it is found on all, or nearly all, the islands, even 

 on some of the smaller ones where there is no water ; had it beeu an 

 imported species, this would hardly have been the case in a group which 

 has been so little frequented. Moreover, the old Bucaniers found this 

 tortoise in greater numbers even than at present ; Wood and Rogers 

 also, in 1708, say that it is the opinion of the Spaniards, that it is found 

 nowhere else in this quarter of the world. It is now widely distributed ; 

 but it may be questioned whether it is in j?n v other place an aboriginal. 

 The bones of a tortoise at Mauritius, associated with those of the 

 extinct Dodo, have generally been considered as belonging to this 

 tortoise ; if this had been so, undoubtedly it must have been there 

 indigenous ; but M. Bibron informs me that he believes that it was 

 distinct, as the species now living there certainly is. 



The Amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined to this 

 archipelago: there are two species resembling each other in general 

 form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. This latter species 

 (A. cristatus) was first characterised by Mr. Bell, who well foresaw, from 

 its short, broad head, and strong claws of equal length, that its habits of 

 life would turn out very peculiar, and different from those of its nearest 

 ally, the Iguana. It is extremely common on all the islands throughout 

 the group, and lives exclusively on the rocky sea beaches, being never 



