io8 Charles Darwin. 



to the naturalist, as he found that the animals were 

 unlike those of other lands, there being even a dif- 

 ference in the forms living upon the various islands. 

 He says : " The archipelago is a little world within 

 itself, or rather a satellite attached to America, 

 whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has 

 received the general character of its indigenou's pro- 

 ductions. Considering the small size of these islands, 

 we feel the more astonished at the number of their 

 aboriginal beings, and at their confined range. See- 

 ing every height crowned with its crater, and the 

 boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, 

 we are led to believe that within a period geologi- 

 cally recent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. 

 Hence, both in space and time, we seem to be 

 brought somewhat near to that great fact — that 

 mystery of mysteries — the first appearance of new 

 beings on this earth." 



Darwin was indefatigable in his collecting, and 

 succeeded in finding twenty-six species of birds, all 

 with one exception peculiar to the group. 



The most striking objects, next to the tortoises, 

 were the lizards, which, especially the one known to 

 science as Amblyrhynchus — a most singular creature, 

 — were indigenous to the spot. Two species were 

 found, one being a land-loving form, while the 

 other took to the water readily and lived on sea- 

 weed. The lizards ranged from four to five feet in 

 length, and weighed about twenty pounds, and were 

 extremely disagreeable creatures in every way. 

 Their tails were flat and used as paddles, and num- 

 bers had been seen swimming out in the water in 



