LARGE TORTOISES. 141 



cones were extraordinarily numerous : from one 

 small eminence I counted sixty of them, all sur- 

 mounted by craters more or less perfect. The 

 greater number consisted merely of a ring of red 

 scoriae or slags, cemented togethei', and their 

 height above the plain of lava was not more than 

 from fifty to a hundi-ed feet : none had been very 

 lately active. The entire surface of this part of 

 the island seems to have been permeated, like a 

 sieve, by the subterranean vapours : here and there 

 the lava, whilst soft, has been blown into great 

 bubbles, and in other parts, the tops of caverns 

 similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular 

 pits with steep sides. From the regular form of 

 the many craters, they gave to the country an arti- 

 ficial appearance, which vividly reminded me of 

 those parts of Staffordshire where the great iron- 

 foundries ai-e most numerous. The day was glow- 

 ing hot, and the scrambling over the rough surface 

 and through the intricate thickets was very fatigu- 

 ing, but I was well repaid by the strange Cyclo- 

 pean scene. As I was walking along I met two 

 large tortoises, each of which must have weighed 

 at least two hundred pounds : one was eating a 

 piece of cactus, and, as I appi'oached, it stared at 

 me and slowly stalked away ; the other gave a 

 deep hiss and drew in its head. These huge rep- 

 tiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless 

 shrubs, and large cacti, seemed to my fancy like 

 some antediluvian animals. The few dull-colour- 

 ed birds cared no more for me than they did for 

 the great tortoises. 



23d. — The Beagle proceeded to Charles Island. 

 This archipelago has long been frequented, first by 

 the Bucaniers, and latterly by whalers, but it is 

 only within the last six years that a small colony 

 has been established here. The inhabitants are 



