154 GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO. 



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 num- 

 bers to the can-ion-feeding buzzard. The old ones 

 seem generally to die from accidents, as from fall- 

 ing down precipices ; at least several of the inhab- 

 itants 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 mon- 

 stei-s as it was quietly pacing along, to see how 

 suddenly, the instant 1 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 fi-om 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 



