THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 417 



physically resemble the coast of America, yet the aboriginal 

 inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike ; those of the 

 Cape de Verd Islands bearing the impress of Africa, as 

 the inhabitants of the Galapagos Archipelago are stamped 

 with that of America. 



I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable fea- 

 ture in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that 

 the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by 

 a different set of beings. My attention was first called to 

 this fact by the Vice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that 

 the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he 

 could with certainty tell from which island any one was 

 brought. I did not for some time pay sufficient attention 

 to this statement, and I had already partially mingled to- 

 gether the collections from two of the islands. I never 

 dreamed that islands, about 50 or 60 miles apart, and most of 

 them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same 

 rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly 

 equal height, would have been differently tenanted; but we 

 shall soon see that this is the case. It is the fate of most 

 voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most interesting in 

 any locality, than they are hurried from it; but I ought, per- 

 haps, to be thankful that I obtained sufficient materials to 

 establish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of 

 organic beings. 



The inhabitants, as I have said, state that they can dis- 

 tinguish the tortoises from the different islands; and that 

 they differ not only in size, but in other characters. Captain 

 Porter has described 3 those from Charles and from the near- 

 est island to it, namely, Hood Island, as having their shells 

 in front thick and turned up like a Spanish saddle, whilst 

 the tortoises from James Island are rounder, blacker, and 

 have a better taste when cooked. M. Bibron, moreover, 

 informs me that he has seen what he considers two distinct 

 species of tortoise from the Galapagos, but he does not know 

 from which islands. The specimens that I brought from 

 three islands were young ones : and probably owing to this 

 cause neither Mr. Gray nor myself could find in them any 



* Voyage in the U. S. ship Essex, vol. i. p. 215. 



VOL. XXIX N HC 



