CHAPTER III. 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



The Beagle An Offer of Importance The Young Naturalist The 

 Voyage Powers of Observation Cape Verd Islands Tours 

 of Investigation Dust-Showers Wonderful Phenomena Geo- 

 logical Studies St. Paul's Rocks Fernando de Noronha. 



N 1831 the British Govern- 

 ment decided to send out 

 a well - equipped vessel 

 to complete the survey 

 of the South American 

 coast, begun by Captain 

 Shaw some years pre- 

 vious. The vessel select- 

 ed for this work was the 

 Beagle, a six - gun brig, 

 and Captain Fitz - Roy 

 of the Royal Navy was 

 given the important command. An enthusiast in 

 science, Fitz-Roy conceived the idea of taking a 

 naturalist with him to study the fauna and flora 

 of the different countries he might visit, and in his 

 search for a competent person he wrote to Professor 

 Henslow, who, in turn, made the offer to Charles 



