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CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Seb. 



Captain James Colnett, whose Voyage to the South Atlantic 

 was published in 1798, surveyed the Galapagos Archipelago in 

 1793. He was the first to mention the presence of tortoises on 

 Abingdon Island. 



Amasa Delano first visited the Galapagos Islands in 1800 

 but returned there later. He reports tortoises still abundant 

 on Hood, Charles, James, and Albemarle islands. In his Nar- 

 rative of Voyages and Travels, published in Boston in 1817, 

 with a second edition in 1818, he says : 



"The terrapin, or, as it is sometimes called, the land tortoise, 

 that is found here, is by far the largest, best, and most numer- 

 ous of any place I have ever visited. Some of the largest 

 weigh three or four hundred pounds, but their common size is 

 between fifty and one hundred pounds. They have a very long 

 neck, which, together with their head, has a very disagreeable 

 appearance, very much resembling a large serpent. I have 

 seen them with necks between two and three feet long, and 

 when they saw anything that was new to them, or met each 

 other, they would raise their heads as high as they could, 

 their necks being nearly vertical, and advance with their mouths 

 wide open, appearing to be the most spiteful of any reptile 

 whatever ; sometimes two of them would come up to each other 

 in that manner, so near as almost to touch, and stand in that 

 position for two or three minutes, appearing so angry that 

 their mouths, heads, and necks appeared to quiver with pas- 

 sion ; when by the least touch of a stick against their necks or 

 heads, they would sink back in an instant, and draw their 

 necks, heads, and legs into their shells. This is the only quick 

 motion I ever saw them perform. I was put in the same kind 

 of fear that is felt at the sight or near approach of a snake at 

 the first one I saw, which was very large. I was alone at the 

 time, and he stretched himself as high as he could, opened 

 his mouth, and advanced toward me. His body was raised 

 more than a foot from the ground, his head turned forward in 

 the manner of a snake in the act of biting, and raised two feet 

 and a half above his body. I had a musket in my hand at the 

 time, and when he advanced near enough to reach him with it, 

 I held the muzzle out so that he hit his neck against it, at 

 the touch of which he dropped himself upon the ground and 

 instantly secured all his limbs within his shell. They are per- 



