272 



SOUTH AMEEICA— THE ANDES EEGIONS. 



over ; tliey swarmed in such multitudes that the crews of passing vessels occasion- 

 ally captured hundreds in a single hunt. 



Bat this source of w^ealth is now lost to the Galapagos ; the land tortoises 

 have become everywhere rare except in Albemarle, and have disappeared alto- 

 gether from Chatham. The otters, or " sea lions," formerly abounding in the 

 surrounding waters, have also vanished ; but this region of the Pacific is still 

 frequented by the whale, and sea turtles are also still very numerous in some 

 places. In the waters of the archipelago is found a curious reptile, highly inte- 

 resting to geologists, a marine lizard {amhiyrhijncus crustatm), the last surviving 

 species of a genus widely diffused in mesozoic times. In the interior of the 

 islands various domestic animals — ox, ass, pig, sheep, goat, cat, and poultry — 



Fig. 106. — Chatham Island. 

 Scale 1 : 600, UOO. 



Depths. 



to50 

 Fathoms. 



50 Fathoms 

 and upwards. 



12 Miles. 



have reverted to the wild state, and an official report estimates at 25,000 the 

 horned cattle at present roaming the archipelago. Some cultivated plants, also, 

 such as the cotton shrub, tobacco, fig, orange, and chirimoya, now grow sponta- 

 neously in the woodlands. 



It seems surprising that the Galapagos, with their elevated terraces, rich in 

 pastures and easily cultivated, should have hitherto remained almost valueless 

 from the economic standpoint. Although they might become as productive as 

 the Hawaiian group, till recently they yielded nothing to the trade of the world 

 except a few bales of orchilla weed, collected on the trees and shrubs of Albe- 

 marle. 



A first attempt at colonisation was made by the Ecuador Government in 1832, 

 soon after it had acquired possession of the group ; but the undertaking ended in 



