493 ' dripstome'' — local peculiarities. Sept. 



In a small cave near the " governor's dripstone," an old sailor 

 lived during several years : he had been unfortunate, and was 

 tired of the world. Terrapin and potatoes were his food, till 

 a former friend, the master of a whaler, recognised him, and car- 

 ried him away by force. So strongly was the old man attached 

 to his cave, that he shed tears when taken away. 



There are goats and hogs upon this island, but they are 

 scarce and wild, not having yet had time to increase much ; 

 they are hunted with dogs, though it would be wiser to let 

 them alone for a few years. The settlers have abundance of 

 vegetables, and depend chiefly upon terrapin for their meat. 

 Many of these animals being large and heavy, the people 

 who go in search of them kill and open them on the spot, 

 then take out the fleshy pieces and put them in a bag. Thus 

 one man can carry away the useful parts of more terrapins 

 than several men could lift. 



The quantity of tortoise shells lying about the ground, 

 shows what havock has been made among these helpless ani- 

 mals. On the lower ground, near the spring, I saw an apology 

 for a garden, in which the large terrapin shells were used to 

 cover young plants, instead of flower pots. In a place one 

 has not seen before, some marked peculiarity occasionally 

 reminds one, more forcibly than the ordinary novelties of 

 scenery, that all around is strange and new. The palm-trees 

 and arid appearance of St. Jago, the sedan chairs of Bahia, 

 the boats of Rio de Janeiro, the beef carts of Monte Video^ 

 the travelling waggons of Buenos Ayres, the ' toldo ' of the 

 Patagonian, the wigwam of the Fuegian, the wooden houses 

 and clogs of San Carlos de Childe, the stockades of Valdivia, 

 the effects of earthquake at Concepcion, the concentrated 

 bustle of Valparaiso, the quiet and uniform serenity of Co- 

 quimbo, women riding astride and troops of ill-used donkeys 

 at Lima, are a few instances among the multitude of such 

 local peculiarities. 



Small birds are numerous on this island, and so remarkably 

 tame that they may be knocked down with a stick. Lizards 

 are also numerous ; and there are a few small snakes, but those 



