THE FIRST ALBATROSS EXPEDITION 255 



"Arriving as we did at the Galapagos at the begin- 

 ning of a remarkably early rainy season, I could not 

 help contrasting the green appearance of the slopes of 

 the islands, covered as they were by a comparatively 

 thick growth of bushes, shrubs, and trees, with the 

 description given of them by Darwin, who represents 

 them in the height of the dry season as the supreme 

 expression of desolation and barrenness. Of course here 

 and there were extensive tracts on the seashore where 

 there was nothing to be seen but blocks of volcanic 

 ashes, with an occasional cactus standing in bold relief, 

 or a series of mud volcanoes, or a huge black field of 

 volcanic rocks, an ancient flow from some crater to the 

 sea ; but as a rule the larger islands presented wide areas 

 of rich fertile soil, suitable for cultivation. 



" The course of the currents along the Mexican and 

 the Central and South American coasts clearly indicates 

 to us the sources from which the fauna and flora of the 

 volcanic group of the Galapagos has derived its origin. 

 The distance from the coast of Ecuador (Galera Point 

 and Cape San Francisco) is in a direct line not much 

 over five hundred miles, and that from the Costa Rica 

 coast but a little over six hundred miles, and the bot- 

 tom must be for its whole distance strewn thickly with 

 vegetable matter. The force of the currents is very 

 great, sometimes as much as seventy-five miles a day, so 

 that seeds, fruits, masses of vegetation harboring small 

 reptiles, or even large ones, as well as other terrestrial 

 animals, need not be afloat long before they might 

 safely be landed on the shores of the Galapagos. Its 

 flora, as is well known, is eminently American, while its 

 fauna at every point discloses its affinity to the Mexi- 

 can, Central, or South American and even West Indian 



