1835. 



GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. 



485 



considerable — we were anxiously looking out for land, when 

 what appeared to be an islet was seen from the mast-head. This 

 seeming islet turned out to be the summit of Mount Pitt, a 

 remarkable hill at the north-east end of Chatham Island. 

 (Charles Island of Cowley, 1684). As the breeze and current 

 carried us onwards, the tops of other hills successively appeared, 

 and for a short time looked very like a cluster of islets. 



Gradually rising above the horizon, the greater part of 

 Chatham Island became distinctly visible : in this neighbour- 

 hood it is not often that the air near the water is clear enough 

 to allow of very distant high land being thus gradually raised 

 above the horizon of an eye at the mast-head ; for, in general, 

 clouds hang about these islands, and the atmosphere itself is 

 hazy. Towards evening the higher parts of the land were 

 clouded over, but we were near enough to see that the island 

 was very rugged — in some places quite barren — in others 

 covered with a stunted and sun-dried brushwood — and that 

 the heights, on which the clouds hung, were thickly clothed 

 with green wood. The shores seemed to be bold, and easy to 

 approach, though not to land upon, because of a continual 

 high surf. 



A number of little craters (as they appeared to be) and 

 huge irregular-shaped masses of lava rock, gave a strangely 

 misleading appearance to the lower parts of the island ; and 

 when first seen through that indistinct glimmer which is usually 

 noticed over land on which a hot sun is shining, were supposed 

 to be large trees and thick wood.* Hood Island, small and 

 rather low, was seen before dusk, when we tacked and stretched 

 to seaward for a few hours. 



16th. Assisted by a current running to the westward, we 

 worked up to Hood Island during the night, and at day- 

 light lowered a boat down and prepared her for Mr. Chaffers, 



* This glimmering haziness is at times a great impediment to making 

 accurate measurements of an object, when both it and the observer's eye 

 are near the ground. Raising either some few feet higher, remedies this 

 inconvenience, which is much felt when using a micrometer for measur- 

 ing a base. 



