256 



FALKLAND ISLANDS. March^ 18M. 



fragments have been levelled into one continuous sheet. If 

 during the earthquake* which in 1835 overthrew Concep- 

 cion_, in Chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies 

 should have been pitched a few inches from the ground, 

 what must we say to a movement which has caused frag- 

 ments, many tons in weight (like so much sand on a 

 vibrating board), to move onwards and find their level? 

 I have seen, in the Cordillera of the Andes, the evident marks 

 where stupendous mountains have been broken into pieces 

 like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on their 

 vertical edges ; but never did any scene, like the " streams 

 of stones,^' so forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a 

 convulsion of which in historical records we might in vain 

 seek for any counterpart. 



I have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. 

 I have before described the Polyborus or Caracara. There 

 are some other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. 

 The waterfowlf are particularly numerous, and they must 

 formerly, from the accounts of old navigators, have been 

 much more so. One day, having placed myself between a 

 penguin {Apfenodj/tes demersa) and the water, I was much 

 amused by watching its habits. It was a brave bird ; and 

 till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me back- 

 wards. Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped 

 him ; every inch gained he firmly kept, standing close before 

 me, erect and determined. When thus opposed he continually 

 rolled his head from side to side, in a very odd manner, as 

 if the power of distinct vision only lay in the anterior and 



* An inhabitant of Mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, 

 assured me that, during the several years he had resided on these islands, 

 he had never felt the slightest shock of an earthquake. 



f I may mention, that I one day observed a cormorant playing with 

 a fish which it had caught. Eight times successively the bird let its prey 

 go, then dived after it, and although in deep water, brought it each time 

 to the surface. In the Zoological Gardens I have seen the otter treat 

 a fish in the same manner, much as a cat does a mouse. I do not 

 know of any other instance where dame Nature appears so wilfully cruel. 



