Oct. 1835. 



TORTOISE. 



465 



to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices. At 

 least several of the inhabitants told me, they had ncA^er 

 found one dead without some such apparent cause. 



The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely 

 deaf ; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close 

 behind them. I was always amused, when overtaking one of 

 these great monsters as it was quietly pacing along, to see 

 how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its 

 head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground 

 with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on 

 their backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder 

 part of the shell, they would rise up and walk away ; — but 

 I found it very difficult to keep my balance. 



The flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh 

 and salted ; and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the 

 fat. When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the 

 skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the 

 fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is 

 liberated; and it is said to recover soon from this strange 

 operation. In order to secure the tortoises, it is not 

 sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they are often able 

 to regain their upright position. 



It was confidently asserted, that the tortoises coming from 

 ditFerent islands in the archipelago were slightly different in 

 form ; and that in certain islands they attained a larger average 

 size than in others. Mr. Lawson maintained that he could 

 at once tell from which island any one was brought. Un- 

 fortunately, the specimens which came home in the Beagle 

 were too small to institute any certain comparison. This 

 tortoise, which goes by the name of Testudo Indie us, is at 

 present found in many parts of the world. It is the opinion 

 of Mr. Bell, and some others v/ho have studied reptiles, that 

 it is not improbable that they all originally came from this 

 archipelago. When it is known how long these islands 

 have been frequented by the bucaniers, and that they con- 

 stantly took away numbers of these animals alive, it seems 

 very prv>bable that they should have distributed them in 



A^OL. ill. 2 H 



