21G 



POKTEft S JOURNAL. 



to believe, that this island furnishes springs of water in its 

 mountains, but that they are soaked up by the loose and 

 thirsty lava and cinders, of which it is chiefly composed, 

 long before they can reach the sea. The eggs of the tor- 

 toise are perfectly round, white, and of two and a half inches 

 diameter. They are far from being a delicacy when cook- 

 ed, as they are dry, tasteless, and the yolk is little better than 

 saw-dust in the mouth. 



The sea and land guanas abound at this island ; flamin- 

 goes and teal of an excellent quality, may be killed in a salt 

 lagoon, a few rods back of the beach opposite to where the 

 ships lay ; and the species of doves formerly mentioned 

 may be killed with the greatest ease, in any numbers, in eve- 

 ry part of the island. They are fat and delicious ; and the 

 land guana is superior in excellence to the squirrel or rab- 

 bit. Fish were caught in considerable abundance, with 

 our seine as well as with hooks and lines, along side the 

 ship, and with our boats near the rocks. We did not re- 

 sort to the first mentioned expedient through scarcity, but 

 for the sake of procuring a greater variety, as we were 

 thereby enabled to take mullet of a superior quality, and 

 other fish that do -not bite at a hook. The rock-fish did 

 not here yield in abundance or excellence to any place we 

 had yet been in ; and among other delicacies we were ena- 

 bled with ease to supply ourselves abundantly with cray- 

 fish, at low water, among the rocks, where they were 

 caught by hand. 



We found captain Colnet's chart of the island, as far as 

 he surveyed it, sufticiently accurate for our purpose. But 

 we neither found his deliglilful groves, his rivulets of water, 

 nor his seats formed by the buccaniers of earth and stone, 

 where we might repose ourselves after our fruitless search 

 for them. Led by his description of the beauties of the 

 island, I proceeded to the southwest part of it, as far as 

 Watson's Creek, and on rounding the second point from the 

 ship, I landed in a small cove, on a v* hite beach form- 

 ed of small pieces of coral. This we found had been the 

 principal landing place of ships which have visited here 

 tor the purpose of procuring tortoises. The land here 

 is level, and upon an extensive valley, whioh hes between 

 two remarkable riiOuntains or craters of extinguished vol- 

 canoes, strongly resembling each other. You may proceed 



