PORTER'S JOURNAL. 



231 



stewed with sugar, made a delicious sirup, vvhile their skins 

 afforded a most excellent preserve, with which we made 

 pies, tarts, &;c. We saw, in some small lagoons at the 

 hack of the beaches, teal and plover ; but as I had forbid 

 the use of hre-arms, in consequence of the scarcity of pow- 

 der, we did not obtain any of them. Cray and other fish 

 were found here in abundance, but we were not enabled to 

 procure any tortoises, though there can scarcely be a doubt 

 that an abundance of them are to be found on other parts 

 of the island. 



The vegetation on that part forming the bay was entirely 

 burnt up, and, with the exception of the prickly-pear trees, 

 there was no verdure whatever for the support of animal 

 life. These were so situated among the sharp beds of lava, 

 it would be impossible for the tortoises to approach them. 

 We saw a few of their shells and bones ; but they appeared 

 to have been long dead. We were not enabled to make 

 any progress into the interior of the island, on account of 

 the great difficulty of walking; nor would I permit the 

 boats in their search to go beyond the points of the bay, as 

 I wished to be always prepared for getting under way at a, 

 moment's warning. Indeed, the great number of tortoises 

 we brought from James' Island, and the supply of turtle 

 we had here obtained, left no room for adding to our stock, 

 if we had found them. We saw here none of the land 

 guanas ; and the only animals of the reptile kind we met 

 with were a few lizards. Land birds were very scarce ; 

 boobies, pelicans, and man-of-war hawks, were in abun- 

 dance. * 



This island, like all the rest, is of volcanic origin ; but 

 the ravages appear less recent here than at most of the 

 others. Its vegetable productions are the same, with the 

 exception of the cotton tree, of which I saw no vestige. 

 But, owing to the extreme drought, it may have perished 

 in this part, and perhaps exists in the interior, where there 

 is some appearance of verdure. At James' as well as at 

 Charles' Island, the cotton tree grows very luxuriantly, 

 most of the trees being from eight to ten feet high. It ap- 

 pears to be of the same kind as that produced on the Mis- 

 sissippi; but, for want of culture, the pods do not produce 

 in such large quantities, nor is the cotton equal in quality ; 

 attention to its cultivation oiiid, no doubt, greatly improve 



