24 July. 
Pinnacle Rock, 
Sullivan Bay, James Is. 
Mid-morning 8th day out 
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 
At about 0900 the Houston anchored off Tower Island, northeast 
sentinel of the Galapagos Group. The Galapagos Islands, discovered about 
1535, consist of twenty-four principal islands and innumerable smaller 
ones straddling the equator about 500 miles off the coast of Ecuador. 
Bathed by the mighty Humbold current carrying its icy stream from the 
far Antarctic, and swept by the winds of the vast Pacific, they enjoy a 
delightful, temperate climate. Days are warm and sunny, nights invari- 
able cool, blankets being most desirable. 
Many active volcanoes still send smoke messages to the Gods. Indeed 
no more typically lunar landscape is to be seen than that about Christopher 
Point on the western tip of Albemarle Island. 
The Galapagos are a land of contradictions and of beauty. There 
has been neither time nor water for much erosion. The soil is rich in 
minerals but shallow, and roots penetrate only a few inches. Barren 
slopes of lifeless lava fields flow down the mountain side into the sea. The 
thickest leather offers insufficient protection to its jagged ridges. 
The long lovely beaches glistening in the sunlight offer a direct con- 
trast to the barren lava fields, and invite one to laze and bask in their 
warmth. 
The Islands are well known to most Navy and Pacific Navigators. 
Because of their formation and lack of suitable anchorages, landing fields 
and water, their value is questionable. 
Marine life in the waters is abundant and of a wide variety. As no 
island in the Pacific would be complete without its quota of sharks, they 
are found here in large numbers. Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin, Jacks, Grouper, 
Spanish Mackeral and Barracuda are plentiful. Sea Lions of tremendous 
size are seen cavorting in the breakers. Occasionally the wash of the 
sea reveals the Giant Sea Tortoise, whose numbers at one time were in 
the thousands. 
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Frigate Birds kcrOering 
o^er tke President’s Flag 
The bird life is prolific in numbers and species. Most numerous are 
the. Frigate (Man-o-War) birds and Boobies. They fish and fight in 
their never-ending search for food. In contrast the dignified and imper- 
turbable pelicans keep watch from every headland. A single flock of 
Penguins exist on Albemarle Island, occasional white Tropic birds wing 
swiftly by, Herons rise from brackish pools and flocks of Teal sweep 
in searching for food. On Seymour Island flocks of the brilliant pink 
Flamingo are sighted flying in an effortless manner breath-taking to 
behold. During the months of April and May the Albatross is found on 
Hood Island. They go there to nest, disappearing during the remainder 
of the year. 
Chatham Island is the capitol and port entry of the Archipelago. 
It numbers between two and three hundred persons. They cultivate the 
plantations, work in the sugar mill when this is in operation, and raise 
cattle for export to the mainland. 
Many years ago Charles Island supported as large a population as 
now exists on Chatham Island. Traces of the original settlement and later 
attempted colonizations, remain. Cattle, pigs, burros, dogs, cats and even 
chickens roam wild. Lemon and orange trees, some of them well over a 
hundred years old, with boles a foot thick, still flourish where there is 
water. The fruit fall to the ground for want of hands to pick it. Herds 
of wild cattle and boars then storm to the feast, making the place unsafe 
for man. 
The scaly Iguana share with the fast diminishing giant Tortoise the 
Zoological limelight of the islands. These beady eyed survivors of pre- 
historic times are, except for the Komodo Lizards and Crocodilians, the 
largest descendants of the age of reptiles. Repellant, fearsome, horny- 
hided, with a row of spikes running down the back, they belie their true 
gentle nature. In reality they are quite docile. 
The Galapagos Islands might well have been called Nature’s labora- 
tory of experimental evolution; a visual demonstration of the facts and 
the principles of evolution. They are, to this day, a living epitome of the 
“Origin of the Species.” 
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