4io 
GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO 
CHAP. 
together. They were at this time (October) laying their eggs. 
The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them together, and 
covers them up with sand ; but where the ground is rocky she 
drops them indiscriminately in any hole : Mr. Bynoe found seven 
placed in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical ; one which 
I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in circumference, 
and therefore larger than a hen’s egg. The young tortoises, as 
soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the 
carrion-feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally to die 
from accidents, as from falling down precipices : at least, several 
of the inhabitants told me that they had never found one dead 
without some evident 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 giving a few raps on the hinder part of their shells, 
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 get on their legs again. 
There can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal 
inhabitant of the Galapagos ; for it is found on all, or nearly 
all, the islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there 
is no water ; had it been an imported species this would hardly 
have been the case in a group which has been so little 
frequented. Moreover, the old Bucaniers found this tortoise in 
greater numbers even than at present: Wood and Rogers also, 
in 1708, say that it is the opinion of the Spaniards that it is 
found nowhere else in this quarter of the world. It is now 
widely distributed ; but it may be questioned whether it is in 
