214 
THE ALDABRA ISLES 
are snakes, but, on the other hand, the island forms 
a place of refuge for turtles and gigantic tortoises. 
The former are so numerous that in 1847 ^ trader 
asserted that he could supply 12,000 in the year. They 
are conveyed for the most part to the Seychelles, as has 
been already mentioned. 
Tortoises are still found in , great numbers. In 1847 
Vegetation on Cocoa-Nut Island, Aldabra Islands. 
(From a photograph by Dr. A. Voltzkow.) 
the crews of two ships were able to catch 1200 of them 
in a short time, among them being giants weighing 8 cwt. 
each. Even now they may be counted in thousands, but 
are for the most part only visible in sandy places at the 
time of laying their eggs, whereas for the rest of the 
time they retire into the bush, living principally on the 
fruit of the screw-palm. We know of four different 
