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In the time of Pernety all the birds there appear to have been much tamer than at present; he states that the Opetiorhynchus would almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed ten in half an hour. At that period the birds must have been about as tame as they now are at the Galapagos.
But none had ever been seen so far eastward as the Galapagos Islands, and so we one day sailed without fear into a small bay on the north-west side of Charles Island to wood and water.
From these considerations I think we need not greatly marvel at the endemic and representative species, which inhabit the several islands of the Galapagos Archipelago, not having universally spread from island to island.
Mineral Character of Lias. Numerous successive Zones in the Lias, marked by distinct Fossils, without Unconformity in the Stratification, or Change in the Mineral Character of the Deposits. Gryphite Limestone. Shells of the Lias. Fish of the Lias. Reptiles of the Lias. Ichthyosaur and Plesiosaur. Marine Reptile of the Galapagos Islands. Sudden Destruction and Burial of Fossil Animals in Lias.
In one only, Charles Island, is water to be found, though in another of considerable extent there are hills and valleys with groves of trees; but the chief vegetation on all of them is the prickly pear, which in most parts covers the ground. We cruised off the Galapagos for upwards of two months, sometimes in company with other whalers, but more frequently alone, meeting with fair success.
M. Bibron, moreover, informs me that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of tortoise from the Galapagos, but he does not know from which islands. The specimens that I brought from three islands were young ones: and probably owing to this cause neither Mr. Gray nor myself could find in them any specific differences.
Thirdly, it should be an inviolable resolution of our national policy, that no foreign state should henceforth acquire a coaling position within three thousand miles of San Francisco, a distance which includes the Hawaiian and Galapagos islands and the coast of Central America.
We see this in the striking relation of nearly all the plants and animals of the Galapagos Archipelago, of Juan Fernandez, and of the other American islands, to the plants and animals of the neighbouring American mainland; and of those of the Cape de Verde Archipelago, and of the other African islands to the African mainland.
"Where are they?" "Oakland. Sergio, Consuela, and Esperanza. What a crew." "And their mother?" "Gorgeous. Constanza. I met her on a bus in Guayaquil." "Guayaquil?" "I was just back from the Galapagos. Remember, we talked about going there sometime." "Blue-footed boobys," Arthur said. "Exactly," Penn said. "And the tortoises. Amazing! I was in the money.
The moment we got on board, though it was now late in the evening, the captain ordered the anchor to be hove up, and as the wind was off shore, we stood out to sea. We proceeded at once to our old cruising ground in the neighbourhood of the Galapagos. While we were on our way the new hands seemed perfectly contented, having little or nothing to do.
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