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Davonport, England
After having been twice driven back by heavy southwestern gales, Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a
ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th
of December, 1831. The object of the expedition was to complete the survey of Patagonia and
Tierra del Fuego, commenced under Captain King in 1826 to 1830 -- to survey the shores of
Chile, Peru, and of some islands in the Pacific -
Cape Verde
The neighbourhood of Porto Praya, viewed from the sea, wears a desolate aspect. The volcanic
fires of a past age, and the scorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the
soil unfit for vegetation. The country rises in successive steps of table-land, interspersed with
some truncate conical hills, and the horizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty
mountains. The scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere of this climate, is one of great
interest; if, indeed, a pers -
Rio de Janeiro
In the morning we got under way, and stood out of the splendid harbour of
Rio de Janeiro. In our passage to the Plata, we saw nothing particular, excepting on one day a
great shoal of porpoises, many hundreds in number. The whole sea was in places furrowed by
them; and a most extraordinary spectacle was presented, as hundreds, proceeding together by
jumps, in which their whole bodies were exposed, thus cut the water. When the ship was running
nine knots an hour, these animals could cross and rec -
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Having now finished with Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, I will
describe our first arrival in Tierra del Fuego. A little after noon we doubled Cape St. Diego, and
entered the famous strait of Le Maire. We kept close to the Fuegian shore, but the outline of the
rugged, inhospitable Statenland was visible amidst the clouds. In the afternoon we anchored in
the Bay of Good Success. -
Maldonado, Uruguay
The Beagle sailed from Maldonado, and on August the 3rd she arrived off
the mouth of the Rio Negro. This is the principal river on the whole line of coast between the
Strait of Magellan and the Plata. It enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuary
of the Plata. About fifty years ago, under the old Spanish government, a small colony was
established here; and it is still the most southern position (lat. 41°) on this eastern coast of
America, inhabited by civilized man. -
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Beagle arrived here on the 24th of August, and a week afterwards sailed for the Plata. With
Captain Fitz Roy's consent I was left behind, to travel by land to Buenos Ayres. I will here add
some observations, which were made during this visit and on a previous occasion, when the
Beagle was employed in surveying the harbour. -
Port St. Julian, Argentina
Everything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand scale: the land, from the Rio
Plata to Tierra del Fuego, a distance of 1200 miles, has been raised in mass (and in Patagonia to
a height of between 300 and 400 feet), within the period of the now existing sea-shells. The old
and weathered shells left on the surface of the upraised plain still partially retain their colours.
The uprising movement has been interrupted by at least eight long periods of rest, during which
the sea ate -
Bay of S. Carlos, Chile
On January the 15th we sailed from Low's Harbour, and three days afterwards anchored a second
time in the bay of S. Carlos in Chiloe. On the night of the 19th the volcano of Osorno was
in action. At midnight the sentry observed something like a large star, which gradually
increased in size till about three o'clock, when it presented a very magnificent spectacle. By the
aid of a glass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the midst of a great glare of
red light, to be thrown up and -
Valdivia, Chile
This day has been memorable in the annals of Valdivia, for the most severe
earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. I happened to be on shore, and was lying down
in the wood to rest myself. It came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared
much longer. The rocking of the ground was very sensible. The undulation appeared to my
companion and myself to come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded from southwest:
this shows how difficult it sometimes is to percei -
Concepción, Chile
We entered the harbour of Concepcion. While the ship was beating up to the
anchorage, I landed on the island of Quiriquina. The mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode
down to tell me the terrible news of the great earthquake of the 20th: -- "That not a house in
Concepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villages were destroyed; and
that a great wave had almost washed away the ruins of Talcahuano." Of this latter statement I
soon saw abundant proofs -- the whole coast being str -
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
This archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five exceed the
others in size. They are situated under the Equator, and between five and six hundred miles
westward of the coast of America. They are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of
granite curiously glazed and altered by the heat, can hardly be considered as an exception.
Some of the craters, surmounting the larger islands, are of immense size, and they rise to a
height of between three and four thousand feet. -
Tahiti Island, French Polynesia
At daylight, Tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical to the
voyager in the South Sea, was in view. At a distance the appearance was not attractive. The luxuriant
vegetation of the lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past, the
wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards the centre of the island. As soon
as we anchored in Matavai Bay, we were surrounded by canoes…. -
Sydney, Australia
Early in the morning a light air carried us towards the entrance of Port
Jackson. Instead of beholding a verdant country, interspersed with fine houses, a straight line of
yellowish cliff brought to our minds the coast of Patagonia. A solitary lighthouse, built of white
stone, alone told us that we were near a great and populous city. Having entered the harbour, it
appears fine and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of horizontally stratified sandstone. -
Falmouth, England
…On the 2nd of October we made the shore, of England; and at Falmouth I left the Beagle,
having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years…. -
Cocos Islands
We arrived in view of the Keeling or Cocos Islands, situated in the Indian Ocean,
and about six hundred miles distant from the coast of Sumatra. This is one of the lagoon-islands
(or atolls) of coral formation, similar to those in the Low Archipelago which we passed near.… -
Port Louis, Mauritius
We sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the Cape of Good Hope, on the 8th of
July we arrived off St. Helena. This island, the forbidding aspect of which has been so often
described, rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the town, as if to complete
nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every gap in the rugged rocks. The town runs
up a flat and narrow valley; the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few
green trees. When approaching the ancho -
Ascension
On the 19th of July we reached Ascension. Those who have beheld a volcanic island, situated
under an arid climate, will at once be able to picture to themselves the appearance of
Ascencion. They will imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their summits
generally truncated, rising separately out of a level surface of black rugged lava. A principal
mound in the centre of the island, seems the father of the lesser cones. It is called Green Hill:
its name being taken from the fain
