The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cruise of the 'Alert', by R. W. Coppinger This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Cruise of the 'Alert' Four Years in Patagonian, Polynesian, and Mascarene Waters (1878-82) Author: R. W. Coppinger Release Date: August 16, 2013 [EBook #43483] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRUISE OF THE 'ALERT' *** Produced by Greg Bergquist, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been corrected without note, whilst significant amendments have been listed at the end of the text. Archaic and variant spellings have been retained. CRUISE OF THE "ALERT." H.M.S. "ALERT" AT ANCHOR IN TOM BAY, WEST COAST OF PATAGONIA (see p. 42). CRUISE OF THE "ALERT" FOUR YEARS IN PATAGONIAN, POLYNESIAN, AND MASCARENE WATERS (1878-82) BY R. W. COPPINGER, M.D. (Staff-Surgeon Royal Navy, C.M.Z.S.) With Sixteen full-page Woodcut Illustrations from Photographs by F. North, R.N., and from Sketches by the Author FOURTH EDITION LONDON SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM. I PATERNOSTER SQUARE 1899 First Edition, May 1884; Second Edition, January 1885; Third Edition, May 1885. PREFACE. N preparing the following pages for the press, I have endeavoured to give a brief account, divested as much as possible of technicalities, of the principal points of interest in Natural History which came under observation during the wanderings of a surveying ship; while at the same time I have done my utmost, at the risk of rendering the narrative disconnected, to avoid trenching on ground which has been rendered familiar by the writings of travellers who have visited the same or similar places. And if in a few instances I have given some rather dry details regarding the appearance and surroundings of certain zoological specimens, it has been my intention, by an occasional reference to the more striking forms of life met with in each locality, to afford some assistance to those amateurs who, like myself, may desire to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by the surveying ships of the British Navy for performing, although with rude appliances and very few books of reference, some useful and interesting work. Large collections of zoological specimens were made, and as these accumulated on board, they were from time to time sent home to the Admiralty, whence they were transmitted to the British Museum, the authorities of that institution then submitting them to specialists for systematic description. For much kindly aid in making these arrangements, as well as for advice and encouragement received during the progress of the cruise, I am indebted to Dr. Albert Günther, F.R.S., Keeper of Zoology in the British Museum. I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Frederick North, R.N., for the use of a collection of photographs which were taken by him during the cruise under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, and of which most of the engravings in this work are reproductions. I am also under obligations to all the other officers for assistance rendered to me in various ways; and especially to those officers who acted successively as Senior Lieutenants, for the consideration with which they tolerated those parts of my dredging operations that necessarily interfered with the maintenance of good order and cleanliness on the ship's decks. Finally, I have to thank my friend, Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, the distinguished ornithologist of the British Museum, by whose advice and encouragement I was induced to submit these pages to the public, for his assistance in perusing my MS., and offering some useful suggestions. R. W. C. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE Object of the Voyage—Former Surveys of Straits of Magellan—Change of Programme—Selection of Ship—Equipment—Arrangements for Natural History Work—Change of Captain—List of Officers 1-4 CHAPTER I. [vii] [viii] [ix] Departure from England—Storm Petrels—A Sparrow-hawk at Sea— Collecting Surface Organisms with Tow-net—Water-kite—Wire Sounding Apparatus—Land-swallow at Sea—Gulfweed— Phosphorescence of Sea-water—Arrive at Madeira—Curious Town—Dredging Work—A Pinery—Discoloured Sea-water— Petrels again—St. Vincent—Cape de Verde—Pelagic Animals— Sounding near Abrolhos Bank—Dredging over Hotspur Bank— Dredging over Victoria Bank—Moths and Butterflies on the Ocean —Extraordinary Vitality of Sphinx Moths—Arrive at Monte Video —Gauchos—Trip into Interior of Uruguay—Buenos Ayres—Dr. Burmeister's Museum—Arrive at the Falklands—"Stone Runs" 5-33 CHAPTER II. We enter Straits of Magellan—Reach Sandy Point—Gold and Coal— Surrounding Country—Elizabeth Island—Dredging—Fuegians at Port Famine—We enter Smyth's Channel—Canoe "Portage" at Isthmus Bay—Arrive at Tom Bay—A Fuegian Family—Trinidad Channel—Climate of Western Patagonia—Flora—Rock Formation —Soilcap—Natives—The Channel Tribe of Fuegians—Scarcity of Old People—Water-birds of Tom Bay—Sea Otters—A Concealed "Portage"—Habits of Gulls and Shags—Steamer-ducks —Land-shells—Fresh-water Fish—Deer 34-65 CHAPTER III. Trinidad Channel gouged out by Glaciers—Port Henry—Trumpet-shells —Native Camp—Wolsey Sound—"Cache Diablo"—"Ripple- marked" Limestone—Fuegian Burial-place—Marine Animals— Strange Capture of Fish—Whales Abundant—Exploration of Picton Channel—Attack on Sealers—Signs of Old Ice Action —"Hailstone" Rock—Soil motion—We proceed Northward to Refit—English Narrows—Gulf of Peñas 66-80 CHAPTER IV. Arrival at Valparaiso—War between Chili, Peru, and Bolivia—Sir George Nares returns to England—Captain Maclear joins— Coquimbo—Shell Terraces—Trip to Las Cardas—Habits of Pteroptochus—Island of St. Ambrose—Habits of Petrels—Flight of the Albatross—Santiago de Chilé—Natural History Museum— Santa Lucia—Church of La Compania—Heights of Montenegro— A Fly-trap Plant—Copper mines of Brillador—Peculiarities of Chilian Mines—Talcahuano—Outbreak of Small-pox—Isla de los Reyes—Shooting a "Coypo"—Railway Trip to Araucanian Territory—Our Locomotive—Incidents of the Journey—Fossil Tree-trunk at Quiriquina Island 81-102 CHAPTER V. We return to Patagonian Waters—Gulf of Peñas—Spring in the Trinidad Channel—Gephyrean at Cockle Cove—Diving Petrel—Tree Cormorants—Magellan Kingfisher—A Curious Moss—Wind- swept Bushes—Gull, Cormorant, and Skua—Examination of Brazo del Norte—Black-necked Swan—A Sealer's Yarn—Fur-seal Trade—Hardships of Seal-hunting—Otter Skins—Experiment with Condor—Fuegians at Tilly Bay—Flaking Glass Arrow-heads—List of Fuegian Words—The Maranhense—A Magellan Glacier— Native Fish-weirs—The Magellan Nutria 103-126 CHAPTER VI. [x] [xi] We proceed towards Skyring Water—Otway Water—Canal of Fitzroy Terrace-levels—Plants and Animals—Bay of the Mines—Previous Explorers—The Coal Mines—Altamirano Bay—Prospects of the Settlement—A Seal "Rookery"—Puerto Bueno—We proceed Northwards—Port Riofrio—Gray Harbour—Sailing for Coast of Chili—Small-pox amongst the Chilians—Discoloured Sea-water— Habits of Ant Thrush 127-143 CHAPTER VII. Early History of Tahiti—Otaheite and Tahiti—Its appearance from Seaward—Harbour of Papiété—Produce—Matavai Bay—Tahiti annexed to France—Prince Tamitao—Annexation Festivities— King Pomare V.—Coral growing on Ship's Bottom—Nassau Island —Danger Islands—Tema Reef—Union Group—Nukunono— Oatáfu—Natives afflicted with a Skin Disease—Stone Implements —Religious Scruples—Metal Fish-hooks not appreciated— Capriciousness of Sharks—Lalla Rookh Bank 144-158 CHAPTER VIII. Arrival at Fiji—Levuka—Ratu Joe comes on Board—Excursion to Bau in Viti Levu—We visit King Cacobau—A Native Feast—Lalis— Tapa—The Bure Kalou—Bakola—Old Fijian Atrocities—Double Canoe—Stone Adzes now becoming rare—Angona Drinking—Sir Arthur Gordon—Walk across Ovalau—The Kaicolos—An Imprudent Settler—Pine-apple Cultivation—Periophthalmus— Suva—Site of Future Capital—Sail towards Tonga Islands— Pelagic Animals—Early History of Tonga—Missionaries— Nukualofa—A Costly Pair of Gates—Visit to Bea—Davita— Evidence of Elevation of Island—King George of Tonga— Wellington Gnu—Curious Stone Monument—Trip to Village of Hifo—We are entertained by the Natives—Famous Caves— Eyeless Fish—Swifts behaving like Bats—Searching for Reefs— Discolouration of Sea-water—Return to Levuka—Voyage to Australia—Surface Life 159-179 CHAPTER IX. Refitting Ship at Sydney—Mr. Haswell joins us—We proceed Northwards along East Coast of Australia—Port Curtis, Queensland—A "Labour Vessel"—Mr. Eastlake—Marine Fauna abundant—Festivities at Gladstone—Birds—Percy Islands— Survey of Port Molle—Queensland Aborigines—"Black Police"—"Dispersing" Black fellows—Dredging Operations—A Parasitic Shell-fish—Port Denison—Visit to a Native Camp— Throwing the Boomerang—A Beche-de-mer Establishment at Lizard Island—Hostility of the Natives—Drawings by Aborigines at Clack Island—Albany Island, North-Eastern Australia 180-193 CHAPTER X. Settlement at Thursday Island—Torres Straits Islanders—Pearl-Shell Fisheries—Value of the Shell—Pearls not abundant—Neighbouring Islands—Lizards—Land-crab—Land-shells—Ferns—Birds— Booby Island—Arrive at Port Darwin, North-Western Australia— Submarine Cables—Trans-continental Telegraph—Palmerston— Northern Territory Gold-fields—Aborigines at Port Darwin— Marine Fauna—Birds—Geese perching on Trees 194-208 CHAPTER XI. [xii] Voyage from Port Darwin to Singapore—Through the Eastern Archipelago—We arrive at Singapore—Oceanic "Tiderips"—Bird Island, Seychelles—Sea-birds on Land—Port Mahé, Seychelles— The Coco-de-Mer—Gigantic Tortoise—Produce of the Islands— Vanilla—A Primitive Crushing-mill—Dredging Operations —Periophthalmus—The Seychelles, of Granitic Structure—We visit the Amirante Group—African Islands—Abundance of Orbitolites—Crabs pursued by Eels—Eagle Island—Partridge shooting—Young Lizards—Darros Island—Casuarinas— Dredging—Poivre Island—Trees and Shrubs—Isle des Roches— Flora scanty—Land-birds—General Remarks on the Amirantes as a Group—"Fringing Reefs," but no "Barrier Reefs"—Signs of Elevation—Weather and Lee Sides contrasted 209-229 CHAPTER XII. Alphonse Island—Pearl-shell—Providence Island—Method of planting Cocoa-nuts—Edible Turtle—Flora—Red Coral—Cerf Islets—St. Pierre—Du Lise Island—Flora and Fauna—Erratic Stones on Coral Reef—Glorioso Island—We sail for Mozambique Island— And sight East Coast of Africa—Trade at Mozambique— Inhabitants—Caju—Shells of Foreshore—The Survey concluded— Homeward Bound—Cape of Good Hope—Egg of the Epiornis— Arrival at Plymouth 230-245 General Index 246 Index of Natural History Terms 253 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Facing H.M.S. "Alert" at anchor in Tom Bay, West Coast of Patagonia title Fuegian and Australian Implements 34 Canoe of Channel Fuegians 50 Fuegian "Portage" for Transport of Canoes Overland 60 Fuegians Offering their Children for Barter 65 Our Fuegian Friends at Tilly Bay, Straits of Magellan 104 Fuegian Hut at Tilly Bay 120 Foot of Glacier, at Glacier Bay, Straits of Magellan 124 Fish-hooks of Union Islanders 143 Woman of Tahiti 144 Fisherman of Tahiti 148 King Cacobau of Fiji, Wife, and Ratu Joe 160 Totoonga Valley, Ovalau, Fiji 166 Ancient Stone Monument at Tongatabu 174 [xiii] I Facsimiles of Drawings by Australian Aborigines 192 Aborigines of North-West Australia 204 "Travellers' Trees" in Gardens at Singapore 210 "Copra" Crushing Mill at Seychelles 218 CRUISE OF THE "ALERT." INTRODUCTION. N the summer of 1878 it was decided by the Lords of the Admiralty to equip a vessel for the threefold purpose of continuing the survey of the Straits of Magellan, of investigating the nature and exact position of certain doubtful reefs and islands in the South Pacific Ocean, and of surveying a portion of the northern and western coasts of Australia. The special object of the Magellan portion of the work was to make such a detailed survey of the sheltered channels extending southward from the Gulf of Peñas to Port Tamar as would enable vessels to pass from the Straits to the Pacific, and vice versâ, without having to encounter the wild and inhospitable outer coasts presented by the chain of desolate islands here fringing the western coasts of South America. It was also desirable that additional anchorages should be found and surveyed, where vessels might lie in safety while waiting for the cessation of a gale, or for a favourable tide to help them through the straits. The surveys made by the Adventure and Beagle in 1826-36, and by the Nassau in 1866-9, were excellent so far as they went, and so far as the requirements of their times were concerned; but the great increase of ocean navigation within the last few years had rendered it necessary that the charts should contain more minute surveys of certain places which were not formerly of importance. The South Pacific portion of our survey was to be mainly in connection with the recently acquired colony of the Fiji Islands, and was to be devoted to an exploration of the eastern passages leading to this group, with an investigation of the doubtful dangers reported in the vicinity of the great shipping tracts. Finally, on completing the above, and arriving at Australia, we were to spend a year and a half, or thereabouts, in surveying the line of reefs which fringe its whole western seaboard, the ill-defined position of which is a serious obstacle to the now extensive trade between Western Australia and the Dutch islands of the Malay Archipelago. The latter part of the orders was subsequently changed, inasmuch as we were directed to omit the survey of the western shores of Australia, and were ordered instead, on completing the North Australian work, to proceed to Singapore, in the Straits of Malacca, to refit. Thence we were to return home by the Cape of Good Hope, stopping on our way at the Seychelles, Amirante Islands, and Mozambique, in order to fix astronomically the position of the Amirante Group, and, as opportunities occurred, to take a line of soundings off the east coast of Africa. The vessel selected for this special service was the Alert, a man-of-war sloop of 751 tons measurement and 60 horse- power nominal; and the command of the expedition was given to Capt. Sir George Nares, K.C.B. By a happy coincidence the same stout craft which had already done such good service in the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6, and which bears the honour of having attained the highest northern latitude, was selected as the ship in which Sir George Nares was now about to proceed on a voyage of exploration in high southern latitudes. She was officially commissioned on the 20th of August, with a complement of 120 officers and men, her equipments including apparatus for conducting deep sea sounding and dredging operations, and a miscellaneous collection of instruments not usually supplied to H.M.'s ships. It being the wish of the enterprising hydrographer of the navy—Captain, now Sir Frederick Evans, K.C.B.—that the opportunities which this expedition would afford of making a valuable natural history collection in regions little known to science should not be thrown away, and Sir George Nares warmly seconding him in this wish, the Admiralty determined on appointing as surgeon an officer who, in addition to his duties as medical officer of the ship, would be inclined to devote his spare time to the cause of natural science. Sir George Nares, knowing my fondness for natural history, with characteristic kindness gave my application his support, and I had therefore the good fortune to be appointed as medical officer of the Alert, on the understanding that (so far as my medical duties permitted) I would not lose sight of the advantages which would accrue to science from a collection of natural-history objects illustrative of the fauna and flora of the countries visited in the course of the voyage. During the four years over which my narrative extends, many changes took place in the personnel of the expedition. Scarcely a year had elapsed from the date of our departure from England, when we had to regret the loss of Sir George Nares, who left us at Valparaiso, and returned to England by mail-steamer, in order to enter upon his duties as Director [1] [2] [3] A of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade. We were fortunate, however, in having as his successor Captain John Maclear—formerly of the Challenger exploring expedition—to whom I take this opportunity of expressing my thanks for the unvarying kindness which I have always experienced at his hands, as well as for much assistance and encouragement in the prosecution of our zoological work. The following is a list of the officers:— Captain Sir George S. Nares, K.C.B., F.R.S.; succeeded by Captain John Maclear, F.R.M.S. Lieut. George R. Bethell; succeeded by Lieut. James Deedes. Lieut. the Hon. Foley C. P. Vereker; succeeded by Lieut. George Rooper. Lieut. Gordon S. Gunn (subsequently became senior lieutenant). Nav. Lieut. William H. Petley. Sub-Lieut. James H. C. East (subsequently served as lieutenant). Sub-Lieut. Charles W. de la P. Beresford (left the ship at Singapore). Staff-Surgeon Richard W. Coppinger, M.D. Paymaster Frederick North. Engineer, John Dinwoodie. Engineer, William Cook. Boatswain, Alfred Payne. (Lieut. Grenfell joined the ship at Singapore, and remained until the close of the commission.) CHAPTER I. FROM ENGLAND TO THE FALKLANDS. FTER various delays, owing to defects in machinery, we finally bade adieu to the shores of England on the 25th of September, 1878, taking our departure from Plymouth. On the second day at sea the little storm petrels appeared over our wake, and accompanied us, off and on, for most of our way to Madeira. These seemed to be of two kinds, the Thalassidroma pelagica and Thalassidroma leachii, the latter being sufficiently recognizable from their having forked tails, in which respect they differ from other species of the genus. Many attempts were made to catch them by means of hooks baited with fat, skeins of thread, etc., but all to no purpose; and I rather fancy that in this thoroughfare of the ocean the wily creatures have had too much experience of the arts of man, and are therefore not to be caught so easily as their more ignorant brethren of the southern hemisphere. On the 28th of September, when 155 miles to the westward of Cape Finisterre, and during a fresh easterly breeze, a sparrow-hawk made his appearance, at first hovering round the ship, and ultimately settling on the rigging. It had probably strayed too far from the shore in the pursuit of some tempting prey, and had then lost its reckoning, being eventually blown to seaward. At all events, it had travelled some long distance, as it evinced its weariness by resting quietly and contentedly on the main-topgallant rigging, until one of the seamen, who had managed to climb up unobserved, suddenly laid hands on it. On placing it in a meat-safe, which we extemporised as a cage, it ate ravenously, as well it might after its long journey. When in the latitude of Lisbon, and 180 miles to the westward of the Portuguese coast, a large "sea-flier" bird paid us a visit, soaring over the waves in our vicinity, and evidently on the look-out for garbage from the ship. The plumage of the upper surface of wings and body was of a dusky brown colour, the under surface of the body was whitish, and the wings were long and pointed; in mode of flight he resembled a large tern. He did not long remain with us, probably not finding it a sufficiently productive hunting-ground. I may here mention that on the 6th of October, when a hundred miles from Madeira, we sighted a bird answering the same description. All opportunities of plying the tow-net were duly availed of, but owing to the unusually rapid speed of the ship, these were few. However, we succeeded in capturing many specimens of living Foraminifers (mostly of the genus Orbitolites), stalk-eyed Crustaceans, Radiolarians, an Ianthina, a few Salpæ, and the pretty little Pteropod Mollusc, the Criseis aciculata, besides many other organisms which the rapid motion of the net through the water had rendered unrecognizable. As it is usually found that these minute pelagic organisms are to be obtained from the surface in most [4] [5] [6] abundance at night-time, and during the day retreat for some fathoms from the glare of the sunlight, I constructed a wooden apparatus on the principle of a kite, which I attached to the towing line at some three or four yards from the net, and which had the effect of dragging down the net some yards below the surface, and then retaining it at a uniform depth. It of course required to be adjusted each time to suit the required depth and the rate of the vessel, but it had this great advantage over the usual system of employing heavy weights, that the strain not being nearly so great, a light and manageable rope could be used; and that, moreover, the adjustment for depth could be readily made by altering the trim of this water-kite. When I first tried this apparatus, and before I had succeeded in trimming it satisfactorily, it caused great amusement to the bluejackets by the playful manner in which it manœuvred under our stern, now diving deeply towards our rudder post (the shimmer of the white wood in the deep blue water reminding one of a dolphin), and now whimsically rising rapidly to the surface with an impetus that shot it fully six feet out of the water. On the 4th of October, the captain made some experiments with the "Lucas deep-sea sounder." It consists of a strong brass drum carrying 2,000 fathoms of fine steel wire, and fitted with a cyclometer which registers on a dial the number of fathoms of wire run out. The sinker, which weighs 20 lbs., is made of lead, and has at its lower extremity a bull-dog snapper, which, on striking the ground, shuts up suddenly, so as to enclose a sample of the sea bottom. The apparatus is supposed to be capable of sounding to a depth of 500 fathoms in a vessel going 5 knots, and to 50 fathoms when going 12 knots. It is said to be a modification of an invention of Sir W. Thompson's. We subsequently used this largely, and found it to be a most convenient and expeditious method of sounding to depths of 500 fathoms, with the ship almost stationary. The wire could be wound up again while the ship was under way. During the forenoon of this same day we saw, to our astonishment, a land swallow, which flew about the ship for a few minutes, and then went on his way rejoicing. He would have had to travel 254 miles to make the nearest land, which was the island of Porto Santo. An erratic fragment of gulfweed (Sargassum bacciferum) was entangled in the tow-net on the 5th of October, when we were 105 miles north-east of Madeira, a circumstance which is of interest as regards the distribution of the plant, the locality cited being considerably beyond the northern limit of the great eddy between the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic equatorial current, commonly called the Sargasso Sea. It was encrusted with a delicate white Polyzoon (Membranipora), and among other organisms carried on its fronds a pretty little Spirorbis shell, and several entomostracous Crustaceans of a deep-blue colour. The phosphorescence of the sea is a trite subject, and one about which a very great deal has been written; but nevertheless, of its actual cause, or of the purposes which it is intended to serve, really very little is positively known. The animals to which it would seem mainly due are the small stalk-eyed Crustacea, the Pyrocystis noctiluca, and the Tunicate Molluscs. I have sometimes observed, when occupied at night in sifting the contents of a tow-net, that these organisms, as they were being sucked through the nozzle of the dip-tube, emitted flashes of light, so brilliant, that they could be distinctly seen even in a well-lighted room. During the voyage from England to Madeira, the wake of the ship was every night, with one exception, phosphorescent. The exception alluded to was on the night previous to our arrival at Madeira, when probably the unusual brilliancy of the moonlight caused the light-emitting creatures to retreat a few yards from the surface, as happens in the day-time. I have often noticed that while the phosphorescence of the comparatively still water abeam of the ship and on her quarter usually seems to emanate from large spherical masses of about a foot in diameter (commonly called "globes of fire"), yet the luminosity of the broken water in the vessel's immediate wake comes apparently from innumerable minute points. I have rarely captured any of the larger jellyfishes in the tow-net; and on those nights when I have observed the water lighted up the most brilliantly, the prevailing organisms have proved to be the small entomostracous Crustaceans. The morning of the 7th of October broke cool and hazy, as we steamed up and dropped anchor in Funchal Roads, on the south side of the island of Madeira. Crowds of native boats, with their half-naked occupants, quickly thronged around; remaining, however, at a respectful distance, until the boat containing the haughty pratique officer came alongside. On the present occasion this portentous individual was contented with a very superficial inquiry into our sanitary condition, and after a few formal questions as to our tonnage, complement of crew, number of guns, and general condition, shoved off with the laconic exclamation, "All right!" We soon availed ourselves of this permission to visit the shore. The most conspicuous objects in Funchal, as seen from the anchorage, are the "Loo Rock" (used as a fort and lighthouse), on the west side of the town, and on the centre of the crescent-shaped beach which fronts the town a remarkable and lofty cylindrical tower of dark-brown stone. This tower, we were informed, was built about the year 1800, and was intended as a support for a huge crane, which was to facilitate the loading and disembarkation of the cargo of merchant ships. The tower as it stands is about eighty feet in height, and as its base is now about forty yards distant from high-water mark on the beach, as an article of utility it is quite effete. Our surveyors have ascertained that the land has not been elevated since the first admiralty surveys. This they arrive at by a comparison of old and recent charts with known marks on the shore, and we are therefore inclined to believe that the beach has been silted up by accumulations of basaltic rubble brought down by the two adjoining rivers, and here washed inshore by the sea. The tower is now without any appearance of the crane, and raises its plain cylindrical body in gloomy grandeur, reminding one of the old round towers of Ireland; and, as in their case, its origin will probably some years hence be veiled in obscurity. Madeira was considered to be looking unusually dingy, on account of a long season of drought, rain not having fallen for [7] [8] [9] nine months. But some two or three days after our arrival a great religious ceremony took place at the village of Machico, eight miles to the eastward of Funchal. The object was to offer up prayers for rain; and, sure enough, two days afterwards, rain fell abundantly! During our stay here the dredge was several times brought into requisition. On the 8th of October, a party, consisting of the captain, Lieut. Vereker, some seamen, and myself, started in the steam-cutter on a dredging expedition to the bay of Santa Cruz, which is distant about eight miles from Funchal. As we steamed along the coast, we had excellent opportunities of observing the sections exhibited by the cliffs of the varieties of volcanic rock of which the upper crust of the island is mainly formed. At Point Garajas (Brazen Head), of which Lieut. Vereker made a good sketch, the north- east face of the cliff presents a magnificent dyke—a nearly vertical seam of dark lava, about three feet in width and two hundred feet in height, extending from summit to water line, and sealing up this long fissure in the older trachytic rock of the head. Farther on, masses of basalt resting unconformably on variously arranged layers of laterite tuff and trachyte, the latter in many places honeycombed in weird fantastic caverns, afforded a fertile subject for geological reveries into the early history of this now beautiful island. On reaching the bay of Santa Cruz, we lowered the dredge in thirty-five fathoms, finding, as we had half anticipated, that it was altogether too heavy to ride on the mass of sand that here forms the sea bottom. It buried itself like an anchor, and it was not without great difficulty that we could succeed in dislodging it. On bringing it up, we found it to contain some shells of the genera Cardium, Pecten, Cypræa, Oliva, and Dentalium, a few small Echini, a Sertularian Polyp, several Annelids—among others, a Nereis—and Alcyonarians. We returned on board soon after dusk, having spent a most enjoyable, if not materially profitable, day. On subsequently dredging in fifty fathoms in the same bay, our work was more satisfactory; but besides some Crustaceans, an Ophiocoma, and an Asterias of a brilliant orange colour, obtained few specimens of any interest. On another day we tried the coast to the westward of Funchal; and as we moved along in the steam-cutter, obtained, by means of the tow- net, several specimens of gulfweed entangling small sponges. The dredge, being put over in seven fathoms, procured for us many specimens of a Cidaris, studded with black spines three to four inches long, and whose oblate spheroidal tests of about two inches diameter were of a beautiful smalt colour. Off the same coast, in forty fathoms, the bottom was found to consist of black basaltic sand crowded with tooth-shells. This fine black sand seemed to form the sea-bottom along the south coast of the island as far out as the fifty fathom line, and from our experience does not prove a favourable berth for our friends the Mollusca and Annulosa. Among the Crustaceans obtained in the above dredgings was a species of Glaucothöe new to science, which has since been described by Mr. E. J. Miers, of the British Museum, under the title of "Glaucothöe rostrata." On the afternoon of the 12th of October, in company with Sir George Nares, and under the guidance of Dr. Grabham, a British doctor for many years resident in Madeira, we had an opportunity of inspecting a "pinery," established within the last two years by a Mr. Holloway, and by which he expects to amass a considerable fortune. This establishment, which lies to the north-east of the town, at an altitude of about three hundred feet, consists of a series of long, low hothouses with sloping glass roofs, painted white, and facing to the southward, and is heated entirely by the sun's rays. The material in which the pines are planted consists of the branches of the blackberry plant chopped to fragments, and spread out in a thick layer, and in this substitute for mould the young pines are placed, at intervals of about eighteen inches apart. They grow to an enormous size, as we ourselves witnessed; and being cut when they show the least sign of ripening, and packed carefully in well-ventilated boxes, are shipped to London, where they fetch prices varying from twenty-five to thirty shillings each. Dr. Grabham was kind enough to give us much interesting information concerning the natural history of the island, which, from his long experience and constant observation, was most valuable. He pointed out to us a considerable tract of land in the vicinity of the town which used to be thickly planted with vines, but which is now only devoted to the cultivation of sweet potatoes. During the last seven years the vine crops have been steadily decreasing, owing to the ravages of the Phylloxera vastatrix, and wine-making is now at a low ebb. The number of trees in the island was also rapidly diminishing, owing to the demand for fuel; and although efforts are made, by the cultivation of pine forests, to supply that want, the demand yet exceeds the supply. In a few years Madeira will no longer be, as its name implies, a land of wood. Although so late in the season, numbers of flowers were still in full bloom; the Bougainvillea with its dark-red bracts, and the yellow jasmine adorning the trellis-work; further up the hill the belladonna lily attracted attention, and on the heights were the old familiar furze blossoms, reminding us of the land we had left behind us. On October 12th we weighed anchor, and proceeded to the southward. All that night and the following day we steamed quietly along in smooth water, with a long, shallow ground swell (of which, however, the old craft took advantage to display her extraordinary rolling powers), and late in the afternoon, just before dark, caught sight of Palmas, one of the Canary Islands, whose peak, 7,000 feet high, loomed conspicuously through a light bank of clouds. It was distant seventy miles. On the morning of the 15th we experienced for the first time the influence of the north-east trade wind, which wafted us along pleasantly at the rate of about seven knots. Up to this the only sign of animal life had been a solitary storm petrel, but on the following day a shoal of flying fish (Exocetus volitans) appeared, to pay their respects and greet us on our approach to the tropical zone. During the night, the wind, which had hitherto only behaved tolerably, fell light; and as the morning of the 17th dawned, we found ourselves flapping about in almost a complete calm. There were several merchant vessels in sight, with one of which, a fine-looking full-rigged clipper ship, we communicated by signal, when the usual dumb interchange of civilities took place; she informing us that she was the Baron Collinson, seventeen days out from Liverpool, and we in return giving the latest news we were aware of, viz., the failure of the Glasgow Bank. During the afternoon, a shark, which seemed to be the Squalus glaucus, hovered [10] [11] [12] [13] about our stern. It was accompanied by at least four "pilots" (Naucrates ductor), whose conspicuous dark-blue body stripes showed out in striking contrast to the sombre hues of the shark, whose body formed the background. It is during those tropical calms, usually so wearisome to the seaman, that the lover of natural history reaps his richest harvest. On the present occasion the tow-net brought up quantities of a minute conferva consisting of little bundles of delicate straw-coloured fibres, about one-eighth of an inch in length, and resembling, on a small scale, the familiar bundles of "faggots" as one sees them hawked in the streets. Under a high magnifying power the individual fibres composing these bundles were seen to consist of jointed segments marked with dots and transverse striæ as a diatom. When placed in spirit, they at once broke up into a shapeless fluffy mass. The surface water was thickly impregnated with them, yet not so as to impart any obvious discolouration. About dusk the trade wind suddenly returned, and a heavy shower of rain brought to a close a day of great interest. On the 18th of October, many of us fore and aft were diligently expending our ingenuity in fishing for bonitoes, of which several (apparently the Thinnus pelamis) were to be seen about the ship; but, to our great chagrin, only one, a small specimen, was captured. The tow-net still brought up quantities of the conferva before mentioned, and multitudes of minute unattached specimens of the Spirorbis nummulites. On the following day, as we lay all but becalmed, the storm petrels (Thalassidroma pelagica) appeared in great numbers, settling on the water close to our stern, in flocks of twelve or fourteen, and feeding greedily on the rubbish thrown overboard. It seems that the natural food of these birds (which probably consists of the minute surface organisms) is not within their reach when the surface of the water is unbroken, and hence during calms they are more than commonly anxious to avail themselves of any offal thrown overboard. It was most interesting to observe the neat and graceful way in which they plant their webbed feet on the water, as with outstretched wings and legs erect they maintain a stationary attitude while pecking at the object of their fancy. They appeared to scrupulously avoid wetting the tarsi, and still to use the feet as a means of maintaining a fixed position on the surface of the water. I had never previously observed those untiring little navigators at rest in mid-ocean, but on this occasion we all saw them, with wings closed, floating as placidly on the water as ducks in a millpond. The old idea of their following ships only before and during stormy weather is, I believe, now quite exploded. I think that within the tropics, at all events, they are most numerous in the vicinity of ships during calm weather. Finding animal life scarce at the surface, I tried the tow-net sunk to a depth of about three fathoms, and having previously raked the surface, was enabled to institute a comparison; the result being that similar species were captured in both situations, but that a far greater number of individuals were present in the deeper water. During the day-time we obtained a number of Crustaceans, several Atlanta shells, Globigerina bulloides, and the same conferva as on the previous day. After dark I got a great quantity of highly phosphorescent Crustaceans, and one small cuttle-fish. On the 20th the trade wind returned in full force, and the monotony of an otherwise uneventful day was varied by the appearance of a shoal of porpoises, which accompanied us for some time, moving along abreast of us and about two hundred yards off on our starboard beam, and making themselves conspicuous by their usual frisky behaviour. On the afternoon of the 22nd the high land of San Antonio, the most northerly of the Cape de Verde Islands, hove in sight, far away on our starboard bow; but the evening closing in thick and dark, and this group being almost without lighthouses, the captain decided on laying-to until next morning. When about twenty miles off, we received a visit from a good-sized hawk, evidently out on a foraging tour; he hovered for a while about our mastheads, reconnoitring our decks, and then soared away. As we sailed along the east coast of San Antonio (the largest island of the Cape de Verde group), we observed a small outlying island rock, composed of closely packed vertical columnar masses of rock (probably basaltic), which, from their artificial appearance, reminded one forcibly of the Giant's Causeway, or of the Staffa Columns. The hills of the main island, which sloped up majestically from a low rocky beach to peaks five or six thousand feet high, were clothed with herbage, whose varying tints of green, to which the shadows of the secondary peaks added dusky patches of brown, created a most pleasing landscape. We reached the harbour of Porto Santo, St. Vincent, on the afternoon of the 23rd of October, and soon after the anchor was dropped, those of us who could leave the ship proceeded to land. As we approached the beach, we were greatly struck by a contrivance, new to most of us, for carrying coals from the yard where it is stowed to the shipping wharves, a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile,—a row of posts, like those used for telegraph wires, placed about four yards apart, and supporting on iron rollers a long endless wire, to which are hung at intervals large metal buckets containing the coal. There is an incline from the depôt to the wharf, and consequently, as the full buckets travel down to the lower end of the circuit, and are canted so as to discharge their contents, the empty buckets pass up the incline back to the coal-yard, and so a circuit is completed. Most of the large passenger-steamers traversing the South Atlantic find St. Vincent a convenient place to stop at to replenish their bunkers, and it is to this coal trade that the island owes its importance. After a cursory inspection of the little town, which presented a very neat and orderly appearance, we strolled out into the country, following the direction of the western shore of the bay. The country exhibited a tolerably green appearance, and we were informed that vegetation had been exceptionally good during the previous two years, owing to the rainfall having been much above the average. Of trees of course there were none to be seen, and of shrubs only a few stunted representatives, scattered singly or in patches. A species of rank grass, however, flourished, and here and there a rather [14] [15] [16] stately fungus raised its head as if in defiance of its otherwise sterile surroundings, the blown sand of the foreshore supplying sufficient nutriment for its humble wants. Of dead shells a great variety were picked up on the beach between tide marks, including representatives of the genera Arca, Patella, Cardium, Harpa, Littorina, and Strombus; a very perfect Spirula shell was also noticed. The blown-sand ridges above high-water mark were everywhere perforated by the burrows of a very active grey-coloured crab (Remipes scutellatus), whose feet terminated in sharp incurved claws admirably adapted for the creature's mining operations. Its burrows extended obliquely downwards, and to a depth of two feet from the surface of the blown-sand ridges. A couple of grasshoppers were the only other additions made on this occasion to our zoological collection. The afternoon of the next day (24th October) I was enabled to devote to dredging operations, working over the bay at depths varying from two to twelve fathoms. From these I obtained some large and active specimens of a large wing- shell, the Strombus pugilis, whose gymnastic performances, when subsequently placed in a vessel of sea-water, excited general interest. Armed with his long powerful foot, he struck out boldly in all directions, the operculated extremity acting like a sword blade, and alarming me for the safety of the seaweeds and other more delicate organisms which occupied the same vessel. When disposed to turn about, it protruded the foot so as to half encircle the shell, and by then rapidly straightening the organ the desired change of position was effected. It was very interesting to see the complete control which the animal thus exercised over its heavy and apparently unwieldy shell. In twelve fathoms of water we came upon a great quantity of blue-spined Echini, the tangles of the dredge in one short haul bringing up about two dozen. Fishing-lines were also brought into requisition, resulting in the capture of some fishes of a pale crimson colour, belonging to the blenny family. In the evening of this day (24th October) we sailed from St. Vincent. Up to the 29th instant the north-east trade wind proved fairly propitious, but it now failed us completely; and as we were at this time in latitude 8° N., and there were otherwise unmistakable indications of our having arrived at the "Doldrums" (the region of equatorial calms), steam was had recourse to. Under this artificial stimulus we proceeded at a rate of from five to six knots, a speed unfortunately too great for the use of the tow-net; and on this occasion the circumstance was all the more vexatious, as the surface water seemed peculiarly rich in animal life. Ultimately, however, determining on sacrificing some bunting in the cause of science, I put a tow-net over the stern, and the captain aided me materially by towing from the end of the lower studding-sail boom a ten-foot trawl-net. Between the two we succeeded in capturing some water insects of the genus Halobates, several beautiful large Ianthinæ, but unfortunately with their fragile shells partly broken and severed from their rafts; also a Physalia, a small free-swimming Actinia, some discophorous Medusæ, and several Pteropod Molluscs of the genus Hyalea. For several consecutive days the surface water after dusk was thronged with the above- mentioned Medusæ, whose tough gelatinous discs, of three inches diameter, continually clogged up the meshes of the tow-net. On the 2nd of November we obtained some Globigerina forms, several Crustaceans, some minute Pteropods of the genus Cuvieria, and a host of minute Confervæ, of the kind met with previously to the northward of Madeira. On the afternoon of the 5th of November, when we were about a hundred miles from St. Paul's Rocks, we noticed that the little petrels, which for weeks had accompanied us in great numbers, were now feebly represented, and in the evening were completely gone. Perhaps they had found out their proximity to terra firma, and were gone for a run on shore. It is very strange how these birds, which follow ships over the ocean for thousands of miles, can manage to time their journeys so as to reach land for their breeding season. That the same individuals do follow ships for such great distances we have good evidence; for Captain King, in his voyage of the Adventure and Beagle, mentions a case in which the surgeon of a ship, coming home from Australia, having caught a Cape pigeon (Daption capensis), which had been following the ship, tied a piece of ribbon to it as a mark, and then set it free. The bird, recognized in this way, was observed to follow them for a distance of no less than 5,000 miles. From the last date to the 9th of November, but little of interest occurred. One day a petrel (Thalassidroma pelagica) had been caught with a skein of thread; and on opening the body the crop was found to contain a number of stony particles, bits of cinders, minute shells, and otolites of fishes. In the tow-net we caught a number of Rhizopods, of 1⁄20 inch diameter, which kept continually unfolding and shutting up their bodies in telescopic fashion. When quiescent, the animal is egg-shaped, and about the size of a mustard seed; but when elongated, it is twice that length, and exhibits a tubular sort of proboscis armed with an irregular circle of vibrating cilia. We also obtained a Pteropod resembling the Criseis aciculata, an Ianthina, and some hyaline amœbiform bodies, which were entirely beyond my powers of recognition. On the following day we got more of the pretty violet shells (Ianthina fragilis), several Crustaceans, including a large and perfect Glass-crab (Phyllosoma), and several large Salpæ and Medusæ. On the 12th of November we entered the north limit of our surveying ground, being in latitude 17° S., and in the vicinity of the Abrolhos Bank. Here, in latitude 17° 18′ S., longitude 35° 34′ W., we made a cast with Bailie's deep-sea sounding apparatus; reaching bottom in 1,975 fathoms, and finding it to consist of "Globigerina mud," of a pasty tenacity, tinged with red, and containing a great mass of Globigerina tests, whole and fragmentary. Later in the day, when in latitude 17° 32′ S., longitude 35° 46′ W., we again sounded, getting bottom in 700 fathoms, and bringing up a sort of light-grey ooze. Towards evening we struck soundings in thirty-five fathoms, over the Hotspur Bank. There we made a successful haul of the dredge, finding the bottom composed of dead coral encrusted with Nullipores, Polyzoa, and slimy Algæ, and containing in its crevices some Crustaceans of the genera Actæa and Corallana, and a few Annelids. The stony masses of coral which we brought up were pierced in all directions by boring molluscs; and one specimen of a long elaborately woven sponge (which has since been described by Mr. S. O. Ridley, of the British Museum, as a new variety of Cladochalina armigera) was found attached to a lump of coral. [17] [18] [19] The next day we sounded in latitude 18° 4′ S., longitude 36° 1′ W., using the Lucas wire sounder. We reached bottom in 300 fathoms, the bull-dog apparatus bringing up fragments of coral rock encrusted with calcareous Algæ. In the afternoon we passed into deeper water, sounding over the Globigerina ooze area, in 1,395 and 2,025 fathoms. The surface water again exhibited the same conferva-like bodies which were so abundantly obtained near Madeira. The Pyrocystis noctiluca was also largely represented; and in the evening the tow-net was found to contain small cuttle- fish, some dead spirorbis shells, specimens of the Criseis aciculata, Cleodora pyramidata, and of a species of Hyalea, and a thick fleshy Pteropod, a species of Pneumodermon, small globe fishes, many long, transparent, stalk- eyed Crustaceans, and other minute members of the same class of Arthropoda. On the 14th of November we sounded in latitude 19° 43′ S., longitude 36° 5′ W., the bottom consisting of a pale chocolate-coloured tenacious mud. Towards evening we reached the position of the Montague Bank, which is indicated on the chart as a bank about three miles long, and in one part covered by only thirty-six fathoms of water. We sounded for this bank repeatedly, but in vain, nowhere getting bottom with 470 fathoms of line. The ship was now allowed to drift during the night-time, soundings being made from time to time; and towards morning we filled our sails to a northerly breeze, and stood on for the Victoria Bank. In the afternoon we met with a large school of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), displaying to advantage, as usual, their huge cylindrical snouts, and alternately their great spreading tails; this circling exercise appearing to be a favourite amusement of theirs. On reaching the Victoria Bank, we hauled the dredge in thirty-nine fathoms, but dropping on...