We Sailed From Hence On The 1st
September, Intending For The Gallapagos, And On The 8th We Made One Of
These Islands.
Next day we came to anchor in about thirty fathoms; and in the evening
our boats brought us off
A lading of excellent turtle, having sent our
yawl and several men ashore previously to turn over these creatures in
the night; but to no purpose, as we afterwards found they only came
ashore in the day. The island off which we lay was high, rocky, and
barren, with some low land next the sea, but now water was to be found,
like those we had seen formerly. On the 12th the Duchess, which lay at
anchor a good distance from us, had got about 150 land and
sea-tortoises, but not generally so large as ours; while we had 120
turtles, but no land-tortoises as yet. The Marquis had the worst luck.
On the 13th, I sent our pinnace to the place where the Duchess got
land-tortoises, which returned at night with thirty-seven, and some salt
they had found in a pond; and our yawl brought us twenty sea-turtles, so
that we were now well provided. Some of the largest land-tortoises
weighed 100 pounds; and the largest sea-turtles were upwards of 400
pounds weight. The land-tortoises laid eggs on our deck; and our men
brought many of them from the land, pure white, and as large as a
goose's egg, with a strong thick shell, exactly round.
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