The Voyage of the BeagleThis is Charles Darwin's chronicle of his five-year journey, beginning in 1831, around the world as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. |
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animals appearance archipelago atolls Bahia Blanca Banda Oriental barrier-reefs Beagle Beagle Channel believe birds boat Buenos Ayres Cape Captain Fitz Roy Capybara cattle Chile Chiloe cliffs climate coast colour common Copiapó corals Cordillera covered curious distance earthquake elevation extremely feet forest formed Fuegians Gauchos genus greater number ground guanaco habits head heard height hills horses hundred Indians inhabitants insects island islets Jemmy Button killed kind land living manner mass miles morning mountains natives nearly never night observed ocean Pampas party passed Patagonia plain plants Plata probably quadrupeds rain reef remarkable Rio Negro river road rock scarcely seen shells shore side snow South America southern species spot stones Strait of Magellan stream summit surface thick Tierra del Fuego tion Toxodon trees tribe valley vegetation voyage whole wild wind wood
Popular passages
Page 349 - And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron: and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Page 12 - The day has passed delightfully. Delight itself, howeTer, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegance of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration.
Page 530 - Pampas, which are serviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? I can scarcely analyze these feelings : but it must be partly owing to the free scope given to the imagination. The plains of Patagonia are boundless, for they are scarcely...
Page 530 - Tierra del Fuego, where Death and Decay prevail. Both are temples filled with the varied productions of the God of Nature : — no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body.
Page 326 - Shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance of three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees, as it swept onwards with irresistible force.
Page 97 - ... and for some time afterwards accompanies the young. The cock when on the nest lies very close ; I have myself almost ridden over one. It is asserted that at such times they are occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. My informer pointed out to me an old man whom he had seen much terrified by one chasing him. I observe in Burchell's
Page 26 - In England, any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention ; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous that he is scarcely able to walk at all.
Page 530 - Why have not the still more level, the greener and more fertile Pampas, which are serviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? I can scarcely analyse these feelings: but it must be partly owing to the free scope given to the imagination.
Page 406 - It is, however, certain, that tortoises can subsist even on those islands where there is no other water, than what falls during a few rainy days in the year. I believe it is well ascertained, that the bladder of the frog acts as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence : such seems to be the case with the tortoise.
Page 272 - I set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologizing the basal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year are not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was northward along the seacoast. After dark we reached the Hacienda of Quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. My object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells, which stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for lime. The proofs of the elevation of this whole...