Volume I Part 18 (2/2)

We then bore away for this island--this little miserable seat of discord We found that the Gauchos, under pretence of a revolution, had lishmen whom they could catch, and some of their own countryn land most conte-in-the-er fashi+on, seize an island, and leave to protect it a Union Jack; the possessor has, of course, been murdered;send a lieutenant with four sailors, without authority or instructions A man-of-war, however, ventured to leave a party of marines, and by their assistance, and the treachery of some of the party, thenow as many prisoners as inhabitants This island -place in the most turbulent sea in the world It is land; between Chili, Peru, etc, and the Rio Plata and the Rio de Janeiro There are fine harbours, plenty of fresh water, and good beef It would doubtless produce the coarser vegetables In other respects it is a wretched place A little time since, I rode across the island, and returned in four days My excursion would have been longer, but during the whole tiale of wind, with hail and snow There is no firewood bigger than heath, and the whole country is, ht was too miserable work to endure it for all the rocks in South America

We shall leave this scene of iniquity in two or three days, and go to the Rio de la Sta Cruz One of the objects is to look at the shi+p's bottom We struck heavily on an unknown rock off Port Desire, and some of her copper is torn off After this is repaired the Captain has a glorious scheo to the very head of this river, that is probably to the Andes It is quite unknown; the Indians tell us it is two or three hundred yards broad, and horses can nowhere ford it I cannot io to Fort Famine, and there wethe Chart of the Falklands This will be in the o in her white drapery We leave the straits to enter the Pacific by the Barbara Channel, one very little known, and which passes close to the foot of Mount Sar Mt!! Darwin!!) We then shall scud away for Concepcion in Chili I believe the shi+p ain steer southward, but if any one catchesto be at work in the Cordilleras, the geology of this side, which I understand pretty well is so intireat chain of mountains The future is, indeed, to htens you; but really I am very careful; I may mention as a proof, in all my rambles I have never had any one accident or scrapeContinue in your good custo all about all things

Rewoods Tell Charlotte (their ht unnatural) I should like to have written to her, to have told her hoell everything is going on; but it would only have been a transcript of this letter, and I have a host of ani and nuotten the comfort I received that day at Maer, whenpenduluive all ance, but not as a Christian, for then I suppose he would send oodly sisterhood

Your affectionate brother, CHAS DARWIN

My love to Nancy (His old nurse); tell her, if she was now to see reat beard, she would think I was some worthy Solomon, come to sell the trinkets

CHARLES DARWIN TO C WHITLEY Valparaiso, July 23, 1834

My dear Whitley,

I have long intended writing, just to put you in mind that there is a certain hunter of beetles, and pounder of rocks still in existence Why I have not done so before I know not, but it will servetie news; I neither knohere you are living or what you are doing I saw your nahteen hundred philosophers I was delighted to see this, for e last left Cae you were at sad variance with poor science; you see for popularity If your opinions are the saree most admirably with Captain Fitz-Roy,--the object of his s As captains of s or school in ood friend, an out-and-out Tory, and we ether But he is very much inclined to doubt if ever I really was soabout politics; this saves a great deal of trouble, for we all stick to our forive rather fewer reasons for doing so

I do hope you rite to le”, S American Station'

will find me) I should much like to hear in what state you are both in body and mind ?Quien Sabe? as the people say here (and God knows they well h), if you are not a , as Miss Austen says, little olive branches, little pledges of mutual affection Eheu! Eheu! this puts lireen cottages, and white petticoats What will become of me hereafter I know not; I feel like a ruined man, who does not see or care how to extricate hie must come to a conclusion my reason tells me, but otherwise I see no end to it It is iret the friends and other sources of pleasure one leaves behind in England; in place of it there is much solid enjoyment, soained during the voyage can be co interest, as it has been re this world which Astronomy does for the universe We have seen lory and luxuriance exceeds even the language of Humboldt to describe A Persian writer could alone do justice to it, and if he succeeded he would in England be called the 'Grandfather of all liars'

But I have seen nothing which e It was a naked Fuegian, his long hair blowing about, his face besmeared with paint There is in their countenances an expression which I believe, to those who have not seen it,on a rock he uttered tones and esticulations, than which the cries of doible

When I return to England, you must take me in hand with respect to the fine arts I yet recollect there was a htful it will be once again to see, in the Fitzwilliao to soood concert or fine opera These recollections will not do I shall not be able to-morrow to pick out the entrails of sousto Pray tell me some news about Cameron, Watkins, Marindin, the two Thompsons of Trinity, Lowe, Heaviside, Matthew Herbert I have heard froood friends of dear Cae? Often and often do I think over those past hours, so many of which have been passed in your company Such can never return, but their recollection can never die away

God bless you, my dear Whitley, Believe me, your most sincere friend, CHAS DARWIN

CHARLES DARWIN TO MISS C DARWIN Valparaiso, November 8, 1834

My dear Catherine,

My last letter was rather a gloomy one, for I was not very hen I wrote it Now everything is as bright as sunshi+ne I a a second tienerously has delayed the shi+p ten days ons on board the ”Beagle”, but which have ended most capitally for all hands Captain Fitz-Roy has for the last twoEXTREMELY hard, and at the same time constantly annoyed by interruptions fro the schooner and its consequences were very vexatious; the cold manner the Admiralty (solely I believe because he is a Tory) have treated him, and a thousand other, etc etc's, has made him very thin and unwell This was accompanied by a morbid depression of spirits, and a loss of all decision and resolution All that Bynoe [the Surgeon]

could say, that it was merely the effect of bodily health and exhaustion after such application, would not do; he invalided, and Wickham was appointed to the command By the instructions Wickham could only finish the survey of the southern part, and would then have been obliged to return direct to England The grief on board the ”Beagle” about the Captain's decision was universal and deeply felt; one great source of his annoy it impossible to fulfil the whole instructions; from his state of mind it never occurred to him that the very instructions ordered him to do as much of the West coast AS HE HAS TIME FOR, and then proceed across the Pacific

Wickhaed thisshould induce hiain; and then asked the Captain ould be gained by his resignation? why not do the more useful part, and return as commanded by the Pacific The Captain at last, to every one's joy, consented, and the resignation ithdrawn

Hurrah! hurrah! it is fixed the ”Beagle” shall not go one mile south of Cape Tres Montes (about 200 miles south of Chiloe), and from that point to Valparaiso will be finished in about five o, entirely unknown, and the curious inland sea behind Chiloe For lorious Cape Tres Montes is the ical interest, as there thethe Pacific; but I think we shall persuade hihtful, the country hideously sterile, but abounding with the highest interest to a geologist For the first tiland I now see a clear and not so distant prospect of returning to you all: crossing the Pacific, and from Sydney home, will not take much time

As soon as the Captain invalided I at once deterle”, but it was quite absurd what a revolution in five rieved and h I never would have quitted it); but the minute it was all over, I could not ical castles in the air which I had been building up for the last two years One whole night I tried to think over the pleasure of seeing Shrewsbury again, but the barren plains of Peru gained the day Ischeme (I know you will abuse me, and perhaps if I had put it in execution, my father would have sent a mandamus afterthis suo fro this time next year to Valparaiso, cross the Cordilleras to Buenos Ayres, and take shi+p to England Would not this have been a fine excursion, and in sixteen months I should have been with you all? To have endured Tierra del Fuego and not seen the Pacific would have been o on board to-morrow; I have been for the last six weeks in Corfield's house You cannot iine what a kind friend I have found him He is universally liked, and respected by the natives and foreigners Several Chileno Signoritas are very obligingly anxious to beconoras of this house Tell ant in Chili I have drawn a bill of 100 pounds (had it not better be notified to Messrs Robarts & Co); 50 pounds goes to the Captain for the ensuing year, and 30 pounds I take to sea for the small ports; so that bona fide I have not spent 180 pounds during these last four months I hope not to draw another bill for sixparticulars were only settled yesterday It has done ood than a pint of medicine, and I have not been so happy for the last year If it had not been for my illness, these four months in Chili would have been very pleasant I have had ill luck, however, in only one little earthquake having happened I was lying in bed when there was a party at dinner in the house; on a sudden I heard such a hubbub in the dining-roo spoken, it was devil take the hindet out first; at the same moment I felt my bed SLIGHTLY vibrate in a lateral direction The party were old stagers, and heard the noise which always precedes a shock; and no old stager looks at an earthquake with philosophical eyes

Good-bye to you all; you will not have another letter for some time