Chapter 15

We were invited to dinner by one of the richest land proprietors of the island, who, although considerably more than seventy years old, still retained the animation and vigour of youth. This intelligent and well-educated man had never, till his sixty-ninth year, left his beautiful home, except for an occasional and short visit to the town. Through the medium of books, and conversation with the strangers visiting St. Helena, he was well versed in the customs and localities of Europe, and felt the highest respect for the perfection to which the arts and sciences of civilized life had been carried in that quarter of the world, but without experiencing any desire to see it; suddenly, however, at this advanced period of his life, curiosity got the better of his love of ease; his wish to become personally and more accurately acquainted with the much-praised institutions, and the wonderful capital of England, was no longer to be repressed, and he determined to undertake the voyage. On landing in London, he was, as he expressed himself, astonished and dazzled by the extent and magnificence of the city. The throng in the streets, which he compared to ant-hills, far exceeded the ideas he had formed; he visited the manufactories, and observed with wonder the perfection of their machinery; the theatres enchanted him, and the succession of new sights and impressions produced an effect resembling a perpetual intoxication. After a time, however, he experienced the fatigue incident to an extreme tension of mind, and began to sigh for the calm retirement of Sandy Bay, to which he took the first opportunity of returning, never to leave it more.

We passed nine very agreeable days at St. Helena, and shall always retain the liveliest remembrance of the kindness shown us by its amiable inhabitants. My crew, though healthy, had in some degree suffered from the effects of a nearly three years' voyage, and I was anxious during our stay here to strengthen them by a regimen of fresh provisions, (which, however, are very dear upon the island,) particularly as we had again to cross the line, and that in a region often considered unhealthy.

On the 7th of April we sailed from St. Helena, and cut the equator on the 16th in the longitude 22° 37'. Here, delayed by calms, and oppressed by the heat and damps, notwithstanding all my precautions, a nervous fever broke out among the men; and, after having escaped so many dangers, we began to apprehend a melancholy conclusion to our voyage.

This misfortune had probably been communicated to us by contagion. The homeward-bound ships of the English East India Company, which almost all touch at St. Helena, having nothing in view but a quick passage, and the profit resulting from it, do not generally, as I have myself had opportunities of observing, pay that proper attention to cleanliness and wholesome diet which is absolutely necessary to health. During our residence at St. Helena, several of these ships were lying in the roads with sick on board. It is true that, according to a standing order, no vessel is allowed anchorage there till a surgeon has examined into the state of health of her crew; but the captains find means to evade the investigation, and thus are the healthy liable to become infected by association with the diseased.

Half our crew lay sick, and our skilful and active surgeon was unfortunately of the number. A favouring gale, however, sprang up, which carried us into a cooler and drier climate, our invalids quickly recovered, and we escaped with the loss of one sailor only. By the 12th of March, when we passed the Azore Islands, the crew was again in perfect health. On the 3rd of June we reached Portsmouth, where we stopped some days. On the 29th we touched at Copenhagen, and on the 10th of July joyfully dropped our anchor in the roads of Cronstadt, from whence we had sailed nearly three years before.

If my readers have by this time become sufficiently acquainted with me to interest themselves in my affairs, they will not learn with indifference, that my most gracious Sovereign the Emperor has honoured me by the most condescending testimonials of his satisfaction, and that after our long separation, I had the gratification of finding my wife and children well and happy.

APPENDIX.

REVIEW

OF

THE ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTION

OF

FR. ESCHSCHOLTZ,

PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DORPAT.

It may easily be conceived, that in a sea-voyage a naturalist has fewer opportunities of enriching his collection, than when travelling by land; particularly if the vessel is obliged to pass hastily from one place to another, with a view to her arriving at her destination within a limited period. During our three years' voyage, little more than the third of our time was spent on shore. It is true, that curious animals are occasionally found in the open sea, and that a day may be pleasantly passed in examining them; but it is also true, that certain parts of the ocean appear, near the surface, to be almost wholly untenanted; and accordingly a passage of eleven weeks produced only ten species of animals: these, however, being met with only at sea, are still but partially known to the naturalist, and were the more interesting to me, as, during the preceding voyage, I had become acquainted with many remarkable productions of the ocean. My best plan will be, to arrange in a chronological order all the zoological observations which offered in the course of this voyage. The first, then, was the result of a contrary wind, by which we were detained much longer than we intended in the Baltic, and thus enabled to use our deep fishing-nets upon the great banks: these brought to light a considerable number of marine animals. Upon the branches of the _spongia dichotoma_, some of which were twelve inches in length, sat swarms of _Ophiura fragilis_, _Asterias rubens_, _Inachus araneus_, _I. Phalangium_, _I. Scorpio_, _Galathea strigosa_, and _Caprella scolopendroides Lam._ We obtained, at the same time, large pieces of _Labularia digitata_, _Sertularia abietina_, upon which nothing of the animal kind was to be seen, but attached to which was frequently found _Flustra dentata_; also _Pagurus Bernhardus_, _Fusus antiquus_, _Rostellaria pes pelecani_, _Cardium echinatum_, _Ascidia Prunum_, _Balanus sulcatus_, _Echinus saxatilis_, and _Spatangus flavescens_. Two different species of _Actiniæ_, seated on stones, were brought up, which were not to be found either in _Pennant's British Zoology_, or in the _Fauna danica_.

During a calm, by which we were detained two days on the Portuguese coast, _Janthina fragilis_ and _exigua_, _Rhizophysa filiformis_, and another species, were brought up. Many specimens of the _Janthina exigua_ were found, the bladder-like mass of which was stretched out to a great length, and bent into the form of a hook at the end. On the outer side was observed a fleshy streak, bordered by a close row of small paunches: these paunches, which were externally open, contained a great quantity of brown atoms, apparently spawn, and evidently in motion. With respect to the _Rhizophysæ_, it has been discovered that they are of the same genus as the _Physsophora_, the hard part being torn away in the act of catching them; upon this occasion also, several of these separated parts, still in motion, and bearing some resemblance to salpas, were brought up, and accurately examined.

Off the Cape de Verd Islands, in addition to the _Exocoetus volitans_, which abounds there, various specimens of the much larger _Exocoetus exsiliens_ of Cuvier alighted on board our vessel. The latter species is distinguished by the long black fins of the belly, and by its remarkably large eyes, differing greatly from the species described by Gmelin under the same denomination.

The calms near the Equator afford an abundant harvest to the zoologist, the tranquil water presenting an immense variety of marine animals to his view, and allowing him to take them with little trouble in a net. The open woollen stuff used for flags offers the most convenient material for making these nets, as it allows the water to run through very quickly, and does not stick together. A short, wide bag should be made of this stuff, which may be stretched upon the hoop of a cask, and the whole fastened to a long, light pole. From the height on which we stand above the water, it is impossible to perceive the smaller animals; the best way therefore to catch these is, to hold the net half in the water, as if to skim off the bubbles of foam from the surface; then, after a few minutes, if the net is drawn out, and the interior rinsed in a glass of fresh sea-water, one may frequently have the pleasure of seeing little animals of strange forms swimming in the glass. In the course of ten days, I obtained, in this way, thirty-one different species of animals, among which was a small _Diodon_, eight small crustacea of forms almost wholly unknown; a sea-bug (_Halobates micans_); three species of Pteropodes, closely allied to the _Cliodora_; a small and remarkable Hyaloea; two new _Janthinæ_; _Firola hyalina_, _Pyrosoma atlanticum_, _Salpa coerulescens_, and another unknown; _Porpita glandifera_, and a new species of globular form; a _Velella_; two new species of Acalephes, of the same family as the _Diphyes_; and further _Pelagia panopyra_, and two other very small species. When the sea was a little agitated on the Brazilian coast, we frequently saw the large sea-bladder floating on the surface; here we also caught with our net a new species of small _Hyaloea_, and of the fin-footed _Steira_, which approaches the nearest to the _Limacina_.

Brazil has lately been visited by eminent naturalists, who have spent years in the country, and have travelled through it in every direction; we are therefore bound to suppress the few detached observations we were able to make during the short space of four weeks.

Captain Von Kotzebue having frequently sent his people to fish in the Bay of Boto Fogo, we enriched our collection by thirty-two kinds of fish, the greater part of which were very similar to those already described as tenants of the Atlantic, but still differing from them in some respects.

How abundant the insects of Brazil are is generally known, particularly in the warm and moist lands along the coast, in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro. Few of them crawl on the ground; the greater part of them live on the leaves and fruits, or under the bark of trees, in flowers, and in the spongy excrescences of the trees. Among the coleoptera, the _Stachylinus_ is a rarity: the white-winged _Cicindela nivea_ of Kirby is to be found in great abundance on the sand of the beach, which is of the same colour as itself; the _Cic. nodicornis_ and _angusticollis Dej._ on the other hand, frequent the paths in the forests. _Cosnania_, which supplies the place of our _Elaphrus_, is found among the grass by the side of brooks. The little animals of the _Plochionus_ and _Coptodera_ species climb, by means of their indented claws, along the moss on the trunks of the trees: their numbers, in these extensive forests, must be immense. Of the _Cantharis_, the number is small; the strongest of which is the _Cantharis flavipes_ F. the descriptions of which vary, so that it may still be doubted whether we have a correct account of it. To show the proportion of the numerous subdivisions which we observed in the different genera, it will be sufficient to give the numbers of those which we were able to collect during the short period of our stay:--these were, _Elater_, 37; _Lampyris_, 17; _Ateuchus_, 14 (including the _Deltachilum_ and _Eurysternus_); _Passalus_, 13; _Anoplognathidæ_, 14; _Helops_, (including _Stenochia_ and _Statira_) 17; _Curculionidæ_, 108; _Cerambycidæ_, 101; _Cassida_, 24; _Haltica_, 26; _Doryphora_, 12; _Colaspis_, 15; and _Erotylus_, 12. The _Phanæus_, according to MacLeay, distinguished by the total absence of claws from the feet, is peculiar to the warmer parts of America: _Onthophagus_ is not met with along the shore, but is found in the interior. Such large _Copris_ as are seen in the old world, (_Isidis_, _Hamadrias_, _Bucephalus_,) have not been discovered here: their place is supplied by the large _Phanæi_, _Faunus_, _bellicosus_, _lancifer_, &c. A golden-green _Copris_ is a great rarity. _Onitis_ seems to be quite wanting in America: all the specimens, in this part of the world, that have been placed in that class, belong partly to the _Phanæus_, and partly to the _Eurysternus_ Dalm. a remarkable species of the genus Ateuchus.

The _Ateuchi_ are not less numerous in South America than in Africa; and here is found what may be looked upon as the intermediate link between _Copris_ and _Onitis_. No part of the world is so rich in _Rutelides_ as trophical America; and according to the narrow limits within which Mac Leay confines this family, it would seem to be exclusively restricted to this continent. The greater part have not the head divided from the head-shield by a line, and the breast is lengthened in front into a spine: this extensive division is peculiar to America. In the second division, the head-shield of which is bounded by a strongly marked line, those which are provided with a breast-bone are American. South America possesses also the intermediate genus between the _Rutelides_ and _Scarabæi_, in the genus _Cyclocephala_, _Anoplognathidæ_ were hitherto known to us from New Holland, Asia, South Africa, and South America, and are characterised by the drooping form of the upper-lip, falling lowest in the middle, and by the inequality of their claws; the under-lip, at the same time, has either a projection in the centre, or consists of two parts lapping over one another. In the same way that the _Anoplognathidæ_ of New Holland have the appearance of _Rutelides_ proper, are the South American _Anoplognathidæ_ distinguished by their resemblance to _Melolonthidæ_: those of Brazil have no breast-bone, and at least one claw to each foot is cloven, which distinguishes them from those of Asia. _Chelonarium_ and _Atractocerus_ fly about in the evening, and are attracted by a light. The Brazilian jumping beetles differ, almost all of them, in their form, from those of Europe. Among the _Heteromerides_, in the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro, owing to the dampness of the soil, no unwinged beetle is to be met with; a few varieties of the species _Scotinus_ have been found upon the Organ mountains only.

Owing to the excessive roughness of the weather, our passage from Rio Janeiro to the Bay of Conception afforded us but few opportunities to add to our collections. A snipe blown out to sea from the Rio de la Plata, a specimen of _Diomedea Albatros_ at Terra del Fuego, a large _Salpa_, and a _Lepas_, were all we were able to obtain. The Bay of Conception presents a rich field to the ornithologist. A kind of parrot, with a long tail, and naked round the eyes, flies about in swarms; and a smaller kind from the interior, is to be found tame in the houses; our guns frequently brought down two small kinds of doves. Of _Ambulatores_ we met some, of the genera _Cassicus_, _Motacilla_, _Muscicapa_, _Pyrgita_, _Saxicola_, _Cotile_; of birds of prey, _Percnopterus Jota Mol._, and two buzzards; of _Grallatores_, two kinds of _Hæmatopus_, both with white legs, the one with a black body, as _H. niger_ is described by Quoy and Gaimard, the other more similar to the European; a _Vanellus_ with spurs to the wings, _Numenius_, _Scolopax_, _Phalaropus_, _Ardea Nycticorax_; and lastly a small bird with remarkably short legs, digitated, and with a short thick bill, frequenting the sea-shore, and feeding on seeds of _Rumex_ and _Polygonum_, and constituting a new species, which may be called _Thinocorus_. Of aquatic birds, there were two kinds of _Sterna_ and _Larus_; many thousands of _Rynchops nigra_, which were so numerous as to appear like clouds when they rose into the air; a _Procellaria_ of the variety _Nectris_; two kinds of _Podiceps_, and an _Aptenodytes_ of the variety _Spheniscus_. The upper part of the latter was of a lead colour, and the lower part white, with a line of dullish grey running from the bill to the belly, and forming a boundary between the two colours; the bill and legs quite black. The animal was alive when brought to us. When resting, it lay upon its belly and stretched out its head. In the water it appeared unable to maintain itself afloat except by incessant paddling, the whole of the body being meanwhile under water.

Of amphibia, only five kinds can be distinctly named; a brown _Coluber_, two small lizards of the family of _Scincoidea_, a small _Rana_, with a spot like an eye on the belly, and a small _Bufo_. Of fishes, the most remarkable was a _Torpedo_, with the back of a reddish brown, and smooth; and a _Callorhynchus antarcticus_: the latter may very well remain in the class of _Chimæra_. Of crustaceæ, we collected three _Canceres_, a _Portunus_, a _Porcellana_, a _Sphæroma_, and a _Ligia_.

The dry land along the coast is extremely poor in insects. The number of beetles collected in 1816, together with those taken on the present occasion, amounted only to sixty seven, but they are altogether peculiar to the country. The most remarkable are a _Carabus_ of the beautiful colours of the _hispanus_, but with narrow striped cases to the wings, and a large _Prionus_: the joints of the feet, in this latter, are short and cylindrical, constituting a distinction from the whole family of the _Cerambycinæ_; in every other respect it is unquestionably a _Prionus_, and may be called _Pr. Mercurius_, on account of two wing-shaped appendages, attached to the neck-corselet. Sixteen Carabicides were found belonging to the _Calosoma_, _Pæcilus_, _Harpalus_, _Trechus_, _Dromius_, and _Peryphus_. We were surprised at finding so few dung-beetles. We met with only two large ones, namely, the _Megathopa villosa_ of _Esch_. Entomography, forming a species of the _Ateuchus_, and a _Copris torulosa_, described in the same work; this, however, is owing to the very little moisture in the atmosphere, which dries the dung almost immediately. It is curious, that all the seventeen kinds of _Copris_ of South America known to us, have but seven stripes upon each wing-case; whereas those of the Old World have eight: the larger kinds, _Hamadrias_, _Bucephalus_, and _Isidis_,[4] alone agree with the South American in the number of stripes. Of the Americans, the _C. Hesperus Oliv._ is the only one with a border to the seventh stripe, and the _C. Actæon Klug_ of Mexico is the only one that has eight stripes.

Various kinds of beetles in Chili seek a shelter from the rays of the sun in the dry cow-dung: almost all the Heteromerides with wings grown together, the greater part of the beetles armed with trunks, and several Carabides, were found there. The ten kinds of Heteromerides, with distorted wings, found here, belong to five new classes: the other Heteromerides consist of a _Helops_ and a black _Lytta_ with red thighs. Of beetles furnished with a proboscis, we met with four kinds of _Listroderes_, two remarkable _Cryptorhynchi_, and a few others of the shape of a _Rhigus_. Lastly are to be noticed, a _Lucanus_ of the form of the _femoratus_, a large _Stenopterus_, and a large black _Psoa_. We found very few other species of insects, but several kinds of _Pompilus_, one two inches long, and a curious _Castnia_, were the most remarkable.

Of marine animals there remain to be noticed--a small _Octopus_, a _Loligo_, two _Chiton_, _Patella_, _Crepidula_, _Pilcopsis_, _Fissurella_, _Calyptræa_; of _Concholepas_, only empty shells; a large _Mytilus_, a small _Modiola_, _Turritella_, _Turbo_, _Balanus_; and a Holothuria of the variety _Psolus_.

In the vast sea between the coast of Chili and the Low Islands or the dangerous Archipelago, very few animals appear to live near the surface, at least we saw none; a quantity of flying-fish were seen, resembling the _Exocoetus volitans_, but having the rays of the breast-fins parted towards the end. During the short space of ten days that we stayed at O Tahaiti, the inhabitants, who for a trifling remuneration brought us all sorts of marine animals, enabled us to make acquaintance with all the natural productions of this much praised country. Birds are scarce in the lowlands along the coast. The little blue _Psittacus Taitianus_ frequents the top of the cocoa-palm; the _Ardea sacra_ walks along the coral reefs; but it is seldom that a tropical bird is seen on the wing. A _Gecko_ of the species _Hemidactylus_ lives about old houses; a small lizard of the family of _Scincoidea_, with a copper-coloured body and a blue tail, and a striped _Ablepharus_, are met with frequently among the rocks. Of fishes, the variety is great, many of them of splendid colours, particularly the small ones, which feed upon the coral, and seek shelter among its branches. The same place of refuge is chosen by numbers of variegated crabs, more particularly the _Grapsus_, _Portunus_, and _Galathea_. Three kinds of _Canceres_ already known were brought us, the _maculatus_, _corallinus_, and _floridus_; the two former move but little, and their shells are as hard as stones. A small _Gelasimus_ burrows under the ground, and makes himself a subterranean passage from the water to the dry land. The female has very small claws, but the male has always one very large pink claw, which is sometimes the right and sometimes the left.

A large brownish _Gecarcinus_ lives entirely on the land, in holes of his own making; his gills accordingly are not open combs, but consist of rows of bags closely pressed together, and somewhat resembling bladders. _Hippa adactyla_ F. is very frequent here, and keeps itself concealed under the sands on the sea-shore. It was from these that Fabricius, who has given a wrong description of their legs, formed his species _Hippa_; Latreille mentions them by the name of _Remipes testudinarius_. Six kinds of _Pagurus_. Of Crustacea already described, _Palæmon longimanus_, _Alphæus marmoratus_, and _Squilla chiragra_; the legs of the last are red, and formed like a club; it uses them as weapons of offence or defence, and inflicts wounds in striking them out by a mechanism peculiar to itself. The number of insects collected on the low land was very small; among them the _Staphylinus erytrocephalus_, also a native of New Holland; an _Aphodius_, scarcely to be distinguished from the _limbatus Wiedem._ of the Cape of Good Hope; an _Elater_ of the species _Monocrepis_; of _Oedemera_, three varieties of the species _Dytilus_, to which belong the _Dryops livida_ and _lineata_ F.; two small varieties of _Apate_; _Anthribus_, _Cossonnus_, _Lamia_, _Sphinx pungens_, and a large _Phasma_.