by Janet Browne
Darwin to Robert FitzRoy,
[19 September 1831], DCP 131
When at the Rio Negro, in Northern Patagonia, I repeatedly heard the Gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called Avestruz Petise. They described it as being less than the common (which is there abundant), but with a very close general resemblance…. When at Port Desire, in Patagonia (lat. 48°), Mr. Martens shot an ostrich; and I looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the Petises, and thought it was a two-third grown one of the common sort. The bird was cooked and eaten before my memory returned. Fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin, had been preserved. From these a very nearly perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the Zoological Society.
Journal of Researches 1839, 108–9
I must have one more growl, by ill luck the French government has sent one of its Collectors to the Rio Negro [Alcide D’Orbigny],—where he has been working for the last six month, & is now gone round the Horn.—So that I am very selfishly afraid he will get the cream of all the good things, before me.
Darwin to J. S. Henslow,
[26 October–] 24 November 1832, DCP 192
Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad, which was most singular from its colour. If we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink, and then when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted with the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained. If it is an unnamed species, surely it ought to be called diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear of Eve.
Journal of Researches 1839, 114–15
One evening, when we were about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas [south of Bahía Blanca, Argentina], vast numbers of butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far as the eye could range. Even by the aid of a glass it was not possible to see a space free from butterflies. The seamen cried out “it was snowing butterflies,” and such in fact was the appearance.
Journal of Researches 1839, 185
A fox, of a kind said to be peculiar to the island [S. Pedro, Chonos Archipelago], and very rare in it, and which is an undescribed species, was sitting on the rocks. He was so intently absorbed in watching their manœuvres [the Beagle surveyors], that I was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the head with my geological hammer. This fox, more curious or more scientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is now mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society.
Journal of Researches 1839, 341
On several of the patches of perpetual snow, I found the Protococcus nivalis, or red snow, so well known from the accounts of Arctic navigators. My attention was called to the circumstance by observing the footsteps of the mules stained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. I at first thought it was owing to dust blown from the surrounding mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying power of the crystals of snow, the groups of these atom-like plants appeared like coarse particles.
Journal of Researches 1839, 394
In the dusk of the evening [in New South Wales, Australia] I took a stroll along a chain of ponds, which in this dry country represented the course of a river, and had the good fortune to see several of the famous Platypus, or Ornithorhyncus paradoxus. They were diving and playing about the surface of the water, but showed so little of their bodies that they might easily have been mistaken for water-rats…. the stuffed specimens do not at all give a good idea of the recent appearance of its head and beak; the latter becoming hard and contracted.
Journal of Researches 1839, 526
A little time before this I had been lying on a sunny bank [in New South Wales, Australia], and was reflecting on the strange character of the animals of this country as compared with the rest of the world. An unbeliever in every thing beyond his own reason might exclaim, “Two distinct Creators must have been at work; their object, however, has been the same, and certainly the end in each case is complete.” While thus thinking, I observed the hollow conical pitfall of the lion-ant: first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and immediately disappeared; then came a large but unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those curious little jets of sand, described by [William] Kirby as being flirted by the insects tail, were promptly directed against the expected victim. But the ant enjoyed a better fate than the fly, and escaped the fatal jaws which lay concealed at the base of the conical hollow. There can be no doubt but that this predacious larva belongs to the same genus with the European kind, though to a different species. Now what would the sceptic say to this? Would any two workmen ever have hit upon so beautiful, so simple, and yet so artificial a contrivance? It cannot be thought so: one Hand has surely worked throughout the universe.
Journal of Researches 1839, 526–27
I find that I did not bring home any Tortoises from the Galapagos, as several were brought home by the surgeon and [Robert] FitzRoy. I have a vague remembrance that specimens were given to the Military Institution in Whitehall (where there is a large model of Waterloo) & I daresay Dr. [John Edward] Gray knows whether this keeps any specimens.
To Albert Gunther, 12 April [1874?],
quoted in Gunther 1975, 40
Indigenous Peoples
The Beagle channel was first discovered by Cap FitzRoy during the last voyage, so that it is probable the greater part of the Fuegians had never seen Europeans.—Nothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of our four boats: fires were lighted on every point to attract our attention & spread the news.—Many of the men ran for some miles along the shore.—I shall never forget how savage & wild one group was.—Four or five men suddenly appeared on a cliff near to us.—they were absolutely naked & with long streaming hair; springing from the ground & waving their arms around their heads, they sent forth most hideous yells. Their appearance was so strange, that it was scarcely like that of earthly inhabitants.
Beagle Diary, 134
We here saw the native Fuegian; an untamed savage is I really think one of the most extraordinary spectacles in the world.—the difference between a domesticated & wild animal is far more strikingly marked in man.—in the naked barbarian, with his body coated with paint, whose very gestures, whether they may be peacible or hostile are unintelligible, with difficulty we see a fellow-creature.—No drawing or description will at all explain the extreme interest which is created by the first sight of savages.
Darwin to C. S. Darwin,
30 March–12 April 1833, DCP 203
Four natives of Terra del Fuego, were carried to England in the Beagle; were placed under the care of a schoolmaster, in whose house they lived, (one excepted) and there learned to speak English, to use common tools, to plant, and to sow. They were taught the simpler religious truths and duties; and the younger two were beginning to make progress in reading and writing when the time arrived for their return to their own country. I landed them among their people, by whom they were well received, but very soon plundered of most of the treasures their numerous friends in England had given to them. No dulness of apprehension was shewn by those natives—quite the reverse.
FitzRoy and Darwin 1836, 222
All the organs of sense are highly perfected; sailors are well known for their good eyesight, & yet the Fuegians were as superior as another almost would be with a glass.—When Jemmy [Orundellico, of the Yaghan people] quarrelled with any of the officers, he would say “me see ship, me no tell”.
Beagle Diary, 137
Jemmy Button now perfectly knew the way & he guided us to a quiet cove where his family used formerly to reside. We were sorry to find that Jemmy had quite forgotten his language, that is as far as talking, he could however understand a little of what was said. It was pitiable, but laughable, to hear him talk to his brother in English & ask him in Spanish whether he understood
it.
Beagle Diary, 137
It was quite melancholy leaving our Fuegians amongst their barbarous countrymen: there was one comfort; they appeared to have no personal fears.—But, in contradiction of what has often been stated, 3 years has been sufficient to change savages, into, as far as habits go, complete & voluntary Europeans…. I am afraid whatever other ends their excursion to England produces, it will not be conducive to their happiness.—They have far too much sense not to see the vast superiority of civilized over uncivilized habits; & yet I am afraid to the latter they must return.
Beagle Diary, 142–43
We could hardly recognize poor Jemmy; instead of the clean, well-dressed stout lad we left him, we found him a naked thin squalid savage. York & Fuegia [El’leparu and Yokcushla] had moved to their own country some months ago; the former having stolen all Jemmy’s clothes: Now he had nothing, excepting a bit of blanket round his waist.—Poor Jemmy was very glad to see us & with his usual good feeling brought several presents (otter skins which are most valuable to themselves) for his old friends.—The Captain offered to take him to England, but this, to our surprise, he at once refused: in the evening his young wife came alongside & showed us the reason: He was quite contented; last year in the height of his indignation, he said “his country people no sabe nothing.—damned fools” now they were very good people, with too much to eat & all the luxuries of life.
Darwin to E. C. Darwin,
6 April 1834, DCP 242
The Beagle passed a part of last November at Otaheite or Tahiti…. Mr. Darwin and I landed among a mob of amusing, merry souls, most of them women and children. Mr. Wilson, a missionary who came out in the ship Duff more than thirty years ago, was at the landing place, and welcomed us to his house. The free, cheerful manners of the natives, who gathered about the door, and unceremoniously took possession of vacant seats, either on chairs or on the floor, shewed that they were at home with their instructor, and that churlish seclusion, or affected distance, formed no part of his system.
FitzRoy and Darwin 1836, 224–25
It appears to be forgotten by those persons [critics of the missionaries], that human sacrifices,—the bloodiest warfare,—parricide,—and infanticide,—the power of an idolatrous priesthood,—and a system of profligacy unparalleled in the annals of the world,—have been abolished,—and that dishonesty, licentiousness, and intemperance have been greatly reduced, by the introduction of Christianity. In a voyager it is base ingratitude to forget these things. At the point of shipwreck, how earnestly he will hope that the lesson of the missionary has extended to the place on which he expects to be cast away!
FitzRoy and Darwin 1836, 228
At sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines [in Australia] passed by, each carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and other weapons. By giving a leading young man a shilling, they were easily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement. They were all partly clothed, and several could speak a little English; their countenances were good humoured and pleasant; and they appeared far from being such utterly degraded beings as they are usually represented…. On the whole they appear to me to stand some few degrees higher in the scale of civilization than the Fuegians.
Journal of Researches 1839, 519
Galápagos Archipelago
The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found nowhere else.
Journal of Researches 1839, 454–55
It was confidently asserted, that the tortoises coming from different islands in the archipelago were slightly different in form; and that in certain islands they attained a larger average size than in others. Mr. Lawson [the English resident governor] maintained that he could at once tell from which island any one was brought. Unfortunately, the specimens which came home in the Beagle were too small to institute any certain comparison.
Journal of Researches 1839, 465
I was always amused, when overtaking one of these great monsters [a tortoise] as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on their backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder part of the shell, they would rise up and walk away;—but I found it very difficult to keep my balance.
Journal of Researches 1839, 465
I must describe more in detail the tameness of the birds. This disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely, to the mocking-birds, the finches, sylvicolæ, tyrant-flycatchers, doves, and hawks. There is not one which will not approach sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as I have myself tried, with a cap or hat. A gun is here almost superfluous; for with the muzzle of one I pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. One day a mocking-bird alighted on the edge of a pitcher (made of the shell of a tortoise), which I held in my hand whilst lying down. It began very quietly to sip the water, and allowed me to lift it with the vessel from the ground.
Journal of Researches 1839, 475
This [marine] lizard is extremely common on all the islands throughout the Archipelago. It lives exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, and is never found, at least I never saw one, even ten yards inshore. It is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid and sluggish in its movements.
Journal of Researches 1839, 466–67
One day I carried one [a marine iguana] to a deep pool left by the retiring tide, and threw it in several times as far as I was able. It invariably returned in a direct line to the spot where I stood. It swam near the bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet…. I several times caught this same lizard, by driving it down to a point, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and swimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water; and as often as I threw it in, it returned in the manner above described. Perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted for by the circumstance, that this reptile has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous sharks. Hence, probably urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may be, it there takes refuge.
Journal of Researches 1839, 468
These [land] lizards, like their brothers the sea-kind, are ugly animals; and from their low facial angle have a singularly stupid appearance…. I watched one for a long time, till half its body was buried; I then walked up and pulled it by the tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as much as to say, “What made you pull my tail?”
Journal of Researches 1839, 469–70
When I recollect, the fact that from the form of the body, shape of scales & general size, the Spaniards can at once pronounce, from which Island any tortoise may have been brought, when I see these islands in sight of each other, & possessed of but a scanty stock of animals, tenanted by these birds, but slightly differing in structure & filling the same place in Nature, I must suspect they are only varieties. The only fact of a similar kind of which I am aware, is the constant asserted difference—between the wolf-like Fox of East and West Falkland Islds.—If there is the slightest foundation for these remarks the zoology of Archipelagoes—will be well worth examining; for such facts would undermine the stability of Species.
Ornithological Notes, 262
It never occurred to me, that the productions of islands only a few miles apart, and placed under the same physical conditions, would be dissimilar. I therefore did not attempt to make a series of specimens from the separate islands. It is the fate of every voyager, when he has just discovered what object in any place is more particularly worthy of his attention, to be hurried from it.
Journal of Researches 1839, 474
The archipelago is a
little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous productions…. Hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact—that mystery of mysteries—the first appearance of new beings on this earth.
Journal of Researches 1845, 377–78
Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends.
Journal of Researches 1845, 380
PART 2
Marriage and Scientific Work
Darwin and his son William, unknown artist, daguerreotype, 1842. Reproduced with permission from Historic England Picture Library. © Historic England Archive.
Notes on Species
After my return to England it appeared to me that by following the example of [Charles] Lyell in Geology, and by collecting all facts which bore in any way on the variation of animals and plants under domestication and nature, some light might perhaps be thrown on the whole subject. My first notebook was opened in July 1837. I worked on true Baconian principles, and without any theory collected facts on a wholesale scale, more especially with respect to domesticated productions, by printed enquiries, by conversation with skilful breeders and gardeners, and by extensive reading…. I soon perceived that selection was the keystone of man’s success in making useful races of animals and plants. But how selection could be applied to organisms living in a state of nature remained for some time a mystery to me.
Autobiography, 119–20
