“On Sunday the Schooners came down from the creek & anchored alongside.— Their appearance is much improved by their refit; but they look very small.— “La Paz” is the largest, carrying 17 tuns; La Lievrè only 11 & ½— Between the two they have 15 souls.— Mr Stokes & Mellersh are in La Paz; Mr Wickham & King in the other.— They sail on Wednesday; I look forward to our separation with much regret; our society on board can ill afford to lose such very essential members.— I am afraid the whole party will undergo many privations; the cabin in the smaller one is at present only 2 & ½ feet high! Their immediate business will be to survey South of B. Blanca: & at the end of next month we meet them at Rio Negro, in the bay of St Blas.” (Oct 13/14/15)

This was a big deal. Darwin had been left behind in Rio (in May) while the Beagle returned to Salvador for a month. However, in that case, Darwin was left in a nice house in a big city with a lot of resources.  This time, a potion of the crew (including Darwin’s friend John Wickham) would be on their own, sailing along the remote coast of Patagonia with two very small boats. I always have to remind myself that it was 1832 – help was a long way off.

Around this time Darwin also describes a lizard in his Zoological Notebook – one that clearly caught his eye:

“This is the most beautiful lizard I have ever seen: back with three rows of regular oblong marks of a rich brown: the other scales symetrically coloured either ash or light brown.— many also irregularly bright emerald green.— beneath pearly with semilunar marks of brilliant orange on throat.” (Zoological Notebook)

Thomas Bell, who later identified Darwin’s reptile samples, called this lizard Proctotretus pectinatus.  The currently accepted name is Stenocercus pectinatus a species that is primarily found in Argentina.

Image of Proctotretus pectinatus from Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle Vol 5:

There are currently 60 species within the genus Stenocercus (commonly called the whorltail iguanas – no close relationship to the marine iguanas Darwin would famously “toss” in a few years). The whorltails belong to the family Tropiduridae – the New Word ground lizards. Interesting relatives include the lava lizards (gotta love that name) and the thornytail iguanas.

Although not the same species, below is a picture of the spiny whorltail iguana from Peru (from Wikipedia Commons):

In any case, it must have been something for the world’s greatest naturalist to call this lizard “the most beautiful lizard I have ever seen”. Didn’t stop him from pickling it though…(RJV)

“Took a long walk in a straight line into the interior; uninteresting as the country is, we certainly see it in by far the best time. It is now the height of Spring; the birds are all laying their eggs & the flowers in full blossom.— In places the ground is covered with the pink flowers of a Wood Sorrell & a wild pea, & dwarf Geranium.— Even with this & a bright clear sky, the plain has a dreary monotomous aspect.” (Oct 11)

If you want to “walk along” with Darwin today, take a look at some species of plants from Argentina that he mentioned seeing. These may not be the exact species he saw, but you get the idea (and they are all from Argentina).

“Dwarf” Geranium  (Geranium berteroanum Colla) – from Flora Argentina

“To day I walked much further within the country; but all to no use; every feature in the landscape remains the same.— I found an Ostriches nest which contained 27 eggs.— Each egg equals in weight 11 of a common hens; so that the quantity of food in this nest was actually the same as 297 hens eggs.— We had some difficulty in getting on board; as there was a very fresh breeze right in our teeth.” (Oct 12)

Here is what he has to say about the puma:

“The Captain had bought from the Gaucho soldiers a large Puma or South American lion, & this morning it was killed for its skin.— These animals are common in the Pampas, I have frequently seen their footsteps in my walks: it is said they will not attack a man; though they evidently are quite strong enough.— The Gauchos secured this one; by first throwing the balls & entangling its front legs, they then lassoed or noosed him, when, by riding round a bush & throwing other lassos, he was soon lashed firm and secure.” (Oct 8)

There is a lot of overlap in the names people use for what we might call the “medium-sized cats” (bigger than a house cat – smaller than a lion). Some that are common include the mountain lion, cougar, panther, puma, jaguar, jaguarundi, and leopard.

Cougar (from Wikipedia Commons):

Let me try and break this down, as the naming of these cats is very confusing.  First off – what Darwin probably encountered was a good old-fashioned cougar (Puma concolor).  Cougars range all across the America’s and have local names in virtually every country. (Apparently, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Puma concolor holds the world record for the animal with the largest variety of names.) Here in the northwest we call them cougars or mountain lions (which is technically not correct because (1) they are not lions and (2) they are not restricted to the mountains). In Florida, Puma concolor goes by the name of Florida panther (though technically it does not belong to the genus Panthera either). Puma is commonly used to describe the cougars in South America.  It is derived from a Peruvian word for “powerful”.

Range of Puma concolor (from Wikipedia Commons):

Although similar, leopards are found only in Africa. And leopards and jaguars (found in South America) are classified as “big cats” – along with lions and tigers.

Lastly, the jaguarundi is a South American species of “small cat” that is in the same genus as the cougar – effectively its closest living relative. (Yes, a cougar is officially classified as a “small cat”, too – Subfamily Felinae.)

Interestingly the Felinae are believed to have evolved in Asia and, about 8 million years ago, crossed the Bering land bridge to North America.

Confused yet?  I know I am…. (RJV)

“Some of the men felt rather unwell, but none of us are made at all ill by it.— The wind has been very light all day, & we have made little progress.” (Oct 5)

“We beat up the channel against a strong breeze & anchored at night in the old place opposite the well. The sand-hillock here is christened “Anchor-stock hill”.” (Oct 6)

“Anchor stock hill” does not appear to be a name that has survived to modern times (at least from what my resources can determine).  But by the 7th Darwin was visiting the encampment at Arroyo Pareja (just south of Punta Alta), so I assume it is somewhere in that vicinity.

Arroya Pareja today (from http://www.puertobahiablanca.com)

“I walked to the creek where the tents are pitched for preparing the Schooners, & slept there during the night. Wickham has established quite a comfortable little town:— An encampment in the open air always has something charming about it. Even a Gypsies hut in England makes me rather envious; but here, in the wide plain, the little establishment made quite a picture.— This creek has been very useful for the vessels; the larger one is nearly ready for sea, & the other will be so in a few days.” (Oct 7)

“By the middle of the next day we were all on board the Beagle & most throughily after our little adventure did we enjoy its luxuries.— In the evening we moved our anchorage and stood in towards our old place.” (Oct 4)

The good news, no one died and everyone had a little better appreciation for the “luxuries” of life on a small survey ship.

On a personal note, I keep meaning to thank Tamara over at My Botanical Garden (a great blog – check it out) for nominating the Beagle Project for the Beautiful Blogger Award. And thanks to the many visitors and followers to a site, and participants who have left comments and “likes”.  It was inspiring earlier this week to cross the 10,000 views mark. It helps keep me coming back for more! (RJV)

When we left out heroes they were stranded on the shores of Bahia Blanca with little food, rough surf, bad weather and only the whaleboats for shelter. October 3^rd didn’t look much better:

“At day-break things wore a very bad appearance.— The sky looked dirty & it blew a gale of wind; a heavy surf was roaring on the beach; & what was the worst of all the men thought this weather would last.— The Beagle was pitching very deeply & we thought it not impossible she would be forced to slip cable & run out to sea.— We afterwards heard she rode it out well, but that some of the seas went right over her, although having 120 fathoms of cable out.— It was now time to look after our provisions: we breakfasted on some small birds & two gulls, & a large hawk which was found dead on the beach.— Our dinner was not much better, as it consisted in a fish left by the tide & the bones of the meat, which we were determined to keep for the next day.— In the evening however to our great joy & surprise the wind lulled & the Captain in his boat was able to come within some hundred yards of the coast; he then threw over a cask with provisions which some of the men swam out to & secured.— This was all very well; but against the cold at night there was no remedy.— Nothing would break the wind, which was so cold that there was snow in the morning on the Sierra de Ventana.— I never knew how painful cold could be. I was unable to sleep even for a minute from my body shivering so much. The men also who swam for the provisions suffered extremely, from not being able to get warm again.” (Oct 3)

The descriptions of the bitter cold are vivid – I can almost feel the chill myself. And I can only image how the men who were wet suffered.  Don’t forget, this was almost 200 years ago – this could have easily resulted in their death. I’m sort of surprised that they were not able to start a fire. Was it too wet?  No wood?  Or just too windy?

(I may have to make a list of all the things Darwin has eaten on this trip – today adds “dead hawk found on beach” and “fished washed up on shore” to the list )

Lastly, I particularly admire that when the going gets rough, the captain steps up to the plate.  It was FitzRoy himself who delivered the cast of provisions to the stranded crew.  He could have sent others, but I don’t think that thought ever crossed his mind.  FitzRoy took care of his crew. Here is his (modest) account of the situation:

“While some officers and men were on shore there, building a sea-mark on the mount, and otherwise employed for the survey, a gale of wind came on from S.E., which soon sent so heavy a sea into the roadstead near the mount, that the Beagle was obliged to strike topmasts and veer a long scope of cable upon two anchors, besides having another under foot. Unluckily, our party on shore had only one day’s provisions, so while the gale lasted their situation was sufficiently disagreeable; the keen air and hard exercise sharpening their appetites, while they had nothing to eat after the first day; and having no guns, they had no prospect of procuring anything. Mr. Darwin was also on shore, having been searching for fossils, and he found this trial of hunger quite long enough to satisfy even his love of adventure. Directly it was possible to put a boat on the water, one was sent, with provisions secured in a cask which was thrown overboard at the back of the surf, and soon drifted ashore to the famishing party. This gale lasted several days, and proved to us not only how heavy a sea is thrown into this bight (rincon, Sp.), by a south-east gale; but also, that the holding-ground is sufficiently good to enable a ship to withstand its effects.” (FitzRoy’s Narratives)

So who would be the first one voted off the island? What sort of “beach-kill” would the crew eat tomorrow? You’ll have to wait to tomorrow to hear the end of the story…

PS – Did Darwin have his diary with him? Or was he writing these entries days later?  In the past when we wrote several days worth of entries at once he put them all under the same heading.  This entry was written over three separate days, so it looks like he had it with him.  No food, no blankets, no shelter….but he had his diary! Always the scientist….

“Early in the morning the Captain with a large party landed in the four whale-boats.— Dinner for all hands was taken, as it was intended to work at the land-mark all day & return in the evening.— King & I went in one direction to geologize & Mr Bynoe in another to shoot.— During our walk I observed the wind had freshened & altered its point; but I paid no further attention to it.— When we returned to the beach, we found two of the boats hauled up high & dry & the others gone on board.— The Captain two hours previously had had some difficulty in getting off & now the line of white breakers clearly showed the impossibility.— It was an unpleasant prospect, to pass the night with thin clothes on the bare ground; but it was unavoidable, so we made the best of it.— Mr Stokes & Johnson were left in command & made what arrangements they could.— At night no supper was served out; as we were 18 on shore & very little food left.— We made a sort of tent or screen with the boats sails & prepared to pass the night.— It was very cold, but by all huddling in a heap, we managed pretty well till the rain began, & then we were sufficiently miserable.” (Oct 2)

This reminds be of an adventure I had geologizing in Alaska.  It was my first trip to Alaska – I was part of a large team studying various aspects of he massive Bering Glacier. About an hour after landing in Cordova, I got on a float plan and proceeded to fly up the coast, land in an iceberg-filled bay, and be deposited on a sandy beach between the Pacific Ocean on one side and Vitus Lake and the Bering Glacier on the other .  (The glacier ended in the lake and was slowly “falling apart” by calving off icebergs. This resulted in a lake that grew in size each year and a glacier that was getting smaller. Darwin had the opportunity to visit similar “calving glaciers” later in the voyage, at which time I’ll have a lot more to say about them.)

Bering Glacier and Vitus Lake (from NASA)

A few days later I was sent, as part of a team of three, to survey the thickness of the glacier using ice-penetrating radar.  We were carried up the lake in a small boat and dropped right in front of the ice. As I watched the zodiac that dropped us drive away, I knew I had never been in a more remote location in all my life. We proceeded to set up camp and prepare for work over the next couple of days.

What does this have to do with Darwin, you might ask?  Unlike Darwin, we were “stranded” on purpose.  But we we still “trapped” with no easy way to gat back to our “ship”. Our radio was spotty, so contacting the base camp was not easy and we were not set to be picket up for a couple of days.  And most importantly we had relied on the camp cook to pack our food supplies.  Well, when we opened them up we found that we had a hodge-podge of offerings – a tin of turkey, a can of beets, some granola bars… but not enough food for three people for three days. And what we did have was certainly an interesting mix of items.  Needless to say, like Darwin, we went a little hungry as we rationed our food at the icy foot of the glacier.  But we got our work done, and after going back to base camp feasted on some fresh caught salmon that made us forget our woes.  And for some reason, ever since then, I have always really liked the taste of beets mixed with turkey.  Go figure…

So what was the fate of the 18 “castaways” in 1832?  Well, it is probably no surprise that Darwin made it, but the details of the story will have to wait until his diary tomorrow. (RJV)

“We have been for these three days cruizing about the mouth of the harbor.— The two latter were boisterous, & there was a considerable swell on the sea.— I, as usual very sick & miserable; my only comfort is, that two or three of the officers are but very little better & that like to myself they always feel the motion when first going out of harbor.” (Sept 28/29/30)

Things did not get much better on October 1^st as a hail storm shook the Beagle:

“The morning threatened us with heavy weather; but it blew over in a hail storm. We have anchored near to a cliff, upon which the Captain intends to erect some land mark as a guide on entering the harbor.” (Oct 1)

The climate of Bahia Blanco is classified as “humid subtropical” – similar to conditions in the southeastern United States and southeastern China. The summers are wet and relatively hot, while winters dry and cool (though typically above freezing).

Humid Subtropical Climate Zones (from Wikipedia Commons):

Climatograph for Bahia Blanca, showing monthly temperature (°C) and rainfall (mm) – from Wikipedia Commons.

Today (October 1, 2012) was a pretty nice day in Bahia Blanca – sunny with temperatures in the 70′s (°F).  For the lastest weather see the Weather Underground banner below.

By the way – the climate classification system shown in the map above is one of the most widely used in the world – the Köppen Climate Classification System. The system is based on temperatures and precipitation (totals and seasonal), and corresponds with vegetation zones – bioclimatic zones.

The system was developed shortly after Darwin’s death in the late 1800′s by the Russian/German climatologist Wladimir Köppen. Köppen was interested in all sorts of issues related to climate – including the study of past climate – a topic he took up with his son-in-law. A son-in-law who would go on to revolutionize geology by making the radical suggestion that continents actually moved across the face of the Earth.  He called his idea continental drift – the precursor to the modern theory of plate tectonics.  His name – Alfred Wegener.

(RJV)

“The weather is most beautiful.— Passing from the splendor of Brazil to the tame sterility of Patagonia has shown to me how very much the pleasure of exercise depends on the surrounding scenery.”  (Sept 26)

“That no time may be lost during the altering of the Schooner, we have changed our anchorage & stood further out, so as to survey some of the outer banks.” (Sept 27)

The “rhinoceros” that Darwin pulled out of the cliffs of Punta Alta a couple of days ago was actually the jaw of a Mylodon – a giant ground sloth. In fact, Richard Owen called it Mylodon darwinii – possibly the first species that Darwin discovered to bear his name.

Mylodon jaw fossil collected at Punta Alta, Published by Smith, Elder & Co, 65 Cornhill, London (from Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle Vol.1, Richard Owen):

Owen and Darwin also comapred the fossils to the genus Megatherium – another type of giant ground sloth.  Mylodon and Megatherium were once thought to be closely related, but are now considered to be different families.  Darwin’s bones were the type bones for Mylodon.

Mylodon was found throughout Patagonia – a 400+ lb (~200 kg), 10 foot (~3 m) sloth that either grazed in the grasslands and/or browsed on the trees and shrubs.  Compare this to modern sloths which are typically not more than about 20 lbs (~10 kg) and other prehistoric giant sloths that weighed several tons. Mylodon was essentially the smallest of the “giant” sloths (there were at least 40 genera in the New World during the Pleistocene.) Within their skin they had bony plates (called osteoderms) that served as a sort of body armor. That and their long sharp claws (probably used for digging roots) keep predators away (at least until humans came along).

Mylodon darwinii by Rudolph Ludwig (1861)

Based on the geologic context, Darwin also estimated the age of the fossil and its surrounding deposits, suggesting that it was relatively young:

“I think, we are justified (although some of the shells are at present unknown to conchologists) in considering the shingle strata at Punta Alta, as belonging to an extremely modern epoch.” (Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle Vol.1, Richard Owen (quote from the Introduction by Darwin))

Turns out he was right – the fossils were probably deposited in the last 40,000 years (a drop in the bucket in the geologic record which consists of billions of years).

Mylodon went extinct in Patagonia at the end of the last glacial period, about 10,000 years ago.

Mylodon reconstruction (from Encyclopedia Britanica)

(RJV)

“The Schooner has been taken to the Creek.— Mr Wickham & a party of men have erected tents on shore & are living there during the refit of the vessel.— I accompanied the little settlement & whilst they were rigging the tents I walked to Punta alta & again obtained several fossils.— I came quite close to an Ostrich on her nest; but did not see her till she rose up & with her long legs stretched across the country.” (Sept 25)

Most people are familiar with the general concept of fossils, but what many do not know is that there are a lot of different types of fossils out there. Today I thought I’d finish up our “fossil primer” with  brief description of some of the types of fossils you can find.  Darwin was most likely collecting fossils that were permineralized (bones) or recrystallized (shells).

Fossil Types

• Unaltered Fossils (“Subfossils”):  This is organic material that has not significantly decomposed and is more-or-less preserved in its original state.  They are mostly found in relatively young deposits, and include such things as mammoths that have been frozen in ice, plants (or human remains) buried in oxygen-poor swamps, animals trapped in tar pits, or mummified (dried out) remains in arid regions.  Occasionally they can be older, such as insects trapped in amber.
  Unaltered remains – mammoth hair (from New York Times)
  
• Recrystallized Fossils: In recrystallization the original chemical elements that make up the fossil material are reorganized into new crystal forms.  For example, most shells are actually made of the mineral aragonite.  During fossilization the chemical elements in the aragonite rearrange into a new crystalline structure – calcite. The fossil remains a closed system – no material is added or taken away. A similar process is…
• Replacement: In this case the original materials are completely removed (decayed or dissolved away) and then replaced by a new material, such as pyrite, silica, gypsum, copper, phosphate minerals, etc.  Unlike recrystallization, this is a completely open system as elements come and go during the replacement process.
  Replacement – Ammonite replaced with pyrite (DiscoveringFossils.co.uk)
  
• Permineralized Fossils: Permineralization is a type of fossilization that is common in porous materials, such as bone or wood, where additional material is deposited in the pores making the final sample very hard and dense.  This is often the result of silica-laden water passing through the sample and gradual leaving the silica behind in the pore space, thereby “petrifying” the remains
  Permineralization – petrified wood (from Wikipedia Commons)
  
• Fossil Molds and Casts: In some cases the fossil material may completely dissolve or decay away leaving behind an impression called a mold.  These molds are often just made in the surrounding rock type. If the mold is later filled in by another material (mud, for example) it can make a cast of the original fossil. This is exactly the same concept as the molds and casts that are made in candle making or bronze casting.
  Mold and Cast – Trilobites (from R.Weller/Cochise College)
  
• Carbonized Fossils: In carbonization, the original organism mostly decays away leaving behind only a film of carbon in the impression of the original organism.  These are most likely to occur with soft tissues and therefore, are common with plants (leaves, twigs, flowers, wood, etc.). Soft tissue of animals can also be preserved this way and some common carbonized fossils include fish and graptolites
  Carbonization – fossil fish (from R.Weller/Cochise College)
  

In the modern sense of the word, fossils are the remains of once-living things.  But there are is other types of evidence left behind by living things, too.  These include:

• Trace Fossils:These are “traces” of living things – indirect evidence for the presence of life. They include things left behind by organisms such as, tracks, trails, burrows, nests, egg shells, coprolites (poop), etc.
  Mammoth tracks from Alberta (from Quaternary Science Reviews 2005)
  
• Chemical Fossils: There are organic chemicals and isotopes that are unique to living things.  So even though an organism may have decomposed it may leave behind a chemical signature in the rocks that is unique to life.  (For example, the chemical compound chlorophyll has a unique chemical signature and the ratio of carbon isotopes (carbon-12 to carbon-13) in plants is different from that in nonorganic rocks.

After all the dust had settled (literally) what had Darwin collected?  Well, more on that next time! (RJV)

“Employed in carefully packing up the prizes of yesterday.— In the morning one of the Schooners arrived & the other is shortly expected. They have had a very bad passage of 6 days.— Mr Rowlett brings back an excellent account of Rio Negro.— Nothing could exceed the civility of the Governor & the inhabitants.— It was rendered the more striking from the contrast of our reception at the fort of Baia Blanca.” (Sept 24)

It turns out that fossils have a long and interesting history, so I thought I’d write a little “fossil primer” over the next couple of days. Today – the “discovery of fossils”.

As with so many great scientific ideas, Darwin came to his at a time when several other scientific pieces were falling into place.  The significance of fossils, for example, was just being recognized by the scientific community in the early 1800′s. This was important because fossils became a key piece of evidence for Darwin.

But fossils were not always that well understood.  In ancient times they were thought to be left my mythical beasts – in fact, many of the “monsters” of Greek mythology were born in the fossil record.  There were also a few accounts suggesting that sea shells found on mountaintops came from a time when the sea covered the land.  This idea took hold and was applied during the Middle Ages to suggest that fossils were left by Noah’s flood.

But there was more to the story than that.  ”Fossil” comes from the Latin for “dug up” and in those days the term represented any strange curios that were dug out of the rocks – including “true fossils” (as we know them today), as well as crystals and concretions.  They were thought to be things that “grew” in the rocks.  That doesn’t seem to strange when you also remember that the origin of rocks was also not well known at the time.  If you assume that rocks had been in place since the beginning of the Earth, it became difficult to explain how a solid fossil could somehow be entombed in a solid rock, unless it grew in place.

This brings us back to our friend Nicholas Steno who, during the 1600′s, helped determine the basic rules of relative dating (see Relative Dating with Darwin Part I and Part II).  Steno was the first real modern thinker to get a handle on what fossils were – essentially the remains of once living things entombed in the rocks.  It helps that he was also one of the first people to really understand that sedimentary rock was made of “petrified” sediments.  This was important because it meant that the rock had once been loose material that could have buried organic remains and later been turned into rock.  Hence, the answer to how one solid gets embedded into another solid was revealed (Steno’s book on this translates as  “Forerunner to a dissertation on a solid naturally contained in another solid”)

As the physician to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Steno also had access to a lot of unusual finds.  One day some fishermen brought him a “week-old” giant shark carcass caught in the Mediterranean.  In dissenting the specimen (hopefully with good ventilation), Steno realized that the teeth of the shark were a perfect match with strange “fossils” uncovered in rocks in the surrounding mountains. (These fossils were called “tongue stones” – thought to be the tongues of ancient dragons.) Putting two and two together, Steno concluded that these fossils were the remains of once living sharks. The true nature of fossils was emerging.

Steno’s sketch of a modern shark and some “tongue stones”:

Steno moved on to life in the church (and has since been beatified) but others followed up with this idea – including Robert Hooke and Johann Scheuchzer. However, the idea took a while (100 to 150 years) to gain any sort of acceptance. I suppose it did not help that there where a lot of misinterpretations along the way. Scheuchzer, for instance, identified a fossil “human” called Homo diluuvii.  It turned out to be a giant salamander (Salamandra scheuchzeri) from the Miocene.

Scheuchzer’s Homo Diluvii -

Around 1800 all of that changed with the work of the French naturalist Baron Georges Cuvier. Cuvier was an anatomist, and a darn good one at that.  He was one of the first to actually correctly identify specific fossils for what they were, including identifying bones from mastodons as being similar to modern elephants. Since animals such as mastodons were no longer around (at least in Europe where the bones were found), it also suggested that life in the past was not necessarily the same as life today.  Hence, Cuvier’s work led to the idea of extinction.

Baron Cuvier:

Lastly, around this same time, William Smith was realizing that there was a pattern to the fossil record. (See details in Relative Dating with Darwin Part II)   This completed the picture, adding the idea not only did fossils represent animals that no longer existed but that those animals changed through time. Powerful ideas indeed.

All of this was happening just 25 years or so before Darwin set sail on the Beagle.  Had his trip been 25 years earlier, he might not have even realized the significant of the bones in the cliffs of Punta Alta. Luckily, he did. (RJV)

He is what he has to say about the first glimpse of the bones:

“Had a very pleasant cruize about the Bay with the Captain & Sulivan.— We staid sometime on Punta Alta about 10 miles from the ship; here I found some rocks.— These are the first I have seen, & are very interesting from containing numerous shells & the bones of large animals. The day was perfectly calm; the smooth water & the sky were indistinctly separated by the ribbon of mud-banks:— the whole formed a most unpicturesque picture.— It is a pity such bright clear weather should be wasted on a country, where half its charms do not appear.— We got on board just in time to escape a heavy squall & rain.” (Sept 22)

There is something to be said for that first glimpse of a good outcrop.  I can recall spending days in southeast Alaska looking for places where the geologic story was revealed through the carpet of vegetation.  Trudging up a river valley for hours and coming around a bend to see a huge cliff of rock was exhilarating.  In geology, it is like uncovering a hidden library full of new stories and historical documents.  I can almost picture the boat coming around a bend and Darwin seeing the cliff.  He was probably squinting for details and looking through a spyglass. His glee, when the vessel came closer to the outcrop and he could make out the outline of fossils must have been tangible.  He might have even done a little dance!

Cliffs near Punta Alta (from Darwin in Argentina. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 64, No. 1 (February 2009): 1-180)

On the 23^rd he went back to the outcrop and described the discovery a little bit more, though he’ll have more to say later:

“A large party was sent to fish in a creek about 8 miles distant; great numbers of fish were caught.— I walked on to Punta alta to look after fossils; & to my great joy I found the head of some large animal, imbedded in a soft rock.— It took me nearly 3 hours to get it out: As far as I am able to judge, it is allied to the Rhinoceros.— I did not get it on board till some hours after it was dark.” (Sept 23)

As a geologist I can understand the “great joy” of discovering something meaningful in a remote rock outcrop.  The fossil of a megafauna, of course, trumps almost anything, but even finding a clue to a geologic story or some subfossil wood that could be carbon dated is a great thrill after days or weeks of searching.

More on the specifics of his fossil find in the coming days. But I thought I’d share a little of what FitzRoy had to say about Darwin and his new fossils:

“My friend’s attention was soon attracted to some low cliffs near Point Alta, where he found some of those huge fossil bones, described in his work; and notwithstanding our smiles at the cargoes of apparent rubbish which he frequently brought on board, he and his servant used their pick-axes in earnest, and brought away what have since proved to be most interesting and valuable remains of extinct animals.” (FitzRoy’s Narrative)

“Apparent rubbish” indeed – if he only knew how it would change the world.  Even Darwin would not know the full meaning of the fossils until returning home, but I’m sure the wheels were already spinning in his head… (RJV)

“Walked to the plains beyond the sand hillock & shot some small birds for specimens.— It is a complete puzzle to all of us, how the Ostriches, Deer, Cavies, &c which are so very numerous, contrive to get water. Not one of us has seen the smallest puddle (excepting the well which is 8 feet deep) & it is scarcely credible they can exist without drinking. I should think this sandy country in the summer time must be a complete desert; even now in spring & all the flowers in bud the sun is very powerful, there being no shelter & the heat being reflected from the sand hillocks.” (Sept 19)

A good question indeed, and one with several fascinating answers. As Darwin would later tell us, these animals adapted to this arid environment through natural selection. (One has to wonder every time he poses a question like this, if it was one of the many questions that pushed him further into formulating his theory.) Individuals with a slight advantage of surviving in drought conditions survive, passing that characteristic on to their offspring, and viola, overtime the population evolves to be able better adapted as a whole to the desert. (OK – big simplification, but that’s the 5 cent version.)

Dromedary (from Wikipedia Commons)

So what are some adaptations to drought? They tend to fall in a few general categories:

Behavior modification:

Many desert animals are nocturnal to prevent the loss of water during sweating and panting (which is necessary to cool them down and prevent overheating during the day). Others, such as desert toads, tend to burrow in moist soils, or stay underground during the warmest weather. (Many toads can also survive at least partially drying out for a period of time.)

 Body structure:

Like with behavior, the key here is being able to cool off using means other than sweating (i.e., evaporation/loss of water). Light-colored skin/fur absorbs less heat, long legs keep animals further from heat radiating off the ground, and larger body surface-to-volume ratios help radiate heat more efficiently .  One of my favorites – large ears which act as organic radiators, such as the ears of elephants or jack rabbits.  The elephant ear is full of blood vessels and has a large surface area allowing that blood to lose heat as it passes through the ears.

African Elephant (from Elephant Pictures site):

Find water in unique places:

Many animals extract water from the food they eat, including plants and other animals. You may suggest that this is a bit of a weak answer since we still have to explain where the water in the food come from? A good questions, but remember that those animals and plants (which have their own adaptations) have been accumulating water in their system, so in a sense they are little concentrated morsels of water.

Be more efficient at storing water:

Camels and gila monsters store water in fatty tissue that can be turned back into water when it is dry.

Kangaroo Rat (from Wikipedia Commons)

Retain water more efficiently:

There are a lot of ways animals do this including:

1. Excreting waste in the form of uric acid that can be expelled as a solid thereby allowing water retention (reptiles and birds can often do this).  Mammal’s urea is soluble though, so they need to pass more water with their urine.
2. Camels have the ability to raise their body temperature, which reduces the need to lose water through sweating. This is called hyperthermia.
3. Desert animals often have a lower metabolic rate, thereby producing less heat, and reducing the need to sweat.
4. Kangaroo rats have several ways of retaining water, including specialized kidneys that are able to remove almost all water from urine, special organs in their nose that reduce the temperature of exhaled air and extract moisture from their breath before it exits the body, and the ability to extract water from the driest of seeds and nuts.

“Have been employed during these two days with various marine animals which I procured from the beach & by dredging.— What we had for dinner to day would sound very odd in England.— Ostrich dumpling & Armadilloes; the former would never be recognised as a bird but rather as beef.— The Armadilloes when unlike to the Gauchos’ fashion, cooked without their cases, taste & look like a duck.— Both of them are very good.” (Sept 18)

Ostrich, bacon dumpling stew (from the home channel)

These days there is a noticeable return to “eating local” in the United States and Europe – buying food from a 100 mile radius and reducing “food miles”. (This is probably true in other areas, too – feel free to comment and let me know.) In 1832, there was pretty much no choice – the Beagle‘s provisions had to last for months and there was no refrigeration.  So the crew had to eat a local diet whenever possible.  Obviously the trend today, while it is a good one, is nothing new.

I love how Darwin regularly comments on the local food, at the same time describing the very same species in his naturalist notebooks. He was practical and handy – no use wasting specimens! (RJV)

“The party who went out to shoot fresh provisions brought home 2 deer, 3 Cavies & an ostrich.— With the net also a most wonderful number of fish were caught; in one drag more than a tun weight were hauled up;—including ten distinct species.” (Sept 16)

It is funny, though not surprising I guess, how a single theme can run through Darwin’s diary for one or two weeks at a time.  Early on seasickness dominated his thoughts for days, in Rio it was the forest, in Montevideo the revolutionaries – here is was hunting. I suppose we all do this to some degree – if I kept a diary I suspect I too would do the same.

So let’s turn to Darwin’s Zoological Notebook to see what sort of fish he brought in today. (Technically he doesn’t list exact dates for all his entries in the notebook, but it appears that these descriptions correspond to Sept 16^th.).  Unless otherwise noted, all the descriptions below are from Darwin – the names/identifications are from the fish volume of Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle by Leonard Jenyns.

(1) Alosa pectinata (now Brevoortia pectinata - Argentine menhaden)

“Caught on a sand bank in the net:— body silvery: dorsal scales iridescent with green & copper; head greenish: tail yellow.”

(image from Zoology of the Beagle – Jenyns)

(2) Umbrina arenata (now Menticirrhus americanus – Southern Kingfish)

“Body mottled with silver & green; dorsal & caudal fins lead colour: common”

(image from http://www.dnr.sc.gov/)

(3) Mugil liza (Mullet)

“Back coloured like Labrador feldspar; iris coppery: plentiful”

(image from Kowalsky Fisheries)

(4) Platessa orbignyana (now Paralichthys orbignyanus – Brazilian flounder)

“Above dirty reddish brown; beneath faint blue; iris yellow: plentiful”

(image from Wikipedia Commons)

(5) Rhombus (?)

“Above pale purplish brown, with rounded darker markings”

Jenyns’ description in Zoology of the Beagle helps identify this one as a type of flounder:

“Oval, approaching to rhomboidal. Breadth a little exceeding half the length. Eyes on the right side, near together, equally in advance, or the lower one perhaps rather more forward than the upper; between them a double osseous ridge.”

Painting of Scophthalmus rhombus (Brill) by William MacGillivray from the 1830′s

Never thought I’d know so much about the fisheries of Argentina…(RJV)

On September 14^th, Darwin was still happily out “shooting”, comparing the experience to hunting back home and noting the pleasure of hunting for food rather than just for sport:

“I am spending September in Patagonia, much in the same manner as I should in England, viz in shooting; in this case however there is the extra satisfaction of knowing that one gives fresh provisions to the ships company.— To day I shot another deer & an Agouti or Cavy.— The latter weighs more than 20 pounds; & affords the very best meat I ever tasted.— Whilst shooting I walked several miles within the interior; the general features of the country remain the same, an undulating sandy plain covered with coarse herbage & which as it extends, gradually becomes more level.— The bottoms of some of the vallies are green with clover: it is by cautiously crawling so as to peep into these that the game is shot.” (Sept 14)

His description reminds me of a carnival shooting gallery – with animals popping out from behind bushes and small hills. I can almost see him quickly aiming and taking the shot:

“If a deer has not seen you stand upright; generally it is possessed with an insatiable curiosity to find out what you are; & to such an extent that I have fired several times without frightening it away.” (Sept 14)

Now the weekend was a different story – Darwin got to spend some more time traveling with his new gaucho friends. They were hunting with their bolas, which Darwin describes in some detail:

“The Spaniards, whom we some time since thought were Indians, have been employed hunting for us & have generally bivouacced near the coast.— They offered to lend me a horse to accompany them in one of their excursions; of this I gladly accepted.— The party consisted of 9 men & one woman; the greater number of the former were pure Indians, the others most ambiguous; but all alike were most wild in their appearance & attire.— As for the woman, she was a perfect non descript; she dressed & rode like a man, & till dinner I did not guess she was otherwise.— The hunters catch everything with the two or three balls fastened to the thongs of leather; the manner of proceeding is to form themselves into a sort of crescent, each man less than a quarter of a mile apart; one goes some way ahead & endeavours to drive the animals towards the others & thus in a manner encircling them.— I saw one most beautiful chace; a fine Ostrich tried to escape; the Gauchos pursued it at a reckless pace, each man whirling the balls round his head; the foremost at last threw them, in an instant the Ostrich rolled over & over, its legs being fairly lashed together by the thong.— Its dying struggles were most violent.— The men then formed a ring & drove to the centre several cavies; they only killed one; but their riding was most excellent, especially in the quickness & precision with which they turn.— The horses are soon fatigued from such violent exercise & it is necessary often to change them & pick out fresh ones from the herd which always accompanies a party.— At this time of year, the eggs of the ostrich is their chief prize.— In this one day they found 64, out of which 44 were in two nests; the rest scattered about by ones or twos.— They also catch great numbers of Armadilloes.— In the middle of the day they lighted a fire & soon roasted some eggs & some Armadilloes in their hard cases:— They had neither water, salt or bread; of the two latter for weeks together they never taste; so that it makes little difference to them where they live.” (Sept 15)

Roasted Armadillo (from Fluffy Chix Cook blog)

With Darwin’s love of hunting and riding, it is no doubt that he took an instant liking to the gauchos.  I wonder what he thought of the roasted armadillos? (RJV)

“Went out shooting with Mr Wickham with our rifles:— to my great delight I succeeded in shooting a fine buck & doe.— The Captains servant shot three more.— We were obliged to send a boats crew to carry them to the shore.— One of mine however was previously disposed of.— I left it on the ground a substantial beast, but in the evening the Vultures & hawks had picked even the bones clean.” (Sept 12)

This week was also the beginning of Darwin’s interest (obsession?) with rhea eggs.  (Recall that Darwin called them ostriches.) His first comment came a few days ago when he found a bunch of eggs in a nest:

“They gave us an Ostrich egg & before we left them, they found another nest or rather depositary in which were 24 of the great eggs.— It is an undoubted fact that many female Ostriches lay in the same spot, thus forming one of their collections.” (Sept 8)

Rhea eggs (from Hopkin’s Alternative Livestock page)

However, yesterday, while hunting, he came across a nest with only one egg:

“In our walk I found also an Ostriches nest; it contained only one egg.” (Sept 12)

And a couple of days later, while hunting with the gauchos, he noticed that some eggs were in nests and others were scattered about:

“At this time of year, the eggs of the ostrich is their chief prize.— In this one day they found 64, out of which 44 were in two nests; the rest scattered about by ones or twos.” (Sept 15)

It is clear that this intrigued Darwin, and got him thinking about “why” some eggs were in nests and other were scattered about.  It was exactly the sort of thing that the observant naturalist picked up on and would not let go of. The question lingered in his mind as he looked for new clues to help him determine the answer.

Since Darwin had to think about it for a while, I won’t reveal the answer yet. Instead, I’ll let you, like Darwin, ponder the answer.

Today’s entry was short, as Darwin described moving the ship to a new harbor:

“The ships anchorage was removed a few miles up the harbor; in order to be nearer a newly discovered watering place.— Here we shall remain some weeks; if the present clear dry weather lasts, the time will pass very pleasantly.” (Sept 13)

He was now settled in a new location – one with no ongoing insurrections – and ready to start a few weeks of exploring the natural history of Argentina. (RJV)

“Having proved to our Spanish friends that we were not Pirates, the Captain with two boats started for the Settlement.— Nearly all the men were employed on shore; so that the ship was left in as unusual as delightful a state of quietness.” (Sept 11)

But I thought I’d step away from 1832 for a light post today…

Recently I came across a couple of images of Darwin-related projects people had constructed out of legos. I must say, it is interesting how some things become so engrained in our culture that people take the time to build miniature replicas of them out of tiny brinks. Anyway, I thought I’d share a few today.

Lego Darwin (designed and created by Kaptain Kobold):

Darwin in the Galapagos (designed and created by Jordan Hofer) – I like that this is “young” Darwin

Darwin’s Lab (by Nick Ellis)

And the crown jewel (at least in my mind) – a lego replica of the Beagle (designed and built by Chris Melby):

Kudos to the designers – these are pretty cool! (RJV)

“All hands have been busily employed to day; some surveying: some digging a well for water & others cutting up an old wreck for fire wood.— I took a long walk with a rifle, but did not succeed in shooting anything. I saw some deer & Ostriches, the latter made an odd deep noise; I also found a warren of the Agouti, or hare of the Pampas; it is about the size of two English ones, but in its habits resembles a rabbit.” (Sept 10)

The agouti is actually a rodent, like the capybara Darwin encountered last (see Stalking the Wild Mega-Rodent). These members of the genus Dasyprocta are found in the New World, particularly in parts of Central and South America, including northern Argentina.

Central American Aguoti – Dasyprocta punctata (from Wikipedia Commons)

Darwin’s story then returns to the helpful Mr. Harris, who seems to have quickly gotten himself embedded in the Beagle‘s mission. At the moment he was trying to help patch things up the with the local authorities, as they were still very suspicious of the presence of the British Navy.

“In the evening the merchant Schooner arrived from the Settlement; bringing with it Mr Harris, bound for Rio Negro; & our Spanish host who was invited to pay us a visit.— Mr Harris tells us that the Majors fears are not yet quieted, & that no one in the place, excepting our host, would venture to pay us a visit.— When the schooner sailed, Mr Rowlett accompanied her, in order at Rio Negro to try to procure fresh provisions for the ship.” (Sept 10)

Even more interesting though, Mr. Harris struck up a deal with the Captain to procure two additional survey boats.  FitzRoy. Always the practical man, saw this as an opportunity to work more efficiently.  He could have the two survey boats work in one area while the Beagle worked in another, thereby doubling the rate at which they could survey the coast.  Darwin explains the situation:

“During the last two days the Captain has formed a plan which will materially affect the rest of our voyage.— Mr Harris is connected with two small schooners employed in sealing & now at Rio Negro. He & the other Captain is well ackquainted with the adjoining coast. The Captain thought this so fine an opportunity that he has hired them both by the Month & intends sending officers in each who will survey this intricate coast whilst the Beagle (after returning to M Video) will proceed to the South.— By this means the time spent on the Eastern coast will be much shorter & this is hailed with joy by everybody.— Mr Harris will immediately go to Rio Negro to bring the vessels & soon after that we shall return to the Rio Plata.” (Sept 8)

FitzRoy adds:

“At last, after much anxious deliberation, I decided to hire two small schooners—or rather decked boats, schooner-rigged—from Mr. Harris, and employ them in assisting the Beagle and her boats. Mr. Harris was to be in the larger, as pilot to Lieutenant Wickham— and his friend Mr. Roberts, also settled at Del Carmen, on the river Negro, was to be Mr. Stokes’s pilot in the smaller vessel. These small craft, of fifteen and nine tons respectively, guided by their owners, who had for years frequented this complication of banks, harbours, and tides, seemed to me capable of fulfilling the desired object— under command of such steady and able heads as the officers mentioned— with this great advantage; that, while the Beagle might be procuring supplies at Monte Video, going with the Fuegians on her first trip to the southward, and visiting the Falkland Islands, the survey of all those intricacies between Blanco Bay and San Blas might be carried on steadily during the finest time of year. One serious difficulty, that of my not being authorized to hire or purchase assistance on account of the Government, I did not then dwell upon, for I was anxious and eager, and, it has proved, too sanguine. I made an agreement with Mr. Harris, on my own individual responsibility, for such payment as seemed to be fair compensation for his stipulated services, and I did hope that if the results of these arrangements should turn out well, I should stand excused for having presumed to act so freely, and should be reimbursed for the sum laid out, which I could so ill spare.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

I am always impressed by how quickly Darwin and FitzRoy were to trust the people they met.  Darwin arranged a backcountry trip just a day after arriving in Rio (see Strangers on a Trail) and now FitzRoy was buying boats and taking on additional men from a schooner captain he met a couple of days earlier. In some ways it is kind of refreshing to see such trust.

This was a huge risk for FitzRoy as he did not have approval to purchase the additional ships (which later records suggest cost him £1680).  Using a couple of inflation calculators – that translates to the equivalent of around £120,000 (about $200,000) today.  He had to pay it out of his own pocket and hope the Admiralty would pay it back on the return – but there were no guarantees.

Since it would be more than a year before FitzRoy knew the answer, I’ll spill the beans now.  The Admiralty did not approve, and hence, did not reimburse FitzRoy.  That was certainly a hard hit on his personal finances, but illustrates what FitzRoy was willing to do to get the job done.  In the end, writing his Narrative after returning home, he remains convinced he did the right thing writing:

“However, I foresaw and was willing to run the risk, and now console myself for this, and other subsequent mortification, by the reflection that the service entrusted to me did not suffer.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

(RJV)

“We rode to the boat early in the morning; & with a fresh breeze arrived at the ship by the middle of the day.— It was then reported to the Captain that two men on horseback had been reconnoitring the ship. The Captain well knowing that so small a party of Spaniards would not venture so far, concluded they were Indians.— As we intended to wood & water near to that spot it was absolutely necessary for us to ascertain whether there was any camp there.— Accordingly three boats were manned & armed; before reaching the shore, we saw five men gallop along the hill & then halt. The Captain upon seeing this sent back the other two boats, wishing not to frighten them but to find out who they were.— When we came close, the men dismounted & approached the beach, we immediately then saw it was a party of cavalry from Baia Blanca.— After landing & conversing with them, they told us they had been sent down to look after the Indians; this to a certain degree was true, for we found marks of a |229| fire; but their present purpose evidently was to watch us; this is the more probable as the officer of the party steadily kept out of sight, the Captain having taxed them with being so suspicious; which they denied.” (Sept 8)

But the encounter was not all bad as Darwin got to “hang out” with the gauchos and learn more about their culture and how they hunted on the pampas.  He was particularly intrigued by their use of bolas.

Bolas (from Wikipedia Commons):

“The Gauchos were very civil & took us to the only spot where there was any chance of water.— It was interesting seeing these hardy people fully equipped for an expedition.— They sleep on the bare ground at all times & as they travel get their food; already they had killed a Puma or Lion; the tongue of which was the only part they kept; also an Ostrich, these they catch by two heavy balls, fastened to the ends of a long thong.— They showed us the manner of throwing it; holding one ball in their hands, by degrees they whirl the other round & round, & then with great force send them both revolving in the air towards any object.— Of course the instant it strikes an animals legs it fairly ties them together … Having given our friends some dollars, they left us in high good humor & assured us they would some day bring a live Lion.— We then returned on board.” (Sept 8)

The bolas, or boleadoras, are basically weights at ends several (typically 2-4) short ropes that are tied together at their opposite ends.  The gaucho spins the bolas around his head releasing them toward their prey.  The spinning ropes (if they are thrown correctly) entangle the prey’s legs. In a way, it is similar to a cowboy’s lasso.  Later in the voyage Darwin gets some more hands on experience with the bolas – the results are quite humorous.

OK – So there are surprisingly few videos of using bolas that are not survivalists or bolas being used (impressively) in a gaucho dance.  The first 30 seconds or so of this video show their basic use:

The next day, things are back to normal as Darwin starts to explore the land “reigned by death”:

“In the morning divine service was read on the lower deck.— After dinner a large party of officers went on shore to see the country.— For the first two miles from the beach, it is a succession of sand hillocks thickly covered with coarse herbage; then comes the Pampas, which extend for many miles & in the distance is the Sierra de Ventana, a chain of mountains which we imagine to be lofty.— The ground was in every direction tracked by the Ostriches & deer.— One large one of the latter bounded up close to me.— Excepting these, death appeared to reign over all other animals.— I never saw any place before so entirely destitute of living creatures.” (Sept 9)

The saga continues with and investment in some new resources tomorrow… (RJV)

“Waiting to meet us was an assemblage of grotesque figures, which I shall not easily forget—a painter would have been charmed with them. A dark visaged Quixotic character, partly in uniform, mounted on a large lean horse, and attended by several wild looking, but gaily dressed gauchos, was nearest to us. Behind him, a little on one side, were a few irregular soldiers, variously armed, and no two dressed alike, but well mounted, and desperate-looking fellows; while on the other side, a group of almost naked Indian prisoners sat devouring the remains of a half roasted horse; and as they scowled at us savagely, still holding the large bones they had been gnawing, with their rough hair and scanty substitutes for clothing blown about by the wind, I thought I had never beheld a more singular group.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

I love this description, especially in contrast to Darwin’s version.  And notice that what Darwin described as a leg of beef has turned into a “half roasted horse”. Soon the party would journey on horseback to the “fort”, but first they had to meet the suspicious “commandant” in charge of the outpost.

Travelers by a River-Side from the Argentina chapter of A.S. Forrest’s book A Tour Through South America (1913) – view the book online through the Open Library

FitzRoy picks up with his description of the men:

“The tall man in uniform was the Commandant of the settlement, or fortress, called Argentina: he and his soldiers had arrived to welcome us, supposing that we were bringing supplies from Buenos Ayres for the needy colony. The Indian prisoners had been brought to work, and assist in carrying the supplies which were expected. Finding that we were neither Buenos Ayreans, nor traders from any other place, it was supposed that we must be spies sent to reconnoitre the place previous to a hostile attack. Neither the explanations nor assertions of Mr. Harris had any weight, for as he was our countryman, they naturally concluded he was in league with us; yet, as the commandant had some idea that we might, by possibility, be what we maintained we were, he disregarded the whispers and suggestions of his people, and offered to carry us to the settlement for a night’s lodging.

Leaving the boat’s crew to bivouac, as usual, I accepted a horse offered to me, and took the purser up behind; Mr. Darwin and Harris being also mounted behind two gaucho soldiers, away we went across a flat plain to the settlement. Mr. Darwin was carried off before the rest of the party, to be cross-questioned by an old major, who seemed to be considered the wisest man of the detachment, and he, poor old soul, thought we were very suspicious characters, especially Mr. Darwin, whose objects seemed most mysterious.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

Ah, there it is – FitzRoy implying that  it was Darwin that made the Argentinians uncomfortable.  Keep in mind that, unlike Darwin’s account, FitzRoy’s Narrative was written after returning to England.  So he had the advantage of hindsight. He writes:

“We afterwards heard, that the old major’s suspicions had been very much increased by Harris’s explanation of Mr. Darwin’s occupation. ‘Un naturalista’ was a term unheard of by any person in the settlement, and being unluckily explained by Harris as meaning ‘a man that knows every thing,’ any further attempt to quiet anxiety was useless.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

No doubt these men, who where charged with defending the coast, were a little skeptical of the motives of a British naval captain and the “man who knows everything” (i.e., a spy?) scouting out their fort. Ironically, that is more or less what FitzRoy went on to do (at least in his Narrative) – describing the settlement and its resources in great detail.  As it is probably one of the first written accounts of Bahia Blanca, I’ll include it all here for those that are interested in hearing what he had to say:

“As this small settlement has seldom been visited by strangers, I will describe its primitive state. In the midst of a level country, watered by several brooks, and much of it thickly covered with a kind of trefoil, stands a mud-walled erection, dignified with the sounding appellation of ‘La fortaleza protectora Argentina.’ It is a polygon, 282 yards in diameter, having about twenty-four sides, and surrounded by a narrow ditch. In some places the walls are almost twenty feet high, but in others I was reminded of the brothers’ quarrel at the building of ancient Rome, for there is a mere ditch, over which a man could jump. It is, however, said by the gauchos, that a ditch six feet wide will stop a mounted Indian, and that their houses require no further defence from attacks of the aborigines. How, or why it is that such excellent horsemen do not teach their horses to leap, I cannot understand.

Within, and outside the fort, were huts (ranchos) and a few small houses:—more were not required for the inhabitants, who, including the garrison, only amounted to four hundred souls. Some half-dozen brass guns were in a serviceable condition; and two or three other pieces occupied old carriages, but did not seem to be trustworthy.

The fort was commenced in April 1828, by a French engineer, named Parchappe. The first commandant was Estomba: his successor, Morel, was killed, with ninety followers, by a party of Indians under Chenil, in 1829. Valle and Rojas succeeded, and the latter was followed by Rodriguez. Placed in the first instance as an advanced post, at which to watch and check the Indians, rather than as a colony likely to increase rapidly, Argentina has scarcely made any progress since its establishment, though it is the beginning of what may hereafter be a considerable place. Situated favourably for communicating with Concepcion—by way of the pass through the Cordillera, near Tucapel—it is also the only port, between 25° S. and Cape Horn, capable of receiving in security any number of the largest ships.

There is pasture for cattle near the streams which descend from the ‘Sierra Ventana:’ large salinas (spaces covered with salt) lie within an easy distance of the settlement: of brushwood for fuel there is plenty, though there are no large trees: and report says that there are valuable minerals, including coal and iron, in the Ventana mountain.

The most serious objection to the locality, as an agricultural, or even as a mere grazing district, is the want of rain. Two or three years sometimes pass without more than a slight shower; and during summer the heat is great. In winter, there are sharp frosts, sometimes snow; but neither ice nor snow ever lasts through the day.

Good fresh water may be generally obtained, independent of the few running streams, by digging wells between four and ten feet deep: and in this way we found no difficulty in obtaining an ample supply.” (Narrative, FitzRoy)

The next day (September 8^th), the “Commandant” tried to detain the Beagle representatives (probably worried that they were going back to report to a larger fleet).  But FitzRoy would have nothing to do with these delay tactics, so the captain, Darwin, Rowlett and Harris soon returned to their boat with an “escort” from the fort. (RJV)

First they had to find the city amid the channels of the bay:

“In the morning the Captain, Rowlett the pilot & myself started with a pleasant breeze for the Settlement: it is distant about twenty miles.— Instead of keeping the middle channel, we steered near to the Northern shore: from this cause & from the number of similar islands, the pilot soon lost his reckoning.— We took by chance the first creek we could find: but following this for some miles, it gradually became so narrow that the oars touched on each side & we were obliged to stop.— These Islands rather deserve the name of banks; they consist of mud which is so soft that it is impossible to walk even the shortest distance; in many the tops are covered by rushes; & at high water the summits of these are only visible.— From our boat nothing within the horizon was to be seen but these flat beds of mud; from custom an horizontal expanse of water has nothing strange in it; but this had a most unnatural appearance, partaking in the character of land & water without the advantages of either.— The day was not very clear & there was much refraction, or as the sailors expressed it, “things loomed high”, the only thing within our view which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes supported in the air by nothing, & water like mud banks & mud-banks like water.— With difficulty the boat was turned in the little creek; & having waited for the tide to rise, we sailed straight over the mud banks in the middle of the rushes. By heeling the boat over, so that the edge was on a level with the water, it did not draw more than a foot of water.— Even with this we had much trouble in getting her along, as we stuck several times on the bottom.” (Sept 7)

This reminds me a lot of some work I did at the mouth of the Stikine River in Alaska.  We were in a much smaller boat (a kayak), but the mouth of the river was filled with low sandy islands covered in grasses and wildflowers (I distinctly recall the wild irises).

Boats in the Port at Bahia by Archibald Stevenson Forrest, 1912 (I believe this is Bahia Blanco, but it is possible that it is Bahia, Brazil. Sources list it differently and Forrest traveled to both locations, so I can’t guarantee it is Argentina .)

By evening they made landfall and with the help of Mr. Harris met the locals, who could not have contrasted more with the uniformed officers and formal naturalist from the northern hemisphere.  Darwin continues:

“In the evening we arrived at the creek which is about four miles distant from the Settlement.— Here was a small schooner lying & a mud-hut on the bank.— There were several of the wild Gaucho cavalry waiting to see us land; they formed by far the most savage picturesque group I ever beheld.— I should have fancied myself in the middle of Turkey by their dresses.— Round their waists they had bright coloured shawls forming a petticoat, beneath which were fringed drawers. Their boots were very singular, they are made from the hide of the hock joint of horses hind legs, so that it is a tube with a bend in it; this they put on fresh, & thus drying on their legs is never again removed.— The spurs are enormous, the rowels being from one to two inches long.— They all wore the Poncho, which is large shawl with a hole in the middle for the head.— Thus equipped with sabres & short muskets they were mounted on powerful horses.— The men themselves were far more remarkable than their dresses; the greater number were half Spaniard & Indian.— some of each pure blood & some black.— The Indians, whilst gnawing bones of beef, looked, as they are, half recalled wild beasts.— No painter ever imagined so wild a set of expressions.— As the evening was closing in, it was determined not to return to the vessel by the night.— so we all mounted behind the Gauchos & started at a hand gallop for the Fort.” (Sept 7)

I love the picture Darwin paints here, carefully describing the outfits and the men gnawing on bones…

The party was then escorted 4 miles to the settlement of Nueva Buenos Aires, where they then met the local authorities.  The welcome was not very friendly:

“Our reception here was not very cordial. The Commandante was inclined to be civil; but the Major, although second in rank, appears to be the most efficient. He is an old Spaniard, with the old feelings of jealousy.— He could not contain his surprise & anxiety at a Man of War having arrived for the first time in the harbor. He asked endless questions about our force &c., & when the Captain, praising the bay, assured him he could bring up even a line of battle ship, the old gentleman was appalled & in his minds eye saw the British Marines taking his fort.— These ridiculous suspicions made it very disagreeable to us.— so that the Captain determined to start early in the morning back to the Beagle.

The Settlement is seated on a dead level turf plain, it contains about 400 inhabitants; of which the greater number are soldiers: The place is fortified, & good occasion they have for it: The place has been attacked several times by large bodies of Indians.— The War is carried on in the most barbarous manner. The Indians torture all their prisoners & the Spaniards shoot theirs.— Exactly a week ago the Spaniards; hearing that the main body of their armies were gone to Northward, made an excursion & seized a great herd of horses & some prisoners. Amongst these was the head chief, the old Toriano who has governed a great district for many years.— When a prisoner, two lesser chiefs or Caciques came one after the other in hopes of arranging a treaty of liberation: It was all the same to the Spaniards, these three & 8 more were lead out & shot.— On the other hand, the Commandante’s son was taken some time since; & being bound, the children (a refinement in cruelty I never heard of) prepared to kill him with nails & small knives.— A Cacique then said that the next day more people would be present, & there would be more sport, so the execution was deferred, & in the night he escaped.

A Spanish friend of Mr Harris received us hospitably.— His house consisted in one large room, but it was cleaner & more comfortable than those in Brazil.— At night I was much exhausted, as it was 12 hours since I had eaten anything.” (Sept 7)

The reason why the Beagle representatives were treated so poorly turned out to be because of Darwin.  But you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to find out why – it is all part of FitzRoy’s version of the story. (RJV)

“In the morning we stood into the bay; but soon got entangled in the midst of shoals & banks; we came again to an anchor.— At this time a small Schooner passed near to us.—an officer was sent on board to procure information about the bay &c: The Schooner was a Sealer, bound from the settlement at Baia Blanca to the Rio Negro; south of which she intended fishing for the Seals.— Mr Harris, a half partner & Captain, volunteered piloting us into the bay on condition of being carried up in a boat to the Settlement; where there was another Schooner bound for the same port, & in which he intended taking a passage.— By Mr Harris’s assistance we arrived in the evening at a fine bay; where sheltered from all bad weather, we moored ship.— Mr Harris gave us a great deal of useful information about the country.— Baia Blanca has only been settled within the last six years: previous to which even the existence of the bay was not known.— It is designed as a frontier fort against the Indians & thus to connect Buenos Ayres to Rio Negro.— In the time of the old Spaniards, before the independence, the latter was purchased from the native chief of the place.— The settlers at Baia Blanca did not follow this just example, & in consequence ever since a barbarous & cruel warfare has been carried on:— But I shall mention more about this presently.” (Sept 6)

Google Map of Bahía Blanca – (note the shallow water of the bay and that you can zoom in or out for details):

It is worth noting that the name Bahía Blanca in Darwin’s time referred specifically to the bay itself.  The settlement on the northern shore was called Nueva Buenos Aires. In time the settlement grew, and it too took the name Bahía Blanca – thereby providing confusion for amateur geographers to the present day.

Today the city is a major economic port of more than 300,000 people.  In Darwin’s day it was a coastal outpost – literally a small fort built in 1828 (actually less than 6 years old, as Darwin suggests). The town was established by the Argentine revolutionary Juan Manuel de Rosas, as a fort to protect the (Spanish) locals from the (native) locals and to secure this part of the coast from invasion by Brazil.  (If you recall, Uruguay and Argentina at this time were more or less establishing their independence and kicking out Brazil and other interests.) The smaller town to the east of the city of Bahía Blanca - Point Alta – never lost its defensive importance, it is still the home of the Argentine Navy.

Bahía Blanca from satellite (NASA):

Like the Rio de la Plata to the north, the first explorer to “discover” Bahía Blanca was Ferdinand Magellan – who was on his way to “discovering’ the Pacific Ocean in 1520. The bay later got its name from white salt deposits that line its shores.

Both Darwin and FitzRoy wrote quite a bit about their adventures meeting the local officials in Nueva Buenos Aires / Bahía Blanca over the next couple of days.  I’ll use the weekend to share their colorful stories. (RJV)

PS – After my last post – Darwin’s Shrimp – I discovered an awesome lecture on mantis shrimp, where I learned, among other things, that they have the fasted recorded strike velocity of any animal. I highly recommend watching this short TED video, which along with some great footage and info has a recording of the sounds of the mantis shrimp.  These little fellas may be my new favorite marine organism!  (Watch – TED Lecture: Sheila Patek Clocks the Fastest Animals for all the exciting details.)

“We have remained all day at our anchorage: the weather has been cloudy for some days past & it is almost necessary to obtain observations of the sun to ascertain our situation.— I am throughily tired of this work, or rather no work; this rolling & pitching about with no end gained.— Oh for Baia Blanca; it will be a white day for me, when we gain it.” (Sept 4)

The last line, of course, is some Darwinian humor as “Bahia Blanca” is “White Bay”.  Even in his dismay, Darwin tries to lighten up his diary.

As I have mentioned earlier though, these past few days have resulted in pages and pages of descriptions in Darwin’s Zoological Notebook.  These notes include detailed descriptions of bryozoans, comb jellies, fish, isopods, and shrimp (to name just a few).  Today, a couple of notes on the “shrimp” (dated between September 2 and 4 in the notebook)…

Shrimp are crustaceans from the Phylum Anthropoda (not surprisingly the same family as the insects and spiders). Along with their crustacean cousins the lobsters and crabs, they belong to the Class Malacostraca.

Darwin’s first shrimp encounter is with a species of mantis shrimp (Order Stomatopoda). mantis shrimp are ocean predators (as is evident by their large and powerful claws), and they can grow to over a foot in length. (There are even reports of some species breaking through aquarium glass!)

Here are a few comments from Darwin, who, alas, seems to have only encountered mantis shrimp in their larval stage located at 15 fathoms and “4 miles from shore”. He starts with the feet and claws, ordered by pairs:

“1st pair of “pieds machoire” long, cylindrical, terminated by ciliæ: 2nd strong with “griffe”, penultimate joint broad, receiving griffe in a grove protected on each side by recurved spines: 3rd & 4th pairs, with claw, & penultimate joint enlarged, globular; vesicles at base: 5th rudimentary without claw.— True feet 6 in number, mere stumps: 5 pair of circular ciliated caudal swimmers, when at rest they are applied indifferently either towards head or tail.”

After some additional details he describes the general look of the body and how it swims:

“Body transparent, colourless, excepting the eyes which are dark green; all that was to be seen, when animal was in the water, were two black spots, the eyes.— In its motions not active; swims in oblique direction; & frequently rolls from side to side:— Has the power of withdrawing large part of body from beneath shell.”

Mantis shrimp (from Wikipedia Commons):

The second “shrimp”, labeled as belonging to the taxon Mysidacea, appears to have been very abundant as, “the sea contained vast numbers of this species”.  Although that name is no longer used, it would appear from Darwin’s description below (and another reference in the footnotes to “opossum shrimp”), that this is different type of shrimp-like crustacean belonging to the Order Mysida. These “opossum shrimp” are not technically shrimp, but do have several shrimp-like characteristics.  (Unless you are an expert, f you saw the picture below you’d probably call them a shrimp.)  But Darwin notes a major distinction between these critters and true shrimp when he described in some detail a female with young shrimp in a “pouch”:

“Body coloured slightly red: especially 2nd pair of “pieds machoires”, inner part of: Females had attached near to base of last pair of legs, a curved circular ciliated membrane, when folded in, forming prominent pouches; in each of these were two young animals, length about 1/15 of inch; differed from old Specimens by the greater proportional largeness of eyes; also by the less distinct separation of thorax & tail.— [note (b)] In the membrane were dark coloured vessels, much branched.— & I suppose by these pouches convey nutrition to the young animal.— [note ends] They possessed but very little irritability.— The females with young were larger & darker coloured than the others.”

Mysida species (from University of Tasmania Marine Zooplankton index)

Mysida, and other members of the Superorder Peracarida to which they belong, are defined by the presence of a “brood pouch” called a marsupium (which has the same meaning when we refer to the marsupial mammals such as kangaroos). How cool is that – marsupial “shrimp”.  Darwin must have been very excited.

I wonder if Darwin tried to eat these guys?  Past experience suggests that it was not out of the question but no record remains J (RJV)

“The weather has been tolerably fair for us; but in the evening the breeze was fresh & a good deal of sea.— At this time, the situation of the vessel was for a few minutes very dangerous.— We came suddenly on a bank where the water was very shoal.— It was a startling cry, when the man in the chains sang out, “& a half, two”. Our bottom was then only two feet from the ground.— if we had struck, it is possible we should have gone to the bottom; & the long swell of the open ocean would soon dash the strongest timber into pieces.— (Note in margin: We have since had reason to believe it was a mistake of the Leadsman.) It is beautiful to see the quiet calm alertness of the sailors on such occasions.— We soon deepened our water when we altered our course.— At present we are riding in a wild anchorage, waiting for the morning.” (Sept 3)

The Beagle being laid ashore for repairs on the Santa Cruz River later in the voyage (engraving by Thomas Landseer):

The leadsman is the sailor who determines the depth of the water using a “sounding lead”. These are the long cables with a weight on the end that are dropped in the water to measure depth – a staple of a survey vessel. You may recall FitzRoy’s excitement in getting new leads back in February (see Mail “Trucks” and Flying Fish).

Imagine how history would have been different if the Beagle sank that day in 1832. (RJV)