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Often appears with: geography and the description of places · religious persecution and toleration · fate, destiny, and necessity · myth and the gods of the nations · conquest, plunder, and captives · trade, markets, and merchants · exploration and discovery · voyages and seafaring · cities and their founding · rank, class, and social order · history and the writing of history · justice as a virtue
Usually: curiosity (95) · narrative (74) · detachment (72) · argument (48) · skepticism (42) · description (38) · wonder (28) · commentary or gloss (23) · the stranger's arrival (20) · list or catalogue (11)
“No event can be compared with this continuous removal of the human race, except perhaps those irruptions which preceded the fall of the Roman Empire.” Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America — Volume 1 · observation
“Viewing such men, one can hardly make one's self believe that they are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · observation
“The Indians ended all their complaints by saying, "And it is only because we are poor Indians, and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a King.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · observation
“Wherever the European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · observation
“The varieties of man seem to act on each other in the same way as different species of animals--the stronger always extirpating the weaker.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · insight
“Thou art wrong there, Sancho, for now that we have a suspicion who the owner is, and have him almost before us, we are bound to seek him and make restitution” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote · precept
“I would not lift it nor go near it for fear of some ill-luck or being charged with theft, for the devil is crafty, and things rise up under one’s feet to make one fall without knowing why or wherefore.” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote · insight
“Pain for the loss of a friend, or of a relation whom we love, is occasioned by the want which we feel. In time the vacuity is filled with something else; or sometimes the vacuity closes up of itself.” James Boswell, Boswell's Life of Johnson · insight
“Father Jove, is there none of the gods who will take pity upon me, and save me from the river? I do not care what may happen to me afterwards. I blame none of the other dwellers on Olympus so severely as I do my dear mother, who has beguiled and tricked me.” Homer, The Iliad · insight
“And it is not likely all thy life To standen in her grace, no more than I” Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems · insight
“This whole land which has been described is so exceedingly severe in climate, that for eight months of the year there is frost so hard as to be intolerable; and during these if you pour out water you will not be able to make mud, but only if you kindle a fire can you make it.” Herodotus, The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 · observation
“For we can neither put forward any nation of those who dwell within the region of Pontus as eminent in ability, nor do we know of any man of learning having arisen there, apart from the Scythian nation and Anacharsis.” Herodotus, The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 · observation
He describes how Muhammad, before and during public life, drew Qur'an material from Jewish, Christian, Persian, and Arabic legends, naming figures like Salman and Sergius/Boheira, and discussing Meccan taunts and the Hanyfs.
historians like Abulfeda as authorities, and to suppose that an account gains in certainty because it is mentioned by several of them, is highly uncritical." Life of Mohammad, p. 73. The sources whence Muhammad derived the materials of his Koran are, over and above the more poetical parts, which are his own creation, the legends of his time and country, Jewish traditions based upon the Talmud, or perverted to suit h…
Pepys meets Mr. White at Brampton, who claims Cromwell’s son Richard is alive in disguise in France and now going to Italy, with details of family betrayal and rumored grave-shifting.
before us. Sir J. Lawson is come to Portsmouth; and our fleet is hastening all speed: I mean this new fleet. Prince Rupert with his is got into the Downes. 13th. In my way to Brampton in this day's journey I met with Mr. White, Cromwell's chaplin that was, and had a great deal of discourse with him. Among others, he tells me that Richard is, and hath long been, in France, and is now going into Italy. He owns publ…
Pepys recounts giving money to Sir G. Carteret for the poor, then discusses East Indies customs of silent king-following, executions by beheading, and worship rituals; he also doubts recent claims of prizes at sea and learns about the origins and risks of Dutch banking.
and my Lord Brouncker and myself did give Sir G. Carteret our sixpence a-piece, which he did give Mr. Smith to give the poor. Thus we made ourselves mighty merry. 17th. With Captain Erwin, discoursing about the East Indys, where he hath often been. And among other things, he tells me how the King of Syam seldom goes out without thirty or forty thousand people with him, and not a word spoke, nor a hum or cough in t…
Pepys tours the Medway region, visiting Maidstone and seeing a Saxon monument near Aylesford, before returning to Chatham and Captain Allen’s place.
of great antiquity, and I am mightily glad to see it: it is near to Alesford, where Sir John Bankes lives. So homeward to Chatham, Captain Allen's, and there light. 25th. Up, and by and by, about eight o'clock, came Rear-Admirall Kempthorne and seven captains more, by the Duke of York's order, as we expected, to hold the Court-martiall about the loss of "The Defyance." And so presently we by boat to "The Charles,"…
Hermocrates concludes that abandoning animosity is not disgraceful among Dorians and Chalcidians, promising coordinated unity to keep foreign invaders out, and he frames peace as freedom within Sicily.
dependent on others, and thus not only impotent to repel an insult, but on the most favourable supposition, friends to our direst enemies, and at feud with our natural friends. “For myself, though, as I said at first, the representative of a great city, and able to think less of defending myself than of attacking others, I am prepared to concede something in prevision of these dangers. I am not inclined to ruin myse…
Continuing the Sicilian settlement history, the text lists founding Greeks from Chalcis, Corinth, Megara, Rhodes and Crete, including Naxos, Syracuse, Leontini, Catana, Thapsus, Hyblaean Megara, Selinus, Gela, Acragas, Zancle, and Messina, and explains Phoenician relocations.
in Motye, Soloeis, and Panormus, near the Elymi, partly because they confided in their alliance, and also because these are the nearest points for the voyage between Carthage and Sicily. These were the barbarians in Sicily, settled as I have said. Of the Hellenes, the first to arrive were Chalcidians from Euboea with Thucles, their founder. They founded Naxos and built the altar to Apollo Archegetes, which now stand…
Polyphemus returns, blocks the cave with an enormous stone, herds and milks his goats and sheep, questions the strangers, and threatens them despite Odysseus’s appeal to Zeus and visitor-right.
wanted to see the owner himself, in the hope that he might give me a present. When, however, we saw him my poor men found him ill to deal with. “We lit a fire, offered some of the cheeses in sacrifice, ate others of them, and then sat waiting till the Cyclops should come in with his sheep. When he came, he brought in with him a huge load of dry firewood to light the fire for his supper, and this he flung with such a…
Eurylochus’ men reach Circe’s house and hear her singing at the loom, but Circe drugs them, turns them into pigs, and Eurylochus reports the disappearance of the rest.
cast lots in a helmet, and the lot fell upon Eurylochus; so he set out with his twenty-two men, and they wept, as also did we who were left behind. “When they reached Circe’s house they found it built of cut stones, on a site that could be seen from far, in the middle of the forest. There were wild mountain wolves and lions prowling all round it—poor bewitched creatures whom she had tamed by her enchantments and dru…
Odysseus drinks Circe’s drugged potion unharmed due to moly, forces Circe to swear an oath by the gods, and then agrees to sleep with her while her servants prepare baths and feasting.
root was black, while the flower was as white as milk; the gods call it Moly, and mortal men cannot uproot it, but the gods can do whatever they like. “Then Mercury went back to high Olympus passing over the wooded island; but I fared onward to the house of Circe, and my heart was clouded with care as I walked along. When I got to the gates I stood there and called the goddess, and as soon as she heard me she came d…
Du Bois recounts a summer teaching trip in rural Tennessee—searching for schools, meeting families like Josie’s, and describing the remote, isolated landscape where a single teacher is eagerly sought.
stage lines, to a land of “varmints” and rattlesnakes, where the coming of a stranger was an event, and men lived and died in the shadow of one blue hill. Sprinkled over hill and dale lay cabins and farmhouses, shut out from the world by the forests and the rolling hills toward the east. There I found at last a little school. Josie told me of it; she was a thin, homely girl of twenty, with a dark-brown face and thic…
He argues universities should adjust real life and growing knowledge to enable civilization, lists Southern educational gaps, and calls for building Southern and Negro universities with broad culture.
life; and from the dawn of history, from Academus to Cambridge, the culture of the University has been the broad foundation-stone on which is built the kindergarten’s A B C. But these builders did make a mistake in minimizing the gravity of the problem before them; in thinking it a matter of years and decades; in therefore building quickly and laying their foundation carelessly, and lowering the standard of knowing,…
Lot’s daughters bear sons named Moab (father of the Moabites) and Ben Ammi (father of the Ammonites), linking the family story to later neighboring peoples.
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the elder bare a son and called him Moab, which is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger bare a son and called him Ben Ammi, which is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Gershonite and Merarite Levites are assigned service roles—carrying curtains, coverings, boards, bars, pillars, cords, and sockets—while specific tabernacle handling rules and a census for Cahathites are provided.
Aaron and his sons shall go in and put them, every man unto his service and unto his burthen. But let them not go in to see when they cover the sanctuary, lest they die. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying: Take the sum of the children of Gerson, in the houses of their fathers and in their kindreds: from thirty years and above, until fifty, all that are able to go forth in war, for to do service in the tabernacle of…
Moses blesses the tribes of Israel, describing God’s appearance from Sinai, then giving specific blessings to Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, and Asher.
This is the blessing wherewith Moses God's {gods} man blessed the children of Israel before his death saying: The LORD came from Sinai and shewed his beams from Seir unto them, and appeared gloriously from mount Pharan, and he came with thousands of saints, and in his right hand a law of fire for them. How loved he the people? All his saints are in his hand. They joined them selves unto thy foot and received thy word…
The text teaches strong believers to bear with the weak, welcomes Gentiles through mercy and scripture, explains Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles, and says he hopes to travel to Spain after Jerusalem.
which he alloweth. For he that maketh conscience, is damned if he eat: Because he doth it not of faith. For whatsoever is not of faith, that same is sin. The .xv. Chapter. We which are strong ought to bear the frailness of them which are weak, and not to stand in our own conceits. Let every man please his neighbor unto his wealth and edifying. For Christ pleased not himself: but as it is written: The rebukes of the…
Jupiter orders Mercury to open Punic ports to Trojan guests and prevent Carthage from expelling them, then Trojans receive mercy as Neptune’s earlier calming leads into peaceful settlement conditions.
the Father of th’ immortal race, Smiling with that serene indulgent face, With which he drives the clouds and clears the skies, First gave a holy kiss; then thus replies: “Daughter, dismiss thy fears; to thy desire The fates of thine are fix’d, and stand entire. Thou shalt behold thy wish’d Lavinian walls; And, ripe for heav’n, when fate Aeneas calls, Then shalt thou bear him up, sublime, to …
After ensuring all thirty-two survive, Equiano plants limes, oranges, and lemons on a Bahama key; he observes flamingoes, doubts cannibal fears, finds abundant fish and turtles, and discovers a rock that yields fresh rainwater.
shore by force. This want of assistance made our labour intolerably severe; insomuch, that, by putting on shore so often that day, the skin was entirely stript off my hands. However, we continued all the day to toil and strain our exertions, till we had brought all on board safe to the shore; so that out of thirty-two people we lost not one. My dream now returned upon my mind with all its force; it was fulfilled in …
He hires on the ship Delawar under John Jolly, sails from England in July 1768 through Mediterranean ports, and describes Smyrna, Turkish-Christian separation, and local customs and food.
and we parted on friendly terms. The same day I went into the city in quest of a master. I was extremely fortunate in my inquiry; for I soon heard of a gentleman who had a ship going to Italy and Turkey, and he wanted a man who could dress hair well. I was overjoyed at this, and went immediately on board of his ship, as I had been directed, which I found to be fitted up with great taste, and I already foreboded no sm…
Equiano continues in Smyrna, remarking on Greek dancing under Turkish rule and the exceptionally large fat-tailed sheep used in puddings, then leaves on the loaded ship.
The less refined Greeks, as I have already hinted, dance here in the same manner as we do in my nation. On the whole, during our stay here, which was about five months, I liked the place and the Turks extremely well. I could not help observing one very remarkable circumstance there: the tails of the sheep are flat, and so very large, that I have known the tail even of a lamb to weigh from eleven to thirteen pounds. T…
After returning from Turkey, Equiano voyages to Oporto for carnival, describes Portuguese Inquisition searches and punishments for hidden bibles, then travels via Genoa and Naples to Smyrna again.
white and rich, and is excellent in puddings, for which it is much used. Our ship being at length richly loaded with silk, and other articles, we sailed for England. In May 1769, soon after our return from Turkey, our ship made a delightful voyage to Oporto in Portugal, where we arrived at the time of the carnival. On our arrival, there were sent on board to us thirty-six articles to observe, with very heavy penalti…
Sallust summarizes Africa’s geography and peoples, describing its division, climate and water scarcity, and a mythic-pseudo historical origin story of Getulians, Libyans, Persians, Medes, Armenians, and the rise of Numidians and Moors.
and population, was allotted to Jugurtha; of the other part, which, though better furnished with harbors and buildings, was more valuable in appearance than in reality, Adherbal became the possessor. XVII. My subject seems to require of me, in this place, a brief account of the situation of Africa, and of those nations in it with whom we have had war or alliances. But of those tracts and countries, which, from their…
Don Quixote and Sancho look for the owner of a mule, saddle, and valise after a suspect owner fled, then find the dead mule in a ravine and meet a goatherd who questions their presence.
less meddlesome and officious way the real owner may be discovered; and perhaps that will be when I shall have spent it, and then the king will hold me harmless.” “Thou art wrong there, Sancho,” said Don Quixote, “for now that we have a suspicion who the owner is, and have him almost before us, we are bound to seek him and make restitution; and if we do not see him, the strong suspicion we have as to his being the o…
The goatherd reports that about six months earlier a well-bred youth rode the same mule into rugged Sierra Morena, questioned the safest remote spot, then repeatedly assaulted shepherds and stole their bread and cheese.
“Tell me, good man,” said Don Quixote, “do you know who is the owner of this property?” “All I can tell you,” said the goatherd, “is that about six months ago, more or less, there arrived at a shepherd’s hut three leagues, perhaps, away from this, a youth of well-bred appearance and manners, mounted on that same mule which lies dead here, and with the same saddle-pad and valise which you say you found and did not to…
Trifaldi, acting for the duchess’s entertainment, tells how Queen Doña Maguncia’s realm of Kandy produced Princess Antonomasia and how the private gentleman Don Clavijo gained her help to pursue her through her duenna’s access and verse.
aid your worship as far as he can; unpack your woes and lay them before us, and leave us to deal with them, for we’ll be all of one mind.” The duke and duchess, as it was they who had made the experiment of this adventure, were ready to burst with laughter at all this, and between themselves they commended the clever acting of the Trifaldi, who, returning to her seat, said, “Queen Doña Maguncia reigned over the famo…
Passing through Mossynoecian and neighboring lands, the Greeks describe the Chalybes’ iron work, avoid war in Tibarenians’ territory, reach Cotyora, stay forty-five days, and receive Sinope’s complaints.
leaf; in the right hand they brandished a javelin about six cubits long, with a lance in front, and rounded like a ball at the butt end of the shaft. Their bodies were clad in short frocks, scarcely reaching to the knees and in texture closely resembling that of a linen bedclothes' bag; on their heads they wore leathern helmets just like the Paphlagonian helmet, with a tuft of hair in the middle, as like a tiara in …
She explains enslaved people’s limited understanding of freedom in the “Free States,” recounts a woman who thought America was ruled by a queen, then begins sketches of neighboring slaveholders’ brutality.
Father, who “made of one blood all nations of men!” And then who *are* Africans? Who can measure the amount of Anglo-Saxon blood coursing in the veins of American slaves? I have spoken of the pains slaveholders take to give their slaves a bad opinion of the north; but, notwithstanding this, intelligent slaves are aware that they have many friends in the Free States. Even the most ignorant have some confused notions …
Peter hires boatmen to catch the slowly moving ship and, after bargaining with the captain, secures the captain’s agreement to take Linda Brent too, using identity confusion and the already-arranged presence of “Linda.”
he was true to his generous nature, and said at once that he would do his best to help me, trusting I should show myself a stronger woman this time. He immediately proceeded to the wharf, and found that the wind had shifted, and the vessel was slowly beating down stream. On some pretext of urgent necessity, he offered two boatmen a dollar apiece to catch up with her. He was of lighter complexion than the boatmen he …
Durkheim develops totemism’s cosmological system and the social idea of class: clans, phratries, and classes are treated as shaping first classifications of things, and all classified things share the sacred nature of the totem.
TOTEMIC BELIEFS--(*continued*) *The Cosmological System of Totemism and the Idea of Class* I.--The classification of things into clans, phratries and classes 141 II.--Genesis of the notion of class: the first classifications of things take their forms from society--Differences between the sentiment of the differences of things and the idea of class-- Why this is of social origin …
Durkheim defends studying primitive religions for methodological reasons: understanding recent religions requires tracing historical development, and explanation depends on starting from the simplest forms and their concrete realities found by observation.
But why give them a sort of prerogative? Why choose them in preference to all others as the subject of our study?--It is merely for reasons of method. In the first place, we cannot arrive at an understanding of the most recent religions except by following the manner in which they have been progressively composed in history. In fact, historical analysis is the only means of explanation which it is possible to apply …
Durkheim contrasts lower societies, where ritual and thought are stereotyped and simple, with complex religions where variation obscures essentials, arguing that ethnology can reveal key elements previously misunderstood by historians.
possible to find, underneath the disputes of theology, the variations of ritual, the multiplicity of groups and the diversity of individuals, the fundamental states characteristic of religious mentality in general? Things are quite different in the lower societies. The slighter development of individuality, the small extension of the group, the homogeneity of external circumstances, all contribute to reducing the di…
He maintains that even though categories arise from social life, society is part of nature, not an empire in an empire, so ideas modeled on society can still validly structure thought about the physical world.
world, they have only the value of artificial symbols, useful practically perhaps, but having no connection with reality. Thus we come back, by a different road, to nominalism and empiricism. But when we interpret a sociological theory of knowledge in this way, we forget that even if society is a specific reality it is not an empire within an empire; it is a part of nature, and indeed its highest representation. The…
He explains why he will focus on Australian societies: they are homogeneous, well documented, and represent the most primitive known clan-based organization; he adds North American Indian tribes only as supplemental comparison.
is necessary that he distinguish those which promise to be the most instructive, that he concentrate his attention upon these, and that he temporarily leave the others to one side. That is why, with one reservation which will be indicated below, we propose to limit our research to Australian societies. They fulfil all the conditions which were just enumerated. They are perfectly homogeneous, for though it is possibl…
In imitation rites supporting fertility of totem species, Durkheim describes Australian Intichiuma ceremonies with decorated men, symbolic shelters, chants, and gestures imitating insects’ developmental phases.
THE POSITIVE CULT--*continued* II.--*Imitative Rites and the Principle of Causality* But the processes which we have just been describing are not the only ones employed to assure the fecundity of the totemic species. There are others which serve for the same end, whether they accompany the preceding ones or replace them. I In the very ceremonies which we have been describing, in addition to the oblations, whether…
At the stile guarding the way to Doubting Castle, the pilgrims erect a warning pillar, then travel to the Delectable Mountains where Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere guide them and show biblical examples of error and hypocrisy.
he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the King's High-way again, and so were safe, because they were out of his jurisdiction {294} Now, when they were over the stile, they began to contrive with themselves what they should do at that stile to prevent those that should come after from falling into the hands of Giant Despair. So they consented to erect there a pillar, and to engrave upon t…
He depicts ancient Germans as living without cities, building scattered hut settlements in forests, relying on hunting, cattle wealth, and small-scale grain, with agriculture slowed by shifting land division and occasional famine-driven emigration.
different races of that stock. See Ueber Deutsche Runen von W. C. Grimm, 1821. A Memoir by Dr. Legis. Fundgruben des alten Nordens. Foreign Quarterly Review vol. ix. p. 438.—M.] Of these arts, the ancient Germans were wretchedly destitute. 1601 They passed their lives in a state of ignorance and poverty, which it has pleased some declaimers to dignify with the appellation of virtuous simplicity. Mo…
Gibbon describes early Christian expansion in the eastern Roman provinces, listing prominent churches named in the Apocalypse, cities where Christian communities formed, and testimony from writers like Lucian and Pliny about Christian presence.
The rich provinces that extend from the Euphrates to the Ionian Sea were the principal theatre on which the apostle of the Gentiles displayed his zeal and piety. The seeds of the gospel, which he had scattered in a fertile soil, were diligently cultivated by his disciples; and it should seem that, during the two first centuries, the most considerable body of Christians was containe…
Gibbon claims Providence hid Christianity’s early growth: Gentile converts appeared as Jews and worshiped in Jerusalem until its destruction, while Roman governors dismissed internal doctrinal disputes as word-based rather than threats to public safety.
Gibbon, *infra*, note 105.) In fact, when the silence of Pagan historians is noticed, it should be remembered how meagre and mutilated are all the extant histories of the period—M.] 1. By the wise dispensation of Providence, a mysterious veil was cast over the infancy of the church, which, till the faith of the Christians was matured, and their numbers were multiplied, served to protect them not on…
Gibbon cites sources arguing that Sassanian Persia revived an older Iranian glory, while notes on places along the Tigris try to locate the sites of Sumere (Samara) and Dura.
Irocopius, that the Immortals, so famous under Cyrus and his successors, were revived, if we may use that improper word, by the Sassanides. Brisson de Regno Persico, p. 268, &c.] 105 (return) [ The obscure villages of the inland country are irrecoverably lost; nor can we name the field of battle where Julian fell: but M. D’Anville has demonstrated the precise situation of Sumere, Carche, and Dura, …
Gibbon argues that the surviving Britons in Wales and Armorica remained Christian but became ‘rude schismatics,’ preserved Celtic language and bards, and retained martial customs into later centuries.
149 (return) [ See Dr. Henry’s useful and laborious History of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 388.] 150 (return) [ Quicquid (says John of Tinemouth) inter Tynam et Tesam fluvios extitit, sola eremi vastitudo tunc temporis fuit, et idcirco nullius ditioni servivit, eo quod sola indomitorum et sylvestrium animalium spelunca et habitatio fuit, (apud Carte, vol. i. p. 195.) From bishop Nicholson (Eng…
Darwin follows the Rio Tapalguen to the ninth posta (Tapalguen), described as an Indian settlement with toldos and ranchos, buys biscuit after days of meat, and comments on gauchos’ beef-only diet and fat cravings.
formation of quartz, and which, in the hill I examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. I was told that the rock of the "Corral" was white, and would strike fire. We did not reach the posta on the Rio Tapalguen till after it was dark. At supper, from something which was said, I was suddenly struck with horror at thinking that I was eating one of the favourite dishes of the country namely, a half-formed calf…
Darwin explains the Pampas’ bizcacha’s range and habitat, its behavior around giant thistles, its tame evening burrow sitting, and its puzzling habit of dragging hard objects and even lost watches to its burrow mouth.
first very obvious. There is little interest in passing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or birds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl. The bizcacha [1] is well known to form a prominent feature in the zoology of the Pampas. It is found as far south as the Rio Negro, in lat. 41 degs., but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the gravelly and desert plains of P…
Darwin continues down the Paraná, notes muddy western cliffs versus clearer Uruguay waters and colored tributaries near the Plata, and records a captain’s indolence as well as an old Spaniard’s views on Trafalgar and Spanish “gallantry.”
of Chile: from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much projecting, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that this can be a general habit. In our course down the Parana, I observed only three other birds, whose habits are worth mentioning. One is a small kingfisher (Ceryle Americana); it has a longer tail than the European species, and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position…
Darwin travels from Punta Gorda onward: he describes viewing the Uruguay River’s clear, fast flow versus the Parana’s water colors, then sleeps on a large estate where an army captain asks him questions about Buenos Aires women’s beauty and comb sizes.
Parana. On the opposite coast, several branches from the latter river entered the Uruguay. As the sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct. In the evening we proceeded on our road towards Mercedes on the Rio Negro. At night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at which we happened to arrive. It was a very large estate, being ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the …
On April 13, 1834 the Beagle anchored near the mouth of the Santa Cruz River, and Fitz Roy led a boat expedition upstream with tracking work because strong currents made rowing impossible.
SANTA CRUZ, PATAGONIA, AND THE FALKLAND ISLANDS Santa Cruz--Expedition up the River--Indians--Immense Streams of Basaltic Lava--Fragments not transported by the River--Excavations of the Valley--Condor, Habits of--Cordillera--Erratic Boulders of great size--Indian Relics--Return to the Ship--Falkland Islands--Wild Horses, Cattle, Rabbits--Wolf-like Fox--Fire made of Bones--Manner of Hunting Wild Cattle--Geology--Str…
Darwin describes April 19–21 tracking up the Santa Cruz, noting thorny islets, shallow channels, and signs that Indigenous horse parties crossed the river nearby.
During this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between them were shallow. April 20th.--We passed the islands and set to work. Our regular day's march, although it was hard enough, carried us on an average only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty altogether. Beyond the place where we slept last night, the country is comp…
Darwin explains how introduced rabbits and a native wolf-like fox are distributed on the islands, argues species caution with rabbit classification, and notes the possible extinction of the fox as settlement grows.
by backing ever so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs of the struggling beast, which then rises free, shakes himself, and vainly rushes at his antagonist. During our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses. These animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the French in 1764, since which time both have greatly increased. It is a curious fact, that the horses have never left the …
On December 17, 1832 Darwin records the Beagle’s first arrival at Tierra del Fuego (Good Success Bay), describing the landscape, a gale, meetings with Fuegians, and the mission and personalities of York Minster, Jemmy Button, and Fuegia Basket aboard.
TIERRA DEL FUEGO Tierra del Fuego, first arrival--Good Success Bay--An Account of the Fuegians on board--Interview With the Savages--Scenery of the Forests--Cape Horn--Wigwam Cove--Miserable Condition of the Savages--Famines--Cannibals--Matricide--Religious Feelings--Great Gale--Beagle Channel--Ponsonby Sound--Build Wigwams and settle the Fuegians--Bifurcation of the Beagle Channel--Glaciers--Return to the Ship--Sec…
He describes Fuegians’ reactions to English visitors and to Captain Cook’s comparison of their language, emphasizing mimicry, cautiousness about firearms, and their preference for knives, plus the earlier Fitz Roy episode with hostages and mission schooling.
other two men were ornamented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. The party altogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in plays like Der Freischutz. Their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. After we had presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied round their necks, they became good friends.…
Darwin continues onboard observations, contrasting York Minster, Jemmy Button, and Fuegia Basket in temperament and appearance, and explains why cross-questioning fails because Fuegians struggle with binary alternatives like black vs white.
word "cuchilla." They explained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a piece of blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of tear it. I have not as yet noticed the Fuegians whom we had on board. During the former voyage of the Adventure and Beagle in 1826 to 1830, Captain Fitz Roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for the loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopar…
Darwin describes Fuegians near Wollaston Island as naked, filthy, and suffering in heavy rain, detailing their minimal clothing, harsh shelter, shellfish and fish gathering, and food scarcity as a grim contrast to “fellow-creatures.”
38 or 40 degs. From the damp and boisterous state of the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of sunshine, one fancied the climate even worse than it really was. While going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we pulled alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject and miserable creatures I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west the…
Darwin argues Fuegian tribes lack government, fight over subsistence, live on inhospitable rocky terrain, show limited domestic affection and extreme violence toward infants, and claims their tool and canoe design has not improved over centuries.
thieves who had been driven from their tribes; but other obscure speeches made me doubt this; I have sometimes imagined that the most probable explanation was that they were insane. The different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is surrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects, and separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral territory: the cause of their warfare appea…
Darwin recounts February 6 events at Woollya: Matthews is sent back to the Beagle after severe harassment and plunder by Fuegians, and the party later returns to Ponsonby Sound after nearly three weeks in the boats.
of about one hundred and fifty miles from our ship. We returned into the Beagle Channel by the southern arm, and thence proceeded, with no adventure, back to Ponsonby Sound. February 6th.--We arrived at Woollya. Matthews gave so bad an account of the conduct of the Fuegians, that Captain Fitz Roy determined to take him back to the Beagle; and ultimately he was left at New Zealand, where his brother was a missionary…
In late May 1834 Darwin describes the Strait of Magellan region’s shifting landscapes and climate, visits Cape Gregory’s “gigantic Patagonians,” and then outlines June 1 arrival at Port Famine with cold forests and stormy conditions.
STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.--CLIMATE OF THE SOUTHERN COASTS Strait of Magellan--Port Famine--Ascent of Mount Tarn--Forests--Edible Fungus--Zoology--Great Sea-weed--Leave Tierra del Fuego--Climate--Fruit-trees and Productions of the Southern Coasts--Height of Snow-line on the Cordillera--Descent of Glaciers to the Sea--Icebergs formed--Transportal of Boulders--Climate and Productions of the Antarctic Islands--Preservation of…
He reports sparse zoology in the Chonos islets, noting aquatic mammals and specific distribution puzzles, then describes local birds and superstitious responses to their cries.
showed me, as the nearest approach to it which he had discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion. The zoology of these broken islets of the Chonos Archipelago is, as might have been expected, very poor. Of quadrupeds two aquatic kinds are common. The Myopotamus Coypus (like a beaver, but with a round tail) is well known from its fine fur, whic…
Darwin rides along Punta Huantamo’s rugged coast, describes plants used for sweet pulp and cider-making, discusses the difficulty of coastal travel, and notes islanders clearing land by burning during fine weather.
The Indians ended all their complaints by saying, "And it is only because we are poor Indians, and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a King." The next day after breakfast, we rode a few miles northward to Punta Huantamo. The road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. I was assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night even at…
On March 20-21 Darwin compares Andean scenery and weathering, discusses snow-shattering of rocks and spring detritus avalanches forming natural ice-houses, then reaches the Valle del Yeso with gypsum used to make wine.
as yet had been good with a steady but very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag track up the great range, dividing the republics of Chile and Mendoza. I will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several parallel lines forming the Cordillera. Of these lines, there are two considerably higher than the others; namely, on the Chilian side, the Peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it…
On March 24-25 the party views the Pampas from a mountain, passes a checkpoint with a tracking Pampas Indian, then crosses into Mendoza and into a dry, saline desert plain with sparse water and salt-loving plants.
animal, I suppose, must have fallen with its head downward into a hole, when the snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding parts must have been removed by the thaw. When nearly on the crest of the Portillo, we were enveloped in a falling cloud of minute frozen spicula. This was very unfortunate, as it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. The pass takes its name of Portillo, from a nar…
While anchored at Callao, Darwin argues that Peru’s supposed “no-rain” myth is misleading, attributes miasma and fevers to local conditions, and contrasts unhealthy coasts with healthier insular climates.
all probability, arises from these: for the town of Arica was similarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was much improved by the drainage of some little pools. Miasma is not always parts of Brazil, even where there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are much more healthy than this sterile coast of Peru. The densest forests in a temperate climate, as in Chiloe, do not seem in the slightest degree to affect the he…
He describes the terrestrial Amblyrhynchus demarlii as confined to central islands, abundant enough to ruin tent sites, explains its burrowing habits and slow half-torpid demeanor, and uses an anecdote about pulling one by the tail to characterize its behavior.
said that they knew nothing of its propagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land kind--a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a little extraordinary. We will now turn to the terrestrial species (A. Demarlii), with a round tail, and toes without webs. This lizard, instead of being found like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central part of the archipelago, namely to…
Darwin describes an encounter with black Aboriginal men who stop him by throwing spears for amusement, assesses their skills while arguing they do not cultivate, build, or settle like farmers.
iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed here some offense, appeared the least like England: they were working in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms. The power which the government possesses, by means of forced labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has been, I believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this colony. I slept at night at a very comfortabl…