Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1899-08-26
NATURALISTS AT GALAPAGOS
Apparent Connection With Volcanic
Eruption In Hawaii.
Stanford Expedition Finds Yolcanos Active
Animal and Plant Life Remarkable
Drawin'S Evolution Idea.

4
Islands, a group OF small islands
on the equator, about 600 miles of
the coast of Ecuador, South Am
erica, are owned by Ecuador, which
country has a peual colony there.
The name Tortoise" is given to
the islands because of the great
numbers of land-turtles which are
found there. The known richness
of the islands in rare fora and
fauna was the inducement, in Nov
ember Of 1898, for scientific ex
petition to be sent out from Stan
ford University. The party is made
up of Edmund Heller and Robert
E. Snodgrass Of the geological de =
partment of Stanford University,
with ships crew OF six men, on
board the sailing schooner Bessie
L. Whalen of San Francisco, Cap
tain William Noyes. The expedi-
ton itself was made possible by
the generosity of Timothy Hop
kins.
The purpose of the expedition,
says the San Francisco Examiner,
is to make a complete study of the
animal aud plant life OF these isl
ands. An exhaustive collection of
specimens will be prepared on
their return few weeks hence, by
the party, and will be presented to
Stanford University. The collec
ton will be unique and will be
one of the most interesting in the
world, for the reason that some Of
these islands have never before
been explored.
The Galapagos, like the Hawai-
Ian Islands, are of volcanic orr
gin. The depth of the ocean
around the islands is very great,
varying from 20J to 400 fathoms.
Though scientists report the vol
canoes to be inactive, the present
party has found a number to be
burning and passing out lava.
This may be unusual, and it is
suggested may have been caused
by the same seismic disturbance
that made Msuna Loa 80 seeming
ly patriotic on July 4th last.
The Galapagos Archipelago
bears its chief practical interest to
scientists from the fact that within
it's borders is to be found plant
and animal life that exists no.
where else in the world. There
are, among birds alone, twenty.
three species found exclusively
there, and among man mails and
plants the present expedition has
found scores of new forms and
species.
The chief general interest, how
ever, that attaches to the islands
is from the fact that 1t was the
study of it's fauna, which first
suggested to the great scientist
Darwin the theory of evolution.
In 1882 Darwin left England to
explore the coast of South
America and on his return he
began to formulate his theory of
evolution from what he had there
found, at the Galapagos Islands,
and what he found later at the
Cape Verde Islands, of the coast
of Africa.
The Stanford party reports the
islands to be somewhat inaccessi.
BILE, though their members have
succeeded in visiting to date
something like fifty of them.
They are making a collection as
they 60 OF all the species of birds
reptiles, fsh, insects, molluscs
plants and mammals of the differ
ent islands. Each island seem:
to be inhabited by different re.
} preventative species, fact which
lends great interest to their work
The birds have already beer
quite thoroughly worked up by
} previous naturalists, but the fisf
the party have nearly to them
selves. A great many new speciel
:. have already been collected
They have now four barrels o
fish specimens in alcohol. Tht
s. fishes are collected with dynamite
exploded under water by means O
!, copper cable, which is connected
: with the dynamo in the explorin
skiff.
# The returns Of the expedition
a. looked for with great deal G
Y interest by the biologists on th
,s Pacific coast, as this 10 probabl