70 DR. JOHN SCOULER. 9th. Chatham Island, one of the Gallipagos, appeared in sight this morning. Its appearance did not indicate any great fertility. The land consisted of low round con- ical hills & of a flat sandy beach against which the sea beat with some violence. 10th. Today we were of[f] James Island & the boat was sent ashore to ascertain what was to be found. The land is in some places abundant in trees & shrubs & have a verdant aspect, while other parts are completely desti- tute of vegetables & consist entirely of melted lava. Such at least was its appearance from the ship. In the after- noon the boat returned bringing two very large turtles, Chelonia syranas [?], & plenty of fine fish. llth. Today I visited the shore in the long boat & we had a little difficulty in landing on account of the surf. The place where we landed was a low & sandy bar of sand which separated a small lagoon or salt water lake from the sea. Here we found many indications of former visitors, in several places there were remains of island tortoises near the situations where fires had been. The most affect- ing & unexpected memorial of former visitors was the tomb of an American officer. It was situated on the sandy beach & was accidentally discovered, as it [was] concealed from notice by the thick shrubbery. At the head of the grave there was a board painted black, & bearing the fol- lowing inscription : Sacred to the memory of John Cowan, Lieutenant of the U. S. frigate Essex, who died here Sep- tember, 1813. His memory is lamented by his friends & country & honoured by his brother officers. On penetrating into the country we found very few plants, at least few in comparison to what one might ex- pect in such a climate. The abundance & interesting nature of the animals amply compensated for the scarcity of the plants. Indeed, the heat & moisture of the country
