the
Loggerheads; though these, which are taken between the _Sambellos_ and
_Portobello_, make those who eat the flesh purge and vomit excessively,
and the same is observed of some other fish in the West Indies.

The laying time of the sea-tortoises is about May, June, and July, a
little sooner or later, and they lay three times each season, eighty or
ninety eggs each time, which are round and as large as an hen's egg, but
covered only with a thin white skin, having no shell. When a tortoise
goes on shore to lay, she is usually an hour before she returns, as she
always chuses her place above high-water mark, where she makes a large
hole with her fins in the sand, in which she lays her eggs, and then
covers them two feet deep with the sand she had raked out. Sometimes
they go on shore the day before, to take a look of the place, and are
sure to return to the same spot next day. People take the tortoises on
this occasion, while on shore in the night, turning them over on their
backs, above high-water mark, and then return to fetch them off next
morning; but a large Green tortoise will give work enough to two stout
men to turn her over. The Green tortoise gets its name from the colour
of the shell, having a small round head, and weighs from 200 to 300
pounds. Its flesh is accounted the best of any, but there are none of
this kind in the South Sea. The sea-tortoises found at the Gallapagos
being a bastard kind of Green tortoises, having thicker shells than
those of the West Indies, and their flesh not so good. They are also
much larger, being frequently two or three feet thick, and their bellies
five feet broad.

They remained twelve or fourteen days at the Gallapagos, during which
time Captain Cooke lived on shore in a very poor state of health. They
also landed 1500 bags of flour, with a large quantity of sweetmeats and
other provisions, on York Island, which they might have recourse to on
any emergency. From one of their prisoners, an Indian of _Realejo_, they
had a flattering account of the riches of that place, which he alleged
might be easily taken, and for which enterprise he offered to serve them
as a guide. Setting sail therefore from the Gallapagos on the 12th June,
they shaped their course in lat 4 deg. 40' N. with the intention of touching
at the _Island of Cocos_, [in lat. 5 deg. 27' N. and long. 87 deg. 27' W. from
Greenwich.] This island is seven or eight leagues in circuit, but
uninhabited, and produces a p