Lundh, J. P.

English

Aquatic Commons

April1998 NOTICIAS DE GALÁP AGOS 7
VOYAGE OF THE FRIGATE EUGENIE
By: J. P. Lundh
Almost half a century ago, a childhood friend, the late
Alf Kastdalen of Santa Cruz Island, lent me a copy of
Alban Stewart's "A Botanical Survey of the Galapagos
Islands." One of the things that araused my curiosity in
this book was the abbreviation "Anderss." that is often
found next to plantnames. I guessed correctly thatit stood
for Andersson, but a number of years would pass before
I knew more about this Swedish botanist. Still more went
by before I held his book on Galápagos plants in my hands
and could read it, thanks to the kindness of Roger Perry,
who lent it to me shortly after he became Director of the
Charles Darwin Research Station. Since my return to Eu-
rape, I ha ve learned much about Prafessor Andersson
and the voyage around the world ofHis Swedish Majesty' s
Frigate Eugenie, mainly in the botanist's letter fram the
voyage and the two-volume narration by Lt. Carl Johan
Gustaf Skogman (1820-1907), a distinguished naval of-
ficer with roots in the Swedish nobility of Finland.
Nils Johan Andersson (1821-1880) had taught at the
University of Uppsala
- where Linnaeus had studied and
taught - before sailing on the Eugenie. After his return, he
spent a period at the University of Lund, fram where he
went to the Riksmuseet in Stockholm in 1856. Andersson
wrate several botanical works besides his Galápagos flora,
among them his Monographica Salicum (1867). He was
also editor of the periodical "Botaniska Notiser."
The zoological work aboard the Eugenie was the re-
sponsibility of Dr. Johan Gustaf Hjalmar Kinberg
(1820-1908). Although he was the ship's physician, he
also held degrees in zoology and veterinary science. The
commanding officer of the frigate on this long voyage
(1851-53) was Rear Admiral Christian AdolfVirgin (1797-
1870), an outstanding naval officer and diplomat, who at
the time held the rank of captain. Virgin carne fram a
noble Pomeranian family established in Sweden since
1731, whichgavetheir adopted country a numberof army
and naval officers of distinction.
The frigate Eugenie sailed from Carlskrona, Sweden,
on September 30, 1851, accompanied by the corvette
Lagerbjelke. After a visit to Copenhagen, a storm forced
the ships to seek shelter in Farsund, in the south of Nor-
way, fram where the vessels sailed to Spithead. Their
next port of call was the island of Madeira, followed by
Rio de Janeira, where they anchored on the 9th of Decem-
ber. After stops at Montevideo and Buenos Aires, the
corvette Lagerbjelke headed back for Sweden, while the
Eugenie returned to Montevideo, before sailing south to
Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan. They reached
Val paraíso on February 22,1852.
In several of his letters fram the voyage, Prof.
Andersson praises Captain Virgin for his many good
qualities, especially his kindness and his support to the
scientists on the frigate, whom he gave every opportunity
to collect, even praviding them with boats and crew to
reach places that were outside the raute followed by the
ship.
After leaving Valparaíso, the frigate sailed to the
Chincha Islands, outside Pisco, then visited Callao and
headed for the Gulf of Guayaquil, where they arrived on
March 24, 1852. On the following day, the Swedes en-
countered the George Howland,an American whaler that
had been captured at Floreana by Manuel Briones and his
gang, who had been serving an eight-year sentence in the
Galápagos because of their depredations in the Daule
region, aboveGuayaquil. The Swedes boarded thewhaler,
butthe escaped convicts had already abandoned the ship,
seeing their only escape route blocked by the frigate. The
captured ship was sailed thenext dayup theGuayas River,
its capture being duly reported to the respective officials
and the vessel turned over to the American consul. It was
at this time that Praf. Andersson and several Swedish
officers witnessed the execution of Briones and some
members of his gang, who had been captured by Ecua-
dorian soldiers in the Gulf.
The Eugenie continued to Panama, then a Colombia n
pravince, sailing later to the Pearl Islands for water and
firewood. San Francisco was to be their next port of call,
butCaptain Virgin changed his plans to give the scientists
an opportunity to collect specimens in the Galápagos, since
both Andersson and Kinberg were familiar with Darwin' s
collections fram the Islands and were hoping to visit them.
Andersson expresses great admiration for Charles Dar-
Wln.
The men on the Eugenie sighted San Cristóbal at sunset
on April 28th, but the unfavorable wind conditions left
them drifting between that island and Santa Cruz. A boat
was lowered to take the scientists ashore, while the frigate
managed to reach anchorage at the en trance to Stephens
Bay (Puerto Grande), thanks to a weak breeze that helped
them in early afternoon. On San Cristóbal, the visitors
met with the half-dozen inhabitants who were still on the
island, and some of the officers were invited to a meal of
tortoise meat, which was eaten with bread and fine French
wine brought ashore fram the ship. No visit was made to
the interior.
The next stop was Black Beach, where the frigate an-
chored on May 14th. Hunting and collecting was done
during the following three days. Then, the ship set course
for Santiago. East of Pinzón, a boat was lowered and a
crew pravided to take the scientists ashore on Santa Cruz,
where a few hours were spent at Whale Bay, where the
Swedes saw some men running inland at the sight of their
8 NOTICIAS DE GALÁP AGOS No. 59
boato They found a woman in one of the shacks at the foot
of the hill by the beach, but could not communicate with
her, as they spoke no Spanish.
After a visit to the southeastern part of Isabela, the
scientists rejoined the frigate in James Bay in the after-
noon of the 19th. During his visit to Whale Bay, Praf.
Andersson became the first botanist known to have col-
lected plants on Santa Cruz. In his letter from this part of
the voyage, he mentions that the vegetation was similar
to that seen elsewhere, giving the impression that he was
not much impressed by the place, but he complains in his
flora that he had too little time to spend there, having no
doubt realized la ter that he had collected a disproportion-
ately high number of new plants.
Unfavorable wind conditions induced Captain Virgin
to head for Hawaii for supplies. The frigate remained in
Honolulu from June 21st to July 3rd, finally heading for
San Francisco and a long sojourn there. On the voyage
across the Pacific, the Eugenie stopped once more at Ho-
nolulu, later visiting Tahiti and other Polynesian islands
before arriving at Port Jackson (Sydney) on October 21st
and spending ten days there.
Several stops were made in Micranesia, then the frig-
ate headed for Whampoa (Huangpu) on theCanton (Pearl)
River, Hong Kong, Manila, then south to Singapore,
Batavia (Jakarta), Keeling, Mauritius, and Capetown. Once
back to the Atlantic, stops were made at Santa Helena,
Plymouth, and Cherbourg.
LITERA TURE CITED
Andersson, N. J. 1854. Optegnelse paa en reise rundt Jorden,
1851-1853. Cappelen, Christiana (Norwegian translation of
Prof. Andersson's letter from the voyage of the frigate
Eugenie),
Skogman, C. 1854. Fregatten Eugenies Resa Omkring Jorden,
aren 1851-1853. Two volumes, Adolf Bonnier, Stockholm.
J. P. Lundh, Oslo, Norway.
VENICE IN THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS
By: J. P. Lundh
Venice and the Galápagos Islands may be two most
fascinating places, but they are certainly not alike. Even
the water araund them is very different - the turbid wa-
ters of the Venetian lagoon are hardly as inviting as the
clear, cool sea water surrounding Galápagos. However,
while strolling just east of the Doge' s Palace on a hot sum-
mer day, between Rio di Palazzo and Rio di Ca' di Dio, 1
was startled to find myself in a place called Riva degli
Schiavoni. In my mind's eye, 1 suddenly saw the waves
breaking at low tide over Schiavoni Reef, as 1had so often
seen them fram my windows in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,
on San Cristóbal Island, in the 1960s.
1 had often wondered about the origin of Galápagos
place names such as Schiavoni Reef, Malamocco Point,
and Lido Point. All 1knew is that they can be traced to the
Italian corvette Vettar Pisani, which visited the Galápagos
fromMarch20t031, 1884, underthecommandofCaptain
Giovanni Palumbo. A survey that was made of Wreck
Bay (Puerto Baquerizo Moreno) left us these names.
Lido Point is obviously named after the Lido, or Lido
de Venezia, the long, narraw island between the lagoon
and the Adriatic Sea. Malamocco is a small village on the
lagoon side of the Lido de Venezia, near its eastern end.
Bassa Point, about 6.5 nautical miles northeast of Wreck
Bay, gets its name fram the Italian word meaning low and
narrow.
Lieutenant Gaetano Chierchia wrate a 174-page paper
on the specimens collected during the voyage of the Vettar
Pisani, pages69to 74beingmainlydedicated toGalápagos.
Sixty-three zoological specimens are described fram the
islands and their neighboring waters, while fifty-six bo-
tanical specimens were reported fram Floreana and San
Cristóbal. On page 74, Lt. Chierchia makes the erraneous
claim that the only other scientific collection fram
Galápagos in Europe besides his own is that of the illus-
trious Darwin. He was obviously unaware of the
collections brought back in 1853 on the Swedish frigate
Eugenie. At least the botanical material fram Galápagos
fram that voyage had been identified, described, and
published as early as 1858.
LITERA TURE CITED
Andersson, N. J. 1858. Om Galapagos-Oarnas Vegetation. K.
Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien, Stockholm.
Chierchia, G. 1885. Collezioni per Studi di Scienze Naturali
fatte nel Viaggio intorno al Mondo della R. Corvetta Vettor
Pisani. Rome.
Larrea, C. M. 1960. El Archipiélago de Colón. Casa de la Cultura
Ecuatoriana, Quito.
J. P. Lundh, Oslo, Norway.


Voyage of the frigate Eugenie

http://aquaticcommons.org/7440/1/NG_59_1998_Lundh_Voyage_of_the_frigate_Eugenie.pdf

Voyage of the frigate Eugenie

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Aquatic Commons