Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan Page B
Authors: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
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Tierra delFuego and the islands nearby. After the theft of one of the
Beagle
’s whale boats, FitzRoy kidnapped five of the local people, who were called Fuegians by the British. When he gave up hope of recovering the boat and humanely released his hostages, one of them, a little girl they called Fuegia Basket, didn’t want to leave—or so the story goes. FitzRoy had been wondering about bringing some Fuegians back to England so they might learn its language, mores, and religion. Upon returning home, FitzRoy imagined, they would provide a liaison with other Fuegians and become loyal protectors of British interests at the strategic southern tip of South America. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty granted FitzRoy permission to bring the Fuegians to England. Although they were vaccinated, one died of smallpox. Fuegia Basket, a teenaged boy they called Jemmy Button, and a young man they called York Minster survived to study English and Christianity with a clergyman in Wandsworth, and to be presented by FitzRoy to the King and Queen.
Now it was time for the Fuegians—whose real names no one in England had bothered to learn—to go back; and for the
Beagle
to resume her survey of South America and “to determine more accurately … the longitude of a large number of oceanic islands as well as of the continents.” 11 This assignment was expanded to include “observations of longitude right round the world.” She would sail down the east coast of South America, up the west coast, cross the Pacific, and circumnavigate the planet before returning home to England. Once the
Beagle
had been re-commissioned under Captain FitzRoy’s command, he took measures to insure that this new expedition would be very different from the previous one. Largely at his own expense, he had the 90-foot square-rigger completely re-fit. He resurfaced her hull, raised her deck, and festooned her bowsprit and her three tall masts with state-of-the-art lightning conductors. He tried to learn everything he could about weather and became one of the founders of modern meteorology in the process. On December 27, 1831, the
Beagle
was finally ready to sail.
On the eve of her departure, Darwin had suffered an anxiety attack and heart palpitations. There would be episodes of these symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, and profound bouts of exhaustion and depression throughout his life. Much speculation has been offered on the cause of these spells. They’ve been attributed to a psychosomaticreaction to the traumatic loss of his mother at so tender an age; to anxieties about the reactions his life’s work might elicit from God and the public; to an unconscious tendency to hyperventilate; and, strangely, although the symptoms pre-date his marriage by many years, to the pleasure he took in his beloved wife’s genius for nursing the sick. The sequence of events also makes implausible the contention that his illness was due to a South American parasite acquired during the
Beagle
’s voyage. We simply do not know. His symptoms caused this explorer to be mainly housebound for the last third of his life.
Darwin’s personal library on the journey included two books, each a
bon voyage
gift. One was an English translation of Humboldt’s
Travels
that Henslow had given him. Before Darwin left Cambridge he had read Humboldt’s
Personal Narrative
and Herschel’s
Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy
, which together evoked in Darwin “a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of Natural Science.” 12 The other gift was from the Captain. It was Volume I of Charles Lyell’s
Principles of Geology
, and FitzRoy would live to regret bitterly his choice of going-away present.
The scientific revelations of the European Enlightenment had posed disturbing challenges to the biblical account of the Earth’s origin and history. There were those who tried to reconcile the new data and new insights with their faith. They
Beagle
’s whale boats, FitzRoy kidnapped five of the local people, who were called Fuegians by the British. When he gave up hope of recovering the boat and humanely released his hostages, one of them, a little girl they called Fuegia Basket, didn’t want to leave—or so the story goes. FitzRoy had been wondering about bringing some Fuegians back to England so they might learn its language, mores, and religion. Upon returning home, FitzRoy imagined, they would provide a liaison with other Fuegians and become loyal protectors of British interests at the strategic southern tip of South America. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty granted FitzRoy permission to bring the Fuegians to England. Although they were vaccinated, one died of smallpox. Fuegia Basket, a teenaged boy they called Jemmy Button, and a young man they called York Minster survived to study English and Christianity with a clergyman in Wandsworth, and to be presented by FitzRoy to the King and Queen.
Now it was time for the Fuegians—whose real names no one in England had bothered to learn—to go back; and for the
Beagle
to resume her survey of South America and “to determine more accurately … the longitude of a large number of oceanic islands as well as of the continents.” 11 This assignment was expanded to include “observations of longitude right round the world.” She would sail down the east coast of South America, up the west coast, cross the Pacific, and circumnavigate the planet before returning home to England. Once the
Beagle
had been re-commissioned under Captain FitzRoy’s command, he took measures to insure that this new expedition would be very different from the previous one. Largely at his own expense, he had the 90-foot square-rigger completely re-fit. He resurfaced her hull, raised her deck, and festooned her bowsprit and her three tall masts with state-of-the-art lightning conductors. He tried to learn everything he could about weather and became one of the founders of modern meteorology in the process. On December 27, 1831, the
Beagle
was finally ready to sail.
On the eve of her departure, Darwin had suffered an anxiety attack and heart palpitations. There would be episodes of these symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, and profound bouts of exhaustion and depression throughout his life. Much speculation has been offered on the cause of these spells. They’ve been attributed to a psychosomaticreaction to the traumatic loss of his mother at so tender an age; to anxieties about the reactions his life’s work might elicit from God and the public; to an unconscious tendency to hyperventilate; and, strangely, although the symptoms pre-date his marriage by many years, to the pleasure he took in his beloved wife’s genius for nursing the sick. The sequence of events also makes implausible the contention that his illness was due to a South American parasite acquired during the
Beagle
’s voyage. We simply do not know. His symptoms caused this explorer to be mainly housebound for the last third of his life.
Darwin’s personal library on the journey included two books, each a
bon voyage
gift. One was an English translation of Humboldt’s
Travels
that Henslow had given him. Before Darwin left Cambridge he had read Humboldt’s
Personal Narrative
and Herschel’s
Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy
, which together evoked in Darwin “a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of Natural Science.” 12 The other gift was from the Captain. It was Volume I of Charles Lyell’s
Principles of Geology
, and FitzRoy would live to regret bitterly his choice of going-away present.
The scientific revelations of the European Enlightenment had posed disturbing challenges to the biblical account of the Earth’s origin and history. There were those who tried to reconcile the new data and new insights with their faith. They
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