LO
CO

NARRATIVE OF A TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS.

BY
GLOVER M.,j\LLEN

AND
THOMAS BARBOUR.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

PRIVATELY PRINTED.
DECEMBER, I9O4.

I10L06Y UBUn

^lofc^Y'/ ^'Ot^''^

c^

BIOLOGY
UBRARY

51

NARRATIVE OF A TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS.

BY GLOVER M. ALLEN AND THOMAS BAUBOI'R.

This is the first of a series of short papers on tlie flora and fauna
of the Bahamas, tlie results of a trij) made by us during the early
part of the summer of 1904, with Mr. Owen Bryant. We visited a
nuniher of the northern islands of the Bahama grouj) to make such
collections as were possible in the limited time before the hurricane
season.

These subtropical islands are easily accessil)le to naturalists from
the continent, and although considerable Avork has lieen done among
them, much yet remains for future exploration. Most visitors to the
islands go in the winter season since the heat of summer is extremely
oppressive. Yet we found it possible to be comfortal)le and at the
same time to make valuable collections. The present account of
our expedition is offered in the hoi)e that it may l)e of use to other
investigators who contemplate similar work among the Bahamas.
Further reports, leased on studies of the material collected, are in
preparation, and will appear as occasion may offer.

The party left Xew York on the S. S. "Orizaba," sailing June
24th, for Nassau. About day1)reak of June 28th we sighted New
Providence Island, and a little later, on landing, found comfortable
quarters at the Clifton House, the only hotel o])en during the sum-
mer season. We spent the few following days until July 2d in
collecting in the vicinity of the city of Nassau. A carriage and
driver may be had for 70 cents an hour and it is thus an easy
matter to make excursions in several directions from the city
pr()])er, back into the country of the interior of the island. The
gardens and cultivate<l grounds in the city itself, however, are rich
in insects of many kinds as well as other indigenous animals.

On the advice of Mr. Ronald Young we chartered the sixty ton
schooner " Wm. H. Allmry " (Capt. Daniel Russell) and found her
toleral>ly well adapted to our needs. 8he was fifty-nine feet over
all and drew al)out six feet of water. She was roomy and most sea-
worthy; but had more of the sj)ace been cabin instead of hold we
should have been suited better. We cannot too strongly advise

691

2 ALLEN AND IJAimorU

persons who conteinidate a \ isit to tlie Haliainas in siiiniiier to make
sure of an awning for the deck and an ade<|uate siij»jily of mosquito
netting. Oils of citronella and pennyroyal mixed in e(|ual i)arts
will also he found very useful in hel])ing to keep off the gnats,
stinging tlies. and mosquitoes, which are excessively ahuiidant in
some localities.

Our crew consisted of captain, mate, cook, and three ordinary sea-
men, with sevei'al extra men picke<l up along our route as occasion
re<piire<l. It is wise to have on hoard rather more men than are
likely to he needed as j)hysically they are far from strong. This
ajjplies especially to the white inhahitants of Ahaco; for a diet of
fruit, salt meat, and I'ice has left them poor workers even when they
are ai'oused from their tropical lethargy. It is possible that in nuiny
respects a negro crew would he more useful.

A few words as regards food are not out of place in this connec-
tion. .Manufactured ice, which may he obtained at Nassau for a
reasonable |trice, .^(/ ))er lb., can be kept a long time if packed in
large chunks with a liberal (piantity of barley shucks, (iood rain
water may be obtaine<I at Nassau. One should l)e careful not to
rely on the various " wells," really holes in the ground where the
sui-face water collects, for the water from these has a most unpleas-
ant taste and is teeming with aniuuil lite, much of it (piite visible to
the nake<l eye. We found lime juice a most pleasant a<l<lition to
the water and always used it. Limes may be obtained at most of
the settlements for \^<l |>er liuiidre<l. I'^resh meat cannot be kept
even if it is obtainable. The native beef and mutton are vile and
nothing else can be obtainetl in summer. On the other hand, the
fish which abound about all tlie reefs and in the channels are very
good indeeil. We might mention especially the grouper, the various
snappers ami grunts, and turtle meat which can usually be hail in
Nassau. Sonu' of the lishes are poisonous, 'i'he barracuda, parrot
fishes, and the and»er-jacks in some places are said to ha\e a very
bitter taste and to cause severe sickness. A gocul general rule is to
avoid the luight, showy fishes, although I'xceptions may often be
nuide. In Nassau canned goods may lie obtained but in cjualitv
they are far inferior to those which might be brought from the
North.

After ]>r()visi(»ning our craft and getting our ajiparal\is safelv
8towe<l, we set sail at ;"> p. m., of July 2, for Ilupetown, Elbow ("ay.

TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS 3

98 miles north of New Providence. This passage was rather rough,
o^dng to a heavy soirest wind and we were all glad to cross Little
Harbor Bar and to enter the still water behind the oixtlying fringe
of cays off Great Abaco. Ilopetown is one of the few white settle-
ments in the Bahamas and boasts about 1000 inhabitants. Here is
the large lighthouse that warns mariners from the dreaded Elbow
Reef, which in the old days was such a })rofitable collecting ground
for the wreckers.

For two days we di<l shore-collecting here but did not find it
particularly productive. The rocks along the shore yielded a con-
siderable number of shells and Ave found large colonies of the rock-
boring barnacle, Lithotrya. A good deal of collecting we did in
five or six feet of water, using a waterglass to examine the bottom.
The abundance of sharks was somewhat of a drawback. Although
we were assured l)y the natives that these were very timid yet they
sometimes came A\dthin 15 feet of us. Though we did not see any
very large ones on the Abaco side of Elbow Cay, we did see sev-
eral monsters in the surf on the ocean side. After two days spent
here we went to Marsh Harbor on the " mainland " of Great Abaco,
and from this point we made several excursions among the intricate
waterways of "The ]\larls." Here we saw one Sjtlendid band of
fifty-four flamingoes as well as a few scattered individuals. For-
merly these birds nested here in great flocks but owing to the great
destruction of the eggs and young birds by the peojde of Marsh
Harbor, a mere remnant now remains. Their nesting site has not
been discovered for two years and if it can l)e kept hidden for a few
years more their numl)er may increase. In the Bahamas the craving
of the people for fresh meat can only be satisfied l)y using gulls,
terns, cormorants, and flamingoes for food. A crying need of the
islands is a good set of game laws for none whatever exist to-day.
We were forced on several occasions to try these various birds as
food and cannot recommend ])ersons to rely on them. The wild
pigeon which occurs in thousands on some of the cays is, however,
delicious.

About noon of July 8th we set out for Great Guana Cay, where
we spent several days in shore-collecting and dredging in Guana
Cay channel. Of our dredging apparatus we purpose to speak later.
We made good use here of the snapnet in collecting small reef
fishes, baiting and setting it in from 10-30 feet of water and

Al.LKN AND RAKBOFR

"watchinir it with a w aterglass, until, when a mniiher of specimens
were busy about the bait, it was closeil with a jei"k of tlie hue and
hauleil to tlie surface.

At tlic kiml invitation of .Mr. Aithiii- II. XicM, of the Sisal Fiber
Company, we spent two most |)leasant ihiys at the e.xtensive jilanta-
tion on Little Abaco. Here we had an opportunity to observe the
preparation of the iiber and to collect a number of land animals and
])lants in the vicinity of the village of Cooling Tem])er. Not far
away, near the villatje of Tar ]Jott(»m is a larije, almost circular lake,
of great depth w hose water, fresh at the surface, is salty at a slight
distance down. There is .sup]»oscd t() be some subteiTanean connec-
tion with the sea; for it is not unusual to find large sea tish and
sometimes turtles in tlu' lake.

Leaving Little .\l»ai-o on July 11th, after making a short stoj) near
C'e«lar Harbor to e.xamine a series of caves, we stood off for the Pen-
sacola Cays. Here we spent several days in dredging and slioi'e-col-
lecting. We made Moraine Cay our head(piarters and from here we
made several short e.xcursions to neighlioring islets. This island is
a great roosting place for the pige(His anil iiumliers also nest among
the bushes. ""I'hey feed during the day on llie nearby islands and
return to Moraine ('ay to spend the night. This bird is tlie coni-
nion West Indian white-crowned pigeon {('ohimba lenvocephnhf).

Before •"> \. m. of the 14th we were off for Stranger Cay. 'I'he
wind fell to an almost dead calm and before long a terrific tropical
thunder s(piall was on us. The rain canu' dow n in blinding sheets
and the wind l>lew a gale. .lust as the storm altateil we made out
two watt'rspouts soiui' miles to seaward. The wind ln'M favorable
and as we ran along bet'ore it we passi-il I''isli Cays where a great
multitu<le ot' sea l)irds rose ai\d circled aliout shrilly screaming.
This is a t'a\(>ritt' placi' for the spongers to " I'gg up" liefore a
cruise; and it was e\i<lent that the liii'ds had no love for intruders.
About the middle of the afternoon we arrived at Stranger Cay,
where owing to i-xti-nsixc shoals w i' had to lie otT about half a
mile from shoi'e. Mere there was a <U'Ser1i''l ho\ise. the only
sign of human haliitation since leaving Litlle .\liaco. ( )n this
island, moreover, the soil sei'ineil to ln' lu'tti'r suitt'<l for cultiva-
tion than the meager Itit of sand on nu>st ot' the other "I,»'eward
Cavs." The nu)S(piitoes were very troul)lesoine and as the island
was not a particularlv rich collecting tii'ld w f were not sorry when

TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS 5

at noon of the loth we turned south and made for Great Sale Cay.
We might add that on the sand flats we had good sport from our
small boat spearing the large " sting-a-rees," giant skate-like crea-
tures. The way in Avhich they rushed the l»oat off, often rising
from the water and fla])])ing their great wing-Uke tins, added much
to the excitement. When finally killed and hoisted aboard the
schooner they were useful as shark bait.

At Great Sale Cay we met several boats, the last of the sponging
schooners, homeward bound. All the crews boarded us, asking what
we were doing and where we were going. Perhaps it Avas their ad-
vice that made our crew so shy of aj)proaching the shore of Great
Bahama; for the following morning after our visitors had left, the
ca])tain and mate asked us to omit this stage of our trij). We in-
sisted, however, and after some excitement incidental to the har-
pooning of a large leo})ard shark ( Galeocerdo tigrinum) from our
deck, set sail for an anchorage some distance off Hiding Point,
" Grand Bah'ma." The l)ottom all about here is very hard and the
on-shore winds roll up heavy seas, so that we dared not run within
several miles of the outlying flats. Only one of our crew had ever
been here before ; for this shore, aside from its other unpleasant
features, is not a ])rotitable sponging ground. From our anchorage it
was a matter of scA'eral liours of alternately sailing and hauling our
small l)oats over series of shoals and mud Hats, before reaching shore.
Even here a long stretch of excessively difficult walking lay between
us and tree growth. Tlie entire surface of the ground, except where
it was covered with a layer of tine, sticky mud from an inch to sev-
eral feet in depth, was curiously eroded, and everywhere sharp ])oints
of limestone rock and ridges keen and hard as knife blades rendered
our progress slow and painful. Once among the trees, conditions
were even more unfavoral)le for an extended survey of the land,
since the ground was everywhere covered with a thick tangle per-
haps six feet high of the thorniest of xerophytes.

After leaving Great Bahama, where we had been al)le to spend
but a couple of days, we retraced our course, sto])ping only at Marsh
Harbor, IIo])etown, and Sweeting's Village. This return passage
was rendered more difficult by the increasing number of squalls,
now of daily occurrence, and the intervening periods of calm
weather. Moreover, our stores had become very low, as unfore-
seen delays prevented our replenishing them at Hopetown, about
the only place where food could be obtained.

6

A LI-EN AM) BAKMolR

Near Sweeting's Village, on July 22<1, we went ashore on ''the
main '' in order to visit the caves at Hurricane Hole, — one of which
had been inliahited for many years hy a large colony oi hats ( Phyl-
l<)in/cf<ris jihinij'mits). At 1 1'. M. of the same <lay we left for
Nassau. The wind was shitty and sometimes almost dead ahead,
and it was not until midnight that we |iasse<I the light at llole-in-
the-W all. At aliout ^J:!-"" i'. m. of July li;)d we again tieil up to the
(|Ua\ at Nassau.

In some of the cuts a|)j)en<ie<l, are shown the main tyjies of vege-
tation among the
Ualiamas. The text
figure illustrates the
ojien pine woods
with tangled under-
growth, characteris-
tic of the large is-
lands, as Great Ba-
hama, Great Ahaco,
Little AI)aco, and
New Providence.
The oiitskirts of
these main islands
are fre(piently bor-
dered with low man-
gntve swamps, or
more ojien stretches
(1>1. 2, Hg. 1) where
the liroken surface
ot the limestone of-
fers little foothold
for any l)ut .strag-
gling bushes. The
wicket-like metho<l
in which tin- man-
grove bra n c h e s
gi-ow is well shown
in liguri' 'J i pi. '1 ).
Still anotluT type
of vegetation is seen among the cays. This is a tangle ol palmettos

1

^ ",'.-^ vf

r

^ip? '' ^^

BniiU

Hj^V'^-'i

rinr \miimU :iri(l miilfr;;'n)« t li. (iri'itt HmIimiiim.

TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS 7

of several species, bushes, and vines, and is known as "coppet"
(pi. 8, fig. 3). On many of the islands cocoaniit palms are intro-
duced and thrive well. IJoyal palms, date })alras, paAvpaws, ))read-
fniit and almond trees are also commonly cultivated at Nassau as
well as other tropical varieties. Quantities of ])ineapples are grown,
but the soil is so poor that it is soon exhausted.

The land fauna is in a large measure made up of West Indian
species, and in part also of continental species, while a few forms are
wide ranging. Mr. F. M. Chapman has reviewed the origin of the
Bahaman avifauna in an important paper in the American Naturalist
several years ago (vol. 25, 1891, p. 528-539). The indigenous mam-
mals of the Bahamas are few. A racoon {Procyon maynardi) is
found on New Providence Island and is distinct from the mainland
variety. Several species of bats also occur. A species of Capromys
is found on the Plana Cays, in the southern part of the group. We
were informed by Mr. Robert Johnstone, of Nassau, that a manatee
was captured at the Bimini Islands al)out a year or more since. The
animal was killed by some negroes about the time of one of Mr.
Johnstone's visits as circuit magistrate.

Through the kindness of Mr. Alexander Agassiz we were per-
mitted to make use of a hand-winch and 350 fathoms of steel cable.
By means of this apparatus and a twenty-inch Blake dredge or four
foot tangle-bar Ave made a numl)er of hauls along our route.
Dredging from a sailing vessel is difHcult work at any time but it is
particularly so when the weather conditions are unfavoraljle. We
set our AAdnch uj) on the starboard side of the schooner, rather far
aft. The cable we ran forward and through a set of blocks made
fast to a boom on the foremast. This extra l)oom Avas rigged under
the regular foreboom. In this way we were enabled to dredge over
the beam, a method which is far more convenient than dredging
over the stern. To the end of this boom was attached one of the
ship's runners, which served to hoist the load on deck, and a guy,
which Avas carried forAvard and ma<le fast to one of the cat-heads.
This arrangement is shoAvn in fig. 4 (pi. 3) which giA^es one an idea
of how the whole apparatus a])j)eared from the boAV. With this
apparatus Ave made a number of successful hauls '\\\ from three to
tAventy fathoms. But in deeper Avater, say fifty fathoms, the Avork
becomes very difficult as Avell as precarious. The lack of a spring
accumulator and the character of the bottom were our main dif-

S ALLEN AND HAUHOT'R

ficulties, and cau8e<l us the loss of several dredges. We were
also unfortunate in liavinu; heavy s(|ualls ronie up almost every time
we ran out to sea to nuike the deeper hauls.

Persons who contemplate dredging in the Bahamas should a])ply
to the Colonial Secretary for a ])ermit, preferably through their
Consul, as dredging is forbidden by law owing to the damage to
the 8j)onge industry.

Several interesting s])ecies of fishes wei'e taken while dredging
off the island of Al)af<), among which may be mentioned the rare
eel, Sphagehranchii.^ (oi(/iii/hniiis. Young Monocanthi were taken
in every haul on grassy l»ottom ; and in rather coarse white sand
we obtained Asi/Nonetro/i h(ct(i/aiii(iii.

We may fittingly close this brief sketch w ith a few remarks on
the general conditions of several of the nu)re im))ortant islands
which we visited. The "out islands'" are strangely little known
even to the people of Nassau, to say nothing of the average Anjeri-
can. Much of our information has been obtained from the Annual
Report for 190ii, by Sir G. T. Carter lately of the Bahamas and now
Governor of Barbadoe. This is illustrated and is far more inter-
esting tium the average l)lue-l><»ok ; in fact every person who con-
templates a visit to the Bahamas should rc-rtainly senil tor a copy
mill i( :h1 it carefully. We will take u[) the several islan<ls here in
the order in which we visited them and remark shortly ujton each.

New Providence, the most important island in the group, contains
the capital, Nassau. The islan<l is alxnit twenty miles long and nine
miles broa<l. The po|iulation of the whole island (1901) is about
12, .')(»() persons. The city is now fre«|uently visited in tlie winter
season ai\il the island is therefore well known to .\mericans.

Abaco an<l the Northern Cays: The main islands are (Jrcatand
I^ittle Abaco; according to (lov. Sir (i. T. Carter they liave an area
of 77<i sijuare miles. They cxtcntl t'or 94 inili's ami yet the popula-
tion is only .'{oOO pcoph', aiul is derreasing. The principal settle-
ments art- ( 'hcrokcc Souml, llopi-town on KUxiw Cay, and (ireen
Turtle Cay. The first of these settlements is a mere fishing village;
the seconil is a port of t'litry ami an important sponging center.
Green Turtli' Cay, oiu-t' a flourishing town, is now fast declining;
the people are said to lie mo\ ing to i\ey West, VVa. The |)overty
outside of Ilopetow n is t'Xtreuie : indeed the reveiuie of Cherokee
Sound in 1901 is stated to ha\ e been 1'4 7.^'. There is some valu-

TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS 9

able timber on Abaco and a concession has been granted to exploit
the forests. A large amount of sisal is grown on J^ittle Abaco and
a lesser amount about Hopetown. Off the Abaco coast to the
Matanilla reefs (lat. 27° 23' N., long. 78° 50' W.) extends an
iinbroken fringe of cays and reefs, once the abode of the unscrupu-
lous wreckers, who now have little to do as their favorite trade has
been destroyed l)y the lighthouse at Elbow Cay.

Great Bahama : This island contains 430 square miles, is 06 miles
long and from 5 to 12 miles wide. The population is stated to be
1780 people. The inhabitants are mainly engaged in sponging and
lishing. The character of the land seems particularly unfit for agri-
culture or cattle raising.

The people of these northern islands do not take kindly to the
mild vocations now open to them. Their ancestors have for genera-
tions been very little better than pirates ; and as they often told us,
they consider the lighthouses a curse instead of a mark of progres-
sive development.

The writers returned to New York arriving about the first of
August, but Mr. Bryant remained behind for a visit to Andros
Island. He went to Mangrove Cay and there made some most
interesting collections, ])articularly of reptiles and molluscs.

Andros Island is the largest of all the Bahamas l>eing really a more
or less connected aggregate of many islands, the whole land mass
having an area of about 1600 square miles. As only part of this has
been explored it still offers a fruitful field for biological work. The
entire population is only a little over 5000 persons. Hiis island is
the only one with running fresh Avater but unfortunately the stream
is useless to the settlers as it is situated in swampy and uninhal)it-
able land. There is valuable timl)er on Andros as well as on some
of the other islands, but as there are no roads nor good harbors
it cannot be worked successfully. The colony is so poor that no
improvements can be made and consequently there is little or no
encouragement for settlers to emigrate thither.

The i)leasure of our stay in Nassau was largely due to the very
kind attention shown us by the American Consul, Mr. Julian Potter,
and by Mr. Young, chairman of the Sponge Fisheries Board ; both
of these gentlemen assisted us in many ways. To the .Vdministrator,
Colonial Secretary, and Executive Council of the Bahamas our
thanks are due for permission to impoii; and use our dredge within

10 ALLEN AND I'.AKI'.nrij, TIJIl' TO I'>.\IIA>L\S

the jurisdiction of the colony. I'iiially. \\ r ha\c the i»ieasure of

ackiiowled^int; our deep ohMualioii to Kolteit .Lihnstoiie, Escj., the

Colonial Matristrate, for his many kindnesses and lur his generous
liospilality.

Tmr TO THK Bahamas.

Pl.ATK 2.

FIG. 1.— ERODED LIMESTONE ALONG SHORE. (iREAT BAHAMA.

W-

t

FIG. 2.— OUTER EDGE OF MANGROVE SWAMP. GREAT BAHAMA.

Trip to thi: Bahama:-

Plate 3.

FIG. 3.— CAY VEGETATION. GREAT GUANA CAY.

FIG. 4.— DREDGING OPERATIONS ABOARD THE ' ALBURY.

.^•:<-?;:.?'^;f;il:!';'H:Ki;l:il'?iil^

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