United States Navy Galapagos Expedition, 1941 : correspondence

/

Dear tlr. Graf:

In a coordanoe with your letter of instructions of Ivlarch
28th, I proceeded by airplane to Balboa, Canal Zone, to join the

U.S.S. liiALLARD

As this mode of travel permitted a maximum of only 55 pounds

of baggage, I %ms able to take with me only the barest necessities for
the trip. Also, the short notice that I had did not give me time to
make more than the briefest . telegraphic arrangements fdr certain
supplies that I felt were necessary for the expedition — chiefly pre-
servatives, bottles for specimens, and photographic film.

I arrived in Balboa at 4:30 p.m. and boarded the IIALLARD

for an eight o’clock departure. :le spent the forenoon of April 2nd
off Malpelo Island, Colombia. April 4th we refueled at Santa Elena,
-Ecuador, leaving the next morning for the Galapagos Islands.

Our first landfall was Freshwater Bay, Chatham Island

Here is found the one permanent fresh water supply in all the Islands,
A sample of the water vms obtained and given a brief chemical and
bacteriological analysis, (Copies of the doctor’s report and the en-
gineer’s tests are appended.) Working around to V/reck Bay, the port
of entry, tat the same day^, April 7th, courtesies were exchanged with
the officials there.

An interesting sidelight on our Wreck Bay visit. Ashore, the

Territorial Chief, Tcnel Meneses Pe^aherrera, most hospitably set be-
for us a platter of freshly sliced 'pineapple and served thereafter two
rounds of very excellent brandy. Captain Picking, in returning the
compliment, invited him and his staff to a buffet supper aboard the
liALLARD, which vms concluded ivith ice cream and cedce eind the best
feature movie in the MALLARD'S repertoire. In the course of one of
the intermissions, while reels vrere being changed, Senor Polanca, in-
terpreter for the Governor, leaned over to me and said, "It’s wonder-
ful that you are doing so much for us," He was genuinely moved by
the kind attention given him and his countrymen.

The forenoon of April 8th was spent at Academy Bay, Inde-
fatigable Island, Here two brackish springs were examined and tested
for salinity (results appended). As this is the island in which we
were most interested, I endeavored to obtain a census of the popula-
tion, but I found that this was impossible at this time. Most of
the imhabitants appear to be living in the so-called moist zone, some
hours of travel distant, and no one, not even the governor at 'Yreck
Bay, could give me any definite county. Such reports on population
as were elicited from the Indefatigable residents at Academy Bay and
the captain in charge of the detachment of soldiers indicated that
there might be from 65 to IGO individuals, counting men, women, and
children. As it vms imperative that the MALLARD begin her survey of
South Seymour Island, we were unable to spend more than the one half

‘ 2 -

’.Ye arrived at oxar destination, Aeolian Bay, South. Seymour,
about 4;30, April 8th. A tide gauge was installed the first evening,
and the tents ws erected at the same time for the observers. The next
several days were given over to erecting signals for the triangulation
survey of North and South Seymour. Samples of several very interest-
ing fossil deposits were brought back to the llALLARD. These are now
in transit to the Museum.

In furtherance of my desire to see more of Conway Bay, vAxioh
we believed to be one of the best centrally located harbors and so f>! 64 rhctl 3 S Ca,
mwBi favorable site for the establishment of the proposed laboratory, ®
Captain Picking transferred me to the S-46, commanded by Captain Lynch.

We steamed over to Conway Bay on the monning of April 12th and

spent the next four days there. Several attempts were made to work
our way inland, in the hope of establishing contact with an old, aban-
doned plantation high up on the northwestern slope of the island, be-
cause a spring is supposed to exist there along with a stand of banana,
orange, and lemon trees. We found it impossible to get through to
the higher levels because of the density of the brush and the exceed-
ingly rough terrain. The shore party needed no persuasion to unquali-
fiedly accept Gifford Pinchot’s description of the island as "inacces-
sible Indefatigable". There is a nice landing beach at Conway Bay,
but, except for one sand dune xasxxkjc, the land near by is generally
low and densely brush covered.

As vre learned from various residents in the Islands, the
present rainy season has proved to be one of the wettest for many
years. This was the report of the residents of Wreck Bay, jAcademy
Bay, and Villamil, on south Albemarle, v/hich we visited before leaving
the Islands. The Wittmer family, on Charles Island, voiced a similar
comment to the captains of the submarines who visited them during our
sojourn at South Seymour. They said that it was the wettest season
that they had seen in the Islands since their arrival in 1932. As a
result, we found several fairly large pools of fresh water a few
hundred yards back from the shore line at Conway Bay. Similarly, on
South Seymour Island, three different groups of intermittent fresh
water ponds xvere found, but these ponds do not persist through the
dry season, as I know from personal experience.

The ConxAray Bay party returned to the base at South Seymour
on the afternoon of April 16th. The next day the whole expedition
left for James Island, where we anchored in the early afternoon.

Here, too, was much evidence of a very wet rainy season. Barring

unwoathered rock ^^^Slflava flows ajjiin wa g i i W i ’n t fln h gairnri "rr'"iTn *i h r i* n , the

^ whole island was completely green. All of my other visits had been

during the drier months, and so, on this occasion, I saw for the first
time the xvaterfall that has been reported in a gully to the eastward
of James Bay. The Bay anchorage is fairly open and has at times a
heavy surf on the beach. Except fax that it lacks a permanent xvater
supply, the land hereabouts offers some veiy fine building sites.

lie left Janes Island in the early morning hours of April
20th and anchored off Villamil, southern Albemarle, a few minutes
after ten o^olock. The anchorage is a miserable one, for we encountered
worse swells here than anywhere else in all the Islands. One must an-
chor well out from shore, and go in in a small launch or boat, because
the reefs investing the landing are particularly bad. Fortunately,

Sehor Bolivar Gil came out to guide us in. Captain Picking had been
directed to bring out an American survey party of otx four that had
spent the past three. months on this island, Messrs. Irvine, Douglas,
lianas, and l^lmer^ k/

Wvo^cfe .

From Villamil we moved around to ^‘Foster Gove’^, Elizabeth
Bay, southern Albemarle, where the night ivas spent. Very early the
next morning, April 21st, we moved up to Tagus Cove. Here we spent the
day and the following night before getting under^^’ay for Cocos Island.

Through the kindness of Captain Picking, it was possible to
make a circuit of Culpepper Island, the most northerly of the Galapagos
group^ ]|a^v^g long been interested in this island, I was now enabled
to hav^|^‘olose-up view of it ^e - r-tho first— t4mQ.. Its upper levels
have never been trodden by man and so remain a virgin collecting field,
the only one in all the arciiipelago. To get up on this island would
require special equipment, particularly scaffolding, as on almost
every side the bare, almost perpendicular cliffs run up several hundred
feet or more.

We raised Cocos in the early morning of April 24th. Before
anchoring in Chatham Bay, the island was circumnavigated. For the
first time in several visits to Cocos Island did I see any of the re-
putedly heavy fains, and I can now attest that they do come down with
full tropical intensity, though they are of comparatively short dura-
tion. On our last day at Cocos, Saturday, April 26th, ixica®kxxjixK 3 i-

asci accompanied by Lt. Ralph

Ernest, Civil Engineer, U.S.S., I took advantage of the opportunity
to obtain additional seeds of the rare Rooseveltia palm from one of a
stand of the trees from the heights above Chat hSi "Bay •

and
sidered

No time was lii^^t on the run back to Balboa, where we ,
ar^g^ed at 7 o* clock ^"le mOitgiing of the 30th. HereixOaptain Pickinf^

L Ixhad a conferejree with AdJrtiral F. H. Sadler ho uld be/ooif^

bs-vgonfi^ntial. /Although ''thQ^ Navy has^^^ermissid^ froi]p^"the
Ecuadorian g^^i^^ient to^establish air "^a4^suMarine bases Xn/fee
Galapagos, X until really i^jai^ssary. Any pi^^ering

in the isla^s wb^^ld,

of nec^sity, devolve upolK^he Smithsonipn if und^**t^en ^ all.
va 1 "tal ght^'&o^me t

be

JU

ht'^^ o f pr iorilry

V

r- ne’T.af^

the would peim!?i4^ the location #f thd^ laboratory
on what may now be considered the most ^^vorable sit?^e in the Islands.

Ho time was lost on the run back to Balboa, where we ar-
rived at seven o^clook the morning of the 30th. Here Captain Picking
and I had a conference witlri Admiral F, H. Sadler vfhich should be con-
sidered as confidential# Althougythe Navy has permission from the
Ecuadorian coveranent to establish air and submarine bases in the
Galapagos no move until r oal -ly ncessary. Any pio-
neering in the IslandSj^iTould, of necessity, devolve upon the Smith-
sonian if undertaken at all >/ This Y^uld permit the location of the
laboratory on what mkj be '■ the most favorable site in

the Islands ^ This # Captain Picking insists, is on thg^swth sb
North Seymour Island vdiere it fronts Indefatigable ##netvTeen the
two islands is a comparatively narrow channel which, by virtue of
reefs or a chain of islets and shoals across each end, lias been trans-
formed into a wonderfully well protected, landlocked basin, entirely
free from swel^j#^ an|hor

alongside o l^^^wo uid p

c on veni ent . ani 1. i ,1 e o i r fibr e # Through either reef there is an^ opening
sufficiently large for the passage of fairly good-sized vessels, even
tliough the maximum depth at mean low water is only 2-l/4 fathoms. Captain
Picking feels certain that iksxKxwxii it will be a very simple matter
to increase this depth with the aid of a diver or by blasting. On his
survey chart he has designated this perfectly calm, safe harbor as the
South Channel Basin, and he has kindly furnished me a ju u y I^racing

giving details of this basing c^fe

' — It- ’ge haf>ponod "- that - »"X g e t to s oo thio p artieni rar

^ ymich G 'ft fit ft in Picking ' diooovere"d-” ' just befere ' eui ** d e-

jnrt''ir'" fr~m— ''' •*~h" ■ .i

) afifl '""CBeTSYayg ; — OT i llw atrongth of his poooinmonda ' fei o H.v ' I

f would— urge, uni us s other utpiis id e rations sheul’d" ‘ t:Futw’e ' rg ‘ h" ’ the advantag» » s ,

, that th e ^iupiTS^d lab ' OTalory"b(j""lwaLbd lieie . ^There is a considerable ^
P|j}/i^sarea or^^^d ashore suitable for the construction of buildings and

1 ^ a *^gunite'^ watershed, which, in the usual wet season, should

collectjillfcipaiMK suffidient vmter to last a small establishment through »
the dr^ t»a]f* i t O ' l* the iiroag * This place Captain Picking

recommendii^Jl to the Navy. ^ Aomiral baaler say that we
w»4dtid-tTg" "f — to~ looato h i ore v if " 1:op*t*te — & a@ end , of th i s .particular

a 3<' “e * a i.r*

Although vmter could be hauled from Freshwater Bay, Chatham
Island, ^0 miles away, it is believed that an oil-fired evaporator
v/ould be much more economical# ^ At Freshwater Bay a small dam would

lesev

C:>

I* w

twe

V/* O'

have to be constructed so that a flexible pipe line could be laid out
a short distance offshore to enable one to take on water without
landing. Freshwater Bay, unfortunately, is on the south side of
Chatham Island.^^^he southern exposures of all the islands are gener-
|ally bad landing places because of the prevailing T/inds.

On llay 1st I visited the National Museum of Panama, examined
the collections, and encouraged Dr# Mendez to collect curstaceans
both for his institution and for ours. At present there are only two
crustaceans on exhibit in that institutioh, though there is a very
comprehensive representation of Panamanian shells, birds, and reptiles
I am sending him certain scientific literature that he desired. Need-

ing peat in wliioh to pack my Cocos Island palm seeds, I called on
Mr# Paul Allen, horticulturist in charge of the Balboa ^botanic
garden*’* Along with the peat, he gave me several rare palm seeds of
for the National Herbarium.

For packing the scientific collections that I had made in
the Galapagos Islands Captain Picking offered me the very excellent
facilities available at Coco Solo, where I spent Apidci May 2nd and
Srd, returning to Panama on Sunday, the 4th* As the connecting plane
from South America was delayed, departure of the plane v«ras postponed
until Monday afternoon, the 5th* Leaving at 2 p.m* , Yre arrived at
I'liami that night at 9 p.m. Here my Rooseveltia palm seeds were taken
over by the plant quarantine inspector* I therefore went down to the
Miami office the next morning to make arrangements for the shipment
of these unique seeds to V/ashington. This matter was very kindly
taken care of by Mr. Gist, who happened to be the inspector who came
to Pensacola in 1938 to pass the plant collections I brought back with
me from the Presidential Cruise of that year. Bill Merrill asked
especially to be remembered to you.

During the few hours remaining before departure of the
Washington plane at 2 p.m., I called on Captain John W. Mills, of
the Carnegie Institution’s Tortugas Laboratory, now retired, to con-
sult with him regarding available motor boats, particularly those on
kscslR sale by the Carnegie Institution, as they have in actual per-
fomance proven eminently suitable for a laboratory such as it is
proposed to establish in the Galapagos Islands.

arrived in Washington at 8:40 p.m. on May 6th and I
reported for duty at the National Museum at 9 o’clock the next morn-
ing.

Recommendations regarding the proposed laboratory and other
facilities are being prepared for your attention, as well as a draft
of the agreement covering the cooperative scientific studies to be
entered into by the United Spates and Ecuador.

. - /<fll

^ V t ft I

Dear Mr, ar&fi - " '

la aooordaao© with year letter of ins tract loas of March

2l;th, I proceaded hy airplane to Balboa.*, Canal Zone* to join the UsS,8,
JIALLMD,

This node of travel pemitted sm a maxiaisa of only 6S poimds

of baggange, and so I was able to take ■vri.th lae only the barest neces-
sities for the trip* Uso* the short notice tiiat I had did not give
me tua© to ssak# isJore than tlw briefest telegraphio arrangeiaents fo.r
certain ®ttpp.lies tte.t I felt were necessary for the expedition— chiefly

graphic film,

I arrived in Balboa at 6 p,m» aM boafcded the MA.LL4ED for

an eight o •clock departure. On our way to the Salapagos w® spent «i©

{

forenoon of April 2nd off lialpelo Island* ColoEibla., April 4th wo
refueled at Santa Elena.* Ecuador* leaving the next morning for the

Islands

Our first landfall was Frashsrater Bay* Chatham Island.

Here is found the one permniamt freshwater supply in all the Islands,
Staples of the wat®P were obtained and sulmitted to brief ohaaieal and
baotoriologioal analyses. Copies of the doctor*® report and the
engineer *8 tests are appended.

#orkli^ asroiad to Wreck Bay* the port of mtry* on ipril 7th,*

oourtesies were exchanged with ttie officials there. The forenoon of
tlie next day was spent at iicad«3y Bay, on Indefatigabl© Island, Here
two brackish springs were exmsiaed and tested for salinity.. As this
is the islasd in which m> wee® isost interested* I endeavored to obtain

a oemus of th® population, but I found tlwt this ms impossible, as
most of th® inhabitants top® said to b® liTiag itp in th® so-called
moist son®, some hours of trawl distant, the reports on population
that I was able to elicit from the residents at th© shore and the captain
in charge of th© detaohneat of soldiers indicated some 66 to lOO indi-
viduals, counting all men, woman, and children. As th© MAbLASD plmsned
to mk© an intensive survey of South Srnymur Island, w© could not re-
main longer,

Froooeding to our destination, we arrived at our anohorage,

c

Aeolian Bay, Sauth S®y«5ur, about 4s.a), ipril 8th, fhs survey observa-
tions were begun issediatelyt a tide gauge ms installed tli© first
evening, and th© tents were erected for the .shore party. The nert
several days wepe^ given over to erecting signals for the stjurvoy m
Sojrth and South Seyaour* In th® eourse of th® survey, several very
interesting fossil deposits were broufjit back to th© MALLAfiD, Kieso
snacs are in transit to th© Wxmmm now, and I hope they say be given an
early examimtion*

As I was very anxious to mkm a thorough exaiaination of Con-
way Bay, wilt oh seessed to be th© most favorable sit® for th© establish-
mont of th© proposed laboratory, Captkin Fioking transferred me to sub-
mrln© lo, 46, eowianded by Captain Lynch, W© steamed over to Cosseray
Bay on the morning of April 12th and spent t!w next four days here.

During this tla© we mdo several mdeavors to woik our my Inland, in
the hope of establisMi^ <»staot with, an old, abandoned plantation,
where there is said to bo a spring, with a stand of banana, orange, and
lemon trees still remaining, ?f© found it iapossible to win our way

way through to Vim higher loweis beoauee of the density of tlm brush
and the exooedingiy rough terrain. On© had to ^re® with Gifford

Pinehot’s desoriptioa of this side of the island, **iaaooe3siblQ Inde-
fatigable",

There is on© very alo® landing b^oh at Conway Bay, but Id'W
land near by is generally low end densely brush oovered, As ir© learned
from various residents in the Islands, the present rainy season lias
proved to be one of the wettest for may years, Kiis was ■ the report,
of the residents of Wreek Bey, Asadaay Bay, and ¥illsffiil, on south
Albmarle, which we visited before leaving the Islands, ^he Mttaer
fatally scxk made a siailar report to the Captain of the suteariaes which
visited Gimrles Island, sayir^ tliat it ms the wettest wirarfewy season
that they had seen in -the Islands since their arrival in 1932, Thus
it was that we found several fairly large pools of fresh water a few
hundred yards back from the shore line at CoiMray Bay. Similar condi-
tions obtained in Soutli Seyaour Island, where three differ^t groups
of intermittent fresh water pools were found. These ponds do not
pastK persist through the dry season, as I know from personal knowledge*

Our Conway party returmd to the base at South S«^raour
alonside the ilALlAED on tlW' afternoon of April 16th, The mxt day the
whole eoEpedltion left for James Island, where we anchored in the early
afternoon. Mere, too, wo found much evidence of a very wet rainy sea-
scai, Ihe whole island was completely green. All of ay other visits
here have been during the drier months, and on this occasion I saw for
the first time the waterfall that lias been reported in a gully to the
eastward of Jaeies Bay, The James Bey anohorabe is fairly open and

has ac^ *t timss very h©a’»y surf on ths beaoh* Exoept for a perma-
n«it water supply, the land herenbouts offers z-mn vmy tine building
sites.

We left daaes Island in the early aorning tours of April 20th
and anohored off Yillaail, southern Albmerle,, a few jainutes after
ten o* clock* ©le anotorege here is a aost raiserabl© one, for w© ©a-
cotBitered ■aW; the worst swells of any in ail tto Islands* One aust
andiorwell out froa store, ormr a raile, and proceed la in a snail
boat, because tto reef® iarostiag the landing arc particularly bad*
Fortunately, S^or Bolivar Gil caa.® out to fuld© us in. Captain Pick-
ing had beoa directed to bring out a stsoll ibaerican sutt^ part that
had spsBit th© past three laonths on tJiis Island*

From Ylllamil w© iKived around to Poster Cove, Bllsabeth Bay,
southern AlboEmrlo, where the greater part of th© night was spent,

Early the next siorniag, April 21 st, we sowed up to fagus Gowe* This
day and the following night were spent here befoivj we got under my
for Cocos*

iKirough the kindness of Captain Picking, it ms possible for
us to pass close to Culpepper Island, the stost northerly of the
G-alapagos group, and also to »ke a clrouit of It, I have been such
interested in this island, wiiioh I saw olose up for the first tijac,
because its upper levels towe never been trodden by mn and so still
reiaain a virgin oolieotii^, field, th® only one of its kind in th© archi-
pelago* To get up on this island, one would require special equipsaent,
particularly mm scaffolding, as on alsiost every side bare cliffs appear
to run up several hundred feet or mre*

We raised CJocos in the early aomlng of April 24th, Before
anchoring in Chatham Bay, a circuit of the Island ms made. Here,

too, water supplies were oxasiiaed, f&t the first tiiao in several visits
to aooos Island did I see any of Idle reputedly heai?y rains, and I can
now attest that they do ooto down with full tropical intensity, t^iough
they are of ooaparatively short duration, Saturday, the 26th, was our
last day at Coo os, and I took advantag© of the opportiaiity to obtain
additional seeds of the ix rare .Booseveltia tiala.

fr<m Cooos we aade a <|uiok run bac^ to Balboa, where w©
arrived at 7 o^clook the morning of the 30th, Sere Captain Pieking and
I- had a oonfereno© with A*siral P, li, Sadler, frm. the latter 1 learned

that, although tjie Sa-^ has permission from ttm Ecuadorian govern^ait
to establish an air and sulmarin© base in the Galapagos, they would
make no move until neoessary, and that any pioneering in the way of
settxng an establislim^it in thos islands would have to be done
us if done at all. As valuable as lavy faoilitios would bo to our
undertaking, this was, nevertheless, good nms^ for it wuld enable us
to locate the laboratory at is now oonsidered the most favorable

site, whioh Captain Picking has detertai-nod to be cn the south shore of
north Seymour Island wiiers it fronts Indefatigable, Between the two
islands Is a emparatively narrow channel whioh, by virtue of reefs
across each end, has been traiiafkaa^ into a wonderfully i^ll protected,
landlocked basin, entirely free from swells# Tliis lie Ims designated
the South Channel Basin, It is the place that h© Ims recosaaeadod to

the Kavy In his report to A<teiHkl Sadler, and where both he and /^dsiral

Sadler say w® are free to locate if we will keep to one or the other

end of this particular site. The water is so quiet here that one
can anchor alongside of the rooks, though a small dock should be built
for the sake of oonvenienee. Captain Picking has kindly furnished mo

with a tracing of thoir brief survey of this area. A ptotographio copy
of this la appettded*

la the reef at either end is a euffioioat opening for the
passage of sjaaller -ressels. Itte alnlTOa depth at scan low mter is
2<»i/4 fatlioas# Ci^taia Picking tells ss© ihat be beliefs it wight be

a very simple matter to inoreas® mis depth if neoessary wittiont rooourse
to blasting.

As it happened, I did not visit this partloular site, wMoh
Captain Plofcii^^ disoo vered Just before our dejmrtur© from -Soutli Sey-
soar, but I have utmost oonfideiioe in hAs Judf 3 a 0 .nt for all points of
view, and I would therefore urge, unless other o<sasiderations should
outweigh ay reoaTOeadations, that the proposed laboratory be located
at this place because of the very excellent fiarbor facilities and
suitable terrain ashore for the oonatruotioa of building, the rest of
ohe land here, too, lends itself to the construotion of a gunite nyater*"
shed* la tdi® wet season it seems probably that such an installation
w^ll peroilt sufficl®Eit water to oe oolleoted to lest a Si:i^ll establish*"
ment through the dry xk season, Scerever, it is tii® oonsensus of opln*"
ion of the off ioers of the MALLARD »i»K2iil that me most pr aotloal
of s^plying water would be to haul it from Preslnmter Bay, ChthM
lalaiid. At this plaoe a amll 4« would have to be oonstrueted so timt
a flexible pipe line might be laid a short distance off shore so that
water could be tak®s without landing, Frestefater Bay unfortunately,
on the .south side of Chattea. Beeaiwe of ti» premiling winds, the
aouidiem exposur^of .all islands are generally bad landing places,

(hi l&y 1st I visited the Satloml Museum of Paaa®ia,. examined
the oolleotions, asad encouraged Dr, Mondes to collect crustaceans both
for his institution and for ours. At present there are only two

oruEteoeans oa exhibit ia that iastitution* though ho doos have m very
oomprsheasiv© r©pres«mtation of SsHKiasisaiK Psaiaaaaiaa ehsll®, birds,
and raptiloB#

Hot having ®ay peat ia #iioh to pabk lay palm seeds, I called
oa Mr* Paul Allen, hortieulturist of the local botaJiioal garden and
also assooited ^rlth the Zone exporiamtal gardens at He let me

Imv© the peat I needed Mid also gavs me several rare pala seeds for the
Hatioaal Eerbarium*

As the soieatifio oolleetioas that I had sad# to the Galapagos
Islands tieedod paeking Mid las Captain Floking had offered lae the wry
excellent facilities available at Coco ^^lo, I weat over to sub-
laariae base oa tto second and spent this day and tlio next here, relxim-
ing to Panemo. on Sunday, the 4th, in tim to ©atoh tJi© scheduled plane
for Miami , As the oonaeoting plan© from .%uth America was delayed,
the departure ms postponed laitil lloadi^ afternoon, tdie Sth* heaving
at 2 p.m, , we arrived at Miami/ that night at 9 p*s* Here ay Rooseveltia
palm seeds were taken over by the plent quarantine latspeotor, and so I
went domi to the Miaai offioa tiie next aoming to make arraagcasients for
their ahi’^st to Washington, This iimtter was very kindly taken oar©
of by Mr, Gist, wiio happened to be the plant inspector who oeia© to
Pensacola In 1938 iM to pass the plant eoileotioas I brought ba«^ with
me free the Presidential Cruis® at that time. Sill Merrill wanted
efpeolally to bo resiecsbered to you*

Dia*lr^ the few hours reraaining before departure of tlie ♦Wash-
ington plan© at 2 p»Ei*, I called on Captain Jolm W* liill/fe, of to®
Gamegio Institotion s Tortugas Laboratory, new retired, to consult tyith
him regarding available motor boats, particularly toos© on sal® by the

Caroegie Institution, as they are eainaaatly sultabl® for a laboratory
suoh ns it is proposed to establish in the GAapagos Islands,

We errived in mshington at 8? 40 plm, on May 6th, and I
reported for duty a t the liational liuaeuQ at 9 o ♦olook the next laorning,

Witli this letter I also hand you a series of roooasaaadations

regarding tfi© proposed laboratory and equipmmt that stould be purcimaed
for it.

HoS'peetftilly,

IN REPLY ADDRESS NOT THE SIGNER
OF THIS LETTER, BUT

HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE
NAVY DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON, D. C

Enel.

Refef? to No.

Nav-12-PRJ

HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE

WASHINGTON, D. C.

October 22, 1941*

Dear Dr. Schmidt:

I am returning herev/ith the letters and photo-
graphs covering the Galapagos Islands v/hich you so kindly
loaned to me.

Your courtesy in lending me these documents
is greatly appreciated.

Dr. Waldo Schmidt,

Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, D. C.

Class of Service

This is a full-rate
Telegram or Cable-
gram unless its de-
ferred character is in-
dicated by a suitable
symbol above or pre-
ceding the address.

1201

R. B. WHITE
PRESIDENT

NEWCOMB CARL-TON
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

J. C. WILLEVER
FIRST vice-president

SYMBOLS

DL=Day Letter

NT = O vernigh t T elegraiti

LC = Deferred Cable

NLT=Cable Night Letter

The filing time shown in the date line on telegrams and day letters is STANDARD TIME at point of origin. Time of receipt is STANDARD TIME at point of destination

.BA8 46 NT COLLECT GOVT^SPR I NGF lELD MASS 25

' 154! AUB 26 m !2

MISS LUCILLE MCCAIN®

62

US NATIONAL MUSEUM WASHDC=

PLEASE AIR MAIL TWO PRINTED MUSEUM LABELS FOR EACH OF
SEVENTEEN BUNDLES AND BOXES SHALL MAKE SHIPMENT BY FREIGHT
ON WEDNESDAY ALSO SIX GUMMED FRANKS AND BILL OF LADING iF

NOT ALREADY MAILED A GRAND LIBRARY AND WONDERFUL RECORDS
-SHALL BE SEEING YOU THURSDAY FORENOON*

u '

WALDO L SCHMITT:.

FRANKS'.

THE COMPANY WILL APPRECIATE SUGGESTIONS FROM ITS PATRONS CONCERNING ITS SERVICE

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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

WASHINGTON, D. C.

August 18, 1941

Dr. faldo L. Schiaitt,
Hotel Albert,

65 University Place,
Nev; York City.

Dear Vvaldo:

I an sending this in duplicate so that you nay make any
corrections necessary and return it imnediately as will need this inforria-
tion before you return, Om’ estimated eypenditures for conservation v;ork were
as follows:

1942 1943.

1 P-4 Scientist 13,800

1 P-2 Scientist 2,600

1 Senior aid ........................... 2,000 —

1 Junior aid 1,620 ^ ^

1 CU-4 .-_lai20

Net pernanent, field 5 *• 11,340 y j

Temporary employees 1.500

Total personal services .112,840 Sqc\",

Supplies 15,500 MaJL,4S(ecl.

Communication 200 ^ .

Travel and subsistence .................. 2,900 L. ChTi C f"

Freight 400 . I 1 4.

Bepairs and alterations 200 ^

Special and miscellaneous services 380 oVouk.oLs'

Buildings 8.000

Total other obligations 4)26,160 % wr "t

Total appropriation 4'39,000

live hs.c’ originallj’ figured/on 412,580 for equipment and |■4,000
for buildings, but in view of the fact that we spent most of otu’ money for equip-
ment in 1941 and nothing at all for buildings, ve thought it proper in 194? to
raise buildings and reduce equipment. The next question arises "bha-t shall we do
for 1943 ?" and that is your job. Do you need more people or a different type of
people? My own feeling is that repairs and alterations should be considerably
increased as well as temporary employees, providing you can get them there. If
temporary employees are impossible to get, I tliink we should have more custodial
people in the permanent. This W'ould be necessary, I shoiild say, for cooks and

general laborers around the canp. It is probably assumed that the CU-i!
would be able to do minor repair jobs of one kind or another. The tote
for 1943 is the same, #39,000. I hope you can send this back promptly

State Department is on our neck for the green sheets and certainly the^
needed before you return. "

Very truly yours.

JEG/dc

nov; listed
1 amount
as the
will be

COPY

••

Personal services, departmental

Posi-

tions

AV.

salary

Professional service;

P - 4» Range $3,800 to $4,600

Scientist

1

3,800

P - 2. Range $2,600 to $3,200

Assistant scientist

1

2,600

Subprofessional service;

SP - 6. Range $2,000 to $2,600

SP - 4« Range $1,620 to $1,980

1

1

2,000

1,620

Custodial service;

CU - 4» Range $1,320 to $1,680

1

1.320

5

11,340

Tenporary employe^ departmental

1.500

01 Personal services (net)

12 ^840

s

(:J

vh 8,1(0 .a

'OCili'

Other obli^tions

02 Supplies 5,500

05 Communication 200

*^06 Travel and subsistence 2,900

07 Freight 400

12 Repairs and alterations 200

13 Special and miscellaneous services 380

30 Equipment 8,580

32 Buildings 8 . 000

Total other obligations 26 >160

Total estimate or appropriation $39,000

Total estimate or appropriation $39,000

Mr. ■£. Oraf
Aasooiat® Direotor
U, S. STatlocal |te®ua

Deur Mr, Graft .

With iMla I giw you a brief suMery of my roosst trip to tli®
Galapagos Is leads for th© purpos# of oheokiag up on the sweral points
raised in ©arlisr. disoussioas of possible site® for the proposed labora~
tory. Whet I eooojs^lishod was wholly due to the hearty eooperstion given
us by til® Savy DepartsMat. I wish partiouiarly to bring to your attention
the exooptioml courtesy and helpfulness of Captain S. Piohlng # oommader
of the squadron of four Butoariaes and tender#, the O.S.S, MALLAMS, on aiiioh
I went to the Islands. I imve ik> thing but tiw highest praise for Captain
Pioklng aj:Mi the llavy personnel of timt expedition, and ,I hop® that their
great service to us may be brought to tte attention of the proper authori-
ties la the ifavy Departeaent.

I visited Freshwater and Wreok Says, ChatlMaa Island, and Aoadeay
Bey, Indefatigable IslaMj ratlier ooiapietely explored South Seynour Isl«id|
spent the better part of four days, .April 12-16, at CJoaimy Bay, Indefatigable
Island} and ex«®ined the shore® of James Island from James Say to soiao dls-
taaoe eastward. W© also oatored the port of ¥lXla®il, a very diffioult
Isndixtg, and saw something of Poster Gov®, Ulsabath, Bmy, which th© Mavy has
had under ooasideratioa for possible future devolopaeat as an airplane and
.submarine base.

Althougli Coiwfay Bay had figured in our earlier dieeussions as a
very likely site, one reooiaaended tow by Captain Picking affords a .moh
swro favorsblo looatloa. This latter site is mar tiw western end of the
south slK>re of South Seyaour Island, fronting ladefatigable Island. It is
just about as oentrally located a® Conwy Bay, being only fourteen miles
rejwved from it, and offers even better protection for smll boats. Be-
tween .Soutli Seymour and Indefatigable is a oosparativoly aa.rrow olmnnel
^lieh, by virtue of reefs or a chain of islets and shoais across each end,
has been trajxsformed into a woaderftiily well proteoted, landlocked basin,
entirely free from swells. The water is so quiet here that one can anchor
alongside of the rooky shore (so© photo by Captain Picking iiarewith). A
small (look, however, %w)uld be aor® oonveaiant. TiurougJi either reef there
is an opening sufficiently large for tlie passage of fairly good-siaed ves-
sels, even though the imxiiaum deptii at iwon low water is only 2-1/4 fathoms.

Oaptaia fiekiag fosle oertaia tijftt It id 11 ho a vary siisfile aatt^r to imroas©
-■tJii® {|®pt3a with th® mid of a <SiT®r or by blasting* -On his survey elmrt he
has designated this p®rf®otly oala, saf® S^arbor as tira South Chsanel Basin,
-and h« i-ms kindly furnished m a trading giving details of this basin. (Pho-
tographic copy of traolag of the survey chart of this basin is appended.)

Isl'ior® there is a considerable area of slightly sloping land si#lt-
ablo for 1210 oonstruotioa of buildings and perhaxis also a "guaite” watershed
which in tli® usual wet season aay oolloct sufficient water to last. a sssall
establiste»at tifirough 'the whole of tli© dry season. This plaoe Captain ?lak-
Ing has also reeomeaded to the Jlavy as the best and safest liarbor in the
Islands.

Altliough the past rainy season in tlio Gelapagos tos one of tto
wettest in the awaory of m&ny of the present residents (the Witteers, on
Charles Island ®tac# 1032, say tise wettest), Itierc is no adequate, poma-
nant supply of fresh water to be had except In the stream entering Fresh-
•mter Bay on Ch*th«a. From this place water would have to be hauled to tl:so
laboratory site selected (sixty .mile® one wmy to tJie South CJmar»l Basin).

A small dan would h&v® to be built cm this stream: to Impound the water, «id
a flexible pip© line laid to a buoy offshore to enable one to take on water
without laad,tag. .. Freshwater Bey, unfortunately. Is on the south side of
ChathuBa Island, mad. the southern exposuros of all Urn island® are generally
bad landing piaoes. because of the prevailing idarf®.

The Savy is of the opinion timt ®a oil-fired evaporator would be
sore ©oonoialo..sl and practical la th© lo$i^ run (rouglily one gallon of diesel
oil produo.e8 twelve gallons of water). ■ '

la omolusion, whatever laboratory base is established la the
Islands .aliould be located, on the SoutJi Chasaol Basin* Her© a .small dock
should be installed, as well, as an ©vaporator for fresh mter. The labor-
atory should have attached to it a motorboat witii a cruising radius suf-
ficient to reach Balboa, as well &a tlie coast of touador, in case of
necessity. I also would reoosiaend the.t, if it can b® obtained, a heuseboat
typo of yacht witli seagoing hull should b® converted into a floating lab-
oratory and md© available to ttm pro jsot, la addition to the shore base
tha.t my be established*

Respectful if ,

Waldo L. Bohaiitt, Cfuratcr,
Division of Marine Invertebrates.

1 -

Hay 9, 1941

IIp« (J* E* OTfdt
Assoolat© Director
D, S* National Museu®
Washington, D. 0*

Dear Mr. Graft

Da aooordanc® with your iettor of instruotions of March
28th, I prooeedod hy airplane to Balboa, Canal Eon©, to join the
U.S.S. IIALLABD. ' ^

As this Biode of travel persdtted a aaxiauta of only §S
pounds of baggag®, I ms abi© to tak© with tae only the barest neoes-
sities for the trip. Also, the siiort notio© that I had did not giv®
m time -to laak© more than th® .briefest' tolegraphio arrangmonts for
oortain supplies 'that I felt were noessary for the expedition— -ohlefly
preservatives, bottles for speoimmis, and photographic fila.

■ I .arrived in Balboa at 4f^. p.a. and boarded the IL4LLARD for
an eight o’clock departure. We sj^nt' the forenoon of April 2ad off
■Malpelo Island, Colcmbia. April 4tli we refueled at Santa Siena, Ecua-
dor, leaving next aoming for the Galapagos Islands,

Our first landfall was Preslamter Bay, Chatliaa Island* Her©
is found the on© pemanent fresh water supply In all tii© Islands, A
saiaplo of the water was obtained and given a brief chemical ai&i baoterl-
ologioal analysis, (Copies of the doctor’s report and the engineer’s
tests ar© appended, ) Working around to Wr®ok- Bay, the port of ^ entry,
the sBEie day, April 7th, oourtesios were exchanged with tlio officials
there,-

An interesting sidelight on our Wneok ^y visit. Ashore, the
Territorial Chief, Tonel Heneses PeBaherrera, most hospitably set be-
fore us a platter of freshly sliced pineapple and served tli©r®after
two rounds of very ©xoellent brandy. Captain Picking, in returning the
oompliiaent. Invited him and his staff to a buffet supper aboard th®
MALLARD, whloh was conoluded with ioo6ore®a and cake and the best
feature movie in the llALLARD’s repertoire. In the course of one of
the Inter^ssions, while reels x^ro being changed, SoRor PoXanoa, in-
terpreter for the Governor, leaned over to me and said, ”It’s wonderful
tlmt you are doing so much for us, " He ms genuinely moved by the
kind attention given him and his oountrj«en.

The foronoon of iipril Sife was apmt at M&dmmy Bay, Inde-
fatigable Islan:d* Her® two brackish springs were 8zaa.in®d and tested
for salinity (results appended)# As this is the island in which we
were aost Interested, I endeavored to obtain a census of the popula-
tion, but I fotmd that this was iapossible at this time. Most of
the inhabitants appear to be living in the so-called^ aolst «on®,
scsae hours.-; of travel distant, and no one, net -even -the goveraor at
’^reck Say, could give me any definite count* Such reports on popula-
tion as wore elicited tnm the todefatlgabl® residents at Aoad«y
Bay and the captain in charge of the dataoteaent of soldiers indicated
tlmt tliere might be from 65 to 1 00 individuals, .counting men, women, and
children* As it was iterative tiiat the iblLLASD begin her survey of
South Seyaour Island, we were unable to spend more than the one .half
day at Ao&deay Bay*

Wm arrived at our destination, Aeolisffi Bay, South Seymour,
.about 4i30, j^ril 8th* . A tide gauge was .installed the first evening,
and the tents, erected at tlw same time for the observers. 'Oi© next
several days were given over to erecting signals ..for the triangulatioa
survey of Horth and Soutli Seyiisour* Saaples of several very interost-
iiig fossil deposits were brought bask to tbe HiLbAliD, fhes® are now
in transit to.:tte Huseiru.

In ftirtherame of siy desire to see more of Conifay Bay, ^ich
¥fe believed to be one of the best centrally located harbors, aiai. so
perhaps a favorable .site for the .estabiislzaent of the proposed labor-
atory, Captain. Picking transferred me to the .S-46, cosaanded by Captain
Lynch*. ¥e st®«aod over trj Ooirmy on the momini; of April 12th end
spent the next four ciays tiiere*. .Several atteapts- were jpade to,.- work
our, -way ..liilaad., in fete iiope of establishing . contact with an old, aban-
doned plaatatloa hi.|^. up on the .ajrtiwectsm slope, of the- island, be-
cause a spring is supposed fej exist there alcaig with a stand of basiam,
orange, aiwi lemon, trees* W®.. fomd.it iapossible to get through to the
higher levels beoaus®..-of the dwsity of the bin.ish and the .exceedingly
rough terrain* ^ The shore; party needed .no persuasion to unqualifiedly
accept, Cif ford P3jiohot'*s . desoripticai of the islei^ - -as- ’’inaoccs-sibl®
Indefatigable**. There, is a nice lainiing beach at Conway Bay, but, ex-
cept .for om sand dune, the land near by is generally low and densely
brush covered.

As w- learned frem mrious residents in the Islands, the
present rainy eeasoa has proved to be on© of the wttest for -way
years. -Tiiis was the report of the residents of Wreck Bay, Aoadmy
Bay, .and Yillamil, on South .Albesaarle.,.. wMoh w®. visited before leav-
ing the Islands. The ifittaer fmily, on Charles Island, voiced a
similar ooiaaeat to the captains of the sutearines who visited thees
during our sojourn at &uth Seymour*. They said that it w-as the wettest
seasm tlmt they imd seen in the , Islands since their arrival in 19S2.

Aa a result', w© found several fairly large poo,ls of fresh water a few
hmdred yards ba<& frem the shore line at Commy Shy. Similarly, m
South Seymour Island, three different groups- of int©n?dttmt fresh
water ponds were found, but these ponds do not persist through the
dry season, as I know frem personal experl eaoe*

fh 0 Gommy partgr returned to the Ijase ®t Soutti Seymour
os th® afteraooa of .^il IGth* 'Tte mxt &y. -the isiiol© expedition
left for James Island, '«h@re-we an<dior®ci' in. the early afternoon.

Here, too, wa.8 moh ©rid^oo.of a very •wet rainy season, . Barring
unweathered rock and .lava fl<ms, the stole island wa ooapletely green.
Ml- of ay other .visits i had been Mrlng til® drier aoaths, and so, on
.this oosasion, .1 saw for the first time the waterfall, that tos been
repo-rted.ia a. gully to ;tto ®.astimrd of Jaaes ^.y,. The .Bay anchorage
is fairly opeffit'.aM has at tl..ni; 0 s a: heavy surf - on the beach. Except
that it lacks a. perfflaaeat water supply, the .land hereabouts offers
seme . very . fine building sites. .■ *'

■'left Jmte® . Island is ‘the ,e^ly laomlng ho-ura*’' of April
2yth. end^ anchored off ¥illai3ii,. southern' ^bomarle, - a. ^f ear minutes
after ton. o*«look,. The anchorage la. a miserable one., f or i-ye ■ enooua-
.tered worse. swells here 4han myi^ere else -'is ail.. toe Islamds, an#
raxist anohor well out from, atoro, and pp. in ia a ®aall launch or boat,
because the reef s : investing the laadiag,. are particularly bad, , :For-
tunately, .Sstor Solimr Gil osaae-out to guide, us in, Gaptaia' Bio king
had, been directed to .brii^ out, an , .teerioan survey party of four that
Jmd spent the three soatto.'.on .this xsiaad, .Messrs., Irvine, Douglas
Ihram-g and Faliaor, (Chart of toe Vlllaail landing possessed by this
: party was Eiude availaulo to Us; copy ap.pendod*)' .

. , .From ?i.ll«ail we.Esoved around to : “Fostor 0'OiV©'^, liizahoth

-Bay, southern Albrnarle, where the night was cp<mt, ¥ery early the
next, !3oraing, . April Slst, .we. siovsd .up to Tagus Cove, . liere we' 'spmt
.to© day .and to© following night before getting, underway, for Oooos
Island,

• V • ■

. ... . ■ w,. ^ ■■■*.•' iff}/- - . ■- < - ■ . ■ ■

Throut^i.. the kiiwlaoss.’of Sfeptain Blticing,-. it was pbs.sibl© to
.mke a oiroalt.of Culpepper . I siaadf .tto'.aost aortiiorly of 'to® Galapagos
group,. , Savii^ -.lot^. 'been: interested '.in thi.«.. island,.^..!., was now'«iablod
to have ay first clo®e»up view of ..it* :■ It® .upper ■levols have sever
been trodde® by man and so reiaala a virgin oolleoting field, the only
one in all th® ^arohipelago., .... To. .get np on 'this' .Island, would requir©
special .^uipasent, parti.oularly scaffoldings . an on almoet every' side
the bare, almost perpendicular, eliffa wim up. several, hundred .feet or

ESOI^, ^■.. . . ■, .

s' • ' we.-. ■* - ‘

W© raised Goc.os in. toe early wraing -of April £4 to. Before
anchoring in Chatham Bay,, .tiie island, was c ire woavi gated., " For tiie
first time .in.^s©v©^al visits, to tocos Island' did I see any of ' the re*»
putedly heavy rains, .and. I can now., attest that they do oesae town, wito
full tropical Intensity, thouijh they are of comparatively ehor# dura-
tion, On our last day at Cocos, Saturd^^, April 26tii, aooompanied by
Lt, Balph Bmest,. Civil Itogineer, 11.8.11** I took advantage of the
opportuni'ty to. obtain additicmal seeds of . ..the rare Booseveltia palm
frcaa one of, a -stand, of toe .trees frewa., the. heights aK've’ “tiStetiim Bay,

Bo time was lost on the run back to Balboa, wiiere we arrived
at sev^ o •clock the morning of the SOto, Here Capt4% Picking and I
had a eonferenoe with Admiral P» H, Sadler, wiiioh should be eohsidered
as confidential. *

..JJLthsmgfe, thd -ha# p©.missioa from tb© Souadorian go^roim-
m©nt .to establish, air .aaad suhaariM has##, la ih® {Jala|>agos,- th0y plan
.to make ao .aov© uatiX . really ^ii®oes#ary«--- .Ai^ pl<m«©riag ia.-th® Islaads
would, of neoesslty# dewlve upon th® aaiihsoBlaa If uadertak.« at all.
fhis would ,pemit., the location of tb® laboratory' on wJmt imy aaw
oonsidered.. th® most f aworabl® . site in. the Islmds. Thi:#, Captain Piofc-
ing insists,. Is on tb© south .shoro .of liortb Smysmur Island idler© it
.fronts Indefatigable*. Between tii© two islands is. a omparatlwely aar-
row ci'MBonel-idiieh, by^ -rirtue of reef® or a ohaln-of.' Islets and shoals,
orosa ©aoh end., has been transforaed into... .a wonderfully .well protested,
landlocked basin, entirely free frmt swells, is quiet

here that one , oan , anohor aloagsld© of the .rosks.^wVerS&'Ms, a
. small dock would be .Tory jsomrenieat and ■ deslsmble, 'Through -either
.reef there is an .opening s«ffiol«itly .l.arge' for the passage of fairly
good-sized ’fesssls,. ewi though the a&xfcausa depth at mean low water Is
only. 2-1/4. -fathos®*- Captain .Pitking feels oertaia that -It will b# a
we-ry sis^l© :iiattt 6 r to -inorease-this deptli with the aid- of a diwer or
.by blastia^j* .. .Cte Ms .surw^ 'ohart he-Ms'-desipiated tMa perfedtly
oaim, .safe harbor "'as the South Channel ^sin, and he has kindly fumldhed
s© a traeing .'siirlng details- of tliis basinj photogr&phio copy amended*

so Mppm-ed that I di'd not get -to -see this particular sit®,
wMoh Gaptai.n Piokiag dXamvmrod just before our departure from South
Sejiaour., .but I. hs-r® Idle uMoat oo.afld®ooe in -his Jud^aent, and, there-
fore*- on.- the ■.strength of Ms r®o<»a«idation,. I' would urge, unless
other ooasid@rati<m® should- outweigh th© adwaatagea, tMt the 'proposed
laboratory be located bore* Iher®' is a oo'asidorably area of land a-slior®
sultabl© fcBT tha eoastru.otlon of build.mgs and also of a **gunit©’* water-
shed, whleh. In th© usual wet season, Aould 00 Hoot sufflolent water
to last a small establishaent through the -dry season* This is the
■plao® t^iat ..Captain Fiokia^ is reoaEmeadlng. -to the laty. Both ho and
Admiral ^dl-er say that we woul-d b© f»e@‘ -to looat# here if we kept to
one -md .of this partloalar -area* ' ■

Htiiou^i. water oouM bo hauldd from 'Fr® shim ter Bay, ®mth«B
Island,:' sixty Mies away,, it is bollewed- that -an ■ oil— fired ewaporator
would be .mueh mova eoonoaiealj- roughly, on© gallon of diesel oil is
needed to produo© twelve gallons of fresh water. At Freshwater &>.y a
snail dam would Mve t» be oonstruoted so that a flexible pips line
could be laid out a .short distance off store to enable on© to take on
water Mthout landi.ng,-... .Presliwater Bay,, unfortunately, is on the
south side- of Chathaa Island*. ?h© southern exposures of all th©
Islands are generally bad landing plaoos . because of th© prewailling
winds.

..Cai May 1 st I visited th© Sational kiiBeim of Panama,- examined
th© oolleotlons, and encouraged Dr, Mmdez to oo-lleot crustaceans both
for his institution £ad for ours.* At present Idler® are only two orus-
tao@ans on exhibit in that Institution, though tixor© is a very oostpre-
hensive rop^rcsontstioa of PanaaMaa shells, birds, md reptiles, I am
sending him certain soieatiflo liters tur© that he desired. Heeding
peat in which to paok my Cocos Island palm seeds, I oidled on It*, Paul

Alim, horbiculturist in obarg© of tb® Balboa '•botaiiio garden",
illong witb. til© peat, h© gave a© se-^r©i-al rare palo seeds for th®
Satioaal Hsrbarima.

Fcr ptokSiai: the soientifio ooll©etioas that I had mad© in
th® Galapagos Islands Captain Pi#:ij^ offered m© til© very excellent
faoilities available at Cooo Solo, i^er© I spent May and Srd,
returning to l^naaa on «3unday, the 4th* As '&# oonnooting plane
fr<® South Ataerioa was delayed, departure .of th® plane was postponed
imtil Monday afternoon, the 6th. Leaving at 2 p.ia., we arrived at
Miami that night at 9 p.a* Her# my Hooseveltis pals seeds were • ftairart
over 'by the.pl'ant qiaraatia© inspeoiSC TSierefore went down, to the
MiiEii office the next imming to mke arrangeaents for the shipment
of these uaii|ue seeds to Washington, ^s matter was very kindly
taken care of^by a*. Gist, who happened to be the inspector ^lo oame
to Pensacola in 1946 to pass the plant collections I brought back wi^i
me from the Presidential Cruise of tiiat year. Mil Merrill asked es-
pecially tc be reseisbered to you,

ftnf-iag th© few hours reminlng before departure of the
Washlngtoa plane at 2 p,m.., I called m Captain Goto W, Mills, of the
oarnegi® Institution*® Tortuga® laboratory, now retirod, to consult
with^ him regardii^ available wjtor boats, particularly those on .sale
by tn© Carnegie Institution, as they have in actual perfoKamce provm
mincntly suitable for a laboratory sucdi as It is proposed to establish
in the Galai^goe Islands, . .

We arrived in lashlngton at StdO' p,m. on Ifcy 6th and I re-
ported for duty at th® liational Miseum .at 9 o*clock the next morning,

Hecosaaeadations regarding the proposed labsratory ■and other
faoilities are being prepared for your attention, as well as a draft
of the agreeaent covering the cooperative, scientific studies to be
entered into by tii© United States and Bouador,

Waldo L, ajhniitt. Curator,
Division .of Marine Invertebrates,

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Mr. J. S* Graf
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I have been assoabllnE estiimtes for the proposed Galapagos
Islands laboratory and its equipment* You will see from ny reports
that I reOGiamnd 'tdmt the base laboratory bo set up on the south shore
of South Seymour Island, towird its western end on the so-oalled South
Channol Basin, ajid that, adjaoent to It, should bo erected the neces-
sary outbuildings to house whatever laboratory staff and boat orswr say
be assigned to the establislment, the light mid power plant, including
water and fuel pumps ai«l perhaps ocapressors and vacuum pump, evapor-
ator, and oarpenter and maohine shop. Also, near by would have to be
erected several storage tanks i diesel oil, gasoline, and fresh water,
and salt water tank if aquaria are to be maintained, Suoh a salt
water storage tank needs to be had in reserve in oass circulating
pumps fail. It is lay opinion that suoh shore station buildings should
be portable, on the order of the Hodgson type of house, because it may
be found necessary at some future date to move the iwildings to anotlier
site.

Although tJie site seleoted is on a landlocked, quiet body of
water, and landing upon i^e rooky shore is easily aooomplished, some
sort of dock should be planned upon for oonvonienoe in lending heavy
artloles and mooring small boats.

South Channel Basin laboratory site to Fresh-
water Bay, Shatliam Island, and return • ,
South Channel Basin aro^Jnd /dbemarle Island
and return

Tower Island and return

Culpepper Island and return ,,,,,,,,,
Blaok Beaoh Road, Charles Island, and return.
Academy Bay and return

Jaiaes Buy, James Island, and retunx , , , , •

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¥/ftter is very soaroe throughout the Islands and In ths dry
s@asc« noa-€aEist®it on aost of th<Ka, Likowis©, it is diffioult to
find sufficient food for the support of human life in the readily
aooessibl© parts of nearly all th® Islands* Oomraily speaking, they
are rather inliospitable places and good lendings are few and generally
wanting on the south shores of practically all of theei*

Therefore, it beocsaos a virtual neoessily to provide tha pro-
posed laboratory with a sui table tmidor or pow®r boat of reasonable
size and of a cruising radius suffioient to reach ?anaam or the ssain-
land of Ecuador in case of etaergency. It should provide sleeping
aoooiismodations for several people and have suffiei«tt carrying capacity
for lieuling water and supplies needed for the rsaintenaaa® of the lab-
oratory aM such sscoMary bases as nay be established elsewhere in th®
Islands* This vessel also should be ©quipped for handling oceanographic
apjmretufl and dredging equl'Ment, becaus© sarin® studies are an integral
part of tile ooateeaplated prograia of tlw laboratory.

I know of CBily one vessel that aay be available wliioh oan fill
th© bill and yet not be too expensive to mintain. It is th© AST03
DDHRII, formerly of th© Tortugas laboratory of the Carnegie Institution*
This is a vessel 70 ft, iix lexigth, 16 ft# b«MBa, 6 ft* draft* She oan
be run with a crew of two, but, in addition to the necessary mat© or
navlljator and the ©ngineer, it is advisable to have a deck hand also
and perhaps a second on© If wjch dredging is oont«aplated, lfh«m I last
saw her she had cable and independently drivefli power winch capable of
handling otter trawls and mall dredges*

Besides a vessel of the size of the several smaller

boats and launches should b® ac<|uired* Left over fro® the Carnegie
Laboratory are two very suitable TOtorboats, the DlMIii and the VSL-
ELLA# Both are about 25 ft* Icmg, the first naaed imving a 26-40
C-oylinder leraath, tlMt other a S6»60 4-cylinder Kemath. As indicated.

in th© estimtes, these boats can be iiad for $460 apiece* If purohased,
I would suggest that self-stairters be added to the equipment of each of
those launches. The DAR’fflS is a particularly useful craft, inasmuch as
she has a tank capacity of W) gallons of gasoline and ©an get something
over three miles per gallon out of her power plant*

Several skiffs, prams, or dories would be needed for landing,
end at least one or more of these boats should be powered by an in-
board motor* A 12-ft* power skiff can be obtained for |160, a 14-ft*
one for ‘1 200*

The ©stimtes which I attach hereto are Inoomplot®, but
will give you an idea of what is desirable* I have arranged the esti-
mates xmder several heads* With respect to housing and boats, one
could get off for such less money if we planned on a much armller be-
ginning, but I do not think one would dare to operate in the Islands
with anytliing less than a 40 or 50 ft, power boat. A cabin cruiser of
this size purchased on the market today would run anywhere from -^6,000

to HS,0(X), aad tli® only saving ovsr th® IX)liffl sight b© on® or«sr man-
b®r, but one wjuld sRorifio© the aai^r adTOntages kiet the umM pos-
sesses# both for carrying o&rgo and handling ooeanograpMo and dredg-
ing equipaseat,

in alternative ifould be the acquisition of a housetoat type
of yacht with seagoicg hull about 100 to 125 feet in length* Suoh
vessels can aoootaaodate parties of six to ten. persons with a crew of
four or I'iTO# and# asreover, would have aboard heat# light# power#
refrigerator# radio# and esaple water and fuel capacity for extended
periods.* Th© Maritisto OMaissioa has ta&en over several yachts desired
by til© gowraaent for ll.OO cash* The owners were glad to be rid of
them and were able to enter the cost on their incoia® tax blanks as a
deduotible capital, loss* Ih© living roam or salons of suoh v®.ssels
afford aeaple# well lighted, above-deck laboratory space.

A floating laboratory has imcta to rmam3,md. it. One would
have ooaplete labo«ttory and housing facilities avsildil© at what-
ever island at which it was desired to work at any tlw, Ftirti^r, .
a Bovabl© laboratory would constitute an effective patrol# inasiauoh
as. the aQv®a.ents of such a craft would be unprodiotablo by others.
Because of this possibility of aov®aeat frora place to place# on© or
aor® launches# such as the VELELLA or DAIS'flls, siiould be provided# in
order to keop in touch wito field parties and the base of suppllas*

satter what vessel is acquired# a base or shore station
would be a prisso necessity#, if only .for the purpose of warehousing
supplies# storing water and fuel# and Installing an evaporator of
greater oepa.oity tfc«n oould be carried on any of the boats.

Respeo tf ully #

WLSjLMc

Waldo L* Schmitt# Gumtor#
Division of Marine Invertebrates.

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Pile No.

U. S. S. MALLARD

BACTERIOLOGIC SXAICENATION OF V/ATER SPECIMEN TAECEN FROM STREAM
AT FRESH WATER BAY, CHATHAM ISLAND ON APRIL 7, 1941.

Method used was the Dominie and Lauter test - ” a quick and
simple method considered superior to practically all other meth-
ods" although not an official standard test.

Result of test of the one and only specimen taken:

140 or more organisims (of the coli-aero-genes group
of -^ecal origin) per 100 cc. of water, vdiich is con-
sidered gross contamination.

Result indicates that the stream is subject to fecal contam-
ination (of animal or human origin) admitting the possibility of
its being a source of water borne diseases such as typhoid fever,
amoebic or bacillary dysentery which are transmitted from man to
man by way of drinking water. Or, it may simply indicate relative-
ly harmless pollution by animals such as burros, dogs, etc.

4, 1941

Dear Dr. Sohmitti

Thank you for your oard froia Brownsville, lio were glad to hear
Tuesday that you had arrived safely and found everything all right down
idiere. An Eastern airliner, flying between lliaaii and New York, went down
in a Florida swamp. It was lost for several hours before it oould be
found. Had sixteen people aboard, but no one was killed, though every-
one was injured but only slightly. They were very lucky,

I am sending you copies of some correspondence with Iselin,

The telegram came two days ago, of ootirse, but I waited for the letter
which arrived only this morning, I sand also a carbon of ray reply. I
called up Graf and told him tlie gist of Iselin’s letter and s aid I would
send it over to him. He sounded rather uninterested, I hope the thing
is not going to be messed up for you while you are not here to defend
your own interests, I hope what I wrote Iselin is all right. I thought
it only right to tell him that you were actually down there looking the
ground over. That knowledge might, make him more willing to wait for an
answer about the Dohrn ,

I > 10 von’ t told any one else that you have gone anywhere but
Manama. I think Sohultz is burning up with curiosity, unless ha 3ms found
out elsww3iere. Hilda v/as in here and asked if you weren’t liere and I said,
’’Oh, he flew to Panama Saturday." She was open-mouthed in astonisiiment, and
I know she ran back as fast as she could to tell Sohults. Later in the day
I met him at tiie rotxmda door. Ho Imlf-stopped and said, "I hear your boss
has gone off on anotiier trip." I didn’t slacken my pace as I passed himj
just said breezily back ofer my shoulder? "Yes, he’s off again, oftf again, gone
again," I just thought— let Mm try and find out anything from mel

I took the ‘^ackson manuscript back to Ur, True’s office yestery-
day afternoon. I had worked on it steadily all week, and I still would hate
to bet very much money on its accuracy! I made a decision one way or tbhe
other, to my own satisfaction, on all t3ie points Mumford brought up, caught
a couple of typograpkioal errors, and checked a few references again. Un-
less we get out the books and check every reference in the paper, tlmt is
about all we can do. Miss MaoManus lias been working on it, too, for quite
some time,

l-ir, Bryant is arranging to get your passport. They idill not give
back t3ie old one, I understand, but will issue a new one for which they
demanded new photographs, I dug up my copy of the picture Mr, Wisherd
^Nat, Geographic) took of you and Mr, Bryant had several prints of passport
size made. It takes a letter from Secretary Abbot to get the passport, but
he wrote it yesterday and two copies of the new piatsuros were sent up with
his letter. 14r. Bryant will send the passport off as soon as he gets it a
I*m sure you’ll get it in time#

letter oeme yesterday from Gates, in wliioh he asked you to
arrange for rooms for them next weak with the woman with whom^ they stayed
last time they were here# I called Mrs* Sohi^iitt to get the womans name^

but she said to tell the Gateses to oome to your house, I guess you'll
be entertaining him while you are gone. He said in his letter that ho
has several things he wants to talk to you about, and I wonder if he may
change his mind about coming here when he learns that you are away,

Richards was in yesterday for a fo’.T minutes,

Mrs. Soteuitt is coming down this morning to get the check from
the Credit Union,. '

Mr, Maloney and I are getting along all right, but I don’t think
it is a good idea for both you and Mr, Shoemaker to be away at the same time
for, very long at a time, huokily, nothing particular has come up this week
that either of: you would need to see about*

Mrs. Wilson was in on Monday* She was coming down with a cold,
but expected to come back Wednesday and today if she wasn’t worse. She
must be worse, for I haven’t seen anything of her since. I hope she will
be getting better by now.;

Give my regards to the fjOteks, please.

Sincerely,

<1

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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

WASHIN6TON, D. C.

January 2, 1942.

Dr. Waldo L.Schiaitt,

Curator of Marine Invertebrates,
U. S. National Museum.

Through: Dr. L. Stejneger,

Dear Dr. Schmitt:

Herewith I an giving you a copy of a memorandum

just received from Mr, Paul C. Daniels, Assistant Chief,
Division of the American Republics, which is for your
information only, and is to be held confidential.

Please inform me immediately should Jiny possibility

arise for such a trip as is mentioned since it is noted that
we have to inform the State Department concerning this.

Assistant Secretary

Ip

DEPARUISNT CF STATE

WASHINGTa^

December 3 I, 1941 •

My dear Dr. Viietmore:

Yfith reference to your raemorandum of December 26,
1941 , I am pleased to inform you that the Departaient has
now received a telegram from the American Anabassador at
Quito to the effect that the Ecuadoran Government has
given permission for Dr. Waldo L. Sciimitt to visit the
Galapagos Islands from time to time in connection with
the laboratory to be constructed there under the program
of cooperation with the American republics.

The Ecuadoran Government’s blanket authority has
loeen given on the understanding that the appropriate
Ecuadoran authorities will be informed in advance of
Dr. Schmitt's visits, through the American Ambassador at
Quito.

Sincerely yours,

(Sirned) Paul C. Daniels
Assistant Chief

Division of the American Republics.

Br. Alexander YJetmore,

Assistant Secretary,

Smithsonian Institution,

Washington, D.C.

copy for Doctor Schnitt's office

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MA?AL COMMOKICITION SERVICI
HAVY DIPAEMKT

May 1, 1941

Balboa

Govt ItvITJ Associate Director Graf BS Matioml Mtiseua Washington
Very profitable trip have lots to tell you returned here April thirty
Heed go Cocosolo few days f&ok up leaving earliest possible reservation
Probably May four via Miaad. Alls wall

Waldo Schoitt

1 May