ST. AUGUSTIN TO BAHAMA ISLANDS 289 



The faculty of the rocks of these islands for absorb- 

 ing and holding moisture, makes it likely that in this 

 way they contribute to the nourishment and preserva- 

 tion of the plants growing upon them. There is abun- 

 dant proof that under their dry and blackish crust 

 these rocks show markedly moist when broken, and 

 that too in places where there is no water near; but 

 this is more plainly the case after a series of rainy 

 days. Fragments of rock, quite dry in appearance, on 

 being broken give out a faint odor of sulphur. 



Of wild quadrupeds there are but two species, 

 properly only one, indigenous to these islands. The 

 Racoon is found only on Providence Island, of which 

 it is no more originally a native than the rats and mice 

 brought in by ships. From one or more tame pairs of 

 these droll beasts, brought over by the curious from 

 the main-land, and afterwards escaped by chance into 

 the woods, the race has amazingly increased, to the 

 great vexation and damage of the inhabitants, who 

 can scarcely protect their house-fowls from these 

 stealthy thieves. 



On the other hand, the American marmot (Arc- 

 tomys Monax Schreb.) has been found from the first 

 on the larger of the Bahama islands. They call it 

 Rabbet here, a coney, but in North America the wood- 

 jack. It lives in holes in the cliffs, and hardly grows 

 to the size of a coney, at least those I saw on Provi- 

 dence were much smaller. Whoever has occasion to 

 compare these carefully with the North American will 

 find the two something different, in color as well as in 

 size. They are eaten both fresh, and salted and dried ; 

 the negroes practice the latter method, when they catch 

 some of them on outlying islands and wish to save 



