392 THE ARCTURUS ADVENTURE 



March 12th. Ocean behaving somewhat better to-day, so in after- 

 noon took series of temperatures, and made a vertical haul, which 

 yielded five specimens of Amphioxus, an event rare enough to cause 

 excitement. At night surface net brought in young flounders, flying 

 fish and Leptocephalus, also a fish like a baby sea-serpent with a 

 long appendage on his back, and what may be larval forms of the 

 stalk-eye, StylophthaJmus. A marvellous moon-bow to-night, a pallid 

 coppery arch like the rainbow's wraith. 



Noon position; Lat. 19° 21' N; Long. 61° 57' W. 



March 13th. Sighted meagre little Sombrero Island early this 

 morning, and passing it, spent the afternoon and night in the lee of 

 St. Martin's; the lovely peak of Saba is dim and dream-like in the 

 distance. After dark lowered the gangway and hung powerful lights 

 close to the water, and with hand-nets captured mullets, half-beaks, 

 needle-fish and flyingfish, and a squid, all attracted by the blaze of 

 electricity. All the fish had the typical coloring of the pelagic 

 surface forms, — dark blue above, silvery beneath. The squid was 

 brilliant green and yellow, and vigorously bit Serge, his captor. 

 Seven isopods were taken and no sooner did a captured fish turn on 

 its back in the aquarium and show the first signs of distress, than 

 these voracious crustaceans attacked it and literally tore it apart, 

 an interesting example of swimming scavengers so far from land. 

 When we put a light ten feet under water flyingfish flitted past it 

 like moths around a candle. 



Noon position; Lat. 28° 17' N; Long. 62° 28' W. 



March 14th. At dawn we were near Saba, and made for Saba 

 Bank to put over the 40-foot trawl. Depth supposed to be 300 

 fathoms, but we shall not trust to charts again, for found it was 

 only 45 fathoms. Pulled in trawl immediately and found it un- 

 harmed and filled with sponges, corals, and all sorts of creatures, 

 vertebrate and invertebrate, burr-, porcupine-, and triggerfish, star- 

 fish, anemones, crustaceans, sea-cucumbers, and dozens of smaller 

 animals. Repeated the haul with the coarse rope dredge a number 

 of times and covered the deck with enough coral to build a house. 

 We are supposed to be in the lee of Saba, but the island doesn't seem 

 to possess such a thing, as we rolled too much for comfort. Clouds 

 always cling to the summit of Saba, and there are showers and 

 rainbows coming and going all about. Steaming back to St. Martin's 

 to-night and will then drift down to Saba again. 



Noon position; Lat. 17° 40' N; Long. 63° 20' W. 



March 15th. Fair, strong wind. Close to Saba at daylight. Put 

 over rope dredge in 250 fathoms and got only a few starfish. 

 Sounded, and bottom sample showed many globigerina and a few 

 pteropods. Then moved over to the Bank, and in only eight or ten 

 fathoms made five or six hauls as rapidly as the dredge could go 

 down and come up. Wonderful lot of marine organisms. It would 

 pay to come here and stay a year. Sponges of every form, — carrots 



