402 THE ARCTURUS ADVENTURE 



promontory. Deep water close to the clifP. One mile off sounded 

 in 431 fathoms. Lowered bottom dredge and tangle but after tow- 

 ing for twenty minutes lost everything on the volcanic bottom. The 

 cable was chafed white for 200 feet from shackle. Later put out a 

 Petersen and half of it was torn away on a submarine peak. Fishing 

 party in a small boat lost six spoons and most of their tackle to 

 huge fish, — sharks and groupers, probably. They caught a twenty- 

 one-pound black grouper and an eighteen-pound Seriola dorsalis. In 

 the stomach of the latter was a scombroid fish, which had eaten a 

 Zoea and two shrimps. A school of these large Seriola were jumping 

 all round the boat. 



The island is green and looks like an interesting place for study. 

 A flock of sixty shearwaters were resting on the water off-shore. 



Another Petersen put over with cheesecloth bag in bottom, and 

 got some curious larval Munidopsis, a pear-eyed larval fish, and a 

 medium-stalked Styloplithalmus. At 9 p. m. we tried making a deep 

 haul without the deck-hands, and lowered a Petersen and a silk net 

 together to 200 fathoms. Many interesting small things but no My- 

 ctophids nor Cyclothones. The best specimen a three-inch Argyro- 

 pelecus, apparently a new species, close to afflnis with mouth and eyes 

 at an angle of 90° up. 



Volcano still visible after dark. 



Steaming slowly back to Tower, not wishing to get there before 

 daylight. 



Noon position: Lat. 0° 36' N: Long. 90° 47' W. 



April 16th. Entered Darwin Bay at 7 a. m., with the smoke of the 

 volcano faintly visible to the west. Many sharks and devilfish at en- 

 trance to bay as usual, and the rigging lined with brown boobit-s. 

 Shore parties during day and diving in the shallow water directly 

 east of the anchorage. The sharks show no interest in our presence, 

 other than a mild curiosity. 



April 17th. Most of us to the Crater Lake this morning. The way 

 rises gradually over the usual rough lava with ordinary vegetation, 

 where nesting boobies and frigates hiss at intruders. One owl flew 

 close to our heads. We came on the crater as suddenly as though 

 it had been a well, and found it about a half mile across, with the 

 lake at the bottom of cliffs that taper down in successive slips. Look- 

 ing down at the water, the centre of the lake is clear olive-green, the 

 shallow part at the rim sage green, and scattered irregularly along 

 about half the shore-line are dense blue-green mangroves. From the 

 northern rim, the sea on three sides of the island was visible, and 

 from the west the Arcturus lying in the bay could be seen. We had 

 a hard time getting down, burdened with nets, bags and buckets. 

 Close to shore the mud was only shoe-deep, but beyond the man- 

 groves we sank in to the knees, stirring up an overpowering smell of 

 rotting matter, animal and vegetable. Green algae thickened the 

 water in many places, and everywhere were untold myriads of small 

 water-striders, and aquatic Hemiptera, the "water-boatmen." Small 



