lo I N A G U A 



every individual that deviates from the usual, when he pauses 

 in calm moment and considers what is before him. I think there 

 were times when both Coleman and I quaked in our shoes. 

 We were not so concerned about our bodily comforts— a life- 

 time of canoeing, tramping and camping had hardened us to 

 difficulties— but there was our responsibility to the museum 

 whose curator had placed sufficient faith in our idea to sponsor 

 the expedition. He was taking a chance, too, chancing expen- 

 sive equipment, going to no end of trouble so that the expedi- 

 tion would be a success. We were anxious to prove that this 

 new departure in scientific expedition would be fruitful. It 

 was a radical departure from most sea-going expeditions, 

 nearly all of which had been undertaken in large schooners or 

 yachts, vessels with crews to man them and scientific staffs to 

 fulfill their special duties. But as these things were beyond the 

 reach of the average naturalist— most of them being poor people 

 at best— we were anxious to prove that two men in a small ship 

 could maintain themselves in the field for long periods, under 

 all sorts of conditions and return physically and mentally en- 

 riched by the experience and still produce work of value in 

 their special avenues of science. Could we? There were those 

 who thought we could not. 



But a dream once started, like a snowball on a hill, grows 

 of its own momentum. In the rush of activity that followed we 

 forgot our doubts and tackled the task before us. There was 

 equipment to be stored, yet made ready for instant use. A year 

 and a half's supply of foodstuffs somehow disappeared by 

 magic— we shook our heads in doubt when two truckloads 

 arrived at the dock in Baltimore. Just how we were going 

 to stow two truckloads of food in a thirty-eight foot boat that 

 was half taken up by cabin and laboratory we did not know. 

 But we did it somehow, that and a lot more. And collecting 

 equipment, tins of preservative, nets, jars, specimen tags and all 



