I04 I N A G U A 



of the warm dark nights, to the steely blue shine of moonhght 

 glowing on ruined walls splashed with leaf patterns, leaves 

 themselves fretted black against the stars, dark sweeping clouds, 

 the glittering zenith spangled with a billion flashing lights. In- 

 escapable. The sound of the sea was always present, growling 

 against the reefs, swishing over the sand grains and slipping 

 back again. 



The longer I dwelt on Inagua the more certain it became 

 that the day's activities would terminate within sound or reach 

 of the surf. When the inner jungle became too hot to be toler- 

 ated and seemed devoid of any life; when the interior plains 

 and the ponds of bitter salt sweltered barren and motionless 

 under the heat of the midday sun; when the white sand dunes 

 were silent except for the rustle of the wind-blown grains; and 

 when the lizards had crept out of sight in their burrows and the 

 birds had gone to other places, seemingly vanished, it was in 

 sheer relief that I turned to the edge of the sea. Here always 

 was life and movement, cool air and activity. Magnetism, or 

 perhaps the same instinct that draws a convict to his bars, im- 

 pelled me to gravitate at one hour or another to the island's 

 borders. My feet, sore and burning from the hot sand of the 

 interior, automatically led first to home to dispose of the day's 

 notes and specimens, then to the sea for a swim and an hour of 

 contemplation on the warm rocks. Surf loitering, first casual, 

 became frequent, then habit. 



This habit partly began because of the scarcity of drinking 

 water which made washing in the surf a necessity. Inagua is 

 a vast flat island of barren rock, dry loose sand and salty mud. 

 There are no springs or streams, the only source of fresh water 

 is the infrequent rainfalls. Even rainwater becomes salty after 

 it has lain on the ground for a few hours. There are a few wells 

 in the settlement but these produce a brackish liquid that is 

 quite unpalatable. Most of the Inaguans depend on rainwater 



