242 I N A G U A 



hoosegow, and of how I collected the necessary He77ndactyius 

 is a long story and one that has no place in this volume. It is 

 sufficient to relate that I returned home in time to witness the 

 collapse of the era of inflation and the beginning of the Ameri- 

 can depression. The island of Inagua was frequently on my 

 mind; but as a year slipped into two, two into four, and four 

 into eight, I saw no possibility of returning to complete the 

 tasks I had begun. The sight of the flock of flamingos leaving 

 the coast for the interior particularly haunted me, and I re- 

 solved to return some day and make a series of photographs 

 of these magnificent birds on their nesting grounds. I also in- 

 tended to take a diving suit with me to continue my explora- 

 tions where I had left off on the edge of the cliff by the sea. 



The years of the depression were not altogether unfruitful 

 ones. In co-operation with the Chesapeake Biological Labora- 

 tory at Solomons, Maryland, I engaged in some research prob- 

 lems dealing with the Chesapeake Bay and in order to further 

 this program invented a steel diving cylinder in which, with 

 my colleagues, I was able to spend long hours beneath the 

 surface making observations of the sea life that came to our 

 big plate glass window. The sights that we saw in the Chesa- 

 peake began an interest in the world of undersea that has 

 never been satiated, and the possibiHty of exploring the reefs 

 of Inagua loomed ever larger in my mind. 



Desired accomplishments, however, frequently require a 

 spark to cause them to crystallize into reality. The spark that 

 returned me to Inagua was quite accidental. I had been to a 

 musical show with some friends, and after the performance, 

 stopped in a restaurant for late sandwiches and coffee. A news- 

 paper lay crumpled on a chair and, the conversation lagging, 

 I idly reached over and picked it up. The paper contained the 

 usual round of daily happenings and I was about to lay it down 



