X INTRODUCTION. 



the " Albatross." Our progress, which was excellent during the first days 

 of our journey after leaving Manga Reva, soon became greatly impeded by 

 head winds in the region where we ought to have been in the full swing 

 of the southeasterly trades. This led us to abandon with great reluctance 

 all idea of further work when in the equatorial belt of currents ; to give 

 up our proposed visit to Clipperton, and, on account of our limited coal 

 supply, to make for Acapulco, merely sounding every morning. This was a 

 great disappointment, as we had every reason to expect to be able to spend 

 some time in the western region of the equatorial currents belt, and settle 

 more conclusively than we have been able to do the question of their 

 influence upon the richness of the fauna living on the bottom in their track, 

 far from continental shores or insular areas. 



We were most fortunate in our arrangements for our coal supply. It 

 was a somewhat risky undertaking to provide coal at the Galapagos, 

 Easter Island, and Manga Reva. But, thanks to the interest of Messrs. 

 Burns, Philp & Co. in our behalf, their contracts to supply us with coal 

 were carried out most punctually. Their failure to meet us either at Easter 

 Island or Manga Reva would have been disastrous, as neither of these 

 islands are visited more than once a year. 



We hoped to be docked at Callao, but, owing to the prolonged occupa- 

 tion of the dock by a disabled steamer and the uncertainty of its becoming 

 free within reasonable time, we decided to proceed without further delay to 

 Easter Island and continue the expedition without docking. 



But little is known of the hydrography of the area we explored, but 

 few soundings are recorded from that area of the Eastern Pacific before the 

 present expedition of the " Albatross ; " one to the N. W. of Callao by the 

 Italian S. " Vittor Pisani " ' in 1882, three by the Cable S. " Silverton " in 

 1893,^ and four by the U. S. S. " Alaska." ^ A few deep-sea soundings east- 

 ward of the Paumotus, to the meridian of 91° 31' W., are all taken by 

 H. M. S. "Alert" in 1878-80. I do not include the long list of soundings 

 taken by the steamers of the Central and South American Telegraph Com- 

 pany along the west coast of South America. They are all within very 

 moderate distance of the coast, and bear mainly upon the configuration of 

 the submarine western slope of South America. 



111° 4' S. 80°33'W. 2729 ^ » 11° M' S. 78° 59' W. 2107 



2 10° 14' S. 79° 29' W. 1267 I 11° 52' 78° 39' 2017 , 



10° 47' 79° 3' J J ^5 j fathoms. 11° 51' 78° 54' 3368'""*"°™®' 



11° 16' 78° 4' 1109 



2729 ^ 

 1267 I 



J 11° 53' 76° 9' 3164 j 



