374 . MAMMALS 



78° 30' west, and about half-way between the northeast point of Aeklin Island 

 and Mariguana of the Bahamas; and on going on shore we saw unmistakable 

 signs of the little rodent known among the natives as the ' Hootie ' [=: Hutia]. 



" The key is a small rocky islet, the highest point of which is probably 

 not more than fifty feet above the surrounding ocean, with crevices and caves 

 worn in the rocks by the action of water, and in many places broken strata of 

 rocks piled upon each other, leaving cracks and crevices between and beneath 

 them. The islet may be slightly more than half a mile wide and four or five 

 miles long, entirely without fresh water except in the rainy season, when pools 

 of fresh water may be found in the holes in the rocks. There is a small 

 growth of shrubby bushes in the rocky crevices, and in some parts of the lower 

 ground a growth of black buttonwood, and on the western end of the islet a 

 light growth of the silver-leaved palm, with here and there different forms of 

 cacti scattered over the island. A few paw-paw trees were also found where 

 the seeds had evidently been dropped. About a mile and a half west of the 

 key is another small key, of about the same size and of the same geological 

 formation, but separated from it by a deep passage. This is the only land 

 within twenty miles or more, and my sailing charts indicate a depth of water of 

 several thousand feet. 



'' Although these islands are only about a mile and a half apart, their 

 fauna is very distinct outside of a small lizard common to all of the rocky 

 islands of that part of the Bahamas. 



" The ' Hootie ' [Hutia] occupies only the eastern island, which, with the 

 lizard and a few varieties of birds, constitutes its entire [vertebrate] fauna. 

 Neither am I able to learn of its being found in any other portion of the 

 Bahamas. 



" During my stay of two weeks, weather bound, under the lee of the 

 island, I secured about twenty specimens of this animal, which at first I 

 thought was gregarious in its habits, or inclined to live in colonies, l)ut the 

 occurrence of so many individuals at this point may have l)een due to the 

 favorable conditions of the locality for affording it hiding places. I once saw 

 quite a number together away from the rocks, among the palmettos, but on a 

 subsequent visit to the island I came to the conclusion that the gathering was 

 on account of its being about the rutting season. Its food was the leaves, 

 twigs and bark of the ])ushes, especially the black buttonwood, and the succulent 

 growth of the cactus plants. It seemed very fond of the fruit of the paw-paw, 

 and even of the borly of the tree itself, as I have scon the trunks of this tree, 



