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extensive gtjvernment ofliccs at Balboa, where some further sup- 

 plies were obtained. The beautifully planted grounds and \rdvk- 

 ways are an inspiration. Chapin took nie in tow and we visited 

 his old friend, Dr. Patterson, in Panama City. With the beautiful 

 city at hand waiting to be seen, it was difficult for him to under- 

 stand whv two people such as oiu"selves should want to visit the 

 Tapia River, some fifteen miles outside the city, especially in a 

 season when the forest was alive with ticks. We finally reached 

 this delightful place, where Chapin had previously spent several 

 weeks collecting birds. Although the forest had been partly cut 

 off, it still brought to me the first glimpse of epiphytic orchids 

 and large-leaved bromeliads, of Cccropia trees, sugar cane, and 

 cashew nuts. Surrounding the little hacienda, which was occupied 

 only bv an aged caretaker, were brilliantly ])ink and red Bougain- 

 villias, mingled with breadfruit, lemon, and orange trees. Enor- 

 mous Ijuttcrflies. and crested lizards, that walked rapidly over the 

 stream on their hind legs in dincxsaur fashion, were of ec|ual in- 

 terest. The promised ticks were there in abundance. At dusk we 

 returned and immediately sailed out ])ast Balboa Hill and the 

 islands. Long lines of pelicans, majesticalh^ flying over the water, 

 gave us our last contact for some days with land and its inhabitants. 



We sailed on the long, soft swell of the Pacific. The abundant 

 flying fishes, somewhat larger than those of the Atlantic, a bird now 

 and then, the phosphorescent wake of the ship, and the a]iproach- 

 ing brilliant constellations of the South kept our attention. The 

 library was well stocked with adventures of the sea. 



On the morning of April first, I sighted a pyramidal peak on the 

 cloudy horizon, followed by a stretch of low-lying land and a moun- 

 tain area. This was the hopelessly barren northern part of C'hat- 

 hani Island in the Galapagos. AVe passed closely enough to see 

 the famous Kicker Rock, through the cleft of which a boat can be 

 sailed, and soon came to the much smaller but even more precipi- 

 tous Barrington Island, its sides densely covered with brush a few 

 feet in height. The breeze was fragrant, and it was hard to be- 

 lieve that Indefatigable would be merely the desert island of re- 

 ports. In another hour the low-lying Indefatigable, shaped like 

 an immense inverted basin, occupied much of the horizon, its sum- 

 mit hidden by clouds. After careful sounding, the yacht anchored 

 off Academy Bay, and a landing party set forth to investigate the 



