14 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
Antigua came after St. Kitts. I had become acquainted with 
a Dominican planter named Sowray as a traveling companion, 
and an unusually fine fellow he was. He was the first to sug- 
gest English Harbor, Antigua, as an excellent base for our en- 
terprise. Although I went shore at Antigua, English Harbor 
was not visited at this time, and I was not particularly impressed 
by the hurried visit to St. John’s, the capital. 
Dominica, although a veritable paradise for the land nat- 
uralist, has neither good roads nor accommodations for a large 
party. In spite of this fact, it is to my mind the most beautiful 
of all the Lesser Antilles that I have seen. It is more intensely 
tropical in appearance than any of the others, owing to its lofty 
mountains that induce an excessive rainfall and produce its in- 
numerable mountain streams and picturesque waterfalls. 
The French Islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique, are almost 
equally beautiful and offer an interesting variety of language 
and customs of peculiar charm to the tourist. But for our pur- 
pose it was best to avoid regions where the mother-tongue is not 
used, and these islands were not seriously considered. 
On the morning of Friday, June 29th, the ‘‘Parima’’ cast 
anchor in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, and the outward voyage, so 
far as I was concerned, was most pleasantly ended. Sir Francis 
Watts, having received notice by cable of my being on the 
‘‘Parima,’’ sent a man aboard with a most friendly note of 
greeting and with instructions to see that my effects and self 
were safely landed and passed through the custom house. 
I had agreed to do some collecting both for the University 
and for the National Museum, mainly for the purpose of samp- 
ling the fauna, as it were. Thanks to the friendly offices of Sir 
Francis Watts, there was no trouble or formality whatever at 
the customs, and I soon found myself ashore at this the eastern- 
most of the chain of West Indian Islands. 
About two weeks were spent here in becoming acquainted 
with the Colonial officials and others who could aid me in gain- 
ing information as to the suitability of the island for zoolog- 
ical work. Thanks to my credentials, plus the personal intro- 
ductions and counsel of Sir Francis Watts, I met with courtesy 
and helpfulness on all sides. I collected with the help of divers 
off Hastings and spent nearly a week in this work off the Crane 
