10 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
thus became committed to the organization and leadership of 
an undertaking involving more responsibility and anxiety than 
could be realized by anyone who had not been a director of a 
group of young men and women going to foreign lands under 
the conditions presented by a world war. 
It must be confessed, however, in all frankness, that had I 
been aware of the fact that the proposed expedition would be 
carried on under war conditions, and had a prophetic vision 
been vouchsafed me of the innumerable annoyances and vexa- 
tions, not to say dangers due to raiders and U-boats, it is 
doubtful whether the project would have been entertained. 
It should be distinctly understood that the proposition was 
made before there seemed to be any likelihood that the United 
States would be drawn into maelstrom of a world war. 
Having thus committed ourselves to a serious consideration 
of the proposed expedition, the first matter for discussion was 
the question as to where to go. The Bahama Expedition had 
worked in the region of the Bahama Islands, Cuba, and the 
Florida Keys—the westernmost of the West Indies. It was but 
natural, therefore, that our thoughts turned to regions. some- 
what remote from the former field and yet it was desirable to 
have the two fields somewhat similar as to general conditions, so 
that the expeditions could be logically connected up as separate 
but distinctly related enterprises. 
In order to get information from those whose experience en- 
abled them to speak with authority, the writer took occasion to 
go to New York in connection with the meeting of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science in December and 
January, 1916-17, where he had an interview with his old friend 
Dr. A. G. Mayer, Director of the Carnegie Marine Biological 
laboratory at the Dry Tortugas, and one of the best informed 
men in America on all subjects relating to marine biological 
work. Dr. Mayer was helpful and sympathized with the project, 
as might have been expected. He made two suggestions as to 
the field of proposed work. One was Montego Bay, Jamaica, 
where he thought that quarters formerly used by the Carnegie 
laboratory could be secured. It seemed, however, that this re- 
gion had already been fairly well worked and was moreover 
rather too near our former sphere of activities. 
