Narrative of Bahama Expedition. 219 



The next two da}s were spent in beating our way against a 

 head- wind along the east coast of I'vleuthera, our object being 

 to see what could be found by dredging across the shallow 

 ridge between the northeast end of Eleuthera and Little Cat 

 Island. The delay was particularly vexatious, as our time 

 was getting short, and the thoughts of the party were turning 

 homeward. x\fter ten weeks of the cramped quarters and 

 necessary discomforts of sea life, it was but natural that the 

 romance of the situation should ha\'e been prettv well dis- 

 pelled, and that there should be a longing for the fresh meat 

 and room\', clean beds of home. The captain, too, was get- 

 ting anxious to have his responsibilities come to an end. He 

 had given up the comfortable cabin, to which he was used, to 

 make room for the ladies of the part}-, and he was obliged, 

 moreover, to put up with many little annoyances and discom- 

 forts which must at times have severelv tried his patience. It 

 was easy to see that most of the party would have been glad 

 to find the bowsprit pointed north instead of experiencing this 

 continual beating against a head-wind, and the monotonous 

 cry of •• Hard-a-lee !'' as the vessel came about on another 

 tack. It seemed best, however, to make the most of our 

 opportunities, and use the vessel as near the limit of our char- 

 ter as possible; and so we stuck it out until the desired spot 

 was tinally reached, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of Jul}' 

 i8th. our schooner having sailed along the entire coast of 

 Eleuthera, a distance of about eightv miles. This island is 

 exceedingly narrow, averaging only about three niiles, and 

 extends northwest and southeast. About twenty-four miles 

 east of its southern extremity is the northwest end of "Cat 

 Island."' as it is known to sailors, allhouuh the world at larcre 

 calls it by the more euphonious name of San Salvador. The 

 two main islands are connected by a string of rocky islets, the 

 westernmost of which is Little San Salvador, or •• Little Cat." 

 Between this and Eleuthera. a distance of about ten miles, 

 there is a submarine ridge, rising at one point to within nine 

 fathoms of the surface, and sinking rapidlv to a great depth 

 on either side. At one jilace there is a drop from thirteen to 

 nine hundred fathoms \\ ithin a mile. 



