CHAPTER I. 



THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



The Bahama Islands are situated between 20" 55' and 27" 15' 

 north latitude, and 78" 18' west U)ngitude, comprising about a 

 thousand islands, large and small, from Andros Island, which has 

 an area of over a thousand square miles, to the small reef barely 

 protruding from the surface of the sea, fit only for the occasional 

 resting-place of some of the numerous sea birds which repair to 

 these islands to breed. Nearly all the group present the same 

 geological formation, being composed principally of cellular lime- 

 stone. On most of the islands the rock along the shore has been 

 worn away by the action of the sea in such a manner as to present 

 a surface covered with sharp points, hard and keen as knife-blades, 

 which renders walking an exceedingly diflficult and sometimes dan- 

 gerous operation, and a fall might be attended with serious con- 

 sequences. Although so hard upon the surface, this stone, when 

 not exposed to the atmosphere, is soft and easily cut, and is much 

 used by the inhabitants for building purposes. It is an interesting 

 fact to observe that this peculiar honeycombed appearance of the 

 rocks is to be seen in the interior of some of the largest islands, 

 showing that they were, in ages past, covered by the ocean. 



