96 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



July 16 we sailed for the Plana Islands from Jamaica Bay, Aklin 

 Island, reaching our destination late in the afternoon. The evening 

 of this day and the next day were spent collecting on the westernmost 

 of the two cays. July 18 we attempted a landing on the eastern cay, 

 being particularly anxious to do so because this cay appears to be the 

 only one in all the Bahamas upon which Hutias, the large West Indian 

 rodents are present, and we had been asked especially to secure a series 

 of these for the National Museum. High seas and a very effective bar- 

 rier reef frustrated all our attempts at landing, and as there are no 

 residents on the Plana Islands who might have guided us through 

 some narrow passage in the reef, we were compelled, very reluctantly, 

 to forego an exploration of this island. The Plana Islands are also 

 bounded by deep water. 



We next headed for Mariguana Island, a large cay some 25 miles 

 in length and 8 in its largest diameter, with a shallow flat at the eastern 

 extremity. This cay rises to an elevation of 80 feet at Abraham's Hill, 

 and presents all the varied habitats listed for the Crooked Island group. 

 Here again we have deep sea on all sides immediately off shore. 

 Mariguana and Booby Cay on its southern flat yielded many interest- 

 ing mollusks, as well as a fine collection of birds, bats, and reptiles. 



At the crack of dawn July 22 we headed for the Caicos Bank, cross- 

 ing the long stretch of the Caicos Island passage with some apprehen- 

 sion, but we reached Malcolm Bay without mishap. From then until 

 July 30 we explored the various cays bordering the Caicos Bank on 

 the north and east side between Blue Hills and Cockburn Harbor. The 

 Caicos Bank, like the other banks examined, rises abruptly from the 

 sea, practically forming an atoll. It is some J2 miles in a southeast 

 by northwestern direction, and about 58 miles in its widest east to 

 west diameter. Its highest hill is said to be 280 feet. The same diver- 

 sity of habitat mentioned for previous groups exists here, but in addi- 

 tion, at least one cay — Pine Cay — of the Fort George group, west of 

 North Caicos, boasts a fine stand of pine. The group as a whole yielded 

 a fine series of mollusks, as well as many other things. 



July 30 we crossed the deep narrow channel known as Turk's Island 

 passage, and from then until August 2 devoted our time to an explo- 

 ration of the cays situated upon the Turk's Island Bank. The Turk's 

 Island Bank is the easternmost bank of the Bahamas that has habitable 

 land projecting above the sea. Most of its cays proved rich in mol- 

 lusks. On the afternoon of the second of August we re-crossed the 

 Turk's Island passage and explored the small cays at the southern 



