12 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, [10] 



tiou of the tail hisliings, which were the hist to part; but the trawl was 

 lost. 



At 6.30 a. 111., Jamiary 30, we put the dredge over iu 73 fathoms, 

 latitude 11° 07' 00" N., lougitude G2o 14' 30" W., and lauded it on 

 deck at 7.20, the frame being bent and the netting torn by coming in 

 contact with coral patclies. There were, however, several interesting 

 specimens brought up. 



We entered the Boca Grande at 2 p. m. and took two casts of the 

 lead at points where negativc'souudings were shown on the chart, and 

 at o p. ni. anchored off Pore of Spain. An officer was sent to the United 

 States consul, J. Fowler, esq., immediately after our arrival, and, although 

 quite late, he visited the ship the same evening, returning with the 

 officer who called on him. 



We hauled fires during the night to stop several leaks in the boilers. 



During the rainy season, from about April to November, the trades 

 are from east or south of east in Port of Spain, and from NE. during 

 the dry season, which continues from jSTovember to April. The i)resent 

 season is exceptional, as the trades are still east and the rains continue. 



At 11 a. m. on January 31 I called Avith the United States consul on 

 the governor. Sir Sanford Freeling, and during the visit obtained a per- 

 mit for Messrs. Benedict and Nye to use firearms in making scientific 

 collections. Tlie naturalists were at work in various directions, and on 

 board shij) we were busily emi)loyed rewinding the wire on one of the 

 working reels and reeling a sui)i)ly on the spare reels. 



We made inquiries on shore about the caverns inhabited by the gua- 

 charo birds {Sfcatoniis earipensis) in the vicinitj' of Mono Island. Sev- 

 eral ])eoi)le had visited them in the summer time, but thought it would 

 be impracticable to enter them at this season, as they were exposed to 

 the full force of the sea, which was always more or less rough in winter. 

 They all referred ns to Mr. William Morrison, postmaster of Mono, as 

 the person best able to give information or assistance. As it was de- 

 sirable to procure specimens of this rare bird for the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, we left the ship at 7.30 the following morning iu the steam-cutter, 

 with the dinghy and skiff in tow, for Mono Island, about eleven miles 

 from the anchorage. JMessrs. Garrett and Ackerman were dropped off 

 Gaspar Grande, in the skiff, to land and examine that island, Messrs. 

 Benedict and Nye forming the party with me in the cutter. 



We Avere fortunate in finding Mr. Morrison at home, and willing not 

 only to give information, but to act as guide and assist us in every 

 jiossible way. He first i>iloted us to a cave on the west side of Mono 

 Island, inhabited by fisliing-bats, where six of them were shot and 

 placed in alcohol. We continued our course around the island to the 

 Mono passage, i)rocured the services of a native with his canoe, and 

 then went to a cavern on Trinidad Island, about the center of the pas- 

 sage above-mentioned. This was inhabited by large numbers of the 

 cave birds of which we were in search. Several attempts were made 



