CHAPTER XIII 



1893-1894 

 THE BAHAMAS AND BERMUDAS 



The exploration in 1893 of the Bahamas and the 

 Cuban coast was the first of Agassiz's expeditions hav- 

 ing for its main object the study of coral reefs. For 

 this voyage Mr. J. M. Forbes lent him the auxiliary 

 steam yacht Wild Duck, and through the kindness of 

 the State Department, the Spanish authorities granted 

 the yacht free access to all Cuban ports. In order fur- 

 ther to facilitate the expedition, the Superintendent of 

 the Coast Survey appointed Agassiz an " Acting As- 

 sistant," remarking in his letter that there was but one 

 other assistant of this " grade and rank," a Jesuit Father 

 in Alaska, so that it was evident that the distribution 

 of such favors was not influenced by politics or religion. 



The Wild Duck was a light-draught, small displace- 

 ment schooner, about one hundred and twenty-five feet 

 on the water line, whose engine enabled her to steam 

 about ten knots an hour. To give an added interest to 

 the expedition, Agassiz equipped her for pelagic work. 

 The Fish Commission lent a Tanner sounding machine, 

 and the Coast Survey some deep-sea thermometers. Six 

 hundred fathoms of wire rope were put on board, to- 

 gether with several Tanner closing nets, dredges, trawls, 

 and tow nets. By increasing the diameter of the steam 

 capstan with lagging, the wire rope could be hauled in 

 at the rate of one hundred fathoms in eight minutes. 



