46 ISLES OF SUMMER. 



In quite a number of instances the ceilings of the rocky cham- 

 bers had i^artially fallen in, and, through the openings, the roots 

 of wild fig trees had made their way, dropped from ten to twenty 

 feet to the bottom, where, entwined among and running over the 

 rocks, they seemed in the dim light like huge anacondas, whose 

 repose it might be dangerous to disturb. 



Catesby, a century ago, in Avritiug in regard to the natural 

 history of the Bahamas, observed, that ''many of these islands, 

 particularly Providence, abound Avith deep caverns containing 

 salt water at their bottoms. These pits, being perpendicular 

 from their surface, are frequently so choked up and obscured by 

 the falling of trees and rubbish, that great caution is required 

 to prevent falling into these ' unfathomable pits' as the inhabit- 

 ants call them, and it is thought that many men who never 

 returned from hunting have perished in them." 



"We called the attention of an intelligent native and old resi- 

 dent of Nassau to this passage and he assented to its truth. To 

 this day, the island, though so small, is largely an unknown 

 country to its people. This seems incredible, but it is none the 

 less true. Stimulated by a crisp and frosty air, northern people 

 fit out exploring expeditions to the North Pole and the interior 

 of Africa; but the citizens of Nassau care not to explore the 

 dense jungles that exist a short distance from their doors. 



An article appeared in the Nassau Gazette a year or two since 

 in which a correspondent describes a natural reservoir of fresh 

 water called "The Mermaid's Pool," or '* The Black Water 

 Pool," which seems to resemble the deep caverns or pits to which 

 Catesby refers, except that it is filled with fresh water. This 

 writer states that it is located in the south part of the island of 

 NcAV Providence, about a mile from the shore, near an extensive 

 cocoanut plantation, then belonging to the Hon. J. S. George, 

 a gentleman who is since, we believe, deceased. " It is in a rocky. 



