122 FLORA OF NEW PROVIDENCE AND ANDROS 



of as the "pine-yard,"^ and the hardwood growth on the rocky, 

 elevated portion is called the "coppet." 



The pines are most abundant on the northern part of the island, 

 and at the extreme southern end, below Grassy Creek, where the rocky 

 ridge is wanting, there were said to be no pines. None could be seen 

 from the shore, but we did not cross the island so far south. At Nicol's 

 Town, the most northerly settlement, the belt of coppet is only about 

 three quarters of a mile wide ; the pine-yard then begins and extends 

 to the swash on the other side. At Conch Sound, a few miles south of 

 Nicol's Town, the pines come down to the eastern shore, but below 

 Mastic Point, the next settlement, the belt of coppet becomes much 

 wider. The swash is more extensive than the other two regions put 

 together and covers hundreds of square miles ; next in extent are the 

 pine barrens, while the coppet is scarcely more than a comparatively 

 narrow belt or fringe along the east coast. The pines sometimes extend 

 in long points far out into the swash. 



Numerous creeks drain the island, the majority being on the east 

 side ; in very wet seasons there is said to be water communication be- 

 tween those of the east and west side. The creeks are generally nar- 

 row and winding, but they occasionally spread out into lakelike expan- 

 sions in the interior. The largest of these lakes are on the west side, 

 near Wide Opening. A number of the creeks are fresh at their source. 



All the settlements are on the east side, with the exception of a small 

 one at Red Bays on the northwestern end of the island. Nicol's Town 

 is one of the largest, and when we were there had about three hundred 

 inhabitants. At the time we visited Andros there were but seven white 

 people on the entire island. There were no roads, and communication 

 between the settlements was entirely by water, the reef making a safe 

 channel for small boats all along the eastern coast. The west coast is 

 exceedingly shallow, so much so that our boat, drawing only about two 

 feet of water, had sometimes to anchor a quarter of a mile from the 

 shore. Even at the edge of the Great Bahama Bank, sixty or seventy 

 miles farther west, there are but three or four fathoms of water. The 

 only visitors to this coast are the "spongers." 



During the four months spent on Andros we explored it quite 

 thoroughly, crossing it several times and almost circumnavigating it, 

 making stops at the various settlements on the way or camping out on 



* See illustration — page 219. 



