WONDERS OF THE DEEP 25 



A pleasant voyage of four days brought the 

 expedition to the surf-beaten coral coast of the 

 Bahamas, which form a group of the West Indies. 

 The steamer was obliged to anchor some distance 

 outside the harbour of Nassau, as it is impossible 

 for steamers of any size to enter the harbour owing 

 to the presence of an immense sandbank at its 

 entrance. Passengers and freight have therefore to 

 be transported to the dock by means of a tender. 



A few facts about this charming group of 

 islands will not be out of place here. 



The Bahamas, appropriately described as the 

 "Land of the Pink Pearl," lie to the west of the 

 United States, and extend from Florida, in a south- 

 easterly direction, for about four hundred miles to 

 the island of Hayti. They form an archipelago of 

 twenty-nine islands, six hundred and sixty "cays," 

 or islets, and over two thousand rocks. The area 

 exceeds four thousand four hundred square miles, 

 equivalent in size to about one-seventh the area 

 of Scotland. The chief island is New Providence, 

 on which stands the capital. 



The majority of the islands forming this archi- 

 pelago are of coral formation, and this, as has 

 already been stated, formed one of the reasons for 

 the selection of the Bahamas by this expedition. 

 The coral reefs, to be described later, are covered 

 with a kind of sandy loam. Some of the islands, 

 however, are of volcanic origin, and the soil on 

 those islands needs only heat and moisture to 

 make it produce enormous crops. 



