CHAPTER IV 

 EXUMA 



My two cruises out of Nassau had been Westward to Andros. Exuma lies 

 Eastward and I contemplated with great interest this new experience. Even 

 the appearance of this land on the chart is fascinating. It is extremely nar- 

 row, in most places only a few hundred yards wide, but its length is ninety- 

 five miles. It is composed of more than one hundred islands, all of them 

 small and some of them tiny. The approaches to the leeward or Western 

 side are shallow and rocky, but with inviting harbors, suitable, however, 

 only for small craft. Our course was set from Porgee light, Nassau, S.E. 

 to Highborne Cay— thirty-one miles. Leaving Nassau at noon, we sighted 

 land before three o'clock. The crossing was most pleasing. Aqiiila was 

 headed into a slight chop, not heavy enough to wet the deck, and the sun- 

 light danced on wavelets which splashed on either side of the hull with a 

 sound that to me is more delightful than anything I know, except fine 

 music. Highborne Cay was easily distinguishable by its height and its 

 proximity to Lowborne Cay, the two standing out prominently from the 

 shorehne which extended as far as the eye could reach. As we drew near 

 the reef, coral heads began to show, and our guide had to direct Capt. 

 Billsborough with great care. Presently we found ourselves entering the 

 most beautiful little cove I had ever seen. Ahead of us was a broad beach 

 of white sand, behind which the land was so low that we could see water be- 

 yond it, and another small island; beyond this the open sea. At the Northern 

 end of the beach the land arose out of green shrubbery to a height of per- 

 haps thirty feet. As we looked at the crest we were astonished and thrilled 



