CRUISE OF 1939 



We returned to Buckaroo for luncheon, then decided to try some 

 photography in very shallow water; also, to search the bottom for speci- 

 mens. Some still pictures in color were made and they were quite en- 

 couraging, but the colors did not seem to compare favorably with those 

 of the motion pictures. This photography was done in water less than 

 six feet deep; it was necessary to move in a squatting position in order 

 to prevent the helmet from rising above the surface. 



Specimen collecting brought forth a Basket Starfish which was un- 

 familiar to us until it was identified in a Natural History. The limbs of 

 this animal branch out like a shrub and multiply one hundred fold. It 

 lies on the bottom, branches waving in the tide. Unwary tiny fishes are 

 attracted within these branches but they never come out. We found this 

 specimen on a large piece of coral imbedded in the bottom. We had 

 pulled the mass up because it was attached to a sea-fan. At first, we 

 thought the Starfish was an unusual piece of vegetation, then we saw 

 that it was in motion throughout every branch and twig. It became our 

 most valued specimen because it is rare, and because we were successful 

 in preserving it by careful sun-drying. 



Our day ended with preparations for a picnic. This seemed to have 

 become an annual observance. The moonlight was beautiful, a mando- 

 lin and guitar, and the presence of a Nassau negro, who was in charge 

 of the launch, improved the vocal efforts of all hands. The ceremony 

 ended with a parade to the ship's boats, the marching song— Mama donH 

 want no corn, no rice, no coconut oil. 



I had not understood until after this third visit to our beautiful harbor 

 that we had not come upon it by chance. True, our guide, Herbert 

 Malone, had brought us to it, but the rather devious route taken after 

 we had come near to Highborne Cay had caused me to think that he was 

 guiding us at random, with the intention of choosing by appearances 

 above and below water, and by soundings, a suitable anchorage from 



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