INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 261 
larly in the direction of land. There were occasional showers on the 
25th, with lightning during the night. 
Three hauls of the beam-trawl were made on the 27th, in 902 and 
1,067 fathoms, mud and sand, without a trace of foraminifera, while an 
intermediate station was in 1,010 fathoms, globigerina ooze. Serial 
temperatures were taken at both stations, and the surface tow net was 
used. At the first station the net came up badly torn and the trawl- 
frame was bent, showing that it had been in contact with some obstrue- 
tion on the bottom, either rocks or water-logged driftwood, which 
is frequently encountered in the Gulf of Panama and -proves very 
destructive to dredging gear. 
The depth of 902 fathoms at the first station on the morning of the 
27th, 50 miles to the eastward of Cocos Island, indicated that we were 
near the summit of another submarine ridge, the water having shoaled 
770 fathoms since the evening of the 24th, deepening again to 1,067 
fathoms 12 miles from theisland. It was on this area only that forami- 
nifera were found in appreciable quantities in the bottom specimens 
taken between Panama and the island. Four hauls of the trawl and 
tangles were made on the 28th in from 52 to 134 fathoms, east and north 
of Cocos, over rough, rocky bottom, which afforded a variety of shoal- 
water life; yet it would be considered meager in comparison with the 
same depths in the Caribbean Sea. 
A party of collectors was landed in the morning, the vessel continu- 
ing work until 10:37 a. m., when she anchored in Chatham Bay, near 
the northeast extremity of Cocos Island. A seining party, volunteer 
collectors, photographers, etc., were sent on shore, and the whole crew 
given an opportunity for a run on the beach and adip in the surf during 
the day. 
The name of the discoverer and the date of the discovery of Cocos 
Island are unknown. It was visited by Lionel Wafer and Dampier; 
two Spanish vessels called in 1791, and Capt. Colnett visited it in 1793; 
Vancouver described it in 1795, and in 1838 Sir Edward Belcher sur- 
veyed a portion of the island, and located a point in Chatham Bay, 
astronomically. Many names and dates are roughly carved on bowlders 
near the beach, noticeably such dates as 1798, 1809, 1819, ete. 
The island is about 45 miles long, north and south, including out- 
lying rocks and islets; 3 miles in width, 1,700 feet in height, and is of 
voleanie origin. Its contour is rugged and mountainous; the valleys 
very narrow and limited in extent. Copious rains water its surface, 
and numerous mountain streams roll down the wooded heights, through 
steep and tortuous gorges, and over rocky cliffs, small sand beaches 
usually marking their outlet to the sea. A dense tropical jungle, 
strongly resembling the forests of Central America, covers the entire 
surface of the island, enveloping it in an unbroken mantle of rich and 
varied shades of green. Cocoanut trees were found in such abundance 
by the discoverers that they gave their name to the island, and they, 
