X INTRODUCTION. 



9. A line was run from that point directly for the mouth of 

 the Mississippi, a distance somewhat less than 200 miles. 



The weather during the greater part of our trip from the 

 Tortuo'as to New Orleans was very bad, as is usually the case 

 durino- March in the Gulf of Mexico. We could do but little 

 beyond ascertaining, in the most general way, the faunal char- 

 acteristics of the lines run between Key West and New Orleans. 

 At New Orleans Mr. Garman and I left the " Blake," an event 

 which must have been a relief to the officers, more particularly 

 to the executive officer. Lieutenant Ackley, who was once more 

 free to put the ship in an orderly condition. The work of 

 dredo-intr is not conducive to cleanHness, and during; the whole 

 time I was on board no routine was ever allowed to interfere 

 with our work. Lieutenant Ackley himself always being the first 

 to see that everything was in readiness for our dredging opera- 

 tions at all times. That the interest shown in the work by the 

 other officers of the " Blake," Messrs. Sharrer, Jacoby, Moore, 

 Sigsbee, and Dr. Nourse, did not flag after my departui'e is 

 amply demonstrated by the collections made off Havana, con- 

 taining as they do some of the most valuable specimens of the 

 expedition, all in an excellent state of preservation. The 

 " Blake " subsequently returned to Key West to continue her 

 regular work of sounding between the Tortugas, the coast of 

 Cuba, and the Yucatan Bank. On the way to Key West, a few 

 casts were made by Lieut.-Commander Sigsbee on the Florida 

 Bank, in Lat. 26° 31', Lon. 89° 3', in a depth of 119 fathoms, 

 at a point where a good notion of the fauna of the Florida Bank 

 could be obtained. 



As connected with the work of oceanic exploration carried 

 on under the auspices of the U. S. Coast Survey, I may also 

 mention a visit to the Tortugas during 188L I left Key West 

 for the Tortugas in the middle of March on the " Laurel," which 

 Lieut.-Commander Wright, in accordance with the permission of 

 the Lighthouse Board, had kindly ordered to transport me and 

 my assistant, Dr. Fewkes, to the Tortugas, with the necessary 

 coal for the steam launch which had been placed at my disposal 

 by Mr. Patterson. The launch I found ready at Key West, 

 fully equipped, manned, and provisioned, thanks to the care of 

 Lieut.-Commander Winn. 



