THE BAHAMAS AND BERMUDAS 289 



It was found, however, that in a boat of this type and 

 size it was impossible to handle the apparatus in the 

 long roll of the trades, without the greatest danger of 

 injury to it, and less pelagic work was accomplished than 

 was at first intended. 



Agassiz joined the yacht at Jacksonville; he had with 

 him, as assistants, his son Maximilian, the photographer 

 of the trip; Dr. A. G. Mayer, a former student of the 

 Newport Laboratory ; and Mr. J. H. Emerton, the zoo- 

 logical artist. Leaving Jacksonville on January 8, the 

 party sailed directly for Nassau, which they made their 

 headquarters. Here they were fortunate in securing the 

 best pilot of those regions, a darkey who had been in 

 the service of the Government for twenty years and 

 was supposed to know everything that a black man can. 

 Profiting by the light draught of the Wild Duck, and 

 the exceptional skill of his pilot, Agassiz was enabled 

 to cross the banks in all directions and penetrate into 

 regions otherwise inaccessible. Many of these trips on 

 the banks tested the pilot's ability to the utmost; for 

 with marvelous skill he worked the yacht across the 

 sandbars over one spit and then another, using only the 

 eye or the bearing of some distant little cay. On more 

 than one occasion they anchored in such unusual places 

 for a vessel of their size, that the spongers swooped 

 down on them under the impression that they had gone 

 aground — and were much disappointed at being de- 

 frauded of a first-class wrecking party. " Such a set of 

 darkey cut-throats I should not care to have landed on 

 my deck if my vessel was ashore — they looked as if 

 they would leave you but little show." 



The first cruise ! embraced the outer chain of islands, 



1 See Chart 1. 



