384 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [14] 



Bahia, Brazil, to Montevideo. — The trawl was lowered at meridian 

 on the 26th, in 818 fathoms, ooze (Latitude 15° 39' S. ; longitude 38° 32' 

 54" W.), and landed on deck at 3.18, bringing up several species of fish, 

 besides starfish, ophiurans, crustaceans, etc. The quantity of material 

 was small and the mud was completely washed out of the net, showing 

 an entirely different bottom from that encountered north of Bahia, 

 where the clayey mass would not wash through the meshes of the trawl. 



Soon after daylight, December 27, we swung ship under steam, 

 observing azimuths of the sun for compass errors and at 7.50 a. m. 

 anchored in the harbor of Abrolhos, where we called to give the natu- 

 ralists an opportunity of examining the flora and fauna of these out of - 

 the- way islands. The group is composed of masses of rock rising above 

 the sea, with no living water, scant vegetation, and uninhabited except 

 by the light-house keeper and his assistants. A few wild goats find a 

 precarious existence on the largest island. The group is a favorite re- 

 sort of sea birds, the naturalists taking eight species. Lizards were 

 plentiful, and a couple of rats were found on one of the uninhabited 

 islands. An enormous My gale was among the most interesting speci- 

 mens, a spider so large and powerful that it was able to capture and 

 kill young sea birds, upon which it subsisted. Our list of fishes was 

 materially increased by the use of several Bahia fish baskets, which not 

 only provided specimens, but also supplied the officers' mess with many 

 excellent fish. 



We left the islands at 3.55 p. in., December 28, still under one boiler ? 

 our experimental ruu from Bahia having proved satisfactory. Cape 

 Frio was sighted at daylight, December 30, and at 6 a. m. the dredge 

 was lowered in 59 fathoms, blue mud and clay bottom (latitude 23° 08' 

 S. ; longitude 41° 34' W.), and although the prospect was not encour- 

 aging, when the uuinviting mass was emptied into the table-sieve, we 

 procured specimens of fish, starfish, shells, annelids, sea-urchins, cup- 

 corals, and the dead shell of a rare brachiopod. About 4 p. m., I ob- 

 served several patches of light green water, and, as we were standing 

 toward reported dangers, it occurred to me that they might exist and 

 that we were approaching them, but a closer scrutiny as the ship passed 

 through one of the discolored spots, showed that the peculiar tint was 

 confined to the surface or within a foot or two of it, and was caused by 

 a mass of conferva. 



On Saturday, December 31, we ran a line of soundings over reported 

 dangers marked on the chart as follows : 



■£? Edith Rose, 1865 ; 17 fathoms, sand, in latitude 25° 45' S. ; longitude 44° 44' W. 

 ;4-}? Rock just awash ; seen February, 1811, by a pilot of Bahia named Medeiros. 

 Position, uncertain ; latitude, 25° 41' S. ; longitude, 44° 48' W. 

 Medeiros Rocks, latitude 25° 32' 30" S. ; longitude 44° 59' W. 



This shoal is plotted in the direct route of commerce and is a standing 

 menace to navigation. It has been searched for by men-of-war of various, 

 nations, but, as the negative soundings indicate, they were not supplied 



