1894
Feb.28
(No 5)
Dominica
  On the banks of the foaming river I saw my
first tree fern. It was a small specimen only
ten or twelve feet in height but were more beautiful
than I had expected. Its color was very light tender
green.

  Returning to the ship we changed our clothing
for in spite of the protection of umbrellas & waterproofs
we were all more or less drenched and then
went back to the town where we dined. The
dishes were nearly all peculiar to the tropics. Among
them we had "mountain chicken" a large
species of frog the flesh of which is exceedingly
tender and delicate.

  As we walked down the narrow, paved street
to the wharf, 'Bell frogs" similar to those heard
at Montserrat were piping everywhere, in the
gutter of flowing water apparently. I repeatedly
stopped and bent down over a spot where the
sound seemed to come from within two feet of
my face but I could see nothing in the
dim light.

  Early in the afternoon a small Parrot flew past
the hotel and alighted on a palm pond. I
was disappointed to learn that it was a town kid.
Mid Parrots, we are told, are now everywhere seen
among the islands and not to be found save
in the wildest & most [?] parts of the
mountains.