148 



A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS. 



some of the brilliant yellow and black ones like the one that I saw 

 in Curagao ; but the most beautiful of all was what the men on the 

 wharf called loro," or parrot. As well as I could see, it was of 

 the same shape as the black and yellow ones, its head and neck a 

 vivid blue, its body light green, its tail a golden yellow, and its fins 

 tipped with pink (family Scarldw), We had some flying-fish for 



RED SNAPPER. 



breakfast on the steamer. They taste a little like smelts, but are 

 dry. Whilst we were watching the fish a frigate pelican hovered 

 over our heads for some time, coming at times within thirty yards 

 of us so that we had a good view of it. The small boys on the 

 wharf were catching great numbers of the little fish that were so 

 abundant at Curasao (Trachuroj^s), We left La Guayra about 

 eleven o'clock, and headed north. The vessel ran steadily, and I 

 fortunately escaped seasickness. Before sunset we passed Los 

 Roques. 



The rest of our trip was uneventful. The sea remained as quiet 

 as a mill-pond, and we made fine runs of nearly 340 miles per day. 

 Among the passengers we had the pleasure of meeting our consul 

 from Curagao, Captain L. B. Smith, a most agreeable gentleman, 

 whom I will always regret not having met during our stay on the 



