CHAPTER I. 
THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 
The Bahama Islands are situated between 20° 55' and 27 0 1 5 7 
north latitude, and 78° i8 / west longitude, comprising about a 
thousand islands, large and small, from Andros Island, which has 
an area of over a thousand square miles, to the small reef barely 
protruding from the surface of the sea, fit only for the occasional 
resting-place of some of the numerous sea birds which repair to 
these islands to breed. Nearly all the group present the same 
geological formation, being composed principally of cellular lime- 
stone. On most of the islands the rock along the shore has been 
worn away by the action of the sea in such a manner as to present 
a surface covered with sharp points, hard and keen as knife-blades, 
which renders walking an exceedingly difficult and sometimes dan- 
gerous operation, and a fall might be attended with serious con- 
sequences. Although so hard upon the surface, this stone, when 
not exposed to the atmosphere, is soft and easily cut, and is much 
used by the inhabitants for building purposes. It is an interesting 
fact to observe that this peculiar honeycombed appearance of the 
rocks is to be seen in the interior of some of the largest islands, 
showing that they were, in ages past, covered by the ocean. 
