Mr. ■£. Oraf 
Aasooiat® Direotor 
U, S. STatlocal |te®ua 
Deur Mr, Graft . 
With iMla I giw you a brief suMery of my roosst trip to tli® 
Galapagos Is leads for th© purpos# of oheokiag up on the sweral points 
raised in ©arlisr. disoussioas of possible site® for the proposed labora~ 
tory. Whet I eooojs^lishod was wholly due to the hearty eooperstion given 
us by til® Savy DepartsMat. I wish partiouiarly to bring to your attention 
the exooptioml courtesy and helpfulness of Captain S. Piohlng # oommader 
of the squadron of four Butoariaes and tender#, the O.S.S, MALLAMS, on aiiioh 
I went to the Islands. I imve ik> thing but tiw highest praise for Captain 
Pioklng aj:Mi the llavy personnel of timt expedition, and ,I hop® that their 
great service to us may be brought to tte attention of the proper authori- 
ties la the ifavy Departeaent. 
I visited Freshwater and Wreok Says, ChatlMaa Island, and Aoadeay 
Bey, Indefatigable IslaMj ratlier ooiapietely explored South Seynour Isl«id| 
spent the better part of four days, .April 12-16, at CJoaimy Bay, Indefatigable 
Island} and ex«®ined the shore® of James Island from James Say to soiao dls- 
taaoe eastward. W© also oatored the port of ¥lXla®il, a very diffioult 
Isndixtg, and saw something of Poster Gov®, Ulsabath, Bmy, which th© Mavy has 
had under ooasideratioa for possible future devolopaeat as an airplane and 
.submarine base. 
Althougli Coiwfay Bay had figured in our earlier dieeussions as a 
very likely site, one reooiaaended tow by Captain Picking affords a .moh 
swro favorsblo looatloa. This latter site is mar tiw western end of the 
south slK>re of South Seyaour Island, fronting ladefatigable Island. It is 
just about as oentrally located a® Conwy Bay, being only fourteen miles 
rejwved from it, and offers even better protection for smll boats. Be- 
tween .Soutli Seymour and Indefatigable is a oosparativoly aa.rrow olmnnel 
^lieh, by virtue of reefs or a chain of islets and shoais across each end, 
has been trajxsformed into a woaderftiily well proteoted, landlocked basin, 
entirely free from swells. The water is so quiet here that one can anchor 
alongside of the rooky shore (so© photo by Captain Picking iiarewith). A 
small (look, however, %w)uld be aor® oonveaiant. TiurougJi either reef there 
is an opening sufficiently large for tlie passage of fairly good-siaed ves- 
sels, even though the imxiiaum deptii at iwon low water is only 2-1/4 fathoms. 
