U.S.S. HOUS r 
Evening Press News 
1 Ausust 1938 
- 1 - 
PRSSS REHASH FOR EVENING NEWSPAPER S 
BY 
Stephan T. Early, Secretary to the President. 
Cocos Island, a possession of Costa Rica situated in the 
Pacific Ocean, about 340 miles west of Panama, was visited today 
by President Roosevelt for the third time since he entered the 
White House. He reached the Island early in the morning after 
an all day cruise on the USS Houston from San Salvador Island, 
Galapagos Archipelago . 
Ihe President went to Cocos Island for the first time in 
1934, touching there onroute to Hawaii. His second visit was 
in 1935. At that time he hooked and successfully landed a 
sailfish measuring 9 feet 6 inches in length, weighing 135 
pounds; now a prized exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute. * 
It is no secret that during the two days he will stay there, 
he hopes his luck end lure will give him even bigger and better 
sport with these fighting gamesters, but it is not certain that 
sailfish are found at Cocos at this time of the year. 
The- President’s round week of fishing and exploring in the 
Galapagos today wasu summarized, from the point of view of its 
scientific interest, by Professor Waldo L. Schmitt, Smithsonian 
Institute Scientist and member of the President’ s - entourage 
aboard the Houston. In a report to the President, Professor 
Schmitt said he, with the assistance of officers and men of 
the Houston, had collected several hundred scientific specimens 
representative of several branches of natural history and was 
carrying them to Washington to be added to the Institution’s 
national collections. 
" The participation of the National Luseum in the expedition 
has afforded the Institution a most worthwhile opportunity to 
fill a number of gaps in its scientific study series, augmenting 
them with collections of rare and valuable materials and 
scientific data concerning animal life specimens and their 
geographical distribution". 
With reference to the big fish caught by the President and 
his associates, Professor Schmitt said: "Hie larger game fish 
are difficult specimens to preserve and transport, however, 
the vor3r excellent refrigeration facilities available aboard 
the Houston make it a relatively simple task to transport frozen 
specimens back to Washington and to deliver them in a state of 
natural preservation for study by the experts in the museum 
laboratories 
Pago One . 
