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Wetmore—Journal 44 
July 13--The flattened sand louse recorded at Nihoa and French Frigate Shoals is 
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very abundant here and is a decided niusance as at night it inyades ourccots, 
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crawls over us and sucks our blood. The bites swell, turn red and itch severely, 
the burning sensation and swelling continuing for several days. 
Necker Is. and Gray-backed Terns. Bryan on Sand Island reported White-taii d 
Tropicbird—identification doubtful. 
In a hollow southwest of the hill I found remains of several thousand 
Sooty Tern, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and Christmas Is. Shearwaters that had been 
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t 
killed by plume hunters add the bodies thrown in a pile, after the hand 
caryying the primaries had been cut away..* 
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July 14 —Qut in skiff—many Shearwaters—lcould hear sea birds cabling on island 
one mile south...Corals of half a'dozen species were growing in abundance over 
a broad platform in shallow water. Jagges holes five or six feet deep were natural 
aquaria ain which swam birghtly colored reef fishes. Huge holothurians twelve 
inches long lay sprawled everywhere. Nooks and crannies were occupied by 
sea urchins, two species with sharp spines to be handled with caution. When 
feeding the spines were thrown together in clumps that spread to bristle as 
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a protective armor whenever the animal was touched. Two other species 
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had long blunt spines that were strong and heavy. The larger of these lived in 
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the wash on the outer reef. 
At dark the reef was bare in the tide. Strange fishes darted out among thai 
many eels. Anderson today killed a huge eel--5 feet 4 inches long and 8 
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inches in diameter. He struck at a fish with his spear but missed when the eel 
struck quick as a flash at his harpoon point. The great creature was enticed out 
of its crevice in the coral bank by some bits of fish. After several attempts 
he succeeded in thrusting a spear into its thick hide but it was nearly half an 
hour before he was able to lift the writhing beast into the boat. It had sharp 
pointed teeth and heavily muscled jaws' . 
